#my dad texted me asking if she had arrived home yet and she didn't

[aliki-is-an-hellenist]

Thank you Queen Hera and Lord Hermes for taking care of my mom and bringing her back home safely like I asked you.

[w2soneshots]

The uncles -Miniminter

words: 1.3k+

warnings: pregnancy, mentions of birth.

summary: your and Simon’s journey to becoming parents: finding out, telling the boys, the gender reveal and welcoming your little baby into the world.

notes: hello loves! Here’s the request🫶🏼. Sorry for the lack of posts recently but this is a long one so I hope you enjoy!!🧸💓

I've known the sidemen for years. And I've been in there videos since they first started out. That's how I met Simon, we were just friends at first but eventually we started dating. We got married a few years later and we started trying for a baby four months ago. We knew it probably wouldn't happen straight away but I was starting to get a little worried, until the other day I took a test and it came back positive.

Today I'm telling Simon. I had to wait a few days since he was away for a sidemen video, which was torture but it gave me time to think of a cute way to do it. I decided that I was going to make a cute present containing some little ugg boots, a baby grow and the pregnancy test.

I placed the box on the kitchen counter then waited for Simon to arrive home. "5 minutes away x" he text me and my heart rate sped up. After the longest five minutes of my life he finally walked through our front door.

"Hi!" I smiled as we shared a tight hug. "I missed you." He whispered into my hair. "I missed you too. I have a surprise." His brows furrowed. "Come." I led him over to the kitchen, pointing to the little box. We sat down and he slowly opened it. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he stared at the contents. "You're- oh my god!" A bright smile graced his features as he stood to pull me into a hug. "I'm gonna be a dad!" I could hear in his voice that he was getting choked up, which was very rare since he never cries. "Yes you are." I replied, my heart filled with pure happiness.

The next few weeks were... tough. I had awful morning sickness and felt terrible all of the time. Simon did as much as he could to be supportive and look after me but there wasn't much he could actually do. We were also trying to keep the fact that I was pregnant a secret until twelve weeks but it was proving quite difficult.

When it finally came time to tell everyone I felt relieved that I wouldn't have to hide it any longer and also so excited that we could finally share the amazing news with our favourite people. Faith and Ethan were the first to find out since I had bumped into them at the hospital while leaving an ultrasound (that unfortunately Simon couldn't be at). They were there with Olive for a check up and I didn't really have an excuse so I just told them. Faith practically screamed as she pulled me into a tight hug. Ethan was just as happy.

Simon was a little bummed that he didn't get to see their reactions but he understood why. Next up was the rest of the boys and the side girls. We decided to do them all in one go so we arranged a little get together to surprise them.

After buying food, cleaning the downstairs and making a playlist I got ready. Simon ran out to get a few last minute things while I took a shower, styled my hair, applied some makeup and got changed into a cute outfit. I only had a small bump as of yet so thankfully that wouldn't ruin the surprise.

As people started to arrive I greeted them and led them towards the living room. Soon everyone was here and it was time. "Ready?" I asked Simon, whispering into his ear. "Yeah." He smiled back at me. I took a deep breath. "We have a little surprise for you all!" I announced. I saw Faith's face immediately light up. "I'm pregnant!"

Cheers filled the room as Freya began crying, JJ practically jumped onto Simon and Ethan proudly bragged to Harry about the fact he already knew. As everyone calmed down they all congratulated us. The party was amazing, the vibes were impeccable and we all had a great time.

As my bump began to grow and people were starting to suspect us on instagram we decided it was time to tell the fans. We announced it with a mirror selfie of me and Simon in our bedroom. He had on his best thumbnail face and I downed a bright smile. He held the most recent ultrasound photo in his hand. Both of us dressed in comfy clothes, my sweatpants placed underneath my bump. The internet went crazy.

Just a week before the gender reveal the baby began kicking. It was a lovely moment. It happened just as I was about to fall asleep. Simon's hand placed comfortably on my bump as we lay in a comfortable silence. Then I felt it, it was strange but so comforting, I knew he or she was ok. We'd been expecting it since the doctor had told us that it would happen soon at our last appointment. "Simon," I turned around in his arms. "I think the baby just kicked!" I whisper shouted. His eyes widened, hands immediately on my stomach. Kick. He looked up at me with pure adoration.

We wanted to find out the gender in a fun way so we decided on a balloon pop; simple but cute. We had a company come round to set up a balloon arch with different sized pink and blue balloons but Faith and Freya helped me to decorate the rest our garden. It looked so cute by the end. It was just going to be mine and Simon's closet family along with the troops and their girlfriends.

Me and Simon both dressed in white, everyone else wore whatever they wanted but most of them wore ether blue or pink depending on what they thought the gender would be. I was fully convinced that it was a boy but Simon thought that it was a girl, nether of us really minded though.

My heart raced as we stood in front of everyone. Simon holding the balloon while I held a needle. Everyone counted down, "5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" I popped the ballon and blue confetti filled the air. Simon pulled me in a warm embrace, my eyes began to stream and the boys jumped around excitedly. "I knew it man! I called it!" JJ shouted. "I was right." I whispered into Simon's ear with a sniffle. "You always are."

The pregnancy flew by and soon I felt like a whale out of water, I was uncomfortable and just wanted to meet our baby boy. We'd finished the nursery and all of the baby shopping, we were now just waiting.

"Simon! Simon wake up!" I shook my boyfriend awake. He shot up. "Wha- what's wrong?!" He panicked. "My water broke!" I said with a smile. I wasn't stressed at all, just excited. Simon on the other hand was a mess. He was frantically running around our home trying to get himself ready. I calmly got dressed then sat on the couch next to the pre packed hospital bag. "Ok, let's go!" He grabbed the bag then helped me up.

Just a few hours later I held our baby in my arms. Thankfully the labour was quick and after getting an epidural I absolutely fine, well other than the fact I had to push a human out of me. None of it mattered now though because me and the baby were both fine and healthy.

A week later -after I had mostly recovered- the boys came round to meet Louie (which is the name we chose). "Oh my god! He's so cute," Faith gushed as she held Louie. "We're gonna need to make another one of these asap." She turned to Ethan. His eyes widened. I chuckled. "Ok, My turn!" JJ shuffled so he was straight in his chair, placing his arms out ready. Faith passed the baby over.

Everyone one got a turn. While me and the girls chatted, the boys playfully argued over who was the best uncle. Though they're all equally as amazing as each other.

[lucy90712]

Hii how are you? I saw your post about sending in requests soo here I am haha :)

Could you write smth with Marc guiu and like long distance relationship (reader is from another country, I'd love Germany cos I'm from there but any country is okay) and like her surprising him with a visit, maybe she comes to a game and like waits for him after as the 'surprise' kinda. Feel free to adjust or change things if you want :)

Thanks so much in advance and I hope you have a great day!

Being in a long distance relationship is hard especially when there was a time that you weren't long distance it becomes hard to separate yourself from the person you love but sometimes it has to be done. This is exactly how it is for me and Marc as a few years ago my family moved to Barcelona which is where we met and became friends for a few months before we started dating. For a year we were so happy together until my dad lost his job and got a new one back home in Germany so we had no choice but to be long distance which was so hard at first but we have made it work as best as possible but I still miss him a lot. 

A few weeks ago Marc got a move to Chelsea which he was really excited about and I was really happy for him. Between his move and preseason we haven't seen each other in like two months which is the longest we've gone without seeing each other. This weekend is supposed to be Marc's first game which he thinks I can't make it to but I've been lying to him so I can surprise him. It's not all a lie originally I didn't think I could go as I was supposed to be going to a family event but things got moved around and I just didn't tell him as I thought it would be fun to surprise him. 

Getting tickets to the match wasn't easy as they were all sold out and I'm not as familiar with Marc's new Chelsea teammates as I was with his Barcelona teammates. In the end I was brave and dm'ed one of his teammates to ask for help getting tickets and he was so helpful and gave me a way to get hold of tickets and offered to help me surprise Marc which I took him up on as I have no idea how to go about things. His teammate made sure that I knew how to get to the stadium and where would be the best place to stay the night before the game and he sorted things out so I'd be allowed into the back of the stadium with the rest of the players friends and families so I can actually surprise Marc after the game. 

Now things are all set in place and all I have to do is keep this hidden from Marc which won't be easy as we always FaceTime every night and I'm scared he'll notice that I'm not in my room as I'm staying in a hotel close to the stadium. Marc is quite observant he always notices when I've had my hair cut even if it's just a trim and he can always tell when I've changed my skincare or makeup routine so fooling him isn't going to be easy. I thought he'd have caught on before I even got here as we quite often text throughout the day and I had to have my phone off while I was on the plane but luckily I was able to say that I was caught up with something and didn't check my phone which he believed. 

As soon as I arrived to the hotel and dropped my suitcase off I went back out onto the streets to go the the Chelsea store which is close to the stadium to find a shirt with Marc's name and number on. He said that he would send me a shirt but he hasn't been able to yet as he hasn't got an official game day shirt that he can part with. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't wear his shirt especially for his first game at a new club so I took matters into my own hand to try and find a shirt for myself. The store was much bigger than I expected it to be and it was filled with people but I managed to navigate my way around until I finally found a shirt with Marc's name on it which I bought and got out of there as quick as possible. 

Like clockwork Marc FaceTimed me at 8pm and I had to do my best to try and keep the camera on me and not show much of the room so he wouldn't get too suspicious. To start with Marc seemed confused and was looking at my surroundings but he didn't say anything so neither did I. We had a normal conversation about what we had done today and I had to completely make things up which he just believed as he trusts me enough to not question anything I say which is really sweet and helpful in this specific situation. We talked for hours until I had to pretend to need to go as I was supposed to be up early for this family event he still thinks I'm going to so we said goodnight to each other and I just hoped and prayed that Marc wasn't too suspicious about my surroundings. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to my alarm and a few texts from Marc telling me to have a good time with my family so I wished him luck at his game before getting up and getting ready. Once I was ready I still had hours until I needed to leave for the game and I had no idea what to do with myself. I was so nervous for Marc, I always get nervous before Marc plays but for some reason today I'm extra nervous for him. Playing for a new club in a different league especially such a competitive one like the premier league is nerve wracking and playing at Chelsea comes with another level of competition and pressure that I know Marc can handle but that doesn't mean I can't be nervous for him. 

Eventually the time came for me to leave so I changed into the shirt I bought yesterday and grabbed all my things before calling a taxi to get to the stadium. There was so much traffic on the road but I allowed plenty of time to get there so by the time I arrived there was still enough time for me to find my seat and take in the stadium before the match started. I have been to all sorts of stadiums to watch Marc play but most of them don't compare to Stamford bridge even though there was a lot of empty seats the atmosphere was amazing people were really in the spirit and ready for the first match of the new season. 

Soon enough the players came out to warm up and as always my eyes were drawn to Marc as he ran across the pitch and kicked a ball around to get himself ready. He wasn't in the starting line up which wasn't a huge surprise to me but I'm hoping he can play in the second half as I'd love to see him actually play. Watching him out there made me so excited to surprise him after the match I know he wished I could be here but he would never say that as he doesn't like to make me feel bad when I can't make it to big matches. In just under two hours I can finally hug and kiss him again which I've missed so much while we've been apart but for now I have to wait a bit longer. 

The match didn't get off to the best start with Chelsea conceding within the first 20 minutes then they had a few good chances which unfortunately they weren't be able to convert. Half time came around and not much changed but 66 minutes into the game Marc finally came on. He received a loud cheer from the crowd which really warmed my heart as I know he was worried about being accepted by the fans but that doesn't seem like it's going to be a problem. Marc played well trying to make runs and get close to the goal to help the team but ultimately it didn't make a difference as the match ended 2-0 after an 84th minute goal from Kovacic which wasn't well received by the home fans but in the end they didn't care so much about that and more about the loss. 

I wasn't thinking about the loss I was thinking about Marc, the players were still out on the pitch but as soon as they started making their way off I left my seat and headed towards the back parts of the stadium so I can finally see Marc. Security let me straight through and directed me to where I needed to go to find the locker rooms. Just as I made it down there the players started to head towards the locker room and I was able to spot Marc down the corridor as he was talking to Sanchez so he hadn't noticed me yet. The closer he got the more I wondered if he would even notice me as he was so in his own world but luckily Marc looked in my direction at the right time which caused him to stop in his tracks as he tried to figure out what was happening. 

It wasn't long before Marc realised I was actually stood there and he ran towards me and picked me up in his arms to hug me tightly. He was all sweaty from running around for the last 30 minutes but I couldn't care less it just felt so good to be in his arms again. When he put me down one of his arms stayed around my waist while his other hand went to my jaw to pull me in for a kiss. It didn't stop at one kiss he made sure to make up for at least half the kisses I've missed out on over the last two months by pressing kisses all over my face. 

"I'm so happy you're here I've missed you so much" Marc said 

"I've missed you too you were amazing out there by the way" I said 

"Thank you I was sad that we lost but now none of it matters as I've got you here" he said 

"Wait weren't you supposed to be at a family thing how are you here?" He asked 

"That got moved so I decided I'd come surprise you at your first match as I just couldn't miss it" I said 

"Well I'm happy you could make it and I like your shirt how did you get that?" He asked 

"I battled London after I got here yesterday and went to the club store which was packed but I managed to find this as I thought I couldn't come here to support you without wearing your shirt" I said 

"You are so cute but now you can have this shirt so you've got a fully authentic one" he said 

"I look forward to showing that off to my friends" I laughed 

We talked for a bit longer before he had to go and get changed so he left me with a few of his teammates who he introduced me to while he showered and changed in record time. All of his teammates were lovely and they made me feel welcome which is something I was worried about as I got along with all of Marc's Barcelona teammates really well so I didn't think it would be the same here but so far everyone has been really nice. Soon enough Marc came back and it was time for us to go so we headed to my hotel to grab my things so I could stay with him for the next few days as my flight back isn't until Wednesday as I thought we could spend an extra few days together. He doesn't have a proper place yet but he's staying in an actual apartment so we decided we would stay there. 

Once we made it back to Marc's place we settled in on the sofa and didn't move from there. He ordered us food for dinner and we had on our tv show that we only ever watch together as we have a lot to catch up on. All we really did was sit and cuddle but that's exactly what I've been missing while we've been apart so today has just been the perfect day. 

