#january writing prompts

[bradshawsbaby]

“The safest place is in your arms” for the bradshwas please!

We got a little angsty with this one, but I hope you enjoy!

Before the kids came along, whenever Bradley returned from a mission or a deployment, you knew that you’d be spending at least three solid days in bed with him. Usually more.

It wasn’t just sex, though that was certainly part of it. That first day or two, you’d spend hours upon hours becoming reacquainted with one another’s bodies, describing without words how much you’d missed each other, how much you’d longed for these moments when it was just you and him and the rest of the world faded away.

But it was more than that. Every time Bradley came home again, every time he defied death and made it back safely into your arms, he wanted nothing more than to be held there. Sometimes you’d spend hours simply tangled up in each other’s arms, neither of you uttering a word, just listening to the sound of your hearts beating in tandem. Sometimes Bradley would talk about what he had experienced, about the dangers he’d faced and the emotions he’d felt. Sometimes he’d sob into your chest, clinging to you as you ran your fingers through his hair and whispered soothing words into his ear.

Even when you did have to leave the comfort of your bed to make food or take a bath, Bradley’s arms were always wrapped tightly around you, not wanting to let you out of his sight for a moment.

You understood and you always held him for as long as he needed.

One night, after gently tracing the line of Bradley’s cheek with your fingertips until his eyes began to close, you wrapped your arms tightly around him and held him close, resting your cheek against the top of his head.

“Thank you, honey,” he mumbled sleepily, pressing a soft kiss to your collarbone. “The safest place in the world is in your arms.”

January OTP Prompts

[shay-the-writer]

January 2024 Writing Prompts

I'm going to do things differently this year. There is no main prompt for the month. I picked out several of last year's main prompts and put them in with the rest of my creative writing prompts, so we might see them again. Mostly, my goal this year is to work on any of my WIPs (there are so many of them ...).

But, I will post two writing prompts and a TV quote and a movie quote like I did last year.

WRITING PROMPT 1: Person A: I love this. / Person B: What? / Person A: Us.

WRITING PROMPT 2: "I've seen you flirt with anyone at the drop of a hat, but this time you froze." They grinned at their friend, brimming with excitement. "You actually caught feelings!" / "I don't know! Maybe? Shut up!"

TV QUOTE: Paul Buchman: All I know is I want to wake up naked with you for the rest of my life. (Mad About You)

MOVIE QUOTE: Tracy Lord: I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy. (The Philadelphia Story)

NOTE: The TV and movie quotes can be used out of context from their original source.

NOTE: Like last year, all creative writing prompts come from other sources. They could be from a couple books I got from the library a while back, prompt books I bought, from googling and some websites, some from my own head, and from various tumblr sources (mostly @creativepromptsforwriting because there are some damn good ones there)

[bradshawsbaby]

I’m not sure how much time I’ll actually have, but I’m in the mood to write a few little drabbles!

You can send in requests for the Bradshaws, Hannix, Rhett, or Bob! ♥️

January OTP Prompts

Sparkle

New beginnings

“I love you, but that’s a terrible idea”

Bright red

Shooting star

Lonely

“I wish everyday could be like this”

Diamond ring

Slippers

Bundled up

Warm soup and fresh bread

New paint

Secret

Old bookstore on a cold day

Snowball fight

Forbidden love AU

Slippery

Wind

Surprise hug

Teapot

“You’re up early”

Walking through the park

Snow angels

Honey

Café on a snowy day

Broken

Ringing bells

All night movie marathon

Peaceful kiss

Catching snowflakes on tongue

“The safest place is in your arms”

✨❄️🥂🧣✨

[givethispromptatry]

It is not love that makes humans dangerous.

Love is predictable. Love has rules of engagement.

Spite, however, makes the illogical logical to humans. It creates options in the human brain that should never have been considered.

[thepromptfoundry]

The prompt theme for January 2024 is a January of Firsts!

If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, I’d love to see your writing and art!

Feel free to combine different days' prompts with each other, or combine them with other seasonal events! Use your OCs, your favorite characters from media, whatever tickles your fancy.

Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, don’t worry about missing or skipping any. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!

