#i love these children dearly but GOD please let me get to leave early today please please please

[queen-scribbles]

Cackling hysterically at the irony Wayhaven book 3 is estimated to release literally at the point I’m getting to work today. 🙃🙃🙃🙃

Especially bc Monkey’s on spring break so I won’t get that lovely 2 hours to myself I usually have while Mermaid is napping. .

[spnirwin]

Nobody Fights Alone - Part Five

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x reader

Word Count: 2,307

Warnings: Cancer

A/N: Part five!!! The penultamate chapter of Nobody Fights Alone! Co-written with @anotherspnfanfic. We have one more part coming your way in a couple days. We hope you enjoy! ☺️

Series Masterlist

Part Four

—

Slowly blinking your eyes open, you turned your head to look at the bed beside you. Eddie had his elbow on his pillow and his head rested against his palm. “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered.

You smiled and rolled over to kiss him. “Good morning!”

“Waffles?” he asked, rolling out of bed and reaching his hand out for you to take. You tilted your head in confusion. “I can work a toaster. We have frozen waffles.”

You laughed. “That sounds perfect.” As you sat up to take Eddie’s hand, the smile dropped from his face. “What?”

He nodded towards your pillow. You turned to see two clumps of hair sitting there. Instantly, you ran your fingers through your hair, pulling them away to find another handful. Tears welled up in your eyes and Eddie was beside you again, pulling you into a hug.

��Shh, it’ll be okay. You still look beautiful.” He pulled back and wiped away your tears with his thumb. “I can shave my head, if that’ll make you feel better.”

“That’s sweet.” You chuckled and ran your hands through his hair. “Don’t you dare make this worse by taking your hair away from me, too.”

—

Eddie was getting ready for work. He was wandering around the apartment filling his duffel bag. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

You raised an eyebrow in confusion. “About hanging out with Christopher today? Why wouldn't I be sure?”

“I mean, are you sure you feel okay?” he asked. “It’s not too late to have Carla come hang out with you guys.”

You stood and wrapped your arms around his neck. “I’m fantastic, and all we are doing is watching movies. I promise not to do anything more strenuous than that.” You leaned up to kiss him. “And besides, the station isn’t far away and neither is Carla. I’ll call if we need anything.”

He stared at you silently for a moment. “Alright, fine.” He said goodbye to Christopher and grabbed his bag to leave.

You gave him a hug and a kiss at the door and then turned around to face Christopher on the couch. “How about a Mutant Ninja Turtles marathon?” you asked.

He smiled. “Yeah!”

You made a big bowl of popcorn. Then, both of you got curled up on the couch and you started the movie. Within a few minutes, Christopher had explained Donatello was his favorite. After that, he was fully engrossed.

About an hour into the movie, Christopher looked over at you. You glanced over, meeting his eyes. “What’s up, kiddo?”

He broke into a big, bright smile and leaned over to hug you. “Love you, Y/N,” he said.

You hugged him back. “I love you, too. Thanks for hanging out with me today.”

—

Eddie was sitting on the couch at the station, listening to Hen talk about her dinner reservations for Karen. “Hey, Eddie, don’t you and Y/N have an anniversary coming up?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. Tomorrow, actually.”

“What are you guys doing to celebrate?” Chim asked.

Eddie shook his head and glanced toward the floor. “Nothing, really. Probably order in Chinese and relax at home. Chemo has been kicking her ass this week. She probably won’t want to go out.”

“You don’t have to go out to do something special for her,” Hen said.

Chim added, “Yeah, a candlelight dinner goes a long way.”

Hen smiled and nodded. “Ooh, yes, and maybe a nice bubble bath.”

Buck shook his head. “Can we not talk about bubble baths and my sister, please?”

Everyone laughed.

“Hey, I could make you guys something special for dinner. If you want,” Bobby offered.

The next evening, Eddie had asked you to hang out in the bedroom because he had a surprise for you. You were excited to see what he was planning. He knocked on the door gently before pushing it open. “You ready?” he asked.

You nodded and stood from the bed. He took your hand and interlaced his fingers through yours. He led you into the kitchen where the table was set with a couple candles and a single red rose in a vase. There were also rose petals dusted around the plates. Tears welled up in your eyes at the sight. “Oh, my god. It’s beautiful.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss you. “Happy Anniversary, corazón.”

“This is amazing. You are amazing.”

You both sat to eat. You shared favorite memories of your relationship, some of which had you in tears of laughter.

After dinner, he disappeared into the bathroom to run you a bath. The room was similarly filled with candles and rose petals. You soaked until your fingers started to get pruney. Finally, you curled up on the couch with Eddie and he turned on Dirty Dancing.

You smiled as it started. “It’s been forever since I watched this.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to your temple. “Buck mentioned it was always a favorite when you were younger.”

You fell asleep less than halfway through the movie. You stirred when Eddie carried you to bed. “Thanks for tonight. I love you,” you mumbled, still half asleep.

“I love you, too, more than you know.”

—

You were on the couch, cocooned in a mountain of pillows and blankets. Eddie and Christopher were getting ready to go out for the day to give you some time alone with Buck.

First, Christopher stopped in front of you and leaned in to give you a big hug. Next, Eddie leaned over and gave you a kiss. As he pulled away, he ran his fingers down your cheek.

“We gotta go,” he said. ”We’re going to be late for our movie. Buck will be here any minute.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

He bent down and pressed a kiss to your forehead before heading out the door. You heard Buck greet them in the hallway on his way into the apartment.

“Hey, sis,” he said, sitting on the couch by your feet. “What do you want to do today? I was thinking we could go for a nice, long run.” He laughed as you rolled your eyes.

“Ha, ha, very funny.” You kicked your feet over his leg and tossed him the remote. “You’re picking the movie today.”

He scrolled through titles for a minute before starting Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He set the remote aside then tossed the end of your blanket over your face. He laughed when you pouted at him.

You tried, unsuccessfully, to pinch his arm with your toes. “Ugh, I need a pedicure. It’s weird not having nail poilsh on.” You sighed.

Buck stood quickly and disappeared down the hall.

“Where are you going?” A moment later, you heard him opening cabinets in your bathroom. “What are you doing?”

He came back carrying your nail polish case. “Pick a color,” he said, setting the polish in front of you.

You gave him a sad smile. “I can’t paint my toenails, Ev.”

“Just pick a color.” He rolled his eyes.

You pulled out your favorite shade of blue and placed it in his waiting, outstretched hand. Next thing you knew, he was attempting to paint your toenails for you. You tried not to laugh every time he messed up a toe.

He finished and looked up at you with a goofy, proud smile. “Problem solved.”

You couldn’t contain your laugh any longer. “Uh, thanks, I think. Pretty sure there is more polish on my toes than the nails, but I appreciate your effort.”

—

You heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of Eddie’s voice echoing through the apartment. The time on the clock on your bedside table read 5:32. He was home early. 

It was his day off and he had spent it with Buck. Your brother had decided he wanted to renovate his kitchen, which had quickly led Eddie to decide that he needed to help. Buck wasn’t exactly known for his skills with power tools, and you knew Eddie was concerned for his safety if he worked alone. 

Truth be told, you were grateful for the days of peace that their work provided you. You loved both men dearly, but their hovering was getting a little overwhelming. Having a couple days here and there that were silent, aside from the sound of your own breathing, was a blessing. You were a little over halfway done with your chemo treatments and they were kicking your butt. 

Some days, you could barely stand due to the nausea and dizziness. Other days you felt fine, as if nothing was happening. Thankfully, today was a good day physically. Your mental and emotional state, however, were not quite as strong.

You sat up in bed, pressing your fingers to your eyes while desperately hoping they weren’t too puffy. There was a gentle knock on the door before it opened and Eddie’s face was looking back at you. 

“Hey, Christopher said you weren’t feeling well.”  He entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. “Why did you call Carla to pick him up from school? I could’ve just left Buck’s early.” He crossed the room and sat down beside you on the bed. 

“I didn’t want to interrupt you guys,” you said with a shrug. In truth, you had called Carla because you knew she would leave you alone. You hadn’t wanted Eddie home because you weren’t ready to talk yet. He wasn’t afraid to push and could see through you in about two seconds. That’s exactly what he was doing currently as he studied your face. There was no more hiding from him. 

“What’s going on?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper. The tears you had been crying all day resurfaced, slipping down your cheeks in their familiar pattern. 

“I’m so tired of crying.” You barked out a short, humorless laugh. Crying had always been your reaction to any sort of strong emotion, but since beginning chemotherapy it seemed that you were doing it at the drop of a hat. 

“Well, talk to me about what’s going on in that head of yours. Maybe we can get the tears to stop for a bit.” Eddie was looking at you so earnestly that it was almost too much to bear. You were certain that you didn’t deserve him. 

“I shaved my head,” you said, slowly nodding your head. “I shaved my head because my hair started falling out. Now, I wear a wig because I’m too vain to let go of something as simple as my hair. If I can’t let go of my hair, how am I supposed to let go of my ability to have children?” You choked on the last word, barely audible through your growing sobs. 

“Hang on, back up. Take a breath. You lost me there at the end. What are you talking about?” Eddie’s brows furrowed together, clearly confused. 

“I found out today that chemotherapy can affect my fertility. I could go into early menopause, or it could damage my eggs. Even if I do wind up pregnant, the chances of having a miscarriage are much higher. Do you understand what that means for me? For us? No babies. Not together, anyway.” Your chest was heaving with the force of your breaths. You were nearing hysterical, unable to process this newfound information. 

“Oh, Y/N.” Eddie’s voice dripped with sadness and sympathy. He placed his hand on your leg and squeezed. “We don’t know for sure this is something that’s going to happen. I know it’s all overwhelming and this is just one more layer piling on. We’re going to need to take this one step at a time here, okay? When this is all over, we’ll go see a fertility specialist and get this figured out. As much as I would love to have kids with you, I’m thankful to just have you. It’s enough for me to just have you here and healthy. So let’s just focus on that right now, alright? Let’s get you healthy before we worry about what comes after. One step at a time.”

You bit your lip and nodded as you processed his words. He was right, as per usual. You needed to tackle one problem at a time instead of staring at the giant mountain in front of you. If you ended up not being able to have children at the end of all of this, that was something you could figure out together. 

You took a deep breath, the tears finally beginning to slow. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s a lot to handle all at once. You’re doing so much better than I ever could. You’re the strongest person I know.” Eddie smiled before pulling you into his chest. 

You sat together for a while, completely wrapped up in each other. Eddie’s love and support were endless, and you still couldn’t believe you had gotten so lucky with him. 

After a fair amount of time had passed, Eddie pulled back and looked at you. “Are you hungry? I can order a pizza, I’m sure our boy is starving out there.” He pointed towards the bedroom door and the living room beyond it.

You smiled and nodded, moving to get up off the bed. Before you could stand, Eddie pulled you closer one more time and pressed a kiss to your lips. “I love you,” he said softly. 

“I love you, too,” you replied. “And thank you.”

Sitting on the couch later that night with your feet jammed under Eddie’s leg and Christopher snuggled against you, you smiled. It was there that you realized that if your family stayed just like this for the rest of your life, you would still be the luckiest person in the world. 

—

Tags: @beth-winchester21 @ lovinnholland @ashtonirwin1234567 @jackiehollanderr @ylirasblog

[lennydaisy]

EPIPHANY SERIES // OUTER BANKS // CHAPTER TWO.

(n.) a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand. or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you.

                   “Care to seize the day, my friend?”

Outer Banks                                                                                                                         Season 1-                                                                                                                        FEM OC! and ?

Here is the link to Chapter One if you have read it already <3 Check it out!!

'I'm going to kill that rooster.'

Slapping a hand over my eyes, my vision red with the suns early morning rays, my ears ringing at the excisive cockerel, refusing to accept the fact that I'm already awake.  The gentle patter of feet creaking against the uneven floorboards causes me to roll on my side, grabbing what I'm assuming is my pillow.

Why is my pillow so... boney? And retracting against my grip.

Oh well.

"May," I hear someone croak, not having the energy to reply I just hum, pulling my pillow closer to me, "May, stop that tickles," they let out in a breathy voice.

Scrunching my eyebrows together, 'why's my pillow talking?' I open one eye in confusion at the voice and that's when I realised I wasn't in my room, in my bed. No. I was on the couch and the pillow that I thought I was holding so dearly happened to be JJ's foot.

I let out a shriek at the sight of JJ's toes being in such close quarters with my face, causing the boy to jump slightly, kicking me in the nose, knocking me off the couch, smashing face-first against the floor, "Ouch."

"I don't want to know how you manage that," the toneless voice of John B echos through the room. Stepping over the heap that is my body, he slaps JJ's leg, "Yo, JJ, you been outside?"

"I have polio, bro. I can't walk,"  he grunted, voice muffled against his pillow.

Hearing John B's steps fade away, as a whip of wind squeezes through the gapping door, shaking a shiver down my spine.

I refuse to get up. I refuse. I live here now. On the floor. The hard and cold floorboards. This is my home now. Do you need me? You know where I'll be. On the ground. Where I belong-

"Ouch," I wince, the air being knocked out my lungs as a pair of feet stump down on my back, quickly retracting at the sound of my pain. "What are you doing on the floor?" I hear JJ ask, but I refuse to look at him or give him a proper answer, just huffing and grunting.

"Come one May, get up," I hear JJ say, tapping my head lightly before another wave of goosebumps run up my arms as the door bounced close again. Leaving me in a heap of self-pity, on the ground, with a 'broken' nose.

Cursing under my breath, I push myself to my feet, instantly feeling a rush of heat in my nose. Huffing, I stuff tissue up my bleeding nostril, staring at my dishevelled appearance in disgust. I attempt to flatting the creases in my shirt and brush my fingers through the bird's nest on my head before heading outside.

'Dang, Aggie did us a number,' I thought looking around our mess of a garden. The big oak tree now laid haphazardly across the grass being ripped out by the roots. Our trash cans are nowhere to be seen and I'm pretty sure that's our neighbour's dog house smashed to piece beside John B's van.

"What about the DCS? Wasn't that today?" I hear JJ ask my brother who is currently rummaging through the fallen branches that the storm blow onto the boat. Walking closer to the boys, John B replies, "Nah, they're not gettin' on a ferry" shaking his head.

"Thank god," I say, cringing at how nasally my voice sounds, tiptoeing around the puddles burrowing in the grass. "What happened to your face?" John B sniggers, making me point accusingly at our blonde friend, "Ask him."

"Hey, don't blame me," holding his hands up in defence, laughing slightly at my current state, but I don't find it very funny, especially this early in the morning, "Oh, so what, you didn’t kick me in the face?"

"It was an accident."

"An accident won't fix my broken nose."

"Okay, you're nose isn't broken."

"How do you know? Want me to kick you in the face and-"

"Guys!" John B yells, interrupting us from going any further, "We don't have time for this, God is telling us to fish."

Shaking my head at his attempt to reason, "I'm not fishing with a broken nose," I say, my toes curling in the damp grass. JJ lets out a sound of exhaustion, "Oh my God, May. Your nose is fine."

"See he still hasn't said sorry," Pointing at the boy who dares to belittle my swollen nose.

Having enough of us, "JJ, say sorry," John B sighs, jumping down from the boat. JJ whips around staring at his friend, mouth gaping like a fish as a smug smile creeps it's on my face, happy that John B is actually on my side, "Macy, you say sorry too."

Wait. What!

My previous stance of bouncing on the balls of my feet waiting expectingly for an apologize quickly changed to me mimicking JJ, "What, why?" I gape, not understanding why I should be sorry.

"JJ, apologize for kicking Macy, " John B starts as JJ tries to interrupt him, "But-" quickly catching his tongue at the dangerous look John B sends his way, "And Macy, apologize for being a diva," this time I interrupt, "But-".

"Now please!" he demands, walking past us, making his way up to the Château, "I'd like to go fish today," slamming the door behind him for emphasis. And with that, it was just me and JJ.

I looked out at the marsh, refusing to look at the boy who was leaning against the boat with his arms crossed over his chest. It was quite a nice day. Perfect fishing weather. Shaking my head at my antics, I gave in, "I'm sorry," we both said.

Looking at each other in surprise, lightly laughing as I stick my hand out for him to take, "Shake on it?" I ask JJ who looks at my hand with amusing eyes, "Sure," clasping his hand around mine giving it a firm but soft shake.

Nodding, pleased with our transaction, I go to move back, pulling my hand indicating him to let go. He doesn't. Blinking at him, I try to pull my hand away again but he's not letting up, just staring at me before pulling me towards him, rubbing his knuckles against my head.

"Ow, JJ" I shriek trying to escape his arm that is wrapped tightly around my shoulder, "You know I hate knuckies," I plead as he just laughs eventually releasing me. Smirking at my tangled hair, he attempts to smooth out the knots with his fingers, "Come on May, let's go fishing."

