#giving her a beagle i swear

[kairithemang0]

I really hope Tatiana lives a good rest of her life and through all the chaos in her life finds inner peace and settles down in a nice little apartment with a partner or roommate or beagle and she lives an amazing life and dies with a smile on her face

[daintydoilypon]

I had a lot of childhood crushes on fictional men that I grew out of, but Lir is just so, like I don't have a word for it, perhaps a form of wholesomeness.

I wanna cry, I love this man, and the sequel books just shit on him and I want to throw hands with the author behind an Arby's.

Spoilers for the sequels below:

So, in the original The Last Unicorn, she goes back to being a unicorn and Lir is like "Imma find her <3"

Well, in the sequel, HE NEVER FINDS HER UNTIL HE FUCKING DIES BRO. He becomes a senile old king, goes to fight a griffon, gets merc'd, and THEN Amalthea shows up and kills the griffon.

Like, I WANT TO THROW HANDS, I SINCERELY WANT TO THROW HANDS.

And then there's a sequel about the little girl that goes to find King Lir to fight the griffon. She's grown up, finds out she's one of those changeling kids, and tries to find the actual daughter for her parents. She either has a really deep friendship, or low key romantic relationship, you can interpret it either way which is what I like about it, with a statue lady and SHE dies after seeing where the girl grew up.

LIKE WHAT THE FUCK MAN, GIVE THEM A HAPPY ENDING OR SOMETHING.

I'm about to read The Overneath, and I sWEAR, IF THIS ONE HAS A SAD ENDING, I WILL GO FERAL.

Peter S. Beagle is only capable of writing tragedies, do not read his books unless you want to just look like this at the end:

I mean, it's good, it's a nice change of pace from the security of a happy ending, but EVERY BOOK PETER? EVERY BOOK? MEET ME BEHIND THE ARBY'S, BUDDY.

I JUST WANT THEM TO KISS OKAY??? IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK??? KISS KISS MUAH MUAH, LIVE A NICE LIFE AHHHHHHH

I love the books, don't get me wrong, but wEH

[patheticbatman]

Part Four

I'm very proud of these dolls, and I'm also leaving them at my parents' house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them. This set of pictures is exclusively dolls that I painted, so I’m very pleased to show them off.

This is the fourth and final post, so check out the first for more info!

First up is Sisu, with The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I swear that I did not rip the cover. I think that copy is like 50 years old, and I swear I had the ripped of part until recently. I’m very sad about losing it. But in any case, I feel like Sisu would relate heavily with being the only one of her species left for a long while, about how human vice affected her status as an endling, about spending time in a body that isn’t really hers to survive, and the whole quest really. Hell, in the book, Schmendrick and Molly end up together, and we all know that’s going to happen to Raya and Namari eventually lol.

Second is Mirabel with In the Tike of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. I feel like Mirabel would be the most invested in her family in keeping up with the outside, in magical world, as both a breather from all her family’s guilt and drama, and as a future head of the household later on. In her life. I also know that the Latin world paid a lot of attention to the struggle and loss of the Mirabal sisters (The Butterflies) and what with the book being told by Dede (the non-revolutionary sister, the only survivor) and being about a 4 sisters, Mirabel would empathize with this a lot. She’s one out of 3 sisters + a close girl cousin, and is the only one who’s not involved with what made her family famous. Encanto takes place in about the 1950s, maybe 60s, so Mirabel would definitely be interested in this book, because she would have definitely been interested in the real life events that occurred when she was young (the events of the book and the real life murders of the Mirabal sisters occurred form the 40s to 1960, but this book was published in the 90s)

Third is Dolores with Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. I feel like she is a more overlooked member of the Madrigals, and she probably is a BIG Romantic at heart, though I bet she keeps it secret. as such, I gave her one of the most Romantic books I have as a background.

Fourth is Isabela with The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I think she would find the themes of huge responsibility and the focus on perfection by society to be quite pertinent to her lot in life at the beginning of Encanto.

Fifth is Luisa with Jacob I have Loved, by Katherine Paterson. The title is a reference to the Bible saying, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”. I DID think about giving this one to Mirabel, but ultimately chose Luisa because I feel like Mirabel never felt she had a chance to live up to Isabela, while Luisa probably felt like she had a chance to under all that *pressure* (lol), like Sarah Louise (the Esau) with her twin sister Caroline (the Jacob). I think the themes of small town life (SL in the book moves from a small coastal island to a mountain town, and the Madrigals live in the mountains) would also speak to Luisa.

I couldn’t decide for Shuri and also wanted to show her off more, so she gets two books! The first is my copy of the collected Infinity War comics, because she appears in it, and the second is The Deep by Rivers Solomon. Shuri gets The Deep because it’s about a mermaid whose people were the magically-transformed fetuses of pregnant African people who were thrown overboard while being transported to the Americas for enslavement. As Shuri’s movie is both about a strong African nation and about a people pushed underwater by colonialism and racism, I just felt that it was fitting. If you look in her hands, one has a heart shaped herb and the other has the bracelet from Namor.

As a romantic and a girl obsessed with the surface, I believe Ariel would love The Princess Bride, full stop. I also think the framing premise would tickle her.

Last but not least, Asha! Her movie ofc hints at her becoming the fairy godmother and crossing over with fairy/Disney tales, so I gave her The Sisters Grimm!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[indigowallbreaker]

Bernadetta/Raphael with fluffy prompt 4?

Been editing a very long fic and remembered all these tiny fics sitting patiently in my drafts. Hope you all are having a lovely winter holiday!

[prompt rules]

[more Beagles stories]

4: "Is that my sweater you're wearing?"

--

It wasn't Bernadetta's sweater. It wasn't even close. Bernadetta didn't own anything made with yarn so thick or so yellow. Or anything this large. As soon as Bernadetta found the sweater in her laundry pile, she should have marched back to the clothesline and hung it up for the owner to retrieve. Stealing another student's clothing, even by accident, could only lead to trouble.

Instead, she found herself tugging the sweater over her head. It was enormous on her, more akin to a blanket with arms than a sweater, and the head hole nearly exposed her shoulders. But it was warm. Bernadetta found herself sinking into her bed with a sigh, legs scrunched up under the long hem.

It could be her sweater for the day, she decided. Just one day. Winter had settled thick over Garreg Mach, and Bernadetta was having trouble adjusting to the temperature. One day borrowing this sweater and its warmth-- then she'd give it back.

A week later, there was a knock on Bernadetta's dorm door.

Bernadetta jolted awake. She had been reading by the window, wrapped up in the sun-yellow sweater, but had apparently dozed off at some point. What time was it? Had she missed class? Was this the Professor coming to drag her to detention? What if she had missed a test and the Professor was going to make her do it in front of everyone?!

Bernadetta practically ran to answer the door. Flinging it open, she stuttered over a dozen apologies-- then her mouth snapped shut. "R-Raphael?" She managed through her shock.

Raphael grinned down at her. "Hey, Bernadetta! Sorry if I scared yah."

"T-That's okay." Heart still in her throat, Bernadetta opened the door a little wider. "What do you need?"

"I've been trying to figure out whose this is," Raphael said, holding up a small-- well, small compared to Raphael-- grey shirt. "I found it in my laundry this week and..." He trailed off, staring at Bernadetta. His eyebrows went up. "Is that my sweater you're wearing?"

Bernadetta covered her chest as if exposed. "No! I mean! Maybe! Give me that!"

Ripping the shirt from Raphael's hands, Bernadetta slammed the door. She quickly tore off the yellow sweater, pulled on the shirt, and opened the door again with her face burning. "Here! I'm sorry!" She thrust the sweater into Raphael before shutting the door for good.

Bernadetta groaned and rest her forehead against her door. What was she thinking, holding on to another student's clothes for so long? It should have been obvious it was Raphael's! Who else would have a sweater so big! And now he was going to tell everyone what a weirdo she was. Bernadetta the Clothes Stealer. That's what all of Garreg Mach would call her until graduation. No, no! Should couldn't let that happen!

Once again Bernadetta practically pulled the door off its hinges as she flung it open, intending on racing to Raphael and swearing him to secrecy by any means necessary--

Only to run into what felt like a brick wall.

Raphael was still standing exactly where Bernadetta had left him. He laughed when he saw her, a booming thing that threatened to knock snow from the porch roof.

"You can't go around like that!" He said with a wave at her measly grey shirt. "Here. I can let you borrow it a bit longer if you want."

And he held out the yellow sweater.

Stunned, Bernadetta took it, not even flinching when he laughed again. "That's sure to keep you nice an' warm! I'll see you in class later, alright?" With a wave, Raphael left. The crunch of his boots on the frozen grass had long since faded before Bernadetta finally went back inside her room. She put the sweater back on and sat down by the window, book in her lap.

Strange-- it was the same yellow sweater as a few minutes ago. But now it felt like a gift. It was warmer, softer even, knowing Raphael had wanted her to have it.

Sinking in her seat, Bernadetta ignored the blush on her face, and opened her book.

[tricornonthecob]

Curl up and look at stars

LK 113: Mock Turtle Tells his Tale

(pt1)(pt2)(pt3)(pt4)(pt5)

Man's got a mile-long stare.

...You'd think she knew that already, what with her dad having fought in War Crimes, The War: Redcoat Edition.

Gotta love the guy awkwardly trying to get attention off the realities of war. At least someone can read the room.

...Something on your mind there, chief?

I swear this entire episode is just the writing room fucking with the voice actors.

I feel like I've seen this porn.

Well this is an awkward frame after that last comment

James is overwhelmed by role models giving him attaboys. Like a puppy getting ear scritchums. Seriously, someone tousle his hair.

And some teenagers are afoot!

I'm telling you, beagle/great dane puppy.

"I have literally run headlong into live fire, we thrive on danger, sir."

James honey, just because you somehow haven't gotten shot yet doesn't mean you'll never get shot.

Need I remind you that agent Phillips has 12 confirmed kills.

immediately suspicious.

Henri's got the best-attuned gut in this outfit. Also awww, she looks so left out.

*snicker* Yeah he will! With his dick

I know that night fishing is supposed to be sort of dumb/suspect in this scene but I night fish all the time, its the best way to catch catfish, since they tend to be nocturnal.

I'm sorry I'm not sorry.

Why is the officer of the marines a leprechaun.

Sassmaster Henri at it again

damn, girl's got on her Weigh-In face.

Its a book, you illiterate sumbitch

I know you're in the Navy so that kind of already answers my question, but have you never been around Army Wives.

[itsjaywalkers]

omg laurie u have a beagle?? what’s her name? i love her she’s so cute <33

here’s a pic of mine too 🥰🥰 his names oliver!

I DO I LOVE BEAGLES SO VERY MUCH !!! ONE OF MY FAV BREEDS OF DOG FOR SURE !!!! and her name is dama hehe, one of my sisters (the youngest) named her after the film 'lady and the tramp' bc in spanish it's called la dama y el vagabundo <3 and yes !! she's so very cute.. my girl..

STOP OLIVER IS SO ADORABLE AND HE LOOKS SO TINY??? IM ACTUALLY TEARING UP tell him i adore him and give him a big kissie from me!!! bestest boy!!!!

this just made my day cass i sWEAR

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Well, there you go.

Fall.

After four years living down in Seattle, we arrived back here at the top of June. Sunny weather. Warm temps. We all got used to the summer vibe. I got used to the summer's day commutes. Riding those double decker busses on the upper level surrounded by bright sunlight. Sitting on a bench at the light rail platform, reading a book, right o. The edge of direct sunlight. Downtown taking lots of photographs because everything looks better in sunlight. And then everywhere else I either walked or waited for the bus, there I was, taking pictures.

June was like that.

July was like that.

And there I was, getting used to it.

And then August. Which was fine until it wasn't. Which was fine until the summer sun seemed to lose steam, giving way to clouds and grey and rain.

So about halfway into August?

Yeah. Fall.

Stone Cold Fall.

We've been back for three months so far. And today was actually the first day we walked out our front door for a neighborhood walk. We had an agenda, of course, some houses, some properties we wished to see. Houses and properties we'd seen before we moved to Seattle... and we wanted to know how they turned out.

It was definitely an interesting experience. We'd done this walk before more than four years ago. But, much like memory does, we had a picture in our minds of everything we'd seen before, a picture that was extremely sensitive to what came to be: the present form of those houses and properties. We noticed everything that was different. Every remodel. Every new home. And also the homes that were no longer there.

The biggest things we were looking for had actually gotten worse. Had been leveled or overgrown.

We spoke with someone in the neighborhood who was walking their dog, Indecision.

Actually, that wasn't her name. That's just how her owner characterized her.

Indecision.

A beautiful, female beagle.

