#i used to get so mad when my dad rode it

[lillybean730]

top ten rollercoasters that said a slur

[into-the-grey]

~It's Raining, It's Pouring~

Noah x F!Reader fic

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Mild Smut and some Angst

Sometimes, people are just meant to be in each others lives. And sometimes, magic happens.

Warnings: mentions of SH, allusions towards Suicide, allusions towards abusive family, mentions of death, brief smut (theyre both 18 by this point), high school, mental illness, panic attack, divorce, mild jealousy

WC: 13.2k

Taglist: @wh0th3h3llisbucky @blend-in-with-the-madness

RIP my YouTube history, I think I played It’s Raining, It’s Pouring by Anson Seabra for 7 hours straight working on this. Also, the tense probably changes a few times because I never write in second person, I apologise for that, still learning a bit. It might go from past to present tense and back again a few times. This is a new format, and a new way of writing for me, so let's see how it goes.

Fic Masterlist

Alright; ON WITH THE SHOW

Once upon a time, there were two people. Those two people were star-crossed, fated, meant to be. All of the romantic stories could have been about them. It wasn't a grand adventure for him to find her, and he didn't have to save her from a dragon. And she had never been locked in a tower, or forced into slavery by an evil step-mother.

No.

No, it was much simpler than that.

You. You were the one who lived in the house down the street. The house that he rode past every day on his bike when he was young. You were the one he used to see in the neighbourhood, playing with your friends and climbing the tree at the end of the block that all the kids were convinced was a magic wishing tree.

You were the one who came to school with notes in your lunchbox from your mom and knew that you were loved.

And him? He was the kid with the witch for a mom. She wasn't really a witch, but she scared a lot of the kids on the block. She would stand in the street, yelling for him to come home, and if he didn't show up, she'd give up and lock him out for the night. He was the one who came to school with bags under his eyes wearing the same hoodie he'd been wearing for a week.

He was the one who would look at all the kids around him, wishing he could be like you.

You found him in the wishing tree once. That day, you ran down the block, adamant that the tree would help you pass a test in your fourth grade science class. As an adult, you know how stupid you were, but back then it was the most obvious answer.

He was in the tree, high up in it's branches. He huddled in on himself as the cold wind whipped against his skin. He was alone, but his lips moved as tears rolled slowly down his cheeks. His bloodshot eyes fixed on you as you climbed higher, his lips pressing into a thin line as he watched you nervously.

You didn't hesitate for a second.

'Hi,' you said brightly, seeing his pain. You didn't know how to help him, and your eight year old brain couldn't imagine the gravity of his troubles. All you were sure of was that he was there, and he was upset. 'What are you wishing for?'

'Nothing.' His lie was blunt, and his eyes flitted away from you as he sniffed hard against his tears. He drew his heels in under himself as he perched on the thickest branch, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees while he shivered.

'Oh,' you said softly. 'I was going to wish for help on my test tomorrow. It's a science test and I suck at science. But, if you want, I can wish for whatever you were wishing for? It might help to have more than one person wishing for it?'

He scoffed, his deep brown eyes looking you over quickly before returning his hard stare back to his purpling fingers.

'A science test? Why didn't you just study?' he asked, his voice low. His hard shell seemed to crack as he glanced back at you a few times.

'I got distracted,' you admitted. 'A lot. Focussing is kind of hard for me, my mom says I have attention problems, but my dad thinks I'm just making it up to get people to feel sorry for me.' You leaned against a branch, tugging awkwardly at the sleeves of your pale blue hoodie. 'Sometimes my brain goes too fast though, and I can't read or I say stupid things that I don't mean. It's embarrassing.'

'Like offering a wish to a stranger?' he said, a snip in his voice. The words cut through you, stinging as you digested them. Your lip jutted out in a pout as you felt your gut twisting from his insult.

'Yeah,' you nodded sadly 'I guess...'

Your turned dejectedly, wishing silently for the boy to learn some manners, and grabbing the branch to lower yourself down.

'Wait,' he called. Your head snapped back to him, seeing him staring at you. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.'

You smiled weakly up at him, and after a brief pause, you made your choice. You scaled the branches and hauled yourself up to his level. As you reached him, you sat on the only other branch that stays steady under your weight, just above him in the dying leaves. The cool breeze rustled through the leaves, a few coming loose and drifting around you while the sky above darkened.

'I'm Y/N,' you said, pulling your hood up to protect you from the chill. Your introduction sounded eager, like you were asking for something. Mentally you kicked yourself, but he seemed receptive.

'I know, I've seen you at school,' he told you, shifting slightly to face you. He chewed the inside of his lip while he wiped his sleeves over his face, trying to erase the traces of his tears. No matter how hard he wiped, there was no way for him to erase the hollow sadness in his eyes. The moment you saw it, you knew there was more to this boy than he let on.

'I've seen you too. You're in Miss Forson's class, right?' you asked. You watched him nod slowly.

'Yeah. My name is Noah. You've probably heard it being yelled down the street enough times...'

'That's your mom, isn't it? The one who stands on the lawn yelling?'

Noah nodded, his cheeks flushing red and hanging his head. He clenched his fists and sniffed again, tears welling in his eyes.

'Yeah, that's her.'

'You're hiding from her, right?' you prodded.

'Yeah,' he said, his voice thick as he swallowed down the pain welling in his chest.

'Do you do that a lot?'

He nodded again, unable to look at you now. Your face fell, watching him picking at his nails and seeing his lip quiver.

'If you want, my mom would probably let you stay at my house? We could play my playstation for a while?' you offered. 'But, you gotta help me with my science test, just for a little while so my mom thinks you're not just there to distract me.' You giggled when you saw the corner of his lips lift into a smile. A sad one, but a smile nonetheless.

'Are you sure?' he asked timidly, looking at you with a glint of hope. 'I'm not really good at science...'

'That's okay, I'm not really good at playstation,' you told him.

A fat raindrop fell through the branches and the leaves, landing smack dab on your head with a pronounced 'plop'. You reached for your hair, feeling the wet spot and giggling more.

More raindrops fell, slowly turning the sidewalk below into a picture of grey polka dots. Noah followed your gaze, seeing the drops colouring in the concrete.

'I guess it's better than being out here in the rain,' he agreed, finally releasing his knees from his vice grip and stretching out to reach the branch below him to begin his descent. You smiled at him, following his lead and dropping off your branch.

Once you were on solid ground and you had a moment, you looked at him. Shaggy brown hair hung in his warm hazel eyes. A light dusting of freckles covered his nose, and a gentle smile lifted his pink lips. He stood only just taller than you, maybe an inch? An inch and a half at most.

You offered him your hand, leading him down the street towards your house. He walked slowly, letting the raindrops fall on the both of you. Normally, you'd run for home to get out of the rain, but something about him made the rain less intimidating. You felt safe with him the moment you saw him in that tree.

What you didn't know was that he felt safe with you too. A stark contrast to how things were at home. Noah had a strained relationship with his mom, and he never told you just how bad things were, but you knew it was worse than he let on.

He found solace in you and your home. Your mom welcomed him in, knowing exactly who he was and who his mom was. Noah's mom was known around the street, and a few of the parents in the neighbourhood were familiar with Noah's hiding spots. They would all keep a quiet eye on him whenever they saw him near their houses, knowing that someone had to.

When you brought him home to your mom, she didn't question anything. The two of you stood on the front doorstep, dripping and cold, and all your mom did was laugh and find you two the biggest fluffiest towels in the house. She brought you inside and found you a change of clothes, letting Noah have one of your oversized pokemon t-shirts and a pair of your dad's old gym shorts.

Your dad wasn't happy about it, but your mom shut him up. Never in front of you or Noah though. She wouldn't dare fight with your dad in front of the two of you, but you didn't miss the pointed glares she would shoot at him over the dinner table when your dad would make a remark.

Noah became a staple in your house, feeling safer there than at home. You liked having him there too, he was a lot smarter than he let on, and he was funny. Plus, he was really good at the playstation, he could help you beat the tougher levels. He even completed Crash Bandicoot for you when you got stuck on the hog riding level. And yes, he helped you with your science test, and you passed.

Some nights, Noah would sneak in through the dog door in the laundry and creep into your room. The first time he did it, it scared the hell out of you, but you got used to it quickly. Those nights were hard. He would wake you up in tears, but he would never tell you why. And when he did, you would simply scooch over and let him into the bed, rubbing his back while he cried himself to sleep.

Your dad would always ask who left the dog door open. Your mom never admitted it, but there were a few nights that you caught her unlocking it before she went to bed.

You two grew up together. Joined at the hip, you went everywhere together, did everything together...

And then high school happened. The first year was supposed to be exciting, you were meant to be enjoying life and all the perks that came with being high schoolers. Instead, your parents got a divorce.

Noah held you while you cried, fearing that your dad would try and make you move to Topeka with him. He mourned the breaking apart of your family with you, and he kept you distracted by playing video games with you or by hiding in the wishing tree with you.

Your mom gave him a key to the house the day your dad moved out, telling him he didn't need to sneak through the dog door anymore. He hugged your mom, unable to find the words to thank her. She even cleared out your dad's study and turned it into a bedroom for him.

Then came the awkward "talk". Your mom sat you down on the couch one day when Noah wasn't there, telling you that while she understood you two were close, that sex is a big deal and if you're not ready, then you can always tell him no.

She didn't judge, but she taught you all about protection, and asked that you wait until you were sure.

You laughed at her, telling her that there was no way you'd ever have sex with Noah. He was your best friend, and you told her you didn't feel that way about him. She just smirked at you, nodding and saying 'okay.'

But when you went to bed that night, you couldn't help thinking about it. You felt weird as you laid in your bed, staring at the ceiling with the images of Noah on top of you flashing through your mind.

Maybe you did feel that way, but you would never dare tell him.

That night, when Noah crept into your room, you comforted him and you felt butterflies as you held him. Silently, you cursed your mother for making you think about him that way, but you didn't let on that anything had changed.

At school, you joined music class with Noah, and he found something in himself. You watched him beam whenever he touched a keyboard or picked up a guitar. Lyrics seemed to flow from him like a fountain. He was magical.

You wished you were as good as him. But through music, he found his friend Nick. Nick was nice, and he hung out with you guys at lunch, but at the end of the day, Noah would come home to you. You tried to like Nick, but you couldn't help that teenage bubble of jealousy as he and Noah bonded over something that you just couldn't do.

And then Noah left. He just stopped coming to school.

The first day, you texted him and asked him where he was. He was blunt, telling you he wasn't coming. You assumed that he was just sick, or skipping for the day. But one day turned into two. Two became three. Three became a week. A week became a month.

After that, you knew to just let him sleep when you got up in the mornings. At least he was still in your room, still with you.

He got a job to fill his days, working at Nick's family's tattoo studio. Noah wasn't the art type, he couldn't really draw, so he never picked up a tattoo gun, but the money wasn't bad. He would bring you little trinkets and gifts sometimes. He even saved up to buy himself a car. It was an absolute piece of shit, but it ran, it got good gas mileage, and it had a stereo.

Then came the nights where you would drive around aimlessly, discovering more and more of Richmond as you belted out the words to any song you knew. Sometimes Nick would come with you, but you liked it better when it was just you and Noah.

He was growing up, and you loved seeing who he was becoming. He was still the awkward introverted boy you knew, but he was blossoming into a musician. Your mom even bought him a guitar one christmas, making him cry. Because he could finally practice again, he found his way into a cover band. You were their number one fan, and your mom was a close second. She cheered him on in any way she could.

You kept going to school though. You didn't have a choice, you weren't good enough at anything to take the creative path. Every day you wished Noah was there, but you did your best without him. Class was harder without him. It had been years of the two of you side by side, Noah helping you to understand the questions that didn't make sense to you. He would even read the questions aloud to you if you needed it. Now, your grades were slipping. You didn't have your support system, and no one else seemed to believe that it was that hard.

He would help with your homework, but it was getting harder. He'd never learned the subject matter, so he could only do so much. You'd let him read your textbooks, but sometimes neither of you understood what the hell the textbooks were talking about.

One night, a particular project had overstressed you. He held you while you cried, running his fingers through your hair while you tried to compose yourself.

'I can't fucking do this,' you choked, your arms around him while he rested his chin on your head. When did he get so tall?

'You can, it's just your brain,' he shushed you, his voice soft and his arms strong as he held you together. 'There's too much going on in there, isn't there?'

'There always is, you know that,' you told him, letting him sit you down on the side of your bed.

'And what do we normally do about it?' he asked gently, holding your hands and squeezing lightly. As he sat in front of you, you found yourself staring at him, your mouth hanging open while you panted through the tears.

He had the beginnings of a sleeve colouring his arm, the ink peeking out under his three-quarter sleeves. A shiny dermal piercing sat in his cheek, glinting under the low light of your bedside lamp. His warm brown hair hung down almost to his chest, always a layered mess.

But his eyes, those warm brown eyes. They were still the eyes of that boy from so many years ago, searching for comfort in yours. Offering you comfort with him. In them, you could see how much your pain hurt him, and how hard he tried to hide it.

'I don't know if can talk about it,' you whimpered, your gaze shifting to his hands. His long, slender fingers, wrapped up in your shorter, pinker ones. His thumb grazed over your knuckle supportively.

'There's nothing you can't tell me,' he said, both gently and firmly. 'What's different now?'

'Everything.'

'Y/N...' he whispered, shuffling closer. His hands ran gingerly up your arms, and you couldn't help flinching. You closed your eyes, holding your breath as heavy tears blurred your vision. You were thankful, you didn't want to see the pain in his eyes as realisation dawned on him.

'Why?' he asked. You knew he knew. It had been a while since you'd done that. You'd been clean since your dad gave up on trying to move you to Topeka. You hadn't needed it...

But school, the projects, the frustration of your brain not working right...

You hadn't felt good enough in a long time. Like something in you was broken. And even though you could normally talk to Noah about these things, Noah had found his people. He found his thing, the thing he was good at. You didn't have that. You were convinced he wouldn't understand anymore.

'I'm not right. I can't do the things everyone else can do,' you whispered. 'My grades are going to shit, and everyone thinks I'm just being lazy, but I just can't fucking do it. No one believes me-' you tell him, crumpling in on yourself as your voice breaks. 'I'm fucking def-fective,' you coughed.

Noah grabbed you, pulling you into his chest and holding you tightly, whispering into your ear.

'You are not defective. You are not lazy, or broken, or any of that bullshit. It's not your fault,' he told you, swaying you back and forth in his grip while he buried his nose in your hair.

'I-' you tried to start, but he shushes you, knowing whatever you were going to say would be negative.

'No, you are the kindest, smartest, most hard-working person I know,' he told you. 'You care so fucking much about other people. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here, that's for sure. It's not your fault that you can't always figure out what the fuck those textbooks say. They're stupid fucking books anyway, written by snooty old guys with nothing better to do than write rules about how numbers should work or brag about how war is great when you win one.'

'Noah-'

'Nope, I'm not done,' he stopped you. 'You don't need to think like them. You think like you, and the way you think is magical. You are so special, and that's what matters. You might not be great at science or math, but you make the most amazing paintings I've ever seen. You write the best stories, and you sing better than half the guys who auditioned for my band. Don't you ever doubt yourself, okay?'

His arms lock tighter around you as his voice hitches in his throat. You nod against him, your arms around his narrow chest. His width had yet to catch up to his height, he was still skinny as anything, but he still gave fantastic hugs.

'I'm sorry-' you try to say, but again, he stops you.

'You. Are. Incredible,' he tells you, punctuating each word as he finds your face and looks at your bloodshot and puffy eyes. 'And you are everything to me, got it? Please, don't ever take yourself away from me like that. I care about you way too much to lose you to that.'

You nod, releasing an arm and wiping your face with your sleeve.

'Y/N,' he breathes, 'I mean it. Please, don't go anywhere.'

Your heart breaks as his firm voice slips, instead pleading with you now.

'I promise,' you tell him, swallowing hard past the lump in your throat. 'I care about you too much to leave you behind.'

'Good.'

Pulling you back into a tight hug, he doesn't tell you that he meant more with those words than you understood. He had for a while. And so had you. Both of you caught in the limbo of what you each thought were unrequited feelings, and neither one of you brave enough to tell the other about the butterflies in your bellies. Neither of you dared to speak the three words that your hearts yearned to say.

I care about you?

No.

I love you.

More than life itself.

Noah made a point to be around a lot more after that night. Sure, he was always around, but he slept in your bed a lot more after that. He watched as your long sleeves became tank tops, always checking to make sure the scars stayed scars.

He even offered to get Nick to tattoo you to cover them up, going as far as asking your mom if she would let you. To your dismay, your mom was against that idea. She let you get away with a lot, but an underage tattoo was toeing the line.

It didn't stop you from getting a tattoo though. It just meant you put it somewhere your mom wouldn't see it. You got Nick to tattoo it on the front of your hip, somewhere even a bikini would cover it.

A little tree, just like the one at the end of the block. Noah held your hand while the needle dragged across your skin, the bony parts hurting the worst. Nick chuckled while you squeezed your eyes shut tight and grimaced at the worst of it.

Finally, senior year rolled around. The best and worst year of your life.

Finally, someone believed you. At school, there was a new counsellor. She recognised something in you that no one else had. You called Noah the second she told you about the letters that changed your life.

ADHD.

That's why you had been struggling so much. That's why things never made sense the first time. Noah celebrated with you when you got home that afternoon, and he went with you to talk to your mom about it.

Your mom was just as excited for you to have an answer, agreeing to help you seek treatment. She couldn't get on the phone to your doctor fast enough. Finally, something made sense. A chance at normalcy...

Noah took you for a drive that night, the two of you sitting in the front seat of the car and screaming along to all the songs on your shared playlist. He drove you out to a lookout and the two of you watched the stars, talking about how different things could be.

He told you about his side project from his cover band, Man Vs Self. He was excited about it, and Nick was getting involved too, and Vincent. You weren't completely familiar with Vincent, but from the few encounters you'd had with him, he seemed nice enough.

He showed you some of the things he was working on for the band, and you had to admit, it was good. Not that you expected any less from him. Noah couldn't make something bad if he tried, it's like it was against his nature.

While you two sat there, you googled everything you could about ADHD, learning more about how your brain worked. A part of you mourned how your life could have been if you had been diagnosed earlier. Things could have been so different, so much easier..

But without the struggle, you never would have found Noah. And you wouldn't change that for the world, and neither would he.

If only things could be so simple forever.

But time marches ever onward, and life goes on.

Noah's band picked up. And after a while, you noticed him withdraw. There was something there, something he didn't want to tell you. Whenever you asked him what was bothering him, he would shy away from the topic, trying to change it quickly.

After a few weeks of pushing, you finally got the answer. He was leaving.

He cried as he told you, telling you he had been seriously considering backing out so he could stay with you. Knowing how much you needed him, it was killing him to choose between making this demo in Jersey or staying with you.

So you chose for him. You told him to go. You told him how much he would hate himself if he didn't try; that if he didn't go for it, he'd never know how far he could go.

You asked him how much time you had left. He told you that you had a month, and that he had no idea what would happen after. For that month, he worked his ass off on that demo, doing everything he could to have it ready to record, but he spent every night with you, promising you that this wasn't goodbye.

The night before he left, the two of you sat in the wishing tree and talked all night. He carved your names into the branches that you'd been sitting on when you met. He held your hand tightly, promising you that he'd come back.

And then he left. You and your mom stood on the driveway, sending him off with a bag of snacks and the tightest hug the two of you had ever shared before your mom came in with a group hug. She told Noah that she was proud of him, a phrase that brought tears to his eyes.

As he drove away in that cramped car, your mom kept her arm around you. The pair of you waved goodbye, watching him disappear down the road. You were thankful he didn't see the tears in your eyes as he disappeared around the corner.

Your mom held you together while you cried for most of the day. And that night, you snuck down to the wishing tree. You scaled its branches, climbing to the high branch that you sat on the day you met Noah and pulling your knees into your chest.

Silently, you whispered to the universe, making yet another wish.

You wished for his success, for him to be brave, and to push through anything this industry could throw at him. But most of all, you wished for him to come back.

Weeks passed, and the end of the school year drew closer. Promposals were exchanged at school, but no one asked you. Your friends all had dates, while you debated if you even wanted to go.

You told Noah as much on one of your nightly calls. You had fallen into a rhythm with him, waiting for him to call you when he was going to bed. Sometimes you had to call him, now that you had a job to fill your time.

It wasn't much, just stacking shelves at the local record store, but it paid better than fast food or waiting tables did.

As prom drew closer, you found Noah egging you to go. He even dared you once. You knew you couldn't say no to a dare, and your mom was more than willing to take you dress shopping.

She found you a beautiful dress, and it cost a small fortune, but she was adamant that you needed to go. Something about a 'rite of passage for a young woman' and 'regretting if you don't go.'

So you did. You went to prom, alone, in your beautiful forest green dress. The colour of the leaves on the wishing tree. And you hated every second of it. You stood in the back of the room, watching all the couples slow dancing while you sipped at a plastic cup of spiked punch.

Until a hand graced your arm.

'Care to dance?' he asked you. You turned, hope blooming in your chest.

But it wasn't him. It was someone else, Jacob? Joshua? You never learned this guy's name. He was a theatre kid with cropped black hair and too-tight skinny jeans. Sure, he was nice, but it wasn't Noah.

So you shook your head.

'Thanks, but I'm good. I was thinking I might head off.'

He just nodded at you, wandering off in search of a different dance partner.

And you did. You left, wandering out of the school gym and through the halls. You didn't cry, even though you really wanted to. You kicked your heels off and scooped them up as you walked through the quiet halls, the music echoing behind you as it seemed to taunt you.

