#i just finished packing up the rest of our old office at work

[girlfox]

haha between how stressful and busy work is & how overwhelmed by school i am, i got a zero on an assignment because we were so overloaded with work and i missed one of the assignments due for the module yesterday. brb going to go cry and drag my butt back into indesign. consider me afk for a lil' while longer.

[capricornlevi]

"workin' new years for the third time in a row should be illegal," atsumu scoffs, shoving another fistful of popcorn into his mouth. he's perched up on the glass counter closest to the exit, meaning he can slip off quickly if the cranky night manager sticks his head out of his office to check up on you two. "who wants to spend midnight in a movie theatre, anyway?"

you sigh, more fond than frustrated. "you've worked three new year's eves in a row and still don't know the appeal of our late night when harry met sally showing? it sells out by Halloween."

you're sitting in front of the register, having dragged some old folding chairs out from storage to rest on until close. the lobby is dead, and you've got an eye on the security cams to see if anyone leaves the packed screen down the hallway. if you're being forced to work late into the night, you'll at least be comfortable.

you hear a door creak and pause, checking to see if you're about to be scolded for pouring yourself another slushee on the company dime. when no manager surfaces, you return to the conversation, with atsumu stifling his yawn with more popcorn.

"'course i know about it," he chimes back, running his non-popcorn-holding hand through his messy blond hair. "just don't get it, is all, and i don't know why we're always the ones stuck on the holiday shifts, 'specially since we already did christmas eve."

"we're college students, 'tsumu. bottom of the pecking order in terms of festive rostering, i'm afraid."

he sighs, checking the clock behind the nacho display case -- you follow suit, seeing the second hand tick closer and closer to midnight. four minutes til new years, another thirty-ish before closing.

"want a refill on that slushee?" atsumu asks, sliding off the counter and stretching out his shoulders. his black t-shirt lifts slightly and you make an effort to ignore the toned muscles peeking out from underneath. "also -- those chairs look more comfortable than the counter, so I'm gonna steal one too."

even if you didn't know he was captain of the college volleyball team, you could likely guess from the strength in those arms as he shifts some boxes out of the way to take a seat next to you.

"yes please," you answer sweetly, a beat too late, throwing him a beaming smile as he rolls his eyes in mock annoyance.

as he gets back up, he calls out, "cherry, right?"

something flutters through your chest as you call back to him, "right."

"heathen. blue raspberry is superior in every way."

it's your turn to scoff now. "there's no such thing as a blue raspberry, it's a made-up flavour. at least everyone knows cherries are red."

atsumu appears at your side again, handing you the drink. as you accept it with a smile, he places one of his cold hands on your forearm, laughing as you wince and shift away.

"you're ridiculous," you say, half-chuckling and half-earnest. "here i am, spending new years eve toiling away with you, and this is the respect i get."

"i never promised respect -- i promised slushees," he points out, eyes glinting as you meet them. "and we're not exactly toilin' away, i gotta admit."

you take a long sip of your slushee, hoping your lips don't stain red before the customers file out later.

atsumu clears his throat awkwardly, as if he's debating finishing the sentence.

"and it's not so bad, with you," he continues slowly, almost sheepishly.

in the years you've worked together, you have never heard him sound so ... earnest. turning your head to meet his eyes again, you see them diverted to his hands.

"not so bad with you, either, 'tsumu," you reply softly.

he looks back up to you. "i mean it, y'know. even if i wasn't workin', i wouldn't mind ... bein' with you. i mean -- i'd -- i'd like it, spendin' new years with you ..."

"i know what you mean," you gently interrupt him for both your sakes -- his, to relieve him of his uncharacteristically anxious rambling, and yours, so you can figure out how to get your heart beating at a normal pace. you turn in your chair to face him properly, lips curled up into a small, barely-there and very overwhelmed smile.

just as he's about to say something else, you see his eyes flick back to the clock.

"ten seconds," he mumbles, a few strands of hair falling into his forehead. you reach your hand to brush them out of the way for him.

"five," you smile, dipping your head in closer, and when you see atsumu do the same, you continue.

"three."

"two."

"one."

it's a slow kiss, slower than you'd ever expected. atsumu never did things slowly, never took things at any pace other than chaotic, but this is different. he handles you carefully, his hand at the nape of your neck as he pulls you closer to him, lips moving against yours as if savouring every part of every second he gets to do this. as though he's imagined it as much as you have.

you kiss him until you feel as though you're running out of air. when you finally pull away, you marvel at the light pink flush painting atsumu's pretty cheekbones, the look of longing written across the rest of his features, the way his eyes battle between focusing on your face or your lips.

"happy new year, 'tsumu," you whisper, and his smile matches your own.

"happy new year," he says, hushed and low, before leaning in to kiss you again.

you have another twenty-five minutes, after all. and for the first time in your time working here, you're grateful that this theatre schedules when harry met sally so late into the night.

[slipintobangtan]

Meet me in my office

Genre: Afab! reader x Heesung, smut,

Synopsis: after a one night stand with a handsome stranger you sneak away before he wakes up only to meet him again as your boss at your new job

Smut warnings: nipple sucking, pussy eating

Word count: 7.7k

Thank you @kyunlov for requesting part 2! 💕

____________________🩷____________________

When I woke up it was still dark, I found my phone on the floor with my dress in a crumpled ball. I checked the time, it read 4:30am. Right then I decided that last night would only be a one time thing because I’m still hurt from my ex dumping me a couple days prior. I slipped my dress back on, picked up my heels and tip toed my way to his front door, making sure to be quiet enough not to wake him. I didn’t leave my number and I gave him a fake name at the club, he’ll forget me eventually.

I walked to the nearest convenience store and ordered an uber home, turns out we didn’t live very from each other. I don’t come on this side of town very often, it’s for the more wealthy people so it’s not surprising I’ve never run into him before. As I’m heading home in the uber I noticed about 10 missed calls from Karina and almost 30 text messages. Shit I thought to myself, I got so caught up with him I had forgotten to tell her I was leaving the club. I send her a quick message telling her I’m alive and I’m sorry and that I will call her later, after she wakes up.

As soon as I opened my apartment door I was greeted by my little cat cocoa, named after the colour of her fur. I didn’t bother getting changed, I just dropped onto my bed. I was tired, not even getting under the covers, I grabbed a blanket I had left on my bed earlier and cuddled up to it. Drifting off to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing, without looking at the caller I answered it. It was Karina “where have you been?? I was worried sick last night, are you okay?” After apologising to her and explaining my night to her, she calmed down a little and asked “how hot was mystery guy?” I laughed and replied “oh course that’s what you want to know” she faked shock and giggled “what? you wouldn’t go home with just any random, he must have been really good looking” I smiled remembering how handsome he was. “He was inanely hot but that doesn’t matter, I’ll never see him again” I told her and that ended the conversation about him. She spoke again “well today you should relax, you’re starting that new job tomorrow right?” She reminded me I needed to get my clothes out of my wardrobe and ready for tomorrow. “Yes! speaking of, I’ve got to go get a few things ready for tomorrow, talk to you later” I got my clothes out and packed my lunch for tomorrow. I plan to spend the rest of the day in bed watching YouTube.

Tomorrow comes around and I’m now on my way to the office I will be working at. It’s on the wealthier side of town, my old car stands out like a sore thumb when I pull up in the car park. I walk into the building and head straight for the reception desk telling the lady behind the desk that I’m a new employee and don’t have a key pass yet. She asks for the floor I will be working on, I give her all my details and she tells me Sam, one of the senior employees I will be working with will be down shortly to bring me up. Sam uses his key pass to buzz me through the security gates and takes me up to our floor.

Once I’m in our section of the office Sam introduces me to everyone and says “you’ll be sitting next to Lily, he motions with his hand to an empty desk next to a friendly looking girl. Lily smiles at me “if you need help, just ask me” I thank her and asked her to show me how to do a few tasks assigned to me. By the time Lily has finished teaching me the ropes I hear the other girls in our team start excitedly whispering to each other. I looked over at them and ask them what’s happening, I want to be in on the gossip too. “The boss is here” they replied and I followed their eyes across the room to see the back of a man wearing a very expensive looking suit.

The second he turned his head I almost passed out in disbelief, it was the guy from the club. I saw Sam talking to him and then they made their way over to us. Sam spoke “Mr Heesung, this is our new employee y/n” Heesung looked over at me, he recognised my face straight away then looked confused for a split second. That’s when I remembered I gave him a fake name at the club. A small smirk appeared on his face then quickly disappeared as he reach out his hand to shake my own. He greeted me saying “nice to have you on the team y/n” putting slight emphasis on my name, thankfully no one seemed to notice. Letting go of my hand after holding on a little too long, he smiles over at the rest of the team and tells everyone one to have a great day. Before he leaves he stops and turns his head “y/n meet me in my office when you have a minute, I have a few things I need to discuss with you” I almost shrank into my seat.

After waiting a few minutes I made my way over to his office door, before entering I took a second to compose myself for what was to come. I knocked twice then heard a “come in” from the other side of the door.

As I walked in he told me to take a seat. He was sat behind his desk, his suit jacket now draped over the back of his chair. After I sat down he stood up and walked around his desk to stand behind me “So y/n” he used the fake name I gave him. I felt strong hands placed on my shoulders, he leaned down and whispered in my ear from behind me. “Is there anything you would like to tell me” he said in a low tone.

I stopped and thought for a second, this is my new workplace, I need to be somewhat professional. I started “Mr Heesung” he stopped me “Heesung is fine, we know each other better than that don’t we” he said, one side of his lips lifting up in a small smirk. I continued “okay Heesung, I’m sorry I gave you a fake name when we met, you were a stranger in a club” he stared at me, his eyes telling me to continue. “I didn’t think I would see you again, let alone run into you here of all places” he still didn’t look satisfied, slowly snaking his hands down my arms until his hands reach my own, he grabbed hold of each of my hands and leaned down into my ear again. “Is there anything else you would like to apologise for y/n” he said using my real name now.

A tiny gulp made its way down my throat “I’m sorry I left before you woke up” I answered him, he was quick to retort back “you remember now” he paused for a second and then continued “ I thought I would have to jog your memory” His lips now dangerously close to my neck, lightly brushing against my skin “that was very naughty of you y/n” he said turning my chair around so I was now facing him. He stood closer to me placing his hands on each arm of the chair I was sitting on “I think you should make it up to me” one of his hands reached up and gently l took hold of my chin. “Can you think of a way to do that” memories of the other night flashed in my head, I suddenly felt hot thinking about how good he felt that night.

Looking at him I lightly tugged on his suit tie bringing him closer to my face, the familiar smell of his cologne again pulling me in more. “Do your lips still taste like strawberry” he asked me, egging me on. I pulled his tie closer until our lips connected, like waves crashing into each other. With his hands now entwined in my hair I grabbed a handful of his dress shirt. I was still sitting down, he scooped me up by my thighs and carried me over to his desk, placing me on top of it. Remembering my weak spot, he started sucking on my neck hard and rough this time, I was sure he would leave a mark but I didn’t stop him. His sucks became lighter, his tongue leaving a wet trail towards my chest.

His hands started unbuttoning my dress shirt, taking longer than he would like to come undone, he ripped the last button off. My bra now on display, he pulled it down, gaining access to my bare chest. He ran his thumb over my nipple before taking my other breast into his mouth. Running his tongue over my nipple in circles, occasionally giving it a little nip with his teeth.

His hands moved to my skirt, hiking it and removing my panties. Then positioning me on the desk where he wanted me, my elbows wresting behind me as I leaned back further on his desk not worrying about the papers and pens I pushed aside. He took hold of my legs and placed them over his shoulders, peppering kisses all the way up my thighs until he reached my now wet pussy. Holding onto my thighs he slowly licked the entrance of my pussy almost teasing me, his warm wet tongue already driving me insane. He continued, pushing his tongue into my pussy until he was completely inside, finding his way to my clit with ease. I grabbed hold of his hair as I felt him flicking his tongue up and down, playing with my clit. My eyes rolled back in my head when he started sucking on it, the pleasure almost unbearable.

I know he could feel my legs slightly shaking, he could tell I was almost at my limit. But he pulled back before I could finish, stood up and took my chin between his thumb and index finger. I looked up at him in a daze from being edged like that. He looked at me and said “that is your punishment for being naughty y/n” I liked the way my named sounded coming out of his mouth. He fixed his suit tie back into place and gently pulled me down off of his desk. With a small smile he spoke again very composed. “That is all, you may leave my office now” I scrambled to put my clothes back on, hurriedly walking to his office door, making sure to cover the hickey on my neck with my hair, praying my lips don’t look swollen.

Once I made it back to my desk I calmly sat down and took a deep breath. Lily looks overs and stares at me for a second before asking “did you lose a button” I pretended to only just notice and reply “oh, it must have just fallen off” then turned to my desk and thought to myself, this is my first day here, how long will I last with him as my boss.

Link to part 1 -

[losfacedevil]

Easter Traditions (A FM!Sam Short)

a/n~ I’ve missed my babies something fierce! Here’s a little glimpse into their Easter festivities!

“Have you ever made someone an Easter basket?” Sam asked, laying upside down on Danny’s bed with his head hanging off the edge.

