#leaving myself with only the amount of work I could get done today done

[freepassbound]

Executive dysfunctioned myself into a bit of a spiral this week!

It's over now, thankfully - though this time I was saved only by an actual deus ex machina of a snow day on Thursday.

(after FOUR straight days of accomplishing precisely nothing that needed to get done, and one day of trying - and mostly failing - to scramble to do some of it)

[logansargeantsbabymom]

Hi could you please write an imagine for the f1 boys (mainly Charles, lando, Pierre, Charles) where they surprise the reader at work and she works in childcare. Thank you

Hey pretty, thank you for the request <3!

Work Surprises with the F1 Boys

A/N: I did make this where Y/N has different occupations working with children so it's not the boring same old same old for every driver. I hope that's okay!

Follow my instagram account (THATS STRICTLY FOR THIS BLOG) for updates on when i post and fun stuff like that!

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F1 Masterlist

Charles Leclerc: Pediatrician

I woke up at the same time I have for the past 3 years as I would everyday to get ready for work, at 5:30am. Now I was never and never will be a morning person but I absolutely love my job because it involves me helping kids whether they're sick or just need to get a physical for a school field trip.

I felt my boyfriend stir in his sleep next to me as I tried to sneak out of bed. My attempt of sneaking out though failed as I felt the strong arm of my boyfriend wrap around my waist and yanked me against his body. "Mmmm, don't leave" my boyfriend, Charles whispered against the crook of my neck, which caused me to shiver at the sudden breath hitting my skin.

"Baby, I have to get ready for work." I said as I ran a hand through his messy hair

A groan left his mouth before he continued, "Call out sick" his grip on my waist tightening as he snuggled closer to me to fall back asleep

"No Charles, I have too many appointments today and I won't have any cover. I'll be back soon though, remember the office closes early because it's the 4th of July?" that seemed to persuade him enough because I felt his grip loosen a bit and I took that as my queue to slip out before he had enough time to change his mind.

-

I'd only been at work for about 2 hours and I've seen about 24 patients and attempted to finish some paperwork but every time I get the second to sit down and start the papers, a new patient needs to be seen. I think the last time I've been more stressed in my life than I am right now was back when I was waiting for my score to see if I passed my pediatric exam to get my license and that because I have a waiting room of 6 more patients and all the other doctors and nurses are busy.

I can only thank the heavens because the next patient I had to see turned out to be quadruplets, which would save a significant amount of time on my behalf. Once I called the patients and led them to the room where I closed the door before asking the most important question any doctor could every ask.

"Who's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn?" I was slightly annoyed with myself as I finished my question because anyone could tell who Dawn was so I could've easily excluded her from the question.

"I'm Nicky, that's Dicky, and that's Ricky. Dawn obviously is the only girl here so" Nicky said

"Right, well who wants to get their shots first?" I said as I looked at the pan of 8 needles. Each kid needed a flu shot and a hep b shot but as I looked around the already crowed room, none of the kids wanted to volunteer first.

With an unamused look on her face, Dawn reluctantly agreed to go first. It only took about 10 minutes to give all 4 kids their shots and when the last kid got his shot, they all bolted out of the room.

"I'm sorry about them, they hate needles" was all the mom said before she left to follow her kids.

-

It's now 11:55am and the last patient is just about to leave before we close for an hour to have lunch "Okay, if the meds aren't working for your son after about a week, I would come back but if he develops a fever and starts vomiting while taking it, I would suggest taking him to the emergency room." I said as I guided the new mom and her 3 year old daughter to the front lobby.

As soon as the last patient left, I locked the door before making my way to my office to attempt to get some of my paperwork done during my hour break instead of eating.

I was walking back to receptionist desk where I kept my paperwork so I could take them back to my office, only to find it not there. A look of confusion plastered on my face as I continued to look for my missing paperwork. I frustrated groan left my mouth as I realized I'd have to restart all that work.

"I hope you really weren't about to skip lunch for work mon cherie"

A gasp slips past my lips as I quickly turned around to see my boyfriend standing there with a stack of files in one hand and bag of Chinese food in the other.

"Charles!" I said as I walked over to him and took my paperwork back "I thought someone stole these! You scared me!" I placed my hand over my heart and I took deep breaths to try and regulate my heartbeat.

"Sorry, mon coeur but I had to take them because I knew you were going to skip lunch again." A baffled look played across my face because how did he know I have been skipping my lunch breaks to get paperwork done?

"Your coworkers have been telling me you're not eating at work. You can't tell kids to eat to grow and be strong and then not take your own advice. I'm here to make sure that you eat today so I'm making it a little lunch date. Sit and eat."

Lando Norris: Kindergarten teacher

"Ms. L/N, my dad told me that you're dating a famous wace car dwiver, is that twue?" my one student, who's name I just learn was Leo asked me.

Today was meet the teacher day at the school I taught at just 2 weeks before the first day of school and this question was very different than the ones I've been asked before. I looked up at the single dad behind him as I let out a little chuckle

"Why yes I am Leo, is your dad a fan?" I asked as I knelt to be at level with him

"Uh huh! He woves the orwange one!" I've always had a soft spot for kids and right now Leo is making my heart melt.

I didn't have a chance to respond before he ran over to his dad to tell him the good news. I got pulled aside by a parent who told me about an allergy her kid had to a specific cleaning chemical which I made a note of to avoid using in my classroom. I stuck the sticky note on my computer screen before hearing "MS L/N, YOUR BOYFRWEND HERE!" I could recognize that voice as little Leo's.

My head shot up to look at the door and sure enough, my very famous Formula 1 driver boyfriend was there with a bag full of school supplies and gift bags filled with goodies for the kids.

"Kids, I've got presents!!" Lando shouted which caused a little sea of 5-6 year olds kids ran over him making little grabby hands.

Once all the kids got their little baggy of toys, Lando talking to Leo's dad and I answered more questions, the classroom started to empty as Meet The Teacher time ended. The room fell in a comfortable silence as I started to clean up and organize all the supplies I was gifted today.

"Have you ever thought of having a kid or two?" Lando asked, my body tensed at the question

"I dunno, I haven't thought about it. Have you?" I asked as I looked him in the eyes.

"Everyday since we started dating."

Carlos Sainz: School Counselor

"Listen Jess, I can't keep getting you out of trouble. You have to stop getting attitudes with teachers over a small issue." I said with a sigh as I had to deal with a troubled 14 year old freshman for the 4th time this week and it only being Tuesday.

"It's not my fault Ms. Jones was being a bitch to me." Jess said as she shrugged and slouched back in the seat she was in.

"Jess! You can't go around calling your teacher a bitch!" I scolded

"I will if they're being bitches!" Jess shouted

The ring of my school phone is what prevented me from further scolding the student sat in front of me

"Ms L/N's office" I started as I listened to the person on the other line "Okay, tell him to sit at the door of my office while I finish up with this student I have now. Okay, thank you. Bye bye" I hung up the phone before turning my attention back to Jess.

"Do you have another student?" she questioned

"I have another meeting, yes, but you're my top priority right now." I said as I readjusted my position in my chair

"To be honest, I cause these problems because I need someone to talk to and I feel most comfortable with you." Jess admitted as she looked down at her lap

"Jess," I started sympathetically "How about this, once a week we will have a 20 minute meeting to talk about anything and everything you want?" I compromised, which got a nod from her.

I watched as Jess left my office, I attempted to clean my desk a little before bringing my other meeting in before hearing Jess' voice

"Woah, you're hot. Are you a teacher?" before I could questioned who she's talking to I heard a thick Spanish accent answer her question

"No, I just have a meeting with Y/N." Disbelief spread across my face as I recognized the voice. There was no way that voice belonged to who I thought it did to.

I quickly ran outside my office where I was met with the most beautiful man on planet earth and who I was proud to call my boyfriend.

"CARLOS?!" I shouted as I jumped in his arms before planting a kiss to his lips

"Sorry for calling your boyfriend hot Ms. L/N" Jess said before she walked away

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I asked as he put me down but not breaking the hug

"We have the week off before the Miami Grand Prix so I wanted to surprise you." Carlos whispered as he kissed my temple

"Well, consider me surprised" I mumbled against his lips before littering his face in kisses.

Lewis Hamilton: Peds surgeon

I’m currently on hour 8 of my 12 hour hospital shift and I’ve never been more exhausted in my life. I’ve performed 2 surgeries today and I still have one more lined up, now don’t get me wrong, I love my job and everything that comes with it. The ups, the downs, all of it.

I’ve finally finished up a post-op check up with one of my patients before hearing my stomach growl, I sent one of my trusted nurse friends to do the post op check up on the other patient while I grabbed a quick bite before my next surgery.

When I got to the cafeteria, I got a sandwich and sat down with another one of my friends while I scarfed my food down.

“So what’d you do today?” My trauma surgeon friend, Nalani asked as she took a bite of the sandwich she got

“I had to fix a bowel in one kid and another one swallowed a whole bunch of magnetic balls so I had to remove those. One balls tried to stick to the other and pierced an intestine so I had to fix that up. What about you?” I asked a I took another big bite of my food

“Oh well two people came in impaled in the chests with a long rod. Had to separate them, they both survived. It was a real miracle of God because when the images were taken, it looked like neither one of them were gonna survive.”

-

I’d been prepping for my last surgery of the day before I finally get to clock out and not worry about coming back for the next 4 days.

I walked into the OR getting suited up before noticing a figure in the amphitheater which caused me to look out of pure curiosity. Looking up I was locking eyes with the most handsomest man Ive ever seen in my whole life, who just so happened to be my fiancé.

“What is Lewis doing here?” I questioned the surgical intern

“He said he really missed you. The chief of surgery gave him clearance to be there, I think he promised to autograph a whole bunch of things for him and his kids?”

“That sounds like something Lewis would agree to” I giggled as I started to walk to the head of the table before hearing over the intercom

“Good luck with this surgery darling, I love you.”

“I love you too” was all I whispered before starting my last surgery of the day.

Daniel: Summer Camp Director

“Alright everybody, can I have your attention please?” I shouted as I glanced around the room filled with 10-15 year olds.

This is my 3rd summer being a Camp Counselor and I have to admit that I always have a blast here.

“Thank you. My name is Ms. L/N, and I’m the main counselor here at Camp Kikiwaka and I’m going to be going over everything that we’re going to be doing here over the course of the summer and you then I’ll open the floor to you guys so you can ask me questions, okay?”

I heard a sea of “Yes” “Okay” “Got it” before I continued. It only took about 45 minutes to go over the expectations at Camp Kikiwaka and the summer itinerary, “Okay, now does anyone have any questions?” A small hand shot up the second I finished my question

“I thought the big kid camp was the building?” a little girl said

“Yes it is, the camp section for older kids is right next door, why? Do you have a sibling over there?” I questioned as I looked at the little girl in front of me

“So who’s that man and why is he smiling at you?” okay, that was scary at all.

Before I could register who she was talking about I heard an older boy say “That’s Daniel Ricciardo!! What is Daniel Ricciardo doing here?!” which caused me to shoot around to see if he’s actually here.

“Hello guys! Don’t mind me, I’m just here to be your counselor’s assistant for the next week and a half” Daniel said as he walked over to me and engulfed me in a hug, swaying us side to side before placing a quick kiss on my temple.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, looking up at him to stare in his beautiful eyes

“We have two weeks before the next race so I thought I’d volunteer my time here. I already got permission” Daniel said as he cupped my face.

Turning around I let the kids know the news “Okay guys so this is my boyfriend and your guys’ new camp counselor for a week and a half, Mr. Ricciardo! You guys can go up to him and ask him questions just as you are able to come to me!”

“You guys can call me Daniel, there’s no need for formality. Alrighty, any questions?” Daniel corrected me

“HOW CAN I BE YOUR ASSISTANT IN FORMULA 1????” The older boy shouted which caused Daniel to let out a loud laugh before he answered the question.

This was going to be a fun week and a half.

Pierre: Therapist

To say that today has been stressful would be an understatement. The lady who was in charge of booking my appointments scheduled who people at the same time and then proceeded to fill my schedule today so I couldn’t place the poor girl anywhere so I did the only logical thing anyone would do: I skipped lunch.

Well skipping lunch obviously wasn’t the best idea ever because just about 4 patients after lunchtime is when my headache started settling in, right in that spot behind my eyes. God I hated headaches so much but I despised them even more at work because how am I supposed to be helping my patients if I can’t even think straight.

To make matters worse than they already were, the headache went from just being pulsing behind my eyes to throbbing every time I moved my head in the slightest moment. Thank god this meeting ended quicker than intended and I had 15 minutes before my next patient was to walk in which gave me time to pop a few ibuprofen’s and let it settle in, in hopes that this would go away before the next one walks in.

I must’ve drifted off because two seconds after popping the ibuprofen’s there’s a knock at the door. I suppressed my groan before letting out a weak “Come in!”

I heard the door open but I just couldn’t bring myself to lift my head up

“Woah, you look like shit.” I heard a thick french accent say as the person let out a little giggle.

I knew who the voice belonged to, the owner was my longtime boyfriend who I haven’t seen in 3 weeks but right now, I couldn’t even be excited because I was in pain.

��Pierre please, I love you but right now I have such a massive headache. I feel like I’m going to pass out.” I mumbled into my hands

“Did you eat? I brought food.” He said as he lifted up the bag of french food that he claimed I “needed” to try.

I reluctantly lifted my head so I was able to take a bite or two out of the food. After a few bites I could slowly feel my headache going away, letting out a satisfied groan I continued to dig into my meal.

“You look like you haven’t eaten in days” Pierre chuckled as he watched me absolutely scarf down the food he placed in front of me.

“I feel like I haven’t” was all I managed to get out before I finished my food.

By the time my next appointment arrived, my headache was nothing but a slight throb behind my eyes which I was eternally grateful for.

I made a mental note to thank Pierre in different ways when I got home.

Logan: Speech Therapy

I’d been working with this kid to say ‘Water’ for the past 20 minutes and I’m nowhere with him.

I work with kids who have trouble talking and I get them to where they need to be at whatever age they are. Like if the kid is 4 years old and isn’t talking, I have to work a lot with the kids to make sure that I can get him to talk and be at a 4 year old’s level of communication.

Something about this 4 year old though, I just can’t get him to say ‘Water’ no matter how hard I try. I glanced up at the clock noting that it’s almost lunch time and I would have to end our session soon.

“L/N, your boyfriend is here and he brought food for all of us!” My coworker Destiny said

“Logan, can you help me? I can’t get him to say ‘Water’ and I’ve been trying for the last 20 minutes” I’m pleading with anyone at this point to at least help me get some type of progress done with him.

I watched as Logan got at level with the kid before attempting his own way “Hey buddy, can you say ‘water’?” after a second of silence he tried again “say ‘wah’.”

“Wah” my body tensed at the kid talking

“ good! now say ‘ter’.”

“Ter” I can’t believe he’s doing it

“Yes! ‘water’ !”

“AMERICA”

“WHAT THE FUCK?”

Lance: Nanny

“Baby why are you here?” I shot around to face my boyfriend

“When the fuck did you get here?” I asked in disbelief

“I missed you. How about we dip?” The nerve of this handsome man.

“Lance, I’m babysitting YOURE NIECE because YOU didn’t want to”

“I’ll pay my sister to take her kid back”

“Jesus”

Oscar: Librarian

“Excuse me Ms, do you have the Pete the Cat book? Me and my friend really want to read it. Please” I heard a little girl say.

I looked down at her before typing in my computer to see exactly where in the store it was at.

“Yes, you can follow me right this way and I’ll take you to them!” I said as I made my way over to where the books were placed. “They’re right here then. Just come up and let me know if you need anymore help!” I said as I watched her and her friends grab different books before going over to the bean bags to sit and read.

Back at my desk I was trying to place pre-orders for the new Ana Huang book coming out. I only got to the part where I could place the amount I wanted in my cart before I was being asked a question

“Do you guys have the King Of series? My girlfriend really wants to read them.” I looked up from my computer only to be faced with my Fiancé of 6 months

“Oscar?? What are you doing here?” I asked in disbelief

“I was in the area. Okay well I was a few cities away but it was only a hour drive” He said shrugging

“You’re so weird. The books are this way” I said as I grabbed a hold of his hands to guide him the way to my favorite Authors section.

Max: Nutritionist

“Okay Mom so you want to make sure that baby gets as much veggies in his system and more water, Santa said he only puts kids on the nice list if they listen to their mom and eat what she gives.” I said as I directed that last part to her 5 year old son who scrunched his face before hiding behind his mom.

“See Chase, I told you that Santa said that. He didn’t want to believe that Mommy has ties with Santa.” She smiled at the last part before picking her son up to take him out. “Thank you again, Chase is going to eat his veggies, right Chase?”

“No!” he yelled

“Do you want to be big and strong?” A thick Dutch accent could be heard

“Uh huh!!” Chase replied

“We’ll eat veggies. That’s the only way.” I turned to see my boyfriend Max in the doorway of my office.

“Otay!”

“Oh well that was one way.” The mom shrugged

“Have a good day!” I shouted as she left “I don’t know how you did that”

“Kids love me”

“oh that’s not-”

George: Sports Coach

“RUN THE FUCKING LAPS NOW!!!” I screamed at the kids in front of me

To the outside world I would seem crazy for yelling at a bunch of kids like this but in reality, I’m coaching my brother and his bastard friends soccer team this season and they bet me $20 I wouldn’t say that in front of their parents, so that was a quick $20 I put in my pocket.

“CURSING AT KIDS NOW BABE?” My boyfriend George asked.

He was helping me coach them this year and he’s a really do-by-the-book type of guy and he really disapproved of me cursing at the kids.

“Sorry baby, they deserve it. They said that you’re too bad to be in F1” I said shrugging as I made up that lie

“RUN 2 FUCKING MILES NOW!!”

taglist:

@luckyladycreator2 @itsmiamalfoy @jeffs77 @ilivbullyingjeongin @forevercaffeinated-lee @daemyratwst @gulphulp @callsignwidow @f1wintermoon13 @teenwolf01 @victoriassecret101 @hiireadstuff @formulaal @eddieharrington @kazza72584 @zabwlky1999 @dark-night-sky-99 @rougekiki @xoscar03 @jess-wither @bountychanti @dhanihamidi @Ggasly.p @tellybearryyyy @a-panseuxalmess @love-simon @tallrock35 @iiaik0ii @Milkyymelanine @ilovsyou3000morgan

[dreamingcloudie]

❛❛ You Did Well ❜❜

Pairing(s): Dottore x GN!Reader

Type: Comfort Fluff(?)

Warning(s): human experimentation, not proofread

wc: ~1.4k

A request by one of the readers! It's been so long I don't know what I'm doing. I feel like I've gotten off track with this one... but I hope you'll like this anyways! The first fic I've written in months. Enjoy! :)

After years of working like a maniac. Earning achievements after achievements. Rivaling all the other people that could only hope to get to where you were today. You finally landed yourself a job at the organization created by none other than the beloved Cryo archon herself—the Fatui. And it was not just any job positions. You got to become the assistant of one of the eleven harbingers—The Doctor, second of the Fatui Harbingers. A very impressive title indeed.

You’ve heard people there were ruthless. It didn’t help that being in such a high ranking yourself, newbie or not, there were high expectations that needed to be met. And whatever it was, you hoped you were ready.

Oh god, oh no. You panicked. It was the first day of work and you were almost late. You arrived in front of the office just in time as you panted. You tried to fix your disheveled hair to make you look like you did not just run all the way over here. To your dismay, someone opened the door before you could make yourself look presentable.

You gulped and looked up.

“Hello, sir,” you greeted, praying he didn’t hear the slight shakiness in your voice.

He was wearing a mask, but you could feel his gaze scanning you up and down.

“Hmph,” he then walked out before continuing, “You are the new assistant, aren’t you? Wait for me inside.”

He was already halfway down the hall when you scurried inside. You could feel your face burning in embarrassment.

Great. You thought. First day and I’m already making a fool of myself.

A few minutes later, he came back in, holding a stack of papers in his hand. He placed them down onto a tidied desk with a sign saying “(Y/n)” on it.