The Outer Banks is no stranger when it comes to storms, having a hand full of them each year. It's always the same; sunken boats, eroding docks, fallen trees, and no power for weeks. Aggie made it her duty to make the beginning for summer a doozy, having no remorse on her destruction.

"We'll be cleaning this all summer," I point out sitting at the bow of the boat, feet dangling just above the murky marsh. "That's my worse nightmare," John B complains, sailing us past the docks that are filled with locals cleaning up the mess.

'Is that? It can't be. She everywhere!'

"Morning, Miss Amy, Mrs Adams," John B greets, slowing down as we pass the two ladies who are sweeping up the dock, "You guys get through it?" he asks politely.

I look in the opposite direction of the pair, refusing to acknowledge her presence as I lay on my back, hoping that the boat will just suck me in and away from this interaction.

"Still here," I hear Miss Amy, Mrs Adams daughter, say. I know, if it was hard enough to believe that Mrs Adams was married, her having children sounds ludicrous.

"Oh John B, how's your neck of the woods? Everything good?" I wanted to gag at her act. She always tries to turn on her sweet, old lady charm when it comes to John B, always kissing up to him, but he’s so blinded by her words that he refuses to acknowledge the fact that she's evil.

"And JJ, my sweet boy, how are you?"

'God, if you're out there, I know you can hear me. Please, I'm not asking for much, just get me out of here. Please! Have some mercy on my soul.'

"I'm good Mrs Adams. You're looking dazzling as always," JJ comments as I whisper, "Give me a break," under my breath.

I didn't even have to look to know her reaction. She probably fanning herself with her hand, begging the boy to stop, but secretly hoping that he'll jump off the boat and into her arms, "Please JJ, you're too much," and that just confirmed it.

"Mason and I have our work put out for us, but we'll get by," John B answers and Mrs Adams pretends to have just noticed me despite our, not at all warranted, proximity, "Oh Mason, I didn't even see you there, dear."

This is what Mrs Adams does. She acts all innocent around other people but when it's just me and her, she turns into the spawn of satan. And that why nobody believes when I say she hates my guts because she turns on the charm like it's her second job.

Having to face the music, I sit up, against my better judgement, and smile brightly at the lady, "Hi, Mrs Adams, still in one piece I see." 

Unfortunately.

"Yes," she smiles back, but I see that look in her eyes, the look of hatred, "It would take more than a hurricane to knock me off my feet," she laughs at her joke and I mimic her.

Feeling the tension in the air, John B clears his throat, "Well, it was lovely talking to you ladies, but we have to go now," he announces, the boat picking up speed in hopes of breaking the glaring eyes that Mrs Adams and I are exchanging.

Shaking her head slightly, she smiles at my brother, "Have a lovely day John B. You too JJ, see you later," she waves and instantly resumes back to sweeping the dock with her daughter who sends a look my way, silently apologising for her mothers behaviour.

"God May, why are you so rude to Mrs Adams?"

"She nothing but a sweet old lady."

Spinning around to face the boys, my voice not wavering, "She's the devil incarnate," I deadpan, "It's not a coincidence that her name is Agatha, and storm Agatha just ruined our summer. She had something to do with it, I know it."

"Devil incarnate or not, her daughters hot," JJ gushes at the thought of Miss Amy. Seeing my face wrinkled in disgust he continues, "What? Did you not see the way she looked at me?"

"I see how delusion you are," I admit, innocently ginning at the boy who flips me off, "I'm not the one fraternising with the enemy," I defend, finding it frankly unnerving that he is so opinionated about Miss Amy.

"Your enemy is just shy of retirement."

"Not shy enough."

"Well, look who we have here," John B states as we pass 'Heywards Seafood' spotting Pope hosing down the deck with the saddest face I've ever seen, "We have a safety meeting. Attendance mandatory," mimicking static as he speaking into his shoulder.

"I can't," Pope says looking at his Dad who's making his way over, a scowl painted on his face at the sight of his son's friends, "Pops got me on lockdown."

"Come on man. Your dads a pussy. Over," JJ smirks seeing the man in question standing behind  Pope, "Oh, I heard that, you little bastard," he insults, staring the boy down.

"Hey, Mr Heyward," I greet now standing, giggling at the man hostility, "We need your son."

"Yeah, island rules," JJ starts, now standing beside me, "Day after a hurricane a free day," he points out like its obvious. "And who made that up?" Mr Heyward conspires, looking at the boy expectingly.

"JJ," I nod at the man, the same time as JJ says, "The Pentagon," earning me a look from the blonde.

Out the corner of my eye, I see John B edging Pope on the boat trying to not get caught by the boy's hot-headed father.

Mr Heyward has had no problem voicing his distaste for his son's friends. To use his words, we're 'A bunch of good for nothing, sons of bitches, who are ruining his son's image'. What Mr Heyward refuses to believe, despite the fact that he has most likely noticed it himself, is that his peculiar son is a Pogue just like the rest of us.

"I have a card," JJ fishes through his pockets looking for a card that everyone knows he does have, but in his attempt to distract Pope dad he's putting on his best act.

As soon as Pope step foot on the boat, after quickly dumping the hose that is now shaking and spraying wildly over the dock, John B hastily hit the gas, leaving the boy's dad on his lonesome.  

"I'll do it tomorrow," Pope tries to reason, but his dad is having no of it, "I'm sorry," he apologizes to his dad, who is shouting in the distance, "You'll be cleaning shrimp and your dirt-ass room."

"We'll bring your son back in one piece," I promise the man who just points accussingly at me, steam coming out of his ears, "We've fallen out Mason."

'That's it. My one true friend is gone, just like that. I only stole his son, what's the big deal?' I thought.

Rushing over to Pope who is now sitting where I previously sat, "Can you please tell your dad that I'm sorry," I beg sitting beside him as I attempt my best puppy dog eyes.

With his hand clasped over my knee, "It's too late. We're both blacklisted now," sorrow filling his voice as I pretend to cry, "I can't believe it. I'm now in the same category as those two," I point at my mess of a brother and best friends who are wrestling each other over the controls of the boat.

"Kie's our only hope," Pope admits, looking upon the disgrace that he has the pleasure of calling his friends.

"Ask and she shall come,” I smile, noticing Kie walking down the dock, cooler in hand.

"Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya," JJ greets, giving up on his attack against John B, now lounging against the side of the boat, "Morning boys. Macy."

"Ma Lady," I joke, holding out my hand for her, that she graciously takes. Stepping onto the boat, she dumps the cooler in between me and Pope, "Whatcha got? Some juice boxes?" asks Pope, opening up the cooler.

"Some Reese's Cups since you ate all mine?" I question, raiding through the cooler, seeing no Reese's Cups but plenty bottles of beer. My comment earns me a sharp flick on the ear, "Ouch," I complain, holding my the side of my head like it's going to fall off.

"Oh give up, you big baby," she laughs, nudging my legs apart, settling herself in the space between, leaning her back comfortably against my chest. 

Normally I wouldn't mind, but the wind that is whipping its way up the marsh is blowing Kie hair into my face. I splutter and spit as strands fly into my mouth, slapping my hand around in hopes of regaining my vision that is being blocked by her mop of hair.

"What about my type of Juice box?" JJ asks, grinning triumphantly when Kie hands him a beer, "Skoal," he cheers, wasting no time in chugging the bottle.

Reaching back, Kie hands me one, but I shake my head, "Can't. I'm babysitting Wheezie this afternoon," I point out, making Kie pull a face, disappointment lacing her voice, "I can't believe you willing work for Sarah Cameron's dad."

If it hasn't been made obvious, Kie doesn't like Sarah Cameron, my bosses oldest daughter. Doesn't like is putting it lightly, she hates her guts. That about right. You see Kie being partly Kook caused her to try and make Kook friends and one of those friends use to be Sarah Cameron. I'm the only one that knows why she hates her so much and honestly her opinion's valid.

"He works for her dad too," I point at my brother, not wanting to be the only one under Kie's fire. John B just holds his hands up defensively and states, "I'm not a part of this," before passing the controls of the boat to Pope, seeing as though he wants to drink after the tough couple of days we've had.

"I know what will cheer everyone up," slurs an already drunk JJ, "Hey Pope. Can you go a little faster?" He asks, stumbling his way to the front of the boat on wobbly legs.

"This doesn't work," John B calls out from his lounging position at the back of the boat, taking a swig of his beer as he looks upon the determined blonde, "We've tried this like 6,000 times."

"I've got this. It's gonna work," he believes and I encourage him, even with the linger of doubt that can be heard in my voice, "You prove them wrong, JJ."

He begins to clap for himself, taking his position unevenly at the edge of the boat, "I present to you, Lady, Gentlemen, and May, my party trick."

"I hope you fall off the boat," I deadpan, my previous support completely gone after his comment. Tilting the bottle that he held high, he attempts to finesse the winds to direct the liquid into his wide mouth. Ultimately missing just like all the times before.

Kie rushes away from the splash zone that has been made with JJ's party trick, "You're getting beer in my hair," she complains moving to sit beside John B.

His face was now stiff with sticky beer, but JJ didn't care. He was having fun, enjoying the feeling of the early morning sun looking down on him as the wind blows through his hair. I'm having fun too. Watching his stupid ass attempt his flawed party trick is very entertaining.

Getting ready to applaud his failure, I'm harshly launched forward as the boat comes to an abrupt stop. Slamming my back against the side of the boat, winding me as I begin to see double. The world was spinning, my ears ringing from the force whilest the rest of my bodt erupts into painful tingles.

"Everybody alright," I cough, rubbing my head, looking at my friends who are all laying sporadically over the boat, feeling the same ache that I am. Only having the energy to grunt, Kie cries, "Jesus, Pope!"

Noticing the lack of a certain opinionated blonde, I crawl to the bow of the boat, losing balance as my head throbs, "JJ!" I call looking out into the marsh catching no sight of the boy.

"JJ!" Still nothing. Not even a ripple in the water.

"I didn't mean it when I said I wanted you to fall off the boat, you just annoyed me with you stupid comment, I didn't-" my apologetic ramble halting when JJ's head floats above the water, chocking on the warm marsh water as he groans out in pain.

Breathing in relief, "Are you okay?" I ask, feeling bad for the boy who just bodyslammed into next week, "I think my heels touched the back of my head," he coughs,  floating on his back with his eyes squished shut.

"Pope, what did you do?" JJ cries at the boy. "Sandbar. The channel changed," he replies, but his eyes are glued to the water, not paying his full attention to his friend who he just threw a mile.

"Yeah, no shit," he starts swimming back to the boat, "Saved my beer, though," he cheers, seeing the light in his situation. Nobody else seems to care though. John B grunting, still in pain from his fall, "Congrats, JJ."

Pope's quietness was unsettling to me, normal never missing a beat at throwing a jab at JJ. Instead, he was staring sternly at the marsh. Clasping my hand on his shoulder, I hope to gain his attention, but his eyes didn't waver, "Hey, you okay?" I ask, thinking he was shaken up from the sudden crash.

"You see the boat too, right?" he points my eyes in the direction of the murky water. Leaning forward, I see what has Pope so confused. There was, in fact, a boat, a sunken boat, at the pit of the marsh, "Yeah," was all I could say, head tilted at the bizarre finding.

"Guys... there's a boat down there," he announces, still not moving as he calls out to our friends.

"Shut up, Pope," John B lets out a breathy laugh that I shake my head at. "No, he's serious. Look," I point at the obvious outline of a boat.

"Holy shit," Kie curses, releasing he was telling the truth, "He's right. Let's go," throwing off her shorts, diving in beside her concussed friend, John B following soon after.

"You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope wonders, teeth chattering at the thought. Humming and hawing at his question, I kick off my short saying, "Only one way to find out," pushing the reluctant boy off the boat before jumping in myself.

I don't know exactly what I was supposed to be looking for. A dead body? No thanks. I rather not have that image imprinted in my brain. What I did notice though, in between the disgusting floaters in the water, was that the boat looked in great condition. Its paint job was near to new, meaning it couldn't have been down under for too long.

This might have just happened. And judging by the lack of sealife that usually takes refuge in sunken wrecks it probably did.

Also, it looked as though it was a Grady white which is confusing. Those things are about $500 thousand minimum, you know, pocket money for a Kook. But if this was a Kooks boat, why haven't I heard their arrogant asses complaining about their boat sinking?

Laughing when we reach the surface again, breathing in big gulps of air that sting my lungs slightly, "You guys saw that, right?" JJ asks as we pull ourselves back on the boat.

"That was a Grady White," I confirm our assumptions, ringing my hair out over the side of the boat, "Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge," John B confesses breathlessly.

"You did what?"

"You surfed the surge?"

"That's my boy. Pogue style," JJ cheers, patting my brother on the back, congratulating him for his stupidity.

"Hey, I think you dropped this," I sympathise, pretending to pick something up off the deck. John B looks at me confused, eyes darting around the floor, looking for the whatever it was I was suggesting, "Dropped what?"

Seeing my opportunity, I clipped him on the back of the head, my brother instantly darting back up straight, hissing, holding the back of his head, "Your common sense, you moron. What the hell were you think? Oh right. You clearly weren't since you surfed the surge!"

"Chill Macy. I'm fine, nothing happened," he says attempting to calm me down but it wasn't working, "Beside Pope was with me too," he throws his friends under the bus trying to defend himself.

Turning around to a now sheepish Pope, "Okay I expected it from him," pointing accusingly at my brother who looks insulted, "But you Pope..." I try to hide the disappointment that I'm feeling.

"Okay May, don't guilt-trip the boy," JJ buts in, throwing his arm around my shoulder for comfort, but nothing was comforting about what he said next, "And you can't deny, what they did was pretty cool."

Scoffing, I shove his arm off me and settle myself at the back of the boat, arms crossed over my chest. I can't believe they would be so... so irresponsible. There was a hurricane and they somehow thought that it would be smart to go surfing? Thankfully nothing happened, but that's not the point. They didn't know that. One wrong move and- I don't even want to think about it.

"Wait, wait. Do we even know whose boat that is?" Pope asks, watching as John B pulls out the anchor, "No, but we're about to find out," he smiles cheeckly, not even giving a second thought to what he’s about to do.

"Dude, it's too deep," JJ says, being the voice of reason for a change, but I show no interest at all. I'm done. If John B wants to be stupid and reckless, then he can be: stupid and reckless.

"Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ," John B points out, heading to the bow of the boat, rusty anchor in hand, his confidence clearly high, "Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front," JJ holds out his hands, moving back, making way for my moron of a brother.

"That's fine." John B replies not even giving it a second thought as he hold the anchor tightly to this chest. Preparing himself for his descend down to the wreck.

Looking back at my slumping figure that is radiating discomfort at this whole situation, "John B," Kie exhales, shaking her head at the boy, coming to sit beside me. She pulls my head to rest on her shoulder and tightly clasps my hand in hers.

"Diver down, fool," Fool's an understatement.

"Diver down."

"Yeah, he is," JJ declares, shoving John B into the marsh once more.

Looking down at our hands, I ask Kie, "Do you think I exaggerated?" Beginning to feel the dwelling of my words, moisture gathering behind my eyes.

I completely blow up in his face without letting him explain himself. Not that there was much to explain, but God I suck.

As subtle as possible, I try to wipe my nose with the back of my hand, but Kie noticed. Kie notices everything. Turning, she clamps both hands on my cheeks, urging me to look at her. "No. Macy, your feelings are completely valid," she reassures, using the pad her thumbs to wipe away the streaks that travel down my face.

"He's your twin brother for crying out loud. You're allowed to feel protective of him and call him out on his bullshit."

Smiling at her comment, I wrap my arms around her, "Thank you," I mumble, not even sure if it was audible enough for her to hear, but she did. "Don't thank me, Macy. We're family, remember? Pogues for life," she states pulling away, holding the pad of her thumb up, and I do the same, stamping them together as though sealing our words.

Giggling at our antics, I turn to the boy who I dragged into this, "Hey Pope," I called, catching his attention from watching the water, "I'm sorry for blowing up on you," I apologize and hold my hand up when I see him going to object, "It was completely unwarranted and uncool."

"It's not that big of a deal, but I accept your apology," he beams pulling up from my seat for a quick side hug. Grinning at the boy, I feel as though a weight has just been lifted off my shoulders, even though I know he just accepted my apology because he knew it would set my worries at ease. I acted stupid and I relise that now.

Nevertheless, our peaceful moment of forgiveness sunk faster than that Grady White as JJ voices his opinion.

"Okay, now I feel left out. Where's my hug?" He whines with that shit-eating grin across his face. He opens his arms wide with wriggling fingers, eyes sealed close as he waits for an embrace. I know he was excepting a quick-witted comment from me with the way he is exaggerating his movements, but it’s only fair.