Danny quirked a brow, finishing the scribbling of words on the page in front of him before turning his attention to Sam; a questioning look kissing his facial features. Danny thought for a moment, back to the year that his sister turned fourteen and their mother broke her heart by declaring she was officially too old for an Easter basket.

“Yeah, once or twice when my sister was younger and mom thought she was too old for a little bit of Easter joy. Why, what’s up?”

Sam rolled over and righted himself, pushing up off of the floor with his long arms and caught himself on the edge of the bed to push up into a seated position. A soft smile spread across his face as he thought of the conversation he had with Sophia earlier that day.

Sam’s eyes held a light of childlike wonder as he spoke about the conversation he had with Sophia, recounting just how her mom would make her an Easter basket every year, the contents of it changing with her age and how it always contained the same colored peeps - even though she didn’t like peeps and knew they were her moms favorite. Danny nodded along as he listened to Sam drone on about the things she’d put in the basket for her and how her mom would sift through bags of jelly belly’s for her favorite flavors.

“I’ve noticed she eyes that Peter Cottontail hollow bunny our moms used to get us when we were little. I wonder if that’s the same one her mom got her.” Danny nodded and thought for a second before pushing his office chair out from under his desk and rose to his feet. Crossing the room he snatched his keys off of the dresser and stuffed his feet into his tennis shoes before nodding towards the door.

“Well? Are you coming with me or am I in charge of making her basket?” Excitement filled Sam’s features as he scrambled off of the bed and followed Danny out of the room.

~*~*~

Sam perused the aisles of the local Walgreens, having high hopes to find everything he would need in one place. His eyes landed on a hairbrush she had been gushing over wanting to try and he plucked it off of the hook before turning to Danny.

“Do you think a brush is a weird thing to put in here?” Sam asked, holding up the basket he had chosen from the selection the store had to offer. Danny shook his head, plucking a pack of the hair ties he knew she used and they always stole from her off of the hook he was standing in front of.

“Not really, it’s something she’ll get use out of and let’s face it, you’ve all but stolen her paddle brush.” Danny chuckled, tossing the pack of hair ties into the basket.

“What about this?” Danny asked, holding up a pastel pink flower shaped claw clip. A soft smile spread across Sam’s lips as he took the clip out of Danny’s hand and slowly tucked it into the basket.

“That’s perfect! I may have sat on her last one and destroyed it last night. She never learns to not leave them lying around.” He chuckled.

Sam made quick work of collecting some of her favorite things and tossed them into the basket to make sure it would all fit snugly and securely. Turning his head he made eye contact with Danny before nodding towards the front of the store and making a beeline to the registers to pay for everything he had found.

Later that night, he snuck out of bed, leaving Sophia curled up around his pillow and made his way to the hall closet where he had stashed his purchases. He made quick work of piecing together her Easter basket with all of the goodies he had found and placed it on the kitchen table. Scooping the shopping bag up off of the counter he slowly made his way into the living room and perched himself on the couch, the next task at hand to sort her favorite jelly beans out from the rest.

“Sam… what are you doing?” The sound of Danny’s voice cause Sam to jump and scatter the jelly beans he had cupped in his hand across the living room floor. He shot a glare over his shoulder, huffing a tried and frustrated sigh through his nose before lifting the bag and emptying more into the palm of his hand.

“I’m taking out all the popcorn and bubblegum flavored jelly beans and putting them into one of your honey jars. It’s something her mom used to do and I know it’s special to her.” Sam grumbled, tossing a few jelly beans into the jar before dumping the rest of the handful into a separate jar. Danny nodded his head and slowly made his way into the living room, placing a small basket packed tightly with skin care products down on the table.

“I couldn’t help myself. So I snuck a few things she’s been eyeing during shopping trips over the last few weeks. She was none the wiser.” Sam smiled at Danny and reached up to clap a hand on his shoulder.

“You spoiled her too? She’s not even expecting one basket and she’s getting two? Her reaction is going to be priceless. Now get the hell outta here, stop distracting me.” Sam chuckled, shooing Danny off in the direction of the kitchen.

~*~*~

Sophia awoke the next morning pinned under the weight of Sam’s body. Turning her head to the side, she pressed soft kisses to the tip of his nose and the curve of his mustache hoping to wake him gently. He stirred slightly, throwing his leg over hers and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck.

“Just five more minutes and we’ll go make pancakes.” He mumbled, wrapping his arm around her midsection and pulled her closer to him. She reveled in the feeling of his body against hers and let her eyes flutter shut as his breathing began to even out once more.

“It’s Easter, baby. Don’t you wanna get up and enjoy the day? We wouldn’t want to sleep half of it away - we have to cook dinner for your brothers!” She giggled, wiggling her way out of his grasp and pushed herself out of the bed.

“And besides - the Easter bunny left you boys a treat! Don’t you wanna see what he left you?” She giggled, pure excitement coursing through her body as she pulled the two small baskets out of her closet. Sam pushed himself into a seated position and stretched his arms high above his head, making sure to keep his eyes closed as she placed the basket on the bed in front of him.

“I think he did pretty good if I do say so myself.” She giggled, perching herself on the edge of the bed. Sam peeked an eye open and smiled at her all while reaching out and pulling the basket closer to him.

“Now what did this Bunny think I’d like, hmm?” Sam joked as he began to sift through the basket.

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he picked up a small container of guitar picks and placed them to the side. Amongst the items were his favorite body wash, a cologne he had been talking about wanting to try, a gift certificate to their favorite sushi restaurant and a new toothbrush.

“The Easter bunny really decided to replace the toothbrush you dropped in the toilet?!” He joked, placing it to the side in favor of the plastic eggs filled with loose candy he began to munch on.

“I think he decided you needed one with all the Skittles you’re about to eat.” She giggled, reaching over to steal an orange one out of the egg he was holding.

“Thank you baby, that was sweet.” He cooed. Sophia couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face but kept her eyes downcast - not wanting the disappointment she knew played in them to be seen.

“Dan the man can get his when he wakes up. I don’t know about you but I am not waking the beast this early on a Sunday morning.” She giggled, pushing herself to stand and scooped the other basket off of the bed as she made her way out of the bedroom.

Sam was hot on her heels and quickly pushed past her, placing both hands on the hallway walls. Sophia’s bottom lip pushed out in a pout and she crossed her arms over her chest. Sam smiled sleepily at her and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips, a distraction while Danny snuck past them and placed her baskets on the kitchen table.

“What was that for?” She giggled and pulled a deep breath in through her nose. Sam turned and looked over his shoulder briefly, exchanging a quick nod with Danny before wrapping his arms gently around Sophia and turned them both around.

“Daniel was indecent, I don’t think you want to see that, sorry.” He chuckled, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead as he walked her backwards into the kitchen. She couldn’t help the boisterous laugh that slipped past her lips at the thought of Danny streaking across the kitchen.

“How are you going to be indecent in my kitchen, Danny boy?” She called, her voice muffled by the way she was wrapped up in Sam’s arms. The smell of chocolate chip pancakes invaded her senses as they entered the kitchen. Sam’s gaze found Danny’s and they exchanged a silent conversation all while Sophia remained tucked into Sam’s chest.

“The Easter bunny forgot where your room was, Danny. He left your stuff with us.” She giggled, tipping her head back just enough to breathe in the air around her and held the basket out in his direction.

“How dare he not know where to find me! Can you just put it on the table for now, please? I’ll check it out as soon as breakfast is done.” Danny called.

Sam unraveled himself from Sophia and took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest as she spun on her heel and her eyes landed on the kitchen table. She reached up and placed Danny’s basket next to the two that were already sitting there and cocked her head to the side.

“I think the Easter bunny only knew the vicinity you were in.” Sam said. Stepping forward he wrapped his arms around her midsection and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. Sophia took a couple of deep, steadying breaths and leaned back against Sam, reaching up to rest her hands on his arms.

“Baby I…guys you… you didn’t have to.” Her voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes. The memory of the conversation she had with Sam earlier that month coming to the forefront of her mind.

“But we wanted to.” Danny chuckled, swooping past her, he ruffled her messy hair as he placed a plate of pancakes in the middle of the table. Pulling a deep breath in through her nose, she huffed it out and turned her head in Danny’s direction, shooting him a look with furrowed brows.

“Don’t give me that look. This was all Sam’s idea.” Danny chuckled, turning his attention to the basket Sophia had presented for him.

She stepped forward and pulled the bigger of the two baskets in front of her, carefully pulling the card that was tucked safely in the front of it out. Sam reached forward and placed a hand over hers, guiding her to place the card on the table.

“That’ll still be there later.” He chuckled, waiting impatiently for her to sift through the goodies in the basket.

She couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past her lips as she pulled the small plush chick out and hugged it to her chest - one of the many Easter traditions her mother carried on right up until the end. A hair brush, hair ties, claw clips and her favorite cheap perfume all sat to one side of the basket. It was then that her eyes traveled to the other side and she spotted the jar of popcorn and bubblegum flavored jelly beans, clearly hand picked going by the big mason jar of other flavors sitting on the counter.

“You picked them out like she used to…” her voice was soft as memories flooded her mind of Easter’s past and just how excited her mom would be to watch her pick apart the baskets she so lovingly put together.

Sam placed soft kisses to her cheek and gave her a reassuring squeeze as she dug to the bottom of the basket. Plucking the last item up her arm froze and she could no longer fight the tears that sprung to her eyes. In her hand was a three pack of blue bunny peeps - her moms favorite ones.

“How did you?” Her voice cracked as tears began to slip down her cheeks. Sam pulled back and spun her in his grasp, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a tight bear hug.

“I know you won’t eat them, but I know how much this meant to the both of you. I couldn’t put together a basket and not include a hug especially from her.” He mumbled, keeping his voice low so the moment remained between the two of them.

“She’d sneak them in every year, at the bottom of the basket knowing I’d make a face and give them to her. It was our thing.” She sniffled hard trying to compose herself before turning back to the task at hand. Sam placed a kiss to the crown of her head and smoothed his hand up and down her back, essentially calming her down.

“You told me all about it a few weeks ago, don’t you remember? When you told me that numb nuts told you Easter baskets were childish? I might have my stupid moments but I listen to every word you say. I love you.” Sam chuckled, pulling back to cup her cheeks in his hand and wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks with his thumbs.

“Happy Easter.” Sam kept his voice light and leaned forward to capture her lips with his in a soft and sweet kiss. Sophia pulled a deep breath in through her nose and held it to the count of ten before releasing it and turning back to the table.

“Daniel - you too?! How did I ever get so lucky to find both of you?” She giggled, slowly sifting through the small basket Danny had stuffed full of the skin care she had been gushing about to him over the last few weeks.

“That’s what happens when you fall in love with a package deal, you get him and me no questions asked.” Danny chuckled, ruffling her hair once more as he made his way out of the kitchen.

Sam watched as Sophia picked up the mason jar full of jelly beans and twisted it in her hands, a soft smile playing across her face as she opened the jar and picked a few popcorn flavored ones out. Cupping they in her hand she quickly popped them into her mouth before turning and offering Sam the jar.

“You gotta eat four bubblegum ones now - it’s tradition.” Tears welled in her eyes as her voice cracked once more, many more memories flooding her mind. Sam did as he was told, picking four pink jelly beans out of the jar and popped them into his mouth.

“Thank you… you guys didn’t have to do all this.” She mumbled, screwing the lid back onto the jar and tucked it safely back into the basket. A soft smile spread across Sam’s cheeks as he took a step forward and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close to his chest.

“There was no obligation in what we did. We do these things because we want to… okay? I love you, Daniel loves you, Sabrina loves you. Everyone loves you. I know holidays aren’t the easiest, but I want to make them as easy and fun as possible.”

Sophia took another deep breath and steadied herself as she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly to her. She nuzzled her face into the soft fabric of his t-shirt and began to sway their bodies gently. Sam breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she was okay with the little thing he does for her, not wanting to overstep a boundary. He pressed soft kisses against the crown of her head as she relaxed in his grip.

“Happy Easter, baby.” She mumbled, causing a smile to tug at the corners of his lips and he hugged her a bit tighter, letting her know she was safe with him.