We got to talking for a while whilst the beagle tried pulling her leash this way and that. Both the conversation and then entirety of the walk reminded us of how open people are to talk about the places they live. We were reminded of all the people we'd spoken with across the years, across a multitude of walks. We seemed to actually remember almost the exact spot we'd spoken with each of them... which I didn't know until right then.

Swear I didn't.

So it wasn't Summer. It was Fall. A disappoint ment, that. But the walk itself was a kind of Memory Lane experience. Almost literally.

It was a bit of remembering places, remembering people. Talking to neighbors from other neighborhoods and paying specific attention to this place we live and the places nearby.

Just another thing that makes the world even smaller.

🙂

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, pages 47-56

Page 47

John: Leave room.

You exit into the HALLWAY.

On one wall hangs a picture of a fella who sure knows how to have a laugh, a man after your own heart. You always thought he looked a lot like Michael Cera. But your DAD swears on the many HALLOWED TOMBS of Egypt that it is not. You're not sure about that though.

On the other wall is one of your DAD'S stupid clowns. Or HARLEQUINS, as he is quick to correct anyone who would venture such brazen assumption.

Author commentary: The "Michael Cera" photo is really just one of the first images that appears in a Google image search for beagle puss. It really looks like Cera. Alas, it is not. The implication that John and his dad have had debates about this is indisputably enjoyable.

Page 48

John: Go downstairs.

The accursed odor of fresh baking wafts into your newfound nostrils. Something is brewing in the KITCHEN. It must be the connivings of your arch nemesis, BETTY CROCKER, and the rich, buttery aroma of her plot stinks to high heaven.

This mission is going to be more difficult than you imagined.

Page 49

John: Admire harlequins.

You check out the shelves of FANCIFUL HARLEQUINS.

Look at this fucking garbage. You hate this stuff. Funny is funny, but your DAD sure can be a real cornball.

Sometimes at night you pray for burglars.

Page 50

John: Examine fireplace.

A bright orange flame flickers in the FIREPLACE. It doesn't matter that it's April and not terribly chilly outside. In a home, a FIREPLACE needs a fire, because that's what FIREPLACE is for. A fire BELONGS in a FIREPLACE, dammit, cata(ptcha)gorically, at all times, without exception. As domestic myth of unaccountable origin holds, a home borrows the spirit of the flame for as long as it makes a guest of it, much as the moon takes liberty with the sun's rays. "The moon's an arrant thief, and her pale fire she snatches from the sun." -Mark Twain You are almost certain Mark Twain said that.

Author commentary: "The moon's an arrant thief" is actually a Shakespeare quote, not a Twain quote. This is the first instance of the misattributed quote running gag. There isn't one quote in HS which is attributed correctly.

Page 51

John: Toss GameBro into fire.

It doesn't burn as quickly as you hoped.

Each GAMEBRO MAGAZINE is guaranteed to be printed on 40% recycled asbestos. For big ups to Mother Earth, yo.

Author commentary: DENNIS WILL HAVE HIS REVENGE.

Page 52

John: Fondly regard cremation.

You examine the SACRED URN containing your departed NANNA'S ASHES. When your father gives her portrait a wistful glance now and then, you can tell it brings back painful memories. A tall bookshelf. A ladder. An unabridged COLONEL SASSACRE'S. He never wants to talk about it.

Page 53

John: Topple urn.

You clumsily mishandle the SACRED URN. Ash is everywhere.

In retrospect, upon mulling cinematic tropes regarding ash-filled urns, this outcome was a virtual certainty.

You'd probably better clean it up before DAD finds it.

Author commentary: If you see an urn full of ash anywhere in a work of entertainment, you can guarantee the ash will come out eventually. The only factor left negotiable is what degree of slapstick is involved. That was like a brief tvtropes.com article, but without the 5,000 links to obscure anime underneath.

Page 54

John: Combine father's pipe with clever disguise.

You think now would be a good time to beef up your CLEVER DISGUISE.

Page 55

John: Examine oversized gift.

Contemplating what could be inside this package is sort of exciting, but it makes you a little nervous at the same time.

Author commentary: MSPA prior to HS grew on a tradition of mute characters. But I experimented with ways of giving certain characters voices in HS. Obviously the kids were voiced through their pesterlogs, and only through pesterlogs. Later, sometimes spritelogs were an exception to this rule. Dad, as a rule, would only communicate through notes left behind to his son. The rules for dialog were adhered to pretty religiously, and sometimes expanded upon with new rules.

Page 56

John: Open large present.

Oh hell no.

[growup-thatbeautiful]

Read the other parts here!

Taglist: @timmyslover @fayhar @username23345 @natashalovers @tasteslikeicedcoffee @hoeforwandanat @angie-1746 @steveharringtonisadisasterdotcom @whore4nat @romanoffswrld @marrymemcgrath @pawiiee-blog @sapphosclosefriend @fabgronsky @tastingcevans @kawaiitoga @xxsekhmet @natblackwidow2 @silver-lotus @simpforflorencepugh1 @imnotslouching @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @wildnightuniverse @m4ddie3 @natflough04 @losethetimewqr

Warnings: All of the same warnings apply, but please note: this chapter is where the homophobic language/actions take place. there are also quite a few jokes revolving around sex. if that’s not for you, please take care of yourself and don’t read.

Word Count: 3.2K

A/N: so……..it’s been a while. i don’t really have much to say except please be patient with me about the updates. on a lighter note, i absolutely love making our girl tasha swear like a sailor. idk

The Proposal Part Three

“Let me show you to your room,” your mom says, taking Natasha’s hand. You see the flinch that you doubt Natasha even knows about. You nod at her encouragingly and follow your mother down the hall to a brightly lit room. There’s a large bed with a dark green bedcover and a sitting area next to it. Straight ahead are floor to ceiling windows looking out over the water. You see Natasha turn away from the water and remind yourself to show her how to close the curtains.

“Great. I’ll leave my stuff in my room and then be back here to help you unpack.” You turn away and adjust the strap of your bag.

To your horror, your mother replies with a laugh. “Honey, we aren’t under any false pretenses that you two don’t sleep in the same bed, much less the same room. You’re engaged now.” You give her an uneasy grin and she walks out, telling you to ask if you need anything. You grimace and turn back to Natasha. She’s staring blankly out at the water, and you ignore her shaking. There’s a remote on the table and press the button that lowers the curtains.

“Thanks.” You nod your welcome and start unpacking your bags. Just as you get to the bottom of your suitcase, a furry figure attacks you.

You fall backwards and laugh happily as you’re met with frantic pawing and kisses. “Ewok!”

“Is that a rat?” asks Natasha bluntly.

“It’s a fucking Beagle. Don’t mind her,” you coo to the dog. “She just doesn’t know how to love.”

“Untrue. I love that dino you gave me.”

“If you loved her you would know her name is Scarlett,” you point out, kissing the dog in your lap on the head. He sneezes and bangs his head against your knee.

“Love doesn’t need a name,” she points out, flopping onto the bed.

“Yeah, well it’s always better when it has one.”

“Okay, Shakespeare,” she replies dreamily from the bed.

“That’s the sound of no one laughing at your joke right now,” you observe.

“Funny. That’s also the sound of you sleeping on the floor.” You flip her off just as your grandma comes in.

“Hey girls. I just came in to drop off some things you might need.”

“Hi, Grammy,” you say sweetly, looking pointedly at Natasha.

“Hello,” Natasha says, sounding more like a question than a greeting. You give her a look and turn to you grandma.

“I have some extra blankets in case you get cold. Although, Natasha, I hear you’re from Russia, so I’m sure you’re used to it.”

“I am indeed,” Natasha agrees, walking over to you. “I used to play in the snow with my sister every weekend.” You glance at Natasha quickly, not used to her sharing anything about herself ever.

“So did I,” beams Grammy. “She was the best company. Older sisters always are.”

“Mine‘s younger,” supplies Natasha with a smile. “Used to drive me crazy. Running around, flipping over things. Lena never let a dull moment pass.”

“It’s what we do,” says Grammy simply. Her eyes are bright, memories of a past life flying by. “She’s lucky to have an older sister like you.”

“I wasn’t alway there.” You don’t say anything. You know this isn’t something Natasha talks about a lot, and you’re shocked she is now. But then again, Grammy has a way of taking down people’s defenses with a single look. She’s always been able to do it to you. You’re just surprised it works on Natasha as well.

“No one ever is, love.” She claps her hands together and turns to you, light presence back in her eyes. “Now, I have something for you two. Remember when you were conceived?”

“What the fuck Grammy,” you exclaim, half out of pure shock. Natasha hides her laughter behind a cup of water.

“Well, do you?” she asks, not at all fazed.

“Jesus. No, I don’t.”

“That’s all you had to say. Meet, the baby maker.” She hands you a ratty blanket, pieces of string hanging off. “This has helped for generations.”

“Grammy. No,” you say, appalled.

“It’s a family tradition,” she insists.

“You’re telling me to sleep with a blanket that generations of people have had sex on?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m telling the both of you to sleep under it.”

“This is insane.” You turn to Natasha, wanting to apologize. She’s looking at you, trying not to break into laughter. No support from her, then.

“Well obviously it's not going to help you make babies. I don’t think it’s that magical,” Grammy corrects. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t have some….other effects.”

You put your head in your hands and Grammy tosses the blanket onto the bed. You resist the urge to throw it onto the ground. And into the water.

“I’ll be going now. Don’t have too much fun with it tonight.” She winks and waltzes out of the room, like she didn’t just drop you off with the blanket.

“So,” Natasha says.

“It’s best to ignore it,” you sigh, moving the blanket to the floor two fingers.

“This has happened before? Do tell. Did you bring home some other poor girl?”

“Only the ones who blackmail me into marrying them,” you say sweetly.

“Good. I was going to get very jealous if I found out other women had been introduced to the 100 year old sex blanket,” she deadpans, unpacking her bags.

“Don’t worry, there’s none quite like you, Natalia.”

“And there’s none quite like your Grammy.”

“She’s definitely a character. She’s already got you wrapped around her finger.”

“What do you mean?” Natasha asks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“That stuff about your sister. I’ve never heard you talk so openly about her.”

“You were gonna hear it all anyway to get past the test at Immigration. Might as well make some of it seem part of the act.”

“Right,” you agree, moving back to your bag.

“You said fuck and Jesus in front of your Grammy. How did that not end up with a scolding?” Natasha wonders out loud, changing the subject. The fact that she’s talking to you at all when she could be silent means progress.

“Please. She was the one who taught me the most colorful swears I know. She might even have a filthier mouth than you.”

“That sweet old lady? The one who just have us the sex blanket? Impossible.”

“You’re really stuck on that blanket,” you acknowledge.

“I’m concerned how you aren’t stuck on the blanket,” she backfired, stretching across the bed. Her shirt rides up against her stomach and you see a patch of creamy skin. Compulsively, you look away, but the image is already embedded in your mind. You know it’s going to stay there.

You clear your throat and say, “We should get to sleep soon. My guess is that there are lots of activities planned for us tomorrow.”

“Sure,” replies Natasha.

“You’ve already completely taken over the bed, so I’ll sleep on the floor,” you continue, grabbing a clean, new blanket from the closet.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You want to share the bed?” You motion to the bed, surprisingly small for the room.

“No. You can sleep on the couch. There’s a perfectly fine couch right there.” She points to the suspiciously large couch in the corner next to the window.

“I’m so confused by the dimensions of this room,” you mutter, moving the throw pillows onto the floor.

“Unfortunately, the dimensions of the room are some of the least of our concerns,” challenges Natasha with a smile.

You agree with a nod and she goes to change in the bathroom. You grab your pajamas too, idly passing time and waiting for her to get out.

The door opens and you hold back a laugh at Natasha’s choice of sleepwear. She’s wearing a light pink nightgown, black lace lining the top. The spaghetti straps add to the humor, as well as the fact that it barely goes past her thighs. If you were focused on finding it funny you would notice how pretty she looks with her hair tied back in a low ponytail, strands framing her face. She isn’t wearing any makeup or jewelry, and she looks positively radiant.

The only thing stopping you from being fooled into thinking she’s actually happy is the glower on her face.

“Don’t,” she says.

“I’m glad you brought fuzzy cat socks,” you pant in between fits of laughter.

“I’m glad you brought your sense of humor,” she snaps back.

“Me too.”

“Go to sleep.” She gets into the bed and methodically rearranges the cushions.

“I will once I change into my normal, climate appropriate pajamas.”

“Fucking go to sleep,” she all but growls. You grin and change, settling into the pillows of the couch.

You try to fall asleep, but think about long strands of red hair and what they would look like not hidden away in a bun or ponytail.

When you wake up, it's someone bumping around the room and cursing.

“Tony, no, Tony, listen to me. I can figure this out,” you hear Natasha saying.

You try to tell her to be quiet, but you’re dragged back under by the dregs of sleep.

