#late night post cause I'm late as usual 😅

[lalasimmer]

LaDorian Hunter for @smallsimmer bachelorette challenge backstory under the cut for those who want to read it

LaDorian is 28 years old. Raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs just to make ends meet, He learned early on the value of hard work and resilience. The family lived in a small, worn-down apartment, filled with laughter and love, but lacking many of the luxuries that others took for granted. Despite their struggles, he thrived in school, where he found solace in books and a passion for food and cooking. His ultimate dream was to become a renowned five-star chef, using his talent to uplift those in his neighborhood and provide a better life for his family. Through his teenage years, he faced the pressures of his environment, including peer influence and the temptations of quick money. However, with the support of his mother and group of friends, he began to find ways to channel his creativity and ambitions into a promising future.

LaDorian is a passionate chef who dreams of culinary greatness. He spends his days working at a small but popular restaurant, where his savory dishes and delightful desserts have earned him a loyal following. However, despite the joy he finds in cooking, his love life is anything but flavorful. His friends often joke that he has a better relationship with his spatula than with anyone else. Although he’s built a successful career, his life feels incomplete without a special someone to share it with. He's had his flings and one night stands, etc. but never a long lasting relationship. He's looking for someone to share his life with and fall in love.

Traits: Good sense of humor, Bookworm, Ambitious, Natural Cook, and Night Owl

Favorite Food: Philly Cheesesteak

Favorite Color: Red Favorite Music: R&B

Zodiac: Aquarius

[papa-evershed]

I’m curious… what do you think are the sexiest gifs of Rob EVER? 😏 I’d love to see ‘em.

I apologize for my late answer but like a weirdo, I was just convinced that my choices would somehow be disappointing. 😅🙈 I just feel like most people are going to expect gifs of kissing scenes or skin but those aren't even the ones that make me the most feral. But I'll give it a shot. 😂

As always, under a read more for length but also for cringe worthy fangirling and NSFW thirst-talk.

Immediately, my first thought was this gif. When I say I adore this man's belly I fucking mean it. He's just so deliciously man-shaped. Tall and thick and soft in all the right places. I love a belly, lets me know that a person isn't too militant and allows themselves to indulge in life's pleasures. 😏😏 (I'm reading way too much into a belly but here we are.) Add in the fact that in this specific scene, Martin Evershed is being the ultimate soft, caring Dad™. He has every reason in the world to lose his shit on Sam but instead he actively chooses to be what she needs in that moment and it's just incredibly sexy because he is a whole ass Man™. I just wrote a fucking novel about this one gif but listen, there's a reason it's first that comes to mind.

The thumb in the mouth? 🙃

Speaking of Act On This, this one too. I'm not even sure if I can put my finger on exactly why this specific gif is one of my favorites. Perhaps because he's usually so smiley (which I adore) that a rare serious/stern look wrecks me. Another reason I want him cast as a villain. Just...yes, sir.

And on the flip side, these because he's just so soft again. I fucking love soft men, ones who don't seem to have that drive to constantly perform their own personal version of hyper-masculinity. (also, I'd suck a random dick off the street to get this in HQ)

I'm a simple creature and I like profiles, noses, and tits.

Like I said, I'm a simple creature and I am no better than any man.

When the right men manspread at the right time? Yes. Yes, that.

When Dad™ shows up to save the day? Get that man a beer and a blowjob.

And while I love it when a man is great with kids...I also think it's incredibly sexy when he's tired of their bullshit cause aren't we all sometimes? 😅

FUZZY GREY NECK? say no more. Also, I'd stand in a three hour long line to wait my turn to ride his thigh like he was the carousel at Disney World. I said what I said.

Hutch. Just Hutch. Everything about the character was sexy. And bless this t-shirt. The shoulders. The arms. The fuzzy neck. The nose. He could 100% talk me into sleeping in that creepy ass cabin and much like Phil, we'd also wake up naked and calling out to God.

Annnd because I feel like it's expected and it does deserve attention, this kiss with Papa E. Listen. Listen. So many fucking onscreen kisses go from 0 to 60 in .000005 seconds. Just immediate face-fucking right out the gate. And IDK about y'all but that shit just isn't enjoyable in real life. Don't assault my fucking face like a Dallas Cowboy's linebacker. 🙃 Ease into it. Warm up. Mr. Evershed will patiently take his time making you so anxiously desperate for more that when he finally does deepen that kiss your lips will be eagerly wet and ready...heh. 🙈

Anyway. 😳 I've been really good about not being thirsty on main anymore and this is still quite tame for me but I'm gonna stop now because this post could go on all night. 🫠

[a-littlebirdie]

Foosball,Flyfishing

& "Friends"

Pairing: Price x MC (Wren, nickname Osprey) GN! Reader 

Summary

John and Wren have been inseparable for the last 6 years, but neither one of them wants to admit that their relationship is nowhere near "platonic". They are released on leave for 3 months and Wren decides to take a trip back home to the states. They want to ask if John wants to go. They're just two very close friends who enjoy each others company right? What could happen?

Word Count: 5.5k ish

Author’s Note

Hello! So this is my first time posting any kind of writing since 2014. So please bare with me I may be a little rusty 😅 I just want to write some fluff and enjoy some domestic Price fly fishing. This is a two parter, maybe three depending on what I can finish by the 4th of Feb. I fly out the 6th for a job and will have limited access to internet until April, so I wanted to get this posted before I left.

Also want to note that I am not sure how much time would be between each mission, but for this we’ll say it’s around 3 months. Hope you find as much joy in this as I did!

Warnings

Too much fluff

Language

Nightmares

Slight talks of injuries

*NOT EDITED*

Part 2

______________________________________________________________

You quietly make your way through the dark and chilly halls of base. It was well into the night almost guaranteeing everyone was asleep except for the person you were looking for. A faint glow could be seen from under the door to your captain's office. Though you felt it selfish, you were relieved to see he was still awake. When you reach it you quietly knock and open the door. The room was dark with just the warm glow of the desk lamp and embers of a cigar resting on a try. John looks up and offers you a tired soft smile putting down his pen.  

"Hey Osprey."  

The codename made your heart flutter every time he said it.  

He relaxes in his chair and opens his arms. You slowly make your way over sitting on his lap. Your normal uptight demeanour relaxes almost instantly as his strong arms engulf you making you feel safe. You hide your face in his neck, closing your eyes. This had become routine after a rough mission, but lately it's been happening more often. If you weren't going to him he'd be coming to you. You were the only ones that could bring each other back from the brink of destruction. Sometimes you'd talk about what was bothering you, but usually you just held each other until one of you fell asleep. It was your typical run-of-the-mill platonic relationship right? After all, you two had known each other for almost 6 years. Why would your relationship change all of a sudden? 

You noticed that during this last mission things were evolving. Everyone noticed except John seemed to have been left out. He was much more protective over you to the point it caused the two of you to not speak for days other than exchanging plans. Thankfully the two of you made up, but there was still something off about the situation. You just couldn't put your finger on it.  

You're brought out from your thoughts wincing as his hand gently grazes the wound on your shoulder. A nasty reminder of how the last mission had gone.  

"Sorry love, how are you doing by the way? I know things have been hectic since we got back,"  

With a yawn you sit up to look at him. His piercing blue eyes scan your face with concern.  

"I'm doing alright just been having trouble sleeping because my comfy pillow has been busy." You tease with a smile and heavy eyelids. His warm presence is already lulling you to sleep. You lean back into the same position you were in with a little thud and he chuckles.  

"You might need to get a new pillow then. Its seems that one isn't doing his job"  

"Yeah, but he's more important things to pay attention to. I'll manage," you laugh at the ridiculous conversation.  

He tightens his hold and lays his head on top of yours as he sighs, 

"I know, I've been neglecting my pillow duties. I'll make it up to you."  

You felt lucky. The others didn't get to see this side of John. He cared for his team and their wellbeing, but he still puts on a tough exterior, except when it was just the two of you.  

"You know, this is really dangerous,"  

You felt his chest rumble as he chuckles, "And why do you say that?" 

