#memorial decorative benches
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Where can you find a memorial bench?
Classic Benches are handcrafted to order in our workshop in the Lancashire village of Lathom.
A memorial bench should be strong, perfectly proportioned, and built to last. We've created a beautiful collection of benches that have been designed to complement and enhance their surroundings for decades.
#Memorial Benches Scotland#Rocking Wooden Bench#Wooden Rocking Bench#Benches Memorial#Benches for Memorials#Memorial Decorative Benches#Wooden Memorial Bench#Memorial Benches for Sale#Bench Settle#Personalised Memorial Benches#Oak Memorial Benches Uk#Memorial Benches Cost#Custom Bench Seats#Oak Settle Bench#Wood Memorial Benches#Memory Benches Uk#Wood Memorial Bench#Memorial Bench Suppliers#Classic Memorial Benches#Engraved Memorial Bench#Garden Memorial Benches#Memorial Bench for Garden#Engraved Memorial Benches#Bench Seat Custom#Custom Work Bench#Custom Bench#Bench London#Star Bench#Star Shaper Bench#Twin Bench Seat
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our walter ♥️
#we bought the buggy bench to decorate with little memorial items and to sit at when we missed him#and i am so obsessed with taking time to sit there when i need to calm down. i guess wally agrees 😭😭#walter the cat
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2007-core nostalgia extravaganza
Quick PSA: someone on Facebook is apparently impersonating me using an account called "McMansion Hell 2.0" -- If you see it, please report! Thanks!
Howdy folks! I hope if you were born between 1995 and 2001 you're ready for some indelible pre-recession vibes because I think this entire house, including the photos have not been touched since that time.
This Wake County, NC house, built in 2007, currently boasts a price tag of 1.7 million smackaroos. Its buxom 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths brings the total size to a completely reasonable and not at all housing-bubble-spurred 5,000 square feet.
I know everyone (at least on TikTok) thinks 2007 and goes immediately to the Tuscan theming trend that was super popular at the time (along with lots of other pseudo-euro looks, e.g. "french country" "tudor" etc). In reality, a lot of decor wasn't particularly themed at all but more "transitional" which is to say, neither contemporary nor super traditional. This can be pulled off (in fact, it's where the old-school Joanna Gaines excelled) but it's usually, well, bland. Overwhelmingly neutral. Still, these interiors stir up fond memories of the last few months before mommy was on the phone with the bank crying.
I think I've seen these red/navy/beige rugs in literally every mid-2000s time capsule house. I want to know where they came from first and how they came to be everywhere. My mom got one from Kirkland's Home back in the day. I guess the 2010s equivalent would be those fake distressed overdyed rugs.
I hate the kitchen bench trend. Literally the most uncomfortable seating imaginable for the house's most sociable room. You are not at a 19th century soda fountain!!! You are a salesforce employee in Ohio!!!
You could take every window treatment in this house and create a sampler. A field guide to dust traps.
Before I demanded privacy, my parents had a completely beige spare bedroom. Truly random stuff on the walls. An oversized Monet poster they should have kept tbh. Also putting the rug on the beige carpet here is diabolical.
FYI the term "Global Village Coffeehouse" originates with the design historian Evan Collins whose work with the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute!!!!
This photo smells like a Yankee Candle.
Ok, now onto the last usable photo in the set:
No but WHY is the house a different COLOR??????? WHAT?????
Alright, I hope you enjoyed this special trip down memory lane! Happy (American) Labor Day Weekend! (Don't forget that labor is entitled to all it creates!)
If you like this post and want more like it, support McMansion Hell on Patreon for as little as $1/month for access to great bonus content including a discord server, extra posts, and livestreams.
Not into recurring payments? Try the tip jar! Student loans just started back up!
#architecture#design#mcmansion#mcmansions#ugly houses#interior design#mcmansion hell#bad architecture#2000s
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Sugar and Lace | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader
Summary: Bradley had a hot wife. He went wild for you in your work clothes and his worn out shirts. You didn't need any bells and whistles to look sexy, and you never would. But now that he knew what you looked like in a little lace, he needed to have that version of you, too.
Warnings: Fluff, adult language, drinking
Length: 3000 words
Pairing: Beer Boy and Sugar! Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader (former fuckboy college student Bradley)
This is a one-shot to accompany my fics Old Habits Die Hard and Right Girl, Wrong Time but it can be read on its own! Check out my masterlist
Bradley looked at Jake over his beer, and Jake looked right back at him. The Hard Deck was virtually empty this early on a Saturday in the middle of the blazing summer heatwave, leaving the two of them very much alone together with their drinks.
"So..." Bradley said, tracing a line through the condensation on his half empty bottle. It wasn't that he disliked Jake. Not really. But he didn't know how many times he could be coerced into hanging out with him for the sake of you having a 'girls day'. It wasn't like he could complain about work to the person who annoyed the shit out of him at work yesterday.
"So..." Jake replied, picking up his drink and chugging it before signaling to Penny for two more. When he turned back, he had a smug little smile on his face that let Bradley know he was about to get annoyed again. "I'm assuming by the way your wife looks and how fucking pussy whipped you are that she has good taste in lingerie?"
Bradley sputtered, almost knocking his bottle off the high top. "Jesus fucking Christ, Hangman. What the hell kind of question is that?" He could feel heat rising in his cheeks at the memory of you prancing around the bedroom last weekend in a lacy tie dye bra and matching boy shorts. Everything you wore was sexy.
"That's obviously what they are out shopping for," Jake drawled, handing the empties to Penny as she dropped off fresh beers. Bradley waved two fingers in a half-hearted salute and then glared at Jake as he added, "Jessica specifically asked your wife to go with her. She told me she's picking out some things for the honeymoon, and you and I both know what that means. They are trying on lingerie." His smirk was back. "Together."
Bradley swallowed hard, digging his fist into his thigh. His teeth were clenched as he said, "Stop picturing my wife in lingerie."
All he got was a jovial laugh in response. "Tell me right now to my face that you're not picturing both of them wearing something tight, cropped and lacy, and I'll stop."
Bradley raked his fingers through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut against the mental image of you and Jessica in a cute little fitting room, laughing together. "God damn it, Hangman!"
--------------------------------
You and Jessica were crammed into a fitting room together, trying not to laugh at the enormous stacks of cute things to try on. Your pile was on the left side of the decorative bench, and hers was on the right. You knew that Jessica Reed happened to collect lingerie in every color imaginable, but she was on a quest to find some unique things to take on her honeymoon. And you were on a quest to wow your husband with something more than a bra and boy shorts for once.
Not that he complained. Not that he ever complained. Bradley went absolutely feral for you in your damn work clothes and loafers. He about lost his mind when you wore his ratty, old tie dye tee shirt to bed. He often sounded like he was going to need CPR when you put on his bathrobe and nothing else. It was hard to contain your smile when you just knew that something in this fitting room was going to blow his mind to the point that he would be rendered speechless.
"Try something on," Jessica suggested gently, and you took a step closer to your pile. "Then you'll get a better idea of what you like."
There was red, green, black, white and pink fabric. There were nightgowns, thongs, bralettes and stockings. When you reached your hand out, you hesitated, confidence wavering. This seemed a lot more challenging than solving a linear algebra matrix.
Jessica whispered, "You'll look beautiful in anything, Advanced Calculus. I can promise you that." When you kind of shrugged in response, she said, "Do you want me to wait in line for my own fitting room so you can have more privacy?"
The two of you already agreed to help each other make selections, and the last thing you wanted was to keep opening the door so everyone else could see you wearing this stuff. "No. It's not that. I just... don't really own anything like this. I mean, I have a few things, but some of this is elaborate." You glanced at her over your shoulder and winced. "And this was supposed to be a shopping trip for you! For your honeymoon! Not for me."
She shushed you and then reached into your pile and pulled out a fairly innocuous looking nightie in a soft champagne color. "Start with this. Then you'll see how hot you look, and it'll be a gateway drug to you starting your own collection that will rival mine."
"I've seen your closet," you muttered, taking the hanger from her and holding the garment up in front of your body. It was pretty. The color even complimented your hair. It was a far cry from what you usually wore to bed, but you'd give it a shot.
When you started to undress, Jessica turned around and played with her phone, which you did appreciate. All of your bumps and lumps would be on display soon enough anyway, but at least you'd have a minute to straighten yourself out. The fabric was cool and slick against your skin, and you shivered as it settled high on your thighs. When you looked in the mirror and turned, you were pleasantly surprised with the result.
"It's not bad," you said, and she looked up and gasped, green eyes wide.
"It's perfect!"
"I wouldn't go that far," you muttered, smoothing your hands along your sides.
"Well, I would. And I'm sure Bradley would, too. Do you want me to take a picture on your phone?" she asked, and you nodded while she posed you with one hand on your hip. "Like I said, perfect," she muttered as she took the photo and then set your phone down again. "Try on something else."
"Okay," you whispered, reaching blindly into your pile and pulling out a black lace corset top.
Jessica jumped up and down and clapped her hands. "I love that one. I picked one up to try it on, too."
"I don't know about this," you said, holding it up in front of the nightie. "Not sure how Beer Boy is going to like it."
"You won't know until you try it on."
With those words of wisdom, you changed from the nightie to the corset, and your immediate thought was how cute this would look under your sweaters and tweed when you were at work. And it would feel amazing. It was snug and sexy, and somehow you felt like you could kick even more ass at work if you were wearing this thing.
"What the hell?" you whispered, and Jessica turned to look at you, clapping her hands once again. "I feel like I have super powers."
"Because you do! Look at you! Please let me take another picture of you to send to Bradley."
This time you posed yourself and turned so your tattoos were visible through the lace cutout on the side. Then you stood there and admired yourself before saying, "I'm definitely buying this. Catch me wearing it to work under my cardigans in the fall."
Jessica started digging into her own pile now as you changed from the corset into a bodysuit, but when she met your eyes in the mirror, she looked like she was going to freak out.
"What?" you asked. "The bodysuit looks that bad?"
She shook her head, and pressed her lips together before almost shouting, "When were you going to tell me you have a math tattoo?"
"Oh," you replied, not sure you'd ever heard her voice reach that octave before. "Euler's Identity? I've had it since I was nineteen."
"I love how you embrace your inner nerd," she said as if she was in awe of you, and you started laughing which made her laugh. "Now send those pictures to your husband and let that man worship you."
--------------------------------
Bradley had just buried his face in his hands while Jake laughed when his phone went off. You hadn't even bothered to inform him that your little 'girls day outing' was a quest to make sure Jake enjoyed his honeymoon with Jessica. Honestly, Bradley kind of hoped the other man was correct in his assessment that you'd be shopping for something for yourself, too. Not that you needed it. Holy shit, you still looked like the girl he fell in love with over a decade ago whenever you wore his old Grateful Dead shirt or his robe around the house.
But now he wanted something special, too. Why should Jake get to have all the fun when it came to having his partner all wrapped up in a pretty package that was specifically meant to be removed?
"Sugar," he grunted when he saw that you'd texted him. Jake was rambling about something across the table, but Bradley couldn't hear him. He could no longer hear anything. He couldn't process thoughts or form words. All he could do was stare at the two photos you'd sent to him. "Oh, fuck."
In the first one, you were wearing a shimmery light gold colored thing that looked soft. Like maybe almost as soft as your skin. His heart hammered up into his ears as he examined every inch of it on your curves. Your nipples were pebbled against the fabric, and he could practically feel them between his lips. When he swiped to look at the second one, he abruptly stood from his stool with his phone gripped tight in his hand, eyes bugging out.
"Let me guess... your wife sent you photos?" Jake asked, clearly amused.
Instead of verbally responding, Bradley made sure his phone was tipped away from Jake as he zoomed in for a closer look. Holy hell. Your tits were being pushed up in the sexiest black lace he had ever seen. It was sinful, and now he was imagining you wearing it under one of your tweed blazers while giving a lecture. He swallowed hard, realizing he could see the tiniest bit of your tattoos through the little cutout on the side, and he actually whimpered.
"Yeah... she definitely sent you photos," Jake murmured as his own phone chimed. "Oh, Jess just sent me five."
"How did you get five?" Bradley complained, swiping back and forth, desperately looking for more. "I only got two!"
It was then that he noticed you texted him after you sent the pictures.
What do you think, Beer Boy?
Bradley laughed a bit maniacally. What did he think about the lingerie? Ha! He could barely think at all! He paced back and forth a bit, sweating as he wrote back.
You look fucking hot as hell, Sugar. If you don't bring that black top home, I think you'll break my heart.
Bradley cringed, because now Jake was the one who was whimpering. "They're sharing a fitting room," he whispered, and Bradley's eyes went wide with the realization that Jessica must have taken the photos for you. Then his eyes narrowed as he reached for Jake's phone.
"You better not be able to see Sugar in any of the pictures!"
-------------------------------
You and Jessica were wearing matching fluffy robes and sorting through everything you'd already tried on.
"You have to get that thing," you told her, pointing to the garters and stockings. "It fits you like a glove."
She nodded and added it to her 'yes' pile. "And you have to get the thong and bustier," she replied.
"I'm already buying four things," you reminded her. The bustier was nice, and your breasts looked good in it, but you didn't love the color very much. Besides, there was one last thing you hadn't tried on for fear of looking or feeling ridiculous, but there was a part of your brain that just knew your husband would love it.
"Missed one!" Jessica said, pulling on the bright pink fabric like she could read your mind. Always the best cheerleader, she held it up in front of your body and nodded. "It's bold, but I think you can pull it off."
You took it from her, but looked at yourself skeptically in the mirror. "I don't know... it's going to look bad. Like I'm trying too hard. I don't know why I even picked it up."
But you did know. Bradley was attracted to you in that dumb tie dye shirt like you were some sort of exotic bird whenever you put it on. All of the bright colors swirled into something that just lured him right to you. Part of it was nostalgia, sure, but you felt like there was something more as well.
"Actually, I do know why I picked it up," you told Jessica, holding the chemise closer to yourself. "Bradley really likes it when I wear his old shirt that I kind of held hostage for ten years. It's vibrant and bright, and I think this is the sort of thing he might enjoy?" You pursed your lips and sighed. "But, maybe I'm wrong, because he also just seems to like me how I am. No frills, you know? He's always been that way."
Jessica smiled. "Yes, I understand. And I hope you realize that you just described a man who is desperately in love with you, not just how you look. Sounds like the kind of man you should spoil a little bit." She tugged gently on the chemise and added, "This is a far cry from a tee shirt, but you won't know how you feel about it until you try it on."
"You're right."
Once you were out of the robe, you pulled the stretchy lace over your body, and gaped at the deep neckline as Jessica tied the satin ribbons around the back of your neck. You hadn't noticed before, but there were some yellow and orange threads woven in, making delicate swirls in the fabric. Almost like a different kind of tie dye. It actually looked stunning on you, and as you turned from side to side, you already knew you had to have it.
"I'm obsessed," Jessica said, bouncing excitedly as she clapped her hands together. "Should I take one last round of photos for you to send to Bradley?"
-------------------------------
Bradley was lightheaded. He sweat through his shirt, and he had his forehead cradled in his hand as he opened three photos of you wearing something so bright and pink and sexy, he wanted to lick it off of you. Everything was covered up, but barely. In the one shot, he could almost see your ass. In another, he could definitely see your pert nipples. In the other one, he could make out part of your titty tattoos.
It was a good thing Jake was staring at his own phone in amazement, because Bradley was pretty sure he was drooling and incapable of formulating a sentence. He had already written back to you, begging you to buy the pink thing. Telling you he needed it. Letting you know he wanted to peel is slowly off of your body in bed later. In fact, the last thing he sent was 'Buy everything in that whole fucking store, money is no object'. And he meant every word.
Bradley had been crazy about you for so long, and most of the appeal came from how smart you are and the fact that you weren't fussy. You let him dote on you in your work outfits. You wore his clothing around the house. You didn't need all the bells and whistles to be sexy, and you never would.
But now that he knew exactly what you looked like in black satin and colorful lace, he needed to have that version of you, too. He needed it.
"Since when does your wife have tattoos?"
Those words snapped Bradley out of his lust filled stupor, and his brown eyes bore into Jake's green ones. How did he know about your titty tattoos? When his gaze drifted back to his phone, he turned the screen toward Bradley with a grin. Apparently you had taken a photo of Jessica, in which your reflection was visible in the fitting room mirror. You were wearing a bra, and you were as covered up as you would be for a beach day, but Bradley loathed the idea of Jake having any sort of access to those tattoos.
"Hey!" Jake complained as Bradley snatched the phone and deleted the photo. "What the fuck, Bradshaw? I wanted that picture of Jessica! You could have just cropped it."
"Hey, boys!"
Bradley turned in time to toss Jake's phone aside as Jessica headed through the nearly empty bar with you following behind her. There were two enormous shopping bags in your hands, and you had a smile on your face as you asked, "Ready to go home, Beer Boy?"
"Hell yes," he murmured, closing the distance to your lips and kissing you hard. "Did you buy that pink thing? And the black one?"
His hands wound around your waist possessively, and he got even more excited as you tucked the bags behind your back and whispered, "There's only one way to find out."
Bradley started guiding you to the door. "Yeah. We're going home. Right now." He ran his nose along your cheek and gave you one more sweet kiss before shouting over his shoulder, "Thanks for the beers, Bagman. Oh, and Jessica, I need you to crop your photos better next time you take my wife shopping."
---------------------------
I love Beer Boy for making Sugar feel so good about herself every day. She's a badass, and he knows it. I wrote this as a little wedding treat for @je-suis-prest-rachel Congratulations, Rachel! And thanks to @beyondthesefourwalls
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#bradley bradshaw x reader#rooster x reader#rooster x you#rooster imagine#rooster fanfiction#bradley rooster bradshaw imagine#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader#bradley rooster bradshaw fanfiction#bradley rooster bradshaw#bradley bradshaw imagine#bradley bradshaw x you#bradley bradshaw#bradley bradshaw fic#bradley bradshaw fanfiction#top gun imagine#top gun maverick imagine#top gun fanfiction#top gun maverick fanfiction#roosterforme#sugar and lace
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A dream land - DP X DC Prompt
Okay, so I was thinking about that episode "Perchance to dream" where Bruce is trapped in a dream world and this, even thought really different, came to my mind.
Danny is king or prince of the infinite realms. He's been working on personalizing/decorating his castle in the infinite realms. When he feels someone walking just outside the castles walls. The thing is, that someone isn't a denizen, they aren't in a corporeal body, but he can feel that they are very much alive and feel distinctly human. He approaches the person to ask why and how they are in the infinite realms, but they fade away before he gets the opportunity.
Clockwork, who was with him at the moment, tells him that the visitor from the living, was just the soul projection of someone that was sleeping, and then refuses to elaborate further. Since it's something that was to do with sleeping, Danny decides to go and ask Nocturn, it seemed like a reasonable assumption that he was the one at fault for the soul projection.