[djtommotomlinson]

last november i was in china when my little brother called me and told me to come home. over summer my nan, my mums mum, had passed away before i had managed to get back to see her and my mum, my best friend in the world, had a heart attack soon after. i was with her then. we went to the funeral. she got better. we saw robbie williams live. we went out drinking and to the beach and watched coyote ugly and la la land together, our fave movies.

when my brother called me to tell me mum had cancer i knew it was bad. i lost my best friend to cancer when we were just 16 years old. thats never a good word. but its my mum. and to quote her days after her own mums death 'i always knew one day my mum would die but i never knew she would, like, actually die'.

i knew in the back of my head why i was going home but i didnt believe it. i watched spiderverse for like the third time on the plane. i went to grab my suitcase and laughed when i realised i was at the wrong shanghai - gatwick conveyor belt. who knew there were two at almost the same time.

then my brother, my baby brother, who is 30 next year but was 28 and always our baby brother, called me and my life is never ever going to be the same. i knew the moment he called. and i sat on the floor at gatwick airport shaking and people kept coming over to ask if i was okay and finally my sister and my aunties, my mums sisters, arrived and they were let into the baggage area when they explained and picked me off the floor.

i dont think this is a grief that has settled yet. i was meant to see louis that night. i havent listened to a song by him since despite his music getting me through some of my hardest times. my denial, she'll walk through the door and say this was all a joke, phase went on for months after we planned and executed a funeral and wake on the beach in malta. i made a great playlist, i wrote a great eulogy. i did that but it didnt properly sink in why.

i still, almost a full year on, wake up and think about messaging her to tell her how im feeling and check in on her.

my mum used to send me one direction news she found on facebook every day. harrys got a new album emmy did you know? and i was like no mum wow thank you (of course i already knew). she loved niall and we were going to see him live together. she wasnt a big fan of louis' music but ached for what he'd been through. i woke up the day after hearing about liam expecting a text from her checking in because she got me 1d tickets in 2014 for my 23rd birthday and she brought me merch and the dvd of the movie -

my mum who hated the beatles because they were too mainstream but loved what i loved because i loved it and was passionate about it. god she would have been crushed for me today. she would have been heart broken.

and i think this has hit me like a train not only because everyone who knows me knows how much i loved liam as if he was my own friend, but also because this past year has been so full of grief i dont always know how to get out of bed. my dads mum passed a few months ago. my family are wrecked with it. this past year has been a nightmare we can't get out of.

i always related to liam as someone who was bullied at school and as someone who suffers from mental illness and has suffered from alcoholism, thankfully, for me, something ive managed to come back from and im sober and i always hoped for that for him. its such a hard fucking mountain to climb and i didn't have to deal with the fame side of it and this whole other thing he had to carry. i always wanted him to get better but in the back of my head i had this feeling, i had this fear that i would one day log into tumblr and see the worst.

i still cant, and im sure for a long time won't, believe this real. thats one of my boys. we were very much meant to get old together. i wanted to see him get better. i cant begin to comprehend the fact he wont have that chance. this still doesnt feel real to me man. thats my boy.

just a few days ago I was in a convenience store and they were playing heart meets break and i was jamming and excited to hear my boy in a store. i keep remembering its happened, and i look at the photo on my bedside of me and my mum at the robbie williams concert and i could really do with her right now. a link to a facebook article and her over use of emojis - a shocked and crying face and a broken heart. because what else can express this?

i know i didnt know him but i always had the comfort of knowing of him, of listening to his music and watching his videos and feeling less alone in a cruel and lonely world.

its okay to be a fucking mess, if you can take time out please do. i wish this world allowed more of that. after my mum everyone had to go back to jobs and life and it still blows my mind that i was walking down the street then and today and everything was the same. the world should pause but it doesn't.

at the end of all of this, one day this might settle and make sense but right now it doesnt at all and thats how these things work. i love you all, this is not something i thought we would have to face until we had all grown old and spent all of our money on reunion tickets and seen our boys grow old and live their lives.

give people you love a hug, tell people you love that you care about them, work out problems and differences if you can and make the most of it. you never know how much time you have.

[kiiwiigii]

The Red-Eyed Boy pt. iii

Pt. One | Two | Outtake

Alec x Swan!Fem!Reader

Summary: Alec returns and shows you how sorry he is. *wink, wink*

Warnings:

Smidge of angst

Smidge of bondage

Straight up smut

Word Count: 3,130

A/N: Today I learned that suck at writing smut, but please enjoy anyways. As with all my Alec fics, he is aged up. Also, I am fucking obsessed with this gif.

Tags: @rosedpetal, @lack-lust-3r, @badass-daisy-22

Alice and Bella eyed me warily from their spot on the kitchen table as I padded around the kitchen. It was my turn for dinner tonight and I was working on a new recipe.  

"Please stop looking at me like that. I'm not about to keel over dead and I'm definitely not about to poison Bella right before she gets married." 

I grinned when Bella scrunched up her nose in annoyance. 

"You're not gonna die because you're tied to Edward through a piece of paper, Bells." 

"Says you." She grumbled. 

"Have you heard from him?" Alice asked softly. 

"No." I pursed my lips. 

It had been nearly two weeks, and I hadn't heard a damn thing from Alec. I had called and texted only to be ignored and left on read. I knew he'd be mad, but for the love of God, he was taking this too far. I just wanted to strangle him. I had spent the first week moping before trying to shake myself out of it. I refused to let myself fall into the state that Bella had after Edward left. 

Although it was really hard not to. I still had my moments, usually in the evenings when I was alone. 

I paused in the middle of chopping an onion, looking over my shoulder at Alice. Her visions were the only thing I could really count on right now, unless I had a vision of my own. Unfortunately, sleep had been avoiding me, and when I did sleep nothing came to me. 

She shook her head sadly, indicating that she hadn't seen anything. Yet. However, she also hadn't seen anything different from her previous visions, so nothing had really changed, and that gave me hope. 

"So, Y/N, we have your first dress fitting tomorrow." Alice, thankfully, changed the subject.  

"Ooh yay! Do I get to see Bella's dress?" 

Bella groaned before plonking her head onto the table. She was so easy to tease. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want to marry me." Edward entered the kitchen, shrugging off his jacket. 

I smiled watching them all together, happy to watch the little scene from afar. Eventually I had to turn back around, doing my best to hum a tune in my head, both to distract myself from the situation with Alec and so Edward wouldn't pick up on my depressing thoughts. This should be a happy time. 

Somehow, I don't think I was fooling anyone. 

It was official. I hated weddings and anything to do with them. I was almost positive that had I not been in a house full of vampires, Rosalie would have stuck a few pins in me on purpose.  

It was dark by the time I finally arrived home, and all I really wanted to do was shower and pass out on my bed. Keeping up a relatively happy façade almost 24/7 was exhausting. 

The house was dark, and I suddenly remembered that dad was out on one of his camping trips with a friend. Well, at least I would have the house to myself, and I could be as depressed as I wanted. 

I went straight to my room to gather some pajamas and a towel. I almost felt too tired to even shower, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to make sure I do some basic self-care. Throwing my bag onto the bed, I began to strip. 

"You should keep your window locked." 

I jumped and let out a scream, quickly covering myself, dress already hanging half off. 

It was Alec, propped up on my bed, another book in hand. How had I not seen him?? I even threw my bag in his direction. 

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I wheezed at him, trying my best to get my racing heart back under control. 

"Not particularly." His eyes roamed over me, from head to toe, his eyes lingering on my neck, where my pomegranate seed necklace hung. And then the dangling straps of my dress. "You look beautiful, tesoro." 

I blinked rapidly, trying my best to figure out what the hell was happening. I hadn't heard from Alec in nearly a month and here he was, just sitting here. In my room. On my bed. As if nothing had ever happened.  

"Where have you been? Why have you been ignoring me?"  

He simply eyed me before closing the book with a thump.  

"I was extremely… angry. There was a while where I did not really have control of myself. I even scared Jane." He admitted. "I didn't want to take it out on you. Or for you to see that side of me." 

I glared at him. 

"So, you just disappear without a word? Didn't bother telling me that you were okay and that you just needed space? You're aware that I've had visions of you since I was like, six years old, right? I've seen you angry." 

"Not like this, you haven't." He said quietly. 

"Do you know what I thought? I thought you had left me. Despite whatever Alice's visions tell her, I know that they can change at the drop of a hat. I was just sitting here waiting, praying that you wouldn't change your mind." 

Fuck, here come the tears. 

He was next to me in a heartbeat, hands cupping my face. I tried to back away, but he kept his grip firm. 

"I would never leave you, Y/N." He said softly, wiping the tears away. "Ever. I have never been good at relationships. I have always kept myself at arm's length, but you, you are different. And when I saw you on that field, after the battle, I had never been so scared and angry in my life." 

He paused for a minute, searching. "Had I lost you, I would have burned the world down." 

My breath hitched in surprise, and I could feel my heart skip a beat. He kissed me then, and I allowed it, wrapping my arms around his neck as he reached for my waist. His kiss was soft and controlled, while mine was bordering on desperation. 

"Don't you ever do that to me again." He whispered against my lips, a warning. 

Why did that turn me on and piss me off at the same time? 

"I'm sorry, what was that? Because it sure didn't sound like an apology, Alec." 

He pulled me flush against him, nipping at my collarbone in reproach. I hissed in pain, but he quickly soothed it over with his tongue. 

"Then let me show you how sorry I am." He whispered. 

He pulled me in for a heated kiss and I couldn't help but gasp. Alec took the opportunity to dip his tongue into my mouth again, and the moan that worked its way up my throat had him growling possessively. 

I could already feel my nipples tightening and the wet heat between my legs. 

I grabbed him by the collar to pull him closer. He gladly obliged and before long, he had me pressed into the bed, right underneath him, his lips giving slow languid kisses anywhere he could reach. 

"Alec." My voice was caught in my throat. 

Goddammit. He hadn't even gotten me out of my clothes before he had me begging. Hell, he had barely even touched me.  

And I was supposed to be mad at him, dammit! 

He paused, lips at the swell of my breast. Finally, he lifted himself up so he could look me in the eye, searching my face. 

"Do you trust me?" 

I nodded my head furiously. 

"I need to hear you say it, Y/N." 

"I trust you." 

I was practically panting. 

Alec produced a long strip of gauzy fabric and slowly tied my hands together, gauging my reaction, before putting them above my head. 

"Did you come prepared with that?" I gaped at him. 

"No. I took it from your bag." He smirked. 

My bag? Since when did he have the time to go through my bag? I looked at my tied wrists again, trying to wrack my brain as to why I had a long ass strip of- 

'Oh my god.' 

It was the sash to my bridesmaid's dress. I know I hadn't put it in there. The last time I had seen it- Alice. She fucking knew. She had to. She had a vision and didn't even tell me. Granted, if this was a part of her vision, I would be highly embarrassed to hear her explain exactly what she saw. 

"Now." Alec put my hands above my head again, and then trailed his own hands down my arms to my collarbone, thumbing over the mark he had placed on it earlier. "Your hands stay put above your head until I say otherwise. If they do not, I stop. No matter what I am in the middle of." He warned, pausing to make sure that I understood. "Are you okay with this? If not, we can stop." 

I shook my head back and forth frantically. 

"Y/N, I need you need to say it out loud." 

"Yes." I breathed. 

"Good. If you become uncomfortable at any point you are to tell me." 

"Yes sir." It was out of my mouth before I even realized it and I blushed furiously. 

"Are you sure you're a virgin?" He teased. 

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" I teased back, a little breathless. 

Alec's brows raised before he smirked, leaning in closer, mouth right next to my cheek. 

"I think I am going to enjoy this very much." His hands began to make their way past my collar bone to cup my breasts through the fabric of my dress, his thumbs flicking slowly back and forth over my nipples.  

My back arched in a gasp, and he let out a hum, pleased with my reaction. Soon I felt more and more skin being exposed to the cool night air, his cold lips and tongue following right behind it, licking and nipping his way until, aside from my bra, I was fully exposed from the waist up. I blushed as he sat back, admiring the view. 

"You are truly beautiful, mio cara." He breathed.  

His cold hands caressed every inch of exposed skin, purposely avoiding the spots that I wanted him to touch the most. I pouted up at him and he swiped a thumb across my lip. 

"I must admit Y/N, I like seeing you like this. And I think you like it too." 

Slowly, I gave his thumb a long lick before sucking it into mouth. His eyes darkened even further, and I could practically feel the rumble of possessiveness in his chest. 

"Careful, amore." His voice was now husky and strained. 

I released his thumb, edging my teeth along the sides and cocked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were supposed to be apologizing." 

His eyes were now pitch black. 

"I think you forget who's in control here." 

I let out a squeak as he moved aside and ripped my dress the rest of the way down, leaving me in just my bra and panties. He settled himself between my legs, to nip and kiss his way along the inside of my thighs. 

I sucked in a sharp breath when he placed a kiss right over my covered mound, and then nuzzled into it. My hands jerked and he looked up at me, remaining still. 

"Hands, amore." He chided. 

I immediately put them back in place, wriggling my hips in anticipation. Finally, he slid my panties down, revealing my inner most self, glistening and wet just for him. 

"Perfect." 

It was the only thing I heard before his mouth was on me and my back arched off the bed yet again.  

Keeping perfect eye contact with me, he gave me long slow licks, delving into me with his tongue. And then he found my clit. I couldn't help it, I cried out, my hands immediately coming down to lace themselves through his hair. 

This wasn't an apology; this was fucking torture.  

He paused with a growl. 

"Hands, amore." 

"But- but-" 

He lifted himself up slightly, a warning look in his dark eyes. "Hands." 

"Alec." I whined, wriggling my hips again and trying push him back down. "Please." 

"You know the rules, principessa." 

"Did you just call me princess?" 

He just smirked. "You're learning. Now, hands. If I have to tell you again, I will tie you to the bed." 

'You just may have to do that.' I thought. 

He watched me for a moment more before slowly lowering himself back down, wrapping his arms around my thighs to keep my hips level. He began his slow assault on me yet again and I did my absolute best to keep my arms above my head. It was working so far... barely. 

Before long I could feel a warm heat beginning to build low in my stomach.  

"Oh god, please don't stop." I chanted. "Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop." 

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, all I knew what that it felt good, and he absolutely had to keep going. Otherwise, I was sure I was going to die right then and there. 