"I think I'm starting to like you." You mumble sleepily. Though you said it jokingly, deep down you really mean it and it scares the life out of you. How could you start to have feelings now after all these years? Have you always had them and just pushed them down? It didn't matter. He was your captain and your friend. You're not about to ruin that.  

He chuckles again and squeezes you even closer, "It's a little too late for that realisation don't you think?"  

You laugh with a quiet "Mhm" and close your eyes again. You felt his large warm hand glide up and down your back lulling you asleep.  

Sunshine peeks through the blinds into your face waking you up. John is still fast asleep. He's sprawled out in his chair with one foot propped on his desk and both arms wrapped securely around you. You smile to yourself enjoying the moment.  

Before long John begins to stir and you feel yourself rise as he carefully sits up.  

"Well good morning sunshine," You tease.  

He rubs the back of his neck probably sore from the way he slept, "Good morning Osprey," his voice is raspy and tired as he tries to keep his eyes open. You wonder how much sleep he got. You try to get up, but you're pulled back into the chair. John wraps his arms around your waist and you feel sparks. A sense of giddiness floods your nerves as he rests his cheek against your back,"Please stay just a few more minutes." He whispers exhaustion radiating in his voice. He'd never been this clingy before, but you weren't complaining.  

Your heart is racing as you try to compose yourself before asking, "Did you get any sleep?"  

"Hmm, the last I remember is the sun coming up. What time is it now?"  

You looked down at your watch,"It's only 7,"  

"Have you been awake for long?"  

You shake your head. You can tell he's trying to keep himself awake by how much he pauses between each word.  

Rubbing your thumb over his knuckles you chuckle,"Go lay on the couch and try to get some sleep. I'll wake you before lunch."  

He hums in response,”I’ll just rest my eyes for a little longer.” 

His warm embrace soon releases you as you both stand up and he trudges over plopping down on the couch. Soon after you hear tiny snores escaping from his relaxed figure. 

You use this time to contemplate what you were going to do now that the team was on leave for the next three months. Normally you’d stay on base or travel around the UK or Europe, but you were feeling homesick. A small town in Montana is where you call home and it's been almost two years since you had the chance to go back. You look over at John who’s still fast asleep. You bite the inside of your cheek. There’s no harm in asking right? You’ve been on plenty of trips with him before. The only difference was at least one other person was always around. This time it would just be the two of you. You purse your lips before letting air escape from your nostrils. Fuck it. The worst he could say is no, and even then that wouldn’t be so bad. Confident in your decision you curl up in the chair deciding to set an alarm just in case you fall asleep, but instead your mind wanders about all the different possibilities of this trip. 

Before you know it your alarm is vibrating on the desk. You glance over to John before picking it up. He turns over, his hand dropping to the floor with a thud. He grunts running his other hand over his face before sitting up and looking over at you. 

“Sleep well?” You ask standing up.  

“It was good enough.” He never slept as well when you weren't near him, but he wouldn't admit it. 

“I’m going to go grab some food if you want to come with me or I could bring you something back?”  

“I was thinking we could go off base? I need a change of scenery.” He stands up and stretches, his shirt rides up slightly and you can’t help but stare. You realise what you're doing and shake your head. You then remember back to your proposal earlier. You’d ask during lunch. 

“Sounds good. These grey walls do make me gloomy.” You joke walking out the door to head back to your room.  

There's a cute little restaurant nestled in the outskirts of town. Vines of ivy adorn the building giving it a cozy feel, and on the inside the walls are filled with objects and photographs of families, celebrations and the annual foosball (or as your teammates would call it “table football”) champions. The floors creak as you walk to sit down in your usual spot. You smile up at the picture of John, Soap, Gaz and you grinning triumphantly with a little plastic trophy from the last time you were here.  

“Feels like ages ago doesn’t it?” John smiles at you warmly.  

“Yeah we should try to do it again at some point,” you look down at the menu even though you knew what you were getting. Now was a better time than any to ask, but why were you so nervous? You lick your lips putting your menu down,”Do you have any plans for leave?”  

He shakes his head,”I was just going to go back home why?” 

“I was thinking of heading back home myself, to the states. Thought you’d like to tag along this time. I could show you around, and if you really wanted to I could even take you to those touristy places. I’ve got ties to most of them so we might be able to see it without all the people.”  

”I’d love that,” he grins, sipping his tea,”It’ll be interesting to see what the notorious Osprey did back in the day.” 

See that wasn’t so bad. 

The two of you continue talking and begin planning your trip. Before you leave you decide to go a round on the foosball table. Thankfully there isn't anyone in the room which you're grateful for. You can let loose for a bit. 

You stand on your side of the table with your legs spread, knees bent and serious expression as you focus on the players. John smiles at the scene. He adores your competitiveness when it comes to these types of things.

"I know the stakes are high, but damn. You're going to bore a hole in the table before we even start." He laughs, placing the tiny ball in the middle of the table. 

"I'm getting that cigar and there is no way you're getting into my sketchbook," 

They were silly stakes, but if you know John Price you know how important his cigars are to him. Your sketchbook was very dear to you. You brought it everywhere to capture moments and scenery. It was a way to ground yourself and remember the special moments, but no one was allowed to look at them. 

"We'll see about that," he copies your stance with a smug grin. 

You're the first to have the ball as you move from side to side trying to keep it. You make the shot and it gets clipped by one of John's players flinging it back to the middle. 

You groan,"Oh come on." 

He takes control of the ball as you're both yelling at the little players. After constantly going back and forth for about 15 minutes John scores. You swear under your breath. 

"Best 2 out of 3?" You give him a toothy grin. 

He put his hands on the ridge of the table leaning forward with a smug grin, "That'd mean doubling the stakes wouldn't it?" 

"Ok, what do you want?" You cross your arms across your chest. 

He leans back thinking. He smiles to himself before shaking his head, "I want you to take me fly fishing." 

You drop your arms to your side chuckling, "I honestly thought you were going to put me on power washing duty or something," 

"I don't trust you or Soap with the power washer. Last time you both spent over an hour drawing in the concrete," he huffs shaking his head. 

"We got it cleaned in the end didn't we?" You laugh, placing the ball back on the table,"Ok for my double or nothing, forget the cigar, if I win you have to shave your face," you grin with your hands behind your back. 

He scoffs, running a hand over his beard,"No way. I'll give you a whole box of my cigars before I do that," 

"Oh come on, I thought you were confident in your foosball abilities?" 

He pauses for a second,"You know, you're right. What am I worrying about?" 

The table rattles as you both fling and twist the rods to take control of the ball. For a split second John glances at you taking in the scene. He loved little moments like these with you. It was like you were a different person. In the field you were cold and stern except when you were comforting someone, but here right now, you're relaxed and goofy and he loves every bit of it. He's thrown out of the trance when you start doing a little happy dance spinning around. 

"Baby face Price here we come!" 

He gives you a hearty laugh, "Don't get cocky now sweetheart. You just caught me off guard." 

"Yeah sure sure. Whatever floats your boat Captain." 

The next round lasts a little longer, but John manages to score the last shot. 

"Ah I can't wait to see what masterpieces you keep hidden away," he smiled triumphantly. 

You sneer trying to keep the smile off your face. You were secretly excited that he'd get to see your works. You just hope he likes them. You're bummed out that you wouldn't get to see the team's reaction when they saw their Captain without any facial hair though. 

"Oh come on, cheer up. You'll have other opportunities. No one likes a sore loser," a mischievous grin grows on his face as he cautiously makes his way to you. 

"Johnathan Price you better not," You point at him bracing yourself to make a run for it still trying to keep the smile off your face. He takes a bigger step than you anticipate and you yelp running to the other side of the room. It's a short chase, both of you laughing like a bunch of children before he cuts you off wrapping his arms around you tickling you. Oh how he loves hearing you giggle. It always warms his heart when he is graced with the sound. 

Your giggles erupt from your chest as you flail your limbs trying to get him to stop. 

He stops for a moment, "Forgot to ask, but do I need to get a can of worms for the fish too?" he grins, still holding you in his lap. 

You roll your eyes laughing "No Neal you don't need worms, but be sure to bring sunscreen." 

He raises his eyebrows, "Oh it's going to be that type of trip huh?" 

You shove him laughing,"You're such an ass." 

