#i still think top andre is a top leaning switch

[sillyhahasilly]

bottom andre hcs :))

I do not see a universe where in caldres first penetrative sex andre bottomed. I think cal would be so eager to do either that when andre asked if he could fuck him he was for it. andres internalized homophobia and stigma around being the one to bottom would be too deep. he would consider it, but would push down his want to be taken like that by cal. still in a "I'm not really that gay" mindset. it was a reg first time. both enjoyed it endlessly

still, the next time they fucked, cal rode him. and andre LOVED it. he loved cal being in control like that, making him a grunty mess. at first he tried to act like he was the one in control, but it faded really quick. cal made him come twice in a row that night. the funny thing is, cal wasn't even trying to take over much anyway, but andre naturally fell into letting cal guide him. blind leading blind. their next time was like this too. and andre asked cal with embrassesment to "just do that thing u did before again, cal. dude I'm not gonna repeat it."

the forth time cal straight up asked to fuck andre. and andre was really reluctant but he had seen how much cal was enjoying himself, and ever since he fucked cal for the first time the majority of his fantasies had been about cal fucking him, so he said yes.

cal offered to finger him open like andre did their first, but andre was too proud. so he did it himself. but that kinda backfired cuz he ended up in a fetal position fingering himself, hissing and sighing. cal sat back and palmed himself over his boxers and he kept making comments like, "I can't wait to fuck you, andre. it will feel so good I promise." andre told him to stfu, but it got him going even more. cal knew that ofc.

when he was ready they went at it lol. andre faced the truth that he enjoys bottoming more then topping. hooray.

when he first started bottoming, he was mostly too blissed out to do much beside moan and swear in german and english.

as he got used to it, he dirty talked. like all the time. he met cal right back w it.

parking his car at the side of the woods at night and straddling cal in the passenger seat and riding him. yeah.

when he is mad at cal he doesn't bottom, kinda as a punishment of taking away something both prefer more in a way that allows him to overstim cal in a way he isn't used to. works for him, sex is sex.

still sometimes he takes out his frustration by forcing cal in w little prep, or fucking himself back onto him really rough, making cal come fast.

scratches cals back up a lot.

prefers positions where he can see cals face. he doesn't like to have his back and ass to cal bc it makes him feel too feminine and gay, but sometimes they do it anyway.

doesn't enjoy cal coming inside much.

gunplay andre gunplay andre he has had some of the best sex when cal points a gun at his head and tells him that he could kill him at any moment while he fucks him. andre uses the gun on cal sometimes too.

erm tw sh. back onto the sexually punishing cal things. we all know that hc cal self harms. sometimes andre rides cal and gives him swallow cuts. yea. (cal is so fucking into it)

andre is not a kisser while being fucked. he js kinda moans into open air or cals mouth.

he is actually good at keeping quiet. he is a grunter.

sometimes he bites himself on his wrist or shoulder or even cals body, too. he has made both of them bruise by that before.

I js think andre likes letting someone else, the only person in the world he trusts other than himself, take control so he can distress. we all know he is a control freak.

thank you the person who requested this!!!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Laisse tomber les filles 4

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape; size kink; age gap; manipulation; tags to be added as story progresses

This is a dark!fic and Lee Bodecker x (short) reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: You find yourself ostracized on campus by your shyness, but your reticence won’t deter an unwanted suitor.

Note: Things are starting to pick up but Lee’s still playing low key.

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

The book club let out on Friday and you quietly packed up your fraying copy of Nabokov, happy you would finally be able to throw it on the shelf and forget about it. As you pulled on your jacket and hooked your bag over your shoulder, Andre, the star of the club, approached you. He wasn’t as curt as Nora but he still made you feel daft.

“Hey, you like the book?” he asked.

“Um, yeah, I guess,” you answered, “I never really read anything like it before.”

“It’s definitely no Secret Garden,” he quipped.

“Oh, but I read the Bell Jar already, that’s the next book, right?” you countered.

“But did you really read it?” he challenged, “did you soak in the depth of the words?”

“I’m sure my second reading will help with that,” you said plaintively, “I think even, I’ll enjoy it even more.”

“It is more of a woman’s book,” he said tritely, “where are you going now?”

You went to the door and he followed you casually. You walked down the hall and shrugged as your sole tapped on the wooden floorboards.

“Oh…” you stopped yourself from saying no where, “actually, someone’s expecting me.”

“Oh ha, really? I saw those flyers they hand out. That’s one of the tips, say you’re being expected so the creep doesn’t follow you,” he rolled his eyes, “I was just asking, I’m not tryna pick you up or anything.”

You came out in the early spring dusk and stopped at the top of the stone steps. “I know you weren’t, I only… I am supposed to be somewhere.”

“Oh yeah? Well, if you ever need a reading partner--”

A honk came and cut off his invitation. You glanced over at the black and white cruiser then back at Andre. You gave a weak smile.

“Maybe,” you answered, “sorry, that’s my ride.”

“So you’re dad’s a cop?” he wondered.

“My dad?” you shook your head, “he’s… a uh, friend.”

“Friend,” Andre echoed and another honk came, “he’s sure impatient.”

“Sorry, I should go.”

“See ya next week,” he called after you as you stumbled down the stairs.

“Yeah, see ya,” you tossed over your shoulder.

You approached the cruiser and Lee got out to open the door. You got in and waited for him to settle on the other side of the seat. You watched Andre stroll down the pavement and catch up with Van.

“You didn’t have to honk, I saw you,” you said quietly.

“Who was that then?” Lee asked as he steered onto the street.

“Just some guy from the club,” you replied.

“So, shakes?” he asked.

“Can we stop by my dorm first?” you hugged your bag anxiously.

“Why’s that?”

“I want to give you back those clothes, I can’t wear them,” you said.

“What? They’re a gift,” he furrowed his brow but you looked away before he could glance back at you as he stopped at the sign.

“It’s too much and they… they won’t fit me,” you said.

“Well, did you even try them on? You’re young, it’s the new style, I thought--”

“But why would you even think to buy me anything?” you interjected. 

He inhaled and said nothing. His breath rose like a growl as he passed the road that led to your dorm. He switched gears and headed for the south exit of the campus.

“Don’t interrupt me. Ever,” he snarled, “and I was being nice, honey. It’s nothin’ bad, just a gift ‘cause I thought it’d look pretty on ya.”

“It’s not that I’m not, er, grateful, I only--”

“No thank you, no nothing,” he moped, “you really hurt me, girl.”

“No, it’s not like that. I just--”

“Just what? I saw you back there, tryna act like you don’t know me in front of that boy,” he grumbled, “‘cause I’m old, right?”

“We were talking, I was just saying goodbye,” you returned, “I don’t know why you’re being like this-- Can you please turn around and just take me home?”

“You promised me a date,” he huffed, “so we’re going… next time you can wear your new clothes.”

“Date?” you sputtered, “Sheriff, please, I want to go home.”

“My name’s Lee, honey,” he purred, “I wanna hear it on your tongue.”

“Wha--” he snaked his arm over and slid his hand onto your leg, just beneath your bag.

“Go on and say it,” he squeezed, “please.”

You swallowed and stiffened as you stared down at your lap.

“Lee,” you eked out.

“Good girl,” he snickered.

“Please, I don’t want a shake, I want to go--”

“I ain’t done nothing, honey, don’t be so dramatic,” he drew his hand away, “have I?”

You were quiet. He hadn’t really done anything more than be a bit grumpy. The touch was nothing, wasn’t it? Just a friendly gesture, trying to calm you down. And he bought you nice things and expected nothing but you to like it. It really seemed like you’d done something wrong the more you thought about it.

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“Nah, don’t be, I’m happy as long as you’re here,” he turned off of campus and sped up, “I read that book, you know? Lolita. Made patrol a bit easier. I haven’t read a book for years. It was… interesting.”

“You read it?” you flinched.

“Oh, yeah, it was… the man, Humbert, messin’ with a child, that’s some sickness there,” Lee mulled as he kept his eyes on the road, “don’t you think?”

“Um, yeah,” you answered, “I think it was also about, um, you know, an unreliable narrator and how stories unfold differently for people. How we can experience the same thing but not in the same way… I don’t know.”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s probably it,” he said, “but I just thought, that’s awful. You know, we’re adults, you and me. How old are ya, again?”

“I’ll be nineteen this summer, sir,” you replied.

“See, girls here can marry at sixteen,” he said, “but no twelve year old gettin’ hitched.”

“Oh, well,” you murmured, uncomfortable by his rambling, “can I try the vanilla this time?”

“Vanilla? Sure,” he smiled over the wheel, “think I’ll stick to strawberry, I like the sweet stuff.”

📚

The radio show came to an end and you fumbled with your empty cup. The dread still lingered in your chest. You counted the minutes until you could go home. The milkshake settled like a stone and added to your queasiness. Lee put his cup on his other side and yawned.

“Vanilla good?” he asked.

“Not bad,” you answered as he took the cup from you, “it’s late, hm?”

“Not that late,” he slid across the seat as the radio host picked up after the outro, “so you makin’ friends then?”

“Some,” you said, “just talking about schoolwork and, um, books.”

He was close, close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of him. He pushed his arm over your shoulders and let his hand hang down above your chest. You went rigid and tried to sidle away.

“Sheriff?” you croaked.

“Aw, come on, honey, ain’t nothin’ wrong, just getting close, it’s cold, ain’t it?” his other hand came up and caressed your chin, “I like spending time with you… not havin’ to worry about my radio or criminals, just you.”

“I don’t… I think…” you grabbed his wrist, “I thought…”

“I’m just being nice, I’ll admit, I’ve grown a bit sweet on ya. You’re so pretty and that,” he slipped from your grasped and framed your chin and turned your head, “am I hurtin’ ya?”

“N-no, but I…” your lip quivered. 

Was this how it happened? Maybe every girl felt like this the first time a man was near. You didn’t know, you couldn’t. You stared at him wide-eyed as he leaned in and his breath grazed your lips. You smelled the sugary strawberry flavour.

“This hurt?” he asked as his lips brushed yours.

“No,” you gulped as he pulled you to him.

“And this?” he didn’t wait for an answered before he kissed you.

He pressed his lips to your and sucked on your bottom lip. His teeth nipped lightly and he shoved his tongue against the creased of your mouth until you opened it. You garbled as he filled your mouth and hugged you tighter. You were terrified and confused by the suddenness of it all.

You grunted and pushed on his chest. You turned your head away and gasped as you shoved him harder and he relented. His hand slipped to the bottom of your neck as he looked at you in disappointment. 

“What’sa matter?” he asked.

“I… I wanna go home, it’s late,” you whispered.

“Oh honey, don’t be scared, it’s a date, I’m just kissin’ ya good night.”

“I never… said it was a date,” you mumbled.

“And why not?” he pressed, “you’re an adult, I am too.”

“I don’t… know,” you uttered, “I never… never been on a date so I guess I wouldn’t know.”

“I didn’t mean to confuse you, I thought you knew,” he said, “a girl like you, I thought you had plenty of dates.”

You shook your head and chewed your lip. You stared at your shoes and wriggled away from him. You ran your fingertips along your jawline as you huddled against the door.

“Please take me home,” you breathed.

“I didn’t mean nothing by it, I just think you’re very sweet and… beautiful,” he reached out and took your hand gently, “I can go slow.”

“I just don’t know,” you didn’t pull your hand away as he held it.

“Ah, I get it, I’m old, I know it, I ain’t stupid,” he sighed.

“I don’t care about that,” you withdrew and wrung your hands in your lap, “I’m… embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?” he repeated.

“That I never… That I don’t know about all that,” you confessed, “but I don’t wanna think about that now.”

“Can I see you tomorrow then?” he asked, “I wanna see your new clothes.”

“Sheriff,” you said.

“Lee,” he corrected sharply.

“Lee,” you hissed, “please, can you take me home?”

“Well, you just needa ask nicely is all,” he pushed himself in front of the wheel and jolted the whole car with the movement, “let’s get ya there all safe and sound and you can rest up for tomorrow, huh?”

“I gotta study tomorrow,” you argued.

“You can,” he assured you, “you come study at mine and I’ll make you a nice home cooked dinner, how about that?”

You sniffed and pouted, “sure, if you take me home.”

[eliyah-de-dark]

Two Lies and A Truth part 2

Turns out the Startrain can get a person from London to Paris in what feels like a matter of minutes. Marinette waited on the platform, alone in a crowd of commuters, with her wide brim hat pulled down low over her face. She wore her hair down, a countermeasure against any old friends who might recognize her style, and opted for an equally unfamiliar white and pink sundress. She'd originally made it for her dream date with Adrien. Now it would meet one of the only friends she had left.

The train from London pulled in, and Felix Graham de Vanily was the first off. He wore his signature dark gray three piece suit, a white shirt making his skin seemed more tanned. He scanned the crowd, forcing people to move around him as his vibrant green eyes searched for her.

She wove a path through the crowd and grabbed his hand. "Hey," she said weakly.

He froze, taking in her changed appearance before speaking. "Your hair looks nice." He touched just the tip of her blue hair, admiring the length. "What prompted the change?"

Marinette's smile dropped. "Don't want to be recognized." Her voice was almost imperceptible in the din of the station.

The pair walked out hand in hand, Felix's heart racing where Marinette's barely caught her attention. Together they wove their way through Paris. Their only pause was with Andre Glacier to get ice cream, Andre's idea not theirs. Finally their meandering brought them to the bakery where they first truly met.

Sabine and Tom waved to the kids as they went up into the apartment. Marinette noticed her mother's calculating look while Felix caught her father's questioning gaze. The young man thought their journey would end in the living room, but Marinette kept his hand in her own until they'd climbed up into her pink painted room. The walls were nearly bare, with the crumpled up pictures of Adrien in her waste basket. Felix took good note of that.

In the safety of her room, Marinette started talking. She repeated a lot of what Felix already knew: how her class had been turned, how the teacher punished her when it wasn't her fault, about how she had only 3 people left in the whole city she could trust. When she brought up the arrival of Suzette, he could tell from the stormy expression of her face that this girl did more than bother Marinette.

"What do you care if she's Ladybug?" Felix asked, waving his hand as if to present the situation on a platter. "Sounds like she'll prove herself wrong soon enough."

"But she's put the entire school in danger!" Marinette cried. She slumped onto her chaise and sighed. "If Hawkmoth thinks anyone in François Dupont is his arch nemesis..." She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to. Felix had seen the chaos akumas caused, and if it weren't for the Ladybug Cure, everyone in Paris would be dead ten times over.

He nodded, and Marinette sighed with relief. She wanted to tell him the real reason, that she was the one suffering stolen identity here, but she couldn't. She thought of Master Fu's threat. Being Ladybug was stressful, sure, but it was one of the best things in her life right now.

Their phones buzzed simultaneously. Felix had his out first, sparing Marinette the trouble. Nadia Chamack's face filled the screen completely. "Don't be bemused, it's just the news. On this special report, we have Alya Cesaire live in our studio to talk about a remarkable post she's put on her Ladyblog." The camera switched to show the red haired girl Marinette used to call friend. As the audience applauded, the pair in a pink room sat on Marinette's chaise.

"Thanks for having me, Madame Chamack." At least she had her manners. "I'm a big fan of yours."

Nadja laughed and made a little dismissive gesture. "If you're a fan of mine, then you know here at the station we love our Ladybug, and your blog has been a key source of information on her. Let's show the audience what you posted today that's sweeping our city!"

Nadia's large screens showed Alya close up in the frame, breathing heavily. "How unbecoming." Felix scrunched his nose in disgust while Marinette laughed.

The video showed Alya rushing back to her seat where across from her sat...Ladybug? The costume was fairly well made, superior to Chloe's in many ways. There was still the glaring issue of a zipper on the back and her mask slowly dropping on the left side.

The two began talking like old friends, Alya crediting Lila for getting the interview squared away. Felix watched Marinette as her face switched from shock to horror.

Once the Ladybug interview had wrapped up, Nadja began asking questions about the whos, whats, wheres and whens of the impromptu video. "Lila, my best friend," Alya emphasized that title like she knew Marinette was watching, "promised me an interview with LB, and it turns out Ladybug is wonderful in and out of costume!" She pasted a surprised look on her face and murmured, "Oh, I shouldn't have said that." in such a perfect copy of Lila that Marinette searched for a wig line or something.

"In and out of costume? Does that mean - hold on, you know who Ladybug is?" Nadja had real shock on her face, and if the camera had turned then Felix imagined the audience would have that same look too.

Alya smiled sweetly. "I couldn't say."

The interview continued, but Felix set his phone away. Marinette was shaking now, and he put an arm around her. She leaned on his shoulder, her body slowing to matching his heartbeat. He rested his head on top of hers and took a deep breath. She smelled like strawberries, glue, and mint.

Now he jumped up and paced. Her eyes followed back and forth as he moved, pausing every so often to muse on a particular idea.

"I've got it." He smiled, a devious grin that split his face like a demon.

Marinette listened with rapt attention.

-

"Blast Master, I am Hawkmoth. You want to expose the truth about Lila Rossi and save your friend. I'm giving you the power to control explo-"

"That's a no on the name."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Then beg."

"...what is happening?"

"Listen, you're right about why I'm pissed, and I'll gladly take the explosion power, but I'm not calling myself Blast Master."

"I...suppose?"

"Excellent, glad we're on the same page."

-

Suzette Lambert basked in the attention of her schoolmates like a cat basks in the sun. Lila was right, she mused, these idiots are too easy. Only two weeks and she had near god like worship. She almost didn't regret transferring out of her private English school.

The two people who didn't immediately succumb to her will were Chloe Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chloe made snide comments here and there but hardly went toe to toe with the new queen of the school. It helped that literally anytime she tried, either that nuisance Alya would snap at her or the teacher would gently redirect the class.

Her teal eyes caught sight of the little pariah, who'd snuck in early and taken her spot at the farthest desk in the room. Marinette never spoke. Not even when the teacher called on her. When she'd asked, Lila bemoaned, "Oh Mari? She's just the worst. She's always so mean to me and everyone hates her for it. I wouldnt even bother talking to her."

Suzette couldn't say it was hard to get on Lila's bad side, but that seemed a bit extreme. It all made sense after her little "slip-up" though.

It was the Italian's idea to say she was the heroine. "Trust me, no one will even question it." As much as Suzette hated to admit it, Lila was right. Everyone latched onto the biggest lie of her life and now the royal treatment was just a standard. The only bad reaction she got was Dupain-Cheng running out of the room. That was weird on so many levels, but Suzette ignored it.

Class was going smoothly until the volley of ringtones interrupted the lesson.

"An akuma?"

"It's just down the street!"

"Hold up Alix, let me see!"

Suzette checked her phone, lazily scanning the report of a dancing harlequin-style akuma moving steadily towards François Dupont.

"Go suit up, Suzette!"

She looked at Alya with a tired expression. "What?"

The reporter pointed her cellphone at Suzette. "Don't you need to transform? To defeat the akuma?" Her quizzical look spread like a virus through the class.

"I can't." She needed to think, quick. "The Guardian took my miraculous for safe keeping." She mentally congratulated herself for the excuse.

Nino spoke up next. "Why?"

"Repairs."

"Why would a miraculous need repairs?" And why was Kim of all people chiming in?

"Oh puh-lease." Now came Chloe Bourgeois. She sat on her desk and ignored Madame Bustier's reprimand as she continued. "Obviously she can't because she isn't Ladybug." Sabrina nodded vigorously, the nasty little cockroach.

Alya naturally spoke next, loud enough to give the queen standing next to her a headache. "No one asked you, Chloe." She snapped. "Why dont you keep your opinions to yourself?"

"Why dont you you little gossip rag wannabe?"

Wow, Suzette thought. That's an interesting shade of red in Alya's face.

Chloe turned those sky blue eyes back to her rival. "What form does your miraculous take? Or better yet, what's mine?" She leaned forward, her head tilted as if to listen for an answer.

Suzette crossed her arms. "Why would I care about yours?"

"Because you're the one that gives it to me, Ladybug. And I know for a fact if you were the real Ladybug, you would've kept your mouth closed about your identity."

No one noticed Marinette in the back of the room staring wide eyed at Chloe.

"Who are you to talk to me like that?!" Suzette yelled. Lila grabbed her arm, locking her in place. "You're just the mayor's spoiled brat who only cares about herself!" Chloe smiled at Suzette's words. The audacity.

"Maybe, but at least I'm honest."

Another insult began forming in the mind of the false Ladybug when the door came off its hinges with an explosion.

((@goblinwhoships @ml-cartoons @enchanted-nerd since you three specifically requested being tagged, here you go))

((Yeah so people really seemed to like part one. That's pretty hekking neat. Hopefully part 2 can live up to the hype))

[myhockeyworld87]

Not So Dangerous Liaison - Sidney Crosby - Part 3

Word Count: 2,340

POV: Reader than switches to Sid

Warnings: Language

Notes: I had planned on this being a bit longer but with everything that happened I didn’t get to write as much as I want. Also this was kind of unplanned, but since everyone wanted a prank included I decided to write it in. Hope you guys enjoy!

Not So Dangerous Liaison Masterlist

You stood there wracking your brain trying to figure out what you had done or said that first night you met Sidney Crosby. He'd done a full one-eighty in twenty-four hours on you. When you'd left the party you actually thought, that there was quite possibly something between the two of you, but since then it was painfully obvious that he'd changed his mind. It was never more evident than in this moment right now when he clearly could've cared less about the snacks and extras that you'd had delivered to his room, let alone the book you'd left. His simple, 'oh yeah, thanks,' made it evident that he just tolerated you and your job with the team.

 You knew it was going to be hard with him. It was part of the reason why you added the book on Egyptian history for him, hoping that it would sort of be a peace offering, or at least some common ground for you both. If he didn't appreciate that, he was surely going to hate the one on ancient Rome that would be waiting for him in D.C. It was too late now, you weren't going to not send it. If anything it only strengthened your resolve to somehow get yourself and Sid to at least be friends, since there would obviously never be anything more.

 The following morning you headed on the bus with the team to the arena for morning skate, where everything went great. You began to see why the guys took naps in the afternoon, as their schedule was super demanding. As you headed back on the bus, for the game, you didn't expect Tanger, to grab the seat next to you. "So, how are things going so far?"

 "Really good I think." It was true all the guys had been super nice and so receptive to all that you'd been doing for the team, well everyone except Sid. You chose not to get into that with Tanger though, so instead, you added. "Unless you've heard something different?" It seemed like a smart way to see about Sid's indifference, without flat out asking him how Sidney felt about your new role.

 "God, no. Everyone loves you. You really outdid yourself with the little care packages. We all appreciated them." Well, not everyone.

 "Just trying to do my part and make the trip a little easier for you guys."

 "Speaking of that. I was wondering if I could ask a favor." He ran a hand through his hair as if he was nervous, which seemed silly since you'd known Tanger for a while now.

 "Sure, that's my job you know. I'm here to be helpful."

 "Well, this is kind of personal. Alex's birthday is coming up and…well Catherine always does the shopping and comes up with something over the top for him. I was hoping that this time, maybe I'd have some great suggestion to give her. Obviously, I suck though, because I can't think of a damn thing."

 "Oh, I can totally help with that." You took out your phone as the bus pulled into the arena, everyone filing out to get ready for the game. "Let me see what I can come up with and I'll get back to you."

 "Yeah, that would be great." You followed Tanger off the bus, then went about a few odds and ends that you started helping the staff with. It was probably about forty-five minutes later that he found you again.

 "Hey (Y/N), I had this awesome idea about Alex's birthday present."

 "Oh yeah, what were you thinking." You asked as you made your way over to the locker room where Tanger was standing. He opened the door for you to come in. You tended to avoid going into the room unless it was necessary, not that you couldn't. Social media was in there all the time filming things, so it wouldn't be like you were the only female in there. It just seemed like a line you weren't ready to cross yet; though at the moment you had no choice but to follow him.

