#like i thought i could trust you b when you said like four weeks at most and its been two years ofc im giving up hope

[xmimikyuusx]

Maybe it's just my bad RNG but whenever my partner wants to commission art of our OCs I internally grimace. I might as well just be throwing money into a hole because it's been like three different times now that I pay someone and get literally nothing for months and then they disappear. I'm kinda over it.

[clumsyromantic]

NOT ANOTHER RAINBOW LEGACY CHALLENGE

Welcome to this ten generation legacy challenge based on vibrant colors! Inspired by all the other color themed legacies out there, because who doesn’t like basing their sims whole personality on a color (I know I’m a sucker for it lol). I won’t put a long list of rules here, because at the end of the day I want this to be your gameplay and story that you create. I will suggest that you follow each generation, but if something isn’t to your liking, by all means, change it for yourself. With that being said, don’t claim this challenge as your own, even if you tweak it. Remember, though, legacy challenges are all about having fun!

If you play don't forget to tag me here or on instagram @clumsy.romantic or use the hashtag #notanotherlegacy. I would really love to see some gameplay/stories!

Generation One: Licorice.

You never stay in one place too long. As a criminal, you’re always on the run. You don’t commit to anything. The only thing you’ve ever truly loved and committed to is your career. When it comes to actual love, you dip as soon as it seems like things might get serious. You don’t like being that close to people, letting people in like that. You can’t trust anyone, or so you thought.

Traits: Evil, Non-Committal, Romantic. (Additional: Self-Assured, Mean)

Aspiration: Serial Romantic.

Career: Criminal.

Have more enemies than friends.

Have a child with an enemy.

Move to a different world each time you age up.

Only your child(ren) can be your partner in crime.

Get caught cheating at least once.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Mischief, Handiness and Programming skills.

[Packs used: None]

Generation Two: Pearl.

From the time you could hold things, you were coloring, drawing, painting, anything that could help you express yourself. You are the exact opposite of your parent. Maybe you’re like the other one? You wouldn’t know, though. You never met them, nor heard a single truth about them. That doesn’t matter, though, because as soon as you can, you move out of your parents home so that you can start your own life and family. Love isn’t easy, as you don’t truly know what it’s supposed to look like, but with how kind and caring you are, it almost comes easy to you.

Traits: Creative, Cheerful, Family-Oriented. (Additional: Loyal, Good)

Aspiration: Big Happy Family. 

Career: Painter.

Complete the Artist Prodigy as a child.

Move to a different world from your parent.

Marry someone with amazing compatibility (or someone with similar traits).

Have 5 children.

Have a bowling night with the family at least twice a week.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Painting, Parenting and Bowling skills.

[Packs used: High School Years, Growing Together, Parenthood, Bowling Night]

Generation Three: Latte.

You come from a big family, and you’ve always loved every bit of it. However, nothing can compare to the love you have for fitness. As a teenager, you become a simfluencer who models athletic wear and shows off your healthy lifestyle. As a Young Adult, you constantly have dogs. You tell yourself all you need is dogs, until you meet another fitness buff who you end up having a baby with.

Traits: Active, Dog Lover, Vegetarian. (Additional: Ambitious, Outgoing)

Aspiration: Friend of the Animals.

Career: Simfluencer.

Have a good relationship with your parents and siblings.

Go to the gym four times a week.

Change your hairstyle once a week.

Have at least 3 dogs as a YA.

Become a B-lister.

Have a baby with someone you meet at the gym (bonus points if they have the active skill).

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Fitness, Entrepreneur, Media Production, and Pet Training skills.

[Packs used: Cats & Dogs, High School Years, Get Famous]

Generation Four: Dandelion.

It was hard for you to relate to your parents, as they were much more outgoing and sociable than you were. Keeping up conversations and being around people always made you feel drained. You preferred being by yourself with a good book. It was usually a sci-fi book about robots. It’s no surprise that you’re the first in your family to go to university and you end up working in engineering. Your best friend, perhaps lover as well, is a robot you built. Seems like a good life to you.

Traits: Loner, Overachiever, Socially Awkward. (Additional: Bookworm, Geek)

Aspiration: Nerd Brain.

Career: Engineer.

Attend university.

Build a servo bot.

Be romantic partners with the servo.

Woohoo with the servo in the rocketship.

Only adopt or have science babies.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Logic, Handiness and Robotics skills.

[Packs used: High School Years, Discover University]

Generation Five: Emerald.

You want to make the world a better place for the next generations. Everything you do involves Mother Earth. You live off the land, garden and fish for your food. You raise chickens for your eggs and cows for your milk. You also fabricate and make things for yourself, others and your animals. Some of the things you create you sell on Plopsy for income. You have a baby with someone you’re engaged to be married to. But as soon as you can, you pack up and leave them, taking the baby with you.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Maker, Freegan. (Additional: Green Fiend, Recycle Disciple)

Aspiration: Master Maker.

Career: Plopsy Seller.

Live in Evergreen Harbor (If you don’t already, move there as a YA).

Live in Port Promise, where you must make the eco footprint green.

Additional Challenge: have the Simple Living lot challenge in Evergreen.

Knitted and Fabricated items can be sold on Plopsy when you need simoleons.

Get engaged and try for a baby until one of you is pregnant.

Once you have reached green for the eco footprint; break off the engagement, take the baby and move to Sulani.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Knitting, Fishing, Gardening and Fabrication skills.

[Packs used: Eco Lifestyle, Nifty Knitting, Island Living]

Generation Six: Turquoise.

Growing up on a beautiful beach with your single parent doing everything for you made you into a spoiled brat. The only thing you actually want to do, besides sleep and chill, is fashion photography. You have a real eye for fashion. Although, you don’t really have a knack for picking up work. You’re more likely to be suntanning than actually doing your job. The few times you do accept a job, you fall in love with the model. Instead of falling happily in love together, you are constantly fighting, and to make matters worse, you have a kid together. Something neither of you wanted.

Traits: Self-Absorbed, Lazy, Hates Children. (Additional: Jealous, Squeamish)

Aspiration: Beach Life.

Career: Freelance Fashion Photographer.

Accept a job once a week.

Have a baby with one of the models that has the Mean, Hot-Headed or Evil trait.

Only have 1 child.

Have a bad relationship with your child.

Move to San Myshuno as an Adult.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Charisma and Photography skills.

[Packs used: Get Famous, Outdoor Retreat, Moschino, City Living]

Generation Seven: Ruby.

You constantly heard your parents fighting over something. They were never not fighting. You found your solace in music; listening to it, writing it, playing instruments, just everything about it. You get married young just so you can move out. But you’re in love with a musician on the side. You’re not really sure if you should keep seeing them, or stick by your spouse. You never really were good with decisions, especially ones that could really impact your future.

Traits: Music Lover, Hot-Headed, Childish. (Additional: Erratic, Dance Machine)

Aspiration: Musical Genius.

Career: Live off tips and fame.

Marry and move out as a YA.

Have a bad relationship with your parents.

Cheat on your spouse with someone who plays an instrument or sings.

Only earn money from tips when you play instruments or sing in public.

Have either a dance battle or karaoke night once a week.

Obtain fame, at least c-lister, from music.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Singing, Dancing and any instrument skills.

[Packs used: Get Famous, City Living, Get Together]

Generation Eight: Magenta.

You’ve always used humor and pranks as a way to cope with everything going on in your life. No one but your best friend really gets you. It’s hard for you two to get over being friends when you realize that you have feelings for each other. Except, after having a baby together, you realize you were better off as friends. You still civilly raise the child, just not under the same roof anymore.

Traits: Paranoid, Goofball, Gloomy. (Additional: Clumsy, Cat Lover)

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief.

Career: Social Media.

Have a childhood best friend.

Have a baby with said best friend.

You and your best friend fall out, but you still raise the child civilly.

Have at least 1 cat.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Comedy, Writing and Mischief skills.

[Packs used: Cats and Dogs, Strangerville, City Living]

Generation Nine: Tangerine.

You prefer the finer things in life. You live in the city, but as a young adult working in law, you often take vacations to Mt. Komorebi. Where, when you fall in love with a local and have children, you take your children there often. Not until you retire, do you and your spouse move there. In the meantime, you enjoy the time you spend there; skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, sightseeing, etc. You dream of your vacations while at work.

Traits: Adventurous, Kleptomaniac, Bro. (Additional: Lactose Intolerant, Materialistic)

Aspiration: Mt. Komorebi Sightseer.

Career: Law.

Take 2 vacation days a week to go to Mt. Komorebi.

Marry and have children with someone who lives in Mt. Komorebi

Continue living in San Myshuno until you retire and move to Mt. Komorebi.

Steal one item a day.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Skiing, Snowboarding and Rock Climbing skills.

[Packs used: Snowy Escape, Cottage Living]

Generation Ten: Aubergine.

Your parents always showed you the luxurious sides of life. Treating you to everything and anything you could ever imagine. It lit the way for your future career as a critic. You enjoyed being able to put your 2 cents into whatever you could get your neatly, well kept fingers on. You also always looked and presented to be your best self. 

Traits: Neat, Foodie, Snob. (Additional: High Maintenance, Perfectionist)

Aspiration: Party Animal.

Career: Critic.

Host 3 parties a week.

Each party has a theme; decorate and cook accordingly.

Get married 3 times (not to the same person).

Have 1 child per marriage.

Don’t get close to your children until they are Young Adults.

Max your career.

Complete your aspiration.

Master the Cooking, Writing and Gourmet Cooking skills.

[Packs used: Spa Day, City Living]

[that-basic-simp]

Water Lily

Mizu X Fem!Reader CW: Uses the scientific term for a man's groin WC: 2.4k+ Uses he/him pronouns at the beginning and then changes to she/her Also POV change at the end

"Mizu?"

"Yes, Mizu."

"Like water."

He nodded his head.

"Interesting name for a man," I said, eyeing him up and down.

He was tall and slender. Raven like hair that was tied into a bun, a Kasa on his head that hid his face if he tilted it down. There were round tinted glasses on his face. Wonder why they were tinted? Was he hiding something that he shouldn't? Such as his eye color. Taking a closer look, even if they were tinted, I could see the shape of his eyes. They were round, not almond. His face was pretty angular, which there were some men here with angular faces, but not like his. He was a peculiar man, I will say that.

"Please, I-I understand if you don't want to take me in, but I need to find shelter for the night. A-And I thought this place was abandoned."

"It wasn't, at one point," I said.

"Did you have a family?"

"Yes. A big one at that."

Looking at the surroundings, Mizu nodded his head, "I can tell by the size of it."

"But we weren't rich enough to live in the big cities like Kyoto."

"So why settle out here? In the middle of no where?"

"It was quiet and there weren't many visitors. Except you."

"I-I don't mean to rush this, but," he shifted and that was when I saw it.

There was blood dripping from his side. Rushing him inside, I closed the door and sat him down.

"Take your shirt off," I said.

"I can handle it myself, thanks," he said.

"Please, you're in need of stitches and you're in no condition of doing it yourself."

"How do you know?"

"Were you the same one to do the patchwork in your shirt?"

Eyeing the white stitches that were haphazardly done, Mizu pouted and sighed.

"Fine. B-But promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Tell anyone who? That I saw a man shirtless? I had male cousins who would swim naked in the river behind the house. I've seen more penises than I'd like to," I sighed.

"I take it you're not fond of it?"

"Never was and never will be."

"Why are you out here all alone?" Mizu asked as I got the needle and thread ready, along with some alcohol.

"My family left me."

"Why?"

"The same reason as to why I never want to sleep with a man, let alone be touched by one."

"B-But why are you helping me?"

"You seem like a nice guy," I said.

"So you don't like men?"

"Not romantically."

"I see," Mizu said. "Well, you're in luck."

"Why's that?"

As soon as Mizu removed his cloak and shirt, I understood why. There was a binding around his chest.

"A woman."

Mizu nodded her head, "Yes."

"Well, do you want me to call you sir or madam?"

"Mizu."

"Mizu? Just Mizu?"

"Yes. Just Mizu."

"Well, if there was one thing that stuck from my family, is I always gave people nicknames. No matter if they were staying for the day or a week."

"Why?"

"Hospitable," I said and got the needle and thread ready, stitching up the stab wound in Mizu's left abdomen.

"Geez, you have a lot of scars over your body. What kind of a samurai doesn't wear armor?"

"I-I'm not a samurai. I have no honor. Unless you count revenge honorable."

"Why the revenge?"

There was a long pause.

"I know it's easier said than done, but you can trust me. Not like I have anyone to tell your secrets to. I do live alone."

"Surprised you haven't gone insane," Mizu said.

"You and me both."

"Do you remember when the four white men came to Japan?"

"My parents told me about it. Caused a big stir."

"I was the product of one of them. He slept with my mother and she had me."

"C-Can I look at something?"

"What?" Mizu turned towards me.

Reaching up, she flinched away, causing me to retract my hand. Slowly nodding, she leaned towards me. Removing her glasses, I finally found what was hiding underneath. Bright, blue eyes that seemed to shine in the firelight. They reminded me of the river outside, how it shimmered and shined against the morning and evening sun.

"Your eyes," I began.

"Just say it," Mizu said with annoyance.

"Say what?"

"That I'm a demon, an onryo. A dog."

"They're beautiful."

"What?"

"Your eyes, they're beautiful. I haven't seen anything like them."

"O-Oh," Mizu said. "T-Thanks, I guess."

I smiled, "So cold. Yet the minute you're exposed to a burning fire, you freeze up."

"I haven't really been complimented throughout my years of being alive. I was seen as a demon. A monster. That I had no right to be alive."

"But you are, aren't you?"

"Alive only to do one thing and that is kill those white men."

"What do you plan to do afterwards?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you always have a place here, Mizu," I said, taping some gauze around the stitches. I put the binding on her chest and she pulled the shirt up.

"Stay as long as you need to," I said, throwing the needle away.

"You never told me your name," Mizu said.

"Y/N."

"Y/N," she said. "Thank you, Y/N."

"Rest, Mizu. I will fix you up something to eat to help with the healing process.

"How can I repay you?"

"By coming back alive."

"Back where?"

"Here. I like your company."

Even if I couldn't see her, there was a smile across her face. Once I had finished making her something to eat, I sat down beside her and handed her the bowl.

"So, your family," Mizu said.

"Minute they found me with a woman they picked up their things and left."

"Nice of them to leave you a house to yourself instead of throwing you out."

"They went with my aunt and uncle. They're lords so of course they'd want to live in a bigger place than this."

"Of course. The greedy just become greedier."

"But I have found solace within these walls. I thank you for the company," I smiled.

"Thank you for helping me."

I nodded, standing up, letting Mizu have some space and time to eat.

"You're handy with a sword," I said, watching her practice.

It's been a few days since Mizu arrived at my doorstep asking for help, even though she really didn't want it at first. I was sure she would have left by now because of how she spoke of her mission. She was serious and she wanted these people to pay. I felt her pain, her vengeance. But it was killing her on the inside.

"I am handy with other things," Mizu said, wiping some sweat from her face. "Anything is a weapon if you really think about it."

"In your hands, even chopsticks can be a weapon."

She chuckled, "Yeah. I guess they can be."

"Who taught you?"

"Myself."

"Oh, self taught."

"No school would take me. Y-You've seen me. I-I'm a disgrace."

Walking over to Mizu, I raised my hand and placed it against her cheek. Moving her head back a bit, I found her blue eyes.

"Mizu, you're not."

"W-Why do this to me?"

"Do what?"

"Tell me something I am not when I am."

"It were those who claimed you as something you're not. They were telling you you're an onyro, a demon, a dog, whatever they wanted to call you. That is something you're not, Mizu. You're simply a person who is just trying to get by in this world."

"I-I," she reached up and grabbed my hand, nuzzling into my palm. "I-I never really thought about it that way."

"Because you were taught not to show who you really were. Not to be you, Mizu. You had to put a mask on your face and because of it, you hid away and that's really the only thing you know."

Tears streamed down her face as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Removing my hand, she let go of it.

"Leave me."

"Mizu, d-did I say something wrong?"

"Just leave," she snarled at me. "And quit pretending you know me."

She walked off and continued to train. That was interesting, but it made her all the more complex.

