#maybe till the weekend?? maybe a few weeks?? maybe a month?

[tides-of-clarity]

Mini hiatus alert.

[roaringroa]

they should make a life where you don't have appointments, work, school and scheduled events every single day for months on end

[drvscarlett]

About You Pt 12

Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

About You Series

A/N: and its here everyone. Any thoughts about this?

Taglist: @spideybv28@randomcuboidshape @mehrmonga @casperlikej @cliosunshine @honethatty12 @randomgirlnumber-13 @sugyomama @ririyulife @skywalker1dream @vicurious28 @khaylin27 @0710khj @its-elias-world @vizzzashley @allisonwoods @taytaylala12 @miarabanana @ceciii-b @lindsayjoy444 @mploopssek @snakelore @toldyouitwasamelodrama @lordpercevalcharles

2013, Circuit de Monaco

"Happy Birthday sister!"Mark greeted on the other line "Am I the last one to greet you?"

Despite the afternoon horizons outside the window of Y/N, she was still in her bed. Usually she doesn't like waking up with calls but Mark's greeting was something that she can tolerate today.

"You are the first, I just woke up"Y/N replied.

"Woke up? Are you back in London?"Mark's confusion was evident.

"I'm actually here in Monaco"Y/N clarified "I had a late flight so I was a bit tired so I woke up here at around.. oh its 4 in the afternoon"

In hindsight, she should have set an alarm so she didn't miss out a huge chunk of hours sleeping. However, she was exhausted from packing and taking care of things before she left Spain. She wanted a complete break for her birthday that's why she overworked herself to ensure everything can function without her.

"How long are you staying there?"Mark wondered.

"Till the Monaco GP so I have 2 weeks to enjoy Monaco's waters"

"You have a good one there sis"

"Thanks Mark"

"Happy Birthday again, I wish you all the best" Mark added "And if you want to buy anything, just tell me and I'll pay for it"

"Mark, you didn't have to do that"

There was a sigh on the other line. Mark knows how much Y/N values to work for the money that she spends that's why she doesn't like spending money that she didn't own.

"Just let me be Y/N, I missed a huge part of your life because I was immature"Mark explains "Just let me do this for you, okay?"

The whole brother-sister relationship is still mending. It was already one of the best gifts that Y/N could have asked. These moments are just some instances that they tried to make up with each other.

"Okay, I won't buy anything expensive though"Y/N compromises.

"That's tough in Monaco"

It earned a shared laughter between the two. It was obviously common knowledge that Monaco's cost of living and the items displayed on the store could cost a month's worth of fortune.

"You take care okay? I'll call you later when I still have time"Mark said

"Thanks big bro"

When Y/N ended the call, there were several messages from different people. She felt inclined to thank them for their greetings and for remembering her birthday so she spent the next few minutes texting them back.

She already had a voicemail from Mick, a painfully long message from Jenson, even some Team Principals sent a message to her. Their greetings made her feel so loved.

However, there is this void feeling upon realizing that there is someone missing.

Y/N: Hey goodmorning! Are you okay? I'm leaving tonight for Monaco maybe we could grab some lunch later? Away from the media and everything. Miss you a lot x Y/N: Heyyyy so I heard from Britta you had a night out so maybe you are suffering a hangover. Let's just resched lunch? Y/N: Btw I gave her some hangover medicines that Jenson claims to be magic when he is hung over. I hope everything is alright xx

The messages from yesterday remains unread by Sebastian. It was a bit disappointing that she wasn't able to talk to Sebastian at all during the Spanish GP. She knew how it must have been difficult weekend for him.

I'm sure he will call, Y/N assures herself.

The grumbling in her stomach caused her to remember that she hasn't eaten yet. Y/N opened her luggages and decided to get dressed to get her first meal of the day.

There was a perfect cafe spot that was just right the corner of her hotel. It also has a perfect view of the yachts parked in Monaco, Y/N couldn't think of another perfect place to eat.

She was enjoying herself when all of a sudden someone called out her name.

"Y/N?" for a moment, Y/N wanted to think that it was Sebastian calling her.

But she knew that this voice was a little bit too different to be Sebastian. Sebastian has a certain kind of accent that pronounces her name in a certain tone regardless of his emotions.

"Jules?"she recognized the driver.

It was not often that she have interacted with Jules a lot but he was a friendly face in the paddock. He has always been a gentleman to women and he is one of those drivers that isn't a PR nightmare.

Jules made a beeline to Y/N, he was followed by a younger boy with a mop of brown hair.

"I thought it was you"Jules smiles "And I was right. What are you doing in Monaco?"

"Oh, I'm celebrating my birthday today"Y/N replied

"Wow, I didn't know that. Happy Birthday then Y/N" Jules greeted.

"Thanks, how about you why are you in Monaco? It's a bit too early for the GP"Y/N joked.

"Oh I'm here with my godson"Jules gestured to the young boy "Y/N meet Charles, Charles meet Y/N. Y/N here is from McLaren and is the one in charge of Jenson"

Y/N handed out her hand and Charles shyly picked it up to shake it.

"I'm Charles Leclerc, its nice to meet you Miss Y/N" he greeted back.

The boy had a certain smile that if Y/N was not informed earlier then she would have mistaken him as his younger brother. She could tell that if Charles gets a little bit older then he might looks strikingly similar to Jules.

"That's a very polite boy, you two look very much alike"Y/N noticed.

"Yeah-"

Jules phone starts ringing and he seems troubled to see the caller ID.

"Is it alright if you could look after Charles for a while"Jules asked "I have this really important call and it might take a while"

"Yeah sure!"Y/N agrees.

"Thanks, you are an angel! Be good Charles, I'll try to make this quick"

Jules stepped out of a cafe and began speaking to the one of the phone. Charles and Y/N were left at the cafe, the boy looks a bit lost in Y/N's opinion.

"You can sit there and you can tell me about yourself"Y/N offered.

He nods and he immediately took the chair next to her.

"Would you like something to drink or something to eat?"Y/N asked.

"I can't eat much, I have to be lightweight to be able to drive faster"Charles responded.

"You race too?"

"I kart around here and there, Jules has been teaching me a lot"Charles confirmed.

Y/N takes a sip of her hot chocolate as she smiles. When they started talking about racing, Charles certainly changed his attitude. Aspirers like Charles are quite exciting to watch because she knows that with their determination then she might end up seeing him in the grid in a couple of years.

"My brother drives too, his name is Mark"Y/N shares.

Charles' eyes widen in recognition. He went closer to Y/N with an excited smile.

"Mark as in Mark Webber? The teammate of current world champion Sebastian Vettel"Charles enumerates excitedly.

"You know your Grand Prix winners"Y/N notes.

"I think I know more about them than school"

This made Y/N laugh. It was not uncommon that F1 drivers drop out early of school so they could race. For this reason, they don't seem to have a life outside of the sports. Sebastian is a good example of how the man has been a walking encyclopedia of Formula 1. You could ask him the Grand Prix winner of 1978 and he could tell you it was Andretti without missing a beat. But ask him about the current president of America and he won't give you any answers.

"Sebastian is one of my idols, I wish he is still there when I drive in F1"Charles wishful thinking.

The thought of Sebastian crosses her mind again, her smile obviously falters upon checking her phone for the umpteenth time today.

"You seem to be sad today" Charles noticed "Shouldn't you be happy that its your birthday?"

She forces a smile.

"Its nothing, I'm just waiting for someone's birthday greeting"Y/N brushes it off.

"Is it your bestfriend?"Charles pressed "If my bestfriend forgot my birthday then I would be very upset as well"

Bestfriends? Soon lovers? The relationship is a bit complicated but either way Y/N understands Charles statement that its indeed upsetting when a special someone forgets. However, due to Y/N's closeness with Sebastian she is willing to make up excuses for his forgetfulness.

"He must have been busy, work hasn't been quite easy for him lately"Y/N reasons out.

As if on cue, Charles rolled his eyes. Gone was the shy boy from a while ago as he leaned closer to the table.

"You shouldn't make work as an excuse"Charles rebutted "Jules said that even if you have a bad race or a bad day, you should never take that out to the people important to you"

It was a good advice that Jules has given Charles. Y/N was sure that one day, Charles will be able to give himself a perfect work-life balance in the future.

"Believe me Charles, he is not usually like that"Y/N defends again "Maybe he is just caught up in some stuffs"

"Suit yourself but just remember that if he wanted to then he definitely would"

The words lingered in Y/N's mind even after Jules picked up Charles and the two said goodbye. It was something that kept repeating in her mind as she mindlessly walked the streets of Monaco and watched the skyline go dark.

Sebastian must have a reason for forgetting her birthday, didn't he?

2013, Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

As a driver, they should not stay up late the night before the race. They must have a clear head so that they can focus on the task ahead. Any sort of pressure or stress may be detrimental to their performance.

Lately, Sebastian has been feeling all sorts of pressure. A lot has happened lately.

"You look like you had a lot of things going on"Jenson walks next to him.

"Aren't you supposed to avoid me at all cost?"Sebastian questioned.

"I mean we're not going to get caught if you don't tell anyone"Jenson grins "So what's on your mind?"

The heavy sigh that Sebastian has been keeping in finally gets out in the open. He doesn't even know where to begin with his story. Should he be completely honest or is this something that he has to sugarcoat to lessen the blow?

"A lot of things"Sebastian stated.

Jenson opened his arms wide and gestured that he is a person that Sebastian could confide him.

"Come on Sebastian, I'd like to think we're friends. Come on, lay it out on me"Jenson encourages.

The thing that Jenson doesn't understand is that Sebastian is wary of the information he gives out to him. He still doesn't know how to deal with Y/N and Jenson may say the wrong thing and it falls all over from Sebastian.

"I made several mistakes" that was one way of putting it lightly.

"Mistakes can be fixed"

"But I fear this mistake can't be fixed"Sebastian argued "No sorrys can fix this thing"

"Hey if this is about you missing out on Y/N's birthday then don't worry. I'm sure you could say that you have been preoccupied and she would understand that. You know she doesn't even make a big of a deal that we miss out her birthday-"Jenson was explaining.

Then it hits Sebastian. It was June.

"Oh fuck"

If Sebastian could just hit himself all over the wall then he would have done it all night long. He can't believe that he forgot about her birthday. He did not just forgot the birth date but even the birth month. He felt extremely stupid.

"You mean to tell me that forgetting her birthday is not the mistake were talking about?"Jenson pieced out the puzzle.

"Fuck, I am so fucking stupid"Sebastian lamented.

"What else did you do then?"Jenson inquired.

"Just something stupid"

Sebastian is at a lost of words before on how to explain his situation but with this new dilemma then its even more stressful. How can he tell her that he was so drunk that he slept with someone else that night in Spain. He couldn't tell the worst part that it was with someone that the both of them know. That the whole reason why he was occupied and forgot her birthday because he was trying to keep the situation quiet.

The comforting pat on the back from Jenson brought Sebastian out of his thoughts.

"You just got to be honest with her, I'm sure Y/N will understand"Jenson assures.

There was a voice in Sebastian's head that is telling him that this was something that any woman cannot understand.

"Y/N loves you a lot. You have to trust that her love is strong to understand you"Jenson stated.

Sebastian could just give a weak smile. The guilty feeling is eating him up more than ever. What did he ever do to deserve her love?

"Tell you what, I'll make some arrangements in the next Grand Prix. I'll make sure to keep McLaren occupied and you two could go spend time with each other"Jenson added.

"You would do that?"

"Of course, anything for Y/N"Jenson replied "Just don't make her cry, I hate seeing her cry"

Too overwhelmed by emotions and planning what to do next week, Sebastian failed to notice the smile that Jenson had on his face. If he paid attention then he would notice that Jenson was also as troubled with thoughts for a certain girl.

With a heavy sigh, Jenson keeps his true feelings at bay.

2013, Silverstone Circuit

It was already midnight when she arrived at her flat. Y/N was a bit tired and she was so glad that the race was happening in Silverstone so she has a few days in the comforts of her home. She was ready to hit the bed when she heard noises coming inside her apartment.

'Did I forget to lock the doors when I left?' she wondered in her head.

She quickly armed herself up by putting up her bag in a defensive manner and her phone hovering to the emergency number.

