#i have a great time in big public things and let stress down how much i can

[trafficpan-ic]

Omg im doing so good

[pacofprunes]

let me help ya’ relax.

thanos / player 230 x reader (squid game)

warnings — noncon, public (voyeurism), tears, kissing, use of the word bitch, use of the word rape, pussy kissing, choking, slight / barely but manhandling,

by clicking read more you consent to reading this content and you are 18+

“hey beautiful.”

“the hell?”

standing right in front of you, or rather over you, player 230. it was night and everyone was asleep or sitting in a corner somewhere. you didn’t know this guy beside seeing him the first two games and seeing him act like a fucking lunatic. you sit up and gather yourself.

“what do you want?”

“oh you know, just wanted to talk to a pretty girl.”

he does a cheeky smile. you stare. what do you even say to that. thank you i guess…?

“uh—”

“no need to thank me, it’s what i do. just such a great fucking guy right?”

he picks at the cross on his neck before pulling a pill out and holds it out to you.

“you use?”

“what?”

“drugs. do you do drugs? or have you done them before?”

how the fuck did he manage to bring his shit in here for one, and for two; why the hell is he more worried about doing drugs rather than living. that’d be the last thing you’d be thinking about.

“no. i dont do them and i dont have any interest in that.”

he does a fake pouty face.

“come on babe, loosen up ya’know? don’t wanna stress your pretty little face out.”

he pops the pill in his own mouth. where was this guy going with this? he clearly wants to stay here, hence the big blue ‘O’ on his jacket. so if he’s bored he should go talk to the people on his side. how the hell could you relax watching people you’ve gotten close to or even have just spoke to once die? meanwhile this dudes been jumping around having the time of his life while he’s been here. if this game ended tomorrow, he’d join it again a million times over. or maybe he wouldn’t but the drugs in his system sure as hell would.

“yeah, no… i appreciate your kindness but i don’t even know you and i think i’m just gonna lay back down.”

he grabs your hand and starts shaking it aggressively.

“my names thanos, it’s great to meet you! now you know who i am.”

he smiles again. you just stare. that’s not how it works at all. you could tell he was waiting for you to introduce yourself but you just brush it off and tell him again you’re going to lay back down. before you get to turn over and lay though, he grabs your face with both of his hands and presses your lips together into a deep kiss. he holds you there for a good while, and it felt like you were suffocating.

“what the fucks wrong with you?”

“baby, you could be my new drug! change that ‘X’ into an ‘O’, we’d be absolutely unstoppable!”

“this is real life you idiot, not some fucking video game!”

you slap his hand away from you and try telling him to get lost, but he just grabs your wrist and pushes you back onto your bed. you yell at him to get the fuck off of you but he just presses a finger up to your mouth hushing you.

“sex is a great way to relieve stress. just let me make you feel good. don’t be too loud though, unless you want the others to see us. but by all means, do it. it’s only making me harder.”

he laughed and winked at you. you suck the air through your teeth and he still holds onto your left wrist with one of his hands while letting the other one push at his chest. you’re more cautious with your voice level now and in a whisper you try again to get him to go.

“i don’t want to have sex with you, can you just go? go jack off in the corner or mess with literally any other girl here!”

he ignores you for the time being and goes to push your pants down, but with your free hand you grab his hand to stop him.

“gee babe, how sweet of you to wanna hold my hand! but uh, i kinda need it to get to the fun part.”

he ignores your hand continuing to grab at his, not proving to be much of use at all besides annoying him. he pushes your pants down, and then your panties to your ankles; acting as sort of some form of restraint. it would prove to be somewhat more difficult to kick at him now as your footing would get caught in the pant legs. he sits up off of your chest finally and starts to pull his pants and boxers off. you wanted to scream at him so badly to get off of you, to scream for some help, but you knew nobody would and all they’d do was watch. it wasn’t anybody’s problem and they weren’t going to make it theirs.

he cups your sex and starts rubbing circles at your tiny little hole to get you all soaked and ready for him. he leans down and he kisses it. he was literally about to start making out with your fucking pussy.

you squeezed your eyes shut and a couple tears come sliding down. god, first you’re in this game that seems normal, then people around you start getting shot, nobody wants to go home, and now you’re getting rapped by some crazy ass drug addict that calls himself fucking thanos. thanos! you’re pulled out of your thoughts when you feel his thumb on your face and him wiping your tears. you slightly open your eyes and he kisses you again. this time with your free hand you push as hard as you can at his face. he moves back and he makes an ‘ow’ face and rubs his forehead. he grabs your used to be free wrist and just pushes it to your side and holds it there.

“it’s always the prettiest bitches that play fucking hard to get.”

he lines up his cock with your somewhat wet hole. he maybe would’ve spent a little more time prepping you but you just ticked him off and he wasn’t going to help you anymore than he already has.

“it’s alright, i’ll have screaming my name and this whole place will know it by the time we’re done baby!”

oh god you were gonna be sick. you feel the sudden intrusion and you immediately tense. biting your lip back from screaming and shaking your head, tears flying left and right. you try to bend and claw your fingers at his hands that are holding yours down but it proves to be futile. you yell at him, while still keeping your voice down to stop and that he’s gotten enough and that he should go.

“agh—please—”

“please? you—fuck’—you want me to please keep going? well you don’t have to tell me that, i was already going to!”

he keeps a fast pace going, and the bed might as well of slid off of the shitty bars it was being held up on. everybody sleeping above you could definitely feel the whole thing moving. you try to fish your legs out of your pants legs to at least have some sort of way of pushing him away but it proves to be slightly harder than you thought.

“fuck babe—you feel so—fuck- so fucking good.”

he sucks the air through his teeth breathing heavy, while you’re doing the opposite and holding your breath.

“god you’re so tight, and you’re so — m’- so hot. i wish i could feel every inch of your — agh - you’re body but you’re too much of a fucking bitch, so i gotta keep ya’ still.”

he stops at an in thrust and moves his face down to yours, causing his cock to go deeper in you and causing you to bite back a moan and squeeze your eyes shut. he press his forehead to yours, your sweat causing them to almost stick together. he whispers to you while keeping perfect eye contact.

“but your my fucking bitch right? you’ll be my dumbed out little whore, baby. should get a tattoo on ya’ that says thanos’s bitch.”

he laughs moves down to your neck, starting to kiss all over it. leaving sweet marks all over as he starts thrusting into you again. you just feel his heavy hot breath against your neck and you just stare up at the bars above you and hold in the choked up sob threatening to come out. you feel his cock tense in you, threatening to shoot his load out and your eyes widen. he starts thrusting harder. he lets go of both your wrists and before you can even breathe out, relieved from the slightest bit of less pressure, he wraps both his hands around your throat and looks you in the eyes the whole entire time.

“come on bab — fuckk’- babe. look at me pleas- come on, watch how good you — you make me feel.”

you start to scratch at his his hands and his arms. he’d most definitely be marked up all over by the morning. finding it increasingly more difficult to breathe. you finally decide to look him in the eyes, sending him a pleading look to stop and to quit choking you, your face slowly starting to turn a shade of blue. upon your eyes looking at him, seeing those teary orbs and pleading face, it sends him over the edge. he sends a curse your way before he surprisingly pulls out his load going all over the bed. he lets go of your neck and pulls up his boxers, falling on top of you. his weight making it hard for you to completely catch your breath. you start to choke and hiccup on your own tears before he looks up at you and strokes his hand across your face, catching a few tears in his hand.

“i told you it wouldn’t be bad at all. don’t you feel a little more at ease now? are you prepared for the games tomorrow?”

not at all. was he fucking delusional? he lays his head back on your chest, looking up at you like a child, and rubs his hands up your sides.

“tomorrow when we vote, you better change to an ‘O’. wouldn’t want my pretty girl to betray me after all.”

he does a fake pout at the end of that. you go to sit up to pull your pants back up but he stops you.

“uhm, allow me. wouldn’t want you to do any hard labor! i’ll take care of it all for ya.’”

he pulls your panties and your pants up and sits up off of you, getting his own pants situated. he grabs your hand and presses a kiss to the top of it, looking at you in your eyes with a smile, your eyes still watering. and you send a glare his way.

“ouch babe! you hurt me here.”

he smacks his chest a couple times where his heart was.

“i’d stay here and sleep with you, but my friends will want a piece of you too if they find out that’s what i did tonight.”

you shudder at the thought of that.

“but dont worry. i’ll see you tomorrow. i’ll see ya at breakfast, yeah?”

he pulls you in for one long kiss and you push him away and he almost falls into the next bed over. he grabs at his heart again dramatically.

“ugh, i don’t wanna leave you. we’ll talk tomorrow though, kay? maybe have some more fun too.”

he winks at you again before turning over his shoulder and literally skipping away, running with his arms in the air and his hands in fists. you just hug your knees, crying into them, and now more than ever you wanted to go home. god this was so fucked. you just wanted to go to the bathroom and wash all over yourself but you knew they wouldn’t let you in. you just keep a tight grip around your knees, trying to find some sort of solace while you’re stuck here.

[geneviveleocardius]

ellie williams romantic headcanons

wlw, my wifey

ellie’s sense of humor is her way of flirting, and she can’t resist poking fun at you. whether it’s mocking the way you hum while doing chores or exaggerating your quirks, she lives for your reactions.

if you get embarrassed easily, ellie will lean into it, loving how your cheeks turn red when she teases you in public.

she never lets it go too far—one look at your pout, and she’s backtracking with a cheeky grin and a quiet “hey, you know i’m just messing, right?”

the best conversations with ellie happen at night, under dim lights or the stars. her guard comes down, and you see a softer, more thoughtful side of her.

she’s not great at expressing herself, but when it matters, she’ll stumble her way through a heartfelt confession. “i know i’m not good at this stuff, but… you mean a lot to me, okay? don’t laugh.”

these quiet moments always leave her vulnerable but make you feel even closer to her.

ellie loves making things for you. she’ll carve a tiny figure from wood or doodle little sketches of you in her notebook when you’re not looking.

she pretends it’s no big deal when she gives you something, tossing it to you with a casual “thought you might like this.” but the red on her ears gives her away.

once, she made you a bracelet from scraps she scavenged, and when you wore it everywhere, she couldn’t stop smiling.

ellie loves serenading you, even if she doesn’t have the best singing voice. she’s always practicing a new song just so she can impress you.

sometimes, she’ll improvise silly songs to make you laugh, like narrating your day through her guitar playing.

if you’re feeling down, she’ll sit beside you with her guitar and softly play until you feel better. she won’t ask what’s wrong, but her music says enough.

ellie has a hard time trusting others, so her protective side comes out a lot. she always keeps an eye out for danger, even in peaceful moments.

if anyone messes with you, ellie won’t hesitate to step in, no matter how reckless it might seem. she doesn’t let people get away with hurting the person she loves.

after the danger passes, she’ll check on you, her hands trembling slightly as she cups your face. “you okay? i’m not letting anything happen to you. not ever.”

ellie isn’t super touchy in public, but in private, she melts into you. she’ll lay her head on your lap or drape an arm around you while you talk.

she loves it when you play with her hair, though she’ll never admit it. she gets this relaxed, dreamy look whenever your fingers tangle through her messy locks.

her love language is quiet moments, like leaning against you while reading or tracing patterns on your hand when you’re sitting close.

ellie is the type to leave little surprises for you, like slipping a wildflower she picked into your pocket or writing you tiny notes that say things like, “don’t forget i love you.”

she always notices when you’re stressed or upset and goes out of her way to cheer you up, even if it’s just cracking terrible jokes or bringing you your favorite snack.

she has this unspoken way of making you feel cared for, always watching out for your comfort without saying much.

ellie struggles with vulnerability, but being with you teaches her how to let someone in. every time she opens up, it’s a big step for her.

she’s terrified of losing you, so she treasures every moment you spend together. when she thinks about her life before you, she realizes how much happier she’s become with you in it.

sometimes, when she thinks you’re asleep, she’ll whisper, “i love you,” testing the words like they’re brand new. hearing you say it back is her favorite thing in the world.

ellie’s kisses are unhurried, soft, and full of feeling. she’ll hold your face in her hands, thumbs brushing your cheeks as her lips move against yours, like she’s trying to memorize the moment.

she loves pressing quick kisses to your temple or the corner of your mouth when you’re talking, catching you off guard just to see you smile.

when she’s feeling playful, she’ll pepper kisses all over your face, laughing as you squirm, only to end it with a deep, lingering kiss that leaves you breathless.

while ellie might seem reserved in public, the truth is she can’t keep her hands off you. she’s always reaching for you, whether it’s holding your hand, wrapping an arm around your waist, or resting her chin on your shoulder.

she loves cuddling and will shamelessly pull you into her lap just to feel close to you. “what? you’re comfy,” she’ll mumble, though the blush on her face gives away how much she enjoys it.

her favorite thing is tangling her legs with yours when you’re lying in bed. it’s her way of grounding herself and feeling safe with you.

ellie is obsessed with your hands. she loves the way they move, whether you’re brushing her hair out of her face or fiddling with something. she’ll hold your hands just to feel the warmth of your skin, occasionally tracing the lines on your palms.

your smile is another weakness for her. she’ll do anything to make you laugh or grin, even if it means embarrassing herself. “there it is,” she’ll say with a smirk when you finally crack.

she’s secretly infatuated with your neck—kissing, nuzzling, or resting her head there is her ultimate comfort zone. she loves the way you shiver when her lips graze the skin.

physical touch is ellie’s dominant love language. every brush of your hand or casual lean against her reminds her she’s loved and not alone.

she also expresses her love through acts of service, often in subtle ways. whether it’s fixing something you didn’t notice was broken or saving you the best parts of her scavenged meals, she shows she’s always thinking of you.

words of affirmation don’t come easy to her, but when she speaks, her words carry weight. a simple “you’re amazing, you know that?” from ellie feels like poetry.

for ellie, loving a woman feels natural, like breathing. she never questioned it; it’s just who she is. but being with you taught her how deeply love could run.

she feels a quiet pride in the way you move through the world, finding beauty in your strength and softness. she’s often in awe of you, though she’d never admit how much she admires you outright.

in a world that’s unkind to love like yours, she’s fiercely protective of what you share. every stolen moment and shared smile reminds her why it’s worth fighting for.

loving you feels like the safest thing ellie’s ever known. she never thought she’d find someone who made her feel at peace, but you’re her anchor in a chaotic world.

she’s constantly in awe of how you look at her, as though you see past her scars and mistakes. it makes her want to be better, even if she doesn’t always believe she deserves you.

sometimes, she’ll catch herself staring at you with a soft smile, and when you ask her what’s on her mind, she’ll shrug and say, “just thinking how lucky i am.”

owww my baby

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Happily Ever After (part 27, final)

First | Previous | Masterpost

They did go suit shopping the next day, they tried on tons of stuff, laughing at some of the obnoxious patterns they tried on just for kicks. They did find ones they really liked though, Danny nearly cried when he found one that was dark blue with patterns that made it seem like he was wearing the night sky. The problem was that it was too big for him and there was no way that they could get it tailored in time for the courthouse wedding tomorrow! So they would have to keep it for later, Danny was happy to wear it to their ‘cape wedding’ anyway. 

Jason found one that he liked as well and they agreed to get those tailored and wear them to their big wedding. They had suits already, ones that Dick had gently insisted they but just in case they ever felt up to coming to one of Bruce’s galas or anything, and since they obviously never had those suits had remained entirely unworn. This was a good excuse to actually wear them for the first time! And if Dick tried to get them to go to one again any time soon they had the excuse of not wanting to wear their wedding suits to just any party! It would take him a while to get them new tailored suits, it was much easier to make excuses for fitting after all. 

