#i still pretty much just have a sore throat and a little sniffles hopefully it doesn't get too much worse. maybe a little fever but i don't

[californiaquail]

okay so not only do i now have a faintly positive covid test but my eggs exploded in the microwave which has never happened to me before. and i probably caught this at pride last saturday which is sooooo cool and not at all making me insane. killing myself imminently

[kydrogendragon]

Mammon requests? 🥺 this boy deserves the world, please. if you're in the mood I could really use some soft Mammon in my life these days, some kinda fluff of him taking care of mc and/or his bros? 💕

This boy absolutely deserves the world <3

I've just finished getting over a cold, so that kinda inspired these. Hopefully this is kinda what you were thinkin'!

Mammon Caring for the HoL When They're Sick

The Devildom cold season only came every decade, but when it did, it came through hard. It started with a simple sniffle from Satan during breakfast one day. Not much was thought about it until it progressed to a cough at dinner. Within days, the residents in the House of Lamentation found themselves with runny noses, sore throats, and fevers as they all laid in their beds. Some were worse off than others. Asmo and Beel got off the lightest, only getting a stuffy nose and the occasional headache. Lucifer and MC got the worst of it, no doubt due to his overworking and MC's being human. The only one to escape falling ill at all was Mammon. On one hand, he was thrilled to not be bed-ridden for the next week or so, but on the other, he was now forced to play caretaker for six demons and a human.

Probably the most worried about you. You're a human after all! A human with a cold that usually only demons get.

Checks in on you every hour (if not more).

Refills your water bottle anytime it looks low, saying that ya gotta stay hydrated and that water makes ya feel better!

Stocks up on human world medicine curtesy of Diavolo and Barbatos and set multiple alarms on his DDD so he knew when you needed to take more meds. Definitely freaked himself out when he was reading the possible side-effects on the back of the boxes.

When he's not busy making rounds to the rest of his brothers, he'll sit next to your bed on the chair he pulled over. He'll trail a damp washcloth over your head to help the fever, give your feet a massage (if you ask nicely), or simply just keep you company while you ride out this cold.

Definitely hand-fed you for the first few days, fretting over you using up the little energy you already had.

If you guys are in a relationship or if you're comfortable with having him help you bathe, he'll definitely get a bath ready for you (and may or may not have nabbed a bath bomb if you'd like from Asmo's stash). He'll wash and rinse your hair for you, relishing in this gentle, domestic moment between the both of you.

Will 100% cuddle you to sleep if you'd like as well.

Trying to care for this man when he's sick should be its own level of Hell. He absolutely refuses any help, despite being bedridden.

Honestly, it was probably good that Mammon was the one to help because it would have been even more of a fight had it been anyone else.

Will accept being brought food and water, but still insists on working from bed. He tried to move back to his desk, but Mammon all but tied the man to his bed. Thankfully, Lucifer didn't have much energy to fight back.

He will openly admit that he appreciates Mammon being there to help. He'll say how much he appreciates the hard work Mammon is doing to help him and everyone else in the house and admits that he's thankful he can rely on Mammon to step up when he's down.

Mammon, of course, doesn't know how to handle the praise from his older brother and ends up gently shoving him food before leaving his room.

Mammon does relish in the fact that Lucifer is clearly proud of him and appreciates him in moments like this. It's a memory he'll look back on when he needs a pick-me-up in the future for quite a while.

Also absolutely sneaks sleeping pills into Lucifer's drinks so the man can get some rest for once in his life.

He's fairly easy to care for when he's sick. The man just does what he usually does most days, just from the confines of his own tub. Mammon just struggles with making sure he drinks and eats enough.

Levi gets pretty grumpy when his older brother drops in, interrupting whatever show he's watching or game he's playing at the time. Mammon just rolls his eyes and plops down on the edge of his tub as he forces Levi to drink some water and have at least a few bites of food.

Sometimes Mammon'll stick around for a bit and watch whatever Levi has on the screen. The otaku doesn't mind being alone most of the time, but when he doesn't have another choice, the bits of company that Mammon provides is always nice, even if he'll never say that out loud.

An absolute man-child when sick. He's worse than Lucifer when it comes to insisting that he isn't that sick and can totally continue his studies and work.

Mammon has had to literally force Satan to stay in his bed for longer than five minutes.

Eventually, his fever and fatigue get the better of him and he'll end up collapsing, leaving Mammon to wrangle him into bed and makes sure he gets some medicine into his system as well as food and water once he's more awake.

Mammon'll read to him when he's at his weakest, knowing that the fourth-born wouldn't ever ask it of him but would still want to continue his reading. He'll grumble, claiming that he'll have to re-read all these sections with how slow and strange Mammon's reading it, but is genuinely enjoying those moments. It reminds him of when Mammon used to read to him every night before bed.

This man definitely takes the longest to recover, since the moment he starts to feel a bit better, he'll over do it unless he's being watched and ends up making it all worse.

A fussy sick person. He definitely milks all the attention he can get out of it as he can, even if it's from Mammon. Plays up his fatigue so he can get everything handed to him in bed, whether its his DDD, food, water, or his skincare products.

Mammon rolls his eyes and grumbles, but hands him whatever he requests, no matter how simple it is. He also makes sure that Asmo's bathroom is fully stocked with towels since he knows Asmo likes to use a new washcloth for his skin care routine each morning and each evening.

Ended up helping Asmo do his makeup and hair a few days so he could still take Devilgram pics for his fans.

Probably, aside from MC or Satan (more due to necessity than anything), he spends the most time with Asmo, bringing him things or helping him with different tasks, all the while listening to Asmo rant and rave about every little thing.

Both of them appreciate the time they spend together since their busy schedules tend to keep them from talking this much at a time, usually.

If his appetite would decrease, then he'd easily be the easiest to take care of. Unfortunately, it's almost always the same, just with less variety. Mammon'll spend his nights batch cooking meals for everyone, but especially Beel.

There's always a large pot of soup on the stove whenever Beel's sick as well as multiple Fantasy Costco size containers of saltines and Devil Sprite at the ready. Usually, he just keeps a few boxes and containers in the Twin's room so Beel can grab them as needed.

Beel usually just texts him if he needs anything, which Mammon appreciates. Definitely the most patient of the brothers when he's sick.

Mammon'll spend time in the Twin's room, either playing a board or card game with them, or watching a movie to kill some time and rid them of some boredom. On one hand, if Beel gets sick, Belphie tends to as well just by proximity, so they can keep each other company, which is nice. But on the downside, it's another person that's sick.

Sometimes at night, if Beel can't fall asleep, Mammon will have Beel rest in his lap as he cards his fingers through his hair like he used to do when they were younger. It's almost always a surefire way to get Beel to fall asleep.

Kind of a brat when sick. He also gets really grumpy as well. He won't do anything as his energy levels will be too low to bother, but will complain about everything, from how his head hurts to the room being just a little too hot.

Asmo's fairly demanding for the sake of being lazy, but Belphie is demanding because he's very picky. Mammon'll spend way too long finding the perfect blanket that matches Belphie's requirements after the last five were either too thick, too thin, too soft, or too long.

Thankfully, he isn't a picky eater and drinks and eats a good amount, so Mammon doesn't have to worry about him in that regard.

He sleeps most of the time he's sick, which works well with helping him recover. He's typically the first to feel healthy again out of all of them. He'll help care for Beel once he's feeling better.

Mammon probably babies him more than he should at times, but he babies all of his brothers when they're down for the count like this, so it can't hurt too much.

Cuddles Belphie when he's sleeping at times. Won't ever tell Belphie so he doesn't get embarrassed, but he'll find Belphie's tail wrapped around him, keeping him close as they nap.

[avintagekiss24]

leave out all the rest | c. beck

→ pairing: chris beck x black!reader

→ word count: 5387

→ warnings: 18+ ONLY, smidge of angst, smut, sex, breeding kink, oral sex (female receiving), vaginal fingering, hand job, explicit language

→ square filled: @badthingshappenbingo

flashbacks

→ request: chris beck + breeding kink + "babe, I’m never gonna finish this work if you keep doing that" + "I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that"

→ author note: dr. space daddy is finally here! this is also the first of my 5k celebration fics! all fics will be tagged #5k...holy god. thanks so much for the request @thedarkplume​! title from linkin park leave out all the rest (i loveeee this song); line divider by @firefly-graphics​; flashbacks are in italics. i also formatted this with the beta text post editor on desktop... so hopefully nothing looks weird and the italics/bold actually work... it is tumblr after all.

oh, hey, there’s a bit of a marvel crossover in this too!

Nervous doesn’t even begin to describe how you feel in this moment. Your stomach hasn’t been settled since you got the call two days ago. It’s been flipping and twisting ever since. Sleep hasn’t come easy either, but you’re used to that. Ever since Chris left, you haven’t slept well. It’s been almost seven hundred and thirty days— well, just three days short.

You follow the two tall military men, decked out in their dress blues, through the secure facility, your black leather combat boots thudding against the tile floors. Everything is white— the walls, the floors, the coats of all the scientists and doctors milling about— except for you and your flowery, thigh length sundress. Dark eyes wide, teeth nibbling on a sore, often bloody bottom lip from all the nibbling, small purse bouncing off one hip as a duffel bag bounces off the other.

Winding through corridor after corridor, pausing as the men lift their badges to keypads to get door after door to click open. An eerie quiet looms throughout the entire building, nothing but random beeps, your breathing, and footsteps.

Nervous doesn’t begin to describe it.

The walk gives you too much time to think about the last seven hundred and twenty seven days. All of the crying. All of the anger— the screaming. Chris trying to calm you down, assure you that they were okay— that he had to do this.

"It’s so easy for you, isn’t it?" You sobbed into the phone, staring up into the stars, knowing that he couldn’t but secretly hoping that he could see you.

"This is not easy for me," he choked back tears, his tongue heavy, "Leaving you is never easy but I have to do this, baby. We have to go back for Mark. We have to."

You didn’t answer his calls for over a week. And when you did, your words were quick and harsh.

"I can’t do this anymore. I’m moving in with my sister."

Chris was silent on the other end of the phone— too silent. He sighed after a while and just said, "Ok. I understand."

That was day four hundred and sixty three.

So you moved in with your sister. Got a job at the local bar, picked up every shift you could, sometimes working sixty, seventy hours a week— just so you didn’t have to think about him. It didn’t work. You’d still stare out the window at night, up into the big black sky and through the twinkling little stars, wondering where he was, what he was doing. If he was thinking about you.

Unbeknownst to you, Chris continued to call your sister. Just to check on you.

Day seven hundred was when two Air Force officers walked into the bar as you were cutting up lemons and oranges. Your stomach, in a perpetual state of tight and sour, dropped to your feet. It’s never good when the military comes knocking on your door.

“He’s dead,” you spit out, eyes watering, chest starting to heave, “He’s dead, isn’t he? They’re all dead.”

When they removed their hats, your hands flew to your face, covering your mouth to muffle the sobs. You just knew they were all dead. Humans can’t stay in space for this long. It’s not natural.

“No ma’am,” the taller, brown skinned man answered, a small smile breaking onto his face, showing off the distinctive gap between his two front teeth, “They’re back in our orbit. They’ll be landing within the next seventy two hours.”

It was a flurry after that. Phone calls, you moving back onto the base, protocol gatherings, interviews with local and national media. None of it mattered. You just wanted to see him— you needed to see him.

Not before his mandatory three week quarantine that is.

Day seven hundred and twenty five is when they called to let you know that he was ready to move onto the second phase of his integration back on earth. Two weeks cohabitating with another person of his choice, just to make sure that his body and cells can still tolerate, you know, earth— and that he doesn’t give off anything that could make earthlings sick.

They called to let you know that Chris chose you— if you wanted to, of course. If not, he could call his sister.

You were packing your bag before the call even ended.

After two days of getting tested for everything known to man, it’s now day seven hundred and twenty seven and here you are, passing through the last set of doors and stepping into a large observatory room. One of the General’s starts talking, but you don’t hear a word. You just blink slow, lips falling open as you stare back at Chris as he stands at the little square window of his living quarters. He smiles soft, running his hand through his short, dark hair before waving and placing his palm on the window.

Tears cloud your vision. Your chin trembles as a sad smile spreads on your face. A sob chokes in your throat and a warm tear streaks down your cheeks. Despite the talking man, you step up to the window and press your much smaller hand on the glass, spreading your fingers to match his. Chris rests his forehead to it and you do the same as you really start to bawl— shoulders shaking, face breaking, breath rushing fast and hard.

"Baby, don’t cry. Come on pretty, don’t— don’t cry."

Chris’ voice is muffled by the thick glass, but just hearing it— so close, so familiar— after so longs it’s just… it’s almost too much. It is too much.

“Ma’am, we can’t let you in there like this. We need you to calm down.”

Dense thuds shake the glass as Chris pounds on it, "Open the door, Sam!"

Sam grabs your bicep, gently, guiding you towards the door— Chris following you both, still talking to you through the glass.

"It’s okay baby, I’m right here. I’m right here."

“We need you to calm down,” Sam starts again, “He hasn’t been around—”

"Sam! Goddamn it, leave her alone! Open the door!"

“Beck! You cool it in there!”

"Don’t be an asshole! Open the door! She’s scared!"

You hear a scoff, “Step back from the window, Dr. Beck.”

"I swear to God—"

“Step back from the window, Dr. Beck.” Sam is stern now, pointing his finger towards Chris. 

Sam pauses for a few long seconds, blinking slow but keeping his hand around your bicep— and thank God, because you honestly need it, “I’m going to badge you into the hallway, okay? You take this keycard,” he presses it into your palm, “And put it up to the keypad at the second door after I close this door behind you. It’s only good for one passthrough— once you’re in, you’re in until the medical staff clears you both. Understand?”

The second half of his speech is softer, his thumb rubbing the back of your arm. You like Chief Master Sergeant Sam Wilson. You nod quick, rubbing at your face with the back of your hand, sniffling hard and focusing a shaky breath out through your teeth as you step in front of the door. There’s a loud click and the metal pops, Sam reaching past you to push it open.

Your body, on autopilot, takes three steps to the second door, eyes staring at the keypad on the wall beside it. Chris is still talking to you through the windows, one hand pressed to the glass, the other on the door handle.

"Just a few more seconds baby. You’re doing so good."

There’s another click— Sam closing the door behind you. Water fills your eyes again, emotion choking up in your throat at the gravity of it all. All of the screaming. All of the crying. All of the hating him and loving him and missing him for seven hundred and twenty seven days all culminating right here, right now, while he’s just three feet away from you. The sky used to be the thing keeping you apart— now it’s just a wall. A door— that you can’t walk through.

"Baby, Chris says gently, "Come on baby. Open the door, honey."

You’re frozen. Eyes locked on the keypad, fingers gripping the keycard so hard they start to burn. Open the door, honey takes you back. Takes you back to the day that he told you he was going up— that he’d be gone for a year.

“Open the door, honey. Talk to me.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” You sniffle, staring at your reflection in the mirror in your small bathroom.

“You knew this was coming. I don’t know why you’re so mad.”

“A year? A year, Chris? I’m just supposed to put my life on hold for you for an entire year?”

He sighs through the door, “I’ve worked my ass off for this, you know that.” You do know that, you’re just being selfish. Needy and selfish, “I know we’ve got plans baby, but it’s just a year. One year and then I’m all yours—”

“Yeah, until the next time you decide to go up there. This is what Melissa warned me about. You get addicted to it.”

“I won’t.”

“You will,” you retort, “I know you.”

That makes him laugh, and then you’re laughing because he’s laughing, “Open the door, please.” Chris sighs again.

As soon as you turn the knob, he’s pushing through it, lifting you up off your feet and twirling you around— to make you laugh again.

You were standing on a precipice that night and neither one of you knew it. Your lives, both individual and combined, would change forever and that was the night that set it all in motion.

The keycard digs into your fingers and palm, bringing you back into the present. Back into the hallway, back in front of Chris. You blink, linking eyes with him again, finding them soft and down turned, his head tilted as he presses his fingers to the glass.

"Let me hold you," he says soft. So soft that the glass between you gobbles it up. But you just know that’s what he said. You just know.

The door clicks in your ear, a breeze is in your face as Chris throws it open, and then you’re consumed. Arms wrapped around you, hard chest against yours as you’re lifted right off of your feet. He’s so warm— he’s always been so damn warm.

“Oh my god,” he whispers, leaning back a little as you push your face into his neck, “This moment was the only thing keeping me going.”

“I’m sorry,” you sob, pushing your face into his shoulder, your tears wetting his NASA sweatshirt, “I’m so sorry, I was so selfish,” the words are clipped and broken, heavy on your tongue, “Chris, I—”

“Don’t. Don’t do that, it doesn’t matter.” He sits you back on your feet, rubbing your back with both of his large hands, “I’m the one that should be sorry.”

You cry openly into his chest, wrapping your arms around him and pushing your hands up into his sweatshirt, under the thin t-shirt underneath— just to feel his skin, “I missed you so much.”

One, two, three, four pecks of his warm lips on the top of your head before he rests his cheek there, holding you tight as he takes a deep breath, “All that’s over now, hmm?” you can feel the smile on his face, “We don’t have to miss each other anymore.”

-

A yawn pushes out of your mouth as you stretch out tight, sore muscles screaming. Eyes flutter as you shift, another deep breath pushing out your nose as you nuzzle your face into the pillows, body cocooned in warmth. You’re drifting again, quick, when an abrupt panic races through your veins without warning. Your stomach drops, skin instantly flushing with heat as you spring up, eyes as wide as saucers as your breath rushes.

That’s when you hear it, an all too familiar sound. A pencil, tapping slowly, methodically, against something. It calms you instantly. It’s real, you’re real, Chris is real, and you’re here. He’s here.

You swing your legs over the edge of the small bed, tucked in the corner behind a small partition. There’s a soft light glowing underneath it and a single red blinking dot emanating from the corner of the room— a camera. You push your hair out of your face but keep your fingers on your cheeks, closing your eyes as you focus on your breathing. In, out, in, out, in, out. There’s a murmur, Chris mumbling to himself and you can’t help but smile.

You stand and start moving towards the noises, padding soft and slow as his mess of brown hair and hunched back comes into view. He stands, switching out an X-Ray on the viewer before he plops back down into the swivel chair, staring at it for a second before he starts flipping through the large, open text book just to his left. There’s a little white board off to the right, leaning against the wall, the days he’s been “gone”, seven hundred and twenty seven, scribbled in his messiest of messy handwriting.

The little slice of time watching him sends you right back to your college years, waking up in his dorm room, finding the bed empty and him huddled over a too small desk, furiously flipping through a thousand page text book. You’d sneak up on him, just as you are now, barely dressed and sleepy eyed. Dig your fingers into his hair, scratch his scalp slow. Giggle as his shoulders slump and his head falls back a little, him moaning all the while.

“God, that feels good.”

“You let me fall asleep.”

“You cried yourself to sleep. Didn’t have the heart to wake you… you look like you haven’t slept in a year.”

“Hmm, more like two. What are you doing?” you ask, pushing around his side and crawling into his lap, nuzzling into his shoulder.

“Looking at our X-Rays from earlier today. I’m working on another paper for the Institute.”

“Trying to see if you guys are still earthlings?”

He laughs, the sound rumbling through you, making you smile, “Kinda, yeah. Our body masses have changed dramatically— our bones are longer, I’m not shitting you.” You giggle again at the enthusiasm in his voice, “It’s just a few centimeters, but still. Our brain waves are a little different, metabolism has sped up… it’s incredible.”

You keep the small smile on your face as your fingertips drift over his chest, rubbing slow as you feel his eyes fall to you, “You should get back in bed,” he says, squeezing your knee gently, “You look so tired, baby.”

“Not without you.”

He laughs again, “My circadian rhythm’s all fucked up, I can’t sleep.”

“Then it looks like you're stuck with me,” you kiss his chin and then cuddle back into him, “Don’t mind me.”

Mind you, he doesn't. He just goes about flipping pages and scribbling down random thoughts, marking up his pile of x-rays and fumbling through his and the rest of the crew's medical charts. You push your hand up into the arm of his navy blue NASA sweatshirt, raking your nails up and down his forearm absentmindedly as you breathe him in. Your other hand wanders too, tracing the band of his dark sweatpants before skipping up into his sweatshirt, brushing over his stomach and up to his chest.

The pads of your fingers outline the muscles that are still there, his pecs, down and across his soft abs, before back up and over a cheeky nipple. He jumps slightly, crinkling his nose as he smiles big and hard, “Babe, I’m never gonna finish this work if you keep doing that.”

“Maybe that’s the point.”

“Oh, is that so?”

You bat two big eyes up at him, the weight of going almost two years without catching up with you right at this moment. A hum vibrates in your throat as you stand, taking a few steps away from him before you toss your eyes over your shoulder, licking your bottom lip before sinking your teeth into it. You hold out your hand, wiggling your fingers after a few moments, watching him drag his big eyes down your bare legs and then back up over your powder pink satin shorts and matching camisole.

“Come to bed, Dr. Beck.”

He’s up and on his feet before the words are out of your mouth. Warm fingers interlace with yours as the two of you move back towards the bed, falling onto the soft twin size mattress. His weight dips into the bed as he sinks his knees into it, pulling his sweatshirt over his head as you crawl towards the headboard. You draw your legs up, swaying them gently back and forth, palms flat on your thighs as you inhale deep, watching as he tosses his shirt to the floor.

The smile on your face grows larger as he crawls over you, pushing your legs open with his soft hands before he settles right between them. Chris takes his time looking at you, smiling soft as his eyes drift over your face, his index finger dragging down the bridge of your nose, over two full lips, and down your chin and neck. You let out a quick breath when the pad of that sneaky finger dips just inside your tank top— right into your cleavage.

He cups your face, his thumb resting on your lips, brushing gently, “I’m never leaving you again,” he whispers, blue eyes filling with earnest as they bounce between yours, “I mean it.”

You turn your head into his palm, pressing your lips into the soft, warm skin, planting kisses, “You promise?”

The delivery is breathless. Quiet. Small. Almost begging him to mean it. He takes a deep breath, pushes it out slow before leaning in, closing his eyes as he rubs the tip of his nose against yours. That’s when he kisses you— slow. Deep. Tongue pushing through your lips and into your mouth.  Massaging the roof of your mouth before sliding along your tongue. He even moans a little, lets his body— muscles, bones, brain— relax. Lets himself melt into you because it’s just been so damn long.

It ends slow, the kiss. Chris grabbing your lip with his teeth and pulling gently before he rests his forehead to yours. Eyes closed, his big, skilled hands and fingers flirting with your calves—pushing over your knees and then down your thighs to come to rest on your sides and hips.

“I promise.” You slide your hands up and down his sides, letting your eyelids flutter as he continues, punctuating his words with more gentle kisses, “We can start that life you’re so crazy about,” he laughs when you laugh and wrap your arms around his neck, “Buy you a house.”

“On the base?”

“I thought you didn’t like the base?”

“I don’t… but I kinda... do.”

“Then yeah, on the base if that’s what you want.”

Your eyes are still closed as hot lips press against your face— the crook of your nose, underneath one eye, cheeks, and then chin. You push your fingers up into his hair as he forges a path with his lips and tongue— down your neck, over two collarbones, down your arm— all the while his hands move upward. Up into your silk top, nimble fingers playing with two tight nipples before he rucks the silk top up to your chin.

“Wait,”

“What?”

“What about them?”

“Them, who?”

Pointing with your foot towards the blinking red light in the corner, “Them.”

He laughs and you laugh, covering your face with your hands until Chris pries them away, “They’re nerds, babe. We’ve already made them so nervous they’ve left the control room.”

You honestly can’t remember the last time you laughed this hard. Not since he left you suppose. It’s a nice sound, for both you and him, filling up the small space, making it alive and lived in instead of clinical and dry, “That’s not nice, Chris!”

He shimmies the thin material up over your head, casting it to the floor, “It’s the truth! I should know. Remember the first time I saw you naked? I couldn’t look anybody in the eye for a week.”

The memory makes you laugh, soft and dreamy-like, “That was so long ago.”

Chris catches the tone. It makes him halt, for just a second, his eyes shifting away from you. Guilt. For holding you at an arm’s length for so long. For making you number two. For making you wait for him for so damn long.

You tilt your head, eyes searching his. Gentle hands claim his face, pulling him back into your strong gaze, “Stay with me,” you whisper, eyes bouncing between his, “You’re buying me a house.”

“Ah, yes,” with one fell swoop, your shorts are pulled down your legs, right over the tips of your manicured toes and thrown to the floor, “One story? Two?” He asks, back up on his knees.

“Umm, maybe just one,” You answer, sitting up, slipping your hands into the dark sweats still covering his bottom half, “A two story house is too much to keep clean.”

You pull, but not all the way. Just enough to see his hips and that little tuft of dark hair underneath his belly button. You can’t help yourself and lean forward, kissing his stomach, giggling when he jumps a little. When you do it again, kiss him, and then a third time, and a forth, he gives in. Sweeps your locs over your shoulders and pulls them into a ponytail in his hand. That’s when you hook your thumbs back underneath the thick band of his sweats and pull a little harder, pushing the material right over his hard cock, making it bounce.

Chris kicks out of the sweats, grabs your face in his hands and tilts it upward. Leans down and kisses you again— soft. Sweet. All while rubbing small circles into your cheeks with his thumbs. He stays there, forehead to forehead, eyelashes spread over his buttery, quickly blushing red cheeks as you palm him, dragging your hand from the base right to the tip.

It doesn’t take much— never has. After a few strokes, he’s wet and red all over. Chest, neck, cheeks. Mouth agape, pulling in ragged breaths as his eyelids flutter. He swallows hard, and then hums quick, deep and throaty before inhaling through his open mouth. You push upward, kissing him as you continue slow strokes, sweeping a thumb over his wet tip.

Fingertips brush along the inside of your thigh, down low, first by your knee. Then, slowly, they skirt upward, not groping or kneading, just brushing— flirting with your skin until they reach their destination. You gasp, mouth falling open as adept fingers— not only just in general, but with your body specifically— push through wet folds.

“One story it is then,” he breathes, hot, unhurried, “A dog and a,” he slams his eyes shut, hissing and grunting when you squeeze him, “Fuck baby,” he swallows again, lips trembling as he nuzzles in, rubbing the tips of your noses together, “A dog and a cat.”

Your free hand wraps around his neck, fingertips pushing into his hair as your head tips back, hips start to shove forward, eager for his touch— wanting those fingers inside. When Chris obliges, sinks his index and middle finger into your cunt—  touch starved and needy— you mewl. Making a real sound for the first time in seven hundred and twenty seven days. It enlivens you both.

Chris pushes you back, lays you back onto the small mattress, spreads you out. Keeps his fingers inside, pumping slow, curling, massaging. Thumb pressed against your clit, rubbing. He lays between your legs, coming face to face with your most intimate and blows gently. Warm air sticking to balmy flesh. Big blue eyes flick up to yours, then back to your sweet, licking his lips as a squelch fills the room.

His tongue darts out, slips along the inside of your thigh. Your hips react instantly, jutting upward as a sharp breath fills your chest. A long arm pushes up your body, fingers prodding your breast, tweaking a nipple before he palms the skin, but not for long. Within seconds, his fingertips are pushing into a willing mouth. Your tongue, swirling around thick digits as you grab onto his hand, holding it there.

Warm air tickles damp skin again as he blows on you, “Have some babies,” he offers quick, the words muffled by your flesh as he finally laps at you, tongue slipping through sticky folds, flattening against your slit as he massages the delicate, “How many you want, baby?”

Nothing but a bitten-off groan answers him. It comes for many reasons. His fingers somehow delving deeper, lips brushing over your cunt— the thought of babies. Little brown skinned, curly headed babies running in the backyard with that dog and cat. Wide smiles, complete with missing teeth, loud laughter, declarations of love as they jump into mommy and daddy’s arms.

“Oh yeah,” heavy words breathed into your ear, a hunk of man now laying on top of you, cock pressing at your opening, “My pretty girl wants babies,” the wetness makes it easy for him to slide in— all the way in— bury deep, “I’m gonna give them to you. You’ve been so good.”

He’s moving, hips pushing and pulling as he cups your face in his hands, presses his forehead to yours, “I’m gonna fill you up,” he mutters, swollen lips brushing against yours, “Stuff you— full of— my, fuck,” a deep moan, another quick hiss as he bites his bottom lip, overcome by the warmth, the wet— the tight, “Fuck, you feel good.”

Feverish lips are on yours again, teeth nibbling as his hips shove into you. Soft and swift. A palm covering your breast, fingers pressing, kneading and working sensitive, responsive skin. Nipples hardening, heat blooming across an ardent canvas of skin, pulsing hips eager to meet his.

Chris cups your chin, pushes upward so you're forced to keep slitted eyes on him and him only, “You want my babies? Hmm? Tell me baby,” you can only whimper in response, digging your nails into his sides, drawing your legs up and around him as he plunges deep, “Come on honey, use those words. Tell me how much you want my babies.”

He fucks into you hard, jamming his hips just once— the sound of skin on skin slapping out loud and off the walls. It arches your back, the sudden, quick thrust. Sends you right up into his chest. Chris pulls you into his lap as he falls back on his ass, extending his legs, heels digging into the mattress as he wraps his arms around you, holding you close and tight, fingers spreading out on your back.

Hips roll into one another. Fingers grip his calf as you lean back, hot, sloppy lips on your chest, over and between bouncing tits. A taut nipple pulled right into his wet mouth. Slippery tongue swirling and flicking, teeth nibbling before he sucks on the tight nub, teasing it further.

Then he’s holding your hips, forcing you down onto his cock. More rushed, sticky words falling from swollen, red lips, “You want me to fill you up? Hmm? Tell me.”

Tears slip down your cheeks, overcome by it all. The emotion of it, the physicality of you and him tangled together— the words, how many years you’ve waited to hear those words.

“That’s right, sweet girl,” he purrs, thrusting harder, faster, “You want me to come in you, don’t you? You’d love it if I came in you, huh? Knocked you up? Gave you a baby?”

You kiss him hard. Cupping his face, moaning sweet into his wet mouth, “I want it,” it’s breathy— desperate, “I want it, Chris. I want it.”

“Then I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it all to you.”

It’s feverish after that. Pushing and pulling. Grunting, smacking— lips on lips, skin on skin. Large hands gripping, fingers pressing into the meat of thighs and calves and ass and tits. His fingers grip the meat of your thighs, your ass, slide up your back— around your neck as your head falls back. Those fingers find your mouth, push just inside as he wraps his other arm around your waist, pulling your hips closer, helping them rock.