 As you gazed around the room, you had to appreciate the way Dana Heinze and his guys made the locker room feel more like home. Each stall had a nameplate on it, and the Pens emblem was placed throughout the room. Most of the guys were in there, prepping for the game. They didn't even take notice that you were there. "Tanger, you're up." Hollered Chris, one of the team trainers.

 "Shit, can you grab my phone out of my bag. I saved it in there." You wandered over to where his bag sat. It still amazed you how they lugged all this equipment around. You had a feeling it was going to be a challenge to find a cell phone in the damn thing with how big it was. Crouching down, you pulled the zipper back the whole way to shed some light into the black piece of luggage. That's when Marc-Andre popped out with a loud roar.

 "Jesus Christ!" You screamed stumbling back, as your heel caught on some random piece of equipment on the floor. You would've landed flat on your ass if it hadn't been for someone grabbing you around the waist and holding you tight against their body. Even though you'd literally just been scared half to death, you somehow felt safe in this person's arms; like nothing bad could happen to you as long as he was around. It was a bad feeling to have considering this was a new job, and you didn't need to be developing feelings for a player. You took another minute to just absorb the feeling of being in this person's arms, as well as catch your breath.

 He must have heard or felt your deep intake of breath, for the next thing you knew he was saying. "It's ok. I got you." You knew that voice, well you honestly knew all the guys' voices; you just weren't used to be held in their embrace. When you looked back, Sid's brown eyes were staring into yours. They were filled with concern, and well something else, desire. You could see it in his eyes as much as you were sure that yours reflected the same. It was dangerous territory and there was no exploring it as the whole team had their eyes on you.

 "Thanks," you said righting yourself. You turned your full attention to Flower than. "What the hell, Flower! You just scared the crap out of me." You were laughing along with the rest of the room now, and Marc-Andre had the biggest smile on his face.

 "Welcome to the team." He said coming over and giving you a big hug. "You're not an official member until we prank you."

 "Oh my god, you should've seen your face." Horny came up and embraced you as well. "It was priceless."

 "I got it all on video too," Tanger said holding his phone up, that you were suppose to be looking for.

 "Wait…you guys were all in on this?" You looked around the room and about half the guys were nodding their head.

 "We do it to all the new guys. Couldn't leave you out." Most of the guys came over and gave you a hug, saying that you were a good sport about things.

 "You do realize I know where all of you sleep right? And I will get you back." You shot back with a little laugh before exiting the locker room. "Now get your asses ready or we'll see who scared of who." The moment you shut the door, you leaned against it heavily to stop your racing heart. To anyone else, it would look as though you were still recovering from having the wits scared out of you, but what you couldn't get over was the feeling of being held in Sidney's arms and the look in his eyes.

 All this time you thought he was indifferent to you, but that look told you otherwise. You could still feel his hands wrapped around; it was like an imprint that couldn't be wiped away. There were so many things going through your brain at the moment, and yet this wasn't the place or time to think about it. You pushed away from the door, just as it opened; startling you once again.

 "Hey (Y/N)," thankfully it was Tanger's voice and not the man who was at the forefront of your mind. "I don't need that present for Alex, Catherine has it covered." You rolled your eyes at him, you should've known that was part of the prank. He just shrugged his shoulders at you. "I had to sell it, didn't I?" You took a towel and threw in his face before, heading down the hallway to get back to work.

 SID'S POV

 What the hell had just happened? No one had told him they were going to prank (Y/N), for if they had he would've advised against it, but damn had the timing been right for her to literally fall in your arms. When she'd walked into the locker room, you couldn't breathe. It seemed like every time there was a game, the woman dressed in something to tantalize your dreams. There was nothing left to do but walk out of the locker room and get some air. That's when you had the misfortune or fortune as it were, to be in the perfect spot to catch her as Marc-Andre scared her.

 Her body fit perfectly to yours, as your arms came around her mid-section to steady her. Your forearm had brushed the underside of her breast and just that small contact alone had you yearning for more. There was an undeniable spark between the two of you at that moment, and when she turned to look at you; you knew she felt it too. At least she had the sense to recover because right now you didn't give a damn that there was a game to be played in an hour. You wanted nothing more than to haul her off to some dark secluded corner and kiss her senseless.

 The thoughts running through your head were pure madness. You shouldn't be thinking about the things you wanted to do to her body or how you wanted to know what she felt like under those layers of clothing. You needed to pull yourself together, you had sixty minutes of hockey and a team that needed your attention. So, when Rusty called out to see if you were playing soccer that's what you decided you needed to do to get your mind off of (Y/N).

 Three hits into the warmup ritual, you were still thinking about her. Only this time it was about the last game and how she'd touched your hat and brought you good luck. That superstitious side of yours, kept an eye out for her so that you could do it again. However, this time she was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, with both yourself and your irrational tendencies, you headed into the locker room and tried to focus on the game ahead.

 The first period you played like shit and Ottawa was up one to nothing. You were beginning to wish that you would have just asked (Y/N) to touch your hat, for it felt like you were now being cursed or maybe that was happening because you'd held her a little too close to your body earlier and your bad game was some form of punishment. By the middle of the second, you were sure it was the latter, for the Senators were up, three zip. Thankfully Horny was at least able to get you on the board with one goal shortly thereafter. You'd just spent a particularly long shift out on the ice and were skating back to the bench when you saw her on the ramp, nervously watching the game with such intensity as if by sheer will alone, she would have one of you to score a goal.

 As you sat on the bench, something in you shifted and you stopped thinking about your silly superstitions and decided that if (Y/N) seemed to have that much faith in the team so were you. As you skated out on your next shift, the puck somehow found your stick on a pass from Horny. A spin to the left and a fake on your opponent and you tapped the puck into the back of the net, cutting the other teams lead to only one. As your teammates crowded you, it wasn't words of celebration you shared but ones of motivation. And when you made your way back to the bench, there she was smiling brighter than the sun. It was contagious and you could help but smile back when she caught your eye.

 When the third period started the team was on fire, Carl Hagelin scoring shortly into the period to tie the game. There was a feeling deep in your chest that you were going to win this one, and somewhere in your mind, you acknowledged you want to do it for (Y/N). Things changed though, when Beau went down, after a bad hit from Zibanejad. The medical staff was on top of things as they took him back to the locker room and you saw (Y/N) disappear with them. She missed the rest of the game, and also the empty netter you put in sealing your victory. By the time the buzzer sounded, and you headed down the ramp; you could just make out (Y/N) and Beau heading out of the arena. Beau's arm wrapped around her as she helped him out. The rational part of you, told you she was just doing her job and helping him; though it was the irrational one that told you it looked more like a girlfriend tending to her injured man. Unfortunately for you this time, the illogical part of you won out as you found yourself jealous of your teammate the first time in your life.  

[ghostlyhamburger]

Finally Whole

Prompt: Morning After

Request: Adrigaminette with confused Marinette

Rating: E

Read on Ao3

Marinette woke up in an unfamiliar bed as the sun streamed across her eyes.

She rolled over to avoid the hideous light of the daystar and found her face pressed against soft breasts, softer than any pillow. She snuggled up against her newfound pillow person and tried to drift back to sleep.

She heard a sleepy groan from her other side, and felt an arm wrap around her, a warm chest pressed to her back. She smiled as she enjoyed the comfort of being close between two warm, cozy people…

Her eyes shot open suddenly as she realized she didn’t remember falling asleep with anyone else--she didn’t remember anything after an akuma had hit her with some sort of beam. She had vague memories of purifying the akuma, going to Adrien’s birthday party, then…nothing.

She lifted her head slightly to see exactly whose boobs she was resting on, and her eyes widened when she recognized Kagami, sleeping topless beside her.

“Morning,” murmured a gravelly, sleep-thick voice behind her as the other person in the bed shifted against her. She felt lips brush the back of her shoulder and then—yep, that was a dick pressed against her thigh.

Marinette was too comfortable to move, but she had to know who the third was in the threesome she’d apparently had and forgotten. Her brain was already spinning from realizing she’d slept with Kagami—she’d definitely idly thought about it before, but had no idea that her friend was into women at all! She wasn’t sure if she could handle knowing who else was there.

Kagami groaned, turning away from Marinette in her sleep, taking away her “too comfy” excuse. The person behind her was still pressing slow, languid kisses against her shoulder, her neck, and—she couldn’t let him keep kissing her without even knowing what he looked like.

So she turned. And she saw Adrien smiling at her.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he murmured, before easily pressing his lips against hers.

She had so many questions, but she ignored them for the moment, letting herself just enjoy the fact that she was kissing Adrien. She almost forgot about her situation until she felt his—Adrien’s dick—pressing against her.

Marinette pulled back with a shy smile. “Um. Hi.”

“Hi,” he said, grinning at her, melting her goddamn heart why was he making this so hard.

“I, uh—what’s going on?”

Adrien frowned, concern evident on his face. “You do remember last night, right? I didn’t think you had anything to drink…”

“I—the akuma,” she replied. “I don’t remember anything after coming to your party. I-I guess Ladybug’s cure didn’t get me or something…”

“You really don’t remember,” he said. He finally pulled away from her, and while she could think clearly without his dick pressing against her, she felt cold without his legs tangled against hers. “We, uh—we slept together. All three of us.”

“What?” she exclaimed, sitting up, scrambling back away from him. She glanced around the room and realized it was Adrien’s bedroom, and she was sharing his large bed.

“What’s going on?” Kagami murmured, stirring awake.

“Mari doesn’t remember last night,” Adrien said. “The akuma.”

“Mm,” she hummed in response. “Thought you were more direct than normal.”

“What did I do?” Marinette asked, almost fearful to know the answer. She realized she was now pressed against Kagami and shifted again with a small squeaking noise.

“Well,” Adrien said, “you basically showed up, walked right up to me, and told me you loved me.”

Marinette squeaked again, her face turning red as she hid behind her hands.

“And then,” he said, gently taking her hands in his, “I told you that I think you’re an amazing, wonderful person, and I couldn’t believe I was so lucky to have someone like you care about me. Then you kissed me, and I realized I care about you so much.”

“Really?” she asked. “That’s—I’ve been trying to confess to you for years and that’s all it took?”

He smiled. “Yeah, that’s all it took.”

“So how did we go from that to this?” she asked, gesturing at the three of them.

“I saw you kissing him,” Kagami said. “And I was, admittedly, jealous, but you are my friend, so I wanted to congratulate you on finally speaking your mind. But then you kissed me, and I realized that I wasn’t exactly jealous of you.”

“You said you loved us both,” Adrien added. “And started rambling about Andre being wrong, and that you didn’t want to keep making yourself unhappy to make us happy, and then asked if you could date us both. You kissed Kagami again, and—I’m only human.”

Kagami chuckled. “He immediately asked if we wanted to go to his room.”

“I mean, you said yes,” Adrien mumbled, ducking his head, but smiling.

Marinette nodded slowly, taking in this new information, and letting her eyes wander over the two gorgeously naked people in bed with her. The sheets had slipped, revealing them both from the waist up. She couldn’t help but stare at Kagami’s breasts, the perfect size for her form with dark peaked nipples just begging to be touched, or at Adrien’s toned chest, years of modeling giving him a perfect physique.

Kagami chuckled. “See something you like, Mari?”

She made that embarrassing squeaking sound again, bringing her hands up to cover her face. “I-I just—” She lowered her hands slowly as a wicked idea came to mind. “Can you remind me what happened next?”

Adrien grinned. “Well, you pretty much got on the bed and took charge all night. You told us to touch you…like this…” He leaned close to run a hand along her side, from her hip up to her breast.

Kagami followed his lead, cupping her other breast. “You told me to kiss you,” she murmured, leaning close to press her lips against Marinette’s. Her fingers found her nipple, gently pinching and making her moan softly.

“You said you wanted to find out which one of us tastes better,” Adrien said, his lips just brushing Marinette’s ear. “You asked us to strip each other down.”

“I-I didn’t get jealous watching you?” she asked, gasping as Kagami and Adrien both kissed her neck, Kagami’s tongue against her skin as Adrien grazed his teeth against her.

“Didn’t seem like it,” Kagami said. “You were touching yourself, threw your clothes halfway across the room and showing us how beautiful you are.”

“And how wet,” Adrien said, shifting closer to Marinette, pressing his body against her. She groaned softly, feeling him hard against her leg. “You were such a tease, letting us see you but not letting us touch you…but then, once Kagami was naked, you started making out with her.”

“A bit like this,” Kagami murmured, lying back and pulling Marinette on top of her.

Marinette gasped as their legs tangled together. She kissed the other girl, letting instinct take over as she palmed Kagami’s breast with one hand. Her other hand rested on her hip as she wriggled her own hips, pushing her core against Kagami. She moaned as their bodies intimately met, Kagami’s pussy pressing against hot and wet her thigh while she let herself grind similarly on her friend.

“Fuck, that’s still hot,” Adrien murmured. “Mari, you—I’m not sure what you did exactly, but you ate her out and you made her scream.”

Marinette pushed herself up on her forearms, biting her lip as she studied Kagami’s expression. The other girl was staring back at her hungrily, expectantly. So Marinette kissed her neck, slowly moving down her body. She couldn’t help but moan softly when she kissed Kagami’s breast, savoring the subtle taste of sweat on soft skin, the feel of her nipple against her tongue.

“Mmm,” Kagami groaned. “Marinette…”

Marinette’s lips trailed lower, following a path plotted out by her hands running over Kagami’s body. She shifted her body between her legs, sliding one finger against Kagami’s slit. “Fuck,” she muttered. “You’re so wet…”

“I bet she tastes amazing,” Adrien murmured.

Marinette glanced at him in surprise. “Wait, you didn’t…?”

He gave her a grin. “You wouldn’t let me have a turn. But, hey, don’t let me stop you now. She wants you…”

She smiled back at him before lowering her head and carefully running the tip of her tongue along Kagami’s folds, paying close attention to her moans and subtle shifts, when she pressed herself against her mouth, when she rested against the bed.

Kagami did taste good, she realized, burying her tongue in her pussy. But even sweeter than her arousal was the sound of her moans, the way she cried out Marinette’s name when she flicked the tip of her tongue against her clit before pushing her face fully into her pussy again.

Marinette moaned as she felt fingers against her own core, a tongue dragging along her slit. Adrien had moved behind her and was eagerly tasting her, easily sliding two fingers inside her as he did. She groaned as she sucked Kagami’s clit, the action sending the other girl over the edge, sweet and wet across Marinette’s tongue.

“Fuck, fuck,” Kagami panted as Marinette placed soft kisses along her inner thigh. “Better than…better than last night.”

Adrien lifted his head, though he kept his fingers moving in Marinette. “Then, you let me eat you out,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to the curve of her ass. “God you taste so good…”

Kagami sat up and kissed Marinette’s lips gently. “Generous, too. You rode his face while I rode his cock, said I should have him first and next time we’d switch.”

“Is this next time?” Marinette asked hopefully. “Or—how much did we do?”

She smiled. “Yes, this is next time.” She helped Marinette roll onto her back, gently pushing her legs apart. “You helped me come three times last night, once just now—I’m going to stay out of your way now.”

“Three times?”

Kagami smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind Marinette’s ear, her hand gently cupping her cheek. “Once Adrien was done, you still wanted a taste, so…you cleaned both of us up. And I finally got to taste you.”

Marinette’s cheeks pinked as she pictured the scene from the night before. She was so lost in the fantasy that she barely noticed Adrien kneeling between her legs, lifting her hips slightly to line up his cock with her.

“You do want this, right?” he murmured, the tip of his cock pushing open her folds.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, please, Adrien…”

He slowly pushed himself into her, groaning as he sunk his cock deep inside her. Marinette gasped and moaned, pushing her hips up against his as she felt full and wanted.

“God, Marinette,” he groaned, starting to move his hips slightly, thrusting into her. “You feel so good…” He lowered his head to press his lips to hers, pushing his body against hers, trying to feel as much of her as possible.

Marinette just cried out in pleasure, one hand gripping Adrien’s side, the other entwined with Kagami’s fingers. She rocked her hips with Adrien, relishing the feeling of both of them touching her, wanting her.

Kagami pressed her free hand to Marinette’s cheek, turning her head to kiss her fiercely.

Marinette was gone, lost in the sensations, in the feeling of lips, hands on her body, Adrien’s cock filling her completely while Kagami sucked her tongue. Someone, she couldn’t tell who, rubbed her clit, bringing her closer and closer to the peak.

Kagami moved to trail her lips to Marinette’s ear, lightly nipping at the shell of her ear while she murmured, “Come for us, Mari. Adrien told me he wants to feel you fall apart around him.”

“Ahh-almost,” she groaned. “Kagami, Adrien, Adrien…”

“I want to hear your pretty screams again,” Kagami murmured. “You love us? Then let us make you feel so good…”

“We—nngh—we love you too,” Adrien said, the words coming out between soft grunts as he fucked Marinette hard, slamming his cock into her. He pressed his body to hers, whispered into her ear, “I love you, Marinette.”

That was all she needed to tip over the edge, wrap her legs around his hips and rock her body against his as she came. Kagami kissed her neck as Adrien’s orgasm followed, spilling into Marinette as he held her close.

“By the way,” Adrien said as he pulled out, “we do both want to date you.”

“Kind of figured that out,” she replied. She slipped one arm around each of her lovers and said softly, “I’m really glad to hear it though.”

[thisbentleyplaysqueen]

The Angel, the Demon, and the Not-so Friendly Ghost- Chapter 3

Previous

Wow, y’all. I owe you BIG time! I know I said that I would update weekly. Then I had finals and basically slept for two weeks straight. I hope to catch up and get back on schedule. For now, enjoy!

“And you’re absolutely certain this will work?”

“ ‘Course it will.” Crowley waves down a carriage. It slows to a stop, and he hikes up his cane in order to reach up and open the carriage door. Aziraphale barely glances at him before climbing in. Once Aziraphale is comfortable, Crowley follows, and shuts the door with a shout of directions, and the angel looks down to the newspaper Crowley had slid to him on the ferry. The photograph that had been given alongside it was carefully slid into one of his bags, allowing him to focus on the newspaper. 

His French was a bit out of practice, but he had read the article Crowley had circled enough times to practically remember each detail. 

“Why would two junk men buy an opera house?”

“Scrap metal, angel.” Crowley says, turning back to Aziraphale as the carriage takes off at a steady canter. “They call it a scrap metal business, and they seem to have hit a bit of a fortune in the line of work. Humans love money, consider it the foundation of their happiness. You know that.” He looks out the window, leaning against his cane. “They can never get enough…”

“But why an opera house? Why not a mansion, or something extravagant like that?”

“I’ve had tabs kept on these two for a while.” Crowley admits. “And I had heard a rumor that the current owner was looking to retire, so I might have caused it to...catch their eye. Made them think they had to buy.”

“And...how do we know that they won’t arrive at the opera house at the same time?”

He waves it off. “Don’t worry about it, angel. I’ve taken care of it.”

Aziraphale frowns at that, and shakes the paper. He glares down at it as the silence hangs between them. Across from him, Crowley huffs, but says nothing. 

He will admit, Crowley planned ahead, as if he expected Aziraphale to be placed on the same mission. He must have been given his mission much sooner than he. Surely he didn’t expect Aziraphale to search him out, did he? 

No, he thinks as his frown grows. After what happened last time, Crowley wouldn’t expect that. As thick-headed as he can be, the demon is too clever to anticipate such a reaction.

“This is your stop.” Crowley’s voice breaks Aziraphale from his thoughts. He looks up as the carriage slows through a grand neighborhood. As they come to a stop, his eyes travel up the building with the ornate architecture and rich oak door. “This house is under the ownership of Monsieur Gilles Andre.” Crowley’s glasses slide down his nose, allowing Aziraphale to see his eyes as he raises his eyebrows and continues. “Remember, he has a meeting tomorrow with his business partner Monsieur Richard Firmin and the current owner of the opera house. A carriage will first pick up Monsieur Firmin, before coming for Monsieur Andre tomorrow at one o’clock sharp. Got it?”

Aziraphale nods, and Crowley opens the carriage door. Surprisingly, the demon climbs out, but the angel realizes he merely holds onto the door and stares up at him. Aziraphale can’t help but nervously clear his throat and redirect his attention to his bags. He hikes them up before slipping out of the carriage without a word. He refuses to meet Crowley’s gaze, and instead crosses to the front door. There’s a snap behind him, and before he can knock, the door opens with ease. He pauses, knowing the cause. Perhaps he should turn back, say something…

No. It is rather pointless. As soon as this mission is completed, and the spirit is sent away, the two can go their separate ways and never see each other again. 

Aziraphale supposes this thought is supposed to bring him comfort, but tries not to dwell on the growing pit in his stomach as he instead hurries inside, slamming the door behind him. 

He sighs, and leans back against the door, letting his bags barely hang from limp hands. After a moment, his eyes rove upwards, taking in the ornate staircase and the surprising emptiness.

“...Hello?” He calls. His voice echoes, and he pauses as it fades into stillness. But no one appears, and nothing moves. 

Hm. Perhaps Monsieur Andre does not have servants. 

“Well, no matter.” He mutters to himself as he makes his way up the stairs, bags in tow. He’s panting when he finally finds the master bedroom down the upper hallway. He dumps his bags just inside the doorway, before quietly shutting the door behind him. His mouth gapes in awe. 

Though Aziraphale is an angel and could summon whatever he wished, he lived relatively...simple, compared to many humans. He enjoyed his cozy bookshop with its antique armchair and rusted (but still useful) kettle. This, he realizes as he slowly turns in a circle to take in the sparse room, is nothing like his bookshop. Everything had its own sphere of space, gleaming and new. The bed seems plush (in Aziraphale’s sparse experience with beds), but everything else is simply a decoration. 

It seems Monsieur Andre really did make a fortune from scrap metal. 

No matter, he reminds himself as he shakes his head and closes his eyes, he has a job to do. He crosses to the simple desk, and begins to dig. 

-

By the time the sun set, rose, and was high in the air the next day, Aziraphale had committed every detail of Gilles Andre to memory. 

His mother lived in the countryside. According to their letters, he had moved her out there following his wealth and when her health began to fail. He’s due to visit her when he returns from his trip. 

    He had a folly of female admirers, most notably after he came into wealth. However, from the lack of personal attention paid to the organization of their letters and photos, he had little interest. Rather, the only photos set with clear premeditation were the ones of his mother, and ones of himself and Monsieur Firmin. 

He was an avid fan of the opera. That was an easy thing to mimic, since Aziraphale fancied the opera himself. Perhaps that’s how Crowley was able to convince them to…

Damn! He stands sharply, blinking in the afternoon light. At the clattering beneath, he peeks out the window to see a carriage slow to a stop outside. Gasping to himself, he hurries to the wardrobe and pulls out a simple outfit, and positions himself in the full length. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and snaps his fingers. 

Though Aziraphale is an angel and quite capable of taking any mortal shape if needed, he still grimaces at the discomfort as his form grows and thins. He can imagine his curls straightening and darkening to a grey, quite fashionable, hairstyle. He opens his eyes but refuses to look at the mirror as he hurriedly switches from the now oddly fitting tartan suit to the grey suit and dark shoes. He finally spares himself one glance in the mirror to ensure everything was in order, before hurrying out of the room. 

The knock echoes through the corridor. “Just a moment!” He calls as he takes the steps two at a time, attempting not to trip over his much longer legs. He spots his overcoat near the door. He takes it in one hand, and opens the door with the other. He pauses from where he had begun to slip on his coat at the sight of the man at the door. 

He was short, and stocky. His hair was balding enough to where the top of his head shined in the sunlight. His suit consists of browns, burgundy, and slight gold on the lapels, matching a perfect description of Monsieur Richard Firmin, his faithful business companion. It was so unlike Aziraphale’s companion, that the only way he recognized him was the dark glasses covering his eyes. 

“Crowley.” Aziraphale manages to catch his breath again, and resumes pulling on his coat, and grabs the cane near the door. “You…” he licks his lips nervously, “You’re wearing your glasses.”