"Mein Gott! Why is this so difficult to do?"the voice from inside the apartment shouted.

She knows that voice a little too well. But Y/N couldn't believe that he would be here waiting for her.

"Sebastian? What are you-"

Seeing Sebastian Vettel in the kitchen with an apron was the least shocking thing that Y/N saw in her flat. The living room decorated by some balloons and a bouquet of flowers was placed there. Sebastian was tending over a cake that seems to be in the process of being coated with icing. The table was filled with some food that seems to be homemade.

"Hey, I know I have been a jerk recently but I'm here to apologize"Sebastian explains "Jenson stole your duplicate key and I prepared these little welcome dinner and I hope to get back to your good graces"

Something so domestic about the whole thing that Y/N's weeks of sadness immediately disappeared into thin air. She went to give him the biggest hug and she felt like the pieces are being glued back together.

"I missed you so much"she admitted.

"Its been a while"

"I really missed you"she confirms again "Please don't leave me like that again"

The way that Sebastian gazed at her and gave her a gentle forehead kiss seems to be a promise that he won't go away again.

There were a lot of questions that remained unanswered but Y/N is too distracted to ruin the whole thing by asking those. She is just happy to have him back and she wants to savor every moment with him.

2013, Nürburgring

"She seems to fit right in the family" Norbert told his son "Any progress?"

Sebastian was in a lovestruck smile as he gazed his attention to the garden where his mother and Y/N were conversing together. It wasn't the first time that his parents met Y/N but this was the first time that he brought her to his childhood home.

"I'm working on things"Sebastian replied.

"She is a wonderful girl. You treasure her and you don't make her cry alright?"Norbert reminded.

"Papa, its like you are handing me out for marriage already"Sebastian snickered.

"Isn't that the main point of dating? To get married eventually"

The word marriage seems to be foreign in the conversation between the couple. They both know and understand that they have to settle the score between their respective jobs to ensure that there is no conflict. Then the team mate thing has to be resolved as well. On top of that, they both have careers and dreams that they want to achieve.

But making Y/N a Vettel is something in the plans.

"You seem to be talking about us"Mrs Vettel called their attention out and Y/N's turned her head.

"Anything you want to share Seb?"Y/N wondered.

Sebastian just went forward to wrap an arm around Y/N. There was pure bliss in his eyes that everyone is getting along in the household. If he would make her a Vettel then she would be a happy addition to the family.

"What are you and Mama talking about?" Sebastian diverts the topic.

"Oh I'm just showing Y/N your childhood photos"Mrs Vettel gleefuly answered.

"Mama no"Sebastian groaned.

The albums from the past is filled with lots of photos of Sebastian that would be horrifying to show to the public. It includes his early track days, snotty seasons, and even some nerdy photos from school.

"You look adorable Seb"Y/N comforts "Look here Seb, this looks so cute. Is this you on your first day of school?"

The photo had a younger Sebastian holding hands with a blonde haired girl. They have their backpacks on and they seem to be giggling at the camera. Frankly, Sebastian have no memory of what they are talking about but they seem to have been caught conversing when the photo was taken

"Oh that's his first day of school with his friend Hanna"Mrs Vettel recognized.

"Hanna as in Hanna Prater?"Y/N inquired.

The mere mention of the name caused Sebastian's stomach to churn as if he swallowed a rock. The day have already been perfect but the name caused all of his worries to come back.

"You know Hanna?"the elder male Vettel asked.

"Yeah, I met her in some Grand Prix"Y/N answered "She was super sweet and she seems like a very supportive friend to Sebastian"

The way that Y/N talks about Hanna makes Sebastian feel more guilty about what transpired weeks ago. He couldn't have the heart to tell Y/N the truth about them. The first one in Brazil was an accident and could be something forgivable but what happened in Spain was something he was not sure of.

"Hey you seem pale? Are you alright?"Y/N voiced out her concern.

"I'm alright"

"You must be starving already, let's get you two some food"Mrs Vettel immediately got up from her seat.

"Mama you don't have to"Sebastian begs.

"Nonsense, you should get a plate or two before you go for the race weekend"Mrs Vettel argues.

It was useless to argue with his mother. Sebastian just raised his hands in surrender as his mother went off to the kitchen to prepare some meals for them to eat. She has also grabbed Mr Vettel and instructs him to set the table.

The couple was left alone and Y/N seems to be concerned with Sebastian.

"You can tell me anything that's bothering you" Y/N repeated

"I know"Sebastian sighs "But I'm not sure that I'm able to tell you this yet"

Her hands touched his face. It was a gentle caress meant to soothe Sebastian.

"I trust you, whenever you feel like talking then"Y/N smiles.

Those comforting words seems to be digging deeper wounds for Sebastian as the bile rises up in his throat. He wanted to tell her the truth of what happened but she is scared that in doing so that he might end up losing her.

He allows himself to be selfish for a little bit more time.

[poppy-metal]

selfish, rotten girl you'd always been and let this caring, fragile, scared little girl you were startin’ to become go - like petals in the wind.

oh and you ATE with that. the hurt/comfort??? i’m literally in awe of your writing and your ability to take the scraps of my ideas and turn it into something beautiful.

i imagine reader feeling so conflicted after the storm because oh my god he was so kind and loving to her but she feels sick because she’s thinking of his girlfriend who has been nothing but kind but also the extremely buried cynical part of her (that thinks no one can love her ever bc she’s sososo awful and rotten) thinks that maybe it’s a ploy. that art was just being loving to her to get her back into his bed, but that thought is easily squashed because it’s art. he has a heart of gold that makes you want to be better than what you thought you could be.

so you do what you have been doing, avoiding him as much as you can. the peach tea being the only moment of connection between you two—the passing brush of fingertips and you ignore the ache that settles in your chest when you feel his warmth. you choke back sobs every night knowing that you’ve ruined that poor boy. and you do what you do best: hate yourself, belittle yourself, break yourself down because you don’t deserve good things or good people. you don’t deserve art donaldson.

it’s the last sunday service you’ll attend before you return home. the plane ticket is booked for friday; your grandma asked if you wanted to stay for longer, and a few weeks earlier, you would’ve said yes. but you need to cleanse this town of you. you need to cleanse art of you. your grandma’s been telling you about that engagement ring he’s been carrying around all month and how he’s thinking of proposing next weekend during the end of summer festivities. “such a shame you can’t stay till then,” she says.

“my parents have found it in them to forgive me,” you respond, “and they found someone who’s willing to marry me.”

ah yes, the big overcast over your summer was the engagement you would find yourself come summer’s end. while your summer was rearing animals, cooking breakfast for the ranch hands, and watching over some of the town’s children while their mamas picked peaches from your grandma’s trees, your parents had been busy schmoozing up and down the east coast, remedying your reputation and finding some brad, chad, or richard the second to marry you off to finally cleanse their hands of you.

you grandma tsked. “you could’ve found love here, dont understand the big fuss over finding you a husband in connecticut. we’ve got some fine honest men here.”

yes you do. in this moment of weakness you steal at art and envision what life would be like with him. would he hold you in the mornings? care for you while sick? play with the children you would bear for him and show them the ropes of ranch life just like he’d done for you many months before. warmth settles in your stomach but quickly curdles when lucy turns around and sends you a wave. you nod in response and focus your attention to the front; the pastor is just beginning his sermon.

atonement. that was the lesson of pastor zweig’s sermon. you rolled the word around in your head as you fried up bacon for the farmhands monday morning. it’s become a ritual. you making breakfast for the 10 folks who help make your grandma’s life just a little bit easier, and while you grumbled the first week, you became a little infamous amongst the town’s women of being the best cook in town: feedin’ their husbands bellies better than they can. at least, that’s what your grandma jokes.

when you place the final plate of buttermilk pancakes down next to the homemade blueberry sauce and the farmhands cheered, you beamed with pride. perhaps you did have the ability to create, to nourish, to be good. art sat at the head of the table, and you caught the little smile on his face, the chuckle that passed his lips at his friends’ antics.

"i will say, your cookin' can make an honest man out of me," patrick jokes. art stills in his seat as you refill his cup. he steals a look at you, but you seem unfazed. no, you seem tired. sick even. but it's quickly replaced with a coy smile that you flash his best friend's way.

"now we all know here nothing can make you an honest man," you joke, "no matter how much your daddy prays and prays." the farmhands break out into a roar.

"and what would you do if i got down on one knee right now? i swear, if it means i get your cookin' for the rest of my life, i'll make you my wife right now, and even give you a few kids too," he says with a wink. you and the farmhands are laughing, but art is gripping his fork.

who does patrick think he is? you're his.

"well it won't do you any good, patrick," you respond breezily, "my parents finally did good on their promise and it looks like i'm getting married by the end of the year." the room falls silent. you let an awkward laugh slip out, "now now, this ain't no funeral. don't people usually congratulate the blushing bride."

art's seeing red. you're getting married?

"well is he nice?" someone asks. art doesn't care if that man won a fucking nobel peace prize; you are his. and he can't believe you. waltzing into his life, ruining him, rendering his emotional state in shambles, only to waltz right out into the arms of someone else? but shouldn't he be relieved? the engagement ring in his pocket burns hot.

"i don't know, haven't met him yet."

"i'm going to go check on the horses," art gruffly says. he leaves behind a whole plate untouched. the farmhands pay him no mind; the youngest taking his plate for himself. patrick smirks into his eggs, well aren’t things getting interesting.

tl:dr art is experiencing emotional constipation! reader is accepting her fate! patrick is,,,meddling? but there’s only 4 days left until reader leaves and allegedly 5 days left until art proposes 🤔 much to simmer, much to cook

originally envisioned patrick as the rich old money new englander who’s equally fucked up and is who reader is engaged then married to and time skip! grandma passes away and leaves behind the ranch to reader and ofc the newly married couple moves there to build a new life away from prying eyes of their families and art is confronted with the fact that you are not his and you have moved on,,,but have you moved on? but there’s smth much more salacious to me (!) about black sheep pastor’s kid!patrick who’s only a ranch hand bc art got him the job as a promise to the pastor to help get patrick on the right track just like he’s been doing since they were kids. patrick who’s aware of the tension between you and art and wants it to bubble over—bc wouldn’t it be fun to corrupt the person in his life whose main job was to make him good? but now both ideas are equally hot and Important to me 🙂‍↕️

also horny thots re: ranch hand!art exist but tbh,,,i’m in my angst, hurt/comfort, plot/character development bag—more to come~

- 🤠

AURRRRR NOT THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE BACK HOME !!

I need them to get into a big fight - like I need art to shout at her with veins popping in his neck yelling at her asking her why the hell she got into his head and twisted him all up in knots when she's just gonna go and fuck off at the end of the summer - get hitched to another man. the jealousy hot in his veins, the possessiveness he suddenly feels foreign to him because he's never felt this way before. not for his sweetheart - never got jealous when patrick flirted with her or anything like that. you're making him feel all these bad things - these sinful things - and you aren't even gonna stick around to take accountability for the damage you've done to him??

need that passionate, knocking the cowboy hat off his head kind of kiss with his hands gripping your cheeks - need that kind of dick that feels equal parts making love as it does fucking - he's touching you in more intimate ways than he ever has before - he's branding you, in a way - marking his territory. making you remember him the way he knows he'll never be able to fuckin' forget you. making you watch how his cock slides in and out - making you tell him how good he's gotten at fuckin', the bull you've trained -

aurrrr ranchhand!art drama save me SAVE ME

[ikilledyvette]

(Realized I was never gonna finish this long ass 9-1-1 fic before the premiere, so today I’m doing the seriously condensed version for Tumblr—which I still have to break into two parts, ffs.)

It’s Thursday afternoon, three days before Father’s Day, and the atmosphere at the 118 is grim. Gerrard is gone, at least, and everyone celebrated with cake—specifically, a Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead! cake, complete with a chocolate house crushing little black boots—but to everyone’s surprise, Buck isn’t exactly welcoming Bobby home with open arms anymore. He hasn’t forgiven Bobby for resigning in the first place. Making matters worse, Margaret and Philip Buckley are flying in for the weekend. Also, Eddie is depressed because Chris hasn’t called since he left for Texas six weeks ago, and Eddie doesn’t expect to hear from him on Sunday, or possibly ever again.

