#i guess this is my Christmas present for y'all now

[asktheremnantsaskblog]

The Reveal

How can something so small hurt so much after all you've been through?

@dxrksong @connectionterminated13 @rainbowthewolf13

(Merry Christmas :3)

[hoffmansgirl]

❛ 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐄 ❜ 𝐍𝐀𝐂 𝜗𝜚

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. nicholas chavez x shy!actress!reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲. christmas time seems to be the perfect opportunity for confessions, questions and... gifting presents. ⇄ ⟡⟡ 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨: mistletoe — justin bieber 𓍯

𝐚/𝐧. a short, christmas-y, extra fluffy fic for y'all! i hope you have the best christmas ever (nicholas, i'm waiting for you to appear under my christmas tree) !!! ꨄ︎

The December air felt cold on your skin as you stood on the first step leading to your trailer, a warm cup of tea in your hands — it somehow managed to heat you up. A familiar scent of orange and ginger filled your nostrils as you brought the cup to your lips, taking a lingering sip, careful not to burn your tongue in the process. Your cheeks were brightly flushed as you watched the snow-covered roofs, pavement and some surrounding trees — some snowflakes landed on your hands, and you studied them carefully, small smile playing on your lips as you watched them melt on your skin. It was already getting dark, yet the whiteness of the snow seemed to light up the set on its own.

"Enjoying yourself?", you heard a teasing voice from somewhere behind you, and you couldn't help the smile that crept up onto your face. You muffled a laugh with a bite of your lip as you slowly turned towards him, wrapping your free arm around you in order to warm yourself up.

"Yeah. It's beautiful. Haven't seen snow in years", you admitted, studying Nicholas' face as he stood just a feet away from you, his puffer jacket wrapped tightly around his upper body, cheeks cutely flushed from the cold air. A newfound warmth enveloped you as you watched him, his brown eyes glimmering as he stared back at you. Snowflakes landed on his hair, melting immediately, adding to the — rather rare — boyish look of him.

"Really?", he questioned, stepping closer, until he was right next to you, his eyes following your own as you stared at the sky. You simply nodded, taking a sip of your, now cool, tea to cover up your sudden fluster. "You don't really seem excited about Christmas, though".

There was a hint of softness and curiosity in his voice as he casually leaned back against the trailer.

"Well, I never really got to... really experience it", you muttered, dropping your gaze to the ground — your leg warmers suddenly becoming very interesting. "The fact that we get to spend Christmas here, on set, is kind of comforting — well, to me. I guess you'd rather be anywhere else", you chuckled, sending Nicholas a glare, noticing that he was already looking at you. When he met your gaze, soft smile appeared on his lips, his eyes staring back at you with an intensity and quiet adoration.

"Actually, no", he retorted, and your eyebrows rose up in pure surprise. You tilted your head, hiding your face in the fluffy fur coat adoring your form, waiting for him to continue. "I mean, we are family now. Whether we like it or not", Nicholas nudged your side teasingly, winking at you, causing a quiet, muffled laughter to escape your throat. "It's nice to be somewhere different, just for once. And also, you're here. My favourite costar in the world".

You shook your head, although you could feel the heat building up in your stomach at his words. The cold, December air didn't feel so depressing and suffocating anymore.

"You're so sweet", you chuckled, pouting your glossy lips, watching as Nicholas' eyes followed the movement. A sudden shiver run down your spine, and your body shook lightly. Nicholas straightened his posture, a hint of nervousness in his movements as he offered you a hand.

"Come with me?", he asked softly, his eyes boring into yours with an intensity that left no room to protest. You nodded, feeling your heart thudding in your chest.

A spark of excitement run down your spine as you grabbed Nicholas' awaiting — and, surprisingly warm — hand, his fingers intertwining with yours; the gesture so natural it felt as if he has already done it multiple times. His thumb brushed against your knuckles as he led you to his trailer that was just across from your own. Snowflakes landed on your entwined hands, and you couldn't seem to look away, blinking rapidly, as if to make sure the moment was real.

The air inside the trailer was hot, fogging up your glasses the second you walked in. You let Nicholas' hand guide you as the squeaky door slammed shut behind the two of you, nothing but comfortable silence filling the air.

You set the, now cold, tea cup on the wooden table by the door, moving to take off your furry jacket — it felt almost suffocating, now, in the quietness of Nicholas' trailer. You quickly cleaned your glasses, oblivious to the man's eyes on you as you did so.

"I like your glasses", he commented casually, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coatrack by the door. "You look pretty".

You chuckled, your cheeks somehow becoming even hotter, now — your gaze falling to the floor as you fixed the gold rims on your nose, unsure how to reply.

Nicholas cleared his throat, his hands behind his back as he figured what to say next.

"So... I actually got you something", he said, and your eyes shot up in surprise. There was a hint of visible nervousness on Nicholas' face as he fidgeted with his fingers, soft blush covering his skin.

"Nick...", you started, feeling your heart flutter in your chest — affection mixed with adoration making it hard to breathe. "I— You didn't have to".

His eyes met yours, soft smile playing on his lips, and you thought you'd never seen him that flustered before. Cute.

"I know, but I wanted to. I want... I just want to make this Christmas special for you", he laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair, before turning away to grab a little box from one of the drawers. Your breath hitched as he got closer to you, his presence intimidating but not overwhelming — the warmth of his body surprisingly soothing your mind and wrecked nerves.

The tiny, shammy box caught your attention, and you were sure Nicholas could hear your loud heartbeat in the silence of the room.

"Ever since I first saw you, I just knew you're special. You seemed to light up the room the second you first walked in — and I thought, oh my God, she's so beautiful", he started, meeting your eyes that began to well up with tears the longer he talked. "I figured Christmas time would be perfect to ask you this. Uh, I know we don't know each other for long, but... I can't wait any longer. Would you want to be my girlfriend?".

Your lower lip quivered as you watched his worried expression, not an ounce of confidence in the way he spoke — which was a surprising contrast to his usual self. You let out a breath you didn't realise you were holding, reaching for Nicholas' hand. His gaze met yours, soft and gentle, your cheeks lightly flushed as you run your thumb over his palm, soothing his nerves, watching as a small smile made its way onto his face.

"You don't have to reply right away. I know it might...".

"Stop it, Nicholas. Of course— of course I want to be your girlfriend. God, I wanted this ever since I first met you", you jumped in, squeezing his hand assuredly, a wide grin making its way onto your face.

Nicholas exhaled loudly, his shoulders, visibly relieved with your reply.

"I wanted to make it perfect. So I got you something. It's not much, but...", he shrugged, lifting the little box and opening it right away.

A glimmering, heart-shaped centre stone framed by a halo of small, sparkling stones caught your eye immediately, your breath hitching at its beauty. The band was sleek, adorned with additional small stones.

"Nicholas, this is...", your words got caught in your throat as you stared at the gorgeous ring that seemed to catch the light every time Nicholas' hand shook slightly. "It's beautiful. I...".

"Don't say anything. Just, let me", he chuckled, taking the ring out of the box softly before taking your hand in his, slipping it on your ring finger.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Nick", you whispered, lifting your hand to your eyes to take a better look at the glimmering stone. "You didn't have to".

"I wanted to. Do you like it?".

You felt bad when you heard the hesitation in his voice, almost as if he was scared of your reaction. You lifted your gaze, sending him the warmest smile before stepping on your tiptoes to hug him. Your arms wrapped around his neck, your face pressing against his chest as you breathed in his intoxicating smell — you felt his body relax against yours, his hands resting on your lower back, his face hidden in your hair.

"Do I like it? I love it. This is the best gift I've ever gotten— I can't thank you enough".

You felt him smile into your hair, breathing in the smell of your shampoo heavily. "Everything for you. I have liked you for a while now, y'know? I just didn't know how to approach it", he whispered softly, pulling away just slightly to catch your face in his hands.

His touch felt soft on your burning skin, not helping with stopping the flames of excitement that licked your insides. Your face heated up as your eyes locked, his face now closer than ever — except for the few times you filmed a steamy scene together. This time, though, it was raw, the passion between you melting into words that couldn't quite be addressed out loud just yet.

"Look", Nicholas ordered softly, gently lifting your face to make you look up.

There it was — on a hook, protruding from the ceiling, hanging just above Nicholas' head — a mistletoe. It was decorated with a light pink bow, adding to the charm of the little moment between the two of you.

"You planned this", you laughed slightly, and Nicholas grinned, shrugging as if it was nothing.

"Wanted to make sure this moment was perfect. You're the woman of my dreams, Y/N. I've wanted to do this the exact moment I first saw you".

With that, he leaned down, his hands gently guiding your face until his lips met yours. It was as if fireworks erupted around you, making your whole body surrender to the soft touch Nicholas offered you.

Your hands tightened on his shoulders as he brought you closer, lifting you from the ground, his arms keeping you from falling down onto the floor. Your lips worked together, softly and deliberately, as if you had the whole time in the world.

"Merry Christmas, girlfriend", Nicholas whispered against your lips, his hot breath tickling your cheek in the process. You grinned, your eyes falling open at his words.

"Merry Christmas, boyfriend".

❝ hoffmansgirl © 2024 | do not copy, translate, recreate or plagiarise my content. 𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗭 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 ❞

tags (click here to be added): @darlingnikkisixxxx @titsout4jackles @brlwla @blackynsupremacy @mrs-riddlexo @essentialwriter @nicholaschavezslut69 @niteskysx @emluvsuxo @nicholaslut @greengoblinswifey @sin-deciric @onlyangelicc @urlitttlevenicebitch

[jellybell92]

The Camcorder

Hellooo! This is my longest fic to date! I wanted to write a special Schlatt fic that incorporated my love for Christmas. Hope y'all enjoy!

Also, I'm thinking about opening requests soon, anon included. Please lmk if you are interested! I'm not guaranteeing that they'll be this long lol, but I can do my very best for you!

Word Count: 3k

18+ for explicit content. MDNI!!!

Fem reader and rpf. A little fluff here and there but mostly smut ;)

Tagging @burdenandacrop + @jschladderall 💕

Christmas day winded down as your family dispersed throughout the house, playing with their gifts and trying on new clothes. The afternoon sun creeped through the kitchen windows as you sat at the table with Schlatt, your hand resting on his knee as he fumbled with the new camcorder you got him. He's grinning from ear to ear as he turns it on, pressing the buttons and flipping the screen in his hands. The santa hat on his head bobs and sways as he plays with his new present. His red Christmas sweater hugs his body, the hem stopping just below the waistline of his blue jeans.

He excitedly rambles on about the camcorder’s features as he tests it out in his hands. He's so cute when he gets like this, all happy and curious, just like a little boy.

“Thanks for this, babe! You're the best!” He exclaims. You smile and peck his cheek, admiring his curly brown locks peeking out from under his santa hat.

“Of course. I know you've wanted this for a while.” You say proudly, beaming at your giddy boyfriend.

His hair was getting a little long, but he insisted on just trimming his face for the holidays this year. Yesterday you pouted and stuck out your bottom lip before leaving for your parent's house.

He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, razor in hand, glaring down at you. “C'mon, toots.” He ran his other hand through his thick strands, showing off his hair length. “Don't be acting like that. You love it long. Besides,” he pointed to his face dramatically, “your parents don't wanna open the door to find a caveman with their daughter, do they?”

You snort laugh as he goes back to delicately shaving his chops, a stupid grin plastered on his face. “Okay, okay. I guess you're right.” You walk into the bathroom and wrap your arms around his neck, giving him a smooch. A few stray hairs stick to your lips. You frantically blow out puffs of air, crinkling your nose. Jay smiles and chuckles, muttering, “Just like Jambo.” His eyes gleam down at you lovingly in the bathroom light.

You and Jay have been together for five years now. How fast they've flown by with him. He's been the best thing that's ever happened to you. Schlatt’s made your life brighter, fuller, more fun and colorful. You were working a dead-end job when you met, tired and miserable from life's shortcomings. He helped you regain that spark he always knew you had. Eventually he brought up the idea to start streaming with him. You spent a lot of time together streaming and gaming, learning more about him and getting closer. And before you knew it, he was confessing to you at your favorite pizza place.

The amount of love and support he shows you, in his own stupid ways, makes you thankful for him every day. It can be stressful at times, with all the fame he's gotten from his YouTube channel and all. But, you'd take that any day over the life you had before he came along.

“You think Jambo will like this?” You ask, holding up the stuffed mouse.

Jay nods in approval, smirking and taking the toy from you.

“Yeah, definitely. That little shit will probably hide it in my sock drawer, though. We better be careful.”

He inspects the toy some before going back to his camcorder, staring at the screen intensely while adjusting the settings. He hits play and brings it up to his face, squinting and pointing it at you. “Say hi, doll!”

“Hey! Merry Christmas!!” You smile and wave, bringing the mouse next to your face and swinging it from side to side.

“What was your favorite present from today? And you better not say the Sephora gift card ‘cuz I get you that every year.”

“No, no. Probably that cozy blanket your mom got me. I know I'm gonna use that a lot.” You chuckle, setting the mouse in your lap as you look into the lens.

All of a sudden, Jay lowers the recorder, eyes widening as he mutters, “Oh, shit. There's one more present I forgot to give you.” Before you have time to react, he stands up and takes your hand, pulling you up with him. He makes his way to the stairs, squeezing your palm tightly and looking back at you with a mischievous smirk.

“It’s in your room. I'm glad I didn't put it under the tree last night. That's would've been a show.” He chuckles and lowers his head as you pass your mom and dad in the living room. You give them a smile and Jay glances at them as you make your way upstairs into your bedroom. When you get inside, you don't notice him locking the door behind you.

“Alright, toots, get ready for this one.” He sets down the camcorder on your nightstand and dramatically rubs his hands together, leaning down and searching under the bed. He pulls out a small white box wrapped neatly in red ribbon.

“Awww! Baby! That's so sweet!” Your face lights up as you take the box, feeling the smooth silky texture in your hands. “You did a great job with the bow.”

“Well,” he says in a low voice, “it's ‘cuz this one's extra special.” He places his big hands around your waist, squeezing at your sides as you start to untie it. You steal glances up at him, noticing his bottom lip tucked under his teeth as you wonder what it is. Suddenly you understand, your face flushing instantly as you open it up and see a pink vibrator. You gasp, feeling your whole body tingle with warmth as you look up at Jay. His face is red now, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grins down at you.

There it is. That million dollar smile that just makes your heart melt. “Merry Christmas, baby. I love you.”

You can't help but giggle, reaching up and tugging on the puff of his Santa hat. Your hand traces his jaw, feeling the roughness of his newly-shaved chops. “I love you too. How'd you know I wanted this, big guy?” You tease, your voice trembling. God, it's been five years and he still makes you this nervous.

“Oh, it wasn't that hard, sweetheart. Have you seen your search history lately?” He smirks confidently, leaning his head down and searching your face for any apprehension. “You like it?”

You nod sheepishly and purse your lips together, painfully aware of the heat rising in your belly. “I do. I really do.” Grinning, you take the vibrator in one hand and throw the box on the floor with the other. Your arms snake around him as you press the smooth silicone against the back of his neck, staring into those big brown eyes.

“Good. ‘Cuz we're gonna have some fun with this.” Jay chuckles, but he furrows his eyebrows, seemingly lost in thought. “But your family…” he starts, “they might hear us, doll.” He presses his nose into the crook of your neck and breaths in your scent. He moans softly, sending shivers down your spine. You're suddenly aware of your family laughing downstairs.

“Well,” you sway him gently in your arms. “We'll just have to be quiet, then. You think we can do that, love?”

Jay sighs and nods, planting a kiss on your skin and continuing to run his hands along your waist, raising the hem of your Christmas sweater up. “Mm-hmm. Though I can't make any promises. I want you, sweetheart. Right now.”

A whimper escapes your throat as you press your body into his. You feel Jay's cock hardening through his jeans, making your knees weak. You want him too. You want him so bad.

You smile up at him tenderly and sit on the edge of the bed, pulling on his sweater, begging him to join you. “Come kiss me, Santa.” you bite your lip hard as he crawls on top of you. He sets the vibrator down and throws his Santa hat on the bed. He takes in your small frame laying under him, all eager and ready. He can't help but smile at your bashfulness.

Your hands find Jay's chest, feeling the soft cotton between your fingers. He kisses you gently, moving his head with yours. He takes his time tasting you, drinking you in. Savoring every moment.

You caress his torso, moving your hands under his sweater and feeling his stomach. His abs contract at the coolness of your touch. He lets out a shuttering moan as you explore his chest, running your fingers over his hard nipples.

“Fuck. You're killing me.” His breath quickens as you tug at his shirt. You can't help but think about all the things he could do with that vibrator, making your pussy soaked with desire. Your heart races as he takes his sweater off, throwing it to the ground. You lean up and kiss him passionately, digging your nails into his bare back and lifting your knees up to touch his hips. He grunts and brings his waist down to meet yours, grinding against you slowly. You wrap your legs around him, fanning your hot breath against his neck.

“I need you, Jay.” You moan into his ear, trying your best to stay quiet. His hips continue their sensual rhythm, making you wetter by the second. He sits up and takes your sweater off, lifting your back up and unclipping your bra in one smooth motion, tossing it onto the floor.

Jay explores your chest, kneading your soft breasts in his hands. He sits up and digs his hips into yours while firmly massaging you, his back curling as he thrusts his body. His dick aches against his jeans as you moan and throw your arms above your head on the bed. You push yourself forward with your legs, begging to feel more of him, to feel all of him.

“I've been thinking about this all day, babe. I'm gonna fuck the shit out of you with that pretty little toy of yours. How's that sound?”

You nod and squeeze your eyes shut, praying your family won't hear the slew of moans coming from you.

Suddenly you feel a hand gently grasp your throat, making your back arch.

“I said, how's that sound, beautiful? Answer me or I might just have to make you scream.” Jay growls in your ear, “and we wouldn't want that, now would we?” One hand squeezes your breast as the other tightens its grip on your throat.

You nod, croaking out, “perfect, my love.” He smiles triumphantly and pulls back his hand.

“Good girl.” You gasp and breathe for air as he runs his hands down your chest and to your leggings, pulling at the waistband.

“This okay?” he leans down and nips at the supple skin on your tummy.

You whimper and nod, lifting your hips as he pulls down your leggings, underwear and all.

“God, so fucking perfect.” Jay exclaims, admiring your pussy for what seems like an eternity. He finally gives in and lowers his fingers in between your folds, gently massaging them and getting absolutely soaked in your heat. He presses his two middle fingers up into your core while his thumb rubs circles around your clit. You buck your hips instinctively, pleasure shooting up into your brain with every touch. You whimper and moan, bringing your hands down to grip his hair. You shove your face in his soft curls to drown out your whimpers. God, this felt so good. You didn't want it to stop.

He looks up from your pussy and stares into your eyes, smirking and laughing softly. “Enjoying this, toots?” You smile and nod, furrowing your eyebrows with pleasure and biting your lip. He knows you can't think straight when he plays with you like this. It's all just too damn good.

A symphony of moans escape your lips as he continues to pleasure you, making you squirm under his grasp. Soon enough you're close and whimper, silently screaming his name as your jaw goes slack and dizziness takes over. Waves of electricity course through your legs. Your orgasm is just on the horizon, begging to be released.

Jay pulls back abruptly, removing his wet hands from your core and sucking on them. You slump back down on the bed and grunt disapprovingly, your edge lost as he satisfies himself. He laughs, smirking down at you.

“Mmm. You taste so good.” His eyes glimmer with mischief. Oh, he knows exactly what he's doing, and you hate it. You grunt and adjust your gaze to his free hand reaching for the vibe. He turns it on effortlessly and places it on your abdomen. You squeal and grab his forearms, scraping your nails against his skin. He laughs and throws his head back, obviously enjoying this.

“You okay there, gorgeous? Did I startle you?” He smirks with the corner of his mouth and inches the toy down your belly.

You whine and nod, pouting. “You can't just do that to me, Jay. I was so close!” He chuckles again and watches as your hands move from his arms to his zipper in protest. He catches them quickly and clicks his tongue.

“Not yet. Gotta make use of this first, doll.” He pushes the toy harder against you as it rumbles just above your opening, making you rustle your legs on the bed sheets. Your toes curl and tighten. God, this was torture.

“Fuck babe, please.” You beg, clenching your fists as he holds your wrists in his hands. The vibe relentlessly taps your clit, making you see stars. Jay observes your reaction and holds it in that sweet spot, knowing how much you love his teasing.

“That's it, sweetheart. Take it for me.” He bites his lip as you move feverishly against the toy, your hips spazzing uncontrollably as you begin to reach your climax. Jay takes your wrists and places them above your head, his other hand holding the toy in place on your pussy. He marvels at your body, your noises, your movements. And he loves you all the more for it.

When you're close, Jay unzips himself, taking his hard length and rubbing it against your folds. Before you can scream, he presses his hand on your mouth and sticks a few fingers in. You suck and whine mercilessly, the pressure building from head to toe as you find sweet release.

The dual sensations of the vibe and Jay's dick intensify your orgasm. You bite down hard on Jay's fingers, desperately moaning as your pussy releases all over his cock. He moans with you, relishing in your high as you come undone. He kisses your face with fervor, muffling your moans and pressing into you again gently. He takes the toy off of you and throws it somewhere on the bed. With careful hands, his arms wrap around your waist, lifting you up to rest against his chest. He guides your head to his neck, then pulls your legs around his waist as he settles you in his lap. You feel his dick soften as you lean into him and hug his wide shoulders.

You're still light headed and buzzed from your orgasm, soaking up every moment from your high.

You love this right here, the way he kisses your temple and rubs your back gently as you come to. It's all so perfect. Once you gain your surroundings, you lift your head and chuckle, your eyelids heavy as you stare at him.

“That was so amazing, Jay. I love you so much.”

He smirks and picks up the Santa hat, placing it on your head.

“I love you too. So much, toots. You have no fucking idea.”

You smile and rest your chin on his shoulder, closing your eyes briefly to hug him. When you open them, you catch a red dot blinking on your nightstand.

On your …. Wait. Oh Shit.

“Jay…” you tap his back rapidly and sit up straight, mouth agape in disbelief. He turns his head to see what you're looking at.

“Oh my god.” His face turns pale as you both realize the camcorder is still recording.

You and Jay stare at each other as you process this, utterly shocked. A moment passes and you both completely burst into laughter. There was nothing else you could do, really.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Jay curses. Tears spring to your eyes as you grip his arm and flail around on the bed, unable to contain your laughter.

He reaches over and stops the recording, flipping the screen and grinning.

“Welp…” he starts before letting out another chuckle.

“Jay, we have to delete that! What if my parents find it?” You sputter, holding your cheeks as the embarrassment begins to set in.