Outside, the cool night air sunk into your skin, a welcome change from the stuffy air of the gym.

You were about to shortcut across the grass to get to the parking lot where you had parked the car. Your mom had loaned you hers for the evening, and you figured if she thought you were out for the night, she wouldn't mind if you went for a drive, as long as you put gas in it before returning it.

A car came careening into the lot as you stepped onto the wet lawn, grass sticking to your bare feet as you moved. The car came to a stop, and the engine silenced. His voice rang out across the parking lot, your head snapping over to him the moment you heard it.

Noah.

He slammed the car door, running over to you as fast as he could. Your heart stopped as you looked at him. He was dressed in a white button down with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest, and a skinny tie hanging from his neck.

You grinned, tears pricking at your eyes as you ran at him, throwing your shoes on the ground. You threw your arms around him and sank into his grip, feeling him hold you like his life depended on it.

'Were you leaving?' he asked as he squeezed you tightly, a hint of a laugh in his voice.

'I didn't have anyone to dance with,' you told him with a shrug. 'Plus, it's kinda crap in there, the music isn't even that good. You came a long way for nothing,' you joked.

'Definitely not nothing,' he told you, pulling back and looking down at you. You missed his eyes, and the way he smiled at you. Your heart fluttered as he grinned down at you.

'Oh?' you asked him, 'so what really made you come back? If the renowned draw of prom night sex wasn't the reason, it must be really good.'

He smirked as you teased him.

'Well, there's this girl I really like, and while I was gone the guys told me I should really talk to her and tell her how I feel about her. They had a point, so I was kind of hoping you could help me out with that?' He asked nervously.

You could feel his hands trembling as he laced his fingers with yours. You didn't dare let your smile falter. He couldn't know how much your heart was breaking at the idea of there being someone else.

'I mean, I can... but you've gotta tell me who she is before I can help,' you said, trying to keep that teasing tone in your voice.

Noah shook his head, chewing the inside of his lip nervously.

'She's probably the kindest, sweetest, funniest girl I've ever met. Y/N, I think I'm in love with her, I've just been too scared to tell her because I didn't want to lose her.'

'Noah-' you breathed, stepping back. You wanted so desperately to be right, but you needed to hear it from him. You watched as he took a deep breath, locking his eyes on yours.

'I love you, Y/N. So much.' he finally said, pulling you back to him and lifting his hand to your cheek. Your breath hitched in your throat at his touch.

All those nights of picturing what it could be like, the tingles at his touch, the thoughts you had tried to squash, it all came flooding forward. There was no denying it now. You were desperately in love with him too, and you didn't need to hide it anymore. The butterflies were free, no longer being squashed down and digested. You felt like you could float as he drew nearer.

Your breath quickened, your hand running up his chest and resting over his heart. You could feel it hammering beneath your fingers as you smiled up at him. In his eyes, you could see his fear while he hung on every breath, waiting for your answer.

'I love you, Noah. You have no idea how much I love you.'

A relieved laugh left his lips, and he leaned in. His lips brushed yours. At first it was tender, learning how you felt, how you kissed. After a moment, the kiss became confident, your arm wrapped around his neck while his hand rested on your lower back, holding you to him.

His taste intoxicated you, and in seconds he became the addiction you knew you would never be able to break. He felt the same. He knew he would never be the same, in that moment you became his air.

A hissing sound broke you apart, and the pair of you looked around. You were still alone, and there were no obvious signs of where the noise was coming from.

Until the sprinklers started, the cold mist spraying over both of you. You squealed, jumping in his grip and feeling him pull you in tight against his chest as the two of you cried out.

He was the first to laugh, and you followed close behind. You had met in the rain, it was only right that you confessed your love for each other the same way, even if the rain wasn't real.

'My shoes!' you cried out, looking behind you to where your heels glinted under the haze of mist.

'I got it!' he told you, releasing you and running through the brunt of the spray. You couldn't help but laugh as his hair deflated while he scrambled across the slick grass, grabbing for the shoes.

He scooped them up and turned to run back to you, but you had other plans. Instead, as he turned, he crashed into your drenched form and his arms wrapped around you again.

Your lips crashed to his, putting all the feeling you had been holding back for years into the kiss. He kissed you just as passionately, and both of you giggled as the water soaked you both to the bone.

'When I said you're everything to me, I meant it,' he told you, his forehead resting on yours as he smiled at you.

'I wish I had said something before you left,' you said, letting him sway you gently.

'So do I. But, we're here now, and that's all that matters.'

'We should probably go and clean ourselves up though. My mom will kill me if I catch a cold from running around in the sprinklers.'

Noah chuckled, kissing you again before finally releasing you. He took your hand, leading you through the water and over to the car.

'I'll meet you at home? I have to take mom's car back.'

'Okay, but after that, I have somewhere I wanna take you, if you're up for it?'

You agreed, parting with a kiss and practically floating back to your mom's car.

The drive home was agonising, and the lights were all off when you got there. Your mom had gone to bed, expecting you to be out late. You entered the house quietly, tiptoeing across the tiles.

You left the keys on the kitchen counter, grabbing a change of clothes from a basket in the laundry and the two towels from all those years ago. They didn't seem as big or as fluffy anymore, but your mom had embroidered your names into them for you. She knew an origin story when she saw one, and she was sentimental, so naturally, she took it upon herself to hold onto memories for you.

You met Noah outside, clambering into his car and handing him the towel. He grinned like a little kid when he saw it, remembering everything with you.

He wrapped the towel around his shoulders before setting off. The whole drive, all you did was talk. He told you about the demo, you told him about work and school, everything felt so normal. Normal, except for the buzz of adrenaline in the pit of your stomach, the cool rush that you felt every time he took your hand in his, kissing your knuckles.

After a while, he pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, grinning as he turned the car off.

'I figured that most people have some kind of after-party, why shouldn't we have our own?' He said, a sheepish grin on his face.

You laughed, shaking your head at him. He lead you from the car and through the hotel, the two of you looking dreadfully out of place in the gilded lobby in your drenched clothes and fuzzy towels. The concierge even giggled quietly as she watched you get in the elevator.

The room itself was fancier than any hotel you'd ever stayed in, and you wondered how he paid for it. You didn't ask, deciding to just enjoy it. As soon as the door closed, Noah tugged you close to him again, gazing down into his eyes with the sweetest smile on his face. If he kept looking at you like that, you knew you could die happy.

'Say it again?' You asked him quietly, your lips hovering just in front of his.

With a soft chuckle, he happily obliged. 'I love you, Y/N.'

'I love you,' you whispered, letting the space between you disappear again.

He was gentle when he stripped the dress off of you, draping it over a chair to let it dry. You were just as gentle about unbuttoning his vest and his shirt. Together you found your way to the shower, letting the warm water erase the chill from your bones.

Being naked in front of him felt strange, but his tender kisses made it easier. For a while, you stood under the water, wrapped in his embrace. Your head tucked perfectly under his chin, and every now and again he would nose into your hair, leaving feather-light kisses on the skin of your neck. If the water hadn't gone cold, you might have stayed there forever.

He wrapped you in your towel before finding his own. Your heart pounded as you watched him, looking over his growing collection of tattoos and the scars on his back. He caught you watching, and stepped closer to you with a look in his eye.

He reached for you, his fingers running over the scars on your bicep. Together, you were beautifully broken, and together you could build a whole new type of perfect. As you stepped into his embrace, you felt safe. You felt loved. You felt whole.

You were the one who lead him to the bedroom.

He was just as nervous, and both of you giggled as the towels came off. Neither of you had done this before, but it felt right to be doing it with each other.

You paid heed to your mother's warning, thankful to be on the pill, and you were sure you were ready.

He laid you down on the bed, and Noah positioned himself between your legs, slowly pushing himself into you, groaning as he felt your body accept him.

You breathed through the feeling, a sting burning through you as he froze in place and waited for your signal.

'You okay?' He asked as he saw your face screw up in discomfort.

'Mhmm,' you hummed, 'just getting used to it.'

'For what it's worth, you feel so much better than I ever imagined,' he breathed, kissing your collarbone and up your neck. His words reverberated through you, making you clench around him.

He smirked, taking your face in his hand. 'You like dirty talk?' He asked, surprised and fascinated to learn about what turned you on.

'A little,' you admitted as you held his bicep.

'So if I said something like...' he smirked, dipping low and hovering his lips just next to your ear, his voice barely a whisper, 'you're mine. Only mine. This pussy? It's mine, and I won't stop until you're out of breath and the neighbours know my name.'

He grinned, sucking in a sharp breath and feeling your muscles contract around him, lusciously squeezing him.

'You're so tight, baby, and so wet. Is this all because of me?'

You couldn't help the soft moan as he spoke, beginning to roll his hips against you. The feeling was heavenly despite the stretching feeling. You'd been warned that the first time could hurt, and it was easily bearable.

'Noah,' you whimpered, running your fingers across his skin.

'Does it feel good, baby? God, you feel so good,' he continued, rutting into you slowly. His thrusts were firm, exploring deeper than you'd ever been able to with your fingers.

You dragged his face back to yours, kissing him deeply. Noah happily followed your lead, letting you swipe your tongue over his as you moaned into his mouth.

'Fuck,' you hissed, your back arching. You wanted more, but you were too scared to show him what you needed. You didn't want him to feel inadequate, or think he was doing something wrong, but your clitoris screamed for attention. Your hand kept inching lower, but you couldn't help the anxiety in your stomach.

'Tell me, baby,' he purred, always able to read you. 'Show me.' He took your hand, guiding it between your bodies and resting his fingers atop yours.

You began to draw timid circles over the little nub, feeling Noah trace your movements to learn how you liked it.

You whined his name, and you felt his dick twitch inside you.

'Noah, please,' you begged, 'I think I'm close.'

'Me too, Y/N,' he panted, his cheeks red and his forehead slick with sweat. 'I want to watch you come. I wanna see how good I can be to you.'

The tingles started small, but the more you circled your clitoris, the stronger it became. Whines and groans left your lips, Noah mirroring the sounds.

His gasps were almost enough to have you, but what broke you was the way he said your name. His breathy cries for you as he sped up and reached his peak, sighing and closing his eyes while your body tensed around his.

He emptied himself into you, and you eked it out of him. You'd heard that it was rare to experience an orgasm during your first time, let alone a mutual one, but it happened, and it was so much better than using your fingers.

Noah laid on top of you, breathless. His eyes fluttered closed while he gasped for air, his panting tickling your nipple as he laid his head on your chest.

'I love you,' he told you between deep lungfuls of air.

'I love you,' you repeated, grinning and exhausted, running your fingers through his still wet hair.

If only that night could have lasted forever.

Fate was cruel like that. Fate, and Sumerian Records.

Man vs Self, then called CHLDRN got signed, becoming Bad Omens... You were ecstatic, celebrating with him and Nick and Vincent. Part of you was less thrilled, knowing this meant he would be gone again.

He promised you it wouldn't be for long, only a few weeks at a time. You believed him. But weeks didn't stay weeks.

Weeks became months, and months became moving to LA.

He promised you that he would come home and visit. He swore to you that he would pay to fly you out and you could stay with him. He would text you every day and call you every night, telling you how much he missed you and how much he loved you.

No matter how much you wanted it to be, nightly phone calls and texting weren't enough. Every time it rained, your heart ached for him. You missed his touch, his embrace.

And then the contact started to wane. You would lie awake, waiting for him to call or text you after a show, and some nights he would, but those nights grew further apart.

You would text him first, and you'd be left with no answer.

Your mom watched your heart break in real time. She understood the pain, and she missed Noah too. She felt like she had lost her son. She did all she could to help you cope, but you just felt hollow, like barely a shell of yourself.

Every now and again you would hear from him, and it would tear open that wound again. Finally, you had to call it what it was.

Dead.

You called him, knowing that this phone call would be the hardest call you'd ever had to make. You told him that no matter how much you loved him, you couldn't handle the heartache. His home wasn't with you anymore, and you couldn't have a home with him. Not right now.

He begged you to reconsider. He told you he'd throw it all away for you. You told him he was being stupid, and that he would never throw it all away, and if he did, he'd miss it too much. He'd regret it. Sure, the words sounded pretty, but he would never be able to walk away. Not fully. Nor would you ever want him to.

You told him that he was too talented and too good to walk away. He needed to stick with the band. So he did. And he hated it for a while. He wrote songs about how much he hated it, but none of those ever made the albums.

Well, one did.

It was embellished, sure, but you knew which lines were about you. And you hoped against hope that no matter how much he wanted to, that he wasn't watching you from afar. You knew his heart couldn't take that strain. He'd already been through so much. He needed to move on and live for himself now.

You found yourself in the tree one night, wishing he would be okay. You never wished for yourself anymore, but any wish you could make for him, he had it. Success, stability, love, you wanted it all for him. You could make do on your own.

So you did. It killed you when his name came up on your socials, seeing the articles about the band, and about him. You missed him more than anything. But you forced yourself to continue on with your life. The ADHD medication made it easier to function, so when you decided to go to university, you managed it a lot easier than you thought you would.

There were still nights that you wished he was there to read the questions to you. Or nights that you broke down in tears because the pressure was too much. Every time you reached the end of that rope, you remembered your promise to him, and you stepped away from the medicine cabinet.

Noah came to town once. His long hair had been cropped short, and his once spindly build had filled out. You thought about going to the show, but you couldn't bring yourself to go. Your mom even asked if you should go together, but you told her that if you did you'd only have to start the healing process over again. She was understanding, but you knew she wanted to go. She missed him too, after all.

More time passed, whizzing by in a blur of study, work, and long nights. Your mom watched your heart heal and break again every time his name was mentioned on the radio or in a news article.

One night, she sat you down on the couch like she had that night she gave you the "talk". Her skin had begun to sag, and her hair was greying, but you still saw the same look in her eye. That knowing look, the one that knew all your secrets.

'Y/N, honey, you've got to do something. You're not getting over him,' she told you. 'It's been almost two years.'

'I know,' you told her pathetically, curling into her side like a child. She rubbed your arm, comforting you.

'I have an idea that I wanted to run by you,' she said, her tone soft and warm. 'I'm almost ready to retire, and I think I want to retire somewhere sunny. I like the rain, but I'm ready for something new...'

You looked at her, an eyebrow cocked as you caught that mischeivous smirk on her lips.

'Mom...' you said slowly.

'I found a nice house, and with what this place is worth, we could easily afford it if we sell. You're almost finished with school, and there's plenty of job options for you-'

'And you want to move to LA?' you asked her incredulously, sitting up and searching her face for a hint of a joke. You found none. She was completely serious. 'Mom, this isn't some small move down the street, you're talking about moving across the country.'

She nodded, laughing at you. 'I know, sweetheart. But I mean it. I want something new, I've lived in this house for too long. I know it's your home, but once upon a time, it was mine and your father's. We bought it shortly after we got married, and there are days that I still expect to see him sitting on the couch when I get home from work. I still feel like he's here, even though he's been gone for so long. I need to move on from him, and I don't think I can do that here.'

You chewed your lip, looking at your hands. Sometimes it was easy to forget that your mom was a person too. She had her own life, her own story, her own feelings. It had been a long time since your dad left, and it was easy enough to forget that your mom had spent nearly twenty years with him. He was her Noah. Sure, in the end, he turned out to be an uncaring ass, but there had to be something there that she'd loved in the start, and now she couldn't let go of it. Just like you couldn't let go of Noah.

'Okay,' you told her. 'Show me this house?'

She did. She showed you the house, and it was perfect. A quaint little three bedroom townhouse in a quiet community, a thirty minute drive from the city. You fell in love with it the minute you saw it.

Things moved quickly after that night. Your mom put the house on the market, and when you weren't working or studying, you were packing. You found so many memories as you boxed up everything you owned. It didn't take long for the house to sell. It wasn't until the sold sign adorned your front yard that it finally sank in.

You were saying goodbye to your childhood.

The place looked strange without all your things in it. You remembered all of the nights you spent with Noah in your room, whispering about stupid things to make each other laugh. You remembered the sound of his guitar drifting from the room that was once his, even though he almost never slept in there. You had to patch the hole in the wall from when you had tried to slide down the hall in your socks and you slipped, coming crashing down through the plaster.

You remembered sitting around the dinner table, telling your dad about the picture you had drawn at school that day. Or showing off how much better your grades had gotten since Noah started to help you with your homework.

Most painful of all, you had to say goodbye to the tree.

For old times sake, you hauled yourself up into its branches, searching for the carving of your names on the trunk. You had labelled your branches, but after the night in the hotel, Noah joined your names in a heart on the trunk where the two branches met.

For the last time, you made a wish. You weren't sure you believed in it anymore, but that childish wonder in your heart refused to let go of the possibility. You whispered your wish, letting it go with the wind that rustled the leaves.

And then the frenzy began. The movers took all the boxes, packing them into a huge truck with all your furniture, and you got in the car. You told your mom to fly ahead, not wanting her to drive across the country. She was too easily worn out for such an adventure, and there was too much to do, you needed her to save her energy for unpacking and setting up.

So you drove across the country alone, just you and your mom's car. You sold the beater you had bought with your money from the record store. It wasn't going to make the trip, and you could find something better when you had a new job.

You stopped at motels, sleeping more fitfully the closer you got to LA. Your mind spun with possibilities. What would you do? Would you call him? Text him? Would you even reach out?

What if he had a new girlfriend? What if he hated you for ending things? What if he wasn't your Noah anymore?

Each night you tossed and turned, and each day you tried desperately to drown out the noise in your mind with music and podcasts. Finally, after nearly a week of non-stop driving and gas station sandwiches, you reached the exit for Los Angeles. Your new home.

You followed the GPS to your new house, seeing your mom outside with the moving truck. She was helping to take boxes into the house, even though the movers brought the couch in first for her to sit down. She insisted on helping, but that was what your mom was like.

You parked on the street, getting out of the car and stretching your weary legs. Who would have thought sitting still for so long would be so exhausting. The sun had started to dip in the sky, bathing the street in a warm golden glow. You took in your new surroundings for a moment, noting the difference in the smell of the air, the warm breeze, and the lack of trees. There were only a few trees in the street, most of them small. One house had a large tree in the front yard, and it reminded you of the wishing tree. Smiling to yourself, you were glad something felt like home.

Your mom had told the movers to put your bed in first, which you were thankful for. You made your way to your new room, stretching out on the unmade mattress and letting your spine decompress for a little while.

It took a couple of weeks to set up the house how you wanted it, and it took a few more weeks to find a job, but soon enough, you were an official LA working girl. You had a desk job, you paid stupid amounts of money to park fifteen minutes away from your office, and you thrived on coffee, but you were doing it. You were living.

You still hadn't called him. You wanted to, but fear got the better of you every time you typed in his number. Your thumb would hover over the green button for stupid amounts of time, and then you would lock your phone and put it down.

You never thought it would go the way it did.

You came home from work one cloudy afternoon, climbing out of your mom's car and heading to the mailbox. A cool breeze nipped at your arms while you sifted through the mail. While you sorted the bills from the junk, a large black pickup pulled into the street. It was the first time you had seen it move since you moved in. For the last month it had been stationary on a driveway a few doors down.

It crawled past your house, slowing down as it passed by. For a moment, you tensed, ready to run or fight, whatever you needed to do, but then it moved on. It rolled into the driveway you had become accustomed to seeing it at, the house with the large tree in the front yard.

The loud rumble of the engine ceased, and as you were about to turn and head inside, a voice called out to you.

'Y/N!?' the deep voice bellowed, echoing down the street.

You froze.

His footsteps approached, his sneakers pouding against the asphalt as he crossed the street and stepped closer.

'Y/N...' he breathed, stopping a few feet away from you.

You looked up at him with your heart in your throat. His hair was still short, but it had grown out since you last saw him. A hint of stubble graced his chin and his lip, making him look so much more grown up than the weedy little teenager you remembered from prom. And his muscles...

He truly was a man now.

'Noah,' you whispered, your voice gone as you stared at him in disbelief.

He seemed to be having the same problem, stammering as he inched closer to you. 'You're... you're here?' he asked, his tone bewildered, asking the how and why without the need to say them.

'Mom retired, she wanted to get away from the memories of dad,' you told him with a shrug. You could barely bring yourself to meet his eye. Your throat tightened as you got a glimpse of the warm brown that you had missed so much. 'She missed you too, I think that's why she came here.'

'I miss her too,' he said sadly, 'she was the only parent I really had.'

Bit by bit, he stepped closer, closing the distance between you.

'I'm sure she'd love to see you,' you offered quietly, 'if you're not busy?'

'I don't think I'm busy,' he told you, smirking. Your stomach backflipped, and your fingers itched to know his skin again.

Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath. You knew you needed to rip the band-aid off and just say it.

As you finally blurted out the words, his voice melded with yours.

'I missed you,' you both said.

Pausing, you looked at each other. You finally met his eyes. In that warm gaze, you saw all the love you had seen when you were young. All the longing that you felt was mirrored in him. His cheeks flushed, and you became aware of the heat in your own face as the pair of you laughed.

'I'm sorry,' you told him, taking a step closer to him. He was within reach now, you could have easily brushed his hair from his eyes, or taken his hand.

'For what?' he asked, closing the distance further.

'For ending things. I thought it hurt to miss you when I had you, and then I didn't anymore... I've never felt so alone... I should have just waited-'

'No, Y/N, you did what you needed to. And it would have only gotten worse from there anyway. We didn't get a break for years. With or without you, I never would have seen you.'

He lifted his hand to rest on the bare skin of your arm, admiring the tattoo that covered the scars on your bicep. Your body tingled under his touch, your resolve weakening.