You wake up again to an empty room. There’s light streaming in from a slant of the curtain that does right into your eyes. You grumble and get up, going through your morning routine.

You go out to the main area of the house, socked feet sliding along the floor. Your mom and Grammy are standing by the window, pointing at something. You walk over to them.

“What is Natasha doing?” you ask numbly, staring out the window. She’s running around in the backyard, dog in her hands.

“She appears to be chasing a bird,” notes your mother, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Now the bird is chasing her,” muses Grammy. “Quite a girl you’ve picked there.”

“She’s definitely something, I’ll give her that,” you agree, shuffling into the kitchen and grabbing a mug from the cabinet.

Your mom calls from the kitchen, “I was thinking about having a girls day out. Me, your grandmother, Natasha.” Your heart does a painful flip at her hopeful tone and you put on your best smile.

“That sounds great. Where do you want to go?” You turn just in time to see your mom shoot a meaningful glance at Grammy.

“Well, sweetie, we were thinking we’d go without you. Have Natasha to ourselves for a little while. You know, get to know our future daughter-in-law.” You mom is absolutely beaming, looking at you with such a smile.

“I’m sure she would love to, mom.” The grin she gives you makes your heart ache. “We might want to get her away from the hawk, though.”

Your family laughs and you go back into your room, sitting on one of the chairs.

After a few moments of silence, Natasha comes in. She grabs clothes from her suitcase and changes in the bathroom.

When she comes out, she’s wearing a white button-up blouse and jeans. Somehow it’s the most casual you’ve ever seen her.

“That looks more comfortable that the clothes you sleep in,” you remark.

“I promise I’m laughing on the inside,” she snarks back. You hear her rummage through her suitcase and curse rapidly.

Laughing, you ask, “Do you need something?”

“A jacket. Mine are all not appropriate for morning escapades.”

“Meaning you packed a bunch of blazers,” you sigh. “I think there are some extra ones of mine stored in one of these drawers.” You rifle through the drawers, looking for something that she might wear. You spot a light blue sweatshirt that has your college emblem on it and pull it out.

“Here, this one should work. It’s not too heavy, but should be warm enough.” You toss it at her, and she catches it, looking at your warily.

“I promise it’s not going to kill you if you wear a hoodie this one time. Who knows, maybe you’ll start wearing them everyday.”

“Fat chance,” says Natasha, slipping it over her head. You look away from the exposed skin that rides up from her shirt, feeling like an idiot. What are you, a pining woman in Victorian England seeing a patch of skin for the first time? You shake the thoughts free from your head and look back at Natasha. Whatever you’re about to say dies on your lips when you see her. Her hair is coming out of the bun she put it in, long red strands falling into her face perfectly. The sleeves, always long on you, fit snugly over her knuckles, effectively giving her sweater paws. She looks over at you and you give her an awkward thumbs up. Your mother calls for Natasha and she runs out, waving at you.

You’re left home alone with your father presumably. It’s not something you’re prepared for.

Not that it matters. You find yourself going to him anyway, a terrible self-destructive habit. You go outside and see him hitting golf balls into the lake. You come up next to him and he offers you a club.

An hour passes in light conversation and comfortable silence. Somehow, you turn to Natasha as a topic of conversation.

“I don’t understand why you chose her,” he says, a tense something in his voice.

“Oh, you know. Love strikes in the heart and all those things,” you reply.

“No, I mean why would you choose to be with a woman. There were a lot of good men. Hell, I’m sure there are many in New York too.” And so it starts.

“We’re doing this again?”

“We’re doing this until you fix yourself. You don’t need to keep making the wrong choice.”

“You made that choice 15 years ago when you told me I would never be good enough if I was with a woman. That was your choice. You choose to believe that I’m not good enough for you or your time or whatever else you had to offer before you knew I love women.”

“God forbid I want my daughter to have a happy life,” he seethes.

“You’re literally married to a woman and you don’t seem like a inherently unhappy person. Not counting the scathing comments about my sexual exploits. Sorry, is that too much information for you?” you ask sarcastically.

“When are you going to learn to grow up? It’s time to get out of this and move on.”

“Get out of what? Like women? Seems like it’s something you never grew out of, dad,” you scoff. He walks away and you scrub your face absentmindedly with your hand.

This. This was why you never came back here. Him. He’s this looming presence that clouds your home, your family.

You look around the lake and see figures approaching on the dock. It’s Natasha and your family, laughing and looking like they’re having fun. You long for that. Natasha is trailing behind the two of them, and you fall into step beside her.

You can tell she knows something is wrong. You know for sure when she sees your father pacing around the living room.

You don’t feel like dealing with anyone. So, you do what you always did when you got upset. There are some workout clothes leftover from your college days in a drawer, and you change quickly, putting in earbuds and blasting music.

There’s an axe laying next to the tree stump and you violently chop through pieces of wood.

After a while, you’ve cooled off. The outside door to your room is open and you walk onto the porch, stripping the sweaty tank top off of your skin and throwing it into a pile. Next come your leggings, doing an awkward dance on one foot to get them off. Your music is still loud, so you don’t hear what’s happening behind you.

Which is why you have a heart attack when a frantic and very naked Natasha Romanoff runs straight into you.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Natasha yells, covering herself with a blow dryer. You don’t even try to unpack what you’re seeing. You don’t look for long, though, before you drop your shirt and clamp your fingers over your eyes.

“What the fuck are you doing? Why are you naked? And running around? And carrying a hairdryer? And naked? And”- you point at the fur ball running circles around the room-“Why is my dog going crazier than usual,” you yell back, more confused than angry.

“I was in the shower and I forgot a towel. Why aren’t you wearing a shirt or pants?” she snarls.

“That doesn’t answer my questions. And I was outside, working out.”

“You mean murdering that wood,” she corrects.

Can I open my eyes now?” you respond, ignoring her jest.

“Yes.” You do, and see her wearing some sweats and a t-shirt, both yours from your drawer. She tosses you one of each as well, and you put them on quickly, promptly forgetting any motions of showering.

“It was the closest place to get clothes. Also, the most comfortable,” she explains.

“Fair.”

“I take it things didn’t go well with the old man?” Natasha asks gently.

“As good as they ever do.”

“You deserve better than a father like him,” Natasha says quietly. “You’re strong and kind and have the most powerful heart of anyone I know.”

“He’s not that bad,” you defend automatically, wincing at the statement.

“I’m an expert on shitty dads. I had a few of them growing up. Your father-“ she points at the wall, a general direction of where he was last seen-“treats you like you’re a teenager screwing around with the neighbor's kid. You’re an adult. You can screw around with whoever you want, and he shouldn’t have a damn thing to say about it.”

“There are worse things to be treated like,” you say softly. “It’s honestly fine. I’m not around that much, so he can just pretend like I don’t exist and start grooming whoever he chooses to take over the family businesses.”

“I can see that it hurts you. He hurts you.”

“He used to,” you acknowledge, leaning against the counter.

“Bullshit. He still does,” she accuses quietly. You wait a beat before responding.

“Maybe I’ve just gotten better at ignoring it. The first time he made a comment, I could brush it off. Say to myself, he didn’t really mean it. The next time I thought about it the whole date I was going on. After a while, it became some sort of sick routine. Then he stopped saying anything and it was a thousand times worse. He would go days without talking to me.”

She grabs your face in her hands and stares into your eyes. You fight the urge to step back because people could see. In your own room.

“No one deserves that, least of all you. Listen to me. I know I take advantage of your goodness a lot. I’m fully aware of it, but he needs to know how amazing you are. In love with a woman or not. Engaged to whoever you want.”

“Fake engaged,” you address, smiling for the first time in what seems like way too long.

“Fake engaged,” she concedes.

“Do you want to watch old movies all night?” you ask suddenly, not wanting any more human interaction besides someone easy to be around like her.

“Yes,” she immediately agrees. “Please, God yes.”

Strange how things have changed in such a short amount of time.

[tengens-tig-ol-biddies]

Choosing a puppy with Soobin would be so fun oml- Like just imagine his faceeee looking at all the cute doggies !!!

This is so damn wholesome 🌟

pawprint. | c.s.b.

contains: adorable little puppies hanging with the bunny himself, soobin and reader-chan are besties, implied roommates, just cute little animals doing what animals do, maybe one swear word...

author's note: I love writing this, This honestly makes me so warm and fuzzy on the inside. I drafted up something while I was on my lunch break, so I hope you love it ✨

@soobinshouseplant @plushpeeps @yungisstar1117 @star1117-archives @zitaosbadbaby @lee--felix

©taehyunscaramelfrappe , all rights reserved

~

"Y/N, look at him!” You heard Soobin say as he kneels down to look at the small Beagle whose name tag says “Binnie.”

You laugh at your best friend as you stroll toward him to see the dog. His ears are big and droopy, and his eyes are doe-like and chocolatey brown. Binnie runs up to the cage door and lays on his back, indicating that he wants tummy rubs.

Soobin laughs at the action, walk up to the volunteer and asks if you and he can play with him. And to think Soobin wanted to go to the pet store when there’s a whole shelter in the city…

The worker nods and reaches into their apron to grab the keys. As soon as he is released, he runs up Soobin’s legs, wanting to be held. Soobin happily picks him up, cradling him like a baby. He places his hand on his tummy, giving Binnie soft scratches. You can see his happiness when his head dropped into Soobin’s elbow, and his breathing slowed a little.

You giggle at the dog’s dramatics, and Soobin goes to put back Binnie. Binnie was a bit upset that his comfort was being disturbed. Still, he calmed down as soon as Soobin scratched behind his ear and looked at him with a face that said he would be returning to receive him.

Soobin went to explore more of the shelter, and he acquainted himself with three Huskies, four cats, a Pit Bull, a border Collier, and a Daschund. Why the weenie dog? Because it’s Soobin, duh…

You stayed a bit and played with Binnie. He is so damn sweet; it’s tooth-rottening. “ I just might take this one home,” you think simultaneously when Soobin calls for you.

“I need backup, Y/N! Help, I’m being mauled!” You turn around to see Soobin on the floor with a bunch of new pups, maybe like 11 or 12, on top of Soobin, just running over him, licking his face or sniffing him out of curiosity. The sight of a six-foot-tall man being overtaken by puppies was something you didn’t think you needed to see but a memory that should be digitally remembered.

You whip out your phone to open your camera and press record. You zoom in with so many angles, making sure to get all the puppies on screen.

Your favorite moment was when a puppy with a black fur spot over her eye went up to Soobin on his chest and stood on him as if she was the queen of the world. She then pounces on Soobin and licks his face from his top lip to the bridge of his nose. It took everything for Soobin not to push the puppy off. You catch it on camera and automatically think,

“So we know which ones are coming home today.”

~

Reblog if you enjoyed it, and I hope to take another order soon from you, Els @yungisstar1117 @star1117-archives 💟

[reidgraygubler]

sweet creature (wes/reader) pt4

Title: Sweet Creature part four Request: no Couple: Wes/Fem!Reader Category: slowburn (will contain 18+ content) Content Warning: swearing, jokes & comments about sex/being sexual, talks about the future & wanting kids, reference to possible attack (it's a very quick reference, nothing too bady). Word Count: 2831 Summary: Reader is learning new things about her new boss while working. A/N: hey buddies, If I've missed anything or something needs to be tagged please message me and I'll fix that. I don't do cw's till I'm making the post... thank you all so much for the support! i really do appreciate it. check out my masterlist!

previous part series masterlist next part

Even though it’d been a full week, it’d probably been the weirdest week of my life. I didn’t know Wes also helped exotic animals. Kurt just did cats, dogs, and the typical house pet. Wes did cats, dogs, and the typical house pet, but he also did birds, snakes, rabbits, hedgehogs, and so far… my personal favorite, sugar gliders, and he was the one in the clinic who took care of the babies.

Compared to Kurt, Wes was a lot nicer when it came to bedside manner and taking care of animals. Not that Kurt wasn’t nice or anything. He was just older and was maybe a little too blunt. Watching Wes take care of a kitten or a puppy made my heart actually melt. No wonder why people loved him.

“Alright, Wes, this is Daisy Mae. She’s 8 weeks old, and her owner just wanted a check-up,” I explained to Wes as we walked into the exam room. A father with a young girl - who couldn’t be much older than 5 - was sitting on the bench, holding a small Beagle.

“Daisy Mae! What an adorable name,” Wes exclaimed as he looked between the young girl and her puppy. The young girl looked up at Wes with a shy smile before hiding her face into her dad’s arm. “Did you name her?” he asked as he squatted down to look between Daisy Mae and the girl.

“Yeah,” she giggled as she lifted her head from her dad’s arm. The girl looked at Wes and smiled. “Daddy got her for me,” she explained as she pointed at the pup.

“Is it okay if we look over Daisy Mae? We gotta make sure she’s healthy,” Wes looked at the girl, who was playing with the pup’s ear. “And then when we’re done, you can keep playing with her,” his voice dropped to a whisper.