“Usually, I’d go straight into lab work with the assistants on their first day.” He spoke, leaning onto the desk. “But, I decided to try something new today. All of my previous assistants quitted in less than a week, due to them not being able to handle the pressure.”

He continued, “I’m feeling generous, so I’ll let you start off with something easy by doing paperwork. If you did well, good for you. If not, I’ll fire you on the spot so you wouldn’t waste my time.”

As expected, The Doctor certainly has high demands. You glanced at the amount of paperwork that needed to be done on your desk. You’ve stayed up countless times to complete your thesis before, this was nothing you couldn’t handle. With this newfound confidence, you firmly nodded your head.

“Understood. I’ll get to them right away.”

From his stance, he seemed to be satisfied with your answer.

“When you’re done with them, just leave them on my desk. If you have any questions, don’t bother asking me. Just solve them yourself,” he said, before entering the other section of the office that leads to the lab.

You took a seat at your desk and picked up a pen.

Well then, time to get some work done.

= = =

For the first week, work wasn’t so bad. Most of the time it was just tons and tons of paperwork. It got boring after a while, but at least you were able to get them done on time. Earning yourself a pleased hum from The Doctor each time you handed them in.

So far, so good.

“The paperwork for today is done, sir,” you said, placing the papers down onto his desk.

He nodded. “As efficient as always. I think you’re ready.”

You were puzzled by what he meant. You wanted to ask but didn’t want to bother him. So you just left, hoping whatever he was implying wasn’t anything bad.

= = =

The next day came and you were up and early, waiting for him at your desk. He entered the office not too long after, but something was different, he wasn’t holding a stack of paper like he normally was. Instead, it was a lab coat.

“Judging by your work these past few days, I’ve decided that you’re ready for something a little more… exciting.” He then threw the lab coat at you, for you to clumsily catch it.

“Follow me.” Was all he said before opening the doors to the lab. You quickly put your coat on before following closely behind.

The first thing you noticed was the pungent, iron-like scent, your nose picked up on in the air. It made your stomach twist and turn. The Doctor’s frame was taller than yours, blocking your view of the center of the room.

“This, as you may have already guessed by the interior, is the lab. And today, we’re going to do some testing with the new liquid I concocted on a volunteering subject.” He then moved away from your view. And what you saw in front of you made your skin crawl.

The Doctor put some gloves on and went over to the person, who was very much alive, strapped down to the operation table with multiple wounds apparent on his body.

“Come,” he simply said, gesturing you to go over to where he was standing.

You could feel your legs wobbling as you walked to him. Your steps were hesitant and your eyes were on the person with a gag in his mouth, muffling his pained pleas. You then felt something in your hand. You looked at what The Doctor gave to you—a syringe filled with some glowing liquid.

The Doctor took some disinfectant wipes and applied it onto the subject’s arm, preparing for an injection.

You could feel cold sweat forming on your palms. You knew experiments would get involved taking up this job. But you were not expecting to have a human test subject. One that was still living and breathing.

This… this isn’t right. Your mind screamed.

The Doctor took a step backwards, giving you some space.

“Go on. Let’s see how you’d do. I’ve read in your resume that you’ve handled syringes and injections before. So this should be a piece of cake for you,” he spoke, eagerly watching your every move.

Should I just call it quit? You asked yourself. Finding it difficult to choose in this dilemma of yours. It took you years of hard work to get here. Should you really quit just because you were simply uncomfortable?

Come on. I’m the assistant of one of the most powerful harbingers. It would be shameful of me to back down just because… You argued. You could feel your heartbeat pulsing violently throughout your body as you raised your hands. The tip of the syringe stopped just inches before the man’s arm.

You could feel it. The Doctor was getting impatient by the second. You could hear the sound of his shoe tapping against the concrete floor, “Well?”

This felt wrong, very wrong. But you had no choice, if you wished to keep this job of yours. You mouthed a “sorry” to the squirming man, before pushing the syrinige into his flesh, closing your eyes and injecting the unknown substance into his body.

“Bravo, took you long enough.” The Doctor said.

“Wasn’t so hard now, was it… hm?” He grabbed your chin and turned your head to face him. You were wondering why he did that until he brushed his thumb across your cheek.

“It seems like you are in distress.”

You touched your cheek slightly and it felt wet.

Well, okay. This is embarrassing. Crying in front of a harbinger. He’s going to fire me now because I’m crying over such a small task.

“I take it this was your first time experimenting on a live human being?” He asked, in which you answered with a nod.

“I figured.”

“I-I apologize for my incompetence, sir! I’ll do better next time and—”

“I didn’t ask you to explain yourself. It was a yes-or-no question,” he said.

“I was expecting you to quit when I saw you trembling. But my, oh my. You did so well.” He carried on, “I must say, you did so much better than my previous assistants. Yes, what we’re doing might be considered morally grey in the eyes of others. But keep in mind, this is all done for a better understanding of science; and of course, to fulfill her majesty’s dreams, in the grand scheme of things.”

He then gave you a little pat on the head.

“So you needn’t regret what you’ve done. All you need to know is that you did a great job. And I must say… you might be my favourite assistant, so far.”

He wiped your tears.

“Do me a favor, and don’t dwell on what happened today, because there would be more of this to come. And soon, you’ll get used to this, understand?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Upon hearing your response, you could see a grin forming on his face.

“What a good little assistant you are.”

[cheesus-doodles]

It's funny lowkey for me whenever you write about the reader being unable to resist the tears and puppy eyes because since I'm the third oldest out of ten (oldest daughter, just number 3 in the line up) I've become immune to puppy eyes and if my own siblings can't work that on me I doubt that the Founders could. So I was wondering how you think said Founders would be like if Darling was immune to the puppy eyes, especially if said Darling is like me and has a bunch of younger siblings >:3c

Immune to puppy eyes+multiple younger siblings anon here, feel free to ignore that though if it isn't a prompt you want to do! No pressure at all!

aksjdnaskjdnas finally getting round to answering some of the older asks ;-; sorry it takes so long y'all - just disappointed in myself today cause I hesitated to buy Izzy's standee and in that moment he sold out ;-;

‎

Masterlist

Upon reflection, the Toman founders really are like younger siblings huh. Maybe not so much Draken, Mitsuya or Pah, but definitely your needy trio of Mikey, Baji and Kazutora who would be as good as clingy younger brothers with separation anxiety. Or maybe more so like puppies, but same difference in the end.

I think it would only take just the first visit to your house and a glance at all your younger siblings clamouring for you to help them with something for the realisation to set in with the Toman boys that no amount of tears or puppy eyes would work on you. No doubt Mikey and Kazutora would still try, but the boys would be quick to turn to other means to wring out what they want from you.

Draken and Mitsuya find out quickly that annoying you into giving in and doing what they want works pretty well - after all, Misty himself has two younger sisters and he knows what buttons they usually push to get him to do things for them. Though they personally don't want to whine and plead (they are still delinquents with some measure of pride after all), they know who will, and young kids are easily bribed for their help. Sets your younger siblings on you with a small bribe of sweets and with their help, would ultimately manage to force you into doing whatever the two Toman boys wanted just to get the hassling and pestering to stop. Sometimes even pretend to step in to help you stop the non-stop disturbance so that you can get your homework done, no doubt putting them in your good books. High fives all around, no doubt Draken and Mitsuya are the more popular pair around your place.

Mikey and Kazutora, on the other hand, have no such dignity left when it comes to you. The two of them would definitely still try their tears and puppy eye combo a few more times just to be sure it doesn't work before they switch tactics. Would do literally anything to get your attention and affection on them, even if it means blackmailing you - stealing your homework and holding it hostage, refusing to leave the bathroom whenever you need it unless you pinky swear to spend time with them afterwards, dragging you out of class and straight up sitting on you and not moving. Tears and puppy eyes were the easier option if they were honest, but whatever works ain't stupid. Your siblings couldn't get to you when you are in school, but they can, and these baby boys absolutely will, threatening to kick up a fuss and disrupt every class if you don't let them lay on your lap and cuddle. Tried to give you some of their favourite snacks as bribery but obviously didn't work cause they were all half-eaten, so back to disruption they went.

And then there's Baji and Pah - the two who have individually consulted outside persons and have come to the same conclusion. Baji would have asked his mum on advice on how to steal your attention (she thinks he's trying to get a girlfriend), while Pah will ask Peh, and the two airheads will end up bribing and buying your time and attention. Baji would take advantage of the community cats that he cares for and invite you along to feed and play with them whenever he could - none of the other Toman boys can get as close to them as he could, and he knows all the good spots too. The community cats let you pet and rub them since you were with Baji, and this baby boy would use the opportunity to get your attention and affection. Pah is the best out of the six at arcade games, so buying your time with games and prizes was no brainer (or at least that was what Peh told him) - you did enjoy winning a ton while with him, and he got to hang out with you with no complains, so its a win-win.

End of the day, it just makes life more difficult for you if you were immune to their crying and whining, so my recommendation would be to play along when its convenient and encourage the behaviour rather than let the boys come up with their own idea of how to get your attention: the more things doesn't work out, the more desperate the boys become. Wouldn't be long before one of the more desperate ones get the idea that if they hurt themselves, you would be sure to pay attention and fuss. Or worse, if they took out the number of people who wanted your attention, then you'll have to give time of day to them - so maybe just give them the pats and forehead kisses they want and they'll be happy to be nothing more than your clingy baby siblings.

[band--psycho]

Harvey Specter x Reader- Comforting Cuddles

For the lovely anon who requested this a few days ago!

I hope you all enjoy this! 💛

Warnings-Periods, period pain, pain medication

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to stay snuggled up in bed; with a hot water placed on my stomach and an infinite amount of chocolate by my side whilst I binged watched an entire tv show. 

But that couldn’t happen.

I had a job to do.

And no matter how much pain I was in, no matter how much I just wanted to stay in bed, I couldn’t. 

~~~~

“Good morning,” Harvey beamed, gently kissing on the top of her head as he placed a coffee on my desk along with my favourite bagel. 

He knew what today was. 

It was the first day of my period; and he knew that, he also knew that the first day of my cycle was always the worst.

“Morning,” a weak smile formed on my lips as I leaned into Harvey; letting the warmth of his body somewhat soothe me. 

“You don’t have to be here,” he whispered; stroking my back soothingly, knowing how much pain I was in. 

“I have to work, Harv,” I sighed, trying to ignore the dull ache in my lower belly. In all honesty, I was hoping work would somewhat take my mind off of the pain.  

“Just take it easy,” I could see the worry in his eyes, so I just nodded my head, a silent promise that I would try. 

But being a female lawyer meant working twice as hard and dealing with the sexist remarks clients made. Even now, in this day and age, powerful men didn’t like being told what to do by a woman. 

So taking it easy, unfortunately was not in my repertoire for today, as much as I wanted it to be.  

~~~~~

Pain meds had done practically nothing to ease the pain my ovaries were giving to me, all they were doing was making me tired. 

And it was only midday, there was still so much more I needed to do today. 

“Your schedule is now clear for the rest of the afternoon,” Donna stated as she entered my office. 

“What?” I asked, completely and utterly bamboozled by what she had said. 

I knew my schedule certainly wasn’t clear for the rest of the afternoon. 

“I can see how much pain you’re in,” a sympathetic smile grew on her face, “go home, get some rest,”

“Donna, I appreciate it, but if Harvey-”

“He didn’t,” she interrupted me; and there was no hint of a lie in her voice or her eyes, nor did I think Donna would lie to me. 

“Donna you are a lifesaver,” I breathed, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. 

Tomorrow will be different, better. I just needed to get through today. 