"Ouch right in the heart," He fains hurt making you roll your eyes again. 

"Ah you'll live Captain," you joke leaning back away from him. You try to hide your grimace as you roll your shoulder. 

"I completely forgot about your shoulder. Are you ok?" 

You give a small laugh seeing how his expression did a 180 from mischievous to worried. 

"Yes I'm ok, I did too honestly," you try to look at it. 

He gently lifts the bandage,"Stitches still look good. Must have just irritated it," he gives you an apologetic smile. 

"That's good. I'll take something for it tonight. Don't worry, I'll be alright." You stand up offering your hand, "Now what do you say we get out of here? It's karaoke night. Remember how much we love that?" You chuckle quietly remembering the time the two of you were drunk off your asses and decided to sing a duet to Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." 

He groans, "Oh god please let's get out of here before that starts." He takes your hand as he stands up, "We might have time to go to Knacker's. I haven't had any in ages." 

"Can never say no to Knacker's." 

The two of you walk hand in hand back to the truck. Neither of you want to let go, but you didn't want to admit it either. Once you reach Knacker's and get your custard you decide to take a stroll along the pier and down to the beach. 

It was later in the evening now and the sun was starting to set. Some families were starting to pack up and others were enjoying the sunset. A stray football comes whizzing by, but John's quick thinking keeps it from going into the ocean. He smiles at the kid kicking it back. They pick it up with a grin and a 'thank you' as they run back to the group of kids playing. It was short and sweet, but seeing John with kids always made your heart flutter. 

You find a place to sit and finish your custard. The sky was now a pinkish colour with hints of gold scattered across the sky. 

"It's nice being able to just relax and be normal for a change you know?" You pulled your knees to your chest and rested your hands and chin on them. 

"It is. Not very often we get to huh?"

He leans back on his hands, sighing. 

It was silent for a bit before a thought came to your mind. 

"Have you ever thought of retiring? From the military I mean." 

"Not really. It's something I always thought I'd do until I can't. I would have liked to of settled down, but it's too late for that." 

You look over at him with soft eyes, "I wouldn't say it's too late. You've still got time." 

You see a distant flash of sadness in his eyes as he looks to the sky, but it quickly changes to that of a more joking expression to try and hide what he's really thinking,"I've got to find someone that can handle me," he nudges your shoulder playfully, "I can be quite the handful." 

You laugh,"Oh I'm well aware of that trust me." 

As the sun sets further below the horizon clouds begin to form and it starts to drizzle. 

"I guess we should get going before the bottom falls out," you sigh. 

John gives you a questioning and amused look, "Before what?" 

"Before the bottom falls out?" You roll your eyes and laugh, "before it starts raining really hard." 

"Between you and McTavish I can't keep up with your slang sometimes." He chuckles,"but I guess we should get going." 

He stands up and offers his hand and you grab it hoisting yourself up. You make it to the truck to see that the parking lot is empty. 

Before you get in you stop,"You know what I've always wanted to do?" 

"What's that?" 

"Dance in the rain. It's not lightning and no one's here." You grab your phone from your pocket and go to your dance playlist. 

The rain is heavier now. Not too hard, but enough that your clothes are soaked. John leans against the hood of the truck and smiles in amusement and amazement at you watching as you dance around letting the music guide your movements. You look so free and happy. 

He joins and the two of you dance and laugh until you accidentally bump into him almost making the two of you fall, but John catches you pulling you back to him. You're laughing hysterically while he's looking at you with a crinkle eye smile, "You're quite something you know that?" 

It all felt so euphoric. All you can do is give him a dopey smile. It was then you realise how close he was to you and you can feel your cheeks heat up. 

He looks at your lips and back up at you. He's about to lean down when a clap of thunder makes both of you jump back. 

"I think that's our cue to get going." He internally curses at himself for suggesting it and losing his chance. 

You chuckle as you nod and the both of you take off for the truck. 

A cold shiver runs down your spine as the air comes on. You quickly turn the vent away from you and turn on the heated seat. You prop up against the window with your arm looking outside. 

"Have you started packing yet?" 

You look over at him, "Yeah I did last night. I still have a little bit to pack though. Why?" 

"I have to talk with Laswell, but I do not want to spend another night on that God awful cot. Do you want to head back to my place after?" 

"It would be nice to have an actual bed," You chuckle propping your elbow on the middle console, "I hope I'm dried by then because I'm about to freeze my ass off." 

He chuckles, reaching behind him,"Take my jacket. It'll keep you warm." 

You grab the jacket and put it on. The famous smell of cedar and cigars engulf you as you close your eyes and smile. 

"Thank you." 

"Don't take too much of a liking to it though. That's one of my favourites," 

"Mmm you're never getting this back. It's mine now," you tease, shrinking into your seat closing your eyes. 

He chuckles, shaking his head. He admits he loves seeing you in his clothes. Something about it just made him feel so warm inside.

The ride back was quiet compared to on the way out. The silence was filled with the gentle patter of rain and the radio. John smiles over at you. Your hair was starting to curl up as it dried. Something you had complained about multiple times in the past, but he thought it was cute. 

You're still asleep as you pull into base. John gently nudges you,"Alright Osprey, we're back." 

You groan not wanting to move from the warm cocoon you had made yourself, but against your better judgement you open your eyes and take the jacket off placing it on the console for later. You hop out of the truck following John into the building. 

"I'll come get you when I get out of the meeting with Laswell and then we can head out." He gives you a quick smile and you part ways as you head to your room to finish packing.

You decide to wait to change until you get to John's because you didn't want to have to change again so you instead opt to just add a beanie to tame your wild curls.

You swing your duffle bag over your good shoulder as you hear a knock at your door. 

"Ready?" 

You nod with a smile and follow him out to the truck. It's still pouring out so you have to make a run for the truck. Once inside you repeat your routine from earlier and curl up against the console. 

As you get closer to his house he turns the radio down, "Have any idea what you want for dinner while we are out?" 

"I've really been craving Chinese since we got back," 

"I know a great place. We'll get it to go and bring it home." 

"Sounds like a plan. Can we please watch A River Runs Through It? I've been thinking about it all day," you say sheepishly. You've seen the movie at least a 1000 times, but it's easily your favourite movie because it reminds you of home. 

"Yes we can." he laughs softly. 

It didn't take long to order your food and head back to John's place. When you reach it you smile seeing the quaint little cottage that sat hidden away by the tall hedge fence and trees. 

You have stayed here before many times, but never just you. You and Gaz usually stayed over after long missions, and others had been a couple of times. The whole 141 team had stayed after celebrating a little too much one night. There was only one guest room and the couch pulled into a bed, but everyone wanted the bed in the guest room. At one point all of you were piled in the guest room on the queen size bed which felt a lot smaller at the time. Soap was laid on top of Ghost and Gaz laid sprawled out over you and Ghost like a starfish. How you all managed to get a decent amount of sleep was beyond you. 

"I'll get our bags and you get the food." The rain had picked up and you could barely see in front of you as you ran for the door behind John. Once inside you put the food on the counter and head down the hallway to the guest room to change. You take the beanie off ruffling your curly hair and decide to pull it into a high ponytail. You then change into one of your favourite hoodies and a pair of shorts and head back to the kitchen stopping by the washer to throw in your clothes and hang John's jacket up to dry. 

"So when was the last time you were able to watch this movie?" He chuckles handing you your food as both head to the den. 

"When I made y'all watch it actually. So about a year or two?" You sit on the couch cross legged eagerly waiting for the movie to start. 

While watching the movie you point out little details and talk about how much Missoula had changed since the film came out. John loves watching movies with you because he loves hearing what is going on in your mind. He could tell how much this movie meant to you just by the way you talk about it. 

As the ending credits roll you quickly wipe away stray tears that have managed to escape and try to cover them up, "I can take you to some of the spots they filmed at, but there may be quite a few people there this time of year. I know some secret spots too so either way we can enjoy ourselves." 

"Wherever you go I'll follow." He gives you that signature smile. 

You return it and yawn, "I think I'm going to turn in for the night," you pat his leg and stand up stretching, "I've had a lot of fun today though. Thank you for letting me goof around for a bit. I really needed that." 

"Anytime, we all need to let loose sometimes." He gives you a warm smile. 

