#have a fantastic rest of the holidays and happy new year | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

afreakingdork · 11 months ago

Text

Except for a Mouse

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader One-Shot

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Mistletoe, Gift Fic, One Shot, Short & Sweet, Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gender-Neutral Reader

Synopsis: Scurrying around, you help your boyfriend as he tries to rekindle the excitement of the gift giving season.

Also Available on Ao3

A Secret Santa gift for dearest @s-s-ironnie

Didgeridoo you are an endless delight and I'm so happy to have met you! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy!

The luster of receiving gifts had dulled with age. You tried not to include yourself in that, but it was an unfortunate fact across the board. The whole how to do of the holiday had eclipsed the supposed reason for the season. It was an odd thing; understanding why your elders had been exhausted and spent most of their days lounging while the kids ran around with their new toys. Practicality won out as you got older and with it came a stagnant sense.

“Socks?! Fantastic! Oh, they’re even the boot kind!? That’s great because mine have been wearing on my ankles all season!”

“A new whetstone, this is just what I needed. You even got the right grit. Thanks! I can’t wait to use this with those new tutorial vids I’ve been watching.”

“Can’t have enough floofy soap!”

For Donnie, it was absolute misery. In all the years you had known him, he was a gift giving master. He prided himself on knowing just what to get someone even if it wasn’t something of this world. It was his chance to flex not just his inventions, but seek the validation he so desperately craved. He considered Christmas to be his big sports game and he had enough winning rings to fill a jewelry shop.

Which was why with each consecutive year, as the requests got more mundane and the reactions gentler, he was losing that glint in his eye little by little.

It crushed you.

“A gym membership renewal!?” Donnie pushed his palms into his eye sockets so hard his chair tipped lethally backward. “Nardo wasn’t even joking!”

“Nice to have the expense taken care of…” You mourned beside your partner.

“He has an entire home gym, built by moi, what does he need-!?” Donnie groaned loudly. “The rest are just as bad: ‘that shell wax you make,’ ‘back scratcher,’ ‘gift card to that craft store I like!’” In a swivel, Donnie turned to face you while throttling the arms of his chair. “At least Casey and April chose spirited items! ‘A home defense system to vanquish audacious insects’ and an upgrade to her invisibility cloak. Fine, great, interesting enough, but not inspired! They’ll receive them, but they won’t dazzle! All my intelligence! Wasted!” In another turn that made his seat creak, Donnie threw up dozens of security camera screens filled with footage of his family. “They want not! They came up with objects to appease me!”

“It can be like that…” You dampened now that he was out of sight again.

“What can I do?” He spoke a hopeless rhetorical.

“Spend time with them? Your dad always loves having the kids back home.”

“Something constructive, please.” Donnie griped with a bitterness you knew wasn’t for you.

You finally stood and approached to put a hand on his shoulder.

One of his came up to take it as he continued to glower at the monitors.

“This is what it’s like sometimes.” You leaned in and kissed the side of his head. “The child-like wonder is gone.”

Donnie stayed statuesque and you were about pull away when his grip suddenly seized to a painful degree.

“A-ah!”

“You’re a genius!” In one swift twirl, he was out of his seat and you were up in the air being showered with kisses.

So began operation ‘Help to Make the Season Bright.’ Starting right after October as Halloween was always given its due and with little to do for Thanksgiving as that was Mikey’s territory, Donnie folded you into his plan. You were there to reign him in which you knew to be an integral role.

Never mind the weather, the Hamatos were in for a white Christmas. Donnie had crafted a new-age snow machine after you’d talked him down from one that manipulated the atmosphere. Inspired by a certain famous holiday film, Donnie had acquired gifts from his family's younger days. Having had to talk him down from time travel itself to purchase the items, you then fielded him when it came to decorations. Wanting the lair to take on that magic imbued by children’s eyes, it meant for more decorations than the past.

All counting down to the titular eve, he’d knocked Splinter out with pre-festivity cake and milk and waited for the others to retreat before you were called upon. Together you spent the entire night transforming the space and setting up in a secluded section of the nearby park. Exhausted and without a wink of sleep, you’d roused the group at an agonizing 5am as was past tradition and the day began.

Grouching about the time was quickly overshadowed by wide gleaming eyes. Whispers of how Donnie had done this were brushed past as everyone was whisked outside into a winter wonderland. Donned in coats that exactly replicated ones of their youth, Raph was the first to devolve into water works. The ensuing snowball fight brought out a heat that you hadn’t seen playfully enacted in years and a break with hot chocolate made from a pilfered recipe meant Mikey was the next to weep.

Worn out bodies were pulled inside, where upon getting their actually requested gifts, Leo stubbornly fought sobbing as he opened a mint version of his first and favorite Jupiter Jim action figure. April fell next with a newly sized version of her Hamato-crested top and Casey turned red in the face after being given validation with a combined plate of cookies and brownies.

Donnie, ever shining in his element, rode the high straight through the day until everyone collectively lost their steam. A turtle pile now with the addition of partners formed and Splinter snored loudly as a fond backdrop. Lingering sentiments meant you couldn’t join in and you had just pulled a pan of green bean casserole out of the oven to cool even though it was debatable whether it’d be eaten warm or at all. Shuffling out of the kitchen, you found Donnie leaning and watching the group and telegraphed your approach with heavier footsteps.

Instead of addressing you, he folded back an arm at the ready.

You tucked yourself into his side and he wrapped you up in the appendage. “You did it.”

“I couldn’t have without you.” He gave his family one last wistful look before bringing glowing adoration down to you.

You smiled where your head was sleepily resting against his plastron.

“One last thing…”

Your lips tugged downward. “The dinner was last…” In a slight shuffle against him, you unearthed your phone along with the list. “Yeah… we marked them all off.” You showed him.

“Oh!” He put on airs as he leaned forward to examine your phone with great feigned interest.

“Donnie…” You pursed your lip.

“Seems there was one missing.” With a tap, your list refreshed and a new item appeared.

☐ First Kiss

“When did you…?” Your head shifted back from the addition. “A kiss? Who’s that for?”

Turning confusion to your partner, you watched as an mechanical arm emerged from his battle shell. Tipping to watch it, there was a bit of green with white dotting tied up in a purple ribbon and just like that you were in your early twenties again.

Shy and at your first Hamato Christmas, you and Donnie had a brand new situationship that had started up at nearly the same time the temperatures had dropped. Nerves had him inviting you along with a flurry of worries over what you were about to be thrust into. Naivety meant you wrongly brushed him off and, it was after unknowingly boarding a rollercoaster, you had snuck away for a breather in the hall. Not second guessing your decision to pursue the purple turtle, but instead having so quickly agreed to meeting his family after what hadn’t even been 30 days, you exhaled and prepared to reenter the foray when he met you.

“There you are.” He caught your visage and softened. “You alright?”

“Yeah… just… you were right.” You gave an awkward laugh.

“I’d usually gloat, but it is a holiday.” He teased.

You chuckled as he came in to grab your hand with what looked like an offer on his lips.

“Boom!” Leo exploded a flurry of limbs into the moment causing the pair of you to back up against the wall. The slider slammed his arm between you both causing you to yelp.

“Nardo!” Donnie growled.

“You’ve been hit by!” Leo dodged a swipe from his brother with a pose.

Donnie leapt at him a second time.

“You’ve been struck by!” Leo avoided the attack a second time with finger to the air.

“Enough!” Donnie squared himself and you knew he was about to go for his weapon.

Leo stopped him with a finger pushed right into the genius’ forehead. “A smooth mistletoe!”

Fleeing with a flurry of giggles, Donnie sat a fuming mass staring after where his brother had gone where you had the wherewithal to turn toward the wall Leo had accosted. There, stuck with far too much duct tape was a sprig of mistletoe, obviously coordinated for this brother based on the color of its ribbon. “Uh… Donnie…” You paled.

“Infuriating! He was just loafing around and now he-!” Donnie spun around, saw the dismay on your face, and then the bit of greenery on the wall. “O-oh…”

“It’s a silly tradition!” You squawked. “Y-You were g-going to say something. I think!?”

“That…” He stepped closer, resuming his earlier position by your side. “… we could sneak away… That I know a good Chinese place…”

“T-that sounds good, we should go!” You went to grab his arm and flee when he steadied you by catching your appendage first.

“One… last thing…?” Donnie flicked his gaze to the mistletoe and back to you, beet red. “If you’re… agreeable?”

You gave a jittery nod, your own face a blushing mess.

He leaned in to close the gap just as he was doing now. You melted against him with a coordination you hadn’t had all those years ago and slipped your arms around his neck to deepen the move further. Parting came with a nuzzle of nose to snout and a little giggle from you.

“Next would be getting that peking duck.”

“What a coincidence, my data indicates the group will be asleep for at least 3 more hours.”

“We should go…” You breathed against him, stealing another kiss.

He nodded with an agreement that neither of you bothered making good on.

💜

I plotted two version of this fic based on Digi's preference! I thought it'd be fun the include the other here: In a similar vein, the other fic was Sweet Ironnie where Donnie and Iris go all out to give the kids the best Christmas. Only problem is that they forgot to treat themselves for the holiday so the kids snare them in a mistletoe trap! Thank you @rheawritesforfun for hearing me out!

Also thank you @thepinkpanther83 for being a beta boss!

#rottmnt #rottmnt donnie x reader #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt x reader #donatello hamato #donnie x reader #rise donnie #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #christmas #me #fanfiction #my fanfiction

81 notes · View notes

softest-cinnamon-roll · 2 years ago

Text

James Potter was nothing if not a fantastic gift giver. Whether it was a birthday present or a Christmas present, James always came out on top. It wasn’t as though he tried to beat everyone, it just so happens that James was excellent at reading people and so when it came to buying gifts, he knew exactly what to buy.

When Regulus Black re-entered Sirius’ life and therefore subsequently, James’ life, he became no exception.

James remembers that night as though it were yesterday. It was a few days before Christmas and both James and Sirius were home from their first year at university, spending the holidays with James’ parents. Christmas had always been a celebrated thing at the Potters and even though James and Sirius no longer lived under his parents roof, it was still their home.

They were just sitting down to lunch when the doorbell rang, and there standing on the porch looking like a ghost with fear in his eyes, was Regulus Black. His mother had ushered him inside and Sirius began fussing, asking question after question after question about what happened.

Regulus had remained silent, simply allowing his mother to clean him up and bandage any injuries. No matter how many times Sirius asked, he didn’t provide any explanation.

Later that very same day, James excused himself and walked into town to the stationary store and purchased a black leather bound journal and some writing pens. He snuck it into his room and wrapped it up, placing a tag with Regulus’ name on it and placing it in his bedside drawer.

When Christmas Day rolled around and Regulus joined them all in the living room to open presents, it was clear he hadn’t been expecting anything. James could see the longing in his eyes as Sirius wrapped a new scarf around neck and watched as he shrugged off his mother’s apologies for not having bought him anything. Later that evening, when Sirius had gone off to spend the rest of the evening with Remus, James carefully approached Regulus who was sitting outside on the porch, his gift in hand.

“This is for you,” James breathed, holding out the wrapped gift he had carefully picked out. Regulus’ eyes widened just ever so slightly, his lips pursed as he looked from the gift and back to James. The cold gaze in his eyes seemed to vanish, even just for a second as he accepted the gift, but didn’t open it. “Happy Christmas, Regulus.”

James left him to it, closing the porch door and disappearing upstairs to his bedroom. A few hours later, when everyone in the house had gone to bed, there was a slight knock on the door and on the other side was Regulus, holding the now open gift against his chest. “Thank you,” was all that was said before he turned on his heel and walked down the corridor to his own room.

Regulus became no exception to James’ gift giving and when their relationship moved from friends to romantic, he became James’ number one priority.

Now, five and a half years since that first gift giving, James was presented with a challenge. What did he get Regulus for their third anniversary?

By the time James’ alarm sounded, Reg was already up and gone, leaving James with nothing but his thoughts until he got home a little after three. He’d spent the past three weeks asking Regulus if there was anything specific he would like as a gift; a new book, a new journal, a weekend trip away to some place. The only answer James got in response was a soft smile and a ‘surprise me’.

Sometimes, James was sure that Regulus had too much faith in his gift giving skills.