His fingers are out of your mouth, cupping your cheek now. Smoothing hair out of your face as it strains. You try not to get loud, slam your eyes closed, purse your lips as your toes curl and stomach tightens… heart flutters.

“Oh no,” he murmurs, brushing his thumbs over your closed eyes before prodding at your lips, “Don’t do that, honey. I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that. Come on, let me hear you.”

“No, I—“

“Don’t be modest,” his tone shifts, going stern and deep, and that’s all it really takes for the noise to flow, “I wanna hear you.”

But he knew that.

It’s a sweet little hum, and then a gasp before it’s clipped by an obscenity— a shaky, desperate, filthy word that dissolves away into a loud groan and then… it’s all downhill from there.

You couldn’t hold it in if you tried. It’s been too long. A pent up aggression, a nervous need all finally working its way out of you. You pull him close— crush your chest against his, wrap two liquid arms around his neck, press your face right against his. Chris loops an arm around your waist, squeezing your opposite hip, pressing his fingers right into the soft skin until it hurts.

But it’s good, the pain of the squeeze. It helps you right over the edge, makes you finally cum after seven hundred and twenty seven days. Slow at first. A warmth just taking its time as it spreads. The feeling sort of foreign because it’s been so long— your brain hasn’t caught up just yet.

When it does catch up, brain and body finding each other, dormant synapses kicking on with a jolt, it’s not just a warmth. It’s molten now, searing and stirring, passing through veins and muscles and skin and bone— it’s that deep. Toes curling so hard they go numb, fingertips digging into his shoulders as you throw your head back.

You’re sure the scientists and military guards can hear you three floors down.

Chris leans in, hot, wet, shiny lips pressing against your chest, over your tits with sloppy kisses, hips still churning into yours until they just can’t. Wet walls closing in, clamping down as they spasm, that molten enveloping him. His hips freeze quick with the first spurt, but find a haphazard rhythm as he comes. Fills you up just like he promised.

He pushes those warm blooms of silk deep with now pointed, long strokes. Not a drop escaping— it’s all for you, after all. Supply and demand and all that.

The mattress is a dream beneath you. Inviting and soft as he lays you into it, still rooted deep as he rolls you onto your side. An arm snakes around your hip, a palm and long fingers anchoring in the center of your chest. A hot, flushed cheek presses against yours as lazy wet lips drag along the back of your neck. Languid thrusts at random intervals keeps you gasping as he tucks his knees and thighs into the backs of yours.

“Say it again,” you whisper after a few quiet minutes, breath still heavy, chest still heaving.

Chris plunges into you again, soft and sweet and deep, “Say what, honey?”

“That you won’t,” the words break off, a moan replacing them as he kisses a trail down your arm, fucks into you once, twice, three times, “That you won’t leave me again.”

“I’m not leaving you again.”

-

When you wake up the next morning, that little whiteboard with the days scribbled on it is erased. All it says now?

Day one.

[mrslangdon666]

“Over My Knee” Hawthorne! Michael Langdon x reader smut + some aftercare at the end.

Warnings: Daddy kink, spanking, rough sex, biting, a little choking, light degrading, and more probably.

Summary: You interrupt Michael when he’s studying and he punishes you for being a slut. Afterwards, he gives you some sweet aftercare.

YOUR POV

You were so bored. Just sitting on Michael’s bed staring at the ceiling while he wrote down notes to “master” his magickal skills. You smirked to yourself as you got an idea to get his attention, though you’d likely end up getting punished. You looked at the back of his head, strawberry blonde wavy curls beautiful as ever.

“Daddyyyyy I’m bored. Play with me!” You said seductively to him. He stopped what he was doing and without turning around to look at you he said in annoyance

“Y/N, what have I told you about interrupting me when I study? Be a good little girl and shut your mouth.” You rolled your eyes and let out a dissatisfied groan. You decided next to at least take off your top, revealing your lacy black bra with red embellishments underneath. You made sure to make the fabric sound nice and loud when you removed it so Michael was sure to hear. Once you removed it, you got up and walked to him. When you arrived in the back of him, you decided to innocently start rubbing his stressed shoulders. As you worked the knots out, he let out a moan and the back of his head pushed into your soft breasts. He then turned around and looked straight into your eyes, not giving your tits any attention purposefully.

“What did I say? Look at you, acting like a common whore to get my attention. You’re being a bad girl. Do you know what happens to bad girls? Their daddies punish them.” He spoke dangerously.

“B-but daddy I didn’t mean any—“ He cut you off before you could try to innocently explain yourself.

“I don’t want to hear it. Over my knee, now.” He said authorstively. In your head, you silently congratulated yourself. This is what you wanted, Michael’s hands on your body, even if they were punishing you. He scooted out from beneath his desk and pulled you over his knee roughly, causing you to yelp. He pulled down both your pants and underwear abruptly and rubbed his strong hands on your ass.

“How many do you think you deserve?”

“Ummm five?” You said hopefully. He simply scoffed at your suggestion and spoke again.

“Fifteen it is.” And before you could react, his hand came down painfully on your right ass cheek. You screamed out unexpectedly and whimpered.

“Thank me after each one.” He said nonchalantly.

“Thank you daddy...” You said, defeated.

*SLAP* His hand came down again. Another five blows and tears started rolling down your cheeks. You sniffled and he grabbed your throat with his spare hand, squeezing tightly sending oxygen straight to your brain. He administered the rest of his spanks, and you were a crying mess. Your ass was welted red and blistered as he rubbed his hands soothingly over it.

“Daddy’s sorry babygirl. You know you have to be punished. Get up and look at me.” He said feeling almost a little bit of pity for you. You sat up and looked at him pitifully. He used the pad of his thumbs to wipe the tears that stained your cheek and kissed your lips gently.

“Poor thing. Do you want daddy to fuck that little pussy now?” He asked with a smirk. You nodded eagerly and reached down to feel his bulge. Rock hard. The size of his cock still amazed you, Satan truly had made him in his image. He groaned at your tough and threw you on the bed. He stripped himself of his clothing quickly and got between your legs, spreading them with his hands. He looked down at your cunt and grinned from ear to ear.

“Looks like you enjoyed your punishment despite your crying, little girl. I guess daddy will have to punish you again.” He said with a faked upset tone. He put two of his long fingers into his mouth, wetting them before pushing them inside you. He scissored them and put pressure on your g-spot. Michael always fingered you before fucking you, mostly because you never got used to the sheer size of his cock.

“Think you’re ready?” He asked you as he pulled his now glistening fingers out. You nodded. His cock was standing up now, the tip flustered and red-flushed. He lined up with your entrance, and slowly pushed into you. You cussed, which earned you a sharp slap to your clit.

“Watch that pretty mouth.” He said with a warning tone. He pushed the rest of his cock inside you, stretching your walls and hitting your cervix.

“That’s it, take daddy’s dick.” He mumbled cockily to himself more than you. Once you gave him the okay, he showed no mercy. He lifted your leg over his shoulder and pounded into you hard and fast, a crude slapping sound filling the air. You moaned loudly and he panted.

“Look at you, my little slut just loves being filled with my cock doesn’t she?” He asked teasingly as he pounded you harder implying he wanted an answer.

“Yes daddy! It feels so fucking good...please cum inside me.” You begged. He raised his eyebrow and reached down to rub your clit with his thumb, just like he knew you liked. You let out a low moan at this, feeling your orgasm approach now nearly there.

“Can I cum please? Oh please let me cum...” You pleaded. He flipped you over in doggy position, his cock not even slipping out from inside you. He continued to rub your clit as you were nearly there. Your pussy clenched and Michael felt it.

“Cum.” And with that, you came. The pleasure surged through you in hot relief and triggered Michael’s own orgasm. With sloppy thrusts, he emptied his seed inside of you, painting your walls in his hot cum. You would have colapsed if Michael hadn’t flipped you back over and layed you on top of his chest gently, stroking your back.

“That’s my good girl. Daddy’s proud of you sweetheart.” He cooed into your ear as you came down from your high. Once you calmed down, he sat up much to your disappointment. You whimpered and he spoke.

“I’m just going to get a washcloth and a glass of water for you baby. I’ll be right back, promise.” You layed in the luxurious bed and waited, feeling a dull ache between your legs. Oh yeah, you were definitely going to be sore. He entered the room and put the glass of cold water on the nightstand before using the warm washcloth to wipe the sweat off your forhead. You then, he dragged it down to inbetween your legs and you closed them immediently.

“Aw is my baby sore? Was daddy that rough? He’s sorry love.” He said softly, gently rubbing your pelvis. You nodded and he talked again.

“Can you open your legs for daddy so I can clean you up? I promise I’ll be really gentle, don’t you worry.” You did as he asked and he brought the now cool cloth to your core, and you had to admit it was soothing. He was quick and it was done before you knew it. He disappeared to dispose of the cloth once more before coming back to lay down with you. He layed behind you, being the big spoon. Michael moved your hair over to give you a big smooch on the cheek and pull you closer to him. He saw that you were now asleep in his arms and smiled to himself before drifting off too.

*Authors note: For the love of Satan I cannot write mean! Michael without aftercare. He’s a softie at heart and so am I...Hope you enjoyed! Send in requests!

[outro-tearist]

paws of paradise - chapter 3 {bangtan ot7 x reader}

hi!!!!!!!! it's been a little longer than i thought to update this, but here it is! it's also summer so updates hopefully will be more frequent as i dont have school to worry about!

as per usual, i'd appreciate comments, thoughts, suggests, anons, anything! have a great day!

~silver🤍🌙

chap 1 chap 2 chap 3

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Thinking.

That was what (Y/N) was doing, and had been doing for the past- How long had it been? The coldness that crept up onto Jimin had only happened yesterday, but the guilt overwhelmed her the more that she had thought about it. It felt like the incident had happened days ago when all she could think about was the crestfallen look Jimin had given her before he raced out of her shop.

It wasn’t his fault that he looked at Taehyung like he hung the stars in the sky. He was a gorgeous man, not to mention the genuine kindness he had shown any person he came across. It was hard to admit, but she had been very obviously jealous. Not only did that embarrass her, but it also made her feel worse for thinking those awful things about a dog owner just wanting to get his precious baby’s hair cut.

She decided to close the shop for today, officially saying she “needed more supplies”, but privately she knew she would not be able to focus.

Oh my god, Yoongi definitely saw her acting like a fool too! The blood that had flooded her cheeks seemed to swirl restlessly even more, just begging to be noticed and called out. He luckily hadn’t mentioned anything, probably to spare the shame she would feel in the moment.

Poor Jimin… He hadn’t done anything.... (Y/N) was being selfish and she recognized it as soon as they made eye contact. His appearance had startled her.

“Jimin! Hey..” (Y/N) started nervously as she saw the man enter through the back door like he usually did. He seemed shocked that he had been found so quickly, but awkwardly smiled back at his coworker.

“Oh. Yeah, hey.” Jimin said shortly. His curt tone had honestly hurt (Y/N) a little bit, but she took in a small breath and persevered.

‘It’s your fault he’s being distant,’ a horrible voice whispered in the back of her head. ‘He deserves more than you, someone better… someone more like Taehyung.’ It whispered again.

“I am so sorry about yesterday… I didn’t mean to dismiss you like that, I just- well, I got some bad news?” her last sentence sounded more like a question than an excuse, but Jimin had obviously softened after hearing her jittery voice.

“(Y/N), it’s not a problem. It did hurt my feelings, but I’m glad you’re telling me this now. I wish you would’ve told me earlier, but I won’t force you to tell me anything you don’t want to,” his smooth voice had felt like honey to her ears, slowly melting all her fears and anxieties that she had about not being forgiven.

Unfortunately, they quickly appeared again when rethinking her shitty excuse.

How was she supposed to explain that the “bad news” she had received was watching the man in front of her look so happy with someone else? It was an awful excuse and Jimin might be worried about her. (Y/N) would have to tell Jimin more about it later, she figured. All she had cared about at this point was just to get on speaking terms with her crush-- no. Her coworker.

“Thank you so much. Seriously. I don’t know what I would do without you, Jiminie.” (Y/N) tried to express her sincerity, but she was never the best with words anyways. It was all that she could muster up even with her head clogged with the image of Taehyung and Jimin practically glowing as they stared at each other.

Still, Jimin could seemingly read into her soul, knowing that she was as genuine as she could be through her words. She could not take her eyes off his kind eyes and perfectly shaped eyebrows and structured face and plump lips and...

“You know I’d do anything to help you, honey. All you need to do is to say the words.”

Pulse quickening and face warming, (Y/N) knocked herself out of her trance once the word “honey” had left Jimin’s lips. Maybe this little work crush was turning out to be a little bigger than she thought…

She giggled like an airhead in response, and if Jimin had seen the bright flush that had spread across her face and neck, he didn’t show any signs other than a slight smirk.

“This is kinda sudden, but um… Can I hug you?” (Y/N) shyly asked. If Jimin’s excited face said anything, the warm hug that had enveloped her completely confirmed everything she thought she saw.

He gently cradled her head in one hand as his other arm pulled her into his surprisingly built chest from the shoulders. He smelled of vanilla and another gentle sweet scent that (Y/N) couldn't put her finger on. It didn’t matter now. What did matter, though, was the feeling of Jimin’s head digging into the top of her head and how he deeply inhaled. Letting out a content hum, (Y/N) wrapped both her arms around his waist and snuggled into the crook of his neck.

“Out of curiosity… where did you have to go yesterday?” (Y/N) asked into Jimin’s neck. He shivered for a split second, before responding:

“Oh, Taehyung asked me if I wanted to spend the day together. That’s why I popped in yesterday, he told me we could meet up in the shop then grab some food or someth- is everything okay?” Jimin’s perplexed and concerned voice inquired above her.

As soon as he said Taehyung, (Y/N) froze up. He skipped work, where he would be with her and the cute dogs and be getting paid, just to see Taehyung.

‘It doesn’t mean that much,’ she tries to reassure herself. ‘He’s just wanting to see possibly the most gorgeous man you have ever seen in your life. It means nothing.’

‘Liar. He doesn’t want to hang out with you.’ The mean voice in her head spat back.

“(Y/N)?” Jimin tried to pull away and bent down to see her face. “Was it something I said?”

“NO! I mean, no. I’m just. Glad you got to get out for the day. How was it?” (Y/N) forced herself to smile and look back into Jimin’s furrowed eyebrows.

“I guess it was good, but I was still pretty worried about you. Are you sure you’re okay…?” Jimin tried again, but (Y/N) shook her head defiantly.

“Yes, I’m sure I’m good right now. Give me the juicy deets about you and Tae yesterday!” (Y/N) once again forced herself into the supportive best friend role. Jimin deserves a great person to be with him, and if that person is Kim Taehyung before it’s her, she will help her coworker in any way she could.

(Why did it hurt so much when she referred to Jimin as her coworker?)

A blush formed its way across his cheeks as he thought about the patience his TaeTae showed him after he was swamped with thoughts of (Y/N) and if she was ok.

“It was really nice… he’s a great guy and I really like being with him. He just- he gets me in ways I feel like nobody else does, y’know?” Jimin softly admits as he finds a seat next to one of the grooming stations.

(Y/N) feels faint. She basically crumbles onto the ground right in front of Jimin. She looks up at him expectantly, waiting for more information that would completely destroy her heart.

‘That was you. You were the person who got me as nobody else has.’ She thought somberly, wishing she could voice out her feelings to Jimin. ‘Was I not enough?’

“He’s so patient and understanding and… I could talk about him all day,” Jimin sighs dreamily as he rests his beautiful cheek into his palm, “It might be a little soon, but I think he might be my soulmate.”

(Y/N) physically recoiled. This was the slap in her face that she had been expecting, but him voicing his feelings was like a horrible moment of finality. She tried to play her flinch off as getting dog hair off her clothes, and Jimin hadn’t even thought twice about it.

Fuck. That cut way too deep, way more than she had prepared for. She keeps her head low so Jimin can’t try to make any eye contact.

“I’m really happy for you Jiminie.” (Y/N) says dully, but with some sincerity. “You seem to be so much happier when he’s around. You deserve this.”

Jimin’s adorable teeth flashed at her as a full smile graced his already perfect face. “You really think so? Wait, is it that obvious?!”

“You look at each other like you’re meant to be. You two must be soulmates!” (Y/N) grits out despite the tears wanting to well. “You have to tell him and let me know what happens!!”

“I’m gonna call him and see if he wants to hang out again tonight! You’re the best, honey, I love you!” he shouts as he runs out of the back.

She can’t even manage a response as she walks to the back door, shuts it, and locks it.

(Y/N) can’t see straight. She can’t think straight either, as she whips out her cell phone and dials the first contact she sees on her phone. She hadn’t even meant to call anyone, truly, but it was too late to stop her sluggish mind from pressing onto a name.

“Hello?” Min Yoongi answers the phone. A response doesn’t come, except for a loud sniffle and another sob. “(Y/N)-ssi? What’s wrong?”

The dog groomer barely knows this man, how he even got into her contacts was beyond her, but all she wanted was somebody next to her.

“Can you- can- come here please? The shop?” (Y/N) barely got the words out of her sore throat but Yoongi seems to understand them.

“I- Ok, I’ll be there in about 10 minutes. Do you want to stay on the line with me?” he asks the sobbing girl gently. His soft voice was soothing and nice, but it didn’t matter much.

She couldn’t respond. Her head was filled with three words. Three words that meant so much that hurt so much just because of the context.

I love you.

Taunting and repeating in her head for seemingly hours, until the front door jingled. She saw Yoongi burst into the store quickly and that was the last thing she saw before she closed her puffy and swollen eyes.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK]

NOTES: Wow, that was quite a response to just reposting the prologue! Hopefully you all enjoy the rest of this fic as much as you've been anticipating it; I know it's been a lot of buildup to it, unintentionally I promise you. Here you go, better late than... well, you get it.

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The next morning had been a hard one for Anna. School just felt strained and weird without knowing for sure where her mother was. Punz helped her through it, and she managed to do most of her classwork, but her mind kept wandering off.

Tomorrow was the earliest they could report her missing to the police. Of course, she had a feeling that it wouldn't matter one way or the other, but it was the strongest hope that she and her father had. Knowing what they knew about time travel, they had refrained from calling John or Wendy for the time being; she might come back.

She had to come back.

So when she walked into the living room after school and saw her mother sitting on the couch, looking quite weary but whole, safe, normal, she ran into her arms. It didn't even occur to her to ask about her father, or what she was doing there, or anything else. Need overrode curiosity.

"MOM! Oh my god… oh Mom, you completely freaked me out, I didn't know what happened!"

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna, hugging back just as a tight as a sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh spilled from her lips. "My angel… I'm so sorry for worrying you like that. Really."

Anna felt her eyes well with tears. She had been unwilling to truly face the idea that Elsa was truly gone, but seeing her here threw into sharp relief just how much she had been terrified. Her arms grew tired as she held on, but there was nothing that could make her let go. Not at this moment. Even the mere thought had her arms tightening their hold, squeezing just a little harder.

"Please don't leave again," she said softly. "Not- not without telling me first. Dad- Dad came home last night and we were gonna go to the cops and-"

"Shh…." Elsa hushed her, inhaling deeply. "I promise I'll never do that again without telling you. I'm so sorry, Anna."

Tearfully, Anna drew her head back, just enough so she could look in Elsa's eyes. "Where did you go? Did I… did I do something?"

Oh God. Elsa could see the forty-something version of her daughter, asking that same exact question. "No, no, baby. No you didn't do anything."

"But you just left me…" Anna's words, cracked and small, were also so heartfelt. So sincere in their pain that it made Elsa want to cry, too. How could she even have thought of giving this up? Of leaving the person who, truthfully, had become her entire world?

"I waited until the day your father would come home. That way, you wouldn't be without someone to… look out for your well-being, no matter what came to pass."

Clearing her throat and sniffling, Anna pulled back and gazed at her mother. "What… came to… Mom, what happened? Where did you go?"

"I was figuring some things out. Took a few weeks. And I've come to some decisions." She took a deep breath, then let it out very slowly before she took both of Anna's hands. "I'm not leaving you."

"Okay. I'm… b-but you made it sound like you… wanted to?"

"Not 'wanted'. But I thought it might be best." She released her hands. "However, there are going to have to be a few changes around here."

Still incredibly relieved at not losing her mother, Anna slumped downward. Then she said, "Okay, okay. You want me to stop hitting on you? Is that pretty much it?"

Elsa nodded slightly. "For now. I'm… willing to revisit that at a later date, but you have to promise me something. From now until you are in college, this stops. We have to learn to keep our hands to ourselves. It's going to be difficult, I know; we've already proven that it will be. But that's very important to me. You might technically be of age, but… you're my child, and you live in my house. There's no pretending that won't affect which of us has the power in a… in… well, in a romantic relationship."

"O-oh." Anna wasn't sure what to say. This sounded like bad news, but it also sounded like there was some good news attached. "But… what about when I'm in college?"

Only now did Elsa smile slightly. "Depends. I want you to really take this time to think hard about you and I. We both will. And we'll try our best to be a normal family. I'm never, ever going to stop loving you!" Her smile faltered slightly, and she looked away with red cheeks. "And if, once you're out on your own, not… being 'parented' by me, you still want to be something more than mother and daughter… we can try that. I know it's a long time-"

"Oh, Mom," she breathed, crushing her with her arms again, sore as they still were. "God! Of course, I… oh I'm sorry, I'm so dumb, I kept trying to… I d-don't know, I'm stupid, I'm so stupid!"

"Shhhhhh." It was soothing and sweet, and she kissed the crown of her head. Anna hummed a little through her tears, glad for the gentle gesture. "It's okay. Everything's okay, Anna; you're going to be just fine."

"B-but what if we try it, and I hurt you somehow? Make you sad th-that your daughter is… disgusting?"

"Don't ever think that. Even if I've been a little disgusted by your desires, by my own, that does not mean I think you are 'bad' or… or anything! And it never did. Do you hear me, sweetie? You'll always be my sweet Anna, whether or not I can handle you being my Tori at the same time. Always."

With renewed vigour, Anna hugged her mother so aggressively. Elsa returned the expression – and, where once she would have hesitated, now there was no sign of that reluctance. It was just what Anna needed.

"I should… really call Punz," she said finally. "Let her know what happened."

Elsa's lips quirked. "I should probably ring your father," she said. Still, neither of them moved. If anything, Anna seemed unable to stop herself pressing closer.

"What if… what if I can't?" she whispered. Even in that low tone, it was obvious she was scared – terrified – of something. "You want me to stop until college, but what if I can't? Or, if I slip up? Mom, I can't lose you just because my balls get ahead of my brain sometimes."

Squeezing tight for a second, Elsa chuckled and closed her eyes. "Accidents happen…" she began. It wasn't good enough.

"No! How can we trust that it would even be an accident when I want you so bad? It hurts, Mom!" Anna sniffled. "It hurts to have you so close sometimes when I want so much more but you… don't…"

"Anna, listen to me." Elsa had Anna's face clasped in her hands, giving her the ability to look directly into her eyes. "You have no idea how much I want you. But right now is the wrong moment. For you, for me… and sweetheart, you need to think of Punz, too. That girl adores you. And-" Elsa lowered her voice, though she smiled now, too. "I would love to be her mother one day, too. Well, mother-in-law."

"That still doesn't solve this problem," Anna said. Her words were monotone, but she felt herself blushing at Elsa's suggestion. It was easier to deflect than it was to think on the future and whether or not Punz would be part of hers.

"You're right. But I guess what I've realised is… this problem is not worth me leaving you behind. I want to work on it together. And if we slip up again, we will deal with it like adults. We aren't animals who have no willpower."

"Are you sure?" she asked with a weak laugh. "You came pretty close that morning."

At that, Elsa leaned in and whispered, "I really did. I was very close." The double meaning made Anna's cheeks grow yet rosier. "But I'm serious; I won't try that while I'm 'in charge' of you. That's not right. Even if we try to treat each other equally, we can't be equals until you're out on your own. And I'm not going to let you drop out of school or anything like that, before you ask," she warned.

"Damn, you caught me," Anna hissed, and Elsa chuckled. "Still Mom with your freakin' parenting chess moves, ten steps ahead. Man… that's so long, though."

"Is it? I know it seems that way to you, because you're young."

Sighing, Anna admitted, "Maybe not. And you're right, like… the past couple of weeks have been great! Not just the parts where we flirted, but everything. All three of us hanging out together was nice, too."

"See? We can make that work. And as I said, if I know you're making advances on purpose, then I will have to leave until you've graduated. Just for my own sanity, and to make sure I don't hurt you – and then I'll come back. But a few slip-ups here and there can be forgiven, Anna."

Anna's hand stroked up and down Elsa's side for a moment. Again, she didn't flinch away, but she started to look a little less comfortable, so Anna stopped. "Okay. I… don't really get the whole 'I can't be in charge while we're dating' thing, because like, you parenting me is totally separate. But I do trust you, Mom. So… so I can try it."

"Not as separate as it should be. But thank you, Anna," Elsa said honestly. She was smiling, too, so that was a good sign. "Now I really must contact your father." She got up and was halfway to the kitchen before Anna spoke.

"Hey, Mom?" she asked. Elsa turned.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Suddenly, Anna felt very gun-shy and guilty. Like she was going to ask her mother for a treat after her father had already said no. "Can I ask a favour?"

"Of course!" Elsa turned more fully towards her daughter, and Anna felt her mouth grow dry. Just for a second, but it was more than enough, really.

Swallowing hard around a lump in her throat, Anna looked away. "Can I… have a kiss?"

Her mother answered with a sigh, but it was more weary than truly upset. "That would seem to defeat the purpose of giving us this dry period, wouldn't it? Unless you just mean a cheek-kiss."

"I didn't," she admitted readily. "Um… and I do kinda get what you mean? Cooling off to make sure this is what we really want, cause we can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. But like, I already did that. The past couple weeks were me trying not to feel things for you, and it didn't work. But if you want to try for longer…"

"I think, if a few more months go by and you still want me the way you did a couple of days ago, then it will prove that we're really intended to be that for each other. And if the feelings fade for you, then won't it be better that we never went too far? That we never… crossed the line that cannot be uncrossed?"

Anna was having trouble wrapping her mind around what Elsa was trying to get through to her. What would be the difference at this point? She already let her go down on her once before, even if it was her younger self and not this mother standing in front of her now. But she supposed there was probably some wisdom in this plan that she simply hadn't considered.

"Just tonight," Anna whispered very quietly. "Like, to get it out of my system. Then tomorrow, we can go back to 'Mom' and 'daughter' and all that, and… see where we end up when I go to college. And I know, I sound like an ungrateful brat, and it's demanding, a-and… I'm sorry. But I think it'll drive me nuts if I never get to touch you from now until I'm out of the house!"

"It's not a good idea, Anna." But she relented. "Fine. But you have to make all the moves. I already basically attacked you in 1985, and now that I really am your mother…"

That part, Anna could understand. Especially after she explained the whole 'being in charge' aspect; if she was worried about wielding power over Anna, she would give it all to her. Smiling, Anna placed her hands on Elsa's waist. "Just a kiss. Maybe it won't even feel right and we won't have to worry about anything more."

Both seemed to realise at the same moment how silly a thought that was. Anna could feel it already, that pull. Her mouth was no longer than dry – no, she was almost salivating at the thought of doing this again. Her cheeks warmed and her heart picked up, trotting in her chest as she took a step closer.

"Just a kiss," Elsa echoed, though her voice had suddenly lost its power.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Anna leaned forward. Elsa wasn't much taller than her – wasn't much taller than she had been in '85 – but still Anna missed. Her lips found Elsa's chin, and Elsa let out a snort of what could have been laughter.

Anna didn't correct herself upward, however. Contrarily, she moved away from Elsa's lips, grazing hers down to lave at her mother's throat.

"Anna…" Elsa tried. It was meant to be a warning, but instead it came out hoarse and throaty. A small noise slipped from Anna as she wrapped her hands more solidly around Elsa's waist. It was more of a hug now, and it had the side effect – intended or not – of bringing them even closer together.

Eyes sliding shut, Anna merely enjoyed the taste of her mother's skin. She felt gentle fingers tangling in her hair, and was prepared for when Elsa tugged her away. Even if it was a gentle distancing.

"This isn't quite what we agreed to," she sighed nervously. But she could see her mother was uncertain. Guilty. There had to be a way she could remove that guilt. What would make this woman she adored more comfortable with her how much she adored her?

"Elsa… you can call me 'Tori' tonight if you want," she murmured. "If that makes it easier. I could even dress up in 80s clothes or something? Like… since the whole problem is me being your daughter, I could be her instead."

At that, Elsa let out a soft laugh. "I didn't know we were doing an all-night affair. But… well…"

"Well?" Anna asked after a few seconds passed and her mother didn't finish the thought.

"I did ask Kristoff to get a hotel room. Give us space enough to figure things out." Anna drew back to see Elsa looking ashamed, but also smiling very slightly. "Not that this was what I had in mind. Just wanted to be prepared for any… eventuality."

For a few seconds, Anna had to suppress the tingles burbling up through her body. From very specific places. Elsa had planned for them to sleep together. Not as an intention, but a precaution – though that was still more than she had hoped lips pushed into Elsa's neck again, hearing a sigh. Then she whispered, "What if I just keep kissing? All over?"

"An- Tori," she corrected, and Anna smiled against her neck.

"You don't have to do anything back. I'm good. But… I want to try this out. See how far I can get before you need me to stop. Or before I need to stop."

"Let's just stick to kissing above the waist." When Anna pulled back to grin at her, head starting to duck downward, she hastily added, "Above the shoulders! Jesus Christ, how did I raise such an opportunist?"

"You didn't; the other Anna probably wasn't as bad as me. And she also wasn't as hot for you as me…" Knowing she was pushing her luck, she leaned up to whisper into Elsa's ear, "And I'm pretty hot for you right now."

Elsa let out a sharp breath that was probably covering something else. "Anna…" she tried one last time. This one felt breathier and needier than before, and Anna could feel the warmth pooling just below her navel.

"I just want you," Anna said softly. "To touch you… in whatever way you let me." Her hips rolled very slightly against Elsa's – not enough for any real friction, but certainly enough to give truth to her words. Elsa gave out another shuddering breath. "But for now, a kiss will do…"

And she did just that, sealing their lips together once more. Elsa sank down into it as if it were a warm bath, perhaps grateful that she no longer had to speak. It didn't really matter.

