#her prominent forehead is so correct....

[pseudowho]

Motherhood had altered your 'turn-ons'; not that you lusted after mankind as a whole-- Kento was enough.

His cologne, split with the smooth tang of sweat on work-ripened skin. His hands, alternately gentle and rough, peach-handling or blade-wielding. The authority only the world saw; the authority only you felt.

Dressed-up, dressed-down, undressed, dressing you down, undressing you. Breaking you only to reform you with gold, tied with red thread, whispering you to completion in the dark sacred night.

So (you corrected yourself, as you watched Kento jog after your daughter at the indoor play centre) motherhood had not altered your turn-ons; it had added to them. Stacking high now, you considered the tower of your adoration was just as likely to be stable, as unstable; its endurance or toppling entirely at Kento's mercy.

The arrival at soft-play was a sensory nightmare-- one of many you could tolerate as a mother when you wouldn't have, before.

Obnoxious children's music blared, cut by screams and shouts and cries and calls and whirls and swirls of kids darting and weaving, watched and unwatched, by helicopters or the disinterested. The cocktail was potent, spiked. Your headache started behind your left eye.

Kento saw you. He was unfairly loaded at his own insistence, with change-bag and snack-bag and car keys and your daughter, planking and chattering, a possessed surfboard beneath his arm.

"Sit down-- have a coffee." Kento rumbled, low and slow, unclipping his watch into your cupped hands as you began to argue. "You've had her all week. You need a break."

"You've been at work all week, Kento, you need a break--"

"Don't argue. You know it's not the same. Sit down. Have a coffee."

He lied to you for your benefit; you could feel the bone-deep weariness of him, surely needing a day of sofa-bound naps over a day of childrearing. Alas; parenthood. And he would continue to take bullets for you, even to his own detriment. You knew this. You had planned ahead for this.

As you peered down at your phone, smiling at an eagerly awaited reply, your daughter piped up, bouncing on little toes, her pigtails bouncing too.

"'lide, daddy. Let's go fast. Faster. Race you."

Kento hummed, smiling. "Slide, you mean?"

"I said it. 'lide." Your daughter moved to dart to the towering play area, a flash of lightning into a maelstrom, and you caught her. Kento was distracted, looking into the swarm of other peoples' children, oddly, as he looked at a swarm of Curses. You whispered into your daughters' ear as Kento slipped his boots off.

"Hey, missus, listen."

Your baby girl perked up, sweet and conspiratorial, goofy-teethed and dimple-cheeked, whispering back.

"What is it, mummy?"

"I've got a surprise for daddy. So don't tell him...come here, mummy needs to whisper."

Lips at an ear; tiny hands clasping over a mouth, fizzlepopping with excitement. A long finger against lips; a little finger against lips. A secret pact.

"Are you ready, young lady? I'll get you in three...two..."

Kento reached down for your daughter, his hands clawed, a wolfish grin on his lips. Your daughter knew what it meant; she shrieked with panicked laughter, bolting. The monster formerly known as 'Daddy' dashed after her.

The coffee was shit; you didn't mind, instead hyperfocused on how Kento and your daughter would dip out of sight into the rainbow maze, only to reappear minutes later, with Kento looking more ravaged each time.

On the first loop round, Kento looked unfazed, unruffled, still clipped in his t-shirt and jeans. You simply admired the sultry half-smile he offered you, and the cling of fabric to his thick biceps, before he swept after your daughter again.

On the fifth loop round, flicks of hair escaped over Kento's forehead, the veins on his arms prominent from throwing and tumbling and monstering. He panted, his muscle so much heavier to carry than your birdlike daughter's personal load. Kento's playful growl, running after your giggling daughter, was deeper; huskier. You squirmed, sipping your shit latte.

On the eleventh loop round, a fine sheen of sweat misted Kento's forehead, a flush dashed on high cheekbones. His broad chest heaved, and he stretched his arms back, cracking his neck from side-to-side, with a groan usually heard only when he exerted himself above you, for less wholesome pleasures.

With furrowed brows, Kento prowled the bottom of the slide, and your daughter shrieked, scrabbling to get away from him as he lunged. Your daughter was bicep-curled up to Kento's face, laughing uproariously at his ferocious tummy-raspberries, before being set free, once more, for the hunt. You could not cope, aching, desperately hoping you had the energy left to sweat for him at the end of the day.

By the twenty-first? twenty-third? twenty-fifth? loop round, Kento jogged to a heavy halt, his shoulder blades taut as he bent double, hands braced against his own knees. You heard him panting, cursing under his breath, one long rusty groan. It was all too much-- Kento needed a break. You were unhinged and unsupervised. Surely there had to be some relief--

"Yo, Mrs.Nanamin! Am I late?"

A vision in peach, Yuuji flopped into the chair opposite you, with hands in his pockets and man-spread with a square-jawed, boyish grin. He stood taller than Kento, now, a full-grown man...but still shrunk beneath Kento's chastisement and lectures.

"Right on time, Yuuji. Are you sure you don't mind? It's all a bit..." You looked into the raucous soft-play, searching for words, "...feral."

Yuuji beamed, ruffling his own hair and kicking his shoes off. "Nah. I was gonna go to the gym anyway, but this seems more fun as workouts go."

You called out to your daughter as she reached the bottom of the slide, and Kento looked up, sweating and exhausted. "Baby! Your big brother's here!"

A gasp of thrill from your daughter, and Kento was all but forgotten by her as she pelted towards Yuuji instead, leaping into his arms. She slapped his scrunched cheeks, aggressively overjoyed.

"Big brother-- big brother-- big brother--"

"Yeah yeah, little sister, little sister-- c'mon squirt, I'm gonna getcha! Hey-- Dad--- uh, Nanamin! Gotta go!"

Kento watched his children run away with dewy eyes, his body still thickened by exercise and heavy breaths. You bit your lip as Kento approached, eyes half-lidded as you drank him in. You watched his Adam's apple bob as he gulped back water and gasped, husky with relief.

"God, I love that boy." Kento rumbled.

You melted to see Yuuji reach the bottom of the slide with your daughter on his lap. "Yeah...me too."

"He's saved my life...three times, now."

You laughed, your eyes dipped, tugging Kento to you by the hem of his t-shirt and beckoning him down with one curled finger.

"Think you'll still have some energy later?" You whispered, your breaths mingling with promise.

Kento's eyes narrowed, glimmering, his nose kissing yours. "For that? Always."

[stellewriites]

simon is a he/him lesbian in this fic. he’s a gender nonconforming cis woman & prefers using a masc name and pronouns

huge thank you to woolie, birdy, gougie, báir & three for being so encouraging and helping me with this fic and to kitty for making all of my oc names as always :3

this is a love letter to butches <33

Riley (he/him), 31, female.

Looking for a roommate ASAP. DM for details, don’t fuck me about.

you��d found the post on an online forum asking for a roommate and hadn’t hesitated to reach out immediately when you saw you were in the same city. your current roommate was only a few weeks away from moving in with her boyfriend, which would leave you with an apartment you couldn’t afford on your own.

although the post left everything to the imagination, the options for roommates were slim pickings and the single room apartments on the market were no cheaper, meaning you were getting desperate.

after a brief back and forth online with riley, he explained that his own roommate was moving out which was why he was looking for someone new to fill the spot. the apartment was cheap for the area - not that he told you where it was- and you’d have your own bedroom but you’d share the living room and kitchen, there were two small bathrooms, and storage in the shallow loft since it was the top floor apartment.

standard stuff but it sounded perfect.

riley was a blunt texter, but you assumed he’d maybe had his fill of people messing him about so far and just wanted to get down to business and find a roommate before he was stuck in the same position as you; paying double rent for a place that wasn’t worth it, digging into savings to stay afloat.

after covering whether you smoked (quit last year), had any pets (allergic), or liked frequent house parties (too shy), he offered to meet up to go into more detail about the place and you’d jumped at the chance, naming a cafe you liked to frequent near your work.

you weren’t sure what you’d been expecting when you arrived and found a table near the window - or more accurately, what you’d been picturing riley to look like - but you’d had to school your features into something less flustered when a tall woman in a baggy hoody and a pair of black work out shorts walked in and bee-lined for your corner.

as he walked your eyes glued themselves to his nike shorts as they rose up his thighs, indecently tight, showing off the thick muscle covered in a smattering of soft, unshaven hair, light enough that it glistened in the afternoon light. as he got closer you noticed a smattering of scars leading up his shins to his knees and stretch marks curving around the inside of his thighs.

you felt the urge to reach out and touch when you felt the weight of his own gaze taking you in for the first time.

“riley?” you’d asked hesitantly, when you finally managed to lift your head up to face him, cheeks ablaze. beneath his hood you could see that the scars continued on his face; almost prominently one ran from mid chin through his lips and up his cheek, another, smaller but thicker, ran from his hairline to two inches down his forehead slightly off centre.

you were mesmerised.

“prefer simon,” he’d corrected but nodded, his voice lighter than you’d expected but thickly accented.

he pulled down his hood with a scant look around the cafe to reveal a short cropped haircut, a little shaggy at the top. he took the seat opposite you and you sat up straight when your knees bumped accidentally. you snatched your legs back beneath your chair and clenched your thighs tightly together as the warmth of his bare skin throbbed through your jeans.

christ what was wrong with you? you had the attention of one hot, tall butch and suddenly you were a bag of nerves and fumbling all over the place. get it together.

“oh! yeah ok, cool,” you said and tried to smile normally. “simon.”

“not what you were expecting?” he asked wryly.

“uhm, no,” you admitted with an embarrassed little huff. “not exactly; i don’t really know what i was expecting though to be fair.”

“want to back out? no ‘ard feelings,” simon offered indifferently. guarded.

“no! no, i’m still very interested,” you insisted, biting your cheek when he raised an eyebrow at you in amusement. “i ordered already, uhm. got here a little early after work so i figured why not? i just got you a latte, i should’ve maybe asked.”

you felt wrong footed in front of his confidence. his legs were spread wide beneath the table, feet planted on the outside of yours and suddenly this felt less like a first meeting for a roommate and instead like your ideal first date.

you looked over at the counter and tapped your leg impatiently when you couldn’t see your drinks.

“that’s nice of ya.”

“i wanted to make a good first impression if we’re gonna be roomies,” you joked.

“mm.” he looked you up and down. “you messy?”

“excuse me?”

“i like to keep the place clean. deal breaker if you’re messy, it’s why soap had to move out.”

“soap? i don’t— yeah, i’m clean. tidy. i can keep my shit tidy,” you insisted. a waitress brought your drinks over on a tray and you thanked her quietly.

he smiled. “good, then this should be fine.” his foot tapped yours under the table. “relax. you said you came here after work?”

“yeah, i work nearby. sales calls, nothing interesting,” you shrugged and took a big sip. “pay is shit, but it covers half of the bills. what about you?”

“construction,” he said simply and your eyes drifted without permission to his hands wrapped around his mug then up to his arms hidden beneath his hoody.

“nice,” you choked out, visions of simon in a sweaty tank top throwing back a sledge hammer, not at all helping with the heat on your face and between your legs. “long hours?”

“sometimes,” he conceded. “s’why i asked about parties. don’t need to be coming home from work to an ‘ouse full’a dick’eads.”

you snorted.

“i can promise no house parties. well, maybe one around my birthday but i mean does inviting four people around for pizza really count as a house party?”

simon squinted his eyes playfully. “guess i can allow a little leniency here and there.”

you grinned behind your cup.

“what about your own friends? they swing by often?”

“not if i can help it,” simon huffed, a smile pulling at his scarred lip as you chuffed a surprised laugh. “tend to go to gaz’s or price’s house if his bird in’t home.”

the idea of a bunch of lads around the flat wouldn’t have necessarily been a deal breaker, but it was a relief to know it wasn’t going to be often regardless.

the pair of you stayed long enough to order a second drink while you discussed rent prices, tenancy agreements, and simon showed you photos of the area it was in.

“can show you the place now if you don’t need to head home yet?” he’d offered. “not too far to walk from here. could get an idea of the place and see if it fits.”

you’d nodded eagerly and followed him a couple of blocks away to a cosy, hidden away flat near the centre of town. you were surprised it was as cheap as he’d said given the location, but when the water refused to get hot in the kitchen sink when he went to wash a singular mug you soon caught on.

“boiler goes every other month, but i know how to fix it,” he’d said with a sigh, popping the kettle on instead. “taps, radiators ‘n shower all go cold.”

you winced, but it wasn’t enough to put you off. “landlord refuses to get it sorted?”

“landlord doesn’t answer my texts or calls anymore, think he got pissy w’me after i complained about him doin’ fuck all about the single glazed windows to the council few winters back.” you pursed your lips in order to not laugh but simon saw your expression and shrugged unrepentant. “arsehole needed tellin’, di’nt he?”

“i think this place will be perfect,” you settled on saying. you looked out of the nearest window and noted the working locks; the traffic was loud outside but you’d always preferred the constant buzz to send you off to sleep, the few times you’d been camping you’d not slept a wink in the silence.

he told you about the few other residents and explained the shortcuts you could take to get to work or for the shops and by time simon had finished giving you the tour of the place - a deceptively long space towards the back, hiding its double bathroom and bedrooms - you’d noticed it had gotten dark outside. when he noticed your furtive glance however, simon offered to drive you home without a second thought.

and again, not thirty minutes later when you were about to climb out of his truck with one last deep breath of his cologne, he offered to help you move in next week.

if that works for you, he’d said.

you’d started packing as soon as you got inside.

the only issue with moving in with simon - an issue you’d only noticed after having lived together for 6 months already, an issue your friends had to point out to you - was that the dating pool in manchester suddenly seemed a little drab. a little pathetic.

“i really don’t think si has anything to do with the fact that i can’t find anyone i’m interested in when we go out anymore, i think it makes more sense that all the hot women are just no longer single now,” you’d laughed when your friend had suggested it.

sure you thought simon was insanely hot, and that opinion had only solidified after spending the last half a year with him; seeing him braless more often than not beneath his muscle shirts when he lounged around the flat on his off days, pressing closer than necessary after a shower when you tried to pass by in the hallway, working out in the living room grunting and groaning as he hit his push-up goal, sweating and stretching obscenely as you tried to keep your eyes respectfully locked on your phone or the tv.

you were well aware that simon was sexy but more importantly off limits, so you didn’t let it affect your dating life. or so you thought.

“doesn’t help that you barely come out on a night with us,” emma pouted. “even less now that you hang out with simon most evenings.”

“when was the last time you hooked up with someone? even just kissed someone?” ash asked before you could defend your lack of social life, their eyebrow raised as if to prove their point.

you sighed. it had been a while, and taking care of things by yourself wasn’t really working out too well. simon always seemed to come home just when the frustration peaked enough for you to grab your vibrator, and you knew from the girls he’d taken home in the first few months that the walls were in fact thin enough to hear everything. with gritted teeth and wet panties, you always had to put it back in your drawer and wait for another day for some ‘me time’.

quotas for no nut november were being accidentally exceeded so much so that you were heading into catholic nun absolution. it was almost mid may; you needed to find someone to break you out of your funk sooner than later. get over by getting under or whatever.

“we’re not trying to guilt you into coming out with us,” emma added kindly, wrapping her arm around your shoulders and pulling you close. “we know you don’t always like the crowd and that’s fine. but we just want you to be getting the dick or pussy that you deserve.”

you snorted and rolled your eyes. “what do you suggest then?”

emma shared a look with ash. “well…”

it hadn’t taken much more convincing from your friends to set up an account for you on tinder after that.

you spent some time on your profile, trying to find the right blend of funny but not too snarky, sexy but still approachable. it was a nightmare but the thought of getting your tits kissed and played with by someone else after almost half a year was enough to keep you on track. you just needed to focus and get it done.

——

as you walked back to your flat with ash after grabbing lunch together, you flicked through the options in your area.

“oh, she’s cute!” ash scrolled through the photos before cackling. “she’s funny too, listen, ‘if you google top places to eat out in the city, i’m the number one spot. better make your reservation quick’.”

you laughed. “oh that’s bad, si would find that funny.”

ash sent you a deadpan stare before going back to the profile. “so swiping right?”

you hummed and glanced at the phone again. “i don’t know, i don’t think she’s my type.”

“the last ten profiles ‘haven’t been your type,’ admit you’re just being picky,” ash pointed out.

“i’ve got standards is all,” you huffed. “i’m not just going to say yes to everyone.”

“she was exactly what you normally go for; strong build, blonde and funny in a dumb way according to the bio, aka you catnip,” they said. “hell, i’m surprised she’s not one of your exes.”

“fuck you,” you laughed and elbowed them. “i don’t even have a type, i don’t know why i said that.”

“oh please,” ash guffawed. “i can and will list the many attributes your exes all share if i have to.”

you sent them a scathing look and they held up their hands in defeat, a smug smile ruining their supposedly conceding pose.

“the only outlier was that weird austrian that i told you not to give the time of day to,” they continued. their face crumpled into a look of disgust, nose wrinkled and eyes pained. “could tell as soon as he opened his mouth that he doesn’t wash his dick.”

you pouted and ground your teeth in a grimace, unable to disagree on any count. he was certainly a lapse in judgement, you wouldn’t deny it.

“i’m just not feeling it, ash. i don’t want to waste her time when i don’t see the attraction. it’s not fair on her.” you shrugged and took back your phone to swipe left. “maybe my type has changed.”

ash stayed quiet a moment, looking contemplative as you both continued walking.

“ok you have a point. there’s no need to waste people’s time, but - and hear me out - everyone on there is just treading water trying to figure out who they want to fuck. she might spend a week talking to you and then ghost,” ash explained.

“great, cheers for that,” you chuffed.

“you know what i mean,” they rolled their eyes. “everyone’s figuring out if they want to go on a date or jump in bed with each other on there, you’re not wasting anyone’s time by giving them a chance. let yourself be wooed.”

“‘wooed’, i’m not looking for a mr darcy,” you joked.

“then actually give these people a shot, it’s not like they’re looking for marriage either,” ash countered. “or maybe you’ve got a specific person in mind distracting you that you’re making unfair comparisons to.”

you glared as you entered the apartment building. “i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you sniffed. you opened the app up again and bit your lip before swiping right on the first five profiles that appeared, showing your friend as you did. “there, happy?”

your phone buzzed and you looked down with wide eyes as all five accounts matched you back. the app directed you to the messaging centre and you looked at ash sheepishly.

“don’t you dare unmatch them,” they warned teasingly, pointing their finger at you with squinted eyes as you waited in the elevator. “go on a few dates and be spoiled for once. if nothing else, you get a good meal and some fresh air.”

you laughed as you finally reached your floor. you unlocked the door to your flat and dropped your coat on the back of a dining chair before slumping on the sofa with ash joining a second after sans their boots and coat.

“fine, fine. i’m on here for a reason, right? i might as well give them a chance,” you agreed a little reluctantly.

“give who a chance?” simon asked as he came from the back of the flat, passing through to the kitchen.

“my lovely bestie is finally on tinder,” ash said with a sharp grin aimed at simon. “hoping to find someone to fuck out the last six months of—“

“yeah thanks, ash! feel free to shut the fuck up, i don’t think simon cares about the details of my sex life,” you interrupted, cheeks hot with embarrassment.

“no?” ash asked playing dumb. they pouted and turned back to simon. “my bad.”

you hadn’t noticed simon had grown reserved and quiet at ash’s outburst, too busy trying to save face and distract yourself with thinking of a decent opening message.

“and anyway, i’m just going a few dates first,” you corrected and looked at simon. “so don’t worry about me inviting anyone around to the flat or anything.”

simon nodded tersely before swallowing. “s’fine.” he looked shiftily over to the kitchen before moving to lean over the back of your seat, arms resting behind your head as he peered over your shoulder.

“show me,” he ordered softly. you shivered at the feel of his breath on your neck as he spoke and immediately opened the app again.

you chuffed an unimpressed laugh at the profile that popped up first. “‘want to surprise my boyfriend with a threesome for his birthday, any takers?’ jesus christ, the dating pool is so dire,” you whined.

simon chuckled behind you. “bloke looks like he’d barely be able to handle ya either, look at ‘im. he’d ruin his pants before you even took ya bra off.”

“at least i’d be able to concentrate on the girlfriend then,” you snickered along with him.

“nah, best you’d get from her is a bit o’ tongue for show,” simon said. “can tell by the profile ‘er heart’s not in it.”

you swiped left and simon was immediately ready to point out the failings of this profile too, and then again when you swiped left after laughing along, and again after that.

the way he leant over you blocked your friend from your view, but simon could see the knowing look ash was giving him directly in his peripheral, but he chose to ignore it. especially when he lowered one hand into your lap to start swiping left himself.

you let your free hand rise to play with simon’s long shirt sleeve before you suddenly took in his attire and frowned.

