#he talks about his wife's dark fucking jokes about not waking the baby or at least waiting to find out if their lives are ruined

[res-on8]

Today, out of an abundance (i hope?) of caution, I went to get my IUD replaced early. It won't need it for about a year and a half, but by then, who knows if they'll be allowed in the US.

Anyway, they have to give the "here are the benefits and the risks" talks before doing the procedure, and the NP noted the one that's THE horror story of IUDs, uterine perforation, which is about exactly what it sounds like and is probably as scary as it sounds. But it's also pretty dang rare. I've had this IUD for 6.5 years and I got the spiel before, so I causally mentioned back that (because of my long-time friend's mom who is an anesthesiologist) I had heard more of the "baby being born holding the IUD stories."

I went on, "Listen, it just came with a free toy! I mean it's probably a choking hazard, but if you didn't want it anyway...."

Let me tell you, I did NOT expect that cheery NP in a sequin-studded sweater to be so tickled by that Tim Minchin-ass joke that she pulled up a note on the computer to jot it down.

[tastelikezweig]

SFW ALPHABET

⚠️ warnings: not edited, i do NOT feel like reading this over lol so please just point and laugh i don’t care. suggestive language :D (i do use the f word a few times, oopsy.) if anything else needs to be added, pls let me know.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

he’s a huge fan of kissing. he’s gentle. when he sleeps over in your dorm, he’ll wake you up with pecks all over your face and neck. after your matches, he’s waiting right outside the locker room ready to high five you because you’re super sweaty. not that he sees an issue with that. he would love to pick you up and spin you around, chest to chest. he’d drink a bottle of your perspiration if he could. but you don’t allow it because you feel gross when you’re all sweaty and stinky from the match you just played. he loooves to be all over you. physical touch is his love language. it’s one of the things you love most about him. you love how sweet he is to everyone. when he walks you to your afternoon lecture, he holds the door open for every single last one of your classmates. he doesn’t let you lift a finger. he thinks that you deserve to just exist and be pretty and smart and save up your energy for the sweetest make out session he has planned with you after your class is over. he loves PDA, just holding your hand as you walk through the quad, kissing your cheeks and eyelids while you both sit the dining hall. he wishes he could consume you and live in your skin. it’s so cute and teeth rotting that people hate hanging out with either of you if the other is around.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

you had begged tashi duncan to train you for upcoming finals. when your practice came to an end, her boyfriend, patrick and his friend art came to see her. you cracked jokes about being the third and fourth wheel. he told you he felt like this all the time. you joked saying how you should start your own club and leave them out. whenever tashi and patrick would exclude you and art from their plans, you met up with him and just enjoyed each other's company. he’d make sandwiches and bring mini gatorade (your favorite flavor because he remembers the small details) for you both to sit in the quad and just eat and talk all evening until it got dark out. or until tashi or patrick called either of you to hang out after their “date” (which is obviously just them fucking in her dorm).

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

again, his love language is physical touch. he loves to hold you in bed while you read a book or just to fall asleep. you’ll be laying flat on your stomach playing with his new nintendo ds he just bought - he’d just finish showering or something and he’d crawl right on top of you. towel still hanging on his waist and hair dripping water. he’d ask “can we cuddle?” and you don’t think twice about it before rolling over and embracing him. give him a few kisses on the jaw before resting on his chest and breathing him in. your scents like melatonin for each other.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

when you and art hit a year of dating, he wouldn’t shut up about marriage. you’d remind him you’re still so young and he would go, i know, but when we get older! he loves being around you, you go grocery shopping together so you can have snacks; you’d feel like husband and wife. you would both joke about baby names but the ones you actually did like (that he’d suggested) you wrote down on a little sticky note and inserted it into your diary under the page titled: little pieces of art ᥫ᭡

art keeps his dorm clean majority of the time since he’s met you. the most you’ve seen it messy is when patrick is there for the weekend or his week is super busy but he always attempts to at least tidy the room before inviting you over. art cannot cook for shit but neither can you, so your future kids are fucked. but art can make delicious sandwiches if that counts!!

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

art is the most genuine person you know and he hates seeing your eyes tear up even just watching a movie. his heart clenches at the sight. he wouldn’t want to break up with you but things are just getting so crowded in your personal lives between trying to maintain school, work, tennis, and your relationship. you picked up a job at the nearest bookstore to help pay for your school books. you weren’t necessarily as loaded as art was. he offered to help but you just couldn’t accept any handouts. it made you feel weird. you’d be so tired after your shifts or have to go straight from class or practice to work and you never had time for him anymore. a few texts throughout the week but for someone as needy as art, it wasn’t enough. you’d accidentally stand up your dates with him because you’d fall asleep directly after class. he’d be ringing your phone and you’re out like a light. you apologized a million times and he agreed to just reschedule. on your rescheduled date it was a bit of awkward silence and lots of staring into each other's eyes. i feel like we rarely see each other anymore he’d say, tracing circles on the thighs of his jeans. you tried to explain to him how hard you were trying but he just shook his head staring into the distance. attempting to stop his tears from spilling over. the breakup was mutual, with a kiss goodbye. it actually wasn’t a forever goodbye, just for a little while until things made sense again. (You had to be the reason bc he’d NEVER leave you).

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

he wants to get married as soon you both graduate from college. he’s adorable isn’t he? it’s gonna be a no. “okay fine, not yet. but don’t fall in love with anybody else. please.”

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

he wouldn’t be rough with you unless you wanted him to be. 9 times out of 10 he’s very soft with you. his hands melting like butter on your shoulders when you ask him to massage them after matches. he’d run his hands up and down your back which makes you fall asleep almost instantly. he’s very kind with his words. when you’re upset about school or anything really he’s always there with a listening ear, very understanding. brushing the hair out of your face when he can tell your homework is frustrating you. suggests taking breaks which almost always just means a mini make out sesh until you remember you’re in the library and people are judging. you care about what outsiders think but he only has eyes for you, prioritizing your happiness above all else. he loves to kiss.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

his hugs are firm. you never want him to let you go. you love being in his grip. you could be standing in the dining hall line and he’ll wrap his arms around your shoulders while you wait for the line to move. when your matches are over and you’re fully showered, he’d hug you, lifting you off of the ground. when you meet up for dates or just to hang out, he’ll grab at your lower waist and sway you side to side.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

3 months in. you were laying in the grass on the quad next to tashi and patrick, enjoying the nice cool breeze and people watching. it was stanford’s 120th anniversary, so they held a firework show. as the finale was going off, art turned to you, staring into your eyes. i love you. surprisingly, you said it first. but he followed immediately after. he fell in love with you weeks ago but he didn’t wanna freak you out. so he was glad you gave him the green light.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

he gets jealous, not very easily because he trusts you. it’s very rare he’ll act out but you’ll know something’s wrong when he goes completely mute. you’ll ask him if he’s okay, and he’ll respond ‘yup’ popping the p. he’s so sassy. earlier, he saw the guy you were talking to put his hand on your shoulder to whisper something in your ear. what’s the secret? did he have to put his hands on you? again, he trusted you, he just doesn’t trust them. you reassured him that the next time someone does something similar, you’ll kick them in the balls and he cracks a smile. and just like that, you’re back on his good side. he’s never upset for long.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

his kisses are sweet, tender, and so yummy. especially since he quit smoking. he uses a grapefruit flavored chapstick that he found in your desk a while ago and has just been using ever since. did i say you could have that? he just hums in response, sucking your lips in for another kiss.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

he wants two little ones. either a boy and a girl, or two girls. he plans on spoiling them rotten.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

when he spends the night in your room or you sleep in his, he’ll make your bed for you while you shower (or make up his own). it’s actually nice, because he helps pack your bag the night before with your essentials and fills up both of your water bottles. but anyway, he’ll heat up something in the microwave for you both to share until you can make it to the dining hall for breakfast. after about an hour after eating, you both go on a 30 minute run before parting ways for your classes of the day. he misses you all day until he can see your face again :((((

art donaldson: miss u so much already

you: i left 3 mins ago lolll.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

as mentioned before, he’ll help you prepare for the next day. if he sleeps over, he’ll organize your desk while you’re in the shower, you’ll brush your teeth together and do face masks on the weekends. it’s really cute. if he’s not over in your dorm, he’ll send you a cute little text telling you to have a goodnight, or call you while you wind down just to hear your voice before he closes his eyes.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

he’s a pretty shy boy. when you’d first met, he kept the dialogue short to avoid coming off as an annoying yapper (which he totally is) so you did most of the talking. when he gets comfortable, during one of your first few hangouts alone - you asked if he could help with your math assignment and he agreed. you got bored instantly and started asking him a fuck ton of questions about himself. he answers everything without thinking twice. he even accidentally let it slip that he once had a crush on his best friends girlfriend (which he scolded himself for almost immediately after). you just smiled and nodded the whole time trying to watch him save his own ass.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

he’ll be waiting for you after your class and it might run over time a little bit, he’ll grab a seat on the floor in the hall or on the bench outside and just wait for you. draw little doodles of you or your favorite flowers in his sketchbook. if you text him in enough time, he’ll bring you your favorite smoothie. he can’t wait til your class is over so he can kiss your pretty face that he’s missed all day.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

art is very attentive. he knows every step in your skincare routine. he has the order memorized. when you’re done with the first step, he’s already handing you step two. he knows the gum flavor you prefer, your class schedule, your practice schedule, etc. what he doesn’t seem to remember is to put the toilet seat down after he’s done. he’d mumble sorry and then proceed to do it again 30 mins later.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

he took you to the state fair and you both stayed at the ring toss for like an hour. you were so determined you were going to win - you spent $50 for 10 tries. you didn’t even win but while you were in the bathroom, he bribed the man $100 to let him have the huge stuffed penguin that you wanted to win so bad. when you came out you screamed “did you win me this?!” he just went along with it because he adored the smile on your face and the joy in your voice, he loved the thought of him making you the happiest girl ever.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

he treats you like you’re accident prone or something like when you squat down to pick up something that fell underneath the table, he covers the sharp edges to make sure you don’t hit your head. he double checks to make sure your laces are tied on the court and you slide your foot back and remind him, you’re not a child and you can tie your own shoes!!! he just doesn’t want you to hurt yourself. walks you to your dorm if it’s dark. calls you during your early morning runs without him. if you get into it with one of the girls on the team, he doesn’t intervene because you always tell him to stay out of women’s business, but if it involves a guy, he’s on that immediately. he doesn’t even want you engaging in their weird behavior. he argues for you but you’re definitely in the background ad-libbing.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

he tries super hard but tries not to seem suffocating. he fits everything in his life around your schedule. he has a gift for you for any anniversary, 1 month, 1 year, birthdays, etc. he takes you out to celebrate your wins even if that just means getting you a chocolate croissant from your favorite cafe down the street. whatever you want, whenever you want it. anything to keep you happy. he wants to set the bar so high that you’re not looking any other guy's way.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

leaving the toilet seat up, going silent when he’s jealous, stepping out of his clothes in the bathroom and leaving them there in a pile, as much as you love it, he’ll drop everything for you on the spot. you’ll see him with his friends outside and go to greet them. he’ll tell you they’re going to hang out at his friends place and you mention you’re also hanging out, going to the theater with your friend and he’ll say never mind, can I go with you? and you shut it down quickly “no go hang out with your own friends!” and they’d all clown him afterwards.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

he’s chill. he doesn’t really have a style, he wears whatever is clean. his closet is full of stanford merch and you tell him he needs to go shopping but he’ll say “what i’m wearing is just fine, thank you.” see. sassy.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

he literally can’t breathe without you it seems like. you’re his heartbeat. he’s feeling whatever emotion you’re feeling.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

he communicates his affection through small gestures, like holding hands during quiet walks or wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulders when you’re watching a movie together. words aren't always necessary to convey his feelings.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

hates loud chewing of food, but you argue that he does it too - with his gum. defending people when he’s arguing with them ‘why do you do that?’ you just keep it real. tashi called his ball out and he was arguing that she isn’t valid, but she’s right :( it was definitely out.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

sleeps with his mouth open, so he often gets a sore throat lol, his arm draped across your chest or back. legs tangled with yours. has to be touching you in some way to fall asleep when you’re together.

sorry if this sucks, bye!

[axtorturedxpoet13]

You Are In Love: Joe Keery

Warnings: Slight smut, implied sumt, language, SERIOUS angst.

Author's note: Here is another addition to the Taylor Swift song series, but for Joe Keery. Enjoy!!

“One look, dark room, meant just for you. Time moved too fast; you play it back. Buttons on a coat, light-hearted joke. No proof, not much, but you saw enough. Small talk, he drives. Coffee at midnight. The light reflects, the chain on your neck. He says, "Look up", and your shoulders brush. No proof, one touch, but you felt enough.”

Y/N and I have been separated for around a year now. We barely see each other if any at all. Marriage and industry just don’t work for us. But God, I miss her so damn much. I have moped around our New York apartment for this year, and I still cannot get the smell of her gone or not picture our memories here. My friends asked me to come out tonight to a local bar to get my mind off our anniversary, which would be today. I haven’t heard from her today, not that I expected to hear from my “almost ex-wife”. I threw on the outfit she always liked and headed out the door to meet my buddies.

“Hey, there’s the man of the hour!” My buddy shouts as he sees me approach the bar.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s the wake of an anniversary, not my birthday”. I say hitting his arm and heading inside to the bar. We sit and get a round of drinks. My buddies try to get me to flirt with some of the girls at the bar, but my heart isn’t in it yet. Until I see this gorgeous girl from across the room and I stop. It’s like the world stops and it’s just us. I smile at her drunkenly dancing and singing with her friends. She isn’t trying to be the main character in the room, but God she is. She turns and looks at me and my heart stops. It’s Y/N. The girl the world stopped for is the girl who broke my heart. She has the same look on her face that I have and it’s as if I play every moment in time, we have spent the last decade together. The laughs, the fights, the love we made, the dreams we failed, and everything in between. She makes her way over to me and I feel my heart about to come out of my chest.

“Hey stranger.” Y/N says sitting beside me.

“Hey you.” I say pushing her sweaty hair behind her ear.

“I see your friends had the same idea mine did, to distract us from this day.” She says waving the bartender over for more drinks.

“You don’t think they parent trapped us, do you?” I say laughing and taking a swig of our new beer. She smiles and places her hand on my hand. Such a small gesture to make my heart leap bounds by remembering how her touch was always made for me.

“You look so…. Different” I say placing my hand on her knee, watching her react the same as how I felt with her hand on mine.

“I thought it was time for a change after… you know, us.” She says, her voice breaking slightly. It was true. Her long blonde hair was now shoulder length auburn. Her confidence had changed, and she seemed like a whole new woman and my heart ached that my actions may have forced her to change.

“Well, baby, you look absolutely fucking beautiful”. I say as her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Joesph.” She says as she places a small kiss on my hand. We sit at the bar and talk for hours, laughing like we did on our first date. We both have changed during our time apart, but we were still each other’s missing puzzle pieces.

“You want to head out of here? It’s almost midnight. Your favorite coffee shop is still open, and I’ll drive”. I say knowing how much she hated driving in the city and knowing my blood had sobered up enough to soak her in.

“I would love to, babe” she says placing a kiss on my cheek. Making my heart leap at her lips on my skin again. We got in my car which was parked just down the street at our once shared apartment. I open her car door like the old days, and she places another kiss on my cheek. I long to grab her up, take her to our bed and kiss her everywhere, but I know to take it slow. We drive for a few minutes and are almost to her favorite place, the place I proposed to her at on a dreary, fall morning while the rain fell outside. Ironic for us to meet today and head to the place that began our downfall. Our papers aren’t final and she’s still my wife, but somehow this feels like we are meeting for the first time and maybe we are in a sense because we aren’t the same. I took a break from acting and fell into my music to help heal my heart. She became an art teacher at NYU after being a nurse for so long. I glance over at her taking in the sights of the city she loved so much and the chain that was once mine reflects the bright city lights of New York City.

“Hey, beautiful, look up” I say placing my hand on her leg to gain her attention, wondering what may be in her head right now. She looks up to see Time Square, the place we first kissed and a place she loved so much.

“Ya know, New York has this ability to take your virginity each time you see it” she says glancing at me. 

“Only you would say that” I say laughing at the sense of humor only she has.

“You can hear it in the silence, silence. You can feel it on the way home, way home. You can see it with the lights out. You are in love, true love, you are in love. Morning, his place, burnt toast, Sunday. You keep his shirt; he keeps his word. and for once, you let go of your fears and your ghosts. One step, not much, but it said enough. You kiss on sidewalks, you fight, and you talk. One night he wakes, strange look on his face, pauses, then says, “You're my best friend”. And you knew what it was, he is in love.”

We sit in the coffee shop reminiscing about our history here. We first met here after I was at a premiere for Stranger Things, and she was grabbing coffee after a long shift at the hospital. I was in a tux; she was in scrubs. We laughed about how somehow the color of my tie matched her scrubs, which gave us the sign we were meant to be. That night, the world stopped like it did tonight when I seen her. I know I still love her, and I know this is still the best choice I ever made, making her mine. I just hope it’s not too late for her to feel the same.

“You want to come home with me? To our home? Come on, baby. Come back with me, come back to me” I say grabbing her hands and kissing them over and over.

“Joe, I don’t, I don’t know. What if tonight was just the liquor? What if I miss the old us and we aren’t the same anymore?” She says looking to the floor”.

“Well, we will never find out by walking away and not talking to each other for another year.” I say, my eyes filling with a pleading look.

“Okay, let’s go and talk. Let’s see where we stand.” She says taking my hand and standing up. I was so happy in this moment to take my wife back home, even if it was the last time. The whole ride home is silent, and we don’t speak until we are almost there. My heart is bursting, but also breaking because I see how much hesitation proves I hurt her.

“How did this happen to us, Joe?” She says as tears begin to form in her eyes. I sat there and let her speak.

“How did you go from being my best friend in the whole fucking universe to this? From my HUSBAND, to almost a stranger?” she asks as tears stream down her face. I pull in front of our apartment, and I take her hand. I wiped the tears from her face, and I sat there, looking at the hurt I caused. Her shoulders are shaking from her crying. I grab her face and look at her.

“Shhhh, baby girl, please, listen to me”. I say as we make direct eye contact. I feel it in my gut that she is still my one and only, but I must gain her trust back.

“I was stupid. So. Fucking. Stupid to hurt you like I did. I know all you ever wanted was a family and I am SO sorry I chose my work over you. You are the most important thing I have ever had, and I regret how much I put on you daily while I went to premieres and shoots. God I was so stupid! To lose the best damn thing that has EVER happened to me”. I say, feeling the tears begin in my eyes now. She sits silently, taking in everything.

“Joe?” She says so softly, placing her hands on my forearm.

“Yes, baby?” I say rubbing her cheek with my thumb.

“Take me home. Make love to me. I can’t live without you anymore” she says kissing my lips deeply. I feel the passion we once had, and I almost want to scream that I have my baby back. I pick her up, bridal style and I carry her to our bed and do exactly what she wanted, made love to her. Not lustful, not for a baby, but in a way, we reconnected, and I felt as if we were apart of each other again. It felt so good to hear her say my name and know I was the one giving her the pleasure. We fall asleep in each other’s arms, bare bodies wrapped around each other. I wake up in the middle of the night and watch her sleep. She feels me stirring around and she rolls over to face me.

“Hey handsome, that was a fun time” she says giggling, but I stay serious.

“Are you okay, baby?” She asks running her hands through my hair.

“You’re my best friend.” I say, tears filling my eyes. She runs her hands through my hair more and smiles.

“You’re my best friend too, Joe. I never once doubted that you didn’t love me.” We fall back asleep, naked bodies intertwined still. I wake up before Y/N and make her breakfast. She comes stumbling into the kitchen shortly after in my shirt, which looks way better on her than me.

“That looks much better on you, baby girl” I say coming over to her to kiss her and wrap her up in my arms.

“Well, it looks pretty sexy on you so that’s hard.” She says rubbing my arm.

“Wanna go, what round five?” I say kissing her head. 

“We need stamina first, but I think it’s burning” she says giggling as I jump back and grab the toast that was burning. We sit down at our table and sip coffee while looking at the view of NYC. But it will never be as beautiful as the view I have sitting across from me.

“You promised me, and you kept that all this time” she says breaking the silence and sipping her coffee.

“What do you mean?” I ask sitting my coffee down.

“You promised me you would never be with another woman, and you would always wait for me because you knew I’d come back to you. And here we are.” She says her eyes are getting watery.

“Baby, there is no other woman for me, just you. You are my best friend, and I would have waited on you until I was 90 if I had to” I say taking her hand and placing small kisses on it.

“Wanna go to our favorite bookstore down the road?” Y/N says, standing up and then sitting in my lap.

“If you don’t get dressed and off my lap, we won’t be going anywhere, beautiful��� I say kissing her neck, but she stands up and giggles. She comes from our bedroom in her favorite sweater, boots, and jeans that hugged her curves so perfectly.

“You look amazing, you know that?” I say coming over to wrap her up.

“You don’t look so bad yourself” she says pulling on my jacket. We head to the road, and I can’t keep my hands off her because I am so happy to have my baby girl back. We stop many times on the sidewalk under the trees turning Y/N’s favorite color orange to kiss and act like the teenagers we were when we met. I have my girl back and everything in the world is right again.

[simplynotcapable]

So I’m going to take you up on your offer to expand on the Visenya-Baelon Supernatural AU please?

This got long, my bad! I rushed the ending a little realizing how long it got </3

Baelon’s born from a deal with a crossroads demon, which he doesn’t find out until he’s seventeen.

Aemma couldn’t have kids! And Viserys didn’t want to go any other route for having them: surrogacy or adoption, etc etc, because he’s very “but i want them to be OUR kids.”

When he hears about demons, he thinks it’s a joke. He’s a very logical sort of person, Viserys, thinks he’s smarter than he really is.

When he mentions it to Daemon, his wayward brother who blows in and out of town and is always covered in fresh scars he has lame excuses for, he thinks maybe it isn’t. It’s the way he goes pale and says “don’t even fucking think about that shit” so viciously that he’s got flames coming out of his eyes, but when has Viserys ever listened to Daemon?

The woman at the crossroads tells him her name’s Ali.

She looks at him with red eyes and red hair and soft skin and she asks if he wants to make a deal.

Aemma’s asleep when he comes home, when the smoke comes through her mouth, and Baelon is conceived when his mother is not really his mother at all.

Ali laughs-laughs-laughs even as she leaves Viserys’s wife crumpled on the bed.

Aemma thinks it was the strangest nightmare she’s ever had, and she tells Viserys all about it the next day. Smiling, uncomfortable, trying to convince herself it wasn’t real, and he kisses her quiet.

They tell Daemon she’s pregnant, and he punches Viserys across the face. “What did you do?” he hisses. “I told you, I told you not to even—what did you do?”

Nine months later, Baelon is born.

Nine months later, when the doctors are gone, when it’s just Viserys in the room with his wife and Daemon walking down the hall for vending machine chips, Aemma bleeds out. The doctors can’t stop it. They can’t even figure out why she’s bleeding, when she was perfectly fine just a moment ago.

The demons laugh-laugh-laugh and only the baby hears them.

“I can’t leave him,” he tells Daemon, broken, and his brother looks into the sky with his jaw clenched and doesn’t answer. “I’m all he has.”

(On the same night, Rhaenyra and Harwin Strong’s daughter is born, a howling little thing with dark curls and dark eyes.)

Daemon spends ten years trying to find a way to save his brother, and every day he fails he loses himself a little more.

Baelon grows up different than other children. Viserys doesn’t notice his son’s too-clever eyes or the way he sometimes goes so still that he looks like stone or how he plays with the fire in candles. How sometimes he tips his head like he’s listening to something no one else can hear.

He’s no Jesse Turner, not as strong or as important. His mother was no virgin and only possessed for the conception. But he’s something, and half of it didn’t come from anything mortal or holy. Half of it’s dark and it’s twisted and it’s waiting to wake up.

Viserys flings himself into work, into drinking, anything to avoid thinking about what he did and the price he’ll pay and his dead wife. He never remarries.

“I can’t leave him,” he told Daemon, but Baelon barely knows him at all. A hand on his head, sometimes, a word over dinner. An uncomfortable smile. Eyes that watch him like they don’t know who he is, really.

Ten years to the day of his deal, Daemon pulls into their driveway. He tells Baelon to pack a bag. He tells his brother goodbye.

“Is Dad coming?” Baelon asks.

“Your dad’s dead,” Daemon answers, even though Baelon can see him watching from the porch, and then he drives.

He asks what he means. Daemon waits two hours before he answers, looks down at his phone and then pulls over to the side of the road to get out of the car and scream.

“Your dad was sick,” he says when he gets back in. “It was terminal. He didn’t want to wait to get sicker. He shot himself. There won’t be a funeral. This is the last time we’re going to talk about it.”

Liar, liar, liar, whisper the voices always in the wind, but Baelon loves his uncle. He trusts him. The voices never say good things, anyway.

He thinks he should be more upset about his father, but he only cries a little.

They drive for hours and hours, and then down a dirt road and into the woods, and they park in front of a house with no neighbors and nothing around for miles and miles.

There’s a boy on the porch when they get out. Seventeen, maybe, eighteen, no older. He has Daemon’s face. He takes one look at Baelon and goes so pale he looks like he’s dying.

“He’s not mine,” Daemon calls, but the boy has already bolted into the house. He pushes Baelon behind him, cursing under his breath, and that’s right about when the pregnant woman comes outside with a gun.

“I told you if I ever saw you again—“

“Oh, Rhaenyra, put that down—“

“—I was going to shoot you dead—“

“—I didn’t have anywhere else to go, don’t point that shit at me—“

“—hell’s nice this time of year—“

Baelon watches them, very quietly, and from the house comes a spill of dark-haired children. Two little boys, no more than six and eight, with curious eyes and gaps in their front teeth.

A little girl, his age, with a smear of freckles on her nose, who looks at him and smiles.

He smiles back.