'I'm glad to see that chapter is closed,' he said softly. 'It is, right?'

'Yeah,' you assured him. 'I got close a few times, but I remembered what I promised you and I just couldn't.'

'Good,' he breathed.

You were so close now, his head tilted down to look at you, and you could almost feel his breath on your skin. A cool breeze blew over you, making you shiver. The sound of thunder rolled across the sky, and you couldn't help but laugh as a heavy raindrop smacked on his head, making him flinch.

'Why is it that every time we find each other, it rains?' you mused, grinning up at him.

'Or there's sprinklers?' He added with a smirk.

As the rain fell in slow, fat drops dotting the sidewalk, you felt your heart twist. His hand moved, raising to your cheek. Your eyes welled up, too many emotions filling you.

'I never stopped loving you,' he told you. 'I missed you, and I thought about you every single day.'

'So did I,' you admitted. 'I couldn't stop.'

'And now, here you are...' he said.

'Here we are.'

His lips finally touched yours, and thunder cracked overhead. The sky opened, the rain falling faster, masking the tears on your cheeks as you melted into him. In a matter of moments you were drenched, but you didn't care.

'Never let me go again,' he begged you between heated kisses.

'Never.'

Your arms wrapped around his neck, holding him to you. Your hearts pounded against each other's as your chests pressed together. There wasn't enough of him, you needed everything he could give you. You wanted to wrap yourself in him and never let go.

When the thunder seemed to be overhead, he released you, grabbing your hand and dragging you to the front doorstep of your house. His beautiful smile set something in you alight, a fire you thought you had lost a long time ago.

He rang the doorbell, holding you close to his side, his fingers laced tight in yours. After a moment, your mom appeared at the door with a broad grin and the two towels in her hands.

'It's about time,' she said, handing the large fluffy towels over to you, ensuring you each had the towel with your own name embroidered on it.

'You were watching out the window, weren't you?' you asked her with a laugh.

'You were taking forever to get the mail, I was curious,' she told you innocently, 'but Noah? It is so good to see you, honey.'

She opened her arms to him, asking him for a hug. Noah hesitated for a moment, looking down at his sopping clothes.

'Honey, it's water, get over here,' your mom demanded, pulling him into a tight hug. Noah grinned, revelling in her hug. He was home. You could see it on his face, tears pricking at his eyes as he squeezed her tight. He was finally home.

Noah stayed the night with you, having missed your mom's home-cooked meals and sharing a bed with you. He texted his housemates, telling them that he would be with you. Nick was excited to hear that you had moved out to LA, and you had to promise that the three of you would hang out together soon, but for the moment, all you wanted was Noah.

You spent the night tangled up in him, your legs entwined while he cradled you close to his chest. Every now and then he would kiss you wherever he could reach, often on the forehead or on your lips.

You giggled together in the dark, listening to the storm outside and reminiscing on all the nights you'd spent huddled under the covers back in Richmond.

'I love you,' he whispered to you as you both drifted closer to sleep.

'I love you too,' you told him, brushing your fingers across his cheek and smiling tiredly.

In the morning, your mom handed him a key as you sat down at the table with your coffee. She told him that he always had a home with the two of you. He tried to hide it, but you saw him getting misty eyed as he hugged your mom.

You had to leave for work, but Noah was free to sit and catch up with your mom. You left them together, smiling at the scene as you said your goodbyes.

Noah rushed after you, chasing you to the car with a smitten grin.

'Hey,' he called out, holding the car door open, 'you forgot something.'

'Oh?' you asked, raising an eyebrow.

He leaned into the car and kissed you, not caring that some of your lipstick was on his face now.

'I love you,' he said with a smile, 'okay, now you can go.'

This became a routine. As long as he was in town, the two of you shared a bed. Sometimes you slept in his, but most of the time you slept in yours. He would kiss you goodbye every morning as you left for work, and if he wasn't in town he would send you some kind of message.

The distance became bearable now that he would always come home. You missed him while he was on tour, but at least he would end up back with you at the end of it all instead of on the other side of the country.

It took some getting used to, but you adjusted.

Months passed, and there came a day when you were both free. He was excited, wanting to take you out somewhere, just the two of you. You agreed, seeing him so happy there was no way you could tell him no.

In his black pickup, you drove to the outskirts of town. He wouldn't tell you where you were going. You let him lead the way, trusting him.

He pulled up and parked the car, finally letting you see where you were. He'd taken you to a forest trail. For a minute, you didn't understand, but you let him guide you. He lead you down the trail and to a little clearing where you saw it.

A tree, just like the wishing tree back home.

You couldn't hide the smile on your face. He raced with you to the tree, both of you dragging yourself up through the unfamiliar limbs and branches. Noah had to help you a few times, pulling you up to a higher branch that you could sit on together.

And as you sat, you found yourselves grinning like little kids.

'I figured a little bit of home was a good thing,' he told you, taking your hand. 'But my home is wherever you are.'

'Noah,' you giggled, leaning into him and shoving him gently with your shoulder.

'I'm serious!' he told you, his eyes crinkling with his laughter. You loved the sound, never tiring of his voice. He could read a dictionary out loud and you would listen to him happily.

'How did you even find this?' you asked him, letting him hold you steady on the branch.

'I used to go hiking during quarantine. It was all I was allowed to do, and it got me out of the house for a while.'

You nodded in understanding. Those years had been insane.

'But, there's a reason I wanted to bring you here,' he said nervously. You shifted, turning to face him and swinging your leg over the branch to straddle it. Noah mimicked your movements, your knees touching each other's as he took your hands in the space between you.

You searched his face, seeing a hint of fear in his eyes. Your throat wanted to close at the sight, but you forced yourself to breath through it, squeezing his hands reassuringly.

'I know it hasn't been long since we found each other again, but I don't ever want to lose you again,' he said, sucking in a deep, shaky breath. 'I wish I had told you earlier than I did, I wish we could have spent more time like this. I loved you before I knew what it meant to love someone. You helped me when no one would, and you never wanted anything from me but a friend. I don't know where I'd be without you, but I wouldn't be here.'

As he spoke, your eyes began to water. Your fingers tangled tighter into his, your heart twisting in your chest.

'I don't want us to ever go through what we went through ever again. I want to always be with you, to look after you. I want to kiss you good morning every day, and I want to be the last thing you see when you go to sleep. I want to bring you coffee, and read your books to you, and run through sprinklers with you. My world starts and ends with you, and I want to be there while you build your world into whatever you want it to be. And I hope that whatever that is, it includes me...'

He released your hand, sliding his fingers into his pocket and retrieving something. A deep red velvet box. He opened it and turned it to you, holding it carefully in the palm of his hand.

'Y/N, I love you, more than anything. I wanted to do this in our tree, but this is the closest I could get us,' he chuckled, smiling nervously and looking at the box in his hand. The ring glittered under the light spilling through the canopy of leaves above you. 'Marry me? Please?'

You couldn't find words. Your body was a cacophony of emotion, tears spilling down your cheeks while your heart pounded in your chest.

'Noah,' you whispered, testing your voice. You could see how nervous he was, and you wanted to put him out of his misery. You nodded, smiling back at him. 'Absolutely. I will absolutely marry you.'

He couldn't get the ring on your finger fast enough. He couldn't kiss you hard enough, or hold you close enough. The pair of you were an emotional wreck, smiling and laughing while tears spilled down both of your cheeks.

Before you left the tree, Noah carved your names into the branch, scrawling a date under it. He helped you get down, and he caught you as you lowered yourself from the last branch, spinning you in a circle and kissing you fiercely.

'I love you,' he said, 'and I'm gonna say it until you hate it.'

'I could never hate it,' you told him, your arms tight around his neck.

When you got home, your mom was thrilled. She couldn't be more excited, demanding to see the ring and telling Noah it was about time. She immediately launched into wedding planning, promising to finance whatever you needed. She was overjoyed to have Noah be a part of the family on paper.

She helped you over the next few months while you picked dates and guests and everything there is to do with a wedding. You debated on inviting your father, but decided against it. He had never been warm to Noah, he didn't need to be a part of this celebration.

Noah had to travel a little bit while all this was happening, but it gave you plenty of chances to find a dress. And he would call every night wanting to know what you and your mom had found or planned.

You weren't sure who was more excited, you or Noah.

And as the days passed, the day finally came.

You walked down the aisle with your mom, surrounded by friends and family, but the only person who mattered to you waited at the end of the aisle with the biggest smile on his face and a glimmer in his warm brown eyes.

He took your hand and held it tight, silently swearing to never let it go. You swore the same. It had always been the two of you (and your mom) against the world, but now you got to declare it in front of everyone.

What you weren't prepared for were Noah's vows.

'Y/N,' he began, 'our history has been a long road of ups and downs. We've known each other longer than I've known anyone else. And I can't think of anyone else I'd rather take on the world with. You have always been my rock, my biggest supporter, and my best friend. You came into my life when I needed someone like you, and I know I was mean to you, but I was embarrassed.

'I was embarrassed because I had seen you in that tree making wishes. I wondered if maybe it was magic, because it always seemed to work for you. I never told you what I wished for that day, but I think by now you've earned the right to know.' He paused, squeezing your fingers and lifting them to his lips, his eyes glistening with tears as he cleared his throat. 'I wished for someone to love me. And not a minute later, there you were, wanting to wish for a pass on your science test. But you offered to wish for something for me, caring about me from the minute we met. I got my wish.'

'But, as I got older, I learned something. The tree wasn't where the magic came from,' he said, smiling at you, losing himself in your gaze. 'The magic was you. You granted every single wish, one way or another. You pushed me to be better, to succeed. You gave me everything you could. You protected me when I couldn't protect myself, you gave me a home when I had nothing, and you loved me when I couldn't love myself. So here I am, vowing to you, that I will always, always, protect you. I will love you when you can't, and I will give you everything I can, and I will always be your home. I vow to keep your magic alive, and to grant every wish for you that I possibly can, because you gave me all of mine.'

You knew he was good with words, but he had you there. By the end of his speech, you were a mess of tears, your own vows forgotten. You wanted nothing more than to throw yourself at him and never let him go.

When you were finally pronounced man and wife, you met Noah with the deepest kiss you could, pressing your body into his and wanting to hold your breath forever so you could stay locked in his lips.

Your guests cheered and wolf-whistled, and Noah dipped you, giving them a show. When the need for air overcame you, you grinned up at him, hanging on to him tightly.

'I've got you,' he assured you.

'And I've got you,' you smiled back up at him.

He spun you back onto your feet, holding you to him as you left the ceremony together. You had to go and take pictures, but you really just wanted a moment alone together.

You lead Noah to the room where you had been getting ready before the ceremony started, closing the door.

'Are you okay?' he asked you, taking your hand. You nodded, thumbing over the band that adorned his left hand now.

'Yeah,' you told him, swallowing hard. 'You just blindsided me a little.'

'I'm sorry-'

'Don't be. Noah, I am so sorry for what you went through, but also I am so thankful that out of all the places it could have lead you, it lead you to me. And I am so thankful that I get to be the one to love you.'

'So am I,' he told you, stepping closer until your chests pressed together. 'I meant it, you're everything to me.'

'And you're everything to me.'

The reception was filled with celebration, jokes, cheering, speeches, and some very unfortunate dancing. And naturally, at the end of the night, LA was subjected to a massive thunderstorm. Your guests hid inside, but you and Noah ran out into the rain, knowing you couldn't break tradition now. The pictures ended up immortalised in your photo album, displayed on the mantle in the house the two of you bought shortly after your honeymoon.

You got lucky, you managed to find a house just a few blocks from your mom. The house had a big yard, but it was missing something...

Noah came home from a tour with the answer a few months after you had settled in.

'I don't know if this is legal, and I have no idea how to do it, but we're gonna try,' he told you, opening a secure compartment in his suitcase and presenting you with a box.

It was an old amazon prime box, about as big as a shoebox, but as thick as a matchbox. You shot him a look, raising an eyebrow.

'Just open it,' he told you, rolling his eyes.

So you did.

A bundle of branches sat in the box, wrapped in wet paper towel.

'You went to Richmond?' you asked. He nodded.

'I did, and I brought some of the wishing tree home. If we do it right, we can have our own wishing tree, right here in our yard. It will take years to grow, but I can't see a reason not to.'

You smiled, shaking your head and placing the branches on the table.

'I love you,' you told him, looping your arms around his neck and kissing him.

'I love you more.'

Together, you propagated the branches, and you successfully planted a tree. And over the years, as that tree grew, the two of you grew. Your love grew, your family grew, your happiness grew. And one day, you and Noah will get to tell your daughter all about the wishing tree, and take her back to your wishing tree.

But for now, you and Noah get to watch her, seeing the magic you made together grow.

THE END.

[elisajdb]

Arrested

Summary: After picking up Gohan and Goten from the police station after Gohan's arrest, Goku and Chi-Chi are reminded of an arrest in their youth.

“Get inside and not a word from either of you! I don’t want to see or hear you speak for the rest of the night!”

Chi-Chi losing her temper wasn’t new but never before has she been so angry with her sons. Gohan saw his mother angry like this but it was always with his Dad and never with him or Goten. Gohan looked at his father for help. He only shook his head at Gohan warning him not to speak.

Goten hadn’t understood that message and looked at his parents with one important question on his mind. “Does this mean I won’t get dinner tonight?"

Goten was always Chi-Chi’s sweet baby. He could do no wrong in her eyes until tonight when he caused the mess that got him and his brother in trouble. “You won’t get dinner or dessert for the rest of the week if you don’t get in the house and go to your room!”

Goten’s mouth fell open. He looked at his father who shook his head and warned him to not speak.

Shoulders slumping, Goten entered the house followed by Gohan. Chi-Chi followed her sons. So caught up in her anger, she didn’t know she slammed the door in Goku’s face as he tried to come in after her. Goku wasn’t mad. It wasn’t the first time Chi-Chi did it. She was always last to enter the house after their boys. Now Goku was the last one to come in. The family was still getting used to him being around again. Last week, Gohan accidentally brought home extra firewood forgetting Goku brought some home.

Goten looked mournfully at the dinner plates on the table and the food on the stove and counter. He wanted to ask again about dinner but quietly went to his room. He angered his mother enough. Gohan followed his brother.  

“Gohan.”

Goten kept walking but Gohan turned to his angry mother and his father quietly entering the house.

“What were you thinking? Do you know what you risked tonight? A good school. A good future. If not for your father, this scandal would have followed you for years!”

“I tried to stop it, Mom, but Goten---”

“Did I tell you to speak?!” Chi-Chi snapped at him.

Gohan looked at his father who had his hands up and shook his head warning Gohan to not say anything.

“You’re Goten’s Big Brother. You were to look after him. You convinced me to allow you and Goten to go to the comic convention and you get yourself arrested! Do you know how I felt getting the call you were at the police station and my baby was exposed to criminals and thugs?! I feared this might happen to Goten and Trunks but not you and Goten!” 

Goku leaned against the counter during Chi-Chi’s tirade. He quietly snacked on the roast beef that was part of tonight’s dinner.

Gohan was unsure of what to do. Does he stand silently while his mother berates him or explain again what happened? Goten wanted to go to the convention and Gohan offered to escort Goten. The day went well until Gohan and Goten saw a booth where an artist sold Saiyaman comics mocking Gohan. Gohan was insulted and kindly told the artist how inaccurate it was and offered to tell real stories of Saiyaman. The artist refused. Goten angrily told the artist that Saiyaman was a great hero second to his father and the artist should stop making art that made Saiyaman look back. The artist still refused.

Goten fired a Ki and burned all the Saiyaman comics. Gohan put out the fire. The angry artist tried to strike Goten but one punch from the child knocked him out. No one saw the punch thrown but seeing the middle-aged, pot-bellied man lying on the floor unconscious, everyone assumed Gohan did it.

Gohan allowed himself to be arrested to protect his brother. He also knew no one would believe Goten threw the punch. Goten confessed to hitting the artist but no one believed him. He rode in the police car with Gohan. Gohan made the embarrassing call to his parents. With his father’s teleportation trick, his parents arrived a minute after his call ended. The artist arrived at the police station and accused Gohan of striking him and setting fire to his comics. He wanted to press charges. Chi-Chi begged the commanding officer to not charge Gohan. She spoke of his youth and exemplary record but it was Videl who saved the day. Her connection at the precinct called her to let her know her classmate had been arrested. Videl vouched for Gohan’s character and talked with the commanding officer to release Gohan and not press charges. He was willing to oblige but the artist wanted to press charges. This prompted Goku to spill that Gohan is Saiyaman. Forced to reveal himself, the artist was forced to drop his charges after Videl suggested Gohan could sue him for libel. With cash compensation for the burned comics, all charges were dropped and after Goten got a gag mug shot, the family of four returned to Mount Paozu where Gohan explained what happened.

His mother knew the truth so Gohan was confused about her questions. “Mom….”

 “Did I tell you to speak?!” Chi-Chi screamed. “Go to your room!”

Gohan looked at his father who shrugged. Gohan turned and left.

Chi-Chi sighed and sank herself in a chair at the kitchen table. She pulled out Gohan and Goten’s mugshots and laid them on the table. “I do not believe this, Goku. Our Gohan was arrested. Our Goten was in that delinquent place with criminals and thugs.”

“It was a situation that got out of hand,” Goku knew he will have to talk to Goten about what he did, “But it worked out.”

“Yeah, it did,” Chi-Chi sighed again but she hated it happened. “If I were there, I would’ve punched the artist myself.”

“I know.” It was in Chi-Chi’s nature to defend her family. It’s why he couldn’t stop grinning at the situation. He barely kept it in at the station. “And it’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Goten started it because he defended Gohan. Defending anyone in this family is a trait our sons get from you. Did you forget you got us arrested?”

“Me?!” Chi-Chi jumped from her seat. They had this argument for years and it was never settled on who caused the arrest. “You got us arrested!”

******

Seventeen Years Ago

Chi-Chi fought the urge to cover her ears as the music thumped loudly. If it was loud as she, Goku and Aki waited outside the club to get in, how bad would it be for her ears when she was inside?

Maybe we shouldn’t have come.

Clubs weren’t her or Goku’s thing. She was sheltered in the village she grew up in under a stern but caring father who ruled it. She was raised to be a wife and mother. She covered one marrying Goku. They were still working on the second part. It hasn’t been forever. They have been married for four months. In her small community, most girls who married were pregnant within the first two months of marriage. She and Goku passed that with no pregnancy announcement.

It'll come Chi-Chi told herself but it did bother her how she and Goku hadn’t conceived yet. They were intimate enough. During the first couple of weeks of marriage, they were animals in heat. At least Goku was. Intimacy was a new experience for both but the feelings excited Goku more than Chi-Chi expected. He wanted to try intimacy many times and lately suggested different ways they can do it.

Two days ago, Aki visited them. Aki grew up in Chi-Chi’s village. He was her friend but Chi-Chi saw him as Goku’s friend, too. He was the first in her village to welcome Goku. In some ways, Chi-Chi thought Aki acted like a big brother to Goku showing him life outside of fighting and helping Goku understand things a man his age should know.

It was his idea they come with him to Neiro, a club in Orange Star City.

“You’re young with no responsibilities,” he said. “Have fun before you have kids.”

Goku was excited about the fun they spent touring the city and eating all the street foods but sometime between dinner and waiting outside the club, Chi-Chi suspected Goku was into another type of fun.

More than once, Goku brushed up against her as they moved in line. Chi-Chi noticed Goku got like that some mornings and nights when his body needed her but in public, he knew how to behave.

Except tonight. He was oddly attentive touching her with his hands and hips. Chi-Chi wasn’t sure where this need came from. He behaved all day. Even at dinner, he was his normal, jovial and hungry self but something happened after dinner when they left the restaurant and walked two blocks to the club.  

“I like your outfit,” Goku whispered as they waited in line.

That surprised Chi-Chi since Goku never commented on her clothes. She thought the ones she wore tonight were risqué for her. She fluffed her straight hair into big bouncy curls, and wore a purple mini-skirt with a matching low-cut halter top that flashed her midriff. She felt naked but the woman at the shop she visited told Chi-Chi this was appropriate club clothes and selected the outfit and makeup for her.

Aki picked out Goku’s clothes since he was clueless about how to dress for clubbing. He wore a black popover shirt that was left unbuttoned and exposed a nice tease of his muscled chest, charcoal chino pants and a silver chain Aki thought fitted Goku’s ensemble.

He looked good and Chi-Chi noticed she wasn’t the only one admiring Goku. It was something she was getting used to. She was happy to marry a handsome man but that didn’t mean she cared for so many women to ogle her husband in front of her. Sometimes Chi-Chi wrapped her arm around Goku’s or sent the women dirty looks to remind them Goku is hers and no one should dare try to make a move on him.

Goku wasn’t the only one to get looks. Chi-Chi noticed a few times men looked at her. Chi-Chi wasn’t concerned. She didn’t have any interest in the men but it was surprising how it bothered Goku. More than once she saw a glare on his face Chi-Chi last saw on Goku at the Tenkaichi Budokai. He directed it at men walking by and doing a double take of her.

Chi-Chi received looks when she was out with Goku while modestly dressed and Goku never reacted but tonight, he was bothered and looked itching to fight anyone who got too close to her.

Noticing their anxiousness Aki went to the bouncer and spoke to him. The tall, muscled man listened to what Aki said, looked at Goku and Chi-Chi and waved them forward.

Though relieved to be moving, Chi-Chi was curious. “What did you say to him?”

“I told him Goku won the Tenkaichi Budokai. He’s a fan. Enjoy the free pass.”