“why are you dressed for work?” you turned to sit on your knees facing the back of the sofa as he rose up to his full height to see him wearing his work trousers and steel-toe boots, his hi-vis vest tucked into his waistband.

“john rang, asked me to cover soap’s shift when he went home sick after lunch. i’ll be back from the lot later; might be late in the evening if i have to go grab a few things for ‘im from b&q before it closes for tomorrow,” he said, contrite.

you pouted heavy and exaggerated. “movie night’s cancelled? fuck you, john price.”

simon snorted, his scarred lip lifting at one side in obvious mirth. “i’ll tell ‘im y’said that, shall i?”

“fine with me, i’m not afraid of him,” you goaded.

“he’s ex military you know,” simon winced jokingly.

you rolled your eyes. “no duh. so are you.”

he hummed a low single note.

“and you wouldn’t let him touch a hair on my head, right si?” you continued shamelessly.

“i’d tell him there’s no point wasting time trying to teach you manners. any time i try to knock some sense into ya noggin it just echoes,” he huffed, holding back a smile as he tapped his knuckles on your crown for emphasis.

you swiped at his fist with a hiss.

“you can piss off to your job already then if you’re going to take the mick,” you laughed. you kept your hands to yourself otherwise, knowing better than to try and push him away after one too many failed attempts. his stomach was always firm enough to keep your best efforts from moving him, but topped with a thick and soft enough layer that it gave way beneath your prodding fingers and roaming palm.

“i’ll make it up t’ya. another night,” he promised lowly, bending down close again to whisper. as your pout lessened he nodded before heading out.

“wooow,” ash exaggerated and lengthened the word sarcastically as they sat watching you slump back to sit normally now that simon was gone. “it’s somehow worse than i thought.”

“hm?”

“does he always fold like a cheap suit when you flash the puppy dog eyes at him?” ash laughed.

“you’re seeing things, he literally just cancelled on me,” you argued and turned to the tv to channel surf. “are you staying for tea? think i’ve got the stuff in for a curry, could pirate that new horror with kyle gallner.”

ash rubbed at their chin. “don’t think i didn’t notice the subject change… but i’m listening.”

——

you got your movie night with si a few days later with the pair of you lounged on the couch, simon’s heavy, long legs draped across your lap as you waited for the take out you’d ordered to arrive.

your phone buzzed with a notification and simon perked up. “food here?”

you took a moment to respond, looking at your phone and tapping away for a second before shaking your head. “no, just a message.”

you phone buzzed again just before you could put it back down and you unlocked it again with a growing smile.

“oh, ‘s emma asking about dog sittin’ again?” he guessed.

“it’s not emma,” you said easily, without further detail, distracted by your phone.

before simon could ask, a knock at the door had him swinging his legs down and heading to grab the bag of food. he grabbed some cutlery from the kitchen on the way back before slumping heavily down next to you, spreading his thighs wide enough to press against yours.

he frowned when he saw you were still engrossed in your phone, a little secretive smile pulling at your lips. at the smell of the food you looked up and your eyes brightened, you put your phone back on the table and ignored it when it buzzed, helping simon instead, sitting back when you had your share and pressing play on your movie. when the phone buzzed twice more in quick succession you bit your lip and glanced at it.

“answer it,” simon said bitingly, having figured out who’d be messaging you by that point. the stupid, bloody app. “but tell ‘em you’re busy with a woman already.”

your eyes widened and you coughed out a surprised laugh. “si.”

“tell ‘em you’re not hanging out with ‘em next week either, you can’t make it. you’re busy with me instead,” he continued, the weight of his hooded gaze heavy and stifling.

“but i’m not busy, we don’t have plans next week,” you said weakly, confused.

simon huffed heavily through his nose. you’d almost think it was bordering on angry but for the entire time you’d known him, simon had never gotten angry at you, even when you accidentally shrunk his brand new sports bra on a too-hot wash.

you both tensed when your phone buzzed again.

“let me turn off my notifications,” you said and reached for the phone furtively. you skimmed your notifications and felt something bloom in your chest at the mention of a date from one of your matches, but you didn’t mention it to simon. “there we go, now we can focus on movie night,” you said with a grin, scooping another forkful of sweet & sour chicken into your mouth.

simon’s shoulders dropped and he nodded. he looked to your half empty glass and stood up. “want me to grab you another drink?”

you smiled, mouth closed and cheeks full of rice, and nodded as he chuckled. he turned away before the urge to poke your puffy cheeks won out and you accidentally spat rice out on the rug.

——

>> any new matches? 👀👀👀

you pursed your lips as you read the text from emma.

<< a few. might have a date next week

<< depends if she plays her cards right

>> lol is it the librarian or the electrician?

<< electrician. might give me mates rates if i ask her to check out the faulty leccy wiring in the flat :p

>> more like dates rates ;)

>> she was cute 😍 where’s the date?

<< she mentioned getting dinner, a new place that just opened up that she said was meant to be cool

>> the thai place? omgggg i’ve been meaning to go! give me ur review after pls and ty

>> and i mean the food, but any dirty deets are welcome too 👀👀

<< ???

<< i haven’t agreed to go yet

>> 🙄 girl…

>> what happened to giving them a chance, ash said you were on board

<< idk si was acting really weird the other day

<< he got really moody about it all, practically told me to fob it all off and just hang out with him instead

<< i think he’s worried

you had been watching a few murder documentaries lately, and one too many of them had started off as innocent dates or first meet ups that ended in tragedy.

>> i think he’s jealous

you stared at the text as your stomach flipped.

<< ???

>> he’s literallyyyy had a huge crush on u since forever

>> this is not news 😐

you scoffed but felt your stomach clench and hesitated to text back.

>> don’t believe me? just watch how he acts around you over the next few days and see if he does any of these repeatedly

emma sent a screenshot from a website listing ‘things she does if she likes you’ and you snorted. it felt trivial, like you were a teenager again, but you decided to play along.

<< fine. but he won’t.

you sent your quick affirmative back before putting your phone down and finishing your break.

the idea of simon liking you was an impossible one in your mind. simon had brought home women from the moment you’d moved in, it had never been a deterrent and he’d always said you were welcome to do the same as long as they didn’t stick around when he had a day off.

recently though, you thought, there’d been less and less women traipsing out of si’s room giggling and flushed, staring adoringly up at the tall butch woman. sadly, you knew exactly how good simon was in bed from the enthusiastic sounds of his previous partners over the months, so you couldn’t blame them for tripping over their feet as they were ushered towards the exit, an eager ‘call me, yeah?’ breathed out just before the door was closed forever.

that was another reason you’d never made a move. even if sometimes there had been moments where you had thought simon’s gaze lingered too long or his touch couldn’t be excused as just friendly; you couldn’t take being a one night stand. not with him, and not when you’d have to move out when your feelings inevitably bubbled over.

you bit your lip as you cooked that evening. simon was chopping the veg for your bolognese as you were left to watch over the pasta - last time you’d burnt it when you’d turned away and gotten distracted and you refused to let simon hold that over you for any longer.

“you know i can go stay at ash’s or with emma and her partner for a day or two if you want,” you offered out of the blue.

simon stopped cutting and looked at you.

“why the fuck would i want tha’?”

you swallowed. “i just noticed you haven’t had many people ‘round recently and thought maybe it was because i was home,” you said, barely meeting his eyes. “so i can make myself sparse for a few days, it’s no bother. i don’t mind.”

“i had johnny over just the other day,” simon said as though you might have forgotten. the boisterous scot had managed to fondly wiggle his way into gaining your friendship the few times he’d popped by for simon. “and gaz and the lads are all coming by next week. y’dont need t’ leave.” he went back to chopping though much more forcefully now, the chopping board dully thumping with each downward cut he made through the courgette.

“yeah… but what about other visitors?” you hedged. “the walls are thin, si, so i thought maybe you’d want the place to yourself again temporarily so you can—“

“no. i don’t want the place to m’self. i like havin’ you here, like hearing you move around in the night and in the mornings,” he interrupted without looking up. “you stay.” he paused for a moment, doubting himself even as you nodded along. “unless you want to go?”

“god no! no, i just thought i should offer,” you laughed a little awkwardly.

he frowned deeper.

“do you want me to go?”

you paused, you mouth flapping like a fish. this was an option you’d not considered. you noticed simon’s eyes grow more and more desperate, his grip on the veg in front of him tightening as he waited for your response.

“no. never, si,” you said.

he watched you a moment more before nodding. “good. wouldn’t have anyway.”

you snorted a laugh and looked back to the spaghetti, hissing when you saw it had stuck to the bottom of the pan. “shit.”

“…tell me you haven’t managed to burn it a second time.”

——

your conversation with simon reminded you of the article emma had sent you. it took less than a week to notice how differently simon acted with others in comparison to how considerate he was with you.

he made the effort to hold eye contact at the start of your conversations, and if you ever paused too long in your reply his eyes would flicker back up from where they’d drifted to his food or phone to check why. you’d never doubted he was always listening, but seeing it first hand reassured you that he was without fail. and it only highlighted, now that you looked for it, how closely he kept to himself when strangers tried to pick up a conversation with him, how he used as few words as possible on the off chance he did reply.

you wouldn’t hesitate to consider simon tactile, soft-handed and gentle. but you knew that was a privilege. the same with his smiles, spotted in flash of crooked teeth or the slow crinkle of his dark eyes paired with the pull of his scar on the occasion he wore his mask.

at your realisation, you began to check the list religiously each night in the safety of your bed as though trying to convince yourself that you hadn’t noticed the way simon mirrored your own behaviour. how he’d lean opposite you in the small kitchen, tilting his head a second after yours as you complained about work, boiling the kettle for a cuppa after a long day.

you’d pretend not to notice him on the phone twenty minutes later, cancelling going out with his friends, again, so he could stay with you while you relax for the weekend.

you found he’d swapped the brand of peanut butter you usually bought after the last one gave you a tummy ache without mentioning it, he’d asked about your grandad’s birthday even though you’d brought it up offhandedly weeks before, he let you run your hands through his hair near his scar when he napped on the sofa. the list went on.

but you’d already agreed to that date with the electrician.

——

“i don’t know if i’ve come down with something, my stomachs not right. i don’t think think i should go,” you complained as you got ready for your date, your phone propped up on your dresser with ash and emma’s faces on screen as you video called. “i feel queasy.”

“that’s just the nerves, you’ll be ok once you get there,” emma soothed.

“want us to meet you afterwards?” ash asked.

“maybe, yeah,” you hummed. “or maybe call me an hour in just in case it isn’t going well so i can have an excuse to leave?”

“how does ‘your long lost brother just woke from a coma and you’re the only one he remembers’ sound?” ash asked.

“dramatic enough for me to make my escape,” you laughed.

“you won’t need it,” emma reassured. “you’ll be too busy flirting and fawning over her muscles to even answer the phone.”

you laughed harder and the ache in your stomach faded ever so slightly as you pulled on your shoes and got ready to leave. simon was still at work, pulling some extra hours to get the job back on schedule after johnny’s time off, which meant the flat was empty as you left.

you bit your lip and headed to the restaurant, waving shyly from the entrance when you saw jessi, the electrician, already seated and waiting on you.

“hey, been here long?” you asked as you took your seat.

“barely five minutes,” she reassured you with an easy smile. “you look stunning, by the way. worth the wait.”

you thanked her, and took in her styled hair and half unbuttoned dress shirt from across the table. you felt a little underdressed in comparison but hid your insecurity when you smiled at her across the table.

“are you always this shy?” she asked when you stayed silent a beat too long, her grin turning sly and teasing.

you laughed a little self depreciatingly and shrugged. “it’s been a little while since i went on a date,” you admitted, butterflies starting to flutter at her sharp gaze.

“i’ll go easy on you then,” she promised and winked before handing you a menu. “what looks good to you?”

——

you’d thought the date was going fine, good, even. the thought of leaving hadn’t crossed your mind and when emma had called you’d screened it and smiled at the winky face she’d sent a moment later.

jessi was fun to talk to; her humour was maybe a little more forced than what you liked but it wasn’t a deal breaker. you’d thought she was enjoying herself too given the flirtatious comments, the lingering looks and how her ankle kept brushing yours.

but just before you could suggest ordering desserts, she stood and grabbed her coat.

“this has been…” she trailed off. “maybe you’re not ready for dating, you know?”

she’d dropped a few twenty notes on the table and left before you could ask what the fuck that meant.

you called over the waiter, covered the rest of the bill and made your own downtrodden exit soon after, dessert suddenly not seeming so appetising.

“tell me you’re going to her house to stay the night and that this is a safety call,” ash said as soon as they answered.

you huffed a sarcastic laugh. “nope.” you popped the ‘p’ and scuffed your toe along the pavement as you walked.

“fuck, this isn’t a good sign then. no dessert?” you heard emma mumble in the background.

“put me on speaker if you two are still hanging out,” you said and hugged your thin jacket tighter with your free arm as you started heading down the dark street towards your apartment.

“how’d it go?” emma asked a moment later.

“i thought it was going good,” you whined. “she was nice, we were chatting, i was engaging! but she just… left?”

“what were you chatting about?” ash asked.

“just the basics; work, friends, hobbies, roommates,” you listed.

“oh god,” emma groaned on the other end of the line. you heard her voice become muffled as though her face was in a pillow as she grumbled, “you didn’t.”

“what?” you asked with a frown. “it was good, she was being flirty.”

“yeah no shit, it was a date,” ash snorted. “how many times did simon come up?”

“don’t start this again—“

“because you were literally talking about him other day when we walked by a black and white cat just because it had little ‘socks’ and it reminded you to do laundry when you got back.”

“i promised to do simon’s while he’s been picking up extra hours,” you defended yourself. “he literally had to walk around shirtless the other week when i forgot to add them in for him.”

“oh, the grown woman who can and often does do his own washing just had to walk around with just a flimsy little sports bra and boxers on all day? sure, sure.” you could practically hear ash roll their eyes. emma snickered in the background and there was a slight shuffling which was never a good sign. “yep, here it is. and i quote ‘the way he’s built… like a damn chew toy. need to sink my teeth in to him, it’s like my jaw buzzes every time i see him with the urge to clamp down on his bicep.’ those are your texts to our group chat from that same day.”

“the texts i send when im ovulating should never be repeated out loud,” you hissed. “and do we really need more evidence that he’s synonymous with my wet dreams now, i’ve already admitted that i like him.”

“so you know this is a safe space,” ash said facetiously. “answer the question: how many times do you think you managed to bring him up in conversation?”

you chewed your cheek in frustration. ash would know if you lied but thinking back on it you didn’t really want to admit how many times you managed to bring up simon for your own dignity.

“look they had the same boots on, ok? and when she talked about her work it was the only way i could try to relate if i told her how simon had mentioned the same things,” you reasoned.

ash cackled on the other end of the phone and suddenly emma was talking while their laughter grew faded.

“have you looked at that list i sent you?” she asked, her tone oddly low and sobering.

“yeah, i can’t stop thinking about it,” you huffed. you paused to cross the street. “but it feels like i’m just making them up because i like him and he’s just being a normal roommate.”

“you’re not and he’s definitely not,” emma chuffed. “and i think you know that too.”

you were silent as you walked, your steps slow and careful even as the bitter cold wind snapped at your cheeks.

“he likes me?” you asked softly.

“no duh,” ash’s voice rang from the background making you laugh. they got closer and you could picture your friends crammed on emma’s shitty little couch as they spoke to you. “why do you think he’s always walking around flexing his muscles like that, huh? we’re in manchester, i don’t care if it’s almost summer, it’s not bloody warm enough for it!”

“and simon has you as his lock screen,” emma added like a 1-2 punch before you had chance to try and explain any of it away. “he always cancels on his mates to see you instead, and don’t get me started on how touchy he is with you.”

“he’s tactile…” even as you said it you didn’t believe it. though you couldn’t keep count of how many times this week alone si had let a warm hand land on your shoulder, knee, back, wrist, neck; you knew he barely touched anyone else.

"girl. simon?" emma snorted probably thinking the same thing as you.

“he likes me,” you said more confidently into the phone.

“oh thank fuck, she’s finally caught on,” ash said as emma laughed.

“i could literally be swapping spit with him right now and instead i’ve just wasted like two hours on a shitty date, oh my god,” you bemoaned.

you don’t know when you’d stopped walking but in a second you were speeding up to a jog as you said goodbye to your friends and hung up, fumbling to put your phone in you bag. eager to get back home and to see simon.

——

you crammed your key into the front door’s lock when you got home and groaned exaggeratedly when it didn’t turn. simon must’ve left his key in the door, again. of all the bloody times.

you knocked hurriedly, loudly, impatiently.

“siiiimon, open the door, come on i’m cold out here, you wouldn’t leave me shivering and lonely just because you forgot to put your key on the keyhook i specifically bought for—“ you cut off your joking whine when the most stunningly beautiful woman you’d ever seen opened the door to you, a knowing smile on her plush lips.

“oh,” you croaked. almost reflexively, your throat closed up and your eyes started to sting. “i must have the wrong flat.”

“what? no, you’re—” her smile dropped slightly and her dark eyes grew curious, but you didn’t stick around long enough to see.

“sorry, my fault! i’m meant to be on the floor above,” you rushed out and pretended to laugh. “silly me. sorry again.” tucking tail you turned to the fire exit at the top of the small staircase without waiting for a reply.

you knew the short staircase lead to the roof, simon had shown you one time and there were enough signs pointing it out. on the other side of the door was a small, flat balcony that stuck out of the slanted roof, and had old metal ladders that dropped 3/4 of the way down along the side of the building, in between the detached restaurant next door.

given you were the top flat in this little rinkydink building the woman at your door had probably thought you were an idiot and you couldn’t blame her. you decided to stick it out for ten minutes outside before sneaking back down and heading over to emma’s with your heart in your hands ready to be mended with the power of friendship and alcohol and food.

you sat down on the shitty little balcony and groaned loudly, desperately holding back your tears lest you fell into a despair and ended up accidentally falling asleep out of exhaustion and dramatics up there instead.

you’d finally realised your feelings and it was too late; simon had clearly taken your previous offers on board and moved on. you’d given him a free night while you went on a stupid date, what else was he going to do since you’ve been continually - though not purposely - pushing him aside like he was disposable.

“fuck,” you sighed shakily.

“date that bad you’re thinking of jumping?”

you swore in surprise and span in your spot to see simon leant in the fire exit doorway.

you couldn’t help but huff a weak laugh. “yeah it was,” you said before looking back down to your hands. “sorry, i didn’t know you were busy or i’d have gone to a friend’s instead.”

simon frowned and stood up straight. “stop saying you want to go somewhere else,” he said stiffly, swallowing thickly before taking the few steps to sit next to you. “when i’m here.” he knocked your shoulders together. “gaz said you freaked out at the door?”

you looked up at him in confusion. “gaz? that was ky— she’s called kylie, not kyle isn’t she?” you asked with wide eyes. simon’s accent had hidden her real name and convinced you all his mates were men and you’d never thought to second guess it. “christ, i thought she was— never mind.”

simon tilted his head as a knowing smile grew on his face.

“you thought i’d brought someone round for a shag?”

“well, she’s very fucking gorgeous,” you said defensively, crossing your arms. he leant his weight further into your side.

“mm. haven’t noticed.” at your unimpressed look he shrugged. “got my eye on someone else, ‘aven’t i?”

you nodded but avoided his eyes. seeing an unknown woman answer your door - gaz or not - had knocked your confidence more than you’d have liked to admit.

simon snorted.

“talk t’me, thought i was meant to be the quiet, brooding one.”

you looked across at him for a moment before leaning in to hug him tightly. you let the scent of his aftershave soak in and sighed when his own arms automatically wrapped around you too.

“you’re an amazing friend, si,” you whispered. and with how close you were pressed together, you easily felt how he stiffened at the title. you squeezed him harder in response, garnering yourself some more confidence at the same time, and sucked in a cold breath to speak. “and i think i’m a little bit in love with you.”

you felt a whoosh of air against your neck as the breath left simon’s body; he went loose in your hold and you buried your head deeper into his shoulder.

he tried to catch your eyes, ducking his head as best he could, but you’d thoroughly tucked yourself in against him as you felt a stinging heat spread from your cheeks outwards, your heart kicking its way through your chest and likely thumping noticeably against his own.

with gentle and patient cajoling, he managed to nudge you back up to face him and you offered up a wobbly smile.

“are you serious?” he asked breathlessly.

you nodded. “i’m sorry it took me so long to reali—“

simon coughed out a wet and surprised laugh and pulled you in for a kiss, his scar catching against your dry lips before you were able to slip your tongue out to wet them briefly. his hands were firm as they cupped your round cheeks, not letting you break for a breath until the very last second, determined to take all he could get before it came crashing down on him.

“y’r an idiot, so fuckin into ya. been a nightmare living with you, unable t’touch,” he mumbled against your lips and suddenly it was your turn to laugh into the kiss.