“Nah, babe, we gotta keep it. It's too fucking good to throw away!” He blushes and winks at you, grinning from ear to ear. You smack his arm, taking the camcorder and rewinding the video. Sure enough, it captured everything.

Fuck.

Your mind races on what to do when suddenly Jay remembers he put an SD card in the damn thing before setting it up.

He takes it out of the slot and checks the camcorder for any remaining footage.

The video is nowhere to be found.

Thank fucking god.

“Merry Christmas babe! You're my filthy little pornstar, aren't you?” Jay exclaims proudly, pinching your red cheeks. He shakes the SD card triumphantly next to his face, showing it off to you as he wiggles his eyebrows.

You can't help but giggle and shove his face playfully, rolling your eyes. “Yeah, Merry Christmas, you big perv!"

[the-bramble--patch]

Happy solarpunk aesthetic week! Sorry I'm a little bit late to the party haha, it's been a busy week making Christmas presents. I want to show y'all my milkweed yarn!!

I've been working on it on and off since August, spinning it with just my hands like cordage. If I had to guess, it's maybe 35 feet of yarn? My final goal is a skein, so 360 feet, or like ten times what I have now. It might take me a bit but I think it's doable!

In terms of strength, it's not the strongest but I think I could knit with it. Here's a lil video. I can pull on it and it holds its shape. It's very soft and a bit stiff.

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can make out of it!

[nvrsaidiwasinurcloset]

ok, sorry abt my last request i’ll be more specific

can you do ethan landry is best friends with readers brother? and they annoy eachother a lot?

and it ends it a smut pls :3

love your work sm!!

Hiiii! I hope you like it :)

Bad Idea Right? - Ethan Landry x Fem!Reader

Ethan Landry x Fem!Reader

This contains SMUT- Minors DNI

Part 2

Summary: You hook up with your brother's irritating best friend.

A/N: If y'all want a part 2, let me know:)

You and your brother have a good sibling relationship, which you’re thankful for. The only issue you have is that his best friend, Ethan, is so incredibly annoying. They’ve been friends for the longest time, and they do everything together. When they both got into the same school, you weren’t surprised.

Ethan’s sort of became a part of the family. Your parents buy him Christmas presents; he comes on all the family vacations. It wasn’t a shocker when your brother wanted to come home to visit you for your birthday, that Ethan would be coming with him.

You’re the only one in your family that isn’t really close to him, which does feel weird from time to time. You’ll never forget the beach vacation when he chased you along the sand with a washed-up jellyfish, or when he was teasing you when you got your first crush, or when he went through a prank phase, and you were his target every single time.

As both boys arrived home to celebrate your birthday, you were excited to see them. Even though Ethan does annoy you, it’s been months since you’d seen them.

Your brother pulled you into a big hug as Ethan walked past you to say hello to your parents.

“Happy Birthday!” your brother said, you rolled your eyes.

“It was a month ago, dork,” you said, a playful tone in your voice.

“Sorry I couldn’t come home sooner. One of my classes this year has been brutal,” he said, as you nodded.

“Hi, Ethan!” you said sarcastically, as the curly-haired boy rolled his eyes when he faced you.

He looked like he was about to say something back, but he paused as he took in your appearance. You started to feel a little self-conscious, thinking you must’ve had a stain on your shirt or something, because he’s never looked at you like that. He’s usually just as annoyed with you as you are with him.

The next day, your brother told you he was throwing you a surprise birthday party.

“It’s not a surprise if you tell me, you know?” you said, “Plus it’s been a month. Why have a party now?”

“Because you only turn eighteen once,” he said, “And we always celebrate your birthday.”

“Okay, when is this surprise party for me, that I already know about?” you said with a giggle.

“That’s the part that’s surprising. It’s in 2 hours, you might want to get ready,” He laughed a little, looking at the sweatpants and big t-shirt you were wearing.

“Fuuuuck,” you whined, walking to the bathroom to jump in the shower.

After you got out of the shower, you stood on the mat reaching for your towel when the door opened.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry,” Ethan said, closing the door.

“Fuck,” you whispered, wrapping the towel around your body.

You’d gotten used to having your own bathroom while your brother was away, so you didn’t even think to lock the door. You started to get a little embarrassed, now that your brother’s best friend has seen you naked.

Once you dried off and put your robe on, you walked to your room to change.

As Ethan watched you walk out of the bathroom from your brother’s room across the hall, he couldn’t get the image of your naked, wet body out of his mind. ‘Why the fuck am I thinking about her like this?�� he thought to himself, his cock half-hard in his pants.

“I’m going to go get the cake. You want to set out the drinks and stuff?” your brother asked Ethan.

“Uh, yeah. I guess I can do that,” he said, even though the idea of him being left alone with you made him a little nervous.

“Cool, I’ll be back soon,” he said, grabbing his keys.

After you got dressed, you walked to the kitchen to get something to drink. Ethan was putting chips in bowls at the counter as you struggled to reach around him to get a glass. You brushed up against him, and he felt his breath hitch in his throat.

You got some water before sitting down at the kitchen table. You wanted to say something to him about the bathroom incident, but you were scared to make the situation even more awkward. As you sat there, you just had to say something.

“Hey, Ethan?” you said. He turned his head to look at you. “I’m sorry I forgot to lock the door. I know seeing me naked was probably the last thing you wanted.”

You watched him, waiting for a response. His face started to turn red, as you giggled to yourself.

“It’s..uh…it’s okay,” he said, directing his attention back to the chips.

While he was turning back around and you saw him from the side for a split second, you could see that he was hard in the sweatpants he was wearing. Your eyes went wide and you started to blush as you realized the effect you had on him.

“I’m going to go change,” he said, before walking out of the kitchen and to your brother’s room.

After your brother got back and all your friends started to arrive, Ethan was struggling to take his eyes off you. You noticed his gaze as you danced with your friends to the music, a smirk playing on your lips when he quickly looked away. You thought he was hot, but he annoyed you so much that you never realized it until recently.

You kept noticing his stares as the party went on, so when it was time for the cake, you decided to tease him a little bit. You swiped your finger through the icing, before putting the icing in your mouth. Your eyes connected with Ethan as you sucked it off, his bottom lip going in between his teeth at your actions.

After the cake, you went to the kitchen to get another drink. Ethan was leaning against the counter by himself as your brother shamelessly flirted with one of your friends in the living room.

“Hey, you might piss me off, but thank you for being here,” your voice was sweet as you spoke to him.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked, watching you sip your drink.

“What’s up?” you asked. He leaned closer to your ear so no one else could hear what he was saying to you.

“Are you intentionally trying to make me hard out there in front of everybody?” he asked, as his eyes scanned over your face. “I know you like to do things that embarrass me, so if you aren’t interested, please stop.”

You smiled at him, thinking back to all the things you’d done that were probably just as annoying as the stuff he’s done to you. But this was intentional. You wanted him to want you, and it’s obvious now that he does.

“Meet me in my room in five minutes,” you said, before walking away.

You scanned the living room to find your brother, still distracted from everything going on around him. You found your best friend, pulling her to the side.

“Hey, I’m going to disappear for a little bit. If anyone’s looking for me, tell them I’ll be right back, and text me immediately, okay?” you asked. The confused look on her face said you needed to explain more. “I’m about to hook up with Ethan. My brother can’t know, cover for me.”

She nodded, still confused at the situation.

You went up the stairs to your room to wait for Ethan. Your friend smirked to herself as she watched him scan the party for your brother, before heading upstairs not long after you.

“Lock it,” you said, as he walked in and shut the door.

“So demanding,” he laughed, as he locked the door.

You walked over to him and laced his fingers with yours as you led him back to your bed, pulling him down with you as you laid back. He looked in your eyes for a few seconds as he hovered over you, the sexual tension getting even stronger before he finally leaned down to kiss you. The second your lips touched, everything just felt right. Like this was what the two of you were supposed to be doing the whole time.

His hands started to roam under the fabric of your shirt, his fingertips grazed your stomach as you whimpered under his touch. As good as his teasing felt, you remembered that you didn’t have a lot of time to do what you came to your room to do.

“We need to be quick,” you gasped out, once his hand reached your breast.

"Right," he chucked to himself, before he slid your shirt up your body. You sat up a little so he could pull it over your head, and you reached behind yourself to unhook your bra to have one less thing in the way. “Fuck,” he whispered, taking in the sight in front of him.

He leaned forward to take one of your nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it as he sucked before moving to the other side. Your breathing was getting heavier by the second, and feeling the way his tongue moved had you craving his mouth on you in other places.

He trailed kisses down your stomach, before he stopped at the top of your jeans. He looked up at you, silently asking for your consent before he went any further. You nodded at him before he smirked and unbuttoned your jeans, and slid those, along with your panties, down your legs in one motion. You took a deep breath once you were fully exposed to him, before he leaned in and started to place gentle licks to your clit.

"Fuck," you whispered, as you looked down to see Ethan's eyes on yours.

He started to swirl his tongue as he slid two fingers inside your soaked entrance with ease, your hips lifting off the bed as he rolled them against that spongy spot inside of you. You were trying so hard to be quiet, and even with the music downstairs, you were sure that if someone came upstairs, they'd know exactly what was going on. Strained whimpers were flooding out of your mouth as you struggled to hold them in, but Ethan was making you feel so good that it was impossible.

"Shit, Ethan," you rushed out, "This feels so good, but I need you to fuck me."

He pulled his mouth away from your clit before he mumbled "I wish I had more time to do this with you." He slid his fingers out, a whine slipping past your lips at the lost feeling as he unbuttoned his jeans and slid those, along with his boxers, down his hips.

"We need to be quick," you reminded him, once you felt the tip of his cock teasingly circling your clit.

"I know," he said, as he lined up with your entrance.

As he slid into you, a low moan flew out of your mouth.

“Shhh,” he said, his hips starting to move. “You need to be quiet, baby.”

You found it hard to do, the feeling of his cock stretching out your pussy feeling so good that you wanted him to know how much you loved it.

“Fuck,” you said, once you heard your phone vibrate on the bed beside you. Ethan kept going as you reached over to check it. “We need to hurry up. My brother was asking where I am.”

His thrusts sped up, until he started to pound into you. He angled your hips just right so your g-spot was getting the attention that it needed, and you couldn't hold in your moans. Once he reached down to circle your clit with his fingers, you cried out as that feeling built up so fast that your impending orgasm had your hands shaking as you gripped the sheets.

"That's it, baby. Cum for me."

Your legs were shaking on either side of his hips as that feeling washed over you, your bottom lip held in between your teeth so hard to attempt to not make the loud sounds that were threatening to escape. He was trying so hard to fuck you through it, but after he felt your pussy start to squeeze him, he knew he couldn't hold on any longer.

“Fuck,” he gasped, as he pulled out, releasing his hot cum on your stomach.

He took a minute to catch his breath as he tried to compose himself, but he couldn't stop looking at you. The way your blissed out eyes looked at him, the sweet smile on your lips, and seeing his cum on you was starting to make him hard again.

He finally tore his eyes away from you to grab some tissues out of the box on your nightstand, and cleaned you up before you both got up to quickly put your clothes back on. You could tell that he wanted to talk about what'd just happened, you did, too. But with the lack of time, you knew it would have to wait.

“I wish I could’ve taken my time with you,” he said, before you walked over to the door.

“There’s always next time,” you said, planting a kiss to his cheek.

You left your room first to join the party again. Your best friend came up to you once she saw you.

“So, how was it?” she asked.

“For a nerd, he sure knows what he’s doing,” you quietly joked, as he walked down the stairs.

“Dude, where were you?” your brother asked him, a blush rising to his cheeks at the question.

“Uh..I had to call my dad,” he lied, as your brother nodded at his response.

“Cool. I couldn’t find my sister either. I thought you two killed each other.”

[marsattaxk]

「Swan Song」 / KATSUKI BAKUGO EXTRA

MY HERO ACADEMIA  ✦  KATSUKI BAKUGO × BALLERINA!GN!READER  ✦ ©marsattaxk 2024

AUTHORS NOTE: hawaiian cocktail from spongebob starts playing. me when i lie and say i'd try to be consistent but ended up disappearing for two months. my bad y'all. i promise i didn't forget about you all and this fanfic, however university ended up grabbing me by the jugular and not letting go until just earlier this month. i, unfortunately, don't have the next chapter for y'all, i weep as well, but i do have something to give y'all as an early Christmas present. at some point this week y'all will get a BONUS ENCOUNTER and today you are getting head canons, twitter profiles, relationship moments, and some random ass facts about SWAN, aka you, the reader, they needed a name so I wasn't going crazy writing [Y/N] all the time. As well as a small preview to the BONUS ENCOUNTER that shall come later out this week. So please forgive me for the wait, i'll start working on chapter two this month so hopefully you'll have a new year's blessing. so for now, peace and love, stay freaky and angsty. - mars

FACTS ABOUT SWAN ( AKA [Y/N] ):

Swan from now on shall be the name we use when talking specifically about ballerina! [y/n], since a: it’s shorter, b: goes with their quirk, and c: since this story is part of a universe of fics, it helps differentiate them from the other [y/n]’s that at some point will appear

Just to quickly get it out of the way, there shall be no physical descriptions of Swan, just that they are tall, and there will be minor tidbits here and there about random things, but never something that talks about their appearance, birthday, ethnic background, etc. The only thing about their nationality is that they are not from Japan, that's it. 

They are at least bilingual. I mean, they moved from their home country to go do ballet in a complete different one with a whole new language they at least known two languages. Maybe three if we count the English classes students take in school.

While there is no specified birthday for Swan, since y’all’s birthdays are their birthday, they are older than Katsuki. It could be by a year or by a few months they are just older than Katsuki.

Anyway moving on, I stated in the fic and in the notes that they are tall. How tall? In the current, present set of the fanfic, they are 5’11. They are on the way taller side of the spectrum for ballerina height, but hey a little height never hurt anyone. And just to give a bit more insight on this story’s epilogue (yes there will be an epilogue) they shall remain taller than Bakugou. So, tall partner for the win. 

They are left-handed. It’ll probably show up in future chapters but when it came to writing down basic plot points for each, I described them as using their left hand for a lot of basic tasks such as writing, and using scissors. 

It’s mentioned in the story, but they come from a pro-hero family. Their parents are pro-heroes, as well as their grandparents, and great-grandparents. They are the first in three generations to not become a pro hero.

I guess you can kinda infer it but they are closer with their dad than they are with their mom. They have a good relationship with both, don't get me wrong, however there's been moments where they feel like their mom wants them to follow the pro-hero lifestyle more than what they want. While their dad just wants them to do what they are happy doing.

They aren’t really close with their extended family. Not due to problems or arguments, just due to the fact they never see them, and how they now live on the complete other side of the planet. Plus being a ballerina in a pro-hero family doesn’t give you much to talk about. 

Which is even more highlighted by the fact they are an only child. Having no siblings to continue the family tradition of being pro-heroes for their parents. Sometimes they feel as if their extended family pities their parent’s for having a child who wanted to follow what they love more than a tradition.

It’s mentioned in chapter 1 that their whole life is just ballet. This unfortunately led them to not have much to talk about with people in school as once everyone else has their short lived interest and they were trying to achieve their life long dream.

They practically always wear black. The only time they wear color is when they are at practice, during performances, and rehearsals. Any other time they are always wearing black. 

I don't wanna just throw a style at y'all in case you have a completely different way of thinking Swan dresses in, but in my head I see Swan as having a very casual style. Wearing zip up jackets, loose jeans, sneakers. That type of wear since every other day they are wearing leotards and point shoes to dance in.

The ballet performance that they were watching on TV that made them want to be a prima ballerina was Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (I’m so funny chat). 

It’s mentioned in the first chapter and in the notes, Swan’s quirk is called Swan Song. Their families quirk’s are all, if not most, bird related. 

Swan Song is a quirk that allows Swan to be able to dance with supernatural precision and elegance. As well as create graceful and artistic effects out of air currents. However, their quirk requires them to be at an emotional state, and since they are constantly at practice, they are always over emotional and prone to outburst. As well as be exhausted from the constant use of it for performances.

While ballet may be Swan's ultimate passion, I like to think they have other hobbies outside of just ballet (I mean that’d just be sad). They like to listen to music, as well as have some knowledge of playing the piano (I mean Tchaikovsky was a composer and he composed Swan Lake). They are also very much an avid reader because I said so and because I like to imagine that their favorite book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Oh, going back to dance. Ballet isn't the only type of dance style that Swan does or did. They used to do contemporary, and did some modern dance. But, ballet is what they focus on more. Swan also isn't opposed to learning other styles of dance, even if ballet is their main one, they are still a dancer and they'd like to learn more.

They also did gymnastics for a year. It was to help them become more flexible for certain moves in ballet. They enjoyed it, but it's not for them.

Their favorite game of all time is Persona 4, which includes Golden.

In general their favorite games are story-based rpg’s. They like the way the stories flow and how everything connects in the end.

Some of Swan’s favorite artists include, but are not limited to: The Marias, Laufey, Imogen Heap, Tommy february6/ heavenly6, Tory Lanez, etc. 

I will drop a playlist if y'all ask me too. 

Contrary to popular belief, Swan doesn’t have a favorite hero, even after growing up in a hero household. From a young age they used to say their parents. Now? They don’t have one. They really have no care for the hero world.

When texting they always type in lowercase. It may be due to the fact that their handwriting is so small, that to imitate that through text they always type in lowercase. And in short text as well, which unfortunately pisses off Katuski in some instances. Example:

Katsuki <3: Did you see the post about that movie you wanted to go see? (clearly trying to take his partner out)

Swan: yeah

Swan: what about it?

Katsuki <3: Didn’t you want to go see it?

Swan: yeah

Swan: i’ll probably go see it my friends 

Katsuki <3: …

Katsuki <3: Dumbass, I’m trying to invite you to go watch it.

Swan: oh 

Swan: why didn’t you just ask?

Katsuki <3 : … I should have expected you to not pick up what I was putting down. 

Swan: hey >:(

Swan is me, and I am Swan. We both don’t understand social cues.

Talking about social cues.

RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS: 

There won’t be spoilers for the chapters but mostly just post story/ they are dating headcanons. And maybe, just maybe, some small epilogue stuff. 

I’m sorry to disappoint chat, but neither of them have relationship experience. If you thought, well maybe Swan does, nope. They are two teens who for a great majority of their lives focused on one thing, they are idiots when it comes to romance. 

Unlike Katsukie who practically never had a crush in his life, Swan fortunately did, so they get some brownie points. 

I’ll get it out of the way, both of them are queer. Have you seen those Izuku and Katsuki moments? Yeah, explosion murder god Dyamight is bisexual in this universe you can’t tell me otherwise. But, yeah dude knew he was bisexual from an early age. I’m going off those head canons of Katsuki seeing nothing wrong about thinking of marrying Izuku when they were kids, and not caring about it, but that’s just me chat. 

Swan? Queer. They are just queer, I envision them always knowing they didn’t care about gender from a young age and that just stuck until they found the label of queer. They’ve had crushes on guys, girls, they’s, trans, and everything in between since middle school, but Katsuki is their first boyfriend. 

They are each other's firsts. First relationship, first kiss, first date, first hand holding, idk just firsts in general. 

Their official first date, happens right after the last chapter (yeah, y’all wont get to see it lmao (you’ll get a BONUS ENCOUNTER of it though)), Katsuki takes them on a late picnic by the river date (all while still in ballet gear (mans couldn’t wait))

While they will briefly interact in one of the chapters, Swan didn’t meet the bakusquad until later on in their relationship (the bonus encounter y’all are getting is about this).

The first ever bonus encounter isn’t just about meeting bakusquad but also meeting Katsuki’s parents, so I won’t go too much into them here. But for Swan's parents, Katsuki meets them after a performance. He thought they wouldn’t be there and then he ended up at dinner with Swan, and their parents at a fancy restaurant while he was wearing the most casual iteration and definition of formal attire. 

His mother did end up yelling at him after finding this out.

Speaking of Mitsuki. She loves Swan. She genuinely believes they are a good influence on Katsuki and enjoys seeing his son happy with someone.

Also this is just me, but I’m a big enjoyer of the concept of Katsuki and his partner basically just being Mitsuki and Masaru when they were younger. And so that’s what Swan and Katsuki are.

It’s probably no secret but you could infer that Swan's physical therapy sessions will come to an end first than Katsuki’s, meaning the entire time Katsuki is still going through his rehabilitation he is complaining to Swan about how he left him all alone in the therapy center. 

Katsuki’s love language is acts of service, while Swans is quality time.

Yapper x Listener. You can guess who’s who. 

They are also: angry, aggressive orange cat and calm, elegant black cat.

They have a blend on spotify together. It took Swan literally begging Katsuki to actually even agree to do so.

He literally out of the blue texted them that their music taste wasn’t that bad making them freak out over the fact he had in fact joined the blend.

Continuing with the spotify talk, since you can see what your friends are listening on spotify, sometimes Katsuki wonders if something is wrong when he sees Swan listening to some sad, heartbreak song, and sits there and wondering if he no longer has a partner. (he still does (Swan just likes sad songs)). 

Katsuki is a romance manga reader, while Swan reads shonen manga as well as thriller/ horror. 

Going back to the hero thing. Katsuki took it upon himself to teach Swan about heroes, especially All Might. So, now Swan has some idea of who these people on TV are.

They both don't use pet names at all. They mostly just stick to each others names. However, Katsuki does pull out the 'baby' whenever he notices that Swan is getting nervous. In turn, whenever Katsuki starts to get agitated, Swan pulls out either 'Suki', 'baby', or the deadly combo 'Suki, baby'. It works wonders on the blonde.

Whenever Katsuki texts Swan, and they can’t type out a response, they send him a picture of whatever it is they are doing.  

Example: Katsuki could asked them what they are doing and they’d respond with a picture, sometimes video, of them just at the dance studio.

This also connects with the fact that at random, Swan sometimes will send Katsuki pictures of two random things together and just caption it with the words ‘us’. And no, Katsuki still doesn’t understand how a creeper and an enderman from minecraft are the two of them. 

This leads to the fact of Swan calling them Badtz-maru and Kuromi. Katsuki did not see it at first but he’s come around to it.

Quickly circling back to bakusquad, they absolutely adore Swan. Most wonder how Katsuki was able to pull them but hey mans got a partner and that’s all Kirishima can ask of his best bro. 

Katsuki has to deal with Swan sending him those random couple trend videos tiktok. He greatly disapproves of most of them and actively judges a lot of tiktok couples. The only trend he actually liked was the ‘I wanna turn the whole world upside down’ one. 

While the two of them don’t get into arguments and fights often, they do happen and they mostly resolve it in the end because communication is something they do. No we will never have a miscommunication trope here chat, I can’t stand them. 