"I see you're still not gone," I said, sitting down and putting a bowl in front of her.

"And you still haven't given me a nickname," Mizu said, raising the bowl to her lips.

"I haven't thought of a good one."

"Well, my name means water. Shouldn't that mean something?"

"It does, I am trying to find a way to tie that in. But nothing is coming."

"Just call me ocean because I come and go like it."

"Then it would be rain."

"What was your nickname? If your parents gave you one."

"They gave me the nickname of koi."

"Koi? Like a koi fish?"

"Yep. I loved swimming, just like the koi fish. And I had perseverance, especially when it came to learning medicinal soups and what was edible and what wasn't."

"And here I thought you'd poison me," Mizu joked.

"Ha-ha," I said dryly.

"You're actually quite good at it," she said.

"Good at what?"

"Taking care of people. And well, everything you've done for me lately."

"Oh. T-Thank you."

"Didn't think I'd compliment you?"

"N-No, but I just don't see you complimenting someone."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Cold like ice."

"Oh," she sighed.

"But once warm, the ice melts away, leaving water in its place. You're resilient, Mizu. Like water itself."

"A-About the other day," Mizu said.

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have said that to you."

"Well, for someone to say those kinds of things, someone had to be in similar shoes. I was in similar shoes like you. Having to hide who I truly was and then when it came out, I was scolded for it. Seen as a monster. Seen as something anything other than human."

"It must have been hard, having your entire family turn their backs on you when you needed them most."

"It was," I said, picking up my chopsticks and grabbing the noodles. "But like my nickname, I pushed through. I found a way to overcome it and was able to thrive. Now, I find myself in a better place than before. And while I thought it couldn't get any better, you came along."

Mizu picked up her head, "W-What did I do?"

"Gave me another reason to stay here."

"You wanted to leave?"

"I did. I took some jobs from the nearby town and saved up enough money to move into said town. People tried to offer me their homes, but I wanted to earn a house by myself and work there."

"Why haven't you yet?"

"Well, someone by the name of Mizu came to my door the day I was getting ready to pack my things."

Mizu turned away, avoiding my gaze.

"M-My apologies. I-I should have left earlier."

"I enjoy your company, Mizu. I'm glad you stayed for as long as you did. And besides, I think you're all healed up. So you also needed to stay to heal."

"Do you have everything?" I asked Mizu as I straightened out the cloak on her shoulders.

"Yes, I have everything," she said.

I handed her her tinted glasses and she held off putting them on yet. I also handed her a different kind of scarf.

"What's this for?" she asked, taking it.

"A more fashionable scarf to wrap around your neck."

"Why?"

"I don't think you like having whatever you have around your neck. Besides, it'll also keep you warm."

Mizu removed what was around her neck and replaced it with what I had given her.

"I-It is warm," she said, her eyes widening with surprise. "W-What is it?"

"Part of a blanket I had when I was a kid."

"W-Why do something like that?"

"It'll provide you warmth and comfort. And it'll remind you of me."

"I can't thank you enough, Y/N," Mizu said.

"You don't need to. J-Just promise me one thing."

"I-I'll try to."

I reached over and grabbed her hands, holding them gently in mine.

"Promise me you'll come back alive. I don't care if it's in pieces to where I have to stitch you up again," I poked at her abdomen, earning a chuckle from her. Reaching up, I placed my hand against her cheek, caressing the skin. "Just please come back to me."

"I-I'll try to, Y/N."

"Thank you."

"I-I think I might have found a way to thank you."

"How's that?"

Leaning towards me, she placed her lips lightly to the corner of my mouth, pressing a quick kiss. Pulling away, her cheeks flushed. Smiling, I leaned towards her and pressed a light and quick kiss to her lips. When I pulled away, her eyes were wide and her mouth open slightly. Her cheeks went from pink to a deep shade of red. I giggled, seeing her flustered like that. She put her glasses on and tipped her Kasa down over her eyes.

"G-Goodbye, Y/N."

She walked down the path of my house and turned to the left, heading to the nearest city.

"Goodbye, my water lily."

~Mizu's POV~

Walking down the familiar path, I reached up and grabbed onto the scarf, feeling the silk material. A smile crawled over my face when I finally reached the turn that led to her house. Turning, my heart sank into my stomach and my knees got heavy. Rushing towards the house, the once vibrant paint was weathered away and there were boards where the windows used to be. Ivy was growing and grass was overtaking the stone path.

"Y-Y/N!" I called, rushing towards the backside of the house. "Y-Y/N!"

I ran towards the front and let out a silent cry as tears slid down my face.

"N-No. I-I haven't been gone for that long."

Walking close to the door, there was a board covering it so I couldn't even really open it. Stepping closer, there was a little piece of paper sticking out from underneath one of the boards. Grabbing it, I pulled out a letter with my name on it. Opening it with trembling hands, I read the first two words and was immediately running towards that town. I should have known. She mentioned she wanted to move there. I didn't think she'd move that quickly. As I was running there, I was reading the note. Reaching the town, I walked through some crowds of people and before I knew it, I was standing in front of her house. Her new house. There was a bell hanging by the door. Raising my hand, I grabbed the red sting at the end and rang it, a jingle erupting into the air.

"Coming!" her voice called from the inside.

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out and the door opened up.

"M-Mizu?"

"I-I'm b--"

Her arms were thrown around me and she was hugging me tightly.

"I thought you were dead."

Lifting my arms, I wrapped them around her, hugging her tightly.

"I missed you, too."

Pulling away, she cupped my face in her hands. Pulling me towards her, our lips met lightly and I let out a small hum. Oh to be with her after a long time of fighting. Pulling away, she smiled at me.

"My water lily," she breathed out.

Reaching up, I grabbed her hand.

"I don't think koi suits you."

"Oh? Then what should you call me?"

"Mine," I said huskily.

Her eyes blinked a few times and her face turned a bright shade of red. Smirking, I pushed her into the house and closed the door.

"Payback for when I left."

She chuckled, tears forming in her eyes as I reached up and removed my glasses.

"I missed those eyes. I missed you, Mizu."

"I missed you, too, Y/N."

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 5

It's Wednesday again, you know what that means! I'm going to officially start calling this Arc 2 instead of Chapter 2 because it's too long already and I only *just* get to the plot with the end of this segment.

Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.

First, Previous

Word Count 1.3k words

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Tim clenched his teeth, but allowed himself to be pulled to the counter where they ordered an obscene amount of food thanks to the appetite of four metas. He insisted on using B’s card to pay for everyone.

Sam didn’t even wait for their food to be ready before she started questioning Conner.

“What do you think of rich people?” she demanded.

“Um… What?” Conner looked to Tim, eyes wide, clearly lost as to what he should answer.

Tim just shrugged.

“What. Do. You. Think of rich people? It’s not a hard question. I’m just trying to gage your actual punkness.”

“I don’t… I mean, Mr. Wayne is cool. I’ve met him a few times and he’s always been nice to me. But Lex Luthor… He’s the worst.” Even now, Conner couldn’t help but shudder when he thought of his creator and Tim scowled into his soda.

“Don’t mince words, Kon,” Tim said. “Luthor should be shot and dropped in the deepest part of the ocean.”

Conner laughed and pointed to Tim. “Yeah, that.”

“Hmmm… It’s a start.” Sam nodded. “Really, there’s only one rule to being punk and everything else derives from that: the man sucks.”

“The man?”

And there it was. Conner was still learning a lot of slang. “She means the people in charge. That you can’t trust the government or people in authority to actually have your best interests at heart or to do the right thing.”

“Oh!” Conner’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Well, obviously! I’ve always had to look after myself. At least until I met you guys.”

Cassie elbowed him. “And now you’re stuck with us for life. You’re ours.”

“Damn right!” Bart held out a fist to Conner who bumped it with his own.

Danny laughed. “You weren’t exaggerating, Secrets. You guys really are ride-or-die.”

Tim looked over his friends and couldn’t hold back a soft smile. “Damn right we are. Just like you three.”

“Well, we know something about the ‘or die,’” said Danny.

Tim rolled his eyes. “You’re worse than Dick.”

Tucker’s mouth was open as he looked between them. “They know?”

“Yeah,” said Danny. “Tim’s known since, like, a week after the accident. And when they came by my house, my parents decided to show off the home defense system. Couldn’t keep it a secret after that.”

Based on Sam’s wince, she knew exactly what the home defense system could do to Danny. Tucker pulled out one of his devices and started typing on it. “Will you finally let me do something about that?”

Danny just rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Tucker. Sam. Tim. All of you. My parent’s inventions never work right. Or they don’t know how to actually use them. They didn’t think the thermoses worked at first, for God’s sake!”

“Right.” Tucker rolled his eyes. “Because their guns have never worked. Tim, can I have your number and email? Maybe if we all get on him he’ll listen to sense one of these days.”

“Oooh!” Cassie bounced in her seat. “I’ll help! We’ve lots of experience in that with Tim. He’s also the worst at calculating reasonable risks.”

“Great!” Tucker typed her number and email into his PDA and they started setting up group chats. Bart joined in by discussing some of Tim’s more ridiculous civilian escapades.

Tim exchanged a look with Danny. This was so not going to end well.

“Well, while they’re sorting that out, more about punk!” Sam pulled Conner deeper into a conversation about fighting for freedom and liberty and how her ultra recyclo-vegetarianism fit into her beliefs.

Tim sighed and said, “Well, at least they’re getting along?”

Danny groaned and held his head in his hands. “We’re so going to regret introducing them, aren’t we?”

“I already do.”

And then their order was called. Of course Bart was at the counter before any of the rest had even registered it was their order, but Conner and Cassie jumped up to follow and help him carry it.

Sam tried to go help but Tim held out a hand. “They’ve got it, trust me. Having more people will just make it harder for them.”

She still stood, but by the time she turned to help, the others were already returning with hands full of loaded trays. She scowled as she settled back down.

“We would’ve helped,” she said as the others set the food down.

Bart waved her off. “We got it! Sides, most of this is for me, Conner, and Cassie.”

Danny shook his head. “I ordered just as much as you!”

Tucker agreed, “And I ordered almost as much.”

Cassie shrugged as she rooted through bags and grabbed her orders. “Well we got there first. Come on, I’m hungry. Quit arguing and grab your food!”

Danny passed one bag to Sam, “One salad for you.” And a second bag found it’s way in front of Tim. “And a nasty burger for you. You’ll never want to eat a batburger again after this!”

Tim rolled his eyes, but obligingly unwrapped the burger and took a bite. He hummed in appreciation. It really was a solid burger and the sauce was quite good. “I do like it, I’ll give you that. But I still prefer Batburger.”

“Ugh, you’re hopeless!” Turning his back to Tim, Danny addressed the others. “What about you three? Batburger or Nasty Burger?”

Conner shrugged, “This is great, but it’ll always be Batburger for me, too.”

Cassie elbowed him as she finished her bite. “That’s only because you and Tim get midnight burgers there too often and you are mixing up the taste with the memories. These are clearly better.”

Bart had already finished his first burger and was licking his fingers clean. “Yep. These are absolutely better.”

Tim threw an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Fifty-fifty split! Means we can’t make a decision until you come to Gotham and try one yourself.”

“Oh, that’s what it means, does it? And when do you think I’ll make it to Gotham?”

“Any time you want! You can stay with me. Hell, I’ll even pick you up and bring you there.”

Danny grinned. “If I ever can guarantee a break from ghost attacks, I might take you up on that.”

“Right,” said Sam to Conner. “While they’re flirting”—she expertly ignored Tim and Danny’s spluttered protests—“have you ever tried wearing makeup? I think you’d look killer in eyeliner.”

Meanwhile, Tucker pulled out his PDA and some headphones and started showing a video to Cassie and Bart who shifted to better see the screen.

Tim took a large bite of his burger, unsure what to say to Danny after Sam’s comment.

Danny didn’t seem to have the same reservations and shifted so he could press his shoulder against Tim’s. “Sorry. She and Tuck like to tease me. They’ve been calling you my internet boyfriend for ages.”

That admission made his face heat even more, but Tim tried to shrug it off. “It’s fine.” He knew from Dick that if he continued to protest, everyone would just take it as further confirmation they were right.

Danny shrugged and grabbed another container. Tucker tried to protest, but Danny ignored him. “Here, try a chili cheese fry; they’re great.”

Tim let out a breath and grabbed a fry, getting chili and cheese all over his hands as he did. “Thanks.”

Somehow, the group managed to not get yelled at for an hour as they laughed and joked in the corner booth, but eventually an employee came over to ask if they needed anything else. Danny ordered a milkshake for Jazz, and the group filed out. Night had set in fully while they’d been eating and Tim looked up at the sky. The stars really were much more visible here than in Gotham.

And that was when a large, swirling-green gash opened up in the night sky and dozens of ghosts started pouring through.

-----

Next

Sam is so going to try and radicalize Conner. Tim is just gonna let it happen. At least this radicalization is better than what he'd been exposed to previously.

Tag List Part 1

@gremlin-bot, @bonebrokebuddy, @britcision, @lady-time-lord-, @welcometosasakiworld, @akikkobara, @phoenixdemonqueen, @dolfay, @skulld3mort-1fan, @we-ezer, @markus209, @sjrose1216, @onyxlightdragon, @dragonsrequiem, @jesus-camp-the-sequel, @spidey29phangirl, @kyrianclawraith, @evilminji, @introvert-even-on-the-internet, @emergentpanda-blog, @lexdamo, @v-inari, @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit, @longlivethefallen, @undead-essence, @xye-chan, @liandrin, @seraphinedemort, @kisatamao, @schalensitzbucket, @caelestisdreamer, @runfromthemedic, @nutcase8691, @channajen, @tonicmii, @ambiguouslyominous, @vythika96, @addie-lover-of-stories, @ironicvixen, @violetfox2, @pickleking8, @mysticalcomputerdetective, @ark12, @mygood-bitch99, @squirrel-wolf, @satisfactionbroughtmeback, @sometimesthingsfallapart, @automaticsoulharmony, @d4ydr34min9, @revnantdpxdclover, @midigeria, @raginblastocyst, @feral-bunny31, @lunaria618, @ghostreblogging, @ace-aro-as-shit

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

Mikey Imagine: His Feelings

It wasn't that you felt lonely but you also didn't feel like you weren't lonely. You had been feeling off the last couple of weeks and couldn't shake it. Everything had been fine up until your best friend got into a relationship and totally forgot about you. Now you just felt left to the wolves. You usually had kept to yourself and it wasn't that you didn't have other friends because you did, they were just too busy to hang out.

You had four friends who a lot of the time showed up unannounced and uninvited. You didn't mind because you liked their company. They usually brought movies and snacks and made you laugh like no other friends could. They saw you and they accepted you. Yet you hadn't seen them in a few weeks and not because they were too busy. It was because you were pushing them away.

You realized a few months ago that you caught feelings for a certain orange sporting turtle. It hit you like a ton of bricks one night while you were trying to sleep. You kept it lowkey and never spoke of it to anyone. You never believed he could like you back or make it work. With him being a mutant, you human, him keeping the city safe, and you having a normal job were all hindering you from telling him.

Mikey flirted with everyone, including you. You never thought much of it at all because it was his personality. Until a few months ago you just brushed it off but once you realized your feelings for him, you couldn't brush it off. You wanted to be the only one he flirted with and give all that attention to.

"Oh Y/NNNNNN." A voice rang out down the hallway.

You had just taken a shower and was all curled up in bed. It was early evening, the sun was still peaking out ever so slightly. You weren't in the mood for anything or anyone.

"No." You mumbled, tucking your head under the covers.

You didn't even hear the footsteps come in to your room. All you felt was the blanket being tugged off of you gently.

"There you are!" Mikey cheered, smiling down at you. "Hey, what's wrong?" His smile faltering.

"Nothing." You muttered, sitting up and ruffling your hair. "Rough day I guess. What's up?"

"I haven't seen you in ages. Ya keep sayin you're busy so the guys sent me to check on you." He explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"How thoughtful." You stated, pulling the blanket back over you. "How are things?"

"Beatin bad guys, video games, the usual." He said, taking off some of his gear before sitting on the other end of your bed to face you.