Crowley grunts at that, and pushes them further up his nose. “Damn disguise can’t hide my eyes. I’ll tell them it’s a condition.”

“Fair enough.” Aziraphale responds softly. He grips his cane tightly, before slipping out and shutting the door behind him with a decisive click. 

“All settled then?” When Aziraphale nods, Crowley returns it curtly. “Good. Let’s get rid of this ghost.”

[maree-ff]

Adjustments

[CAMILA]

Walking through the classroom door I hit the lights, taking in the flashbacks of my last day at work before going on leave. This transition back into the working field after really getting to know my newborn baby won’t be easy. This morning it took me 45 minutes just to put the baby down so I could get ready for the day. Andre did not pester me or make commentary on my behavior.  I think he was mute for quite a few reasons but only one stands out the most. He’s become an extremely compassionate person. Andre watched over and cared for me from the moment he came home up until now. He knows how attached I’ve become to our new baby and getting acquainted with motherhood once again. Which is why leaving this morning was a major heartache for me. Pregnancy became that much lifelike with him around to soak up the last few months alongside me. Not to forget about how nurturing, strong and level headed he was while I was going through labor.

“Mrs. Reese?” A tender voice spoke out from behind me.

I squealed initially and spilled some of my tea on the floor. The sting from the water against the tops of my feet made me tear up but I didn’t release them. Spinning around slowly I made eye contact with one of my quietest students.

“Good morning, Lee. How are you?” I asked him.

“I’m okay. Sorry if I scared you. I didn’t mean to.” He said timidly.

I assured him that I’m fine and that he didn’t scare me. I don’t have the heart to tell this sweet boy that he did in fact scare the hell out of me. My classroom isn’t even filled yet and I already feel that my nerves are getting the better of me. 

---------  --------

Time seems to be moving at a rather fast pace now. Half of the day is already gone and I received my routine visits from both Zoe and Kenja. Seeing them reminded me of Jorden and although the sadness returned, the girls put a smile on my face.

After recess was over, I pushed through the remainder of my lesson by forcing my sadness deep down inside. My students don’t deserve any inconsistency in their education. The minute the bell rang out, my room alongside neighboring classrooms and hallway were instantly filled with noise. Standing from my desk I removed my cardigan, set it on top of my laptop, and went around the room for a sweep.

“Mrs. Reese?!” I turned around on my heels with three pencils, a notebook, and halfway zipped pencil pouch in hand. I moved so quickly I dropped half of what I was holding.

“Dammit..” I cursed under my breath at my clumsiness and bent down to pick up the items. “What’s the matter Claudia?” I asked.

“I still can’t read the big clock.” She whined.

Going over to her desk I assisted her in gathering her things and talked her through the review lesson on time we went over today. My fill-in for the last few months has really done a great job on staying up on the lesson plan I set up for my kids. Even at home, carrying Jorden to full term I still made sure my babies here at school were taken care of. From what the substitute told me, Claudia is still struggling to read time. I went as far as writing her parents a note explaining to them what exactly Claudia is having issues with.

Once Claudia felt confident that she will get the hang of this lesson, I sat down at my desk to read everyone’s journal entries. There was complete silence in my room until I heard feet closing in on my position. Still focused on these journal entries I picked up my favorite pen and highlighter, going in with this editing.

“Mama, you coming home late today?” 

My head turned to the left and when I saw Zoe standing in the doorway I dropped my pen. I turned around in my chair, stood up and went over to where she stood. With her wrapped up in my arms I felt this sensational urge to weep but our location prevented that. 

“I missed you, my love.” I sniffled. Even after a long day of playing and running around, Zo still smells like home. 

“But I came to visit you two times today. Mom, are you okay?” She asked. The concern in her voice tickled me red. 

Scaling back from our hug I walked her to my desk so I could sit back down. 

“Mommy..what’s wrong? Why do you look so sad?” She questioned with a little more authoritative tone. 

“I’m not sad, Zo. I’m really tired but I’m not sad. And no I’m not coming home late. In fact..” taking a breather I stood up and began gathering my belongings. “Wanna take a trip with me? We can surprise daddy and Kenny with something they’ll both love.” I know that enticing children is a horrible parenting tactic. Especially since I get on Andre, all the time, about spoiling them with material things. However the incentive for her to come home with me is baked goods. 

“Can we go to Ann Marie? Please mom? Say that we can go, please!” Zoe began to guilt trip me about the last time we were supposed to go to the bakery. Together we left the school grounds after I received confirmation that Divya picked up Kenja this afternoon. The drive into downtown LA was an absolute mess. Cars and pedestrians at every turn, not to mention it began to rain just as Zo and I made it inside the shop. 

“Mommy..the umbrella.” Zoe complained, standing close to me. 

“We’ll be alright love bug. I’ll cover you with my jacket before we walk out. Tell me what you want.” I said to her. I granted Zoe the pleasure of getting her favorite muffin and a small cake just for her. I was sure to get Kenja’s and her daddy’s  favorite treats as well. When it came time for me to pick something I froze. 

My drastic change in diet has really hindered my food palate. I chose many months ago to eat to live. I chose to nourish my body with food from the earth not only for my benefit but for my little boy too. 

“If you’re struggling with the main menu we do have a specialty menu you can look at.” The girl behind the counter spoke up. 

“Yes, I’d like to see that one. Thank you.” Accepting a laminated booklet with all kinds of alternatives I felt my eyes widen. “I’ll be damned.” I chuckled quietly. 

“Can I see? I want to look too, mom.” Zoe quizzed frantically. 

Squatting down to her level I read off some goods that caught my eye. Thanks to Zoe I picked out more sweet treats than I bargained for. The girl boxed up our food beautifully and then we went home. The rain lightened up just as I got settled behind the steering wheel. My eye caught the brightest rainbow I’ve seen since the day of my mother’s funeral. 

“It’s grandma and her special rainbow, mommy, look.” Zoe said. 

“Yeah baby, I see it too. It’s pretty right?”

“Uh huh.” She mumbled 

Choking back a mass in my throat I discreetly thanked my mother for the sign of good faith.

——--  ——--

“Alright, all done.” I yawned. Setting down Kenja’s brush and spray bottle I hung my head low with my eyes closed. My body began to sway and when I felt the cushion of her bed underneath my head I remained still. 

“You can sleep here, I don’t mind..” 

I opened one eye up to see Kenja taking the braid out of my hair. A weak smile and airy chuckle later I felt a presence nearby. Shifting slightly I felt my spirit come back to life. Here Andre stands in the doorway of the room with the baby cradled in his arms. I’ve been home tending to the girls for over an hour and I’ve yet to lay eyes on my baby. 

“Is he asleep?” I yawned again, making the girls and Andre laugh. 

“Same state that you’re in now. Come on..” he encouraged me. 

I rose slowly from Evelyn’s bed and stood on my feet even slower. I’m worn out beyond measure. This first day back was brutal on my body. Turning around on my feet I went to tuck the girls into their beds. It’s getting to that time of night where I have to flip the switch in my brain. I tended to my kids and students all day so now is my time to end my night with my best friend and our bundle of joy. 

“Good night my loves, I love you girls so much and don’t ever forget that.” I passed my love to the girls and left the room, stripping out of second change of clothes. I swapped the sweats and hoodie for one of my robes and sat down at the edge of the bed. Andre passed the baby to me and when I laid my sights on him I let the tears go. Too many hours have passed since I’ve held and loved on my little boy. “I missed you so much baby. So so much.” I whispered to him, smothering his face in warm kisses. 

“I can already tell how your first day back went.” Andre voiced, adjusting the temperature in the room.

Sighing tiredly, I crossed my legs and laid back against the bed. “I missed the two of you so much. Being here was all I could think about. The girls came to visit as usual and that really helped. Anyway, how was your day?”

“Quiet. I didn’t take him anywhere. We just hung out around the house. I let him sleep after you left and surprisingly he was knocked out for five hours straight.” Andre stretched out beside me, removing my earrings and my eyelashes. “Why are you still playing around with these? You have beautiful eyelashes that don’t deserve to be covered up.” 

Smiling from the pit of my belly I felt my body tremble at his passive aggressive attempt to poke fun at me. Andre is the most supportive man I know but when I toy with different makeup looks and tools he gets a kick out of making commentary. 

“I like to switch things up, Dre. You know that. I guess you’re right though, they are quite uncomfortable.” Peering at my baby I lifted my hand to stroke his cheek. 

“Switch with me. Go get ready for bed because it’s getting late and you need to rest.” He and I traded places, granting me the peace and quiet I’ve been yearning for all day. Lifting my head toward the shower head I embraced the pounding water, pushing my hair back. 

“Mmm…” I groaned. “Hahh…” my mind is slipping between reality and a dreamland. Life has been gracious to me and so has the Lord. Life has also been cruel to me on numerous occasions. The spattering water against the floor and my feet reminded me of the waterfalls in Puerto Rico. 

“Camila,” I heard over the water. 

“Yeah?” Turning around I leaned forward to let the water penetrate my back muscles. “That feels so good, mm..” 

“I’m just checking on you. Go on with your shower, I’m not going anywhere.” He snickered. “Can I ask you something babe?”

Rolling my eyes I began to take this shower seriously. “Of course.” 

“How are those stitches treating you?” 

Andre mentioning the most painful part of labor and delivery struck a nerve. I truly felt like I was dying when I felt my skin rip apart. “Umm..” as I rinsed the suds from my body I took a seat and delicately fanned my fingertips over my stitches. Even the slightest touch still raises the hair on my body and brings me discomfort. 

“Cam, what’s wrong baby, talk to me..” I jumped at the sound of Andre’s voice and stabbed myself with my fingernail. 

“Crap..” I shuddered. “It’s healing...slowly but surely. Did you get the pain meds I asked for? Along with everything else?” Sighing in defeat I wiped away the tears and sped up this shower. Stepping out I accepted the towel from Andre’s hand. “Gracias.” I smiled. 

“Always and yes I have everything that you asked for. Everything alright in there?” He smirked. 

“The stitches still haven’t dissolved and I stabbed myself. I’m okay I promise but I’m still not-”

Andre stroked the crown of my head and bent forward to kiss my cheek. “Camila, I know how much pain you’re still in.” He began. 

Gulping down the slight formation of bile I looked him in the eye. 

“I care about your health and well-being beyond my sexual needs and desires. I care about your sexual needs and desires before mine, you know that too. I was there behind you, watching you bring this little boy in the world. Meaning that I will never forget how difficult it must’ve been for you. We will get back to our old selves in time. I’m not rushing nor am I growing impatient.” 

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up. “Thank you for all that you do. Your patience and commitment is unmatched.” I said genuinely. 

If I want to have a healthy state of mind I’ve got to refocus. With Andre taking unexpected time off to be home with Jorden, this is the break I need to reinvent Camila Maree. 

[reciprocityfic]

a slight return home, chapter 4

Title: A Slight Return Home Fandom: The Walking Dead Pairing: Rick x Michonne Rating: T Summary: Rick’s death shakes Michonne’s world to its core. With her daughter and her remaining family, she tries to navigate her changed life, and all the struggles and surprises that come with it.  Canon-compliant, for now.  Spoilers up to 9x06.

Author’s Note: Hello, my dears! Here is chapter four of A Slight Return Home. I hope you like it!

read chapter one on tumblr, archive of our own or ff.net read chapter two on tumblr, archive of our own or ff.net read chapter three on tumblr, archive of our own or ff.net read chapter four on archive of our own or ff.net

dream a little dream of me

She bursts into tears the first time she sees him.

He's little, he's wrinkly, and he's covered in goop as Siddiq lifts him up to her after the final push. Siddiq cuts the umbilical cord and wipes him off quickly, then checks his vitals before laying the baby on her chest. His eyes are shut, fists closed tight, and his screams echo throughout the room. He's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen, and she cries.

He's here. He's finally here, but Rick is not, and somehow, she's never been more happy or more sad at any point in her life.

She cradles him close, and after a few moments, he quiets down, and nuzzles his face into her chest. She smiles through her tears, strokes her hand over his head. She can already see the scant hair he has trying to form into curls, and her heart breaks.

She can't tear her gaze from him, so she doesn't notice that Siddiq has finished cleaning up and is now standing next to her until he speaks.

"He's beautiful, Michonne."

She sniffles, and nods.

"He is."

"Do you have a name picked out for him yet?"

She hasn't told anyone except Rick what his name will be, up to this point. It had been just between the two of them. Something they could share in.

"I'm going to name him Rick."

Siddiq doesn't answer right away, but when he does, she swears she can hear a tremble in his voice.

"That's a good name."

He stretches in her arms, and nuzzles his face into her chest again. She smiles softly.

"Yeah. It is."

He doesn't sleep well for the first few months.

She supposes that few infants sleep particularly well in the initial weeks following birth, but she doesn't remember it being this difficult with Andre, and Judith could sleep through anything. Siddiq agrees that his problems seem a touch above average, but assures her that it's nothing to worry about; some babies sleep through the night within days, while others take much more time.

As a result, though, many of her nights are nearly sleepless. Her leadership takes a temporary hit, only because she is so exhausted so much of the time, but many people - Rosita, Father Gabriel, Aaron, among others - step up to help in her absence. And she firmly assures the community that she will be back to full capacity once RJ starts sleeping better.

For now, her focus is on her baby, along with Judith. Judith, who loves her baby brother so dearly already. Who showers him with soft kisses all over his tiny face, who constantly talks and coos at him in her sweet, high voice, who loves to sit next to Michonne on the couch and cradle their new bundle in her small arms. Judith, who handles the many changes going on around her with a grace that eclipses her young age. The girl never complains - not when their family routine changes so drastically, not when her mother's attention must so often draw towards RJ instead of her, and not when her baby brother's cries keep her awake at night.

On one particularly noisy evening, Judith wanders into her mother's room, blanket clutched in one hand and stuffed rabbit in the other. Michonne looks at her little girl as she walks around the room, gently bouncing RJ as he cries. Judith's eyes are sleepy, and there's a frown on her face, as she crawls on top of the bed, but she doesn't say anything.

"What's up, little bird?" Michonne asks.

"Baby brother is keeping me up," she answers simply.

Michonne sighs, and then sits down on the edge of the bed. She shifts RJ to one arm so she can run her hand over Judith's hair.

"I'm sorry, baby."

"It's okay. He's just a little baby," she mumbles tiredly, as she sets down her bunny and rubs at her eyes.

Michonne can't help the warmth that fills her heart, and she smiles at her daughter.

"You're so smart, Judy. And kind."

She's someone her father would be proud of. The thought threatens to make tears well up in her eyes.

Judith doesn't respond. Instead, she lays back on the two pillows at the head of the bed. Michonne watches her for a moment, and then decides to lay down next to her. She crawls over carefully, still holding RJ, and settles down next to her daughter, their heads resting together. She lays the still- whining baby on her chest.

The two of them are quiet for a few minutes, but then, Judith turns and looks at her mother.

"Did you try to sing to him?"

"No, I didn't," Michonne says, shaking her head.

Judith pauses before speaking.

"You should sing him Daddy's song. That always helps me go to sleep."

She heard him for the first time one evening long ago. Before the war started. Before Negan. Before the two of them together, even.

She had been cleaning up from dinner, but now that she was finished, she decided to shower and get to bed early - a rare opportunity in the sort of world they lived in. She said goodnight to Carl, who was sitting on the couch with a new comic book Glenn had gotten him on a run a few weeks ago. Rick had gone upstairs a while ago with Judith, to put her to sleep. The toddler must've been having a little trouble getting there, since Rick wasn't back yet.

She was on her way to the bathroom when she heard a male voice singing. It was so pleasant and melodic that it made her pause. She looked to her left - towards where the sound was coming from - and saw the door to Judith's room, slightly ajar.

She knew it was Rick. It had to be Rick. He was the one putting Judith to bed. Plus, Carl was downstairs, and there was no one else in the house. It was Rick.

But she still had to check.

Gingerly, she backed up a few steps, and moved towards the edge of the hallway, so she could peer through the crack between the wall and the door and see into Judith's bedroom.

She saw Rick, standing and swaying back and forth, with his little girl in his arms. She was laying against his chest, eyes closed and mouth open, wearing purple polka-dotted footie pajamas. Michonne could see Rick's mouth moving as he sang. She couldn't quite make out the words, but the tune sounded familiar.

She couldn't have stopped the smile that crept onto her face even if she'd tried. She thought of nights spent rocking Andre to sleep in her arms with a sweet song, and the memory didn't make her sad.

And then, as suddenly as the sound first permeated her eardrums, it was over. Rick stopped swaying, and approached Judith's crib, gently laying the girl down and bending over to press a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Goodnight, little bird," he whispered.

Her smile grew. And she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Rick was approaching until he opened the door to leave the room. They both startled slightly at the sight of each other.

"Rick," she said.

"Michonne," he answered, his voice slow as he closed the door behind him. He squinted at her, and tilted his head, like he had a habit of doing. "What are you doing out here?"

She leaned back against the wall, looking away from him. She felt embarrassed, all of a sudden, for snooping on a quiet moment between him and his daughter. She hoped he wouldn't be mad at her.

She hated when he was mad at her, or when she was mad at him. It rarely happened now, but when it did, it was like her entire world was off-kilter. Like someone had switched all her rights with her lefts without telling her.

"I was, uh...I was on my way to take a shower, but I heard someone singing."

He didn't react for a moment, and her heart dropped. But then, he laughed gently, and looked down at the floor as he ran a hand through his curly hair. When he managed to meet her gaze again, she swore she saw a blush covering his cheeks, even in the dim light.

"You heard that, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. And I was curious, so I stopped to listen."

He laughed again, and stared at the ground once more. He seemed almost embarrassed, and she continued quickly in an attempt to reassure him.

"It was nice," she told him. "I kept listening because it made me happy. To see the two of you like that."

He glanced up at her, looking surprised.

"It did?"

She nodded. He smiled at her, and this time, it seemed genuine. His eyes brightened, and he seemed pleased, somehow.

"I'm glad it made you happy," he murmured.

They locked eyes, and a beat passed between them. It wasn't quite awkward, but it wasn't comfortable, either. She felt like she was standing on the edge of something high, and her stomach twisted in a way she didn't recognize.

"May I ask what song you were singing?" she said to him softly.

Rick blinked hard twice, his face wearing an expression that she couldn't identify. Then, he smiled, and she felt her whole body relax.

"Yeah, of course. My older cousin used to babysit me and my brother when we were young. I always had trouble falling asleep when my parents weren't home, so she would come sit with me and sing me songs to try to get me to relax. My favorite was always 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas. So when we had Carl, I would sing it to him when I put him to bed. And I started singin' it to Judith back at the prison."

He stopped, and looked at Judith's door, the corner of his lips turning up.

"She likes it, I think. Even more than Carl did. It always seems to calm her down."

Hearing the title of the song jogged her memory.

"My grandmother used to play that song," she told him. "The Ella Fitzgerald version, though."

He grinned at her.

"Somethin' I have in common with the fancy city girl."

She rolled her eyes playfully, and he let out a hushed laugh. He liked to tease her often, about anything. When she told him a bit about her upbringing, he found another target. He always exaggerated their differences, and referred to his as the poor, rural childhood to her more well-to-do, metropolitan upbringing.

"You're lucky I'm friends with a country bumpkin like you."

Something flashed in his eyes - something almost crestfallen - but before she could even try to decipher it, or ask about it, he laughed again. Then, he cast his eyes towards the floor.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I'm lucky."

He kept his eyes down, for a moment longer than she expected him to.

"Rick?"

He immediately brought his gaze back to her, and plastered a smile on his face.

"Sorry. Just tired."

"You gonna go to bed?"

"Probably should. Me and Daryl are supposed to go out early tomorrow."

She nodded. Stepping forward, she placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, then let her fingers trail down his arm before dropping back to her side. She was close enough to him now that she had to look up to make eye contact with him. When she did, he was already staring back at her.

"Goodnight, Rick," she said gently.

His lips turned up into a half smile, and he shifted slightly on his feet, bringing himself even closer to her.

"'Night, Michonne," he murmured, and there was a lilt to his voice that, again, she couldn't decipher.

He'd been different around her the past couple of weeks. Not vastly different. In fact, she probably wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't so completely in tune with him, always. But she did notice it, and it frustrated her - not because it was a bad different, or anything like that. She just wasn't used to not understanding his moods and actions. Not anymore.

Now, though, there always seemed to be a certain edge to him whenever they were together. Especially when they were alone. He would stare at her for a moment too long, and then look away quickly, and he wouldn't meet her gaze again for a few moments. There would be a note in the tone of his voice, or a tiny glint in his eyes, that she hadn't seen before. And sometimes, he almost seemed nervous.

He'd never been nervous around her before; he'd been hostile at the prison, distant when they first arrived at Alexandria. But she couldn't remember a time when he'd been nervous.

It felt like something was shifting between them, but she didn't know what it was, or why. She'd been meaning to ask him about it, and was tempted to say something now, but she decided to put it off until a different time. He was obviously tired, and she could feel exhaustion from the day's activities begin to seep into her bones, as well.

So she began her walk down the hall anew, letting her side brush against his as she passed. When she got to the bathroom door, she paused, and turned back towards him.

She found him still in the same position, facing away from her, leaning against the wall outside of Judith's room.

"Hey, Rick?"

He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Yeah?"

"You have a pretty good voice. For a country bumpkin, at least."

He laughed lowly, and again, she saw him blush.

"Momma?"

Judith's voice breaks Michonne from her reverie. She looks down at her daughter, who's staring up at her with big, hazel eyes, a small frown on her face. She looks a bit nervous, and Michonne knows that's her fault. She encourages mentioning Rick whenever possible in their household, to keep the memory of him potent and vibrant. But, depending on how she's feeling - on how much grief is swallowing her in that day or time - her reactions differ. Sometimes, she and Judith will smile together as they remember. At others, tears well up in her eyes, and some spill over.

Sometimes, she has to leave Judith and go to the next room to let out the sobs collecting in her chest.

And she knows that Judith is waiting, now, for what she'll do next. If she'll laugh, or cry, or even retreat. Michonne's heart breaks, and she quickly moves to reassure the girl.

"I probably can't sing it as good as Daddy did," she tries to joke.

Judith smirks.

"That's okay, Momma. Your voice is pretty, too," she tells her, reaching up and running her small hand over RJ's back.

The corners of Michonne's mouth turn up, and she closes her eyes before letting out a long breath.

Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you" Birds singing in the sycamore tree Dream a little dream of me

Her voice cracks on the last word, and she pauses to clear her throat. As she does, she glances over at Judith, and is startled when she sees a single tear running down her cheek. She sits up abruptly, cradling the baby close as to not jostle him too much.

"Judith?"

"Keep goin'," Judith answers.

"Are you oka-"

"Momma, keep goin'," Judith nearly begs, grabbing onto Michonne's shirt and pulling her back towards the mattress. "Please keep singing, Momma."

Michonne bites her bottom lip as worry churns in her gut, but she relents to Judith's wish and tugging. She lies back down, aligning her face with Judith's and gazing into her shining eyes.

"Keep goin'," the little girl whispers.

Say nighty-night and kiss me Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me While I'm alone and blue as can be Dream a little dream of me

Judith scoots closer to her mother, and rests her forehead against hers.

"I miss Daddy."

Another tear falls from her eyes before she closes them. Michonne's heart aches, just as much as it did on her first day without him.

"I miss him too, little bird," Michonne murmurs, taking one of her hands from RJ's back and reaching over to squeeze Judith's shoulder. She reaches up and splays her palm across Michonne's cheek.

They fall silent again, the only sounds in the room coming from RJ's slight whines. Then, Judith opens her eyes.

"Keep singing," she requests again.

Stars fading, but I linger on, dear Still craving your kiss I'm longing to linger 'til dawn, dear Just saying this

Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you But in your dreams, whatever they be Dream a little dream of me

Michonne feels Judith's hand go limp, and as she studies her face, she finds Judith's eyes closed, her mouth hanging open, and her breaths flowing slow and steady through her lungs.