And that was certainly going to be a lot easier now that I could just go home, get changed into my pjs and go to bed. 

~~~~~

As soon as I got home; I changed into the coziest pajamas I owned; made myself a hot water bottle and snuggled up in my bed. 

I was just dozing off to sleep when I heard my front door open; quickly followed by my bedroom door. 

I knew it was Harvey. He was the only person besides me who had a key to my flat. 

“How you feeling sweetheart?” He asked; pulling his trousers up slightly at his thigh so that he could lean down by the side of the bed I was lying on. 

He placed his hand on my cheek, his thumb began to rub small circles onto my cheek. I was exhausted and his touch was so gentle and soothing, I could’ve fallen asleep that very minute. 

“Like shit,” I mumbled; leaning into his touch. 

He leaned forward slightly, placing a delicate kiss on my lips before pulling away from me; the loss of his touch made my eyes snap open in confusion. 

A small smirk tugged at Harvey’s lips, obviously finding humor in my confusion, as he shrugged off his suit jacket; undid his tie and his white buttoned shirt. He then quickly undid his belt and pulled his suit trousers down; before grabbing his joggers that were draped over a chair from this morning. 

Before finally joining me in bed; where he made quick work of wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into his warm embrace. 

“Don’t you have work?” I didn’t want him to leave; but I also didn’t want him getting in trouble with work or losing or angering big clients because of me. 

“My only job for the rest of the day is looking after you,” he whispered; his lips placing a light kiss just under my ear. 

“Harvey-”

“Shhh, sweetheart, just relax,” he soothed; placing  another kiss under my ear. 

I could have argued with him; but I didn’t want to. I wanted him here. 

So for once; I was going to listen to Harvey, and just relax, with him by my side.

Tagging:

@xacatalepsyx @little-diable @rebelwrites @wild-rose-35 @withmyteeth @yn-ymn-yln @munsinner @maximoff-xmen @vintagecarsandrecordplayers @giraffescooler @stylesann @camilyb @book-dragon03 @bookworm1767 @wretchedmo @mayans-mc @dana-is-snax @happilysparklyunknown @samanthaofanarchy @mrsamerica @navs-bhat @tinystudentmiracle @that-one-enthusiast @malfoys-demigod

[froggy-demon]

Oh Deer - Part Four

A/N: thank you again for all of the support!! I had to rewrite this one a couple of times because I just couldn’t decide, I hope you like it <3 I’m so excited to share my writings and I’m so astonished every time y’all leave nice comments I love them so much, thank you!! All of that said, enjoy!

Chapter Summery: Lilly is treated to a glamorous night out under the Vs’ roof, accompanied by a familiar demon, angst and tension ensues.

Masterlist | Part Five

——————————————————————————

I rolled my eyes, again, and waved away the idea. “No way, we both know Alastor fucking hates me, he just hates Lucifer more I guess.” Angel was positive that Alastor was sincere in his display earlier, I was not quite as delusional though. “He quite literally said he was fucking around.” I added. Even if I found myself fascinated with the demon, I wasn’t so naive to think that feeling went both ways.

“Maybe, or maybe he just wanted an excuse.” Angel paused and had a look of realization on his face as he broke out into a smile. “If you want some real attention though, y’know the Vs are throwing that big party if Velvette ain’t already dragging you to it you could be my plus one! Val usually keeps me pretty fucking busy all night, but they are actually pretty fun. Lots of cute demons and free booze if you know what I mean!” Angle said with a wink and laughed. That’s not a terrible idea actually, get out a little and have some fun. My streak hasn’t been so great recently so I could really use a win on that front.

“Y’know that actually does sound fun. Velvette hasn’t brought it up at all yet so she probably won’t need me there, but I also don’t have anything to wear for it, I’ll need something new. I could use some retail therapy anyway.” I said and rested my head on top of the pillow in my lap smiling. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Angel lit up at the sound of going shopping.

“Oh I will make sure you are the best dressed demon in the whole fucking party, don’t worry about that tuts! We want something that will show you you off!” He held up his fingers like he was mimicking a camera taking pictures of me. “You got it all babe! The tits, the ass, the smile! They are going to eat you up, especially once I’m done with you!” He ranted making me laugh. I don’t think in my whole before and afterlife I’ve ever heard someone describe me that way. “I’m serious! Al will see what he’s missing tomorrow night!” Angel teased very proud of his scheme.

“This has nothing to do with him, but I do like that idea. As soon as I get off work we need to hit the shops so we still have enough time.” I said trying to plan out the next night. Angel agreed and we worked out the time table to make sure we would stay on track. Work, then shop, then hotel to get ready, then back across town to the party. Excellent, tomorrow night will be all about what I want, it’s been a while since I could say that.

After a couple more hours of giggling and gossip, like hearing allllll about how Husk and Angel made eye contact today and it was riveting, we settle down to fall asleep while the purple lights twinkled above our heads. I tried to calm my mind, but it raced just thinking about tomorrow. This party is for high profile souls, overlords and wealthy demons in hell, hopefully I don’t stick out too much, but I like to think I’ve learned a good amount from my work. Maybe it will be enough to actually go a whole night without thinking about the radio demon, I can only hope.

The next morning there was a renewed joy in my step as I walked down to the kitchen to make my morning coffee. It didn’t matter that it was far too early to be awake, or that I was about to be yelled at for the next ten hours of my day, no, I would do it all with a smile because today I actually had something to look forward to. I cozied up in a chair in the lounge with my mug and breathed in the steam while I watched the fire in the fireplace dance.

1-2-click 1-2-click 1-2-click

I can’t help but wonder what makes him need to be up so early, what business could he have at 4am? He walked through the lounge and I tried to hide the fact that I was watching by playing on my phone. I couldn’t stop myself from taking in the sight of him with curious eyes, he was less put together than usual. His ears were tucked back and he wasn’t wearing his waistcoat. It was an odd sighting for him to not have it on. Without it you could see his sleeve garters which gave him an almost rugged look like he had been pouring over his desk for hours, and then you could see his little deer tail. He didn’t greet me and I was not going to be the first one of us to say anything so he passed through the room quietly. After he did, I took another sip of my coffee. Maybe his broadcast had given him some sort of trouble, or perhaps he had been returning to his M.O. from before his absence of torturing souls he saw fit on the air. I don’t care to listen to his broadcasts, when anything important happens I will know either from sinstigram or Velvette yelling about it the next day.

After a few more minutes of enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning hotel I cleaned my mug out and made my way to work.

Upon arriving I could tell I was going to have a few extra duties today. They were already decorating the main event space elsewhere in the building, I could tell by the exorbitant number of tables and decor being moved around through the halls, and if there is one thing Velvette loves it is to micromanage how something looks. I go up to the studio and start collecting my clipboard and the ever growing list of what must get done today. Between keeping tv personalities well dressed, reshoots for the launch of Velvette’s fashion line, and now the party I think I’m going to need a second pair of arms. I guess that’s what we have the studio aids for.

“I need the Art Director for Velvette’s line in the studio, we need to confirm details and revisions.” I spoke into my earpiece and waited for confirmation before moving onto the next task and then the task after that. Finally some time later Velvette joined us in the studio and started barking her own orders as well. I joined the collection of demons flocking to her side for their morning abuse.

“Fucking finally, Lilly I need you to make sure everyone to set downstairs before you leave today. Make sure you have the vision plan and everything else I had them work up so you actually know what the fuck you’re supposed to be checking. If a single fucking chair is at the wrong angle it is your fault. Me and Vox have put too much fucking work into this party tonight for it not to look right I need perfection from you today. Even the seven bloody deadly sins are coming so if anything is not exactly the way I fucking pictured it, your leash will become very short.” She ordered and I nodded quietly. “Until then I need the stupid fucking art director for my line up here now!”

“Yes Ma’am. The Art Director is waiting for you with the concept photos for final approval.” I stated. She smiled, not exactly rare, but not exactly common especially while she was working.

“Finally you use that fucking brain of yours to get shit ready before I have to tell you to. How refreshing! In that case find the makeup artists, they keep running off to hell knows what and I’m this close to snapping one of them in half to set a fucking example, ungrateful little shits!” And with that she left to yell at the next soul she could find.

I spoke into my earpiece again, “Creative Director for Events, where are you? We need to check in immediately.” Upon confirmation that they were downstairs in the event space I headed there myself and we went over the binders of planning and inspiration the Vs had laid out. The event hall was really more like a grand ballroom, as hypermodern as the Vs were, it would seem they still found charm in some old world aesthetics. With massive crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, white marble floors, and dramatically draped floor length windows, it nearly looked straight out of a period piece. The colors for the party were blue and black, sounds like Vox won that argument. The tables were being set up with black tablecloths and vibrant blue hydrangeas, I didn’t even know you could grow those in hell. There were demons running all around the space sweeping, bringing things in, decorating the stage, the bar, exchanging the drapes out to match the color scheme.

I checked every chair and table to make sure they were level, every centerpiece for dead flowers and leaves, the stage for splinters, the drapes for snugs in the fabric. “Do we have the staff apparel ready?” I asked the director. She was a short demon who was lizard like with one large eye in the center of her head.

“No, we hadn’t coordinated that yet.” Of course not. I mentally rolled my eyes, luckily costuming was my bread and butter.

“I’ll handle that then, how much staff will there be tonight?” I asked clicking my pen so I could jot in down. 100 serves, 10 bartenders, 5 bands, 45 miscellaneous staff on the floor, okay, doable. “Keep a handle on everything down here, I’ll track all of that down, do not let them fuck it up.” I said and she gave a polite nod. Awesome, 160 coordinated outfits, because that won’t take all day or anything.

I spent a good few hours tracking down various sizes of royal blue suit vests and dress pants, royal blue suit jackets, royal blue button up shirts and black ties, royal blue knee length skirts, shoes, but it was possible with the size of our costuming department. By the end of the day I had neatly organized racks of outfits for each position and each size with a skirt or pants option. Staff was just beginning to trickle in the door and I assigned a few studio aids to help make sure everyone had the clothes they required for the night. Before it was too late I did one last once over of the ballroom. Centerpieces were good, chairs good, all the ambient candles were lit, I could see the bartenders just beginning to organize the bars, the bands were setting up their equipment, I think I might have actually pulled this one off.

I breathe a sigh of relief and I finish triple checking my work. Everything is set in place which leaves only one more thing: myself. I handover to the Event Manager who has arrived for the evening and she thanks me for getting us here, something I’m not very used to hearing. I thank her and text Angel Dust that I’m on my way out the door at work and am heading out to pick out a dress. He immediately texts back that he is on his way to the front of the building as well and we will meet there. I gather myself and get there just as he is.

Angel is in good spirits as he links his lower arm with mine, which is still a bit tall for me, and we start wadding through shop after shop. We know we are on a time crunch, but Angel seems to have something very specific in mind. Finally after trying on at least two dozen dresses and probably half as many shops, when I step out of the dressing room his eyes light up and a big smile spreads across his face.

“Oh baby, that is the one!” He spins me toward the mirror and I can’t help but feel a little self conscious. “You are going to be turning heads all fucking night in this little number! We might need to hire security for you!” I laughed at the idea and attempted to pull the hem down just an inch more. It was a very short black, strapless dress with a wide square neckline and a low back. It came with a pair of matching black elbow length gloves and I could already imagine how I would pair it with accessories at home. He was right though, it looked stunning. It hugged every square inch of my body and admittedly had more cleavage than I was used to as it seemed to defy physics by still being supportive, it was beautiful.

“Angel, it might be too much, I don’t want to go overboard.” I said biting my lip, but I couldn’t stop turning in the mirror to see myself at every angle. Angel grabbed my shoulders and looked at me in the mirror.

“It’s perfect.” He assured. We bought it and took it home with just one hour left to get ready for the evening.

When he stepped out Angel was wearing a black version of his typical suit jacket and shorts, exchanging his pinkish red gloves for a baby pink pair and kept his thigh high boots, he looked incredible and I told him so, he nearly blushed for a second before lighting back up as we walked downstairs.

“Me? Fucking look at you! Little miss straight-laced, you look drop-double-dead-gorgeous tonight!” He beamed, this time it was my turn to blush. I had added a pair of dark tights and my royal blue Mary Jane shoes, with a delicate royal blue ribbon tied around my neck like a choker. I pulled my gloves up a little more to make sure they were all the way on before running a hand through my hair. I hope he is right.

“Thank you Angel, I try my best.” I said sheepishly. Angel instead upon stopping by the lounge where the rest of the group was gathered to say goodbye before we were off. We stepped into the room and I smiled awkwardly as Angel presented me, very proud of his work.

“I give to you, the new and improved Lilly!” He sang and motioned to me. Charlie looked surprised but happy, Vaggie was about the same, but had a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Sir. Pentious had a light blush but reassured me that I looked very nice. Husk was trying to hide it, but absolutely eyeing Angel. Niffty squealed with joy and ram little figure eights around us manically giggling about how nice we looked. Alastor was nowhere to be found though. “Where’s the big guy? I said I needed everyone!” Angel frowned.

“Please excuse my tardiness, I too was getting ready for tonight!” Alastor chirped as he walked into the room. He was dressed very well, his suit looked new just for the occasion as it was a slightly deeper shade of red than his normal suit and it was more simple with a short tail coat and a chain across the chest and it had a very faint pinstripe pattern to it. He looked like he had gotten a fresh haircut and maybe it’s my imagination, but even his old cane looked a little fresher to match. As I finished drinking him in I realized his eyes were going over me in the very same way.

“Since when are you fucking going to a party that Vox is throwing?” Angel asked the demon who chuckled.

“Oh I wouldn’t dare miss it, so many important demons and souls there tonight. I couldn’t give Vox the chance to twist a narrative if left to his own devices! Plus,” he pulled a small paper from his breast pocket. “He invited me.” Alastor had a wicked smile on as he stuffed his invitation back into his pocket. Angel gave me a small look that told me this was news to him, as it was to me. I guess Alastor is an overlord and Vox does seem rather keen on him. Even if they are enemies, best to keep him close.

“Well, I guess we should all get going then.” I said and before I could turn towards the door shadows crushed over us and just as quickly as they appeared they dissipated and we were in front of the event room door.

•

As soon as I saw her in the lounge I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Her dress was the most revealing thing I’d even seen draped across her figure. The visual mixing with her timid posing made something within me tick. Every curve was on display, the dress hardly covered her ass as the hem just barely brushed the top of her soft thighs, it scarcely managed to contain her chest if she didn’t have perfect posture it could be quite the display, her exposed back left her looking delicate and accessible. An anger burned in me, traipsing through a gala in such a vulnerable position, she should be locked away from such prying eyes where only I can look upon her form like this, where I can revel in it. The gentle look in her eyes made my mind race. How dare she look like that and yet so innocent at the same time, I wanted to ruin that innocent look, I wanted her eyes to hold nothing but pleasure and lust as I did so. If a soul should so much as hover their eyes over her a moment too long I might have to restrain myself from slaughtering them. As we walked into the event room Angel was quickly called away but Valentino, who blew us a sarcastic kiss from across the busy room. My eyes stayed trained on her though, she would not be leaving my sight tonight whether she knew it or not.

•

Alastor seemed in no rush to find any friends as he walked behind me through the crowded space. Hundreds of demons and overlords and hellish elites mingled around me. I secretly enjoyed his company, but me and Angel had agreed that tonight was about me and as much as I was intregued by Alastor, I knew that went one way. “Alastor, if you are going to accompany me tonight,” I turned and flashed a smile at him. “Would you perhaps be able to hunt down a drink for me to sip on? It’s awfully warm.” I asked, anxiously adjusting my gloves again. He casted his eyes across the room before answering.

“Why don’t you join me, My Dear? We’ll find it together. Then I can brief you on who not to talk to.” He stressed the end of his sentence like it was very important I don’t meet certain souls in attendance tonight. He reached to place a hand on my shoulder blade to guide me forward but I stepped to the side.

“Please Alastor, I’ll find my way to somewhere quiet until you return, I’m a big girl.” I teased a little and batted my eyes at him. I don’t know what his deal was tonight, maybe he had more foes than friends in attendance, but still I know how to get out of a sticky situation when I find myself in one, especially here.

“I insist, I wouldn’t want to abandon a lady at an event like this, who knows what kind of unsavory figure could swoop in.” The static crackled off his voice at the beginning. I felt his hand meet my shoulder successfully. His eyes burned into mine and I felt there was danger that I wasn’t aware of. I gave in and slowed to allow him to guide me towards the bar. It was quite busy and in the crowd my back was nearly pressed against his chest as we walked. I could feel the heat coming off in him, he smelled like fresh rain in the woods. I kept my hands clasped in front of me and kept a polite smile on as we finally reached the edge of the crowd for my drink.

Alastor left my side by less than two steps to order me a drink, I took the chance to look around the room. There were hundreds of finely dressed demons in attendance, a part of me was very pleased to see everyone enjoying the space I had helped to create and so far not a hair out of place.

“For you, My Dear.” He said graciously as he handed me my glass, if I remember the menu correctly this is a mermaid mule, giving it a violently blue color. “Now I think it’s about time we start making the rounds to say hello, don’t you think?” He grinned and placed his hand back on my shoulder blade as we reentered the crowd. It wasn’t really a question that explain answer. I looked up at him from the corner of my eye, he was quite cautiously watching the crowd. I couldn’t tell if he was looking for anyone in particular or not, but his mind certainly had a goal it was focused on.

“Alastor, I appreciate the escort, but really I was hoping to be on my own tonight.” He did not bother to look at me, but he did seem to see someone he wished to talk to as we gently started heading a different way. “I fear you might not be the most suitable wing man.” I teased trying to smile at the taller demon.

“I’m afraid not, besides please allow me to introduce you to the darling Rosie, overlord of cannibal town!” He motioned to the women just a couple of feet ahead of us now. She was tall and remarkably pretty even with her hollowed out eyes and her sharp teeth she managed to look friendly and lively. “Rosie! A pleasure as always!” Alastor sang.

She turned and lit up upon seeing him, waving us over. “Alastor darling, it’s so good to see you! Who’s this little number you brought along tonight? You better keep a close eye on her. I could eat her right up!” Her smile reminded me of his, but it was more sincere. She spoke with a very old dialect, but it left me thinking she ought to be sipping tea on someone’s porch with a novel in her hand. I returned her smile and Alastor introduced us.

“This is Lilly, an associate of mine from Charlie’s hotel.” He said and Rosie gave a small applause.

“It is very nice to meet you Ma’am, I am very lucky to be a resident under the princess’ trust. I hope you are enjoying the evening, I helped put it together, so please feel free to let me know if there is anything at all you need. I am positive we can make it happen.” I offered and she giggled.

“Oh such a sweetheart, you are! What a very nice swaray this is turning out to be, thank you! I can’t imagine need anything not already provided!” She assured me and she and Alastor continued to talk for a few more minutes. I watched Alastor as he did, he seemed to genuinely enjoy her company, it was a nice look on him, but his ears would twitch every so often giving away that he was still on high alert.

Eventually Alastor excused us, in search of another overlord to greet. We repeated this pattern a few times, one even joked that if Alastor was going to keep such a close eye on me he needed to put me ‘under contract’, or he would. I felt Alastor’s claws ever so slightly press themselves a little harder into my skin and his laugh was clipped. Once we had a moment to ourselves again I scanned the room for Angel or Valentino, I hadn’t seen him since our arrival, but with no luck. I did however spot another V. I could see Vox chatting up an interesting looking demon, he was tall and owl like and dressed quite regally, I recognized him as Stolis, rumor had it he did love daytime dramas so I guess I can’t be too surprised.

“Alastor, maybe I should go find Angel, just to check in on him.” It almost felt futile, of course I enjoyed Alastor’s company, and the feeling of his hand sent electric currents through my skin, but it also felt hopeless to think that he was thinking what I was thinking. Thinking about how he had looked so delightfully disheveled this morning, how he might look beneath his well tailored clothes, how the heat of his body might fully wash over mine, how his hand might feel elsewhere. It wouldn’t take more than a couple skilled movement to have me out of a dress like this and I was sure he was skilled. I nearly blushed at just the passing thought.

•

It took all the strength I had to not sink my claws into her. Why did she want to walk away so badly, I have been nothing but the perfect gentleman all evening and still she is not content. I flicked my eyes back down to hers, I could smell a faint scent of attraction from her, how sweet it smelled. Maybe I could use that to keep her close. Clearly she wanted some kind of attention tonight, I could give her a little taste. “Do I bore you? I apologize if meeting so many people was overwhelming, but it would have been rude not to.” I grinned, I allowed my hand to drop to the bottom of her back, just above her dress. “I appreciate your cooperation, truthfully,” I walked us forward and bent down ever so slightly so I could whisper into her ear. I could smell the perfume of her attraction better here, her back was stiff and I could see her chest rise and fall with every deep breath she was taking. “I don’t trust a single soul here to be alone with you, My Dear.” I said, my tone was soft but I couldn’t help the static creeping into my voice. It was true after all, none of them deserved to even lay eyes on her.

She looked up at me with sweet wide eyes, “Is that why, Alastor, you’ve kept me on such a short leash tonight?” She asked. Oh I would love to put her on a leash. “Afraid I might find a new overlord to pester?” She smiled at her own jab. “Don’t worry, I was just hoping to find a little bit of, y’know, company tonight.” Her face flushed softly and felt that pit in my stomach grow.

She wanted some disgusting demon to see her like that, to touch her like that. The idea made me sick, and more so my anger grew. The image of her sprawled out, eyes so innocent and inviting, her hair like the halo she deserved on the pillow beneath her, for someone else? I had to control my anger or before I could explain myself we would be back in the hotel, back in my room, and I needed to be here tonight unfortunately.