Contrary to what he thought, Nocturn informed Danny that Sleeping soul projection was a natural phenomenon that he didn't control. The land of dreams, ("My domain" - Nocturn reminds him), was in the infinite realm after all, and those who have been close to death sometimes slipped they're whole soul instead of just their mind, and ended up all over the infinite realms.
It isn't too different from a lucid dream for them, the body gets all the benefit of the sleep, the mind feels rested if they had a good time in the realms. Except, if they hurt their soul too bad during their little trip, it would have real consequences. Loosing memories, abilities regression, migraine, pain that reflects the soul damage, all either temporary until the soul healed, or permanent and deteriorating, and in some occasions finishing in the persons death. In the latter, the soul is usually too damaged and cease it's existence, or have enough ectoplasm and emotion to form into ghosts with crack cores whose existence is instantly in danger.
Danny clearly didn't like the image that was painted to him, so he asked Nocturn if there was really nothing that he could do. It took a lot of talking and convincing, but eventually Nocturn admitted he could be able to direct the soul projecting to appear on a certain place, but he refused to babysit anyone. Which was enough for Danny, all he needed to do was make another expansion in his castle.
He decided to make a garden to receive their soul projecting guests. The garden was enormous, with all kinds of spaced within it. Playgrounds, picnic spaces, soft benches, tables with ghost and space teamed board games, fountains, and of course, the beautiful flowers that surrounded and decorated the place. Once he got ghosts with gardening, protection and caring obsessions on the place to look out for the souls, he was ready to receive them. It took him by surprise the amount of people that came, the garden was never crowded, but was never empty either, and souls of all ages and places were visiting at all times.
He kept expanding the garden as he heard of new things their guests wished for. He enjoyed spending time in the middle of the garden where souls passed by but rarely appeared, it was calm, but not completly quite with the background noice of the soul enjoying their dreams, and he could do the more mundane king/prince work. Until, he starts getting a regular visitor on his little space of the garden.
Choose the DC character you prefer, my idea is for people who hasn't died in the past but has been in the doors of death (so died and came back would be disqualified but you do as you prefer), but I'm going with Tim.
The soul of a boy around his age appears just in front of him, as usual when he greets new arriving soul, he welcomes him with a gentle smile and tells him he is free to explore the garden. A ghost taker is assign to him. The soul, as usual, seems confused and like he wished to asks questions, but seems content to ask them to his tour guide, and Danny continues with his own duties.
But then, the same soul continues to appear in the same place every two or three days, they exchange greetings and every time talk for a bit longer before the boy leaves to explore once more. It's rear to have multiple visits from one soul, even more so for said soul to appear in the same place every time. By the four time, Danny decides to take a break on his royal duties and accompany his new friend.
~ They get close, and have cute scenes, Tim asks a lot of questions and Danny answers and not-answers a lot of questions ~
One day, Tim shows up as usual, but he is in full Red Robin costume, and well, Danny wasn't expecting an identity reveal.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
On the Bats side:
There's an attack of some villain that's able to put Red Robin (or character of your choice) on a sleeping beauty type of sleep while carrying a serious injury, were he stays sleep until teammates or backup gets him out of it. The event affects his soul, making him disconnect partially from the land of dreams and making his soul sleep project almost every time he sleeps.
Tim starts sleeping more often. It's worrying at first, Bruce being paranoid does every test in the book, despite Tim saying he's just finding sleep easier now. But, he was just affected by sleeping magic and suddenly his sleeping easier? Seems like a side effect, and that makes it worrying.
Tim's health in general improve, just like he's concentration and productivity. Who would have thought that working rested actually was more productive than working on less than three hours of sleep and missing obvious details and clues due to how tired you are.
With everything not only being okay, but better than before, paranoia about Tim's new sleeping schedule soon dies, and instead is replaced with teasing about how he used to refuse to rest kicking and screaming, and now he may sleep more than any of them.
On Tim's side, he's loving being able to soul project so often. He knew from the start he was in a different dimension, and he just wanted to know the hows, whys, and everything else. So far, he seems to do it at least once every three days, and he's even gone two times in a row a couple of times.
The garden had a lot of things to do, but Tim doesn't care about that, he's more interested in all the information he's getting. The first 3 times he was given different ghost nanny's, who were more focus on entertaining him and didn't really answer direct question. But then king/prince Phantom decided to accompany him personally, and everything went smoother. He was going back to get to know more about this new world, and maybe to know more about the cute prince/king too. He might also have gotten some better looking pajamas.
Now, he has a mission that takes more than a couple days with some people in his team that hasn't yet sen his face. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to do all nighters after getting used to a sleep schedule. He would usually try to go as long as possible without sleeping, but he decides that he should take advantage of the safety of where they're staying and sleep a bit too. He ended up soul projecting in full Red Robin costume. He tried to play it cool, maybe Phantom wouldn't know it was him.
"Red Robin, even if you didn't appear on the same spot as always, I can feel your soul. I know who you are."
#dc x dp#dp x dc#dcxdp#batfam#dpxdc#all i know about both dc and dp is from the fandom#dead tired#tim x danny#Fluff#They're in love#Tim is figuring the logistics of dating an interdimensional king/prince#Danny was considering when was a good time to tell Tim that they lived in the same dimension#Now that he knows his a vigilante#it might be easier to reveal.#Clockwork may be related as do why Tim appears in the same place everytime#Meddling ancients trying and succeeding to get their king/price a boyfriend#Why didn't Tim tell anyone about the dream land?#He's hyper independent and likes to work on his own cases alone#Besides#so far there doesn't seem to be anything dangerous about this#Just a cute boy Tim isn't ready to present to his family#if that is even possible.
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You had never given him your address, so dinner was forgotten about. You never brought it up again, and neither did Oscar.
Until you were sitting at the vanity in your childhood bedroom, amelia watching as you got ready for the day. "Mama," whe began, the bench beneath you moving every time she swung her legs. "When is Oscar coming over for dinner?"
You stopped with your makeup the second the memories of asking him came flooding back. "I don't know, 'melia," you answered honestly, putting your foundation down. "But we'll ask him today."
Your daughter was a wild child. You couldn't control her. The second Oscsr entered your line of sight in the park, wearing his workout gear, Amelia ran towards him. Still holding Coopers pram, you couldn't catch up with her.
But you didn't need to worry. Oscar hugged her and held her hand, walking her back towards you. "My mummy wants to know if you can come to ours for dinner," she said.
No, Amelia was meant to ask, not ask for you. But that was exactly what had happened. Your eyes were wide as you looked at Oscar. He matched your expression.
But then he crouched down, meeting Amelia's height. "I'd love to, 'melia," he said and held out his hand, high fiving her.
***
It hadn't been easy to convince your mother and brother to leave for the night. With embarrassment written on your face, you confessed that you were having someone over for dinner.
A friend, just a friend. Yes, the friend that you, Cooper and Amelia met at the park. No, it's not something romantic. Yes you will kick him out before 10pm so they can come back.
Your brother was laughing at you as he and your mother left the apartment.
Getting all three of you AND the apartment ready was no easy task. You got amelia dressed, sparkly shoes and cute little bow in her hair. You put Cooper down to sleep and left his baby monitor on the kitchen counter, listening for him.
The ingredients for dinner were left out on the side, a bottle of white wine accompanying it.
Just before seven, there was a knock on the door. Amelia held your leg as you pulled the door open, revealing Oscar.
White shirt and jeans. It was a simple outfit, but it worked so damn well on him. You swallowed, holding back to inappropriate whistle you were ready to release and stepped aside to welcome him into your mother's apartment.
It was a little embarrassing. Single, with two kids, living in your mother's apartment. You didn't hide that fact from Oscar. It was the circumstances life had thrown that way, and you weren't going to let it hold you back.
Oscar sat at the table as Amelia showed him the crafts she had done at nursery. "And at Christmas we can make decorations! I wanna make something to put on grandma's tree!"
Oscar grinned as he looked at her paintings. "Would you make something for my tree, 'melia?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yeah!"
You laughed at your place at the stove. Every time Oscar asked if he could help, you shook your head and sat him back down, fingers lingering on his chest for longer than you meant for them to.
You picked up the baby monitor and listened for any noise from Cooper. Nothing. Your baby was fast asleep.
Plating up the foot, you sat opposite Oscar. You talked between bites of food, learning more about each other. It was more details than you'd discussed in the park, more intimate details.
About his childhood. His dreams (although he kept it brief). His family life, living in Australia, going to school in England. It was all so interesting.
After dinner, you put Amelia to bed. She was reluctant, making you use the stern mum voice. Amelia huffed as she got into her pyjamas. But she hugged you and climbed into bed.
Grabbing your glass of wine, you led Oscar over to the couch. He sat beside you and placed his own glass on the coffee table.
Tucking your legs beneath you, you sipped your wine. Oscar swallowed and asked the question that had been playing on his mind. "What happened for you to be living with your mum?" He asked, adding a quiet 'if you don't mind me asking'.
Your mother didn't even know what happened. Your hand shook as you put the glass down, looking back towards the hallway, to the room Amelia was sleeping in (your oldest brothers room had becomes hers for when you stayed over. Perks of giving birth to the first grandchild).
"Amelia's dad was an asshole," you muttered, folding your arms over your chest. "He was sweet all the time I was pregnant with Amelia and Cooper, but things changed the moment I gave birth. The shouting and screaming, spending all of the money I had saved to take care of my kids while I was out of work-" You didn't go into details about the worst bits. "-I knew I had to get out of there. So, I came to stay with my mother."
For a moment, Oscar was quiet. "Yeah," he agreed. "Sounds like an asshole."
You released a weak laugh. "Thank you for agreeing to this," you whispered, moving slightly closer to him. "Amelia really likes you."
"Is she the only one?" He asked it so fast, you almost didn't hear it. But you moved closer, pressing your lips against his cheek. When you pulled away, his cheek was stained with lipstick. You moved to wipe it away, but Oscar caught your hand, stopping you.
***
It was just before ten when Charles Leclerc escorted his mother back to her apartment. "She's fine, mama," Charles said as he pushed his key into the lock and twisted it. "She's a big girl now."
He opened the door and let his mother walk in. The apartment was quiet, but that was to be expected. You had kicked your date out, as you agreed, and Cooper and Amelia were asleep.
The kitchen was a state, not yet cleaned up after dinner. Pascale blew out the candle on the table and walked forward.
A gasp left her lips as she walked into the living room.
There you were, lips pressed against your dates cheek. But she knew your date, as did Charles.
"Oscar?"
#f1#formula one#formula 1#f1 imagine#formula one imagine#f1 x reader#formula one x reader#formula 1 x reader#formula 1 imagine#oscar piastri#oscar piastri imagine#oscar piastri x reader#oscar piastri fluff#oscar piastri x you#op81#op81 imagine#op81 x reader
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How the Unsub Stole Christmas ❆
A Holiday to Remember: part 2
In which the BAU's holiday getaway takes a dark turn when a family is found murdered on Christmas, forcing the team to investigate while reader struggles with painful memories of her past and her growing, unspoken feelings for Spencer Reid.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!bau!reader Genre: crime, angst, smut (18+), fluff, found family Content warnings: graphic cm case descriptions!!, mentions of shitty childhood, reader getting in some unsub trouble, oral (f receiving), p in v sex. Word count: 9k 🫣 i swear it reads really fast A/n: read part 1 first! writing this story genuinely brought me so much joy, and i hope you will experience the same while reading this. this will be my last fic for the year 2024, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support, i can't wait to see what the new year will bring for this blog. don't forget to interact with this post if you've enjoyed! 🎄🤍 dividers by @issysh3ll
It shouldn’t have surprised you that you’d be called out for another case. Still, the disappointment lingered thick in the air.
“It was fun while it lasted,” Garcia murmured softly, her tone sad. JJ wrapped an arm around her, bringing her in for a side hug. “Don’t worry,” she reassured gently. “The trip isn’t over yet.”
Penelope seemed satisfied enough with that answer, but then spoke up again. “I don’t want to stay here on my own. It’s spooky knowing someone got murdered just miles away.”
“You can come with us to the station. Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and Y/L/N, you’ll head to the crime scene. A deputy will be waiting for you there.” Hotch instructed.
You exhaled softly and gave a brief nod. Spencer glanced over at you, his eyes filled with that quiet empathy you’d come to recognize over the years.
“Good luck,” he said, his voice low but sincere.
“Thanks,” you replied, your words equally soft. “You too.”
Half an hour later, you arrived at the crime scene. The neighborhood was so small it hardly felt like one—just a handful of houses scattered across large, snow-dusted plots of land. It looked peaceful, almost idyllic, as if nothing could ever disturb the calm. The street was adorned with Christmas lights and festive decorations. The only thing slightly out of place was a crack in the bench beside one of the houses. Otherwise, the neighborhood looked like it had stepped right out of a holiday card.
As you stepped out of the car, you noticed the few neighbors who hadn’t yet been driven inside by the cold. They stood in clusters in front of their homes, bundled up in scarves and coats, watching the scene unfold with cautious curiosity.
You looked over at Prentiss. “We should start doing some interviews—maybe send a few of them over to the station.”
She nodded, her expression focused. “Got it.” Without another word, she made her way toward them.
You followed Rossi and Derek toward the red wooden house, where the Deputy awaited by the front door. He looked young—probably around your age.
Rossi introduced you to Deputy Wilson. Wilson gave a sheepish smile, “Sorry it’s just me. Almost the whole department is unavailable because of the holidays.”
“Convenient timing for a murder,” you mused.
“The scene’s been left as it was when we found it,” Wilson continued. “The back door’s been forced open, and you can see boot prints in the snow leading to the backyard.”
Morgan immediately stepped forward. “I’ll get a shot of those prints for Garcia,” he said, already heading toward the backyard.
Wilson looked at you and Rossi. “You want to take a look inside?”
You paused before heading in, shaking the snow from your boots and making sure not to use the doormat—the one engraved with the names of the family members. It felt wrong, almost disrespectful, to dirty the only thing that might be left of them.
You took in a sharp breath as you entered the house. Your gaze was first taken by the large Christmas tree standing in the corner of the living room, decorated in red and gold. But then you noticed the bloody mess underneath it. Four bodies—two adults and two children—lay scattered on the floor, broken Christmas ornaments surrounding them, as though the killer had dropped them carelessly after his violent act. The mother and father were draped over each other, their throats slit cleanly. The teenage daughter, too, had her throat cut, but her body was twisted in a way that didn’t seem accidental. The small boy—no older than ten—was slumped between them, his face frozen in an expression of terror, a look that would haunt you for days.
The scene before you was a sickening parody of a perfect Christmas. But the most disturbing part wasn’t the carnage—it was their faces. Each of them wore a grotesque, unnerving smile, painted onto their lips in blood. It was a mockery of joy, an image of happiness forced onto the dead.
You felt a wave of nausea rise in your throat and turned away, needing a moment to breathe. It was then that you noticed the walls, once filled with smiling family photos were now smeared with blood. Shattered frames lay scattered on the floor, as if the killer had intentionally destroyed the family’s history, piece by piece.
Rossi spoke first. “The unsub who stole Christmas,” he mused, his tone almost playful despite the grim reality.
You gave a sharp exhale, a brief scoff escaping your lips. “Yeah, you could say that.”
You put on your gloves and picked up a shattered picture frame from the floor. You handed it to Rossi without a word. He took it, studying it for a moment before speaking again. “One thing’s for sure—this wasn’t just a murder. This is deeply personal.”
You nodded, scanning the room. The starkness of the crime scene was still sinking in, but your mind was already running through the facts. “The execution was meticulous,” you murmured, your gaze flickering over the room, “but the aftermath... messy. The unsub rushed out of here—didn’t even bother closing the back door behind him, and those footprints? Almost like he didn’t care at all about leaving evidence. We might even get lucky and find DNA on the bodies.”
Rossi considered it. “It could be that he was in a hurry. In a small neighborhood like this, people will notice anything out of the ordinary. He probably knew he had to move fast.”
You hummed in return. “It still doesn’t add up. You can’t plan a murder with this much detail and then completely overlook how to cover your tracks afterward.”
You took another slow turn around the room, examining the details. Every piece seemed to add to the strange puzzle, but none of it fit together. As you passed the fireplace, something caught your eye: a piece of paper tucked into one of the stockings. You reached for it carefully, your fingers brushing the corner stained with blood.
You unfolded it with precision, revealing the scrawled words in black ink. The sentence was short and written in Latin, a language you hadn’t encountered in years. You stared at it, furrowing your brow as you tried to make sense of it.
“You wouldn’t happen to know Latin, would you?” You asked Rossi, half-joking, though the seriousness in your voice remained.
Rossi looked up, his expression a mix of confusion and dry humor. “Does it look like I know Latin?”
You smiled, already pulling your phone out of your pocket and speed dialing Spencer. As the phone rang, you turned your attention back to the paper, the blood spatter still making your stomach turn.
“Hey,” you breathed out as he picked up the phone after the second ring.
“Hey,” Spencer replied. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft with concern, your single syllable being enough for him to decipher how you feel.
You glanced over your shoulder at the murdered family, swallowing hard before turning away. “I will be,” you responded. Once that fucker is behind bars.
You straightened, pushing the thoughts away, and focused on the task at hand. “I’ve just found a piece of paper at the crime scene. It’s a text written in Latin. I figured it’d be quicker to ask you than wait for Garcia to look it up.”
Spencer hummed in acknowledgment. “Good call. What does it say?”
You glanced at the paper again, stumbling slightly over the unfamiliar words. “Nunc sciunt te perfectum non esse.”
There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line before Spencer spoke, his voice calm but precise. “Nunc sciunt te perfectum non esse. ‘Now they know you’re not perfect.’” His perfect Latin pronunciation made you wince at how poorly you’d read it.
“What’s that supposed to mean? A taunt?”
Spencer’s voice was thoughtful. “Sounds like he’s trying to prove something. It’s definitely personal.”
You exchanged a look with Rossi, who was standing nearby, holding the broken picture frame. “Yeah, that’s what we’ve been thinking. Whoever this unsub is, he knows the Reynolds family intimately.”
“Garcia’s already digging into the family’s background,” Spencer replied without missing a beat, already a step ahead.
“Good,” you muttered, relief washing over you for a moment. “How are things going over there?”
“JJ’s been trying to reach family, but they don’t live nearby,” Spencer answered. “A snowstorm hit. I’ve been tracking the meteorological data, and the chances of them making it are close to zero.”
You nodded, a dull ache settling in your chest. “Well, I’m going to keep looking around here. The bodies will be picked up soon to go to the lab, and then I’ll be heading over to the station.”
“Alright,” Spencer replied, his tone warmer now. “I’ll see you there. Be careful.”
“Always am,” you said, offering a small smile even though he couldn’t see it.
The words on the note kept drifting through your mind. Maybe it was the sentiment that came with Christmas—or maybe it was the fact that, up until now, you were having a perfect holiday, something you never thought you’d get to experience—that made the scene remind you of your childhood. How everything looked so joyous from the outside, especially during the holidays. But if you looked closely, you’d see the cracks. The ornaments on the tree, hastily glued together, their edges jagged and uneven. The hole in the wall, cleverly concealed behind your stocking.