TAGLIST: @vanfleeter @readyforthegarden @ascendingtostardust @belovedsamuel @sammysprincess @sammykiszkamyass @gracev0609 @sunfl0wer-power @silks-up-my-sleeve @aintthatapity @twistedmelodies @gvfpal @runwayblues @the-wicked-gnome

[key201303]

Pairing: Jaehyeong x Reader Word count: 1525 words Warnings: None! Just a bunch of comfort Plot: You’ve been feeling really overwhelmed lately because of your bosses. They’ve been asking you to overwork for the past few weeks and even though Jaehyeong asked you to set the limits and tell them you couldn’t overwork anymore in order to stay more healthy, you couldn’t say no to your bosses. Today when you got back home, Jaehyeong was home waiting for you to join him in a delicious dinner. But as soon as you run to his arms and tears start streaming down your face uncontrollably, he cannot focus on the food anymore. A/N: I'm officially coming back! Lot's of thing have been happening that kept me away from writing but fortunately I can say I will be able to slowly go back to writing. Thank you to everyone that is still here and that will read and support my stories from now on, doesn't matter if you're old school or new to this blog ❤️ Also I've noticed there are not much content with The rose and specially with Jaehyeong so here I am, black roses you're all welcome to my blog let's share our love for these guys ❤️ Taglist -> since it's been so long, let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

It’s been a tough day. Not only because your coworker keeps giving you more and more of her work because your bosses have been asking you to stay at work for longer or even extra days. At this point, with this tight schedule you haven’t been able to see Jaehyeong. You even almost forgot how his voice sounded like in real life or how his eyes shined everytime you appeared in his sight. And that made you feel even worse about the whole situation. He has told you plenty of times to set your limits so they cannot exploit you just because you do your work and other’s. But you’re not the type of person to say “no”. It’s like that word doesn’t exist in your vocabulary. Now unfortunately you have to pay the consequences of overworking. “Y/N, I’ll leave some documents I couldn’t finish on your desk, I’m going home.” The voice of your coworker broke the peaceful sound the coffee machine made while preparing your fourth coffee of the day. All you did was check the wall clock that hungged above your heads and nodded, not even looking at her. Once your coffee was ready, you had to go back to work. As soon as you entered your office, your phone screen lit up with a familiar notification sound. “I’m home! Hope you come soon, I’ll make some good food, remember our promise?” The message said. Only then you remember the little promise you made the night before. Jaehyeong was going to finish practice earlier than usual and promised you he would make you your favorite food as long as you finished earlier than usual as well. You felt overwhelmed for a moment. You wanted more than anything else that quality time with the man that owned your heart. And you only had to say “no”.

After a few more minutes of conversation a familiar voice knocks you out of your thoughts once again. “Can you stay a few more hours? Jiwoo’s work need to be finished today.” Your boss said. To be honest, you were tired. Tired of always wanting to go home but not being able to do so because Jiwoo didn’t finish her work. “I have plans.” You said without even thinking what you just said. “But…” Your boss tried to answer but you cut him off. “No buts. It’s Jiwoo’s work, not mine.” You said packing your stuff without looking up. “If it has to be finished today, she should have stayed like I do everyday.” You added getting off your seat and walking towards the door that separated your office from the rest of the building. “I’ll see you on Monday.” You said before leaving the place as your boss and other coworkers looked at you with a surprised gaze. Finally you could feel a huge weight getting off your shoulders.

The walk back home was cold. Hands and nose were freezing tho your ears were warm thanks to the headphones Jaehyeong gifted you a few weeks ago. And not only your ears were getting warm. Your heart was also finally starting to feel warm as you listened to “She’s in the rain”. It never fails to make you feel better whenever you listen to it. (Take some time to enjoy the song before you continue reading)

You finally got home and the strong smell of fresh homemade food filled your body with the feeling of home. And even more feelings appeared as soon as Jaehyeong’s smiling figure appeared leaning on the kitchen door frame. His smile was as bright as light, as sweet as chocolate, as beautiful as a rose and as warm as the sunshine. You couldn’t stop admiring his figure as you walked towards him, hoping to land between his arms and rest your head in the warmth of his chest, near his heart where you belong. His smile grew even wider when his arms wrapped around your small figure. Unfortunately that smile didn’t last long. You could feel the tears falling down your cheeks, getting dried by Jaehyeong’s soft pull over. You tried to stop the tears but you couldn’t. Finally all the stress you’ve been trying to hide was flowing out your body through those tears. “You don’t have to hide your emotions anymore, not in front of me.” Jaehyeong said, tightening his hold, making you hide your face back in the warmth of his heart. “Let it all out… You’ve held it for long enough and I’m here to listen to you.” He added with a low voice, stroking your hair trying to calm you down.

“I have an idea.” He said, a smile appearing back in his lips when you started to feel a bit better. “Let’s go.” He added, grabbing your hand and his guitar. You looked at him confused. “But the dinner…” You tried to say, pointing at the dining room table, full of food. “Food can wait, your health can’t”. He said taking you to the rooftop of your little apartment.

The sky looked beautiful when not much city lights ruined the light stars and the moon had. “How can you know me so well?” You asked Jaehyeong, a small smile threatening to appear in your lips as you still tried to dry some tears that were left running down your cheeks. “Because before dating you, I had to deal with your annoying ass as a best friend.” Jaehyeong joked as he removed the last tear from your cheek with a soft touch, gaining the laugh that was threatening to come out from your mouth. 

“Come on, I’ll let you choose the song for today.” He said once you both got warm and comfy in the small tent you had built for when you needed a stargazing session like the one you were about to start. You immediately suggested ‘she’s in the rain’ and as soon as you started to pronounce the title of the song Jaehyeong cut you off. “You always choose the same one! Can’t you just change for once?” He said playfully laughing. “If you don’t want me to choose then don’t ask me to do so!” You said laughing as well. After some discussion on which song he should play, finally you both agreed on him playing “See-saw”.

His voice was soft, low, not really putting much effort but still taking you to heaven, words flowing through his mouth so effortlessly which made you feel even more cozy. The moonlight hit the perfect spots to make his face features stand out. The silverish light hit perfectly his blond locks, creating an elegant silver hair illusion. You couldn’t focus on the sky. The galaxy his dark eyes held was more than enough that you couldn’t have more attention for something else apart from him. Only then you notice it was not the homemade food the one giving you the feeling of home. Actually it was the thought of him being there for you the one that made you feel home, because everywhere and anywhere would feel home as long as you were together. (Take some time to enjoy the song before you continue reading)

Once he finished singing, his slender fingers kept playing the guitar a bit more as you laid your head on his shoulder. The lack of light, his scent, the soft music his guitar was making mixed with the soft vibrations you felt because of him quietly humming to random melodies was lulling you into a deep sleep. A huge smile appeared on his lips when he noticed your almost asleep figure. “You look so beautiful like this. I’m so lucky you decided to say yes when I asked you out in such a shabby way.” He whispered, pretending to think you were fast asleep and couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t help smiling at his confession which made him act all surprised and disappointed because you heard what he said which made you laugh even more. “This is the girl I missed.” He said. His eyes held so much admiration and love whenever he looked at you. It’s always been that way. You guess Dojoon was right every time he said Jaehyeong would always look at you in a very different way. And it was true. You were the only person living on this earth and probably this galaxy that could see that look in his eyes. Full of love and so fond of you. “Promise you won’t overwork anymore.” He said once you both finished your little stargazing date. “We promised to have a happy life together, you can’t get sick already.” He added as you both entered the kitchen, a small tint of sadness in his expression. Seeing him like this broke your heart. “I promise, from now on no more extra hours.” You said with a small smile, offering him your pinky to seal the deal. But he preferred leaning a bit to close the distance between both of you and place a soft yet full of the love he had for you kiss on your cherry lips. “Let’s go, we have to hit up the food if we want to have dinner.” He said with a playful smirk, leaving you wanting more, just like he always loves to do.

[crazyforkasey-blog]

when we met

Chapter 7

Hey Dani wait up" Talbert called after Dani, she was on her way to the tent,

After Lipton's announcement last night, the 506th had packed up and at 0700, the trucks departed from Membury, where they were now awaiting their new orders.

"So what do you think this is all about" Talbert asked

"Well I already know, I was briefed this morning upon arrival, while you guys were bitching about having to pack all your gear again" Dani said

The tent was jammed pack and Talbert slid down on a seat next to Luz and Grant,

"Did you get her to talk" Luz asked

"No nothing" Talbert said

The three men had hoped to get a head start on the whole operation.

Mia in the back holding hands with Lipton, Katie was standing out to the side with a cup of coffee in her hand, she had that look on her face, the one she got, when she knew something wasn't right. Dani joined them and the rest of the medical staff

Dani caught Katie's eyes and lifted her eyebrow, as to ask if everything was alright, they had been doing that since school; Katie just shook her head and motioned towards Winters.

Dani looked at Winters, he looked calm, but had a stern look on his face, like he wasn't sure about the operation, like he knew something was off; he had kept asking Nixon this morning if they were absolutely sure about the Intel, like he had a feeling it sounded too easy.

Nixon had insisted it was good Intel and that they shouldn't worry.

Lane backed him up; they had gotten the Intel fresh from the Dutch resistance, who had proven absolutely dependable before.

Winters started to brief the company about their new mission

"As you can see, this is called Operation Market-Garden, Market being the airborne operation and Market the ground operation, in terms of airborne divisions involved, this is even bigger than Normandy. We are dropping deep into occupied Holland, the allied objective is to take this road here between Arnhem and Eindhoven, and so the two British armored units can move up toward Arnhem. Our job is going to be to liberate Eindhoven, stay there and wait for the tanks" Winters said and when he finished Lane took over.

"The entire European advance has been put on hold to relocate resources for this operation, it's Montgomery's personal plan, we will be under British Command" Lane said.

There was a lot of moaning and complaining,

At this point Nixon took over "The good news is, if this works, these tanks will be over the Rhine into Germany that could end the war and get us home by Christmas. It will be a day time jump, Intelligence doesn't expect much opposition, they think the krauts in Holland are mostly old men and kids, and we should take them by surprise. In any case say goodbye to England, I don't think they are going to call this one of" he said

The men started to pile out of the tent after the briefing ended; the officers lingered around and went over the operation one more time, just to be absolutely sure they were prepared for whatever could happen.

Katie,Mia and Dani headed back to the Hospital to gather supplies.

"I don't know about this operation, so pack up all the supplies you can scrounge" Katie said

She had to go and finish some paperwork, and to make sure everything was in order back at the hospital, before she could leave England with a clear conscience.

Mia and Dani packed up whatever they could get her hands on, and whatever they knew they could jump with, they packed up stuff for Roe and Spina as well, they were out among the men making sure everybody was in shape to jump.

After finishing up at the aid station Mia went and searched for Lipton, she needed him to tell her everything would be alright, after working with Katie all day, who kept mumbling that she just knew this would fall on its ass, she needed someone who wasn't so negative.

She found him in his tent with Welsh and Buck; they were going over the objective for the platoons.

Lipton motioned for her to come and sit down next to him, he pulled her close "you ok" he asked

"Yeah, just a little… I don't know, I still don't want to move out again, but I will follow you boys anywhere" Mia whispered to Lipton

"I know, it will be fine" Lipton said and that was all Mia needed to hear

She smiled at Lip, the guys talked for hours and Mia eventually fell asleep, she was woken by Lipton, "Mia you need to find your own bed" Lipton said

Mia looked at him she didn't really want to, but she got up and kissed him and went back to the aid station to crash, on the way there she ran into Dani and Speirs, who was heading in the opposite direction, they looked happy, she thought to herself, but knowing the tempers of the two lieutenants it wouldn't last.

The next morning the Easy company veterans were bustling around and teaching the replacement how to be ready to fight after the jump. Suddenly Bull stopped and looked around, a jeep with Popeye in the back and Sobel in the driver's seat was pulling up on the air strip

As he drove by, the Toccoa men and women stopped smiling and just looked at him, the jeep stopped and Sobel got out. He pulled down his uniform jacket and walked around the supply truck that was tailing him, it had Malarkey's motorcycle in the back.

Dani looked at Bull "what is he doing here?" she said

"I don't know" he said

Popeye jumped down from the jeep and Lipton walked up to him, trailed by a smiling Mia, who had treated Popeye in Normandy, "Did they let you out of the hospital like that boy" Lipton asked and laughed

"They didn't let me out, I busted out, I didn't wanted get reassigned to some other unit" Popeye said

"Can you make the jump?" Mia asked

"Yeah I can make the jump, I just can't sit" Popeye said

"Welcome back Popeye" Randleman said

"Popeye went AWOL just in time to jump" Lipton said

"Better not let lieutenant Hunt know" Mia said and hugged Popeye

Bull pointed to Sobel and asked "What is he doing here?"

"Sobel, he is the newly appointed regimental S4" Mia said

"Supply officer" Bull said

"Yeah you got it" Lipton said

"He picked me up in Aldbourne, trying to find you guys" Popeye said

"He know you went AWOL" Bull asked

"He knows, he just said I was lucky, I could sit out this jump if I wanted, I said I didn't wanted to, so he said hop in" Popeye said

"Hop in" Bull repeated

"I know, I couldn't believe it either, maybe he is going to court martial me later" Popeye said.

Lip slapped him on the back of the head and they headed off to find Popeye some gear.

Mia was looking after the two of them with a big smile on her face; she knew Dani would be happy to see a familiar face in her stick.

Moore walked over to Malarkey "Hey mal look there" he said and gestured towards the supply truck, which had their bike in it.

Malarkey turned around and mouthed the son of a bitch.

Sobel noticed him right away and called out "Malarkey, sergeant Malarkey"

Malarkey saluted Sobel, who turned around and looked at the bike "You thought you got away with it?" Sobel asked him

"What do you mean sir?" Malarkey looked at Sobel like he had no idea what he was talking about.

Sobel stared at Malarkey "Sergeant, that Motorcycle is United States army property that may not mean anything to you, but that means something to me, where did you find it?" Sobel asked

"That's him alright" Bull said, he was looking at Sobel chewing out Malarkey for stealing the motorcycle.

Sergeant Martin was having troubles with a lieutenant who was jumpmaster on his plane, he kept telling him to tap his leg once the green lights came on, and Martin kept telling him, he would be right next to the light.