Plain text list below the cut:

1) First impression 2) First step in a journey 3) First snow 4) First blood 5) First fitting 6) First gift 7) First take 8) First touch 9) First day at work or school 10) First chair 11) First love 12) First loss 13) First meeting 14) First star 15) First cut 16) First look into the unknown 17) First kiss 18) First point 19) First class 20) First time on their own 21) First choice 22) First in line 23) First word 24) First draft 25) First spark 26) First runner up 27) First base 28) First aid 29) First born 30) First taste 31) First night

[bumblebirds-menagerie]

Things Siblings Do

because badly written siblings are so annoying

ok we do sometimes say 'bro' and 'sis' but ONLY ironically

like 'hey BRO, yeah, little BRO, what are you doing BRO'

send each other out of context things (eg i sent my brother a jousting video when he didn't know i was at the renaissance fair)

make each other laugh just by saying a random nonsense phrase

then the laughing person angrily tells them to stop, while still being in hysterics

mispronounce the other's name as an infant, then use the mispronounced version to annoy the sibling later in life

stick their head in the other's door, say 'you're a total zucchini' then run away

compare who does the harder sport/activity

get told to help younger ones with school subjects, then either become the best or the worst tutor on the planet

have a grudge against people they've never met because that person was mean to their sibling

squint at glasses to make sure the exact same amount of drink is in each

if it isn't, their sibling gets the one with less

'i'm taller' 'i'm older' 'i can run faster' 'i'm better at maths'

'why do you dress like that' 'why do you dress like that'

do terrible impressions of the other's favourite singer

there's always at least one blurry photo where they're fighting over doing bunny ears on each other

say 'don't laugh' then laugh at the other trying not to laugh

<3

[hersurvival]

Nothing, the distant

Smell of snow and the faint taste

Of blood in my mouth

@nosebleedclub January 10th - Smell of Snow

[zazuprompts]

Picture ID under the cut:

[ID: A list of prompts in three columns. The background is a desaturated photograph of purple grape hyacinth. The bottom corners have credits on them. The right corner is the credit for the background, which is to Lauri Poldre @ Pexels.com. The left corner is the credit/signature of the blog, Zazu Prompts. The title and prompts are as follows:

January 2024 Prompts List:

Confident

Growth

Erase

Protect

Teleport

Tradition

Mercy

Bubble

Muster

Companion

Walk

Keeper

Bless

Dragon

Quiet

Next

Hero

Steel

Find

Dark

Attack

Mark

Swap

Rough

Jagged

Stack

Sorcery

Black

Shell

Duck

Presence

End ID]

[valvarads]

TOKUSATSU VALENTINE’S: day 5 ➵ my valentine 🌸(ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ)🌸

[cherryliqueurkinks]

femslash february: valentine's edition

An assortment of bite-sized smut in a heart-shaped box for you to indulge in each day until Valentine's Day! Each day will relate to at least one of three prompts below - feel free to play along or share ideas and requests per day.

overstimulation | mind control | shower/bath sex

edging | double penetration | age gap

pool/hot tub sex | teasing | orgasm control

thigh riding | office sex | breast play

degradation | student/teacher dynamic | have to be quiet

filming/photography | mirror sex | car sex

public sex | cunnilingus | clothing kink

leather/latex | stripping | face fucking/sitting

anonymous sex | floor sex | prostitution

corruption | manipulation | captivity

hair pulling | blackmail | intoxication

outdoor sex | piercings | camming

rough sex | uniform kink | praise kink

temperature play | bondage | anal

[bradshawsbaby]

I love you but that’s a terrible idea for the bradshaws

Here’s a little domesticity with the Bradshaws!

“I love you, but that’s a terrible idea,” you insisted, bouncing your one-year-old daughter on your hip as you gazed across the kitchen at your husband and your three-year-old son.

“A terrible idea or a wonderful idea?” Bradley countered, looking up from his spot at the kitchen table where he and Goose had been hard at work building some sort of monstrous imitation of a gingerbread house out of all of the leftover desserts and candies from Christmas and New Year while you had been giving Lydia a bath.

“A terrible idea,” you emphasized, cradling the back of your daughter’s head as she started to doze on your shoulder. “Besides the fact that the two of you have turned the kitchen upside down, now someone’s going to be on a sugar high for the rest of the night,” you explained, arching an eyebrow as you looked from your husband to your son.

“He hasn’t had that much sugar,” Bradley replied weakly, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to recall exactly how many pieces of candy Goose had consumed since they’d started this little project.