You were probably overthinking it. After all, it wasn’t the family that was broken like yours was—it was the unsub who had shattered their picture-perfect life.
Rossi’s voice broke through your thoughts. “You okay, kid?”
You blinked, pulling yourself out of the past and into the present. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”
You and Rossi walked into the secluded room the Sheriff had arranged for the team, exchanging your findings with Morgan and Prentiss along the way. You’d made a quick stop at a Chinese takeaway to grab food for everyone, knowing the team needed fuel for the long hours ahead.
The rest of the team was already seated around the table, and Reid was in the middle of showing Hotch something on the map of the neighborhood.
“Oh, you guys are the best!” Penelope sighed, her voice full of appreciation as she caught sight of the plastic bags you were carrying.
“We couldn’t leave you to go hungry,” Emily responded with a grin.
You took a seat closest to where Spencer was standing, and he naturally slid into the chair beside you. You reached into the bag and pulled out the only plastic fork, knowing he’d struggle with chopsticks. He flashed you a grateful, closed-lip smile as he took it from you.
Once everyone had filled their plates, the conversation turned back to the case.
“Garcia dug up some useful info,” JJ began. “Stephen Reynolds owned a construction company that’s on the verge of going bankrupt. It’s possible the unsub was an employee who got fired—or was cut loose because the company couldn’t afford him anymore.”
“It seems like the whole family was targeted,” you added, leaning forward. “The note was left in one of the children’s stockings. It doesn’t feel like the murder was just directed at Stephen.”
“That’s why we need to find out more about the Reynolds family outside of their neighborhood,” Hotch said. “The employees at the construction company could have insight. It’s clear the neighbors aren’t going to give us much.”
Rossi’s eyes narrowed, a skeptical look on his face. “Did they really not give you anything? The neighbors, I mean.”
Prentiss shook her head. “Nothing useful. They kept insisting that the Reynolds’s were a perfect family. They even seemed offended when I pressed for more.”
“That doesn’t sit right. The note specifically mentioned how the Reynolds’s are not perfect.” Rossi replied.
“I gotta give it to them, though,” Garcia chimed in. “The Reynolds’s are model citizens. The parents were both heavily involved in charity, and the kids have won multiple prizes in spelling bees and other competitions.”
“Has anything bad ever happened in that neighborhood?” Morgan asked, clearly skeptical about the idea of perfection.
Penelope clicked away on her laptop. “Well, there was a fire in one of the houses about ten years ago, because of damaged Christmas lights.” She made a sad face as she continued searching. “Oh, and a cat got stuck in a tree once… didn’t make it.”
“What happened to the family in the house?” Spencer asked.
Penelope’s fingers paused over the keys. “Uh, let me see… The Eriksens died from smoke inhalation. Oh… this is sad. They left a child, Christopher Eriksen. He was put into foster care when he was just eight.”
“Did the Reynolds’s live there when that happened?” JJ asked.
“Yeah, they did. Actually, they organized a fundraiser to build a bench with the parents’ names engraved on it, in their memory.”
You felt your pulse quicken at the mention of the bench. Something about it seemed strangely familiar, but you couldn’t trust your mind right now—not with everything still scattered from the case, and the ghosts of your past tugging at the edges of your thoughts.
You could feel Spencer’s gaze on you, but you decided to ignore it, keeping your focus on Hotch as he spoke up.
“It’s best if we head back to the cabin to rest up,” he said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day, and the station’s closing tonight so everyone can spend time with their families.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, the relief of getting some rest evident on their faces. But as the team began gathering their things, you couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that had settled in your chest. You hated the idea of putting the case on hold, even if it was just for the night. The face of that little boy kept haunting your thoughts, his wide eyes silently pleading for answers, for peace. You couldn’t help but feel like you were letting him down.
Spencer’s hand snakes up on your shoulder, his warm hold holding you in place. His lips barely moved as he mouthed, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” you whispered, shaking your head.
The entire car ride had been silent. Spencer’s gaze would occasionally flicker over to you in the backseat, but you kept your eyes fixated on the road, watching the scenery blur past.
The silence stretched on as you said your goodnights to the rest of the team and walked toward your shared room with Spencer. As you both got ready for bed, there was an unspoken tension hanging in the air. Now, lying in the king-sized bed, you both stared up at the ceiling, the quiet stillness between you thick with unspoken words.
“When are we finally going to talk about what’s wrong?” Spencer’s voice broke the silence, careful but insistent.
You stayed quiet for a moment, trying to gather your thoughts. “Nothing’s wrong,” you replied, your words coming out a little too quickly.
“There’s obviously something wrong,” he pressed gently. “You know you can talk to me, right?”
“I know,” you answered, your voice softer now, more honest. Usually, Spencer never had to press. There was something about him—something warm and patient—that made it easy to open up, to share your thoughts without fear of judgment. But this time, it felt different. It wasn’t just the case. It felt personal, something you couldn’t fully explain.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” you said, thinking aloud. “It’s just… something’s off. And I don’t know if it’s just me.”
“What do you feel?” His question was quiet, but his concern was clear.
You hesitated. “It sounds stupid,” you muttered, brushing it off.
“Nothing you could say would sound stupid to me.” His words, soft and sincere, made your chest tighten with warmth. You turned your head to look at him, noticing the closeness between you, the way his gaze lingered on you.
“You thought it was stupid that I shower at 115 degrees,” you said with a playful smile.
Spencer let out a soft chuckle, the tension easing just a little. “I don’t think it’s stupid that you like it,” he said, his voice gentle. “I just think it’s stupid that you’d risk hurting yourself over it.”
His eyes warmly looked at you. One hand rested underneath his pillow as he lay on his side. You turned toward him, mirroring his position.
"I’m really struggling with this case," you softly admitted, trying to keep eye contact, though your gaze flickered down, betraying the weight of your words.
“Was it hard seeing the crime scene?”
"Yeah," you choked out, your throat tight. You blinked quickly to try to stop the tears that threatened to spill. “It was... it was horrible.”
His hand reached out to gently rub your bare arm under the blanket. "It’s completely normal to feel affected by what you saw," he began, his voice steady but laced with the kind of empathy that only someone like him could offer. "Witnessing something as violent and horrific as the bodies of two children—it’s traumatic. The brain processes trauma in complex ways, especially when it involves young victims. According to studies in neuropsychology, traumatic experiences, particularly those involving children, can cause the brain to release a surge of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This flood of chemicals can lead to acute emotional responses, such as anxiety and flashbacks.”
“I’ve been experiencing flashbacks,” you confessed, your voice barely above a whisper. You met his gaze, looking for reassurance, and he gave you the space to speak, waiting patiently. “It actually started earlier today, when we arrived at the cabin. I’ve never experienced a Christmas like this, you know, the kind that feels warm and joyful. I- I don’t know if I’m making connections that aren’t there, but the feeling I had in that house was the same feeling I used to get when I was growing up.”
He tilted his head. "What feeling?"
“...Jealousy.”
His eyebrows knitted. “Jealousy?”
You nodded, swallowing hard, gathering your thoughts. “You could feel so much rage in there. Everything that made the home feel homey—that warmth, that love—was completely shattered. The way the unsub positioned the family members under the Christmas tree, the way the note was tucked into the stocking… There’s a reason for it. Christmas represents this idealized view of perfection. I don’t think the message was to prove that the company going bankrupt is some sort of imperfection in the family’s picture-perfect life. No, it feels like the unsub was jealous of their happiness. Of the fact that they had a family who seemed perfect—something he never had. He wanted to destroy it. To ruin their happiness. He could never have it, so he shattered the illusion of perfection entirely.”
Spencer was quiet for a moment, processing your words. “So you think the Reynolds’s were targeted as surrogates?”
“I guess so. But you don’t just stumble across a neighborhood as desolate as theirs.” you responded.
“It could still be one of the employees of the construction company. If Stephen bragged about his perfect family to the wrong person, it could have triggered something.”
You hummed in agreement, but Spencer could see there was more on your mind. He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
“As I got older, I learned that blaming others wasn’t going to make me feel any better about my situation. It’s like the unsub hasn’t realized that yet. The way he executed this crime—it’s almost like a child throwing a tantrum. He was so meticulous in setting everything up, and then once he got what he wanted, he just… walked away. There was no care for the aftermath, no consideration of what would happen afterward.”
“Do you think the unsub could still be a child?” he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Your mind clicked, and for the first time, the puzzle pieces seemed to fit together. “How old was the kid when he was put into foster care?" You asked, already knowing the answer.
“Eight. Why?” Spencer's confusion was evident.
“It’s been ten years since that house caught fire. That would make him eighteen now, and—"
Spencer’s eyes widened as realization struck. “And that he just got out of foster care.”
"Exactly," you said, rolling out of bed and storming downstairs.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Spencer called after you, quickly grabbing his cardigan from the chair in the corner of the room before hurrying to catch up.
“Be quiet, I don’t want to wake anyone.” You instructed, feeling Spencer’s presence behind you as you moved toward the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” he hissed in a whisper as you opened Garcia’s laptop on the table. You didn’t respond, your fingers already flying over the keys as you settled into a chair.
Spencer huffed, knowing full well there was no stopping you once your mind was set. He hovered behind you, draping the cardigan over your shoulders. “I’m not covering for you if Garcia finds out,” he warned, glancing over your shoulder at the screen.
“That’s fine. I know exactly what to say to win her over,” you said nonchalantly, clicking away. In your mind, the image of Spencer in the shower was still vivid—a story you could easily use to distract Penelope if it came to that.
You paused, your heart skipping a beat as you found the file. “Here it is,” you muttered, eyes scanning the information on Christopher Eriksen. You clicked to open it fully, Spencer already reading ahead of you.
“They found bruises all over his body when he was put into foster care,” he read aloud, his voice tense as the words sank in.
You leaned forward, your breath catching. “This is it,” you murmured. “His parents— they must’ve bought into that ‘perfect family’ image of the neighborhood, but behind closed doors, they were hiding this. Can you imagine what it must’ve been like for him? Everyone thinking his parents were saints, while they were hurting him? All the while, they’re the ones who get a memorial bench, their lives celebrated while they tortured him.”
“It was on Christmas that he was put into foster care. Now, it’s the first Christmas since he’s been out. It makes sense to go back to the place where it all started,” Spencer concluded.
“I need to go there,” you said urgently, slamming the laptop shut.
“Have you lost your mind?!” Spencer asked, bewildered. He immediately followed you as you rushed to the door, still in your pajamas. “You’re not seriously planning on going out like that?”
“It’s just a quick peek. I need to see if I was right about the bench,” you said, almost to yourself, already focused on the task ahead. You didn’t even glance behind you as you pulled on your shoes and yanked open the front door, wrapping Spencer’s cardigan tighter around yourself to ward off the cold.
In moments like these, Spencer knew exactly who had trained you. You were unmistakably like Gideon—determined, single-minded, and often impulsive once your mind was set. And that, in turn, always left Spencer in a state of mild panic.
“You can’t drive at night,” he said, his voice rising with concern as he followed you into the snow-covered yard. “You have nyctalopia!”
You didn’t stop, your focus unwavering. “You should take night-blindness seriously, it takes forever for your pupils to dilate, and by that time, you’ve already missed the stop sign or, I don’t know, hit a pothole or something. Your contrast sensitivity goes down, so objects blend into the background, and—did I mention the glare from headlights? Because that’s a huge problem, and it makes it worse! You’re already having trouble seeing, and now the glare from every car that passes is just blinding you. It's like trying to navigate in a fog, but it’s just light fog, which—okay, that’s a really bad analogy, but you get the point!”
His words fell into the background as you continued walking, your mind fully occupied with proving your theory. The case had been driving you mad. If you could just confirm that the bench was broken—that Christopher was the one who’d done it in a moment of anger—everything would click. The case would be solved. You’d give the Reynolds family peace. And, selfishly, you’d give yourself peace.
“Please,” Spencer begged, now standing in front of the car door, blocking your path. “If you’re going, at least let me drive.”
His comment made you halt in front of the car. “You hate driving,” you pointed out.
“I’d rather be uncomfortable for a few minutes than risk something happening to you,” he admitted.
You stared at him, feeling a surge of gratitude for how much he cared, how he believed your theory and was willing to go along with you.
You reached out and took his hands. It was a gesture he rarely tolerated from anyone, but you’d learned over the years that Spencer appreciated it when it came from you. You looked up at him, your eyes meeting his. “Thanks, Spence,” you said softly, the words simple but your voice full of appreciation.
He swallowed, his eyes softening as he nodded. “We’ll just take a quick look, right?”
“I swear,” you promised, a reassuring smile tugging at your lips. “Just a quick look.”
He sighed, still clearly uneasy but unwilling to argue. You handed him the car keys and moved to the passenger side, sliding into the seat.
—————
Spencer slowed the car as you neared the familiar area, the headlights casting long shadows over the snowy driveway.
"Let’s stop the car here," you suggested. The thought crossed your mind just in time—it would be very inappropriate to drive into a quiet neighborhood with an unknown car at this hour, especially after a murder had taken place.
You and Spencer stepped out of the car, the cold biting at your skin as you walked side by side. You stayed close to him, partly to keep warm, partly to follow his tracks through the snow, the dark pressing in around you. The Christmas lights that had lit up the neighborhood earlier were now off, leaving everything shrouded in an eerie quiet.
You made your way to the bench. Your hand skimmed over the smooth wood, lingering on the top right corner where you felt a distinct break—something sharp and jagged where a piece had clearly been broken off. You exhaled in relief. You were right.
Spencer’s hand shot out to gently grab your wrist, his fingers warm against the cold night air. "Careful," he said, his voice low but insistent. "You don’t want splinters. Stay here, I’ll grab a flashlight from the car."
You nodded, watching as his footsteps faded into the distance, swallowed by the thick darkness around you.
Alone now, you scanned the area. Everything was still and silent, save for the occasional crunch of snow beneath your feet. Your eyes were drawn to a dim light flickering from inside the rebuilt house where the Eriksens used to live, just past the bench. Curiosity nudged you forward, and before you could second-guess yourself, your feet were already moving toward the light.
You crept closer to the window, standing on your toes to peer inside. The house was barely furnished, still very much in the process of being worked on before it could be sold. You pressed your hands against the cold glass, forming makeshift goggles with your fingers, your face just inches away from the window as you tried to get a better look.
A sudden pressure on your stomach snapped you out of your thoughts. Before you could react, an arm tightened around your waist, yanking you away from the glass. For a brief moment you thought Spencer was playing some kind of prank, trying to startle you—but the movement was so fast and forceful, you knew Spencer would never grab you that aggressively.
Your gasp caught in your throat, immediately silenced as a cold, rough hand clamped over your mouth. Panic surged, but your body went stiff when the sharp edge of a knife pressed to your throat. You didn’t need any further confirmation that this was the unsub.
"I don’t know who you are," the voice rasped, low and dangerous, his breath hot and heavy in your ear. "But you shouldn’t have shown up here."
The tension in his voice was unmistakable. You could feel his rage, his plan disrupted by your unexpected presence. Every instinct screamed at you to fight back, but you remained frozen, knowing that one wrong move could end it all.
“I didn’t plan on killing anyone innocent, but you’ve put yourself in this situation,” he spat, his grip tightening on the knife.
In that fleeting moment, you made a decision. Taking a leap of faith, you sank your teeth into the soft flesh of his palm. The sudden bite startled him, and by sheer luck, he loosened his grip on the weapon.
“Christopher!” You shouted, the name ringing out with urgency.
It was enough to catch him off guard. In that instant, you turned, quickly positioning yourself with a better angle. He was taller than you—still, just a boy, consumed by something far beyond his control. His pain was evident, lurking beneath the fury in his eyes. You knew this wasn’t what he wanted.
“Who are you?” His voice was strained, the words gripping with suspicion and confusion.
“I’m here to help you,” you said sincerely, keeping your voice steady.
“No, you’re not,” he denied.
“I swear I am. I know what happened to you. I know what your parents did to you.”
Without warning, he shoved you hard against the house. Your head slammed into the window, a sharp pain exploding in your skull. “You don’t know anything!” he screamed.
“I do, Christopher. I do!” The words came from a place of desperation, your breath ragged. “I understand. I know how much this eats at you, how alone you feel because you’re the only one who knows the truth. But it doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t have to hurt anyone else. The truth will come out. People will know what your parents did, what really happened here. You’ll get what you want, the world will see that they’re not perfect.”
For a split second, something flickered in his eyes—something soft, vulnerable.
“They all knew what happened!” He said in anger, pointing at the houses surrounding you. “They all knew and no one said anything!” He shook his head, “I’ll never get what I want. It’s too late for that.” he muttered bitterly.
Despite his words, you felt a flicker of hope. He was talking. He was listening. That had to count for something.
“It’s not too late, Christopher,” you said, your voice gentle but firm. “I thought the same thing once. But family… family isn’t just the people you’re born to. You can build your own, one that will love you despite everything. I’ve got that family now.”
He swallowed hard, his face momentarily flickering with doubt. “I wish I could believe you,” he said, his voice quiet, tinged with regret.
And then, in a flash, his arm shot out. Instinctively, you braced yourself, squeezing your eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable strike.
As the seconds stretched on, memories—both regrets and cherished moments—flashed before your eyes, a cruel reminder of everything you had to lose.
But then, a loud thud echoed in the night. Christopher crumpled to the ground, his body going limp. You whipped your head up, heart in throat, and saw Spencer standing behind him, the butt of his gun covered in blood, the impact of the blow knocking Christopher out cold.
A shaky breath escaped you, half a sob, half a gasp of relief. You stumbled toward Spencer, your legs nearly giving out as you threw yourself into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” you cried into his chest, voice cracking. “I was so stupid. I shouldn’t have—”
He shushed you softly, brushing a hand through your hair as he held you close. “It’s okay. You’re safe now,” he murmured, his voice soft and soothing. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
Twenty minutes later, the team and the police arrived. Spencer had called Hotch the second you’d calmed down enough, and by the time they got there, Christopher was still passed out. The officers dragged him into the back of their car, while JJ and Prentiss took it upon themselves to reassure the neighbors that they had someone in custody.
You knew exactly what was coming when Hotch finally made his way over to you and Spencer, but your head was pounding too much to care.
Hotch scanned the two of you with a sharp, disapproving look. “Really? You went to catch an unsub in your pajamas?”
“The whole ‘catching the unsub’ thing wasn’t exactly part of the plan,” you muttered, wincing slightly as the headache flared.
Hotch exhaled sharply, then turned to Spencer, his gaze a little more pointed. “I could’ve expected this from her, but I expected better from you, Reid.”
Spencer shifted uncomfortably, knowing there was no defense. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Hotch gave a sigh in response, his expression softening just a fraction. “I’m too tired to deal with the two of you right now. I expect to see both of you in my office in the morning.”
“Actually, I checked all the rooms in the cabin, and there’s no office. Which is surprising, considering—”
“Spence,” you interrupted him with a nudge of your elbow.