And then the bastard stopped. 

"Alec." I let out a low whine. 

He crawled back up to me, placing a kiss on my lips and I groaned at the taste of my arousal on him.  

"No cumming just yet, amore." He swept his tongue along my lips. "The only cumming you will be doing is on my cock." 

I almost choked. "Have- have you always been this dirty?" 

"You have no idea." He bit my earlobe and I squirmed at his words. “And this is only just the beginning.” 

"Well, it looks like won't be doing much of anything, since you're still dressed." 

"That can easily be remedied." 

My eyes widened as he slipped off his shirt. I had always known he was muscular but there was a big difference between feeling it and seeing it. Next came his pants and underwear, and I’m pretty sure my brain stopped working. 

How was that going to fit?? 

"Like what you see?” 

I simply nodded my head, my mind still trying to process the situation I was in... and the fact that his cock was rather... large. 

He leaned over and began untying my hands. I raised a brow at him. 

"I want you clinging to me when you cum." 

Oh fuck. 

My hands immediately went to explore his naked chest when he caught my hand and kissed my fingertips. 

"Are you still okay?"  

"Alec, I swear to God if you don't fuck me-" 

He cut me off, crushing his lips to mine and I suddenly felt him nudging at my entrance. He sat back briefly, rubbing himself in my juices, preparing. 

"Eyes on me, amore." 

I swiftly looked back up at him. I don't think I could have taken my eyes off him in that moment. 

Finally, finally, I felt him enter me ever so slowly. I let out a hiss of pain, my hands clutching desperately at the sheets, and he stopped, letting me adjust for a minute, all the while never breaking eye contact. This, this was something else. I had never felt so full.  

"Fuck, you're tight." 

I let out a whimper. 

"It's okay, mio cara." He kissed away the tears from my face, I hadn't even realized that I was crying. "I'm going to move now." 

And boy did he move. It took a few thrusts before the pain subsided and then I felt as if I was flying. He kept his thrusts steady and deep, his hands roaming my sides before cupping my breasts and placing gently kisses along the edges. And then proceeded to close his mouth on one of my nipples through the lace.  

"Alec." 

He didn't reply, deciding to suck harder and scrape against the sensitive buds with his teeth instead. If he kept this up, I wasn't going to last long, and I think he knew it. He sat up again, but this time he angled my hips up and I was suddenly seeing stars. He was hitting my sweet spot now and I couldn't contain my moans any longer. I could feel it building, and building, and building.  

"Don't you dare stop." I panted. 

"Eyes on me, darling." He ordered, grabbing my face, and making me look him in the eyes. "I want to see the look in your eyes when I make you come on my cock." 

Oh, God. He was speaking to me in Italian, and I didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was saying, but it was hot. 

"Alec, please. Make me cum. I want to come." 

"Fuck, so tight for me." He thrust harder and I could feel the walls of my pussy starting to tighten up. "I want to see you come undone around me." 

"A-Alec!" 

He forced me to look up at him again as I came hard, legs wrapping around his waist as he nearly collapsed on top of me. If I was seeing stars before, now I was suddenly seeing a whole fucking galaxy. 

"Fuck." He kissed me deeply as I felt him spasming inside me, cool liquid coating the walls of my pussy. 

He hovered like that for a long moment, his kisses turning into soft, languid ones, his hands roaming in even softer caresses. Finally, he pulled out of me, and let his eyes wonder over me. I'm sure I looked a mess, but he seemed to like what he saw, judging by the smirk on his face. 

"Come, amore. Let's get you cleaned up." 

"I don't think I can walk." I closed my eyes, doing my best to breathe and not die from great sex. 

"I can definitely help you there." 

I nearly yelped as he lifted me from the bed bridal style. 

"Is this your way of saying you want shower sex?" I wriggled my eyebrows at him. 

"I had not really thought of it, but if you insist." 

I laughed and snuggled into his chest. 

He paused a moment, really looking me over now. "I am truly sorry, Y/N. For everything." 

I placed a hand on his cheek. "Apology accepted." 

NEXT - (Outtake)

{Masterlist}

Translation (Done via Google): Tesoro: Darling/Treasure  Mio Cara: My darling.  Principessa: Princess 

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[callsign-dexter]

Doppelgänger

Summary: Bradley and Jake were in a relationship for 5 months after the Uranium Mission after a big fight over something petty, Bradley stormed out and went to The Hard Deck found a hookup went home, and accidentally knocked her up. Now Bradley sees Jake everywhere and works up the courage to call him. Can everything go back to normal?

Pairings: Jake Bradshaw x Bradley Bradshaw, Bradley Bradshaw x Daughter!Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, fluff?

Masterlist

A/N: fic was inspired by the song Doppelgänger by Joshua Bassett. I also have to thank @justabigassnerd for pitching the idea and saying I can go with it, and also for getting me obsessed with Joshua Bassett.

A/N 2: If your name is Allie you can change this name

2 years ago

Bradley and Jake just had arrived home not speaking to each other after work stressed out to the max. Jake had done a particularly stupid dangerous move when they were teaching some new students at Top Gun.

Jake's engines had gone out after he hit his brakes to invade a student and was going down when he got them up and going again at the last possible second. Bradley was listening to the whole thing and saw the whole thing since he too were up in the air. The class finished after that and everyone was dismissed for the day. Jake and Bradley packed their stuff up and headed home. Jake tried to speak to Bradley but got nothing. They arrived at their apartment and Bradley shut off the Bronco's engine still not saying anything, they got their stuff and headed inside.

Once inside it was silent Jake unlaced his boots and took them off but Bradley did not. He was fuming and it only got worse when Jake spoke.

"Ok. What is up with you? You haven't said a word since before we went up in the air." Jake asked Bradley. Bradley stood there before answering.

"What you did was reckless and you could've ended up hurt." Bradley said not moving. Jake scoffed which made Bradley frown.

"I saved it at the end. Everything worked out." Jake replied moving around the kitchen but yet Bradley stayed unmoving.

"Jake you're not getting it. I could've lost you today." Bradley said moving his arms to cross over his chest.

"But you didn't and I'm fine nothing happened." Jake said giving off his famous smirk but it fell when he saw Bradley's face.

"You're still not getting it. I've may have signed up for your cockiness but I did not sign up for recklessness. I've lost my dad and almost lost Maverick, I couldn't bare to lose you. I love you Jake I really do but I can't be with you if you're like this." Bradley said breaking his own heart.

"Fine if you don't want to be with me then leave. I don't give a fuck. We're done." Jake said breaking his own heart. Bradley turned and walked to the door opened it and stormed out and got in his Bronco and drove The Hard Deck. Bradley was heartbroken and angry, he needed a drink or two or three or five.

Bradley had his fifth glass of beer in front of him and he was feeling tipsy. He wasn't paying attention to anyone until a pretty 20 something year old walked up to him, she too were tipsy. They talked and they flirted and then Bradley was taking her back to his apartment. Things got heated quickly.

The next morning he woke up with a splitting headache. He sat up and noticed a girl in his bed immediately everything came back to him. He got up and put as much distance as he could away from her. He loved Jake. He went to the kitchen and started coffee. The woman walked out of the bedroom fully clothed. They talked and decided to keep in touch, she really wasn't a bad person. They exchanged names and it turns out hee name is Allie.

The next week Allie texted Bradley saying that she was pregnant. She told him that she wasn't going to terminate the pregnancy but once the baby was born she was giving it to him. Bradley was shocked but understandable. He still absolutely loved Jake tho and nothing has changed that and nothing will change that.

9 months flew by, Allie had been staying with Bradley during that time, and now Bradley was a father to a healthy beautiful baby girl named Y/N Y/M/N Bradshaw, that looked identically to him. Allie gave up parental rights at the hospital.

Bradley took Y/N home and everything was great. He still thought about calling Jake but decided against it each time. Y/N was the perfect little angel for Bradley never giving him trouble. He didn't get in touch with Jake until Y/N was 2 years old. He hadn't talked with Jake or seen him for 2 years, he may have seen him in passing but never stopped to talk to him. It was killing him and what he didn't know was that is was killing Jake too.

Present Day

Bradley had Y/N with him at a coffee shop/bakery/ice cream parlor spending the day with his little girl, that just so happened to the same and favorite place of Jake and Bradley. He had Y/N's back facing the door so he saw everyone that came in. Jake was on his mind almost everyday, he guessed he wasn't over him as he thought.

There was a man that walked in he wore a khaki uniform and had the same build as Jake and from behind he could've been. Feelings for Jake came back full force. He wanted him back but knew that Jake would probably never talk to him. He practiced for hours what he was going to say to him but each time he went and dialed his number his fight or flight kicked in and the flight won. His mind was telling him not to call and to move on but his heart wanted something completely different.

Jake wasn't taking it much better he wanted Bradley. He missed him so much. It hurt when he sees him at work but they never talk and it kills him to hear his voice. It really was a stupid fight and a stupid move. If he could take it all back he would. Jake thought about calling Bradley but backed out each time too, when Bradley left it shattered him. He cried for hours and drank until he passed out and had the worst headache in the morning and now he limits the drinks he has. He wanted Bradley back.

Everyone could see that both men were miserable. But they kept insisting they were ok but weren't fooling people. It sometimes impacted their flying and even started to worry Maverick.

Bradley kept seeing him around and wanted to so badly walk up to him, say sorry and kiss the hell out of him, but refrained from doing so. He and Y/N visit that shop every Saturday it was a tradition of theirs and each time he saw someone that looked liked Jake. He couldn't stand it anymore so that night when Y/N was in bed he decided to call Jake and prayed that he would answer and by some miracle he did.

"Bradley." Jake said and his voice was music to Bradley's ears.

"Jake." Bradley said full of emotion. He wanted him back badly.

"It's late Bradley. What do you want?" Jake asked and Bradley could tell that he was holding emotions back and it was true. Jake hearing his voice melted his heart and made it state racing he truly loved that man.

"I know baby. I just have to get some stuff off my chest." Bradley said letting the nickname slip but neither corrected it.

"I think this should be done in person Bradley." Jake said and Bradley knew he was right.

"You're right." Bradley said and Jake was right. "Tomorrow at our place near the lake in the park?" He asked hesitated but answered.

"That would be perfect." Jake said

"Oh and Jake?" Bradley asked

"Yea?" He answered

"I have someone you should meet. Does 2 PM work?" Bradley asked and Jake could've sworn his heart dropped and a million thoughts running through his head. Did Bradley move on? Why does he want him to meet the person he moved onto? Was he engaged?

"Yes that works. Goodnight Bradley." Jake said and about said 'I love you' but stopped himself.

"I'm looking forward to it. Goodnight Jake." Bradley said and ended the phone call.

The next morning at 1:30 PM Bradley called Amelia, his babysitter, to meet him at the park. He explained to her what was happening. Amelia nodded and took Y/N to the playground while Bradley went and sat on the bench, his and Jake's bench, in front of the water and waited. Exactly at 2 PM Jake showed like he said he would. He went to where Bradley was and sat down. Bradley turned to look at him, he was in tight fitting jeans and a hoodie and his hair was messy, just like Bradley liked, and he was still handsome as ever.

"I'm here. What do you want to talk about and who do you want me to meet?" Jake said getting right to the point and turning to look at Bradley.

"I just want to say I'm sorry for storming out. I planned out what I was going to say. I'm just going to get the point. These past 2 years have killed me. I miss being with you. I miss hearing your voice. I miss waking up in your arms. I miss your lips. I miss you in general. It was a petty fight, I'm sorry. I know you may never forgive me but I can at least try to apologize and hope you'll forgive me. I want you back Jake. Baby I love you so much. I went to out coffee shop and I could've sworn I saw you but it was just someone that looked like you." Bradley said pouring his heart out into the speech and Jake could see tears forming he knew that he was being sincere. Jake stayed silent and Bradley knew this was a mistake he should've never contacted him. He was getting ready to get up when Jake stopped him with a hand on his thigh and that made Bradley stop.

"Bradley, babe." Jake began "You really did hurt me that night. I drank until I passed out and woke up with a massive hangover that morning. I forgive you but it's going to take time for us to be whole again. I miss you dearly. These past two years have been miserable. I want you back in my life. I hope that can happen. I love you Bradley." Jake finished "Can I kiss you?" He asked Bradley.

"Absolutely." Bradley said and they smashed their lips together. They only pulled apart when air was needed "I missed your lips." Bradley said.

"Now who is this person you want me to meet?" Jake said in return. Bradley smiled.

"I'll go and get her." Bradley said. Jake watched him walk to the playground and had a conversation with Amelia and he smiled when he saw her jump in glee and hug Bradley. He was glad they worked this out. He watched Bradley bid Amelia a goodbye and bent down to a child's height and spoke to a little girl and saw the little girl nod. Bradley picked her up and walked over to Jake. "Jake meet Y/N. Y/N meet Jake." He introduced them sitting her down in front of Jake. "She was part of a one night stand 2 years ago when I stormed out. I got tipsy and took a girl home and accidentally kncoked her up. She stayed with me until Y/N/N was born and gave up parental rights that day." Jake listened and nodded looking at Bradley. He smiled at her once Bradley was done talking, she was the exact copy and Bradley.

"Hi Y/N. I'm Jake." He introduced himself and the little girl grew shy.

"Hi." She said shyly and after a beat of silence "Are you going to be my daddy?" She asked and Jake and Bradley could've sworn their hearts melted. Jake smiled and looked at Bradley who was smiling.

"If you and your daddy will allow that." Jake said in a sweet tone. Y/N smiled and hugged him. He took that as a yes. He picked her up and hugged Bradley which turned into a kiss and only broke apart again when Y/N made a high pitched squeal.

"Eww!!" She screeched out and they looked at her and laughed.

"What little miss?" Bradley asked his daughter.

"Gross daddy, you have cooties now!" She said with disgusted look but they just laughed.

"Well I guess we'll just have to give you some." Jake said they started to tickle her throwing her into a fit of giggles and she squirmed to get down and took off running. They took off running after laughing and telling her that they were going to get her. Jake was the one to grab her and swing her up in the air kissing her. Bradley stood back and watched the scene. He was glad they were back together and that both of his loves liked each other.

Everything was going to be ok. Jake and Bradley were happy again. Now they can raise their daughter. They were going to be one happy family.