She's fallen asleep. There's still moisture on her little face from her tears, and Michonne gently wipes it away with the pad of her thumb.

Stars fading, but I linger on, dear Still craving your kiss I'm longing to linger 'til dawn, dear Just saying this

She glances down at RJ, and finds that he's settled, too, his back rising and falling against her palm with a constant rhythm.

She smiles, and casts her eyes upward, towards wherever he is.

"RJ likes it, too," she lets him know.

Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you But in your dreams, whatever they be Dream a little dream of me

She gazes at her two sleeping children, and her heart fills with a warmth she hasn't felt in awhile. Again, she looks up.

"We're gonna be okay," she tells him. "I promise you, we're gonna be okay."

She takes a deep breath, allowing her whole body to relax, before closing her eyes.

But in your dreams, whatever they be Dream a little dream of me

As soon as Siddiq says it's safe for RJ to travel by horseback, she takes him to Rick.

Spring has begun to warm the days again, freeing the survivors from a harsh winter. The sun shines in splotches on her and their baby, its light interrupted by the burgeoning leaves on the surrounding trees. The water of the creek rushes by calmly as they sit on the damp ground beneath them.

"I wanted to bring him to you sooner, but I had to wait until I could take him on a horse."

She looks down at RJ as he sits on her lap, cooing and grasping a leaf Michonne had handed him. She smiles.

"I know I talk to you about him all the time. But I wanted you to see him."

She laughs self-consciously as RJ gurgles.

"I know that doesn't make sense. If you can hear me anywhere, then you can most definitely see him anywhere, too. But here I am."

RJ squeals, and wiggles on her lap. She smiles again.

"Here we are, I mean. Sorry, baby."

She's quiet for a few moments, and listens to the wind blowing through the tree branches. RJ starts to fuss, so she picks him up, and holds him in the air, facing her. She stares at him - at his angelic face, his tiny fingers, his wide, brown eyes. At his chubby cheeks, kicking feet, and dark curls that get longer by the day.

"Look what we made, Rick."

She brings RJ to her, cradles him against her body, and begins to sway back and forth. RJ hums and babbles contentedly, and she closes her eyes and leans her head against him, snuggling with the baby. With their perfect, little person.

She feels a tear run down the side of her face.

"Look what we made."

A/N: There ya go!

There are a ton of amazing versions of Dream a Little Dream of Me. The versions by Ella Fitzgerald and Mama Cass are the ones referenced in this chapter, and I also recommend the versions by Dala and Renee Dominique.

The line, "We're gonna be okay. I promise you, we're gonna be okay," is from This is Us on NBC. And I've actually used it before in one of my stories (Newton's Third Law), but I just like it a lot, okay? Don't throw things at me.

The next chapter is going to be weird and probably on the short side, since it's gonna be a sort of very vague navigation through a very long time period (6 years, anyone?). I hate to skip so much story, but we have things to get to, right? ;)

xoxo, Rebekah

[carisi-dreams]

“I’ll crawl home to her.” For Veronica and Razor please. I love their story!!

I love them so much. no angst, because there’s been plenty of that, I think. :)

“I miss Veronica,” Razor announced to the table at large. 

His words didn’t carry far over the din of music and revelry and when he didn’t get an immediate response he repeated himself. He followed it up with another question as he let his foot fall heavily to the floor from where it was propped up on his opposite knee. 

“Why the fuck am I here with you assholes when I’ve got a girl at home to share my bed?”

He pushed himself to his feet, then leaned heavily on the table when he swayed and almost lost his footing before straightening. Snake looked up at him through bleary eyes and snorted as he gripped the girl in his lap tighter.

“You can barely stand. You’re better off spending the night here.” The girl in his lap had her face buried in his neck and Razor made a face.

It was logical thinking. Nick had left an hour ago, but he had stopped drinking hours before that. Razor was way too drunk to get on the back of his bike and no way was he getting into a stranger’s car. No one else here was anymore fit to be behind a vehicle than he was, but he was determined.

“I’ll crawl home to her,” Razor declared defiantly. He swept his arm to indicate the room at large. “This bullshit loses some of its appeal when you have a real thing waiting for you.” He swayed again and Snake just watched him in amusement.

“You’re too drunk to drive,” he pointed out with a smirk. “You look like you’re standing on the deck of a ship you’re so wobbly. And it’s…” he paused to crane his neck at the old clock on the wall, “three in the morning. No way she comes to pick you up. Just sleep it off, man. You can see her in the morning.”

Razor fumbled with his phone and pursed his lips in irritation. Why had he sponsored this asshole again? He should have left when Nick did instead of trying to hang around and hang onto his youth. His fingers were clumsy and felt too large for the keypad, but they still managed to pull up Veronica on speed dial. When the call connected Razor flipped Snake the bird and slipped away to a quieter corner of the room.

“Hi baby, it’s me,” Razor responded when Veronica picked up. He smiled even as he dodged a puking prospect who had a girl hanging over him and trying to rub his back. He definitely had to get out of here.

“I know. I’m sorry. I just…I missed you.”

“Do you know what time it is?” Veronica asked groggily as she squeezed her eyes shut and fell back against the bed below.

She had contemplated just hanging the phone up once it had been made clear within moments that this was not an emergency. His breathing was heavy and loud into the phone and in the background music and loud laughing. Some kind of…something had been going on in the clubhouse, but she begged off, citing work in the morning. Truthfully, she did not feel up for the usual. Razor walked around like everything was fine and she was completely accepted, but he had stars in his eyes—blinded by his affection for her and convinced everyone else saw her the same way. The sneers and sly looks were things she usually bore gracefully, but tonight she had not been in the mood.

“You saw me earlier today…yesterday…whatever. You know what I mean. Go sleep it off and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Don’t wanna sleep without you,” Razor murmured into the phone. He cradled it and turned his back for more privacy. “I should have left hours ago. Too drunk to drive now, even by my standards.”

She made some noise about how he should never drive drunk at all, but he let it wash over his back. His focus was singular, besides, shouldn’t she be proud that he had called her instead?

“Please?”

She had just said his name in a warning tone, one that meant, you are not saying what I think you’re saying and asking me to get out of the bed at 3:30 am to come get you, are you? Words and meanings bent themselves and fit into her tone every time she said his name. Usually it was loving, a soft Andre or an amused Andre! This, though, was exasperation.

“Andre,” Veronica repeated in a warning tone, even as she was pushing herself to a seat.

He was quiet for a moment and she whimpered and buried her face in her pillow before tearing back the covers and getting to her feet. There was one of his sweatshirts strewn in a chair in the corner of her room and she snagged it and shoved her arms through before hunting for a pair of pants to put on.

“You are going to have to do something so big to make it up to me,” she continued in the same warning tone.

The light switch accidentally got knocked when she leaned against the wall to maneuver her legs into the pants and she winced as a hissing noise escaped from between her lips when the room was suddenly flooded with light.

“You know I’m good for it.”

His lips curled up and the words practically skipped out of his mouth. Razor turned over his shoulder, caught Snake’s eye and flipped him a double bird, before slinking towards the door and nudging it open with his foot. He slipped between the gap in it and inhaled deeply as the cleaner air hit him in the face. It was a cool night, enough to jog him into more alertness as he slumped against the rough brick.

She sounded grumpier when she responded. “Yeah, yeah. See you in 10. If you try to kiss me before you brush your teeth I’ll knee you in the balls.” 

Razor laughed into the phone. His foot found its way on top of a nearby rock on the ground and he skimmed it back and forth as he relaxed into the wall. No doubt she’d bitch him out when she got here, he knew he had to smell like booze and smoke and sweat, but he didn’t care. At this point she could have made him ride back to her place in the trunk of her car and he would have done it gladly, because it meant she really, truly, loved him. Beyond comfort and convenience, she loved him.

“Promise I’ll brush my teeth first. I’ll be the roguishly handsome guy leaning along the wall when you get here.”

She closed the car door and started the car.

“You mean you’ll be the disheveled drunk guy using the wall to keep him upright?” Veronica corrected with a tiny smirk.

“You’re lucky I love you.”

[freerebelmentality]

No more room service

Ok this is my very first hockey fic of Mike Condon. Be nice. After reading an article on the NHL website and reading the quotes he gave is when it just tugged my heart. Well whatever I have left of it anyway. Plus MIKE CONDON DESERVES ALL THE LOVE!!! He’s a precious cinnamon roll.

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Word Count: 1,947

"I lived in three different hotels [in 2014-15]," Condon said. "I lived in the hotel when I was up and down between Wheeling and Hamilton. I'm just used to hotel life."

The Penguins claimed Condon from the Canadiens to be Marc-Andre Fleury's backup while Matt Murray is recovering from a broken hand. After falling to No.

3 on the Canadiens depth chart, Condon welcomed the opportunity.

He isn't married and doesn't have children, so moving a family wasn't a concern.

"I'm single as can be," Condon said. "I've been moving in and out of hotels for the past five years. No one's been able to stick with me. No one wants to stick around for the ride. I don't blame them either. It's a tough ride. It takes a toll."

Last season was an anomaly for Condon because he spent all of it with the Canadiens, who gave him the green light to get an apartment on Nov. 1.

"It was weird for me to have my own place, not sharing with roommates or anything like that," Condon said. "I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself, but one day, hopefully, I can get another one. A guy can dream, right?"

You remember the quote to all those years ago and finally looking to today on how everything came to be for Mike.

It was a year ago when you first moved to Ottawa and he recently got picked up by the Senators hockey team. You two met at a charity event the Sens team always had for whatever fundraiser.

You’re a freelance photographer and your friend who worked for the organization that the Sens are fundraising for. She has hired you to take photos throughout the event for the website.

You couldn’t refuse the job because it’s a paying job, free drinks throughout the night and most of all there were going to be hockey players.

Throughout the night you have been taking pictures. Asking the players and their significant others for pictures as well and they happily accepted with wide smiles. Some you noticed were beginning to get quite tipsy, which was completely hilarious and happy you agreed to take the job.

With one quick swing around to walk back to the office your friend has placed you in. You wanted to switch cameras along with getting a new SD card, the one in you camera is getting quite full and fast.

You bumped into someone who was tall, you felt toned muscles as your face met his chest and you fell backwards as your bottom hit the floor. Your camera took a bad fall as well, the lens cracked as you took a better look at it.

Everyone stops what they were doing, gaps throughout the building while the person you bumped into kneels beside you and your friend rushes to your side.

“Y/n are you ok? What happened? Oh no your camera” she says while helping you to your feet

Others ask if you were alright, you nodded as you smiled and looked to your friend.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. Are you alright?” The man asks looking to you all worried he hurt you.

“I’m fine really. Thank you for asking. Only bad fall was my camera lens” you wave him off and look to your camera.

“I can replace that for you” your friend says while looking between you and the man

“No, please don’t bother. It’s a quick fix and I have extras. Don’t go through the trouble and spending a lot of money on a lens when I have a few at home” you tell her while walking slowly back to the office.

Your friend and the man who wasn’t bad looking. A ginger with adorable blue eyes. Such beautiful blue eyes that you can swim in them forever.

If he looked any deeper into your eyes, you’d allow him to look through your soul and let him have it.

“I’m Mike by the way. I feel bad for your fall and your lens breaking. Let me do something for you” he is basically pleading now.

He looked like a hurt puppy who played too rough and hurt the person he loved so much and trying to make things better by doing anything.

You knew who he was, you followed his playing career since he got signed by the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs are your most favourite team, second is the Sens. You are a third generation Habs fan and knew the rich history behind the team.

“Y/n. Since I’m not going to get rid of you that easily. You can take the rest of the pictures” you tell him as you wave him to follow you.

He followed while your friend remained where she was and continued doing her rounds.

Since then the both of you kept hanging out when he could. When the summer came is when the both of you got more acquainted and had fun.

While it lasted and it was the new hockey season all over again. You were worried he was going to get placed on waivers again and having another team pick him up.

That didn’t happen, the Sens offered Mike an extension on his contract and told him to find an apartment. Which he did and asked you to move in with him right away.

You didn’t want to be apart from him anymore and you graciously accepted. The both of you couldn’t be more happier.

“Hey what are you so deep into thought for?” Mike asks as he enters the office the both of you share

You exit out of the article quickly and making it look like you were working on editing pictures. You pulled up the software you always worked on and luckily a picture is still on there.

A picture you completely forgot to finish but got sidetracked by something else.

“I’m just debating if I should get a Leica Camera or not. Why I’m so deep into thought” you tell him while he sits in the chair that’s in front of the desk and where you are sitting.

“Wow, why don’t you just get it? Plus I think it’s time for you to upgrade anyway. You take amazing pictures and you deserve the very best to work with” Mike says while leaning in closer and in hopes he’s changed your mind and purchase the damn camera.

“You are so sweet you know. Too sweet for me. It makes me puke” you say while you look to him and back to the computer screen

“And you are disgustingly charming” he retorts as he gets up from the chair and walks out of the office

“Wait, I was looking at an old article you were in a few years ago” you finally tell him before he is an ear shot away.

He stops at the doorway and turns around slowly. He leans against the doorframe as he crosses his arms across his chest.

“Which article?” He asks keeping his gaze on you

“The one about constantly living in hotels and how you mentioned no one has ever stuck around because it takes a toll and you as single as can be” you recite the quotes he said a few years ago.

By reciting the very quote causes you such grief because the thought of him being lonely like that is hurtful.

After getting to know Mike, you didn’t like the idea of him being lonely or didn’t like the thought of anything so enduring such as loneliness. You loved Mike way too much for him to go through that. Loved him way too much.

“Ooh that interview. Why would you be deep into that thought?” He asks as he enters back into the office and this time he gets the chair and places it right in front of you.

“Because the very thought of you being incredibly lonely, in between towns/cities, in and out of hotels. It hurts me to even think of the things that you were going through. I mean your mental well being and so forth” you exhale while placing your hands over his and look to him

As you tell him that is when he forms a smile on his face.

“I appreciate you for that. I really do” he replies as he kisses the top of your hand

“It was lonely, especially at night and no one to ask how my day was in general and just talking about it. But I knew what I got myself into and I knew I needed to focus on going into pro hockey. I thought of it more as no distractions to keep me from getting the one thing I really wanted and that got me more motivated to get to where i am” he continues while talking about his journey into the NHL.

You loved how he talked about the hard work he has put into getting that contract. Loved how he talked about the trial and tribulations he endured just to get to where he is at today. Oh you loved this man right in front of you, you loved how he is so devoted to his career, devoted to his family and how much he has devoted himself to you.

“I love how you talk about your trials into getting a pro NHL contract and love how you stuck on being focused on that” you tell him as you get up from your chair and sit in his lap.

You wrap your arms around his neck and begin to kiss him. The way your lips molded together couldn’t be anymore fitting and perfect. It was as if you two are meant for each other. Like what the stories were told in books, how they were brought together by scent or how they imprinted and so forth. It’s how you like to think about it.

“Mmm, what else do you love?” Mike asks as he pulls away from the kiss and looks deep into your eyes

There he goes soul searching once more with his beautiful big blue eyes. You definitely can swim and get lost in them forever.

“You. I love you” you reply while look deep into his eyes as well.

“I love you too. You know, after that interview and just a short couple years. I have found the most incredible, understanding, accepting, loving, beautiful, caring person. Who is willing to join me on whatever path this crazy career of mine will take me” he says with an adoring smile as he closes the gap between the both of you.

“Really? Who is that? I’d like to meet this person” you jokingly reply while he looks to you all surprised and begins to tickle you.

You laugh while trying to move away from his sudden movements as he reaches the ticklish spots you have.

In all seriousness Mike is happy he has found someone like you and at times he felt he didn’t deserve you because of how long he’s gone all the time.

He was happy enough to find you still at the apartment the both of you shared. He thought at times that you have left him because you couldn’t handle things anymore. But no.

You were always right there, patiently waiting for him to come home. You were waiting right there at the airport when he called for pick up. He loved how your face lit up every time he came home. He loved everything about you and didn’t want to lose you over anything. He loved you too much to endure loneliness again. Never again.

No more room service for him.

[angelcakes12332]

Life in the Fast Lane

Gif is not mine

Chapter 5 (Chapter 1, 2, 3, & 4) Also up on Ao3 & WattPad

Liyah eyed the address for her borrowed route with trepidation. When Keith, her co-worker had asked her to fill in for his usual she’d agreed but now, remembering the amount she was being paid, she was nervous. This person either had money to burn or they were important. Or both her brain supplied.

The address causing her tremulous emotions lead to Stark Industries and she could only pray, as she pulled to a stop in front of the building, that the chauffeur wasn’t for Tony. The traitorous butterflies in her stomach hoping for the opposite. They hadn’t talked since their date going on four days ago, she figured he was probably busy but still, a text would have sufficed.

She fixed her pantsuit before coming around to the passenger side. No doubt the guard at the gate had already notified her passenger of her arrival. A flash of red hair had her stomach unclenching. It was the woman from the mansion.

“Take care, Ms. Potts.” The man called after he’d held the door for her.

“Thank you, Andre,” she returned over her shoulder. As she turned to face the car Ms. Potts froze just outside the door clearly searching for her usual driver before she schooled her features.

Liyah opened the back door for her with a smile. “Ma’am,” She trilled.

“Thank you.” The woman returned stiffly as she stepped into the car.  Liyah waited until her legs were clear before closing the door and returning to the driver’s seat.

As she entered the address into the GPS, she breathed a sigh of relief at the destination, nowhere near Tony’s pristine mansion.

In the back, Ms. Potts mumbled a few curses and Liyah glanced at her from the rear-view mirror.

“Is something wrong?”

Ms. Potts grimaced with a nod, “I don’t have Tony’s signature on the papers I told him to sign. That man I swear.” She let her head drop to the seat. “He’s already left the office and God knows when I’ll be able to get him back in there.”

She stayed silent as the woman seemed to mull over her decision, her hands growing sweaty as the seconds ticked by.

Ms. Potts’ head popped up as she looked to Liyah, “Could we stop by his house? It will only take a minute.”

Liyah forced a smile, “No problem, what’s the address?”

Ms. Potts frowned “I thought…” she trailed off, confusion marring her features.  

“We weren’t coming from this direction when I drove him home and we were mostly there when I’d found him,” Liyah explained calmly.

“Found him?” She asked, clearly confused.

Liyah tried not to roll her eyes “He didn’t tell you?”

Ms. Potts shook her head.

A sardonic smile formed on Liyah’s lips. “Figures, Mr. Stark was standing in the middle of the road when I almost ran him over.” Her smile turned more genuine at the memory before dropping to a frown. “Of course, then he was almost mugged.” She huffed looking back at Ms. Potts through the rearview mirror. “I offered him a ride. I.. I didn’t know who he was at the time.”

Ms. Potts sent her an apologetic look. “Oh, I … I just assumed.”

Liyah shrugged, what can you do, it read.

Ms. Potts gave her the address without more preempting.

Well into the drive Liyah glanced into the side mirror as she switched lanes, her brow raising as three identical black sedans mirrored her. She sped up switching lanes twice and watching as the black sedans dove between cars to catch up.

“Shit,” She breathed.

Ms. Potts looked up from her paperwork, “Sorry?”

“You may want to buckle up,” Liyah warned.

“Why what’s wrong?” she asked alarmed, buckling her seatbelt.

“We’ve got a tail,” Liyah explained.

Ms. Potts glanced out the window, just as the three sedans took up the three lanes of the interstate, a clear line between them and the cars they’d cut off. “Shit,” She repeated.

Liyah thanked whoever was listening that they weren’t in the usual Limo because her plan would never work otherwise.

She pushed the gas pedal to the floor, the tires screeching as she pushed the Audi to its max speed. The car shot off down the stretch of road, the Sedans slow to catch up as she neared the next bout of cars on the high way. Liyah slammed her eyes shut as she cleared her mind.

“Umm?” Ms. Potts fretted from the backseat.

Liyah didn’t hear her as she forced a real-time vision. Not opening her eyes, she used two of the lanes to make a U-turn, she pushed down on the gas and the Audi shot forward. The sedans swerved and she used the momentary surprise to weave between them. She continued weaving in and out of the oncoming traffic. Where was it? she searched the vision.

“There!” she breathed, her eyes flying open as she jerked the wheel, the car slid down the narrow shoulder before she swung it through a break in the barrier usually reserved for police. She merged seamlessly into the traffic pattern with a sigh of relief.

She spared a glance at Ms. Potts only to find her clutching the door.

“Um, we… We uh loss the tail.” Liyah offered sheepishly. God, she was going to lose her job. She should have found another exit, she could…

“I’m keeping you. Can I keep you?” Pepper asked breaking out into hysterical giggles.

“You mean? I’m not... You’re not firing me?” Liyah asked still holding her breath.

“Do you know often I get tails? The number of people who think they can use me to get to Tony or hold me for ransom? It’s ridiculous and you… where’d you learn to drive like that?”

“My brothers and sister showed me the ropes… getting into trouble was a thing I did often… had to figure out how to get out of it?” Liyah shrugged, relaxing minutely as she checked the directions the GPS had rerouted to.

Ms. Potts smiled. “Would you like a more permanent job, Linah was it?”

“Aaliyah Toretto,” She offered. “And yes, I’d like that, Ms. Potts.”

“Please, call me Pepper.”

With all that had happened Liyah had forgotten to be nervous about where they were headed. But as they pulled up to the gate and Pepper called to the same entity Tony had, the gates swung open and she found herself once again facing his home.

Opening the car door for her boss, she debated the merits of staying with the car.

“Come on,” the woman urged when she realized Liyah wasn’t following.

She tossed her driver’s hat back into the car before following after her. She forced her shoulders straight as she followed her new boss into the large house. Loud music greeted her, reminiscent of the loud parties her brother usually threw. Through the glass of the back window, she could see a rally of people around and in the pool drinking, and partying to their heart's content.

Ms. Potts let out sigh before stealing her spine, she followed the woman to a back set of stairs that led directly into the thick of the party. She seemed to eye the crowd at the bottom of the stairs with barely concealed malice.

“Ma’am.” Liyah offered, walking past her.  She steeled her gaze, her air turning into one of boredom. “Move.”

The girls looked to her surprised as if they hadn’t noticed her. She made an impatient noise and they immediately parted. “Thank you.” she huffed the words sounding anything but.

Ms. Potts stayed on her heels as she maneuvered through the crowd.

Dominic was usually the center of attention at these things, whether he wanted to be or not and as cheers rang out, she made a beeline towards the ruckus. She made a few louder impatient noises shouldering past people before the man himself came into view, black swim trunks on and his bare chest exposed; he wasn’t chiseled but he was toned, her mind noted of its own accord. He stood by the DJ’s booth mic in hand as he hyped up the party.

Ms. Potts squeezed between her and the crowd. “Thank You,” she called, making her way toward him.

“Sure, no problem” she managed to force out, her mouth suddenly dry. A flash of a vision of a girl being pushed into the water cut off her haywire thoughts.

The girl was nervous, timid even at the crowded party, probably dragged here by fake friends given that in the next moment a group of girls simultaneously pulled the top string of her bikini loose before pushing her into the pool.

Liyah didn’t have much time to debate her own reaction as she noticed the girl bobbing along to music at the edge of the pool. She saw the hands reaching out for the string and she found herself moving, darting in front of the girl. Liyah winced as they were suddenly forced forward into the pool and she gripped the girl tight around the middle as they dropped into the cold water, it splashed around them as they broke the surface.

The girl came up with a flailing gasp.

“I’ve got you.” Liyah shushed, keeping the girl covered with her own body. Luckily the water was below her chest. She was a head taller than the girl she realized as her brown eyes met those of green, freckles Peppering the bridge of her nose. She seemed so small in her grasp.

With an arm still around her waist, Liyah sent her a grin before shrugging out of her suit Jacket, she held it around the girl waiting as she retied her suit. Bathing suit in place Liyah eyed her quickly dulling eyes, thinking of how naked she must feel now in the bikini.

She offered her jacket and the girl was quick to shrug into it.  Noticing the looks they were receiving and how far away the stairs were, Liyah led the girl to the closest pool edge.