Slowly, Anna began to back away, leading them back to the couch. It seemed safer than heading for one of the bedrooms. It took Elsa a moment to realise what she was doing, but when she finally caught on she wasted no time in guiding Anna. Despite what she had said, she seemed to be a little less willing to stop now.

But finally they were seated, a strange parody of that moment in Doc's car. Anna had little doubt that she wanted to try paying her mother back for what she had done there, either. Hopefully Elsa felt the same.

Anna slipped her tongue between Elsa's lips, and she only groaned and accepted it with her own, leaning back until she was lying on the couch with Anna over her. Her arms never tightened around Anna, and she never gripped her shoulders; only laid her hands gently on her biceps. Seemed she was deadly serious about not making any 'moves', after all.

When they broke apart again, Anna's hips still grinding, Elsa warned her breathlessly, "This is… more than a kiss."

"Yeah. But hey… tonight is our night, huh? Like, the last one to be Tori and Elsa."

"It is. Even though we aren't going as far as you think we're going," she told her, resolve returning as she pointed a finger up at her.

"Right, I get it. So…" Biting her lip, she got up from the couch, leaving Elsa briefly confused. "Let's do it. Let's dress up."

What an adorable blush crept into the middle-aged woman's features. "Oh, you… were serious about that?"

Dancing backward a little, she said, "Remember that outfit I made you buy? The one that you said you wouldn't wear out of the house, short-shorts and crop top? You can put that on, and I'll find some stuff in my closet that makes me look really… different. Really Tori for you. And I'll change my hair, and wear the shoes from the dance!"

"Oooh," Elsa sighed at the mention of the shoes. Apparently, that was such a strong tie to the memory of going down on Anna that it instantly heated her up. Then she cleared her throat. "Well… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to simply look the parts. Might help create necessary boundaries."

She knew what her mother really meant; it would help assuage her guilt if they were recreating the past, instead of forging a new, sinful future. Clapping her hands, she started to head for the hallway. "You just wait! This is gonna be amazing!"

"I hope you're right," Elsa chuckled as she started to follow her. They were both going the same way, after all. "But I just wanted to reiterate..."

Hesitation. So she prompted, "What?"

"No matter what happens… I'm always going to love you. That was never in danger at any point, Anna."

"I know. Don't worry, we got this. Promise-promise."

"Now, that sounds familiar..."

Anna had no way of knowing what Elsa meant; she hadn't said it yet, after all. But she was all smiles as she retreated to her room with glee, only sparing Elsa one last glance over her shoulder to see her mother was standing in the doorway to her own room with a bemused smile on her blushing features.

Still so beautiful.

                                         To Be Continued…

[jihyuncompass]

RFA+V+Saeran with a sick MC

I realize this concept has been done to death by this point but I really wanted to take a shot at it, I’m still learning how to write headcanons and find my own style so I hope you enjoy! 

Zen/Hyun 

This man doesn’t get sick are you kidding? 

Not only does Zen heal at an inhuman speed but despite drinking and smoking frequently he has the immune system of a God. 

So when you’re sick he isn’t super familiar with all the remedies and things to do when someone is sick. 

One thing he is good at though is giving you attention and affection. 

Need some cuddles? All you have to do is ask and he’s all over you. 

Doesn’t like seeing you sick and unhappy but he does like how cute you look when you’re asleep curled up with a blanket on the couch or in bed. 

Makes you some tea to help soothe your sore throat and holds you close while you drink it. 

He’ll feel extraordinarily guilty if he has to leave you to go to rehearsal or a show but expect for him to come back and immediately give you hugs and kisses to try and make up for his absence. 

He loves you so much and isn’t scared of getting sick himself. So expect him to be just as affectionate with you as you would be in full health. 

Yoosung

He kinda knows what to do to help you?

(He calls his Mom)

Makes you some soup that his mom would make him when he wasn’t feeling well. 

Obviously buys you medicine, he doesn’t have a lot of money but he’ll get the store brand stuff that hopefully will be just as effective. 

Encourages you to rest by watching him play LOLOL 

It’s pretty fun to watch you can’t deny that. 

He’s kinda afraid of getting sick himself so he’s careful around you. He spends a lot of the time that you’re sick cleaning. 

However he can’t help cuddling with you a little bit, even if it puts him at risk. 

He’s not the best at taking care of someone who isn't feeling well but he genuinely tries his best to help you feel better and comfort you at the same time. He’s inexperienced but always has his heart in the right place. 

Probably gets the same sickness after you. Now it’s your turn. 

Jaehee

Jaehee gets sick, but she doesn’t have the time to be sick so she is the type to take a dayquil and then get to work. 

Even after she stops working at C&R and starts her cafe she still is really bad about taking sick days for herself. 

However that isn’t going to fly with you, Jaehee isn’t going to allow you to become a slave to capitalism that she already is. 

When you wake up with a sore throat and a coughing fit so bad that you can barely catch your breath, Jaehee is next to you patting your back until you're coughing fit subsides. 

She makes you a hot mug of tea. 

Considering she owns a cafe the tea she makes is definitely the best cup of tea you’ve had in your entire life. 

She decides to close the cafe for a day to take care of you so that means you get Jaehee all to yourself :)

Musicals all day long, you start working through Zen’s entire musical career while you cuddle together on the couch.

She definitely tries not to get sick herself but you may notice her sniffling a few days later. 

Jumin 

Kind of a mix of Jaehee and Zen, he doesn’t get sick often and when he does he will do everything in his power to try and hide it.

As we all know Jumin is rather protective over you so the second he notices you coughing or your voice sounding raspy his personal private doctor is called and on his way. 

Doesn’t matter if it’s a minor stomach bug or something more serious, with Jumin it is taken extremely seriously.

The chef makes the best meals for you, if he has to go to work then he’ll have the best in-home care nurse come and look after you while he’s gone. 

Though he would feel much more comfortable staying home with you and tending to you himself no matter how long it takes (Sorry Jaehee :( )

You’re given the best medicine money can buy, and the best husband in the world so even if it takes a while to feel better you can’t complain too much. 

Jumin is a careful man so he doesn’t get sick after you, it’s honestly kind of impressive. 

Seven/Saeyoung

Surprisingly good at taking care of you. 

He did have to take care of Saeran when he was sick as a little kid so you guess he has some experience. 

You’re stuck in bed the entire time you’re sick. Don’t even think about getting up. 

If you do Seven’s right there bringing you back and insisting you rest. He’s watching you through the CCTV cameras he keeps in the bunker. He knows.

Can’t cook for shit but he’ll try. 

And then he’ll ruin whatever he tries to make so he ends up calling Vanderwood for help. 

He’s very gentle with you he’ll get you anything you need, spend as much time as possible with you, and if he’s stuck working and can’t be with you directly he’ll build you a robot to keep you company. 

On a joking note he’ll definitely bring you all your food, medicine, and drinks wearing either his maid outfit or the brand new nurse one he bought just for occasions like this. 

(He looks great ngl) 

He’ll only respond to you if you call him “nurse” just to tease you. 

Very good at keeping your spirits up when you aren’t feeling your best. He’ll probably get sick after you too but it doesn’t matter to him. 

V/Jihyun

Activate worried Jihyun mode

V notices that you’re sick pretty quickly. 

If you try and insist that you’re fine, you don’t need to rest, you don’t need to take the day off. He isn't going to force you to lay down. 

He will however give you his saddest, most concerned expression that makes your heart break into a thousand pieces so you voluntarily get back in bed. 

V gets sick the normal amount any person does. He’s usually down for a couple days but then he’s right back at it. He hopes you’re the same way.

This man can’t handle seeing you unwell for long. 

Would definitely work from home to look after you. 

In general he’s very doting, he’s willing to go to the ends of the Earth to make sure you’re taken care of. 

Makes you lots of cups of tea and makes you drink a lot of water to help you feel better 

He tends to worry about overstepping your boundaries so if you want cuddles or any kind of physical affection you’re going to need to ask him for it. 

But once you do he’ll be by your side immediately, rubbing your back, cuddling with you or anything you want. 

He might get sick after you but if he does you’ll take good care of him like he did for you. 

Saeran

Saeran is no stranger to being sick, as a kid he was sick a lot and after continuous use of Elixir while at Mint Eye his immune system is pretty bad. 

He’s used to being sick but he absolutely hates it when you are. 

He feels useless just seeing you coughing and shivering and not being able to do anything about it. 

He’ll cook you anything he can think of that would help you feel better, hot soup with fresh herbs, hot tea and juice, homemade bread, anything he can think of he’s making for you. 

He knows that logically he should keep his distance because he’ll definitely get sick if he stays too close to you but he can’t be away from you for long. 

In general he isn’t one to initiate any physical affection and the same goes for when you’re sick. You need to tell him what you want, and that it’s okay for him to be close to you. 

While you’re sick it’s hard not to notice Ray peeking out a bit, that anxiousness, the worry, the shyness. 

No matter how anxious he is he’ll push through it for you, you’re his prince(ss) after all.

[x-ratedkpop]

Kingdom Come

Word Count: 1872

Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes

Trigger Warnings: Spanking, Dirty Talk, Rope Play, Degradation

Inspired By: Kingdom Come by Red Velvet

Admin Note: This is dedicated to the most wonderful admin, Admin NiNi, who has supported this blog while I’ve gone through the most. Thank you for being such a reliable admin and friend. I love you and I hope we’re friends for many more years to come. Enjoy - Admin Baek

“I got you, you got me; love you till kingdom come.”

Spoiler: “Does it hurt?” Delicate fingers wrapped around your wrist as he softly eyed you. “I told you already I’m comfortable.” You uttered, cheeks hot as he stared at you, his lustful look hidden behind his concern, “Jongin seriously I’m comfortable, I wouldn’t lie to you about something as serious as this.” Your assurance gave him relief as he dimmed the lights wanting to relax further into the mood. 

For months he endured the pleasurable yet boring sex the two of you had, he truly enjoyed being inside you, he loved to hear you call out for him and he loved to hear your moans and cries but it was always missing something and one day he finally snapped and sat you down, “Y/N, we need to talk,” your heard had never beat so fast, your boyfriend of two years was about to break it off, he was going to leave you for sure there was no doubt about it. “Don’t sit me down if you’re just going to leave me.” Sniffles and breaks of your words instantly betrayed you and your voice, “No! God No Y/N. I just wanted to talk about our more uhm, how do I say this, our more intimate moments.”

Horror.

He should’ve just broken up with you, being broken up with is better than being told you aren’t performing well in bed. “No, not that way either Y/N, I’m satisfied in bed but it’s not what I’m used to, you’re great in bed I just feel like I’m the one underperforming because this isn’t like me.” Was he it’s not you, it’s me’ ing you, he definitely did not underperform in bed if anything he overperformed and left your body spent, left you exhausted and instantly ready to fall asleep. Hell, he left your body sore for at least four maybe five hours the next day but he was the one underperforming.

“What do you mean?” He fumbled for a bit before he sat quietly, you joining shortly after still waiting on his response. He was seriously dead quiet, “I’m not a vanilla person,” if your face could make any other face other than horror while looking at him you wished it was now but you couldn’t help it. “What do you mean by you aren’t vanilla Jongin.” Last time the term vanilla had run through your vocabulary this way you were reading the latest Fifty Shades book, “so you’re into the whole spanking and daddy thing?” He chuckled softly but you looked at him with stark seriousness, “daddy kink no, spanking yes.” and that is how the two of you ended up talking for five hours past midnight about kinks and what you felt was an absolute no and what you were comfortable in trying.

It was your three year anniversary today, just three weeks ago you and Jongin spoke about his more intricate side in the bedroom and now you were hoisted up, rope specifically made for this delicately tied around your body; everything about you vulnerable and compliant. “Does it hurt?” Delicate fingers wrapped around your wrist as he softly eyed you. “I told you already I’m comfortable.” You uttered, cheeks hot as he stared at you, his lustful look hidden behind his concern, “Jongin seriously I’m comfortable, I wouldn’t lie to you about something as serious as this.” Your assurance gave him relief as he dimmed the lights wanting to relax further into the mood.

“You know I’ll love you till Kingdom Come,” you nodded his words giving you the last bit of your own assurance that your lover would never take this too far. He’d taken you to a sense store and the two of you browsed through different ropes, different utensils and Jongin was patient and helped you understand what everything was and explained what it was used for. Everything you brought home that day was laid on a table he’d bought specifically for this moment and it slowly disappeared from view when Jongin blindfolded you depriving you of your sight.

“Relax, I got you.” He assured once more before gently running his hand along your naked frame, “You’re so pretty like this, I should’ve confessed sooner if it would allow me to hoist you up like this, your legs open, cunt dripping and ready.” It was like a switch was turned on, your everyday Jongin was gone and this new Jongin was here; his voice was like silk and the way he was so silent put a fun fear in your heart that you knew only he would be able to instill in you. “I don’t want you to speak unless you’re spoken to and when you are I only want to hear yes sir or no sir, understand.” A quaint ‘yes sir’ left your lips followed by a loud yelp, you hadn’t even registered what happened until you felt his hand gently caressing the soreness of your behind.

You’d established Red as the safe word earlier and you locked that in your mind and he promised all activity would stop the moment you were uncomfortable but you were positive it wouldn’t be used tonight with the way he was already handling you. “Clenching on nothing just so desperate for my cock, hm?” An embarrassing whine left your lips as he continued to move in silence; a soft hum began to echo in the room, your mind desperately searching for what that sound could possibly be but Jongin didn't give you enough time to guess before he gave you the answer.

The hum belonged the rabbit vibrator he’d told you about and Jongin was slowly pressing the toy inside you causing your head to drop forward in pleasure, soft whines being carried like music to his ears. The best part hadn’t even come, the bunny ears of the vibrator wrapped around your clit so gracefully it made the world spin. Rocking your hips as best as your could, Jongin slowly began to pump the vibrator, “I’m being nice,” he cooed, “usually I’d pull this away the moment you’d try to take control but you look so sweet like this I can’t help but allow you to continue.” He upped the speed, your moans now consisted of his name and pleas for him to add more pace to the thrust of the toy. “Oh my god Jongin,” you cried out as your body tensed, first orgasm nearing but Kim ‘I’m being nice’ Jongin had other plans as he pulled away the toy, “I did not say how nice now did I.”

You wanted to yell at him, tell him he was being unfair but you weren’t stupid, this was Jongin, he would make this night longer and longer the less you complied. “No cumming until I say so.” You definitely wanted to put him under you, his tongue was his holy grail and the only way to shut him up was by forcing him to use it and it just so happened that riding his face was your favorite and most used practice but you were hoisted up and that was no longer an option.

“Sir please,” you begged, breaking the rules to speak to him but that only made him chuckle, a dead silence falling afterward that scared you, “what was he even doing, “Jongin?” You asked timidly but instead of an answer you were met with his thumb parting your lips, “Speaking twice without being spoken to, I told you very clearly that I didn’t like that baby, now I have to make you understand.” What did he even mean by that, you didn’t let him buy the gag because it scared you, so how would he get this so-called point of his across?

“Open,” he muttered as the familiar feeling of his cock pressing against your lips shocked you. Your lips parted and the usual slow Jongin was absent, his cock was already at the back of your throat, the abrupt movement making you gag. “Speak when spoken to were my exact words if I do recall clearly,” his words were breathy as he abused your throat, curses leaving his lips with each thrust. “All you had to do was listen but you can’t do that?” If this was going to be the outcome you would’ve acted out way earlier, hopefully, he forgets how much you love pleasing him, the beautiful moans Jongin released made your cunt clench on nothing, you were dripping just from the throaty moans your lover released.

“You like this don’t you?” He asked pulling away giving you a moment to catch your breath, “yes sir.” He chuckled once more before that deafening silence coated the room once more, “I know, I could see it on your face.” He was so in control it bothered you but excited you at the same time, you truly loved this man with everything in you. “You want my cock?” he asked, ‘yes sir’ quickly spilling from your mouth as he positioned himself at your entrance slowly sinking into your wetness.

Cries of pleasure fell from your lips as he slowly sunk into you, his breathy low growls making you shiver; he patiently waited for you to adjust, his girth stretching you open so nicely you fit around him like a brand new glove. “Can you take me like this?” He asked pulling out before snapping forward, a response couldn’t even form on your lips as you took him, the dominant taking that as a yes before setting his brutal pace. He worked so well into you, your cries should definitely wake the neighbors with how loud you were, if anything you were embarrassed to show your face tomorrow as your neighbor and his wife both caught the same train you did.

“Such a loud little cock slut,” He teased words sounding slightly strained as he fucked into you so harshly, your body was so spent once again, he had you crying and the cloth wrapped around your eyes was wet. “Such a good slut, taking me so well, you like me using you like this?” He asked once more licking his lips as you tensed around him, “do not cum,” he reminded causing a scream of frustration to leave your lips.

“Cute.”

He was such a fucking tease, you wanted it so bad he felt so good slamming against your sweet spot over and over again. You couldn’t help it, your body jerked as cries of his name erupted from your lips as you came, “come on baby, you were doing so well.” He pulled out as your body continued to jerk, the now-familiar sting of his hand slapping against your ass made you throw out curse words.

“Don’t be naughty, baby.” His hand was wrapped around his cock, slowly pumping himself as he used his opposite hand to continue to slap against your ass, “all you had to do was wait for a minute baby.” He spoke softly caressing the redness of your ass before slapping down once more before shoving himself back inside you, the warmth of his seed spreading inside you. “Jongin.” You moan weakly, body feeling limp as he began to soften, his own body spent, “let me bring you down and get you cleaned up.”

“Tonight was nice and I hope I didn’t hurt you.” He spoke softly slipping behind you in the comfort of the bed the two of your shared, “it was really nice Jongin,” you responded quietly, turning to face him, your legs tangling with his, arms wrapping around him as you pressed a kiss to his lips, “happy anniversary, I’ll love you till kingdom come.”

[cranes-winter]

Just got the vaccine, been a couple minutes and arm's already sore... Taking it easy today

Editing to keep up with symptoms/feelings

Day 1

Injection

Soreness in arm as expected, only when I move the arm

Dehydrated feeling crept in slowly over course of an hour; definitely didn't stay hydrated enough leading up to this

Headache started up after 2 hours, took Tylenol

Body feels warm, in a I should drink more fluids this day is hot way though, not feverish, 4-5 hrs after

Took a nap, still dehydrated, drinking fluids to compensate.. eyes so dry bruh

Arm still sore 😔 hurting a little more, took Tylenol again, 11 hrs after

Feels kinda like pre head cold

Temp regulation sucks XP

Day 2

Slept so bad 😩 woke up feeling more like I had a head cold, took something for it

Arm soreness was also the worst since getting the shot

Basically me vs dehydration this whole time

Appetite all over the place, but generally in a 'not hungry but need to eat.? Oh I'm eating... Oh ok there's my appetite.. and it's gone but I still need to finish eating 😔' place

Sooooore

Coughing

My skin feels so sensitive 😩 in a painful way

Definitely having joint pain fml

My skin hurts 😩 it feels scrubbed raw wtf

Day 3

Skin hurt the whole damn day

Throat sore a little

Appetite still mostly gone, woke up hungry as soon as I got moving though, rest of day just gone until too close to oh shiti should've eaten

Joint pain and skin pain merged to have unholy offspring and torture me.. now 4am on technically day 4 and it's only just going down to ignorable...bruh

Day 4

Eh.. 6am so it counts

Arm soreness goin down finally yayy

Area still tender but I can move my arm more without triggering the hurt so I'll take it

Skin hurts still tho so that was a false alarm for like 2 hours that it was going down

Sniffles all day, and chills

Basically flu like symptoms kicking my butt

Congested😢

Arm soreness gone to pretty much normal by midnight ayyyy

Rest of skin sensitivity/pain is also down so hopefully by morning will be normal

Sniffling still, and coughing

Day 5

Congested

Trouble breathing through congestion

Chills

Feels like fever but apparently don't have one

Night time, just threw up 😔

Day 6

Suffering all day😩

Literally could not breathe, so congested

Pain when sneezing or coughing

Like legit freaked me out

Used nose spray

Passed out around midnight

Day 7

Woke up miraculously feeling way better

Feels like a head cold again tbh

Most other symptoms gone

Hoping it'll be gone by end of day

Read that second dose is worse for symptoms and honestly that freaks me tf out

Day 8

Same as yesterday

Apparently can only taste sweet things wtf

Sense of smell shot and I'm freaking out a little.. hoping it's just from my liberal use of the nose spray and not the panoramic finally come for me

Josh says he lost his taste for like a day but it came back so fingers crossed

Josh also didn't get half my side effects wtf

[elllamalaka]

I’m so Glad You’re Home

It was late, but not exceedingly so, when Kate finally banged through the apartment door she shared with Elizabeth and got out of the steady, unrelenting rain that had fallen all day, or apparently, all weekend. She was nearly soaked.

Kate was quite excited to arrive back after the working weekend. On Friday evening as she was packing Elizabeth had arrived home with a new head cold. She had some misty and very cute sneezes, and blew her nose a few times. Her voice was just a touch stuffy. It made their last evening together an experience.

"Did you catch that just so I wouldn't want to leave you?" asked Kate as Elizabeth covered her third, very sexy and feminine sneeze with a white satin handkerchief.

Elizabeth giggled behind her hanky as she wiped her nose and blew the runniness. "I'm glad you like my cold. But I couldn't help but catch this," she tapped her nose delicately with a finger. "Every girl in my office is sniffling or sneezing, and a few have coughs. I'm really surprised I didn't catch it sooner."

Kate gently kissed Elizabeth's nose and drew her close, whispering to her, "you've caught the loveliest cold in the loveliest nose. I wish I could bless every sneeze."

Elizabeth giggled again and Kate could hear slight congestion in her nose which she promptly sniffled up. "If you blessed all my sneezes you'd end up a very sick girl. It's an exhausting job because I'm sneezing all the time and you'd likely catch my cold in the process. So you'd be sick and trying to complete an impossible task," Elizabeth gave Kate a playful smirk and sniffled her nose again.

"Do you promise I'll catch your cold if I try?" Kate said, now a touch longing in her question. She wrapped her arms around Elizabeth again and kissed her nose. This time the kiss provoked a tickle in Elizabeth's nose and the turned away to sneeze into her satin hanky.

"Bless you," Kate said, her voice low and longing now. Elizabeth looked up from her hanky, smiled, and blew her nose.

How she wanted to stay with Elizabeth and try and bless every sneeze, catch a miserable cold for her efforts, and end up sick in bed. But alas, she had to fly away for work this evening and she wouldn't be back until Sunday night. And Elizabeth had volunteered this weekend to help set up the Valentine's Day display in the park, anyway, so she was busy all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, that was correct. The temperature was near zero and Elizabeth was going to be working outside in the park all weekend. With a cold.

The thought almost made Kate swoon. And Elizabeth seemed completely oblivious to the implications.

"You'd get bored in the park all weekend. Besides, it's supposed to rain. You wouldn't want to get soaking wet just to bless my sneezes, would you?"

Kate let out a long, lusty sigh and smiled longingly at Elizabeth. She was just nearly perfect. But it was time to leave for work.

"Take care of your cold," she'd said as she walked out the door.

"It's just a little head cold, I'll be fine," Elizabeth had replied with a sniffle. She held her hanky clasped to her nose as she waved goodbye.

But now it was late Sunday and Kate was back home. She'd gotten sparse updates from Elizabeth. Both women were very busy and scarcely had a second to herself, even late Saturday. Elizabeth had sent her a text Saturday morning that read

I just woke up and spent the last ten minutes sneezing and blowing my nose. hbu?

Around midmorning she sent

I had to take a little break. I fell asleep for a few minutes. I am exhausted and my head is throbbing. It doesn't help that I'm soaking wet and freezing

At lunch it was:

I'm pretty sure I'm running a fever and I am running out of tissues. My nose is almost completely stopped up

After lunch it was:

Miranda has been helping me out. She's a little bit sick, too. We've been sharing tissues and cough drops. My throat is so sore right now

Neither woman texted for several hours. Kate tried to call her that evening but the call went unanswered. Not less than a minute later Elizabeth texted:

hey sorry, it's super loud in here and my throat is really sore so I didn't want to talk. What's up?

Their text exchange led to Kate learning several things. First, Elizabeth had volunteered to serve wine at a function for the park tonight. She was inside now, thankfully, but she had a really bad cold. She was treating her sore throat with red wine, which seemed to be helping. But all the talking was not helping.

Kate wanted to talk to Elizabeth but she fell asleep before they could connect that night. She was awoken by her alarm. There was still no word from Elizabeth since Saturday. But while she showered that morning Elizabeth texted her.

dear lord, I just woke up and I sound like utter shit

your girl is very sick today!

And so she called her and on the end of the line she didn't hear the voice of her girlfriend pick up but instead that of a very deep-voiced woman.

"Good morning, girl," was the bassy, but female greeting. It was followed by a very wet, hacking cough.

This was not some random woman on Elizabeth's phone with a deep voice. This was Elizabeth on Elizabeth's phone with a deep voice.

"Liz..." Kate began, very tentatively. She could not believe that her love sounded like this. She had a bad cough and her voice was so different she didn't even recognize her.

"I've got a really sore throat and it's making my voice sound like this," and her voice was so deep and husky but squeaked wildly when she tried to say 'voice.'

Suddenly, a huge sneezing fit seized Liz's clogged sinuses. From Kate's perspective it sounded squeaky and hoarse. It ended with protracted coughing followed by a very productive nose blew.

"Scuse me," she rasped when she was able to speak again.

It was time for Kate to leave for work but she wanted to chat more with Liz. Her voice was so deep and luscious, and her cough so well developed. Liz was really sick this morning. She had bad colds in her head and chest.

Liz was feeling too miserable to go back to the park, and had resigned herself to a sick day before work on Monday. She was running a 102 fever and was dozing in bed between sneezing and coughing fits.

Unfortunately for Liz, she was not going to get a lot of rest this Sunday. Not long after she'd fallen back asleep she got a spam call. She silenced her phone but as she fell asleep again she was awoken this time by a brief blast of music from the neighbors. It was silenced quickly but not before Liz was fully awake and coughing again.

There were interruptions all morning. The park ground crew had to drop by and pick up some nametags she had. "Oh my gosh Liz, you sound awful!" A pizza delivery girl got the wrong building and knocked on her door. She practically ran away just at the sound of Liz's cough as it was starting to turn barking by now. Some random strange sound woke her in the afternoon and her head was pounding. She didn't get much sleep after that.

But Liz dozed before Kate got home and only the door opening woke her. Kate stood in the doorway, rain dripping from her clothes. She'd been busy all day and was ready to relax, hopefully with Liz.

The first thing Kate heard when she was home was the ragged, congested barking cough that Elizabeth boomed from her bedroom.

"Holy shit," thought Kate, her head turning immediately to Elizabeth's bedroom at the sound. "Elizabeth has a terrible cough," she thought as she listened to a fit of barks. Her cough sounded much louder and barky than it had this morning. Whatever she'd caught had gotten worse today.

The barking coughs continued, a haggard nose blow thrown between. Elizabeth's light clicked on. Kate could hear the coughing grow closer. It finally stopped and Elizabeth's bedroom door opened. She walked out bundled in her puffiest bathrobe. Her eyes were bloodshot and barely open. Her nose was a crusty, red mess, down even to her upper lip. Her lips were cracked and chapped as well. Elizabeth inhaled through her mouth, breath wheezing and warbling and it went. She put a hand gently to her chest and barely managed to scrape out a "Hey girl, welcome home," her voice was a mixture of husky wheezing whispers interspersed with hoarse honks at odd intervals. A barking cough fit followed her attempt to talk.

Kate stood, water dripping off her shivered body, barely able to stand. The sight and sound of Elizabeth was making her weak in the knees. She was atrociously sick and could barely even talk now. Her cough was downright scary. She reached a tentative hand towards Elizabeth as her fit subsided. "Liz," she began, quiet and concerned, "my gosh girl, you sound just awful."

Elizabeth nodded, her head turned slightly away. She pulled a tissue from her robe pocket and put and end lazily under her battered nose. She blew but only a congested, clogged sound came from her nose. She winced in pain, holding her head. Then she looked directly at Kate and said, as best as she could, "I'm so glad you're home," and then broke into another hard barking cough fit.

[sickybubbies]

Bath Bomb Disaster

A/n: I’m back!! and I have come with another super collab with @moonjoonlanding who’s honestly the bestest! Please go show some love to them too!

A while back anon and I had a discussion about pregnant Yoongi and bath bombs, since it was requested for Namgi here it now is! Sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this :)

TW: Emeto, Mpreg

-

Yoongi huffs and rubs his belly, bracing himself against the washing machine. He’s been working on dealing with the pile of laundry that’s been steadily accumulating throughout the week. It’s isn’t particularly hard work, but his back is sore and his feet are achy and his knees protest every time he crouches down to shove another load into the machine.

So it takes a while, but he’s finally finished. The last load has been moved over to the dryer and he even hung up all the sweaters so the zippers won’t get all misshapen even though it would be much easier to just toss them in with everything else.

He groans as he pushes himself upright, waddling down the hall, out into the living room. He stops and stares unblinkingly at the clean clothes strewn over the couch and coffee table, then turns, veering into the bathroom. Namjoon can put it away when he gets home from work, he thinks bitterly. Right now he’s too tired.

The door swings shut behind him and he slumps against it, closing his eyes and reaching up to rub at his temples. When he opens them again, the first thing he sees is the basket of bath products on the counter. He rolls his shoulders and pushes off the door, making his way over to look.

There’s a floral bath bomb on top that he scowls at and sets aside, it’s scent far too reminiscent of their laundry detergent. He sorts through the rest and picks out a grapefruit and vanilla-scented one. The smell makes him feel bright and clear, giving him a tiny burst of motivation. It won’t hurt if he takes a few minutes to relax and recharge before he tackles all the sorting and folding, he decides, marching over to the tub and turning on the faucet.

He strips out of his clothes while he waits for the tub to fill and smooths a hand over the underside of his tummy where he can feel the baby shifting. Namjoon keeps telling him that he’s glowing, but he’s pretty sure it’s just sweat and he’s so ready for this pregnancy to be over.

Yoongi climbs into the tub and slips down into the warm water, letting out a soft sigh of relief. He can already feel the tightness in his back loosening and he looks down to watch the explosion of colours as the bath bomb fizzes softly, spinning and bobbing near the surface.

The bathroom starts to fill with sweet vanilla and citrus-scented steam and he sinks lower into the water. He leans his head back to rest against the rim of the tub and lets his eyes fall shut.

For a while, the experience really is relaxing, but as time passes, he becomes more and more aware of the smell of grapefruit lingering in the air. Something about it is starting to turn his stomach and he grimaces, sitting up a little.