A small sneak peak into their future, and epilogue. They are still together, and they are married. It took a while, some heartbreak, tears, multiple connecting flights, but they are married. 

They are the definition of Pro-Hero and his Talented, Beautiful, Out of This World Spouse that he can’t stop bragging about. 

Yes, Katsuki does have a 5+ hour compilation on youtube of him just referencing, talking about, mentioning his spouse, and girlfriend at the time, he is very much proud of it. This started when he graduated from UA. 

That's all I’ll give. I wanna save the rest for the actual epilogue. 

I think this is obvious but he attends all of their performances. 

We love a supportive boyfriend who supports your borderline obsessive lifelong career

The first time the rest of class 1-A, or 2-A in this case, met Swan was during the sport festival since Katsuki invited them to watch him compete in it. Just like bakusquad, they were all shocked Katsuki was the first one in their class to get a significant other. (eyes shift to the side as if I’m hiding something up my sleeve).

It won’t be mentioned in the BONUS ENCOUNTER because it’s mostly focusing on bakusquad and Katsuki’s parents meeting Swan, but he actually introduced them to All Might and Izuku to before anyone else because that’s his favorite hero and mentor as well as his best friend. 

All Might was proud of young Bakugo for finding a connection with someone else that wasn’t young Midoriya. 

Meanwhile, Izuku ‘I know everything about Kacchan’ Midoriya was freaking out about the fact Katsuki didn’t tell him that he had gotten a partner sooner. 

The two of them yelled at each other while Swan and All Might had a pleasant conversation between themselves while drinking tea. 

Katsuki mostly just has social media because of the fact he’s going to become a famous pro-hero and needs to somehow interact with fans (even though we all know he won't) but he instead mostly uses it to see what his friends are retweeting, posting, and reposting. And to see all the stuff Swan sends him on tiktok. 

He only ever posts about band practice, UA hero work related stuff, or just of him and Swan. That's it. We love a chronically offline king. 

Speaking of social media.

SMAU ( FAKE TWITTERS AND TEXTS):

A quick thing, any of the pictures used do not depict how you, the reader, look like. They are just used to show what or how Katsuki’s and Swan’s (you) relationship looks like. 

SWAN'S TWITTER:

KATSUKI'S TWITTER:

THE TWO OF THEM:

TEXTS:

Damn. I sure as hell gave you all a lot of content to enjoy and maybe come up with more head canons, ideas, scenarios in your heads. I hope this keeps y'all fed for a little while. But, just like i promised. Here is a sneak peak into the BONUS ENCONTER. Recount the night that I first met your mother, that shall drop at some point this week.

SYNOPSIS: Two months into their relationship, KATSUKI BAKUGO finally has the realization that his parents would have to meet his partner, [Y/N]. He struggled to rationalize prolonging the inevitable while also handling his group of friends hounding him to finally and properly introduce them to each other. What he doesn’t know is that while he is trying to find a way to introduce [Y/N] to his parents, is that they have already met.

TAGLIST (open): @oddball08

[the-halfling-prince]

For my entire teenhood, my Christmas presents have consisted of exactly what I put on my list, nothing more, nothing less. Because I had mastered the art of budgeting out my own Christmas lists. Which, like, I love being surprised on Christmas, and that doesn't really happen anymore I guess. Except last year, my mum bought me the camera I had been saving up for, which was a total surprise and the best Christmas present like ever. Since then my mother has apparently been determined to make sure I'm surprised on Christmas morning. There are two large presents for me next to the Christmas tree, and I need y'all to know now, that they are definitely too big to be a camera strap or a cd. I'm sitting here staring at these large boxes, wondering what the hell is in them. Like the sizes of these boxes have to be some sort of decoy because they're like the size of a box TV and like idk a large crate. My only guesses would be some sort of doll furniture but I doubt that because my mom knows the reason I don't buy doll furniture for myself is because of space and not money. What the hell are in these boxes? And she keeps talking about 'youll be so surprised with some of your gifts' like yeah ma what the hell is in this giant box? I have the smallest room in the house this better fit in there.

[nhlclover]

new years eve sparks fly au

✭ — summary: luca finally finds out the reason behind sofia's off-behaviour

✭ — warnings: angst, sof crying, luca being a good brother, mentions of anxiety, cliffhanger kind of?,

✭ — a/n: finallyyyyy writing for this! again thank you guys for your continued support love y'all

✭ — word count: 1.13k

Christmas had come and gone, presents had been exchanged, and Adam had returned to Columbus. The winter break was ticking down and Sofia and Luca would return to Michigan in five days.

But Michigan was the last place Sofia wanted to be right now. The thought of going back to Michigan where Rutger was sent a wave of anxiety through her. It was impossible for Sofia not to face him. Sofia couldn’t not go to games, Luca would hate that.

It was now New Year's Eve, one of Sofia’s favourite holidays. She loved the prospect of a fresh start, as well as the brief few days of having a resolution. The reset brought a sense of calm to her life. However, Sofia was anything but excited and her parents could tell.

Julia eyed her daughter as she sat curled up on the corner chair, downing her third glass of wine. To her mother, there was only one thing that could be bothering Sofia.

“Luca, go talk to your sister,” Julia tells her son.

“Why?” Luca asks.

“I think she’s missing Adam a little bit,” she explains. “Just go see if you can cheer her up a little.”

Luca glances at his sister sitting on the chair, watching her scroll through her phone, a perma-scowl on her lips. Luca knew Sofia and Adam were fairly close but not so much that she would be this upset over him going back to Columbus. Luca figured that it must have something to do with whatever was bothering her pre-Christmas. Whatever had spurred the manic baking must still be on her mind.

“Sof.” he calls to his sister, causing her to look up from her phone. “Come get some air with me.”

Sofia furrows her eyebrows at her brother's weird request but follows him out to the back deck at his insistent nodding. Sofia leans against the railing, the winter chill biting at her cheeks.

“What’s up with you?” Luca asks.

Just at his words, Sofia can already feel her emotions bubbling to the surface. She’d been trying to keep the thought of Rutger out of her mind throughout the past few weeks but it was futile. He’d worm his way into her thoughts and then she’d be reminded of what can only be described as the single worst way to be rejected.

“I mean…Sofia come on.” Rutger says. “You’re Adam and Luca’s sister.”

Sofia furrows her brows. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, it would be weird if I dated their sister. I mean I’m best friends with them, they’re practically my brothers.”

“What, it feels like I’m a sister to you?” Sofia asked.

“I guess so,” Rutger says.

Not only did Sofia get rejected, she got put in the sister zone. And whenever she was reminded of that, she felt like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ing herself. Completely erasing Rutger’s existence from her mind.

“What do you mean?” Sofia asks, playing dumb. Maybe she could work her way out of this. She would normally tell Luca everything. He was her big brother, he was the one who gave her good advice when she needed it. But she didn't know if this was something she could confide in Luca about.

“No, no,” Luca said, shaking his head. “Don’t be coy with me. Be straight up, tell me what’s bugging you. You know, you can talk to me, right? Whatever it is, I'm here for you.”

Sofia finally turns to look at Luca, his eyes laced with genuine concern. Tears begin to prick at her waterline.

“It’s Rutger,” she says.

"Rutger?" Luca echoed, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What about him?"

Sofia opens her mouth but hesitates momentarily.

“I love him.”

The words form before Sofia realizes it. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and gages Luca’s reaction. He’s silently staring at her, brows furrowed and jaw slightly agape. Luca’s thoughts are going a million miles a minute, trying to process exactly what his sister said.

After a couple of moments of silence, Sofia speaks up. “Luca, please say something.”

“How long?” is all Luca says.

Sofia sighs, trying to recall the moment when she knew she had feelings for Rutger. Memories of them meeting, all of their study sessions, and the times they simply just hung out flow through her mind.

And, like a dam bursting, Sofia spills her feelings to her brother. Her heartache laid bare as she recounted her feelings for Rutger and the crushing blow of his rejection. She told him about the birthday gift, how he began to read her favourite book just so he could talk to her about it, and the way her heart fluttered whenever she saw him. Sofia also recounted how she had finally mustered the courage to tell him how she felt, only to have her hopes dashed when Rutger shut her down.

“I thought he felt the same way, y’know?” Sofia says. “Sometimes when he’d look at me… I was convinced he liked me too but…”

She truly didn’t know. She was so convinced that the feelings were mutual.

“And you love him?” Luca asks.

“Maybe not love him but… Luca… I swear I can’t stop thinking about him.” she says.

Luca sighs. “Sof… Oh god, what would Adam think?”

“You can’t tell him. Please.”

He flicks his gaze to Sofia, her eyes teary and red. She’s got her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, her lip tucked tightly between her teeth. Luca knows well enough to know when his sister is lying or being untruthful. This was not one of those times. Her anxiety was palpable, even as they stood among the whipping wind.

“He’d kill Rutger then you if anything were to happen,” Luca says, head going back between his hands.

“I know that! You think I don’t know that?” she asks. “Please don’t tell him. Promise.”

Luca’s head stays down, contemplating the whole situation. He has to tell his brother, right? It’s Adam's teammate too. His friend too.

“Luca,” Sofia says, voice more stern and solid than he’d heard it their whole conversation. Luca looks up at his sister, her face anxious yet strong. “Promise me you won’t tell him.”

Luca sighs. “I promise.”

He looks away again, Sofia’s nerves coming back.

“Are you mad?” Sofia asks, the hesitant and nervous tone back once more.

“Am I mad? Of course, I’m not mad at you Sof.” Her shoulders relax slightly. “Just… remember last time? I don’t want to see you hurt again and I don’t want what happened between you and Adam to happen again.”

“I know, I know.” Sofia nods, bowing her head. Tears begin to form in her eyes as memories from the past come to her mind.

Luca steps forward, taking her into his arms. “You’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”

[marchsfreakshow]

Princesses Over Princes {Dandy Mott}

Fluff. Little bit of teasing smut. Cover made by me

Fem!Reader

It's your first Christmas with the Mott family after Dandy 'convinced' you to move in. It's officially time to go present shopping, and Dandy almost buys the whole store.

Slightly self-inserted so consider reader autistic, just for now.

I miss writing for my murderous baby boy, so here's a holiday fic to keep y'all going. :)

No one's perspective.

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

Windows had condensation on them because of how cold it was outside. Lights were twinkling around, and Dora made something warm in the kitchen. It smelled like leeks, so you guessed it was some type of soup. You were a bit sick. But, not sick enough to convince Dandy that you couldn't go out today. For Dandy, it had to be a broken leg, and maybe fully paralysed for you to not be able to go out.

Every single time you heard, "Y/N! We're going out." You dramatised fainting and laid like an 1800s lady who needed air on his bed. A grin and a giggle always gave it away, and Dandy stood there unimpressed every time. "Come on! I want to! You need to come with me! You need to! You need to!"

"Big baby." You muttered as you got up.

"What?!"

"you're. A. Big. Baby!" Dandy stood there, slightly gobsmacked, and watched you walk out of his door, a slight skip in your step. Despite being called a baby, he followed you anyway.

A baby? No. Dandy was your lovesick puppy. He'd follow you to the ends of the earth and buy you a company if it made you happy. He was wrapped around your finger like a tight glove. Your comfortability over anything. If you went to the freakshow to see your friend, Amazon Eve, Dandy would make sure you had front-row tickets and brought a pillow to make sure you were comfortable in the creaky, woody chairs. The way he looked at you, it was a look that could melt anything. His eyes were firmly on you. He was so happy he bumped into you with his mother on a walk.

You were sitting in the kitchen, having some of the soup that Dora made when Dandy finally decided to come into the kitchen. Even though he followed you out of the playroom. "Dandy, come eat something!" You smiled, gesturing to the small portion of toast that was available on the table.

"I'm not hungry."

"Dandy-" Dora started,

"Dandy eat something or I'll lock myself in one of the empty rooms and not talk to you until the new year."

Instinctively, Dandy sat down and almost scarfed down toast with nothing on it. He then sat impatiently as you finished your soup, albeit a bit more slowly, and less messily. You were almost elegant and looked like a princess in your baby blue dress that poofed out and rested just below your knee. All Dandy thought you needed now was a tiara, and a ring. Both have a gem-like sapphire in them to match the colour scheme. Staring at you was a full-time job for him. The only one he would like. "Are you almost done?"

"Almost." You giggled, feeling Dandy gently grip your thigh under the table. There was an impatience to his words, and you could feel a tantrum coming on if you didn't hurry up and finish. Thankfully, Dora took your bowl from you as soon as you placed your spoon down. She could also feel the impatience and wanted you to go so she would be away from Dandy for an hour or so. Your eyes met with hers, a silent thank you along with a smile. The small bowl was taken from you, and Dandy grabbed your arm, dragging you to stand up. The childish happiness within his run made you smile, and follow him quickly. He practically threw you in the car once you put a coat on, and started the car just as quickly.

"Love? Where exactly are we going?" You asked once you were on the road. Your boyfriend had calmed down now and was driving carefully. To him, you were precious, a statue or an angel that couldn't be damaged. That one piece of art that you own and wouldn't let anyone else touch it. That's what you were to Dandy, art. Everything about you was art. Your interests were included.

"Store."

"Well, I figured that." You chuckled as the car's hum ran behind you quietly. "But what store are we going to prince?"

A blush rose on your boyfriend's cheeks. His infatuation with you only increased when you called him a nickname. Prince was his favourite. You were his princess, deserving of everything. "Whatever store you want. What do you want right now?"

Silence was the answer until you sheepishly answered, "A new stuffed bear. Not a proper one! Just, a stuffed animal. A brown bear, I like those ones."

"Stuffed animals. Toy shop then. Childish.." He muttered the last part, but you heard it anyway. The roads merged as you were nearing the biggest toy store in town. The biggest was a dull, old toy store in between a book store and a café. It was a greying red and the blandest beige you've ever laid your eyes on. The owner was a sweet older man, but you hoped one day, someone would repair the outside, give it a paint job and make it lived in again as it was when you were a child.

The car screeched to a quick halt and scared you almost half to death due to the suddenness of it. "We're here." He mentioned flatly. It confused you, but you undid your buckle and opened the door for yourself. Just as quickly as you opened the door, a hand appeared in your view. You took the hand, and stepped out of the car, immediately walking around to the pavement. The store was in front of your eyes, children rushing around to grab whatever they wanted.

"I do hope that there's something I want left in stock." You sighed. Before you walked in, you adjusted yourself despite no one in the shop caring much about your appearance.

"We'll find something. You need something for Christmas."

"You do too. I do have most of your presents already though." You smiled. Striding into the shop, Dandy and you were suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of children's yelling and noises they made in general. There was a quiet corner in the corner of the shop, in which the shelves held different teddy bears. "Teddies." You mumbled, walking towards them like a soul heading towards purgatory.

Dandy followed but ran instead. He grabbed a random one and held it out towards you. It was a light beige and looked like a typical teddy. "Um, I don't know." All that kept coming out of your mouth was mutters. Small and messy kids were running around you as the other adults apologized. He could tell you were getting more agitated and uncomfortable but attempted to refrain from yelling.

That lasted about 4 minutes.

You were sitting in the storage room with the shopkeeper's permission, hands over your ears and your eyes were almost glued shut. It pissed Dandy off to no end and you heard, "GO AWAY! EVERYONE!!" Everyone stopped in their tracks and put their things down, not including the bought things, and slowly backed out. Silence filled the shop.

"Dandy. You, my...my customers!" The shopkeeper thought out loud.

"I don't care!! Y/N needs space! They need time!! Everyone was annoying her!!" You took this as a sign to walk out of the storage and Dandy immediately hugged you, kissing your head gently. "You have all the time now."

"Thank you, Dandy." A smile replaced the scared frown you wore on your face. The teddies were still lined up on the shelves, but some were on the floor. You picked the floor teddies up, and Dandy took them from you, going to place them on the till. Every single one you looked at was placed by the shopkeeper.

The small black ones, the beige, brown, white bears. The dusty pinks and blues. The ones with a small card tied to their paws, the bears who looked brown, big and dusty. The old ones who never got a chance to be loved.

Every. Single. One.

"Oh, my love don't worry. I don't-"

"No." Dandy cut you off quick. "You deserve the best. Especially after the annoying brats filled up this place." A sigh escaped you, and you placed your least favourite stuffed animals back on the aged wood.

What was left was 3 teddy bears, a puppet you liked the look of and a small robot. The teddies were the small black one that caught your eye immediately, one of the medium-sized dusty pink ones, and the aged, dark brown, squeezable bear. They captured your heart, along with the other two items. The puppet, and the robot. These 'robots of the future!' interested you dearly. Would talking pictures and robotics be the future? Either way, Dandy was happy you made your choice, and you could go home.

"Is this all you're purchasing today?" The shopkeeper asked. He was a kindle and gentle soul, who had manned the store since Dandy and you were children. He knew you well and saw a romance happen before his eyes when talking to you and Dandy.

Before you could answer, however, Dandy nodded and brought his wallet out. "$100."

"Really? $100. Wow, that's a good price!" You chuckled, gazing at your new and known presents.

"$100 is really cheap," Dandy muttered, paying the shopkeeper swiftly. The items were placed into two bags, and immediately getting scooped up by your childish boyfriend. "Okay, let's go."

You waved goodbye to the shopkeeper and headed outside, the car still in front of the dinky shop door. Dandy almost rushed again, placing the bags in the back of his car and resisting the urge to make you quicken your pace. He wanted to get home. Quick. You were a bit stressed still. He could tell and knew being back at home would make you feel better. Well, your new home. You suddenly got moved into Dandy's mansion at some point in time at the start of your relationship, and it still took you a few months to get used to.

As soon as you were buckled in the passenger's seat, it didn't take more than a second for Dandy to be racing back home. It was like there was a time limit to getting back, and he had to make it back within that limit. The roads were blurred, and you gripped onto Dandy's arm with your left hand, the other held onto your own seatbelt. Whatever race Dandy was having in his head, clearly his car was winning.

The car pulled up to the house in no time. Dandy looked completely fine, with no scratch, but you felt worse. Your stomach felt like it was flipped, your heart was racing and your hair certainly fell out of whatever shape you styled it in that morning. The laboured breathing you were doing concerned Dandy. "Are you okay?"

"yeah. Fine. Just, a bit too fast."

"Okay." A monotone voice came out of the man, and he got out, giving you about 5 seconds before he came around to your side and picked you up, along with the bags of course. "I'm taking you into bed."

You felt like a princess and just stared in awe at Dandy. This childish, but strong man was carrying you into the house, and all the way up to his playroom. It was his favourite room, and where you had your bed. Nothing but the best sheets for you. "Thank you, my prince." You giggled, as Dandy was now sitting by your side.

"You're welcome. you're my princess, and need the best, not whatever common people own."

"Would you kill someone for your princess?" You teased, biting your lip slightly. Pretending to love murder and blood made Dandy even more happy. It thrilled him to know that you were 'just as bloodthirsty as him' according to Amazon Eve.

"I'd murder anyone and everyone if it made you happy." He gripped onto your waist and you looked up at him again. Almost showing innocence in your eyes. He was all yours to ruin with blood, gore, anything. His innocent doll.

Just to make sure he didn't add on to his words, you kissed him and you held onto eachother tightly. The kiss was filled with nothing but lust. The rest of the day was heavy touching, breathing. Deep and heavy kisses. You and Dandy were wrapped around eachother's fingers, tight. "I love you my prince."

"I love you princess."

Tags; @slvt4jamesmarch @babygorewhore @taintandviolent @tatelangdonsweater

[pedroshotwifey]

Christmas Countdown Day 15 - Presents

The A-Team

Pairing: Frankie Morales x afab!reader

Word count: 1.5k

Tags/Warnings: no use of y/n, Frankie and reader were in the military, Frankie and reader have kids, established relationship (husband and wife), breeding kink if you squint, oral sex (f), piv sex, fluff, smut, Frankie being both a menace and a pussy eating king, kids are unnamed, no age is mentioned so reader could be any age you want, stuff im forgetting

Summary: Frankie distracts you from wrapping gifts--not that you're complaining

A/N: Hey, y'all. I'm tired out of my mind, and I hope y'all enjoy this :') Tmw's prompt involves Dieter Bravo, so if you have any ideas for that, feel free to send them in <3

***

You’re finally in your zone. 

The kids are at their grandparents, Frankie’s in the shower, and you’re sitting in the middle of the living room with a stack of presents waiting to be wrapped. It’s not every day that you get a chance to get something like this done without the interruption of your kids, no matter how much you love them. 

You have the coffee table shoved off to the side so you are able to spread your supplies out across the expanse of the room. There’s Christmas music playing lowly from a radio in the kitchen. You hum along as you attempt to wrap a mini Barbie dreamhouse that your daughter had been begging for. 

It’s one of those boxes where you just can’t seem to get the perfect amount of paper to cover it. 

You sigh in frustration as you attempt to pull the ends together, straining the paper on the sides. Of course you’re about an inch short. Giving up for now, you pull the box away from the paper and reach for a slightly smaller one. 

This one contains a lego kit for your youngest son. You remember picking it up in the store and discreetly showing Frankie. Your son had been with you, thankfully distracted by your phone as Frankie quickly snagged it and snuck away to purchase it while you continued shopping. 

When he came back to your side from putting it under a blanket in the car, neither of you had enough composure to cover your smiles. You still get such a giddy feeling when the two of you complete ‘heists’ every now and again. It reminds you that, even three kids later, the A-team’s still got it. 

Of course, once you had gotten pregnant with your eldest, you had left that line of work, and Frankie along with you. You miss it every now and again, and you can tell that he does too, but neither of you would trade your life now for anything. Your husband and children make you feel like the luckiest woman in the world. 

Just then, Frankie walks into the living room, finding you smiling and staring off into space as your thoughts distract you. 

“What’s got you so happy, hermosa?” he asks as he walks to you and bends down to plant a kiss on your head. You snap out of your trance and snag his collar as he tries to straighten back up, instead pulling him to your lips for a quick kiss. 

He smiles at you when you let go of him and takes a seat on the sofa you’re sitting in front of. You set the lego box back down and lean your back between Frankie’s legs. 

“Just thinking about us,” you tell him dreamily. 

“Oh?” Frankie says with a slight chuckle. “What about us?” This time his tone holds more of a suggestive quality as he reaches a hand down to tuck a fallen bit of hair behind your ear. 

You roll your eyes and swat his leg. 

“Not like that, you horndog,” you tease, laughing all the same. “Thinking about how good we used to be.”

“What do you mean, baby? We’re fucking awesome,” Frankie says without a hint of sarcasm. You laugh at him. 

“Yeah,” you agree. “I guess we are.” 