[garrettandoscargirlsblog]

Special Birthday

Summary: Took me awhile to finish this birthday fic! Finally its done!! Happy belated birthday Garret! Fic is in Benny's point of view. There is some smut. no minors please!!

Another year has gone. Well.. I'm still 39 until the magic hour I came into this world officially. Will thinks I'm weird. I'm not ya know. Way I see it, you turn a year older at the exact hour of ya birth. This year I'm gonna be the big four o! Officially in that club with the others. I know there will be a huge party and shit. Looking forward to it. More importantly, see what kind of gifts I'll get. Only thing I need is my special baby girl. My wife. Who is fast asleep right now. Poor girl. Worked another double shift. I just got in as well. Was called in because a huge trauma came in. Need lots of help. As much I want to crawl into bed,but I reel in blood, sweat, and other stuff that landed on me. Lookin back at her once more before closin the door. Can't wait to get cleaned up,and snuggle with her. Look so sweet ,and sexy in my old army tee. Hair still in her messy ponytail. Yet few strands round her face. Kisses her forehead,” I'm home darlin. Go back to sleep. Be back .” Heard her whispering,” hurry up daddy.Need you to hold me . “ Oh I will hurry up alright ! Wanna get some much needed rest . Boned tired! 

Turning off the bathroom light sees a vision of loveliness. She moved towards my side of the bed. Covers barely coverin her angelic, yet young body. So beautiful. Kissed her lips,” Move over baby girl. Daddy is ready for bed “ Her head on my damp chest , followed by her soft ,small fingers in my chest hair. Love her touches on me. Soothing ,and ohh so soft hands she has. Her smell of roses. So soothing. About to close my eyes till the sounds of rain fallin on the window. Least it's not thundering. Sounds like guns firing in the sky. Still can't get that sound out of my head until I met my young wife. My soulmate. Can recall the moment I met her. Was at nursing school,and needed a partner for certain things. We hitted right off. So there was over a decade between us. Oh my angel. She understands me. Knows what to do since her dad was in the army. Sounds of whimpering caused me to come back to reality. My poor baby girl. Rubbing her bare back,” I'm here. Daddy's here shhh…” Whispers in her ear to go back to sleep. Knowing the next day would be filled with lots of laughs. 

Woke up early in the afternoon to the smell of food,and music playing downstairs. Getting dressed in my old sweats and tee. Head downstairs to a beautiful site. Watching her swaying while scrambling eggs. Oh how sexy she looks!! Shit can't take it anymore! Came up behind her placing a messy kiss on her neck,”  Mmmm.. this is what I want for my birthday. To be alone with my angel of a wife. She turned around to kiss me,and told me that we can't. Have to get ready for his birthday party. She whispers that there will be a special present for me later on tonight. Oh! I have a good idea what kind of gift it would be. 

We arrived a bit late to my party. Not complainin though. We had a hard time gettin out the door. Ya see it happened like this. Here I was watchin her gettin ready. See her in that beautiful blue sundress that hugs her perfectly. One she wore on the day I first proposed to her. Couldn't help myself! I had to make love to her right then and there. I know she has to keep me busy. See I happened to read a text from Willy boy about distractin me because they haven't finished decorating because ole Pope was late getting his present and decorations. Am I gonna tell her about me snooping? Oh hell no! Not the first time I snooped when it comes to birthdays. Okay, the important ones.Like during my 16th. Knew I was getting a Jeep. ( Still own) 21st? Didn't remember much on account got drunk for the first time. Thanks bros. On to my 30th? Have to ask Will since I don't have the foggiest idea. Since he has a perfect memory. 

Finally we arrived at our favorite restaurant. See a huge picture frame with pics of me from the time I was born till the present. My parents rushed over to hug me . Made me cry since I haven't seen them since the wedding. Followed by my cousins ,and childhood friends,and lastly my brothers at arms. Will motions everyone to sit. Means one thing. Long speech followed by a few home movies. Ones I wished they would burn,or even forget about ,like me ripping my pants! Not funny! 

After that lively presentation. Time for my gifts! One that touched me was my first guitar! Seems like my darlin gave it to Pope to get it tuned up,and cleaned. Followed by a leather notebook full of my songs! I literally cried! That was the most beautiful gift I ever received! Which I tried out! Strummed a familiar tune. Till it was time for my birthday cake! Chocolate chip! Made by my ma! Love love it! 

Was gettin late for some of the guests. They left ,but not before wishing me a happy birthday. Followed by a few corny jokes. Har har har! Will, Pope ,and Frankie boy stayed to help pack up my presents. What a load! 

When we got home. Knew my darlin was up to somethin. Told me to get comfortable on the couch. She will be right back. Okay… she's up to somethin. Maybe another gift? Got my answer till the lights go dim! WTF!! Lookin up to see a naughty vision! Dressed in a  laced bra! Crotchless panties! Hello naughty angel of mine! Looks like I'm gonna get a lapdance tonight! Darlin being in the driver seat drives me wild! Can't touch her till I get permission to!  I'm so hard now! Watching her rubbing her hands on my body! Waiting for her mouth on her favorite lollipop! Prayers were finally answered till she unzipped my jeans and made her gasp since I have gone commando. Oh, that she smiles real big while she goes to work on my shaft! Closing my eyes to savor this sensation,and then to feel my balls getting licked caused me to quiver! Oh keep going darlin! Love that mouth on me! I'm hard as fuck now! Ready to be inside me! Oh got my wish! Her straddling me hands unbuttoned my shirt while grinning her heart out! Followed by her biting my neck , hands rubbing my chest! Happy birthday to me! Finally at long last I get to touch her! Had to kiss her like I have been deprived for so long! Tongues danced while we kissed till her orgasm hit. Oh, I wanted her to have more! What birthday boy wants oh he would get! 

Four orgasms later. Followed by a nice and long shower. Bed feels good right now. My now worn out angel is fast asleep. Hold her close to my chest. Followed by butterfly kisses on her forehead telling her how much I love her. Thanking her for everything. Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow work invades our lives again. Thank God for the night shift.

@musings-of-a-rose @rhoorl @crookedbreadtimemachine @dameronscopilot @romanarose

[bluekat12345]

He's my son, not yours! Part 2

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

I promised drama would come, and here's where it'll truly start! Enjoy reading! Another shoutout to @gelu-the-babosa-multiversal

Sorry for taking so long with this, things have been busy in real life.

The next day...

Steve Rogers was taking a ride around Griffin Rock that afternoon. He was starting to feel a little cooped up at their base, so he figured he could use some fresh air. After dressing in civilian clothes to try to not draw unwanted attention to himself, he got on his motorcycle and went for a ride.

Eventually his ride took him towards a school building, and from what he could recall, that was most likely where Cody went to school. And remembering the time, he knew Cody was probably done with his classes for the day, and his father, Chief Burns, would be picking him up along with his partner robot.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to say hello to them." He thought. Driving towards the school, he was able to see Cody sitting on a bench outside by himself.

"Afternoon, son." Steve greeted as he approached the boy.

Cody smiled in surprise. "Hey, Captain. What are you doing here?"

"I was riding around Griffin and I'd come say hello to your and your father." Captain America explained. "Speaking of which, where is he? I assumed he and his partner would be here to pick you up. Chase, right?"

Cody nodded. "Yep. They had a quick emergency to take care of. So, I figured I'd wait for them. They shouldn't take long, Mrs. Neederlander needs help with her cat."

"Ah." The Captain responded. Then he sat on the bench beside him. "Well, you shouldn't be here alone. How about I keep you company while we wait for your father?"

"Are you sure?" Cody asked. "I don't want to waste your time."

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all." Steve assured.

Cody smiled at the older man. "Well, if you really don't mind, then thanks." Then he started going through his backpack. "While we wait, can I show you some stuff from class today?"

Steve nodded with a grin. "Sure. What have you got, son?"

"We had a guest speaker come to our school today. She said she was part of an art museum in the mainland" Cody explained. "She was a bit of snob, but we got to make plates out of clay. And they even glazed them, so they're waterproof and food safe."

"That's impressive." Steve commented.

"And check this out." Cody added as he took a dark-blue plate from his bag. In the center of it, was a silver drawing of a police badge. Specifically, the same badge Chief Burns wears. "I made this one for Dad. You think he'll like it?"

Captain America smiled. "He'll love it.

Cody put the plate back in bag. "I also made a few more. Let me show you."

"Thanks for coming with me to pick up Cody, Dani." Chief Burns said to his daughter as they drove to Cody's school.

"No problem, Dad." Dani assured him.

"Chief, if I may ask, why is Dani here with us?" Chase asked. "While I do enjoy her company, I admit I do not understand why she is here when she usually doesn't accompany us when we pick up Cody."

"Appearances." Chief explained. "I need to go back to the Avengers' base for another meeting, so I need Dani to be in the driver's seat to make it look like she dropped me off and took Cody to home. We can't have the world seeing you drive without a driver yet."

"Ah. That makes sense." Chase commented.

Then they arrived at the school entrance. Charlie and Dani got out of Chase's vehicle form and walked up to the entrance. They didn't see Cody, but they did see a well-dressed woman in front of the school, texting on her phone.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Chief Burns announced as he approaches the woman. "Have you seen a blond boy? He was supposed to be waiting here for someone to pick him up."

"Huh?" The woman looked up from her phone for a moment to glance at Charlie and Dani before going back to her phone. "Oh, yeah. He and his father were sitting on one of the benches."

"His father?" Dani asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Over there." The woman then pointed. They say Cody sitting on a bench, and with him was Captain America. The man was dressed in casual clothes; he sat next to Cody, nodding as Cody rambled on about whatever they were talking about.

"Is something wrong?" The woman asked. "Are you the boy's grandfather?"

You could practically here a record scratch.

"G-Grandfather?" Charlie stammered, insulted and embarrassed. "I'm, he's, uh, I-"

"He's the boys actual father." Dani explained to save her father from more embarrassment. "That man is a family friend."

"Really?" The woman looked back and forth between Steve and Charlie a few times before shrugging and walking off, still texting on her phone. "Never would've guessed."

"Excuse me?" Dani demanded.

"Let's just go." Chief declared, wanting to keep the situation from getting worse. He gently dragged his daughter away.

"Rude." Dani grumbled. Then she calmed herself before getting Cody and Captain America's attentions. "Hey guys."

"Oh, hey Dani." Cody greeted. "Hey, Dad. How's Mr. Pettypaws?"

"What?" Chief asked. Then he remembered the 'emergency' he had to deal with earlier. "Oh, same old." Then he turned to Steve. "What brings you here, Captain?"

"I was going for a ride around Griffin Rock, then I noticed I was driving by Cody's school." Captain Rogers explained. "I figured I'd come here to say hi to you both, but saw Cody was by himself, so I figured I'd keep him company so he wouldn't be lonely."

"I wasn't that late picking him up." Charlie commented, not liking how that sounded.

Steve frowned. "I wasn't suggesting anything, Sir. Cody told me you were taking care of something."

Charlie frowned, more at himself than at Steve. "I know. I'm sorry, its just...been a long day."

"Are you okay, Dad?" Cody asked, concerned.

"Oh, hey, Cody, how was school?" Dani asked, hoping to change the mood. She figured she knew what had their Dad in a bad mood, and she hoped to distract him from that.

"Yeah, Cody, why don't you show your father what you showed me?" Steve added, probably understanding what Dani was trying to do. At least Dani hoped so.

Cody then held up a plate. It looked liked Captain America's shield. "We had a guest speaker come into class today and we got make plates. I made this one like Captain America's Shield."

"You've got a creative genius here, Chief." Steve complimented. Then he ruffled Cody's hair, getting a small laugh from the boy as he put the plate in his backpack.

Usually, seeing Captain Rogers ruffle his son's hair like that didn't bother Charlie, but now, something about it made his stomach sick. It felt wrong now, like Steve no longer had a right to do that. Like he shouldn't be doing that at all.

"No wonder that woman thought he was Cody's dad." Chief Burns thought, rather bitterly. "Why does he always have to act like that to Cody? I'm his father, not him."

"Oh, and I also made others" Cody went on, unaware of his father's inner turmoil. "I made-"

"We need to go, Cody." Chief quickly declared.

Cody frowned. "What's wrong, Dad?"

Charlie forced a smile. "Nothing, son. We just need to get home. You have homework to do and I'm pretty sure Captain Rogers needs to get back to base soon." He hoped he didn't sound annoyed as he addressed Steve.

Fortunately, the veteran didn't seem to notice. "He's right, I should probably get back before the others wonder why I'm gone for too long." Then he smiled at the Burns. "A pleasure seeing you all again. Hope to see you at the base soon." Then he nodded at Cody. "Maybe we can work on the motorcycle. Tony said he was working on upgrade and he thought he would appreciate it."

"Noble." Cody exclaimed. "I can't wait."

"If we have time, we'll see." Chief interrupted. "Have a safe trip back to your base. Let's go, Cody."

"Bye Captain!" Cody said as he followed his father and sister.

"Welcome back, everyone." Chase greeted as everyone got in their seats. "How did it go?"

"Fine." Chief Burns grumbled.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Cody asked. "You've been acting a bit off."

"I'm fine." Charlie assured, quickly and rather weakly.

Cody looked like he wanted to say more, but Dani shook her head at the boy. Cody didn't speak up. They just sat in a rather tense silence as they drove back to the Firehouse.

I think I might be a bit obsessed with this crossover/AU. Please forgive me. And forgive me if this seemed a bit weak to what you guys wanted, I guarantee it will really pick up in the next part.

[whumpsmith-participates]

Medwhump May 2024

Day 17 - Forced to stay awake / Scars

TW: guns mention i guess

@medwhumpmay

Living with and working for your kidnapper can get pretty lonely, pretty isolated... But sometimes Erick got a little break from that isolation, getting to hang out with other teens his age. Like the one time they spent a summer in Jaime's hometown in Kansas and he got to meet all her friends.

It was a sleepy town, small enough for everyone to know each other, and not quite big enough to have its own high school. The townspeople mostly consisted of someone's aunt, uncle or grandparents, with a few exceptions. During school semesters, kids of all ages were crammed into a schoolbus or two or three and shipped off to the next town over to attend school. Their parents and neighbours worked hard to keep their little economy running, leaving the shops on main street relatively succesful, but not offering a lot of leisure either.

