#my brother keeps calling me to meet up my cousin keeps calling me ALL week even tho i said im busy

[kirishwima]

can people leave me alone. AT LEAST on my days off

[barcaatthemoon]

holiday || lia walti x reader ||

you bring lia home to meet your family.

it wasn't very often that an opportunity arose for you to spend time with both lia and your parents. arsenal's trip to america was a pretty big deal. you and lia managed to fly out a week before everyone else was required to so that you could spend time with your family. the games weren't anywhere near where you had grown up, but lia had never been to south dakota, so you booked a weekend trip.

"there is so much space," lia said as she stared out the car window. the two of you were in the back of your parents' trusted minivan. it had been in the family since you were young, and had been the faithful transport of you and your siblings, and now your siblings' kids.

"it's kind of nice. london really makes me miss it out here," you told her. lia hummed as she turned and grabbed onto your hand. your homesickness had been an issue for the past two season. you had nearly left because of it before lia reminded you that eventually you'd get to go back home, but you might not get to come back to arsenal if you ended your contract early.

"granny's got the whole family at the house, by the way. i told her to give you a day to rest, but she knows you won't be here long," your dad warned you. there was nothing more that you expected from your grandmother. you were the only grandchild who moved more than an hour and a half away, and she missed you like crazy.

"it's fine dad, i got a monster at the airport, and i'm sure that uncle craig brought coffee," you said. at that, your dad laughed, his brother's coffee being a running joke in the family. it was strong to the point of being nearly undrinkable, and yet, the man put cup after cup of it down every single day.

lia seemed a bit lost on the joke, but you were more than happy to fill her in. you were always scared of rambling, so you rarely let yourself go on like you were. lia deserved a bit of a warning, not having really dealt with a true midwestern family before. everybody would agree on clearing out by 8:30, and the last scragglers would most likely hang around until the early hours of the morning.

"this is where you grew up?" lia asked as she pointed at the large house in front of you. since you had left, your parents had added onto the house quite a bit. there were things that you had helped to fund, as had all of your siblings. that house had been in your family for three generations, and none of you were going to let it go to someone else or be torn down.

"yeah, it didn't look like this, but pretty much. come on, let me show you my room!" you excitedly raced up the stairs with your bags. lia followed you, just barely able to keep up.

your room looked exactly like it had when you left it two seasons ago. you had played at the reign before transferring to arsenal, but before that, you had been a husky. washington had been your home away from your parents' place, and your bedroom reflected that. even before you had left for college, you had dreamt of a purple jersey of your own in the shops.

"the bed will be a bit cramped, but we should be fine. just, keep your hands to yourself, my mom has a sixth sense for that sort of thing," you warned lia. she nodded as she took everything in. you made a place for her things and then hopped back to lay on your bed. lia stood there for a moment before joining you, glad to be able to relax for a moment.

the two of you barely got to lay there for a minute before you were called down for dinner. lia looked confused about where to sit until you plopped yourself down at the kids' table. you were more than happy to sit with your younger cousins, nieces, and nephews. in your eyes, that was always the most fun table with their little games and stories.

lia tried to sit with you, but unsurprisingly, your sister pulled her away to the 'hen table' as you had grown up hearing it. you watched as they questioned lia at first. she seemed nervous, but visibly kept calm which you were impressed by. most of your girlfriends from before had run off after a good questioning from your granny and sister-in-law.

"do you kiss that lady?" nicholas, your little brother's son, asked you.

"sometimes, i do. it's a pretty big deal, she's the princess of switzerland," you told him. as if she heard the nickname, lia's head whipped around to look at you. you gave her a little finger wave before turning back to the kids' table antics.

it wasn't for another couple of hours that you got a moment alone with lia. she seemed to be very popular with your family, which you appreciated. most of the time, someone always hated whoever you brought home. you had counted on either your sister-in-law or one of your uncles not approving, but they seemed to love her the most.

"you picked a good one, chicky," your older brother said as he pulled you in for a hug. "i don't know how you pulled her, but i'm glad you did. i'd put a ring on it if i was you."

"shh, don't scare her off," you hissed as you swatted at him.

"hey, don't let her slip away. that's all i'm saying," he told you. he pressed a kiss to the top of your head and then left. his words were bouncing around in your head as you helped your parents get the kids who stayed over to bed. lia had headed up for a shower before you, so you hoped that she'd still be awake by the time you got up there.

"i didn't know you had such a big family," lia said. there was nothing behind it, just an observation. you knew that a lot of your teammates would be surprised when your whole family showed up at your game in washington. "do you think you'll come back here when you retire?"

"that's always been the plan," you told her. lia hummed as she pulled you to lay on top of her. "i'd be willing to change that for you."

"i don't want you to change that for me. if you'd let me, i'd like to come back here with you. this is a good place to raise a family."

"is that something you really want with me?" you asked her. lia nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"of course it is. now, let's get some rest because i believe i was promised a tour of the farm in the morning," lia said. you chuckled at that, knowing exactly the amount of free labor your dad got from having people "tour the farm."

[xoxoskai]

NIKOBRAN HEADCANNONS

to keep you going this last week before God of Fury drops<3

Between all his sons-in-law, Brandon is Kyle's favorite.

Levi's is Mia (cousin-fuckers who stole his son and daughter he'll always beef with)

Brandon and Niko are the type of relatives to wear matching clothes on Christmas because Niko would take up any chance to wear matching anything with Brandon.

If and when Brandon bakes, no one gets a chance to even taste what he made before Niko devours it all.

The only place Niko can fall asleep in at record speed is Brandon's arms.

The only reason Niko teaches Brandon how to drive a bike is so he can put his arms around his boyfriend's slutty waist boyfriend.

Remi is terrified on Brandon's behalf.

"Bran, yes, he's hot but mate, look at that guy! He has some skin on those tattoos!"

Astrid shares Remi's concerns but soon comes to find out that Niko is the biggest goofball of sunshine and almost adopts him.

Surprisingly, the one who takes the longest to accept Brandon is Rai. Because it's not her first time meeting the Kings (hello, she's a far relative) and she's worried that her oldest who is actually tender hearted and plagued by demons of his past, might be crushed beyond repair if Brandon hurt him.

Brandon and Landon think they can get away with tricking their in-laws by dressing as each other but they underestimate the Sokolov-Hunters who told them apart the moment they walked in.

Brandon tried it on Niko once when he first divulged about how Maya and Mia used to do it, but Niko could tell Brandon apart from his "psycho" brother in a heartbeat.

"It's your eyes" He had murmured. "Yours sparkle"

Glyndon is weary of Niko but as long as Brandon's happy, she's happy.

Landon is supremely unhappy.

When Landon first opposes their relationship by threatening Niko, Niko flings back "Remember who you're dating and what I mean to them" back at him.

Niko and Landon almost kill each other multiple times.

If there's someone even more unhappy than Landon, it's Crieghton.

Creighton: "Does this mean I can't fight him anymore?" Elsa: "Why were you fighting him before this?!" Creighton: "Is anyone else hearing this buzzing? I should go check."

Niko goes feral whenever he sees Brandon shirtless and vice-versa but

Niko is always shirtless, so Brandon is always suffering.

Unlike Niko, Brandon doesn't carry him into a dark corner to immediately fuck.

If there's no scene of Brandon asking Niko "Who's fucking you?" Rina, you'll hear from my therapist. And if there's not a single, evil, unhinged Brandon moment where Niko is flabbergasted at the change and is accusing him of being two-faced at which Brandon will laugh, lean in and ask tauntingly "What are you going to do? Tell on me?" I will sue.

Brandon's muse is Niko. (Bitch, I said what I said)

Unlike Landon, Brandon doesn't divulge this piece of information to his boyfriend because he does not want to give Niko even more reasons to walk around with lesser clothes.

Brandon gets a tattoo for Niko on his ribs. (cue feral Nikolai)

After which Niko tries to get Brandon's name tattooed on his favorite organ, but Jeremy literally deadlocks the door to his room to keep him inside after Niko asked for opinions in their group chat about his decision.

Niko: You don't think it's romantic? Jeremy, Killian, Gareth, Landon, Eli, Creighton, Remi:

They've definitely rolled around in paint and fucked on a canvas after it. Niko would display it in the entryway of their house if Brandon let him.

They've also joined the mile high club.

After they get engaged, Brandon calls him by his full-name as in "Nikolai Sokolov-Hunter-King" just to piss him off but Nikolai loves being associated to Brandon in every possible way, so it backfires.

Their wedding bands have each other's name inscribed in them.

As does the underside of their ring fingers in the other's handwriting.

Nikolai tries drawing a heart over the i in his name and almost gets smacked.

[cristinacclearwater]

Robin Time Travel AU!!

A fic where Dick or Damian or Jason or all three time-traveled and stop Ethiopia from happening... Only they didn't anticipate the consequences.

With no Ethiopia happening, Jason never dies and neither does Bruce go off the rails... Thus never giving Tim a reason to join the Batfam...

Dick never saw nor tried to find out exactly how bad Bruce got after Jason... And was waiting for Tim to find him again... Even going to Harley's where they met... Keeping the entire schedule for the week very simple for Tiny Tim to easily follow... Only Tim never shows up...

Jason does not know the circumstances of Tim joining and is wondering when Bruce is bringing Timbo home...

While Damian convinced Talia that it is better for him to join his father in Gotham... By 'investigating' and 'arriving' at the 'conclusion' that his father is Batman... Thus he comes to Gotham early... Like months before Tim... Like he coincided with the week Jason would have died...

Again, he does not know the circumstances of Tim joining... Just knowing that this time when he has Robin, it will be on Tim's terms... He is looking forward to a good relationship with him because Dick said Tim always wanted a little brother and now Damian has the chance to be that little brother... No, he is not jealous of YJ or how close they are with Tim, or that bloody speedster... What are you saying!?!!!

Tim never comes.

Now, Tim on the other hand decided to explore Paris and gets caught in shenanigans... Meets Lady Shiva... Gets mentored by Lady Shiva... Unknowingly insults Snake... Gets challenged by Snake... Defeats Snake... Refuses Lady Shiva's offer... And comes back to Gotham... Only this trip was a year or 9-10 months long...

In Gotham, he takes up the cape... Works smaller crimes, nothing with rogues (like Spider-Man) and becomes beloved... Of course, Tim is still that little stalker at heart and keeps updating the Bat's info... he doesn't want to be burdensome to them, Thus, Tim makes sure Bats and him don't cross paths... After all, Batman might feel obligated to take him in as he did Batgirl, Spoiler, and Black Bat... They didn't have training. He does...

Meanwhile, Batfam is wondering where they went wrong and missed Tim... And slowly Dick starts remembering the context as to why Tim sought him out... Not to be Robin but to make him take Robin back up... And when Dick refused to... Then Tim took up the job of keeping Batman in line... Because Gotham needs Batman and Batman needs a Robin...

Dick tells Jason and Damian... They don't believe... Because of course, my info is not wrong... He was replacing me/was an interloper... It takes them that entire year to accept that Tim is not coming... Then scrambling to find him... Then they started hearing rumors... Of this little vigilante who helps with small crimes... And try to intercept him, maybe introduce themselves, to no avail... It was as if Gotham herself was against it, they always missed him...

Meanwhile, Tim's life continues pretty much same as in earlier comics... Batfam, out of the city, Metallo attacks Gotham... Tim calls Superboy... Thus, the first meeting of TimKon, same as comics. Only, instead of Tim, he travels as Alvin Draper, a child who was helped into his seat by his parents and will be picked up by his cousin Shanks at the airport... Actors he hires to help him... And "will you please watch him, we are so scared he will be traveling alone"... The story works for both going and then returning and Cousin Shanks helps Alvin back onto the plane when needed...

School trip for Bart and I do not believe much will change with Bart as he will know Tim's rep from the future, rather than the past, so Bart still believes Tim's awesome... And makes friends...

They still start Young Just Us... And still go on every mission they did in YJ98... Tim still develops a rapport with Batman... Only he is not his Robin or known as his prodigy... Compared to when Batman taught him everything and knew him well, lying to Batman was quite easy for Tim... Because Tim grew up in Gotham society and was his mother's son through and through...

Tim's parents are not bad in this either... Like can Janet put the fear of god in businessmen? YES... But when it came to family and especially Tim, she was soft... I see Tim's relationship with his parents same as Kudo Shinichi's from Detective Conan... Like they have wanderlust and Tim does not... But just because they are not in the same country or continent, does not mean they do not keep in contact... They know exactly what shenanigans Tim gets up to and know better than to stop him because otherwise, he will just hide them... They know all his friends, his interests, etc... Especially his mom, and hiding about Robin probably hurt their relationship a lot...

{I 100% believe the only reason Tim didn't tell Jack he was a vigilante was because he was Robin and thus was responsible for the entire Batfam identities... And that is why Jack believed Tim did not choose but rather was coerced into being Robin because otherwise they would already know...}

So, in this fic, Tim keeps his parents in the loop from the beginning and Janet makes sure a part of DI is dedicated to helping Tim, so he's never without help in Gotham... Also, they know life is dangerous so they get separate mobile/communicators for "just emergencies", like a "Need help! Will die if not given" button... So Tim knew the moment his parents were taken by Obama Man and rescued them with Young Just Us...

Because NO BATMAN RULES thus Tim was able to tell his parents and team his identity much earlier than in canon... He still makes contingencies for fellow heroes, especially Justice League, including the entire Batfam, including Alfred... Because Janet Drake's son is taught better by her mamma... And Tim does not know Wayne beyond being a fanboy and does not have an emotional connection to them...

Just a fic where Batfam lives happily and Tim is successful but they never have more than a coworker relationship... Like Tim is closer to Wally or Donna or Roy or Bisaro or Jon than Dick, Jason, and Damian because they have a familial connection to his team, while Batfam only has the connection of Gotham... Like Oracle has the most influence over Tim's actions in his vigilant life because she sometimes directs him to crime if no one else is available...

Tim is still friends with Stephanie but here Tim's self-respect and confidence are not broken again and again and again... So Stephanie does not get away with treating him like shit on or off the field and that's dangerous on the field, so they mutually decided to not team up unless with a mediator in between that could lead both...

Off-field they are good friends, friends who know their secret life so they can share any grievance, WITHOUT endangering any identities, etc... But they do not date... Tim dates Ariana, yes. And felt Stephanie might be a rebound and knew she deserved better than that. If Stephanie confesses, Tim makes it clear he is not in a position to date yet (don't know if the timeline is right, if not feel free to correct)...

{OK, one thing I make clear, No hate for the character of Stephanie Brown but I just hate how she treats Tim in Canon and everyone acts like it's OK because it's not. It's fucked up and a toxic relationship. Especially how Bruce used their relationship later and Stephanie agrees)...

Tim also seeks mental help for the school shooting and other civilian events, while Jack is looking for a trusted therapist for his son, Janet absolutely approves... When they have one, Tim gets a contract of confidentiality from John Constantine to sign for the therapist and drags his team, kicking and screaming with him...

With the team being introduced to the Drakes early, they spent a lot of time in Gotham, and adults (Janet) understand what is happening with Ross, Tana, etc. And helps Kon before telling him to stay with Tim, "because that boy absolutely cannot take care of himself, never mind he has done so for years, you stay with him, do you want to go to Gotham Academy or do you like your current one"... While Jack is ready to smack some sense into Flashes, with his golf stick... And becomes quite good friends with Max...

Just competent adults who understand they can't stop their wild child but can and will give him every tool to survive.

[baronessvonglitter]

Cherry, Cherry 🍒 Chapter 3 🍒 "Chicken Fight"

pre-outbreak! AU! Joel Miller x f!Reader

Word count: 2,231

Summary: at a pool party, your on-again-off-again boyfriend tries to start drama, and you start to realize the extent of what Joel feels for you.