Hen tells Eddie Christopher will forgive him. “He’ll come home. He just needs a minute.” Eddie says that six weeks is a hell of a minute, but Hen persists. “You’re a good father,” she says, ignoring Eddie’s humorless laugh. “You messed up; I’m not saying you didn’t. But that doesn’t negate all the good you’ve done, too. Kids, they want you to hear them. They want you to show up, so when Christopher calls, pick up the phone and listen. You two love each other, Eddie. It’s going to work out.”

But Eddie’s gaze just drifts to the kitchen, where Bobby is quietly looking at the stack of uneaten fire-engine-shaped mini-waffles that Buck refused to eat, even though he’s the one who bought Bobby that ridiculous novelty waffle-maker in the first place

“You ever think maybe love just isn’t enough,” Eddie says, and Hen isn’t sure how to answer that.

*

Meanwhile, Chimney, thankfully, has the day off and is drinking a beer with Tommy. (Hen, left to deal with these weird morose vibes at the 118 by herself, quite rightly considers this a betrayal and has appropriately sworn revenge.) Chimney and Tommy talk a little about their own families: Tommy hasn’t spoken to his dad in years; meanwhile, Chimney finally gave up months ago after actually telling his dad how he really felt about being abandoned. He just needed to hear his father apologize once, just once—but he couldn’t do that, not even that, and Chimney decided enough was enough. 

Tommy, who’s only ever met the Buckley Parents one time (but has quickly clocked to Buck’s wildly shifting moods whenever discussing them), asks Chimney how much of a disaster this weekend is likely to be. Chimney tells Tommy that—apart from big family secrets and the general emotional trauma—every time the Buckleys visit, someone comes close to death: warehouse fire (Buck), lightning strike (Buck), viral encephalitis (Chimney). 

“Maybe don’t go up in a helicopter till they’re gone?” Chimney suggests, and Tommy says, “Jesus,” and gets another beer.

*

Back at the 118, things have gone from bad to worse. A call leads to Buck recklessly risking his own life to save someone. He walks away with only a few bruises, but Bobby yells at him for nearly getting himself killed. Buck snarks that he must still be that young, impulsive hothead after all. Bobby, a bit at a loss, tells Buck that he has come a long way, but he can’t put himself in danger just because he’s angry at Bobby. 

“What is this really about? You can talk to me, kid. I’m here.”

“Right,” Buck says, scornful. “You’re here. For ... how long again? Seven more, I think you said? No—no, you never actually said, did you? That one’s on me. Right, Cap?”

The bell goes off, ending the argument. Bobby tries to talk to Buck again after the shift, but Buck is already out the door. He barely gets any sleep that day before he and Tommy drive over for The Big Family Dinner. Tommy tries to talk Buck into staying home, suggesting they go tomorrow night instead, but Buck insists it will be a Thing if they don’t go.

Dinner goes badly. Margaret and Phillip aren’t intentionally rude or actively malicious, but there’s still a thread of casual biphobia in much of what they say: Evan’s always going through these phases. Well, if it’s not a phase, Evan, you must have known; how could you not? Please don’t misunderstand, Tommy, of course we like YOU. Very much! Yes, Tommy, thank you for your service. We’re just saying, Evan likes to throw us for a loop now and then. Really, Evan, you’ve had so many girlfriends you’re basically straight, aren’t you?

Buck finally loses it shortly after Maddie goes into the other room to check on Jee Yun. Margaret suggests that while she’s happy that Buck and Tommy are happy, of course—happy for now, at least—she’d just hoped Buck would’ve started to settle down by now, get serious about someone, rather than start experimenting. Phillip also jokes that he’d thought Buck had outgrown making bids for attention, and Buck just—snaps. 

“Why did I have to work so hard to get your attention again? Right. Cause it was too hard to look at me. Cause I was the reminder of what you lost, the screwup you got left with. Maybe if Daniel had grown up and turned out bi, you’d—"

—and Margaret slaps Buck across the face. 

It shocks everyone, very much including Margaret, but when Buck finally blinks and glances at his dad, Phillip automatically moves to stand behind his wife, silently taking her side. Buck, a bit dazed, mutters he’s sorry and tells Chimney not to tell Maddie what happened, right before Tommy all but pushes Buck out the door and drives him home.

Buck, still a little shellshocked, mostly can’t believe he said what he said, insists he shouldn’t have gotten that upset, and tries to brush off Tommy’s efforts to comfort him. Tries to get him to leave. Tries to distract him with sex when Tommy refuses to leave. Tommy, not having any of it, sits Buck down and talks a little about his own childhood, how he’d run away from home after his father had found out Tommy was gay, how—broken and bleeding—Tommy had never called, never looked back. Buck protests it’s not the same because Margaret and Philip aren’t abusive, have never hit him before tonight, aren’t really homophobic—at least, not in the same way—and also, Buck deserved that slap. 

“Who throws a dead kid in their parents face?” Buck asks, miserable.

“Someone who lived under the shadow of a brother he never knew about for 30 years?” Tommy asks, then takes Buck’s hand and makes Buck look at him.

“Look, maybe it’s not the same. You’re never going to convince me you deserved it, Evan, not any of it—but what I’m saying is, when people repeatedly hurt you? You don’t have to look back. You don’t have to keep trying. You can, if that’s what you want—but you don’t have to forgive anyone just because they’re family. That’s not what being a family should be. And, for what it’s worth, that includes Bobby, too. Just ... maybe consider what you’re actually angry about—or if it’s even anger you’re really feeling here—before deciding to cut him off for good.” 

Slowly, Buck sinks into Tommy’s side. Tommy wraps an arm around him. Kisses him gently just above birthmark.

(Part II is finished, coming tomorrow or the next day)

[laughing-with-god]

Patreon Update (double posted here)

Hi guys!

So things have been cray since I'm about a week away from graduating and finals are insane.

As promised, I have been working on QQ and the doc is now at 9k!! And obviously UV will continue this May as well. Have been cooking up some ideas and maybe even some Hugo POV lol?? Feel like he'd be a really funny character to write for.

But anyway, I fully anticipated that I would be crazy busy this month so I'm really glad I paused the billing for April! Within the next week and a half QQ will be out and later this month,so will the next part of Unsaid Vow!!

For anyone who wants to sign up for Patreon but wasn't able to: TOMORROW my Patreon goes back up. I will happily let you guys now when QQ is published, I have only a few thousand left so lemme survive till this weekend and I will post hopefully soon.

I did not forget my promise to upload first few chapters of Unsaid Vow on here either! I need to redo my cover art for it though since it has my old username on it :( the last person to do my art sadly went innactive so I'm scrambling!!

Really excited!! After next week I will no longer have school and can take up writing full-time!!!

[getmeoutofhell]

Ethan Landry x Shy F reader

warnings: mentions of reader getting killed at end

a/n: i tried my best to make this a “shy” reader. i’m terribly sorry if this is not the best.

requested by: @smoothestkoala

it was 1:00pm and you were getting ready to go and visit ethan at his place for the first time.

you guys starting ‘talking’ after you met him at sara’s place a month ago. you were hella nervous since this was your first time ever going to any guys place.

you did have a little crush on him. but you didn’t plan on telling him anytime soon for your own sake.

you headed to your car to head over to ethan and chads place.

gosh your nerves were bad. you didn’t understand why your body acted this way, especially around boys. but now was not the time to complain. hopefully you don’t embarrass yourself in front of him or anyone else today.

you then knock on the door. you waited for about 10 seconds until you heard someone on the other side. “hello? it’s y/n.” you felt a little embarrassed for waiting outside the door, but didn’t wanna think to far into it.

a few seconds later ethan opens the door.

“hey y/n. sorry it took so long i was in the middle of something.” you smiled at him. “no worries it’s okay.” he the opens the door fully to let you in.

“you can come and sit anywhere. make yourself comfortable.” he states to you, trying his best to not be awkward.

you slowly walk over to his couch and have a seat. you then take your phone and sit it next to you on the couch. “so ethan, how have you been?” you ask him, hoping the awkwardness would end.

“i’ve been doing pretty good i guess. how have you been? you go anywhere lately?” he looked at you with curiosity, waiting for a response.

you softly chuckled. “i don’t really go anywhere much. but i’ve been pretty good.” you smiled. “that’s great. would you like some water, pop, or something?”

“yeah i could use some water.” you thought his gesture to give you water was very sweet of him. you watched him get up and disappear behind the corner.

you were strolling on your phone when you saw ethan head back in with two bottles of water. “here you go.” he hands you one, then sits next to you again. “thank you.”

“would you like to watch something on tv? we have netflix.” you looked at him. “yeah sure.”

you ended up staying at ethan’s till around 6 and headed home. you thought he was sweet and kind, and wanted to go back to his place again in the future. your crush on him started to get worse and worse over time as you guys started talking.

*time skip some weeks*

overtime, you stared opening up more to ethan, telling him about you and your past and what you wanted to do in your future. he always listened to everything you told him, giving you hugs and words of comfort.

you eventually started heading over to his place every weekend, sometimes spending the night if he asked.

it was now around 9, and you were saying your goodbyes to ethan, getting ready to head home.

“i’ll text you later.” ethan told you.

“okay. thanks for letting me come over again. i really appreciate it.”

“you’re welcome beautiful.” you felt your face heat up, and your stomach turn at his kind words. before you walked out, ethan walked up to and gave you a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. you had the ugliest grin on your face as you walked to your car. maybe you’ll confess your feelings sooner than you thought.

*ethan’s pov*

after y/n left i went and sat back down on the couch. i took a long deep breath, and sighed. since the first time i saw her, i knew i would have a hard time. she’s a beautiful women. full of love and happiness, and i have to take it all away.

i feel my stomach turn in disgust thinking of the fact that this was all a set up. apart of our plan. she has no idea. no clue. that her days are coming to an end.

i can’t do it, i won’t do it. she’s the first girl i felt that actually likes and cares for me. i have to tell my dad i can’t do it. i can’t take my loves life.

@smoothestkoala i’m so so sorry is this is not what you wanted. i’m trying to get better, and thank you for requesting!! ❣️❣️

[weministertomonsters]

A Shift In Character - 1

Your husband is coming home today. You shift listlessly on the couch, staring at the movie playing on your laptop while your mind travels hundreds of miles away, to where he must be in a hotel room, packing up and getting ready for his flight.

I'm going to have to talk to him, you think. We can't keep going on like this.

You love your husband, you really do. But it feels like at some point in your marriage of three years, you got on different trains heading in different directions. He dove headfirst into his work, while you settled down to start making a home out of your house.

You have terrible communication skills, but he isn't stupid.

He had asked what was wrong about a month ago as he hopped into bed after his nightly workout and shower.

He was home for a rare weekend off from work, and you had spent it with an amiable air between you. As if you were roommates and nothing more.

You had been reading, but now you pressed your face into your pillow and mumbled that it was nothing with your back turned to him.

What you really wanted to ask was why he wouldn't have sex with you anymore. Was there someone else? Was it because you had gained weight? Were you no longer attractive?

In your mind you screamed these questions at him. But in reality, the embarrassment froze you up so that the times he did ask, you always insisted it was nothing. So really, this is as much your fault as it is his.

That's why the guilt from last week is eating you alive. Your best friend had decided she'd had enough of your moping (you didn't want to talk to her about it either) and suggested that maybe you go to a professional.

"As in a therapist?" You'd asked, choking on your hot tea.

"Is that what you want?" She asked, speaking far too loudly and comfortably.

You snuck a burning gaze around the room and hoped no one was listening in.

"I'm fine. Therapists are for broken people," you mumbled and immediately hated how much you sounded like your father.

It was too late to take that back, though. Your friend tilted her head like she was seeing a new side of you.

"Who told you that?" She asked.

Suddenly, you felt stripped naked. You had said too much and at the same time, too little.

"I think I just need a fun night out," you said quickly, knowing it would distract her.

It worked. That was how you found yourself at a club at eleven in the evening, dancing till your feet were sore. You'd kept a strict regiment of clean living and sleeping early for a few years, but as you downed another shot you wondered why you had even bothered.