Mikey always made himself at home when he came to your apartment. They all did but Mikey was always the one who really made himself comfortable. It wasn't an odd thing to find him eating your snacks or sleeping on your couch at random times. It also wasn't unusual to have him sit with you like this on your bed.

You were close with all four of the turtles but Mikey was your main guy. He understood you unlike anyone else. He knew more about you than your own parents/best friend did. You trusted the guys with your life but you trusted Mikey the most. He always treated you with the most kindness and always made sure you were having a good time. He always made sure you were included and that meant a lot to you.

"How fun. Glad to hear things are going well." You said, setting your chin on your hand.

"We do miss you though." Mikey admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm sorry. I just have a lot going on at the moment." You admitted back.

"Like?" He asked.

You bit the inside of your cheek. "I just," you sighed, "I don't know. I just feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"You could never do anything wrong! You're like the best person ever." Mikey replied, a shocked look on his face.

You sadly smiled at him. "Thanks but Y/B/F/N doesn't seem to think so."

"Is this about their new partner?" He asked.

Mikey was scatter brained about a lot of things but he was observant. He paid a lot more attention to things than his brothers gave him credit for. When you had fallen ill with a stomach bug and just said you were tired, Mikey stayed the night with you to take care of you because he knew you were sick. Another time you had been ditched by an old friend group and didn't want to tell the guys, but Mikey knew something had hurt you so he brought his whole gaming system to your apartment and taught you how to play NBA so you weren't alone.

"Why is it that I'm always the one left behind?" You thought aloud. "I'm happy for them but they just act like I don't exist."

Mikey's face softened. He didn't like seeing you upset and didn't like hearing you talk the way you were talking. The truth was, he meant what he said about you being the best person ever because in his eyes, you were the number one best person. You were his favorite person. He enjoyed April and Casey but he was elated with you.

Since the first day he ever laid eyes on you, he had a crush on you. Yes he was fascinated with all humans but he was especially intrigued by you. You didn't view the brothers as monsters or like there was anything wrong with them. You saw them for them and accepted them as they were. Mikey loved that about you but he especially loved that you took a genuine interest in him.

He was used to being called annoying or told to not be an idiot by his brothers. He knew that was just a sibling thing and if someone else were to say it about him then his brothers would riot. You never once made him feel like he was annoying or an idiot. You laughed at all of his jokes and took an interest in his skateboard tricks and video games. You made him feel normal.

"It's their fault for that. I'm sure you didn't do something wrong." Mikey said, watching you play with the blanket.

"I just feel so alone all the time and I know I'm not. I just can't explain it." You muttered, rubbing your eyes.

"Aw Y/N." Mikey cooed, moving so he was sitting on the edge of your bed next to you. "I get it. It's like you have a huge hole in your soul."

"Yeah...Yeah that's it." You said, looking up at him. "I just wish I could fix it."

Mikey's heart nearly broke seeing the sad look in your eyes. "I'm not the best with words but I got you. I'm gonna help you fix it."

"Thanks Mikey but I don't think you can." You whispered, a sad smile on your lips.

"Why not? I'm the master at fixing feelings." He replied. "Plus you're my best friend! I can't leave ya like this."

"That's really sweet of you but I really don't think you can fix this." You sadly replied.

Mikey studied you for a second. He was debating on whether or not he should call one of his brothers to come by. Then again, you would probably get upset over them fussing over you like you seemed to shut down over him fussing over you. He just couldn't help himself. Your happiness meant the world to him and it was true, you were his best friend.

"Y/N, I spent my whole life underground away from people. All I wanted was to live a normal life like everyone else. I felt alone a lot of the time and then you came along." He explained, grabbing your hand. "I had my brothers and dad and April, but now I have you. You're the most awesomest and best person I know. I never thought I could be normal until you showed up."

"You showed up at the right time and saved me from those stupid gang people." You replied. "You technically showed up first."

You remembered that night clearly. You were walking home from the gas station after you stopped to get a drink. It was a quiet night, the street lights lit up the sidewalks. Some people were out but not a lot. The gas station was just down the street from your apartment so you felt safe enough to stop there before going home. It all happened so fast that you didn't remember much of the actual fight, only when Mikey and his brothers showed up.

While the three older turtles were fighting off the gang people, Mikey was trying to calm you. He kept telling you everything was okay and that he wasn't going to hurt you. He even offered you his gameboy to play on until the fight was over to distract you. When it was all over, Mikey personally escorted you home. That was the first time you had ever met the turtles and now you couldn't imagine your life without them.

"True." He said, smiling at you. "That was the best night of my life."

"I thought the day you got the key to the city was the best night of your life?" You half teased, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Nah, meeting you tops that." He replied, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. "I mean it."

You slightly blushed. "I really can't see my life without you guys."

"Y/N, can I tell you something?" Mikey asked, a nervous look clouding his eyes.

"Anything." You honestly stated.

"I'm not saying this because you're sad and I wanna cheer you up, I'm saying this because I mean it."

"Okay?"

"I like you a lot, I mean a whole lot. More than anyone in the world. I like you more than pizza like you."

You slowly blinked at Mikey. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. Mikey liked you more than pizza, which meant his feelings for you were mutual.

"You do?" You whispered. "Really?"

"Is that weird?" He asked.

"Is it weird if I say I like you too?"

"You do!?"

You slowly smiled at him. "Yeah, I have for awhile."

Mikey's lips grew into the widest smile you'd ever seen. "What!? Wow! Okay! Wow!" He stood up and danced a little before sitting back down. "Okay, okay this is awesome."

You chuckled at him. "I guess we feel the same way about each other then."

"So are we a thing now?" He asked, studying your face.

"I think so if you do."

"I'm gonna kiss you now."

Mikey reached over and cupped your face, leaning in and kissing you. It was gentle yet passionate at the same time. You felt safe with him like if anything came to hurt you, you wouldn't be afraid because he was right there. For the first time in months, the hole in your soul was feeling more fulfilled.

You pulled away and smiled at him. "Way to seal the deal."

"What can I say? I got a way with the ladies/men/people." He teased, smiling back at you.

"Thanks Mikey for coming here. I'm really glad you did." You said, reaching up and wrapping your arms around his neck.

"I always got you." He mumbled into your neck, wrapping his arms around you.

Muffled cheering was heard from outside. You pulled away and looked over at your window. Leo, Donnie, and Raph were on your fire escape, clapping and cheering for you guys.

"You guys!" You whined.

"That was the worst yet cutest hallmark movie I ever seen." Raph teased as he opened your window.

"Congrats." Leo said, smiling at you and Mikey.

"I think you two owe me Italian tonight." Donnie said, patting Leo and Raph on the shoulders.

You rolled your eyes and looked at Mikey, who just grinned at you. The wait was definitely worth it.

[hannahwatchesbigbrother]

This has been a worse than average endgame (to say the least), but I want to acknowledge the highlights of bb25. I’ve been watching since bb16 (been a feedster since bb17), and this has truly been the most invested I’ve been. Despite how frustrated I’ve been with production this year, I really think this season has some really stellar stuff in it (especially pre-jury). So here is a (lengthy) list of how I’ll remember this season:

Cirie motherfucking Fields showing up!!

Izzy immediately clocking that Jared was Cirie’s son before the live premiere even ended

Izzy immediately clocking that Cameron gives serial killer vibes

Felicia destroying four mics by the end of the first week

Felicia falling into the hot tub

“Clean that shit up a bit”

Cameron thinking Felicia was related to Denzel Washington

“Izzy Fields” and the beautiful friendship between her and Cirie

Hisam’s villain arc

Cory in Blue’s pink outfit (and later Americas jumpsuit)

(Honestly just Cory being a genuinely good dude who would call out things that crossed a line and fought against toxic masculinity)

The target flipping every other hour for like the first six weeks of the game

Every time Zach Wurtenburger tweeted about BB

The nickname “fucking Bowie Jane” which was then just shortened to fbj

The still of Cory’s mouth wide open while he was saying “what the fuck” when they were thinking of keeping Hisam

Meme’s storage room rants

“If I’m a have not next week, I’ll self-evict” “I’ll be a have not with you” *america leaves* “(to self) Cory, are you the most pathetic person? They were right about you — you’re a pick me”

Felicia yelling at Jag while he was in a chicken suit

Felicia and “Mr. B” (smooches!)

The slow burn Americory showmance (I could write a thesis on how much I love it but I’ll spare you)

The fact they brought the pressure cooker back

Izzy crying about how much she hates being in the same room as Cameron

“Fuck jag and I said that shit” -America Week 4, a prophet

When Matt used the power on jag and even live feeders were shook because we had no idea

The fact that Cameron’s 14 hours in the pressure cooker didn’t matter because jag was just brought back into the game

Blue sucking up to Felicia bc she thought she was Jared’s mom for a solid 24 hours

Felicia’s sleep screaming/singing

The dramatic and out of no where red/Cameron break up

“Cam thinks he’s like a father to me, but really he’s like an absentee father who wants to sleep with my girlfriend”

Blue volunteering jag to go up as a “pawn” during Jared’s hoh

Cam winning hoh after being blindsided by the red vote (hate him but the absolute silence and his thumbs up is so funny)

“Okay Jasmine” “*crying* who’s jasmine?” “*singing* a whole new world”

Cam not telling anyone including production who he was putting up

Matt winning the prize swap veto but choosing the punishment bc he thought he’d get to hang out with the real Josh Duhamel

The Josh Duhamel punishment in general

Izzy’s kick jump during the piggy pals punishment

Jared destroying his game because Cirie was stuck in a kayak with Felicia for 48 hours

THE IZZY FLIP

(The fact the izzy flip happened bc she told Cory that he couldn’t sleep in the same bed as America anymore lol)

The Cory/Jared humiliverse fight

“To all my friends and family, trust I know that they are all liars and snakes… and cowards!”

“See you soon, pig!”

The Cirie/Felicia fight post-Jared’s eviction

Peak Unreliables when Jag fought for Cory’s LIFE against cams plan to backdoor him

People retweeting Meme’s tweets from over ten years ago that were weirdly relevant to the season

America lifting Cory after it was confirmed that they made jury

The musical that Cory got for his zing

The one time all the different stans came together was to celebrate Cams eviction

The “exquisite” bit

America causing Jag to want to shit his pants after telling him to “literally fuck off”

“Literally in this world, I am your biggest fan” 😭😭😭

Felicia being Cirie’s best friend and worst enemy (aka when she shaved her foot on her bed)

Americory saying “I love you” on Cory’s way out the door

Americas shrine to Cory/transforming into him

Cirie’s DR of her flipping off Jag, Matt, and Bowie

Izzy/Paige going as Americory for Halloween

The Americory “cradle robber” Halloween costume

“I’d be more impressed if [the wins] weren’t against two senior citizens, an airhead, and an idiot”

[proudahgase-exol]

Loving you is all I know.

Chanyeol x reader ft exo (angst)

Warning: cussing, mentioning of alcohol and cigarettes use.

Summary: you have a on/off relationship with Chanyeol It has been going on for four years now but this time it’s different you can’t take it anymore so you tell him how you really feel

Ps: if you like my work please like and reblog and comment if you like to 💞

✼••┈┈┈┈••✼♡✼••┈┈┈┈••✼

Y/n pov:

It happened again he ended the relationship he claimed that he was too busy to be with me but I wasn’t stupid I knew what he was up to by the many Instagram posts he would publish with another girl at clubs.

It sucked, to be honest, it hurt me so much especially since I’m his group assistant I was in charge of getting the boys from point A to point B I had to make sure they were always in time for everything so I pretty much had to see him every single day.

Now you might be asking why I always take him back and well that’s because I love him I've been in love with him since he debuted and there’s no other man like him i don’t want another man I wish I could stop loving him but loving him is all I know.

A few weeks ago he broke up with me for what feels like the million time it’s sad especially since his members pity me they give me This sad smile or when he is in the room with a new girl the boys try to make sure I’m okay.

Today I saw him again with of his many girls I can’t understand how it’s so easy for him to just throw me out like I’m garbage and even easier to come to look for me when he can’t find a new fuck toy it brakes my heart but I’m so fucking stupid that I keep letting him hurt me.

I was so sick of seeing him like that cline I was nothing like I was never part of his life when I went home I took a long bath with a bottle of wine trying to drink my pain away trying to forget his handsome face.

When I got out of the bath I got changed and walked to the back yard and sat down looking at the sky then I lit a cigarette I was never the girl that drank and smoked but after the third time of the many times Chanyeol broke up with me I try to find a way out a way to forget him and alcohol and cigarettes did the trick and every time we got back together I did stop.

As the days passed the guys started to notice a change in me I thought I had been hiding my alcohol and cigarette problem well but Kyungsoo found out he was gained to question me than the rest of the guys heard all the commotion and also started to question me luckily chanyeol still haven’t gotten here.

“Hey, have you been drinking?” Asked Kyungsoo

“N no,” I said turning away

“Yes you have I can tell and you also stink like cigarettes y/n wtf why would you do that,” he said racing his voice

“I haven’t now cat you stop,” I said turning back to face him

“Hey, what’s going on why are you guys yelling?” Junmyeon asks walking over to us

“She’s been drinking and smoking and don’t try to deny it I know what a hangover looks like and I can also tell what cigarettes smell like,” Kyungsoo said with disappointment

“Is that true? Y/n why would you do that” Minseok walking over to my side

“Don’t worry about me go get your stuff so I can tell you home” I said trying to change the subject

“Hey I know it’s about Chanyeol Hyung but don’t ruin your life like that for him trust me we hate him for what he’s been acting,” Sehun said walking up to me and hugging me

“I will get over this eventually but if this is the way it’s helping me then so let me it’s my life, not yours,” I said pushing Sehun away from me

“Hey what’s up guys what did I miss,” Chanyeol said walking into the dance practice room

“I’ll way for you outside by the car,” I said walking away as I took a brand new pack of cigarettes out of my jacket

As I was walking out the door I saw Chanyeol walking behind me but was stopped by Baekhyun and Jongin

Chanyeol pov:

I watched as y/n walked out of the dance practice room and I also saw her taking out a pack of cigarettes I turned around and asked the guys about y/n

“Hey, how long have a y/n been smoking?” I asked them

“A long time why,” Kyungsoo said

“Why didn’t you guys tell me,” I said getting mad

“You don’t care about her so what’s the point of telling you we didn’t tell her anything because we thought it wasn’t hers since she was not the type of girl to get drunk and smoke,” Baekhyun said

“I do care about her who told you I don’t,” I said getting defensive

“Dude if you did you wouldn’t have brake up multiple times you would respect her and treated her like you love her but you don’t,” Sehun said annoyed

“I know it’s none of our business but why do you keep breaking up if you're gonna end up going back to her?” Junmyeon asked

“I- I don’t know at first it was because I thought she should be with someone better but then I just liked messing around with other girls then realized that I love y/n then I went back to her but now I don’t know anymore,” I said looking at the floor

“Well either you fix your shit or you will only end up losing her for good,” Jongin said walking out of the room

I saw the way the guys walk away not looking back at me I knew they cared for Y/n I know they are siding with her because the truth is I’m the asshole I don’t know what I keep on doing this I truly love her I just got so used to this routine and didn’t saw that not only was I hurting her but also my friends and I need to fix it if I still can.

When I walked out of the building the guys were already in the car so I got in but Y/n was nowhere to be seen nor was Minseok so I asked Jongdae who was next to me and Minseok had taken Y/n out for drinks I don’t know if she drink too.

She used to be this sweet shy girl who wouldn’t drink nor smoke every time I drank she would take care of me and tell me I shouldn’t drink that much now she’s different she’s not the y/n I knew and I know I was the one who made her this way.

When we got home I was pulled to the side by Junmyeon who started to yell at me he was angry so we were there with other guys and all I could think about was if y/n was okay.