The shock on his face must be quite the picture, hearing Kie and Pope snort from behind me. I'm in a good mood today so, wrapping my arms around the boy's torso tightly felt right. I wait patiently for him to reciprocate the affection, but based on the stark shock that I felt shot up his back, he was startled by the sudden warmth of my hug.

For a second, I swear I felt him relax and sink into my embrace. The sensation of his fingertips ghosting over my back causes the hair on my arms to stand on end. My body erupting into a cluster of goosebumps.

As already stated, peaceful moments don't last very long in the Outer Banks.

John B, like a whale, bursts through the tension of the water and splutters, spitting the salty flavour of the marsh off his tongue.

Feeling vulnerable with the new pair of eyes, JJ and I rip apart in fright, standing a good distance away from each other. 

Hoping to look as inconspicuous as possible, I rub the back of my burning neck, coughing lightly as I watch John B haul himself back on the boat.

Noticing the thick tension in the air, John B spins around glancing at all his friends, "What's up?" he asks, not understanding why we were standing in silence.

"Nothing," I say shaking my head, instant cringing at the pitch of my voice. Clearing my throat, I try again, "Why would something be up?" acting naturally, answering his question with a question.

Eye flicking back and forward, "I dunno," John B's voice laced with uncertainty, "You looking a little red there, JJ," he points out causing Kie to wheeze at her friend who does,  in fact, have a pink tinge crawling up his neck.

Running his hands through his damp hair, hating the attention that is one him, he asks John B, "Any looting potential?" hoping to change the subject and it works.

Pope throws in his pennies worth, "Dead bodies?" he ask earning a look from all of us, "What?" holding his hands up in defence under the stares, not understanding what warranted him the looks.

"You're obsessed," I state the obvious observing the strange boy who just slumps back in disappointment.

"No," John B points at Pope, triggering his disappointment even more, and turn to JJ saying, "Kinda," holding up whatever he fished from the sunken boat, "I found this motel key."

"A key?"

"Great! We salvaged a motel key."

"I think it's a great find," I cheer, my voice straining with enthusiasm for my brothers find, patting him lightly on the back, but he saw right through me, "I've already forgiven you. You don't need to suck up," he points out, referring to early.

"Thank god," I let out in relief, sitting slouched on the side of the boat, now feeling confident enough to voice my real opinion, "What are we going to do with a motel key?"

Having enough for the day, wanting nothing more than to just get back to land and as far away from the expensive wreck as possible. Pope switches the engine back on and drives back in the direction of the cut.

"Guys," Kie calls over the roaring engine, "We should report the wreck to the coast guard. Maybe we'll get a finder's fee" she suggests, her head obviously in the right place.

"Yeah, and not have to work all summer," concludes JJ, dreaming of the money that we'll recieve for our finding, "Thanks, Agatha, ya batch."

Oh yeah.

Work.

Chapter two: FIN!

I really didn’t know when to end this chapter, but I hope this was okay :) I’m really trying to convey Mason’s character through her interactions with other people. Like how she got upset at John B for acting stupid.

What did you think?

Am I going to slow? Is my slow-burn too slow-burn?? I’m only 15 minutes into writing episode one. Have I dragged it?? I hope not. I enjoy detailed fanfiction because it feels more real.

I also don’t want Mason to just be there, not really having any input so, some of the show’s dialogue has changed and I will continue to do so. I want her to be her own person, with her own differing opinions.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3

Also, if anyone would like to be tagged in future chapters just let me know and I will for sure do that!

*TAGLIST*

@xshinytrashcanx​

[randomoranges]

it’s post holidays but whatever.

also this one is more - vignetty.

also i changed its title like 4 times.

also, let’s play a game called “can we actually link together most of these holiday fics into one universe?” 

the answer is yes.

8 of them can be linked together ha ha ha (if you wish)

Here’s what it would look like: Last Christmas I Gave you My Heart [Please Come Home for Christmas], Auld Lang Syne [And a Happy New Year], Baby It’s Cold Outside [Turn the Lights On], I’ll be Home for Christmas [For the Holidays You Can’t Beat Home Sweet Home], It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year [Kiss me Underneath the Mistletoe], Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time [Ransack the Mall, Shop Until you Lose Your Mind], Merry Christmas Darling [Take a Walk with Your Favourite Girl], I’ll Have a Blue Christmas Without You [Christmas Calling - Bright Lights Falling]

also there is One More Xmas fic left. Finally. 

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time [ Ransack the Mall, Shop Until You Lose Your Mind ]

 Étienne rolled over in bed and tried to find Edward, in order to curl up around him and take advantage of his body heat, but instead, the spot beside him was empty, if a little warm. He furrowed his face in Edward’s pillow and for a moment, it was sufficient, until even that wasn’t warm enough and he heard��movement coming from somewhere else in the room. He knew it was late – or more, like early. He ignored it at first, his brain too sleep-lagged to properly care, or process things, but when he heard the noise again, he stirred, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Ed?” He asked, even if it sounded less like “Ed” and more like a mutated groan.

There was movement again in the room, until the bed dipped and Étienne recognised the familiar scent of Edward. He moved towards the warm body and reached for whatever part of his boyfriend he could find first, which ended up being an elbow.

“Early. Bed.” He said, making Edward chuckle.

“You go back to sleep, Teddy, I have to get ready.”

Étienne frowned, but then relaxed when he felt a gentle hand run through his hair. Still, Edward wasn’t slipping back under the blankets and that only put a slight damper on his current bliss. “Time?”

“Close to four thirty.”

Étienne frowned again, even if he was half-asleep. It’s what got him to sit up and give Edward a puzzled look, even if the look was more of a squint and his eyes were mostly still shut, “Remind me again, why?”

It was a tradition, Edward told him, when poor people lined the mall to get good deals on televisions and bread makers, because limited amount of stock and capitalism. Where every year, on Boxing Day, he and his mother went to the mall to get things they had been eyeing at bargain prices and where poor employees went in late Christmas Day to get ready. Edward had asked Étienne if he wanted to come along, but Étienne had told him, that even though he loved him dearly, and even though he got along well with Edward’s mother, there was absolutely no way in hell that he would go anywhere near a mall, on Boxing Day. Ever. Especially at this God forsaken time.

Edward had called him soft.

Étienne told him he needed at least some sleep.

Edward had told him it was his loss.

Étienne had told him to have fun and had even given him fifty dollars to “get something nice.”

Edward had thrown a pillow at him. (But he’d kept the money. A gift was a gift. And he could do a lot of damage with a fifty.)

“Because, it’s capitalism, baby,” He said with a laugh to his voice and Étienne groaned. “And, also, we really need a new toaster.” He paused as he put on a pair of pants, “Gotta have a hearty breakfast so we have energy for bargains! Also, by getting an early start we can be first in line – all part of the Strategy, Curly, you sure you don’t want in? We could use the extra set of hands.”

Étienne made a face at that – he wasn’t sure he would ever understand the logic behind such suffering, but if it made Edward happy, who was he to stop him? Hell, he didn’t even go Boxing Day shopping back home – and stores opened at 1pm back home! He had nearly fainted when Edward had told him stores here opened at normal times and people lined up even earlier. He had heard all about the Strategy so many times that he still wasn’t entirely sure how it worked out, but Edward and Mrs. Murphy swore by it and he wasn’t about to argue. He valued his spot in the good graces of Mrs. Murphy – he’d heard what happened to those who fell out of the good graces of Mrs. Murphy. (It wasn’t pretty.)

“God speed,” He chose to say instead and plopped back down in bed, pulling the covers over himself.

Edward chuckled softly and tucked him in, before placing a kiss to his forehead, “Be good – we should be back this evening, maybe earlier, depends. Anyways, Dad’s staying home, but he’ll be glued to the TV – World Juniors and Spengler start today. You’re more than welcome to watch with him – and don’t worry, I got you some real beer if you want – it’s in the back of the fridge.”

Étienne made a sound that could have been acknowledgement, but Edward didn’t stay to find out and instead headed out, while Étienne fell back asleep.

–

When Étienne deigned it was late enough to get up, he padded out of Edward’s old childhood bedroom and made his way to the main floor. He briefly remembered Edward telling him he was off to the mall, what felt like hours before, and true to his boyfriend’s word, he found Mr. Murphy sitting in the living room sofa, sporting his Team Canada sweater, with the TV on.

It was a good thing Étienne had already previously met Edward’s parents, for this would have been a much more daunting morning had he not. It wasn’t that Edward’s parents weren’t nice, but between the two of them, Mrs. Murphy was much easier to read than her husband. Mrs. Murphy was warm and welcoming. She was easy with words, a quick hug and she had a killer sense of humour. Her husband, on the other hand, was a man of few words.

Mr. Murphy was tall, built like a mountain, very strong and very intimidating looking. He had a full head of very dark hair, an intelligent look in his hazel eyes and sharp features. Étienne believed Edward would look like his father in thirty or so years, if he was half a foot taller and worked on the rigs for twenty odd years. Mr. Murphy was a family man who had done what he had needed to do to support a wife and two children. He had made sacrifices and had worked hard to make sure his family never needed for anything. He liked his sports channel, he liked his beer, and he fiercely loved his family.

From what Edward had told him, his father was proud of his province, loved where he was from, loved to take his truck out for a ride, and had strong conservative values. He and Edward had not always seen eye to eye and for a long time, Edward had been convinced his father would disown him the moment he found out he was gay, but as it turned out, Mr. Murphy equally loved his son fiercely. Over the years after Edward’s coming out, they had mended their broken bridges and had actually learnt to get to know one another. Now, at least, Edward knew that even if his father was more of the silent type and didn’t always express his feelings, and even if they didn’t always agree on politics, his father still wanted what was best for him and had his back. Therefore, it had been a relief when Mr. Murphy hadn’t told Étienne to leave and instead had invited him to sit at the table, when Edward had brought him over, a few summers ago. (And if anyone asked, Étienne had not been a nervous mess at the time. At all.)

It was why Étienne felt quite at ease (or, at ease) politely greeting Mr. Murphy, making himself something to eat, and then getting comfortable on the living room loveseat afterwards with his sketchbook and phone, while Mr. Murphy gave him a quiet play by play of what had happened up until now with the games.

–

Étienne ended up spending most of his morning and early afternoon watching hockey with Mr. Murphy. Even if Team Canada wasn’t playing, Mr. Murphy watched the other games to see what Team Canada could eventually face, if they got to play these teams, or when they would play them. The man certainly knew his hockey and was quite enthused about the sport, if Étienne was to judge by the comments he kept making. He even switched between the World Juniors tournament and the Spengler cup, but only during breaks and intermissions, since the Juniors’ had more at stake than the Spengler – or so Mr. Murphy said. Étienne didn’t mind and kept up with the games as he doodled away in his sketchbook.

“I remember back in 2015 when Connor McDavid came back. There was a lot of hype around that year’s Team Canada – a lot of talent as well. The great thing about this is you have all this up and coming talent, but you also get these surprises. You never know who’ll shine. Anything is possible.” He said and Étienne nodded, not quite sure what to add to that. “Hope Team Canada makes it far this year.” He added.

“I don’t see why they shouldn’t – they have a strong defence and that Dufour has a pretty solid forecheck. But they’re in a tight group and the other teams seem to have a lot of dept as well. Plus, Switzerland can be surprising and both Finland and Russia are juggernauts. They’ll have to be careful.”

Mr. Murphy sat up a little straighter and looked at Étienne, surprised, “Didn’t think you knew your hockey that well, son,” Étienne shrugged, even if his cheeks pinked a little.

“I follow the tournament – my sister volunteered the two years it was in Montreal. It’s an intensive game – more creative than regular hockey.”

Mr. Murphy nodded sagely, “Who would’ve thought the art kid knew so much about hockey?” He laughed and luckily, Étienne had had enough talks with Mr. Murphy (even if they were few) to know that he was only joking and that “art kid” was more of am endearment than an insult.

“I am absolutely full of surprises, Mr. Murphy,” Mr. Murphy laughed even louder and Étienne couldn’t help but grin.

“You know, I think your old man might actually like me,” He wrote to Edward, even if his boyfriend wouldn’t see his message until he got back home – or in his mother’s car.

–

It was indeed evening when Edward and his mother returned, loaded with bags and Étienne and Mr. Murphy helped them unload the car. (Étienne stayed inside but carried the bags from the door to the kitchen – it was cold outside and he didn’t have polar bear skin, unlike his boyfriend – or his boyfriend’s father, who was going from the car to the door in nothing but his slippers and what he had been wearing earlier.)

“I see this was a productive shopping trip,” Étienne said as a means of greeting once the last of the bags were in.

“It was, but I met my quota of people for the rest of the year. There were so many people, oh my God, but my mom and I still managed to get everything we wanted and then some,” He high-fived his mother as she walked by and Étienne shook his head, amused, “The Strategy, once more, proved to be flawless,” Étienne still wasn’t sure he understood the folly behind this madness, but he supposed there were many things that he did that Edward did not understand either.

“Good thing the year ends soon.” Étienne said, grinning as Edward made a face.

“Why am I not even surprised you said such a thing?”

“I am a gift, Murphy, you need to appreciate it.”

Edward stuck out his tongue, but Étienne only laughed as he helped Edward out of his jacket and hung it in the closet, “Jokes put aside, you look beat, d’you want me to run you a bath after you put everything away?”

“Yes, please, you’re the absolute best; so, how was your day? And what’s this with my father actually liking you?”

Étienne recapped his day as he helped Edward empty out the bags and told him about the games he had watched. He paused every now and again as Edward showed him his purchases of the day and once they were done, Étienne kept his promise and ran Edward a bath with extra bubble bath.

If Edward nearly fell asleep in the tub, Étienne blamed it on the “Strategy.”

FIN

[kittywolves]

1-200 if you want lmao If not then just your favourites

200: My crush’s name is: don’t have one tbh, not romantically anyway

199: I was born in: west virginia, 2000

198: I am really: dumb

197: My cellphone company is: idk man

196: My eye color is: blue w/yellow bursts but they just appear green if you’re not super close

195: My shoe size is: 7+1/2-8

194: My ring size is: 7+1/2-8

193: My height is: 5′5″

192: I am allergic to: sesame :T

191: My 1st car was: N/A

190: My 1st job was: N/A

189: Last book you read: uh, Percy Jackson? i think

188: My bed is: warm, cozy, full of plushies & cat fur

187: My pet: CALCIFER!!! 

186: My best friend: uh,, i don’t have one?

185: My favorite shampoo is: idk fruity scents that aren’t watermelon

184: Xbox or ps3: PS3

183: Piggy banks are: cute or terrifying, no in-between

182: In my pockets: my phone

181: On my calendar: birthdays

180: Marriage is: cute 

179: Spongebob can: CAN SPONGEBOB FINALLY END PLEASE

178: My mom: can go die 

177: The last three songs I bought were? uhh, i haven’t bought any songs,,

176: Last YouTube video watched: DrawingWiffWaffles newest video

175: How many cousins do you have? 1

174: Do you have any siblings? yes, 2 alive 1 dead

173: Are your parents divorced? no,,

172: Are you taller than your mom? around the same height

171: Do you play an instrument? no, but i wish i could play the harp tbh

170: What did you do yesterday? uh, i went shopping with my mother and then watched Futurama 

[ I Believe In ]169: Love at first sight: ? i dunno anymore

168: Luck: i guess so, yea

167: Fate: yea

166: Yourself: no

165: Aliens: YES

164: Heaven: yea

163: Hell: yea

162: God: ? yea?

161: Horoscopes: not really

160: Soul mates: YESSSSS

159: Ghosts: yep!!

158: Gay Marriage: %100

157: War: no >:(

156: Orbs: what

155: Magic: yep!!

[ This or That ]154: Hugs or Kisses: hugs pls

153: Drunk or High: never been either, both sound fun

152: Phone or Online: usually use my phone tbh

151: Red heads or Black haired: all are adorable!!

150: Blondes or Brunettes:  a d o r a b l e ! !

149: Hot or cold: uhm, comfortable warm,,

148: Summer or winter: SUMMER

147: Autumn or Spring: HALLOWEEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

146: Chocolate or vanilla: CHOCOLATE 

145: Night or Day: NIGHTTIME

144: Oranges or Apples: apples 

143: Curly or Straight hair: both are great!! i have slightly wavy hair uwu

142: McDonalds or Burger King: neither >:(

141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: MILK PLS

140: Mac or PC: um, idc

139: Flip flops or high heels:  F L I P F L O P S

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: SWEET AND POOR PLS GIVE ME A KIND BAB TO LOVE @ UNIVERSE

137: Coke or Pepsi: coke !!

136: Hillary or Obama: obama!!