“Oh, really?” you asked skeptically, shooting a pointed look at the frosting coating your toddler’s chin.

Bradley winced. “I thought it would be a good way to get rid of all the leftovers,” he explained sheepishly. “I realize now it probably would have been smarter to wait until tomorrow.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the crestfallen look on your husband’s face. He looked like a wounded puppy. Walking over to him, you dropped a kiss on his forehead and ran your fingers through his hair. “It’s okay, honey. We’ll clean it up tomorrow.”

“Mommy, look!” Goose exclaimed proudly, showing off his masterpiece with sticky fingers.

“It’s beautiful, honey. I love it!” you praised him, holding the back of Lydia’s head securely as you bent down to kiss your son’s forehead. You looked down at his sticky face and hands and smirked. “Daddy is going to have so much fun giving you another bath.”

Bradley sighed. “Yep. I deserve that.”

January OTP Prompts

[flashfictionfridayofficial]

✨ Quarterly Masterlist of Antique Prompts ✨

We're back! Life got very busy between school, family, and all the like and made things a bit difficult to keep up with this. For this we apologize for the fall behind on all the antique prompts that were written.

But now each and every beautiful piece of flash fiction won't go amiss! We cherish these beautiful works you have written and shared with us over the past months. Please check out these amazing flash fiction pieces and show them some love! <3

New to Flash Fiction Friday and wondering what is an Antique Prompt? Well Here is a quick blurb to what it is, and Here is a list of all the past prompts, so let your creativity run free!

If you have written an old prompt outside of its deadline and are missing from this list, please let us know and we’ll add you! If you wrote it months ago and tagged us then but are especially proud of it, still feel free to send it our way!

The next masterlist will come July 1st!

Deceiving Fragrance by @betweenthetimeandsound

But a Whimper by @borealwrites

Morning Glories by @annikchase

How It Ends by @starkraivennemad

Roll Of The Dice by @writingamongther0ses

The Cafe and the Storm by @goblin-writer

The Fools Quest by @darkhorse-javert

To The Victor by @starkraivennemad

Take My Hand by @alexthefly

Haunted Classroom by @lost-khione

Seal It Tight by @landofspaceandrainbows

Those Who Don't Care by @darkhorse-javert

Quiet Hours by @seagull-energy

Soaring Above by @betweenthetimeandsound

Glitter And Blue by @mtnikolle

Turn Back Time by @xviruserrorx

Critical Ice Cream by @imsoveryveryconfusedatlife

Sugar Honey ice and Tea by @cocoamoonmalfoy

Critical Ice Cream by @tamiveldura

You never cared by @tamiveldura

In Conversation by @words-after-midnight

Feral Pinpricks by @baubeautyandthegeek

[elisela]

still sterek, 1.7k, au: tattoo parlor & flower shop, established relationship, miscommunication day 6: lonely happy birthday @tripleaxeldiaz!!!

Stiles raps on the wall of his work station as soon as he peels his gloves off, tossing them into the wastebasket by the door. He waits a solid minute for a response, straining to hear past the music playing from the overhead speaker, and sighs when none comes.

“He’s probably out doing deliveries, loser,” Cora says without pausing from where she’s restocking the small vials of colored ink. 

He sighs again, his whole body slumping down in his chair, a physical manifestation of the dread he’s feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah, maybe.”

He’s not sure if it’s his tone or the fact he’s not arguing with her, whatever it is, it makes her stop and peer around at him. “Are you two fighting?”

The chair squeaks as he shifts, planting his feet flat on the floor and pushing, rolling himself back and forth slowly. “Maybe. Yeah.”

Cora’s sigh is explosive and irritated. “Seriously? What now?”

“Well,” he says slowly, chest starting to ache now that he actually has to say the words he’s been worried about out loud, “I asked him to move in with me on Friday and he said yes but I haven’t heard a word from him since Saturday morning, so we’re either fighting or … broken up.” 

He doesn’t look up at her, but he can feel the sudden stillness in the room; even Erica and her client stop the quiet stream of chatter they’d been engaging in. It only lasts as long as it takes for Cora to jerk to her feet, vials of blue ink clattering to the floor and rolling in every direction. He doesn’t even have a chance to stop her before she rips the door open, hinges creaking dangerously, and stomps out.