“Are you listening to anything I’m saying?” Junmyeon asked

“Sorry what did you say,” I said looking at him

“I ask if it made you feel good walking around with a different girl every week right in front of y/n do you like the way she looks at you or does it satisfy you knowing that the girl cries every day?” He asked looking at me with so much anger

“No, I didn’t know I was hurting her like that I-“ I didn’t know what else to say

“You unbelievable Chanyeol that girl is broken she’s so far gone and I know for a fact that the old y/n will never return” I saw walking past me and pushing me with his shoulder

I was so fucked I knew the boys love her she’s been with us since the beginning they care for her like family and it scares me that I’m the one who messed this up I’m the one that hurt her and I hate myself for that but I’ll try to fix it I’ll try to apologize hopefully I could do it get her back for good

Y/n pov:

After I walked out of the building I lit up my cigarette I was trying to hide my tears but I just couldn’t it hurt so much to see him so happy I felt like I was disposable like I didn’t matter to him that how he’s making me feel

As k wiped my tears I heard someone running up to me and saw that it was Minseok when he got close he took my cigar off me and turned it out then hugged me

“Hey it’s okay to feel sad you can cry don’t hold your feelings back I’m here if you ever need to talk I’m always here you know you can call me if you want a drinking buddy just call me and be like oppa telsngo for a drink and I’ll happily join you,” he said as he hugged me and kissed the top of my head

“But you get busy and tired and I don’t want to bother you,” I said wiping my tears

“It’s okay I don’t mind being tired and if I’m busy I know Sehun will love to drink with you we both know he can’t say no to a few drinks,” he said joking

“Yeah you're right but still you guys get busy and I know you get tired at the end of the day,” I said looking at him

“Don’t worry it’s alright now let’s go I know this place where they make the best good and have good alcohol what do you say? Let’s forget about everything for a while?” I asked me

“Sure let’s go but who’s taking the guys home?” I asked worried

“It’s okay I told someone that you were feeling bad and that I had to take you home so they sent someone to take the guys home now let’s go,” he said pulling me by the arm

When we were At the restaurant, we ordered our food and drink we chatted and then he asked if I wanted to talk about Chanyeol so I did I told him everything from the first time we broke up till now it hard to say it but it feels good to have told some about it than I changed the topic not wanting to talk about Chanyeol anymore so we talk about the boys and Minseok’s new girlfriend.

After a few more drinks and crying over the past Minseok took me home with the help of one of my friends when I woke up the next day my head was hurting so I got up and went to the bathroom I got cleaned up and went to the kitchen for breakfast I took my time eating than my way to get change so I can go to the boys since today they had a group meeting for their new comeback.

When I got to the building the boys were already in the lobby wetting for me and when I got close I saw Chanyeol making his way to me but a guy stopped by Baekhyun Then Junmyeon walked up to me and told me where the meeting was gonna be so we made our way there.

The whole time chanyeol kept looking at me like he wanted to tell me something but I ignored him I looked away and tried not to make eye contact with him.

After the meeting was over the boys went to their dance practice and i went to have another meeting with the managers and stuff. After it was done I went to check on the guys to see if they needed anything they told me they were all good so I walked away and on my way out the door chanyeol ran up to me and asked if we could meet up at his place to talk he said he will be quick so I agreed curiously.

After a long day of work, I went to the guys again to ask them if I was taking them or if they were gonna do something else. They said they were going out for dinner and then for some drinks so to not worry I left and my way to Chanyeol’s place.

When we arrived chanyeol was pulling up as well I waited for him in the lobby of his apartments while he parked the car. After a while he walk in the lobby and told me to follow him as we walk into the elevator we just stood there in an awkward silence until we arrived to his floor that was on the 10th floor.

When we got to the apartment he told me to make myself at home and I just scuffed but walked and took a seat on his couch a few seconds after I sat down Zzar came running from somewhere in another room and ran to Chanyeol but then turned around and run to me she jumped on the couch.

“Oh hey zzar you still remember me your such a good girl,” I said petting her

“Wow seems like she still remembers you but how can she forget the person who walked her every day and gave her delicious treats” Chanyeol said walking out to us

“So let’s cut the bullshit and get straight to the point what do you want to talk about,” I said not wanting to be here anymore

“Oh yeah umm I wanted to apologize for everything I have cussed you for all the pain I have given you I know our relationship was on/off and I also know how much I hurt you by bringing all this girl around,” he said looking down at his shoes

“Chanyeol you broke my heart no move but multiple times an apology won’t fix all the hurt you did to me,” I said getting angry

“I know I’m sorry for all the hurt I'm really sorry I wish I could fix everything I wish I could go back and not have done what I did I wish we were still together,” he said crying

“Answer me with honesty…… why did you do it in the first place? Was I a bad girlfriend? Was I bad at sex did I not satisfy you enough? Was I not pretty enough or smart? Is it my lack of experience what do all of those girls have that I don’t why do they get to go home with you and why do I get to go home and cry myself to sleep thinking I was the perfect girlfriend” I said crying

“Have you been blaming yourself all this time? Did you think every time we broke up was your fault?” He asked whipping his tears that were still falling

“Yes, every single time I thought it was me I still think so…. Is it my fault” I asked in a quiet voice

“Oh god no baby it’s never Ben your fault no once it’s always been mine I've been so greedy I thought of myself and not one of you or your feelings I know it was a dick move on my part at first I thought I would be happier in a new relationship but after a few days I regret it than I come crowing back to you and for some reason, you always took me back so I did it again until it became a habit than I saw Minseok hyung with his girlfriend and I remember you I remember how that used to be us but I had to mess it up,” he said sobbing

“Why did you do it you regret it why didn’t you stop when you felt regret why did you keep doing it” I asked confused

“Because I’m so stupid because I thought you would always take me back after breaking you but then someone told me that at some point you will get tired that you will relies on that you deserve better so I had to stop it”

“Y/n why do you keep taking me back every single time I break your heart I hurt you and yet you still receive me with open arms why,” he asked looking at me

“Because after so long of knowing you of loving you…. You kind of become my everything how loving you is all I know that’s why I always take you back” I said smiling

“Why Cigarettes why alcohol that not you at all why fuck I fucked up so bad,” he said crying harder this time

“Cigarettes and alcohol were my way of forgetting about you for a while it was like my escape from reality it made me feel numb,” I said smiling sadly

“This time I promise you I will be better I will be honest I will be the perfect boyfriend I will treat you like you deserve to be treated,” I said moving closer to me and holding my hand

“Look chanyeol I don’t think I can do this anymore I can’t trust you I can let myself fall for your lies once again I don’t think I can go through this all over again in hurt I’m tired of this cycle

I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t love me like I love them” I said placing his dog on the couch and getting up

“Please I promise I will be better I will be the man you need and deserve please give me a chance I will be better this time I promise,” he said staying up as well

“I think you need to look for help because what you have been doing isn’t right take time off dating and messing around fix yourself,” I said looking up at him.

“If I do all that will you take me back will you give me a chance?” He begged

“I don’t know I need time to heal for all this I need time for myself I don’t want to give you hope because you did hurt me pretty badly,” I said looking away from his kicked puppy eyes

“I love you more than you think I do and I regret everything I have down I will do everything to fix everything I will fight for you I will make you fall in love with me it will be like a new start like getting to know each other for the first time hopefully I can make you fall in love with me once again and when I succeeded I will make sure to treat you like a queen to be the loyal boyfriend I should have been in the beginning I promise you that if it’s the last thing I do” he said hugging me tight

“Yeol I said it once before and I’ll say it again I love you and loving you is all I know but don’t push your luck and hope I know you are a good guy but I need healing and sometimes it might take years or forever I might move on from you.” I said giving him a sad smile

“Will you still work with us I will still get to see you right?” H eased hopeful

“This is my last week I will work for NCT there are a lot of boys that need my assistance you might see me around the building but I don’t guarantee that you will,” I said looking at him

“Oh I- “ I try to say something but stay silent

“Well, I have to go now I have a lot to prepare I won’t see you for the rest of the week I hope you have a good life and I hope you actually change l, bye Yeol I love you,” I said walking away from him and out of his apartment.

Chanyeol pov

I was so lost she was actually leaving me for good I was so late way too late for everything I should’ve apologized years earlier I should’ve never done anything I did I should’ve worshiped her when I heard her now I’m looking at her walk away from me and out my life as I did to her now it was my turn to pay for the pain I cause her it was my turn to suffer and feel everything she felt.

I was s,o stupid why did I think she would take me back like before Kyungsoo was right she would get tired and give up on me and she did she relished she deserved better and walked away and I didn’t blame her but I won’t give up I will fight for her I will wing her over and make thing right this time. For now I’ll be fixing myself first hopefully she doesn’t move on but if she does I won’t be mad I will make sure this new person in her life treats her better than I ever did.

- sorry if there’s any errors 🥺

[wishfulwithwine]

sweet girl . chapter four

Rafe Cameron x Y/N Thorton

Y/N was sick of being the goody two shoes - sick of everyone treating her like an innocent little girl.

How bad could a step on the wild side be?

No one told her how good bad could taste....

WARNINGS: THIS SERIES IS 18+. INVOLVES EXPLICIT/NSFW CONTENT. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF MINOR.

series masterlist

photo from pinterest

It took two weeks for Rafe Cameron to fuck it up with Y/N Thorton.

Two passionate weeks of sneaking around their siblings and friends, hot nights entangled in each other’s limbs.

Two unbelievable weeks… ending in a coked out haze and making out with someone else at a party. 

You couldn’t even scream at the sight before you.

Because then you’d be admitting to something that was supposedly not happening.

Because if you shouted that Rafe was cheating on you, then you’d be admitting that you were in a relationship with your best friend’s brother, or your brother’s best friend, however you wanted to describe him.

You should have known better.

You should have listened to everyone’s warnings about Rafe. You should have listened more to the stories Topper used to tell about when Rafe was high, and nothing else seemed to matter to Rafe more than another fix. 

So there you were, watching Rafe make out with another brunette.

You had left his side for 10 minutes to go find a restroom in this house, and you came back to him cheating. 

So there you were walking quickly out of the party - not running, that would’ve identified immediately that something was wrong - and away from anyone you knew. Seeing a full bottle of tequila on a table, untouched and ready for picking, you grabbed it, and left the party. Tears were streaming down your face as you went to the one place you knew would bring you instant calm - the beach. 

It was late so you thought no one would be there, as you sat watching the waves, drinking tequila straight. 

“Y/N?” 

Oh shit. Who is it? Fuck I’m crying. I really don’t want to see anyone. 

“Y/N? Hey, are you okay?” John B asked, coming over to you, seeing the bottle of tequila and tears running down your face.

“Just peachy, John B” You replied sarcastically, taking another swig of the bottle.

“Alright, what’s going on?” John B asked, concerned as he took the bottle from you.

“I did something stupid - trusted someone I shouldn’t have, and now I’m upset and I just want to forget” You said, looking sadly at him.

Shit, Y/N could make me do anything with those eyes. 

“Well, I was going to head back to my house if you wanted to come hang out? The Pogues and Kie might be there?” He offered, and you smiled.

“Sure, why not?” You replied, shrugging your shoulders.

If Rafe heard I would be with the Pogues, he’d be pissed. Too bad for him, I don’t care anymore.

“Great” John B said, as he walked you over to his van, and you two went to his place, or what he said he called the Chateau.

“So the person you decided to trust, someone I know?” John B asked, glancing over at you as he drove.

“Yea, but I really don’t want to talk about it. What were you up to when you found me?” You asked, changing the subject. 

“Just on a little adventure. Where you at a party? You look hot by the way” John B said, taking in what you were wearing. You blushed a bit, realizing your makeup probably looked terrible so you tried to fix it in the van’s mirror.

“Thank you. You look pretty hot yourself, but that’s just you” You replied, the alcohol letting you speak more freely. 

“That’s just me?” John B replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Yea. You’ve got that whole sexy surfer, bad boy look down to a T” You replied, and John B smirked.

“You think I’m sexy?” John B said, surprised. You blushed, biting your lip as you realized what you said.

“Well, I gotta say, you’ve always been gorgeous. Never quite had the guts before to tell you I had a crush on you when you were tutoring me” John B said, taking a chance. 

“Really? I had a crush on you too!” You said, giggling, looking at John B’s smile widen. He glanced at you, before slowing down outside of his place.

“No way did you have a crush on me” John B said, shaking his head as he stared at you. Neither of you made any move to get out of the car. 

“Everyone had a crush on you. No way did you like me, a pogue” He said, and you raised an eyebrow.

“Well I did” You said, looking at him.

“Yea, right” He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Really! I did. How can I prove it to you?” You replied, crossing your fingers. John B stared at you.

“Kiss me. If you had a crush on me, kiss me” He said, smirking. You looked at him, and realized he wasn’t kidding.

Leaning forward, you gently kissed him, before John B started kissing you back, putting his hands on either side of your face, tangling a bit in your hair, before you heard some yelling and you two pulled away.

“JJ! Put me the fuck down!” Kie said, as JJ picked her up and all but threw her in the hot tub. 

You turned away from them, looking back at John B.

“We should..” He said, nodding over to them.

“Yea” You replied, and you two left the car and headed to the hot tub.

“Hey Y/N! I’m so happy you’re hanging out with us!” Kie said. “You look hot! Kook party not all cracked up to be?” 

JJ, Kie and Pope were all in the hot tub, beers on the side, while you and John B stood by.

“Definitely not, but I stole a bottle of their tequila on the way out” You said, as John B held up the tequila bottle.

“Oh that’s some good shit” JJ said, taking the tequila bottle and inspecting it, before passing it back to you. 

“Good to see you!” Pope said, waving at you as John B hopped in the hot tub. “You coming in?” 

You looked down at your outfit, then to Kie.

“You don’t happen to have a spare bathing suit, no?” You asked Kie, and she shook her head.

“I don’t think the guys would mind if you just wore your underwear?. I’ve done it a few times” Kie said, shrugging her shoulders.  You bit your lip.

“Definitely won’t. Actually we highly encourage it” JJ said, smirking as you looked over to John B, who just shrugged but gave you a genuine smile.

“Wild girl summer, right?” You said, locking eyes with Kie who smirked and clapped her hands.

“Yes girl yes!” Kie said, hyping you up as you took off your skirt and top, revealing your matching lace bra and panty set. There was total silence as you took off your clothes, the Pogues faces stunned

“Shit, you’re going to make me bi” Kie said, as you blushed under everyone’s stares, coming into the hot tub and sitting in-between Kie and John B.  

John B could barely take his eyes off of you, his eyes trailing down every part of exposed skin before it got covered by the water. Adjusting himself, he tried to think of anything that wouldn’t make him hornier.

“Fuck. You’re single?” JJ asked, and you laughed.

“Pass me the bottle” You said, looking at John B and he passed it over, his eyes dilated. You took a big sip.

“What the fuck? You just did that without chaser” Pope said, shocked.

“Yea, perks of being a kook. Lots of practice drinking liquor” You replied, shrugging your shoulders as everyone laughed.

“Alright, so truth or dare?” JJ offered, and everyone seemed to shrug their shoulders in acceptance at playing the game.

“You want to play, you start JJ. Truth or dare” Kie asked, smirking at him.

“Truth” JJ said, taking a sip from his beer.

“Besides Y/N and I, who’s the hottest kook? If you had to chose” Kie asked. You raised an eyebrow, intrigued. 

JJ was notorious for hating kooks, so who he’d chose would be interesting.

“Fuck” JJ said, sipping beer while he looked a bit nervous. “On looks alone? Sarah Cameron” 

“Are you kidding me?” Kie asked upset. 

“Oh boy” You muttered, and John B chuckled.

“Here” He whispered, passing you a beer. You smiled, cracking it open before focusing back on the groups conversation.

“I’d have to agree with JJ. Just looks alone, a kook, and not either of you? The hottest would have to be her” Pope said, logically.

“Fine” Kie said, crossing her arms annoyed.

“Truth or Dare Kie” JJ said, turning it back on her.

“You know what, dare” Kie said, taking the tequila bottle from you and taking a shot.

“Kiss the hottest in the group” JJ said, winking at her. Kie rolled her eyes before scanning the group.

“Actually, it’s a no brainer” Kie said, before going over to you and kissing your lips - not quick but not a make out either. The boys cheered, as you two broke apart, laughing.

“Thanks Kie” You said, sending her an exaggerated wink.

That did not help John B’s pant situation.

“Ok, John B. Truth or dare” Kie asked, a smirk on her face as she caught John B keep staring at Y/N.

“Dare” He said, a bit nervous as he recognized the look on Kie’s face to be dangerous. 