135: Buried or cremated: cremated so i can’t come back :’)

134: Singing or Dancing: i can’t do either :(

133: Coach or Chanel: ugh, coach ig

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: who or who

131: Small town or Big city: i live in a city, but a town sounds nice tbh

130: Wal-Mart or Target: TARGET

129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: what

128: Manicure or Pedicure: PEDICURE PEDICURE PEDICURE

127: East Coast or West Coast: i live on the west, so west

126: Your Birthday or Christmas: MY BIRTHDAY BC I GET TO PICK THE THEME !!!

125: Chocolate or Flowers: flowers die and give off the aesthetic but chocolates are delicious so both

124: Disney or Six Flags: i love disneyland it’s just SO EXPENSIVE and six flags is gr8 for the thrills, plus i currently have a pass so

123: Yankees or Red Sox: who? which sport is this[ Here’s What I Think About ]122: War: blehhhh no

121: George Bush: idk american presidents lmao

120: Gay Marriage: YES YES YES YES YES YES

119: The presidential election: ew

118: Abortion: i’ll allow it lmao, i don’t think it’s great, but ik people will still get it whether it’s legal or not so might as well legalize it. also some cases actually need it so like,, yea!! let it happen!! pro-choice!!

117: MySpace: never used it lmao

116: Reality TV: ew ew ew ew EXCEPT FOR COOKING SHOWS

115: Parents: mine or just in general? bc eh

114: Back stabbers: M U R D E R  T H E M 113: Ebay: lmao shipping expenses 

112: Facebook: haven’t used it in years, do use messenger tho

111: Work: i like wedding coordinating with my aunt!! that’s about all the work i’ve done, oh and i’ve babysat

110: My Neighbors: don’t know em, they probably think we’re crazy tho, always yelling

109: Gas Prices: too!! high!!

108: Designer Clothes: eh, clothes are clothes, and some clothes are ugly (a lot of times it’s designer clothes blehh)

107: College: i mean i guess

106: Sports: go team! hit the ball! score the points! woo

105: My family: dysfunctional,,

104: The future: nooooooooooooooooooo

[ Last time I ]103: Hugged someone: uhhhhh....

102: Last time you ate: uhm, around 4?? maybe?? it’s 7 now

101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: uh?? i never see anyone OH i guess on wednesday last week,,

100: Cried in front of someone: ???? idk??? i cry while everyone’s asleep usually

99: Went to a movie theater: last week !! um, thursday?

98: Took a vacation: uhh, february, early march? i went to ohio

97: Swam in a pool: uh, last monday 

96: Changed a diaper: um, not this year lmao, maybe last year tho idk

95: Got my nails done: ???? i dunno

94: Went to a wedding: last november?? or wait no,, uhm i dunno sometime recently lmao

93: Broke a bone: never! did drop one in water tho :/

92: Got a piercing: december!

91: Broke the law: ?? i don’t wear seatbelts when i sit in the back seat lmao

90: Texted: around two hours ago[ MISC ]89: Who makes you laugh the most: um,, my friends

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: MY KITTY BABY

87: The last movie I saw: missing link! the stop motion- i’m a wh*re for animation lmao

86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: changing my name, moving out, getting married & having a stable life :’)

85: The thing im not looking forward to: being stuck here forever and eventually kmsing due to stress and depression :’)

84: People call me: Kitty!! Kiki!! (birth name) karebear!! 

83: The most difficult thing to do is: exist within the same room as my mother without bursting into tears or storming off 

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: nope

81: My zodiac sign is: Virgo! Viriborn for all you homestucks! and dragon in the animal one!

80: The first person i talked to today was: my dad :’) and then i messaged @deanilise even tho she was asleep 

79: First time you had a crush: uh, as far back as i can remember i had a “crush” on Daphne Blake :D but i was like a small child and didn’t know what love was so anytime i saw anyone who i thought was cool or pretty or i wanted to befriend i had a supposed “crush” on them :/

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: i try to be pretty open, but sometimes i just wanna close off 

77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: yikes idk

76: Right now I am talking to: like talking to or talking to? for the first, just some group chats for the second, no one

75: What are you going to do when you grow up: i wanna be an artist! i would love to be a youtube artist, but i fear i’m not creative enough for such things.. i would also like to be able to tell my stories!

74: I have/will get a job: i dunno,,

73: Tomorrow: church

72: Today: overslept, did some chores, been online

71: Next Summer: hopefully i can go back to colorado to visit my brother !

70: Next Weekend: ugh, church activities & then actual church, as well as other easter festivities

69: I have these pets: baby kitty, and some dogs.... 

68: The worst sound in the world: FORK SCRAPING ON BOWL, ERASER SCRAPING ON PAPER, DOG’S SNORING, MY MOTHER’S VOICE WHEN I’M HAVING SENSORY OVERLOAD

67: The person that makes me cry the most is: my mother, she’s like the only person that makes me cry unless someone says they’re attempting and i can’t get through to them

66: People that make you happy: @onedirtysock @aliaitee @deku-is-tired @deanilise @awkward-scarfy-boi @fourth-best-jeanist @bnhaworld @bnhya @helloiliketits @trashyfxndoms

65: Last time I cried: last night oops

64: My friends are: (see 66) they’re all very nice & supportive which is amazing & i love them all dearly

63: My computer is: a MacBook air with a galaxy cover

62: My School: not in one but the one i’m gonna go to in the fall is just a community college

61: My Car: N/A

60: I lose all respect for people who: hate on anyone, racists, homophobes, transphobes, pedos, terfs, ableists, etc

59: The movie I cried at was: uh, i dunno, but i was crying abt futurama the other night

58: Your hair color is: orange-y with dark brown roots, supposed to be dyeing it soon :)

57: TV shows you watch: BNHA, HIMYM, Bob’s Burgers, TUA w/ @deanilise Futurama, The Simpsons, Fairytail, Runaway’s, Adventure Time, SVTFOE, etc

56: Favorite web site: Tumblr!

55: Your dream vacation: Ireland,, ofc i always dreamed of going to paris when i was younger, and Britain sounds cool too, & i’ve heard belgium is pretty && japan sounds fun && new york city sounds super cool as well so idk any of those places ig

54: The worst pain I was ever in was: uh, probably when i broke my arm, although i can’t remember it, i did used to get growing pains in my legs when i was younger & could hardly sleep so there’s that option as well

53: How do you like your steak cooked: medium or medium-well

52: My room is: messy, but it’s home & also warm

51: My favorite celebrity is: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i dunno

50: Where would you like to be: idk, in my bed ig

49: Do you want children: yea! i wanna adopt!

48: Ever been in love: uh, i thought i was, but it was just an intense crush on this girl lmao

47: Who’s your best friend: already answered this lmao

46: More guy friends or girl friends: girls,,

45: One thing that makes you feel great is: laughing, music, & seeing my friends

44: One person that you wish you could see right now: any of y’all would be great tbh

43: Do you have a 5 year plan: survive 

42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: lmao no, 

41: Have you pre-named your children: uh, i have names picked out that i like, but idk depends how young my kid is when i adopt them, and even then idk if i could bring myself to change their name uwu

40: Last person I got mad at: my mother,,

39: I would like to move to: IRELAND OR SOMETHING I DUNNO I WANT OUT OF THIS GODFORSAKEN COUNTRY

38: I wish I was a professional: artist!! youtube maybe!![ My Favorites ]37: Candy: hmm, i like smarties, m&ms, gummy bears, & sweetarts

36: Vehicle: uhh, vw beetles? WAIT NO JEEP WRANGLERS I THINK

35: President: uh idk

34: State visited: the one i live in lmao, California :)

33: Cellphone provider: idk a lot about them

32: Athlete: N/A

31: Actor: eeeeeeee

30: Actress: eeeeeeee

29: Singer: Case! Patrick Stump!

28: Band: FALL OUT BOYYYYYYYYYYY

27: Clothing store: Hottopic

26: Grocery store: N/A

25: TV show: Arrow! Adventure Time! (ripip) i haven’t seen Arrow in a long time tho so idk if it’s still any good...

24: Movie: Heathers!!

23: Website: Tumblr,,

22: Animal: CATS

21: Theme park: DisneyLand! it’s just sooooooooo expensive ;-;

20: Holiday: HALLOWEEN

19: Sport to watch: Soccer!!

18: Sport to play: none

17: Magazine: i don’t read them

16: Book: The Hunger Games 

15: Day of the week: probably friday or saturday

14: Beach: uh, maybe seal? or hermosa?

13: Concert attended: i’ve been to exactly one (1) and i didn’t enjoy it bc it was for Ariana Grande

12: Thing to cook: well you don’t cook them but, COOKIES!!

11: Food: Ice Cream!! Burgers!! Mashed Potatoes !!

10: Restaurant: In-N-Out probably

9: Radio station: 98.7 alt radio 

8: Yankee candle scent: uh i dunno

7: Perfume: Vanilla Bean Noelle from bbw

6: Flower: daffodils 

5: Color: pink! purple! green!

4: Talk show host: no

3: Comedian: Bo Burnham or John Mulaney

2: Dog breed: Retrievers !

1: Did you answer all these truthfully? yes!

here’s my baby for reference & for putting up with all that

[mkay-gay]

Nothing bad can ever happen again, my love

"Nooo!"

The car smashed right into Kyungsoo's childhood friend and he never saw him again. Poor Kai didn't deserve this... Neither did Kyungsoo, he cried himself to sleep every night for months. Until he moved away, then the memories of his first love slowly disappeared.

* Present time*

I have been working in this shop for so many years now, i can't even count. It's a quaint little coffee shop on the corner of a busy street and has minimal decoration inside. I'm a waiter and a coffee chef if we have low staff. I've lived here in Seoul since i was hit by a moving truck and my local hospital couldn't help so, i was sent to Seoul and after my treatment my family really liked it there so we stayed. I was never particularly sad to leave, i didn't remember most of my childhood because of the severe blow to the head i suffered back in my home town. However, just recently, an older man came into the coffee shop, he must've been just a bit older than my parents, and when he read my name tag, he cried. "I must be dreaming!" He said to me. Then he simply laughed as he ordered his coffee, one americano as i recall. He smiled as i brought it to his table and continued to smile when he paid for his drink. If i didn't find the man oddly familiar, it would've been creepy.

Anyway. Today was the day after that and the same man came again, this time with another, younger, man who resembled his elder. His son i assume. The son looked somewhat sad despite his father next to him looking excited as he spoke.

As they got to the counter the man from yesterday looked at me with joy as he placed his arm around the son's shoulders. "Look! See! It's Jongin, Kyungsoo! You see!" He said. Kyungsoo, i suppose, read my tag also and said, "You're right dad, it is." In a monotone voice, still with a small but kind of sad smile on his face.

Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo... I've heard that name I'm sure of it... Where though?

"Jongin," i looked up at him, "you remember my son, don't you?" Kyungsoo looked at me with hopeful eyes as they both awaited my reply. "Um. Maybe. I can't really remember..." Both their faces visibly dropped and Kyungsoo looked as if he was about to cry. "I'm going now." Kyungsoo said as he hung his head and began to walk away. "Wait, don't go yet," the father looked at me again, "Kai." Thats all he said and with that obe word my eyes widened and my head started to hurt as a wave of memories hit my like a rock. I breathed heavily as i locked eyes with Kyungsoo. His big beautiful eyes. I never realised how much i missed him and cared about until the moment i remembered everything. I continued looking at Kyungsoo as tears escaped my eyes, i walked around the counter and engulfed the smaller male in my arms as i cried and said, "i love you."

Kyungsoo lightly pushed me away as he looked at me with a shocked expression, "I've waited far to many years to hear that, Kai!" Right infront of everyone in the coffee shop he crashed his soft lips into mine and stayed there as i kissed him back. I want to stay like this forever.

My parents who owned and worked at this coffee shop came out of the kitchen as i kissed Kyungsoo and said i could leave early to stay with my 'handsome prince charming', as they had called him, if i wanted to. So naturally i spent the day with my lover. We went to a theme park and the cinema before getting dinner and walking home. It was the best day of my life! And hopefully his too.

* D.O pov*

After that day, me and Kai made it official and constantly spoke. Ugh i love him so much. It's actually been a month since we began dating in January and it just happens that tomorrow is valentines day! And you best believe I'm getting my man some over priced heart chocolates and flowers that smell nice. In the flower shop i was mentally debating what flowers to get my one true love and decided on roses because i remembered that, when we were children, those were his favorite. I paid for the flowers and set of to Thornton's to get some valentine chocolate.

The shop was packed with people looking for the same thing as me and for once it was good to be short as i could easily weave my way through the crowd to get to the chocolate Kai likes. Now because I'm an amazing boyfriend, i had to go the extra mile and get a personalised message on the heart shaped chocolate. "Can you get it to say i love you so much but don't you dare leave me again." The lady at the counter complied and wrote it on my chocolate before wrapping it for me and putting it in a bag.

I got home, put the flowers in some water so they don't die and went to sleep, highly anticipating tomorrow.

* Tomorrow morning*

I headed to Kai's house to give him his presents and hopefully take him on a date.

I rang his doorbell and waited for an answer.

Nothing.

I rung it again.

Still nothing.

Maybe the doorbell doesnt work. So I'll knock the door.

Nothing.

I was worried so i pounded harder on the door.

No reply.

He hasn't moved again has he. Please dear god no!

Then i saw his parent's car park up outside the house. I couldn't help but smile when i thought of Kai coming out of the car with presents for me as he ran up and kissed me. But he didn't. Instead his parents got out and they were crying. Alot. My smile dropped. What had happened, Kai can't of got hurt. We only just met up again after more than 10 years of being apart.

His mum walked up to me and handed me a slip of paper. A doctor's report?

It read: "Kim Jongin sadly left this world on February 12th at 16:05, he was hit buy a large truck and due to previous head trauma, could not be saved. Kai was found with a bouquet of flowers on him and a valentines card in his pocket. He will be missed by all his family and friends dearly."

I fell to the floor, letting the presents drop with me, as i cried and screamed at the loss of my lover.

* 3rd person pov*

Kai had died a heart breaking death, dieing happy, with Kyungsoo on his mind. Oh how he loved him...

[h-styles-babes]

Harry Styles Blurb/ Request #2

This is another request that was made by @imaginesyouwilllove, so thank you for the request, love :) The final one you requested will most likely be up the day after tomorrow, so be on the look out for that! Also, someone requested a second part to the “Fancy seeing you here.” blurb, so that’ll be getting done soon, as well. 

Hope you enjoy! xx

P.S. dad!Harry is my weakness, right after daddy!Harry, so sorry in advance.

15. “Me and the boys will handle it.”

It had been a long day. Y/N had gone to work for her normal eight hour shift starting at eight that morning after dropping her two kids off at school. When she got home at half four that afternoon, it was to screaming from her beautiful—but extremely noisy—little boys who were being watched by her mother until she got back from work. Homework had attempted to have been started, but her mum couldn’t quite get them to sit down and actually focus. They were only four and seven, so their attention spans weren’t the best, and it took a heavy hand to get them to sit and actually do as they were told. Her mum was authoritative, but she had an extreme soft spot for her grandchildren, which Y/N wasn’t usually mad about, but that day it was making her a little crazy. 

After her mother left with a kiss to everyone’s cheek, Y/N got the boys to sit down and actually do what they were supposed to. Her youngest was only in pre-preparatory school, so his homework consisted of a connect-the-dots page that he then had to color, but her oldest was already in Year 3, so Y/N helped him with his maths work, then she helped him write a paragraph about his family and what their home life was like. They agreed to keep it as vague as possible because of who his father was, but they were genuine. Y/N and her husband had made an agreement before their eldest was born to give the kids as normal of a life as possible, and that included normal schooling instead of fancy private schools. Y/N wasn’t in the business of raising divas or making them think everything would just be handed to them.  

At nearly six, Y/N let the boys out free in the backyard as she did some housework that had yet to be done from the day before. She could already feel herself dragging from not having gotten a nap, and while she used to be able to still be pretty peppy after waking up at six in the morning, being nearly eight months pregnant was not kind on her body. She’d never ben so fatigued with her other pregnancies, though she had been much younger. She was turning thirty-one in a few months, so she wasn’t as lively as she had been at twenty-three when she was carrying their oldest. 

Y/N watched from the window above the sink as the boys played on the structure their father had erected outside, the younger boy scrambling to keep up with his older brother, wanting to be a big boy. She couldn’t believe they were so big already, and she was extremely excited to have a little one in the house again. She only had about five more weeks until she was due, and those five weeks couldn’t pass quickly enough. She could go into labor at any time now and everything would be okay, but from previous experience, her children waited until the last possible minute to relieve their mother and enter the world.  

Once she got all the dishes done and had wiped down the counters, Y/N called her children in from the backyard to come play indoors now that the sun was going down. It was also getting too cold as they sunshine started leaving the sky, and she didn’t need either of them getting sick. So, the boys set up shop in the living room, playing with a car set that they’d gotten the previous Christmas, making entirely too much noise for the pounding headache Y/N had suddenly developed. She rubbed at her temples as they started yelling in excitement over whatever situation they were acting out. They were dramatic, just like their father, and while Y/N usually found it adorable, it was wearing on her last nerve at the moment. 

