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bates--boy · 3 years ago

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... Maybe Naseem should have followed Peter's suggestion on rehearsing the next day instead of the dead of night, because Naseem was two cups into his coffee intake and he still sat slouched forward on the mint pleather couch, stifling a series of yawns and sneaking eye rubs under the watching stare of Ashira sitting next to him.

They waited for the other woman, Helen, to gloss over the notes from the previous session. She finally turned to a fresh page and balanced the pad on her knee, her pen clicked ready.

"Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Okoye," Helen said, "The last time we've met, we've talked about what we can do to contribute to a calmer household. Ashira, I've suggested to you to practice some more kindness towards Naseem; Naseem, I've suggested that you take more steps to be more present in the home.

"How is the progress?" She asked them both.

Naseem could see his wife giving him the side-eye, poising herself to snark and snap that, no, Naseem had not in fact been coming home more like he promised he would. Naseem felt the beginnings of his back bristling. He had no energy for patience and he was tempted to play that same card. He had a full deck to play with, in fact; how many times had he come home only for an hour to pass and Sheer catches some bitchy attitude about putting a role he didn't even have above her and the kids? As if Naseem hadn't dramatically cut back on pursuing his dreams when they were preparing for Pakiza's birth.

But Naseem wasn't looking for an argument, and he knew that all pointing fingers would do is start one, so he pinched the bridge if his nose and said, "I admit that I haven't." To Ashira's satisfyingly shocked expression, Naseem continued on, "We're still doing a lot of work for our music and projects. We try our best to finish before it gets too late, but sometimes, y’know, we end up working overnight anyways. I at least don’t crash on the couch at the studio as much as I used to.”

Helen nodded along, jotting the confession down in her pad. Next to him, Ashira crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms. She had her tongue gently pressing against the inside of her cheek.

“Huh, no mention of your new puppy?”

Naseem groaned and rolled his eyes. “Sheer, stop calling him that.”

Helen glanced back and forth between the couple, brows raised but her face otherwise calm and blank.

“Why? That man’s constantly following you around, coming at your damn beck and call, always looking for your approval.”

“And he’s at our place right now, babysitting our kids--”

“And who asked him to do that?”

“He offered. He loves those kids and you know it, and he does it because he’s our friend.” Naseem sat up straighter and took a deep breath to keep his voice leveled. “Maybe if you learned how to make friends of your own, you know what friends would do for each other.”

Naseem watched Ashira’s jaw tensing, her teeth grinding together inside. Folding her arms tighter, she said, “Mike and I were friends long before he ever met you, you know.”

Like a shark sniffing for blood, Naseem found a weakness to pounce on. “Yeah, and even when he had a crush on you, he pawned you off to me. I shoulda took that as a warning.”

“Fuck you, Nazz--”

Helen cleared her throat loudly and raised a hand, calling out “Excuse me!” and looking into each of her clients’ eyes before speaking again. “Let us try to stay civil, please. We are hear to talk and listen, not accuse and attack. Now, let’s go back to the progress report. Naseem has shared his and took some responsibility. Ashira, it’s your turn.”

Good luck getting her to admit shit, Naseem thought, not even bothering to look in Ashira’s direction to wait for her to speak. Instead, he was back to feeling drained and slouched forward once more, folding his arms over his knees.

“...I would like to say that, despite this tiny spat you’ve just seen,” Ashira said, choosing her words in that careful, clinical, distant way that grated on Naseem’s nerves, “I have been... maybe not kinder, but patient as hell. Like agreeing to let a man who was recently in a mental health hospital babysit our kids so many times so my husband can go to his auditions.”

“While you got to do your readings and writing classes and shit,” Naseem tacked on.

“Or when I don’t say shit about how sometimes you don’t make much money from selling your merch, which I do at your concerts.”

So you don’t tag along to stop crying about how your ma hates you? Naseem thought as he glared at the floor. It was only when the air grew heavy with silence, and when Naseem looked at Ashira from the corner of his eye to find her wound tight, eyes wide and fingers curling into her sweater beneath her arms, that he realized that he had said that out loud.

He hung his head and ran his hands over his locs. “Shit, Sheer, I’m sorry--”

“Why am I even here?” Ashira looked at the room around her, blinking her reddening, puffing eyes as she let out a dry, shaky chuckle.

“Because you want to make this work as much as I do,” Naseem replied. “I’m sorry. Seriously, I shouldn’t have said that...” He took a deep breath.

Helen waited in silence once more for one of her clients to speak up. When the silence stretched into nearly a minute in which Ashira rubbed her cuff into her eyes and Naseem was nearly bent over with his hands hooked behind his head, Helen took down some notes of what had transpired and said, “We should revisit that when you two are ready. Let’s move on, though. I have an exercise that I want us to try out, but before we do that, I would like to pose a question. You don’t have to answer now -- in fact, I encourage you to think it over and come up with your best answer -- but I would like to ask you two:

“What would you like from the other partner? What would you ask them to do or say that you believe may help bridge this gap between you two?”

“Easy,” Ashira scoffed, her voice thick with still unshed tears. “Stop hiding behind your goddamn rapping homies and come home. If that’s not too much to ask.”

“Ashira...” Helen said warningly.

Ashira sighed and looked towards Naseem, who sat up again and rubbed his neck. What did she want to hear? And how could Naseem pick from the list of options that rolled out before him so clearly.

For you to stop being so mean to people, especially me.

For you to stop acting like a victim.

For you to stop acting like I’m out there chasing ass.

For you to give me a little breathing room.

For you to stop plaguing our marriage with your Mommy issues.

For you to do your own thing and leave me to mine instead of trying to stay attach to me at the hip.

For you to stop insulting my friends, especially Peter. who didn’t do shit to you.

With all of that, Naseem knew he had easier luck asking for Ashira to burn all of her writing and do a strip tease for him and his “rapping homies” in front of the fire. It all felt pointless, so he shrugged and said, “I’ll.. Uh, I’m gonna have to think about it.”

Helen nodded. “That’s a good idea. I hope we’ll have options to discussion for our next session.” She bent to reach into the bag that was sitting by her feet. “Now, as for the exercise I want us to try...”

#The MizFists #life thus far ( story )#Naseem/Bet Chaker #Ashira #droid noodles ( writing )

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ichor-and-symbiosis · 5 years ago

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Shigaraki Tomura Fluff Alphabet

(mentions of nsfw)

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Tomura enjoys activities where it’s just him and you. It can be at home or somewhere out as long as you are lost in your own little world together. There are frequent dates to the best arcades, of course. He loves making things into a competition with you, if only so that you’ll get riled up and make wagers with him. He will always bet on a kiss (or more), and he always wins. Shopping trips are insufferable but he will tolerate them to make you happy. He really enjoys going on long walks with you, too. He will either keep his hands stuffed in his pockets and you’ll loop your arm though his while you walk, or he will occasionally have his arm around you. Physical contact is a must.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

To no one’s surprise, Tomura is obsessed with your entire body. You are beautiful and perfect to him and he will kill anyone who says otherwise. But above all else, he really loves your smile. There’s just something about the way your face lights up and your eyes sparkle that makes his heart stop. He always stares at you when you smile. You used to think it was because he had a problem with you, until you started noticing the pink tint on his cheeks.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He is not always great at advice. Sometimes he’s too blunt for his own good, so Tomura has learned to let his actions speak louder than his words. He will pull you into his chest and hold you close, his arms wrapped tightly around you as he lets you calm down. He wants to be your support, and he hopes that you will feel the strength and care he is trying to convey through his hugs.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