“Up you go,” She grunted, lifting the girl around the middle and onto the edge, the girl blinked slightly startled at being lifted. She bit her lip nervously as she continued to sit on the edge of the pool her eye beginning to brim with tears.

Liyah sent the girl a bright. “Hey, don’t let them get you down.”

The girl nodded leaning forward to wrap her in a hug, as she pulled back she pressed a quick kiss to her cheek in gratitude.

Liyah sent her a soft smile before pulling herself out of the pool, made harder by her clothes weighing her down.

People were still staring when she pulled herself out, she must’ve looked a drowned mess but, she couldn’t bring herself to care that her white shirt was probably see through. She searched the crowd for Ms. Potts, finding her wide gaze already focused on her.

She sent her shrug and a half smile before her eyes found those of Tony’s, his hand frozen above the papers Ms. Potts must have needed to be signed. Good.

“I’ll be at the car!” she called to the woman before disappearing into the crowd.

Opening the trunk, she grabbed the towel usually reserved for keeping the car clean and dried her face. She pulled her hair loose from its now hanging bun before dragging the towel through it to get rid of the excess water. She eyed her dry after work change of clothes longingly before grabbing them.

Making sure all the cars in the driveway were empty she climbed into the back seat. With great difficulty, she removed her wet pants, breathing a sigh when she finally had them off. She roughly yanked on the dry clothes before slipping from the car, just as Ms. Potts came into view, Tony on her heels.

“Of course, she’d want to see me Pep!” he called, his eyes finding hers over Ms. Potts shoulder. “Besides according to you she works for me now.”

Liyah grimaced at his words.

“No, No, she works for me,” Ms. Pott’s corrected. “And we have places to be. So, say goodbye, Tony.”

Liyah bit back a chuckle at his annoyed expression. “See you around Mr. Stark,” she called instead. She opened the door for Ms. Potts before opening her own door and reclaiming the driver’s seat.

Before she could close it, Tony forced himself between the door jam.

Startled, her stomach jolted as he bent his head into the car, “You just let anyone kiss you?” he breathed.

Liyah shrugged, “She was cute, green eyes? Definitely my type. She might have even slipped me her number.” She added, with a grin

Tony gaped at her “You’re a lesbian.”

He sounded so sure.

Ms. Potts made an alarmed noise from the backseat. “Tony!”

Liyah reached towards him grabbing the dip in the door panel, the movement bringing her face to face with him. “There is a term called bisexual,” she breathed before pushing the door out of his grasp and moving to slam it.

It did the trick and he moved out of the way as she pulled it shut. “Are you ready Ms. Potts?” she asked.

Pepper sent her a smile, “Thank you, Ms. Toretto, Yes.”

She sent Tony a salacious wink before pulling off.

By the time, she dropped off Ms. Potts, dropped the Audi off at the yard, and picked up her own car, it was dark outside. As per usual the house was loud and full of people, bottles littered any available surface.

As she changed she grabbed her phone before plopping onto her bed. She had three texts. She started with the one from an unknown number, guessing who it could be.

“Just saw the footage, Pepper told me what happened. Didn’t believe her until I saw it.”

Liyah huffed, reading the second text he’d sent.

“Bisexual, so that means I’m still on the roster”

Liyah let out a laugh, unable to help the smile on her face. Unable to resist teasing him she typed out her reply.

“You were on the roster?”

Hitting the back button, she clicked on the next text message. It was from Jesse.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this Liyah.”

Liyah’s heart clenched at the words. She quickly dialed his number. “Pick up.”

He picked up on the third ring music pulsing in the background.

“Liy?” he slurred.

“Jess?! Where are you?” she asked already pulling her shoes back on.

“Where are you? I thought you were going to meet me here?”

“God, I completely forgot. I’m on my way now.”

“No S’okay, I’ll find someone to spend time with,” He returned.

“Jesse No!” she hissed, as the line went dead.

Throwing on her jacket she checked the pockets for her keys before trudging back up the stairs.

She was beelining for the front door when Dom shouted her name.

She turned as he made his way over.

“Where’re you going, didn’t I just see you come in?”

She tried not to tap her foot impatiently. “I need to grab Jesse.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow “Jesse? Something going on between you two?”

Liyah fought back an eye-roll, instead choosing to give him a blank stare. “Is there something you wanted? I’m kind of in a hurry?”

“Saw the news today, a car drove right into oncoming traffic.”

“Sounds wild?”

“Sounds reckless if you ask me,” he said pointedly.

“I had three sedans tailing me, I lost them.” She shrugged.

“You need to be more careful.”

Liyah nodded “Sounds good, see you later.” She turned away closing the distance between her and the door.

[artificialqueens]

Star Power Over Me - Part One (Vixie/Trixya) - Pilandok

AN: A Vixie and Trixya love triangle, maybe three chapters long? There’s an endgame there somewhere. Light angst? I don’t know, they’re grown adults and don’t really think like angsty teenagers anymore, I guess. Also, about the smut, I don’t write smut but it’s important to the plot so I kinda just movie-glazed over it, sorry. Thank you for reading.

Trixie Mattel has made a shining example of how to get the most out of the spiritually-exhausting, completely unhinged, over-produced reality show of the one and only, larger-than-life RuPaul Andre Charles. So he’s not crazy, he swears, when he spotted the goddess herself sending him a proud smile from the third row of the audience in Peaches Christ’s stage show starring him and Katya. He made it, he was thinking then, lip-syncing Waterloo in  full clown makeup, cinched dramatically and padded for days. He made a comeback in All-Stars 3 and had just finished filming for their TV show on Viceland, and now there was RuPaul smiling, laughing, applauding at him, living for his comedic timing and ad-libs. Trixie was glowing because knew he worked hard for it; he was one of those queens who knew to work hard immediately after getting kicked off. He couldn’t have been a fan-favorite forever by just being himself, he isn’t warm or charming or the right kind of self-depreciating. He worked hard  laughing through the pain and embarrassment of getting kicked off twice, worked hard in Provincetown performing five nights a week sleeping on a cot on the floor, and worked hard for his merchandise to sell. The meticulous planning, scheduling, and insane work hours was all worth it, he thought, and quite telling of his Virgo nature.

What he never expected to happen, though, was to end up as one-half of one of the biggest couple in Drag Race herstory. Trixie didn’t even consider it beforehand, despite what people might think, but it worked in his favor so well that he almost wishes that he thought of it himself. Trixie and Katya. Everyone loved them and ate them up. Their chemistry was electric, and they were both having fun with it, he didn’t even mind that it was obviously Katya who was the more likeable of the two. Trixie enjoyed that they’ve been made into a package: getting booked to the same gigs, being given the same opportunities, their names incomplete without the other.  Suddenly, somehow, they were the next big bankable thing after Shalaska.

But then Trixie found himself in a situation that all these fangirls saw from a mile away: he fell in love with his best friend. He was a romantic but he fell in love with that chain-smoking, slow-splitting, Russian-accented addict anyway. He was a romantic and Katya doesn’t even believe in love and thinks that all relationship problems can be traced back to the problematic concept of monogamy. Trixie fell in love anyway—and it’s probably cause he is a romantic. It was a painfully unrequited love but one that he has been oddly at peace with, having learned to enjoy Katya’s unbridled affection while playing his part as the rational half of the two. But sometimes, like when he drinks, his mind creates problems for himself, wondering about the lasting effects of keeping his feelings at bay on his mental health and if when the bubble of their partnership bursts, it would be his feelings that were going to be at fault. That’s why he shouldn’t drink.. cause he- he- creates the problems in his head and he–

“Damn bitch, oh my god” Violet interrupts him, having just been the recipient of  the slurred, rambling version of everything stated above, “I knew you were a talker but you just keep droning on and on, shut the fuck up.”

Trixie smiles, a wide grin showing all his teeth, his glassy eyes revealing just how buzzed he truly is. He and Violet Chachki are on the floor of Trixie’s hotel room, a bottle of whisky between them, most of which has been consumed by Trixie. He pouts and raises a finger accusingly at Violet, “Bitch, I know you only invited me to drink just so you can finally get in my pants.” Violet laughs and doesn’t deny the charge. Trixie raises the bottle directly in front of Violet and smiles his full smile again, “your fans are great, by the way,” he says, slurring all his Rs.

“You know it, cunt,” Violet replies, laughing at his companion. Despite the rambling, Trixie is a fun drunk. He doesn’t think about the weight of the things Trixie has said or its implications because they were both laughing through it all. “I’ve slept with Katya,” Violet remarks casually, “it wasn’t that big of a  deal.”

“AHHHHH you cunt!” Trixie screams out laughing and slaps Violet’s knee, “I’m not a slut like you! It’s love, I’m in love!”

“Oh shut up you cheesy whore,” Violet is laughing too. He moves closer to Trixie who was sitting cross legged in front of him, he watches as Trixie leans back to rest his weight on his arms. He tilts his head up, still having that smile on his face, he seems to be staring at something on the ceiling or at nothing at all. “You know, I may be trying to get you to fuck me but all this sappy babble is making me reconsider if the effort is worth the reward. I don’t know if sitting through this pity party is any good for my sanity.”

“What’s your verdiiict?”Trixie drawls. He looks at Violet with the same grin that Violet is starting to think is flirtatious.

“Depends, is it working?” He flashes a grin of his own.

“You know me,” Trixie winks “I’m a sssucker for any gentleman who listens to my issues.”

“Ugh. You’re so problematic.” Violet rolls his eyes but finds himself strangely charmed by Trixie. Or Brian. It used to be that Trixie liked to keep those two entities separate, with their own distinct paths in their art. Somehow, however, Brian found a way to be seen by the public, sneaking himself out through Trixie’s guitar, through his lyrics, and through the slight tremble in his voice when he sings that one song. Suddenly, Trixie and Brian were existing simultaneously on stage. He’s more comfortable now, too, in switching between the two characters, and it’s starting to feel less and less like two characters. Violet thinks he’s attracted to where Trixie and Brian overlap. He pulls his knees to his chest and rests his head on his knees, he sighs dramatically at Trixie, “okay, whatever, spill your guts out.”

Trixie looks at Violet and for some reason thinks him to be very cute at that moment. Like how Trixie thought his best friend from high school was very cute; it wasn’t very deep but it was fun, and he’s been having fun with Violet. Getting lost in his thoughts, he bites his lip and stares at the boy in front of him. He sees Violet raise his eyebrows at him and he feels compelled, suddenly, to give him a quick chaste kiss on the lips. He does, and stumbling slightly when he reaches over, he misses by a centimeter.

Violet laughs, “You weirdo!” but he leans in and gives Trixie a proper kiss in return. Trixie gives him a starry-eyed smile when they pull away. Violet murmurs, “you’re so fucking cheesy.” They both laugh and start passing the bottle between them again.

A couple of hour pass and Trixie is kissing Violet again, harder this time, more purposefully. Violet’s tongue slides into his mouth, hot and tasting of alcohol. Trixie thinks that he likes how it feels and leads them to the to the edge of the bed. They don’t have time to discuss matters such as who was the top and who was the bottom in the midst of this turn of events, and they are both obviously solid bottoms, but Violet couldn’t help it and pushes Trixie onto the bed and kisses him hard against the mattress. He doesn’t know what possesses him to want to leave bruises on Trixie’s neck but he sucks on the skin above Trixie’s collarbone and sinks his teeth lightly on the flesh. When he pulls back to check his work, Trixie was looking very shy but very much turned on. Violet wonders why tonight Trixie was being so fucking adorable.

“Words I’d never thought I would hear from Violet Chachki’s mouth,” Trixie breathed, face flushed and hips grinding almost involuntarily.

“Shut up,” Violet said roughly but then he’s laughing again. In a few minutes Violet is kneeling on the bed, hovering over Trixie and their underwear has long been discarded. Violet is as hard as a rock. The humor disappears because he realizes is he really going to top Trixie Mattel? The boy is drunk and has just confessed his love for Katya, a close friend to them both. Conscience, an old friend that has never once visited him in the bedroom is there at that moment, whispering in his ear. He pauses, doubt filling his mind about the mental gymnastics he’s  performed to frame this situation as something that was okay. Trixie seems to have noticed this and pulls on Violet’s arm to bring his face close, he kisses him slowly.

“Hey, it’s okay, I want this,” he tells Violet quietly as if his knees pressed up against his chest and his dick hard against Violet’s wasn’t already saying the same thing. Then, in a needy voice, “fuck me.”

                 Violet groans as he snaps himself out of his thoughts and coats his dick with the lube his fans gave him during the show. He spares a moment to think about how he does have the best fans ever. He finally thrusts himself inside Trixie and despite his initial coaxing, Trixie lets out a sharp gasp in surprise.

                 “Fuck,” Violet moans, his voice strained in a way that makes Trixie worry that he was going to stop. Violet shows no signs of slowing down but Trixie snakes his arms around his neck anyway and pulls him in for another wet kiss.

                 “Yeah, fuck fuck fuck, yes please,” Trixie continuously moans into Violet’s mouth until they both reach climax. They collapse onto the bed right after, breathing heavily on top of each other.

                 Violet thinks for a second about returning to his own hotel room which was a couple of doors down the hall. He can’t think of what else he would do in the room since he has essentially achieved his goal, although he hates to put it in that way. Trixie, however, was already pulling him into his arms.

                 “Come on, this is my favorite part,” Trixie says, half-yawning. His eyes are already closed.

                 “Gross, you’re so sappy,” Violet replies but he was settling in nonetheless. He finishes making himself comfortable and sees that Trixie has already fallen asleep. Violet rests his head on Trixie’s chest and idly thinks about his next show. His scheduled flight the next day isn’t until later in the afternoon and he wonders when Trixie’s flight was going to be because he wants to stay in. Violet doesn’t ponder about that odd thought. He feels a slight rumble come from his sleeping friend and instinctively grabs his phone from the bedside table and aims the camera at Trixie. He was deliberating on a good caption—maybe,  Adult Barbie now comes with vibrating function. He is smiling at the footage he just took and realizes that it might not be such a good idea to broadcast this out to the public with Trixie looking a little freshly fucked. He feels an urge still, however, to tell someone about this, to report this new inconsequential information that he discovered of Trixie Mattel. Katya and Pearl are the first ones to come into mind but that was obviously out of the question, the former especially—Violet also thinks, bitterly, that maybe those two would already know about Trixie’s sleeping habits. He watches the video a few more times, thinking of who would appreciate this breakthrough. He gives up, shoving the phone under the pillow, but not before typing Trixie Mattel snores when he sleeps and saving it as a note on his phone. He settles himself in bed with his back against Trixie and reaches behind him and tugs Trixie’s arm around him. Trixie groans lightly but wraps his arms around Violet’s frame. After a minute, he’s snoring again. Violet closes his eyes and lets the low droning lull him to sleep.

[shervonfakhimi]

The NBA’s Version of Doctor Strange’s Finger Point

In ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ when Tony Stark and Peter Parker were deliberating with the Guardians of the Galaxy on whose plan was best to stop Thanos in their tracks, Dr. Strange was meditating and using his time stone to look into the future to see 14,000,605 different scenarios in which Thanos would be defeated. He only saw one, he told Tony. Fast forward to ‘Avengers: Endgame’ during the epic fight scene towards the end of the movie where he lifts his finger after he initially refuses to answer whether or not *this* would be the one of 14,000,605 scenarios where they won, letting Tony know it’s either now or never. While not to the level of extreme as the fate of half the entire universe for sure, we have finally met our NBA equivalent of this moment.

In the 3rd quarter of Game 5 as the Warriors’ double digit lead was crumbling right in front of their eyes, Kevin Durant rose for a pull-up jumpshot just around the right elbow, splashing it with Iman Shumpert in his grill. However, he hobbled back to his defensive duties, raising questions as to whether he really did get hurt and how severe it may be. (Also, what the hell Reggie Miller? It’s your job NOT to speculate and make all of us panic like he suffered a catastrophic injury.) Fortunately, Kevin Durant suffered only a grade 1 right calf strain amidst the heavy burden he has had to carry this postseason. While good news, he is still expected to miss time and almost surely will miss the rest of this series. That means the Rockets have the best chance of anybody to knock off this iteration of the Warriors, and why the Game 5 loss stings so severely.

The positive side for the Warriors is that after Steph Curry got out of his massive Game 5 funk, forcing contested 3s and missing layup after layup, he stepped up amidst KD’s injury and pulled Game 5 out from nothing. Golden State still has been a positive in Steph’s minutes without Durant this season and postseason, but nothing quite of the sorts when both are killing it together at the same time. Their +4.4 Net Rating with Steph Curry on the floor and Kevin Durant off the floor would rank 6th in the NBA during the 2018-19 regular season, so they still clearly can be a worthy competitor to the Rockets without KD. However, Steph’s usage rate rises exponentially without Durant, as evidenced by his Game 5 late game barrage, meaning he’ll have to carry a heavy burden again to win one of these last two games. So we know Steph can step it up, and assuredly his fellow splash brother Klay Thompson (who apparently didn’t get my Endgame reference), Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have stepped up in big games before, so the Warriors got this down pat, right? Well, I’m not so sure.

Members of the pre-Durant Warriors are still there, but this is not the same ‘strength in numbers’ Warriors of year’s past. Their defense is not the same as in year’s past (they weren’t even a top 10 defense in the regular season) and will surely take a step back there without Durant’s ability to mold into whatever the team needs him to do on that end of the floor. Placing fellow Game 5 hero Kevon Looney or Andrew Bogut into the starting lineup in Durant’s spot cramps an already volatile at best spacing for the Warriors outside of Steph and Klay, but brings more rim protection that they now lack without Durant. Alfonzo McKinnie is maybe the closest facsimile to former Warrior Harrison Barnes in terms of his ability to switch defensively and hit shots (he did shoot 35% from 3 in the regular season but only 21% in the postseason), but is still a downgrade from even him. Quinn Cook or Jonas Jerebko bring more firepower on offense but will be hunted to no end defensively. Jordan Bell and Jacob Evans seem like long shots to play and haven’t gotten seemingly any burn in non-garbage time. The Warriors don’t have many options outside of leaning on their Death Star lineup studs *even more* (this is where not having DeMarcus Cousins as a big body who can buy offense and could be a counter for the Rockets’ ‘Tuckwagon’ small ball lineup of their own, which has been amongst the best in the league since this series has started) with Looney in Durant’s spot.

Not only are the Warriors now beat up without Durant, they haven’t played with the same tenacity as year’s prior. Perhaps they’ll be rejuvenated to prove to everyone (including Durant?) they don’t need him. But, whether it be the 31 point Clipper lead, getting handed to on their home floor by the Clippers in Game 5 of that series, letting Game 3 of this Rockets series slip after Durant carried them to the lead in the 4th quarter of that game or letting Houston hang around in Game 5, missing opportunity after opportunity to put that game, the Warriors have not had the same strange-hold on opponents. Teams have caught up to them math-wise and don’t fear them the way they did even two years ago. Perhaps that could be due to their 11th best defense in the postseason. Heck, the Rockets have bended the math so far that they have skewed the 3 point line into *their* advantage (the Rockets have made 25 more 3s in this series so far). James Harden only shot three times late in the 4th quarter, but still made the right plays with the ball in his hands. It still would have been nice to see him dominate late and carry his team to a victory, but you’d think he’d go full throttle to win these next two games. Same for Chris Paul. Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers and PJ Tucker have been fantastic defensively switching on the perimeter to ensure Steph and Klay don’t get free. Steph has only shot 39.3% from the field this series and 26.2% from 3 on 19.8 shots per game. Klay’s only shot 41.7% from the field and 34.7% from 3 on 16.4 shots per game. The series has been close (6 points, to be exact) all the way throughout, and that mostly with Durant not only playing, but dominating, especially since when he let us know who he is.

Houston already *could* have won this series if Durant were healthy and now he’s gone. Last year when Chris Paul went down, Houston and many others thought the Rockets should have won that series. While I bet it wouldn’t have the same glory as if KD were healthy, I do know the Rockets would take it either way. If anyone would know, getting through the labyrinth of the NBA playoffs is as much about health and luck as it is about actual basketball. It might not matter; one hot shooting night is easier to muster than two and that’s all Golden State needs. Speaking of one, however, that’s how many fingers all of those Golden State detractors are holding up. Because, like Doctor Strange, they know this is the best shot at taking the Warriors down. The fate of the (basketball) universe is at stake because of it.

[werenzki]

Andre Burakovsky #1.2

PART ONE // PART THREE

id0lizes said: This is literally my family, including what they want in their coffee. Spot on lol. More pls!!!

Anonymous said: can you do a part 2 to the andre imagine please?

A/N: Alright so this got a little long my apologies, but hope you liked it!

Word Count: 2,422

Playoff games were the core of stress in your house these past few days. Washington was standing strong at the top of the standings and somehow Andre seemed to forget all about that and see the worst in what could happen in tonights game. 

“It’s the first game of the series, babe,” you said loudly as he was in the other room, “wether you win or lose there’s still more to play,” 

“But it’s the first one in our home arena, it’s a big deal,” 

“I understand,” you sighed and brought the straw of your iced coffee to your lips. Today started off with an early job for you and early skate for Andre. Now it was closer to game time and he wasn’t relaxing even in the slightest. 

You heard him moving things around in the fridge. The double doored stainless steel appliance was stoked full thanks to the weekend that had just past. You, Lauren Oshie, and a few other Capitals ladies dedicated the weekend to meal prep for your guys. Now the shelves were stoked with containers full of healthy hearty meals for Andre to simply heat up each day. But with all those options, it seemed he couldn’t decide on which one to stick into the microwave. 

As you walked into the kitchen to find four containers on the counter and two in his hands while he still was peering into the fridge. Chuckling you walked over to the meals on the counter. Chicken and vegetables were his usual go to, so most containers consisted of variations of that, but some had fish and others had pasta. 

“Can’t decide?” 

“No,” Andre muttered while pushing another container back into the fridge and then staring between pasta and fish. 

“I’ll stick the fish into the oven, you heat up the pasta,” you said while grabbing the container from his hand. 

Andre sighed and you two started to heat up his meal. Once the fish was inside the oven you leaned against the counter and crossed your arms. You knew the stress wasn’t about to leave the room, so you decided to bring up the vert stressful topic that was your parents. 

“I’m sitting in my dad’s company suite tonight,” 

“They’re coming to the game?” Andre questioned, eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah, both of them. Also my parents want to go out for dinner afterwards,” 

“Oh,”

“But, if you’re too tired we can just ditch,” you shrugged. The microwaved beeped and Andre wasted no time to start eating the steaming pasta. 

“Wouldn’t that make they hate me more,” 

He had a point. But in reality anything involving Andre would annoy them, the only reason they were watching the game was because it was playoffs, your dad was a big hockey fan, and he was totally cheering for the opposing team.

Conversation of your parents were dropped as you dished out the rest of Andre’s meal and then went to get yourself freshened up in the downstairs bathroom before Andre was rushing up the stairs to switch into his suit. Upon arriving at the arena, you could feel the energy from the excited fans the moment you were walking through the back halls. 

Andre gave you a quick kiss before leaving the ‘family green room’ that was provided in the back of the arena. Only a few doors down from the yummy catering room. After catching up with the Oshie family, getting as many kisses from your favourite chubby baby as possible, you were walking through the halls to a elevator and to the suite level.

“Hello,” you smiled as you entered the suite you’d grown comfortable in and all eyes fell on you. Along with your parents, there were 2 older couples and a younger man. You could recognize one of the couples, the man being apart of your fathers company for years now, but the others were strangers. 

“We thought you’d be at the arena earlier than us,” your father stated. 

“I was, just downstairs,” 

“I see,” he dismissed the conversation and fell back into a light hearted topic with his co-workers. As you hung up your coat and then turned back around to pour yourself a glass of wine - lord knows you’d need at least 3 glasses before being able to deal with your parents - you noticed a pair of eyes following your every move. 