Before you knew it, your friend had disappeared in the crowd, and all of a sudden you had a stranger's hands on you. You turned to see a delightfully scruffy man with twinkling green eyes and a jaw you just want to rub your cheek against.

"Hi," you smiled and hiccupped, swaying to the beat.

He leaned in and for a second you felt his nose press against your neck, so quick that you thought maybe you imagined it. Goosebumps covered your skin.

"Where's your husband?" He asked, having to raise his voice to be heard.

"I don't know," you giggled, tossing your arms in the air. "He left me all alone."

You didn't think twice about how strangely pointed his question was. The strap of your high heel was coming loose, causing you to tip forward. You caught yourself with a hand against his chest. His shirt was unbuttoned just enough to feel a sliver of his skin, burning against your palm.

"Oops. I think I drank too much," you yelled in his ear. "I drank like, way too much. You're very hot by the way."

"I know," he said and took your hand gently and led you to a table in a quiet corner and gave you a bottle of water, sitting next to you.

"You're sad," he said. "I don't like it when pretty women are sad."

You took a sip from the bottle and now that you had sat down, the sadness started to creep back in.

"I think my husband doesn't love me anymore. He won't sleep with me," you admitted, trying to adjust your dress which was riding up dangerously high.

"What a shame," he said. "I can fix that."

"Really. How?" You leaned towards him, your boobs threatening to spill out of your dress. "Can you make him love me again?"

"He'll find you irresistible," the man promised, a predatory smirk creeping onto his face.

"Let me guess, you're going to try and sell me some kind of love potion or charm," you snorted. "I don't believe in those."

"No," he said and put his hand on your thigh.

That was when you should have pushed him away and left. But that simple touch woke your body up and with the alcohol buzzing in your veins, your mind lost the battle against your body.

You let him caress your thigh, your breath quickening as he leaned in.

Just one kiss won't hurt, you thought.

But that one kiss seemed to rewire your brain. His lips were so soft and hungry against your own before you realized what you were doing, you had straddled him, barely able to keep your moans to yourself. In retrospect, he seemed to be doing it more for you than himself. Like he knew what you had been missing. He tugged at your hair and your back arched as you pressed against him. He buried his face in your neck, leaving kisses on your skin.

"So fucking pretty," he growled huskily. "Your husband shouldn't be able to take his hands off of you."

"I..." The mention of your husband was like a bucket of cold water, bringing back some of your self-control.

"I need to go," you said, putting your hands against his broad shoulders and pushing.

He chuckled but he didn't let you up. One of his hands secured your hip and the other cupped the back of your neck, pulling you in.

"Please stop," you pleaded, trying to draw on your weak conviction.

He ignored you, leaving an open-mouthed kiss on your neck and suddenly biting down. You yelped at the sting of real pain as his teeth broke the skin. You fell off his lap in shock. He grinned at you with sharp teeth and eyes that glowed faintly in the dim lighting.

A primal part of you was afraid. You stumbled to your feet wondering if the alcohol was still making you see things. You rubbed your neck but your fingers came away clean. You looked back at him, but the chair was empty. It was like he disappeared into thin air, however, the throb between your legs told you that the encounter was very real.

The next day you bought your very first toy and smuggled it home as if the bag was see-through. You came thrice in the span of an hour and that was what had sealed your decision. You had needs too, damn it. You were tired of pretending otherwise.

Fast forward to today. You'd had a glass of wine, and your courage was off the charts compared to the usual. Your heart leaps in your throat when you hear his keys jingle in the lock. You're jumping up and you're by the door when it opens.

"Welcome home!" You say, dragging him into a hug. "I missed you," you murmur against his neck.

He smells so good, you could just eat him whole.

"It's only been a week, darling," he laughs and kisses you chastely on the cheek. "Let me bring my things in."

You follow him like an affectionate puppy. Finally, he placed his suitcase in the bedroom. He's about to unzip it and start unpacking, but you're too impatient for that.

"Can't that wait?" You murmur, slipping your arms around his waist.

"I'll forget," he says. "I managed to spill wine on my favorite white shirt, I have to see if I can get it out-"

"Later." You shove him on the bed with enough force that he bounces slightly.

He stares up at you in shock, blinking as you straddle him and crawl up to his face.

"I've been so lonely," you murmur, rubbing your thumb over his bottom lip.

"What's brought this on?" He asks warily. "Are you mad at me?"

"Huh? No. Why would you think that?" You ask in confusion.

"You're clutching me like an anaconda," he grumbles. "I hate to be a spoilsport but I've had a long journey, dear."

It takes a moment for you to realize he's rejecting you. You see red. A few moments later, you're landing on the floor and he's scrambling away from you.

"What the fuck, woman?" He clutches his cheek and stares at you. "All this because I want to sleep? You're the one who used to turn me down!"

"I have not ever turned you down!" You huff.

"Right. Of course. That still doesn't give you the right to slap me."

"I didn't," you say, confused.

You don't remember doing that. One moment you were on him, furious as heck, and the next, he was shoving you off the bed. When had you slapped him?

He stares at you for a long moment. "You need to blow off some steam, that's what. Maybe you should go for a run?"

Your anger comes back even hotter and you're growling low in your throat as you pick yourself off the floor.

"Are you saying I need to lose weight?" You say through your teeth, which you're grinding together so hard that your jaw aches.

He rubs his forehead. "No, darling. I'm suggesting it because it's what works for me. Besides you're so angry right now that you're flushed. We need to talk, but not like this."

You glance at yourself in the closet mirror and he's right. Your skin is red and patchy from your face to your shoulders. That's never happened before.

"Oh god. Fine," you say, grabbing your jacket and marching out of the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" He calls after you.

"Out! Get your beauty sleep," you snap and slam the door on your way out.

You hail a taxi. You know exactly where to go, and who you're going to try and find.

Read the next part here -> Part 2

[judysxnd]

Hiiii!! I have a Pedro request - f & plus size reader if that is okay!

So reader has some friends visiting/staying at Pedro’s place for holiday whilst he’s on a break from projects and they all decide to go out for casual brunch one day. They think they have slipped out incognito however haven’t realised that someone caught wind and alerted the paparazzi (who are outside restaurant waiting to pounce). When they leave Pedro and reader get mobbed by paps (reader is shoved/pushed an gets hurt - grazes, split lip, possible black eye i’ll let you choose). Pedro becomes protective and quickly tries to get them back home. He then tends to the wounds etc and consoles them.

Make it as angsty/fluffy as you like, thankyouuu!! <3

Not going to lie, I delayed this one a little because I wasn’t in a bad mood, like, sometimes I write the ideas when it matches my mood, not sure if it’s good or not but here I am today trying to write this one as I don’t really feel good. I don’t really know how to explain it, and it doesn’t really matter, so there it is!

Also I noticed I’ve never written any story set up during winter, probably because I don’t like it 😂 I’m going to try here. It’s a small detail that will help.

I hope you like it!!!

———————————————————————————

You were the first one to arrive at Pedro’s house. He invented a few friends to his house for the weekend as he finally came back from filming. He was on a break as it was a week before new year’s. Of course he came back for Christmas, but he didn’t get to see you before leaving to spend the holidays with his family and you with yours.

So, he decided to make a new year’s weekend. It was on a Sunday, so it was perfect. He wanted to do a party on Saturday night and a nice brunch the next day to like sober up and start the year with his closest friends. It would be later in the afternoon probably as no one would be up for 12 or even 1pm. So you arrived there first like you wanted, hoping to have a few moments alone with him. You haven’t seen him un months. FaceTime and texts don’t count as real physical interactions. After some time everyone started to arrive, so the party could start.

The party went great. Music blasting very loud, drinking, dancing, talking, playing games, everything that could be done was done. You all counted down till midnight. Not to forget the tradition, Pedro kissed you went the clock rang. You were blushing as you didn’t expect him to kiss you. You hoped for it, but you’re so used to be private and never do anything in public that it surprised you.

Yes. You’re dating, but you’ve not made anything official. You want to see where it goes before making big commitments, plus you don’t want to deal with all the haters and such. You have other stuff to be focused on. But, your closest a friends know about it, so you don’t have to hide in your own home surrounded by people you can trust.

The party went on until 3/4am. That’s why you only woke up in the afternoon. It was around 12pm, and you were the last to wake up. You were surprised as you thought no one would be up so early, but it was good, because it meant you could go eat at the restaurant.

Going out after that party was risky, but Pedro made reservations in a secluded spot, so you wouldn’t see anyone. He wanted to have a fancy lunch, but didn’t want to have it at home. You tried to come as secretly as possible, in a regular car, almost entering the place one by one. And you did, well at least that’s what you thought.

When you were at the end of the lunch, trying to enjoy your desserts, you all heard voices outside. Not paying attention to it at first, thinking it was maybe a big group at a table in the restaurant, you tried to get back to your lunch. But Pedro had a feeling. He got up and went to the bathroom, making him go through the restaurant. As he did, he caught a glance outside and saw what he feared: a large group of paparazzi trying to get in.

“We have a problem” he said as he came back, looking worried.

“What’s wrong?” You asked him as he sat back next to you, avoiding any eye contact. You put your hand on his thigh. “Pedro”

“Paparazzi” everyone looked at him. “I don’t know how they know, but they’re outside waiting for us”

“seriously” one of his friends sighed

“How?” Another one asked, upset

“I don’t know” Pedro said, starting to get angry too

“Let’s finish our desserts then we will improvise” you said trying to calm him down

“I can’t believe it” he said shaking his head, grabbing his spoon and picking a piece of his cake. “I made a reservation, we arrived in small groups, no one saw us”

“It’s okay” you said “we’ll go out by the back door”

“No it’s not okay. We should be able to leave outside, in peace”

“I know”

You all tried to finish your desserts as relaxed and happy as you could, but it was a lost cause. No one talked, too focused on what could happen next. You all had a reason to fear this moment, making you angrier at each second. At some point you had to leave, so Pedro got up and left the room first. You decided to join him, not wanting him to make some mistake because of his anger.

“Excuse me, I would like to speak to the manager” Pedro said at the first server he saw once he got out. The young man pointed to an older one behind a bar, talking to a lady. You both walked to him, which made him stop his conversation.

“Hello” he said nervously

“Hi, I was wondering if there was another exit to leave because as you can see it’s a little complicated for us to just go through the front door” he said in a dry tone

“I’m sorry but there isn’t”

“What?” You said surprised

“What do you mean there isn’t an other exit?” Pedro was getting angrier

“Don’t you have an emergency exit?”

“We do but it just leads to a backyard, completely closed by walls”

“Shit” Pedro said looking around. “So what if there’s a fire you’re just stuck in there? What kind of restaurant is this?” He started to raise his voice

“Calm down P, it’s not his fault” you said putting your hand in his stomach.

“Yeah by the way, how did they know we were here?” He asked “When I made my reservation, which was made with you precisely, how did it get out?”

“I-I don’t know” he said anxiously. “Only the two servers and I knew about your reservation”

“So it’s the two servers. I would like to see them”

“I’m not sure if it is a good idea” you said, looking at Pedro who was staring at the manager. “Pedro” he finally looked at you, his eyes filled with anger. “I think we should focus on leaving and get home safe, that’s all that matters” he took a deep breath

“Okay. Let’s get out of here” you took his hand and you both went back to the room where you had your lunch. “So, there’s no back door, we’ll just have to confront the paparazzi” he said to everyone. They all started to mumble and swear.

“Let’s go” you said

You took a deep breath as you followed Pedro outside, holding his hand tightly. You barely stepped outside that all you could see were flashes from their cameras. You didn’t realize there were so many people. It was the worst minute of your life and it was going insanely slow. Pedro struggled so much to get through them that you felt like you weren’t even walking.

You couldn’t even hear what they were saying. You just heard words here and there. “Pedro! Pedro! How do you feel being seen with Y/n?” You first heard. “What… think.. her size?” You then heard. They were trying to get any type of reaction. If they couldn’t get a good one, they would search on the negative ones. Sadness, anger, anything that would make a perfect picture. “Defenseless”, “.. heard fat jokes?”, “weird relationship”, “Pedro what do you see in Y/n?” And laughing.