“unable? all you do is touch me,” you giggled, gasping when he took the chance to flick his tongue against yours.

“yeah?”

“yeah,” you huffed. “drives me mad, si.”

“only gonna get worse here on,” he promised. “never taking my hands off ya, off your fat arse and soft tits.”

you sucked in a shaky breath. “fuck.” you’d be dripping like a tap at all times if that was the case and going by simon’s smirk, he knew it.

“i’ve had to deal with your dumb mate fucking teasing me about liking ya for months now too,” he grumbled.

“they’re not dumb.” you leant in to bite his lip meanly. “and i’m sure your friends will be teasing me for what just happened too, never mind me being so blind to be on dating apps while we were practically already together.”

simon groaned. “i fucking hated those apps.”

you kissed him sweetly in apology, a soft peck to the lips then each cheek as he greedily chased your lips.

“they’re gone now. my date was ruined because i could only talk about you the whole time. all i want is you.”

“yeah?” his eyes were darker than you’d ever seen them as he tugged your jacket openand slid a hand under your shirt. his rough fingertips teased at the thin material of your bra and your nipples stood to attention under his ministrations and from the chill of fresh air biting at your tummy, bared when his arm rumpled your shirt. “want me right now?”

“always,” you panted. “but…”

you furtively glanced to the door.

“no one comes up here. i can be quick.”

“your friends are waiting,” you reminded him.

“fuck my friends,” he scoffed and tweaked at a nipple, grinning at the squeak you let out.

“would rather fuck you,” you joked weakly even as he pulled his hand back to pluck at your jean’s button and zipper.

“then what are we waiting for?” he asked.

you moaned and gasped when he slipped his hand down the front gusset of your jeans and into your panties before you gained the cognisance to pull it back out with a groan. “later, later,” you promised. “wanna get you naked.”

simon stared at you for a second and you worried he was annoyed at you for putting your foot down. he nodded however, licked his lips as he glanced back to the door and then dipped down to kiss you lightly.

“i’m kicking the lads out then, gimme five.” he stood and took few broad strides to get back to the stairs inside.

you laughed and called after him as he darted back down, taking two at a time as you followed with a grin, struggling with your jeans. “si, don’t be daft.”

“smartest move i’ve made in a long time.” he said as he walked back in to your flat. “everyone out. want some time wiv my girl.”

“ayy congrats!” soap called from the couch.

“that means now, soap.”

“don’t hafta tell us twice,” the scot stood with a slap to his knees and saluted simon on his way out. “ye coming, ky?”

“it was nice meeting ya,” gaz said as she wandered past, winking. you hid your hot cheeks in your shoulders but couldn’t help the flustered grin that spread as simon barely waited for the door to be closed before shedding his shirt, leaving him in a sports bra and his baggy trackies.

“get comfy. not letting ya leave til i’ve had m’fill.”

“funny you think it won’t be me dragging you back for more. let’s see if you can keep up, si. i’ve been told i’m pretty demanding.”

“always loved a challenge.”

you grinned wickedly. “come and get me then.”

butch/stud masterlist

updated mood board below (kept working on it after seeing kitty’s absolutely fantastic oc mood board and felt inspired by them!)

[lilghostiequinni]

Not As it Seemed to Be

Main Masterlist Lando Masterlist

Pairing: private(secret)!female oc (Erica) x Lando Norris

Warnings: Fluffy, Established relationship, Pregnancy talk

Summary: Lando has been one to keep his personal life only slightly private and not be able to keep a secret at all, but what happens when the whole world learns of her.

Requested: NO / yes

Erica lays in bed, running her fingers through Lando's hair, lost in thought.

Her fingers stop, even though it's momentarily, "Why'd you stop?"

"Just lost in thought," Erica looks down to Lando, who still has his eyes closed as he rests his head on her very prominent pregnant belly.

"What should we name them?" Lando questions, looking up to at her, head still on her belly.

"Should we go full Star Wars?" Erica jokes with a smile as Lando makes a face at the suggestion. "What, you don't like it?"

Lando just looks at her.

"Alright, I was thinking we make a list, pick the ones we like, and get it down to a first and middle name," Erica says, and Lando nods into her side as there's movement, then a kick to the face.

Erica starts laughing as Lando looks offended at her belly, rubbing his cheek, even if it didn't really do anything.

"Up, I've got to pee," Erica says, patting Lando on the forehead.

Lando sits up and Erica calls out as she reaches the bathroom, "You should start to get ready, we've only got an hour until you need to be at the track."

Lando looks over to the clock and realizes she's right. He gives one final sigh and gets out of bed.

It doesn't take long before they leave the hotel; they are both trying to hurry and leave the hotel on time.

Lando walks into the paddock with Erica on his arm and her pregnant belly prominent in the outfit she wore to show it off.

"Lando, this a friend of yours?" Carlos asked; he was the first of the drivers to get to them.

"No, she's my girlfriend," Lando says to him as he puts his arm around Erica's shoulder, his hand hanging over her shoulder for her to grab hold of with her free hand.

"For how long?" Carlos questions, having been his former teammate and never heard of her, he didn't know how long this was going on, though he does remember seeing her around the paddock, even more in the last year.

"Since we were 17, so almost ten years," Lando says as Erica looks around.

"I'm sorry, baby, but I really need the bathroom," Erica tells Lando, who lets go over her as she waddles over to the restrooms she had seen.

"You didn't mention her before," Carlos points out, rather confused.

"Yeah, when we met, she was busy, so never around the paddock, and most people thought she was just a friend, not my girlfriend, and I just never corrected them because she didn't need the attention for it," Lando says, a shrug of his shoulders as he looks toward where Erica went to.

Oscar walked into the paddock, saw Lando with Carlos, and approached them as Erica returned from the bathroom.

Hey Erica," Oscar says as he stops next to her and they continue together back to Lando and Carlos.

Which is when Carlos asked if Oscar knew about Erica, "I know her as Lando's best friend, why?"

"Because she's my very pregnant girlfriend that I didn't announce publicly and have announced," Lando says as Erica tucks back under his arm.

"We enjoyed the privacy, especially now," Erica says as she rubs her belly, and Lando moves his hand over to hers, smiling down at her.

Oscar watched them and realized that he had noticed their relationship before but never thought much of it.

It was later that day that fans started to notice that Erica was pregnant and Lando was acting as more than a friend and more like a soon-to-be father and a boyfriend.

Fans then started to put their predictions online, and eventually, Erica found an edit made within hours of all the times that people noticed that she and Lando were more than friends.

For the most part, the response to your "secret" relationship was relatively positive.

After the race, in the media pen it was the first question got that asked about Erica, "So you came in today with Erica, a long-time friend, but she's pregnant, and you seemed more like a boyfriend or father than a friend."

"What's the question?" Lando asks, not hearing a question in all of what the interviewer said.

"My question is, what's going on? Is she your friend, your girlfriend?"

"Erica is my girlfriend and has been for the better part of the last ten years. Erica was my girlfriend when I started Formula One when there were rumors of me with one of her friends. She's been with me through my ups and downs; she was there for my win in Miami last year, and she was there for Barcelona. She's my rock," Lando says to the interviewer, the smile and adoration in his eyes growing with each word he says.

"And she's pregnant?"

"Yes, we are having twins," Lando says, nodding along with his statement.

"Just one last question about this before we get on to race questions is, why have you never said anything about her, Erica being your girlfriend?"

"When I started racing in Formula One, she didn't need the extra attention on her as she was starting college, and with me constantly moving and her having to stay on campus, it was hard enough. The media and fans weren't needed in our relationship dynamic. Then afterward, especially in this last year, I just never corrected people because I loved the bliss of having this little piece of me out of the media," Lando says as he grows more serious in his explication.

"Alright, then. Now, how does it feel to win today with the world and fans knowing that Erica is your girlfriend and you will soon have two kids who are going to be so proud of their dad for winning?"

"Amazing," Lando is then directed to a different interviewer with a smile on his face as he leaves.

Lando knows that his children will be proud of him because they are not just part of him but also part of Erica, and she's always proud of Lando and always there when he needs her.

To the public things were not as they seemed, but that is never what mattered to Lando and Erica.

A/N: Only been working on this one for about three weeks.

Tags: @poppyflower-22 @samantha-chicago @barcelonaloverf1life @tallrock35 @ellen3101 @hellothere9597

If you want to be removed from a tag list, let me know so I don't keep tagging you. If you are striked through, I don't know if you want to be tagged, but just let me know if you want me to continue or stop

[fandom-chic]

Please Please Please: Chapter 2

Summary: Y/N is only a child when she and Tommy Shelby meet. The two quickly become best friends as they grow up in Small Heath. As the years go by, Y/N and Tommy realize there may be more to their friendship than they originally thought.

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Y/N

Previous chapter

Year: 1912

The wind blew in through her hair as her horse galloped along the English countryside. She could’ve sworn the wind was whispering in her ear as her smile beamed at the beautiful world before her. 

“Oy!” She glanced back to see Tommy’s smiling face, “What’s the hurry, love?” She grabbed the reins to her stead, tightening them slightly to slow down to her friend’s speed.

“No hurry at all,” she said behind a grin, “I just thought you were a horse connoisseur.” Tommy raised an eyebrow at that.

“Are you saying I’m all talk?” he said, feigning exasperation.

“I’m saying your riding is shit.” she shot back playfully, letting her grin turn into a cheeky smile. Tommy’s other eyebrow raised to match the first.

“Well,” he said, adjusting himself slightly, “I guess we’ll have to see who the best horseman is.” 

“You mean horsewoman?” She corrected, a lilt in her voice. 

“I didn’t mean-” Before he could finish his thought, Y/N took off. Tommy mumbled a string of expletives before bolting after her. She leaned forward, forcing her horse to maintain the speed she needed. She could hear Tommy hot on her heels as the lake came into view. 

“Come on.” she urged her horse as she began to see the outline of Tommy in her vision. Suddenly, the horse stops at the edge of the lake. Seconds later, Tommy is by her side.

“Well, that was shit sportsmanship.” She shot him a brazen smirk.

“But I still won.” Tommy clicked his tongue.

“I guess you did.” He said, jumping off his stead. She followed his lead, landing beside her companion. 

“Now you have to admit, I am the superior horseman.” She punctuated the sentiment by placing her hands on her hips. She could feel Tommy willing himself not to roll his eyes. She tried to hold back a snicker, failing to notice he began to remove his shoes.

“I will admit that,” He placed his shoes and socks side by side at the edge of the lake. “But I think you may have to face punishment for poor sportsmanship.”

“Poor sportsmanship-” She was cut off as two strong arms wrapped around her waist. A squeak escaped her lips as Tommy lifted her into his arms and a scream erupted as they both plunged into the water. Her arms instinctively wrapped tightly around his neck, and her legs around his waist as they resurfaced.

“That punishment did not fit the crime.” she said, using her palm to rub the lake water from her eyes.

Tommy snorted with laughter as he brushed a strand of wet hair away from her face. “Then I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.” She rolled her eyes at the platitude before moving Tommy’s wet hair off his forehead. She couldn’t help but giggle as she pushed the hair straight back. “What’s so funny?” he said. His smile showcased his prominent cheekbones. 

“Nothing,” she said, continuing to smooth his hair, “I just know what you’ll look like when you’re a bald old man.”

“You mean I’ll be dashingly handsome,” he struck a pose for her.

“Something like that she says,” she replied, unable to ignore the tranquility in his eyes as she combed her fingers through his hair. She knew those eyes well—beautiful eyes that could penetrate her soul and unearth every secret. From stealing money from her mother's purse to staying out late with the boy from her English class, those eyes knew everything about her. They had the power to hold her captive for as long as they desired. She almost forgot how entangled in her friend she was until he started to move them out of the water. She let her legs unwrap from around his waist and her arms detach from behind his neck. He pulled himself out of the water, helping her out with him.

Although the lake was not the most exciting place in the countryside of England, it was one of their favorites. They discovered this secret oasis nine years earlier. They had both decided to cut class that day to ride horses. The further they ventured from Small Heath, the fresher the air became, and the distant sounds of the city faded away. That was when they finally found their oasis, their lake. It has become their hideaway from reality. Tommy’s from the growing pressure of the Peaky Blinders and Y/N’s from the monotonousness that was Small Heath. 

She would rest her head on his shoulder as they watched the sun set. She always liked the way the sun streaked across the lake’s surface. 

“The sun’s telling us that we’re in our own personal heaven.” she would say, pointing at how the glittering rays of the sun hitting the lake seemed to be pointed perfectly at them. Tommy would smile and watch the joy in her eyes as she watched the sunset. 

On the oppressively warm days of summer between sessions of secondary school, Tommy and Y/N would sneak off together to the lake. Polly would roll her eyes and smirk as she watched the teens gallop away. 

“Fuck, I’m soaked.” Tommy said, noticing the way his clothes molded to his form. Y/N noticed it too, looking away when Tommy looked over at her. Tommy’s eyes remained on Y/N for another beat, noticing the way her white dress had now become transparent.

“I wonder whose fault is that.” Y/N said. Before Tommy could retort, Y/N pulled her dress over her head. Seeing Y/N in her knickers was a sight Tommy had seen many times, but he still couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks. She kicked off her shoes too before reaching out to Tommy, “Give me your shirt and trousers.” 

He snorted before beginning to unbutton his top, “Usually a lady needs to buy me a drink before we get to this part of the evening.” Y/N rolled her eyes, grabbing Tommy’s clothes and hanging them up in a tree branch to dry. As soon as the clothes were settled in the branch, Y/N took the picnic blanket from her bag and laid it out. 

“After you,” She gestured towards the blanket. Tommy lay on his back, his eyes gazing at the sky. Y/N followed suit, observing whatever the sky decided to reveal to them. The clouds drifted by, and the wind whispered through the grass. Tommy's eyelids grew heavy, and he felt himself drifting off to sleep.

“Look!” His eyes shot open, “A bullfinch!” Y/N pointed up towards a red-breasted bird. Tommy rubbed his eyes letting out a snicker.

“You scared the crap out of me,” He said drowsily, “What’s so great about a goddamn bird?” 

Y/N shrugs and continues to stare at the bird as it lands on a branch.

Y/N shrugged, her gaze fixed on the bird as it took flight. "I don't know, it's rather beautiful, don't you think?" Tommy couldn't help but smile.

“And that, my dear, is why you will be a wonderful teacher.” It was now Y/N’s turn to smile at Tommy. With the summer coming to an end, Y/N’s first year of teaching primary school quickly approached. She felt like a kid herself in the sense that the first day of school jitters were already starting to pulse through her fingers and toes. 

“I hope so,” she said, allowing her arms to rest above her head as her fingers traced the dirt.

“I know so.” he replied, turning to look at her, “I also know that all the little buggers will adore you, especially the little boys.” Y/N playfully slapped Tommy’s arm.

“Very funny Tom,” she rolled her eyes at him, “If anything happens, I’ll make sure to tell James.” 

James. Of course she would tell James. Tommy shifted his gaze, fixing his eyes on the sky once more.

James was Y/N’s most recent boyfriend. He was nice. Very nice. Too nice, Tommy thought as a beat passed between the two of them.

“How is he?” Tommy asked, letting his eyes stay away from Y/N.

“Good,” Y/N replied, “It’s only been a few weeks but, I don’t know, I have a good feeling about him.” 

“I can tell, you two looked awfully chummy at The Garrison the other day.” Y/N’s face turns to Tommy.

“Are you keeping tabs on me?” Y/N teased, “Making sure James is treating me well?” 

“It’s one of the perks of my job.” Now it was Y/N’s turn to look at the sky. 

Tommy had recently begun to become more involved in the Peaky Blinders. Y/N knew this day would come, it was the family business. She just always expected Arthur to take more of a leadership role, but in the back of her mind, she knew this was Tommy’s dream: to protect his family and provide them the life he always wanted. She can’t help but recall the young boy in the oversized clothes finding odd ways to help his family survive the cold winters. With him in charge, they both know the family will never have to worry about that again.

“How’s that going?” she asked, letting her hands rest on her belly button. 

Tommy shrugged, “Fine.” Y/N sat up, looking down at her friend.

“Come on Tom, I need more details than just ‘fine’.” He sighed, slowly sitting up to meet her eyes. 

“It’s definitely going,” He ran a hand through his drying hair, “I’m thinking we should invest in the race track.” She raised an eyebrow.

“You mean you’re going to be a horse gambler now?” 

“What do you want me to say?” he mumbled, “You know my father is gone. Finn is four, Ada just turned fifteen, John is getting fucking married and Arthur is hanging on by a fucking thread. This is the path we have to take.” She understood his predicament, that doesn’t mean she liked it.

“What about Polly? Could she take on more?” She felt as though she was pleading with Tommy. Begging him to sit back and let himself be a young man and do the normal things that young men do. 

“It’s my family, Y/N,” he said firmly, “It’s my job, not Polly’s.” 

“Well,” she looked away from him, “I hope you realize that this is a death sentence.” She knew her words cut him. She could feel all movement from him stop. 

“Why can’t you be happy for me,” his words come out almost as a whisper, “My family is finally making a name for itself. I thought you could at least pretend to be happy.” He was trying his hardest not to yell, but his frustration was getting the better of him. 

She looked back over at him, keeping the harshness in her eyes, “I can’t do that when my best friend is putting himself in danger.” That was when Tommy rose. He grabbed his clothes off the branch and began to dress himself.

“What are you doing?” Y/N asked, standing to face him.

“Going home,” he replied, beginning to mount his horse.

“Tommy-”

“Goodbye, Y/N.” he said, cutting her off, before riding off. Y/N sighed, taking a seat on the blanket. It wasn't their first fight—this was one of maybe one million. She knew how it would play out. They wouldn't speak for a day or two, and then either she or Tommy would knock on the other's door, ready to apologize. He needed space and she would let him have it. 

She gets home that day, hoping maybe Tommy would be at her door. He wasn’t. She sighed, bringing her horse to the stable before going inside.

That day turned into two, then a week, and eventually a month. Six months passed before she heard from him again.

Next chapter

Taglist:

@mrharringtonsbae

@mysticwitchcraftco

@globetrotter28

[heyidkyay]

And I'm petrified of being alone, now |

Part Thirteen

Matty Healy x reader

Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.

What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way? 

Authors Note: I'm sorry it took so long!! I really struggled to write this part ngl, but once it came I just went with it:) lots of emotions this time around, AS WELL AS some healthy pining in store! So we're finally getting somewhere, finally. Anyway, thanks to @procrastinatinglikeapro for the idea surrounding Mouse's gift to Matty- was struggling with that whole concept but we're going w it now! Hopefully you enjoy, thanks for all the love on this series too, means a whole lot xx

> Just a reminder! We left the last update with a surprise knock at the door:) You can look back here if you'd like, or just read the last little snippet below!

Masterlist

Watching them was all too lovely as well. For someone with such a cool front, Matty seemed to melt around Teddy, succumbing to that of the boy’s charm and easy going nature. It was sweet to see, surprising, but endlessly sweet. Had me losing track of time, in truth. Which is why I jumped and cursed the way I did when the door finally knocked. 

“Mémé!”

...

“Mimi?” Matty murmured to himself as he followed the instruction Mouse had left him with, clearing away the wrapping paper Teddy had so carelessly tossed about the room earlier in his excitement and settling the little guitar up onto the sofa.

His eyes lingered on the wooden instrument for a short second, recalling the moment when he’d first spotted it. He hadn’t thought much about what he’d been doing when he’d walked on by the shop window only to then find himself stumbling inside, spending God knows what on a little boy he’d only really met just the once. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it though, even with how nervous he’d been for Teddy’s reaction.

Speaking of Teddy though, the little boy had practically charged the front door the second it had rang a few minutes ago, jumping up and down and tugging at the handle in his obvious excitement, whilst the woman sitting opposite them had frozen completely in her seat, like a soldier experiencing shellshock.

Matty thought they’d been having a good time overall, a brilliant time even! But then the doorbell had sounded and all of her smiles and her carefree laughter had been drenched in water, washed away as soon as she had stood up to answer the knock.

“Mé. Mé.” Came a drawn out voice behind him then, obviously having heard Matty’s shoddy attempt at it and deciding to sound the word out for him.

Matty spun around on his heel to catch sight of the toddler hanging off of the living room door. The kid was like their very own little monkey, always swinging off of something. Matty raised a brow at the correction he’d been given. “Me-me?” He tried again, beyond perplexed and wondering what the fuck everyone was going on about.

Teddy giggled happily at him and then shook his head, curls flying with it, Matty briefly questioned where Squeaks had gotten to.

“Mémé.” The boy sounded it out for him again and this time Matty caught the different accent that had filtered in, it was so prominent when the boy spoke that one word.

Matty’s forehead creased. “Mémé?” At Teddy’s buoyant nod, he grinned at having finally grasped it, “And just who might that be, mate?”