As the day went on, James really was starting to lose hope on finding something spectacular for Regulus when he found himself standing across the street from an animal shelter. The idea sprung on him like a lightbulb moment and he felt a grin take over his face as his legs carried him across the road and into the building.

An hour later, he was leaving the shelter with a small black kitten in a carrier as well as some food, toys and other necessities for taking care of a kitten. The smile hadn’t left James’ face since he’d entered the shelter and his eyes had landed on the kitten. He just knew that Reg was going to love him.

It was just after two when James made it back to the flat that they shared together and he sat the carrier down in the middle of the living room before he closed the door, making sure when he let it out to explore, it would stay in a secure space. He opened the carrier, laying down on his stomach a few feet away and the little black kitten carefully crept out from inside, head moving cautiously from side to side before it pounced playfully at James’ outstretched hand.

Oh yes, Regulus was going to absolutely adore him.

When the door opened and closed a little after three and Regulus’ voice called from the front door, James quickly gathered the kitten into his arms and took a seat on the couch, nervously bouncing his leg up and down as he waited for Reg to come in.

“”I was thinking we could go out for dinner or something?” Regulus started, opening the door and stepping into the living room. “Since we couldn’t get awa-'' His eyes had landed on James, and the bundle in his arms and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Happy anniversary,” James smiled from the couch, shifting the kitten in his arms to hold him outwards towards his boyfriend.

Regulus dropped his bag onto the floor and moved closer, his eyes still wide as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. As soon as he was within touching distance though, he carefully accepted the kitten from James’ arms and placed it in his own, expression shifting from shock to pure awe. “James…” he breathed. “In retrospect, this is not what I had in mind when I said surprise me.”

“Do you like him?” James asked, nervous butterflies filling his stomach as he waited for Regulus’ response.

“Like him?” Reg whispered. “I love him.” He managed to drag his eyes away from the kitten to meet James’, “and I love you. So much.”

James broke into a wide smile and leaned over Reg’s arms holding the kitten to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you too, more than anything.” A few moments passed, the two of them just watching each other. “What’re you going to call him?”

Reg grinned, “Well, you know there is only one name that comes to mind when I think of a black kitten.” He looked back down at the kitten, who was sound asleep in his arms. “Binks.”

#jegulus #jegulus drabble #jegulus fluff #james potter #regulus black #starchaser #sunseeker

279 notes · View notes

the-blind-assassin-12 · 2 years ago

Text

Sheer Desire

A/N: So this was definitely not planned to be the first thing I post in the new year. In fact, it started as a kinktober prompt (stockings & lingerie) that got sidelined and seemed to double like bread dough while I wasn’t looking. I wanted to finish up the last few holiday-ish things that I had planned and get them up this week... but Frankie had other plans. And who tf am I to stop him? This follows along with the other Frankie x Reader pieces I’ve written, but can also be read as a stand alone. I hope you enjoy!!

WC: 8.7k

Warnings: language, smut, Francisco Morales’ mouth ;)

Summary: You and Frankie attend Benny’s wedding together, and he struggles to keep his hands to himself the whole night. Until he doesn’t have to. That’s it, that’s the fic.

Look at that. Seven whole minutes to spare.

Blowing out a relieved breath, you pulled into one of the few remaining spots in the area of the hotel lot cordoned off for event parking, the signs reading Welcome to the wedding of Alana Ruiz & Benjamin Miller in gold script. You knew you’d be cutting it close, working an open shift at the bar and then racing home to clean up, change and grab your things for the weekend before hitting the road and making the two and a half hour drive down to Marco Island, but there hadn’t been another option. It was the first major event that Frankie had invited you to since you’d taken the next step in your relationship, so you’d done what you had to to make it work. I’m just glad I’m not late.

Picking up your phone from the cup holder, you sent a quick text to let Frankie know that you’d made it. He and the rest of the wedding party had gotten there the night before for the rehearsal dinner, and he had been checking in with you every few hours throughout the day to make sure that nothing had changed as far as your ETA. You knew that it was partially because of his military background, wanting to make sure that things were running according to plan. But as you scrolled through the messages he’d sent, you couldn’t help the smile that curved your lips. But it's also because he’s excited.

Your smile grew as you set the device back in the cupholder and reached down to slide off the flip flops you’d worn to drive in. Tossing them to the floor on the passenger side, you grabbed the pair of sheer black stockings that you’d shoved in your purse on your way out the door. You’d been unsure if you wanted to wear them, and you didn’t have time to decide before you left. But as soon as they were in your hand, you pictured the way they would look balled up in Frankie’s grip later in the night, and the fire that flared in you at that image made the decision for you.

Taking a few seconds, you rolled them up your legs and then shoved your feet into the pair of low wedge heels you’d chosen for the night. You checked your reflection in the visor mirror, touching up your lipstick with the tip of your pinky finger. Okay, good to go. You took a breath, and then you took your phone and purse and hurried towards the walkway that led to where the rows of chairs were set up overlooking the water. Here I come, Frankie.

– – –

The ceremony was beautiful. It had been timed almost perfectly so that the sunset painted the Gulf in shades of rosy copper and ripples of indigo, the shadowy silhouettes of palm trees acting as a backdrop for the I do’s. Benny and Alana had chosen to write their own vows, and Alana’s brother had been the one to officiate, so it had been intimate and personal, the love and happiness between the two of them absolutely tangible.

As was the feeling of Frankie’s eyes on you from his place between Will and Pope on Benny’s right. All three of them looked fantastic in the brown suits that they wore, but your focus was only on the man in the middle. Damn, Morales.

You locked your gaze with his and smiled, mouthing the word hi. Your lower lip slipped between your teeth at the way he lifted his hand away from his leg just enough to give you a covert wave. Oh, look at him. His cheek rose in a lopsided grin that only made him more attractive - especially when you noticed his dimple peeking through one of the patches in his beard.

You’d been falling in love with Frankie for months, finding yourself a little deeper in it every day. But you took a steep tumble that night.

And though you had ended up spending most of the cocktail hour on your own, Frankie and the others wrapped up in greeting guests and taking pictures, when he finally did get his arms around you, you felt that he was already there, ready to catch you. Ready to dive in even further with you.

“Hey,” he said, his hands finding their way to your waist as soon as you were in reach, his lips seeking yours the second the single syllable left them. “Missed you.” His fingers flexed in the satin of your dress as he kissed you again, this time slower and longer, one hand rising up to cup the side of your face. You leaned into his touch, your smile pushing your cheek against his palm. “Glad you’re here.”

“Hey yourself, Frankie.” Your left hand slid inside his jacket, smoothing over his side and around to press flat against his broad back. None of the groomsmen wore ties, so the fingers of your right hand curled around his lapel, that forearm resting against his chest. “Missed you, too.” You smiled against his lips as you continued to kiss him.

As soon as he felt your lips part, his tongue slipped into your mouth to glide atop yours, stealing your breath, and then he was pulling back and bumping the tip of your nose with his. “You are so damn beautiful.” Both hands settled at your waist again as his eyes swept up and down your frame, noticing the way your dress hung on your hips to flare slightly at your knees, appreciating the low cut of the neckline and the small triangular cutout that was just visible under the knotted tie that embellished the top. And then he noticed your legs and the way they looked encased in sheer black nylon, so thin it was barely there at all, and he groaned. “Gonna have a hard time keeping my hands to myself for the next few hours.”

That makes two of us. “You know, you clean up pretty well yourself, Morales. It’s not gonna be easy for me, either.” The hand that you had on his back came to join the other, gripping both lapels and tugging on them. You let out a small laugh, closing your eyes and shaking your head. “Guess it's a good thing we’re staying here then, huh?” Opening your eyes again, you arched one brow and smirked at him. “Two and a half hours isn’t a short drive and-”

He cut you off then, eyes darkening as they narrowed slightly but never left yours. “If we were driving home tonight? I wouldn’t wait.” There was a raspy quality to his voice that wiped the teasing grin right off of your face as you realized what he meant. He had driven down with Pope the night before so that he could drive home with you, so you’d be in the same car. Oh, fuck. Your heart thudded hard, and you felt your eyes go wide as he leaned in to finish telling you what would happen on the ride home if you didn’t have a room for the weekend. “I can drive with my left hand, and the right one can-”

Just then you heard your name being called from somewhere behind you. Frankie winked and let the rest of his words hang, knowing that you knew damn well what his free hand would be doing in that scenario. Oh, you are gonna be trouble tonight, Francisco. Tearing your eyes away from him, you looked up to see Pope walking over, his arm wrapped around the waist of a stunning brunette in a burgundy dress. Wait a minute, is that…

You glanced back up at Frankie, a smile spreading across your lips. “Is that Yovanna? I thought Pope said she couldn’t make it!”

“Yeah.” He nodded as you released the collar of his jacket, arms going back to your sides after reaching across your chest to secure the strap of your purse on your shoulder. “She flew in this morning to surprise him.” His chuckle turned his eyes light and warm again as his hands left your body, too, and it was clear to see how glad he was about his friend’s happiness. Good. He deserves it. They all do.

Your eyebrows flew up. “Wow, that’s a hell of a surprise. I bet he was excited.”

“He was. Shoulda seen his face when she called from the airport.” Frankie leaned down to drop a kiss to your temple as the other couple came within a few strides of where you stood. “Surprises are nice,” he whispered in your ear. “But I liked knowing you were gonna be here.” I did, too.

Pope reached for you then, giving you a hug and introducing you to the woman you’d heard so much about but had yet to meet, and then the four of you went to catch up with Will at the bar, Frankie’s fingers laced with yours as you walked. Your group was joined by the two bridesmaids that had walked down the aisle with Will, both women eyeing the older Miller brother. His and Benny’s cousin Mark was supposed to have been the fourth groomsman, but he’d broken his leg in three places just a few weeks out from the wedding and was in a full hip to toe fiberglass cast. To keep anyone from having to walk alone, Will had been assigned both of Alana’s college roommates - who also happened to be the only two of the four bridesmaids that were single - and it seemed as though neither of them cared that he had his arms around them both. Oh, this is going to be a fun night. You grinned as you finished your drink, an autumn evening breeze sweeping through the courtyard.

– – –

It hadn’t dawned on you that you and Frankie had never danced together until the DJ opened the floor for all couples to join the bride and groom.

When else would we have, though?

Despite all the milestones and things you had shared since things had become more serious, and even though there were definitely more important and significant bridges to cross in the future, the feeling that you got when he led you out amongst the sea of couples was one of pure elation. It swirled in your chest, and if it weren’t for the way his arms kept you grounded as he took you in his hold, you would have thought it possible for you to float away. Doing new things with him - even something as normal as dancing together at a friend’s wedding - made you realize that you wanted to do everything with him.

Frankie clasped your hand in his and brought it to his chest, his other hand sliding south into the dip at the base of your spine. With his next swaying step he pressed you closer, shrinking the space between your bodies until you could feel each breath that filled his lungs and the way that his heart beat didn’t match the slow cadence of the song that you were dancing to. Mine doesn’t either, though.

Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath in through your nose, the arm you had around his torso tightening to mirror the hold he had on you. Frankie’s cologne - mixed with the scent of the smoky whiskey he drank at the cocktail hour - nearly overwhelmed your senses as you laid your head against his shoulder, your head spinning as you let your breath back out. He smells so damn good. The slow sweep of his thumb up and down your back sent a tingle through your bloodstream that only intensified when you felt his lips brush your forehead, where he left a featherlight kiss and two whispered words.

“Thank you.”

Eyes opening, you squeezed his hand and picked your head up to meet his gaze. Despite the fact that the dance floor was packed with couples - the two of you had bumped shoulders with Pope and Yovanna on one side, and the newly minted Millers on the other - he was all you could see. And he’s all I want. You smiled, head tilted to one side as you blinked at him. “For what?”

Raising your joined hands to his lips, he kissed your curled fingers before returning them to where they were. “For this. Tonight. Being my date.” He swallowed, your eyes flicking down to track the movement of his throat before coming back up to his face. “For showing up for me.”

“Frankie,” you spoke his name softly, leaning in to nuzzle the ridge of your nose against the line of his jaw, his normal scruff cropped closer to his face for the occasion but still long enough for you to feel it. I’ll always show up for you, Francisco Morales. As long as you want me to.