To Fetch, it was the perfect place to hide out at when he had to lay low, while also giving him the chance to be a little bit closer to his daughter. They'd done it once before. It was a coincidence at the time. Jaime needed to be brought home, and Fetch could pick up a job in the next town over. For the sake of keeping up appearances, he allowed Erick to get closer to Jaime and her friends, putting a temporary end to his isolation.

It only lasted for the summer, though. After that it was back to either San Diego, or touring the country from one job to another, and back into isolation for Erick...until next summer when Fetch conveniently pissed someone off again and they had to lay low someplace.

"Are we staying at the same place as last time?" Erick asked, excitedly peering at the sign indicating it was only fifteen more miles until they reached the town.

"No, it was sold apparently," Fetch said, "damn house flippers...no we're staying at an old friend's house."

"You have friends in that town?" Erick asked, raising a brow.

"Not really," Fetch admitted, "but he was the only one who didn't side with my ex in the divorce and he has spare rooms, so."

"So...an acquaintance?"

"Don't get smart with me," Fetch grumbled, "walk me through the ground rules."

"Keep location tracking on when I go out, stick to the curfew, don't tell Jaime and her friends about your work, avoid suspicion at all costs," Erick droned.

"Good," Fetch said, "and don't go thinking I won't kick your ass for breaking any of them because we're staying with someone. I can always take you out into the woods if I have to, so don't make me go through that effort."

"Yes, sir," Erick said.

When they arrived at the address where they would stay, Erick could tell right away why Fetch got along with their host. He was a farmer, living alone in a pretty generous farm house. He didn't talk much, which involved not asking too many questions either. He looked worn-down enough from working his land, and probably slept like a log throughout the night.

After they unpacked a bit, they got some dinner at the diner in town, during which Erick got to text Jaime to let her know they'd arrived.

"She said she'll be right over," Erick said, after reading through a string of enthusiastic replies.

"Tell her if she hurries she can catch dessert," Fetch said, already looking at the menu again.

And sure enough, about ten minutes later, Jaime came bursting into the diner, ignoring the waitress as she rushed past her to hug her dad, and Erick next before plopping down next to him.

"I'm so glad you're here! Are you staying all summer? No wait, don't say anything, I don't wanna think about you guys leaving yet!" she rambled, "Erick you wanna hang out later? Everyone will be so excited to see you!"

"Um..."

Erick glanced at Fetch, but he just shrugged.

"Be home by ten," he said.

"We'll let you know if we run late!" Jaime said, grabbing Erick's arm and getting up, "let's go!"

"You don't want dessert?" Erick asked.

"There'll probably be snacks anyway, and it'll save daddy some money on the bill~" Jaime said, "let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Erick shot Fetch an apologetic look as he got up and followed Jaime out of the diner. It was just like last summer. He just kind of went wherever Jaime dragged him to, and it usually turned out to be fun.

Today it was the town's tattoo parlour. Erick remembered all the afternoons they spent in the alley behind the shop, enjoying the shade, trying to lure roaming cats to pet them, and chasing off some guys who had planned to set the dumpster on fire.

But they weren't hanging in the alley by the parlour, they were hanging inside. The sign on the door said 'closed,' but Jaime ignored it and pushed the door open anyway.

"Look who finally found his way back?" Jaime announced.

"Oh god," Erick sighed, before following after.

Sure enough, the whole group was there. Even though it had been a year, Erick recognised them all right away; Finn, Jaime's best friend with the habit to dye his hair in crazy colours; Cal, Finn's boyfriend of ambiguous ethnicity and an equally ambiguous (and delicious!) repertoire of recipes; Caitlyn, possibly the tamest member of the group and a nice contrast after all the others; and last but not least, Rowan, whose uncle owned the parlour and the apartment above it.

"AAAH IT'S ERICK!" Caitlyn shrieked, getting up from the couch by the wall to hug him.

"Bitch my ears!" Finn whined, before getting up as well, "good to see you, man."

"Erick come check this out!" Cal called him over.

Erick fist-bumped Finn, dislodged from Caitlyn's hug and followed the sound of a soft hum. In a corner in the back of the shop, Rowan was bent over one of the chairs, holding a tattoo gun, though before he got a chance to see what Cal wanted to show him, he was hit by a terrible smell.

"Urk! S-sorry, what is that smell?" Erick asked, covering his mouth and nose with both hands.

"Oh yeah, that's the pig skin," Rowan said, holding up his work.

He held up a literal slab of skin with a half-finished, realistic-looking galaxy tattoo.

"Oh wow, that looks great," Erick said, "but I'm gonna keep my distance."

"You get used to the smell in a minute," Rowan said, putting the skin back on the chair and continuing.

"Is that why we're hanging in here?" Erick asked, "I thought Mr Green didn't want us thrashing the place."

"Guess he finally trusts us," Rowan said with a shrug, "we'll go chill upstairs once I'm done with this piece, so we can eat some snacks too."

He moved to dip his needle in some fresh ink, when he managed to knock it over instead.

"Crap."

"I'll get you some paper towels," Cal said with a laugh, before walking off.

Erick dared to come a little closer, the smell slowly getting less bad. The pig skin had more tattoos on it. It seemed like Rowan had been practicing vibrant, starry skies, each one looking much better than the last.

"I should call it a night," Rowan sighed, putting the tattoo gun down.

"It's looking really great, though," Erick said.

"Thanks!" Rowan said, lighting up a bit, "when do I get to ink you~?"

"I'm good," Erick quickly said.

"Oh come ooon," Rowan said, "you're such a beautiful blank canvas! Prime real estate! Jaime, tell him!"

"Imagine how epic a Star Wars tattoo could look with his new technique," Jaime said.

Erick was almost convinced, almost. But he didn't even want to begin to imagine how Fetch could possibly react to a random tattoo. He seemed more than okay with Jaime's piercings, though Jaime could get away with murder in his eyes, while with Erick...it depended on his current mood.

"Maybe when I can actually afford to pay fairly," Erick said, "besides, I'm not that blank of a canvas."

"Honey you totally have a vitamin D deficiency," Caitlyn said.

"...maybe, but that's not what I meant," Erick said, "I got, like, some scars and stuff."

"Scar cover-ups are something I wanna learn too," Rowan said, "can I see?"

"Um..."

"You gotta show us now," Jaime said, "do you have a cool story behind it too?"

"I wouldn't really call it cool, perse," Erick said, hesitating a bit, "it really hurt at the time...sometimes it still does, like before a rain storm."

"Classic scar stuff," Rowan said, "trust me, I know."

He rubbed his leg a bit, which he once managed to impale on some scrap metal in the junkyard. Erick winced a bit as he remembered the story. Frankly, Rowan could be so clumsy, he was surprised he didn't have more scars like that.

"I still wanna see it," Rowan said, "for research, inspiration maybe."

"Alright, alright, just don't ask," Erick said, before rolling up the right sleeve of his shirt.

He was turned towards Rowan so he could...be inspired or something, though Jaime shoved Caitlyn aside to also take a look. Just hidden underneath the sleeve of his Tee, Erick had a round scar with three spikes coming from it, nothing more but an odd shape, unless you knew what you were looking at.

"Jeez, Erick, what'd you do?" Jaime asked.

"Well..."

"It looks like a bullet wound," Rowan said, leaning in a little closer.

"Yeah, as if," Jaime said.

"Well...."

"ERICK!?"

Jaime punched his other arm.

"Tell me you're lying!"

"I haven't said anything yet," Erick pointed out, which only earned him another punch. Meanwhile on his other side, Rowan gently traced his fingers over the scar, feeling the outline without putting too much pressure.

"No, that's definitely a bullet wound," he concluded, not helping.

"Tell me what happened!" Jaime said, grabbing Erick and shaking him a bit.

"I said don't ask!" Erick argued.

"Technically she wasn't asking," Finn pointed out.

Erick threw him a look, while Jaime shook him again.

"Tell me!" she said.

"Calm down!" Erick said, "it's nothing serious, it was just an accident."

"How do you accidentally get shot?" Cal asked.

"We live in America," Rowan said, "but still, how? I didn't even manage to accidentally get shot yet."

"Yet?" Erick repeated, "wait, sorry. It's really stupid, I promise."

"If it's embarrassing you have to tell us," Finn said with a smirk.

"Okay, okay, stop crowding me," Erick said, swatting Rowan's hands away as he was still observing his scar, "it was a warning shot that ended up bouncing against a steel support beam and hit me instead."

"A warning shot for who?! What idiot waves a gun around like that in the first place?!" Jaime said.

Erick but his lip, he could probably still save this with a half-truth, he just had to be careful not to mention too many details.

"Your dad..."

"HAH! Your dad's an idiot!" Finn immediately said, while Jaime facepalmed.

"Of course he is," she said, "he always brings his Glock when he's travelling because you never know what can happen in the middle of nowhere— Wait! Did something happen?! Are you guys okay?!"

"No, we died in a highway robbery," Erick deadpanned, which earned him another punch while the others laughed.

"I'm serious! If something were to happen to either of you..."

"We're fine, your dad knows what he's doing," Erick quickly assured her, "besides, nothing scares off wannabe robbers like a man crazy enough to shoot his own companion, even if it was an accident. We got away with just one very painful scratch."

"Jesus fucking christ, Erick," Jaime sighed, beginning to calm down a bit, "next time dad shoots you, at least text me, okay?"

"I didn't wanna worry you," Erick said, "besides, your dad was pretty embarrassed about the whole thing..."

"I have the right to be worried, you dumbass!" Jaime said.

Meanwhile Rowan returned with a coloured marker, beginning to draw on Erick's arm before he could stop him.

"I could ink a nebula in the background, and then use the elevation of the scar to enhance the 3D effect of an asteroid, or what about the Death Star blowing up?" he murmured.

"Stop tempting me," Erick said, though he didn't pull his arm away, "this washes off, right?"

"Yeah, I'll get you some rubbing alcohol after I take a picture," Rowan said, "thanks for letting me do this. Pig skin doesn't ever come with scars to practice on."

"So long as you stick to marker," Erick said.

Meet the squad! Aaaaa I love the squad! I wish I had intro pages for all of them, but this is actually the first time I wrote with them! Up until now they'd just been rotating in my head, like a good stew hmmmm

More fluff than whump, but TBH I (and thems) needed a break.

Masterlist Main account

Taglist for the dynamic duo (however brief their interaction was in this one): @lavndvrr

[eva-knits12]

Stood Up

Trigger warning: being stood up, swearing, angst, fluff

Summary: You're stood up, but you wind up meeting someone else.

Half an hour has passed. I've finished my wine, and I'm hungry. I check my watch. 7:31 p.m. My date hasn't showed up. I'm still waiting at our table. I ask to be cashed out. I'm in tears, and all I want to do is go home, order a pizza, watch a movie with my brother and my bestie, and then go to bed. Thankfully, tomorrow is Saturday, so I can spend the entire day in my PJ's, watching crappy rom coms, knitting, and then ending the day with my book.

Instead, he and his team mates walk in. They take their places at the round booth, order a pizza, and order a pitcher of Coke. The team is minus one, and that's because the person is home, sick with a nasty cold.

"Why did the Pooch come down with man flu? We're short one, and I'm NOT going to forfeit," says the cute blond man with glasses, which makes him look even cuter.

"I'm going to the bar to get us another pitcher of Coke," says Jake, when the first pitcher is gone, and the pizza and cheesy bread have yet to arrive.

"Plus, we're up against the Millennium Falcons tonight, and I am not LOSING to them again," says Jake.

Jake comes up to the bar, and gets a pitcher of Coke. He looks right at me, and I try to smile, but deep down, I'm angry, hungry, and sad.

"Hey, um, we're short one on our pub trivia team. Do you want to join us?" asks the cute blond.

"Sure. Anything to take my mind off that bastard again," I say.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"I'm Jake Jensen," says Jake.

"I'm (y/f/n) (y/l/n)," I say.

I write down my number on a napkin, and give it to Jake. Jake gives me his.

"What's wrong? You have a boyfriend?" asks Jake.

"Well, he's my ex now! He stood me up for the last time," I say.

"Okay, you really don't deserve a guy like him," says Jake.

I hear the ding of an incoming text, and my now ex has yet another excuse. He doesn't have a dog, he was with his co-worker. Okay, my ex isn't only a fucking bastard, he's a cheater.

"Well, I guess I was just the woman he wanted at home, while he was screwing his secretary," I say, trying not to cry.

"He can go to hell, seriously, what's wrong with that guy?" says Jake.

"It gets even better. He knocked her up, so he's at the hospital while she's in Labor," I say.

"Wow! Just wow! You're lucky my friend Aisha is here. She'd go directly to the hospital, shoot his dick off, and wouldn't think twice," says Jake.

Aisha takes one look and pulls me into a hug. She feels that something is wrong, and that something is Al.

"I'm going to shoot that bastard's dick off!" says Aisha. I know she'll do it, because she means business!

"Jake, ask her for her number," says Clay, coming over.

"I already have her number, Clay," says Jake.

"Wait, Jake, did she get stood up?" asks Aisha.

"Yes, that bastard of an ex not only was cheating on me, he knocked up his co-worker" I say, sounding more pissed off than upset. Tomorrow, I'm getting my stuff, with my brother, dad, and I'm making sure they bring shotguns.

"He's at the hospital with her giving birth. The entire five years we were together, he's cheated on me with other women, too," I say.

"Just be glad you ended this, and you're not marrying this guy," says Clay.

I look at the engagement ring on my finger, and Clay's right. I immediately remove it. Tonight, I'm staying with my bestie.

I decide to stay, and play pub trivia. It's helping and it's taking my mind off of things. I call my brother to pick my up, since he had to drive me to the bar. All I wanted to do was go on a date night with my now ex-fiance, instead I got something more.

A few days later, I went back to the house, to get what I had left behind. He comes home, with his mistress, and their baby, with wedding rings on their finger. I'm pissed, to say the least.

"NO! WE'RE DOING THIS NOW! YOU THINK YOU CAN PISS AWAY FIVE YEARS?!" I scream.

I didn't realize that I'm trembling, but I am. Luckily, my bestie and my brother are trying their best to calm me.

"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A CHEATING BASTARD! GOOD BYE, AL!" I scream, throwing the engagement ring in his face.

"CONGRATS ON YOUR BASTARD CHILD!" I scream, tears streaming down my face.

"IT'S OVER!"

"But, baby, we can work this out. You'll be back, you always come back," says Al.