“I dare you to… do a body shot off of Y/N” She said, as both of you tensed a bit. “Only if you’re comfortable with that” She added, looking to Y/N who looked a little nervous.

“Wild girl summer, yea?” Y/N said, feeling the tequila in your system so your nerves were smoothed over.

“You’re really being a pogue tonight” JJ said, laughing. 

“Make sure you do the full thing! Do you have salt and a lime?” Kie asked, hopping out to get the other ingredients, while everyone got out to watch.

“You don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable” John B whispered to Y/N, putting his hand on your arm comfortingly.

“It’s fine, John B. I’m having such a fun night, honestly. I’m really glad you saw me” you said, looking at him with a smile.

“Ok! I got it. Get on the table Y/N!” Kie exclaimed, as you laughed, laying down on the table. John B got on top of her, straddling your waist, while he poured the tequila in your belly button. Kiera poured the salt across your neck and chest, and placed the lime in your mouth.

“Lucky dog!” JJ said, as John B began, licking down your neck and chest, drinking the tequila, before biting the lime in your mouth. You did your best to not show how aroused you were, forcibly making sure your back didn’t arch off the table.

John B stared into your eyes as he sucked on the lime, as everyone else clapped.

It was a few hours later when everyone started going to bed. Pope and Kie decided to sleep on the hammocks, JJ on the couch on the patio, and you and John B decided to go to sleep in his bed.

“Are you sure it’s ok? I can sleep on the other couch” You asked again, as you and John B got ready for bed. You didn’t want to sleep in your wet underwear, so he gave you a pair of his boxers and t-shirt. You got underneath the covers with him in bed. 

“I want to sleep next to you, alright?” John B said, wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you flush against his chest. You blushed as you felt something poking your stomach.

“Yea?” You asked, coyly, as you reached down, rubbing his member.

John B groaned, rocking into your hand to get more friction, before he captured your lips with his.

“We’ll have to be quiet” He whispered, before kissing you passionately. He reached over to his side table, getting a condom and putting it on his now naked dick. He turned, so he was on top of you, taking your leg and wrapping it above his hip, as his fingertips trailed inside of the boxers you wore.

“Fuck” You whispered, biting your hand so you didn’t moan as John B thrusted his dick into you.

“Oh gosh, you’re so tight” John B moaned softly, his mouth near your ear, as he thrusted quickly inside of you. Your back arched, the now familiar coil tightening in you. 

You felt his lips on your neck, sucking and biting, and in your drunk haze, you didn’t care of what could be the consequences of hickies on your neck. His hands were exploring your body, as you did your best to keep the moans in.

He wasn’t as good as Rafe, but it did make you feel good.

[kay-wren]

I'll Come Running - R.C. - Chapter 60

"Alright, that should be everything." JJ said as he loaded the last of the luggage in the car for Jessie, Rafe, and Charley. All the Pogues were now standing on the glorious front porch of the Bahamian villa with tears in their eyes as they watched the little family say their goodbyes.

Jessie took a deep breath and gave all the teens a sympathetic look. She could tell they were nervous despite their constant statement that they were adults.

"You guys will be just fine, I promise. Just because we're not here physically doesn't mean we aren't one phone call away." Jessie assured as she looked up at the group. They nodded their heads, yet some looked more convinced than others.

"I've got emergency response on speed dial if you guys need anything immediately." Rafe chimed in with just as much sympathy. "Sarah, you know where everything is." Sarah nodded in hesitant understanding as she swallowed the lump in her throat and held tightly to Wheezie.

"If you guys need anything... anything at all... you know we'll come running." Jessie said calmly, trying to be the voice of reason.

"No questions asked." Rafe reiterated.

Despite Jessie and Rafe's reassurance, the Pogues still held somber faces. Jessie looked up at her husband, both of them equally at a loss for words.

"Look guys..." John B piped up. "It's not that we're worried we're not gonna be able to take care of ourselves... we've done that for years... it's that... we're gonna miss you."

The words pierced through the couple like an arrow through flesh. They both could have sworn they felt their heart tinge and ache. Jessie deflated her posture and changed her face to one of sadness as well.

"I know guys..." Jessie said barely above a whisper as she went back up the steps to give even more hugs than they had previously. "But this isn't forever. We'll be coming back regularly and have you guys flown into Manhattan. We're gonna miss you guys even more. But we're gonna make it through this." Jessie said as she held Wheezie's tear stained face in her hands with a soft smile. The smile was clearly fake, but Jessie did her best to put on her mom face just like she did with Charley, even when her whole world was crashing and burning around her.

"Come on guys." JJ spoke up through a low tone as he walked back up the steps as well. "We gotta let them go."

With that, everyone backed away and let Jessie and Rafe and Charley get into the car. As the door closed Rafe looked over at Jessie with a close mouthed smile as he grabbed her hand and squeezed gently, silently trying to reassure her. It didn't work, as she finally let down her facade just enough to hang her head and look down at her lap.

"I can't look back." She choked out, not daring to look anywhere else.

"I can't either." Rafe admitted with a sigh.

They both knew the scene that was unfolding behind them, undoubtedly leaving their family in tears, worry, confusion, and everything in between. But they had to trust the process. And even more so, trust that they knew the plan.

Jessie remembered this gut wrenching feeling all too well, the same guilt she felt when she left JJ on her front porch four years ago. She thought in an odd way this time around it would be easier. Boy was she wrong. She couldn't determine which one stung worse. Before she could even register the tightness in her throat and the heat on her face, she felt Rafe wipe a stray tear from her cheek.

"It'll be okay, baby." He whispered as he leaned over the middle seat with her hand still in his. Jessie finally locked eyes with her husband, still seeing the same stress behind them she saw just a week ago when they first got to the island.

That was just it. Jessie didn't cry, and certainly not in big sappy moments like the one she was just apart of. Jessie wasn't crying because of what she was leaving behind. She was terrified of what she was bringing home. Throughout the past week the work calls didn't stop, they didn't even decline. Neither did the business meetings, which were always filled with yelling from Rafe's office. Inevitably, the bad attitude came along with it, whether Rafe meant for it to or not. It had just been one week and Jessie could already see that the stress was taking a toll on their relationship. And here she was about to try and build a life with this man and this company while also taking care of family halfway across the world. Jessie wasn't sure if it was a good thing that it had only been a week, maybe it wasn't enough time for things to subside just yet. That's what she chose to tell herself anyways.

She finally pulled herself far enough out of her racing thoughts to give Rafe a half hearted smile, although the sadness behind her eyes was still evident. Even though Rafe spent most of his week stressed out and a little tipsy, he still knew his Jessie, always had, and it didn't matter what he had in his system. Some things never change. He could tell she was holding back, for what reason he had no clue. After all, she was never one to hold back. Still, given the gravity of the day he just decided to let it go.

"Are you excited to see Mama and Tom?" Rafe asked. "I know they're ready to turn those phone calls into face to face visits. And hey! We're still gonna be in the same building as them until I can get us a place. And I'm already working on that!" Rafe tried to be reassuring, but the thought of one more move, especially one in an upscale glass house condo on the tip top floor of some swanky apartment complex that was on the complete opposite side of town from the Manhattan Mayhem was not at all what Jessie was prepared for. Still, she could see Rafe just trying to give the best to his girls, and she appreciated that. She tried to show that on her face. Before she could answer she heard Rafe's phone ring, and with a sigh he answered it. That thing always had the worst timing.

"Hello?"

Jessie could hear mingling on the other side of the line, and for once Rafe didn't seem irate or intensely focused on the other end. He simply nodded his head and murmured in understanding, voiced some gratitude and then hung up with a smile.

"Tanneyhill just sold!" Rafe exclaimed with a grin as he leaned further over to Jessie, looking her up and down. "And we are 7.2 million dollars richer." Rafe whispered seductively as he slowly planted a tantalizing kiss on his wife's cheek, to which she couldn't help but giggle. One thing that Rafe did manage to get done for them this week is merge their bank accounts. Suddenly the thought sunk in that she was about to have 7 million dollars in her pocket...

"What do you even do with that much money?" Jessie asked innocently as her mind raced. Rafe took notice of her wide eyes and big smile. He laughed at her adorable demeanor and cupped her face with his hand while running his thumb against her cheek.

"Whatever you want to do baby."

- - -

"Yeah if you could just have all of our stuff shipped to Central Park Tower that would be great." Rafe instructed with the phone in his hand and his suitcase in the other, not to mention a stray coat hanging off one arm and a laptop thrown into the mix. He clearly had his hands full walking down the tight hallway towards Jessie's old apartment. Jessie had her own struggle as well, as Charley insisted on being carried and she had her own luggage to tote down the awkward space. She disregarded yet another phone call that she wished Rafe wouldn't have been on. She wanted to tell him to get off the phone and help her but she knew he was simply helping in other ways.

The three of them finally reached the end of the hallway and Jessie set her toddler down to rummage through her jacket for her keys, eventually finding them. Due to all the other stuff she had in her hands she ended up dropping them amongst the luggage that was now sat on the floor for both of them. Unable to find them, Rafe finally got the hint and started looking himself as he continued talking on the phone. He finally found the keys and still through murmurs managed to unlock the door and swing the door open. Rafe was too enraptured in his phone call to notice what was happening right in front of him.

"Surpriiiiise!"

The yells rang through the tiny apartment and out into the hallway for all to hear. Jessie and Charley both gasped as they saw almost every member of the MM standing in her living room with joy filled faces and a banner that spread the width of the place. Balloons were everywhere, food on the table, and yet all Jessie could do was look over at Rafe as he awkwardly held an appreciative smile but was still clearly focused on his phone call. He felt horrible to say the least, and Jessie could see that, but boy did she wish he would just hang up the damn phone now. Rafe gave a slight wave in an attempt to be nice to everyone before him.

"Yeah, but I really need those papers sent today so I can sign them." Rafe explained a little quieter as he slowly shut the door. Of course it wasn't quiet enough considering everyone had gone silent from the awkward encounter. Jessie just tried to brush it off the best she could. Thankfully, Charley was oblivious.

"Pop pop!" The toddler screeched with the most excitement as she ran up to her grandparents. Jessie still couldn't believe the party they had thrown. Mama and Tom leaned down just in time to accept the hug Charley was about to give them. With a grunt Tom slowly got up off the ground and held Charley close.

"Hey baby doll, we sure did miss you!" Tom exclaimed. Maci simply looked toward Jessie with love as she stuck out her arms looking for a hug. Everyone else around them went back to bantering and laughing amongst themselves.

"How in the world did you guys manage all of this?!" Jessie asked with bright eyes and a beaming smile. "It's... it's perfect!"

"We couldn't stand not seeing you for one more second! Everyone else also wanted to meet Rafe..." Mama said with a smile. Although Jessie could see the joy on her face, she knew she was secretly wondering what had Rafe so distracted out in the hall. Jessie didn't dare speak about the last week she had had with her husband in front of Maci and Tom. She knew they would try to defend her and it would only turn into an argument. Besides, she could handle herself just fine and would most certainly be talking to Rafe about what just happened later.

"He's just... trying to tie up some loose ends. He'll be in in a minute I'm sure." Jessie replied with not as much confidence as Maci and Tom would have liked. They picked up on the hesitancy, and Jessie picked up on their facial expressions. Still, she chose to ignore it and walk around the party saying hello to the rest of her friends. Luckily, only a few minutes passed before Rafe sheepishly walked through the door with a guilty wide smile written all over his face. Jessie looked over to the doorway to see Rafe standing there awkwardly with his mouth open trying to figure out where his wife and daughter were. Jessie excused herself from the conversation she was having with a girl that was not much younger than her. She looked at her husband who now had one hand in his pocket and the other scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey! There you are!" Rafe beamed, trying to act as if nothing ever happened.

"Here I am." Jessie replied with a shrug of her shoulders and a half smile.

"What's wrong?" Rafe asked with furrowed brows. He was about to pull Jessie in for a hug but she dodged it by stepping back subtly. Although Rafe picked up on the minuscule act, he couldn't respond in time before he was met with a very loud shout from Maci from across the room.

"There he is!" Mama shouted as she made her way over to the tall man standing in the door. He then decided to close the door and give the blonde woman a large smile, one that was clearly fake. He bent down a little to give her a warm hug.

"How's my favorite son in law?" Mama asked with a shit eating grin as she poked at Rafe's chest playfully.

"I'm good I'm good." Rafe responded. "You guys really outdid yourselves! This place looks amazing! I'm sorry I was a little busy earlier I-"

"No need to apologize son." Tom butted in as he made his way over with the toddler in his arms. "We've had to handle business a time or two and haven't had a choice when we get to handle it."

Rafe gave Tom a half smile of appreciation. Jessie tried doing the same, but she wanted to scream. All she kept thinking was "if only you knew, Pop." This wasn't sometimes. Jessie would understand if it were. But this was all the time... at the worst times.

With that being said, they all decided to disregard the conversation and begin mingling around to all of Jessie's friends. She made sure to introduce Rafe to every one of them, and he quite enjoyed getting to see who had been taking care of his girls all these years. After an hour or so of small talk the both of them heard Maci yell over the crowd to get everyone's attention. The typical clanking of silverware against glasses would be far too fancy for the Manhattan Mayhem. Why be formal when you could scream?

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Mama said as everyone began to quiet down and look intently at the blonde at the front of the room. "I just want to take a moment to say how happy we are that you're home, Jessie."

Home. The word resonated with Rafe. All of a sudden Rafe understood why Jessie called this place home. Despite Rafe calling OBX home his entire life, in this last hour he felt more welcome than he ever had in that island paradise. No amount of banquets, no amount of midsummers, no amount of kind words from socialites and news outlets could have made Rafe feel more at home than this moment with these people in this tiny apartment. He knew Jessie felt the same way. Sure, she had the pogues... but OBX was never home to her for the same reasons as Rafe. Jessie and Rafe both saw right through the bullshit of figure 8, and they had for a long time, it was what brought them together in the first place.

"And Rafe..." Maci sing songed as she raised her solo cup. "We are so happy that Jessie has found you. Thank you for taking good care of her while she was away. We're proud to call you officially apart of our family."

Everyone raised their cup in agreement as they toasted to the reunion of the couple and of Jessie and Charley being back home. Rafe grabbed Jessie's shoulders as she stood in front of him and looked up at him with a genuine smile. He could tell she felt so loved in that moment... more loved in that moment than she had been in the past week by him...

Although Rafe should have continued to feel the warm fuzzies, all he could think about was the fact that he hadn't been loving Jessie right. He just couldn't quite figure out how to fix that just yet.

[hellfirenacht]

Can’t Be Unseen Chapter 7

Sal Fisher x Reader

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

AO3

Notes: We continue

The distant sound of cars echoed from under the overpass. It was dark, and snow glittered off the side of the road under the moonlight as you, Sal, Larry, and Ashley trudged your way through. The party that Ashley’s parents had been hosting had long since been abandoned in everyone’s plans, as it was made clear that the party was more for the parents than you all. Not that it mattered, the second someone suggested you ditch and celebrate somewhere else everyone had packed up the snacks, snuck a few bottles of wine, and bundled up to make the way down to anywhere else.

The overpass a few blocks down the road seemed like a good place to set up camp. You had just returned a few hours earlier, barely having the time to set your stuff down before hopping in the van with Sal and Larry to head off to Ashley’s parents house. You were tired, damn near exhausted after not having slept very well the previous night, but you wanted to see your friends.

And they had wanted to see you as well. Sal and Larry damn near tackled you to the ground with hugs when you stepped off the elevator into the basement of the apartments. They had been waiting for you all day, so worried you weren’t going to make it with all of the snow that had fallen over the past two weeks.

“It wasn’t the same here for Christmas without you.” Sal had said.

“We tried to watch some cheesy B-movies that had to do with the holidays, but without your zingers it didn’t feel right.” Larry had added. “We still ripped the movie to shreds, but it wasn’t as fun without you.”

Your heart melted at the comments from your two best friends. After two weeks away, having had time to sort out your thoughts, there was a relief in being home with them.

Of course, you still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Larry. But with the New Years party tonight, there wasn’t exactly a good time to bring up how the two of you made out before you left. You needed to talk about it.

‘Soon’ you told yourself.