He shot you a tight-lipped look, turning back to Hotch. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
—————
The second you closed the car door behind you and buckled your seatbelt, you passed out. You’d always slept best during car rides, and especially now, with your mind much quieter now that Christopher Eriksen wasn’t your problem anymore.
When you finally arrived back at the cabin, you were still sound asleep. Derek told Spencer to wake you, but he didn’t have it in him. Instead, he carefully made his way to your side of the car, unbuckling your seatbelt. He lifted you into his arms, trying not to huff too loudly as he carried you through the thick snow. He made his way up the stairs quickly, hoping Penelope wouldn’t notice the wet tracks from his boots inside the house—he couldn’t take them off while holding you.
He was glad you were in your pajamas as he gently laid you on the bed. He walked over to the closet, grabbing some extra blankets and draping them over you, hoping it would help you regain some warmth.
Then, he crawled into bed beside you. Closer than he would’ve dared if you were awake, not quite touching, but close enough to share body heat. His gaze lingered on you, watching how peaceful you looked. The night had been a lot to handle, but he knew he’d do it all again if it meant keeping you safe.
The bright light reflected off the snow outside, filtering into the room. Groaning, you rubbed your eyes, the movement only making your headache worse. You huffed and carefully opened your eyes, being met with the sight of Spencer. His hair was a curly mess, and a small, warm smile painted his face.
“Hey, how’s your head?” he asked softly.
The events of last night rushed back to you, and you groaned again. “So, all of that really happened?”
“It did,” Spencer confirmed.
“I really hoped I just got drunk on too much Glühwein,” you sighed, wincing at the thought.
“You can still do that tonight,” he teased.
“No,” you muttered in disgust. “I need to recover from this first.”
You glanced over at him again, seeing the concern still shining in his eyes.
“I’m sorry for putting you in that situation last night,” you said quietly. “Everything about it was just... stupid.”
“If you hadn’t insisted on going, who knows who else he could’ve hurt,” Spencer pointed out.
“I guess that’s true.” You thought about it for a second, the weight lifting slightly. “Still, I shouldn’t have dragged you into it.”
“I’m glad I went with you,” Spencer said, his voice softening. “If I hadn’t... I don’t want to think about what could’ve happened to you. I would never forgive myself if I wouldn’t have been there in time.”
You gave a heavy sigh, turning your gaze to the ceiling. “That’s why it’s probably best we stay friends,” you mumbled, more to yourself than to him. Despite Emily’s pep talk, this was proof that it wouldn’t be wise to start something serious with Spencer.
“Friends instead of what?” Spencer asked, his voice higher, as if eager to hear the answer.
“Instead of us dating,” you said, almost offhandedly, not realizing you were speaking aloud about something you’d never discussed before, even though the topic would come up eventually.
Spencer froze, his eyes wide, hope flickering in them as he looked at you. “You would date me?”
Your heart skipped a beat. You froze too, catching up with the fact that you had said that out loud. Your cheeks warmed, and you immediately turned your gaze to the ceiling, not daring to look at his expression.
“Uh—hypothetically,” you stammered, scrambling to cover your tracks.
“You would hypothetically date me?”
You swallowed, still too flustered to look at him. “Yes. If... you would, I mean. If you wanted that, too...?”
Spencer was silent for a beat, his gaze never leaving you. “Do you really mean that?”
“Yes,” you answered, your voice steady despite the racing thoughts in your head.
He slowly moved closer to you, his hand reaching out to cup your cheek. You flinched back instinctively, and he immediately withdrew his hand, his expression apologetic.
“What are you doing?” you asked, your heart beating faster.
“You said you’d want to date me,” he murmured, his voice unsure.
“Yes, but—” you stopped yourself as the realization hit that he was planning to kiss you. “Oh.”
Tentatively, you reached out and placed your hand on his cheek. You leaned in a little, but this time it was him who pulled back.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice breathless.
“Kissing you.”
“Oh,” he breathed out, his tongue darting over his lips. “Okay.”
You smiled softly, then closed the distance, your lips gently pressing to his.
Spencer hummed in satisfaction, both of you staying like that for a moment, neither of you wanting to pull away. You were the first to break the kiss, catching your breath. If it were up to Spencer, he’d keep his lips on yours forever.
Your eyes fluttered open, faces still inches apart. Spencer cupped your face and pulled you back in, placing several soft pecks on your lips before he leaned on his arm, slightly hovering over you as he deepened the kiss.
You tried to mirror his movements, but a sharp pain shot through your skull. “Ouch,” you hissed, pulling back.
“Just lay down, let me take care of you,” Spencer assured, the warmth of his words making your heart flutter. You slowly lower yourself onto your back, the soft sheets crinkling beneath you, and Spencer moves above you, the blankets still covering both of you.
His lips found yours again. He kept them slightly parted, giving you the chance to slide your tongue against his. The world outside seemed to disappear as you melted into each other, lips moving in sync.
The kisses become more heated, each one a little deeper than the last. His hand moved to cup your face, his thumb gently stroking your cheek, the other hand resting on your side, his touch sending little sparks of warmth wherever it brushed.
You could feel the heat between you growing. “I’m so warm…” you mumbled against his lips.
His eyes darkened slightly. “Yeah?” His voice was rough as his fingers lightly trailed over the buttons of your pyjama shirt. “Do you want me to take this off?”
You nodded, and he slowly started undoing each button with purposeful care. His gaze flickering between your eyes and the exposed skin. He let out a moan when your shirt finally fell open, his eyes taking you in.
“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed out in awe, before pressing his lips to yours again.
You responded eagerly, your hands fumbling between your bodies to undo his shirt in the same way. You slid the fabric off his shoulders, letting your hands run over the muscles of his back, feeling the heat of his skin.
He gently pressed his body weight down on you, and you shuddered at the feeling of your nipples pressing against his bare chest.
His lips delicately kissed your face, until he reached your ear. He nipped at your lobe, sending a jolt of heat straight to your core. “Do you like that?” he murmured, his breath hot against your skin.
You answered in a soft moan, your body arching into him. He didn’t need to ask again; he could tell you were enjoying this as much as he was.
His lips slid lower, kissing and sucking on your neck, while his hand slid down to cup your breast, his thumb brushing over your nipple in slow, teasing circles.
His mouth moved to your collarbone, and then he teasingly dipped lower.
“God, Spence,” you softly moaned as he placed a wet kiss on your lower stomach. “That feels so good.”
His hand, which has been resting on your breast, trails down until it reaches the waistband of your pyjama pants.
“More, please,” you whimpered, lifting your hips instinctively. His fingers slide around the band as he slowly pulls them down, his eyes drinking in the sight of you.
He lowers himself onto his stomach on the mattress. With a tender touch, he lifts your legs over his shoulders.
“Is this okay?”
For a moment, you’ve lost yourself in his gaze—those warm brown eyes looking up at you, his pink lips swollen from his kisses…
“Y-yeah,” you manage to respond, nodding.
You moaned as his mouth made contact with your inner thighs, his tongue warm and wet against your skin. He took his time, kissing his way to the sensitive spot where you needed him most.
“Spencer…” you breathed, your voice shaky with need.
The anticipation was unbearable as his hot breath tickled you, but you didn’t have to wait much longer. Slowly, his tongue flicked over your pussy, and you gasped, your body trembling at the touch.
He moaned in response, as if he couldn’t get enough of the taste of you, his tongue swirling in soft, teasing motions that had your hips lifting off the bed in search of more.
“So fucking sweet,” he muttered against you, before repeating the motion, licking you again and again, while he grinded himself against the matress.
Your fingers tangled in his hair, urging him closer, deeper, your body quivering as he continued. He alternated between sucking and licking your clit, his finger moving up and down your pussy until it entered you gently, then slowly adding another, the stretch an overwhelming pleasure.
You gasped his name, your body writhing beneath him as the pressure built with every move. “Spencer… please, don’t stop…” you begged, voice thick with need.
His fingers curled inside you, pressing just the right spot as his tongue continued swirling around you. Your legs started trembling as you reached the edge.
“I’m—“ you gasped, but the words dissolved into a string of moans as the wave of pleasure crashed over you. Your legs were shaking as you came undone, clenching around his fingers, your hips bucking against his mouth.
Spencer didn’t stop, though. He kept going at a gentle pace, letting you ride out the intensity of your orgasm. Then, he slowly pulled away, his lips glistening as he looked up at you, eyes wide and full of wonder.
“Was that good?” he asked softly, licking his lips.
You laughed breathlessly as you nodded, your chest still rising and falling rapidly. “Come here,” you whispered seductively, pulling him in by the back of his neck to kiss him. You could taste yourself on his lips, which only added to your arousal.
Spencer’s eyes darkened with desire, his forehead pressed to yours. “I need you. I need to be inside of you.”
You nodded, moving your hand down his body, feeling the hardness of him against your palm. He helped you pull his pants down, and you stroked him gently, feeling him twitch in your hand before guiding him toward your entrance. He let out a low groan, his eyes never leaving yours as he slowly pushed into you.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he moaned, his hips stuttering as he filled you completely. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer as his thrusts grew deeper, more urgent.
You could feel every inch of him, every movement as his cock repeatedly hit those places inside that made your head spin. The room was filled with the sound of skin against skin, your moans mixing with his ragged breaths.
“You’re so warm,” Spencer whimpered. “So perfect for me.”
Your hands gripped his back, nails digging into his skin as you urged him on, your body moving with his. His pace quickened, and you couldn’t hold back the desperate cries that escaped you.
“Spencer… I’m so close,” you gasped.
“Me too,” he moaned, his hips slamming into yours. “Let me come with you. Please, let me come with you.”
You nodded, your body trembling. “Now, Spencer…” you begged in a breathless plea.
His breath hitched, his body tensing as he gave one last deep thrust, and then, with a loud, guttural moan, he came inside you. You followed a moment later, your body clenching around him as you fell apart.
The room was filled with nothing but your ragged breaths, the sound of two bodies, tangled in a quiet, shared moment of bliss. Spencer collapsed beside you, his chest rising and falling as he took your hand in his, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it.
“That was… perfect,” he whispered, his voice full of awe.
You smiled softly as you placed your head on his chest, fingers lazily tracing his stomach. “Yeah,” you said in a breath, your heart full of him. “It really was.”
You let out a soft groan as Spencer stood up, and you instinctively reached for his hand, pulling him back toward you. “Don’t go yet,” you pouted.
Spencer smiled, his eyes twinkling with a mixture of amusement and affection. “I’ve got something for you,” he said, wrapping a blanket around his waist before walking to the corner of the room. He rummaged through his bag, his back turned to you for a moment as you blatantly checked him out.
“I miss you,” you murmured, leaning back into the pillows.
He chuckled softly, glancing over his shoulder. “I’m not even five feet away from you.”
You shrugged, your voice a little teasing. “Still feels like you're miles away.”
With a smile, he walked back toward you, sitting down on the edge of the bed, his hands behind his back. “Which hand?” he playfully asked.
“Left,” you replied without hesitation.
He swiftly shifted the small box he’d been holding from his right hand to his left, then grinned, revealing the gift. “Here you go.”
You blinked in surprise. “That was your present?” you asked, your voice filled with wonder as you recognized the familiar wrapping Garcia had handed you the day before.
Spencer nodded, watching you closely. “Yeah. Open it.”
Your hands trembled slightly as you unwrapped the gift, your heart racing with excitement. Beneath the paper was a velvet black jewelry box. You glanced up at Spencer, your eyes searching his for reassurance. He gave a soft nod, his smile encouraging.
With a gentle flick of your fingers, you opened the box—and there, nestled inside, was the most stunning heart-shaped locket you’d ever seen.
“Oh my God, Spencer,” you breathed, your voice a mixture of awe and disbelief. “It’s… it’s beautiful.”
A shy smile tugged at Spencer’s lips as he ran a hand through his hair, pushing it behind his ear. “It used to be my mom’s,” he said. “She doesn’t wear jewelry much anymore, but she wanted me to keep it... to give it to someone special one day.”
Your heart melted at the thought, and you looked at him with newfound tenderness, the weight of his gesture sinking in.
“She was happy when I told her I wanted to give it to you,” he added, his eyes soft with sincerity.
Your eyes widened slightly. “Your mom knows about me?”
Spencer nodded, a faint blush creeping up his neck. “I tell her pretty much everything. She likes hearing about you most.”
“Why?” You curiously asked.
Spencer's smile deepened, and he looked down at his lap for a moment, as though gathering courage. When he looked up at you again, his eyes were soft, full of love.
“Because you make me happy.”
After your intimate moment with Spencer, the inevitable conversation with Hotch had to happen. Just before the talk, Hotch received a call from the lab confirming the DNA found on the Reynolds matched Christopher Eriksen’s—meaning the bittersweet news of Christopher going to prison.
“I still don’t get how the two smartest people on the team act like half a brain when they’re together,” Hotch had said with a half-smile, glancing at you and Spencer. “But… you did good work.”
—————
Later that morning, Emily spotted you, her eyes immediately drawn to the locket around your neck. “Fancy,” she commented, her smirk growing as she cocked an eyebrow. “Where did that come from?”
You felt your cheeks heat up as you absently played with the necklace, a soft smile on your lips. “It’s Spencer’s. He gave it to me.”
Emily’s smirk turned into a knowing smile, and you could see the proud glint in her eyes. “You two are something else.”
—————
Throughout the day you and Spencer did your own thing, trying to act casual in front of the team—yet every time his hand brushed your back or he leaned in for a quick kiss in the empty hallway, your heart fluttered. You couldn’t help but sneak glances at him as he played chess with Rossi, your eyes catching his in those fleeting moments.
You felt Spencer’s presence behind you like a familiar warmth as you stood in the kitchen. He slipped his arms around your waist and buried his face in the crook of your neck, placing soft kisses.
“Who would’ve thought you’d be such a romantic?” you mused, running your fingers through his hair, the feeling of him against you enough to make your heart race.
His lips hummed against your skin. “It’s your fault,” he stated, his voice thick with affection. “You drive me crazy.”
You tugged him up the stairs to your shared room, pushing him playfully onto the bed. You stood between his legs as you began to slowly peel away your clothes, revealing the red laced lingerie set Derek had gifted you during Secret Santa.
“Never thought I’d be thanking Derek for gifting you this,” Spencer mused, his hands sliding up and down your legs, a smirk displayed on his lips.
You smiled, tracing his jaw with your thumb, the heat between you growing. “What do you think of checking out the hot tub?” you purred.
He swallowed nervously, his eyes flicking down to his lap. You rolled your eyes as you responded in a sigh, “You can choose the temperature.”
Before you could say another word, he scooped you up, lifting you over his shoulder with a playful slap to your ass. You yelped, giggling as he carried you off toward the bathroom.
—————
The cabin was large, but unfortunately not big enough to avoid Garcia, so you knew what was coming when you heard the familiar sound of her heels clicking against the hallway floor. She was heading straight toward you, her finger pointing accusingly at you.
“I slept with Spencer.” you hurriedly spilled out before she could say something.
She stopped in her tracks. Her face went through a thousand different expressions in the blink of an eye—confusion, disbelief, excitement—before she finally let out a high-pitched squeal. “You... you slept with Spencer?”
“Twice,” you giddily answered, the smile creeping across your face before you could stop it.
Garcia’s expression finally broke into a huge grin, and without missing a beat, she grabbed your hands and started bouncing on the spot. “Derek is gonna lose his mind!”
You barely had time to protest before she was already up the stairs.
As the end of the day drew near, the group gathered around the fire pit in the backyard, cocoa mugs in hand, the warmth of the flames casting flickering shadows on everyone’s faces.
“Are you sure your phone is on silent?” Garcia asked Hotch, eyeing him with suspicion.
“I’m sure, Garcia,” Hotch replied with a small smile.
She was satisfied, her focus shifting to Rossi. “The honor is yours. You may present the last Secret Santa gift.”
Rossi cleared his throat, glancing around awkwardly. “Now, this might sound like a cheap excuse for forgetting to buy a present…” Laughter rippled through the group, and Garcia shot him an offended look. “But... I think I can speak for all of us when I say the best gift is us being together in this beautiful location.”
He turned to Hotch, his voice genuine. “Aaron, you’ve built a good team here. A good family. You should be proud.”
Hotch’s smile softened, his eyes briefly glancing over the group, the weight of the moment settling on him. “I am. Thank you, David.”
And for the first time, you didn’t question whether you deserved a place in this loving, dysfunctional family—you knew you belonged.
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FANFICTION CHAPTERS IN SHORT
Here you will find a summary of the chapters so far, so there will be spoilers. There may not be all of them so I'll add them from time to time.
Be warned.. spoilers!!!
Chapter 1: Introduction
The chapter begins with Lambert arriving to Camelliatown in a taxi. They are freshly graduated from university and they're moving to a new city to spend some time alone and learn how to be independent on their own, working at a "simpler" job while looking for some more close to their study's field.
Once they clean and fix their new home, after stumbling into a certain three eyed mean cat who told em to fuck off, they start giving their CV to several places. They find Ratau's coffee shop and manage to get hired after Midas quits the cafe after he wins the lottery. Lambert is happy about it even if they find out that mean cat works there and will be their colleague.
When they come back home and look outside the terrace they meet their new neighbor: Ratoo. They think he's similar to someone they've seen, but they don't know it's Ratau's older brother.
Chapter 2: Gerberas for the café
After facing some insecurities due their memories of struggling to fit in back in university, Lambert starts their first day of work at the Red Crown Café. They arrive pretty early and Ratau shows approval, then expresses frustration towards Narinder, revealing he always arrives late and sometimes never shows up, without even warning him beforehand. He hints at some issues the coffee shop had to went through after its best era, but refuses to elaborate, leaving Lambert confused. The sheep then gives him the idea of renovating the workplace aesthetically and they all agree on getting some flowers to decorate the entrance.
Lambert goes to the flower shop to buy the flowers Ratau gave them and they meet the owner, who is Forneus, who also sells handmade things in the same place. In fact Lambert lays their eyes on a green sweater and Forneus decides to keep it aside for them so they can buy it whenever they want.
When Lambert comes back they find Narinder, who is receiving a lecture from Ratau for his being late, and when they show the flowers they bought he acts mean. Things get worse when Narinder spits in the drink that was preparing to a customer and Lambert takes it away from him, pouring its contents in the sink. Angrily, Narinder drags them in the storage room and pims them on the wall, insulting them and what they're doing for the shop, but when Lambert takes a stand he fails to sustain his point when Ratau interrupt them awkwardly.
Lambert gets to know one of Ratau's friends: Klunko, who is silly and kind. He helps them placing the flowers the sheep bought in the vases and leaves a good impression on Lambert. When they come back home, they don't realize someone is watching them.
Chapter 3: Fake cigarettes
Ratau is visiting his brother's house before starting the day of work. He knows Ratoo is depressed and when he doesn't find him in any room, he starts to fear the worse, but thankfully when he checks the terrace he finds he simply fell asleep on a chair outside.
