#my grandma was like she has the FLU? GO HOME? LOOK AT HER! IF I HAVE TO BRING HER BACK HERE I'LL FIND YOU!

[imwritesometimes]

the last time I was this sick was over a decade ago and my grandma took me to the urgent care and nearly went Lucille Bluth on the dr

[rory-butnot-gilmore]

Mundane Moments

Joel forgets to cancel his second date with you when Sarah gets sick, you show up at the house thinking you’re still going , and instead get to meet his daughter for the first time.

Pairing: joel x fem!reader

themes/warnings: a bit of an age gap (6 yrs), fluffy lovey dovey stuff, pre-outbreak, a bit of angsty sadness, should there be more parts? i think so but idk. ok thanks byeee

june 1995

You were anxious, trying to decide the best time of early to show up at your date’s house. He had insisted on just picking you up, but you were staying later at work so you insisted back that you just meet him there. It was casual, just a movie and then some dinner. So you just decided to put on jean shorts with the satin blouse you had worn to work that day. As a joke you bought him flowers, to tease the fact he was offended you wouldn’t let him pick you up.

Technically you met Tommy Miller first, at the bar with your friends. He had been flirting with one of your best girlfriends, and offered to buy you all drinks. Then about an hour later, his brother showed up. Joel was older than the rest of you, six years older than you at the time. Everyone teased him about looking like the grumpy-old dad hanging around. Eventually Tommy had snuck off somewhere with your friend, and Joel looked bored of every other person there.

“You know, if you pretend like you’re having a good time, they might leave you alone,” You whispered, as you sat down in the chair next to him at the table. All of your other friends were off doing who knows what.

“Tommy dragged me along here, I told him I really didn’t want to, my daughter has a soccer game in the morning and..” He paused as if he had just said the wrong thing, “Sorry, you don’t care about that, you’re what? Twenty-one? A bar on a Friday night is your playground,”

You laughed, “I’m twenty-two actually, and really I’m only here to make sure no one ends up dead, also who said I didn’t care about your daughter’s soccer game? How old?”

“She’s six, her name is Sarah, I’ve got a picture here..”

After Joel showed you the picture of his little girl, the two of you sat and talked all night. Eventually he helped you get your friends back home, offering to drive whoever was still there so you didn’t have to call a cab. No one else wanted to leave at that moment, but you took him up on the offer. During the ride back to your apartment, the two of you continued to ask little questions about one another. He even got out to open your door, and walk with you to the front door. That was when he asked you out on your first date, and it went perfectly. So perfect that half-way through you both knew you wanted a second one.

You pulled into his driveway, and knocked on the front door. When Joel opened it though, he looked shocked to see you there, then disappointed. He was still wearing pajama pants, and an old t-shirt. Then you started to feel embarrassed, and thinking that you might have misread the situation. Maybe even forgot what days you had decided on.

“Did I..”

“I called your home phone instead of the work phone, I left a voicemail, I have to reschedule, Sarah has the stomach flu and she’s been puking all day,” Joel sighed, “Y/n I am so damn sorry, she’s only been sick one other time, and I’m trying to get her to eat but everything makes her more sick,”

“Joel, take a breath,” You smiled, and behind him you saw a little girl in a nightgown/t-shirt that was clearly Joel’s come into view behind him, “Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah, place is a mess but yeah,” Joel turned around and saw Sarah standing there, he picked her up and moved back so you could come inside. You smiled at the fact that it really was a mess, and he wasn’t just being dramatic. Then you noticed Joel’s attempts at getting her to eat, and all of it was definitely too heavy for a sick six year old’s stomach.

“How about this, I am going to run back out to the store, and get stuff to make a soup that my grandma always made for me, and some gatorade for her too,” You looked at everything on the ground and table, “Then I can grab us some drinks, and help you get this place back in order,”

“I really couldn’t ask you to do that Y/n, if you want to just head home and I’ll call you when she’s-”

“Oh you’re not asking, I’m telling how this night is about to go, Sarah is that okay with you?” You smiled at her, “Oh, I’m Y/n Y/l/n, I’ve heard all about you being a soccer champion,”

“I’m Sarah Miller,” She smiled back at you, before she whispered rather loudly to Joel: “Uncle Tommy was right daddy she is super pretty she should stay.”

Joel smiled at her, before he told you to wait so he could grab his wallet for you. After he gave you some cash, you left for the store. You got all of the necessary ingredients, and even got Sarah some popsicles and crackers too. When you got back to the Miller house, Joel was waiting by the front door to help you with some of the bags. He got Sarah settled on the couch, with some water mixed with her Gatorade. After he turned on a movie for her, he came to the kitchen to help you.

“Do you need anything? Like ingredients wise? We got some seasoning up top,” He sounded nervous, and it was making your heart swell that much more. Joel looked like he belonged on the cover of some magazine that talked about how to build a log cabin with your bare hands. He was muscular, and incredibly handsome. Yet, seeing how nervous and awkward he was fumbling around his own kitchen was enough to make you like him even more.

“No, I pretty much have everything I need, really it’s just like canned chicken noodle soup, just no chicken or noodles,” You continued to cut up some of the carrots, “The broth will help her stomach, and the veggies will give her some kind of nutrients,”

“And the popsicles?”

“Oh, those are just for fun,” You shrugged. Joel looked at you for a second, a soft smile on his face, “Actually, if it’s not too much to ask, could I borrow some clothes? If I’m not going out into public I would really like to get out of these,”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll go grab you some stuff.” Joel went and grabbed you what he called his “old tshirt” but you could tell it was relatively new, and a pair of sweatpants. You had him take over on making sure the carrots and celery got softer, and went to change. When you got back into the kitchen, he was pouring some into a bowl for Sarah.

“I grabbed us some actual food too by the way, I figured we could make it after she gets to sleep,” You offered and Joel paused for a second.

Then he walked over to you, and pulled you into a kiss. When he kissed you at the door the night of your first date, you were convinced nothing could be better. This kiss right now though, topped every kiss you had ever had. Joel held your waist, pulling you closer into him. Your entire body melted against him, pure bliss filling up every part of your body. It wasn’t until the two of you heard a quiet giggle from the doorway that you broke apart.

“I’m soooo telling Uncle Tommy.” Sarah teased and both you and Joel were bright red. He picked her up and took her back to the couch. You followed behind with her soup, and sat down with them to watch the movie she had decided on. After Sarah had soup (and a popsicle) in her stomach, Joel carried her upstairs to her bedroom.

You went back to the kitchen and put the leftover soup in a Tupperware container. You got started on making burgers for you and Joel . By the time he came back in the kitchen, you were putting the patties on a plate for you both.

“I left the stove on low, I wasn’t sure if you wanted cheese on it or not,” You started making your own plate, and Joel grabbed two beers out of the fridge for you both.

“Hey, I didn’t really, y’know properly apologize for our plans being ruined,” Joel sighed, as he put his patty back on the pan to let some cheese melt onto it, “I owe you an actual date,”

“I mean, the bar was incredibly low, but I think this might be one of the best dates I have ever had,” You took a bite of your burger, and watched as his face lit up, “Sarah is even cuter than I imagined she be,”

“Yeah, she knows it too, she seems to really like you,” Joel turned the stove off, “It’s just been her and I for a long time now, so I wasn’t even planning on introducing you guys until I could see where this was going,”

“I’m sorry if I intruded,”

“Hey, no, you didn’t and she was able to actually keep something in her stomach without wanting to puke again,” Joel cut you off, “Last time she was sick the neighbors next door helped out, but they’re out of town right now,”

“You can tell me to shut up if this is pushing too hard, but is her mom in the picture? I would hate to step on toes,”

“No, she um, she split when Sarah was still a baby,” Joel took a bite of his food, the silence settling between you two, “I know that’s pretty heavy, but yeah Sarah never even knew her really,”

“I can’t imagine ever doing that to a person, especially my own baby,” You frowned, “Well even in the few hours I’ve known her, and the three weeks I’ve known you, she fucked up big time,”

“Sarah and I get by, we’ve got Tommy too,” Joel looked at you, “And hopefully you haven’t been scared off yet and maybe we can start throwing you into mix?”

“Are you kidding? Sarah and I are besties now, didn’t you hear? She’s going to make me a bracelet and everything, so I guess you get that third date Miller.”

Joel nodded, a small smirk on his face. The two of you finished your food, and went out to the couch to watch a movie together. Joel wrapped his arm around you, as you leaned into his side. Your head was somewhat resting against his chest, and you could hear every heartbeat and breath. It didn’t take long before you found yourself hoping for another kiss. Luckily, he seemed to have the same idea, and tilted your chin up towards him.

His lips were soft against yours, and your entire body was practically tingling from just his touch. Soon enough you were on his lap, your hands in his hair, as the kiss deepened. Joel’s fingers were calloused, but the way they traced against your lower back was so gentle and soft. He started to kiss down your neck, your head leaning back a little bit to give him more space. When he started to lightly suck on the soft spot of your neck, you couldn’t help but whimper a little. You tugged his hair, and could feel that same smirk from earlier against your neck.

Things probably would have escalated even further, if it weren’t for the sound of Sarah getting out of bed. You both were quick to fix to yourselves, and go back to just sitting next to each other. Joel got up when he heard Sarah actually come down to the bottom of the stairs, you followed to go check upstairs and make sure that she didn't need her room to be cleaned up.

"Hey baby girl, you okay?" Joel whispered, picking her up. She nodded and laid her head against his shoulder, her eyes heavy.

"Can I snuggle with you and Y/n?" Sarah got the words out in between her yawns. Joel looked at you for a second.

"I can head out if you need me to?" You offered, you didn't want to intrude anymore on their night than you already had. Sarah shook her head quickly though, and so did Joel.

The three of you went back to the couch, and you switched the movie to something else Sarah would want to watch. Sarah requested that she get to be in the middle, and she laid her head in Joel's lap with her feet across you. Joel wrapped his arm back around you and pulled you closer into his side. Soon enough, the three of you were all asleep.

All snuggled together on the couch, with the beginnings of a short lived happy family.

part two

[topguncortez]

44 & 6 with Val and Coyote

pairing: Javy "Coyote" Machado x Valeria Bates-Machado prompts: 44. “I think I’m dying.” & 6. “Stop being so dramatic.  You’re not dying.” prompts list Coyote & Val Masterlist

For as long as Val could remember, she dreaded cold and flu season. It might be because the hospital was always packed full of sick people. She always put in overtime during the height of the sickness season, coming home looking like a walking zombie. Javy was always the best during this time, making sure the kids were in bed, laundry was caught up on, chores were done, and a plate of food was in the microwave with her name on it.

The only thing Javy wasn't good at, was being sick.

Val should've known that when she heard the first sniffle from him in the middle of the night, he was going to go into full princess mode the very next morning. "The Man Flu" as they called in the hospital, was probably the most annoying illness Valeria Bates has ever had to deal with.

"Baby," Javy groaned, rolling on to his back and reaching out for his wife.

Val rolled her eyes, "Yes, my love?"

"I'm sick," He whined, and stuck his bottom lip out.

"Oh no, my poor baby," Val said, sitting up in bed and placing the back of her hand on his forehead. He did feel a tad warm to her, and he sounded kind of congested. She sighed and looked over at her alarm clock which read '5:45 AM'. The kids would be up soon, "Stay here. I'll get the kids ready for school."

"No baby, I got it," Javy said, pushing himself up from the blankets, but broke out in a fit of coughs, "Actually, I don't think I can."

"Ya, poor thing," Val said, "Stay put. I'll check on you once the kids are out."

Coyote nodded as he grabbed the blanket and pulled it up under his chin, cuddling into the warmth. Val shook her head as she walked down the hallway to go wake up her youngest, Carter and get him ready for preschool. Both Jennah and Elena were old enough to get themselves out of bed and dressed, but Val still oversaw their morning routine. She spent time putting their hair into pigtails and fixing their lunch boxes. She walked them to the bus stop and hugged them goodbye and watched as the bus faded out of view.

"Time to check on my patient," Val said and walked back into the house. Somehow, Coyote made it from their bedroom to the living room and was lazily playing video games at 7:30 in the morning, "You must not be that sick if you can play COD with Jake."

Coyote looked at his wife, and started coughing again, "I think I'm dying, baby."

“Stop being so dramatic. You’re not dying," Val said, "You have the damn Man Flu. Dragon said Rooster had it last week, and Y/N said Jake was down for the counter yesterday. You need rest," She walked over and snatched the controller from him, which caused him to protest, "and fluids. Now get your cute ass upstairs to bed Javier Machado."

Javy smirked at his wife, "Ma'am yes, ma'am," He said and wrapped his fuzzy blanket around him before climbing back up the stairs.

For the rest of the day, Val spent by Coyote's side because he swore he was dying. She brought him breakfast in bed, made him his grandma's homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch, rubbed his feet for him, and even let him play an hour of video games with Jake.

"Ya know, sometimes, I swear you are more dramatic than our children," Val said, running her hands through his hair.

"I think I am dramatic enough," Coyote scoffed, "And I really thought I was dying. I keep coughing and my back hurts from it." Coyote looked up at his wife, "At least I have you here, nursing me back to health."

"Mhm," She agreed and leaned down to kiss him, "Thank god I'm not this dramatic when I'm sick."

"Sure you aren't."

--- --- ---

three days later, Javy woke up to his wife turning over in her sleep and wrapping her arms around his body. She felt warm to the touch and Coyote gently nudged her awake.

"Baby, you feel warm," He whispered, brushing her hair away from her face.

"I think I'm dying," She mumbled.

Javy couldn't help but laugh, and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Look who had the 'man flu' now."

[andreafmn]

12 Days of Ficmas - Day 2

Prompt (by @12-days-of-ficmas): i broke my ankle slipping on ice but hey at least the ER nurse/doctor is cute

Word Count: 1.5K

Story Description: (Y/N) truly believes working the night shift is a cursed practice. Every time she's scheduled during that time she has some sort of accident. This one just so happened to land her in the hospital.

Fandom: Chicago Med

Pairing: Will Halstead x Fem!Reader

A/N: sorry, I posted so late. Was busy taking care of my grandma. But enjoy this short, cute story 💖

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No More Night Shifts

Working retail during the Christmas time was one of the most stressful things anyone can do. From the hustle and bustle of living in the city, to getting to work early and leaving late at night, to the freezing weather of the Chicago winter. It took a lunatic to agree to pull double shifts.

That crazy person just so happened to be (Y/N).

Her boss had asked her to fill in for a colleague that had come down with a very bad cold and could not make it in for her night shift. In the spur of the moment, she had said yes. But as she walked, the cold wind nipping at her skin, her feet sliding on the icy pavement, she contemplated returning home.

(Y/N) hated working the night shift at the store she worked in. Customers were rude, management always expected her to stay overtime without pay, and for some reason, she always got into some sort of accident when she was going back home.

And just as she had thought, the shift was a nightmare. She filled up her bad customer bingo. Which went something like this:

Mister ‘It doesn’t scan so I guess it’s free.”

Miss ‘My coupon is expired, but I’m gonna try to use it.”

The ‘You don’t mind using your employee for me, right?’ person.

The family excursion troop.

The no receipts returners.

And the people that think you’re a personal shopper.

By the time three in the morning rolled around, (Y/N) wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor. Her whole body was sore and her eyes were tired from sleep. She cursed past her for agreeing to pick up that night shift.  She thought of being on her couch, a hot mug of tea in her hands, and bundled up with her thickest blanket with her boyfriend. She would be warm and comfortable, instead of absolutely miserable and cold.

But her daydreaming took a turn for the worst.

As she neared the bus stop, she didn’t notice the big puddle of sludge that had formed on the sidewalk. She slid on the pavement and her body collided with the frozen ground. One second she was walking and the other she was in the hospital.

***

In the Emergency Department of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, doctors and nurses were up to their necks with patients. With the weather going down, many people succumbed to the illnesses the cold temperatures brought. Cases of colds, flu, and pneumonia trickled in and out of the hospital at a fast pace. The ED was never empty.

“How’re we doing, Maggie?” Will Halstead asked the charge nurse of the department.

“Well, we keep filling beds as soon as one empties,” she sighed. “It looks like it’s gonna be a very long winter season. Although it looks like tonight might be slowing down. You going home yet?”

 “I was just getting ready to do so,” he smiled tiredly. But the two were interrupted when the brick chirped. The doctor let out an exasperated sigh, knowing that his plans to finally lay down were just trampled. “Let me have it.”

“Incoming,” Maggie announced. “Trauma 1.”

“Talk to me,” Will told the paramedic as they walked in. That was before he took a good look at the patient.  “What happened?”

“Unconscious female, visible ankle fracture. Witness said she slid on ice and fell to the ground. She’s been in an out of consciousness. We have stabilized the right ankle with a splint and there is no sign of a spinal injury. The ID in her bag says her name is (Y/N) (Y/LN).”

“I know,” he breathed. “She’s my girlfriend.”

They all entered the room, other staff following suit. Tension built into the space as everyone noticed who it was. If they didn’t know (Y/N) personally, they knew of her and her involvement with the ED’s attending physician.

“Alright everyone, on my count,” he told the paramedics and nurses that would help transfer the woman from the gurney onto the hospital bed. “One, two, three.”

They all took hold of (Y/N)’s body, careful not to disrupt her ankle or any other injury she might’ve had. Behind them, Nurse Doris rolled in the X-Ray machine, handing Will and April a lead apron before she instructed the rest of the staff to exit the room, as well as the paramedics.

“So, it looks like it’s a bimalleolar fracture,” the doctor announced as the image came up on the screen. “Thankfully, the ankle is not dislocated so immobilizing it with a cast should do the trick.”

“Alright, I’ll get the kit.”

“Okay, let’s also get a full blood workup, and a head CT,” Will told April. “Now, pupillary response is good. Heartbeat is steady. She’s breathing on her own which is a good sign. Let’s start an IV drip with 2.5 mg of morphine…”  

 “Wait, Will, look,” she said. “She’s waking up.”

(Y/N)’s eyes started fluttering open, the bright lights worsening the headache she already had. Her whole body felt mangled and sore, and she was sure it was not from the long day at work.

“Hey, welcome back,” a voice said. “Can you tell us your name and where you are?”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N) and I’m in a hospital because god doesn’t exist.”

When she finally opened her eyes, she suddenly did not mind that she was in the hospital. Before her, she was met with a handsome red-haired doctor. He smiled at her and she could feel butterflies forming in her stomach.

But her pleasantly surprised feelings quickly shifted to ones of embarrassment, when she noticed who it was.

“He-ey, doctor,” she stammered. “Funny running into you here.”