He blows out a breath, rubbing at his bulging sides and is suddenly overwhelmed by a flash of heat. His stomach rolls and he shoots upright, water sloshing around him. He holds himself stiffly, gently patting his chest while he waits for the feeling to pass.

Right when he thinks he’s in the clear another hot flush washes over him. His skin prickles uncomfortably and sweat beads on his forehead. Yoongi gulps and sucks in a breath which turns out to be a mistake.

His tummy flips, churning horribly and he doesn’t get the chance to move before a gush of puke spurts from his lips. It splashes over his chest and stomach and spills over into the bath, mixing with the soft pink water, turning everything it touches murky brown.

He gasps and his stomach clenches painfully, but he manages to swallow down the next mouthful of sick. His stomach continues to turn uneasily, but he takes a couple slow breaths and it settles enough for him to register more than just how awful he suddenly feels.

Yoongi glances down at himself, taking in the mess and his throat tightens. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to push past the tired fog encroaching on his mind and takes another breath.

He grimaces as he reaches down to pull the plug. The tub starts to drain and he carefully drags himself to his feet, stepping out onto the mat. There’s still vomit on his skin and he shuffles over to flick on the fan before stepping into the shower to rinse off.

When he’s finished, he shuts off the water and gets out, turning to reach for a towel that — isn’t there.

”Fuck’s sake,” he huffs, drawing in a sharp breath and letting it out in an incredulous laugh that splinters and dissolves into gasping sobs.

Dripping wet, he maneuvers himself to sit down on the closed lid of the toilet. He rests his head in his hands and gives in to his exhaustion, chest hitching with emotion.

-

Namjoon lets out a bored whistle as he enters his shared apartment with his husband Yoongi, quietly shutting the door behind himself as he struts in, looking for him.

“Babe, I’m home,” he says nonchalantly, putting the polybag (full of Yoongi’s latest cravings so he won’t have to make a mad dash at 4 am) on the counter with his keys chiming beside them.

Turning around with a tired sigh he notices the clothes that are sprawled all over the living room and cocks his head, Yoongi better not have done this on his own; he thinks.

He shakes his head dimly and takes his blazer off, tossing it to someplace else as he begins to tug the dry clothing back into the basket. He props it by his hips and strolls to the bathroom, pushing the door open.

“Woah, baby,” he exclaims when he finally sees the state of his husband, Yoongi is shivering, sleek silver hair dripping down onto their fluffy mat. Namjoon scrunches his nose at how he’s uncomfortably hunched over, looking awful for his liking and decides to approach him carefully with a soft hair stroke,

“Yoonie?”

Yoongi makes a grumpy noise deep in his throat and leans away from the touch. He scrubs at his damp face and sits up, glaring at Namjoon with watery eyes, ”Go away,” he demands, ”I’m not… This isn’t–” he gasps, face scrunching as he chokes on another sob, ”It’s your fault,” he accuses, shoving weakly at Namjoon’s hip.

”I just wanted to take a bath. I can’t even take a bath,” he cries, dropping his head back into his hands and trying to get control of his breathing.

“Oh baby...” Namjoon coos, kneeling in front of the pale man and sneaking in for a hug against his partner’s pregnant belly. He sighs when he feels Yoongi’s chin rest against his shoulder and begins rubbing his back to soothe him. “Just ask me, love, I’ll help you with all the baths you want, just please, don’t work yourself up over it kitten,” he murmurs, scratching at his scalp with soft fingers.

Yoongi lets out a shaky sigh, ”The bath isn’t the problem,” he says, ”It’s, everything hurts, Joon. My back, my stomach, my knees, my chest,” he sniffles miserably, ”My feet are fuckin’ disgusting—they’re so swollen. I just wanted to relax, but then the stupid bath bomb made me throw up.”

Namjoon hums after each complaint, reaching over to tighten the faucet so the remaining droplets of water wouldn’t drip eerily into the tub and disrupt their much needed conversation, he pulls back to kiss his forehead and then hug him again. “How do you feel now? Still nauseous?..” he pauses. “Wait- where’s your towel Yoonie?” He asks sweetly as the latter begins to shiver.

Yoongi shudders, goosebumps raising all down his bare arms and legs, ”I forgot to grab one,” he pouts, leaning into Namjoon and shrugging, ”Not nauseous anymore. Just feel empty. I could probably eat something actually.”

“Okay, let me grab you a towel and then we’ll get something you can hopefully stomach,” Namjoon places a chaste kiss on his cheek before scurrying off to grab a towel and gingerly wrapping it around his husband, ”Come on, easy steps.”

Nodding, Yoongi lets Namjoon help him to his feet, angling so he can rest against Namjoon’s chest, ”The tub probably needs to be cleaned,” he whispers, cheeks heating with embarrassment, ”I wasn’t fast enough to get out.”

“I can scrub that, don’t worry” Namjoon mumbles as his heart clenches for his pregnant husband for having to go through this and he settles him on the bed. Side stepping to the wardrobe and grabbing a warm hoodie that fit nicely over his growing swell and some furry pyjama bottoms.

”Okay,” Yoongi agrees, sinking down against the mattress and chewing on his bottom lip. He watches Namjoon putter around their room, collecting a change of clothes and sighs, ”How was work?” he asks softly.

“The usual” Namjoon shrugs and apologises sheepishly when he helps his husband up, slipping the hoodie onto him, he makes sure to give his bump a tentative rub before changing him into bottoms.

Yoongi hums in acknowledgment, letting Namjoon manhandle him into his clothes. His eyes are still puffy from all the tears and he blinks tiredly, ”C’n we have late supper tonight?” he asks, ”I don’t feel like cooking.”

“I’ll..get take out?” Namjoon trails off with his suggestion, they’ve been so cautious with the pregnancy it wouldn’t be of harm if they slip a little since Yoongi is (pretty) upset.

”Okay,” Yoongi agrees easily, rolling onto his side and reaching for his body pillow. He shifts around a little in an attempt to get comfortable and then stares up at Namjoon expectantly.

Namjoon cocks his head to the side to his husband, he walks over and obliviously scruffs and pats the pillow so he’s more comfortable. “There”

Yoongi huffs and continues to stare, lip jutting out in a pout. Finally he sighs, ”Are you just gonna stand there?” he grumbles when Namjoon doesn’t seem to be catching on.

Namjoon blinks, a bit taken aback. “Was I meant to do something..?” He asks with a hint of uncertainty “is there something you needed? Are you uncomfortable?” He pouts.

Yoongi groans and makes a show of shuffling back to make more room on the bed. He reaches over to pat Namjoon’s spot and looks up at him, ”I’ve been alone all day, Joon-ah. Maternity leave is so boring.”

Namjoon gapes a little before nodding in understanding, looking down with a shy grin as his dimples peer out and he climbs onto the bed. He draws his husband into a hug, arms wrapped firmly around him as he pulls a leg up with one spread down while kissing his forehead.

Instantly, Yoongi feels more at ease. His eyes slip shut and he snuggles in against Namjoon, ”Can order on my phone,” he mumbles, ”I want japchae.”

Namjoon hums and hands him his phone without another question, sneaking a hand under Yoongi’s hoodie and wordlessly rubs around the curve of his bump.

Yoongi yawns and starts tapping away, ”Bulgogi?” he asks, already adding it to the order.

“Anything you and our munchkin want, baby,” Namjoon says shortly, leaning down to pepper a kiss to his stomach that he’s fond of.. a normal amount.

Yoongi’s mouth quirks up into a smile and he flicks Namjoon’s shoulder to get his attention, ”For you,” he corrects, ”Do you want bulgogi?”

“Yeah that’ll do” Namjoon pouts as he rubs his shoulder before huffing and returning to entertaining himself with his baby.

”Kay... It says it should be here in, like, forty minutes,” Yoongi offers, dropping his phone on the bed. He looks down at where Namjoon is affectionately stroking his belly and takes his hand, moving it over slightly to where he can feel the baby kicking.

“I know I know” Namjoon kisses it tenderly and gives it a soft tap. “You got icky and now you’re hungry huh? It’s okay, food is coming” he rambles cutely to the belly.

Yoongi grins and presses his forehead against Namjoon’s chest, ”Keep talking,” he murmurs, ”the baby wants to know if there’s any gossip they need to be caught up on at the office.”

“Someone tripped over and spilled coffee on their work,” Namjoon pauses and tilts his head so he’s pressed his ear to the bump. “I know right? how clumsy” he chuckles awkwardly.

”It was you,” Yoongi says, ”You tripped and spilled coffee on all your shit. Please tell me we don’t have to replace another computer.”

Namjoon clears his throat, his attention driven only to his husband’s bump and not his amused expression. “No of course not, it was paper..” he waits. “Yeah I’ll tell them to be careful next time”

Yoongi sighs and shakes his head, reaching up to run his fingers through his husband's hair, dragging his nails gently over his scalp, ”You’re such a clutz,” he murmurs, ”What about Changkyun and Hyunwoo? Have they finally stopped being awkward and kissed yet?”

“Not even close” Namjoon tuts and shifts down so he rests his head on Yoongi’s bump, making sure to be gentle as he turns to face him and continues to chat about his day till the bell rings. “There’s the food”

”Oh, good,” Yoongi huffs, moving to let Namjoon up, ”I’m starving.”

”Can you bring me a glass of water too, please?” he calls after him as he disappears down the hall. His throat is dry and his mouth still tastes gross after throwing up earlier.

Namjoon reappears into the room, stepping out of his slippers with a plastic bag full of the hot food, he places the glass of water he’d made sure to bring. “There you go”

Opening the bag, he digs into it carefully and hands Yoongi his box after opening it, taking the chopsticks and snapping them open- almost poking his eyes out but that’s okay- for him.

The water is cool and refreshing and Yoongi gulps down nearly half the glass before setting it aside and picking up his dinner. It’s a little more greasy than he tends to like it, but it tastes delicious and he digs in happily, ”Mmm, how’s yours?” he asks, glancing over at Namjoon.

Namjoon nods constantly, submerged in eating as twirls the noodles around and strings them before slurping it into his mouth and letting out noises of excitement.

Yoongi huffs out a fond laugh and settles back against his husband’s side. He gets about halfway through his meal before he starts to slow down, the grease catching up with him.

It has him feeling full well before he normally would, but he knows if he puts his food away now, he’ll just be hungry again in a few minutes. Instead, he takes a few sips of water and continues eating at a much slower pace.

“You alright there babe?” Namjoon asks, watching Yoongi’s movements slag behind him considerably as time ticks by.

Yoongi forces down another mouthful of noodles, pausing to breathe for a moment afterward and take a sip of water before he turns to Namjoon, ”Um,” he glances down at the rest of the japchae. It isn’t very much at this point, but the thought of another bite makes him cringe, ”I think I’m done,” he says, muffling a queasy burp with his fist.

Namjoon nods “I’ll take that and go put it in the fridge for whenever you wanna finish” he takes the container off of him and climbs out of bed, pressing a kiss to his forehead before making his way to the kitchen.

Yoongi hums, starting to regret the decision to keep eating. His stomach burbles softly and he shifts, struggling to find a more comfortable position. He sighs and smooths a hand over the swell of his stomach. At least he can rub it without drawing too much attention.

Namjoon returns a couple minutes later, taking huge steps onto the bed with his long legs and sitting next to his husband again. He grabs his laptop and opens it, looking over and deciding to prop the older’s head on his shoulder before turning back to the screen. “Get some rest babe, you’ve had a long day” he mumbles considerately.

Yoongi nods minutely against Namjoon’s shoulder and does his best to relax. He knows he’ll probably feel better once he’s slept, but nothing he does makes him even remotely comfortable. It’s like he can feel everything squelching around in his stomach, refusing to digest.

Eventually, he stops trying to sleep and settles on watching the laptop screen, following along with what Namjoon is doing.

“Is the baby bothering you? Are they kicking too much again?” Namjoon asks when he feels his husband shift around for the umpteenth time, almost sensing the discomfort and tense aura that was around him. He throws his hand back to give the said tummy a rub.

Yoongi grunts and reaches for Namjoon’s hand, stopping him from rubbing his belly. He shakes his head and sits up, pressing the heel of his palm to his chest, breath coming in distressed little sighs.

“What’s wrong?” Namjoon turns his attention to his husband who seemed to be ailing and having a hard time, upon instinct he brushes his bangs to the side and watches him pale. “Not feeling good?”

Yoongi shakes his head again, ”I think I’m gonna throw up,” he mumbles, shifting closer to the edge of the bed, ”The japchae...” he swallows roughly and gets to his feet, waddling toward the bathroom.

Namjoon frowns and jumps up, hot on Yoongi’s tale as he slinks into the bathroom and steadies him. “Hold on, I got it” he mumbles and lifts the seat up for the toilet and starts patting his back dutifully.

”Fuck, this isn’t supposed to be happening anymore,” Yoongi whines, hovering miserably over the bowl.

“I don’t know babe,” Namjoon sighs, playing with the locks of his hair. “Pregnancy is rather unpredictable” he says, not sure if his intelligence provides comfort but the back rub and kiss to his cheek would suffice.

Yoongi just huffs, gripping tighter to the porcelain to brace himself. The ache in his back that had started to fade when he was laying down is painful again, muscles straining under the weight of his stomach.

“Do you want to sit down? That doesn’t look comfortable” Namjoon pouts and inspects his husband worriedly with a hand kept on his back. “I can always grab you a bucket”

Yoongi groans and shrugs his shoulders, gagging unproductively. His breath comes in heavy puffs and he hangs his head. Coppery saliva drips down into the bowl and he retches, only managing to bring up a small mouthful.

Namjoon sighs, winding his husband into his tall figure and rubbing the side of his bump. “Let it out Yoonie, let it out” he encourages in his solemn voice.

Yoongi heaves, stomach clenching painfully and vomit spills from his lips. It splashes loudly into the toilet water and some of it splatters the seat. He sucks in a quick breath before bringing up another big gush of puke.

“That japchae really wasn’t worth it huh?” Namjoon murmurs under his breath as he leans forward to lift the seat up for more ease, returning to rub Yoongi’s belly and kissing his cheek.

Yoongi shakes his head, heaving again. His belly churns horribly and there’s an acidic feeling lingering in his chest. He feels awful. He would’ve been far better off with something light. At least that way he wouldn’t be trying to choke up noodles that get stuck in his throat.

“You’re doing so good Yoonie” Namjoon praises softly, loosening his hold and shifting back to start rubbing the length of his back again with a few pressured pats too.

The retching goes on for what feels like ages. His stomach doesn’t settle even after he’s emptied himself out. By the time it finally stops, he’s left panting, throat wrecked, eyes watering, ”Joon?” he rasps, reaching for him blindly.

“Mhm” Namjoon answers quickly, grasping his hand and giving it a squeeze. “I’m still here baby,” he mumbles, kissing the top of his head and flushing the mess away. “Any more? Or back to bed?”

”I think I’m done,” Yoongi says tentatively, resting a hand on the curve of his belly and doing his best to suppress a shiver. He grips tightly to Namjoon and looks away when he flushes the toilet, unable to watch without feeling like he might puke once again, ”Gotta brush my teeth,” mumbles, scooting back a little.

“Okay” The younger breathes out a sigh and grabs Yoongi’s toothbrush, squirting the toothpaste on and handing it to him as he leans back into the counter and patiently waits.

Yoongi manages to brush all but his back molars without feeling like he’s going to gag. He rinses his mouth out when he’s finished and follows Namjoon back to their bedroom, climbing under the covers, ”Can you...?” he nods behind him at the pillow that’s supposed to prevent him from rolling onto his back.

“Be the big spoon?” Namjoon teases with a slight smirk, climbing in regardless and scooping the man into a cuddle. His arms wrap around his chest and he kisses the back of his head. “Better?”

”Mm, yeah,” Yoongi says, too tired to think of something smart to say. He settles in against Namjoon’s chest with a content sigh, ”I need to do something, Joon,” he murmurs, ”I can’t just keep hanging out here all day.”

“I could get a couple weeks off, take advantage of that husband’s maternity leave-” Namjoon huffs out a deep sigh and winds his arm around his partner in a snuggle. “-for cuddles and to support you till our munchkin is born”

Yoongi shakes his head, ”Not yet. I’m gonna need you after the baby is born. I just... I need to get out of here,” he insists, ”I feel like I’m going crazy just sitting around all day.”

“How about a walk in the park later?” Namjoon suggests, smoothing his hand on his husband’s bump and yawns slightly. “After a nap of course”

Yoongi hums his approval, eyelids starting to droop. He’s warm all over, but not in an uncomfortable, nauseous way, just in a pleasant, sleepy sort of way and he lets himself sink into it. Lets it envelop him and pull him under.

[theawkwardundercoverwriter]

Sebastian X Reader: Going into Labour. Part II

Description: Part II

Warnings: NOT EDITED, and amateur writing. 

Someone once said that fears are nothing more than a state of mind; that quote is filled with absolute and utter bullshit. No matter how hard you willed the fear to go away it remained, stubborn and inextinguishable. Whoever said that was obviously never rushed through the streets of New York desperately trying to keep a baby from popping out in the backseat of someone's much-beloved car. For the first time in your life, you felt fear in places you never even fathomed that fear could accumulate. Your body was drenched with anxiety while tears threatened to spill from your pooling eyes. If someone was even close to telling you that fear is a state of mind - you’d have to slap them. 

Sebastian sat in the back with you, never letting go of your hand. He rang his mother and then yours. You were too preoccupied on the pain to register any of the conversations he shared with fellow family members. 

“We’re here Y/N.” Sebastian hums in your ear. You could only manage a disgruntled whimper in response. “Hold on sweetheart. I’ll help you out.” Seb lets go of your hand and jumps around the other side to get the door. Your heart leaps with anxiety as you lose physical contact with him. 

The only thing you craved was his warm embrace. You made a mental note to thank Sebastian later for being your calm in this terrifying storm. Everything he did, despite the immense pain that clouded your mind and body, wasn’t unnoticed. He continued to wipe away the ever forming beads of sweat on your forehead the whole car ride. He somehow managed to bring all the stuff you needed for the hospital including clothes, pillows, and a blanket because he knows how cold you get. 

It was unspoken, but you both knew this labour was happening awfully fast. Too fast. Both of you were told that first-time mothers were usually in labour for long hours, sometimes even days. Yours seemed to be fastening with every second that passed. 

The door springs open just as a contraction waves over your entire body. Your legs felt wobbly and numb. 

“Seb, I don’t think I can walk.” You pant as you work through the pain. 

“Okay, I’ll let the staff know we are here and then hopefully they can give us a wheelchair.” He presses a light kiss to your forehead while ignoring your small protest. 

“No don’t go.” You whimper while latching onto his forearm. 

“I’ll be two seconds Y/N. I won’t be gone long enough for anything bad to happen.” He shoots you his best reassuring smile, but even you could see the specs of fear creeping into his eyes.

The contraction begins to fade as you watch him run into the entrance of the emergency room. 

They were already expecting you as two months ago Seb booked the most expensive maternity ward he could find. He even made you do a tour of the place ensuring there was absolute privacy. Over the top? 100%. But you couldn’t blame him for wanting the best for you and his baby. 

You shuffled your way out of the car, ignoring the aches and strains. You could see Seb inside the lobby gesturing to you. Placing your hand on the door you slowly pulled yourself up. It took every ounce of strength but you somehow managed to get out of the car. 

Catching a glance of your appearance you nearly cry. Seb’s sweatshirt was now 60% sweat, your hair was irritatingly stuck to your face and your swollen cheeks now resembles a sad blotchy marshmallow.  

Your stomach drops as you feel a warm sensation trickle down your thighs. A  heavy and sticky substance flows down your pants, dripping down your legs. Looking down to assess the damage you feel the colour drain from your face. Not only had your water just broken but there was blood gushing down your thighs. 

“Oh shit.” You mumble to yourself. Your heart springs from its chest nearly sending you into a fainting spell. 

“Y/N?” Sebastian calls as he sprints over to you. You’d never seen him run so fast. His eyes are wild with panic. The very sight of you nearly sent him straight into cardiac arrest. He saw your tear-stained cheeks and immediately knew that fear crippled your body. He didn’t know what was worse, the blood that covered your lower half or the numbingly terrifying whimpers you emitted into the air. 

“That’s a lot of blood.” You whisper not even registering the sound of the nurse five steps behind him. 

“Here put all your weight on me, baby, I’ll help you into the wheelchair.” With ease, he lifted you up gently placing you in the chair. “You’re okay Y/N, everything is okay.” He comforts, although you feel his words are more for himself than you. 

“I don’t feel so good.” You whimper as another brutal contraction overwhelms your body. A burning sensation rips through your throat as a wave of nausea inundates your body. Looking down you realise you’ve been sick all over yourself in front of your husband and two nurses. 

“I’m sorry Seb.” You sniffle as you make your way into the elevator. 

“Why are you sorry sweetheart?” Sebastian asks, his voice clouded in confusion. 

“I just ruined your shirt.” You feel the heat rush to your cheeks. Embarrassed doesn’t even begin to describe how you feel. 

“Awh Y/N,” He soothes as he pulls your hair back from your face, “I really don’t mind, not one bit.” He presses a sweet kiss to your cheek and offers you a tissue. 

You were rushed to your own private room where the nurses cleaned and dressed you into your gown. All of them were very understanding and assured you that the blood was a very natural aspect of childbirth. You tried to let that information comfort you, but so many scary thoughts ran through your mind. While examining you they told you were too far gone for an epidural, explaining that they estimated you were in labour for at least a day without really knowing it. 

“I feel stupid.” You peer up at Sebastian whose hurridly updating all family members on your progress. He glances up from his phone at the sound of your voice.  

“Why?” He questions. He sits down on your bed making sure not to disturb any wires or drips. Lacing his hands with yours he shoves his phone into his pocket and offers you his full attention. 

“I didn’t know I was in labour for a full day.” You sigh, “I’m pretty sure this means I have no motherly instincts.” You say as you nervously twist your wedding ring. 

“Hey, don’t do that, don’t doubt yourself.” He lightly squeezes your hand, “Y/N, you're a first-time mother you can’t be expected to know what a contraction is if you’ve never felt one before.” He reasons shooting you a gorgeous smile.

“Still I thought I was just cramping all of yesterday, that’s a sign.” You say, feeling defeated. 

“Oh well, you will know for next time.” He winks shooting you a cheeky smile. 

“Ah don’t joke about more kids, I don’t think I’m going to make it through this one.” You sheepishly smile. You were sore, exhausted and on the verge of tears, although you were half-joking, part of you felt you really weren’t going to make it. 

An hour passes, you didn’t think the contracts could get any more intense, but they did. You were sick two more times. Each time Sebastian offered you a glass of water and a cloth to wipe your mouth. He whispered sweet nothings into your ear hoping to provide comfort. 

“Okay Y/N, time to push.” Your obstetrician instructs, “Baby really wants to meet momma.” She laughs as she gets you in position. 

Dread fills the pit of your stomach. The hardest part of the night had arrived, and you weren’t sure you had any strength left.

“Hey look at me,” Sebastian instructs sensing your unease, “You can do this. I’m right here.” He plants a soft kiss to your cheek before he readjusts the pillow for you. 

“3, 2, 1. Push for me Y/N.” 

You take a shakey deep breath; with everything fibre in your body, you push. A searing pain rips through your body as you jerk your head back in response to the pain. Letting out a desperate cry you continue to push until your told to stop. 

“You’re doing so well Y/N.” Sebastian comforts, excitement and pride swirling in his eyes.  Your breath is jagged as you try to recover. 

“Okay Y/N, another big push for me.” She pauses, “The head is just about out.”

Taking another deep breath in, you push again. You squeeze Sebastian’s hand as the agony rips through you. 

“I can’t do it.” You wail as your instructed to stop pushing for the second time. Tears stream down your cheeks as fatigue plagues your body. Your cries are filled with desperation; exhaustion was written all over your face.  It felt like someone had run you over with a truck then reversed over you again. 

“One more push Y/N, and then baby will be out.” She promises, offering a huge amount of comfort. “It’s just the shoulders now, the hardest bit. We’re nearly there.” 

“C’mon sweetheart. I know you can do this.” Sebastian utters, “I promise you that all this pain will be gone in just one more push. It will all be worth it. Okay? Then I will get you your favourite pizza.” He smiles. Pure adoration swims in his beautiful blue orbs. 

“Okay.” You whimper. “Pepperoni pizza, promise?” You mumble preparing for another push. 

“Yes, I promise. I love you.” He chuckles as he wipes the sweat from your forehead. 

“I love you too.” You say feeling strength swell inside of you. 

“3, 2, 1. One last push Y/N.” 

You grit your teeth and push as hard as you can wanting nothing more than to see your baby. Your body slackens as a bewitching cry bounces off the walls immediately melting your heart. You'd never heard such a beautiful sound. 

“Oh my god.” You cry peering up from the bed to get a glimpse of your baby.

“It’s a boy.” One of the nurses announces while the rest of your doctors/nurses congratulate you on doing such a good job.

“I’m so proud of you Y/N” Sebastian smiles while wiping joyful tears from his eyes. You baby boy was placed on your chest and for just a second it felt as if the world had stopped turning. “He’s beautiful.” You choke while admiring your sweet little prince. You hold him in awe for a few sweet moments before offering, “Would you like to hold your son.” 

You didn’t think it was possible but Sebastian’s face lit up even more. His eyes widened as you gently placed your son in your husband's arms. Both of you still teary. 

“He’s so precious. I love you. Both of you.” He whispers while kissing your son’s temple. Your heart swells at the sight. Your perfect little family sat on your hospital bed, admiring the gift of life. 

Again, I apologise with the rushed writing. Here in Aus, there is a lot going on. Thank you for your patience. 

Tag List:

@daybreak96

@bbmommy0902

@thummbelina​

[crue-sixx]

Let Me Take Care of You (Keanu Reeves Imagine)

This was requested.

Summary: You return home early from work because you’re not feeling well. Your husband, Keanu Reeves, takes care of you.

As you walked into your home, you sighed heavily. You’d been sent home early from work due to you not feeling well. You knew you felt off earlier that morning, but it hadn’t really set in till a few hours into your day. Your nose became stopped up, your head felt stuffy, and your throat was irritating you. Your boss could tell that you were off so she sent you home and you didn’t complain.

You sneezed loudly after kicking your heels off and groaned as the force of it hurt your already sore throat. You absolutely hated to be sick. It was just a miserable experience.

“Y/N, what are you doing home?” Your husband, Keanu, asked as he stepped out from the kitchen. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I’m not feeling too great so my boss sent me home early,” you answered your husband and sniffled.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Keanu asked as he stepped up closer to you.

“My head’s all stuffy as well as my nose and my throat is sore,” you replied to him.

He put the back of his hand to your forehead then moved it down to a cheek. “You do feel a bit warm. You head up to bed. I’ll bring you some medicine and something warm to drink.”

You nodded and made your way to the stairs, walking up them slowly. Laying in bed sounded wonderful. You walked into your shared bedroom and stripped out of your work clothes then threw on a pair of sweatpants and one of Keanu’s shirts. It was big and comfy on you. It also smelled like him, which was always comforting. You crawled into bed and threw the bed sheets over yourself, sighing in content. You still felt bad, but at least you were at home and in bed.

Keanu made his way into the room minutes later, carrying a mug with steam rolling out of it along with some medicine. He took a seat on the bed right by you as you sat up and leaned against the headboard.

“Some warm tea,” Keanu said and smiled. “Should help your throat feel better. Also, some medicine that will hopefully help you out.”

“Thank you so much, babe,” you told him with a small smile as you took the medicine and mug from him.

You took the medicine first then started sipping on the hot tea slowly. It was soothing on your throat. You were leaning back on the headboard as Keanu crawled over you to his side of the bed. You glanced over at him and raised a brow.

“What are you doing?” You asked him.

“I’m laying here with my sick wife and keeping her company,” Keanu answered you as if it were obvious.

“Keanu, you shouldn’t be around me too much,” you told him. “I don’t want to get you sick. You have to go work on that movie in a few days.”

“I don’t care,” Keanu replied without hesitation.

You sighed and shook your head as you stood from the bed. You did not like the idea of Keanu potentially getting sick because of you. You would feel horrible about it.

“Baby,” Keanu said and you turned to look at him. “Come on. Get back into bed.”

“I’m not going to get you sick if I can help it, babe,” you told him as you shook your head.

“Y/N, I’m not bothered by that. You’re my wife and you’re sick. I’m going to help you to get better and take care of you because I love you. In sickness and in health, right?”

You stood there for a moment as a small smile appeared on your face. Your husband was so wonderful. He had a heart of gold and did whatever he could to help anyone...especially you. He was always so doting.

Keanu looked at you and started patting your side of the bed, trying to coax you back into bed. You sighed as you walked back over. You sat the tea down on the nightstand before you climbed back into bed. You grabbed a couple of tissues from the box that was sitting on your nightstand and sneezed into them.

“Don’t blame me if you end up with a cold,” you warned him as you threw the tissues on the nightstand when you wiped your nose.

“Just let me take care of you, woman,” he said with a chuckle as he threw the bed sheets back over you and wrapped an arm around you. “You know, I’m not happy about you being sick, but it’s nice to have you home with me. Especially since I’ll be leaving to start filming for that movie soon.”

“I know,” you said and frowned. “I’m really going to miss you while you’re away.”

“I’m going to miss you too,” he replied as he looked at you. “We’ll still see each other though when you come to visit. There’s also FaceTime and Skype.”

You nodded and sniffled as you made yourself comfortable close to him by turning into him. He was basically cuddling you. It felt great seeing as how you were cold and he was so warm. You were feeling pretty sleepy as you laid there. It was probably the medicine that was making you so tired. Keanu just simply laid there with you and rubbed your back in soothing circles.

“I’m sleepy,” you mumbled into his chest.

“Go to sleep then, sweetheart,” he whispered to you.

You did just that. You ended up falling asleep pretty quickly and didn’t wake up till you felt someone gently shaking your shoulder. You whined a little, but opened your eyes.

“Hey, it’s dinner time,” Keanu said. “I made you some soup. You need to eat and I’ll draw you a warm bath to relax in after.”

You sat up and rubbed your eyes. There was a tray with soup, crackers, and juice on it for you. You smiled tiredly at Keanu.

“Thank you,” you told him. “I should start calling you nurse Reeves or Dr. Reeves.”

“Let’s save Dr. Reeves for another time, yeah?” He asked and winked at you.