“Okay,” she whispered as she looked up at Wes. I smiled softly as Wes scooped the puppy up from the dad’s lap and brought her over to me and the counter.

“Look at this good girl,” Wes cooed as he ran his thumb over Daisy Mae’s forehead. She lifted her head up into Wes’ hand, searching for more pets. “Who’s a good puppy,” he whispered as his thumb ran over the bump on her head. I smiled as I watched him with the pup. It was literally the cutest thing I’ve ever seen… Ever. My heart was in a puddle on the ground the longer I watched Wes with Daisy Mae. “Do you want to grab me a biscuit?” He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh! Sure,” I replied before turning around and grabbing a small handful of Milkbone biscuits. They were the small kind, small enough for a puppy. “Here you are,” I said with a smile as I handed them over to Wes.

“Thank you.” Wes smiled at me as he took two from me. He carefully fed them to the pup as he looked her over. “Daisy Mae here seems to be perfectly healthy!” he exclaimed as he scooped the pup into his arms and went back to the girl. She was sitting on the very edge of her seat, watching Wes and me with caution. “If you wanna give her more treats, I’m sure she’ll love you forever.”

“Really?!”

“Really. And if you give Daisy Mae extra, extra love and attention, she’ll love you forever times infinity.”

“You’re lyin’.”

“I’m not! Am I lying?” Wes turned and looked at me. I looked between him, the pup, and the young girl.

“Of course not! Puppies, like Daisy Mae, live off love and treats!” I exclaimed as I looked at her. She smiled brightly before looking at Wes.

“What do you say, Bean?” The girl’s dad asked as Wes gave Daisy Mae back to him. The little girl smiled before burying her face into her dad’s arm, instantly trying to hide from Wes.

“Tank you,” she mumbled as she shyly looked at Wes again. I smiled as Wes stood up and stepped away from the girl and her father.

“It was no problem, really. If you guys need help with anything else you can give us a call,” Wes explained as he looked at the dad. After a brief few minutes of banter, the dad and girl left us to clean and move on with the day.

Wes stayed in the room and helped me clean up, although the mess wasn’t too bad. I could have done it myself while he did other things. I shouldn’t complain, it was nice to have the help. And once we were finished cleaning the room, we walked side by side back towards the lobby.

“I didn’t realize you were so good with kids and babies. Have you always been this good with babies? And kids too? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you interact with kids,” I nervously chuckled. Maybe he has kids. That would explain why he’s so nice and has such a great bedside manner. “Do you have kids?” I realized I probably shouldn’t have asked that, as the words were leaving my mouth. If I could take them back, I would. But they were already in the universe, and there was no such thing as “take-backs” in adulthood. It was a good thing that Wes seemed amused by my question.

“Oh! I have a niece who’s 6,” Wes laughed as he looked over at me. Oh… So no kids. He seemed pretty content without them too.

“Well, do you want kids?” I raised an eyebrow as I looked over at him. He laughed again and shrugged. Again, if I could take back my question, I would. But the words were already out and in the open and it was too late. I was curious. Fuck, I should just stop being so curious about this man.

“If I meet the right person, and it’ll depend on if they want kids,” he explained as we stepped behind the counter. He looked back at me with a soft, yet knowing, smile across his lips. So he wanted kids, but only if his girlfriend wanted them? He never really did answer my question, did he?

We were the only two people in the lobby. In fact. We were the last two people in the clinic. It’s been that way the last few nights. Wes stayed behind to work on some extra paperwork, and I stayed to help him catch up a bit. How the hell does this man have a social life if he’s always working? It’s impressive, I’ll give him that. But I could never. I already struggle with my social life and all my friends work in the same clinic as me.

Wes quietly sat down as he looked through a few files. Part of me wanted to take half the stack from him, but I’m sure he wanted to process these ones on his own. I’ll let him. I need to go soon anyway.

“And what if they don’t want kids?”

“It’s not a deal-breaker. Sure I want kids. But I’m not going to give up the possible love of my life for them,” he said as he looked up at me with a small smile. “Besides… I’m 40. I think my time for kids might have passed,” he laughed lightly. I stared at him and furrowed my eyebrows.

“It’s not too late for you to have kids. I mean Alec Baldwin is in his 60s and he just had kids. Same with George Clooney.” I shrugged and looked at the ground. I, personally, didn’t think 40 was that old to become a first-time parent. And he’s already so good with animals and kids… God, stop that. I shouldn’t be thinking about a life with my fucking boss. Idiot...

“I guess you’re right, Babes,” Wes said with a smile. I stared at him and shrugged again. “What about you? Do you want kids? You’re still young.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m too busy being your assistant to even think about dating,” I mumbled as I looked at the files he had gone back to reading. “I’m more worried about work than my dating life, I guess,” I quickly added.

“Is this you asking for fewer hours?” Wes looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. I laughed and shook my head. “Okay, good, because I know I fucked up that one time, but I already like having you as my assistant.”

“No, no, I meant that I’d rather just focus on work right now rather than dating. Especially in this weird transition time with moving from Kurt to you.”

“Ah, okay, okay, that makes sense. It’d be a shame if you left me after a week,” Wes hummed as he looked over his shoulder and up at me. I smiled and shook his head.

“You’d have to fuck up a little more than forgetting my party,” I laughed as I looked back at him. “Although, my parents do want to meet you.” I looked away from him. His laughter is what brought my attention back to him.

“What am I? Your boyfriend?” Wes asked as he laughed. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Although it did feel like that… My parents were to blame though.

“No, no it’s just… I’ve worked with Kurt since I’ve been here, and my parents are good friends with him… They just wanted to meet you. Make sure you aren’t a douchebag or something,” I nervously laughed.

“I see, I see. Well, you can tell them that I’m not a douchebag. Just a busy guy. Just like their daughter.” He pointed out. I rolled my eyes again as I finally put the files I was holding. “Thank you for your help today.”

“Of course. Daisy Mae needed help. Her owners brought her to the best vet I know.” I smiled as I walked around the counter. Wes silently watched me as I reached over and grabbed a pen.

“You taking off for the night?”

“Yeah, yeah, my cat needs to be fed and I have some stuff at home I need to take care of. Do you need me for anything else?” I asked as I pocketed the pen.

“No. But if you want to wait five minutes I’ll walk you out, just so you don’t have to walk outside in the dark alone. I’d hate it if something bad happened to you because of my negligence,” Wes said as he looked at me. I stared at him and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s probably smart. Don’t want to give my parents another reason to hate you,” I laughed. Wes smiled and shook his head. “I’ll have to get a taser or mace or something… Especially if I’m spending a lot of late nights here,” I sighed and leaned over the counter. Wes laughed and nodded.

“Typically we walk out together.” The way the words left his mouth sounded like he was hurt, or offended, that I said I should get something to keep myself safe. He really wanted me to wait for him, I suppose it was a good thing I didn’t have any plans tonight.

“Yeah but the nights we don’t leave at the same time? Like tonight?”

“True, true,” Wes started before looking up at me with a raised brow. “Don’t you take the bus anyway?”

“Yeah, yeah, I do. My apartment is too expensive to pay for parking. And gas… Gas in LA is expensive,” I laughed before nodding. “Or usually I’ll take an Uber or Lyft.”

“But those can cost a lot, too.”

“Get back to work, Wes,” I laughed as I nodded at his papers. He shot me a glare before looking back down at his files.

“Aren’t I your boss?”

“Yeah, but you’re going so slow, Wes,” I sighed as I leaned over the counter. Wes looked up at me as he continued writing whatever it was he was writing. “I could be home by now.”

“I can guarantee you wouldn’t be home by now because there’s probably half a dozen stops between here and your apartment.” Okay, maybe he was right...

“Yeah? And?” I asked as I looked at him. Wes rolled his eyes before shaking his head.

“Look, look, I’m almost done. Why don’t you go and shut the lights out and by the time you get back I’ll be done,” Wes offered as he looked between me and the stack of files. I rolled my eyes before walking away.

“Can I just do this extra work tomorrow?” I asked as I shut the closest lights off. “Then you can help me shut the lights off.”

“You really want to get home.”

“Been a long day.”

“If you promise me you’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Duh, that’s why I asked,” I muttered. Wes laughed as he stood up from the chair. “I promise I’ll work on it between patients and on my break.”

“Sweet. I wanted to leave now anyway,” he said as he followed me down the hall to shut the lights off.

“You’re like the chillest boss I’ve ever had.”

“Do you want me to be a hardass?”

“Uh… No?”

“Correct answer,” Wes laughed as he shut the lights off on one side of the hall.

I kept my eyes on the file in front of me. All the other vet techs were crowding around me, talking to each other while I worked on the stack of files from last night. Because I was so desperate to get home, I promised I’d work on these during my break… Mistake on my part…

“I’ve heard he’s got a massive dick,” one of the techs said. I looked up at all of them and noticed they were staring at Wes, who was talking to one of the other doctors. He wasn’t wearing scrubs like everyone else. He was wearing black slacks with a lilac button-up. His lab coat hung off his shoulders and… I understood why everyone was staring…

“With an ass and face like that? I would hope he’s got a massive cock,” someone else said, pulling my attention to the people around me.

“I’d fuck him.”

“Will you shut up, please. He’s my boss,” I begged as I looked at each person around me. Jessica looked down at me with a smirk. She cocked her hip the longer she stared at me.

“What? Don’t you have a crush on Doctor Taylor? Don’t you want him to fuck you, Babes,” she said with a smirk. I glared at her, feeling my heart race in my chest. This wasn’t high school.

First of all, rude for her to just call me out like that. Especially in front of the other vet techs. IT was a small crush anyway. He was my boss now and I knew better than to act on those feelings now. I’d be better off ignoring how I felt towards him now more than ever.

“What!? No! I don’t!” I shouted, pushing myself away from the desk, only to nearly fall off the chair. “Even if I did, I’m not his type.”

“Who says? He’d probably fuck every living thing if he could.”

“You don’t have to make it seem like he’s a whore. Jesus. And that’s not what I mean. You know what I meant.”

“Oh! That you’re a virgin?”

“Will you please stop talking? Please. Work is my main focus right now. Not a relationship. Not sleeping with Wes. Not anythi-”

“Good afternoon, Ladies,” Wes said from behind me.

“Wes!” I shouted before turning around to face him. I could feel a familiar, and unwelcomed, blaze grow across my face. I really hope the embarrassment I was feeling wasn’t as obvious on my face. “It is a good afternoon! Isn’t it?” I asked as I looked at him, then over at the vet techs. But to my surprise, they had all scurried off… Leaving me to fend for myself. Great, just awesome. Of course, they’d do that to me.

“How’s the filing going?” Wes asked. I looked up at him and watched as he cringed slightly as he looked at the still tall stack he left.

“It’s going. About a third of the way through… Should be done by the end of the night,” I chuckled lightly as I rested my hand on the stack. Wes nodded, causing me to look up at him. “What’s got you so dressed up? Laundry day?”

“That’s the easy answer,” he laughed as he looked down at his attire. I smiled and watched him smooth out his shirt.

“Do I want to know the long answer?”

“I have a date after and I figured it’d just be easier to wear this…” He explained as he looked back at me. I hummed and nodded. A date. Whatever, it’s not really any of my business. “But I’ll have to call her and reschedule. I don’t want you staying here too late working on those.”

“Oh. No, no. Really, I can take them home and work on them.”

“It’s the weekend. I won’t allow you to work on them over the weekend.”

He wanted to stay and help. Shut up, he's just being nice.

“If you say so. It’s your date you’re canceling.” I shrugged as I looked up at him. Wes laughed and nodded.

“I better leave you to work. Don’t want to leave a bunch of work for the end of the night. I’ll beep you if I need any help,” Wes said before winking at me. I stared at him, watching as he walked away.

“Sure, you don’t have a crush on him,” Jessica said as he reappeared by me. I jumped and looked over at her.

“Shut up.”

“I’m sure he’d be a great lay for a first-time sex haver. He seems like… a gentle lover,” she said as she dramatically leaned over the counter. I glared at her, watching her lift a hand to her face. “So… Attentive.”

“Jessica, shut the fuck up.”

“I’m just saying. He’s going to cancel his date just to stay late and help you. Maybe he’ll fuck you after.”

“Jessica,” I spat. She smirked at me before standing up properly.

“If I didn’t have my own things to do, I’d stay and talk to you, just to make you stay later. But I have shit I have to do.”

“Thanks.” I watched as she walked away, leaving me alone at the desk.

Finally… I can work in quiet.

if you have any questions or comments about this part (or series) let me know here! 