“Good to see your sense of humor wasn’t impaired,” he chuckled brightly. “Now, do you remember what happened?”

“I was walking to the bus stop to go back home when I slipped on a puddle of sludgy ice and now I’m here.”

“Okay. And other than your ankle and your head, does anything else hurt?” 

“My pride,” she grumbled. “I told you, the night shift is cursed.”

“It sounds to me that you were distracted and you fell,” he laughed. “I don’t think there is any curse.”

“Yet you all believe people turn crazy because of the full moon.”

“Well, your memory seems to be okay. So, I’m gonna leave you with April so she can get your bloodwork to the lab,” Will told (Y/N), a kind smile on his face. His initial panic subsided when she woke up and recognized who they both were.

“Can you stay?” (Y/N) pleaded softly.

“I promise to be gentle,” April chuckled. If there was one thing she knew about her friend it was how desperately afraid of needles she was. “I’ll draw your blood really quickly and then I’ll sneak in the IV. How does that sound?”

“Like you’re gonna still gonna stick me with needles.”

“At least the pain in your ankle is gonna stop,” Will offered. But (Y/N)’s fear was still evident on her face. “Alright, just focus on me, babe. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Just don’t let go of my hand.”

April quickly got to work as Will distracted (Y/N) with mindless chatter of what they would do during Christmas – spend the day in pjs, drink hot chocolate in front of the fire, and exchange gifts even though they told each other not to get presents. And before she knew it, the IV dripping pain medication into her system has started doing its job.

“There,” April announced, calling the couple’s attention. “We’re all done. I’ll be back soon to take you to the CT scan – for precaution -- and to bring your results. I’ll bring by the kit in a bit.”

“Thanks, April.”

The nurse smiled back at the couple in response, closing the curtains on them as she exited.

“So, what’s the verdict, doc? Am I gonna lose my leg?”

“Nah, just 9 to 12 weeks with a cast. You’ll have to come in a coupled of times to do x-rays, just to make sure the bone’s healing as it should,” Will explained. “But don’t worry, we don’t have to amputate.”

“Well, no late-night shifts for me in a while,” she joked. “Maybe that’s what I needed to break the curse, huh?”   

“What?” he laughed. “Slipping on ice and spending your morning in the ED?” 

“Hey, at least the doctor is cute,” she said before she placed a kiss on his lips.

“I’m just glad you’re okay, baby. It was pretty scary to see you unconscious on a stretcher like that.” 

“Oh, don’t you worry, Halstead. It would take a lot more to bring me down.” 

“Alright, (Y/L/N). Settle down,” he smiled at her. Will had been terrified that something worse would have happened, but if a little slip is the worst that could happen, he could live with that. “Take this as a little Christmas gift – you won’t have to work for some time.” 

“NO NIGHT SHIFTS!” (Y/N) exclaimed excitedly. “It’s a Christmas miracle!” 

Taglist: @beckiej0073-blog @thatgirljayy

[beansnsoup]

Nikko x fem reader

The reader is leias sister there very quiet and moves like a shadow they dont like to socialize mostly speaking in a word or sentence or two that is till the summer her sister wanted to stay at there grandparents the reader didn't want to stay but her parents said it be good for her to socialize with normal people instead of just them so after a week of almost giving red and kitty heart attacks after showing out of nowhere they send her to the basement for some much needed socialization with people her own age much to her and Leias annoyance that's when she meets Nikki the only one there person with some sense in that basement in the readers opinion the two start to talk and the reader develops a cush fast on Nikki but knowing she has a bf hides it and avoids the basement and Nikki like the flu until the end of summer where the two talk after Leia talks to her other friends

Ty for giving me sm to go off of!

Cruel Summer With You

Nikki x fem!reader

fandom- That 90s Show

Summary- You very quiet and composed, not that you didn't want to be social, you just hadn't found the right people, or person.

Warnings- fluff, angst?, self-doubt, og storyline might be a little rewritten for the plot I'm going for, lmk if there is anything else

Note- Originally, I was going to title this bad idea, like the girl in red song, then I wrote a line with cruel summer in it and i was like 'light bulb' and changed the title.

You sat on the couch, catching up on your Saturday morning cartoons, it was really like every other morning. You never had any plans, and if you ever made any, you made them on slow days when the public didn't want to go out. Yet, it was the start of Summer, so everyone was out and about, you chose to stay inside your own amazing home to avoid any sort of danger, that was your common excuse.

All of the sudden your mom comes into the living room and turns down the volume of the TV, you throw your hands up and look up at her offended. Leia walks up next to her, smiling, what has she done?

"How do you feel about doing to Grandma and Grandpas for the summer?" Your mom starts off, Leia starts mouthing for you to say yes. You loved your grandparents, but you knew why your mom was asking you, her and your dad thought you didn't get out enough and needed some social encounters that weren't just family.

"I'm not too keen on the idea..." You replied, sitting up from your position, Leia sighed, "C'mon! We could live a summer like all those teens in the movies that go around doing stuff with their friends and go to parties." Your mom looked at her, "Not like we're going to be doing partying, drinking, and drugs..." Leia laughed nervously and quickly looked away from her mom.

"Well, Leia has asked us if you both could stay there for the summer, and me and your dad think it seems great," As if on que, your dad walks into the room, "We think it'll be good for you Y/N, for you to, I don't know, live a little." He adds, you look down at your feet, you hate how they all cornered you in this situation, it wasn't fair.

"I guess."

Leia smiled, hugged you, and then quickly ran upstairs to start packing, "We'll start heading there tomorrow, get packed please." Your mom informed you as she kissed your forehead. You grabbed the remote and turned the TV back up, this was going to be a very cruel summer.

-

You grabbed your bags and walk downstairs to the car; you stuff it in the trunk with Leias stuff and get in with them. You pull out your Walkman and put in you Nirvana cassette, they were the only band that didn't back stab you with a bad album or song, except Fiona Apple, but she isn't a band.

You finally reach your grandparents house, your parents hop out of the car, your mom starts grabbing stuff while your dad just heads inside. Leia gets out and follows him in, you grab my bags so your mom doesn't have to carry as much.

Your grandma takes her attention away from Eric, "My girls!" She runs to hug you both, giving you both kisses, "I baked some cookies, your both welcome to as many as you like." She tells you both, you follow Leia to the kitchen, grabbing one of Grandma Kitty's famous chocolate chip cookies and stuffing it in your mouth, it was just what you needed after that 3 and a half hour drive.

"I'm gonna go shoot some hoops." Leia tells you, running to grab her ball from the living room, then running straight back to the kitchen. You were better inside, you sat down at the table, later joined by you Grandpa Red, he grabbed the paper that was sat next you.

"So you're both staying for the summer?" He asks you, you just nod as a reply, he let's out a huff, "You won't have to worry about me, grandpa." You knew exactly what he was huffing about. He's always complained about how terrible your dad was in his teens, especially during the summer when he was joined by all his friends.

"And why's that?"

"I'm not planning of loly gagging this summer, I need to catch up on summer reading. Leia, on the other hand, wants the full Point Place experience."

He sighs, patting you on the shoulder, "Help me out with her, I don't want any more kids filling up my basement."

-

"You can use our basement as much as you want!"

"Kitty!"

"Thank you grandma!"

Leia drags you downstairs to the basement, "This is going to be awesome. Think of all the hang outs we can have down here, they boys." The last part made her smile, but it made you cringe. You've never had any romantic feeling towards anyone, you just never found your person you guessed, that's what people you tell you when you didn't have a date for the school dances.

You sat yourself down on the couch with the box of record you found in the corner, they were all your dads, you only figured that out due to his name being written on the cover of most of them. You were about to put on the Queen album you found until a group of people burst through the door.

Wonderful.

"Woah, who's this?" A guy with a short middle part asks Leia, "My sister," She's cut off by another girl, "leave her be Jay." He threw his arms up in surrender and walked off to sit on the arm of the couch. You look over in the direction of the person that literally saved your life to find probably the prettiest girl you've ever seen.

She's wearing a pink outfit, has a perm, and a crazy beautiful smile. She sends you a wink before sitting down next to a bigger boy with fluffy hair, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Once they're all occupied you sneak your way upstairs trying not to get noticed, and thankfully nobody did.

You walk upstairs to the spare bedroom that used to be you Aunt Loris, you could tell by the way it was decorated, she still had most of her stuff here too, mainly skimpy sets. You made sure to change the sheets when you came to their place, even though you grandma insisted that she washed her and your dads' sheets before the two of you got here.

You plop down on the bed, you're practically sulking, this summer had already gotten invaded by a bunch of lunatics, well, except for her. She saved you from getting viciously flirted with by the weird guy you sister seemed to be weirdly warming up to.

You honestly couldn't stop thinking about her, but you knew talking to her was out of the question. Staying locked up in you aunts old room seemed like a better summer than you embarrassing yourself in front of a freaking goddess.

-

It had been about a week or two since you've been staying with your grandparents, and honestly it was growing on you, Point Place wasn't terrible if you knew what you were doing. You went downstairs to make yourself a sandwich, you hadn't eaten anything all day and the hunger was making you go insane. You opened the fridge causing you Grandma to jump and swing a punch, thankfully it only ran into your hair,

"Oh, my Lord, Y/N! You need to stop doing that!"

"Doing what? I'm not scaring you guys on purpose."

"Your grandpa nearly assaulted you with a beer bottle yesterday, dear, I think you need something else to keep you occupied, sometimes we forget you're here."

No matter how much that stung you knew she was right, you had barely seen them, and the only time you did it was kind like a surprise party for them. You were scared your grandpa was going to die from a heart attack one afternoon due to you "sneaking" up on him.

She hands you a bag of chips and send you down to the basement, "Talk to them dear, you might like them."

You walk down the steps, they're all laughing, sitting on the couch while watching cartoons. You hand Leia the bag and sit next to her, they go silent for a bit until Leia breaks it, "Guys, this is my sister, Y/N." Then she begins to point everyone out, "That's Gwen, her brother Nate, there our neighbors. That's Nates girlfriend, Nikki, him over there, that's Ozzie, and him, he's Jay." They all wave at you as their name is called while you just smile back.

"So," Gwen begins, "Why haven't you come down here before?"

"Just been busy."

"During the summer?" Nate asks you, Nikki slaps his arm,

"Some schools do that type of messed up stuff, I'm being trampled in college stuff right now."

You smile at her, turning to face the TV, everyone else follows suit and starts what they were doing before you came in. You glance over to Leia who looks a little irritated, you wait until later in the night for everyone to leave to ask her why though, not wanting to cause a scene.

First Ozzie left, then Jay, Nate and Gwen got called home, but Nikki said she'd meet him there later. Leia left the two of you alone to go throw away the trash and rinse the dishes from earlier in the evening.

"So, how are you liking Point Place?" Nikki asks you, all you can do is shrug, you feel like you heart rate has gone up to 5000 BPM. She lets out a giggle, "Cmon! there has to be something."

"To be honest with you," you start, "I haven't really explored it, I've just been stuck up in my aunts old room reading things for school, snooping through her stuff, and when Leia is out or down here with you guys, I snoop through my dad's stuff since she's in his room."

Wow. That's the most you've ever talked to a person that isn't your family, you barely know this girl, but you want to tell her all of your deepest secrets.

"How about this? I'll tell Nate I have a study group tomorrow but instead I'm taking you out to tour the best spots in town." She offers.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Duh! You seem awesome, you just need to get a little out of your comfort zone." She checks her watch, "Oops, gotta run, I need to run to Nates to tell him about my study group, and he's my ride home."

She starts to run off but stops and turns back around, she grabs a pen off the side table and runs over to you, "Write your number on my hand so you'll know when to be ready tomorrow." And you do just that, but instead it's your grandparents house phone number.

-

You walk outside to find Nikki waiting for you in her car. You didn't tell your grandparents or Leia that you'd be going out today, it's not like they noticed you when you were home.

"Hey, good looking." She greets you,

"Hey." That's all you could muster out,

She starts by driving you to The Hub, the both of you go in and get an ice cream to share, and if you're being honest, it was the best ice cream you've ever had. Maybe it was because you were sharing it with someone that you felt genuinely comfortable with.

You both head out side back to her car, she starts driving you to the woods,

"Is this the part where you kill me?" You ask her, she laughs at your joke that you personally thought wasn't that funny, but hearing her laugh at somthing you said felt nice.

"Nope. I'm taking you to the famous water tower, don't fall down though, I don't want my family to get sued."

You smile and nod. You both hop out of the car; she grabs your hand to aid you to the direction of the tower. You feel your face lose feeling and your stomach drops, honestly, you've never felt this way before about a person, it was weird.

She starts to climb up the water tower and you follow her up the ladder when there's a comfortable distance.

"Isn't just a perfect view?" She asks you,

You're looking off into the distance, then you look over to her, "Yeah, it is."

You both sit there in comfortable silence, nothing could ruin this moment, you look over to her again after a few minutes, she's distracted by the wind causing the trees to move in a gorgeous motion. Then it hit you,

You've never had any interest in getting a boyfriend, Leia talked about it all the time, it always made you have nasty taste in your mouth.

Maybe boys didn't spark your interest because of girls were what you always wanted, you just never figured it out yet, if you're being honest, you always had a sort of crush on Jasmine while your sister was fawning over Aladdin.

Nikki was your Jasmine.

You quickly looked back towards the trees, hoping she didn't catch you staring.

-

"Are you going to go down today?" Your grandma asked you, you shook you head. She put her hand up to your forehead to check for a fever then kissed the top of your head, "Just let me know if you need anything, okay?" You nodded.

She walked out of your "bedroom," leaving you to wallow in pity all by yourself. Was something wrong with your mindset or something? Why were you feeling this way, it felt wrong, but you knew that it was right and would make you happy in your mind.

The only problem was that Nikki probably didn't have this same "mindset," not only that, but she had a boyfriend. You didn't want to be a homewrecker, especially to someone you've grown so close to. You hated avoiding her and everyone else, but you didn't know what else to do.

This is not how you wanted to spend the last 2 weeks in Point Place, yet you knew you couldn't bring yourself to go down to that basement and look at her. Not that she was a bad person and spread a rumor about you, you just didn't think you could hide your feelings well in front of her and everyone else.

Your mom had called later that day, you guessed that your grandma told her, "I really hope you get better hun, that really sucks." You mumble a "Mhmm" into the phone as you stare off through the window, you catch a glimpse of Nikki and Nate leaving, your mom starts talking again you can't help but accidently tune her out.

His arm is around her waist, he's holding her close to him tightly. You couldn't help but wish that was you, she's laughing at him and pushing him away as he smothers kisses all over her face. Then she looks up to your window, you feel your heartbeat speed up and your stomach drop.

She smiles and waves at your window, you send a lazy wave back, she blows you a kiss before walking away with Nate over to his house.

"Y/N?" Your mom says, knocking you out of your trance, you were hoping that she wasn't doing that for a while, "Yeah, Sorry."

"I should let you go, you probably need some sleep."

You both exchange your goodbyes, and you hang up the phone, putting it back on the receiver.

You didn't know how long you could keep this going.

-

It was the last day of summer break, honestly it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. Everyone is saying their goodbyes, mainly to Leia, you're just inspecting. Nikki comes up to you, "Can we talk?" Your face loses feeling while you nod, you feel like you're going to throw up.

She drags you behind your grandpa's garage, "I just want to let you know I had a great time this summer, hanging out with you though, may've been my favorite."

You smile, "Mine too, I'm sorry I was so distant, I was just figuring things out." You hated how this was most likely going to be the two of yours last interaction.

You don't really know what to say after that if you're being honest, she looks like she's examining you.

"Can I kiss you?" She asks you, you nod fast, this was your first kiss.

It was warm and it felt comforting in a way, it couldn't have been better. She pulls back, "Oh my God."

"What? I'm sorry." You instantly apologize,

"No. It's all good." She pulls out a pen and writes her number on your hand, "Call me."

You nod.

--

OMGG this took literally forever, i hope you guys like it! Some of it is kind based on my struggle with identity, but instead of Jasmine it was Ursula, Mulan, Roxxane from the goofy movie.

[giorno-plays-piano]

Vicious

Part IX

Pairing: Steve x reader, Bucky x reader, Thor x reader, Loki x reader, Peter x reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, stalking, possessiveness, theft, all characters are adults.

Words: 1574.

Summary: Transferring to Stark Academy that has only allowed to take in female students last semester, you realize you are just one of three young women among hundreds of students. Your things are constantly being stolen, and soon you begin fearing for your safety.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V |  Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

________

You didn't know what else to say, feeling ashamed. Who cared about your family circumstances? Definitely not Steve Rogers, a man you met just a couple of weeks ago and who knew nothing about you. Why did you say something like that in the first place?

You didn't wanna look at his face and see him feeling guilty because he didn't know how to comfort you. You didn't need to be comforted. You didn't need anything at all. It was just a simple cold, right?

Despite that, you suddenly started talking from beneath your blankets, "I have a younger brother. When he was born, we found out he was having severe asthma. His childhood was terrible, he had constantly been sick, I remember him being in and out the hospital all the time. Of course, because of his condition, my parents spent most of the time with him. He was just a little sick kid."

You hated yourself for talking, for showing something to Steve he shouldn't have known because he wasn't your friend, but you couldn't force yourself to stop.

"On the other hand, I am lucky to have good health. I didn't really got very sick, so, well, I didn't need help like my brother. So, I'm used to taking of myself. I'm a big girl, I don't need my mom to dance around me just because I have a cold."

Of course, you didn’t. You were perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, and even of Steve didn't show up, you'd be alright by yourself. You'd just take your acetaminophen, and then everything would be ok.

You kept silent, staring at the inside of the blanket and wishing Steve would just disappear, leaving you to your misery. You didn’t see his face, and you were glad you didn't. What he must think about you? That you were craving for his attention like a spoiled kid? Shit, it was so embarrassing. You were an adult, for goodness sake!

"I don't know about you, but when I had a flu sachet, it would make me fall asleep really quick. And when I was feeling sleepy, I would start thinking about the things I loved most because I hoped I would see them in a dream." Instead of feeling ever more ashamed, you listened to Steve's soft voice and thought you were lucky it was him being here with you now. "It actually worked, and I have been having my best dreams when I was asleep, sick. What are the things you love most?"

Surprised, you looked up at him and saw the most gentle expression on a face of a guy you had ever met. Why did he look at you like that? Why was there no pity on his face? Why was it making you cry like you were a ten year old kid? Before he could see anything, you hid beneath the blanket again and kept silent for a couple of moments to calm down.

"I love lemon pies my grandma used to make me, and her garden. She had tomatoes and cabbage and strawberries that smelled like summer. I loved watering them nearly every day because I thought I was a little forest witch who lived in her pretty cottage in the woods."