Teddy glanced over his shoulder before he pushed off of the door, letting it swing slightly as he hurried his little feet over to where Matty was currently standing, bin bag in hand. The latter dropped it though to take a seat on the settee, hoisting the little man up onto his knee.

One thing Matty had quickly learned in his short time of knowing the kid, was that Teddy was clingy. Not that that was a bad thing, Matty knew he could be just as bad some days. If not worse. But having someone seek that sort of comfort from him, out of all people, in such an intimate way made him feel necessary, as though he served a real purpose.

“Go on, let me in on the secret then.” Matty prodded, jerking his chin out ever so slightly to nudge Teddy's shoulder. He relished in the soft giggles it earned him.

“Mémé’s my Mémé!”

“Oh! Well, that makes so much sense, don’t it?” Matty remarked in return, rolling his eyes fondly at the unhelpful reply before he tickled the boy’s sides, “Don’t it?”

“Stop, Matty! I tolds you, I tolds you!” Teddy squealed, laughing so hard that he nearly slipped right on out from under Matty’s hold, but the singer propped him back up all too easily.

“You didn’t.” Matty grinned, having relented on his attack of the toddler, settling Teddy more comfortably into his side. He enjoyed having someone smile back at him with no other intention than just the simplicity of enjoying his presence, with kids there was never any ulterior motives. “Where’s your mum anyway, huh?”

“Right here.”

Matty’s head shot up to find Mouse now standing in the doorway wearing a strained sort of smile, a single suitcase behind her and then, “Oh.”

“Mémé!” Teddy pointed, dragging his eyes back up to meet Matty’s weary and startled face as he bounced excitedly.

Of course ‘Mémé’ would've had to have been Squeaks’s mum, because who else could it have possibly been? Who else would have such impeccable timing?

He was fucked. And Matty knew it.

Mouse must've seen the realisation that hit him too, because she used the moment to try and disguise the utter horror dawning on Matty’s face by clapping her hands and promptly glancing back at her mum from over her shoulder. “Mam! This is Matty. Matty,” She turned back to him, thankful to find that he’d sort of wised up to the situation they’d been shafted with and shut his gaping gob, “Matty this is my mum, Anaïs.”

Matty tried extremely hard to commit the pronunciation to memory, which proved to be a little bit easier when the toddler hanging off his hip started parroting it over and over again.

“Eh, excusez-moi! It is Mémé to you, mon chéri.” The woman answered Teddy with a soft sort of smile as Squeaks stepped aside to let her mother further in, aged eyes honed in on her giggling grandson.

Matty took the moment to admire the older woman, focusing on all the things her daughter had obviously inherited, the way she held herself, and the strength of her gaze when it finally landed on him. He swallowed thickly. 

“And you are Matty?” Matty nodded at her, not really feeling the way Teddy was now tugging on his fingers whilst the woman stepped even closer, gracing her daughter with a quick look that Matty couldn’t quite make out. “Ah.” She breathed before she finally smiled at him, a small thing, so different to the one he’d previously seen when she’d been teasing Teddy. “Ana is fine really, it seems you people always have a difficult time with it.”

There was humour there but Matty didn’t want to brush her name aside just for the sake of struggling, he’d get there in the end, he was sure of it. Just like how he’d gotten through a setlist full of songs edited by George, replacing most words with- well, probably best not to think of those two very separate things in the same context.

Matty struggled to control his sudden urge to grimace.

“Anaïs?” He stumbled slightly but then tried again with an apologetic smile and dipped brows, “Anaïs.”

“Mémé!” Teddy cut in with a uninformative correction, reaching upwards to poke at Matty’s slightly stubbled cheek. He was in need of a quick shave but seeing as he’d be heading up north for the holidays he’d foregone it, knowing his mum preferred him clean shaven. ‘Makes you look so much healthier, Matthew!’

The man glanced down, a thoughtless chuckle skipping out of his mouth like a rock over a lake as he shook his head closer to the boy’s own, letting his curls tickle Teddy’s tiny face. “Matty!” He laughed again, squirming before he too was shaking his hair in retaliation. 

Matty couldn’t quite help his beaming smile when he looked back up at the woman, who seemed very content with just watching the pair of them. His eyes trailed over her shoulder briefly to spot the way that Squeaks was currently chewing on her lower lip, silently fretting.

“Sorry, I’ll get it soon enough.” He told Anaïs with as much genuinity as he could muster up, oddly wanting to keep the woman on side. “It is lovely to meet you though, Anaïs.” She smiled in turn at the use of her name, even with Matty’s slight wince, and then dipped her chin at him. “I didn’t realise I’d be stepping on any toes dropping by.”

“Non, you are fine.” She assured him with a slight shake of her head, waving his apology right off, “My flight was delayed. I was worried I’d be keeping them waiting, so you did me a favour.”

Matty physically felt his shoulders sag with sudden relief at the woman’s words, glad to note that he hadn’t fucked much up by stopping in without a warning. Although, he tapped Teddy’s leg softly then to get him moving, “Don’t you wanna go say hello then, monster? I’d best be off now.”

Teddy’s eyes widened at that last bit and Matty was sure he’d never seen anyone move so fast. “No!” The boy exclaimed, wrapping his chubby little arms around Matty’s neck and holding fast.

Matty’s eyes widened just as he adjusted his grip better around the kid, beyond perplexed by the sudden change. “God, little man! Tryna take me out here?” He chuckled as best he could, voice a tad bit strained by the surprisingly strong hold Teddy had on his neck.

“Teds!” Matty heard Squeaks gasp out quickly, before she was already rounding her mother in a hasty beeline to help. “You can’t just-”

She huffed when Teddy only tightened his grip and Matty couldn’t help the other chuckle that slipped out.

“Teddy.”

“It’s fine, honest.” Matty assured her, a hand splayed on the toddler’s back whilst he stared over at Mouse’s oddly harassed expression. “Teddy, mate. I’ve got to head out now, but I reckon I can promise you a visit soon though. If your mum doesn't mind much.”

The pair of them shared a look then, but Teddy didn’t take to the ruse.

Matty pursed his lips to keep his growing grin at bay, knowing it wouldn’t earn him any points with Mouse, and then moved at an angle in an attempt to see the little boy’s face that was still hidden away in the curve of his shoulder.

“Teds, look. We can make a plan, yeah? ‘Cause I proper enjoyed that last little outing we had the other day- you know, the way you went down that slide at the park was crazy! “ Matty peered in closer and smiled at the sight of a blinking eye. “Or maybe you can come ‘round mine. I’ve got lots of guitars there, reckon we could mess about with them and annoy your mum until she goes mad.”

That had Teddy pulling further away, but only by a fraction. Matty noted the way not just Squeaks, but Anaïs too, was watching him now.

“Play ‘tars?”

Teddy’s small voice snapped him out of the apprehensive feeling that had started to coil. He blinked down at the kid, “Yeah, if you want. We can do whatever, yeah? Zoo, the park-” Matty sort of frowned then and glanced back up towards where Squeaks was now crouched before them, “What else do kids like to do?”

His whispered ask was rewarded with a breathy chuckle that lit up the girl's entire face and had her giggling away to herself even as her son squirmed excitedly in Matty’s hold.

“Zoo?” Teddy questioned him with big pleading eyes, “With the ‘guins? And the tigers?”

Matty felt his face pinch, “‘Guins?”

“The cold birdies, Matty! ‘Dem ones.”

Ah.

“Yeah, ‘course the penguins will be there!” Matty nodded resolutely, then turned back to Mouse, “London Zoo has penguins right?”

She snorted unhelpfully but Teddy paid their conversation no mind at all, apparently far too excited with the sudden prospect of an adventure to the Zoo. Looking at his face, Matty knew he’d have to find a way to make it happen.

“Right, we all settled then?” He asked the toddler, raising an eyebrow down at the tyke, suddenly wondering how he’d gone from pleasing a crowd full of fans to bargaining with a four year old. How his mum had ever managed to cope with the likes of him at this age was maddening.

Teddy looked up at him then with eyes squinted from the strength of his smile, he took a long second to deliberate the whole ‘letting go thing’ and then finally released Matty from his chokehold. 

“Cheers, monster.” Matty laughed softly, ruffling the kid’s curls before passing him off over into Mouse’s awaiting arms. 

“Hear, mum! Hear Matty?” Teddy quizzed her immediately, bouncing on her hip as she stood.

“I heard, love.” Squeaks chuckled softly before she turned to flash a smile in Matty’s direction, both apologetic and grateful. “You wanna say thanks to Matty for your present before he goes?”

“Ta!”

A bright laugh burst from Matty at that, but he shook his head and then forced himself back onto his feet, reaching out to tickle the little boy’s leg. “Welcome, mate.” 

And just like that Teddy was squirming to get down and go see his grandmother who appeared to have watched the whole scene play out from the sidelines.

Matty dimmed his grin into a smaller smile and let his eyes linger on the girl beside him, on the love she obviously had for her son and mother both. He wondered briefly what having that much love might feel like.

“I cleared up, by the way.” He mentioned quietly now that he was watching Teddy too, leaning into Squeaks’s side a little. “Figured it was only right, seeing as I’d been the cause and all that.”

She tittered lightly to herself, then pivoted to face him. “I appreciate it, all of it.”

It was obvious she wasn’t just talking about the clean up.

“No worries.” Matty shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling suddenly self-conscious, which wasn’t new but was also not appreciated. “I’d better be off, though, got a long drive and all that.”

Her brows rose ever so slightly before she nodded, as though she’d only just remembered he was meant to be on his way. “Yeah, yeah right. I’ll walk you out.”

Matty smiled, then turned back to the remaining two. “Monster! I’ll be seeing you! Be good and keep practising those chords for me, alright? I’ll be checkin' in.”

Teddy nodded buoyantly from where he had dragged his grandmother over to the sofa to view his gifted guitar, “Bye, Matty. See soon!”

Kid was a right little charmer.

Matty grinned back at him before allowing his eyes to meet Anaïs's own. “It was lovely meeting you, have a Merry Christmas.”

Anaïs granted him with a soft smile, one that Matty had only ever really seen mimicked by his own mum. “It was. Joyeux Noël, Matty.”

He nodded quietly to himself, the French infiltrating his mind. By the time both he and Mouse had made it back out into the hallway, the living room door now closed behind them, Matty allowed himself to voice his sudden thoughts, “You never said you were French.”

Squeaks quirked a brow at him in return, already pulling his coat off the hook and handing it over to him. Matty slowly shucked it on.

“Half.” She informed, watching him now from her place by the bannister, “And there’s a lot you don’t know about me yet, Healy.”

It was teasing but Matty knew that truth rather intimately, Mouse was a maze of secrets. Her name, her son, her origin. He wondered over what else she had kept so carefully hidden, but bit his tongue when he thought to ask. Yet, she had said. Matty could deal with a ‘yet’.

“Seems so.” He hummed sarkily, although he was smiling again. He always seemed to be smiling nowadays. Then he went to double check he had everything in his pockets only to realise that his jacket still homed one last gift. “Shit.” He muttered under his breath.

Mouse’s brow dipped, “What?”

A surge of anticipation surged through him at that question, what indeed. What the fuck had he been thinking, more like.

He’d gifted presents to women before, friends, girlfriends, staff at gigs. But this one left him feeling all weird. The type of weird that you often felt getting caught with a girl at school, or mentioning a silly crush to one of your mates on the playground. 

His eyes flickered up to meet hers in the dimly lit hallway, fingers dancing over the envelope he had tucked away. 

“Matty?”

Matty forced up that familiar bravado of his and stepped on closer, plucking the present from the confines of his coat as if he hadn't actually had a second thought about it, and then held it out towards her with a sly grin.

“Realised I couldn’t come bearing just one gift.” He told her, widening his eyes and prodding the envelope closer so that she’d finally get the hint and take it. Her fingers grasped it carefully, like she was wary he’d snatch it back.

Then her warm eyes met his own again, “Matty.”

He didn’t think he would ever get used to the sound of her saying his name. No matter how she said it.

Matty straightened at it though, already knowing she’d try to give it on back before even opening the thing, and waved her on, “Go on, it’s right rude to deny a present, you know?”

That spurred a soft laugh out of her, ever entertained by his absurdity. But before he could cajole her a little more, her face was lighting up with a sudden realisation, “Hang on a sec.” She said to him and then darted back down the hallway, leaving Matty blinking in her wake.

It didn’t take her all that long to return, though the suspense she’d left him with had now jumped to new heights.

“Sorry,” Squeaks smiled sheepishly, the envelope still in her hand, only weighed out now by the small bag she held in the other, “Forgot this.”

Matty was back to blinking again, startled by the fact that she had thought to get him something at all, let alone in return. “Um,” He murmured, rendered dumbstruck, before her light laughter broke him free. “If there’s something dirty in there, I will be telling your mother.”

Her eyes narrowed but her lips curved, “If you can make it to her in time.”

“Ooh sending out threats now, are we?”

That smile of hers was both devious and full of amusement, “Always.” Then she pushed the bag towards his chest, “Go on, open it.”

Matty shook his head, though he still accepted the Christmas patterned bag full of red tissue paper. “I gave you mine first, so I can’t open this ‘til you open yours.” He shook the bag to further accentuate his point.

“That's how it works, is it?” Squeaks commented, eyes creasing in her mirth, but Matty was as stubborn as they came and met her stare head on. “Fine,” She relented with a gentler smile, as though she already knew she wouldn’t win this particular battle, and moved to hold the envelope between them, thumbing the seal. “But this better be something nice, Matty. If it’s stupid I will toss you out.”

He laughed at the fact that they were already standing by the door, “Already are, sweetheart. But nah, you’re alright. Just hoping you’ll like it.” 

Those eyes of hers flickered between his own again, left, right, then like ripping off a plaster she opened the envelope within a blink. As she grasped at the pages tucked within, Matty felt his resolve crumble somewhat, vaguely embarrassed by the many emotions he currently felt warring within him and the fact that he couldn’t wage how Mouse might react.

But all those thoughts and feelings were immediately sidelined when he heard her gasp, this breathy little thing that echoed in the small space between them and had Matty’s mind reeling.

“Matty.”

He reckoned that if he could get away with asking her to only say his name again, exactly like that, he’d record it and give it its own side on their next album. Fuck anyone who’d argue otherwise.

Her expression was one Matty had never witnessed on Mouse before. He’d seen her surprised (that day he’d turned up out of the blue at the studio), seen her happy (messing about with Teddy on Facetime, listening to the boy ramble and rant), he’d seen her awkward and stressed (at that charity event where he’d been all but glued to her side), and he’d also seen her tired (when those late night calls of theirs had ended with bleary eyes and sweet smiles).

Matty swallowed at the heavy feeling he felt corrode his chest.

“I can’t take these, Matty.” She argued, all but pulling him back to the present when she tried to hand the gift back to him.

He swatted her arm away, shaking his head with a tiny smile. “You can take them. What the fuck am I gonna do with 'em otherwise?”

She rolled her eyes but let his hand linger on the back of her own. “It’s way too much. I mean, how did you even manage it, how’d you even know?”

Matty laughed at that, “You’re really asking how I knew? Squeaks, babe, you bring him up almost every time we talk, you sing his songs when you’re cooking on call, and you never fail to mention him on your show. Even Teddy pipes up when he’s playing on the radio!”

Mouse had the nerve to look abashed at that. “It’s still too much.”

“Of course it’s too much. But I am, if anything, extreme.” Matty snipped back, smirking.

“But it’s Billy Joel, Matty! You can’t just buy a girl tickets to go and see Billy Joel!” Squeaks immediately argued back, though Matty noticed the way her eyes shone whenever she looked down at the tickets and how her fingers toyed with the paper ever so carefully.

“You’re right,” He agreed again, surprising her, “Good thing I got you two then.”

She gave him a huffy sigh in retort, one that had him grinning. “Matty.”

“Mouse.”

Her nose scrunched then, at the use of her name or the way he'd parroted, Matty couldn’t tell. “How am I meant to compete with tickets like these?”

Matty rolled his eyes at the stupidity of that question, “You don’t, I didn’t just give you them thinking I’d get something in return, Squeaks. I want you to have them.”

He was met with a drawn out silence then, her stare drifting back and forth between the tickets, himself and then back again. “Thank you.” She finally said, looking up at him with a wonder in her eyes that made Matty question whether she’d ever just been given anything for the sake of it.

“You’re welcome, love.” The smile he wore grew when she looped her arms around his waist to pull him into a hug. 

Hugs were a rare thing with Mouse, Matty had noted, unless you were four and had a mop-full of curls then you’d best not even think about offering her one. Though he had that last bit down tap, they didn't really do that sort of thing past a greeting.

Still, hugging her settled something within him, something he couldn’t quite comprehend but allowed to wander all the same.

She squeezed his middle once before they parted again and Matty did his best to ignore the slight sheen her eyes now held and the way she slyly wiped at her nose. “Really, Matty. It means so much.”

Matty felt his heart stutter at the tender look she wore, then smiled. “Just make sure you send me the odd video, alright? Or at least a pic of you all dressed up.”

She laughed when he winked but he didn’t let it deter him. He wasn’t a constant listener of Old Joe but a classic was a classic, and the man was exactly that.

“Won’t need to.” Squeaks told him firmly and when he raised a brow she grinned hopefully, “You’ll be coming with, won’t you?”

Of all reactions, it was baffling to Matty that he had not expected that.

“Me?” He asked her, needing her to clarify.

“I don’t see no one else standing here.” She snorted, but her grin dampened all too quickly at the expression that must’ve been plastered on his face. “You don’t have to, I know you’re busy and got stuff going. Just thought…”

She finished that with a needless shrug which had Matty reaching out, hand cupping her right cheek, fingers slipping gently into her hair, it was soft. “‘Course I’ll come. Nothing could stop me.”

Her eyes had widened momentarily at the unexpected touch, Matty was quick to notice, but couldn’t bring himself to pull away just yet, especially when her face softened and she leaned ever so slightly into his hold.

–

‘Course I’ll come. Nothing could stop me.

Those words played on a loop in my head for the rest of the day, taking me through into the late evening where I was currently stood in the kitchen making another round of tea. Chamomile for mam, green for me.

The words were a promise I couldn’t quite find myself believing.

Too many people had promised me things; promised to keep my secrets, promised to keep me safe, promised to be there, promised to come. But only a fair few had ever followed through.

Matty was an anomaly though.

In himself, and in everything he said and did.

It always left me thinking, wondering...

It was just as I was stirring the honey into the mug that wasn't mine that I startled at the soft brush I felt beside me.

“I was just coming.” I attempted to say, glancing over at my mum who now stood beside me at the counter, gazing out the tiny kitchen window.

She waved me off with a tender smile, taking over honey duty as she slid her cup closer. “Your mind has been elsewhere today.” She accused me and immediately I felt my hackles rise, ready to jump into defence mode, but she merely casted me a careless look. “You never mentioned this Matty before.”

The change of subject threw me, enough that I frowned and was quiet until she wandered on over to take perch at the table with both our drinks. I blinked, feeling the fight drain out of me, then followed after her.

The chair scraped against the tiles as I pulled it free and I cringed at the silence that followed, hoping it hadn’t stirred Teddy who had not long fallen asleep down the hall.

When the quiet remained, I finally took my seat, wrapping my fingers around the warm mug and pulling it in nearer. “I didn’t think to.” I told her, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue. I was quick to drown it in tea.

My mum merely hummed, sipping elegantly at her chamomile. “He seems comfortable here. Teddy likes him too.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. Thinking about earlier, the present Matty had gifted me, the one I’d given him in turn.

I could still feel the press of his hand against my cheek. So gentle, I’d almost wanted to break.

“They met about a week ago, an accident really.”

She hummed again, staring off ahead, and so I picked up my mug to keep myself from talking any more.

It had felt wrong, not getting Matty a present, which seemed so strange considering the circumstances. On how we’d only known each other a few short months. But I still couldn’t find it in me to ignore the feeling.

I could recall his face when he’d finally pulled away to peer into the gift bag I’d handed him, he’d been chewing on lip trying to dampen the sincerity of his smile...

Wary and still reeling off of the tender moment we’d just shared, I fidgeted with the envelope I held in my hand. It looked to be black but in the light it shone blue. It felt expensive, though I could see the way it had been fidgeted with, or held, like someone had kept picking it up only to put it down again.

Matty opened the bag with the same fragility I’d shown his envelope, rustling the tissue paper inside without much fanfare.

When he pulled the woolly item out from inside I felt all too stupid. What were his concert tickets to see one of my favourite musicians compared to a simple hat? I fretted.

I fish mouthed for a brief moment when his fingers swiped over the soft material, before my eyes finally darted up to meet his honeyed brown. 

“You got cold, that time we took you to the park. Teddy said it would be good for the next time we go.” I stumbled slightly, it wasn’t the whole truth, no. But I wouldn’t dare mention the hours I’d spent searching for the right one, none of them feeling anything like ‘Matty’ until I’d seen this redcurrant coloured beanie.