You suddenly pull yourself up, standing in front of your husband. He puts his hands on your waist as you gaze into each other's lust-full eyes. He gives your hip a slight squeeze, and you straddle his lap, immediately wrapping your arms around his neck and slotting your lips against his. 

Frankie wraps his strong arms around you as he moans into your mouth, still insatiable for you even after all these years. His lips are soft as they glide effortlessly against yours. 

You can feel the way he hardens beneath you, and you grind into the prominent bulge presented. Frankie whimpers at the friction, hardening further. 

“Fuck, need to be inside you, baby,” Frankie says, near breathless when he pulls away from your kiss. You nod at him, jumping up and tugging him after you. You both strip as you make your way to a spot that’s not covered by wrapping paper. 

Frankie nods at the space, and you quickly lay down. You can feel the heat coming from the fireplace lit beside you, the half of your body further from it erupting with goosebumps. Shivering slightly, you watch your husband descend to his knees in front of you, situating himself between your thighs. 

He backs down, keeping eye contact until his face is level with your cunt. Your breathing is heavy as you watch in anticipation until he puts his mouth on you, immediately enveloping your clit. You moan loudly, suddenly extremely thankful that the house is empty tonight. 

Frankie’s tongue gets to work, quickly flicking over your clit and then moving lower to dip inside your dripping hole. He alternates speeds and techniques, speeding up and slowing in rapid succession as he moves his face up and down and left to right. 

He knows your body almost better than you do, hitting all of your favorite spots without effort. You jump each time he does so, your hand flying to tug at his thick waves after a particularly pleasurable spark erupts. 

Frankie groans as you tug him further into you by his hair, the sharp sting on his scalp making his hips rut down into nothing.

He jolts his arms out to secure you by your waist, pulling you further to him now. Your legs kick out as your head falls back with the added pressure, your grip in his hair tightening. 

“Fuck, Frankie!” you half yell, half moan. The intense pleasure quickly builds your orgasm, bringing you to the edge before you even realize you had been approaching. 

“Oh, f-fuck! I-” you’re cut off by your orgasm, your body shaking and going warm as Frankie pushes his tongue into your cunt. He laps up your cum as quickly as it spills out of you, moaning the entire time. 

As soon as you’ve ridden out your high, Frankie’s on top of you again, desperately locking his lips with yours as he notches himself at your entrance and pushes in with one thrust. The force of it punches a good bit of air out of you, and you have to pull away from him to catch your breath. 

“So fucking good, hermosa,” Frankie begings to ramble once his mouth is free, already pussy-drunk. “Wet and tight and warm, pulling me in so good like you’re scared to lose this cock. You won’t; ‘s all yours, baby.”

You whimper and moan at his dirty words, already feeling that fiery sensation burning low in your belly as he thrusts into your cervix with a delicate precision. He’s somewhere between fucking you and making love; almost like he wants to take his time to savor you, but he’s so addicted that he can’t allow himself to do that. 

“Feel so good, Francisco,” you tell him, kissing his stubbly jaw. “Want you to f-fill me up, baby.” 

“I know, I know. Gonna pump you so fuckin’ full of me you’ll be dripping my cum for days,” Frankie doesn’t miss a beat, his hips stuttering lightly at the thought he conjured. 

“Oh–please,” you beg, unsure what for at this point. 

“I got you, honey, I got you.” 

Frankie kisses every sliver of skin on your face as he pushes deeper and deeper into you. He only separates himself once to push his thumb into your mouth, allowing you to coat it in your saliva before bringing it over your sensitive clit. 

He begins to rub slow circles, and it pushes you past your peak, your hips bucking up as you moan loudly. Frankie makes a choking sound as you squeeze around his thick cock, triggering his own orgasm. 

He groans into your neck as he releases his cum into you, your pussy milking every drop. You’re both covered in a thin sheen of sweat, your skin almost glittering in the firelight. 

When you both settle down, Frankie still nestled inside you despite his cock softening, you simply watch each other. He lays his head down on your steadily rising and falling chest, observing your beauty as the flames flicker and make your skin shine. 

As badly as you want to close your eyes and go to sleep right now, you sigh deeply and accept the fact that it’s smarter for you to finish your task. You might now have another opportunity to wrap gifts outside of your cramped bedroom floor other than tonight. 

“Alright, baby,” you say with a gentle finality that makes Frankie sigh as well. “I need to finish wrapping the presents. You’re welcome to join me.” 

You look down at him, raising your eyebrows in a way that makes your last quip more of an unskippable task than an invitation. Frankie juts his lips out, looking at you with a pointed stare. 

“Only if we can do it naked,” he bargains. You bite your lip to suppress the smile threatening to spread across your face. 

“Frankie!” you gasp, trying to conceal your laughter.

“What?” he asks with feigned innocence.  

“You’re ridiculous,” you giggle, feeling like a child all over again.

***

Thank you for reading, I love you all <3

lmk if u want to join the countdown taglist

FOTJC: @arcanefox207 @redhotkitchen @magpiepills @exquisiteserotonin @sparklefarts38 @pink-whiskey-woman @youandmeand5bucks @legendary-pink-dot @for-a-longlongtime @secretelephanttattoo @morallyinept @beskarandblasters @tightjeansjavi @theywhowriteandknowthings @nerdieforpedro @maggiemayhemnj @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @ghostofaboy @joels-shitty-puns @elvinaa

WCC: @amyispxnk @melaninmommy @brittmb115 @mandoalorian @yorksgirl

Link to prompt list

[noirsfantasy]

On the twelfth day of Christmas...

𝔄 𝔇𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔬 ℜ𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 𝔭𝔱. 5

𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 ➛ Actor!Michael B Jordan x OC!Naomi Samuels

𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ➛ Fluff

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱 ➛ 7.5k

𝔰𝔶𝔫𝔬𝔭𝔰𝔦𝔰 ➛ Christmas day turns out to be more eventful than Naomi had hoped for, but it wasn't all bad. Christmas may not have been the magical day everyone wanted, but maybe it was what everyone needed.

𝔞/𝔫 ➛ Y'all, I'm SOOO SORRYYYYY!!! I feel so bad for making y'all wait this long. I've really enjoyed writing this whole series and the other oneshots as well. I won't go into why this took so long, I know y'all wanna see how it ends. So, without further delay, here is the finale! Enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas Masterlist

Christmas morning dawns with a hushed excitement. I feel a warm, gentle glow on my skin as I stir in my sleep. I wake up for the last time in my childhood room. It's a bit chilly as I slip out of bed, tiptoeing to the window and looking out over the snow-covered landscape. The world seems to sparkle in the early morning light and a sense of calm settles within me. The events of the previous days replay in my mind - the shared laughter, reconstructing bonds, and the budding connection between Michael and me.

I yawn and stretch sleepily, but before I can fully embrace the day, my door bursts open. The twins tumble into the room like a whirlwind of excitement.

"Auntie Mimi, Auntie Mimi! It's Christmas!" They shout in unison, their eyes sparkling in pure joy. They rush over to me, bouncing up and down with an infectious energy.

"Y'all are up early!" I groan sleepily as they tug on my arms.

"Come on, Auntie!" Matthew urges as they pull me towards the door.

"Santa left us more gifts!" Mason adds and I allow myself to be pulled into the festive chaos.

We get downstairs and I see James and Teresa sitting on the couch, drinking steaming cups of coffee. I chuckle at the sight.

"I guess they went to see you guys before they came to me." I observe and Teresa gives me a sleepy smile.

"I just wanted five more minutes but they wanted to open their presents now." She says with a sigh.

"And then they decided they wanted everyone else awake to open them as well." James adds, seeming to remind the boys of their mission and they run back up the stairs to get everyone else.

I take a seat on the couch and slide my feet between the cushions to keep them warm. James hands me my own cup of coffee and I thank him, taking a sip that warms me to my core. The stairs creak as my mom comes down, then my aunts, Ashanti, and, finally, Michael. As he emerges from the guest room, I note that he looks slightly disheveled, yet undeniably charming.

"Morning," He greets, his voice a bit groggy as he sits next to me, a warm smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," I reply, the vibrant energy of the morning slowly dispelling the remnants of sleep. I continue to sip my coffee, finding myself blushing from his close presence. Michael puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

"Sorry, you looked pretty cold and I've been told I make good heater." He smirks teasingly and I roll my eyes at him, scooting closer until our legs are touching. "Now that's more like it.

The family gathers in the living room and, finally, the unwrapping of gifts can commence. Mason fishes through the mountains of gifts and pulls out a medium sized box. It says "From Granny Pat."

"Can I open it?!" He asks excitedly. Aunt Pat gives him a nod and he tears it open to find a Jurassic Park Lego set.

"YES! I've been wanting this forever!" he screams as he jumps up from his seat, running to tell his brother. Then Matthew opens on of his gifts. It's a large toy robot. He's in awe of it, excited to try it out. After that, the rest of the family begin to unwrap theirs, one by one.

As the unwrapping frenzy continues, Teresa’s eyes widen in surprise as James hands her a neatly wrapped gift. She carefully opens it, revealing the same pair of ugly Christmas leggings she had admired at the store yesterday. Her face lights up with delight, and she looks at James in disbelief.

“These are amazing! How did you…?” she begins, her voice filled with awe.

Ashanti smiles proudly, leaning over to whisper in my ear, “I sent him a picture when I saw how much she loved them. He insisted on going back to get them.”

Teresa is so touched by James' thoughtful gift that she practically leaps into his arms, showering him with kisses and affection. He returns her affection, smiling back at her and wrapping his arms around her.

Michael is watching the two of them with a grin on his face, he seems amused by the whole thing.

Next, Ashanti receives a flashy gift from her mother, despite their recent arguments. The air is tense between them and Aunt Tina doesn’t even look to see Ashanti’s reaction to the gift.

The atmosphere is full of awkward tension, but Ashanti does not seem to care. She smiles warmly and thanks her mother for the gift, which is a designer wallet.

I smile as I pick up a gift that I wrapped carefully and hand it to Michael, eager for him to open it.

He takes the gift from me, and he can tell how excited I am to see his reaction.

He tears the paper away to reveal a painted canvas, a portrait of him, capturing every aspect of his face, from his perfect smile to his warm eyes. As he pulls the painting from its wrapping, his expression shifts from curiosity to astonishment. His eyes widen in disbelief as he takes in the image before him, his lips parting in silent awe. For a moment, he is speechless, his gaze fixed on the portrait with a mixture of wonder and gratitude.

"Is this..." He starts and begins to beam. "Is this yours?" He asks finally, his eyes still fixed on the portrait. I smile and nod.

“I told you I’d make one for you. Here it is.” I say, my smile widening.

"It's amazing," He says, his voice still strained as he continues to stare at the painting. We've had a lot of touching moments these past few days, but nothing quite like this. This gesture feels like a genuine act of love, one that takes a lot of heart and dedication. It's just one more thing that makes it difficult for me to keep denying my feelings for him.

He pulls me into a hug and I bask in the feeling of his strong arms around me. It never gets old. I smile warmly as we separate and Ashanti sighs heavily, interrupting our moment.

“Okay, we get it, y’all are in love!” She fake gags and we roll our eyes at her. “Here, Naomi, open this one.” She plops a small gift in my lap and looks at me expectantly. I look at her in confusion as I open it, my heart skipping a beat as I see what’s inside. It’s the notebook Ashanti and I used to color in when we were little, filled with doodles and memories from our childhood.

"I can't believe you still have this..." I look at her in pure shock, my eyes wide. Ashanti smiles sweetly at me, not only having kept it, but having taken the time to give it to me today. This notebook means the world to me and it feels like Ashanti knows my heart. I hug her, almost in tears from its sentimental value.

She smiles softly, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “It’s a reminder of the bond we share, no matter where life takes us.” This moment hits me just right. I have so much to be grateful for today, and this gift is just another example of all the love that I have in my life.

As we pull apart, I can see that my other family members have noticed the touching scene.

"We get it," Teresa yells teasingly, "can we continue on with the gifts now?" Ashanti sticks her tongue at her and I laugh as we move on.

As the gift opening continues on, the children get more toys and the atmosphere is filled with joy. Finally, Michael hands me his last gift from under the tree. I open the small envelope with unsure hands, my heart racing with anticipation. Inside, I find a boarding pass for first class to Los Angeles, set for December 26, tomorrow.

I look at him in shock, my breath catching in my throat. He meets my gaze with a soft smile, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"I thought we'd start the new year together," he says softly. My breath stops and my heart skip a beat. This is big. It's not something casual. This is a statement of intention and I know it. My family notices it, as well. They're all wide-eyed, waiting to see how I respond.

"Is this...are you asking me to go back with you... to Los Angeles?" I ask him, barely able to speak with what this gift actually represents.

"Yes," he says softly, taking my hand. "I want you to come home me, just until New Years. You know, just to get to know you better and see where we go from here... outside of this place. And I do believe there's something pretty amazing between us that's worth exploring. So... are you coming?" A rush of happiness washes over me, and I throw my arms around him, accepting the gift with overflowing joy.

“Of course, I’ll go to LA with you!” I squeal, my excitement overflowing. He wraps his arms around me as well and my mother claps her hands excitedly.

“Now THAT is a Christmas present!” She exclaims and Teresa chimes in.

“Mmhm, you’re telling me. I sure would love to go to LA.” She casts a glance at James, who laughs and shakes his head.

“Thanks, Mike, now I gotta one up you.” He says jokingly and Teresa swats his arm playfully. There are smiles all around us and my family all seem relieved that I've agreed so quickly. Michael laughs along and leans back in his seat, subtly taking my hand in his as the excitement dies down.

He moves to closer whisper in my ear, "Let's finish opening these gifts and then we'll talk more about LA tonight." I nod in agreement and the celebration of opening the gifts continues until every single gift has been opened. Then, we all settle in to enjoy the remainder of this holiday. My family members start to disperse and leave the room, going off to watch TV, relax, or take a nap. Danny, Ashanti, Teresa, James, Michael and I find ourselves taking a walk outside in the snow.

We're bundled up in jackets and hats, our breath fogging in the cold winter air. Michael and I have fallen far behind the rest of our group. The snow falls gently, covering everything in a thick blanket of white. As we walk along the sidewalk, my fingers wrap around his bicep, taking comfort in his strong presence. We're almost completely silent, both of us enjoying the quiet as the light snow falls. it feels calm and peaceful, like time has stood still. The only sound that's breaking the silence is the crunch of snow as we walk along.

I steal glances at Michael, admiring the way the winter sun highlights the rich tones of his skin, casting a warm glow over his features. He looks over at me, the corners of his mouth turning upward.

"This is nice," He finally says softly. We both enjoy the winter air and take in the snow-covered landscape that spreads out before us. The sun warms my skin as we continue to walk and my finger traces circles in his bicep every few steps.

"Yeah, it's such a beautiful day out. This is a nice way to spend Christmas day." I reply, leaning my head on his shoulder. Michael chuckles lightly, smirking a bit as he glances at me.

"I was talking about being here with you." He corrects me, a dimpled grin spreading across his face. I blush as his words catch me off guard and I let go of his arm. "But it does look nice out today. I just prefer to look at you." He reaches out to grab my hand, bringing me in closer. I let out a laugh as he raises an eyebrow at me.

"You thought that was really smooth, huh?" I ask and he rolls his eyes at me.

Michael lets out a chuckle, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Smooth as butter," he replies with a playful grin. "But hey, can you blame a guy for trying?" I shake my head, laughing softly.

"I suppose not," I admit and we share a laugh, the sound echoing softly in the crisp winter air. It's moments like these, filled with easy banter and genuine laughter, that make me feel grateful for the connection we've formed over the past few days.

As Michael and I walk, engrossed in our conversation, I suddenly realize that the sound of footsteps ahead of us has disappeared. I glance up, only to see Teresa, James, and Ashanti emerge from behind a snow-covered bush, armed with handfuls of snowballs.

Before we can react, snowballs start flying in our direction. I yelp and we brace ourselves for the incoming attack. We're bombarded with snow from all sides, leaving us standing there in shock, covered in a layer of white.

Michael and I exchange a bewildered glance, silence in the air as my brother and cousins laugh at us. Then, without missing a beat, Michael scoops up a handful of snow and tosses it playfully above us. As the snow falls directly on my hat, I can’t help but look at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

“Really?” I say with a sarcastic eye roll, shaking my head at his antics.

“Oh, yeah.” He says with a mischievous grin. Michael can't help but break out into a hysterical laugh. "You should see your face," he teases, which makes my expression turn from surprise to annoyance. We both laugh as I reach over and scoop up a snowball, preparing myself to launch it at him.

Before I know it, we’re all engaged in a full-blown snowball fight, laughter ringing out into the winter air as we duck and dodge each other’s icy projectiles.

The snow keeps flying and our breaths fog up the cold winter air. My family and I have always been very competitive, so the snowball fight quickly escalates into a full-blown, no-holds-barred battle. We're all laughing, running, slipping and sliding in the snow, throwing snowballs as fast as we can and ducking to avoid being hit.

In the midst of our snowball fight, Michael reaches out and picks me up, using me as a shield as all the snowballs fire in our direction. I scream as I’m lifted off the ground and hit with one snowball after another.

“Put me down! You’re cheating!” I shout as I laugh loudly.

"You’re just mad you didn’t think of it first!" He laughs, holding me closer to his body, and I have to admit that I do feel safe in his strong arms, even in the middle of a snowball fight.

I struggle against his grip as I’m covered in snow until we both lose balance. We tumble backward into a pile of fresh white fluff, the cold seeping through our jackets, but neither of us cares. Wrapped up in each other’s warmth, we lie there, breathless and giggling like a pair of children.

As we lay there laughing, breathing heavily in between giggles, it feels like the whole world has stopped. The snow continues to fall and the sound of the others laughing and throwing snowballs is a distant echo in the distance. It's just us here in this beautiful winter wonderland. Our eyes meet and we exchange a look of mutual understanding and tenderness as we bask in the moment.

We both sit up as we hear Teresa yelling as she runs towards us. Before we can move, she jumps on top of us, giggling.

“Ugh! Teresa! You’re heavy!” I groan with a laugh as she sprawls out across us.

“Ahhh this is nice!” She says as she ignores my complaints. To my displeasure, James comes and jumps on top of us as well. Michael and I groan at the added weight. They’re both laughing uncontrollably.

“I can’t breathe!” Michael grunts and chuckles as we try and push them off. As if that wasn’t enough, Ashanti and Danny join in the fun, piling on top of us in a heap of laughter and snow-covered limbs. The weight of our combined bodies presses us deeper into the snow, the cold seeping through our clothes, but none of us worry about that as we dissolve into fits of laughter.

“Hey, watch it!” Michael exclaims, his voice muffled by the snow and laughter.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist!” Ashanti giggles, her breath coming out in puffs of white in the chilly air.

“I think we broke Naomi,” Danny jokes, his laughter contagious.

I manage to gasp between giggles, “You guys are ridiculous!” But my protests only elicit more laughter from the others, who seem determined to prolong the moment for as long as possible.

Eventually, though, our laughter subsides, and we lie there in the snow, breathless and content, our hearts full of joy and our spirits light.

As we finally untangle ourselves from the snowy dog pile, we exchange playful swats and teasing remarks. I shiver as Michael helps me stand up.

“God, I’m so cold!” I exclaim and Ashanti nods.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure jumping in the snow was the best idea now.” She admits with her teeth chattering and I raise an eyebrow.

“You think?” I reply.

"Well, it was a good idea at the time," James responds, his words causing everyone to laugh. As the laughter settles, we all start to feel the cold really sink in and we realize how damp and wet we really are.

"I guess it maybe wasn't the best decision," Ashanti admits.

“Yeah, I think we need some hot cocoa after that,” Teresa adds, her cheeks flushed from the cold and laughter.

“How about we change first?” Danny suggests, shaking his head.

“Definitely.” I agree.

“Sounds like a plan,” Michael adds, rubbing his hands together, trying to warm them up in the frigid conditions. The others agree and we make our way inside to get changed.

As we trudge back to the house, our clothes damp and clinging to our skin, we're greeted by the warm glow of the lights shining through the windows. Grandmother is standing by the door, her hands on her hips and a playful twinkle in her eye.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she says with a chuckle, taking in our snow-covered appearance. "Looks like we've got ourselves a bunch of walking icicles!"

We all exchange sheepish glances, realizing just how wet and cold we must look. But Grandmother just laughs and ushers us inside.

"Come on in, you lot," she says, her voice warm and welcoming. "I'll get a fire going and some hot chocolate brewing. You'll warm up in no time." As we all follow her inside, discarding our boots at the door, we all head to our rooms to get out of our clothes. It feels just like when we were kids, always outside, having the time of our lives, then coming back inside to the warmth and comfort that it had to offer.

After shedding my winter clothes, I towel off and slip into a snug green sweater and a pair of black jeans, opting for some plush socks to keep my toes warm. Despite still feeling a bit chilly, the anticipation of the hot chocolate awaiting us downstairs fills me with a sense of warmth.

While freshening up my appearance in front of the mirror, I catch sight of the emerald jewelry set gifted to me by Michael last night. I smile as I think about what it means to me. How thoughtful of a gift it was. Delicately adorned with shimmering green stones, it complements my outfit perfectly. With a smile, I fasten the earrings and clasp the necklace around my neck, admiring how elegantly they enhance my look.

With one last look in the mirror, I step out of my room, ready to join the others when I run into Michael, leaving his room as well. His eyes widen at the sight of me, speechless. I raise an eyebrow at him as he stares at me, waiting for him to say something. After a moment he shakes his head, as if snapping out of a trance and a warm grin spreads across his face.

"You look... wow," He manages to say softly, still taken aback by the sight of me. As his eyes roam over my outfit, they light up at the sight of me wearing his gift. A blush creeps onto my face as I smile shyly and look off to the side.

"I figured it would go nicely with what I'm wearing." I reply, fiddling with the necklace. Michael smiles, his eyes still twinkling as he looks me over from head to toe.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," he compliments, a hint of admiration in his words. Before I can respond, he leans in and plants a gentle kiss on my cheek, sending a flutter of warmth through me. "I'm going to have trouble keeping my eyes off you."

"Well, then look all you want." I giggle as the touch of his lips sends a jolt of electricity through my entire being, leaving me feeling giddy and breathless.

"We should probably get downstairs. I think the hot chocolate is ready." Michael's fingers tug on mine as he nods towards the steps. With a shared smile, we continue our descent down the stairs, hand in hand.

As we reach the bottom, the comforting aroma of hot chocolate fills the air, drawing us into the kitchen where grandmother stands, ladling out steaming cups of cocoa for each of us. I gratefully accept mine, wrapping my hands around the warm mug.