Lambert meets the Fox in the café while Ratau is in the bathroom, and the Fox, after introducing his character with politeness, he starts to insult them without apparent reason while they are preparing their order and they don't find the strenght to fight back. After the Fox leaves Narinder arrives and sees Lambert leaving the coffee shop in tears.
Lambert is crying on a bench not too far from the café, and when they see Narinder reaching them and trying to comfort them in his own special way, by telling them they should never let someone step on their feet just because someone is a customer, they are pretty surprised by it and starts seeing him under a different light.
After Lambert comes back to the café with Narinder and Ratau comfort them too, they get to know the rest of Ratau's friends and they end up playing cards together. Narinder seems to adore Shrumy.
At the end of the day Lambert has a nice conversation with Ratoo, who gives them advices on how to befriend the mean colleague. Anyways, the following day Lambert will visit a new city since Ratau suggested them to take a day off because of the stressful day they had to endure.
Chapter 4: Abandoned Necklace
Ratau wakes up in Shrumy's bed and panics because he remembers what happened the previous night. He finds him in the kitchen and, after Shrumy insists on Ratau staying to his place for the morning, failing, they have a lovely conversation while the turtle prepares his horrible coffee. Ratau starts to feel nostalgic, remembering about how it was to be with him, and when Shrumy notices it he starts to get bitter and kicks him out of his apartment.
When Narinder gets to the café to work, before Ratau arrives, he finds the vases flipped over and the plants are a mess. When the owner arrives and sees what happened he seems shocked, but pretends to not to know what and why it happened, belittling the event and looking suspicious in the eyes of Narinder.
After a calm morning, Lambert visits the nearby city, that is bigger. They get to buy a new dress, even if it isn't the one they wanted to get in the beginning, they visit a park and they find a LGBTQIA+ bookstore café, where they meet Heket, Leshy and Shamura. Lambert doesn't get a good impression of the first two, due Heket's coldness and Leshys nervousness, while they're visibly having a crush on Shamura.
The chapter and with Ratau meeting the Fox for mysterious reasons at night and with Lambert finding a moon necklace on the beach.
Chapter 5: Vanilla Extract
Narinder wakes up from an unpleasant and confusing nightmare featuring Shamura and start their day in a depressing way. When he arrives late at work and Ratau lies him Lambert being already here to make him feel guilty, he explodes and tries to stab him with a soft straw. Meanwhile Lambert is visibly in love because of Shamura and both Narinder and Ratau fear they're high. Lambert works in a very distracting way because of their crush, ending up to pour too much vanilla essence in someone's order.
During the day, Ratau understands Shrumy is trying to avoid him and the only way he manages to get the turtle's full attention is when he mentions the Fox. Meanwhile Narinder manages to manipulate Klunko into telling them why Ratau and Shrumy are having a weird time thanks to reverse psychology, so Klunko tell them about the fact they were a couple once but broke up several years ago due Ratau not telling his parents about his gay boyfriend.
After work Narinder drags Lambert away again, but to tell them about the fact he's sure Ratau is hiding something and that he wants their help to investigate. Lambert agrees but at one condition: to hang out so they could at least get to know each other a bit more. Narinder agrees, and then receives an unpleasant call from his landlord.
Chapter 6: Mushroom pizza
After moments of gender dysphoria, self hatred and ADHD syntomps, Narinder arrives late at the restaurant with Lambert, who forgives him for letting them wait so long. The two get to know the owner of the pizza place, Sozo, who Lambert learns he is now happily married with another man. Meanwhile, Narinder and Lambert seem to have a nice conversation: they joke around, tease each other, but for a reason or another Lambert hit the wrong nerve and manage to piss Narinder off, turning that pleasant, casual dinner into an awkward and depressing one.
When they are going to come back home they see Forneus being cornered and attacked by hooded people who want her money. Narinder is paralyzed from the fear, but when Lambert sees one of them pulling out the knife they vocally intervene, trying to stop them. They manage to distract them and Forneus flees, but this makes the criminals pretty angry and start to chase them and Narinder. During the flight Lambert feels sick, and when Narinder takes a sigh of relief because of the danger they escaped, he sees his friend passing out in front of him.
Lambert wakes up in Narilamb's place, a very small apartment, and that's where they admit they have a congenital heart defect. Narinder tries to convince them to talk about it to Ratau, but they insist on waiting for the right time. The chapter ends with Narinder telling his friend to stay for the night and then he plays the bass in front of Lambert's sparkly eyes.
Chapter 7: Missed calls
Narinder wakes up near Lambert and disapproves the fact they're drooling over his pillow, having one of their sweet dreams featuring a certain person. After the two wake up and talk about the events that took place the previous night, the landlord enters the apartment to talk to Narinder, and suddenly shows disapproval when he sees him with another person, which is against the rules of his rent. He doesn't believe in their story while displaying his bigotry and ableism. When he leaves the two realize they're late for work and go together to the café.
When Narinder and Lambert try to explain what happened to Ratau, he forgives their being late but don't seem to take seriously anything they report, which brush them the wrong way, especially Narinder who is deeply disappointed. Shrumy doesn't approve Ratau's behaviour as well and brings him to the storage room to talk about it. The two have an argument but Shumy learns Ratau doesn't want to minimize what happened and that he simply wants to hide his secrets to protect them, then Shrumy explains that even if Ratau is doing so to keep the workers safe, he's getting the opposite result.
At the end of the day of work, Narinder leaves with an upset expression without even saying bye, which makes Lambert sad, but then Ratau explains them he acts like this because he's scared of rain, in fact it was very cloudy.
Ratau and his friends bring Forneus to the police station, where she reports the aggression of the previous day to the cops. They don't do much about it and she's so unhappy about it that she screams in anger mentioning a certain Delilah. Ratau and his friends are forced to drag her outside to avoid troubles with the police and after they bring her back home, Shrumy comforts Ratau who feels guilty and offers him to sleep in his house that night.
Chapter 8: Baggages
The chapter opens with Kallamar and Leshy interacting behind the counter. Kallamar comments the ugly color combinations worn by some customers, while Leshy replies with more creepy comments directed to him and taking advantage of his hearing impairment to not to repeat the mean things he said to him. Leshy also shows disapproval and frustration when Kallamar talks about removing a star that Narinder drew on the wall before leaving.
When Lambert enters the bookstore cafe Kallamar serves him and introduces himself in a very polite, almost dramatic way, also explaining his disability (hearing) and the ones owned to the other two colleagues. He looks a bit weird, but leaves a good impression on Lambert. When the sheep sees Shamura and they don't seem to recognize them they feel horribly embarassed, but then that's how they learn about their friend's memory impairment. The two happily chat again and Shamura lets Lambert give them their phone number, that is also secretly taken by Kallamar.
The following day, on Monday, Narinder manages to get to work on time, but he's particularly tired and silent. During their day of work anyways, Lambert catches Narinder being bullied by the same woman he tried to give her that drink in which he spitted during the first day of Lambert's work. She reveals to be transphobic towards him and it turns out that wasn't the first time she was verbally attacking him. So Lambert defends their friend and kicks the mean customer outside the café, surprising Narinder.
Once the day of work is over, Lambert meets Forneus again, who thanks them for the help they gave her when she was being attacked by those criminals and, as a gift, she gives them the sweater that kept aside specifically for them. Then, when they're about to come back home with the new sweater, they see Narinder being dramatically kicked out by the landlord because of his inability to pay the rent for more than one month. Lambert tries to comfort their colleague and convinces him to sleep in their home until he finds a new sistemation.
Chapter 9: Guns
Lambert welcomes Narinder in their home and he seems to be happy to not have to sleep in the streets. Anyways, he definitely changes attitude when he finds there is only one double bed and decides to sleep on the sofa, even if this one is terribly uncomfortable. Narinder also opens up about his mental health issues linked to depression before they go to sleep.
The following day Narinder punches Lambert in the face while he's sleeping because he doesn't want to be waken up, and after eating breakfast the cat finds Ratau talking at the phone, talking about someone meeting mysterious. The two manage to hear the whole thing and to not get caught by Ratau, then they decide to follow him after work to see what is he really hiding.
When the moment arrives, the two struggle to follow Ratau because of the not functioning street lights and Narinder seems to be concerned with his physical state. Anyways they finally find Ratau and they see him courageously facing the same Fox that insulted Lambert days ago. He lends him a empty envelope telling him he won't give him any more money, and the Fox starts to punch him in front of the two scared colleagues who get caught by Klunko and Flinky, who were here too. After the Fox tells Ratau he's not going to kill him, but attack the people he cares about just to see him suffer, Shrumy appears and immobilizes the criminal. Anyways, he finds himself surrounded by his sidekicks he finds himself forced to leave him go. When the evil guys leave Ratau invites everyone to his house so he can finally give Narinder and Lambert the explanations they deserve.
Chapter 10: Cracks
Once they all get to Ratau's house, Flinky starts medicating his wounds while he explains how he started to pay the Fox many years ago to protect his café because of issues and troubles unknown people caused. He is aware about the fact it was a mistake and he regrets it everyday.
After said explanation, Lambert sees Narinder looking at the raindrops on the windows with a tense expression, this is where Narinder expresses his illogical yet intense repulsion for rain. He gets melancholic and Lambert fails to comfort him.
The same night Shrumy and Ratau sleep in the same bed and they almost kiss, but Ratau steps back because he hates the Shrumy keeps being romantic with him even if he stated pretty clearly he doesn't want to be in a romantic relationship with him anymore.
The following day Forneus and her kits show up at the cafe, and when Baal sees Shrumy, recognizing him for mysterious reasons, he flees, leaving everyone confused but the turtle, who is feeling suspicious about it. When Narinder tries to serve the two customers he suddenly feels unwell and finds himself unable to move because of the tension. Lambert fears he's having a heart attack, but then it turns out Narinder suffers from panic attacks and that one of those was happening right now. Ratau and Kudaai, who is a doctor, manage to support Narinder, who is brought to Lambert's home after the attack.
At the end of that difficult day of work Lambert apparently receives a message by Shamura, but they don't know the person who is texting them pretending to be the spider is, instead, Kallamar.
Chapter 11: Masks
When Lambert arrives home, they find Shrumy entertaining Narinder with the bass and when they leave them alone, Lambert asks him how he feels. After expressing the fact they will do anything to help them in case another panic attack occurs, they gift him the moon necklace they found on the beach, telling him it's magical and brings luck. Narinder of course doesn't believe them but still apprecciates the gift.
This time Lambert lets Narinder sleep on the bed while they will sleep on the sofa instead, surprising their friend. Lambert struggles to sleep that night and they end up chatting with "Shamura", managing to get a date with "them".
The following day, while Narinder stays home, Lambert goes to work and gets to see Sozo and his husband, Helob, enter the café. They express how much they love each other publicly and Lambert feels inspired, wishing to be in such a cute and lasting relationship in the future.
The chapters end with another victim of the criminals who gets beaten after he explains why he can't give them the money. One of the goons runs away from the scene and, removing their mask once he's away, he reveals his tears. He is Baal.
Chapter 12: Comics or books
Baal comes back home pretty late and has a heartbreaking argument with his mother, who begs Aym to let her know whatever is going on with his brother once he finds out.
Lambert finds Narinder's secret: he keeps a gay comic and they decide to read it out loud to tease him. Once they're done Narinder ask them to give him some secret as well and that's how they give him an album filled with photos, the most embarassing ones as well. He starts to feel melancholic and pretty jealous because Lambert still has a family, but when a half burned photograph portraying Lambert and a lion person distract him, they explain that is their ex-boyfriend and that they left them because nonbinary. Narinder of course comforts his friend telling all those muscles and hair compensate for something else. When he suggests them to burn or destroy that photo to get rid of him on a deeper level, Lambert says they will think about it.
The day of the date finally arrives, Lambert waits for their date for almost a hour and when they see Kallamar arrive instead of Shamura they feel confused. Heartbroken even, when Kallamar says Shamura simply forgot about the date. The squid almost convinces Lambert to hang out with him instead when Heket and Shamura arrive on the spot and this is how they all find out Kallamar was pretending to be Shamura just to go on a date with Lambert instead. Heket drags him back to the bookstore café where he left Leshy working all alone while Shamura decides to hang out with Lambert.
Lambert spends a beautiful day with Shamura, buying books and comics for the bookstore, eating dinner together and they end up stargazing. Lambert is completely enamoured with Shamura, even if they don't understand their yapping about astronomy and physics, but then they found they spent too much talking and lost track of time. In fact, it is too late for Lambert to get the bus or the train and go back home, so Shamura suggests them to sleep in their home as a solution. Of course, Lambert accepts their offer, not realizing Narinder had been calling them for a long while due the late hour and them not showing up at home.
Chapter 13 - Pancakes and apologies
When Lambert arrives in Shamura's house they realize Narinder has called them several times because they planned to dine together and he was also worried because of their disappearance. After apologizing and reassuring him they're fine, they find Shamura live with the people they work with, Lambert even meets Kallamar who suggests them to sleep in his beautiful room because of a more comfortable bed, proposal that was kindly denied by the sheep before Heket dragged him away. That night Lambert sleeped in the guest room then than was revealed to be a room that belonged to a friend Shamura really misses and disappeared years before.
After sleeping and having a nightmare about being lost in a maze that looked just like Camellia Town and being eaten by the Fox, Lambert wakes up and hears someone playing the guitar. After they investigate on the sound they find Leshy and a yellow cat on his bed while he's playing the guitar for her. During breakfast the yellow cat reveals to be Felix, a friend Leshy never spoke about to the people he lived with and she leaves overall a good impression on everyone, aside Kallamar who finds her a bit gross.
After exchanging music playlists with Leshy and Felix, Heket invites Lambert for a Halloween party, and when they come back home to invite his friend Narinder he is just too offended by the carelessness Lambert showed the previous day to accept the invitation.
The day comes to an end as Felix brings Leshy back home after a karaoke night. She encourages him to practice his singing to get better and offers herself as a singing teacher since Leshy is already giving her guitar lessons and he gladly accepts the proposal even though he isn't convinced about the singing. She greets him with a kiss on the cheek before going back home, leaving Leshy embarassed and confused, snd that's when Kallamar intervenes saying that it's obvious that Leshy and Felix have a crush on each other, but when he denies Kallamar's insinuation he proceeds to say pretty aphobic things. Heket and Shamura interrupt the discussion before it devolves and Leshy flees locking himself in his room.
Chapter 14 - True Colors
The chapter continues where it was interrupted in the previous one: Leshy is inside his room after having an argument with Kallamar and Heket comes in to check how he's doing, communicating with him with a text to speech option on her phone. Leshy opens up about how Kallamar made him feel, but doesn't mention his doubt for what he feels for Felix.
As Halloween approached Narinder mantained a cold and detatched behavior towards Lambert, who felt a bit too awkward about it to try and actually speak about it with him. Anyways, after they dressed up as a vampire to go to the party, they find Narinder crying inconsolably in the bed. Lambert manages to let him open up for the first time and this is when he finally drops his lore trauma: turns out that he was kicked out from his biological family because he is transgender when he was 18 yo, that he was helped by a older friend who hired him at their bookstore café and that he accidentally caused his death in a car crash he fleed away from out of panic. In the beginning Lambert is disgusted by the latest revelation, but after seeing in much pain and shame he was because of the burden he has on his conscience they feels sympathy and comforts him, deciding to give up the party and stay with him that night so that he won't be alone.
Meanwhile, at the Halloween party, as Kallamar despairs after learning Lambert won't join the party, Leshy and Felix are chatting on the terrace. When Leshy explains her what is aromanticism and asexuality she expresses how much she finds that relatable, even though she doesn't think she's ace. Then she mentions the fact that probably the blame falls on someone who ruined her relationship with intimacy, and when he jokingly says it's because romance sucks, she clarifies that the person who ruined that for her wasn't a romantic partner, leading to an ominous change of mood.
Chapter 15 - Clauneck
When Narinder and Lambert wake up they get prepared to go to an autumnal fair in town, while at the same time Narinder finds the courage to remove a gacha game from his phone. The same morning Clauneck, who is getting prepared to go the same fair but as tarot reader, gets called by Kallamar, his most annoying customer who asks him for the upteenth future love tarot reading.
Narinder and Lambert spend a beautiful morning in the town when at the fair they see Clauneck for the first time, while hes having a fight with another seller who tried to sell a sick woman rocks to heal her cancer. They get a tarot reading from him that reveals the challenges and transformation they will have to face in the future.
Leshy dreams about kissing Felix and wakes up with a flower growing on his face.
Chapter 16 - Blooming flowers
This chapters begins with a flashback of a younger Leshy having his first flower growing on his face and his parents explaining that his body just started to change and telling him where do babies come from. Rest in pieces Leshy.
The current Leshy refuses to give any explanation to his roommates, who ifnore his refusal and check an anatomy book with him, unveiling the reason of Leshy's physical change: basically wormfolks like him bloom pink flowers in spring to signal their most fertile moment in the year, while when they bloom red flowers in any season it means they are in love. Anyways, Leshy seems to have a "Blooming syndrome" that occurs when a wormfolk refuses to admit their feelings for another person. If he won't admit his feelings for Felix it won't be fatal, but he will keep growing flowers non stop. He doesn't take it well.
The day of an important date with Shamura came for Lambert, but they couldn't stop thinking about their ex, so Narinder helps them burning the photo in the storage room, comforting them. After such bittersweet, touching moment Chad (Lambert's ex) enters the cafe and starts flirting with Narinder in a transphobic way. Narinder finds himself powerless and Lambert helps him by pouring boiling coffee on Chad's balls, who is also kicked out from Shrumy. When Lambert has to leave for the date, Narinder feels jealous while not knowing why, but in the end he wholeheartedly wishes them good luck, because he wants them to be happy.
Chapter 17 - Heartache
After spending a beautiful date with Shamura, Lambert finally finds the courage to confess their feelings when they're stargazing with the telescope on the roof, confession that ends up with a polite friendzone under the most romantic sky. Lambert's feelings are hurt but decides to not to take it personally and stay friends with Shamura.
When Lambert comes back in Camelliatown they witness the Fox's goons bringing cans of gas to their cafe to set it on fire, but thankfully Shrumy, who was there, knocks them out and Ratau, Klunko, Flinky and Narinder arrive on spot. The Fox and Helob appear too, and this one is revealed to work for the boss. The two criminals pretend to leave the group alone but, while they're in the car, the Fox tells Helob to shoot at one of the two coworkers, not to kill them, but to seriously damaging them. Helob is reluctant and refuses to do such thing, but the Fox physically forces him to do so and ends up shooting at Lambert's arm.
Everyone is in shock as they see Lambert collapsing on the ground and having a hemorrhage even though the bullet caused just a scrap, which confuses everyone aside Narinder, who knows that the bleeding is caused by the pills Lambert is taking for their heart condition. Ratau yells at Narinder for never telling him about their condition and him, Narinder and Shrumy, bring the wounded sheep at the hospital. When they arrive Ratau and Narinder have a confrontation in which the cat shares his feelings of guilt because of what happened and his fear of losing Lambert forever, Ratau reassures him and expresses he never hated him but felt sad because of how Narinder wasted his potential and hide his best qualities.