You didn't know why you were telling him this, but Steve has a strange effect on you. Or was it cold? You had no idea, but it didn’t really matter. All you were thinking about was the way fresh tomatoes smell when you'd leaned down to water them, and the sound of bees flying above strawberry's flowers. Your grandma was taking care of her cabbage - a very capricious guest in her garden - and you could hear her working, cursing grandpa for making the patches too wide in that funny voice of hers. Then she'd stood up, wiped the sweat with the back of her hand, and called you to come back to the cottage because if was time for dinner. You'd run to wash your hands in a barrel of water near the big apple tree when grandma didn't see, and soon you were sitting with her, eating her famous cabbage soup and then having a piece of a lemon pie because you worked so well today.

You could almost feel the taste on the tip of your tongue.

By the time you woke up, Steve was long gone: it was the middle of the night, and instead of him you saw a thermos with a still warm chicken soup on a chair, waiting for you. He sent you a message that you could call him at any time of the day - or night - and that he wanted you to have a bit more sleep to get better. After you had a few more sips of his soup, you fell asleep again, feeling warm and fuzzy.

_______

The weekend went fast. It was the first time in several years you spent so much time in bed. Steve kept appearing at your door from time to time with a new bags of food despite you telling him you had your own, but he always insisted you should it something fresh and warm. Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one at your door: Thor suddenly showed up with his whole team, bringing you notes for the upcoming exams they collected altogether, apparently. Loki sent you a message if you needed anything, and Peter left contacted you on Instagram, leaving you links to games you could play so you wouldn't feel bored. Even Bucky gave you a call, asking if he could come and give you a few packs of Neo Citran for your cold, but you kindly refused: Steve literally brought you a yearly supply of this.

It was strange. Of course, when you were in high school, your friends grew worried about you when you had been sick, but there was nothing else to it. Wasn't it always like this? Nobody came to see you. Nobody brought you soup or gave you meds or anything. Despite feeling embarrassed, you realized you actually liked it when somebody was close to you like that. It was comforting seeing Steve popping up and not having to worry about how pretty you looked: he laughed when he saw you getting all shy because you were in your pyjamas. He said he definitely didn't expect you laying on your bed in an evening gown.

Before you realized it, you were already getting better. It was just a cold, really. Soon your throat was no longer sore, and while you were still sneezing, your temperature dropped down to normal, so on Monday you were ready to come back to school as planned. Funny enough, you no longer cared if you passed your exams, having 100%. You didn’t talk about it with Steve, but Peter was laughing like crazy about that when you told him.

Funny. They no longer looked so scary to you. They were just a couple of boys, weren't they? Regardless all those scary rumors and stuff, they were just guys. Maybe they were weird and stupid and a little bit scary because you didn't know them, they were still alright. Thor said it to you, didn't he?

Monday was Bucky's day, so, once you were done dressing, he nocked at your door: you were feeling a bit shy, watching him in that leather jacket and torn jeans he kept wearing the whole year around, apparently. Barnes looked like a teenage girl's dream. He smelled like cigarettes - although he said he was trying to quit - and pinewood. Just like Thor, he liked to skip classes he didn't enjoy much, but he was smart enough to pass the exams. Funny enough, he had a motorcycle.

Again, you wondered how come girls weren't coming from a city on a bus just to go see him.

"Are you sure you’re feeling better?" He asked you softly. "You can stay home today."

"No, no, I'm perfectly alright, thank you! How are you?" Smiling, you closed the door and hid the key in your bag.

"I'm good, thank you."

He didn't speak much, but as you walked in silence, you thought it was comforting - not talking at all and feeling good about it. While Bucky looked like a scary biker, in fact, his calm and friendly demeanor only helped you relax around him. Besides, it was funny how students seemed to give him way whenever they saw him, and you thought if Steve was the King, then Bucky was the Knight.

Before you went into the your classroom, he suddenly stopped you, "Listen, I wanted to say I have your stuff."

You blinked, "What stuff?"

You didn't give him any of your stuff. Actually, after Steve gathered you all in the student council room, you only met Bucky this morning for the first time.

"The stuff those freaks took. Your... your clothes, I mean." He muttered under his breath, and you gaped at him.

Your underwear. He found your bra and panties those guys took from your room.

"Wait... how?" Staring at Bucky who, apparently, was feeling a bit embarrassed talking about it, you thought how on Earth he got those things.

There was only one way he could, right?

"Bucky, was it you who beat those guys?"

It took him a couple of seconds to turn his face to you and then sigh, "Yes, it was me."

_________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki  @helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherub @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @stargazingfangirl18 @dillybuggg @literate-lamb @cosicas-cuquis @sarge-barnes-sir @buckybarnesplumwhore @jaysayey @megzdoodle @gotnofucks @lux-ravenwolf @ximebebx @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123 @sourpatchspinster @biiskuitx @stupendouslovegardener @iheartsebandchris @lovelydarkdaydream @soleil-dor @illyrianprincess @vampirestrawberries @goodgodimaweirdperson @frontmanash @freya-heya @yandematic @mariatietacapitu @d3monslust @maybesandohnos @ibeatuptwinks @mangobangi @nectav @whatever-happened-to-the-ducks @teabutnerdy ​ @srrymydood @crazylittlereader2474

[homoose]

Weird is Good

Summary: A story about two people tryna make it through the age of COVID-19 in a country where people are fucking dumb lmao. My hc is that Spencer would be like wtf at all these science-denying anti-maskers. Also, two teachers just tryna make it through quarantine and remote teaching in a one bedroom apartment (this is taking place during a mandatory leave/lecture cycle).

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: no warnings. reader is both a kindergarten teacher and a bruh girl with a pirate’s mouth. lots of Spencer x factz.

Word count: 3.1k

———

“We’re home for the next two weeks. ”

Spencer looked up from his desk to see Y/N kicking off her shoes, dropping her bag, and walking directly to the sink. “Starting when?”

“We get to go in on Monday to say goodbye to the kids and get any materials we might need. Then we’re home for two weeks. They’re calling it an early, extended spring break.” Y/N began her hand washing routine. As a kindergarten teacher, she’d always been a strict hand-washer. In the time of COVID, she had only become more zealous. She looked at Spencer. “Have you heard anything?”

“Since we’re so close to the end of the semester, the department head thinks they’ll try to finish out the year as normal.” He set down his pen. “I honestly don’t know. It will all depend on whether people follow the CDC guidelines. The spread of any virus is deducible mathematically, and SARS-COV2 is no different. Based on the outbreak in Italy prior to their lockdown, we can accurately describe its reproductive number, or Rt, to between 2.43 – 3.10.”

Y/N shut off the water and dried her hands on a paper towel. “In layman's terms, Dr. Reid.”

“The Rt tells how many people are infected by the contagious host,” he explained. “In the case of this strain, each infected person is infecting between two and three others. For comparison, the standard seasonal flu has an average Rt between 1.4 and 1.7.”

“So in other words, fucking yikes,” Y/N groaned. She moved to perch on the edge of Spencer’s desk.

“Indeed,” Spencer agreed. “We know how fast the flu can travel through an office or a classroom, so imagine if it was two times as transmissible. But it's also really important to understand that this number changes depending on the mitigations in place. Even prior to full lockdown, mask wearing and social distancing was somewhat common in Italy, so it’s likely the uncontrolled Rt is higher.”

“Jesus Christ.” Y/N scrubbed a hand over her face. “We’ll probably never go back.”

Spencer rubbed his hand up from her ankle to the inside of her knee. “The good news is there’s nothing special about this virus compared to others in terms of how it spreads— it’s just aerosols. So if everyone wears their mask, we’ll be able to keep the spread low.”

���⧭⧭

“It’s safe to say that everyone did not wear their fucking masks,” Y/N snapped. She watched from the couch as Mayor Bowser delivered the news that DC Public Schools would remain closed for the remainder of the year. “This is crazy. I mean, I knew it was coming because people in this country are absolute buffoons.” She looked at Spencer, fingers pressed to her temple. “But holy shit, are we ever going to be able to go outside again?”

“With schools and universities closed, people working remotely, and lockdown orders in place, the Rt in the US could stay low. But masks have to be worn at all times, and social distancing has to be strictly followed.” Spencer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I just— I can’t believe people are refusing to wear masks. The empirical, peer-reviewed data clearly shows—”

“This is ‘Murica, boy.” Y/N mocked. “Ain’t no tyrannical government gonna tell me what to do!” She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, your choice to abstain from social media is paying dividends to your sanity right now.”

Spencer looked truly dumbfounded, setting his newspaper down in his lap. “But that’s just it. It’s not just in social media circles.” He gestured to the article in front of him. “This economist just argued for ‘reopening’ the economy using the justification of herd immunity. Herd immunity can be a plausible option for less lethal diseases. But this virus is not like varicella—the chickenpox,” he clarified at Y/N’s raised eyebrow. He waved his hands around in exasperation. “Putting aside the fact that one facet of herd immunity is vaccinating as many people as possible, its success completely hinges on the Rt of a disease. If you model a population based on an Rt of 2.5, herd immunity wouldn’t be achieved until approximately sixty percent of the population has been infected. Consider that the US population is currently 328 million, and sixty percent of that is 196.8 million. The current mortality rate for SARS-COV2 is 3.06 percent. 196,800,000 multiplied by 0.0306 is 6,022,080. Over six million people would die. It's simple mathematics.”

Y/N let out an exasperated breath. “It used to be that simple math and facts were enough. Now you’ve got basement scientists who think they know better than actual, literal scientists who’ve spent their entire lives studying these things.” She ran a hand over her face and gestured at the news conference still playing. “How long do you think it’ll be before we’re both trying to teach from this tiny ass living room?”

⧭⧭⧭

“Goooooooood morning, kindergarten! It’s Friday, and no Friday is a bad Friday!” Spencer smiled. As he poured his first cup of coffee, he hummed along with Y/N and 23 six-year-olds as they sang their morning song. Observing fourteen days of remote kindergarten from across the living room had given Spencer a new appreciation for elementary school teachers, particularly Y/N. She sang, danced, conducted science experiments, held puppet shows, read stories, led art projects, and fielded questions for four hours a day— three hours less than when they were in the school building. He was exhausted by proxy.

But he was also grateful for the opportunity to watch Y/N in her element. Even though they were at home, she still got dressed every day in bright, patterned sweaters and dresses— her Ms. Frizzle attire, she’d told him once. She was able to channel her personality into a kid-friendly version that her students clearly adored, never afraid to be silly or strange to get their attention and keep them engaged during the long days. He worked from home whenever possible, strangely happy to have the background noise of kindergarten over his quiet university office.

...

“Okay, but where do I put the biiiiiiiiiiiig number?” Y/N made a wide gesture with her arms. “Ariah, where should I put it? In the big box, yes! But oh no, my small number needs a friend. My three is soooooo lonely!” Y/N drew her mouth into a pout. “DJ, how can I help my three not be so sad? You’re absolutely right, let’s put that two right next to him in our number bond.”

…

“I’ve been waitin’  for a girl to mute,” Y/N sang into the gold karaoke mic. “I said, muuuuuuuuuute, I’m blinded by loud sounds. No, I can’t hear the friend who’s tryin’ to talk.”

…

“Oh boy. Kev, honey, we can— we can see you. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. We can see all of you. I can’t turn your camera off, buddy. You gotta— there we go.”

…

“Mute please, I need— I need everybody to mute, please. Oh my goodness where is that music coming from?” Y/N frantically searched for her index card with the picture of the mute icon, as the sounds of a highly inappropriate song blared through the computer speaker. “I know it’s so loud, guys. Why is my mute power gone?! This is why we need to make sure we keep our mute button on, kindergarten.”

…

“No sweetie, it’s not time to log off yet. I’m sorry, I know it’s such a long day. We have about an hour left. Do you guys wanna do a countdown? It’s the fin-al count-down! Do-do doo dooooo. Do-do-d-do-dooo…”

…

“Annnnnd, I should see all my friends on mute. William, hang on just a second. All my friends need to look at my picture, it’s an oval with a line through it… Okay, William, what did you bring to show us?” Y/N leaned toward the computer screen. “Grandma Kathy? O-oh, she’s— she’s in the—“ Y/N’s eyes widened. “Is that— is that an urn? Oh wow. Um, well, wow. It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that with us, William. Grandma Kathy, may she rest in peace.”

⧭⧭⧭

A week into Y/N teaching kindergarten from their living room, the university had announced its transition to online coursework for the remainder of the academic year. Spencer had to host his first zoom lecture, and he was absolutely dreading it.

���Spence, it’s going to be fine. It’s not like you’ve never been on a video conference,” Y/N assured him. She sat cross-legged on the couch, waiting for him to let her in to his practice zoom.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t running those meetings. I just showed up.” He squinted at the computer screen. “Are you in?”

Y/N barely resisted the urge to make a joke, knowing that Spencer probably wouldn’t appreciate the innuendo. “No, you have to admit me.”

“What do you mean? How do I do that?”

“There should be a box with a button that says admit.”

Spencer gestured at the computer. “Well there’s a bunch of boxes— which one should I be looking at?”

Y/N sighed and got up from the couch. “IQ of 187 and can’t find the box.”

Spencer dragged a hand through his hair. “I know I shouldn’t find this so difficult. I’m sorry you have to waste your time on this.”

“Hey, it was a joke.” Y/N grabbed his hand from where he was frustratedly pulling on his frazzled curls. “I’m sorry. That was mean and you’re already stressed enough.” She used her free hand to smooth his hair back into place. She scrunched her nose. “I love you and your limited technology skills. And honestly it’s kind of nice to have one thing I can actually teach you about.” She squeezed his hand, leaning over him to peer at his computer screen. “All right, let’s find that elusive admit button.”

When the day of his lecture rolled around, Spencer thanked all the atoms in the observable universe that Y/N had a break during his class. Within the first ten minutes, he’d managed to accidentally kick himself out of his own meeting and then somehow lose track of the screenshare button.

“No one can see me and I don’t know what happened to the screenshare option. It was there and now it’s just… gone,” he told Y/N.

She leaned over his desk, eyes tracking over the screen and mouse clicking around the desktop. “How in the world did you manage to block your camera?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t even touch it!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t understand how it’s even possible to be this bad at this.”

Y/N bumped his knee with her own, pulling up his camera settings and preferences. “Relax. You can’t be good at everything. It’s a refreshing reminder that you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us.” With a few rapid clicks, Y/N unblocked his camera and located the screenshare bar. “There. Crisis averted. I’m just going to share your whole screen in case you want to toggle between application windows. So just be aware that they’ll be able to see everything. And then you just click here when you’re ready to stop sharing.”

When Y/N turned her head toward him to check that he understood, Spencer grabbed the side of her face and caught her lips in a kiss. Y/N smiled against his mouth, heart speeding up as he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue.

“Um, Dr. Reid? Your um— your camera’s working now.”

Spencer nearly fell out of his chair, his cheeks about the color of the Leave Meeting icon. Y/N dropped her head, debating whether she wanted to laugh or let the earth open up and swallow her whole. She ultimately decided to compose herself, stepping back and giving a little wave to the sea of tiny, grinning zoom faces before slinking out of frame, miming sorry to one very mortified professor.

⧭⧭⧭

“Would you want to be our mystery reader next week?” Y/N asked, bookmarking the page of her novel and reclining back in bed. “You just have to pick a story to read. Oh, and think of four clues about your identity to give the kiddos.”

Spencer raised his eyebrow, continuing to read. “Any story?”

Y/N laughed. “Well they’re six, so maybe hold off on the Chaucer and Bradbury for now. A picture book would be preferable.”

“Did you know that the first picture book, Orbis Sensualium Pictus, or Visible World in Pictures, was published in 1658?” He looked up from his own book. “Czech educator John Amos Comenius wanted to create a book that would be accessible to children of all levels of ability. The educational theories he explored are actually still in practice in the field of early childhood education.” He turned toward her from his spot under the covers. “For example, when you have your students make a hissing sound and slither their arms when they produce the sound represented by the letter s? Comenius included an alphabet chart with various animal and human sounds representing each letter. He wanted to demonstrate that the incorporation of multiple senses could help increase learning.”

“I guess you don’t fix what isn’t broken,” Y/N mused. “300 years later, and we’re still using the same methods.”

“362, actually,” Spencer corrected.

She gave him a look. “Maybe we can save the Comenius for another time.”

“The genre of children’s literature encompasses some of the most profound and philosophical story telling of all time.” Spencer returned his attention to his reading.

“...So is that a yes?”

Spencer smiled. “I’ve got a book in mind.”

“And clues,” Y/N reminded him, snuggling down under the covers and reopening her book. “We need some fun clues, mystery reader.”

…

“Kindergarten, we have a very special mystery reader this week. Oh man, are you ready for the first clue? The mystery reader loves jell-o! Raise your little hand if you love jell-o, too. Okay, kindergarten, I see you! Lots of jell-o lovers in the house.”

…

“Okay, clue number two! Our mystery reader works as a community helper— remember we learned about all different kinds of community helpers; firefighters, nurses, police officers. But if the mystery reader could be anything, they’d want to be a cowboy! How cool is that?”

...

“Clue number three for our mystery reader!” Y/N sucked in a gasp. “You guys. The mystery reader can do magic. Oh my goodness, I am so excited for Friday,” she sing-songed. “Will they show us a trick? Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe if you ask nicely.”

…

“Okay, my friends, the last clue. The mystery reader loves reading. They read every day, and they’ve been reading since 1983! Yes, that was a very long time ago.”

⧭⧭⧭

“Okay, any last guesses about who our mystery reader might be?” Y/N questioned.

“I think it’s your dad,” a little voice called out.

Spencer made a choking noise from where he sat, slightly off camera. Y/N laughed. “The mystery reader is decidedly not my dad, Keyshon. Remember I showed you guys the picture of him— my dad’s a farmer, so he’s kind of already a cowboy.” She clapped her hands together. “Okay, without further ado, drumroll please... Our mystery reader is…” Y/N pushed her desk chair out of frame to allow Spencer to roll in, holding her hands out. “Spencer!”

He gave a little wave, smoothing his hair, suddenly painfully self-aware and nervous about the opinions of two dozen six-year-olds. “Hi guys.”

“You’re the boy on Ms. Y/L/N’s phone.”

“Your hair is so fluffy!”

“Do you have a cowboy hat?”

“I like your sweater.”

“Can you really do magic?”

“What’s your favorite jell-o?”

“Whoa, okay, let’s remember our mute button,” Y/N, holding up her index card. “I promise you’ll get to ask Spencer all your questions after he reads the story.”