“Boys, can you keep it down for mummy, please?”

The kids looked at their mum and gave sheepish nods, their volume instantly dipping to normal inside voices. Y/N sighed at the reprieve. She now had to figure out what they were to have for dinner, which would be a challenge, since she was pretty sure the shopping hadn’t been done in nearly a week, which meant they were pretty much out of anything that she had bought the last time she went out. With a search through the pantry and the fridge, Y/N ascertained that they were basically going to end up having sandwiches and canned soup for dinner, which didn’t sound appealing at all. But she was in no mood to go down to Tesco’s where there was sure to be someone wanting a photograph, or, God forbid, some paps lingering about like they normally did in London. While they seemed to respect her husband’s space, they didn’t extend the same courtesy to Y/N when she was alone. She was lucky she got to work most days without a run-in with any of them.

The volume from the sitting room suddenly cranked up by twenty, and she jumped with the sudden cacophony. She wanted to scream at the assault on her ears, and her exhaustion finally caught up with her. Between her tiredness, her screaming children, and the hormones running rampant from the third child housing itself in her womb, she just started crying. She couldn’t help it, and no willing the tears back worked. She just stood in the kitchen with her head pressed the the cool metal of the refrigerator door, trying to keep herself calm enough to not yell at her kids. She loved them so dearly, but she just wanted some quiet. Or her husband. It’d be nice if he was there now. 

Like her prayer had instantly been answered—because God was seriously taking pity on her right then—she heard the front door open, and while she wanted to sigh in relief, she was too spent to even do that. She just kept standing there, crying silently, her shoulders heaving with her hiccuping sobs. Her children were out enough to drown out her noises, which she was kind of glad about. 

“You boys are sure noisy today,” she heard Harry comment with a chuckle. Their screams elevated again with dad’s arrival. She imagined they were throwing themselves at him now, wrapping their arms wrapped around his legs and waist like they always did when Harry walked through the door after getting home from the studio or meetings he had to go to throughout the week. “Where’s your mumma?”

“Think she went to the kitchen,” her eldest suggested. She could just imagine the little shrug in his shoulders and the pout of his bottom lip that looked just like his father’s. She wanted to smile at the image of her adorable little boy, but she was too exhausted to do anything but cry. 

“You guys keep playin’. Gonna say hello to you’re mother.”

Y/N tried to pull herself together before Harry walked into the kitchen—she really did. She reached up to wipe her fingers underneath her eyes to rid of the tears, but she heard Harry’s boots on the tile of the kitchen before she had a chance to do much else. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. His footsteps hurried along as he approached her. She was instantly enveloped in his arms, her face tucked into his chest. “What happened? Yeh okay?”

“I’m just so fucking tired, Harry,” she whined, sounding like the teenagers she was when they first met. They’d come a long way since then, but she felt like she deserved to whine every once in awhile. “The boys are being so loud, and I slept like shit last night because I’m so fucking pregnant, and I woke up so early. I’m just fucking exhausted, and now there’s nothing to make for dinner, and I had to help the boys with their homework since my mum couldn’t make them s—”

Harry cut her off with a brush of his lips against her own. “Baby, calm down,” he urged. His low voice was soothing, and his arms wrapped around her body helped to ground her, but she couldn’t help that she was still crying. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re just tired, poppet. Why don’t yeh go upstairs and lay down?”

“But I have to make dinner,” she whimpered, feeling like a shitty wife and mother. What was she good for if she couldn’t feed her kids and husband?

“Me and the boys will handle it,” he assured, bushing strands of her hair behind her ear.  “You’re running yourself ragged. You’re due soon, it’s time to relax.”

“Harry, yeh just got back from the studio. Yeh shouldn’t have to make dinner, too.”

“Because yeh haven’t been working all day, too? I’ve just been sat in a studio. You’ve had the boys for hours and yeh went to work this morning. Yeh should be on maternity leave already.”

“I can work up until I go into labor.”

“Just because yeh can doesn’t mean yeh should,” he argued. He hooked a finger under her chin to make her look at him. 

He hated seeing the tears pooling in her eyes and the tracks streaming down her face from ones she’d already shed. She should never be exhausted to the point of crying, but she just wouldn’t stop going. She thought she had to be super mum in order to be of any use to the household, but Harry found that ridiculous. She raised their children and she worked full time; she was doing a damn good job at it, but everyone needed a break sometimes. And since she was almost full term, she needed it now more than ever. 

“I’m capable, Harry,” she scowled. 

“I know you’re capable; never said yeh weren’t,” he said. “But I’m also more than capable of getting dinner together.”

“Harry—”

“Nope. I’m getting dinner. Now, go upstairs, lay down, watch some telly or summat. I’m taking the boys with me to Tesco’s and we’ll have dinner on the table by seven.”

Despite her greatest effort not to, Y/N fell asleep in their plush bed when Harry and the boys left. She wasn’t quite sure how long she was out, but she was woken up by a little body crawling her way into her bed and snuggling up beside her. Curls tickled at her nose, and she slowly blinked awake, her eyes connecting with bright green ones and a little toothy grin. 

She felt much better after a nap, and she couldn’t help but giggle at the close proximity of her youngest.

“Daddy said to wake you. Dinner’s ready,” he announced in a hushed tone.

“Thanks, bub,” she answered. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his little nose, about the only feature he got from her. Everything else was completely Harry, from the curls, to the eyes, to the pink, pouty lips. His older brother looked much the same, except he had Y/N’s eye color. She was glad Harry’s genes seemed to be dominant, though; their kids were automatically blessed with good looks, and no one in the media ever questioned whether or not they were his children. Her eldest came out of the womb with dimples and the same blonde hair Harry had as a baby. When he turned about five, the curls started coming in and his hair darkened significantly. The younger boy’s eyes had turned bright green by the time he was four months old.

Y/N held her little boy’s hand on the journey down the stairs, and she smiled as she saw Harry serving up plates of food, their other son taking the plates to the table and setting them in everyone’s respective spots. The food smelled delicious and the relief at not having to cook it herself combined with the energy boost from her nap had Y/N in a much better mood. 

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, his large hands wresting on her belly as she poured drinks for the kids. She felt his lips sponge against the skin of her neck, and her eyes fluttered closed briefly, enjoying the feeling of having him so close. She’d never get over his presence. They’d been together for just shy of a decade and he still caused butterflies to kick up in her stomach any time he was sweet on her. 

“Feeling better, my love?” he asked, his lips brushing against the spot just below her ear. 

“Much,” she sighed, leaning back into his chest. “Thank you for taking care of this, H.”

“Anything for yeh, pet,” he assured, nipping at her ear. “Gotta take care of yeh. Mother of my children, love of my life. I’d do the cooking and cleaning for the rest of our lives if it made you happy.”

She chuckled at the image of coming home to Harry in an apron every day. “Ex-boy bander, ex-rockstar, ex-actor, current stay at home dad. Sounds like a great CV, Harry.”

He chuckled into her neck. “One I’d be proud of.”

She turned her head and caught her lips with his, kissing him sweetly. “I’m gonna start maternity leave next week.”

“Yeh sure, poppet? You’re okay with that?”

She nodded. “Yeah, can’t keep going like this. I’m no good use to our daughter if I’m exhausted more than she’s already gonna make me.”

“She’d be proud of you either way, love,” Harry assured. 

“I know,” Y/N nodded. “It’s time, though. Want to enjoy the last few weeks before she arrives as much as possible.”

“How ‘bout a little vacation then, hm?” he suggested, running his nose along her soft cheek. “Take the boys to my mum’s and go somewhere sunny for a week. Before yeh can’t fly anymore.”

“Where would yeh wanna go?” Y/N wasn’t usually one for just dropping her kids off at their grandparent’s homes and going off on vacations, but a week for just her and Harry for the last time in who know how long sounded way too good to pass up.

“Jamaica? Haven’t been there in awhile. Australia? Though, it’s only spring there. St. Bart’s? BVI? Doesn’t matter, love.”

“Call Jeff and have him make arrangements for BVI, then. Don’t want to be too far in case something happens.”

Harry smiled widely. “Just yeh and me for a week, babe. Haven’t done that in awhile.”

“Last time that happened, I got pregnant with this one.”

The laugh that burst from Harry’s mouth was Y/N’s favorite sound. “We do get ourselves into trouble, don’t we?”

“One great thing about being pregnant, though. Can’t get pregnant again!”

If you want to make a request, you can go to this post. I also am open to writing any personal requests you may have :)

[dfroza]

“i love you so much!”

And the need of learning to get along, including the things we choose to think about, that we meditate upon is seen written to us in Today’s reading of the Letter of Philippians with chapter 4:

My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.

[Pray About Everything]

I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.

And, oh, yes, Syzygus, since you’re right there to help them work things out, do your best with them. These women worked for the Message hand in hand with Clement and me, and with the other veterans—worked as hard as any of us. Remember, their names are also in the Book of Life.

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

[Content Whatever the Circumstances]

I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

You Philippians well know, and you can be sure I’ll never forget it, that when I first left Macedonia province, venturing out with the Message, not one church helped out in the give-and-take of this work except you. You were the only one. Even while I was in Thessalonica, you helped out—and not only once, but twice. Not that I’m looking for handouts, but I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity.

And now I have it all—and keep getting more! The gifts you sent with Epaphroditus were more than enough, like a sweet-smelling sacrifice roasting on the altar, filling the air with fragrance, pleasing God no end. You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.

Give our regards to every follower of Jesus you meet. Our friends here say hello. All the Christians here, especially the believers who work in the palace of Caesar, want to be remembered to you.

Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves.

The Letter of Philippians, Chapter 4 (The Message)

with these lines repeated in The Voice that reflects upon allowing the peace of God to guard us from worry and fear:

For this reason, brothers and sisters, my joy and crown whom I dearly love, I cannot wait to see you again. Continue to stand firm in the Lord, and follow my instructions in this letter, beloved. Euodia and Syntyche, I urge you to put aside your differences, agree, and work together in the Lord. Yes, Syzygus, loyal friend, I enlist you to please help these women. They, along with brother Clement and many others, have worked by my side to spread the good news of the gospel. They have their names recorded in the book of life.

Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.

Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me—do it—and the God of peace will walk with you.

The Letter of Philippians, Chapter 4:1-9 (The Voice)

with Today’s paired chapter being Exodus 8 where we see the continued stubbornness of Pharaoh in facing Moses and Aaron and their request (God’s request) to let the Jews go:

[Strike Two: Frogs]

God said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you refuse to release them, I’m warning you, I’ll hit the whole country with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs—they’ll come up into your houses, into your bedrooms and into your beds, into your servants’ quarters, among the people, into your ovens and pots and pans. They’ll be all over you, all over everyone—frogs everywhere, on and in everything!’”

God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Wave your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds. Bring up frogs on the land of Egypt.’”

Aaron stretched his staff over the waters of Egypt and a mob of frogs came up and covered the country.

But again the magicians did the same thing using their incantations—they also produced frogs in Egypt.

Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to God to rid us of these frogs. I’ll release the people so that they can make their sacrifices and worship God.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Certainly. Set the time. When do you want the frogs out of here, away from your servants and people and out of your houses? You’ll be rid of frogs except for those in the Nile.”

“Make it tomorrow.”

Moses said, “Tomorrow it is—so you’ll realize that there is no God like our God. The frogs will be gone. You and your houses and your servants and your people, free of frogs. The only frogs left will be the ones in the Nile.”

Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses prayed to God about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. God responded to Moses’ prayer: The frogs died off—houses, courtyards, fields, all free of frogs. They piled the frogs in heaps. The country reeked of dead frogs.

But when Pharaoh saw that he had some breathing room, he got stubborn again and wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron. Just as God had said.

[Strike Three: Gnats]

God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and strike the dust. The dust will turn into gnats all over Egypt.’”

He did it. Aaron grabbed his staff and struck the dust of the Earth; it turned into gnats, gnats all over people and animals. All the dust of the Earth turned into gnats, gnats everywhere in Egypt.

The magicians tried to produce gnats with their incantations but this time they couldn’t do it. There were gnats everywhere, all over people and animals.

The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s doing.” But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. Just as God had said.

[Strike Four: Flies]

God said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes down to the water. Tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you don’t release my people, I’ll release swarms of flies on you, your servants, your people, and your homes. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground under their feet will be thick with flies. But when it happens, I’ll set Goshen where my people live aside as a sanctuary—no flies in Goshen. That will show you that I am God in this land. I’ll make a sharp distinction between your people and mine. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

And God did just that. Thick swarms of flies in Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his servants. All over Egypt, the country ruined by flies.

Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and said, “Go ahead. Sacrifice to your God—but do it here in this country.”

Moses said, “That would not be wise. What we sacrifice to our God would give great offense to Egyptians. If we openly sacrifice what is so deeply offensive to Egyptians, they’ll kill us. Let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to our God, just as he instructed us.”

Pharaoh said, “All right. I’ll release you to go and sacrifice to your God in the wilderness. Only don’t go too far. Now pray for me.”

Moses said, “As soon as I leave here, I will pray to God that tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. But don’t play games with us and change your mind about releasing us to sacrifice to God.”

Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to God. God did what Moses asked. He got rid of the flies from Pharaoh and his servants and his people. There wasn’t a fly left. But Pharaoh became stubborn once again and wouldn’t release the people.

The Book of Exodus, Chapter 8 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, march 25 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

[necromaniackat]

God Damn

Summary: Julie Delaney was thirteen when she had her first child, Jude, with a drug dealer who bailed on her when the baby was born. Two years later she has her second child, Lakelynn, at seventeen with an unknown man. Julie travelled all the way from Nevada to Charming, California with her two young children and dropped them off at her older brother's doorstep in '81. Otto and Luann raised her and Jude with the help of the MC. When Otto went to prison in '94 Jude began to patch in as a member of the Sons of Anarchy Redwood Original. In '00 Jude was killed during a surprise attack they had during a run, he was shot down. The club has been a part of my life since the very beginning. It’s all I’ve known, it’s all my brother and I have known all our lives. Ever since our mom dropped us off at our uncle’s house in ’81, back when I was a baby and my brother was a toddler. My brother died for the club. While I, I lived for it. 

Word Count: 4,125

Warning: Strong Language.

Chapter 2: Times are Changing but Life Stays the Same.

If you want to learn how to love better, start with someone you hate. –Unknown

I sighed tiredly, untying my apron from around my waist. It was finally the end of my shift after a long and stressful day. Today was busier than usual because not only was it a big delivery day but we had a huge surge of people come in and linger for about an hour. It was good for business but our three-man crew up front was swamped for the better part of that hour. Nobody really got a break or lunch, it was just go, go, go. One of the perks of starting work at five-thirty in the morning is you get off work early in the afternoon.

“See you tomorrow?” Zoey, the new girl, asked as I passed by her to go to the small office. I grabbed my bag off the hook behind the office door, and put my apron in its place. I shook my head at her in sullenly but the joy of having a few days off made butterflies flutter in my gut.

“Nope, I have a few days off.” I reminded her, for the millionth time, that last month I worked sixteen hour shifts five days a week because we were a man short. Janine marked that down as overtime. I got my extra pay and now I have tons of vacation time. I’m only going to take a few days off here and there instead of taking a large amount of time off. I’d go insane if I didn’t work after more than three days.

“Do you think I’ve had enough training for you to take time off now?” Zoey commented pathetically, her tone was hard and cold. I slung my bag across my body before turning to her with a displeased expression. I was less than pleased with her question and her tone of voice.

“Zoey, you’ve been working here for three weeks now. If you still need me to shadow you making coffee then turn in your notice and there’s the door.” I snapped coldly. Zoey was in her early twenties but I saw her resume when Janine hired her a few weeks ago. This isn’t her first job but if she still needs me to babysit her after three weeks of training, two of which are informal, then she needs to leave. I know Janine is going to talk to me when I come back, she’ll tell me not to be so harsh on the new girl. I’ve been told that I can be a bit cold sometimes. Janine has had two people quit on her because I’m a bit too hard on them. There are times where I take on everything by myself and don’t allow anyone to do anything and other times where I get mouthy with the coworkers because they don’t seem to be doing a whole lot at the same pace as me. I’ve heard Janine talking to the owners about making me the Assistant Manager because of my bossiness and leadership skills, and my high sales percentage. It’d be cool if I could be promoted, Luann and Gemma would be proud of me but at the same time they’ll shake their heads at me because they want me a little closer to home and the club with my career choices. I’ve hinted to Luann that I don’t want to be a part of the porn industry; it’s too close to the club.