"She'll come back, knit our baby a blanket, and take care of her," says his mistress.

"LIKE FUCKING HELL I WILL!" I scream, still crying.

Before Al can even make an excuse, and before his mistress can scream at me, I manage to run as fast as I can to my besties car. My brother stays behind, grabs the last box, and just tells Al and his mistress to go to hell. At the same time, I've never felt so liberated. It's as if a huge weight has been lifted, and I notice that I just looked ten years younger rather than twenty years older in the vanity mirror.

With me in my bestie's car, my brother following with a small U-Haul trailer, and me in tears, my bestie tells me something that I just needed to hear in this moment.

"You deserve so much better! Al's a fucking dick, what about that cute guy you met last night?" says Aisha.

"I think I just need a little bit of time before I start dating again. Right now, all I want to do is binge on Ben and Jerry's and binge watch Gilmore Girls, and The Golden Girls" I say.

"Done," says Aisha.

Gilmore Girls has always been my go-to comfort show. So is The Golden Girls.

See, Aisha has been with me every time Al broke my heart, but I stayed. Last night was the kick in the ass that I needed to finally end it, and break free from him. It's as if he had a grip on me, something that I just couldn't explain. I realized that I stayed because I saw the good in him when there was none. I stayed because he said he would change. He didn't. I stayed because he wanted us to work. I wanted that, but he never did. He kept cheating, kept using me, kept taking advantage of me, and most of all, kept breaking my heart. Aisha's right. I deserve better.

"The Losers don't know this, but I told Pooch and Roque to stay home. I knew Al would pull this, and well, let's just say, I came prepared," says Aisha.

"You know me TOO well. We've been besties since we were five," I say.

I spend the next few days at Aisha's while my brother cleans and prepares the spare room in his house that he shares with his girlfriend. Eventually, I move my stuff in. I'm staying there until I can save up for a decent apartment. A studio or one bedroom that allows pets. I have a dog, and I don't want to give her to a shelter. She's been by my side, the entire time. Unfortunately, she really doesn't have much time left. She's just been diagnosed with cancer, which means I'll have to put her down in a few more months. The vet didn't give her much longer, and her prognosis looks grim.

Eventually, I call Jake, thanks to Aisha. My brother, his girlfriend, and Aisha are right. I need to get out of the house sometime, stop moping, and start dating at some point. I guess I was too sad and too settled in my routine to even notice that I was making mistakes at work, dealing with a break up, and thinking about my sick dog. I take a much needed vacation from work. I'm also reading a lot and knitting a lot, and I don't even notice this, either. Sometimes, you're too settled in your routine to even notice things.

I decide to go to pub trivia again. This time, Aisha encourages me to sit next to Jake, which was her plan all along. A few days later, we run into each other at the used bookstore, where he's buying some Manga, some Eckhart Toll books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, some Star Wars and Star Trek books, some comic books, and graphic novels, and a few other sci-fi books. He also buys some classics, while I'm buying some mysteries, some sci-fi, some contemporary romance novels, some classics, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and some knitting books.

"Hey, stranger," I say.

"Hey! I didn't know that you're shop here," says Jake.

"Just what I need, more books. You're reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's my favorite book. This is my fifth copy," says Jake.

"I'm reading it for my book club, so if you want to join us, please. I'll give you the address," I say.

I write the address down for Jake, and he's giddy. He can't wait to discuss the book.

A few days later, I arrive with the book, that is halfway read. I get my coffee, and I sit down. I wait for someone else, and so far, no one. That is, until Jake arrives.

He's wearing a blue button down, a tie, and he's wearing his glasses, his goatee and his blond hair make him look even cuter. He's carrying the book. Nobody else arrives, and I open up the e-mail app on my phone. We'll discuss it next month. Oh, well. Jake and I discuss it, and we get into a deep discussion about it. Jake's the one. I've only known him a short time, but he's definitely a keeper.

After a while, Sunday coffee dates become a thing. Jake and I go to movies, go for walks in the park, have picnics in the park, even go to his niece's soccer games, we even do pub trivia, go bowling, even go out on regular date nights. Jake and I are now settled into a nice routine, and it feels nice. We even have movie nights, date nights in, lazy Sundays in bed, even romantic baths together. Plus, Jake always wants to hear about my day, and I love hearing about his. I make dinner, which is more often than not. Jake does try to cook, but it always ends up with him ordering takeout because his cooking skills are not exactly questionable, but they're a disaster. We even make Costco and Target runs together, and go grocery shopping together. Jake and I are a normal couple, and do normal couple things. Plus, when I come home from work, Jake and I have dinner, and I watch him play video games. I even go to my knitting circle once a month.

When I had to finally put my dog down, Jake was there for me. He let me cry the entire day, and just wouldn't leave my side. Al hated the dog, but Jake grew to love her for the short time he knew her. Daisy would always run up to him, sit in his lap, and would just want a cuddle from Jake. Jake just held me for the entire day, because he knew I needed that. He even got me flowers the next day to cheer me up. He even watched cheesy, rom coms and silly comedies with me, because he knew that would cheer me up. We even have days where we binge watch Star Wars. He even took some toys, made some toys, and found ways to make me laugh.

Jake is everything that Al isn't. He's a geeky, sweet, adorable goofball. He tried to say I love you for the first time, but he got so flustered, and it was also our first kiss, which made him even more flustered. It was so sweet. It also felt so right.

Fast forward to three years later, where I have an engagement ring on my finger, and I'm expecting twins with Jake. Kids were something that we both wanted, but it was uphill battle with me being diagnosed with endometriosis and low progesterone, basically making me infertile. But, somehow, I got pregnant. Jake was there for me through that, and it just brought us closer. He was even there for me and my family when my dad was in and out of the hospital, and my family grew to love Jake. That even brought me and Jake closer. My cousin's boys adore him. My niece and nephew adore him. We even adopt a dog together.

Jake may not be the most attractive, but he's cute, dorky, sweet, loving, awesome, and amazing partner a girl could ask for. I got lucky. I look at Jake with love and awe, and he looks at me in the same way.

The twins smile wide when Jake is near them. Plus, they laugh a lot when daddy is in the room because daddy always finds a way to make them laugh. Plus, we all love watching Bluey together.

Our song is "I'll Never Let You Go" by Third Eye Blind because it was the song we heard in the coffee house when we were discussing Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Every time we hear it, it takes us back to that time, and Anna and Elsa even dance it and sing to it, or try to. I now have a wedding band and engagement ring on my finger and Jake's white gold wedding ring shines in the light.

[amarantine-amirite]

No Hypotheses

It all started when I got distracted sneaking out of the house.

I was on the bus and I looked out the window to see a sign outside Costco that read: WARNING - unattended bags will be taken into parking lot and detonated. Persons will be reported to law enforcement should detonation of unattended belongings result in loss of life or damage to property. I missed my stop because I couldn't stop giggling at the sign.

This is not my first time getting lost on the bus. I know better than to wait around at the bus stop if the next bus isn't gonna arrive within the next five minutes. I know to keep an eye on my watch. I know to check schedules. I know not to go too far away from the bus stop.

The next bus wouldn't pull in for another 45 minutes. The stop was right in front of this shop in Chinatown. I stuck my head in the door and discovered that the shop sells cursed stuff. They have a doll that trashes your other toys if you don't play with it, some jewelry that makes misfortune happen to you, and brandy that makes you have nightmares if you're mean to people.

I looked toward the back of the store and saw a curtain. The sign next to it read: Lethal goods - No children under the age of 18 past this point.

The clerk took one look at me and rolled her eyes. "If you're looking for gremlins, we don't sell them. Yes, even though we were featured in the movie Gremlins, we don't sell gremlins," she said, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with yet another dumb teenager who thinks movies are real. "That was a movie."

"Well, good to know, but that's not why I'm here." I chucked, "I have a bunch of people on my shit list, and I need something to seriously teach them a lesson." I noticed the clerk's name tag read: MaryBeth.

MaryBeth seemed intrigued. She pulled out a set of silver cufflinks with blue enamel studs. "Well, we have these cufflinks," she said, "These will guarantee every pigeon in town will use you for target practice."

My eyes widened. "That'd be perfect for Virginia," I know you don't get cufflinks for a girl, but she can pull it off. Besides, Virginia seriously pissed me off.

At the end of last year, she approached me, demanding that I share my swimming goggles. I clutched them to my chest, visibly overwhelmed, and told her to back off. A teacher overheard the commotion, stepped in, and insisted I give her the swimming goggles. The teacher said, "She lost hers and just wanted to borrow them to find hers."

I gave Virginia the goggles, but I never got them back. I didn't find out she stole them until I spotted her using my goggles the following day. She pretended that she lost mine and bought new ones. She had at least three different stories of how that happened, none of which were believable. In the end, I had to buy new ones.

I felt my phone vibrate. I saw a text from Dad. "Hey, are you at that weird store in Chinatown that sells cursed stuff?" he asked.

It surprised me that Dad heard of this place. "Um, yes," I texted back. I couldn't figure out why he didn't demand I leave.

He replied instantaneously. "Can you see if they have any cursed wedding bands for men that look like this? We need it for your sister's wedding". Next to the message was an image of a man's wedding band that looked like two gilded blades of grass.

I recognized the design. My sister Mairead was getting married because her boyfriend Rand would die in exactly three months. I helped her purchase rings for both her and her fiance.

Our parents thought it was stupid of her to marry Rand when he was going to die in three months. "It's like buying a Ferrari that you're only going to drive once," they'd tell her. She never listened. She was in love with this guy.

They tried to split them up. They tried. Nothing worked. All they could do now was do something to stop the wedding.

I purchased the cufflinks and left. On the bus ride home, Dad texted me again, asking for the phone number of the store that sold cursed items. He told me that if I gave him the number, both he and Mom would look the other way at me sneaking out of the house. I gave him the number, which turned out to be a stupid stupid decision.

The wedding went ahead as planned. Mairead walked down the aisle to the song "Foolish Games" by Jewel. I have no idea why she picked that song because that is totally not a wedding song.

I thought they had laid off and just let her marry the guy. Their arguments never made sense and seemed cold-hearted. I hoped they had accepted that no wedding is a waste of money if you're marrying the person you love.

That is, of course, until after Rand put his ring on. Somebody said under his breath, "But all of them have been deceived, for another ring was made."

At first, everybody thought it was some joker in a hobbit costume who thought it would be funny to crash the wedding and quote Lord of the Rings. They looked around, but we failed to see any idiots cosplaying as hobbits. Then we thought it was probably a stupid kid who thought it would be funny to quote Lord of the Rings during the ceremony. That seemed more believable.

I felt myself die inside. I was the only one who knew the truth. That's no kid, I thought to myself, that is my dad.

After I gave Dad the phone number for the store that sold the cursed stuff, he called them and ordered that ring that would kill the person wearing it. The ring Rand had been given wasn't the one Mairead and I picked out. It was the dupe he bought at the cursed store. The curse on the ring would kill Rand within the hour. Once Rand put it on, he only had one hour left to live.

Neither Rand nor Mairead had any idea. They still said I do. The minister still pronounced them husband and wife. Rand still kissed his bride.

We took the bus to EndZone Sports Bar for the reception. The curse kicked in 30 minutes after the ceremony. The bus driver kicked everybody off the bus because Rand threw up. It took the bus driver 15 minutes to get Rand off the bus. In those 15 minutes, Rand couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, and eventually died.

The bus stopped halfway between the chapel and the restaurant. People gathered around as the driver changed the banner to read: call 911 emergency alert police. The people in the area had no idea what happened but suspected there was a story. The emergency was Rand dying on the bus.

Even though we were nowhere near the ocean, Rand's autopsy report listed his cause of death as cone shell poisoning. Nobody suspected any foul play.

[crinkled-emotions]

From your recently reblogged (1/28) prompt list

27 & 33 for Jake & Savannah 🥺

Whenever you get to it. :)

Heyyyy! Hope it's all going well on your end :) I love this!

27. "I'm okay. Don't worry about me." and 33. "Show me where it hurts."

I am having SO many thoughts lmaoooo.

I also think this kind of ties into what I said about Jake and his childhood- linked here if you want to check it out :)

-

Jake, Savannah and their two year old landed in Austin around 10pm, little Ronan tucked into his mother's side. Savannah had initially been against flying so late but something came up at work and Jake had to stay a little later- apparently Maverick had done a Maverick and Jake had been involved. She wasn't surprised; those two were scarily similar sometimes.

-

"Got your coat?" Jake asked as he stood from his aisle seat when a majority of the plane was cleared out. Savannah nodded, pulling it tighter around her little boy who was finally asleep. He'd never been to Texas let alone on a plane so the first half of the flight had been full of nervous apologies to those around them. Jake had taken Ronan on his lap for a little while and pulled up Bluey which seemed to work but then he'd wanted Savannah and she'd never say no to him; to be fair, she'd never say no to either of her boys.

"Can you grab the luggage?" Savannah asked as she got up, Ronan covered by her jacket to hopefully keep him asleep.

"Got it. I'll text my folks in a second."

As they disembarked Savannah kept one hand holding Ronan securely but the other tangled in Jake's belt loop. He'd never say it, but he didn't particularly like coming back to Texas. Not anymore, not unless they were going to visit Javy's family. There was a family reunion this weekend and everyone wanted to meet the baby. Jake's parents had only seen Ronan once, too busy with their lives, and one of his sisters had come to San Diego to give them a hand a couple of weeks after he was born but Savannah spent most of it undoing everything she'd done. Honestly, the best help they'd had was Bradley and his wife Dee; they had three and were old hats by then. Dee had been by Savannah's side as much as she'd needed, and Bradley had surprisingly been exactly what Jake needed when he was sleep deprived because he could threaten everything under the sun and Bradley wouldn't even flinch.

-

The baggage claim queue wasn't too bad, the reason they'd picked a later flight. Jake hoisted the car seat on to his arm and passed the smaller suitcase to Savannah.

"You got him?" He checked with her, and she nodded.

"He's out, hopefully we can keep him that way. The time zone change is going to fuck him up."

"The way my family is, that's not the only thing that's going to fuck him up," Jake murmured. Savannah frowned.

"Hey; we don't have to do this. We can turn around, say our flight got cancelled, and head straight back home."

"No, we can't. I promised my mom; I can't go back on it."

They walked toward the exit of the airport, eyebrows raising when they spotted Jake's father standing toward the exit.