You say your goodnights and head to the kitchen to throw your trash away before heading to bed. 

______________________________________________________________

You wake up in a cold sweat panting as you frantically look around the room trying to figure out where you were. You lean back against the headboard and close your eyes to breathe, but all you see are their lifeless bodies. Those who you couldn't save. This last mission had really taken a toll on you as much as you hated to admit it. You understood you couldn't save everyone, but that didn't make it any easier when it happened. You wipe your hand over your face trying to hold back the tears and slide out of bed. You notice your shoulder is sticky and you touch it seeing your finger turn red. 

"Oh fuckin' hell of course." You mumble to yourself sniffling as the tears are threatening to spill over.  You walk over to your bag to grab your med kit and head to the bathroom. You shut the door and hop on the sink after turning on the light. A few of your stitches had broken and they needed to be fixed. You've had to do this many times, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell. You bite the inside of your lip concentrating on the stitching instead of the pain. You hit a particularly sensitive area that made you flinch and hit your head on the medicine cabinet making you exclaim a rather loud,"fuck."

You hear footsteps as you're finishing up the last couple of stitches and a knock at the door, "You okay in there?" 

"Yeah I'm fine," Your voice was shaky and not very convincing. You finish off and go to bite the thread as the door opens. 

You freeze. Your teeth are still on the thread. You must look ridiculous right now perched up on the sink like this, eyes bloodshot, hair in disarray. 

"Wren, what the hell are you doing?" He very rarely used your real name, but when he did it usually meant he was concerned. 

You laugh nervously and then bite the thread, "My stitches broke and I needed to fix them." 

"What happened?" He reaches out to you but you flinch away. That's all he needs, to know exactly what happened, "You saw them again didn't you?" He spoke so softly as if any loud noises would scare you away. You just nod and the tears start falling as you start to shake. He gently wraps his arms around you and you cling to his shirt sobbing. It breaks John's heart seeing you like this. He wants nothing more than to take away all your nightmares and fears. 

"Shh it's alright love, you're ok." He strokes your hair placing a soft kiss on the top of your head. 

You don't know how long you stay like that, but you're finally able to breathe again, "Thank you," Your voice barely audible as you pull back to look at him, "I'm sorry about your shirt by the way." You are eye level with him, something you're not used to. 

"It's perfectly fine," he whispers chuckling, "Do you want to try to get some sleep?" 

You nod and he helps you down. You feel so small behind him, his tall frame towering over you shielding you from anything that would come your way. You head back to your room with John and crawl up on the bed sitting up against the headboard. You didn't want to go to sleep just yet. You're too afraid of what you'll see. 

John sits down on the edge of the bed and gently grabs your hand pulling you from your thoughts, "Do you want to talk about it?" 

You shake your head, "There's not really much to talk about. It's the same thing over and over again. I'm just standing there watching..." you trail off not wanting to continue. 

"But you didn't just stand there when it actually happened did you?" He takes your face into his hands. They're warm and rough, but gentle at the same time, "No, you fought and gave everything you had to try and save them. It's not your fault. Nobody blames you for what happened." 

You lean into his touch and close your eyes as a few tears escape, "Thank you John. That means a lot coming from you." 

He leans forward and places a soft kiss on your forehead, "I don't like seeing you so beside yourself like this. You know you can come to me if you ever need someone to listen." 

"I know. I appreciate you saying that." You give him a small smile. 

He stands up, but you instinctively grab his arm to stop him. 

"Please don't go," you responded quietly. 

He looks at you with soft eyes, "I'm just going to turn the lamp off." His voice was so soft it made you feel safe and at ease. 

You let him go and he walks over to turn off the lamp and then climbs on the other side of the bed. You scoot over to him and lay your head on his chest. He wraps his arm around you as you feel yourself drifting off to sleep to the sweet sound of his heart beat. 

'We're just friends right?' You both think to yourselves.

[mojowitchcraft]

Writing Patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

I was tagged by @mixsethaddams🥰

First Lines!

Steve pockets his phone as he reaches the bar. From Late Bloomers 🌱🪻 This is the first Steve POV line which I wrote, but the fic actually starts with "Eddie is running late." In Eddie's POV which @arimakes wrote, fun to see the parallel there.

Wayne walks out of the post office in downtown Hawkins with a small package from Eddie under his arm and a rare smile on his face. From Watch Me 📼 📹

Stephanie Eve Harrington has it all, or at least it seems that way from the outside looking in. From The Ritual 🫦🩸

Sometimes Steve gets a kick out of imagining what his sixteen-year-old self would say about his current life. From Perfect Synchronicity 👂🍆

When Steve invited the group to his family’s ski chalet for the week leading up to Christmas, Eddie argued that he should drive them all up in his van since it has the most seats, plus extra room for all of their bags. From Leave The World Behind ⛷️🛌

He feels it again, a pulse of energy like a battering ram on the edge of his psyche. From Living In A Lunar Spell🦇🍦

Eddie’s walking home on an ordinary November night. From Hazy Shade 🥽🎃

After much cajoling from Gareth, Jeff, and Grant Eddie finally downloads Tinder. From It's A Match!📱➡️

Steve cuddles up behind Eddie, pushing his morning wood against Eddie’s ass while he sleeps. From C'mon Bambi, It's My Birthday 🦌🎁

Even though he knows that most kids will say the same about their own moms, Eddie Munson has always argued that his mom is the best mom ever. From The Untold History of Eddie Munson's Porn Box 🔞📦

Something I conciously do when I'm writing the first sentence of a fic, especially since I tend to write multiple POVs is that I always include the name of the character who's POV we're in so that the reader doesn't have to guess (unless i'm being intentionally ambigious like in LIALS where it starts with a cheeky lil Vecna POV) Sometimes I full name them, sometimes not... it's funny to see how everything kicks off though! I have noticed that I have the tendency to start sentences with the characters name so I've actively been trying to get away from that so every paragraph doesn't start with a name.

Last lines! Under the cut for spoilers and also this is getting LONG 😅

He drifts off smiling to himself, thoughts of Eddie floating through his head. From Late Bloomers 🌱🪻Chapter 5 Again, this is the last Steve POV but the chapter ends with a omniscient pov which Ari wrote.

Grant just smiles, and says, “I was saving it for today.” From Watch Me 📼 📹

Oh god, she’s created a monster. From The Ritual 🫦🩸

“Yeah, I do.” From Perfect Synchronicity 👂🍆

Ready for whatever comes next. From Leave The World Behind ⛷️🛌

Anything to help his buddy out.  From Living In A Lunar Spell🦇🍦Chapter 5/7 cause it's still unfinished 🫣

“Figured it was the least I could do.” From Hazy Shade 🥽🎃

 Somehow he can’t seem to care about being proven wrong. From It's A Match!📱➡️

“Love you too, Eddie.” From C'mon Bambi, It's My Birthday 🦌🎁

Thank fucking god his porn collection isn’t out on the coffee table when they get in there.  From The Untold History of Eddie Munson's Porn Box 🔞📦

I usually like to end on a happy/hopeful note but there's a few funny ones thrown in there too... damn I really want to write more in the Vamp Verse after Stevie gets turned into a vampire... they've got more suckin' and fuckin' to do!

No pressure tags: @arimakes @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @kiaramori @itcanbepalped @entanglednow @maryofdoom

[crescynnt]

Guess it's about time I made an intro post

Hi! My name is Cynn but I usually go by Cy or Cyber.

18 | College student | he/him | trans/ace

I try to keep my blog family friendly (with the exception of some late-night edgy writings).

I'm currently obsessed with Animator vs. Animation and most of the stuff I create is based on that (help??). Might go into other fandoms later once I actually have something to talk about there.

My tags:

#cy's art - stuff I drew. I usually draw traditionally, unless it's something quick and easy

#cy's writing - stuff I wrote. Whatever in-character snippets I got floating around

#some thoughts... - rants or character studies

#i should sleep - stuff I wrote in the middle of the night and probably grammatically wonky or just a complete fever dream that I'd forget I even posted in the morning

#life update - talking about something that's not necessarily based within a fandom. Usually an actual life update, but it's also a stand-in for a cy speaks tag

My askbox is always open if you ever feel like sending me anything! If it's a request, it'll probably take a couple of days for me to get back to you 'cause writer's block loves me. I'll usually take writing requests, but art requests are more of a 50-50 (I'm a writer, not an artist. It takes a lot more effort for me to draw something than it is to write something 😅). Topics to talk about are also appreciated!