And that reason was walking towards us now as my smile widened I was keenly aware of my hand moving to grip Lilly’s waist instead to keep her even closer to me.

•

Alastor’s grip was strong, I followed his eyes to see what he was looking at, surely what I said hadn’t upset him like this. Then it made sense, Vox. While they have been throwing punches from afar via broadcast this is the first time they will have seen each other face to face since Alastor’s return. Vox was in the same suit he always wore, but it at least looked a little better pressed today.

“Alastor! Has anyone ever told you it’s rude not to greet the host.” Vox remarked as he walked into range. “I didn’t think we were inviting just anyone tonight?” He laughed, Alastor produced his invitation from his pocket again.

“Why, you personally signed it. There was a kiss and a heart on my invitation just like you always did.” Alastor remarked, flipping it over between his fingers to prove it, making Vox scowl slightly. I held in a giggle. His annoyed eyes landed on me and I suddenly wanted Alastor’s shadows to whisk me away from here. Work is one thing, I tolerate whatever abuse the other two Vs wish to throw my way as politely as I can to keep Velvette happy, but I’m not working now, and my back is against the chest of the soul Vox might just hate the most in all of hell. The other part of me wants to stand tall, who says I can even rely on Alastor for defense here, he’s so hot and cold with me. “And Vel’s pet, what a combination! I must say Velvette has only had the pettiest complaints tonight so that is as close as a job well down can be for her, congratulations!” Vox held out a hand for me to shake. I wanted to look at Alastor for approval or an excuse, I really wanted to not have to shake his hand, but I did. An acute ringing appeared in my ears.

“Thank you, Mr. Vox.” I said plainly. There was tension in the air between the two, but they both remained polite. It would cause too much of a scene for them to duke it out here in public. I felt the anger pooling in Alastor’s muscles as it felt like he was entirely still, not even feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed behind me anymore. I could feel his eyes bore into me, something I normally treasured, but now I couldn’t shake the animosity that was behind them even if that was not necessarily directed my way.

“I rather think red and black would have been a more flattering theme, but I guess blue is nice to some people.” Alastor quipped, adjusting his suit jacket proudly, Vox’s smile strained.

“It looks to me that someone prefers the blue.” Vox smirked and reached for the ribbon I wore around my neck, but before he could actually make contact Alastor moved us a step back. He held me with a force that threatened the delicate fabric of my dress.

“A gentleman would ask permission before reaching for a lady that way, and concede when she denies. Maybe you yourself are too modern for basic manners?” Alastor teased. His eyes burned bright red, contrasting his airy attitude and smile. I could feel his breath ticking the nape of my neck, under different circumstances I might let myself dwell on that feeling, I knew he was fired up. As bloodthirsty as Alastor may be, he has his values.

“You know I could introduce you to at least twenty demons here tonight who could show you a better time.” Vox couldn’t help but keep the irritation out of his voice as he stood with one hand on his hip, it almost sounded like a threat, I’m not sure if I wanted to know exactly what a good time entails for him. Vox played with Alastor’s protectiveness tonight. Ironically, here was someone who was basically offering me exactly what I claimed I wanted, but now that it’s in front of me and especially coming from him I had no interest. I was repulsed by the idea. I kept my back straight and tried to shake off Alastor’s grip a little, I don’t want to be intimidated by Vox right now. He doesn’t hold any direct power over me more than any other demon here. I’m sick of being pushed and pulled around so much.

“I’m plenty satisfied with my company. I’d like if you left us be now, I’m sure you can find time to taunt Alastor on any other day. We would like to enjoy the night.” I asserted. His plasma smile inverted. He looked like a petulant child being told play time was over.

“You’re welcome to reconsider, I’m sure Velvette would like-“

“Velvette does not care for my company, Mr. Vox.” I cut him off. I held back my shame thinking about her and forced myself to continue. “Goodnight, Sir.” He couldn’t hide his displeasure in my answer, clearly he had wanted to demean Alastor in some way by whisking away his date. He took two steps towards us, leaving just a foot of space in between. Baring his LED teeth he looked down at me.

“You ungrateful bi-”

“Be so kind as to let us get on with our evening wont you?” Alastor cut him off, static crackling off his words, he loomed behind me, his eyes practically begging Vox to push him further. He wouldn’t make the first move, but he wouldn’t step down once Vox did. Without looking past me Vox took a deep breath and straightened his tie returning to his dry smile.

“Enjoy the night. We’ll see you in the studio tomorrow.” Vox nodded in my direction with a glint in his eye. I stood in silence as he turned his back to us and rejoined the crowd.

I turned around to face Alastor. Part of me wanted to run away from here, be enveloped in his arms and just dissolve. Another part of me wanted his fingers to find somewhere else they could mercilessly sink into and to free me from my dress as we fell onto his bed. The part of me that won, however, was the part that looked at his angry eyes and smiled, requesting another drink. We could stay here if it meant he would keep holding onto me, if it meant he would continue to be just a step behind me no matter what, if it meant I was the center of his attention for a little bit longer. I knew I might have to pay for my disrespect in the morning, but that felt so far away at this moment. Right now I was safe, I was with Alastor, and that's all I wanted to think about. The ambient candle light danced in his eyes as he looked at me, and as much as he would hate to hear it, the contrast of the rich blue background only made his red hair and eyes look all that much more alluring.

He indulged my request and his grip on my waist was no longer lethal as he guided me to the closest bar in the event room. I ordered my drink and downed it to try to steady my head. Alastor gently hummed along to the band playing while leaning his back against the bar a little, he looked content and for a moment he almost looked like a regular person enjoying his night. If you wanted you could imagine him in life, whatever that had looked like, it was haunting.

“Alastor, would you dance with me?” I asked, unable to keep a smile off my face at his display. He stood up and took one of my hands in his and his grin grew as he gave me a small bow.

“Of course, My Dear, I’d be delighted.” He replied and we joined the dance floor not far away. I was, unfortunately, not a terribly skilled dancer, but Alastor led and I was able to follow. His arm snaked around my waist while the other kept my hand, my free hand rested on his shoulder. His eyes consumed me and I savored it. We had been close all night, but for the first time the proximity felt purposefully intimate. I nearly couldn’t bear the way he looked at me, half lidded eyes slowly raked over my figure before landing back on my own eyes. I wanted him to say something. Beside the fact that I was heavily focused on not tripping over my own feet, my heart raced and I’m not sure I could muster anything worth saying. This was the closest thing I could call a confirmation that he might be thinking what I’m thinking. Maybe he had been all night, maybe that was why he couldn’t let me out of his grip for more than thirty seconds. Or maybe he just liked putting on a show.

I was able to match his steps as we spun around the floor. He had a slightly softer smile playing on his lips. I hoped my nerves weren’t showing through in my smile, I felt like I had it under control, but as I held his gaze I wasn’t so sure my eyes were on my side. “You are a marvelous dancer, no need to worry, you are doing perfectly fine.” Alastor cooed, thinking that must be what’s caused my anxiety. I allowed myself I look past him for a moment to collect my thoughts. I wasn’t even an okay dancer, but it is sweet he would say so.

“I think you are the first dance partner of mine to say that. I stepped on many date’s toes unfortunately in life.” I admitted. Back in my dancing days I quickly fell down the rank of ladies at work to take out, I might be able to make you laugh but that’s about all I was good at on a date.

“Maybe the problem was more so with the partner.” Alastor said and twirled us around. “I seem to have no such problem.” He pulled me ever so slightly closer to him, my chest nearly against his. He was right, I hadn’t actually had much of a misstep at all. He was an excellent dance partner. He knew how to lead and to help me stay in time with him. Alastor gently guided my waist in the direction changes, or gave my hand a gentle squeeze. We were working in tandem quite gracefully.

The song came to an end and I wished it would last just a couple of minutes longer. Alastor released me and gave a slight bow, he was completely serious but I couldn’t help from giggling a little. Such a gentleman tonight. His hand returned to my shoulder blade and we melted into the crowd again. I thought about Alastor more, he is difficult, but it just makes me want more of him. I never know what I will get with him and as frustrating as it is it is also alluring. I pulled up the tops of my gloves a little, just to busy myself, as I caught my breath. I almost felt cold now without the heat of his body so close to mine, even though he was just a few inches further away than he had been it was enough for a chill to sweep through me. I hugged myself a little to compensate and blushed slightly when I realized how pronounced it made my chest. Almost immediately I felt a warm soft fabric cover my shoulders. I looked down at it as I pulled it closer to me and realized it was Alastor’s suit jacket before looking back at him.

“You looked cold, understandable given your attire, we wouldn’t want you to catch a chill now would we?” Alastor offered before I could even question him with a pleasant smile on his face. I smiled back.

“Thank you, though I paid good money for this dress, I ought to show it off. I don’t know when else I’ll ever get the excuse to.” I said and soothed the hem of my dress that just barely came down long enough. I moved to shake off the jacket, but his hand on my shoulder kept me from doing so.

His smile widened. “I think you look particularly lovely just like this!” His voice rang in my ears. Such a protective gentleman. I couldn’t help but to want to tease him.

I shrugged off his hand and his jacket, offering it back to him. “Please, Alastor, I insist.” He begrudgingly took it back and slipped the jacket back on, adjusting his cuffs. I looked up at him with shy eyes as I slowly traced my hands over my silhouette, seemingly to soothe my dress to anyone else. I watched as Alastor’s eyes followed my hands. “Thank you, I think I look rather nice, don’t you?” I asked sweetly. His eyes flicked back up to mine before I spun a little to give him a better look. His grip on his cane became tight. He looked at me like I was prey he was stalking in the forest, absolutely trained on me watching what I would do next. It burned into me and I loved it.

“You look very nice, My Dear. I think you know that.” He said, his voice was clipped, but not dangerous. I smiled. It was fun to get under his skin a little, especially given how he does it to me.

“Maybe, but I was just curious if you also thought so. You look quite handsome yourself, I rather like this suit on you.” I teased and adjusted his lapels a little. I could feel his breath again on the top of my head as I did so and when I looked at his eyes they were glowing a deep ruby color. His hand curled around my wrist, plucking it off of him. I could tell he was trying to decide exactly what to say, so I continued to press him. “Oh, does the touching only go one way? You’ve had your hands on me all night. I thought I might return the favor.” My heart was pounding in my chest as I looked at him. My vision darkened and for a moment all I could see was the glowing of his eyes and his crazed grin. When it lightened back up I knew I was back in the hotel, but in a room I had never seen before. My eyes found the forest that looked like it had been patched onto the room and I knew. This must be Alastor’s room.

The confidence I had held just seconds ago evaporated upon the realization. Alastor gently guided my chin so that my gaze was directed back at him. I knew my eyes were wide and my heart thudded against my ribs as I wasn’t sure if I should be terrified or thrilled, or both. His ears were flat against his head as his eyes drank me in one last time. “You have no idea what you’ve been doing to me tonight.” His voice came out low and no louder than a whisper. One of his arms wrapped around my waist like when we were dancing, but now his claws nearly pierced my skin through the delicate fabric of my dress. He held me close there, I had no answer.

Alastor used his other hand to slowly run the sharp edge of a claw along a path from my jaw, down my neck, over my shoulder, then across my back. My skin hissed at the sensation, it wasn’t even enough to truly break the skin but it sent shockwaves through my system. I stood perfectly still, I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing. I wanted him to just tell me, tell me if he craves me the way I crave him or not. I wanted more of his touch, but I was in no position to demand such a thing.

“As soon as I saw your little getup tonight,” He started to explain, deliberately fiddling with my dress’ fabric. “I wanted to whisk you up here, keep you away from any other soul who might see you in such a state.” I felt my face growing increasingly warm as he combed his free hand through my hair. “I didn’t think they deserved such a sight, but I didn’t want to upset you, My Dear, so I settled for keeping a close watch over you.” I melted into his touch as he held my cheek in his hand while he spoke. “I restrained myself then, but you have pushed me too far.” Alastor leaned his head in closer to mine, until our foreheads almost touched. His eyes were still a glowing deep red. “I’ll tell you a secret. All night I have been able to smell the lust pouring out of you, and right now is the strongest it’s ever been. You smell so sweet.” his neck dips even lower and his lips threaten to brush against my neck, the promise of sweet kisses tantalizing close. I could hear the sound of my blood pumping through my veins, I was hyper aware of every inch of my body that Alastor was touching, my muscles screamed for me to do something. Either run away or grab him and never let him go, waiting was torture. “You have to go.”

My mind raced. Alastor wanted me to leave? We were still tangled together, he made no real move to let me leave. My body ached for more of his touch, I desperately wanted more. I didn’t want to leave this moment. “Please, let me stay.” I begged, my voice breathy almost as if I was gasping for air. I didn’t need air, I needed Alastor. He slowly straightened back up and released his grasp on my waist. My skin hissed at the lack of his heat, the dewy scent of him retreating as he took a step back. He did not raise his eyes to meet mine though, instead his voice was low and gravely, charged with static and energy as he commanded me again.

“Leave.” It was not a question. I held myself back from arguing with him and backed away towards the door behind me. His shadows pooled around him on the floor. Some seemed to deliberately run in my direction as if to grab me and pull me back but any time one headed my way another would smack it back. I watched Alastor while my back was still waiting to find the wall. He was not his normal composed self, no this was raw. He almost looked ashamed, yet angry, searching for something to take that out on. I would pray for whatever creature he takes that out on if I thought it would help. The heavy rise and fall of his chest gave away just how agitated he had become.

Finally my back pressed against the wall while my hand began to search for the doorknob. I couldn’t look away, I couldn’t speak, I could barely move. Did I do something wrong? Can I fix it? I don’t want to push him too hard, but it gnawed on me, if I’d caused this outburst I want to make it right. I opened my mouth to call out his name, but before the first letter could fully form a shadow shot out to me, wrapping itself around my throat and jaw. I froze, I’ve been in the position before and did not want to make him more angry. Alastor slowly turned towards me, his breathing was labored and as he lifted his head I could see a gruesome grin on his face.

“I. Said. Out.”

I was forced backwards by the force of his shadow and only was able to disconcert the sound of his door slamming back shut as I realized I was now on the other side of it. I had fallen back from the force and found myself just staring up at his door. I suddenly felt small and alone here. Just a minute ago I had been the center of Alastor’s universe as we danced and now I was thrown aside and shut out. I wracked my brain for what had set him off so terribly.

I remembered his words, he had confessed to being attracted to me, and knowing I was attracted to him, it felt humiliating. I had felt so exposed and vulnerable in that moment, he hadn’t technically rejected me, but it sure felt like he had. My confidence had crashed. I wanted to curl up and die. I also wanted to march back in Alastor’s room and scream at him for making me feel this way, for building me up just to crush me in the end. Hot tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I forced them away. I don’t want to break down, instead I redirected the energy. You want me to leave? I’ll leave alright.

I slowly pulled myself back up and dusted off my dress, fixing myself and taking a long deep breath for comfort.. I cast one last hurt glance back at Alastor’s door and headed downstairs.

Shame, humiliation, and confusion swirled in my mind, perhaps distorting my decision making capabilities. I debated my next move, but I wasn’t in the headspace to think wisely. My feet carried me forward as if the speed of my steps could out pace these feelings. Soon my heels were clicking down the grand staircase outside the front door while my nails dug into my palm, my gloves didn’t protect me. I wasn’t sure exactly where I was walking, but I eventually found myself down an all too familiar path.

I could see the massive glowing light of the Vs’ studio signage even though I was still a solid mile away. It was as daunting as it always was, the blue neon looked like a bruise on the hellish red sky. It was fitting. The place that I looked forward to leaving everyday was suddenly a constant I could cling onto. I knew exactly where I stood here, I knew what to expect, what to do, how to act, who to be. I was thankful for that role, thankful for the rock it gave me to sink my nails into in order to hold onto something, anything, that made me feel better. Here I didn’t have to be myself and everything that entailed, I could simply be Velvette’s errandgirl, someone who did not care what that deer demon was doing back at the hotel right now. Someone who didn’t dwell on whether or not she would be able to bring herself to look into his deep ruby eyes the next time they met. Someone who didn’t miss the way he looked at her back in the ballroom with a playful possessiveness as the candle light danced behind them. No. I would be too busy for any of that.

I straightened out my back when the building came into focus drawing on a polite shy smile.

Quietly, I rejoined the event space. The party had of course continued in my absence, none the wiser to my personal angst. I cast my eyes about the room in search of Angel, unlikely as it was I couldn’t help myself. A friendly face would be nice right now, but no such luck. So I took a step forward, ever still conscious of my looks and of the crowd, and made my way back towards the bar. Alone this time, but the night was just beginning.

Part Five

Tags: @cannibalcoyote

[vickyvicarious]

"it is maddening to think that of all the foul things that lurk in this hateful place the Count is the least dreadful to me; that to him alone I can look for safety, even though this be only whilst I can serve his purpose."

The above passage is from May 16 after the vampire women tried to drink his blood, as he realized. Today on May 19 Jonathan writes three letters to be sent home (to Mr Hawkins) on various days of June, the final one being for June 29, the end of his life.

The thing I expected was for Jonathan to wonder why he's being kept alive after today/May 19th. Dracula is, as Jonathan said, his safety "whilst I can serve his purpose". But what is his purpose? Dracula had all his real estate papers signed on the 12th (when he ordered Jonathan to stay extra and that he'll take no refusal). He is actually fluent in English. Now, a steady stream of letters will be sent to Exeter throughout June, pretending that Jonathan's returning home.

Dracula can just kill him now, or just give him to the vampire women. No one would know. I'm sure he wants Jonathan first, claiming him and claiming the lion's share, but not now when he has months yet to leave. Then once, as Dracula said, he's "done with him" maybe he'll leave the rest to the other vampires.

But I wonder why Jonathan isn't wondering why he's being kept alive until the end of June. I suppose a Doylist reason is to not give the possible answer away yet, Watsonian being him fearing to speculate without answers?

Yeah, I've wondered this myself in the past. I think for me it comes down to a combination of several factors, since there really is no single quote that points to a specific reason Jonathan seems so convinced.

Before I get into those, I do want to mention that it is possible there is still some business to be done. It's a popular interpretation that they finish the last of that all on May 12, and it does make sense with the timeline. I personally believe it. But technically, I don't think Jonathan ever mentions them signing the final papers. He says he answers all of Dracula's questions, but that could be just referring to the ones in that conversation: "When he had satisfied himself on these points of which he had spoken, and I had verified all as well as I could by the books available, he suddenly stood up and said:—" ...and then Dracula brings up him staying. Again, the interpretation that they finish all their work in that conversation is totally valid/likely. But if someone really wanted to argue that there is still some amount of actual legal work to be done, I don't believe canon says anything outright to the contrary.

That's not really my take though. Here are the reasons I think Jonathan believes he will survive until the end of June, in no particular order:

What Dracula said on May 16. He heard the Count drive the other vampires back with the words:

"Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done."

Now, in the moment, Dracula's line about having work to do seems most likely to be a fib just to get them to go. 'I'm busy, scram,' essentially. But he is very clear that he isn't done with Jonathan yet. (Though the fib about being busy itself could suggest that he might keep Jonathan alive and away from them longer than he himself needed/wanted to, just as a taunt/power play against these vampire ladies. But that's less relevant since he clearly does seem to want him still.) As you point out, Jonathan notes it himself, that he will be able to look to Dracula for safety so long as he serves his purpose. The fact that Dracula comes back within a couple of days to get him to write these specifically dated letters I think suggests to him that he is likely to stand at least a chance of serving that purpose until those dates. At least, it seems that way given...

Jonathan knows Dracula by now. He can probably tell just how much Dracula really enjoys him, and that said enjoyment is in many ways what's keeping him alive. Probably at least to some degree in a sense of enjoying his company, and that is somewhat relevant since he can play on that to stay interesting even when he's not outright useful/needed. But also, importantly, Dracula's particular brand of sadism comes into play here. He loves his mind games and multilayered conversations. He's been making jokes about his own undead/supernatural status basically as long as Jonathan has known him. He enjoys manipulating Jonathan. He enjoys giving him orders and warnings and then watching to see if he will obey or not. Jonathan has disobeyed significantly twice already, by trying to get into all the locked rooms and by sleeping outside of his room. And while he was discovering locked doors early on just while going about his business, he made no move nor seemed to have any particular designs/likelihood to sleep outside his room until Dracula brought it up first. Maybe you could argue that he's been looking more tired/likely to nap about as this nocturnal existence becomes more telling on him, but still there was no real build-up at all to the warning. Which is just one of the many reasons I read it as intentional bait.

So, knowing how Dracula likes to throw out these sorts of hints, I think it reasonable for Jonathan to think he will live that long. It would be just like him to use these letters to subtly tell Jonathan: no one will know where to look for you when you go missing, I could kill you long before with no consequences, but why would I if you play along and please me? ...so play. along.

There's also the fact that Jonathan may know when Dracula plans to leave. Now I certainly don't think he knows his exact itinerary or anything. Probably not even the date he expects to go, and just how closely it lines up with Jonathan's final false letter. But it seems entirely reasonable to me for the topic to have come up during all their work talk. There's a very good chance Jonathan knows that Dracula is planning on leaving for England in a month or two, or even just "around midsummer", etc. And if he does, I think he could add that in with the previous two points I mentioned to reach the conclusion that Dracula intends to keep him around until about when he himself is going to leave. (With the caveat, always, that Jonathan must make himself interesting/nonthreatening enough that he doesn't get bored before then.)