“For everything.” He sighed, flexing the fingers of his right hand against your back, the tips pushing into the material of your dress and your flesh beneath it. There was no space left between you to eliminate, but that didn’t seem to matter to him as he urged you closer. “I don’t thank you enough.”

You closed your eyes and let him tuck you into his chest as the song continued, his arm wrapping more tightly around you. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, making it easy for you to press your lips to his neck. His skin was warm where you kissed him, and you trailed a few more small kisses up towards his ear, the soft curls behind it tickling your cheek. “You don’t have to thank me, Frankie,” you whispered. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“I do, though.” He surprised you then, picking up the hand that was twined with yours and looping it around you at the same time that he used the one resting on your spine to turn you. Oh, alright. You gasped, the sound becoming a small laugh and then a warm hum as his arms resettled around your waist with yours crossed over one another, your back to his front and his chin over your shoulder. “And when we get up to our room later?” He curved his free hand around your hip and pulled you to him, so that his next two words could only be taken one way. “I will.”

A shiver ran from the shell of your ear down to your toes, your body responding by sending waves of heat to crash through your lower belly. Fuck, Frankie. He waited a few beats before turning you back to your original hold, and you were grateful for the time to get your suddenly racing heart somewhat under control. When you were face to face again, you opened your eyes to see just a touch of smugness in his grin. Because you know just what you’re doing, don’t you? The sincerity of what he’d been saying just before he set you ablaze, though, was still the most prominent thing you saw in his expression.

“Oh yeah?” You freed your hand from his and brought it up to his forehead to push a rogue curl back into place. It slipped stubbornly down again with his nod and you let it, your palm resting on his shoulder momentarily. “Well I like the sound of that, Frankie.”

His eyes flashed, and it didn’t matter that the courtyard was strung with small bulbs of golden light or that beyond them, the whole night sky was on display. That look… His hand came up to his shoulder to scoop yours into it again, his thumb pressing into the cup of your palm before his fingers curled over your knuckles. “Good.” You could tell that the song you were dancing to was ending, and you knew that meant that in just a few moments you’d be seated at your table. But it seemed Frankie wasn’t done stirring things in you just to let them simmer for the next few hours. As the music began to fade out, he pulled you close and made sure that no one else could hear. “I like your sounds.” He nipped at your earlobe and you had to swallow a whimper. “Wanna hear ‘em all tonight.”

Oh, don’t worry, you’re going to.

You knew that wasn’t going to be an issue. Because of the way that you had to move your schedule around to take off the rest of the weekend and the following Monday, and since Frankie had Oliver the previous week, the two of you hadn’t spent the night together in a little over fourteen days. But now we’ve got three in a row. Just us. Before you could respond to what he’d said though, the DJ was thanking everyone for joining Benny and Alana for their first dance and asking that you all be seated for the toasts. Biting your lower lip in lieu of an answer, you shook your head as Frankie winked at you, and then you let him lead you to your table.

Pope and Yovanna were already back, along with two of the bridesmaids and their spouses, but you passed Will as he made his way in the opposite direction, where the other two bridesmaids stood ready to start the toasts. You mouthed a “good luck” to him, the man giving you a bright grin as Frankie clapped him on the shoulder and mumbled, “Don’t fuck up, Ironhead.”

“Yeah, fuck you too, Fish,” Will shot back under his breath as he elbowed Frankie, who snorted.

The interaction was entirely commonplace for their group of friends, and it made you happy to know that after everything that the four of them had gone through together - some of which you understood that you might never know - they’d always have each other’s backs, always be there for one another during their best and worst times. You leaned into Frankie, your bare arm pressed to the sleeve of his jacket. And this is one of the good times.

Turning your head, you kissed his bicep and hoped for nothing but good times for a long time.

He pulled out a chair for you and you sank into it as he sat in the one next to it, listening intently as Will delivered a heartfelt toast to his little brother and new sister-in-law. Ending it by raising his glass, Will asked that everyone do the same. After listening to the things he said - about love, trust, growth and support, and how the best relationships, like Benny and Alana’s, had all of those things - you weren’t surprised to find that your eyes were damp as you took a sip of champagne.

Because… You swallowed, watery eyes shifting to the man beside you. Because so do we. Clearing your throat, you swallowed again, though this time it was a lump of emotion instead of a bubbly beverage. “Will’s too good at public speaking.” You sniffed, leaning over towards Frankie, indicating the tears shining in your eyes.

He let out a small laugh, but you could see that the speech had struck a chord with him as well. “He is,” Frankie agreed, reaching over to brush away some of the wetness you missed on your cheek.

Will was finishing up by wrapping Benny and Alana in a hug, and then he handed the microphone over to the two women who were making a toast together, before making his way back to your group. You set your glass back down as you felt Frankie’s hand cover your knee under the table. He’d gathered the skirt of your dress up, pushing it aside so that his thumb could slowly stroke over the sheer material stretched over your legs, and though you were still thinking about what Will had just said, you were immediately distracted by what Frankie was doing. The way that his touch roved inward and higher up your thigh sent a fresh flood of heat into your belly, his warm exhale against your skin as he leaned close to whisper to you while Alana’s maid of honor continued her part of the speech only making it that much more difficult to pay attention.

“I know I said it already but.. you look incredible tonight.” He pressed a quick kiss to your cheek. “You always do.’ Before you could respond, he lightly squeezed your leg, fingers tightening just above your knee before spreading out over the thin barrier between his flesh and yours. “These things are drivin’ me crazy, though.” He dug his fingertips in just enough to test the elasticity, letting out a quiet but throaty sigh as he relaxed his grip again. The sound made your eyes snap up to meet his, their depths darkened by his next few words. Oh, shit. “I wanna see them. But I also can’t wait to get them off you.”

The space around you broke out in good-natured laughter at something that Megan said in her toast, but you had no idea what it was because at that exact moment, Frankie’s hand slid higher up your leg - high enough for him to realize that it wasn’t a pair of regular pantyhose that you were wearing. They were thigh high stockings, topped with delicate black lace that hugged your legs. His eyes widened, a bolt of desire crashing through them that you swore you could feel.

Because that means… “You can take them off, Frankie.” You sucked in a breath as his thumbnail lightly scraped over the embellished top and onto your skin before sliding beneath the elastic, your heart hammering. “But you don’t have to.”

He stared at you then, his whole chest expanding with his inhale, and even though you were having a great time celebrating the new Mr. and Mrs. Miller, you couldn’t wait to get up to your hotel room so you could let that spark catch and consume you. Can’t leave yet though.

“Oh, I will.” He arched one brow, gently pressing the thumb that was still beneath your stocking into the flesh of your thigh. “Eventually.”

That time when the toast ended and you were supposed to drink to the newlyweds, neither of you had your glass in hand. You hadn’t even noticed the cheers and applause, the flashes of photos being taken. Instead, you stared at the flick of Frankie’s tongue as it poked between his lips to wet them, and you knew he was watching the way your breastbone rose and sank with your stunted breaths at the suggestions you both were making.

I- we can’t… Not yet, it just… There were still hours left in the evening - dinner and dancing and celebrating and cake and pictures and… And he’s in the wedding party. He can’t disappear this early. “Jesus, Frankie, the night just started and-”

He withdrew his hand then, a devilish grin softening into something more teasing. “I know. Like I said…” He winked, lips twitching into a full on smile before pressing together as he nodded. “Eventually.”

Oh, wearing these was definitely the right call.

– – –

A few hours - and several more less than subtle hints from both of you - later, your cheeks were sore from laughing and smiling. The party was starting to wind down, the clock ticking towards the end of the night, when you felt Frankie’s grip squeeze your leg under the table again. “Gonna go get one more drink from the bar.” He cocked his head to the side. “And then we can…” He let his sentence trail off, raising one eyebrow and slipping his thumb under the lacy elastic band around your thigh. “How’s that sound?”

You sucked in a breath, teeth biting down on your lower lip as you nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“Mmhmm,” he hummed, leaning in to press his nose against your cheek, lips close to your ear. “Sounds.” Oh, fuck. “Be right back.”

With that he stood, following Pope and Will over to the bar. Yovanna had excused herself to use the restroom, so you were left alone at the table, your stomach swooping and your heart pounding. Your mind filled once more with the image that inspired your fashion choice for the night - Frankie’s thick, strong, rough fingers clutching the delicate sheers after removing them from your body - and you felt a ripple of excitement at how close you were to seeing it come true. Soon. So soon. He’s gonna come back and then-

And then you snapped your head up as Benny’s voice hit your ear, the man grinning as he waved around the glass in his hand and made his way to your table. He was clearly drunk - but happily and pleasantly so, a slight stumble to his swagger but not at all inappropriate for a groom at his own wedding. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Pressing pause on the thoughts that were just about to run rampant as you stared dazedly out at the darkened beach beyond the dunes, you broke into a genuine smile of your own as he got closer.

“Hey, Benny,” you pulled out the chair next to you, indicating that he could sit. “You just missed the guys, they went over to the-”

The single cube of ice in his glass knocked against the side of it as he took a big swig of his beverage. Eyebrows gathered and forehead rumpled, he held up his free hand and mumbled an un-uh, shaking his head as he swallowed. “Nope, I came over to talk to you.”

You laughed and cocked your head to the side. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Listen, I just-” He swung himself into the empty seat next to you with a sigh, setting his glass down next to Frankie’s discarded silverware. “I’m sorry Alana didn’t wanna do the whole,” he brought both hands in front of himself and mimed an over the shoulder throwing motion before continuing. “The whole toss the flowers thing.” The movement caused his whole body to tip to one side, both of your hands reaching out to stop him from falling off his seat. Though I don’t know if it would do anything. Luckily your help wasn’t necessary, Benny righting himself by gripping the table and shifting his weight. He closed one eye in an exaggerated wink and pointed at you with a grin. “Woulda put my money on you catchin’ it, and then…” He jerked his head towards the bar and waited for you to look over.

Though you already knew what you would see when you did, you still sucked in a breath at the sight of him, warmth spreading over your cheeks, and bursting in your chest. He’s… oh, look at him. Frankie stood waiting for drinks with Pope and Will, a deeply genuine laugh brightening his features as he jokingly smacked Pope’s shoulder, Will doubled over in laughter as well. It made you happy, seeing him like that, and you watched the three of them - focusing on Frankie - with a smile on your lips for a few more seconds before you turned back to face Benny.

Suddenly, the meaning behind his words clicked, and you laughed, rolling your eyes. “It’s fine, Benny. It’s an outdated tradition anyway, and it takes time away from other things li-”

He blew a breath out through his lips, cutting you off with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “No, but it's…” Your eyes widened in amusement as his flitted over your shoulder and brightened as he grinned. What is he doing? You didn’t need to wait long for your answer though, Benny raising one hand and waving to someone behind you. “Hey! Ang! C’mere.” Who is? You turned to see who he was talking to as one of the women in the bridal party - the one who had been partnered with Pope when they’d all walked down the aisle during the ceremony - came towards your table, her own small bouquet in hand. Oh, right, Angela. “Ang, lemme borrow that real quick, okay?” He gestured to her flowers. “Please?’

She leaned down with a huge smile on her face, placing one hand on the back of his chair, and kissed him on the cheek. “Anything for my brand new brother in law!” Dropping her bouquet in his lap, she laughed and clapped her hands. “I’m heading back to the dance floor while there’s still time, and when you’re done here I better see you out there twirling the shit out of my sister, Miller!” Laughing, she shimmied her way out towards the group of people on the floor, Benny calling a ‘Yes ma’am!’ after her.

“Benny,” you shook your head as he picked up the bundle of daisies and dahlias in his lap and glanced down at it. “What are you-” But you knew what he was doing the second you saw the mischievous quirk of his lips. Before you could get the final word of your question out, he sprung into action, flinging the bouquet at you. “What?!” You sputtered, hands flying out instinctively to catch what he’d thrown at you. “Why are you-”

He just drummed his hands on the table top, some of the amber liquid in his glass almost sloshing up over the rim.. “See? I fuckin’ told you!”

Closing your eyes, you let out a chuckle and hid your face behind the blossoms. “Benny…” You groaned, the sound devolving into a laugh. “You-”

“What’s goin’ on over here, hmm?” Just then you felt Frankie’s solid presence behind you, one arm coming around your chair to set your drink on the table and press a kiss near your temple. Lowering the flowers to your lap, you closed your eyes as he let his lips linger long enough for you to feel him smile before he drew them away. Hi.