As you thought it couldn’t get worse, they thought it would be funny to start pushing around. As if being verbally mean wasn’t enough, they started to get physical. Pedro always told you to never respond to anyone if they were too many people, to keep your head down and leave as fast as possible. But they were really too many. You’ve ever seen so much people. They probably had no one else to harass. Business was hard for them.

That’s what made them touch you. You felt hands trying to grab your arms. You even felt some touching your stomach. You felt tears forming in your eyes, but you had to hide them, it wasn’t the right time. Pedro stayed very close to you, holding you close to him. He was begging them to stop. The weather didn’t help. The snow on the ground, it was freezing and slippery. As you were being pushed around, you found it hard to walk properly.

You had to look up to see where you were going. But when you did, something unexpected happen. You’ll remember that moment for the rest of your life. You were almost out of the group, you looked up, a little on your right. You randomly looked at a camera, but it was the bad one.

Because the camera went down, not taking you in pictures anymore. You then looked at the person behind. A young lady, she looked younger than you. She was wearing a red beanie and she had curly blond hair. You saw the expression in her eyes: jealousy. She was filled with anger, not sure why at first. But then, you saw that she raised her hand, formed a fist that ended on your face. More specifically in your left eye.

Her action made you fall on the ground, slipping off Pedro’s embrace that was trying to protect you. Once on the ground, it was difficult to focus. Too many flashes, Pedro yelling, his friends trying to gather around you to hide and protect you. Next thing you knew, Pedro grabbed you and helped you run as far away as he could.

Once you finally got to his car, you couldn’t hold the tears anymore. Neither of you said anything. You still in the rush and too scared. Pedro wanted to drive you to the emergency room, just to make sure you didn’t get a concussion or anything. But he knew it would be a bad idea. The paparazzi would know you would do that, and the same scene would happen again.

He could still call a doctor to come home if needed. So he drove home. Once there, he helped you get out, and you both walked to his bathroom. Once you were laying against the sink, seeing you were stable, that’s when he broke the silence.

“Are you okay?” He looked at you, but you couldn’t look at him. You were staring at the floor. “I’m so sorry, I should have protected you more, I-” he stopped talking when you hold his hand. He get you were still shaking. You were in shock. You finally made eye contact

“It’s.. it’s not your fault” you said softly. Your voice was so low that you didn’t even know if you actually said it out loud

“I know but still, I could have done better”

“Don’t feel guilty” you said turning around, looking at yourself in the mirror. Your skin was turning purple around your eye. You barely touched it that it hurt. “Ouch”

“Let me take care of you” he said breaking the space between you two, putting his hands on your shoulders. He then grabbed your hand and brought you to his bedroom and made you sit on the edge.

He held your feet, carefully removing your shoes covered in snow. Your pants were wet because of your fall, and you had snow on your coat. Pedro helped you get out of your clothes and left you in your underwear.

“Don’t move” he said before rushing to the bathroom again. You heard him open the water. Ten minutes later he came out, walked to you, offering his hand. Grabbing it, you both went back in the bathroom. “Get in the bath, I’ll get ice for your eye” you smiled. “We’ll clean those little wounds after okay?” He said looking at the small red wounds you had in your arms and legs. You would definitely bruise there too.

He helped you get in, and left you alone for a moment. You surprisingly felt a little better. The pain started to get away, probably thanks to the hot water that made you forget your own body. You closed your eyes and started to breath deeply, trying to calm down. But it only made you relive that scene again. Your eyes shuttered open when you saw the punch again.

Pedro came back with ice for your eye. He even helped you wash yourself as your body was starting to hurt. After the bath, he cleaned your wounds and put cream on it. He brought your pyjamas and helped you get dressed. The pain was coming back, you could barely move. Your body was stiff.

“How do you feel?” He said holding your face

“Everything hurts”

“What about your eye?” He said looking carefully at the bruise

“Only when I touch it”

“And your head? Do you feel dizzy or anything? Nausea?”

“I’m good”

“I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything”

“She didn’t hit me that hard” you sighed

“Still”

“I’m fine” you looked at each other

“We don’t have to talk about it now, or tomorrow, but I don’t want you to withdraw into yourself. I’m here okay?”

“Thank you” you said hugging him. You pulled back, looking at him when you realized. “Wait, are you okay? Did you get hurt or something? I didn’t even ask, d-”

“I’m okay, they didn’t get me” you felt better “I wished they hit me instead of you”

“Don’t say that”

“I would rather they hurt me than you”

“Look I’m okay, it’s just a few bruises”

“Are you sure? They said some pretty bad things back there” you didn’t answer right away as you started to remember it. “Shit I made you remember it” Pedro said, realizing what he just did. “But let me make it clear, what they said isn’t true okay? It’s not important what they said, they were just trying to get us to snap. Cariño you’re the sweetest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on” he said, his hands on your face. You felt butterflies in your stomach. You smiled and probably blushed too as you felt your cheeks heating.

“No no yeah I know it’s not true, I know how they are..” you tried to reassure him “let’s just go to bed okay? I just want this day to be over”

“What a way to start this new year” he joked. He was unsure if he should have said that so he was paying attention to your reaction. But when you chuckled he felt better. He saw a small smile on your face. It reassured him.

After talking a little to his friends and saying good night, you both went to bed together, cuddled up. None of you letting go of each other. You spent the night glued together.

[cbk1000]

Hey, just giving an update because I haven't been on much.

I have been feeling pretty rough after my infusion. Some days are a little better than others, but for the most part I feel like a dumpster fire. I had my follow-up with my hematologist today and told her how I'd been feeling, and she said while it's not uncommon for people to feel worse before they feel better, it usually happens in the week or so after the infusion; she thinks I'm probably having a delayed reaction and/or because I've likely been deficient for quite a while, and this is my first infusion ever, my body is just Going Through It figuring out how to process iron again after rationing for so long. She said to just hang in and that I will feel much better, it's just going to take a bit longer. (I have just barely hit three weeks post-infusion, and I have read quite a few people who were deficient for a long time take more like four to six weeks to start feeling human again, and she said that's definitely the case with some people.) She did say she would order a different type of iron if I need another infusion in the future and see if a different one isn't as rough on me.

I have seen some small improvements in things that have been plaguing me for a while. (Ex: apparently bleeding gums can be a sign of iron deficiency? I was wondering why the fuck they were bleeding so much every time I flossed, till the hematologist asked me if I'd been having issues with bleeding gums. They have been bleeding off and on for a while, and day and night, every time I floss, for months now. Since the infusion they have stopped bleeding.)

The hematologist was super pleased with my labs and how much my ferritin went up from only one infusion. She said my numbers are excellent and now my body has lots in storage to draw on and start helping with all my symptoms. My iron panel looks great now, and the additional tests they did for various bleeding disorders all look good. So basically I just have to grit my teeth and wait for my body to figure out how to use all the iron it's got.

I am about midway, maybe a bit more, through the next chapter of Book of Merthur, but writing/updates will be delayed till I no longer feel like the body of a homeless person who crawled into a dumpster to keep warm and died there. I might throw up a few previews this weekend; I'm sitting on a fair amount of unpublished words in Google Docs.

Thank you to everyone who's checked in on me, and hopefully I will be back to churning out too much gay porn very soon.

[sgt-scottymoreau]

Belgian Meeting - COT

Summary: After their visit to the MacTavish clan, Scotty ponder a lot about how her own family would take the news. Deep, she knows it won't be well; some might take it better than others. She wants to keep it secret a little longer, but it also eat her from the inside to not be up front with her own family.

Warning: None

Words: 4.3k // AO3 // Masterlist

A/N: I'm struggling a little to write recently. I'm working on something but I used to be able to finish some work in like a few days. It has been weeks now. So I'm just going in my back log and will post this for now <3

After the almost fiasco with Soap's family, Scotty thought for a little while about how she should bring this up to her family. She did say that they should wait, let one side let all of this sink in. The MacTavish clan took it rather well. Even Soap's mother didn't seem to mind when they finally explained everything. Which in itself still surprised all of them, but in a good way. Mother. 

That was the one person Scotty wasn't too sure would be very pleased with her new boyfriend. However if there was one person who could pull up with her shenanigans, it was Gabrielle. That might be a start. Her fingers trembled as her thumb hovered the call icon. Scotty swore that every time she spent a long time without talking to her sister it would always be to bring some very big news. Either unexpected visit with the whole task force, introducing Ghost as her boyfriend on the day she visits for New Year. And now this. The last time she spoke with Gabrielle was only three months ago, if she didn't consider the few messages here and there, which wasn't that long. Still, today's call felt as stressful as if she had to stop a missile or bomb. Which was ridiculous. 

The buzzing from her phone took her by surprise, she almost dropped it. It was Gabrielle calling. Scotty answered quickly. "Talk about coincidence I was going to call you!"

"Were you really? Or you just pretend so I don't patronize you." Gabrielle frowned on the other side. 

"I swear I was. I had something to tell you."

"So did I. Who first?"

Scotty saw it as an opportunity to stretch the confession and she was actually curious as to what her sister had to say. Last time she did so, it was seven years ago to announce the twins. "Go first, age before beauty." Even without the video call, Scotty could feel the glare through the phone. 

"Very funny. Ok, I need a weekend away from Nathan and the boys. They are driving me insane! Do you think I could come by?" 

The sergeant wasn't really expecting this. Since she started to work for the 141 and moved to England, no one had visited her. Not that she had time nor the place to receive anyone, it was always easier for her to be the one visiting. Although it was only Gabrielle that could be arranged. "Sure! Well if you visit, then maybe we can talk about what I wanted to tell you in person. You will see when you are home." 

*****

True to her words, Gabrielle arrived the next day. Camille was waiting at the Central station when she found the woman through the crowd. The two sisters hugged each other and Camille walked her back to the car; they still had a long way to home. But before getting in, the eldest had a burning question. "So what is it that you wanted to tell me but then choose not to till I was here?" She had a mischievous smile on her face. 

This was matched by Cam's own mischievousness. "Nothing big… I just have a second boyfriend." She thought about how to bring this up. All possible ways and to be blunt and direct was the only one that felt right to her.

Gabrielle looked at her shocked. She closed the trunk stronger than she expected. That was hell of a bomb to drop so casually. "This is a joke? What are you talking about, you can’t have two boyfriends?"

"Watch me Gab." The sergeant grabbed her phone, showed her lockscreen. It had a picture of her in the middle with both Ghost and Soap kissing each cheek. "See? This is Soap." 

Gabrielle went from shocked to unimpressed. A soft groan escaped her throat and it took her a lot to not facepalm. She might not have seen him since that one time they crashed at her place, but she sure recognized the man. "Really? From all the people, your other colleagues. Seriously Camille? You have a lot to explain…"

"Good thing we have another two hours drive to get to my place."

Up to date with her sister's life, Gabrielle still couldn't believe the situation. It still felt surreal. It didn't help that when they arrived home, Camille admitted that Ghost and Soap were on a mission, so it would only be the two of them for the weekend. Not that the eldest minded, if anything it was nice to have a girl weekend, they hadn't done that since Camille joined the army. Which was ages ago. Despite the initial shock, the rest of the days went rather calm and nice. The sergeant showed around, Gabrielle having to not worry about a thing, even though she did send a message once in while to see how the kids were doing. They stayed up late watching movies like they used to do as teens. Overall, they both enjoyed that time and Camille really needed this if she was ever to eventually tell her parents about Soap. Having Gabrielle still acting the same around her despite this was a huge relief and stability. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad with her parents? Although both women agreed that their mother might be hard to convince. The eldest proposed that Camille give a quick call to try to bring the news. Give a hint. The sergeant wasn't too sure if it would work. How to even hint something as big as this? 

In the end, as Camille wished good travel back home to Gabrielle, she made her promise to keep it secret till she was ready to say anything. 

*****

Eventually, Ghost and Soap had a two week leave after this mission, while Scotty only had a week remaining of hers. Who knew when would be the next time they could have time together. She told them about the surprise visit and how… maybe she might want to take a few days to go see her parents. With them. Both. Ghost already knew the old folks and had no objection. Soap was rather glad to meet his in-laws, hoping everything would go smoother than with his family when their secret will be out. At least this time, they didn't go with the mindset of keeping it under the radar. Scotty wanted to be up front from the start to avoid any drama. With her sister already aware it should be only easier. 