The woman notices him, and her face flickers. “Yours?” she asks and doesn’t wait for an answer. “His mother have a math test? That why he’s not with her?”

Daemon’s jaw clenches. “He’s my nephew. His mother’s dead. My brother, too.”

“Why would she be taking a math test?” Baelon wants to know, but neither of them answer.

“Condolences. Not my problem. Get out.”

“I can’t keep him, Rhaenyra.”

Baelon’s head snaps up. “What?”

Rhaenyra laughs in his face. “So you brought him here?”

“He’s got family here—“

“Aegon is mine. Harwin’s and mine. Neither of you have family here.”

The boy with Daemon’s face, he thinks. Standing in the doorway, watching with wide eyes.

“I can’t take him on the road with me!”

“Then don’t go back on the road!“

“You know I have to,” he says, and Rhaenyra’s jaw clenches. “You know why.”

Baelon doesn’t. Baelon would like to. Daemon ignores him when he asks.

“Go to Laena. She’ll take him.”

“Laena’s wife will shoot me if I show up there.”

“How old are the girls now?”

“Who?” asks Baelon.

“Fifteen,” answers Daemon, through his teeth, and Rhaenyra snorts. “Look, are you going to be able to sleep at night knowing I’m dragging a ten year old kid on hunts with me?”

“We went deer hunting last year,” Baelon points out. “I did fine.”

Rhaenyra looks down on him. She’s pretty, Baelon thinks, and she has that same silver hair his uncle has. His dad had. Her eyes are blue, though, bright and vivid.

“I’m Baelon,” he says. “My dad shot himself.”

She blinks.

“You can wait for Harwin,” she says, finally. “He’ll be back any minute. I’m not taking a kid without asking him first.” She looks at him more firmly, then gestures towards the trio of dark-haired children. The shotgun lowers from Daemon’s throat. “You can play, if you’d like. For awhile.”

He doesn’t want to.

Daemon shoves him, so he goes anyway.

The boys names’ are Jace and Luke, and he thinks they’re babies. Baelon usually thinks other kids are babies, even the ones that are his same age, because sometimes he feels a thousand years old.

Visenya, though, reaches out and touches his wrist when he first approaches. “I watched your mom die,” she says, very apologetically. “In my dreams last night.”

“I dream about monsters,” he says, and she shrugs.

“My dad kills monsters.”

Baelon likes Visenya.

Aegon doesn’t talk to him, not until Visenya drags him over to the older boy by the hand and glares.

“You’re Uncle Daemon’s son,” says Baelon.

“My father’s name is Harwin Strong,” the older boy snaps. “Your uncle is a sperm donor.”

“Uncle Daemon doesn’t donate to things,” Baelon informs him. “He thinks charity is for pussies.”

Aegon laughs, then looks at as if he can’t quite believe himself.

Daemon’s sitting on the hood of his car and Rhaenyra’s sitting on the porch when the trucks pulls in, and Baelon watches with some surprise when the biggest man he’s ever seen jumps out without even killing it just to fling Daemon on the ground.

“Nice to see you, Harwin,” Daemon says, and it’s only Rhaenyra calling out that keeps him from losing teeth.

Daemon and Rhaenyra and Harwin talk beside the car for a long time. In quiet voices. Visenya sneaks him into the shed.

Jace and Luke both tell her not to. They tell him they aren’t allowed in the shed alone, that Visenya’s going to get them in trouble, that she’s always getting them in trouble.

“You scared?” she asks him, and she’s still holding his hand so he’s telling the truth when he shakes his head.

There’s guns in the shed. Knives and guns and powders and plants and books and chains and all sorts of strange things that he thinks would belong in a serial killer’s house.

“What is all this?” he asks, fascinated.

“My dad kills monsters,” she says again, smiling.

“What about your mom?”

“Not anymore.”

“What about you?”

“Not yet.”

Daemon tells him goodbye as the sun is going down. “I’ll be back,” he promises, knelt in the dirt with his hands on his shoulders. “As often as I can. And I’ll call. You’re going to stay here with Rhaenyra and Harwin. Be good. Listen to them. They’re good people.”

“Take me with you,” Baelon says.

“One day,” Daemon answers, and he kisses him too rough on the forehead, “I’ll tell you why I can’t.”

He shakes Harwin’s hand—the bigger man squeezes so hard Baelon thinks he’s trying to break it—and nods to Rhaenyra. He asks them if they’ll go get Aegon out of the house so he can talk to them. Rhaenyra points the gun at him again, so he lifts his hands and gets in the car.

He drives away.

Harwin Strong looks down at him. “You sure you’re not his?”

He doesn’t sound angry, only curious.

Baelon considers. He’s always felt more like Daemon’s than Viserys’s, but he doesn’t think saying yes is right anyway.

“He’s mine,” Visenya says, sitting on the porch steps. “I saw it in a dream.”

“Go get cleaned up for dinner,” Rhaenyra says, as if this is the sort of thing that happens all the time, and Visenya grins at him and goes.

Baelon doesn’t mind living with the Strongs.

They fix the attic up for him, since Aegon and Jace are already doubled up and Luke is supposed to share with the baby when he’s born. He likes the attic, the big window and the weird way the shadows fall and the lights Harwin hangs up for him. They take him into town and let him buy a few posters, a rug. Pick out his own sheets, which Visenya deems hideous but doesn’t seem to mind sprawling all over when she comes into his room uninvited to tell him ghost stories she swears are true at two in the morning.

It’s odd living with a family, after so long being basically on his own. They aren’t his family, and he knows that. Feels it sometimes, like an ache, but he’s okay with it. He loves them anyway, and they love him, too, eventually.

Rhaenyra’s always there, fussing over her sons and trying to tame Visenya’s mess of hair, and she makes him sit at the kitchen table to do his homework instead of just asking him if it’s done. One of the kids at the school in town—Rhaenyra drives them every morning, is horrified when Baelon explains he’s never been to real school and his homeschooling was largely left up to him, and tells everyone he’s a child they’re fostering—pulls Visenya’s skirt up from behind, and they call Rhaenyra when Baelon breaks his nose.

“He touched my daughter,” says Rhaenyra, outraged, “I wouldn’t care if he broke the little shit’s wrist!”

She pulls him out early for the day and buys him ice cream.

Harwin leaves often but he always comes home, and he leaves his guns and other serial killer paraphernalia (“My dad isn’t a serial killer,” Visenya insists, “he kills monsters.”) in the shed. He makes them pancakes and tickles Luke until he cries and he rounds them all up outside to kick a ball and play tag and be sprayed with the hose while he laughs when they squeal about how cold it is.

“We ride the bikes up and down the road,” he explains to Baelon on one of these days. “You can use Aegon’s old one, he’s outgrown it now but Jace is still too small for it—“

“I can’t. I don’t know how to ride a bike,” Baelon answers, apologetically.

Harwin Strong’s eye twitches. He says something under his breath about his dad and maybe also Daemon, and then he hauls him outside and teaches him how to ride a bike. The other boys watch from the porch and heckle when he falls, but Aegon ruffles his hair when he finally gets it.

Aegon doesn’t like him at first, barely speaks to him, but he comes around eventually. When Daemon’s weekly phone calls turn to monthly turn to hardly ever, Aegon finds him and hands him half an orange.

“He stopped calling me, eventually, too,” he says, gruffly. “Don’t worry about it. The girls and I don’t.”

The girls are Daemon’s twin daughters, who live across the country. Baelon’s never spoken to them. Aegon calls them a lot, shows him a lot of pictures. They’re pretty, always laughing into the camera. Daemon’s only met them once.

“A monster killed Mom’s parents when she was sixteen,” Visenya explains to him after about a year. “Daemon killed the monster, and then he left. She called him when Aegon was born, but he didn’t meet him until he was nine.“

“But Daemon was like twenty-seven when your mom was sixteen,” Baelon laughs, shaking his head, and then he thinks about “his mom taking a math test?” and stops laughing.

Jace and Luke fold him into their every day lives as if he’s always been there, just another person at the dinner table and to add into their games and to fight with over the TV remote. Luke calls him “Bael” and he’s always asking him to help with his homework, even though first grade isn’t that hard. Jace makes him help with his ever growing collection of LEGO sets, which have begun to eat up the entirety of his side of the room—which Aegon sectioned off with a rope.

They aren’t his father and Daemon, the Strongs.

They notice he’s strange.

It’s alright, though, because Visenya’s strange, too.

She has odd dreams about things that happened already and are still going to happen, and sometimes when she touched someone she could tell what they were thinking. (“You think I’m pretty,” she laughs when they’re thirteen, her hand on his wrist, and he jerks away with a mortified blush.) She talks about her dreams like they’re real, and sometimes when Harwin goes to leave Visenya grabs his hand and whispers in his ear and he doesn’t go after all.

“Last time he left when I told him not to go, his dad died,” Visenya says, and Baelon nods like that makes all the sense in the world.

When he talks to shadows, Rhaenyra watches and asks him what they say. “They tell me secrets,” he tells her. “Sometimes they’re lying, though. They like to lie, if they think it will make me angry.”

She asks him what happens when he’s angry, and Baelon shrugs. “Sometimes nothing.”

Sometimes glass breaks and the earth cracks open.

When he puts his hand in the fire and nothing happens, Harwin asks him what it feels like. “Like when you try to grab water,” he explains, and he blows his fingers out.

He can read Latin, even though he’s never learned it, and he knows what the sigils in Harwin’s books mean without being told. He talks in his sleep, they tell him, and it’s not English.

“Shut up!” he tells the dog, once, when she won’t stop barking, and her mouth is still opening but the sound stops coming out. It wears off after a few days, but he starts being careful about telling anyone to do things.

Daemon visits once a year, maybe. Never for long. He isn’t allowed in the house. He asks how he is and if they’re treating him well and if he’s happy.

“You hunt monsters,” Baelon says when he’s fourteen, because he isn’t stupid and he knows Visenya isn’t joking anymore. Knows that Aegon and Harwin aren’t going on normal hunting trips. Knows that when Rhaenyra and Aegon argue, it isn’t just because he doesn’t want to go to college. Knows the books aren’t just a hobby and the weapons aren’t just a collection, that teaching all the kids to shoot and stab and defend themselves isn’t just paranoia, that the mythology lessons aren’t just weird family bonding time that Baelon is allowed to partake in because he lives there.

“I hunt monsters,” Daemon agrees. “Vampires, mostly. They killed your grandmother. Your grandfather, too.”

“Did my dad know?”

“People believe what they want to believe.”

“Did they kill my dad?”

Daemon looks away. “Your dad killed your dad. I told you not to ask about it.”

He’s sixteen when Visenya dares him to steal her dad’s old motorcycle, the one that sits unused in the shed.

They’ve been close since Daemon left him with her parents, and they only get closer. The kids at school say their names like one word, Baelon-and-Visenya and Visenya-and-Baelon, and sometimes Rhaenyra jokes that their heads are going to fuse if they keep leaning them together like that. He’s always with Visenya and Visenya is always with him, and they like the same music and movies, he likes when she reads to him even though he hates reading, she likes when he draws all over her hands.

The older they get, though, they both see the way Harwin and Rhaenyra watch them. Suspicious, almost, narrow eyes, and neither of them talk about it but it doesn’t go unnoticed that Rhaenyra needs to see Visenya in the kitchen every time she starts playing with his hair and that Harwin wants his help fixing the truck every time Visenya lays her legs across his lap.

He doesn’t blame them, really. Having a teenage boy living in your house with your teenage daughter must be stressful, especially since he’s pretty sure his pupils have been turning into little hearts every time he’s looked at her since they were twelve.

And he knows what they’ll think, if they find the motorcycle gone and the two of them gone with it. He loves Rhaenyra and Harwin, doesn’t want to make them angry, doesn’t want them to send him away. Doesn’t want them to think he can’t be trusted.

Visenya doesn’t care about that. She said “he’s mine” when they were ten years old, and, as far as she’s concerned, that’s all anyone should have needed.

“No,” he says.

“You scared?” she asks, and she grabs his hand when she laughs

Baelon steals the motorcycle.

They don’t go far, just up the road a ways, and they play tag in the woods like they’re eleven again. He catches her, and she trips him, and they land in a tangle on the ground, and they’re both laughing.

He doesn’t know which one of them kisses the other, but when they pull away there’s flowers blooming all around them.

“Did you do that?” she asks, grinning.

“Shut up,” he says, no heat in it, and he kisses her again. The voices have lots to say, none of it good, and he doesn’t give a fuck about any of it.

They get back before her parents notice, somehow, and they make it four months of hidden kisses and hiding out on the roof and whispers in corners before little Joffrey catches Visenya putting concealer on a hickey and then it’s like everyone knows all at once.

“A boy from school,” Visenya says, solemnly, but Rhaenyra takes one look at him and he can feel the guilt on his face.

Aegon’s moved out by then, a little apartment in town, and Baelon’s in his guest room just that quickly. Visenya pitches a holy fit about it, and Baelon’s not exactly ecstatic.

“She’s finishing high school,” Rhaenyra tells him, finger in his face. “She’s finishing high school, and she’s going to have options, and she can’t have any of that if she lets herself get tunnel vision on you.”

Rhaenyra is defensive of Visenya’s future after the sharp right turn Daemon’s interference sent her own life on, and he gets it, he gets it, he gets it, he does, he does, but he hates it. He misses the boys and he misses Rhaenyra and he misses Harwin and he misses Visenya like he thinks he’d miss it if they cut off his fingers.

“You see them every other day,” Aegon says, exasperatedly. “You’re so damn dramatic.”

Baelon is too busy checking for text messages to hear him.

Aegon takes him on a hunt, after a few months of Baelon moping about and only really brightening when they go back to the house so he can see Visenya and grovel to Nyra and Harwin—who aren’t even angry, really, they just also aren’t going to let their teenage daughter’s teenage boyfriend live upstairs for obvious reasons. He gives him very strict instructions not to tell anyone, looks down at his phone, sees Visenya informing him she had a dream about it and to be creful, and sighs.

But Baelon gets to burn bones! He shoots a ghost! With salt! It’s kind of fucking awesome! He goes a lot after that, attempts to get Aegon to bring Visenya too and is laughed out of the kitchen.

He’s seventeen when Harwin doesn’t come home.

Nyra’s a wreck, and the boys are panicking, and Visenya keeps taking handfuls of sleeping pills to try to dream an answer until Jace takes the bottle and flushes them down the toilet. Baelon has to physically pick her up and carry her out of the room, hissing and spitting, before she busts his lip.

“I can go,” Rhaenyra says.

“You haven’t hunted since Grandpa died,” Aegon says, irritable, because Rhaenyra used to leave the boys and Visenya with Lyonel to go with Harwin until the fire. “B and I will go, just tell us where—“

When Harwin walks through the door, there’s something wrong.

No one seems to notice but Baelon, flocking immediately towards him, demanding answers and pouring relief, but it’s the eyes. It’s his face when he looks over at Baelon. It’s the way the voices start whispering so quickly that he can’t make a word out.

“You’re shorter than I thought,” Harwin says, looking right at him over their heads.

Visenya’s hand touches her father’s arm, and she screams. He doesn’t know what she sees in him, but there’s no blood in her face and she’s crying so hard she can’t breathe.

When he swats her aside, she flies so hard she hits the wall, and then it’s Luke he’s holding up by the throat. Examining like he’s an odd little bug.

“Odd company you keep,” Harwin says, and his eyes are black-black-black. “Your mother wouldn’t approve.”

Luke’s squirming, and Aegon’s got a gun trained on it, but there’s no shot without hitting him too, no shot that will actually hurt it, and they all know it isn’t Harwin, they know what demons look like, but how can he shoot? Shoot Harwin? None of them know how to perform an exorcism. How to get it out of him.

“My mother’s dead,” Baelon says. “Put him down.”

“Not that mother,” the thing says. “The other one. She’s got four or five of you, now. It’s her favorite game.” It cocks Harwin’s head, it laughs. “Oh, you don’t know. We’ve told you, haven’t we? Don’t you ever listen? Daddy wasn’t the only one in Mommy when they made you.”

Told you, say the shadows.

“Get out of him,” Baelon hisses, and it snorts.

“Weak little thing, aren’t you?” it sighs, and then it grins and twisted towards him. “Your father, too. He screams and screams and screams.”

Aegon shoots. It hits it in the shoulder. It doesn’t flinch.

Luke’s neck snaps, and he hits the ground like a ragdoll. Against the wall, Visenya raises her bloody head just enough to scream. “Do that again, and it’ll be your mother,” it says with Harwin’s mouth, and Baelon can’t hear over Rhaenyra and Visenya and Joffrey and Jace. Aegon has no blood in his face.

“Imagine my surprise,” it says, half-singing, “when the little man with his holy water and good intentions had a head full of you. One of Ali’s little experiments, right nearby. I had to see. Couldn’t help myself.” It grins, conspiratorial. “She doesn’t like it if we go to any of you, not unless you call us first. So protective of her games.”

Baelon can’t stop looking at Luke.

“You’re more human than your brothers,” it tells him, almost disappointed. “Oh, there’s one of them, he’s already calling for us. Gives us souls, when he gets bored with them. Girls, mostly.”

“I don’t have any brothers,” he chokes out.

“And a sister,” it says, delighted, but it rolls its eyes. “She’s too human, too.”

“Get out of him,” he says again.

It sighs. “Boring, boring. What a waste of a deal. Your father gave his soul up for this?”

Baelon hears Rhaenyra whisper something to the boys, starts to turn his head when Jace voices a half-argument, and then shouts a wordless cry when she flings herself straight at her husband’s chest. Kicking and clawing and biting, and she howls for Aegon to “take them and go!”

Jace and Joffrey go, and Baelon bolts for Visenya before Aegon even has time to tell him to do it. He hears Rhaenyra’s head hit the wall. He hears blood hitting the ground, and Visenya’s yelling for her mother, and he’s got her dragged up onto her feet and the thing’s head swivels too far around to look out the opened door. He hears the snap of Harwin’s neck, and it just turns around again.

It sighs. “Boring. Boring, boring. I thought you’d be more interesting. The others will be so disappointed.”

It looks to Visenya, then, and it shakes Harwin’s head.

“Daddy always thought you were crazy,” it tells her, sickly sweet, and she lunges before Baelon can stop her. It laughs, lets her hit him in the chest, but then she grabs its face.

It flickers.

She hasn’t done it in years, grabbing for someone’s mind. Jace, he thinks, when he stole her dolls, when she was still too young to understand it was wrong. It’s different than her dreams and different when she reads feelings and thoughts. It feels like being torn in half. It feels like dying, when she sinks herself into your mind and rips.

Harwin’s eyes, for a moment, a slump of a corpse before they’re black again and it straightens up. Its face contorts and it reaches for her, and Baelon moves, and the shadows whisper, and he says, “Get out of him.”

Smoke. Smoke and smoke and smoke, and Harwin is twisting and choking and he’s dead when he hits the ground, Baelon knows that, and he looks at the smoke, and he knows how without knowing how he knows, and he hisses, “die.”

And it’s gone.

Just like that.

He and Visenya are standing amidst the corpse of her brother and her parents, their feet are soaked in blood, Visenya’s bleeding from her head, and Baelon tries to say something and then passes out.

He wakes in the back of the truck. Visenya next to him, Joffrey in her lap. Jace in the front seat. Aegon driving. No one speaks.

“Did you know?” he asks. “My dad? My mom?”

“Mom did,” Visenya says, and she looks at him with tired eyes. “I slept earlier. Dreamed it. Daemon told her.”

“Daemon knows.”

Aegon punches the steering wheel. Joffrey’s still crying. Jace has both fists pressed to his eyes.

“We’re going to Laena’s,” he says. “There’s nowhere else for you four to go.”

“Us four?” Visenya says. “But—“

“Not now,” he barks, and then softens. “Not now, Enya.”

It takes three days, and none of them talk about it. Not about Harwin or Rhaenyra or Luke. Not about Baelon. Not about what Baelon and Visenya did.

She’s outside when they get there. Barely older than Rhaenyra. The girls are in college, gone already, and Aegon walks straight into her arms and cries.

“We can’t stay,” Visenya says, that night, slipping into the guest room Laena put him in.

“I can’t,” he agrees. The others, it said, and he will not watch the rest of them die because his father dealt with demons. Because he shouldn’t exist. “You are.”

“You’re mine,” she says. “I go where you go. And you needed me. You couldn’t kill it until I helped. You won’t be able to kill anymore without me.”

“Who says I’m going to?”

“I know you,” she says, and she’s right. He has to, now that he knows that he can.

“Your mom wanted you to finish high school.”

“She’s dead,” Visenya says, dark and brutal. “Dad. Luke. Fuck that.”

He opens his arms, and she hides in them. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do it.”

Didn’t he?

“We’ll leave with Aegon,” she says, softly. “You know that’s what he’s going to be doing. It has to be. Looking for ways to kill them. So it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

That’s how hunters always start. That’s why hunters always die.

“I barely…I passed out. It’s not something I can just—“

“Probably like a muscle. You have to use it. It said you have brothers.“

“Said they were barely human.”

“Demons lie,” Visenya says. “What if they can help? What if it’s easier, with more of you? We can…Dad would want this.”

“No, he wouldn’t.”

“We want this,” she amends. “I want them all dead. For my mom and my dad and Luke.”

“The legions of hell?”

“Child’s play.”

A moment of silence.

“I need this,” she says, whispers it. “I need to do something. I can’t not do anything.”

Baelon asks Rhaenyra and Harwin’s forgiveness, wherever they are, and he kisses her

“If we do this, we start with the girl. And we stop, if we realize...if it wasn’t lying. If they’re all more demon than person, and I don’t ever get stronger. We stop. No matter what.”

“Alright,” she lies.

(Helaena listens to the spiders in her palms, solemn face and pursed lips, and then she walks to the window. She sighs. She waits.)

[clarawatson]

It Only Takes a Taste

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x [Fem]!Reader (GN pronouns, fem coded stuff, but I’m not sure where this is going as a larger work so we’ll say Fem!reader to be safe) Summary: You work at a diner. Aaron Hotchner falls in love with you. We’re not kidding around trying to make us all sound like profilers, just accept the diner life, we love it here. W/C: 1498 Warnings: none yet!  A/N:  First chapter of that diner!au i was talking about here! AO3 ps. I forgot to tag people, so: @willowrose99 & @genevievedarcygranger my beloveds. If you want to get added to the tag list jump in my inbox and i’ll try to remember to add tags every time i post. Where am I in this series?  01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |

~

When you first meet him it’s 5am and raining. You’re switching over shifts for your friend, Rita, because she’s been doing night shifts at the diner. This late into her pregnancy she shouldn’t be working, not technically, but she needs the money and she’s got insomnia because of the baby, so she works nights now. There’s always someone working with her, be it Joe (who’s got far too much muscle for a chef) or Lola (who can beat anyone to a pulp with a pie tray). In the early hours of the morning a bunch of tatt’ed bikies come and sit and talk about their extracurricular activities (definitely not legal) because one time there was an armed hold up and the police didn’t turn up until two hours after it had happened. People don’t like holding up a diner full of men who eat their own motorbikes for breakfast.

But when he comes in, he’s not any of them. He’s not even one of Lola’s nightly hook-ups (she needs the money, you don’t ask). He’s too well dressed in a grey suit (or is it black? Maybe it’s black), trying desperately to shove his I.D. badge in his pocket. He has a look about him that says ‘I’m part of one of the alphabet soup agencies’. A smile on his face, dead in the eyes, and the weight of the world on his shoulders. He fumbles with his wallet as he squints to read the menu behind the counter. The rain’s stopped dripping from his hair, instead he’s got droplets like his woken with the morning dew upon him.

“Hi love,” Rita coos as she hangs her apron up. She has a look about her that says she’ll eat this man for her breakfast. It’s an effort not to curse those pregnancy hormones some days.

“Go home,” you tell her, swatting her arm. “Put your feet up, rest, sleep while the baby does or some shit.” Rita sticks her bottom lip out and pouts, but she’s making grabby hands for her purse, which is stored where the tea towels used to be. Far too high to reach even when one’s not pregnant. You grab it down for her, ignoring the showering of thank-yous.

The new guy (who is getting more and more handsome by the second) is still looking at the menu. He doesn’t look like he’s going to stop looking and order any time soon.

“Are you sure you’re fine to take the metro in this weather?” you check. She’s rubbing her swollen belly and looking longingly at the booths that haven’t had anyone sit in them for hours now. 

“Wait forty-five minutes and I’ll take you!” Joe yells. He’s slaving over something in the kitchen even though it looks like no one’s ordered in hours. “Wife gave me the car ‘cause of the storm!”

“Forty-five,” you repeat and point her towards the seat that she’s been eyeing off. Rita sighs, nods, then goes out to the seat. “What can I get you?” Usually when addressing the customer you’d add something gentle like ‘sweetheart’ or ‘love’ or ‘dear’ because the customers like it and they come back because they think you’re treating them like a long lost friend.

He bats his dark eyelashes and rubs at his forehead.

“I don’t know.” He sounds tired, balancing on the very edge of exhaustion. He might just fall off into a pit of sleep that he won’t wake up from. Been there, done that. “Do you guys do coffee?”

You laugh and point to the brewed pot beside you. There’s one for each table, free refills with a pie purchase. It’s written in decorative lettering right above you on the blackboard.

“We can put it in a take-away cup. It’s before six so it’s free anyway,” you offer. The last bits a lie, but Joe doesn’t care about a cup or two of coffee going missing. He’ll catch it up later when he flirts with all of the mom’s coming through after school drop off. The new guy nods and pulls out a ten dollar note and shoves it in the tip jar. You raise an eyebrow at him, but he nods anyway. He’s like a broken bobblehead.

“I know.” He goes to the sweets display and searches through it like he’s looking for something specific. Maybe he is. You’ve not seen him in the diner before, and neither has Rita, but maybe he’s one of Lola’s regulars. Maybe you’d judged him wrong. 