As we gather in the kitchen for the much-needed warm beverage, Grandmother sets out a plate of cookies and other treats, along with some candy canes to help us get in the holiday spirit. The room fills with laughter and good cheer as everyone warms up and catches up with each other. The kids tumble into the kitchen, clamoring for the sweet treats.

"Y'all slow down, them treats ain't gonna run from you." Aunt Pat calls out to them from the living room. The twins giggle and grab a cup of cocoa, running out of the kitchen with a handful of cookies. I smile as I see Jesse waddle into the kitchen, reaching for a candy cane on the counter. I grab it and hand it to her and she smiles up at me.

"Tank you, Titi." She says, before putting the candy cane in her mouth and walking towards Michael. She lifts her chubby arms up in a silent plea to be picked up.

“Aw, how can anyone resist that?” Michael chuckles as he lifts her up and swings her around, making her giggles grow louder with each swing. He holds her high before setting her back down, ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Seems like you're getting pretty popular around here." I giggle, shaking my head as Jesse jumps up and down, wanting to go up again. Michael laughs and shakes his head.

"It seems like it,” Michael replies, amused at the little girl’s attachment to him. Jesse wraps her arms around his legs, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.

“Up, up?” She demands sweetly, to which Michael gives in and he picks her up again. Teresa laughs and Michael hands Jesse over to her. Jesse starts to whine, not wanting to leave.

"Come on, baby. we gotta get you changed and then it's nap time." Jesse starts to cry but Teresa doesn't budge and leaves to take her upstairs. Michael chuckles as he watches Teresa take the baby away.

“Looks like someone loves you," I nudge him, my voice full of amusement. He takes a sip from his cocoa and I can’t help but stare at how his eyes sparkle as he laughs and the way the warmth of his smile radiates.

"Yeah, I guess she does," Michael chuckles, taking another sip of hot chocolate, and I swear the man is getting more attractive every minute. From across the room, Ashanti notices the way I’m looking at Michael and she can’t help but chuckle, taking the situation entirely out of context.

“Mimi, you're drooling a bit.” Ashanti says, her teasing voice loud enough for us all to hear, and Michael glances sideways at me as he tries to suppress a smirk. I roll my eyes at her and chuckle.

"Whatever, Ashanti. It was just because I wanted a cookie." I say as I pick up one from the plate of treats, taking a bite.

"Uh-huh, tell yourself that, sweetheart." Ashanti replies with a smirk and I can’t help but snicker as she continues to antagonize me. "Just try not to get any on the counter.”

As the chatter and laughter continue to fill the kitchen, Grandmother, with her usual warmth and hospitality, invites us to settle in and make ourselves comfortable. With the fire crackling and the scent of hot chocolate wafting through the air, it's easy to feel at home.

I take a seat at the table, cradling my mug of cocoa in my hands, savoring the rich, chocolatey warmth. This cozy atmosphere and the company of family are the perfect way to spend Christmas. A game of Spades commences and everyone's energy is elevated as time passes quickly.

The living room, magically illuminated by the large Christmas tree, is infused with laughter and shouting as I finish up my cup of hot chocolate. The mood is light and we are all enjoying ourselves. I also can't help but admire how Michael has just gravitated into our family. He fits in seamlessly and I can think back to when I'd seen interviews talking about how good of a guy he is. I'm glad to know that every word is true.

As the minutes blur into hours, the delicious aroma of Christmas dinner wafts through the house and I notice Michael's eyes light up at the scent. I can feel my hunger growing as well. The sun retreats into the horizon and the kids start to get a little rowdy as they are ready to eat. It doesn't help that the plate of treats is long gone.

"Mommy! When is dinner ready? I'm gonna die!" Matthew whines to Teresa, falling into her lap dramatically.

"Any minute now, honey. The table is almost set.” Teresa responds, stroking Matthew's hair and giving him a kiss. He sighs dramatically as he looks around the room, his eyes landing on me as I'm engaged in a conversation with Ashanti and James.

The four of us share a smile at his melodrama and I can’t help but laugh. Teresa lifts his face with her finger and the two of them have a sweet moment.

As if on cue, the dinner bell rings and everyone eagerly gets up, washing up before heading to the dining room. We stand around the table as Grandmother prays over the food and, once she's finished, we all get to work making our plates. Of all the meals we've had on this trip, this one is rightfully the biggest and most delicious. It seems everyone's plan today is to eat their fill.

I load my plate up with plenty of food, earning some looks from my aunts, but I ignore them. As I enter the dining room, I spot Michael sitting next door to Daniel, deep in conversation. I sit down next to him and he glances at me, throwing me a wink as he goes back to the conversation.

Dinner starts off on a cheerful note, with Grandmother praying over the food and everyone digging into the delicious holiday feast. I can't help but feel grateful for my family, despite our shortcomings, I wouldn't ask for a different family.

"This food is really good, Ms. Samuels." Michael says, smiling at my mother and she returns the smile.

"I'm glad you like it, Michael. Eat as much as you like!" She replies. I chuckle a bit as I look over and see Teresa with a plate filled to the brim with food. I hear Aunt Pat tsk.

"Terry, honey, you're not eating for two anymore, you don't have to eat like a pig anymore, you know?" She tells her, as if it's the most normal thing to say. The table goes silent as Teresa stares across the table at her mother.

"Ma, was that really necessary?" She asks, her brow furrowed. Aunt Pat shrugs her shoulders.

"I was just saying, you're not as young as you used to be. All that food is gonna go right to your hips. You already have a long way to go with all that baby weight." Aunt Tina snickers at her sisters words and Teresa doesn't respond, just eating in silence.

"Can we please not do this right now?" Ashanti asks with annoyance. "Just two seconds, please, without your stupid criticisms?!" Aunt Pat and Tina look at each other in disbelief. My mom shakes her head and sighs and Grandmother doesn't seem to be paying attention.

"Let's just talk about something happy? How about that?" I suggest, offering a smile. Aunt Tina turns to me and smirks.

"Okay, then. So, Mimi, since you and Michael seem to be head over heels for each other, are you planning on living off of him so you can keep painting? I mean painting is all well and good, but it's still not a proper career. Maybe now since you have a movie star boyfriend, you shouldn't have to worry about money." She remarks, her tone dripping with condescension.

I feel my face flush, and my hands clench into fists under the table. Even after everything I've said to them, they still are acting this way. I hate always feeling like I have to live up to these stupid expectations. Michael grabs my hand, unballing my fist and linking our fingers. I look up and I open my mouth to speak.

"You know, if you guys actually cared, you'd know that Naomi is a hard worker and her artwork on average goes for a couple thousand dollars per painting. You say all these things like you care about her well being, but she's actually doing really will without you and your criticism." Michael tells her, standing up for me. Aunt Tina's jaw drops as she stammers for a response.

"I'm just saying, she needs a stable job. Her finances rely on whether she makes a good painting or not and she could at any moment in time lose-"

"Hello, hello, hellooooo!" Ashanti interrupts her, tapping her hand on the table. "It's 2023, right? Oh yeah, it is! Yet here you old women are here being bitter and ugly." Teresa nods and opens her mouth to speak as well.

"So many women nowadays are smashing stereotypes left and right. What happened to supporting each other as women? You both just see someone happily living their life you just have to shit on them!" She says, covering Jesse's ears. Mason and Matthew giggle at hearing the profanity. Just as the argument threatens to escalate, Grandmother stands and puts down her utensils.

"Now that's enough, everyone." She demands and everyone falls silent. "Naomi is a grown woman, capable of making her own life decisions. It's her life, and she has the right to choose her own path. You all have lived your lives already and they are nowhere near perfect. Patrice, you're divorced and you've been bitter ever since. Pat your daughter has a beautiful family and is living happily but you always manage to say something to put her down. She's doing an amazing job as a mother, perhaps even better than you." Aunt pat looks down at her plate, not saying anything.

"And Tina you never even got married! You kept pushing all of your ambitions on Ashanti and she grew up not being her true self. All she wanted was your approval and you never even tell her she's done a good job. Her success may be from what you pushed her to do, but Ashanti is a remarkable woman who is allowed to have ambitions of her own." Grandmother points to Aunt Tina and she avoids eye contact.

"These children are the future and shaping the world and you're trying so hard to live through them because you didn't live your lives the way you wanted to. Angie," She points to my mother. "You have raise a smart, beautiful, and talented daughter and she is making her mark on the world. You did such an amazing job raising her, but you need to do a better job at defending her as well. That's your baby girl, and you don't even notice how much your sisters make her feel bad about herself."

"Ashanti, Teresa, Naomi, I've got some words for you three as well. Indeed these women haven't been the kindest, but these are your mothers, you hear me. You treat them with respect, always. Now, that doesn't mean to let them walk all over you and I'm proud of you girls for looking out for each other, but never is it acceptable to call them names or to curse at them." She tells us sternly. She looks over at Daniel and he looks back at her, wondering what he did.

"Daniel, you have been the family's golden child all your life. You haven't had to deal with a lot of what these young ladies did, but if you see something, you better speak up! There is no being neutral when it comes to you cousins and your little sister. Especially your sister!" She lectures him as he nods, looking over at us.

"James, you are a wonderful match for my grandbaby Teresa. I am so happy she was able to find you and create a gorgeous family. Remember that your wife is number one always, and teach your kids to respect their mother. And Michael." She turns to him and he raises his eyebrows a bit. "Ever since you came and started getting close to my Naomi, she has been happier than I've seen her in years. If you're serious about liking her, you better protect her happiness, because for too long, Mimi hasn't had that type of trust and protection." Michael looks at me and nods his head as well.

"We are a family. We're all we got. So, shape up and love each other, or things will get really ugly around here." Grandmother says, concluding her speech and sitting down. It's silent for a moment and no one moves. I can see the shame on Aunt Tina and Pat's faces, even my mothers. They mumble apologies and we all agree to move past the tension, in an effort to mend our family. I catch Grandmother's eye and she smiles at me.

I mouth the words, "Thank you," to her and she nods at me. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for her, as she's always been my biggest supporter. I feel Michael squeeze my hand reassuringly and I smile at him.

As dinner draws to a close, Michael leans over, bringing my hand to his lips and gently kissing my knuckles.

"You handled that well," He whispers, his breath warm on my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Your family clearly has their ups and downs, but it's obvious that you are loved by many. And I can see why. You're strong, talented, and beautiful inside out." He tells me, flashing a charming smile at me. My cheeks flush at his words, and I feel a giddy smile spread across my face.

"Thank you, Michael. That really means a lot, coming from you. I don't know how many times I can say it, but I'm really grateful that I met you and got to get to know you." I tell him and I lean in and kiss his cheek. He puts his arm around my shoulder and presses a kiss to my temple as sit at the table still.

"Hey, last ones at the table have to clean it up!" Ashanti calls from the kitchen. Michael and I look at each other and burst out laughing, shaking our heads as we stand up and start cleaning off the table.

Later, Michael and I are relaxing in the living room with Teresa, Ashanti, Daniel, and James. With Michaels arm around me, I feel a sense of contentment as we reminisce over the events these past few days. We playfully tease Ashanti about her outburst at the market and we talk about our favorite memories as well. It really feels like the end to a cheesy Hallmark movie.

Michael leans into my ear and whispers, "So, about our flight tomorrow morning. I may have gotten you a little something else to go along with it." I raise an eyebrow and look at him.

"A little something else?" I question. He leads me upstairs to his guest room and opens his closet. It holds several shopping bags and I open them to find brand-new clothes. "Michael, what? Why did you buy these?" I ask him. He chuckles at my shocked reaction.

"I know you most likely only packed enough for your trip here, but I want you to have options when we go to LA. I've got a lot planned for us and I didn't want you to have to worry about a thing." He explains. "I also wanted to spoil you, I think it's become my new hobby." He jokes. I stand up and turn to him, pouting. He raises an eyebrow but then I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest. He laughs a bit as he holds me close to him.

"Why are you so perfect~" I ask in a playful whine, looking up at him.

"I'm far from perfect, sweetheart," he tells me with a smile. "Just head over heels, like Aunt Tina said." He leans down and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead, pulling me even closer. I cringe at his words and giggle.

"Ew, no. We don't use that phrase anymore." I tell him as I pretend to barf. Michael chuckles at my over the top reaction and faked a look of hurt, clutching his chest dramatically.

"Oh, yep- you got me right in the heart-" He grunts as he pretends to die. I roll my eyes at him.

"Whatever." I giggle and try to walk away, but he grabs my hand and pulls me back in. He locks his arms around me so I can't escape and starts trailing kisses on my neck, making his way to my lips. I fight back as best as I can, but I eventually give in, giggling against his lips.

We continue to kiss passionately, his hands roaming across my body, relishing the feeling of my skin under his fingertips. Eventually, I pull away, slightly out of breath, but completely enamored with him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You taste so good," He murmurs, his voice husky and filled with desire. "We should probably get to packing, we have an early day tomorrow." Michael's hands rest on my hips, his thumbs trailing over my curves.

"Yeah, you're right. Cause I'm goin' to LA!" I squeal excitedly and he grins at my enthusiasm, feeling a mix of excitement and affection swelling in his chest.

"Yep, and it's gonna be the best trip of your life. That's a guarantee." He winks at me and plants a few more kisses on my lips before detaching himself from me, though not without sneaking a playful pat on my butt as I walk away. I giggle and turn back to him. "Come on, let's get packing.

The rest of the day, everyone is preparing to leave. Teresa and her family are leaving tonight, as well as Ashanti, claiming she has business to attend to. I give my cousins a warm goodbye and we all promise to keep in touch. My aunts are silent for the rest of the night, which is a nice change for once. I finish up packing and Daniel, Michael and I spend time talking by the fireplace. Eventually, we all retire to our rooms, resting up for the next day.

In the morning, Grandmother is up early and cooks a hearty meal for those who haven't left yet. We thank her and eat up, knowing this might be the last homecooked meal we have for a while. Daniel was driving back to LA, but he offered to drop us off at the airport. We took our time saying goodbye to the family and I made a point to even say goodbye to my aunts. It's better to leave on a good note.

As I stand in the living room, waiting for Michael to come down with the rest of our bags. I pause for a moment, taking in the familiar, comforting surroundings—the well-worn couch, the stack of board games, and the photos on the mantle, both old and new, all reminders of the eventful holiday I've just had.

I hear footsteps on the stairs and see Michael descending the stairs.

"Ready to go, beautiful?" He asks, pulling me into a warm embrace. I encircle my arms around his neck, feeling my hear skip a beat.

"Yeah, just about." I smile, taking in your familiar scent, leaning up and capturing your lips in a kiss. Daniel clears his throat noisily from the foyer, causing us to break apart.

"Ahem, I'm happy for you two, really, but we've got a schedule to keep, folks. Time to hit the road." He tells us and we chuckle, grabbing the last of our stuff and putting it in his car. We say our last goodbyes before heading out to the car. Michael and I sit in the backseat of Dan's car, getting comfy as the car starts. As we pull off, I watch as my childhood home disappears around the corner, bidding it a silent farewell. I felt a twinge of sadness for the difficulties I faced these past few days, but I feel Michael take my hand in his and my mood is replaced with excitement for what's to come.

When we arrive at the airport, Daniel helps Michael unload our luggage. I give him a big hug, saying goodbye for now.

"Thank you for everything, Daniel. Not just for bringing Michael into my life, but just being my brother and looking out for me. I love you."

Daniel returns the hug, his voice a bit gruff with affection. "Love you to, Mimi. Now go and have some fun. Just remember to call, text, or send a smoke signal now and then to let me know you're okay." He tells me. I nod and he daps up Michael, claiming they'll see each other at work. As we grab our stuff and walk towards the entrance, Daniel calls after us.

"Hey! Take care of my little sister, or I'll come looking for you, Jordan," Daniel warns with a playful growl.

"Will do, I won't let anything happen to her," Michael assures him. And with that, we wave him goodbye. I am unable to wipe my smile off my face as we check in and make our way through customs. We board our plane and settle into our seats and I look out the window at the world outside as we wait to lift off.

"This is it," Michael says, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Our first of many trips together. I can't wait to show you all the best spots in LA." My heart races as I look into Michael's eyes.

"I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what's in store for us." I reply and we lace our fingers together, smiling warmly at each other. I feel incredibly fortunate to have Michael by my side— a man who seems to understand me so well and who has already woven himself into the fabric of my life and family.

As the plane ascends, I gaze out the window, watching the snowcapped mountains give way to fluffy white clouds. I feel a sense of peace and contentment, knowing that whatever lay ahead, I have the love and support of my family, and now Michael, to see me through it all.

Little did I know that this trip would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life—one where I never have to go through anything alone anymore, one where I find true happiness and realize just how blessed I truly am.

As I think back on the events of this trip, it really had a little of everything. We had a lot of fun, a bit of drama, a budding romance. When I look back, this truly was a December to remember...

[whataboutsimple]

Year Results With Your Friend Simple!

︎ Hohoho! Oh, wait, that's for Christmas- crap! Uhm, Happy New Year for those, who already met 2025 and those who will have it in a few hours! I'm the second type.

︎ Your Simple friend is here to talk a bit and draw some lines, explain things and just enjoy last hours of 2024.

︎ First of all: those last two weeks were FIRE in both good and bad ways! My final exams killed me, but good news that I passed with excellent marks! My health also decided to be a shitty one, but I'm handling it. Since catholic Christmas isn't that popular in my country, I totally forgot to congratulate y'all, my bad! But hey, at least your noisy dog is back again, right?

︎ I'm so happy that I found my place in MC:SM community, it helped me a lot to cope through some of personal problems, I found really interesting people and most importantly: I had a lot of fun! Hope to stick with you, guys, for the whole next year too.

Oh, and look at this! A friend of mine bought me this super cool and stylish mug!

︎ A very, very good friend of mine bought me this as a New Year present. You know what else they got me? MINECRAFT LICENSE!

︎ Needed to download older version of launcher though, cause my PC feels silly all the time! Also my hands are stunning ngl:D

︎ The year itself though.. can't say it's too good or too bad, I lost some friends, I found some friends, my health jumps from good to bad and back but it was a fun year! Honestly anything better than 2023.

︎ Since it's finally winter break and it's kinda long, expect some content from me! Of course it'll be about MCSM and Gabriel specifically. Of course I didn't forgot about Complex AU too, but right now it's too much for me to properly work on it. Maybe I'll throw some facts here and there, but don't expect much. (#sad)

︎ Funny though how I fell for some new fandoms like The Dragon Prince for example (Corvus my baby boy), and other interesting one! You learn something new each day, huh? And yet MCSM kept being my main, my first, my favorite. It's cool I think.

︎ Can't believe I'm out of words though I've been thinking about this the whole day lol, so here's some

Special "Thank You"!

@murkystarlight @basilthesnakingthing @abugsomewhere @yourdarlingwarrior

︎ Okay, sorry guys if I'm being kinda annoying here, just wanted to say that I really appreciate our every interaction and ya helped me to stick to the fandom for so long!

︎ I am kinda of a sucker for attention so it's really important to me to get a good feedback on stuff I make or a good talk. And you were incredible the whole year! Well, 4 month of me being here, if to be exact l o l.

︎ It's so amazing to roam through your blogs and see your posts, thoughts and other stuff you're talking about! Even though sometimes I don't know the fandom, it's still very entertaining the way y'all express your thoughts and opinions and love for the stuff.

︎ Ya won't believe it but while I was writing this my cat brought me a mouse. What a funny way to spend last few hours before New Year starts.

︎ I lost my track of thoughts.. guess it's time to wish y'all a Happy New Year end Good Luck, guys!

︎ See ya in 2025.

[bitchy-peachy]

Doing my usual ritualistic shit with the family 🤣🤣🤣. Will, of course, activate my infinity queue.

Next time y'all see me I'll probably be 30 pounds heavier cos of all the delicious foods and desserts.

We've got arroz con gandules del pais (food grown in the island just hits different), guineos en escabeche, pavo, carne de cerdo, pasteles the yuka y (algunos de carne. We do have "veggie" versions), morsillas (we got a loooot of pounds of blood sausage. Good for my anemia 🤣.)

We've got turrónes de almendra from Spain, we of courses got some Danish butter cookie minies I handed out to relatives yesterday. (My aunt cried when she saw she got those cookies since we rarely see each other due to her job and she just flipped out crying over cookies 😂. I thought I stepped on a landmine but turns out she's so used to getting present for others but not used to getting anything back. Note to self: Get my aunt more presents in the future. She loves sweets. Even if I don't see her I will make sure she gets a present)

We've got tembleque literally put the recipe up cos a lot of non-Boricuas don't know what tembleque is (delicious coconut desert 🤤) and I'd rather people just eat it loooool.

There was homemade flan with coconut but it's all disappeared within half an hour 😔😑. At least I got a serving but that was supposed to be eaten as a family but we just love to cook and eat.

Since I can't drink booze due to my treatment, there's no coquito in the house. I said it was fine since I'm buying alcohol for Luthian's coming of age next month (I already know which alcohols he'll like.) But I guess people feel bad for me and don't want to drink around me. They didn't even bring coquito 😭.

Sad af. They could have brought a virgin coquito. It doesn't need booze 😔. I just really love coconut in my foods.

Okay I rambled way too much.

Hope you guys, if you see this, are loved and held warmly. That you have the best bestest of days with yummy food and loved ones.

If you don't have that, don't be sad. I've had holidays by myself before and always told myself that once I wasn't alone I'd act like it's the most important party ever to make the most of it. (Which explains all the food, presents etc... Its cos I never know when everyone is under the same roof again, getting along and having fun together. I remember spending Christmas night at an AA meeting place. The lady that rented the place for AA was kind to my homeless ass and gave me blankets and Christmas food and place for winter. She also helped me get back on my feet. I swear I've met some truly wonderful people out there just when I needed them and I learned a lot from her and her selfless actions. I might be a mean ass bitch to a lot of people but I do worry for others. More people should be like her. She just did it like part of her nature.)

Ahhh I'm getting teary eyed.

We celebrate things differently over here. I'm not christian, I'm a bruja but I do know of Yeshua's (I prefer that name over "Jesus") energy and he's a very loving and forgiving energy (which makes me appalled sometimes at how many people that claim to follow him don't know that he weeps for them every day... because he sees and feels the world's cruelty down to the marrow of his bones. He still loves unconditionally, but he's in pain. Always in pain.

Okay I'll stop now otherwise I'll turn what I want to be a "neutral post" of celebration into me talking about deity work and channeling as well as history (and how "Christmas trees" are actually a pagan practice. In fact most of Christmas traditions come from pagans.... shhhh... see? I rambled again.)

Anyways.