This is really complicated. Tomura’s goals were cut and dry before he had fallen for you — kill All Might, topple society’s dependence on heroism, and die an early death. But ever since you came into his life and uprooted his entire being, he doesn’t know what to do. There are moments when he’s looking at you and imagining an entire future with you. Decades of long-lasting love, children, dying together from old age. And there are moments when he envisions you dying together soon, a dramatic proclamation of your love for each other as he finally sees his plan come to fruition. He doesn’t know which outcome hurts him the most. The former is simply unattainable, and the latter … he doesn’t want you to die. He wants to spend forever with you. This is his biggest source of anxiety.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Tomura is dominant, but he values you as an equal partner. He is protective and possessive, and he expects you to feel the same towards him. There are certain issues he will be passive on or he will at least ask you for your opinion, and there are things that set him off so severely that he will not budge on his demands. That being said, he doesn’t mind a partner who is completely submissive to him. Tomura really likes to feel like he is in charge, and this will only fuel his confidence. He loves having you depend on him.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Tomura forgives … but he doesn’t forget, and he makes you work for it. He will throw a huge fit, give you the silent treatment, and say harsh things to make you cry, but at the end of the day he is going to forgive you no matter what. If you do something extreme like betray him, that might not even be enough to get him to break up with you. He will be absolutely furious, but you are his. He’s decided it. You will be taught a harsh lesson in hurting him like that, and he will make you beg for forgiveness. He might even get some sick satisfaction from seeing you try to get back into his good graces. And if you refuse? Doesn’t matter, he will keep you at his side and ignore your anger. It’ll hurt him inside, but he’d rather have you pissed at him than not have you at all.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He doesn’t usually show his gratitude but he is so aware of how much you do for him, and he loves you so much for it. He shows his gratitude in a roundabout way by being kinder to you. Everything you do for him puts him in a better mood. Maybe he’ll even bring all of his dirty dishes to the kitchen for once. Maybe he’ll kiss you out of the blue before going off to do his own thing. Tomura is a mystery.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Pretty damn honest and doesn’t like keeping secrets. He doesn’t have anything to hide. Even the most disturbing thoughts will be said out loud. He doesn’t have the patience for keeping secrets because he wants you to know everything about him. In a way, that’s a good thing. You’ll always know what he’s about, so you have no excuses if you still stick around after everything. Perhaps the one thing he will be reluctant to voice out loud is how much he truly loves you and depends on you.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You made him calmer, and in doing so, he is now able to take a step back and think things through rationally instead of devolving into temper tantrums. He is more reasonable and laid back with you around, and more open to socializing. In turn, he has brought out your darker side. You are unrestrained and more inclined to let your impulses take control of your actions. Regarding trauma, your presence has soothed him to the point that he slowly reduces his neck scratching.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Literally the definition of jealousy. Tomura is super jealous and doesn’t hide it. When he senses something is off, he makes it everyone else’s problem. His mood is explosive and unpredictable. He can kill if truly prompted to do so, but if he’s jealous of someone who is vital to his cause, then he will threaten them as a warning to lay off. And he is going to fuck you hard to teach you a lesson.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Tomura is a messy, passionate kisser. He doesn’t have a technique and he’s not trying to sweep you off your feet. His goal is to shove his tongue into your mouth and explore you for as long as he wants while he gropes you everywhere. It can feel a little overwhelming sometimes, but you don’t have time to dwell on it when he’s ravishing you so thoroughly. But this only happens once he’s become comfortable with you. His first kiss was shy and stilted. He didn’t know what to do with himself because his brain shut down. All he could do was follow your lead, memorizing the feeling of your soft lips and the sensation of your tongue tangling with his. The first kiss was not too long. Once he regained his senses, he dove back in for seconds and kept at it for a damn long time, this time far more confident and eager to learn.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

As brashly and confident as he usually is. Tomura will spend weeks to months of skulking around before finally driving himself insane with desire for you. This culminates in a very honest, very sexually charged confession. He thinks with his dick when it comes to you. There won’t be any dramatic proclamations of love. He’s going to tell you that you drive him insane, that you’re his and that he’s wanted to fuck you for forever.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

He does not want to get married and doesn’t feel like there’s any need for it. You’re pretty much married after that first kiss anyway. You’re his and that’s just that. Eternity spent with rat man. Your honeymoon after the first kiss is to go to 7-11 for gatorade to build up those electrolytes so you can get back to fucking.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Not too big on nicknames, but he’ll bust out that ‘player two’ trope sometimes.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He is feral baby. Avoids you in the beginning and stares at you a lot. It honestly feels like he hates you, but in reality, he just doesn’t know how to approach you or how to deal with his growing feelings. He watches you from afar and learns everything about you that way, notices all the little details about you, the quirks and habits you have, etc. But despite his standoffishness, he is usually more amicable when you’re there. Frustrated sexually, but amicable. He’ll get noticeably agitated if you’re talking to someone he is jealous of. His infatuation with you is very obvious to everyone and it is pure suffering for them to witness his awkwardness.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Tomura will do whatever he wants regardless of who is around. If he wants to make out with you in front of the whole liberation front, he’ll do it. There isn’t a shy bone in his body. He also has a massive kink for exhibitionism, so there will be times when he’ll fuck you up against a window to show you to the whole damn world, or he’ll have sex with you in places where you are at constant risk of being walked in on.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He’s got a mean lookin resting bitch face, so whenever you’re out with him and perusing marketplaces and something catches your eye, Tomura is looming behind you with his death glare while you try to barter with the seller. You always somehow manage to get the best bargains.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

His idea of romance is dicking you down so good that you’ll cling to him in post-coital bliss after. He isn’t big on grand gestures of love. At best, he will take you out to see a movie or go for walks. But it’s not too hard to convince him to do typical couple stuff. He enjoys going out anyway. Just don’t expect him to go out of his way to make the suggestions. You’ll have to drag him to a cat cafe all on your own. In terms of gift giving, it’s usually a hit or miss. Either he knows exactly what you want and he’ll spend as much money as he feels like, or he doesn’t have a clue and is too lazy to ask around for suggestions so you’ll end up with some nonsense.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Tomura expects your goals to be his goals. You can have your little side quests, as he calls them, but ultimately he expects you to support him. As long as your goals don’t hinder his, he is more than willing to help you. He even takes them into account and plans long-term, scheming up different scenarios that will help you somehow.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

He likes routine when it’s outside of the bedroom. And by routine, I mean fucking shit up with him on missions and coming home to take a shower and eat a hearty home cooked meal together. You’ve conditioned him to expect this sort of domesticity. But when it comes to sex, you better be prepared to try anything and everything. Tomura has a million ideas for what he wants to do to you, and it is difficult to anticipate what he’ll think of. He also very much appreciates your spontaneity. Stick a finger up his bootyhole while you’re blowing him. He may or may not like it, but either way he appreciates how freaky you can be.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Tomura knows you very well, to the point of boasting that he knows you better than you know yourself. You don’t even need to tell him when you are upset. He will know, and he will wordlessly pull you into his hold and try to distract you. He’s not the type to be outwardly sympathetic. You are far more likely to either receive factual advice or silence. He has this ability to let his sincerity shine through everything he says, and that grounds you and comforts you. And let’s not forget his favorite way of making you feel better, which is through sex.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

He can’t decide if your relationship is more important to him than his bloodthirsty need for vengeance and annihilation of hero society. Sometimes he feels like you are the only thing in the whole world that matters, and when he remembers All Might, a part of him hates himself for being unable to devote himself entirely to you. He is just filled with so much hate and rage that he feels like he can never move past it at this point. He thinks you deserve better.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

You once spent an evening at the bar with Tomura. The goal was to drink until you both felt ready to pounce on each other and desecrate Kurogiri’s safe space. What ended up happening was you both sitting on the floor behind the counter, surrounded by bottles and talking about everything and nothing. This was the most open Tomura had ever been with you. And he had this vulnerable look in his eyes whenever you caught him staring at you as you talked. But because you’re both degenerates, the night was concluded with him doing body shots off of you and attempting to jam his whiskey dick into your pussy. He was super pissed that he couldn’t get hard, but he was also not feeling too well by then. You ended up back in his room and passing out with him on his bed in a pile of tangled limbs.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

You know what, yes he fuckin is. Tomura is very affectionate and he’s not afraid to show it. As soon as you are in a relationship, he will seek you out for whatever he wants. He might be more comfortable with dirty, raw, off-the-walls fucking at first, because he is not used to intimacy. But he is touch starved and your affectionate gestures are absolutely addicting to him. As long as you let him come to you on his terms and you give him the freedom to stop the touches at any time, he will demand aaaaall the kisses. God forbid you forget to give him a kiss at the start of the day or right before bed. He is needy and obsessed with everything you have to offer him, and he really enjoys cuddling with you.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

An absolute sulky brat. Talks less, concentrates less on conversations, and just wants to be alone. He’s mellow and withdrawn, and everyone can see his displeasure written all over his face. He will dart his eyes over to the place you usually sit in at the bar and find you gone. His anxiety will resurface and he will find comfort in scratching his neck. And you can bet he’s going to be blowing up your phone. He is an absolutely awful texter, but whenever you are away, he will light up your phone with a million calls and hastily written texts. He will be in your room a lot, and when he’s done desecrating your bed after rolling around in your sheets and masturbating all over your stuff, he will steal your pillow and use it as your replacement until you finally come back to him. Don’t expect that pillow to be clean.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Absolutely. Tomura is all or nothing. You are his whole world, and he will do anything for you, so long as your desires fit in with his plans. He will risk his life for you, buy you whatever you want, and is always ready to reaffirm his love for you in whatever way he is comfortable expressing it.