“Anything caught your eye?” you ask, leaning over the counter as if you could see it from his angle too. Maybe you do it to show off just that little bit of cleavage. He notices, then looks like he’s done entirely the wrong thing as he licks his lips and blinks like a school boy.

“S-sorry,” he stammers, and Rita giggles. You point at her and give her a stern look, but she just puts her hand over her mouth and lies down on the seat. She’s still silently giggling because her belly keeps bobbing above the table. 

“I just…” he has that exhausted look on his face again.

“Long day at work?” The answer is always yes for the people who work at the alphabet agencies. He nods. “Take a seat, grab some coffee, take a minute. It’s only just gone five, you’ve got time.” 

He nods. He looks like he’s gotten his words all mixed up and they’re just sitting in his mouth, refusing to leave. Tongue tied doesn’t exactly encapsulate what looks like is going on inside his head. He sits at one of the chairs in front on the counter, and takes the coffee cup gratefully as you pass it to him.

He’s definitely an alphabet soup man. He sits in this weird stance like he’s countering his weight against a gun. His shoulders are hunched forward as if he spends hours a day doing paperwork. He’s got a nervous twitch in his hands like sitting still is only going to bring the next case.

You think about making a joke about turning on the cellphone jammer, but last time Joe made that joke the whole place ended up swarming with cops. Absolute disaster. No one’s going to do that one again. 

“Cherry, berry or apple?” you ask, grabbing a plate.

“Sorry?”

“Cherry, berry or apple?” Rita repeats from her booth. “For the pie, sweetheart.”

“Uh, I didn’t—“

“Eat it,” Rita growled. You pull a face at her even though she can’t see you. The guy smiles.

“Apple, please.” Well mannered. Sweet. He looks elated as you slide the apple pie to him and hand him the canned cream.

“Not as good as fresh, but it’s better than nothing.” 

He puts a generous amount on his plate. You half think he might like it more than proper cream. Rita leans up just enough to look at him as he digs in, fanning herself playfully before sighing and collapsing back down.

Joe brings out his tray of caramel salted cookies. They’re thick enough to look like cakes with a gooey caramel center, and they usually sell out pretty quickly. The new guy watches them intently.

“How much trouble am I going to get into if I give those to my son?” 

“How old is he?”

“Ten.”

You smile. That’s a good age. “How much do you hate his teacher?” 

He considers this with a gentle tilt of his head. “Not a lot. I’ll give it to him after school.” He pulls out his wallet again and Joe looks like he’s just hit the mother lode as he grabs one of the cardboard boxes. 

“If you really want to spoil your kid, y/n here can write really pretty on top.” You glare at Joe. He shrugs. He’s covered in cake batter and cookie dough, and smells like pancake batter. He’s always smelling sickly sweet, and like a well lived in home, despite looking like the living embodiment of Gaston. “She does it for my wife all the time.”

The handsome man’s phone buzzes. He checks it, then shovels the rest of his pie in his mouth like a starved man. 

“I have to go,” he says. He gives Joe another ten and tells him to keep the change. Joe looks like he’s about to break into a song and dance. You pour a fresh cup of coffee into a take-away cup and slide it across the counter to him. He thanks you a thousand times over then goes. With his cookie.

“Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?” Rita screeches the moment the door shut with it’s little jingle. “I’ll-show-him-my-cleavage-but-I-won’t-ask-his-name?? No wonder you can’t get a date!”

“I’ll do it next time.” Not that there’s ever a ‘next time’ for these alphabet soup agents. They’re always looking for the next place to go to so they don’t have a ‘regular place’ that can be ambushed. 

But in a perfect world... you’d see him every day.

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

THINGS YOU MAKE ME DO

Prompt: Inspired by the song Things You Make Me Do by Devil Doll

Word Count: Long-ish

Pairings: Roman Reigns x Reader

Warnings: +18, angst, heart break, manipulation

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tag: @ziasaph , @marlananicole , @akiko-tanaka , @wickedsunfire , @sassymox , @nicolewoo , @saccreigns , @mindofasagittaruis , @reigns-5sos , @drewmcintyrekoccsrocbwdgfan , @auawdo , @lustyromantic , @babydee17 , @yungbludjazz360

Notes: This song is amazing, this band is amazing and I missed my main man, so enjoy lol ❤️ If you’d like to check out my other works, you can find them on my Masterlist 😉

I've got a secret plan to love you and I do so night and day

And I always stand right by you, have your back in every way

And you wish that I could save you and I wish that I could too

But if you cause too much pain for me I'll leave if I have to

He stood up from the hotel bed and began to get dressed, and as she stared at his figure, she wondered until when was she going to put up with this

But I think about you constantly all through the night and day

And I toss and turn in bed at night and hope it goes away

But it never does and when I wake and you're not next to me

I remember where you are, I hope your girl forgives me

“Are you leaving already?” She asked

“You know I have to” He looked at her “We can’t have people suspecting this” He motioned to the space between them “I would be fucked if they did” He scoffed

“Excuse me?” She asked, hurt by his lack of emotion “What do you mean by that?” She couldn’t have felt more offended, even if she chose to

“What, Y/N? Look, we fuck every once in a while, we have a good time but that’s it!” He chuckled, as he tied up his sneakers “Don’t try to turn this into something that it isn’t” He stood up

“Like what?” She asked angrily

“You know what? I’ll see you later” He winked, and walked out the door of her hotel room

Do I need you?

You seem to think I do

Can't seem to see through anything that you do

Oh, ooohhh, the things you make me do

Y/N was walking down one of the dark arena hallways, when a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, pushing her inside of one of the locker rooms

“Aren’t you gonna talk to me?” He asked, with his lips glued to her ear

“No, and let me go! I have work to do”

“You’ve been ignoring me for three days straight! Why is that, baby?” As his lips made contact with her skin, trailing down her neck

“Roman, just let me go. This is not the place and DEFINITELY not the time”

“I miss you” He whispered “Y/N, baby, you hurt my feelings when you treat me like this” He buried his face in her hair and caressed her body softly

She scoffed “As if you had any”

“Hey” He turned her around so she could face him “What’s the attitude about?” He looked into her eyes, and saw the resentment they held

“Is this because of what I said in your hotel room?” He sighed

“If you know, then why play dumb?” She spat

“C’mon Y/N, I’m sorry, ok?” He hugged her waist “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m an asshole! Please forgive me?” He pouted “Please, baby? I hate when you get mad at me” He begged with his eyes

“You don’t deserve it, you know” She crossed her arms in front of her chest

“Don’t be such a bitter bitch...It’s hotter when you’re MY bitch” He teased

When she tried to hold back a cackle, he knew he had won again

I should know better than to follow your lead wherever you go

Through the raging rivers, stones and alley ways we go

Sometimes I wonder if you really know where you take me to

But your radio is on so loud I can't get through to you

But if everything's ok with you then it's ok with me

You are such a little boy with you're big philosophy

But I'm not a little girl, I am a woman, don't you know?

I'm packing up my toys, I don't want to play anymore

“I don’t want to do this anymore” She said, watching him turn around and get dressed again - as he did every time.

“What are you talking about?” He frowned, as he looked for his shirt

“I don’t want to see you anymore, I’m done with this bullshit”

“You’re breaking up with me?” He laughed, in disbelief

“Well technically, in order to break up with someone you need to be with them in the first place”

“Not this again” He rolled his eyes in annoyance “Why do you always have to get feelings involved, huh? For fucks sake, can’t you ENJOY a one night stand like everybody else?” He threw his hands up in the air

“One night stand?” She widened her eyes in surprise “Do you call fucking almost every night for two years straight a ‘one night stand’ ?”

“Sexually speaking, we couldn't be any more compatible if we tried - so what the fuck do you want me to do? You’re a good fuck to me and I’m a good fuck to you! Why would I search in clubs and bars for something I have next door?” He tugged on his hair out of frustration “I don’t have to date you to like you, Y/N” He sat down beside her on the bed, and caressed her face delicately “You know I like you, don’t you, baby?”

“Yeah I know” She slapped his hand away “You like me when your dick is inside of me”

“Y/N” He sighed

“Get the fuck out” She kicked him on his lower back, in a repeated attempt to shove him out of the bed “Get out!”

“I’m leaving!” He said, grabbing his jacket

“Out!” She threw one of her heels at him, and her aim made it so it nailed him sharply in the hip

“I said I’m fucking leaving” He grabbed the door handle “Crazy bitch!” He said loudly enough for her to hear as he left

But what he didn’t hear were her sobs, which lasted the entire weekend

Do I need you?

You seem to think I do

Can't seem to see through anything that you do

Oh, ooohhh, the things you make me do

Six months had passed. Y/N had transferred to Smackdown, leaving Roman and all of their bitter memories together with Monday Night Raw, and for once in her life, is truly happy. That night, as she approached her car in the parking lot, she spotted none other than Roman himself leaning against the drivers’ door of her vehicle

And how can you smile at me when you know just what you can do

And it's not fair to me cause you know that I can never have you

How can you make me feel so good but then you make me feel so bad

You know that you are the baddest love that I've never had

“Hi, baby” He smiled sheepishly “I missed you” He tried to hug her, but she dismissed him

*It’s not going to be as easy as I thought* He mentally said to himself

“Can I talk to you for a minute? I wanted to apolog-”

“What are you doing here, Roman?” She asked sharply

“I got transferred to Smackdown”

“Good for you” She nodded once and continued “Now, if you excuse me, I’m really tired” She pointed towards her car

“Y/N” He cupped her cheek “Please, just hear me out? I regret everything I did, baby. I mean it! I should have never treated you like that, you don’t deserve it! You’re a beautiful, smart, sexy woman and it was a huge mistake to take you for granted” He brushed his lips softly against hers “Tell me you forgive me, I beg you, please, baby”

“I forgive you and then what? Everything goes back to what it used to be? You treating me like shit? No, Roman. This is not fair to me” She shook her head

“And you’re absolutely right! That will NEVER happen again! I give you my word, baby. Just give me one more chance and I promise I’ll make it up to you” His long fingers stroked the back of her neck lightly, making her miss what they once had.

That was until her phone rang, and the first chords of the Davy Jones Locket song echoed through the parking lot, remembering her of what she had now.

She smiled, as the song continued “No, I have to go” She took his hand off her face and entered the car to go meet the owner of that ringtone.

I've got my own man now, he treats me the way that you never could

And now you're all like "I should’ve, could’ve, would..."

But I'm afraid you've missed the train, you were too busy playing games

And now our story comes to an end, you ain't my lover or my friend

And when I am walking down the aisle oh so happily

Then you'll be saying "it could’ve, should’ve been me."

“Rumor has it, you’re getting married” Roman said, leaning against her office’s door

“Wow, news travels fast in this business, huh?” She answered, not paying too

much attention to him

“Can I see the ring?”

“Why? Want to buy a new one for your wife?” She scoffed

He decided to ignore her tone “Can I know who the lucky guy is?”

“Will it change anything if you do?” She continued to read her papers

“Can you stop answering my questions with other questions?”

“Will you stop asking me personal questions then?”

He chuckled softly “I missed that acid humor of yours”

“What do you want Roman?” She glared at him

“Your happiness” But this time, he meant it

“Now, that’s a bad taste joke” She laughed bitterly

“I know you don’t believe me, but I do”

“Right” She said dismissively

“Can you tell me who it is?”

“I figure, if you know I’m getting married then you also know who the groom is. Why hear old news again?”

“It’s Drew, isn’t it?” He asked defeatedly

She sighed “Yes, Roman. It’s Drew, are you happy now?”

“When is the wedding?”

“October. Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life?”

“I need to know how much time I have to kidnap you before you commit the biggest mistake of your life” He joked, but deep down, he meant it

“I’m pretty sure I’ve already committed that one” She said, intentionally making eye contact with him

“I love you, Y/N. Always have”

“You have a funny way of showing it” She murmured

“I’m sorry, babe...but I felt trapped. I didn’t knew how to express what I was feeling and I was so confused” He locked his gaze with hers “I would do everything different now, I swear I would”

She ignored his pleading eyes, and returned her gaze to her paperwork “I’m afraid that time is gone, Roman...There’s nothing left to do”

If you need me, I will not hear thee

Stay away from me, trying to decieve me

Oh, oh, ohhh the things you make me do

Oh the things you'll never make me do

Oh the things you’ll never make me do

Roses are red, violets are blue and so are you

One year later, Y/N is gathering her personal belongings from her office, her pregnancy doesn’t allow her to travel with the company any more, so she’s going to be working only from her home office for the foreseeable future. A knock on her door made her look up

“I heard the stork will be visiting you soon” Roman said

“Yeah, apparently she will”

“How far along are you?” He approached her carefully

“Just turned four months”

“Baby is popping out of nowhere, huh? Until a week ago you had no bump at all, and now” He reached his hand to touch her belly, but stopped midway

“It’s okay, Ro, you can touch it” She encouraged him

He smiled widely and rested his big hand against her tiny bump

“Do you know what you’re having?” He asked softly

“Girl” She smiled brightly “Regan”

“Even got her a name already? Damn baby, you’re fast- Sorry I shouldn’t have called you that” He said weakly

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it” She tried to hide the nostalgia the pet name brought to her

“I wish...” He trailed off

“Don’t. Don’t go there, please”

“You can still run away with me, you know?” He smirked, teasingly

“I’m sure you would look great holding a female version of Drew” She tried to joke

“As long as you birth it, I don’t care who made it. Although I wish it was me” He tried, one last time

“Maybe in another life, Ro” She smirked sadly, as she reached the door

“Do you promise?” He asked

“I’ll see you around” Smiling widely, she made her way out the arena doors, leaving him behind, for the second time (in that life).

But who knows what can happen in the next one?...

Please, if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedbacks are always appreciated 🥰😘

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Hi! I love everything that you write and heh I am a fan! 😄 tbh this is my first time requesting something on Tumblr! If you don't mind and if I am not being a bother...can you write about how the guys would react If MC suddenly starts making meme references? I don't know how I got the idea but I am REALLY curious. And love you! :D

Hiya! Tyvm for the kind words, and apologies that this took a while! I hope you have the chance to enjoy it regardless ❤️❤️❤️ Love you too, sweet pea! I promise to get to the next request you’ve sent ASAP~

Aight but this would be hilarious because the range of the reactions is just ungodly. I will be putting this under a cut after Napoleon so I don’t clog up everyone’s dash, but all the suitors are included below otherwise! 

Comte is the one that recognizes a few, but didn’t really stay in modern times long enough to be as well-versed as a Gen Z kid might. Regardless he finds the wittiness and absolute chaotic fuckery to be delightful, and will 100% support the harmless nonsense. It never fails to get a laugh out of him

Mozart that first day be like: “Buzz off MC I hate you” MC, because she likes swinging bats at wasps’ nests: “Well that’s not very cash money of you” Mozart: ?????????? Comte, giggling in the bg like the secret fae he is This one’s just because I’m petty, but after the events of Comte rt I just imagine them encountering Vlad again and MC’s just “I lived bitch.” while Comte is flipping him off behind her lkjahgkjhdsg

Comte @ Leo when he finds the latter under his desk: Had it not been for the laws of this land, I would have slaughtered you.  MC: wheezing from the hallway as she’s about to give him his letters

MC: So how was your day, honey? Comte: Good, good--briefly had to go beastmode upon the punk that pilfered my lint roller MC, biting her lip to keep from laughing: So does Leo still have his kneecaps? Comte: for now.

Comte, @ literally anyone upsetting the MC: I won’t hesitate, bitch

Comte: Be careful with my emotional baggage, it’s designer

MC: What if I was evil and ran towards you at very fast speeds Comte: My arms are strong, I would catch and hug you

Leo and Dazai are the ones that don’t have a single reference point but are filled with so much dumbass chaos energy that they just. Understand immediately???? Nobody knows how or why, but they just catch on so fast--adapt the language in a matter of weeks. Never underestimate the power of combined boredom, depression, and humor

I swear to god I just see MC taking them their Blanc/Rouge and being like “here you go sir, one enslaved moisture” and they just go fucking hog wild from day one. MC starts impersonating Theo when he leaves the room around Dazai, like fake deep voice “you all only hate me because you do not like me and I am mean to you. grow up.” Or like the MC meets a baby on her travels with Leo around town and she holds them and says v seriously and sagely “So you are Baby? I have heard tales of your exploits.” and Leo about loses his shit right there. They both think MC is the funniest person alive--they’ve never been more eager to throw a ring at someone in their entire life.

Also a bonus for my beloved Dazai:  MC, facing even the slightest inconvenience (like dropping her fork) in the most dramtic voice possible: Life is not daijoubu. Dazai: wheezing

MC, after watching Theo turn down a woman at the bar in the meanest way possible: bro quit letting the darkness consume you u r scaring the hoes Dazai, literally rolling around on the ground, half-drunk and dying:

MC, walking alongside Dazai and stopping to stare at her reflection in the River Seine. Dazai’s expecting some sad or twisted shit, since people often feel comfortable talking about those things around him, but instead she just: “Oh, it’s you. The source of all my problems.” And he about falls into the river from shock HAHAHA

At this point don’t be surprised if his next book is about an absolute madlad woman similar to MC

Napoleon finds it to be a delightful quirk more than anything? He doesn’t really understand it, but he finds it funny when they change their voice for effect or speak in exaggerated tones. If it’s just comprehensible enough for an outsider to understand--or Sebas gives him context--chances are it’ll send him into a laughing fit

For this one I just imagine MC singing that Ratatouille meme song obnoxiously bad while cooking, and Napoleon and Comte are just so wildly amused by it bc it makes zero sense and it’s only vaguely French at this point

MC @ Napoleon while they’re cooking brunch: Can I offer you a nice egg in these trying times?

MC, conflicted because she’s tired and wanted to sleep in but also got to see Napo’s cute sleeping face for a few hours: For my next stunt, I’ll wake up at 5AM on the day I can sleep in. Sebas: Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise MC: early to bed and early to rise makes me a massive bitch Napoleon: laughing in agreement

Isaac is the type to be bewildered and concerned at first (especially when he hears the more nihilistic ones hoOOOoooOO BOY) but eventually begins to understand it’s some bizarre attempt at humor (that hurts Zack baby). While some part of him laments that it reminds him of Dazai and he’s secretly jealous of how she and Dazai bond over it, he will sometimes join in the chaos when the mood strikes him and he’s feeling mischievous

Isaac: How are you feeling? MC: Oh, I’m not Isaac: seconds from dialing 911 Isaac: Are you okay? MC: Oh yeah dw I just suffer from that syndrome where your neutral expression makes you look like you’re an angry serial killer Isaac: say sike rn

Isaac, tutoring MC and correcting something:  MC, muttering while redoing it: The risk I took was calculated, but man am I bad at math. Isaac: unable to help a laugh

One time MC was avoiding Isaac for fear of hurting his feelings and he just confronts her like: Isaac: back by unpopular demand, me! What’s wrong, MC pls MC was so hecking proud of him

Isaac, telling MC about a recent discovery he learned at uni from another professor: bones typically heal stronger after they’ve been broken--so long as they’re set properly, of course MC, looking him dead in the eyes: So what you’re saying is that I should break every bone in my body until I become superhumanly powerful? Isaac: please do not, no

Mozart and Jeanne are just. Totally lost. Why are you talking like that??? Why are you making “crab hands”???? They don’t understand. Maybe never will. They reach a point where they just kind of laugh and shake their heads, endeared by the oddity after they’re used to it and have determined it isn’t a threat/insult. 

MC: It’s a cold and it’s a brooooken, Waluigi. Waaaaluigiiiii...waaaahluigi..... Mozart: surprised, then starts snickering and playing along on the piano

Arthur, asking MC very personal questions out loud because he is an idiot sometimes: Soooo MC, are you a top or a bottom? MC: I’m a threat. (If he asks a second time, the response will be “Wouldn’t you like to know, weatherboy.”) Jeanne, fighting a smile:

MC, about to punch an asshole: Your free trial of being alive has ended Jeanne, seconds from laughing for the first time in 100 years:

Also, because I genuinely can’t help myself. You know that knight meme like “Parry this you fucking casual.” I cannot stress enough that it is literally the personification of Jeanne’s entire character. I’m not even joking.

Arthur and Shakespeare are utterly fascinated by the rapid evolution of wordplay and the sheer hilarity. They will ask all about these so-called “memes” and ask for examples of them if MC can show them (either somehow accessing her phone or drawing them). MC draws Arthur the knife cat meme and he about a s c e n d s at the hilarity of it all, points and yells THEO IS HOLDING THE KNIFE. He is correct. They will be delighted and follow along eagerly, and--god forbid--will make their own based on late 19th century struggles.

Is this where Shakespeare got the idea for “What, you egg? stabs him” and “You are a saucy boy.”? I’m too scared to ask. Don’t even get me started on “The Fool jingled miserably across the floor.” That one is just too on the nose...

I can’t even imagine what would happen to Shakespeare if MC like translated vines and memes into Ye Olde English around him. Imagine she’s at one of those noble balls and hears rumors of these two guys living together and they’re so obviously gay and he says “And those gents w’re roommates.” And in the most false surprised tone ever MC just replies “oh mine own god, those gents w’re roommates.” Imagine having a wife that’s just as hilarious as you are and hits you with all the force of a bag of wet mice every time you speak in retaliation, he’s going into palpitations.

Every time Arthur does smth stupid MC just: “I Pretend I Do Not See It.”

Vincent is tickled pink by MC’s penchant for finding joy and/or amusement in nearly everything they do, and he smiles gently when he sees them muttering and laughing to themselves. He wants to be able to join them in what they love, but he has a harder time following along and understanding the darker humor sometimes. Mostly gets confused??? Please give him the easier ones to mimic and laugh when he tries--or just include him in your jokes MC. He’s babie your honor...

But he also. Will not. Stand any kind of self-deprecation or borderline verbal self-harm. He’s usually very easygoing and calm, but for whatever reason that stuff makes him go deathly quiet and upset.

MC, after something goes horribly wrong, hugging Vincent: Oh Vince, we really in it now Vincent: giggling a little despite his worries, relaxing

MC: Theo stop simping for Vincent that’s my job

MC, when Theo leaves the room and she gets Vincent all to herself: The evil is defeated.

MC: And this is where I would put my will to live...if I h a d one! Vincent: ;-; MC: oh shit, oh fuck, I was only kidding Vincent wait (MC was subsequently lectured and loved on for many hours)

Theo is conflicted because on the one hand, he loves to see you smiling and having fun. On the other, you’re clowning as hard as Dazai and Arthur and he can only handle so many monkeys in his circus. Most of the time he will roll his eyes and be the straight man of this comedy, but you might find him cracking a smile--or accidentally letting a chuckle slip past his lips now and again.

MC, after meeting Theo: I’m a nice person, but I’m about to start throwing rocks at people.

Theo, those first days: Oh? You’re approaching me? Instead of running away, you’re coming right to me? MC: I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer.

Theo: Every time I ask MC to explain “vibe check” to me she hits me with some kind of improvised weapon

MC, after the “incident” (you know the one): This year, I lost my dear lover Theo Theo, in the distance: QUIT TELLING EVERYONE I’M DEAD! MC: ;-; sometimes I can still hear his voice...

Sebastian is last because oh boy. OH BOYYYYY I LOVE HIM. Okay so the way I see this happening with Sebastian is just. So wild. Because at first he’s t r y i n g so hard to be the proper butler man. He does not meme. But then he starts to drift closer to what Niles from The Nanny was, where he’ll quip and joke in private or when the situation is just beyond the amount of absurdity he can handle without making a snarky comment. Everyone in the house can’t fathom how Sebas and MC got so close so fast, but there are points where they’re just “Are they even speaking English anymore???” It’s 11 times funnier than normal because Sebas almost never smiles or laughs when memeing, the deadpan quality of his playing along sends MC every time

Has ABSOLUTELY said “HEY. PANINI HEAD. ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME???” jokingly when MC made a mistake in the kitchen. They laugh about it for y e a r s

MC: I can’t date someone who keeps a lamb as a pet, that’s so weird Sebas, brushing Lotte in front of MC: MC: MC: Okay, I will make an exception because she looks very polite

MC and Sebas, fully aware of the fame some of the men will reach in modern times: We will watch your career with great interest.  (I s2g that’s like half of Sebas’ rt right there I’m crying)

Sebas rt with Lotte be like that 500 dollar Mareep meme: “sometimes a family can be just a boy, his gf, and their 500 dollar two foot tall Lotte”

[loudsuitlover]

Bad mom

A/N: Doctor Harry’s Blurb again. I’m doing different things here and now the narrative is going to change. I feel like writing like this now. Hope you feel like reading like this too! 

He still holds her close in bed even after eight years of marriage. Who would have thought that he’d be such a cuddler? But then again he couldn’t possibly know for before he wouldn’t want to sleep with anybody else but now, fourteen years later, he gets a shiver if he thinks of not having the shape of her body marked on their mattress. 

She was already asleep when he got home and he would chop his own finger off before he woke her up these days so he checked on the kids, silently, just because he missed their chubby hands and the way they would stink his white shirts every time and how Hughie would say daddy and Dylan would always prefer his mum. They were both fast asleep on their matching beds, one on each far wall of the room and their room was a little messy so a small smile crept onto his lips for he reminds Blue telling him kids are just kids, babe, and they are messy and so is your wife, so you gotta get used to it. 

Baby Ana’s deep breaths soothe his heart as he watches his youngest baby’s cherry mouth opened buried under thick, pink lips just like her mum’s. Harry thinks she looks so much like Blue when she’s asleep but then she’d open her eyes and they would be a light green, just like his, and he never even dreamt about making someone so gorgeous. 

It might look weird from the outside, a man getting home after 16 hours of duty and watching his family sleep one by one but he’s so used to it he doesn’t question it anymore. If he gets home at night, he’d check on his sleeping babies and then he’d undress and get to bed next to his calm. 