Spencer smiled at the excited faces beaming through the screen. “Yes, I’m on Ms. Y/L/N’s phone; I don’t own a cowboy hat, yet; yes, I really can do magic; and the red jell-o is my favorite.”

Y/N watched with interest as Spencer pulled out his book. He’d been secretive about his choice, so she was as curious as her students.

“This is one of my favorite stories. It’s written by Munro Leaf, and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It’s The Story of Ferdinand.” Spencer held the cover up to the camera. “Ferdinand is the bull here on the cover. This story was written in 1935, which was a long time ago! Okay are you ready?” Spencer looked out on a sea of thumbs up, turning the page to the beginning of the story. “Once upon a time in Spain, there was a bull, and his name was Ferdinand.”

Y/N smiled as she listened to Spencer read each page, recounting the story of the peaceful bull. He was an excellent storyteller, changing the inflection and expression of his voice to match each sentence. He held each page up for just the right amount of time, panning it so her students could see each detail of the black and white pictures. He added his own wonderings and exclamations here and there, and her students were decidedly enthralled. Her heart ached at how comfortable he was, how natural this was for him. She rested her chin in her hand, trying to keep her mind in the present— ignoring the persistent little mental image of Spencer as a dad.

“So they had to take Ferdinand home. And for all I know, he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly. He is very happy… And that’s The Story of Ferdinand.” Spencer closed the book with a soft smile. “I love this story. Ferdinand is a very special bull. What do you think makes him so special?”

“Ferdinand didn’t fight,” a little voice piped up.

“Yes!” Spencer agreed. “He practiced pacifism in the face of the persistent, ingrained militarism of his country’s culture.”

Y/N placed a hand on Spencer’s knee and gave a quick squeeze. “Right, Ferdinand chose not to fight, even though everybody else he knew wanted to.” Y/N winked at him before turning back to the screen full of kids. “All his friends thought he was kind of weird, but he just really wanted to hang out in the shade and smell the flowers, huh? Sounds pretty good to me.”

“He wasn’t bothered that the other bulls thought he was strange for wanting to be peaceful,” Spencer added. “Sometimes being different can be a good thing. The Story of Ferdinand reminds me that it’s okay to be yourself, even if other people think you’re weird.” His eyes met Y/N’s. “Because there will always be people who love and appreciate you for who you are.”

[everythingisawayoflife]

sooooo, my first post about sickfic tropes just kinda sat collecting dust until recently when it blew up like crazy so, i guess i’m gonna make another one? i might repeat some stuff but here are more tropes that make me gush :) oh and tw for emeto just to let you know.

i saw a post about this earlier but when A has a chest cold and B tenderly rubs their chest to sooth the aches or rubs Vaporub on them like thats very sweet

something about the line “I don’t feel good” or “I don’t feel (very) well” is so adorable (bonus pts if A cuddles up to B while saying so)

when B dotes over a slightly annoyed A but B only does so because they’re worried

when a fever slowly overtakes A and makes them sicker as the hours go on (like they wake up fine but around noon they feel like absolute shit)

When A starts crying over a tiny little thing that frustrates them and when B goes over to comfort them, they realize oh shit they’re really sick

A being carried bridal style to a bed or couch or something when they pass out or if they’re too sick to walk

A being too exhausted to do anything

A apologizing for being sick and B quickly reassuring them it isn’t their fault

BREAKFAST IN BED OR ANY SORT OF MEAL IN BED WHILE B SITS AND CHATS WITH A

When B initally assumes a stand-offish A is just tired but when B sees them asleep on a couch and gets closer to A, B realizes that A is actually very sick

A waking up B in the middle of the night by coughing super hard and not being able to contain it (bonus pts if B rubs their back while they suffer the worst of their coughing fit)

B waking up to realizing A isn’t in bed with them and finding them crouched over the toilet, extremely nauseous

picture this: B is standing besides A’s bed while taking their temperature and A just leans their fevered forehead into B’s stomach while B runs their fingers thru A’s sweaty hair

when A is so congested, they talk funny

when it HURTS TO BREATHE (is that violent)

Let’s say A is crazy delirious and B has been tending to then all day and out of nowhere, A mistakes B for someone else like a mother or father figure and it just tugs on B’s heartstrings seeing A in such a vulnerable position

When A has to steady themselves on something so they don’t fall over

AFFECTIONATE NICKNAMES (baby, honey, my love, my darling, dear, sweetheart, etc)

examples: “oh honey, you don’t look so good” “you’ve got the flu, baby” “Stay in bed, sweetheart, I’ll be right back” “It’s okay, dear. It was just a fever dream” “You look pale, darling, are you sure you’re okay?”

y’all better be taking notes on these

B talking in hushed tones so they don’t make A’s headache or migraine any worse

shivering (bonus pts if the sick person feels freezing but to someone else, they’re on fire)

when A is super pale with the exception of this feverish blush across their face

FLU SEASON

when A is the type to be like “psh no I never get sick” and while that has been true, their streak is broken and they refuse to admit it

or, alternatively, A never gets sick but when they do, it’s very bad

“Will you stay?” “Of course I will.”

When A says “I’m so tired” in a very dry tone before passing out

A has a sore throat and when B looks to check it, their throat is all red and swollen (i’m a squeamish person but I like very good descriptions of someone who is sick)

When B says to a crying and feverish A, “Hey, it’s okay, you’re gonna be okay. Don’t cry, you’re only gonna make yourself sicker.”

B absolutely refusing to leave A’s side while they suffer, even though they’re barely getting any sleep

“You need to lie down.”

“Shh, stay down, your fever is too high.”

If you’ve heard the song “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton, it’s actually a somewhat whumpy song (covering this in the next few bulletpoints)

It’s based on something that happened with Clapton and his wife before going to a party thrown by George Harrison, I believe

The lyrics detail a man telling his wife she looks “wonderful tonight”. First when she’s getting ready, next when she asks him if he’s okay and he says he feels wonderful, and thirdly, he tells her while he is bedridden that she was wonderful tonight

The wife asks him if he feels alright and he responds with that he feels wonderful but later goes home due to an “aching head”—now he could just be drunk but I like to picture it as that he is sick and denies it throughout the night but they go home early because his wife realized how sick he was and drives him home because he’s too ill to do it himself and she later puts him straight to bed

that’s just my interpretation and it’s probably an incorrect one but I like to think that this is the case when I listen to the song

A claiming they are just tired the night before and then waking up the next day feeling and looking horribly

A being covered in a ridiculous amount of layers because they’re so fucking cold

or alternatively, they kick off everything that’s on them because they’re boiling

A deliriously telling B “you take such good care of me” with a dopey smile on their face

B helping A sit upright since they can’t do it themselves

Another picture this: A and B go to this party (separately, they aren’t together yet) and A finds themself feeling worse as the night goes on and eventually decides to take a nap on the thrower of the party’s couch because they’re “just a little tired, that’s all”. B wakes up in a completely different place only to find out A drove them to their place and tended to them through the night

i feel like no one talks about ear infections enough? i had one when i was little and even though i don’t remember much about it, i remember crying because it hurt a lot and i never wanna go through that much pain again

when B initially makes fun of A for being congested and having a funny voice and then becomes more caring and serious when A takes a turn for the worse

“I’b not sick *loud snort*”

when B makes A tea with honey to soothe their sore throat (or chicken noodle soup)

cold washcloths for a hot forehead

“You’re running a temperature”

“You’re burning up”

When B still wants to cuddle and touch A despite A protesting that B will catch whatever A has

When A’s sleeping and B throws a blanket over their shoulders

B forcing A to sit or lie down by pressing on their shoulders

When B’s hands move up from A’s neck to cheeks to forehead when checking for a temperature

i said this before but kissing A’s forehead to check for a fever

A being like “B, I think I’m gonna—” before taking off the find the nearest container to vomit into

or alternatively, not being able to make it in time and throwing up on the floor and feeling really guilty for it

A curling into themselves when they have an upset stomach or just really bad aches and cramps (bonus pts if they’re near tears or are already in tears)

B using homemade remedies to try and make A feel better and not being able to make it like “mom/grandma used to”

A walking around the house, hunched over and dragging a long blanket around the house

[ubemango]

delicacies of the season (m)

part 3: days apart

note: hey!! What’s up!! first, I officially have named this series!! it’s right up there for ur viewing glory! ok anyway here’s something before I disappear for the next four weeks because I am drowning in school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also just a side thingie for this story: I’ve already established that oc isn’t on birth control but here I’m implying that they’re doing natural planning (i.e. fertility awareness where the person who menstruates keeps up with their cycle and thus only has sex when their cycles allows for it). PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW THE RISKS!!!!!!!! Oh Lord putting your impregnation chances up to God?! I couldn’t do it. But also this is fanfiction and nothing bad will happen to this couple so let’s all just... suspend disbelief for a second ok

PAIRING. taehyung/reader GENRE. romance, farmer au RATED. M WORD COUNT. 2.5k WARNINGS. kitchen sex, unprotected sex, dirty talk, a good ol’ creampie bc wot is the ubemango experience without one :/ SUMMARY. Taehyung missed you.

Auntie Gaeul comes over when the rooster crows to tell you to check out the passion fruits today. They’re ripe not because she’s seen them but because she just knows. Call it the Elder Instinct for Ripened Foods. You tell her you’ll give her half the harvest, and she swats at you before she leaves.

“Stop being so polite, I’m not that old,” she spits in jest. “And make some of that honey iced tea your grandma makes. If there’s extra, then I’ll have some.”

Taehyung would probably like some, too; he chugs down anything with passion fruit like he’s about to go into hibernation. And when you come back home from the fields with a basket-full perched heavy on your back, you resolve to make some tea right away to bring over to his house to see if he’s there. You haven’t seen him in five days—his cousin had the stomach flu, and his aunt needed the extra help with tending to the livestock. Being the eldest nephew (and the only one who can drive a motorcycle) had him obligated right from the get-go.

“Grandma! Can you show me where you put the honey jars, I can’t remember where they are. And can you help me peel these—um. You’re not Grandma,” you stop.

Taehyung looks up from where he’s perched on the stairs of your awning, flicking bits of strawberries to the ground for Danbi to eat. Your little puppy scrounges it up so fast she nearly falls over on her fluffy bum.

“I told her to go play bingo with the rest of the granny crew, someone’s betting chicken feet,” he says. You smile wide when he trods over to you for a short kiss, slipping the strap of the basket off your shoulder to put on his. The hand he keeps low on your back is as warm as the ten AM sun. “Hi. I missed you.”

“I was just gonna go see if you were home,” you say. He smells like the wind. Something you’d scrunch your nose at but he makes it work. “When d’you come back? How’s Daeshim now?”

“An hour ago. And he’s better. He ate up all your ice cream, only thing he could keep down.”

You frown. “Poor baby.”

“I know. You gonna clean these now?” He nods his head toward the water basin, carved rock he’d installed for you on your third anniversary.

“Yeah. Can you start? I’ll just wash up quick,” you offer. Suddenly you’re aware you’ve got an ugly shirt with oil stains and holes in random places—nothing Taehyung minds, but the occasion probably deserves better.

“Got it, boss,” Taehyung says. He slaps your ass before you run to the bathroom. A familiar signal of his intentions but he’s too polite to bring it up so quickly.

“Hey!”

“Hurry up,” he calls. As if you’re going to take another five days to get back to him but you get it. You missed him, too; a little more than you’d like to let on. Your grandma is great company but she watches her TV too loud and she hates when you’re not there to sit with her because she might need your help switching channels. It’s a miracle you didn’t jump Taehyung the second your eyes landed on him.

You change into whatever shirt you’ve tossed on the floor that looks semi-presentable. It’s too early for your sweat to reek like it does under the afternoon heat, but you spritz some perfume on your neck anyway. Just for upkeep, because you’d be lying if you said you weren’t anticipating sex, a sloppy makeout session at the least. Danbi’s too hyper to be left alone, plus your grandma likes making surprise visits at your house because she’s a forgetful woman.

By the time you’ve come back from scrubbing the dirt and dead ant bits caked under your nails, Taehyung’s a third of the way through the basket, tossing the clean passion fruit into a bucket Danbi is trying so hard to climb into. She yelps when her fat paws slip at the edges.

“Danbi! Mama’s gonna be mad if you get hurt. I’ll give you some later.”

“Go play with your toy,” you call out to her. “Danbi! Go!”

Her ears perk up at your command, and she pants and pants till she decides to go in the complete opposite direction of the ball and into the patch where all the potatoes are. She hasn’t hit her teething phase so you’re safe from her snuffing anything out with her mouth. It’s her fur you worry about. She’s such a nice shade of white amongst the semi-wet dirt, it almost hurts seeing her get soiled.

“Like a little cotton ball,” Taehyung says. He points to the bucket. “This good?”

You nod—it’s enough to have extra for Auntie Gaeul. “Yeah. Wanna carry it to the kitchen like a good man?”

“As if I’m not one already,” he snorts, grabbing the handle. “Danbi, come!”

This is how it always goes. Taehyung ogles from over your shoulder (usually he’s off to the side but he’s a lot clingier, not that you mind) while you do your business because you don’t trust him with a knife. Not since the time you’d tasked him with chopping garlic and he’d nearly sliced his palm open when he tried crushing them first.

And now you’ve got a new addition to the routine: Danbi sniffs around the dried leaves for the fire, sneezing when she breathes the ash in too hard. You hear her collar jiggle as she explores the earthenware stacked on the side. You made sure Taehyung left the door open because she gets antsy fast.

“Can I just say that I have a thing for seeing you use a knife,” Taehyung says, hands stroking your tummy because he’s got nothing better to do.

“You’re really bad at hiding how turned on you are.”

“Who said I was trying to hide?”

You laugh. “What are you trying to get at, mister?”

“I’m saying I missed you,” he says simply.

“So that’s why you kicked Grandma out the house,” you tease. Taehyung splutters in your ear.

“No! They really are betting chicken feet. What do you think I am?”

“Horny.”

“Ugh.”

You turn your focus back to the chopping board. Taehyung lets the sound of the knife smooth down the goop of the insides fill the space.

“...Are you mad if I am?” He whispers tentatively.

“Oh my god. It’s ten in the morning.”

“You think my dick cares?”

“You think I care?” you joke.

Taehyung gasps. Like his heart just shattered from your vitriol, but all you want is to finish cutting up these damn fruits before you’ll allow his hands to touch you. “Wow. You—? Okay, fine.”

“Wha—”

“I appreciate your hard work,” he coos. He wraps himself around you even tighter, traces a slow kiss on your neck. “Really. But don’t pretend you didn’t miss me too.”

“I never said I didn’t.”

“You’ve got a fucking mouth on you.”

And that gets you to shut up. Taehyung only swears when he wants you to stop talking. Not for the sake of real anger but to show you he’s got something brewing, and you’re here to take whatever it is he’s about to give you.

“I just wanted to be a good fiance and visit the one I love the most after five days because I missed them so much.”

His teeth catch the lobe of your ear. Biting down softly because he’s still aware you’ve got the knife in your hand, but you’ve lost all motor skills the second he started his little bit. You drop the handle slowly. At the last second you push all the shit you’ve laid out on the counter to the farthest corner. Something tells you this space is being defiled this morning.

“Good. Are you wet?”

“N-No.”

“Then we’ll have to do something about that, huh.”

You watch his hands glide up, and you’re half-expecting him to fondle you gently, the way he teases you when you think he’s taking it slow. But instead he goes right for the kill: using those long fingers to pinch right at your tits just to get you to gasp into the feeling. You roll your eyes shut, let your head fall back on his shoulder.

“You like that?”

“Mhm,” you whine.

“Take your shirt off for me.”

You’ve never exposed yourself to kitchen utensils and rice wine on the pantry shelves before but Taehyung makes you want it. He shows his appreciation for your compliance with another hard grope of his hands, this time with his mouth sucking on your neck too. Craving your skin like he’s been absolutely deprived. The calluses on his fingertips rub your nipples raw.

“You smell good,” he croons. “Come here.”

You nearly tip over from how fast he spins you around, but he catches you easy, tongue on yours in the next second. The desperate tug of his lips on yours, the smack of your spit when he pulls you in deeper, all the intricacies of needing someone else to save your own sanity—it culminates here, and now your ass is up on the cold of the counter, Taehyung pulling back from one last kiss to drag that same heat down your body.

“Please let me eat you out here, holy shit.” He tugs at your pants, slides your underwear down with it. Mouthing hungry at your mound because you haven’t answered him yet, so you just groan a quick please, yes and he doesn’t even look at you before he presses his tongue inside you.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, the guilt of ruining this space with your (embarrassingly) uncontrolled libido is raging. But you could care less with the way Taehyung swipes his tongue around your clit, gets you clawing at his hair for brief respite. You’ve most definitely exceeded wet boundaries. His chin practically shines.

And he knows it’s because of him. Not just from his mouth but the knowledge that he wants you trembling towards a heady orgasm, the kind that consumes you whole. His laving gets bolder with every stroke, every moan you try to keep stifled but it’s useless. “Taehyung. Oh my g-od, fuck—no d-don’t use your fingers, I’ll come.”

He laughs, adjusts your thighs so you’re not cramping. “Think you’ll tap out?”

“I wanna come on your dick,” you pants.

“Oh my god,” he groans. “You’re perfect. Oh my god. I’m so fucking hard. Can I come inside you?”

“Yes yes yes yes, just get inside me already.”

Taehyung’s foot gets caught on his pants when he shoves them off, nearly crashing face first into your pussy again. And he laughs and you snort and when he’s naked waist-down he kisses you again, a little slower this time, a breather for just a moment.

“I know it’s only been five days but I missed you. A lot.”

You trap his hips with locked ankles on his back. “I know.”

“It’s just—I had to shovel so much horse shit—”

“Oh don’t say that!” You bat at his chest.

Taehyung snickers. “Sorry. Ahh, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“You can stick your dick inside me and we can go from there,” you suggest.

“I like the way you think, missus.”

It’s almost laughable when he sinks right in. No resistance, just the slick of your arousal and his spit, an unholy mixture for this thick sacrilege. Taehyung’s eyes stay locked on the sight.

“Fuck yeah. Oh baby…”

If it’s got him uttering curses this early in the round then you’re definitely worse off. You’ve got one profanity for every inch he’s claimed inside you, all lined up behind your teeth but you don’t have the brain capacity to get them out. He fucks you straight to incoherence.

Your delirium keeps you mum. Taehyung will make up for it. He slots his hand up the back of your thighs, hits deeper when you arch through the pleasure. “Holy fuck that’s so good,” you whine. “Taehyung—oh god.”