You giggled at that as he went into the master bathroom. You heard the water running as you moved the tray onto your lap, carefully. Keanu had made chicken noodle soup, a classic. He knew it was your favorite when you weren’t feeling well. He also provided you with orange juice. You started eating the soup along with some crackers. You felt a bit better than you had earlier, but you still weren’t feeling great. You were finished eating when Keanu walked back into the room a little while later.

“You go take a bath and I’ll go put this away,” Keanu said as he went to grab the try.

You stopped him by wrapping your hand around his wrist. “Will you take a bath with me, babe?”

Keanu looked at you with a smile. “I thought you didn’t want me around you?”

“Keanu,” you said with a pout.

He chuckled and leaned down to kiss your forehead. “Of course I will. Go on in there while I go put this in the kitchen. I’ll be right in there.”

You smiled when he agreed. He took the tray from you lap. He walked out of the room as you moved out of the bed then walked into the bathroom. Keanu had made you a nice bubble bath. You pulled your hair up in a messy bun before you took off all of your clothes. The cold air hit your bare skin so you wasted no time with getting into the big tub, sighing in content as the warm water hit your skin.

“Feel nice, baby?” Keanu asked from the doorway.

“So nice,” you replied with a smile. “You gonna come join me or stand there and watch me all night?”

He chuckled as he stepped into the bathroom, taking off his shirt as he did so. He threw it in the hamper before he took off the rest of his clothes. You scooted up and allowed Keanu to step in behind you. He put his legs on each side of you and rest back against the tub. You leaned back into his chest and sighed.

“Much better,” you mumbled as you closed your eyes, enjoying the relaxing bath and Keanu’s body against your own.

You let your arms rest on Keanu’s legs as he wrapped one of his arms around you and placed his other on the edge of the tub. The bath was meant to be relaxing for you both and it definitely was. You enjoyed the peacefulness together.

“You should probably stay home tomorrow and rest up, sweetheart,” Keanu finally spoke in a soft voice as he looked down at you. “I’d like for you to get better before I leave.”

“You’re probably right,” you replied as you opened your eyes slowly. “My boss probably wouldn’t mind since I don’t usually take any sick days.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” he replied as his fingers trailed over your stomach.

Keanu made you sit up as he grabbed a loofah and your favorite shower gel. He poured some on it then began washing you. You smiled as you let him. He really wasn’t kidding about taking care of you.

“What did I do to deserve such a great husband?” You asked Keanu as you glanced back at him with a small smile.

“I don’t know,” he said and smiled back at you. “You’re a great wife, Y/N. I love you so much.” He kissed your shoulder before he ran the loofah over it.

You hummed and smiled more. “I love you too, Keanu.”

[spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia]

V-DAY Gift for @pikablob (OWL HOUSE)

@pikablob hope everyone likes this!

“Luz Noceda, I am the all knowing pan of nap! To succeed in your quest, you must answer one question: What would Eda prefer… Pancakes, or waffles?! MWAHAHAHA!” 

It was 9 o’clock in the morning at The Owl House, but you wouldn’t know it with how sleepy the whole place was: Hooty had not said a single thing the entire morning (a true rarity), still snoring peacefully, King was still sleeping on Luz’s sleeping bag, tail lightly flowing in the wind. 

And then there was Eda; the strongest witch in the Boiling Iles was not much of a morning person, to say the least, and she was snoring loudly, collapsed over her bed as if she had worked hard all night. Well, she hadn’t, but she was exhausted for a different reason: The curse. 

See, Eda was cursed as a child with the not so fun predicament of turning into an owl monster at night, if she did not take a certain elixir every day. This predicament didn’t always hurt, but boy did it drain her energy. And so, she was spread across the bed, clearly in pain. 

And that was why Luz Noceda, precocious witch apprentice and all around good girl, was planning to surprise her mentor with a breakfast in bed. 

There was just one teeny weeny problem: Luz had never actually made breakfast before for anyone. She HAD cooked sometimes with her mother, but her distracted nature was such that she barely remembered how to make any of the breakfasts she made. 

But was something as small and unimportant as having zero knowledge of said subject going to stop Luz? Hardly! 

Having already covered her entire shirt with avocado stains, Luz looked for the thousandth time to see if her avocado toast was not gone, before resuming her attention on the rest of the menu: Combining her favorite Dominican and American breakfast choices, Luz had decided to make an Avocado toast (the toaster had made her jump so badly she had bruised her hand on the floor, but thankfully it was just a scratch!), fried eggs (how fast do those things fry? Probably not fast she assumed), fried cheese (gotta make it melt, like bloooooood, oooooohhhhhh), sausages (Luz had once learned what was inside those things, but she couldn’t help but love their taste. Besides, Eda liked eating gross things that would kill a normal person) and of course, Pancakes!

Luz had all the ingredients in separate pans, which was making it hard to focus: With one hand, she began to see the pancakes rise, making her hungry, so she took a bite out of a stick that she had randomly jammed in her hair. “Tastes like a pop culture reference.”, she thought, grinning.

With the other hand, she made sure the egg was frying. It kept making this sizzling sound she liked, so she started to dance a little to its beat, before pulling two of the strings she had attached to the other pans to see if they were cooking well: The sausages were still swimming pretty with the mini trunks she had made them, and the fried cheese was melting wonderfully, and Luz put a smiley face sticker on it. 

It was going quite well, Luz thought, as she whiffed in the food and grinned in satisfaction: She was actually getting something right for once, and for Eda no less! 

Luz closed her eyes for a moment and thought about the Owl Lady that had taken her in to give her a reason to be taken in by anyone. Luz had only really been here for about 3 weeks, yet somehow, she felt incredibly close to her teacher. Perhaps it was because Eda was cool and wise, as Luz always wanted to be; perhaps it was Eda’s sass and total self confidence in her identity, something Luz wanted but was always shut down for; and perhaps it was something so much simpler… 

Perhaps Luz just wanted a mother who loved her for her. 

Luz didn’t really want to think about any of that stuff, so she tried to shake those thoughts from her head and instead focus on the food, which was starting to smell funny. 

“Oh no!”, Luz thought, getting worried. “I’m about to send Eda’s breakfast to hell!” Luz didn’t want to send anyone to hell! That was the work of the devil! Well, him and survey takers! 

“No time for games… I have to be 100 percent on the job! Nothing can surprise me!”, Luz declared, only to be surprised by the now awake King looking down at her from the top of her head. 

“What’s cookin’, daddy-o?”, he asked, and Luz shrieked, nearly falling down on the floor. King laughed maniacally at this. “YES! YES! I AM terrifying! Quake! Quake at my power!” He then sniffed Luz all over, tickling her with his nose. “YOU MADE FOOD? PLEASE FEED ME! I’LL BE LESS SCARY, I PROMISE!” 

Luz couldn’t help but laugh as she stood up again and scratched behind the demon’s ears. “You’re a VERY adorable demon king, King, but this isn’t for you.” 

King gasped in betrayal. “TRAITOR! I thought you loved me, but I guess I have no friends!”

 Luz then kissed his forehead and he relented. “Fine, I still love you, GIMMIE FOOD!” 

Luz shook her head and giggled, as she finally resumed her work. “No, King! These are for Eda! I want to make her feel better after the rough night she had!” 

King pouted and crossed his arms. “And what makes you think I didn’t have a bad night?”

 Luz wagged her finger at him. “Let’s see: You snuggled me all night!”

 “I CAN’T HELP IT IF YOU’RE HUGGABLE!”

“Quiet, I don’t want to wake Eda up!”, Luz replied, and she feasted her eyes on her work: It seemed so close to being ready! She just had to check if the eggs were fried enough, and those black bits at the end of the egg seemed to tell a good story! 

Slowly and surely, she touched the egg while it still sizzled and… 

“HOOCHIE MAMA I’M ON FIRE!”, Luz cried in pain, as she ran around the room, looking for water for her boo boo on her pinkie! 

King, now very alert, ran to find his band aid kit. “DON’T WORRY, LUZ, I’M COMING!”

Luz was busy running around and around in circles crying in pain as the rest of the food overcooked... And the lightbulb shattered when she accidentally struck it… And Hooty said something VERY RUDE as she bumped into him… And now she was covered with bruises and scratches and a burn... And everything looked bad. 

She almost wanted to sob: Why had she not thought that touching a fried egg on the frying pan as it fried would hurt her? That didn’t make any sense! 

She sighed, looking down with shame: How would this be good enough for Eda? She had totally screwed up. 

King, who had already given her her band aid, sat down next to her and, looking a little sad himself, patted her on the back. “Don’t worry, Luz! I’m sure Eda will like it!” 

“What makes you think that? I ruined everything! She’s probably going to hate it!”, Luz cried, feeling horrible. She didn’t DESERVE Eda, and now she ruined her breakfast! She might as well be kicked out! 

“Now, let’s not overreact! It’s just a slightly burned breakfast!” 

“Your point?”, Luz asked, sniffling.

King wasn’t sure what his point was, he had only wanted to cheer Luz up. Why had he wanted to do that? He was the king of demons! “Well, duh, because I lo…”, he started, and then it hit him. 

Clearing his throat, he looked straight into her eyes. “Luz, why did you want to do this?” 

“To…”, Luz started, not wanting to state her real reason. At least, her MOST real reason. “…To cheer Eda up.” 

“Ok, now tell me: Does Eda care for you?”, King asked, as seriously as possible. 

Luz considered this: did Eda care for her? It didn’t take long to answer. “Yes. Yes she does.” 

King then smiled. “Then she’s going to love this, regardless!” 

Luz stood up slowly, digesting this… And she was soon upstairs with her tray. 

That night had been tough for Eda: She had very nearly transformed again, and after drinking her elixir she had fallen on her back, bruising it greatly. There would be no work today: She could barely get out of bed. Her hands had also been bent in a bad way, so they were sore, and she may have chipped a tooth on the bed post. 

And that was without including the nightmares. 

Of course, Eda being Eda, she wasn’t just going to share that. She had to keep up appearances and be tough as nails! So she tried her best to stand up and not notice the screaming aches in her body. Slowly, slowly, she rose up and twisted her body so it would look sort of normal. She had to look tough, she had to look right, she had to be good enough for… 

“Eda! Good morning!”, Luz greeted enthusiastically, King following close behind. “I gave a pep talk, and I didn’t use the F word once!”, King self congratulated himself. 

Eda smiled weakly and nodded her head, before noticing Luz wrestling with a tray full of plates with food. The smell was a bit odd, almost charred, and the food seemed a bit… 

“Aww, did you burn breakfast for me?”, Eda teased, but with a smile that told Luz it wasn’t malicious. Luz sheepishly smiled, and Eda laughed a little before realizing something:

“Wait… You made this for me?” 

Eda hadn’t been given breakfast since… Since… 

Luz, meanwhile, shuffled at her feet. “Well… I just wanted to treat you. Since you had a bad night and all.” 

Eda hadn’t been given anything like this since she and her sister had… Gone their separate ways. 

Eda was used to caring for herself. It was just how life was. 

…Did Luz care for her? 

Eda was so touched she almost did something drastic, like hug Luz. But instead, she sat back in the bed and said “Well, let’s see if the kid can cook!” Luz put the tray down, and smiled in anticipation as Eda started eating the food. And yes, it was burnt. And yes, Luz had forgotten to put salt. And yes, that was not maple syrup on those pancakes AT ALL. 

But it WAS good enough for Eda. 

“So… Do you love it?”, Luz asked, hopefully, hands clasped together in prayer. 

Eda took a moment to digest the fact that Luz had for some reason gone to all this trouble for her… 

And she smiled. 

“Yes… I love it.”, she said.

 And this time, she let Luz hug her.

[stormyweaver]

I’m a lot less self conscious about posting sick-fic here versus... other sites, so, I’m gonna be looking through some of my little snippets I wrote, past and present, and just kinda putting them here. Hopefully some people will enjoy them! 