She’s wearing one of his t-shirts and has her hands under her chin and looks like a little spoon even if the space behind her as remained unoccupied when she fell asleep. He smiles because that’s his spot and he feels his heart fluttering before he finally feels the soft mattress under his heavy lengs and he rests his head on the pillow, inhaling her scent through her soft natural hair and he gently places a hand on her waist, not wanting to disturb her, but in a second her hand find his and she takes them to her chest so he’s fully holding her. He smiles behind her, he’s not sure whether she’s awake or not, so he just presses a kiss against her cotton covered shoulder and let sleep take over him. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep for when he hears his youngest whimpering from her nursery but Blue’s already not in bed. Her spot is still warm though. He sinks his head on the pillow and stares at the ceiling only illuminated by the white moonlight coming in through the window and he waits for some minutes but when she doesn’t settle, he gets up and makes his way down the hall and towards his daughter’s nursery. 

His wife is holding her and she’s rocking her and whispering sweet nothings but the little one doesn’t stop crying so he notices, his wife is crying too. 

“Come on, lovie.” Her voice croaks. “I don’t know what you want...” 

Her hand cups her daughter’s cheek as she rocks and shushes her but she wonders why does it seem so hard for them to get along. She’s raised two boys already and even though they were indeed allergic to sleep at some points, she always calmed them down... With Ana though, she doesn’t seem to get it. 

“I don’t know what you want...” She repeats. “You’re not sick.” She whispers. 

Harry places a hand on her shoulder and she flinches scared. 

“Sorry” He whispers. 

She gives him a small smile and shakes her head. He won’t say he likes seeing her crying because he doesn’t, he hates it, but he likes that she’s not afraid to do that in front of him. His hand caress her shoulder warmly and she rests her head on his chest as she keeps rocking the fussy little one. 

“I’m sorry we woke you.” She whispers. “I just... I can’t settle her, Harry.” She cries too. “I don’t know what she needs, I... It took me forever to put her down last night and now...”

Her husband shushes her. He presses a kiss on her forehead and takes the baby from her and her cries become louder so he tells his wife to go back to bed. She needs to get out of there, she needs to stop watching her baby cry like that because it breaks her heart; it breaks her heart to think she might be in pain or hungry or scared and she can’t help her. Her baby girl doesn’t seem to find calmness on the arms of her own mother so she can’t help but feel like a failure. 

She makes her way inside the bathroom and she washes her desperate tears off with warm water before she has a look at herself in the mirror. She looks exhausted and she hasn’t played as much as she’d like with her boys today. She sent Hughie into the playroom earlier, right after dinner, because she just wanted to have a second of quiet and she feels terrible for that. She didn’t really listened to Dylan talking about that book he’s reading either, she pretended she did, but really she was thinking about the groceries she needed to get the following day; and God, she wished she would have listened to him. 

She wishes she was better. She knows they deserver better. All of them. The boys, the baby and her husband. She turns to the side so she can have a look at herself in the mirror. She hasn’t worked out in months and her belly hasn’t looked flat in more than a year and her hair is frizzy and her skin is dry and she has the darkest dark eyes she has ever even seen; and she’s a doctor, so that’s saying a lot. 

Tomorrow will be another day and she can plan everything again and she can have a schedule. She thinks Harry’s day off is tomorrow too so maybe he can take the children to Gemma’s and she can sign up at the gym or she can wake up at five, yeah, and have a run before the day starts. She doesn’t need time to read either, she probably spends too much time reading anyway, and instead she can actually play with her kids. She feels like she never really plays with them. 

She’s tiptoing along the thin line between sleep and reality when the door of their room half-shuts and her husband silently walks in. She doesn’t remember exactly when baby Ana had settled, but she knows it was him who calmed her down. She’s embarrassed but her hazel eyes meet his green ones and he’s giving her a warm smile despite the evident tiresome on his eyes. He’s been at the hospital working for more than 12 hours and she gets home to this... 

He leans closer to her and she wonders how he even has the will to do such a thing when she’s disguting and probably smells of milk, for her breasts still leak sometimes, and is the farthest thing from appealing she can think of. But he stills leans in and captures her dry lips with his on an innocent peck. He looks so good, he’s always had, and that two-days stubble look so good and she wants to cry again. 

“Go back to sleep, m’love.” He whispers. “Baby’s asleep too.” 

Her heart draws in. He put her down, she can’t even manage to calm her down. 

“Do you think I’m a bad mum?” 

Her hazel eyes bore into his and his heart breaks when he realizes she’s seriously waiting for an answer. So she really doesn’t know? She really thinks he might think that? 

“What are you talking about?” He frowns. “Where’s this coming from?” 

She turns her body so she’s facing the ceiling instead and her back is resting against the mattress. 

“Hughie said he liked daddy’s porridge better this morning” she starts “and I didn’t even know what he meant. I thought we did it the exact same way... And then Dylan was so excited telling me about his book and I didn’t pay attention to him” she sobs “and baby Ana, I think she just doesn’t like me.” She shrugs. 

“You’re her Mum.” Harry whispers. “Of course she likes you. She shushes faster with me because she can’t smell the milk but she wouldn’t go a day without you, I know that.” His fingers gather his wife’s tears as he keeps talking. “And Hughie just meant cinnamon because the other day we ran out of honey so I added cinnamon instead and he loved it. I must have forgotten to mentioned it to you. And about Dylan... Dylan tells you every little thing that comes to his mind, it’s normal that sometimes you disconnect, baby.” He chuckles and despite her tears she chuckles along. 

“He’s a very smart boy.” She says. “He thinks a lot and he’s pretty imaginative.” 

“I wonder who he got that from...” He jokes and she smiles at him. 

“I’m sorry.” She confesses. “I’m sorry that you get home to a wife who looks like she doesn’t know where the mirror is and who can’t manage to calm her own freaking baby and who... doesn’t even let you sleep at night with her senseless drama.” She rolls her eyes. 

“Hey” his fingers gently grip her chin and he makes her look into his eyes “I love you” he reassures her “like crazy and every hour I’m just counting how much longer until I get to be with you, okay? So don’t think that. Please. I love you, Blue and I’m so fucking glad and lucky for having you and the family we’ve made together. I wouldn’t change a thing.” 

“Not even my muffin top?” She pinches her belly and he chuckles. 

“Not even. I think your body is perfect.”

“No, you don’t.” She laughs. “I’m chubby.”

He rolls his eyes before he hovers her and pins her against the mattress. His lips smash against hers in an almost teenage way and she feels that same fire on the pit of her stomach, much like she did fourteen years ago and he feels like a hormoned boy, despite his forty-one years of life and he thinks he’ll always feel vulnerable and desperate for her. 

“I thought we were past this, love.” He whispers against her lips. “You’re the sexiest woman on Earth.” 

His hand moves down to her ass and he squeezes her flesh making her smile. 

“And you say you never lie.” 

“That’s right.” He kisses her again. “I don’t.” 

“I love you.” She says against her lips. 

“I love you too.” 

He aligns his hips with hers. His right hand supports his weight on the mattress next to her head while the other squeezes her flesh on her ass and hips. He’s never been able to understand why or how she could ever get insecure and during their time together, it’s true she’s gotten a lot better, but she has still sometimes been insecure about her body and he’s hated every time. 

But they understand each other; they’ve had for years and he’s never stopped wanting to be close to her. Ever. His hand moves down to her belly and he slips his fingers under the hem of her sweatpants and her knickers, feeling how wet she is on his fingertips. 

“Mhm, baby” He hums against her lips. 

“Yeah, embarrasingly wet, I know” she giggles “you’re so hot, H, there’s nothing I can do.” 

He laughs against her mouth. Is that what she really thinks? Well, he attracts female’s attention, he’s not an idiot, he notices that; but he’s getting some grey hairs now too and she’s still six years younger, like she’s always been, and she really is the most beautiful woman he knows. He’s seen his coworkers staring at her and her own students whispering about it when she gets a male one in practice. But somehow, she sleeps in his bed every night and she could leave but she doesn’t so she must feel the same way. 

His fingers thrust inside her and she arches her back and moans. He keeps kissing her and is amazed at how in these moments, it feels like time haven’t passed. She’s the same Blue and he’s the same Harry but they’ve moved in together, they’ve gotten married, they’ve done surgeries together, they’ve had three kids, they’ve bought a house, he’s been sick and she’s taken care of him; she’s been sick and he’s taken care of her; and he wouldn’t change her or anything they have together for anything in the world. 

It’s in these moments too, when Blue doesn’t feel like she has to be better or like she’s not doing enough; she is enough. She’s more than that. She’s what he wants and she’s what she wants too and everything is fine. She’s lucky, she’s so damn lucky for the family she has and for the husband she married and for everything else. 

His fingers speed up and she sinks her head on the pillow so his mouth attacks her neck and she moans louder. 

“Baby, we’re gonna wake Anie up.” 

“Then be quiet.” He whispers on her ear. 

She giggles at that and his teeth skim her skin as he grins but his fingers keep moving in and out of her and he’s touching just that place she loves and she needs him so bad. She loves him and she wants him and she so desperately wants to feel him stretching her like every other time he’s had her before. 

“Baby” she moans “if we wake her up...”

“We won’t.” He whispers. 

“It’s so hard to put her down...”

“Yeah, I know, it really is hard to put this down.” 

She giggles again and he chuckles at his own joke but his fingers keep bringing her to the edge and her nipples are getting harder as she bites her bottom lip. 

“Do you want me to stop?” He smirks, already knowing the answer. 

“No” She gasps “but you should.” 

“There’s something down here that doesn’t agree.”

He chuckles as her walls start throbbing around his fingers and her back arches as she feels her mind leaving her body and strong waves pushing all her stress out of her too. 

Harry smiles and rests his forehead against hers. 

“Better?” 

She nods. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” 

She nods again and her hands cup his jaw as she kisses him deeply. He’s a sucker for these kisses, when her tongue pushes inside his mouth and she lets him know how much he means to her. 

“But we might wake Anie up...” He grins. 

“Oh, shut up and fuck me.” 

He laughs. 

He takes her sweatpants and knickers off and she does the same with his white boxers. His hard lenght springs free and hits her wetness and he circles his hips so she can feel him adding pressure on her. His hands grip her waist and she knows he’s seconds away from thrusting inside her so she takes a deep breath and gets ready to take him and like that his manhood slips inside her inch by inch and she throws her head back and sighs.

He pushes in and out of her slowly and her hands stick to his shoulders and his biceps as she pulls him closer. Her soft fingers tangle on his hair and she pulls from it so his mouth covers hers and he bites on her full bottom lip. 

“Is this what you wanted?” He whispers and despite the years, he sounds so sexy to her, he always does when he wants to. 

“Yes.” She gasps. “But I want more.” 

She feels him smiling against her mouth and supporting his weight on her waist, he threads her onto him again harder and faster and her head spins until she’s afraid it might turn molten. She feels her own bowels bouncing inside her and the screams get stuck on her throat as he keeps pushing in and pulling out of her. 

“Don’t stop, Harry, don’t stop.” 

“Fuck.” 

Her low moans mix with his grunts and her hands travel across his skin, almost marking him when he hits the right spot and his hands hold her waist as he pushes inside her. He only feels like this when he’s fucking her and that’s why he’s addicted to her because this is the best feeling in the world, when his heart flutters and he can feel his pulse on his temples and his skin is covered in sweat and goosebumps and he can feel the urge to cum on his spine. He loves her. He loves this woman with everything he has and everything he doesn’t. 

“That’s it, love.” She whispers on his earshell. “Fuck me, I needed this so bad. I fucking love you, H.” 

“Fuck” he grunts “I love you.” 

She holds his shoulders close to her chest and they gasp into each other’s mouths as he keeps pounding inside her. She can feel the weight of overwhelming pleasure falling over her and she can think of nothing other than him and the way he sounds and the way he smells and how he’s touching her inside. Her legs tremble around his hips. 

“Come on, baby” He whispers “Cum for me.” 

He’s close. He’s so fucking close, he’s not sure he can hold it in anymore. Yet he wants to feel her. He knows she needs this but he needs her just as much. 

“Cum with me, baby.” 

She does and she feels his hot, sticky cum filling her and a wide smile draws on her face and she sinks her head on the pillow but he pulls from her chin so he can kiss her and he does it deeply and slowly and she can feel it, how much he loves her, and she just loves him back. 

They don’t say anything else until they fall asleep tangled up on one another. 

The four of them are awake when she wakes up and as she makes her way to the kitchen, she can’t help the little smirk on her face. Harry made sure she could sleep in and that alone warms her heart so walking inside the kitchen and finding her little smurfs sitting on the table helping their daddy make breakfast drives her crazy from love. 

Baby Anie jumps on Harry’s hip and stretches her arms out for her and she feels her heart about to explode with love for the little angel. It seems like they’re back to being friends. Harry gives the baby a look before his eyes meet with hers. They smile, sharing the secret of what happened hours ago in their bed, and she mouths a silent thank you and he mouths back love you. 

She takes the baby from his hip and pecks his lips swiftly and her boys look up from the pancakes and smile at her. 

“Morning, mummy!” Dylan hugs her waist and her fingers caress his dark straight hair as she hugs him close. 

“Morning, dear. Morning, Hughie.” 

“Morning, mummy!” Hughie grins. “We made pancakes!”

“Yeah, they smell awesome! Thank you, boys!”

“And read, read what we wrote on them!” Dylan cheers. 

“Dy wrote it!” Hughie explains with evident proud on his voice and she smiles down at him. 

On the pancakes, on wobbly Nutella 5-years-old boy’s handwriting, can be read “Best mummy ever” and a heart and her eyes get teary because she hasn’t been feeling that lately. She gives Harry a look as if saying don’t do this to me in front of the kids but he just grins and shrugs as if he hadn’t orchestrate the whole thing. 

“I drawed the heart!” Hughie catches her attention and she smiles at him. 

“It’s drew, Hugh” Dylan corrects him “you drew the heart.” 

“Yes, I did.” He smiles. “Chopsy mixed the flour.” 

He had come up with that nickname for his baby sister on his own and his mum had grown to love it, sometimes calling her Chopsy herself. 

“You did such a great job, my lovely.” Her voice almost croaks. 

And Dylan, being the oldest of them three, even if he was just five years old, tilted his neck up so he can look into his mum’s eyes. She gives him a smile but he can somehow see it, even if he doesn’t fully understands, he kind of knows so his small hand rests on top of hers.

“You really are.” He whispers. “The best mummy ever.” 

Her lip trembles and she has to chuckle so she doesn’t freak the little boy out when she wipes her tears away. 

“Thank you, baby.” She kisses his cheeks and his little arm wraps around her shoulder. 

Baby Anie’s hand gently slaps her brother and he shuts his eyes when their mum starts laughing. 

“I love you.”

Blue kisses her boys’ foreheads and they both start eating while she sets Anie on her high chair. Her husband is moving around the kitchen, setting his and his wife’s forks and their cups of coffee, when she presses her hands on his chest and stops him. 

“And you too.” She smiles. “I love you so much.” 

[moonlit-imagines]

Way Down We Go

Arvin Russell x fem!reader

warnings: well, just about everything from the movie is mentioned, death/murder/suicide, (non-descriptive) sex, pregnancy mention,

a/n: im begging you to read this in a southern accent - i did change it up JUST a little i hope thats okay (y/n was just w/ arvin when he did some of the stuff he did)

prompt: anonymous: “uhm, oneshot for being arvin russell’s girlfriend and him coming back for you after he kills the sergeant? and maybe you two run away and get married and name your first kid after lenora?”

Soon enough, you and Arvin needed to split from your boyfriend’s hometown, Knockemstiff. He’d just shot down the sheriff and you weren’t sure if any authorities were going to believe your story. You two had to run.

“I’m so sorry, y/n. ‘Shoulda never got you involved in any ‘a this.” Arvin was beating himself up as the two of you dragged your feet on the side of the road, hoping you’d find a less murderous ride along the way.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Arvin. They all had it comin’ and you know I wasn’t gonna let you go off alone.” You halted your step in the grass and grabbed your boyfriend by the bicep, forcing him to stop, as well. He hesitated to turn around and look you in the eye, but when he slowly did, you could see tears brimming in his eyes. You’d be a liar if you said you didn’t want to do the same, but someone needed to have a level head right now, and after everything Arvin just had to do, you were prepared to take that responsibility. “Baby, we’re gonna be fine, I just know it.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.” He mumbled as the tears began to flow. Your hands found themselves gliding up his dirty arms and shirt, finally reaching his clenched jaw and helping him to relax. “You’re so good to me an’ I just made our lives so much harder.”

“So we start somewhere new, okay? We’ll take a ride with someone on the interstate, make it to Georgia or Florida. I’ve been hearin’ some good things ‘bout Florida, they’ve got it all.” Arvin nearly cracked a smile at your optimism, he never knew how you’d be able to find light such a dark situation.

“I was thinkin’ about doing what my daddy did all them years ago.” He mumbled to you, as if he were unsure about going down that path.

“You gon’ keep on going or leave me hangin’ over here? You never talk about your father, tell me something new.” You pushed on, finally getting a smile out of him as the two of you continued your trek away from trouble.

“Well, he met a girl, fell in love, settled down far from home...” Arvin told you, trying to remember wha his mother’s face looked like.

“You’ve done two ‘a those things so far, go on.” You laced your fingers through his and gently swung your arms back and forth with each step.

“They started a family.” He said, looking up at the cloudy sky. Almost as if he could see the two looking back down at him. “A family could be nice. Maybe a dog, too. Jack really was man’s best friend.”

“I could see us doin’ that. We just gotta find the right place and we’re as good as gold.” You nudged Arvin with your elbow and he forgot all about the heinous scenes he’d left in the hours before, all that was on his mind now was what your future may look like. And to him, it looked amazing. Maybe you two could put the past few weeks behind you and just be happy again. No more pain, no more fear, just love for one another.

“We’re gonna be okay, huh?” Arvin asked, knowing already that you’d agree. A good deal of time went by before any cars passed by, but sooner or later a Volkswagen slowed down beside you and let you hop in. You knew hippies were a little weird, but they loved peace more than anything on this planet. Your odds were pretty good, so you climbed right inside and took a seat in the back, making conversation with the driver while Arvin got some much-needed shut eye.

“So, where are you two lovebirds heading?” The long-haired man asked, thankfully snapping you out of a daze consisting of dropped bodies and images you may never get out of your head.

“Oh, nowhere in particular. Just south.” You nodded along with your answer and the hippie chuckled, liking the answer you gave him.

“Looking to get a little lost? I like it.” You were distracted by his long hair flying around with the window cracked open just a bit.

“Yeah, I guess we are. We were thinking Florida would be a nice place to go, ever been?” You sparked a bit of conversation.

“Definitely! ‘The Sunshine State,’ doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? You guys’ll love it, I’m tellin’ ya.” The man’s enthusiasm was no joke, you needed the upbeat attitude he gave you, though. For a while longer, you talked about travel and this mystery man’s eventful life, it gave you hope that this new life you were about to start wouldn’t be as scary as you were thinking.

—————

Arvin woke up from yet another nightmare, it seemed like it would never end. It’d been four damn years since you two had left Knockemstiff and ended up in a little town by the name of “Palatka.” It was home and it was just the way you liked it.

“Hey, hey? I’m right here, Arvin. We’re safe.” You raised your hand and placed it on his bare, sweating chest as it rasised and fell from his panting. His eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and he saw the concern on your face while he just stared back at you. “You alright there, hun?”

“Yeah...” Arvin sighed, wishing that he’d stop seeing the faces of the people he’d shot down all those years before, they always seemed to haunt him in his sleep. He leaned back against the wooden headboard he’d crafted himself and reached his hand out for yours. “Sorry, darlin’, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Your husband’s thumb trailed over the back of your right hand.

“It’s alright, I was just about to go check on Lenora anyways.” You gave him a kiss on the forehead and threw the covers off of yourself, swinging your legs off the side of the bed so you could get your slippers on. You shuffled out of your bedroom and across the squeaky floorboards, reaching the door of your daughter’s bedroom. Slowly cracking the door open, you tiptoed inside and found Lenora, still sound asleep in her bed.

She was a good namesake to her daddy’s late sister, you know she would’ve loved to meet her niece. What a shame it was, but at least you honored her memory the way you did. It was Arvin’s idea, after all. God, she looked so much more like Arvin every single day. You couldn’t help but smile as she let out a little moan while stretching in her sleep. And you couldn’t believe you created that, you were a mother with the man you loved most.

You made a stop in the kitchen real quick so that you could get your husband a glass of water, then went back on to your room. Arvin was now sitting there with his bedside lamp on, swiveling his head towards you as you came back inside and closed the door. “Water?”

“Please.” He reached out and grabbed the glass. “Thank you, y/n.” Arvin said into the glass before taking a sip and setting in down on the bare wood of the nightstand.

“Ahem.” You cleared your throat and cocked an eyebrow, leaving Avrin puzzled. “Coaster.”

“Right, sorry.” He lifted his glass up and put it on the coaster directly next to it. “There we go.” He told himself. You crawled back into bed and scooted closer to your husband, leaning your head on his shoulder and draping your arm across his body. He gently rubbed his rough, working hands over your upper arm and gave you a sweet kiss on the forehead. “How was Lenora?”

“She’s still asleep, thankfully.” You answered with a hopeful little smirk. Your daughter obviously wasn’t a sleeping angel every night.

“That sure is news.” He traced his finger back up your arm and to your chin, guiding it to move up so that you could face him. He placed his lips to yours and drew back ever-so-slightly. “You wanna fuck while we have a chance?”

“Yes, sir.” You whispered and he had spent no extra time jumping on top of you and getting right to work. Before becoming a parent, he never stopped to think about how he’d absolutely have to find the right time to do what he wanted, because the rest of that time was dedicated to caring for his kid in one way, shape or form. In the end, he didn’t mind a bit. Being a father and a husband were two things he’d loved more than life itself and he hoped that his parents would be proud of the man he’d become. But right now he just wanted to spend some time with his loving wife, and that’s that.

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @purpleskiesstorm //

[writingsweetroll]

**Summary: Louis has worries for his one year old, and Clementine soothes them by opening up about her own issues.**

Louis tried his best to not toss and turn, he really hated these beds. They were so springy, you do anything on it, so much as lay a hand on the mattress and it would make a springy noise. The noise wouldn’t annoy him as much if Clementine wasn’t laying beside him, he quickly found out she was a very light sleeper. It broke his heart that she wasn’t born a light sleeper, she just adapted to being one due to all of the trauma she faced. He wanted to make sure she got as much sleep as she could- so tossing and turning would definitely awaken her and that was the last thing he wanted.

So, he lay stiff as a board. Looking above to the mattress above him. He anxiously counted the number of bars holding the bed above him, distracting his mind to the best of his abilities. Because every time he couldn’t sleep at night, his mind went to dark places. *You have no idea what you’re doing.* He would think. That main thought spiraled out of control to other thoughts. But, that one main thought started from the time he was child, to now. It adapted to whatever situation he was in. As a child, ‘You have no idea what you’re doing’ related to the spelling bee, now, it is related to parenting his one year old daughter.

He grabbed the chair next to the desk, and placed it near the bed. He sat on it and watched her sleep soundly. A warm feeling was felt in his chest, unknowingly smiling ear to ear. He examined her features, and the midnight moon shone upon her face. She mainly had Louis’ features, his freckles, skin color, and eye shape. But, her lashes were full and her eyes were as golden as Clementines, her hair was also kinky just like Clementines. She was a perfect mix between the two.

*You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?*

Louis furrowed his brows as the thought entered his mind. No matter how many baby books he read, or conversations with Clementine he had about how to raise a baby into childhood, his mind was never satisfied with himself.

*To put your girlfriend through so much pain during her pregnancy, so selfish to bring a kid into this world, you’re a monster.*

That wasn’t true. Louis knew it. It wasn’t a mindless decision or an accident, it was multiple conversations and respectful debates about when or if they should start a family. After weeks, they decided together that they wanted a family, and they had enough resources to do so. And the pregnancy went better than expected, minor pain here and there, and the delivery had no scares. Thankfully, whenever Louis would remember this, it seemed as if thoughts grew quieter, and instead he imagined a world where the apocalypse wasn’t here. He wondered what her parents would think of him, or Lee, even Kenny. He didn’t know much about them, but he knew enough to know she cared deeply for them.

Suddenly, his daughter sniffled, causing him to go into panic mode. He calmed himself down once she went back to her normal state. It was spring, and it was just allergies but he was still terrified of her getting sick. Louis sighed, slouching against the chair now.

Although Louis truly thought he didn’t know what he was doing, he knew one thing. He’ll never be like his parents. His father, manipulative and a gas-lighter. His mother ignored it and was just focused on her public image instead.

*“Chin up, baby.” His mother whispered down to him. “Play your little piano and smile.”*

*His mother’s tone was sweet, and caring. But Louis wasn’t stupid. He knew his family milked his skills during fancy business parties like these ones. But, he played the piano nonetheless, because this was the only time he could truly feel like he had an audience that enjoyed his talent, his dream.*

*“My son! Ladies and gentlemen!” Louis’ father widened his arms towards Louis playing the piano. Families of prestigious wealth clapped for him. In this moment it was bitter sweet, should he feel happy that people enjoyed his music, or should he feel angry that his parents only supported him if it benefited them? Louis brushed off the confusing feelings and instead put his emotions into his music, making it authentic and oddly charming.*

*“Beautiful, Mandisa.” A woman patted his mothers shoulder. “You’ve raised a wonderful son.”*

Louis slightly groaned in irritation. ‘*They raised a horrible kid.’* Louis thought to himself. Now that he was older, he realized that he shouldn’t have beat himself up as much as he did when he was 17. Guilt had always occupied his mind when he thought about what he did, how he broke up his parents. But in reality, they raised him like that. They raised him to think of yourself first, not others. Survival of the fittest.