#shigaraki tomura #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki/reader #shigaraki tomura x reader #shigaraki tomura/reader #headcanons #imagines #smut #spicy #this took so fucking long

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bobasheebaby · 5 years ago

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Love You’re Born to Find- Cordonian Ruby chapter 6

Pairing: Olivia x Bastien; Ruby Rys x Beau Larkin; Galen; Lovett

Word count: 2,015

Warnings: presumed heartbreak, angst, mention of dead parents, it’s another tear jerker grab those tissues.

Summary: Ruby has made her decision, she just has to loop in her brothers ... and Beau.

A/N: This takes place immediately after the end of chapter five. I know you guys are excited to get to Cordonia but it’s gonna be a few more chapters until they leave. They have to plan, do this safely, two minors are involved and they aren’t going to be leaving them behind but safety measures have to be discussed.

A/N2: A major thanks @sirbeepsalot for all your graping, prereading, editing, and telling me when to let go. I love you boo! Thank you to my snippet reader @loveellamae who screamed appropriately.

Series warnings: character death, blood, surgical procedures done by non medical personnel, may go NSFW in the future. May contain gun violence, knife violence, threats, not sure how dark this will go. By requesting to be tagged you acknowledge you are at least 18 years of age.

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist.

Disclaimer: I own Ruby, Galen, Lovett, and Beau, I’m borrowing Bastien and Olivia from PB.

Ruby nervously chewed her thumbnail as she paced the floor. Her response had been automatic, the answer slipping past her lips with barely a thought.

She stood by her decision, though she was nervous now that she had to explain everything she’d learned to Beau. How do you tell your boyfriend you are really royalty and meant to rule a country? Her stomach twisted in knots, she didn’t want to leave him, not when she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be coming back. She thought of inviting him to go with her, would he want to go with me?

Even after five years together she questioned if he’d be willing to leave everything behind for her. Could I really ask him? Could she actually bring herself to ask him to leave behind his family and risk his life for her? Would it be kinder to say goodbye and shatter her own heart into a million pieces?

Her heart pounded in her chest, he was the only guy she’d ever dated. He was her first love, until this morning she had thought he’d be her only love. Five years, and now she was standing at a cliff trying to decide if she should free fall or dive with him by her side. Maybe it would have been better if Mama and Papa hadn’t allowed us to stay in Texas so I could be with Beau.

The thought made her throat grow tight. She loved him more than she had ever thought possible and she never wanted to think of not being with him, I might still lose him. I can’t ask this of him, can I?

“Ruby, are you really a princess?” Lovett questioned pulling Ruby from her fearful spiral.

“Lovett!”

“What Mama? I want to know.”

“Eat your apples,” Olivia slid the plate of sliced pink ladys across the table to her youngest. How he could eat those overly sweet monstrosities she’d never understand, for now she’d be thankful they could bring a moment of silence.

“I was just wondering what it means for me!” Lovett pouted as he picked up an apple slice.

“We’re waiting for Beau, and then we’ll explain. Just be patient, Little Wolf.” Bastien gently ruffled his son’s dark auburn locks, earning a grunt in response. Patience was not Lovett’s strength.

“I’m gonna go wait for him outside,” Ruby said. She felt as though she would suffocate if she waited a second longer, the walls slowly closing in with each passing moment.

“It’ll be okay Goose.”

I really wish I could believe that Papa. She rushed outside, sighing in relief as she watched Beau exit his old blue and white pickup.

“Ruby is everything okay? I thought I was coming by later.”

“I — let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll explain.”

“Wait.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, his hazel eyes imploring her sapphire blue. “Is everything okay?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She wasn’t sure, she had no idea how he’d react to her news. Only after she told him could she truly know if she was okay or not. When did I become some lovesick girl? “I don’t know.”

He pulled her into his arms pressing a kiss to her hairline. “Whatever it is Ruby, I promise it’ll be okay. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”

She shook in his arms at his words. Don’t say that. You don’t know. She looked up giving him a weak, unconvincing smile. “I know.” Do I? I know he loves me, but this is life changing.

Every step towards the kitchen made her heart beat faster and her throat constrict. The fear of losing him because of something she couldn’t control had gripped her so tight she couldn’t breathe. She was sure she would strangle from the worry alone before she had explained.

“Beau’s here!” Lovett exclaimed, “can we talk about Ruby being a —”

“Lovett,” Olivia shot him a stern look full of warning, “let your sister speak.”

“Ruby, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Lovett quipped. “Ow!” He pouted as he rubbed his shin where Galen had kicked him.

“Ruby are you sick? Please talk to me.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

Beau's eyes darted around the familiar faces of Ruby’s family, desperate for some hint of what was going on. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

Ruby nodded as tears streamed down her face. Please let that be true. “M—mama and Papa g-gave me this this morning.” She struggled to get the words out as she pulled the letter from her pocket.

How do I begin to explain? Do I just blurt it out? “M-maybe it w-would be b-best if y-you r-read it …”

“Okay.” Beau responded, still struggling to understand what was going on. Lovett was his normal overexcited self, Galen was calmer and more subdued watching as always. Ruby, his beautiful, strong, confident Ruby was shaking like a leaf and shedding more tears than he’d seen over their five years together.

Beau carefully took the creased paper and sat at the table, slowly unfolding it revealing an elegant script he’d never seen before. “Ruby, what is this?” He asked looking up at her.

“Read it, then I’ll explain.” Hopefully you will still be able to look at me.

“I want to see!” Lovett said, jumping from his seat.

“Lovett, sit. Give Ruby a minute. If you interrupt again you will go to your room until after she’s explained.”

“Fine …” Lovett grumbled crossing his arms over his chest.

Ruby turned away, unable to watch Beau read the words she now had memorized. She wasn’t ready to see the moment that he could no longer look at her. Please don’t hate me.

“Ruby, is —is this from your parents?”

“Yes.” She replied, back still turned to him.

“Okay, I’m more than a little confused.”

Ruby spun around, her brow knit together in confusion. “Why are you confused?”

“I’m just trying to understand how one letter from your parents could make you this upset.” Beau glanced back at the letter. “Your parents were royal, I just don't know why that made you so upset.”

Ruby swallowed as she took the seat next to him. “Mama and Papa explained to me after I read this,” she pointed to the letter that turned her world upside down. This was not how today was supposed to go. When she woke up she never would have expected that she would end up explaining to Beau that she was a queen and had to leave. “They explained that my parents died in a car accident and that Papa is the only reason I survived.”

Beau carefully took her hand into his, brushing the back of her hand with his thumb. His hazel eyes were soft as he gazed into her tearfilled blue. You’ve got this, you can tell me.

She smiled weakly, would he still be so calm and sure once she was done bringing all their plans for the future tumbling down around them? “The accident was caused by the king of a neighboring kingdom … he —he wanted an alliance with our country that involved marrying me off, my parents refused. So he killed them and took the country.” Her voice shook as she recounted the details she’d just learned that morning. “Cordonia, my country, it’s destroyed … the king has destroyed as much as he could … I’m their queen,” she held her head a little higher despite the pain threatening to pull her down. “I need to help them … I have to free them.”

Beau’s hand brushed her cheek, “alright.”

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. “I—I don’t know if or when I’ll be back.”

“Oh.”

Ruby’s eyes sprang open, her heart leaping in her throat as she caught a glimpse of heartbreak on Beau’s face. Can’t he see how much it’s breaking me?

“I just thought … what about our plans?”

“I —”

“Can we go back to Ruby being a queen?” Lovett asked, his fingers drumming the table excitedly.

“Okay boys. I think it’s time to give your sister some space.”

“But I want to know what’s going on!” Lovett whined.

“We’ll all talk later, I think it’s better we give Beau and Goose some space.”

Ruby gave her father a tiny smile as her brother’s exited the room. “I promise, everything will work out, Goose.” Bastien said, giving Beau a small nod as he left the room.

“RuRu, tell me what’s going on.” Beau said wiping the tears from her cheek.

Ruby cracked a half smile, “that’s not fair, you know I can’t help but laugh when you call me that!”

“That’s why I said it.” He knelt in front of her taking both her hands in his. “Talk to me.”

“I love you so much and I don’t know what’s going to happen and I can’t ask you to give up everything for me.”

“Ruby,” he looked down at their clasped hands, “this isn’t how I was planning …” He released her one hand brushing her blonde waves behind her ear. “Ruby, you are the strongest, most amazing woman I ever met. I never would have guessed the day I met you that you would have become so important to me.

You are smart, feisty, and never afraid to speak your mind.

You have taken me by surprise from the very start. You were always so confident, but with me you tried to shield it.