He doesn’t say anything. Just pants hard with every moan you’ll give him, and you watch the sweat glow on his collarbone, the thick of his neck. Places you claim with your mouth when you lean forward because it’s too hard to keep balance without his gravity.

Taehyung breaks when you bite. “Sh-it. Oh fuck you’re so hot. ‘M not gonna last, shit.”

“You’ll fuck me when you come?” you plead, hold his gaze. He’s just as gone as you are. “You’ll fuck your cum inside me?”

“Yeah baby. I’ll give it to you. So fuckin’ good.”

He never lets up. Just keeps that steady fucking, stiff with every drive into your slick till he adjusts your knees with one push. Pussy open to the angle that gets you begging for his thumb on your clit because it’s right there. You fall back on your hands, no steady grip because Taehyung’s faltering too.

“Oh—!” You flutter your eyes shut to pending ecstasy. “Tae—please—harder—right there right there don’t stop!”

“You gonna come for me?”

It’s a rhetorical question. You know he sees the way your chest collapses, the rub of your clit in quick gestures for your high. He’s got you right in his hand.

“Fuck—ohhh yes!”

“Ugh,” he whines. It’s nearly lost to the ringing in your ears, the clench of your pussy from his pounding. You cream him so good when the orgasm’s strong enough, pulsing hot, the rough intensity. And that’s not lost on him when he cries: “God your pussy’s so wet. Holy shit.”

Usually you’re spent by the time your vision’s cleared to the sight of Taehyung fucking you through it. But he’s promised you something, and you’re greedy for it.

“Come inside me,” you urge, guiding a hand through his hair, pulling hard at his nape. He keeps his eyes on his dick priming you for those final strokes.

“I’ll fucking come,” he snaps. “You ready? I’ll come so good for you baby. Come so fucking—good—!”

He stiffens with a shout, grinds his teeth, lets his orgasm splash inside with so much heat you mewl. And he keeps minimal movement, thrust for soft thrust because it’s too much with the squeezing you tease him with.

“I.” Taehyung clears his throat, panting to a stop. “I… wow.”

Your ass is rubbed raw against the counter. But you’ll risk it again to see the glint in his eye when he pulls out and watches his cum drip down your hole, onto the floor for you to clean when your legs aren’t jelly.

“Wow,” you repeat.

“Do… Am I… Am I ovulating?” He looks genuinely confused. “I don’t… I’ve never been that horny before.”

You snort. “Five days felt like forever, huh.”

Taehyung kisses you slow. “If it means we get to fuck like that again then I’m going to the city for a month.”

“Hey!” You pinch his arm, using his bicep to stand up, tiptoeing around the mess on the floor. “God. Help me clean up here, please. And where’s the dog?”

(Danbi sleeps peacefully in the wicker basket, head lolled on one of the passion fruits. You make sure to bring her over to Auntie Gaeul’s for extra snacks.)

[gumnut-logic]

I know I’ve posted this one before, but what the hell. It’s Johnny and one of my favs :D

-o-o-o-

John Tracy was sick.

Which meant John Tracy wasn’t allowed to go home.

Sure, he could say that he was home, but it didn’t really feel like home. It was full of brothers and people he loved, but it didn’t feel like home.

Home was among the stars.

But apparently astronauts with the flu weren’t allowed to go home.

“It won’t be for long, John. It will be over before you know it.” Virgil was kind and reassuring, but it didn’t really help.

He wanted to go home.

He was determined to work, of course. Until Scott caught him and cut him off.

There were some loud words over that, but the medical department of IR (aka Virgil) sided with the command department (aka Scott) and yeah, he was grounded, cut off from his ‘bird, holed up in his room and miserable.

Of course, his brothers attempted to cheer him up. Alan dumped himself on his bed chattering away with his latest game, all eager enthusiasm. Gordon brought him a pet crab. Even cared for it for him. John was left wondering if it was a snarky metaphor as the crab sat under a rock all day and had a distinct grumpy appearance.

Virgil and Scott were more subtle, but no less caring. Scott ran ideas past him for communications improvements. Piano music and the occasional piece of art found its way into his rooms uninvited.

He appreciated it. Truly, he did.

He just wanted to go home.

The morning he woke up with a cat sleeping on his chest was the last straw.

“C’mon, guys. You know I’m allergic to cats. Are your trying to kill me?” He held the cat out at arm’s length just waiting for his nasal passages to swell up. Though at this point considering his condition, he wasn’t really sure he would notice.

The cat meowed pitifully at him.

Virgil frowned.

Scott arched an eyebrow.

Gordon looked guilty....but then he always looked guilty. John was sure it was an inbuilt survival strategy.

Alan was cooing at the cat and reaching out to scratch it under the chin.

It was an orange stripy thing with big whiskers and that ragdoll floppiness all cats sported.

“Gordon?” Scott’s arched eyebrow was now pointed at the aquanaut.

“What are you looking at me for? I got him the crab, why would I get him a cat? The cat will eat the crab.” Gordon frowned at John. “Don’t let the cat eat the crab.”

Not a sentence John had ever predicted hearing in his lifetime.

“Can someone please take this thing?” He held out the cat even further.

Virgil, still frowning, gently collected the cat from John’s hands and automatically curled it up in his arms. A finger scratched under its chin.

“Thank you. I’m going back to bed.”

And he did.

The next time he woke, a pair of green feline eyes were staring at him, the cat, once again, curled up on his chest.

What?

It meowed at him and poked his nose with a paw.

“Virgil!”

He must have yelled a little too much because next minute his big brother barrelled into the room, panic on his face. “John, what the-?!”

His eyes landed on the cat and his shoulders literally sagged. “Goddamnit, that’s where you are. I’ve been looking for you for hours.” Virgil reached to pick up the cat.

The cat turned from mild mannered bed companion to spitting and screeching demon within a blink. Virgil yelped and fell backwards, his feet slipping on the mat and his butt hitting the floor with a crash.

One of John’s telescopes teetered before tipping ever so slowly. Virgil saw it and struggled to catch it. “Shiiit!” He threw himself in its path and the four-foot metal cylinder landed in his lap.

There was an oomph and Virgil was flat on his back on the floor.

Demon cat kneaded John’s chest a little before settling once more.

It began to purr.

“Virgil? You okay?”

His brother grunted and John struggled out of bed, shoving the cat out of the way. “Virgil?”

“I’m good.” It was up an octave higher than normal. “Sorry about your telescope.”

John grabbed the telescope off his brother and righted it. It was his own fault for leaving it there in the first place. Stargazing from bed was a habit much more easily exercised on TB5.

Virgil waved off his offered hand and rolled over, pushing himself to his feet with another grunt. He eyed the cat with suspicion. “I thought we had an understanding, Bagel.”

The cat eyed Virgil with equal suspicion.

“Bagel?”

“Gordon claims it is your cat so needs a John name.”

“A John name?”

“Yeah, Bagel it is.”

“It’s not my cat! And where did it come from anyway?” John frowned at Virgil. “Another stowaway on Two.”

“No! You know we have sensors for that now. And besides, that was only once.”

“Twice.”

“Once. The polar bear doesn’t count.”

“The polar bear most assuredly does count. Alan still hasn’t forgiven you.”

“Really?”

“It was a polar bear, Virgil.”

“Yeah, well, that is your cat.”

“That is not my cat.”

“Apparently she has decided she is yours.” Virgil held up his hands. Several scratches decorated his skin. “I have enough of these already. She’s yours.”

“I’m allergic.”

Virgil peered up at him, brown eyes assessing. “You don’t appear to be suffering a reaction. She’s been gone for hours. If she has been here, on your chest all that time, you should be showing the affects. All I can see is the remains of your flu.” A frown. “Are you feeling any better?”

It was John’s turn to frown. He had almost forgotten he was ill, but now his attention returned to his body, the signs were clear.

But he was feeling a little better.

“A little.”

Virgil reached up and squeezed his arm. “Good. You hungry?”

A brief consultation with his stomach and he realised that yes, he was. “Yes, I think so.”

A smile spread over his brother’s face. “Great. You’re on the mend.” Another squeeze of his arm and Virgil turned towards the door. “Meet you in the kitchen. Scott went all out this morning and made pancakes. I stashed you some. Gotta grab them before Gordon discovers them.”

“FAB.” John couldn’t help but return his brother’s smile.

Virgil grinned and with a half-hearted groan rubbed his butt and staggered with some exaggeration out the door. “Don’t forget your cat.”

John turned back to stare at the ginger monstrosity still sitting on his bed, calmly grooming.

“Bagel, is it?”

The cat blinked and kept licking its fur.

John sighed and grabbed his clothes.

-o-o-o-

The cat followed him downstairs for the meal, which turned out to be dinner. He had managed to sleep the day away. Apparently, this was a good thing, because for the first time in days, he could move without creaking.

Virgil had indeed stashed pancakes and within minutes there was a short stack piled up in front of him complete with ice cream and maple syrup. Before he even bothered to acknowledge the envy emanating from Gordon across the other side of the table, the stack began to disappear.

Scott knew how to make pancakes. John considered his big brother’s purpose in life and came to the immediate conclusion that it should be IR, family and pancakes.

Of course, pancakes could be a subset of family if considered that way, but there was always the possibility of him opening a business as a pancake chef.

Blink.

Yes, the flu had obviously taken part of his brain with it.

A pair of blue eyes and two pairs of brown were staring at him.

“What?”

“Did you bother to breathe between bites, bro?” Gordon gestured with his head at the table.

John looked down and found his plate empty. “Guess I was hungry. Scott makes great pancakes.”

“Yes, he does.” Virgil plonked a glass of orange juice in front of him and took away his sticky plate. “Now drink your juice and we’ll set up for family movie.”

“Aren’t you guys going to eat?”

“Already eaten.” Scott was poking at his phone, holograms bouncing around above it. “Grandma made meatloaf surprise again.”

John choked on his juice. “Really?”

“Uh-huh.” Scott did look a little green around the gills.

Well, that explained the envy on Gordon’s face and why Alan was very absent.

“Anyone feed the youngest?”

“All under control.” Virgil chucked Gordon a celery crunch bar and the aquanaut grabbed it from the air.

It was devoured faster than John’s pancakes.

Virgil wandered back into the kitchen proper and soon there was the delicious smell of hot popcorn wafting through the room. The engineer walked past the table again and dumped a chocolate bar in front of Scott. Another one landed in front of John.

“Consider it a survivor’s reward.” Virgil grabbed Scott’s phone out of his hand.

“Hey!”

“Stop working, this is family time. Everything can wait a couple of hours.”

Scott glared at his brother, but grabbed the chocolate bar and capitulated anyway.

Probably because he knew Virgil was right. It was so easy to get absorbed with International Rescue business. John knew he was a fantastic example case of such a syndrome.

A sigh.

Scott glanced up at him. “How are you doing, John?” A smirk. “How’s Bagel?”

As if beckoned, the cat in question suddenly leapt up on to the table and stalked the length of it towards Scott. John’s eyes widened as his eldest brother was targeted by a feline glare of epic proportions.

Scott’s expression was quite an amusing mixture and defiance and terror. Bagel sat down in front of him and after a moment of intense eyeballing decided Scott was boring and started washing herself.

“That is one weird cat, John.”

Everyone jumped as Bagel shot to her feet and dashed across the table at Gordon. “Holy crap!” The aquanaut scrambled backwards as Bagel ran at him. He tangled his feet in the stool he was sitting on and with a crash, ended up on the floor.

“Ow.”

Reaching the edge of the table, Bagel stopped and peered down at the fallen Thunderbird and, apparently deciding Gordon was no more interesting than Scott, sat down and returned to grooming.

The remaining three vertical brothers stared at each other and the cat.

No one said a thing.

“Uh, can someone give me a hand up, here?” Gordon vaguely waved an arm about and Virgil edged around the table to help his brother up.

His eyes barely left Bagel.

“Has anyone fed the cat?” John threw the question in there as a bit of an icebreaker since said cat had frozen the room almost solid.

Bagel looked up and stared at John for a moment before jumping to her feet and ambling over. A simple step off the table and she was in his lap, circling for moment to find a comfortable spot, then curling up and purring.

Again, everyone was staring at the orange fluff ball, John included.

“You have a very strange cat.” Apparently, Gordon hadn’t learnt from his earlier experience, but fortunately, Bagel ignored him this time.

John stared down at the purring ball of fur.

Yes, it seems he did.

-o-o-o-

Despite the possessed cat, the rest of the night went very well. All five brothers plus Kayo threw down some pillows, curled up in front of the holoprojector and waded through a trashy b-grade movie that looked like they were using mannequins for actors and plastic models for set pieces. There was popcorn, laughter and loving family. John felt warm and relaxed and better than he had in days. Somewhere between action scenes, he drifted off to the tinny soundtrack and the sound of his brothers criticising the special effects.

“Johnny?” It was whispered “Johnny, you’ve got to move or you’ll end up with one hell of a neckache.”

A blink and he found himself looking at Virgil upside down. Wha-?

“C’mon, bro. Up you get.” And his brother was lifting him up. Another blink and he realised he was lying on one of the couches...almost upside down, his feet at an angle above his head with his head hanging off the seat cushion. He was far too long for the piece of furniture and, apparently, he had stretched in his sleep.

Virgil was shifting his shoulders into a more horizontal position. Beyond him, the holoprojector was listing all the languages the movie was available in, complete with appropriate copyright warnings. Idly he noted that the Hungarian translation had an error in the third line.

John let his feet drop to the end of the couch before folding up enough to force himself upright. Ugh, Virgil was right. His neck cricked and creaked along with his spine. God, gravity was a nasty piece of work. It had also apparently dribbled all the mucus in his body into his head. His skull protested at the pressure as he sat up and he groaned.

“John?”

Why did everyone think Scott was the worry wart of the family? Virgil with his medical radar was just as bad, if not worse. “I’m fine. Just a head full of snot.” Ugh. Right between his eyeballs, throbbing to the beat of his heart. “Just kill me now.”

Suddenly there was an orange cat in his face, staring.

“What? Bagel, not now.” He gently picked up the cat and put her on the couch beside him. Where the hell had she come from anyway?

A pitiful meow was her response and she edged nearer brushing her cheek against his arm.

Despite himself, he turned to her. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him with a combination of adoration and haughtiness. He had no idea what to make of that expression.

Of course, she was a cat. Who understood cats?

“Are you two having a moment?” His brother’s smiling baritone broke the silence and to John’s surprise, Bagel turned to Virgil and hissed angrily.

His big brother took a hurried step back.

“Bagel! Leave him alone! He will never hurt you. For goodness sake, Virgil wouldn’t hurt a fly. Give him some respect.”

To his complete surprise, Bagel stopped hissing immediately. She turned to him almost a question on her face before once again looking at Virgil. Her head dropped and stared at the floor.

“What the hell?” It was little more than breath and all his big brother. Virgil was staring at Bagel, his brow crumpling into a deep frown.

Bagel’s head shot up and once again she was staring at Virgil.

Virgil’s frown got even deeper.

“John where did you get this cat from?”

“I told you, I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before in my life.”

Virgil continued his staring contest with the cat.

“What is it?” His brother’s expression was becoming unnerving, so suddenly determined, it was almost fierce.

“I don’t know.” A pause. “Keep her out of sensitive areas for me, will you?”

“Sure.”

Bagel continued to stare at Virgil.

Virgil continued to stare at Bagel.

A solid moment passed and then his brother was shaking his head, looking at his feet, looking at John. “You good to make it up to your rooms?”

“Yeah.”

“I need to go hunt down Scott. One of the TI directors in the States forgot the time zones. He’s been on the phone for half an hour already.” Virgil sighed.

“Need backup?”

“No.” A hand dropped to John’s shoulder. “You go to bed, you need it. I’ve got this.” The hand disappeared and Virgil climbed out of the lounge, heading towards the balcony.

Bagel was licking her paw.

John sighed. Perhaps some paracetamol would help. “C’mon, Bagel, apparently, you’re with me.” He picked her up and held her against his chest as he staggered to his feet. Cursed gravity. How he missed being able to make the smallest movements and coast across a room.

Bagel reached her head up and snuggled under his chin, her purr vibrating his sternum.

“Why me?” It was little more than an exhaled breath and he wasn’t sure it was a complaint or an actual question.

In either case, Bagel didn’t answer. She just purred into his chest.

So, it remained a mystery for another night.

-o-o-o-

“It just appeared. No trace on sensors, nothing. It’s as if it didn’t exist before the day before yesterday.”

Virgil’s puzzled voice echoed up the stairs as John approached the kitchen the next morning. He glanced at his watch. This was early for his brother; he usually wasn’t up for another hour at least.

“I’m telling you, Scott, there is something very strange about that cat.”

John paused at the top of the stairs, his hands curled around Bagel, gently scratching her under the chin. He had awoken again with her on his chest, but unlike the previous two incidents, he had found himself surprisingly comforted with her presence.

Her purring was strangely calming.

“I will admit she is quite volatile.” Scott’s voice was surprisingly reluctant. “She didn’t even take to Gordon. Every living creature takes to Gordon. Except lizards, I guess. Hell, she doesn’t even like you.”

“That’s just it. She doesn’t act like a cat.”

“What, just because she doesn’t like you?”

“I’m sorry, Scott. Something just doesn’t feel right. Why is she so attached to John? What if she is a plant after our technology?”

“A tech seeking cat? Really?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time an animal has been used for espionage.”

Scott sighed and John shifted, attempting to loosen the tense muscles in his shoulders.

“It’s just that John appears to have latched onto Bagel as much as the cat has to him. How often does John attach to anybody?”

“And that’s what scares me the most. What happens when he returns to TB5? He can’t take a cat with him. It wouldn’t be safe for either of them.”

“Then we look after Bagel for him.”

It was Virgil’s turn to sigh and it was a worried one.

John chose that moment to make his entrance. He stepped lightly down the stairs. “You two really do worry far too much.”

Both brothers started as he entered. The guilty expressions on their faces were quite amusing.

“Virgil, if you are worried about Bagel, scan her.” John held the cat out to his brother. “Take her up to the infirmary and run her through a thorough physical. In fact, I would prefer if you did since as you said, I have become somewhat attached to her. As to what we are going to do when I return to Five...” He shrugged. “I hope we can work something out.”

Virgil managed to look both apologetic and sad.

To John’s astonishment, Bagel wriggled out of his grip and jumped down to the floor. She ambled over to Virgil. His brother froze, obviously wary, but the cat gently brushed up against his leg and rubbed the length of her body across his boots.

The whole room stared.

“Good morning, Bagel.” Virgil’s voice was a little breathless.

“Good morning, Virgil.” The whole room jumped as Brains jogged down the stairs and passing them, bee-lined for the fridge.