After that lovely conversation, the doctor tells them that Lambert is no longer in danger but that they will need to rest for some week at the hospital. Ratau goes in the hospital's garden to refer everything to the Klunko and Shrumy reaches him. When Ratau shares with him the profound guilt he feels and how he wishes to be more like him, Shrumy admitted he isn't strong and brave as he looks amd that he was scared that night, maybe even more than him. Then, they kiss passionately.
The following day Lambert wakes up in their hospital bed, with Narinder at their side. He brought flowers for his friends and they chat about everything that happened, including that disappointing date and the old men yaoi that Narinder silently witnessed last night. During the rest of the day Narinder doesn't feel hungry at all and when he comes back home and realizes he miss having Lambert sleeping next to him, he finally understand that he loves them.
Chapter 18 - Complications
The chapter starts with Sozo kicking Helob out of their house, throwing objects, clothes, and baggages from the balcony. Helob is visibly sorry about what happened, but of course it isn't enough to be forgiven by his husband. Meanwhile, as they pass Lambert finally heals and decides to write a fanfiction about Shrumy and Ratau.
One day at the red crown cafe, Narinder catches Lambert laughing at the fanfiction they wrote and shows disapproval, but he really can't get mad so they start lovingly teasing each other. Narinder then reveals to Lambert that he wants to face his fear of rain and asks them for help and of course, the sheep accept.
When Lambert has to leave the coffee shop to buy some ingredients, they meet Kallamar and find out he specifically came there to meet them without any warning. Lambert tries to avoid him politely but due his stubborness they explode and tell him how they dislike his disrespectful behavior. Kallamar unpromptedly asks them for their star sign and when Lambert reveals to be an aries, the squid rejects them and leaves.
Felix finally visits Leshy at home woth the purpose of explaining what she was talking about during Halloween. She tells him that she once was part of s group friends and that there was a member of her friends that confessed her feelings for her but after some days she rejected him, he forced her to kiss him, probably taking advantage of the fact she could be drunk, and she broke his nose with a punch as reply. Because of that her entire group of friends despised her and left her lonely. Leshy showed his closeness and sympathy to her after the revelation, and in those moments he realizes he's feeling both romantically and physically attracted to her, while she's telling him beautiful things. He tries to kiss her but decides to step back and hug her instead, profoundly disappointing his friend.
Chapter 19 - Gentle Rain
Leshy finds himself having an argument with Kallamar as soon as he wakes up: the squids accuses him of self sabotaging himself and that he can't stand seeing him losing his chance to be in a romantic relationship while he's still single at 29. Leshy refuses to listen to any of his advices and after he finds Kallamar has peeked in his room the previous night and saw his failure, he kicks him out of his room.
After Shrumy and Ratau finally admit in front of their friends that they're putting the past aside and trying to see if their romantic relationship can work out, Felix shows up at the café and asks Lambert and Narinder loves advices since the person she likes keeps driving her crazy. After Lambert encourages her to just be herself and follow her heart. In all of this Leshy's name was never mentioned, but Narinder already has a guess.
After work Narinder and Lambert go for a walk and once they're in the beach, the cat opens up and explains how he think his fear of rain probably started when he ended up being homeless under the car crash and about the fact he tried to rob Ratau's café with a visibly fake gun just to burst into tears in front of him after he asked him if he was okay. Lambert learns that Ratau hired Narinder out of sympathy and because he wanted to help him. After this revelation it starts raining and Lambert sustains and encourages Narinder to help him overcome his fear. When the cat is finally calmed down Lambert decides to kiss him for the first time, and the two end up confessing their feelings and romantically kissing under the rain.
Chapter 20 - Love Potion
After the Fox gives Helob new fake documents and a new home to avoid any more suspect, Narinder and Lambert wake up on the sofa and shows each other a lot of affection.
That afternoon, anyways, Felix finishes her shift at the tattoo store, after tattooing a beautiful moth on Heket's chest. Kallamar was there as well and decides to bring Felix to the shop where Clauneck works, so that he can buy her a love tarot reading, but when they arrive they find Chenmach instead, who gives Felix a love potion. As soon as she leaves the shop she throws it away, explaining to a shocked Kallamar that it is unfair to force someone to love her.
After she finally arrives to the cafe to go to the karaoke with Leshy, Kallamar locks them inside the workplace, where they are condamned to spend the entire night there. They have a pleasant night and after chatting, joking, singing and talking about deep stuff, Felix finds the courage to kiss him. After such action she fears she disturbed her friend ruining their beautiful friendship, but that is when Leshy kisses her with even more passion, and this is how they spend the rest of the night. The following morning, anyways, Leshy feels scared because of how things quickly developed and starts to have regrets.
Meanwhile, the Fox has a talk with Baal, who started to neglect and hate his job especially since he learned his mother was assaulted by the same people he works with. The Fox tells him he will help Forneus' job to flourish, but if he decides to leave his role his entire family will have to pay.
Chapter 21 - Petals in the sink
The following morning Ratau goes to visit his older brother, who is struggling with severe depression, and after he cleans his neglected home he promises him he won't leave him alone during wintermas holidays, that he likes it or not.
Later, in the café, the gambling gang notice how Narinder and Lambert are all cuddly and shit and they're happy about it. Forneus shows up with both of her kits and Baal decides to pay for all his family, while Shrumy still feels suspicious about him.
Meanwhile, the same morning Leshy tries to leave the café in which he woke up without telling anything to Felix, who quickly reaches him and hugs him. Leshy, heartbroken, tells her that while he enjoyed that night with her, he can't stop thinking it was a mistake, and that he wants to stay friends with her. She reacts by getting angry and accusing him of using her, telling him he is a coward and he reacts by saying that while no one can force Felix to love her, the same applies to everyone else him included. Felix feels offended and leaves, even after Leshy tried to hold her back, almost feeling drawn to kiss her again. When he goes to the toilet he notices all the flowers that grew on his head fell off.
Narinder receives a call from Ratau while he's watching a horror movie with Lambert and the old rat invites them for wintermas eve dinner, invitation that they gladly accept. Lambert also invites Narinder to their family's wintermas lunch and, after being a bit reluctant and insecure, he accepts.
Leshy comes back home in a horrible mood and when he's listening to the old recordings about him and Narinder playing their guitar and bass together, he feels incredibly lonely and regretful, crying his heart out all alone in his room.
Chapter 22 - Karaoke
After some days Lambert brings Narinder to dine out for his 28th birthday at the pizza place ran by Sozo. There they also check on him and turns out he's devasted by the revelation of his ex partner being part of the local mafia. He also feels very guilty for not realizing sooner and for what happened to Lambert.
Meanwhile Felix is dining with her parents and she's struggling to eat vegetables, in that case broccoli, because they remind her of Leshy. Since her parents want to force her to eat broccoli before eating anything else, she decides to go in her room with an empty stomach.
Narinder and Lambert go back home and they give him a frame with their photograph as birthday gift. The sheep feel a bit ashamed because they wanted to give him something more, but the cat reassure them that they are all he could've hoped for his birthday.
Felix is hungry and empties her fridge because she hadn't eat anything for dinner. Also, she's still stressed and heartbroken because of what happened with Leshy and she eats unhealthy food to distract herself from the pain. Anyways, since she knows this can bring serious issues on the long run, she decides to stop and to call her friends Narinder and Lambert to vent. They listen to her and when she invites them to go out the next evening, Lambert accepts.
That same night Shrumy brings a drunk Ratau home, and when they're in the car the rat vents about how guilty he feels because of Ratoo's psychological state. Turns out that Ratau feels responsible of his brother's dead wife since the Fox's goons set fire on their home while she was sleeping inside.
The next evening arrives and after their day of work, Narinder and Lambert meet Felix, who introduce them to her friends Amdusias, Valefar and Barbatos. They all go to a pub specialized in karaoke and they get their own room, there turns out Felix's friends know Leshy and that he's part of their friend group, and when the yellow cat vents about what happened they all decode to stand on her side. Anyways this is when Narinder gets the confirmation that both Felix and Lambert know Leshy and he's genuinely scared.
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|| Diabolik Lovers Secret Memories Headcanons ||
Shu knew Yui since childhood and was secretly in love with her.
He and Yui were best friends at school when they were teenagers and secretly dated each other.
Shu was from a noble family, that's why he hid his love for Yui from everyone.
Their memories and secret dates continued for years.
Shu always dated Yui in one of the farthest cafes in the city and always brought her flowers as a gift.
One day he held her hand in a flower shop and kissed her for the first time and proposed to her.
They run away together to start their romantic life away from the hustle and bustle of others.
Reiji first met Yui at university.
Yui was a beautiful, dignified and very hardworking girl.
Yui and Reiji always met each other in the university library.
Yui always got help from Reiji for her studies.
Over time, Reiji fell in love with Yui and the two started dating.
Reiji always invited Yui to the park, library and cafe.
One day Reiji proposed to Yui in a park with a bouquet of flowers and a beautiful ring and gently hugged her and kissed her lips.
Reiji introduced Yui to his family and introduced her as his future wife.
Ayato is one of the bad boys in high school that all the girls liked.
But he secretly had a crush on one of the most beautiful and cutest girls in his class, but he never revealed it.
He always teased and bullied Yui.
But when no one sees them, he kisses her and smiles at her.
No one knew about Yui and Ayato's relationship. They only spent time together after finishing school and sometimes went to the cinema together.
On one of the rainy nights when the two of them were under the rain, Ayato threw his jacket over Yui's head and kissed her.
and told her that she will be only Ayato's forever.
Kanato was a boy who had no friends because of his mental problems.
Yui was the only one who was kind to him and loved him.
Kanato loved Yui. More than anyone else.
In his opinion, Yui was as beautiful as dolls.
Yui and Kanato used to go to the doll shop together and Yui decorated various dolls for Kanato.
Kanato had a rich family bought Yui a lot of clothes because he wanted her to be beautiful like dolls.
On Valentine's Day, Kanato buys a teddy bear for Yui and kisses her and expresses his love to her.
Laito fell in love with Yui from the first day he saw her and kept flirting with her.
Yui was very shy at first, but when their relationship became serious, Yui gradually got used to it.
Laito's favorite place to hang out with Yui was in the park, and every time they sat on the bench and talked, Laito would kiss Yui's cheek every time Yui smiled.
Laito had told Yui many times that he would like to date her at home to do exciting things, but Yui was embarrassed and refused every time.
Finally, on an autumn day while they were sitting in the park and watching the orange leaves, Laito kissed Yui and proposed to her.
Subaru had a crush on Yui from the first time he met her.
Known as the scary and lonely high school boy, Subaru had no friends.
But he saved Yui many times from school bullies and blushed every time he looked at her.
Yui kissed his cheek every time to thank him and Subaru blushed more and just shouted.
They always saw each other in the school gym.
Yui always liked to share her food with Subaru because apparently Subaru didn't have any food with him.
Yui was the one who took the lead in inviting him and invited him for a walk several times.
Finally, on a rainy day, while they were taking shelter in a small store with wet clothes, Subaru wiped the raindrops on Yui's cheek with his finger and kissed her lips and proposed to her.
Ruki was a genius in high school and Yui was his classmate.
Yui and Ruki were grouped together in a school project.
They met in the school library to work on this project.
Yui admired Ruki a lot and always tried to help him.
According to Ruki, Yui was a very cute and clumsy girl, but he praised her efforts.
Ruki gradually became interested in Yui and asked her for date.
Their dates were usually in libraries or book cafes where they could spend time together in a quiet place.
With the passing of time, Ruki became very fond of Yui's sweet and kind personality and gave her the title of angel.
Ruki always brings Yui chocolates and books as gifts.
One day in a quiet library, while Yui was explaining her favorite book to Ruki and smiling sweetly, Ruki gently grabbed Yui's waist and pulled her towards him and kissed her lips.
Ruki gave Yui a ring and proposed to her on a spring day at a spring festival where they were both wearing kimonos.
Kou was a famous Japanese idol who secretly had a crush on his classmate Yui Komori.
But because of his job, he had never announced this publicly.
One day, while wearing a mask so that no one would recognize him and walking in the city, he saw Yui staring at his billboard.
He was so excited that he decided to announce it on the TV show and introduce Yui as his crush.
Kou had confessed to Yui at school and Yui was very embarrassed.
Kou repeatedly invited Yui to the Carnival and park.
The two of them had a very good relationship and most of their dates were secret, and Kou wore black clothes and a mask in most of the dates so that no one would recognize him.
But some time later, Yui was harassed by Kou's fangirls in social media.
This upset Kou so much that he quit his job and ran away with Yui to another city.
They started a happy life together and after two years, Kou proposed to Yui in a park while kissing her.
Yuma first met Yui in the school greenhouse.
Each of the students had a responsibility and Yui was in charge of the greenhouse. Yuma also joined Yui.
The school's greenhouse didn't have a good situation, but after months of Yuma and Yui's efforts, it revived.
Yuma gradually fell in love with Yui and their secret dates were in the greenhouse.
Finally, one day Yuma kissed Yui in the greenhouse and expressed his love for her.
Azusa was a strange boy who was always bullied by students because of his strange behavior.
Yui defended him once and that made Azusa fall in love with Yui.
At first, Azusa was very clingy and this scared Yui.
But as time passed, Yui realized how sweet and kind Azusa is and fell in love with him.
Azusa and Yui's dates were in the school art class and secretly so that no one would disturb Azusa.
Azusa always gave his handmade gifts to Yui.
One day, while Azusa had invited Yui for a walk in a park, he took her hand in his and kissed her and proposed to her.
Carla was a transfer student who apparently came from an noble family.
All the students were afraid of him and no one wanted to be in his group except Yui.
Yui was paired with Carla in the school project and helped him a lot.
Carla found Yui charming and kind and liked her sweet and kind personality.
Carla invited Yui to his family mansion and confessed to her in a lavish dance ceremony.
Some time passed and Carla bought a lot of expensive gifts for Yui and they had many dates together.
Several years later, at a family dance, Carla got down on one knee in front of Yui and proposed to Yui, and kissed her when Yui accepted.
Shin was a transfer student from a noble family.
Unlike his older brother, he did not behave like an noble at all and was a noisy student.
He was very scary and all the students were afraid of his bullying.
The only one who stood up to his abuse was Yui.
The fact that a petite girl didn't obey him bothered Shin a lot, and he tried to bully Yui more, but it didn't work.
Shin decided to tease Yui in another way, that's why he decided to play the role of her lover.
One day he confessed to her but Yui refused.
Shin got more and more annoyed by Yui's behavior but decided to trap Yui in the secret places of the school and punish her.
But every time he did that, he found himself unable to tease her until one day he couldn't control himself and kissed her.
Kino was a student who did not have a good relationship with his family and his only friend was Yui.
He was friends with Yui since childhood and their friendship continued until high school.
Since Kino had a family issues, Yui's affection gave him a good feeling and he fell in love with Yui from an early age.
But he never told her anything.
One day, Kino invited Yui to a game club and confessed to Yui there.
#diabolik lovers#dialovers#yui komori#komori yui#shu sakamaki#reiji sakamaki#ayato sakamaki#kanato sakamaki#laito sakamaki#subaru sakamaki#ruki mukami#kou mukami#yuma mukami#azusa mukami#carla tsukinami#shin tsukinami#kino sakamaki#diabolik lovers fandom#diabolik lovers headcanons#diabolik lovers yui
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Living After Midnight (Failed Rockstar!Eddie x Motel Worker!Reader)
♫ Summary: Eddie's rejection made you question your own hopes and dreams, but the consequences were even more dire for him. (3.6k words)
♫ CW: slowburn, strangers-to-lovers, angst, drug use, parental conflict, poverty, homelessness, depiction of alcoholism, eventual smut (18+ only, minors DNI)
♫ Divider credit to @hellfire--cult
chapter three: turn the lights back on
Eddie left during Dad’s shift on Friday. Over the years, there were more than a handful of guests who’d put up a fight when check out day arrived, but he wasn’t one of them.
When you’d inquired about his departure, as nonchalantly as you could, Dad only said that Eddie had signed the log and walked off without any formal goodbye.
“What time?”
“Six-thirty, or thereabouts. No later than seven.”
Almost as if he’d waited for you to clock out. Purposely avoiding you.
You shrugged off the thought, chastising yourself for taking a harmless coincidence so personally. Maybe he had to be somewhere early or wanted to beat the rush hour traffic. Maybe he didn’t even take your presence—or lack thereof—into consideration.
He did, however, swipe the blanket from his bed, leaving behind just the pillow and a rumpled sheet. Disappointment wove its way through your veins at its finality. He was simply another guest, another face stored in the depths of your memory with some many other one-timers.
Making a mental note to replace the blanket before the summer crowd arrived, you stripped the remaining sheet and pillowcase and made the bed with clean ones. The fabric was so worn that it was nearly transparent, barely concealing the litany of stains that decorated the old mattress.
Eddie didn’t appear to have added any to the collection. That was something, you supposed.
Your Friday and Saturday evenings were always spent the same way: watching groups of friends traipse up and down the boulevard, laughing at jokes that were only funny because everyone was on the right side of tipsy. Rain or shine, teenagers could always be counted on to frequent the local bars and liquor stores that didn't bother to check for identification.
Sundays brought the usual sense of existential dread; the week ahead was daunting and the week prior was a blur of exhaustion. A new guest checked in, an older woman who’d missed her flight out of LaGuardia and needed a place to stay until the next plane took off in the morning. You almost put her in room four, the key temptingly dangling from its hook, but you plucked the one for room three instead.
And then Monday arrived, baring its ugly teeth in a menacing grimace. It exhaled a rancid puff of morning breath, the same smell that belched from the bus’s tailpipe.
Backpack sagging low with the weight of overpriced textbooks, you dragged yourself towards the bus stop. Your only reprieve is that today marked the last week of classes. All that remained after that was finals week, and then you were done.
The typical small collection of commuters greeted you in traditional New York City fashion: tired half-smiles with a respectful lack of eye contact that you reflexively reciprocated. One of the older men sat on the bench, but the normally empty spot next to him was occupied by none other than Eddie Munson. He kept his guitar case safely clenched between his thighs, his garbage bag suitcase leaning against his left leg.
Curiosity nudged you and wormed its way into your thoughts. Where was he going? Was he staying at a different motel, one that had cable so he could watch MTV whenever he needed?
Or maybe he was en route to Port Authority so he could high-tail it back to not-New York, to his hometown where people considered it polite to strike up conversations with strangers.
Wherever his destination was, it was no longer your problem.
If he noticed you, he gave no indication. His vacant stare never left the ground, vaguely looking up one time to light a cigarette. He cupped a hand around the flame, blocking his view of you.
It was probably better that way.
The bus hissed as it pulled up to the stop and the doors hinged open to let passengers board. Would he sit next to you? Would he position himself as far away as possible? Or was he wholly indifferent, regarding the exchange as out of sight and out of mind?