"We don't have to force anything if you don't want to." Soap said once they exited the airplane and walked the long way to the arrival.

"No, it's alright." She assured him. Scotty had her own plan to bring the news slowly to everyone. Step one; her dad. The two of them had always been so close that she trusted the man to have a rather open mind. He did accept Ghost rather easily. Of course, he would approve of Soap too. The thing was how much he would approve of her relationship. "I didn't introduce Ghost to my family till we had been dating for six months… I'm on five with you. I suppose it's in the timestamp." 

"That's one way of putting it." Ghost smiled under his mask. He had traded the full-on balaclava for a surgical mask, exposing more than he wished, but it felt like the most tactical move to do on a commercial plane. He was itching to cover himself as soon as they passed the customs. Something he did a little too fast when they were clear, making the two sergeants laugh heartily. Hearing both send a strange feeling down to his stomach. He couldn't exactly pinpoint what, but it was a feeling that had been hanging for a long time now, but only now was he a little more aware of it. 

When they passed the door, they got some glances from everyone. Thanks to Ghost. He was hard to miss; tall and the mask. Very subtle. But Scotty didn't mind it. Her dad waved at the group and she ran into his arms, very happy to see him. "How was the flight?" He quickly gave a handshake to both men. "You must be Soap?"

"Aye, nice to meet you, sir." He replied. 

"So he is the friend you told us would be coming to visit?" 

Scotty rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah… about that." 

Henri raised an eyebrow. His daughter was so easy to read, even if she tried hard to hide it. "What is it, sweetie?" 

"He is not exactly a friend… Well he is.. I mean he has been my best friend since I joined the task force and…"

"Camille. Get to the point." He knew she would go on and on for a while.

"He is my boyfriend." Her dad looked at her with big eyes, unsure if he heard that well. "Surprise, I have two boyfriends now." She chuckled nervously. The old man looked at the other two, thinking this was some sort of joke, but the unfazed expression from Ghost and the genuine smile from Soap made him reconsider that it might in fact be true. 

"Excuse us, one second boys." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. Last time Camille felt his grip like this was back in high school after she got in trouble. "What are you playing at, Camille? Two boyfriends, what the hell is that?" He switched back to French as soon as they were away.

"Is that so bad? What's wrong with that?" She genuinely wanted to know.

"You… you can't seriously love two persons at the same time? This is crazy." 

Her heart pinched, the smile on her face vanished and she started to regret her choice. Maybe she should have kept it secret… But from all the people, she really thought her dad would be someone to understand. If not, at least support her in her decisions, but the sound of his answer didn't really reflect either. It hurted more than she thought. She felt a pressure build up behind her eyes. "I was expecting this kind of reaction from mom. But not from you." 

The old man realized how harsh he might have sounded. He held her by the shoulders. "I'm sorry, tulip. I didn't mean it. It's just a bit of a shock. I thought you were happy with Ghost, weren't you?"

"I am! I'm still very happy with him. But… I realized that I also had deeper feelings for Soap and Ghost was fine with this and…" Emotions were forcing themselves all at the same time. Henri pulled her in a tight hug. 

"No worry, sweetie. I understand. It feels strange, but as long as you are happy." He looked at the two men. "At least we see the face of one of them. Glad to see you also like your men unmasked." He teased her. Camille let out a soft laugh. Alright maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Awkward yes, but not bad. Anyway, this was but a trial to when it will come to face her mother about this.

They joined up with the other two and Henri walked them back to the car. They still drove an hour before being home. Scotty quickly reassured them that everything was fine, her father had just been a little shocked by the news but he was eventually ok with this. Still a strange concept to him, but he could handle it. They shouldn't worry too much. The drive was spent mostly by Henri asking questions to Soap. The casual ones to figure out who the man was. Ghost found himself rather amused how Soap was being interrogated more than he had been when he met the man for the first time. Scotty begged her dad to stop, she wasn't a teenager anymore and knew who she was dating. But even then, her dad will still be a dad. Anyway compared to Ghost, Soap seemed more open to chat. 

A few kilometers before they arrived, the tension in the car was suffocating. Ghost and Soap could feel how the two Moreaus were apprehending the arrival at home. Henri grabbed his daughter's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Scotty returned it; the situation felt very familiar. This was just like the time she was about to tell her mom she joined the army.

Scotty let her dad go in first. Soap came behind her. "Are you sure everything will be alright?" 

She took a deep breath. "Let's just say that if it doesn't, please don't intervene." 

Ghost and Soap looked at each other frowning. What did she mean? "Why are you so scared to tell her?" Ghost asked without mincing his words. 

Her gaze met his, with a tired look. "Because she has a strong opinion when it comes to some aspects of my life. I don't align with her values." That gave them more questions than answers. Ghost didn't remember any animosity between the two when he first met her family years ago. Then again back then they were invited in a rush and during holiday, maybe there was some sort of truce? Scotty was the first to cross the entrance and she could already tell that it would be a thought conversation. The atmosphere felt tense, or it was her. To her surprise Gabrielle was also there. Alone. No kids or husband. Her sister got up to greet her with a kiss and hug. Gabrielle noticed the two men behind her. "Are you really going to do it?" She whispered in Camille's ear. The youngest simply nodded. 

Her mother got up to welcome her, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Ghost coming from the corner followed by an unknown face. "Who's that?" She asked, looking at Soap. 

Camille glanced at her sister and dad who stood on the side, silently supporting her. "This is John." Soap had allowed her to introduce him by his real name to make things easier. "My… my second boyfriend." 

Her mother's eyes went from Camille to Soap a few times, passing by Ghost. She looked at the three of them as she was trying to figure out what was going on. "Your second what?"

"You heard me mom. Boyfriend." Camille repeated calmly. 

The old woman shook her head, giving the sign to the non French speakers an idea that this was not going well. "I know you can't have kids but that's not a reason to whore yourself like this." 

"Suzanne!" Her husband cried out, shocked by the boldness of the statement. 

"Good god mom!" Gabrielle said at the same time. "You can't stay stuff like that!" 

"This is not how it works! You have one partner in your life and that's it! I'm fine if she had chosen a woman but I'll not tolerate that." She waved at Camille and the two men. The Englishman and Scotsman had a hard time following, but by the reaction of the others, the mom might have said something bad. Soap started to wonder how his family had been so open with the idea, but hers wasn't too keen. Why? 

Camille stood there still processing how her mother just called her a whore for daring to love two persons and bring back a fact that had no place in this conversation. She knew exactly why, and she had enough. "You are saying this just because it would look bad to your fucking Sunday friends!" She lashed out, taking everyone by surprise. "You don't fucking care about me all your care is about how it will looks like that your daughter is not living be 'normal' convention! I'm sure you already tell all your friends that I'm not in the army because oh no what I shame! When it's totally normal to have women in the army nowadays!"

"Camille Moreau! You change that tone immediately!"

"No I won't! Ashamed that the pastor will judge you when he will ask how's the family? Not everyone lives by your church bullshit!" 

"Camille, that-" The father tried to stop this argument which would only heat more, but was interrupted by his wife blaming him for taking his daughter's side again. Which he tried to say he wasn't, this prompted Camille to say he was again siding with his wife. Henri was completely torn between the two, if he kept going it would only be like throwing oil on the fire. The two women started to argue again, so he waved at Gabrielle and the two men to leave the living room with him. It was for the best. The patriarch took them to the backyard. Even with the door closed, you could still hear the shouting. Ghost and Soap, but mostly the latter, looked rather uncomfortable. 

"Don't worry, boys. Just need to let the storm pass." Henri said with a defeated groan. 

"Does it happen often?" Soap inquired.

"No, but when it does it's best to not intervene. Last time I was almost asked for a divorce. They are both very stubborn." 

Ghost looked over his shoulder. Hearing all that shouting gave him bad memories of his own father yelling at him. When he couldn't defend himself and wish he could have. His fist clenched as he held himself from going back in; he knew she was capable of defending herself. He simply hated to see her in such a situation. The four of them tried to make small talk. Gabrielle explained that she knew this was bound to happen hence why she was here. Provide a way to escape if the animosity was too high. Henri on his side explained that as much as Camille had respect for authority or her parents, she sometimes wouldn't mince her actions when something annoyed her. Ghost and Soap agreed on that point. The father also admitted that this clash was mostly due to one woman not caring about what others think while the other was worrying a little too much. Whenever they had a heated argument this was often the core of it. "I can assure you boys, it has nothing to do with you. Nothing personal." He tried to reassure them. 

The door opened suddenly, making everyone jump. "Sure go ahead, always bring this back to Gabrielle! Sorry for being such a fucking disappointment!" Camille screamed back, slamming the door shut. A miracle the window didn’t shatter. She turned to see the four of them looking at her. "No offense Gab."

"None taken." Gabrielle cleared her throat. 

This was a disaster. Henri gestured silently to Gabrielle to come back inside, leaving some time alone to the trio. Also, it was probably best to check on the mother. Scotty turned to Soap and Ghost, holding back so many tears. She knew this would have been a possible outcome, that they might witness this. She promised herself to handle it maturely. She was prepared for this or so she thought. But at this point Scotty wasn't sure if she wanted to cry because her mother was against that relationship or because they saw her in such a state of anger. She wasn't really proud of it. "Sorry about that." She eventually let out. Not without falling in Ghost's arms for a hug. 

The Brit held her close to her. Soap watched feeling like this might have been his fault. From his point of view, everything had always been fine till he showed. As he voiced his concern about this, Scotty was quick to remind him that she was the one who wanted him to be part of her life and this would have happened no matter who she had brought home. They will work this out. Scotty didn't need her mother's blessing to live her life. She let go of Ghost to wrap her arms around Soap and pecked a kiss on his lips. He smiled, pressing his forehead on hers. Ghost watched them, as a strange sensation fluttered in his inside. Yet familiar. 

The door opened slowly, Gabrielle stood there with a shy smile. "Our mother said she will go to her brother's to cool off. You are all welcome to come back inside." 

The rest of the evening went as well as it always went at the Moreau's after a fight. The atmosphere was calm and convivial around the table, some jokes here and there, but it was also walking on eggshells to not bring back what happened and sour the moment. Eventually the night rolled in and everyone was rather exhausted. Gabrielle thought she was driving back home, but agreed to also stay over and leave in the morning/afternoon. Another issue that rose was the fact that Scotty's old bed could welcome two people but three? It would be cramped. The lieutenant told them to take the bed, he would be fine with the floor. They both complained that it wouldn’t be fair, at worst they could take turns. But he insisted. 

"Despite that… intense show, I do like your family." Soap whispered as she cuddled up. 

"Really wish it went differently, I know it's a bit on my fault, but it is what it is. The MacTavish are better with guests." 

He laughed. "We’re not so different, don’t be fooled. I had my fair share of heated conversations too, no worry sweetheart."

******

The next morning, Ghost was the first one to open his eyes. Not that he had slept much anyway, he was used to short nights although he had improved in the last years. Maybe having someone around you could ease the mind. He silently stretched, pushed himself up. His gaze landed on the other two still sleeping like logs. Scotty's hairs were all over Soap's face who didn't seem to mind, still softly snoring. As he watched this peaceful display, the strange fluttering came back as his eyes lingered a little too long on the Scotsman. He shook his head to chase this feeling. The lieutenant wasn't sure where this came from, but the fact that it has been a recurring thing in the last days, made him worry. Because in retrospect he clearly remembers when he experienced it before…

Scotty moved in her sleep, slowly waking up and this took him out of his thoughts. 

"Morning sunshine." She smiled with a still sleepy voice. Soap mumbled something and rolled on his side making the other two chuckled. The sergeant carefully got out of bed and grabbed some clothes here and there. "What about we let sleeping beauty sleep a little longer?"

He nodded silently. Without a noise, they left the room and headed downstairs. No one was up yet, which surprised Scotty. Her father was often an early bird. It was almost 10 in the morning. She checked the outside; his car was gone. He was probably out for some reason. Ghost brought her a note he found on the kitchen table. Which was from Henri saying that he was going to pick up Suzanne. In the meantime they were welcome to have breakfast on their own. 