Danny reluctantly left his new star suit at the tailor and went home, where they found Roy and Lian waiting for them outside their apartment door. Lian looked tired but pretty happy, and Roy looked stressed and maybe a bit annoyed. 

“It’s about time you showed up,” Roy groused at the same time Lian shrieked; “Uncles!” And came hurtling at them. Throwing herself into Danny’s arms who laughed and scooped her up easily, tossing her gently up in the air and catching her as she giggled. “We’ve been waiting for ages,” Roy complained, just to Jason this time since Danny was clearly not listening. 

“We didn’t know you were coming,” Jason said passively. 

Roy sighed, his shoulders drooping a bit. “It was the only flight we could get for the wedding. Lian wanted to surprise you both.”

“And a fabulous surprise it is! It's always great to see the two of you!” Danny cheered, now holding Lian upside down as she giggled and squirmed. “We just don’t have the pull out couch set up or anything but we can figure all that out quickly.”

“That’s what you get for the short notice! I haven’t even had time to plan your bachelor party and you won’t be a bachelor anymore,” Roy accused, punching Jason’s shoulder in rebuke. 

“We’re still going to do our parties,” Danny insisted. “Before the big public wedding, there’s just some bullshit that came up that made us want to have this only on our own terms you know?” 

“Ya, I do know,” Roy sighed a little, his shoulders slumping as he turned towards Danny. Jason fumbled with his apartment keys to let them all in. He couldn’t entirely remember the state they’d left their apartment in that morning and he really hoped it wasn’t too much of a mess. “Jason explained it to me as much as he could over the phone. A political wedding huh? At least it’s between the two of you and they aren’t trying to convince you to marry for an alliance or something.”

“There’d be no point in that,” Danny snorted, shaking his head as they stepped inside and Jason closed the door after them. “They couldn’t make me no matter how hard they tried. And since my kind already follows power I wouldn’t be king if I wasn’t already the most powerful being around.” 

Roy whistled softly and went to flop on the couch, his daughter quickly joining him as Jason went to the kitchen to start doing the abandoned breakfast dishes and Danny did a quick sweep of the apartment to make sure nothing embarrassing had been left out. It didn’t take him long, he was very fast after all. 

“If they can’t make you do anything why did you agree to the big wedding thing in the Realms anyway?” Roy asked casually, as if he hadn’t only just found out about the infinite realms with the information his best friend's fiance had become a King. At least he had been told some of it before having to see the coronation in the bloody rubble of a destroyed city on TV with the rest of the world. That would have been one hell of a way to find out really. 

“Because they had logical arguments for why it was a good idea and I can see their points,” Danny said with a shrug. “I have no intention of being an unreasonable ruler. It’s stupid, and I never wanted to be king, but I’m sure as hell going to do a better job than the last one did, you know? There are good people there, they deserve to have a peaceful afterlife.”

“Spoken like a hero,” Jason said, catching Danny in his arms and hissing his forehead. Danny blushed and muttered for him to shut up without much feeling as Lian cooed at them and Roy gagged playfully. 

Danny bit back a comment about how Roy never minded when he was in the middle of the affection as well! They had only had a few threesomes and didn’t want to mention anything like that in front of Lian after all. 

“You would do the exact same thing for Crime Alley and don’t claim you wouldn’t,” Danny accused right back. “We both want what’s best for our homes and we’ll do what we need to do to make sure it happens. Sometimes those methods have to be.. Unconventional.”

Jason shrugged, he couldn’t exactly argue with that. His patch of turf just happened to be a lot smaller than the entire realm that Danny now ruled. 

“Thank fuck for time dialation, I should be able to get a decent amount done in the Realms without neglecting my responsibilities here too much,” Danny sighed.

“You know you can take a step back from helping me run things if you need to,” Jason pointed out gently. “I did it alone before we got together and I can do it again. I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

“Like hell I am! I care about the Lanes too and I like working alongside you as Hyena,” Danny said indignantly. 

“What’s time dilation?” Lian cut in, derailing the conversation as Danny tried to explain it to her. 

-----------

The next day Jason and Danny didn’t arrive at the courthouse late, but in service of both of their dramatic flare they arrived just in time so everyone else would be there first. It felt great, walking in, arm in arm in the tailored suits Dick had got them with Bruce’s money, preening as everyone turned to look at them. Dick already looked like he was about to cry, and honestly so did Bruce. Tim was almost as excited as Jason had ever seen him and was holding his big fancy camera, snapping pictures all the way of them and the family. 

“Thank fuck we didn’t hire a photographer huh?” Jason asked softly and Danny gave an affirmative hum. 

Dan and Ellie were there too, standing with Roy. Dan and his arms crossed and a stoic look on his face but Danny wouldn’t have expected anything different. Ellie was in her ‘human form’ and wearing a frankly adorable light blue dress with a full skirt and was bouncing on her toes excitedly. Danny broke into a smile as soon as he saw her and as soon as she saw that she came running towards him, hitting him with enough force it would have knocked the wind out of a human and Danny hugged her just as tight. 

“You look absolutely breathtaking Starlight, you’re going to outshine me and my groom,” Danny joked and Ellie gave a slightly thick laugh. “And don’t you cry unless those are happy tears.” He added, knowing that tone in her voice. 

“They are, but also, so much is changing recently you know?” She asked without looking up. 

“I know, we’ll talk about all of it after the wedding okay?” He asked, he really did understand her feelings, but now wasn’t the time and she was a smart girl, mature enough to realize that. Besides he could hear footsteps quickly approaching him, too light to be Bruce, so they needed to move on for now. She nodded and pulled back, wiping her eyes and smiling up at him, he smiled back.

Right on queue Harley all but collided with the both of them, catching both of them in a tight hug. “I should have known you two love birds wouldn’t be able to wait to get hitched,” She crowed as she hauled Jason into the hugs as well and let Ellie squirm free. Hiding behind Roy who had wandered over to join them at a more casual pace. “But ya couldn’t even wait until after the bachelorette party?!”

“That’s what I said!” Roy agreed in exasperation. “But we’re still going to do them right?” 

“Of course we are! It’s too good an excuse to party to pass up,” Harley scoffed, and Danny cackled. Jason shook his head at both of them fondly. 

Bruce started making his way towards them, and when Roy noticed he hurried to shoo them out of the room. He knew that even though their relationship with Bruce was much better now then it had been, they still didn’t see eye to eye and the last thing anyone wanted was spoiling this important day with a fight. “The officiant is ready,” Roy told them, ushering them towards the ceremony room, leaving the rest of the family to hurry along after them. 

Roy was right about the officiant being ready, it wasn’t someone they knew but the woman smiled warmly at them regardless. For their actual wedding they had decided Diana would be the officiant, Jason would be at the altar with Dick and Roy as his best men (yes Dick had cried when he was asked). Dan would walk Danny up the aisle, along with Harley and Ivy as his ‘bridesmaids’ and Lian and Ellie as flower girl and ring bearer respectively. Tim would be the photographer because he had insisted he wanted to be (Though they had also hired a professional for that day as well) And Bruce would be… there, he could give a pre-approved speech. 

Their wedding day was well planned out, and it was going to be delightful, but that didn’t matter right now. There were no prescribed places or priorities, just their friends and family clustered around them in a disorganized huddle, so close Danny could feel their warmth. He wouldn’t have had it any other way as he snuggled against Jason, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes as the officiant led them through their vows to one another. Promising to forsake all others and be loyal to one another with a touch of sardonic amusement since they definitely would not stop having threesomes. But they would be loyal, always, to one another, that part true. 

They signed the certificate with Jason’s beautiful looping hand and Danny’s messy scrawl made even messier by the fact his hands were shaking slightly. Dick and Bruce ended up being the ones to sign as witnesses since Tim was too young and everyone else present had… complicated legal identities to say the least, but that didn’t matter, they had their witnesses, they had their stamp! They were officially married and told they could kiss, which they were happy to do, too happy to do, Ellie and Lian ended up breaking them up while miming gagging, making everyone present laugh. 

“Now let's go celebrate! I know a good bar that doesn’t card,” She told them conspiratorially since Danny was still just a few months off his 21st birthday now and they all agreed the American drinking age was dumb. 

Dick cleared his throat loudly and jerked his head towards the city worker who was graciously pretending she hadn’t heard that comment. “Let’s go get dinner! It’s on Bruce,” He said a little too loudly. “I think we have to clear out soon anyway right? It’s only like a 20 minute booking right?”

“Photos first!” Tim broke in insistently as he followed them out of the ceremony room. “We can go to the lobby and then the park nearby, Then dinner. These are important memories!”

“Right right, sure kiddo,” Jason teased, reaching to ruffle his hair just to make him squawk indignantly and duck away before it could be messed up. “Are you actually going to be in any of these ‘important memories’?” 

Tim flushed and stuttered, it seemed he hadn’t really made a plan to be on the other side of the camera at all today, so Jason took pity on him. “Why don’t you call Connor? He might not have your eye but I’m sure he can take a few group photos of all of us.” 

“I can try but he’s not always listening to me,” Tim agreed dubiously. 

“Do you want to bet?” Danny asked with a crooked smile. “Because I bet he’s listening to you basically every waking minute.” 

Tim blushed cherry red and Danny cackled triumphantly. Hearing his laughter Harley bounced up to them and draped herself over Danny’s back. From anyone else Besides Jason that level of contact would have been uncomfortable, but that was just Harley. “Ooo I’d know that expression anywhere! Does the baby bird have a crush~” She crooned and Tim scowled fiercely at them with his cheeks still flushed. 

“Shut Up!” He muttered again, and Jason couldn’t help but smile at how young he sounded. So much more his age than he usually did. 

“Then call him,” Danny encouraged with a crooked and smug little smile. 

Tim muttered something under his breath and then sighed. “Connor? If you’re not busy would you mind coming here?” He all but muttered, as if he didn’t want to actually be overheard. 

There was a woosh of air, and a moment later Connor came around the corner smiling at Tim, dressed in civilian clothes. Danny and Harley practically fell into each other as Harley gave a broken wolf whistle which set Jason and Ivy (who had wandered over to join them in the meantime) off as well into a fit of less manic laughter. Connor gave them a politely confused look and walked over to Tim, who was standing with his shoulders tense and his fists clenched, blushing brightly and refusing to look at the laughing trio. 

“What’s up with them?” Connor asked, bumping his shoulder lightly against Tim’s.

“Ignore them, they’re being stupid and teasing me,” Tim sulked.

“Okaaay, what did you need?” Connor asked curiously. 

“Hey Loverboy, would you mind helping him with the pictures? You can stay for the after party,” Danny practically catcalled. 

“Loverboy?-” Connor cut himself off and shook his head, turning to smile at Tim. “Of course I’ll help.” 

“Great! Thanks,” Tim said slightly too loudly. He took charge to save himself  from further embarrassment, bullying a still cackling Danny to a place the light was better and pulling Jason in for couple photos first before expanding out and pulling in family. Handing the camera over to Connor so he could take the photos with him involved and running over after almost every single shot to check his work. Connor took his fussing with good-natured patience and bemusement.  

When they finished pictures in the courthouse there was discussion of going for dinner now, and again Tim insisted they go to the park because it was almost ‘golden hour’, whatever the fuck that was. But Tim was stubborn, and now he had Connor to back him up, they all decided to just go along with it. Besides Harley and Ivy, who had a prior commitment and weren’t planning on coming to dinner. They came to say goodbye and kiss Danny’s cheeks, hugging Jason and heading out before they made the other people in the park any more nervous. 

Tim didn’t let them leave the park until the sun had set, but that was alright. Then it was time to call a few cabs and pile in to head to the restaurant. Bruce offered to drive Jason and Danny, but somehow ended up with Connor and Tim in his car instead, leading their little caravan to the restaurant they had let him pick out for the evening, it was only fair since he was paying. 

The night was too joyful to be awkward as they ate the too fancy food, talked and laughed at Connor trying to figure out how the fancy fucking cutlery was supposed to be used (as if Danny was any better). It was a good thing Bruce had already booked the entire restaurant because otherwise their noise would definitely have disturbed the prissy patrons that usually frequented this place. Bruce was just a bit of a killjoy though and refused to let any of the under age folks order drinks, that had Danny texting Harley about that bar she mentioned under the table.

The night ended when Harley and Ivy came roaring up in a convertible with a hastily scrawled ‘Just Hitched!!!’ sign on the back to steal Jason and Danny for some real fun! They made a break for it before Bruce could stop them and peeled away from the curb as Dick, Ellie, and Dan cheered them on. 

Before they could go Bruce did grab both of their arms, holding them for just a moment, an almost desperate look on his face. "I know you two have been avoiding me tonight, I understand! But I want you to know, I'm glad you're happy. I-.. I hope you'll let me be part of your lives. Just, be safe."

"We will, B," Jason said softly. It was the best they were going to get from Bruce, and he was grateful for it.

He pulled back, and Danny, without the history Jason did with Bruce and with a more affectionate nature, pulled Bruce in for a quick but tight hug. He laughed when Bruce froze which gave Jason and Danny the perfect chance to make a break for the car. When Jason looked back Bruce was looking fondly exasperated before turning to lecture everyone about making such a scene in public.

Danny convinced Harley to stop by home so Jason and Danny could change clothes and mask up and then went out for a proper party with their rogue friends. And to get really fucking drunk from all the congratulatory drinks people kept buying them. It was crazy, it was perfect, it was so fucking them.

By the time they got home they were stumbling and leaning on each other and Danny couldn’t stop laughing. Jason locked the door after them with clumsy hands and poured Danny onto the couch. 

“Okay, we need to eat and drink somethin before bed or we’re gonna feel like shit tomorrow,” He slurred a little and headed to the kitchen. 

“You got it Boss! No! Wait! You got it husband!” Danny said, voice slightly too loud. “Fuck it’s so good to be able to call you that! You’re my husband! We’re fucking hitched! We’re maaaried.”

“You’re damn right we are!” Jason said as he contemplated the glasses, grimaced, and grabbed some plastic cups they had for nights like this, and immediately validated his choice by dropping one and cursing as it fell to the counter.

“You’re never getting rid of me now~” Danny laughed flirtatiously.

“I’d never want to. We’re stuck together Moonlight, you’re the only one for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even if you’re a sloppy-ass drunk.” He teased as he filled up both glasses of water and stumbled over to Danny. 

“I wouldn’t either,” He purred, leaning against Jason’s shoulder as he accepted the cup. “Cheers to eternity.”

“Cheers,” Jason chuckled, knocking their plastic cups together before chugging the water and shaking his swimming head.

“Can we order pizza?” 

“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had,” Jason laughed and grabbed for his phone. 

“Nooo, best idea I ever had was breaking into your office that first time,” Danny sighed, closing his eyes and snuggling against Jason’s side. 

Jason felt his heart flutter and kissed Danny’s cheek sloppily. “Actually, you’re damn right. I don’t even want to think of where I’d be without you.”

"Me neither," Danny sighed, resting peacefully against Jason's chest.

[cherriteaa]

MITSUYA X HIS RUNWAY QUEEN

Mitsuya x Black fem reader

A/n: This was requested!! It was part of a 2 person request so I'll reply to the actual request when I do Smiley's

SPOILED. YOU WILL BE TOTALLY SPOILEDDD BY HIM GOOD GOD.