Fics:

#AMTSYA - Dark gets amnesia after the Showdown and wanders Stick City trying to hunt down his memories (and Chosen, who a command in his head tells him to destroy)

[suzieb-fit]

Like I don't have a care in the world....😋

Actually, you know what? I feel great. Like really good.

Time to have a read. On to my next book. I chose one of my diabetes ones this time.

So, today has been pretty successful. Boxes ticked. Yay for that.

I've never put much faith into fitness bands for tracking sleep, but I'm going to keep mine on at night for a while. See if I notice any changes since setting the late night/normal rise thing.

That leads me to my first of today's three reasons to smile -

1. Day one of the sleep restriction plan went well. I usually go to bed at 9pm, read for a bit then try go to sleep. Up at 6.30am. So last night I went two and a half hours later, did my reading, then tried sleep. Up at 6.30 as usual. And I managed it no problem.

Might need a longer margin. I'll see how it goes.

2. An earlier than usual walk was a real boost to literally everything. Felt great.

3. Back to my own, personal "feel good" diet. High fat, low carb lunch. Delicious. And I'm still full an hour later. The kind of fullness that doesn't cause the binge eating trigger.

I added an extra hour to my fast, my macros are where I want them, and I've been good and active.

No matter what my stupid hormones are trying to do to me, today has been a good day.

I feel really good now that I'm back to a macro range that suits me. And I've stayed active.

I felt rubbish earlier, mostly because I'm bleeding again, when I'm supposed to be fully post menopausal. But pfft....bring it on, hormones. You ain't ever beating this girl down for long!

Did I mention that Thursday is my "two strong coffees" day? 🤔😅

[bellaxgiornata]

love that you’re making a playlist for Seeking Forgiveness. I am the worst writer but often thought of a Matt/reader post-Midland Circle pregnancy fic (I know it’s been done). In my mind reader is listening to Ivy by Taylor Swift getting ready for that baby shower Marci and Karen are throwing getting choked up at the part: “So yeah, it’s a war, it’s the goddamn fight of my life and you started it.”

Also after baby arrives Matt hears reader struggling with exhaustion and late night feeds singing “Hey Jude” to the baby because of course the baby was named after the patron Saint of lost causes. 🙃

Ahh yes! I often make playlists to share for my fics because I've been asked before what I listen to when I write! Though usually I listen to music when I'm thinking of ideas because it's become too distracting for me to write with it on. I really like making angsty playlists too 😅

Ohhh! I'll admit, I don't know Taylor songs (I put one on the playlist this time because my angst fics always get Taylor quoted at me so I gave a couple a listen), but that sounds like a great idea! That would definitely be an emotional moment thinking your partner is gone. Pregnancy is rough on its own but then knowing you're soon to raise a child on your own? Single parents have my absolute respect.

And ahhh! 🤣 I've personally never heard someone name Matt’s child that in a fic but I love it so much!! Could you picture his face when he was told the reasoning behind the name? 😆

[freebooter4ever]

Hello! Another random anonymous but I kept seeing you’re posts about some relationship relating things and saw the negative stuff you’ve said about yourself. Even if they might be teasing jokes about yourself, you might not realize this (and not in a creepy way 😅) but you really are wonderful! I love seeing your posts and you’re personality!

You’re super pretty too! This might sound really random and weird (and I’m honestly probably not getting the right context of anything because I’m sort of confuse about the topic since English isn’t my first language and the events are hard to catch up with) but my grandma has found love when she was in her 50s and has lived a nice life.

I know your situation differ from hers but have faith in yourself. Nothing is wrong with you at all, it just takes time to find the person right for you and when you do, you’ll find someone who deserves you and you deserve them, if you wish to find someone to love of course. But try to remember that you should try and have some more love for yourself, no matter how tough it can get.

Just know that there are people out there and no doubt people waiting to meet you and love you. Haha sorry if this all sounds super weird and awkward, it’s just how the people of my culture see things. There’s always that one person out there who loves you and is waiting to love you 😊

Hi there! Not annoying at all, my entire blog could probably be classified as annoying, this is most definitely not a curated space :). I waited to respond to this cause i wasn't sure how.

First, im really sorry, i should probably tag my insecurity posts with trigger warnings, i know it can be...a bit much. and can hurt other people who read it. The good news is the insecurities usually only happen when im dating and i like...never...date. So as soon as i find a job i will happily go back to 'im too busy to date', and i can shove the insecurity back under the self hating rug. Its like a hornets nest - its only if you poke the nest that you get stung and i keep poking the nest lately.

Second, I apologize if i generalized too much, i am trying to be more aware of myself doing that. There's lots of examples of friends with good long relationships in my life - the friend whose wedding i'm going to has been with her husband for ten years, my other childhood bff has been with her partner for 11, and jelly bean and her husband have been married since 2015 and dating since college (lord we are old). And of the celebrity couples i kinda idolize, im pretty sure only steve ao*ki and recently rami (lol good for him) are the ones with break ups. (i have been REALLY entertained by the sheer sudden volume increase in thirst traps on steve's insta starting around the time nicole got cozy with this new guy and deleted her loving tributes to steve off her account - dont get me wrong i fully appreciate the photos and selfies, enjoying every minute of it but yeah he must be single right now LOL i would feel more bad for him if he hadnt been the one doing the dumping)(it must be hard dating with his insanely fast paced lifestyle though, i dont envy him :( ). So its absolutely a 'me' problem.

My only experiences dating over the years have taught me that i dont have much to offer that someone cant get through friendship (or friends with benefits) - entertaining and fun to hang out with but not pretty enough (or good in bed enough LOL) to be actually worthwhile. At this point its kind of a joke; "its saturday night, why are you calling me, dont you have somewhere to be?" "no, of course not, i was wondering if i could come hang out with your dog"

Thanks for trying to cheer me up? :) i'm sorry i'm an insecure mess!

[thealolanchamp]

¡Introduction post!

Alola! First post here! In case you do not know me, I am Apoālewa, Champion of Alola! If my name is too difficult to pronounce that's ok, You can call me Dugga!

Here are my current pokemon with some info!

Evo the Sylveon, he's my service pokemon that helps me keep in check and ensure I'm under control of myself, he's an absolute sweetheart! He was a gift from my older half sister when I first met her(she had to adopt me after some unfortunate things that happened to me, I do not wish to say what exactly)

Mr.Squirt("lil Mister") the Primarina, my Ace in battle, he's been with me since I started my Island trials, as you can tell I was not the best at names when I was younger. He's quite a calm, gentle pokemon who enjoys his naps. He's also quite the Peirs enjoyer, you should see him make his way into whatever room has that guy's music playing!

Midnight the Lycanroc, you can guess by the name what variant of lycanroc she is lol, she's the playfully rough kind of pokemon, always nibbling on me or my clothes, rubbing her rocky parts on stuff(lost so much furniture to her). She's also what i like to call a "screamer", basically she doesn't bark, woof, ruff none of that, but SCREAMS like a bolthound that found something(usually at the late hours of the night too)

Jell-o the (shiny) Goodra, my only shiny pokemon, I found him as a goomy during a pause of rain near Po town I think, poor thing was dry from the sun:(, i got him near a shaded puddle and began to leave, but he refused to leave my side hehe, he's also caused a lot of furniture problems, he's joyfully lazy and he won't leave my chairs alone(goodra slime is hard to get out of fabric, worse is that stuff bleaches)

E ("Esper") the Espeon, a absolutely amazing if not shy companion, I got her after seeing an ad from a shelter about an eevee(her) that was used for shiny breeding and needed a home. I feel so happy that she felt safe enough around me to evolve into such a friendship related evolution. She surprisingly great in battle, the pokemon center said if mist be therapeutic for her(i make sure shes ok before and after every battle don't worry)

Mocha the (alolan) Raichu, probably my most food motivated pokemon😅, you shake a bag of food and he comes zooming, also no one told me the move Electric Terrain made them surf faster! He had to go to the pokemon center because he zoomed indoor and hit a wall🤦‍♂️(he's ok btw, happened several months ago)

Aohd(pronounced "ay") the Volcanrona, had no clue that Volcanronas are rare in Alola until guzma lost his shit at the sight of her as a Larvesta, she tends to lounge about ouside when not battling, soaking up the sun. Also I recommend to anyone thinking of having a Volcanrona to have a large backyard with easy access to sunlight and plenty vegetation, I've learned it's vital for their diets(just a tip)

Chase the Gardevoir, not my pokemon but my sister's, she(chase) is essentially a caregiver since Kahu(my sister) left for Paldea some time ago for education purposes, she helps me with chores and errands, she also speaks via ASL(Alolan Sign Language), I pretty much look up to her as a mother figure. Not sure where exactly she came from as Kahu found her as a Ralts on Poni island and apparently the Ralts line don't reside in Alola.