“What’s goin’ on, ‘Fish,” Benny stood and faked a punch at Frankie’s bicep, opening his fist and letting it clap over the older man’s shoulder instead. “Is that your girl here just caught the flowers, so you know what that means.” Without waiting for a response, he waggled his eyebrows and bent down to retrieve his glass. “Now if you two will excuse me, I need to go find my wife.”

“Yeah, you go do that, Benjamin,” Frankie muttered, shaking his head and bringing one hand up to swipe downwards over his mouth, the corners of it twitching behind his palm. Benny shot you another wink before turning towards where Alana was dancing with Angela, Will, Pope and Yovanna. “Can’t help himself, can he?” He spoke under his breath, dropping his hand.

“You know Benny.” You shrugged, laughing as you crossed one leg over the other. The hem of your dress slid up as you shifted your position, exposing more of your knee and thigh. Though the autumn breeze that swept through the night was cool enough to cause a quick chill, all you felt was fire when his eyes fell to your lap. Oh. He… fuck.

The pink tip of Frankie’s tongue slid between the seam of his lips to wet them, and then he was leaning down to reach for the bundle of blossoms still sitting in your lap. “So you caught these, huh?” His fingers skated intentionally over the thin mesh of your stockings, knuckles pressing down against your knee as he wrapped his grip around the stems of the flowers.

It was all you could do not to openly moan at the look in his eyes and the presence of his large hand curled around the bouquet resting atop your legs. Swallowing hard, you blinked and nodded. “Mmhmm.” You took a breath that made your whole chest heave as he lifted the flowers away, keeping his eyes on the sliver of your upper leg that he’d just uncovered. “Sure did.” Benny threw them at me, but same difference.

Flipping the bouquet onto the table, he brought his now empty hand back to your lap and curved it around your top leg. “Well, I think that’s our cue then.”

Oh, is it? Your heart slammed to a stop as he used his grip to uncross your legs, but it sped up again as his fingers shifted from your thigh to your hand. He reached down for the other one and pulled you to your feet, his own planted so close to you that when you stood you were nearly chest to chest. He’d discarded his jacket earlier - it hung on the back of his chair instead of across his shoulders - and his sleeves had been uncuffed and rolled to the elbow, so when his arms went around you, you could easily feel the warmth of his body through the white button down he wore. Head swimming and pulse thrumming, you leaned into his hold and suddenly couldn’t wait to be upstairs. But I thought he said…

“Thought you said one more drink.” Your voice was thin and wispy, your words dissolving into a hum as he ducked his head to kiss behind your ear. Not that I’m complaining. There was music playing, you were sure of it, but you couldn’t hear it over the thoughts racing through your head. “You just-” You gasped as his tongue swept over your skin. Oh, shit. You swallowed. “You just stood in line at the bar, and we haven’t said goodnight to-”

You weren’t actually trying to convince him to stay any longer, and he knew it. “We’ll come back down for a drink in the lobby later,” he growled into your neck. “Say goodnight to ‘em then.” You could feel his warm breath on your skin, vibrating in your blood. “They’re not gonna notice we’re gone, trust me.” His facial hair dragged over your throat as he moved his mouth up to nip at your earlobe, teeth catching on the inner ridge of your ear. “Wanna see you in those sexy fucking things you got on.” That’s why I wore them. He doubled down then, lowering his tone even more, his words dripping directly into your soul to shake it. “Wanna feel that lace clamped around my head while I-”

“Fuck, Frankie, let’s…” You panted out a breath, leaning your forehead into his shoulder as he let out a short chuckle. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

As soon as the words were out of your mouth he was in motion, gathering up his jacket and handing you your purse. The small black rectangle swung from the strap with the force of his hasty grab, and you had to laugh, teeth biting down into your bottom lip. God, we’re like two horny kids, it’s�� Frankie’s wide palm settled firmly on your back then, steady and strong and you let him guide you through the cluster of tables and away from the reception area. It’s crazy how much I want him.

His fingers flexed as he moved his hand around to your hip, and as the door to the hotel lobby slid open, you looked up at him and the heat that had been pooling in your lower belly flooded through your entire body.

Because when he looked down at you, you saw, you felt - you knew - that he wanted you just as much. I’m yours, Frankie.

– – –

Your dress was over your head and on the floor within seconds of stepping into the room. Frankie’s hands worked quickly to bolt the lock before removing your clothing and landing at your waist. A groan rumbled deep in his throat to make a breath catch in yours. Oh, that- Your fists tightened in the material of his shirt as the gravelly sound he made stirred the embers in your belly into flame. Tipping your head back, his name left your lips in a sigh as your eyes clamped shut.

“Finally got you to myself.” His large palms roved up your sides, fingers flexing into your flesh as he leaned in to pin you to the door. Ducking his head so that his lips hovered just over the pulse point on your neck, you felt the vibrations of each syllable as he spoke. “All to myself.”

“Mmhmm,” you hummed, hands blindly moving to the buttons on his shirt and undoing the few that were still fastened. You sure do. He mouthed along the slope of your shoulder and then back up your throat, smiling when he felt you swallow. His touch wandered around to your back, climbing up and over the clasp of your bra, and you were emboldened by the sound - and feel - of another of his groans. Tongue flicking out to wet your lips, you challenged him. “What are you gonna do about it, Morales?”

When he lifted his head to lock his eyes with yours, there was no need for him to answer your question with words. Oh fuck. You saw the same dark veil of desire fall over them that had been there from the start - when all you had were late night fucks, no feelings, all fast moves and finding release. But behind that, now you saw something else. Something that both deepened and brightened that darkness currently overtaking his brown eyes. Because now it’s… now we-

Frankie dropped his gaze then, letting it rake all the way down your form as he took half a step back. “Fuck,” he muttered, chest heaving as he took in the view of your body. You felt the way his eyes lingered on the lacy band of your thigh highs for a few seconds, as though he were tracing the patterns and memorizing the way they looked stretched over the muscles of your legs. Hands following the trail that his eyes were blazing, he let them both settle low on your hips, thumbs swiping over the thin material of your underwear and into the crease where your thigh met your pelvis. “Look at you.”

His eyes snapped back up to yours then, and there it was - desire, but not just to take. Not just to have you in his hands and take you into his bed, but to take you apart, peel pleasure from you in spirals. You sucked in a breath, letting it out in a quick exhale that you were sure he felt fan across his lips and cheek. He didn’t have to answer your question with words, but he did anyway.

“You wanna know what I’m gonna do about it?” His voice was deep and raspy as he asked, and it was all you could do to nod in response. He pressed his thumbs more firmly into the space they occupied, the tip of his tongue flicking out to dampen his lips. “Gonna make you forget all about going back downstairs for that drink.”

You were going to say something teasing or clever. Something witty or flirty. But that was before the corner of Frankie’s mouth pulled up in a lopsided grin that teemed with mischief. That was before his hands coasted over your curves as he lowered himself to his knees in front of you, chin tilted up so he could appreciate you from a new angle. When he looks at me like that it's… A thin whimper broke loose from your lips, your breathing starting to become quicker and more shallow as you let him overwhelm you. And he hasn’t even done anything yet. Fuck. Instead of anything like what you were planning on saying, you opted for his name as you combed your fingernails through his hair.

“Yeah?” He let his right hand wander to the back of your left thigh, fingertips running over the textured lace there. You shook your head. “What drink?”

He let out a short huff of laughter, and then you gasped as his right hand plunged downwards between the elastic and your skin, the sheer fabric stretching over his knuckles as he gripped your flesh. “These are…” His other palm slid down the outside of your right leg, his eyes following his own movement. They widened, a quiet curse falling from his lips as he wrapped his fingers around your calf, and then he lifted his gaze back up to find yours. “I like these.” Leaning forward, he laid his lips to the skin of that thigh, just above the edge of the band holding the barely-there garment up. You sighed at the warm drag of his mouth along the lace. “Like you in these.”

He turned his face to give the same attention to your opposite thigh, the hair on his head brushing the skin he’d just lavished with his tongue and lips, the hair on his cheek and chin tickling your other leg as he kissed you there as well. That feels… Your eyes fell shut as your hand found its way into his curls, fingers weaving between them, and you let out a hum. “Thought you might, Frankie.” You opened your eyes again, lids heavy as you looked down at him. He tilted his head back to rest his chin on your kneecap. “Hoped you would.”

“Did you?” He squeezed you gently as he asked, both hands kneading into your muscle. You responded with a whispered yes. “Well, as usual,” he mumbled, pausing to place another kiss to the inside of your left thigh, the sensation causing you to let out a breathless sigh, “you were right.” You shivered as you felt the light scrape of his teeth over the skin he’d just been focused on. “Driving me fuckin’ crazy all night knowing you had these on under that dress and-” You nearly went boneless as he pressed his forehead and nose to the front of your right thigh, groaning into your skin. “And that you put ‘em on for me.”

“I did.” You practically panted out the words as your hands fell to his shoulders. Why is he still wearing clothes? “Did it in the car when I got here. Put ‘em on so you could take them off me, Frankie.”

“Oh, I’m gonna. Wanna take everything off you.” His eyes flicked up to the matching black lingerie set that you wore, following the scalloped edges that hugged the swell of your breasts. “Just not yet.”

He nuzzled higher up towards the apex of your thighs, his hot breath setting you ablaze as you suddenly realized - at the same time he did - that you were already soaked at just the hint of what was to come. Oh, fuck.

The starving sound in his voice as he said your name cracked you open and turned everything inside of you to molten liquid.

Oh, fuck, I… he- His eyes flashed and then fell shut as his tongue pressed flat against the material of your underwear, and you couldn’t contain your moan if your life depended on it. And he wants to hear it. He swore under his breath, the string of half coherent curses vibrating through the damp material and sending sparks into your bloodstream.

“Gonna start with these, though.” His tongue teased the edge of them, pushing beneath the elastic as he reached for the waistband with both hands. Teeth catching on the hem, he grinned and they snapped back against your skin. You inhaled sharply in a hiss as his fingers hooked in the band, the sparks in your veins bursting in tingling explosions. Wait! He needs to… he’s still dressed and - “They’re in my way. Wanna make you come on my tongue and-”

“Fuck, Frankie, wa- wait.” You gripped his shoulders, swallowing hard as your heart thundered and your head spun. Wetting your lips, you blinked down at him and took a few deep breaths.

Hands stilling where he touched you, he leaned back to look up, eyes connecting instantly with yours. “You okay? What’s-”

Before the crease between his brows could fully deepen, you shook your head and gave him a dizzy smile. “I’m fine.” Way more than fine. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth. “Feeling kind of underdressed though.” Pulling at the wrinkled fabric of his shirt, you raised one eyebrow. “C’mon, Frankie, take this off. I want to… need to touch you.” Your voice warbled in your throat as he leaned forward to brush a kiss right below your navel, that molten heat you felt before responding to his lips by pooling in that spot.

You whimpered, imagining him trying to lick at that heat with his tongue. He released a throaty sigh and though you couldn’t be sure, you had a feeling he was imagining the same thing.

You didn’t have to ask him twice to take his shirt off, and you knew it was because he was just as eager to feel your hands on his skin as you were to put them there. He stood at your urging, letting you help him with the few remaining buttons, and then your hands were slipping under the open sides of his shirt as his found their home near your hips. Moving your palms over his chest and up towards his shoulders, you shucked the dress shirt down onto his biceps, your touch roving around to his back. As soon as his torso was bared he pulled you flush to his body, and then it was your turn to trail your lips in places that made him hum and groan. Because I’ve been waiting all night for this, too.

As the thought crossed your mind Frankie’s hips rolled into yours, and the feel of him - hard and thick and making his pants work to contain him - pulled another sound from you, this one grittier, needier, as you nipped at his jaw. Fuck, I’ve never… Your hands went back to the crooks of his elbows, where the sleeves of his shirt still hung on his frame, and you pushed them down his forearms. Never wanted anyone as much as I want this man.