Part Five

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Prominence [WCh. 47]

Social Media AU ; Idol AU ; Added Unit AU

TW: Language

CW: None

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Pairing: NCT x Idol!Reader, Park Seonghwa x Idol!Reader, Ft. Yangyang and WayV

Y/N Pronouns: Female (She/Her)

(W47/?) [Previous] | [Next]

[Main Masterlist] | [Prominence Masterlist]

Word Count: 2.0K

Notes: Couldn't get this mini-scenario out of my head hehe, should be a fairly quick read! Also ahem another kind of header muahaha what can it mean?

Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

That's how it started, at least.

Yangyang would count himself to be rather good with animals, he'd actually flex it sometimes. Plus, you were a dear friend of his and he wants to help you out whenever he could, he was happy to help, actually. You had helped him out so many times, after all, this was the least he could do for you. Hell, he'd run off to another country if you asked, he'd give you hell for it first, but he'd do it.

So... how?

How did he lose a whole dog?!

"Yangyang! Quit spacing out and look for him!" Xiaojun shouts, his hands digging in his hair while he runs around the park. They're fucking screwed if they can't find this dog. Panic was an obvious expression on both of their faces while they tried to retrace their steps to find the mischievous pup. "How did you lose him anyway?!"

"Give me a break! He's like a foot tall!" He swears that he was just petting him a few minutes ago, he couldn't figure out when it happened. All he knew was that you asked for a photo of him and he tugged the leash, only to find that Mars had chewed away the rope to run off.

When he says his life flashed before his eyes, he means it. He saw it all, his birth, his school days, his medically-induced-coma dream, his audition, his debut, all of it.

"What the hell were you doing to lose him?!" Xiaojun looks around frantically. He cups his hands around his mouth. "Mars! Come here, boy! Your mom is going to be very worried!"

"And fucking pissed," Yangyang gulps. He only vaguely remembered the last time you were truly angry, it's something that's not easy to do when it comes to you. You just weren't the type to get mad at anything really. But, dear god, may these boys be watched upon by some higher force when you find out that they lost your son, your pride and joy. "Mars! Here, boy! Do you want some treats?!" Yangyang shook the bag and Bella came bounding towards him. Then, it hit him. He crouched down. "Bella? Do you want to be a good girl?" The beagle's tail wagged back and forth excitedly. Yangyang pulled Mars' star chew toy out of his bag and held it by Bella for her to smell it. "Go! Go find Mars!" Bella stayed put, tail wagging back and forth and, if anything, expecting Yangyang to throw the toy for her to fetch.

"Do not tell me that you thought that would work," Xiaojun says with a distraught expression. He'd only heard of rumors of your anger. It had only occurred once during ANiMA promotions, but he'd never want to be on the receiving end of it.

"Oh, shut up, it's your fault for not training her that way," Yangyang pouts.

"Excuse me?!"

"Now is not the time to argue!" Kun returns with Hendery. "We asked around, but no one's seen him. Are you sure he was still with us while we walked here?"

"Yes, absolutely, I was holding his leash," Yangyang says. He took a few pictures too, Mars had to at least be at the park. That is, unless he ran off into the streets.

"We should just call (Y/N)-"

"No!" Three frantic voices silenced Kun.

"She's going to kill us," Hendery says through grit teeth. "Haven't you heard the story of when that one stalker fan got into the waiting room? The table cracked, Kun. If she hit it any harder we would've had to pay for it!"

"Rumor says that she was smiling the whole time... it's so eerie..." Xiaojun shivers.

"What? No way, (Y/N)'s an angel. She hardly ever gets mad."

"Around you, maybe!" Hendery argues. "Don't you think that the fact that (Y/N) doesn't get mad means that when she does she does. All that pent-up rage from just internalizing it, oh man, we're so screwed..."

"Look, look, we can't risk it. It's not worth it. I'm not going to have my contract end in death because we lost Mars. We are going to find this dog if it kills us," Xiaojun's voice trembles. He looks around the park. "Let's do quads. I'll take the upper right."

"Upper left," Yangyang volunteers.

"Bottom right," Kun nods.

"Bottom left then," Hendery says.

"Meet back here in thirty," Kun instructs. "Move out!"

If only they looked behind them.

Mars trotted along the sidewalk, chewed leash dragging behind him while he explored the area. It felt like a new place for him, he hadn't gone out in quite some time and he was the kind to stop and enjoy the roses. Although, it did look somewhat familiar to him. He turns around. Ah! Now it was familiar, he went here with his dad before! HIs dad and that strange loud one who always gave him treats! Mars darts around the park, surely, he must be here somewhere? He wasn't particularly fond of the one who dragged him here at the moment, he only played nice because of the other dog that was there and he wanted to impress her.

Mars stops in his tracks, ears pointed up and listening.

"There you are," Yangyang blocks his way. Mars whimpers. "Come on now, your mom wants a picture," Yangyang says slowly. "Oh shit," it dawns on him.

He left you on read.

"Mars, come here, boy!" Yangyang crouches down and clicks his tongue. Mars takes a step back. "Please don't run, I'm begging you."

Mars runs.

"I haven't done this much cardio since NCT World 2.0," Yangyang heaves and runs after the dog. Mars weaved in and out between people, Yangyang stumbling behind and struggling to keep up. Until, finally, the dog came to a halt and sat down. Yangyang caught up to him and fell to his knees, grabbing the dog quickly. "Gotcha! Ha, you thought you could stay away from me! Think twice you brat you're just like your mom!"

"Who are you calling a brat?" Yangyang stopped moving entirely. He looked down at the dirtied pair of converse in front of him, the very same ones he had mocked a certain someone about earlier that week. Then he looked up. You looked down at him expectantly, arms folded and clearly trying to read the situation. With lips pressed together in a tight line, your eyes scanned the situation. "Oh, did he chew through another one of his leashes? I keep telling Hwa not to give him these ones, but he doesn't listen," you clicked your tongue. Yangyang stood up, Mars still in his arms and with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had schedule..." You pointed down across the street.

"We were filming some content in that studio over there, and Seonghwa came to visit so now we're on break."

"Seonghwa?" Yangyang looked over your shoulder, spotting the man in line for the coffee truck.

"What a fun coincidence," you laughed. "I'll ignore that you left me on read for an hour, looks like Mars gave you a hard time," you reached over and plucked a twig from his hair and handed it to him. "I don't know what's up with him, he always seems to act up around you, I swear he's usually much more behaved," you shook your head. You pet Mars' head nonetheless. Seonghwa looks over and spots Yangyang. Your phone rings and you picked it up quickly. "Hello? Oh! It's the funniest thing, the other WayV members are here with Mars!" You looked over at Yangyang. "Hwa's asking if you want anything."

"Uh, tell him no thanks."

"He said he doesn't want anything," you said into the speaker. You hang up the phone and put it away. "He's getting you an americano," you smiled. "Thanks for helping out with Mars, I'm so sorry he's been running all over the place, I guess he just gets excited when he's outdoors. Is it just you here?" You took Mars from him and held the nearly full-grown dog in your own arms. "Mars, no more giving Yangyang a hard time, okay?" Mars tilts his head as if he understood.

"Oh, nah, the other guys are here too-"

"I CAN'T FIND THE DOG!" Xiaojun yelled from what looked like a mile away. He jogged up to Yangyang with Bella excitedly trotting close behind. Yangyang turned around to meet him, and Xiaojun placed his hands on his shoulders. "Don't tell (Y/N), we'll just find another shiba that looks just like him."

"Now, now, why would you replace my darling Mars?" You peered from behind Yangyang and Xiaojun does a double-take. In an instant, he's smiling despite the obvious exhaustion when he notices a certain dog in your hands.

"No reason! Haha!" Xiaojun's laugh could not have sounded any more fake. You blinked once and Yangyang already knew that you pieced together what happened. Soon, Kun and Hendery spotted the group and walked over.

"Ah, (Y/N)! I'm guessing Yangyang called you," Kun says once he reaches the group. "I told you guys that nothing would happen if you just came clean and told (Y/N) that you lost Mars."

"You guys lost Mars?" You looked among them. Hendery's expression drops. "Oh my god, relax, it all worked out in the end, Mars is still safe and sound, just without a leash," you waved your hand and placed the shiba down, who then sat obediently next to you. "But... if you did lose him..." you smiled, "that would be a different story." Yangyang could swear that he felt shivers run down his spine.

"Hello!" Seonghwa walks up next to you holding two coffee carriers in one hand and a large paper bag in another. He places the bag down and hands one of the carriers to Kun. "That's for you guys, call it thanks for watching Mars, he's a bit of a handful."

"Oh, you didn't have to, but thank you," Kun takes the carrier and hands out the cups to the other WayV members. Seonghwa hands you yours and his coffee and folds the carrier before putting it in the large bag. "What's the bag for, if you don't mind me asking."

"More coffee for the staff," Seonghwa answers. "Everyone looked a bit tired so I figured I'd get some for them," he says. You glance at the time on your phone.

"Ah, we should be heading back before break ends then, still need time to drink these, you guys take care!" You waved and looped your arm around Seonghwa's.

"Good luck with the rest of filming!" Hendery waves also while they watch you leave.

"Oh no you don't," Yangyang hands Xiaojun his coffee and picks up Mars. "You're staying with me for the rest of the day now." Mars doesn't argue and just watches you walk off. Xiaojun clears his throat and nudges Yangyang.

"And you called me the second male lead," he laughs. Yangyang's face turns beet red.

"Oh, shut up," Yangyang scoffs and walks ahead of them.

"There's nothing wrong with being the second male lead, Yangyang! At least it means you get to be her best friend," Kun joins in.

"Yeah! You're less likely to have a huge argument that leads to you two hating each other for the duration of the drama before overcoming your differences and being lovers again!" Hendery adds on.

"Too real, Hendery," Xiaojun mutters.

"It's getting late, let's head back to the dorms," Yangyang says loudly, ignoring the three's teasing behind him. Mars barks expectantly and Yangyang just rubs the area behind his ears. "Good boy, you're helping me earn brownie points."

General Tag List: @vickylamore @deobis-moon @mizzdivagirl7-blog @sehunnies-hunnie96 @yangsrose @bat-shark-repellant @cloudreads @raeincitizen @here-aeth @lune1897 @gaiyofanfiction @jaeminsespresso

NCT Tag List: @cherrylovr @eggoyu

Prominence: @nuoyii @leesalts @jiheonie @naphthalene-ball @thejungjaehyun @minimochi24 @mythicalamphitrite @zwiehe @sunaispretty @uzumakioden @billboard-singer

If you want to be added to either tag list just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Domestic life; Ben Hardy x reader

*Author’s note*

Here is a cute little drabble request I got from my Wattpad account, I had hoped to have also posted this yesterday but oh well (I mean the fic doesn’t really revolve around Valentine’s day but it’s still fluffy enough to be counted as such). So enjoy this sweet little drabble. 

Warnings: Fluffy till your teeth rot. Lockdowns due to COVID (BUT THAT’S IT. Just the word and mention of just lockdowns in general).

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queensdivas

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queen-paladin

@wormzteef

@geek-and-proud​

@queendeakyy​

__________________________________________________________

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, even though I didn’t want to.  My arms raised over my head as I let out a tired groan and stretched myself out and let out a soft yawn.  I then looked over to my left and saw the man of life sleeping right beside me.  His golden locks looked like a halo under the rare chance we had a sunny day in London.

His tattoos exposed from his nightshirt, my favorite of course being his lion nose and mouth tattoo.  Those soft cute snores that came off his lips (even though he tries to deny it), and his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. I raised my hand up and couldn’t help but lightly stroke the shape of his tattoo, very faintly tracing the curve of the nose, sliding my finger down the straight line before swaying across the bottom curve of the mouth.

“You know we could get you a matching set.” Ben’s sleepy baritone voice spoke up.  I looked up at him and said.

“If we did it’d have to be washable. You know how I am around needles.” He chuckled softly and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in closer.  “Did you sleep good?”

“I slept great. You?”

“Like a rockfish.” He placed a kiss to my forehead and we just looked into each other’s eyes.  “So what shall it be today?”

“Well you know WandaVision premieres today so wanna check it out?”

“I still can’t believe you made me binge the entire MCU movies during our lockdown.”

“And you loved it admit it. Hell Benny boy you were in the Marvel Universe. Granted it was solely owned by Sony before Disney bought the rights but it’s still the Marvel fandom.”

“So after that, then what shall we do?”

“Well we really can’t go anywhere so……wanna just have a lazy day in? No work out day, order take out for our three meals and maybe—fool around?” I teased with a wink.

“You are a cheeky mix.” He then captured my lips with his.

“Yes but—you did asked me to marry you. Which I’m surprised by the way.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as he began to kiss down my neck.

“Don’t act stupid Ben. I know about that affair with Joe and your little side hustle with Gwil. I swear it’s like I married 3 men instead of 1.”

“You knew what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to marry me.” He said as he hovered over me.