Mia called Martin over " Hey Martin, the lieutenant is color blind, cut him some slack and just do as he asks" Mia said

Martin looked at the lieutenant "Ok if you say so" he said and walked over to the lieutenant and told him he would do as he asked.

Occupied Holland September 17

It was a beautiful end of summer day and the daytime jump went smoothly for everyone. The biggest problem was getting off the DZ, so they wouldn't get hit by falling equipment and gliders.

The March order had Dog Company in the lead with Easy, HQ and Fox following them.

Welsh and Peacock had points with first platoon, followed by Buck and second and then Shames and third.

Mia, Dani and Katie were tracking behind with the rest of the medical personnel between Easy and HQ. Katie was happy it gave her some time with Dick, even if they couldn't talk much, just being near him was a welcome change.

They were heading down the road towards Son; the residents in the town were happy to be liberated and were flying the royal orange flag.

They handed out fruits and beers to the soldiers. Lane got many strange looks. The Dutch were not expecting to see women with the Yanks.

Lane was walking next to Winters "Do you think all the Dutch will be this happy to see us" She asked him

"I hope so, let's see if the whole operation goes smoothly," Winters said.

About a kilometer from the bridge they were supposed to secure, the column was fired upon by a German 88 and a machine gun. When the fire started Lane felt herself pushed to the ground, by Winters "Stay down", he said

As soon as she felt it was secure, Lane got up and ran towards battalion HQ, to find out what was going on.

"Nix what's going on?" Lane yelled over the firing rifles and exploding mortar shells.

"The Germans are trying to delay us, so the engineers have time to prep for demolition of the bridge" Nix said

As predicted when they were 25 meters from the bridge it blew in their faces.

Lane, who was in front with the first platoon, was slung to the ground, there was a hail of debris raining down over her and she felt a sharp pain in her back, and everything went black.

Katie ran up to her and poured sulfa on the wound, she noticed a piece of debris in Lane's back, she bandaged it up and sent Lane back to the impromptu aid station, a lot of men had been hit by pieces of debris from the bridge.

Nixon was running around like a crazy person, the Intel provided for them was obviously wrong, and he was trying to straighten the rumors from fact.

Lane woke up in the aid station "What the hell happened?" She moaned when she came through

"Hey welcome back, you took a piece of bridge in your shoulder and got knocked out when some debris hit you in the head," Mia said

"You needed some stitches, and you are going to be sore for a while, other than that you will be fine, which we have been trying to tell your man, and here he comes again," Mia said and stepped away from Lane.

Nixon barged through the door "Oh thank god you are ok, you scared me good out there" Nixon said

He walked over, took her hand in his, he searched her face, he had been scared out of his mind when he saw her go down, hit by the debris from the bridge, he looked at her "I can't stay, are you sure you are ok?" He asked

"I will be fine just fine; it's you I am worried about. You look like shit" Lane said

She turned to Mia "Is this going to take me out or what?" She asked her

"You will be fine, Katie removed the debris and I stitched you up" Mia said

"besides, the guards armored Division has been held up south of Eindhoven, and we need every man and women out there, just take it easy ok" Mia said

"Ok, let me get out of here then" Lane said

"Here, I scrounged you up a clean shirt," Mia said

Lane walked out of the barn and the first person she ran into was flustered Dani "I just heard, are you ok?" She asked her

"I am fine, now let's get this show on the road" Lane said

That night the girls got together and bunked down in the aid station, it didn't take long for Nixon, Speirs, Lipton and Winters to show up there.

There wasn't a lot of talking going on. Lane and Nixon kept going over the Intel trying to find out where the misinformation had come from, and what source had been wrong and what they could expect going forward.

Speirs had lost a man, and had overheard Luz telling Talbert about Dani's strange behavior before the jump. Winters and Katie were talking about how things had gone and how many wounded and killed had come through the aid station.

Mia and Lipton were just making conversation and Dani was staring into space, wondering if she would ever be able to let go of what had happened to her on D Day, it had come barreling back to her after the bridge blew in their face.

The next morning the march continued, Lane was in a Jeep with Strayer and Nixon, the column stopped and Sink spread his regiment, with second battalion on the left.

Lane stood up in the back and looked at the reason why the column had stopped, when she saw Lieutenant Brewer standing in the middle of the road, with his binoculars and Map case at his side.

Randleman looked up and started to yell at the lieutenant, Winters was screaming in the radio "get back, get back, drop back" Brewer never responded

A shot rang out and Brewer fell to the ground, he was hit just below the jaw line. The entire battalion took cover in the ditches

Mia ran to Brewer, and she was immediately hit in the knee, and then in the thigh. Roe came running up to them. Mia was bandaging herself and after she finished she dragged herself back in the ditch, where somebody hooked her up with a shot of morphine.

The next thing she knew, she was at the aid station, Katie and Dani were working on Brewer and when they had him stabilized, they came over to look at Mia.

"You do know they have medics in Easy company right?" Katie said with a stern look at Mia.

"Yes Ma'am, but I was the closest one to the lieutenant" Mia said

"Well, next time you leave it to Roe or another medic, got it?" Katie said

She felt like she had to be stern with Mia, she couldn't risk losing a good combat nurse.

"captain, please don't send me back to England" Mia said

"Well you really should, but if you behave and nothing gets infected you can stay with the aid station" Katie said.

The 506th entered Eindhoven and the whole town was filled with happy Dutchmen and women, the hardest part was driving the men through town.

The officers were screaming "keep moving, keep moving", but it was impossible. The men were offered food and shots of brandy and the women were kissing them, a big busted lady had gotten a hold of Perconte and was squeezing him hard, with her bosom.

Luz ran up to Dani "See all these happy people, the girls are real eager to kiss the guys how about a kiss for a lonely soldier," Luz said with a smirk

Dani looked at him "Ok one little kiss, Luz and it's the last one," Dani said

Just as Luz leaned in to get his kiss, he felt a hand on his forehead and looked into a pair of ice-cold eyes "Keep moving soldier," Speirs said.

Dani was about to pee herself, the look on Luz face was priceless.

Shrugging, Luz moved on "The only one, who gets a kiss from you, is me" Speirs said and pulled Dani in for a long and tender kiss.

He had missed her, he had missed kissing her like that, and Speirs put his helmet back on and moved on.

A young woman grabbed a hold of Speirs and kissed him; Dani just looked at him and felt like she just got a punch in her stomach, when she saw the happy smile on his face.

Dani gave him a cold look and stalked off.

Meeting up with Welsh, Nixon, Winters, and Lane.

Buck met up with them "What's up Welshie" He said

"Snipers" Welsh said

The officers all covered up their insignias; you never knew where the snipers were.

The officers came across a crowd, who were clapping and shouting. They realized it was the resistance, shaving the hair off some women.

"What the heck is going on?" Welsh asked

"It's the women who slept with the Germans, they are lucky, the men got shot," Lane said.

"We need to move on, get the men and move on," Winters said.

Late that afternoon the Brits finally showed up, they set up housekeeping and proceeded to make tea.

Lane was shaking her head at them. Her and Nixon was a little outraged that they didn't have any urge to keep moving on to Nijmegen,

Around dinnertime, the rest of the British arrived and the 506th initial task was over.

The battalion spent the night In hastily dug Foxholes, Lane was sharing with Nixon, she wasn't there a whole lot, she spent most of the night walking the line, her shoulder hurt and she wasn't about to complain, she could take it.

The next day they continued towards Nuenen, Webster made a crack about, that is where Van Gogh was from.

Just out of Nuenen, they once again encountered enemy fire.

Lane was standing in the back of a jeep, watching the men fight, once again cursing the faulty Intel

The replacements jumped into the ditch, and the platoon leaders had a hard time getting them moving. Randleman had to scream at the men that they needed to move, because they were firing at stationary targets.

They got the platoons moving and they ran towards town.

The entire company ran into town, there were Germans and burning equipment everywhere, Dani had her Mortar squad set up ready to fire.

Martin and Bull noticed a hidden tiger. Martin flagged down the British tank commander and told him about the tank, he just told him, he was ordered not to do any unnecessary property damage, and refused to put a couple of shells through the house the tiger was hidden behind.

The tiger shot up the British tank, and in the end Easy and the rest of the Companies had to retreat, while retreating Bull got cut off from the rest of the company.

Compton was hit in the butt and the men dragged him back towards the trucks on a barn door, he kept telling them to leave him for the Germans, but the men refused.

The battalion fell back, just when they were about to move out Gordon and Strohl came running towards the column, they jumped a fence and climbed on board a truck.

Winters, Lane, McMillan and Nixon were heading towards Battalion HQ, they could hear Colonel Strayer and his staff laughing in there.

"What the hell do they have to laugh about?" Lane said

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's about to end" Winters said

The officers entered the HQ; Strayer turned to Winters and McMillan and asked how they did today.

"Well we took a hell of a licking, and Easy lost fifteen men, and Dog about the same" Winters said.

Lane grabbed a cup of coffee and walked outside, she was looking up at the sky, and she was watching the Germans bombing Eindhoven and the British Supply convoy.

She felt some beside her, Welsh and Peacock was standing besides looking at the same inferno; "Guess they won't be greeting us with orange flags tomorrow" Welsh said and walked off.

September 22 1944

The Battalion got orders to move towards Uden; Lane was busy setting up CP and road blocks. Winters had delegated the task of setting up first platoons roadblock to Welsh.

Katie had a chance to spend the evening with Winters, they had decided to check on the road blocks. The British tank was right where it should be and so was the roadblock, but there were no soldiers to be found anywhere. There was a manor on one side of the road and a tavern on the other side.

"Where the heck is everybody?" Katie asked Winters

"I don't know, but we are about to find out," Winters said and ran over to the manor and knocked on the door.

Katie reached manor just as the maid opened the door.

They somehow made it clear to the maid, they wanted to see a soldier.

The maid led them down a hall to a large lavish furnished living room. Sitting on the floor in front of a blazing fire, was a beautiful Dutch girl sharing dinner with a British lieutenant, he turned his head and looked at the two officers "is my tank still outside?" he asked them

Katie got angrier than she had been in all her life, she walked over and grabbed the lieutenant by the ear, and she pulled him to his feet and dragged him outside.

"When you address an officer you say ma'am or sir" Katie said, pushing the lieutenant down the street towards his tank.

"Now you set that roadblock up, or I will make sure you don't have kids and I am a surgeon, I can make it happen" Katie yelled at the lieutenant.

The British lieutenant looked at Winters, who just shrugged.

Both men were a little surprised by the choice of words.

"Let's go find Welsh" Katie said and walked towards the tavern, she was pretty sure that was where they would find first platoon.

And just as they thought, they found Welsh and first platoon sacked out on the bar, Katie got even more pissed off, she looked over at Winters who just signaled go ahead.

"WELSH, GET THE FUCK UP, YOU SLEEPING FUCKER" Katie yelled

Welsh shot up from his spot on the bar and fell down on the floor and Katie grabbed him by the ear and dragged him outside, "now, set up the freaking road block," Katie said

Welsh nodded and Katie stalked off to yell at the sleeping men.

Winters and Welsh could hear Katie yelling at the men threatening them with everything under the moon, something about lining them up against the wall and shooting them.

They could hear the men mumbling something and then laughter. Katie came out smiling and headed towards Winters and Welsh "All taken care of," she said

Welsh looked at Winters "I think Sparky is right, she is the scary one" he said

Winters looked at him "Just be glad she didn't shoot you between the eyes, are we clear on the road block Harry" Winters said

"Yes, crystal," Harry said.

Second battalion caught up with each other in Uden. Dani was searching for Speirs in the crowd of soldiers, praying he wasn't hurt. She couldn't find him anywhere, she was starting to panic, when she felt a pair of hands grab her by her waist, she turned around and looked at Speirs she let out a breath and hugged him, he just smiled Whispered and walked away.

Dani looked after him and went out to find Winters, she wanted to know how the rest of the company was doing, and she found him at the CP.

"Good you are here" Colonel Sink said.

Lane had been called to the CP, she went over and stood close to Nixon.

"What's going on" Lane asked Nixon

"We are taking Veghel and moving south" Colonel Sink informed them and continued to explain the mission.

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Lane was observing the attack from behind to parked Jeeps.

Nixon was standing beside her, they were hoping everything would go smooth, and then suddenly Lane heard a loud ping and noticed Nixon had hit the deck.

Lane and Winters were on him immediately "Oh god Lew are you ok" Lane said

"Yeah I am fine, I am ok, am I ok? Stop looking at me like that" Lew said.

Nixon had been hit by a bullet that went through his helmet, but only left a burn mark on his forehead.

The men got loaded into the back of trucks and the battalion retreated, while watching the men get back on the trucks Winters looked at Nix "I hate retreating," Winters said

"There a first time for everything" Nixon said

"How are the other divisions faring up north?" Winters asked

Lane was walking by. She just looked straight ahead, "I think we have to find a new way into Germany" she said and walked by.

[shallyne]

The diary of Feyre Archeron Ch 11

Epilogue

EPILOGUE!!! YAY? YAY! Full fic on AO3

Words: 805

The door was jammed again. Another thing I had to put on my ever growing list of things to do, or tell Rhys to do. I wriggled the key in the lock and pressed against the stubborn door until it finally opened, and all that without spilling a drop of my decaffeinated coffee.