The young man was dressed in a suit, the jacket hung up on the back of one of the chairs in the suite. He had nice hair, some stubble on his face and piercing green eyes that seemed to be soaking in everything you did. You took a sip of wine and approached the free seat that was beside your mother, trying to forget about the more than likely set up your father invited.

“Oh sweetheart,” your mother smiled, “you look gorgeous tonight,” 

“Thanks mom,” 

“How are you doing, dear?” Angela, the wife of the man your father had been working with for years, gave you a grin before sipping her glass of wine. 

“I’ve been good, busy and a little stressed over the playoffs but good,” 

“Why in the world would you be stressed?” She chuckled. You furrowed your brows and crossed your legs before leaning back in the seat. From the corner of your eye you caught the look your mother had on her face. A look that said they weren’t sharing the fact I was dating a player off the team. 

“My boyfriend, Andre, he’s on the team,” you stated while pointing off to the ice. The teams were on the ice, warm ups well underway now.

“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” she smiled. Your mother plastered an - oh so fake - smile on her face and nodded. 

“He’s pretty sweet yeah,” you nodded and sipped your wine again, it was nearly time for a refill and you had to remind yourself of what time it was. 

“Did you just start seeing him? New relationships can be quite stressful, I don’t doubt him career adds to the emotions,”

“11 months, a year in two weeks,” you smiled. The fact your year anniversary was coming up genuinely made you happy, the fact you had to defeat that fact this wasn’t even close to being a new relationship made you a little bitter though. 

“Hun,” your father was calling for your attention. Turning around to look over your shoulder you saw standing beside him was the young man, his eyes still longing to look into yours. Your father beckoned you over with a wang of two fingers, you were up on your feet and walking towards him in a second. 

“Sweetie, this is a new member of our company,” you father stated while motioning to the young man standing across from you. “Mark, this is my daughter,”

“Finally nice to put a face to the name,” Mark smiled while sticking out his hand. You shook it and smiled as well, not all that genuine of a smile but still. 

“Nice to meet you too,”

“I was telling Mark about your own business, interior designing,”

“Business woman, huh?” Mark smirked. The way his lips turned up made you feel sick. 

“Runs in the family, I suppose,” you shrugged. 

“Well if you learnt anything from your father then I would guess your business will only get better,” Mark said. Great, sucking up to the boss, you thought as your father grinned and thanked Mark. You looked to your right, watching the boys skate around and shoot at the empty net, Andre’s number only a blur as he skated. 

“I’m going to watch the warm ups,” you stated to no one in particular before walking away. You could feel the disappointment and anger radiating off your father as you walked up to the front of the suite seats and sat down by yourself. 

After the anthem was sang and the puck dropped, the rest of the people in the suite took their seats. The unknown couple settling into the seats beside you, quick introductions were made before you were all reacting to the poor defence on Washingtons part and a shot was flying towards our net. The shot deflected off the pad of the goalie and went into the corner where Oshie was quick to pick it up and send it to Ovi who skated to the other side of the ice. 

You weren’t paying much attention to the game at one point, instead your eyes found Andre where he sat on the bench. Then suddenly he was hoping over the board and skating after the puck. Your breath was caught in your throat, a sick feeling in your stomach as he passed it to his teammate, only for him to pass it back to Andre and he didn’t waste anytime to get the puck to the net. 

Washington went crazy as the horn went off. And you’re not just talking about the arena or the team that celebrated with Andre, you knew the whole damn city was losing it over the fact Andre got them on the board first. And your boyfriend was the one to freaking do it. 

You weren’t in your seat as Andre did his little celly, instead you were on your feet and cheering so loudly you thought the possibility of losing your voice was high tonight. Looking over your shoulder, you saw your father whispering to Mark - more than likely some smart ass comment coming from how him, along the lines of how it was only one goal and we were still going to lose. 

The game continued to be as thrilling. Washington was up by two, sinking another two in while the opposing team only got one by. The last minute in the game and you were no longer in your seat. Neither was anyone else in the whole arena. Then the horn went off and the celebrating begun. 

“We were thinking of going to the restaurant just a few blocks away,” your mother smiled as you slipped into your coat. 

The unknown couple was gone, now it was just your parents, their friends, Mark and yourself in the suite while the arena was clearing out. You knew that Andre didn’t want to go out with your parents, and that even after winning tonights game he was going to need all the sleep he got - after you kept him up for a celebration of your own - cause he’s have an intense practice tomorrow. 

“I’ll call Andre and see what he thinks,” you smiled while pulling out your phone. 

“He can meet us there,” your father said. 

“He’s my ride, dad,” 

“I’m sure Mark wouldn’t mind giving you a ride there and back,” he said while planting a hand on Mark’s shoulder. He had that look in his eye, one he had all night, and one you grew familiar with over the years of him trying to set you up with nice business men he approved of.

“Dad,” you mumbled. He gave you a look of disapproval, knowing very well that you were about to snap. “Why are you doing this?” You questioned even though you knew very well why.

“I’m sure Mark would love to give you a ride,” your mother said and then leaned more towards you while your father gave you a pointed look that said ‘watch what you say next’ but you completely ignored him as your mom kept talking, “Mark’s a very nice young man, sweetie,” you mother smiled. 

“So is Andre! If you’d give the damn guy a break, you’d realize,” you paused and took a deep breath, “I don’t get you two. I was a good kid, a good teenager, I went to university and yeah I took courses that I wanted and not you, but I still have a degree in something that I love doing! So what if Andre isn’t a lawyer or some guy in a business you like, he’s just as amazing as a guy like Mark and he makes me happy. I love him, and he’s not going anywhere, so quit bringing around these poor guys and leave my love life alone. I’m done letting you have an input in who I date,” 

You had silenced the whole room. Your mother’s eyes twitching as her friends eyes widened. You had embarrassed her and you weren’t about to hear the last of it. Taking a deep breath you straightened your coat and turned back to Mark and your father - who was glaring. 

“I’m sure you are a nice guy, but I have a boyfriend and I’m going to go home with him now and congratulate him on winning tonights game,” you exclaimed with a sorry smile. 

“Give him my congrats as well, he played great tonight, as a Washington fan it makes me happy to see the team doing so well,” 

You nodded and he smiled again, “have a good night,” you addressed everyone but your parents. Which only angered them more. But before they could call after you, you slipped out of the room and made your way to where you always met Andre after a game. 

Deep in thought, you nearly missed Andre rounding the corner after Tom. But you couldn’t miss the grin on his face. With that smile everything that had just went down back in the suite with your parents and Mark vanished and you had your arms wrapped around him the moment he was in reach. Andre picked you up off the ground and chuckled as you giggle against his chest. 

“Did you see my goal?” He asked as he set you down and looked into your eyes. 

Falling for those eyes wasn’t hard. Loving Andre was easy, despite anything your parents had to say, and as your anniversary was just around the corner you only saw a future with him. You smiled and stood up tall to bring your lips to his. The kiss was full of passion, which through Andre off at first but soon enough is hands were pressing you firmly into him and he kissed you back with just as much love. 

“Alright, kids, settle we don’t need any more babies,” Ovi’s deep voice brought you back to reality. 

You blushed and leaned into Andre as a few more of his teammates walked by. Andre threw back some comment but you were too busy staring up at him, admiring the man you loved so much, and thought that having his babies wouldn’t be so bad.  

[maree-ff]

Epilogue: It’s Our Anniversary PII

ANDRE

“Right here?” I asked looking around but before I knew it she pushed me on the couch and pulled my pants down enough to get what she needs. I watched in utter amazement as she licked her lips and put it in her mouth not saying a word or hesitating.

Moaning quietly at how far down her throat I was touching I smirked at the sight of her rings. The dim lighting hit her rings at the perfect time making them look extra flashy. It’s nice a feeling to be married. And not just to anybody but my best friend. Cam didn’t lose a second of concentration while she tied her hair up.

“You been picking up tricks from somebody?” I groaned, relaxing into the seat and palmed the back of her head.

“Never..” She mumbled causing her lips to make the loudest sucking noise as she removed me from her mouth. She spit on the tip and swallowed my dick teasingly slow. I felt a chill run down my spine feeling her tongue wrap itself around one of my balls.

“Oh God, I’ve missed you..” Biting my lip I leaned forward to snatch the bottle up. I opened it and put the bottle to my mouth. Once I felt my throat slightly burn I turned my head down and set the Bacardi on the table. Camila freed her right hands of its rings so she was able to beat my dick while gargling my sack like a pro.

Exhaling sharply I shivered from the sudden draft and sat up a little to grab her ponytail. With the hair in my grip I pushed her face down listening to her gag a little.

“You ok?” I hissed trying to sound genuine with my concern for her comfortability. I know her mouth is full so instead she rubbed my thigh softly. Camila so graciously let me fuck her face for a good six or seven minutes which had me so close to tears. She made me feel so good inside as she let me stroke it anyway I wanted. Of course I was gentle because my intentions when we make love or fool around is never to hurt her. I busted a mean nut in her mouth and even shed that tear I was holding in.

My chest heaved up and down as I breathed for air with my mouth halfway open, with a grin tugging at my lips. “I’m gonna be honest..” Pausing for some of her water and gave it back feeling like I could breathe properly. “If this situation was a bit different then you would be very pregnant right now. No questions asked.” Looking over at her I felt my breathing return to normal. She’s so breathtaking yet she just gave me mine back. Perfection I swear.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and let that little smile grow to a big one. “Oh I don’t doubt you on that one. You didn’t think I would do it did you?” She giggled, sitting back and crossing her legs.

“I was conflicted but you surprised me. You talk to my mama today?” I suddenly asked just thinking of my kids.

“Yeah I did. They miss us so much. Especially Ali. Your mother sent me this video of him watching tv with that elephant that my dad got him for Christmas. And she told me he’s been spending a lot of time with my dad. Apparently our little boy has taken an interest in my side of the family. According to him, Jorden is really getting the hang of his lessons.” She smirked. The look of pride on her face told me everything I needed to know without asking the question.

“Are you serious?” I gasped, sitting up against the back of the seat.

Camila nodded with such a pure smile over news that Jorden is progressing in the biggest ways. A few tears escaped her pretty brown eyes the longing our staring match continued. “I don’t have the words to explain the feeling I have. We’ve been waiting for so long and it’s finally happening.” She cried happily.

Sitting up straight I pulled her into me and instantly kissed her. I felt the wetness on her cheeks rub off on me as she lazily flung her arms around my neck. I don’t have the words either to be truthful. Ever since Jorden could talk we’ve been hoping and praying that one day he would make a breath through. Jo is no doubt a smart ass kid but it takes him a long time to grasp certain concepts in life. Like his language comprehension for both the English and Spanish languages for example. Cam, myself, and all of our family has shown the greatest support to help him get this far. Jo has some dope ass parental figures in his life. And I owe it all his mother. Regardless of how Jorden turns out I’m blessed to be his father and without my wife there is no him.

“I need you..” She mumbled lowly. Her urgency to be overwhelmed from the news subsided and is now replaced with hunger. And that hunger being for me is making me so horny.

Lifting her onto my lap, she knew what time it was. Her legs separated so I could fit between her, I reached up and took the ponytail out of her hair setting it free. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her frame like a curtain to hide us. The softness and smell of it all drove me wild! Letting my hands go to her head I ran my fingers through it all smoothing it out. My hands slid down to her ass which was slowly but surely rising the further she nestled into my groin. Not caring at all about anyone possibly walking in on us I lifted the material up over her ass meeting her baby soft skin.

“Let's go home.” I suggested, allowing our tongues one final dance before she backed away and ran her palms down my chest.

“Yeah.” She agreed, climbing off my lap and pulling her dress down. Grabbing the bottle I took another swig before putting the cap back on and followed Maree out of the lounge.

I followed her out of the club with the bottle tucked in my jacket. I got my car from valet and helped her in. “Aye man..that’s a bad bitch” He piped up giving me head nod.

Respectfully I gave him a nod back. “Appreciate it bruh.” I said back dipping into the driver's seat. Placing the bottle in my lap I made sure Camila was straight before pulling off. Quickly snapping the seatbelt I stepped on the gas feeling this shit boost to sixty. This car is fast as fuck and it’s all mine. We rode in silence but I still felt that tension building us two. Glancing at the clock I read 1:46 hinting that I’ve got hours to make up for.

We reached the house and sat in the car for minutes not speaking. Moving the bottle of liquor to the middle console and set it inside. The minute she looked at me it was on. With her heels off she relaxed into my lap with my face in her hands. My tongue was shoved down her throat as I unzipped her dress and and pulled the material down her frame. While she moved to my jaw and neck I quickly got some background noise set up. I doubt this car can muffle screams and I’d hate for neighbors to think I’m killing my wife. By chance the sound of Keith Sweat blared through the speakers all over the car.

“Dre..” She moaned forcefully grabbing my shoulder and positioning me in front of her.

With my eyebrow raised at how aggressive she came off I freed the top of her body and briefly admired her. I’ve never been this horny before. She’s mine and she’s in my lap yet I’m craving her day in and day out. Gripping my hips I let my hands find themselves in between her legs. With her panties to the side I got my fingers wet making me break out in chills. I felt those chills on my face that was pressed up against her skin, warming her up for what’s about to come. I’m feenin’ for my wife right now and with the liquor in my system, I’m turned all the way up.

“I’ve missed you.” She breathed clutching the back of my neck as I continued to mark my territory.

Caressing her back I felt my dick straining itself against my pants and I can’t wait any longer. We should’ve been going half on a baby by now.

“Lift up baby.” I swallowed hard and hurriedly unbuckled my pants and tugged on my zipper. Once I felt air hitting my dick I pushed her down on me. Both of us let out a string of curse words at the feeling.

“Breaking in the new car huh?” She smirked, easing herself all the way down to the base. Her hair covered almost half of her face as she looked at me with so much lust in her eyes.

“Most definitely..” I nodded. I locked her in place and saw the LED lights quickly illuminate the car. With this car only being but so big it’s hard for me to really give it to her the way I want but I trust she’ll take good care of her man. I’ve improved so much when it comes to getting it in because of how many places we take a chance at. There have been interesting trips to the grocery store, shopping, running errands, taking the kids to school and on the way to work. Cam and I have become quite creative at making time for another.

She’s small so she easily found a way to get a good rhythm going without bumping her head. I felt my legs shake as her hair tickled my skin while she she bounced and up in my lap like we had all the space in the world. I had to catch her before she hit the steering wheel and blew the fucking horn. My hands were pressed to her back as I buried my face in her chest feeling a light sheet of sweat coat her upper half.

I busted a very unexpected nut that had us both looking at each other with wide eyes.

“That’s never happened before..” She pointed out while pushing her hair back and removing a random strand from her lips.

“Yeah I know. Pussy had me feeling like a virgin. Ready to go inside? I got something for you.” Running my hands over my hair I shut everything off and the lights, turning the engine over last. Before we go in we had to put her dress back on and fix my pants so we looked semi decent once that door opens.

“You and these gifts today. Don’t forget about all the stuff you got me earlier.” She said. I pushed the door open and allowed her to climb out first. We got the bags from the trunk and went in the side door. Together we ventured through the house and towards the stairs to go up.

“It hasn’t been this quiet in so long. Brix and Blu are only loud when the kids are around.” Cam chuckled, walking front of me up the steps. Being below her gives me a free pass to watch her ass switch back and forth in this tight ass dress that she has on.

“You ain’t lying. Feels like we’re in a dream.” I stated, just as we reached the top. Following her into our kitchen I whistled loud enough for our system to hear me and the boys. They came down the hall looking like they just woke up. “What’s up..y’all looking like y’all had a hard day at work.” I joked. I love my dogs equally but it’s something about Blu that hits a very soft spot in my heart. I think it’s because he reminds of Kleio when she was just a puppy.

“They do look tired.” Camila agreed. With the room lit up I kicked my shoes off and my jacket. Camila did the same, calling out how good it feels to be barefoot again. Suddenly I remembered that I had one last gift for her.

Mil walked to the fridge and opened it pulling out a Fiji bottle. She unscrewed the top and brought the drink to her lips. She demolished that water in a minute impressing me by how thirsty she must have been.

“You good?” I airily laughed walking over to her. She nodded and set the bottle down to reach out for me.

“I’m fine baby. What is it that you wanted to show me?” She rubbed my abdomen while I turned around to lead her to a room in the house I’ve kept her locked out of.

“So..this is something that I’ve been working on for at least four months. I wanted this to be perfect for you and I kept going at it until I achieved perfection. Now try not cry but be honest about how you feel.”

I pulled the keys from my pocket and unlocked the door that housed the one gift that would blow her away. Pushing the door back I stepped in and hit the lights revealing the surprise. Looking down at her to see her eyes wide and her mouth covered by her left hand I felt stiff. I don’t know how she’ll react. There’s something about myself I’ve been keeping from her because I’m honestly very sensitive about this hidden talent. When I was really young I liked to paint. According to mother I used to paint every chance I could. I grew up with so much love for the craft but as time carried on, I sheltered this hobby from everyone. Painting is the one thing I’ve gotten away from that eased my mind. However I was itching to really surprise Camila with a sentimental gift, so I went and stocked up on the best paint supplies I could get my hands on.

Brix walked in curious as to what we were up to. He looked at the painting with his head tilted to the side. “You good baby? Say something please..” I plead.

“When..how..why? How did you do this?” She gasped looking at me.

“I made this for you baby girl. I’ve never told anyone aside from my brother and mom that I actually enjoy painting. I know you still lock yourself in Jorden’s room when you need to weep over your mother. Everyday I feel horrible that I can’t bring her back for you. It hurts me to know that this is a pain I cannot fix. I can do everything but completely heal you from her loss and I’m sorry that I can’t fix it. I hate seeing you down but I understand all in the same too.” I explained seeing her walk further into the room that had been my late night home since March. “You can tell me if you don’t like baby.” I said sadly hoping that’s not the reaction I get.

She turned around and shook her head. I gave her a moment to study the portrait wanting her to get a good look at it. She must have walked around the easel what five times with Blu following her every move. When she walked back over to me she gave me a hug.

“I absolutely love it . I love it so much and because you painted that it means more than the world to me. I’m so very lucky to have you be mine until I’m not longer breathing. Muchas gracias mi amor..es una pintura tan hermosa.” She beamed pushing her hair back.

“Really? Like you really, really like it? We don’t keep secrets in this house so keep it real if you don’t.” I warned sternly, hitting the lights and going back to the kitchen.

“Yeah I’m serious. I wouldn’t lie to you especially about something serious like this. But I’m curious to know why you kept this from me. Did you not feel comfortable telling me that you knew how to paint?” She asked. 

“Nah it’s not like that. That’s just the one piece of my life I wanted to selfishly keep to myself. It’s not about keeping it from you specifically.” My sights instantly closed in on the baskets of already clean fruit in the refrigerator. Taking out an apple, a pear, some peaches, and a bowl of cherries.

Setting it all out on the counter I unzipped my shirt, and pulled it off of me. Pairing that with my jacket I went to wash my hands. We didn’t speak as we sat in the kitchen eating what I took out. Camila started to get cold so I threw some more wood in the fireplace and lit a match. Tossing it in I welcomed the blazing fire and the warmth it brought to me.

“Hi my sweet baby. Are you being good for grandma?” Turning around I saw Camila eating the cherries and on the phone. Going over to her I took her phone and smiled at the sight of Jorden.

“Daddy..” He waved to me took a hold of I’m guessing my mother’s phone.

“What’s up mini me, you okay?” I questioned seeing Cam pulled me back where she proceeded to wrap her arms around my neck.

“Yeah. Papa teach me new words today.” He confessed, scratching his little chin.

“I heard. What else did you do today?” I asked again leaning into Camila’s body.

“Went to the park with grandma and my sisters. Then we got ice cream. And then papa come here and we watching movies now.” He said sliding off the couch and running towards somewhere. I accepted a cherry from Maree and ate it whilst watching Jorden run to an unknown destination.  

“Hold this please..” He plead to someone.

“Jo you wanted to call mom and dad but you’re handing me grandma's phone. No entiendo..” Kenja’s sassy voice invaded our ears as she accepted the phone.

“Kenny, por favor! Me tengo que ir ahora!” He recited with perfection. I shook my head in disbelief. Hearing my son finally speak a little clearer and in another language is a major milestone for him. He’s doing so well in school although he hates it. I always get the biggest crack out of hearing Jorden complain about how annoying the other kids in his class are. But nonetheless he’s learning just fine, as I knew in my heart that he would.

I heard Cam sniffling as I knew she was super proud that she finally had the green light to be the person to teach our son another language. Camila has been saying for years how she wants to be the one to teach Jo about the other half of his family and now she can.

“Go ahead, go.” Jorden disappeared and now we saw her face instead. “Hi mom..hi papi.” She smiled.

“Hey baby girl. You okay? Where’s Zo?” I rambled on watching her take a seat by the stairs. She laid down across the chair and put the camera right in front of her face.

“I’m okay and Zoe is with grandma. She let us stay up for movies. How’s your special day?” She asked glancing to her left.

It’s so weird to see my oldest daughter changing and becoming closer to womanhood. It’s insane and very fucking scary. But nonetheless I’m happy to watch her grow into such a caring, smart and very loving girl. She takes after her mom greatly.

“It’s been very long and very exciting. Your dad is super nice after all.” Mil joked around, lightly pushing my head aside.

“Man get out of here. Don’t listen to her Kenny I promise I’m nice to her all the time.” I defended myself with a slight frown.

“I know you are..” She looked away again before handing the phone back to Jorden. She helped him sit on her lap so they could both be in the camera.

“You straight now Jo?” I asked watching him roll his sleeves back down.

Nodding to my words he leaned against Kenja, toying with her bracelet.

“Jorden, your mom and I want you know we are so proud of you son for what you accomplished today. Learning a new language is a big deal and we’re happy you’re getting the hang of it. Just know that okay?” I preached watching him cheese and pull at his hair.

“Thanks daddy. I miss you and mommy. When am I going to see you again?” He groaned making me do the same. Jo loves to be under us. We move and he’s nearby shortly after. He’s our shadow.

“Aw baby you’ll see us soon. Papi and I just need some time for ourselves but we miss you guys so much. Be good for grandma okay baby?” Camila laid her chin on my shoulder with her hair falling over it and flowing down my chest.

Picking up a small section I placed it between my nose and mouth. I love playing with her hair. It brings me comfort.

“Well alright. Te amo mami.” He mumbled, turning to wrap his little body around Kenja’s. She took the phone and shook her head at him. She held the camera back on Jo’s face. He was sad and I couldn’t help but fight the urge to drive over to my moms and see him. I hate being away from my little boy. He’s my pride and joy. It’s like looking back at myself at his age, ready to prevent him from making any of my mistakes.

“Oh, te amo demasiado dulce guisante.” Mil gushed blowing him a kiss.

“What about me?” I spoke up watching him make direct eye contact with me.

“I love you too daddy.” He put up a smile just for me making me feel really good.

“I love you Jo so much and don’t ever forget that. Mommy and I have to go but we’ll call you soon, deal?” I held my pinky out waiting for him to copy me.

“It’s a deal. Goodnight.” He held his little pinky up, waved at us as Kenny stood up and began walking. She put her face in the view as little man wrapped his arms around her neck.

“He’s really sleepy. But he’s been fighting to stay up to see you and talk to you guys. I’m gonna go bathe him and lay down with him to try and get him to bed. Buenas noches mis amores.” We each said a round of ‘I love you’s before we were looking at Camila’s wallpaper of me and Jorden. It was the first time he ever spoke and he said my name. All he knows me by is ‘daddy’ but still it made me feel high as a kite listening to him say his first words.

Camila broke down in tears and I did too. I’m not even gonna flex that shit had me crying tears of joy. Jorden is a safe haven for my dark thoughts when I’m really, really down. Every now and then I’ll have a day where I check out mentally and my youngest child is the only person that keeps from going the fuck off. He’s my world. All of my girls do too but that little boy earned a very deep part of me that no one else touches.