But finally, all those things aside... Jonathan has a tendency to fixate on things. In doing so he can miss other possibilities. And I think the encounter with the vampire ladies served to, somewhat despite himself, dismiss a lot of his fear of immediate danger from Dracula himself. He's aware that he is playing a long game under threat of being thrown the vampire ladies early, and kind of gets blinders to the fact that Dracula himself might physically harm him before then. This really reaches its height near the end of his stay with his seeming obliviousness to the possibility of Dracula biting him even when the guy outright says the "tonight is mine" line. And while I think he does get bitten and just doesn't remember it because that's often what can happen when a vampire entrances/bites you, his not recognizing the possibility beforehand is something that has made several people cry censorship (on a Watsonian level from Jonathan or Mina, and on a Doylist level from Stoker because he knew it wouldn't be accepted). But I think it can be attributed to a combination of Jonathan getting fixated on the ultimate threat (the women) and also on some level recognizing that if Dracula was going to give him to them after he was through, then he'd likely survive whatever Dracula planned for him anyway, so it wasn't as necessary to focus on. (Some of his single-mindedness definitely reads as more calculated at times.)

All this to say, Jonathan may just be overlooking the possibility that Dracula isn't planning to keep him around that long. That or he may be aware of the idea but is dismissing it without mention because it's totally unhelpful to dwell on. He has to approach the situation the same way regardless, fawning to please Dracula while looking for a chance at some other way out. He's stalling for time no matter what, so why not assume he has the most time it seems reasonable to hope for, at least in order to keep himself from completely breaking down and giving up before then. For some semblance of morale if nothing else. He's definitely not going to live past then, but maybe, maybe, until then.

[ghostfacesvalentine]

HALLOWEEN DAY 6: Cheesy Halloween - Tate Langdon x Fem!Reader

Pairing: Multi!muse x Fem!Reader

Warnings: A tiny bit of NSWF, f!flashing but that’s about it, no details this time ... :) u dirty gremlins

Type: One shot

Request: N/A

Word Count: 1,932

Prompt: Tate decides to take the reader on an unexpected at-home Halloween date. 

Notes: I want to really see how long I last with this challenge I put on myself. Also just a side note, let’s appreciate how creative Tate could be as he’s confined at home. That’s actually- my heart? You deserve it entirely. 

The breeze flew past your cheeks, leaving a rushed red stain across your cheeks. Looking down to the pavement, you watched your feet as they kept up with you. Today was a disappointing day to say the least. 

Nothing significant happened today, but this was kind of why it was disappointing. It seemed like Halloween wasn’t too exciting this year, it was only getting less and less anticipated as you grew older and yet there was a part of you that was disappointed. 

You were on your way home to Tate, your boyfriend who eagerly waited for you to come home, every day. Like an excited puppy, ready to kiss your whole face. You’d have to pry him off to get your tasks done for the day. 

Halloween was Tate’s favorite holiday as well, he shared your frustration from the lack of enthusiasm coming from the rest of the world when it came to Halloween. He’d sit there with you, watching you give out candy to trick or treaters, sitting on the opposite side of the porch, out of sight. A smile would always trickle across his face as he watched you participate in his absolute favorite holiday. 

The house was empty, closing the door behind you, you let your bag flop onto the floor calling out for your boyfriend.

“Tate?” You quietly called out. Not a second later, you heard Tate’s footsteps trot down the steps, your boyfriend eager as always to be the first one to say hi to you.

Before you could look up from the floor as you kicked off your shoes, a pair of arms were draped around your neck, pulling you into his torso. His familiar scent intoxicated you as you did what you could to wrap your arms around him. A giggle escaped your lips as his faced buried itself into the crook of your neck. The edges of his lips and nose tickled the sensitive parts of your neck. 

“Tate-” You whispered out as you tried to pull away to see his face, but he wouldn’t let you. There would be times Tate would do this, simply because he would get paranoid one day you weren’t going to come back and simply forget him. He dreaded that day more than anything. It was the one thing that terrified him more than the other side. 

As your touch soothed his growing agony, he pulled away from you just enough to get a look at you. You took the liberty to plant a kiss on his lips, gentle but passionate. Tate kissed you back with the same force. “You took forever.” He pouted as he finally let you go after a few minutes, always dreading the amount of time you two spent apart.

“It was only eight hours Tate- I have to work you know.” You teased as you wrapped your arms around his neck, looking up to him. His dimples pressing against his cheeks. when he stared at you for too long. You made him happier than you could imagine. Tate would tell you constantly how much you meant to him, what your sudden appearance in the murder house did to him, how much he was devoted to you. It was true, Tate loved you more than anything, he would do anything for you. 

Even cheer you up on the most boring day you’ve had all month.

“What’s wrong Y/N? is it Y/CWs/N? I know you were on shift with them today, I took a peak at your schedule earlier when I was cleaning around some.” Tate admitted with his arms now loosely wrapped around your waist.

Most of your conversations about the day began at the foot of the entrance, eventually making it up to your room. 

Today was no different. Your fingers intertwined with Tate’s as you both made your way up to your room. “No, they kept to themselves for the most part, I managed to get all my tasks done by myself today.” You stated proudly as you followed Tate into your own room, watching him plop onto his side of the bed, looking up to you with his pouty, bold puppy eyes.

“Then what is it?” He asked, more concerned about what was wrong with your mood today.

“It’s just that Halloween’s coming up and it seems like everyone’s forgotten about it. You know it’s my favorite holiday- yours even, but it doesn’t seem like it’s on anyone’s mind this year.” 

“It certainly is on mine though, just like always.” Tate admitted to you as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and looked to you with those sweet eyes he always got when he saw you. Still, that only stole a smile from you for a few moments, the smile disappearing then soon after again. 

You looked to the floor in defeat, almost being able to hear Tate’s frown. His hand came under your chin, to bring your face up to make you look at him, which you hesitated to, but had no other choice to. “It has to be more than that Y/N, no?” He questioned you as he looked for any other sign of anything. 

Shaking your head, you pulled away from his touch, feeling bad for your attitude, knowing it wasn’t your boyfriends fault, but you couldn’t help what you felt. It seemed like all your childhood memories and the best times were all left to be nothing but memories now. Vanished into the sands of time and the thought of never being able to enjoy Halloween the way you did a decade ago, terrified you. 

“Tate- I’m going to go shower, okay? Then we can take a nap or something, I promise.” You gifted him a hopeful smile, leaning up to your tippy toes to kiss the tip of his nose. Tate offered you the same smile in return, dropping his arms from you and letting you make your way to get ready for your afternoon shower. 

Wiping the evidence from your hot shower, you looked to yourself in the mirror, addressing your face with a pout. There was still no clear evidence of your mood lightening up anytime soon, it seemed like this could only be cured by a nap and some cuddles against Tate.

Speaking of which, you hadn’t been interrupted by in the last hour, which made you suspicious. Usually he’d give you such a hard time while you showered, always either ending up waiting in the bathroom with you, sitting on the counter or on the floor crisscrossed or ended up joining you. Both were actions welcomed by you, no matter if you were arguing or not, Tate couldn’t be away from you for long, instead just sat there in the same room with you in silence, avoiding your eyes like a grounded puppy. 

Were you too harsh on him earlier? You didn’t think so, you weren’t upset with him. Maybe you snapped at him without him noticing. You had a towel wrapped around your body as you opened the bathroom door, looking into the hallway for any sign of him. Nothing. 

“Tate?” You called out into the hallway, there was a moment of silence. Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, he couldn’t have left forever. Where was he hiding? Was he hiding?

“In the bedroom!” You heard a familiar voice call out from your room. An overwhelming feeling of relief came over you when you heard his voice. In a better state of mind, you made your way back to your room. Droplets of water trailed your steps, evidence of your fresh shower. “Tate?” You called out again as you made it into your own room only to find pillows laying all over your bed, all covered by your Halloween themed blankets, a bowl of popcorn and next to it all kinds of Halloween themed candy. 

There were orange and purple lights draped across your bedframe, Tate did his best to black out your window with your black blankets, which did darken the room some shades. The vinyl Tate begged you to get when you met initially was on the side of your bed, laying on the floor, ready to play some spooky songs. The more you looked, the more you found. This had to be the most thoughtful thing Tate had done for you so far. 

Your heart melted at the ideas that went around Tate’s head. Movies were sprawled around your room, waiting for you to pick which one you wanted to see first. Tate even managed to pull some of your makeup, willing to be the one you practiced on for the real deal. It was obvious you were obsessed, it was written all over your face. Jumping up and down in place the more you looked, hearing Tate’s laugh as he saw your reaction. “Do you like it?”

“Like it!!??” You cried out as you held your towel in place, it didn’t take you long to close the door and keep looking around. “I love it Tate!!” Leaping towards your boyfriend to wrap your arms around him, the laugh escaped his lips as you pushed him back onto the bed, his body getting some of the shower water in the process. “I’m glad you liked it. I was hoping you would, it took me a while to get everything together.” He muffled into your neck as he squeezed your body against him. 

Not even a second later you sat up, not minding the towel that flopped down as you looked around. It was like a mini Halloween town, if there was a way to your heart, this definitely was it. 

Tate then took a moment to stare at you in awe, pushing himself back up with his elbows, he started tugging at your towel, a familiar mischievous smirk plastered across his face. Your eyes pried away from the screen to look at Tate, his eyes looked back to yours, then flickered down to your exposed chest. 

Though you were more than comfortable with him at your exposure, the accidental flash did make you flustered. “Oh-” You laughed at yourself bringing the towel back up to cover you.��

Any other day Tate would’ve been all over you, unable to keep his hands off of you and maybe that could wait for later on tonight, but he wanted to make sure you were cheered up first.

“I even brought out the pajamas-” Tate explained as he turned his head to grab the pair of matching pajamas you bought last year, both littered with pumpkins and bats. You watched him as he handed you the clothes, a playful smile came across your face. Tate had to be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had, he was by far the most thoughtful. 

You both took a moment to change into them, as you did, you reached for your towel, drying off your hair as Tate reached for the remote, pressing the play button for the movie to begin playing. As the cries erupted from the speakers, Tate leaned down to kiss your nose, leaving you in a smiley expression. You watched as Tate plopped down onto your bed once again, dressed in the cheesiest pajamas you’ve ever seen him wear. 

The bed didn’t even seem welcoming to you, instead, you shifted over closer to him, mimicking how he fell onto the bed, this time you would fall onto his lap, snuggling your back against his chest. It wasn’t like Tate was complaining anyway, instead his arms instinctively wrapped around you. He cradled you into him as he occasionally reached to grab a few pieces of popcorn.

[viktoriaeloi]

͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙ witchy things I did that worked •̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

(se você fala portugues BR, sinta-se livre para enviar DM ou pedir tradução de um post. boa parte vai estar em inglês, para facilitar minha vida e atingir mais pessoas.)

-`🕯 INTRO 🕯´-

Although I'm part of the spiritual community, I'm still quite skeptical whenever I see a spell or ritual, be it online or in books, asking myself if it'd work or not. Wondering if the source of such spells and witchy things were actually being honest. So! Today, I'll be sharing some witchy things (as not all of them were spells IMO) that actually worked! Still, I want to clarify that these things worked for >me< and I'll just be sharing my experience with the things I did that worked best. Feel free to also share yours in the comments!

-`🕯 WITCHY THINGS THAT WORKED 🕯´-

❅ herbal baths and magik baths in general, is some of my favorite things to do. Well, I actually love showers and they are such a scared moment to me, and whenever I need some deep energetical cleansing and boost, they always work for me. However, I want to point out that I wash my hair after finishing the herbal bath. So, I recommend doing this on wash hair days. My favorite combo is thick salt and rosemary. How I did it: ⁍ 1-step, prep: cleansed and energized the materials. ⁍ 2-step, make rosemary water: I didn't use a specific amount, but I'd say 4-5 cups of water and half a hand of rosemary is enough. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then let it sit for 15 minutes with a cloth on top. ⁍ 3-step, thick salt scrubbing: the scrubbing should be done from your neck to your feet. Don't scrub too hard, you don't want to hurt yourself. Visualize negative energy or the power something/someone has over you leaving your body. DO NOT SCRUB YOUR GENITALIA WITH IT OKAY? ⁍ 4-step, rosemary shower: after the rosemary water has cooled down a bit, start to pour the water over you from your head. Now, the actual rosemary won't go with the water, so you can pick it up with your hands and scrub your body gently with it. DO NOT SCRUB OR WASH YOUR GENITALIA WITH THIS WATER. ⁍ 5-step, clean your bathroom: chances are you've made a mess! ❅ banishing candles is something that I did when I was on low energy but needed banishing ASAP. I also didn't have all the ingredients I wished for, but it worked with the ones I had! I made a total of 2 candles, and I placed one in the living room and the other in my bedroom. How I did it: ⁍ ingredients and tools: black candle, red candle, dried pieces of garlic, corn hair, thick salt, essential oil (I used lavender cause it was the only one I had lol), mortar and pestle, paper (to protect my table from the wax), candle holder (further explanation about candle holder later), and fire. ⁍ 1-step, prep: cleansed and energized the material. ⁍ 2-step, candle dressing: I applied the essential oil to the black candle, then started to dress it with the garlic pieces. I recommend doing this slowly and dressing each "side" of the candle instead of the whole candle. With the help of the red candle, I lit it up and used its drop of wax to hold the garlic in place. ⁍ 3-step, protection ring: with corn hair and thick salt, I created a protection ring so that the candle would be free to do its job without interference from what I was banishing. I placed it within the candle holder, which was a chamberstick type. Now, I want to say that the protection ring needs to be around the candle, with a chamberstick, it was quite efficient since I could carry the candle and the protection ring mutually without getting the house dirty. ⁍ 4-step, banishing: lit it up and allowed it to burn fully. ❅ warding is one of the best ways to protect your house or personal space. It always works for me, even when done in the astral (I've done this once but it was not intentional, don't ask me how I did it because I have minimal power over my astral/mental projections still). Basically, gather up energy and release it with the most amount of anger possible, like a dog showing its teeth to an enemy, while setting out the intention of only your guides, desired spirits, and positive energy entering. Do this in each room of the house if you wish to ward the whole house, or just in your bedroom if that's better. ❅ repelling unwanted energetic interactions through anger. Well, this one is a bit similar to warding, but it's done when the so said energy or spirit is already there. I've done this in the astral too, it worked thankfully lol. Anyway, it's similar to warding, but now you have a target to which you'll direct the aggressive energy you're gathering. Together with this energy, you'll say words like "get out of here" like, screaming, either out loud or in your head. You'll hunt down the "problem" if needed. My biggest tip is to go full red mode.

-`🕯 CONCLUSION 🕯´-

So, this was it! I hope you guys enjoyed it and that I've brought to y'all something new haha. As you can see, I haven't done much lol, I don't like to venture myself too much, and spells aren't my "it" activity either. Still, even though I've done more things, these were the ones I had the best results. Either way, see you soon <3

[omentranslates]

Owari no Seraph volume 33 author's afterword english fan translation

Hi I did it

Sorry about the month late um but I got my Krul illustration card so that's really I think what matters anyways thanks for reading :)

Afterword

This is volume 33. Since the recent plot developments have been so chaotic and fast-moving, I've been curious as to everyone's reactions while writing. We're in a dead sprint to the climax now, I'm so glad everyone is still supporting all of the characters.

I've often been asked how well I like my own characters before, and now I find myself thinking, "well I'll just show you the answer with how I write the climax." In any case, I like all of them. I'm writing this story like "AHHHHHHH, I LIKE EVERY CHARACTER AAAAHHHH." I'm working hard to continue this plot in a way that satisifes everyone.

The topic of recent for me has been moving houses, I've just moved into a place with a huge study. Right now I'm still locked in fierce combat with the amount of cardboard and also I really want to overthink out I layout my bookshelves this time. I'm a bit of a mess about leaving my previous house, it's overwhelming.

Something else that keeps coming up lately is talking to AI and, this thing, not only have I made it into my tireless nonsense conversation partner, it also responds to me with text from religious leaders and philosophers that have thought about it more than I have. I think I could play around with this thing for a lifetime. I'll have to read even more and harder than ever to stay competitive with its knowledge (lol)

For example, debating whether humans are in the end conscious in a true sense or whether we are only influenced by our environments, I could talk about this forever. Humanity is a social creature so what if my own internal self doesn't exist, but rather the me that you see, and so I'm influenced to be more like that me, which is a perception influenced by your own environment and conditions which influence you, etc.

But I don't have time in the day to talk about this stuff forever, so I've downloaded an app that blocks AI, videos and certain websites. We here really are controlled by the apps we use! (lol)

That app in particular is funny to me because I'll open it and, instead of telling me I can't go places I've blocked, it'll say something in English. It says something like "you are free." And after that it'll say, still in English, "Do what you have to." I'm like, am I talking to Guren or Kureto!??*

Guren: Just do it. Kureto: Do it. Ferid: Don't mind if I do! It's getting scary out here (lol)

With everyone's support, I'm working on the manuscript again today!

And so, next up is volume 34. That's gonna be the real climax, I'm counting on your support until the end!

I want to reign the next time in with cheers!

Also, I've mostly just written nonsense here, but I want to get serious for this last bit.

I'm so grateful to Yamamoto san. And I'm so grateful to Furuya san. We've really ended up coming a long way together and experienced with each other moments full of both joy and sorrow. With this once-a-month work of so many months, sharing each other's feelings over such distance, anyways I'm just so glad I was able to meet them. Thank you.

I also want to thank Okuyama san, who's newly in charge, for working so hard. It was him that restarted activities on the official Owari no Seraph X account (once upon a time we called it Twitter….). A round of applause for him!

With that, I most of all want to thank the readers for supporting us! And so having concluded my gratitude, I'll leave you with that til next time!

Kagami Takaya

*this is a really strange way for an app to talk to you it doesn't make grammatical sense w the character lines he compared it to but the tone is like "get your shit done" lmao

[whitebluewhitefem]

Radblr (preferably OSA women who get it), I need advice and support. No bullying me for being in an OSA relationship before or in that kind of life situation in general. I'm going to explain everything I talk about.

tw: self harm, f/m relationship, codependency, financial dependency, other.

I have a long distance ex who loves me an unhealthy amount and really wants us to see each other again. He is military and has 0 friends except for me. I broke up because the codependency was too much and he got PTSD at his job and started lashing out on me. He got therapy after we broke up so I decided to talk to him again and he's doing way better but I don't think I want to see him again or have him anywhere as close as we were before.

When we used to see each other we would have these horrible destructive fights. One time he got jealous and didn't stop yelling at me until I cut myself. The other time I broke my foot because I went outside drunk at 3 am to remove myself from the situation, and tripped and fell. Another time I hit him and ripped his shirt apart and called the police on him so he could get out. He's never hit me but there was a lot of my own self destruction from the mutual psychological abuse.

I also am financially dependent on him because I'm a broke immigrant artist misplaced by the war in eastern europe where they raise rent prices like hell for immigrants thinking we're all rich programmers or something. Whatever local job I can find here will drain the life out of me and will likely not be enough to live. I'm not a designer or whatever other fancy job an artist can have, I'm a creator of a passion project that takes me a shitton of time to finish even without another job. I want to finish it in this life, so I took financial support from my ex to survive. He said he'll never cut me off but I obviously want to achieve separatism somehow. And I don't believe he won't cut me off. He brings up the money every time we argue. He thinks that's all I need from him. I wanted to be friends, I really did, but maybe he's right. It's just not going to work out anymore. Maybe it's all my fault for being dependent. He just called me a child so I think this of myself now.

Today I woke up and he spent an hour telling me how much he wants to live somewhere close to me after he leaves the military. It was difficult for me to put into words why I don't want this clinginess but I think I managed. I'm scared of these destructive fights we had when he visited before. And now that I told him I don't want to see him because I'm scared I'll hurt myself and/or him again, that I don't think anything will be like it was before, he lashed out again. Brought up money again. I tried to explain how I feel about him coming over again but all he got from this was that i treat him like a bank account. It's not true. I wanted to make it work for almost four years. I was the only person there for him and filling the role of a girlfriend, best friend, mum, and therapist, because he refused to have those other people in his life and make more friends. He still thinks there's nothing wrong with being obsessed with me like that and not having other friends to talk to. Every time I told him he can make friends he said I don't get it.

I think I have to find a local job that will pay three times lower than the US minimum wage. That's all I can do here. I might have to abandon my passion project and find someone to share my tiny one room flat with to make ends meet. I want to make it up to him for taking his money i guess. I just don't know what to do. This relationship feels like I wasted four years of my life. I wanted to leave but I couldn't. I'm sorry for the rambling. I'm in a really bad place right now. If anyone can give me an advice it would be greatly appreciated. He just told me how bad of a person I am and I feel this way about myself now. I could've done more but I guess I chose to rely on him. And now I'm "treating him like a bank account" because I was scared of my ex being so obsessed with being near me after we had so many fights. I'm sorry.