“She’s pissed,” Erica says, and Stiles closes his eyes and tilts his head back to rest on the top of his chair. 

He can hear when the yelling starts—which means Derek is there and definitely ignoring him, which hurts even though he’d already suspected it—but he can’t make it out what’s being said even if he puts his ear to the wall, and Erica can’t be of any help when she’s with a client. He busies himself instead by picking up the vials scattered on the floor and placing them back in the box before going to check his appointment book even though he knows he doesn’t have any bookings; he’d only come in because it was better than sitting around his lonely apartment.

The flare of hope that sparks in his chest when Cora comes back through the door is quickly smothered when she walks straight up to him and grabs his arm. “We’re still friends, even if you’re not with Derek,” she says; it’s not a question.

He nods because it’s all he can do—there’s a knot in his chest that’s threatening to tear its way out of his throat and he won’t let it, not in the studio. Their relationship may have been lived out in the open, lives intertwined both personally and professionally, but Stiles can give himself the dignity of falling apart in private at the very least.

“I will make his life miserable,” Cora swears before letting him go. “And the second I find out what’s going on with him—”

Stiles tears his gaze from the floor and looks over at her. “He didn’t tell you?”

“No,” she says, and she sounds almost sad. “He didn’t say anything at all.”

--

Despite the three days of radio silence it doesn’t take Derek long at all to show his face after Cora gets involved; Stiles calls his clients for the next day and rebooks them, claiming illness, then leaves before Erica finishes up with the sleeve she’s working on.

His apartment feels too cold, dreary in the same way it has since he woke up Saturday morning with Derek gone, like even the plants in the windowsill miss him. They probably do; Stiles isn’t known for his ability to keep a consistent schedule when it comes to things like watering. He turns a movie on for background noise, lays down on the couch, and ends up falling asleep.

When he wakes up it’s to the sound of a key in the door and footsteps so familiar that for a moment he considers closing his eyes and pretending so he doesn’t have to see Derek gather up all his things. But Derek would know, and Stiles would seem like a coward, so he sits up and lets the blanket pool at his feet just as his probably-ex-boyfriend comes into view. 

He has no intention of saying anything—Derek’s the one with the problem, clearly, and Stiles might not have the heart to make a break-up difficult for him but he’s certainly not going to make it any easier—except Derek looks tired and miserable, eyes red like he’d recently been crying, wearing the hoodie he always said was the most comfortable thing he’d ever worn.

Stiles’ hoodie.

“If Cora told you to come—”

“She didn’t,” Derek interrupts, and then hangs his head when he corrects, “well, she did, but that’s not why—I was going to talk to you, I just—there’s something I need to tell you and I didn’t know how.”

Stiles swallows hard past the lump that’s taken up residence in his throat again. He doesn’t want to hear it, but it will drive him crazy forever if he doesn’t. “I guess I just don’t know why you said yes if you were going to break up with me,” he says. His voice doesn’t break at all, and he’s absurdly relieved he could manage that. Of course, it breaks the second he opens his mouth and says, “It would have hurt less if you hadn’t.”

Derek makes a move like he’s going to reach out, and Stiles frowns when he doesn’t just stop but takes several steps backwards, moving himself further away from the door. “I said yes because I want to,” Derek says, “but there’s something—you need to know something before I do, and I—was scared. About how you’d react.”

He can almost hear the gears in his head turning. There are only two things he can come up with that may cause him to react negatively; one would be a stupidly big coincidence but he supposes it’s possible that sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning Derek had learned he had a child that one of his many exes was keeping from him, and the other—well, the other is just stupid, considering.

Stiles is pretty sure now that he knows which one it is.

“Derek,” he says slowly, “I think—”

“I love you,” Derek says, almost desperately, “and I’d never hurt you but you should know—”

Briefly, he considers banging his head on the table to justify his apparent lack of brain cells, because he really should have thought of this.

“—I’m a werewolf.”

The miscommunication would be almost funny if Stiles’ heart weren’t breaking at the sight of Derek in front of him, clearly bracing himself for the worst-case scenario while trying to appear harmless. 

“Come here,” he says quietly, and sighs when Derek doesn’t budge. “Derek. Please come here.”