“Easy, killer.” He teased, using one hand to free the other from his sleeves and then switching so that his shirt finally dropped to the floor. Your fingers had flown to the zipper on his pants, fumbling with the button there by the time he encircled your wrists, his grip strong but gentle as he stroked your pulse point with his thumb. “I’m not goin’ anywhere.” He eased your hands away from his fly, leaving it open as he used his hold on you to lead you fully into the room. After a few steps, he turned you so that you were in front of him, and then instead of pulling, he lightly pushed you until you felt the edge of the mattress behind your legs. “And neither are you.”

He pushed a little more firmly, just enough to make you tip backwards onto the bed, a small string of laughter spilling from you as the mattress bounced beneath your body. Propping yourself up on your elbows, you watched as Frankie finished what you’d started with his pants. They fell around his ankles and then he stepped out of them, his grin growing wolfish as he closed the distance to kneel at the foot of the bed.

“Now -” His palms slid up the sides of your thighs so that his fingers could find the band of your underwear again. “Think we were right… about…” Curling his digits, he tugged the material to pull it down, exposing your damp skin to the cool air of the hotel room and making you suck in a breath. “Here.”

The last word came as his mouth descended on you, and within minutes you were ready to give him what he said he wanted before he took your tights off, your release slicking his chin and lips as one of your heels pressed into the shoulder blade that it was thrown over. When he finally lifted his head to look up at you, you panted out his name, breathless already. But I want more, I want-

You wanted to feel him fill you, stretch you, needed him deeper than his tongue could delve. You wanted to watch the way his throat tightened as you clenched around him, wanted to see the way bliss blew the blackness in the center of his eyes outward towards the edges. You wanted to feel his muscles work against and with your own before they went slack and soft, needed the contrast of climax and the caresses that would follow.

You wanted to fuck and then fall asleep in the arms of the man you loved with every cell in your being as the lazy sound of waves rolling up onto the sand floated through the balcony door.

But before you could reach for him to coax him up towards you, he used the shoulder that was still under your leg to scoot you higher up on the bed. “M’not done with you yet.” One eyebrow pitched into an arch as he shook his head. “Not even close.” Shrugging your thigh down into the crook of his arm, he turned his face to press his lips - still partially coated in you - to your skin. “Gotta take these off, remember?” Moving his head and angling his chin, he opened his mouth and bit the lacey edge of your stockings. “S’why you put them on, right?”

It sure fucking is. Frankie. All you could do was nod.

Keeping the lace between his teeth, Frankie began to move slowly towards your ankle, peeling the fabric down over your knee. He paused there, lips grazing your skin, the bottom one obscured by the nylon that was stretched over it making the upper one feel warmer and softer. Oh, fuck. You let out a hum that you knew he heard, his eyes lifting from what he was doing to find yours as his hands continued to roam - one over your thigh, the other dragging down over your abdomen.

“You like that?” His voice was a low, gritty rasp, the heat from his breath getting trapped between the sheer fabric and your skin, spreading down your shin.

“Yeah,” you panted. “Feels good, Frankie.”

That was an understatement. It felt like a goddamned blessing to know that this man wanted nothing more than to be undressing you with his teeth. That the only place he wanted to be in that moment - and he could be anywhere in the entire world - was right between your legs, tangled up in your limbs. It made you feel invincible and indestructible to know that he’d chosen you, that you had given your whole self to him and he’d accepted every piece of you, that he’d placed those pieces in his heart. It felt like pure passion and trust to love and be loved by Frankie Morales, especially when this was how he chose to show you.

I fucking love him so much.

He finally released his bite, letting go of the stocking which was bunched near your ankle, and then slipped two fingers between it and your skin to yank it off of your foot. “Gonna take the other one off, too.”

At that, you groaned, the sound turning into a desperate whine. “No, Frankie, don’t… don’t tease. Need to… need, fuck, Frankie, I can’t wait any-”

His chuckle was dark and deep and breathless. “Neither can I.” At that, he moved up the bed, reaching for a small box on the nightstand next to his wallet that you hadn’t noticed earlier - condoms, you realized in a haze as he tore open the package and deftly rolled the rubber over his length - and then he placed his lips next to your ear. “Gonna take the other one off… after.”

– – –

It was late morning by the time the two of you made it back down to the lobby, the hotel staff busily tending to the continental breakfast buffet that you could see Pope, Yovanna, Will and a few of the girls from the bridal party partaking in, and as you let Frankie lead you over towards them, his hand solidly placed on the small of your back as Pope’s voice carried across the space ribbing the two of you with “Look what the cat dragged in!”, you could only think of two things - one, that Frankie had been right about the two of you not making it back for a goodnight drink, and two, that the pair of stockings now laying ruined on the floor of your room had been the best fashion choice you’d ever made in your life.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to be added to or removed from my taglist, please feel free to let me know by sending a message or by filling out the form on my masterlist :)

tags: @something-tofightfor @paracosmenthusiast @cannedsoupsucks @dihra-vesa @disgruntledspacedad @littlemisspascal @alraedesigns @mishasminion360 @stevie75 @nyctophiliiiiaaa @practicalghost @tanzthompson @amb11 @harriedandharassed @woodlandmouth @swtaura @thescarletfang @trickstersp8 @princessxkenobi @imtryingmybeskar @wildmoonflower @mswarriorbabe80 @theredwritingwitch @silverstarsandsuns @competentpotato

#frankie morales x female reader #frankie morales x you #francisco morales x female reader #pedrostories #frankie morales fic #triple frontier fic #frankie catfish morales #santiago pope garcia #benny miller #will miller #kinktober but make it january #whoops #this is a smut #but with feelings #anywho ENJOY.

260 notes · View notes

prismaticpichu · 11 months ago

Text

Thank you all for an absolutely fantastic year ❤️

The details aren’t relevant, but things haven’t been all too pleasant up in the brain for a decent stretch of time now. I really mean it when I say this place is like an oasis to me—I really do. It brings me so much solace just to escape from it all, just to roll around in a place full of fluffy headcanons and laughs and stupidity and fun. And oh man…. have y’all been nothing but kind, supportive, and encouraging to me. I’m still left speechless at times from the sheer amount and love and heart that comes from this fandom, and I am so forever grateful to have been able to be a part of it. Thank you for giving me a home. Thank you for being so kind and wonderful to me. Thank you for letting me be silly and stupid and obsess over the characters that mean so much to me.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me be me. Bc I am absolutely crazy.

I hope it’s a wonderful holiday for you all <333 However, I know sometimes it’s just not that way for everyone. Christmas can unfortunately be a time as lonely and glum as it is festive. And if it is that way for you, then plz know that you are not alone. You are never alone. There are people out there who care about you, who love you, and want you to be happy. Don’t ever give up hope. Don’t ever stop trying. A new year is coming soon. You freaking got this <333 For those who do have holiday plans- or not- then I wish you an absolutely fantastic time with your loved ones <333 Hope it’s full of amazing food and good feels and it’s the best day that you can ever ask for. I hope that the rest of the year treats you with nothing but kindness, and the new year gives you even more.

That’s all I gotta say from my little spiel. Thank you so much, everyone, forever and always, for just being here and interacting with me and making me feel like I belong. Each and every one of you has made my life better. I feel like I’m part of a community here. A lil family. And that is legitimately the best gift I could ever ask for.

Happy Holidays, my friendos, and sending all the love this world has to offer <33

#christmas #happy holidays and a happy new year!!!#thank you guys #from the bottom of my little squeaky heart <333

22 notes · View notes

elysiansparadise · 11 months ago

Note

Hello, my wonderful ray of sunshine!

Your ask box is open. Yeah!

I just wanted to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year.

I appreciate your kindness, every thought written, heartfelt comments, and words.

I admire your writing, and you have been my inspiration to pick up writing. So I want to say Thank You. ❤️

Also, your astrology content is wonderful. I imagine it must take a lot of time and effort to put it all together.😘

I appreciate your good wishes, love. Thank you for following my content, your asks and for being my mutual! 🩷

I am very happy to know that you are taking up writing again, keep going because it is a very beautiful hobby. And you put a smile on my face that you like how I write.

I wish you the best this holiday season, have a good time and get plenty of rest. I send you a hug, stay healthy! 🤍

11 notes · View notes

libertineangel · 2 months ago

Text

Right, here we go then, in today's "sentences I never thought I'd say" here's a bit of a writeup of the fucking Pistols gig. I'm tired as shit, unsurprisingly, so it may not be the most well-written piece I've ever posted but like it's the fucking Sex Pistols so who needs polish anyway?

Half-hour delay starting due to an unspecified medical emergency at front-of-house, but come 9:30PM they walked onstage and Cookie sat right down to give us the kick drum beat in for Holidays in the Sun, and the moment Steve played that classic cascading guitar riff I got slammed against the barrier with the weight of a few hundred jubilant punks. I stayed there the whole gig really, didn't even need a shower when I got home 'cause I was pinned too hard to mosh about enough to get sweaty.

Frank Carter has such a fucking energy about him as a frontman, his vocals and his posturing clearly draw inspiration from Johnny but only insofar as he perfected the performance of these damn songs and if you wanna do it well you have to do it a bit like him, but it was by no means an impersonation or a tribute. He was so clearly enjoying himself so much too, like yes he was full of punk attitude but none of the contempt Johnny always dripped with, this was sheer earnest passion for it all; the rest of the band were loving it too, this is I think my fifth time seeing Cookie and I have never seen him look so happy, so enthusiastic, they all have such chemistry together and are loving breathing new life into these old songs.

Anyway, after Holidays there was no breathing room before the first chord of Seventeen came crashing down, and god did it sound mighty, and just like 1977 - Steve's guitar tone is just like it always was, absolutely perfect sound, after nearly half a century I find it remarkable how bloody dead on he got his setup. Then came the moment to greet us, and a shout & request for applause for the person who caused the medical delay - "we came here intending to kill it but not like that" as Frank put it - before dedicating the next one to the band themselves, launching into New York and launching into the crowd, getting right deep in and spending at least a solid verse singing standing fully upright held up over the crowd.

Pretty Vacant came next and fucking hell it was Pretty Vacant, y'know? I did my best to remember every detail from the gig but on this one I can only tell you it was fucking fantastic, exactly how it should've been, crowd singing it as much as Frank and Glen very much having fun with it. After tearing the roof off with that one Frank took a moment to talk to us, tell us "punk has always been for people on the outside, who don't fit in and feel excluded, and no one feels that more than the ladies, so can we get some room and open this pit up, this one's just for the girls, it's called Bodies."

Whether his instructions were respected or not I couldn't tell, as mentioned I was pinned solidly in place just right of centre, but I can absolutely tell you he gave a real fucking bite to that song, infinitely more than I saw Billy Idol try last year, some may find it a questionable track these days but oh did it fucking work tonight.

Next up, to my mild surprise, was the ostensibly-Pistols-but-basically-Professionals number Silly Thing, which Frank dedicated to the support act Girlband and also sang himself instead of Steve; it's a great bit of crowdpleasing singalong honestly, you can't really go wrong with it. Liar came next and Frank tore the fucking throat out of it (and, to be honest, out of me), and he did say something or play with the crowd first but we're coming up on five hours since it happened so forgive me for forgetting exactly what he said.

Then, with no pause or build-up, came that iconic guitar blast of God Save The Queen King, which was just as fucking brilliant as you'd expect. Crowdsurfers getting pulled out by security every verse, I counted at least five plus Frank himself at one point, someone's water partially over my head (no booze though - been a while since I've felt that actually, guess no one wants to waste their money throwing drink these days), and oh this song has just as much fire as ever and this country just as little future.

If I recall correctly the next one was dedicated to the band too, or maybe Steve specifically I can't quite remember, but anyway it was Submission and it was a fair move to give us a slower one at this point but it by no means lacked energy because of course it fucking didn't, they still all play like they're fucking 20.

Satellite came next and Frank went full fucking Iggy on us, don't think he sang a single word of it from the stage and indeed I didn't even see him except through the phone of the person next to me, hanging off the outside of the fucking railing of the staff access stairs to the balcony for a bit before diving back into the crowd; his movement over our heads also included such moments as "alright put me down a bit - oi gently" and "you've just fully grabbed my bollocks there, thanks mate", because this is not a perfect art.