The two operatives made their usual routine. Halfway through their silent breakfast, Gabrielle joined in and eventually Soap showed up. The four of them chatted casually. 

The main entrance creaked all the way through the kitchen. Scotty went silent while Gabrielle and Soap kept talking. She bit her inside cheek; she had been wrong and shouldn't have yelled at her mom, she should have handled this better. 

Suzanne entered the room and saw the four young ones sitting at the table, very casual and relaxed, till they saw her. She had been wrong for insulting her daughter without even trying to understand why she had a second partner. It just felt so wrong, so out of place. She grew up with the idea that love was only for one person and having feelings for someone else meant infidelity. Add to the fact that she indeed always worries about what the others say, this whole situation felt like a slap to the face. 

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time. 

"Gabrielle, note this down on the calendar!" Henri said, eyes wide open. He even used English so Soap and Ghost sort of followed what was going on. This reaction from him dragged a chuckle from his daughters and a nudge from his wife. In his defense, never did he expect both of them to apologize so easily and at the same time. Suzanne, by respect, switched also to the language the men would understand.

"My little tulip, I'm sorry for the reaction I had yesterday. I realize that what I said was insulting and I shouldn't have used these words." She turned her head to look at Ghost and Soap. "I'm sorry if I offended you and if we had a bad start." 

"And I'm sorry for yelling at you, mom. And for swearing a little too much, I know you don't like it when I do it."

"You swear like a sailor since you were a kid. I blame this on your dad." The laugh that followed from everyone made the atmosphere much less tense. Under the table, Ghost's hands relaxed around Scotty's once everything defused to a calmer state. Soap gave her a reassuring smile from across his side. The parents took a seat at the table and Suzanne tried to start over with Soap. She did pass the same comment Henri did yesterday at the airport that at least they could see his face. This was an improved move in her daughter's choice for man. Scotty was glad that all seemed to go the right way now. Very rough start but a good ending. She wondered if her uncle also talked some sense to her mother, but better not to reignite the fire. At least now they could spend the next two days without any problem or so she hoped. 

[siempre-bucky]

can I request "I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you" with hangster 🙈

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Summary: Bradley wants to go public, Jake doesn't mind being a secret.

wc: 1.1k

A/N: baby I'll give you anything you want!!!!!

Join my blurb weekend!

"What about this one?" Bradley asked, masking the growing irritation in his tone. He gripped the sides of his phone and lowered it so Jake could see it from his spot on the bottom bunk. 

The blond looked up from his phone and braced himself for what he'd see. It was a nice photo of him and Bradley walking along the beach, their hands clasped together was the only thing visible. His heart started to race, he could clearly see the design of his watch—they'd know it was him. 

"Maybe somethin' more discreet, Roos?" He suggested cautiously. The older man audibly sighed and Jake could feel the annoyance from above. 

"How can we be more discreet?" He gruffed, hurriedly sitting up. 

The 'soft launch' was Rooster's idea after a year of loving the other pilot in silence. The silence was Hangman's idea. It wasn't that he was embarrassed of who he was or who he was with, it was the fear of what would come after it. 

"Just find something else." 

"Find something else," Bradley repeated bitterly under his breath, letting his phone fall on top of his chest. He'd lost track of how long this was taking, choosing one single photo to share with their friends once they got back to shore. He wondered what Jake's problem was anyway, most of them knew about their relationship. 

Bradley loved Jake and just wanted to be able to share his love with everyone. He picked his phone back up, swiping a few times before the screen landed on his favorite photo. A screenshot from a video he took while on vacation to the Seresin Ranch, Jake came up behind him and wrapped his arm around his waist, and lovingly kissed him while Bradley looked like he had never been happier. 

"I'm going to find food," Jake announced, standing up and tugging on his fleece jacket. Bradley wanted to roll his eyes and mutter a dismissive response, but he wasn't like that. 

Swinging his legs over the edge, he jumped down off the bed with a thud, shoving his phone in his back pocket. "We agreed to this, Jake," he reminded his boyfriend sternly. 

"Yeah, I know. Maybe we could hold off, wait till we're back on shore." All Bradley could do was roll his eyes at the nonchalance. On shore would turn into a week, then two, then a month. He was tired of keeping them a secret. 

"Why are you so against this? It's been a year!" Bradley raised his voice. 

Jake turned to face him, zipping up his jacket. "I'm not," he said plainly. 

"It's just a fucking picture, Jake." 

Just a picture. Jake swallowed and shifted his gaze to look at the metal floor holding them up. That picture would lead to comments and texts of congratulations and then they would lead to Bradley realizing Jake wasn't the one and would leave him. He would have to deal with the looks of pity, not feeling worthy of a celebrated love. 

"I want the world to know how much I love you. I want them to know you're mine!" Jake didn't blame him for the passionate yelling. 

He didn't mind being a secret if it meant keeping Bradley. He was used to being a secret, it felt comfortable. The one time he let someone share their secret left him scarred. 

"You'll leave," Jake whispered moments later. 

There was another long and grueling silence. Bradley's eyes opened wide he swore they were going to pop out of his head and his cheeks were red with frustration. "What the hell does that mean?" Bradley huffed, putting his hands on his hips. 

Jake's fingers twitched at his side and he longed for a way out. The door was right there, calling his name but Bradley repeating his question was louder.  

He stepped closer to the other man, tilting his chin slightly to meet his stare, "You'll realize that this was better as a secret. I'm better as a secret." 

Bradley's cheeks grew a deeper shade of scarlet. His eyebrows were so low, he was surprised he could still keep Jake in focus.  

His name was Jack, a fellow pilot he met while at Top Gun. Jake felt like a fool, believing he was worthy of someone who thought of him beyond the combines of his house. He dumped him 2 days after posting a picture of the two of them while at dinner. "This was a bad idea. Sorry" Jake had never felt so low. He was left with the fallout and the "Oh bless his heart" comments. 

Rooster's calls echoed in his ears, bringing him back to reality. "I don't want to keep secrets just to keep you, Jake!" He shouted, taking a few steps back. "I've been in love with you for as long as I've known you. Everybody knows how much I love you." 

"Bradley—" he choked out. 

"Why would I leave when I just got you? I've made so many plans," Bradley’s voice calmed, calmed enough to step forward and cup Jake's cheek. His face finally softened once he saw the sadness displayed across Jake's features. Jake's skin was cold as he swiped along his cheek, catching the tear that had unknowingly slipped, "But I'd give you anything you wanted." 

And with that, Bradley let him go and retreated back to the trenches. Jake stood there a moment, frozen and trying to process Bradley's reassurance. He was loved, he was loved, and he'd continue to be loved. 

Bradley woke up the next morning with a grim reminder of last night with a terrible headache. "Fuck," he groaned, sleepily searching for his phone. After finding it under his pillow, he tapped the screen and squinted at the sudden brightness. His notifications were standard…except one from Instagram. 

jake.seresin tagged you in a post 

His heart skipped a beat and his chest fluttered as he opened it. It was his favorite photo of the two of them. No caption, no location, and the comments turned off—just a tag on the center. @bradbradshaw. He checked the timestamp, determining that he posted it in the middle of the night. 

He flung the top half of his frame over the edge, seeing Jake sleeping peacefully below him. Expertly, he climbed down and straddled the man. "Jesus!" Jake yelped, startled awake by the sudden weight. "Bradshaw, what the fuck?" He blinked the sleep away and settled his hand on Bradley’s hips. 

All Bradley could do was smile down at him, allowing himself to be in sheer bliss. "I saw what you did," he said, pushing some of Jake's bedhead back into place. "I love you." 

Jake took his finger and curled it around Bradley's dog tags, pulling him down for a good morning kiss, "I love you too, Bradshaw."

[candy8448]

GCSE ADVISE FOR CLASS OF 2025/current year 10s

This is a copy and paste from a group chat i have with some yr 10 friends so if there are teacher names from my school, ignore them

Website, resources and youtube channel names will be highlighted in orange

More subject specific advise on my GCSE rambles masterlist

------

1. you should seriously start revising from now

At the start of the year i didnt care about revision so i didnt do anything till our first mocks rolled around and then tried to cram an entire year and few months of content for every subject in 2 weeks and i didnt get it in time. And during the easter holidays i spent so much time revising to catch up before gcses that i fell into a depressive episode so start revising slowly from now and over the summer holiday to save your emotions later

2. Rest is gonna be more important than revision at times

Especially towards the lead up to your real gcses if you need a break, savrifice revision for having a break or sleep it will do you better, but make sure you have/will do enough revision in time

3. Your first mocks will be this year's gcse papers but don't cheat and look up the questions, especially for english because that will do you no good because the mocks are meant to help you practice analysis on the spot in total exam conditions

4. Do practice papers, especially for science and maths this will help you the most. Do it in english as well if you are not so good at analysis or essay writing. If ur bad at essay writingf, practice writing and give it to the teachers, if youre bad at on the spot analysis, then juust bring up a bunch of practice quuestions and just play your essay. Dont write the essay, just keep planning a bunch so you develop that skill better

5. Gcses really aren't too bad. Sure they are a bit stressful when you are doing the exams that you need for a levels, but they are still not as bad as people might say. Also dont let your mocks make you worry. My mocks were a TON harder than the real thing. Dunno if that is cuuz i got better or what but dont fret about what you got in your mocks and just use it to know what to revise next

6. I dont know what order hiistory is going to be taught in, but ask mr millen or mr crozier what unit you are going to study last and during your breaks, try to study that unit yourself. We didnt have time to cover elizabeth and only covered one enquiry of content out of three so i had to spend the entire weekend teaching myself the unit from scratch so maybe try studying that unit yourself throughout the year so you dont run out of time and have to cram a ton of new content in 2 days

@Cognito is a great channel for science revision. Ive used the "entire [bio/chem/phys] paper [1/2] in 30 mins" videos so much for revision. Its efficient and labels triple and combined topics so you know which bits to ignore and such. They also have other exam boards and not just aqa

@freesciencelessons ive heard is really good but ii hardly used it, but its good for going into detail for certain topics

Also for science, make revision cards during or closely after your science lesson to save yourself time. Makig the revision cards took so much time and took away time fron actually revising from them so if you make them during school hours then you have time to revise from them.

Also getting a bunch of questions or opening a textbook and makig questions up about it to ask your friends helps both of you revise really well, especially as last minute reviisiion.

Questions like "what iis the name of the instrumental method for the flame test" (that is paper 2 so you wouldnt have pearned iit yet but questions like that)

Litcharts is the best for english revision, it has detailed notes for every single english text you would have ever done and the poems. Its also layed out in a really good way, especially best on desktop.

You dont need to pay the subscription because the things it gives for free are more than enough. I mainly used this website for the poems

@Mr salles has good videos for english. I used this channel a lot because he gives very nuanced ideas that work so well as well as advise that helps a lot with general essay writing and such.

Ive also heard tgat @everythingenglish and @mrbruff are super good. Ive used mrbruff for last minute poetry revision the day before our lit paper 2 because he has really good analysis of each poem in five minutes which i used for all the poems i was not confident in at all

Also for english, learn how the mark scheme works. If you know exactly what the examiners want, that is basically half of your marks.

One key advise i try to remember is to analyse the form and structure of the text or poems. That will get you many more marks and very quickly push you to the top bands withiut being too dificult. Just talk about the way the paragraohs are done, or ciclical structure

MME, This website is very good for maths revision. I despise maths and do worst in maths so this helped me learn entire topics in a few minutes when i couldnt in a few weeks of lessons.

What i did was go through all of my old books since yr 8 or yr 9 and just write down a list of every topic i wasnt 100% confident in. And then went through one by one and learned them again, and made revision cards on them

Also for revisioncards to save time, i litterally just tore out some bits from my maths book tgat had the information layed out well.

Also dont fret if there are one or two topics you just cannot understand. If you cannot do completing the square for the life of you, then just screw it, at most it will be 5 marks on one of the papers. Dont do this for too many subjects but if tgere are one or two you just cannot do, thhen ignore it.