I'm talking handwritten love notes, handmade plushies and outfits, jewelry, making sure at LEAST ur nails are always done, flowers, everythinggg.

He seems to me definitely the gift giver romantic kind of guy. Esp if you're just as stylish as him. Even when yall are younger, and he hasn't gotten his big designer paycheck yet, he's still finding ways to spoil you. Including learning how to do nails. And he can do ANYTHINGGG you want. French tips, painted designs, charms, different shapes, dip, acrylic, rhinestones, ANYTHING. That man is a master at nail art. And he's starting to get really good with doing your hair. He makes a big thing of it, going to the store the day prior to hair day to get the cut fruit for you and everything. He's SO cute. He's already getting used to doing Mana and Luna's hair, so he's got the patience for it.

Always sends goodmorning/goodnight/checkin texts. He's the easiest communicator ever. I feel like if you guys ever do have arguments, they're shortlived. He's great at getting to the heart of the issue calmly and without using damaging/hurtful words.

He's another cuddly guy. Loves inviting you over afterschool to cuddle and just spend quiet time with eachother before he has to get up again to make sure his sisters are taken care of ect. If you stay over, he's more than grateful if you help him out. Be it with dinner, or with the girls. It takes a huge load off his shoulders. During these times, he likes to come up behind you and wrap his arms around your waist, resting his cheek against you. Something about you just helping out with / being around his family brings a domestic feel that he adores

He love love LOVES to have you wear his stuff. His clothes, things he's designed, his jewelry, anything. He thinks you look sooo cute

Romantic dates as much as he can manage. He's one of those 'if he wanted to, he would' guys. Not every romantic date has to be expensive. He finds all kinds of new and cute ideas for dates. He likes to keep the relationship interesting, and more importantly, keep you feeling like his princess.

He's never afraid to let people know you're dating. He'll invite you to toman meetings, and he isn't afraid to hold your hand or kiss in public. As far as it isnt anything too steamy, he's totally fine with it

HE'S A COOOOK. That man can definitely cook, and he has a bunch of recipes in his arsenal to keep Mana and Luna from getting bored of foods. He likes to show off and pretend to be some celebrity chef in the kitchen after inviting you over for a meal or something.

He likes to tease a little. All in good nature. He isnt the type of guy to poke at insecurities though. More like screenshotting typos you made, and making fun of long gone slightly embarrassing events like you tripping or something. He never means to make you feel bad, just to get a giggle or two. He's the type of boyfriend who will need his girlfriend to keep him in check sometimes. Not that he's out there starting random arguments, but in the sense that he'll start to overwork himself, and he'll get burnt out if you don't say something. And he'll be really grateful if you do.

Mitsuya is the type of guy to do promise rings, and then melt down the material your ring was made out of to infuse into your wedding band. He'll talk about you with his last name, and he's very open to talking about the future with you. He's one of the best types of guys to have around. He'll never leave you behind, and he'll gently push you just enough when you start slacking on your goals. Not only that, but he's the kind of guy who'll notice you're overworking you're stressed before you notice yourself. He's 10000% husband material, and the best thing about being in a relationship with him is that you both encourage eachother to grow and better yourselves together.

A/n: Requested Mitsuya Hc's! I hope they're to your liking <33

Reblogs, Requests and Comments are appreciated!!

My requests are : Open!

[slaughter-kin]

SFW alphabet: John 'Soap' MacTavish

warning! not proof read!

heart banner by cafekitsune

 A= Affection (How Affectionate are they? How do they show affection?

He is extremely affectionate. I 1000% believe his love language is physical touch, so he is constantly wanting to hold hands, cuddle, or just even be near his partner. Also big fan of PDA he isn't afraid to show his love for his partner in public. It also increases dramatically when he is drunk, he would not let his partner go for a second.

" I just love ya.. s'much mo ghraidh"

"I know johnny, I love you too"

"I dont know wha' I... wha' I'd do witout ya"

"Johnny I know, I don't know what I would do either but you need to let me go, I need to go pee"

" Great idea bonnie! Let's go together"

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

As a best friend he would be super supportive, always in your corner. and he would always back you up against family members (his or yours) , friends anything like that even if he disagreed with you, he would not do it publicly he would wait till he get home and then be like OK yeah let’s talk about that lol

but he would be such an amazing best friend/partner.

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

Love love loves cuddles. To John MacTavish any situation could be improved by cuddling. Stressed out? Lets go cuddle, get your mind off things! Happy? Sounds like a great time to cuddle! Sad? aw that's terrible... wanna go cuddle and tell me about it? Also loves to hold his partner in his arms by them laying their head on his chest or by being the big spoon. Would never admit it but he also likes being the small spoon time to time.

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

He would love to settle down, have a big house with wee barins, and of course a loving partner. He does help clean often when he is home, but isn't the best at keeping tidy. As much as I love this man, he would be a pest. He would leave towels on the bathroom floor or leave the cabinet doors open. As for cooking he is pretty decent and makes better breakfast food than dinner.

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

To end something with his partner that he is in love with it would have to be something awful, like cheating, abuse, or something of that nature.

He would do it face to face not over the phone or text. I also don't think he would do it in a public space, probably in the privacy of his own place or theirs.

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

Again he would love to have a spouse. I feel like he would know they are the one after a couple of months but wouldn't actually purpose until a year or so into the relationship.

When he does purpose though he doesnt want a long engagement, he asked because he wants his partner as his spouse and he already treats them as such so why wait?

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

He is usually pretty gentle with his partner, he knows he is strong and could accidently hurt them. Unless they explicitly say they don't mind him being rougher *wink wink*

Emotionally? he can be a hothead and can sometimes fly off the handle but quickly reins it in and would prefer not to fight but to actually talk things out.

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

Hugs are extremely common when you are the partner of Soap. he likes to be held by his partner and vice versa hold his partner. He would like to wrap you up in big bear. Hugs and just never let go and most hugs with soap. You would have to be the one to pull away because he never wants to.

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

so for this, I’m going to give two scenarios.

If you would like to think that you are just a civi and he meets you when you guys start, you know taking interest in each other and date that way I feel like the I love youse would probably be around the eight-month mark just because with his job, sometimes he is away for his job for longer periods, so I feel like he would have to get to know you before he said that I do believe, though he would fall in love a lot sooner than him confessing to it, so he would probably fall in love around the 3 to 4 months mark, but will keep that information to himself until he’s 1000% certain that the feelings are reciprocated.

OK, in another scenario you work with him so with that I do feel like at first he would flirt a lot with you, and if you did not take him seriously, then you guys would become friends to lovers, mutual pining/yearning situation, and since you do know the world that he’s in with his job. I feel like then he would say I love you a lot sooner.

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

He is very confident in your relationship, but he still does get jealous from time to time especially if you are out and some other man/person is trying to hit on you, or if you’re at the bar and somebody keeps trying to come up to talk to you he would get jealous. It all depends if he’s drunk or not if he’s drunk, he starts getting very handsy and wants to pull you away but if he’s not drunk, then he just stares at the person and tells them to fuck off, either way when he is jealous it always leads to some more spicy times if ya know what i’m sayin’

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

His kisses are always super passionate/loved filled. You do not have to think for a second that this man does not love you, just by the way he kisses you. I also feel like he does a lot of whole face kisses like he’ll grab you by the face and just kiss all over your face repeatedly until you’re a giggling mess.

 For him, his favorite place to kiss you is on the lips. He will literally kiss you anywhere, but his most favorite place is to kiss you on the mouth.

 His favorite place to be kissed is on the back of his hand. He really likes it when you were holding hands and you just pull your hands up and kiss him on the back of the hand, it just makes his heart melt.

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

This man loves children that’s not even a question. the cod fandom fight over a lot of thing but one thing that is agreed on is this man wants a lot of children.

he is just always keeping them entertained and is just overall amazing with them.

i need to give him children

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

as i mentioned in part 2 of my hcs for him he is a little psycho that likes to get up at the ass crack of dawn and go running. so if that’s not your thing, he will let you stay in bed.

but that doesn’t mean that when he gets home, if he still find you in bed he won’t try convincing you to wake up and getting in the shower with him by laying on top of you all sweaty.

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

not like that ya nasties

most night with him are spent cuddled up in bed probably spreading family gossip and watching movies.

idk why but i get the feeling he would like camping out in his back yard and watching the stars

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

I do feel like this man is a certified yapper, so I feel like he would start revealing things pretty early on especially if he’s interested in you.

if you want to imagine it as you are a civilian, and you two take interestin each other, before anything gets too serious he would definitely talk about his job and explain to you what happens so that you’re sure that you want to continue a relationship with him.

However, if you want to imagine that you are either part of Task Force 141 or something adjacent to that and you already know about his job, then it’s just at that point due to getting to know each other on a more deep and personal basis.

P=Patience (How easily angered are they?)

like I will mention in U, down below he does struggle with frustration and anger, but he doesn’t take it out on his significant other or gets upset with them a lot I do feel like he can get angry a lot at certain situations, but with his significant other, the only time that he would get angry as if it’s like a really, really, really really bad fight.

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

Soap is extremely intelligent, i mean he had to be he’s a demolition expert, and has a great memory. So if you mention your interest in something he will definitely remember it.

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

Probably when he took you to meet his family for the first time, whether it be just as friends at the time or a few months into the relationship (however you want to imagine it) and you loved his family and they in return loved you back. I really do believe he is extremely family oriented so this just solidified in his mind you were the one.

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

Again, this goes for all of the task force 141 men, but they are all extremely protective. When you were out, they are constantly on the lookout for any potential sketchy scenarios and constantly just keeping an eye out on you to make sure that you are safe.

and if you do not already know self-defense, he would teach you self-defense or pay for a class when he is deployed so that you can learn self-defense.

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

He genuinely would put so much effort into special things for his partner, like date nights, anniversaries, and things like that, but something will always go wrong.

 For example, for an anniversary, he would try to make you breakfast in bed and he would accidentally burn the toast because he was trying to multitask while cooking and left the toast in the toaster for too long. Or booked you a reservation at a really nice hotel but it was on Valentine’s Day and it was extremely crowded so the food was taking forever so you guys just decided to leave and get takeout and go home.

 He definitely puts an effort, but sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

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

like I mentioned in my headcanons part 2 post, most of his negative emotions first manifest as anger and frustration (!!of course not like abuse or anything!!! he just gets very frustrated and can sometimes snap when he doesn’t mean to) but as soon as he calms down, which is usually pretty quick, he’s constantly apologizing.

(i just copied this from my own post because i’m lazy)

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

The normal amount? Like he keeps up with his personal hygiene and he likes to wear normal clothes when he goes out but he doesn’t have a eight step skin care routine or anything like that.

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

1000% yes, he likes to be around his partner and feel comfort in their presence. So whenever they aren’t around he feels a little lost, obviously not with his job but i’m talking everyday normal life.

X= Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) 

is a little afraid of dogs, I hc that he got the scar in his chin from a dog bite when he was little. It’s not that he doesn’t think they are cute or would be mean or hateful towards one, but he’s just extremely cations while around them.

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

He wouldn't stand for the obvious like sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.

One ick, I think he would get, is whenever someone chews loudly, like smacks their food. I just feel like it would drive him up the wall.

Z= Zzz (What are their sleep habits?)

He is a stage 5 cuddler. He loves to constantly hold his partner while you sleep. He likes to half lay on top of his partner, and when you wake up, you have to literally pry him off you.

He doesn't like to sleep in pajamas, I feel like he would prefer sleeping in his boxers and or naked. He is also a total cover hog.

thank you so much for reading! again i always appreciate feedback! love ya <3

[bahrtofane]

Promises under the stars - Carlos ending

Part 1

Part 1 Jude pov

Part 2 READ PT 2 FIRST PLEAAAZEEE

im begging read pt 2 before this pls. plz.

—

Here it is yall.

Why is there a Carlos ending? Good question ! While brain rotting with my dear dear friend it spiraled and we grew to love him too great and I couldn’t just let him suffer! He deserves an ending with his baby okay !!

Word count - 1.4k+

Watch it - alcoholic behavior galore. Miserable Jude. Mentions of child birth nothing descriptive tho

———

It turns out Jude is one stubborn mother fucker.

He’s everywhere you go to the point that you go through with the damn restraining order. Carlos cuts his hours in order to be home with you more due to the pregnancy and just to keep and eye out for any more bizarre events.

Little does he know what is to come.

——

At 2 pm Jude comes banging on your driveway gate, yelling and throwing curses at the both of you.

You’re taking a nap. Tuckered out from the mornings errands and the start of building your nursery in one of the spare rooms.

Carlos is sitting at the kitchen table reading his emails when he hears the noise.

He calls the police and watches from the front door as they drag Jude off screaming and in tears.

He tells you about it when you wake about an hour later. It’s all over the news anyway. Madrid star jailed for public intoxication and violation of a restraining order.

You both decide heading to Spain for the rest of your pregnancy might be best. You refused a doula, you wanted it to be much more intimate. But the stress is starting to get to you. Tremors and headaches, nights spent worrying.

“It will pass.” Carlos promises. Kissing your knuckles softly.

——-

Jude can't think straight. In every breath he smells the perfume you wore last time he saw you at that damn cafe.

When he closes his eyes he sees you being grabbed away from him. Pregnant with his child.

In his dreams he’s tormented by a shadowed of a future that can not be.

Jude thinks there’s a million better endings than this one. That if he were to die right now he would cheer.

There is no one to comfort him. Not in a way that matters. His family no longer talks to him and his house is much too big to be alone in. He still fears the darkness. The unknown.

Instead he buys time with alcohol. Drinking till he can’t see straight. Never mind if he has practice or a game.

He parties so hard he never remembers what he did the night before.

He gets slower on the pitch. Making messy tackles and ending up with unnecessary cards and his temper becomes a liability.

He’s gotten multiple takings. You need to calm down Jude they keep saying. How can he calm down with so much rage, a rage that’s almost as old as he is.

How can he forget you ?

——

You get to Spain and feel like you’re going to pop, even though you know you have a few months left.

His mother clears out rooms for you on the first floor so you can avoid going up and down the stairs too much.

“Have you thought of names?” His dad asks at dinner.

You shrug, “not really. We haven’t had the chance to sit down and think about it properly. “

He hums, knife sliding against his plate.

Carlos has a hand on your knee, rubbing his fingers softly against the material of your dress. Dresses are the only thing that fit you anymore. The only thing you feel comfortable enough in.

His sisters stop by with gifts for the baby, their husband as well. Each giving you hugs and kisses.

“Oh I can’t wait.” Blanca smiles, giving your shoulder a squeeze.

You have a little gender reveal in the living room. Just a cake in your pajamas while everyone is at home. His parents are smiling wide, phones out. His sisters watch with eyes wide, leaning into their husbands.

You and Carlos cut into it, hands on the knife as it sinks in. Pink icing on the knife. You’re having a girl.

——-

The nursery gets finished a few weeks before your due date. She’s going to be a summer baby. It fits well.

The house is filled with people in and out to come visit you. And soon comes the family reunion.

You’re forced to sit and relax, rolling your eyes watching the prep going on around you.

When the now familiar faces fill the home you greet them with a smile and they all shower you in compliments and well wishes. It turns more into a baby shower, gifts pouring in til, the nursery is full of them.

Carlos sticks to your side like glue. A hand on your back helping you get to your seat and settled. “Need more pillows?”

You shake your head, “I’m good my love thank you. “

He kisses your temple and the dinner service begins.