I’ve tried more than once to pinpoint when you claimed my heart and I honestly think it might have been that first date when I took you shooting at Nana and Pop’s.

Any other girl would have complained that shooting isn’t a date, but you just pulled back your hair and definitely beat my ass.

You never seem to be afraid, you just go into everything headfirst and so self assured.

When I think about my future, all I know for certain is that my place is by your side. I don’t care where we are, here in Texas or across the ocean saving your country from a tyrant; none of it matters as long as you are by my side.”

“Beau, I can't ask you to leave.”

“You aren’t asking. I know you, you would never ask. You would rather take a million hits yourself than allow anyone you care about feel a second of pain. You always put those you love first. I know you don’t want me to feel like I have to go, but Ruby I do.”

“Beau …”

“Ruby, as much as you can’t stand to see others in pain … I couldn’t stand not knowing what happened to you if you left. I know there are no promises, but in life there never are. I also know that when it comes to you, there isn’t a damn thing you can’t do if you put your mind to it.” He paused collecting his thoughts. “Ruby, I have never been happier than I have with you. I can’t see a life without you by my side.”

Ruby swallowed. “Beau … what are you saying?”

“Ruby, I don’t care that you are a queen, I love you for you and nothing would make me happier than being your husband.”

Ruby’s lip trembled. “Beau.”

“I’m saying … I’m asking … will you marry me?”

Ruby nodded as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

His hand cupped the back of her head as his lips met hers in a tender kiss. “God I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

“Do me a favor RuRu, stop scaring me like that.”

“Stop calling me that ridiculous nickname!” She playfully slapped his chest.

“Nope, it’s staying for the rest of our lives.”

“Nana and your mom are gonna kill me,” she rested her head against his shoulder, “taking you away and putting you in danger.”

“They’ll get over it.” He pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her hair. “They love you way too much to stay mad forever.”

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

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chickensarentcheap · 4 years ago

Text

Best Part of Me -Chapter 44

Warnings: none

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @ocfairygodmother

He’s unsure of how long he’s been sitting there; on the bottom step of the pack patio, forearms resting on his thighs and file folder still in hand. Staring out at the beach and the water, yet seeing nothing at the same time. His attention elsewhere; not with the expanse of near white sand or the sunlight that catches the ripples in the ocean or the brilliant blue sky. Instead focused on a city thousands of miles away. Mahajan sitting in his cramped and dirty prison cell; his power and influence extending far beyond those brick walls and barbed wire fences.

The rage is building; sitting heavily on his chest, gnawing at his stomach, tightening the muscles in his shoulders. What had started out a low, slow simmer is not threatening to explode; all patience, every ounce of empathy, every shred of humanity and compassion quickly evaporating. The edge is back. Those rough and ragged pieces that all fit together to make something savage and uncontrollable. An intensity and and a fury that is impossible to rein in; a merciless and powerful need for vengeance. For the opportunity to right Mahajan’s wrongs, one drop of blood...one body...at a time. He knows if he looks in the mirror he’ll no longer recognize himself. That all he’ll see staring back at him is darkness. Anger. That the man who was there a month ago, a week, even a day ago, is long gone. He doesn’t know how he feels about that; if he’s terrified that his old persona has returned or if he’s actually relieved. Maybe it was there a long time ago. Maybe the old Tyler has ALWAYS been there; just thriving under the surface. Maybe he’s just been ‘faking it until he makes it’ for the last six months; relegating himself to a kinder, gentler, more patient person when in reality all he really did want was his previous life back. Maybe this..his former self...is who he’s supposed to be.

Who he’s MEANT to be.

In an hour he’ll feel different. It will make him sick to his stomach that he even allowed himself to think that way. Realizing that he’s far better off with the life he has now; happier, calmer. No longer relying on booze and meds to numb unimaginable mental and physical pain. He’ll regret ever slipping back into his old ways, cursing himself for being weak and not fighting back hard enough to stop it from happening. Disgusted that he ever slipped that far down and let his old self resurface. He’ll remind himself that THAT isn’t who he is anymore. He’s not the same guy that went into Dhaka seven years ago to rescue a drug lord’s kid. He’s not even the same person who’d gone to Ireland after being conned by Michael McMann. Or who’d walked from New Zealand without even a look back. He’s better now. He has a life. A good life. He’s someone’s husband and someone’s father and his existence matters to them. He has people that love him. Depend on him. And they deserve so much better than the ‘old Tyler’.

Except the folder in his hand reminds him that that’s exactly who they need. The names concealed within, the faces, capable of taking everything away from him. His wife...his kids...they NEED the old Tyler. Even if that means the new one never makes it back.

He wants a drink. It’s far beyond a craving now. It’s a necessity.

“Tyler?”

He’s vaguely aware of her voice, of her walking towards him through the sand. His heart hammers in his chest; he can almost hear the rush of blood in his head. All he can think of is that he needs to protect her. At all costs. He needs to keep her and the kids safe, no matter what it takes. And if that means he has to walk into another apartment filled with hostiles and take them out one by one, he’ll do it. This time he’ll like it. This time he wants to see the holes that open up when he puts bullets in their heads or chests. He wants to hear the cracking of bones as his hands wrap around their necks. He wants to see the blood that pools underneath them and taste his own sweat as it drips from his forehead and settles on his lips. He’s never wanted any of that before; killing out of necessity, not enjoyment. But now? Now he’ll do it for both.

“Tyler!”

The tone of her voice and the touch of her hand on his shoulder snaps him out of it. Just like that he’s back where he’s supposed to be. At home with his feet in the sand and the smell of salt hanging heavily in the air; wind keeping the stifling humidity at bay and the sweat from gathering on his skin and the telltale sound of the tide rolling in. And he feels the release as he looks up at her; the tension slipping away, his jaw unclenching, shoulders loosening.

“Are you alright?” Her hand moves from his shoulder to side of his neck, thumb brushing against both the tattoo and the scar that reside there. “You were really spaced out there for a few minutes.”

He gives a reassuring smile. “I’m good. I was just thinking about something.”

“Well whatever you were thinking about must have been really intense,” a frown tugs at the corners of her mouth and she glides the pad of her thumb over his lips. “I called you five times and you never even reacted. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure. It was just something Anil said before he left. About not taking things for granted and making the same mistakes he did. That I’m a lucky guy. That I have a beautiful wife and kids.”

“He called me beautiful? He really said that?”

“Why would you be surprised? You don’t think other guys look at you? They even check you out when I’m with you.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “It’s nice to be called beautiful.”

“I call you beautiful all the time. You just never believe me.”

“Husbands are supposed to call their wives beautiful. It’s in the vows, you know.”

“I don’t remember that part. I remember ‘through sickness and health’ and ‘for rich or for poor’ and something about not fucking anyone else.”

“The minister did not say ‘don’t fuck anyone else’. He said forsaking all others.”

“Same goddamn thing. I remember all of that but I do not remember having to promise to tell you you’re beautiful even if it’s bullshit. I would have remembered that.”

“You don’t even remember what you had for breakfast this morning,” Esme teases.

“Okay, good point. But it’s my short term memory that’s fucked since Dhaka. Not my long term memory. So I would definitely remember if that was part of the vows.”

“You were supposed to read between the lines.”

A grin pulls at the corners of his mouth, and he places his hands on her hips. “Was I now.”

“It was in there. In the fine print. Right next to ‘I promise to always clean the toilets and take the garbage out and get all the spiders and snakes out of the house. And rub your feet when they’re sore’.”

“I didn’t see any of that in fine print but I still do all those things.”

“It was there,” she insists, and reaches under the collar of his shirt to pull out the necklace he wears underneath; a braided leather cord that holds a flat titanium disk engraved with their respective zodiac symbols. “It said ‘I promise to call my wife beautiful even when she looks like shit.’ I saw it.”

“You never look like shit.”

“Even when I'm in three day old pajamas and I’m covered in baby puke?”

“Not even then. You might smell like shit but you don’t LOOK like shit.”

Smirking, she lays both hands on the sides of his face; thumbs pressing into his beard. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “I am. And I tell you you’re beautiful because it’s true. Because it’s what I think.”

“Your brain works very well sometimes,” she teases, then kisses him. He likes when she takes charge sometimes, allowing her to strip him -at least momentarily- of his control.

It happens now; enjoying the way she kisses him with the same intensity that he usually kisses HER with. Her tongue slipping between his lips and pressing against his teeth; body leaning into his and her hands moving to her ears as he opens his mouth to her. His hands leaving her hips and settling on the backs of her thighs. sliding up the hem of her simple cotton sundress. Frowning and then laughing when his fingertips come in contact with spandex.