Rotom-Dex the Rotom, can't forget one of the most helpful pokemon I have! They were quite chatty too after they learned they can talk with the pokedex they possess, they're quite well trained for their job too! Always giving me needed tidbits about for forgettable pokemon so i won't falter in battle! Even though they don't battle themselves, they're quite vital to my job as champion!

¡Update!

So it seems I have been transported to the past via otherworldly means and now I have to make a new team for myself to ensure saftey, i currently have-

Mr.Squirt("lil Mister), he was one of the only two pokemon that came with me unfortunately, he's still the same ol' Primarina

"Arc-Dex"(RotomDex), Rotom, they started calling themselves that after I woke up in hisui, they resemble Akari's "ArcPhone", some modified phone. They still do not battle.

Ghostface the Cyndaquil, the professor here, Laventon gave her to me to ensure I learn of the "Hisuian" veriants of pokemon here, apparently she'll become a ghost type but i remember them being pure fire type, this may be interesting.

Anyways welcome to my blog, hope this wasn't too long! Don't be scared to ask questions!

[lasats-are-lovely]

Hey not trying to be rude (really!) but it looks like you're into other things now... and I want to know if you ever plan on finishing your lazytown fics?

A fair question - I haven't posted anything related to LazyTown or updated any of my long standing fics in a minute 😅 to say the least.

I don't know if I would say I'm done with LazyTown in any sense though, despite the fact that I now post almost exclusively about star wars. I mean, LazyTown was the show and fandom that quite literally saved my life - and it was the reason I met my gf of nearly 6 years now (and future wife uwu), so it's always gonna have a special place in my heart.

Anyway, the "short" answer to your question is:

... the long answer though?

Probably not anytime soon. Probably.

It's not necessarily from a lack of interest, it's just that... I'm an adult™️, an adult with adult responsibilities that take a lot of my time, as well as an adult who is in a very fulfilling relationship. Whenever I have free time, I'm usually spending it either recovering from some bs at work or I'm spending it with my lady. Very little time for something as time consuming at writing.

That, and I haven't been in the best of health. Had a stress episode mid-2022 that has caused me to have long-term physical side effects that make me exhausted and mentally distant far more than not. I've recently started some medication that should help, and have so far.

I want to write. Don't go assuming that I've lost all interest in that. And there are a lot of projects, old and new, that I still very much want to work on.

Sunflowers on Purple Cake has only 2 more planned chapters - one full chapter, as well as an 'epilogue' of sorts. That absolutely will be finished because it's so fucking close to being done and it will bother me to no end if I leave it where it is now.

Lazyrinth though...

I gotta give you some backstory first.

The entire reason I wrote Lazyrinth was to impress my gf. I think it was something she had joked about, and my little gay-ass was all like "I could do it!" because I had it bad... and I mean, it worked. How could she resist me after I did something so crazy? lol.

I spent the time between our interactions writing it for her because I loved watching her read it when we were together (well, together in the sense of being together in a voice call, as we started our relationship over 2000 miles apart). It was something that caused me to fall even more in love with her.

For the first half of Lazyrinth's chapters she was actively reading it, as well as proof-reading it for me before I posted it for everyone else. She was my main audience - it was easy to find motivation when I could see the excitement for more in her eyes.

But as time went on, and we finally ended up moving in together, she found other interests... and as of now she doesn't really have an active interest in LazyTown or LazyTown fanfiction. And that means Lazyrinth too.

So... I've had a hard time having the motivation to write it when the main reason I ever wrote it, to get with the most wonderful woman I have ever known, worked so well that we were telling each other I love you before I even started posting the fic to AO3. And now that she doesn't even read it anymore...

It's not that the magic is gone. It's just... it feels a bit like it's served its purpose in my life. I've reread it about 100 times now, I've had it's entire plot in my mind for so long that it's not as interesting to me as it was before. That, and my writing has changed and grown a lot since I first started, and there are things I wish I could change about the story that is now too late to go back to.

My gf wants me to finish it though. She tells me that she remembers the late nights I spent shaking from excitement talking about the new ideas I thought of. She wants me to finish it because of how important it was to us and to me.

And a surprising amount of people want me to finish it too. I never expected it to get as popular as it did, and I especially didn't expect it to be popular enough that it would pop up in a ColeyDoesThings video. It's strange, because even though I have reasons to stop writing it, I have just as many reasons to finish it.

... and it will be a long time coming, but I'm gonna do it.

No timeline on when. I don't want you or anyone to have any expectations on when it will be done, because at this rate you'll be waiting until 2026 (knock on wood....) but as long as I'm able to write, I plan on getting it done. There's only, like 5 planned chapters left after all.

Though because of how wordy my writing is, that means there's at least 8...

[colorguardsweetheartblurrsgirl]

I over exaggerated my guess based on habits I have in general of life. I tend to do more then needed "Overachiever" even though I have engrained in me that " Less is more."

So I exaggerated my guess.

For me it depends on the art. If I have several characters, each will have several layers from the face (I like to seperate eyes and hair. Outline... skin. Shadow. Lighting. Base colors. Etc. Etc. Also seperate hair sahdjng from shading in the hands, face/neck, clothes, etc... because I'm the type that if I make a mistake I dont want to mess up other stuff. So I'll have these separated (something learned experience). Depending on background I may have two or more layers solely dedicated to the background alone. Or it may be as simple as two to five... again it depends on details. I treat layers like reading and writing sheet music seperate each instrument and part. Combine similar areas into folders as often the Mezzo and First Soprano's share a line in a Choir that's SSAA, STB, SSTB,etc. Being a what kids who grew up similarly through the stations in my area called "Radio Baby" in all, music is how I often look at many aspects of life. So it's how I categorize. It literally helps me shape my life.

Please NOTE:

The Valentines Post I'm working on.

(Will likely post after Valentine's cause, The day after is my Moms Birthday. Valentines has always been a family affair for me cause moms birthday was right after (literally was born several minutes after Valentines day... so we treet both days as if her birthday) usually we celebrated both days cause love him, but my dad irritably likes working on her actual birthday cause the day after Valentines jn any job whether marketing sales in radio or working security is ALWASY a happening day, and hes a go getter... so much as it irritates my mother we wet aside both days for her. I often have to be available for both that way my mom has Someone available on her birthday... So expect now and jn the future Valentines posts to come early or later due to this fact. (Also same in March I'm the exact same when it comes to Saint Patties Day my Birthday... its ironic all family members were born a few minut ees s after some holiday its hilarious).

Only just this late figured I'd get this message I intended earlier, out now

I mean they say Its better Late then Never.😂🤣😅😅😅😅 so yeah, my Valentines art I started on late in the game kinda came up and surprised me how close we were days before literally and started on it. So it may be a few days if I don't get it done tonight.

(which as you saw I didn't manage, actually it's kinda due to several updates for things on my device laptop... I hope to either finish or get a majority of the work done on it tonight. Hopefully last nights updates are the last for a while in a good way as of 2/18/23. I also admit I think Thirsday after updates were done I actually turned my focus on updating a few aspects of teh other long time story I've mentioned on here... didnt mean to work as long as I did that day on it. So that was a mix of computer being slow and me putting focus on a doc while it was being finicky loosing pimento it).