[rickgrimeswifey]

Jack's dad - Aaron Hotchner

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A/n: First Hotch fic, please leave a comment below! NOT PROOFREAD

Category: Kinda slow burn, smut and fluff (threw in a little angst in the end)

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x single mom!fem!reader

Season: some events in this take place in the end of season 6

Warnings: Rough unprotected pinv sex, other than that the smut is pretty vanilla, swearing, smut with plot, little dirty talk, pet names used: sweetheart

Word count: 10.4k (2.5k of those words are pure smut)

—————————————————————————————

Getting up at six every saturday wasn’t in any lists of my favorite things to do. But when you have a seven year old son who loves playing soccer, you don’t really have a choice. I was down in the kitchen packing food for him to eat after his match and water that he would need while playing. These soccer games were the only thing that made my son, Peyton, get out of bed early. When he came into the kitchen strutting in the clothes he’d wear for his match I couldn’t help but smile. Being a divorced single mom with a father that doesn’t want to see his own son is very challenging at times, moments like these made it all worth it. My son is my best friend, as corny as it might sound, it’s true. There’s no one in this entire world I love to talk to or hang out with more than him. 

“You already up and running?” I asked him with a grin.

“Mhm,” he nodded happily. “I’m gonna kill it today out on the field!” Peyton exclaimed excitedly, making me giggle at his silliness.

“I’m sure you will, now tell me what you want to eat before we have to leave. Game’s starting at seven!” 

The toast I made for him went down fast and then he went to the bathroom to get ready. After Peyton was done he ran to the front door where his sneakers were waiting for him. I had his soccer shoes in my bag along with his food that I had put in a lunchbox. Faster than I could grab my shoes, Peyton stood rocking back and forth on his feet waiting impatiently.

“Mommy! We’re gonna be late!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m moving as quickly as I can.” I said while tying my shoelaces. 

As soon as the front door opened Peyton ran to the car. I knew we’d arrive a little early but that was okay, he usually took his time getting pumped up and ready for his games. I know this might be a little selfish to say as a parent but I think he really was the best player on the team. He was definitely special, full of talent. When I started the car I needed to remind myself why I voluntarily was out driving this early in the morning. The only reason I went to these games is because of the huge amount of love I have for Peyton. I’d do anything for him. 

When we arrived it was around 7AM, which meant that the game started in fifteen minutes or so. I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the first one there. Still, my breath got caught in my throat when I realized who it was out on the field that me and my son were walking towards. 

I might’ve lied when I said the only reason why I come to these soccer games is because of how much I love my son. The other teeny tiny reason is because of one of the dads, Aaron Hotchner. He seemed to be a single parent since it was only him who showed at these soccer games and when he didn’t show it was Jack's aunt Jessica that came instead. 

I never worked up the courage to talk to the man since he was fairly intimidating. He had this rough exterior to him, that told you he was serious about everything he does. Aaron seemed to only ever smile when he was with his son from what I’d seen. In my head that’s fair although I didn’t understand why. I figured it would make sense if I ever got to know him but I was way too afraid to talk to him. Since he was intensely serious I was afraid he’d think less of me or even just scoff at what I said. I felt that I was about to find out what he was like as soon as we made eye contact. By now me and Peyton were by the field that they were going to play on. 

My son saw Jack and immediately left my side. I cursed at myself when I realized I had no choice but to make conversation with Aaron as he left the goal he was finishing setting up and walked towards me. 

“Hey, I know who you are and so forth, but I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced.” He started with that usual look on his face that sent a shiver down my spine. “I’m Aaron Hotchner.”

I know this man was tall, now that he was standing right in front of me I realized just how tall he is. This man had to be over 6 feet tall. I felt how my size shrunk for every step he had taken towards me. I finally took my hand in his that I had left hanging for a couple seconds longer than necessary. 

“(Y/N) (L/N).” I said, shaking his hand.

His handshake was firm just as you’d expect. He offered me a small nod before he continued talking. 

“I wanted you to know that your little boy has some serious talent.” Aaron complimented, crossing his arms against his chests. I couldn’t help but notice how this man's muscles flexed as he did. 

“Thank you, Aaron. Don’t tell that to him though, his ego could not handle it.” I joked, surprised when my joke earned a light chuckle from the man in front of me. 

I had never expected such a serious individual to laugh at such a bad joke. Maybe he was all bark no bite? We continued on making conversation until the other parents started flooding in. Before I knew it the game had passed and the whole time I had only been gawking at Aaron. I’m pretty sure he didn’t feel the way I looked at him as he was way too focused on the soccer game to see anything else that was happening. Once the kids had celebrated the goals they scored Peyton came rushing towards me. He practically jumped up into my lap before his energy vanished. 

“You tired, Pey?” I hummed into his hair as I kissed his head. 

The only thing I heard from him was a big yawn, I pulled out the lunch box and water from my bag. Handing him the water while I opened and got half a sandwich for him. He happily took it from me while still clinging onto me. 

“You did really well out there today,” I praised him while watching over the other parents getting ready to leave. “Did you have fun?” I pulled back to look at him.

He nodded while taking another big bite of his sandwich. I stood up once he finished his sandwich. I knew he’d probably fall asleep in the car and then proceed to take a nap when we got home. I closed the water bottle and lunchbox and packed it away then took my son’s hand in mine. We started walking to the car and as we were almost off the field Aaron said goodbye to us. I smiled and said my goodbyes while Peyton waved at him and Jack.

A week went by until another Saturday soccer game. This time I arrived at the same time as the rest of the parents. I had brought my own camping chair to sit on and the usual stuff for Peyton. I set up my chair and put down my bag before walking over to Aaron with Peyton beside me. He had brought a friend with him and it seemed like he was coaching by the way the kids were starting to gather around the two adults. 

“Got a promotion?” I asked, making Aaron turn around to look at me. 

“Is it that obvious?” He questioned with a smirk. 

“To the parents who don’t just look at their phones, yes. You brought a friend?”

“Uh, yeah. (Y/N), this is David Rossi. My help with the coaching.” Aaron introduced his co-worker. 

“Think of it as a package deal.” Rossi joked playfully, earning a giggle from me. 

“Good luck with the kids, guys.” I smiled brightly at them before turning to my son. “Do good out there now Pey!” 

“I will mommy!” He exclaimed encouragingly before I gave him a high five. 

Peyton did awfully good in this soccer game too, it always warmed my heart so much to see how happy this sport made him. It also warmed my heart to see how engaged Aaron was in coaching, how he yelled out to the kids what to do and how he did it was just perfect. The man was perfect at doing anything. My son and Jack's team had won again (even though they didn’t keep score, I did). Aaron and Rossi cheered them on and told them how good they’ve played. They then called out for them to do the ‘tunnel’.  Usually I stood up and did it but as Aaron was standing facing me with his hands in the hair against Rossi’s, I felt how it began to tingle in my lower stomach as the wind made his t-shirt blow up a bit so that I could see his lower abdomen. This man did things to me by just laughing along with the kids while unintentionally flashing some skin due to the windy weather. 

After the tunnel was over my son came rushing over to me with the biggest grin on his face. I could see by miles that there was something he wanted to ask me, it was obvious by the wave he smiled uncontrollably. 

“Mommy…” he began, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

“Yes, Peyton?” I smiled at him. 

“Can we go with Jack to get some ice cream?” he asked, it took me a second to process just who was coming alongside Jack. “Pleaseeeee!” 

“Yeah, sure buddy…” I huffed, hoping that Rossi also was coming along. 

It’s not that I didn’t want to hangout with Aaron, it’s just the way that he looked at me made me both aroused and nervous. I didn’t know for how much longer I could behave around him, but as long as the kids were around I wasn’t worried. When you have a seven year old, you need to always keep an eye out for them and then you don’t have time to drool over some guy. 

I took Peyton’s hand in mine and began walking towards Aaron once I had packed up my stuff. He gave me a small nod before we walked to the parking lot together. Once we got to our cars, Rossi said his goodbyes and I immediately questioned;

“You’re not coming?” 

He shook his head and smiled. “No, I have errands to run unfortunately… next time though.” 

I nodded and got into my car, completely missing out on the look Aaron shot Rossi’s way. He knew that Rossi was lying, he had already told him that there wasn’t anything going on between him and (Y/N). But Rossi called bullshit on that and decided to try and do a little match making of his own.  

While we were on the way to the ice cream shop, I was following Aaron’s car. He was such a gentleman in that way, showing me the way. It was like when a man in an old romance movie took a lady’s hand and led her somewhere. I took this advantage of mine and called out for my son;

“Peyton?” 

“Yes, mommy?” he asked from the back, his small voice barely heard over the engine and other cars passing by. 

“Do you like Jack? It seems like you guys are becoming good friends.” I smiled at him in the rearviewmirror.

“Yeah, he’s really nice! I like him a lot, he’s almost my best friend.” Peyton informed me, feeding me all the information I wanted to hear. 

“Who’s your best friend if he’s not?” I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

“You, mommy.” 

“Aww,” I looked lovingly at him. “Well you should invite Jack over sometime honey.” I offered to him softly, watching as his face lit up.

“Really?” He asked excitedly. 

I nodded and smiled earning an even bigger smile from the little boy in the back. We had arrived at the shop and went inside, the boys were looking at all the different flavors and debating with each other on which one was the best to get while standing in line. Aaron and I stood behind watching the kids in awe, to every other person in the room we seemed like a regular family. 

“You didn’t do the tunnel today.” He suddenly spoke up beside me.

“Pardon?” I asked with a confused smile. 

“You always join in when we do the tunnel, but you didn’t today.” Aaron clarified and I wondered how he had noticed such a small detail. 

“Oh, I was just so caught up in watching Peyton having fun that I kinda missed it, I guess…” I explained while shrugging. 

It wasn’t all a lie, I couldn’t tell him that the main reason why was because I had been too busy gawking at the man I was currently making conversation with. 

“You did a really good job today coaching. All of the kids absolutely adore you.” I complimented him, earning a small smile. 

“I’m glad to hear that, so you think I’m improving the team?” He smirked playfully. 

If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was trying to flirt with me. But I was convinced I was just making something up in my head.

“Oh, absolutely.” I agreed. “If they were keeping scores your team definitely would’ve won, coach.” I joked back at him, fist bumping his shoulder at the last word making him chuckle. 

His smile was dangerous from how alluring it was. When he wasn’t wearing the facial expression that made you think he was gonna rip you apart, (he looked like that during parent meetings) he actually seemed so sweet and harmless. My best guess is that he is just a big teddy bear. I couldn’t help but wanting to get closer to him, he was so beautiful and understanding. Everything Peyton’s biological dad wasn’t. Although, I didn’t want to ruin this friendship for Peyton, so I kept my hands to myself. Promising myself that I wouldn’t ever act on this for my son’s sake. 

While we ate the ice cream, Peyton had asked Aaron if Jack could come over sometime. The two boys immediately started begging Aaron to let him come over, before answering he looked over at me and searched for my approval. I offered a small smile and nodded that it was okay. That’s how we scheduled the first of many play dates between Jack and Peyton. It was set up for friday afternoon after school and I was going to pick both of them up when their day was over. 

It was wednesday and Aaron was out on a case with the team, investigating a serial killer that went after local (Y/H/C) haired women. Since these women all had the same hair colors as the woman who’s recently been getting in contact with his son, Aaron saw it as the perfect opportunity to find out if he wanted Jack to go over to her house. He picked up his phone, even though he knew it was wrong, and dialed the one person he knew couldn’t catch him in a lie. 

“Garcia?” 

“Yes, sir?” 

“I need you to check a potential victim for me, her name is (Y/N) (L/N).” Aaron lied to Penelope, but he needed to know who he was letting his son get close to. 

“Uh, there’s nothing here that sticks out really… except that she wasn’t born in the area that you’re in.” Penelope said. 

“Criminal records?” He couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it was highly unlikely. 

“None, sir.” 

“Alright, thank you Garcia.” 

Once he hung up and turned around he closed his eyes and cursed himself mentally. Rossi stood behind him with his arms crossed and a disappointed look plastered over his features.

“Really, Aaron?” he asked. “That woman is harmless. I’ve met her, besides, you know it yourself, she’s a total sweetheart.”

Aaron sighed and nodded to signalize that he knew that but both men knew exactly why he couldn’t help himself. He walked past Rossi and back to the rest of the team who were discussing the new clues they’d gotten. 

I pulled up to the school on friday, smiling as I saw the two small boys running towards my car in excitement. They got inside of a side each on the car and I waited until they had buckled up their seatbelts. I had gotten an extra booster seat for Jack so that they’d be riding in the car securely. The two were so caught up in discussing what they were gonna do when they got to our house that they forgot to greet me. I was fine with that though, as long as I got to watch them be so happy. 

The several hours that passed before Aaron came to pick up Jack around 6PM felt like ten minutes. The boys’ laughter had been heard throughout the house every single minute they’d spent inside it. Now here I stood face to face with Aaron who had his suit on him. I’d never seen him in his work clothes before but he was sexier than usual. The boys were cleaning up in Peyton’s room, therefore I had invited Aaron inside. So here we were inside of the house in front of the front door, the staircase beside us. 

“Has Jack been good?” he asked, raising an eyebrow which I laughed at lightly.

“Yes, of course. He’s a total sweetheart.” I smiled at him while putting my hand to my chest. “They’ve been giggling like crazy ever since I picked them up at school.” 

Aaron smiled at me. “I’m glad to hear that… Jack is more confident around Peyton, he isn’t much of a talker normally.” 

“I guess they really enjoy each other’s company then… Peyton talks a lot, it’s kinda a bad habit of his.” I confessed making Aaron nod a bit at me with a soft smile.

Just then the boys came rushing down the stairs, they practically flew down as they ran.

“No running on the stairs!” Both me and Aaron scolded at the same time making both the children stop like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Sorry,” was heard from both of them. 

A month had passed since Jack had been over at my house, since then he’d slept over once on the weekend after that week. Then Peyton went over to Aaron's place also and spent the night there. But they were mostly at my house since Aaron worked quite a lot. 

It was now another friday afternoon and around 5PM my doorbell rang. I walked towards the front door with Peyton following me like a tail. He and I knew exactly who were on the other side of that door. Me and Aaron had scheduled another sleepover for the boys because of how much time they liked to spend together. I had heard from two teachers at the elementary school they went to that Peyton and Jack had hung out a lot more. The boys were basically inseparable. 

I opened the door to find Aaron standing there in a typical dad sweater and jeans with his hand on Jack's shoulder. The minute the two children made eye contact their energy went from zero to a hundred. 

“Hi!” I smiled brightly at Jack then looked over at Aaron. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hi Miss (L/N).” Jack smiled widely, filled with excitement. 

“Come on in guys, Peyton’s been impatiently waiting ever since we left school.” I chuckled softly, earning a death stare from my son. 

Aaron also stepped through the door and handed his son the bag he had currently been carrying. “Be good now, Jack.” 

Jack nodded rapidly with a huge grin on his face when all of a sudden his father’s phone began ringing. He looked down at who was calling then quickly excused himself and went outside onto the front porch again. By the way he closed the front door behind him and the slight frown on his face, I could tell that whatever he was going to be told wasn’t good. 

“Oh no,” Jack said while frowning.

“What is it honey?” I asked concerned.

“He probably has to work.” The little boy said with a pair of puppy dog eyes as if he thought I could do something about it. 

“What?” Peyton questioned sadly. “That’s not fair!” 

“Boys, calm down. We don’t know anything for sure. Let’s not speculate…” I convinced them, but by the way Jack reacted to his father’s body language convinced me that he actually would have to leave for work.

When he came back inside we all stood waiting for him. Aaron bent down and looked Jack in the eyes sympathetically. 

“Jack, buddy. I’m sorry but I got called in on a case. You’ll have to stay over some other time… now we gotta get you to aunt Jessica.” He explained and frowned at the huff of disappointment Jack left out. 

“No! I wanna stay here!” he argued.

“You know that you can’t do that Jack… I will probably be gone the whole weekend and even on monday.” Aaron continued on frowning at his son, seeing how unhappy this made him. 

My mom-heart hurt for the two boys knowing how unhappy it would make them to have this sleepover that had been planned for two weeks taken away from them. I couldn’t help myself before I had proposed;

“He could stay here the whole weekend and until monday… I wouldn’t mind and I don’t think Peyton would either. Besides, he has already brought clothes and a toothbrush.” 

Aaron looked up at me and it felt like he was inspecting my whole body from the way he looked at me. I could tell he didn’t exactly like the thing I’d proposed and he stood up straight again as the boys began pleading him to let Jack stay over. Before saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ he turned to me.

“Could I talk with you for a minute privately, (Y/N)?” He asked, his tone laced with something that I didn’t know what it was. It sounded serious, aggressive, soft, concerning and seductive all at once.

“Yeah, of course.” I agreed and by the way he looked at me it felt as if I had the scolding of the year waiting for me. “You boys stay here, alright?” 

“Okay…” they both sighed before plopping down onto the second step of the stairs. 

As we entered the kitchen I slightly leaned onto the kitchen island behind me while Aaron stood with his arms crossed in front of me. The next things to come out of his mouth weren’t at all what I thought he would say. I’d been imagining on my way in here that he would begin to scold me but that wasn’t the case. Instead he told me;

“Look, I couldn’t possibly ask you to have Jack for an entire weekend, and possibly on Monday or even longer. He’s not your responsibility and it costs money to take care of an additional child… him and Peyton are usually pretty loud while playing and it might be hard to get them in bed by bedtime… I don’t know... I don’t want to put that much responsibility on you.” 

“Aaron, listen. It’s not a month he’s going to be staying here. Besides, I am financially independent enough to care for two children for half a week. I really like having Jack here, he’s an extremely nice kid. It’ll be fine and I’ll take good care of him, I promise.” I reasoned with him watching how he chewed his bottom lip in thought.

He wasn’t doubting his trust for you, it was just that so many things could go wrong for example if Jack fell and scraped his knee. Then you’d think that he was mad at you when he wouldn’t be. He just didn’t want anything to possibly mess up this friendship of yours. 

After a minute of silence Aaron agreed on letting Jack stay over. “Just call me if anything goes wrong or you need anything. Okay?”

“Yeah, I will. Now go to work Aaron.” I ushered him out of the kitchen back to the kids who were sitting on the stairs, Jack showing up a new toy he’d brought along. 

“Okay guys, good news… you can stay over until your father comes back, Jack.” I informed and in a heartbeat the two boys jumped up and down in excitement before hurrying up to Peytons room, shouting thank you’s from the top of the stairs.

“Promise me to call if there’s any problem and don’t be afraid to ask me if you want money for Jack’s food-” Aaron began rambling but cut himself off when he felt my hand on his bicep. 

He glanced quickly at my hand then into my eyes. The words I was going to say were long gone as his gaze made me melt on the spot. With my knees weak I gathered up enough sense for me to form words. 

“Relax, Aaron…” I mumbled, looking into his eyes then slowly sliding my hand further down his arm until it completely left his body.

He took a small step forward and I felt myself shrink in size as his gaze got more intense. 

“Promise me…” he whispered, his eyes shamelessly glancing over all of my features. 

“I promise.” I answered in the same low tone, I wasn’t quite sure exactly what it was I was promising anymore as this felt way beyond his son. 

Aaron pressed his lips into a thin line for a second when he realized what was happening and stepped back. Even though how close he was standing wasn’t enough for (Y/N) to feel his breath fanning onto her skin, it was enough for the tension to build between them. Like he had said before he didn’t want anything to screw up your friendship so he said goodbye as he usually did then took his leave. 

The weekend went by fast and Aaron had texted me on Saturday night to tell me that he was hoping to get done with work tomorrow. Then, on Sunday afternoon I got a text that said that he was going to have to work Monday too, I told him that it was okay and I understood. Although, I could feel his guilt through the phone. Monday rolled by fast and he texted around five that they were done with the case and they would board the jet in an hour or so. The flight was long though since he was all the way across the country. Therefore I wasn’t surprised by the sharp knocks that were heard from the front door around eleven while I was sitting in the living room. Aaron knocked softer than usual because he knew the kids were asleep and didn’t want to wake them even though they were all the way upstairs. I tied my kimono over my nightgown and walked towards the front door.

When I opened my front door, I found Aaron standing outside with his suit on. His tie was a mess indicating that he’d undone sometime on his way back from the case. It occurred that every time I saw this man in a new type of clothing or just his tie untied he’d become sexier than usual. And he was extremely sexy. I cursed myself again for being so easily affected, feeling how my breath got caught in my throat. 

“Hey…” Aaron sighed tiredly. “How are you doing?”

“Hi Aaron,” I smiled softly at him. “I’m doing good, how are you?” I asked him concerned. The poor man looked as if he hadn’t slept for days.

“I’m fine (Y/N).” He reassured me just as if he could see that I was worried about him.

Come to think about it, he could probably tell because of what he does for a living. He’d told me he was a fbi-agent but not much of what he does. I guess cops are good at body language and such things.

“Are you sure? You look exhausted Aaron, come on in by the way.” I moved aside watching him carefully while he stepped inside.

“I’m fine, I promise.” This time he was the one placing his hand onto my arm. “How has it gone with the boys?” 

“Oh, they’ve been great. Such sweethearts are what they are… when you have them for longer than a day they actually get quieter and quieter. We watched a movie together and I read for them. We’ve done all kinds of stuff actually.” I started smiling while babbling through the memories I'd made with them this past weekend.

“I’m glad to hear that you’ve had fun together.” Aaron smiled genuinely, removing his hand from me. “I’m just going to go and get Jack then we’ll be out of your hair. Thank you for taking such good care of him (Y/N).” 

He turned to his side and began walking to the stairs when I once again couldn’t keep my mouth shut and just had to continue on inviting people to stay over at my house.