WARNINGS: 18+ Only! Mature and Explicit, language, accusations of cheating/verbal abuse from a jealous bf, accidental(?) hard-ons, brief mention of masturbation, age gap (reader is 18, Joel is 35), reader's race not mentioned, no use of y/n

Series Masterlist

You'd caught glimpses, but not really interacted with Joel since that day at the coffee shop. You wonder if maybe bringing up your sort-of-boyfriend Trevor had given Joel the sense that you were trying to warn him off of you, but in fact you had no idea why you'd mentioned him. And only after you'd invited Joel and his family to your party did you get the call from Trevor that he'd be in town that weekend to come and see you. You'd groaned about it, but there was no way on earth you could disinvite either him or Joel.

Trevor shows up early to help set up for the party, coming straight from his motel (as your cousin would not allow him to stay at the house). Though it's been a few weeks since you've seen him, you feel a lack of excitement when he's around, He tries a couple times to put his arm around your waist or to kiss you, but you manage to sidestep him, wishing to remain polite. Trevor's not the kind to force anything on you, but you can tell he's hurt by your lack of affection.

You cheer up when guests arrive and each time you run to the door hoping it's Joel. Every few minutes you pause to make sure your new swimsuit looks good, accentuating the parts of your body you love and downplaying the parts you're still learning to love. You pull on some denim shorts to keep Trevor's eyes off you.

You start to think Joel won't come by after all, then you hear the doorbell and answer it, finding him and Sarah on your doorstep, along with a younger man bearing a strong resemblance to Joel. You let the trio in, excitedly greeting Sarah, shyly saying hi to Joel, and being introduced to Tommy, Joel's younger brother. You smile and shake his hand, already able to discern their disparate personalities. If Joel is a smirk, Tommy is a grin. You catch him giving you then Joel a look, and you see Joel glance away. What is that about?

Sarah and Tommy head outside to the pool, leaving you alone with Joel. You both start to say something at the same time, then laugh. Trevor joins you at your side, his arm around your shoulders, prompting a questioning look from Joel.

"Oh, uh, Joel.. this is my boyfriend Trevor," you feel your heart pounding as the two finally meet.

Joel's smile almost looks forced. "It's nice to meet you, Trevor. I'm Joel Miller."

Trevor seems polite enough towards Joel, but his cell phone chirps and he excuses himself to answer it. "He's probably going to be on that thing the rest of the day," you sigh. "Do you want a drink? We have beer.. I'll have one too if you promise not to tell on me."

Joel smiles and you feel those little butterflies in your stomach again. "Well, in that case, I could go for one, yeah," he agrees. "A cold one would hit the spot."

You lead him outside where Sarah and Tommy are already in the pool, and a few of your friends and family are also swimming or eating. You grab a couple bottles of beer from the ice chest and pop them open. "Long time, no see," you say casually, handing him a beer.

"Yeah, I guess." He blushes a little and you notice it. He gives a casual glance over your body and you notice that too, while inside you're shrieking in excitement.

But he's a man of few words, this Joel Miller, and you have to remind yourself of that. "How's work been?" you ask. "I'm still hoping for a ride along."

"Work's been fine," he gives a little laugh. You can tell he's trying to keep his focus on your face and not let his eyes wander. "You really want me to take you on a ride along?"

"Would that be okay?"

He is quiet a moment before answering. "Yeah, that'd be fine. Sure you won't get bored or anything?"

"Of course I won't get bored. You're going to play all of country music's greatest hits while we're driving around," you tease.

He laughs. "Okay, you got me. I'll let you know when I'm available to bring you with me."

Surreptitiously you watch Joel sip his beer.. you watch the way his lips cushion the opening, watch the way his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, watch him lick the tiny droplets of beer from his lips. If you kiss him right now you know just what he would taste like.

Trevor approaches, breaking your little reverie. "Hey. I'm leaving."

You turn to him. "Already? Why?"

"You should fucking know why." He walks away but you put your hand on his arm. Trevor swats you away.

"Talk to me," you plead, following him inside. You realize you're not upset he's leaving, you just don't want a scene made in front of everyone there.

"Who's that guy? The one you were talking with?" he asks accusingly.

"He's my neighbor. I'm friends with his daughter," you defend yourself.

Trevor doesn't look convinced. "He's been checking you out the whole time he's been here. I caught him checking out your ass, looking at your tits. But I guess he's the one you're wearing this slutty swimsuit for, huh?"

You're taken aback by everything he says, but a small part of you burns within. Joel was checking me out?? "Trevor, he's only been here five minutes. You're imagining things."

"Am I? I drove all the way here to be with you. Are you still mine?" He cups your ass, pressing himself against you and you wince. Sensing your discomfort he steps away. "Are you fucking him?"

Eyes wide, your mouth is agape. "Of course not! And stop cursing, my family's here!" But you're blushing. You can feel it and Trevor sees it. He just shakes his head and goes out the door to leave.

"Have fun fucking your old-ass neighbor!" he shouts over his shoulder as he heads to his Jeep. "He only wants you 'cause you're barely legal."

"Wait!" You chase after him, not really knowing why. You watch helplessly as Trevor drives away angrily. Standing in the middle of the street, you think about your fight, about what Trevor has accused you of. Was your attraction to Joel that obvious? You hear your name being called and turn to see Joel. "Hey.. don't mind him, he's being an idiot."

Joel slightly raises his brow. "Did somethin' happen between you guys? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine.. How much of that argument did you hear?"

"Not much of it, but he shouldn't cuss at you the way he did back there, in front of your family. Fuckin' lowlife," he grumbles.

You cast a quick glance at him. "I guess he was just jealous of us talking."

"Jealous.. of us talking?" Joel repeats.

You shrug. "He's the jealous type. He'll get over it." You force a smile. Thinking again about Trevor's accusations you don't sense any of that from Joel right now. Maybe it really was all in Trevor's jealous, overactive imagination. "Come on, let's go back to the party."

Trevor's words linger on your mind as you and Joel sit together, have some food, and catch up. There's not a lot going on in your own little life, but you could listen to Joel for hours, and after another beer he's a little more talkative. Soon Sarah and Tommy join you, and you genuinely enjoy getting to know the Millers. Even your family members come up to say hi to them, and you're glad that everyone is getting along, that Trevor's negative energy is gone.

The music is booming, people are laughing, having fun. The evening turns to night and the tiki lights are lit. The pool lights turn the water a brilliant aqua blue. Sofia and Tommy, who have been getting pretty chummy with each other all day, want to play chicken fight, and ask for another couple to play. They both point to Joel and you.

"Come on!" you tug at Joel to get him to the pool with you. "You ever played before?"

"A few times," he says, taking off his shirt. You watch a moment then look away, pulling your denim shorts off. You wade into the pool where Tommy and Sofia are splashing each other before getting into position to play.

Joel swims up to next to you and you realize this is the first time you'll ever touch in such a way. With a shy smile you get up on Joel's shoulders with some help from him as he lifts you up. You steady yourself, resting your hands on his head and he puts his hands on your knees. Perched on his shoulders, your thighs on either side of his head, it feels almost like an act of intimacy, and it makes you blush. Tommy and Sofia are in position opposite you. "Come on, I'm ready to win," you tell Joel, your fingertips lightly grazing his scalp.

His grip tightens on your knees. "I'm ready when you are."

You square up against Tommy and Sofia in the middle of the pool and push Sofia into the water easily. Joel cheers for you and give you a high five, and you gently tousle his hair. The next round lasts a bit longer, with you and Sofia struggling against each other until she uses Tommy to knock into Joel, causing you both to topple into the pool together. You both laugh as you resurface, wiping the water from your eyes. "We've got to win the next one, okay?" you tell him. He nods as he helps you onto his shoulders again. Once more you're incredibly aware of how close your bodies are, and if you move against him a certain way it creates a line of fire right to the pit of your stomach. You force yourself to concentrate on the game.

Round 3 starts. You and your cousin are tied and you both keep yourselves on top longer than before, both of you putting up a good fight. Ultimately you push your cousin into the water. "We won!" you shout. You get off Joel's shoulders and hug him in the spirit of victory, thinking little of it at first. Then you press a little too close. Joel tries to keep you away, but you already feel it.

Underwater, through his swim trunks, pressed against your belly, you feel Joel. He's hard. For you.

A jolt of desire shoots through you but you step back, unsure of what to do. He looks embarrassed and is obviously doing his best to get his situation under control.

"Best out of five!" Tommy shouts, unaware of what is going on with you and his brother.

"I'm retiring," you joke. "Find someone else to lose to," you smirk. Glancing at Joel, who has completely turned away from you, you get out of the pool.

The night goes on, the music seems to blare louder, the drinks flow freer, and it's mostly the younger crowd who's staying this late. Joel spends his time away from you, catching up with other guests, ignoring every glance you cast him. You can't help feeling pushed to the side. But you consider it's better than attempting awkward conversation with him. That moment keeps replaying in your mind: you'd caused that reaction in him, even if it was only because of the physical closeness you'd shared that was suddenly too much, even if it was just because you're a young woman.

As the party winds down in the wee hours after midnight Joel does finally approach you. "Hey, I can't find Sarah.."

You help him search the house and find her in your bedroom, fast asleep. "Poor little thing, she's tuckered out. She can stay here if you don't want to wake her," you offer.

Joel smiles. "That's fine. Just.. send her over if she starts being a pain. It's about time for me to head home. Tommy's still hangin' out with your cousin."

"Let me walk you home."

He hesitates. "All right."

You start outside, going next door to his place. Crickets chirp, their sound ringing through the Texas humidity. You reach his porch together. "Thanks for coming tonight. I hope you had fun."

"I had a great time," he smiles at you.

"Y'all can come by and use the pool anytime. I'm usually at work and Sofia travels a lot for the airline."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. Maybe we'll take you up on that offer."

"Don't forget you owe me a ride.. I mean, a ride in your truck.. a ride along," you stammer.

He gives you a warm smile. "Oh yeah, of course. I'll give you a ride. We'll have some fun.. in my truck. Definitely."

You blush at his words, the double meaning of them. You remember the feel of him between your thighs, his hardness against your pelvis. "Good night.."

"Good night." he says in return as you leave.

You hurry home. Showering doesn't help you relax. The only relief you find is when you slip your fingers inside yourself, wishing they were Joel's. You remake the night's events to form your own little fantasy, all while smiling. You know now that he definitely likes you back..

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divider by @saradika-graphics 👑

[tesalicious2]

Kesett Modern AU Headcanons:

Boba is the youngest of his fam, with his dad being Jango then goes Cody (married to Obi, both 26), Bly 25 (married to Aayla 25), Ponds 24, Wolffe 22, Fox 22 (married to Quinlan 24), Rex 20, Boba 18 (other clones are 1st cousins)

Cal and Boba were 16 when they met each other

All Mandalorians live in a community, kinda like Arabic Communities, just sprinkled around with Mandalorian Shops nearby and some neighborhoods with large groups of them

They all know each other and talk/gossip, especially about the younger Gen.

Because of this, Boba keeps his social life away from all that

Cal attends the same high school and they share a few classes (that’s how they met)

They both went to a party, got high, and made out/mostly talked in the backyard for several hours

The Monday of school, Boba asked Cal out on a date and they’ve been together ever since

They both really like each other but Boba keeps it a secret from his fam (Cal’s fam knows and have met Boba)

They are able to keep it a secret for a long time with the help of their friends

Bobas family have met Cal but under the pretense of being friends

At first they kept it a secret because they didn’t know how serious they were. When they were ready, it was hard to bring it up

Cal is adopted by Jaro Tapal, who isn’t home during the week due to work, but he is home on weekends

Boba and Cal are eventually caught by Bossk, Boba’s other father (not in a relationship with Jango but Jango needed help and Bossk was there a lot)

Boba and Cal were kissing outside of the school at the end of the day and Bossk went to pick Boba up (Boba’s car was being borrowed by Wolffe) and Bossk came too early

Bossk is like ‘okay why do I care’ and doesn’t tell anyone bc he thinks Boba’s panicked face is funny

Bossk’s condition for keeping it a secret is that he gets to be there when Boba tells everyone

It ends up during a large family party (a lot of relatives are there, not his brothers spouses, just his brothers), one of Boba’s cousins who hates Boba asked about Boba’s boyfriend at the table, like everyone knew

He pretended to be shocked that Boba hadn’t told anyone (he eavesdropped on them talking about dates and sneaking out)

You could hear a pin drop

It was quickly a brawl between the two, with Boba winning via breaking his nose

He ran out with his brothers clamoring after him, stopping when his father came into the yard and yelled at them

Boba ended up at Cal’s place, spending the night there

Both of them went over the next day, to introduce Cal quietly

Unfortunately, all his brothers and their partners were still there so it was more

Boba walks in and calls for his dad, everyone peaks out to see them, Cal pales and tries to walk out, Jango seats them all away and talks to the boys outside

it goes pretty well, Jango likes Cal but doesn't give him the shovel talk because Cal already looks like he's about to keel over and die

Jango doesn't pity him enough to save him from his children and has Cal go inside while talking to Boba outside

Cal looks traumatized after that and has yet to say a word without seeming like it was under duress

The whole night goes well but no one really *knows* anything about cal by the end of it

Fett Fam: we aren’t that intimidating, whys he so afraid? Cal: *inside his head* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA but also Boba asked me to be here so imma do my best :D but also AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

It isn’t until a few more meetings that they actually start to get to know him

Unfortunately, due to his fam knowing, Boba and Cal are more limited in their dates (and other more intimate activities, tho no one knows about this)

Bad to worse when a month or so later Rex walks in on them making out that’s more bordering on having sex with clothes on

Cue the ‘use protection talk’ that turns into ‘you’ve been doing this how long’ to ‘my baby brother is innocent and is a baby!’

So now they are limited to any fun activities outside of either home which has caused problems but they deal

Cal has a chance to meet the Fett family spouses during a family dinner turned storm hideout for the weekend

It was raining hard and supposed to be bad but as dinner continued the power went out and the streets were undrivable so no one could get home

Cal bonded surprisingly well with Aayla Obiwan and Quinlan and they eased him about being a part of the family

Despite being introduced to both families, they keep it rather private and just between them

A few weeks before leaving for college, both families decide to have a whole get together to meet (though Boba limited them to just his direct family, no cousins or aunts/uncles)

Cal and Boba are nervous but Jaro and Jango do the ‘dad’ thing and talk shop about whatever dads talk about and that eases everyone

To no one surprise, they get married after college and move into an apartment an hour from Jango’s home

They use Mandalorian traditions for the wedding, gifting knives, the vows, and exchange arm cuffs worn on the upper arm (instead of the vambrance, a modern substitute. Cal gets a set of armor later.)

[oneawkwardwriter]

Hi i love ur writing. Sorry this is long but could you do a Caspian x pevensie!reader whose susan’s twin and like he chose her over susan and like they meet in prince caspian and fall in love and he “proposes” but then she can’t come back to narnia.

BUT THEN… she goes back with E Lucy and Eustace(whose kinda her enemy in a funny way) for some reason and she’s with Caspian and it’s just them on the Dawn Treader and Lucy tells caspian how sad she’s been the year they were back.

Can it just be really angsty and fluffy at the same time🤭🤭

Sorry this is long i just love ur writing💋💋

Prove Her Wrong

pairing: Dawn Treader!King Caspian x Pevensie!fem!reader warnings: angst obviously, dw it's also fluffy, mentions of drowning (no one actually does, but it feels like it for a moment), amicable banter, pining, regretting decisions, use of y/n (I'm so sorry) summary: both you and caspian have been miserable a/n: aahh, I love this idea so much! Also, thank you for giving me an excuse to watch the movies again, really needed that. I did kind of twist the plot to make it fit better, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Sorry it took this long to write it, my schedule's been packed for the last couple of weeks, I hope the fic makes up for it. wc: 2.6k

It had all happened too fast to comprehend. One second, you're standing in your cousin's room looking at a painting. The next, you're engulfed in a massive ocean trying to keep your head above the surface.

Too busy looking for the younger children, you hadn't even noticed the change in the atmosphere. Everything had gotten a little brighter, the air more fresh, the sky more clear. But you were preoccupied trying to make it out alive as the currents tried to pull you below the surface.