Enjoy the free pass. Aki said something similar during dinner. Goku ate a lot and their bill was high. Chi-Chi offered to pay because she knew Aki wasn’t wealthy but Aki told her to ‘Enjoy the free pass.’ “Did you tell the restaurant about Goku? Did we get a free meal because of it?”

Aki led them into the club. “Goku’s a celebrity. He saved the world. Take advantage of it while you can.”

Chi-Chi held Goku’s hand as they walked inside but had one hand over an ear. It was loud as a thumping bass line played by the DJ vibrated through the room. “I won’t exploit Goku for special privileges.”

“It’s not exploiting. It’s taking what’s offered to you.”

“It doesn’t seem right.”

“You can always go outside and wait in line,” Aki suggested with a sneaky smile.

“No way!” Goku wasn’t allowing that. “Too many guys are lookin’ at Chi-Chi. I ain’t leavin’ her alone.”

Aki and Chi-Chi were surprised by his outburst. Goku never acted this way before. “Don’t worry, buddy. Our Princess can take care of herself.”

They reached the edge of the dance floor. Aki tried to pull them on but Chi-Chi was too hesitant and Goku wasn’t doing it if Chi-Chi wasn’t so they made their way to the bar watching and waiting for a seat to come empty. After thirty minutes a woman left her seat. They rushed over so Chi-Chi could occupy it.

Aki signaled a bartender over. Chi-Chi didn’t know anything about ordering so Aki chose for her. “The lady will have a cosmo. I’ll have a rum and coke. My friend,” Aki sized up Goku wondering what he should drink. He was even more clueless than Chi-Chi. “My friend will have a whiskey smash.”

As they waited for their drinks, Aki noticed Chi-Chi swaying to the music. “It’s not bad, is it?”

“It’s a little loud,” she swayed in her seat, “but it has a nice beat.”

“How about you, Goku?”

Goku waved his hand over his mouth as a guy next to him lit up his cigarette. “Kind of smoky and loud.”

Aki shook his head. “This is why I wanted to get you out of the mountains. You’re getting too sheltered and isolated. You need to live.”

“We are living.”

“Really, Goku? What do you do all day in the mountains?”

The bartender returned with the drinks. “We explore Mount Paozu,” Chi-Chi sipped her drink carefully. Hmm. Not bad. “Goku and I talk a lot.”

Aki rolled his eyes. “Boring.”

“We have lots of sex!” Goku knew that was boring. He sipped his drink testing it before drinking the glass in one gulp. “What?” He noticed Chi-Chi and Aki's shocked stares.  

“Goku….” Aki was slightly concerned, “you should drink that slowly since you don’t drink alcohol a lot.”

“Goku,” Chi-Chi was embarrassed, “don’t tell him about our intimacy.”

Goku didn’t think he said anything wrong. “I didn’t say what we did. I said we did it a lot.”

Aki finished his glass. “You can argue about what’s private and not private, I’m gonna hit the floor.”

While Aki blended with the other adults on the dance floor, Chi-Chi and Goku watched. Goku ordered another drink; this time a Jack and Coke while Chi-Chi finished her Cosmo. Goku finished his drink in a single gulp. “Go easy on the alcohol, Goku. It’s making your lips loose.” She looked at him suspiciously. He wasn’t a drinker. Her father introduced him to varieties of beer. Goku tried them all but didn’t find the taste appealing to have more than one can of beer. Now Goku seemed invested in drinking.

“The drink isn’t getting to me.” Goku placed his hand on Chi-Chi’s left thigh and moved it up her skirt. “Your clothes are.”

“Goku,” Chi-Chi suppressed a moan as Goku nipped her neck. “We’re in public.”

“We ain’t the only ones.” He cocked his head to a couple three seats from them kissing. “Like Aki said. We’re young. Let’s have fun.”

“Whoa!” Chi-Chi blushed at the couple. They weren’t kissing. They were making out! They had no shame or care of anyone watching. They wanted each other and wanted everyone to know it. It was admirable and a bit erotic as Chi-Chi thought of herself and Goku being so expressive. She knew she had a handsome husband and loved he was hers and no one else could have him. Maybe it was the alcohol, the beat of the music, the heat of the bodies in the room, or the stimulation of the kissing couple combined with Goku’s groping but Chi-Chi felt herself getting pulled into the world around them.

They were young, as Aki said. They had no responsibilities yet. They only had each other. They slept in as late as they wanted. They stayed and left home as they wanted. Some days, Goku would pull her on Nimbus and they were off to some unknown destination.

When they have children, they can’t be this carefree. They will be regulated to schedules.

Maybe we should have fun.

Chi-Chi hopped off her stool. Goku took her empty seat so she could have it back when she was done. He ordered a third drink. Chi-Chi shook her head and waved for him to join her on the dance floor. Chi-Chi was young and sheltered but she had a quick eye. She had to learn martial arts. She used it to study the women on the dance floor and mimic them.

“Think of it as a fighting technique,” Chi-Chi swayed to the music with her hips swinging to the pop beat. She mimicked other women raising her hands over her head. She dropped her head back so the multi-colored lights of green, pink, purple and blue danced over her smooth and toned skin. The muscles of her stomach teased Goku as her halter top raised up her stomach.

Goku smirked admiring how Ch-Chi performed for him. His eyes trailed her bouncing hair bopping to the music. He went lower settling his eyes on Chi-Chi’s breasts bouncing in her tight halter top. My pillows.

When Chi-Chi came out of the hotel bathroom dressed in a halter top and short skirt, Goku didn’t react. The clothes were shorter than what she usually wore unless bedtime. He liked it but that was it. When they left the restaurant, the sun had set and the sky was dark except for the glow of the full moon. Walking two blocks from the restaurant, Goku noticed Chi-Chi then. He was annoyed initially. Only he should see Chi-Chi like this but a part of him liked seeing Chi-Chi dressed this way. There wasn’t a reason for Chi-Chi to hide her attractive body. He wanted the world to see how appealing his wife looked. Look was all he would allow. If they dare touch as some men wanted to do……

Goku shook his mind clear of those thoughts. He wanted to admire Chi-Chi; watch her dance for him and coax him to join her.

Drinking his third glass, the smooth lyrics of the pop mix and guitar riffs pulled Goku to move his body to the music while his eyes stayed glued to Chi-Chi’s body as she danced.  

“Come on,” Chi-Chi encouraged him. “I won’t bite.”

“I wished you did.”

Chi-Chi winked at him. “Later.”

“Soon,” Goku promised when his eyes flicked to the side when movement caught his peripheral. A man moved in, put his hand around Chi-Chi’s waist and turned her so she danced with him.

Chi-Chi paused as she stared up at the man. He had more inches in height over Goku and muscles that suggest unnatural development. His physical build must have been the motivating factor in this fool thinking he could take Chi-Chi from Goku and dance with her. Chi-Chi took a step back from him but the man took a step forward not allowing the distance Chi-Chi wanted.

Goku knew his strength. He was stronger than everyone in the room. So was Chi-Chi but because of how much stronger he is, Goku always controlled himself. It wouldn’t be fair to beat up on anyone so beneath him in strength but if someone dared to touch what was his, power levels didn’t matter.

Rage flooded as he put down his glass and was on his feet not caring when someone immediately took his seat. Nothing mattered except dealing with the brute who dared to touch Chi-Chi.

“Dance with me,” Goku heard the guy say.

“No,” Chi-Chi refused him. “I’m a married woman.”

The man looked around. “I don’t see him. Any real man….” He stopped when he saw Goku. Instead of slinking away, he laughed. He had more muscles and height than Goku. That was enough for him to think Goku would be cowering to him. “It’s just a dance. Not an affair.”

He reached for Chi-Chi when Goku grabbed the guy’s shoulder. A light squeeze from Goku had the man’s knees buckling. “Dude…..” he winced as Goku squeezed harder. “Calm down.”

“You touched my wife,” Goku’s voice came out as a growl. Even over the music, Goku knew he was heard.

He was outmatched by Goku but the man still had his pride. He was popular here and he couldn’t let this punk embarrass him. He closed his right fist. He can get one shot. He swung his fist to punch air where Goku’s face was and was immediately lifted off his feet and received a free flight from the dance floor to a table near the bar.

Music and dancing immediately stopped. Bouncers came onto the dance floor. Aki looked at Goku. One look at his friend’s face told Aki the bouncers will land in the hospital if they came near Goku.

“It’s okay.” Aki got between Goku and the bouncers. “My friend is Son Goku. He won the Tenkaichi Budokai. Stupid,” he pointed to the musclehead who was picking himself off the table, “wanted to challenge him. He’s crazy, right? Who challenges the guy who beat the son of King Piccolo?”

People around nodded agreeing and murmuring it was stupid to challenge the winner of the Tenkaichi Budokai to a fight. The man in question stormed out not wanting to hear the jeering. The bouncers left the dance floor and the music resumed.

“Geez, Goku.” Aki wondered if inviting Goku and Chi-Chi out was a good idea. “What did he do?”

“He touched Chi-Chi.”

“Oh.” If this was any other guy, the reaction would make sense but this was Goku. He brushed off Kaifun’s interest in Chi-Chi but a random guy causes Goku to get physical?

Goku turned away from Aki to return to Chi-Chi who stared with flushed cheeks. “Are you all right, Chi-Chi?”

Chi-Chi nodded. “I’m fine. I can’t believe you did that.”

Goku was surprised he did it, too. Kaifun was very clear of his attraction to Chi-Chi and wanting her but Goku never did anything to him. Tonight, Goku wanted to break the meathead’s face for touching Chi-Chi. He was on edge tonight. There was something about how Chi-Chi looked and smelled tonight that drove Goku wild. He wanted her. He wanted it known Chi-Chi was his and no mercy will be given to anyone trying to take her from him.

As if to give a warning to not repeat what the dumb brute tried, Goku cupped the back of Chi-Chi’s neck and dragged her against him for a passionate kiss. Her sweet and sultry taste tinged with her Cosmo drink made Goku groan against her mouth.

For Chi-Chi, it made her wet. Watching Goku be so manly, so masculine handling the idiot excited her. He didn’t protect her like this. He knew she could handle herself but seeing him step in and show Chi-Chi was his and no one should touch, made her want to jump him.

When his lips touched hers, Chi-Chi kissed back without any hesitation. Her hands fisted his shirt as he grabbed her ass and pressed her against his growing shaft. The moan from her made him jerk his cock against her in response.

Aki wanted Goku and Chi-Chi to celebrate being young, free and in love but he wasn’t expecting this. The most affection he saw of them was the quick peck at the wedding and Chi-Chi sometimes kissing Goku’s cheek. This made him blush.

“Ah… I see. They both got that edge in them.”

Though raised to keep such affections private, Chi-Chi wasn’t embarrassed about the display from her and Goku. She wanted to be watched. She wanted all to see she and Goku were staking a claim on each other. Goku was hers and she was his.

But kissing wasn’t enough. They both could feel it. They needed more. Maybe it was the alcohol or the music or the lust coursing through them,  but they wanted each other right here on the dance floor.

Chi-Chi pushed back with the little clarity she had left. Her breath came in heavy pants that made her breasts jiggle. She saw the lust in Goku’s eyes and felt it swell against her. How she wanted Goku to throw her over his shoulder and sprint her out of here but she wore a skirt and didn’t want that flaring up to show the world only what Goku has seen.

“Let me freshen up and we can get out of here.”

“Hurry,” Goku growled at her. His patience was thin.

Chi-Chi quickly walked off the dance floor with Goku’s eyes on her shaking hips. Oh yeah. He was riding that hard tonight.

“Goku,” Aki put a hand on Goku’s shoulder. “Let’s get you some water. You need to cool off.”

Aki and Goku reached the bar. Aki ordered another drink for himself but cool water for Goku. “Damn, Goku. Calm down. She’s your wife and I support that but she’s my princess and…..” Goku’s glare quickly caused Aki to correct himself. “But she’s your wife and that’s a higher authority. I know you want her but the dance floor is not the place to fuck.”

The bartender handed Goku his water. He quickly guzzled it down. “I know.” The cool water cleared some of his lustful mind. He asked for more water. “I don’t know why but I want Chi-Chi really badly right now.”

“That’s cool,” Aki sipped his drink. “Just wait until you get your hotel room.”

“Hi,” a sultry voice called to Goku. He turned to see a beautiful woman with long red hair and emerald eyes smiling at him.

“Damn,” Aki whispered of the woman. She was a beauty and stacked with her 40C breasts wrapped in a gold halter bra, slender waist and curvy hips in a gold skirt that barely covered her ass, and long, toned legs and perfectly manicured toes in four-inch stilettos. While Aki examined her head to toe, Goku’s eyes were on her face.

“Hi,” he said as if greeting someone casually on the street.

The woman puckered her red lips at Goku. “You won the Tenkaichi Budokai.” She touched his arm. “I can see why. You feel strong.”

Goku looked at the woman touching his arm. He jerked her hand off. “I am strong. Who are you?”

“Happy if I get you to come home with me.”

Goku frowned at her. “Sorry, Happy. I’m going home to my wife.”

The woman was shocked at the brushoff. Aki picked up what Goku hadn’t caught on from the insulted woman. Aki also didn’t want Chi-Chi to return and misunderstand the situation. He got between Goku and the woman. “My name’s Aki. I’m Goku’s friend and I’m single.”

“I’m Salli,” she pushed Aki aside. “I’m not interested.”

Goku frowned. He didn’t like Salli rejected Aki and he didn’t like she lied to him. “I thought you said your name is Happy.”

Salli slipped her hand inside his shirt to touch his chest. “It can be whatever you want.”

“How about ‘Cheap’?!” Chi-Chi’s voice was heard behind Salli as her red hair was yanked and her body pulled from Goku. “Keep your hands off my husband!”

Salli turned to Chi-Chi. One look at the wife of Son Goku and she wasn’t impressed. “Gah. Was he drunk when he proposed to you? Or,” she fluffed her hair, “were you the best of the poor offerings around him?”

Rage poured into Chi-Chi. How dare a subpar woman insult a great beauty like her? “I’m the daughter of King Gyumao, the wife of Son Goku and the strongest woman on the planet.”

“Um,” Aki tried to intervene, “I don’t think your title matters here.”

Chi-Chi ignored Aki. “I’m smarter, stronger and far prettier than you and anyone who tries to take my Goku from me.”

“Daughter of a King?” Salli scoffed. “Never heard of him but you must come from a cheap kingdom to afford those fake wonder twins.”

“Oh, boy,” Aki muttered under his breath.

“Fake?!” Chi-Chi screamed. “Everything is real!” Chi-Chi lunged for her only for Goku to secure his arms around her waist and pull her back. “Let me go, Goku!” Chi-Chi kicked at Salli. “She can’t get away with touching you and insulting me!”

“It wouldn’t be right to kill her,” Goku calmly told Chi-Chi as he flipped her into his arms and carried her out of the club like a bride while Chi-Chi screamed and cursed words a bride wouldn’t say.

Goku carried Chi-Chi outside to a secluded alley around the club. He placed Chi-Chi on her feet. He tried to be reasonable and keep his cool but watching Chi-Chi stake her claim over him in front of everyone excited him. Chi-Chi’s anger was a turnoff for some men. It scared others but for him, it made him hard. The patience he had to wait until they were back at their hotel was melting fast.  

“Why did you do that, Chi-Chi?”

“She made me angry.” Chi-Chi was proud she married a handsome man. She accepted women will look but didn’t tolerate anyone touching her husband and insulting her. “That cheap woman came onto you knowing you’re married.”

“You know I wasn’t interested.”

Chi-Chi knew that but the women did something far more insulting. “I don’t tolerate anyone thinking they can take what’s mine.”

Goku growled low in his throat as the full moon shined on them. Why did she have to say that? They definitely won’t make it back to the hotel. He needed her now. “I need you, Chi-Chi.” He kissed Chi-Chi out of his mind with lust. “I can’t wait.”

“Don’t,” Chi-Chi welcomed his kisses. Her lips meshed with his as his body pushed her against the brick wall. She could feel his cock, long, hard and thick rubbing between her thighs and making her wet between hers.

Moaning into his mouth, Chi-Chi’s tongue thrust against Goku’s. His whiskey-flavored tongue drugged her and lured her deeper into the carnal lust they were experiencing for each other. “This is crazy,” she murmured between their kisses. So wild and deliriously crazy! They were in a dark alley kissing. Goku’s hands were on her thighs pushing up her skirt with his hands nearing the spot she wanted him to touch. It was scandalous. Indecent and she loved every moment! “But if you stop, I’ll kill you.”

“Ain’t stopping,” Goku pushed aside her panties. He moaned into Chi-Chi’s neck as he felt her wet heat drench his fingers.

“Hurry.” Chi-Chi didn’t want to come to her senses and talk them out of this. She wanted Goku pumping deep and hard inside her. Impatient, she reached into his pants and cupped his hard length.

“Fuck!” Goku cursed against her as his head fell on her shoulder. Normally, Chi-Chi would admonish his cursing but hearing the pain and desperation in his voice aroused and sent an exciting thrill through her.

“Put it in,” Chi-Chi told him. “I can’t wait.”

Goku couldn’t either. He hiked her feet off the ground, spread her against the wall and with her panties pushed aside, Goku slid in fast and hard.

“Fuck!” Now it was Chi-Chi who shamefully cursed as Goku stretched her with his hard heat. He always took his time entering her but mad lust drove both for him to take her fast and hard.

Goku pulled out and sank deeper as Chi-Chi’s legs stayed wrapped around his waist while she clawed his shirt and took everything Goku gave her. They were in an alley with people around the corner; some were walking by unsurprised by the act but for Goku and Chi-Chi, it felt intimate as they focused on each other as they always did during intimacy.

“Hard,” Chi-Chi whispered into her as she pulled Goku closer. “I’m the strongest woman in the world. You know I can take it.”

Her request snapped what little control Goku had left. He tightened his hip and pulled out before thrusting in deeper and harder than before. He set a rough pace into Chi-Chi while his lips pressed hers to silence her escalating moans. He could hear Chi-Chi’s skirt scrape against the brick wall but Chi-Chi didn’t seem to care as she moaned and whimpered against him while scratching his clothes. He could feel her slick channel fluttering around his shaft.

“Ngh!” he grunted at her tightness. “You’re gonna make come first if you keep strangling my cock like that.” He saw her smirk. Oh, she would like that and would lord it over him. “Can’t have that,” he whispered as he went faster thrusting in her, slapping their skin together until Chi-Chi buried her mouth in his neck moaning his name through her release.  

Her strangling walls broke him as he jerk inside her and released a flood of his cum as his orgasm took him. As Goku panted against her neck, Chi-Chi reveled in the sensation of Goku’s release in her. For several moments, both were a panting and shaking mess. Goku slipped out with some of his release coating Chi-Chi’s thighs. Goku smiled at her blushing face. “Sorry,” he apologized.

“I hope you are.”

The words didn’t come from Chi-Chi. It came from a deep voice a few feet from them. Goku turned while Chi-Chi looked over his shoulder to see a police officer glaring at them.

“What a night,” Aki murmured to himself as he walked into the police station. He was still in the club having a drink with a woman when he heard someone say, “That guy that won the Tenkaichi Budokai got arrested.”

Aki paid for his, Goku and Chi-Chi’s drinks. He ran outside to see Goku and Chi-Chi being driven away in the back of a police car. King Gyumao will kill me if this gets out. He hailed a taxi and followed them to the nearest precinct. Aki tried but wasn’t allowed to talk to the commander of the precinct until after Goku and Chi-Chi were put in a cell.

“Putting my friends in a cell isn’t necessary,” Aki explained to the police sergeant. “They are very kind and harmless people.”

“Harmless?” the office read the report. “The guy broke his cuffs and almost broke the arresting officer’s hand when he tried to put cuffs on the woman.”

“Well,” Aki awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “my friend is protective of his wife and he doesn’t know a lot. He grew up in the mountains.”

“He assaulted an officer doing his job arresting them.”

“Arrest for what?”

“Having sex in the alley.”

“Publix sex?!” Aki yelled. “Goku and Chi-Chi?” That couldn’t be right. Goku would do it but there’s no way Chi-Chi would allow it.

They were getting hot and heavy in the club.

“Can’t we handle this discreetly?” Aki pleaded. “They’re good people. Chi-Chi’s never done a bad thing in her life. Her father is King Gyumao of Fire Mountain. Goku is winner of the Tenkaichi Budokai. He saved the world. He was the one who defeated King Piccolo.”

The officer stopped walking. “King Piccolo?” He pointed two cells away. Chi-Chi could be seen by the bars looking out. “He killed King Piccolo?”

“And defeated his son at the Tenkaichi Budokai.”

The officer’s face got a shade lighter. “I was at the capital when King Piccolo attacked. King Piccolo fired some beam at me and everything went dark. I don’t remember anything except waking up at my funeral. I scared the hell out of my wife when I opened the casket.” He looked at the cell holding Goku and Chi-Chi. “Are you saying I’m alive because of him?

“Yeah,” Aki solemnly confirmed for him. “I’m telling you my friend is a good guy. It’s my fault they got arrested. I’ve been on them they should have fun before they have kids. I guess they got carried away.”

The officer looked at the cell holding Chi-Chi and Goku. He grabbed the jangles of cell keys at his hip. He sighed as he continued to their cell. “Next time suggest they go skydiving.”

“Will do,” Aki promised. King Gyumao won’t kill me!

When they reached the cell, Goku sat on the dirty bench grinning at Aki while Chi-Chi’s face was scarlet in shameful embarrassment. The officer opened the cell. “You’re free to go. All charges will be dropped.”