“What?” she asks.

“Are you kidding me right now? Shorts?”

“The dress is too short. I never tried it on before I bought it. When I bend over you can see my ass. Not very visitor friendly.”

“Take the shorts off and you can bend over in front of me all you want.”

“Don’t you get tired of seeing my ass?”

“Never.”

“You don’t ever wish for a different ass to look at?”

“Nope. I like yours. Why would I want a different one? And you let me do things to yours, so…”

“Don’t be a pig,” she scolds, and then perches herself on his lap; sideways with both legs dangling over his thigh and an arm draped across the back of his neck; pressing a kiss to his temple before resting the side of her head shoulder. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Stop asking me that.”

“Don’t be grumpy.”

“I’m not being grumpy. It just annoys me when you keep asking me that after I’ve told you I’m fine. And I am. Fine.” He circles her waist with both arms, clasping his hands together and resting them on her hip. “That was nice by the way. You usually don’t kiss me like that.”

“I kiss you all the time.”

“Not like THAT.”

“Now you’re complaining about the way I kiss you?”

“Definitely not complaining. I like the way you kiss me. I especially like it when you kiss me like THAT.”

“Well you’re very kissable,” she reasons. “So it’s not a burden to do it. If you were a bad kisser, we’d have issues.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty good too.”

“Just pretty good?”

“Your mouth is pretty talented,” Tyler confirms. “My dick says eleven out of ten.”

“You’re almost forty one. Why is your mind always in the gutter?”

“There’s worse places it could be, trust me,”

“Now that’s true.” She nuzzles the tip of her nose against his ear, then kisses it.

“You’re okay?”

She grins. “Oh, it’s your turn now.”

“Esme…”

“Tyler...”

“Don’t be difficult.”

“I’m fine,” she assures him.

“You’re sure?”

“Don’t YOU start.”

“I worry about you too, you know.”

“I know you do. But I think I get so caught up worrying about you, that I don’t realize you’re worrying about me. But I am. Fine. Honest.”

He places a kiss on her shoulder. “Even after this morning?”

“It was a fight, Tyler. Couples fight. Unfortunately when we fight, we tend to say a lot of hurtful, stupid shit to each other. And that has to stop. Because I hate how I feel afterwards. I hate that I can be such a bitch to someone who loves me as much as you do.”

“Everything you said was true. I needed to hear it. I do keep pushing you away. I don’t even know if I realize I’m doing it. I don’t MEAN to do it. Because that’s the last thing I want. To push you away.”

“I know you don’t mean to do it. That it’s just something that’s ingrained in you. That it’s a defensive mechanism when you feel like someone’s getting too close.”

“You're not just someone,” he gently argues. “You’re my wife. The mother of my kids. Which is I don’t know why I do it. How can I stop something I’m not even aware of?”

“I can always tell you to fuck off when you do it,” she teasingly suggests. “That can be the code language for ‘get your shit together’.”

“I’m being serious here.”

“We’ll figure something out. Some ways to get you out of it. Goddamnit you’re a tough nut to crack, Tyler Rake. If I’d known you’d be this much of a challenge…”

“You would have left me on the bridge.”

“Umm, no. That is not what I was going to say and we’re not even going there. I would never...ever...think that, let alone say it. So get that shit out of your head. I was getting you off that bridge, no matter what it took. And you would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. You wouldn’t have left me there.”

“Not in a million years,”

“We’ll work things out,” she assures him. “I know things are hard right now. We’re stressed and we’re overwhelmed and we’re taking it out on each other. And it sucks. Huge. And I hate when we do it. I hate when we fight when you hurt feelings and…”

He removes one of his arms from around her waist and places his hand on the side of her head, lips pressed to her temple. “I don’t mean to.”

“I know you don’t. But it still hurts. And I don’t mean to hurt you, either. You’re the last person on earth I want to hurt. And I’m sorry. For being such a bitch lately.”

“Just lately? What about the last seven years?”

She laughs. “You’re the one who married me, knowing what I was like.”

“You were a good girl when I married you. You were nice.”

“I’m not nice now? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“You’re a little...difficult.”

“Oh that’s rich. Coming from you. The man who loves to make my life difficult. Who’s responsible for all my gray hair.”

“Excuse you?” Tyler scoffs. “I have way more gray hair than you do and they all have your name on them.”

“I give you gray hair and possibly an ulcer, but you’d miss me if I weren’t here.”

He nods, then presses a kiss to her shoulder. “You have no idea how much.”

“Can we not get all up in our feels? Normally I’m okay with it, but I think things are going back to normal and I’m PMS'ing and I’ve cried enough today.”

“If things are going back to normal, that means…”

“We’re not discussing the baby thing right now. We agreed to talk about it in six months. What’s this?” she asks, and reaches for the folder that sits on the step beside him.

“That’s one of the things we DO need to talk about.”

“Okay…”

“Without fighting,” he adds.

“No more fighting. I promise not to even raise my voice. As long as you promise the same,” she pulls back to look at him. “Deal?”

“Deal,” he says, and places a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I haven’t even looked at it.”

“What is it?”

“The names of the guys that Mahajan has working for him. The ones that have been making all the threats.”

She sets the folder on her lap. “They’re all in Mumbai?”

“As far as I know. I don’t think any of them have made their way here. Anil would know about it. And I know for sure he’d tell me. He seems to know what he’s doing.”

“Do you trust him?”

“I don’t know him well enough.”

“What do your instincts say?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t listened to them in a while.”

“That’s not like you. You SHOULD listen to them. You have amazing instincts. You always have. I trust them. That should be enough for YOU to trust them again.”

He nods.

“It’s okay you know,” she says, and runs a fingertip along the scar across the bridge of his nose. “To be the old Tyler too. You don’t have to keep him locked away. Especially now. I kind of need that Tyler right now. So do the kids.”

“I know. I just worry. That if he comes back…”

“You can be both. You have to be both. There’s no other choice. You have to be the old Tyler right now. Job Tyler. The second you decided to get back into things...before we even knew about all this craziness...you knew you’d have to be him again. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Being him when you NEED to be.”

“And what if I can’t get the other one back? What if the old one sticks around when I’m off the job too?”

“That won’t happen. You won’t let it happen, I know you. I trust you.”

He smiles, and she leans in to place a kiss against his forehead.

“Why haven’t you looked at it yet?” Esme asks. “I thought you wanted to know who these people are?”

“I do.”

“But…”

“But…” he softly rubs her thigh. “...there’s a catch.”

“I heard the catch. Anil wants in. He wants to help in Mumbai. He wants to be the one to kill Mahajan. I just figured you’d say yet to that.”

“I did. But that’s not all he wants.”

“Oh God,” she groans, and drops her forehead onto his shoulder.

“It’s not that bad. It’s not bad at all, actually. But it involves both of us. About the business.”

“Alright. How…?”

“Let’s go inside,” Tyler suggests, kissing her cheek and then sliding her legs off his thighs. “There’s something I need to show you.”

***

Esme sits on the couch with the leather folder in her lap; concern clouding her eyes and furrowing her brow. And she glances up when he emerges from the kitchen and stands alongside her, holding out a mug of tea.

“Is there booze in it?” she asks. “Are you trying to get me drunk? I may need to be drunk for this. Or tipsy at least.”

“If there was a booze in the house, I would have been drunk hours ago. Probably days ago.”

She frowns. “That is not what I wanted to hear, but I do admire your honesty. How bad is this? Whatever you’re about to show me? Are these stills from some unearthed sex tape you made with one of your old pieces of ass?”

“Only sex video I have is the one on my phone. That I made with you.”

She grabs one of the throw pillows and swats him with that. “I told you to erase that!”

“No one is going to see it. Relax. It’s been four years and it hasn’t gotten out yet.”

“I am so going in your phone later and deleting it. What is wrong with you? Keeping that?!”

“It’s my help,” Tyler reasons. “When I have to study alone.”

“I am going to kick you right in the ass. You don’t even have a lock on your phone. What if Ovi picks it up and goes through your gallery?”

“I’ll beat him for snooping in my phone.”

“Never mind him. What about one of the kids? When they’re using your phone to watch surfing stuff on YouTube or when they’re playing games? That will be great. If Millie goes to school and tells her teacher she saw a video of her mom and dad making babies.”

“It's in a locked folder. Relax. I’ll prove it to you later. Can we get on with this? Why are talking about sex tapes?”

“Because I’m nervous and I ramble when I’m nervous. You know this.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Tyler promises. “I already said it’s nothing bad. Just look at it.”