"Lucy!? Edmund!?" You yell out with what little breath you had left. "Eustace!? Anyone, where are you!?"

Somewhere to your right (or left, seeing as you had no sense of direction anymore), you heard a faint voice you recognised as your younger sister calling out for you.

"Lucy!" You manage to get out as you try to swim towards her. As you come closer, you were able to make out the two boys as well.

"What happened, where are we?" Eustace calls out, arms flailing around him as he tries to keep his head above water.

You share a fleeting look with your younger brother and sister, and something in your gut tells you you know exactly where you are.

"We're back, aren't we?" Edmund asks, confirming your suspiscion. But before you can answer his question, a ship dooms up, and it was approaching you rapidly.

"Swim!" You shouted, trying to put a safe distance between you and the ship while also trying to keep the others closeby.

You heard a few loud plunges into the water, and when you turned around for a moment, you saw some of the crewmembers swimming towards you. A moment later, you felt a pair of strong hands wrap around your waist.

"It's alright, I've got you." An all too familiar voice reassures you. You turned around, only to be met with a slightly older version of the man you had been forced to leave behind the last time you had left Narnia.

"Caspian..." You say breathlessly as you look into his eyes.

"Y/n..." He responds, equally out of breathe and clearly both surprised and confused to see you here.

Together with the other crewmates, he helps you onto the ship, even Eustace who is screaming fire and demanding to back to England. Someone hands you a warm blanket, which you gladly accept and drape around your shoulders. You glance at Caspian, and for a moment your gazes lock, before he is pulled away by Edmund.

"Did you call for us?" He asks, to which Caspian shakes his head.

"No, I didn't. Not this time, at least," Caspian answers, glancing over to you once more as he does.

You're interrupted by a shrieking Eustace, who is swatting away a large mouse sitting on his chest.

"Get this filthy animal off of me!" He screeches as he scrambles backwards.

"Pretty sure that mouse is far cleaner than you are, Eustace," You say as you roll your eyes and shake your head. "It's good to see you again, Reepicheep."

"It is a delight to see you as well, Your Majesties," He responds, bowing down for a moment.

Caspian walks up to the stairs that lead to the quarterdeck and addresses the crew. "Men, behold our castaways: Edmund the Just, Lucy the Valient and Y/n the Righteous; High King and Queens of Narnia."

All the men on the ship went down on their knees and bowed deeply in respect of you. No matter how many times you had been called Queen, it always sent shivers down your spine.

Caspian led the three of you towards the King's quarters, which doubled as his study, leaving Eustace in the care of the crew, who had fainted when he had seen Tavros the minotaur. You had been given some dry clothes that fit you like a glove, although your shirt was a little big and had a vaguely familiar scent to it.

In the middle of the room, a huge map of Narnia was sprawled out across the table. You scanned over it, your finger absently tracing the coastal lines as you lightly smiled to yourself. You wouldn't admit it out loud, but you had missed being here when you were back in England.

With Peter and Susan off to America, you been left to stay at your aunt and uncle's house with your younger siblings. At first, you had thought it wildly unfair to be stuck in England whilst your older brother and twin-sister got to live with your parents across the Atlantic ocean.

Eventually, you had calmed down and accepted your fate. Most of the time, you could be found lightly fidgeting with the one possession you had been able to take back with you from your last adventure in Narnia; a simple silver ring you kept on a piece of string around your neck. It reminded you of a time where you didn't feel like the second option, a feeling that haunted you often when being compared to your twin.

"It has been three years since we won Narnia back from my uncle," Caspian explains as he points towards the map, "There is peace in the entire country now."

"And have you found yourself a Queen in those three years?" Lucy asks, making you look up from the map. She truly didn't mean any harm with the question, but Edmund lightly nudges her side and gives her a stern look.

"No," Caspian says with a light chuckle to alleviate the tension, "not one to compare with your sister..."

"Hang on," Edmund interrupts, "But if there's no wars to fight, and no one's in trouble... then why are we here?"

"That's a good question. I've been asking myself the same thing," Caspian answers. "Before I tried to take the throne back from my uncle, he went after my father's closest advisors, the seven Lords of Telmar. They fled to the Lone Islands, but no one has heard from them since."

"So you think something's happened to them?"

"Well, if it has, it's my duty to find out," Caspian says rather solemnly. He looks over at you, trying to get a read on you, but your eyes are glued to the map in front of you.

"What's east of the Lone Islands?" Lucy asks, pointing towards the map where it just says The Great Eastern Ocean.

"Unchartered waters," Drinian, the captain, answers. "Things you could barely imagine. Tales of sea serpents and worse..."

"Sea serpents?" Edmund asks, his face lighting up at the sound of something dangerous to battle against.

"Alright, Captain, that's enough of your tall tales," Caspian interrupts. "You are free to go wherever you want on this ship, it is as much yours as it is mine."

It's a silent cue for Edmund and Lucy to go with the captain and explore the ship, while you stay in the quarters, leaning against the table, your eyes still locked on the parchment. After the door shuts, Caspian speaks up once again.

"Can you at least look at me?" He asks, his voice much softer and hesitant now. "Please?"

You lightly sigh as you look up at him, your eyes instantly finding his. "I'm sorry I left," You say truthfully, even though you sound rather defeated.

"Don't apologise, I- I shouldn't have asked you to stay." This time, it's Caspian who lets his head fall and gaze upon the map. "I knew you couldn't, yet I asked you anyway. I am sorry, for putting you in that position, that was selfish."

"It's alright," You somewhat reassure him, "Aslan knows I would have been just as selfish had roles been reversed. But we can't change the past, and we mustn't let it stand in the way of our future." You take a deep breath as you take a step closer to him. "You deserve a bright future filled with happiness, Caspian. Don't let me stand in the way of that by holding onto something that can't be."

It's the right thing to say, the logical thing to say. You're from a different world, there's no way of knowing if you'll be able to stay in this one after the adventure is over. It guts you to the core to walk out of the King's quarters, it tears your heart apart, but you try to shake it off as you go out onto the main deck.

Luckily for you, you're able to take your mind off of it when you notice your cousin Eustace talking to a regular seagull.

"What on Earth are you doing talking to a bird?" You say, a somewhat smug tone laced in your voice. You're called the Righteous, not the Humble, and for good reason.

"I just assumed that-" Eustace begins, his face turning a light shade of pink.

"That just because a mouse can talk, so must a bird?" Maybe it's a coping mechanism for the shattered heart in your chest, but you let out a light chuckle. "Oh cousin, you have a lot to learn about how things work here. Good to know you can't claim to be the smartest person in every realm." You shake your head and hear a few crewmen chuckle along.

The sky gets darker as the evening falls, and the crew celebrates the your arrival with festive spirits. Sea shanties are sung, dancing goes hand in hand with a lot of laughter and a couple of bottles of liquor are brought out.

Despite the gloomy thoughts that have been haunting you for the day (and the days before that), you laugh and leap along with the crewmen. Even Eustace loosens up a little, although keeping it modest. The only one who seems unaffected by the joyious celebrations is the king, who sits on the staircase and watches the others, or rather, watches you.

At some point, he is joined by Lucy, who due to her young age can't participate in the drinking and adult activities. She sits down next to him and keeps quiet for a little while, before speaking up.

"What's bothering you, Caspian?" She asks softly. "Is it the Lords?"

"For the first time in a long time, it actually isn't, my friend," He says truthfully, letting out a sigh. "It feels like even when she is this close, she is still worlds away."

He didn't have to say your name in order for Lucy to understand. It's the same way you didn't need to mention his whenever she would find you staring mindlessly at the wall or out the window back in England. You would always have that same tragic look in your eyes while you fidgeted with the ring around your neck, no matter how hard you would try to mask it whenever Lucy got your attention.

"You know, she feels the same way right now," Lucy responds, feeling incredibly sorry for both your misery.

"She's evidently better at coping with it than I am." The words came out more bitter than intended, but Lucy couldn't really blame him.

"Out here, maybe. But back in England," She refrained from saying 'back at home', never having been able to call it home when she had missed Narnia too much. "Back in England, she was a mess. A beautiful, poised and collected mess, but crumbling down on the inside."

Caspian didn't speak up, but simply looked sorry and felt even more remorseful than he already had.

"She kept the ring, you know," Lucy continues, "Oh, she would never say it out loud, but it was obvious she regretted leaving Narnia, leaving you most of all. I'm pretty sure she would give anything to stay this time around, if you'd ask her again."

"She told me to let go of a future with her, said she didn't want to stand in the way of my happiness," Caspian argues solemnly, "Sounded a lot like she wanted to move on from all of this."

"That's what she thinks is the right thing to do, because it makes more sense," Lucy counters. "Prove to her that it isn't."

With that, she stands up from the stairs and walks out into the crowd. Turning around one last time, she says:

"Oh, and maybe do something about the beard, it might remind her of the man she fell in love with."

Caspian lightly rolls his eyes at her comment, but decides to take her up on it nonetheless when he retired to the barracks below deck. For the sake of privacy, he had given his quarters to you and Lucy to stay in while you were on the ship.

Later that night, when everyone was passed out in their beds, Caspian went onto the deck to get some fresh air, where he soon notices you, leaning on the railing while you looked up at the stars.

"Still having trouble sleeping?" He asks as he stands next to you.

"Insomnia doesn't go away so easily, it seems," You softly chuckle, having to do a double take when you notice he has shaved. "I was almost getting used to that beard, but I'm glad you shaved it off any way."

"What is it with the hostility against my facial hair?" Caspian comments as he raises an eyebrow at you. "I thought it made me look ruggedly handsome."

"Who'd you have to look ruggedly handsome for before we showed up today?" You ask in a mocking way, making you lightly snicker when Caspian takes on a defensive tone. "Oh, stop it, I was merely teasing."

"Teasing, are you now?" He asks, a mischievous glint sparking up in his eyes as he leans in just a little. "That's not very Queen-like behaviour, now is it?"

You lightly sigh, letting your head fall for a moment before you speak up. "Perhaps I've gotten a bit rusty," You note, "I haven't been a Queen for a while now, you know?"

"Oh, don't worry, it's like riding a horse," Caspian assures you, "It's not something you can unlearn, even if you don't practice anymore."

"Well, maybe it's a good thing. Might make the next time I leave more easy..."

"You're still planning on leaving after this adventure?" Caspian asks, his voice growing a little more quiet. "You can stay, you do know that, right? You did the first time, surely you can-"

"Caspian, please," You interrupt him, pushing away from the railing and taking a few steps back, "It's too difficult, you know that. I can't just leave my family behind, and I can't ask them to stay."

"You don't have to do that. I am certain there's a way for you to move freely between realms," Caspian suggests, "And if there isn't, we'll find a way. Somehow, things like this have a way of working out."

He takes a step towards you, reaching out but refraining from touching you just yet. "Besides," He continues, "Time goes by much slower there than it does here right? We can figure this out and they won't even notice you're not there."

He searches for your eyes as he takes another step towards you, a silent longing in his eyes as he does. "You don't have to come with an answer right now. Whether it's tomorrow, next week or at the very last second, I don't care as long as you're certain that whatever you choose is something you actually want, not what you think is right."

You close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. "Okay," You say after a while. Your eyes are still closed, but a small creeps up on your lips.

"Okay?" Caspian echoes, his eyes sparking up, even though he's not sure he heard you correctly.

"Yeah," You say, opening your eyes to look into his. "Okay, I'll stay. But I might change my mind if you don't come here and kiss me, because-"

Luckily, he cuts you off mid-sentence by pulling you in and effectively using his lips to shut you up. You can feel him smile against your lips, and you can't help but reciprocate the gesture while your hands run up into his hair.

© This work belongs to @oneawkwardwriter, please do not copy this work to any other site or claim it as your own. Reblogs are allowed and appreciated!

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[kriffingstars]

Johnny MacTavish; the other man

pairing: Johnny MacTavish x Price!Reader summary: The MacTavish sisters take things into their own hands, and Johnny gets jealous warnings: verrrrrry slight age gap (I imagine reader to be around 20, Johnny is 26), tiniest bit of angst if you squint a/n: i hope this makes up for the lack of follow up, once again asks are always open. if you want to be added to the tags just let me know :) enjoy my beauties

None of the boys are particularly fond of the more ceremonial side of being in the military. The uniforms are too hot, itchy and Gaz has already complained about the way the trousers are splitting him in half.

The nice aspect of it, is that they get to show their families a small part of what they do, even if it’s a carefully constructed show with lots of procedure.

Price can see you mingling with a few of the other soldier’s families. You’ve always been the most personable of the Price’s, taking your mother’s kindness and magnifying it tenfold.

Currently you’re in deep conversation with two ginger girls, the three of you chatting animatedly. Price feels himself smiling as he watches you, he doesn’t really get to see this side of you very often, all your cousins are much younger, and you rarely bring friends round to the house. He’s told you many times, you’re not just a guest, it’s your home and he expects you to treat it as such.

You know it’s your home, but you also see how your Uncle is with new people, and you like to keep the sanctity of your home just that. A sanctity.

“You know you’d be perfect for my brother, he needs someone with a head on their shoulders,” Maisie mentions, switching their conversation in a complete one-eighty.

“Ah, maybe.”

It’s only awkward for you, Maisie and Amelia have no clue that you were in fact sleeping with said brother, not even three weeks ago, and spent most of the time in between texting him.

“He’d be head over heels for you trust me,” is all that Amelia adds to the conversation. From the twenty-minute conversation you’ve had with the two MacTavish girls, you’d learnt Amelia was the older of the two, and slightly more reserved than the youngest, Maisie.

If you thought Johnny was out-going, he had nothing on his baby sister. All big smiles, loud laughs with the biggest heart.

You can see what Johnny says when he tells you he has his work cut out, being the protective older brother.

Maisie’s energy is infections, and her comments about her brother’s potential affections are quickly forgotten as she moves the conversation onto this new band she’s been listening to. Before you know it she’s added a few of their songs to your playlist and you’ve promised to text her what you think of them.

The shrill sound of a bugle cuts off the conversation between the three of you, noting the start of the ceremony and presentation.

It’s nice to see three of the four men parading in all the finery. Ghost for good reason isn’t there, you figured that his mask is not part of the official uniform. You sigh, thinking how it must be a shame that the man can’t be included in the festivities.

The man in question doesn’t, he’s currently in his sweats enjoying the peace and quiet and reading his book, lounging in the now quiet rec room.

Your Uncle sneaks you a subtle smile across the square when you catch his eye. Your face beaming back at him brings him a joy he’ll never admit to.

He knows you’re not his daughter, but you might as well be. He’s resigned himself to the fact that he’ll never have kids, he’s getting older and no closer to meeting someone to spend his life with.

He doesn’t mind. His time at home is spent catching up with old friends, and enjoying your company. You’ve been confused as his daughter a few times in the village and he hasn’t bothered to correct them as of late. He knows you don’t mind, you go as far as calling him your third parent, yes, it’s mainly in jest, but the sentiment is there.

By the time the service is over, all the family and friends in attendance descend on the square to take photos and congratulate the people they’re here for.

You and the two women in tow, make your way over to the three men, lost in conversation over Gaz’s continuous complaints about just how uncomfortable he is.

“Johnny!” is all the older man hears before the Scotsman is out of his vision, being nearly bowled over by a flaming red head flying at break-neck speed.

Soap’s spinning the girl in a circle as he laughs with her, over something inaudible to him.

This time it’s your turn to congratulate John, as he pulls you into his side, checking that you weren’t too bored and laughing when you say how impressive he was.

A call of your name breaks the quiet conversation the two of you are having, it’s Amelia beckoning you over two where the three MacTavish’s are standing.

“This is Johnny, honestly you two would be great together, I think you would really get along,” Maisie butts in again, wiggling her eyebrows as she mentions the getting along.

Oh the irony of the whole situation. Thank god Uncle John can’t see your face because there’s currently a shit eating grin adorning your face.

Johnny’s spluttering, his sisters take this as him being astounded by the woman that’s in front of him, you know better. His eyes aren’t glued to yours, he’s looking slightly behind you, where no doubt your Uncle is glowering at him.