“Oh I miss his bad ass so much right now. I can just see him running from his bathroom to his bed to jump around naked like the proudest male to all. He’s so fucking beautiful, ugh I really miss him.” Camila fanned her face and tilted her head back for a second.

Turning around I set her phone in the nearby basket along with mine. I lifted her off the counter and carried her over to the family room. We have this massive rug that’s super soft and that’s where I want to start. Sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace I hugged her close. Her arms went around my head as she adjusted herself to be comfortable.

“Thank you Camila for giving me that baby. I can’t express how blessed I am to have watched you bear another child just for me. And to think..” Pausing as I didn’t have the words I leaned back from her to watch her gaze at me.

“You’re welcome. It feels good to have a little piece of you and I molded into one human. He’s the most precious thing in the world. I told you no matter what I would’ve been proud to have your babies.” She sighed. Finger combing through her hair where then started to braid it all the way down.

“Once we really got serious I began to hope that I’d live to see the day you carry my child. You’ve had me creating fantasies about what we could be for such a long time. I just never said anything.” I confessed seeing her giggle. Reaching down I unbuttoned my pants and tugged then off along with my boxers.

“I can say the same about you. I knew our situation started off on a semi negative way. But I’m so happy to still have you with me.” She shrugged, blushing just a little.

“You’re so damn sexy like it’s unbelievable that I’m the one fucking the shit outta you at the end of the day.” Reaching for the zipper on her dress I tugged it downward freeing her from the material. She pulled her arms out and let me pull it over her head.

She did not hesitate to rotate her hips to ease her way on down my dick. Biting on my lip as I had to control my urges to just beat it up in less than ten. She swallowed me up and that’s when I forgot about her thong still being on. Ripping that shit off I pushed it away and opened my legs a little and laying back on the rug. I won’t  bust quick. We’re home in private with all the free space in the world to do whatever we please.  

“This is going to be a very long night.” She breathed as some loose strands slipped from her braid.

“Oh baby you have no idea.” And here’s to a real round one.

CAMILA

Andre had my back against the kitchen counter while he ate me with so much hunger. We’re now on round three and it’s three-thirty in the morning. I don’t know what it is about today that has us acting like savages when it comes to sex. I’ve been craving his body and mouth all day yet he’s right here. Feeling my feet go numb at how long they’ve been curled up on his shoulders, I let out a very loud gasp. I’m so drunk off love that I’m excited to go round for round.

“This my pussy right baby?” He asked for the hundredth time. I didn’t care. I felt so prideful in giving the same ‘of course it is’.

Caressing behind his ears with the pads of my thumb I relaxed my feet and legs. “Of course baby,” I whined feeling the urge to cry. “It’s all yours..” Capturing my lip in my teeth I swirled my hips onto his face. He groaned and smacked my thigh roughly.

“Then fucking act like it..” He got a bit loud and just as I thought our boys would come making an entrance they did not. Our dogs are too smart. It’s like they know when to make an entrance and when not to.

“I’m almost there Kayden..so fucking close.” The fireplace set a warm environment for us to go toe to toe trying to please one another. My hair has began to sweat out and turn wavy at the roots and body. My torso is currently the warmest part of my body and my pussy has never been wetter than it is right now.

“Let all that shit go Maree. I need it all..” his thick tongue found its way deeper into my box sending me over the edge.

“Help me, daddy...” I plead completely in a trance. His mouth was doing some very nasty things to my lady parts as I tried so hard not to run due to how overwhelming this pleasure is.

Andre gave me the biggest boost of energy. I leaked all over his lips like a faulty water pipe. He licked up everything not before diving back in for one last taste. Freeing my braid from under the weight of my shoulder I lowered my legs and sat up. Leaning back on my hands I dropped my head and took a deep breath.

“It never fails me to turn me on every time you call me that shit. Thirsty?” He asked sliding me a new bottle of water. We uncapped our drinks at the same time drinking in unison too.

“Very.” I nodded.

“I’ma ask you something that I haven’t in a very long time.” He began, leaning on the corner. “You wanna smoke? I know how you feel about it but today is special. I didn’t have much to drink at the club and I haven’t touched my stash today because I didn’t want you thinking I need drugs to make you feel good.” He explained standing tall and beginning to unpeel a banana and break it in half. He crushed the entire thing in less than a minute.

“Dre don’t feel like you have to hide your new method of self therapy. You don’t have to explain yourself either. When it comes to your health and happiness don’t let me or anyone hinder you to heal yourself. You are a grown man who knows exactly what he’s getting himself into.” Hopping off the counter I followed him down the hall to our room. Walking in the room after him I headed for our bed and dived on it. “Mmm..I’ve missed these sheets.” Inhaling the scent I wrapped myself up watching Dre remove his infamous orange box from the top shelf on the wall. He sat down on the bed and opened it up revealing his secret stash that no one but me knows about. Inside houses his three wooden grinders, an orange blunt cutter, empty and half full blunt spray bottles. There is a ton of empty berry and java fusion cigarillo packs, those are his favorites. The rest of the box is filled with old incense packs. As of eight months ago, Andre has taken on a new and very heavy form of in-home therapy. He’s taught me about the substance because he felt guilty for trying to hide it from me.

While he tended to that I studied him from a weird angle like I always do. I tend to reflect a lot when I’m just watching him get lost in different activities. Our past, my struggles, where we’ll be in the future, the parts of his life that I wasn’t around for, things like that.

“I got something for you to put on. It’s in the bathroom. Go try it on while I finish this.” He said, not breaking his concentration. Getting out of bed I walked to the bathroom and flipped the switch for the lights, seeing a pink bag on the sink.

I shut the door and went to see what was inside. I stuck my hand in, pulling out a powder blue crotchless, lace g-string. The back looks like the shape of the letter T but the bottom line is split open. I’ve collected a large quantity of lingerie over the course of this relationship but I don’t have anything like this. Eager to see how it fits, I hurriedly washed up and put my new panties on.

“Wow..” I gasped. That’s my first thought as I twirled slowly for myself and turned in different directions just to get a good look at myself. A crotchless thong. Not a bad fit for something I had no say so in getting. He gets points for this. Going back inside the bag I lifted out a matching colored bra made of soft, thin lace. The bra has absolutely no lining and that’s what made me excited to try this on.

“Whew, this is gonna be my new favorite bra oh my gosh..” The comforting feel of being supported by a bra that’s meant to enhance sex appeal is amazing. Only at rare times will I find a bra that I really, really love and I’m so happy that I’ve found my dream bra. A lingerie piece that gives me what I need and what I want.

With the items on and adjusted to my desire, I looked at my hair, thinking back to when I died it red. That bold change in color was simply as impulsive move. I’d never colored my hair out of comfort zone but during my pregnancy and after Jorden arrived I was craving a change in look. I let it rock for a long time until I missed my dark hair. I went back dark on St. Patrick’s Day of this year I’m back brown and loving my normal more than ever. My hair is still braided just a lot messier than how I first had it. Changing my lifestyle and breastfeeding really improved the growth of hair. It’s now all the way down my back and thicker than ever before. Smiling at the hickies I had covering different spots on my body I removed the rings I got this morning and left on my usual two.

“You still alive in there?” He asked from the bedroom. I forgot why I came in here to begin with. Pulling the door back I met his stare and gave him a slight nod.

“You are a genius. This?” I pointed to the bra. “Is the most comfortable bra I have ever tried on. I couldn’t find anything like this before I got pregnant with Kenja while I was pregnant with her, and after that. And the same story with Jo. But somehow you managed to find this and I didn’t know anything about it. Where did you get this from?” I quizzed, turning the light off and leaving the bathroom.

Shaking his head Andre lit the blunt he rolled. “Don’t worry about that.” He said, waving me over. We sat in silence passing the blunt back and forth until I could no longer hold it due to its small size. Once he ashed the roach and put his box back on the shelf we were going at it. He had my legs pressed up against his chest while I held onto the sheets trying to control my noise level.

“Oh Maree..don’t be running from this dick.” He grunted, bringing my foot close to his mouth. No thought was put into what he did next. Dre was sucking on my toes like they’re the best thing he’s ever had. “I’m about nut...” He mumbled, kissing the sole of my foot.

I closed my eyes to concentrate on the pleasure, just building myself up every minute. Shortly after some very rough pumps I felt myself releasing the very orgasm I’d been holding in. He followed through shortly after me.

“What’s this?” I heard him question. When I looked at him he nodded downward. My eyes traveled to the little tattoo I forgot about. “How did I not see this earlier?” He asked with big eyes. He pulled out of me and laid down to get a good look at the ink.

I propped myself up on my elbows waiting for a reaction. His fingers grazed over the cursive font ‘A’ I got in honor of him.

“Is this for me?” He spoke up, lifting himself up and pulling the skin in various directions to see if the ink would smudge.

Nodding like an obedient woman I reached down to my opening and glided my fingers through the aftermath of our session. Bringing my hand up to my mouth I sucked my finger clean tasting him and myself in one moment. “Mm..” I hummed, cleaning my fingers thoroughly.

“You got my name tatted on you. That’s serious Camila. You’re not gonna regret it are you?” He lifted my chin so we were looking at one another.

“Sweetie, I’m fine with my decision. Why would I not be? It means a lot to me and I put it in a very intimate spot because you mean a lot to me.” I explained.

ANDRE

Walking down the steps with a blunt in my mouth I shoved one hand in the pocket of my sweats, looking for her. It’s going on five in the morning and we’re still going match for match. Blowing out a little smoke I deeply inhaled the rest feeling my throat warmup and cool back down. Coming up to the front of the house I saw her on seated in the chair. She’s sitting quietly with her hands bound together with one of Kenja’s least favorite ribbons. She had the same blue ribbon wrapped around her eyes so she couldn’t see. Approaching her carefully I freed a hand to glide down her face.

“You okay baby?” I asked, puffing on my blunt before holding it out in mid air just to let it burn.

“Yes.” She answered obediently and nodded with hair swinging a bit.

“You’re going to do what I tell you to right?” Putting the blunt to my lips I inhaled for a good fifteen seconds, dragging it away from me I breathed it all in feeling my knees shake. My boy Tariq gave me the best herb I’ve had in a long time. I’m high as a mother fucker this morning and I can’t help feel more than happy to be alive right now.

Seeing that Camila got the first letter to my name forever marked on her body made me feel so special. We’ve never even touched on the topic of whether or not we would tattoo each other’s names on our bodies. It never even crossed my mind. I recently got Jorden’s portrait tattooed on my back next to Zoe’s and Kenja’s. I’d put Camila’s name on my body in a heartbeat and now that she’s already done that, it’s time for me to do the same.

“Yes.” She answered quickly. Holding the blunt in between my lips I pulled my sweats down and took them off to throw them aside.

Stroking her ponytail in one hand I gripped my dick in my other hand. “You know what to do.” I said puffing on this blunt hanging out of my mouth. Camila put a smile on her face and tilted her head upwards. I looked at her realizing she couldn’t see anything. “What’s wrong?” I asked, poking her lip with the tip.

“Can I have some?” She mumbled, licking her lips and crossing ankles over each other.

Pulling it from my mouth I held it out for her to take as many hits as she wanted to. She’s beyond breastfeeding so neither of us have to worry about traces of weed being in her system. Ever since I tried and failed to hide my stash from her I chose to teach her almost everything I know. There’s some stuff she doesn’t know just because I don’t want to fully rope her into knowing too much about the substance.

Cam took a couple hits and inhaled deeply. Her chest rose and fell while I reverted back to my previous position. She blew out the smoke and I watched as her body shivered the minute her lips touched the tip.

“Hmm..” I groaned staring at the front door. Seeing my wife naked, tied up, and at my complete mercy makes me want to do some crazy shit. My dick was stuffed down her throat for fifteen minutes straight and when is time for me bust, she let me put it on her face. It was an interesting sight to see half of her face covered in cum but it turned me on in different way.

Taking out a bottle of Hennessy I removed the cap. Pouring four shots I set the bottle aside and downed my two, then I went to go find her once again.

“Camila?” I called out walking into our room.

“Venga buscarme..” She moaned loudly.

I heard water running in the bathroom so that’s where I ended up. You wouldn’t believe the sight I had in front of me. Candles lit on the vanity and the lights dimmed just enough to set a nice vibe. And then there’s my wife. She’s in the bathtub with the water running, bubbles practically overflowing, and her legs spread. I couldn’t really see much from this angle so I walked closer to see her eyes closed, arm in the water hidden by bubbles. I knew she was playing with herself because the muscles in her upper arm were slightly flexing.

The sex faces she was making did more than turn me on. If anything they made me wish I could replace my hand with hers. Walking over to the tub I sat on the rim and dragged my hand over her collarbone. I watched the expression she had on her face transform into a smile the longer I kept touching her. Staying mute I traveled on down sinking my hand into the water. Reaching over me I twisted the knob to stop the water from running any further. Standing up I jogged to the kitchen and grabbed the other shots. I brought them back to the bathroom and stood behind her.

“Drink this.” I ordered holding the first shot to her lips. She obeyed and tipped her head back letting me pour the liquor in her mouth. We repeated the steps until both glasses were empty.

“You joining me?” She asked softly, reaching up to touch my chest.

“You want me to?” I rebutted kissing her wet fingers.

Camila stood up and turned around to face me. Soap, bubbles and water ran down her frame as she slicked her hair back. There have been three other times I thought she was the sexiest woman I have ever seen in my entire life. I feel like that on a regular basis but these particular three moments take the cake. One, the first time she shared herself with me at the beach house. The very first time! Two, was our first night together after I was released. That shit was heavenly. Cause at that time we were deep into our relationship and her being pregnant with our son at the time was out of this world. Three, the day I married her. And I say all that because I slept around pretty heavy back in the day meaning I’ve been with every kind of woman there is. Or was. Camila is a special kind of woman that I’m not sure I deserve but somehow she’s everything I need.

“Of course I do. My baths are never complete without you.” She shrugged going to wring her hair out before reaching for her hairbrush. She stood with grace and confidence to complete such a simple task done in an intimate way. She’s the prime example of too beautiful for the world.

“Never? I think I like the sound of that. So that means I’ll never find you stepping out if I never got in with you right?” I argued seeing her move to the rim and proceed to step out once her hand was in mine. She’s so short and she doesn’t want to admit it that she needs a little help getting out of our tub.

“Nunca..” She said closing the distance between the two of us. My hands pulled her to me so I could feel her skin on mine regardless of her being wet.

“I’m so glad it was you when we met that night. So glad. Had she been any other girl I wouldn’t have tried so hard. Like I said earlier, you had me wide the fuck open.” Camila stood up on her toes to kiss me softly. When she was flat on her feet again she laid her head on my chest with me just watching her invade all of my personal space.

“Hazme el amor..” Camila spoke out proudly turning to give me eye contact.

“Meaning?” I mumbled, kissing her forehead.

“I want you to make love to me. I don’t want to walk for a few days. Can you do that for me?” She requested, creating space between us. She grabbed my hands and walked me towards the room not losing my eyes once.

“Your wish is my command.” I said seriously.

CAMILA

Looking back I chuckled repeatedly watching Dre holding the small jar of honey upside down. I tensed up feeling the thick, cold substance drizzling over my ass on down to my legs. When he was done, he set the jar down and supported his body weight with one arm as he cleaned up the mess. He started at my ankles and worked his way up to my behind. I bit my lip at the sight of him marking my body with more hickies along my side and lower back. I felt a little of the honey slide down between my legs.

“Bailey..you missed a spot..” I said, then hissing from half of his face already where it needs to be. Picking my leg up and exposing myself for easier taking I let my head fall onto the pillow when he started doing what I wanted. “Te quiero..” I groaned feeling that lump form in my throat.

“Put that ass up.” He ordered strong and clear. I quickly tucked my hands under my face and pushed the lower half of my body upward. He got back to it and snuck in two fingers, pumping in and out my wetness relentlessly.  

My eyes rolled back to the back of my head as he made me feel so full. I think Dre seeing his initial tattooed on my body gave him some sort of ego boost but man is it working in my favor. Clamping my teeth down on my lip I pushed myself up using my arms and reached behind me to cup the back of his head. That inspired him to bring his hand across my ass from far back. I know so because the sting from his slap was crucial but in a satisfying way.

Dre grabbed my arm and pinned it to my back where he held me down. His mouth was replaced with his dick which was now sliding in and out of me. He got a hold of my other arm that I used to prop myself up and held that one down too. Now I’m forced to stay up.

“Take this dick Maree..take all this shit.” Dre’s grunts and moans were a result of how high he is and the liquor just now settling in his system. The weed makes his voice deeper. He always sounds like he just woke up after he smokes. Liquor tends to give him encouragement to be louder than he normally is. And the two weapons combined are a force like you’ve never seen before.

Turning my head to the side and closing my eyes, I felt my hair get freed from the bun I put it in an hour ago. He switched up on me. His hand wrapped around my hair and gently pulled my head back whilst keeping a tight hold on my wrists. He assisted me into sitting up causing our skin to make contact. The penetration was exactly what I wanted and what I like.

“Oh my god baby..right there!” I screamed feeling my throat tickle.

“That’s what I want to hear. There’s nobody here but us so scream all you want.” He encouraged. He loosened his grip on my hair and pumped into me a little slower, a little bit more concentrated on making me feel oh so good. He always hit the right spots. What he’s declared as my “sweetest spots”.

“Come get this dick Maree..” He mumbled, letting go of my hair altogether. It all fell around my face and down my shoulders. The coldness of my it all gave me chills.

Obeying his command I pulled myself together and gave him what he asked for. My ring was poking my finger telling me it’s twisted. Not caring to fix that right now I laid my head back against his chest feeling my entire body shake from a pleasure overload.

“Ay dios mio, no se detenga.” I plead, leaning over.

“Not now. Not ever. I’ll never stop loving you either.”  He vowed.

ANDRE

Holding arms above her head I stuffed my face in her neck, kissing, licking and sucking up every drop of chocolate on her soft skin. I told her she had no idea what she was in for and I meant that shit. When we got to the house she and I both knew what time it was.

Cam’s nails were sinking into the skin on my back as she squirmed and writhed underneath me. Her hair is all over the place, her skin is sticky and she smells like me. Trailing my lips down to her chest I gave her two more hickies on both breasts.

“Necesito mas, please..” She moaned in my ear.

Getting on my hands and knees I continued on with cleaning the syrup from her body. When I made it down to her waistline and I saw that initial on her body I lost myself. I’m still in shock. The first letter to my name is permanently marked on my wife’s beautiful  body which gave me a huge ego boost by the way. And she knows that.

Deciding to finally grant her this wish I pushed her legs apart and nestled myself in between them. Keeping my focus on her face which was glowing under the light from the fireplace I pushed the tip of my dick in. I don’t want to wait. I need her now.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She mumbled softly, lifting her left hand to smooth out my eyebrows.

“I just can't believe you’re all mine. You’re so beautiful and kind hearted. I wish I could marry you everyday.” I confessed truthfully, picking a slow and steady pump.

Camila’s cheeks turned rosy and her eyes began to water. She pressed her hand to the side of my face and stroked my cheek with her thumb. I enjoy the tickling sensation of her nails against my body. She used to never get her nails done like this. I didn’t think having long fingernails were her style but over the years of being a wife, she’s evolved into a much more feminine woman. Picking up her left hand I studied her nails loving the simplicity of her new color. Nude I think they call it. Her wedding ring sitting pretty on her fingers boosts my confidence as a man, a father and her husband.

“We do. In the simplest ways.” She whispered, with a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Her pretty, white teeth were up for display as she leaned in to kiss me.

After all these rounds and years and she still gets soaking wet for me. Not to mention she never gets lazy. I get one hundred percent of her effort and loving year round. Picking up one of her legs I held it over my back feeling myself touch all the spots I’ve created. I was digging all up in her shit not feeling an ounce of exhaustion. I could tell the sun was rising from behind the curtains but the room is still very dark due to our curtains being dark grey.

The flames were making their own noise and so were as we rolled around on the floor of our living room. A little while ago I heard Blu make his way downstairs where he likes to sit in front of the door. Brix tends to scale the house, making sure all is good. As weird as it may seem to some I trained my boys not to intervene in Camila’s and mine affairs. They ignore us now and never fail to give us the privacy I instilled in them to give us. I lifted myself up supporting my body with just my hands.

“Ah, damn girl, goddamn..” Groaning and shuddering at how much deeper this position allowed me to go I licked over my bottom lip, watching myself work.

My vision traveled to the tattoo again somehow making me hard as fuck.

“Give me another baby,” I blurted out slowing down completely to really show her that I’m serious about what I just said. I’ve been giving my baby savage dick hoping that one of these nuts will get her pregnant. So far, no luck.

“Wait..what did you say?” She questioned in soft yet raspy voice. She held me still searching my eyes frantically. “What did you just say?” She repeated.

Reluctantly looking her in the eye I just kept it real with her. “I want to get you pregnant one more time. Lately I’ve been go beyond the mile hoping that it might actually work. Camila, I feel deep regret for missing out on the beginning of our daughter’s life and for missing out on your pregnancy. When I found out Zoe was my daughter and you and I were testing the waters of a relationship, I made a promise. I promised myself to never let you go through what she did. Because whether you believe it or not I was really falling for you before I even told you I loved you.” I admitted for the first time out loud.

“Why have you never told me this?” She asks.

“I don’t know. I just knew I wanted to make you mine for weeks before we got into that fight. It was just two weeks after we came back from Corona. And now after all this time, after these years, and hell even last night..I still can’t get enough of you.” I said as her toes poked the back of my knee.

“You better hope you put another little boy in me..” She muttered, catching me way off guard.

“Really?” I gasped, peering into her eyes.

“I’d be honored to have another baby by you. Now get back to knocking me up.” She smirked.

And I think you know how the rest went down right?

Two Days Later......

A ring let off in my ear waking me up out of my sleep. I couldn't tell what the sound was coming from but once I found the noise I silenced it in seconds. Falling face first in my pillow I let out a deep and hoarse groan. Reality smacked the fuck out of me and when I sat myself up against the headboard to look around the room I found my phone smashed on the floor.

“Not again..” Smacking my lips obnoxiously I looked to my right to see Camila’s head peeking out from under the covers.

“Baby girl..” I called out, reaching down to pull the covers back. Her long ass hair was set into its natural pattern which is oddly enough has transformed over time. Before it used to be slightly wavy now it’s wavy and curly all over. Her lips look swollen and super plump since she’s sleeping. She slept with her left arm over her arm, ring facing ward.

“You’ll never understand just how beautiful you are to me.” I mumbled leaning down to kiss her chest in various spots.

“Dejame en paz..” She moaned wiggling around a bit. Her soft hand caressed the back of my neck while I tried to wake her up.

“Check your phone. Someone was calling me but I didn’t find out who. I smashed my phone..” I explained feeling her sit up. Moving with her I sat back on my elbow laying horizontal across the bed.

“Again? You go through phones like Ali goes through sneakers.” She chuckled softly and turned around to grab her phone off the dresser. Sitting back in her previous position with the phone next to her ear, she stay focused as the phone rang out. “Hello?” She muttered, rubbing her head and leaning back on one hand. “I’m sorry we’ve been sleeping for…” Camila pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the screen. Her eyes went wide for a second as she got back on the phone. “Yeah...we’ve been out for a long time. What’s he doing?” She looked down at her topless torso and shook her head at all the hickeys and scratches I gave her.

We locked eyes and all she could do was cover her mouth to prevent herself from laughing too loud. Shrugging carelessly I laid back and thought over the last couple of days. The house is a mess. We’ve touched every corner of this house except the rooms of our kids’ and Brix and Blu’s. You say the place, we fucked there. Oh and I got to to hit it on the hood of my car. How we managed that one is another story in itself. This year definitely takes the cake on every anniversary we’ve ever had together.

“Kenja..reduzca la velocidad y respire hondo. Put him on the phone so he can talk to your dad.” Camila touching my arm brought me back to reality. “It’s Jo.” She slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom where as I was left to save the day.