This time you understand more of what his mother says in the toast. She even welcomes your baby into the family and you can’t stop smiling. She’s done so much for you. There’s no woman you’d want as your mother in law more than her. Reyes is so so kind. How can you ever repay her kindness?

You retire to your room early into the night. Already tired from being on your feet more than usual. Carlos joins you, even if you insist that he can stay out and mingle he follows you. Drawing the curtains and getting your bed ready.

He presses a kiss to your stomach when you’re situated. “She’s almost here.” He whispers.

You smile, “I know. I still can’t believe it.”

“Me neither. “

“What did you want to name her anyway?”

He hums, rubbing a hand along your stomach, “I don’t really know. I like typical Spanish names. Maybe like Rosalia. What do you think.”

“I think that I have someone I want to name her after.”

“Really?”

You nod, “your mother. You think she’d like it? I want to give her two first names and the second would be Reyes.”

Carlos turns to his side, cradling your face in his hands. “Oh sweetheart she’s going to love it. I love it. Are you sure?”

You kiss his nose. “I’m sure. “

——-

You have your baby in a nearby hospital. A little bundle no more than 6 pounds. Crying out while you hold her close. Carlos is crying. And so are you.

Her name is just like you wanted. Your favorite flower is her first and Reyes the second. And of course she gets the insanely long full Sainz family full name. The nurse runs out of room when she writes it all down. Takes an extra piece of paper but it fits. Eventually.

His parents visit you with flowers a day later.

“Look at her name.” Carlos tells his mother.

She takes a closer look, and bursts into tears. “She has my name.” She cries into her husband's arms.

“I hope you like it.” You sniffle, unable to stop your own tears.

She wraps her arms around you gently, “oh I love it. I love it so so much.”

You don’t invite your parents. Them coming to the wedding was enough for you. They can meet her when the time comes. Too much meddling in your life has turned you distant to them at best. Oh well.

When you make it back home you’re greeted to a home cooked meal made by his sisters. All of your favorites and boy do you dig in.

Everyone is excited to see her. Little fingers reaching out into the world.

Carlos holds her flush to his chest when you get settled for the night.

“Our baby. My little girl. She’s so beautiful.” He kisses her head.

You smile, fixing the hat she has on. “You’re going to be such a good dad Carlos.” You kiss his cheek.

He flushes, “you think?”

You nod, watching him set her down into her crib.

“I know it.”

You didn’t know it was possible to love more. But your girl is proving you wrong. And everyone else in the family it seems. They’re obsessed with her.

She’s going to know so much love.

Things did work out in the end. With Carlos and your baby sleeping peacefully in the same room and the moonlight dancing through the curtains, it was all worth it in the end.

You whisper a different promise under the stars. This time it’s for your family. For your baby. For Carlos. For his family who have opened their home to you.

The stars twinkle back at you and you find peace. You’ve found it, tucked away in the Spanish countryside. Your peace has finally come.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Her avoidance

She can talk. She can fight. She can quit. But can she really open up?

Can she open up about her feelings? About her vulnerabilities? About her fears? Can she not be strong for a sec? Can she admit she dropped a ball? Can she cry in public? Can she break in front of someone important to her? Can she let go of her G woman mask for a sec and be just Sydney, the woman who does not get it all together at all times? The one who feels relegated and thus hurt by her business partner? Can she voice her needs and frustrations about it in an honest conversation that invariably will take an emotional turn?

Can she, not during an argument, but during a heart-to-heart conversation really voice out how she feels and why? Can she put her needs into words assertively and clearly, without having to resort to anger?

Because anger is not always an explosion during an argument or a result of a stressful situation. No. For avoidants, anger is also a fuse that blows after the avoidant mechanisms have done their job for a while covering up what has been really simmering underneath the surface for far too long. Then the burst of anger happens as a consequence of that not as a proactive behavior, and usually comes accompanied by other emotions, such as frustration, guilt, grief sometimes, etc.

Can Syd really open up to Carmy or to anyone else for that matter, like she once did under that table or in the back alley? -both situations initiated by Carmy btw, not by her-

Can Syd really stop avoiding talking about things that hurt her or that would put her vulnerability on full display?

Can Syd open up about any emotion or situation that DOES NOT solidify her G woman persona?

She operates from that G woman level at all times. Even around her father. She's self-sufficient, strong, hard-working, courageous, intelligent, talented, extroverted, talkative, can be a social butterfly, etc. BUT CAN SHE OPEN UP ABOUT ANYTHING THAT UNDERMINES THAT DEMEANOR SHE HIDES BEHIND AT ALL TIMES?

My guess is YES. She can. She chooses not to, though. Because she's avoidant in nature, which is probably rooted in her motherless upbringing. Not saying she lacked love and nurturing here, in fact I strongly believe she had all of that and I went over that here already. Syd is fine (IK it doesn't look like it rn) and she will be OK because of that. I'm sure. She's got this.

But she grew up without a mother nonetheless. And that took its toll on her. Of course it did, how could it not? Her getting along pretty much effortlessly with Nat and Tina (both mother figures) has a lot to do with that.

Growing up without a mother, no matter how great a job your father does to compensate for that absence, will, in one way or another, result in abandonment issues that don't necessarily have to be limitant although they can certainly be at some points of our lives, especially when exposed to highly stressful situations or life-changing events. Or when you know someone that turns your whole life upside down.

It's a delicate ecosystem.

In this delicate ecosystem, Syd's ecosystem, she developed a very sophisticated type of avoidance that does not cancel out her extroverted ways, they are actually fully compatible with it and highly valued in the professional realm:

Emotional avoidance

Emotional avoidance is a preemptive strike to avoid things that are perceived as threats and are associated with experiencing and/or expressing certain feelings that would jeopardize the G woman complex upon which her entire personality is built in her case. It's a defense mechanism, nothing else.

As long as it can be controlled, this mechanism, is not a big deal and can even work in our favor because it helps us to compartmentalize, when necessary. Now, when this avoidance causes conflicts to stay unresolved (I'm talking about a definitive resolution, not a quick patch) to the point of triggering panic attacks or insomnia, etc. then that avoidance has to be tackled differently because it becomes a problem.

It's important to clarify that this doesn't have to be permanent but rather consistent, meaning: it doesn't have to ALWAYS be the case.

But as long it's the PREDOMINANT TRAIT -which results in frequent issues that could be prevented or solved by not behaving this way, by not avoiding really opening up about feelings, by not postponing certain uncomfortable conversations, by not avoiding the conflict those conversations may bring to the surface, and again I am not talking about waiting for the anger to hit the fan and having a day of fury (great movie BTW), I'm talking about opening up about emotions, even the uncomfortable ones, the painful ones and putting all of that into words, clear words, assertive words. Even if that means tapping into a vulnerability that causes us unease - then it's a problem. A big one.

Effective communication

I'm talking about communicating effectively as I mentioned here and here.

For that communication to happen, her avoidant ways will have to be addressed and managed. I wish Syd, just like Carmy, would go about it in therapy, but mostly likely, taking into account that Sydney is Storer's creation, it will be forced upon her via the worst-case scenario or something along the lines of "traumatic". Like the inevitable convo Carm and her will have to have at some point and it won't be pretty. But it certainly is necessary. So, she will have to open up about what she feels for him and all the implications and base her decision on that, on all the things and feelings she's either in denial about, not ready to admit or avoiding.

That means that being Carmy's counterpoint in this case will allow her to work on her own unsolved issues, which include but are not limited to:

Avoidance

In return, her mere presence in Carmy's life allows and also forces him to improve whatever he needs to improve in himself to keep her by his side.

Like I said→ They complement each other. And they mirror each other.

Bonus track: Emmanuel Adamu is the only one she really opens up to (except Carmy when there's a table involved) and even THAT she finds hard to do as well. They love each other but their conversations, when tap into her vulnerabilities or fears turn into arguments that end up leaving her frustrated and obfuscated because he forces her to quit avoiding talking about certain topics Syd prefers to avoid.

That qualifies as class A avoidance when you have a problem letting your guard down even in front of your own father, the person you love the most in this world and who you know for a fact that will never hurt you and whose sole purpose is loving you and protecting you. So, anyone who comes after him, will not have it easy either. Obviously. Well, Carmy happens to be the one who comes after and he's as talented for avoidance and evasion as he is in the kitchen, so no wonder we are trapped in this limbo S3.

But we have a way out of here. I'm positive. In whatever way they want to do it, this effective communication will happen between them at some point. And if nothing works, they will always have a table to get under, I mean it's a restaurant, they have plenty of tables there, they just have to use them wisely ;)

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[pokegalla]

Requested by @tryslogic

Brooooo a part three AND with Papyruses?! They deserve more love and I shall give it to them✨ (Warning: A little spicy up ahead!)

How Touchy Can They Be In Public With Slightly Large Chested S/o! (Pt.3 with Papyruses✨)

Stretch:

* Ah yes the lazy carrot himself. With his chill nature could he be too lazy to think lewd things?! Well of course he can- he’s the type of…..closeted pervert? Like he is not gonna outright do anything or say anything unless it’s on the down low- other than that, he might be generally too lazy to do it…..or a little shy surprisingly.

* You probably randomly find out when you wore a nice tight shirt. With a whole amount of cleavage that leaves nothing much for the imagination- and he is staring respectfully…..a lot. If you catch him, he’ll just chuckle and shrug like yeah yah got me. Though he does get a little sheepish and looks away blushing.

* In private, he’s actually quite a big snuggle bug. He don’t care if he’s the big or little spoon. Heh mainly because he could either have your tits on his back as the little spoon or tits in his hands like stress balls as the big spoon. Plus he gets cuddles and possible smooches? He’s in heaven✨

* Now does he tease you in public? Ooooh boy. He’ll tease you via puns- seriously he’ll probably make you smack him or laugh. Maybe both- “Hey babe. Am I the breast guy you ever loved?✨” “Babe please-“ “Woah Calm your tits- I just found a cup for us *Shows coffee cup with a honey bee on it* Damn sorry It’s a b-cup-“ “BABE-“

* He’s just a silly guy who loves you very much……and no he’s not going to run out of boob jokes-

Mutt:

* Now NORMALLY I ask if this AU variant is capable of being lewd. But- this guy is so GODdamn HORNY, he broke that continuity in these headcanons- don’t get me wrong! He has his cute moments. But nah we don’t need to even ASK if he does bruh-

* And I highly doubt you take him to public without wearing a baggy sweatshirt- because I know the first time you tried wearing Y’know something regular that shows your outline, he was clinging onto you. Either face nuzzling your chest, or pulling you close by your waist, your chest directly pressed against him. Hell will the sweatshirt REALLY help-?

* In private he’s more like a cute cuddly puppy, snuggling you and asking for headpats. He even whines like one and if you don’t he has the cutest puppy dog eyes. And honestly it’s quite a sweet moment. He’s also the type of guy who requires a lot of trust so to see him unwind and be this affectionate is really rewarding. Though let’s be honest he can turn this from sweet fluffy moment to having you two break the headboard after having fun in the sheets~ If you in the mood? Oh he’ll take you there-

* Teasing? Absolutely. And very blunt teasing too- like from tell you how pretty you’d look with love bites all around……to straight up GRIPPING a booba with no hesitation- mans gives no fucks- might have to drag him to somewhere private before he does something right then and there. But he’ll apologize right after! “Sorry babe….I just can’t resist you. I love you so much!” ……you can’t stay mad at him can you? 😏

* Overall he really is your cute puppy dog✨

Papyrus (The Classic✨in case there is confusion-):

* Well……I’ll be damned. He actually had me stumped- but ok ok. Can this literal ball of sunshine be anyway lewd? My answer? I’d say……surprisingly yes? But very very vanilla- like he’s a grown ass Skellie, of course he’d be attracted. But it’s so damn innocent and sweet.

* Seriously in public he can’t help but smile and compliment you because he thinks you are the most beautiful person he’s ever seen- he tries not to get easily flustered because he’s The Great Papyrus! He’s supposed to make YOU feel flattered! Though the way he stares at your booba and looks away apologizing profusely, I think you feel flattered already.

* In private, nothing is better than cuddling with your S/o after training all day. But please let him know it’s ok to lay on your chest. He always hesitates. But once he gets comfortable, he’ll be a cuddly bean, skull resting upon your booba✨ he even gets curious, wondering why they are JUST like pillows! He also gets surprisingly romantic and leaves praises and kisses all over you, saying all the bits he loves about you. If he ain’t careful, things will take a steamy turn with you two~

* A lovely cinnamon roll who is always ready to shower you in love! And we can all agree: very adorable✨

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Seriously from a comms perspective I cannot stress enough how incredibly smart and strategic this launch/evolution/whatever you want to call it is. And to be clear I’m not saying it’s because they are PR. THAT IS NOT IT. Taylor and Travis are real people who happen to live in extraordinary circumstances that necessitate a plan in this regard because people can be so fucking weird about it.

The idea of acknowledging the elephant in the room instead of ignoring it and letting it take up space is what it all comes down to. Sure it was a frenzy when they first went public and the first bits of PDA hit the airwaves, but in the end what it does is normalize it. By this point, everyone knows they’re a couple and it’s not weird when they do hold hands or kiss or acknowledge each other in public. Because that’s what anyone would do with their significant other and trying to make it secret just makes it weird, for both the media and the people involved in the relationship.

So the way they’ve navigated this again has been masterful. There clearly are boundaries (it seems especially on Taylor’s end which Travis happily obliges) but that doesn’t mean they can’t just be themselves either. So, they’re not inviting people into their living room each week, but the gradual public meshing of their image served a purpose to normalize it. From Taylor’s first game to the occasional fluff pieces to trusted outlets to steer the narrative to acknowledging the public outings to dipping their toes in social media official, it’s making it so that now that they’ve moved into the next phase of their lives (whatever that may mean now but whatever it is it’s clearly serious and clearly considered permanent by both of them), they can share what they want without it being a stressor.

So if Taylor wants to be goofy, she can change her song lyrics or invite him up onto the stage and it’s newsworthy because she’s her but it’s not weird. Travis can be interviewed and be asked about his partner who is a public figure and speak highly of her without it turning into a maelstrom. Gradually their domestic status is going to be normalized so that their every move isn’t as big of a deal. (It’ll still be news because they are who they are, but it won’t seem like they’re sitting down for a root canal every time.)

I hate to call this a “rollout” because they’re people, not products, but in terms of a PR strategy, it’s excellent. And it’s not that every move they do is PR!!! It’s that every move they make is public, so they need to navigate that so that they can maintain their personal boundaries as they wish. It’s not that every interview is calculated, but it’s more that what they do or don’t choose to share at any moment in time is helping them figure out what they’re comfortable with, and it’s also lessening the market value, if you will, of any anecdotes. The more people become accustomed to them as a unit, the less each quote like this is bound to make huge headlines. (I mean other than fans like us because we want our pop star bestie to have everything she wants.)

It’s not just that their teams have set a great example, it’s that THEY are handling it with such skill and grace. I’m honestly blown away by it from a professional perspective and suspect that they figured out early on that getting a handle on it and guiding the narrative instead of pretending it didn’t exist might have been scary at first but has proven to make things so much easier and takes up way less space in all their brains.

[generational-atrophy]

hello! how would netherlands, luxembourg and russia like to spend their honeymoon with their s/o? or, what would the wedding look like?

hetalia netherlands, luxembourg, and russia wedding / honeymoon headcanons

0.6k words ~ gender neutral headcanons

tw: none!

a/n: guys im trying to get back on schedule :sob: i have asks from almost a year im so sorry

Netherlands

When it comes to Abel, neither his wedding nor honeymoon would be big.