Usually he’d step in, but he’s heard stories about both of Soap’s sisters and there’s no way he’s facing their wrath. He knows how tormented Soap is by the two of them on the daily, even when he’s in a different country. He doesn’t trust that the two of them would turn their focus towards him for interfering in true love.

“We’re going out for dinner later, you should join us!” is the next thing that’s uttered and you try to make your excuses, how you’re actually already going for dinner with the man stood behind you, bit it’s too late.

Fortunately, or unfortunately (it depends on who you ask), John gets invited along too, which is how you find yourself at dinner in a nice country pub as a five, instead of two.

You’re conveniently sat next to Johnny, whilst his two sisters bombard John with questions, many of which are brushed off with a quick ‘I can’t answer that I’m afraid’ but he makes up with plenty of stories of all the times Soap has done something stupid on base, and a few stories from deployments.

“This is not the kind of dinner I was talking about,” Johnny murmurs to you, when he notices his sisters have his CO distracted.

That earns him a gentle slap to his stomach as he laughs at the incredulous look plastered on your face.

“You look beautiful,” is how he follows up his comment, drinking in the way you look in the dim light of the pub.

“So do you, I mean handsome, I mean not that you aren’t beautiful,” you reply stumbling over your words, because god, the tension is palpable.

His hand finds yours underneath the table, stroking slowly over your knuckles, as he decides to finally save Price from his sisters’ rambling.

You’re surprised at how good he is at keeping his cool, you’re sure your face is radiating so much heat that everyone else at the table can feel it.

You’re also surprised at how much you like the thrill, maybe it’s just because Johnny is holding your hand, or maybe its the fact that you know you’re doing everything your Uncle told you not to.

You take a moment to think about how different things could be if John was supportive of the two of you. Maybe you’d actually be dating the man sat on your left, and you’d be holding his hand above the table, maybe his arm would be slung around the back of your chair as you lean into him. He’d toy with your hair slightly, to keep himself from being too distracted from the conversation he was engaged in.

You’d leave the pub hand-in-hand, stealing kisses from each other, as you walked behind the rest of the guests. They’d all be staying in the house with you all. John would make up the sofa bed for Johnny’s sisters, and you’d fall into bed together, stealing kisses and whispering sweet nothings.

You’re snapped out of your daydream by Amelia asking if you’re currently seeing anyone, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Oh…not really,” is all you can manage, embarrassed to be interrupted from the tangent your mind had taken you on.

“Not really doesn’t mean no! Spill the beans,” Maisie teases, and you realise you’re completely in the shit.

“There’s this one guy I’ve been talking to I guess. He’s not from here, but it could work out.”

You notice the shift in Johnny straight away, you feel the absence of his touch immediately as he drops your hand. Price raises his eyebrow, of course you’ll be grilled when you get home about this mystery man.

“Didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Johnny mutters, but it’s loud enough for everyone to hear.

You’re quick to use the slight pause to change the subject, bringing up the first time the two of you met, much to his sisters’ glee and his despair. Even John chortles, thinking back to Soap sputtering over the huge mistake the man made upon your first introduction.

“Seriously Johnny?!” squawks Amelia through her tears.

“They even look alike, I figured out they were related as soon as they were stood next to each other, and this is the first time we’ve met!” is the follow up, through more laughter.

Dinner finishes quickly after that, the two men splitting the bill, not allowing any of their companions to even see it.

John bids his goodbye’s to Amelia and Maisie, before telling Soap he’ll see him on base tomorrow, slightly later than usual. Before you can make your way home the two women are pulling you into hugs, before letting you know they’ve set up a group chat for the three of you.

Johnny’s goodbye is short and sharp, gone is the playful man you spent most of the evening with.

It’s only when you’re lying in bed later, rehashing what went wrong that you realise Johnny thinks you were talking about someone else.

I was talking about you, you dolt x

Your phone starts buzzing, and you don’t even need to look to know who’s calling.

“Had me sweating for a minute there, Sweets. Thought I was going to have some random bloke coming for my head.”

You can hear the relief in his voice as he lays the charm on real thick. Between his accent and the things he mumbles down the phone you think your heart might explode.

The crush you have on this man is debilitating, if you can even call it a crush that is. It’s been on and off about two months of talking to each other, and you know that you’re beginning to get in deep with him.

“Sweets, you there?” his voice echos softly through the speaker on your phone, tentative in case you’ve accidentally fallen asleep on the phone. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Yeah, I’m here. Just thinking, sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, what you thinking?2

“Just about us, you…” your voice trails off, you’re tired now, inhibitions slipping a little as your head feels slightly heavier on the pillow.

“Yeah? Anything good?” you can hear the grin he has plastered on his face as he talks.

“It’s all good. I like you, y’know.”

That’s the first time you’ve admitted your feelings for him. You know he knows, and he’s made it very clear he has feelings for you, but hearing you say it has him bouncing off the walls with glee. It’s the best medicine to fix the conflicting thoughts he’d had about the whole thing once you admitted you were seeing someone.

“I do, I like you too. Like really like you.”

The conversation turns soft once again, and before he knows it he’s whispering goodnight to you, as your gentle snores crackle through the receiver, half muffled by the duvet you cocooned yourself in.

Taglist: (please let me know if you’d like to be added, all requests from my taglist will get priority)

@cassiecasluciluce @misshoneypaper @unknownduck0 @iwannabealocalcryptid @darkangel4121 @clear-your-mind-and-dream @mothiing @pepsicolacoochie @samanthamarkle92

[slutforsilverfoxes]

Sleight of Hand

[A/N: I DID IT! I finished my Steve x reader undercover op fic, and I kind of love it??? I hope those of you who were looking forward to it enjoy it too 😈🖤 Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to write this as a full blown fic! Over 5.7k words hehe whoops]

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When your former mentor had contacted you about an opening at her coral reef research lab, moving from Camden to Oahu had been a no brainer. You’d packed up your life in New Jersey and been on a plane to the Aloha State within a week. Your favorite cousin, who’s truthfully more like the big brother you always wanted, had been elated to hear the news, welcoming you at the airport with open arms and two simple rules.

“Always answer the phone when I call so you don’t worry me to death,” Danny had said, holding up one finger, “and two,” he added a second, “you’re an adult and you can date anyone on this island-”

“Thank… you?”

“-but stay away from this schmuck.”

The schmuck in question had simply rolled his eyes, draped a beautiful lei around your neck, and greeted you with a warm hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Steve.”

Your confident promise to your cousin had been broken a whopping two months later- and no, you hadn’t ignored one of his phone calls.

“Did you get me a beer?” you ask with a teasing lilt to your voice, wringing out your wet hair before dropping down onto the bench beside your boyfriend. A quick glance around reveals that Danny’s over by the shrimp truck with Kamekona, and you lean forward to steal a kiss before putting some space between yourself and your favorite brunette.

“I surely did not,” Steve sasses back and takes a swig of his ice cold beverage. “Alcohol and diving do not mix. But I did happen to get a mango smoothie from that one place down the road this pretty girl I know really likes.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm,” he responds, a goofy grin spreading across his handsome face. “But, uh, she didn’t show, so I guess you can have it.”

You laugh and give him a playful shove, then let out a content hum as you pop the straw through the lid and take a grateful sip. “So good,” you moan in delight, and Steve has to bite his lip to refrain from making a comment when he spots Danny approaching the table with your regular orders.

“Hey, you.” Your cousin greets you with a kiss on the cheek before taking up residence on the bench across from you and Steve. “Why’re you sitting all the way over there, huh? You like that clown better or somethin’?”

“This guy?” you snort, taking your lunch off the tray and rifling through the napkins in search of a fork.

“Ouch.” Steve winces as if burned by your comment, and you surreptitiously squeeze his thigh beneath the table.

“So tell me about this case you’ve got,” you coax your cousin to change the subject, spearing some grilled veggies on the plastic fork’s tines and scooping up a respectable mound of rice on top.

“So there’s a diamond smuggling ring-” Danny starts, and you immediately cut him off with, “Shut up, that doesn’t happen in real life.” You turn to Steve for confirmation, but there’s no provocative arch to his eyebrow or twitching of his lips to suggest this is a joke. “Are you serious right now? BFFR, Danno.”

“I don’t- I don’t know what that means. Why are you making me feel old?”

“Be fucking for real,” you and Steve supply in unison, and you smile proudly at him. “You’re learning!”

“Between you and Gracie, I keep up, okay?”

“Oh, between my baby cousin and my daughter, you- okay, that’s excellent,” Danny proclaims, his tone indicating it’s anything but. “Anyway, they’re using poker games as a cover to uh, collect their product, shall we say.”

“There’s enough rich people on Oahu with actual diamonds?” you ask, incredulous. “And here I am working like a pleb for paper currency.”

“Word,” Steve seconds your statement, raising his beer in a toast. You clink your smoothie against it before taking another refreshing sip and asking, “So how’re you gonna catch them?”

“Well, there’s a high roller tournament on Friday night that we’re betting they’ll hit. We wanted to go in undercover and flush them out but…” Steve trails off and gazes at you thoughtfully, but Danny’s shaking his head before the words have even formed on the brunette’s lips.

“No, absolutely not. Don’t even think about it, Steve.”

“What?” You turn to him, excitement coursing through your veins at the way his eyes have lit up. “Think about it! And tell me what you’re thinking about.”

“You could go undercover with me to the tournament, help me gather some intel. Maybe we get you to confirm the diamonds are actually in their possession and-”

“No!” Danny chimes in again. “What’s the matter with you, huh? These guys have killed two people, Steve. It’s too dangerous for her.”

“First off, fuck that-”

“Language.”

With an eye roll, you amend, “Forget that. More importantly, shouldn’t Danny go undercover? You kind of suck at poker, Steve.” You feel a sharp pinch at your side and you yelp in protest, slapping at the Navy SEAL. “It’s true, you little-”

“You’re not going,” Danny says definitively. “What about Tani?”

Steve shakes his head. “Tani and Junior have already questioned two of the men involved. They’ll be made before they even get to the table.”

You cross your arms and level your cousin with a smirk. “Sounds like you need me, Danno.”

“Then I’m going with you,” he declares.

“Yeah, no, hard pass,” you backpedal. “Even as a former thespian, there’s no way I can convincingly play arm candy for you without it being weird.”

“So, it’s settled then, little Williams,” Steve says with a grin. “You and me. Friday night. The high roller table at the Ilikai Hotel.”

__________

“This whole affair is giving very much Ocean’s Thirteen,” you remark as you lean into the mirror to line your puckered lips with Devil’s Den red. “The diamond heist, the poker game… it’s all so exciting.”

“Except this isn’t Hollywood and a bullet will actually hurt,” your cousin ever so graciously reminds you, trying to tug the slit ends of your dress together and then grunting in displeasure when the action reveals more of your bare back. “You’ve gotta be kidding me with this dress, babe,” he tuts. “Why’s it so expensive if it’s missing half the fabric, huh?”

You shrug and answer with a smile, “Don’t ask me! Your buddy picked it out.”

“Oh yeah, I bet he did,” Danny grumbles under his breath. “I mean, you’d be the most beautiful woman in the room if you were wearing a paper bag, but this- this dress-”

“Danno,” you laugh, completing the finishing touches on your makeup before turning around to squeeze his shoulder. “Remember one of the first things you said to me when I stepped off the plane?”

“Don’t date Steve?” he offers hopefully with a grimace.

That ship has sailed and it’s not docking anytime soon, you think wryly. “No, you goofball,” you respond instead, “that I’m an adult. Everything’s going to be fine!”

“Alright, okay, but just- just promise me you’ll be smart tonight and play it safe.”

With three fingers held aloft, you answer solemnly, “I promise.”

“And don’t let Steve talk you into doing something stupid, okay? No honeypot insanity or trying to sneak into rooms or anything, you got it?”

You press your lips to your cousin’s cheek and then wipe away the smudged lipstick. “Relax, Danny. The man’s a former SEAL. What could possibly go wrong?”

You open the door of the en-suite bathroom with a small smirk tugging at your lips as Danny splutters on behind you in answer to your incendiary question.

As soon as your stiletto touches down on the carpeted floor of the luxury hotel room, you’re hit with an enthusiastic, “Woah, baby!”

“You like?” you ask with a grin, holding your arms out at your sides and giving Tani a spin to show off the dress.

Tani laughs appreciatively and lets out a low whistle. “You are smokin’ hot. I am looking… disrespectfully,” she concludes after pretending to mull over her word choice. She sneaks a glance over at her boss who’s trying and failing to draw his gaze away from the high slit that’s showing off a majority of your leg, then steps closer to you and drops her voice. “And I’m not the only one.” You shush your friend quickly and she ducks away from your playful smack with another peal of laughter.

“Wow,” Steve breathes out, practically sporting heart-eyes as he drinks in the black silk hugging every curve of your body. His piercing blue eyes blaze a trail of heat from the stilettos on your feet to the low bun your hair is swept into, and you feel your skin grow warm under his attention.

“You look pretty wow yourself,” you remark, appreciating the smart tux he’s donned, the perfectly tailored suit accenting every defined muscle on his powerful body. The blush on your face deepens when your gaze meets his, catching a glimpse of a hungry predator on the prowl.

“No, but you, Y/N,” Steve counters, his voice a low growl, “you just- I mean- wow.” He looks ready to pounce, and you’re positive he would forego the event in lieu of spending the evening in bed if there wasn’t a case riding on your performance tonight- and your cousin who you’re keeping your relationship a secret from less than a foot away.

Danny snaps in his face, directing the brunette’s attention to him. “Don’t you gawk at her like that. Paws off my baby cousin, you hear me? Better use the right head tonight, Steven, I swear.”

You dart your eyes over to your boyfriend and make an intentionally obscene gesture with your hands, indicating which head you’re thinking about. He covers up his laugh with a cough, then hurries to reassure his partner. “Danno, c’mon. I’m a perfect gentleman. Aren’t I, Y/N?”

“You’re an animal, is what you are,” your beloved cousin continues his tirade, answering for you. “Just remember I’m watching, huh? I’ve got eyes on all the cameras.”

“Alright, people, focus now,” Lou admonishes gently, handing you and Steve small communications devices that you fit snugly into your ear, out of plain sight. “Y’all remember the plan?”

“Stand there and look pretty. Don’t get shot at,” you dutifully list off your objectives for the op with an exaggerated waggling of your eyebrows while Steve tests the microphone tucked away in his bow tie. “As an unofficial member of Five-0 now, do I get a gun?”

“Are you insane?” Danny cries as Steve asks, genuinely, “Where would you even hide a gun in that dress?”

Unable to resist, you shoot him a coy smile and challenge, “Wouldn’t you like to know, Commander?”

“Woah.” Your cousin holds his hands up between the two of you and declares, “Flag on the play. Don’t- Don’t do that. No flirting. Get in, entice Lee to steal your fake diamonds, get out. Deal?”

“We’ve got it, Detective,” Steve huffs, bending down to adjust his ankle holster.

Junior approaches then with a gorgeous looking diamond necklace and announces, “Got our bait here, boss.”

“Excellent,” Steve says, taking the jewelry from him and motioning for you to turn around. He gathers the necklace in one hand, his fingers drifting across your shoulder and collarbone to grasp one end before he fits it snugly around your neck. The simple touch has your veins flooding with heat, but you tamp down your reaction, keenly aware of the multiple sets of eyes on the two of you. “Tight enough?” he murmurs, and you nod in response, not yet trusting your voice.

“Oh, and one more thing!” Lou reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box, opening it with a flourish to reveal one simple silver band, the other studded with diamonds. “Little extra bling for good measure.” Your cheeks flush at the sight, and you turn your face away from Steve while you slide the wedding ring onto your finger.

One glance at its mate on your boyfriend’s hand has you weak in the knees, and Tani whispers, “Girl, you are down bad.”