“Yes I know.” He chuckled as he pecked my lips. Then again, and again and again. I giggled and playfully pushed him off of me and said. “Alright you human golden retriever.”

“You know that if I were going to be a dog, I’d be a beagle like Frankie.”

“Nah you’re a golden retriever. Silly, goofy, and loving all the way.” I bopped his nose before getting up and headed downstairs to let Frankie out into the backyard to go pee.

As soon as she saw me, she got out from her bed and I greeted her with a ruffle and scratch on her head.

“Hey there baby girl, ready for breakfast?” her head cocked to the side as her tail began wagging softly. “Come on let’s have breakfast.” She got out of her bed and trailed me to the kitchen.  I reached in and grabbed her dog food and dumbed a good amount into her dog bowl and she immediately started scarfing it down.

I began preparing breakfast and as I cracked the last egg, I felt Ben’s arms wrap around me and felt a kiss at my temple.

“You make the best omelets ever.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” I teased him.

“Who says I’m trying to flatter you? I’m stating pure fact.” I smiled at him.

“Well how about you give me a hand here instead of just standing there looking pretty.” He chuckled softly and saluted to me.

“Just tell me what to do Captain.” I then told him what to give me next and I proceeded to finish making the omelets.

Once they were done, Ben and I went over to the living room and I started up Disney+ to play the first 2 episodes of WandaVision.

“Okay so remind me again, is this before or after Endgame?” asked Ben.

“I wanna say this is after Endgame. Again I’ve been a little confused as to the timeline or what exactly is the time period here. All I know is that it’s like a sitcom now. And I can see that they’ve definitely gotten the exact cinematography down. You see how it’s a full screen and them using a single camera.”

“God I love it when you talk cinematography like that.”

“Sorry if I come across as annoying while we watch this.”

“No, no, no, no, no it’s fine. Really. It means you’ve got a good eye for camera angels. Remember when Dexter allowed you to film us when we were doing the We will rock you scene?”

“It was only for 10 minutes while he went to talk with the costuming department and to get him his 10th cup of coffee.”

“Still, he was amazed at the fact you helped with blocking and what you had already filmed. So much so we had it in the film.” I softly smiled and we continued to watch the episode, then watched the second one.

As the day went on, Ben and I kept watching various films as well as taking Frankie out for her walks.  The sun was just starting to set and Ben said.

“Alright one last movie of the day, I feel like if I keep eating more popcorn I won’t be able to fit into these sweats anymore.”

“I wouldn’t mind that. Whether you have a 6 pack or a bit of a pooh bear tummy, I’d love you either way.” He blushed at my compliment and scrunched himself into a ball as I poked his tummy.

“Alright so what shall our last movie be tonight?”

“Well, how about we do Gwil’s movie Top End Wedding?” Ben pondered before saying.

“Okay. Any reason why?”

“Well I—he and I may have talked about that shortly after it came out and I might have told him I’d already seen it when actually I didn’t.” I wearily said.

“Oh I see so you-you lied to my best mate about a movie he was in and wanted your opinion on.”

“Oh coming from you Mr. Oh yes I’ve drummed since I was 12!” I sassed back at him.  He shushed me and covered my mouth with his hand.  I pushed his hand away from my mouth and said. “So can we watch it? I’ve been busy and you know it.”

“Yeah I know love, you know I was just teasing.” He wrapped his arm over my shoulder and switched over to Hulu now and we found Gwil’s movie.  I’ll admit it took me by surprise (I mean based off the trailers I’ve seen it pretty much told the whole story) but the humor and message it sent out really spoke volumes that no other romcom has ever done before.

Plus the aerial shots were just amazing.  The way the cameras would pan over the river or the ridges, you can’t fake that breathtaking view with CGI.  After the movie was over, I let out a soft yawn.

“You tired?” questioned Ben.  I nodded, barely able to keep my eyes open any longer. “Alright, come on then you. Let’s get you into bed.” I moaned softly and held my arms out.

“Carry me.” I heard him chuckle but I felt him lift me up in his arms bridal style and he carried me all the way to our bedroom.

He set me down on the bed and cuddled up close to me before putting the duvet over us.  I automatically placed my head over his chest and placed my arm over his stomach while his arms came around me.

“I had fun today.” I said as I nuzzled into his chest.

“Me too. It’s nice to just kick back and relax for the day. Thank you babe.”

“Anything for my handsome boy.” He kissed the top of my head and soon the two of us cuddled closer (even though I don’t know how much closer we could be at this point) to one another till finally we fell fast asleep.

[letterful]

professional vibe diagnosis: bee @brownpaperhag​​ 💛

KEY TERMS: matriarchs, prophetesses, sorceresses, wise women, afrofuturism, polish vintage, textile design, embroidery, handiwork, architecture, material objects, physicality, the sense of touch, the joys of listmaking, taxonomy, morphology, cataloguing, speculative fiction, short stories.

media recommendations under the cut!

— when it comes to speculative short stories, Small Beer Press is where it’s at, and Kelly Link, its founder, is one of my favourite authors, ever. i’d recommend starting with Pretty Monsters! or this particular tale (about Eastern European diaspora, by the by). — Sofia Samatar’s Tender is another splendid collection, and this is probably my favourite story of hers. — also, if you don’t feel like committing to a single author, there’s always some great anthologies; i’d especially recommend The New Voices of Fantasy (edited by Peter Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn!), anything edited by the VanderMeers, and Fantastic Women: 18 Tales of the Surreal and the Sublime. — (re: afrofuturism) while it’s still on my tbr list, one of my closest friends (whose taste is impeccable, and who is responsible for recommending me some of my now-favourite books) swears by Nnedi Okorafor's Binti novels, and i trust her with my life. also, Rosewater by Tade Thompson! i still need to read the other books in the series, ah. — (re: elderly female protagonists) Angela Carter’s Wise Children, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić, The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (!), Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, anything by Maggie Atwood, honestly. — Anna Swir! there are very few writers who have managed to capture the joys and woes of womanhood (in its various stages) as well as she did. i wanted to link her poems in their original polish, but? they’re not available online? there’s plenty of quality english translations, though! (x) (x) (x) (x) also, this article <3 (In Świrszczyńska’s poetry, the woman gives birth not only to children but also to the world. She appears in many different roles which are very often expressed in the first person: mother, daughter, loving, desiring, tender and grieving, crying after the deceased, taking care of the wounded, wild but very practical...) — this poem by Wisława Szymborska! (here in polish) — for some reason, your blog really reminds me of the latter part of Twig’s home with you music video... it inspired the moodboard, actually! — White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi (but also her short stories!) (also, this article on her <3), — The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin (it won three Hugos!), — anything written by Olga Tokarczuk! i already mentioned Drive Your Plow..., but her entire bibliography is simply bewitching. — Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (imaginary cityscapes! poetic architecture!), — The Infinity of Lists by Umberto Eco (a personal fave, although it’s rather difficult to acquire), — Lists of Note (to be perfectly honest, it’s more of a coffee table book than anything of substance, but it’s entertaining nonetheless) — List Cultures: Knowledge and Poetics from Mesopotamia to BuzzFeed, — A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order, — The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History, — The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, — The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine, — Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle, — The Beauty of Everyday Things, — Fewer, Better Things: The Hidden Wisdom of Objects, — The Secret Lives of Color, — The Poetics of Space (the fact that Mark Danielewski—of House of Leaves fame—wrote a foreword for this edition... yeah), — Architecture and Violence (re: your pinned post!) — some of my absolute favourite books about architecture and design were originally written in polish (and never translated into english, alas), and i can’t help but include at least some of them (plus, they’re a much more enjoyable way of keeping up with the language than duolingo and its hematologia): Miejski grunt. 250 lat polskiej gry z nowoczesnością, Wyroby. Pomysłowość wokół nas, Wanna z kolumnadą, Duchologia polska. Rzeczy i ludzie w latach transformacji, Ukryty modernizm. Warszawa według Christiana Kereza, Miasto Archipelag. Polska mniejszych miast, Źle urodzone. Reportaże o architekturze PRL-u. — speaking of polishness! i think you’d really enjoy sung poetry. here are some of my faves (my taste in music is that of a typical babcia): (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

[trashyswitch]

Easter In The Sanders House

Thomas gets to celebrate Easter weekend with the sides! Patton plans a full day of Easter fun, which gets a little out of hand quickly thanks to Remus...But a dose of innocence should do him some good! (or 50 doses)

Some dirty talk and swearing because...Remus. Also, I have personally ruined my own childhood with this fanfic. -_- But I'll be okay. I promise! Happy Easter everyone!

Easter was usually a house favorite in the mind palace. Though it was a little different this year thanks to COVID, Thomas and the sides could still celebrate it together. They all lived in the same household, which helped a lot. And some of them were capable of conjuring up anything! So the sides could make just about anything if they put their minds to it.

The sides started off with decorating the house with easter stuff. Bits of it were homemade, some of it was conjured up, and a few of the decorations were bought. Example: the huge stuffed bunny. Thomas had bought a medium-sized bunny from Wal-mart, and Patton took it upon himself to make it even bigger! And…

...It ended up being 7 feet tall…

But Patton was LOVING it! He would cuddle it non-stop, ‘feed’ it stuffy carrots, and even brush its belly fur with an old hairbrush. It was quite endearing to watch, as well as a little strange. The father figure would even give it blankets and make it look like a jedi knight. It was actually quite hilarious to see the gigantic bunny looking like the Jawa without the double sash or the gun. Everyone both loved it, and hated it at the same time. Virgil even went as far as to say ‘That’s cursed’! And...he has a point.

The rest of the decorations were banners with hanging eggs, baskets filled with fake grass and plastic eggs, bouquets of real and fake flowers all over the place, and mini egg bowls around the house. There were even little bunnies popping out of mugs placed onto the dining table for decoration! That was Roman’s favorite decoration.

Just like he usually did, Patton set up a little Easter egg hunt of plastic eggs filled wih treats and other little things. This year however, Patton wanted to improvise with extra little items…

Thomas and all 6 of the sides were all ready with their own baskets. The sides’ baskets matched their clothes, while Thomas had a pink basket. Logan was the first to critique Patton’s childish games. “Patton...A little reminder that we’re all in our 30’s. We’re getting a little too old for-”

Patton looked at Logan with a ‘seriously?’ look and squeezed his side. “Hush your piehole. Santa may not exist but no one lets that stop us from celebrating Christmas.” Patton warned casually.

Logan jumped and moved a step away from Pat. “Fine. Touché.” Logan responded.

Roman and Remus both snapped their neck towards Patton. “SANTA DOESN’T EXIST?!”

Logan facepalmed and shook his head while Patton giggled into his hand. “On your mark silly geese!” Patton called. Everyone got into their push position to start running at the ready. “Get set...GO!”

Everyone started running around the house while Logan and Patton just walked. Patton was watching the six boys run around the house with their baskets. There were eggs literally everywhere! And some of them had chocolate, others had origami creations, A few had glitter, a few had cute quotes written in slips of papers like an easter fortune cookie, and other had…

“...An acorn?” Janus asked.

Logan looked over and widened his eyes. “That’s a chestnut oak acorn. They’re an oval-sized breed of acorn.” Logan told him. “They’re usually in more eastern states though. So how did you get it here?” Logan asked.

“I conjured it!” Patton replied. “Good thing you know your trees. You’re gonna enjoy the other eggs near there…” Patton hinted.

Logan looked around for the eggs, opened them up and gasped as he very gently removed it. “A butterfly wing!” Logan very delicately held it in his hand. “It’s...beautiful!” Logan admitted with a smile. Patton smiled happily upon seeing his reaction.

Virgil moved to his bedroom and noticed that there were eggs hidden in there. Virgil opened up, and laughed as he removed them from the plastic egg: They were pins! There was a pin with a salt shaker that said ‘Salty’ on it, a pin of a black cat standing on a skull, a pin of a black rose and a pin with a black cat holding a fish. They were so small and yet, so up his alley. There would end up being more pins, being enamel and backpack versions. It was nice and thoughtful. Sometimes there were dark parts about spring that Virgil enjoyed. And he was thankful that Patton advocated for him.

Logan was having a wonderful time looking at all the spring items hidden in the eggs. There were Chinese Lanterns, walnuts, strawberry seeds, and more! There were even tiny squares that when unravelled, revealed recipe’s that involved Crofter’s Jam! And he even managed to fit Crofters store coupons into the plastic eggs! Logan was smiling and hugging Patton. “Thank you very much Patton. I appreciate the many kind gestures. And I apologize for the insensitive words I said earlier. You can still find ways for 30 year old men to enjoy Easter.” Logan told him.

Patton giggled and hugged him back. “Oh! And one more thing:” Patton conjured up a bunny ear headband. Logan’s smile dropped and he hung his head. “Really? Bunny ears?” Logan asked with a small smile.