*“Please, I have a family William!”*

*Louis sat on the couch with his mother, they were just chatting when they heard the commotion coming from the office room. His father opened the door and held his hand out. “You’re not needed anymore, Mark.”*

*“I-I’m not needed?! Are you serious!? I helped you start this business, what the fuck man?!”*

*“But- Mark. You seem to forget. People like me. People like my beautiful ‘exotic’ wife, people love my son. What do you have Mark? A regular housewife, who’s pregnant and unattractive? A son who doesn’t excel in school? He doesn’t even have a talent to show off. You’re dragging me down. You understand, don’t you?”*

*“Excuse me?! The fuck did you-” Mark gulped as a security guard walked up behind him. “Fine.” Mark muttered.*

*The guard escorted the man out. Louis’ father looked at Louis with a smile, as if he didn’t just ruin someone’s life. “See son,” he started. “-sometimes, we have to make the hard decisions to get what we desire. It’s just business. Nothing personal.”*

Business came first, passion and feelings came last. That way of life ruined his childhood. He believed from a young age hurting others to get what he wanted was ok.

He gently stroked Willows head, *‘I’ll never teach you that.’* He thought to himself. No matter what, he’ll always make sure she knew it was ok to express herself, to talk about her feelings. He wanted her to know that no matter the situation, she was loved and *accepted.*

“I promise.” He whispered. “I promise I’ll give you a better life than mine.”

Suddenly, he felt slender arms wrap around his neck, a semi-heavy weight on his shoulders. He smiled, hearing Clementine mumble something out of exhaustion.

“What was that, darling?” Louis asked, holding her forearm.

“You’re doing great.” She yawned. “You don’t have to keep worrying Louis. You love her and that’s—“

“The bare minimum, Clem.” Louis cut her off.

“-not really. Not anymore.” Clementine said sadly. “Even back then, dads used to run out on their kids, unable to either provide a stable life or love. You could’ve ran out so many times, so many opportunities and you didn’t.”

“Why would I ever do that?” Louis replied, almost offended.

“I’ve seen it happen before. Of course I knew you wouldn’t but…there’s always that lingering exit you can take, and the urge is probably there for you-“

“Clementine.” Louis said sternly, waking her up a little. “I would *never* do that. Do you really think that?”

Clementine stayed quiet. In reality, no. Of course she knew Louis would never leave. It was just her inner insecurities popping out, she’d hidden it for years but it came out eventually. The *constant* fear that she would be alone again lingered in her mind. Louis noticed her silence and sighed. He got off his chair, and then hugged her tightly.

“Isn’t it crazy?” Louis chuckled.

“What?”

“How we only started dating a month into knowing each other.” Louis started, caressing her arm a bit. “Now, we’re in a family together. Clementine, I didn’t fight a war with you, fell for you in the middle of it, wrote songs about you, spent literally almost every second with you for the past 4 years to just leave.” Louis reassured.

“But now we have a kid.”

“Even more of a reason to stay. I mean *who* can actually say they have a kid with the most beautiful, bad-ass woman of the apocalypse world? Only me! I’d be a fool to run from that.” Louis joked.

She shook her head, a big smile on her face. Louis kissed the top of her head, pushing her slightly towards the bed, there he dropped her on it. She got into a comfortable position, and Louis lay next to her.

“I was serious.” Clementine broke the silence. “When I said you’re doing great. It’s not only the love you have for her Louis. You don’t even go to sleep before she does. Even though I tell you I got it. You care deeply for her and that *is* enough.”

Louis sighed, twiddling his fingers with one another, only staring at the bars above him. “I know. Thanks. Sometimes it just feels like I’m not enough, even before Willow.”

“Louis…” Clementine muttered sadly. The thought of him degrading himself saddened her. She sat up, grabbing his curious glance. Clementine took off her oversized sweater, a tank-top underneath. There was enough moon-light to see the faint, pink branded mark on her arm. She slid her fingers over it slightly, a grimace appearing on her face.

“You finally gonna reveal the meaning behind that?” Louis chuckled, over the years, she’d always refuse. ‘*The past doesn’t matter.’* She’d say.

Although he was joking, she wasn’t.

“I got this when I was 13.” Clementine started.

Louis shifted himself upwards, a frown shown on his face as he eyed the scar.

“I only did it to make sure AJ was safe. But, then he got ripped apart from me in the same group. After that, I had nothing more to lose. And when you have nothing to lose…you do scary, stupid things. I was horrible, Louis. I wasn’t the same person you know today.”

Louis nodded, taking in her words to the best of his ability. Trying not to react negatively in anyway.

“After I got AJ back—I only had *him.* If anyone ever—and I mean, *anyone* tried anything to hurt or kill him, I wouldn’t hold back. Yes I love AJ. I really do, but that feeling of hopelessness for your own self is so damaging.” Clementine opened up. After a brief moment of silence she continued. “I didn’t have hope for my own life, only for his. I didn’t mind if I got bit, as long as he was safe, I didn’t care. Not because I was sad or anything but because I just felt like this world wasn't for me. When I was a kid, I loved to be social, playful even. I've changed so much, I was forced to. I used to be innocent. Now, I'm finally getting some sort of my old self back."

Clementine grabbed Louis’ hand and squeezed it slightly. “You saved me.” She said, her tone hoarse. Louis squeezed back on her hand.

"I'm glad to be of service." He smiled at her. “I love you.”

She smiled, and kissed his cheek. “I love you too, Louis.”

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Unexpected Part 3

Harry Potter Marauders Era Post Hogwarts 

Link to Part 2 

Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader 

Rating: M- smut

______

Sirius sat at the table drinking his morning tea. He looked up when he heard the chair on the opposite end of the table pull out. Regulus plopped down and was giving him the biggest death glare that Sirius had ever seen on his brother’s face.

“What’s with you? Did the little angel keep you awake all night?”

Sirius asked. He didn’t have to say it but Sirius was convinced that Halley did no wrong. If she decided to wake her parents up in the middle of the night then they deserved to be graced by her presence no matter the hour.

“No, Halley did nothing. It was you. You better be glad that this table is separating us because I want to kill you.”

Regulus would have normally chuckled at the expression on Sirius’ face but he was too angry.

“What exactly did I do to you?”

Sirius questioned, quietly wondering if Regulus was going to come across the table to try to strangle him. Regulus rubbed a hand over his eyes and tried to breathe a few times. Screaming at Sirius wasn’t going to do anyone any good. He would just come across as a bigger ass than he already was.

“You told Remus what I told you and Y/n overheard you. Now she fucking hates me.”

Sirius winced.

“I didn’t know she was in the hallway. Regulus, first off, you are the one that said you weren't in love with her.”

“I am in love with her! I just suck at expressing my emotions. Hell, you know me. Now she probably won’t ever talk to me again.”

Sirius blinked a few times.

“Uh, you two are married and have a baby. She will kind of have to talk to you.”

Regulus sighed.

“Until she divorces me and I only get to see Halley periodically.”

Sirius’ amused smile faded as he realized that Regulus was being serious. The pain on his brother’s face was enough.

“Y/n isn’t going to divorce you. Go apologize. You know that thing where you say that you are sorry and beg for mercy...kiss her ankles if you have to. I know mum and dad didn’t really teach us that sort of thing but it works wonders.”

Regulus scowled up again.

“I know what an apology is, you twat!”

Sirius grinned before focusing on Regulus again.

“Good. It looks like you’ve learned a new skill. In all seriousness Reg, just calm down. Y/n will chill out. She is just upset right now. Y/n is the sweetest most caring person that I know…”

Regulus snorted. He wouldn't use “sweet or caring” to describe the fight that the two of you had the previous night. Regulus expected the first fight as a couple to be over something stupid like what color of drapes would be put in the house...not you questioning Regulus’ love for you.

“Try saying that when she's yelling at your face that she regrets ever meeting you. That sure was cute. Try fucking heartbreaking. I swear if she leaves me over this I am going to make your life a giant dumpster fire.”

Sirius blinked.

“You mean bigger than it already is? Cool.”

Regulus sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. He reminded Sirius of a pouting child that didn’t get his way.

“This fucking sucks.”

Sirius took a sip of his tea before focusing his attention on his little brother.

“It's going to be fine. Y/n isn’t some uptight pure-blood bitch like our mother who will make your life a living hell. She is probably just going to give you the cold shoulder for a bit until she needs you. Speaking of needs...I’m just curious…”

Regulus looked up.

“There are mornings that I wake up dehydrated and now I probably won’t be able to touch her again.”

Sirius nodded.

“That’s what Remus and I figured. We were guessing that she was a freak in the sheets.”

Regulus’ scowl intensified.

“Don’t talk about my wife that way.”

“You started it.”

Sirius muttered as you walked into the room. Taking one look at you Sirius realized that Regulus wasn’t joking. You were furious...furious and hurt. Sirius winced. He had never seen you looking this devastated.

“We are due at your parents in half an hour. We should get ready to go.”

You said, sounding as if you were almost on autopilot. Sirius frowned.

“You two are going around those people?”

Your attention turned to Sirius.

“Yes, whether we like them or not, Walburga and Orion deserve to know about Halley. I would invite you to tag along but I don’t want you to get murdered.”

Sirius grinned as he looked between Regulus and yourself. The two of you refused to look at each other. It reminded Sirius of two children who had been playing “I’m not touching you” too many times.

“You’re such a good friend. By the way, I love that the two of you look like you’re going to a funeral.”

You had taken extra care to doll yourself up. Whether you wanted to admit it or not, you were nervous about meeting Walburga Black. Turning up looking anything but perfect would probably be a disaster. As a result of the previous thought, you stood dressed in a vintage black dress that matched the suit that Regulus was wearing. To be spiteful, you put on the red lipstick that seemed to drive Regulus wild. When he looked up at you and squirmed in the chair that he was sitting in you knew that you did your job well.

Being spiteful backfired on you when you focused your attention on Regulus. The black suit was the one that he had on the night that the two of you met.

That damned black suit that just begged to be torn off of him...

“Might as well be a funeral.”

Regulus muttered before standing up. Not a truer statement had been made. Regulus was nervous about taking his wife and child around his parents. Something about this seemed like a bad idea. Regulus was going to be on his toes the whole night.

Half an hour later….

You stood beside Regulus outside of the Black family home. Regulus held Halley in his right arm. Neither of you had said a word since leaving James’ house. Regulus took a breath before looking down at you. He would rather take you somewhere else and try to woo his way back into your heart but no...he was stuck with his parents.

“Y/n, we can’t go in there not speaking to each other. My parents will tear us apart.”

You didn’t look up at him.

“I’ll be your happy quiet little wife. From what Sirius says that is what your mother wants for you. Congratulations, you have it.”

Regulus groaned.

“Damn it, Y/n...if you would just listen to…”

Before Regulus could get the rest of the sentence out, the front door opened. Walburga stood on the other side and instantly smiled the moment that she saw her “baby.” Her smile turned to shock the moment that her eyes noticed the baby in her son’s arm.

“Hello, mum.”

Regulus said simply as Walburga blinked a few times before looking at you. She quickly got the message that she had missed something going on in her son’s life.

“Regulus, what is going on?”

Regulus took a breath before placing his left hand on the small of your back.

“We need to talk inside, mother.”

“It appears that we do. Go into the sitting room so I can go find your father. It looks like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

Walburga turned and disappeared from the foyer as Regulus motioned you into the sitting room. The two of you sat down in silence. Looking around the room, you could see why Regulus grew up the way he did. Nothing about the room or the house (from what you saw) screamed “happy family.” Everything was dark and dreary.

You couldn’t help but wonder if you had been too hard on Regulus? The fact that Walburga didn’t hug him made you question everything. If he didn’t have his mother’s love and affection, how would Regulus know how to give it to someone else?

Like Regulus, you had begun to wonder if coming back to London was the best decision for your little family? Nothing was wrong with your life in France. Both Regulus and yourself were so happy. The two of you didn’t fight. You were a happy young couple just starting your lives together.

Regulus meanwhile, turned to meet your gaze. The look on your face was enough to break his heart. He knew that you were questioning everything and he was regretting his comments even more.

“Darling…”

Regulus started. He wanted to tell you how much he loved and needed you. You were the one piece in his life that made sense. If it wasn’t for you, there would be a good chance that Regulus would be dead somewhere or still a death eater.

The chemistry between the two of you was so clearly evident. As Regulus leaned down to kiss you footsteps in the hallway stopped him in his tracks. The warm loving expression in Regulus’ eyes vanished and the cold haughty Black family scowl returned as Walburga and Orion stepped in.

Orion appeared as shocked as Walburga had moments before. His youngest son sat a few feet away with a baby that was clearly his and a woman by his side.

“I think you have something to tell us.”

Orion stated before sitting down in the seat across from the couch. Regulus gently put Halley in your arms as he gathered the courage to speak. He only hoped that his parents would be as receptive to this news as the Potters were.

“This is my wife and daughter…”

Walburga immediately interrupted.

“Where were we in this decision?”

Regulus shrugged.

“I didn’t tell you to keep the two of you safe. You know what I am. Look, I know it's not the dream outcome that the two of you want but I love her. I won’t be giving her up no matter what is said. You can banish me from the family if you want. My wife and daughter are what matters to me.”

Orion glanced over his shoulder to Walburga before focusing his attention on his son.

“You should stop there, Regulus.”

He turned his attention to you. Orion had to admit that you were lovely. You sat at his son’s side keeping your demeanor calm and reserved. What he didn’t see was the inner turmoil that you had going on inside of you. You were going between swooning when Regulus said “my wife and daughter” for one moment before going back to “does he really want this?” Regulus was offering no insight into this soul at the moment either. He had closed his emotions off and was strictly the boy that his mother and father trained him to be.

“Who are you, my dear?”

Orion asked. You took a breath. It was time to prove how brave you really were. You had never had a conversation with Walburga or Orion Black before. When Sirius ran away to your parent’s home, you were not allowed to come with your mother, James, and Sirius when they came back to Grimmauld Place to get his things. Sirius begged your mother to not let you come. He was honestly afraid that his mother would try to hurt you. Walburga would probably think that you conned Sirius into running away and call you a tramp or any other horrible name that she could come up with.

You internally smirked at the thought now. Granted, no one knew how your future would turn out. There was no one that could foresee you marrying Regulus. Now here you sat in Walburga’s sitting room with her grandchild in your arms and Walburga’s own mother’s wedding band on your finger.

“I was Y/n Potter. You know my family, sir.”

Orion only nodded as Walburga’s mouth dropped. Now she remembered you! Walburga had seen you trailing after James and Sirius that day at Kings Cross station when dropping Regulus off for school. You had changed a lot from that day long ago. Walburga was pleased to say that you had definitely grown up to be a beautiful girl. She could see why Regulus had fallen in love with you.

Looking at her youngest son, Walburga had a feeling that he would pick you over the “family” a million times over. Walburga had to decide if she could put her own vindictive nature away and be receptive of a daughter in law (that she had no choice in) or lose her son all together. She had already lost one son, could she handle losing another?

She was about to speak but stopped. Her attention went to the baby. The little girl looked so much like Regulus as a baby that there was no way Walburga could deny this was her son’s daughter. Everything about the baby screamed, “Regulus Black is my father.”

A new feeling that Walburga had never felt before was surging through her as she looked at the baby. She had heard many people say that the love one felt for their grandchildren was different than the love that was felt for their child. At the moment, Walburga couldn’t agree more. She wanted nothing more than to cuddle the baby and never let her go.

Another reason to accept this girl as my son’s wife. If I want to be able to see my grandchild then I will have to be kind to her mother whether I like her or not.

“How old is she?”

Walburga asked, softly. She had to get out of her head for the moment. Walburga did well at masking all of her emotions. That was an unwanted skill that was forced upon her as a child by her own parents.

“Emotional people are weak. You don’t want to be seen that way.”

Her father’s cruel words rang through Walburga’s head just as they did when she was six years old. Now looking back, she realized that she forced this own horribly cold ideology on her own children. Looking at Regulus, she could clearly see that he followed this to a perfect point. Had Walburga ruined the boy that she loved the most?

“Four months. Her name is Halley.”

Regulus replied. He didn’t offer any more information leaving his mother questioning things in her mind even further. Regulus had always been such a loving little boy right up until age 6 when Walburga and Orion didn’t have time for his childish wants. This was the time that he was told it was “time to grow up” and stop needing mummy and daddy so much. Walburga wanted to sob at the memory of the expression on his little face when she told him that he needed to go play and leave her alone. Now there was no emotion in his eyes when he looked at her. Walburga couldn’t help but wonder if he was closed off and uncaring to you?

You sat at his side as a good wife should but something in your eyes bothered Walburga. There was something that was screaming out for help and the older woman wanted nothing more than to find out what was going on.

“She’s perfect.”

Walburga said, softly. Regulus, meanwhile, looked up at the tone in his mother’s voice. He had never heard that particular tone before.

“She looks just like Regulus as a baby.”

Orion commented with a proud smile on his face. He didn’t have to look at Walburga’s face to know that she was questioning everything about herself. There had been many conversations between the two when Regulus didn’t want to come home after graduation on whether or not they raised their children right.

You looked between Regulus’ parents with a sympathetic expression. Something in their eyes didn’t match the cruel things that you had always been told about the Blacks. You had seen that expression on people’s faces before...was it regret? If they regretted and were apologetic about their past then you couldn’t entirely hold it against them. Would you be willing to let them have an active role in Halley’s life? There could be a possibility.

There was only one stipulation. You would not let your child be raised to be a blood supremacist. Halley would not be raised to hate muggle-borns when her own aunt was a muggle-born. Both Regulus and yourself had agreed before that she was born there would be no old school ideals forced upon her. Walburga and Orion would have to agree to that or there would be no further contact.

You pulled yourself from your thoughts before standing up.

“You can hold her if you would like.”

You said, ignoring the way that Regulus was looking at you. His eyes were dark as he watched your movements. He was on edge and afraid something would happen. If anyone tried something, he was more than willing to start killing again.

Walburga quickly held out her arms and took Halley from you. She quickly pulled the baby closer to her chest with a rare smile.

“Sweet little love.”

She cooed before fixing Halley’s bow that had come loose in all of the shuffle. You took your seat beside Regulus.

“We are having a party next week. The two of you should come. I would love to show this little one off to the rest of the family.”

Walburga said as Halley started tugging on her grandmother’s pearl necklace.

“I don’t know.”

Regulus commented almost immediately. Orion was the first to look up.

“We want to be involved in her life, Regulus. We may not have been perfect parents but we can be good grandparents.”

Regulus leaned back against the couch. For the first time, he pulled his eyes away from his daughter who was pleased as punch with whatever Walburga was letting her do.

“I don’t want our family's ideal pushed upon her. She isn’t growing up with that. Y/n and I have already agreed to that a long time ago. If both of you can’t accept it then you won’t see any of us.”

Both Walburga and Orion looked startled by Regulus’ comment. To them, there was nothing wrong with their beliefs. This is the way the Black family believed for years and nothing appeared wrong with it to them. However, the question now was it worth potentially not being able to see their grandchild over? Maybe they could persuade Regulus to clearly see things in time but for now...they may have to be quiet.

“You’re her father...if that’s what you want.”

Orion replied, looking as if Regulus had force-fed him a lemon.

The rest of the visit with Walburga and Orion flowed fairly smoothly. You were personally glad when it was time to head back to James. The day had been emotionally exhausting for everyone. Walburga and Orion hadn’t said another word about what Regulus “was not going to put up with.” Something told you, however, that they would be ranting the moment that the two of you left.

Arriving back at James and Lily’s, Sirius was waiting for Regulus to turn up to see what happened. Something told you that he had been waiting patiently like a puppy. You would have gone along with them but Halley was quickly losing her patience with everything and wanted nothing more than to be tucked into bed.

“I’m going to put her down.”

Regulus only nodded as you turned and went upstairs. He needed to think of a plan on how to apologize and fast!

“So what did mummy and daddy have to say? Did they ask about me?”

Sirius asked with a smile as Regulus gave him the biggest “go fuck yourself” expression. When Regulus didn’t reply, Sirius went to the liquor cabinet to find something to loosen his younger brother’s tongue up with. Putting a glass of brandy in front of Regulus, Sirius sat down with a smirk.

“So about mum and dad?”

Regulus downed the whole glass leaving Sirius blinking.

“You’re supposed to drink that a bit slower. I thought you didn't have much of an alcohol tolerance.”

Regulus shook his head and poured another glass of the liquor. After one glass, he was already feeling better. If he could down a second one, he would be feeling great.

“I don’t. That is why I have a four-month-old.”

Sirius sat watching with a concerned expression as Regulus down the second glass.

“So are you at war with your liver? Should I go get Y/n?”

Regulus shook his head.

“Let her be. She was a star today. Mum and dad love her. I mean they actually love her. I think mum wants to be her new best friend and it was the strangest and weirdest thing to watch. Our mother apparently has a heart. She loves Y/n and Halley.”

Sirius frowned.

“So why are you drinking like this?”

“You put it in front of me, Sirius!”

Regulus snapped. Sirius reached out and took the bottle of brandy away; regretting his actions.

“Would you hush before you wake the whole house up? Merlin, you are a loud drunk. I didn’t think that you were going to do this. Reg, I figured that you would be thrilled about mum and dad liking your wife and child. You are acting like they banished you lot from the family.”

Regulus leaned back in the chair.

“I am afraid that it is just an act. What if they want to pull us in only to kill all of us for breaking the family code. Our family is really messed up...do you know that?”

Sirius smiled as he realized the brandy was doing its job.

“Thank you for finally seeing things my way. You can protect Y/n and Halley from them. If they start their crap do that acting like an asshole thing that you do so well. Not the everyday living stuff but I'm not putting up with this crap. You know like when you told me that you never wanted to talk to me again at school.”

Regulus sighed.

“They know that I am on my guard with them. You could see it in their eyes. Now that I can’t think straight I’m going to go apologize to Y/n for being a dick. We can talk about this more in the morning when I’m not half drunk. I am suddenly ten times braver than I was. Thanks.”

You sat on the bed reading a book when Regulus came into the bedroom. You could tell just by looking at him that he had been drinking. His normally pale cheeks were rosy and he gave you a small sweet smile.

Thanks, Sirius

You thought as he sat down beside you.

“Is Halley asleep?”

Regulus asked. You nodded as he leaned down and kissed your bare shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

You asked. Regulus smirked. The alcohol was making him braver than he typically would have been sober. In his sober mind, Regulus had somewhat decided that he was going to wait and let you come to him. With the brandy in him, however, he was not about to sit back and wait.

“Kissing you...like the good husband that I should be. Whether you want to accept it or not, I am in love with you. You know that I’m crap at expressing emotions. “ You put your book down before turning to face him.

“Do you realize how painful it was to hear what you told Sirius?”

Regulus snuggled his face against your arm. Was your skin always this soft? Was everything about you always this perfect?

Boy, whatever Sirius gave me sure helped.

Regulus thought with a smile. The next morning, he may not be feeling that great but at the moment he wasn’t so self-conscious about everything. He was thankful that you didn't pull away from him. The fact that you seemed to melt against him stroked his ego a little bit more.

“I’m sure it did hurt. I never meant for my own stupid fears to hurt you. I really do love you, darling. I know that I do.”

You wrapped your hand around his.

“I love you too. I just hope that you remember this talk in the morning when you are sober.”

Regulus sat up quickly.

“I’m just buzzed...not drunk. You know drunk me.”

Regulus was right. You knew “drunk Regulus” very well and there was still a bit of his sober self still available.

“Yes, I do and I love you too. Now lay down before you injure yourself.”

Regulus lay down for a moment before he reached out and took the book away from you and tossed it to a corner of the room.

“Regulus.”

“Pay attention to me.”

You couldn’t help but giggle as he pulled you down against him. This was one thing that you did enjoy when he drank. He turned into the neediest cuddliest man on earth. You had to fight the urge to make a comment about both Regulus and Sirius being the same when it came to drinking but decided against it when you were pulled into a kiss.

Regulus’ lips were on yours as his body melted against yours. His lips were familiar, sweet, safe. Everything about him was what you needed at the moment.

“Please.”

Regulus sighed against your lips. Lifting your leg over his hip, you couldn’t say no.

“Yes.”

You replied before starting for the buttons of his shirt. The desire and desperation were clearly evident as the two of you wrestled out of your clothes.

“I’m sorry.”

Regulus whispered as he kissed a small path from your neck to your collarbone. You enjoyed the sensation of his hot breath mixed with nibbling kisses. With each passing moment, the desperation built within you.

“Regulus...stop teasing.”

“Not a chance.”

He replied before sucking a love bite onto your neck. Your hand was immediately locked in his hair, holding his head against your neck. With each bite and roll of his tongue, you knew that you were going to be marked up the next morning and you didn’t care.

“Now be a good girl while I make you feel good.”

Regulus said as he gently shoved you against the pillows. You reached to turn off the light but was stopped when Regulus’ hand wrapped around your wrist.

“Leave it on.”

His voice was a bit more commanding than normal. Regulus knew why you wanted it off. You were still self-conscious about your body. From the time Halley was born, you would rarely let him look at you naked and it was beginning to wear.

“You look beautiful. You’re perfect, darling.”

You swallowed and lay back against the pillow as Regulus spread your legs again. His eyes rolled up to yours as he gently stroked over your folds with his middle and index finger.

“Can I kiss you here?”

You nodded while internally screaming at him to get down there and do something. Regulus was perfect at teasing and he knew it. He could be a little shit when the mood set him right.

Regulus kissed his way down your thigh leaving you moaning for more. You could have come with one swipe of his tongue when he finally made contact. Regulus hummed against you the moment your hands locked in his hair. With each nibble, lick, and deep vibration you could feel yourself falling deeper and deeper into oblivion.

“Oh fuck, Regulus.”

You whined when Regulus pulled away.

“Now don’t be like that.”

Regulus said with a smile as he wiped his chin. He left you lying on the bed with your legs spread. Sitting down in the armchair in the corner, Regulus gave you a little devious smirk.

“Why don’t you come here, love?”

You didn’t need to be told twice. As much as you wanted to lay there and let Regulus overstimulate you with oral sex you know whatever he had up his sleeve would be just as nice. Taking your place on Regulus’ lap, he turned your body so that your back was against his bare chest. Regulus wrapped his arms around you and spent the next few moments nuzzling his face against the side of your head. It would have been innocent but the moment Regulus started talking everything coming out of his mouth was sheer eroticism that he knew would make you ache.