“Shut up,” you hiss, fighting the blush threatening to give you away. Steve approaches with one eyebrow raised in curiosity, and you clear your throat before taking the arm he’s offered to you. You tuck your hand into the crook of his elbow, pressing yourself close to him and sending a sharp look to your older cousin when you feel his eyes boring holes into the two of you. “Knock it off, Danny.”

He cups your face between his hands and pulls you closer to press a kiss to your forehead with an apologetic smile. “Be smart. Be safe. I love you. You watch her back, okay?” He directs the last comment to his best friend with all the gruffness of a father sending his daughter off to prom.

“I will, Danny,” Steve answers solemnly, squeezing your hand.

“Alright, buddy. But not too close, okay? Remember, I’m always watch-”

You pull the door shut behind you with a sigh. Steve guides you down the hallway towards the elevators, and your grip on his arm tightens at the prospect of what you’re about to do.

Steve immediately intuits your nerves and offers a soothing, “Hey, you’re okay.” He takes your left hand in his, his right hand coming to rest on the small of your back so you feel completely enveloped by his steadying presence. He lets his thumb drift back and forth across your skin, just above where the fabric drapes at the base of your spine, and your comms come crackling to life. “Higher.”

Steve shifts his hand up with a chuckle, and your cousin begrudgingly remarks, “Better.”

The moment relieves some of your tension, and you shake your head before pressing the call button for the elevator. The lavish gold doors open to reveal an already sizable group dressed to the nines and clearly heading to the big casino-sponsored event downstairs. Steve applies gentle pressure on your back to guide you into the elevator, and as you descend each floor and the crowd grows, you’re forced closer together in the corner. “You’re wearing a new perfume,” Steve comments, his lips right by your ear to avoid your conversation being picked up by his mic.

“How observant,” you reply. “My boyfriend bought it for me.”

“He has excellent taste,” he continues the charade, and you resist the urge to roll your eyes at the compliment. With the crowd in the elevator blocking the camera’s view, Steve allows his fingers to glide down your spine until they reach their intended destination, and he sucks in a sharp breath when he realizes you’re not wearing anything under your dress. You smirk to yourself but quickly lose the upper hand, forced to swallow down a gasp when the elevator doors open into the lobby and Steve brazenly palms your ass while calmly stating, “Target acquired.”

“We see him, too,” Junior affirms. “East corner of the lobby, talking to the concierge.”

“Come on, darling,” Steve croons, settling into character- or rather dropping your usual act. “Let’s go win me some more money to spend on you.”

__________

“No entry without invitation, sir.”

You crane your neck to look up at the beefy bodyguard at the entrance to the high roller section. His biceps must be the size of your head, if not bigger, he’s got at least 6 inches on Steve, and his hulking form is completely blocking your view of the room behind him.

“Honey,” you murmur, “you brought it with you, didn’t you?”

Steve gives you an easy smile and pulls a gold-plated poker chip from the breast pocket of his tux. “Of course, my love.”

“Alright, enough with the cutesy nicknames,” Danny gripes, and you’re forced to stifle a laugh at Tani admonishing him in the background. The security guard pulls back the velvet rope to let you pass, and you duck behind the curtain to cross into the high roller area.

The room is a sea of expensive suits and sparkling cocktail dresses. A thick cloud of sweet-smelling smoke has settled in the air from the Cubans lit around the room, and the distinct symphony of ice clinking in glass tumblers joins the hum of dealers murmuring at their tables.

“Why don’t you go get us a drink and I’ll find a table to join?”

“The usual?” you purr in question, running your manicured fingers across the lapel of Steve’s suit.

“That’s perfect,” he assents, squeezing your hip before releasing you to do your own recon. Then you feel his fingers lace through yours and he murmurs, “Y/N, wait.” When you turn back to Steve, he tugs you closer by your connected hands and presses his lips to yours in a kiss that has your head buzzing before a drop of alcohol has even hit your tongue. “Lee’s watching,” he whispers against your mouth by way of explanation.

“Then let’s give him something to look at,” you respond with a glint in your eye, winding your arms around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss. Steve’s left hand comes up to rest on the nape of your neck as the other caresses the diamond fitted snuggly against the hollow of your throat, making sure that it catches the light just so as you lay the groundwork for your operation tonight.

“He’s practically suffocating her,” Danny cries in the hotel room upstairs, hands raised while he stares at the two of you in disbelief. “What’d I say about ‘not too close’, huh? Animal.”

“Okay, lovebirds, get some air,” Lou chuckles over your comms. “Seems like our man Lee has his eye on the prize now.”

Junior leans over to Tani as he watches the two of you part ways on screen, tracking your path to the bar with a skeptical brow. “Is it just me, or was that… intense?”

“C’mon, Junes,” she laughs breezily. “That is theater at its finest.”

“One scotch on the rocks, and one vodka tonic that’s light on the tonic,” you place your order at the bar, absentmindedly letting your fingers drift over the diamonds as you peruse the top shelf.

“Easy there, cowgirl,” Danny coaches in your ear. You look around for the nearest mounted dome camera and make a face at it. “Real mature, kid.”

You feel a heated gaze on your back, and you turn to flash a coy smile at Mister Jason Lee, the suspected brains behind the smuggling operation, before collecting your drinks and making your way back to Steve.

“He’s interested,” you murmur in his ear as you bend down to place the glass between his hands on the table. “But we need to really hook him. Better start throwing some money around, hotshot.”

“Go ahead, baby,” Steve says animatedly, attracting the attention of the other players around the table. He makes a big show of closing his eyes and letting you bet for him, clearly unaffected by winning or losing a few hundred on your blind faith. As you lean over to push a stack of chips towards the pot, you hear an appreciative titter around the table and turn to find Steve with one eye very obviously peeking- but definitely not at what your hands are doing.

“Naughty boy,” you scold playfully, and he offers his palms in an act of mock deference.

“Can you blame the man?” one of the other players barks out through a raucous laugh, and you smile politely even though their leering eyes make your skin crawl. When you bend to retrieve your drink, Steve moves closer with a grin and whispers in your ear, “If one of them so much as breathes in your direction, I’ll break off every one of their fingers and feed them to ‘em, okay, mama?”

Acutely aware that Danny and the rest of the team are watching your every interaction, you suppress a shiver and murmur back, “Sir, yes, sir.”

Steve has mixed luck on his first few hands, but you’re sure to make a big show of celebrating each win with a kiss that has the older women in the room clutching their proverbial pearls and Lee hanging onto your every move. You toy with the necklace as a nervous habit each time Steve places his bet and let your fingers trail across his broad shoulders as he studies each hand, squeezing affectionately every now and then.

“I hate this,” Danny declares, a dismayed frown tugging at his lips as he watches you on the live CCTV footage. On the small screen, you drape your arms around Steve’s neck and press a kiss to his cheek before murmuring something in his ear that’s too quiet for the hidden mic to pick up but has Steve grinning like a fool. “I hate this. Why did I let him talk me into this? Putz.”

“Relax, Danny,” Lou attempts to soothe his ruffled feathers. “They’re doing great.”

“Hey, hey, look!” Tani calls to garner their attention. “They’ve lured Lee in. He’s about to make contact.”

“Good evening,” he opens politely, pulling out the chair next to Steve.

“Evening,” your boyfriend offers in kind.

“Do you mind if I join you for the next hand?”

“Not at all,” you purr. “Perhaps you can help break my husband’s current losing streak.”

“With a good luck charm like you on his arm?” Lee counters smoothly. “Impossible.”

“From your mouth to the cards’ ears,” you laugh airily. “Let me go get you another drink, my love,” you say to excuse yourself, running your hand down Steve’s arm to collect his glass. “Can I get you anything, Mister…?”

“Good girl,” Tani praises you quietly over your comms.

“Lee,” he supplies. “But please, call me Jason.” He raises the remaining amber liquid in his glass with a smile then says, “Perhaps when I finish this drink, I’ll have what your husband’s having. Clearly he’s got excellent taste.” The way his eyes wander across your body isn’t lost on you.

“Arrogant son of a bitch,” Lou scoffs to his fellow team members upstairs. “Not even using an alias.”

Steve notices Lee’s hungry gaze straying from his cards to appreciate your form against the backdrop of the expansive bar and remarks, “Beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Indeed,” he agrees, swirling the expensive liquor in his glass before taking a sip. “Women like that are hard to find. As rare as that diamond around her neck.”

“Laying it on thick there, buddy,” Danny comments over your comms, and you steal a glance over to the table. “Take the bait, Steve.”

“Only the finest for my girl.”

When you return to the table with your and Steve’s drinks in hand, he hooks his ankle around the chair beside him and tugs it close for you to sit by him. “Slick move, double-oh-five-oh,” you murmur appreciatively in his ear before nipping at his earlobe. He seems extra possessive now, his hand either resting on your thigh, or your hip, or the back of your neck, always maintaining some form of skin to skin contact while the other holds his cards, and you can’t help but wonder what transpired between the two men.

Leaning over, Steve presses his lips to the point where your pulse thrums along your throat and asks, “What should we bet, beautiful girl?”

“Hm?” Your gaze is hazy, more so drunk on Steve’s touch than alcohol, and the unbidden thought that you can’t wait for this guy to be in cuffs so you can take your man home crosses your mind. You run your manicured fingers down his cheek and answer coyly, “I want you to go all in.”

The two of you dutifully ignore Danny’s protesting in your ears at your overt innuendo as Steve pushes his stack of chips to the center of the table.

“A bold move,” Lee declares with a whistle.

“What’s a few thousand when I have a million on my arm, hm?” your boyfriend counters with a sly glance in your direction.

“Let’s make this a real game. I’m all in, too.”

The dealer flips over the river card, and Steve’s arm tenses beneath your fingertips. The other few players around the table toss their cards aside with a sigh, but Lee looks over at the two of you with a grin, presenting his hand- a flush- with a flourish. He stands to collect the pot but Steve holds up one finger.

“Not so fast, my friend,” he laughs, his confidence making your body grow warm. Steve lays his hand out on the table with a smug smile. “Full house. Aces over eights.”

You let out an excited squeal, genuinely delighted at such a triumphant win, and pull Steve toward you by the lapels of his jacket to mold your lips to his. He makes an appreciative noise low in the back of his throat and his hand comes up to cup your neck in an overtly possessive manner that has you melting into his embrace. You feel his fingers playing with the clasp resting at the nape of your neck, and then the necklace falls into your lap, the next phase of your ruse in full effect now.

You pull back with a gasp and pout at Steve, your eyes wide. “It broke!”

“Then I’ll buy you ten more,” he answers easily, shrugging off your concern. “Go put it upstairs and don’t give it a second thought, okay?” He presses his lips to yours once more and gives you an affectionate pat below the dip of your dress when you stand that has you blushing. You can practically feel Danny’s laser eyes through the screen where he’s watching you.

You make sure to wobble the tiniest bit when you move, steadying yourself on Steve’s shoulder with a laugh. “What was our room number, honey?”

He shares a knowing look with your mark, then jokes, “How many vodka tonics have you had, hm? How many fingers am I holding up?” He has his fist raised and you smack at his chest with an eye roll. “217, my love,” Steve supplies before taking your hand and kissing the wedding band adorning your ring finger.

You head upstairs to the empty room the team had rented for this very purpose and place the necklace in the carefully concealed safe in the cupboard. When you return to the table, you find Steve alone.

“Where’s our friend?”

“Turned in for the night after that big loss,” your boyfriend supplies, winking at you. “Shall we?”

He offers you his arm, and after collecting his winnings, the two of you make your way to the lobby to lie in wait. “You’re going to be insufferable about that win forever now, aren’t you?”

“You said I was bad at poker,” Steve reminds you.

“You still are,” you fire back. “Dumb luck one time does not a skilled player make.”

“Jeez, boss,” Junior’s voice comes crackling in over your comms. “Want some ice for that burn?”

“Would you just- would you shut up and focus on the room, please?”

After a few minutes of waiting with no sighting of Lee, you lean into Steve’s chest and ask the team, “Anything?”

“Girl, hop off the mic,” Lou admonishes you, and you jump back from Steve. “We can hear you when you talk normally. Damn.”

Leaning back in, this time you whisper, “Sorry, guys.”

“Hey, McGarrett?” Tani speaks calmly but you can hear an edge of tension to her voice. “At your 4 o’clock, there’s two guys in suits who’ve had an eye on your table all night. I thought they were watching for potential card counting but they seem to have taken an interest in you and Y/N.”

“Copy,” Steve says quietly, pulling you closer to his body in a protective move in case all hell breaks loose.

“Let’s just show them we’re not a threat,” you offer.

“You want to go back in?”

“I was thinking of a more… hands on approach.” As the clicking of Italian leather shoes on the polished floor grows closer to you, you spin Steve around and push him against the wall, crashing into him for a heated kiss. His strong hands caress your bare back for a moment before one stays put to hold you against him while the other deftly undoes the knot holding your bun, your hair cascading down to its full length so Steve can use it for better leverage. You can’t help but moan into his mouth as he kisses you like a man starved until you’re shaken from your stupor by yelling approaching the lobby.

“Hey! Five-0! Stop running, dumbass!”

Without opening your eyes or breaking your kiss, you stick your foot out at the opportune time, making contact with the ankle of your diamond thief’s leg so he goes sprawling. There’s a faint splash to your right, and when you pull away for a breath, you can see your necklace winking at you from the lobby fountain.

Danny catches up to the scene and yells, “Hands- hey! Hands!”

Lee raises his hands above his head with a sigh, but your cousin continues on, “You two! Yeah, let me see your hands, too!” You turn to find Danny’s gun aimed at the diamond smuggler, but his fiery eyes are trained on you while Tani and Junior wrestle the other two lackeys to the floor nearby. You exchange a look with Steve, then feel the warmth of his palms leave your bare skin as the two of you slowly raise your hands as well. Clearing your throat, you offer meekly, “We’re really into method acting?”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Danny growls, slapping zip ties on a defiant Lee and ratcheting them tight before hauling him to his feet.

“Hey, man, ease up,” he whines and Danny barks, “You shut up.” He continues lamenting his woes audibly as he leads the thief to the waiting squad car, grumbling, “Had enough of all of you. My baby cousin and my best friend. Christ. What am I gonna tell my aunt?”

Steve whistles low under his breath when Danny’s out of earshot, then mutters, “That could’ve gone better.”

“On the plus side,” you comment, “he still referred to you as his best friend.”

Tani shoots you a sympathetic smile when she passes by with the man she apprehended, but Junior wastes no time leaning in and playfully tutting, “Bus-ted.” Steve raises one eyebrow and he tacks on a hurried, “Sir.”

—————

With Lee and his crew stewing in interrogation and HPD clearing the scene, you’re left sitting on the couch in Steve’s office like kids who got sent to the principal for misbehaving in school. The three of you must look ridiculous from the rest of the team’s point of view- you clad in spare clothes from Steve’s wardrobe in his office that you’re positively swimming in, your 40-plus-year-old boyfriend in a full tux with his bow tie and top few buttons undone, hand pressed over his mouth to avoid saying something that will further incense your cousin, and said cousin still dressed in his shirt and tie pacing the floor in front of you with his hands flying to emphasize every point he makes.

“And you-” Danny pauses his pacing to point an accusatory finger at his best friend. “How old are you, huh?” The finger changes angles to point at you. “And how old is she?”

“Do you want me to actually answer the quest-”

“No, Steve, they’re rhetorical questions! I know how old you are, and I’ll tell you! Too old for my baby cousin, that’s how old, huh? What’s the matter with you?”

“Why don’t you let Y/N speak for herself, Danny? Gotta let her grow up, buddy, c’mon now.”

“Thank you!” you cry. “Can I say something?”

The blonde and brunette duo turns to look at you with the same infuriating, incredulous look before simultaneously deciding, “No.”

“Alright, y’know what?” You slap your hands against your thighs and stand with a huff. “You two-” You point back and forth between Steve and Danny before continuing, “You work out your little marital spat. Daniel, when you’re ready to talk to me like the adult I am, I’ll be with Tani. After I drink some water. Because I’m still buzzed.” With that, you attempt to walk out of your boyfriend’s office with your head held high but are thwarted by the door, pushing on it to no avail.