“‘Morning, Brains, John.” Gordon wandered in from the pool rubbing a towel through his hair. “Yaargh! What the hell, Virgil. You gone to the cat side?” He took several steps back as he caught sight of Bagel.

Bagel, still wrapped around Virgil’s ankles, turned towards Gordon and spat at him.

“That damn cat is possessed.” The aquanaut made sure the table was between him and the feline.

Bagel glared at him, following with her eyes.

“Eos, I know G-Gordon can b-be a challenge, b-but really, h-he is a good man.” Brains was pouring milk into his cereal on the bench.

“Yes, but he is so annoying.” The AI’s voice bounced across the house’s comm system.

“He st-still deserves r-respect.”

The comm system grunted.

Every eye in the room stared at the engineer.

Gordon found his voice first. “Wow, Brains, thanks.”

John was staring at Bagel. “Eos what do you know about Bagel?”

“Oh, John, everything.” The little imp was so smug.

Two strides and John was beside Virgil. Reaching down, he snagged Bagel off the floor and held her up, his eyes raking over the cat. A moment of intense examination. Bagel stared back at him calmly.

“Okay, how did you do it?”

“Do what, John?”

“Do not mess with me, Eos. I want answers and I want them now.”

“Hiram helped me.”

“Helped you do what?” Scott’s voice was sharp. “Brains?”

“It was a v-very interesting challenge.”

“What did you do, Brains?” Commander Tracy stood up from the table, his height saying everything it needed to.

Brains didn’t notice.

“Oh, Eos had an e-excellent idea to equip Thunderbird F-Five with an internal m-mobile probe mechanism.

“Yes, something that could get into the spaces John cannot.” Still smug. Oh, there would be some serious talking at a later time.

“So, you built a cat.” Virgil’s eyes were wide.

Brains sipped his orange juice, still seemingly unaware of the tension in the room. “She didn’t think I could. So, I did.” He was definitely pleased with himself.

“You built a cat?” Gordon was an echo of his brother. “That cat?” He stabbed a finger in Bagel’s direction.

“Yes?” Finally, the man appeared to realise that something was amiss. “I’m v-very happy with the r-results. It performs v-very well.”

It certainly did. John had her under his arm and found himself scratching her under her chin despite everything.

He forced himself to stop.

“John?”

“Yes, Eos?”

“Do you like her?” Suddenly he was a parent faced with his child’s school science project and the need for approval.

Some science project.

“I like her, Eos.”

“Can we keep her?”

“That is yet to be decided.” It came out firm. It needed to be firm...even though he already knew the answer.

“But-“

“Eos, why didn’t you tell us Bagel wasn’t really a cat?”

“But she is...”

“Eos.”

“John...”

“Eos!”

“I missed you.”

He froze. “I’m right here.”

“But it’s not the same.” That was a definite whine. “You’re not with me. It gets lonely up here without you. So, I built a way to be down there with you.” Bagel rubbed her cheek against his hand.

“Eos is in the cat?” Gordon’s jaw may as well have been on the floor. “She hates me that much?!”

“I don’t hate you, Gordon. You are quite funny. Somewhat clumsy, but funny.”

“Eos.”

“Yes, John?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

No answer.

“Brains, why didn’t you tell us?” Commander Tracy was glaring at the engineer.

“T-Tell you what?”

“About Eos and the cat.”

“That would have r-ruined the experiment.”

“What?”

“Eos w-wanted to see if the f-feline programming was sufficient. The b-best way to do that was test it.”

“On us?” Gordon spouted outrage.

“Surprisingly only V-Virgil appears to have b-been concerned. I w-would be interested to hear your evaluation.”

“Sure.” Virgil appeared to still be processing. Probably attempting to work out exactly how Brains had pulled it off.

“Brains, you, Eos, John and I are going to have a serious conversation.” Scott’s voice was stern. “This is not happening again. This family is not an experimental lab.”

“It was not his fault, Commander.”

Scott arched an eyebrow up at the ceiling. “Really, Eos? I have no doubt that John has a few choice words to be said on this matter.” Oh, yes, choice and many. “In the meantime, please cease the experiment.”

“But-“

“Eos.”

“Very well.”

The cat in John’s arms went completely limp.

He couldn’t help it; a gasp passed his lips and he caught the sudden dead weight with both hands. “Eos!”

All life had left Bagel. She became nothing more than a lifeless corpse. Something inside him lurched horribly.

Every eye in the room was staring at him.

“John?” Virgil’s eyes flashed concern.

He gathered up the cat in his arms and gently placed her on the seat of one of the kitchen chairs.

So real. He shivered.

“You okay?” His big brother was suddenly beside him.

“That was unnerving.” Both of them stared at the immobile TB5 internal remote probe mechanism.

“Eos, can you please reactivate Bagel.”

“Virgil-“

“No, Scott. Too creepy, too real. Please, just...leave her be.”

To John’s surprise, Scott didn’t protest.

But Bagel didn’t move.

“Eos?” His own voice sounded hollow in his ears.

“Yes, John?”

“Please reactivate Bagel.”

“Why?”

“Eos, just please.”

“Very well.”

And Bagel uncurled herself, sat up and glared at Scott. Before Eos could exact any form of petulant revenge, he grabbed Bagel off the chair and held her in his arms.

“Thank you, Eos.”

“You are very welcome.” Impertinent little brat.

“Now, I’m going to have breakfast, then we are going to have that conversation.”

“Yes, John.”

Something in the room snapped and suddenly everyone went back to their morning routine with only the occasional stare at the cat in his arms.

“Would you like some cereal, John?” Virgil was heading towards the fridge.

“You don’t have to get me breakfast, Virgil.”

“You have your hands full and I’ve already had mine.”

“How early were you up this morning?”

“Early enough. Your cat weirded me out.”

Bagel was rubbing her cheek against his fingers again. He grabbed a chair and sat himself down, placing Bagel on the chair beside him. She started grooming herself quite content.

A bowl was placed in front of him, followed by a cereal box, milk and another glass of orange juice.

Bagel stared up at him

He shook his head slowly. “What am I going to do with you?”

The cat tilted her head and licked her whiskers.

And he knew that somewhere far above the planet his daughter was laughing.

-o-o-o-

[imaginesmai]

Arvin Russell - Bad feeling

Requested by an anon, here it goes! I tried my best, hope you like ❤ Third time I post this, I swear I’m gonna burn Tumblr

Plot: Arvin is worried about Lenora, so he goes to you for advice. You don’t get too far before tragedy strikes the Russell house.

Warnings: SPOILERS OF TDATT, IF YOU DON’T THEM STOP READING THE WARNINGS AND THE FIC, that scene of Lenora’s death.

“So it’s just – throwing up? Nothing else?”

Arvin shook his head as he hid his hands in his denim jacket’s pockets. Looking around as if someone would suddenly pop out of the bushes, he confirmed that Lenora was just throwing up and complaining about feeling a bit bad at the stomach. You knew he hoped you could tell him the solution, even if you hadn’t seen the girl since she started feeling sick. No one had, because she had started feeling that way just before church, and Arvin had been the only one talking with her.

With the vague explanation he was giving you, you had a bunch of possibilities. Being the doctor’s daughter had its good things, like you could help as much as your father. You hadn’t gone to school, as your father had home-schooled you since you were four. So it was normal that Arvin had come to you about the problem with his step sister, who was his whole world and happiness.

“I don’t know, Arv. It could be a stomach bug, or maybe she’s coming down with the flu” you gave him a small smile, trying to cheer him up. “From what you’re saying it’s probably nothing, don’t worry”

“Nah, it’s somethin’. She’s been acting all strange lately, and she don’t wanna tell me bout it” Arvin scoffed.

“Maybe she found out what happened with those boys, and is processing it”

A laughing kid passed by running, followed by her older sister and his cousin. Arvin stood quiet until they were far away. He was trying to keep his voice down, because he didn’t want the whole town knowing about Lenora. The small graveyard before starting the Sunday’s mass wasn’t the best place to avoid it, but he couldn’t wait no longer.

“She already knows, it’s not that”

“Arvin” you placed a gentle hand on his chin, meeting his worried eyes. “I’m sure it’s just some teenage drama. Do you want me to visit her after the lecture?”

“Your daddy won’ mind?”

To erase his doubts, you briefly pressed your lips against his, and he finally relaxed. Everyone ran to the church a moment after, the preacher finally appearing. Grabbing his hand, you dragged him with you into the temple, choosing a bench in the end since the one his family had chosen was already full.

You didn’t have to look at him to know that he was over worrying things. Not only because he couldn’t stand the sight of the preacher because of what he did to his grandma, but because it didn’t matter how many times you assured him how Lenora was fine; he would still worry, that was who he was.

Arvin Russell and you met when you were just kids, kids who didn’t have many friends. You were well known for everyone, but couldn’t say a word without stuttering and only your father had enough patience to listen to what you had to say. Arvin was new to Knockemstiff, his parents dead. He was a shy boy too, who only talked with his step sister. After his grandma asked your father for help, he said the boy didn’t have anything wrong; just a huge trauma. So he gave you the task to talk to him and befriend the new boy, who turned out to be as patient as your father.

Since then, it was rare to see you without the other. You had started dating after he dropped out of highschool, and now you were saving for, when the right moment came, moving in together.

During the lecture, Arvin’s hand, trapped between yours, twitched uncomfortable. He shifted on his seat a few times, earning some glances from the surroundings. You tried to whisper him that he didn’t have to worry so much, but he didn’t listen to you; if anything, he seemed ready to run out of the church. He managed to wait until the preacher said you could leave in peace, and even let you say goodbye to your dad.

The good man just smiled at you and told you to be careful, asking if he was meeting you for lunch. Arvin, who was shaking on his feet, shook his head, so you told him you were grabbing something outside. Once in the car, Arvin drove past all the traffic signals in town.

“I hope they don’t have to scrape my body from the road” you chuckled nervously, and Arvin lowered the speed.

“Sorry darlin’. I’m just – ‘ave a bad feeling bout it”

“You know that she’ll grow up some day, right?” you moved from your seat, closer to him. “She’s gonna have kids, and a husband, and you’re gonna have to sit through family dinner without threats”

“Still a long way there”

“Oh, not so long” you tried to pry something from him that wasn’t worry. “Haven’t you seen the soft smile she has been carrying around? Bet she has someone in her head”

“She doesn’t – Lenora ain’t like that” he scoffed, finally driving in an acceptable speed. “She’s… uh, she’s Lenora. She doesn’t –“

“What? Get crushes and think about boys? You know that she’s turning fifteen in two months, right?”

“Not if I don’ think bout it”

The ghost of a smile appeared in Arvin’s face, and you high fived yourself. He always looked beautiful when he genuinely smiled, not in one of those usual frowns that he always carried around. To you, he looked younger and happier, and made a fuzzy feeling appear in the middle of your chest.

“You asked me out when I was fourteen, and one year later –“

“I’m fuckin’ throwin’ you out the road now” he cut you off, sneaking a glance at you. “Lenora is datin’ no boys”

“And does she know or are you planning on scare all of them away?”

“I work fine by scarin’ them ‘way from you”

“But I only have eyes for certain Russell boy. She’s going to be more difficult”

Arvin finally gave you a belly laugh, and the sun shined brighter. You still had a few minutes in the car, which you filled by useless talk. He was insistent in treating you lunch, since you never accepted money for taking care of him or his family. Lunch with Arvin meant he had to work extra harder the next week to recover from whatever it took, but saying no meant him carrying you like a sack of potatoes to the café. You wouldn’t mind not eating anything, just a stroll around the woods with him was enough payment.

The conversation ended when the Russell’s house came into view. You let loose your seatbelt to reach in the back seat for you bag. It had the basics; some aspirins, bandages, alcohol, meds for the headache and the stomach, syringes and a thermometer. Arvin parked while you searched into it for the last object, that seemed to be buried deep down.

“I think I forgot the thermometer. You still have the one from your grandma?”

“You can look for it, I haven’ seen it” Arvin told you as he moved the car around.

“Damn, I hope she isn’t too –“

You didn’t finish your sentence as suddenly the car came into a stop and you were pushed forwards, with the bad luck of having your seatbelt off and slamming your head against the front part of the car. It left a throbbing pain in the middle of your forehead, a nasty bruise and some swelling in a few hours. Because you were too busy with the bag, you didn’t notice what made Arvin stop the car so suddenly.

The barn had its door open, something unusual since there were a few bad people who didn’t have problem in stealing from the humble houses. It let Arvin see what was inside, that turned out to be a bucket upside down. For a moment, he was ready to tell you to stay in the car or run to call for someone, take the gun for his father and search for any intruders. Then, he saw a body hanging from the ceiling and recognized Lenora’s dress.

He ran out of the car before fully stopping it, leaving you cradling your head. Your eyes lost focus for a solid second, everything turning blurry around and a feeling as if you were underwater. It was Arvin’s desperate scream that had you blinking yourself into the present.

“Y/N!”

The pure anguish on his voice made you stumble out of the car, your knees scraping with the rough floor when you couldn’t hold your balance. You held onto the vehicle until you saw what Arvin was screaming about. He had tears running down his cheeks, horrible sobs racking his body, that was shaking under Lenora’s weight.

You managed to get to him without falling again, messing with the end of the rope until it came loose. Lenora came crashing down on Arvin, who fell to the ground as his knees gave out. His whole body was shaking as he tried to sit right, cradling her head.

“Please, please” he cried out. “Lenora, wake up! Lenora!”

Prying the rope from her neck, you already knew the answer. There was a sickening blue bruise around her neck, with hints or purple. She didn’t move when you shifted her head and checked for a pulse.

Your fingers fell on flat skin.

-

There weren’t a lot of people in the backyard, not even the preacher, who had left shortly after the ceremony. The Russell expected him to stay for a bit longer, seeing the relationship between the young girl and him. He had been the only person who she talked out of her family, and they had been sure he was fond of her too. That came down quickly when he threw into the lecture that suicide was a coward way to go. Uncle Earskell had held Arvin the whole time, preventing him from throwing fists with the preacher; even if the man himself looked close to doing so.

Everyone left eventually, even your father, who had a business to attend. You hadn’t talked with Arvin since his grandma found you with Lenora’s body in the barn, but once your father left and said goodbye to the boy, you were forced to do so. You were dying to go home and lay in bed, sleeping off the throbbing feeling of the gash of your head. But Arvin had giving you a side glance, shy and pleading, and you told your father you would be meeting him later.

While they lowered the coffin, you stayed by Arvin’s side, eventually working your arm through his elbow in an attempt to comfort him. His grandma broke down and his uncle was quick to gather her into his arms, walking away so she could cry in peace. It was then just Arvin and you.

“I’m sorry, Arv” you whispered, rubbing his upper arm.

When your father, who had ran to the barn after being notified by a neighbour, confirmed what you already knew, you felt a crushing guilt it you. Maybe, if you hadn’t been so insistent in comforting Arvin you could have prevented it. Arvin always had a sixth sense to know when something was wrong before it actually happened. And you had ignored it.

“How’s your head?” he asked. You had never heard him sound so small unsure.

“Just a nasty bump and a small concussion. It’ll be healed in a few days”

“I didn’ meant for you to hit your head” Arvin confessed. “I’m so –“

“Hey, I don’t blame you” you turned around and looked up to his eyes. “No one does. What happened wasn’t your fault”

When tears rushed to his eyes you knew he had understood what you meant by it. He trapped you in a bear hug the next second, his whole body hiding between your arms. You shushed him when the first sob appeared, and then they appeared one by another.

Since you had found her in the barn, Arvin hadn’t cried. He had carried his body to the funeral’s parlour, had chosen the coffin when his grandma couldn’t even sit straight, and had put on a stone face through the ceremony. It was hard always being the strong one, to be so weary about everyone and never breaking down. He was glad he had you, so glad it only made him cry harder.

Grandma and his uncle went back to their house just before the sun came down, but you didn’t release Arvin. It was hard to explain how much he loved his sister, because everything he did or thought about was for her security.  

“Don’t leave me” Arvin suddenly said, making you go rigid with the express confession. “Please. Don’t – You’re the only thin’ I have left, and I can’t – I… I love you so much, that – “

“I love you too” you finished for him, the last sob breaking through. “And I’m not going anywhere. Not now or ever”

Arvin nodded against your shoulder a few times, interiorizing the words. The rational part of his brain that always worked before things happen, that was mildly drowned by the sorrow, was starting to understand that there was more about Lenora’s death to know that just a suicide. And he promised to himself, right there and then, that no one would ever take away another important person from him, not if he was around.

He wasn’t going to leave you either for as long as you had him.

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[ak47stylegirl]

Doctors Appointment: Chapter 3

Okay guys, here’s the third chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this!!! 😁💙

First two chapters. 

@janetm74 @dragonoffantasyandreality @katblu42 @cg29 @alexthefly @inertplanetary ----

Scott stood with his arms crossed, watching with a worried frown as Alan’s doctor, Dr David, examined his baby brother. At this moment, Dr David was examining Alan’s joints, mainly his arms and legs. 

Alan’s eyes glanced over at Scott.

“Okay, tell me if any of this hurts, okay?” Dr David began to put pressure on Alan’s unbraced leg joints, feeling around with his fingers. 

Alan’s face was scrunched up in discomfort, slightly flinching each time pressure was applied to his limbs.

But then Dr David put pressure on Alan’s ankle joint-

“Ow! Ow!” Alan wailed from where he laid on the bed, tears gathering in his eyes. “Ow! That hurts! Stop!”

Dr David instantly took the pressure off, frowning as he gently examined them further. At the same time, Scott had rushed over to Alan’s side. 

“Shhh, it’s alright….” Scott whispered, brushing his fingers through Alan’s soft blond hair. “It’s alright….” 

Alan whimpered, pouting up at Scott in disagreement. 

Scott’s eyes saddened immensely at the sight, tilting his head slightly in sympathy. Oh, my poor little one…

You never should’ve had to deal with this...

Dr David sighed heavily, catching Scott’s attention in a snap. Scott’s stomach flipped at the deep frown on the doctor’s face as he typed his notes into his tablet. 

Alan’s joints have gotten worse, haven’t they?! 

Oh no, please no! 

Alan struggled enough.

Please...no...

“Well, unfortunately, I can’t see much improvement from last time…” Dr David explained sadly, placing his tablet back down, “There is some stiffness in Alan’s left knee, but overall not much has changed….” 

Scott let loose a sigh of relief, his shoulders dropping. While no improvement wasn’t good, it was better than the other option. 

Oh, so, so much better...

Alan blew out a frustrated breath, “Can...Can I sit up now?” Alan mumbled, looking up at the two adults. 