Happy holidays!!!!!! 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄

Yes, I totally used an Art The Clown gif in this post. He's one of my fave clowns and he's got a bloody capitalist Santa outfit on. He's perfect 😂🤣. (It was nice to see him getting into the holiday spirit)

[lightlycareless]

happy new year y'all and belated xmas I guess due to the theme of this oneshot lmao. I never get inspiration for these things unless on the actual day; can you believe that?

anyways, I hope you will still be able to enjoy this little thing i wrote :> I call it "Naomi's first xmas" (a.k.a your daughter with Naoya).

Warnings: none. fluff. your dad being a goofball.

Enjoy!

“I don’t think many people are going to come.”

“Who did you invite?”

“You know, the usual, but I doubt he’s going to show up, as always.”

“Then I won’t make more.”

“… well, do a bit more, a tiny bit, just in case.” 

Coming from the kitchen, you heard your siblings, Hinata and Ren, discuss the last preparations for Christmas Eve dinner.

Every year, planning around these holidays would go down the same way: Ren was designated to be the leader of sorts, making the decisions that ranged from what kind of decoration would be used around the house to what they’d have for dinner. 

Back in the day it would be your parents, (and then just Eiichi, of course), the one in charge of all that; but as of recent years Ren decided to take on that responsibility simply for the sense of comfort this familiarity brought him; and because he genuinely enjoyed doing so—also, because he’d spent last Christmas’ with his wife, Kanon, and felt like he needed to something to make up for those holidays he spent apart from his family.

From there, Hinata. She… Well, she’d try her best to be around the holidays to begin with, since work was always hectic for an accomplished sorceress around this time. Now add to that that she’s also an heiress of a somewhat important clan! And that’s just all year round.

Yet, she’d always manage, either through overworking herself days prior, or because she has excellent time management skills—thus, when she does find herself back home, she’d be the one to send out invitations and general holiday greetings.

And lastly, you. Alongside your father, you’d be the one to set up the decorations and buy gifts. It was your favorite activity to do during the holiday season, after spending time with your family of course. Something about seeing what new seasonal merchandise stores had always filled you with excitement, as well as an urge to get everything before it sold out!

But this year, you’d impose a limit on yourself; and not because you came to the realization that this might’ve been getting a bit out of control, but rather, because your attention now dwelled on something more important.

It’s what made this year’s holidays all too special compared to the rest: it was your daughter’s first Christmas.

It was safe to say that everyone held the same excitement as you and Naoya had when it came to seeing her reaction to everything Christmas. 

She already had her first Halloween, which had been a total success as seen by her toothy grin while wearing that adorable costume you got her—something you’ll forever remember thanks to the endless pictures you took, the same  ones your father and siblings demanded you’d share, quickly becoming everyone’s phone wallpaper.

In other words, the anticipation to see what Naomi will be wearing/doing for the holidays was much greater than that of the actual presents—although for you and Naoya, getting to spend time together as a family was more than enough.

“Do you need help with anything?” you’d ask, looking over Hinata’s shoulder; Ren had been earnestly debating whether to prepare more food, or not, for those yet-to-confirm guests. He didn’t mind having to do more, he just didn’t like the notion that it might go to waste.

But even then, he knew that between Hinata, you, and him, that wouldn’t be an issue.

“Yes—bring Naomi-chan!” Hinata says, swiftly turning around while grinning.

“I meant, with dinner.” You chuckle.

“Aw, then why you’d ask?” your sister frowns.

“She’s asleep right now, Hinata. Why would you even ask something so selfish?” Ren teases.

“I just want to see my adorable niece.” Hinata whines. “It’s all I want for Christmas!”

“Get in line, then.” Ren smirks, moving from one side of the counter to the other before placing a tray into the oven. “Do you plan to dress her up this time?”

“Not in a costume per say, but yes! Got everything set up already; but I’ll change her after Naoya and dad are back.” You respond.

“Oh, can we at least get a sneak peek?!” Hinata begs, you shake your head.

“It’s a surprise.” You smile, Hinata groans.

“Aghhhhh, then they better hurry up!”

Normally, everyone would’ve remained at the house by that point, with the occasional exception of going to the store to buy some last-minute things, but even then, it was still very rare since Ren diligently accounted for everything the moment he set his mind to it.

However, this Christmas would continue to prove itself different by a landslide, starting with the absence of your father and Naoya.

Circling back to the fact that this was to be Naomi’s first Christmas, Naoya promised himself to do everything in his power to make it extra special. 

Such as by getting her all the presents in the world: toys, dolls, plushies, or anything that pertained to her favorite character—and even though some of them weren’t really suitable for her young age, Naoya brushed off any doubts by  saying:

“What if it’s a limited-edition item and by the time she’s older it’s no longer available? Yeah, no, I’m not risking my little princess being upset because of my insolence. I’m buying it.”

The same excuse he’d when also getting her things that simply caught her interest; just to be sure she had them whenever she eventually began to like them.

But as happy as you were to see Naoya happily indulging your baby, there were moments where the thought of him perhaps going a bit overboard with the presents crossed your mind… 

Yet, as always, he’d reassure you with the following:

“This is only the bare minimum for Naomi—and even then, it is not enough!” 

And with that, you’d only chuckle, understanding that even if you asked him to control himself a bit, he would just proceed to spoil her again.

Looks like there’s no definite way to beat a father’s determination when it comes to making his daughter happy…

And talking about fathers…

Because Naomi was Eiichi’s first grandchild + her first Christmas, it was only natural that just like Naoya, he’d want to make this celebration as special as it could be—just as he always did year round.

However, one thing would still manage to surprise you out of all this, and it wasn’t their unconditional adoration towards Naomi, (which you were eternally grateful for) but rather… the unspoken competition that sparked between your husband and father to show said affection.

For example, whatever Naoya bought for Naomi, your father would get two, even in different colors, in case one of them broke down or got lost, or something between the two

“Just in case” Eiichi would say when confronted if this was really necessary.

It definitely irked your husband much more than he would like to admit, a consequence of his highly competitive and overprotective nature…

Yet, Naoya knew very well that there was no true maliciousness behind his actions, for your father was only being affectionate and caring—if anything, he was glad that she had a loving family to endlessly dote on her; a contrasting difference to how the Zen’in normally behaved. 

But going back to the reason for their absence, in their excessive purchase of presents they had failed to realize that shipped items may face a delay due to the high amount of work the postal service is put under throughout this season. 

The shock on their faces when finding out that Naomi might not be able to open all her presents on Christmas day is one that you’ll never forget—although it amused you more than anything else.

This issue would just remind you how resourceful they were, because by some strange, unknown efforts, they were able to get her presents just in time—like, on the very day of Christmas eve, which is why they were out, scampering to the postal office to pick up her things, subsequently wrapping them and placing them underneath the Christmas tree; and all before Naomi could notice they weren’t even there to begin with.

“Realistically, I don’t think she’s going to notice.”  You say upon noticing their stress, an attempt to alleviate some of their burdens.

“But still—we can’t have her believe Santa likes others better!” Eiichi countered, and Naoya silently agreed. “Y/N, do you think—"

“Already ahead of you.”  You smile, willing to go along. “She’ll probably be taking a nap either way, so don’t worry. Naomi won’t see a thing!”

… But will they be back soon?

[Naoya: We’re almost there, just finished wrapping the presents.]

[Y/N: Oh, that’s good. I was beginning to worry that something happened! Anyways, the food is almost done, all that’s missing is you and dad. Please come back quickly, baby ☹ Naomi and I miss you.]

[Naoya: I’m almost there, my love. However… there’s something I need to tell you first.]

[Y/N: What is it? Is everything ok?]

[Naoya: Yes, but it's about your dad.]

[Y/N: … What about him?]

[Naoya: Your dad is coming back later.]

[Y/N: Huh? What do you mean he's coming back later? What happened to my dad?]

[Naoya: Nothing bad, I swear, I know how this sounds but don’t worry about it. Just… well, you'll know what I mean.]

And a few minutes later, Naoya finally arrives, bringing along a huge bag filled with what you imagined to be (largely) Naomi’s presents, colorfully wrapped boxes of all sizes which he scurried to organize underneath the tree before anything else—He didn’t mean to walk past you without even acknowledging you, of course not, but he had to make haste of the fact that Naomi was still asleep.

But once that was set, he was finally able to greet you as his heart desired, swiftly walking over to your side as he took you into his arms, leaning down to sweetly peck your lips.

“Welcome back, dear.” You smile, placing your hands on the sides of his face and pulling him closer to you before helping him out his coat. “How was the trip? Chaotic?”

“Yes, last minute-shoppers.” He sighs, resting his face against the crook of your neck once free of his coat before groaning. “Don’t know why people tend to leave everything to the end, it’s—annoying. And to think they almost cost my daughter her first Christmas!”

You chuckle, kissing the top of his head while rubbing his back.

“Well, you won’t have to deal with them anymore—Or anyone else but us for the next few days.” you say, reminding him of his small break from work. Truly, a Christmas miracle.

From that day forward, until he has to go back of course, it’s just him, Naomi, and you.

“That sounds like a dream.” He admits, leaning back to get a good look at you and smiling. “Naomi is still asleep, right?”

“Yes, she is—napping in the bedroom.” You grab his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. Then, you look over his shoulder, noticing a peculiar absence. “By the way… I’m assuming dad is not here because of the thing you told me?”

Naoya nods.

“What happened?”

He presses his lips together.

“… he told me he needed to do something else before returning.” Naoya begins, in such a suspicious way that obviously makes your anxiety rise even higher. 

Your husband is quick to catch your reaction, but he's even quicker to reassure you.

“I wish I could tell you more, mochi, but he told me to keep it a secret. It’s nothing bad, just… play along, ok?” Naoya says, kissing your cheek.

Well, you know it could never be anything bad if it came from either your father or husband.

But if so, why such secrecy? It really unnerved you, especially for the time this was taking place in…

“Will I get to know eventually?” is all that you ask, he nods.

“Very soon.”

But if it was of utmost importance they keep this a secret, then you’ll trust them. And soon, you leave it at that.

“Do you think they’ll like our little surprise?” Naoya asks, changing the subject.

“Of course.” You grin, excitement beaming through your words. “Kept it a secret until now so no one suspects a thing!”

“I still can’t believe.” Naoya smiles, kissing your lips once more. “It's really happening.”

“I just hope my dad will be here to see it…”

“Why is dad still not back home?” Hinata asks upon noticing the elephant in the room: Ren had just taken out the last tray from the oven, began to prepare the food to be served, yet Eiichi was nowhere to be found. 

Certainly uncommon from someone who treasures family above anything else. 

“I thought he was only going to pick up some things.” she adds.

“Right, Naoya?” Ren says, with an accusatory tone that immediately makes your husband nervous.

“Ye—yeah…” he murmurs, eyes darting around the room for your support, only to panic when realizing you also have yet to come back from Naomi, away readying her for the evening now that she woke up. “He said he’ll be back soon.”

“Heard anything from him yet?” Hinata asks for the nth time at that moment. He shakes his head.

“Just that he’s almost done.” Naoya responds, trying his best to not feel intimidated by them. Even after years of being married to you, and now father of your child, your siblings always found ways to tease him; all in a playful nature, of course. “Anyways, Naomi should be ready soon…”

“Oh, that’s true! Y/N’s getting baby Naomi ready, isn’t she?” Hinata gushes, completely discarding the dilemma with her father out the window and focusing on what she considers the highlight of the day, no, year! “I wonder what adorable outfit she’ll wear today! Can you give us a hint at least, Naoya??”

The ball is on his court this time, and Naoya plans to take advantage of that.

“No can do.” He says, a smile on his face. Revenge is served when Hinata groans. “Not even I know what she’s planning.”

“How… mysterious” Ren murmurs. “First dad, and now Y/N… if I didn’t know any better, it seems like they’re plotting something together.”

“No, that can’t be.” Naoya immediately says, and as if his behavior wasn’t suspicious already, Ren and Hinata are now completely convinced that your husband is hiding something. “I mean, Y/N doesn’t know what’s going on either so….”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough.” You suddenly say, having arrived just a few seconds ago as you stand by the entrance; with a big grin on your face and the perception of hiding something behind you. “Is the food ready?”

“Y/N.” Naoya breathes; hopeful at the sight of his salvation. At least he’ll be away from being further interrogated by your siblings and jeopardizing the mission. 

He wishes to walk over to you, but knowing the intention behind your approach, as well as noticing the eager look on your face, he stays still.

“It is… but only for those that bring Naomi-chan!” Hinata exclaims as she tries to look over your shoulder, you moving along her eyes. “Where is she? Still asleep?”

“Not quite.” You say, giving your husband one last glance, a tight smile that tells him just how excited you were, a sentiment he also shared, which he responds with a reassuring nod.

So, gathering all your courage, you clear your throat, take a deep breath, and then, address your siblings.

“Naoya and I wanted to keep this a surprise for today, since we thought it was quite fitting.” You begin. “I was hoping for everyone to be here, but if I don't do it now, I fear it might spoil itself.” 

“What surprise?” Ren asks, and with that, you move to the side, letting your small surprise step into the picture.

Dressed in a green and red linen romper over a long sleeved white collared shirt, with a bow of the same fabric decorating her dark hair, your daughter Naomi tightly held onto your leg as she walked beside you.

Her legs were a bit wobbly, with one of her arms occasionally stretching out as to keep balance, while the other tightly held onto your hand for safety—Yet her determination to continue forward remained unwavering, as well as the excitement of your family when seeing their beloved niece finally taking her first steps!

Kind of. 

“She can—she can walk already?!” Hinata is the first to exclaim, crying at the adorable way Naomi tried to follow your lead. “When—when did this happen???”

“She can.” You say, trying your best to not pick her up, hug her, and kiss her all over her soft cheeks! After all, Naomi was very determined to keep walking once she discovered she could, a fact that made her advancement impossible to hide from the rest of the world since she wanted to do nothing but explore her new skill! 

There's no doubt in your mind that if she keeps up like this, she'll be able to run in no time! And from there…

Oh, can't she stay a baby forever?

“Naomi only started walking a few weeks ago.” Naoya says as he walks over to the two, solely intending to accompany both and be there if Naomi were to fall, but he ends up leaning down to grab her hand instead, for as soon as he was near, she reached out for him.

A sight that almost made everyone's heart burst out of their chest at the sheer adorableness of it. 

“Ho—how?” Hinata asks, still not believing her eyes.

“She just… pulled herself up one day, kept trying until she was able to do it, and the rest is history!” You happily recount her efforts, as well as the adorable pout she’d make when trying. “Whenever we tried to help her though, she always rejected us, guess she wanted to do it herself— she takes after her papa in that matter.”

Naoya chuckles; he won’t deny his stubbornness.

“Owww, I can’t help it, I need to hug her!!” Hinata cries, swiftly running over to Naomi and unwittingly startling Naomi, who cowered behind her dad soon after. A sight that effectively snaps Hinata out of trance, kneeling to her level to softly hug her and utter endless endless apologies. “I’m so sorry, Naomi-chan, I didn’t mean to scare you, please forgive me!” 

She begs while kissing her cheeks, which at first confuses Naomi, enough to attempt to push Hinata away… until her gestures begin to tickle her, making her stop and giggle in turn, seemingly leaving all misunderstandings behind.

“I can’t believe she’s growing so fast…” Ren says, walking over to the rest and carefully pinching Naomi’s cheeks once Hinata frees her; this makes her giggle too. “It seems like only yesterday we were getting you ready to go to the hospital.”

“And now, she’s almost a year old.” Naoya concurrs, looking at you. 

He too can’t believe that almost a year has passed since she arrived in this world, since she made their life happier—better. Truly, it almost seemed like a dream, however, the truth would prove much, much better this time around.

This wasn’t a figment of his imagination: this was his life. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We need to prepare everything for her birthday!” Hinata declared. “I can already think of a few places we can do her party! How about it, Y/N? Picture this—”

“Let’s do a celebration at a time, Hinata.” Ren chuckles, you doing the same soon after, finding her enthusiasm amusing. “We’re still not even done with Christmas, let alone New year… Which makes me ask, where’s dad? Are we to eat without him? This is the first time he’s ever been this late…”

The look of concern you and your siblings direct at Naoya is what finally pushes him to disclose what he and Eiichi agreed to keep a secret.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell, but the reason why Eiichi-san is late is because he—”

“Ho, ho, ho!!”

A loud voice, followed by heavy footsteps making their way through the entrance are heard, followed by a soft thud and another cheer. 

“Merry Christmas!!”

Everyone’s head swirls into its direction, expectantly hoping to see the one behind these unanticipated actions.

Yet, it’s only you who manages to recognize who it was, as well as the nature of their actions.

And boy, was it a surprise when the truth finally settled in.

“Oh my god…” it’s all you could muster in reaction as the guest continues on with their rally.

“I heard that here lived an adorable baby girl that behaved very well this year!” Santa Claus would continue to say, grinning as he took some presents out of the large bag he carried along and placed them underneath the tree, before turning around towards the intrigued, if not slightly embarrassed, family staring at him, searching for said girl. “And because she was such a good girl, I wanted to personally come here and give her her pres—”

But when his eyes finally fall onto Naomi, Santa Claus immediately goes silent, intently staring at her for a few seconds before coming to the same conclusion that had everyone in shock, eyes widening as he shrieks.

“SHE CAN WALK!???”

Any suspicions that the man dressed up as Santa Claus was in fact, your father, are quickly verified by his reaction, further cemented when he rushes over to her, swiftly picking her up in a hug to coo at Naomi’s advancements.

“Oh, Naomi-chan!! When did you begin to walk?!” He’d ask, feeling a combination of happiness, nostalgia, and even heartache—for he was both glad and sad that his grandbaby was growing up. “Had I known, I would’ve gotten you more presents!!”

Everyone knew that the man behind this amusing spectacle was none other than your dad, per usual goofy Eiichi nature, by this point. However, there was still one person that remained in doubt, and that would be none other than Naomi herself.

Even if she was an impressionable young child, there were still a handful of things that didn’t necessarily catch her attention; unless it pertained to those of her favorite characters, of course.

But returning to her distaste, the most noticeable icon of this festive season fell into that list; she just… didn’t like him. Ignored him whenever possible; yet, there was still a catch: if her favorite mascot was dressed as Santa Claus, then Naomi couldn’t have enough of him!

Neither you nor Naoya knew why she did so, but it just happened, and the two grew to accept that fact, just as everything else.

Unfortunately, it seems that both had forgotten to tell your father about this small detail, and what Eiichi hoped to be a heartwarming experience for his beloved granddaughter, soon turned sour, specially when her big round golden eyes began to water after noticing that no matter how much she tugs, this stranger was not letting her go.

“Oh, little pumpkin, no!” Eiichi gasps, feeling like absolute garbage when Naomi continues attempting to push him away. “It’s me! It’s grandpa!”

“There’s no way for her to know that—take the beard off!” Ren exclaims, and in one swift movement, Eiichi strips the white beard off his face, discarding it to the side and revealing his face for Naomi to see.

“See, little pumpkin? It’s me!” he repeats whilst frantically hoping that he hadn’t irrevocably messed up. “It’s me! Granpa!”

And as if she understood what he meant, Naomi finally glances back at him, staring at him for a few moments in what many considered both curiosity and fear… which slowly shifted into adoration once finally recognizing her beloved grandpa, and subsequently hugging him.

“Yes! I knew you’d recognize me!” Eiichi softly cries as he leans down to kiss the top of her head, making her giggle in response. Your heart melts at the sight of Naomi warming up to your father, while Naoya sighs, relieved that this didn’t escalate any further.

“Without the beard, it would be almost impossible not to.” Hinata teases, and your dad frowns, trying to understand what your sister meant—she and Ren only laugh. 

“Ah, but my sweet adorable little pumpkin, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Eiichi would continue to say, feeling very, very regretful for his actions. However, it seemed that Naomi no longer paid mind to that, giving the understanding that she knew it wasn’t intentional, or cared more to be with her favorite grandpa.

And while that went down, you look over to Naoya, moving closer to his ear to whisper:

“Is this what you were referring to?”

Naoya hums, nodding. You chuckle.

“I should’ve told him.” He says, and you give him a soft smile, squeezing his hand.

There was no way he could’ve known, but after this happened, alongside Naoya’s growing guilt, he began to believe that maybe he should’ve…

But truth to be told, Naoya didn’t have the heart to ruin Eiichi’s enthusiasm, after all, no one from the Zen’in clan bothered to care about anything but the bare minimum when it came to Naomi, while your father consistently went above and beyond for his family. 

So because of that, when Eiichi told him of the little surprise he was preparing for his daughter, with such excitement that told your husband how much he wanted to do this … Naoya allowed him to go through with it.

Because at the end of the day, anyone that has your and Naomi’s happiness and safety in mind, he’ll always welcome—and he’s long come to see that your family wants nothing but that for the three.

“Does she not like Santa?” Ren asks now that the situation has calmed down.

“It seems so—it’s why we haven’t been able to get a picture of the two.” You explain, reminiscing how you’d have to cancel a photo appointment because Naomi didn’t want to be near Santa Claus, not even when you and Naoya were there.

“Ah, well, Santa is overrated anyways!” Eiichi says, more than ready to discard this silly costume if it meant baby Naomi would no longer be afraid of him.

“How… ironic of you to say that.” Ren adds with a chuckle.

“Unless you’re dressed as—“ you begin.

“Hello kitty.” You and Naoya speak in unison. 

“Naomi really likes Hello Kitty.” Naoya finishes.

At the revelation, Hinata grins.

“You like cats too?” Your sister asks, lightly tickling Naomi, she giggles in response. “When you’re old enough, I’ll give you a cat—how about that, hm?”

“Ehh, I’ll hold that thought for now.” You intervene before Hinata could continue on with her promises. While you would’ve loved for your sister to spoil your daughter, two particular reasons pushed you to stop: first, this was a decision that should be previously consulted with the parents, and secondly, Naoya already planned to gift Naomi a kitty himself—one that would resemble the character as closely as possible—when she was old enough to take care of it.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself again, Hinata. There’s still gifts to open.” Ren says, gesturing over to the boxes underneath the tree, and those still inside Eiichi’s bag. 

“Yes! I want my adorable granddaughter to open all of them first!” Eiichi would say, handing Naomi over to her father once she began to gesture her desire to be carried by him. The way she rests her head over his shoulder makes Naoya smile.

“But first, let’s eat dinner—I didn’t spend all this time preparing food for no one to take a bite!” Ren says, the group agrees, and soon, preparations for dinner begin.

Hinata would help you set up Naomi’s chair, placing it just between Naoya and you, while you went ahead to get your daughter’s food—the slow transition of feeding her with a cup instead of a bottle had just begun a few weeks ago, and with great feedback, you just hope it continued on steadily.

Eiichi, on the other hand, rushed to his bedroom to quickly change out of his costume and adequately help Ren serve dinner. 

Once everyone was seated and with their respective plates, dinner finally began.