He stared down at the gift for a long second, leaving me to wallow in my pitiful gift and the hastily given thought behind it, before he smiled. It was kind and it was genuine and it had the air fleeing from my lungs.

“Well, I’ll wear it and think of you both.” Matty murmured breathily, his voice catching ever so slightly on that last word. I swallowed thickly and without thinking took his hand in mine.

He looked down at the joined pair and smiled, but our quiet moment was then interrupted by rather loud strumming that echoed out.

Shocked, we both jumped a tad at the sound but then laughed, listening to Teddy call for his Mémé to watch him play.

I went to let go and Matty almost let me before he lightly tugged my hand closer, pressing the woolly hat into my palm. “Put it on for me?”

Blinking, I grasped the beanie tighter and watched as his hand fell away. I nodded when I glanced back up at him, his eyes watching me closely, then stepped forward, fumbling to carefully place my envelope in the back pocket of my jeans before fixing the hat over the top of his dark unruly curls.

Having to tiptoe, I let my thumb skim the brim of it, just above the skin of his brow, so that I could fix it a tad. Then peered into his warm eyes once more, “There you go.”

Matty smiled, and oh did I love seeing him smile.

We didn’t speak as he roped me into another hug, arms latching around one another's middles. We didn’t share many of those but somehow they always felt right, and then when he stepped away I felt the faint graze of his lips against my cheek.

His fingers were catching the latch on the front door before I could even react, his smile still there, his eyes now shining with some sort of emotion I couldn’t place.

“Merry Christmas, Squeaks.”

I came back to then, at the feel of my mother’s hand cradling mine atop the kitchen table, my head turned to search her tender stare. “Glowing, ma chérie.” She reminded me and oddly, I felt caught.

“Maman.” I whispered, looking away, but all she did was gently pat the back of my hand before pulling back.

“Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid.” Was all that she said, throwing me back to days spent when I’d only been a little girl curled up in her lap.

Little by little, the bird makes its nest.

Slowly but surely things will change. I just had to remind myself that change wasn’t always a bad thing.

[kitorin]

1:34pm - isagi yoichi

"yocchan?" you check up on your boyfriend, who was currently burning red.

currently you were out for lunch, at that beef noodle place you had gone to a lot as a kid, wanting to revisit the nostalgia with yoichi. the food tasted the same even years later, almost as if the chef was still working there and was still using the exact same recipes and ingredients.

it all went great, the food itself was amazing and the sweet memories made it taste even better. not until something seemed off about yoichi.

"yes love?" he didn't seem upset or mad.

"you alright? you're ate a lot slower than usual. this much food is nothing to you. do you have a stomach ache?" you felt a bit guilty about the fact that he could've been pretending to be fine before the date, just for your sake. "do you have a fever?" soon your hand made its way to his forehead, under his bangs. it was hot. really hot.

it didn't make sense, he wasn't this warm when he was lying on your shoulder on the bus. his hands are shaking, so are his lips. speaking of his lips, they were red as well, although they were always a pretty shade of pink they were never a prominent scarlet. you gradually piece together the situation.

"yoichi, can you not tolerate spice?"

the question catches him off guard, "of course i can!" but the awkward laughter and lack of eye contact gives him away.

"you're red, like, very red,"

"that's because i love you ! how does someone not get this flustered around someone as pretty as you?"

you can't help but grin at him. "awwww, since i love you back i want to make you try the chili sauce here !" jokingly, you bring it near his bowl, and watch his eyes widen.

"i'm sorry i'm sorry! i think i'll die if i have anything spicier," you giggle at his confession, satisfied that your suspicions were correct. although his reaction was adorable, you were still worried.

"why didn't you tell me then!" you deliver a flick to his forehead, making him yelp. "

"i'm sorryyyy, it's just embarrassing, how are you so unfazed?"

"it's not something you should hide. i don't care what if you eat more than you can handle? gosh you're redder than chigiri's hair."

yoichi whines, "but i can't even handle a bowl of noodles with a bit of chili, how am i supposed to enjoy anything your family makes. oh god what if your mum hates me because i can't handle her food," he says the last part as if it's the end of the world, which it probably is to him. "i can't enjoy your culture and i disappoint your family."

despite it being a silly conversation, you found it quite cute how he did his best to hide it. "first off, my mum already loves you and doesn't care about your spice tolerance. second, it's not that hard to get used to laksa or beef rendang." your hand returns to his cheek, still warm, how bad was he with spice? "i'm impressed you managed to finish it all... you shouldn't push yourself." the bowl was completely empty, every noodle eaten and every drop of soup drank.

"anything for you, you seemed so happy to come back here" yoichi grins, lips still red, "may i get a kiss for my hard work then?"

with a mumbled 'fine' you comply with his request, "you're still an idiot."

"yeah but i'm your idiot," you gently smack him on the shoulder, ready to leave, with the owner of the restaurant lovingly grinning at the same child from years ago coming back with their boyfriend.

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

[inthedarkshadows000]

SneakPeak#101.......

From the story I might never write.

"I would like to take offence to that. I too can be that and more." He said and moved forward, into my personal bubble. His eyes never leaving mine. My fingers that held the cigarette to my lips froze right there and my smirk dropped.

"Inhale yn...." he whispered, too close for my brains to function. Like a puppet on strings I did what he said and inhaled.

"Good girl, let go now." And like a braindead person I did. My brain had turned to mush but I didn't care because when i saw him inhale the smoke that left my lips, leaving not a tendril behind, I felt my brain short-circuit.

His lips moved right next to my ear and I heard him exhale while murmuring "give me a chance to show how much of a gentle-man I can be."

Sir, can you not. I am already in love with you why give me a heart attack with such stunts.

OK, deep breat- no no deep breath. Can't let his unholy cologne invade any further.

So let's reboot. Brain fucking reboot. Right what were taking about.... hard no wait gentle- gentleman!! right!!!

He had moved back to where his nose touched mine, probably watching me short circuit. He had a smirk plastered on his gorgeous face that had to leave because I will ALWAYS  have the last word!!!!

"What say princess?" He WAS LAUGHING AT ME. Well not all out but his tone was mocking.

"The princess wants to actually tell you about her observation." I set my chin in defiance and looked straight back. " So please correct me if I am wrong but your manners, although genuine, are mainly a cover for your inner freak. You show the world how calm and intelligent you are, no doubt you definitely are, but that not all there is to you, is there?" I had taken him by surprise. His eyes wide, he moved back a tiny bit in shock and I took that moment to move into his space.

I traced his face with my finger that still had the cigg.  Starting from where his bangs fell perfectly on his forehead and moved along his cheek as I continued to whisper "Its because of that hidden menace that you click so perfectly with gojo. You might be tamer but just a lethal, aren't ya?" finalling reaching his chin, I held it between my thumb and forefinger and tugging him closer.

I watched a his eyes few bigger and bigger and a prominent blush coating his cheeks. He opened and closed his mouth like fish and it only made me want to tease him more. So I did.

I leaned close to his ear and continued "Don't worry, this personality of your is the reason why you have brownie points over the rest of them."

Leaning back into my seat, I took a gulp of my coffee and smiled sweetly at him, while he stayed right where I was holding him. This made me busy out laughing. "Please tell me I haven't broken you, geto" I couldn't help but comment.

This made him jerk back into his seat and shake his head a little. "You are evil. I hope you know that" I just grinned cheekily at that.

"Also you might as well call me suguru. With you knowing everything from the show,  you are hardly a stranger."

"I agree I have watched the show but I do not think I know everything. Plus whatever I do know is something extremely generic and not to mention one sided. That doesn't make us familiar. Familiarity comes when information is exchanged. Willingly. Ask me to call you suguru when you think I deserve it. After all it's a privilege to be considered close to you, a privilege that I should earn, don't you think?" I winked at him playfully.

"I... thank you. I didn't realise I needed to hear that. I was feeling restless but hadn't realise it was because I felt invaded" He turned his face away to look out the balcony as he's said that.

I pursed my lips together in sympathy. "You'll feel better once you know what is shown in the show." And he nodded.

I avoided looking at him and annoyed a frayed string on my jeans as I mumbled on, "If it makes you feel better, my description of your personality is not something that is extremely highlighted. It's just one of the many theories people have."

His sudden booming laughter made me jump a little in my seat and look at him. 

He still sat facing the sky so only half his face was visible and what a beautiful half it was. The glow of the full moon made him look ethereal.

[quetzii]

Heiii, hahaha, redesign Alador again

And also, some headcanons I had bc yes

—Redesign heavily inspired on Leone Abbacchio from JJBA!!

—Doing it justice and at least giving it a decent story. Alador comes from a family that was in its own world. His parents' neglect, manipulation, and blackmail towards him were normal. Although he didn't like that. All that resentment and trauma led him to what he is now.

We can say that Alador applied the "I suffered this, and now I want my children to suffer what I suffered." We can say that it is a chain of family abuse. Making Alador victim and victimizer; "the abused becomes the abuser"

—By spending time with himself, she was able to get to know himself well and also see beyond how he identified himself. getting a taste for makeup, feminine things, and so on; but also feeling like a boy or nothing

roll, roll: genderfluid jackpot

but Alador is more aligned with the feminine, always wanting compliments of these or being treated with feminine pronouns, sharing that with Darius and Odalia. This is where Odalia comes in.

—I handle the marriage of Odalia and Alador here as something forced and already planned by their families.

Alador has preferences for boys, but the family didn't care about that and made her get engaged to Odalia. Of course, manipulation by Odalia towards Alador is carried out; blackmail and everything

although, their relationship was strange; codependency on the part of Alador, Odalia only complying with compliments, praise and more sweet words for Alador, and having her like a dog paying attention to her and that he is on his own was part of the negligence and so on towards her children (first point)

—Alador's personality is still the same as it is in the series, only that I liked to base it more on how it was shown in the Reaching Out storyboards; someone harsher, arrogant, selfish and showing that without Odalia's own account, he could be worse than her, believing that what she did was fair and at least putting into practice her dilemma of "I suffered, let them suffer now."

At work, he is careless and someone, questionably perfectionist and obsessed. His arms, part of his legs and shoulders are full of cuts; part of self-harm and work accidents, deep scars, which for her is a good thing and bears fruit for his work.

Neglecting a lot about hygiene, appearance and so on. (little bathing, makeup always ruined because he cries a lot; the dress he wears is totally destroyed and stained, etc.)

—After the event of the Collector and Belos, Alador has a calmer and more positive attitude, taking care of his appearance and well-being, recovering from self-harm and correcting his mistakes; working on himself for his children and having a good relationship with them (also adding that she is now Darius' partner)

During the Collector's incident, he suffered a wound to his head, leaving a scar that reaches part of his forehead, leaving him unconscious and turned into a puppet. At the moment, this has not affected his health/his brain brrr-

—Short stature! His children and his wife are taller than him

Alador - 170 cm

Odalia - 190 cm

Emira - 183 cm

Edric - 185cm

Amity - 180cm

(the heights of his children are from the timeskip) And the entire Blight family has a magnificent athletic build

Although-he is most notable for having prominent, well-built pectorals (big tiddy dilf/milf lol)

—Which of the two had the twins and Amity?

Alador

All of the Boiling Isles are intersex/have double genitalia. They can make one appear, have both or remove (although they can make it appear again, it is not permanently) both internal and external reproductive system, combine both or have only one.

In this case, Alador conceived the twins and Amity, making the womb, uterus and that appear (yes, Odalia and Alador have both genitalia and combined reproductive system|one way or the other. I no longer remember my biology classes)

[abby-the-druid]

Love Language

"You're learning an entire language for a dungeons and dragons campaign?" In which Sakura is Sakura, Sasuke is an absolute nerd, and tenderness ensues. SasukexSakura CollegeAU

xoxo

“Shhhuuu…” 

A single pink brow rose on a prominent forehead as Sakura Haruno popped into the cramped common area of her best friend’s apartment. There, glaring with dark eyes down at his phone, was her best friend’s roommate.

His extremely handsome, maybe emotionally constipated, roommate.

“You piece of shit,” the Sasuke Uchiha muttered in clear agitation down at the touch screen. “That’s what I fucking said. Shhjuu. Sju. Seven. Fuck.” His mouth was clearly struggling to form around sounds he wasn’t quite familiar with.

“Uh, Sasuke?” the young man nearly jumped out of his skin, looking up in confusion, something like a blush dusted across his pale cheeks. Sakura tried to hide her giggle behind a weak cough, but the way his mouth twisted into a light frown told her she hadn’t succeeded. “What are you doing?”

His mouth parted as if to tell her, but then quickly clamped shut. He quickly turned his screen off, stuffing the offending object into his pocket as he shifted on the beaten orange couch so that he was mostly facing away from her. “I should be asking you that. You know Naruto isn’t here.”

The girl shrugged off her backpack, letting it plop unceremoniously onto the carpet. “I’m supposed to meet him and Hinata for dinner tonight. He said you were coming so I figured we could walk over to the dining hall together.”

She could see him looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and ignoring it, she stepped closer and sat beside him on the couch. She was tired from her back-to-back calculus class and general chemistry lab, and further ignoring his fetal scowl, she pulled her legs up onto the threadbare cushions and sank back into him. He didn’t verbally protest, but she felt the way his posture stiffened and couldn’t help but smile to herself.

“So, really though, what were you doing?” She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her middle, nuzzling a bit into the fabric. Dinner wasn’t for another hour or so, she might as well get comfortable.

“It’s really not important.”

“Then you should have no trouble telling me about it.”

He was silent at her retort, and she knew he was probably kicking himself for opening such an easy avenue for her to ask again. She was starting to think he wouldn’t answer her when she felt him swallow and he answered.

“I’m trying to teach myself Swedish.”

Her green eyes shot open, baffled at the admission. She squirmed around until she was laying back into his lap, looking up into his face. A rose brow lifted again, and when he didn’t elaborate further, she nudged him gently with her elbow.

“Why are you learning Swedish?” for the second time that day a light pink appeared on Sasuke’s cheeks. “Not that there’s like, a problem with it, that’s just so random.”

He rolled his black eyes, and left his gaze fastened to a crack on the ceiling. “I-I…” he sighed and shoveled a hand through his black hair. “It’s embarrassing.” He finally admitted.

Maybe Sakura had been wrong, maybe he wasn’t totally emotionally constipated.

“So? I do embarrassing shit all the time.”

“Right, like showing up to your friend’s apartment when he’s not there to ask a practical stranger to walk you to the dining hall.”

Her smile was dazzling. “Exactly, so you have nothing to be embarrassed about.” She didn’t correct him in that they were, in fact, not strangers and that she knew him more intimately than the back of her hands. He didn’t say anything, and she pouted. “Sa-su-ke,” she held out the individual syllables in a sing-song-y way “Tell me, please?”

She nudged at his side playfully. He didn’t respond but Sakura swore she saw the corner of his mouth lift just a hair.

“Please, please, please? Ahh, Sasuke-kun!” his eyes darted to her widened at the usage of the name she called him when they were in middle school. “Sasuke-kun, I will tickle you until you release this vital information!”

“I’m not ticklish.”

She grinned almost wickedly at him and accepted the challenge. Before he could stop her, she had tumbled off the couch landing on her feet, before straddling him and gently jabbing her fingers into his sides and neck. 

“What are you, seven?” he asked as he tried, and failed, to hold back something similar to laughter as her fingertips grazed a soft and sensitive part of his abdomen, slightly below his navel. “Stop, stop, I told you I’m not ticklish!” he lied before bursting into a fit of laughter as she attacked the spot more thoroughly.

“I’ve found your weakness Sasuke Uchiha!” 

She continued to exploit his soft spots, relishing in the way that his deep laughter seemed to fall so much easier from his throat now that they were far away from his childhood home. His smile was large, crinkling the corners of his eyes, and showing off white teeth. Her heart thrummed against her ribcage, and she knew the smile on her face was just as bright as his was.

Her pink mouth fell into a small circle when he moved quickly, gently tossing her back against the couch and hovering over her. She was dimly aware that his hips were innocently nestled between her knees, and suddenly it was her turn to blush. His fingers feathered over her, and unlike him, she was ticklish nearly everywhere. Her sides, the soft skin of her neck, behind her ears, that same sensitive spot below her navel that mirrored his. She was too busy giggling and laughing at the uncomfortable but not unpleasant sensations. Her breath was clipped, tears springing from the corners of her eyes, before he finally stopped.

“Sakura Haruno.”

“Yes?” she asked meekly, wiping at the tears, and ignoring the ache in her cheeks from laughing so hard.

“Jag älskar dig.”

“What does that mean?”

His smile was small, soft, all the harsh edges of his face were smoothed out and rounded. His black, black eyes were locked onto hers, and he dipped down closer to her, gaze flickering between her eyes and her lips, before settling his mouth on hers.

Sparks crashed across her vision, dazzling, bright, ephemeral. It was tender, the most tender kiss she had ever experienced, just his soft lips on hers, soft black hair brushing along her face, and a soft hand cupping her cheek. Any air she had regained since she lost the game she initiated was gone, exhaled in a lazy sigh into his mouth. 

Before she could press herself closer to him, to open her mouth and ask to play with his tongue, he had pulled back away from her, sitting back on his haunches. His smile had turned into a smirk, and he rested his hands on her knees – which she immediately remembered were settled on either side of his hips, causing her cheeks to flame up again – and he traced lazy circles into the fabric of her skinny jeans. 

“Shikamaru is going to run a Norse mythology D&D campaign.”

The girl swallowed. “Wait, what?”

Sasuke’s smirk grew. “Why I’m learning Swedish. Shikamaru is going to run a Norse mythology-based dungeons and dragons campaign.” He shrugged, still rubbing her knees. “I had a free subscription to a language learning app, and Swedish was the only Nordic language. So, I figured I’d try not to make a total fool of myself.”

“You… you’re learning an entire language so that you can play dungeons and dragons?”

He nodded.

“You’re such a huge fucking nerd!” she said it playfully as he scowled at her, she squeaked when he tickled at her again.

“You said you wouldn’t judge me!”

“No,” she was laughing and out of breath. “I told you there was nothing to be embarrassed about, I did notclaim I wouldn’t judge you.”

Soon his fingers had given up on tickling her but pulled her closer and crashed his mouth against hers again. It was more forceful this time, almost needy in its insistence. “It’s,” he kissed her between each word. “What. You. Implied.” Her hands found their way into his hair, tangling the soft strands in her fingers as he trailed his mouth down her throat.

“What am I going to do with you, you big dork?” she said tenderly, grinning as he paused to look up at her and smile back.

“You’re going to go to dinner with me, and our idiot of a friend.” he kissed the spot on her throat pulsing with her heartbeat. “Then we’ll come back here, and I’ll show you all the other stupid shit I’m an absolute nerd about, and then… then I’m going to kiss you absolutely senseless.”

[rose-of-the-grave]

Smells Like Heaven

Pairing: Lily x James

I've always loved reading fics where amortentia comes into play so, since I've started posted my writing on here, I've finally broken down and written one of my own. Hope y'all like it! I'm the author (please don't repost <3

Masterlist. Read on Ao3

Warnings: Amortentia

Word Count: 3,187

Description: During Potions Lily and James are paired together to make Amortentia. Lily ends up reevaluating things because of what she smelled.

May 18th, 6th year

Students were hurriedly shuffling through the halls of Hogwarts, hoping to not be deducted house points if they were late. It was a nice day outside, the sky a beautiful shade of blue with only a few wisps of clouds in sight. The birds were chirping and the trees were swaying in the breeze.

None of this was noticed however, by one such student. A Gryffindor who was rushing to get to her next class. It was the last class of the day, Potions. Lily loved her classes but this was one class that she was dreading for one reason and one reason only. Potter. They had been assigned to each other and Professor Slughorn did not allow students to ask for changes.

It had only been a week since they had been partnered together but he had already gotten on her nerves. Because of his father, he was exceptionally talented in Potions. It was most likely the only class he really tried in. This unfortunately meant that he would occasionally hog the table and start mixing ingredients without even glancing at the instructions.

Lily was used to trying her hardest in class so having Potter try to do everything was unwelcome. After all, how was she supposed to learn if he did everything himself?

The very thought darkened her mood. The halls had started to thin out when she reached the door to Professor Slughorn's classroom. Lily just barely slid into her seat before class started. Her table mate looked up at her, he was probably about to make some remark about her being nearly late and how unusual that was. He was halted by the sound of their teacher.

"Alright, class. Today we are going to be brewing this potion that I have before me. Can anyone tell me what it is?" Slughorn asked, his voicing booming.

Someone answered, "Amortentia."

She heard a rustle. Peeking out from the side of her eye she quickly identified the cause. Potter just kept on moving. Small movements really, almost unnoticeable. But she noticed.

As if from far away she heard their teacher ask someone else about the potion. She faced forward, giving Professor Slughorn her full attention. Focusing on the instructions she turned her potions book to the correct page and took a look at the ingredients.