“Thank you.” Chi-Chi bowed before the officer. “We’re so sorry.”

“Your friend explained. I understand.” As Goku stepped out of his cell, the officer extended his hand to Goku. “I’m told you killed King Piccolo. He killed me three years ago.” He shook Goku’s hand. “I guess me and my daughter owe you.”

Goku was taken aback. “King Piccolo killed your daughter?”

“No, but my daughter was born a year ago.”

It took a moment for Goku to understand. “I see.”

“We’ll give you your souvenir for the night and remove any traces of your arrest,” the officer told him. “In the meantime, seek your thrills elsewhere.”

Ten minutes later, Goku, Chi-Chi and Aki stood outside the precinct. Chi-Chi frowned at the souvenirs. It was their mug shots. “I can’t believe you’re smiling.” Chi-Chi shook her head at Goku’s grinning while she looked terrified.

“I did say the dance floor isn’t the place to fuck but I didn’t mean the back of the club is either.”

While Goku laughed at Aki’s joke, Chi-Chi didn’t find it funny. “How long have you been holding that in?”

Aki grinned. “Since I learned why you got arrested.” Now the matter was settled Aki couldn’t help but get some good-natured ribbing in. His prim and proper princess was arrested for having sex in an alley. So many jokes will come from this. “So…. Chi-Chi,” Aki was grinning and Chi-Chi knew what he will say. “Are you finally seeing the benefits of taking advantage of Goku’s celebrity status?”

Goku saw the benefits. “It did get us out of our situation, Chi-Chi.”

“Maybe there are some benefits.” Chi-Chi suddenly thought of one. “And I will use one now. If you tell anyone about this night, I’ll have Goku kill you.”

Aki laughed. His princess was mad and embarrassed about this night but she wouldn’t hover homicide over him. “It’s embarrassing now but in a few days….” Chi-Chi shook her head. “Weeks?” Chi-Chi kept shaking her head. “Years? Aw, come on. Goku wouldn’t kill me. I’m your friend. I’m not Kaifun.”

“Goku does anything I want him to do. Isn’t that right, Goku?”

Aki looked passed Chi-Chi to Goku who nodded. “If Chi-Chi wants me to, I’ll do it.”

Aki couldn’t tell if Goku was joking or serious but he wasn’t going to take that chance with the world’s strongest man. “My lips are sealed.”

**********

Chi-Chi stared at the photo from seventeen years ago. So many times she wanted to burn it but Goku insisted they keep it. On the rare times they thought of that night, they looked at the photo.

“We should put this photo with the ones our boys took and frame it.”

“I’ll kill you myself if you do that,” Chi-Chi threatened. Seventeen years later, Chi-Chi was no longer embarrassed. It was during Goku’s second death when Chi-Chi finally laughed at their embarrassing night. “It was stupid but kind of fun, and with no real record kept, harmless.”

“Just like Gohan and Goten,” Goku reminded Chi-Chi. “Come on,” Goku linked his hand into Chi-Chi’s. “Let’s tell the boys you’re not mad anymore.”

Chi-Chi thought of her yelling. Goten will brush it off but she imagined Gohan took it hard. That boy acted like her in many ways and if she knew him as well as she thought, she knew Gohan felt horrible and embarrassed about this night for himself. He was always a good student and good person and to be taken in by the police, even to protect Goten, had to be mortifying.

“Let’s talk to our boys over dinner.”

“And tell them about our night to make them feel better,” Goku suggested.

“No way.” Chi-Chi could laugh about that night but she vowed to take it to her grave.

“Why not?”

“Do you want to traumatize Gohan on why we were arrested? Child services will be after us if Goten learns about it.”

Goku hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Guess you’re right but when they are older and have families of their own…...”

“No, Goku.”

And so the secret remained until one day, when a curious five-year-old Pan helped her Grandma Chi-Chi through her yearly spring cleaning, discovered a framed photo of Grandpa Goku, Grandma Chi-Chi, Daddy Gohan and Uncle Goten’s mugshots buried in a worn box in the back of her grandparents’ closet.

[sensei-venus]

(I saw your one ask in my box and I really wanted to post this before that. @gemini-sensei)

Johnny: “Miguel, your on homeless duty today.”

Miguel: “Uh what are you talking about Sensei??”

Johnny: “Some how even after getting away from the plaza we still have homeless people following us around! There some chick outside the dojo gate with a cart and it’s freaking me out a little.”

Miguel slowly walks to the gate of the dojo and looks around the entrance. Looking around he finds Gremlin!Reader laying in a clearly stolen shopping cart that is now filled with blankets, hoodies, random sticks, what looks to be a cd player, a random broken car speaker. She’s messing around with what looks like a random cloth bag of rocks.

Miguel: “…Hey buddy… what’ch doing here…where did you get the cart from??”

Gremlin!Reader: “Hey Miguel! I found it outside the mini mart and rode it all the way down here. I didn’t know how many hills there where around here! I found this and wanted to give it to Mr.LaRusso!”

She searches around the cart before pulling out a huge clear plastic bag with three huge koi fish. Grin on her face.

Miguel: “Where did you get those??” He asks in pure horror.

Gremlin!Reader: “Remember that old Japanese restaurant down on the Ave? Well apparently they are going out of business and where going to throw these babies out, so I did them a favor and plucked them right out of the pond they had! Their completely fine!”

Miguel: “You stole them from that restaurant didn’t you.”

Gremlin!Reader: “Uh no? They didn’t want them so I took them. I mean they kinda got mad when I jumped in but like- who cares.”

She plays with the bag, squeezing the bag and watching the fish swim around.

Johnny: “Miguel stop playing with the homeless!”

Sam who just walked into the dojo yard from the building: “Miguel why are you messing with the homeless??”

Miguel: “Who likes to put rocks in their mouth and run into traffic?”

Johnny: “Homeless-“

Sam: “Reader-“

Miguel: “She wants to give you dad stolen live restaurant fish…”

Sam: “I-I don’t know what to say to that.”

Johnny: “You guys hang out with some weird ass kids. Don’t let her near my wallet.”

[cleoluvrr]

The Last Days of Summer VI (Rafe Cameron x Heyward!OC)

Warnings: violence, underage drinking, drug use, verbal abuse, jealousy, forbidden relationship, enemies to lovers, gaslighting + manipulation

Synopsis: Stuck in a situation she never dreamed of, Neriah Heyward blurs the line between Kook and Pogue; Rafe Cameron a witness.

masterlist

word count: 4.8k+

↠━ღ◆ღ━↞

Rafe ditched me sometime that night, leaving the party to run off with Kelce and Topper.

I didn’t complain, actually very relieved that I didn’t have to pretend in front of his family, nor keep my head on a swivel to make sure he didn’t catch me alone again. Londyn and I left eventually as well, opting to go back to her house for the night. We were beat, the long day leaving us essentially useless. We fell asleep almost immediately after arriving, barely staying awake long enough to get ready for bed.

His sudden confession filled my mind for the rest of the night, brain struggling to understand where any of it came from. How did he know all of those things about me? Why did he wait so long to say anything? Why did he think I would suddenly fall into his arms and accept his so gracefully?

I left early the next morning, my father calling me home as some sort of punishment for my brother running off last night. I didn’t argue with him, bidding my farewells to the Woods’ before getting in the car Londyn’s mom ordered for me.

I didn’t get a moment to myself when I stepped foot into the shop. My father immediately sent me to work, ordering me to deliver groceries to people in town. I rode around Kildare on my dad’s boat with everyone’s orders, the deliveries were seemingly endless. Eventually I arrive at Kie’s parent’s restaurant, The Wreck.

I hop out of the boat with groceries in hand, dragging my feet towards the entrance. I enter the shop, tempted to just leave the groceries by the door and leave, and spot my brother and his friends gathered at a table nearby.

“And where the hell did you go last night?” I say, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I had to face the wrath of our dear father this morning, no thanks to you.” I cut my eyes at JJ as well, who sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.

“You don’t get to be mad at me, Riah.” Pope rolls his eyes at me. “You went to that thing with Rafe Cameron. If anything I should be the pissed one here. Matter of fact, I think I am.”

“I’m so sorry that you have no idea how to fight back against some bullies, and your sister had to step in to save your weak behind. Twice.” I set the groceries down on the counter before walking over to the table, crossing my arms across my chest as I stand in front of my body.

“I didn’t ask your dumb ass to do that. Now we’re both in deep shit.” He says. I scoff.

“I’m sorry that I risked everything I’ve worked for to defend your honor.” I continued. “I had absolutely no idea that almost sacrificing my scholarship and risking jail time was not worth defending your ungrateful ass. I’m sorry that you have a poor choice in friends that just can’t seem to stop committing crimes.”

“Don’t talk about them like they’re not there.” Pope says, actually looking up at me now. He looks more than a little irritated, his jaw clenching as he speaks. “Do you think you’re better than me because you hang out with Kooks?”

“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” I laugh dryly. “I just think you’re an idiot because you destroyed a thirty-thousand-dollar piece of property, no thanks to JJ once again, had some white boys posted outside of our house trying to intimidate us, and almost got arrested. You’re lucky JJ is a good friend or else your ass would be fried.”

“Thanks?” JJ says, not sure if I was giving him a compliment or insulting him.

“Didn’t you beat Rafe Cameron with a golf club? How is that any better than what I did?” He stands up, getting in my face.

“Because I’m not the one running around Kildare getting into bullshit everyday! That’s you!” I shout, shoving at his chest. Kiara moves to get in between us, but Pope doesn’t move. He just stares back at me just as angrily as I do him.

“Okay, I think you need to chill.” John B says to me.

“Shut up, John B.” Pope and I say in unison. The boy raises his hands in defense.

“Clearly none of you are talking sense into him, so I guess I have to.” I look around at the rest of the group, all of them avoiding eye contact with me. 

“I make my own decisions, Neriah.” Pope mumbles, sitting back down in his chair.

“Well they aren’t smart ones.” I knock Kie’s hand off my shoulder. “There are people that care about you, Pope. More than the people in this room and you seem to forget that. Or maybe you just don’t give a damn.”

With that I walk away, making my way towards the door. The restaurant is silent for a moment, everyone taking in what I just said.

“We care about him just as much as you do.” JJ says, briskly walking up to me before I can get to the door. I chuckle humorlessly, giving the blonde a tight-lipped smile.

“Then act like it.” I say, pushing the heavy door open. His eyes shift down to my neck, widening slightly as they catch mine again.

“What happened to your neck?” He inquires, voice low enough for only me to hear. He reaches up to touch it but I push his hand away, zipping up my jacket all the way and ignoring his concerned eyes.

“See you at home. Or not.” I give my brother a final glance before turning away.

With that, I exit the shop and go back to our dad’s boat. I drive down the marsh, not looking back at the building despite feeling all of their eyes on me.

Pope never came home that night.

My parents waited for him for a while, but they went to bed sometime after one in the morning. I went to bed as well, knowing better than to expect anything different from my brother. He still wasn’t there in the morning when I woke up, the sun high in the sky and no Pope in sight.

Londyn and I decided to waste the day together, meeting Brye on the way. The two of them could sense my poor mood the minute they set eyes on me. The entire time they tried to cheer me up. After an hour of gossip and cracking bad jokes I’d finally had enough.

“You guys know better than to think telling terrible jokes is going to make me feel any better.” I finally speak after spending the past hour moping to myself in silence.

“We knew that at some point you’d get annoyed enough to finally say something. Which you did!” Brye says, nudging me obnoxiously. I roll my eyes, standing up from my seat.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” I mumble as I walk away.

I wash my hands in the bathroom, watching myself in the mirror above the sink. The bruise on my neck has only gotten worse, the dark purple splotches peeking out of the top of my shirt. I’m visibly tense, my eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched unconsciously. My teeth have started to ache from the unintentional grinding. 

I shut off the water, gripping the sides of the sink as I take a deep breath. 

My brother and I each have our own lives. Very opposite lives. He would never do the things I do and I would never do the things I do. He’d sooner walk barefoot across broken glass before hanging out on Figure 8 willingly to be quite frank, which I understand. But sometimes I wish he would be more responsible. He actually has a future off of this island, but he never thinks of how easily that opportunity could be lost.

I have nothing again against his friends. I think Kie so desperately wants to defy her parents in any way she can, John B has a lack of true authority figures to guide him, and JJ is a klepto with a penchant for violence and alcohol. But that doesn’t make them bad people. They’re always there for my brother, they’d do anything for them, and I could ask for nothing more.

Except for them to make sure he doesn’t do the same stupid shit they do.

I sigh deeply, stepping out of the bathroom after drying my hands. I keep my head down as I walk, mind busy with things I need to say to Pope the next time I see him. I almost don’t hear the person calling for my attention.

“Excuse me. Excuse me, girl!” An older white woman dressed rather tackily calls out. I look around, wondering who she’s speaking to and furrow my eyebrows in confusion when she waves me over. “God, are you people deaf or something?” She says annoyedly, looking me up and down.

“Excuse me?” I ask, puzzled.

“Refill my drink. And make sure it’s light ice this time.” She shoves her empty glass towards me. When I don’t take it she looks at me expectantly. “Hello? Can you hear me? I said to get me a drink.”

“I don’t work here.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here?” She looks me up and down in disgust. “I didn’t know they let your kind of people into the club.” The other women she’s seated with giggle, each of them picking me apart with their eyes.

“What do you mean by that?” Feeling quite offended, I scrunch my face up at her. “Actually, I don’t care.”

“Did you sneak in here? Do I need to call security?” She says, smirking as she prepares to wave the guard over.

“She’s with me.” A familiar voice sounds out, footsteps approaching behind me. “Is there a problem, Carolyn?”

“Oh!” She says, dropping her hand back into her lap with a nervous smile. “Of course not. I just-”

“You ladies have a good day.” The voice says before placing a warm hand on my back and leading me away.

As soon as we’re out of the women’s line of vision I shove the hand off me, backing away quickly. I shiver at the way Rafe looks at me, the view of him genuinely smiling at me making me feel uneasy. It seems like I run into him more and more as the days go by.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“You're welcome.”

“I didn’t need your help.” I cross my arms, pushing past him to go meet my friends again.

“It looked like you were about to be removed from the property to me.” Rafe says condescendingly. 

“Maybe all the coke is affecting your vision too.” Before I can make it very far, the Cameron son grabs my bicep and pulls me back to him. I try to snatch my arm away, but he doesn’t loosen up. “Don’t touch me.”

“Y’know, you really should be more grateful.” He looks down at me, still holding my arm in his grip. “You would be in a very bad position without me.” I scoff.

“I’m already in a bad position.” Roughly pulling myself away from him, I squint my eyes at him. “Leave me the hell alone, Rafe. I’ve already done what you wanted, and whatever you want to happen between us is not happening.”

“I don’t know…” He hums, tilting his head. “My side hurts a bit. My leg too. Maybe you can kiss it better for me?” He walks towards me, pretending to limp. I shove him away from me and he laughs.

“Fuck off, Rafe. I’m not in the mood for you today.” His laughter dies down slowly, eyes falling below my jawline. The feeling of his heated stare on me all of sudden has me shifting from foot to foot nervously. 

“Did I do that to you?” He asks, eyes still fixed on the large, finger shaped splotches of purple decorating my neck. I pull up the collar of my shirt in an attempt to cover my exposed skin. “Don’t cover it. I want to look.”

“Rafe. Do not piss me off right now.”

“I’m being serious.” He steps forward, reaching to lower my hand. “They look pretty on you.” I scoff, swiping his outreached hand away.

“You’re a dick.” I say as I storm away from him, hearing his laughter and feeling his gaze on my back as I retreat.

I make it to my friends after a short walk, ignoring their questions about what took me so long. We sat in the sun for a bit longer, drinking lemonade and talking about how sad we are about the summer coming to an end soon. 

I watch Rafe in the distance, talking with Topper and Kelce. Topper looks quite distressed, arguing with his two friends for a moment while they try to calm him down. I haven’t seen him with Sarah since Midsummers, and even then they looked a bit distant. At least Sarah did. I wonder if that’s what has him so upset.

“Rafe Cameron!” A voice calls out.

We all snap our head in the direction of the sound. I spot a shorter man get out of a car and walk towards the gate very menacingly. I watch as Rafe and Topper approach him, the younger confused as the man confronts Rafe very aggressively. 

“Who did he piss off this time?” Brye asks, watching the ordeal disinterestedly. 

“Who hasn’t he pissed off?” Londyn adds, causing me to throw my head back in laughter.

“Am I just some little bitch?” The shorter man asks rather loudly. “Is that what your family looks at me like?”

Rafe tries to calm him down, looking around at the crowd that’s started to gather. He looks just as confused as the rest of us, as if he has no idea why the man he seems to be quite familiar with has shown up to confront him.

“Okay, so why is your little sister and her little surf rat friends running around stealing $25k out of my house?”

Sarah? Surf rat friends? Stealing?

Sarah Cameron wouldn’t pick a penny off the ground for good luck, what the hell does he mean she stole twenty-five-thousand dollars from him? Sarah Cameron has more money than anyone on this island. And what Pogues are running around with the Kook princess? The only Pogues Sarah has ever spoken to willingly are me and John B.

John B. Surf rat friends. Pogues. John B. Sarah. John B.

Shit.

The confrontation turns violent when Rafe puts a hand on the man’s shoulder. The man shoves him roughly, yelling something that I can’t make out. Topper steps in and breaks up the altercation, separating the two.

“Sort this shit out with your sister.” The brunette man says.

“Alright!” Rafe says panickedly.

“Imma get my money. If it’s not from you, it’s from her.” The man backs off, walking towards his car. “Remember that. I’ll see you boys around.”

Rafe and Topper talk for a minute, the two of them looking equally as stressed out. Everyone else has stopped watching, including my friends who have gone back to their previous conversation, but I keep my eyes on the two. Eventually the boys get on their bikes, pulling off quickly as their engines rev all the way down the street.

How deep are Pope Heyward and his friends?

“You stole twenty-five-thousand dollars from a drug dealer…and spent it all on a hot tub?” I yell angrily. “Have you lost your minds?”

“To be fair, it’s a nice hot tub.” JJ says. I look at him incredulously. 

I came to JJ’s house the next day to find my brother and confront him about the things I overheard the day before. I nearly passed out when I saw the large jacuzzi sitting in JJ’s front yard, knowing that only he’d be irresponsible enough to buy something like that with stolen drug money.

“How did you even find out?” Pope asks.

“He was yelling at Rafe about how his baby sister was running around with some Pogues robbing people.” Pope looks even more confused, jumping out of his chair before coming up to me in the middle of the yard.

“You were hanging out with Rafe Cameron?” I scoff in disbelief at his audacity to be upset with me.

“No, I wasn’t hanging out with him, and even if I was, that’s not the point.” I push past him to go stand on JJ’s porch next to Kiara. She looks at me sheepishly and scratches her head. “There is a man out there, multiple men, that want your heads.”

“Neriah, don’t worry. We got this.” JJ says walking up to me. He tries setting a comforting hand on my shoulder but freezes midair when I give him a deathly look. He backs off with his hands raised, going back to what he was doing before.

I spent a while at his house, stressfully thinking about the trouble my brother can’t seem to stay out of. The rest of them return to whatever it was they were doing before I arrived. I watch as Pope lifts Kie into a tree with a large bucket, and JJ sits in the hot tub under the shade of the tree. I have multiple missed calls from Rafe, surely about my brother and his friends running around with Sarah.

I’m so deep in my thoughts that I almost don’t notice John B. The boy speeds past me into JJ’s house, the rest of the group following after him. I don’t go in, letting them handle whatever his problem is on his own. 

I hear stuff clattering around and muffled voices through the door, but I pay it no mind.

“John B, what do you need the gun for?” I hear JJ raise his voice. I stand up immediately, entering the house.

I briefly see the brunette push my brother into the table, walking so fast out the door that I almost miss him. I follow everyone out the house, watching as they chase him down. He speeds off on his bike, disappearing down the dirt road. I don’t ask them what’s going on, this being something that must be deeply personal.

I leave shortly after that, the atmosphere far too tense for me to feel comfortable there. 

I return home, locking myself up in my room for the rest of the day. I only come out to shower and grab food, leaving my parents to wallow in their misery alone. Pope hadn’t been home in three days, and while I’m used to it, I don’t think my parents ever stop worrying. I hope he’s smart enough to come home tonight considering he has a once in a lifetime scholarship interview in five hours.

My hopes come true when I hear the front door open.

“You waited up.” Pope says to my father. The man had been sleeping in the living room since the night his son left, waiting for his return.

“You left?” Heyward asks. “Because I hadn’t noticed.”

The air is silent for a moment, tension replacing the sound of voices. I turn over in bed, slipping on my earbuds to drown out the sound of a lecture. I watch my bedroom door open slowly after a few minutes, behind it a tired looking Pope.

We look at each other for a moment, neither of us saying a word. He looks down at the floor before backing out of my room and closing the door behind him.

“Goodnight.” I whisper into the darkness of my room.

My dad and brother leave together early in the morning, away to Pope’s interview before I’m awake to see them off. Our dad wouldn’t be back until later, saying that he had to handle some business at the airstrip for the Cameron’s.

Pope didn’t come back that night either.

I spent half of the next day roaming around the south side, something I hadn’t done in a while. It was very comforting to know that I wasn’t an outlier here. Nobody thought less of me because of how much money I did or didn’t have, I was just another person here.

It also distracted me from my parents slowly going insane from Pope’s blatant disrespect and irresponsibility.

The house felt stuffier than the sticky, summer air outside sometimes, the wedge between my brother and our parents growing larger as the days go by.