The young blue haired girl stood in the doorway with her mouth hung agape slightly. I squeezed passed her and left the back area, saying goodbye to the afternoon crew. Before I walked through the door I caught Janine’s encouraging yet stern look from behind the counter. I let out a loud sigh, knowing she wanted me to be the bigger person and do the right thing but honestly, I just wanted to go home, take a bath and have a nice dinner, maybe have someone over for a while. I didn’t want to go rummaging through history with my history.

I unlocked my bike from the post and stood there warring with myself. I didn’t want to deal with Jax or his baby mama drama. I can only handle a little drama at a time, and the drama I have in my life is more than enough for me. But I’ve grown up with Jax, we’re like family. A really fucked up family. Jax has been through enough lately, he needs someone familiar, someone he knows will keep his secrets no matter what. He needs me right now. Jax is the kind of guy who needs someone with him; he doesn’t do very well on his own. As a kid I thought it was the most romantic thing ever but now I’m inconvenienced by it. He’s spent the last eight years almost ignoring me, only acknowledging my existence when he needs to. And now he wants to be friends again. It’s only because his ex-wife is well, his now ex-wife. He doesn’t have her to be with anymore. He needs me again.

I groaned loudly to myself and rolled my eyes before turning the bike around to face the direction of the storage place where Gemma rented out a unit. I straddled my bike and kicked off. The day had gotten warmer but it wasn’t too hot out luckily. The breeze that blew through my hair was nice but the boulder sitting at the bottom of my stomach contradicted that feeling. Even though I made up my mind I was still warring with myself over if I should just turn around and go home or actually go and help Jax. I’m allowed to be mad at Jax and I’m allowed to be mad at Wendy but I’m not allowed to be mad at that baby. That kid has done nothing wrong against me, he just simply exists. I can’t be mad at that baby, it’s not right. And right now, that baby’s dad needs someone he can count on and unluckily for me, that someone is me.

But something else sat at the bottom of my gut, something sour. It made my spine tingle and my nerves vibrate with electricity. My heart raced inside my chest like a jackhammer pounding away pavement. I felt beads of sweat begin to roll from my hairline and down my back. I white knuckled the grips on my handlebars and peddled a little bit faster. My instincts were telling me I was being watched and possibly followed. I wasn’t about to look around to see if my instincts were right, I knew they were. I’ve been raised by the Sons of Anarchy, if my instincts are telling me something is wrong then there is something wrong. In turn, I peddled a little faster; going from a casual speed to racing down the sun filled sidewalks. Peddling faster made me feel better, safer even.

Finally, I met the chain link fence of the storage place. It was like a small town in there with those neighbourhoods and streets of units. Luann rented one out for Jude’s stuff when he died. She didn’t have the heart to throw it away or sell it. I didn’t either. So, we put it into storage in case one day somebody else needs it. But I think it’s more so Luann can go there and remember him. Luann has been like my mom for the last twenty-seven years. She was like Jude’s mom for nineteen years. There is a bond there that nothing can break. But when Jude died in 2000 Luann took it the hardest, she locked herself in her room for two weeks and cried. I told Otto the day that it happened. He took it pretty hard because he and Luann never had kids, we were their kids. Jude was like his son and now his son was lying six feet under a headstone. Sometimes Luann goes to the storage unit so she can feel that bond she had with Jude and remember what he was like. We all miss him dearly. Although, I’m not entirely sure if our mom knows that Jude died. She dropped us off twenty-seven years ago and hasn’t been seen or heard since. I don’t really have a problem with that; I was a baby when she safe dropped us on Otto’s doorstep.

I peddled my bike through the city of units until I found the one Gemma stored all the boys’ baby stuff and whatnot. And like usual, Jax was nowhere to be seen. I sighed loudly and closed my eyes in defeat. Somehow, I knew this would happen. I knew I’d be the only one here while Jax was off doing God knows what, maybe it’s God knows who.

I got off my bike and leaned it against the concrete wall separating the units. I fished my phone out of my bag so I could call Jax to see where he was. Just as I went to dial his cell my phone began to ring in my hand. My eyebrows drew together when the ID came up Private Name, Private Caller. I don’t know anyone who’s ID is that; maybe it’s a wrong number. I promptly hit the little green button and brought the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?” I greeted curiously in a light tone. There was nothing. There was no voice coming from the other end, just the sound of breathing.

“Hello? Who is this?” I asked curiously, wondering if they didn’t hear me the first time. Again there was nothing but breathing.

“I can hear you breathing. Who is this?” I demanded in a hard tone. Nobody answered, it was just heavy breathing. I was beginning to feel unnerved and annoyed at the same time. My heart raced but my mind was steeled on the thought of getting some kind of answer.

“I’m hanging up now.” I told the mystery caller coldly.

“Rasasvada.” The voice at the other end clearly whispered to me before the call ended. I was frozen in place, my heart stopped beating all together and my mind stilled. A very familiar but ancient feeling pulsed through me. I let my arm drop to my side as I quickly looked around to spot the threat that I was feeling, but all I saw was a forest of storage units. I damn near jumped out of my skin when I felt a firm grip on my shoulder. Spinning around and ready to fight for my life I saw Jax standing there. I had to push my heart back into my chest with loud gasps for air.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” He apologized sincerely. “–I didn’t think you’d actually show up so I took my time getting here.” He added honestly. I finally calmed down from the fright of my life. I began to bounce my gaze around; still feeling like I was being watched but I couldn’t see anyone or anything. Jax’s eyebrows fell together confusedly. His body language became that of a protector instead of his signature casual swagger.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?” He asked curiously, prodding at me in a protective way. I pursed my lips together and shook my head, attempting to shake off the feeling.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” I replied surely. But I wasn’t sure. I was still feeling like someone was keeping a close eye on me and that terrified me, especially after that phone call. I figured Jax would sense my unease but he decided to surpass it. He’s known me most of my life, he knows that I don’t give up information that easily. Ever since I was a kid and my brother, Jax and Opie would quote, unquote “torture” me for information about anything and it’d be a power struggle between the four of us. Usually I’d get bored of it all and tell them but not after a good fight for it. And I’m guessing Jax really doesn’t want a repeat of what happened this morning.

Jax took out a ring of keys from his kutte pocket and unlocked the unit. We both stood there with mouths hung open a bit and eyes popping out of our heads. There was over thirty years worth of boxed things stacked against the walls and on the metal shelves. I blew out a sigh of hot air that puffed out my cheeks and let my hands sit over my kidneys as we both stood there and stared at the seemingly endless disarray of history.

“Did your mom say which ones had the baby stuff in them?” I asked, hoping for a positive answer. But knowing Gemma, she wouldn’t make life that easy for us. Gemma has always been rooting for me and Jax to make up. So, I’m positive she’s the one who told Jax to bring me here today so we could hang out and hopefully re-bond with each other like when we were younger. Jax let out a gravelly sigh.

“No. She just said there may be some things in here I could use.” He replied, crushing my hopes. My hands dropped from my back to my sides again and I turned my head to look up at Jax.

“I guess we better get started then.” I suggested cunningly. Jax gave me a small smirk and nodded. We both dived into the boxes. I started at the back and he started at the front because I was smaller and could actually fit back there. I found a lot of old photo albums that held pictures of Jax and Thomas as kids. It made me miss Thomas a little bit. I found the baby book Gemma made for Jax when he was born. I smiled at it. It reminded me that even the outlaw started out as a baby, just like I did. But we’re not babies anymore; we’re not kids, Hell, we’re not even teenagers anymore. We’re not in our early twenties, just entering adulthood by drinking and fucking the days and nights away. I’m twenty-eight years old and Jude would’ve been thirty. We’re not little kids playing outlaw anymore. We’re actually outlaws and that terrifies me.

“So, how is the coffee business?” Jax asked from the front of the unit. I stopped nosing through boxes and looked over at him; he was knee deep in history. He didn’t look at me; he just kept going through the boxes on the hunt for baby things. I let a little crooked smile slip and a shrug.

“It’s going good. I might be promoted to Assistant Manager soon.” I replied. Jax scoffed loudly.

“You’re not already running that place? You’ve been there for eight years.” Jax and Luann seem to share the same thoughts. They’re both rather peeved off that I’m not already the manager or something. As much as I like Janine she’s only been there for a few years while I’ve been there since before the older owners sold it to the new owners. Sadly, the new owners have beef with the Sons and since I’m affiliated with the Sons I’ve ruined any chance of trusted promotions.

“Yeah, the new owners aren’t a huge fan of the Sons of Anarchy.” I informed Jax honestly, giving it less than a second thought and a shrug. I didn’t really care if they didn’t like the Sons or not, but they shouldn’t be treating me the way they have been. My only saving grace is Janine. All Jax said in a soft voice was:

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” I replied weakly. I saw Jax glance over at me from the corner of my eye. He sighed and shuffled through one of the many boxes in the unit.

“They shouldn’t be allowed to do that. You have no ties to the club besides the fact we’re family. You’ve always been on the right path, no criminal record or anything. That should be more than enough proof that you’re not like us.” Jax was right. They shouldn’t be allowed to do that and by law they can’t do that but every time a promotion spot opens up they give it to someone else and give me a lame ass excuse as to why I didn’t get it.

“Their argument is: I may not have a criminal record because I never got caught. It boils down to what proof they have that I’m actually a good guy.” I cleared things up a bit, riffling through a box that had old quilts stuffed into it.

“Basically, you’re guilty until proven innocent.” Jax shortened the idea to something so basic.

“Yeah, basically.” I chimed in with a very nonchalant tone of voice.

“That’s bullshit.” Jax summed up my thoughts in two words. I pursed my lips and nodded, going back to digging through full boxes. Finally, I struck oil, after rummaging through box after box I finally found evidence of baby stuff. I immediately passed the box over to Jax so he could go through it and decide what he wanted. I found myself watching him from the corner of my eye as he pawed through the box, pulling out toys and books for his unborn baby. A twinge of envy soured in my stomach but it soon soothed into a smouldering longing. I’ve noticed this feeling starting to overwhelm me lately, before it was just a small craving but now it was a roaring hunger. It wasn’t until I saw baby things at Gemma’s house that I realized I wanted to be a mom. I’m twenty-eight years old and I want to have a baby, now. I don’t want to have the relationship part with the father, I want the baby and that’s it. But Luann and Gemma would flip their shit if they found out what I’ve been plotting and try to convince me to at least be in a relationship for the sake of the kid. The club would probably be wondering if I’ve lost my mind; they’d lose their respect for me. And worse, Otto will be disappointed with me, maybe even livid.

While Jax went through the items that were meant for babies I dug through more boxes; old Christmas decorations, photo albums, J.T’s old stuff, pictures and documents, that one report card from ‘95 where Jax got an A in math. I couldn’t help but smile and remember how Gemma was so proud of him for buckling down and studying extra hard to pull his grade up from a D average in math and science to a B average during the last semester of tenth grade for him. She actually got it framed and hung it up in the living room for a number of years. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I gave him the answer keys, in return he had to let me date whoever I pleased once I got into High School; which was the next year. Boy, did I ever take that for granted. Within my first two weeks of being a Freshman I was already making googly eyes with a Senior. That pissed off every male in my life; Jax, Jude, Otto, and even Oppie for some strange reason. Jax went into a tailspin and beat the living shit out of any male who even blinked in my direction. Back then it made me furious but now I realize Jax had a lot of pent up rage inside. Not even two years before J.T got hit by that semi out on five-eighty. Jax tried to hide how he felt but it came out from time to time. Some people were afraid of what they saw but I felt bad. He was just a fifteen year old boy who lost not only his only brother but he lost his father as well. I remember that day very clearly, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.

“Y’know,” Jax twanged from the front of the unit, taking my full attention again. “–I find it funny how growing up you had all the big responsibilities on your shoulders. All the big dreams Luann and Gemma had for you; graduate High School, graduate from University, get a good job, get married and have some kids. Nobody would’ve suspected that Oppie and I would be the ones getting married and having kids while you work as a barista in a coffee shop with no chances of promotion.” Jax mindlessly poured salt into my wounds. I’m sure he didn’t realize that I think about that a lot actually. I think about how much of a failure I am in my family all too often. People had big dreams for me and I let them down.

“I don’t see how that’s funny, Jax.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and sighed. The boulder was back in the pit of my stomach. Jax followed in suit with another gravelly sigh.

“I guess it’s not that funny after all.” He muttered distantly, his baby blue eyes stared off into the far away distance. The lights were on and somebody was home but they were too busy to answer the door. It looked like he was staring into space even though he was just thinking. He’s been doing a lot of that lately, according to Gemma. She’s worried about him but as a mother she knew it was just new baby jitters.

“–I’m just confused as to how this happened, I mean, you left. You went to Reno for University and I’m in no doubt you had no plans on coming back to Charming after you graduated. You were less than a month away from graduating and then you show up in Charming completely out of the blue. You told everyone you dropped out because it was too much shit for you to handle but I know you, Lakelynn, you don’t give up easily even when there’s a lot of shit to deal with. You were done your papers, all you had to do was hand them in and then graduate but you didn’t and that confuses me. It confused Jude too. And you’ve changed since you came back. People are confused and worried about you but you keep pushing us all away when we try to get close.” Jax admitted in his usual sincere but firm tone of voice. When he uses this tone with people it’s usually just to get answers out of them but I’ve known him my entire life; he’s not lying about this sincerity and worry he has for me. He’s being honest about what he thinks and how he feels.

“What’s your point, Jax?” I inquired, brushing off his sincerity as nothing but false hope. I just wanted him to outright ask me what’s on his mind, it’s obvious he has something to say and he wants to know things but he’s stalling. He’s proceeding with caution because I’m not afraid to tell him to fuck off. But he wants to know things he shouldn’t know.

“Did something happen in Reno that made you come running home?” He poked at the subject some more, this time he hit a very raw nerve that made me stop what I was doing to turn and look at him. I swear there was steam coming out of my nose and ears. I pursed my lips together tightly, debating saying anything but he’d keep bugging me about it. I had to tell him something.

“That’s none of your business, Teller. You���re being too damn nosy for your own good.” I warned him in a tone of voice that was as hard as a boulder but stung like the crack of a whip. I hadn’t noticed but my hands were in tight balls by my sides and I’m sure my face was doused in a deep red rage.

“And you’re being too prideful.” Jax snapped back, finally looking at me dead in the eye. “–What happened when you were in Reno?” He added in a demanding but low voice. I effortlessly moved around the boxes to stand in front of him, squaring him up like some cowboy showdown. I’m half certain we’d kill each other if we were locked in a room together for any given amount of time. I was not afraid of Jax. I have never been afraid of Jax. I know I should be but I’m not. If he kills me then so be it. But I will never live a day of my life being afraid of Jackson Teller.

“I had a problem, I handled. End of story.”

[ckyking]

a date for a debt

something silly for the next one, with ardyn, the long-suffering uncle figure and noct, his stupid-in-love apprentice. clearly there is a reason why nothing ever gets done around their shop.

“Ardyn.”

The man in question didn’t move, didn’t even acknowledge the buzzing sound at the edge of his perception. Laid out as he was on the sofa taking up nearly an entire wall of his shop’s main room, one would think that he did not have a job to do.

“Ardyn.”

Still no answer. Muttering under his breath, the immortal’s apprentice gave up on subtlety and decided that that he was not awake enough to deal with this.

“Wake the fuck up.” And with this, Noctis plopped himself on his back, sitting squarely in the middle of it and punching the breath out of the suddenly awake man who did not quite gasp but still let out a disgruntled sound that pulled a laugh from the youngest’s lips.

“My dear,” Ardyn started lightly, “Pray tell, what exactly do you think you are doing?”

“Waking your lazy ass up. You would think that after two thousand years, you wouldn’t need as much sleep.”

“I enjoy the finest things in life.”

“Yeah, well, the finest things you have to take care of right now are me and the shop, in that order. We have rituals to prepare.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“If I don’t, nobody will.”

“Oh really? How about that boy working in— “

“We do not bring that up.”

“My, have I touched a nerve?”

“Oh, go back to hell, master.”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, my dear, but hell is not a place, and I’m looking right at it.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“I know, but thank you for the compliment.”

“This shit right here is why we get everything done at the last moment.”

“Is that so? I thought it was because I was saddled with such a troublesome apprentice.”

“I’m so very sorry, master, how could I ever make amends to you?”

“Ask the boy out and stop pestering me with your relationship problems, or lack thereof. I can only deal with so much in one day.”

“Fuck you.”

“Sorry to break your heart, my dear, but you are really not my type.”

“…Please stop talking, I think I’m going to be sick if you say something like that again.”

“Happy to be of service.”

By now, Ardyn’s head was comfortably nestled in his arms, propped up on the armrest, eyes closed as he looked at Noctis through the wards he had woven himself to keep everyone but those he approved of out of his property. After all, he had no need for money anymore, but keeping his skills sharp was as interesting a pastime as any, especially when he could rile up his adorable apprentice in the process.