Patton giggled. “Do you not remember our promise? You promised during March break that you were gonna wear bunny ears!” Patton reminded him.

“I am aware of my promise, but I’m starting to regret making such a promise.” Logan admitted.

Patton rolled his eyes and put it onto his head. “Perfect! See? It’s not that bad.” Patton told him.

Logan looked up. “Fine. But would you potentially consider making the ears look more realistic?” Logan offered a compromise.

Patton nodded and touched the bunny ears. They turned into brown and white bunny ears, with a very light pink skin all over the inner ear flap. Logan conjured up a mirror, and smiled. “Thank you.” Logan replied.

Remus was running around, acting like a raccoon. “Look at me! I’m RJ! I eat garbage, steal from Karens and ruin people’s lives!” Remus declared.

Roman chuckled and fluffed Remus’s hair. “I feel like you’d be more of a Hammy.” Roman admitted.

Remus gasped and clapped his hands. “YES! I COULD STOP TIME WITH THE POWER OF CAFFEINE! AND THEN BURN PEOPLE TO SHREDS WITH ILLEGAL LASERS AND CAGES!” Remus shouted.

Roman snapped his fingers and ran to Patton’s basket. “We got you something!” Roman told him.

Patton turned around and squealed upon the present! There was a chocolate chick, a DVD copy of ‘Over the Hedge’, and a DVD copy of It’s ‘The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!’. Patton happily took the DVD’s and the chocolate chick. “THANK YOU! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!” Patton hugged as many people in one hug as his arms could. If his arms were stretchy like Elasticgirl’s, then maybe he could!

Later on, the family had a lovely Easter dinner. Cooked carrots, roast beef, baked potatoes and packaged gravy for it all. Patton and Thomas all worked together to make their supper, while Logan took some time to make a Crofter’s recipe he was given during the plastic egg hunt. With some time, Logan had whipped together what he called: Loganberry Crumble Squares. A simple recipe of rolled, layered oat crumble with Loganberry Crofter’s put into the middle of them! It tasted amazing! The recipe called for Gluten-free oats, but Logan just picked up regular oats for the recipe. No one was allergic to wheat. So, why worry?

After supper, the family gathered together to watch the Charlie Brown Easter Special. They enjoyed Marcie’s cute little ‘boiling eggs’ gags, and loved seeing Sally Brown and Snoopy playing with the hats! Patton died of cuteness overload at Snoopy and the bunnies dancing, and Janus admitted he felt bad that Snoopy didn’t have an egg for Charlie Brown.

Virgil looked at Janus. “Charlie rarely gets things. He has a best friend and a crush, but that’s about it. Lucy’s probably the reason he doesn’t have anything.” Virgil admitted.

“That’s true. But you gotta admit: Lucy and Shroeder are kinda cute together.” Roman added.

Thomas laughed. “That all depends on Schroeder falling for her as well.” Thomas added.

Logan sighed. “Poor Schroeder...she never leaves him alone. A life of Beethoven and piano playing is much better than a childish relationship with a girl like her.” Logan added.

Janus smirked. “Right! A relationship with Lucy will NEVER work. It’s not like she actually softens up to Charlie Brown near the end or anything...” Janus hinted.

Roman widened his eyes. “Wait, really?!”

Logan turned to him. “That’s true. I also realize she later develops a crush on Charlie near the end of the comic strips.” Logan added.

“So...So Schroeder and Lucy-”

Remus made a downward whistling sound while he lowered his finger and made an ‘explosion’ sound effect while expanding his hands. “But Charlie and Lucy:” Remus did a wolf-whistle before wrapping his own arms around himself and ‘making out’ with himself. “Oh Charlie! CHARLie! YeS!”

Roman gasped in horror while Thomas widened his eyes. “EW! You’re so disgusting! They’re 8!” Thomas yelled.

Roman had thrown Remus off the couch, leaving Remus rolling around on the floor in a fit of hysterics. Janus was snickering into his hand while Logan facepalmed himself. “THEHEY DIDN’T EVEN GEHEHET TO THE BEST PAHART!” Remus laughed.

Virgil groaned. “They don’t need to. This is why they need more than just teachers and shop owners in their community.” Virgil reacted.

Remus stopped laughing. “Why? Because Sally and Linus could be having fun at the back of the school yard?” Remus asked. “Virgil! You naughty, naughty man~”

Patton dropped his jaw and fixed his glasses with a frown. “That’s it! You need a big dose of innocence!” Patton declared, picking him up and dropping him onto the couch. He climbed onto him. “Starting with your hips!” Patton started digging his thumbs into his hips.

Remus’s naughty comeback was quickly overruled by his very own scream of surprise! “FAAAHAHAHACK!”

Patton smirked. “Language! Looks like I’m gonna need to up the ante!” Patton moved his hands to his lower, inner thighs and started squeezing and skittering.

“OHSHIT- GAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Remus completely lost it and just about kneed Patton in the face a few times! “STAAHAHAHAP! TOHOHOHO MUHUHUCH IHINNOCEHEHENCE!” Remus yelled.

Logan couldn’t help but smile at Patton’s way of handling him. He soon started smirking with Patton as well. “I’d almost say you should up this dose to lethal.” Logan offered.

Patton gasped and turned his head to look at Logan with an excited face. “You’re a genius!” Patton declared.

“And a change of lifestyle may even lessen the indecent behaviour. For example: consumptions of veggies and fruits…” Logan hinted.

Patton’s smirk grew so wide almost all his teeth were visible. “Oh! Fruits are a good one!”

Remus yelped in horror. “OHOHO NOHOHO, YOHOHOU’RE NOHOHOT FILLIHIHING MEHEHE WITH SWEETNEHEHESS!” Remus warned.

Patton looked at Remus with a confident facial expression. “Are you suggesting something more sour? Like...raspberries?” Patton asked.

Remus squealed! And he only heard the word! “NOHOHOHO! NORASPBERRIHIES! BEHEHEGOHOHONE!” Remus ordered. “IHIHI OHOHORDER YOHOU TO-”

Patton took in a deep breath and blew a big raspberry onto Remus’s inner thigh.

Remus squealed and screamed like a bat in severe distress! “AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! AAHAHAHA PAHAHAHAHAHA!” Remus screamed.

“My goodness Remus! You sound like you’re dying! What could possibly be so funny?!” Patton asked.

Janus smirked. “It couldn’t possibly be the thought of playboy magazines or babies making love.” Janus teased, just riling up Patton even more.

Patton clicked his tongue in disappointment. “My my my...I suppose even the smaller doses won’t stop you from your addictive thoughts...Perhaps you really DO need a lethal dose of innocence!” Patton admitted.

Remus was struggling. “WAHAHAIT NO! IHIHI DOHOHON’T! THISIS BAHAHAD EHEHENOHOHOUGH!”

Patton hummed. “Well, guess there’s only one way to test if it’s working!” Patton decided. Patton removed his fingers and let Remus have a break. Remus let in heavy breaths at first, to conquer his loss of oxygen. But within two minutes…

“Hehey, hey Janus:” Remus asked.

Janus looked over. “Yes?”

“Imagine Marcie being spicy for Peppermint Patty~” Remus made a sexy roaring sound.

Patton was immediately at him again. “Time for the second lethal dose, you stubborn pickle!” Patton declared quickly.

Thomas wheezed and hung his head. “Did you just call him a pickle?” Thomas asked, laughing.

“Yes I did! Because he’s being a green, sour dick!” Patton declared. While Thomas questioned his ears and sanity, Patton started blowing raspberry after raspberry on Remus’s thigh.

Remus was absolutely losing it! “AHAHAHIHIHIHIHI CAHAHAHAHAN’T! AAAAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHO *snort* DAHAHAHAMMIHIHIHIHIT!”

Thomas quickly whipped his head around to see where the unusual sound came from.

Patton had widened his eyes and covered his mouth. “You SNORT?!” he asked, stopping his tickling momentarily.

Remus took a quick moment to breathe and nodded his head. “Ihihi- Ialways hahahave.”

Patton looked at Roman. Roman nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s true. He snorted when he was little too.” Roman admitted.

Patton looked at Roman curiously. “What about you?” Patton asked.

Roman hummed and tilted his head. “Me?”

Patton started staring at Roman with suspicious eyes. “......Logan, get him.” Patton told him.

Logan wrapped his arms around Roman and immediately went for the belly. “Way ahead of you.”

Roman squealed and threw his head back with bubbly giggles coming out. Despite Remus’s laugh sounding more witch-like, The twins’ laughter sounded fairly similar to each other. So now both twins were being tickled for separate reasons; Remus’s being ‘constant potty mouth’ while Roman’s being ‘kept secrets’.

“LOHOHohohoho! Meheheheheaniihihie! Lehehehet mehehehe gohohohoho!”

“PAHAHAT! *snort* IHIHIHI’M GOHOHONNA *snort* KIHIHILL YOHOHOHOU!”

Patton gasped at Remus’s words. “Threatening me as well!? My goodness...You really don’t learn, do you?” he teased. Patton blew one raspberry on his left thigh, and two raspberries on his right thigh.

“AAAAAHAHAHAHAAA-” With one last snort, Remus finally went silent. He couldn’t really breathe very well at this point and was growing very red. So Patton gave him a break and got off him. Remus took some time getting his oxygen back. It felt great to be able to breathe again. He tried to breathe fairly heavily to get oxygen in faster. With due time, he slowly lost his tomato face and started turning more peach-colored again. With a bottle of water from Patton, Remus was pretty much okay. He was smiling and still slightly giggling after he finished the bottle.

“Are you done with your silly jokes yet?” Patton asked.

Remus lifted his head up, took one look at him and let his head fall back down. “M...Maybe for a bit.” Remus replied.

Patton smiled. “Good.”

Remus laid there for a few more minutes while he took in the sound of Roman’s giggly laughter. Logan was STILL tickling him but this time, he was pinning one arm up and tickling his armpit. To make things even better, Roman was starting to snort as well. And Patton was living for it!

“It’s truly fascinating how both twins have developed a snorty laugh.” Logan added.

“Shuhuhuhut uhuhuhup! *snort* Ehehehevihihihil fiehehehend!” Roman yelled to him.

Logan raised his eyebrows. “Evil? You think I’m being evil?” Logan asked.

“Yehehehehessss! Ehehehevihihil Ihihihi- *snort* Ihihi sahahahayhy!” Roman shot back.

Logan chuckled at that. “I am being much more merciful and gentle to you, compared to how Patton was treating Remus.” Logan explained.

“Yohohohou’re tihihicklihihing mehehehe *snort* fohohor noho reheheasohohon!” Roman protested.

Logan rolled his eyes. “Actually, we did have a reason to tickle you. We just didn’t tell you what it was.” Logan added.

“We wanted to see if you snorted too!” Patton declared.

Logan looked at Patton. “Hey! I was gonna tell him when he stopped insulting me with his childish names.” Logan reacted.

Patton snickered. “He was gonna find out anyway. Minus well do it now!” Patton declared, closing his eyes with a proud smile.

Logan sighed. “You’re no fun.” Logan whined.

Patton opened his eyes and opened his mouth in surprise. What did he just say?! “I...After all I planned for easter-”

Thomas quickly put his hands on Patton’s shoulders. “Patton, don’t listen to Logan. You are tons of fun! You planned all this for us, and for that we’re so grateful.” Thomas told him.

Janus, Remus, Virgil, Roman and even Logan nodded. Logan paused the tickling for a moment while Roman sat up.

“Thank you Patton!” All six of them said happily at the same time!

Patton smiled and couldn’t stop himself from tearing up. “You’re welcome guys.” Patton hugged Thomas. Virgil joined the hug as well, followed by Remus.

With that out of the way and Patton cheered up again, Logan resumed tickling Roman for a little longer before letting the prince breathe. Roman’s loss of oxygen was much more minor compared to Remus. But that was only because Remus wouldn’t stop doing the one thing that granted him tickles. Maybe it was because Remus wanted tickles? Or maybe it was because Remus has a legitimate addiction to it.

Whatever the reason, Remus was quick to start up his grotesque headcanons about the Peanuts Characters. This would further ruin Patton’s childhood and cause Remus further fits of ticklish laughter. Perhaps they could consider a new, more effective treatment for dirty language?

Or...maybe not. Remus seems to like it. And no one would wanna ruin his fun! Happy Easter indeed.

[ulalumewitch]

this was originally inspired by the prompt “The Pet” by @capriprompts … part 3 finally address the prompt proper and my version of it. hope you enjoy!

Author’s Note: This story deals with disappointments during the adoption process as well as references to parental deaths during childhood. Some readers may find this triggering. I hope I handled it with the care and sensitivity it deserves.