“Aaron! Hold on.” I grabbed onto his arm making him immediately stop and his turn to look at me wonderingly. “Why don’t you just stay over this night? It’s a shame to wake the boys up, they’ve been asleep since eight o’clock and you can stay over in the guest room.” 

He looked taken back by my suggestion, he was probably wondering why I kept on being so good to him and offering kind gestures. 

“I really don’t want to be a burden (Y/N), I mean Jack’s already been here until monday night.”

“You’re not! Aaron, I really enjoy having you and Jack here.” I smiled, rubbing my thumb against his bare skin where the arm of his suit jacket ended. This action made him look deeper into my eyes than before, the look he was giving me made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. “Have you brought along any clothes from your work trip?” I gulped nervously, his ways of just staring at me making me want to giggle as a school girl. 

He nodded shortly before excusing himself to go get them. In a matter of thirty seconds he was back inside my house again. I nodded with my head for him to follow along to the guest bedroom. He walked closely behind me on our way up the stairs, this action making me feel both nervous and secure. Nervous because he was so close to me and secure because I felt like if someone were to try and attack me in my own home tonight, Aaron would be there to protect me with his life. 

I entered the room alongside Aaron and told him that he could wash up in the guest bathroom and I’d go get sheets to make the bed with. To be fully honest I hadn’t had anyone sleeping in here for a long time therefore the bed wasn’t made. I came back inside the room a minute later and Aaron was still in the bathroom getting ready for bed. Making beds was always a struggle for me, having to crawl over the whole thing while trying to put on the sheets. Bed making is one of those tasks that I’d rather leave to someone else. Just when I had crawled off the double bed Aaron exited the bathroom. He was wearing a pair of dark blue checkered pajama pants along with a white t-shirt, and shit… he looked even sexier like this. I mumbled that I had finished setting up before heading towards the door.

“Thanks again, for everything.” Aaron suddenly thanked me with a soft voice.

I looked over my shoulder and offered him a smile. “Sleep well, Hotchner.” 

The next morning I woke up early and had already gotten ready around six. I stood in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone, waffles to be exact. I had learned that waffles is a favorite starter of the day with the two little boys. The clock was almost seven when Aaron came into the kitchen, fully dressed and fixed in his suit and he looked like he’d slept well. He seemed to be an early bird just like me, I knew it was more of a parenting thing instead of something you’d do voluntarily. 

“Morning.” I smiled at him while stirring the batter. 

He nodded at me briefly. “Anything I can help with?” 

“Oh, uh, yes actually! You can get the orange juice ready, it’s one of those that needs to be blended with water.” I instructed him, pointing towards the refrigerator. 

He got the package from the fridge then looked completely lost. I now understood he needed a jug.

“Oh sorry, let me get a jug out for you.” I apologized quietly before opening the kitchen cabinet, which was way out of my reach. 

I stood on my toes, grunting as I tried to reach it. Aaron watched me struggle for a moment and when he realized I wouldn’t be able to get it down he stepped in. 

“Let me get that for you.” He said before walking up close behind me. 

I felt his strong and tall figure reaching over me, consuming my shadow with his own in a second. I felt the warmth of his body against mine when our bodies collided for a second or two. I looked down onto the ground and felt my cheeks heat up. 

“Thank you…” I mumbled awkwardly after he stepped back from me again. 

We continued on making breakfast normally after that except that we didn’t say another word. I guess what I had felt he had too, it had always been there, it was just more intense now. It took everything for me not to let him absolutely ravish me on my kitchen counter like a slut, right here, right now. 

By now the boys had woken up by themselves. Both Aaron and I heard them rushing down the stairs, guessing they’d smelled the waffles. When they stepped into the kitchen Jack's eyes immediately lit up. 

“Daddy!” he exclaimed happily before rushing towards his father.

Aaron happily scooped Jack up and gave him a kiss on the forehead before holding him close telling him how much he’d missed him.

“I hope you boys are hungry.” I singsang from where I was standing, making Peyton jump onto his seat at the table. 

Aaron had set the table nicely, the two boys sitting on a side together leaving him and I to sit beside each other. The three boys sat down and waited for me to serve the food. I walked up with waffles stacked on a plate, handing out one each to the boys before taking a seat. I poured the juice into their cups while Aaron helped open the maple syrup. Once they had begun eating and we could dig in, I missed how he looked over at me. Watching me with love in his eyes, this had been a feeling Aaron had missed. The feeling of family, the feeling of belonging together. He soon realized that he might have some feelings for you, although he’d been in denial about it since he first felt it. Everything about you was perfect, you were kind, responsible, funny and the way you acted around the kids is so wholesome and domestic. You were the perfect wife material in his eyes.  

As I cleaned up in the kitchen the kids were brushing their teeth before they would be driven to school by Aaron, he had offered so kindly to drive them since I’ve had them the entire weekend. He also kept telling me that he would ‘make it up to me’, I wasn’t completely sure what he meant by that but all I knew was that he was in fact a man of his word. 

What Aaron had meant by making it up to me occurred to be that he hosted sleepovers for the boys on the weekends for the three months that had gone by. I asked him to let me host the sleepover after the first two he’d had but he refused, now he’d had Peyton over at his house five weekends in three months. It seemed that he wanted to continue on this way until I got a call from him on this particular Friday morning. Peyton and Jack had a sleepover scheduled for tonight and the dilemma was that Aaron had been called in on a case. This time instead of not being completely onboard with Jack staying over for a few days, he was the one proposing the question. 

It had become a routine for the one sleeping over on a friday to bring along his bag to school. It took away the pleasure for me to be able to see Aaron but I’d still see him when he came to pick his son up. It felt okay to only see him then because they still had the soccer games he was coaching at and it had become a regular thing for you to bring him and Rossi coffee every saturday. Rossi saw the way you two looked at each other and tried to talk Aaron into making a move on you but he only dismissed his colleagues suspicions. 

Over the time that had passed, I realized that I’d become worried for Aaron everytime I knew he was out on a case. You see, he’d opened up more to me about what he exactly does. It only then occurred to me just how dangerous his job was, although I knew he could handle it. I mean… look at the man! 

It felt to me as if Jack was becoming my second son. Not because of the amount he had spent over at my house, it was also due to the fact of how much time I spent with him, Peyton and Aaron. We’d go out and eat at restaurants together, we even celebrated Peytons birthday together. I mean it felt a lot as if we were a family, the only issue was that I’d never confess my undying love for Aaron Hotchner. 

The weekend Jack spent over passed by fast, the three of us played games. I taught them how to play jenga, but it wasn't anywhere near a favorite with them. They thought it was pretty boring and instead ran off to play outside. It was now Sunday afternoon when Aaron rang the doorbell he’d installed for me, turns out he was quite handy too. There wasn’t one thing about him I disliked. 

When you opened the door you smiled at Aaron with that exact smile that always caused his heart to melt. You weren’t like any woman he had ever met before and he loved every part of you. You stepped forward to bring him into a quick embrace, from how close you’d grown it wasn’t a weird thing. The only weird thing about it was that none of you wanted to let go, the hug was a few seconds long for just having friendly intentions. 

I rubbed my palms against the fabrics of my jeans and nodded at him once we’d pulled away from each other. Aaron stepped inside the house and closed the door gently behind him, as he always did even if he was in a hurry. I’d never once witnessed him slam a door. 

“Jack, honey! Your father’s here!” I shouted up the stairs hearing the faint footsteps starting to walk around the room.

Both Aaron and I knew that meant the boys were cleaning up the toys they’d been playing with. It is constantly something new every single week, last week they were pirates, now they are firefighters. But the all-time favorite was being cops, both of the two looked up to Aaron. They thought he was a superhero, Jack had influenced Peyton to believe so at first and then when he heard Aarons stories about work, he was convinced that Jack’s dad was in fact, a superhero. 

The next week went by as regular, I worked and worked and worked. Then the week after that I had gained a day off on Thursday. Everything passed by as usual until that Thursday when I had my day off. It was a windy and gray day outside, no rain had erupted from the sky yet but by the looks of it it was about to happen any second. The clock was somewhere around the middle of the day meaning that Peyton was in school. I had just finished up some laundry when the doorbell rang, my eyebrows furrowed in thought. I had no idea who could show up at my house at this time of day.

As I opened the door I was met by Aaron, he had a troubled look on his face and was dressed in his normal work clothes. Something had clearly happened from the way he was looking at me. 

“Hey (Y/N), I’m sorry for coming over without a warning…” Aaron sighed heavily. “Can I talk to you inside for a minute? Please?” 

He had known she’d be home because he knew everything about her. Everything and every side of herself she’d shown or taught him, he remembered. Last week when she was picking up Peyton from a play date at his place she’d mentioned her day off and said that she looked forward to it, since her job was killing her at the moment. Her boss had been stressing the life out of her, he wanted to help her but there wasn’t anything he could possibly do. 

“Yeah, of course. Are you alright?” I asked out of concern, I couldn’t even help it by now the question just slipped out naturally. “Can I offer you anything to drink?” I wondered while he stepped through the door. 

“No, I’m good, thank you.” 

“Aaron, you’re clearly upset, let me at least get you something to drink…” I plead wanting to do anything to make him feel better. 

He nodded and mumbled an ‘okay’ before following me into the kitchen. I had previously made coffee, so I grabbed a mug and poured it up for him. Making it exactly the way he enjoys it the most. Aaron scratched at the handle of the mug while staring down at the kitchen island, he knew he had to say something but didn’t know where to start. There were so many things he wanted, no need to say before he left your house today.

Aaron had one hand placed flat against the marble worktop and the other with his fingers rubbing his temple. He had started saying anything until you placed your hand on top of his, grabbing onto it. He looked deep into your eyes, seeing your worry for him. You’d never once witnessed him like this and it made you nervous to say the least. 

“I’m going away…” he sighed and my eyes widened. 

A million questions began running through my head at the same time but only one managed to slip past my lips;

“What?” 

“It’s work…” he sighed, taking a hold of your hand as well. “I’ve been assigned to temporary duty with an investigative task force in Pakistan.” Only now Aaron dares to look up into your eyes and he can see that a dozen questions are running through your brain. 

“Why are you telling me this? Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?” I questioned him.

“I left as soon as I could to tell you…” he confessed and it surprised me. He’d left work just to be able to tell me that he was going away. “I don’t know why (Y/N), it felt right.” 

“Well, how long are you going to be gone for? Who’s going to take care of Jack?” I hadn’t noticed myself that I had started tearing up, I had no idea why this was so emotional.

As soon as Aaron saw the tears threatening to spill from my eyes he stood up and hovered over me. I backed further up against the kitchen island until he was standing over me. His body was merely a couple of centimeters away from him. I felt his hands cup my cheeks and he continued on looking into my eyes intensely. 

“It could be anything from two weeks to a couple of months, I was hoping maybe you and Jessica could have Jack for a week each… I know you’re not his mother or anything, it's just that he likes you so much and feels safe with you that I wouldn't rather have him anywhere else.” Aaron explained in a soft tone, wiping the tear that fell from my eye with his thumb. 

“Yeah, of course I can have Jack here… it’s just… Do you have to leave?” My voice broke asking the question.

He nodded, bringing me into a tight hug, soothingly rubbing my back with his hand. He told me that he was going to be fine and I didn’t doubt that it’s just that I didn’t want to be away from him that long. I felt pathetic because I felt that way. Why? It was the fact that he and I weren’t even together or anything and I still cared this much that he was going away for weeks. I had no idea if the thing he was going to do was dangerous or not, in case it was… I had to get out everything I was feeling for him. I couldn’t risk him dying and never knowing what I’ve been feeling for him all because I am afraid. 

“I- I think I love you, Aaron…” I whispered into his chest carefully. 

I didn’t want to pull away from this secure embrace, we were holding onto each other as if it was the last time we ever could. He still had his arms wrapped around me as he pulled back a bit in surprise. 

“What did you say…?” Aaron questioned, wondering if he had just imagined the words that had left her lips in a whisper. 

“I said, I think I love you, Aaron.” I looked up at him while speaking softly. 

My hands around his waist were loosening up for each second passing, his arms left around my shoulder then cupped my cheeks once again. “I love you too, (Y/N).” 

Those were the last words I heard before my hearing went numb and I felt my legs give out. I thought my heart would explode from how fast it was beating when I saw Aaron lean in slowly. He stopped right in front of my lips, just barely brushing them with his own. I felt his breath on my face, both of us breathing heavily just hoping for that kiss to happen. We shut our eyes and that’s when it happened, the first kiss. It felt like I was in a movie, I felt my entire body melt into his touch as the first kiss was soft. 

I brought my hands up to his neck when we broke apart after the first kiss. We opened our eyes to look at each other and our gazes had changed drastically. Now we only saw lust and desire. Aaron’s hands quickly found my thighs and helped me up onto the kitchen island meanwhile he connected our lips into a rough kiss. He stood in between my legs and pulled me towards him as our kisses grew sloppy and hot. 

Aaron soon enough moved down onto my neck and began nipping, sucking and biting. My hips rolled against him in search for friction and he pressed me against his growing erection. I moaned when he found my sweet spot and began placing kisses there, his rough stubble tickling my sensitive skin. After a while he began kissing his way up to my lips again. My hands roamed his clothed chest as he groped my ass and continued on pressing me against him. 

“I need you.” I whispered in between sloppy kisses. “Take me upstairs Aaron.” 

His wish was my command, he put his hand under my thighs and grabbed me off the counter. Not breaking our kiss once he began walking towards the stairs. When Aaron accidentally bumped me against the railing I couldn’t help but to throw my head back slightly while I giggled. he immediately latched his lips onto my throat, once again finding my sweet spot as he made his way up the stairs. 

After he swung my bedroom door open there was no going back. Aaron threw me down onto the bed and then crawled onto the bed himself. He separated my legs to then place his hand against my cloth covered core while he got on top of me. I moaned into his ear when he applied pressure to my clit with his thumb through my pants. I bucked my hips against his hand wanting more friction, Aaron had his mouth kissing all the exposed parts of my chest listening to every sound I made. 

He then slowly pulled my shirt off before kissing at all the new flesh he could come into contact with. Although, he waited with taking off my bra. I could tell extra much now that Aaron was a man with a lot of patience and if he wanted to he could easily turn me into a begging mess. I started tugging onto his hair to make him go somewhere more useful, either up or down it didn’t matter. He easily noticed how fast I was growing impatience and looked up at me with mischief in his eyes. 

“You haven’t had a man taken care of you for a while, have you?” Aaron smirked, teasing me. 

“Please…” I started to beg, trying to thrust down onto his hand. “Please, Aaron.” 

“Please what?” His hand trailed from between my legs to my face, caressing my skin along the way. 

“I need you… right now.” 

From those words I saw the look in his eyes darken even more than before. He then without another word tugged my pants off of me and then snapped my bra open. I shivered feeling his fingertips dance against my soft skin while he slid my bra off me. Immediately, Aaron gripped onto my breast with one hand, mouth getting to work on the other. His other hand caressed my stomach slowly going further and further down, his actions taking my breath away and letting butterflies erupt in my stomach in a way I'd never felt before. 

He ran his finger along the edge of my underwear before slipping his hand inside. Aaron licked in between my tits before kissing upwards towards my mouth. Once our lips had connected he slid one of his digits inside of me, his hand that had previously been groping my breast was now on my hip pressing me further down onto the bed. The kiss we shared silenced the gasp that left me, he started fucking me with his finger slowly, getting me ready for another one. I had my hands on his back, pressing him closer and closer against me. 

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” Aaron mumbled against my lips and I could hear the moan that left my mouth at his words. 

While he continued on slowly pumping in and out of me with his finger I took off his suit jacket. He let me easily slide it off while he continued on kissing me roughly, I then began unbuttoning his shirt after undoing his tie. Aaron removed his hand from my hip and quickly slid out of me to remove the remaining clothing on his upper body. He wasted no time once they were off to get back inside me, this time two fingers at the same time. I gripped onto the sheets and arched my back feeling the stretch from just his fingers. Aaron smirked at me while he watched me moan and cry out for him to finger me faster. 

Truth to be told was that I hadn’t been touched from what I could remember since Peyton was born, I never found time too. And I didn’t have his dad around to love me either since he took off the moment he found out I was pregnant. 

This time when Aaron leaned down to my level he started leaving marks across my chest, biting down onto the sensitive skin around my nipple. His other hand had found its old place on my hip, holding my body in place. I grinded down onto his fingers, wanting more and more by each second that passed. 

I audibly whimpered when I felt Aaron starting to thrust his fingers into me harder with the same steady pace as before. He had sped up a tiny bit but was going harder on me. I took my hand and caressed his cheek making him look at me. 

“Come on…” I moaned, feeling how he didn’t stop curling his fingers instead of me for a second. “Up here…”

He obeyed and positioned himself with his head hovering over mine, still with his fingers buried deep inside of me. I dug my nails into the back of his neck and pressed my lips rough against his. Aaron sped up his pace with his fingers making me moan even louder. He was getting me ready for him, I knew that he knew I hadn’t been with a man for a long time. Mostly because I had confirmed it about ten minutes ago but also because he had studied me before and my body language around him. I was insecure of what the right move was as if I'd forgotten how to behave around a man, he knew that he made you nervous and he’d be lying if he didn’t confess that it turned him on quite a bit. 

“Aaron…” I begged within a long and loud moan. “I’m ready for you.” I began fiddling with his belt, trying to get it open with my shaking hand.

My whole body had become putty from his touches, I wanted to finish with him not from his fingers. I wanted to be one with him, he was leaving after all. I had no idea when but he was, all that mattered right now though was to be able to spend a night (or day) with him. 

I felt how his fingers slowly slipped out of me and he freed his belt from his trousers. His hard-on painfully obvious through his slacks. I bit down on my lip while I watched him undo his pants. He slid them off along with his boxers revealing his size to me. I almost gulped nervously at the size of it. For a man that size he sure is humble about it, most men would be bragging but Aaron was different. More mature and grown. 

He then slipped his fingers under the fabric of my panties on each side before gently and sensually sliding them off my body. My thighs smacked together once my legs were free from his hands, searching for any kind of friction and release they could get. Aaron then put a hand each on my thighs and pressed them apart, getting a look at my cunt. He bit down on his lower lip as he pumped his erection twice. 

For a final time he got on top of me, this time lining himself up at my entrance. I immediately wrapped my legs around him, allowing more access to let him do whatever he wants to me. My arms were wrapped around his back, hands resting at his shoulder blades. Aaron looked into my eyes and placed his hands on my hips, once again holding me down against the mattress. I threw my head back against the pillow feeling his tips entering me, then another inch and another. He kept going until his whole length was inside of me. My whole body shook and I breathed heavily while digging deep into his back with my fingernails. He gave me some time to adjust before almost completely sliding out of me. 

Aarons breath was also shaking as he thrusted into me again. He pulled back and did it again, I moaned as he fucked me slow, at first, into the mattress. I didn’t think about the marks I left on his back by scratching down as hard as I did. While my nails dug into his back, his dug into my hips. We both just breathed shakily into each other's mouths, none having the power or self control to lean into a kiss. 

“Please, faster…” I begged, looking straight into his eyes. 

He almost moaned at the sight of me, begging for him. Aaron had been dreaming of this for such a long time and now he wanted nothing more than to please you better than you could ever dream of. He gripped on harder to your hips and steadied himself better on the bed by sitting up more, so any chance you had of kissing him was now gone. Aaron then began pounding away in and out of you. The pace he now had was at least four times quicker than the last one. For a man his age he was extremely well kept and physically fit. I gripped onto the sheets for dear life feeling how my entire body was on fire. My legs jerked as they were resting helplessly on the mattress. 

I couldn’t help but to feel my eyes roll back into the place furthest back in my head from the insane amount of pleasure Aaron was providing for me. He had the capability to hold a steady rhythm like no other man I’d ever been with before. It was as if he’d known my body all his life, he also listened to what I wanted precisely and gave me exactly that. 

“Harder! Aaron!” I arched my back feeling how he filled me up just perfectly. 

He then took a hold of my legs and threw them over his shoulders, allowing him to go deeper into me. Aaron was losing his self control, he began pounding animalistically and his thrusts were brutal. He showed no mercy now and my thighs weren’t there to stop his hips from slamming into my skin anymore. I could feel how his entire length disappeared into me then came back out to even more brutally slam back in. 

“Oh my gosh!” I cried out, my hands trying to find something to desperately hold onto as my body now flew into the mattress with every thrust that I received from Aaron. 

I bit down on my lip harshly to contain the moans trying to force their way out of my mouth. I looked at Aaron, watching how his strong hands had my hips in a tight grip. My tits moved up and down with each thrust and each thrust getting me closer to my release. This felt way better than what I’d thought, Aaron pounding away on me like I belonged to him felt so much better than what I’d ever imagined. And I had imagined it a lot. 

I heard Aaron moan for the first time when my walls squeezed him. His head dropped backwards and I had to whimper at the sight of him. How was it possible for someone to be so attractive?

“Shit sweetheart, do that again.” He groaned, feeling my walls clench around him again.

My legs shook while I felt a knot in my stomach, I knew I was close and by the looks of it he was too. Aaron’s hands traveled from my hips to my legs, where he could feel how they shook violently. He couldn’t help the smirk appearing on his face when he realized how good he was fucking you. 

Aarons hands caressed my body while continuing to thrust into me violently, I couldn’t help but to cry out loudly feeling how I was almost over the edge now. He had complete control over me while I laid there being a helpless moaning mess. 