Considering the subject matter though...

🤔🤔🤔🤔

My Valwntines intended art post bring used for an example... Well this one will have a simple background.... ssssoooooooooo....

Give or take each character may have anywhere from 3 layers to ten depending.... hmm...I guess based on that I could be more likely between 15-50 (most likely more like 15-30). But It has a chance to go up to 75 or 100. It depends on details. But I'm confident it's under 50 layers.

[scienceoftheidiot]

My dear @qs63 prompted me yesterday to write a short Post Promised Day kiss, and before I turned around this one shot was 2,5K long.

You can read it on AO3 or under the cut here, since it's a prompt (but... Not that short 😅) ⬇️

The phone startled Roy awake. Disoriented, he got up in a hurry, groaned when he blindly walked into the door, pawed at the wall to find the light switch, put the lights on, and ran to the living room, blinking under the sudden harsh light.

He had no idea what time it was, where he was, who it could be - probably late at night, his apartment in Central, and at this time, the only person who could call was -

"Yes?"

"Brigadier General."

He still had to get used to that.

The title reminded him of Hughes. His posthumous promotion. Everytime he was called this way, a shudder climbed up his spine. He hoped it would ease with time.

But what was more important, was who was calling him.

"Hawkeye? Is that you?"

"Uh. Yes. Sir."

Roy passed a hand on his face, his sensitive eyes squinting under the bright living room light. That slight hesitation. He knew what it was. Placing the receiver at the crook of his neck, he pulled on the phone to take it with him as he went on a search for his trousers - his watch was in the pocket.

The cord was too short. His trousers were in his bedroom. And he had nothing else to ask to Hawkeye - asking her how she was doing was out of question.

"What time is it?"

"If it's too late, sir, I can -"

"No, no, I can't find my watch, is all."

"In your trousers right pocket. If I remember well, you also have a spare one in the second drawer of the chest in your living room."

"You're the best, Hawkeye." The phone cord was long enough for him to reach the drawer.

Two am. Roy frowned. It wasn't right, it wasn't right at all.

"I can't decide if you're very early or very late, Captain."

"I'm sorry, I --"

"Easy. I'm just teasing."

Mustang, stop with the fucking banter.

"Nightmare?"

"I just... Needed to hear your voice."

Roy's hand tightened on receiver. For her to admit this, it must have been one hell of a nightmare, indeed. He lowered his voice, trying to sound more soothing than his usual tease.

"I'm here, Hawkeye. In one piece. Everything works more or less like it should, too."

"Yes. I can hear that. Thank you."

"My pleasure, Captain."

Silence.

"I think I'll hung up, now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You need to sleep. I'm sorry to have -"

"You do, too, you know? Need to sleep."

"I'll be okay."

"Captain Hawkeye calling me at two am means she's very not okay, you know. Ask anyone. They'll tell you this."

"I don't want just anyone knowing I call you in the middle of the night, sir."

"Well, ask me, and I will tell you you're not okay and you shouldn't hung up just yet."

Silence. But she didn't hang up.

"Hawkeye?"

"I think I need - nevermind. I should -"

"You know what, I think we should go out one of these days. With the team, I mean -" he added quickly. "Have a glass or two. We haven't really since -"

"Since the boys threw a party to celebrate you and Havoc's healing."

"Yeah, and I asked you to take me back after an hour cause my head was going to explode, so I didn't really enjoy it that much, remember?"

"I do. And yes, it - it's a nice idea."

There was something loaded, there. She sounded like she wanted it, but like she was also disappointed.

"Hawkeye?"

"...Sir?"

"Did you mean you needed to see me just now?"

Yet another silence.

Roy was tempted to add something, anything, to stop her from hanging up on him, to stop her from returning to her bed or her sofa or anywhere in her flat as alone and lost and upset as she sounded. But he also knew that if he said anything, there, then she would never admit it.

"... Yes?"

Roy felt his shoulders slump and something warm twist under his ribs. He had to blink away a speck of dust in his eye - definitely dust, damn his eyes for being so sensitive nowadays.

"Come. I'll put the water to boil."

Roy had started to worry a little, pacing back and forth in his kitchen, when he heard the knocks. He opened the door on a very sorry looking and literally drenched Hawkeye.

His first reaction was to step towards her, intent on hugging her, stopping himself at the last second, and closing his mouth on the "Oh, Riza..." that threatened to go past his lips.

"You should have told me it was raining, I hadn't noticed. I'd have come to pick you up with the car."

"It's okay. I think I needed a walk."

Roy suspected she'd taken so long because she'd turned around multiple times, unable to decide if she should act on his offer or not. An irrational feeling of pride washed over him, but he couldn't tell if it was for her or himself.

He noticed her eyes didn't leave him, following his every move, ever since he'd opened the door.

One hell of a nightmare.

Roy cleared his throat, taking her coat from her shoulders. She let him do so. To Roy, she felt like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Make yourself at home. I'll fetch you a towel for your hair."

He turned around, feeling her eyes boring through his back.

It was a rare occurrence, but it happened that one of them decided to call the other in the middle of the night, needing to speak, share, with someone who knew what they had gone and were still going through. They usually just sat at either side of the room, silent, a warm cup of tea in hand.

But not alone. Together.

The tea had long infused, and Roy gestured for Riza to sit as he left the towel on the small kitchen table, and went to pour two cups. He gave one to her. Her hands, reddened and dried by the cold outside, curled immediately around it.

He sat at the other side of the table. They waited in silence for the tea to cool down enough to be drinkable.

After a while, Roy took a tentative sip and a no less tentative step.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Hawkeye had stopped trying to drill holes through him with her eyes, and was now intently looking at her cup. She did not look up from it, and took her time to reply, her voice very small.

"No."

Rainwater dripped from her bangs onto the table. The towel laid untouched next to her hands.

Roy took another sip from his tea, and got up. He circled around the table, and took the towel.

"May I?"

Hawkeye had a sharp nod. Almost invisible. But, after all, they had known each other long enough.

Standing behind her, he freed her hair from the clip she always wore - not without fumbling a little with it, with his still healing hands, and the clip metal being soaking wet. Honey hair, darkened by water, cascaded on her shoulders. Ever so gently, he gathered it in one hand, applying the towel to it with the other.

He did notice her shoulder tense, then relax, slowly.

Once her hair stopped dripping, he put the towel aside, and tried to untangle the silky strands with his hands. That wouldn't do.

"Coming back."

Another sharp nod, before he saw Hawkeye finally drink her tea from the corner of his eye as he turned to the bathroom again.

His own terribly straight and thick hair was pretty easily untangled by hand most of the time, but he did keep a brush somewhere for the days where he had to look at least a little better dressed.

Hawkeye had not moved when he came back, but her cup was empty. He refilled it without a word, then went to work on her hair.

The silky strands under his fingers reminded him of the last time he'd done this - the first, also. That wasn't long ago.

In the hospital, after a couple of days, Hawkeye had grown frustrated. Her hair was tangled, still matted in places, and with the cut in her neck, and her overall weakness, she couldn't brush them properly, nor tie them so they wouldn't annoy her and brush against the bandage on her nape.

She had not said anything, but Roy could feel it.

He didn't need to see her, then, to know something was annoying her, tensing her more than she was already, and after a little asking and prying, that almost turned into harassment, he'd managed to extract the information from her.

That was so simple. And not as if he didn't know how to care for long hair - his sisters had

made sure he helped them get ready quite often when he was a kid.

Of course, his hands were not as deft as they used to be, and at this moment he couldn't see, but you didn't need to, just to brush hair. He'd offered to help, and it took a little convincing, but Hawkeye had finally accepted and let him take the brush from her hand. And he could tell from her stance, the little humming sounds she made - probably consciously, for his benefit - that she enjoyed it, in the end.

He realized as he passed his fingers through her wet hair that he had closed his eyes, reliving the feeling he'd had back then, the touch of her hair, the warmth of her body being so close. It was a moment he would remember as pure happiness. A moment of bliss amidst bleak times, that would for ever shine in his memory, even if it had only been experienced through touch and sound and smell. Maybe because it had been so.

A smile pulled at his lips as he opened his eyes again, now able to enjoy the warm colour of Hawkeye's hair as well as it's softness.