The evening would go on wonderfully, with everyone relishing on the delicious delicacy Ren had prepared, as expected, while sharing anecdotes that made you both laugh or fluster, depending on who was the one telling them: how your dad always managed to make everyone embarrassed is something that you’ll never figure out—certainly, a talent of his own—before moving onto comparing the similarities between Naomi and her parents once she does a particular gesture that Eiichi had to point out.

“Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but I think Naomi is starting to take more after you in that aspect.” Naoya would tease.

“No, she does not!” you gasp, referring to the habit Naomi had of pouting when things didn’t go her way. Sure, you might’ve done it once or twice when you were younger, but…

No, surely not.

Unless…?

“Or does she…?”

“A bit. She has to take after you. I was never that cute when I was a kid.” He reiterated; you smile, trying to hide your blush.

“Really? I always thought she looked more like you.” You confess. Always hoped that she would… 

“She looks just like the two, actually.” Eiichi added. “But I do have to say, that out of the two, Naomi looks a bit more like—”

“Naoya” an unaccounted voice coming from the entrance was heard, making those at the table quickly turn around to see who it was, even little Naomi, as if she knew that no one was expecting anyone else to show up —especially the one that after years and years of being invited, never attended.

“Satoru!” Hinata gasps, perhaps the most perplexed one out of the group; at one point she even felt as if had hallucinated seeing him there. “I didn’t think you—what are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting my other family! I know we’re not together anymore, but I still hold everyone dear, you know?” He jests and Hinata sighs. Seems that not even during Christmas time would the god’s honor your sister’s request of making Satoru a bit less annoying. Not that much, just… a little.

Truly, she was better off asking for literally anything else but a miracle.

“We weren’t even married…” Hinata murmurs, not that it mattered at that point anyways, less when Satoru moved on to greet Eiichi and Ren (who were rather amicable to say the least, still speechless for seeing him show up after years of absence) before stopping by you, Naoya, and Naomi—lips parting onto a grin when seeing the new family.

“And who is this? Chibi Y/N?? Wow, look at how much she’s grown! I still remember her when she was nothing but a little baby! How old is she now?”

“You’d know if you’d respond to my messages.” You respond, a smirk on your face as Satoru pouts. “Or come to the party I threw for her 6th month birthday…”

“Hey, I got her a gift! That’s bound to mean something, right?” Satoru pinches Naomi’s left cheek, causing her to frown and whine. “Ah, you’re just as moody as Naoya; Thank God she looks more like you, Y/N. Imagine if we’ve gotten two Naoya instead of you? The Zen’in would go insane!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Naoya frowns.

“Didn’t you just say she looked more like him?” you raise an eyebrow, Satoru shrugs.

“Huh, did I?” He feigns ignorance, you roll your eyes. “Must’ve slipped my mind… anyways, I got everyone presents!”

You now notice the bag he was carrying; didn’t seem that big, but it did look like it was full. 

“Especially for chibi Y/N” Satoru hands you over the bag, which Naoya takes soon after standing up—your theories of the bag being full are proved right when your husband notices how heavy it was.

You sigh.

Even if Satoru is what many considered imprudent, he was still goodhearted. And so, you motion Naoya to take the presents to the tree.

“Thank you, Satoru. I’m sure Naomi will appreciate your gift.” You say, a smile on your face.

“If you didn’t get her anything weird, of course.” Ren adds. At the noise of his voice, Satoru can’t help but unintentionally tense up—your brother always had an effect on him that made him feel like a cornered kid. In that sense, everyone was relieved that there was one person that could ground Satoru to reality. “Unless…”

“No, of course not.” Satoru quickly says, laughing nervously. “Who do you think I am??”

Everyone remains quiet as they silently judge him—even little Naomi, who couldn’t possibly know what he was referring to, joined in on the bewildering scrutinizing crusade against him; there’s no doubt in his mind now that she is a L/N.

“Have you eaten anything?” You’d move on. “The food is still warm if you want some.”

“Sit down, I’ll serve you some.” Ren would say before Satoru could even answer, which prompted the Gojo heir to finally accept his offer and take the last available seat, the one besides your father.

Once getting his food, dinner would go as it went before, prompting more stories now that Satoru joined in, with the slight difference that Hinata was now the center of attention.

You undoubtedly knew that your sister was much more than she was letting on, but these anecdotes from when she was a student at jujutsu high were far better than you ever imagined; she sure had everyone fooled with the responsible and dedicated image she made for herself!

But even then, they’d have nothing on your father when he began to tell his own stories: who would’ve known that the goofy, lovable man that your father was had actually lived through his fair share of mischief? Seems that even after years of knowing him, there were still many things to discover about him!

It made you and Naoya wonder what kind of reaction Naomi would have once she learned of your own adventures; the thought that either of you (Or maybe even the two) could become the uncool parent makes you chuckle. 

Maybe your dad was right, maybe this was some kind of rite of passage one must go through when becoming a parent.

After sharing enough anecdotes, now began the most exciting part of the night—opening the presents.

Tensions were already high when it came to the silent competition going on between your father and your husband, but with the unexpected addition of Satoru, this just raised the stakes: they all wanted Naomi to open their presents first.

Luckily, they were still able to listen to reason when you suggested that the best way to solve this was to let Naomi choose by herself, nothing of persuading her to choose theirs or anything of the sorts—simply letting her walk towards the box she found most interesting and let everything else fall into place. 

It was endearing to see how happily she reacted to the fact that (mostly) all the presents underneath the tree were there for her, as well as the cheerful way she began to open them, alongside the help of her papa, of course, for she still wasn’t strong enough to do it herself.

You once considered your dad and mom to be a bit… well, exaggerated whenever they’d take endless pictures of you and your siblings when doing anything—but now that you and Naoya had Naomi in your life… their actions no longer seemed overstated as they once did. If anything, you grew to understand why they’d done so and if anything, it inspired you to  do the same!

To see her chubby face beam whenever seeing her new toys and plushies was one you’d never replace for anything, more so when she got to see all of the presents her daddy got her. 

No one knew Naomi better than her own father, thus every single thing Naoya got for her was to be Hello Kitty themed: from socks, to shirts, plushies and even accessories—anything that his baby wanted, he’d get. In all the possible variations of her favorite Sanrio character. 

Which made Ren, Hinata, and your dad a bit nervous, for it seemed that Naoya had the gift department well covered, making it almost impossible to compete…

But you’d reassure them that Naomi, alongside you and Naoya, were wholeheartedly grateful for their attention and gestures, and that she’d love them all the same.

But outside of that, the thing that perhaps intrigued everyone the most was Satoru’s present. As previously stated, he had a tendency of gifting… Well, odd things, and that was the easy way to put it. 

From objects that you have yet to find a use to, to things that you would rather die than to be seen in public with them, Satoru was unpredictable as unpredictable as he could be.

Thus, everyone understood why Naoya took it upon himself to open Satoru’s present, even if it made Naomi whine in response.

“I just gotta make sure there’s nothing wrong with it, little princess.” Naoya explains, hoping that this would ease Naomi’s rising irritation—it kind of did, but she’d only calm down when Satoru’s gift was eventually revealed:

A Digimon plushie, from the character known as koromon, to be precise.

“Huh, I guess you are capable of doing normal things.” Hinata would say, Satoru scoffs.

“Don’t you mean better things, Hinata?” He teases back, Hinata rolls her eyes.

“Thank you, Satoru.” You say, looking at him. “But you know that in this household we only like Pokémon.”

“Not if I influence her early on!” Satoru grins—but really, he was just happy to see Naomi wholeheartedly enjoying his gift, which she latched onto as soon as Naoya handed it to her.

“As if I’d let you do that.” Naoya says. “Maybe if you had good taste in anime…”

Ren laughs. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Ah, stop it all of you… it was a nice gift.” Eiichi would intervene, making Satoru pout and cry, before rushing over to hug him.

“Oh, thank you so much!” he’d dramatically gasp, tightly holding onto your father. “I knew someone would appreciate my efforts!”

Eiichi presses his lips together before sighing. He’s long come to understand that it was better to not fight it than to do so, because whenever your dad managed to push Satoru away, he’d always come back, and stronger too.

But even with this, Eiichi was happy to have his family back together, reunited and having a good time: the one thing he always wanted for Christmas.

Everyone would continue on opening the rest of the presents, that is, until Naomi began to feel tired as seen by the way her eyes slowly blinked, yawning every so often, before leaning her head onto Naoya’s chest, breathing softly until she finally fell asleep. 

At the sight everyone couldn’t help themselves from cooing, (albeit not too loud in fear of waking her up) as well as take it as a sign to call it a day; everyone had been up since early to get everything done, so it was only normal that they’d begin to feel a bit tired too, Naomi’s yawns were only there to make it more obvious.

“We can continue tomorrow.” Your father would say, referring to the left-over presents still underneath the tree. “It is kind of late.”

“And I still have to call Kanon.” Ren said, looking over to his clock—still a bit of time before she heads to sleep. “Think you can help me pick up, Hinata?”

“Yeah.” she nods, standing up.

“Let me help too.” You offer, standing up as well, he shakes his head.

“No, I’d rather not keep you away from Naomi.” He says. You frown, feeling as if you’ve barely done anything this year… “You can repay me tomorrow.”

“Alright, then.” you smile before sighing, looking over to Naoya carrying a deeply asleep Naomi. “Guess we’re off to bed.” 

“Goodnight Naomi-chan!” Hinata whispers with a grin.

“Goodnight, Y/N, Naoya.” Ren adds.

“Goodnight!” Satoru waves, you way back before making your way over to your dad.

“Goodnight, dad. See you tomorrow.” you say, hugging him. “Thank you for what you did for Naomi, even though she got a bit upset. I’m sure when she’s a bit older she’ll come to appreciate it better.”

“Thank you, pumpkin. And I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“I know, and she knows that too.”

Naoya and you would then head back to the living quarters and into Naomi’s room, the one your father had prepared as soon as your pregnancy was announced, just in case it was ever needed—it didn’t take long for you to decorate it either— to get her changed into her pajamas and into her crib, underneath the warm blankets alongside her favorite plushies, before leaning down to kiss her head and wishing her a goodnight.

Naomi doesn’t respond, outside of a deep sigh and those soft snores that always make your and Naoya’s heart squeeze with adoration whenever hearing them; evidence that she had a tiring, yet fun day.

And as both continue to admire her, a feeling comparable to nostalgia begins to settle in both your hearts, with you being the first one to acknowledge it. 

“Can you believe it?” you whisper, still looking at Naomi.

“What?” Naoya asks, leaning closer to you.

“That she's almost a year old.” You go on. “It’s been almost a year since she arrived in our lives… and now…”

“She can walk.” Naoya finishes. “... it almost feels… surreal, doesn’t it? I can still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.”

As if it was only yesterday he was that lonely, sorrowful man seemingly destined to live out the same way the rest of his life… and now, he has a family.

“When did time go by so fast?” you ask.

“I don’t know.” He admits, taking your hands and intertwining it with his fingers. “I stopped caring after I met you.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” you chuckle, looking at him.

“What reason do I have to count days, when I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“Naoya…” you murmur, blushing. “I… I guess to keep important dates…. Or something.”

Naoya was glad that the moonlight coming through the window wasn’t strong enough to show how flustered he truly was.

Taking a deep breath, he now looks at you.

“I still can’t believe I got to meet you, fall in love with you, marry you and now… have a family with you.” he starts. “I got to experience something I never thought I would; and in a way, I still can’t wrap my head around it. There are still moments where I want to pinch myself to see if this is all a dream, if you can believe that; But when I see you and our daughter and I know it’s not my imagination; because you and Naomi are far more beautiful than anything I could’ve ever imagined.

And today… just reminded me of how lucky and grateful I am to have both of you in my life and to have spent another holiday with you.”

It wasn’t your or Naoya’s first Christmas together—not the first one you’ve spent with your dad, or the Zen’in for that matter.

But it was certainly the first one both had spent as a family, enough reason to make it as special as possible.

However, that wasn’t the only reason why you allowed Naoya to do whatever he wanted this year, or why you asked him to spend Christmas with your family. 

More than making this celebration special for Naomi… you intended to do it for him.

Even now, you could still hear it in Naoya’s words—the slightest hesitation that reveals he didn’t believe he’s received all these blessings; and not because he thought them incapable of occurring, but rather because…

He didn’t think himself deserving of them.

Naoya always foresaw that his life would continue on rather… uneventfully, going through the same vicious cycle of people that couldn’t really care less for him, or anything pertaining to him, and him believing the same of himself.

Until you’d come along—to show him that he too was deserving of love, and not only that, but that he was also capable of loving.

And creating something out of love.

A daughter, a baby girl: the biggest blessing he never thought he’d receive. One that while it saddened him to realize she’s growing up, he still couldn’t wait to see the kind of person she’d become, guide her to the greatness he just knows she’s destined to be, as well as be there in the moment she ever finds herself falling and catching her.

One that slowly began to teach him just how much love he was capable of harboring for others, as well as the limits he’ll go beyond just to ensure their happiness.

All the things he’s done, and will do for her, are nothing but the bare minimum; nothing but his way of protecting her, giving her a life vastly different from his so that she’d never have to suffer the same way he did.

But he knows that she will never go through the same things, because she has you as her mother.

And that is something he’ll never, ever be able to thank you enough for.

“I love you, Y/N.” Naoya would say. “And… Thank you for loving me. Enough to have a family with me.”

“Naoya… you never, ever have to doubt yourself deserving of this.” You say, gently placing your hands on each side of his face and resting your forehead against his. “You deserve all this, and more. You are a loving husband and the greatest father any child could ask for, and today you proved it—Even if you went a bit overboard with the presents.”

Naoya chuckles.

“Do you think we’re spoiling our daughter too much?” he asks.

“Undoubtedly. What are we even going to get her on her birthday?” you wonder.

“I can start with the moon.”

“Then I’ll see if I can get the stars.”

The two laugh together for a few moments before quieting down.

And in the silence of the night, their hearts reveal their deep feelings for one another.

“I love you, Naoya.” You begin, gently kissing his lips. “All that I want is the opportunity to spend this Christmas, and those to come, with you and our baby.”

“I love you too, Y/N.” He pecks your lips once more. “You two are the best thing that has ever happened in my life, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“I know. Thank you for everything, Naoya…” you say, hugging him before gasping. “Oh! And merry Christmas! Can’t forget about that one, can I?”

Naoya chuckles as he pulls you into a tight hug, giving the top of your head a kiss before leaning down to rest the crook of your neck and melting against your warm embrace and scent.

It was his way to silently vow to never let you go; no matter what happens, no matter what is to come… He’ll never, ever let you, or his daughter, go.

Never.

A promise that would continue for the rest of his life underneath the wish of a prosperous holiday.

“Merry Christmas.” 

the two got emotional at the end 🥺 nnghhhhh Naoya just can't believe he's spending an actual christmas with his family, happily you know?? aaaaaaaaaaaa man, i really got it bad for him.

anyways, I originally intended to end this with Naoya gifting Y/N a house because he felt like Y/N and Naomi would be better away from the Zen'in clan... but then Y/N would just go on saying that it would be too much of a hassle because of his duties as the heir, and because she'll miss her friends there (we're going with the notion that the Zen'in aren't as big a*holes as they are, maybe because Naoya managed to scare control them)

Outside of that, for their fellow presents Y/N got Naoya an Asuka figure to fuel his anime tendencies; while he got her some things he saw her ponder about days prior, alongside some special edition gengar they both had to keep hidden from Naomi lol.

🥺 I hope you all enjoyed this little thing I wrote. I shall continue writing more things, request to be precise, before heading back to my main fic :>

Thank you so much for your support ❤️❤️❤️

[magnificentcenturyfics]

Unremarkable People

Merry Christmas, lads and lassies! I've been writing fanfiction sporadically for the entire time this blog was in a state of hiatus, but the problem is, I never managed to FINISH any of it untill now, and even then, this one is pretty short. It's a plotless little thing meant to simply flesh out two background characters, basically just a pile of headcanons shaped like a fic. Very many thanks to Alex (@hurremsultanns) for inspiration! Trigger warning include, uh... I guess mentions of suicide, Hürrem hate and Hürrem fangirling. Enjoy!

Edit: God, this is so embarasing. I messed up the name of one of the characters and now some of y'all are probably thinking this fic is about Nazli and an OC - yeah, no, I just misremembered Esma's name as Selma, God knows how and God knows why I didn't realize my mistake untill I posted this thing. I am so, so sorry!

***

Over the years, Nazli had attended quite a few weddings, and on none of them the bride took her sweet time like on this one. True, knowing Esma, she probably just had an attack of stage fright in the baths; in fact, after a while, Nazli started to feel guilty for her initial annoyance. In fact, as the minutes dragged, she had to fight the feeling that she should, perhaps, go check in on dear colleague – despite knowing that doing so would go against Hürrem sultan’s explicit orders to go to the common room with the children and wait for their mistress there. And if nothing else, Esma’s designated helpers for the day were certainly in a better position to calm her down.

After all, it’s not like calming Esma down was that difficult of job.

Nazli did not consider herself a sentimental type, but it was hard not to get attached to Esma. Sultana’s children certainly had, which made it all the more impressive that Hürrem had graced her with manumition and a good husband, despite the protests of especially her daughter (whom Nazli hated an entirely disproportional amount considering she was only thirteen – then again, so did most of the other servants). Nazli was quite convinced that had His Majesty been present at the time, this wedding would not take place, but the girl’s mother was much more immune to the girl’s incessant whining. After all, though her sons were certainly sad to see Selma go, they had other servants to be fond of, and Selim and Bayezit relied on Mehmet’s judgement enough to in the end make peace with Selma’s departure. As of now, Nazli heard something about Mihrimah locking herself in her room in protest – then again, it’s not as if princess would’ve been missed on a wedding between servant and sipahi.

Where was Mehmet she did not know; her and Aysima’s charges were the younger boys, a task on which Firuze just somehow came to participate because of her attachement to the youngest. All around not the most unpleasant company to be in – Nazli harbored an instinctual antipathy towards Firuze, just because of how easily she was able to endear herself to everyone for seemingly no reason (she most certainly did not consider some potentially fraudulent sorcery an adequate reason, hence her coldness towards Firuze’s „successes“ in aleviating Cihangir’s pain). But she at least was mostly ignorable; Hürrem sultan didn’t have much use for her besides caring for her youngest anyhow, even if she still seemed infuriatingly fond of her.

Nazli’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar call. „Attention! Her Majesty Hürrem sultan is coming!“ And indeed she came, gorgeous and impeccably dressed as usual, with her famous crown sitting proudly on her head and a few choice servants accompanying her. Right after her, the lucky bride entered the room, and Nazli had to compliment her helpers on a job well done. Esma looked quite fetching in a small red cap rimmed with a braid of fabric, dress of the same colour with open, semitransparent sleeves and kaftan with a tasteful little white embroidery. On her neck, Nazli noticed one of several wedding gifts Hürrem sultan gave her the night prior; then again, extreme generosity towards her servants was par for the course for the sultana. She was evidently nervous and not as happy as the occassion would warrant, though at least she didn’t seem to have cried, which was a good sign. She kissed the hem of sultana’s dress, and sultana spoke out, somewhat melancholically. „Go, hatun. Go, and be happy.“

Esma threw a last, quick glance to the side, to Nazli, Aysima, Firuze, Fatmanur, Muhsine and the others. There were no more words to exchange between them, no tears to shed. All the goodbyes were spoken as the music on her kina gecesi faded and dawn was breaking. „What will sultana’s children do without me?“ she told Nazli once she was no longer sobbing, but her eyes were still wet with tears. „You must promise me you’ll take special care of them and those that are supposed to replace me. I simply cannot trust anyone else.“

This shocked Nazli a bit. „Not even Firuze?“

„Certainly not as much as you! I mean... I don’t want to say anything, she is a very nice girl, very helpful... But she has only been here for a short while, and I’ve known you since forever...“

All Nazli could muster was an „Oh dear.“ and a tight hug. „Allah, I am going to miss you so badly. I am happy for you, but also mad that you are leaving me here with these idiots.“ she whispered in her ear.

Esma chuckled. „Oh, stop it. You like them and you know it.“

„Depends on who’s „them“, I guess.“ With these words, she let Esma go.

Esma sighed. „If you hate them so much... Well, sultana offered you a way out too.“

Nazli smirked. „She didn’t really mean it. Haven’t you seen how quickly she conceded to my begging? Besides, a way out of what? I’d only go from serving the greatest sultana the world has ever known – and, by proxy, His Majesty the sultan – to serving some fat merchant and perhaps a brood of his children, whether mine or his previous wife’s.“

Esma shrugged with one shoulder. „Well, my husband is not a fat merchant.“

„No, but Melek’s was. And Gülnihal’s... Well, he wasn’t fat, but he was damn old. I can’t imagine living with him was very pleasant.“

„At least he wasn’t long for this world.“ Esma said with a melancholic expression – and then she covered her mouth, shocked by her own words. „Oh, I am sorry, I...“

Nazli gave her a generous, but sardonic smile. „We’ve all been thinking it since we heard of his passing. And at least she has a new husband now – a much younger and prettier one, I’ve heard.“

Esma sighed. „I hope I can meet her again.“

„You think your husband will let you travel to Bursa?!“

She looked at Nazli with one of her patented sad gazes – why oh why must’ve Almighty given the girl such big, innocent eyes? Was it purely for dramatic appropriateness? „No, but... A girl can dream.“ She sighed. „I never got to thank her.“ Gülnihal was the one who recommended Esma to Hürrem sultan, and without her, the great sultana would certainly never take Esma into service, since before that, they didn’t get along much. Having been there at Gülnihal’s wedding, Nazli knew the only reason Esma never got to say her thank you, farewell or really much of anything was because of her own crippling shyness. But she managed to bite her tongue; this really was the time for teasing and bickering, however well-intentioned.

She never really understood what were women supposed to get from marriage, anyway. Perhaps if she could choose a husband, as she would back in Rohatyn, when she was just a daughter of a petty merchant... But as much as Nazli adored Hürrem sultan, after hearing what husband she picked Gülnihal, she did not trust her matchmaking skills. Well, she suspected that waiting a few years untill his young, beautiful wife tires the man’s poor old heart so much it gives out, then letting her enjoy the life of a rich widow had been the plan all along. And if Gülnihal was willing to stick it out for those couple of years, then good for her, but there was nothing Nazli hated more than the image of some ugly, sweaty man in her, on top of her, everywhere around her...

She could not stand such a thing even for a short period, was what she meant.