For the wedding, there’s no more than, like, 5 people invited. He would’ve preferred a sudden in-and-out wedding if it weren’t for how public it was, regardless of how un-romantic it is for you.

Instead, you can invite people if you want, and you’ll be having a quick, private ceremony in the woods. Probably only with nothing, except like, 2 chairs for “an emergency” (He won’t elaborate on that.)

He also wouldn’t dress up either way, unless it were vitally important to you. He wants to be as true to who he is when he vows to be with you for as long as you live, and he is not a tuxedo guy.

Weirdly enough, it’s how much he cares about the wedding that makes him so weird about it. It’s very important to him, and that means everything has to be as authentic and intimate as possible. So, that means a weird awkward wedding.

Of course, that’s just if he gets his way. But he’s surprisingly lenient with his S/O with most things (as long as it’s not too expensive.)

For future reference, he is most susceptible to puppy dog eyes and “pretty please.”

As for the honeymoon, there’s no way he’s putting any effort into it. You can plan it, but he’s not paying and he’s not helping you guys get there. His ideal honeymoon is a night in and watching a movie he pirated, but whatever you want is fine too.

What he wants to do though is a lot of cliche boring stuff, like going sightseeing, hiking, and visiting museums. Notice how all of it is free? That’s the main idea here. Although, he does love camping regardless of how cheap it ends up being. Lets him show you how much of a man he is <3

He’s not travelling though. Leaving the country is out of the question. The important part already happened, why are you making such a big deal out of it?!

Luxembourg

The exact opposite. Laurent is renting out a significant chunk of his capital city to throw the biggest, most extravagant, most expensive modern wedding in the world! He may be a busy man, but he’s always willing to put away plenty of time for his beloved.

If you like planning events, you two will work together for many months making sure everything is perfect. But if you don’t, he’ll take it all on himself to ensure everything goes perfectly.

But with that, he’ll become really stressed. He wouldn’t snap at you (because after all, it is all for you,) but he’s no fun when he’s that worked up. It’s better if you help.

Especially since he wants your wedding to have great symbolic meaning. Having it represent the shared vision of your future together is his first- well… second priority.

The honeymoon afterwards would be much the same, although he also wouldn’t want to travel too far. Once the spectacle is over, he just appreciates the excuse to do nothing but spend time with you without any pressure.

Preferably trying a bunch of new food, going shopping, and going to stereotypical couple-y activities, like dance classes.

He may seem upbeat, but Laurent is surprisingly melancholic around the time of your wedding. For as excited as he is (which is very,) he can’t help but feel worried about how much time he’ll have with you.

But it shouldn’t get him down too much. He's still riding the high of seeing you in your wedding attire <3

Russia

Ivan would want a very, very, very traditional Russian wedding if you’d be fine with that. Unlike a lot of other nations, he’s never been married before, so he’s very stressed about getting to do every single thing he never got to before.

You’d swear he abandoned you for months before the wedding as he’s panickedly running around the country trying desperately to throw everything together. Half the ceremonies he wants to do haven’t been done for centuries, and he really doesn’t understand why he can’t have live cannon fire at his wedding!

Maybe just pat him on the head and tell him you’ll love him even if you can’t sacrifice 20 goats during the ceremony.

But once the stress (and awkwardness as all of his former friends are forced to attend,) is over, he’s whisking you away for a months-long vacation. Preferably somewhere bright and warm but really; he doesn’t care where you want to go, anywhere is alright, as long as it’s far away from everything you two have to worry about regularly.

His favourite things to do with you while on vacation are really stereotypical, like going to the beach, going to scenic locations, and falling into every tourist trap.

He tries to be as romantic as possible through all of that, but he can’t help being awkward and giddy after you two are finally married.

[badchoicesworld]

Hello hello :)

I hope you're having a good day!

May I request Hobie and Spider-Noir with a s/o who cries a lot?

Not only out of sadness, but out of everything. They're happy? They cry. They're frustrated? They cry. It's just their body's natural reaction to any intense emotion. Even like, if they're listening to a song that itches their brain just right, boom, tears (talking of personal experience, me? Absolutely.)

I'm just kinda insecure about my crying habits lol, I need reassurance. (I cried to System Of A Down and Slipknot, send help)

Thank you and sending lotsa love :)

hobie brown and spider-noir with an s/o that cries a lot !

ok, first i wanna stress that you should never feel insecure about your natural bodily functions- ever. crying is completely natural and a normal way to express any type of feeling, so i hope you gain a little confidence in your ability to feel so strongly :] it’s a beautiful thing

second, you should check out demon slayer in you haven’t, there’s this character that always cries at everything and he’s the strongest ! gyomei my love

third, these are kinda short and i’m very sorry, i struggled w noir

separate scenarios

warnings: crying ?? insecurity ?

pairing: hobie brown x gn!reader, spider-noir x gn!reader

requests: refer to this bad boy

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

i bet hobie’s one of them guys that gives out great advice about mental health or just in general and doesn’t take his own advice

he’s too cool to cry, he claims

but suddenly it’s not cool for everyone else to NOT cry

also uses common sense and figures that crying is a completely natural reaction when you feel any type of emotion, won’t be embarrassed by you if you start bawling your eyes out in public if you happen to feel happy to be spending time together

he just smiles and rubs your back, shaking his head but in a playful way since this is a common occurrence

does one of those side hug things where he hooks his arm around your neck and squeezes you to his side a few times, talking about “let it out”

it’s nice in a way, he knows that you’re crying cause you’re happy to be spending time with him

he’s close buddies with pav who i can also see crying at a lot of things, man’s not judgemental

and he can of course understand crying at sad things ! if you two are kicked back one day and you’re violently bawling at a movie that’s meant to be a tear jerker, he’s not gonna shame you

he’s probably thinking about how accomplished the movie directors must be/feel while simultaneously shaming the big company who produced it

it’s nothing new and he’d rather not address it directly by asking you each time if you’re okay when you cry, he imagined it would get irritating and make you feel like it’s wrong

so he probably does something to show he’s there, an arm around your shoulder, maybe he ruffles your hair or something if you’re excited crying (i do this w my special interests, there’s no shame)

overall, hobie just wants you to feel comfortable enough to cry at all- this stuff should be normalised after all, no reason to even justify it to begin with

he may even encourage you to cry, get it out your system

he definitely understands frustrated crying, i imagine he’s a man who’s had his fair share of frustrations and sometimes crying is the only way to cope

if it bothers you so much, he might try introducing you to other coping mechanisms that he personally does

encourages you to get into music, play an instrument, do something spontaneous with your appearance

if he ever catches you crying over one of his own creations, the man’s floored with this appreciation

the last fucking thing he’ll do is ever make you feel guilty for crying, he’s having none of that and he’ll silently scowl in such disgust at the people that do

it’s not cool to shame peoples emotions, no invalidation here

if he’s in the right mood and you’re crying for something, happily he might just hype you up honestly

go bestie go, cry your eyes out

noir

someone else who sees nothing wrong with crying- he admittedly associates it most with grief so definitively panics the first few times he sees you crying at anything

but explain how crying is your response to everything and he’ll relax

he’s probably envious of your ability to feel so strongly about everything, since he struggles to feel a thing

the man literally lets matches burn to his fingertips out of hopes of feeling anything

that being said, he doesn’t want you to think like you now get to feel ungrateful for your tendencies to cry at everything since he envies it- crying is still taxing as fuck and you’re entitled to your own functions, he just wished he could take a page or two from your book

nine times outta ten he will probably assume each time that you’re crying out of sadness, he’s horrible at reading the room

it’s a pretty instant reaction from him to ask what’s wrong and assume the worst, man’s is instantly ready to start a fight if you’re crying for something bad that’s happened

makes a really big deal out of hugging you and dramatically wrapping his coat around you before suspiciously listing all of your enemies

he’s more of a “cheer up, sport” kinda guy and is a lot more insistent about talking to him about your feelings

partly because he want to understand the feelings, mostly because he wants to help you

probably cites some old 30’s techniques on how to make your face less puffy after crying if it bothers you- a really bizarre remedy

he’s also heard some more modern techniques, like chewing gum when cutting onions

he assumes that works for crying as a whole

happy crying takes him some time to wrap around his head, but he’ll get it

it’s a little surprising to him at first that you cry at every little thing, but that’s okay

he cant imagine that he’ll ever get over that initial surprise, seeing you cry at all immediately catches his attention - he’ll eventually stop assuming it’s bad, but he does attempt to comfort you each time without fail

you could be crying in such joy and he’ll fail to read the room, strokes your head while talking to you like you’re a dog that’s just had their paw stepped on

thinks he’s helping an incredible amount, has a small ego boost when he does successfully comfort you

he really does embrace it instead of trying to avoid it, which he imagined would be arrogant anyway

he’s envious, overall

good for you for being so in touch with your emotions

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

IM SORRY THIS KINDA SUCKS IM BAD AT CRYING

[stillaclownlol]

Fucking...ship alphabet crap because I'm gonna go insane- (Ashlyn x Aiden)

Aiden Clark

A = Affection

Aiden is really affectionate with Ash, he has a hard time keeping in how he feels about her so he's constantly complimenting her, touching her, kissing her if she will let him, etc etc. He's just soooo in love with her he can't keep it in- 🫠

B = Best Friend

Ngl Aiden was like the closest thing Ash had to a best friend before they started dating 🤡 he's not that different besides the fact that he can keep his emotions a little more in check (like friend boundaries). Very protective, encouraging, and does his best to listen ^_^

C = Cuddles

Bless him he is touch starved and cuddling is like a feast to him. He LOVES cuddling. Definitely clingy and likes rubbing her arms or back. Man ascends whenever Ash glomps him.

D = Domestic

Aiden likes the idea of settling down, he would like to live with Ash at some point, especially cuz he grew up in an empty house. It's kinda unfortunate since he sucks really hard at domestic tasks 💀 he's never had to cook or clean a day in his life and he's not very inclined to learn lmao. He's super messy and pretty much banned from the kitchen 😭

E = Ending

Um he would literally rather die 🫠 he will fight tooth and nail to be with her and if he HAD to break up with her it would be like, under pressure that somebody was going to kill her or smth 😭 and then he'd kill the person who threatened her and go get his girl back.

F = Fiancé

He doesn't really care about getting married as long as Ash stays with him :P He likes how his ring looks on her finger tho.

G = Gentle

He's not very good at that haha. He's very...um, intense with all his feelings oop- He's not very good at being soft (verbally/emotionally) in the moment, it's something he needs to give thought too. He can be pretty tender physically tho, likes to kiss her forehead :)

H = Hugs

Loves loves loves hugging, especially if Ash initiated. Totally into squeeze hugging and lifting her off her feet. He kinda hovers around her in public and puts his arm around her so he's constantly "loose hugging" her.

I = I love you

He said it pretty quickly. He doesn't see why he should hide how he feels :p. He probably said it when she was just doing smth, like with no buildup or anything. It was just a very sudden feeling on his part and he vocalised it right away

J = Jealousy

Pretty consistently 🤡 he has attachment issues can you blame him? 😭 (you can). Very not cool with other people (that he doesn't know) talking, touching, hanging out with Ash and he will be hate-watching them the entire time. With Ash he gets a lot clingier and starts complimenting her even more, but if Ash gets weirded out/annoyed by it he tends to react pretty poorly and can get upset with her.

K = Kisses

His kisses vary, but they can be kinda aggressive/intense? lmao. He is just having BIG FEELINGS and he needs to express himself- if hes stressed he'll just. Grab her face and mash their mouths together (jumpscares Ash fr) He really does not care where he kisses Ash like everything is good for him, but when Ash kisses him first on the mouth that's soooo... he goes to heaven fr.

L = Little Ones

Pretty good with children actually! He has some experience with Lily and he vibes pretty well with kid energy, especially if they're hyperactive like him lol. Great with games and stuff. Babies like him a lot for some reason, they always start laughing when he holds them.

M = Morning

He gets up at like 4am all the time to do crap because he's an insomniac. Usually goes to exercise or play a video game/puzzle. Ash is not a morning person, but sometimes she can convince him to crawl back into bed and snuggle 😌

N = Night

He does go to bed really late 💀 He has an EXTREMELY hard time falling asleep so he just stays up till he passes out. Ash and him have been trying stuff to help him sleep better so they drink tea and talk to each other without looking at their phones.

O = Open

Absolutely not open with his history lol. he pretty much blocks out most of his past and he won't talk about it unless Ash insists or he feels like he needs to tell her to clarify his feelings. Doesnt say more than he needs to.

P = Patience

He has none for everything 🤡 he hates waiting, he hates putting in a lot of effort into something, he hates spending a long time on anything- (except his friends). He kinda has some hidden anger issues, he looks really easy going but like fr. He has problems.

Q = Quizzes

UM it's kinda creepy how much he remembers about Ash 😭 He has an entire space in his brain dedicated to her. He knows how she likes her coffee, her daily schedule, the exact time of her birth...he likes knowing about her sue him.

R = Remember

It's hard to pick his favourite memory cuz he's such a fan of her, even during the time she kinda hated him :> One of his top moments would probably be when she first said "I love you" back to him though.

S = Security

He's soooooo overprotective, the first time he saw her get seriously injured it was his fault and he never let that go. He knows Ash can handle herself but he still wants to keep her safe if he can!!! If somebody hurts her they are never seeing the light of day again ^_^ He always swoons a little when Ash tries to protect him too.

T = Try

His relationships are like one of the only things he actually puts effort in so. He spends a lot of time thinking on gifts, what they can do on dates, etc etc if it involves Ash. Helps her around the house if she lets him.

U = Ugly

He has sooooo many bad habits. He's super addict prone and his BPD means he will do a lot of self-sestructive stuff. Smoker (he hates it), drinker (he hates it even more), joyrider extraordinaire (just kill him now) :/ Working on it at his therapy sessions but he relapses sometimes.

V = Vanity

...I mean, he's concerned about how he looks, but not in a "looking good" way. He dyes his hair consistently because he wants to look like that, same with his contacts. Otherwise he's not like doing beauty routines for his skin or anything lol.

W = Whole

Yes he has an unhealthy attachment to Ash so he would feel incomplete without her 🫠

X = Xtra

Ash isn't his first 'relationship' but she is the first one where he actually felt something. He was pretty easy going so if somebody asked him to be their partner he almost always said yes, but he never seriously cared about any of them...🫠 Ghosted people a lot when he moved oop

Y = Yuck

He knows he has a lot of issues so like he's not gonna judge somebody a lot if they have their own vices. He would probably dislike if Ash started acting like himself lmao (you hate somebody because they reflect the worst parts of yourself) 🫠 For smth she actually does, he doesn't really like how cold she can be sometimes, but he knows she can't help it so he doesn't comment on it.

Z = ZZZ

Sleeps with like 4 different blankets and he doesn't really like wearing pyjamas, he'd sleep in his boxers if he could. The blankets are like, good texture stim on his skin :D

Ashlyn Banner

A = Affection

Not good with it let's be real. Still figuring out her boundaries and what she's comfortable with. She generally just let's Aiden set the pace and if she doesn't like it she'll say something, but it's rare for her to initiate, when she does its usually something lowkey like holding his hand (prefers physical over verbal).

B = Best Friend

Ash hasn't had friends. Ever. Until suddenly she got five that she got bonded to for life 🤡 As a bestie she is generally very loyal and protective, even if she isn't very good with emotional stuff, she tries to show her support in whatever way she can.