As I peruse around midtown I people watch, residents running errands and tourists looking around like this is the most interesting place they’ve ever been. I end up near the dock, the ferry bobbing in the water next to the wooden deck. Everyone buzzes around, colorful clothes a blur in front of me as I watch mindlessly.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot a familiar car. I turn towards the car, squinting at the vehicle parked across the street. 

My eyes widen when I spot the people inside. 

I storm towards the car, everyone inside distracted with a heated conversation. 

“Pope. Heyward.” I say when I reach the open driver's side window, my voice dangerously calm.

Everyone’s head snaps towards me as the words leave my mouth. Pope runs his hands over his face, looking even more stressed than he did a moment ago. Everyone looks scared and anxious, tension in the car high.

“Hey, Riah…do you think you can save the lecture for another day?” JJ says, leaning out of his window to speak to me. “We really don’t have time for this.”

“Kiss my ass.” I cut my eyes at JJ wh retreats back into the car. 

“Neriah, we really don’t have time. Seriously.” Pope sighs, looking at me irritably. 

“Oh, you wanna talk about time? We can talk about time.” I smile at him tensely. “You know what I spent my time doing last night? Convincing our father not to throw your shit out on the street. I should’ve let him do it considering that’s where you’d rather be nowadays.”

“Neriah, please.” Kie says, looking out the window anxiously. 

“Shut the fuck up. I’m talking.” I snap.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Pope snaps as well, hitting his hands on the steering wheel. “What is your problem?”

“Not only did you vanish, again, you ran out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. To do what? Hang out in your friend's car smelling like dope?” I ask motioning at the car. “You have officially lost your rabid ass mind.”

Pope snatches a piece of paper out of Kiara’s hand and shoves it at me, the wrinkled paper hitting me in the chest. I snatch it away, smoothing it out before reading it.

My eyes widen, eyes raising to finally see John B hiding in the backseat next to JJ.

“This! This is why I’m with my friends right now!” Pope shouts at me. I stare at the picture of John B’s face and the bounty over his head in shock.

“Not only are you majorly irresponsible, you're harboring a fugitive?” I whisper the last part, not wanting anyone around to hear. “I should turn your ass in. Maybe then my brother will stop roaming the streets like he doesn’t have a home.” I say to John B.

“God, Neriah. You just don’t get it, do you?” My brother’s voice drips in frustration directed at me. I sigh, throwing the paper back into the car.

“No, I get it.” I back away from the car. “I’ll be sure to tell mom you aren’t dead. Now go, before somebody recognizes you. Fucking idiots…” I mumble as I briskly walk away from the car, silently praying that they come up with something.

[an1meslvt]

|lets get high baby|

tag: stoner!shuri x blackfemreader

warnings: weed, smut (18+), thigh riding, semi exhibitionism (semi public sex), childhood friends to lovers trope, fluff at the end:)

translation: xhosa: ndiyakuthanda nam sana-i’m in love with you baby, sthandwa-my love, ndiyaphila baby- i’m cumming baby

summary: you and shuri get high, she confesses her feelings for you:)

“yo y/n! you smoke?” shuri asked, puffing on a freshly lit blunt. you shrugged as you laid on her shoulder. “sometimes, but i don’t do it a lot.” shuri looked down at you, putting her arm around your waist. “you should start smoking with me…it could be our bonding time.” she smiled at you, causing you to smile back. “come on mami, get high with me.”

𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷

you and shuri sat in her ‘weed garden’ high as hell and having a good time. “you having a fucking weed garden is insane.” you laughed. she playfully hit your shoulder. “i’m the fucking queen of wakanda! i can have whatever i want!” she said loudly, smiling down at you for the millionth time. she licked her lips before speaking again. “but there’s one thing that i want…but i can’t seem to have.” you looked at her confused as hell. “what do you mean?” you asked. she sighed before speaking.

“y/n, how long have we been friends.” you paused for a moment. “ever since i moved here with mom and dad…for the job opportunities here.” shuri nodded. “and you remember when you used to go back to the states to visit family? i would cry all day long. and when i finally developed griot, i could holograph you, so i wasn’t as sad.” you nodded, trying to see where she was going with this.

“y/n! it’s so fucking obvious!” shuri yelled. you looked up at her, very confused. she sighed before grabbing your your neck softly. “y/n, sthandwa, ndiyakuthanda nam sana.” living in wakanda (on and off) you’ve learned most of the language, but you could not believe what the hell you were hearing. “sh-shuri? you’re in love with me?” she nodded, looking deep into your eyes. “and i know you’re in love with me too, y/n. it’s kinda obvious.” you looked at her with dismay.

“shuri udaku! you mean to tell me all these years i’ve been crying to myself because i thought you would never love me but you actually did? AND DIDNT TELL ME?” shuri smiled. you were so cute when you were mad.

“easy there, usana. i was sliding down the wall and crying too! don’t feel special.” she smirked, causing you to push her playfully. “soooo, we’re a thing now?” you asked, causing shuri to deadpan at you. “duhhh y/n, you’re my girl now.” you smiled at her, causing her to smile back. she licked her lips, looking down at yours.

“shuri…can i kiss you?” you asked breathlessly. shuri’s chest heaved in excitement. “yes sthandwa, kiss me usana.” you finally connected your lips to hers, your tongues instantly locking with eachother. you felt her tap your thigh, signaling you to sit in her lap. “fuck, usana. ride my thigh.” she groaned as you began to grind against her.

you moaned slightly as you rode her thigh. you felt her hand grab the back of her neck, kissing you deeper. “shuri! i’m about to cum!” you wailed as she guided your hips faster. “that’s it sthandwa, cum on my thigh. make a mess for your queen.”

and god did you make a mess. the thin shorts you were wearing were now sticky with your release, also leaving a puddle on shuri’s bare thigh.“you’re so wet usana.” shuri groaned, rubbing you through your shorts. “please fuck me shuri…i’ve waited so long.”

𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷

“ughn fuck shuri!” you yelled, your face smothered in her pillows. shuri had you in ass up face down, a belt tied around your neck and your hands tied up behind your back. she was drilling your shit, making you feel every inch of her strap. “yea? you like that? does my little slut like having her pussy pounded?” shuri teased as she picked up the pace.

“fuck daddyyy, don’t stop!” shuri smirked as she listened to your pleas for her to make you cum. she slapped your ass, making you cream all over the strap. “fuck baby! i’m gonna squirt.” your eyes rolled back to your head as shuri used the belt to pull you up to her chest.

“do it sthandwa. cum all over this dick. i want my sheets wet after this.” she panted in your ear as she reached her own high. “oh my-fuck!” you came everywhere and so did she. “ndiyaphila baby!” she yelled, her wetness dripping down her thighs.

she pulled out and collapsed next to you. “fuck y/n. you brought it out of me.” she chuckled breathlessly. you smiled weakly. “yea well i didn’t know you were into that kinda stuff.” she smirked, taking off your restraints. “everyone has their quirks. anyways, i’m gonna run you a bath, and then i’ll change the sheets. i love you usana” she kissed you sweetly before going into the connected bathroom. “i love you too shuri.” you mumbled.

𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷༄𖧷

©️an1meslvt

author: y’all i love this so much! thank you to the lovely anon who sent this! make sure to send more requests! 💕🫶🏾

[child-of-of-the-sunshine]

The Dutton Twins

Chapter 2  (This has a time to the end of season 1 beginning of season 2)

I was in the bunkhouse with the boys when the door swung open, I looked up from where I was watching Ryan play poker and saw Kayce entering the bunkhouse “Got an empty bunk?” Kayce asked “Top one in the back.” One of the guys said, I watched my brother before getting up and kissing Ryan’s cheek “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” I said before walking out of the bunkhouse and back to the house, I went up to my room and sat in my window, “Thought you would be down partying with your boyfriend.” Beth said walking and sitting on my bed “Got that wrong.” I laughed leaning my head against the wall “Ryan hurt you?” She questioned me “Fuck no, Ryan would be dead. Three times over.” I laughed smiling “So why you up here, your rarely up here anymore.” She said “Kayce’s down and I still haven’t forgiven him for leaving me.” I said adjusting myself “You two always had your way when ever you two fought. It was either hugging or yelling at each other and I hate to see my little sister be mad at her best friend.” Beth said getting up, I watched her walk out of my room and shut the door. I got up and went back down to the bunk house, when I opened the door everyone looked at me. I walked over to my brothers bunk “Get the fuck up.” I said flicking him “The fuck Bailey?” He questioned confused but getting up “Leave your fucking hat.” I said walking out of the bunkhouse, when Kayce finally came out I punched him the arm “The fuck Bailey?” He asked grabbing his arm “That’s for fucking breaking a damn promise!” I yelled coming back at him, I was ready to beat the shit out of my brother. But he grabbed both my wrists “Bailey the fuck is wrong with you?” He asked me “You left me twice.” I cried, trying to get out of his grip “Twice?” He questioned me “Once when you got her pregnant, the next time when you fucking shot Lees killer.” I spoke, still trying to get away from him “So fuck you Kayce John Dutton.” I said finally getting out of his grip, I went to punch him again but he pulled me in a hug “Kayce let me go.” I screamed struggling against him “Bailey.” He said softly once I stopped fighting him “Look I’m sorry for breaking that promise we made. Dad wanted me to do something I wasn’t going to do that to Monica or our kid.” He spoke, I had no idea what he meant but I nodded my “Let’s get you back to the house.” He said, I nodded my head, both of us walked back to the main house, he took me back up to my room and waited for me to fall asleep 

Third Person 

When Kayce got back everyone was looking at him they all heard Bailey yelling at him, Kayce just walked back to his bunk and went to sleep “What was that about?” Colby asked, “Those two have always had some sort of fight, nothing a little hugging won't fix.” Lloyd said, Ryan got up, but Lloyd didn’t know was going to happen and he didn’t want to know “Ryan sit back down.” Lloyd said, Ryan sat back down but was done playing cards, he was more worried about what he heard outside, the next morning Bailey was down by the barn or near anything “John where’s Bailey she normally jumping when I’m here.” Travis said “Hell if I know.” John laughed “And she normally takes your Goddamn money.” John laughed shaking his head, when Bailey got up she ran down to the barn where everyone, she saw Ryan already had her horse saddled “What were you going to do if I didn’t come down?” She asked looking at him “I was just hoping you would.” Ryan said kissing her cheek “That’s a new one.” Travis said noticing it “Not really.” John laughed, Bailey rode over to Travis and her dad “When did you become old enough to have a boyfriend?” Travis questioned her “When I found someone that could handle a damn barrel racer.” She laughed, Travis shook head laughing “I’ve seen some of the men you date Bailey.” Travis laughed “The men I’ve dated mostly only cared about one thing Travis.” She said holding up a finger “And most of them only last two months.” Travis spoke “One almost made it to a year.” She laughed “Then he met me.” Travis laughed 

Most people didn’t know why Travis and Bailey were close, but John did, it was because Bailey spent two summers on the road with Travis showing horses, he was also the one of the people that was protective over her outside of him or her siblings, so he was used to all this banter, hell she went to college down in Texas and he became some sorta of surgoet brother to her through the year, hell she might be closer to Travis then she was Lee

Ryan was watching the whole thing and had his jaw clenched “Don’t worry they're more like siblings.” Lloyd spoke seeing Ryan “they seem way closer than that.” Ryan spoke “Travis has been there through everything for her, somethings her dad don’t know.” Lloyd said before riding off “Your boyfriend has been eyeing us.” Travis spoke he had noticed Ryan watching them “You should probably tell him why we are so close.” Travis spoke, “I don’t if I’m ready to open that damn can worm again.” She spoke looking at Travis “It’s not a good can of worms but it’s probably the damn reason why we got so close.” Travis smiled at her “Yeah, hell I never thought I would be able to cowgirl again.” She spoke “Scary fucking day.” Travis said, “Hey, I say this a lot but thanks.” She said before heading towards her boyfriend, Travis watched her ride off with a smile “Hey Travis, thanks for being there for her.” John said smiling at him. 

She and Ryan rode next to each other “Sure Travis bring a horse, help us round up some cows.” Travis said, “Travis we’ve done enough horse-trading.” John laughed, soon they got the cattle back and were sorting them, after Ryan caught Bailey as she was putting up her horse “So what’s going on between you and Travis?” Ryan questioned, “Ryan, that's a really big can of worms.” She spoke closing her horse away “Then tell me.” He said softly “Let’s go I ain’t telling you in the damn barn.” She spoke, Ryan followed her to one of the fields near the main house “Okay tell me.” He said “It was a couple years before I came back here, I was rodeoing out in Fort Worth. When my horse at the time got spooked by something, I tried my damn hardest to stay on her but she started bucking and I fell in the dirt. Getting knocked out.” She spoke sighing, getting ready to go through with the next part “Travis one of the first people I saw when I woke in the damn hospital room, told me I was lucky, but my chances of being able to cowgirl again were 50/50, being able to rope again saddle a damn horse myself, I broke my collar bone in two places, took me a damn year to be fucking able to saddle a damn horse again. But Travis was there the whole fucking time I was showing Horse while recovering. We became pretty damn close during that whole year then I packed up, my trailer came back up here to help, and became a livestock agent.” She said looking at him “That still doesn't explain shit.” Ryan said shaking his head “Ryan I wasn’t going to be any fucking help here with only one good arm, can’t fucking saddle my damn horse. I was better at helping show than anything else.” She said she got up “Nothing happened between you and Travis ever?” Ryan questioned, “God fuck no, he’s a fucking brother to me.” She said before walking away “Bailey, I’m sorry for thinking anything else about you two.” He said running after her and grabbing her arm “Ryan, I don’t know why you would think anything different than what it looked like.” She spoke shaking her head “Because it fucking looked different you two laughing about god knows what.” Ryan spoke, “He was surprised I had a damn boyfriend.” She laughed, shaking her head “Why?” Ryan questioned her “Because most of the guys I date are completely dicks, and can’t fucking handle a barrel racer.” She laughed turning back around “Look I didn’t mean for this to be a fight.” Ryan said, “Well you did by fucking questioning me.” She spoke, and Ryan walked after her “I’m sorry I have no right to question who you are friends with.” Ryan spoke it made Bailey turn around with a look of shock “What I don’t.” He said walking up to her “You should be questioning my taste in men before you.” She laughed shaking her head “You ever thought of going back?” He questioned her “Sometimes I loved doing it. I loved showing horses too.” She said looking up at him “I would love to see you do it.” Ryan smiled at her, she grabbed his hand and led him to the house “Where are you taking me?” He questioned, “You said you wanted to see me do what I love.” She spoke,

The next morning Ryan and Bailey were still in her bed “Shit.” She mumbled she didn’t realize she and Ryan had fallen asleep last night watching some of her old rodeo videos “Ryan wake up.” She said hitting him with a pillow “Ow the fuck.” He mumbled “We fell asleep.” She said looking at him “Shit.” Ryan said sitting up, Bailey got ready and Ryan ran down to the bunkhouse to get ready himself, Bailey came downstairs and saw her sister smirking “What?” She questioned “I just saw Ryan running out of here.” She giggled “Sis this aint no walk of shame.” She laughed shrugging on her flannel and grabbing her hat by the door, Bailey walked down and stood next to Ryan “I got so much shit this morning .” Ryan laughed putting his arm around her “Don’t worry baby my sister will give you more shit, since she saw you running out the house this morning.” She laughed, the cowboys were giving Jimmy shit “Jimmy don’t worry this is the best part.” Bailey laughed shaking her head, just as she turned around she saw her dad cappoles on the ground “DAD!” She screamed, she tried running but Ryan pulled her back “Bailey you don’t need to this.” Ryan said bring her head into his chest, Bailey tried to fight against him “Bailey stop.” Ryan whispered into her ear, anyone who wasn’t in the vet trailer was witnessing, what was happening outside, Ryan sat in the dirt leaning against the mental fence, he held Bailey and let her cry it out “It’s okay Bailey.” He whispered “We will follow the chopper to the hospital.” He said soothing down her hair, Ryan looked up and saw kayce “Meet us there Ryan.” He yelled before getting in the chopper “Come on Bailey.” Ryan said, Bailey looked up and her mascara was running down her face “Ryan take her to the hospital to meet the chopper.” Rip said, Ryan nodded both Bailey and Ryan got up, Avery walked over and handed Bailey a package of makeup wipes. The drive to the hospital Bailey was quiet she was wiping off her face with the make up wipes Avery handed her “Nice having a female in the bunkhouse.” Bailey laughed “You do know-?” Ryan was cut off by Bailey “Yeah I know.” Bailey said looking at Ryan “She keeps you guys honest.” Bailey laughed “Oh you already made me an honest man.” Ryan spoke reaching over and grabbing her hand “Tamed a wild cowboy.” She laughed shaking her head, they pulled up to the hospital and met Kayce outside “Kayce what going on with dad?” Bailey questioned “Had an ulcer and apparently it ruptured, but apparently he also had cancer.” Kayce said looking at his little sister “I’m sorry what?” Bailey questioned “How could not tell either of you?” Ryan questioned “I mean you two as of right now seem to inherit it all.” Ryan spoke looking between the two siblings “You might be right.” Kayce spoke looking at the hand “Can I see him?” Bailey questioned “Bailey knowing you will go off if you see him lets wait until he’s home.” Kayce said setting a hand on her shoulder “I’ll see yall back at the ranch.” Kayce spoke

Kayce watched as the couple left and walked back out the door, he liked Ryan he saw how he treated his little sister, oh was Kayce going to have that talk with Ryan. But was Kayce in that position to give that talk to him. 

Taglist: @bellarkeselection @kitty-marie725 @hcwthewestwaswcn

[bellarkeselection]

Hello! I hope your finals went well, I was wondering if I could request a lee oneshot where the reader is Thomas rainwaters daughter and they are seeing eachother secretly but john finds out and is a mad but tells them that he will accept it.

Changing an Enemy List

"Does your dad let you ride a horse, sweetheart, or is that against his beliefs?" Lee, my boyfriend asked, coming into the barn while I was running my fingers over his horse's mane, knowing he was coming in here early for his long day of work. By some crazy circumstances, we became romantically involved with each other. My father was against their way of life thinking that no one owned the land. I still believed it somewhat, but from my boyfriend's eyes, they were doing better than the idiots who wanted to put up an airport here. Tourists weren't ever going to understand true beauty. "He will let me ride, but I haven't ever rode one, really. Could you teach me, cowboy?"

Lee moved forward, taking my hands in his tugging me towards the horse, holding onto one of my hands as he instructed simply. "Throw one leg over the saddle, then I'll get on behind you and show you the rest." I do as he told me with my hair falling in front of my face. He climbed on behind me, resting his hands on my waist. "So you kick him in the belly to go and pull the reins to make him stop." Footsteps entered the barn before we both lifted our heads up quickly, not expecting anyone to enter the barn at 3. Considering most of the cowboys didn't get up for work until 4 or 5 in the morning. "You want to explain to me why one of my enemies' family members is on my land and hanging around one of my sons." I recognized the voice of his father John, who was an enemy of my father, meaning our relationship was in secret.

"Mr. Dutton, I - uh we're - I should go." I stuttered, struggling to get down from the horse, so Lee quickly got off catching me in his arms when one of my feet got stuck in part of the saddle. He puts me on my feet, resting a hand on my lower back, sighing heavily to his father. "Dad, I can explain. We're dating, and I knew you wouldn't like it, but I'm falling in love with Y/n." His father's eyes went bug before he stomped up, and Lee gently pushed me behind his back, figuring that what happened next wouldn't be good for either of us. "You've got some god dang nerve bringing her here and even more for letting it be an enemy of our family. Just know I'll allow it. I won't be happy, and if she is giving her father intel on us, I have a bunch of shotguns in the kitchen. But I'll allow it only if she makes you happy." He tipped his black hat down to us, simply leaving the barn. Spinning around to face Lee I felt my heart skip a beat. "He's not kidding about the shotguns, is he?" Lee wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my forehead with a small smile. "No, he isn't darlin." Don't worry, I'll prove to him you're not an enemy one day."

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[scolbert22]

Slobby bear being controlled

Watch Fob Slob

Alek had meant well enough when it all started.

There was a sidewalk sale going on in the antique store below his apartment, and he was always looking for a new piece of furniture to brighten up his sad little studio, so he popped down. He had only just gotten to the bottom of the outdoor staircase connecting his door to the pavement below when he saw it glinting in a cardboard box marked "FREE". He reached into the box, curious.

When he withdrew his hand he saw he was holding a tiny medallion with a miniature painting of a lapdog on it. On the back, there was an inscription in a sturdy, archaic font:

OBEDIENCE

"That's a very unique piece," said a voice behind him.

Alek turned around to see Mrs. Lexington, the fiery little woman who ran the antique store.

"It is very beautiful, I love the little portrait!" Mrs. Lexington smiled, but there was a glint in her eyes he didn't recognize.

"Something tiny like that in a big old place like this is something special, only reveals itself to the person who ought to own it!"

"Do you know what it's purpose was?"

"It's a watch fob, kiddo! you attach it to a watch chain. And one like that is very unique indeed, the dog represents loyalty and obedience."

"Well, I don't own a watch with a chain, but..." Alek reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He plucked off a phone charm, some anime character his nephew had given him, and with some effort he attached the fob. "There!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

"You be careful with that, it's more responsibility than you know..." Mrs. Lexington said, her face deadly serious.

"Of course, Mrs. L. I would never lose something I got from your shop, how would I live it down?" Alek laughed. "Oh shoot, you know I forgot my wallet! Let me run back upstairs and I'll be right back down. You know I've had my eyes on that chaise lounge!" He was marching back up the wood stairs when he felt a sudden softness below his left foot and then a terrible snapping sound as his leg plunged through the rotten plank.