You pathetically tried to grind your core against his thigh but was unable to move.

“Please.”

You begged shamelessly.

“If that’s what you want.”

Regulus replied. He wanted nothing more than to spend the next few minutes teasing you, however, sex sounded nice too.

“Show me how much you love me.”

You cooed. The comment may be construed to some as cruel or almost teasing but to Regulus, it was enough to make him want you all the more. He gently lifted you enough to slowly ease down onto his thick cock.

“Oh.”

You whined as your body adjusted to his size. Regulus smiled against your back. That little “oh” was so sweet and delicate that it made the man in him go all the more crazy. He made you moan like that. It wasn’t an act or some other man that Regulus would never be able to live up to...it was him. He was the one that you needed and that thought alone made whatever insecurities that he may have about the relationship go away (at least for now).

“Would you like me to move now?”

Regulus asked through gritted teeth. He was trying to give your body time to adjust but with each passing moment, the pressure was becoming greater and greater.

“Please...make love to me.”

This time the comment wasn’t so sassy. You had gone back to the sweet girl that Regulus had fallen in love with...his sweet Hufflepuff that made the Slytherin in him grow all the more protective.

Your eyes rolled back as Regulus finally started to move below you. This position was far different than most of the positions the two of you used. You wanted to be able to hold onto Regulus or at least look into his eyes as he came closer and closer to his climax. This position, however, did offer erotic benefits. You liked feeling his chest against your back as he moved. Regulus panting erotic promises in your ear with each thrust was enough to move this position up on your favorites list.

“Would you like to take this back to bed?”

Regulus panted against your ear. You could only nod. Formulating actual words was becoming harder and harder with each moment.

The ability to think magically returned when Regulus stood up enough to pull out.

“I was so close.”

You whined as Regulus gently laid you down and took his place on top of you.

“Well, I guess we'll just have to fix that then won’t we?”

Before you could come up with a sassy response, Regulus shoved back in returning to the steady rhythm as a few moments before. His eyes closed as your body pushed him closer to the point of no return.

“Open your eyes. I want you to look at me.”

You ordered. Regulus did as he was told. Stormy eyes met yours as he bit his bottom lip. Neither of you would last much longer and with each passing moment, the desperation was building greater and greater.

“Fuck”

Regulus swore as you tightened once more around him ending any hope of continuing much longer. You pulled him down into a deep desperate kiss as the both of you came.

For the next few moments, Regulus remained motionless with his forehead against yours as you stroked your fingers through his hair.

“Is it a bad time to tell you that I love you?”

He asked with a small smile. Regulus was relieved when you pulled him back in for another kiss.

“Couldn’t be more perfect.”

Meanwhile…

James, Sirius, and Remus sat awkwardly looking at each other in the living room. All three men wanted nothing more than to be deaf at this particular moment. James was thankful that Lily had gone to see her parents with Harry that morning. He turned his attention to Sirius and scowled.

“Just what the hell did you tell him, Sirius?”

Sirius shrugged innocently.

“I just tried to be there for him.”

Remus stood up. He had to get out of that house.

“Well, you did a hell of a job. Anyone want to go get a drink?”

_____

@amelie-black

@truly-insatiable

@fandomsxxregulus

@realgaytrash

@lucasfilms77

@spiderxalmighty

@mrspadfoot4

@exhsle

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@authoressskr

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@hankypranky

@summer-novak

@shaylybaby2032

@emiwrites3reads

@li0nh34rt

@tas898

@marichromatic

@maggioli-m

@stuckinsaudi1

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

@knight-of-gleefulness

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

@sprnaturallover

@deanwherescas

@shitfaceddaniel

@wontlookaway

@mycuddlycorner

[shirtlesssammy]

15x20: Carry On

Warning: Boris is a salty, sad fangirl right now so the first part of this recap might be more bitter, reductive venting than is necessary. Please skip ahead to enjoy Natasha’s far more nuanced and enjoyable second half of the recap.

The Road So Far: Cue Carry On Wayward Son

Then:

Salmondean Winchester, the boy with the demon blood and daddy’s blunt little instrument, finally defeats Chuck and gets a taste of true free will

Now:

*Fun domestic montage*

Sam Dean gets a dog! (Okay, fine, Miracle is super cute, and a complete stand-in for Cas --but that thought just sends me on another anger spiral.) 

Dean squeezes the shit out of that dog, and I hurt for that touch-starved man. 

Sam goes for a run, so like, I guess his life is the same. (thanks to Dean always protecting him and allowing him some normalcy in life) (I’m bitter, remember?) 

Dean Sam makes breakfast! Dean brushes his teeth! Sam is SHIRTLESS one last time! 

*Shirtless Sammy Alert*

Dean’s room is INEXPLICABLY messy! I do get what this whole montage is doing, and it’s nice, but I’m pretty sure when Becky said the fans like the domestic stuff, it was supposed to include CAS AND OTHER FAMILY. Basically, overlay the Where’s the Angel? gif all over this sequence for me. 

And finally, we find the boys are still hunting. Because freedom is just a length of rope. 

Dean finds a case, but first they have to stop and get pie! Yay! Dean loves pie, and women, and fast cars. Grumpy-faced Sam humors his big, dumb brother. Yay! 

Dean Sam thinks about Cas and Jack. Dean brushes off the thought with a Wherps, gotta keep moving attitude, and I already WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE. Sam then pies Dean in the face, so we have that. 

In suburban America, a mother starts to ready her children for bed. There’s a knock at their door and the father answers it. There’s nobody there, and as he turns around, he’s knifed in the back, his wife looking on in horror.

Skull masked killers enter the home. The mother and children run upstairs. The mother is quickly dispatched, and the kids soon follow. 

Agents Singer and Kripke check out the crime scene.

They learn more about the parents: exsanguinated and throat ripped out father, tongue ripped out mother. The children are missing. The cop shows a drawing of the killers. Dean (in a wildly out of character move!) uses his photographic memory to remember a case his fucking father botched back in the day. Dean pulls out the journal (MY GOD THERE’S BEEN NO GROWTH) 

For TFW Science (because Cas is the tree):

They determine they’re dealing with a roaming band of vampires. 

At night, a couple of vampmimes arrive at a house. Dean beheads one right away. Sam shoots the other with dead man’s blood. Dean removes the mask to reveal a normal looking vampmime. Why the masks?? Dean wants answers, and Dean “I’m not a killer” Winchester threatens the vamp with a quick death or slow death (with a spoon). The vamp spills the kids’ whereabouts. 

*Much Anticipated Barn Scene Alert* 

(Psych! Don’t get your hopes up, what lies ahead is bullshit.) 

The masked vamps are crawling all over the joint, but Dean and Sam Winchester can handle it! This is a milk run! They get the kids free and face the big bads. 

Fight! Chop! Slice! The boys are overwhelmed. Sam gets knocked out one last time. Dean’s held down to the ground so OMG GUYS!!! JENNY IS BACK!??!?!!? I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE THEY GOT HER BACK!! (This joke is so old by now and it’s only been 3 days, sigh.) I did not remember her at all (but then I’m a TFW purest and tend to not watch the early seasons ---and I NEVER HAVE TO AGAIN!) (Natasha: coughs and points at our recap list.) (Boris: shit.) Dean remembers though, and talks just long enough for Sam to wake and chop her head off. See ya, Jenny! 

More fighting! 

Sam takes out another vamp and Dean tussles with the last one ---and is pushed backwards right into the rebar hook in the wall. So that happened. (I’m trying to stay calm, but I’m a ROILING CESSPOOL OF ANGER AND CONFUSION AND BITTER RIGHT NOW.) 

Sam kills the vamp. He’s ready to find the kids and leave. “Sam, I don’t think I’m going anywhere.” 

Dean pulls Sam close. HE’S BEEN IMPALED! Poor little snowman. Dean makes Sam promise not to try to resurrect him. He tells Sam that he’s proud of him and that he’s always looked up to him. That he was scared to be rejected by Sam in that very first episode when he went to get him from college. “I must’ve stood outside your door for hours. Because I didn’t know what you would say. Tell me to get lost or to get dead.” JESUS SHOW JUST LET DEAN LIVE AND BE LOVED. (Boris: In the alt version where Cas is there too, he’s instead telling Cas about watching him outside the Gas ‘n Sip. why do I do this to myself?) 

Sam cries, afraid to go through the world alone. Dean tells Sam to always keep fighting, tells him he loves him, and DIES. He dies clutching his chest and the whole season we think we’ve been getting heart and chest imagery as a symbol of love but instead it was just? Foreshadowing? Of getting impaled through the chest cavity and dying? 

Dean dies, and Sam is wrecked, and I call up 911 to inform them that I have been ROBBED of one Dean Winchester finally getting to live his life. (This is indeed, a beautifully acted scene. I just...wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing about it.)

Sam burns Dean on a lonely pyre, with nobody else around but the dog.

For Sam Gets a Dog but at What Cost Science:

Sam wakes alone, in mourning. There’s no dialogue - only a Sad!Sam montage of remembering the people he’d lost in the bunker. (Was this script only like 5 pages?) One of Dean’s cell phones rings. It’s a sheriff who’d been referred to Dean by Donna. (DONNA DOESN’T KNOW FML) There’s a case, so Sam takes off. He shuts down the bunker and it goes dark.

We cut to Dean in Heaven. It’s beautiful - a wilderness of mountains. Dean’s greeted by Bobby sitting at the quiet Roadhouse. Bobby tells Dean that he’s free - and Heaven’s free. Jack opened Heaven and tore down the walls before he took off for places unknown. I am GLAD ABOUT THIS. It’s about time for Heaven to be a true reward, but this show took Dean TOO SOON. “It ain’t just Heaven, Dean. It’s the Heaven you deserve.” Bobby drops one last reveal: “Cas helped.” 

They drink together. “it’s almost perfect,” Dean says. 

“He’ll be along,” is Bobby’s quiet response. (Our hearts rise thinking about Cas.) Time’s different in Heaven, Bobby explains. (Boris: Jeremy Bearimy, baby!) “What are you gonna do now, Dean?” Dean decides to go for a drive. He gets into Baby and drives away to the tune of “Carry on my wayward son.”

Cut to a montage showing Sam raising a child with “Dean” on the coveralls. (To quote a friend of mine: That goes against basic child safety, Sam!) While Dean drives, Sam raises a son.

In Sam’s house, the portraits only show pictures of the original Winchesters: Sam, Dean, Mary, John. Me to set dressers: EXTREME SIDE EYE - way to show Sam’s “full life.” Sam kept the Impala in storage, and possibly sits in it and weeps from time to time, as one does.

Much later, Sam dies in his home of “old age disease,” as someone on Tumblr put it. “It’s okay, you can go now,” baby Dean tells Sam, mirroring Sam’s words to his brother. AAAAAND Sam out. Remember, words can kill, kids!

Dean stops on a beautiful bridge and gets out to survey the world.

Dean smiles and the camera pans out. “Hey, Sammy,” he says. The boys are wearing the same outfits as the first episode because SYMBOLISM. (Boris: Symbolism? Like there was no growth or change or...Boris will stay out of your mentions.) (Natasha: Exactly.) They hug, and I do get emotional, because I’m not the burnt and broken shell of a fan that I may appear to be.

We get a “thank you” from Jared and Jensen on the bridge, and then the camera pans away to show the crew. We send them a giant box of MASKS FOR FUCK’S SAKE. And then we set this episode aside as unfulfilling fan fiction and move on with our lives.

Am I sad to see this show end? Yes, I am! Were there things I liked about this episode? Sure! Were there things I so viscerally disliked that I’m still sleeping poorly? Absolutely. That’s love, right? We’re still raw, but we WILL BE BACK on Monday with a new recap of an old episode. See you all then!

Quote on My Wayward Son:

I don’t have a choice. This is my destiny

It’s like running into somebody from high school, you know? Somebody you don’t want to see

Stay with me, please

I’m not leaving you. I’m gonna be with you right here, every day

Cas helped

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[starrynite7114]

TikTok: Outfit

A/N: Good morning everyone! This is my first out of possibly three updates? Finally got the muse for Snapshots back, so i will try to update that and also Everything is you as well. Or I may hold off and update in a few days since school is back and I got 5 classes that need my attention lol Anyways, here is another TikTok/Instagram challenge that an anon gave me!

Thanks nonnie!

If you have any other TikTok challenges or requests, send them my way!

TikTok

Word Count: 1438

Masterlist

tagged list: @justahopelessssromantic​ : @ifoundmyhappythought​ : @carlaangel86​ : @woahitslucyylu​ : @encounterthepast​ : @enamoured-x​ : @thewarriorprincessxo​ : @briana-mishell24​ : @bribri-82​ : @chibsytelford​ : @agirllovespasta​ : @twistnet​ : @everyhowlmarksthedead​ : @trulysuccubus​ : @jadert15​ : @sammskellington​ : @cind-in-real-life​ :  @claytoncardenasbabymama​ : @sadeyesgf​ : @thickemadame​ : @summertimesadnesswithadashofsass​ : @gemini0410​ : @elcococruz​ : @samcrobae​ : @sesamepancakes​ : @iambabyharry​ : @blackmissfrizzle​ : @mrs-losa​ : @1-800-imagines​ : @phoenixhalliwell​ : @lady-pswrld​ : @dazzledamazon​  : @getyourcrayoncas​ : @fvckthisbxtchup​ : @lukealvxz​ : @scuzmunkie​ : @lilac-tea-time​ : @danie1432​ : @cocotheclown​ : @soaronmywings​ : @my-rosegold-soul​ : @buttercup812​ : @itskiranbitch : @angelreyesgirl​ : @sheeshgivemeabreak​ : @vicmackeybullshxt​ : @bigcreatorwombatdreamer​ : @khyharah​ : @strawberrywritings​ : @cherry-icetea​ : @fuzzy-jellyfish​ : @losolvidad0s​ : @brownsugarcoffy​ : @courtrae89​ : @prdsdjarin​ : @blessedboo​ : @marvelmaree​ : @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat​ : @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​ : @thesandbeneathmytoes​ : @dark-twisted-and-mechanical-mind​ : @maddie-georges​ : @pearlkitten33​ : @aquamento​ : @incorrect-mcdanno​ : @that-chick212​ : @rebel-without-cause-x​ : @inscribeddiatribes​ : @kaystacks17​​ : @mindless-x-dreaming​​ : @jadesamhart​ : @justlikebreathing​​

If you would like to be added for the tag list, let me know!

CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL GIF MAKER :D

You and Angel were proud of how you two had an amazing sense of humor. Prank wars were a thing in this household and hell, it even seeped into your Mayans family. Coco was your usual partner in crime along with Taza, Hank and Bishop. Coco switched allegiances after a prank you pulled on him and Angel a few years back. He was impressed to say the least and he has been in your corner faithfully since then.

“Hey guys, so, my husband is absolutely exhausted due to work, but you know I can never pass up a time to mess with him.” You were standing in front of a mirror, showing your outside, or lack thereof. You were wearing a tank top with a sports bra and workout shorts that almost showed your ass cheeks. It was an online buy so the measurements were off. When you first modeled it for Angel, he raved about it, but he also was adamant that you weren’t wearing said shorts unless you were staying around the house. But you loved to fuck with your husband, so why not? “Thiago and Raphael are currently napping, and we have a rule if the babies are napping so are we.” You entered the master bedroom and found your husband sound asleep. 

You had paused the video, and was thankful it was only the afternoon so the sun was illuminating your room. Angel looked so adorable sound asleep, you almost felt bad that you were going to prank him.

Almost.

Recording once more, you shook Angel, who was sleeping on his stomach, Thiago sleeping right beside him with Raphael in the crib right beside the bed. God bless your husband, he was absolutely exhausted, but whenever he got home while he was away, he tried to take care of your boys and gave you a break. 

It was rare for them to have runs due to COVID but business was business. 

This was Angel’s first run since March and it was June. The state had slightly eased the restrictions so they had a run plan as soon as possible.

“Babe, I’m going to Target.” You whispered, careful to not wake your two sleeping boys.

“Okay,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Do you need anything?” You’re not even sure if it was registering, but you knew how to wake him. 

“‘M good,” he cracked an eye open. And closed them again. 

You refrained from laughing and kissed Angel on the lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” He called out.

You counted to three in your head before you heard the ruffling of the sheets.

“Hold the fuck up, where are you going?” Angel immediately sat up and his eyes roamed down your outfit. He didn’t give a fuck if you were wearing a tank top.

“Target,” you repeated, grabbing your purse. 

“Target? With your ass hanging out? You got me fucked up babe. We talked about this, no one is going to see you in this outfit.” You tried to hold back a giggle as Angel got out of bed and started slipping on the discarded sweatpants on the bedroom floor. “Going to Target with your ass hanging out?” He scoffed mostly mumbling to himself. “You going to see someone? You got a booty call?”

You laughed then, the phone still on Angel as he grabbed his phone from the bedside drawer beside his side of the bed. 

“Angel, don’t be ridiculous, you know you’re the only one for me.” You laughed again as he went to your closet. He came back out and threw a pair of sweatpants at you which matched his.

“Cover that ass and let’s go to Target. Got me fucked up corazon, this is a family outing now.” He moved to wake up your babies and you stopped him.

“Baby, I’m recording for my TikTok, don’t wake them up.” You explained.

You caught his face, annoyance clearly seen. He shook his head and you stopped recording as you laughed again.

“You play too much.” He picked up Thiago and your son woke up, which made you glare at Angel. Thiago was always cranky when you woke him up from a nap instead of him waking up on his own. “Thiago, mama wants to go to Target, why won’t you go with her?”

“Angel!”

Two weeks later, another prank came into your mind except this time, you wanted to record it for your Instagram. It was odd that you were chronicling your life with Angel, but it was something to do during quarantine.

And if you were being honest, Angel was hot as fuck and you loved sharing your handsome husband to the world. 

And he was also funny as fuck.

His possessiveness was never terrifying or concerning, it was sweet and endearing. He never overstepped or overwhelmed you.

With your phone directed to your full length mirror much like two weeks ago, you waved a hello. 

“Decided to dress up to go to Target since my man wants to stay home. Figured I’d treat myself since work and grocery shopping are the outlets to go out now.” You were wearing jean shorts and a top that accentuate your assets. 

“Okay babe, I’ll be back in a few.” You had your camera pointed at Angel, but it appeared as if you were texting.

Angel did a double take and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, where are you going?” Angel sat up from the couch where he was lounging with his boys.

“Target.”

Thiago looked at you and smiled. “Mommy you look beautiful.”

“Thanks baby.” You walked over to Thiago and kissed his forehead, before going back to your initial position.

Angel shook his head. “You’re going to Target dressed like that? Mi dulce, we’ve been together for years and you always dressed like a bum going to Target.”

“A bum?” You gave him an incredulous look and scoffed. “I do not dress like a bum.”

“Yes you do, sweatshirts and sweatpants, all day. Who the fuck are you trying to impress?” Angel narrowed his eyes at you. His wife could be ridiculous at times, but he fucking loves her like he loves no other.

“Ooh! Daddy said a bad word.” Thiago pointed at Angel, shaking his head.

“Papi is allowed to say bad words because mommy is being ridiculous.”

Thiago giggled and got off the couch, running over to you. “Are you going to see Tio Rico?”

“Tio Rico?” Angel stood up and picked up Raphael. “See you’re going to make every outing a family outing now. I knew you were talking to someone else, always on your damn phone.” He slipped his cell phone inside his back pocket. “Let’s go, we’re going to meet mommy’s side piece.”

“Angel!” You held Thiago who giggled.

“What’s a side piece?” Thiago asked you.

“Babe, they’re not even ready.” Raphael was wearing a shirt and his diapers, while Thiago was still in his pajamas. “Don’t listen to daddy.”

“No, we’re going to meet mommy’s new boyfriend.” He made his way over to the door and you laughed, chasing after him.

“Babe, it’s a joke.” You told him as he opened the door.

He looked at you, the same annoyance that graced his face two weeks ago came back. He glared at you, walking back to the couch and placing Raphael down.

“See, if I play this prank on you, you’d be pissed. You play too damn much.” Angel sat down, crossing his arms over his chest, pouting as he refused to look at you.

“Mommy, you made daddy upset.” Thiago shook his head, mimicking Angel’s reaction. 

You had stopped recording after you informed him it was a joke. 

“I’m sorry babe, you know I love you and only you.” You sat beside him, laying your head on his shoulder with Thiago seated at your lap facing the television.

“Yeah you better, kids are going to sleep early tonight.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, while the other was beside Raphael since your little prince was a mover. Bending his head so only you could hear him, he nibbled at your ear making goosebumps run through your body. “I’m gonna pound that pussy so hard, you’re not going to be able to make any pretend Target runs for a week.”

Your thighs clenched together as you looked over at Angel who sat back and had a smug smirk on his face.

Another reason you loved fucking with your husband, he was the King of Petty and his promises to ravage you was always so good to hear.

Again, never a dull day in the Reyes household.

[libraryofloveletters]

Haunted

Luke doesn’t believe that the house is haunted but you know for a fact, that it is. 

Luke Alvez x Reader 

Warnings: mentions of ghosts, talking to ghosts, mentions of death, kissing, Luke thinking that you’re slightly crazy, cursing

Category: fluff with a little angst :) 

Word Count: 3.2k

Author’s Note: idea came to me while watching crimson peak so here we are :) and did I use Thomas Sharpe as the ghost ? yes I did, and what ? Anyways, this is purely to indulge myself so idk it’s probably shitty :) 

----- 

Luke had been with you for the last two years and he’s heard many stories of the “amazing family home” that you have so many beloved memories in. You figured it was finally time to take him on a trip. As soon as he could get a break from work, the two of you packed up and started your drive to the house. 

“So why do you call it the Red Estate ?” he asked you as you made a turn down what looked like a road that led to nothing. 

“Well, It belonged to my great great great grandparents who bought it from the family who had originally built the house” you told him as you drove. 

“Okay, but what does that have to do with the name ?” he laughed, you smiled 

“I'm getting to that. The family that had originally built the house, the Sharpes. His wife loves roses, red roses. The whole estate was covered in them, the rooms had rose wallpapers, the furniture had roses on them” you explained. 

“That's interesting” he looked out the window. “There’s more baby.” you chuckled, he turned to you, waiting for you to explain. 

“Well, Lady Sharpe had gotten sick and she passed away. When she passed, her husband remarried and he brought his new bride to the house” you looked over at you, his brows furrowed. “What? did she haunt them?” he chuckled, making you smile. 

“The roses that were in full bloom seem to die overnight, things changed around the house. It was thought that she did haunt them, whispered to them, tormented them until she eventually killed them” you smiled at Luke. 

He rolled his eyes playfully, “you don't actually believe that nonsense, do you ?” he asked you. “My family bought the house after they died, I'm just telling you what I've heard darling” you laughed as you pulled into a long driveway. The drive down was good 2 minutes, you drove through the large iron gate with the rose insignia on it. 

Luke’s mouth hung open as you drive towards the house. “This is the ‘little house’ that you spent your summers in ?” he asked. 

The house was much bigger than you had led him to believe, it was more of a manor than a house. There were large stained glass windows in the front, with of course, roses on them. The manor has vines running up the side that had dried up. 

The two of you stepped out of the car, you tumbled through your pockets for the key while Luke grabbed your bags from the car. “Is it just me or did it get cold all of a sudden ?” a cold breeze blew through the yard as Luke finished his sentence, you chuckled. 

“It’s always cold up here love” you smiled at him as you walked towards the door. “It’s only 6 o'clock and it's September.” he stated, following you to the doors. 

“Lady Sharpe baby, she’s the reason it’s cold” you told him as if that was a known fact, he rolled his eyes again. 

You unlocked the door and pushed it open, Luke and yourself walked into the empty foyer. There was a large round table in the middle, the sun from the hole in the roof shining through. You looked up and smiled, Luke looked up too, “why is there a hole in the roof ? Lady Sharpe caused that too ?” he joked, earning him a playful hit to the arm. “No, rainstorm” setting your keys on the table, you sat on the chair beside it and slipped off your shoes. 

“Tom!” you shouted, Luke looked at you. “I’m back and I've brought a guest!” you walked into the kitchen and Luke followed behind you, 

“Baby?”

“Hm?” 

“Who’s Tom ?”

“Oh, Tom. As in Thomas Sharpe, the guy who built the house.” 

Luke began laughing, hysterically. You filled the kettle with water as Luke was laughing and set it on the stove. When he finally settled down, he turned to you. “You talk to the dead guy ?” “his name is Tom and yes I do. This is his house, be respectful Luke” you rolled your eyes and turned your attention back to the stove. Luke wrapped his arms around your waist, hugging you from behind. “I’m sorry baby, I'll be nice to Tom” he chuckled, “thank you. Now get the cups from the cupboard” 

The two of you turned so you could show him which cupboard but the cupboard door was already open. “That one” you patted Luke’s hand that rested on your stomach. 

“That was closed when we walked in right ?” he asked 

“That’s correct” 

“How did it open?” 

“Tom” you smiled 

“Uh huh, just the wind then” 

Luke headed to the cupboard to get the mugs and returned the table as you took the kettle off the stove. The two of you sat at the table just talking for a few hours, before you knew it, it was dark out. 

Luke followed you up the stairs and into a room. He sat on the bed watching as you pulled some clothes out of your bag when he realized that he didn’t take the bags upstairs.

“Did you bring the bags up here?” 

You shook your head as you changed into your pyjamas. “So how did they get up here?” 

“To-” he cut you off “I don’t want to know” he got off the bed and changed too. The two of you settled in bed, his arm around you and your head rested on his shoulder. “Good night baby” he whispered, “good night love” you leaned up and gave him a kiss. 

“Good night Tom” you mumbled, you could tell Luke’s eyes on you. “Don’t even say anything” he chuckled before kissing your head. 