C = Cuddles

Not really something she thinks about a lot? She doesn't mind cuddling with Aiden but he is very touchy so she gets overstimulated quickly. She prefers just lying on top of him without him grabbing her.

D = Domestic

She always imagined living by herself so the idea is a little intimidating ngl, but she's ready to give it a shot when the time comes :> Good at household chores, her parents are ex-military so she's well disciplined with making the bed, cleaning her area of the house, and she's a decent cook. Trying to teach Aiden how to do his own chores to since nobody ever taught him.

E = Ending

She would end things if she felt like Aiden wasn't getting better, she can't keep letting his bad behavior slide her entire life. Could see them getting a divorce if they had a kid together and he was still acting like that (we hope not). Definitely the type of exes to still see each other though, he's nothing if not persistent, and she can't quite seem to quit him ^_^"

F = Fiancée

She didn't even think she'd ever get married lol. She doesn't really care about labeling their relationship like that but she did ask him for tax reasons. And he was happy too, so that's a plus :>

G = Gentle

She's said it herself, she's not good at that. She's generally pretty brash with Aiden and she has a hard time being vulnerable. She's also not a very physically gentle person either, she usually initiates contact if she's stressed/upset so it's kinda intense. She's working on it!

H = Hugs

Pretty rare, she doesn't mind if Aiden hugs her, but Jesus, sometimes it feels like he's going to break her ribs 💀 Not that her hugs are much better tho 🫠 Tends to bury her face in his shoulder and grab his hair.

I = I love you

It's soooooo hard for her omg. She can't explain why she just feels really weird/dumb saying it 😭 she usually only says it during the heat of the moment. To compromise with Aiden, she usually writes it down on a sticky note and gives it to him. Writing is easier.

J = Jealousy

Sometimes the autism rejection sensitivity flares up haha 🫠 she's waaaaaay less jealous than Aiden but sometimes she wonders if she's just a passing fancy to him because he's so intense and quick about it (before reminding herself hes loyal to a fault). If other people talk about it (like if Aiden has been spending a lot of time with somebody) she's more likely to get jealous since she will kinda internalize their thoughts (like very "what...? Do you think I *should* be jealous?")

K = Kisses

Supremely awkward. Doesn't understand what she's supposed to do with her mouth aldhlwhd. She likes kissing his cheek because its a very simple gesture and he gets very happy. Will combust if Aiden kisses her forehead ❤️

L = Little Ones

Not the besttttt...she generally finds children to be too emotional and she doesn't understand what they're feeling. Babies are scary to her, they're so...delicate...

She doesn't hate them or anything but she's not volunteering to babysit.

M = Morning

She is CRANKY when she gets up and you can't talk to her before her cup of coffee or she's going to bite your head off. When she gets to sleep in she's waaaaay more affectionate in bed, grabs onto Aiden so he won't leave :p

N = Night

Night owl, which is useful since Aiden has trouble sleeping. She'll keep him company until he can fall asleep, but usually she falls asleep on his shoulder or smth and Aiden has to take her to bed ^_^

O = Open

Not at all. Doesn't like revealing more about herself than necessary :> She only tells Aiden things if he asks her about it. They're both very closed off which is great combo 💀

P = Patience

She's more patient than Aiden, but that isn't saying much. She gets irritated very easily but she's a lot better at managing her emotions so she doesn't lose her temper very easily, even if she's constantly annoyed.

Q = Quizzes

She's not forgetful or anything about Aiden but it's also not something she thinks about a lot. Like if somebody asked her smth about him she'll just answer it without thinking and be surprised with herself lol.

R = Remember

She just likes spending time with him, they don't have to do anything grand or amazing for it to stay in her memory, her favourite moments are the little things. Aiden genuinely laughing/smiling, the look on his face right before he figures out a puzzle, the calluses on his fingertips when she holds his hand...she's actually very sappy :>

S = Security

She is overprotective because. She watched him die. And she's just like that. But she constantly feels like she's failing him since Aiden gets hurt so frequently. Protective in a more subtle way, like if she thinks he's going to spiral she locks his meds away and won't leave him alone for anything. She gets stressed out when he tries to protect her because he can go overboard :p

T = Try

She tries so hard you guys. All of this is VERY new and scary for her, so. Baby steps. Tries to do her part in the relationship; she likes the act of planning dates even if choosing what to do stresses her out, tries to surprise him because she knows he loves that a lot (she's not very good at it).

U = Ugly

Bad habits: Sometimes everything is a lot so she will just. Not communicate with him for a long time which freaks him out. (Like he doesn't do this too 🫠) Hard time talking about her feelings and sometimes relies on the gang to solve their misunderstanding. Sometimes doesn't know where to draw the line and can be too harsh on him.

V = Vanity

Only her hair. She's very careful with it. Otherwise she doesn't care at all.

W = Whole

She's kinda bonded to him for life cuz of all the trauma so yeah she wouldn't feel "whole" without Aiden, but she would handle it a lot better than he would.

X = Xtra

Talks to Taylor about her relationship problems; Tay thinks she just has bad taste 🤡

Y = Yuck

Really hates all of Aiden's bad habits (the self destructive stuff, his own apathy towards himself, how obsessive he is with her)

Z = ZZZ

When she becomes comfortable sleeping with somebody on the same bed, she'll let her hair loose, otherwise she's gonna keep the braids.

[callsigncrash]

:(´◦ω◦｀):

Yamori and the boys with a s/o that's smaller than them but chunky and when they're too stressed s/o suddenly picks them up like they weight nothing and walks away from the source of stress so s/o can cuddle the anger out of them-

Anygays, have a great cycle of 24 hours:3

Holding Chubby Reader HCs

Love this one! I’m chubby and I know not many people could pick me up so this was nice to imagine.

________________________________________________

Tokyo Ghoul

________________________________________________

Yamori

Thank the gods that he’s such a big guy.

When he picks you up it’s like an immediate, deescalating and loving hug.

He doesn’t do it very often in public but he definitely does it when the both of you are in private or just aren’t around a lot of people.

If he feels like talking isn’t working too well and you really need an immediate relief, then he’ll pick you up.

How he picks you up tends to vary by the situation and where you are.

If you’re really distraught and are about to have an anxiety attack, he’ll pick you up bridal style and hold you close.

If you’re calming down but still feel like you’re needing some comfort, it’ll probably be an over the shoulder sort of thing so he can walk out with you to someplace different.

If you just want to be held, or if he’s feeling like picking you up, then he’ll do it.

If he’s feeling content to a more obvious degree, he’ll pick you up and hold you to his front with a laugh.

If you want to be held, he’ll happily hoist you up and carry you off to wherever.

________________________________________________

The Boys

________________________________________________

Homelander

Compound V has it’s perks and this is definitely one of them!

He definitely gets an ego boost and even more of a power trip when he has the opportunity to pick you up.

If he’s gotta shoot off somewhere and you’re together, he’ll pick you up and fly off with you.

At home and want to be held while he’s busy? He could hold you with one arm and keep doing whatever it is, no questions asked.

Homelander definitely seems like the type to just want to hold or carry you because of how close it makes the two of you.

It’s a level of intimacy that he doesn’t experience very often so he tries to hold you as much as possible.

On that note, if he’s really going through it then please let him hold you in silence. It calms him down and it makes him feel like you really care.

He’s not against piggyback rides either. He doesn’t do it often but when he does, it’s fun.

If you feel like you’re having a panic attack or need to leave, he knows already. He will leave with you in his arms and will make sure that no one can say anything about it.

He knows he’s powerful already but being able to pick you, his s/o, up, makes him feel like the most powerful man in the sky.

Black Noir

If only you could see the hearts around him whenever either of you even entertain the idea of him picking you up.

He loves it so much. Like Homelander, he does not get a lot of physical intimacy, if any at all.

He understands being overwhelmed really well but he doesn’t want you to keep it inside like he does so he’ll be right there to pick you up if you need him to.

He doesn’t even care if he’s in public either.

If you’re even slightly upset, he’s right there to make sure you’re ok.

Sometimes he feels like he does it too much but when you assure him that it’s ok and that you like it, he’s so relieved.

Do you just really need time with him so they you can recuperate? No problem! He’s already got his arms wide open and waiting for you.

Sometimes he needs to hold you when he has an episode.

There’s also times where he needs to be held.

These moments don’t happen too often but please repay all of his snuggles and embraces with ones of your own!

[blue-bujo]

Bowled Over (Roy Kent x Reader): Chapter Eight

You work at a bowling alley and a young girl named Phoebe has a birthday party there. You catch her uncle's eye.

Roy Kent x female reader

Will try to update roughly every two weeks

Chapter Eight: Roy Kent, Baby Whisperer

(7.2k words)

Warnings: Roy Kent-level language (you know what you're in for), insecurity, mentions of sex, tooth-rotting fluff

Summary: Roy takes a big step and asks you to come to a team dinner at Ola’s, where you get to properly meet the greyhounds and their families.

Author's note: Buckle in for a long one! This is to tide you over, because I probably won't be posting a new chapter in January; we've got family birthdays three out of the four weekends, so I don't want to stress about getting something out in time. Happy New Year, and I'll see you with a new chapter in a month!

You had great fun driving Roy’s SUV for the next few weeks. It was large and expensive, so people tended to give it a wide berth. And since you didn’t have to walk to work, you were getting to sleep a bit later, which was doing wonders for you.

It was amazing that Roy let you use the Beast without any hesitation, that he trusted you that much. That he wanted to spend time with you, and keep you around, and know you deeper. Things were going very well between the two of you.

Lettie was completely invested. She wanted to know every single detail, and had done her homework on Roy once you’d revealed that he was a public figure. She’d questioned every single text and phone call that made you smile during a shift, demanding to know exactly how Roy was treating you right. You’d even caught her telling the other members of staff that you were dating “a football legend.”

Roy had gotten a kick out of that when you’d told him one date night. It was at your favorite restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall Italian place where he was unlikely to be spotted by paparazzi. Rumors were starting to swirl that he had a “mystery girl,” which both thrilled and terrified you, but thankfully no pictures had been sneakily snapped. Yet. You were still able to enjoy your anonymity, laughing and twirling pasta with the man you’d been lucky enough to meet while you worked his niece’s birthday party.

“So let me understand this, she tried to tell Snack Bar James that he’d forever missed out on catching you because now your standards are too high for the likes of him?” Roy’s eyes were crinkled at the edges as he tried not to grin.

“Pretty much,” you laughed. “I think we were both relieved. Lettie’s been trying to set us up for the entire year he’s worked with us, but he’s obviously more interested in Ashley in the pro shop.”

“Still, that Lettie’s a fuckin’ savage,” said Roy, respect heavy in his gruff voice. Then he took a bite of his chicken parmesan and sighed happily, looking at you.

“What?” you asked.

“Nothing. Just- this is nice. Us. I’ve been enjoying myself.”

“That’s good to know, considering we haven’t really done anything. What with your knee and everything.”

You both glanced down to the offending appendage in its articulating brace. Roy would hopefully get the okay from physio the following week to begin putting weight back onto it and using it more normally, but you were enjoying being the chauffer for now. It leant itself to quiet days in, calm conversations and movie nights snuggled on the couch, sometimes with Phoebe as well. It was hardly any different from your quiet existence before, except you weren’t lonely anymore.

“You’re kidding about doing nothing, right?” The man put down his fork and trained his gaze on you. It was one of the things about him that you loved best; he made sure that those around him felt seen. “This isn’t nothing, it’s fucking everything. I get to be a normal bloke with you, hearing the petty gossip of normal people. I haven’t had this in pretty much my entire adult life. I love this.”

He paused, his mouth open like he wanted to continue the thought. Like he might want to say that he loved you, but he didn’t say anything more. It disappointed you more than you expected; you realized that you maybe cared more deeply for him than you thought. Maybe you loved him.

A grunt jolted you out of your thoughts. Roy was looking at you tensely.

“I just fucked that up. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

And it was you were confused by your own feelings, so it was okay that he was taking responsibility for acting on his. He reached for your hand and held it tight.

“I’m an idiot. I know. Can I make it up to you?”

Your attention piqued, you nodded. “Yes, you can. How are you making it up to me?”

You watched as he took a breath, sat up a little taller, and asked, “Come to a family dinner with me?”

“A family dinner?”

“Well, we call them family dinners. Sam started it. It’s really a team dinner.”

Up to now, Roy had kept his football life separate from his dating life. You were excited that he seemed ready for his circles to start converging.

“Are you really sure you want me to come?” you asked. “That’s a big step, Roy.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. The boys have a pool going on why my mood’s been so abnormal, and I’d love to prove them all wrong. They think it’s because I’m on painkillers or some shit.”

“Didn’t you tell them that you’re not taking anything stronger than Tylenol?”

“Of course I fucking did, but they didn’t believe me. What do you say? Want to help me prove them wrong?”

“I would love to help you prove them wrong, but only if I get a cut of the pool,” you giggled. “Considering I’m the cause of it, I deserve it.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Fine, you get a cut of the winnings if you can convince any of those idiots to share with you. Happy?”

“Yes, very.”

“Fuckin’ right.”

The two of you smiled at each other over your pastas. You were happy, even more so that he wanted you to start meeting his team. He’d been very protective of them, and of you, and you suspected of himself in keeping his worlds apart. You could understand it; it was always more comfortable keeping things in their separate placed. But you were pretty excited that he deemed you worthy of introducing into another part of his life.

“What are team dinners like?” you inquired. Then you took a large bite of your dinner so he’d have to say more than two words.

“They’re fine,” grumbled the man in response. “Once a month we all go to Ola’s, and Sam has us try some new Nigerian dish he’s thinking about putting on the menu. Richard brings wine, because he’s fucking French, and the lads destroy a week’s worth of training with how much they eat. It’s nothing fancy. People bring dates if they’ve got any.”

“But not Roy Kent,” you pointed out. “The day he brings a date will be one for the books.”

“Hmm.”

If it was possible for a man to look nervous while eating chicken parm, Roy was doing it as he thought about bringing a girl to a team function. You smiled reassuringly at him and tapped his foot under the table with yours.

“It’ll be great. I’ve already met them anyway, so now it will just be a reintroduction, which is much less awkward,” you promised. “I’ve been meaning to catch Jamie for a few weeks now.”

“Why?”

“To thank him for chauffeuring you around on the days I work! He must really like you for him to do that, and I need to thank him for being good to you.”

Roy could obviously tell that you were trying to push his buttons, but took the bait all the same. “The only thing he is to me is a prick. Please don’t encourage him. He’s been trying to corner me in the car park for the past two weeks to see who’s been dropping me off. I’m trying to protect you from him for as long as possible.”

His logic made no sense. “By inviting me to meet him and the rest of your idiots?”

“Beat ‘em to the punch,” he said. “We do it on my terms instead of theirs, so I control the conversation. It’s tactics, just like on the pitch.”

You threw one last jab. “I thought Nate was the tactics man?”

Those expressive eyebrows scrunched down. “Fuck you, babe.”

You finished your meals, ordered dessert, and ended your date night. After dropping Roy off at his house, you went home to your flat. You fell asleep thinking about the team dinner, three nights away, and how lucky you felt to be getting more serious with the man who insisted he didn’t care about it but obviously wanted you to go with him. The man who wanted you.