Despite being the middle of winter, it wasn't as cold as it could have been. Everyone dumped their party bags next to the underpass slope. Ashley pulled out a bottle of wine and uncorked it, taking a sip and passing it to you, who took a sip and passed it to Sal, who reached into his bag and pulled out a crazy straw to stick in it.

It seemed like four lifetimes ago that you two won those at the festival. The memory no longer burned you, no longer made your stomach twist in knots with guilt. Now the site of him using that straw for some underage drinking just made you laugh. Sal turned to hand the bottle to Larry, but he was rifling through his bag.

“The booze is over here, Larry.” you called out.

“I’m looking for something else” he called back over his shoulder, elbow deep into his backpack. “Here it is!” Larry’s arm started shaking and a faint rattling sound echoed through the open tunnel. When he stood up he was holding a can of spray paint. “I’ve been meaning to try out a new medium.”

“Underage drinking, weed, and spray painting.” Ashley shook her head and laughed. “We’re gonna get in so much trouble if we get busted.”

“‘If’ being the key word.” you chimed in, taking the bottle back from Sal and taking a long sip. It wasn’t your first time drinking, your parents had let you have the occasional drink inside the apartment since you were sixteen. If you were honest, you were glad that the cabin never had any signal, as one night you had a bit more than you could reasonably handle and had considered sending some texts to your friends that probably would not have been the smartest. Your parents had only laughed at you slurred words and stumbling, gave you water and an Advil and sent you off to bed.

It was nice to have parents that trusted you and gave a shit.

“We’ve done more questionable things.” said Sal, taking the bottle back from you. You hadn’t even thought about it, but you had used his straw. Oops. If it bothered him, he didn’t say anything. “Remember that time we snuck into the principal's office to get back Larry’s confiscated ‘soda’ can?”

“That was not my fault!” Larry called out, sizing up the large empty slab of concrete in front of him. “I thought I grabbed a real soda that morning!”

Ashley laughed. “You were still high! You had detention and me and Sal had to get that fake can back before they realized what it actually was.”

“You saved my ass is what you did. Mom would have murdered me before I even got charged with possession.” Larry stepped forward and started in with the spray paint.

The four of you reminisce about the times of teenage rebellion over the past few years. So many wonderful memories about causing trouble, covering for each other, and fun memories about sneaking around. In a few months, those days would be behind you all. With Sal being the last of the group to turn 18, there were few things left to be sneaky about.

Soon you could do whatever you wanted, within reason, legally.

The bottle was back in your hands as you chatted, now over half gone. There was a pleasant buzz in the back of your head as you took another sip. Not enough to be sloppy, but enough to relax and remove some inhibitions.

“Larry, you want some of this?” You called out as he finished with his painting. It looked like it was a stylized version of his name, but it was hard to tell. Why did so many graffiti tags have to be nearly impossible to read?

“In a sec, I gotta clean my hands,” Larry said, setting down the can. “Then I definitely could use some of that”

“You want some wine too?” you teased with a wink that he couldn’t even see because his back was to you. It felt good to flirt again, even though there was a small part in the back of your brain that said that maybe you should talk to him first before acting like old times.

That piece of you could shut it.

“You’re flirty sober, so it shouldn’t surprise me that you’ll crank it up when you’re buzzed too.” Ashley said before Larry could respond.

“Who am I to deny that my friends are hot?” you giggled through the straw before Sal took it back taking his own sip.

Sal had been quiet for a bit now, and you could have  sworn that he had been staring at you tonight. It was hard to tell, as you had stayed on the side of him that had the fake eyeball. But through the night you could feel a gaze on you, and with Larry at the wall and Ashley looking you in the eyes it had to be Sal.

Music started playing. Larry had pulled out a small speaker from his bag and had hooked his phone up to it. Excitement filled you as you grabbed Ashley’s hand and spun her around, demanding that she join you in a dance. She only laughed and shook her head but let you lead her around the area under the bridge in a stumbling and silly dance. You attempted to dip her, but that did not go well for either of you as you both slipped and stumbled to the ground laughing.

“So, does this mean you’ve finally fallen for me, Ash?” you giggled as you both got to your feet, brushing off any dirt.

“If it wasn’t for Jamie, you’d have my heart” she laughed.

You gripped at your shirt above your heart. “Rejected again!” you fake sobbed. “My poor heart, how will I ever recover?”

“I’m sure you’ll live.” she clapped your shoulder, leading you back towards the boys who were jamming out to the music. The two of you hopped in, letting the music take control of your body and mind. The alcohol relaxed you, allowing your brain to calm and focus on just being here with the people you loved.

A familiar hand grasped onto yours and gave you a quick spin. Larry made sure you were kept steady as he spun you around and around and around by the hand. Your mind was swimming and dizzy but there was joy and comfort and safety here. When his hand slipped from yours, you stumbled back, thudding against something.

Sal had caught you, his arms wrapped around your waist and shoulders. He kept you steady as your brain caught up to the rest of you. “Thanks!” you said, panting slightly.

“No problem.” he said, making no move to let go. A few months ago this would have sent you heart pounding and your cheeks red. Okay, if you were being honest there was still a small part of you that was flushed from the gesture as well as the cold. It didn’t help that he just kept... looking at you. His expression was completely unreadable with the mask right then.

“What?” you giggled. “Something on my face?”

Sal shook his head, “No”

“Have Ashley take a picture, or subscribe to my private snapchat” you gave him a good old fashioned over dramatic wink.

“Maybe I should.” Was there... a slight stutter in his voice? Was it the cold? “You look really good. And hot.”

Your eyes widened and he quickly stood you back up fully, the tips of his ears bright red. You were in disbelief at the words. It seemed so unlike him to say that, say things like that. It had to be the wine. You decided, absolutely. He wouldn’t be so cruel as to flirt sincerely after everything, right?

“Why, Salamander Xavier Fisher, are you  flirting  with me?” You gave him a playful nudge.

The sound of a bag of chips immediately distracted you from the boy in front of you. Ashley and Larry had pulled out the snacks and you were starving. You hurried over to partake in the salty joy, Ashley cracking open a second bottle of wine that she was sharing between herself and Larry.

The four of you passed the bottles around and tore through the snacks like no one’s business. Laughter echoed off the concrete walls as you reminisced about the past year.

“I need to pee.” Sal said, standing up and walking outside of the ove pass to find a private spot. Larry watched him for a moment and stood up.

“Hey, come over here for a second.” Larry said to you, offering a hand. You took it, and he hauled you to your feet before leading you to the opposite side of the bridge. Ashley had pulled out her phone, making sure that no one was looking for all of you at the party you had originally been invited to.

“What’s up?” you asked, but you knew what was up. Being mildly intoxicated might not have been the best move for this conversation, but it was happening anyway.

“I just want to make sure we’re alright.” Larry said, seriously. “After the party we didn’t really get a chance to talk about what happened.”

You couldn’t stop the blush from rising up your cheeks as you remember that night on the couch, sobering you slightly.

“I want us to be alright. That night, I-” you closed your eyes to clear your head, but the fog of the buzz made it a bit difficult. “I don’t regret what happened. But I also don’t think I want to date right now.”

Larry’s shoulder sagged and you panicked, worried that you just broke your friend’s heart. But instead, he let out a relieved laugh. “Oh, thank fuck I was worried.” he admitted. “I didn’t want to lead you on. I don’t regret it either, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t ever want to do it again.”

“I don’t blame you, I  am  pretty irresistible.” you tossed your hair with a smirk. “I can’t keep people off me, too hot and charming for my own good, really.”

Larry pulled you into a hug and you wrapped your arms around his middle, relaxing. It felt good knowing that you didn’t screw anything up with him either. Sal had already been so hard to get over, if this had happened with Larry as well you wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself.

You make a mental note to not try and get with Ashley, that would be overboard. Not that you had any real interest in her, she was taken after all. Dating within the friend group was just too complicated, and your friendships with them were far too important.

You pulled Larry in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before the two of you made your way back towards Ashley and Sal who had rejoined the group. Sal was struggling to get the last dregs of some hand sanitizer out of the bottle.

“Just keep shaking and pumping it, and it’ll come out eventually” you teased. “That’s how it usually works, right?”

Sal just snorted. “Yeah, usually. Something like that.” He finally managed to get a satisfying amount on his hands before tossing the bottle in the grocery bag you all had decided to use for trash. Just because you all were breaking the law, didn’t mean you wanted to litter.

“So how much longer until midnight?” asked Larry.

Ashley checked her phone. “About a half hour”

“Well, I’m just drunk enough that I don’t want to be bringing in the new year underneath a bridge.” Larry decided. “Let’s find somewhere else to be.”

There were no objections from you or the others, though Ashley did stop in front of his tag to snap a picture. “Anything you want to say about this piece?” she asked.

“It’s our names.” Larry said, making everyone immediately turn around to get a closer look. Larry’s name had been obvious, with a stylised L and Y. Looking closer, you could each see that the letters twisted into each of your names as well. You had to be looking for it, looking closer to decipher the twists and turns of the paint but there you were- there you all were.

“Holy shit.” Sal breathed. “How long have you been working on that?”

“A few months now.” Larry shrugged. “I figured if I was gonna tag something, I wanted it to be something that would last as long as the art itself, so I picked us.”

“That’s the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said.” said Ashley as she looked over the tag one more time.

“That’s really fucking incredible.” You added. “You should be proud of yourself.”

“Oh don’t worry, I am.” he laughed. “Think of it as my holiday present to you guys.”

“Oh shit, presents!” you groaned. “I knew I was forgetting something. I have souvenirs for everyone back at home that I totally forgot about.”

Sal reached a hand out to rest it on your shoulder. “It’s okay.” he reassured you. “You being here in time for the new year is enough for us.”

There it was, that unreadable look in his eye again. The darkness of the overpass combined with his prosthetic was giving him... something. Fuck, you might have had a bit too much wine tonight. You were hardly thinking straight now, and it didn’t help that Sal’s good eye was shining with the reflection of the snow which contrasted with the intensity of the way he was looking at you, or the way his hair was a silvery blue in the moonlight-

“Ah.... thank you. Please excuse me.” you said, walking off to a nearby snowbank, grabbing a chunk of snow and pressing your warmed face against it.

“That’s where I peed.” Sal called out in a deadpan voice.

You replied with a shriek and immediately chucked it at him as he laughed and dodged. “I’m kidding!” he yelled as you threw another chunk of snow at him.

“Salvador Elizabeth Fisher, I’m gonna shove this snow down your throat- and  not in a sexy way!” you laughed, making your way back over to him. Larry and Ashley were busy packing up your goodies for the night and were wrapped up in their own conversation now, talking shop about art and photography probably.

Sal moved closer to you, your shoulders touching. “I thought everything you did was sexy.” he laughed. It was a different sort of laugh. Genuine, playful, but maybe a bit lower? He was tugging at his gloves, as if he couldn’t decide to keep them on or take them off. His ears were red, but it was so cold out.

“You... are drunk” you decided, nudging him. “Oh shit, all those meds you’re on- are you even allowed to be drinking?” Worry suddenly shot through you.

“Not really.” His shoulders relaxed slightly. “Pretty much every medication says to not mix with alcohol. I’ll be fine though, I didn’t drink a lot and it just means I can get drunk for cheaper. You were the one hogging the bottle.”

“You expect me to control myself with a bottle and a crazy straw?” you laughed. “Clearly, you don’t know me.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Before you could respond to that very cryptic sentence, Larry and Ashley returned and handed you each a bag.

“Larry has decided that we are going to the park.” Ashley said.

“It’s not like there’s a lot of places we can hang out at this late at night.” Larry shrugged. “I figured it’d be better than finishing off the night here or at the other party.”

“No objections here.” Sal said, looking at you.

There was a question in your eyes, but Sal’s didn’t answer yours. “Yeah, yeah I’m good to go to the park.” you managed, turning to Ashley and Larry.

It wasn’t a long trek to the park. You walked down past Ashley’s house again where you all stopped to pee, make a polite appearance, and drop off your trash. Then it was another few blocks to an empty playground, where you all immediately climbed up to settle in for the next ten minutes.

“So, what do you want to do next year?” Sal asked the group while looking at you.

You thought about it. “I’m not sure. Honestly, I’m so used to moving around that I didn’t think I’d be here this long.” you admitted. “My parents want me to go to college next year, but I’m thinking of maybe a trade school instead.”

“I’m applying for art school.” Ashley piped in. “I’ve been working on my portfolio all semester, and I have a few schools in mind.”

“Mom wants me to keep going to school, but I doubt we’d have the money for it, and scholarships are out with my grades.” sighed Larry. “I’m happy to just get my diploma and get to work somewhere.”

“I haven’t decided what I want to do either.” Sal said. “I’m probably just going to try and find a job too. If anyone will hire me that is.”

“I’d hire you.” you said. “Don’t know what I’d hire you for, but I’d hire you.”

He snorted. “I’ll play you guitar every day and get you snacks.”

“You’re hired. Immediately. When can you start?”

Sal responded by pulling out a bag of cookies and handing it to you.

“Motherfucker, are you trying to make me fall in love or something?”  Again?! You accepted the bag, shoving a cookie into your mouth. Sal said something that you couldn't quite catch over the crunching of the snack and the swimming feeling in your head.

Talk continued between the 4 of you, with Ashley keeping an eye on the time. At some point you stopped responding, closing your eyes to just take in the night and the chill and the warmth of those you loved.

You felt Sal's warmth next to you as Larry began a countdown. Your eyes remained closed, breathing steady. Each second that counted down to your midnight weighing on you. Soon you'd be back home in bed and you'll be able to rest before school starts. You though of what was to come next; spring break, prom, graduation, and then the final summer vacation.

It was exciting to think about.

"3"

You never want to forget nights like this.

"2"

With the friends that stood by you, stayed with you, and never made you feel unwanted.

"1"  Click.

Something pressed against your cheek. It was soft, warm, and pleasant. So much so that you didn't open your eyes until it pulled away. Slowly you opened your eyes and turned just in time to see Sal readjusting the prosthetic to his face. from even under the light of the full moon you could see the misshapen jawline as he pressed everything back in place.

"Happy new year" Sal said, taking your hand. You smiled at him as Larry started blasting music again, echoing the cheers of distant parties and the fireworks that now were littering the skies.  

[itsanerdlife]

Twisted Love 6

Pairing: Clint Barton x Castle!Reader

Warnings: Death. Tragedy. Loss. Cheating. Spicy, let’s just say that. It’s gonna be spicy.

Oh yeah there’s Smut, like early on. I’m not even sorry.

In a dark world, the one thing you don’t want is to find out the one you trust, who you’d give your life up for, isn’t as faithful as you thought.               When tragedy pulls my marriage apart, at the seams. Everything seems to just get worse from there. Only my husband isn’t going to let things go that easy, I find that out when he drags me back home.                     The only D we agree to, was till Death and that just might be the only thing left.   But for who?

“Who is Sophia?” Frank glares at him.

He storms after his wife.

“I have some things to do today tell T to get ready.” She casually calls back at him.

“Who is Brock?” Frank snarls after them.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Clint demands.

“Don’t worry Shug, I’m stocked up on plan B, Brock wasn’t much for suiting up either.” She laughs lightly, a smug dangerous grin on her lips.

“Excuse me?!” Her father blanches.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Sweets.” He warns her through his teeth.

“Why?” Her head tips, the ruined messy bun completely gone, long strands falling over her shoulder. She slips a step closer to him. “Should I ask who you’ve been coming in while I’ve been away?” Her brown jerks up.

“You don’t get to disrespect me while I’m still leaking down your thighs.” He bares his teeth.

“Oh I walked into the wrong part of that conversation.” Barney groans joining them.

“Someone better start answering my questions!” Her father barks loudly. “Who is Brock?”

“Your daughters boyfriend.”

She shrugs.

“Well actually,” Barney chuckles, she turns to glare at her brother in law. “he was my breakfast date.” He grins with pride.

Y/N shakes her head not bothering to remark on that.

“Meaning what?” Frank wonders.

“Clint killed him. Barney disposed of him.” She rolls her eyes.

“You knew he was a dead man the second he opened his mouth in that club.” Barney shrugs.

“Club?” Franks blinks at them.