As he reached for a couple of stray bangs, his fingers brushed against the side of her neck, and the scars that were now crossing it. Hawkeye immediately brought her shoulders up, tilting her head backwards, protecting the tender, still very pink skin there. Roy stilled.

"Sorry. Does it hurt, still?"

Riza answered with another question, but let her shoulders slump down.

"Do yours?"

Roy repressed a small chuckle. That wasn't funny.

"Of course they do. I can barely hold that damn hair brush, after filling paperwork all day. And I did most on the typewriter."

"Don't tell me you've found a new way to try and escape paperwork, sir."

"I don't think you'd let me, anyway."

Roy was done with her hair. It was drying, gaining more shine and becoming lighter in colour and under his fingers as it did so. But he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to let go of Hawkeye's hair, of the proximity it gave them, of just being able to touch her.

So he kept brushing, even if, yeah, his hands hurt. But he saw her close her eyes under his touch as he tilted his head to the side. It was definitely worth it.

"You don't like me using your new rank."

Roy blinked. The question had come out of nowhere, in a voice that was a little more assured than it'd been when Hawkeye had entered his flat. He sighed.

"I'm not going to lie to you."

"Because of Hughes."

"Yes."

Roy, still standing behind Hawkeye, his hands still now mostly playing with her hair rather than brushing it, expected the conversation to die there.

"I think he'd be proud of you."

Roy let go of her hair, to place his hands on her shoulders. Hawkeye and Hughes never really had what would have been called a relationship - and would have absolutely never interacted if not for Roy himself being friends with both. Hughes considered Roy's fondness for Hawkeye as an impediment on his way to find his perfect wife, and Hawkeye disapproved of Hughes's loudness, his constant boasting and his berating of Roy on the same subject - there was no jealousy there, only professionalism on her part.

Or, rather, mostly professionalism.

So to hear her talk about Hughes, and with such a tone of voice, was uncommon. But it made that warm twist in his gut rise again.

"I think you're right."

Silence, again. A comfortable silence, at least on Roy's part, that Hawkeye pulverized into millions of sharp pieces.

"You died."

Roy froze, the warmth disappearing.

"In my nightmare. You died in my arms, and - and I couldn't tell if the one who'd shot you was an enemy or myself. You kept telling me it wasn't my fault, while blood poured out of your mouth and you were clutching at my shoulders. But I think it was. I think it was me who shot you. And then you died. It took a long time. It… I…"

Hawkeye's hands were slightly shaking around the newly empty tea cup, and Roy could feel the tremors in her shoulders. First, he pushed on them, trying to put some weight on her, to ground her, show her he was there, then he changed his mind.

He couldn’t tell her that he knew exactly how she felt, for he’d experienced it not too long before, for real, and that every other night, he went through more or less the same dream. Her dying in his arms, with no way to prevent it from happening. Alone underground. Her blood smeared on her clothes, her face, his hands. The very real image of her blood dying her hair red, engraved in his mind, for weeks, while he was blind to everything else.

Roy tried to repress the shiver that crept up his spine and closed its icy hands around his throat. Now was not the time to tell her that. She needed him to be stronger than her, right now. Nor would he tell her that he had, in fact, gone so far as to pick up the phone a week prior, only to place it back down before calling her number.

He took her hand and gently pulled her up, seeing with a pang of sadness that she still behaved like a stringless puppet, following his push without showing neither want nor dislike.

"Look at me, Riza."

The surprise at him using her first name seemed to pull her out of her torpor, and she looked him in the eye.

"Good. Look. I'm here. All in one piece. You didn't shoot me." Unsure of where to place his hands, he put them on her waist - a light touch, as if they were at a formal dance. He wouldn’t dare anything more intrusive than that. "You never did. You came close ... But you didn't have to. You pushed me back on the right track. You always do. And I always follow."

He could get lost in her dark amber eyes for hours if he had nothing else to care about. But he had to care for her, right now. And he couldn't bear the fact that these eyes were rimmed red. Slowly, he brought his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. He let out a sigh as her own arms circled his waist and he nudged his head in the crook of her neck - careful to choose the right side. She rested her forehead on his shoulder, and spoke low.

"I'm supposed to be the one who follows. Not the other way around."

"You perfectly know I keep turning back to ask you directions."

"I thought it was to check if I was still there."

"No. I trust you too much to ever doubt that."

They stood still, huddled together, for a while. Then Roy stepped back.

“Are you feeling better?”

Riza sniffed against his chest.

“Yes.”

“Let me see.”

He brought his hands to the sides of her face, tilting her head so their eyes would meet again. Her features were less tense, but not fully relaxed yet.

“I think there’s still some way to go.”

Stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, he kissed her forehead lightly, taking in the smell of her hair, and the softness of her skin. When he pulled back, she had closed her eyes, and some of the remaining tension had left her face.

Smiling, he placed his hands back on her waist, where they were before.

“Why don’t we sit?”

Hawkeye frowned again, ruining his efforts. But it was only for a couple of seconds.

“We should sleep. I should go home. I just needed to check on you, to be sure. We both need to sleep.”

“We’ll sleep when we’re dead.” Roy tried a mock frown, and rested his forehead against hers, black locks of hair mixing with honey bangs. “Or when we fall asleep on the couch. Either way, I’m not letting you go.”

“Is that an order?”

That warm twist again. Hawkeye’s dry smile was back.

“I could make it so.”

“Let’s sit, then.”

[frenziedslashers]

the Sinclairs and your hobbies:

(all of these are assuming you like working with others and/or being watched, if not just ignore those)

1. working on your truck

I think Bo would love this and would want to help you (or mayhaps even let you help him), but I also think he's somewhat of a know-it-all and can get really annoying. also hella protective of his truck.

still, you're cool beans cause... you know stuff about trucks. would also make you help woth stripping the victims cars and stuff.

2. crocheting

Vincent would like it simply cause it is artsy, and I feel like Lester would admire you? also please make him stuff. he'd probably most openly appreciate it. Bo wants stuff too but he would never say it and act like it's not a big deal.

if this is something you can do (cause a friend crocheted a dog plushie for me) I think Lester would literally act like you gave him the moon. 12/10 would do his best to keep it clean and probably cuddle it in his sleep but don't let Bo know.

Vincent might be interested in learning a bit, but I think his wax, drawing etc is more his thing

3. cooking

please cook together with them

just

do it

Bo would possibly be difficult about it - see: truck - but still

you could learn things from each other

4. writing

if you wrote a poem for or about Vincent he'd (figuratively) melt

and I feel like Lester (and maybe Bo) would enjoy having stuff read out to them?

if you wanted to ask someone's opinion or to beta read, Vincent would probably be your best shot, though I do think all of them would do it

5. archery

Bo might think it's interesting, but... well, guns are a thing, y'know?

Lester would probably be... fascinated, maybe? like, he obviously knows it's a thing but I don't think he's ever seen someone do it before. though it might initially remind him a lot of hunting, and you'd have to show him that people don't always do it to kill, but just for fun.

(would you shoot an apple off his head? what do you mean that's a bad idea? *cue Bo glaring at him and Vincent just shaking his head, probably laughing*)

6. shooting rifles/pistols

now, this Bo can get behind

(I think you made that post about teaching Bo how to shoot properly too, cause his aim is whack? he wouldn't like you pointing that out to him though, but you could probably convince him)

show off to him and he'll be impressed

can you do that on humans too though? they can always use a helping hand with their... guests

7. carving wood with knives

Lester loves it cause knives are cool and I'm sure he does carving too, wood and maybe bones even?

and Vincent likes it too, I mean, he does do some carving with his wax, and the principle is the same

can totally see y'all just hanging out working on stuff and Bo being like... really?

though tbh he might also do soooome wood carving like, come on

anyway I had thoughts, for some reason reading your hobbies inspired me

sorry if anything is ooc, I don't usually do this kinda writing 😅

I- 🥺🥺 thank you so much!!

I literally love all of these so much 😭😭 this made my night I've been so down in the dumps lately, I literally appreciate all of this 💕💕 thank you so much though!!! Ughhh I just wanna carve stuff with Lester 😭😭 this literally made my night omllll