Lily tried, she really did. But the fidgeting was getting on her last nerve. Every small noise aggravated her more.

Finally, that last nerve snapped. "Would you please quit doing that Potter?"

He had been looking over at another table. Finally looking at her he apologized.

"Sorry, I'm just worried."

"Why?" Before he could respond she followed where his gaze had been only moments before. "Oh. Where's Remus?"

"I don't know. He said he wasn't feeling well at lunch but I don't know what happened afterwards. He said he was fine and that we shouldn't worry." His forehead scrunched up a bit, worry lines becoming prominent on his forehead.

Both of them knew that it would be near impossible to leave class and check up on there mutual friend. Knowing that they both silently agreed to start brewing the potion. The two of them worked in tandem, chopping this and slicing that. An unspoken agreement hanging in the air.

A few tables over, Sirius was doing the same thing, going out of his mind with worry.

When everybody had properly brewed their potion and their professor had signed off, everybody was told to smell their potion and tell their partner what scents they could identify.

They were about to do this when, finally, Remus walked in. Bags hung heavy under his eyes and looking exhausted. He was here.

"Five points from Gryffindor for tardiness, Mr. Lupin. Please, take your seat. Mr. Black will fill you in on what you have missed."

Nodding, he walked over to where Sirius sat and plopped down in the other seat.

Finally knowing that Remus was nearby, Lily and James turned to the task in front of them. They both sniffed the air near them trying to identify what they were smelling.

"Okay, I can go first." Lily offered.

"Go ahead."

"Okay, I smell..." She took a small sniff. "Freshly baked cookies, coffee, and..Are you sure this potion is working?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." She said quickly, shaking her head, her cheeks already a bit pink. How could she tell him, the boy she's claimed to hate, all she can smell is him. A heady mix of sweat, cologne, and fresh air. Thinking quickly she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I also smell grass." That wasn't exactly a lie, she could. But it wasn't coming from the potion it was coming from her robes from when she had been sitting outside on the lawn. It was faint but she could still just barely smell it. Hopefully he couldn't.

"Okay, your turn. What do you smell?" She deflected. The longer his focus was on her the more uneasy she felt.

"Pumpkin juice, flowers, and strawberries." He looked at her when he said that last one.

She nodded absentmindedly and looked around the classroom. Everyone seemed like they had also finished.

Slughorn, having seen that everybody had finished, told them all to leave early. He assigned a short essay on Amortentia, its history and different uses.

"Go. It's a nice day outside. Enjoy!"

Everybody quickly gathered their things and shuffled out of the classroom. Lily could hear everybody discussing their summer plans. Ignoring James, she got up and walked out into the corridor.

She had almost reached the end of it when he caught up to her.

“Walk together?” He asked.

She nodded.

They walked together in silence. Uneasiness filled Lily. She had no idea how to act around him now that she had realized she fancied him. They had never really hung out together alone. They were always in the common room or the great hall or in class. Not to mention she had swore she hated him for years.

Now? She wasn't so sure.

*They weren’t friends, that much she knew, so how was she going to tell him that she could smell him in the amortentia? How could she tell him when she could hardly wrap her own mind around it? She didn’t know.

The two of them had just reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room when James stopped and turned to look at her. His brows were furrowed and he looked like he wanted to say something. 

After standing there waiting impatiently, Lily asked, “Well? What is it?”

“What’s what?”

“You’ve clearly got something to say so come on. Let’s hear it. Spit it out.” She was growing more and more annoyed with every second he hesitated.

He sighed, “You lied.”

“What?”

“In class. You were lying when you said that you could smell grass.”

“No, I wasn’t,” she replied, her eyes flashing furiously. Yes, she may have lied but that doesn’t mean he has to call her out on it. At least he’d had the good grace to do it in private.

“Yes, you were. Whenever you lie, you do that thing.” He twirled his hand.

Lily raised a brow,skeptical, “That thing?”

“You know. That thing where you twirl your hair. You do it every time you get nervous or lie. I remember when that Hufflepuff asked you out two weeks ago and you told them that you were really busy that night when you had nothing going on.”

She gasped, affronted. “I was busy!”

“Yeah, studying for a test that wasn’t for three weeks. You still have a week to get ready for it. One night would not have been the end of the world.”

Yes, although she was loath to admit it and would never dare say it to his face, he was right. She was just trying to let him down gently. He looked really nervous and she didn’t have the heart to hurt him.

“I wasn’t lying. Not about smelling the grass.”

“So you were lying to him! I knew it.” He looked so pleased. Of course he did. He managed to get her to allude to lying only about the grass.

“You know nothing of the kind. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going in.” She turned away from him, her hair floated through the air, accompanying the motion. The scent of her shampoo wafted over to him.

Strawberries.

Watching as she stepped through the doorway all James could think about was her. He had had a crush on her for years but whenever he asked her out, albeit somewhat jokingly after a while just to prove a point, he hadn’t taken it too hard. Or at least that’s what he would tell himself. Even though he expected her to say no there was always a small part of him that hoped against the odds and with every rejection that small part of him died.

Maybe, just maybe he would learn his lesson next year and not ask her out again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 12th, 7th year

“Aaaaand Gryffindor wins against Slytherin with 270 points!”

It had been yet another win for Gryffindor and against Slytherin no less. Even though it still wasn’t that late yet and students were allowed in the halls it seemed as if the entirety of Gryffindor house was in the common room dancing, laughing and, in a few instances, singing horribly.

Lily was sitting near a window trying to get some fresh air. Over on the opposite side of the room James and Sirius were reenacting the match for some third years who were in awe of them. She watched them with a fond smile on her face. She and James had become somewhat friends in the past few months. Over the summer they had exchanged letters after finding out that they would be head boy and girl together. A tentative friendship had flourished between them and she had been delighted to discover that it was just as strong when they met again face to face on the platform at the beginning of the year.

It was nice finally being friends. Unfortunately she still couldn’t forget about that one day in Potions. It had kept her up all night for weeks at the end of the school year. Once they no longer saw each other everyday it got better but now? Now she felt as if she were being tortured. Being friends meant she got to see another side of him, a side that she really liked. She had no idea how to process it though.

“So Lily, when are you going to tell him?”

She looked over at her friend, Marlene.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh please. Lils, whenever you look at him, or hear his name or even think about you get heart eyes.”

“I do not!”

“Do too! You gaze into the distance and smile. I was afraid you’d eat the poor boy alive yesterday at breakfast. If you look at him much more he’ll think you’ve gone mad. We can all tell that you like him and he’s clearly been into you for years. The only one who hasn’t noticed is Potter. Why don't you just get it over with and tell him?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m nervous.”

“What’s there to be nervous about? There is exactly zero chance of him rejecting you.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe last year that would have been right but now? We’re friends, we get along really well. I don’t want to ruin that. Besides, he usually would have asked me out by now. He always does. What if he’s finally given up? What if he’s moved on?”

“He hasn’t.”

“Yes, he has.”

“No, he hasn’t.”

“Says who?”

“The look in his eyes when he’s looking at you.” She retorted. Then, pausing to think, she followed it up with another thought. “Have you considered maybe he stopped asking you out for the same reason you don’t want to tell him? Maybe neither one of you wants to ruin this friendship.”

Then, looking over Lily’s shoulder, Marlene’s eyes widened and she rushed away with a frantic, “Bye!”

Staring after her best friend Lily thought about what she had just said. Was it possible that he didn’t want to wreck their friendship either? And if so how can she make it clear to him that she likes him back?

“Hey!”

Turning to face the cause of her woes, she plastered on a smile that hopefully would hide her inner panic.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing over here?” He asked.

“Trying to get some fresh air, it was too crowded over there.” She motioned to the throng of people celebrating.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Really?” She was, understandably, skeptical. “What about all of your fans? They were too much for you?”

He laughs, acknowledging that she had a point.

“So, are you?” He asks.

“Am I what?” She inquires, looking out into the crowd before letting her gaze once more land on him again.

“Getting fresh air?”

She grins sheepishly, admitting, “No, not really.”, though she makes no move to actually accomplish what she said she was trying to do.

“I know somewhere that’s probably a little less crowded if you want some fresh air.”

She arched a brow at him.

He rushed to assure her of his intended meaning. “No! I didn’t mean. Sorry, that came out weird. I meant that we could go up to the Astronomy Tower if you wanted.” 

Lily smiles and nods.

Walking together, they weave through the crowd towards the door. Once they are out in the corridor it is a bit of a shock to them both just how many people are still out an about. 

Lily can spot a handful of Ravenclaws carrying some books who clearly just finished studying in the library. A few stairs down there’s a Hufflepuff waiting patiently for the stairs to come back to their landing. Even after all of these years Hogwarts still amazes her a bit. It’s nowhere near the sheer amount of wonder that the castle had filled her with as a child but it still never ceases to amaze her.

The pair navigate their way to the corridor that leads to the based of the tower. Climbing up the stairs they soon find themselves at the top. The sun is falling just past the horizon, a beautiful crimson color filling the sky. In the distance Lily swears she can hear an owl hoot. Looking out she can see almost the entire grounds. It’s absolutely magnificent.

Inhaling softly, the cool night breeze floods her senses. The air is cool and crisp, a sign that they were probably getting close to the first snowfall of the winter.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it.” She observes breathlessly.

“Yes, it is”

Glancing over at her companion she is met with a pair of eyes staring right back at her. Blushing a bit she smiles at him. This. This is the perfect moment. Their alone and if he does end up rejecting her she can go back to the common room and wake up the next morning and pretend it never happened.

Unsure exactly how to bring it up, she looks away. How exactly do you smoothly start a conversation about something that happened months ago? It wouldn’t seem natural. What happened that day has weighed heavily on her mind but he’s probably forgotten all about it by now.

Deciding to just just get it over with, she starts by asking, “James?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember in Potions when we made Amortentia?”

Of course he did. How could he forget? Practically all he could smell was the scent of her shampoo. 

Cautiously, he responds affirmatively.

“Well, afterwards you asked if I lied.” Not his proudest moment, he must admit. “I told you that I didn’t and you never really brought it up again.” She bit her lip, her eyes looking everywhere, anywhere except him. “I wasn’t exactly lying, just to be clear, but I didn’t smell just grass. I could also smell fresh air, sweat, and,” She gulped. “Your cologne.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Lily was fidgeting a bit, unsure of what to say or do. She eventually settled on looking at her shoes. James, meanwhile, was similarly unsure. He had spent years crushing on her but it had all been good fun. Except for the first few times he never expected her to say yes when he asked her out. Similarly, he never expected her to like him like that. Then again, he didn’t think he even had a chance of being friends. He could hardly believe his ears. His crush of over five years had just admitted she liked him back.

“Really?” He had to be sure.

She sighed, looking over her shoulder. “Why else would I tell you?”

She had him there. Still, it was unbelievable. Not just improbable but impossible.

“So, you like me?”

At this point Lily is getting annoyed. How much clearer does she have to be?

“Yes. I like you. As in I don’t want to be just friends anymore.”

She takes a step closer to him. Inhaling sharply, he looks her in the eyes. He has a dazed, deer in the headlights, sort of expression. Hesitantly, Lily lifts a hand up slowly to make sure it’s okay. Finally, the palm of her hand grazes his cheek. James tilts his head a bit, leaning into her touch.

She reaches up onto the tips of her toes, her movements unhurried, a complete contrast to her racing heartbeat. Then, after what feels like hours, her lips just barely brush his. The feel of her lips on his seems to jerk him out of his dazed state. Surging forward, he kisses her. Gently, at first, but with passion. They get lost in the feeling.

Both of Lily’s hands move up to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer. He moans into her mouth at her actions, spurring her onward. Wrapped up in the midst of the kiss they both barely registered the first soft flurry. It wasn’t until more fell on their faces that they pulled apart. Snow had started to fall signaling the start of winter.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“So, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?”

Lily nodded.

“Great.” He said with a smile.

The air between them felt thick with awkwardness and tension. 

“Do you want to go back?” He asked.

“And face Marlene saying ‘I told you so’? No. We can watch the snow fall for a bit, if you want.”

“Why not.”

And so they sat down on the cold stone, huddled together for warmth, arms wrapped around each other, watching the snow fall gracefully, covering the grounds in a white blanket. When Lily and James eventually went back to the dormitories, their cheeks tinged pink from the cold but smiling from ear to ear, the party had calmed down and almost everybody had gone to bed. Saying goodnight, they both went to bed anticipating their first date.

[themomsandthecity]

Baby Helmets Are Becoming More Common - but Are They Really Necessary?

Morrison Goodwin was born in March 2018 with a head that looked a bit like a "Lego block," says his mom Georgina, a sales executive in Los Angeles. Morrison was twin baby A, packed below his sister Rae at the bottom of Goodwin's uterus. Goodwin mentioned her observation about her son's head to her pediatrician, who recommended various exercises and repositioning with the help of their physical therapist. When Morrison's head shape didn't budge, their pediatrician suggested visiting a cranial remolding orthosis clinic. The doctors there diagnosed him with moderate plagiocephaly, suggesting it might eventually impact his sleep and bite, and recommended a baby helmet to round out his head. "We were very skeptical. It wasn't a slam dunk," Goodwin says. "This is a business. I'm guessing that they're more likely to want to give you a helmet, if that's how they make their money." Even so, Goodwin warily gave the green light. "Our insurance paid for it. And it's very noninvasive. You're a new parent. You're like, well, I'm supposed to set this kid up for success, and I'm told to do this," she tells POPSUGAR. Plagiocephaly and brachycephaly - two types of flat head syndromes - have recently been on the rise in the United States. In 1994, the National Institutes of Health launched its Back to Sleep campaign, after a slew of studies showed that tummy sleep is linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). "It worked wonderfully," says John Girotto, MD, FAAP, FACS, the section chief of pediatric plastic surgery at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI, who specializes in craniofacial surgery. Rates of SIDS dropped from 130 to 78 deaths per 100,000 live births between 1990 and 1996. "But what happened is kids developed misshapen skulls," he adds. Because babies now spend more time lying on their backs, their soft heads develop flat spots. At first, many pediatricians and surgeons were concerned about the long-term effects, Dr. Girotto says. But by the late 1990s, researchers confirmed that babies simply had "positional" molding and most didn't require surgery. Today, however, an entire industry promises to fix babies' flat spots via "helmet therapy," also called helmet orthosis. Clinics with mottos like "reshaping children's lives" devise their own guidelines for helmet therapy and sell baby helmets, which can be personalized with Star Wars and Minnie Mouse motifs. Some have Instagram accounts with tens of thousands of followers. Got an especially photogenic baby? You can even submit a pic of your helmeted baby to your orthotic company's "calendar contest." To be clear, these clinics probably aren't harming their patients. But the question of how often baby helmets are really necessary remains. Amy Mischnick, PT, a pediatric physical therapist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital who treats flat head syndrome, says that part of her job is to provide evidence-based recommendations to parents. This includes, she says, correcting "misinformation, especially when it is used as a scare tactic to place emotional pressure on parents to pursue helmeting not based on facts but on unfounded fear and guilt." Why Do Babies Get Flat Heads, Anyway? Some babies, like Morrison, are born with a flat spot (aka positional skull deformity), often due to their position in the womb. But most flat spots tend to develop gradually after birth, due to pressure from staying in the same position while sleeping and playing. The most common positional skull deformity is plagiocephaly, a flat spot on one side of the head that makes the opposite forehead prominent, which may affect nearly half of all 4-month-old babies. Brachycephaly is less common and occurs when the back of a baby's skull is very flat and wide. Parents usually notice a flat spot within three months of birth, when a baby's skull is soft and moldable. "At that point in time, behavior modifications usually do a great job of helping the skull round… https://www.popsugar.com/family/baby-helmets-flat-heads-49344030?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[tempestaslokni]

Though Lokni had run into what felt like a myriad of different people at this point, he still found himself a little taken aback at how wildly different they all were. This stranger was no exception. There was a volatile air to him that Lokni couldn't quite track. Judging by the short, clipped replies of this newcomer, Lokni got the feeling that he wasn't there to make friends. Then again, try as Lokni may, he couldn't get a read on this striking individual. He carried himself in a relaxed way, yet, behind his green eyes there lurked an intensity that Lokni found intimidating. In his youth, he had done what he could to avoid these sorts of strangers, but he felt that he couldn't balk away from this one. And what did he want with Selin? Lokni's thoughts couldn't help but flit to her, and whatever connection that she might have with this stranger. Unease pooled within his chest, like a viscous liquid in the lungs. "Seems most of us were brought here around the same time," Lokni replied, trying to ease the strange tension that hung in the air like a snare- waiting to see whose neck would get caught in its constricting grasp first. Common sense told Lokni to hold his tongue, but it couldn't stop him from flaring his nostrils a bit in irritation. Deep down Lokni knew that he was ill-equipped for encounters like this one. Sensing that he was already at a disadvantage, Lokni opted for honesty. "At least I'm correct about something," he joked dryly, too few of the pieces of information that he had gathered had been able to be linked together, let alone collated into categories of similarity. "This island is all questions with few answers," Lokni added, meeting the newcomer's gaze with a steadfast intent that he hadn't realized that he had within himself. The stranger approached the door, unperturbed by Lokni's steadfast presence. Irritation welled within Lokni in the form of a thick vein bulging prominently from his forehead. This guy was stubborn. Not even Lokni himself could quite understand why he was so worked up. Lokni was about to leave, but then the newcomer goaded Lokni, as if to bait him. "You here to see Selin?" followed by the suggestion to go see her together. Ah- the realization hit Lokni like a strong headwind, numbing the skin and dulling the senses. He didn't like Selin's involvement with this guy- but who was he to stop her from seeing the people that she wanted to? Even so, Selin's pretty name uttered from this guy's lips incited an unsightly sensation that began to writhe and thrash within the pits of Lokni's stomach. "You a friend of Selin's?" Lokni asked pointedly, dodging the former questions while crossing his arms and remaining stubbornly in front of the bungalow's door like a bull that refused to be trailered. He was digging his heels in, as well as gritting his teeth all the while. Though he couldn't make heads or tails of it himself, Lokni knew that he wasn't about to back down here.

Oooh... New toy to play with. The first thought within Chance's brain as he rounded the courner to Selin's little hut. He was hoping that her eagle eyes may just lead him to more of the Islands little secrets. The hatch in the hub was - not actually there anymore. Chance had returned to the spot that had been beneath the banquet table, he'd traced his fingers across the surface and the join, the line, the edge of the hatch was nowhere to be found. Complete and seamless and... It was annoying him to be quite honest. So he was rather hoping that Selin would at least confirm that he hadn't been tripping balls from laced olives or some shit and that there had been a hatch. And an ominous voice...

...This voice isn't ominous.

"Nope."

Chance replies, a cheery smile gracing his lips. A very pointed and direct question, but Chance just takes it in his stride.

"Was there for the big ole boat calamity. Along with almost everyone else."

Just because he hadn't seen him yet - was that a hint of an assumption? Absent from this guys obviously complete and accurate world view therefore he couldn't possibly have been there. At least, Chance half hopes that's it's an assumption. They were so much fun to play with. And if Mr Tall Dark and Broody here is of that nature, he might just be a world of - entertainment.

"But if you mean we haven't met yet, then you would be correctumundo..."

Another wide grin and he's strolling on, walking right up to the door. Where the other seems to stubbornly stand. Not knocking... Not leaving. Just... Loitering. Lurking.

"You coming? Going?"

It seemed as though the guy had been about to leave. And now he's just doing a magnificent impersonation of being a second door to the little hut.

"Here to see Selin?"

Because if he wasn't then the lurking was just fucking weird.

"Why don't we both go see her together? That'd be a blast, huh?"

Now Chance is the one to make an assumption, because he's pretty sure that if the guy was going to knock or visit, he'd have done so by now. Why the hesitation? Lets see if he can find out...

[battinscn]

FAMILY PART 2 — dad! charlie weasley x mum! malfoy! f! reader PART 1

CONTENT WARNING: pregnant reader

SUMMARY: when you’re pregnant with your third child, you find yourself experiencing deja vu from your first childbirth experience. while in the hospital, a special person you hold close to your heart came to visit.

WC/ AVG. READING TIME: 1325 words/ 7 minutes

return to the charlie masterlist here

"MAMA, YOU OKAY?" jacob pointed to the wet spot on the sofa as you looked down and realised what was happening.

"charlie!" you shouted for your husband and he came tumbling down the steps to where you were sitting.

charlie's eyes trailed to the damp cushions and fainted onto the the floor.

"you would think he would be better the second time round," you huffed as ainsley threw her head back in a laugh, helping you onto your feet.

"okay mrs weasley, time to push," the healer stood in front of your spread legs.

"hold my hand?" you asked ainsley and she offered with no hesitation.

"not going to try and wait for charlie?"