Also if you are aiming for a grade 6, all you need to do is get 100% on the first 13 questions on each of the 3 papers. That will get you ceazy close to grade 6, and then complete the rest of the paper and you've probably gotten it

I HATE CGP's books, they judt never work for me cuz i hate how they are layed out buut for hostory it is tge one textbook that actually worrks from them. Ive found this text book so helpful, more than youtube videos. Mr millen gave all of our yeargroup one of these for free but i dont know if he will for your year. Ask him, but dont buy it if you find out he is just gonna give you one

I think that's about it. I dont have anything for frnech because i honestly just winged it and did no revision, but you should probably practice it for good measure

There is a perfect amount of stress where you will work the best. Too little stress and you wont do as well, too much stress and you wont work as well. First mocks i was fretting, but second mocks i went into each exam calmly and did much better, and same with the real thing.

I did slack off on the last history exam and physics exam because those were my last two exams, but i wish i did work a bit more on those instead of just give up

You will never feel more comradery with the entire country of year 11s than you will when you finally sit those real exams

Good luck next year!

[jewel9887]

remrom trick or treat!!!

So as my first trick or treater, you get a treat! I got a little carried away and hope you enjoy!

Remus was mad. Ok, he was just irritated, stuck in traffic and going to be late for his and Roman's weekly Halloween movie marathon. He was helping Janus and Patton move into their new apartment across town and he was oh so excited for them especially since they were the last pair of the couples to be living together, Virgil and Logan had been living together for 2 years, and Roman and him never lived apart. 

Although it was just his luck there was a minor car cash a little before he left. So, while sadly everything had been cleaned up, (sue him, he wanted to see the damage and maybe gore as payment for making him late), it resulted in an almost 45 minute delay to the normal afternoon traffic. He had already texted Roman, who replied that he'd wait to order the pizza and would continue to work on his plays. 

Remus' thinks back on how the tradition had started. They both loved Halloween growing up although for different reasons and their parents would allow one movie on weekend nights but that's not how this tradition started. This one started in college, even though they went to the same one and had similar majors that first semester their schedules hadn't aligned. They had already been a couple publicly, hence the moving across the country to go to college and both working jobs plus applying to any scholarship they could. 

So, by October, they just missed each other and decided to pick a day that week to bring back some happy childhood feelings. The perfect way was watch Halloween movies(at least one scary/gorey and one Disney) while bingeing on pizza and Halloween themes cookies cuddled up on the couch. This turned into a weekly thing that month which they continued every year in October. Logan and Janus had both asked why just that month each saying a different answer with Remus getting weirder each time knowing that the other wouldn't reveal the real reason that October was when a lot of their first happened usually cuddle together in a blanket on the couch with a movie in the background. 

With that last happy…explicit…thought Remus finds himself pulling into the driveway. Walking to the door purple and orange light is cast on him, Roman and he went all out on the decorations(Remus gets Halloween decoration control and Roman gets Christmas). 

Roman opens the front door dressed in purple with candy corn pj pants

"Oh, you're not the pizza man," he says smiling while shutting the door before Remus can get inside.

"Rude, I just had to sit in hours of traffic, least you could do is slam the door on me." Remus deadpans as he comes inside. "So how long till the pizza gets here?"

"Should be here in the next few minutes, according to the app" Roman responds.

"Perfect, I'm going to go change," Remus says walking past the living room noting that everything has been set up including their king size soft black blanket covered in bloody bats(an anniversary gift). 

While changing into his white with bloody hand prints pj pants, which he made himself, he hears Roman paying for the pizza. 

Coming back to the living room Roman has the pizza set out. 

"Have I mentioned that I love you?" Remus asks kissing Roman.

"Almost every day and I love you too but I am picking the first movie as an apology for you being late," Roman responds grabbing the remote

"You've picked the first movie since we were kids," Remus replies laughing cuddling up against Roman

"You're right. Now let's enjoy the movie," Roman presses start and This Is Halloween can be heard.

@remrom-trickrtreat

[mangodestroyer]

Not that I want to talk about it too much or anything, but now that I'm actually leaving retail for real (because I finally secured something else and can afford to leave), I'm kind of thinking a lot about how shitty this job actually is. And how I sort of just got used to it after a while.

I mean, first, there's the obvious of retail being a hella toxic environment. You're constantly facing the public, and have zero ways of standing up for yourself and avoiding it. Companies also push for you to reach extreme goals and push for workers to be super competitive over the metrics. All this micromanaging, as well as the bs from the customers, can easily cause co-workers to become burnt out and bitter. Leading to toxic work relationships as well.

Secondly, it's so much physical labor. And my job in particular also requires a high level of social intelligence. I mean, you have to actually SELL things to customers, on top of balancing a thousand different tasks (and completing them within a certain time frame while also putting out other people's fires). I mean, seriously. It's difficult to draw the energy to have a whole-ass sales pitch, individualized to the customer you're speaking to when you've been rushing to complete three projects.

It's also the scheduling. You can never have the same schedule every week. And the shifts are always all over the place. One week, you might have six four-hour shifts, the next week, you have an eight-hour shift where you work till nine at night, and then have another eight-hour shift the next day requiring you to come in at five or six in the morning. Maybe you worked nothing but evening shifts for the past three months. Now you're suddenly being scheduled morning shifts after you've gotten used to going to bed at four a.m. because you hate waiting to go to your job during the day. Maybe you're scheduled two 35-40 hour weeks because it's a very busy sales period and there is A LOT OF WORK TO DO. Then you're scheduled for nothing but 8 to 16-hour weeks and there's nothing to do/you have no money. You're scheduled for every weekend and holiday. You can no longer feel excited about those while everyone else is having a blast. In fact, you forgot that going to the store is something that people sometimes do for fun. If you ask to limit your hours and have certain times/days off, you'll get heckled for it. Sometimes, you're asked to cover shifts and people get annoyed if you decline. You're asked to find someone to cover your shift if you can't make it in. People get mad at you for being sick or for just wanting to use vacation days.

The pay. The pay is shit. All this for the lowest pay they think they can get away with giving people.

It is... exhausting! Even a simple four-hour shift leaves me feeling like I can't decompress. I have to take things to help me relax after work and to help me tolerate it the next day. Even then, I can't truly get myself to focus on my hobbies or anything. It's also made going to school difficult. It's so hard to think after being worked like that. Or to have the energy to stay on top of things. Also, I've gained weight since working this job. I was... 125 lbs when I started. I got all the way up to 165 lbs in three years and struggled to get down to 157 lbs these past few months. I feel like my stomach can't even digest a lot of food these days. Like, if I eat too much dairy or fruit or something, it feels like it just sits in my stomach for a long ass time until I get cramps and feel bloated. I never used to be like this. I also feel like I have more inflammation in general. And God forbid you have issues happening in your personal life. It makes all of this so much worse! Back when I was in a toxic relationship, I straight up wondered if I was developing b*polar/sch*zophrenia, d*mentia, or c*ncer. The stress was affecting me both physically and mentally THAT MUCH.

I spent three weeks away from my job a few months ago. I actually started feeling like I had some energy. I started feeling human again. It was pretty telling. Before then, I thought I'd finally gotten used to working that job and that maybe it wasn't so bad. Then I came back and was like, "Holy, fuck! This place is shit!" I started putting in job apps like my life depended on it for ANYTHING that wasn't retail or food service. ANYTHING. Even if I was underqualified.

And that's that. I will never do a low-paid customer service job again. If things ever get rough in the job market and I don't have a choice but to return to shitty work... I will literally do the actual SHITTY work of scrubbing toilets before I return to retail. I'm DONE.

[brighteststar707]

Quality Time

✦ Written for Jumin Week 2023

✦ Jumin x Reader

✦ Words: 1110

There have been no shortage of luxurious places you and Jumin have stayed at together since getting married. You have become quite comfortable with the level of lavish luxury being in his world has brought you, there's little left that you think could surprise you.

Jumin, however, has one last secret hidden up his sleeve that he has apparently been keeping until he felt like the time was right.

You had both been very busy lately, occupied with work for the RFA and the company, and having to spend some time apart because of his business trips. Coming home to an empty house and eating alone had become more common occurrences. You wake at different times and get very little time to enjoy together every day. Maybe a few words as he slips into bed - you're half asleep already - or a quick I love you as you cross each other in the hall.

While neither of you mention it, you know you're both feeling the effects of being apart. You had been daydreaming about romantic dinners and evenings in the gardens and that lovely weekend you had spent together a few months ago at the vineyard. There was so much you wanted to tell him that you simply didn't have the time to.

Little did you know that Jumin had spent his time at work - between the endless meetings - planning a solution to your problem.

You wake up one morning to find him in the kitchen, fully dressed and sipping on a mug of coffee. It ls long past when he was supposed to leave for work, though he doesn't seem to be too concerned.

"Good morning, Jumin?"

"Oh, good morning, Darling. I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, you didn't, I'm just wondering why you're still home. I thought you had a big day at work today?"

"Don't worry about that, it's all taken care of. Did you sleep well?"

You nod slowly.

"That's good, you were up working till late last night. Now that you're up, I have something I've been wanting to tell you." He keeps his tone light, airy, but watches you attentively as he tells you the next part. "I have taken the next two weeks off of work and have planned a trip for us. It has been too long since we have had time to pay attention to simply each other."

He has found that he greatly enjoys catching you off guard like this, finding little ways (or big ones) to surprise you. You're still in your pyjamas, eyes bleary and eyeing his mug of coffee enviously.

“...What?” Your voice is still a bit hoarse from sleep.

He chuckles and holds his arms out, inviting you closer to him. Instinctively, you tuck yourself against him and gratefully take his coffee after he offers it to you. You take a sip, processing his words again.

“And where are we going?”

“I thought I would show you our island. It's a travesty that in all the time we have been married I haven't yet been able to enjoy it with you.”

Your eyes widen with surprise and he beams. It's very cute. Definitely worth waiting to surprise you with like this.

“Excuse me? Our island?”

“Oh, hadn't I told you?" He knows he hasn't. "My father gifted it to me as a birthday present many years ago. I have never gone to visit but I hear it's beautiful."

There's a glint in his eye that tells you he's enjoying your reaction. But he's also dead serious. You hesitate for a moment, weighing out all the work you still have to do, and then it hits you. A private island. Alone, with Jumin, for two weeks. The work will wait.

“Well, I think I should get packing, then!”

He laughs, a proper, hearty laugh as you pull him with you back to your room to start packing, all your earlier tiredness forgotten.

✧✦✧

The island is lush, covered in countless flowers, trees and bushes in a sea of green. You couldn't dream of counting all the different species of plant you've spotted since arriving on the island. You had flown in (by helicopter!) just a few hours after Jumin had informed you about the trip, and it still barely feels real.

You stay at a house with big airy windows and a porch facing the ocean. It's a world away from the penthouse and the fancy hotel suites you have stayed at before.

It takes you some time to get used to the silence. Save for a few staff who you quickly get to know, there is nobody else on the island. No city noises just outside your door, nothing calling your attention except for Jumin (and, oh, he's quite demanding).

You fall asleep to the sound of the ocean waves outside your window and warmth of Jumin's arms around you. You both sleep in in the mornings, Jumin's strict internal clock finally breaking after a few days. Both of you wake up wrapped in a mess of sheets and limbs, and it takes some time to summon the energy to extract yourselves to go for breakfast (or is it brunch by that time?). You take turns preparing food and enjoy it together on the terrace, still half-dressed.

Sometimes, you take a few steps off the porch and spend your afternoon on the beach. Lounging side-by-side, reading books and admiring the view. While under the sun, time seems to pass very slowly.

You have discussions over lunch about arbitrary topics, content to pick each others’ brains for a while. His intelligence has always been one of his most attractive qualities to you. You ask him questions about countless topics and he answers them one by one, pleased to be able to satiate your curiosity.

Jumin is nothing if not an excellent conversationalist. You have made it your mission to find a topic on which he isn’t at least a little familiar. It's not going well so far. He asks you plenty of questions of his own, and listens to your answers attentively. He has told you countless times how much you have taught him, how much your perspective on all things means to him.

You share dinner over a bottle of wine and a CD of some music you both enjoy – the player a relic from long before either of you ever visited the island. It's better than anything you could have imagined. His face lit up by candlelight, sharing a delicious meal with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company.

To date, it's the best surprise he has ever given you.