St*r Dew Sickness, ft. Penny and my OC Nathan 

~~~

Winter. Nathan hardly detested the season; far from it, the time of year afforded him a grand opportunity to forage for a number of rare flowers, fruit and other wild goods. And with his animals nestled warmly inside of their barns, he really had nothing to fret over. Fishing and foraging would keep him financially steady, and the residents of Stardew never seemed to let the frigid weather damper their spirits (well, for most of them; some were down no matter what time of year it happened to be).

And, reluctant as he was to admit it, Nathan was beginning to understand the sentiment all too well.

"Hhh--... hHAH'Gshh! hhAHG'Shh! hheeh-- HEHGSHH!"

The farmer groaned wearily following the trio of sneezes, not even bothering to suppress an all body shiver as he dragged the sleeve of his jacket under his nose. His normally caramel skin had taken on an ashen paleness, eyes sunken in and circled with darker hollows underneath, straight nose chapped a raw, fleshy pink around the nostrils - all the glaring signs of a particularly nasty bug that just so happened to house itself in Nathan's immune system.

Still, sick or not, he had work to be done. A farm to tend to, errands to run, a life to uphold. Huffing out a hot breath against chilled air, Nathan tried his best to sniff back the contents of his mucus laden sinuses, raising a knuckle to gently but firmly knead at his itchy nose. Yoba, what he wouldn't give to just go back inside and lay down. His gaze drifted upwards, rheumy eyes scanning the blanket of white draped over his entire farm, another meager sniffle failing to stem the flow of his congestion.

Hands moved to grip the ax, heaving it into the air once more before thrusting into the dent already marking his previous work. Twice, a third time, but on the fourth up-swing, his nose decided to snatch every bit of attention with a sharp, prickly sting. "ehhh... hHEEGH-CHAAH!"

He directed the sneeze downwards, stumbling back with the sudden force and dropping his tool to the snowy ground, all but forgotten as his head tilted back with another series of hitching breaths. "hhhiih!... hehhh... heeEEHH!.... Oh, Y-Yoba, c-c'moohhhnnn..." This was getting ridiculous! And he must have looked just as silly; tears beading in his eyes, rosy, twitchy nose pointed straight into the air, fingers fanning the cold air in front of his face as he heaved and huffed towards the inevitable. He was so close...

"Hello, Nathan!"

Oh no. A breath choked in his throat, Penny's clear, melodic voice nearly slicing through the sneezy haze Nathan found himself trapped in. Nearly. Just a graze of his index finger against the tip of his nose seemed to flick the sneeze into fruition. Oh Yoba, not in front of her--!

"hhHEGSHH'Uuh! heh'GSHHhuu! h'eEYESHHhuuu! ESHHhuu!... ghhh," The first sneeze had thrown him forward, each following sending his body hunching closer and closer towards the ground. Well, at least he'd aimed them into his elbow; Harvey had been rather adamant about that in their check up last month. Back then, he'd been blessedly naive as to the sickness which now held him in it's itchy, dripping, iron grip.

In the pre-sneeze haze, he hadn't noticed Penny's presence shift. Not until peering up through watery eyes and catching the worry - mild shock, as well? - bending her pretty features. "Goodness - Bless you! A couple of times, I guess," She gasped, hands clasped in front of her but fidgeting with the hem of her winter coat. "Oh, Nathan, you really don't look well," The already rising lump of embarrassment claimed his throat tighter at her words, causing his cheeks to flush a deeper red.

With a tight sniffle, he managed a gruff chuckle as he straightened back up. "I'm okay, really, Penny. Just a... little chilly, that's all," Lying. Of course he'd resort to that, save enough face as he possibly could in front of the woman he'd been pining after ever since they'd met. Penny had a natural motherly aura about her, and so many more attributes had drawn him in like a bee to honey. He was absolutely ill in love when it came to the demure red head. But any other sick simply wouldn't do. Besides, he'd caught a ton of colds back in the city and worked through them just fine. This? Nothing but a bump in the road.

"Maybe more than a little. I hate to say it, but, you look like death warmed over," And she did wince with the observation, plump bottom lip catching between her teeth. Dear Yoba, why did she have to be so darned cute??? "Shouldn't you be inside, resting?"

Fingers rose to rub the back of his neck as he gave a gentle shake of his head. "Not when I've got so much work to be done. And I've barely even started the day... woke up a little later than usual," he murmured the last part, wrinkling his nose with another liquid sniffle as he cast his gaze off to the rest of his farmland.

"Well, then isn't that a sign? That maybe you need more sleep than you've given yourself?" He could catch Penny attempting to meet his gaze, a groan seeping into his chest. The tenderness in her words nearly melted away the biting chill that settled in his bones. Truth be told, all he /wanted/ was to sink in the sea of sheets and blankets waiting inside of his cozy abode, where he could sweat out this bug in comfort and peace.

"I mean... I just-- Uh?!"

Before he could muster up another lame deflection, a small, pale hand rose to brush underneath his bangs. Though sudden, the cool touch sent a shiver of relief down his spine, and for a moment he began to relax until Penny gasped. "You're burning up! Nathan, you're going to run yourself into the ground..." Bit by bit, Penny was chipping a hole in his defenses, already shuddering under the weight of a truly awful head cold. In the moment he wanted nothing more than to drag himself to the white flag of surrender, even if the other, stubborn-as-a-mule side of his mind would beat him in the ass for it.

However, he barely had time to contemplate hauling himself inside when another tickle flared up in his sinuses. Gentle and soothing as it was, Penny's fingers grazed the bridge of his nose just enough to spark that ever-present itch lodged in his nose. Panicked, Nathan shakily rose a hand up to Penny, stopping just short of grasping her shoulder. "Uh, P-Puuhhh... Peehhh...hhHHEH--!" There was no tease in this one. Nothing but a sharp inhale before Nathan's body yet again pitched inwards with a congested, "hhH'IIGCHUUh! guhh... iihhhHH! hhyeESHH'uh!Ohhh..." With little to no warning, and not wanting to startle Penny with a sudden shove, Nathan had directed the spray at the frost covered ground between them. The dive sent his head swimming, bent frame swaying to the side with a soft moan. "I-I'b sorry... snffl I couldn't warn'd you id tibe,"

The gentle sigh above his head sounded so far away, he almost swore Penny had turned to book it from him, completely disgusted. He wouldn't blame her. Imagine his surprise when he felt an arm hook around his own, gently guiding him upright again. A tender, albeit slightly chiding voice tutting, "Nathan Forager, you really are something else. Come on now," as Penny began leading him towards his house.

Sniffling a few times in succession, he couldn't bring himself to glance in the direction of those knowing eyes, a grimace twisting his own features. Here he was, a sneezing, dripping, sickly mess, and Penny was actually still near him. Touching him. "Peddy--" Damn it, he couldn't even speak properly! He sucked in a deeper sniffle, raising the cuff of his jacket to scrub away any excess threatening to drip from his nose. "Y-You really shouldn't... I cad bake it hobe fide, plus, I'd... uhhhh..." Never forgive himself if he actually passed on this plague to her? Never get over the embarrassment of her seeing him snotting all over himself? Never be able to look at her again without blushing as red as the ripe apples sprouting in his green house? Yeah, that about summed it.

"You're not used to having people help you, is that it? My mom is the exact same way. Never wanting anyone to think they're weak for needing help every once in a while," Her weight shifted, pressing closer against Nathan as they slowly ascended the steps to his front porch. "Well, I'll tell you the same thing I tell her: there's no shame in needing a hand every now and then. In fact, it makes you a lot smarter for asking, before you end up working yourself... well, sick,"

No wonder Penny wanted to be a teacher so badly. She certainly had the patience for it, although Nathan couldn't help feeling a bit irked at his own stupidity. A sore throat hadn't been so bad a couple of days ago, and maybe his body wouldn't be in such poor shape now if he had rested up then. As it stood, he just felt plain awful, a lethargy in each movement and word and thought that he couldn't shake with even the most forceful of sneezes.

Once inside, he finally detached himself from Penny (reluctantly) and sighed, passing a hand over his face. "Okay, you're righ'd. I... m'bight be bore thad a little tired," he admitted, raising his other hand to press tenderly against each side of his nose. A small smile formed on Penny's lips, not of triumph but more so mild relief. "I swear, I didn't feel this bad a few days ago. If anythi'g it kinda just, hit be all ad ond'ce," As did the trickle of mucus tickling it's way past his chapped nostrils.

Nathan sniffed sharply, clasping a hand over his nose as he trudged towards the coffee table. A small, blue box of tissues sat on the edge, and he plucked a good fistful before switching them out to cover his face. He pinched off the escaping moisture, opting out of blowing for the time being (hey, he still had to save a little face) with a heavy sigh. "I'b really sorry you have to see all this. It's so gross," And the small pile of used tissues clustered around the table didn't help matters. How charming that was.

Despite his blossoming self-loathing, Penny gave a soft giggle, moving around to the opposite side of the table. "Nathan, if you think this is bad, I'll have to tell you a few stories while I'm here. You'll think twice about being so easily embarrassed by your body then,"

He shook his head at that, swiping under his nose one last time before balling the tissue into his jacket pocket. "I dunno, feels like I'm a leaky fauce-- Wait, 'while you're here' ?" Glancing up sharply, sure enough Penny was removing her outer wear, draping it over a chair neatly. "You... You're staying?"

"Of course," she began matter-a-factly, "You're sick as a dog, and the worst thing about being sick is having no one to take care of you. Just being alone in general - what if something happened and--" Mid scarf fold, Penny's gaze shifted to the side, again entrapping her bottom lip. "Unless, I'm being too forward. I-I'd never want to make you feel uncomfortable, especially when you don't feel well. I forget not everyone is..."

A pang went through his heart at the flicker of hurt flashing across her features. Sometimes Nathan had to remind himself that behind those bright, brilliant green irises was a delicate flower. A woman who faithfully cared for her mother, even when fought against for caring so deeply in the first place.

Hesitation gripped him for a moment, and Nathan coughed into his wrist before mustering up enough courage to push it down. "Honestly? I'd be super appreciative of havi'g you here, Ped'nny. So long as you don'dt mb'ind," he added with a lop-sided smile, slipping his jacket off, "Uh, I'll try to dot be the worst patiedt ever,"

There and gone in a blink, Penny once again beamed up towards him, a newfound hope in her voice. "Don't you worry, Dr. Penny is here to put you on the mend. You'll be up and tending to your beautiful farm in no time,"

Nathan couldn't help but smile at the shift, already feeling better himself for it. "I'b glad I'b id capable hands. Ki'nd of surprisi'g but, I'b horrible at taki'g care of bys-s-seehhhlllf..." Good Yoba, again?! Quickly rolling his eyes, Nathan firmly rubbed the pads of his fingertips against his nose, mouth dropping open with a shaky inhale. No way, he wasn't going to sneeze again. Not in front of Penny, not with her in his house!

"Oh, bless you!" Penny preemptively replied, clasping the box of tissues as she tottered to Nathan. But he shook his head fervently, nose scrunching up with another liquid sniffle.

"Do, I'b hhhokay... sniff! I'b just a little t-tihhhihhckly... f-fide, though,"

[mercurysnitch]

You Make My Dreams Come True (One Magnificent Year)

Summary: The year Joe and Reader got married turned out to be a very big one for their family.

A/N: It’s finally here! The “bonus chapter” is finally done, and it only took three and a half months 😆 (life got in the way for a while there, it wasn’t supposed to take quite this long). I am so so pleased to finally be sharing it with you (I hope it lives up to all the anticipation). Now that you can see how long this is you’ll understand why I thought including these events would have dragged out the main story too much 🤣. For reference, this starts soon after the climax of part 6 (Reader and Joe getting engaged) and goes on from there.

Some disclaimers: I should have mentioned in Part 6 that I’ve never been to the USA so all parts in New York are based on what I’ve picked up from watching many many movies and TV shows set there. Sorry if anything’s horribly inaccurate, I tried to be at least somewhat realistic. This story features an overseas wedding being planned in only three months, which seemed feasible to me, but I’ve never planned a wedding so I might have been a bit optimistic there. I’ve never been pregnant or had children so all of that stuff is based on research. I think it’s mostly realistic, but some of it might not be completely accurate for twins/preemies, so sorry in advance. Also I think I might have outed myself as an old school music fan with some of the songs mentioned in here.

Because this is the story of a single year, it’s broken into months with little timeskips between sections. The months are all different lengths, so hopefully it’s not too choppy. I feel like it rambles a bit towards the end, but I think overall it works.

As always, please forgive any typos I may have missed.

Italics indicate reader’s inner thoughts.

Warnings: pregnancy, vomiting, children, babies, non-graphic birth, premature birth, some angst, allusions to sex, mild illness

Word count: 20.6k (grab a cup of tea and settle in, it’s a long one)

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New Year's Eve in New York City. Just like last year, and yet at the same time, so very different. This year, Joe’s traditional New Year’s Eve party was going to be a celebration of so much more. Lucy and Rami insisted on coming to celebrate your engagement as much as the new year. Joe had of course sent an announcement to the ‘band’ group chat almost the moment you got home, and you’d spent the next three days in a whirlwind of calls, texts and video chats. Joe wanted to post something on Instagram almost immediately, but you persuaded him to hold off until you could tell his extended family in person at Christmas. He was annoyed until he saw their reactions to your announcement. Needless to say, it went down very well.

And then he finally made his Instagram post on Boxing Day, which lifted his mood enormously. He chose a sweet selfie he’d taken of the two of you hugging Tallulah, whose face was hidden, with the hand bearing your ring held close to the camera. He captioned it ‘Well we had a great Christmas celebrating this… Two weeks ago she said yes. Still can’t believe I get these two for the rest of my life now.’ The reaction was practically immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Even Brian left a comment: ‘Congratulations to a lovely couple! Wishing you endless happiness. Bri.’ You couldn’t help smiling at all the positivity. “They’re all so happy for us, Joe” you commented. He was confused. “Well, yeah, it’s happy news, right?” “It is,” you agreed, “but I thought people might be put off by the whole stepkid thing.” “Most people actually think it’s really sweet” Joe assured you.

All in all, you were a very happy family when New Year’s Eve rolled around. Joe’s various friends were keen to celebrate with you, Tallulah was eagerly counting down the last few days before Roger’s arrival, and you felt a general sense that all was right with the world. Ben’s unexpected arrival at the party was a nice treat too. Even Tallulah was pleased to see one of her favourite people in the world. Sitting with Joe after your midnight kiss, you felt incredibly content. “This year’s going to be a good one, isn’t it?” You mused. “Definitely” Joe agreed, kissing you gently. “It’s going to be great.”

January

You weren’t expecting to get into wedding planning after being engaged for less than three weeks, but Joe was keen to set a date as soon as possible. “I’m an actor, I need to know when I’m not going to be available” he explained one night, when you questioned his urgency to make plans. There was just one decision you needed to make before making any firm plans: would you have the wedding in New York or back home in the UK? You fretted for nearly a week after Joe first raised the question, not wanting to inconvenience any of your potential guests. "Babe, wherever we have the wedding someone's going to have to travel to get to it" Joe reminded you, after you told him about your severe indecision on the matter. "We might as well just pick the location we want, and leave it to the guests to decide if it’s too far for them." You considered this for a moment. "I suppose you're right" you agreed finally. "I usually am" Joe quipped. "Seriously though, where do you actually want to do it?" "I think… I'd rather get married in Britain" you replied, hesitantly. Joe smiled. "Britain it is then."

He paused. "Actually I was kinda hoping you'd say that, I'd love for Roger and Brian to be there." "Why?" you asked, surprised. "Well, we wouldn't be here without them. Especially Roger" Joe explained. "Don't you think it'd be a little strange for Roger to be there?" you questioned. "He is sort of my ex, you know." "He's also the one who introduced us" Joe pointed out. "Still a bit weird, but I suppose you're right" you conceded. Why is my life so bloody weird? It'd be nice for Roger to be there, spend some time with Loolah, see my family… oh God. You must have groaned out loud, because Joe suddenly looked concerned. "You ok babe?" he asked. "Yeah, I just realised that if Roger comes to our wedding he'll have to meet my parents" you explained. "Is… is that a problem?" Joe was confused. "Well, considering my father is under the impression he got me pregnant and then basically abandoned me to raise the child alone for five years, let's just say Roger's not exactly my dad's favourite person" you clarified. "I'm sure they'll be fine" Joe reassured you, "Roger's, like, ridiculously charming and friendly when he wants to be." "I know" you replied gently. "So, you still want to get married in England?" Joe asked jokingly. You smiled. "Yes." "Well then," he replied, smiling contentedly, "looks like we've got a location, so let's set a date."

Setting a date, however, proved to be easier said than done. You quickly realised that getting married in England would be an excellent excuse for a holiday, so you decided to make it a two-week trip, with the wedding in the middle followed by a week's honeymoon, during which Tallulah could spend some time with her dad. This meant you needed to find a convenient time of year for you and Joe to have a holiday, that would also be ok for Roger. And then you'd need a venue that was available at the right time.

Finding a venue in England, while more or less stuck in New York was something of a challenge. Google was of course immensely helpful, but it soon became clear you would need someone on the ground there too. You were wondering who to ask when you realised most of your bridal party still lived in the UK. Destiny was your maid of honour, and she was more than happy to help. "Anything you need, lovie, just give me a call" she assured you. You soon found yourself asking her to look at a venue for you, an old stately home in a country village barely an hour outside London.

The house looked beautiful on the website, and best of all, you, Joe, Tallulah and some of your guests would be able to stay there ahead of the ceremony. Destiny went to look at it as soon as she could find the time, and her report was very positive. “It’s gorgeous” she gushed to you down the phone. “You’d love it. The grounds are lovely too, I think Loolah’d have fun exploring them.” When Joe saw the photos Destiny sent you he agreed it looked practically perfect for your wedding. All that was left was to find a date the venue would be available.

You had a stroke of luck on the date front a few days after you and Joe put yourselves on the waiting list for a booking. A sudden cancellation had left the stately home with a week free in April, just after Easter. The timing couldn’t be better. “Work’ll be quiet, it’ll be a good time for me to have off” you explained to Joe. “And it’d overlap with Loolah’s school holidays too.” Joe was thoughtful for a moment. “I think I’m pretty free in April, actually” he said eventually. “So you wanna take the booking?” “Yeah, let’s do it” he enthused. A couple of days and several emails later the venue. “We’re getting married in April” you marvelled to Joe, after receiving the final confirmation. “Yeah” he replied contentedly. “Three months to plan a whole wedding. Are we nuts?” You really hoped not.

February

February brought cold season to your little family. First Tallulah came home with a sore throat and a fever which kept her away from school for three days, during which time Joe was luckily free to stay home with her. Then you caught her cold, though you managed to escape the worst of it, developing nothing worse than a sniffle. Finally, a week later you woke to find Joe pale and feverish beside you. He didn't wake until you were getting dressed for work. "Darling, are you alright?" you asked him, concerned. "No," he groaned. "My head hurts, my throat is killing me and I've got chills, I think." "Sounds like you've caught our cold then" you commented. "Can you stay home with me babe? Please?" Joe begged. You smiled sadly. "You know I can't, dear. Besides, you have a cold, you're not dying. You’re a grownup, you can survive eight hours on your own." "But baaabe!" he protested. "You sound like Loolah, you know” you grumbled, smiling fondly at Joe despite your exasperation. "But I'll come home as early as I can." "Thanks babe" he mumbled, peering blearily up at you from his spot under the covers. You returned to your morning routine, and Joe was asleep again within minutes.

Joe stayed home for a week. He never got any worse than Tallulah had, but sometimes it seemed that way because he was such a drama queen when he was sick. After two nights of listening to him sniff and cough miserably next to you, you banished yourself to the couch in the hope of finally getting some sleep. It barely worked, and you made sure to tell Joe the next day. "That couch is terrible! If only we had an extra bedroom…" "What, don't you like my apartment?" he grumped. "No, I do, Joe," you reassured him, "it's just… it feels so small sometimes. Like we're all on top of each other all the time, you know?" Joe looked thoughtful. "I actually saw a really nice house for sale the other day. Not too big, little bit of yard at the back… don't know if we can afford it though" he told you. "Well, it can't hurt to take a look" you grinned. Joe smiled back. "Let's go then."

The house turned out to be a nice little townhouse, with four bedrooms, but surprisingly right in your price range. Best of all, it was still on the market, but not for long. One very tense week later it was yours. There was just one small catch. "So, we close on the house in a month" Joe told you, following a phonecall from the real estate agent. "Which means we can't move in until April." "We're getting married in April though, we're going to be super busy and then away for a fortnight" you pointed out. "Yeah, the timing's not the best, is it?" Joe laughed. "I suppose we could move the week before we go…" you suggested. "Yeah, we- oh no, wait, we can't, I'm going to Vegas for my bachelor party that week" Joe told you. "And that means we can't move because…?" you asked. "I'm not leaving you to deal with moving by yourself" Joe replied stoutly. You looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "As much as I want to go all 'independent woman' on you, I actually think you're right. I'll have enough to do that week as it is." "So we'll move after the wedding?" Joe suggested. "Yeah. As soon as we can." Gee, we’re doing a lot this year.

March

Most of your free time in March was taken up with planning of one sort or another. When you weren’t sorting out last minute wedding details, you were busy attempting to organise the move into your new house. On top of finding a removal company you were planning to have some of your stored furniture shipped from England to fill the extra space. But you weren’t convinced it would be enough. “Why did we buy a four-bedroom house?” you questioned Joe, after yet another attempt to work out what you would still need once your things arrived. “We only needed two, and now we’ve got so many rooms and not enough furniture…” “Well I thought we might want to fill those extra bedrooms soon…” Joe said suggestively. “What do you mean, Joe?” you asked, confused. “I mean,” Joe sighed, exasperated at your obliviousness, “I hoped we could try to grow our family?” You thought you knew what he was getting at now, but you wanted to check. “D’you mean… try to have a baby?” “Yes” Joe replied, smiling. His face fell slightly at the sight of your expression. “Do you not want to? Cause we don’t have to, I just thought…hoped-” “Of course I want to have a baby with you Joe,” you reassured him, “just… can we maybe wait til after the wedding? We’ve got enough going on right now as it is.” Joe nodded in agreement. “You know, the honeymoon is after the wedding…” he pointed out suggestively. “It is.” “So, extra fun honeymoon then?” Joe suggested. “Sounds like a plan” you agreed. At that Joe kissed you much more lustily than you were expecting. Should be a very enjoyable honeymoon if he’s going to be like that.  

As the weeks rolled by your focus increasingly shifted to the various parts of the wedding you and Joe still needed to plan. Of course, one of the most important components, at least to you and Joe, turned out to be the first dance. The first challenge was agreeing on the music. You both thought a Queen song seemed appropriate, but which one? "Love Of My Life?" Joe suggested. You looked at him incredulously. "What, it's a classic!" he insisted. "You do realise it's not actually a love song, right?" you asked. He was confused. "What?" "'Love of my life, don't leave me'?" you quoted. "It's a break-up song, Joe. I'm not doing the first dance to a break-up song!" Joe threw his hands up in surrender. "Ok, fine. Do you have any ideas?" You thought about it for a moment. "Um… Queen love songs. They didn't actually write all that many, did they?" Joe looked thoughtful. "Not straightforward happy ones, no" he agreed.

Suddenly his face was alight with inspiration. "We could do it to '39!" he suggested. "I know we both like that song." You were hesitant. "Um, I do like that song, but…" "But what?" He asked indignantly. "That song… it's kind of about me and Roger. Partly at least." you told him. "I just think it would be weird to have that for our first dance." Joe was very confused. "I thought Brian wrote '39?" "He did" you confirmed. "Roger told him about… us… once when they were both drunk, and Brian thinks that might have inspired the chorus. And the whole 'year of 39' bit." Your fiance looked at you blankly. "Roger and I were living 39 years apart at that point" you explained. "Oh." Joe sighed. "I guess that song would be kind of weird then" he conceded. “Actually, maybe a Queen song for the first dance was a bad idea” he pondered.  “Yeah” you agreed. “Maybe we should just stick with one of the classics.” “The classics?” Joe questioned. “Yeah, you know, Frank Sinatra or At Last or something.” “Or ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’?” Joe suggested. “Slow dance and fast bits, we could have some fun with it.” “That’s perfect!” You agreed. So much for Queen for the first dance.

April

The arrival of April Fool’s Day signalled your wedding day was almost upon you. Everything important was booked or ordered, which meant you were now faced with sorting out all the little things you’d put off organising initially, knowing they could be dealt with at the last minute. Number one on the list was sorting out who would be looking after Tallulah when she wasn’t fulfilling her flower girl duties. “Isn’t Roger looking after her after the ceremony’s over?” Joe asked, when you tried to explain your dilemma. “He’s going to be at the reception, Joe” you pointed out. “Along with basically my whole family. And I can’t ask Destiny because she’s maid of honour, and Carla’s her date, so she’ll be there too.” Suddenly Joe understood. “Well I guess she could just come to the reception. Roger could keep an eye on her there. And your parents.” “I suppose…” you sighed. “Actually, Lucy and the other bridesmaids could probably look after her during the day, until Roger can take over at the reception. But then we’re going away at the end, and what if she wants to leave early?” “So what if she does? Roger can take her to his room, right?” Joe reassured you. “You’re right,” you agreed, “he’s her dad, he can deal with it.”

Your other major concern was the potential for the combination of your very ordinary family and several famous people to end very badly. “They were fine meeting me, they’ll be fine at the wedding too” Joe tried to reassure you. “You’re just one person though,” you pointed out, “they’re going to have several people to embarrass themselves in front of this time.” Joe was still unconcerned. “I’m sure they won’t be that bad, babe” “You don’t know my Auntie Marie… ah shit” you trailed off, hit with a sudden realisation. “What about her?” “She’s a mad Eastenders fan, has been for years. Got my cousins into it too, and Steph… Peter Beale was always her favourite” you explained. “I think she might still have a bit of a celebrity crush on Ben.” Joe nearly laughed. “You know he won’t be that bothered” he reassured you. “Even if she spends the whole day practically hanging off him?” “Not if she’s cute” Joe quipped. He rapidly backpedalled at the sight of your expression. “She won’t be able to stick to him all day, he’ll be busy being best man for some of it.” “Thank god for that” you quipped. In the end Joe managed to reassure you Ben was perfectly capable of handling himself around overexcited fans. Even so, you still resolved to ask your mum to remind a few of your relatives to behave themselves before the wedding.

You felt as though you’d hardly blinked before Tallulah’s Easter holidays had arrived, and the three of you were on a plane to London. The plan was to spend a few days there catching up with friends and sorting out the final last-minute details before heading to the wedding venue on Thursday. You had a big dinner party for all your wedding guests planned for Friday night, ahead of the main event on Saturday. On Sunday you were off to Italy with Joe to unwind for a few days before you had to go home. Tallulah was going to spend that time with Roger, and she was very excited.

You tried to get some sleep on the plane, but it was difficult to relax with so many last-minute worries buzzing through your mind. You kept dozing off only to wake up in a panic about something. “The bridesmaids! What if their dresses look bad with mine?” “Babe, it’ll be fine. Lucy picked them, and she’s an expert” Joe soothed drowsily. Lucy had become one of your closest friends since you’d started seeing Joe. She’d adopted you more or less instantly, along with the rest of the Bo Rhap crew, and been your guide in the strange new world in which you’d found yourself as an actor’s girlfriend. But she was also an extremely supportive friend while you wrestled with the realities of a long-distance relationship. She empathised deeply with your struggles, being in a very similar situation with Rami, and had all sorts of advice on how to deal with them. She continued to sympathise as you adjusted to life in a new city, having had similar experiences when moving around for different projects. 

Including Lucy in your bridal party was therefore a no-brainer in your view. Her experience with fashion had proved very useful when you’d enlisted her to help you select bridesmaids’ dresses. The only small issue was that you had never seen the dresses in person, as your entire bridal party lived in the UK. As well as Lucy, and of course Destiny, there was your sister Eliza and Annabelle, an old uni friend who was one of the few people who’d actually stuck around after Tallulah was born. Quite a lot of your friends had made all the right noises while you were pregnant, only to disappear when confronted with the reality of your new situation. In any case, you were now very much looking forward to seeing all your bridesmaids again.

Despite your restlessness the flight passed quickly enough, and before you knew it you were settling into your temporary holiday flat in central London. Your parents insisted on coming to meet you as soon as possible, having not seen you in months, so most of the afternoon was spent lounging around the flat and catching up with them. Your sister had been keeping your mum in the loop about the wedding preparations, so she was full of useful last-minute advice and reassurance. “I’ve seen your sister’s dress, I’m sure all the bridesmaids will look wonderful” she told you, after you’d voiced to her your concerns about the dresses you hadn’t seen in person. “They’ll work beautifully with your dress too, I’m sure.” You weren’t entirely soothed, but you didn’t have the energy to argue by then.

Your worries were proved unfounded at the final fitting the next day. Lucy’s taste was clearly excellent, and everyone looked absolutely beautiful in their light aquamarine gowns. You spent a very enjoyable day getting fitted and hanging out with your bridesmaids, who got on well despite barely knowing each other. Well, they do all get on with me, they must have something in common. Tallulah had fun too, sitting in the fancy bridal shop with some of her favourite adults, and then getting to wear a very pretty dress. “You look so pretty, lovie!” Lucy gushed, when she finally got to see Tallulah in her flowergirl outfit. “Of course she looks pretty Luce,” you smiled, “you chose the dress.” All in all it was a productive day, and you felt much calmer about your imminent wedding at the end of it. 

The days passed in a whirlwind of lunches, coffee dates, and frantic final preparations. You even squeezed in a surprise hen night with your bridal party. But then, quick as a flash, Thursday had arrived and you found yourself on the road to the stately home where the wedding was being held. Joe had insisted on driving, but he wasn’t coping very well with having to drive on the opposite side of the road. “God, this feels so wrong even though I know it’s not.” “Just concentrate” you urged him. “And I’m driving next time, it’ll be a lot less stressful.” Fortunately you made it to the wedding venue without incident, despite a couple of near-misses.

Thursday night was spent having dinner with the entire bridal party, who had never been together before. They would all be staying in the actual stately home with you and Joe for the duration. Joe had picked Ben as his best man, after much agonising. Rami and Gwilym were of course groomsmen too, alongside Joe’s brother. To your immense relief everyone got on well without much effort, and the evening passed surprisingly quickly. You went to bed with the feeling that the countdown was now on, and you were very excited. 

Most of Friday was spent preparing the venue for the events of the next day, setting up a location in the grpunds for the ceremony and arranging flowers and decorations. The evening, though, was set aside for a relaxed pre-wedding party, to give the guests an opportunity to meet each other and see you and Joe before you were swept up in the wedding tomorrow. The guests themselves arrived in dribs and drabs as the day went on. The bridal party were already there, of course, and their various partners had all arrived by lunchtime. Your parents appeared in the early afternoon, and Joe’s mum followed soon after. The day was full of enjoyable reunions, and the night promised even more. 

The party started in the early evening with light finger food and cocktails. There was no formal sit-down meal, because people were coming from all over and would be arriving at various times throughout the night. You and Joe tried to remain in a central position so you could easily greet people as they arrived. Later in the night there were a couple of quick speeches from Joe and Ben, welcoming everyone to your wedding. After the speeches you and Joe took the opportunity to mingle with some of the late arrivals. Among them was Brian, who swept over to introduce you to Anita, who was just as warm and lovely as he was. "I told her the truth about you. And Tallulah. Hope you don't mind" he told you in an undertone. You smiled reassuringly. "Of course not.” Not long after he trotted off to catch up with the rest of the Bo Rhap contingent, currently hanging out in a quiet corner, your parents came up to you, bringing Tallulah with them. "She was asking for you" your mother explained. At almost the same moment Roger came over with Sarina to say hello. Oh lord, here we go.

"Hello, love! Good to see you back on home soil" Roger greeted you, cheerful as ever. "Hi Roger. Sarina, lovely to see you again." Your mother leaned over while Joe greeted them both. "Wait, how do you know him?" she asked. Before you could reply Roger was looking at you curiously. "Roger, these are my parents" you explained, in response to his unspoken question. "Roger Taylor. How do you do?" He smiled cheerfully as he reached over to shake their hands. Something about his expression seemed to catch your mother’s interest, and you could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. "Hold on, are you-?" "Daddy!" Tallulah cried, rushing over to embrace him. "Hello darling" Roger murmured, bobbing down to hug her back. "'Daddy?'" your father repeated incredulously. "Yes," you confirmed, "this is Tallulah's dad. And his wife Sarina" "Wife?" your father echoed. "Yes" Roger replied, straightening up. "You never said he was married" your father muttered darkly. You tensed up at your father’s tone. “He never told me.” "He was- you were married then?" your father spluttered at Roger, clearly angry. He didn't even need to explain what 'then' meant. "Dear, please, don't make a scene" your mother urged quietly. Roger, surprisingly, was unfazed. I suppose it's easy to ignore accusations when you know they're not actually true. "Yes, I was. And yes, I did some things I'm not proud of back then, but becoming Tallulah's father sure as hell isn't one of them" he declared stoutly. Your father seemed to accept this, but was still unwilling to back down. "Still can't believe you had the nerve to show your face here" he said unpleasantly. Joe had been hanging back, unwilling to get involved, but at this he felt he had to intervene. "If you must know," he explained tensely, "I insisted we invite Roger. Your daughter and I wouldn't be here without him, and besides, he's a friend." Your parents gawped at him but said nothing. "I know it's an unusual situation" Joe pressed on, "but we've all managed to get along despite the circumstances, so the least you can do is respect that. And respect Roger too, he's a good man." Your father was evidently flabbergasted at Joe's outburst, to the point that he was apparently unable to form a response. Your mother seized the opportunity to steer him away from you towards some nearby relatives, having apparently decided the conversation had gone far enough. 

"Was that too much?" Joe whispered when they were safely out of earshot. "No," you reassured him, "he just needs some time to cool off. He'll be okay." You were suddenly acutely aware of Roger looking at you with concern, while chatting with Tallulah. "You alright?" you asked casually. He grinned. "Yeah. 'S not the first time I've had to deal with an angry dad. Been a few years though…" There was a thoughtful pause. "What exactly is his problem, by the way?" Roger asked lightly. "He thought I ruined my life when I got pregnant by someone who didn't stick around" you explained. Roger looked downcast. "Oh. I see" he muttered. "You know, it kills me a bit that you had to raise her alone for so long" he said suddenly, quietly enough that no-one would overhear. "I wasn't alone, Rog" you reassured him. He still looked downcast. “I know, but still…” “It wasn’t your fault you weren’t there, I don’t blame you for it, so stop beating yourself up about it” you told him. “I made my choice expecting I’d never see you again, I knew what I was signing up for.” Roger stared at you curiously. “Well, I thought I did, anyway” you clarified. Roger grinned at that, but it disappeared quickly. “D’you ever wish-” he started to ask, but you cut him off. “Things had been different? Of course. I’m pretty happy with how they’ve turned out, though. Thanks to you.” Roger was confused. “Thanks to me?” “Technically, you introduced me to Joe” you pointed out. He grinned broadly at that.

Suddenly you realised Joe had disappeared. Before you could do anything, though, Ben appeared at your shoulder. "Y/N" he said quietly, making you jump. “Ben! What’s up?” The blond looked uncharacteristically serious. “It’s Joe,” he told you, “he’s… he needs you, I think.” “Well where is he?” You asked, suddenly concerned. “Come with me” Ben murmured, leading you away from the party. He took you down a corridor to a quiet storeroom, away from the noise and movement. “What’s he doing in here?” You asked, whispering urgently. “He’s… upset, I guess” Ben replied. “But he’ll be able to explain it better. Just go in, please.” A worrying thought struck you. “We’re the guests of honour, won’t people notice we’ve both gone?” Ben shrugged. “Even if they do they’ll just think you’re shagging or something.” “Ben!” you chided him, scandalised. “Relax, I’ll cover for you if anyone does notice” he reassured you. “Thanks” you muttered, turning away to face the storeroom properly.