After returning to the stage he looked out at us and said "I'm staying on the stage for this one, I jumped off those stairs and I can't top that, I'd have to climb up that balcony and I'd fucking die", but about three seconds into the opening chords of No Feelings he said "no I've changed my mind" and launched himself back into the pit.

Then came No Fun, which was a bit ironic considering everyone - crowd and band alike - were so clearly loving every second of this; this was the number in which Frank introduced the rest of the band by name, "the man, the myth, the legend" Steve then (I believe) "the legendary" Paul and finally "the most stylish man on this stage" Glen, each of them doing their own little solo as is custom, after which Frank said to Glen "that was pretty nice, I liked that." Problems and EMI rounded out the front of the gig, and I know I'm forgetting some shit I'd've liked to mention but y'know they were fucking brilliant and that's what's important.

After a bit of an interval they returned, Glen & Steve sat on the drum riser while Frank asked us if we'd like one more, if we'd like two more, then said alright but he'd do it his way - cue spotlight, cue soft guitar, cue the great punk pisstake that wrecked all our throats a little bit more.

Then, finally, I'm sure you can guess which song has been thus far a notable omission, which song rounded out this fucking storming set. It needs no introduction, the great clarion call of a generation sounding once more with as much fire as it ever did, and I couldn't put into words what it's like to scream that legendary rallying cry before the band themselves. It's the fucking Sex Pistols, and it's Anarchy in the UK. Get pissed, destroy.

There may be no future for us, but this music is fucking timeless.

#sex pistols

3 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 5 months ago

Text

Junteenth Special: The Blackening (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Happy Juneteenth all you happy people! It's once again time to celebrate black liberation with me, a man so white I blend into most doorways and friends episodes.

While the irony of that isn't lost on me, I do this because it's an important holiday that really always should've been something white dumbasses like me at least knew about. You'd think Missouri Schools would teach "This is the day we finally treated black people like people and not property".. but then again this is the kind of state where their once again attempting to pass a bill that bans "critical race theory" despite heavy opposition telling them "Stop this nonsense", so I really SHOUDLN'T be that surprised. It also taught Missouri keeping slavery as "a part of our past we're mildly ashamed of" and not "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. SERIOUSLY WHY WERE WE SO FUCKED UP. MY GOD CHILDREN. Now it's time for lunch everyone get into the cafeteria for some horrifying rice abomination with your meal. "

Still we celebrate and while Kev backed this year's review and had the idea to do one, I suggested this one as it's a film i'd been meaning to get to and owned, and one that perfectly fit: The Blackening. The Blackening is a 2023 horror film that most places mark as 2022 because it aired at a festival before delays. I go with the wide release in it's native country because that's when most people could see it, when it's marketed and when most people could consider it came out.

Pedantic nonsense aside, the Blackening is a horror comedy from Tim Story, who you may remember from such films as The 2000's Fantastic Four Films, Barbershop, the recent Candy Cane Lane and Ride Along. I wouldn't from the last one because I already spent one insufferable trip in a car with Ice Cube, i'm not doing it again. Are We There Yet? Scarred me for life... great work in Mutant Mayhem though just stay away from cars Ice Cube. And Kevin Hart.

The Film was based on a short by Dewayne Perkins, which I watched and was hilarious and the core of it was kept: conversational jokes about black culture and horror cliches, with the core of the sketch itself (Voting on one of them to die so the rest can live), being a key scene in the final flim and the joke of someone wretching as they try to say something stupid makes it into the film.

The result is a clever film about blackness, how people change over time, and horror tropes. While satrizing horror tropes isn't new, Scream 6 came out the same year, the way Blackening does it is clever, not overdoing it but having it be just present enough. And look i'm a sucker for meta meditations on horror: I love the Scream franchise and The film The Final Girl, so this film already had me but it also has likeable characters, a ton of great jokes, and a clever villian, while having some genuinely creepy stuff. While this leans more into the comedy than the horrror, the horror's still present and masterfully done. Check this film out if you can and if i've sold you enough. If you still want to go ahead with the rest of the review feel free but be warned full spoilers under the cut.

Cabin in the Woods Woooooo-oooo

The Blackening follows 7 close friends who went to college together reuniting for a cabin in the woods. And like many a thing, they lampshade how sketchy going to a cabin in the woods feels and with this, the mutilator, cabin in the woods and the evil dead franchise they absolutely have a point. And that's not even a fraction of the films with this sort of premise.

The group was invited by their old friends and married couple Morgan and Jay. Morgan is played by Yvonne Orj of Insecure (A series I haven't seen but want to watch) and Jay Pharaoh, who I have seen (for lack of a better term) in invincible as bullet proof and The Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart as Nuno Blood. Unfortunately for these two their the scream style opening kill, finding a racist as hell board game with a racist caracture in the middle and while having the sane reaction of "taking a picture of it".. are still stupid enough to play it and soon get taken out, Jay with an arrow to the neck and morgan ambigiously kidnapped. It creates a nice sense of tension. We know one friend is dead, one might be, and their walking straight into a trap.

We soon meet the group and since the Blackening has a LARGE cast and most of them live to see the credits, let's break them down.

Lisa (Antoinette Robinson from Dear White People): The calm rational one of the group. She's mostly defined by her relationships in the film, with said relationships being one of the films only arcs for the characters involved. This isn't a terrible thing as our friend group still feels real enough we don't need a tidy character arc for everyone. Still Lisa feels like she got the shortest end of the stick out of the cast and is mostly bouyed by Robinson being a great actress and having a great role in the climax. Lisa is best friends with...

Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins himself): Dewayne is a delight, an openly gay man (something that only comes up part way and casually at that but it's nice it's just in there), and Lisa's best friend. The two have a somewhat co dependant relationship with Dewawyne feeling he needs to protect her. He's also objectively hilaroius when he's not involved in sniping at someone we'll get to next. My faviorite gag with him is him getting introspective and weird on shrooms.. only for Shanika to point out he's always like this and hard cut to him dancing to 777 by Silk Sonic. Dewayne can be annoying though as he spends most of the film pissy at Lisa over

Nnamndi (Sinqua Wells, Teen Wolf, American Soul, Power): Lisa's boyfriend who she just got back together with after a rocky as hell relationship in college where he cheated on her constantly. He's genuinely trying to change but most of the group are worried it won't stick. Dewayne, having been the one there every time he did that shit, is especially a fucked up little whiny bitch about it. He has a valid point to be worried and to be upset Lisa didn't tell him.. but at the same time I can kinda get why she held off not telling him given he procedes to mope around the cabin and brings it up even when their being threatned by a killer. It's thankfully not to the point it gets anyone killed or gets super tiresome but i'ts just.. hard to care. The film tries to use this as it's core.. but it's far more intresting when the freinds are just riffing on one another than with this friend vs lover argument. It only dosen't bring down the film because Lisa eventually calls their asses out pointing out to Nnamindi that Dewayne absolutely has a reason to be upset.. but that this also isn't Dewayne's buisness, she didn't ask him for his help, and that she can take care of herself: College was a long ass time ago, she knows what she's risking with this and the three reconcile.

King (Melvin Gregg, American Vandal, Snowfall): My faviorite of the group mostly for his horrible "king's kool aid": which is Kool Aid with an assload of sugar and vodka mixed in. I love how proud he is, how he tries to hype it up.. and how he still does even after the Conesus is it tastes like ass. He also has a quick wit. He also somehow survives a full on arrow to the chest holy shit. He's also implied to be a former Gangster, but has moved on from that.. though he still brought a gun. But I like how they have one without it breaking the plot: it makes sense someone might have one for protection, especially in increasingly racially fraught times where stupid white people are especially agressive and obnoxious, but he has to use it to shoot the door off, thus leaving it out of play long before the killers meet them face to face. And yes I said killers, plural. The film may be it's own thing.. but it does feel very scream in places and I support that. He also has a white wife. That is used primarily for jokes which only works because the group in general razzes each other a lot. Not something i'm super comfortable with a lot but I do have friends like that who will take the piss out of each other, so I get it.

Allison (Grace Beyers, The Gifted): Speaking of taking a piss

Allison is for the first 2/3 mostly the "one they mock for being biracial" and the peacekeepr of the group, trying to help manuver the whole Nmandi Dewayne thing, though she's also aware Kim is lying through her teeth about them being just friends. To the film's credit though they give her more to do in the last part: she accidently gets high on adderal, so not only does Beyers get a lot of great material for Stoned allison, she also gets to punch one of the killers to death with arrowheads tucked between her fingers, think...

Shanika (X Mayo, American Auto): The most outspoken of the group and the only one to drive down alone, stopping a convience store to get glared at by a threatening white man, with one eye who naturally turns out to be one of the killers. I also applaud her for grabbing rap chips and generally being a lot of fun in her reactions to the shit going down. She tends to stir it up a little, but is ultimately kind and when the chips are down incredibly badass, taking one of the killer's crossbows and using it for herself towards the end. She runs into the final member of our party

Clifton (Jermaine Fowler, Coming 2 America, Superior Donuts, Murder at the Edge of the World): Clifton is the odd man out in the group. He's , to put it blunty, a fully grown Urkel

Jermain Fowler is hamming it up as he's awkard, nerdy, won't shut up about his android phone charger (which having had android I CAN relate to but my god man), and no one is sure why the fuck he's here as no one was expecting him. He WAS a friend of the group.. but it's clear they never really kept touch. He's honestly annoying, but is kept to the back a bit till the big "Whose the blackest scene". There's more to him as you can probably guess by the mountain of red flags.. but we'll circle back to that.

So we have our magnificent seven, who have a good time: they play some spades, a card game I hadn't heard of till watching L'Ron Readus' video on the movie (Which I highly recommend) but comes up a decent amount and is a favorite of the group.

Naturally the group start to get suspcious their friends are missing and eventually find the game. The film really uses the horrifyingly racist caracture well as it's the killers logo for when they pop on the tv and the voice they use for it is really hushed and creepy, using a very real very horrifying symbol of racial sterotyping to good effect. The masked killer(s) also use it, with black hoods, ala Black Christmas, but with white chalk drawn across the mouth because of course there that level of mother fucker.

So their told Morgan will die unless they play the game right and we get a great sequence of them trying to figure out how long second aunt viv was around. The answer of course is three seasons but it's fun to see them use things like nicky. It's also fun when asked something about NAZ's blunts, we see Nnmandi do the math on screen.

Eventually though the Killer, being a dick throws them a trick question: Name 5 black people from friends. I love the slow revelation that ALL of them clearly watch friends despite trying to watch it. White as hell the show may be it's reach is long. Though living single is the better show, let's be real, it's just not shown nearly as much as it should be, though I do see it has at least daily reruns on one channel and is on hulu. It' sa trick answer as the correct answer is "I don't watch it".. which is really just the killer fucking with them. As we find out later Morgan was already dead.

With Morgan dead the Killer decides to get vicious and forces them to pick "the blackest one of them", an expanded version of the scene from the sketch that can be hilarious but is also nicely cutting in places, as Allison calls them all out for trying to pick her when their constantly questoning her blackness due to being biracial, something that bothers her way mroe than she lets on and makes those jabs worK: she brushes them off.. but they clearly DO hurt and everyone noticably stops after this.

Naturally.. everyone picks Clifton: he was there supsciously as they quicly point out, isn't likeable and his attempts at proving how not black he is.. lead to him saying he voted for trump... TWICE. Yeah unsuprisingly they all vote him out. He quickly dies and even with the Trump thing, they do feel bad a person "died".

The doors are opened after Nnmandi destroys the game board, with everyone agreeing fuck this shit.. and the masked killers responding with "Alrighty then murder time". They didn't say that and what they were probably thinking is so vile and racist it makes me upset.

The group argue about what to do next; Stay and fight or go for help. Allison has the unevible task of suggesting the obvious but stupid option: Let's split up gang. I love how she gags saying it, how she knows it's the LAST thing to do in a horror film.. but both ideas make sense. It's also nice in it's execution in that for once it's NOT the stupidest idea in the world: most time people split up in a horror movie it's one at a time MAYBE groups of two if your lucky, which when your being stalked by one person, is dumb. Here the group simply splits in half to take two entirely logical courses of action: Go for help and take out the killer on their own turf while they have time to prepare. As far as they know and the film's implied there's only one killer, so it sends him after only one party, and if it's the rescue one they at least have a chance to loose him in th ewoods, and if it's the one at home, it's three on one.