The day of the team dinner, you pulled up to Nelson Road early. You and Roy had decided that it would be easier for both of you to be the first to the restaurant and have the attention spread out, rather than arrive together later and be bombarded by the entire team at once. You’d thought you’d timed it so that nobody would see you idling in the parking lot, but after a moment, you realized there was someone in the Aston Martin parked next to you.

It was Jamie Tartt, and he was sitting in the passenger seat of his own car waiting for you to notice him. Once you did, he hopped out and motioned for you to roll down the window.

“And what are you doin’ in Coach’s car?”

“Driving,” you quipped.

“Driving Coach’s car?” the man probed. “When Coach just so happens to have someone driving him around while his knee is unusable? And when there are rumors that he’s got a girl?”

You did your best to keep your face neutral. “I know, it’s quite a coincidence, but stranger things have happened. Coach Kent and I just happen to have the same taste in cars.”

It wasn’t a lie, just not wholly the truth. Now that you had driven the Beast for a while, you loved it. Jamie eyed you good naturedly and didn’t say anything else, content to lean in the window. You could see why Roy found him annoying at times, but also why he would probably die for him. His manner was so casual that he was completely disarming.

“What are you doing here, Jamie?” you questioned. “No one else is here, so training can’t be done yet.”

“Me? Nothin’. Just forgot me headband.”

Your eyes darted to the elastic currently holding back his floppy hair. Strands were flying away; it had obviously been there for a while. You raised an eyebrow to let him know you weren’t fooled by his lie.

He shrugged. “All right, you caught meh. I’ve been trying to catch Coach’s driver for weeks, but haven’t managed it until today. I was hoping the rumors were true about our old man finding a girlfriend, and I’m really glad it’s you.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Because it’s right, innit? He hasn’t looked at anybody the way he looked at you at the bowling alley. Not since Keeley, and that look was different.”

Keeley. The model, and previous girlfriend. You felt extremely insecure every time you thought about her with Roy, despite his insistence that you didn’t need to. “I don’t know about that. Keeley’s famous.”

With a scoff, Jamie challenged, “And do you think that matters to Granddad? He only does what he’s sure of. Anyways, he’ll be out soon, and I don’t want him to see me out here. I told him I were being sick so he wouldn’t ask any questions. Are you coming to family dinner tonight?”

Nodding, you replied, “Yes, but it’s a secret. You can’t tell the team. It’s going to be a surprise.”

“I won’t tell, swear down.” He started bouncing back and forth between both feet. “I better get back inside. I’ll see you tonight!”

“You sure will. Oh, and Jamie!” you called as he jogged away.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for driving Roy on the days I can’t. We both appreciate it, even if he’s too tough to say anything.”

Jamie grew two inches taller under your praise. He pointed at you and smiled. “Oh, he definitely needs to keep you around. See yah, Splits!”

The young man bounced back into the stadium, leaving you to wait for Roy. You didn’t see the prick in Jamie the way Roy had described him to you, but then, you weren’t in charge of him. You supposed somebody that chipper could be a bit of a handful. But you were pleased; the first interaction with somebody know you were the girlfriend had gone well, and the information hadn’t even been a surprise. It boded well for tonight.

Roy was upstairs; you could hear the steady thumping of his crutches as he got ready for the dinner. He’d finally mastered navigating the stairs, thank goodness, so you didn’t feel the need to run back and forth grabbing clothes and toiletries for him. This gave you time to do your makeup. Admittedly, you didn’t need long, as you were pretty minimal when it came to painting your face, but you were nervous, and kept messing it up.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t met the team before, and your conversation with Jamie had gone well earlier today, but tonight was your public debut as Roy Kent’s girlfriend. After tonight, there was no going back. There would probably even be press hiding somewhere, waiting to be the first to confirm the news that Roy was seeing somebody new.

“What’re you doing? You’re staring into space?”

Roy’s gruff voice startled you, and you almost stabbed yourself with your mascara wand. You hadn’t heard him come downstairs, but his reflection in the mirror was leaning on the doorframe, like he’d been watching you for a little bit, his face soft.

“You are so quiet when you want to be, it’s scary,” you scolded, turning to face him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to be scary; it just happens.” He looked at you, a small smile curving his lips. “You look great.”

With a scoff, you told him “I look okay at best. I’m not done yet.”

Roy stepped closer and looked you up and down carefully. “No, you look done and you look incredible. Don’t change one thing. What the fuck has you so freaked out?”

“After tonight, there’s no hiding,” you said in a small voice. “If I make a bad first impression, or a photographer gets a picture of me mid-sneeze, or choking on my food or something, that’s it. I will forever be the idiot that you took pity on.”

“No, you’ll be the young and beautiful date of a washed-up old has-been.” Roy kissed the top of your head. “The team will go easy on you. Its me they’ll be fucking with.”

You looked up at him, hovering above your hair. “Do you promise?”

“I promise. Now finish up, so we can get going. I want to beat everyone there.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute,” you said, turning back to the bathroom mirror. Roy’s reflection swung away on its crutches, and you quickly put on the rest of your mascara before pulling the green sweater over your head and doing your hair. When you walked into the living room a few minutes later, Roy was gazing up at you with the look that Phoebe called his heart eyes.

“Is that the same jumper you wore on our first date?” he asked.

“Yeah. I remember you liked it, but I don’t have to wear it if it’s not right.”

“It’s perfect,” said Roy fondly. “They’ll all love you.”

You both walked to the car, and Roy put on his cheesy pump-up playlist for you. It only got through a few songs before you arrived at Ola’s, but it had the desired effect, and you were less anxious about the impending ordeal.

Roy was looking around as you parked the Beast. “I don’t see any of their cards,” he grunted. “Let’s get inside while we’re still in the fucking clear.” He reached toward you and squeezed your hand. “Ready?”

Squeezing back, you braced yourself and hopped out. Sam Obisanya’s restaurant, Ola’s, was a cute little corner unit deeper than it was wide. Airy curtains obscured most of the dining room from outside view, but you could see inside enough to know that you and Roy were the first ones there, as planned. Two people were bustling in the back when you opened the door for Roy, and while one ducked into the kitchen, the other approached.

“Coach!” called Sam, smiling widely. “Welcome! I’m so glad you could make it, although we’re not quite ready for everyone yet.”

Roy was obscuring you from Sam’s view while you followed him in. “Wanted to make sure that the close parking spots would be open, so we came early.” Your boyfriend stepped to the side as he said “we,” and pulled you to him.

Only for a moment, Sam faltered, then his eyes lit up as he recognized you, and realized the rumor about his coach was true.

“You’re the lady from the bowling alley!”

“Guity,” you chuckled, extending a hand to properly introduce yourself, but before you could do that, Sam took it in both of his and shook it warmly.

“I am so very glad that you are here, and that you are with Roy! What is your name?”

Roy introduced you before you could respond, and the sheer amount of pride in his voice made your heart melt a bit. He was acting like he didn’t deserve to be on your arm, not the other way around. And he was smiling, unashamedly.

“I am so glad to officially meet you,” beamed Sam, “and so glad that Coach gets to be with someone so lovely. I do hope that you enjoy yourself tonight.”

“I’m sure I will. Thank you, Sam. If the food is as good as the restaurant looks, I’m in for a treat.”

“Do you want to sit down, babe?” Roy gestured to a table in the corner, out of view of the door.

After a last smile at Sam, you joined Roy. He practically threw himself into a chair, and then carefully stretched his knee out onto one of the extra seats.

“That didn’t go so badly, as far as introductions go,” you told him.

The man grunted. “Sam is the golden child of the team. I wasn’t worried about him. It’s the other ones that’ll be idiots about it.”

The other ones showed up shortly thereafter. From your corner, you and Roy watched the team slowly trickle in. Coach Shelley and his fiancée were the earliest, and both lit up when their gazes settled on you. Jade planted herself next to you and told you how happy she was that there would be another girl there to talk to when Roy and Nate inevitably started talking tactics. You liked Jade; she could hold her own.

Some of the second team came in next. They all greeted you warmly, and heaped verbal abuse on Roy for taking so long to settle down. One of them, Paul, was the oldest on the team since Roy’s retirement, and promised you a few stories of their time playing together before his daughter pulled him away.

The defenders and midfielders arrived together, minus Jan Maas, who was apparently late to everything. Isaac McAdoo shook your hand seriously.

“He’s good to you, yeah?” he asked.

“Of course I’m fucking good to her!” Roy spluttered. “You’ve known me for years!”

“It’s always the ones you think you know,” Isaac said darkly. He looked you in the eye, still holding your hand. “If he ever stops being good to you, you call me and I’ll fuck him up for you. You’re at a family dinner, so you’re one of us now.”

“I’ll let you know if that ever happens,” you promised, trying your hardest not to laugh at how Roy was gripping one of his crutches like he was going to hit Isaac with it. The captain wisely moved out of reach before that could happen.

Most of the team didn’t seem all that surprised to see you. You saw a few bank notes changing hands throughout the course of the night, but everyone was more or less calm about you being there. Roy even halfway relaxed, until Jamie came in with Jan Maas in tow.

“The dinner can start now, ‘cos the party’s arrived!” he called as he came in, arms wide. “Splits! What are you doing here?”

Jamie was acting like your parking lot conversation had never happened. He plopped down next to Roy and stared at him cheekily. “Coach, I’m surprised at yah. Keeping a lovely lady all to yourself? Not cool.”

“And why should I have to share every fucking detail of my life with a prick like you? You’d only make a huge deal out of it and lord it over the whole team that you knew something about me that no one else did, and then no one would leave me the fuck alone.”

“Roy,” you interrupted, sensing that the rant would have been a long one, “Jamie already knows. He saw me driving your car when I came to pick you up.”

Eyes narrowing, Roy could only growl. You and Jamie grinned at each other.

“I think it’s great, man. You needed some happiness in your life, and she seems to be giving it to you. We all knew something was going right for you, and it definitely wasn’t your knee.”

Your boyfriend’s nostrils flared once, but then he looked at you and softened, just the slightest bit.

“All right, fair enough,” he admitted. “Life isn’t terrible right now, even with my shit knee.”

“She must be special, to make you that happy. You aren’t having any sex right now with your knee like that,” deadpanned Jan Maas.

There were shouts. Half the team jumped out of their chairs anticipating a fight. You reached out to grab Roy’s shoulder, as did Jamie, you noticed. Bad knee or not, you wouldn’t put it past Roy to lunge at the taller man after a comment like that. He had already grabbed one of his crutches and was brandishing it like a club.

Coach Shelley was talking the team, and the dutchman, down. “That was uncalled-for, even for you, Jan. There are ladies present.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, Coach. I can handle it,” Colin Hughes joked. It made everyone else relax, but Roy was still furious.

“I’ll kill him. I swear to God, I’ll fucking kill him.” His growl certainly sounded murderous. “Embarrassing you like that.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” you liked. “You told me he could be rude.”

Jamie shook his head disapprovingly. “Rude and Dutch. That was mental. He’s lucky our old man here is laid up.”

“I could still kick his ass, just let go of me!”

“How about some dinner?” Sam shouted over the din in his dining room. “Simi and I have some new dishes for you all to try.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for the Beards?” someone from second team asked.

“Who knows when they’ll show up?” someone else called sarcastically. “Queenie probably pitched another fir, and they’re never on time anyway.”

You looked to Roy. “Queenie?”

A growl; Roy seemed incapable of speech as he glared at Jan Maas. Jamie answered your question.

“Coach Beard’s daughter. They named her after the chess piece. Poor babeh hasn’t forgiven them for it. She’s always screaming.”

A few of the men loudly agreed that dinner should be served before Coach Beard and his family arrived so everyone else would be able to eat in peace. You weren’t sure that any team function could be considered “peaceful,” but agreed that dinner shouldn’t wait. Sam and his chef Simi – you couldn’t figure out whether they were dating or not – brought out countless platters of delicious food, and you all dug in. With every bite, you found yourself falling in love with Nigerian cuisine. Even Roy’s bad mood couldn’t stand up to it, and soon he was listening intently to the conversations around him, his hand on your knee under the table.

You quickly learned that not many people kept to one seat. Higgins and O’Brien found their way to your table to learn more about bowling from you, and you spent an enjoyable few minutes talking strategies, moreso for O’Brien’s benefit than Higgins’. The reserve keeper had enjoyed the team bowling night so much that he was considering joining a league. You would have been happy gushing about your sport all night, since everybody at work had already heard everything you had to say, and O’Brien was willing to listen. Higgins, too; you learned that he was registered for a tournament that you were also competing in at your alley, and he wanted to know which oil patterns were going to be laid. But your conversation was cut short when the door to the restaurant opened, and a screaming toddler was dragged in by her parents.

You recognized Coach Beard; he was often shown next to Roy during match broadcasts. The woman with him must be his wife Jane, who Roy had told you was slightly insane, but in a different way than Beard was. The two-year-old looked more like Jane, and was crying as only an unhappy toddler could. Half of the team looked sympathetically at Beard, Roy included, and the other half looked annoyed. Queenie didn’t seem to be popular.

She didn’t stop crying and whining. For twenty minutes, the Beards, and eventually everybody else, tried to cheer her up while they ate, but it was useless. People started scooping her up and passing her around, just trying to keep her occupied long enough for her to forget she was upset.

It didn’t work.

People were starting to get antsy, looking at the exit as if contemplating how quickly they could reach it. Wives and girlfriends were still trying to soothe Queenie, while Beard and Jane scarfed down a meal. Jade reached out for a turn, and put her purse in front of the girl to distract her. You would be the next victim if Jade couldn’t calm her down.

Unfortunately, digging through a purse wasn’t what Queenie wanted. She looked like she was gearing up for another fit. The adults at your table exchanged glances.

“Does anybody have a better idea?” challenged Jade.

You could only shrug. The only children you had in your life were the kids in the youth league, and they were older. Toddlers didn’t make any sense to you. Nate also seemed to be at a loss. After waiting a moment, Roy let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

“All right, give her here,” he grumbled, holding out his hands. “Don’t any of you know any kids? Fucking amateurs, all of you.”

Once he had Queenie, Roy stood her up in his lap, holding her up by her hands. They looked at each other seriously, as if acknowledging each other’s existence. Roy did the same thing with you, you realized; every time he spent time with you, he ignored his surroundings to focus on you. Then Roy lowered her hands, and rather than stand on him, the toddler chose to snuggle up on him, her front pressed against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and tucked his chin into her curls, which she’d wedged under his head.

Ola’s was silent. Mouths hung open in shock, eyes stared at the manager. He glared at everybody.

“What are you all staring at?”

“She stopped,” Beard said, awestruck. “She hasn’t stopped in days.”

“You’re the fuckin’ baby whisperer,” chuckled Jamie.

“You’re forgetting about Phoebe. She was small once. I learned with her.”

Roy was speaking to the room, but he was looking at Queenie burrowed into his chest. There was something so gentle in the way that he was with her; you hadn’t even seen it with Phoebe, maybe because she was older. It was like he was marveling at her, or in her willingness to trust him. Seeing this gruff man melt made you fall a little deeper for him.

The team was stunned at this peaceful side of their coach. Across the dining room, Beard and Jame were having a hushed conversation. Roy was choosing to ignore all of them; he was focusing on Queenie, who was starting to look like she was going to fall asleep as he rubber her back.

“Incredible,” Nate murmured. “I didn’t know you had this in you, Roy.”

“No reason to let it out at Nelson Road,” he grunted. “Now shut up. She’s not going to stay quiet if you idiots wake her up.”

Rather than say anything else, the assistant coach went to another table with Jade. Jamie followed suit, leaving you with Roy and Queenie.