Derek glances at the door and around the room before moving, taking himself the long way around the coffee table before sitting at the very edge of the couch, never putting himself in between Stiles and the exit. “I’m not crazy,” he says, sounding defeated, like Stiles is going to try to get him committed at any moment. He doesn’t lift his gaze from the floor. “I can show you.”

There’s so much he wants to say that he doesn’t even know where to begin—like the fact that he’s been friends with Cora for years, for much longer than he’s even known Derek, or the bring up the week he’d “spontaneously” decided to go to his Dad’s place back in Beacon Hills when they were two months into their relationship and he’d freaked out when he’d learned the truth about the Hales. He wants to hit Derek over the head with the unscented laundry soap he’d started using after Cora admitted his old stuff was too strong, or shake him until he realizes that Stiles had started rubbing his cheek against any part of Derek’s body he could get to for a reason. And at first, he can’t say anything at all. The situation may be something they roll their eyes at in the future, but the heartbreak he’d felt at not being able to get ahold of Derek after waking up alone on Saturday morning had been very real, and the fear in Derek’s expression isn’t a joke. 

“Baby,” he says finally, stretching his hand across the couch, fingertips just reaching Derek’s arm, “I know. I’ve known. I’m really—really—upset with you right now,” he adds truthfully, “but if that was the issue … it’s not one. Not really.”

Derek looks like he’s forgotten how to breathe, staring down at Stiles’ hand. “You knew?”

“Cora kicked this dude out of the studio once,” Stiles explains, “back when Erica was new. Said she saw him trying to touch her, and you remember Erica then, she was so quiet—anyway, Cora pulled him off the table, tattoo half-finished, and just went crazy. Threw the guy out the door, kept talking about how she hated people like that … and she was facing the wall the whole time but I caught her face in the mirror and her eyes were … glowing. She told me I was crazy but she looked guilty, almost? So I started paying a little more attention to her which pissed her off, and she told me.”

“I kept waiting for you to tell me,” he adds, looking over at where Derek looks like he’s having an existential crisis, “but you didn’t. So I figured you’d tell me when you were ready and I stopped thinking about it. Clearly should have thought about it a little more and maybe this wouldn’t have happened, but we—we can fix it,” he says, leaning, wrapping his hand around Derek’s arm. “Right?”

“You knew,” Derek says again, “and you—you still—”

“I still,” he agrees, shifting to his knees so he can get himself closer. “I still love you. I still want to spend every second of the day with you.” Derek’s not moving, so he curls himself around his body, blanketing him. “I still want you here, if the answer’s still yes.”

Derek’s arms come around him, so hesitant and careful that it makes Stiles grip him tighter. “It’s still yes.”

also on ao3

[givethispromptatry]

He'd always been a strange child. Too quiet. Too smart. Too wise.

His parents had accepted him, cherished him as a precious child, and so the others had to do the same. Even if they really weren't that keen on the idea.

[smittenbypoetry]

Poetry Game!

January 2023 Edition:

The rules are as follows: Write an eleven line poem. Each respective line includes, but is not limited to, the following in order:

1. A body of water 2. A dive 3. Any shade of blue 4. Sensory line (underwater) 5. Sensory line (underwater) 6. Free line, use however you like 7. Anything partaking to the heart 8. Any constellation 9. Any synonym to 'falling' 10. Free line, use however you like 11. Line 3's shade of blue

Have fun!

Tag your poem #smittenbypoetrygame, and I will reblog it here. Be sure to use one of the first five tags to do this, else there’s a chance it won’t show up when I search for it. If I haven’t reblogged your poem within 24 hours, please send me a message and I’ll add it to the queue.

[mirrortouchedsea]

Day 1

Niki opened the door and announced his presence to his roommate, sliding his shoes off and walking over to the kitchen to put the groceries away. There wasn’t an immediate response but Niki wasn’t too phased as he thought about what he wanted to make them for dinner. Rinne was probably out doing his own errands or playing pachinko again and he’d be home for dinner like he always was. Rinne would never pass up a free meal. 

So when Niki was finishing up dinner and getting ready to plate everything, he found it strange that Rinne hadn’t shown up. Niki pulled out his phone. No new messages. His face scrunched up as he tapped out a message to Rinne asking where he was and how he better not be in trouble. Niki sighed and made his plate anyway, stomach rumbling and begging for nutrients. 