“What is it? A detailed history of all your conquests? Instead of a little black book you have a whole damn folder?”

“Esme…”

“Sorry. You’re making me even more nervous standing there like that. You’re kind of intimidating. I see why people pee their pants around you.”

Sighing in exasperation, he takes a seat alongside her. “I think you just gave me fifty more gray hairs and made my ulcer worse.”

“You don’t even HAVE an ulcer..”

Tyler stares at her pointedly. “Not yet.”

Scowling, she directs an elbow to his ribs and then takes a swig of tea before giving him the mug to hold. “Okay before I start, at any point am I going to want to punch you in the dick?”

“Nope. My dick is safe.”

“Alright…” she sighs. “...I swear to God, if you sold me to Saju’s brother…”

“Wait..” he lays a palm against the folder, keeping it closed. “...is that an option?”

Her eyes narrow.

“He did call you beautiful.”

“Your dick might not be as safe as you think it is, Tyler.”

“He couldn’t afford my asking price. No one could.”

“Fine,” she dramatically huffs. “That’s a good save. I’ll spare your dick. For now. What exactly is this?”

“Just read it.”

“What is it?”

“A business proposal. Shut up and read it.”

The frown on her face intensifies; brow furrowing. But then the creases disappear and her expression softens as she reads. “Is this for real? This is what he proposed?”

“Part of it,” Tyler confirms.

“He wants us to provide him with mercs? And that…” she points to the figure printed out...in bold type...on the page. “...is what he’s willing to give us?”

“To help get things off the ground. There’s a lot we can do with that kind of money. That would cover a lot of supplies, a lot of technology. We could build another garage...a much bigger one...and use that as an office to run shit out of. We have the property; we can do what we want with it. Build whatever the fuck we want.”

“That’s a lot of money.”

Tyler nods in agreement. “He’ll also give us a hundred and twenty five grand for each guy we give him for a job.”

Her eyes widen. “Each individual job or…”

“Each job.”

“Holy fuck…” she breathes. “That’s..wow...that’s…”

“Intense?”

“I was going to say insane, but that works too. What about the payout? What do the mercs get?”

“Way more than I ever saw working for Nik,” he says and reaches out to flip the page over.

“Jesus Christ!” Esme exclaims. “I never saw that after two jobs, never mind one! And travel expenses and any medical if needed? This guy has money to throw around, I guess. He must be the filthy rich brother.”

“He must be. I wonder what he’d pay for you.”

“I’m going to ignore that.”

“I’m joking, I would never, ever sell you. Not for all the money in the world. I might rent you out for the night…” he chuckles when she glares at him, then wraps an arm around her shoulders; pressing a kiss to the side of her before pulling her tight into his side. “What do you think?”

“I think you’d be crazy not to accept it.”

“I’m not accepting anything. We are. We’re in this together, remember? Stronger together than we are apart.”

She gasps dramatically. “Are you telling me that you held off on making a life altering decision until you could talk to me? I am so proud of you! Progress!”

“Don’t be a smart ass.”

“I’m teasing. And I AM proud of you. Before you have just agreed to this all on your own. But you didn’t react emotionally; you reacted logically. And that IS huge for you. And it makes me love you even more. Which I didn’t think was even possible.”

“Well I love you more every day, so…”

“It’s not a competition.”

“I know. But if it was, I’d win.”

“Oh, you think so do you.”

“I know so.”

“Do you want to do this? Pretend there’s no catch. Pretend this is being offered without those names being dangled over your head. If he’d just come to you with this proposal, would you take it?”

Tyler nods. “I would. This is good money. This is fucking amazing money. Our kids will never, ever, want for anything. We can give them everything we never had growing up. We can pay for them to go to college. They won’t have to take out loans or say ‘fuck it’ and join the military. We can avoid all that because we can afford to send them to school. And we can put money away...huge money...for each of them. So when they are grown and leave home, they can start off on the right foot. They won’t end up like we did after Dhaka,”

“Those were extraordinary circumstances,” Esme reminds him.

“They won’t have to struggle. If they run into hard times...even if it’s half as bad as what we went through...they won’t have to worry like we did. Because I remember what that was like. Not knowing how the hell we were going to pay the rent and put food on the table on top of getting ready to have a baby. That fucking sucked. And I felt like a hue failure. I had a new wife and a kid on the way and I couldn’t even work. Not even some shit minimum wage job so I could feed you and buy diapers.”

“You’d just gotten out of the hospital,” she points out. “You were recuperating from being shot in the throat. Among other things. Those weren’t just average times, Tyler. Those were shitty times. And none of it was your fault. You almost died. Saving me and Ovi. You’ve never been a failure.”

“I felt like one. And those times were shit and they did suck.”

“But they weren’t your fault. None of that was your fault. And if I have to remind you of that every day for the rest of your life, I will. Because you’re a good man. Whether you think you are or not.”

“You make me want to be a better man. And I’m trying. I am.”

“I know you are. And you’re doing a good job. You’ve come a long way in seven years. Maybe you can’t see it, but I can.”

Smiling, he lays a hand on the back of her head and kisses her brow.

“I think we should do this,” Esme says. “I think we’d be insane not to. And with this kind of deal, you can be home more than you’re away. You won’t need to go out into the field as much because you can afford to hire some really good, experienced guys on top of who we already have. And that’s what we want, right? What YOU want? To be in the job, but not IN the job?”

“It is. It’s actually what I want.”

“So our minds are made up then. You tell him we’ll do it. We’d be foolish not to do it.”

He nods.

“Holy shit,” she reaches up to lay a hand on his cheek, turning his face towards her. “Are we actually agreeing on something? Mark this date down! I think the last time we agreed on something was when we decided to get married. Or when we decided on what to name Millie.”

“We’ve agreed on other things since then.”

“Like what?”

“We agreed to come back to Australia. We agreed on this house.”

“Good point.”

“Last night we agreed on pizza for dinner.”

“But you didn’t agree on toppings because you and your daughter both like pineapple and us normal people think you’re gross.”

“Okay. Well, this morning, we both agreed I’m an asshole.”

“Stubborn asshole.” she corrects. “We agreed on stubborn asshole. But you’re my stubborn asshole. So…” she turns her body sideways, tucking herself tightly into him, placing her head on his collarbone. “...now you have to call Anil and tell him we’re taking the offer.”

“I will do that,” he says, ��combing his fingers through her hair and then resting his hand on the nape of her neck. “He wants to have dinner. Thursday night. The four of us.”

“Four of us? He's got a lady friend?”

“I think he means Allison.”

“But she’s with Kyle. Or so I thought.”

“I don’t think it’s a double date. I think it’s just business partners going out to dinner together.”

“Only I get benefits from MY business partner. That’s better than any hourly wage. I’d rather be paid in orgasms when you’re the one in charge of handing them out. You’re pretty good at it. You’ve got some skills. No wonder if you had so many happy ladies in ports all over the world. I wonder if they miss you. If they wonder if you’re still alive. I bet they’re disappointed you don’t call anymore.”

“I dunno. But I know my other wife is disappointed I spend all my time here.”

“See! I am your favourite.”

“You are. You always have been. Even when you piss me off.”

“Which isn’t often.”

He snorts.

“Okay, so maybe I piss you off a lot.”

“It’s not THAT much. Just, you know, every couple days.”

“But I make it up to you,” Esme points out.

“Yeah, You do. I can’t deny that. You’re pretty repentant. In certain ways. Although I don’t think when a priest says ‘get down on your knees’, he meant like that.”

She giggles. “I must have misunderstood. Lucky you. A lot of husbands wish that they had that problem.”

“Oh believe me, it’s not a problem. I am NOT complaining.”

Sighing, she nestles her head into his chest, fingers fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. And it’s several minutes before she speaks again. “Tyler?”

“Yeah?”

“I like when we’re like this. How we are when we’re alone. When there’s no one around to bug us or interrupt us. We’re different then. In a good way.”

He nods.

“It’ll be good for us. To get away for a few days. To just be alone. We deserve that. We NEED that. Especially before you leave. Because I know it’s a sure thing now. You’re going to Mumbai. And I need that time with you. Just you. Before you go.”

“I need that too,” he says. “That time with you.”

“I really want you to come home. I NEED you to come home.”

“I will,” he promises, and tightens his hold on her. “I’ll come home.”

“Alive.”

“I didn’t think I needed to stress that I’d be alive when I got back.”

“I feel better knowing that Anil is going with you. He wants the same thing you do: revenge. And neither of you will stop until you get it. And that should scare me; that you won’t stop. But it doesn’t. It makes me love you even more. Does that make me a horrible person?”

“Why would it?”