So they split into two teams: Allison, King and Shanika go for help, Lisa, Nnamandi and Dewayne stay behind to prepare.. and thankfully work out their shit.

Team Allison ends up running into one of the killers and we get a pretty fun fight scene as Shanika beats the shit out of him, king at least stabs him once before that and allison wolverines him as mentioned before. It's a fun fight scene and a nice way to turn the tables: normally a killer in horror would've killed all three of them, maybe ONE of them surviving for a possible sequel. With the Blackening, the characters not only get to live but strike back. It isn't the only horror film to do this, but it's a refreshing subversion: our characters go thorugh a lot of shit but no one really had to die and they still lost two friends, with their deaths proving the killers are dead serious.

Meanwhile the other team runs into Ranger White, who looks suspcious as fuck but is as guilty as red herring. Ranger White showed up earlier to hassle king and be a white dumbass, and is our obvious red herring for the evening. And our only white guy. And Deidrich Bader who does a great job, playing the role entirely stone faced and being both a convincing asshole at the start, but his turn to being helpful if stupid here works. Sadly being mildly offputting, obestructive and finding the killers mask in the woods means he gets locked out of his own car and stabbed with an arrow. I REALLY love the killers use of arrows, a way to give them a ranged weapon that's still horrifying, see Shawn's horrible death in the opening, but has a chance of survival and makes perfect sense once we find out who the killers are, as well as making sense for our red herring: While the ranger HAS a gun, that could be traced a lot easier than a case of arrow through the neck. Not saying you can't trace an arrow through the neck, but you don't leave finger prints on an arrow. Probably. And you do if you don't use gloves.

Thankfully the rest of the party come in and Shaniqua gives Killer #2 a taste of his own arrow through the neck. They find out the two guys are the ones who rented the cabin and one of them is naturally the creepy guy from the gas station and I like how despite not meeting the killers that much before.. this reveal works. We never knew WHO rented the house to Morgan, and it was clear they were sketchy, and Ranger White mentions they usually only rent to families.. with our heroes outright saying the quiet part he's trying not to loud by adding "white" to the word. IT also explains the weapons: their hunters and their motivations are pretty simple: their racist assholes and being payed to kill black people was an easy pitch. As our heroes find out... someone HIRED them, meaning whoever was actually behind this is out there..and return to find Clifton's dead body.. and him pulling a billy loomis and waking up. Clifton was behind it all

Yeah I did get spoiled on this as I wasn't sure I was going to ever watch the film, so I watched L'Ron Readus' video on it and highly recommend it. You can find it here. It's what convinced me to buy the film and the reason this review is here, so I couldn't help but give a shout out. He's a great youtuber and has great mini essays on black and queer themes in media.

Even without it.. the twist is pretty obvious: no one really seems to LIKE Clifton and some of them struggle to remember him, he shows up abrubtly with a weak excuse his car broke down, and it feels VERY weird Morgan didn't tell anyone he'd be coming or would suprise them with this. Nnmandi being hidden made sense: Dewayne is a raging dick about it and might not have come. But no one was going to say no because Clifton was coming they'd probably just be dispaointed it'd feel a bit weird having someone they haven't spoken too since college there. It helps he feels the least.. real. Not because he's a nerd, that's entirely normal and King himself is a bit of a dork and even Dewayne sings the O'Reily autoparts theme at one point. Said gag is one of my faviorites as when trying to figure out WHOSE after them, she mentions an online argument where a guy got mad at her for saying the O'Reily autoparts jingle was more ubiquiotus than the natnional anthem. Which... I agree with Dewayne she has a point and I love everyone singing along to the "auto parts" part perfectly. Clifton really couldn't be more obvious if he were wearing a sign saying "I didn't murder anyone today promise".

It works mostly because while there are obvious clues he shoudln't be here, he could've just crashed and as far as we know the killer is a white man way too burly to be him. The film sets him up as a red herring.. then reveals him as the mastermind.

His reason for it is also brilliant, and is why the scream comparisons: like many a ghostface, his reasons are somewhat sympathetic.. but still so out of touch with what actually happened and who was actually responsible in the situation that you still want to see him die. He explains he had a drunk driving acccident... and is clearly pissed he has to lead them to the why: They were playing Spades, and he was bad in it since no one in his state really plays spades and rather than teach him, in his eyes the others were teasing him, with Lisa jokingly "revoking his black card". For them it was just the kind of ribbing you do during spades and they do in general, but Clifton took it personally, got extra drunk due to the pain.. and accidently hit a woman with a his car, getting four years in prison.

The thing is Clifton is to a degree sympathetic: it's hard to fit in and likely harder when your seen as "too white" just for being yourself. That you don't fit in and no one's really trying to help you. I've been there with the latter. Sometimes fitting in with a crowd is hard and it can be easy to take an insult way too personally: i have extra trouble with that. It's easy to see why what was just a joke hit him hard. When you have a deep well of self loathing and a bad need to be accepted , being seemingly rejected and constantly mocked can take a toll. I learned over time some assholes just aren't worth it while for others teasing is just how they react and they can dail it back. The group likely woudl've mocked him a little.. but don't seem so dickisht hey wouldn't of apologzied had he called them on it. And if he didn't then sometimes the hard truth is it's better to be alone than be freinds with someone who dosen't respect you. This group dosen't seem the type, but we see them as adults, not young adults, so it's hard to say.

What isn't.. is that Clifton took the wrong message. Instead of those.. the message was "They ruined my life, I wasn't black enough, they rejected me, they were the assholes" which again they kinda were, but it wasn't intentional. He took a sarcastic statment as gospel and proof that he needed revenge. He wasted the rest of his life trying to get back at people who didn't evne remember they hurt them instead of moving on: I've had my share of assholes in my life... and i've left them behind. They were far worse than the group here, but you move on. The gang did fuck up, I belelive that, but they all fucked up in other ways.. and as we've seen grew: Nnamandi was a serial cheater who constnatly said he'd change but didn't.. but is now really changed. Lisa is willing to give him another shot but is mature enough to know he's on thin ice. Even within the film Dewayne realizes he's been too overprotective of lisa and should trust her judgement. The group all cahnged and evolved.. while Clifton remaind the same angry kid he was blaming the world for something that ultimately was his fault. He drank a lot, someone died, and he drove into them.

Thankfully for them Clifton was dumb enough to lock two of them out, and while Lisa and co stall, their able to eventually disarm the asshole and kill him. OUr story ends with our heroes triumphant.. if not calling the cops because HAHAHAHAHAHA NO .. JUST.. NO. and calling the fire department because "they don't shoot people"... with bullets maybe not. With a hose.. yes. A goofy gag to end a great film.

The Blackening.. is excellent. It's funny, has some genuine scares, and nicely subverts a lot of horror tropes while talking about them cleverly. It's hard to be meta in horror as Scream has done a LOT of it and lead to a lot more films doing the same, bu tthe Blackening pulls it off with flying colors and is well worth checking out. Happy junteenth and thanks for reading.

#juneteenth #tim story #the blackening #x mayo #grace beyers #jermaine fowler #dewayne perkins #antoinette robinson #diedrich bader #film #horror #horror movies

4 notes · View notes

scottsummersevents · 2 years ago

Photo

The year has flown by, but not without some great writing, especially here in our first ever Scott Summers Bingo 2022! We’re still busy writing and still busy building up our guy with fantastic creative projects all around as Winter heads out towards spring. We’ve had a great variety of prompts and even some surprise adoptable holiday ones. We look forward to the rest of the fall and the upcoming winter for more great submissions! We encourage people who haven’t yet to sign up for the Bingo. We’re really laid back and more about having fun and being creative than being too strict.

Here is this latest round of winter submissions for under the cut for everyone to check out. Come check out what people have already posted up. And if you want to sign up for the bingo, here’s the link. We also have a Discord for the group at where we have a lot of neat conversations ranging from silly to serious but always fun.

Title of Fill: Winner Takes All Author: ScottxLogan Card Number: SSB-001 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43069260 Square Filled: Scott Summers Bingo: B5: Cuddling/Sex Next to the Fire Rating: Mature Major Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Flirting, Innuendo, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Fluff, Game Night, Secret Relationship Summary: Scott and Tony's game night together takes a surprising turn as the two find that winning the game is the last thing on their minds in being this close together. Word Count: 5430

Title of Fill: Rage (Chapter 2) Author: ScottxLogan Card Number: SSB-001 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750128/chapters/108337951 Square Filled: Scott Summers Bingo: Free Square Ship/Main Pairing: Scott Summers/James “Logan” Howlett Major Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Past Child Abuse, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Sexual Content, Protective Scott Summers, Past Jean Grey/Scott Summers, Post-X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Feelings Realization, mention of Victor Creed, Past Violence, Past Abuse Summary: After sharing a night finding comfort in Logan's arms, Scott is left feeling unsettled by how easy it was to confide his unsettling truths about his past to Logan. The next morning Scott makes it his new mission to spend as much time as possible avoiding Logan. When they are unexpectedly pushed together again after circumstance leads them to face a mission in protecting a student, they have no choice, but to work together. Along the way they discover the truth about what they mean to one another can no longer be hidden behind the pain of the past. Word Count: 15701

Title of Fill: Color Me Surprised Author: Sivan Card Number: SSB-006 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43133028 Square Filled: B5: Mutual Pining/Idiots in Love Ship/Main Pairing: Logan/Scott Summers Rating: Mature Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Sexual content Summary: “Hey, Storm, who is the handsome blue-eyed vampire?” Logan asked her. “You didn’t recognize his scent?” Storm asked as she raised her eyebrow with a curious look. Word Count: 1326

Title of Fill: Tradition Author: Cerylid Card Number: SSB-007 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42872880/chapters/107707161 Square Filled: "Learning to be loved" Ship/Main Pairing: Bobby Drake & Jean Grey & Hank McCoy & Scott Summers & Warren Worthington III Rating: General Audiences Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Friendship, Christmas, Christmas Presents, Team Bonding, Secret Santa Summary: It’s the first Christmas the five brand new X-Men are going to spend together, and Bobby is determined to make it go well. Word Count: 4599

Title of Fill: Small Sacrifices Author: Cerylid Card Number: SSB-007 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43603056 Square Filled: "blood loss" Ship/Main Pairing: Logan/Scott Summers Rating: Teen and Up Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Trick or Treat: Summary: After Scott is injured during a mission, Logan forces him to confront some of his self-destructive tendencies. Word Count: 4198

Title of Fill: So Easy Author: Cerylid Card Number: SSB-007 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43970412 Square Filled: "Embarrassment" Ship/Main Pairing: Logan/Scott Summers Rating: Mature Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Angst, emotional hurt/comfort, second chances, guilt, healing, Scott Summers deserves happiness, developing relationship, Logan deserves happiness Summary: Logan wakes from the events in Days of Future Past to discover that he and Scott Summers are in a clandestine relationship. When Scott realises that this is a “different” Logan from the one he’s in love with, he pulls away and pretends nothing is wrong. As Logan struggles to come to terms with everything that's happened, changing the timeline and saving his friends, he also has to contend with his growing confusion over Scott, as well as Scott's increasing efforts to pretend that he's unaffected by what's happened. Word Count: 13740

Title of Fill: Take Two Author: Cerylid Card Number: SSB-007 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43828719 Square Filled: "Taking it slow" Ship/Main Pairing: Logan/Scott Summers Rating: Mature Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Pining, Christmas, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication Summary: Scott discovers from Ororo that she thinks Logan likes him, and is persuaded to try and connect at the Christmas Eve party. Word Count: 5211 Title of Fill: The Day Before the Soldiers Came Author: Cerylid Card Number: SSB-007 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44101258 Square Filled: “Panic Attack” Ship/Main Pairing: Logan/Scott Summers Rating: Teen and Up Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Pre-Slash Summary: Logan travels North to try and chase down details of his missing memories, keeping in contact with the School by mobile phone, and he and Scott strike up an awkward friendship via text message. Back at the School, Scott is concerned when Logan doesn’t text back after a week of no contact, and goes to try and find him. They both get more than they bargained for. Word Count: 13361

Title: Always It Waits In the Wings Author: Ram Card #:SSB-008 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43041255 Square Filled: I3: Getting away from it all Ship/Main Pairing: Scott Summers Rating: General Audiences Tags/Warnings/Triggers: Road Trips, Self-Discovery, Grief/Mourning, Character Study, Angst, Rescue Word Count: 3630 Summary: Scott hadn't meant to leave. But a month after Jean's death, he finds himself on the road, contemplating the possibilities of life away from the roles that have defined him. A story about the open road, model trains, freedom, and responsibility.