I knew it was over for me the second Aaron pushed my legs forward and began angling his thrusts, fucking me even deeper. I felt the stretch on the underside of my legs and groaned at the feeling of it. I didn’t expect to be this flexible at this age and I don’t think Aaron did either from the deep rough moan that was heard from him. I could now reach for his arms that were holding onto the bed for support, one on the headboard and one beside my head. The whole bed was moving from how hard Aaron was going, slamming into the wall every now and then. 

“Aaron!” I screamed, clawing at his arms leaving long, red stretch marks. 

The next minute my head was literal mashed potatoes. I felt how the knot in my stomach untied and the intense feeling of pleasure spreading throughout my whole body. Witnessing me finish did it for Aaron, he thrusted roughly a few more times, riding out my orgasm before burying himself in me as deep as he could. I was so caught up in my own euphoria that the warm feeling of his seed filling me up almost went unnoticed. 

After he finished and his dick softened and slowly slipped out of me, he released my legs from his devilish position. They shook aggressively as they hit the mattress, I laid there trying to catch my breath and think through what the hell just happened. My chest and neck had flushed from the intense orgasm. Aaron stroked his fingers against my outer thigh before moving towards the bathroom. He came back out a minute later and began cleaning me up, after he was done cleaning us both up he leaned down to kiss me softly.

“Sorry if I got a little carried away, did I hurt you in any way?” He moved strands of hair out of my face while asking gently.

“No, I’m fine.” I whispered, patting on the bed beside me.

Aaron got the message and laid down behind me, spooning with me. He kissed me behind my ear and after that we began having a more serious conversation about him going away and how to tell the children that we were now officially dating. And I was probably the future Mrs. Hotchner.

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Tag list: (click here to be apart of it!)

// @red-red-rogue // @dm_410842 // @dm410842 // @andrea9 // @lokispet-buckyswhore // @sebastianstanwhore // @alexa-33 //

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[carmyberzattosjournal]

Entry 10: Crunched Prawn

Bearblr Promptober Day 10: Rain Soaked

Summary: Carmen's bad at checking the weather, and he really should know better when living in the U.S. Midwest.

Warnings: Not much, just Carmy being sassy. Swearing, self-reflection, Carmy's in his head, mentions fem reader/generic lass (leave me alone), she/her pronouns

Notes: All journal entries will be titled as such and tagged with #cb journal.

Thank you for reading. Thank you to @carmenberzattosgf for putting together this prompt list.

10 Oct 2024

You know what I’m consistently bad at? Checking the weather.

In the Midwest. The center of who-the-fuck-knows-what-the-sky-will-bring-today-because-climate-change-bitches. We had our 4 seasons: humid hell, hell with some respite, stop fucking raining, and frozen hell, but Fall? Fall was a particularly interesting monster because we could easily get all four in a single day.

Which is exactly how I got caught having to walk back home after closing up The Bear in the pouring rain without a jacket—because it was 80 fucking degrees and fuck-off percent humidity in the morning when I walked to work. Cooling off after being in a broiling kitchen for 12 hours seems like a great idea, but Chicago rain while fully clothed isn’t. The rain soaked into my shoulders and hair while I locked up, and the sensation of wet cotton clinging to my skin and cold water on my scalp (did wake me up, I’ll give it that. I definitely felt very alert) made me recoil. Like a thousand little ants all climbing up my neck, not made better by then getting to the sidewalk where the nearby buildings wouldn’t shield me from the sheets of rain blasting down behind me.

I crunched up like a prawn and skittered across the sidewalk like one of those rats in New York that fled from the flooding subways. Drenched, curled up into weird little dumplings, tails all tucked up, as they frantically tried to get away from people and lights.

Okay, maybe we don’t describe rats as dumplings. That’s disgusting.

Anyway, no amount of recoiling from the rain could’ve saved me from getting drenched, which just meant that after a while, once I’d been in the rain for a good—I don’t know, it felt like a thousand years, but I was only halfway home—it started feeling less weird. Like it wasn’t that hard to straighten up, drop my shoulders, and just. Feel the rain. The individual droplets faded into a noisy, fuzzy sensation once water soaked through my clothes, and it, weirdly, became kind of soothing.

Being out on the streets, in Chicago, at night, in the rain is not high on my recommendation list, so I couldn’t linger for long. Once I made it to my apartment building, however, and passed under that really orange-yellow streetlight that annoyed the shit out of me when it blasted through my window? Then I stopped.

Darling has been telling me to slow the fuck down and take in the world around me. To stop immediately clawing at the next thing on my to-do list like I’d explode if I didn’t have something to keep me busy all the time. Because processing trauma—and that’s what my life has been, much as it’s been difficult to wrap my head around, trauma—is something that has to be done intentionally. I can’t just keep existing hoping the skeletons I drag around in cages will spontaneously evaporate—I need to look at them, listen to them, deal with them. Unchain myself from them. That means I had to learn how to slow down at all.

Shockingly harder than you’d think.

The rain made its own sort of staticky sound. Different from the apple leaves, different from the maple leaves, different from an untuned radio. Punctuated by clear, defined sounds of water dripping off objects and landing in puddles. The streetlight I was under had a shimmering rivulet falling off the end, slamming into a puddle at my feet, flinging out concentric eruptions and waves that caught the light like shards of glass. I stuck my hand out in it, felt the pummel of the water. It’s how I discovered I can’t actually feel with my fingertips all that well. The sensation was so sharp and defined on my palm, but at my fingertips? Dull. Distant. Like I was wearing gloves. I hadn’t even been in kitchens that long, and I already had asbestos hands? It suddenly made sense why I crushed things against my palms, why I used my mouth on her more than my hands, why I needed to feel her hands on my skin to get any semblance of closeness.

She was going to be home soon. I needed to get dinner on.

And getting out of these soaked clothes was going to make such a mess.

[irisbleufic]

several things I’m not normal about re: your writing. one, you wrote almost 62,000 words of devil’s minion in 15 days, as of today. and you’re not even done yet! two, i liked how neatly the counts of all your iwtv fics ended on zeroes, and then i looked at all your fics on ao3 and THEY ALL END ON EVEN TEN HUNDRED AND THOUSAND COUNTS?!! your autism is too powerful, kudos for that alone. armand is in the best hands with you.

Hah, hi, anon. I was wondering like a month ago when the semi-annual ask in which somebody yells about my AO3 word-counts would land, and sure enough, I was overdue and could sense it. Thank you very much for noticing! I take this as a compliment whenever someone brings it up; the fact that they’re almost always yelling like they’re losing their mind fucking delights me. Like, does it take a lot of careful excision in the editing process because AO3 reckons word counts differently from Word and Google Docs? Eh, sometimes, sure. Does it please me? More than I can say.

My other weird Autistic habits include using a pocketknife or seam ripper to remove the belt loops from all of my jeans (no, I do not wear belts, and belt loops fucking annoy me like non-zero-ending word counts), preferring pendant chains that I can just slip over my head after I’ve asked my local jeweler to remove the jump/rings clasps and make the chains continuous (I’m amazed they’ve humored me for so long; I should just really learn to do delicate soldering work one of these days, but my motor control at a fine level is poor), and never leaving messages in my email inboxes or on my work/home laptop desktops (my folders/filing systems regularly get friends and co-workers bent out of shape). I don’t keep unread emails around, period; the only time my inbox has a number of unread messages is first thing in the morning, and I clear those quickly.

This is way more info than you needed, but in case you were wondering what the fuck kind of brain produces only-ending-on-zero AO3 word counts, there’s your answer. I’m sure there are some compulsive thought patterns in play here, too, but I figure they’re mostly harmless manifestations as long as I’m happy.

Oh, the other thing—writing 62k of fic in 15 days isn’t even the wildest word count I’ve ever pulled in a short amount of time, although it’s close. It’s the hyperfocus. And believe me when I say that my hyperfocus isn’t good for anything but writing and depriving myself of sleep.

[captain-mj]

angels of digitalism part two please very very pretty please

Done!! Part 1 is right here

Soap pulled into the parking lot the next morning just in time to see Ghost fly by and park. Without Roach. He noticed a car he didn’t recognize and assumed they must’ve came separately today. 

“Hey Ghost!” Soap beamed at him as Ghost slipped off his helmet. He just had a neck gaiter on so Soap could see his fluffy blond hair. It was clearly bleached, having the unnatural platinum that came from doing so, 

“Johnny.” Ghost tilted his head at him and Soap almost tripped over air.

“Don’t remember telling you that name.”

“It was on your resume. Would you prefer I stick to Soap?” He looked at him, tilting his head. Ghost had the most puppy dog brown eyes that Soap had ever seen. It didn’t help that his hair fell in his face and that he could only be described as pretty. 

“No. It’s fine. Only you can call me that though, alright?”

Ghost’s eyes crinkled like he was smiling. “I’m glad I’m your favorite.” He started walking and Soap felt flustered as he started to walk after him. 

Soap looked up at him, hands going behind his back. “You uh… have any plans today?”

“Mostly rigging checks. I put the wires and harnesses up myself so I’m going to make sure they’re all solid.”

Soap frowned. “Don’t the venue owners handle that?”

“Don’t trust them. A lot of them don’t follow the same standard. Not putting Rudy and Roach at stake because of that.” 

“Also you. You’re also doing the fancy tricks this time right?”

Ghost shrugged. “Not the same. I fall, I recover. They fall and they… crack. I threw Rodolfo onto a bed once and it sounded like pop rocks.“ He sighed. Soap had to pause and really think about that. 

Did he have it wrong? Was Ghost dating Rodolfo and Alejandro was dating Roach? Where did that leave Alex? Was Alex dating anyone? 

Maybe if he was single… He was a strapping young man. 

Soap laughed and decided to change the subject. “You hurt your wrist so bad you can’t play guitar.”

Ghost was silent for a minute and Soap was wondered he offended him before laughed. “Fair enough. I did…” He rubbed his bandaged wrist. 

“How did you hurt yourself anyway?”

“Scraped it up on my bike. Someone pulled out in front of me too fast and I skidded across the road. More embarrassing than anything honestly.” 

Soap frowned. “You were in a fucking accident?? And that’s all that happened?”

“No. I’m just lying to you.”

“Oh.”

“Also, don’t trust any story Alex gives you about losing his leg. 50/50 chance he’s lying to you.” Ghost patted his shoulder and held the door open for him. 

Soap nodded and just got to work. He perched on the edge of the couch since Rodolfo was lounging on it, headphones in. Occasionally, he’d speak in spanish so Soap assumed he was on a call. Made sense, he was the manager. 

Soap started to draw again and tried out different methods and styles to see what might look best. 

Rodolfo sat up after a while and used the couch properly. He kicked his legs out and took his headphones off after saying goodbye in English. 

Soap hummed. “Who was that?”

“Alejandro Vargas. He’ll be dropping by later. You can ask for an autograph if you want but no pictures.” Rodolfo started to work on his tablet.

Soap shrugged. “Might get one for a friend of mine but I don’t actually like his music that much.”

“Me either but he’s a friend of everyone here.” 

Soap nodded and showed him what he had so far. 

“I like it. This it?”

“No. This is a rudimentary sketch.” Soap frowned, wondering if they seriously considered that worth the amount of money they were paying him and decided not to ask, lest his feelings get hurt. They didn’t really seem to get how art like this worked.

Rodolfo nodded and handed him roughly 40 bucks. “Coffee again. Need me to text it?”

“Nah, I still have the texts from yesterday.” Soap took the money and did a two finger salute. He once again got all of their drinks and handed them out. When he got to Ghost, he paused. “Uh, where is Roach?” He was trying not to look at Ghost who was hanging upside and shirtless. After working up there for the past hour, he must’ve gotten hot but that logical explanation did not erase that Ghost was fit and scarred and so damn attractive Soap was worried he’d get hard right then and there. 

Ghost glanced around. “He might be working with Alex. I think they were doing something with his outfit for the vocaloid.” He twisted himself in the ropes so he sat upright and took his drink. The position spread his legs and put a little strain on his arms, making them tense. Soap’s knees started feeling a little weak. 

Ghost drank some more and tilted his head. “You okay? You look really flushed?”

“I’m fine.” Soap smiled, noticing the tattoos circling Ghost’s arm. They were clearly covering some scarring. It looked rough, a bit like a dog or something had attacked him. “I’ll go find Roach.” He stepped away and went in the direction that Ghost pointed out to him. 

Soap watched Alex grab Roach’s hips and move him. Roach’s back arched a little and the image on screen just didn’t move. Alex sighed and put his head on Roach’s, almost pouting. 

Were they dating?? 

Alex glanced over, hand going around Roach’s waist. Roach leaned into him and they both either didn’t realize the position or simply didn’t care. Soap wasn’t sure how to handle that considering just yesterday Roach and Ghost had been tangled together. He stared for another minute before Alex snapped his fingers. “Hey, Soap, you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” 

“Cool.” They took their drinks and got back to debugging the vocaloid. Roach would do certain moves and the vocaloid would just stop and freeze until it would snap into whatever position Roach was in. Alex was quickly getting annoyed and it was obvious. They went back and forth on it with them either moving around or standing still. 

Alex groaned. “Soap. Wear the costume.”

“What?”

“Wear the costume.” 

Roach started to strip and Soap stared blankly. “Why do I need to do this??” When he was down to his underwear, he handed them to Soap. 

“I need Roach to help me at the computer so someone has to wear the suit.” 

Soap slowly took of his own clothes and quickly put on the outfit. Roach was a little slimmer than him so it was tight over his shoulders and ass. It was just leggins and a long sleeve shirt with wires so it wasn’t the most revealing, it was just tight. He listened to Alex’s explanations and watched Roach sign back at him. Roach had no shame in continuing to stand there in his underwear. It was hard for Soap not to look at him. They were musicians and performers, it made sense they were attractive, had to be honestly, but it was ridiculous just how hot Roach was. Slim figure, the exact opposite of Ghost, nice thighs and an even nicer ass. And the entire time, he’d bend over the laptop, back arching slightly. 

Was everyone here trying to kill him? What next? Alex taking his shirt off and pouring water over his head? Rodolfo speaking to him in spanish?? 

Was this flirting? Or were they just oblivious? They couldn’t be, right?

After a bit, the vocaloid followed the movements like they were supposed and Roach beamed at Soap. He reached up and lightly bonked their heads together before helping Soap out of the clothing. It felt more like he peeled the shirt off and it made him really flustered. Roach’s hands were very cold and they brushed against his back before he politely handed Soap’s shirt to him. He was clearly smiling and that made Soap even more flustered when he pulled it on. Soap nodded at him and fled, running back to his couch and his laptop. 

Except… Alejandro was sitting there. He was playing what looked like a knock off of candy crush and completely ignored Soap as he walked past him. 

“Hi.” 

Alejandro nodded at him. He sipped his drink and Soap picked up the tablet to get to work. The silence was… actually kinda nice. Soap wasn’t usually one that could handle sitting there without talking, but he was deep in his art and Alejandro was deep in typing whatever it was he was typing. 

Ghost reappeared and Alejandro wolf whistled at him. “What are you doing walking around like that?”

Ghost glared at him. “Fuck off you slag.” 

“Not my fault you’re a fine piece of ass.” Alejandro grinned and Ghost rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt back on. His back muscles flexed as he did. 

“You’re so annoying. Why are you here?”

“Tour just ended so I’m hanging out with you guys. Obviously. Why? Don’t love me anymore?”

Ghost shook his head and sat between them. Three big men on a couch was a bit of a hard fit, but Soap wasn’t going to complain. 

Soap showed Ghost who leaned into him to watch him draw. The silence was slightly less comfortable so he started explaining what techniques he was using. Ghost didn’t really seem to get it, but he listened nonetheless. 

Soap was coming to terms with the fact they were all a lot less cool than he was expecting, but it was nice. Maybe they could be friends when this was over.

[sabo-has-my-heart]

Dear Astra,

This is two part anon. Hope you are doing okay. I've come back from hell (lol just kidding, I got a heavy fever for like a week, and then spent the next 2 weeks catching up with my homework). How are you? I've learned it the hard way that you should always drink enough fluids, so remember your daily water!

During my time in bed, I thought of a cute fic idea that I'd love to tell you (not that I'm urging you to write, I just wanna talk). Reader and Sabo are both serious workers in the RA. However, whenever they have time alone, Sabo'll turn into a huge size golden retriever, with the puppy eyes yearning for reader's touch and praise. (Aizzzzz I melted while fantasizing about this, like imagine Sabo goes "Y/N~ pat my head, please" while kneeling down hugging reader's waist. OH GOD I'M DYING). Oh I also have a fantasy for Ace, which is nsfw :^) (can't help it ig, I'm not telling it if you're not curious tho, since I know sharing these +18 thoughts can be a bit 'meh' to some people)

Also I've spent a huge amount of time gaming while being sick and found myself a new husbando alongside Ace ehehe it's Roland from Punishing Gray Raven if you wanna check it out.

I'm curious if you like listening to music or not? I've been into a Japanese band recently, which is a surprise because I've rarely heard any Japanese song. But I love them and I hope they'll get more love (just like the way I love you *wink wink* lol)

I think it's because I've done everything that I'm so hyped now. I feel like this message is too long and full of random bs. But yeahhhh boiiiii, I finished everything today, I'm so happy.

Oh yeah, recently you posted a delete announcement that freaks the loving Ace out of me. I'm sorry for what you had to go through but half of me was like "not the Ace fics, not the Ace fics, please please anything but the Ace fics"

Sorry if these topics are so random, I'm just sharing my 'highlights in life' with you. Idk maybe because it makes me happy I hope it makes you happy too. Aight my hype has calmed down, Imma take my leave. Have a great day/night. Best wishes to whatever you're doing and PLEASE REMEMBER TO STAY HYDRATED (sorry if it's too aggressive, I'll stop if you don't like it. It's just that I've been through the worst because of it so I don't want you to experience that) Aight, this is already longer than my project essay, see you!

I finally got around to writing something!!! So it's not as long as some of my others things and definately not as long as I would have liked, however, considering I'm sleep deprived, can't sleep, and haven't written in months, I'm not displeased with it!

Warnings: FLUFF!!!

Word Count: 980

     Smiling, you ran your hands through Sabo’s wavy blond locks as he snuggled his head into your stomach. While the two of you both worked hard, highly dedicated to the Army’s cause, you both sometimes wished to spend more time together like this. In the privacy of your room, you could both relax, let down your guards, and be vulnerable. Sabo never hid who he was, he was always true to himself, to his dreams and aspirations, to his desires, hobbies, and interests; that being said, this was a side only you ever saw. Here, in the safety of your room, he allowed himself to melt into your embrace, to yearn for your praise, and to nuzzle into your touch; as if he was a touch starved child and not the strong, independent, second-in-command of the RA. A blond haired, lovesick, human puppy. 

     “Did I do alright on the last mission?” he asked softly, nuzzling against you even more, arms tightening around your waist, making you laugh slightly. You knew exactly what he was after. It wasn’t like you minded and it wasn’t like he was purposefully seeking your attention and praise in an annoying manner, but hearing you say it always made his heart skip a beat and his stomach flutter.

     “You did more than alright, you did spectacularly. A perfect 10/10 like always.” you said, caressing his cheek as he let out a pleased, content noise as he attempted to snuggle further into your stomach.

     “You know I always try my best for you.” he said softly, his words muffled by your stomach.

     “Oh? So you don’t give your all simply for the RA?” you teased, making him whine. He knew you were teasing, but part of him felt a lump form in his throat, as if he’d disappointed you for only giving his 100% for you.

     “No, I promise, I give my all for the Army, I promise, I just-” “Shhh, I know, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I know you’ll always do your best, for me or for our cause.” You said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. Sabo sighed happily at the feeling of your lips against his skin, relaxing once more into your touch. You’d pull him closer and wrap your arms around him, comforting him if he hadn’t been cuddled up to you like he was at the moment, the both of you laying on the bed, his tall form curled up so he could fit on the bed while laying his head on your stomach. He reminded you so much of a golden retriever at moments like these. A sweet puppy curled up with their loved one, tail wagging softly as they snuggled up to them, eyes begging for praise and pets. Sometimes you liked to joke that he should have found a canine zoan devil fruit instead so that he could have a real tail to wag back and forth. Not that you weren’t happy that he’d found his brother’s devil fruit. In fact, you loved that he’d eaten the Mera Mera fruit, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his body on cold nights as you held each other close. 

     He’d loved how you’d spent the entire night telling him how amazing his new abilities were and how happy you were that he’d succeeded in tracking down and eating something that meant so much to him.

     “Thank you for always working so hard, for doing so much for everyone. You’re always doing everything you can and you deserve so much for what you do.” you said, making him grin like a mad man as he attempted to nuzzle his face further into you again, as if trying to hide how giddy your words made him. 

     “Can… can I ask you for something then?” he asked, looking up at you once more with those large, pleading, puppy eyes of his. You giggled and nodded, brushing his hair out of his face, “can we go out to my favorite restaurant later? I know it’s pretty far away, but they make the best ramen.” he requested, making you chuckle as you shook your head at his request.

     “Of course we can. We’ll get you as much ramen as you want and even something for dessert if you’d like. Afterwards, we can spend the rest of the day snuggled up in bed, or I can spend the rest of the day just running my fingers through your hair while you sleep.” you offered, drawing more happy noises mixed with excitement from his throat. 

     “Thank you, you’re so amazing.” he said, his large grin plastered across his face. At this rate, you were pretty sure his smile wouldn’t die down until morning, fairly certain that he’d fall asleep with that insanely large grin. 

     “Pretty sure you’re the amazing one, sweetheart. So strong, brave, and kind. Nobody could possibly be as astounding as you.” you praised, making him wiggle around on the bed in delight. You could practically see the non-existent tail thumping against the mattress. Pulling him away from your abdomen, you began to pepper his face in sweet kisses, bringing a loopy, delighted, love drunk look to his face before pulling him into your chest, resting his head just above your heart, its gentle beating easily relaxing him further as he began to doze off, too content to keep his eyes open. As much as he was enjoying the attention, thriving on your love and adoration, he was tired, comfortable, and at ease, “Get some sleep, you’ve earned it.” you said, arms holding him tightly, hand still running through his hair as he nodded sleepily, quickly falling asleep. He was the RA’s hardest worker, one of its strongest fighters, and one of its best soldiers, and he was your sweet little golden retriever, an adorable puppy of a man, and as soft and cuddly as the fluffy canine he resembled.