“It’s a pull-” Danny says quietly, and Steve jumps in at the same time, “Pull, babe, you gotta pull on the-”

“I got it,” you bark at them, tugging on the glass door with a grumble about architectural intuitiveness.

After a long conversation with Steve and a short interrogation with Lee and his associates, Danny finds you nursing a bottle of water in Tani’s office, as promised. She slips out as your cousin takes a seat next to you, pulling you into a hug that you allow yourself to melt into even though you mutter all the while under your breath about his overprotective nature.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t just tell me you were seeing Steve.”

Woah. What?

“What?” Danny laughs. “You were right. We should talk about this like adults.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“The ‘Woah. What?’? Yeah, you did, babe, it was very much not an inside thought.”

“Excellent,” you laugh, nodding solemnly. “Well, um, thank you for that. And sorry for not coming out and just telling you.”

“Guess I made it pretty hard for you to tell me, huh? What with the two rules and-”

“Yup.”

“But everybody else knew or-”

“Tani knew, cause she’s my girl, y’know. Grace figured it out pretty quickly. Pretty sure Lou’s had a feeling since at least Thanksgiving, honestly.”

Danny sits back with a start, pulling away from your hug. “How long has this been going on?”

With a sigh, you realize it’s time to come clean. “You remember when I wanted to go on that dive with you, and you said I should take Steve since you don’t ‘do water’? Well, Steve took me to this really beautiful dive spot and we kind of made a day of it so…”

“That was like-”

“A while-”

“Like seven months ago!”

“I mean, we didn’t exactly start dating on that day- well, no, we kind of did,” you correct yourself quietly, biting your lip with a grimace, but Danny’s already halfway across the floor back to Steve’s office. Lou takes the opportunity to poke his head in to check on you and you draw out a slow, “So Lou…” He raises one eyebrow in question, and you dare to ask, “Would now be a bad time to tell Danny about Will and Grace?”

—————

Tagging you beautiful people who commented for me to finish writing this 🖤

@the-silentium @ilovewriting06 @jamie2305 @kelssssxd @cassadilasworld

[simonsrosebud]

ik I'm late to the party but omg.... abram boyd.... I'm sobbing that's so sweet 😭😭 pls tell me more about them

AHHH THANK YOU I LOVE HIM

Abram has certified protective big brother energy, but since he isn’t a big brother this goes to his girl friends at college instead. Palmetto is a safe campus, but he (and Elliot by association) still always end up getting their girl friends back to the dorms safely no matter what. I’m talking if two of their friends are fucked up before he even gets there he will leave the bar 10 minutes in just to get them home and then come BACK. (this is based on my sisters friend at lsu and it’s so wholesome)

Abram’s relationship with Neil is interesting bc he’s growing up as Neil is traveling in the pros in his late 20’s. However, Neil visits whenever it’s convenient and once he gets in the groove of this whole godfather thing he treats Abram like he’s his uncle bc he sees how Andrew is with Aaron’s girls. He keeps up with his schedule when he starts playing little leagues and makes Dan send pictures. She sends first day of school updates and a picture of a little Abram missing his two front teeth.

Abram gets a Josten Court jersey and wears it until it stinks. He gets new ones when he outgrows them. By his third one Matt gets him a huge one to grow into as a grown man. He does indeed grow into it.

Neil sends him post cards with a little letters written inside when he’s 4 and Abram loves it so much that Dan facetime’s Neil like 2 weeks after he got the first one but it’s just Abram’s face all up in the camera. “When will I get anover wetter, uncle Neil?” “Oh!” instant delight “It must still be in the mail, buddy, but just keep an eye on the mailbox, okay?” “Okay… do you wanna see your wetter?! I put it on my wall, uncle Neil!”

Neil is the first to start calling him B, firstly bc calling someone else Abram is something he has to get used to. Secondly because Abram acknowledges it as Neil’s nickname and stubbornly doesn’t let anyone else call him it.

Matt retires from exy at like 32 when Abram is 3. Matt’s exy team loyalties lie where his friends are at, so Matt, Jace, and Abram make it a thing to watch every game. Abram can’t keep track of Neil is and gets frustrated by it. Matt mentions it while laughing, two games later Neil has the butt of his stick wrapped in orange. After that Abram keeps saying, “Ope, there’s uncle Neil again …. There’s- I see orange, Daddy! …. There he goes again! …. Look! Uncle Neil!!”

Andrew may have been the one humanizing Neil, but Abram is the one who softens him.

Abram used to hold onto Addie or Annie’s hands and just follow them around at Fox reunions, which got more frequent throughout the years and is why/how the fox kids all got close.

Abram plays minecraft but just creative mode. He likes adventure or sports videogames while his brother likes Call of Duty and whatnot.

BIG lego kid until he’s like 14.

As a teenager, Abram and Neil text so much and talk on the phone a lot. About exy, about French help bc he’s learning it in school, about some fantasy show that Abram somehow got Neil into, about sports and college applications and when he can come visit again. And then about who these new kids in Neil’s house are and are they gonna stay a while? should we add them to the cousin gc? hey how’s elliot doing? and hey can you send me elliot’s number? and if i’m doing all this hard work to keep the strikers away the least our strikers could do is do something with the ball i keep getting to them, anyway, are you guys bringing blake and elliot to thanksgiving? i’m excited to meet them. and i know ur gonna be weird if i ask you about guys but im pretty sure i have a crush on one and im kinda freaking out and im scared to tell my parents and-

Matt is so loving when he comes out to him and Dan, hugging Abram really tight and just telling him he loves him and he’s so proud of him and Abram cries a little.

The first time he kisses a boy (bc crushes are only from afar) it’s freshman year of college and it’s because he starts looking at Elliot too often for too long and needs to get that shit out of his head bc that’s his best friend.

Abram has lunch with Dan like twice a month because she tries to stay out of his hair since she’s the exy coach at PSU.

When he and Elliot get together he finds he loves to wrap Elliot up in his clothes.

Elliot goes to all of his home games with their friends and cheers obnoxiously. Abram loves it. He also… fucks Elliot while he wears his soccer jersey.

He is definitely a gentle giant, but once he and Elliot get together he throws that boy AROUND in the bedroom.

there’s a lot more about him but i hope that’s good for tonight hehe

[astaraels]

You don’t get how bad I need your fem!gallavich headcanons 😭😭 (that being said pls - with no pressure - share some 🙏���🙏)

OKAY DON'T WORRY I'VE GOT A LOT OF THEM TO SHARE WITH YOU I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR SOME GOOD WLW FEM!GALLAVICH FEELS (these may be a little all over the place but just roll with me here okay? okay here we go)

to start with, Ian is a nickname for Lillian, Mickey is a nickname for Mykhaila (Ukrainian feminine form of Mikhailo)—they'd still go by Ian and Mickey, because if Lip can be a nickname for Phillip then all bets are fucking off :p

technically all of this started with my brain going "lesbian gallavich with hella self image issues" because they don't feel like they can measure up to their "prettier" sister (Mandy and Fiona) but both of them thinking the other is gorgeous as hell. Mickey being kind of a femme/butch (which is why she's the one who calls the shots with her brothers, she's the tomboy compared to Mandy), and Ian wanting to be all pretty and femme but doesn't think there's a point to it because money and also she doesn't think highly of herself

things would be way different for them both as lesbians—Ian would definitely still be the forgotten middle child, although she and Lip would still be Fiona's backup ("you two are my rocks") because I refuse to believe that girl Ian wouldn't be just as committed to ROTC and fitness as canon Ian. She'd be able to kick anyone's ass any day of the week. I think she'd really look up to Lip and ofc he'd love Ian as his little sister but like, with the same kind of condescending vibe he gives Fiona and Debbie? Although maybe since they're practically twins his misogyny toward Ian wouldn't be as blatant.

she'd still be taller than him (tallest Gallagher no matter what!) and have long red hair that she just throws back in a bun or ponytail all military style. I can't see her having short hair just because short cuts can be a lot to maintain, better just to let it grow and keep it pulled back. (I know, I've thought way too much about the little stuff lol)

Mickey would be very punk. With an undercut and all kinds of piercings. Mandy gets more attention from boys but Mickey does get her share, although of course she's like blegh. She'd rather be kicking ass and taking names and proving to her dad that she's just as good at being a fuckin Milkovich as Iggy and Colin—she's got more brains than both of them combined and she's smart as a whip when it comes to doing math, as well as where scamming people is concerned. Terry would begrudgingly acknowledge this but never misses a chance to put her down because she's just another dumb bitch. Only serves to make Mickey more determined to show what she can do, though, and her brothers and cousins are no match for her when it comes to scrappy back alley fighting. She climbed to the top of the heap early on and punches out anyone who tries to take her on.

Ian absolutely falls in the lesbian stereotype of wearing flannel constantly. I feel like she would want to do girly sorts of things but like, doesn't feel she'd measure up to Fiona or other girls so she just sticks with "comfortable" as her main fashion staple. Her and Debbie probably share a room too, although as I said above, she's still super close with Lip. Debbie would ADORE her big sister, would look up to and admire Ian because they've got so much in common—it might even be that she finds Ian's lesbian porn and that's how she knows about it ("penetration isn't required for sex to occur").

I'm not sure how they'd meet in this au but it would still probably involve Mickey chasing Ian around trying to beat her up lmao. my original thought was maybe like, either Mickey chased after Ian because of something Lip did in a reverse of canon, or Mandy thought Ian was talking shit about her. Regardless, the idea of 5'1" Mickey chasing after 5'9" Ian is hilarious especially because I feel like Ian would end up being almost six foot tall by the time she's done with puberty.

even once Ian and Mandy end up being bffs (there'd definitely be some miscommunication, but Ian doesn't wanna get murdered by the Milkovich siblings, so she manages to clear the air with Mandy when she can get away from Mickey and their brothers), Ian probably wouldn't tell Mandy she's gay, gotta keep that shit on lock. So once they're besties she's gotta endure all the boy talk and be like oh haha yeah totally…but at some point Mandy would figure it out, probably because she's not dumb and also Ian "play what cool" Gallagher is not as subtle as she thinks she is. But Mandy, other than asking if Ian has the hots for her ("you're beautiful, but I like you better as my friend"), is actually pretty chill and realizes she doesn't actually mind hanging out with a lesbo. Yes, Ian and Mandy and Mickey would use all the derogatory slurs that get used towards lesbians, although Ian is used to the casual homophobia and Mickey is the most homophobic gay ever (I feel like she'd definitely call herself a fag and a dyke once she gets more comfortable in her identity).

idk how the whole grooming thing with Kash and Ned would transfer over—maybe Ned would be some rich lesbian cougar who wants a kept girl or something. But that's unfortunately a big part of Ian's character, the middle kid who's the only one to be physically abused (and yeah, Frank would still hit Ian, boy or girl), and is desperate for any kind of affection so attaches to anyone who gives it. Kash might be a (seemingly) meek wife to some bruiser of a husband who's short and has small dog syndrome, and that makes her sympathetic in Ian's eyes, thus making it easier for her to take advantage of Ian. I try not to think about Kash too much but it is an important part of Ian's self-image

I'm gonna talk about s3 in its own post because I have some Thoughts and Ideas for some changes to make things interesting :p

season 4 would be really even more depressing because I think that when Ian is manic (there'd be no running away to the army because she couldn't use Lip's identity; instead she'd go straight her sugar mama and from there calls Monica when things get too wild) she'd end up getting pimped out by Monica to really gross straight dudes—not that there aren't creeper lesbians who like younger women, but in general it'd be easier for her to find a job stripping at a regular club (lesbian bars don't seem to have the same opportunities as a straight bar or a men's gay bar do wrt making money). Poor Lip and Debbie finding her in the skimpiest outfit, worse than anything Fiona ever had to wear for a job, with way too much makeup on and dollar bills tucked in her underwear, coked out as hell, skinny enough you can see her hipbones, brain and mouth going about 300 miles a minute...ugh.

But Mickey coming and bringing her home safe and sound <3 beating up the skeevy guys trying to roofie her <33 watching over Ian while she sleeps <333

In a happier train of thought, I love the idea that Mickey really likes Ian's long hair and plays with it when she's not really thinking and Ian gets all 😍😍😍 because it means Mickey might like her omg. Mickey has a partial undercut and Ian loves the texture of the shaved part of her hair. Tells her not to let it grow back out and everything.

Mickey having to stand on her tiptoes to kiss her stupidly tall gf ("You're too tall, Red" "Complain all you want, Mick, you know you like it”). Mickey likes getting manhandled but only by Ian—anyone else tries it and they're losing a hand. But Ian shoves her against a wall and does her whole cocky, smug, looming thing and Mickey can't help but melt in her arms (not that she'd let Ian know about it, not at first; gotta make Gallagher work for that shit. Just cause she's a fag doesn't mean that she's anyone's bitch!).

I also like to think that Ian would try the super femme thing in s4 era and Mickey, once out, would be a little more comfortable being more butch, but they both come off as a mix? I just love the idea of fem!gallavich playing with gender stuff in that very specific lesbian relationship with gender—on one of Mickey's more butch days Ian jokes and calling Mickey her boyfriend and Mickey being like oh

personally I feel like Mickey in her dyke era (s5) is an absolute pint-sized powerhouse, and still an absolute fashion icon because those cut-off vests? the tank tops? perfection🤌🏻

most of my thoughts are of early gallavich because I think things would go much differently since Sammi can't call the MPs on Ian in this au, but lemme just say that there's some fun stuff I'll be adding in another ask to add to the DRAMA

[themultifandomgal]

Tommy Shelby- Comfort

Another request from Wattpad. Kind of a sad one so buckle up.

Christmas time has always been YN's favourite time of the year especially since her and John got together and had children of their own. The day is full of love and happiness. John even proposed to YN in December underneath a Christmas tree.

YN hears the front door of hers and Johns house open and a voice she knows well, Michael

"Tommy wants everyone at Charlie's yard"

"What's gonna happen it's fucking Christmas man"

"Look, John, we don't have time for this" YN walks out the door to see johns cousin stood outside

"Micheal we're going to see you all tomorrow, look the kids are excited"

"Tommy says that they could come for us today"

"Tommy says, Tommy says. Are you his fucking parrot?"

"John who's coming for us?" YN asks her fiancé

"It's the Mafia alright! It's the New York mafia we're talking about" Michael shouts while YN stands next to John

"John?"

"We're fine YN. We're the peaky fucking blinders"

"No we're not John. We're not the Peaky fucking Blinders unless we're together. You were together in the gallows with one man missing. John, come to the meeting. All right? Think about the kids"

YN then starts to hear horse shoes getting closer "come to the meeting and if you want to leave, then fine"

"No. It's Christmas Day" John replies "we're staying at home" thats when YN notices a man jump from behind a hay bail

"John!" YN screams as she hears a bang. Pain and a burning sensation radiates through her stomach. John and Michael are quick to get their guns out and shoot. As YN looses consciousness both John and Michael are hit.

YN hears her name being called faintly. Then again but this time a little louder, and again now it sounds like someone is next to her. Slowly she opens up her eyes to a bright light. Blinking she takes a few moments to adjust. She tries to sit up, but is pushed back down gently by her brother in law Tommy

"Carful ay"

"The kids" YN manages to croak out

"Safe with Polly" Tommy pours a glass of water for YN and helps her to take a sip

"And John where he?" she asks looking at Tommy waiting for an answer

"Let's get you sorted first ay. You hungry?"

"Tommy where's John" there's a pause

"YN I'm sorry..." no. Tommy never says sorry. He couldn't be. Not YN's John

"No. No he's fine. Where is he?" She asks again trying to sit up

"YN please lay down"

"I want to see him"

"YN he was shot. He... he didn't make it. His last words were asking me to keep you and the kids safe and that's what I'm going to do" realisation suddenly hitting her like a ton of bricks. She had lost her fiancé. The man she loved and was going to spend the rest of her life with was dead and there is nothing she can do about it.