“I was working in a club, in lingerie for dollars, daddy.” She beams at her father, proudly.

“This is how we die.” Barney swallows.

“Fuck.” Clint drags his hand over his face.

“If I’m being honest it was a sex club for dollars.” She corrects herself.

“Well it wasn’t for dollars kitten, smallest bill you had was a twenty.” Barney chuckles under his breathe.

Clint glares at his brother.

Frank pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Your mother is rolling in her grave.” Frank grumbles.

“Tell me it’s a lie, Y/N.” Clint sighs heavily, his chest tightening.

“What would be a lie?” She bats her eyes at him.

His jaw clenches, glaring at her. “Don’t play dumb.” He warns.

“Guess I’m just dumb.” She sasses back.

“Tell me it’s a lie anyone else, another man is coming in you!” He yells suddenly.

“Oh fuck.” T appears next to Frank. Who looks to be praying to the ceiling.

She licks her lips, staring back at him. Something dark flashes in her eyes.

“I’m not the only one you’re coming in.” Her voice light like a whisper but packed with a right hook blow.

Frank turns to glare at him.

Barney swallows hard.

“Don’t worry, Clint.” She pats his cheek light with a smug grin. “Plan B doesn’t expire, you can keep pretending you love me, and you won’t have to worry about any repercussions of it.” She steps back, looking to T.

“Be a dear and send like a hundred boxes to Sophia, that should keep her stocked for like two – three months, you know how Clint gets some weeks.” She waves her hand dismissively.

“That’s enough Y/N.” He growls at her.

“We could get divorced.” She throws out, smirking at him. Leaving the four of them shocked and silent.

“Y/N.” Franks warns.

“Easy Kitten.” Barney blinks wildly.

“We said till Death. The only D that will ever end this marriage.” He reminds her.

She shrugs. “You or me, Darlin?”

The seriousness in her voice, the ice cold in her eyes. This wasn’t a ploy to rile him up, to pick a fight. She meant this.

“T get ready, I have something’s to do today.” She smirks at him.

“It’s never a good feeling when you grin like that.” T sighs.

“Just evening the playing field.” She smirks.

With that she turns leaving them. The door of the room she’s staying in closed a moment later.

“Who is Sophia?” Frank snarls at him.

“You are not my issue right now Frank. I have to deal with your unstable, crazy ass daughter!” He heads for his bedroom. “And don’t you think about doing anything she told you too T!” He demands before opening his bedroom door.

“He does realize she will kill me first?” T asks quietly.

“I’ll do it!” Barney volunteers.

“Charles!” Clint calls after his brother.

“He’s long gone.” T calls back.

“What the Fuck is happening in this fucking house!?” Frank demands.

It’s quiet for a moment.

“I fucked up with your daughter and I’m about to repent for my sins… in the worst of ways.” He relies closing the door to his room.

----------

Lights change slowly. Pretty woman, wander around. The music in time with the lights.

Deep black hair, meets the small of her back. Emerald green eyes. Full lips and a pretty face, and body most men would pay to lick.

“Are you a vouyer or just bashful?” She flashes a dazzling and alluring smile.

“Maybe both?” Smiling at her from my seat in the wide leather chair.

“Most vouyers aren’t woman in my experience.” She tucks a strand of hair back.

“Why do men get to have all the fun?” Sipping from my glass.

“Looking to have some fun today?” She offers.

“I was actually hoping you could tell me if you were hiring?” Tipping my head.

“At the club? Yeah, we are. I can grab a manager for you.” She offers with a wave of her hand behind her.

“Please?” I grin at her.

She nods leaving quickly.

“That is not the way I thought that was going to go.” T leans over speaking close to my ear.

“Who said I’m done?” I grin at him.

He shakes his head for a moment. “You planning to fuck your husbands mistress too?” He lifts a brow at me.

A grin on my lips, dragging my bottom lips, shrugging a shoulder.

“I have to know how she’s better than me to steal my husband.” I smirk at him.

“Listen to me.” He snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Do not, you hear me, do not kill this woman in public.” He stares back at me.

“I’m not.” I laugh.

“Yeah lookin like Harley Quinn over there. Like you aren’t ready to snap her neck and parade her body around like Shamo at Sea World.” He rolls his eyes.

“Shamo did it right, he bite off the parts. I could always gift my husband with hers.” I point out to him. He sighs, glaring at me.

“That’s not what you were supposed to take from that.”

“I know” I grin as Sophia and what I can only assume is the manager come towards us.

“Clint going to kill us.” T sighs.

“Fair is only fair.” I laugh.

------------------------------ Everything Peaches 12/8/22 @mo320 @ml7010 @irepeldirt @joannie95 @nunu2888 @coley0823 @rileyloves5 @sexyvixen7 @duckestylez @abschaffer2 @genius2050 @drayshadow @shirukitsune @xoxabs88xox @rosalynshields @destiel-artemis @hookslove1592 @royal-sunflower @iwillbeinmynest @bellamy-barnes @geeksareunique @fanfic-n-tabulous @spookygrantaire @steel-blue-eyess @mariekoukie6661 @capsheadquaters @bless-my-demons @notyourtypicalrose @lets-talk-about-xyz @loving-life-my-way @shinycupcakebaker @also-fangirlinsweden @stupendous-science @daughterofthenight117 @dandelionsmarkthegrave @physically-a-cheesecake @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​

Clint ‘Destory Me, I’ll Thank You’ Barton: @nickyl316h​

[pansexual-puppy-pack]

@theoraekenapperciation 's theo week 2023: day 4: part of the pack

Of all the people in the McCall Pack, Theo hadn't expected Corey to be among the first people to have his back.

But here Corey was, sitting on the edge of Liam's bed, only five feet away from Theo, sprawled in its center. Liam and Mason were downstairs getting snacks. They had to get to a pack meeting in an hour.

"What's this?" Corey asked him, handing Theo his textbook. "3a."

Theo looked over the question, although it acted as more of a backdrop to his train of thought.

What remained of the once-feared chimera pack could fit on a double bed. A year ago, Theo would've rolled in his grave knowing that.

"It's c." Theo answered, handing the biology textbook back. "A and b refer to animals. D is close, but no cigar."

Corey stayed silent as he took notes. Theo took the opportunity to listen to his heartbeat.

Curious thing about Corey Bryant; his heart never seemed to stick to a consistent rhythm.

Since it never seemed to bring up any major issues, Theo never mentioned it. (He guessed it was part of his genetic chimera-isms. Probably a heart condition?)

Theo and Corey didn't talk to each other much after Theo was freed from the Skinwalker prison. Everytime he and Corey were in the same room, Corey's heartrate would skyrocket, his scent would spike, and he'd find some way to excuse himself. (But really, could anyone blame him?)

So what changed that made Corey so convinced tbat he could be good for the McCall Pack?

Theo asked himself this again when they arrived at the McCall household, when Liam and Corey started defending him in from of Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Malia.

"Are you really letting his happen, Corey?" Stiles asked, exasperated.

"Would you believe me if I said this was my idea?" Corey told him.

The conversation turned into an argument turned into a shouting match. Mason was standing off to the side. (Theo couldn't blame him.)

"He saved my life!" Liam yelled, halting the debate and silencing the room. Numerous hearts beated in Theo's ears, blood pumping with adrenaline and anger. "At least like, four times already! That's gotta be worth something."

Stiles bit his lip. Malia glared at Liam. Lydia pulled her lips into a thin line. Scott had that pained expression on his face when he wanted to say something someone else won't want to hear.

"You called him to help." Liam said, facing Scott. He pointed at Scott, then at Theo. "You. Called him. No one forced you to. No one asked you to. You made that choice. That means something, and I think you know what."

Scott stood silently in thought.

The rest of the room stayed that way, too, because they all knew that it was his opinion that mattered the most.

Scott looked up at Theo, who had been quiet the whole time. He didn't know how to defend himself like Liam did. "Theo?"

Theo pushed off the wall, meeting his gaze.

"What do you think?" Scott asked.

Theo looked at Liam and Corey before he answered. They gave him reassuring nods. "I think you already know what I want. Ghost Riders, remember?"

Scott nodded, approaching him with an outstretched hand.

Stiles threw his hands up in defeat behind him, Malia groaning and Lydia sighing in tandem. (Theo thought he heard Mason let out a relieved breath.)

"It's going to be a long, rocky ride." Scott said, placing his other hand on Theo's shoulder. "But I think you've proved yourself."

Theo nodded, copying his motion.

"There's gonna be more like this," Scott said lightly, nodding to a disgruntled Stiles, Lydia and Malia, who had all taken up space on the couch. "But trust me, they'll come around eventually."

Theo eyed his arm for a second before taking it and shaking.

"Welcome to the Pack, Theo." Scott said with a smile.

Liam cheered and high-fived Corey. Stiles and Malia let out matching swears. Lydia looked away.

Theo allowed himself a small smile. "Thanks for having me."

(p.s.: all days will be uploaded to ao3! days 1-3 (minus the artwork) are already up :))

[critter-genfic-events]

Critter Genfic Bingo!

Critter Gen Week starts in one week! From August 17 - 23rd, we’ll be hosting a week of art, meta, and gen fic for critical role.

But what if you just found out about Critter Gen Week, or life happened and you didn’t get as far as you’d hoped?

Well, we’re having Critter Genfic Bingo!

The dragon is by Icongeek26, the D20 is by Michelle Lukezic, both from The Noun Project.

How this works: Starting on August 24th, there will be a form you can fill out with a couple of questions.  Once you fill it out, we’ll send you your own customized bingo card. Then, write a gen fic to fill in a prompt square, and try to get bingo! Any fic that is a prompt fill can be added to a collection, and if you get bingo, you’ll get a nifty image as a reward.

Have more questions? Then -

What kind of questions are you asking me? We’ll need a way to contact you for your bingo card. But mostly, it’ll be on what mix of prompts you want:

General Prompts - Everybody gets these

Critter Gen Week Prompts - If you already participated in gen week, you might not want these, but if you missed out, here you go!

Whump Prompts - The hurt/comfort stuff. Or hurt, no comfort.

Typically Romantic Prompts - Do you want to subvert some romantic tropes? Write a coffeeshop AU focusing on running a coffee shop? Have people share a bed platonically? Go for it.

The last question is to see if you have any suggestions for prompts that we haven’t covered yet. It might or might not show up on your card!

I’d like to see a prompt list. Sure thing, here you go: Genfic Bingo. Remember, you don’t have to fill out every single prompt on your card to get bingo, so don’t worry too much about the things you don’t want to do.

When is this due? There is no due date - This is a rolling event - meaning it doesn’t have a start or stop. You can request a bingo card at any time, and you can turn in your bingo card whenever.

What do you mean ‘get bingo’? For the purposes of this event, bingo includes any horizontal, vertical or diagonal line with prompts filled. We’re also counting it as bingo if you fill all four corners. The middle space is a ‘free space’ and you automatically get it.  You do not have to fill all 24 prompts to win!

I know you just said that I don’t have to fill all 24 prompts to win, but I took that as a challenge. If you do a full blackout with 24 prompts filled, you’ll get a special image for being an overachiever and my respect.

Do I have to do a separate fic for each prompt? nope!

Okay, I wrote my fic. What now? If it’s on tumblr, tag it critter genfic bingo  and we’ll reblog it. If it’s on AO3, we’ll add it to a collection.

I got bingo! How do I get my sweet sweet badge of honor? You’ll fill out a form! I’m going to be asking you for a) the contact name and b) which tropes you used, and link to the fics

By gen, do you mean general audience? Nope. There is no requirement for this to be child friendly. Put your blorbos in the blender as much as you choose.

What counts as gen fic? We’re defining gen fic as fanfic that does not have romantic or sexual relationships as the main focus of the work. If any romantic or sexual relationships could be removed from the story and the story would have the same general amount of emotional and logical coherency, or the relationship all happens off screen, it’s probably gen.

Genre definitions are always a little slippery, and we’re not cops. We’re trusting the participants to be acting in good faith. If you think it’s predominantly gen, then it counts.

I’m more of an artist. Can I participate? So this event was thought of as more of a way to bring visibility to gen fic, but if you want a prompt list anyway, you can still ask for the bingo card. 

I want to talk to other critter fic writers or have a place to brainstorm some of my ideas: Check out the writer’s corner! It's got space for prompts, sprints, and other writers willing to be soundboards! If you’re interested, message @professor-rye

I have questions you didn't answer! We also have an askbox!

[ordinaryschmuck]

Quick Thoughts on Secret Invasion...The Comic event. Not the Show.

So, with Secret Invasion coming out in a week, I thought I'd share my thoughts that no one asked for on the event it's based on. Because this is actually the first time I have read the entire source material before throwing myself into the adaptation, mainly because I had the time and was always curious about what it was about. And truth be told...it's okay?

I mean, I feel like this is one of the instances where the source material is outclassed by an adaptation. And I'm not talking about the MCU because...that's not out yet. I'm talking about Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Yeah, the show with a TV-Y7-FV rating somehow manages to do better than a comic event geared toward teens and adults. And there are a few reasons for that.

#1. The event rarely doesn’t move forward.

In the comics, so much about Secret Invasion focuses on flashbacks to explain how the invasion happened in the first place and tie-ins that show what other characters were doing at the time. While the flashbacks are necessary, it takes the momentum out of the present story. As for the tie-ins, they're unnecessary. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's some fun to be had, like...

Deadpool training Skrull clones of himself to become as insane as him.

War Machine turning into a giant mech to fight off enemy ships.

Thor defending a town from god-killing Skrulls

And Black Panther defending Wakanda from another faction of Skrulls.

There are a lot of fun side stories and tie-ins but could skip a lot of it and miss nothing. All you really need to keep track of are the Avengers and the Thunderbolts. Speaking of which...

#2. It focuses mostly on the Avengers.

Three comic titles were about the Avengers at this time. You have The New Avengers, The Mighty Avengers, and The Avengers Initiative. The only ones who had prominence in the event were the Thunderbolts, and that's about it. A fun thing about events is seeing how all the heroes react to it while feeling like they're part of a larger story, but here it's mostly about the Avengers. And sure, everyone was practically an Avenger at that time, but the universe doesn't always revolve around them. I want to see the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy showing up for that final battle against the Skrulls or all of their fights to stop them from feeling like they make a difference rather than shoved off to the side in a skippable story.

I read a story where Thor wielded Mjölnir and Stormbreaker to kill a god-killing Skrull...and you can skip the whole thing. That's frustrating.

And it's extra frustrating because...

#3. The premise is great, but the execution is NOT.

The idea is that Earth has been invaded by Skrulls, only this time, it's done in a way where NO ONE can detect them. Not by spider-sense, magic, or telepathy. NOTHING. They're completely hidden, and Avengers have no idea who to trust. That is a fascinating idea for an event...There are just a few problems with that.

A. It's incredibly vague how the Skrulls can hide themselves so well. The best explanation we get is that a clone of Reed Richards figured something out...and that's it. They never say HOW he figured it out. They just say that he DID.

B. They only really play around with this premise in flashbacks, which, as I've said, ruins the momentum of the present story.

C. Most of this premise is wasted on Avengers fighting Super Skrulls instead of the ones inside their faction.

And D. The best usage of that premise is when it should be painfully obvious who's a Skrull and who isn't.

At one point, the NEW Avengers and the MIGHTY Avengers go to the Savage Lands to investigate a crashed ship that holds Skrulls disguised as them but in outfits from the seventies/eighties, all in a way to play with the Avenger's heads about whether or not the invasion has been planned for that long. Absolutely NO ONE should have fallen for that, yet they all do. It's honestly frustrating that these heroes who have been doing this shit for decades NEVER picked up an obvious trap as it was literally punching them in the face.

And it's here where I get to how Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes does all of this better.

It starts early on to tell the audience that Skrulls have invaded factions of superheroes, including the Avengers. For almost half of Season Two, we see our heroes deal with this as it happens in the background as the audience knows who the Skrull is while our heroes remain clueless.

It makes sense why it's about the Avengers because...Well, it's a SHOW about the AVENGERS. I mind it less when a big story focuses slowly on the Avengers when it's abundantly clear that the Avengers are the sole focus of the story and no one else. Especially when this show takes place in a universe where heroes are starting out and are more unprepared for something like a Secret Invasion.