“That I want my husband to kill people for me? For my kids?”

“I either kill them or they kill you. Which would you rather?”

“I want you to make them pay,” she says. “I don’t care how you do it. But you make them suffer and you make them pay for ever threatening our kids.”

“I’ll make them pay,” Tyler vows. “In the worst ways I know how.”

#tyler rake #tyler rake fan fic #tyler rake fan fiction #extraction #best part of me #chris hemsworth character

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storm-driver · 6 years ago

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So, personality-wise what would you say is/are the main difference/s between Sora and Ventus?

oh my gosh i love these two so much and you’re about to get an ESSAY-

From a story-telling perspective, Sora and Ventus fit their respective trios’ roles as the bubbly, upbeat, ‘cinnamon roll’-y archetype, as well as sorta seeming to be at the head of their friend group. They both have good intentions to help other people at heart, make an effort to be there for their friends, and are overall an optimistic and forward-looking duo. They’re both rather skilled in terms of combat ideals, as well. And have both shown very good proficiency when working with other people in combat. So their teamwork skills are also eccentric. They can both be a little impulsive as well, noting the few times that maybe they’ll rush off before they know all the facts about a situation, simply because they don’t have the time or patience to wait.

But for all that we like to say Sora is “Ventus 2: Electric Boogaloo” in terms of personality, I can’t compare them much more than that.

Let’s start with Sora in defining their differences.

Sora is not a very disciplined child, evidently. Sure, he’s kind. But he isn’t afraid to lash out and backtalk to people when it’s more than obvious that he shouldn’t ‘cause it could very well put his life in danger. He seems to be the more impulsive of the two, often projecting “absurd” ideas about being an actual pirate, or overthrowing a king and becoming the next one. There’s also all the in-between cut-scenes in KH3 where he keeps spouting about going to the Realm of Darkness to search for Aqua. And while he doesn’t always act on this impulsiveness, you can see that ideas of devious intention are there. The former ideas might be poking a lot of fun at his childish demeanor, but the latter does boldly state that Sora doesn’t like listening to higher authority. Especially since he knows he can help in the RoD and he’s fully capable of it.

He’s much quicker to anger versus Ventus, less so against Roxas. While Ventus will question the situations he’s put into with some annoyance, Sora tends to lash out entirely, sometimes calling people names and outright attacking others with nary a second thought. And even when Sora takes a situation from a calmer point of view, it’s easy to see that he’s not nearly as level-headed as Ventus can be. Sora tends to take an immediate stance on given situations without considering both ends of an argument. So when he's confronted with the reality where he might be in the wrong, he's stunted.

As for Ventus, at times it can feel like polar opposites.

Ventus is just as optimitic and outgoing as, if not more than, Sora himself. And while Sora has always wanted to see other worlds, Ventus seems to hold that dream to a higher degree. He's a very curious person, often times pursuing the smaller details in his adventure for the sake of learning more.

He does tend to disregard his own safety at times, but unlike Sora, he is more cautious about getting into a fight. He's always provoked and prodded into fighting, or takes up the sword to defend others and expunge the "monsters" (Unversed). I don't recall any instance where Ventus didn't have a good reason to go on the offense. Maybe when he accused Eraqus of holding him prisoner for all his apprenticeship, but again, he had good reason to.

Ventus is also much kinder at heart. He's always keen on making friends with the people he meets. Even when facing adversaries, he doesn't degrade them with poor name calling or insults. Few times that he did, it was more a counter to what someone had already said to him.

TL;DR

Sora is very brash and impulsive, but is capable of immense care and loyalty to the people who earn it from him. Ventus can be reckless, but reasonable and kind-hearted to even the worst of his adversaries.

#anonymous #kingdom hearts #kh3 spoilers #asks!#tldr i just love venths tbh

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actually-impostor · 8 years ago

Text

A wedding for kings

Please take this as a peace offering for last nights angst fanfic

Royality

Warnings: None!

-0-0-0-0-

Roman was walking in circles, messing his hair, biting his nails, fixing again and again his sash, and in general driving Ann up the freaking wall

“Will you sit still?!” He screamed, his patience having jumped out the window along with his motivation to actually be there

“You don’t get it Ann! Today is my marriage!”

“Believe me, I’m aware. You made sure I wouldn’t forget it” sulked the younger one

Ann stared as his older brother moved from one side of the room to the other and sighed, honestly, worrying was his department. He stood up from the chair and walked over to the oldest, with a quick movement he slapped Roman across the face and stared impassibly as the other processed what happened

“…Thank you”

“You’re welcome, feeling calmer?”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just… im marrying Patton, Ann”

“I know, you’ve been planning this for like a year”

“It feels like a dream”

Roman sighed, a small smile adorning his face. He was scared, and exited, and nervous, and there was a mess of feelings in his stomach. He was feeling too much, it was like he was going to combust.

In another room a bespectacled boy was going through something similar. He keeps finding little things in his appearance that should be fixed, his hair was refusing to cooperate, his suit was too white, he looked weird with his glasses, etc.

“Patton, can you chill?”

“Logan im marrying him in like an hour”

“Exactly, shouldn’t you be happy?”

“I am! It’s just… I want this to be perfect!”

“And it will be. So please relax”

Patton sighed, sitting besides his best friend and trying to calm himself down. He was exited, and scared, and there was a mass of feelings fighting one against the other. He was so in love with Roman, and he wanted their wedding day to be absolutely perfect so they could look back on and feel proud and happy of it.

An hour later Patton stared at the doors of the church, a giddy smile overtaking his features. He couldn’t wait, he wanted to enter right that instant and say “yes I do”. He wanted to finally tie the knot with the man he loved.

When the doors opened Roman forgot how to breathe, Patton looked stunning with his white suit and sky-blue shirt. He had a flower crown on top of his head that gave room to a small veil giving him an almost ethereal appearance

When he reached Romans’ side the royal boy smiled, making Patton giggle and giving both of them the courage to stare at the minister. Roman smirked a little; he had a whole speech for his fiancé.

“Now, Roman has some words to say”

“Patton, My Heart, love of my life; I love you so much, you are the light of my days and you make the whole universe a brighter and kinder place. Im honored that you choose me to spend the rest of your days with. I’ve loved you since the beginning of time, and I’ll love you even if the whole galaxy goes extinct” He grabbed his fiancés hand and stared deep into Patton’s eyes “Patton, from this day onwards we have a bond that no force on earth can threaten. I love you so much, and thank you for allowing me the honor of calling you mine”

Clapping was heard around the church, but to the now husbands the universe had reduced just to the two of them. Roman grabbed Patton’s face like he was afraid of touching him, and both joined together in a soft kiss. They were married, and no one would be able to tear them apart

#Royality #necro writes #roman sanders #patton sanders #its so sappy god #marriage yaaay #i wrote this at 4 am i dont really expect it to make sense

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hoodedmenace · 4 years ago

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cainraised:

she’s grateful for his patience. words and talking is always hard for cass, and more often than not, she’s the only one putting any effort in figuring out what she’s saying. this is probably the longest she’s ever spoken in one go, and she’s e x h a u s t e d at the end of it, but she can feel something SHIFTING between them.

❝ af-FRAID of the pit– and me, ❞ cass amends when she can. her hand resting over jason’s heart, one that’s beating in spite of fate, it loosens her up a bit. it GROUNDS her. cass’ legs swing back over the railing and touch down on the balcony, but she keeps her hand exactly where he’s placed it. she has to crane her neck to look up at him, but she wants to be sure he sees her face c l e a r l y when she speaks next.

two fingers tap against his chest at the same time her other hand raises to point at herself. ❝ not bruce. ❞ the words are even more stilted than before, because she’s so tired of talking, but he has to know this about her. ❝ in-STIN-ct to kill. for… pro-tect. ❞

her face pinches in thought. she HOPES that made sense. everything in her wants to just be able to tell him that she understands the thing inside of him that lets him pull the trigger, but she doesn’t know how to say it. cass isn’t like bruce. she knows that there’s problems that you can’t fix with a WISH and a PRAYER when all else fails. the pit knows it, too.

and maybe even a small part of her is jealous that jason can follow through and she can’t, but cass hasn’t thought TOO MUCH about it.

deep breath in, she has to force this whole thought past her lips. ❝ if some-one… hurt ? or kill ? bruce… or tim… or you ? my FAMILY ? i kill. pit or no. ❞ maybe it wasn’t safe to admit that out loud, especially right outside of the batman’s house, but cass never tried to hide it. nobody’s ever asked before, is all. ❝ i want… s a f e, ❞ she breathes, patting his chest once more before pulling her hand back to her side.