"He's gone?" she gasps as tears now spill out of her eyes "johns dead" Tommy wraps his sister in law up in his arms as best he can

"Shhh I got you"

"I'm alone. I have to raise my kids alone" she cries into Tommys chests

"Your not alone. I promise your not alone" he whispers into YNs hair "you've got me"

"Do the kids know?" YN cries

"Yeah. Polly's told them"

For the following weeks YN and the kids move in with Tommy so that she's not alone. He comforts her every night when she cries herself to sleep, after having to be strong all day for the kids. Nothing will happen between the pare, but YN's glad she is still part of the family and always will be.

[celestie0]

aaaaaa chapter 3 of IHM was soooo good!!! Reader and Gojo’s banter is so funny, I just love stories, series and movies where the main characters can’t stand each other and fall in love without even noticing! Their relationship reminds me a lot from the main couple in the movie “Life as we know it”. Omg poor reader when dealing with Choso, the other cop PLUS her neighbors! And the way everyone is so nosy and suspicious, I feel like more awkward situations about their sudden marriage are about to come. These cringe encounters are everything 😂😂😂 The little detail where reader reminds Gojo to strengthen his collar before he leaves was the sweetest, cutest thing! I absolutely love how reader meets part of the family all at once, it was so adorable. And Mama Gojo is amazing, I already love that woman! Does she believe in energy, crystals and all these things? The way she literally hugged reader and declared she would bring luck to their family was soooo sweet!!! This fic is definitely the found family trope!!! And little Juno calling us auntie? My heart just melted right then and there! i relate to reader in the sense that she feels overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of having another family now that she’s married to Gojo. I am close only to my mom, dad and brother, and completely ceased contact with my family from my father’s side of the family. What I mean is, family is difficult, so I’m excited to see how reader will navigate this new chapter of her life, since when you marry someone, it’s like you marry their whole family by association. I hope the rude comments and asks you’ve received straight up demanding smut in all your fics don’t discourage you from continuing writing and posting your lovely stories!!! Unfortunately this always happens, people only care about what they want to see and completely disregard the author’s feeling and efforts. Thank youuu so so so much for writing real stories, with a real build up which only makes the romance between the main characters more genuine and worth in the end! I am absolutely awed by all your writings. I genuinely hope the rudeness you’ve been receiving from the fandom won’t keep you from doing what you love. Of course, if you feel like taking a break from all this toxicity, take all the time you need, Ellie my love! We’ll still be here whenever you drop a new chapter and/or story! Again, thank you for the PERFECT chapter! Sending you lots of hugs! Hope that you have a great week!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

HIIIII my love omg thanks u sm for this ask :’’) so glad to see you enjoyed ch3!! and yes omg when they hate each other but then suddenly realize that they’re in love w each other <333 SUPERIOR TROPE. and hahah glad you’re enjoying the cringe encounters xD i get anxiety writing cringy scenes but like you just gotta embrace the cringeee. especially since ihm is kind of just suburban love story, we’ve all had those super embarrassing moments w our neighbors n coworkers etc etc so i’m tryna include those scene where i can

omg found family!! that’s so cute. maybe i should add that to tags haha. yea the collar scene was cute to write bc it was like something an actual wife would do xD and yes omg i can see gojo’s mother believing in the crystals n stuffs!! she’s an eccentric woman but overall i think she’s very kind

thank you for your insights on family, that is so true. when you marry someone, you marry their whole family too. and that can be hard to navigate, especially when you’re so used to being around just one person (in reader’s case, her mother) and then suddenly having to acclimate to new people. i’m so glad you can see yourself in her (i’m the same way, only keep in touch w my immediate family and hardly w my aunts/uncles/cousins on both sides for a lotta family drama reasons haha) and i’ve always felt frightened to expand my relations w ppl for that reason, but i think i find that it can be healing too.

thanks bb :(( yea if i’m being totally honest w you, i really was considering taking a big break from writing after responding to that ask. i felt it dwindled some of the passion for sure. but i feel really refreshed now and i’m feeling better hahaha it’s just i’m kinda dramatic 😂 you’re so sweet omg i could srs cry. so many digital hugs <33 i hope you have a WONDERFUL week too ♥️ ♥️

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - Ch 6

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand  Word Count: ~2.5k Warnings: Rylan is a creep, talk of death (in the past) Notes: Uh...surprise? Listen I am just as upset as you guys that it’s taken me this long to update 😅. I really am sorry, I’ve wanted to work on this story, but every time I sat down to write it I just couldn’t. The next chapter is already written, I’ll put that out in a couple weeks, and I’m hopeful that I’m going to be able to keep up with writing now. Crossing my fingers, but I’m not promising anything because I really don’t want to disappoint you guys if I disappear again.

Last Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

The first time Oberyn remembers his elder brother acting as a ruling Prince of Dorne was in his 16th year.

With the rumors swirling of his blade being poisoned in the duel with Lord Edgar Yronwood, his brother had called Oberyn to his office. Doran had only been the ruling prince for a few years by then, and had not as of yet had any reason to call an official meeting with his younger brother.

The two had never been particularly close, Doran being almost 13 by the time Oberyn was born, but they were still family. Doran believed his brother’s protests that the blade was not poisoned - Oberyn would not start to experiment with poisons for another few years yet - but the prince still knew he needed to appease House Yronwood.

And so Oberyn was banished to a temporary exile.

The next visit to his brother’s office was years later, after his exile is finally over and Robert’s Rebellion is quelled. News of the rebellion had reached across the Narrow Sea, and Oberyn had been incensed at the fact that he was unable to fight, relegated to a far off country with only weeks-old news to get him by.

The news of Ellia’s death hit him hard. He was unable to enter that office again for years. The sight of his brother behind the desk their mother had sat behind and her father before that and generations of Martel’s back that suddenly seemed far too large for Doran only brought back memories Oberyn wasn’t ready to face yet.

He blamed his brother for a while - for his inability to keep their sister safe, for banishing Oberyn where Oberyn couldn’t keep their sister safe. Then he blamed himself - if he had fought harder, if he’d snuck back into Dorne like he originally intended, if he had just been better.

Suffice to say, Oberyn hated being called to his brothers office. Nothing good ever came from an official summons from the elder Prince of Dorne in Oberyn’s experience, and he had a feeling today was not about to prove him wrong.

“It seems our cousin has finally settled on a wife.” Doran’s statement was met with a snort from Oberyn as the younger brother came to stand in front of the desk.

“I pity the poor woman that ends up shackled to Rylan. To whom should I send my condolences?” Doran only met him with a level stare, the silence from his brother all Oberyn needed to draw his own conclusions and for a pit of dread to begin forming in his stomach.

What was it about this office and bad news?

“Tell me I am assuming wrong, brother.” A note of pleading that very rarely showed itself entered Oberyn’s voice, and he felt the sinking feeling in his stomach only grow as Doran grimaced.

“I wish I could. He was here while the three of you were visiting Amphise. I must admit, even if I were able to grant his request, I do not think I would be inclined. I have no desire to see the girl tied to Rylan, regardless of his relation to our family.” Oberyn let himself relax slightly at that, although he couldn’t quite shake the urge to hunt his cousin down for even looking in your direction.

He flexed his hand at his side, letting a long breath out his nose before he responded.

“You refused then, I assume?”

Doran inclined his head in confirmation, still looking rather grim. “She is not a citizen of Dorne, regardless of where she might be from. I do not have the power to force her hand, and I am glad of it.” The prince let out a sigh, watching his brother closely. “That does not mean he will not go to her directly, however. With her having no male relatives here he has the option of attempting to persuade her himself, and if she were to agree I would have equally little say in the matter.”

Oberyn’s jaw clenched hard enough for his teeth to grind together, swiftly looking away from Doran out the open window. He knew if he only took a few steps he might see you in the garden below, although you were equally as likely to be working in one of the other gardens today. The urge to go find you immediately, to ensure his cousin had not yet attempted to convince you and make sure you were safe, threatened to overwhelm him for a moment.

It took him a moment to realize what was happening.

When he had first met Ellaria, there was an undeniable attraction. He should have recognized the signs with you, the way he was drawn to both of you with no say in the matter, but he had been under the assumption one could only have a single soulmate. As soon as the bond with Ellaria was confirmed, and more importantly as soon as he recognized it, that pull had snapped into something more tangible. For a while after, any perceived threat to either of them stirred something primal in the other.

It was happening again with you, possessive instincts he prided himself on being able to ignore were rising to the surface in an attempt to protect you, and he could do little to stop it.

Doran’s voice broke through his turbulent thoughts. “Oberyn. What did Amphise say?”

He turned back to his brother, jaw clenching further at the knowing frown on his brother’s face.

“She is a seer, as we assumed. Her powers were likely suppressed by being in her world and so far from ours. Amphise is willing to train her to ensure she does not grow out of control.” Oberyn paused, eyes lowering to stare at Doran’s desk. “And she is mine and Ellaria’s second soulmate.”

A heavy silence filled the room, and when Oberyn looked up he didn’t find as much surprise on his brother’s face as he expected. Doran only leaned back in his chair, hands folded in his lap, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I am…not overly surprised. You have been just as drawn to her since she arrived as you were to Ellaria, although I assumed it was because of the mystery she presented.”

A beat of silence later, “I assume she does not know?” Oberyn let out a strained laugh at that, crossing his arms and glancing away. “No. We decided we would wait to tell her. Ellaria is worried she would either not understand, or feel pressured to be with us because of the bond. Her world…it is less understanding.”

Doran only nodded, a thoughtful look on his face as he studied his brother. “You will have to tread lightly on this, Oberyn.”

Oberyn nodded, a resigned look on his face.

“I know.”

“You aren’t concentrating, girl.” The sharp words cause you to let out a frustrated sigh, slumping in your seat.

I am, Amphise, but you can’t expect me to figure this out in a week. You said seer’s are trained from childhood, how am I supposed to catch up?” There’s a whine in your voice that you don’t like, but the last several very long days training – or attempting to train – with Amphise have left you tired and irritable.

If you were honest with yourself, it was more than the less-than-satisfactory attempts to gain some kind of control over your new-found powers that was frustrating you. You’d been somewhat avoiding Oberyn and Ellaria since your revelation in the garden, and it was starting to wear on you. Combine that with the frustrating training and Oberyn’s cousin Rylan suddenly appearing around you constantly, you were frazzled to say the least.

A sharp tap to the back of your hand with Amphise’s paper fan brought you back from your internal debate about which slimy creature Oberyn’s cousin reminded you of the most. She was staring at you sternly, disappointment written clearly on her face.

“You are afraid of your powers. That fear is holding you back. I did not tell you the stories about what other seer’s have done with their power to frighten you, child. I told you so that you would know the consequences if you did not control your powers.” The reminder of the stories Amphise had told you last week felt like a pit in your stomach. You were scared of your powers, but you were also well aware that better control over them would help prevent those stories from becoming your reality.

“I know that, Amphise. I can’t help my fear, though. I’m afraid I won’t ever gain control and I’ll end up like those girls.” Your teacher’s face softens just slightly at your words, and she lets out a sigh, leaning forward.

“It is possible I am going about teaching you wrong. I have taught many seers, but all of them were born here and discovered as children. It is much easier to teach children to do something scary, adults have learned fear already.” She sits back, a look of contemplation coming across her face.

Several silent moments pass before she stands, gesturing towards the house. Your classes thus far have taken place in the same outside sitting area you had met her in last week, fragrant breezes blowing through the garden as you learned.

Or attempted to learn.

“We will end early today, child. You need rest, and I need to think.”

Your excitement at being let go early quickly turns sour as you step out of the carriage back at the palace. Rylan is coming out the front entrance, and the way his eyes light up like he’s looking at a prize horse when he sees you sends a disgusted chill down your spin. He changes course from the carriage he had been heading towards to walk towards you, and you take a moment to arrange your face in a less please-get-away-from-me expression.

“Lord Rylan, what a pleasant surprise.” You hope how not pleasant you think this is doesn’t come through in your voice. The last thing you need is a spoiled lord that is obviously jealous of his cousins kicking up a fuss for you being rude.

He chuckles, stopping about one step too close for your comfort. Not that anywhere near you was far enough away as far as you were concerned.

“I do hope one day you will be comfortable dropping my title like you do with my cousin.” You give what you hope comes across as more of a grin and less of a grimace, shrugging one shoulder noncommittally.

“We’ll see, I suppose.”

Rylan’s grin falters for a moment, and he glances over towards his awaiting carriage. “I was just heading out to see a play being put on, something about a tragic love story. Would you like to accompany me?”

You squash your immediate ‘I would rather eat live worms’ response and give a polite smile, shaking your head. “I’m a little tired today, I’m afraid. I was planning to go take a bath and then a nap. I apologize, Lord Rylan.”

Despite the rejection his expression doesn’t falter this time as he shrugs. “Next time then, my dear.”

You wait what you hope is an appropriate time as he walks away to shudder and head inside. Spending time with a deadly viper sounds more appealing to you than spending time with Rylan, alone or not.

Later that evening as the sun is setting you’re out in the main garden, checking on some of the flowers. Solomon had mentioned the day before he was worried about the Jester’s Tassels in the current heat. It had been warmer than normal the last few days, apparently, and he was worried they would wilt.

A shadow falls over the flowers you’re currently checking on, and you look up to see Ellaria smiling down at you. “I think at this rate we may have to hire you as a gardener, love. You seem to live out here lately.”

You smile despite the anxiety at seeing Ellaria, looking back down at the flowers. “I loved gardening back home, too, I just wasn’t very good at it. The plants here seem to like me better.” Yet another thing to add to the list of reasons it seems like you belong here more than anywhere else.

Another reason sits down on the garden wall next to you, gazing down at the vibrant purple and gold blooms. There’s a beat of silence, and despite your recent avoidance of the two of them just being next to Ellaria feels more like home than you remember your world ever feeling like.

“Oberyn’s name day is next week. There will be a large party, and I am afraid I might be under selling it a little just calling it large.” She pauses, folding her hands together in her lap. “Will you attend?”

You glance up, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Ellaria smiles slightly, shrugging a shoulder. “It has felt a little like you are avoiding us lately, dove. Although I suppose that could just be Oberyn’s ego speaking.”

You duck your head to look at the flowers again, guilt filling you as you shake your head. “I’ve just been busy with Amphise is all. I’ll be there.” You look up again, trying to ignore how the lie just makes you feel more guilty. “Do you give presents for name days?”

“Usually, yes, although not always. Especially for princes. Oberyn has everything he could want, and he usually dislikes getting the type of useless and lavish presents people get for a prince.” She grins, leaning down towards you. “For his twenty-first name day one of his mothers cousins gave him a set of sheets spun entirely of pure gold thread. I have never heard him complain for so long about the frivolity of the rich before.”

You grin at the story, imagining a younger Oberyn ranting about rich people for hours to a despairing Ellaria.

Ellaria straightens up, placing a hand on your leg. “You, however, will not be expected to get him a gift. I can help you find something small he would like, if you wish, but Oberyn will not expect anything from you, dove.”

You look back down at the flowers, frowning. It makes sense that Oberyn wouldn’t expect anything from you, since it’s not like you had much to give him anyway, but you still felt like you should get him something. It felt rude to show up to what was essentially a birthday part with no gift, even if it was a massive birthday party for a prince who already had everything he could possibly want.

Soft fingers brushed against your temple, pushing your hair back out of your face. Ellaria’s hand slides down, cupping your jaw to lift your head. She’s smiling softly at you, and the combination of her touch and the open affection on her face dazes you for a moment. “I can practically hear you thinking. I promise, just your presence will make Oberyn happy.”

Later that night, lying in bed, you’re still thinking about the conversation. Partly to replay what Ellaria’s touch felt like in your mind, and partially because you still can’t shake the feeling that you need to find something to get Oberyn.

When you finally manage to calm your mind enough to begin to drift off, you’re pulled out of your almost-sleep with a sudden idea.

You know exactly what to get Oberyn.