Putting the phone to my ear I was greeted with an angry Jorden who was rambling his life away. When he paused to breath I did the same.

“You done?” I groaned.

“Daddy?” He mumbled into the receiver.

“Yes buddy..what’s wrong? What you crying for boy?” I asked, hearing water running in the bathroom.

“I miss you and you left me here! I’m mad at you..” The hurt in his voice is evident that he’s cranky and hasn’t really been getting enough sleep. Now is the moment that is making me feel bad for leaving our kids with my brother for three days straight. Maree and I never planned to trap ourselves in the house for this long. It just sort of happened. At a time such as this, I wish I could explain to my son why he hasn’t seen me.

“Don’t be mad at me Jorden. I took mommy on a vacation but we’re back now. I’ll see you in a little bit.” I lied halfheartedly.

“Well okay..but I’m still mad at you. Come get me now.” His little demand was short lived by my brothers voice coming through. “It’s daddy..”  He said a little happier this time.

“Go let Auntie Jess get you dressed man..” Jorden and my brother talked briefly and soon I was listening to my brother talk his shit. “Really? Three whole days? Where the fuck have you been?” He fired off.

“You want the truth?” I began watching Maree come into view twisting her hair into a bun.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Matt sighed, trying to hide the irritation in his tone.

“I’ve been fucking the shit of your sister in law for the past three days.” I confessed seeing Cam shake her head and open the chest beginning to pick out some clothes.

Matt gagged at my confession and instead laughed. “Well damn alright. I guess I should’ve seen that coming. You enjoy yourself Casanova?” He joked, closing something loudly.

“Man….I don’t even know where to begin. You see the car yet?” I boosted sitting up to go to piss.

“What car? You got a new car?” He questioned plainly.

“My dream car in my favorite colors. You’ll see when we slide through. I’ma get off here and get my shit together bro. I’ll hit you up when we on the way.” I let my brother say his bye and then ended the call to check and see who else called.

I saw my mother’s name, my aunt’s name a couple times, a few from Victor, and a bunch of messages from Jessica. Clearly the kids used Jess as a way to communicate with Camila since we pretty much went MIA on our family. Truth is we just wanted to spend some time alone. No one else around. Just us in our natural element, enjoying one another’s company.

“How mad was he?” Looking over to the door I found Camila walking in to turn the shower on.

“Pretty pissed. We’ll see how he acts once we get there. How you feeling?” I asked, flushing the toilet and stripping out of my shorts.

“My legs hurt so much and I still can feel the honey in spots you missed and there’s chocolate syrup in my belly button. How could you have missed that?” She chuckled, grabbing new towels and laying them across the bench outside the shower door.

Shrugging I jumped in first with her joining me right after. If all goes well then all my scheming to get Camila pregnant one more time, will have paid off. Aside from the time that I nut on her face and her mouth a few times, this girl might get pregnant before the month is up. Who knows. Either way, if we do have one more baby or not, I’m at peace with the way everything turned out for us.

[klovenhooves]

The Setauket Chronicles, Chapter 7: Tested Boundaries

Her house looked like it wasn’t quite full, not quite lived in. He attributed that to her husband’s new absence as he saw her shove a box full of baseball cards under her kitchen table as they placed the leftover food on the counter. He could feel her eyes on him, watching him for approval, for disapproval. He allowed himself a quick moment to look around the room before he turned back to her.

 ���Now, do you want some butter chicken?” he asked, holding up one bag. “Or do you want another samosa? I know you like them.”

 She hadn’t been expecting that, he guessed as a surprised smile fluttered across her face. She took a moment to consider, and the relief that spread over her countenance soothed Edmund a bit. He had never felt this at ease with someone so quickly; he wanted to make sure she felt like she could be whoever she was, completely, when he was around.

 “Butter chicken,” she decided finally, holding out her hand for it, “just because you predicted the samosa.”

 He smirked at her and passed the bag in her direction. Instead of sitting at the table, like he had expected, she kicked off her heels and padded into the living room, her bare feet landing on a luxurious rug. He had been raised in too proper a household to ever eat food in the living room, so he watched, from the invisible barrier that separated the kitchen from the living room, with no small amount of surprise, as she plopped onto the couch and pulled a little tray specifically for the forbidden eating of food in the living room to her lap.

 “Well come on,” she admonished lightly. “Let’s see if that documentary you wanted to show me is on Netflix.”

 The mention of the documentary brought another blush to his cheeks. How she hadn’t turned and run from him when he brought up a second date prematurely amazed him. He figured, if he had been analyzing Anna Strong correctly, she was prone to doing the opposite of what was expected of her.

 “That was supposed – I mean,” he stumbled, trying to decide if he was going to finish the sentence or not. “I thought that was going to be a second date.”

 Anna studied his face for a moment, trying to read any ulterior motives. She did that a lot, he noticed as he stilled under her scrutiny. She always looked like she was about to say what she meant, but pulled back and swallowed the words for another time.

 He wondered who had taught her to do that.

 “After ruining the end of our first date –”

 “You did not –”

 “I did,” she insisted. “After ruining the first one, I think moving straight on to the second one is our best option. If that’s okay with you.”

 He allowed himself a moment to take in the view before him: a beautiful woman, her hair long, shiny, and dark, and eyes that sparkled full of constellations, waiting for him to decide if he wanted to spend time with her. He never thought he’d see the day.

 “I doubt anything would be more okay,” he answered finally, taking the seat beside Anna happily.

 ***

 Two hours later, as the documentary came to a close, Edmund became aware of the quiet, steady breathing beside him. Sometime during the documentary, Anna had slipped into a heavy sleep, her head cradled on Edmund’s shoulder. He wanted to feel offended that she had fallen asleep during the documentary instead of watching the whole thing, but as he glanced down at the small sliver of her face that wasn’t obscured by her hair, he found he couldn’t be angry.

 She was too beautiful, and she looked so peaceful.

 He reached for the remote, ready to switch Netflix off, but as his body shifted toward the remote, Anna protested, her hand around his arm tightening, her mouth letting out a quiet groan of frustration. He stilled immediately, a soft smile taking over his face. As a test, he leaned away from her again, relishing in the sleepy sounds she made as she struggled to both stay asleep and keep him from moving away from her.

 Unfortunately, he underestimated the length of the couch, and soon, he was flat on his back on the couch, and Anna was still determinedly leaning against him, his new precarious position putting her almost completely on top of him, without any knowledge of doing so.

 He was definitely going to have to wake her up now, he reasoned, and as he tried to free his lower body from her weight, she shifted in a truly indecent way against his hips. He froze, his eyes squeezed shut tight, and tried to find a less embarrassing way out of his new predicament.

 Luckily for him, the ringing of his phone in his pocket shook her awake, and she quickly moved off of him, her wide eyes taking in the fact that she was practically on his lap, no thanks to his own ill-advised movements.

 He fished his phone out of his pocket, avoiding her eyes so he couldn’t see her disapproval, her disgust. His phone blinked a name: John Andre. With a furrowed brow, he answered it.

 The other end of the line was full of a weird static, ambient noise that Edmund was not familiar with. “John?” he asked. A few mumbled words came back to him, and the sound of something hitting a wall. “Andre?”

 He listened for a few moments more, his ears straining. A scrambling sound, the sound of someone grabbing the phone, came over the line loud and rough, and Edmund recoiled away from it.

 “Hey, your phone is on,” someone said. Anna, her head resting on Edmund’s shoulder again, perked up.

 “I know that voice,” she said. “Put it on speaker.”

 “This is my boss –”

 “Edmund –”

 He relented immediately, and the sound was suddenly filling the room. Andre’s voice sounded far away and muffled. “Why would my phone be on?”

“You pushed something on it,” the voice said, much closer, and Anna covered her mouth. “I – I think it called someone.”

 “Hang it up and come back to bed,” Andre replied, his voice slurring the vowels. Whoever he had been talking to obliged, a loud beep telling Edmund he had been prematurely hung up on. Anna’s wide eyes drew his curiosity next.

 “Oh my god,” she muttered. “Oh. My. God.”

 “Oh my god what?” Edmund asked. Her eyes met his, full of surprise, mischief, and energy. How she managed to be suddenly so full of everything, moments after waking up, was a mystery he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to solve.

 “Do you realize what just happened?” she asked, leaning away from him so she could better see his face. Edmund shrugged, casting his eyes about the room for a response.

 “Um, Andre accidentally called me?”

 “Okay…” she trailed off, trying to get more. He shook his head.

 “Did you hear what he said at the end?” she asked. “’Hang up the phone and come back to bed’?”

 She could see the realization dawning on Edmund’s countenance, and it drew a giggle from her. “Oh my –”

 “God, yes, exactly,” Anna replied. “And, I think I know the guy he was with.”

 But Edmund wasn’t really listening. “But he has a girlfriend! He was just talking about her a week ago.”

 “A lot can change in a week,” Anna pointed out. Edmund paused in his own musings to take in her face, still creased across one cheek from his shirt, the excited glint in her eyes, her hand on his arm. She was right, he agreed silently.

 A lot could change in a week.

 ***

 By the end of his fourth period class, Ben could feel nerves alive and wriggling around in his belly. His lunch with Peggy, proclaimed to be something easy, with no pressure, nonetheless imparted pressure that he couldn’t counteract. His lip was still sore, his ego bruised. Being around Peggy made him feel like he had to constantly be on his toes, ready to respond with a witty comeback, ready to match her charming smile, the artful way her fingers wrapped around his arm.

 She was all charm, all grace, and he felt like he had two left feet every time she looked at him.

 The bell jolted him from his thoughts, and as his students rushed for the door, he felt anxiety press harder on him. It was only a matter of minutes now. He grabbed his little lunchbox, packed by Caleb this morning when he realized he had a lunch date. (“Not a date, Caleb.” “Oh, Tallboy, it’s a date. She got you to go on a date without even asking you on a date. I like her.”)

 The halls seemed to empty around Ben as he walked toward Peggy’s door, the students steering clear of him. It seemed like the whole school knew where he was going, what he was doing, and how inadequate he was. Or, maybe they were all just going to lunch. That could be it.

 “Benjamin!” Peggy greeted with a warm smile, and the pressure on his shoulders lessened just a bit. “Come in.”

 He stepped tentatively into her classroom, remembering the last time he was there, blatantly asking Peggy why she flirted with people, and felt the resulting embarrassment rise in his cheeks.

 “My, you just got here, and already you’re blushing,” Peggy chuckled, offering him a chair in front of her desk. “I feel like your mind is somewhere else.”

 He shrugged, taking the seat. “I was just remembering the last time I was here.”

 Peggy’s eyes were smiling at him, and he momentarily lost his train of thought in them. “I admit, it was an unusual encounter. It’s not every day I have to nurse another teacher back to health.”

 “It wasn’t that bad,” Ben protested, cracking open his lunchbox.

 Peggy smirked. “There was blood involved. The worst I usually deal with are paper cuts.”

 “Can we just call it a paper cut of the face?” Ben pleaded. “Knowing that a child punched me in the face is still embarrassing.”

 “I think it was noble,” Peggy disagreed. “You could have just let them fight it out, but you refused to be a teacher that sits back on his laurels and refuses to help the students. No matter the outcome, I think it speaks to your character.”

 Ben stared at her for a moment, his hands hovering over his lunch. “Seriously?”

 She blinked once, and it was as good as a nod. Ben, his pride placated, brought his eyes to his lunch. Caleb had packed him his favorite sandwich, pesto and tomato with mozzarella, with his zucchini chips. It wasn’t the sandwich that caught his attention, it was the “dessert” that Caleb had provided him.

 Chocolate covered strawberries.

 He could feel the heat in his ears again, and he struggled to pretend like nothing was wrong, hoping the blush would dissipate before Peggy noticed.

 He had no such luck. “What happened now?” she asked, a laugh at the edge of her voice. He buried his face in his hands, letting his embarrassment make a child out of him, at least so it would draw a real laugh from her. “I swear, Benjamin, your face is permanently pink.”

 “My best friend is a chef, so he insisted on making me lunch today, because –” he motioned between the two of them, and it was Peggy’s turn to flush a light pink. “So he thought he was being funny by sending me these.”

 He pushed the lunchbox toward her, and as soon as her eyes landed on the strawberries, giggles took her over completely. She covered her mouth daintily, her eyes meeting Ben’s over the desk. “I’m sorry,” she said through her giggles. “I’m sorry, that’s just…your friend is good.”

 “I hate him.”

 “Oh, don’t hate him,” Peggy admonished lightly. “He’s funny.”

 Ben pursed his lips but didn’t argue. He reached for his sandwich and the pair munched in a companionable silence. Their time for lunch was short, and they had spent a good amount of it talking. As their time ticked to a close, Ben’s eyes fell on the strawberries again.

 “Do you want one?” he asked, pushing the lunchbox toward her.

 “You don’t?” she replied.

 “I don’t want to give him the satisfaction,” he pointed out dryly. “So if you don’t eat them, no one will.”

 Peggy reached for one of the strawberries, picking it up by the little green leaves. As she fixed her eyes on it, Ben realized his mistake. He was forced to watch, his breath halting in his lungs, as Peggy took a bite of the strawberry, the shape of the fruit puckering her lips around it in a way that was too indecent for a high school.

 The groan that left her mouth didn’t help anything; Ben was cursing Caleb in his mind, cursing him with every power he could think of, trying to take his eyes off of Peggy. She seemed to know what he was thinking, as she always did; she put the strawberry back in her mouth, the juice of the fruit dripping onto her finger. He knew what was coming before she did it; when her lips closed around her finger, sucking the juice off of it, he wondered if he should just go before he couldn’t stand up without showing off to everyone exactly how affected he was by her show.

 She wasn’t just teasing him now; her eyes were heavy-lidded, her gaze locked on his eyes while his eyes were on her mouth. She dropped the stem into his lunch box and exhaled shakily.

 “Perhaps one strawberry is enough,” she said, her voice quiet enough to keep from breaking the spell.

 “I –” Ben cleared his throat, struggled to swallow, and tried again. “I should probably go.”

 Peggy didn’t try to stop him, but rose from her seat as he got up. He had meant to leave; he meant to walk down the hallway, maybe splash some cold water on his face to banish the remnants of arousal that he wouldn’t be able to truly banish until he was safe in the sanctity of his own home, but his feet carried him to Peggy, who stared up at him almost challengingly.

 Gently, with the tips of his fingers, he pushed her to the wall behind her desk, out of sight of the door and any possible approaching students leaving lunch early.

 He could see her hands flutter, unsure of where on his body to land. She kept them by her side, waiting to see what he was going to do first.

 He felt like he was being pushed forward by some invisible force; what else could he do but follow it, respond the way his body wanted him to respond? He could see her eyes flicker to his mouth; she thought he was going in for the kiss. He wanted to oblige her, but he knew that if he kissed her, he would be truly useless for the rest of the day, caught up in her taste, in her smell.

 He was taking too long; Peggy’s hand landed on his cheek, her thumb brushing over the bruise on his lip.

 The soft pressure of her finger on his lip spurred him on, and he leaned in, just enough for Peggy to drop her hand from his lip. He couldn’t back out now, didn’t want to, but even as he got close enough to feel her breath ghosting over his face, still sweet with the smell of chocolate, the bell startled them both.

 He moved away from her, and he could see that she was breathing just as heavily as he was.

 “Another time?” she asked first, her voice small but lower than usual. The timbre of it sent a jolt through him, and he had to clear his throat again before he could respond.

 “Another time,” he promised. And, with a boldness that he didn’t know he had, “I still have another strawberry in there.”

 He pointed to his lunchbox and left it behind for her. Let her feel that same tingle that he did; let her understand how affected he was. Finally, for the first time since he met Margaret Shippen, he felt like they were on even footing.

 ***

 Caleb wasn’t sure what possessed him to ask Mary to get a drink with him at the bar, but he rationalized, at least silently, that he wanted to make sure she was okay, especially after Abraham’s quick exit from their dinner. But no matter how many times he told himself that he was only here to make sure she was okay, the traitorous voice inside his head kept shouting that he was there because he liked her; he was there because he wanted to see her.

 “Brewster!” her voice was far more upbeat than it had been when he left her at her house, her eyes still red from the tears she shed from telling him the whole debacle.

 The knowledge that Mary had been unfaithful to Abraham was a shock, though the more he thought about it, the more he understood her. Mary was a tit-for-tat kind of woman; when she was slighted, she could easily fall on the side of vengeful. The fact that it had taken her so long was a testament to her character.

 Or maybe he was biased.

 “You look good,” he replied without stopping himself. Mary furrowed her brows at him for a moment before turning her eyes to her own outfit, and Caleb turned halfway away from her to take a drink from his beer. He really needed to stop doing that.

 “Bud Light, please,” she told the bartender, letting his compliment slide by unacknowledged.

 “How’s little Sprout?” he asked, directing his way into safer waters. Mary gave him a grateful smile.

“He’s with Samuel, so he’s very excited,” she confessed. “Samuel Townsend with spoil my son to death, I swear.”

 “He’s just excited,” Caleb protested lightly. “Robert isn’t likely to give him any grandchildren.”

 Mary shrugged, taking a sip of her beer. The slight smile on her face had yet to be banished since she sat down, and as her eyes slid over to him, Caleb took that as a good thing.

 “What?” she asked, her smile stretching even wider.

 Caleb straightened up, suddenly aware that he had been staring at her. “What what?” he asked innocently.

 “You’re staring at me,” Mary protested. “Do I have something on my face?”

 Caleb smirked. “No, you don’t. You never do.”

 Mary flipped her hair sarcastically as a show of triumph. “That’s right,” she agreed, but her eyes shifted past him to focus on someone behind him. Her smile faded, and he watched as she shifted so that she was facing the bar completely.

 “What just happened?” Caleb asked, glancing around them. There weren’t a whole lot of people in the bar at 7 p.m., so the likelihood that Mary spotted someone she knew was slim. That was the whole reason he came here this early.

 “Nothing,” she shrugged, but he could see the tension in her shoulders.

 “Mary –”

 “Shh!” she exclaimed, her eyes still avoiding his direction.

 “You and I both know that being quiet is not my strong suit,” Caleb admonished, searching again their surroundings. “What, do you know someone?”

 Her hand landed on his arm and squeezed. “Stop.”

 “Stop what?” he asked, hushing his voice to appease her. “I can’t stop if you won’t tell me what’s going on.”

 A voice, soft and high, interrupted them. “Mary?” Caleb turned back toward the voice, his eyes narrowed. A man, much taller than himself, and even a good deal taller than Abe, was standing behind them, his suit pressed and expensive, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

 “John,” she greeted, her smile not quite meeting her eyes.

 The man she called John smiled at the sound of his name on her lips, and Caleb quickly put the pieces together. He didn’t know him, and he knew all of Mary’s friends, because they were also his friends. If he didn’t know him, then he must be –

 Oh boy.

 “It’s been a while,” John replied, leaning against the bar on the other side of Mary so she was effectively stuck between him and Caleb. Caleb took that moment to survey him. His hair was reddish blond and curly, his eyes wide and blue. There was a softness to him that Caleb didn’t buy; the man was slightly off-kilter, enough to make him nervous.

 “It’s only been a few days,” Mary said in a hushed voice to him. John, seeing he was about to hit a conversational wall, turned his gaze to Caleb.

 “This must be your husband,” he said, and Mary tensed, coiled like a stretched violin string. “John Graves Simcoe,” he offered his hand to Caleb. “Mary and I are friends.”

 “Caleb Brewster,” Caleb shook his hand, forcing himself not to squeeze the man’s hand. “But I’m not her husband. I’m an old friend.”

 He put the same emphasis on ‘friend’ that John did, and Mary’s resulting warning gaze was enough to tell him that she noticed, but he couldn’t stop himself. This man had the audacity to introduce himself to Mary’s husband, after point-blank saying that he hadn’t seen Mary in a while? Even a man as dense as Abraham would have figured that out.

 “Oh,” John turned his gaze to Mary for a moment before looking back at Caleb. “I had no idea Mary was so popular.”

 Caleb felt his lips turn upward in a sneer. “I guess you don’t know Mary that well after all.”

 “Does Mary get a say in any of this?” she asked, and Caleb felt guilt stab him at the look on her face. She looked tortured, full of guilt.

 “Actually, we have somewhere we need to be,” Caleb pointed out, his gaze significant. “Don’t you remember?”

 Mary glanced up at John, who was looking at her imploringly, waiting for her to agree or contradict Caleb. “Uh…yeah, yeah we do,” she said finally, dropping a few dollars on the wood of the bar for her beer. “Let’s go.”

 “It was a…pleasure, Caleb Brewster,” John called after him. “I’ll talk to you later, Mary.”

 It wasn’t a good-bye, but a see you later, and Caleb felt his hand clench into a fist as he led Mary into the parking lot. She stayed a few steps ahead of him all the way to her car, her purse sliding off of her shoulder and into the crook of her arm.

 “What the hell was that?” Mary asked, turning on her heel to face him. Caleb took a half step backward. “You think that just because Abraham isn’t around and doesn’t care that you can just defend me in his place?”

 “What?” Caleb asked, astonished. “No, Mary, that wasn’t what –”

 “Oh, then what was it?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Because you sure sounded like a jealous husband back there.”

 He groaned inwardly. He had shown his hand too soon, he had blown his chance for a friendship with Mary. Truthfully, what could he have hoped for? Friends that occasionally had dinner together, occasionally got drinks? Would he have been satisfied with that, after he had seen how beautiful she was when she laughed, when he saw how happy she could be if someone just made her laugh?

 “You looked terrified,” he reasoned. “I was just trying to help you out.”

 “I don’t need your help,” she argued, crossing her arms. “I could have handled it.”

 Caleb mirrored her stance. “If you wanted to go with him, you could have. You didn’t have to let me drag you away.”

 She fell silent, her eyes focusing on something far away. Caleb gave her a few moments to think before he interrupted her thoughts. “Did you want to leave with him?”

 “It doesn’t matter,” she answered.

 “I’m sorry that I butted in,” Caleb replied honestly. “I’m sorry that I acted like a jealous husband. You have a husband that should be doing that. I shouldn’t have –”

 “But I don’t, do I?” she asked, her voice falling flat. There was no malice there anymore. “I don’t have a husband that would do that.”

 Caleb sighed, leaning against a Toyota as the thought weighed heavily on him. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But you should.”

 There wasn’t much for him to say after that, so he stepped away from her so that he could get into his Jeep. She watched him go, something indescribable on her face. He knew, as he glanced back at her, that he would spend the foreseeable future trying to decipher the expression.

 “I didn’t want to leave with him,” she called after him. The sentence, unwarranted but appreciated all the same, drew a smile from him. He left her there, in the parking lot, trying to decide what to do next.

 ***

 “You know, you don’t have to take me out,” Robert pointed out as Andre led the way to the third row of the theatre. “I don’t mind.”

 Andre waved off his protestations. “Nonsense, Robert, you deserve to see this play,” he took his seat and motioned to the one beside him. “Besides, it’s more of a gift to me, being able to show someone this play. Consider yourself just the plus one, if it helps.”

 The easy way that he gave him an out reminded Robert of his own relationship with Abraham. “You don’t have to do that, you know,” he replied.

 “Do what?”

 “Give me an opportunity to trivialize this,” Robert motioned to the theatre at large. “These were expensive tickets, and I know we said this was just for fun,” he dropped his hand on Andre’s thigh, “I still appreciate that you wanted me to see this.”

 Andre’s smile was sincere. “I’m glad.”

 Robert left his hand on Andre’s thigh, relishing in the lack of embarrassment that Andre felt at his public display of affection. He knew that they were both using each other for comfort, or closure, or whatever they wanted to call it, but knowing that there were people out there who weren’t ashamed made him feel hopeful.

 One day, he hoped he could call Andre a friend, even if they weren’t sleeping together, even if he managed to get his girlfriend back, even if Abraham never spoke to him again.

 The lights flickered three times, an indication that the show was about to start, and Andre’s hand came to rest on top of Robert’s.

 He smiled.