Taking a seat towards the back, you searched for him in the sea of faces. You could apologize, explain you were only trying to help and never meant to embarrass him, and the two of you could part ways knowing that you didn’t look down on him.
But there was no sign of the frizzy curls that he wore like a crown, no guitar case inching into the aisle. For all intents and purposes, this bus was an Eddie Munson-free zone.
A disappointed ache settled in your chest and you massaged your sternum in hopes of alleviating it. When the driver turned the wheel away from the curb, you caught a glimpse of Eddie through the fingerprint-smudged window, sitting on the bench just as he had since you’d arrived.
Except this time, he was looking directly at you. It was intentional; he’d seen you waiting at the stop and waited until conversation was an impossibility before daring to glance your way.
He averted his gaze the moment your eyes locked onto his. It was so fast that you worried that you’d imagined it. A sleep-deprived hallucination, even.
You didn’t stop looking even as the bus left the stop. You watched him toss his cigarette butt to the ground and crush it with the sole of his sneaker. You watched him take another one and place it between his lips. You watched trembling fingers dig into his jacket pocket and take out the lighter once again.
He was out of sight before you could see a spark.
Excitement hummed through campus, a live wire that electrified even you. It was hard to ignore the end-of-semester buzz, especially with the sun warming the air in a soft spotlight.
Other students sat on the quad, blankets tucked underneath them as they ate lunch with friends. Their mouths moved in conversations about exam cramming and upcoming parties and post-graduation plans. You wanted to bottle their lightheartedness and carry it around with you, dipping into it when life got too serious and dabbing it on your pulse points like perfume.
Fluorescent bulbs replaced the natural light as you walked the hall towards the classroom. You slid into your usual spot and placed your bag on the adjacent chair to reserve it for Nora. Until she arrived, you’d be left alone with only your thoughts to keep you company.
Great.
The memory of the other night, of Eddie’s sullen expression and the way his lips hardened into a frown, was a stone in your stomach.
How could he think that you pitied him, looked down on him for his circumstances? Wasn’t it obvious from the motel’s disrepair that you weren’t exactly living in the lap of luxury either? And yet, he’d perceived your attempt at an alliance as some sort of enemy threat. You wanted to shake his shoulders and yell, “we’re on the same team!” but it would probably just bounce off of his MTV-obsessed brain without him ever processing it.
Eddie’s reaction wasn’t the only part of the confrontation that bothered you. No, what really drove you to the brink of insanity was that the confrontation bothered you at all.
How many guests were snippy or even downright mean to you over the years? How many had raised their voice over the most trivial matter? You had lost count of the number of times someone had spat the word ‘bitch’ in your direction because of low water pressure or a lightbulb that needed replacing.
And yet, this is the instance that grated at you, had you wondering if he’d looked away from you this afternoon out of disdain, guilt, embarrassment, or some combination of the three.
It shouldn’t have even mattered. So what if he hated you? He was out of the motel, which meant that his problems were no longer your concern.
The click of the door being wrenched open forced you out of your thoughts and back to reality.
“Last week of classes!” Nora trilled with a wide grin. She practically skipped to your side, slinging her backpack over the wooden chair back. “Then we have finals,” she contorted her face in disgust before resuming her excited disposition, “and then we graduate!”
She plopped down in her seat, adjusting her body to face you. “That reminds me; we should probably figure out where we’re going to meet before the ceremony, because I am not sitting through that alo—what?” She frowned when you flinched, the realization setting in. “Nonono, don’t tell me you’re not going.”
“Sorry,” you offered half-heartedly. The pen markings on your desk suddenly became incredibly interesting, and you rubbed your forefinger over them in a feeble attempt to end the conversation.
As usual, Nora refused to accept defeat. “Still haven’t told your parents?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, you’ve got two weeks.” She clapped you on the back a bit too harshly, her lips pinched with an edge of impatience. “Time to put on those big-girl panties.”
She meant well–she always did, doing everything in her power to encourage you to pursue the career you wanted. But she just didn’t understand the mounting pressure to be what your family needed, or how you were constantly towing the line between selfishness and dignity. One step in the wrong direction and you would either crush your parents’ dreams or your own. And while there had to be some gray area there, it was overshadowed by the polarizing categories.
“I’ll try.”
You won’t.
You spent the class forcing yourself to listen to the professor, jotting down notes every so often when you could remember to do so.
Paying attention to lectures, final papers and exams, the graduation ceremony–it all seemed asinine when you considered your failure to help people on the most basic level. Like with Eddie: as hard as you tried to emphasize the mutual benefits of him working at the motel, you’d still inadvertently offended him.
When were you going to learn to stop extending help to people who weren’t asking for any? In these situations, you tossed logic aside to make room for emotion. It had been that way since you first began to understand that answers to life’s problems were seldom clear-cut.
There was one day in particular, where rain fell in sheets and your only option was to play indoors. You were jumping rope in the lobby, excitedly counting along with each skip.
“Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty—”
The rope smacked against your ankles, but you were too distracted to feel the sting. Your eyes were glued to a man who was stumbling towards the front desk. He wobbled in his whiskey-drenched cloud, mumbling something incoherent under his breath before collapsing to the ground in sudden hysterical sobs.
“Everything okay, sir?” Dad asked. His inconspicuous hand motioned you towards your room, but you froze in place. It wasn’t fear so much as shock that a grown-up was having a temper tantrum.
The man didn’t answer; instead, he took a swig from the brown paper bag clutched in his hand. Amber liquid trickled out from between his lips as he cried, and he slowly pushed himself up and out the front door without acknowledging anyone else’s presence. Raindrops pelted down on his head and matted whatever hair was left on his head
“Why was he crying?” You’d asked Dad, the jump rope now all but forgotten. “And what was in the bag?”
Dad gave you a small smile and did his best to explain the adult situation to a child. Even now, you remembered him talking about how drinking alcohol can make people feel happy, sad, or angry. He omitted the fact that all three emotions could occur in the same person, in the same moment, but your eight-year-old mind wouldn’t have comprehended that anyway.
Ever inquisitive, you continued asking questions. “But if it makes him sad, why doesn’t he just stop?”
“It’s not that easy,” Dad said with a tight grimace.
You’d considered his response for a moment, eyes lighting up when you conjured up a brilliant idea. “What if we go in his room and throw out all of his alcohol!” You tugged on Dad’s hand, expecting him to reciprocate your enthusiasm, but he’d stayed where he was and shook his head.
“Afraid it doesn’t work that way, kiddo. He’s gotta want to stop drinking first.”
It hadn’t made sense to you then, and though you’d learned about the nuances of addiction as the years crept by, it didn’t do much to quell your frustration. Any solution being beyond your control was a piranha ripping into your ambitions with its razor-sharp teeth.
The Eddie situation gave you that same helpless feeling. If you could turn back the clock, you would have done something different. You weren’t sure exactly what would be different, but it would almost certainly be better than your spur-of-the-moment offer last Wednesday.
But since time travel was out of the question and Eddie was no longer one of your guests, both he and his problems were out of your hands.
If only your heart could accept that.
A reel of your shortcomings played in your mind on a continuous loop; it still gnawed at you as class was dismissed, the professor calling out a reminder about final paper submission while you and Nora walked out the door.
“Are you okay?” She frowned and put out a gentle hand to bring you to a stop.
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
She wasn’t falling for that lame excuse, not when something heavier than sleep marred your face. “Seriously. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Do you ever feel like you’ll never actually help anyone?”
The words came out in a rush before you could curtail them. Wincing, you allowed yourself a peek at your friend’s expression. Confusion knitted her brows together, but her arms stayed at her sides.
“What do you mean?” Her words were soft and careful, distinctly absent of judgment or condescension.
A monologue of response was lodged in your throat. It was a thought you held inside, silently rehearsed but never dared to speak aloud:
Are we really going to make a difference? Or enough of a difference that it even matters? Like when you see a homeless person and you give them some money, or buy them something to eat. And you feel good for a split second, because now that person isn’t going to be hungry for a little while, right? But then you pass by another homeless person. And another. And you realize that, to them, it doesn’t matter that you helped someone else. Because those other people are still hungry.
You said none of it, swallowing the words and replacing them with a, “never mind, I’m too in my own head today.”
Nora nodded, not wanting to push too hard, but you knew she was teeming with questions. She offered a small smile that told you the conversation wasn’t over, just paused temporarily.
A nod of your own sealed the compromise.
The rest of the afternoon played out without a hiccup. Lunch was your usual greasy sandwich from Niko with a side of his irritated banter, this time about the price of gas.
“You girls think it won’t affect you because you take the bus,” he warned, finger wagging between you and Nora, “but just watch them hike up the fare. It’s only a matter of time. Especially with those new card things you gotta use.”
His fears were unfounded, at least for the moment, and you and Nora each dropped $1.25 into the coin slot.
“About what you said earlier,” she started, finding space to wrap her hands on the pole, “we don’t have to talk about it—”
“Please.”
“–but I need to tell you one thing.” Her eyes held firmly onto yours. “If anyone’s gonna make a difference in this shitty world, it’s you.”
The compliment should have illuminated you from the inside out; instead, it was a firefly’s light, barely bright enough to cast a shadow with its pathetic flickering. You ached to believe her, but it was impossible to imagine that the same person who wouldn’t tell her parents a simple truth could also change the world.
“Thanks.” One word compounded with a forced smile, and the truce snapped back in place. Weighing potential conversation topics, you settled on the most neutral–the final paper for your class–and launched yourself into it with as much enthusiasm as you could summon for the remainder of the ride home.
There was no overt sign of Eddie when your bus pulled up to the stop. Not at first. The only indication of him was a familiar mint-colored blanket tightly wrapped around a lump laying across the bench.
It wasn’t until you stepped off of the bus and got closer that you could make out the curly brunette tendrils peeking out from the top, the blanket rising and falling with each breath he took. His face was hidden and his eyelids were screwed shut in fitful sleep, allowing you to hold onto the false hope that it wasn’t him, just someone with a similar build and hair texture. Even the frayed hems of his jeans and his scuffed sneakers sticking out from the other end of the blanket could have been a coincidence.
But there was no denying the truth once you caught a glimpse of the guitar case being hugged to his chest.
Just keep walking. Stop trying to fix things that you didn’t break. Things that didn’t ask to be fixed.
Your conscience trumped logic once again as two fingertips gently pressed against his blanket-wrapped shoulder.
“Eddie?”
His eyes flew open in an instant, revealing the delicate red lines that scarred the whites and meandered towards his brown irises. He clenched the guitar case even tighter as he jolted upright, protecting it like it was his child, and the sudden movement sent a handful of empty beef jerky wrappers floating to the ground.
Sunlight streamed through the glass panes, fragmented where it had been shattered by a rogue baseball or perhaps the crown of someone’s head, though you would have heard about it if it was the latter. It backlit him in an angelic glow, a halo comically contradicting his bitter expression.
“Fuckin’ shit–don’t scare me like that!”
The gentle, rhythmic inhales and exhales were long gone, replaced by a frantic fight-or-flight panting that flared out his nostrils. His hardened jawline softened a bit once he’d fully clawed himself out of his sleepy haze and realized that the person in front of him wasn’t a threat, just a nuisance.
“I told you; I don’t need your charity.” His lips set into a scowl and he laid back down on the bench, tugging the blanket back up to his chin.
That’s it. Conversation over. Go home.
“You certainly need my blanket, though.” Raising one eyebrow, you thumbed at the thin material to make your point.
Eddie only doubled down, sitting up once more to ball up the blanket and toss it in your direction. “Here ya go. It’s all yours.”
You caught it with one hand, the loose threads tickling your forearm.
“That’s not what I meant.” A hiss of air passed through your teeth. This was the perfect opportunity to leave him behind, to go somewhere you were needed and wanted. He had been making it abundantly clear that he’d rather live outside than spend another second with you.
And yet.
“I’m not just gonna let you sleep out here.” Tone thick with insistence, you mustered up all of your determination. The blanket was now tucked beneath your underarm and sopping up the pooling perspiration. “And it’s only a matter of time before you get mugged. With that thing,” you gesture to the instrument still in his grasp, “I’m surprised it hasn’t already happened. So you can either stay at the motel and re-wallpaper the lobby or you can kiss your precious guitar goodbye.”
Fire burned behind your eyes as you spoke, each word adding kindling. You couldn’t tell if you were doing this for his safety or your own pride, but both led to the same outcome.
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just scraped his top teeth over the dead skin on his lower lip, drawing a speck of blood that went unnoticed. You stayed silent, too, the weight of his impending decision anchoring your tongue.
Finally he nodded, slowly at first, then faster as desperation seeped in, but he remained steadfast in his refusal to meet your eyes.
“Fine.” Eddie’s breath was shaky, teetering on the brink of tears, but none fell. “Just until I find a paying gig.”
He grabbed the neck of his guitar with one hand and pressed on his knee with the other. Fixing his posture, he stood tall in hopes that no one walking by would equate him with the pitiful mess who had been sleeping at a bus stop in a stolen blanket.
“Okay,” you agreed with a quiet breath, a cautious smile playing on your lips as the two of you walked back to the motel. You stayed two steps in front of him, leading the way.
He could turn heel and run. He could back out at any moment and you’d never see him again. But when you unlocked the door to room four–Eddie’s room–he was still behind you.
“I can take the blanket back,” he said, motioning to the bundle under your arm as he stepped over the threshold and into the room.
Like a phantom appendage, you’d forgotten it was there. “No. I’ll get you a fresh one.” You shook your head, finalizing the matter.
“Okay.”
No hesitation. No argument.
Maybe there was a chance you could actually help him. Maybe you didn’t ruin everything you touched.
--
taglist:
@theintimatewriter @mandyjo8719 @storiesbyrhi @lady-munson @moonmark98 @squidscottjeans @therealbaberuthless @emxxblog @munson-mjstan @loves0phelia @kthomps914 @aysheashea @munsonsbtch @mmunson86 @b-irock @ginasellsbooks @erinekc @the-unforgivenn @dashingdeb16 @micheledawn1975 @yujyujj @eddies-acousticguitar @daisy-munson @kellsck @foreveranexpatsposts @mykuup @chatteringfox @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps @sapphire4082 @katethetank @sidthedollface2 @eddies-stinky-battle-jacket @mysteris-things @mrsjellymunson @josephquinnsfreckles @the-disaster-in-waiting @eddielowe @hugdealer @rip-quizilla @munson-girl @fishwithtitz @costellation-hunter @cloudroomblog @emsgoodthinkin
#eddie munson#eddie stranger things#eddie x reader#eddie x you#eddie munson x female reader#eddie munson x f!reader#eddie munson x you#eddie munson smut#eddie munson angst#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson fanfic#stranger things fanfic#fanfic#eddie munson stranger things#stranger things#lam
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I just finished the game, and it’s absolutely amazing! The premise’s got so much potential; with its complex political plot, fascinating world-building, gender disparities, diverse origins that truly shape the protagonist’s story, and even the option to choose the kind of beauty your character has!
Could we get a sneak peek of MC’s first meeting with Kaz? Please! Just a tiny one!
Also, I’m super curious about Captive MC...how would her children process having a mom with such a tragic backstory? The captive origin is easily the most intense. Her whole family was killed, she was imprisoned, and then sold. Would they think about everything she went through? I'm especially curious about the reactions of her two sons. After all, it seems more predictable to guess what the daughter might think
All I can tell you about MC’s meeting with Kaz is that it’s going to be wet 🤫
In regards to the other part, their reactions will largely differ cause their personalities and perspectives are stark opposites almost. I enjoyed imagining the boys reactions so much I had to write it out. Snip under the cut! (By the way Arman and Cyrus are my headcanon names for MC’s sons. In my mind Kaz named them after his brother and grandfather. You can name them in the story!)
The garden air was thick with the scent of roses and the sound of clashing sticks as Arman reenacted the Battle of Seven Rivers, using a fallen branch as his sword. His cheeks were flushed with excitement, dark hair falling in his eyes as he spun and thrust, fighting imaginary enemies.
"And then Shah Saminsar charged through the river!" He splashed through one of the decorative pools, much to your quiet amusement. "The enemy never expected anyone to cross in full armor! But grandfather's grandfather wasn't afraid of anything!"
Cyrus sat cross-legged on a marble bench, watching his brother's performance with a mix of envy and disdain. He'd tried playing these games before, but he always ended up winded and coughing and he disliked how it made you worry. Better to watch and remember the details Arman invariably got wrong, he thought.
"That's not how the story goes," he pointed out. "The chronicles say he had special boats made of—"
"You're ruining it!" Arman brandished his stick-sword. "Besides, my way is better. More exciting." He paused mid-thrust, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
"What about your father, Mother?" Arman asked suddenly, his expression bright with curiosity. "Did he fight in any great battles? Did he fight Shah Saminsar?"
The question hung in the air like suspended glass, fragile and dangerous. Your hands stilled in their embroidery as memories you usually kept carefully locked away began to surface.
"My father," you began slowly, "was a potter. He made the most beautiful vases you've ever seen, with designs so delicate they looked like they might float off the clay."
Both boys were watching you now, sensing something significant in your tone.
"What happened to him?" Cyrus asked softly, his keen eyes studying your face.
You took a deep breath. They were old enough now, you decided. They deserved to know. "He died when raiders came to our village.a"
Arman let the branch-sword fall, his playful demeanor vanishing. "Raiders?"
"They came at dawn," you continued, voice distant with memory. "I remember the smell of smoke, the screaming... My father tried to protect us, but..." you swallowed hard. "They killed the men who resisted. They took the rest of us as captives. I was brought to the capital and sold as a slave."
Silence fell heavily in the gardens.
"A slave?" Arman's voice cracked. "But... but that's impossible! You're not... you're not like them!" His mind flashed to the laborers he'd seen in the streets, bent and dirty and broken. Nothing like his beautiful mother who smelled of roses and knew how to make even the shah smile.
Cyrus said nothing, but his mind was racing, pieces falling into place like tiles in a mosaic. The whispers he sometimes caught in corners, the way certain nobles looked at them when they thought no one was watching. Slave blood, they said. His fingers clenched in his lap.
"Is that why the other consorts look down on us?" Cyrus asked.
"Cyrus," Arman protested, but you held up a hand.
"Yes," you admitted. "Many believe that common blood taints the royal line. That I was unworthy to bear the shah's children."
"They're wrong!" Arman declared fiercely, jumping to his feet. "You're worth ten of them! A hundred!" Cyrus nodded in agreement.
"It doesn't matter what they think," Cyrus said quietly, though his eyes blazed with a cold fury that reminded you startlingly of his father. "We are who we are. The blood of kings and the blood of craftsmen - perhaps that makes us stronger than either alone."
You felt tears prick at your eyes as you looked at your sons. They were taking this better than you had dared to hope.
"Does it..." Cyrus hesitated, then continued, "Does it hurt very much? To remember?"
"Sometimes."
"Don't cry, Mother!" Arman rushed to your side, nearly tripping over his own feet in his distress. "I'll kill them! I'll kill all of them who hurt you! When I'm bigger, I'll—"
Your tears turned to choked laughter as you caught him in your arms. "My fierce protector. Always ready to fight the world's wrongs with your sword."