It has been a quiet morning, I just came from brunch with Mor which went from our originally planned hour to two hours, talking the whole time after I told her the news. I just hoped Rhys wouldn't mind, we wanted to tell her together but the time just felt so right, I had blurted it out.

“Rhys?” I called out as I walked down the hallway of our apartment, past the portrait of us I made after our wedding. It was eerily silent. Maybe he was out with Cassian and Azriel but he told me this morning that he planned to stay home to pack up a few things in his office. I stepped over a box when I saw that the door of our storage room was ajar. On silent feet I stepped closer and opened the door, finding my husband sitting between mountains of boxes, reading a book, his back to the door. I snuck closer, looking over his shoulder to see a familiar handwriting. “You're reading my old diaries?”

He snapped the book shut before I even finished my sentence, looking up at me with a smile as he put the notebook down on two others that I had written inside years ago. “The best sex you've ever had, huh?”

I rolled my eyes and put down my coffee on the nearest box. “I should have burned these things long ago. There's incriminating evidence inside that could get me into jail.”

“Us both, but it won't.” he said and when he met my eyes, something in his own softened. Rhys took my hand and pulled me into his lap. “I'm sorry I've read through them. I needed a box and I've been rummaging through everything and found your diaries. I should have put them back.”

I smiled, “It's okay, this is the past.” I gestured to the diaries. “This has been years ago. Although, if you are really sorry, I know a few ways that you could make it up.”

Rhys's lips twisted into a smirk at my suggestion and I stretched up to kiss the corner of his lips. “This might be slightly off-topic but I've been thinking.”

“Oh?” Rhys asked, brushing a thumb over my chin.

“Yes,” I replied and took his hand, “I've been thinking that now is maybe a good time to start a diary again.” our hands rested atop my stomach where there was only yet a tiny bump showing. It was easily covered with baggy clothing at this point, which I did until the whole family was told the big news of my pregnancy. “Maybe he, or she, can read it when they are older.” I always said he for some reason, I am so sure it would be a boy.

“That's a great idea.” Rhys kissed forehead, “Maybe I should add some things from my perspective. If you'd like that.”

“I'd love that!” I said, flinging my arms around him with a sigh. “I'm so excited to start this chapter of our life. I'm so excited for the little one.”

Rhys answered with a breathtaking smile of his own, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at me. There wasn't a day in our life that he didn't make sure that I felt safe and loved. I hope I make him feel the same way, at least I am trying everyday.

The vibrating of my phone interrupted our moment. With an apologizing look I leaned back, “This must be Ressina. We are meeting at the gallery at one to work out the work schedule for next month.” I explained. “I was hoping I could pack up some things for the move but brunch with Mor took longer than planned.” I grimaced as I remembered, “By the way, I might have already told her.”

Rhys snorted, “I'm not surprised.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“That means,” he flicked my nose, “You have a loose mouth around my cousin.”

“Well, she's my best friend.” I told him and pushed him away playfully, standing up. “Also, can we get Sevanda’s tonight?”

“Sure! “ Rhys replied without taking a moment to think about it. “And Feyre?”

“Yes?”

“Don't stress yourself while at the gallery, I'll take care of packing. You don't lift a finger.”

“But–”

“No buts, I manage the moving and you take care growing the little one. Alright?”

“Alright.” I laughed, grabbing my coffee.

Rhys stood up too, “I love you, Feyre darling.”

I kissed him, “I love you, too, you mother hen.”

Feysand Taglist:

@captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship @starfall-spirit @rhysiedarling @corcracrow @sydney-fae25 @tothestarsandwhateverend @aayo-whatt @dreamlandreader

[kitaishi]

— “how many bags of icing sugar do we need again?” / throws rindo @ mom !

★ . ━  ❛ baking prompts // holidays with the strifes.

while tifa patiently listens to another frantic customer on the phone, she calmly writes down the latest addition to a long list of rush orders the bakery had lined up for the holidays: one cranberry pound cake, two cheesecakes ( although, it sounded like they were on the verge of adding a third ), and a dozen gingerbread cookies. as the overwhelmed client seem to debate internally with themselves on the other end of the line, tifa tries to throw out some casual suggestions in order to gently move things along. she's a bit tired after bouncing between taking phone calls, helping pack orders, and everything else that was needed to keep their business running. still, tifa couldn't quite rest yet - even if all she really wants right now is to sit in a long, hot bubble bath. sightly softly into the receiver, the woman is nearly about to suggest one of cloud's pies as an alternative dessert despite how her heart sinks a little at the idea.

tifa didn't really want to accept that the mixed berry pie cloud baked a few days ago wouldn't be hers to claim anymore. tifa had really wanted to pair a hot slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a glass of her favorite dessert wine... before tifa could bring it up though, she hears her son calling from the secondary kitchen adjourned to their home.

   ' moooom! how many bags of icing sugar do we need again? '

she quickly mutes her phone, shouting back from where she sat in her office on the other side of the house, ❛ about four honey ! actually...make it six to be safe! ’ thankfully, the customer is still waffling, not even aware of her brief moment away, when she unmutes her cellphone. tifa returns without missing a beat, ❛ you know, our holiday cake is another popular special that may be perfect for you! it's a strawberry shortcake that can provide a sweet but lighter alternative for your dinner guest if interested? ’ thankfully, the client seemed to love the suggestion and so the shortcake, as well as another cheesecake, got added to the order. pie saved.

pleased with herself, tifa stood and stretched her sore back before silencing her phone for the rest of the evening in order to focus on what mattered: her family. cloud was doing some finishing up deliveries, leaving her to get started on some of his orders with a bit of help from rindo. speaking of their son: the teen practically looked as if he was on death's row while he drops the last bags of needed sugar on the counter. ❛ don't look too enthused to help your uncool mom with baking. ’ she lovingly rolls her eyes at him as she enters the kitchen, snatching a marshmallow from one of the various bowls littering the kitchen's island and cutely giving him a tiny ' bop! ' on the nose with it before popping it in her mouth.

' ugh, stop it mom! ' rindo whines as he swats tifa's hands away, pretending to be annoyed by her 'lame' antics. despite his words, tifa can't help but notice ( and secretly treasure ) the small smirk on her baby boy's face - even while he desperately tries to hide it from her. ❛ let's get you started on mixing the icing. i'll walk you through your grandmother's recipe while you work. ’ rindo's already stuffing his cellphone in his pants with a bored sigh and heading over to sink - where he earns a nod of approval from his mom as he begins to wash his hands first just like she and cloud always instructed him to. tifa's tying an old but faithful, flour coated apron around her waist when a thought suddenly comes to her.

❛ say rindo... ’ she says aloud, pulling out a few measuring cups and spoons as she did so. ❛ if both your dad and i are pleased with your work tonight, i'll let you pretend to be sick tomorrow to play that game of yours you love so much alright? ’

tifa can practically hear his neck whip around towards her, his quiet voice soft but hopeful ' no way! really? ' tifa just hums innocently with a smile, popping another marshmallow in her mouth before simply saying, ❛ very way. ’ ...which earns her an immediate - and loud - groan after. she ignores it to affectionately ruffle his hair with a laugh.

❛ alright kiddo... ’ tifa punches a fist into her hand in order to pump them both up for the long, laborious night ahead. ❛ let's get to work! ’

[kamryn1963]

So Long, London (Al & Trudy fanfic)

Summary: When his marriage with Meredith finally reaches it's end, Al goes to a place he knows he'll be welcomed without judgment.

Al had tried for years to keep his family together. Fight after fight with Meredith left him wanting to just leave. To get a divorce and his own place. He felt selfish everytime he thought that, he knew he had to be a man and stay for his family, stay for Lexi but he wondered how much he could try until he and Meredith had to admit this wasn’t working anymore.

They had both changed too much the last couple years. Had changed and grew apart too much for Al to think they could ever have a happy marriage again. Lexi was older now, seventeen, so he did think about leaving more and more. She was old enough to choose where she wanted to live and drive between places, so they wouldn’t have to figure out custody.

He had been looking at the pamphlet for the “Officer next door program” Trudy had given him. He knew that while the cut she got out of it was a bonus, it was also her way of looking out for him and for that Al appreciated the gesture more than Trudy would ever know.

Al had even started packing his stuff, but then he and Meredith talked. It was so nice and they fell into bed again and then Al was moving back into the house and the bedroom. He knew it was a bad idea, could hear Hank and Trudy telling him that in his head, but some part of him was too loyal to Meredith, to this family that he desperately wanted to be whole again.

And then Meredith was held hostage and shaken up and Al couldn’t leave. He couldn’t because it was his job that got her in danger and Meredith wanted him there so Al thought the least he could do was stay and take care of her.

But like most things in his life, it blew up and the familiar screaming fight started once again like clockwork.

“I’m done. I’m leaving, Meredith”. Al didn’t really understand what he said until Meredith’s shouting about how much he worked stopped and she looked at him.

“Alvin…” Meredith started and Alvin shook his head as he felt tears gather in his eyes and started packing his bag that had barely been unpacked.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but this, we can’t fix this Meredith. We're different people now than we were twenty years ago”. Alvin said as he finished packing his bag and headed towards the door. Before he left he embraced Meredith one last time.

They were both silent as she hugged him back and watched as he left. Al was thankful Lexi was with a friend for the weekend as he headed out to his car and began driving away. Only once he’d driven for ten minutes did he realize it was ten at night and he had nowhere to go.

A couple places came to mind but he was between two. Usually he’d head to Hank’s but knew Hank had a lot on his plate with Olive and Justin so Al headed to the next best place.

He grabbed his bag and knocked at the door realizing he’d forgotten his jacket as he started shivering violently hoping the door would be answered soon. A light flicked on inside and then footsteps and the door opened.

“What the hell…come in, Alvin”. Trudy sighed as she looked at her friend's appearance and the bag he was carrying.

“I’m sorry”. This was stupid, Al shouldn’t be burdening Trudy like this because of his fucked up life.

He should’ve stayed and tried to fix this instead of just giving up. Deep down Al knew he’d given his marriage the best he could and maybe it was better for both of them to move on.

“Alvin?” Al looked back up as Trudy rested a hand on his arm, her face worried and he realized he was now sitting on her couch.

“I left, I left Meredith”. Al stated the words making everything final.

He left and this was the end. There was no going back now and some part of Al felt relieved. That this never ending cycle of fighting and screaming and the silent treatment. would end and they could both start healing apart. Al hoped they could still be friends for Lexi’s sake but he knew he couldn’t be her husband anymore.

Trudy nodded, already having guessed that. “I’m proud of you for finally leaving”.

“I thought you liked Meredith?” Al asked as Trudy stood up to grab him a glass of water.

“Maybe at the beginning but I’d choose you and your happiness over her every time”. Trudy said truthfully as she returned sitting next to Al shoulder to shoulder.

Al was so grateful for Trudy. For the love his best friend showed him unconditionally even when Al didn’t deserve it. Even when he fucked up, when he hid injuries or illnesses or fell behind on his paperwork because everything was going wrong in his life and he couldn’t find it in him to focus even if knew he should.

Trudy was always there. Even if just silent support. She didn’t hound him for his overdo paperwork as much as everyone else and he had seen her paying Jay or Antonio to do it on more than one occasion. She reassured him he didn’t need to hide his pain and she and Hank were always there to share his burden, and he was allowed to rely on them because they were his friends and they loved him.

Sometimes Al even believed them. Right now with his marriage blowing up, he was more thankful than he ever had been for his friends.

“You're welcome to stay, Al. As long as you need to”. Trudy said a couple minutes later and Al looked up so incredibly thankful for her.

“I thought you weren’t looking for a roommate?” Al joked as he stood up and grabbed his bag, following Trudy up the stairs.

“Don’t push your luck, Olinsky”.