Sometime throughout the night, Luke was shaking you to wake up. “Huh stop lemme sleep” you mumbled. “Y/n, wake up. c’mon it’s not funny, get up please” he begged you while shaking your shoulders. You groaned and sat up, “what Luke ?” he looked at you, “okay something keeps knocking downstairs and it won’t stop” 

“Okay, what am I supposed to do about that?” 

“Can you come with me to check ?” 

“Mhm okay, let’s go” you rolled out of bed and headed into the hallway. Luke followed you, you looked around “nothing’s happening” you mumbled, still half asleep. 

“It was coming from downstairs” you sighed. The stairs creaked as you walked down. “You check the kitchen and I'll check the hallway, okay?” you told him, he nodded. You could tell he was just putting on a brave face for you, something had genuinely scared him. You walked down the hallway, nothing seemed out of place. 

“I swear if it’s you scaring him, I'll burn this house down” you whispered quietly to yourself, mostly as a warning to Tom. Turning on your heels, you headed into the kitchen quietly, Luke stood by the window looking outside. He hadn’t heard you come in. 

You creeped up behind him and grabbed his shoulders, “boo!” he jumped. “Y/n! what the hell babe!” you laughed. “Sorry sugar, but I didn’t see anything. Did you see anythi-” a loud thump came from the hallway causing the two of you to turn around. 

“Yeah, that” Luke said. You stuck your head out, a vase had fallen over and shattered all over the floor. You knew that vase, it was the one that in your room but you didn't tell Luke that. 

“Let’s just go back to bed Luke” you stretched your hand out for his, he reluctantly grabbed yours. “What about the vase?” he looked at the broken pieces of glass as you dragged him up the stairs with you. “I’ll clean it up in the morning baby” you pushed him in the bedroom, you stepped in after him and turned around to shut the door.

You had a feeling that someone was there even though you couldn’t physically see anyone other than Luke. You glared into the nothingness before shutting the door. 

---- 

Luke came in and shook you awake once again, only this time he came with coffee. “Morning love” he handed you the cup of coffee as you sat up in bed. “Sleep well ?” you asked him, he smiled and nodded “I did actually. Thank you for getting up with me last night” you squeezed his hand and took a sip of the coffee. 

“Did you get up after I fell asleep and cleaned up the vase?” he shifted on the bed to between your legs, his head on your thigh. He pulled your legs over his shoulders as you ran your hand through his hair. “No, I didn't. Why ? It’s not there?” he shook his head, his hair rubbed against your thighs making you giggle. 

“It’s gone” 

“Hm, he probably felt bad for scaring you and cleaned it up” 

“You really think that’s what happened or are you fucking with me?” 

“I’m fucking with you Luke. How would a ghost pick up glass?” 

Luke let out a laugh, you smiled at him. “Wanna go for a walk ? I can show you around the property?” he rolled onto his stomach, his cheek against your thigh. 

“Sounds good, can we have breakfast first ? I'm hungry” he asked you sweetly, and who were you to deny such an adorable man.

“Of course, let me change and I'll be down” he pressed a kiss to your thigh before hopping off the bed and heading out the room. Stretching as you got off the bed, you headed to the bathroom to brush your teeth and get dressed. When you came back to the bedroom after changing, you felt a presence in the room. 

“Now, I don’t appreciate the shit you pulled last night” you mumbled as you fixed your hair, the lights flickered in response to your sentence. You looked in the mirror, “He’s a good guy, I promise” you set the hairbrush on the dresser before going to open the door. 

The door wouldn’t open. 

“Are you serious ?” you pulled on the door, still no luck. 

“Stop acting like a child, let go of the door” you said a little louder. “Babe? You alright?” Luke called for you from downstairs,  “yeah, give me a sec, I'm coming!” 

“What do you want me from me dude?” you asked, hoping that you’d get some response or the frickin door would unlock. The window flung open and a cold breeze blew into the room, some leaves from the yard blew in as well. A single red rose petal landed by your foot. 

“Okay, I know what you want. Can I go now?” you tugged on the door and this time, it unlocked. You headed down the stairs, Luke stood at the end of the staircase. 

“Were you talking to someone up there?” 

“Just a phone call” you smiled and grabbed his hand. 

“Did you eat ?” you asked as you put on your shoes

“I did, don't you want to eat ?” he asked

You shook your head and pulled him outside with you. You walked with Luke to the back of the property, you showed him the stables, even though they had been empty for years. The two of you sat by the lake for a bit before heading to the end of the property line where the roses grew. 

“I thought the roses died?” Luke looked at you as you walked closer to them. “They only grow back here for some reason” you told him as you picked a few from the bush. “Does anyone even come this far ? you know, to take care of them” he leant down and smelt them. You smiled as you watched him. 

“No one’s been back this far for years. Everyone kinda stopped coming here since my grandfather died. My grandmother came once and us kids come every so often but that’s it. We just come to tidy up and make sure everything is still locked up” 

The two of you hung around outside until the sun began to set, you made your way back with the bunch of roses. You set them in a vase when you got back into the house. It was your last night in the house since Luke was needed back on Monday, you figured you'd make him dinner before you guys head out tomorrow. 

Luke sat in the kitchen as you cooked. “You’re sure you don’t want help?” “for the 100th time, I'm okay love” The kitchen was quiet other than the sounds of you cutting and stirring the contents of the pot ever so often. A sudden drop in temperature and the candle flame going out caused Luke to call for you. 

“Is that your friend Tom again ?” he joked, you smiled at him and brushed off the eerie feeling you had. 

“Probably” you went back to cooking.

Luke knew you believed that there was a ghost named Tom living in the house but he thought you just bought into the story because you had been told that your entire life. The window flung open and rose petals blew into the kitchen as the wind made its way through the kitchen. 

“What the hell ?” Luke stood up, brushing the petals of himself and the table before shutting the window. You turned off the stove and looked at him. 

“Believe me now?” 

“Freak accident darling, there’s no one here” He made his way over to your pressing a small sweet kiss on your lips before helping you set the table for dinner. “He’s just gonna keep bothering us until you believe” you looked at Luke who was too busy eating to even pay attention to you. 

Now you knew how Tom could get and you knew it seemed crazy, like way crazier then you talking to a ghost so you didn’t bother telling Luke. You remembered the summer then your cousin refused to believe Tom was actually real. Your cousin came down one morning gushing about how he had slept with this girl and she was so amazing, and how he even had the hickeys to prove it. When he lifted his shirt to show you, there was a “T” across his chests made by hickeys. You giggled as you took a sip of your water, Luke looked up at you from across the table. 

“What ?” his head tilted to the side

“Nothing” you smiled at him

The two of you finished dinner and headed up to the bed. Luke made sure to check all the doors and windows before going up with you. “You know, I had a good time, despite all the strangeness” Luke chuckled as he got into bed. 

“I’m glad you did” you were standing by the mirror taking off your necklace. Something cold touches your shoulder which made you turn around. “You okay?” Luke looked at you, his brows furrowed into a face of confusion. You ran your hand down your shoulder for your arm, “yeah, just a piece of hair on my arm. Made me feel weird” you chuckled and looked into the mirror. 

You could feel him in the room, it was much colder than it was then you stepped in. Seems like Luke had noticed too, he shifted in the bed. “Come cuddle with me, it’s cold” he shivered, pulling the blanket up to his chest. You smiled and made your way over to him, getting into bed and curling up beside him. 

“I love you, you know that ?” Luke looked down at you, your head resting on his chest 

“I love you too” you smiled up at him.

--- 

The next morning, you had both woken up much later than expected. The house felt warm. You had never felt the house this warm before, you went to roll out of bed but Luke’s arms pulled you back towards him. “Mhm, hi baby” he  covered your cheek in kisses, you giggled. “Good morning to you too. We gotta get going love, you need to get home for work tomorrow.” he groans at your mention of work. “Can we stay here forever?” he mumbled into your neck. “Me and you and Tom ? Sure we can” you joked, he sat up. 

“On that thought, let’s go” he got out of bed, you laughed and got up too. 

The two of you got ready to head out. You made one last check through the house while Luke took the bags to the car. He waited for you by the car as you stepped out. 

You took one last look inside, whispering to yourself. “Bye Tom, take care” you smiled at the empty house and locked the door. You walked to Luke and gave him a hug. 

“What's this for ?” His arms pulled you closer to him 

“For putting up with my ghost stuff all weekend” you smiled up at him 

“Ready to go?” he asked as he opened the door for you, “thank you” you got into the passenger seat. 

A single rose laid on the seat, you picked it up and smelt it. “Where’d you get that?” Luke asked you, looking at the rose in your hand. “It was on the seat. You didn’t put this here?” you looked back at him, he shook his head. You rested the rose on your lap, Luke backed up before pulling out of the driveway. You took one last look at the house before he left the driveway, a figure of a man stood in the window. He smiled at you and waved at you and you smiled back at him.

“What are you smiling at ?” Luke looked over at you with his own smile on his face, “oh just the house” you smiled at him. 

The drive back into the city was quiet, the two of you got back earlier than expected. You dragged your bags into the room as Luke went to pick up Roxy from the neighbours. You unzipped your bag to find a note on top of your clothes, Luke probably left something for you. 

You unfolded the paper, it wasn’t Luke’s handwriting. It’s one that seemed oddly familiar but you still weren’t sure why. 

“Thank you for bringing love back into this house. 

T.S” 

T.S, Who was T.S? 

It hit you, T.S was Thomas Sharpe. 

Turns out ghosts were real. 

---------

Taglist: @luke-alvez​ @iconicc​ @aaronhotchnerr​ @mac99martin​ @aaron-hotchner187​ @tclaerh​ @lieberhers​ @pumpkin-reads​ @ssa-holmes​ @katexrichardson​ 

[lennonknowsmysins]

could you do the gangster au but the “turning point” in their relationship?? i love your work so much 🥰

pt. 3 to gangster!George

tw: mobster gets a little too handsy, mild violence, arguing

-

You and George had been married for a month and you’d had maybe five conversations with him. He was a reserved man but you weren’t sure what else you expected from a gangster. Truthfully, you weren’t sure you minded. Since your conversation with Cynthia, Linda and Maureen, he didn’t put you on edge every time he was in the room but he still intimated you. George was practically always working, spending all day in his study (which you still had yet to see) and coming to bed late. He never tried to wake you up but you still liked to wait for him, pretending to be asleep.

Realistically, you figured you shouldn’t be too upset with him for not making much of an effort to get to know you considering hadn’t attempted to reach out to him either. Still, when the only time you really saw him was dinner and he spent most of the time talking to his mates, you couldn’t deny that you felt ignored. It wasn’t like you were thrilled to be married either.

The real struggle was trying to find something to do with yourself. Normally, you’d be busy with school but part of your father cutting off your freedom including forcing you to drop out of university. Now nothing seemed to hold your interest.

Linda, who you learned was a journalist (making her and Paul’s relationship taboo in the mob world), had begun enlisting you to spell check her articles. You spent a good amount of time with Cynthia as she’d invited you to help her paint the baby nursery. She was a lovely woman and you enjoyed her company but even as you painting those little blue birds and bounced baby names off one another, you couldn’t help the looming feeling of loneliness. You were just disconnected from the rest of them. Cynthia, Linda and Maureen were involved with each others lives while you...well, you were just there.

You were manifesting that your first public outing with George - some sort of annual gathering for allied mobs - would do something to help the disconnect between the two of you.

-

Upon entering the mansion, you pressed yourself closer to George. You may have not felt entirely comfortable with him but since Cynthia and Linda hadn’t been able to come (Cynthia because she was pregnant, Linda because of her profession) and Maureen was very much looking forward to having a date night with Ringo, George was your lifeline for the night.

The hall was full of men in fancy suits with dark looks in their eyes, most of them appearing to be twice your age. One by one, they came up to George, asking him about business deals and his father before eventually landing on you, at which point, George thankfully steered you away.

“Sorry about all of them.” George apologized, finding a seat on a couch in the corner of the room, “They’re swingers, the whole lot. ‘s why my da stopped coming to these events.”

You snorted as you sat down, “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I am. They’ve been dropping hints that they’re interested in an orgy ever since we got married. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how to tell them no.” George said, shooting you a look. You burst into laughter, making George smile.

“Wait here, I have to talk to someone but I’ll be right back.” George told you, squeezing your shoulder before standing and beckoning to Paul. Paul smiled at you apologetically, following George and leaving you all alone in the corner. You watched Maureen dance with Ringo. You wished Linda and Cyn were here, if George wouldn’t dance with you, you were sure they would. At least, you wouldn’t be lonely.

Your bottom lip trembled but before you could feel too sorry for yourself, you felt the couch dip. A handsome blond man with the most dazzling blue eyes you’d ever seen had sat next to you. He wore a suit of velvet purple and had a martini glass in one hand and a curious grin on his face. A feeling of dread immediately crept into your gut.

“Now, why would a lovely lady such as yourself be sitting here all by herself?” He hummed in a confident tone. Unsure of how to react to the situation, you turned your eyes to your drink, swishing the clear liquid around.

“Waiting for someone.” You murmured back. You could’ve sworn that as soon as you’d said that, he scooted closer to you.

“You can call me Yates.” He said, although you hadn’t asked, “I don’t believe I caught your’s?”

You cleared your throat awkwardly, “I’m not sure I feel comfortable telling you that.”

“Aw, why not? Is it because I’m a big, scary gangster?” Yates chuckled, definitely scooting closer this time. He continued when you didn’t respond, “That’s fine baby, I’ll come up with one for you. It’s just important you know mine so you know what to scream later.”

Your face twisted in disgust and you would’ve attempted to get up had it not been for his hand curling around your thigh. The sudden grip made you freeze, giving Yates a chance to press himself against you.

“Let go of me. I’m here with my...my h-husband.” You stammered, trying to sound tough.

“Come on now, you don’t sound so sure of that. I doubt that George is that much of a husband anyhow.” He leered, tapping your cheek. Just as you were about to retort, Yates was being dragged off of you.

An angry George stood before you, clutching Yates’ collar in his fist. Everyone around you had stopped what they were doing to watch you.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch my wife.”

With that simple warning, he dropped the creep and grabbed your wrist, pulling you from your seat. As he brought you to the exit, the crowd resumed the party as though nothing had happened. You assumed this sort of thing happened often at mob events.

Once you were outside, George let go of you to light a cigarette, not bothering to look at you as he took a drag. John and Paul burst through the door after you.

“What the fuck just happened mate?” John asked.

“Yates had his hands all over (y/n).” George spat bitterly. The two men turned to you, shivering in your dress.

The alarm on Paul’s face dropped to concerned, “Are you alright, love?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit freaked out.” You shrugged, still trying to process the event. You hadn’t seen George this angry before.  

“Yer cryin’.” John pointed out bluntly. You blinked, touching your cheek. Huh. You hadn’t realized.

George tilted his head towards you with an unreadable expression. He placed the cigarette between his lips, shrugging off his suit jacket and wrapping it around your shoulders.

“‘m taking her home.” He decided, putting an arm around you, “Paul, can you take John, Rich and Mo in your car?”

“Course, but-”

George didn’t wait for Paul to finish, grabbing your arm and pulling you towards his Mercedes. You glanced behind you to see Ringo and Maureen had joined John and Paul, who were explaining the situation to them. You caught Maureen’s sympathetic look before the car door closed.

-

The entire ride was silent, an awkward, bitter silence sitting between you and George. He didn’t even look at you as you walked up to the house, leaving the door for you to close.

“Go to bed.” George ordered gruffly, his back turned to you as he headed toward his office.

You stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. He hadn’t really just spoken to you like you were a misbehaving child and not his wife.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

George paused. Then he turned around, his eyebrows set in annoyance. He wasn’t used to people questioning him, “What did you say?”

“I asked if you were joking about telling me to go to bed.” You huffed, rolling your eyes, “You know, just because I’m your wife doesn’t mean you control me.”

He glared at you, his eye twitching as he tried to think of a response. You saved him the trouble,

“For the record, you didn’t have to make such a big scene back there.”

“He had his hands all OVER you!” He spluttered, spit flying from his mouth, “And it wasn’t like you were doing anything to stop him!”

“I was scared, a strange man was invading my space because my husband completely abandoned me at a party where I didn’t know anyone!” You shout, your voice shaking as it echoed through the ridiculously large foyer.

George’s sour expression softened and you notice he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He swallowed thickly, “I had to talk to someone.”

“You still left me all alone.” You whispered angrily, “I know that this isn’t what either of us wanted and if I could, I’d go back and stop my father from getting us in this situation but we don’t have that choice.

You took a shuttering breath, squeezing your eyes shut for a moment before continuing,

“George, I get that we’re from two completely different worlds but I just had mine completely uprooted for your’s. You’ve barely spoken to me since the first two days after the wedding. For god’s sake, we sleep in the same damn bed and I don’t know that we’ve ever had a conversation. Y’know, the only thing I actually know about you is that you’re a mobster? I...I was just really hoping that tonight could fix that.”

George’s face didn’t change throughout the course of your rant but there was something that looked like a mix of surprise and guilt in his brown eyes. Ever the man of few words, he didn’t respond - you didn’t know if he didn’t want to or if he didn’t know how. You shook your head.

“No, no, you know what? I am gonna go to bed. I need some sleep.” You muttered, turning away from him and storming up the stairs without another word.

Linda was waiting for you at the top of the stairs but you brushed by her in silence, too pissed for any intellectual conversation. You slammed the bedroom door shut, not bothering to turn the lights or take your clothes off. You curled up above the covers, looking out the window.

The wind blew softly, gently rustling the leaves of the tree peaking through the glass. A single tear trailed down your cheek as you thought about how you hadn’t even gotten to dance with George. The night had been spoiled from the start.

At some point, you finally managed to fall asleep, missing the lanky, mop toped figure that took your shoes off and tucked you in.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch45: He Started It

Intro: Katie and Steve adapt to being the parents of a new baby as 2020 ticks by in a whirl of dirty diapers, sleepless nights…and a very childish war between Steve and Tony.  

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut! (NSFW) No under 18s.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Yeah, I love this chapter. I hope you all do too. And thank @angrybirdcr​ for the edit. It made me laugh, a lot.

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

Chapter 44

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 May 2020

Katie heard a set of keys being dropped onto the table in the hallway and looked up as Steve opened the door to the living room, crossing the floor, Lucky following him before promptly dropping on the rug in front of the fire place, clearly pooped after his walk.

“Hi.” Steve smiled, sinking to one knee and pressing a kiss to her cheek as he reached out a careful finger, gently tracing the curve of Jamie’s busily working cheeks. “Somebody’s hungry.”

“Somebody takes after his father in that respect,” Katie retorted glancing up at him as he gently loosened another button on his plaid shirt, rubbing his hand over his clean shaven face.

“I feel like I should be apologising.” Steve smiled as his lips pressed onto hers and she gave him a proper kiss. He pulled back, grinning as he looked down at the tiny hand that gripped his finger solidly, lost in his thoughts.

Only the previous month the new dad had been in the throes of a sudden crisis of confidence post one of Jamie’s check-ups. Though Jamie was as healthy as a baby could possibly be, he was still on the small side. Bigger than he was when he was born but still tiny. The Paediatrician advised it was nothing to worry about, and that it was likely to be something to do with Steve’s body chemistry and who he was before the serum. Steve had been none too thrilled and had blurted out to Katie later on that he felt like he had let their son down.

“You could never let our boy down, ever.” She said, as they both lay on the bed, Steve’s feet planted firmly on the top of the duvet, legs bent with Jamie resting back against his thighs, both his hands curled round Steve’s fingers. “He’s perfectly fine and healthy, love. If he grows up a little small, so what?”

“I just want more for him, more than I was you know.” Steve swallowed, his eyes misting over.

“Hey, look at me.” Katie reached up and turned his head to face her. “You have always had the biggest heart, regardless of what you think. The serum isn’t you, you’re you, and if Jamie grows up to be half the man his daddy is I’ll be so proud”

The fact that right now Jamie seemed to have an exceptionally strong grip for a twelve week old baby made Steve slightly more confident that maybe he had inherited some of the positive effects of the serum after all.

“What time do we need to be at Tony’s?” Steve eventually asked, tearing his eyes off his son to look at his wife.

“Pepper says to get there any time from four so we can collect Emmy from school and go straight up.”

“Sounds good. Do you wanna stay or come home?” Steve asked.

“Rather be at home.” She answered, honestly. “Just easier whilst he’s so young. If he starts screaming the house down at least we’re here.” “Whatever you want, Doll.” he smiled, and at that point his attention was taken once more by baby Rogers who had finally finished his meal, milky mouth opening into a small yawn.  Katie handed him over to Steve and did up the shirt that she was wearing, as Steve stood up, adjusted a soft cloth over his shoulder and held him tenderly to his front, gently patting his back.

“Baby, you look exhausted” He glanced down at Katie as she yawned.

“Thanks.” She grumbled, shooting him a glare.

He chuckled “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah well I probably do look like shit.” she sighed “Neither of us got much sleep did we?”

They’d had a rough night the night before. Since they’d brought Jamie home, Steve and Katie had both shared the night feeds following advice from various people to spread the load so to speak. The problem is, for some reason, Jamie hadn’t settled at all post feeding and in attempt to let Katie get some rest, Steve had brought him downstairs but it hadn’t worked as she was unable to sleep as the sounds of his cries made her heart ache.

“Why don’t you go get your head down for a bit?” Steve suggested, as his large hand rubbed at their son’s back. Before Katie could reply, Jamie promptly spit up down the front of Steve’s T-Shirt, missing the cloth completely.

“Nice shot, son.” Steve rolled his eyes and Katie laughed standing up to mop him off. Jamie seemed utterly nonplussed by his activities and his large blue eyes blinked heavily before closing. Steve brushed a soft kiss across his son’s forehead and then looked at his wife again.

“Go, get some sleep. And that’s not a request, I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“Bossy bastard”

Steve arched an eyebrow at her “I’m not bossy, I just can’t deal with Tony’s tantrum if his baby sister falls asleep at his 50th party.”

“Good point, well made.” Katie conceded. She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek before heading back out of the room.

Steve watched her go, a frown playing across his face. She’d been really quiet over the last few weeks. Life with a baby wasn’t easy, it was full of hard work, sleepless nights, puke, poop…but every time he saw his son it all paled into insignificance for him, as he was worth it. Maybe his wife was struggling a little, as despite her joke before, Jamie sure did feed a hell of a lot. At their last appointment it had been suggested that maybe they tried introducing formula as well to help fill him up which was what they had started to do overnight and he had been hoping that it would it make things a little better for her as he could do the night feeds and allow her to sleep.

Last night had been the worst one they’d had in the twelve weeks since his birth but that aside, there were other things Steve had already noticed too the main one being she wasn’t as affectionate towards him as she had been. The other night for instance he’d tried to instigate a little bit of something because frankly after months of giving himself a jerking off once every so often when he felt like his balls were explode, and he missed her. He missed how she felt under him, over him, next to him…any which way she was. But, he knew he had to be patient, her body had been through a lot after all. He’d wondered at first if it could be post-partum depression but none of the other signs he had read up on were there so he was putting it down to tiredness and hormones.

He couldn’t help with the latter, but he could sure as hell try and make sure she slept. And he could apologise for being impatient as well.

Once Jamie had dropped off to sleep, Steve placed him in his basket and headed into the kitchen. There were a few dishes and what not from breakfast so he sorted that out, wiped the surfaces to save Katie a job and then settled down in front of the TV. It wasn’t long before he was himself asleep.

***** Katie wanted to cry. Nothing in her fucking closet fit, well nothing that didn’t make her look huge. She’d settled for a navy blue strapless maxi dress which flared out from her waist so wasn’t clingy. The large pink and white flower patterns also flattered her as much as she could but she wasn’t happy.

You’ve just had a baby, let’s be real… she thought to herself, before she grabbed a pair of strappy sandals and a denim jacket, hastily wiping her eyes. Fuck it, she was going to be amongst friends, as if they cared what she looked like. She stepped back into the main part of the bedroom, where Steve was pulling on a dark green polo-shirt. She looked at him for a moment, simply admiring him, and found herself rather jealous that his physique hadn’t changed since having a baby. He had no stretch marks, no two inch increase to his hips, belly and fuck knows what to his boobs.

Bastard.

Steve’s head emerged from his shirt and he looked at his wife, watching as she moved to sit at the dresser to pull her hair back into a loose braid. He passed her, his hands dropping to her shoulders as he stopped to give her bare skin a soft kiss.

“You look beautiful.”

“Sure.” The sarcastic response and the eye roll happened before she could stop them, and she hoped he hadn’t noticed but of course, he had. Steve frowned. “You do.”

She sighed and looked down slightly and Steve didn’t like this, not one bit. Moving so that he was by her side he gently placed a hand on her knee and knelt down next to her, and she glanced at him as he looked up from his spot on the carpet. “Honey, please don’t fly off the handle at me, but are you okay? This isn’t like you and I’m kinda getting worried a little.” “Hormones.” Katie sighed, rubbing at her eyes slightly. “And lack of sleep. That’s all.”

“So it’s not something I’ve done. Or not done?”

“No, baby, it isn’t, I promise.” She gave him a little smile, reaching out to brush her hand down his cheek.

“Alright, as long as you’re sure.” He licked his lips slightly before he took a deep breath “And I’m sorry if last night you thought I was rushing you or putting pressure on you.” He licked his lips. “I didn’t mean to. At all.”

Katie looked at him and suddenly felt awful. He hadn’t done anything of the sort. He’d been nothing but patient and loving with her since Jamie had been born.

“Steve.” she shook her head, “That’s not…” she sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose “You didn’t. Honestly. It’s me…I-“

She swallowed and looked down at her hands and when she looked back at him, it was his turn to sigh as he saw the tears brimming in her eyes.

“Honey, please talk to me.” He begged, both his hands now on her knees as he knelt up slightly.