"It's not funny!" Arman's own eyes were wet now. "They hurt you! They took you from your family!"
"If they hadn't," Cyrus said suddenly, his voice very small, "we wouldn't exist."
You reached out your other arm and Cyrus came to you, burying his face in your shoulder. You held them both close, these sons of hers who carried the blood of slaves and shahs in their veins.
"Listen to me, both of you," you said softly. "What happened to me was wrong. But it did not make me less. Remember that – no matter what anyone whispers, no matter what names they call you behind closed doors. You are the sons of my strength, not my shame."
Arman nodded fiercely against your chest. But Cyrus pulled back slightly, his young face troubled.
"Is that why I'm not strong like Arman?" he asked. "Because of... because we're..."
"No." Your voice turned sharp. "You are exactly who you were meant to be. Both of you."
The revelation would shape them in different ways as they grew. Arman threw himself into his martial training with renewed fury, determined to become strong enough that no one would ever dare hurt his family again. Cyrus retreated further into his books and scrolls, but now he sought out different kinds of knowledge. He learned about power – how to get it, how to keep it, how to use it like a knife in the dark. He collected secrets the way their grandfather had collected clay, shaping them into weapons far deadlier than any sword.
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What is the tradition of memorial bench?
The tradition of memorial benches dates back many years, and is rooted in the desire to provide a lasting tribute to loved ones who have passed away. Memorial benches are often placed in outdoor settings such as parks, gardens, or other public areas, as well as in private gardens or backyards.
Today, memorial benches are often seen as a way to honor the memory of loved ones, while also providing a peaceful and reflective space for visitors to enjoy. They can be customized with engravings or plaques that commemorate the life and legacy of the person being remembered, and can be designed in a variety of styles and sizes to suit any outdoor setting.
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I had a weird dream and crack ship was born
Frowny: Oh…yeah she seems. Nice. Dogday? Where are you going?
Dogday offscreen running away as fast as he can.
I don't even remember the dream but I remember the ship.
I need possible ship name. Ideas? Right now I'm thinking Chocolate Rain lol.
Gametoons is so bad. But I somehow someway had a liking for Frowny Fox (and maybe some of the other forgotten critters)
I also wasn't satisfied by how i drew Maggie in my last comic. That's what I get for trying to draw her from memory and not just...looking up a picture. So I tried again. I like this design a lot more.
A short oneshot fic under the cut. At the last minute I changed it to be Christmas themed which is why the picture isn't Christmas themed.
The Day Frowny Realized Maggie Wasn't Just Scary
The outdoor mall was chaos. With the holidays right around the corner, critters flooded the square, scrambling for last-minute gifts and bargains. Stalls were crammed with shiny trinkets, festive treats, and decorations that probably cost twice as much as they should. Frowny hated this. Crowds made his fur itch, and the pressure of picking the perfect gift didn’t help.
He was here for a Secret Santa gift exchange, and the name he’d drawn—an acquaintance who loved puzzles and had a mild obsession with coffee—had him stumped. He hovered by a table of mugs, frowning at one shaped like a sleeping squirrel. It was cute, but not too cute, right? He didn’t want to send the wrong message.
Just as he reached for it, something slammed into his side, sending him stumbling into the stall. A sharp hiss of pain escaped Frowny as he caught himself on the edge of the table.
“MOVE IT, BUDDY!”
Frowny turned, his tail bristling, to see a yellow gecko in ugly brown pants rushing through the crowd, shoving critters out of his way like a hurricane. Before Frowny could even get a word out, the gecko shoved another critter. This time, the wrong one.
Maggie Mako.
Oh no.
Maggie didn’t budge. Didn’t even sway. She turned her head slowly, towering over the gecko like a tidal wave about to break. Her grin was wide and full of teeth. “You wanna try that again, pal?”
The gecko froze, his cocky energy deflating immediately. “Uh… my bad,” he stammered, his eyes darting for an exit.
“You shoved someone else, then bump into me? Oh, you’ve got guts. Let’s see if you like keeping them inside.”
The gecko's yellow scales turned white. “S-s-sorry ma'am! D-didn't mean to—uh—yeah, I’ll just—”
“Scram,” Maggie growled, crossing her arms. That was all it took. The gecko bolted, nearly tripping over his own tail as he disappeared into the crowd.
Maggie rolled her shoulders and went back to considering some very ornate holiday cookies, looking more annoyed than anything. “Some critters. That's what I thought.” she muttered, dusting her hands off.
Frowny, who had been standing frozen with one paw still clutching the squirrel mug, finally remembered how to breathe. He adjusted his scarf and was about to slink away unnoticed when Maggie turned, catching him mid-stare.
Her grin softened with recognition. Less teeth, more playful.
“You okay, Foxy boy?”
It took a second for Frowny’s brain to catch up. Maggie had just defended him. Maggie, the big, scary shark woman who could probably bench press two wagons full of pumpkins, had stepped in for him. And now she was looking at him, smiling, as if she hadn’t just terrified someone out of their scales.
“I, uh…” His left ear flicked nervously. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” Maggie stepped closer, her shadow falling over him like a blanket. “You look a little pale. Well, paler than usual.” She smirked, her tone teasing but not unkind.
Frowny wanted to say something clever, but his brain had short-circuited. Instead, he noticed something odd: Maggie didn’t seem scary in that moment. She seemed… safe. Yes. safe, strong and confident, but not in a way that made him want to hide. In fact, it was kind of… nice?
And then it hit him. It wasn’t just nice. It was attractive. Hot even? Did his brain really just go there.
Oh no.
Maggie arched a brow, waiting for a response. When none came, she leaned down, eyes twinkling. “What’s the matter, Foxy? Catnap got your tongue?”
Frowny’s ears burned. He yanked his scarf higher over his face. “No. I’m fine. Thanks. Bye.” The words came out in a rushed jumble as he turned and awkwardly strutted away, his tail puffed up like a bottle brush.
Maggie blinked after him, then laughed. “You’re welcome!” she called, shaking her head. “Weird little guy.”
Meanwhile, Frowny ducked behind a corner, clutching his chest like his heart was about to escape. What was that? What was that?! He’d spent weeks avoiding Maggie because she was terrifying, and now, after one incident, he was—no. No, no,no. This wasn’t happening! He did not have a thing for Maggie Mako.
…But her smile had been kind of nice. And her strength had been… really nice. Pretty smile, very white cheerful teeth that didn't frighten him like they'd used to.
“Oh no,” he muttered to himself, ears flat. “This is bad.”
It was the beginning of the end. Or maybe the start of something good? No of course not! Or maybe it could be? Frowny wasn’t sure yet. He just knew he was doomed.
#smiling critters#smiling critters au#poppy playtime#popply playtime au#dogday#frowny fox#maggie mako#nightmare critters#nightmare critters au#fanfiction#writers on tumblr#artists on tumblr#fanart#oneshot#gametoons#critter cross au#critter crossing au#merry christmas#christmas#putterpenart
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The next step in the Yor story~
A few more months had passed, and Yor's visits to the little cake shop had become a daily ritual that the entire town noticed. Her once athletic and muscular physique was now a distant memory. With each indulgent slice, she had grown larger, reaching a point where movement was a significant effort. It was obvious to everyone that she was now morbidly obese, her BMI soaring to levels that made even the plus-size clothing stores struggle to accommodate her.
As she waddled down the street toward the cake shop, her pace was slow and labored. Each step required effort; her muscles strained under the weight they were not accustomed to bearing. Her breathing was heavy, and her heart pounded with the exertion. The fabric of her dress, the largest size available, clung tightly to her body and persistently rode up, forcing her to pause frequently to adjust it and prevent unwanted exposure. Her bulky belly rested heavily against her thighs, and when she sat, it settled lazily onto her lap, a constant reminder of how much she'd changed.
The townspeople had started to whisper, referring to her as "the lady who eats cake by herself in the park." Children giggled as she passed by, and adults exchanged knowing glances. The gossip didn't escape her notice, adding a layer of embarrassment to her already complex emotions. Yet, despite the social stigma and the challenges her size presented, there was a part of her that felt a sense of accomplishment. She had, in a way, achieved a goal—even if it was one she hadn't set consciously.
Entering the cake shop, the bell above the door chimed softly. The shopkeeper looked up, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before he composed himself with a polite smile. "Good afternoon, Yor," he greeted her.
"Good afternoon," she replied, her voice tinged with both shyness and anticipation. "I'd like to purchase that large birthday cake, please."
He hesitated for a moment. "Is it a special occasion?"
She shook her head lightly, causing a subtle ripple through her body. "No, just… felt like treating myself."
"Of course," he said, carefully boxing up the cake. As he handed it over, she noticed the slight strain in his arms from the weight of the sizable confection.
Leaving the shop, Yor made her way to the familiar bench in the park. The short journey left her winded; her breathing was labored, and a sheen of perspiration dotted her forehead. Sitting down with a relieved sigh, she felt the bench accommodate her weight, the wooden slats creaking softly beneath her. Her body visibly relaxed, the strain of standing alleviated.
Opening the cake box, she gazed at the intricate decorations—the swirls of frosting, the delicate icing flowers. A rush of endorphins flooded her system as she took the first bite. The rich, sweet flavors ignited her senses, providing a momentary escape from the complexities of her reality. Each mouthful brought both comfort and a fleeting sense of joy, the physical act of eating intertwining with a deeper emotional satisfaction.
Despite consuming the entire cake, she didn't feel uncomfortably full—a consequence of months spent overeating. Her appetite had expanded along with her body, and satiety was a feeling she rarely experienced fully. As she finished the last slice, a mixture of contentment and guilt settled over her. She was acutely aware of how far she'd let herself go, yet there was a peculiar solace in having surrendered to her desires.
Is this truly what I wanted? she pondered, gazing at the empty box. The thought of needing assistance for daily tasks loomed on the horizon. Her mobility was already severely limited; simple actions required significant effort, and she knew that if this continued, she might soon be unable to care for herself independently.
As Yor attempted to stand from the bench, she felt an overwhelming heaviness anchoring her in place. It took considerable effort to lift herself, her muscles straining and her breath growing shallow. Finally on her feet, she paused to steady herself, aware that even this simple act had become a significant challenge. Her body, once a finely tuned instrument of agility and strength, was now burdened beyond its limits.
Walking slowly toward Anya's school, each step was a deliberate effort. Her thighs rubbed together continuously, and her now-prominent belly swayed with every movement. The whispers and stares from passersby were impossible to ignore. Children pointed, and adults exchanged glances, the town gossip echoing in her mind: "There goes the lady who eats cake by herself in the park."
A profound realization settled over Yor. I've crossed a line I can't uncross, she thought. I'll never be thin again. The acknowledgment was a mixture of resignation and a strange sense of relief. She had been wrestling with her desires for so long, the constant push and pull between restraint and indulgence. Now, the struggle seemed to dissipate, leaving behind a quiet acceptance of her new reality.
She knew that her life would be different now. Everyday tasks had become arduous; even the plus-size stores were struggling to accommodate her needs. The prospect of needing assistance for simple activities loomed on the horizon. Yet, amid the embarrassment and the social stigma, there was a certain solace in letting go. She had surrendered to her desires, and in doing so, found a twisted sense of accomplishment.
Reaching the school gates, Yor saw Anya running toward her with open arms. "Mama!" Anya exclaimed, hugging her as tightly as she could. Yor felt the softness of her own body enveloping her daughter, a tangible sign of how much she'd changed.
"You're so cozy," Anya giggled, her eyes full of innocent joy.
Yor managed a genuine smile. "I'm glad you think so, Anya."
As they walked home at a leisurely pace, Anya chattered about her day, unaware of her mother's inner turmoil. Yor listened, but her thoughts drifted. She understood that she had become a slave to her desires, her life now dictated by the very impulses she once tried to control. The realization was both humbling and daunting.
That evening, settling into her chair required careful maneuvering. The furniture creaked under her weight, and once seated, she felt an immense relief. Looking across the table, she met Loid's gaze. His eyes revealed little—no judgment, no pity, just a neutral acknowledgment. Whether his silence was out of respect or indifference, she couldn't tell. But she knew now that seeking his approval was secondary to facing herself.
As dinner progressed, Yor felt a mixture of emotions: regret for the path she'd taken, but also a resigned acceptance of where she was. She had crossed a boundary from which there was no easy return. The possibility of reclaiming her former self seemed distant, if not impossible. And perhaps that was okay.
#ai generated#ai#fat#ai art#fat girls#fat anime#weight gain#animation#before & after#stable diffusion#yor forger#spy x family fanart#spy x family
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Christmas Panic! Part 2
A Fragment of Happiness
These two will be the end of me.
Thank you aca and myun for proofreading!
Location: Downtown HAMA
Momiji: Phew! We managed to get a ton of stuff for making mini wreaths!
Nagi: Yeah. There were so many different colors and types for every little decoration, I couldn’t help but grab everything when I thought about what flowers would go with each of them.
Momiji: I can see that a lot of thought goes into making these! But thanks to you, I think we managed to put together a really good haul.
Momiji: I mean, I never would’ve come up with the idea to make mini wreaths using dry flowers myself!
Nagi: It’s nothing special… But, I’m glad I could help you pick something your family would like.
Nagi: We still need to get some ribbons, but how about we take a breather over at that bench first?
Momiji: You’re right.
Momiji: Phew… It’s starting to get pretty cold, huh? At this rate, we’re probably gonna have a white Christmas.
Nagi: True. It’s cold enough that maybe even Santa Claus would have to come down to earth to warm up too.
Nagi: …Chief, I’ll be right back.
*Nagi runs off*
Momiji: Huh? Wai– Nagi-kun!?
~~~
Momiji: (It’s been 10 minutes since he left… How far did he go…?)
Momiji: (Maybe I should’ve gone with him—)
Nagi: Sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean to take so long.
Momiji: Welcome back… wait.
Momiji: Is it just me, or do you look… more roughed up than before you’d left?
Nagi: …A lot of things can happen in 10 minutes. Like slipping on a snowman that started to melt and getting tangled up in a string of lights…
Momiji: Oh no…! Did you get hurt?
Momiji: (Looks like even his bad luck is Christmas-themed….)
Nagi: Still, I managed to buy what I’d wanted.
Nagi: …So Chief, do you prefer coffee or cocoa?
Momiji: Oh… You went to get us drinks?
Nagi: Yeah. You looked like you were getting cold.
Nagi: I tried checking some cafes first, but they were all packed full. Then I spotted a food truck and decided to try my luck there.
Nagi: Call it a Christmas miracle, but I managed to keep the drinks safe and sound. They’re still warm too.
Momiji: Aw… Thank you so much. Then I’ll go for the cocoa.
Nagi: Great choice. This cocoa comes with a nice helping of marshmallows. It looks sweet and delicious.
Momiji: Wow, it really looks good! Mm~ It does smell pretty sweet! This really hits the spot!
Child who likes sweets: Mama! The cocoa that lady has looks really tasty! I want some too!
Nagi: Amazing. We managed to spread the gospel of cocoa. I’m sure sharing a nice cup of hot cocoa with her family will turn into a precious memory for her.
Momiji: Ahaha, true. A lot of families tend to go Christmas shopping together around this time.
Nagi: Chief…
Momiji: Hm?
Nagi: Do you get along with your family too? Though, seeing you pick your presents with such care is probably proof that you do.
Momiji: (Nagi-kun…)
Nagi: …I was wondering what your family is like. We bought a lot of materials, but I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of wreaths would suit them.
Momiji: Let’s see… When I think of them, I mostly remember smiles. I’d say they’re a pretty cheerful bunch.
Momiji: I actually have a brother who’s not much older than me.
Momiji: He seems like he’s got it all together, but he’s actually pretty dense. He’s a bit of an airhead too, so I can’t really take my eyes off him for long.
Nagi: I see… Yeah, that does sound like someone related to you.
Nagi: Oh, um, I don’t mean anything bad by it. I meant more of the cheerful part, less of the airheaded—
Momiji: Ahaha! It’s alright, don’t worry… I think you’d get along with my family.
Momiji: I’d love to introduce you to them one day. Especially my brother, I think he’d take a liking to you.
Nagi: Meeting your family…
Nagi: ……
Momiji: Nagi-kun?
Nagi: …Sorry, I just tried imagining it. Somehow, I feel all warm just thinking about it.
Nagi: Like I’m actually a part of your family—
*Nagi pales and goes stiff*
Nagi: Oh. Um. Nevermind. You probably think I’m gross for saying that.
Nagi: I’d probably just be a weed in your family’s backyard. A weed that’s better off being pulled out—
Momiji: Of course not!
Momiji: I’m really happy to hear you say that about my family.
Momiji: Besides, you’re pretty much already family to me, Nagi-kun.
Nagi: ……
Momiji: …Um, maybe I’m the one being gross now?
Nagi: No…
Nagi: I’m really… happy. Thank you, Chief.
Momiji: Of course.
Nagi: …W-We should probably get moving. It would be bad if you were in a tough spot tomorrow from staying out too late. Yeah. That’s no good. Let’s get going.
Momiji: You’ve got a point.
Momiji: Nagi-kun, do you mind if I drop by tomorrow night? I want to make the wreaths together with you.
Nagi: Of course. I’ll make the best three wreaths of my entire career with you.
Momiji: Haha!
Nagi: (I should stay up tonight and practice…)
Nagi: (I was preparing a surprise for her, but looks like I was the one who got a gift instead.)
Part 1
Note:
I didn't do a Kaede version this time because he also says the exact same thing about Momiji.
#18trip#18tlip#18trip translation#hachinoya nagi#nagi hachinoya#momiji hamasaki#kaede hamasaki#crying screaming throwing up#this is literally just introducing your bf to the family#and they're ALREADY FAMILY#they're married your honor#this story gave me too many feels#and the meta comment that both hamasaki siblings would love nagi#im going insane#thank you for reading!
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The lovely Rhys set by @pinkbox-anye is a bit more alpha-y than what I usually convert, but I absolutely loved every item so here it is! 🐇
I'm literally obsessed with decorating kitchens and can never have enough clutter and these objects looked good enough to eat I swear! 🐛 I have some more sets from Anye coming up, keep an eye out for them!
I have managed to significantly lower the number of polys on all of the items and most textures are 512x512 (they're very high quality so the difference is minimal but your texture memory will be thankful). 🌼
The items list as well as the unedited preview are under the cut! Everything's compressed, enjoy! ♥
download (sfs) // alt download (mediafire)
The set consists of:
apples (1,130 polys)
dining bench (432 polys)
blanket (1,203 polys)
blueberries (3,018 polys)
bread (992 polys)
utensil canisters (1,240 polys)
cutting boards (872 polys)
dining table (1,583 polys)
eggs (1,533 polys)
fried egg (1,426 polys)
pancakes (1,717 polys)
pillows (not pictured, 1,497 polys)
plant (876 polys)
hanging shelf (not pictured, one slot, 1,276 polys)
teapot (1,462 polys)
Unedited preview:
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