#Scott Summers Bingo 2022 #Scott Summers #cyclops #tony stark #wolverine #james howlett #iron man #scogan #bobby drake #jean grey #hank mccoy #Warren Worthington III

27 notes · View notes

vinbee631 · 2 years ago

Text

Welcome to the Family

day 3!! thank you guys for all the support on the last two works, it really means a lot! (and keeps me motivated to actually do these lol)

listen this doesn't completely fit the prompt but it's too late not it's already here :)

i used the day four (winter) prompt today, so day 3 will be tomorrow actually!!

enjoy! <3

Roman’s family was absolutely massive. Roman himself had a twin and four other siblings, and that wasn’t even taking into account his parents’ siblings and niblings.

So, family reunions were entirely chaotic.

Roman loved it, the loud, exuberant voices of relatives seeing each other for the first time in a year or two, kids excitedly weaning through his feet and playing little games that could keep anyone entertained, and his Abuela, the head of the house, gathering everyone together like a flock of sheep that moved at the speed of a hurricane.

This year, however, he was a bit more worried about the chaos. Not worried for himself! No, he always knew he was going to have a fantastic time!

This year, he was bringing Logan along.

Logan’s family was tiny, just his mother and grandfather had been available to celebrate holidays, birthdays, and other accomplishments.

Roman thought that sounded incredibly boring, but Logan’s small family made him happy.

Except, after Logan had made it through college and received his degree, he’d decided to come out to his little family, thinking that, after all the time they’d spent, just the three of them, they would be nothing but supportive.

He was very wrong about that.

It had been a year since they had last spoken, and this was about to be Logan’s first Christmas ever, completely alone.

Not if Roman had anything to say about it.

Of course, he gave Logan the option to decline, but after seeing how excited Roman was about the opportunity for his family to meet one of his closest friends, it was almost impossible for him to say no.

Roman knew that if at any point Logan felt uncomfortable or unsure, he could simply leave, and there wouldn’t be any problems. He just… he really wanted things to go fantastically! And he was going to make sure he did everything in his power to make it so.

Logan was only coming for the last day of a week-long event. His entire family would drive, or fly, to his grandmother’s house, some staying there, some scattered in other relatives’ houses or in hotels.

The week leading up to the holiday itself was packed full of family activities, chaotic dinners spread out at a comically long table, and so much love Roman’s heart was full to the brim and it stayed that way for about a month after he left.

He wouldn’t trade these holidays for anything.

When he told Gram, the head of the whole shebang, about his plans to bring a friend, she was ecstatic. It had been a few years since any more grandchildren had come along (although one of Roman’s aunts was expecting). They were due for another new face at the table.

He’d gotten quite a few excited texts when he announced the news to the rest of his family.

(And a few teasing ones asking about a potential boyfriend, but he was used to brushing those off that this point.)

It was a good thing he’d texted them, too, because he’d almost forgotten about the all important gift exchange. He hadn’t been planning on making Logan participate, but once he heard about it, his friend practically refused to not join in.

“It would be a bit awkward if I were the only one there with no gift. Besides, I can’t say I’ve ever participated in one before, other than the normal Christmas presents I gave to my family, so I suppose this will be a fun new experience,” Logan had reasoned.

Once Roman found out it was his first gift exchange? Yeah no, he wasn’t getting out of it.

Soon, but not fast enough, winter break finally arrived. Roman and Logan drove up to Georgia together a week before Christmas. Logan didn’t have to participate in anything other than the celebration the day of, but it gave him a chance to explore the area (and it saved the boys some gas money if they were to travel separately).

Roman really hoped everything was going to work out.

…

Although, in hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have given Logan the aux cord.

It was not Logan’s first road trip, fortunately. Roman would have been insufferable the whole way if it was. Their friend group had driven down to California one year to visit some of Janus’ family and sightsee.

Logan had sat in the back for that trip, but he had still been goaded into many road trip “traditions,” most of which were only slightly annoying.

He hadn’t gotten the chance to handle the music, but now that he had the chance, he could tell Roman was regretting his choice.

“Does it have to be podcasts?” Roman groaned, only half an hour into their four-hour drive.

“You were the one who put me in control here, and you never said it had to be music. You only instructed that I not ‘pick something cringey,’ and I believe I’ve accomplished that.”

Roman just groaned again, ignoring Logan’s gentle and unnecessary reminder to keep his eyes on the road. “But I’m the one that has to drive us there! If I fall asleep at the wheel from sheer boredom, you are completely to blame!”

“If you think this is boring, I can’t imagine what monstrosities of music you are going to subject me to on the way home.” Logan shook his head, trying to keep the teasing smirk off his face.

“Oh, whatever. I suppose I’ll live. It better not be podcasts the whole time, though. I know you do actually like music. I’ve seen your playlists.”

“Oh, whatever,” Logan mocked, “the music will come when I feel like it.”

“Never let anyone convince you you’re not just as childish as I am,” Roman huffed, reaching over to flick Logan on the arm.

“Keep both your hands on the wheel!” Logan complained, but he was smiling, so Roman considered that a win.

Despite so readily agreeing to come with him, Logan had been genuinely upset about the holiday season. Roman knew just how much his mother and grandfather had meant to him, and they threw their relationship away with him very quickly.

It made him sick to think about it, and he couldn’t even imagine how it made Logan felt.

Now, it served as a reminder that he really needed to make things perfect. Logan was likely already in a bit of a sour mood, and the whole reason he was going was to avoid that. If his family made things worse, Roman would never forgive himself.

“So, is there anything you’re planning on doing other than spending time with me?” Roman questioned, getting antsy in the silence, even with the podcast droning on silently in the background.

“And your family,” Logan tacked on, “but yes, I suppose there are a few things in the area I would enjoy checking out this week. Although, I haven’t thought to put together any sort of itinerary. I figured your family would also have plans I may want to join you for.”

“You know, you don’t have to spend the entire week with my family. I know I invited you to spend time with them, and me, but this is also about you. They can be… well I mean, there are a ton of us. I understand if it’s too overwhelming to throw yourself into at first.”

“Roman, really, I’ll be alright. I’m sure it’s going to be… different than most of my other experiences with family, but I’m prepared for it. You don’t have to worry.”

“Well, I’m going to anyway,” Roman huffed, but the two exchanged a smile, and he was already starting to feel a bit better about this thing.

“Now, keep your eyes on the road!”

…

The rest of the week passed in an incredibly joyful (and incredibly chaotic) haze. Logan and Roman had booked a hotel room about five minutes out from Roman’s grandma, but that really didn’t matter much. They spent basically the whole day, every day, out doing something.

One day it was aquariums, yes, plural! The next, Roman’s uncles were inviting them to wine tastings and restaurants, and whatever else.

Roman had been consistently worried that something was going to overwhelm Logan, but everytime he checked in with him, he was so unashamedly happy.

Roman was more than a little proud his plan was working.

After a crazy long week, and yet far too soon, the very last day came along. Roman spent almost the entire day running around with the kids and keeping them entertained. While he would have enjoyed the company, he was ecstatic to find Logan had stuck behind with his Gram to help with cooking.

And getting to see his face when Logan actually got to eat all the food they made?

Yeah, this was maybe the best Christmas ever.

And then, as soon as dinner was over, a flurry of movement rose from the table as the enitre family, Logan included, huddled into the living room for the gift exchange.

When Logan made his way in, he was pleased to find Roman had saved him a seat. He smiled gratefully, settling down onto one of the couches to see what was going on.

He caught the tail end of a growing argument between the sea of kids. Seriously, Roman had a ton of niblings. How did he keep track of all of them? Logan admired him for it.

Oh, right, screaming kids. That was still going on. They were all crowded around the tree, some holding presents, some simply jumping up and down and waiting for the main event to get started.

“No, no, no! It was your turn last year!”

“But I’ve never gotten a turn! You’re big, you’ve already had two!!”

“You’re not even holding your present! That’s Auntie Gabby’s!”

“What if we let our new guest have the first turn this time?” The children all went silent simultaneously (good going, Gram), one of them rushing over and selecting a gift to place in Logan’s lap. “That one says you!” They exclaimed with a bright smile.

Logan accepted the parcel gratefully, although the stares that accompanied it were not as pleasant. Roman gently squeezed his shoulder in that comforting way of his.

Before he moved to open the thing, he suddenly realized he still had no idea what was going on. Was he even supposed to open this?

One of the older kids, sensing his overwhelming conclusion, took pity on him and caught everyone’s attention so they could explain. Or re-explain, for everyone else.

“So! As everyone here knows, except our special guest-” the kid (Bristol! Logan suddenly remembered) sent a wink in his direction- “for the past couple of years, as the family has gotten bigger and bigger, the yearly gift exchange has gotten… a bit complicated.

“Instead of giving people normal gifts, because of this problem, we decided to have a little… I guess it’s kind of a competition, to see who could get someone the goofiest gift they can find! Ro, I figured you would have told him about this, since we added him to the gift pool and everything!”

Roman shrugged helplessly. “I forgot he wouldn’t know what was going on! I did make him actually buy his present, though, so I hope you picked something good, Logie,” he teased lightly.

“Considering the person Gram picked for me was you, I think I got something perfect,” he shot back, smirking a bit at the betrayed expression Roman shot his grandma.

“Oh, so when I ask to be his gift exchange it’s a no, but him having me is perfectly fine?” Gram laughed, boisterous and loud in a way that reminded Logan so clearly of his friend. “Oh come on, let an old woman have her fun. I was perhaps cutting Logan a bit of a break since this is his first-ever Christmas with the Rey-os Incarnate family. But you’re used to this, you’ll live.”

Roman huffed, folding himself back into his chair. “Fine. I’ll bet my gift’s cooler than yours, though. Also, that was not your best pun.”

“Alright, enough, enough! I wanna see Lo-Lo open his present!” Elliot cut in, the little one practically bouncing in excitement along with his cousins.

“I don’t know why I let you convince them to call me that,” Logan grumbled, but he did comply and opened up his present.

The wrapping paper revealed a flimsy, clothing box, which Logan folded open to find a large, chunky sweater. Like, obnoxiously chunky.

“I didn’t have very much time to make it, so there might be a few loose ends. But, everyone in the family has to have one,” Gram explained with a smile. She made this for him??

Logan stared at the item in his lap, the sweater hiding his legs completely. It was fairly simple, a plain sweater with a large letter “L” on the front.

But it was his. And she’d made it for him.

“I- I was under the impression these were supposed to be comedic gifts.” Logan realized, quite mortifyingly, that the thing had nearly reduced him to tears.

“Oh, trust me, it normally is. Everyone here’s got one, and some of them are quite the creations. But, I suppose it does seem a bit more sentimental to you. I hope I’ll get to make you some even weirder ones in the future, honey.”

Logan, by some miracle, kept his composure enough to keep his cheeks dry through the entire hug Gram gave him. “Welcome to the family, Logan.”

Okay, that wasn’t fair. Now he was crying.

Suddenly, he was enveloped in warmth as the entire family tried to cram themselves together for a massive group hug. They didn’t all fit but the thought, the effort they provided for someone that they hadn’t even met until this morning, touched Logan’s heart completely.

He understood now why Roman had been so worried. He’d wanted everything to go perfectly because he didn’t want Logan to miss out on this, this incredible outpouring of love and acceptance, something he realized he’d never really had in this amount before.

As much as he had teased Roman for his mother-henning earlier, there was no amount of thanks he could provide that would make up for the experience Roman had given him.

He got a pretty comfy sweater out of it, too.

aaaand that's it! can you tell i'm a sucker for logan angst and hurt/comfort lmaoo, i promise i will make one more roman centered too, I just have a hard time writing him and i had very little time to write today <3

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #tumblr fanfic #logan sanders #roman sanders #hurt/comfort #chirstmas #winter holidays #found family #and it's a big ass family lol #loginceweek2023

9 notes · View notes