[darkmoonkestrel]

daily kestrel 46:

today was a good (busy) day in the school library! we saw one class from each grade, so I got the full K-5 spectrum all packed in to one. I was able to bring in the supplies that the subathon got from my wishlist and it brought me such joy to be able to do that

we went to the other place that we really wanted to see, and liked it. really, really liked it. as in, cut the list price of our home ahead of the two showings that are scheduled for tomorrow and are planning on putting together an offer on the place (pending an inspection), really liked it. it's in a quiet neighborhood but really close to a lot of things off of a good interstate exit, and only 15ish minutes from the ren faire grounds. it's got so much room for customization and improvement and to make it ours, i'm fully embracing Paige's idea of manifesting it, the good vibes are carrying us on bc it just feels like our house, idk how to describe it. also shit's scary but c'est la vie

i tried to read to Peyton on the way home, but we got two pages in before Birthgiver called, so we spent the rest of the car ride home on the phone with her. i worked on my schoolwork after we got home, and Paige made the hotwurst for dinner - I did my due diligence and ate half of one before passing it on to Peyton, and I'm now realizing I have had no other significant food. i should fix that before bed. despite dicking around in the office while occasionally working, I managed to get my blog post done, do one of my readings, and prep my interview questions for tomorrow in a better order.

i opened up google drive for a school thing and it defaults to my old gmail account sometimes, and the excuse to procrastinate overruled, so I looked through some of my old things - a monologue from acting senior year of high school, a couple late high school and early college notes/projects (including a document that simply said "notes from chem review:" and nothing else), and things related to Sommer. pictures, the senior letter I wrote to her, the tracklist from the playlist I made for her... it's times like this that I have to remember that post "the versions of my life that I did not choose are none of my business" or whatever, ya know?

anyway, I'm tempted to get up around sunrise to take a shower and then head to the farmer's market to snag some brekkie before we have to get the house cleaned and prepped and vacated for the first of two showings tomorrow. idk if we're going to come back to the house between them, we shall see. also, viper's baby was born today, and with a head full of hair! i really need to finish his quilt so the little dude can have a cool ass first christmas present. I hope I'll have time to finish it with the move and all coming up

[balapann-blog]

Day 13 - 18 September - Bar > Podgorica

We checked out and got a taxi to Bar station, and then took the train to Podgorica. We were staying in a flat that is very like our flat in London which was nice, it felt very familiar. We then went to lunch in the most highly rated place around, it was quite meat heavy and we ordered too much! We finished it all but it was tough and we had to go to the flat for a lie down after. We went for a quick walk around the old town but it seemed mostly residential so we went back to the downtown area. We have both been nursing colds and I went into a boots type shop for tissues. It was quite glam and had many different types of shampoo etc., including a whole shelf of Korean beauty products (we go a couple of face masks) but when I asked if they sold tissues there was a very definitive ‘no not here!’ I had had to take out the loo roll that was in my pocket that I had been using up to that point as a translation!

At the flat we read for a bit I bought Her Side of the Story by Alba de Céspedes which seems like a real precursor to Elena Ferrante, I was hooked reading the sample on the train!

We then went to the post office and for a drink in this bar below a bridge (didn’t see any trolls since they seemed to have moved all their work online). We then went to one of the only restaurants in the old town for dinner, we only wanted something like but the salads we ordered were quite heavy. We went to the shop and bought some stuff for our long bus journey in the morning and went home.

We watched Mona Lisa smile on Netflix which was great, then went to bed, not the comfyist bed we have slept on and the pillow was very big and uncomfortable.

Where we ate - Pod valet, Lantern restaurant

What we liked - Pod valet was good but we had too much, Lantern was a lovely setting, I think our salads weren’t great but maybe we ordered wrong.

Day 14 - 19 September - Podgorica > Pristina

We work up early and went for a run which was really good particularly because we were about to spend all day on the bus. We packed, made our lunch and checked out. I bought a potato burek for breakfast and then got the 9am bus. This was the second international mini bus we have taken, and we both got single window seats on one side of the bus.

We got to the Albanian border quickly and got through pretty easily, no problems. The problems started like 25 mins later when the driver abruptly stopped and said that we needed to change bus. He didn’t really tell us when the new bus was coming, and spent most of the next 30 mins shouting on the phone. Eventually a big bus stopped and we all got on (including the driver, who started immediately being the assistant on this bus). The bus journey from then on was uneventful if a bit long, there was amazing scenery as usual and a stop at a very glam Albanian services.

We got to Pristina and walked into town from the bus. I think walking with the bag is the most weights training I have ever done! We checked into the flat and then went out for dinner. We had a lovely meal of salad, grilled veg, zucchini and cheese, and bread, which we needed after yesterday’s excess. With a big bottle of fizzy water it cost us 14 euro which was very good value! We are now just chilling in the flat and resting after a few days of travelling and moving.

Where we ate - Liburnia

What we liked - Liburnia was really nice but based on what you will find out in the next entry it is slightly taken the gloss off

Day 15 - 20 September - Pristina

Woke up to the terrible news that Nin was feeling really ill and couldn’t get out of bed. We had planned to do a 10am walking tour but that was missed. I went to get some medicine for heartburn from a chemist, which Nin said was absolutely disgusting (it was anise flavour).

She was feeling too ill o go out so I bravely ventured out without my rock. I got a burek from what seemed to be the highest rated place in Pristina, it was definitely not as nice as the place in Sarajevo but was pretty delish (i think its pretty hard to fuck burek up). I then went to an exhibition in a library that had multiple stories from the Kosovo war, all from a single day in May 1999. It was like some of the Sarajevo exhibitions, and no less grim and harrowing. It really is incredible the things that happened in Yugoslavia in the 90s, when you hear that there are tensions currently it is really easy to see why. What happened in Kosovo I would be able to remember had I been born there, and the scale of the violence is staggering. It takes serious courage to forgive in those situations. The poem ceasefire by Michael Longley (who i actually saw reading the poem a few weeks ago before I left) comes to mind.

After that I had a mental coffee, with whipped cream (id ordered a cappuccino) and went back to see Nina who was still feeling really ill, I brought her some plain bread from a bakery and hung out for a bit and then went to get some lunch, I listened to a few podcasts and had some pasta and a coffee. I then went to a few of the main mosques in the town which I had wanted to go to (they were busy in the morning with Friday prayers, but empty when I went) and also to the a museum of an old Turkish 18th century house which was short but very lovely, and i walked through the old market. I then went to catch the 4pm walking tour but the guy never appeared so I bought some stuff for Nina to have for dinner (soup and rice as per her request) and went back to the house.

Our washer/dryer had made our clothes very wrinkled so I did some very basic ironing, and made the soup and rice for Nina who by this point had diagnosed herself with food poisoning. After that I went out to this falafel place and had a ‘zesty wrap’. I wanted to have some Kosovar wine and went to a wine bar, but i decided not to go in as it was empty and I didn’t feel like going in alone, so went home and we went to bed really early (Nina was already in bed).

This was the most time I had spent way from Nina since we have left, in some ways it was nice to have a bit of time to myself, but it mainly just illustrated how much I like spending time with Nin and I was sad she was ill. It is a good thing that it happened in one of the places where there wasn’t loads to do. (She’s better now).

Where I ate - Furra Lumi, Bon Bouquet cafe and lounge, Baba Ganoush Meze

What I liked - Baba Ganoush was delish, the others were good too but the highlight was defo dinner

[awanderingcanadian]

Anniversaries of Sorts

As we move towards August, I have several ‘anniversaries’ coming up that bear recognition. I haven’t written for a while, in fact I’ve been absent really for the better part of a year. That’s not to say I haven’t written a ton in my mind, I just haven’t done anything with a keyboard. I don’t know why that is, but maybe it was to do with working through my losses and getting my head back in the right space? Who knows?

Back to the point of this post: August marks some significant anniversaries for me. Ironically, I seem to defining this as ‘before COVID’ and ‘after COVID’. Can you believe that in just 5 months we will be marking the 5th anniversary of the start of the pandemic? Where did those years go? I feel like we lost 3 years of our lives, but my 19 year old niece tells me differently. For her, she was finishing high school, graduating, and starting university: all significant milestones in a young life, but for me, they were the ‘lost years’. Perspective is everything. Again I digress…

August will mark 7 years since we moved to Scotland, and the start of a strange 3 years. Seven years!! It just seems like a few years ago. The plan, for those of you who don’t know or forgot, was that we live 2 years in Scotland, (with me working and Craig retired), then we would travel for a years. With that in mind, we signed a 3 year lease with the Crown, and on June 30, 2017 left our beautiful home for what was to be 3 years of fun and adventure.

Early August of 2017 we made the move. Having being born in Scotland, and having returned many times to see family, I thought I knew how it worked, but I didn’t. We spent the first 10 days chasing our tails: we couldn’t open a bank account without a UK address, we couldn’t get a phone plan without a bank account, and we couldn’t rent a place to live without both of the above. I had to get a National Insurance number, (the equivalent of a SIN or SS number for my North American friends), which ironically was the easiest part as I had a UK birth certificate. Within the first two weeks however, we had it all sorted, and had bought a car, a tv, and countless other items. Our big score was buying an inexpensive blender and getting a voucher for a case of wine for £25! Gosh, those were stressful, but heady days.

August, 2018 I unexpectedly returned to Canada, as Craig was denied a spousal visa. The short story is that the website was misleading, (that’s now been fixed), so we applied incorrectly, and the Home Office wasn’t lenient at all. Craig had to leave in June or be deported. We were the lead story one night on the news. But enough about that. Having no home to return to, we lived in our trailer off an on for months, and wintered in the home of a friend who went to central and South America for 4 months.

August, 2019 found us leaving for 11 months of travel. We booked flights to Heraklion, Greece and rented an apartment for a month, giving me a chance to rest up after leaving my job, and packing all of our belongings yet again. We bought insurance for a 330 day, multi-country trip, and we were off! What could go wrong?? Some of you might remember this time in our recent history…

August 2020 was a wash, nothing doing. August 2021 saw the border with the U.S. open from the Canadian side, but the same Americans who had been clamouring for the border to be open, decided to keep their side closed, (insert eye roll here). August 2022 we returned to Greece, yippee! August, 2023 we stayed home and had lots of people visit us!

But my favourite August anniversary will always be this one.

[crmsnmth]

September Sky Chapter Two, Part 6

"We still got to chop mushrooms. We've got enough to get started but if it gets busy, we'll be out very fast. Same goes for the pepper mix. And there's really not a whole lot portioning done."

"Jesus Christ. What did Mitch do this morning?" Mitch was another cook. And not the best one. So I gave him the morning shift. All he had to deal with was a lunch rush, and I made sure Dana, another cook, was available if he needed help.

"Nah, he got all the other veg prepped. And he did most of the sauces." No matter what, Justin would stick up for Mitch. But they'd been friends a long time. It was Justin who got Mitch job here. And other than being kind of dumb, Mitch worked when I needed him too. Never missed a shift, He was stoned most of the time he was here, but so was half the kitchen. My rule was you fuck up once cause your stoned, you lose that. I will do write ups. And Tom, the owner, was kind of strict when it came to that sort of thing.

"For sure?" I asked, grabbing a tub of mushrooms. They'd been washed and just needed to be sliced. I didn't mind it. I liked working knife skills more than almost anything else in the kitchen. I've had a fascination with blades and knifes since I was about ten years old and my grandfather gave me an old and dull pocket knife.

"Yeah, I checked. Oh, and the French Onion is ready, just needs it's final torching before it goes out. I think we've got a good night ahead of us." * * **

"Dude, you fucking jinxed us." I said. Justin and I were outside, sitting on milk crates behind the building. Both of us were burnt, and covered in various sauces. I had a new cut across the top of my hand. Knife slipped off an onion and I wasn't paying attention. My own fault.

The night had been viscous. Not overly busy, but not at one moment were we not cooking. It was just after 10:30 and we had just finished the last table. Service was over. And even though the kitchen was a mess, Justin and I were worse, and there was more than enough to do before either of us could leave. Both of us were beaten down and exhausted. But we were in the home stretch. Justin pulled a joint of the pack of cigarettes he had and lit it. We would pass it back and forth before going back into the building to clean.

"How did I jinx us?" He asked, inhaling and passing me the small pencil joint.

"You had to say we had a good night ahead of us." I said.

"I didn't say it would be good for us."

"Fuck you," I laughed. We sat in silence, smoking our cigarettes and passing the joint back and forth. Resting. We finished the joint off into a roach. Our cigarettes were quickly after and tossed those into a coffee can we kept filled with water and hundreds of dead cigarettes.

An hour passed and we were just finished up. Justin was mopping the last little spot of the kitchen. I was finishing up the numbers in the office. I flipped off the switch to the lights, checked to make sure all our equipment was off.

Justin and I stepped out of the kitchen, and both took a stool at the bar, The place offered a shift drink. Some nights that turned to four or five shift drinks. There were a few Saturdays where Amber, Justin and I would stay until almost bar close. And some nights, I wouldn't even have one. Tonight was not one of those nights.

"High Life," I said to Amber. She used to try and guess what I was getting, but it changed all the time. Amber was a great bartender. And her drinks were always perfect when I'd get one. She grabbed my bottle and brought it over to me.

"Have you tapped into that new IPA?" Justin asked. I could never understand how anyone could drink IPAs. There just crazy bitter to me, and I always got a headache from them.

[babyzoomba]

She Sold Happiness in Glass Jars

The poster read, “Happiness! Sold in Glass Jars! Call Today!” and underneath the text was a phone number.

I was walking home from a long, exhausting day of work when I caught a glimpse of the paper stapled on an old telephone pole. I took a picture of it thinking it was amusing.

I was going to show my wife once I got to our apartment, but I was caught up with chores and forgot about it—dinner, dishes, laundry, packing a snack for our daughter, putting her to bed, then putting her toys away that she’d left out in the living room—every night, it was the exact same routine.

The next day, I awoke sleeping back-to-back with my wife. I always had to get up earlier than she did for my job, so I quietly got ready for the day and headed out the door.

At work, I was updating the company’s latest expense report. Most days were similar to this one. They were basically paying me to stare at a computer for nine hours a day and input a couple numbers in to a spreadsheet. I finished my work very quickly, so I decided to head out of the office early—it also helped that it was a Friday, and a lot of people leave early at the end of the week.