He ate his fill and wrapped up a plate of leftovers for Rinne before checking his phone again. Still nothing. He sighed and put the dishes in the sink before wandering into their shared bedroom to see if there would be any sort of hints as to where Rinne went. 

The closet and dresser were missing a set of winter clothes and Rinne’s winter boots, something he only wore when he went out foraging for food in the mountains. Then he noticed the note laying on the bed. The message was written in a hurry and read “I’ll be back tomorrow, don’t worry about me.” 

Niki crumpled the note in his hand. The nerve of that guy! Niki put on his own boots and grabbed a winter jacket before stalking out into the street, catching a taxi to the mountains. He had a vague idea of where he’d find Rinne and he was going to give him a piece of his mind, making him worry like that!

He eventually told the taxi to stop and paid the driver for their service before hopping out, seeing a set of footprints he’d know anywhere in the snow leading away from the road. Thank god it wasn’t snowing that day or Niki might never have found Rinne otherwise. He grabbed a snack from his pocket, took a bite, and started the trek to find Rinne. 

Ten minutes later, Niki was shivering and wondering just how far from the road Rinne had gone before he reached the end of the footprints at the base of a tree. He looked up to find Rinne leaning against the trunk from one of the lower branches, a can of something nursed in his bare hand red from the cold. Niki called out to Rinne and asked what was wrong, trying to get him to come down and go home. Niki even tried to promise he wouldn’t threaten to kick him out ever again if he’d just come home. 

Rinne didn’t so much as look down, giving only a grunt and an “I said I’d be home tomorrow.” Niki, out of frustration toward the man above him, kicked the tree and reached up to try and forcibly pull Rinne down. At least talk to me, what’s going on Rinne-kun, he begged. Rinne finally looked down and Niki finally saw how red and puffy his eyes were. Please, just leave me alone. I can’t do that, I promised to take care of you. 

The silence could be cut with a knife as Niki stared down Rinne until Rinne relented and climbed down from the tree. He hit the ground with a thud and pulled Niki into a hug, burying his face in Niki’s neck, mumbling something Niki couldn’t hear. Niki wrapped his arms around the other man, taking in the scent of his cologne, something he never expected to have missed as much as he did. 

Eventually, Rinne pulled away and took a final swig from his can which Niki could more clearly see as being beer now. Rinne was drunk and crying in the mountains and Niki had no idea why. Do you want to talk about it, he asked, taking Rinne’s hand in his own. Maybe when we get home. That sounds good to me, I saved you some dinner too. Rinne chuckled and his voice cracked. Niki decided not to mention it. 

They began to walk back to the road in relative silence, the only words coming from Niki on the phone calling another taxi to pick them up. Rinne remained uncharacteristically silent the whole ride home. 

By the time they got back, Rinne’s mood had thawed a little, whether that was from the warmth of the car or the alcohol in his system Niki didn’t care in that moment, just that Rinne was going back to normal. Rinne had let go of Niki’s hand when they entered the apartment as he made a beeline for their bedroom. Niki could hear him digging around for something before he came back out with a shoebox missing the lid. He set it on the coffee table and asked Niki to sit down with him. 

Niki obliged and sat next to Rinne as he began pulling objects Niki had never seen out of it, a photo with four people with striking red hair, a small locket, a clipping of hair, a brooch. Niki picked up the photo. Is this your family, he asked, voice small. Yeah, back when my mom was still alive. You said she passed when your brother was young. She did, this was taken just a few months before… 

Niki set the photo back on the table and turned to the locket, a smaller picture of the woman tucked inside, along with a photo of his brother in the other half. The hair and brooch must have been hers as well. The only things from his hometown Rinne had brought with him, things to remember his family by. 

Today’s the anniversary of her death, Rinne finally spoke again. Finally, everything clicked. He turned to face Rinne, hand on his shoulder. I’m sure she’d be proud of you, Rinne-kun. Tears began falling from Rinne’s eyes again as he turned to embrace Niki in a bear hug, so tight that Niki almost couldn’t breathe until he lightened up again. Thanks for…listening, Niki, I really appreciate it. 

Niki couldn’t tell if he simply imagined it, but as the two of them sat embraced on the couch in his apartment, he felt a third presence settle in with them, pulling them both in for a comforting embrace.