“Yes, of course….” Dr David nodded. 

Alan slowly sat up with Scott’s help, leaning his head heavily against Scott’s side with a weak groan. 

Scott’s eyes creased in sorrow, lips pressed tightly together as he stroked the back of Alan’s head. 

This was only the first part of the appointment, and Alan’s tolerance was already getting paper-thin. 

It didn't bode well…

Especially seeing as Alan’s appointment was actually multiple appointments.

First, there was the appointment with Dr David, Alan’s main specialist. The team leader of Alan’s health professionals. They had the main ‘check-up’ with Dr David, who checked all the basic things they needed to watch.

After that, Alan was handed over to the pathology lab for tests and scans. That usually took quite a while. 

Alan wasn’t overly fond of some of the tests, to say the least…

But once that was done, Scott and Alan would retire to a private hospital suite for a little break as Alan needed to rest.

Because if Alan didn’t get said nap, there would 100% be a massive meltdown. Like laying on the floor crying his eyes out, refusing to cooperate…

Lots and lots of screaming… 

So yes, Scott very much insisted on that break. 

(Though sometimes, even that didn’t stop the meltdowns from happening…)

The second main appointment of the day was with Dr Suzzy, Alan’s fitness/rehabilitation specialist.

It took place down in the hospital’s rehab gym, where Dr Suzzy would walk through a couple of simple exercises with Alan. Alan actually had a training schedule for home as well, created by both Virgil and Dr Suzzy. 

As their medic, Virgil pulled rank to be the one to help Alan with those exercises. 

Scott tried to help sometimes, but unfortunately, running a business and rescue organisation kept him tied down most of the time...

The guilt plagued him…

Gordon also helped out with those exercises at times, especially if the pool was involved. 

If there were two things that Gordon took deadly seriously, it was pool safety and looking after his only little brother. So you could be damn sure Gordon was going to be there. 

Don’t think you can stop him. He’s a sneaky one, and he bites.

Scott had a faint scar on his arm from a four-year-old Gordon to prove it. (It had happened shortly after mum died, Gordon had been having a bad day… he hadn’t meant it...)

Don’t mess with the Gordo; at times, he’s a cuddly squid and others…

Shark. 

Pure shark.

Anyway, after that appointment, it was onto the final and honestly worst part of the day.

Alan’s treatment. 

It would occur in the same hospital suite as before, with Alan hooked up to an IV containing his medication. It was a slow process, taking an hour or two. Alan typically spent that time cradled up in Scott’s lap, hugging his Thunderbird Three plushie. 

Virgil had gotten it for Alan when he was first diagnosed. 

Scott knew Virgil was tempted to get Alan the Thunderbird Two plushie instead but went with Three as that was Alan’s favourite ship.

Also, that before mentioned Thunderbird Two plushie?

It was sitting pride of place on Virgil’s bed. 

Because-

‘I couldn’t just leave it?! She was looking so sad sitting there!’

While Virgil needing to have the plush version of his bird was understandable, buying the whole store’s supply of plushies was a bit much.

Like seriously, Virg…

Most of those toys got donated to families that couldn’t afford toys or sick children in hospital. 

It ended up being a very good experience for everyone involved…

Virgil had personally gone to the hospitals himself, handing said plushies to the unwell kids himself. 

There were tears…

And the lucky survivors that remained either got a job as an International Rescue’s cuddle operative; tasked with comforting young rescuees.

Or adults, it has definitely happened before... 

And the last few were adopted by Gordon, whose bed was a sea of plushies. 

Scott would never know how Gordon could sleep in that bed…

But it was a pretty adorable sight, he will admit. 

Dr David put his stethoscope in his ears, “Okay, let’s have a little listen to that chest of yours, shall we?” 

The stethoscope was slipped up the back of Alan’s shirt-

“Cold!” Alan squealed, flinching away as the cold metal of the stethoscope touched his skin. “That’s freezing!” 

“Sorry, Alan…” Dr David smiled apologetically. “I’ll warm it up a bit next time, okay?” The stethoscope was placed against Alan’s skin once again.

“Now, deep breath in for me..” 

Alan’s eyes narrowed, a grumpy pout on his face as he took a deep breath. 

Scott sighed wearily, spotting a possible meltdown brewing on the horizon. He didn’t know when it would hit, but Scott knew that it would happen some way or another.

Alan was displaying all the signs…

Dr David moved the stethoscope around a couple of times, each time asking Alan to take a deep breath. By the time the doctor was finished, Alan was slightly out of breath. 

“Well, his heart sounds good, which is always a good thing….” Dr David slipped his stethoscope back around his neck. “But his lungs sound a little wheezy….” 

Scott frowned in concern. 

“Has he been sick in the last week or so?” Dr David asked Scott, once again typing down notes on his tablet. “Cold? Flu?” 

Alan shuttered with a grimace. 

Being completely knocked down with the flu or cold was horrible for anyone. Let alone for someone like Alan, who had a weak immune system…

Scott’s eyes slipped close briefly as he nodded, 

“Yeah…” Scott replied, remembering that week well. “He was unwell with a bad cold about a week and a half ago….” 

It hasn’t been fun... 

“I figured as much,” Dr David remarked, putting his tablet down, “Nothing to be concerned about, as I’m sure Dr Tracy wouldn’t let her grandson out of her care otherwise….”

Scott chuckled in agreement. Grandma was a force to be reckoned with when it came to matters of health. 

And she had a pupil called Virgil. 

“But if it’s not gone by this time next week, I would advise getting it checked….” Dr David suggested as he set up the blood pressure monitor. 

Scott nodded thoughtfully, “Will do….” 

And seeing as they had a doctor in the house, and most of them were trained medics or EMTs, Scott had no doubt that Alan would get the best care possible. 

He would personally make sure of that…

TBC..

[fan4196]

Happiness (Part 2)

Evermore

Here’s part two of three from this little fix-it fic. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

-

It's been a few months now since Jo's call and since Alex debated whether he should visit Seattle or not. He doesn't know if he should. There’s something telling him he lost his right to go back there. To just wiggle himself back into the life’s he left so abruptly. There’s something holding him back.

He ended up with a very big Peds case that kept him busy at work for like a month. When he then finally decided to man up and get over his stupid feelings, the twins got sick with the flu for two weeks. And as soon as they were well again he got it himself and was down for another two weeks. He waited another week to not infect Jo but when he finally got a ticket and was waiting to go to Seattle his flight got canceled. The next flight he wanted to take got canceled too due to bad weather conditions and then there was a lot of work again at the hospital.

Maybe this was the universe telling him to just stay in Kansas and let Jo live the happy life she deserves. Maybe she was better off without him in her life. But the second they got a call from Izzie's mom, that she was admitted to the hospital and it wasn’t looking good Alex took the opportunity to not chicken out again. They also took the twins visit their grandma possibly a last time and to show them where their parents once lived and maybe meet Mer and the kids.

A week later they landed in Seattle. After they left the plane and got their suitcases, they are now on their way to the exit. Mer offered to pick them up from the airport so they wouldn’t have to take a cap. They start looking for Mer as soon as they leave the airport but neither her nor her car was waiting for them. Alex is just about to get his phone out, to call Meredith when he hears a voice calling his name from behind.

Before he even turns he already knows who to look for. He would recognize her voice through everything. It has always been and still is one of his absolute favorite sound. Finding her leaning against her car door, greeting him with a toothless smile, his glance immediately goes to her expanding bump, which looks so good on her. It's so perfect that he would like to capture this view in his brain forever. It’s also so big, but what was he expecting from a seven months twins bump - he doesn't really know.

One of her hands is holding onto the car, the other one is in the pocket of her jacket, tightening the rim of the shirt she's wearing around her stomach. He knows women hate it when you say they have the pregnancy glow but Jo really has it and it fits her so incredibly well.

With a quick call he guides Izzie into Jo's direction, while he's already on his way towards his ex-wife, with his daughter and their suitcase.

"Hi." He greets Jo as he gets closer, not knowing if he should hug her or just do nothing. It's quite awkward. The last time they saw each other they were still husband and wife. He rememberes every second of their last morning together - they are burned into his brain forever.

They woke up, enjoyed the morning in each others arms, took a shower together, packed Alexs stuff in Jos car, he took her out for breakfast, they drove to the airport, they kissed each other goodbye and then he left for his flight.

Now standing here next to her again makes him feel like their goodbye has only been a week ago and she's here to pick him up to go home. But it's not, it's been almost seven month since their goodbye - he's bringing his family with him, she's carrying their babies and they act like they are total strangers.

"Hi." His thoughts get interrupt by his daughter excitingly greeting Jo, freeing her hand from her dad's to tightly hug Jo's leg.

"Oh- ahm hi." Jo greets the little girl a little surprised but immediately stroking her hair lovingly.

"And hello babies." Alexis greets Jo's bump as she carefully strokes it with one hand.

"Did you feel that? They’re saying hi too." Jo smiles as she looks down at the little girl, taking her hand to put it where one of the babies is kicking.

"Like a little alien." Alexis giggles happily, looking from Jo to her dad with a cheeky smile on her face.

"I'm sorry." Alex apologizes, grapping his daughters hands. "Ok, enough Alexis, give Jo some space-"

"There you are. We lost you back there, suddenly you two were gone." Izzie finally reaches the group with Eli on her hand. "Oh I thought Mer wanted to pick us up." Izzie notes as she spots the woman next to Alex.

"Yeah, she got pulled into an emergency surgery and asked me to pick you up, since she won’t let me stand in an OR longer than two hours." Jo jokes, trying to loosen the slightly tense atmosphere. "Oh right- I'm sorry, I'm Jo." She introduces herself, sticking her hand out towards Izzie with the best smile she can put on right now.

"Oh Jo like in Jo Jo." Izzie asks surprised pointing from Jo to Alex and Jo nods.

The whole situation is tense and rather awkward but thanks to the two smallest of the group the awkward silence gets interrupt as Alexis fights her dads hands off once again to start stroking Jos stomach again.

"Eli, come and feel. There are two babies inside." She calls her brother over, who's not so sure about it. He's always the more careful one and also rather shy. Other than his sister who's very outgoing and not afraid of strangers.

"Alexis! Stop that! It's not nice to touch people you don't know." Izzie disciplines her daughter, who's still stroking Jo's stomach.

"But mommy that's my friend Jo and she allowed me to say hello to the babies." Alexis explaines to her mother looking up to Jo, who smiles at her.

"It's fine. You would be surprised how many people touch my bumb every day out of nowhere." Jo assures Izzie, not missing Alex's face immediately turning sad.

"Mommy you know, I love babies." Alexis pleads.

"Yeah I know-"

"Ok. I think we should get going. We can keep talking in the car." Alex interrupts, starting to put the suitcases into the truck of Jo's Audi.

After convincing Jo to let him drive, so she could relax, they are now in the car. Alex in the driver's seat, Jo in the passenger seat, Izzie and the twins in the back.

"Jojo you know what?" Alexis continues her conversation with her new declared best friend Jo. "I wanna be a Peds doctor like my daddy when I'm big." She proudly announces, finally unwrapping her sucker all by herself, that Jo gave her and Eli.

"Wow. Really? That's so cool. Did he already teach you some cool stuff?" Jo asks, looking at Alexis while they talk.

The little girl nodds and puts the sucker in her mouth. Jo holds her hand out for Alexis to pass her the wrapping and puts it in the little trash bag in the center console. Alex's eyes watch her as she does so before Jo turns back to continue her conversation with Alexis. Alex's eyes stay at the little trash bag he put there almost a year ago for Jo to put her gum wrappers and tissues in.

It gives him this weird warm feeling inside to see that she didn't get rid of it yet.

[blueunoia]

❤ ──── ·․ under watchful eyes (pt. 4)

━━━   SYNOPSIS: the russell family face tragedy.

━━━  WARNINGS: suicide, crying, allusion to sexual assault 

━━━  NOTES: Sorry for the long wait, school has been stressing me. Please heed the warning, I allude or mentioned the suicide a few times so if your sensitive to that, becareful. 

━━━  WORD COUNT: 2,170

✦·․  ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․ ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․  ❤ ․·✦·․·✦·․· ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․ ──── ❤ ────  ․·✦

    It was raining in Coal Creek. Not just on the land, but on a family in the small town. The Russell family had never felt such a fitting tone. Together they all surrounded a grave. It was just them, no preacher, no friends - just the now one size smaller family. 

       Y/N clutches Arvin's arm tightly, letting a few tears slip as she felt his arm flex under his grip. One look at him and anyone, whether or not they knew the stern boy, could tell that he was trying not to fall apart. Trying to be a man like he was raised to be. His grandmother kept a firm grasp on the tissues in her hand. The girls were dressed in black dresses and the boys in their usual shirts and slack pants.

"Lord... there are just some things we can't understand," the grandmother said weakly. "You take her into your arms..."

"There ain't even somebody sayin' prayers."

Arvin looks over at you and then to the ground, sniffling. Turning your head to face him, you nuzzle your nose into his cheek in the hope to console him. Arvin was never the 'talk about my feelings' type.

        Arvin unwraps his entangled arm from yours, taking a few steps forward and grabbing his grandma. After saying a few more words, you all left, walking back without Lenora's soft voice that had been lost from your lives for just a few days. It felt like you were waiting for it. To hear her again, to feel her presence, but then nothing came. During the car ride that felt like an eternity, you couldn't help but wonder. 

       How did this happen?

Two weeks earlier.

       "Is Lenora feeling any better?" you ask Arvin as the two of you eat lunch in the cafeteria. Lenora hadn't come into school for the second time this month. At first, you and Arvin just figured she had a twenty-four-hour bug, then the flu, but then it went away, and now it's come back. No one else in the Russell family had gotten sick - so all you are now is confused.

"No," Arvin says somberly. He shakes his head and pushes the food around on his plate, "I don't know what's wrong with 'er. She's been in bed off and on all week." 

You put your hand on his back, not even realizing it, and rub it softly. You sigh, "Maybe Lenora should go to the doctor again?" Arvin shrugs. A fight across the room catches the two of your attention, but the teachers soon swarm the fighters. Turning back to him, you smile wide "My momma said she'd take me to look at dresses this week."

Arvin perks up immediately. "Really?" he asks happily. He smiles, one of his rare ones, and the look in his eyes makes your heart swell. 

You laugh, "Yes," you tell him. "We're going to go to Parkersburg. There's a little shop that my mom got 'er holiday dress from; I always thought it was gorgeous."

Arvin grabs your hand, "Hopefully, Lenora feels better by then. She misses you." 

"How 'bout I come over later? I could do her makeup and just cheer 'er up."

"I can drive you over before I 'gotta go to work," Arvin suggests, "I don't mind." You nod to Arvin, and then the lunch bell rings, quickly you turn to him and press your lips to his cheek. He starts to get red as he laughs a little as you dart away from him. 

Arvin drives you to his house after school. You called your mom before, and she was, surprisingly, okay with it.  So you went inside the home. Lenora lit up when she saw you. She hadn't seen anyone for a while because of sickness, and she was thrilled to ask you questions about the wedding. 

"Do you guys' know when your gonna have it?" she asked, probably her twentieth question. 

"No, not yet," you let out a little laugh. "We haven't planned it much. I mean, we don't have any money so we can't do much. Plus, you know Arvin, he's more a simple kind of guy. I thought we'd have the reception at the church, invite my family from out of town. Then we'd go up to that old hall they have just out of town, the one they have the school dances at - and we'd have the reception there."

Lenora nods, making you pull her hair as you braid it. "That sounds nice," she sounds like she's dreaming. "I can't wait to be married. I can't wait to be in love... I thought I was," she mumbles the last part. 

You perk up, turning your head, you lean down, "Lenora Irene Lafayette! Did you just say you thought you were in love with a boy?" 

She laughs nervously, "No! I-I just meant... it was just a crush! Just a crush, that's all!"  

"Well," you smile at her, turning her to face you, "Who was it?"

She shakes her head. "It's no one you'd know..."

"There's only, like, two hundred people here, Lenora. Chances are known 'im."

"It was just a boy from school, but... he turned out to be wrong. I don't think he's as nice as I thought he was," her voice is quiet. Almost as if she's scared to say it. You frown and caress her cheek.

"Well, he's an idiot. Anyone that can't see how wonderful you are, Lenora, you just brush 'em off. Because they obviously can't be good." 

Lenora nods. "Can we keep this between us two? I don't want Arvin to find out," she pleads.

"Course," you cut her off with a laugh, "All I need is he getting arrested for beating some boy up, again, my momma just got alright with him after that night." 

You went dress shopping a week later. One week before Lenora died. She had just started feeling better. Physically, and it seemed in spirits. You hadn't told Arvin about what Lenora told you. Your mother drove you out to Parkersburg with Lenora in tow. She was the only bridesmaid - maid of honor, specifically - near so, it was just the two of you. 

       The shop was small, but it fit enough dresses that you knew you'd be here for a while. Lenora pulled dresses off the rack along with your mother. Almost all the ones they pulled were conservative, with little accessories, and bland. There was one that seemed to call to you. 

It was long, with a see-through train and short, slightly puffy sleeves. Lace was all over it. It reminded you of something a princess would wear in a Disney movie. "Now we can't afford that," you heard your mother call. "It almost two hundred dollars! Probably all that lace..." 

You turn to see your mom with a hopeful smile, "Arvin gave me some extra money. Fifty. Wouldn't that put us just a little over what we need for it?" 

Your mom pursed her lips. "Well, yes, but you should try on some other options first. Maybe you'll find something less expensive and have more money for the wedding." 

You nod and take some of the dresses into the dressing room. "Hey, Lenora?" you call out.

"Yes?" you hear almost immediately. 

"I thought you could try on some bridesmaid dresses. Do wanna go get some? We can use the same room," you suggest. She quickly says yes, and you hear her wander off. Soon enough, her footsteps come back, and a soft knock hits the dressing room door. 

You open it letting her in. "I like that purple one." 

Something is off while Lenora tries on the other dress. She keeps staring at herself in the mirror, and as you look over, you see her palming her stomach. You walk over to her and place a hand on her shoulder, "Something wrong?" 

Lenora shakes her head. "I think I've gained weight... I'm usually a three, but all the dresses feel tighter now. 'Round my stomach, 'specially."

You shake your head, "You look fine, Nora. It's probably nothing. Your grandma kept force-feeding you soup when you were, sick remember," you joke, and she smiles, "it's probably from that. It'll go away." 

Lenora nods and tries on the purple dress, both of you agreeing it looks the best. She sits as you come to the last dress. None of them interesting you enough to leave. 

"Can I ask you a question?" Lenora asks. 

"'Course." 