"AAAAHHH" Alek cried as he stumbled. Thankfully he was only on the third step, and pulled out his leg with a bit of effort. "This stupid staircase should have been repaired years ago, I could have been hurt!" he fumed. He took a photo with his phone and headed toward his landlord's house, a block away.

____________________________________________________________

Tony Marucci was sitting back in his easy chair watching March Madness when he heard the aggressive pounding on his door. He got up and waddled over to the door, pulling his basketball shorts up over the three inches of exposed, fur-lined ass crack. The giant man had been a college athlete himself once, 10 years ago. However, the multiple properties he inherited from his dad coupled with his natural laziness had slowly but surely the Italian Stallion into a lumbering bear. He opened the door and looked down at the angry little otter who lived in his property stood there with fire in his eyes.

"What can I do you for, Alex?" Tony asked easily leaning against the doorway on one arm. He flashed a hairy, unwashed pit and his wifebeater rode up. He scratched his fuzzy midriff and watched the poor little guy's resolve falter. Tony wasn't queer or nothin', but he always loved attention, especially if he could use it to shut up whiny tenants.

The yappy little dude ran a hand down his bearded face quickly and his anger had returned. "I just stepped through one of the rotten planks on my staircase, which I told you needed to be replaced! You need to get someone to fix those immediately or-"

"Listen Adam," The giant man bowled over the irritating little tirade. "All complaints must be put in writing and submitted via email, we've talked about this."

"I did that! Two months ago! And you ignored me! Now I have come in person to tell you if you don't get someone on it immediately I will withhold my rent, which I think you will find is within my rights in this city!" Tony didn't know if he wanted to punch the little dork or give him a noogie like he was an annoying little brother. He took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Do you have photographic evidence of the damage?"

The little dweeb practically jumped out of his skin getting his phone. "Yes indeed I do, I'd like you to take a look at these! I could have been killed! And Mrs. Lexington is my witness, these stairs need to..."

The yapping continued incessantly as tony looked down at the photo of the hole in the step. He rolled his eyes at the minor damage when something glinted just outside of his vision. What is that? He thought absently, his eyes following the dangling charm on his tenant's phone. So prettyyyy.... The charm twirled around and a word flashed across his eyes and burned deep into his brain:

OBEDIENCE

The slob's scruffy jaw went slack, falling open. A string of drool slowly spooled as the little man in front of him continued to emphatically prattle in his direction.

_____________________________________________________

"I bet I could get some of your other tenants together and start a strike, I'm sure you treat them just as neglectfully as you treat me, is that what you want Mr. Maru- ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME MISTER MARUCCI?" Alek was red in the face from his one-sided argument. when he finally looked at up at the landlord, the man was staring at nothing with his face and arms slack.

"listeninggggg" groaned the entranced bear.

"Wha- what are you doing?" Alek said, suddenly worried the handsome slob was having a stroke.

"Obeeedieeent" he crooned in reply, giggling dumbly.

Alek was confused for a second, and then remembered the word on the watch fob. "Are you...no, that's insane..." He regarded his landlord suspiciously. "Stand up straight."

The entranced goon in front of him immediately complied, his arms at his sides and his feet together. His jaw snapped shut, and he looked like a chubby toy soldier. Alek didn't know how to react, and he laughed frantically. He ushered his unwitting victim into his own house. I wonder what I can get away with, he thought to himself.

"Take off your shirt" He commanded imperiously. The bear complied, peeling off his sweaty wifebeater and revealing his hair peppered belly, chest, shoulders, and back. Alek reached out gingerly. He was scared of breaking the spell, but as he felt the warm, pliant flesh of his landlord's belly, the man simply leaned into his touch and hummed a single, needy note in the back of his throat.

"Do fifteen jumping jacks." The man instantly followed instructions, bouncing in time in a way that waws nearly hypnotic to Alek. His silky basketball shorts slowly migrated down his hips as he jumped, revealing that he was going commando, and that he had never heard of manscaping. Finally, with most of his pubes and half his ass hanging out, he stopped and stood up straight. "Behave normally."

Tony seemed to snap out of it with a snort, but he was still clearly fully absorbed by Alek. "Hey Alek! Don't worry about that staircase, I'll someone out there as soon as possible, I promise."

"In the meantime, I can stay here with you." Alek suggested.

"In the meantime, you can stay here with me!" Tony smiled, as if he'd come up with it.

"It could take a month for someone to get out there so I'll make myself at home." Alek smirked

"It could take a month for someone to get out there so please make yourself at home." Tony parroted hanging off his tenant's every word so much that they felt more like his true thoughts than his actual internal monologue.

"I can take your bed obviously, rent-free, and I can use your body however I see fit. You'll love whatever I do to you."

"You can take my bed obviously, rent-free, and you can use my body however you see fit. I'll love whatever you do to me" The mindfucked landlord grinned stupidly back.

"I'm so glad to hear it, Mr. Marucci, or should I say Tony" Alek grinned. Now why don't you show me to the bedroom, and you can show me just how sorry you are for breaching our contract?" In a flash, the giant bear was leading his new owner to his bed to start the beginning of his new life.

A life of Obedience

[ellascreams]

Dannymay Day 10: Bones

Danny clutched his broken arm and winced. He didn’t yell or even cry. For better or for worse he had gotten used to being in pain by now. This was a far worse pain normal though.

Now he had to decide what to do next. He could leave the janitors closet and get help, or he could wait and see if he was found. Logically he knew he should try to get help as fast as possible, but he didn’t want too. He still hadn’t come up with an excuse. Plus the attention and worry people gave him when he was hurt always felt kinda awkward.

As Danny tried to convince himself to leave the closet, something he hadn’t had to do in years, Mr. Lancer opened the door. “OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD, FENTON! What happened to your arm?” He shouted in terror. Danny was surprised to see so much genuine concern from the vice principal.

“I-I… uh,” Danny struggled to come up with an excuse. “Never mind that, you can tell me later. Let’s get you to the office,” said Lancer. He put his arm around Danny to make sure he was steady and led him to office. Danny’s arm didn’t mess up his balance, but Lancer didn’t know what other injuries he might have, or if he was in shock.

When they got to the office Lancer took him to the nurse’s room and left to call his parents. Lancer would’ve also called an ambulance but they were very expensive. Danny could wait a few extra minutes for a cast and be fine. The nurse held Danny’s arm up and placed an ice pack on it to reduce swelling. Other than that there was nothing she could do. Luckily Danny wasn’t bleeding.

Lancer didn’t come back into the room. He probably should’ve asked what happened to Danny but he didn’t want to add extra stress. If it was a safety hazard or something against the rules he could deal with it later. Danny didn’t realize that. He was just happy it gave him more time to come up with and excuse.

After a few minutes Danny’s dad bursted into the room. “Danny! What happened to you? Are you ok?” Jack ran to Danny’s side and put an arm on his shoulder. “I’m fine dad. Mostly, at least,” said Danny. Jack picked Danny up and very quickly carried him to the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle. Danny buckled himself in.

Jack definitely broke several rode laws trying to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Danny tried to tell him to slow down a couple times but it fell on deaf ears. His dad was clearly very worried about him.

After a car drive that felt like it had taken forever, even though it was faster than it should have been, they arrived at the hospital. Danny got out of the car and followed his dad to the ER. Since Danny wasn’t in immediate risk of the situation worsening, or even dying, he was going to have to wait a while. It felt odd being in a place with so many injured people.

As soon as they were in their waiting room seats, Jack turned to Danny. “How did this happen? Lancer said found you in the janitors closet,” he said. This is what Danny had been dreading most. Even with time to prepare he was always terrible at this. “I, uh, was riding my skateboard at lunch. And I tripped. It was a bad angle I guess. But I didn’t want to get in trouble, because I know skateboarding at school isn’t allowed, so I hid. Sorry.” Danny looked down at his feet and winced prepared to get lectured.

There was a moment of silence. Then, confused, Danny looked up at his dad’s face. He looked heartbroken. Danny might’ve preferred it if he was mad. “Dan, if you’re hurt I don’t care why. We can deal with the consequences of that later. You could be breaking school rules, committing crimes, or even fighting ghosts. If you call me or your mom when you’re in danger, we’ll help. We can always deal with the other stuff later. I love you.” Jack started to cry. He hugged Danny. Danny hugged back. This was the last thing he was expecting.

An hour later Danny got X-rays and a sling. He was told to come back in a week when the swelling died down enough for a cast. It was going to take a couple months to heal. Fighting was going to be even more difficult in the meantime.

Danny kept thinking back to what his dad had said. It was actually reassuring. He hadn’t really broken school rules, but some of what he said was true. He hid in the janitors closet because he was scared of someone finding out how he broke his arm. He still was never sure of how his parents would take the news. It was good to know that if he ever met a ghost too strong for him they would be on his side. He’d still have to deal with the emotional fallout later, but at least he knew he would be protected until that point.

[juliapark13]

I find it extremely funny how Tkkers are always like “TKK scares you” yet they are the ones who h@r@ss anyone that post or talk about Jikook. They are the one’s whining of ever Jikook interaction no matter how big or how small the interaction is. When Jikook rode on the ATV together in ITS2. Even though we did not see them in the actual episode and HopeKook also rode on the ATV together, Jikook is what bothered them. In the BTB, all JM did was give JK a hug and that made them call JM a a*user, say he is h@r@ssing JK and saying he was R wording JK. JM commented to JK live-streams like the other members did and yet JM cute little comments made Tkkers mad. They got mad a JM for donating to charity. They got mad at JM’s dad and sent him death threats for being supportive. Even when JK is not involved they still drag JM. He went to support Hobi at Lollapalooza and he got hate for that. He went to support Yoongi and he got hate for that. When they get TKK moments they STILL feel the need to flock to Jkkers comments and talk about it. For some people that are 100% sure TKK are dating and Jikook are fanservice, or are just brothers or are just friends (can’t stick to one narrative) they sure do get bothered by simplest Jikook interactions. Most Tkkers are straight teenagers we no idea on what an actual HEALTHY relationship looks like or straight adult woman with a bad love life. The amount of Tkkers on twitter I have seen that hate on JM are ran by women in their 50’s with children and/or grandchildren is so uncanny. Tkkers make homophobic comments about JM yet ship TKK. They make horrible comments about how feminine JM looks but yet draws Tae in their fanart that exact same way. I saw a Tkker comment on how JM needs to enlist so he can toughen up and become a “real” man.

It’s ok Tkkers we know you see how differently JK treats JM vs Tae. Did a whole livestream dedicated towards him but can’t even mention Jinny’s Kitchen. That is why y’all are so quick to throw JK away until he does something that y’all like. Y’all called him a liar on his birthday because he said that he did not see Tae after y’all thought Tae came back for JK’s birthday. When he didn’t y’all called JK a liar and some said that Tae was to tired that is why he did go see him. Yet he can fly home early to attend his friend’s movie premiere? JK is a puppet to Hybe until he does something with JK. Do y’all not hear how dumb y’all sound or is it that y’all just choose to ignore what is happening in reality because it messes up your fantasy? The issue is not that y’all ship TKK no one cares about that. The issue is you lots won’t even let JM and JK near each other without spewing the fanservice or hiding TKK narrative. If you all would ship TKK without hating on JM and Jikook then Vminkook as a whole would be getting hated it, but you lots just can’t except that JK actually likes JM and he does not hate him like y’all want him too. If you all accept that JK likes JM then you would have to except that JK made GCFT because he wanted to not because he was forced too. Y’all would have to accept that he did a whole live dedicated towards JM because he wanted to not because he was forced too. You would have to accept everything that JK did was on his own free will and not because the big bad company and JM forces him too. Then, after you accepted all of that you would be faced with the fact that since 2013-present day, you have hated on JM for absolutely no reason. Yet, because you don’t want to actually acknowledge that JK like JM and that you all hate JM for no reason, we all are stuck with some smelly ass flies that won’t go away be they don’t want their fantasies to be ruined. As I said before ship TKK we do not care but hating on JM and Jikook when it’s obvious that Tae and JK (especially JK) loves JM is what pisses us off. As I mentioned in my comment, you will find a hell of a lot more Jkkers posting and loving TKK then you will Tkkers posting and loving Jikook. Now ask yourself why…anon? Tkkers try extremely hard to make Jkkers seem like the villains when in reality I would everyone hates Tkkers. Why? Because you all token Stan any member to hate on JM which then ends up get the other members dragged.

My advice to Tkker (though they won’t listen) if ya leave JM and Jikook alone then TKK will be left alone. But for some weird reason, you all can’t do.m that. Y’all are that insecure of TKK not being real you have to hate JM and blame him for why TKK does not act like a couple.

They are mad every single time when they see jikook interact, because their imaginary ship is based on proving jikook isn’t real.

They say jikook is fanservice every single time because otherwise how would they explain everything? They know it.

They hate Jimin so much because he is a threat to their fantasy and they see Jungkook loves him.

If they were able to focus on their ship, there wouldn’t be any ship war. But that’s never gonna happen.

They surely are insecure and yes, they are also homophobic. Self-awareness doesn’t exist.

It’s so boring at this point.

[cutedisneygirl]

Love Online Chapter 8 Part 2

Warnings: none

 The next morning Merida woke up and saw she had a message from her dad. He had sent her two pictures.

Dad-Good morning Princess. I hope you girls had fun. I meant to send these yesterday, but I forgot. I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it use to be. Be careful and call me when you get back into NC. Love you Princess.

Merida- Aww! Thanks dad. She is precious. I miss my girl. Hope you guys have had fun. I will call you when we land and get to the airport in NC. I am getting up now to get ready and head to the airport. Love you.

Merida got up and got ready. She got a quick shower, put in her contacts, and changed into some comfortable clothes. She didn't take time to put on make-up. She knew she was just going straight to her dads and then home. She woke up Tiffany and after she was ready the girls headed down to the lobby to the breakfast area and got breakfast. While they were eating Tiffany got on her phone.

            "OMG!"

            "What? What's wrong?"

            "Uh...Mer."

            "What?"

Tiffany slid her phone towards Merida. "You need to see this."

 "OMG! If my dad sees this, he is going to flip!"

            "Do you think Chris has seen it yet?"

            "I'm sure...." Before Merida can answer her phone rings.

            "It's Chris."

"Answer it."

Merida hits the accept button.

            "Hey."

            "Morning Beautiful. I'm guessing your fixing to leave your hotel now."

            "Soon. Tiffany and I were just eating a quick breakfast."

"Okay, well I'm calling cause uh...I guess you saw the picture and what was said."

            "Yeah, Tiffany just showed me."

            "I'm sorry about that. I was trying to be careful."

            "It's okay Chris. It wasn't your fault. I..." Just then Merida sees her dad is buzzing in.

            "Uh...Chris can I call you back? My dad is calling me. And I better not ignore him. I'm guessing he saw the picture."

            "Oh! Yeah sure. Good luck. Call me when you can."

Merida answered.

            "Hey daddy!"

            "Princess, why in the world am I seeing your picture on the web with Chris Evan at Disneyland? And you he kissed you? What is going on?"

            "Daddy I can explain."

            "Yeah, you better! Right now!"

"Long story short, Tiff and I came to California for his premiere of Red Sea Diving resort and since we didn't get to meet him or physically talk to him, he invited me out yesterday and surprised me with the trip to Disney."

            "Wait a minute! Your whole trip was to meet him? Go to his movie premiere?"

            "Yes. He paid for everything."

            "What! Merida Marie Owens! How in the world did you even...?"

"Daddy, I can explain. But Tiff and I have to get going so we don't miss our flight. I will call you when we get to NC and then Tiff and I will come by and I will explain everything I promise."

            "Fine. I'll see you later. Love you princess."

            "Love you too daddy."

Merida hung up.

            "He sounded mad."

"He was. I told him I would tell him everything when we saw him."

            "Yeah, I heard. We better hurry so we don't miss our flight."

            "Yeah. I also need to call Chris back. I will call him on the way to the airport."

The girls ran upstairs and quickly bushed their teeth and made sure they had everything and took the elevator to the lobby and got a taxi and rode to the airport. Once they were in the taxi Merida called Chris.

            "Hey beautiful."

            "Hey Chris, sorry for cutting you off earlier."

            "It's okay. How did it go with your dad?"

"Well, he's upset, and I explained what I could but told him I would explain more when I got back to NC. Tiff and I are going by to pick up Dixie."

            "Okay well good luck with that."

            "Thanks."

            "So, are you at the airport yet?"

            "Almost. We just pulled up now."

The taxi driver pulls up to the curb. "Thanks," Merida says handing him some money. The girls get their luggage and head in. "Where are you now?"

"We are heading in now. Heading towards the check area."

            "Okay."

            "I will call you back when we get to NC."

            "No wait. Don't hang up yet. Uh..."

Merida and Tiffany go through the check area and then run to their gate.

"Now Boarding Flight 9 A to North Carolina."

"Chris, they just called our flight! Tiffany and I need to get to our gate. We are going to miss it."

            "No, you won't. You're almost there."

            "Wait a minute, how do you know we are almost...." Then Merida looks up and sees Chris standing at the entrance to the terminal.

            "Chris...what...." She hangs up the phone.

            "Didn't think you would see me again so soon huh?"

            "No, especially not here and now."

Chris smiles. "I had to see you again and say goodbye."

            "Aww, Chris."

            Chris pulls her to him. "I'm sorry for the media. I truly am."

            "It's okay Chris. It wasn't your fault."

            "Thanks for being so understanding and not getting upset." He looks down at her.

            "Call me when you get to NC?"

"Of course."

            "Okay you better go. I'll talk to you soon." He gives her a quick kiss.

            "Bye Chris," Merida says slowly pulling away from him and heading down the terminal towards the plane. She looks back at Chris until she no longer sees him.

            The girls found their seat. Merida took the window seat once again and Tiffany took the aisle seat.

            "That was sweet of him to surprise you again by coming to say goodbye."

            "Yes, it was. He is so sweet."

            Tiffany smiles at Merida. "You are really starting to like him, aren't you?"

            "Yes, Tiff. I shouldn't...I know that he's way out of my league."

"Well, it seems like he likes you too. So, you never know what may happen."

            "Yeah, but I know I still need to be careful. Especially after that picture that was on the media today."

            "Oh, yeah. But I'm sure Chris is used to that. He has the press following him around everywhere."

            "Yeah, and I don't know how he does it? I couldn't do that."

"Well girl, I hate to tell you but if you and Chris get together you better get use to it."

            "I know."

The girls settled into their seats and Merida pulled out her book and read for the next several hours. Tiffany read a little till she fell asleep. When they landed in North Carolina it was 12:00 pm. They got their stuff and got off the plane and got their luggage then headed to Tiffany's car. After putting their stuff in they climbed in. Merida pulled out her phone. She texted Chris.

            Merida-We are in NC. Heading to my dad's now.

Chris-☺️okay. Let me know how it goes. You can call me when you get home.

Merida-Okay will do.

Merida then calls her dad and tells him they are on their way to his house. Twenty minutes later Tiffany pulls up at Merida's dads.

"Well, here we are. Are you ready for this?"

            "Not really?"

            "It will be okay. You know he loves Chris Evans."

            "He loves Captain America."

            "Well, then he will understand, it will be okay. You got this!"

            "Thanks girl."

The girls walk to the door and Merida opens the door. "Daddy! We're here!"

He walks into the room Dixie trailing behind him. She runs up to Merida. Merida squats down.

            "Hey girl! Miss me?"

Dixie licks her all over her face. Merida laughs. "I'll take that as a yes. Alright Dixie that's enough."

Merida stands up.

            "So, tell me what's going on. How in the world did you get in contact with Chris Evans?"

            "Let's sit down." Merida says walking towards the couch. They all three sit down on the couch. Dixie jumps up in Merida's lap.

Merida begins to tell her dad all that happened. How she got a like on her page from a captaindork and then how he messaged her saying how sorry he was for her loss after she lost Lady. She told him the whole story and all that happened and how they began to message each other and how Tiffany didn't think he was the real Chris Evans, that he was just scamming her. Merida told him about the video calls and how she knew he was telling the truth and then when he invited her to his premiere of Red Sea Diving Resort. She explained what happened at the premiere how they weren't able to talk to him because he kept being pulled away but then he asked her to meet him the next day.

"Chris told me he was trying to be careful. He apologized to me this morning."

            "You talked to him this morning?"

            "Yes, he called me right before you did and then he met us at the airport. He came to tell me bye."

            "So you are Chris are...?"

            "Friends right now, I guess."

"Well, princess, I think you're a little more than friends after that picture of the kiss I saw on the media."

            "Well, yeah I guess, but..."

            "Mer, show him the other pics that Chris sent you."

Merida pulled out her phone and showed her dad the pics that Chris had sent her.

            "Looks like you two had fun."

            "We did. Dad he was so sweet. He was such a gentleman."

            "Well, I guess...if things continue between you two, I want to him. I can't believe I'm saying I want to meet Chris Evans! Wow."

"Dad, it will be okay. Chris is really nice guy. Very down to earth. He is extremely easy to talk to."

            "Well, we will cross that bridge when it comes. I'm sure you guys are tired and want to get home after your trip."

            "Yeah."

            "Do you work tomorrow?"

            "Yes."

            "Alright, Princess. Well, goodnight I love you." He says standing up.

            "I love you too daddy." Merida stands up and hugs him.

            "Come on Dixie lets go."

Merida grabs her bag off the table and her and Tiffany head out to the car. Dixie hops into the back seat. Tiffany drops her off at home. Merida and Dixie climb out. Merida grabs all their stuff.