"i tried to last time and looked what happened," you rolled your eyes, irritated at your husband.

"alright little mamas, squeeze as hard as you'd like," ainsley kissed the back of your ringed hand.

"awh, it's a girl!" ainsley sqeualed next to you, as the healers cleaned your daughter and you up.

"i'll go get charlie and the boys," ainsley suggested but you stopped her.

"um actually, is there something else you could do for me?"

you were all dressed and dismissed by the healer to go home. you held your daughter in your arms.

and unlike oliver and jacob, she actually looked like you. she had y/h/c with a blonde streak right down the side of her hair. the blonde hair definitely inherited from your father and the rest of her hair from your mother.

you heard a knock on the door and a familiar platinum blonde walked into the room.

"hey," you smiled at draco.

he had grown since the last time you saw him four years ago. his cheeks were more prominent and his shoulders were broader. he looked much healthier than he had did during the war.

"h-hi," draco stuttered and nervously stood next to you, picking at the sides of his trousers, "e-er i got an owl from rosier that you had been admitted here. i thought you were injured."

"hi baby dray," you reached forward with one hand and beckoned him to come closer to you.

you reached you hands up to place your hand on his cheek lovingly, "i missed you. i'm sorry i didn't reach out earlier, i was just worried father would do something to my kids if he found out about them, but i trust you."

tears burned your eyes as you let the overwhelming feeling of missing your brother all these years take over you.

"don't cry y/n, it's okay. i understand," draco placed his hand over yours that was still on his face and reached to kiss your forehead.

"oh. this is little eta draconis weasley," you smiled at your daughter.

"eta draconis a-as in the star in the draco constellation?" draco felt his heart swell.

"of course, named after the most wonderful little brother a girl could ever be blessed to have. want to hold her?"

draco sucked in a breath and looked away so he could wipe the tears before it could roll down his cheek, "please."

you moved aside so draco could have a seat next to you and put eta in his arms.

"look at you, a natural," you leaned your head on your brother's shoulder and placed a kiss on it.

"she's beautiful. she looks just like you." draco cooed and rubbed his nose with eta's to give it an eskimo kiss.

"thank you for trusting me with knowing about your child," draco leaned his cheek on your head.

"children actually," you corrected.

"huh?" draco frowned.

"i have two boys, jacob and oliver. in fact i think i can hear their giggles from the corridor right now."

sure enough, jacob and oliver cam tumbling into the room.

"mummy!" they cheered as they jumped up and down in front of you.

"hello my baby boys," you pulled them up so the could sit on your lap.

"is this baby?" oliver pointed to eta.

"yep, this is baby sister eta. say hello baby eta."

"hello baby eta!"

draco looked at the red headed twins with the same amount of confusion as the way the twins looked at your brother.

"dis baby too?" oliver tilted his head to the side, seeing the similarities between you and draco.

"no ols, this is uncle draco, my brother."

"uncle dwayco?" jacob and oliver said simultaneously.

draco eyes softened at the term and could just burst into tears all over again. but seeing how his brother in law was in the room with him, he decided to bite his cheek and send his nephews a warm smile.

"hi boys," draco waved.

"jacob's the shorter one and oliver's the taller one," you clarified as you let oliver and jacob hop off your lap to play with their dragon figurines on the floor.

"i named her eta weasley, eta draconis weasley," you spoke to charlie for the first time since he had fainted at home.

"after you?" charlie walked closer to draco.

"oh u-uh i'm sorry if you didn't want that, y/n j-just informed me when i entered i didn't know-" draco quickly passed eta over to her father.

"hey, it's okay. it's alright. y/n speaks highly of you all the time, and i trust her judgement. if you are as how she says you are, i'd be beyond grateful for eta and the boys to have an uncle like you." charlie cut draco off before he could continue his ramble.

draco blushed at charlie's words and ducked his head down.

"plus, i fainted again when y/n's water broke so i don't think she'd let me have a say in baby naming." charlie chuckled.

"wait, again?" draco asked.

"exactly! when the twins were born, he fainted and only woke up after i gave birth! absolutely poor coming from you weasley. you would think the second time round you'd be better," you threw him a dirty glare.

draco stood up so he could watch his neice more closely as charlie held onto her.

you admired your baby brother, he was in fact no longer a baby. a young man who finallly overcame his insecurities and self doubt after living under your father's manipulation for years.

you admired your husband, who although was an absolute dickhead for having a habit of passing out when your water broke, standing there awake and healthy, looking at your daughter with the same loving eyes he looked at you with.

you admired eta. your very first daughter. your little mini-me, you precious baby girl you swore would shower with just as much love as you did your first two children.

your sniffles caused draco and charlie to look away from eta and to you.

"y/n...you're crying again," draco giggled at you.

"i know," you wiped your nose, "i'm just so happy right now with you over here, and eta, and charlie, and the twins. my whole's family's here."

draco opened his arms and you practically jumped into them, tucking your head in the crook of her neck.

"group hug!" oliver and jacob ran to hug you and draco's legs.

"can eta and i join?" charlie asked and you removed one arm that was around draco to rope charlie into the embrace.

join my taglist here!

tags: @haroldpotterson @eleventhboi @bluetreecloud20 @snigdha-14

[iridescentparkers]

april showers bring may flowers - peter parker

pairing: tasm!peter parker x female reader

summary: the one where peter parker takes his best friend to meet his aunt may <3

word count: 1.5k

warnings: swearing

a/n: just something a lil sweet for the kids before i continue writing my masterlist and some parts of serendipity!!!

It was probably the fourth or fifth time Peter had assured May that you two were just friends.

Nothing more, nothing less

After Ben died, Peter had no one to turn to…

…accept you.

But she wasn’t oblivious.

Every time she would ask him how he was feeling, the answer was always…

unintelligible mumbling

Not joking.

Seriously.

The only things she could pick out of his rushed phrases were,

“I’m fine.” and a door abruptly shutting on her face.

Soon, she would see him staring at nothing,

and smiling like an idiot at the washing machine.

“Peter?” May inquired, raising a brow at his dazed expression.

His head shook faintly, ridding of his dazed expression, “Hmm?”

She inspected his face, peering her eyes from left to right as he stood there, him uninformed of what she was doing “What?”

He spoke breathily, smiling almost as big as he did at that washing machine two seconds ago.

It’s a girl.

Peter wasn’t always one to have a big circle of friends,

it's been that way since he was a kid…but

Like before, she wasn’t oblivious.

One day she stops him before he leaves for school, being discreet in her true motives, and asks Peter about school.

“How are your grades?”

“Good, Aunt May.” He mumbles, shoving spoonful's of soggy cereal in his mouth.

“Any new friends?” She asks, taking a bite of her toast, crumbs going everywhere as she bit into the slightly burnt piece.

That same sweet heat tingled on his cheeks, lingering at the reminder of her.

The nostalgic thoughts washed over him as he remembered.

He took a big sip of orange juice, attempting to hide his very present emotions, “I um- I don’t know if you would call her that.”

“Is this a girlfriend, Peter?”

“Oh, it’s not like that, she’s just…”

The crease on May’s forehead became more prominent as she awaited more details.

“Well, her name’s Y/N, and she’s in my English class. She sits in front of me, and we talk…sometimes, it’s a bit complicated.

She’s the funniest girl I’ve ever met. The other day, she introduced me to some of her friends-

So, when she heard talk of Y/N, a part of her felt relieved.

Peter was ok, maybe more than ok.

Definitely so from the way he was smiling from ear to ear and going on about this girl he met at school.

“Maybe you can invite her over some time?”

“What-”

“Yes, Peter. Have your friend over for dinner sometime. She is your friend, correct?”

“Yeah, sure.” He murmured, looking down as he played with his spoon in his empty bowl. “I’ll see what I can do.”

That day, Peter mustered up the courage to make his way to Y/N, watching as she moved items around within her locker.

“Hey, Y/N”

“Hey, Peter. What’s up?”

“You don’t have to, I understand if you say no…”

“Who said I would say no?” She asked, smiling sweetly as she gently shut her locker.

“Would you maybe want to come over to my house later for dinner?”

“Sure,” she smiled, clinging her textbooks close to her chest.

“Will I be getting some of the famous Aunt May meatloaf I have been dying to try?”

“Why, of course, I wouldn’t want you missing out on a five-star dining experience.”

They both laughed in unison before the bell rang, and Peter remained smiling and giddy as she waved faintly before walking off.

Three sharp knocks on his door followed by a series of thunderclaps led to Peter rushing down the stairs and to the front door.

May couldn’t tell which sound was stomping and which one was thunder.

Behind the door was a girl with the sweetest smile and a fresh bouquet of white daisies.

Her hair appeared disheveled from the wind, the quick air giving her a new messy do’

“Hi,” she breathed, followed by an even bigger smile than before. Her voice was so delicate as she locked eyes with Peter’s.

“Hi,” Peter spoke back, giving a crooked smile before noticing her new hair.

“Your hair.” he giggled, tugging at the bottom of his lip. His hand reached out to touch it before retracting it slowly. “Can I?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

May made her way to the front door before placing tonight’s dinner in the oven.

“Hi Mrs. Parker, I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.”

The young girl had reached out to shake May’s hand.

Her palms were slightly warm before handing her flowers.

“These are for you.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“Come in, come in.” May spoke.

“You both can hang upstairs in Peter’s room until dinner. First door on your right.”

“Thank you.”

The two were whisked away in Peter’s room with causal footsteps and shuffling above the kitchen area.

May was happy for her boy.

She and Ben busted their asses to keep him in line,

to raise money for college.

, give him the life he deserves,

and most of all keep him happy.

And for a while, he wasn’t because of Ben’s passing.

Interrupting her thoughts came to an abrupt thud,

then followed by a couple more.

May made her way upstairs, peering open the already cracked door.

What’s going on up here?

“Nothing Aunt May,” Peter says as his eyes widen with each word.

“Where’s Y/N?”

“Bathroom.”

She didn’t even want to know what was going on up here.

She just nodded and quickly made her way back downstairs.

Peter shut the door to reveal Y/N, frazzled and collecting her breath, as one of her wrists remained stuck to the door, coated in spider webbing.

“Those are so effing cool, Peter!”

“We could have gotten caught, Y/N!”

Dinner was a success with Peter chatting, and

Y/N is probably the best girl May has ever seen Peter bring around.

and maybe the only girl she’s ever seen Peter bring around.

Peter Parker gets bitches everybody. ;)

Y/N offered to help with the dishes, and Peter helped out too.

Lightning strikes within the black sky from the kitchen window.

“I probably should be getting back home soon,” Y/N stated, eyes dancing with the colorful lightning strikes in the night sky. “Can I use your restroom before I go?”

“Yeah, it’s over there.” He stated, pointing in the opposite direction.

“She seems nice. You seem to like her a lot.”

“She is.” Peter smiled at his Aunt, then continued to scrub the remaining dishes. “And I do like her a lot.”

“So, are you going to ask her out?”

His mouth lowered, practically dragging along the floor. “And I swear if I hear ‘It’s not like that one more time…”

Peter sealed his lips, twisting them towards one side of his face. “I don’t think she likes me like that.”

“I think she does.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” She stated, grinning as she shrugged her shoulders. “Now, if you don’t ask her on a date, Peter-”

She got cut off by the flicking of the bathroom light switch and footsteps moving down their dim hallway.

“I’m going to head out now,” Y/N stated. “Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Parker.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” May replied. “Peter will walk you out.”

“But I need to finish this last pan-”

May put her hand down in the sink, placing two hard taps on Peter’s hands. “Ow!”

“I got it,” May stated as she scrubbed the last few items in the sink.

A couple of minutes had passed since the two-headed outside.

Rain pattered along with the kitchen window, making the mood dimmer.

She looks up at the kitchen clock,

15 minutes? What could they be-?

Opening the front door, two sets of lips combined as rain poured down on both Peter and Y/N.

Both Peter and Y/N are drenched and a bit dazed from the deep kiss.

Slowly, Peter pulled from Y/N’s face.

Peter's lips remained puckered as he held her face in his hands, and they were both still chatting and giggling as they stood in the pouring rain.

“I heard,” Y/N stated, water droplets resting on her face and thunder continuing in the background. “All of it Peter.”

“You thought I wouldn’t like you?”

“Yes,” he laughed, nodding his head as Y/N joined in with his giddy chuckling. “Rejection is a scary thing, Y/N.”

“Well, I’m annoyed you didn’t tell me for so long,” she replied, rolling her eyes at his secrecy.

“Me too,” Peter replied, moving some hair from her face. “Cause for a long time, I couldn’t do this.”

His lips yet again were melded in with her own.

Kissing her so rushed, yet so sweet.

With one last kiss, Peter finally let go of her face.

“Goodnight,” Y/N whispered, turning to walk away as Peter moved his hands from her face.

“Goodnight,” Peter replied, smiling ear to ear as he watched the girl he just scored walk away.

“I have a date,” Peter stated, blankly staring at May as he caught his breath. “I have a date.”

He repeated the sentence, adding more emphasis the second time before May spoke.

“As I said, I always know.”

[high-dragon-bait]

A Passage from the FenHawke Pregnancy Fic I Keep Talking About

Hello! I’ve been talking about my FenHawke pregnancy fic every now and then for awhile, so I thought I’d post a WIP!

This fic is LONG and tbh I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it. It’s three parts long and this passage is from the last part, my Hawke, Avis, ends up having a very difficult birth, but Anders- who had thus far wholeheartedly believed Fenris didn’t truly love Avis and was crushed by this development- saves her and her baby. This scene is Fenris seeing their child for the first time after all that.

Maybe spoilery but it’s my fic, I think it’s sweet, and it might never get finished anyway so I wanna post it, enjoy!

____

The elf girl the Hawkes had taken in- Orana- approached Fenris. She held in her arms a bundle, something small, wrapped in silken red and gold cloth. 

“Sir…?” She said, timidly. Fenris turned to her, stiffly, exhaustion carved onto his face 

Orana stepped closer, delicately holding the bundle out to Fenris. “Would you like to hold your daughter?” 

Anders saw a light return to Fenris’ eyes. A sudden shock in his body like he’d been shaken awake from a dream. 

“My…?” That light in his eyes spread. He held out his hands, unsteady and unsure. “How?” 

Orana smiled. “Here.” 

She gently passed the bundle to him, quietly guiding Fenris’ arms into the correct shape. One arm below it, to hold its weight. One beside it, to balance it. A hand below its head, always. When she finally, slowly took her arms away, Fenris held the bundle tight to his chest. He let out a shaking, disbelieving breath.

“She’s alright?” 

Orana nodded. “She’s very strong.” 

When Anders had delivered the baby, he had to move so quickly he couldn’t properly look at it. Now, as Fenris pulled the bit of cloth by its face down, Anders was finally able to see. 

He had a perfect view of the side of its face, displaying the flat brow bone that made the bridge of its nose. Its ears had the slightest hint of a point at the tip, a point that may round out, or only get more prominent as it grew. It had a full head of hair, black hair, and its skin was already darker than Avis’. It opened its eyes, looking up curiously at Fenris. Not all babies are born with the eye color they will have forever, and maybe that would still be true here, but Anders could see the green tint catch the dim candlelight. 

This was the child of the woman he loved. It had gone through more of a fight to enter the world than some would their entire lives. It had made it out, miraculously, healthy and beautiful and so undeniably Fenris’ Anders could hear the Maker mocking him. 

And what had he thought? It couldn’t be his. Had he thought it better that it was anyone’s but Fenris’? Had he thought that was even possible? Avis wouldn’t. There was a hint of repulsion at himself that any part of him would hope she might. 

The baby squirmed and cooed in Fe- in her father’s arms. And her father smiled, this small, private smile, running his fingers gently over his daughter’s head. 

“My child…” he muttered again and again. “My daughter…” 

Fenris looked up, his eyes falling on Avis. She was so pale, so still, her hair stuck to her forehead and cheeks, but she had stopped trembling and her breathing had steadied. Her sleep could be peaceful. Fenris’ eyes were tired and worried and full of quiet adoration. He leaned forward, careful to hold their daughter close to him, and kissed her temple, resting his forehead where his lips had been. What he whispered would’ve been silent if the room hadn’t been so instead. 

“I love you.”

This isn’t the man Anders knows. This can’t be the man he knows.

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain"

Chapter 48

"An Unforeseen Chain of Events"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Wow, I cranked this one out faster than I had anticipated 😆

I'm going to apologize upfront because, once again, this is another dialogue-heavy chapter, but it's full of information, so it just worked best that way 😁 Hope y'all don't mind!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @tmntchick677 , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettroseog , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend

《 Chapter 47

》 Chapter 49

All chapters

Explanation: On the shady planet of Balmorra, Kimber and Rex get the shocking answers they seek and formulate a plan to rescue the Bad Batch with the help of a new group of female companions.

Upon being introduced to the three other ladies in the room, Kimber and Rex took in their appearances.

Kida Firestar, the Pantoran leaning on the left wall, had light blue skin and yellow markings on her cheeks. Her eyes were a dull gold and her lips a slightly darker shade of blue than the rest of her skin. Her dark magenta hair that curled up at the ends fell to her shoulders and a black metal band adorned her head, straight cut bangs hanging across her forehead. She wore a black dress with alternating dark purple stripes on the shoulders and gloves of the same color. Her dress had slits down the front, showing she had on trousers underneath. She gave Rex and Kimber a welcoming smirk.

The Togruta at the computers, Irys Montari, had golden skin, light gold marks on her face and her lekku and montrals were a swirling mix of white and golden brown. On her montrals was a black headress that looped over the tips of her horns. She donned gray and black leather armor and boots, her lips were colored a shimmering black and she looked at Kimber and Rex with piercing pink eyes, which served a sharp contrast to the rest of her appearance.

Then Lex Valen, the Zabrak on the sofa, had light tan skin covered in dark marks and tattoos. Her head was covered in small horns that poked out from beneath her thick, navy blue-toned black hair that was done up in several braids and pulled back into a ponytail. She had violet eyes and rouge-colored lips with dark outliner around the edges and had a single vertical dark stripe down the center of her bottom lip. She was clothed in simple garments: a red tank top with a leather corset, black trousers and boots. She offered Kimber and Rex a casual nod as they came in.

"A very curious group," Kimber said aloud.

Lex ceased twirling her blade and droned at her in a cool voice, "What, are we not good enough for you?"

Startled at such an abrupt response, Kimber held up her hands and said defensively, "No, no, I just...wasn't expecting there to be more people here."

Irys then said in a thick Togruti accent as she turned back to her computers, "Well, it's imperative we keep our existence under wraps for now. Hence why Rina didn't tell you about us."

"Well, I think it's marvelous that Rina finally got you to come here, Kimber," said Kida, her Pantoran accent quite prominent, as she came up and ran her index finger under Kimber's chin. "She's told us about you and we've been dying to meet you."

"Correction: Rina didn't get me here. I called her and came here because I needed help," Kimber clarified.

Rina stepped forward and said, "Trust me, you'll get it. You said you needed information, so maybe we all can help. Everyone here has ins within the shadier parts of the galaxy."

Rex leaned to Kimber and whispered flatly, "That's reassuring."

Having not heard his comment, Rina then pointed to Irys and said, "Irys, especially. She's got pretty much every corner of the holonet wired. News, reports, records, communications, both public and private; just about anything you want, she can get."

That was exactly what Kimber was hoping to hear and she and Rex looked to each other, feeling confident that this was what they needed.

"There's been multiple reports recently of Clone soldiers disappearing and a couple of days ago, my entire squad went missing, too," she explained to the ladies.

"Is this the same group you were with when we met?" asked Rina.

Kimber shook her head. "No, they were only temporary. This is a different squad."

Rina raised her eyebrows in an impressed manner. "You sure get around, don't you?"

Ignoring that, Kimber added, "They're Clone Force 99, otherwise known as the Bad Batch."

"The Bad Batch, huh?" repeated Rina with a contemplative look. "Sounds like a group of troublemakers...I like that."

In response, Kimber just rolled her eyes. Then she looked over to the Togruta and inquired, "Irys, would you be able to find anything on these disappearances?"

Irys looked back over her shoulder and stated in reply, "I'm going to assume that's rhetorical." When Kimber just smirked in reply, she then added, "It'll take me some time, but I'll get you the information you need." Without any further encouragement, she whipped back to the computers and started typing on the keys in front of her.

Kida came up on Kimber's other side and put an arm around her shoulders. "Come now, you must be exhausted. Sit down, relax and have some drinks," she said with a smile, urging Kimber and Rex towards the sofa. Then she turned to Lex, snapped her fingers at her and ordered, "Move it, Lex. Make room for our guests."

Despite moving to get off the sofa, Lex replied, "Since when did you become my mom?"

"Since now. Deal with it," Kida said with a teasing grin, giving Lex a light shove in the arm.