Of course, that was not a problem Esma would ever have to deal with. Hürrem sultan selected a husband for her favourite servant with special care, landing on one Hakan agha, a young sipahi with especially good looks and excellent reputation among the ladies of the city. Of course, Esma would not see that beautiful face very often, as even now he was discharged only for a short honeymoon, and was supposed to return to the Persian front right after that. In Nazli’s opinion, that didn’t sound so bad, being left to run one’s household as she pleases, but she had to admit, love – and unlike Nazli, Esma was a sentimental type, so it was likely that with such a husband, infatuation could set in very fast – changed the equation somewhat.

Either way, she could only pray for Esma’s happiness; after all, if there was anyone who deserved it, it was Esma.

---

If there was an occassion that Esma feared more than anything, it was dying for something not worth it. She felt quite fearless in face of chilbirth, as brining a child into the world was indeed a matter worth giving your life for. So far, she had born two boys, though the younger one left this world as quickly as he came to it. Dying of an illness, that too wasn’t that bad of a death, as Esma thought of such matters as simply God’s will, just as her late father did on his deathbed. No, a truly unbearable thought in Esma’s mind had always been dying just because one got tangled up in the powerplays of the harem. Then again, she supposed Nazli would’ve seen it differently.

Today, she did nothing but pray for her soul, because she suspected noone else will. News of her demise reached Esma via her regular correspondence with Gülnihal, who in turn stayed in touch the same way with none other than Hürrem sultan. Details of the incident that cost Esma’s old comrade her life were quite murky. According to Gülnihal’s telling of Hürrem’s words, sultana uncovered some letters, the content of which could’ve been used to drive a wedge between two sisters of sultan Süleyman now living in Istanbul. What this conflict was even about wasn’t entirely clear, but whatever the case, their response was entirely disproportionate – they chose Nazli as a scapegoat, tortured her into confessing that she forged the letters, and after she broke under torture, guilt of „betraying“ her mistress soon drove her to suicide. Well, at least that was Gülnihal’s telling; the implications were worse still, because Nazli was a woman of steel nerves and unwavering loyalty to Hürrem. Whenever Hürrem needed assistance in some sort of shady enterprise, she called on Nazli before anyone else. If they actually broke her, Esma could not even imagine the things she must’ve been put trough to achieve that. Even still, Hürrem herself wasn’t entirely certain her friend’s death was a suicide, as the only evidence she had was the testimony of Hatice sultan, who would’ve been a prime suspect had Nazli simply been silenced. And all that for the monumental sin of... Trying to drive a wedge between two sisters, which as child Esma and her three little sisters could attest was something that would under normal circumstances scarcely need more than a gentle push. Now, in Esma’s experience, it was entirely possible that Hürrem simply covered up details that made her look bad; perhaps she accused one of the sisters of some terrible crime? Well, maybe, though she also knew Hatice was becoming more and more vicious in her hatred of Hürrem, and according to Gülnihal, she only got worse since the passing of Ibrahim pasha. In sum, as much as Esma wanted to blame Hürrem for the tragedy, she simply did not have enough information.

Well, not that she came out of the whole affair completely innocent either way. Whatever the measure of their fault in Nazli’s death, Hürrem, Hatice and that other woman (what was her name, anyway?) all held some amount of culpability. And unfortunately, no matter what the truth of the matter was, the incident seemed tailor-made to only confirm Esma’s deepest prejudices about faithful servants and their foolishness. Because, though Esma wasn’t a traitor by nature, she had to admit to being somewhat cowardly, and if she ever found herself under the same pressure as Nazli, she was under no delusion about her ability to resist it.

Then again, such a thing was always quite unlikely – Esma’s main asset for surviving the harem had always been the façade of a pleasant, weak-willed girl, which like all the best façades held a kernel of truth, made to look like the whole of the ear. Indeed, when she first came to the harem, she was nothing more than a scared young girl, broken by the loss of her loving (though poor) family. After she adjusted to the conditions in the harem, she did try to stand up for herself a couple of times, but unless one was of some rank and status, such efforts generally weren’t appreciated. And for Esma, achieving rank and status seemed night-impossible. She certainly wouldn’t cut it as a concubine, both because of her comely dark features (to think she for a moment hoped that in the harem, where women were supposed to shed their tribe and homeland, she’d at least be able to stop being a Gypsy) and her fear of intimacy (which was quite ironic, since as of now sex and children were the only pleasures she was able to get from this marriage – what with her husband being, unfortunately, a quite unpleasant character). She had hoped to at least reach for the title of a kalfa trough her service to Hürrem sultan, which is why she first expressed interest in it to Gülnihal. Esma could still remember how her heart skipped a beat when Gülnihal said. „As of now, what Hürrem sultan needs the most is someone to take care of her child.“

Esma dropped her gaze in a gesture of half-sincere modesty. „Well, as it happens, I had seven younger siblings – three of them much younger than me, and our father died when I was only ten, so my mother needed all the help she could get. So I’d say I do have some experience with raising children. Also, I just... Love kids.“ She blurted out the last sentence quickly, only realizing how stupid it sounds as it was leaving her mouth.

At the moment, Gülnihal only shot her a confused look and changed the topic, but soon thereafter, Nigar gathered her and a few other girls to tell them they had been chosen for Hürrem sultan’s household. Esma was surprised to find out that said household consisted mostly of girls that spoke Rusyn, especially those that have been taken in the same raid on Rohatyn and the surrounding area as Esma, Hürrem and Gülnihal. Why it was so Esma wasn’t sure; as the years went by, Hürrem spoke Rusyn with them less and less, though she always seemed to have more trust in girls from her homeland than those from other parts of the world she hired as her household expanded. When it came to Esma herself, she always found said trust somewhat misplaced, as from the start she thought Hürrem moody, petulant and in general not a very admirable person. This was in contrast to Nazli, who seemed genuinely fascinated by Hürrem ever since she won the Thursday night from Mahidevran. „I am just saying – she must be doing something right, no?“

At that, Esma furrowed her brow in doubt. „And you want to copy her method or something?“

Nazli defiantly stuck out her lower lip. „Just so you know, I’d never dream of being a favourite! I mean, what are the chances sultan himself would even look at me, anyway?! Impossible! I’d be extraordinarily lucky to even have him send for me...“

„With your face? Certainly!“ laughed one of the girls they sat at the table with – she was named something long begining with Fer-, Esma didn’t remember her exactly, since she didn’t exactly seek out her company (Fersomething was always like that).

Years later, when the work has long since brought them together, Esma asked Nazli to elaborate on her feelings towards their mistress. Nazli only smiled dreamily. „Can’t you see it? She has such a... Fiery spirit. It is as if there was a star in her soul, shining brightly...“

Esma rolled her eyes. „She’s just a bit of a bitch, that’s all.“

„Oh, if only she could hear you! She’s proud, that’s what she is. Proud and defiant...“

„The kind of personality that you’d think would get her killed, and it very nearly did a couple of times...“

„And yet it didn’t! Not only that, but sultan loves her more and more each day. Of course, some of it must be because of how extraordinarily beautiful she is...“

Esma only shrugged. „Well, I guess that’s true. I mean, if you want to know my opinion, Mahidevran is even more beautiful, but I am not a man, let alone sultan, so...“

Despite that qualifier, Nazli looked at her as if she was about to punch Esma good and hard. However, she continued talking instead. „Hürrem sultan is also very clever.“

„Not clever enough to not get in trouble constantly!“

Nazli seemed unfazed by this comment. „As I’ve said, she’s proud and free-spirited. Cannot suffer mockery or some other kind of degradation from anyone.“

Esma only rolled her eyes once again. „Sure.“

This really seemed to send Nazli over the edge. „Listen, if you’ve served Hürrem sultan for so long and cannot see her virtues...“

„I can! I just don’t like her that much, you know? I mean, I spend most of the time with her children anyway...“

„And she’s a kind, caring mother too!“

„I mean, she’s not that bad of a mum, I’ll give her that, but I don’t think she’s especially caring or something considering how much time we have to spend with them.“

„At least she is smart enough to entrust them to you! You’re great with kids!“

Esma suddenly felt blood rushing to her face, unused as she was to compliments – especially from Nazli. This one completely silenced her, ending their conversation, and Esma never really asked about Hürrem’s appeal ever again.

Around the time of Bayezit’s birth, Nazli confessed to Esma to having an unspecified „daliance“ with a girl named Hanzade, and Esma later did see them sneaking off to the laundry room at an ungodly hour, though considering how diligent Nazli was in her duties, Esma couldn’t imagine this daliance must’ve been very intense. There were also rumors going around that Nazli might’ve recommended one of their colleagues, Aysima, to Hürrem solely because she was smitten by Aysima’s beauty – though this time, Nazli herself didn’t tell Esma anything, so who knows. Either way, over the years, Esma became convinced that Nazli has caught the occupational dissease, caused in many harem girls by living so far from the laws of man or God, steered solely by the wills of their masters and superiors: tribadism. Not that Esma judged her too much – she never understood the temptation, but then, before her early thirties, she was completely unfamiliar with sexual desire as a whole, and romance unfortunately evaded her to this day. In fact, she misliked even thinking of such matters, prefering to ignore them whenever possible, and since Nazli never expressed any interest towards her, Nazli’s little misdemeanors were very ignorable. That said, it was probably the best explanation Esma ever found for Nazli’s strangely intense admiration towards Hürrem sultan, though she held her friend in high enough esteem to take her explanations as also constituting part of the truth. Nazli did indeed find Hürrem worthy of genuine awe, it’s just that the character of this awe might’ve been tangled up with other feelings also.

It must be said that Esma knew plenty of other ladies, many of whom had a significantly less intimate knowledge of Hürrem as a person, whose adulation of Hürrem was just as unquestioning, especially once she achieved the impossible by marrying the sultan himself. Perhaps, she told herself at the end of her ruminations, Esma herself is the odd one for being unable to ignore Hürrem’s flaws, quirks and foibles. Perhaps acknowledging her extraordinary feats and nature is simply the done thing for most normal people.

At the same time... Why should this exceptional existence matter to average people like her and Nazli?

And was Nazli even all that unremarkable to begin with?

Or just unlucky to be born how she was born and placed where she was placed by the whims of fate?

 Esma wasn’t quite sure. All she knew was that she herself actually was unremarkable, and that was the way she wanted to be. The only traits she consciously developed were her ability to stay silent unless she truly needs to speak, as oposed to simply wanting to, and her love and understanding of children. Esma’s ambition to become a kalfa had always been somewhat limp, and as the years went by, it faded away completely as she became more and more thoroughly consumed by her love and devotion to Hürrem’s children. She still missed them terribly – Mehmet’s kind nature, Mihrimah’s keen mind and strong will, Selim’s diligence and hard work and Bayezit’s sweet, but shy demeanor. Nothing bothered her more than the thought of never knowing anything about what Cihangir will grow up to be like, perhaps besides the thought of Selim allegedly becoming more disobedient since her departure. She was only able to admit it after she left them behind, but despite her best efforts, she did find a favourite among them, specifically in little Selim.

Of course, Esma had another Selim she dedicated her life to now.

The boy had her eyes and face shape, though otherwise he inherited his father’s features and much lighter colouring. He was lively and sometimes mischievious, but she still loved him with the kind of intense, boundless love her otherwise somewhat cynical heart was able to only give to children. Though thinking of Nazli and the rest of her former colleagues, she had to admit to sometimes finding surprisingly strong bonds with adults also.

One day, when her Selim is old enough to understand it, he is doubtless going to be curious about the time his mother spent in service to the most famous sultana of all time. And when that time comes, she will take great care that the stories of her comrades will be told.

The world is a dark, cruel place, after all. A man, and a woman especially, need to take their humanity where they can get it. And while Nazli found it in servitude, Esma did so in a place that she herself found altogether more dignified.

Well, at least that was her humble opinion.

[mgnifiqueyoo]

— "old friend."

requested by: @lluvjjun pairing: zb1 taerae x fem!reader song recommendation: hello (adele) lowercase is intended…

— a/n: so i'm back again with my second zb1 oneshot! (which is so angsty and honestly, pretty realistic this time btw but oh, well- luv me some angst T.T) and i just wanted to clarify that i'm a multi so y'all can always request for other groups as well such as p1harmony, xikers, boys planet trainees, etc. + also, u might really not care about how i felt about this oneshot but damn, i had tears in my eyes so i hope you all enjoy it! </3

[ total words: 2.5k ]

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“... oh?”

opening the front door of your home after hearing a knock or two, you found yourself a little confused when you were met with your seatmate’s gaze. it was christmas eve and the simple dinner between you and your family had just ended, which meant you were returning to your normal life, asking yourself if santa could even give you what you wished for. — maybe a different way of living where you could afford anything you’ve laid your eyes on.

but even the elves would think that’s more impossible than riding a bunch of floating reindeers.

“merry christmas, i guess?” taerae chuckled, still holding out a neatly wrapped present in both of his hands. the box’s red cover shone under the dim light above the two of you as he continued to encourage you in taking it from him. 

you never expected anyone to give you a present, especially since you’ve never gotten one after your father passed away. “... what made you think of… doing that?” you shyly questioned his initial ideas about this as his eyes looked up at the ceiling, probably searching for an answer as he bit his bottom lip, his fingertips tapping across the sides of the box. “well… i saw the way you looked at chaehyun last week and i thought that maybe i could make your christmas a little better.”

“you didn’t have to-”

“oh, but i wanted to,” he butted in quickly, not letting you finish your way of denying the present as he even pushed it further, waiting for you to just take it. “and i really do want you to open this in front of me.”

“why? i mean, isn’t that weird? it’s the middle of the night,” you retaliated, making him chuckle as he didn’t seem convinced with your excuse. “... but if that makes you feel better, then i’ll do it.” 

you had no other reason for you to not take the gift as the anticipation slowly grew in you, tearing off the wrapping paper from the box. carefully, you lifted its lid as taerae’s eyes were soon fixated on the way your eyes widened at what’s inside of it. — it had a clutch-sized teddy bear; perfectly sewn to fit in your arms without it having to feel either too big or too small as you put down the box on the floor, holding the stuffed animal closer to you. 

"... so, how does he feel? how does mr. ted feel?" taerae's eyes glimmered in excitement, eager to know what you'd tell him about the teddy bear his own hands created. in return, you chuckled, tightening the way you hugged the toy. "he feels like christmas." you answered, smiling back at the boy in front of you as he stared at you with belief; with so much fondness that no one could ever explain in words.

"merry christmas, taerae."

and now, you're staring into the distance, disappointed at how messy your room is. it's been six years since you took that christmas gift. to this day, you still knew that specific christmas eve stood out from the rest.

because somebody actually thought of giving you at least one thing.

“mom, please, i don't really have the budget right now," you pleaded, gripping your phone tightly as you continued to still clean up your room. you're looking for something you could get money from. being a waitress at a local, small coffee shop is not quite the answer for situations like this. "... i'll call you back once i get paid, okay? i just have nothing at the moment."

while you're at seoul trying to survive in a shitty apartment, your family is left stuck with raging debts after your father died. — you could tell that it really wasn’t the best decision for him to not even give your mother a chance to work for the family; there was always an insecurity laying beneath his motifs.

and now, you don’t even know what to do. your mother had been asking you for extra cash and your sister had been switching odd jobs here and there. the most surprising thing was the fact that you were the “stable one” compared to the two. 

it’s disheartening to think of it.

a waitress being the stable one in the family.

“... ah, shit.” you muttered a curse, burying your face in your still dirty, unwashed palms in frustration. you were your family’s only chance in surviving such a poor life. 

heading towards the cabinets, you pulled out a few more boxes. it baffles you that you’ve been living here for two years already and you’ve never even finished arranging your belongings but that’s not so surprising. you didn’t even finish school. 

as all of the packed, still taped up boxes were taken out, you decided to look into them with questions circling your head. — what are the ones that’ll make everyone interested? which ones would make up for your rent? so many questions, so little time.

but while you took a few things out of the box, you were suddenly hit with a blast from the past; like a gust of lonely wind. 

he’s there.

mr. ted was still here with you.

you backed away from it, taking a better look at it from afar rather than too close. you could already feel your eyes itch just by seeing it, the allergies worsening the longer you stared at the now dusty, slightly gray care bear that used to be so full of life before. 

but it all had to end someday.

and it already did.

"... huh…" you tilted your head to the side, pulling it from the box. you almost couldn't remember how you kept it there, let alone how long it stayed there. nonetheless, it was a pity that two people from a memorable, almost a decade of friendship would just fade to dust… just like the ones that covered the bear’s golden fur in years.

you asked yourself, was the choice you made the right one? was it for the better, just like how you told yourself, your other friends, and most importantly, him? 

younger you would’ve stood by her choice.

but this is the present and you know that you’ve taken the wrong route.

puffing your cheeks out in frustration, you picked up your phone from the mattress of your bed, which felt so used and replaceable already but somehow, you couldn’t afford to change it. you’ve been sleeping on that bed since you were nine. people around you would advise that maybe spending a few cash wouldn’t hurt and sometimes, you thought they were right.

yet in the end of the day, you always tell yourself that you just can’t. — why? because you just had nothing. not even a shoulder to lean your head on. not anyone but yourself. and people with everything in their soft, soaped palms won’t get that! they can’t even bring themselves to realize that people like you are just trying to make living life feel a little less miserable.

now, you’re here.

you’re walking in circles, staring at nothing but the bright yet cracked screen of your old iPhone 5 as you read his name over and over while trying to come up with a choice. another choice that’d decide your fate. 

‘kim taerae… kim taerae? can i talk to kim taerae?’ your inner voice was almost as monotone as ever as you found yourself still lost in the sea of choices again. 

can you talk to kim taerae? that question can be answered easily: yes, you can. but here comes a much more difficult situation – should you talk to him after everything? you’re not even surprised that he has someone sitting next to him with a bright smile on her face, maybe as bright as his. an unfamiliar girl but an obvious message for you.

he’s moved on. 

good for him, right?

“can you promise me something?” taerae spoke, the uncertainty was in his voice as he seemed to be fearing the next few things you were about to tell him. it disturbed you. it was the first time he’s ever sounded so serious about something. 

something you’re not ready to find out. “friends will always keep each other’s promises,” you cluelessly said back, even smiling back at him so cheekily that taerae had a glimpse of hope. — that maybe everything will turn back to normal if things don’t go his way.

“i think i’m in love with you, y/n.”

you didn’t know what even was real and not. were these words really coming out of taerae’s mouth? did taerae, your best friend, just tell you that he thinks he’s in love with you?

and the first thing you asked yourself was how.

how did he even think that?

“i know it sounds crazy but,” taerae quickly gave an excuse for it as he approaches your hands with his, his thumb pressing against your soft palm. it almost convinced you into smiling back at him but all you did was stare, visibly terrified over what he just told you. “but it’s what i feel… it’s what i feel about you-”

“what?” you weren’t thinking straight that time. you weren’t sure if you liked him back or not but he was always important to you. always; to the point that you were scared of this happening as if you’d already expected it. “... i don’t get it, what do you mean?”

the second time you asked him, he just froze like radio static. your confusion started getting to him, haunting him with the single-worded response that he’d hate to hear from you – no. 

“it’s nothing.”

“taerae, i-”

“let’s just,” taerae cuts you off, tightening the strap of his backpack as his eyes dared to never look back at you ever again, “let’s just forget about all of this, okay?”

well, you tried.

but that day kept on repeating in your head that it was impossible to not at least think about it and from the looks of it, he felt the same. the distance between the two of you was just getting farther and farther until you couldn’t even remember each other’s birthdays. yet at the same time, you were always in each other’s minds with one wish.

wishing to be called by the other once.

“taerae!” you shouted from the crowds and he barely even heard you. the rest of your classmates were waving goodbye at him, excited for him to take in the trophy after an international talent competition, where everybody expected him to take home at least one gold medal from it.

and there was another call… and another.

oh?

and another as you watched him get into the bus, not even looking back at your direction. you told yourself that maybe he just didn’t hear you. maybe your voice just wasn’t loud enough. — in the end, at least you tried to patch things up even though you had no clue that it was the last time you’d ever see taerae in person.

“hey, maybe i shouldn’t!” you blurted out in the middle of your room, breathing deeply as you just couldn’t control yourself from scrolling down his posts; by now, he’s gotten five golden medals from differently, yearly major vocal competitions overseas. you could never say it in words or a bunch of facebook posts how proud you are of him.

you wished you were there with him, helping him accomplish these goals he once had pinned down on a bulletin board from third grade. you wished that you were the one who sat next to him, giving him a pep talk before he came up that stage to steal the show from every other singer around. 

you wished you’ve touched the skies that hovered above him.

but you were too far down.

forgotten.

“... oh, who am i kidding? he’s not gonna respond anyway. he’s too far up there now,” you told yourself, letting out a groan before jumping on your bed, torn between asking him how he’s been and just letting him live his new life; the life where you never existed at all. “god, this is all my fault…” regret was starting to take over again. it was like you couldn’t call a normal day “normal” if you hadn’t considered regretting anything. 

you could tell that your life was already a few steps away from being a complete failure… well, that was until you looked back at your phone.

widening your eyes, there was a flood of terror, humiliation, and regret (yet again) in our mind as several airy curses come out of your mouth. you weren’t sure if you should start throwing a fit or start planning in deleting your facebook account. — who uses facebook anymore these days, right? well… you.

and apparently, taerae as well.

“what the fuck? no!” you belted out as if you were a soprano, burying your face once again in your palms after seeing a blue thumb on one of taerae’s older posts. 

great job, y/n.

you just liked his post after six years of not even mentioning each other’s names.

“why… why did i do that?" this was the moment where you actually wanted to dig a hole in the ground, live in there, and never ever come back. — and well, in the real world, you can’t really do anything as extreme as that, which isn’t as embarrassing as the fact that you just accidentally liked one of your ex-best friend’s posts from last year. “ugh… i just hope he ignores it… god, this is the worst.”

ping!

you took in a deep breath, letting out a mixture of both a groan and a sigh as you accepted your fate; he saw it… and god, why did he even respond? 

and in just a span of ten minutes, that conversation ended. you knew deep inside that none of this was easy to take in. he’s already living his dream life, he’s got tons of people who’d support him no matter what, and he even has this perfect girlfriend who wanted to meet you for the sake of getting to know who taerae is… and who he used to be.

you clutched your phone close to your chest, laying on your back as you stared at the dull ceiling of your room. you wondered how your life turned into something like this. — why did the circumstances bring you down lower than before? why did it turn so different from taerae’s? what was holding you back?

even though you wouldn’t admit it, you always knew the answer.

and it was the fear of that big change that held you in your place.

“... maybe this is it,” you told yourself, sitting up from the bed as you stared at the dusty boxes that were still left unopened, “maybe it’s time for me to change things for the better.” saying those words felt like a foggy evening was clearing up as you took in one last deep breath, ready to face anything without having to look back.

this was it.

you’re ready for change.