            "I'll talk to you later girl. Thanks for the trip. It was fun."

            "Yes, it was. Thanks for going with me."

            "Welcome. Sweet dreams. Love ya."

            "Love you too. Night."

Merida opens her door and Dixie runs in. Merida puts her stuff in her room and then pulls out her phone.

           "Well, hey beautiful!"

            "Hi."

            "Are you at home?"

            "Yes, I just got home."

            "How did the talk with your dad go?"

            "It went good. I told him everything. I even showed him the other pictures of us."

            "You did?"

             "Yes. He said..."

            "He said what?"

            Merida stayed quiet for a few minutes.

            "Merida what is it? Why are you quiet on me all of sudden? What did he say?"

            "Uh..."

"Mer...I'm going to facetime you."

            "Chris..."

Then she was getting a facetime call.

            "There's that beautiful face!"

Merida smiles. "So, what's up? Talk to me."

            "What?"

            "You know what. What did your dad say?"

Merida bites her lower lip.

             "Mer, I see you biting that lip. What's wrong?"

            "Nothing is wrong."

            "Then why won't you tell me? You're biting your lip which I know means your nervous. Why are you nervous?"

            Merida continued to bite her lip and sighs.

"Come on beautiful. Talk to me. You can tell me anything. You know that."

            "He said he wanted to meet you if things continue to between us."

            "Oh, well, okay sure. I'd love to meet your dad. Why was that so hard to say?"

            "I...I don't know. I guess...I mean...Chris?"

            "Yes Mer?"

            "Is..." She stops and bites her lip again.

            "God you are so cute when you do that! Beautiful, what's on your mind? What's up?"

            "I...I was just wondering if..."

"If?"

            Merida continues to bite her lip and looks away from Chris. She looks at Dixie who has jumped up on the couch next her.

            "Mer., look at me."

            Merida looks back at Chris.

            "Talk to me, what's going on? What are you trying to ask me?"

            "Nothing."

            "Oh no you don't. Tell me. Please."

            "Chris."

            "Mer."

"Come on, it's nothing."

            "No its something. What are you worried about?"

            "I'm not really worried, its just..."

            "Yes?"

            Merida takes a deep breath. "My dad asked what we were. I said we were friends. Well then he says, I think we are a little more than friends after that kiss he saw in the pic from the media."

Chris laughs. "Well yeah."

            "Are you agreeing with him?"

            "Mer, I like you. I have liked you for some time. I think I have made that quite obvious."

Merida smiles.

            "So, your saying you..."

            Chris laughs. "Mer, I am saying I want to date you. I want us to continue to get to know each other."

Merida bites her lower lip again. "Are you asking me to..."

            Chris smiles, "I never thought we would have this conversation over facetime," Chris laughs. "Yes Mer. I am asking you to be my girlfriend. I know we just sorta met, but I feel like I've known you forever."

            "I know what you mean. I feel the same way about you and yes. I will be your girlfriend."

Chris smiles. "Good. You had me so worried there for a minute."

             "So, I know it's later there. What time is it there?" Chris asks.

            "It is 2:00 pm."

            "Okay I am three hours behind you."

            "Your still working on that movie you told me about right? Uh...I forgot what it was."

            "Knives out."

            "Yes, that's it."

            Chris laughs. "Yes, I am still working on it. I will soon be having long hours. It comes out in November so..."

            "Yeah, you will be busy I know."

"Yes, then I will have some time off. I would love to try and see you then."

            "Of course, but in the meantime, we will still talk right?"

            "Yes, definitely! We will facetime too. I love being able to see your beautiful smile."

Merida smiles and bites her lower lip.

"And see you do that!" Chris laughs. "Well, I need to get going. I am supposed to be meeting up with some friends soon."

            "Okay. Thanks Chris."

            "For what?"

            "For...being so understanding and putting up with me."

Chris laughs and smiles. "You're welcome. I probably won't talk to you again till tomorrow. I will be out late. If I get a chance I will try and send you a text."

            "Alright sounds good. Have a goodnight."

"Goodnight, my beautiful girlfriend." Chris says smiling.

            Merida smiles, "Goodnight my handsome boyfriend."

            "Night, sweet dreams."

Chris ends the call. Merida puts her phone on the coffee table and takes her suitcase to her room and unpacks it then after eating her some dinner she sits and watches some TV then after taking Dixie out she gets ready for bed and then climbs under the covers. Dixie curls up next to her.

"Dixie, I can't stop smiling! I am so happy. I never imagined this would happen to me Dix."

            Dixie looked at her. "Goodnight Dixie." Merida kissed her head then lay her head on her pillow and closed her eyes and went to sleep dreaming of Chris.

Tag list: @cevansbaby-dove @lizette50 @nicoline1998enilocin @katherineswritingsblog @cutelatinagirl

[definitelyranyata]

Every once in a while, we should all get a break. Everyone deserves one! Every after exams, a semestral break occurs. This serves as a reward for student’s hard works. From those all-nighters, becomes all-day adventures! The semestral break isn’t just a pause from academics, but also a chance to learn new hobbies, engage in new activities, and most importantly, make memories with the people you love.

My semestral break was fun! I’m very happy I got to spend time with my family, because I rarely see them. We all went to Bambanti and rode on the carousel. I haven’t ridden one ever since the pandemic started. After riding the carousel I saw one of my boardmates, and we watched a concert of the famous band “SunKissed Lola”. I am so happy I got to watch a concert! I haven’t watched one. Before the pandemic, my favorite band “Ben&Ben” went there, and I didn’t get to watch it due to the traffic and the amount of people. Anyway, I really, really enjoyed watching the concert!! But sadly, I had to leave because I spent almost an HOUR watching them, while waiting for the band to play my favorite song of theirs and also because we didn’t get to go around the booths. Some of the booths were closed, but I saw the others and they were pretty! I can’t believe the amount of effort and time they took to finish those. Some of the scarecrows scared me, like the monkey-like one. But still, it was a very enjoyable experience! I also finally got to buy those balloons with lights! We got home late, but I am very satisfied with that experience! The next day, I and my dad planned to change our screen protectors due to the cracks. We went in the afternoon, but our problem was we didn’t have any parking space. I’m happy I got to go through different routes! Sometimes, going the same way to the place and back, it bores me. So seeing new sites make the ride less boring. When we got there, the sky was so pretty! And after repairing our screen protectors we went  to this café called “Brews and Bouquets”. I got a Salted Caramel Latte while my dad got an Americano. Their drinks were very delicious. I was very satisfied! We got my mom and sister drinks because they called us and said they also wanted drinks. I spilled their drinks a little bit…but I’m glad my sister didn’t get mad. She can get dramatic and then she doesn’t want the drink anymore. She didn’t finish her drink so I did. I never would've thought strawberry drinks would taste this good! I’m not a fan of strawberry drinks because their too sweet most of the time, but this drink wasn’t too sweet! I enjoyed it very much. This is a very memorable moment for me, because my parents are busy and so am I so we barely get to spend time together.  I also got to spend time with my cousin too! I missed her so much! We barely talk anymore due to us both being busy with school. We both talked about what’s happening in our lives. We both ranted to each other about our problems. We also played badminton together! It was fun!!  Thanks to her,  I finally know how to serve in badminton! She also told me she got me a ribbon flower bouquet from her classmate, and she got me a sketchbook as a belated Christmas gift because we had some… issues during the Christmas vacation. In exchange, I got her a bracelet. Thought, I don’t know if she’d wear it because I don’t think she’s a fan of bracelets… but I hope she still loves it! Even if  she started school early she made sure she’d spend time with me. That’s one thing I love about her. Despite our families having issues she still remains being friends with me and being with me.

The semestral break gave me a chance to catch up with my sleep and improve my health. During school days, I sleep VERY late due to the amount of work given to us. I also got in touch with my creative side. Ever since school started, my skills in drawing and my imagination had sadly started to decrease. I’m so glad I got to practice my skills even in a very short amount of time. I finally got to fill the pages of my empty sketchbook.  There are some times where my drawings don’t look good nor reach my expected output, but I always tell myself that I’ll improve more with practice. I took care of the dog while my parents were gone, and got productive with my chores,  which made me very happy of myself because I tend to get lazy and only do some of my chores, or I don't do them at all. I also tutored my sister in her Chinese lessons. My parents and her look up to me to teach her because I was an honor student in Chinese. There are times that she didn’t want me to teach her, which is very annoying, but no matter how hard she resists on me to not teach her I always still do. I’m very happy to give her tips in her lessons.

Sometimes, I want the semestral break to last longer, but nothing ever lasts forever. It sucks I had to get back to school again. But the semestral break gave me a lot of lessons and I can’t wait to apply it in my everyday life. The semestral break also showed me that spending time with people you love most is important, because you’ll never know when they’re going to be gone. It made me appreciate the small things in life like just simply spending time with my family in our house playing PANTS or watching our favorite show. Going back to school is dreadful, but at the very least, I'll have these memories with me. The time we spent with each other is definetly worth more than anything in this world.

[sparkles-oflight]

Best Year Of My Life [PERSONAL THOUGHTS]

I'm sorry, I've been playing this song non-stop. I'm literally listening it in loop as I type this.

From the moment the teaser came out I was so excited to hear a song mentioning divorced parents (hey, we children of divorce get happy with any rep).

I was not expecting this song to be so much more to me, personally. I know y'all don't know who I am, but I still wanted to write down what these lyrics reminded me of (under the cut)

Spent my last quarter on a new bike Downhill rode it fast to the seaside I felt the ocean wash over my hands

So, this part reminds me of two things from my childhood: riding my bicycle down and uphill all the time and visiting the ocean a lot during the summer (I love the ocean so much and its smell and beauty). Both of these happened mostly because of my grandparents. I used to spend every two Saturdays the day at my grandparents' because, after the divorce, I had a single mom for a while and that was her "rest day" (I would only spend a whole day with her every two Sundays ^^')

Mom and dad had the very last big fight Two homes and now I gotta pick a side Took a moment but now I understand

I never had to pick a side because my parents divorced when I was too young to remember... However, the second line in particular hits like a truck. I heard my whole life "who do you like the most? Mom or dad?" and obviously, I have an answer for it. I just don't dare saying it because both are trying their best, even if they don't always make the best decisions.

This question always struck me as weird: why the fuck do you care?

What even is the point of "picking a side"? I'm a child of both of them and I love them both (sidenote: try to not cry on the train challenge. Yes I'm writing this on a train)

Skipping the chorus for now.

I lost touch with some old friends We grew apart, guess it happens But I met people I'll never forget

Yeah, this is self-explanatory. People come and go. Took me some years to accept it. Destroyed my mental health about it. But this past year I finally let go of one of my biggest "ghosts" and I met so many new and wonderful people.

I broke hearts til they broke mine Made love in the moonlight I've done things I'll never regret

I got my heart broken by a new person, but I'm okay. Now we meme about it (me and my besties).

Something I did last year and I don't regret: going to Madrid for a Joker Out concert. Amazing experience, 10/10

Yes I've been a mess Been a fool And tears did fall But then again at least I felt it all Maybe I've cried Maybe I've laughed And maybe it's sad It was the best year of my life Yeah, I've been so mad And I've been so reckless But when I look back It was the best year of my life It was the best year of my life The best year of my life

This is just a list of emotions BUT! I want to want to talk about the "But then again at least I felt it all".

I had a very dark moment in my life when I couldn't feel anything and then I had to relearn how to feel emotions.

2023 was definitely the year I made the best progress in accepting my emotions again, and this is my favorite line of the whole song.

2023 might not have been the best year of my life, but this song hits too close to home, and right now it's my favorite Ale song.

I hope she knows that this song is amazing and it makes me feel like a little girl again just enjoying my life with no worries. I just want to dance to this song. I just feel so happy and proud of my progress with it.

Alessandra, thank you for this masterpiece 💛

[queenmayor23]

Grand Piano III {Dean Winchester X Male Reader}

this one's a little angsty

Moments later, Dean wakes up in his back seat. He looks out the window to see dust being kicked up by the spinning wheels and rows upon rows of corn. TJ can see the confusion on Dean's face through the rearview mirror.

TJ: Shut up. We're almost there.

TJ pulls into a gravel driveway leading to a brick shed and a matching house next to it. The corn almost acted like a magical portal to the hidden property. TJ parks and shuts down the engine. He gets out, walking to the door of the house.

TJ: Hurry up if you want me to help.

Dean gets out of the car and follows the rock walkway to the porch, where TJ holds the door for him.

TJ: All the way down and hang a right.

Dean: After getting punched in the face, I don't trust you walking behind me.

TJ: That's hilarious. Either you walk in that kitchen, or I send my dogs after you, and you'll never see John or Sammy again.

Dean took the safer route and began walking. Staring at the back of his ex-boyfriend's head was the only thing that kept TJ from killing Dean right there and giving him time to process the mixed emotions.

TJ: Sit.

Dean sits at the kitchen table while TJ digs in the freezer. He pulls out some frozen peas and an ice pack, tosses the peas on the table next to Dean, and closes the freezer. TJ fixes himself a glass of whiskey and downs it like water. It was a taste he was just getting used to, even though his trash can would say differently. He fixes another glass and a separate one for Dean, walking it over to him.

TJ: Dean...

TJ struggles to find the words he wants to say. Was it "I hate you and want you dead," or "Why come back now just to ruin the sliver of happiness I just found" or maybe "I loved you, and I thought you loved me, but I guess I loved for both of us"? But the real question looming in TJ's mind was, "Why don't you love me?". But TJ didn't get to ask any of those questions before Dean spoke up, holding the peas to his cheek.

Dean: "Spirits of Vengeance", huh?

TJ: I bought the lounge a month after the mission with you and John. I was so mad.

Dean: He's your father too.

TJ: Was he? I've been alive twenty-seven years and have seen him a grand total of five times. I was ten when he introduced me to hunting. He had me chasing demons, poltergeists, and other unnatural creatures to prove myself to him.

Dean: It was your choice to start hunting.

TJ: He made me think he would love me if I eliminated all the monsters. So after graduation, I packed up and rode around the country on a hunting tour, and my mother hated me for it. She warned me of what kind of person John was, but I had to realize that he was the real monster on my own.

Dean: Dad was a hero!

TJ: He was my hero too, but I grew up Dean.

TJ walks back to his kitchen counter, smashing the ice pack on his knuckles.

Dean: I need you to help me find him. I don't want to drag Sam back unless I have to. At least that's what Dad would've wanted. 

TJ: Did he leave any clues as to what he was hunting or where? This wouldn't be the first time John went on a bender and forgot to tell his puppy dog.

Dean: What are you talking about?

TJ: Amherst. Clifton. Laredo. Mesa. He's always missing, then a week later, after you search the continental US, he pops up and is fine.

Dean: How do you-

TJ: Sam knows how to say thank you.

Dean: Wait, Sam? Does he know?

TJ: No. All he knows is that I'm the idiot who doesn't know how to say no to his brother.

Dean sighs in a mixture of both relief and frustration.

Dean: Dad has never been gone for this long. He's in real trouble if he's not dead by now. I can't do this alone.

TJ: Yes, you can. You don't need John to limit what you can do. He's just an anchor that slowly drowns you until you feel like there's no more hope, and by then, you're dead or mentally unstable.

Dean: Yeah. Well, I don't want to do this alone.

TJ: You still haven't told me what he was hunting?

Dean: Oh, right. Let's see. Where the hell did I put that thing?

TJ reached into his back pocket and slid out the tape recorder.

TJ: Looking for this.

Dean sees the tape recorder and nods his head.

TJ: Found it when I searched your car. I listened to it, and he sounds like he could be Winchester wasted or actually in trouble.

Dean: Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About two months ago, they found a guy's car, but he'd vanished. Completely MIA.

TJ: Kidnapping?

Dean: Yeah, well, there was another one in April, then December of '04, '03, '98, '92... ten of them over the past twenty years- All men, same five-mile stretch of road. Started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough, and then I got that voicemail a few days ago.

TJ: Wait, why weren't you with him?

Dean: I was working my own gig in New Orleans.

TJ: Aww, he let you go on a trip by yourself?

TJ mocks Dean and takes the ice pack off his fist, feeling the melted ice.

Dean: I'm twenty-six, dude. Can you stop that?

TJ: I know you're twenty-six. We're nine months apart to the day.

Dean's face scrunches up.

Dean: How did I not know that?

TJ: You never asked.

Dean has a dumbfounded look on his face.

TJ: The message had an EVP saying it "can never go home" I ran into something like that about six months ago. It came after Richie, but there wasn't a body because she was cremated for cost-saving measures. So we sent her home.

Dean: How?

TJ chuckles, looking around the room.

TJ: This house wasn't always brick, and I'm not stupid enough to build it out of straw. Jackson drove his truck right through the middle of what was a bedroom and dining room. House caved in, Richie bought Jackson a new truck, and I started laying bricks that same weekend. The baseboards, door frames, and ledges are hollowed out and filled with salt, and everything wood is primed with mountain ash.

Dean nods his head, taking in the information about the house. Then, Dean takes a breath and asks the question.

Dean: So, are you and Jackson a thing, or what's your situation?

TJ smiles, looking up.

TJ: Jackson and I are in a business relationship. He helps me out at the lounge and around here while I'm out hunting.

Dean: What does he get out of your "business relationship"?

TJ: A slightly more than minimum wage paycheck every other week and a hunting buddy.

Dean's eyes widen, and he takes the now-thawed peas from his cheek.

TJ: What? I wanted to give him more, but he wanted the money to go into the lounge. I told him I had to give him enough to get groceries, pay his bills, and get gas. He only has truck insurance because I listed his truck as a company vehicle. There was this time before when we were a thing. He proposed, and I said no. But we're still as close as we were then, just as friends.

Dean: Can I ask why you said no?

TJ: I'll give you one guess.

Dean contemplates open-mouthed. When it shuts, it shows TJ that Dean realizes the answer. 

TJ: Jack wasn't heartbroken for himself but for me. The whole town kept telling me I was insane for holding on so tight to you, but Jackson knew I needed a friend to help me, and he became that friend. He got me to stop answering your calls because he knew I would halt my world just to help. Just to hear from you when you and John get into another situation. Come on, Dean, I knew John didn't think you were calling me. You never called me by name when you called, you said my trigger word, and I turned into a mindless drone for you.

Dean: I don't have a trigger word for you. What do you mean, a trigger word?

TJ: Let's keep talking and see if it comes up. It's been almost two years since I stopped answering your calls, and now you want to check on me?

Dean: I thought what got Dad either got you too, or you took him.

TJ: So you thought I took John for what? To have tea with him, sit down and gossip about my ex-boyfriends. Oh wait, my first boyfriend didn't love me and milked me emotionally dry, then I found out he's my half-brother. After that, my second boyfriend and I broke up because I was still hooked on my first boyfriend. Yep, that casual conversation with a man I've spoken to five times in twenty-seven years.

Dean: No. I didn't mean it like that, alright. I was running out of options, and you were the first person that came to mind.

TJ: Do you hear yourself? You only think of me when you have no other choice. Is that how you truly see me? A last resort? Nobody else wanted to go on a wild goose chase with you, so you're stuck asking me for help.

Dean: Baby, I'm trying to keep you safe. To do that, I need you with me. I'll deal with Dad later, but I need you.

Chuckling came from TJ's mouth.

TJ: There it is.

Dean: What?

TJ: The word. Baby. But it's not going to work this time. Dean, you are welcome to stay for the night, but you need to leave tomorrow. I'm done.

Dean sat silently at the table, not knowing TJ's next move but also baffled at two simple words he thought he would never hear from TJ, "I'm done". TJ turned away from Dean and gathered, from his refrigerator, fresh produce and some rabbit meat to cook dinner. He cooked in silence, Dean not saying anything. TJ handed Dean a beer with his meal and filled his own glass once more. They ate in silence. After dinner, TJ washed the few dishes and escorted Dean to a guest bedroom.

TJ: Sit tight while I get you some clothes.

TJ leaves and returns with clothes and towels for Dean to shower with.

TJ: There is soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and hair products galore in the bathroom across the hall. Go crazy.

Dean: Thank you. And I honestly mean that.

TJ: It's just what a friend would do. If you need me, I'm upstairs, the third door on the right. And I have my own bathroom, so I'm not going to sneak up on you and stab you in the back. 

Dean chuckles. TJ goes upstairs to his room and gets ready for a shower himself.

[edsheeranspo]

Bruhhhh

Today was such a good ana day I woke up and weighed myself and i was 118 like whattttt and then i had like water and whatever and i wast 123.5 at the end of the day Ok so today I ate half of half of a cucumber (11 cals), 1 gram cracker(59 cals) and a cup of black coffee (0 cals) a pink zero gatorade (0-10 cals idfk it says theres 2 servings and 0 cals in each serving but then it says 10 cals per bottle) it filled me up tho <3 and I just had a couple baked home made french fries like 30 cals. And my aunt that lives with me keeps asking if ive eaten like 1s every week and she asked today and i had to get my bracket put back on at the dentist so ive been using that as a excuse, and i rode my bike to racetrack today and then burnt like 50 cals doing that but now im gonna do a workout and omggggg my dad was like "you look skinny what have you been doing?" and i was like "i do?, no i don't haha i wish" like omgggggggggg im so happpyyyy even though i still think i look fat in the mirror the scale been dropping so idc ;p i overate by a couple calls 110/93 calories today 50 burnt inna bike ride and ima edit this when im done with my workout. edit: i did most of my 36 min workout but my mom came and knocked on my room door soo i didnt hear her cause i had headphones on so she got really mad and took my computer but i did like 3 marm ups and i only had 9 mins left so idrrrc but i do lol anyways -200 cals