You cautiously pushed the door open. “Joe? Are you alright?” Your soon-to-be husband looked up, startled. His eyes were red-rimmed and full of tears. “How did you-?” “Ben told me” you explained, cutting off his question. “But darling, what’s wrong?” You asked him tenderly, sitting down next to him. “After I saw you with your dad, before, it just… it suddenly hit me, really hard.” “What hit you?” You prompted, wrapping your arms around him. “My dad’s not here. I’m getting married and he won’t be there. He should be here, meeting your parents, defending you to your own father like I did, but he’s not” Joe explained sadly. “And I feel like I should be super happy right now, and I am, but I’m really sad too.” “Oh, darling, you’re allowed to feel however you want” you comforted him. You held him quietly for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me you were upset?” You asked quietly. “It came on really suddenly, like out of nowhere… and you looked so happy back there, I didn’t want to bring you down” Joe admitted. “Joe, darling, I don’t mind. We’re nearly married, that means it’s my job to help you when you feel like this” you reassured him. “Thanks wifey” he said, looking slightly happier. You kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Any time, babe.” You paused, sitting in silence for a while. “Are you ok now, or do you still need a minute?” You eventually asked, sensing your husband-to-be was starting to feel better. Joe looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll need a little bit longer, I think.” You sat together in silence for a moment. Suddenly Joe turned his head and kissed you. “I love you so much” he murmured as you broke apart. “Love you too” you replied automatically. “You can go now, if you want” Joe announced. “I’ll be out soon.” But as you reached the door he stopped you. “Actually, can you get Ben to come in here?” He asked calmly. “Ben?” You questioned, surprised. “Just…please?” Joe’s expression spoke such volumes you suddenly didn’t need to know any more. “Of course, dear.” You paused just before you left the room. “I’m sending Ben into a private space with you, should I be worried?” you quipped. Joe laughed at that, and you finally relaxed, knowing for sure he would be ok now. 

The rest of the party rolled on without incident, and you went to bed that night with an odd mixture of contentment and nerves bubbling in your head. The next morning you woke relaxed and refreshed, and most unusually, alone. Joe was rather fond of certain wedding traditions, and had insisted on sharing Ben’s room for the night. You thought it was probably for the best, you’d have to get ready separately anyway. Lucy had suggested Tallulah have a sleepover with her and Rami as well, so you could have a break and she could look after your daughter in the morning while you had a bit of a lie in. 

As you got out of bed and started on your morning routine you were hit with a sudden wave of pre-wedding jitters. What if it rained? What if something went wrong? Were you doing this too soon? You’d only been living together for nine months, after all. Your stressful thoughts were interrupted by a knock on your door. “Y/N? You up?” It was Destiny, fulfilling her first job of the day. “Yeah, come in” you called. She took one look at you and rushed over, enveloping you in her arms. “What’s up love?” “I just… I don’t know” you gulped. “I’m having all these doubts all of a sudden. What if this is too soon?” Destiny smiled reassuringly. “You’ve been together for years, this is hardly a whirlwind romance.” “I know, but-” She turned to look you straight in the face. “You love him, don’t you?” You were bewildered at the question. “Of course I do, but-” “And Joe loves you, right?” Destiny pressed on. “Well, yeah, I think s-” You were interrupted by Lucy entering your room, Tallulah in tow. She immediately sent Tallulah off to the bathroom so she could talk to you alone. “What’s going on?” Lucy asked. “Pre-wedding jitters” Destiny explained. “Anyway, you love Joe and he loves you, doesn’t he?” You were oddly uncertain. “I think s-” “He does” Lucy chimed in. “He adores you, Y/N, everyone can see it.” “You see?” Destiny went on. “You love each other, you want to be with each other, and at the end of the day that’s what really matters here.” You sighed. “I know Dess, I just… this’s all happened so quickly, how do I know we’re not moving too fast?” Lucy stepped forward, and Destiny wordlessly let you go so the younger woman could take over. Lucy put her hands on your shoulders and looked into your eyes. “Y/N,” she began firmly, “Joe loves you, he really does. Everyone can see how you make each other happy.” “I know that, but-” “So what if you’ve moved quickly?” She cut you off. “When you know, you know. Joe knows, even if you don’t.” You were confused. “How do you know that?” “Rami” Lucy said simply. “He’s never seen Joe look at anyone the way he looks at you, and you know as well as I do how long they’ve known each other.” You were taken aback. How could you have doubted what you and Joe had? “I suppose when I think about it this does feel right, even if it is a bit quick” you declared. Lucy smiled. “Of course it is lovie. Now come on, let’s get you married.”

In the end, the ceremony went off without a hitch. You looked beautiful, Joe only got slightly teary when he saw you at the end of the aisle, and all the guests agreed it was lovely. Even the previous night’s tension with your father was forgotten as soon as he saw you in your full regalia for the first time. The expression on Joe’s face when he first caught sight of you was so adoring, and so happy, all your doubts vanished instantly when you saw it. By the end of the ceremony you were fairly sure you were both wearing identical joyful smiles. You really were glad to be marrying him. 

The reception went well too. The first dance, which you and Joe had positively slaved over, was performed flawlessly, and earned rapturous applause from your guests. The speeches were all excellent as well. Ben's was probably the most polished, but then, he was an actor. You wanted to thank him during the dancing afterwards, but he seemed to have vanished. Joe was strangely unconcerned by this. "He's probably just gone for a smoke, wifey.” He seemed to have been gone a long time, but before you could consider this further you were distracted by Rami and Lucy coming to congratulate you, accompanied by Tallulah. Somehow, in the midst of all the hugs Joe disappeared off somewhere. You couldn't work out where until Lucy led you to a chair near the front table, closest to the little stage area where the sound system was, and urged you to sit there with Tallulah. You were surprised to see there were microphones and amps and even a drum set up, even though you hadn't booked a band.

Your confusion lasted only until Joe and Ben stepped up to two of the mikes. "What are they doing?" you muttered to Lucy. "Just watch" she told you, grinning. Suddenly you noticed a familiar lanky figure wandering over to the third mike. Joe, in the middle, cleared his throat. "Uh, hi everyone, if I could have your attention for a minute? Relax, I'm not doing another speech. So you might know we three have a bit of a side interest in music, even though we don’t get to play together very much. So I just wanted to take the opportunity tonight to do something special for the two very special ladies in my life. To the extremely talented musicians in the audience, please bear with us. Everyone else, enjoy." With that, he picked up a bass, Ben picked up a tambourine, and Gwilym, down the other end, sat on a bar stool at his mike, acoustic guitar in hand. Ben counted them in, and suddenly Gwilym started picking out the very familiar chords of '39, with Joe on bass and Ben on bass drum and tambourine. Then Joe began to sing directly to you and Tallulah, and you thought you might cry, though Tallulah immediately started to sing along. Gwilym and Ben harmonised nicely on backing vocals too. When the end of the song brought rapturous applause, your new husband and his friend beamed, while Gwilym just smiled modestly. When things died down, Joe spoke up again. "Ladies and gentlemen, Gwilym Lee!" he introduced. "And on drums, Ben Hardy!" After a brief round of applause he grinned cheekily. "You liked that?" he asked the crowd. "Lucky for you, we have one more. It's a bit of an oldie, but a goodie" he explained. Another count in from Ben led to the intro to "Hello Mary Lou." Joe looked distinctly nervous as he started to sing again, but you beamed at him as he sang straight to you. The song finished, your guests applauded, and with a wink and a "That's all folks!" the musicians left the stage, taking their instruments with them.

Moments later the three of them appeared in front of you. You promptly threw your arms around them all. "That was amazing! You're so talented, all of you." Ben blushed. "Oh, well, I'm no Roger…" he faltered. "We had excellent teachers” Gwilym added, looking slightly uncomfortable at the praise. "You what?" you asked, surprised. "Brian and Roger taught us Hello Mary Lou" Joe explained. “We already knew ’39 from the movie, just had to refresh our memories a bit.” "Well you all did wonderfully" you mused. "Anyway, 'Hello Mary Lou'?" "I know how much you like it, and it seemed… appropriate for us" Joe shrugged. "I suppose. You really love ’39 though, don't you?" you commented. "Well it always reminds me of us a bit, you know, lovers separated, longing to be together again, it's kind of the story of our relationship, y'know?" Joe explained. "It kind of is" you agreed.

Suddenly Brian and Roger descended on the trio of groomsmen to congratulate them on the performance. You took advantage of their celebration’s rapid turn into an in-depth conversation about drumming between Ben and Roger and embraced Brian. "Thank you for teaching them" you murmured. "That was wonderful." He smiled. "You're very welcome" he said warmly. "You know, it was a bit strange watching them all up there. Joe looks so much like Deaky when he plays, it’s almost alarming." “You should tell Joe that” you commented. “Oh, he knows” Brian replied airily. You were glad, but you thought Joe was extremely talented in his own right too. 

The laughter and dancing seemed to go on forever, but soon enough, the festivities were over and you and Joe were retreating to the bridal bedroom. Even though it was your wedding night both of you were too tired to do much more than undress each other and cuddle. “I love you, wifey” Joe murmured, as you dozed off wrapped in each other’s arms. “I love you, hubs” you murmured back. You weren’t sure you’d ever been happier in your life.

You spent the following week in something of a post-wedding haze. You spent several happy days honeymooning in Rome, enjoying spring sunshine and Italian food. You revelled in the feeling of being married, and in being responsible only for yourselves for a change. It was an odd sensation after so many years of single parenthood. But all too soon the honeymoon was over, and you had to go home to New York. Back to work, school and responsibilities. But also to your new future, which was looking brighter than ever.

May

You returned home still floating in a blissful honeymoon fog. Joe could only stay home for a week before he would be needed in LA again, but you made the most of it by moving house two days after you got back from England. Your wedding gifts had been shipped to the new house ahead of you, bringing with them a few pleasant surprises. In addition to the gifts left by your guests there were a number of cards sent by people who hadn't been able to attend the wedding. You and Joe made sure to read them all together, occasionally asking each other who the senders were. However, there was one card that mystified you both.

One afternoon you wandered into the kitchen to find Joe at the table bent over a stack of cards. "Babe, do you know a John and Veronica?" he asked as you passed him on your way to the pantry. "No, why?" you replied casually. "There's a card here from 'John and Veronica' and I don't know who they are so I figured they must be people you know…" "Maybe I do" you mused. “Show me.” Joe passed the card over, and you started to read. “Joe and Y/N”, it said, ‘Congratulations on your wedding. May your marriage bring you a lifetime of happiness.’ It was signed ‘John and Veronica,’ but you didn’t recognise the handwriting. “Weird,” you murmured, "'John and Veronica' sounds sort of familiar somehow…" Joe looked at you thoughtfully. "It sounds kinda familiar to me too" he said wonderingly. Suddenly he gasped. "John Deacon… John Deacon's wife's called Veronica… you don't think?" Joe babbled frantically. "Could be" you replied evenly. "But how would he have known we were getting married?" "Luke" Joe responded instantly. "Luke Deacon DM'ed me after I did the engagement post on Instagram, just to say congrats, y'know." "Nice bloke" you commented. "Very nice" Joe agreed. "He must've told his dad, I guess. But then how did he-" "Know where to send the card?" you completed. "Sent it to Roger and Brian, probably."

A quick phonecall to Roger confirmed your suspicions, and lead to some interesting revelations. "He knows the real story about you and Loolah now" Roger confessed. "He recognised you in the engagement photo. And her. At least, he knew immediately she was mine" he explained. "I suppose he would" you mused. "And he wanted… he wishes Joe well, he really does. He just wants to stay as far away from the business as possible, you know" Roger added. "I get that now, so much" you laughed. Joe, listening in, looked as though he might cry. He understood exactly what Roger meant, and it made him so very glad to hear it.

All too soon, Joe had to go back to work in LA, again. He was gone for three weeks, until mid-May. By the time he came home a hint of summer was starting to creep into the city air. Annoyingly, though, you were unable to make the most of Joe's eventual return. Lately, you had been so tired all you wanted to do was sleep, even on your days off. You'd been feeling like this for a week by the time Joe came home. The next morning you woke up feeling extremely nauseous. You tried to get up without waking Joe, but the movement made things so much worse you had to jump up and sprint for the toilet. Thank god we have an en-suite now. "Babe?" Joe groaned from the bed. "What's up?" You didn't want to open your mouth to respond. While you were curled over the bowl you heard footsteps. You were suddenly aware of Joe standing behind you. "Oh, honey" he murmured sympathetically, leaning down to rub your back in soothing circles. 

When you finally stopped heaving you looked up to see Joe studying you with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "Are you sick, babe? You seemed fine last night…" "I was" you told him crossly. "Or at least, I wasn't feeling like this. I have been really tired though" you explained, thoughtfully. "Maybe you've caught something from Loolah?" Joe suggested. She was always passing things on from school. "Maybe" you echoed, unsure. "She hasn't been sick lately though." You hauled yourself upright and went to brush your teeth. "I've probably just eaten something dodgy" you assured your husband. "If you say so" he replied, sounding unconvinced. "You don't believe me?" you asked him. Joe stood behind you at the sink while you brushed, looking uncertain. "I do, it's just… well… we were, ah, trying all honeymoon, maybe it worked?" he said, rather suggestively. "I doubt it" you told him, "It’s only the first month. Besides, I'm about to get m-" Wait, what's the date? You were abruptly silenced by a sudden realisation. "What?" he asked frantically. "My period. It's two weeks late. How did I not notice that?" He smiled. "So you think-?" You nodded. "I really could be. I think I'd better go to the pharmacy today..."

Joe had to go to work that day, but by some weird stroke of luck, you had a day off. You ran out to the pharmacy that very morning and bought two tests, rushing home to do them as soon as you could. The results were clear as day. Positive. Both of them. Oh my god, it actually worked. I’m really pregnant. I have to do something cute to tell Joe. You immediately started to develop a plan for your very special announcement. I’m so happy. God, he’s going to be so excited. He’s going to be the best dad too.

Joe arrived home that afternoon to the usual enthusiastic welcome from Tallulah. When you finally managed to persuade Tallulah to let him go, you sent her off to watch cartoons while you took Joe upstairs to freshen up. "So did you get to the drugstore today?" he asked quietly. "I did" you replied, trying to sound casual. "And?" he questioned, as you reached your shared bedroom.  “I, um, I also got you a present today” you told him, pointing at a white box sitting on your shared bed. “Ookay?” Joe looked at you, confused, as he sat down and opened the box. He pulled out the tiniest Yankees shirt you’d been able to find. “This is so cute!” Joe exclaimed. “But why'd y-? Wait." He stared at the shirt intently. Suddenly he looked at you, thunderstruck. "No. Way" he breathed. "Holy shit. The honeymoon worked?" he asked excitedly, breaking into a huge grin. You nodded, wordlessly showing him the tests you'd hidden in the bedside drawer. Joe’s face lit up, as he broke into happy tears. "Oh my god. You’re actually pregnant?” he asked wonderingly. "Yes, Joe, I’m really pregnant” you echoed, tearing up yourself despite your joyful smile. “We're going to have a baby, darling.” “Oh my god. Oh my god. I’m gonna be a dad!” he exclaimed, pulling you in for a bear hug and kissing you deeply through the tears.

“I’m so excited babe, I want to tell everyone” he gushed as he held you. You pulled back to look at him. “Joe, darling, I literally just peed on the sticks this morning, I haven’t even been to the doctor yet. We can’t tell anyone for now, ok?” Joe looked at your serious face and nodded, disappointed. “Ok” he agreed. You paused. “Actually, we’ll need to be careful when we go back down, even Loolah doesn’t know.” “Crap” Joe cursed. “I even have to keep this from your child who lives with us? I know I’m not the expert, but that seems like a bad idea even to me” he said. “It’s only for a few weeks” you reassured him. He sighed. “I know babe, it’s just, I’m so excited, I don’t know if I can keep it in for that long.” “Well you’ll just have to try” you replied quietly. You held each other wordlessly for a moment. “I love you, did I tell you that?” Joe murmured, finally breaking the silence. “Both of you” he added, smiling broadly. “We love you too” you replied dreamily. You didn’t think you’d ever been happier than you were at that moment.

June

By the time you managed to find a doctor and get an appointment a few weeks had passed, and you were already 9 weeks along. In the meantime you had at least managed to get your pregnancy officially confirmed by a blood test at a walk-in clinic. You were still holding off on telling people about it, but it was getting difficult to hide the fact that something was happening to you. You were constantly nauseous, and it was a battle to get through a whole day of work without a spontaneous nap. I swear it wasn’t this bad last time. I suppose I was a lot younger then. This time seems so different though. Joe had managed to keep his promise so far, even with Tallulah, but you weren’t convinced he could go much longer without exploding. In any case, he was very excited about your first appointment. He made sure he was free to go with you on your afternoon off, while Tallulah was at school.

Doctor Baker was a slightly older woman with a calm, pleasant manner and a sterling reputation. You sat quietly in front of her as she checked over your paperwork. “Ok, well, that all looks good. So, just to confirm, is this your first child?” She asked pleasantly. You and Joe looked at each other. “Uh…” he muttered.“It’s my second, but it’s his first” you explained, pointing to him. “Ok, and how old’s your first?” The doctor inquired. “She’s seven” you and Joe replied simultaneously. Doctor Baker smiled kindly. “Well, as it’s been a few years you might find things are a bit different this time around, but that’s totally normal” she told you. “Now, let’s have a look at what’s going on in there.”

You moved over to the bed in her office while she bustled around preparing the ultrasound machine. Joe sat next to you, nervously holding your hand while the doctor put the gel on your stomach and turned the machine on. “Ok, let’s see” the doctor murmured, moving the ultrasound wand around experimentally. “Ah! Here we go” she said suddenly, as the room was filled with the familiar sound of a tiny heart beating. But that doesn’t sound like I remember. “You hear that?” You nodded quietly. “That’s two heartbeats. Two strong heartbeats” the doctor informed you. What?! "There's… what?! Joe cried, his mouth opening in shock. “Two? There’s two of them?” You asked Doctor Baker, equally stunned. “Yes,” she smiled, “two healthy babies. Congratulations.” You and Joe turned to look at each other simultaneously. “Twins!” You both exclaimed. “Oh my god, twins!” Joe gushed, overjoyed. You were both tearing up at the news. “Here, have a look” Doctor Baker said quietly, moving the wand so you could see both babies. “Wow” Joe breathed. “Yeah” you agreed. You made sure to get printouts of a few images from the ultrasound. You wanted to remember this moment forever.

Joe was bursting with excitement when you left the doctor’s office. “Oh my god, babe, we’re having twins!” “I know Joe, I was there” you quipped, exasperated. “I know babe, it’s just, I can’t believe this is actually happening” he explained. “Oh, it’s really happening” you quipped, smiling. Getting home brought another challenge. “Look, I know we’re not telling people yet, but I swear to God if I don’t tell someone soon I’m going to explode” Joe told you later that day. You were still reluctant to tell anybody until you were further along, but you decided to compromise. “We could tell my parents later if you want” you suggested. Joe enthusiastically agreed, so later that afternoon you FaceTimed them while holding one of your ultrasound photos. Your mum gasped when she saw what it was, and you were pretty sure she squealed when you told her you were actually having twins. Your dad was pretty happy too, the semi-argument before your wedding now long forgotten. Joe was very pleased it wasn’t a complete secret any more, and to your immense relief he managed to keep calm once Tallulah got home. You were very excited too, but you knew it was best to wait just a bit longer before telling her. Just a few weeks, and then we can tell everybody.              

July

The arrival of July heralded the beginning of Tallulah's summer holidays. This also meant a visit from Roger, who was taking her to his house in LA for a few weeks, although he was going to enjoy a couple of days with her in New York first. The final day before their departure, which Roger spent showing Tallulah around some of the New York sights, very conveniently coincided with your next visit to Doctor Baker. It was a glorious summer’s day, and you took a minute to enjoy the weather with Joe after your appointment. Both babies had received a clean bill of health, so you were in a buoyant mood as you lounged on a park bench together, basking in the sunshine. “Please tell me we can tell Tallulah now,” Joe pleaded, “keeping this secret is absolutely killing me.” “We’ll tell her tonight” you reassured him. “Oh, wait, Roger’s coming for dinner” you realised, thinking out loud. “So?” Joe responded. “We’re gonna have to tell him at some point, might as well get it over with.” “True” you murmured. “So, we’ll tell them tonight?” he asked. “Yeah.” “And then we can tell the world” Joe added. “And then the world” you echoed, smiling contentedly. It was going to be a good summer.

That night, before dinner, you presented Tallulah with a t-shirt that said ‘World’s Best Big Sister’ on the front. Roger saw it and immediately glanced at you with a knowing smile, but said nothing. Tallulah stared at the shirt in confusion, until suddenly her face lit up when she realised what it meant. “I’m gonna be a big sister?!” She cried, beaming with excitement. You smiled at her obvious joy. “Yes, darling.” “So does that mean… there’s a baby in your tummy, Mummy?” She asked, a little uncertainly. “Actually, Loolah,” Joe cut in, sitting down beside her at the dining table, “there’s two babies in Mommy’s tummy.” “Twins?” Tallulah squealed happily. “Yeah, twins” Joe confirmed, pulling some ultrasound pictures out of his pocket. “Have a look, sweetie.”

Tallulah chattered excitedly all through dinner, clearly delighted at the prospect of two younger siblings. It sounded like she’d had a nice day out with Roger too. Finally dinner was finished, Joe was cleaning up and Roger was putting Tallulah to bed, giving you a rare moment to sink onto the couch and enjoy some peace and quiet. Joe soon returned from the kitchen to sit next to you, holding you close. "You feeling ok?" he asked softly. "Just tired" you reassured him. You cuddled quietly together, chatting lazily about nothing in particular, until Roger reappeared. "Loolah's finally asleep" he told you, settling himself into an armchair next to the couch. "She seems happy, she had lots of questions." "Which you'll have to answer for the next three weeks" you quipped, grinning evilly. "True" Roger commented thoughtfully. "Now, as I haven't said it yet, congratulations, both of you" he added, smiling warmly. "Thanks, man" Joe replied, looking pleased at Roger's obvious joy. "Twins!" Roger mused. "That's… really great, actually. I'm so pleased things have worked out for you two." You and Joe both smiled at that.

“So when are you due?” Roger asked pleasantly. “January” you replied. “Which I guess means I’ll be too pregnant to take Loolah home for Christmas like I was planning.” Joe looked surprised. “You’re already planning Christmas in July?” he asked incredulously. “Not really,” you explained, “I just remembered I’d said to Mum that we’d go back to them this year.” “Well maybe your parents’ll just have to come over here instead” Roger suggested. “Perhaps” you mused. “I could come for New Year’s, have a late Christmas with Loolah” he added, thinking out loud. “That could be fun” Joe commented. You suddenly realised your next New Year’s Eve would be very different to previous celebrations. I’m definitely looking forward to it though.

You and Joe waved Tallulah and Roger off the next morning in an extremely good mood. You were determined to make the most of Tallulah’s holiday in LA, given it was likely to be the last time you were kid-free for quite a while. First on the agenda was a long-awaited band reunion. Unusually, Ben and Gwilym were both going to be working in New York at the same time, so it had been decided that a band dinner simply had to be arranged. You and Joe had decided to make an announcement at this dinner, but your plans went slightly awry when Ben dropped in that afternoon. You didn’t want to tell him early, but he saw you dashing for the bathroom at one point and was immediately concerned. “Are you ok Y/N?” he asked you when you came back. “You look a little pale…” “I’m fine, Ben” you assured him. “What’s up?” Joe asked, wandering over to his friend. “I had to run for the loo again” you explained. “Aw, you’re still sick? I thought it was getting better” Joe sympathised. “You’re sick?” Ben asked. “Um, kind of…” you muttered sheepishly. “Kind of? Guys, what’s going on?” Ben demanded, clearly confused. Joe glanced at you, and you nodded slightly, giving him wordless permission. “It's fine, Ben, it’s just morning sickness” he explained. "Oh. Right" Ben replied automatically. Then he processed Joe's comment properly. “Wait, morning sickness? Does that mean you're-?" He looked expectantly at Joe, who nodded silently. Ben beamed in response "Oh my god, that’s so great! Congratulations!” he gushed, pulling you both into a warm bear hug.

Telling the rest of the band was easy. They knew something was up as soon as you turned down the wine they were sharing. You noticed Ben smirking slightly at their confusion as to why before Joe spoke up. “Yeah, Y/N can’t drink for the next six months… cause I knocked her up.” There were a few giggles, which were followed by a shocked silence as everyone realised Joe was serious. “Yeah, and he did a great job” you added. “I’m having twins.” This revelation triggered an explosion of happy noise around the table. “You sneaky buggers, you didn’t tell me it was twins!” Ben cried, grinning at you regardless. Lucy just squealed with happiness. Dinner was interrupted while everyone stood to embrace you and Joe and murmur their congratulations. Rami looked positively overjoyed for his old friend. "Twins. Wow" he muttered to you. "Yeah, we might need your expert advice some time" you commented. "Oh, of course. Anything you need, just let us know" he assured you.

Later on Gwilym wandered over, beaming at you. “Congratulations love, it’s wonderful news.” “Aw, thank you” you replied, smiling. “They’re not going to play baseball are they?” he asked, half-seriously. “I don’t think they’ll get much choice” you sighed, grinning. “But I’m definitely teaching them cricket too, they’re British after all. I suppose we’ll just have to let them choose when they get older.” Gwilym smiled. “How modern of you.” You grinned wolfishly. “They’re both going to be cricket fans though. No children of mine are allowed to leave me to suffer through a whole Test series alone.” Gwilym laughed at that, and you could feel his happiness for you and Joe. You really were amazed at just how happy everyone was for you.

August

August should have been blissful. Tallulah was back from LA and Joe had arranged his schedule so he'd be working in New York until she went back to school. Even then, he didn't have much on, just a bit of press for his new movie and a few meetings. You were planning to enjoy some time as a family of three, a relaxed interlude before school returned and your family grew. But you spent only a week back together before getting a sharp reminder of some of the less-welcome aspects of life as an actor's wife.

It was Sunday morning, which meant Tallulah was watching cartoons while you and Joe unwound in the kitchen with cups of tea. The peace was suddenly shattered by the jangle of Joe’s phone. Joe glanced at the screen and then at you. “Text from Lucy” he told you. “Apparently we’re on TMZ again.” You’d been attracting a bit of paparazzi attention since appearing at the premiere of Joe’s new movie a few weeks ago, and you were starting to wonder whether they suspected something. “What are they saying?” you asked casually. “I don’t know, I haven’t found it yet” Joe grumbled, scrolling rapidly on the ipad resting on the kitchen bench. “Here we go.” He turned the screen around so you could read it.

At the top was the headline ‘Bo Rhap baby on board?’ over a picture of you and Joe walking down the street, in which your bump was clearly visible under your sundress. “Bloody hell, I knew that dress wasn’t covering anything” you cursed. “Does it matter? Everybody knows anyway” Joe pointed out. “Instagram doesn’t.” “I forgot about that” Joe commented. “Maybe it’s time they did?” he suggested. You had been hoping to hold off on a public announcement a little bit longer, but now it seemed like you didn’t have much choice. “I think it is” you agreed. You spent a lot of that Sunday planning out the perfect announcement, and you found yourself surprisingly excited at the prospect of sharing your news with the world.

The next day you had a doctor’s appointment, and you made a point of getting printouts of your latest ultrasound. You all got a clean bill of health too. When you got home Joe took some very nice pictures of you holding the printouts against your now very obvious bump, as well as some of you just cradling the bump. In the end he picked one of the latter shots to post, along with a close-up of the ultrasound photos against your stomach. Underneath them he wrote: ‘Just when I thought this year couldn’t get any bigger, this happened. Our little trio will be a family of five in January. Yep, double trouble is coming for the Mazzello-Y/L/N household next year (swipe for visual evidence). I almost can’t believe how much I love our little aliens already.’ You couldn’t help smiling when you saw the post. “Good?” Joe asked. “Very” you confirmed. “You’re so cute sometimes, you’re such a softie.”

Joe’s post was instantly deluged with happy comments from all and sundry. Even Brian left a nice message: ‘So pleased for you both. These kids will have wonderful parents, and be loved by so many others too. All the best for January! Bri’. “He’s so lovely” Joe commented. “He is” you agreed. “He’s right though.” “What, that everyone’s going to love our kids?” Joe joked. You smiled. “No, silly, the other thing.” This statement seemed to surprise your husband. “You really think I’m going to be a good dad?” “Joe, you already are” you said softly. Joe was confused. “Huh?” “You’re absolutely Tallulah’s parent at this point” you explained. “Not biologically of course, but that’s not what makes a good parent anyway.” “You think I’m a good parent?” Joe questioned, blown away by your statement. “Of course darling, do you think I would have moved across the pond for you if I didn’t?” You were joking, but only partly. Joe smiled anyway.

Joe ended up needing to fly to LA in the last week of Tallulah’s summer holidays. He was extremely put out that all his careful planning had still lead to him being away over the summer, but you assured him you could survive the last few days before school on your own. Tallulah spent two of them on a sleepover, and you took the last Friday off so you could have a long weekend with her as an end-of-summer treat. You spent most of the day doing back-to-school shopping, even though you wanted nothing more than to lounge on the couch all day. You were able to do that on Saturday, while Joe was helping Tallulah pick out her first day of school outfit via FaceTime. Joe insisted on taking on that particular parent duty, even while he was on the other side of the country. “You wouldn’t understand the importance of this,” he told you. “You always wore a uniform.” You just shrugged; you didn’t have the energy to argue. You weren’t that bothered, truth be told. You were glad to see Joe making the effort to spend some one-on-one time with Tallulah while he still could, even if it was over FaceTime. Oddly, watching them made you miss Joe more, but you knew he’d be home soon enough.

September

Joe had to stay in LA until mid-September. He was quite disappointed about missing Tallulah’s first day back at school, though she didn’t seem to mind much. She was too busy reuniting with all her friends and getting to know her new class. You were glad she was happy to be back at school, and there were a few parents you were pleased to see again too. Many of them had already heard about your impending new arrivals, and those that hadn’t were made aware by your now very obvious bump. In any case they all seemed quite happy for you, which made for a very positive first day of school on all fronts.

You went to a doctor’s appointment by yourself while Joe was away. You didn’t mind particularly, but it felt a bit odd given he’d been so involved up to that point. Doctor Baker seemed surprised to see you alone. “No Joe?” she asked casually. “He’s away” you explained. “Working in LA.” The doctor nodded in understanding. “Of course.” There was a pause while you prepared yourself for the examination. “When you’re ready we’re going to do an ultrasound” Doctor Baker explained. “We should be able to find out the genders today, if you want.” I totally forgot I was getting to that point. Do I want to know though? You hesitated to respond. Wait, does Joe want to know? He should be here when we find out. If we find out. “I think I’d prefer not to know for now” you finally told her. “We can always find out later if we decide we want to know, right?” The doctor nodded. “Absolutely. You’ll have plenty more ultrasounds after this one.” Something to look forward to, then.

Joe was pleased when you told him you hadn’t found out yet. “I definitely want to be there when we find out what we’re having” he told you, when you were FaceTiming that night. “So you want to know, then?” “Yeah” he confirmed. “Don’t you?” You shrugged. “I’m not fussed. I never found out with Loolah, and-” “You weren’t desperate to know?” Joe was shocked. “I didn’t really care what I had, it made no difference to me” you explained. “Plus I didn’t want to freak Roger out, finding out before the birth wasn’t an option in his day.” Joe grinned. “Well it is now, and I don’t want to wait four more months to find out.” You smiled contentedly. “We’ll find out when you get back then.”

Finally the day of Joe’s temporary homecoming arrived. He would have to leave again in only a fortnight, but you were very glad to be getting him back in the meantime. Joe's eyes bugged out when he saw how much you'd grown since he'd been away. "Has it really only been three weeks?!" "Growth spurt" you shrugged. "Or maybe you just didn’t notice how big I was when you left. Anyway, welcome home." You smiled, leaning in for a quick, chaste kiss before Tallulah came barrelling down the hallway to greet Joe. You decided to leave them to it, and shuffled off back to the couch. You could hear Joe clumping around for a while, chatting with Tallulah and putting his things away. Suddenly it went quiet, and then you saw your husband flop down next to you. "Hi honey. I missed you" he told you, leaning over and giving you a deep, hungry kiss. "I missed you too" you murmured, as you broke apart. Joe put his hands on your bump, leaning down to kiss it. "And I missed- what was that?" he asked frantically, eyes wide with shock at what he'd just felt. "I think that was a kick" you told him, smiling. "Keep talking." "What?" Joe asked, confused. "They seem to like your voice" you explained. "Oh. Ok. Well, um, this job kinda sucks and I don't like the director at all. I mean-" Joe stopped abruptly, staring at you with a mixture of joy and shock. "They both kicked" he murmured, looking slightly teary. "Suddenly this all feels a lot more real." "Oh it's plenty real, darling" you told him, smiling broadly. “Yeah but… they’re really real. I have actual living kids in there” Joe marvelled. “I’m actually going to be a dad.” He was practically crying at that. “It’s going to be great Joe. You’re going to be great” you assured him.

Joe’s hands barely left your bump for days. He was determined not to miss anything while he was home, no matter how small. He was particularly excited about attending your next appointment now that you were going to find out the genders of your babies. Your twins weren’t identical, so both babies would need to be checked. You and Joe were both rather antsy as the ultrasound got underway. “Ok, we’re almost there” Doctor Baker told you, smiling at your obvious excitement. She peered at the screen for a minute. “So this one is Baby A, and it’s a boy.” You turned to Joe. “A boy!” he beamed, slightly glossy eyed. Your moment was broken by Doctor Baker clearing her throat. You turned your attention back to her. “I’ve found Baby B now, and it looks like…” You felt a flutter in your belly as you saw the baby turn away from you on the screen. “Well they’re not cooperating now,” the doctor went on, “but from what I saw before it looked like a boy too.” You and Joe were quiet as you digested the news. Two boys. Bloody hell. Your reverie was broken by Doctor Baker’s voice. “I feel I should warn you, with the ultrasound we can’t guarantee what we tell you is right, but I’m pretty confident about Baby A being a boy.” “You’re not confident about Baby B?” Joe asked her. “Not entirely, I didn’t get a very good look before they decided to hide.” “It’s fine” you assured her, wanting to get on with the appointment before Joe got worked up. Whatever happened, you’d deal with it when the time came.    

October

Joe spent quite a lot of October flying back and forth between work in LA and your home in New York. His shooting schedule turned out to involve a lot of three day breaks, just long enough for a quick visit home. You would have quite liked to spend most of them relaxing together, but Joe was determined to do as much baby preparation as possible while he was home, to save you the effort. He was thrilled to be having twin boys, and had dived into nursery set-up with gusto. He was determined to get the big things like the cribs sorted out nice and early, just in case. “You’re having twins, they’re likely to come early” he reminded you after you told him for the umpteenth time to relax. “They’re not due for months, Joe. Besides, the doctor said everything’s on track for January.” Your husband wouldn’t be persuaded. “Things can change very quickly. You never know when something might happen.” You stopped arguing the point when you realised he was never going to change his mind, and eventually Joe admitted he was doing it because he felt guilty about leaving you alone at home so much.

You weren’t actually alone very often though. There was Tallulah, of course, and plenty of your friends and family were dropping in regularly to check up on you (you suspected Joe might have told them how he worried about you). Joe’s mother was a frequent visitor, spurred by the desire to both help you and reassure her son. One afternoon you were sat with her drinking tea, not long after Joe had FaceTimed you. “So how was the daddy-to-be?” she asked. You smiled. “Same as usual. Annoyed he’s not here, missing us desperately.” Joe’s mother smiled affectionately. “Didn’t want to talk about work then.” “He never does” you told her. Suddenly Tallulah trotted up to the couch. “Did you say Daddy?” she asked eagerly. “We were talking about Joe, darling” you explained. Tallulah was confused. “But he’s not Daddy.” “He’s not” you agreed. “But he’s their daddy.” You patted your swollen belly, indicated Tallulah’s unborn siblings. “Oh.” Tallulah looked thoughtful; you wondered whether she understood. “Does that mean I have to call Joe Daddy when the babies come?” she finally asked. You smiled reassuringly. “Not if you don’t want to. But other people might” you explained. “Oh. Ok.” Tallulah looked unhappy at this development. “Could I make a suggestion?” Joe’s mum asked gently. “Loolah, do you remember how I told you Joe’s half-Italian?” Tallulah nodded. “Well the Italian word for daddy is ‘papa’. Maybe you could call him that instead?” “Papa…” Tallulah pronounced the word experimentally, testing how it sounded. Suddenly she smiled. “I like it!” She wasn’t the only one. Joe beamed when he heard her greet him with a happy “Hi Papa!” on FaceTime. We’re really a family now, aren’t we.

November

Joe had hoped his work schedule would continue to allow him frequent trips to see you, but it was not to be. He had one break before Thanksgiving, for a single day, which he spent alone in LA, desperately wishing he was home. As the weeks rolled on he was increasingly worried about how you were managing on your own. “I’m not on my own, Joe” you assured him down the phone. “Your mum visits twice a week, and Lucy texts me five times a day to check on me.” Lucy was coming to New York to spend Thanksgiving with Rami, and you were already making extensive plans to get together while she was in town. “I know she is, Rami told me” Joe grumbled. “I’m just worried that you’ll be alone with Tallulah and something’ll happen and I won’t be there to help.” His concern for you was evident in the tone of his voice. “Tallulah’s seven, babe, she’s perfectly capable of calling someone if we need help” you pointed out. “I suppose…” Joe sighed. “But what if they come early and I’m not there?” “You’re going to be back a month before they’re due, and even the doctor thinks they’re unlikely to come before Christmas.” Or so you thought.