And finally, it executes the premise perfectly, having a Skrull mess with the Avengers and subtly tricking them instead of letting a gigantic fight against Super Skrulls be the crux of the invasion. It's all interesting to see and a lot more of what I expected going in when reading this event from start to finish. Only to be... disappointed.

There are some fun stories, cool fights, and solid character work in Secret Invasion, but it's still an event that feels more carried by its premise than its actual story. A cool premise for sure, but too much bogs it down. I'd sooner attempt to read Secret Wars again. That actually had a cool premise with even better execution from the...VERY LITTLE that I've read.

Still, would this mean the MCU's take on the story will be any better? Well...depends on how well they play with this "Who can you trust?" aspet. But if you want a better version of the story, just watch Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

In fact, just watch that show in general. It's SO good.

[rafecameronsslxt]

Hooked

Warnings: angst, guns, and FLUFF!!! (Finally)

Synopsis: Adriana's break turns into clearing John B's name with her friends and happens to find her reincarnated ones.

Rafe Cameron x OC

Part EIGHT (Can be read as stand alone)

Masterlist

Part ONE- Part TWO- Part THREE- Part FOUR- Part FIVE- Part SIX- Part SEVEN

I'll make sure to give actual updates about the baby in the next one, swear. A little short too.

Yet another phone call from Rafe, which I decided to accept after the last ten declined calls. “What.” My voice was stern and agitated as I lay in bed. He clears his throat nervously. “I’m going to the Bahamas tomorrow. Thought you needed to know.” I can practically feel Rafe tensing up from the other side. “That’s good, have fun.” It was a short and simple response. I couldn’t help but bite my lip. This was good for us, right? Rafe was getting time alone, which we needed, but doubts started forming in my mind about my decision. “Yeah, great. Uhm, so how’s the baby.” His voice was calm and timid to the ear. I sat up against the cushioned white headboard and sighed. “Good, definitely misses his daddy, considering he is kicking the shit out of me right now.” I laugh a little, but inside, my organs stop at every sentence from Rafe’s mouth. A breathy laugh comes from the other side. 

   If this is what co-parenting is, I don’t want it. The awkwardness of talking to each other hurts, and I never imagined my child being raised with split parents… It won’t happen. 

   “I miss you.” Such a complicated sentence, Rafe says, with too much abandon. Open-ended and waiting for me to say something. After a minute, I finally said, “I have to go- but I love you.” My throat started closing, making me stammer over my quiet words. “I love you too.” He mumbled back, and I hung up. 

   Little tears fell as Rafe’s compelling voice wandered through my mind. I miss him. I do, but the memories of this evening taint my doubts. This week was for me to remedy negative energy and focus on something other than the boy who was exclusively destroying our relationship. 

   Or, well, getting dragged into trying to exonerate John B’s name by whom called Limbrey, who can help us and lives in Charleston eight hours away and in Pope’s dads’ truck which indefinitely wouldn’t make it eight hours.

   After Kiara is done arguing with her parents, we get moving. 

   Kiara’s parents are protective and not as bad as she thinks they are. Maybe her dad, but her mom loves her dearly, and sometimes as teenagers, they take advantage of their parents, but they handle the situation so harshly with Kiara. 

   We drive to the port and get on the ferry with the 90s-looking truck. I listen to the others talk while we sit in the bed of the white and blue truck. I also didn’t want to say anything about the weed because they seemed to need a breather; on the other hand, my abdomen was aching. It wasn’t the baby, just soreness settling in. “By best bet, you mean trusting someone who could be a complete killer.” I lean my head back, watching Pope nod. “You sound like JJ,” Kie remarks, staring aimlessly into the ocean. 

   JJ and Kiara begin to fall into their world with each other and weed. 

   I carefully make my way out of the bed to Pope’s side. He always looks so stressed. “You might get stress lines if you worry too much.” My voice is playful as Pope’s mouth inches upwards. “You’ll buy me kook aging products if that happens.” His shoulder collides with mine. Our languid nature changes to a more lively conversation. 

   It also makes me realize I haven’t had a normal one-on-one conversation with Pope in a while, and I desired this normalcy with Pope again that didn’t include Rafe beating him senselessly or me apologizing for the errors of Rafe’s atrocious actions. 

   I smile to myself. 

   We discussed the questionable letter when the truck’s hood started producing smoke and Pope attempted to pull over. The white steam courses out quickly, and JJ evokes a giggle from me, saying he, JJ Maybank, who smokes weed religiously, has sensitive lungs. Something then pops, finally slowing us down.

   The four of us stand in the grass in disbelief. I sigh, thinking this would be taking longer than expected. What if this trip was all for nothing, and since we won’t make it in time, will this person keep the offer standing? The Limbrey situation is chaos, troubling my mind, and Rafe is still plaguing my thoughts frequently. So much is at risk. 

   Sunset changes into darkness, the moon providing little to no glow beside the fluorescent bulb of the mechanical shop. My phone starts vibrating in the back pocket of my shorts. I look at the screen before blindly answering, and it’s Rafe. 

   I subtly move behind a broken-down Honda Civic. When I answer, he’s already speaking. “Adriana, baby, I need you.” Rafe’s voice is emotionless despite his desperate cries for me. I become apprehensive. “Sweetheart, I need you to tell me what happened.” I slide down the black car door onto the dirt, leaning my head back, hoping Rafe isn’t at his breaking point. “I wanted to get better for you, our baby, but maybe it’s time for me to… man up.” I’ve heard the phrase ‘man-up’ by Ward to Rafe numerous times. 

   I understood Rafe wasn’t living up to the expectations his father set for him, but Ward always went too far. We all knew Rafe needed help. He required therapy for the trauma Ward put him through and his mental illness, constructing a storm inside that he never told me about, and all his father said was ‘man-up.’ Rafe never asked for help, wanting to make Ward proud of him, but this wasn’t what a father should wish his son to do; bottle up his feelings until the emptiness occupies his insides, and you’ve created a heartless human. 

   “Rafe, baby, I want you to think this through. I love you, don’t do this to me again. Please, baby!” The line goes dead. I look up at the murky sky. Some stars were shimmering, and I covered my mouth. He’s not doing this again. I shake my head in denial, punching the dirt like it’ll ameliorate the hurt, carving my insides. I hide my face in my hands, crying until Kiara’s concerned voice punctures the suffocating bubble that’s entrapped me. 

   “Adriana, are you ok!?” She whispers seriously. I stand up, dust my hands of the filth, and compose myself. Breathe the arid warmth in and a deep breath out. “Can we just go back to the others? Later Kie.” She immediately comprehends, construing her meaning of why I’m crying alone, but we return to JJ and Pope with silent questions and emotions to be said later.

   Kie doesn’t let me speak about paying, even though It wouldn’t be a hazard for me like Kiara with her already furious parents. 

   By the morning, we’re back on the highway. The beautifully typical bright orange sun, blinding per usual as we finally enter Charleston. The large green sign with bolded white letters is unmissable to the eye. 

   Limbrey’s house is extravagant and makes my family’s house look like a joke. We eye the place skeptically. “Such an inviting house,” I say disdainfully despite the home being a beautiful three-story. The fences are far more concerning. “The spikes are to keep people in,” Pope says, his face hardening at the sight of the slave quarters. Whoever owns this house will be some cryptic lady wearing the most elegant clothing. I slowly place a hand on my stomach and rub circles with my palm. 

   A disgusting-looking guy opens the door with an unkept beard, messy blonde hair, and a disconcerting face to look at. They give the guy reasons why we weren’t here in time. “She also expected you to come alone.” He eyes my stomach but keeps his mouth shut. 

   I watch Pope and Kiara hold hands tightly and look lovingly at each other before Pope enters the mansion. It makes me envious. Even if it was Platonic, I haven’t had affectionate physical contact with Rafe in a while, but I know when he comes back, everything will be different. He won’t be happy. He’ll be more destructive if anything, but I should’ve known this break I wanted wasn’t happening. I missed his smile when he was content when I wasn’t carrying his baby.

  I stopped contemplating things and realized JJ was driving, trying to keep up with Pope, but he was nowhere to be found. 

   JJ and Kie find a way in and run out with Pope. “Why am I driving!?” I speed out of the empty parking lot, returning to the road. Everyone starts screaming it’s a one-way road. I make a sharp curve to the car in front of us. “JJ, switch seats with me!” He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Oh my god, People are on the road!” Kie yells out. A girl and guy are running across the pavement with gas cans? Luckily they run to the other side in time. JJ nods at me. He takes the wheel while my feet stay on the gas pedal. My foot accidentally floors the gas pedal as JJ finally situates himself in the driver’s seat. His foot replaces mine, quickly slowing us down just a little. I let out a breath of relief, but JJ makes an intense left turn to an ally, and we all fall into each other like dominoes. 

   The truck breaks down, smoke releasing from the hood. We grab our bags and run out of the alleyway. Adrenaline has never been so prominent when I feel like I’m racing for my life. “I think he has a gun.” Pope breathes out heavily. Of course, he does as if he couldn’t be any more intimidating. My body feels cold from the sweat and heat building up, working overtime for the day.

   We make many turns until we’re out in the sun again, finding Sarah and John B on a bike. Our reunion was chaos and couldn’t have been more rushed as we stared, smiling at each other. Finally, they’re here, confirmed, not just on the phone. I wanted to cry, but we had to get out of Charleston. JJ and Pope push while John B tries pedalling as fast as possible. The guys are catching up, Pope falls but makes it on the bike, and we scream, celebrating. The guys fall behind, and we find a boat and return home.

   We talk, laugh, and smile never-ending. The joy I feel of seeing the people I was mourning has tears threatening my eyes. Daytime turns into nighttime. But it was optimistic, and a gorgeous dark blue sky celebrating the arrival of Sarah and John B. It made me realize I could never entirely leave my best friends. 

   I sit in between Kie and Sarah, picking from the watermelon Kiara found. “I mean, it wasn’t exactly legal.” Sarah gives a coy smile, talking about her marriage with John B. Kie and I look at each other, wide grins at our friends’ announcement and pop some watermelon into our mouths. I cannot explain how proud I am of Sarah. 

   Sarah brings up Kie and Pope. “They were holding hands.” I throw out, and Kie’s face turns red, and Sarah giggles, her jaw-dropping. Kie hits me with her leg playfully, and I lean my head back, laughing. Sarah placed her hand on my stomach. “You’re honestly so crazy.” Her voice became an octave higher. Kie agrees, adding I’ll be an incredible mom, especially if I let my child go on adventures with them. We laugh out loud. Rafe would be so pissed if I let our child go on intense, stressful ventures like that. 

   “Stupid things have good outcomes.” John B says happily, leading us to the dock with beers in our hands (besides me) and having a good time in the boat. Then that goes to setting up lights at John B’s house, a campfire, sitting in the hot tub, and the guys getting tipsy and doing stupid antics. A bliss explodes inside of me that feels like a high and is an addicting feeling. 

   JJ walks away to John B, leaving Sarah and me alone. “Did you think I died?” Sarah fidgets with her fingers nervously. I shake my head, sad tears freeing from the ocean while smiling at her. “I missed you.” She hugs me tightly. My heart seizes up in a good way. “Wow, my best friend is carrying a child.” She laughs, shocked, while her tears fall onto my bare shoulder. Hugging her meant everything to me. Though she didn’t smell the greatest, Sarah radiated happiness, and nostalgia hit me.

   Every sleepover, hangout, deep conversation, argument, sadness, every memory I could count. I hated how nostalgia made you feel so melancholy yet so delighted.

   “Did you guys hear that?” We all stop in our tracks 

   We hide in the giant tree, looking worried at each other back to the ground at Rafe walking around looking for us. 

   Rafe looks angry and heartless, almost deranged. His striped button-up that was once on my body filled with comfort, and now it haunts me. I hate how everyone gives him pitied stares or how Sarah is terrified of her brother. 

   I hate how I defend Rafe when three shots ring off into the air, almost killing JJ. I hate that I want Rafe to kiss my lips and break down into tears, kissing all over my body and telling me he’ll get better for our child and me, that I’ll never have to be without his warmth that turned into an empty sea. 

   A girl can wish for all she wants, but he’ll never disappoint because she knows what to expect.

Tag list: @rafecameronzwhore @hell0dahling

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

my son of the driest wit

my son is eleven

one of my lucky numbers

he has my eyes and my sensitivity and a mind like mine

he sings with me and he's one of my greatest fans

he tells me his friends think I'm cool which is nice

kids are really honest and I trust them more than most

he's also sick this week and keeps surprising me

because when you're sick everyone turns into a child

and sometimes he's eleven or sometimes he's younger

when the symptoms are overwhelming

he feels things with such intensity and I remind him

that we are running gaming computers in our heads

so we get better graphics but it also takes more energy

luckily I said it in a way that makes sense to him

he likes his neurodiverse kind of brain now

didn't so much like it when it made him so different

but he has a group of friends that love his humor

and he constantly surprises me with how he thinks

today I got to tell him the story of finding out about him

he's always known he was a surprise in my plans

but I've always told all of them they came from the stars

and I was lucky they chose me as a mom

because he's sick he wants me near

he's not really a cuddly guy and gets overstimulated easily

but when he's sick that all disappears

he wants to lay next to me and hold my hand

and so I told him that I'd tell him that story

what was going on in my life and how

his father and I broke up after three months

and knew we just did not work as partners

but ended up finding out we'd created something

I told him about a man I loved and had gone to visit

before I found out and confirmed I had a passenger

he enjoyed hearing about it and told me

as I was telling him about different adventures

me and this man had gotten ourselves into

that he could imagine it in his mind

I think he was seeing me as a different character

not just as the mother he loved but the woman I was

before I decided to change my life completely

before I decided to change myself completely

it was the role I was going to take the most seriously

and I told him about how sometimes

you can love two things just as desperately

but you end up having to choose just one

I hadn't told him about this before

he wasn't really old enough to grasp the complexity

and I underestimated him even tonight

I told him how I'd wrote this email to him that was

at least a small novel about all my feelings

and I've obviously always had plenty of them

I linked a song and I think put lyrics and just

tore my heart out and smeared it all over my computer

and how this freaking guy wrote back

"you got four days"

yeah, that was it and that was a common dynamic

and he laughed at that because he has a friend

that's also a girl with a lot of feelings and a lot of words

to tell him all about them and he doesn't always

know what to do with all of it but he still likes to listen

I think he liked seeing me like that too

he likes to see me as all my selves which I'm still learning

I kind of thought I was supposed to play

this perfect mother role so that's something to think about

I told him I had four days to visit because this man

was leaving to go to war in a desert like his own dad had

so I went and visited and that love we couldn't quite

figure out but always had was still there

and to my son I said, still kind of bewildered to know

even though I lived it and I knew it but to say it

somehow gave it a new meaning and a new feeling

"when I told him I was pregnant he said something to me..."

and this kid didn't even miss a beat and left me laughing

"did he offer to buy you some plan B?"

and he said it with curiosity and not a lick of judgement

I don't even think he knew why I was laughing

fuck I'm still laughing because it's so logical

and when I got myself together I shook my head

and told him that the man offered to help me raise him

I'd already framed the whole thing kind of like a folk story

as a joke to keep everything light and upbeat

and I let him sit with that a moment but he didn't say anything

and then I went on to tell him about how

I made the choice for him because he had friends

and family and a life that he'd leave to come here

and it wouldn't have made him happy back then

at least that is what I had decided and I knew

I had to at least try to make a family with his dad

that also wasn't quite ready but we all

did the best with what we had to work with

there was good and bad and ugly and it didn't work

and the kids are very aware of why their father and I

just did not have the same way of thinking about anything

except how much we loved them and wanted to give them

the life we never got to have as kids because our parents

also didn't have what they needed to make things work

in a way that gave us all what we needed at their age

and to this day I get to watch my children trust the world

with arms wide open and make friends and take chances

he wanted to hear more so I told more stories

and it was fun because I got to see things in a whole new way

I got to tell him about my poetry and a loyal reader

that turned out to be a best friend holding my hand

and he thought that was the coolest thing in the world

for someone to do for his mother that he now knew more of

it's a really cool story and I like being part of it

and that's kind of a new role