❝ you know… some-times KILL ? means safe. but see… d e a t h. kills me. ❞

She doesn’t deserve this world. She deserves something much kinder, softer, calmer. They all do. Jason smiles thinly. Problems aren’t fixed with a wish and a prayer. Neither are lives. “...I know, Cass. I know. Me too.” Bruce, Dick, Tim? They wouldn’t have it in them. Jason knows Bruce doesn’t have it in him. They would choose grief over vengeance—maybe Damian wouldn’t, and he would be okay with it. There’s too much of Talia in him to not chase vengeance in the face of death. He and Cass... might be more alike than he’d care to admit, and part of him finds comfort in that. It means that on a base level, Cass understands him in a way that the others don’t, even if they sometimes try to act like it. Sure, Jason’s trigger-happy history precedes him, but that’s all it is. A history and a broken psyche from a broken boy that got thrown into waters not meant for someone like him. He’s not bad and he’s not good, and he thinks Cassandra might be the one person in their family who actually gets why.

“I guess we’ll have to try extra hard not to get killed, for your sake and my sake.” Jason might not outwardly exude the air of a hugger, but that doesn’t stop him from slinging an arm around Cassandra’s smaller frame and squeezing her tight against his ribs for a moment or two. He may not know Cass as well as he does Dick or Tim, but he knows how to read cues, and this conversation is running its course. It’s about time to change directions.

He lets go in favor of pushing open the French door, stepping over the threshold but lingering a few steps in. “...Come on, let’s go raid the fridge.” They’re long past their call for seconds at dinner, but Jason can safely assume that Alfred tucked away enough leftovers to feed two families.

#listen jason talking to cass without immediately being fight or flight because he knows she can kick his ass??? chefs kiss #cainraised

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diaboliktheology · 8 years ago

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TROPE TROPEY TROPE TROPE

For every “Trope” I get, I will post a TV trope for my muse. for @shxujobrave

Good Is Not Soft: Do not mistake kindness for weakness.The character isn’t necessarily an Anti-Hero, Vigilante Man or may not even be portrayed as Good Is Not Nice. He could be a genuinely friendly, sociable, caring person, always looking out for his friends and family and trying to do the right thing. Such a character would have to be compassionate to his enemies, right?Actually, no. Unlike the Good Is Not Nice character, someone who falls under this trope actually is a nice person. It’s just that this niceness doesn’t extend to giving free passes to the truly vile and horrific among their enemies. They are the reason why the villain should Beware the Nice Ones, especially since they aren’t gonna wait to be angered or snap before the inevitable beatdown/killing begins. The Good Is Not Soft character will find them, will stop them and (if they’re lucky) will kill them before they can hit that Berserk Button. Then they’ll (usually) go home to enjoy dinner and settle in for a good night’s sleep.

….Yui is a good person, Yui is kind, Yui cares more than what most would consider healthy or humanly possible. Yui is also not perfect by any means. In my portrayal, in particular, I’ve done what seems to be my pattern for how I deviate from canon in I’ve taken something from it and broadened it into a specific aspect of my version of Yui. Yui is canonly capable of anger, she’s even capable of outrage. My Yui is as well and not just because she’s been pushed well past where the brink would be for others, but because she is someone I like to portray as a realistic human being. A human being that has more than one berserk button, a person that has topic triggers that are just off limits to discussion for most and will get angry if they’re breached or her kinder warning to back off are ignored. Yui has low latent inhibition, and empathic to boot, I don’t think many people grasp what kind of insight that gives her to people or how easily she could use what she knows to hurt someone’s feelings and would in my portrayal if she was pushed too far in a certain way. She’d obviously feel badly about it later and wish to make amends depending on the circumstances and person but nonetheless Yui may be kind, AND SOFT, but that doesn’t mean she is these things all the time. (Sidenote: I ought to count this as a two troper since it ties right into You wouldn’t like me when I’m mad)

And speaking to the scenarios stated above, canonly Yui essentially commits murder in trying to kill herself to prevent Cordelia from taking her over, she did this knowing she’d be killing Cordelia. Just…, keep in mind folks, Yui is angelic but she’s no angel, she’s human, she can be nasty in the right circumstances, she can be terrible to people, she can and will make mistakes.

The Three Faces of Eve: A trio of ladies: the steady, wise wife, the sexual, often sexually predatory seductress, and the innocent child.The wife, the wiser, calmer aspect, is someone around whom one could build a home life. The seductress is sexually experienced and independent. The third, the “child” (who does not have to be a child literally) will be an innocent, perhaps painfully so. So in short, a triad of: Calm and Capable Hot and Sexy Playful and Innocent. All three character types are considered to be very feminine — with Child representing Light Feminine, Seductress representing Dark Feminine and Wife being in the middle, just like the movie that the trope gets its title from. Instead of Beauty, Brains and Brawn it’s pretty-Beauty, pleasant-Beauty, and provocative-Beauty; or, alternatively: cute, beautiful, and sexy. Instead of butch, femme, and neither it’s (girly) femme, (lady-like) femme, and (overtly sexy) femme.

Again this sort of sets up as a two-parter trope-wise since the aspect Yui probably identifies most with is The Calm & Capable/Women Are Wiser but I’m gonna get to that one in a second. In canon Yui is portrayed to be fully capable of all three of these. Arguably she begins the series as the ingenue, develops into the wife or calm and capable women, and while she’s not nearly half as comfortable with it as she is the first two aspects we see her in some of the good endings portray hints of being the seductress in having accepted her love interest in a sexual/sensual way and has made strides in exploring that part of herself. Regardless, Yui embodies all three parts~.

Women Are Wiser: In many works of fiction, the female member(s) of a group, be it a married couple, siblings, or True Companions, are often portrayed as inherently better grounded than the male members: more rational, more reasonable, more level-headed and sensible, and often morally superior.Note that this trope is not about any specific instance of individual female characters being particularly sensible, but about depictions in which female characters are automatically placed in a more positive light than their male counterparts. This specific kind of Positive Discrimination is most common in comedy, but occasionally turns up in other genres, and like all forms of Positive Discrimination may also be applied to the token minority as well.

Short segment since this one isn’t as vague as the first or second. I’ve talked about it before in how I think the only reason Yui survives the games much more gets a genuine shot at her love interest romantically is because is is exceptional. She is so in her patience, her kindness, her rationality, intelligence, just all the above and just how she TRIES for them. It’s canon where Yui has her own moments of little to no fucking chill but those moments are far and few in-between in comparison to most of the diaboys. It’s even made clearer later on in Le when an info bomb is dropped on them and while Yui remains calm and thoughtful, the boys all fucking panic :|. And obviously, Yui is ALWAYS going to have the moral high ground when with them, she’d have to do a lot to even put a marginal dent in the distance between them in that regard.

Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Inverted Trope to Tomboy with a Girly Streak, this is the girly girl that has some tomboyish qualities or interests. They could have an interest in boys sports, hate the color pink or love boyish colors, not mind getting messy, be a Big Eater, or hate dresses and wear baggy pants. Perhaps they were once a tomboy that had a Girliness Upgrade and never did quite do away with aspects of their old tomboyish personality (in which case Tomboy Angst doesn’t apply). Sometimes Depending on the Writer they may be the more boisterous one when that’s usually the tomboy’s job in their Tomboy and Girly Girl dynamic and the tomboyish one becomes more softspoken, though it doesn’t always stick. Note that “being able to fight” or liking sports isn’t a tomboyish streak, for a girl can act ladylike and still kick ass (Lady of War and Girly Bruiser).

Now as far as I know this particular aspect of Yui is specific to my portrayal. Don’t get me wrong, Yui is as soft and as feminine as they come, and genuinely enjoys household tasks and hobbies that would essentially be the markings of a great housewife and all around a girlie girl. There is one key feature that ties Yui into this trope for me though. On top of being good with chores and a fantastic cook, Yui is hella H A N D Y. You wouldn’t expect it but Yui’s actually more than decent at patching walls, hanging pictures, putting up shelves, fixing broken fences, painting. She obviously got more experience after being introduced to Subaru’s destructive tendencies but before the Sakamaki’s she nearly lived in the church and was therefore often tasked with some of the chores and upkeep of the place that her father and the rest of the clergy shared. The girl probably knows about as much as any general repairman or knows/understands enough about building and patching stuff to figure it out herself if need be.

#shxujobrave #ayyyye *finger guns* Can you tell how late it is for me yet ^^#here ya go babe ENJOY and thank you for asking XD #✞ ℟eplies;; ❛ Answered prayers ❜#;;Tropes #✞ Ħcs;; ❛ Fractured pieces of truth ❜

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