His infamous smirk made an appearance when a familiar signature appeared at the edges of his property, waiting for an instant before venturing closer to the shop, keeping to the main road all the while. Without even looking, Noctis twisted a strand of reddish hair around his fingers and pulled lightly, bringing Ardyn’s attention back to him.

“Whatever is making you smirk now, I want it gone. It’s never a good thing when you do.”

“Oh, could you tell? You cannot even see me right now, what with how busy you are trying to drown your sorrows in coffee.”

“Yes, I could. Just like vultures can sense rotting meat from miles away.”

“I’m hurt.”

“Good.”

“I’m certain you do not want it gone this time around, I assure you.”

“…What are you planning?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s so much better when I don’t have to lift a finger for things to go my way. And Noct, really, you really should have made yourself more presentable.”

Whatever Noctis was about to say was cut off when someone knocked at the door firmly, eliciting a mix of yowls and screeches from the backrooms as the newborn daemons awakened from their daytime nap.

“Ardyn, Noct, you there? Delivery for you!”

“Come in, Nyx, the door is open!”

The following laughter was muffled when Noctis frantically pushed Ardyn’s head down into the cushions in his attempt to jump off the couch and go find something more appropriate to wear.

“Wait, no, don’t!” Noctis yelled over the noise before turning back to his meddling master.

“I’m going to set Gladio on you, don’t think I won’t!”

“Which one now? And this reminds me, did you ever tell your friend that you named a Red Giant after him? Or a tonberry after the prim and proper one? I knew you had no creativity, but this is going too far, even for you.”

“I didn’t, and you won’t either if you want to continue sleeping. I still have those spells Luna taught me.”

“Oh my, threats? So early in the morning? I’m so proud of you, Noct, my influence is finally starting to show.”

Noctis’ face twisted at the praise and he let out a disgusted noise which only heightened Ardyn’s amusement.

“Alright, coming in!” Nyx’s voice snapped the youngest back to reality with a start, the sound of the handle being turned sending him running for the stairs hidden behind the counter.

Just as the fabric of Noctis’ oversized sleepshirt disappeared around the corner, the Galahdian entered the shop, picking his way cautiously through the shelves just in case a cranky daemon hid behind one of them.

Ardyn did not hide his smirk at the dissapointment in his blue-grey eyes when they swept the main room and did not find what they were looking for.

“Searching for someone, hmmm? He went upstairs to change, if you wanted to know. Why am I even asking, of course you do.”

“Thoughtful as always, Ardyn.”

“It’s so draining being as kind as I am, but I make-do. Now, what do you have for us today?”

“Bones, feathers and skins. Crowe and I went hunting, so they’re as fresh as can be.”

“What a professional you make, little Ulric, I never thought I would see the day. How does it feel to come into this place by the front door after sneaking in for so long?”

“That was years ago and you know it.”

“As you say, it was years ago, but you do know how I can hold a grudge.”

“…What do you want now? Free supplies isn’t enough for you?”

“I might just put this incident behind us if you do one thing for me. Truly, I cannot stand this situation any longer.”

“Is it going to end up with me in the hospital?”

“Oh, I think not, except if this is what you want. Whatever you do behind closed doors is of no interest to me. No, I want you to take my apprentice out on a date.”

“You want me to what?”

“Come now, I know there is a brain hidden under this thick skull of yours. Anyone with eyes can see how you two look at each other, even if I dearly wished that was not the case. A date for a debt, it is a fair deal, yes?”

“…He said no.”

“What was that?”

“I said that I already did and he told me no! There, you happy!?”

“…That stupid boy. What exactly did he tell you?”

“That he didn’t imagine he would ever have enough free time to leave the shop for more than a few hours.”

“And you asked…?”

“If he would be interested in learning more about Galahd one day.”

“Galahd. Galahd who is an entire day journey away from here.”

“Yes..?”

“Generally, asking someone out for a date is more…straightforward, shall we say. Coffee, for example. Or dinner. And not, oh, an offer to visit someone’s homeland.”

“I didn’t ask him to come to Galahd with me! Just, he seemed interested so I thought he would like it. And I couldn’t ask him out for dinner because, well, he doesn’t need to eat…”

“Even if neither Noctis nor I need food as sustenance, it does not mean we do not enjoy it. Keep that in mind for next time.”

“Next time?”

“Gods help me, you clearly deserve each other.” Ardyn said as he rolled his eyes. “Noctis, would you come down for a second?” He asked evenly, knowing that his voice would reach his apprentice with no problem.

The sound of hurried steps echoed through the shop as Noctis ran down the stairs, slightly disheveled from the speed with which he had changed. Though clearly, he didn’t have time to finish as the half-done buttons of his jeans and the sliver of creamy skin revealed by his rucked-up shirt attested to. Nyx certainly seemed to enjoy the sight, with how his gaze was glued to his apprentice’s waist, but the boy himself did not notice, too busy looking around for a threat, and avoiding the embarrassment of blushing in front of his crush.

“What happened now!? Do I need to call Uncle Cor again!?”

“Nothing of the sort, though attempting to give the Immortal a heart attack is always a delight. Here’s your next assignment.” The declaration was punctuated with a lazy wave in Nyx’s direction, whose face was caught between incredulousness, embarrassment and glaring at the lounging immortal. Noctis did not fare any better, his face beet red as he stared at the man he had sighed over for what had seemed to be years in Ardyn’s opinion.

“What the hell did you just say!?” Both voices melded together in their expression of incredulousness.

“See? You are truly made for one another. It is sickening. Now, go and be awkwardly cute somewhere else, I have sleep to catch up on.”

Seeing that none of them were moving, Ardyn sighed dramatically and snapped his fingers.

“Clearly, I have to do everything myself around here.”

In a flurry of activity, the shop rearranged themselves around them, forcing Nyx and Noctis together and stopping them from fleeing like they – or rather his apprentice – always did. A second gesture sent them both flying out the door, the youngest holding onto Nyx’s shirt for dear life, the man’s arms wrapped protectively around his slighter frame.

“Don’t bring him back too late, or you will wish I had killed you instead, little Ulric. And Noct, my dear, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Oh, and of course, have fun.”

He ignored the sounds coming from outside as he laid an arm across his eyes, sighing at the peace he would get for a few glorious hours.

“Children these days,” He sighed to himself, “You have to teach them everything.”

[leiyahime]

Fanfic - A love in Edo period part 3 NSFW!!!

Well... I wanted to have this story finished by now so that I have it off my list when I start my Advent Challenge... but well... won’t happen... but at least have the next part.

The life of a married cpouple is not easy. And then they're called to Kyoto to fight a duras at the imperial palace. 

A love in Edo III

 Shuusei woke up in the middle of the night when the sliding door was quietly opened and someone entered the dark and quiet room. But she didn’t feel alarmed like she did when her mother-in-law came in to order her around.

And when she felt a well-known presence on the futon beside her she smiled and turned her head around to look at her husband.

 “You’re back!” she whispered still tired but nevertheless happy.

 “Yeah. I’m back. Finally,” Hotsuma replied and wrapped his arms around her possessively.

 “We expected you tomorrow evening.”

 “I hurried a bit. When Takashiro said he was done I made my way back. You should never summon only one Zweilt.”

 Shuusei smiled a bit sadly and pressed her back to his chest. “I’m a woman... He only needs me if a fight comes up.”

 “You’re my partner. My most important person. The one person to let me feel at ease. You belong to my side.” She could feel Hotsuma’s lips at the back of her neck and turned around a bit to caress his hair which seemed a bit damp.

 “Is it raining?”

 “No I’ve taken a bath first thing when I returned,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to smell of horse when I come back to your side.”

 Shuusei chuckled quietly and turned her head to pull him into a loving kiss. She had missed her husband dearly during these two weeks he had been away but now she felt complete again. And she could feel his curious hand glide up her abdomen until it came to rest on her still clad breast.

 “How tired are you?” He asked quietly against her lips. “You prefer to sleep on?”

 Shuusei smiled. God she was married to such a considerate man – at least when it came to her – sometimes she couldn’t believe it herself. And sometimes she wouldn’t mind if he took what he wanted more fiercely.

“If you want me, take me. I’m yours! I’m never too tired to please you.” To prove her point she fully turned around to face him, opening her sleeping kimono in the same movement  so that Hotsuma could touch her more easily, an invitation he could not let slip.

 “You’re so wonderful!” he whispered while pressing a kiss to her lips. “And beautiful!”Another kiss to her neck.“And fascinating!” He kissed her shoulder right above her collarbone. “Did I mention wonderful?” He asked and gently squeezed her breast so that Shuusei took a deep breath.

 “You’re impossible! And I love you!” Shuusei replied and opened his kimono as well. There was no need for sleepwear for the rest of the warm late summer night.

 “I love you, too. And I missed you!” When they were alone they didn’t hesitate anymore to say what they felt for each other. They just couldn’t show it outside their rooms.

 Shuusei smiled and sighed, when she could feel his lips on her breast. “I missed you, too,” she replied and closed her eyes. It felt always incredibly good when he touched her like this. Her fingers wandered into his hair to keep him in place while she put one of her legs around his hips. They had been separated long enough now she wanted to feel him as close as possible.

And it didn’t take long until she wanted to feel him inside her. She pulled him up to kiss him deeply and completely removed the last few clothes he wore, not without touching him everywhere she could reach knowing too well that it drove him crazy when she did this.

 She heard him sigh and felt how he pressed closer to her.  “God, Shuusei, I want you!” He moaned and moved his hips against hers.

“Then take me. There’s no need to ask. I’m yours!” She answered hoarsely.

 It didn’t take long now that she felt him slide inside her and he started to move almost immediately. They were too used to doing this by now. When he was at home they couldn’t help themselves and there was barely a day when they kept their hands off the other.

Nevertheless Shuusei loved being with Hotsuma even now that they’ve been married for more than five years.

 Shuusei was very responsive this night and did her best to drive her husband insane which was no hard task for her and it didn’t take too long for both of them to reach their climax. Shuusei breathed deeply and snuggled into Hotsuma’s arms.

 “Why did Takashiro-sama summon you?” she asked after a while. Two weeks ago a messenger from Kamakura had appeared on the Renjou family’s doorstep and ordered Hotsuma to come to the clan’s main property because Takashiro had something to tell.

 “We shall prepare to be set out soon. Reiga’s getting active again,” Hotsuma said. “He had a vision about an upcoming attack. He’ll inform us in time when he knows where he will strike. And some other boring stuff, I’ve forgotten most of it, mainly concerning the elders.”

 Shuusei nodded. She wasn’t too sad about having to leave for a battle soon. “And that took two whole weeks?” she asked.

 “He wanted us to do some other stuff... Make sure some others and I can control our abilities. I am just glad that the black bean wasn’t present. Only his partner.” Shuusei nodded. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if Hotsuma and Kuroto met each other without her in the same room. She knew her husband too well.

“And how have things been here?” he asked, not wanting to talk about the past weeks he had been alone.

Shuusei could feel his hand caressing her abdomen and knew what he mainly wanted to know and sighed.

 “Same as always. I had my bleeding last week...” She could feel how Hotsuma’s hopes were once more crushed. “I’m sorry...”

 “Don’t be. It’s okay.” He pulled her close to himself and held her tightly. “We’ll just try on.” He kissed her forehead. Of course it was sad that it didn’t work with getting pregnant once more, but the chance had been slim from the beginning. Hotsuma caressed his wife’s naked back. He knew that she wanted to have a child. But they couldn’t do more than trying.

 “How... has mother been?” he changed the topic.

 “Also same as always.”Shuusei shrugged. “Let’s not talk about her now.”

 “As you wish.” Hotsuma yawned before kissing her gently.

 “You should sleep. It has been an exhausting day.” Shuusei looked up to him and gently caressed his cheek.

 “Hnn” Hotsuma kissed her once more but then looked for a comfortable position to fall asleep without letting his wife go. He expected the rest of the night to be much too short for his liking. Shuusei got up way too early every morning.

 Shuusei woke up early, just as the sky in the east started to glow in a bright orange indicating the sun was about to rise. She sat up and looked at her husband who was still peacefully sleeping next to her. For a few minutes she just sat there and watched him, considering if she should wake him up or let him sleep on from his exhausting trip.

Then she decided that he should properly rest, gently brushed her fingers through his blond hair and got up to get dressed for the day, but before she could leave the futon she felt a hand at her ankle weakly holding her back.

 “You... didn’t want to get up without me?” she heard Hotsuma’s sleepy voice and turned around.

 “I thought I’d let you sleep. You had a hard day, yesterday.” Shuusei knelt down and caressed Hotsuma’s cheek.

 “But if you get up now we probably won’t have time for each other until tonight. And I have missed you too much to endure that!”

 Shuusei tried not to blush. Especially when he was still half asleep he was just too honest.

“Idiot!” she scolded very fondly and bowed down to him to kiss him. That woke him up more and he pulled his wife completely into his arms to start caressing her still naked body.

 Shuusei put her leg around his hips and pulled him close so that she could hear him release a quiet moan. It was okay to take this time today, she decided. They had been apart too long.

 They were lying on their sides both panting heavily, Hotsuma still not active enough to move too much no matter how much he wanted to seduce his wife before Shuusei had to get up and prepare breakfast for the whole household, when they heard steps in the hallway and the door was pushed open.

 “How long are you planning to sleep, useless girl?” The upset voice of a woman interrupted their love making and Shuusei closed her eyes. She wasn’t so much later than usually! She sighed and let go of her husband but pulled the blanket to her shoulders. She hated it when her mother-in-law saw her undressed. She could always feel how much this woman disapproved of her.

 “Oh look, my son has returned. If you’re here you can as well get up and help your father in the stables instead of playing around with your wife.”

 Hotsuma frowned deeply, and while he got up he slipped his sleeping kimono over, before he walked over to his mother. “I have marital duties to fulfil which I haven’t been able to for two weeks.” He said coldly. He would not tolerate his mother call it ‘playing around’ Even though it sometimes was really no more than that.

 “Marital duties?” His mother sounded like she wanted to laugh. “Do you really still believe you will father a child with this woman? I’d not surprised if Takashiro-sama was already looking for a better woman for you!”

 “I will not marry another woman, mother. Not in this life.” He had the person he loved most at his side. He would never let her go again. No matter if it worked out with children or not. Being with Shuusei was more important to him than everything else. “And now out of my rooms.”

 “This is not your house, yet. And as long as you’re here you’re first my son and then a Zweilt. So out of bed. Both of you!” The woman turned around to leave. “I’ll see you at breakfast in five minutes!”

 “I’m sorry...” Hotsuma took a deep breath.

 Shuusei shook her head. “We knew she didn’t like me. It’s okay.” She stood up and went over to Hotsuma to press a loving kiss to his lips. Then she turned around to get a clean kimono and got dressed. Hotsuma looked at his wife. He really wanted her to have a better life. One where she could be happier. He didn’t care if the meals were on the table at the same second every day or if the house was spotless clean, all that mattered was that this one person was happy. And when he looked at her he saw that she was just swallowing everything.

 “Is something wrong?” Shuusei asked, when she noticed how he looked at her.

 Hotsuma shook his head. “No... I... was just thinking... What if I tried to convince Takashiro-sama to let us move to Kamakura?”

 “What? But...”

 “I can’t stand seeing her harass you any longer. You don’t deserve it! You are a wonderful person, but she fails to see it. It’s not your fault, we still don’t have children. It’s not your fault you’re not the perfect housewife she’d love to have as my wife. You were brought up a warrior, not to clean and wash clothes. I want you to have a life that gives you more than this.” He looked at her intently, knowing that she was not a rebellious person like he was.

 “Hotsuma... I’m happy. I can be with you, that’s all I want from life.” She said. “You don’t need to get into trouble for my sake.”

 He shook his head and embraced her. “I know. I don’t need to... but what if I want to.”

 “Don’t.” She said and rested her head on his chest before she kissed him and let him go. “Come, get dressed, your mother awaits you.” She smiled at him and then left the room to help her mother-in-law in the kitchen. Really, she was blessed that she was married to her partner. The only thing missing to her complete happiness was a child. Hotsuma was too worried. She wasn’t fragile.

 And so she started her daily work in the house. After lunch she went to the garden to train a bit. If Reiga was indeed planning something she needed to be in a perfect shape. Ready to beat whatever he threw at them. Hotsuma’s mother didn’t like it, but she couldn’t help it. Hotsuma was right. She was a warrior and it was more important for the clan and the human race that she was able to fight.

 She felt her partner’s presence and at the very same second she heard a shout and she jumped away just to see that the place she had just been standing at was ablaze. She summoned her swords jut at the right moment to parry a blast from Hotsuma’s giant crooked blade and then she jumped away again to get in a position to attack herself. They went all out to get an advantage, but of course they knew each other too well to be a serious threat. So after half an hour they were heavily breathing and called their weapons back to their rings and grinned at each other.