Taglist: I know tags are being kinda iffy, but I’m still going to put them in because I don’t have that many so it doesn’t take much time

@sarahjkl82-blog @ecuadorlady @fan-of-encouragement @knivesareout @writeforfandoms @gorgeousgrogu @leto-duke @xoxabs88xox @kirsteng42 @hauntedmama @urofficial-cyberslut @marvelousmermaid @tanzthompson @lowlights @dobbyjen​ @tanzthompson​

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[iriel3000]

When Will You Let Her Go?

Whumptober Day 8: “It’s all for nothing.”

LAURA WHUMP, emotional whump, light whump

DISCLAIMER: I am legally allowed to torment the fictional character of Laura Barton (and Bruce Banner) this month.

AN: You are going to learn a lot about my writing process this month, sorry. Most of the whump fics will be 3rd or 4th round drafts. I normally spend weeks, if not months editing. Many of these pieces will be written days, if not hours, before the prompt is due. please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, or if these don't seem up to my usual standard.

thank you for indulging me tho😘

Summary: Laura calls the kids while they are in New York with Clint and Kate. part 1 of 3

“Hey, is everybody having fun?”

“Hi, mom!” Lila circled around Kate Bishop's penthouse with her phone, making Laura dizzy on the facetime call. “We’re having the best time! Look at Kate’s place!”

Clint was in New York helping Kate get ready for her first round of SWORD training and had taken Cooper, Lila, and Nate with him.

“Summer in New York is sooo much better than the winter.”

“What have you been doing? Where are your brothers?”

“They’re right here.” She turned the phone towards Cooper and Nate.

Laura blinked. She thought she was looking at an arcade. The room was huge with various ping pong, fooseball , and pool tables, along with old, upright video games. Cooper was playing online games on a theater size screen and Nate had VR goggles on, punching and kicking the air.

“Hi Mom!” Cooper shouted, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Hi, sweetie. Hello, Nathan.”

Nate continued playing.

“He can’t hear you.” Lilia swung the phone back around. “Anyway, we swam at Kate’s friend’s house. She has a pool on the roof of her apartment building!”

“Wow, that sounds fun.”

“Way more fun swimming at the Waverly community pool. We also saw Rogers the Musical again and got to meet the entire cast afterwards.” Lila went into the largest bathroom Laura had ever seen and rummaged through some drawers.

“Thought you guys said that play was silly when you saw it at Christmas?”

“Yeah, but we met some of the actors in Central Park a few days ago, it was really cool. The guy that plays dad does not look like him at all.” She laughed and began putting on makeup. “Ms. Nadia gave us box seats.”

“Miss Nadia?”

“She plays Aunt Nat. She's super nice, Mom, and really pretty. She could be Aunt Nat’s twin; they look that much alike.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, and she taught me some ballet moves to take back to my class. Ms. Nadia says I should take jazz classes if I want to be on Broadway like her.”

“But, I thought you were…”

“She’s an amazing dancer, Mom. Dad said she can do all the moves from Swan Lake, like Aunt Nat. She said she would teach me those too.”

“Is your dad there?”

“No, Kate is with us.”

“Why? Where did he go?”

“He had to help Ms. Nadia get some stuff for her Black Widow costume. Guess what?”

“What?” She asked, not thrilled with this new information.

Why would Clint need to help the Black Widow dancer with her costume? The play had been running for almost a year.

“Kate got us Taylor Swift concert tickets!! A suite by all of the celebrities. And we get to take a huge purple, Hummer limousine. I can’t wait!”

“You guys are supposed to come home tomorrow.”

“Dad said we could stay a few more days to go to the concert and to the Hamptons with Kate and her friends. It's summer vacation, Mom.”

“I know.” Laura tried not to sound too disappointed.

This weekend was her and Clint's wedding anniversary. The children were supposed to go to their cousin's house to spend the night so she and Clint could have a romantic evening.

They hadn't had much alone time. Since his retirement, Clint had been keeping busy fixing up the house and visiting New York every couple of months to help Kate.

“Come on, please.” Lila begged.

“Lila! Where are you?” Clint hollered in the background.

“Daddy’s home!”

“Home?” Laura balked, but Lila ignored her.

“Dad! Talk to Mom. Shes using that voice when she doesn’t like something.”

“Why?” Clint came in and gave Lila a hug.

“I told her about staying a few days and she has that tone, as usual.” Lila handed the phone to him.

He covered the screen with his hand.

"I'll take care of it." Laura heard Clint whisper.

“Hey, hon.” Clint removed his hand and she saw him check on the boys.

“You’re staying longer?”

“Is that a problem?”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“When I got back here. Didn’t know the kids were going to call you.” Clint walked down a long hallway to a massive kitchen.

“I called, she emphasized the 'I', “ because you were supposed to call me at noon.”

“Kate, where’d we put the putty?” Clint hollered to his protege somewhere in the penthouse.

“Clint!” Laura yelled.

“What?”

She blew out a breath loudly.

“It’s only our anniversary this weekend.”

“Oh, yeah. Happy anniversary, babe.”

“No, this weekend…”

“I’ll send you some flowers and New York candy. The kids and I went to Dylan’s and went crazy.”

Kate came into the room.

“Tell Cooper to finish his game, we gotta go.” Clint said.

"Is that Nadia? Tell her our matching shirts for the concert came in"

“No, it’s Laura.”

“Oh, hi, Laura!” Kate stuck her face into frame and waved.

“Hi, Kate.” Laura tried to muster some enthusiasm.

“Cooper, get Nate and let's go!” Kate bounded out.

“Clint.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He finally looked into the phone. “What were you saying?”

“So, when are you coming home?”

“I changed the flights to Monday.”

“That’s almost another week.’

“It’s not like the kids have school.”

“I thought we could spend our anniversary together.”

“Seventeen years, it’s not one of the milestones.”

“That’s rude.”

“I mean,” he rolled his eyes, “our daughter has a once in a lifetime opportunity to see her favorite singer at Madison Square Garden in premium seats. For free. We could not afford to do this for her. Do you really want to make her come home so we can go to Applebee’s?”

“I guess not.”

“She’ll think you’re the best mom for letting her stay.”

“Well, let me talk to her one more time.”

“She’s already out the door with Kate and the boys.”

Laura didn’t hide her annoyance.

“I promise she’ll call you tomorrow. We have to go meet Nat and the others. Have a good time with your girls.” He set the phone down.

“What did you say?”

“Have a good time." He picked it back up but all Laura could see was walls. "I’ll tell the kids you miss them. Bye, hon.”

“Wait…”

He hung up.

Laura stared at her phone for a long moment before flinging it on the bed. She gathered up the little, black nightie she’d bought for this weekend and shoved it back in the bag.

find the whole series here....laura whump

[soap-lady]

My brain wouldn't let go until I wrote this

@idreamtofmanderleyagain @angelqueen13art

I'm back on my goofiness.

Family meeting

After a week of rearranging the house, scrubbing anything and everything with bleach, pine cleaner, scouring cleaner, more bleach on anything Julia could have touched and some bathroom cleaner with added bleach, they were finally ready to start moving in their new furniture.

Elliot and Tiffany refused to let Kirsty anywhere near the attic and cleaned it themselves. Elliot hadn’t really cleaned anything but himself before so Tiffany gave a crash course in housecleaning. Of course, she didn’t remember much herself but learning to use a broom and a mop weren’t complicated. Even though giving the horrible place a thorough scrubbing took twice as long as it should have, it gave Kirsty time to box up any remaining belongings Julia…and her father had left behind.

She decided to keep the nice jewelry for herself or to pass on to Tiffany when she was older and donated the rest to charity. Her dad had already put her mother’s and grandmothers’ jewelry in a safety deposit box for her so all he had was clothes. Elliot wore them until she could take him shopping. She threw all the pictures of Julia away, even those her father was in. Kirsty had plenty of photos of her father and mother in the same safety deposit box so she could dispose of any and all proof the woman had existed at all.

Next was deciding who would get what room. Kirsty didn’t want the master suite so Elliot took it. She and Tiffany took two rooms across the hall from him. They shared a bathroom so their captain made up a bathroom schedule so neither would cut into the other’s shower time. There was a guest bathroom on the third floor and two on the main floor so there shouldn’t be a problem.

Now they were ready for their new furniture so Kirsty decided to call a “family meeting”.

“A family…what?” Elliot was confused. He’d never heard the term before. His father had always dictated what they would do as head of the household and his mother and their servants had carried out his will. As children he and his brothers followed without question.

Tiffany smiled at him as she sat on the couch, confused but excited. She’d heard the word “family” and was just happy to be included.

A small family is still a good family if there’s love she remembered her mother saying and felt a pang in her chest. Bits and drabs of memory were starting to return to her and even though she welcomed them it hurt. Her mother loved old musicals and sang as she cooked. Her dad died when she was a baby; a semi hit his car when he was driving his parents from the airport. Her mother had been raised in foster care so she knew nothing about her heritage.

Elliot could tell she was upset and gave her a smile and a shoulder squeeze. She smiled back as best she could and although he still seemed concerned he didn’t press.

Kirsty flew into the living room with a notebook in her hand, looking flushed and eager. “Okay! The first meeting of the Cotton-Spencer family is now called to order.”

Tiffany looked pleased and Elliot raised a brow. “Sorry, ‘Cotton-Spencer’ ?”

Kirsty grinned. “Yeah. I figured it would be better if we said Tiffany was your second cousin.” She shrugged. “Everyone knows it was just my dad and…Frank…so me having a relative show up out of the blue would look weird. Unless…we said you were Frank’s illegitimate daughter which…wouldn’t be unlikely but I couldn’t do that to you.” She smiled at Tiffany. “Besides, they could do a DNA test or something and prove us wrong.”

Tiffany gave her a thumbs up. “As cool as it would be to be related to you, I’d rather not be Frank’s daughter either.”

Elliot turned a little towards Tiffany. “But, you’re all right being related to me?” The thought of having a…well, not a daughter…a cousin then…was very pleasing to him. It meant he had a place he belonged in the human world again. And someone to care for who needed him. He glanced at Kirsty. He thought she might need him too, if even only for company. He wondered how she felt living with the man who tried to drag to Hell…twice. He was afraid to ask; he didn’t want her to think about it too much or she might remember to fear him.

For the first time in a long time, he didn’t want anyone to fear him.

The memories of his human self, his life before, had rushed back to him, colliding with the seventy years of memories he had as a Cenobite. It was strange that he’d now spent twice as long as a creature of the Labyrinth than he had as a man.

His memories as the Hell Priest slept within him now, as did his powers. He tried to summon his powers but his chains did not appear. He’d carefully packed his tools and vestments in the back of a closet on the third floor and hoped he never had cause to use them again. The thought of never being a Cenobite again elated and worried him and he tried not to think about it if the girls were around.

His attention was brought back to Kirsty as she addressed him. “So…Cousin Elliot needed some identification so I called in some favors from my ex,” she grimaced as she thought of Steve, “and a friend of his from the State Department whipped up some very good fakes.” She handed him a fat manila envelope. “Here are your IDs, birth certificate, and work visa. I also had him throw in some legal looking documents saying you’re Tiffany’s guardian. You’re on your own for a driver’s license but this city has a pretty good transit system, so you should be fine for now.”

Elliot opened the envelope and poured out the contents to examine them. The passport and identification card looked authentic and even the birth certificate looked like a facsimile of the real thing.

Kirsty smiled at the look on his face. “Yeah. Steve was a crap boyfriend but he has connections.”

Tiffany tapped her on the arm. “What about me?”

Kirsty sighed and put her arm around her new best friend? Little sister? Both. Yes, both was good. “I found your documents in Channard’s office.” She rolled her eyes. I thought he’d keep this stuff at his house but he was too arrogant to think he’d ever get caught. It has your birth certificate, even your school records.” She grinned as Tiffany’s eyes widened. “Believe it or not, Tiffany really is your name. Tiffany Claire Harrison.”

Kirsty slid the file across the coffee table and Tiffany grabbed it with trembling hands. She opened and found pictures. Pictures of herself as a little smiling with her mother. They stood together in front of a house with green trim and various flowers. Her mother planted them. She loved flowers. Here was proof her mother was real and not a projection of Leviathan. Tiffany didn’t even realize she was crying until Elliot pressed his handkerchief into her hand.

Tiffany looked at both of them. “My mommy was real! She loved me!” She used the handkerchief to wipe her eyes and even though tears still streamed down her face she still smiled.

“And!” Kirsty pulled out Tiffany’s school records. “You were a brilliant student! You excelled at math and science and wanted to be an engineer when you grew up.”

Tiffany read over old report cards. All of her teachers had glowing things to say. “Motivated student…gift for learning…excels at complex problems…”

It was coming back to her. Until the puzzles took over she was a straight-A student, she had friends. But as the puzzles took over, as the need to solve them took over, all of that faded and her friends avoided her for being “that weird girl”.

Kirsty continued. “I’ve talked to a good private school in the area. You’ll have to take some placement tests but if you do well you won’t have to take a remedial year. But…” Kirsty smiled again. “You can learn more than either of us could teach you. And you can make friends your own age.” She winked at Elliot. “I’m sure you don’t want to stay with your Big Brother and Big Sister in the house all day. You want to have fun!”

Elliot frowned. “Are you saying we-” he pointed between himself and Kirsty, “-aren’t fun?”

She smirked a bit. “Sure we are,” she thought about it and then said, “well, I am.” He scoffed and she went on. “Hey, you haven’t been a teenager in a while and it’s been three years for me. I have no idea what teens are into these days. It’ll be good for Tiff to expand her social circle beyond the people she lives with.”

He nodded. “But, she’s going to need rules. And a curfew.”

“Hey,” Tiffany jokingly protested. “Cousin Elliot, I thought you were cool. Now I just see you’re a tool of The Man!”

Elliot blinked. “I have no idea what that means.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll introduce you to Wikipedia later.” Kirsty interrupted before their meeting could go off track. “Yes, you’ll have a curfew and you’ll have to call if you’re going to be late. Elliot and I,” she pointed between the two adults, “will do the same. Also, we’ll have our own curfew so at least one of us will be home when you get home. And we’re going to have a chore board.”

Elliot blinked because he had no idea what that meant. “A what?”

Kirsty smiled and pointed to a rectangular grid she’d drawn. “We’ll all have daily and weekly chores. Don’t worry, we’ll rotate. Everyone will be responsible for cleaning their own rooms and doing their laundry but we need to work together for meals and washing dishes. Also cleaning the bathrooms and the living room.”

He understood but still didn’t like it. “Really, you’re going to assign chores to me? Like a child?”

She nodded. “Yup. My house, my rules. I outrank you on my own property, Captain.” She pretended to glare at him when he started to protest then mock glared at Tiffany when she giggled.

Elliot sighed. Physical labor was not his forte. “We can hire people to cook and clean and take care of the yard.”

Kirsty shook her head. “I’m fine with a gardener but I don’t want strangers in the house.” Her jaw was firm and her expression was determined. “Besides, we don’t want everyone to know our business. People gossip, even when they’re getting paid not to. We have a lot to hide and we can’t risk getting exposed or blackmailed. They’ll take Tiffany away and throw us in jail if they don’t put us back in the Institution.”

He shook his head firmly and gave Tiffany a reassuring squeeze when she looked worried. “We won’t let them take her away from us,” he assured Kirsty and his expression turned as determined as her own. “We can’t.”

Kirsty nodded and met his gaze. A frisson went up his spine. He was rather happy to see this side of Kirsty; Tiffany clearly brought out her protective side. She was as strong as when she’d pushed the Pillar into Channard to save him. He felt a rush of pride for her.

There was a loud bang at the door and they all stood.

“Right. That’ll be the movers,” Elliot said as he moved to the side and let Kirsty answer the door. “Let’s all give them a hand, shall we? The sooner everything is moved in and arranged the sooner we can enjoy our peace and quiet.”

Bad mood vanished, Tiffany clapped on his shoulder. “And the sooner we can get to your first cooking lesson. No more takeout for us!”

He stopped and stood in the middle of the living room as his two girls laughed at him. He then sighed and followed them to the door.

“Hope you both enjoy food poisoning then.”