Kimber sat down on the sofa while Rex decided to remain standing on the side. Kida grabbed two goblets of a bright pink drink from a nearby table and gave them to the two of them, which they accepted.

"You're a Clone, too, aren't you, Rex?" inquired Kida.

"I am, yes," he replied.

Her grin widened as she looked him over from head to toe. "Hmm...I've never been with a Clone before," she said back, looking up at him through hooded eyes and batting her eyelashes at him.

Rex's throat tightened as he nearly choked on his drink and Kimber raised her eyebrows in shock.

"Kida, this isn't the time for any of your dalliances or seduction," Irys chided her, annoyed, without looking away from her screens.

"What? There's always time for fun," Kida refuted, flashing Rex another flirty grin before walking away.

The poor Clone Captain had no idea how to respond. He was far too flustered to form a coherent sentence. Kimber had to suppress a giggle at seeing the usually confident and put together Captain at a loss for words, for once. It showed her that perhaps he hadn’t had much experience with women.

To direct the conversation away from the awkwardness, and to give Rex a chance to relax, Rina asked them, “So if there are Clones missing, why are you coming to us? Doesn’t the Republic usually handle things like that?”

Kimber answered firmly, “First of all, this is personal for me since it was my squad that was just taken. They were captured and I was left behind. Secondly, we believe whoever is behind the disappearances either has access to money or the black market.”

That’s when Rina understood everything. She nodded, took another puff from her mod and said, “Ah, you need...less than savory sources to help you out. Our specialty.”

“What makes you think the kidnappers have any illegal connections?” asked Lex, who was now standing beside Irys and leaning against her desk with her arms folded.

“They had stealth technology that allowed them to sneak up on us and get past our sensors,” Kimber explained, “and they also had an ion cannon, which took out all our ship’s systems and power.”

It was then Irys piped in, still hard at work at her computers, “Technology such as those haven’t been used in years. The Republic used stealth technology early on in the war and an ion cannon of that caliber hasn’t been used since--”

“The Malevolence cruiser used by the Separatists, yes,” Kimber finished for her. She was getting a sense of deja vu since very similar words were spoken by Tech just moments before the Marauder had been boarded. She got the feeling that Tech would get along with Irys. The Togruta was intelligent and full of knowledge, like he was.

However, the fact that Irys knew those facts was concerning. Kimber narrowed her eyes at Irys, even though she wasn’t facing her, and asked, “How would you know all that? That’s confidential information outside of the military and the government. Did you work for the Republic?”

“No,” Irys simply stated. “It’s like Rina said: any information I want, I can get.”

Kimber glanced over at Rex and knew right away before her eyes caught him that he was tensing up. As a soldier who respected his post and usually followed orders to the letter, she knew that hearing such things would be unnerving for him.

Additionally, Irys must’ve known there would be tension because she then turned her chair around, faced Kimber and Rex and reassured them with a dismissive wave, “Don’t worry, I’m not selling this information to anyone. That doesn’t interest me.”

“You hack into secure military databases and view classified reports...for what?” questioned Rex, his tone getting stern.

Irys just shrugged. “I get bored...and just to prove I can do it.”

Kimber saw Rex’s fists clench at his sides. This wasn’t going to be good. She reached out and gently grabbed his wrist, saying, “If she’s not selling the information, Rex, then that’s what matters.”

Rex was going to respond, but Irys spoke up first, “Information is power and if I can use it in any capacity, I will. I don’t believe in being bought for it. That’s why I’ve had to go underground. People see my skills as dangerous.”

“For good reason,” Rex said back.

“Rex...!” Kimber implored. Once again, to keep the conversation moving, Kimber turned to Irys and asked her, “If you’re aware of that technology, do you know who would have access to it now or where it possibly came from?”

“I can certainly figure it out after I get information on who might be behind the Clone disappearances,” answered Irys before turning back to her computers and resuming her work.

Interacting with all these women was making Kimber even more curious, especially since she wasn’t even expecting the other three anyway. Her attention returned to Rina taking another smoke as she proceeded to ask, “Where did you find these ladies?"

Rina blew the smoke out and responded, "Well, this place belongs to Irys, for one thing. Kida's been living here, too. Lex, I got out of a scrap on Nar Shadaa. We all were either on the run, living underground or hiding in the shadows, so we figured us ladies ought to stick together."

"Then why did you try to recruit me to...whatever this is when you saw I was none of those things?" was Kimber's follow-up question.

Rina smirked. "Because you got spunk and spirit. I saw you helping call out orders with that bald tattooed Clone back during the fiasco on Jakku. You got the makings of a leader, which I thought we could use. Plus, why be an armor chaser when you can stick it out with us? Men can get the job done...but women get it done efficiently." She looked to Rex. "No offense."

Rex just pursed his lips, not particularly amused.

"My offer's still on the table, you know," she also said back to Kimber.

"Rina, if I had any interest in being on my own or with a group like yours, I would already have that," Kimber told her. "Besides, you don't know my squad. They're an elite group who gets things done just as efficiently."

"Yet that didn't keep them from getting captured," Lex commented flatly.

"Says the woman who couldn't get out of a bind herself," Kimber fired back before she could stop herself, not appreciating Lex's remark.

The Zabrak's eyes flashed with anger and she stepped away from Irys's desk. "You got a problem, princess?" she demanded, her body language showing she was getting ready for a fight.

Kida moved in between their lines of sight, holding up her hands at her sides, and stated, "Ladies, please, let's all calm down."

"Huh...that escalated quickly," Rina observed, nonchalantly inhaling another drag of her mod.

"I got something," declared Irys, garnering everyone's attention.

Kimber stood up from the sofa and Rex moved beside her. "Already?" she asked, astonished.

Over her shoulder, Irys replied, "Yeah, sorry it took so long."

"Wow, she really is like Tech," Kimber thought.

Irys pulled up a map of the galaxy that showed a few yellow dots scattered across it. "These are all the reported disappearances across the galaxy, including your squad's," she said, pointing to a dot near Zeffo, though that one was red. "You see how the indication for yours is different than the rest?"

"Why is that?" asked Kimber.

"Because it would seem Clone Force 99 was the primary target," Irys answered.

Rex and Kimber turned to each other, concerned.

"Why? Who was targeting them?" asked Rex.

Going on, Irys minimized the report and brought up a series of private communications. “There are members of this movement spread out throughout the galaxy. They started out simply protesting against Clones or starting physical altercations with them on occasion, wanting to...well, eradicate the Clones, but these communications indicate that, within the last few months, their actions have become more extreme and they’ve started actually kidnapping Clones where they can.”

Irys tapped a few keys and brought up a biographical report. "There appears to be a group out there called the Eradicators. Forgive me for this, but I’m just passing on the facts...they’re an anti-Clone movement who oppose the continued creation and mere existence of Clones.”

Kimber couldn’t help but look at Rex in disbelief, her chest constricting at the thought of such a group even existing. He looked back at her with a resigned expression. He didn’t like what he was hearing either.

“What made them make such a drastic change?” asked Kida.

Irys pulled up a specific communication log and explained as she read it, “According to this report, it seems that one of the Eradicators’ most prominent members was killed by a Clone. They claim the security they heard from regarding the event said it was self-defense, but they believe otherwise.”

“Who was it that was killed?” then inquired Lex.

With a scoff, Rina said in addition, “I’ll bet it was some hot shot who had it coming.”

As she said this, Irys answered, “It appears it was a Rodian male killed on Kuat named Carson D’gall.”

Then she pulled up the picture of a Rodian male that Kimber recognized on sight and she gasped loudly, her hands flying up to her mouth.

It was the Rodian Crosshair had killed on Kuat to save her life.

“Oh no...!” she gasped out.

Everyone’s bewildered eyes were now on her.

“Kimber, do you know who this is?” Rex asked her.

With wide eyes and a rapidly beating heart that was threatening to tear her chest apart, she said back, her eyes still on the screen, “I do...and I was there when he was killed. I’m the reason he’s dead.”

“There was some security footage of the incident included in the report from the Kuat police,” then said Irys, already pulling up the video feed.

Everyone watched as the video started and Kimber’s fists clenched as she saw herself come into frame being pulled by two large Kuati men into an alley, the flood of memories of that day drowning her mind.

“Wait...that’s you, Kimber,” Rex observed.

Kimber said nothing, her focus on the screen.

They all continued watching in silence as Carson spoke to her, struck her and then the Kuati men began beating her with their batons. She tried to control her shaky breathing as the ghosts of the pain she felt that day returned as if they were beating her again in that very moment.

“Completely barbaric” commented Kida.

The next moment, they saw movement at the end of the alleyway and Kimber’s breath hitched as Crosshair came into view, firing the first warning shot with his rifle. A few seconds later, Carson withdrew his blaster, Crosshair fired and then Carson collapsed to the ground dead.

"Well, you weren't wrong about being the reason he's dead," stated Lex.

“Was that Clone one of your friends?” asked Kida.

Kimber was just too much in shock at the moment to say anything right away, but everyone could tell from the look of horror in her eyes that the answer would be “yes”. She felt Rex lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Now, everything made sense. Carson had said horribly prejudiced things against Clones, which now explained his involvement with the Eradicators, but in saving her life, Crosshair killing him had started a chain of events she never could’ve imagined. Because of that, now these anti-Clone people were going around capturing Clones...and now, she understood why the Bad Batch was now their primary target.

Right on cue, Rina then said, “Well...I guess now we know why those freaks went after your boys. By killing that Rodian, your friend essentially put a target on his back as well as the rest of them.”

“He was saving my life,” countered Kimber. “You saw what Carson and his thugs did to me.”

“Hey, I’m not saying I don’t agree with his actions. Personally, he should’ve offed all of them for what they did to you,” said Rina.

“Though, it looks like the Eradicators don’t care about that,” Lex put in. “They only see a Clone killing one of their members, despite either of their intentions. Now, they want revenge.”

Once again, Irys pulled up a set of private communications and Kimber spotted the words “Clone Force 99″ in them. Irys went on to say, looking over the images on the screen, “After word of Carson’s death reached the Eradicators, it seemed they had their own people dig up information on the Clone called Crosshair, which I assume was the one we just saw. They found out he belonged to Clone Force 99 and they wanted everything they could find on that squad. Once they discovered Clone Force 99 was an elite Clone squad that were primarily called in for more difficult missions, the Eradicators decided to start capturing as many groups of Clones as they could to catch the Grand Army’s attention and eventually get the Bad Batch to come to them. Additionally, that would give them an excuse to take more forceful and pervasive actions against Clones.”

“Killing two Mynocks with one stone,” Rina commented.

“However, that plan wasn’t working,” Irys continued as she kept scrolling through the messages. “Clones were disappearing, but no moves were made to call in the Bad Batch for it yet, so they moved on to an alternative: staging an attack on the planet, Zeffo, where a well-known Jedi Master and a group of archeologists would be trapped and need extracting, which would certainly bring the Bad Batch in for sure.”

Kimber heard Rina hum and go, “Oh, so that’s why you were on Zeffo.”

Begrudgingly, Kimber replied, crossing her arms, “Yes...and unfortunately, that plan worked...because now the Eradicators have my boys.”

“What else is there?” Rex questioned Irys. “Did you find anything about the stealth tech?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Irys answered. “I saw a name repeated multiple times connected to the Eradicators that put in special covert requests to a black market manufacturer for stealth tech as well as the ion cannon.”

“Who was it?” asked Lex.

Irys tapped a key and read the name, “His name is Jax Orroco, the leader of the Eradicators.”

Kimber froze again in shock and fear. “Oh no, twin suns have mercy!” she gasped, her hands covering her face. “Please, don’t let it be him....”

“What is it?” Rex asked, concerned at her reaction.

Pulling her hands away, Kimber told Irys, “Irys, pull up a picture of Jax.”

Without a word, Irys did as she was told, hit a few buttons on the panel and then an image of Jax Orroco appeared on the screen. He was a human male with a close-trimmed beard, salt and pepper hair and dressed in fine, expensive attire.

Kimber’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me...it can’t be!” She whipped around to face Rex, who once again looked confused, and she blurted out, grasping at his arms, “Jax is the man who started the brawl at 79′s the night I got back to Coruscant!"

"Wow, do you just know everyone?" asked Rina, flabbergasted.

Kimber quickly glanced at Rina, but didn't respond to her. Instead, she looked back at Rex and told him, "He came in claiming Jesse had stolen his girl and wanted to kill him! I fought him!”

Rex looked shocked to hear this, but before he could respond, Kida asked, astonished, "Whoa, wait, you fought this rich boy?"

"Yeah, I did. Left a pretty good wound on his head with a bottle, too," explained Kimber. Then she ran her hands through her hair and exhaled sharply. "I can’t believe this...this is all my fault!"

As she stepped away to silently freak out about these newfound revelations, Rex turned back to Irys and asked, "Is there anything else you've found?"

Irys tapped a few more keys and stated, "While Jax hails from Coruscant, the Eradicators' base of operations runs out of Nar Shadaa."

"That's why it sounded familiar," commented Lex. "I remember hearing that mentioned once or twice in the underground on Nar Shadaa, but I didn't know anything about them."

Irys then said to Rex, "That's all I know for now, but I can keep doing some digging."

"See what else can you find, anything that can help us find either the Eradicators or the missing Clones," ordered Rex, stepping away from the other ladies towards Kimber. He laid a hand on her arm and told her, "We should report all of this to Commander Cody."

Coming down from her anxiety, she took a couple deep breaths and said, "Okay. You're right."

After asking Rina if there was another room they could use to make contact with Cody, she pointed them to another nearby room. With that, the two of them went into the room, ready to make their report to their Commander of their findings.

It was no exaggeration to say that Commander Cody was completely bewildered by the news given to him by Captain Rex and Kimber. He had never heard of the Eradicators and was even more surprised to learn of the Bad Batch and Kimber's involvement in everything. His orders were to continue their search for information and to keep him informed of anything else they discovered or of any plans they formulated.

Once they ended the communication with Cody some minutes later, Rex removed his helmet, tucked it under his arm, turned to Kimber and then asked her, "What happened on Kuat?"

She exhaled heavily and explained to him, "After the Kuat Operation, we spent some extra time there…mainly me and Hunter. We had been at a bar, Hunter had stepped out briefly and Carson approached me. He was saying horrible things about Clones. I got angry, I fought him and humiliated him in front of everyone. He didn't like that and so he wanted to retaliate. The next morning, he came after me…and that was what you saw in the security footage." She looked up at Rex with melancholic eyes. "Rex, I can't help but feel responsible for all of this. My actions started an unforeseen chain of events that have now put several Clone lives in danger, including my boys, and there may be more at stake."

Rex told her firmly, "Kimber, do not blame yourself for this. You couldn't have known this would happen. Carson D’gall made his choice by hurting you and I don't fault Crosshair for killing him to save you. I would've done the same."

Despite his reassurance, she couldn't help but still feel guilty for everything that had occurred. If she hadn't reacted emotionally and physically assaulted Carson, then maybe none of this would've happened. If she had just walked away…things would be different.

Rex could tell that remorse was still eating away at her, so he said to console her, "You did nothing wrong. What matters now is finding out what more we can about the Eradicators' plan for your squad and figuring out a way to get them back."

"What if we're too late?" she asked back. "They clearly want revenge against Crosshair as well as the rest of them, which means they're going to kill them. What if my boys are already--"

"Don't think like that, Kimber," he cut her off. "We are going to rescue them. You can't give up now."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and then Rina poked her head in. "Hey, you two, Irys has got some more information for you. This, you're definitely going to want to hear."

They followed Rina out back into the computer room, where Irys was still at her desk with Lex standing directly behind her and Kida at Lex's side, and Kimber asked aloud, "What do you have, Irys?"

"Oh, you're going to like this," said Irys with confidence. "I've got information that'll certainly help you get your squad back." Seeing she had Kimber and Rex's undivided attention, she informed them, "Firstly, good news: it's been confirmed your squad is still alive."

Kimber's eyes went wide immediately. "How do you know?" she questioned.

"There were recent messages sent out to multiple members of the movement saying they're planning a special event at their headquarters on Nar Shadaa," said Irys. Though her demeanor then grew timid as she awkwardly shared, "An event where they're going to celebrate their first Clone eradication...which will be Clone Force 99."

Neither Kimber nor Rex liked that at all. Kimber started wringing her hands nervously, wondering how exactly this was good news, and Rex just closed his eyes, keeping his calm despite having just heard about people celebrating killing Clones.

Then Kida jumped in and stated as a matter of factly, "The event is taking place in three days, so your boys are still alive. There's still time to rescue them as well as the other Clones that have been taken."

That made Kimber and Rex relax a little bit. They had confirmation that the Bad Batch were still alive and that was enough to set their minds at ease for the moment.

Irys then spoke up again, "Secondly, not only are the Eradicators collecting Clones on their own, they also put out a call for any bounty hunters who will bring more Clones to them and promised a handsome reward for any who do. Any hunters are also welcome to the event, should they choose to, where they can witness the eradication or even buy or sell the Clones for profit."

"All right," Kimber acknowledged, uncomfortable with what she was hearing.

Rina stepped up, taking another smoke and said, "With that information in mind, we have an idea on how we can infiltrate the eradication."

"We?" asked Rex.

"Yeah, 'we'. Got a problem with that, blondie?" Rina retorted, making Rex rear back in surprise. "What, you think you're the only one that can come up with a plan?" She turned to Kimber and inquired, "You sure the Cap can hang? He seems a bit jumpy, especially around me."

"Pretty sure he's not used to being addressed so informally," Kimber clarified.

She snickered. "Well, if he's looking for anything else, he's in the wrong place."

Rex just scowled, unamused.

Lex then explained, steering the conversation back, "It's not going to do you guys any good to try and crash the event or even attack before then with an army of Clones. If anything, the Eradicators are probably expecting you to take that very action and that'll be playing right into their hands, giving them more Clones to capture."

"Then what do you suggest?" questioned Kimber.

"They want bounty hunters to bring them more Clones," then said Kida, "so our thought is that we infiltrate their base disguised as a group of bounty hunters bringing in another Clone...a very famous Clone Captain at that, according to the reports Irys found, that the Eradicators would be thrilled to have as their prisoner."

Her eyes were on Captain Rex.

Irys then added right after that, "If we're posing as bounty hunters and using Rex as bait, it will give us access into their headquarters where we can free all of the Clones and bring down their operations from the inside."

However, Kimber shot the idea down by declaring, "No. I'm not putting Rex at risk."

"Kimber, it's the only way that we'll get inside the base," argued Lex.

"We'll find another way, but not like this," Kimber refuted again.

Rex gently nudged her shoulder back and said quietly in her ear, "Kimber, remember Kuat. You're sounding like Hunter."

His words struck her to her core and words failed her for a moment. He was reminding her of the Kuat Operation, when Rex and Cody had wanted her to go undercover for the first time and Hunter outright refused to let her do it, at first, thinking he was protecting her. She had hated that he was trying to control her choices...and that was exactly what she was doing with Rex. It was right then that it hit her how Hunter had to have felt all that time ago regarding her; how difficult it must've been to knowingly put someone he cared about in danger like that. How did he do this all the time? Is this what it felt like to be a leader?

Her head turned and her eyes found Rex's calm and collected gaze.

"I'll do it," he simply said. "For my brothers."

"Rex...I can't lose you, too. You're all I have right now," she pleaded with him, the look in her eyes begging him to reconsider.

Shaking his head and the smallest comforting smile crossing his face, he promised, "You won't lose me. Trust me, if I can survive being trapped in a Zygerrian slave hold, then I can definitely survive this."

Then Kimber felt a hand on her arm and looked down to see Rina standing next to her.

"Besides, he's not the only one you got," Rina said. Gesturing back with her head to the others, she added, "You've got us, too. We're a team now and we're gonna help you get your boys back whether you like it or not." She then bobbed her head a little from side to side, saying, "I know this is probably getting old, but I really think you ought to take the lead on this one. It's your squad we're going after and you know the Clones best. Plus, you're the soldier. You've got the brains when it comes to undercover missions and it's like I said before: you got spunk and spirit. We're gonna need all of that. What do you say?"

Kimber stole a look at the other three women. Kida, Irys and Lex were all giving her encouraging looks, showing that they were silently echoing Rina's sentiments. They were going to help her get through this and they looked to her for leadership, supporting Rina's suggestion. Even though she still barely knew them, they'd already done a lot for her in a short time and she couldn't shake the feeling that these women were people she could trust, even if their backgrounds were a bit shady. They didn't have to help her like this, but they were choosing to anyway.

She still felt unfit to be a leader...but if there was a group she was meant to lead, she was glad it was these ladies.

In response, she turned back to Rina, a defeated half-smirk on her lips, and said, "Well...I guess I'm accepting your offer after all."

With a satisfied grin on her face, Rina took one more drag from her vape mod, blew out the smoke and stated, "I never doubted it for a second, boss lady."

Kimber grinned. With a plan now set in motion, it was time to get her family back.