This is part 3 (and final part). The links to Part 1 and Part 2 are below:

https://ulalumewitch.tumblr.com/post/658329277505421312/betty-part-1

https://ulalumewitch.tumblr.com/post/658355318446800896/betty-part-1

(not sure why they both read “part 1” but i swear the second one is part 2. one day i’ll figure all this out - lol)

word count: 2,590

themes: angst and fluff

hope you enjoy - i just love these two.

“Betty: Part 3”

Damen frowned as he sat on a stool at the breakfast bar. He looked passed the living room and to the balcony. Autumn finally broke through the summer heat, but despite the chilly temperatures, Laurent had remained outside on the balcony. For over an hour.

He’d been there when Damen got home at dinner. Laurent refused to eat, stated he wasn’t hungry, and turned away from him. Damen didn’t push him. After eight years together he knew which battles to pick, and he knew if he picked this one, he would lose.

His stomach fluttered with nerves. Damen wanted to speak to Laurent about what was coming before it got here. He tapped his phone screen again. No new messages. Dammit, Jokaste.

The woman was always late. While he hated lying to Laurent these past few days, he felt it necessary. He’d never lied to him before and it wasn’t something he ever wanted to repeat. But he wanted this to be a surprise if only so that Laurent couldn’t argue himself out of it. This would be good for them. Damen was sure of it. Well ... mostly sure of it.

Damen opened up his text messages waiting for replies. The texts from the people he talked to most in his life waiting for responses he couldn’t muster himself to give at the moment.

Papa Theo - D. Kastor wants to host Thanksgiving this year. Don’t let him take over. You and Laurent are better hosts. I’m begging you. Do what you have to. If I have to eat salmon on crackers again instead of turkey because Jokaste thinks it’s en vogue or whatever her high snobby ass thinks, I’ll lose it. Thank you. Papa.

Auguste - Laurent keeps ignoring my calls. Everything okay?

Kastor - Bro, Knicks game next weekend?

Nik - Knicks game next weekend? Text Kas for info.

Nicaise - Tell Laurent to call Auguste before I kill them both.

Jokaste - I’ll text you once I’ve valeted with the package.

The text from Jokaste was from two hours ago. It was only a fifteen minute drive between their apartments. But Damen knew from experience if he pressured her she’d delay herself more.

But for the past few days Jokaste was oddly ... maternal. She’d listened without spewing unwanted advice and helped him find exactly what he wanted, pulling strings from a few of the charities she’d help fund over the years. He’d never been so happy she spent money and drank wine for a living.

His phone buzzed in his hand. Damen let out a shaking breath as the text from Jokaste finally came through: The eagle has landed. We’re on our way up.

Damen took a breath and replied back: Laurent is out on the balcony. Door is unlocked. If we’re still outside please wait in the office until I get you. He’s ... not himself right now.

Damen held his breath. It could go one of two ways with Jokaste. Either she would understand or she would say she was too busy and leave the surprise in the living room before walking out.

His phone buzzed: Ok

He let the breath he’d been holding out and resolutely walked around the breakfast bar and to the balcony. Damen opened the glass door and gritted his teeth against the blast of cold wind to his face. Laurent remained sitting in his chair, bundled up in a huge knit sweater, scarf, coat, and hat that left only his eyes visible. He didn’t move as Damen approached. Laurent didn’t even look at him.

Damen’s heart pounded in his chest. Did something else happen? Had he forgotten something important? He and Laurent never had a problem communicating until recently and it killed him. This had to end. And now.

“Laurent,” Damen said.

No movement. No glance of acknowledgement. Nothing.

The wind picked up and howled as if in warning from the gods themselves against the building. Damen grabbed a chair a swung it around directly in front of Laurent and then sat down. Two narrowed eyes of blue ice cut to Damen then.

“You’re blocking my view.”

“Laurent, I know this has been hard -“

“I’m not talking about this. Leave me alone.”

Damen took a breath. He was in a worse mood then he thought. Shit.

“Listen to me. Okay? Just listen.”

Laurent leaned back slightly and with a small flourish of his hand indicated for Damen to proceed before crossing his arms over his chest. Damen took a calming breath and looked away at the same view to steady himself.

“I don’t know how much you’re hurting, because I’m not you. But I’m hurting too. It’s difficult. It’s painful. It’s unfair, and ugly, and all of the things you hope to never experience,” Damen stated, “But we’ll get through this. We will have our family, Laurent. Yes, things are bleak right now but we can’t give up because somewhere out there is our son or daughter. Maybe they’re not born yet, maybe they are. But we don’t give up because that’s not what we do.

“We didn’t give up on each other. Hell, you spent your entire inheritance to start a firm with a man you weren’t even married to yet. You helped raise your younger brother when you were still technically a child yourself because the worst nightmare for children happened. You fought your way through school and internships all while spending hours volunteering with children’s programs when most of us in law school could barely keep up with the average demands. You are a fighter, Laurent. You can’t give up now. Please, don’t give up now.”

Laurent’s eyes flickered for a moment as he regarded Damen silently. He didn’t move a single muscle. He also didn’t respond.

Damen took in a shuddering breath, “I love you. I’m sorry life isn’t as we want it right now. I will keep fighting for it, but I need you with me.”

Laurent still looked at him with cool neutrality as he asked, “Where were you this week, Damianos?”

Damen’s heart lurched in his chest. Oh God ... Damen had known better than to lie to Laurent. But he did it anyway because he’d been giddy at the thought of the surprise now waiting for them in their apartment. Apparently Laurent’s foul mood had been exacerbated because of him. Goddammit this was not how he wanted this to go either.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

Damen cleared his throat, “I’m sorry I lied to you. But if you come inside I’ll show you why. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Laurent huffed, “I’m not in the mood for surprises or apologies. Now, leave me alone.”

“No.”

Laurent’s nostrils flared as he shot up and gracefully moved around him to the door. Damen cursed under his breath as he went after Laurent. Before he could think he caught his arm as they entered the living room.

“Let go,” Laurent growled.

“I was with Jokaste,” Damen surged ahead, “I needed her connections to get something for you and me to expand our family in a different way until our child comes home.”

Laurent stilled. Damen immediately let go of his arm.

Laurent turned, his blue eyes glittering with fury, as he hissed, “What did you do?”

Damen ignored the churning in his stomach and called out, “Bring her out, Jokaste.”

From the other side of the apartment the sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed around them. Then, Jokaste came into view. Her gold hair pulled back, her makeup made her look more devastatingly beautiful than was natural. Her designer clothes understated but somehow still reeked of money - and in her arms she held a basket with pink padding. And within that, a small puppy yipped happily, wagging her tail.

Damen looked at his husband. Laurent’s mouth hung slightly open, eyes wide and staring. Damen took a step closer to him until they were nearly touching but not quite.

Damen murmured, “She’s a King Charles Beagle mix. Her owners were older and couldn’t care for her so they put her up for adoption. She’s twelve weeks old, spayed, up to date on vaccines, and mostly housebroken. Jokaste put word out to the charities for animal adoption she’s helped fundraise for over the years, and then one of her connections emailed her about this beauty. I’ve been meeting with Jokaste to spend time with the puppy and then more recently to finish paperwork on her, as well as visit dog training centers and to research their puppy programs.”

He stopped. Laurent still didn’t respond, though he’d since closed his mouth, his eyes on the puppy in the basket. The white and tan puppy yipped excitedly seeming only to have eyes for Laurent. Damen’s chest ached slightly ... it was like she knew.

“I wanted to talk to you about it earlier but you needed time alone,” Damen whispered, “I’m sorry. I wanted it to be a little bit of a surprise but not this much. Also, if you don’t want her I understand. Jokaste will keep her instead so she’ll have a good home. But ... but I thought it would be nice for us to have a pet to take care of, to start expanding our family this way until ... until we can get what we want. She’s part beagle, so I imagine she’ll utterly lose her mind with happiness on the farm. But again, Laurent, if it’s too much, Jokaste will take her home, no questions asked. It’s up to you.”

Laurent swallowed and Damen heard his throat click as he did so. His face unreadable as he took a step towards Jokaste and the puppy. As he walked towards her, Damen stayed in place, but didn’t suppress the smile as the puppy began to yip louder, and bounced on her front paws the closer Laurent got to her.

“She’s high energy,” Jokaste murmured, “But she does love to cuddle. I think she likes you.”

Laurent remained silent as he brought his fingers up to the puppy. She immediately began to lick them, her tail wagging at such a rate Damen wondered if it possible for the thing to fly off of her. Then, tentatively, Laurent stroked her head. The puppy stopped bouncing but remained with her eyes on Laurent, tail wagging, as he pet her. Damen’s gut lurched as he saw the slight tremor in Laurent’s hand every time he lifted it up to resume stroking her down her back.

Then Laurent picked her up and held her against his chest. The puppy reached up and licked his face. Laurent pursed his lips together but Damen swore a smile was there before he was assaulted with puppy kisses. He cradled her against him, her fur a stark contrast against the black coat he still wore.

When she settled Laurent looked at Damen. He felt Laurent’s stare go through him and straight into his soul.

“Her name is Betty Rue Vere-Akielon,” Laurent announced.

Damen grinned, “Your obsession with the Golden Girls prevails once again.”

Laurent looked at the puppy and whispered, “They are fierce and so are you.”

The puppy licked Laurent’s face happily in response yipping gleefully. Damen cut his eyes to Jokaste and she smiled softly at him.

“I’m going to go,” Jokaste stated, “Have a good evening.”

“Thank you,” Damen said.

She dipped her chin slightly in acknowledgement and left. Damen walked over to Laurent and sat next to him as he set Betty on the ground. The puppy ran over both of their legs as Laurent removed his scarf and jacket, discarding both on the floor behind them.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Damen whispered.

Laurent cut his eyes to him before focusing on the puppy again, and said, “Forgiven. I’m sorry I gave you the silent treatment.”

Damen huffed a laugh, “No you’re not.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Laurent’s lips and he said, “I missed having a dog. We had one when I was a little boy but she passed away just before our parents.”

Damen nodded and said, “They estimate she shouldn’t be more than twenty-five or thirty pounds. Both breeds are good with children. Training is a necessity. But, but I think she’ll fit in well.”

“She’s perfect,” Laurent cooed and picked her up again to hold her to his chest, and then looked at Damen, his smile finally wide and unrestrained, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Damen said, “I know this doesn’t fix anything, but I thought it would help.”

Laurent leaned closer to him and then pressed his lips softly to Damen’s. He closed his eyes and when Laurent went to retreat, grabbed the back of his head and kept their mouths firmly in place. Damen deepened the kiss, needing the contact, reveling in the taste of them together.

“I love you,” Damen whispered breathlessly, “I love you and I’m here for you. Through good times and bad.”

Laurent smiled softly, “I love you, too. Thank you for ... thank you.”

Damen slipped an arm around Laurent’s waist and pulled him closer. Laurent could talk circles around anyone. But when it came to expressing feelings, he still sometimes had difficulty. But Damen didn’t mind. Laurent loved Damen in ways that went well beyond the words, as it should be.

“Oops,” Laurent tittered, “Betty, darling, we must work on that bladder control. Come on, lets go for a little walk. Does she have a leash?”

Damen smiled, “Everything is stashed in the office, including a couple of different coats for her since it’s getting colder outside.”

Laurent snorted a little and stood up saying, “I’ll get her collar, leash, and coat on. You can clean up the mess.”

“Is that how it’s going to be?” Damen asked.

“Please tell me you bought her a collar and leash to distinguish her as the royalty she is and that it matches whatever clothing you got for her to wear,” Laurent called as he walked away from Damen without looking back or responding to his question.

Damen rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath before stating, “No, because I knew you’d hate anything I bought anyway.”

Laurent’s snort echoed as he made his way down the hall.

Damen smiled even as he cleaned up the puppy’s accident as he heard Laurent’s murmurs to the puppy, “Don’t worry, Betty, daddy is going to get you the most expensive collar, leash, and puppy coats money can buy. Papa doesn’t understand the importance of these things. What do you think pink with diamonds? Yes, I think so too ... or maybe a gold collar to compliment your white and tan coloring? Yes ... we’ll try a few on ...”

The pain of the rejection began to ease slightly in Damen’s heart. He knew it would take more time and more than a puppy for it to heal completely. But his gamble paid off and he reveled in the warm relief that coursed through his veins.

He and Laurent had work to do, but the dark cloud of anguish seemed to lift from over their heads. And as Damen put on his coat and grabbed Laurent’s from off the floor, he smiled as he walked down the hall as Laurent’s lament echoed loudly from the office, “Oh my God, was this made for peasant puppies? Nylon? Really?”

But Damen didn’t mind. He’d endure any cutting remarks on his sense of puppy fashion if it meant his beloved had a respite from his pain. Things weren’t perfect, but it was still a damn good place to be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ End of this Little Story

thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. They are one of the many ships I love to follow and write about. have a lovely day, morning, evening, night wherever you are! xo