"Jake!" He called out. Savannah smiled at him but Jake stiffened.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," he whispered. Savannah glanced at him in alarm. He did look a little pale, but he was already moving slowly toward his dad. They shook hands, then Savannah waved. Usually she would hug but Ronan was asleep and she didn't want to move him just yet.

"Father."

"It's been a while."

Jake's father went to look in the carseat but Savannah shook her head.

"I've got him- he's asleep for now, hopefully he stays that way. It's good to see you, Mr Seresin."

"Jake, you look good."

"Thanks, dad."

Jake lifted the carseat on his arm.

"The car?"

"Right! Let's go, I'm sure you two are ready to get into bed."

Daniel led the way out of the arrivals and into the carpark, pausing at his SUV.

"Let's get this hooked up, and then we'll be on our way," he said, reaching for the car seat. Savannah pulled her coat open a little once Jake had put the suitcases in the boot, carefully passing Ronan to him.

"Oh no that's okay, I got it, no woman should have to mess with a car seat while their husband holds the baby," Daniel said when she tried to help.

"No, there's a specific buckle- ah! There."

She clipped the final piece in, an expert in doing it considering they had one seat for two cars, and Jake carefully tucked Ronan in. They then got into the SUV and Daniel started it, glancing over his shoulder at Ronan and Savannah in the backseat.

"You two warm enough back there?"

"Yes, thank you," Savannah replied politely.

-

The drive back to the main Seresin residence took about an hour and luckily Ronan stayed asleep the whole time. Jake and his father had a stilted catch up conversation; Jake couldn't talk work because of what he did for work, but Daniel liked to talk about the ranch and all of the town gossip so that made up for it. It hurt Savannah to think Daniel would never know half of the incredible things his son did. He was up for a promotion soon and he was ecstatic about it; but he was staying quiet for the drive.

They pulled into the driveway and Jake glanced over his shoulder at his son and wife for a moment before unbuckling his seatbelt.

Savannah was ready to pep-talk him into the next century but he was already out of the passenger seat, rounding the car to open Ronan's door. Ronan stirred, yawning as he scrubbed at his eyes. He reached out for Jake the second he saw him and Jake got him out of his carseat while Savannah grabbed her backpack off the floor. By the time she got out of the car Jake was greeting his mother, bending nearly in half to hug her.

"Hi Mrs Seresin, how are you?" Savannah asked politely, doing the usual greetings of hugs.

"Savannah, you look well. And please, it's Jackie, you married my son," Jake's mother greeted her. They all stepped inside and the house was dark, which was weird considering Jake's youngest sibling was 18 and still living at home.

"Bailey not home tonight?" Jake asked, glancing around.

"No, she's out with some friends. You know how it is, right before graduation and all of that. Can I get you anything?"

"Mrs Seresin, I'm really sorry, I need to get Ronan to bed and I'm pretty wiped myself. Would it be okay for us to go to bed?" Savannah asked. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as Jackie seemed mildly offended by the request.

"I'll show you your room."

Jackie led Savannah through the house, walking past the stairs and opening a door which led to a bedroom.

"The crib is just over there, fresh towels and toiletries are in the ensuite. Anything else?" She asked. Savannah politely shook her head.

"No, but thank you. We really appreciate it."

"The others should be here around 9am tomorrow morning."

Savannah dreaded the morning- the time zones meant Ronan would be up early, and it was nearing midnight already. Jake came in with Ronan, and Jackie cleared her throat.

"I guess I'll leave you two to it."

The door closed behind her and Savannah glanced over her shoulder at Jake as he began getting Ronan ready for bed.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" She asked. Jake shook his head.

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

"I don't believe you, but okay. I've got your back, just tell me what you need."

Jake smiled, pausing to press a kiss to Savannah's temple. She wrapped her arms around his waist and the pair kissed, sighing as they paused for a moment.

"Tomorrow's going to be nuts, isn't it?" Savannah whispered into Jake's shirt.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Hah, I'm sure I'll remember that later. C'mon, let's get Ronan into bed."

-

Ronan woke at 5, calling out for his parents as he sat in the crib. Savannah was convinced Jake hadn't actually slept, he moved far too quick for someone who had been passed out when Ronan called for him. The three of them had snuggles for a couple of hours, then Savannah heard a knock at the door.

"Everyone decent?" A playful voice called through the door. Jake smiled; a big, real smile, and he called back.

"I would keep your eyes closed if you're comin' in!"

"Jake, you're literally disgusting."

The door swung open and Savannah realised this was Jake's youngest sibling; Bailey. She had the same eye colour as Jake, the same sandy blonde hair except hers curled where Jake's was pretty much pin-straight. She beamed and Jake got up to give her a hug, swinging her around.

"It's been so long, I'm so sorry I couldn't come see you when little dude was born- hi Sav- can I call you Sav? Jake calls you Sav."

"Hey Bailey, and yeah of course! It's great to finally meet you!"

Savannah picked Ronan up, getting up to give Bailey a hug too. When they pulled away Savannah glanced down at her son.

"Ronan, this is your Aunt Bailey."

Ronan glanced between his parents before he smiled, clapping his hands together. Bailey glanced over at Jake.

"He's definitely yours. Hi little dude, you're adorable! Favourite nephew, hands down."

"Don't let Jared hear you say that, you know Jack is his pride and joy," Jake lightly scolded. Bailey rolled her eyes.

"Jack is a shithead of a five year old, it's different."

"That's fair," Jake agreed, tickling Ronan's sides.

"Are the other two on their way?" Jake asked. Bailey grimaced.

"Yeah, Jared and his family are about an hour out and Jayne said she's got to do something before she's going to meet us here."

"Sweet, so we won't see either of them before lunch."

"Mommy, hungry," Ronan said, poking Savannah's cheek. She glanced down at him, gently removing his fingers from her face.

"Gentle, Ronan. Alright, let's get you something to eat."

-

The family reunion wasn't just started by 9am, it was in full swing and Savannah was keeping an eye on Ronan as she and Jake milled about, greeting various family members. Jake kept his hand on her waist, protective but light, and her drink was always full whether it was juice in the morning or the champagne in the afternoon. They happened to walk past his father at one point and catch part of the conversation; it made Savannah's blood run hot and she pulled on Jake's shirt, whirling on her heel to face his father.

"I'm sorry; what did you just say about my son?"

"Sav-"

"I said that he was born out of wedlock; it's bad luck, you know how it is. I didn't mean anythin-"

"Oh, so you didn't imply that Ronan isn't Jake's then?" Savannah asked simply. Jake's eyebrows shot up and the arm on Savannah's waist tightened a little.

"Dad, what the fuck? Why the hell would you do that?"

"-I just meant-"

"-daddy!"

Jake's father ears were instinctively tuned to the sound of his son's distress and he spotted Ronan on the ground nearby, blood pooling on a cut from his knee. He was already crying and Jake rushed off to make sure he was okay. Daniel went to turn back to his conversation but Savannah wasn't done.

"Jake and I didn't have to come to this reunion, plain and simple. We were both concerned about what you'd said to him in the past. You and your wife have been nothing but cold toward us since we flew in last night, and your eldest son and daughter are staring like we're aliens. The only person who has showed us kindness out of your entire family is Bailey and that's terrifying because she's at the age where she's supposed to be a massive bitch, yet she's the sweetest person I've ever met."

"I helped you when Ronan was born!" Jayne exclaimed from across the crowd. Jake, still with Ronan, glared daggers at his eldest sister but Savannah had it in the bag.

"Yeah; you made a mess, fucked up our sleep schedule, and used the time in San Diego to take a break from your own kids. I really appreciated that."

She didn't seem to agree but Ronan was crying harder and Savannah turned sharply on her heel, kneeling by her little boy and husband. Jake's face was pinched, stressed, but Ronan was reaching for his mom.

"Hey, what happened? Show me where it hurts."

He pointed to his knee but kept sniffling into her shoulder. Jake was standing, glaring at his family who were staring.

"Haven't y'all got enough to stare at?" He hissed. Savannah tried not to tense up; she could hear the Hangman in his voice. He was about to go full asshole mode.

"Sav, take Ronan inside. First aid kit's in the bathroom near the stairs," Jake insisted softly. Savannah stood, Ronan in her arms, and paused to squeeze Jake's hand.

"Don't burn bridges you'll want to cross later," she whispered in his ear, kissing his temple. Bailey was making her way through the crowd, coming to help Savannah.

-

"There we go, all better!"

Savannah pressed a kiss to her fingers then the fingers to Ronan's now patched up knee, glancing over her shoulder at Bailey who was standing guard at the bathroom door.

"Bailey, could I ask you a favour?" She started. Bailey immediately nodded.

"Go, I can hang here with him. Jake could use a hand."

Savannah kissed Ronan's forehead, leaning down to get eye-level with him.

"Mommy and daddy are just outside, okay? Aunt Bailey's going to hang out with you."

Ronan was already distracted from the cut on his knee, going to Bailey and asking to watch Bluey. Bailey, the baby pro at this point considering Ronan is her sixth niece/nephew, pulled out her phone and sat with him on the floor. Savannah thanked her, quietly dipping out of the bathroom to find her husband.

-

"Jake."

"Sav, look, m'sorry..."

"Ah, there's that apology from last night. What the fuck possessed you out there? I've never seen you that angry, let alone with your family."

Savannah found Jake in the kitchen of all places, now nursing a black eye and a glass of water. She took a seat at the island next to him, pressing her lips to his temple. His arm reached out and she leaned into him, sighing.

"And where did that black eye come from? Do I want to know?"

"My brother throws a mean punch when you insinuate that he's been stepping out on his wife," Jake muttered. Savannah nudged his shoulder.

"Seriously?"

"Even before they were married, he was stickin' it where it don't belong."

"Ugh, Jake, gross."

Even as Savannah snorted, she kept her face buried into Jake's shoulder. He tilted her chin up and they kissed.

"Thanks for watching my back," he whispered. Savannah rolled her eyes.

"Someone's gotta; you're gonna put your foot in your mouth otherwise."

"That's true."

-

[nanavn]

[ID: a series of screenshots of a twitter thread by Sheila O'Malley @sheilakathleen.

Text: The year after my dad died was so bad I don't remember 90% of it. I moved to a new apt and was unable to unpack. For MONTHS. I was ashamed I couldn't unpack. How can you be UNABLE to unpack? Just open the g.d. boxes. That was the year I cried for 19 days. Straight. /1

My good friend David - whom I've known since high school - knew I was struggling and he felt helpless. He said "you are loved" "we need you". I was like, "Doesn't matter, but thanks." So he took a risk. It very well could have ended badly. I could have lashed out. /2

I could have been really REALLY offended. But he took the risk. He sent out an email to a group of local friends (w/out my knowledge) and said, "Sheila is struggling. She needs our help. Let's all go over there and unpack her apartment for her. Bring food. Let's make it fun." /3

David sent me an email saying "will you be home Thursday night? Can I stop by?" I said "Sure." Sitting surrounded by 200 unpacked boxes. /4

At 6 pm on Thursday night the doorbell rang and 10 of my friends barged in, bearing platters of food, cleaning products, and complete unconcern for my 'wait … you CAN'T COME IN HERE I HAVEN'T UNPACKED YET" protestations. They ignored me and got to work. /5

They unpacked my boxes. They put away my 1,500 books. They hung pictures for me. They organized my closet and put away all my clothes. Meanwhile, someone set up a taco-making station in the kitchen. People brought beer. By the end of the night, my apartment was all set up. /6

I literally was unable to do THE SIMPLEST THINGS. And nobody judged me. They were like superheroes sweeping in. One friend arrived late, stood in the hallway, looked at me and said, "PUT ME TO WORK." /7

One of my friends basically took over hanging all of my posters and pictures. "I'm really good at measuring stuff. Let me put all these up in your hallway." I hovered, not wanting to give up control: "wait … put that one there maybe?" She said, "Go away." I did. /8

And she was so much better at hanging stuff than I was! Here are my friends putting away my books. /9

Here's a break for dinner. Please note that my friend Sheila's dinner plate is resting on my DVD player. /10

I was overwhelmed at the sight of all of my crazy friends turning themselves into Santa's workshop. On my behalf. W/out asking me. They just showed up and barged in. I was embarrassed for like 10 minutes but they were all so practical and bossy I had no choice but to let that go.

At the end of the night, I looked at my friend's husband - a quiet tactiturn guy who drives a tugboat on the Hudson - practical, man of few words - and I just looked at him, speechless, not knowing how to say Thank You, especially to this tough resilient self-sufficient man.

He looked at me, saw the look on my face, understood the look, understood everything that was behind it - and said, “Listen, baby, what we did today was a barn-raising.”

That's the end. The "ask for help" advice is well-meaning but not really thought through. There's shame, there's enforced helplessness, there's the feeling you're not worth it, etc. My friends didn't wait for me to ask. They showed up. They took over. They didn't ask.

When they all swept out of there 4 hours later, my place was a home. Not only was everything put away - but now it had a memory attached to it, a group memory, friends, laughing, dirty jokes, hard work. These are the kinds of friends I have. Be that kind of friend to others.

To reiterate: this plan could have backfired. I very well could have been offended, insulted, hurt. David took that risk. Being a friend takes commitment. A willingness to take that risk.

End ID]

Text from https://x.com/sheilakathleen/status/1005116845240848385, unrolled with threadnavigator.com

This is literally the most heart warming story I have read on Twitter so far. I think this is exactly what friends should do, and I feel everyone deserves people like this.

[casspurrjoybell-25]

Cold as Ice - Chapter 2 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Wren Ridley

Every time Stella convinced me to go out, I always told myself it would be the last time but I had always been a bit of a liar.

Having to make the drive home on Saturday morning instead of Friday night was only part of the reason I was mad at myself for going out last night.

I could have slept in a little later, spent some time with Fawn and Colt but instead I was watching everyone around me get shit-faced and then fucking the first guy who showed interest.

That might have been what every other college student wanted but not me.

The idea of all that bored me but somehow I always ended up giving in.

It made me wonder if I did that because I was stuck searching for something within myself, trying to find a piece of me that had yet to be uncovered.

Or I just always feared I'd be missing out if I didn't go, even knowing I wasn't missing out on anything that didn't happen every weekend in the bars in college towns.

Thankfully, the ride back home from Providence was roughly half an hour, maybe a little bit longer and that was something my mother reminded me of whenever she sent me a text message or called me.