“I just…” the tears trickled down her face and Steve took a deep breath as she looked at him. “I know you say I look beautiful but I don’t feel it, not at the moment. I don’t feel like me. I look different, none of my stuff fits now, I feel huge and fat and…” “Okay, okay, stop.” Steve instructed sternly but not unkindly. He wanted to tell her she was being ridiculous, as frankly he loved the changes to her body. There was a new curve to her hips, her body was softer, her face slightly rounder. She wasn’t fat either, but Steve understood straight away that the problem was she was used to her figure before-hand, washboard stomach, trim legs and thighs all courtesy of a physical job and Avenger Training. And as Steve knew only too well, sudden changes to yourself could be hard to deal with.“You had a baby three months ago.”

“I know but since when did a baby mean my ass had to treble in size, or my hips, or my boobs…” she trailed off.

Steve took a deep breath, and then suddenly something popped into his head, something that hopefully could make her understand and see why none of that shit, even if it was true would matter to him in the slightest.

“If I woke up tomorrow, and the serum was gone, and I was back to being that 5ft 4, ninety-five pound scrawny guy from Brooklyn would you love me any less?” “No, of course not!” She scoffed, indignantly. “But that’s not the same!” “Why not?” “Because this is about how I feel.” she said

“Yeah, and I still feel like that kid that was getting his ass kicked all the time.” Steve implored, searching her face. “As you keep saying, the serum didn’t change who I am.” “And that’s why I love you.” She frowned.

“Exactly. So what makes you think I could possibly love you any less now because your hips or your ass or your boobs are bigger, which for the record, I’m kinda on board with.” “Jerk.” She mumbled, sniffing slightly and he smiled.

“Frankly,” Steve looked up at her, his eyes heavy, “I still find you the most beautiful woman on the planet. And you’re my wife, who gave birth to my baby boy.”

She cocked her head to the side and he saw a smile flicker on her face. “Say it.”

He raised an eyebrow, “What?” “You know what.” “You’re my baby momma.” He grinned with a low voice and it made her smile as she bit her lip. He took a deep breath and reached out with his hand to cup her face. “I love you.” “I love you too.” She replied gently, and she leaned down to press her lips onto his, the kiss growing quickly heated as she slid her hands into his hair, her nails raking down his neck causing him to groan.

“Seriously,” Steve pulled back, looking at her, “you’re gonna have to stop that because if start I aint gonna be able to stop and we’ll be late picking Emmy up.”

Katie looked at her husband, his blue eyes shining with mischief and she was both surprised, pleased and a little relieved to feel that familiar tingle between her legs that she hadn’t felt for ages. Glancing at the clock she realised she was right so she sighed and turned back to the mirror.

“Hold that thought, Soldier.” she looked at him in her reflection as he stood up and smiled, dropping a kiss to the crook of her shoulder and neck, and this time she didn’t push him away.

***** Tony Stark had always been known for his parties. Anyone who’s anyone would attend the raucous events filled with memorable moments. In contrast, the small gathering that was now sat on the table outside the lake-house was much more subdued. This was their first social gathering really since the snap and although various faces were missing, every single person sat there would have been happy to tell anyone who asked that it was enjoyable.

Thor, who hadn’t seen Jamie since a week after he was born was astounded at how fast the boy had grown, commenting that he was remarkably like his father, but with his mother’s nose. Their baby was, in turn, fascinated by the God, pulling on his beard at every chance he got. Steve kept apologising profoundly, but Thor wasn’t in the slightest bit bothered, if anything he seemed to enjoy it. He entertained the little boy for quite some time, which gave Katie chance to relax. Relax enough to quietly, although not that quiet so that Steve couldn’t overhear her, ask Pepper if she would be okay to have a glass of wine whilst still feeding Jamie. Pepper had smiled and simply told the younger woman that one glass wasn’t going to hurt, especially if she wasn’t going to be nursing until the morning and with that she’d poured a large one and slid it over to Katie across the kitchen counter. She’d hesitated for a moment and Steve had leant over closer to her, his finger-tips gently stroking her bare neck and shoulders.

“Doll, we have enough bottles made up, if you want to drink, it’ll be fine.”

With that she’d smiled at him, picked up her glass and headed back outside. He’d followed and as she’d gone to sit back down at the table had pulled her chair out for her, force of habit as always, only this time when she’d sat down and he’d leant forward to place a soft kiss on her cheek she’d turned towards him and gently rubbed her nose against his.

“Thank you.” She smiled softly, and it didn’t take Steve longer than a second to figure out she wasn’t talking about his display of chivalry over the chair.

“Gross.”

Katie looked up to see Emmy was sat next to Tony as the pair of them stuck their fingers in their mouths, miming being sick before they cackled and shared a hi-five.

“One day you’re gonna grow up.” Katie looked at her brother over her wine glass.

“Hmmmn, not so sure.” Pepper said, dropping down in the chair next to him, Morgan in her arms. “Think this little one will do that before him.”

“Erm, you can’t insult me, it’s my birthday.” Tony shot, looking round.

“He’s right, they’re the rules.” Emmy nodded, earning herself a fist bump from her Uncle.

“Cheers kid.” He smiled, and Katie rolled her eyes.

“I wouldn’t worry, Kiddo, she’s thirteen this year right?” Rhodey leaned forward for his drink. “Soon be way ahead of his mental age.”

The table giggled and at that Tony pouted and announced it was time to fire up the grill for the food.

For the rest of the evening, Jamie spent most of the time being passed around the table for cuddles from his extended family. And Tony even took on a nappy change to give Steve and Katie the chance to continue eating as Jamie chose the most inopportune moment to kick up a fuss about needing one.

It wasn’t until they later that night that they realised there was an ulterior motive for his helpfulness.

Steve was busy making sure Emmy was tucked in for the night, the eleven year old having slept most of the 45 minute drive back home, whilst Katie was getting Jamie ready for bed, trying not to wake him. She removed his little dungarees and t-shirt to reveal a small vest underneath and as she looked at it she felt the laughter bubble in her chest and she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried.

“What are you-“ Steve stopped and gazed down at his son, his eyes widening. Katie had tears pouring down her face as she glanced down at the small white garment which bore two simple words and a symbol; ‘Uncle > Dad’

Katie wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes as she gently undid the buttons along the shoulders of the vest and carefully slid it over Jamie’s head.

“You’re bother is an asshole.” Steve looked at his wife, grabbing the vest and tossing it across the room in a display of annoyance.

Katie rolled her eyes, smirking as she picked up their baby and gently placed him in the crib at the side of their bed. Steve wrapped an arm round his wife’s waist as she smoothed down the blanket and they both peered down at their son before he kissed the side of her head. She turned her face and captured his lips, the kiss deepening slightly as Steve pulled her to him, his hands strong at the base of her spine. Playfully he slid his hands down to cup her ass and she smirked into the kiss.

“Hands, Rogers.” She teased and he shrugged.

“I told you…” his lips brushed hers, “I like your ass.” “I like your face.” She pulled back, causing him to laugh and look down at her.

“My face?”

“Yeah, your big, stupid, handsome face.” She muttered, pulling him back down to her. In between the dizzying kisses, Steve steered her towards the bed, and as her legs collided with the edge he stopped to gently trail his lips across her bare collar bone. With soft hands, he undid the zip on her dress and he felt Katie hesitate slightly. Steve paused for a second, before his lips found her jaw and then she relaxed, allowing her dress to pool by her feet. Steve groaned and followed it down, dropping to his knees, his hands gripping at the back of both her thighs. His mouth gently licked the inside of her knee, making its way up her leg and Katie let out a shaky whisper of his name, her hands tangling into his hair as he moved his affections upwards slightly, skimming his nose across the waistband of her underwear, over her soft stomach. This time her gentle whisper became a loud groan which she stifled with her hand as he pressed his nose into her arousal, and she felt her knees tremble slightly.

“You okay?” He asked quietly, peeking up at her. She nodded and with a wicked quirk of his eyebrow, he stood up, fast, hand still on her thighs so she went with him and he pitched them forward onto the bed. Then it was a scramble to get out of his clothes as fast as he could before he fell forwards again, back on top of his wife, his hands pulling down her underwear, lips kissing at the spot just below her ear.

Katie was utterly lost now, lost in the sensations she hadn’t felt in so long and she tilted her head back, sighing softly as he continued to nibble at her neck, settling himself above her. His fingers gently dropped between her legs and he felt her slick against the tips as he gently coaxed at her clit, continuing until she was nothing short of a writhing mess clawing at his back, aching for him. They locked eyes as he took her left hand in his, and slowly worked into her, both moaning simultaneously at the sensation, Katie’s eyes rolling back at the stretch. Steve began to move his hips slowly, displaying nothing but absolute tenderness in his thrusts which weren’t measured in the slightest. His free hand kept hold of Katie’s hip, keeping her as close as she could possibly be. 

A gentle breeze from the night air which blew through the slightly open window ruffled his hair and Katie wound her right hand into it, pulling him down to kiss her again as he kept his lazy thrusts aimed perfectly on her spot. Given that it had been over three months since their last time, it didn’t take them long at all before their releases were creeping to the forefront. Steve’s senses were on fire, and he broke the long, lazy kiss that they were sharing to stifle a moan against his wife’s cheek when he felt her clench around him. The sheets rustled underneath and around them both as their pace continued slow and languid until the very end when Steve saw his wife’s head tip back, her throat bared to him in utter bliss as she came hard, her moans soft and breathy. Steve gave a low grunt which morphed into a gasp as he clung to his wife as he spilled himself into her, his hips slowing to a stop as he collapsed forward. Katie gave a soft chuckle as her hands gently slid up his back and into his hair, as she moved and pressed a soft kiss to his head. 

“You’re gorgeous.” His voice was muffled as his face pressed into her neck, and she felt herself flush and grin before he moved to look at her, catching her mouth in a sweet kiss.

******

July 2020

“What are you two up to?” Katie asked as she walked into the kitchen to see Steve and Emmy looking at the laptop one morning just as Steve handed Emmy his card.

“Buying something.” Steve replied.

“What?” “You’ll see.” Emmy glanced up. “In time.” Katie rolled her eyes, she had a horrible feeling this was to do with Steve’s return shot after the whole vest thing Tony had pulled just over a month or so back.

And she was right.

On Steve’s birthday, the perfect revenge was taken when the Rogers’ hosted a gathering, similar to the one Tony had held.

There was plenty of Asgardian mead shared between Thor and the Super Soldier. They got louder as the night went on, Thor telling him about another brew he had on the go and inviting him to New Asgard to be part of the testing panel. Katie wasn’t completely sure that was a good idea, but she couldn’t help but admit that pissed Steve was one of her favourite Steve’s, and she enjoyed watching him cut loose once in a while.

At one point, Steve took the boys and Natasha to see his recently furnished ‘man cave’ which was basically the cabin next to the pool house, which now held a couch, a TV, stereo and his art supplies along with a desk. They men spent a while looking at his latest project which was a pencil sketch of Emmy and Jamie sat on the lawn before returning to the group, topping up their drinks.

Natasha, Tony, Pepper and Morgan were staying that night, and when it started to get late and the thirteen month old was dropping asleep, Pepper took her into the spare room they were sleeping in, emerging with the highest tech baby monitor available, of course, which linked directly to FRIDAY. About an hour or so later, Katie saw Steve and Emmy disappear inside, the pair of them whispering.  She watched them go and when they came back about five minutes later, Steve simply raised his eyebrows at her, grinning. 

Later that night when, after Morgan had been making some soft noises, Tony went to check on her and the five of them who were left heard his exclamation on the baby monitor.

“son of a-“  

His mumblings were followed by a loud fit of laughing and Pepper frowned. Steve and Emmy exchanged a look of glee and soon Tony emerged back onto the patio area of their garden, Morgan balanced on his hip, the dark haired tot wearing a bright blue Captain America hat. Steve reached over to hi-five Emmy as he raised his glass to Tony, giving him a slightly tipsy smirk.

“Now we’re even.”

“Oh if you think I’m leaving it there, Spangles, you’re very much mistaken.” Tony sat down with Morgan on his lap. “Just you wait.” And wait they did.

*****

October 2020

Steve walked in the door to a barrage of noise. Lucky was flopped out on the floor in the hall and simply gave Steve a look which he was convinced was the equivalent of an eye roll and he knew why, Jamie was screaming blue murder.

 He was teething.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” Steve smiled, dropping a kiss to Katie’s cheek before he gently laid his hand on the back of his son’s head. His cheeks were flushed from the teething and his little face was stained with tears.

“I don’t know what to do!” Katie looked up at Steve, utterly lost. “He’s been like this all day. I feel useless Steve, nothing I do helps, and the more he cries, the shittier I feel because he’s in pain!”

“Let me take him for a while.” Steve offered. “You should be getting ready to go out.” She pulled a face, and Steve frowned. She had been invited on her first night ‘out’ since having Jamie, with Brooke’s mum Jennifer and a few other mom’s from the school. Well, it wasn’t strictly out, it was a few drinks and snacks at the coffee bar for one of the lady’s birthday but still, it was a chance to let her hair down and she had been looking forward to it. 

“I don’t know if I can go, not with him like this.”  “Yes you can.” Steve looked at her as she gently bounced Jamie in her arms.

“But you have Emmy and Brooke to watch as well, it’s her birthday weekend and-” Steve snorted. “They’ll be in the den in sleeping bags watching movies and eating crap all night. As long as I provide them with pizza and a constant supply of popcorn I won’t see them. Come on, give him here.” He gestured with his hands and Katie passed Jamie over, and instantly the baby looked up at his dad and broke into a teary smile.

“Oh, that’s just fucking typical.” Katie threw her hands out to the side. “I sit here all day, you walk in and after five minutes he stops.” Steve laughed and looked at her, as she scowled. “I’m sure he’ll start again soon. Now go and get ready. Go on.”

With a last look at them both she headed out into the hallway and up for a shower. When she came back down an hour or so later, having taken her time just because she could, she found Steve in the kitchen making himself a coffee whilst Jamie sat in the highchair, chewing on a frozen teething ring. He grinned up at his momma who dropped a kiss to his head, all tears and tantrums forgotten, and Steve turned to look at his wife, a smile crossing his face.

She looked knock out in a simple pair of tight jeans, a white silk vest top and black blazer with three quarter length sleeves. She’d bought the outfit especially, after finally getting down to a size she felt comfortable at thanks to stepping her training back up making use of the pool and their gym. She had changed shape, there was no getting away from that, and Steve doubted that any amount of training she did would take her back to her SHIELD Agent size, which he didn’t give the slightest shit about anyway, but what was important was that she didn’t seem to care anymore. Her stomach was more or less flat again, even if it was a little softer than before, but her hips were bigger, giving her more of a curve, which Steve loved, grabbing her ass every chance he could do. There was also the added perk that, even though she was down to one feed a day with Jamie being on solids, her boobs hadn’t shrunk much, remaining two cup sizes bigger than they had been. Another thing Steve found pretty damned fine about his wife’s post-baby figure.

But, what he loved the most though was that she was comfortable with herself and it showed tonight as she grinned up at him and gave him a twirl. He aimed a playful swat at her ass before he pulled her close and dropped a kiss to her lips.

“You look great.” He smiled and she blushed, giving him a kiss back before they heard he door open and voices echo in the hall.

“Get a room.” Emmy said as her and Brooke emerged into the kitchen. Steve arched an eyebrow and made a meal of pulling his wife closer as Brooke whooped and Jennifer, who had come to drop the girls off and pick Katie up gave a wolf whistle. Katie laughed and stepped back, shooting Steve a look that almost had him hard right there as he knew full well it meant he was in for a good night when she got back.

Emmy opened the fridge, and Steve looked at her. “Yeah there’s nothing in there, we’re getting pizza.” “Sweeeeeeet.” Emmy grinned, exchanging a hi-five with Brooke, handing her a soda.

“No wonder she likes coming here so much!” Jennifer laughed again as the two girls headed back into the hall.

Steve smiled and leaned back against the counter. “Yeah, well, Katie’s the cook, not me.”

“Don’t listen to him.” Katie rolled her eyes, picking up her phone and dropping it into her purse “He can cook most things fine, he just can’t be bothered.”

“Don’t blame him, it’s Friday.” Jennifer laughed, as Katie dropped a kiss to Jamie’s head again before she turned to Steve.

“Don’t wait up.” She winked, and he rolled his eyes, giving her a look, because he knew full well he would.  

*****

At the end of the month Emmy turned twelve and was overjoyed with the new bike, clothes and phone she got, but was most overcome with the party Steve and Katie let her have in the pool house, the parents supervising six other pre-teens from afar as they splashed about in the water before Katie fed them all burgers, mac and cheese, and enough sugar to keep them wired for a weekend. Emmy had cried again later that night, never having had a proper birthday party before and thanking them so much it made the pair of them tear up slightly too.

The start of November brought the time they’d been equally looking forward to and dreading- Jamie started crawling. And he was fast, possessing Ninja skills Natasha was extremely proud of. Steve and Katie, aided by Emmy seemed to spend all their time running after him and poor Lucky was the target of his affections as Jamie loved pulling his fur or ears. In an attempt to give Lucky some peace and to prevent any mishaps, Steve erected baby gates all over the house which were small enough for Lucky to leap over if he needed a fast escape, but they confined their little Carpet Terrorist to the room he was in.  Naturally, Jamie hated them, and would sit and scream in frustration when he couldn’t follow his parents and sister freely, and Katie couldn’t help but laugh one day as he sat by the gate which separated the living room doorway from the hall, gripping the bars and yelling in objection as she and Emmy headed to the kitchen to make lunch. Steve was stood behind him, arms folded, shaking his head, a huge smile on his face as he chuckled.

“He looks like he’s in jail!” Emmy laughed as Steve swooped him up into his arms, blowing a raspberry on his belly instantly making all the tears vanish, his angry cried replaced by gurgles and giggles.  At that point there was a sharp ringing in the hallway, indicating someone was at the drive entrance. Emmy headed to the screen.

“It’s a delivery driver.” She pressed the button to open the metal gates. Steve followed her into the hall, Jamie still in his arms. Katie continued into the kitchen and was joined a moment later by the three of them, Emmy carrying a small box.

“Who’s it from?” Katie frowned as she pulled the items out of the fridge to make sandwiches.

“No return address.” Steve shrugged, as Emmy pulled open the box. The girl glanced inside and her mouth made a small O as she pulled out the stuffed American Eagle toy that was inside, but then dropped it harshly as it started to sing. There was a pause, as the ‘Star Spangled Man With A Plan’ theme tune blared round the large kitchen from the stuffed animal, and then Katie started to laugh as did Emmy and Steve dropped his head and gave a groan.

With perfect timing, Katie’s phone began to ring and she pulled it from her pocket, grinning as she saw it was Tony.

“Ahhhh you got it!” He laughed, clearly able to hear the noise on the other end of the phone.

“Where on Earth did you find that?” Katie snorted.

“I made it, well, I made the voice box. I told him to wait! Tony Stark 2, Spangles 1”

Of course, Jamie loved his latest present. And every time Steve made an attempt to hide it, he would scream blue murder. Mind you, Steve wasn’t sure what was worse, the constant screaming or the damned song emanating from the fucking toy.

“I really, really hate your brother.” He groaned one evening at the end of November as he was sat on the floor trying to coax Jamie into playing with one of the other hundred toys he had, the infant simply refusing.

“I told you not to start a war.” Katie sniggered.

“I didn’t start anything!” Steve scoffed, indignantly “He started it with that damned vest!”

“Well if you retaliate it’s gonna keep on going, you know what he’s like he’ll…oh my God, Steve!” Katie suddenly changed subject, her mouth dropping open as she watched Jamie who had crawled to the side of the sofa and was now attempting to pull himself up. They both watched in awe as their baby grasped the side of the cushion in his hand and used it as leverage to get to his feet where he stayed for a second or two before his knees gave in and he crashed to the floor with a loud thump, his diaper clad backside hitting the carpet. There was a pause where they both waited for the ensuing scream, but it never came. Instead he gave a loud shriek of laughter and went to try again, Steve recording the second attempt on his phone, all thoughts of revenge and stuffed eagles flew out of his mind as he watched his son hit another milestone.

Jamie had a sudden growth spurt heading into December, meaning he was more than ample size for his age, much to Steve’s relief and delight, and all three of them noticed that he was incessantly chattering and although it was complete gibberish they often found themselves answering back. Emmy was best at this, Steve and Katie one Sunday afternoon hid in the doorway, stifling their laughter as she held a full blown conversation with the nine month old whilst they watched the lion king.

“No that’s Simba.” Emmy responded to a loud screech as she pointed to the screen.

More ineligible babbles.

“Nala, and that’s Zazu.” Another noise, this one a little softer.

“Yeah, he will in a minute. Not for a while though. He’s gotta go to the elephant graveyard first.”

Jamie giggled, gesturing with his arms.

“I know, right?” Emmy rolled her eyes. “Stupid thing to do, should stay on the pride lands.” A string of gibberish escaped Jamie’s mouth and he looked at Emmy with an expression on his face, just like he had said asked her a serious question.

“Well, no, I mean a lion could take them but man, those hyenas are sneaky.” At that, Emmy looked up to see her parents watching from the door and she shrugged.

“He still talks more sense than you.” Steve grinned, earning himself a scowl in response ***** “It’s wonky, Dad.” “No it isn’t!” Steve shook his head, standing back to look at the Christmas tree.

“Yes, it is!” “She’s right.” Katie grinned, where she was sat on the floor, Jamie stood in between her legs, using her fingers which she held out to support himself on his legs, bouncing up and down.

Steve stepped back and gave a groan as he saw it was, indeed, leaning to the right. After a bit of a reshuffle scattering more needles on the floor he finally righted it. Katie watched as father and daughter shared a hi-five before they set about digging the decorations out of the two boxes at their feet. Katie was happy to leave them to it shouting the odd direction and the time came for the star and the big switch on.

“You wanna put it on again Em?” he asked and she nodded eagerly. She took it in her right hand and, despite her being taller and bigger than the year before Steve easily lifted her off the floor, hands on her hips so she could drop the star onto the top of the tree.

“Ready?” she asked once her feet were back on the floor, as she ran to the socket on the floor.

“Hit it!” Katie grinned, standing up and swooping Jamie along with her so he was propped on her hip.

“3-2-1…” Emmy gave a count down before she flipped the lights and the tree came to life. “Awesome!”

She moved over to where Katie was stood and reached up, bopping Jamie on the nose who gave a smile in response. He was fascinated by the lights on the tree, his eyes going wide and he let out a loud noise of approval, reaching both his arms out towards it.

The decorations on the bottom two branches lasted approximately twenty minutes until Steve and Emmy hastily moved everything up out of his reach.

The family spent Christmas Eve afternoon with Tony, Pepper and Morgan (who was now fast into her toddler stage being eighteen months or so old) but their first Christmas together was spent at home, with Natasha joining them. Jamie doted on his Auntie Nat-Nat, a nickname Steve had given her, one she faked disgust at, but they knew she loved it.

They all exchanged gifts, giving Natasha a chunky silver chain bracelet which Katie had spotted as they were shopping not long ago, which made her tear up, and a framed photo of her and Jamie from Jamie, obviously, along with a box of her favourite sweets carefully selected by Emmy.

It wasn’t long before they got a call from Tony.

“I’m gonna kill your husband.” 

Katie frowned. “What…”

“Morgan, she won’t leave the damned toy shield alone.” “What toy shield?” Katie asked. Hearing the exchange Steve looked up, grinning and she locked eyes with him, as he shrugged innocently.

“The toy shield that was in the pile of gifts you bought her, well she’s just thrown it straight at Gerald, the poor animal is traumatised!” Katie let out a sigh, rubbing at her forehead and out of the corner of her eye she saw Natasha, Steve and Emmy share a three-way-hi five, and she couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

“Tony Stark 2, Spangles 2…” She grinned. “Merry Christmas, Tone.”

It turned out, however, that Natasha wasn’t about to let Steve get away completely, and the solder groaned where he sat with Jamie on his lap as they opened one of Jamie’s last gifts from his god- mother, which was a teddy bear wearing a Captain America shirt and a little plush shield, not unlike the one Steve had won Katie at Cony Island. Nat raised an eyebrow at Steve as Katie choked on her glass of wine but Jamie shrieked as Steve tried to take the bear off him for a closer look, ignoring the hundreds of other toys he was surrounded with.

“Jamie, that’s Cap.” Nat said as she sat on the floor, taking the bear from him and rubbing it gently in his face causing him to shriek with laughter. Steve simply shook his head and handed his son over to her.

“Suppose its better than that damned eagle.” He mumbled as he sat next to his wife who was opening the gift from Natasha to them. Both of them looked down at the photo frame which housed a number of pictures, some of which Katie and Steve didn’t even know existed. They went as far back as the first battle of New York in the shawarma joint, where they were both laughing at something. There was one taken in a bar in DC that Katie could remember, one of them cuddled up on the balcony of the tower, then some taken without their knowledge like a particularly nice one where Kate was sat on Steve’s lap on one of the couches at the tower during one of Tony’s parties. There were a few pages of their extended family as well, including Thor, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Sam, and right bang in the middle was a photo of Steve, Katie, Emmy and Jamie, taken at Steve’s birthday in the summer.

“Nat,” Katie croaked, “it’s…”

“Fantastic.” Steve smiled, looking at her from where he had settled on the arm of the couch, arm extended along the back.

“Well, I saw the one in the hall and figured you could do with another to go with it.” Nat smiled, shrugging their thanks off as she referenced the large frame that Katie had made for Steve all those years ago.

Their newest photo collection was hung by the side of the already existing one the very next morning.

Everyone had warned both the new parents that time would fly by, and as they welcomed New Years in, this time as a five with Natasha, sitting in the garden all wrapped in blankets round the fire pit, both Katie and Steve realised that nothing else could be more truthful. As the fireworks erupted across the Brooklyn and Manhattan skyline, calling time on 2020, and Jamie’s first nine months of being alive Steve pulled his wife closer and she turned to face him.

“Happy new year, Soldier.” she whispered.

“Happy new year, Baby.” he replied softly, dropping a kiss to her lips.

**** Chapter 46

 **Original Posting**