“That was good.” Hotsuma beamed and Shuusei nodded.

 “Yeah. We should do this more often. We need to be prepared.”

 Hotsuma nodded as well. “Yeah. Let’s take an hour every day.” He proposed. It was something he could do together with his wife and time together was precious to him.

 Shuusei approved and went to the near well to get something to drink.

 “Let’s go out tonight. Just us two.” Hotsuma proposed.

 “What?” Shuusei looked at him in confusion.

 “Let’s go out for dinner. I want to do more with you than just seeing you in the morning and evening when we go to bed. It’s been so long that we have had time together. We don’t have time to do anything together. Do you understand? I love lying down with you and try to make you a child, don’t get me wrong. But... I want more of our marriage.”

 “But... Hotsuma... It’s too much... we’re married.” She reminded him. Her sole purpose as his wife was to conceive a child and give birth to an heir. Nothing more.

“I don’t care. I can take my wife out to get her in the mood, right? There’s nothing wrong with it. People can see we still see each other and take care of getting an heir.”

 Shuusei looked at Hotsuma then shook her head in defeat. “Okay, then take me out tonight.” She agreed and the grin on his lips was enough to know she said the right thing.

 ~~~

 Of course her mother-in-law was not happy that Shuusei spent the evening out with her husband and the next days she piled even more work on her. She wasn’t supposed to have fun, and if she had the time for that she had the time to do more cleaning.

It was two days later when she returned from the garden where she had been washing the family’s clothes and hung them up for drying when she heard her husband’s voice from the kitchen: “I don’t care, mother!”, Hotsuma spat. “She is my wife and not your slave! She does everything she can to please you!”

 “It’s not enough. I’m not getting younger. Who will lead the house when I’m not here anymore? When I can’t do everything anymore?”

 “I don’t know? By then we will both be dead. So that’s not a reason to push her over her limits!”

 Shuusei couldn’t see the reaction to Hotsuma’s words because was sill outside the room.

 “So you really want to take work off her shoulders?”

 “Yes! You can’t force her to work until she collapses!” Hotsuma sounded really angry and Shuusei quietly entered the kitchen to calm him down but wasn’t yet noticed.

 “Then why don’t you get a concubine? We have enough money to feed another woman. She would be able to help in the household and would spare your precious wife from overworking. And perhaps she will be less useless and be able to give birth to your heir so that our line of the family doesn’t die out.”

 Shuusei froze. Of course it was more than legitimate for a man to get more than one woman. But she didn’t like the thought of sharing her husband!

 She was only brought back to reality, when she heard Hotsuma’s furious answer: “You... I will not get any other woman! Don’t ever propose that again Or I’ll..!”

Hotsuma couldn’t finish his sentence because Shuusei rushed to his side to pull him into her arms. He was way too upset! “Calm down! Please!” She demanded. His voice had sounded terribly close to releasing his fire.

 “But...”

 “Calm down, Hotsuma. You don’t want to burn this house down!” She agreed with him, but she didn’t want him to hurt anyone in his anger. So she looked into his eyes while calmingly stroking Hotsuma’s back.

 He looked at her and took a deep breath. As always these actions worked. “You’re right.” He agreed but then he looked at his mother and the air between them was bristling. “Don’t propose anything like this ever again! It will not happen.” He said and turned around but then stopped and looked at his wife. “Care to join me for training?” he asked.

 Shuusei nodded and followed him. Hotsuma’s mother wanted to hold her back, but she knew that she shouldn’t keep a Zweilt pair from training.

 “Have you heard it?” Hotsuma asked on their way to the gardens.

 Shuusei nodded. “I’m not surprised... For her it’s only my fault that we don’t have children, yet. So from her point of view it’s a logic conclusion that you get another woman to get her pregnant. But!” Shuusei added before Hotsuma could protest. “But somehow I’m glad you refuse... I don’t really like the thought of sharing you...”

 “You won’t have to share me. I’m yours!” Hotsuma said seriously. Really. Shuusei didn’t have to think anything else. He had the best woman there was at his side, so why should he go for anyone else?

 Shuusei smiled and took her husband’s hand until they reached the garden and started with a few warming up exercises before they started to attack each other. The session ended in a heavy make-out-session which only didn't lead to more because both of them didn't want to agitate Hotsuma's mother even more.

 So they took care of their chores again. There was much to do in the big house and the fields. And after everything was done in the evening Shuusei retreated to the library, Hotsuma’s great-grandfather had started to build and now his father bought new books from time to time. Shuusei had made it a new habit to read a bit before she went to bed to calm down from her mother-in-law’s steady criticism.

And when she returned to her bedroom to get ready to sleep she found Hotsuma already being there waiting for her. She smiled and went over to him to lay down on him.

 “Where have you been? You stay up late the last days,” he asked quietly and started to caress her lovingly.

 “In the library. Somehow reading calms me down. Do... you mind?” she asked and looked at her husband a bit insecurely.

“No, I just wondered. You usually come here when everything is done.”

 “Sorry. I can stop and come to you immediately again.” Although she really enjoyed this hour in the quietness of the library. “If you want me with you I’m gladly here again.”

 “No. Don’t put yourself behind me. If you enjoy it, go on. I’ll gladly wait for you if it means you feel good.” Hotsuma pulled his wife in for a long and caring kiss. She needed something she liked in her daily routine and who was he to deny her this little joy? And she seemed to be very open for his advances nevertheless as she sat up and started to undress him. Hotsuma grinned and helped her the same way. He didn’t mind waiting a bit for his wonderful wife and she was still more than ready to demand his proximity.

 ~~~

 The next morning a messenger from Kamakura appeared at the doorstep to call the Zweilt pair to battle. Takashiro had had a new vision: The Zweilts would have to go to Kyoto immediately. Apparently Reiga had planned an attack on the Tennô and they had to protect the emperor at any cost.

 Shuusei and Hotsuma got up from breakfast at once to get a few things while they had someone prepare their horses and some food for the way and less than half an hour later they set off on a long trip through half the country. They wore kimono and hakamawith the Giou clan’s crest so that no one could stop them and hold them back without having to fear hard penalty.

 On their way they met another Zweilt pair who lived in Kamakura. They nodded at each other and continued their journey together. They regularly changed horses so that they could travel as fast as possible since they didn’t know exactly when Reiga would strike.

The nights they spent outside. Summer was about to end but the nights were still warm and so they didn’t have to waste time with looking for a guesthouse.

On the late evening of the fourth day they arrived in Otsu and decided not to go on anymore. But when they had checked in to a ryokan, they sent a messenger to the Giou’s main property to let the elders know that they were close and ready to fight whenever necessary.

But after their first warm meal in days they just dropped onto their futons and were just too exhausted to do more than look for a comfortable position in each others’ arms and fall asleep.

 The next morning Hotsuma took his time to seduce his wife which he hadn’t been able to do during the last days. And after a short shared bath he went ahead for breakfast while Shuusei needed a bit more time for taming her long her into an acceptable hairstyle. While outside she hadn’t taken too much care of it but if they had to see the clan’s elders today she was supposed to look decently.

So when she was the last to come to the room where they were supposed to have breakfast, she could hear two people arguing. And one of the voices belonged to her husband.

 “Okay, when we’re done here you try to go to Edo in three days, Black Bean! Let’s see if you can do it.”

 “Place a Duras there and I will run the distance in two! With Oboro on my back if you want to!”

 “As if! Prove it!”

 Shuusei entered the room and was quickly at her husband’s side to pull him back. Hotsuma’s opponent was already held back by his own partner who looked relieved when he spotted Shuusei. “Stop it. We’re not here to prove who’s better than the other,” she scolded her husband and looked at the new Zweilt pair who looked like they had just arrived. “Good morning Kuroto, Oboro.”

 “Morning...” The black haired young man who had just argued with Hotsuma mumbled. The two of them never got along and Shuusei assumed they never would. They were too different and too similar at the same time.

 “Good Morning Shuusei-chan.” Oboro smiled. “Good to see you again. How are you?”

 “I’m fine, thanks. Are you here to bring us to the elders?”

 “No, we’re supposed to go to the palace immediately,” Oboro explained. “Someone will show us the area so that we can plan our strategy. I can already sense that the Duras are in the city. We don’t have much time left. So when you’re done with breakfast we’ll leave.”

 Shuusei nodded and dragged her now pouting husband to the table where the Zweilts who came here with them were already sitting.

While they were having breakfast Oboro explained that they were already preparing to fight. God’s Light was also here right now so that they could fight with all they had. And he told them the emperor was unwilling to leave the palace. So they had to take care that he stayed safe and unharmed.

 Soon after they had finished their meal the six of them were on horseback again and rode into the old capital. Shuusei liked the city. She had often been born here and it was like a home to her.

 When they arrived at the imperial palace they were greeted by a fourth Zweilt pair who had just arrived from Nagasaki, a member of the clan and a member of the palace guard who led them through the park and parts of the palace so that they could prepare for the upcoming battle.

 But they didn’t have time to work on a strategy. As soon as they left one of the side buildings they were attacked. Shuusei immediately raised a barrier to protect the surroundings from damage or worse the whole city in its wooden glory from getting burning down. The clan member hurried home to inform God’s Light that the battle had begun.

 The Zweilts were alarmed everyone stood close to their partner. They looked around to find the Duras.

 Kuroto was the first who spotted it – an Opast, a rather strong one nonetheless.

He looked at his partner and Oboro nodded. Shuusei and the other Zweilts also shared a look with their partners to make sure everyone was ready and they could completely depend on their instincts and their partner. They didn’t have time to develop a strategy so they had to trust in their abilities.

Of course Hotsuma tried his luck at first with God’s Voice but didn’t succeed. The Opast had been standing on a stone statue so the attack didn’t light anything up. But it didn’t succeed either. The Duras laughed.

 “Cute! Do you really think you can beat me with a bit of fire?” He asked now standing on top of one of the wooden buildings. He was well-clad although it looked a bit strange. He wore culottes, long white socks and a long coat. European clothing, Shuusei mused. At least she had seen some of the Dutch tradesmen wearing this when she had seen them on a visit to Nagasaki a few years ago.

 “I thought I’d try.” Hotsuma shrugged but hesitated to release another fiery call although the building should be empty.

 “Why are you here?” Oboro asked calmly.

 “I have my orders to kill you... Although I see there are only eight of you. Takashiro is underestimating my master! He should have sent all of you!”

 “Eight of us are enough to send you back to hell!” One of the other Zweilts said and summoned his weapon, a long spear. The other Zweilts followed

 Oboro sighed. He had hoped to talk the Duras into leaving them alone, but now that everyone had prepared to fight it had become impossible. So he too summoned his bow as well.

 “So you really want to fight? I wanted to offer you to come with me. My master wouldn’t mind getting you alive as well.” The Duras grinned.

 “Forget it!” Kuroto called, jumped from his place and drew his black sword at the same second to cut the Duras in two, but didn’t get him. Even God’s Legs had not been fast enough to kill the Demon with one strike. Oboro sent an arrow of pure light after him but missed as well.

 And then the Duras attacked. The battle was harsh and drained their strengths. But they also managed to wound the Demon with their combined strength.

 And suddenly the Duras was gone.

 “Has he fled?” One of the Zweilts from Nagasaki asked.

 Shuusei shook her head and looked at the other woman. “No I can still sense he’s here.” She was breathing heavily and wiped some blood from her cheek where the Duras’ blade had managed to hit her. She looked around but couldn’t find it. So she called one of her spheres to make use of “God’s Eyes”.

 Then she spun around and looked up to the palace’s main building where she could see a man. This wasn’t possible. No one besides members of the Giou clan should be able to be inside the barrier. The Duras laughed and appeared next to the man to take him hostage. “Look who has found his way here. If this isn’t His Majesty himself!” He laughed. “I’ve heard he is precious to you. So why don’t you give up?”

 Oboro shot another arrow but the Duras dodged it easily.

“Oh... no. What if you had hurt his Majesty? Give up, Zweilts!”

 The Zweilts looked at each other. What should they do now?

 Shuusei looked at the young woman from Nagasaki “Hide me!” she said quietly. “And then give me time.”

 “Shuusei!”

 “If everything goes down burn the palace. I’ll take care of His Majesty.”

 They didn’t have time to make plans. Hotsuma knew it although he didn’t like the idea of Shuusei sneaking away without him. But since he didn’t have other ideas he nodded and after a confirmation of the other woman Shuusei walked off the group. Hidden by the illusion that has just been created. The Duras didn’t notice anything had changed. He still saw eight Zweilts standing in front of the building and trying to negotiate with him.

 Shuusei tried to find her way through the building. Of course she had to enter that part of it they had not seen earlier. But she didn’t dare to use her ability once more in case the Duras could sense this kind of energy. It took way too long until she could see the Duras’ back on a balcony. He held the Tennô as a shield in front of him. But his back was open. He didn’t expect an attack from behind. She held her breath, took one of her swords and threw it without a warning at the Duras.

 It screamed and let go of the emperor.

 “Your Majesty! We must leave!” Shuusei called. But The Tennô seemed to be too shocked to react. So Shuusei didn’t hesitate, ran towards him and grabbed his arm to pull him away. She knew it was forbidden to touch the Tennô like this but it was his life that was at risk.

 “Come!” she said sternly and ran towards the stairs she came from.

 “No.” The man – younger than she had imagined and clad in finest robes – said.

 But before they could do anything else the Duras has regained his composure and dashed towards them. Shuusei was barely quick enough to dodge the attack.

 “You must leave!” She urged the Tennô. “Hurry!” She knew that alone she wouldn’t be able to defeat the Duras but she had to buy the emperor time to flee.

 She wanted to ram the other sword into the Demon’s body but failed. But she could pull the first one out of the Duras’ body, which led him to another scream and Shuusei could push him onto the balcony again. “Oboro! Hotsuma!” She called for support and soon after one of Oboro’s arrows pierced the Duras and brought him to the knees. Shuusei looked at Hotsuma and nodded before she turned around to escape as well. He would now try to burn the building and the Duras to ashes.

 She just wanted to turn to the stairs she had come up when she heard a voice

“Warrior lady!” She turned around and saw his Majesty.

 “I told you to flee!” Shuusei shouted.

“I couldn’t leave you behind!”

 Shuusei could smell the smoke. Of course Hotsuma had acted immediately.

 “Follow me. This way is faster.” The emperor said and turned around. Shuusei had no choice but to trust him. It hadn’t rained in days and so the fire spread quickly.

 They ran down several stairs and through rooms Shuusei didn’t know but soon left the building just in time before it collapsed. And Shuusei felt how the demonic energy of the Duras vanished. The threat was over.

 “Thank you, warrior lady.” The emperor said and bowed slightly which led to Shuusei bowing deeply.

 “I did what I had to. Thank you for guiding me out.” She looked at the burning rests of the building.

 “We need the fire brigade before the whole palace is ablaze!”

 Shuusei shook her head. “We are in another dimension. When I tear the barrier down everything is as it has been before the battle,” she said and bowed again. “Now excuse me. I have to go to my partner. He is afraid that he might have burned me together with the Duras and the house.” She bowed again then ran back to the place where the other Zweilts had been. On her way she released the barrier and there was no indication of a fire left.

When Hotsuma spotted his wife he ran towards her and embraced her tightly.

 “Thank god. I already feared you didn’t make it!”

 Shuusei smiled and pulled him close and brushed her fingers through his hair. “I don’t die so easily. Not inside your fire.”

 Everyone was relieved. “Let’s go back and tell the elders that the threat is over for the moment.” Oboro proposed and the Zweilts nodded. On their way home Hotsuma held Shuusei’s hand tightly in his and refused to let go of her. And Shuusei knew she would have to show him clearly that she was alive and still at his side as soon as they were alone.

 ~~~

 “His Majesty wants to invite you to His palace,” the messenger said. “He wants to properly thank the beautiful warrior lady for saving Him. He has gotten to like you.”

 Shuusei gulped. A few days have passed. They were already preparing to return home to Edo soon. The servant’s words gave her the feeling the emperor wanted more than just thank her again especially since he was just inviting her and not her partner as well. And he was supposed to know that a Zweilt pair was very close.

 “I guess I can’t refuse...”

 “No. An invitation is to be treated like an order. You will be at the palace the day after tomorrow at noon. Unless you have your monthly bleeding then you may inform the palace’s staff and be there a week later.”

 Shuusei gulped but nodded. Hotsuma was barely able to hold back his anger so she put her hand on his thigh under the table.

 “I will come with my wife.”

 “The invitation is only directed at her.” The servant looked at him sternly. “You are not allowed to enter the palace.”

 Shuusei took Hotsuma’s arm to keep him calm. She didn’t like the idea of meeting the emperor alone but what choice did she have? It was the emperor calling. And deep down Hotsuma knew that he would have to let her go.