Joe finally came home for Thanksgiving weekend, and the day after the holiday you had yet another appointment with Doctor Baker. Carrying twins meant you needed frequent checkups to make sure things continued to progress smoothly. This time you got some unexpected, and not entirely welcome, news. “So are you all ready for these guys to arrive?” the doctor asked pleasantly, while you were tidying yourself up after your examination. “Uh, kind of” you and Joe both stuttered. Doctor Baker looked slightly worried. “Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but I think you should be aware that realistically you could go into labour really any time from now on.” You were both shocked. “But isn’t it still too early?” you asked, suddenly scared. “I mean. I’m not due for another seven weeks.” Doctor Baker hurried to reassure you. “That’s true, and at this point it’s early enough that our first move would be to try and stop the labour, but that doesn’t always work.” You and Joe looked at each other with concern, not particularly reassured. “Look, I don’t think you’re going to go into labour tomorrow, and even if you did I would expect your babies to be absolutely fine” the doctor told you calmly. “But I would be prepared for them to arrive some time before Christmas.” “But that’s still three weeks early at least!” you spluttered. “Three weeks early is nearly full term” Doctor Baker said calmly. “And twins are very often born early. Not always, but it’s very common. In any case, I’m only telling you this because I think it would be a good idea if you started to make a plan now for what you want to happen when your babies do come. Just in case, you know. It never hurts to be prepared.” “Of course Doctor. Thanks for the advice” Joe replied, sounding calmer than he looked as you left the doctor’s office.

On your drive home Joe let the façade drop. “They can’t come yet, I’m about to be away for two weeks” he said, seemingly on the verge of panic. “And it’s still so early, what if one of them’s sick?” “They won’t be, Joe, we’re in good hands” you told him, not entirely believing it yourself. “Anyway, we definitely need to make a plan. I don’t want them to come while you’re not here either, but I’d much rather be at least somewhat prepared if they do.” “You’re right” Joe sighed. “When we get home we’ll work something out.”

In the end the plan you came up with mostly involved going to the hospital and ringing Joe as soon as possible so he could get on the next plane home. “What if I don’t get there in time though?” He fretted. “I’ll make sure to record it for you” you reassured him. “But they’re my first kids, I want to be there. I’m supposed to go through it with you!” You wrapped your arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. “I know, darling, I want you with me too. But sometimes life doesn’t give you what you want, and that’s ok.” Joe shook his head. “No it’s not. I don’t want to be that dad who wasn’t even there when his kids were born.” “You could never be that dad, Joe” you reassured him, pulling him close. “If you do end up missing it, it won’t be your fault at all.” Your husband suddenly peered intently at you. “How are you so calm about this?” “Last time I had a baby I had absolutely no way of knowing if the father would be there, and neither did he” you pointed out. “As much as he wanted to be there, neither of us had any control over it. This time we do, and I know you’ll move heaven and earth to get here in time if it comes down to it.” Joe still wasn’t entirely soothed, but he at least had faith you would be alright, whatever happened.

The knowledge that the babies could come at any time made Joe more worried than ever about leaving you alone while he was on the other side of the country. Fortunately, your wonderful friends were more than happy to step in when they were informed of the situation. Lucy was staying in New York until New Year’s, so she organised to visit you every day she could while Joe was away, and she promised to send Rami on the days she couldn’t. She even volunteered to be your hospital buddy if necessary. Ben also happily offered support, though of a slightly different kind.

“Uh, babe, would you be okay with a houseguest while I’m away?” Joe asked you at dinner, the night before he was due to fly back to LA. “Depends who it is” you said casually. “Why?” “Ben’s in town for press next week, and we thought maybe he could stay here, help you with Loolah til I get back.” That would be helpful. “How long’s he here for?” you inquired. “Two weeks, we’re gonna hang out for a couple days when he’s done working” Joe explained. “When’s he get here?” “Monday week” Joe told you. I’d only have to spend a week alone while Joe’s not here. You smiled. “Okay then.” Relief swept over Joe’s face. “Oh good. I feel a lot better about leaving you now I know you won’t be alone” he told you. “In the meantime I’m telling them they’re to stay put until you’re home again” you said firmly.        

December

True to her word, Lucy had visited you nearly every day after Joe returned to LA. The first day after Joe left turned out to be the one day she wasn’t free, so Rami dropped in to check on you instead. He insisted it was no trouble, despite his busy schedule. “I had a day off today, I wasn’t busy” he told you, after you thanked him for making time to see you. “Anyway, I’m always here for you and Joe. Me and Lucy. If you need anything, honestly, just call us, anytime. Even the middle of the night, we won’t mind. Seriously, we’re here to help however we can.” “Thanks, Rami” you murmured, hearing the sincerity in his words.

The first week without Joe passed surprisingly quickly, and before you knew it the day of Ben’s arrival was upon you. You were looking forward to having some adult company, but you were slightly nervous too. You’d never spent any substantial time alone with Ben, and now he was going to be sharing your house for a fortnight. Tallulah, on the other hand, was extremely excited about one of her favourite people coming to stay. So excited, in fact, that she tried to stay home from school to be there when he arrived. You eventually won the battle, but the whole process of getting her to school tired you out so much that you spent a lot of the morning napping on your couch. You awoke to the telltale sound of a car in the driveway, and waddled as fast as you could to the front door, opening it just in time to see a cab disgorge Ben, a large suitcase and two other bags.

Ben smiled when he saw you in the doorway. “Y/N!” he called out happily. “Don’t come out, I can sort myself. Go and sit down, I won’t be long.” You made agreeing noises, realising you wouldn’t be much help with anything in your present state. Besides, you were officially banned from heavy lifting, you wouldn’t even be able to help carry something. Several minutes of shuffling and yelling directions up and down your stairs later, Ben was settled into your guest room. When he came downstairs again he was smiling warmly. “It really is good to see you again, love.” “You too” you agreed. Ben’s eyes went wide when he finally got a good look at you, and your enormous bump. “God, you’re…” He trailed off, looking apologetic. “Go on, say it. It’s fine” you assured him. “Well then, you’re kind of huge. Joe’s told me about the bump, hell he’s even shown me pictures, but seeing the real thing… how do you even get that big and not, like, break?” “With great difficulty” you quipped. You weren’t offended by Ben’s honest reaction, you knew he was just a bit shocked.

Five minutes later you were sat on the couch nursing a cup of tea while Ben made himself a coffee. You were quite grateful to be sitting down as the monsters were suddenly restless. “I’m done here, do you want anything else?” Ben called from the kitchen. “I’m good” you called back. Ben returned to the couch to see you holding your tea rather gingerly while looking uncomfortable. “Are you alr- … what is that?” His eyes widened when he glanced at your bump and realised it was moving. You smiled reassuringly. “They’re just kicking. D’you wanna feel?” Ben grinned eagerly. “Yeah! If that’s ok with you?” “Of course it is. C’mere.” He’s so lovely. Half the planet doesn’t even bother asking before touching the bump. You placed his hand over the spot the babies were kicking at. His jaw dropped at the feeling. “That’s so weird! It must be weirder for you though, feeling that from inside.” You grinned. “It is a bit, but it’s sort of reassuring too, getting to feel that they’re still there, still ok.” Ben smiled. “Well it seems pretty cool to me.” You grinned back. “Oh, it’s very cool.” 

Tallulah was very excited to come home and find Ben waiting for her. “Benny!” She yelled, running over to embrace him. “Loolah!” He cried back. “You’ve grown so much since I saw you, you’re getting so big!” He gushed. “I heard you’re going to be a big sister soon too.” She nodded seriously. “Mommy’s having two babies. That’s why she’s so big.” Ben smiled. “I heard. Now come into the lounge room, I’ve got a present for you.” He smiled at you on the way past. “I’ve got a present for Mummy too.”

Ben had brought your daughter a kid’s cricket set, complete with plastic wickets. “She’s English, she shouldn’t be playing bloody softball” he quipped. “Also Gwilym may have told me I have to save her before she goes native.” You just laughed. For you, Ben had brought over a big jar of marmite and two large packs of Jaffa Cakes. “Joe told me you’d been craving them” he explained. You were surprised. “Joe talks to you guys about pregnancy stuff?” Ben smiled exasperatedly. “Mate, he hardly shuts up about it.” You smiled affectionately. “Not that it’s not cute how excited he is,” Ben said hurriedly, “but he’s barely talked about anything else for months.” Okay, I can see how that could get annoying. Still adorable though. 

Ben slotted surprisingly easily into the routines of your household. He was out working or socialising at various times of the day or night, but when he was home he was an excellent guest. He took Tallulah to and from school as often as possible, knowing leaving the house was fast becoming a big effort for you. He also insisted on doing as much housework as he could, helping you with washing, cooking and cleaning whenever he had time. “Joe’d have my head if he thought I’d left you to do everything in your condition” Ben joked one day, after you’d told him for the umpteenth time you were fine to do light chores. You didn’t particularly mind, if you were really honest, you actually quite liked having an extra adult around.

Joe finally came home in the second week of December. You shared a very long hug in the doorway when he finally made it home. He nearly cried with relief when he saw you. Of course he’d already known that you were ok before he left LA, but he’d spent two weeks worrying about what ifs, not to mention the several interminable hours he spent unable to talk to you on the plane. “If we ever have another I’m staying home the whole time, I never want to deal with that much worry again” he declared later. That night Ben had dinner at home with the three of you. Joe had wanted to go out, but he took one look at your expression when he suggested it and immediately changed his mind. During the meal he took a picture with Ben, which he posted to Instagram with the caption ‘Finally reunited.’ Naturally, his comments exploded in minutes, but he was too focused on catching up with both of you to care. 

You were so looking forward to spending a few days just relaxing with Joe now that he was finally home. But apparently your children had other plans. The very next morning you lurched awake at 5am with a sharp pain in your belly. You didn't think much of it initially, you'd been having all sorts of pains on and off for weeks. Then you realised you were lying in a wet patch. Well shit. "Joe." You tried to shake your husband awake gently. "Joe, wake up." "What?" he groaned, still mostly asleep. "I think my waters broke" you said urgently. He lurched upright. "It's go time? Even though it’s still five weeks early?" he asked, suddenly awake. "Looks like it" you said dryly. Joe leapt out of bed, looking frantic. "Shit. Ok. We need to get the bag, and get dressed, and-" "Joe, calm down. There's no need to rush, we've got plenty of time" you reassured your frantic husband. He immediately stopped babbling. "Well, you're the expert." You smiled. "Help me get dressed?" you requested. "Of course babe." Joe's eyes were soft and loving as he spoke. It took only a few minutes for you both to be ready to leave the house. But you had a couple more things to attend to before you could head to the hospital.

First Joe helped you across the landing to the guest bedroom currently occupied by Ben. He entered quietly with you waddling behind him. "Ben" he whispered urgently, nudging his friend, "Ben, come on." It didn't work, so Joe reached across to hit him gently with a spare pillow. "Ben!" Ben rolled over, groaning, only to snap awake at the sight of the two of you leaning over his bed. "What, what's going on?" he asked, concerned. "The babies are coming" Joe explained. "We have to go to the hospital." "Perfect timing" Ben quipped. "Yeah, if this had happened this time yesterday you’d have been driving me" you joked. "Look, I’m pretty glad this guys held off until now" Joe cut in. "But anyway, I know you're here for work but can you do us a huge favour and watch Tallulah today?" he added, pleading a little with his eyes. Ben smiled. "Of course I can. I think I'm actually free today anyway" the blond man told you both. "Great!" you smiled. "Now brace yourself, she's probably going to come and jump on you after we wake her." "So make sure you're decent under there" Joe added, as he helped you out of the room. Ben just groaned. It was too early in the day for humour. 

You had one more stop before leaving. Tallulah's room. "Loolie?" you said quietly, reaching over from the chair next to her bed. "Mommy?" she replied in surprise, peering at you sleepily. "It's ok darling, I just wanted to tell you the babies are coming today" you reassured her. "Today?" Tallulah echoed. "Yes, darling. Joe's taking me to the hospital in a minute" you told her gently. "Ben's going to stay and look after you, so be good for him, okay?" you instructed. "Yes Mommy" she murmured back. "Ok, big sister, I'll see you later" you said happily, leaning over to hug your daughter. "I love you" you whispered into her wavy blonde hair. "Love you Mommy" she whispered back. You felt oddly emotional as you kissed her goodbye and left the room. Next time I see her she'll be a big sister.  

You managed to stay calm while Joe helped you into the car. But almost as soon as you started moving you burst into tears. "You ok?" Joe asked casually. Your weird moods were nothing exceptional any more. "Mostly" you told him. "It's just hit me as we were leaving that Tallulah's not going to be my only child after today" you explained. "That's a good thing, though, isn't it?" he replied, concerned. "Of course it is" you assured him. "It's just that, it was just me and her for so long, and even after you came along we were so close, and now it's not going to be like that any more" you explained, rather sadly. "Babe, you're not going to lose your bond with Loolah just because you've got other kids to raise" Joe reassured you. "I mean, it's going to be different now, but a good different, right?" "Yeah, good different" you agreed. "Plus, she's so pumped to be a big sister, it's gonna be so cute" he told you, smiling. 

It was fairly quick, in the end. You had wondered whether Doctor Baker would attempt to stop the labour, but she told you the best option at this point was to let it happen. “You’re far enough along that your babies are more or less fully developed, even though they’re not quite full term” she assured you. “They’re very healthy, they’ll be perfectly fine.” She also gave you an injection soon after you arrived at the hospital to help the babies’ lungs develop. I don’t think it’ll have much time to work, but I suppose even a little bit helps.

Joe stayed at your side for almost the entire labour, holding your hand, rubbing your back and doing anything and everything you needed him to. Finally, just before noon, the first baby arrived. "Here he is!" Doctor Baker called out, as his piercing cries filled the room. You were flooded with relief when you heard it. His lungs must be ok then. Joe sniffled as he cut the cord, and then there was a sudden flurry of activity on the other side of the room as various people descended to check the baby over, concerned about the potential consequences of his early birth. The doctor had told you earlier that a team from the NICU would be present to check both babies immediately after delivery, but you couldn’t help worrying at the sight of the crowd around your tiny son. He was only five weeks early, but what if something was wrong? Fortunately, nobody in the room seemed overly concerned so far.

Moments later, calm descended, and a nurse came over to you, carrying your son in a loose blanket. "He’s a bit small, but he’s totally healthy” she told you, smiling. “You want to help keep him warm while we wait for the other baby?" she asked. You shook your head. "Dad gets first go" you told her, smiling. Joe was wide-eyed with wonder as she placed his baby on his exposed chest for skin-to-skin bonding, showing him how to support his son's body correctly. "Hey buddy" he murmured, in a sing-song voice. His overjoyed face when he looked over to you, barely holding back happy tears, was a memory you would treasure forever. "We have a son babe" he marvelled. "I have a son."

You smiled, then suddenly groaned. "I think we're about to have another o-aaargghhh!" "Alright Y/N, time to push again" Doctor Baker said brightly. Well duh. You could have slapped her if she'd been in reach. But then you looked back at Joe, happily cradling your son on his chest, while trying to hold your hand at the same time and looking desperately conflicted, and you suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of calm wash over you. It was strangely grounding as you gathered your remaining strength. Doctor Baker started gently talking you through the process, but your energy was rapidly running out. "Almost there Y/N, one more push now" she instructed you. "I can't do it any more," you cried, "I'm too tired." "You're so close now, just one more push" the doctor encouraged. "I can't" you cried again, shaking your head. Suddenly Joe squeezed your hand. "Babe, look at me" he said, voice low and soft. You turned to see him wearing an expression that was somehow adoring and determined at the same time. "I know you're tired, but you're so so close to the finish line. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, I know you can do this" he told you encouragingly. "Ok" you replied in a small voice. Joe smiled at you adoringly. "Now let's go. I'm right here with you." You gripped his hand tightly as you summoned one final effort. Moments later crying rang out through the room once again.

"Well done Y/N, you did it… oh, and it's a girl!" Doctor Baker announced. "What?!" you and Joe yelled simultaneously. "You said they were boys!" he spluttered, utterly shocked as he leant over to cut the cord again. You were rapidly becoming too exhausted to care much. The doctor was unfazed. "Well, I was wrong" she responded calmly. "Ultrasounds can be tricky to read sometimes, especially with twins. But I made a mistake, and I'm sorry about that." "It's ok" you replied. Joe still looked indignant, but at that moment a nurse came and placed your tiny daughter on your chest. His expression softened immediately, and he quickly broke into happy tears. "One of each" he sniffled, gazing between his newborn children. "We've got one of each now." You just smiled contentedly. "Yeah we do." Joe leaned over to kiss you gently. “You’re amazing honey, you really are. I love you so much.” You smiled contentedly at him “I love you too dear.”

You could have stayed there forever, you thought, just gazing at the two little beings you’d created. They would need to go to NICU soon, but they were breathing well and doing everything they were supposed to, so you were given some time to bond first. You spent the first half hour enjoying first cuddles and skin-to-skin time. You were actually encouraged to go skin-to-skin as much as possible to help the babies regulate their body temperatures. You were hardly complaining though. Joe eventually got out his phone to take some photos of you and the twins. You were very pleased you managed to capture some of him too, especially the heartwarming expression on his face when he did skin-to-skin with both babies at once for the first time. Soon after he took a similar picture of you, which he promptly sent to Ben to announce the birth. “Couldn’t resist, sorry. You just look so happy.” “So do you” you told Joe, grinning. He smiled. “I feel ridiculously happy right now.” Thirty seconds later Joe’s phone buzzed. “Ben says congratulations” he told you. “Oh, and he’s told Tallulah. He wants to know if he can bring her in to meet them yet.” Joe looked at you with concern. “Should we let him? Will they be ok?” he asked nervously. “Joe, they’re basically fine” you reassured him. “I’m sure the doctor would have told us if visitors weren’t allowed.” You smiled. “Tell him to head in. It’ll be nicer for Loolie to see them now anyway, before they go in the incubators.” Three minutes later Ben texted again saying they were on their way, and you and Joe spent a few minutes making yourselves presentable before settling in to wait.

Suddenly a pair of blond heads poked through the door. "Are you ready for a visitor?" Ben asked, smiling gently. "Definitely" Joe smiled. Ben stepped aside to reveal Tallulah, who rushed into the room with a happy cry. Joe stopped her just inside the door. "We need to be quiet and gentle, okay? The babies are delicate, we don't want to hurt them by accident" he explained. "Ok" Tallulah nodded gravely. Joe led her to your bed, where the babies were resting against your chest. "Hello Mommy" she said quietly. "Hi Loolie" you replied. "You're a big sister darling!" you told her happily. "Come and sit next to me so you can see them." "Ok" Tallulah beamed. There was a bit of awkward shuffling while Joe arranged a chair for her. During this interlude you glanced up to see Ben lurking at the door to your room. "You're allowed to come in, you know" you commented. "Oh, I don't want to intrude…" he muttered, slightly embarrassed. "You could never" Joe reassured his friend. Ben smiled at that. "Well, if you're sure…" "Yes" you and Joe insisted simultaneously. "Come on, I'll grab you a seat" Joe added, trotting off immediately.

You turned your attention back to Tallulah, now sat near your head. "Darling, this is your brother Joey" you told her, pointing to the baby on the right. "And this" you added, indicating the other baby, "is your sister. She doesn't have a name yet." Tallulah's face lit up at this news. "I have a brother and a sister? Cool!" You had to smile at how pleased she was. "Wait, she's a girl? I thought they were both boys" Ben chimed in, from his spot facing Tallulah's chair. "Yeah, so did we" Joe quipped. "It was a nice surprise though" he added, voice softening enormously. You smiled quietly to yourself for a brief moment, before Tallulah's voice broke through your reverie. "Can I hold them Mommy?" "Of course" you smiled. "Who do you want to hold first?" 

You had expected Tallulah might be extra pleased to have a sister, but she was equally entranced by both babies, evidently thrilled just to have siblings of her own. She seemed very comfortable holding them too, despite Joe’s nervous hovering and many reminders to “be gentle, they’re delicate.” Clearly she was a natural big sister. Ben, too, looked like a natural with a newborn in his arms, even if he was a little freaked out by just how small your babies were. "He's so little" he cooed, after being handed Joey by Tallulah, who was now gently cuddling her new sister. "Seriously, I don't think I've seen a baby this tiny before, and I've definitely never held one." "You're not nervous are you?" you asked half-seriously. "Little bit" Ben admitted. "I'm worried I'll accidentally hurt him cos he seems so fragile." Joe smiled reassuringly. "You're doing great, man" he told his friend. "They actually are kinda small though, even for newborns. But you’ll be fine, don’t worry about it." You thought both babies did look particularly tiny against Ben's muscly frame, but you said nothing. Joe, though, snapped a very sweet picture of Ben holding your daughter on his phone. “I have to preserve this image for posterity” he told you. Ben took some pictures too, after he handed the babies back to you and Joe. Your favourite was the shot he got of your whole family, gazing adoringly at its newest members. "You look so happy, guys" he commented, showing you the picture afterwards. You and Joe smiled contentedly at him. "We are" you replied. And you were.

You were well enough to be released after three nights in hospital. The twins, however, were required to stay in NICU for a few more days. “It’s mainly for observation” their doctor told you. “They’re doing very well, we just want to be sure there’s no issues before we let them go home.” You were reassured there were no concerns about your babies’ health, but it didn’t make it any easier to be forcibly separated from them, even if it was only when you went home at night.

The many hours spent watching over the twins in NICU proved somewhat useful, as you and Joe were now faced with the unexpected dilemma of choosing a name for your newborn daughter. You’d agreed long ago that your first son would be officially named after Joe, though you’d decided to nickname him Joey to avoid confusion. But discussions about girls’ names hadn’t gone very far before you’d been given the impression you were having twin boys. Since that impression had turned out to be incorrect, you were now facing an uphill battle to agree on a name for your little girl.

"Madison?" Joe suggested. "No. Too American" you responded instantly. “You do realise she is American?” Joe pointed out. You didn’t particularly care. “Only half. Anyway I don’t like the name. Any other ideas?” "Fine” Joe huffed. “Uh, Amy?” You considered it for a moment. “Amy Mazzello. Mhmm, maybe.” “Maybe?” Joe spluttered. “Well what’ve you got then?” “Matilda?” You offered. “I don’t like it” Joe replied. “Way too English. And, Matilda Mazzello?” “Yeah, that doesn’t sound great” you conceded. “Ooh I know! Poet” Joe suggested. You didn’t like it. “God no. We’re not Hollywood hippies, Joe” “You totally are a hippy” he snorted. You quirked your eyebrows. “What makes you say that?” “Uh, you called your first kid Tallulah Rainbow?” he pointed out. “Tallulah is a perfectly respectable name!” You protested. “Besides, the Rainbow part came from her father, not me.” “That… kind of makes sense” Joe conceded. “Still a bit hippy though.” “It’s really not” you grumbled, explaining the significance of the Rainbow Theatre in Tallulah’s life story. “Actually, that’s quite sweet” Joe admitted. Nevertheless, you and Joe were still struggling to find any names you both liked.

In the end, the solution arrived from a rather unexpected source: miss Tallulah Rainbow herself. “Amber” she suggested, when you asked if she had any name ideas to offer her sister. “Amber…” you and Joe considered. “Amber Mazzello…” “I like that” Joe told you. “So do I” you agreed. Joe feigned shock. “We both like it? I don’t believe it!” “Oh shut up” you grumped. “Anyway, do we want to try and find a middle name we can agree on, or just give her one name and be done with it?” “Actually, I was hoping we could slot in a Queen reference somewhere” Joe admitted. “I was thinking maybe her middle name could be Mercury?” “That’s such a cool name” Ben interjected. “It is” you agreed. “So, Amber Mercury Mazzello?” Joe suggested, carefully sounding out the full name for the first time. “Amber Mercury Mazzello” you repeated. “I love it.” 

You felt bad for messing up Ben's plans, but you could also see that having him around was an utter godsend while the twins were still in hospital. Despite supposedly being in town for work, he spent a lot of that week looking after Tallulah and generally being helpful around the house. This had the dual benefit of freeing you and Joe to spend most of your time with the twins, and ensuring Tallulah didn’t feel too left out in all the chaos. Ben did end up having to cancel a couple of interviews, but he didn’t mind too much. “They were group interviews, the rest of the cast still went, it’s fine” he assured you over dinner one night. "Besides, one of them was with Screenstuff, so I’m quite happy to have missed that." “With Marcie?” Joe asked, in a very sympathetic tone. “Yep” Ben replied. “Uhh, Screenstuff?” You asked. “Entertainment website. Marcie’s their main movie reporter and she’s… not the brightest” Joe explained. “Has a really obvious thing for Ben too.” You were confused. “Is… is that a bad thing?” “It is when I’m trying to promote a project and my body is all they ask about” Ben clarified. “Apparently she got all miffed when I didn’t turn up today, said half her questions were for me” he told Joe. Joe whistled. “Bet that went down well.” A sudden thought occurred to you. “You didn’t tell them where you were, did you?” you asked frantically. “Only the other cast members, and they didn’t tell anyone” he assured you. “They just told the reporters I was sick, no one’s going to work it out, don’t worry.” You were very relieved, seeing as no-one outside your immediate circle knew the babies had arrived yet, and you wanted to keep it that way at least until they were out of hospital. 

Finally, the big day arrived. The twins were finally released from hospital after six days in NICU. Joe was a bundle of nervous excitement as he very carefully placed them in their carseats and drove you all home. The excitement seemed to win out for most of the day, until you put both babies down for an afternoon nap. As you sank gratefully onto the couch, you noticed Joe staring into space with a rather stricken expression. “What’s up, love?” “It just hit me a minute ago…” he mumbled. “What just hit you?” You had a hunch about what was bothering him, but you wanted to hear him say it. “I just realised I’m now responsible for two whole human beings for the rest of my life, and I’m freaked out” he told you. “Like, I’m super happy that they’re here and they’re healthy and they’re ours, but…” You smiled gently. “I know you are, dear, I am too.” Joe suddenly looked at you with confusion. “Wait, why aren’t you freaking out right now?” “Been here before,” you said airily, “I’m still a little freaked out, I just knew it was coming.” You paused. “Plus, it’s less scary this time” you added. “It’s not so new and different, and I’ve got you.” Joe smiled at that. “Indeed you do. You’re not slightly terrified by having two though?” You waved a hand. “We’ll manage. There’s two of them, but there’s two of us too.”

Joe was slightly startled the following afternoon when he picked up his phone and realised he hadn’t even looked at Instagram in nearly a week. “It’s so weird” he muttered, scrolling through everything he’d missed. You wondered what he’d seen. “What’s weird?” “It feels like my whole world’s… shifted since I got home, but on Instagram everything seems exactly the same” he explained. “Even my Insta looks like I’ve just been hanging out with Ben all week, but I’ve barely seen him.” “Everyone knows Insta’s mostly not real life” you reassured him. “Yeah,” Joe agreed, “but this is such a huge thing in my life and it’s not there at all.” “Well, if you wanna announce it, feel free. We’ve told all our friends and families now anyway” you pointed out. Joe grinned excitedly. “You’re ready to tell the world about them?” “Absolutely.”

Joe agonised over his baby announcement post. In the end he picked a picture you’d taken of him with the twins dozing on his chest. He posted it with a lengthy caption: ‘So this week I was supposed to be relaxing with Ben… Instead I spent most of it at the hospital since these guys decided to make their entrance last Saturday, five weeks early. Everyone’s healthy, they just needed a bit of time to adjust to life earthside. Anyway, meet my new favourite people: Joseph Francis IV (but we’re calling him Joey) and Amber Mercury (she’s in the dino onesie) Mazzello. Also my wife is amazing and I love her so much more than I can ever express.’ Gwilym very quickly commented ‘So incredibly happy for all of you. Can’t wait to get over and meet these cuties!’ Lucy just posted a line of heart eyes emojis. Later on Brian left a lengthy note. ‘Delighted to hear these two arrived safe and healthy, if a bit ahead of schedule. Hopefully everyone’s adjusting well to their new roles. Huge congratulations and warmest wishes to you all. Bri’. Even Ben eventually chimed in: ‘They’ve stolen my man but they’re so cute I’m not even mad.’    

The next day you got a rude shock, when you realised that despite the lavishly decorated tree in your lounge room you and Joe had entirely forgotten Christmas was nearly upon you. By the time you remembered it was only a week away. “There’s so much to do” you fretted to Joe. “We’ve got to wrap everything and do cards and… shit, two of our kids don’t even have any presents yet.” “They’re a week old, I don’t think they’re gonna care” your husband tried to reassure you. It didn’t help. “But it’s their first Christmas, they’ve got to have something” you insisted. Joe smiled reassuringly. “Well in that case, I’d better go shopping tomorrow” he declared, kissing you gently.

Joe went out alone the next day. But he had a surprise for you. “You were worried about getting everything sorted in time, so I’ve called in reinforcements” he told you as he was leaving. You quirked an eyebrow. “Reinforcements?” “Lucy’s coming over later to help you out” he explained. It wasn’t the solution you’d been expecting, but it turned out to be a good one. With Lucy’s help you made surprisingly quick work of your to-do list, and by the time Joe got home the house was tastefully decorated and there was a small pile neatly wrapped presents under the tree. She even helped Tallulah bake and ice some Christmas biscuits for you all. Her reward was some time spent cooing over your sleepy newborns. “They’re beautiful, lovie!” All in all, everyone ended the day satisfied. 

Christmas Day was fairly peaceful in the end. You enjoyed a relaxing morning opening gifts at home ahead of Christmas dinner with Joe’s family. You and Joe had agreed not to go overboard on presents this year, knowing you’d have a lot of other things going on at Christmastime. But Joe did manage to sneak in a small surprise for you. “From Joey and Amber” he said, handing over one last parcel with a soft smile. You delicately undid the wrapping to uncover a framed copy of the picture Ben had taken of the five of you in hospital the day the twins were born. “Oh, it’s lovely!” you gushed, leaning over to hug Joe. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me, they got it for you” he replied, grinning. You smiled. “You must have helped though.” “That I did” Joe agreed. “Well thank you for helping them” you told him, leaning in for a chaste kiss. “You’re the best.”

Joe’s family were very excited about meeting the twins, of course, but Tallulah had a lot of fun too, playing with her cousins and generally enjoying all the little treats of the day. You were glad to see her having fun; you’d been worried she might end up feeling a bit left out in all the fuss over her new siblings. She was very disappointed when you had to leave soon after the meal to get the babies home before their bedtime but she seemed happy enough to spend the rest of the evening watching movies and enjoying her presents.

Your family spent Boxing Day largely doing as little as possible. As always everyone was a bit flat after the excitement of Christmas Day. Except for Tallulah, who was very much looking forward to seeing Roger the next day. He arrived in the afternoon, and came to your house almost immediately to take Tallulah out for afternoon tea. You could tell by the way she was beaming when they returned that she had enjoyed the individual attention. Her expression seemed to highlight her resemblance to her father. Roger was slightly startled when he noticed. “Gosh, I’d never realised how much she takes after me.” “She looks more like you every day lately” you told him. “She’s grown up so much since I saw her last” Roger mused. “Well she is a big sister now” you pointed out. He smiled. “Ah yes. How’s she going with that, by the way?” “Very well, actually” you replied. “I was expecting her to be a bit jealous, but so far she just adores the twins. She loves holding them. Even got them Christmas presents.” Roger smiled with pride. “Well that’s good to hear. Hopefully the adoration continues.” You weren’t convinced it would but you still smiled. “Yeah, hopefully.” 

Roger had booked into a hotel, but he still stayed at your house until well past dinnertime every day of his visit. Tallulah was clearly very appreciative of the time with her father, even if she didn’t say it out loud. The days of Roger’s trip sped by, and suddenly it was New Year’s Eve, again. The day held many happy memories for you, but this year was going to be very different. Joe had called off his traditional party, knowing none of you had the energy for a late night. Instead, you were having a sort of open house afternoon to give all your friends an opportunity to meet Joey and Amber at a time that was easy for your family. Adjusting to looking after twin newborns was exhausting enough without trying to find the energy to organise visits every other day. Of course a few of your close friends had dropped in already, but they were a select group amongst your wider acquaintance.

You were amazed at just how many people showed up to meet the twins and have some lunch with you. Even Gwilym made an appearance. “Surprise!” he declared, grinning widely. “I had some time off, and I’ve been dying to see you all, so here I am.” He was amazed when he got his first glimpse of the twins. “Christ, I thought Ben was exaggerating when he told me how tiny they were.” “Would you believe they’ve already grown since Ben saw them?” Joe asked, beaming with pride. To be fair, they did still look ridiculously small in Gwilym’s arms. “They’re not that tiny now, are they?” Joe asked you in an undertone, as you both watched Gwilym enjoying his first cuddles. You smiled reassuringly. “They’re still a bit on the small side. But Gwil is also a bloody tree of a man, he’s making them look even smaller.” Joe laughed at that. 

Gwilym stayed all afternoon, helping here and there and generally enjoying some rare time with Joe. His relaxed mood seemed to have spread throughout your house that day, though the energy lifted considerably when Rami and Lucy finally arrived. Naturally Gwilym was thrilled to see them both, and they spent a long time lounging on your couches catching up. People gradually started to leave as the afternoon wore on, and eventually they were the only guests left other than Roger. Lucy smiled when she noticed this.

“Now that we’re alone, lovies, we’ve got something for you” she declared. Rami gently handed over a bulging gift bag. “Christmas presents. From all of us” he said softly. You started to protest but he waved it away. “Just open them. There’s something for all of you in there.” Indeed there was. The bag held a number of packages, each containing part of a matching set of red baseball shirts, made to look like the D-backs uniform from Undrafted. Yours and Tallulah’s had your surname on the back; the others were labelled Mazzello. Two of these were very small, although closer to toddler than newborn size. Rami looked apologetic. “That was the smallest we could get.” “Rami, they’re perfect” you reassured him. “They really are” Joe chimed in, sounding rather emotional. “Thanks man.” Lucy smiled. “I told him the important thing was that they matched.” You glanced at Joe, wondering why he was so incredibly touched by the gift. “You’re all on my team” he explained, before you could even open your mouth to speak. “You’re my family, even if you don’t all have my name, you’re all mine.” You smiled. “Honey, of course we’re yours. We’re your team.”    

You were still cuddling Joe when Roger suddenly appeared next to you carrying a couple of parcels. “I brought you a little something too” he said sheepishly. “The top one’s from Brian, by the way.” Joe looked surprised. “Brian sent us a baby gift?” Roger smiled. “Of course. That’s what friends do, you know.” Brian had given the twins a stuffed badger and a fluffy hedgehog. “Just a little reminder of their roots” the card said. You and Joe both laughed. “Brian and his hedgehogs. Typical.” Roger’s parcel contained a pair of onesies. One had a photo of John Deacon printed on the front, while the other featured Freddie Mercury. “I heard her middle name and I just couldn’t resist” he said, grinning mischievously. Joe grinned back. “Thanks Roger, they’re perfect.”

Midnight on New Year’s Eve. In years past you’d enjoyed the ritual of sitting up to watch the fireworks, or going out somewhere in search of a New Year’s kiss. This year, though, all you really wanted was to get some sleep. But of course the twins had other ideas. In the end, midnight found you and Joe sat together on the rocking chair, each soothing a baby back to sleep. Joe’s loving gaze suddenly shifted from his children to you. "Thank you" he said softly. "For what?" you asked. "I always wanted a wife, and kids, but before I met you I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen for me" he explained. "And now you've given me both in a single year." "I suppose I have" you mused. "So, thank you. For giving me everything I've dreamed of" Joe said, kissing you gently. "I love you so, so much." You smiled back. "I love you too, babe." You were both quiet as you tenderly set the twins back in their cribs. “It’s been a good year, hasn’t it?” you mused, as you and Joe returned to your bedroom. “It’s gonna be a hard one to top” Joe agreed. “It’s been magnificent.” And the best part was, it was only the beginning.

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A/N 2: This is really the end for these guys now, and I’m a little bit sad about that. I’ve got one Tallulah oneshot I want to finish (there’s lots of Freddie in it, it’s a lot of fun) and then I’m going to take a break from this universe (for now anyway) and work on my ‘possible Freddie Mercury descendant’ story. At this point I’m planning on keeping it as a oneshot, but I’ll see how I go. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as this one did!

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