On my walk back, I was thinking of what my life had become. I did this often. I always dreamed of traveling when I was younger. I wanted to drive across the country or solo-backpack across Europe. Then I met Kelsey. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Kelsey. I mean, I still do. We just don’t have that spark anymore. When you meet someone and get in a relationship, whether it’s meant to be or not, some of your personal life-plans have to be put on hold. And then that relationship turns to marriage, and then you have a baby, then you have to enroll your daughter in a preschool, then you have to get a better paying job and work more hours and blah, blah, blah.

I’m not trying to throw a pity party for myself. I’m just saying I wasn’t exactly content with where I was in my life. I wouldn’t have referred to myself as a happy person.

As I took the same route home that I did every day to work and back, I walked by the same poster I had passed the day before. I don’t know why, I really don’t, but I decided to call the number. I figured it would be some joke. Maybe someone just picks up and says, “I love you!” on the other end and hangs up. Or maybe it’s a line to a sex-worker. I had no idea what to expect.

I called. It only rang once before someone picked up.

“Hello?” a woman said.

“Uh, hi—um, I’m calling about your poster? Your ad?”

“Oh, awesome,” she said calmly, “when do you wanna pick it up?”

“Pick what up?”

“The jar…” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh, of course, um,” I realized then that I had left work early without telling Kelsey, so I could just go pick it up now and she’d be none the wiser, “what exactly is it? That your selling?”

“I just told you. It’s happiness. In a glass jar. Like the poster said. Happiness keeps best in glass jars. They’re more durable than, say, a plastic bag.”

“Um, okay. Should we meet somewhere?”

“For sure. I don’t want you to end up being a creep or something, so let’s go to a public place.”

The public place we decided on was a Starbucks parking lot a little over a mile from me.

Now, I didn’t think I was really going to be buying a jar of happiness or whatever. I was 99% sure she was going to sell me drugs. Maybe heroine would be in the jar. I remember thinking, Oh no, ‘happiness’ is probably a nickname for some street drug and I’m going to a drug deal. What if she’s a cop? Am I going to be arrested? But something inside me told me to keep walking, and so I did.

I stood outside and texted her.

Me: I’m here.

Her: Cool. Be there in a sec.

Me: What are you driving?

Her: Silver Camry.

And as her final text came through, I saw her car pull in. She took a spot not too far from where I stood. I could see there was no one else in the car, which put my kidnapping fear to rest. She opened her door and stood on the pavement, looking around until her eyes met mine. I gave her a little nod of acknowledgment. She simply responded by waving her hand, gesturing for me to come over to her car, so I did.

She was young, maybe mid-twenties, with curly, golden hair. Her skin was pale and contrasted with the all-black outfit she was wearing. I thought she looked like Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz had put on the Wicked Witch’s clothes.

“Nice day out,” she said as a greeting.

“Oh, yeah it is. Hadn’t really paid attention to it.”

“You were the one that called about the jar, right?”

“Yeah, that was me.”

“Cool, well, here you go.”

She handed me a very small, glass mason-jar. It couldn’t have been more than two inches tall. Inside of it was a light. Not a light bulb—just light. It was like someone bottled up sunshine. It glowed even in the midafternoon daylight. It looked like a tiny sun, or a tiny universe existing in this little crystal-walled home. I was admiring it with no attempt to hide the awe on my face.

“Pretty rad isn’t it?”

“What—what is it?”

“You’ve asked that, like, three different times, I think. My answer is still the same. It is happiness. Happiness in a glass jar.”

“What do I do with it?”

“Keep it,” She said simply, “if you have any problems shoot me a text.”

She started to get into her car.

“Wait!” I said, “I thought you were selling this? How much is it?”

“Don’t worry, man,” she said with a smile, “you’ll pay.”

She closed her door and I stepped out of her way as she backed up, then drove off. What the hell had just happened? What was I holding? I looked down at the jar again, its radiance was simply mesmerizing. I put it in my pocket and could see its glow slightly through my pants. I began to walk home.

What was just a nice, sunny day, quickly changed into a rainy one with clouds wrapping the sky. It was not forecasted that it would rain, or else I would’ve ridden the bus or subway to work that day. I jogged home trying not to get too drenched. I finally found shelter once I made it to my apartment building.

I walked up to my door and found that my key wasn’t on my key ring anymore. Shit, I can’t believe I lost it again, I thought.

I knocked on the door and said in a somewhat loud voice, “Hey babe it’s me, I don’t know what happened to my key.” I heard the door being unlocked from the other side.

When the door opened, I was greeted by a large, heavy-set man with greasy hair and unkempt goatee, he said, “I think you got the wrong door, bud.”

“Oh!” I said, disoriented, “my bad, sorry, have a good one.”

He let out a chuckle as he closed the door.

Apartment number 33.

I know that was my apartment. I know it was. I’d been in apartment 33 for five years now. But that was not my apartment. From what I could see inside, all the furniture was different, it was painted a different color, it was all wrong. I felt like I’d hit my head and was drugged. In that moment, nothing made sense.

I pulled out my phone to call Kelsey so she could calm me down and tell me I just got confused for a second. But her contact wasn’t in my phone. In fact, nothing was in my phone. I had no messages with her. No previous calls. No pictures. It was like my phone reset to its factory settings. Did that girl somehow switch my phone out when I wasn’t looking? I would’ve just dialed Kelsey's number manually, but I couldn’t quite remember it. I had known it by heart before, but not anymore. I needed to get back to the office, I had all my contacts backed up on my work computer.

Since it was still raining, I hopped on the bus which had a stop right in front of the apartment complex. I rode downtown toward my office, the whole time staring at my wet shoes, wondering what the hell was going on.

We have a keycard access to our building so only authorized personnel can get inside. I always keep my access card in my wallet, always. But, surprise, surprise—it wasn’t there. I buzzed in to the speaker we had for guests with appointments, or employees as a back-up in case anyone lost or forgot their card.

BZZZ

“Hey this is Tim, I must’ve lost my card. My employee number is…” I stopped as I drew a blank.

A voice came through the Speaker, “Tim? You got cut out, what’s your employee number?"

“Um, I can’t remember, I—”

“That’s fine, just tell me your full name and department.”

“Uh, finance. I’m in finance. My full name is Tim Brooks.”

“One sec.”

About thirty seconds later, the man spoke to me again.

“We don’t have a Tim Brooks working in this building. Did you have an appointment with someone?”

I backed up in surprise, almost tripping on my own feet. I had just been in that office an hour or two ago. What was happening to me? I felt like I was getting Alzheimer’s but going through every stage in one day. I stared at my hands, unsure if I was in the right body. I felt like the world around me was disintegrating. I wasn’t in control, I was merely sitting inside somebody else’s head, watching the world through their eyes.

Just then, I got a text. I recognized the number immediately, it was that girl. The one who gave me the jar. I had forgotten all about it until I saw her text.

Her: Hey. How’s it going?

I looked at my phone, dumbfounded. It made me angry she was so nonchalant about this. She knew what was going on. She had done this somehow.

Me: What the hell did you do to me?!

Her: The worst is yet to come.

I was astronomically close to just chucking my phone as far as I could in frustration. I took the jar out of my pocket. It looked unchanged, still glowing just as bright.

“What the fuck did you do!” I yelled at the jar, realizing I probably looked like a lunatic.

As I stared at its glistening glass, I realized something. I didn’t know what my wife’s face looked like anymore. I knew her name. Well, I know it started with a K, or maybe a C. I couldn’t picture her in my mind. I knew I had a wife. I knew I did. Yes, because I had a daughter. I had a wife and a daughter. I just, couldn’t remember their faces then—or their names, or their birthdays, or any memories I had with them.

I know they existed. They did exist. I had just seen them that morning, right? I couldn’t remember how she looked, or what she smelled like. What was our first date? We had a wedding, right? What about our first kiss? Or my daughter—or was it my son? Maybe I didn’t even have a kid. But my wife, or girlfriend, she was real. I knew she was. The thought was tearing me apart. I couldn’t see her in my head. I couldn’t recall a single fact about her.

I was standing outside of the same building, but I was unsure why I was. Did I work there? I must work somewhere. The rain was accompanied by a chilly wind now. It was whipping at my face, making my nose and cheeks sting. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be with her. I wanted to be warm. I wanted to go in to a shitty office job that kept a roof over my head. I wanted it all. I was soaking wet. I was miserable. I couldn’t remember my parents, or my childhood. Did I even have any friends? Why was I in the rain?

I looked down at my hand. I was still clutching the jar. The only memory of my entire life I could concretely remember was that girl giving it to me. Telling me it was happiness. It did not bring happiness. It brought pain. It bought suffering. I was more miserable in that moment than I’d ever been.

My phone buzzed:

Break the jar, Tim.

I looked at my other hand. With the setting sun and the rainy sky, I swear the jar glowed brighter than any street light near me. I didn’t break it because I was following her instruction. I broke it because I was angry. I broke it because I was upset. I needed a release. I raised my arm above my head, and brought it down with one swift motion, shattering the jar on the concrete beneath my feet.

That dark, chilly air accompanying the rain spread away like it was the shockwave of a bomb going off, and I was at the epicenter. I saw the warm, yellow light from inside the jar spread rapidly across the ground and ascend into the sky. It was as if I was watching the beginnings of the universe being created—like God had just snapped his fingers and said, “let there be light.” I was engulfed in it. I could no longer see street or rain, or anything dark. I felt like I was plummeting into a star going faster than the speed of light. It felt like sitting in front of a fire on a cold winter’s night, but that warmth was covering every inch by body.

And then I blinked.

Immediately I could feel the sheets beneath me, and my back barely touching my wife’s. I was staring out the window. The morning light drenched through the glass and gleamed on my face.

I stood from bed and grabbed my phone. It was Friday morning. I had one text:

Let me know if you ever need another jar :)

I called in sick to work. I snuck into my daughter’s room and greeted her with a kiss and told her she didn’t have to go to preschool today. We were going to have a family day. She smiled and stretched out her arms with a yawn before curling up and falling back asleep.

I got back in bed and squeezed my wife tightly. I didn’t let go for hours. Our daughter came into our room and woke us up eventually—she was jumping on the bed and shouting for us to wake up. Yesterday I may have found that annoying. Yesterday I may have found a lot of things annoying, or monotonous, or dull.

But not today. Today, I pulled her under the covers in between me and Kelsey.

Today was going to be a good day. Today, I was happy.

[gainingfiction]

Lifetime Supply: Epilogue

(read chapter 10 by gainerstories here)

Two Years Later

Ryan was just finishing the last of a defrosted cheesecake when Luke walked in the door. He looked very sharp—and very buff—in his office attire. Sometimes, Ryan wondered if it was all a sugar-induced dream, imagining he would wake up from a food coma and find himself still living with Ahmed. But that never happened. Ryan got to spend every day with his beautiful boyfriend, who loved finding new ways to keep him happy and fed. Very happy, and very, very well fed.

“Hey, big boy,” Luke said, bumping the door closed with his hip. His arms were full of bulging grocery bags, which he set down on the counter. “Big day?”

“Hardly,” Ryan answered. He’d done a little bit of freelance coding, and spent the rest of the day trying to resist the urge to finish one of his weekly Adesco boxes. Normally he wouldn’t even try, but with Ahmed and Cory’s wedding coming up, he was conscious of the need to fit into his (still very new) suit. “Same old, same old. How about you?”

“Well, I had a very interesting meeting at work today,” Luke said, sitting down at the table beside Ryan.

“Oh yeah?” Ryan asked. “What about?”

“About you, actually,” Luke said, with a smirk. “It was quite a meeting. We had people from marketing, legal, someone from accounting… apparently feeding you is costing the company a fortune.”

Ryan smirked. It was incredibly erotic to imagine a room of executives filled with exasperation about how much he ate. He wasn’t just fat—he was fat enough to make a multinational food corporation take notice. Luke reached out and started massaging his gut, setting in motion a wave of jiggling flesh.

“And… well, as an Adesco employee, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but as your horny boyfriend, I can’t resist. There’s really nothing they can do about it. They have to give you as much as you want,” Luke said with a grin. “Apparently the contest’s terms and conditions were a complete shitshow. Basically all it said was ‘lifetime supply’. Nothing about a weekly maximum, or an end date. Kelly from legal was beside herself. She said if Adesco ever tried to turn off the tap, you could sue the hell out of us.”

Ryan laughed, pleasure radiating through him as Luke’s fingers sank into his blubber. “I didn’t realize I was such a concern.”

“Oh, a big one. Let’s just say they’re never going to do another lifetime supply snack giveaway again. I guess appetites have grown since 1977. I did point out that you’ve been pretty helpful with product development,” Ryan said.

“What did they say to that?”

“They didn’t disagree. They wanted me to call you more often to get feedback on new products. And to keep you happy,” Luke said, his grin widening.

“Wow, I’m starting to think our whole relationship is some elaborate customer service scheme,” Ryan joked. He unwrapped a snack cake from the box on the floor and dug in.

“Well, am I keeping you… satisfied?” Luke said, still working his magic on Ryan’s expansive gut. He waggled his eyebrows, making Ryan chuckle.

“Very,” Ryan said. “And it’s nice to have a mole on the inside… my own corporate spy.”

Luke leaned over and kissed Ryan, who inhaled with pleasure as Luke’s fingers roamed his paunchy middle. He was so monstrously fat now—fatter than he ever could have imagined. He knew he wasn’t exactly helping things with the endless stream of fat-filled snacks he inhaled on a regular basis, but he didn’t expect to continue packing on the pounds at lightning speed. Not that Luke seemed to mind.