'You know, it's only half an hour. You can come home for the night and still make it to class tomorrow,' she'd say.

When my sister, Raven, moved out over the summer, my parents had all but begged me to start living at home and commuting to school for the upcoming year, despite knowing that I had already signed a housing contract and there was no getting out of it for the year.

My parents had six kids because they wanted a big family and they hadn't readied themselves for when we would start moving out.

So now I was on my way home on a Saturday morning because I could always hear the sound of my mother's sad voice in the back of my head about how much she missed her kids.

And I was hoping that visiting more often would make her voice fade from my mind.

Mom was waiting for me by the door when I arrived home.

She had a big smile on her face and held her arms open wide for me to step into.

"I'm so happy you're home," she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

"Colt has been on a mean streak lately. I need you to talk some sense into him before I make him sleep outside."

I chuckled, returning here hug and looking behind her small frame to see if Colt had been lingering nearby.

"What's his problem?" I asked, releasing her and shutting the door behind me.

"He gets like this when you leave for school," she told me.

"Because he likes when you take him out. I think it's worse now that Fox and Raven are gone too. And Fawn's always hanging out with Ava and her friends. I think he's feeling lonely."

I thought that Colt just liked being a little asshole sometimes but I wouldn't say that to my mother.

"Where is he?" I asked, noting the silence in the house.

"He's in the back with Dad," she replied.

"Dad's been trying to make him play outside more and get off that Switch thing he's always playing with. He's not happy about it."

"And Fawn?"

"Ava's," she said.

"Dan and Mandy are going through the same thing as us. They love having the girls there."

Just after the words left her mouth, the back door opened followed by loud footsteps bounding through the house.

Colt stomped inside and up the stairs, barely sparing me a glance.

Dad walked in with a look of exasperation, his eyes wide as he threw his hands up then let them fall to his sides.

"That kid is a menace," Dad said with a huff.

He wiped his hand over his forehead and it was then that I noticed the red mark on his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked, pointing my finger at him.

"We were playing whiffle ball. Colt hits too hard," Dad said, placing his hand on the mark then wincing.

"It's like he took all his aggression out on that poor ball. It cracked."

I stifled laughter as Mom walked over to him to get a closer look at his face.

I took the opportunity to go toward the stairs and to Colt's room.

Colt was the baby of the family and he hated being treated like it.

I could only imagine how much worse it had gotten since the rest of us moved out.

The kid was in seventh grade now.

He was at that age where he thought he was more mature than he actually was and didn't want to be doted on by our parents.

He had always looked up to the rest of his siblings but the two of us had some sort of connection that he didn't have with the others.

We were a lot alike but not in the way Fox and I were which made the two of us clash.

Colt and I were alike in a way that made us have a mutual understanding of the other.

I knocked on his door before entering, knowing he wouldn't hear my knock anyway.

He was sitting on his bed, headphones on over his ears when I walked in, playing a game on the laptop I had gifted him after I bought a new one.

I sat down on the bed next to him and yanked his headphones off.

Colt whined.

"Stop it."

"You stop being a punk," I shot back.

"Tell them to stop treating me like I'm a little kid and I'll consider it," he said and I winced.

He sounded more like me every time we spoke.

"You are a little kid to them," I told him.

"You're just going to have to deal with it."

I contemplated on whether I really wanted to say my next words.

I had been thinking about not manipulating or bribing my siblings after it became such a big issue between Fox and me but I felt as thought this situation called for a little bribery while it still worked on Colt.

"I'll take you out right now and buy you whatever new game you want but you have to start acting better," I offered.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye then closed the computer and turned to face me fully.

"What if I don't want a new game?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

I let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, then what do you want?"

"I want a new phone. I'm sick of getting everyone's hand me downs," he replied.

I sighed again.

This was my own fault, really.

The kid had learned my ways of always getting something out of whatever agreements or decisions I made.

He was only using my own ways against me.

"I can't just get you a new phone," I argued.

"I have to talk to Mom and Dad about that first."

"So talk to them."

I stood up from the bed and made my way to the door.

"The phone is way more than I offered, so you're going to owe me," I told him with raised eyebrows.

All he did was shrug at me with a wicked smile.

I shook my head and went back downstairs.

[ireceived-p8250000]

May 4-9, 2014

I practiced driving with my brother Marvin. He had another motive for helping me—he bargained not just for a little money but also for our dad's gun. He needed it for reasons he didn't share.

While driving, my boyfriend kept texting me. I opened one of his messages, but Marvin took the phone away, lecturing me about the dangers of using phones while driving. I had another exam at the end of the month for my non-pro license, so I needed to focus on learning every bump and curve.

We drove quite a distance, and I noticed how smooth the sedan was. It had a feature where it slowed down if you stopped. We eventually stopped to eat at a traveler's eatery, a turo-turo. Marvin knew some people there, and they were curious about me. He introduced me as his sister, though I was actually his sister-in-law. I didn't like how his friends looked at me, and I asked for my phone back. Marvin gave it to me, and after some brief, disinterested answers, his friends stopped trying to chat with me.

On the way back, I practiced successfully parking my new car. Marvin also put a bumper sticker on the back to signal other drivers not to hassle me.

Monday, I helped my friends with their experiments. Luckily, we found Dom's old seminary classmates, and they helped ensure the experiment's success. We ate out and then went home.

Tuesday, Mansoor and I woke up at 5 a.m. and took the bus at 7. We had a full ride to Quezon City, arriving at noon. Our first stop was Diliman, where we explored books at OBookau Ukay. We wandered around before checking into a hotel. It was cheap and had a pool. We shared a bed and explored Cubao X and the old cities, enjoying the nightlife.

We got a bit drunk and went swimming in the hotel pool. Back in our room, things got heated, but we didn't have protection, so we improvised. We tried watching some adult content, but it wasn't enjoyable for me. I told him, "We'll figure it out."

"It's fine. At least we're learning together," he replied.

Wednesday morning, we had another swim, had breakfast at a local place, and then checked out. We went to Makati, visiting Silverlens Gallery, The Met Manila, and Ayala. We explored BGC, which was tiring, and then headed to Pasay at night. We stayed in a motel for a few hours to shower and rest before going out for dinner.

Thursday, we returned to Baguio early in the morning. Over coffee, we discussed our intimacy and decided we weren't ready to go all the way yet. We were happy to take things slow.

When I got home, the fighting was still ongoing. Dad was forcefully telling Roxanne to leave. He was very stubborn, dealing with things his way. This led to a fight between Dad and me. I told him we didn't need him, which made him act childishly, complaining to my mother. I tried to protect Roxanne, who was crying and said she would go to a friend's place for a while. I told her we would find a dorm for her, and I’d pay for the first two months.

I tried to apologize to Dad, but he wouldn't be convinced about Roxanne. On Friday, we went apartment hunting. Most places were far from her school or just bed spacers. One of her friends referred us to a place near her university. It was good, not too crowded, though a bit pricey.

On Saturday, we saw the place. It was decent—2k a month, including utilities. It was a bedspace, shared by four girls: two in college and two working. Quietly, Roxanne and I went home to pack her things. She would be moving Sunday, and Mansoor and I volunteered to help.

[casspurrjoybell-26]

Made of Steele - Chapter 7

*Warning: Adult Content*

When I opened my eyes, I had to do a double look around the room until I realized where I was and who was beside me.

I was laying on top of Kit's bed, half dressed and with Kit beside me, cuddling his pillow to his body while he faced me, still fast asleep.

How the fuck did I end up in his bed?

Most importantly, what time was it?

My dad, Evan and Allie were supposed to be coming back today and I knew that if I wasn't home, they'd only get worried.

I reached for my trousers that were beside the bed and dug out my phone, I turned it on and cringed once I saw just how many missed calls and texts I had got.

Hannah had tried to ring me, multiple times and once I clicked on the text messages she sent, I am glad I missed them.

Hannah: 'Can we talk?'

Hannah: 'I love you, Jamie, please talk to me.'

Hannah: 'I'm outside your house, can you open the gate and please talk to me?'

Hannah: 'Are you home?'

Hannah: 'Jamie.'

Fuck... Why was she acting like this now?

I close her text messages and rub my forehead, feeling a small headache coming on.

I clicked on my dad's text, that was sent an hour ago and as soon as I see it, I roll my eyes and sigh.

ᴅᴀᴅ: We'll be home in 2 hours.

It was currently 5AM, so two hours... Fuck.

I double check he time on my phone again and groan out once I realize I'll be cutting it tight getting back, before they notice I didn't stay the night, which would only open a bag of questions on their end.

I jumped into my trousers and looked back at Kit on the bed, noticing that he was waking up and opening his eyes, smiling at me once he sees me.

"Morning," he sleepily says, sitting up on the bed.

"Uh, morning," I stuttered, hating that I did it. "Sorry for waking you up."

Kit had slept the same as me, with only underwear on and our socks and once I noticed his morning erection, so did he as he laughed out, scratching his head as he moves to get up from the bed.

"You're leaving?" he asked, putting on his own trousers.

I grabbed my t-shirt and put it over my head, feeling the same sexual tension as I did last night when I kissed him in his Livingroom.

Fuck, last night... I kissed him and we...

"Yeah... my dad's coming home so I should go before..." I stop myself from saying too much. "Thanks for uh last night... the food and uh..."

I felt awkward talking about last night, Kit was acting like normal, whatever that was, he was calm while I felt like I was having my first sexual experience with a single person.

In a way, this was a first for me and whilst we didn't go all the way... I had never done what we did last night, not with a guy before, not until him.

Kit came up to me and surprised me by kissing me gently on the lips, before smiling lazily at me as his hand slowly goes down my arm to my hand.

"I had a lot of fun Jamie, maybe we can do this again?" he said, asking, before cringing when he noticed my brows furrow. "Hang out I mean... uh, we don't have to do anything."

He wanted to do this again?

I don't know why but my stomach tightened and I felt breathless, it made me feel sick, yet I didn't feel like throwing up, it was a strange feeling I wasn't even close to being used to.

Being with Kit made me feel good, yet guilty at the same time and I hated that I had no reason to feel guilty but when I thought of Hannah... and my dad...

"Sure."

I hated this feeling.

Kit smiled again and let go of my hand and I bent down to pick up my hoodie, then I followed him out of is dark lit room and into the hallway of his apartment, where my shoes were.

Once I had all my things and my shoes on, I stood by the front door of his apartment and turned around to look at Kit, standing there watching me.

"See you later, Jamie."

I nodded my head and slowly turned around and opened the door, taking one last look at Kit before I close the door behind me, Kit's eyes on me until I couldn't see him anymore.

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I made it just in time, my dad, Evan and Allie arriving only just ten minutes after me.

I had a quick shower and changed my clothes and whilst I had to leave for school in thirty minutes, Evan had wanted to show me all the things they saw before I left.

"Next time we should all go there together, Jamie, we found the best little lake near the cabin," Evan said, sitting beside me, before showing me a picture on his phone.

The pictures looked great and whilst I wasn't particularly interested in my dad's cabin, I was happy that they all had fun, after knowing how hectic Evan's schedule was and how badly they wanted to get away from it all.

"Wow," I smiled, seeing how happy he was, especially when my dad walked back into the room.

"Allie's asleep, finally," he huffed out, before coming sitting in a loveseat opposite me and Evan on the sofa.

"Shouldn't you be getting to school?" my dad asked, staring me down. "Do you want a lift?"

I shook my head, handed Evan's phone back and got up from the sofa.

"No, I was just about to leave."

"OH," Evan quickly got up from the sofa and went into a bag beside the sofa and got a box that had a bow wrapped around it.

"You mentioned you liked toffee, there was this awesome British toffee collection in one of the few shops near the cabin, I thought Hannah might like some too, so I got extra."

Ah... now I see, as while I didn't exactly tell anyone yet, I thought they already knew because Hannah had a way of making everything everyone's business, especially if it involved us.

"Um," I bit the inside of my cheek, handing back the box to Evan, making him frown as he looked at me. "We actually broke up," I rubbed my neck, noticing my dad's brows raise from the corner of my eye. "I ended things."

"What?" Evan frowns. "That's... fuck... I'm sorry Jamie."

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it right now, especially with my dad in the room, who has not said a word yet.

"That's probably why she rang me last night, good thing I didn't answer," Evan mumbled to himself as I sigh out.

He looked at me and smiles.

"Don't worry about it, Jamie, just know if you ever want to talk about it or want to get drunk and forget all about her, I'll be there. So will your dad's wine collection," he added, cheekily.

"Evan," my dad stares at Evan, who just shrugs and smirks, sitting back on the sofa.

"He's an adult, lighten up Don," he sticks his tongue out at my dad, who just huffs.

"You're going to be late," Dad adds, as I look at the time on my phone and hiss out when I see that he is right.

"Thanks Evan," I smile at him, before nodding at my dad before I leave the room, the sound of my dad scolding Evan the moment I am within hearing distance, making a small smile reach my lips.

As much as I tried to have a good relationship with my dad, it came easier with Evan, something I did not expect but he is so spirited and easy to talk to and because of him I now felt closer to my dad, despite us not having much to say.

I wanted what they had.

At first, I thought it would come, when I was with Hannah but when we were along, we never joked, we never teased or laughed like my dad did with Evan.

I was sometimes jealous that it came so easy to them, that despite both being years apart, they still connected as if they were one person.

That was love, at-least to me.

Was I even capable of being like that with someone?

And if I was, could Kit be that person?

It was still too soon to tell but one thing for sure was, whenever I was with him... I laughed and genuinely have a fun time with him.

Everything was so complicated, even now more than ever.

It was Friday, and I'll be seeing Kit again in just a short while and while back to what happened between us last night, I was not nervous, nor did I regret it a single bit, if anything...

I was excited to see him, to feel that same emotion I felt when I kissed him.

Kit liked me, he wanted to spend time with me and even though he's a guy, I liked that when I was around him, I didn't have to pretend, I didn't have to be Jamie Steele, son of a billionaire, I was free.

I was starting to like being around Kit and I liked Kit as a person but could I see myself being with him?

That was still a question I had no answers for.

Well, however today plays out, I was going to see him again and whilst I knew Hannah would be waiting to ambush me, I now knew what I wanted and what I did not want.

I wanted to be happy, and I didn't want to be with Hannah anymore.