“She really trusts you, Roy,” you observed quietly.

“Hmm.”

“Any reason why? Have you babysat her before?”

“No. I think she can tell that I’m just as scared of the world as she is, and she takes some comfort in that.”

“Roy Kent is scared? What does Roy Kent have to be scared of?”

Your boyfriend finally tore his eyes from Queenie to look at you.

“Roy Kent the footballer wasn’t scared of anything. But Just Roy… He’s effing terrified of life after football, and how great it’s turning out to be, and how much could be lost if he effs it up.”

It was startlingly honest. You’d never heard Roy that open before, even when it was just the two of you. Kids were apparently his weakness, which kind of made sense. He was fiercely protective and took care of everybody he cared about; children needed caring for more than adults did, so he probably felt even more himself while he had someone small to protect. Plus, he apparently related to how he thought kids viewed the world, which probably contributed even more to his being comfortable enough to share.

Your thoughts were moving too fast and with too much emotion for you to articulate anything, so you reached out to gently play with Queenie’s hair. Roy, his chin still in those curls, snuck a quick kiss onto your hand and smiled contentedly at you. It would have been a tender moment, had Jane and Coach Beard not chosen it as their moment to approach. Some of the usual grumpiness settled back onto your boyfriend’s face once he noticed them.

“Roy,” Jane began in what could only be described as a wheedling tone.

“What do you want?”

“We were hoping we could ask you to watch Queenie for a bit. You’re so good with her, and she’s been so difficult the past few weeks…”

Beard interrupted. “We’ve got to do some stuff around the apartment, and it will be a whole lot easier without a 25-month-old screaming the entire time.”

“It will only be about an hour,” continued Jane. “We’ll be quick.”

They looked pleadingly at Roy, who rolled his eyes. He didn’t have to think for long.

“Fine, but only because she’s effing asleep, and because I’m still injured, which are two very good reasons for me not to move.”

“Thanks, Roy,” said Beard. “We’ll be quick.”

“Effin’ hope so. If you’re not back in an hour, like you said, I won’t be doing the training reports for the rest of the month, you will. That’s my condition.”

“Deal.” Coach Beard took his wife’s hand. “We appreciate this, Roy.”

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You’re wasting valuable time. Now scram.”

You heard something that could almost be a laugh come from Roy as he watched the could run off.

“What are you laughing about?”

“I just got out of a month’s worth of reports,” he chuckled smugly. “It’s a ten minute trip to their flat, if they run the whole way, and they won’t. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“So you just agreed to babysit a difficult toddler for who knows how long, just to get out of doing some paperwork, because you know your coworker would be distracted by his wife?”

“Pretty effing smart, right?”

Roy was quite pleased with himself. He even kept conversation up for a few minutes more than usual before he let it die, and by then, Sam and Simi were bringing out the next course. Yor table was given a wide berth – nobody wanted to risk waking Queenie – but you and Roy were fin with that, and enjoyed having a break from everyone’s attention.

Until Dani Rojas walked over.

“Hola, Roy! Have you seen Coach Beard?”

At this point, it had been well over an hour since he and Jane had left.

“No, they went home to get some things done without Queenie in the way.”

“Oh. So you are babysitting, yes?”

With a suspicious look at you, Roy answered, “Yeah. Why are you fu- effing asking?”

“No reason, really. Mostly, I wanted to tell you how good it is to see you and Señora Splits here together. You look like a real familia, sitting here with the little Queen.”

You felt some color rise to your cheeks, and saw how Roy shifted his weight uncomfortably. First Jan Maas bringing up the sex thing, and now Dani Rojas bringing up a family, kids! This team definitely wasn’t shy.

“Oh! I apologize, you just started dating. These topics are probably uncomfortable, yes?” Dani glanced between you and Roy apologetically, reacting to your reactions. “I’m sorry. Please, forgive me.”

“Dani,” growled your boyfriend as he put his hands over Queenie’s little ears, “fuck off. Now, please.”

The striker retreated back to his original seat, which left you and Roy alone again. You subconsciously started twisting a ring you always wore, your mind racing as you contemplated everything. Did you want kids? You’d never really had the urge, unlike the girls you’d grown up around, who’d had baby names picked out by the age of twelve. Nothing specifically bothered you about kids, but you’d never been in a hurry to have any. But seeing Roy in front of you, murmuring softly to Queenie…

Maybe, with the right person, domestic bliss wasn’t unattainable.

“What’re you thinking about? You’re doing your ring twisting thing.”

You weren’t ready to have this conversation yet. Not here, where a footballer could interrupt at any second. You chose to ask your own question instead.

“What were you saying to Queenie just now?”

“I was saying sorry for swearing, just in case she heard me tell Dani to eff off.” The corners of his mouth were threatening to turn upwards. “I’ve been trying so hard all night not to corrupt this baby the way I’ve corrupted Phoebe, but at some point, you have to say it.”

“I was wondering why you were censoring yourself,” you smiled. “It’s been strange.”

“Yeah. Not how I expected my night to go, but it’s been all right. My knee’s killing me from having this one in my lap all night, and I need to use the toilet, but other than that.”

“Where are the Beards? It’s been closer to two hours. You should try to get two month’s worth of reports out of it.”

The twinkle returned to Roy’s eyes as he realized the genius of your suggestion. Then he shifted Queenie higher, probably to relieve some pressure from his knee.

“Knowing those two, they’re probably all over each other. Hopefully not making another of these little gremlins, because they don’t give enough attention to the one they already have.”

“Do you think it’s an attention issue?” you asked. “She’s had attention all night.”

Before he answered you, Roy let out an aggravated sigh. “No, she’s been handled all night. None of that lot actually interacted with her, they just passed her around trying to distract her. Kids are people, too, you know. They want to feel included the same way adults do. Honestly, babe, you coach youth bowling, how do you not know this?”

“I guess I’m just good at seeing them in the context of bowling, where it’s my job to watch after them,” you mused. “But I may not be a natural like you.”

You expected the man to respond with something sarcastic, but he looked thoughtfully at Queenie once more. As did you. As much as you didn’t want to have the conversation here in the open, seeing him so comfortable with her felt like it might be a small glimpse at a future. The two of you hadn’t been together long – only six weeks – but it was serious, and future wasn’t out of the question for you.

Gradually, you felt Roy’s gaze on you. All harshness was dissolved from his face.

“I know you don’t want to talk about this in public, and I’m with you on that, but I want you to know… I don’t hate this. I think I’ve known since Phoebe was born, but I hadn’t really thought about it until my career went up in flames and I had to effing retire. I think I want a family to take care of. Kids. Or just one, I don’t know. But I need you to know that before we fu- effing go any further. We can talk about it later, when you’re ready. If you’re ready. You don’t have to be, and if it was too early to say, I’m really sorry. I can be –“

“Roy, stop.” His voice was getting high and strained, and he had yet to take a breath; you had to make him stop to breathe. “I think it may be something I want, too. It’s okay.”

And it was, you realized. The man in front of you, holding the toddler that wasn’t yours, could be something very serious. He’d taken a chance on you, somebody decidedly outside his world, and brought you in. He’d given you his trust and his weakness, and become a steward of yours. He was the baby whisperer. He could be the endgame.

It was all so simple. He could be it. And he seemed to think that you might be it, too.

“Oi, take Queenie for a second.” Always abrupt, Roy seemed to be switching topics. “I can’t stand it anymore; I have to get up before I piss myself, and before my good knee locks up.”

You held your hands out, and Roy passed you a drowsy toddler. You made sure to acknowledge her before she settled, as he had, and she didn’t fuss as she nestled into you, using one of your boobs as a pillow. Roy was already stumping away towards the back of the restaurant, and the team was busy passing around a dessert, so you were alone with your thoughts. It may have just been biology, or attraction, or the fact that sex had been reference more than once tonight, but cradling a sleepy little kid that had been handed off to you by the man you were currently seeing was doing something to your insides. A yearning was suddenly there. You could imagine a tiny, foul-mouthed menace running amuck.

Roy was it.

Roy was so distracted that he hadn’t noticed he was washing his hands with sanitizer until it found a paper cut. He swore and corrected his mistake, then looked his reflection dead in the eye in the mirror.

The man hadn’t seen himself wear this expression before. In the press, he’d always looked angry, all hard angles and glares. Having Queenie all night had melted it all away, and Just Roy, staring back at him looked… Fond? He wasn’t sure. It was something soft.

He reached for a paper towel to dry his hands, his mind spinning. Taking care of Queenie all night had ignited something warm in his chest, which felt suspiciously like his heart. But it wasn’t really about Queenie, was it?

No, it wasn’t. It was about the woman who’d been beside him, who hadn’t flinched through this whole night. And its many twists, turns, and blunt footballers. Splits had exuded grace all night, and he hadn’t consciously noticed until this moment how peaceful his normally-raging thoughts were whenever he was with her.

Just Roy was wearing heart eyes when he looked back in the mirror.

“Fuck. She’s the one.”

As he hobbled out of the toilets and back to the table, Roy knew with more certainty than he’d ever had in his life. He wanted to serve her, to protect her, to have her, to love her. For her to hold his kids as gently and tenderly as she was holding Queenie right now, who hadn’t even noticed the return of her parents.

Fuck being Roy Kent. He wanted to be Just Roy with her. Splits was it.

She smiled up at him when he got closer.

“Better?”

Why was she asking if he was better? Oh, right, his quick retreat to the toilets, which had been a bit of a lie because he’d needed to get his emotions in check more than he’d actually needed to go.

“Yeah, much better, thanks. How was Queenie?”

“An angel,” Splits answered. “You’re onto something with this whole acknowledgement thing. I was just telling the Beards.”

Jane was wearing an irritated expression, probably mad that other people were telling her how to manage her own child. Beard just looked thankful that said child wasn’t currently screaming. They both looked red and puffy around the mouth. Roy was pretty sure that they’d been making another fucking gremlin, and to his surprise, was insanely jealous.

Fuck, he was falling hard. It scared him how intensely sure he was that Splits was the one.

He had to get out. It was too much, being around his team, his family.

“Are you ready to go?” he questioned, more harshly than he’d meant to.

She shrugged. “Yeah, we can go. Is your knee bothering you?”

“Something like that. Beard, you were gone for two hours, not one, so I’m expecting two months of training reports.”

Coach Beard was nothing if not fair. As he took his daughter from Splits, he nodded stoically. “Fine. You held up your end.”

“Well said.”

Roy pulled out his girlfriend’s chair and turned for the exit. He’d wanted to sneak out, but the whole team saw them leaving and called out goodbyes. Sam, of course, thanked them for coming. Jamie, less predictably, shouted, “Good night, Kents!”

In his peripheral, the manager could see Splits was stifling a smile and waiting for his reaction. Roy didn’t correct Jamie, only flipped him off without turning around. He ushered his girl out of Ola’s to the Beast, then turned on one of his playlists. He texted his father as she drove them home.

Me: Need to talk. Call tomorrow?

Dad: About fucking time. Your mother’s upset you haven’t told us.

Me: ???

Dad: typing…

After a moment, his father sent a link to a post on The Sun’s social media. It was a photo, sniped through the window of the restaurant, of him in profile holding Queenie and kissing Splits’ hand as she played with the little girl’s hair. They’d been caught, but he fought down the anger rising in his throat. He typed out one last message.

Me: It’s new, but she’s fucking amazing. Do you still have Nan’s stuff?

With that, he closed his texts and pocketed his phone. He reached over for Splits’ hand, resting on the center console while she waited for the light to change, and took it.

It was missing a vital piece of jewelry. He needed to fix that.

Tag list: @preciousbabypeter @harry-bowie-mercury @amieinghigh @onceuponaoneshot @chewymoustachio @my-neurodivergent-world

[memesfromstuff]

* A FABLE OF GODS: ARIA OF THE ACCURSED (NOVEL) PART TWO.

feel free to change pronouns, wording, etc. as needed! spoilers ahead.

“ And how many times have you miscalculated before?”

“ It was my fault.”

“ You're not allowed inside.”

“ And [name], I expected better of you.”

“ What's that supposed to mean?”

“ I don't appreciate you lying to us.”

“ You just made a big mistake.”

“ He's not worth it.”

“ Listen to me.”

“ We won't be able to [___] if we're arrested.”

“ We'll go figure something else out, okay?”

“ Next time, maybe lead with that.”

“ Calm down.”

“ I have another idea to get us inside.”

“ What's the point?”

“ Do you really believe that?”

“ Then trust me.”

“ So, what are we doing here?”

“ You're breaking the law?!”

“ You will find that some things are worth breaking the law for.”

“ Then shut up and follow me.”

“ What's done is done, and it's on me and me alone.”

“ You did nothing, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“ And you think anyone else will believe that if they find out?”

“ Fine. But when I end up in prison, just remember, I told you it would happen.”

“ Whatever. Now be quiet.”

“ Just follow my lead and act normal.”

“ Do you even know what you're doing?”

“ I have been here before many times, so I know how the place operates.”

“ You've done this before?”

“ Of course you would've been invited.”

“ Speak of the sun and it shall shine.”

“ As it happens, we have something urgent we need to discuss with you.”

“ How did you know?”

“ You expect me to believe no one told you before today?”

“ I don't expect you to believe anything.”

“ As you can imagine, no one else wished to end up with the same reputation as you.”

“ What matters is this; you have my attention. What will you do with it?”

“ I... had to use Arcaion to get out of the situation unharmed.”

“ If it happened like you said, you made the right decision.”

“ I will not fault you for it, nor punish you.”

“ I know. Poor choice of words. I apologize.”

“ If we want to survive this, our only option is to relocate.”

“ I hope your stay here has been satisfactory.”

“ When you spend most of your time at sea among friends, it is easy to forget how to behave in public spaces.”

“ You sure? It didn’t sound fine.”

“ You haven’t finally lost it, have you? Not that I’d blame you.”

“ No, no! I promise I haven’t lost my marbles just yet.”

“ You just let them leave?”

“ Whoa… That’s a huge tip.”

“ Either way, it’s not like you can give it back to him now that he’s gone. You should take it.”

“ I can’t just take it! What if they come back and ask for it?”

“ Then I’ll pay it back for you.”

“ That’s… that’s very sweet of you, but I can’t let you do that.”

“ I know the kind of pay we receive here, and let’s be honest, it’s not a lot.”

“ Maybe I have a second job that pays better.”

“ Take it. I won’t tell anyone.”

“ I… I truly don’t deserve your kindness.”

“ I don’t know, but it must be something big, because no one’s supposed to know about it yet.”

“ Wait. Then how do you know?”

“ I have my ways.”

“ One day you’re going to have to tell me, you know.”

“ Great work? That’s all you have to say?”

“ Surely you haven’t forgotten how stressful it was to practice for the Signía?”

“ Today was a blessing, but… It was just luck.”

“ We keep practically starving ourselves and working ourselves to death.”

“ We can’t keep living like this, you know?”

“ What if we moved?”

“ I don’t… I mean, we can barely afford to live, and you want to move?”

“ Arcaion is legal there.”

“ There’s a reason Arcaion is only permitted in certain circumstances, you know this.”

“ Perhaps Arcaion is not as bad as they make it out to be.”

“ Why do we keep living here and struggle every day, when we could have a much better life elsewhere?”

“ There has to be other options.”

“ Then what do you suggest?”

“ There is someone there. A man who provides payment in exchange for information.”

“ What kind of information?”

“ It pays well.”

“ You’re right. I’m sorry…”