They made out a little more, and Ryan was getting ready to move things into the bedroom when his stomach let out a loud, angry gurgle. “Indigestion?” Luke asked, his eyebrow cocked.

“Starvation,” Ryan said, dramatically. “I’ve been depriving myself all day to fit into my suit,” Ryan explained, as he licked the remaining chocolate off his fingers. A lot of it had found its way onto poor Luke’s dress shirt, but that was a problem for the dry cleaners—hardly a concern in Ryan’s horny state.

“Well, we can’t have you wasting away,” Luke said. He sounded serious. He slipped off the chair, leaving Ryan’s shirt bunched up above his deep, gaping navel. Naked fat cascaded out in front of him, pooling across his lap. “How about I make you some dinner?”

Ryan couldn’t say yes fast enough.

The next day, Luke and Ryan dressed for the wedding. Luke looked godlike in his form-fitting three-piece suit, his pants flattering his muscular thighs and ample bubble butt, with his broad shoulders and wide lats framed by his jacket. If they didn’t have somewhere to be, Ryan would have ripped the damn thing off of him then and there. He still didn’t understand how Luke managed to stay so jacked in a house packed to bursting with processed snacks.

Ryan’s own suit was another matter. It flattered his build in a… different way. He’d only gotten it back from the shop a week before, but already the fabric spread tight across his vast backside, framing each buttock, and the jacket was a little snug around the waist. It was a testament to the stunning pace of his continued expansion. He looked at himself in the mirror. The man looking back was fucking big. Not just big, but massive. Monumental. He slipped a hand under his gut, feeling the soft cotton of his button-down cradling his overwhelming belly. He gave it a little shake, appreciating the sheer scale of himself, the manliness he felt when he looked at the behemoth in the mirror. That was all him.

Luke appeared beside him, and draped an arm across Ryan’s wide, sloping shoulders. He was smiling. “You clean up nice,” he said. “Although I don’t know how much more use you’re gonna get out of that suit.”

Ryan smirked. “Well, it’ll be fun while it lasts. I’m just glad I can still get it on for the big day.”

When it came to clothing men of size, Gerry was a miracle worker—and so was Antoine, it turned out. Ryan was shocked to see his former fuckbuddy waddling around the big and tall store, looking about a hundred pounds heavier than the last time Ryan had seen him. All of his feeding had finally caught up with him, it seemed. If it wasn’t for the name tag, Ryan might not have recognized him. They were quick to put any awkwardness or unpleasantness behind them: Antoine’s added girth had added to his perspective, and he still had a keen eye for style. The result was a very sharp suit that still managed to show off every pound of Ryan’s expansive body. He couldn’t have been happier with it.

When they were all suited up, Ryan lumbered his way to the car and loaded his bulk into the passenger seat. Bucket seats were getting more than a little uncomfortable, but Luke’s SUV was still decently spacious, and the seatbelt extender was a help. He cranked the AC—a summer wedding sounded nice in theory, but considering how much he was already sweating, Ryan had a feeling he’d prefer to tie the knot during one of the cooler months of the year.

The venue was lovely, and decorated to perfection. Still conscious of his furniture mishap a few years back—and the strain he was putting on his couch—Ryan made a point of pushing two chairs together before sitting down. That earned him a few looks from the more trim guests, but Ryan didn’t care; those looks would be nothing compared to the looks he’d get if his fat ass totalled another chair and sent him sprawling in the middle of the ceremony.

Ryan was glad Luke had pulled over for some fast food on the way over; he wasn’t used to going more than an hour without eating, and as erotic as the prospect sounded in theory, he knew he’d be mortified if his stomach started growling before the ‘I do’s.

When the ceremony started, Ryan got the chance to check out his best friend. Ahmed was downright huge. He’d packed on a ton of muscle, but he’d clearly put on even more fat, judging by the way he filled out his suit. It seemed that his bulk was still ongoing, and Ryan couldn’t see that ending any time soon. He was an impressive specimen, though, with vast, meaty legs and a pair of beefy boy-breasts that poked at the front of his dress shirt, perky from the muscle that lurked beneath layers of juicy fat. He wasn’t close to Ryan’s size, but there was no denying that he had a seriously fat belly on him.

And in a surprising twist, Cory had stacked on a noticeable amount of weight himself. He was still a fraction of the size of Ryan, and far smaller than his soon-to-be-husband, but the former twink was looking undeniably chubby. He had a plump little belly and a round, prominent booty that jiggled slightly with every step. Ahmed must love that, Ryan thought, smiling to himself.

“What are you grinning about?” Luke whispered to him.

“Nothing,” Ryan said. “They just look happy together. I didn’t think Ahmed was the marrying kind, but they both look… domesticated.” It was true—Ahmed and Cory were looking at each other with pure adoration.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Luke said. He gave a wry smile. “I can only imagine how they’re gonna look after a few years of marriage.”

“Everyone loves a chubby hubby,” Ryan said. He thought of Jason, who—if his Instagram could be trusted—still seemed trapped in an endless revolving door of yoga boys and CrossFitters. “Well, anyone with taste.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Luke said. He took Ryan’s hand. He rested his other hand on his slender torso. “Being around all those Adesco snacks… well, it’s getting hard to keep up my diet.”

Ryan interlocked his chubby fingers with Luke’s slim ones. “Well, I’m sure Antoine and Gerry would be happy to have a new customer.”

“And you? Would you… like a chubby hubby of your own?” Luke’s eyes were wide, hopeful.

Ryan beamed at him. “Yeah,” he said. “I think I would.”

[blackbirdsaltzman]

autistic!jj being embarrassed of her accommodations/refusing to use them and someone on the team talking some sense into her and telling that they’re just there to help her and no one will judge her for them (maybe especially an ACC device if she goes nonverbal during a case cause i think she would feel dumb having to use one :( )

Hey bestie!! I actually have this already written!! It’s posted on my AO3 which is PennsylvaniaPetite but here it is!!

Touch & Voice - Jennifer Jareau x Emily Prentiss

(Autistic Meltdown, Ableism)

“Jen?” I hear behind me as a hand comes down on my shoulder making me flinch.

“Ow,” I mumble before turning around.

“Touching is too much today,” I mumble feeling bad. I try to lower my head but her eyes follow me.

“Okay. I’m sorry I hurt you and I’ll hold off until you feel better. Do you want to tell me about it?” She whispers.

“I can feel his hands on me,” I whisper ashamed. It’s been three years.

“Hey I know you are feeling ashamed but you shouldn’t. It’s pretty normal and healthy. As Dr. Whitman said, We take it one day at a time.” Emily smiles.

“I know, I just hate it. Like I hate that your touch unintentionally hurts me! It’s so stupid!” I yell as the tears start to fall.

“I know sweetie but it’s just how it is and you’re so strong and going to overcome it and even if you can’t, it’s fine because you are still the strongest person I know,” Emily whispers as I slowly nod.

“Let’s head back to bed baby.”

“Can you get the pillow?” I whimper.

“Of course baby.” I close my eyes until I feel the pillow being put down next to me.

“Thank you,” I mumble curling up to it.

“I’m going to head downstairs.”

“Em, why?”

“Baby it’s just so you have space and I don’t accidentally bump into you.” She softly states.

“Em, please don’t leave me.” I whimper.

“Okay Jen, I won’t leave but I’m going to sleep on the couch,” Emily whispers sitting down on the couch by our bed. I nod closing my eyes hoping I can try to get some sleep. I wake up smelling food from downstairs. I slowly peel the weighted pillow off myself before wandering downstairs. I slowly make my way into the kitchen trying to say hi to Em but I can’t get my voice to work. I sigh alerting Emily I’m present.

“Are you nonverbal?” She asks softly. I nod my head sadly.

“It’s okay love. Why don’t you go curl up on the couch and find us a movie while I finish breakfast? We have today off unless a case comes in.” Emily states as I nod. I make it to the living room pulling a blanket over myself before finding an old foreign film.

“Here you go, Jen. Let me know if you need help.” Emily states handing me a plate while sitting down herself. I sign thank you as she smiles clicking play on the movie. I slowly finish eating before nudging into Emily wanting comfort. She softly drapes her arm around me as I sigh contently. I feel my eyes close allowing myself to fall back asleep. I don’t wake up again until I hear Emily moving around.

“Sorry Jen but Hotch called and we have a case. We’re meeting on the jet in thirty minutes.” I nod getting irritated when I realize I still can’t talk.

“Hey it’s okay, everyone will understand. Why don’t you make our coffee and I’ll pack your go bag.” Emily states. I get up walking to the kitchen zoning out while making our coffee. I know the team understands being nonverbal, especially because Spencer can become nonverbal also but it doesn’t ease the shame I feel. I finish making them as Emily comes in with the bags. I open the door as we start our trip down to the car to head to the airstrip, I curl up into the passenger seat as Emily starts to drive. The routine is always the same especially when I’m in a nonverbal state. We make it to the jet and board as the rest of the team is already there. I sit down on the couch as Emily alerts the team of me being nonverbal.

“JJ do you want your aac device?” Derek asks softly. The team has devices for both Spencer and me on the jet and in the office. I struggle to want to say yes but my shame is coming through.

“Can you grab it?” Emily speaks up as I snap my head toward her.

“Jen, there is nothing wrong with using it. You need it right now to communicate, you have been nonverbal for almost seven hours now.” Emily states handing me the device. I hit the don’t like button as the team sighs.

“JJ would it make you more comfortable if I used mine also?” Spencer asks softly. I shake my head not wanting him to also feel ashamed even though I know he doesn’t like me.

“Why don’t we get started on reviewing the case.” Hotch states as I sigh relieved the attention is off me. I put in little work input as we review the case trying to not use my aac device but Emily keeps pointing to it and nudging it to me. I sigh pushing it away after we get done with the review.

“Jen, why are you being difficult? You know your aac device helps you and you shouldn’t be ashamed to use it. Spencer has one too so no one is going to judge you.” Emily states as the rest of the team are doing their own thing.

“Difficult? Difficult? Don’t want.” I sign. Emily sighs turning towards me.

“I know you don’t love but you know it helps. Not everyone knows sign.” Emily signs knowing I don’t want the team hearing.

“Use later, not now.” I sign grabbing my book deciding the conversation is done. I zone out reading until we land and have to head to the station. Emily and I aren't paired together which is making me nervous because we’re in rural Alabama.

“JJ why don’t you start reviewing the case files and I’ll talk to the victims’ families,” Hotch states as we get settled into the conference room. I nod feeling some of the local LEO's eyes on me. There are no female officers in this department. I look through the files using my aac device when Hotch comes back in to join me.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I’m going to go talk to the captain to update him.” Hotch states leaving me alone. I don’t notice a group of officers coming in until they rip my device from my hands.

“Aw, she no longer has her helper. What is a woman like you even doing being a cop?” One laughs. I try to grab my device but he holds it further away as some of them step closer.

“What you can’t talk? What are you stupid?” One chuckles. I gulp trying to back away as tears start to fall.

“Come on say something or are you too stupid? You need a device to talk for you!” The leader laughs as a sob escapes my lips and I cover my ears rocking back and forth.

~

I grab my phone and walk away from the crime scene.

“Hey, Hotch.”

“Emily I need you to get back to the station. Some cops were harassing JJ and took her aac device. They touched her also, I can’t get her to calm down. I was talking to the captain in his office.” Hotch rambles as I cuss under my breath.

“I’ll be there in five. Grab her headphones out of her bag and try putting on Gilmore girls.” I ramble racing to the SUV.

“Okay,” Hotch states as I hear rustling in the background. I blur out everything until I get back to the station and race to JJ in the conference room. She’s curled up on the ground but luckily has her headphones on watching her phone. I slowly bend down in front of her.

“Hey, love. Are you okay?” I sign.

“Home.” She pushes on the aac device, luckily Hotch got it back.

“We will soon love. I’m going to go talk to Hotch real quick and then we can go back to the hotel.” I sigh relieved when she nods. I find Hotch along with the captain in his office,

“Agents I am so sorry. Those officers involved will be disciplined and I hope your agent is alright.” The older man rambles off.

“She’s alright and thank you. Hotch, I am going to take her back to the hotel for the night so she can fully calm down.” I state towards Hotch. He nods as I make my way back to Jen glaring at the group of officers.

“Let’s head back to the hotel love.” I smile as JJ nudges herself into me after getting off the floor. She still has her headphones in as I guide us to the hotel. I get us to the hotel room guiding JJ to the bed as I turn on only the lap in the room.

“Jen you think you’re okay to take off your headphones?” I sign once I realize she’s watching me. She slowly nods handing them to me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Feeling? Tired. Home.” JJ signs. I bend down in front of her.

“We’ll be home as soon as we get this case closed and I’ll make sure you’re paired with me for the rest of the time. Right now, why don’t we curl up in bed after we do our night routine.” I state softly smiling when I get a nod. JJ and I work through the night routine we have that we follow every night for stability before curling up in the queen bed. Hotch knows by now to just get us one bed instead of two twins.

“Get some sleep love, I’ll be here when you wake up,” I whisper kissing her head.