She shuffles her feet, "Do you think... do you... Have you and Arvin talked about having a baby? I just, I mean, when people get, married they usually have babies."

         You shake your head, "We spoke about it but, we don't got enough money for that. Plus, my momma and daddy might be letting us get married, but that doesn't mean they're happy. My daddy would probably shoot Arvin, I showed up pregnant, and I think momma would die of embarrassment. You know how my parents are," you ramble. 

        You never noticed how Lenora kept nodding her head, not until after. Or how her face slowly drained of the small smile and became anxious. Or how she kept fidgeting. 

Present Time

        You can't help but think of those things after; the thought stays in your mind. You replay the picture of how Lenora acted, the words spoken, every little glance, and inflection until you've thought of everything. 

        Could you have done more? 

No matter how much you overthink it, you still can't understand. You can't find a reason. Why would Lenora take her own life? 

You went home with Arvin that night. Your parents understood; Arvin needed you. He didn't make any attempt to hid the fact you'd be sleeping in the same bed. So there you sat, thinking of the past, in your nightgown while you waited for him. You turn your ring around your finger as you wait. The floorboards creek and you hear Arvin come before he even steps into the room. 

"Grams is sleepin'," he says tiredly. He walks over and practically falls onto the bed, his head lying on your stomach as he wraps his arms around you. You brush his messy hair out of his face. 

"Are you okay?" you ask quietly. Arvin nods. His body is stiff, and the look on his face is the definition of exhaustion. You frown and move one of your hands to his back, rubbing it softly while the others hold onto his neck. "It's okay if you're not okay, you know that, right?" 

Arvin shrugs before burying his face into your stomach. You keep rubbing his back and mumble some comforting words to him. "I just..." his voice quivers, "I can't believe she's gone. I don't understand this. Why?" his voice cracks into a sob. You hold him tighter, but he pulls away, wiping away his tears and going to leave. You quickly get up and grab his arm. As he looks back at you, he falls apart again, "Why her? She was so good! Why did this happen?" 

You grab his face, "I don't know, Arvin, but... I know I'm here for you. I know I want to be here for you. So let me, please. Don't run away. I want you to stay; I want you to let me hold you. Let me do that."

         He shakes his head softly but lets you pull him into a hug nonetheless. His arms wrap around your waist as he sobs into your shoulder, and you stumble back onto the bed. Arvin lies his head on your chest, and you hold him the entire night, and even though it was one of the hardest nights you face together, it was somehow also the most peaceful. The sound of your heartbeat, your arms wrapped around him, and the two of you sharing warmth. And as he falls asleep after crying all his tears out, he can't help but look up at his future wife and mumble three words as his eyes close for the night. 

          "I love you."  

           The next day Arvin woke up, still in your arms, and had to get up for work. You asked him not to go, but he knew he had to. He had to get money somehow. It depended on what he'd be doing on if it'd be hard labor. Sometimes it was just moving stuff, building, and other times it was lifting up heavy shit. 

           He left at six and wouldn't get off until twelve, and as he did, he found a sheriff waiting. Holding an envelope with an announcement that Arvin couldn't ignore and as he stormed back into the house, immediately looking for you and let you know what it said. You and Arvin knew something had to be done. Something had to be said: and so you told him the truth of what the preacher did. And that sealed the fate of three people in Coal Creek. 

The preacher, Arvin, and you.  

✦·․  ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․ ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․  ❤ ․·✦·․·✦·․· ──── ❤ ──── ·․·✦·․·✦·․ ──── ❤ ────  ․·✦

Once again, sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed part four! Though it was a little depressing. I’m hoping to wrap this up in the next part or maybe two more. I’ll try to stop from taking a month to get the next one out. 

Don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment!

━━━  MASTERLIST

[keanureevesisbae]

Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Chapter 17

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 2.4k

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Henry’s life is slowly but surely becoming what he originally wanted. He adopted Vanessa a few weeks ago and he never thought he could be so emotional. He cried while he had to sign the papers, he cried the entire way back to the car, to a point where Olivia decided it would be best if she drove back to his parents’ place. He sat in the back of the car, right next to Vanessa, who wasn’t crying, but went out of her way to comfort him. He was just so happy that it was official now.

If—God forbids—something happen to Olivia, Vanessa goes right to him. They don’t have to bother with that low life of a Wesley, she is going right to him. They even changed their will. If something happens to the both of them, Vanessa goes to his family.

But right now Olivia is officially thirteen weeks pregnant and it’s getting harder and harder now to hide her belly. Since she is out of her first trimester, she is been feeling a lot better. She told him that during her pregnancy with Vanessa, she puked quite a lot, but that was nothing compared to how she is feeling with this baby.

But right now, her glow is mesmerizing. She was always beautiful, but seeing her in her underwear before she trows on his shirt at night, he realizes that she is a whole different kind of breathtaking now. After she steps into the bed, he lays behind her, wraps his arm around her waist and sneaks a hand under her shirt. He loves feeling her tiny bump. It’s still beyond him that this is happening, that they’ve created an already beautiful human. He cannot wait to see the more definite changes of her body, the further she gets into this pregnancy.

It’s Friday and they are waiting for Vanessa to walk out of the school. Henry wraps his fingers around her hand and pulls Olivia closer to his body. The weather is getting nicer and nicer, making it even harder for her to hide her little bump. She opted for a pretty midi skirt with a large shirt over it, that doesn’t show anything yet.

Today they are not only going to tell Vanessa about the baby when they are at home, but they are going to tell his entire family, since they are having a little dinner at his mom’s. The school bell rings and it doesn’t take long, before Vanessa rushes out of the school. Thankfully she has adopted a new normal by jumping into Henry’s arms, instead of Olivia’s, like she used to do. She presses tons of kisses on his cheeks, before she leans down to give Olivia a kiss.

Keeping this a secret has been the hardest thing, especially since Henry wants to share this with everyone.

‘Ready to go home, sunshine?’ Henry asks her and she nods. While he carries her to the car, she keeps on talking about how wonderful school was. Though he doesn’t quite understand that she likes school this much (especially with the witch that calls herself miss Sue in front of the class), he likes her stories. He could listen to her for hours on end and not be bored for a second.

Henry helps his official daughter in her carseat and while he drives back home, he holds Olivia’s hand. Once they are home, Olivia pulls Vanessa with her and the two of them sit on the couch.

He leans against the doorframe, wanting to see everything that is going to happen, but also allowing them to experience this. He might be officially Vanessa’s dad now, it’ll take a long time before they will have the bond that Vanessa has with her mother. Their bond is so tight, it’s mesmerizing. ‘Vanessa, sweetheart,’ Olivia says, ‘I have something to tell you.’

Vanessa looks at her mom with a frown between her brows. ‘Okay… What is it, mommy?’

Olivia takes Vanessa’s hand and places it onto her stomach. ‘Mommy is growing a baby in her stomach right now,’ she says in a soft voice. ‘And that means you are going to be a big sister.’

Henry had looked online on how to tell your kids that they are going to be a brother or sister. He saw all those sweet and funny videos online, with cakes, balloons and other stuff, but when he showed Olivia, she simply frowned and said that she just wants to tell Vanessa.

And now when he sees this moment happening in front of his eyes, he knows damn well that it shouldn’t happen any other way than this one.

Vanessa’s eyes light up, as her hand rests on Olivia’s bump. ‘I’m going to be a big sister?’ she asks, just in case.

‘Yes, sweetheart.’

And for the first time since he met Vanessa, she is crying happy tears. They drip over her cheeks, yet a smile is evident on her face. ‘I’m doing the happy tears thing,’ she sniffles.

‘Oh sweetie,’ Olivia says, a few tears in her eyes as well. She pulls her daughter closer to her body and presses kisses on her cheek. She ushers Henry over and he walks over to his two favorite girls.

He takes place on the other side of Olivia and looks at the two of them and he can’t hide his smile.

‘Daddy,’ Vanessa says, looking up, ‘I’m going to be a big sister.’

He wipes the tears from her face. ‘I know, sunshine. You are going to be a wonderful sister,’ he tells her.

She takes his hand from her face and places it on Olivia’s bump, just like her own. ‘Are we going to tell grandma, grandpa and everyone today?’

‘We are,’ Olivia says, stroking through the soft hairs of Vanessa.

‘We do have to tell you something,’ he says to Vanessa.

‘And what’s that?’

He clears his throat. He really wants to tell her this, because he thinks it’s important. He talked about this with Olivia and she agreed to it. ‘We love you so much and we always will, sunshine, but you have to know that a new baby is hard work. Both me and your mom will be pretty tired. There is also a chance that we will not have as much time for you as we usually have.’

Vanessa nods. ‘I know,’ she tells him. ‘Bettie’s mom is usually pretty tired too, when she is pregnant and when she just had a new baby. I can help around the house and otherwise, I can sleep at grandma’s place. I think she and grandpa want to babysit, so you can maybe sleep in.

How is he going to be an excellent father, if Olivia has managed to do this by herself? He is so lucky that this amazing woman is going to be the mother of their kids.

‘Then we have nothing to worry about,’ Olivia chuckles, kissing Vanessa’s cheek. ‘You are such an angel.’

Vanessa smiles. ‘So when is this baby going to be born? Bettie’s mom always knows, but she said something about a flu date?’

Olivia chuckles. ‘Due date, sweetheart. The doctor can guess a little bit. So the due date for this baby is the twenty first of November.’

‘That’s near my birthday.’ She smiles even brighter than before. ‘I kind of hope that the baby will be born on my birthday. That means we are going to have an even bigger party.’ Vanessa looks at Olivia’s stomach and asks: ‘When do we know if it’s a boy or girl?’

‘Somewhere in August,’ Henry says.

‘How can they know?’

Olivia gestures that she should stay put, as she walks over to her purse. ‘The doctors have a machine and what that one basically does is that it can make pictures from what’s inside my stomach.’

‘Oh,’ Vanessa says, ‘like the pictures daddy makes?’

Olivia chuckles. ‘Absolutely not.’ She plops back on the couch and shows Vanessa the picture of the ultrasound.

‘I don’t get it. There is nothing on here.’

Henry places his arm on the back of the couch and explains: ‘This little bean right here,’—he points to the same spot that the doctor showed him, because if he is being fair, he can’t see it—‘is your brother or sister and when we go back there in August, the baby is a little bigger. Right now he or she is as big as… what was it again, sweetheart?’

‘A lemon, so there isn’t much to see yet.’

Vanessa nods. ‘When you go to the doctor to see if I get a baby brother or sister, can I come with you?’

Olivia nods. ‘Of course you can,’ she says.

Vanessa leans down, pushes up her mom’s shirt, as she whispers against the tiny bump: ‘When you are older, you and I are going to eat chocolates at night, but don’t tell mommy and daddy, because I don’t think they’ll allow it.’

≫≫≪≪

Henry is insanely nervous for meeting his family. He knows that they will love it, he is absolutely sure of that. Though it doesn’t stop him from being nervous though. His family definitely knows how babies are made, but exposing the fact that they have been having sex and now she is pregnant…

He holds onto Olivia’s hand so tightly, that she has to whisper that he needs to chill, because he is hurting her.

And he never wants to do that of course.

Olivia came with the idea to involve Vanessa in the reveal to his family and he honestly couldn’t agree more. Vanessa was and will always be his first baby and she means the absolute world to him. The fact that she was already thinking about how she is going to be the best daughter in the world to them, how she is going to help not only her mom, but also himself out whenever she can, speaks volumes about how she is going to handle this big sister thing.

They walk around the house, to enter the garden and everyone seems to be totally happy that they have finally arrived. Vanessa continues to look at Olivia, waiting for the right moment. ‘Everybody,’ Olivia finally says. ‘Our little Vanessa has a little surprise.’

‘Little princess, what you got?’ Charlie says.

She unzips her vest and shows everyone her shirt. ‘I’m going to be a— Oh my God!’ Belle screams, running towards Olivia. The rest is further away from Vanessa, so they haven’t even read it yet, by the time Belle has pulled Olivia in a hug. ‘I’m so happy for you, babe.’

Henry watches as the rest of the family has yet to catch on, but his mother is the first to notice. She starts to tear up and Henry quickly walks over to her, to engulf her into a tight hug.

While his brothers and father are the first to congratulate Vanessa, giving her big hugs and saying how she is going to be such an amazing big sister, he hears his mother sniffle: ‘This is wonderful news, my dear.’

Since he officially adopted Vanessa, he realized that his mother was finally getting what she wanted. A big family, where she would be the grandma of the entire clan, a role that she had been wanting ever since his brothers and he reached the age of twenty. She never pushed them to get married and to have kids, but now she is finally getting the larger family she always wanted. It’s long overdue.

The fact that Olivia already had a wonderful daughter and him being really serious about having kids, made it easier for them to get pregnant, though it wasn’t necessarily planned. A couple like Simon and Belle are not even thinking about children. Well, they are, as in: we don’t want them right now.

After everyone gave him one hug, Vanessa at least two and Olivia a big hug and a kiss on her cheek, he can finally stand next to his beautiful girlfriend again. ‘Can I?’ he asks, letting his hand hover over her stomach.

‘You can always do that,’ she whispers, pressing a kiss on his jaw.

He gently places his hand on her tiny bump and she places her hand on top of his. ‘God, you are so amazing,’ he chuckles.

‘Don’t forget to give yourself credit, Henry,’ she says. ‘Remember, you are going to be a wonderful father, I just know it. You have already proven how much of an excellent dad you are with Vanessa.’

‘Can I take you with me for just a second?’ he asks, looking over at how Piers and Niki are showing off their football skills, though Vanessa doesn’t seem impressed at all.

Henry carefully pulls Olivia with him, until they are inside. He clears his throat and asks: ‘Should I share this with my fans?’ It has been a question that has been running through his thoughts for quite a while now.

Since he met Olivia, he posted pictures of course. After he first met her, he took a picture of Kal on the couch, looking a little sad and he wrote in the caption: Thanks to the greatest veterinarian who did pick up at three in the morning, Kal is all okay now after he vomited over my new carpet, though I was informed that he was kinda fat, so I have to work on that.

After that he posted pictures of Kal, of the Christmas tree and the cookies that he attempted to make for them. But he kept both of them out of the picture and since Valentines Day, he didn’t post anything.

Olivia smiles before she nods. ‘You can, as long as my face or Vanessa’s isn’t splattered on the news.’

Henry scoffs. ‘You think I’d allow that?’ He leans in to press a kiss on her forehead. ‘I just feel like I should tell them that we are expecting.’

‘You should tell the whole story,’ she tells him, grabbing his hands. ‘That you have a girlfriend, adopted Vanessa and that we are expecting.’

‘Are you sure?’ he asks. ‘I mean, I know that you two didn’t ask to be in the spotlights like that and I don’t want to force it on you.’

She pulls him closer and gives him a long kiss on his lips. ‘I am one hundred percent sure, sweetheart.’

≫≫≪≪

girlygirlx2: OH MY GOD?!?! THIS IS SO FUCKING UNEXPECTED!!!

kieralee: sooooo, we are getting Dad!Henry content? because i’m up for it!!!!

julia5487: hold up… he adopted someones kid and now they are having a kid on their own? wth happened?

muziarealm: I really want to see the lucky ass lady who is giving him babies.

kittycat421: OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME?!?!?!?!?!?!

ursula_9903: HOLY CRAP!!!!!! congratulations are in order!!!

[bechloeislegit]

25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020

Day 10 - Fourth Time's the Charm

Prompt from Tumblr User Anonymous: Bechloe Christmas 2020 prompt. Beca and Chloe announce to the Beale family that Beca is pregnant . . . [the full prompt is at the end]. I changed it just a bit; I hope you like what I did with it.

Author's warning: this deals with previous miscarriages but nothing graphic.

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"Good morning, Mrs. Beale," Dr. Morris said as she walked into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Am I pregnant?" Beca asked.

"Beca," Chloe admonished. "She'll get to that. Be patient."

"I know you're anxious," Dr. Morris said. "So, let's get right to it."

Dr. Morris sat on a chair and looked at Beca.

"Congratulations," Dr. Morris said. "You are pregnant. Based on when you had the procedure, you're at three weeks now."

Beca laid back on the table with tears in her eyes.

"Babe?" Chloe said, squeezing Beca's hand.

"I'm happy about it, Chlo," Beca said as the tears fell. "I swear I am."

"I know, Becs," Chloe said, holding back her own tears. "I'm happy, too. I just wish I could carry it so you wouldn't have to worry about possibly going through all that again."

"Stop," Beca said. "It's not your fault. I'm happy I can get pregnant." Beca sniffled and added in a small voice, "But I'm also really scared."

"So, am I, baby," Chloe said softly, wiping the tears from Beca's eyes. "But, no matter what happens, we'll get through it together."

"Mrs. Beale, may I say something?" Dr. Morris asked.

"Go ahead, Doctor," Chloe said as Beca nodded.

"We've run every test we can think of," Dr. Morris said. "And, we feel confident that you will take this pregnancy to term."

~~ Day 10 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Beca sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window as Chloe drove them home. Chloe looked over at her at gave her a gentle smile.

"I know you're scared," Chloe said, reaching for Beca's hand. "I'm here and I meant what I said. No matter what happens, we'll get through this together. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," Beca said, turning her head toward Chloe. "I was just thinking."

"What about?" Chloe asked.

"I want to wait as long as we can to tell anyone," Beca said. "Just in case."

"I'm fine with that," Chloe said, gently squeezing Beca's hand. "We'll tell people when you're ready to tell them."

"Thank you," Beca said. "I love you so much."

"Right back atcha, babe," Chloe said, smiling at Beca.

"Do you mind if we stop and get pizza before we get home?"

"Eat in or carry-out?"

"Eat in," Beca said. "If that's okay?"

"Eat in is more than okay with me," Chloe said. "Luigi's?"

"As if there's any place better," Beca said with a smirk.

Chloe chuckled as she thought, "Everything is going to be fine this time. It has to be."

~~ Day 10 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Two months later, Chloe received a call from Emily.

"Hey, Emily," Chloe said as she answered the phone. "I thought you were having lunch with Beca."

"I am," Emily said. "I think you might need to come and pick her up."

Chloe's stomach dropped. "Wh-Why do you think that?" Chloe asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I think she's sick," Emily said. "We barely started eating and she jumped up and ran to the lady's room. She looked like she was going to throw up."

"Um," Chloe said. "Did she come back yet?"

"Once already," Emily said. "I asked her if she was okay and she said yes. But then, she jumped up and ran back to the lady's room. I think she might have the flu or something."

Chloe let out the breath she had been holding, her brow still furrowed in worry.

"Where are you guys?"

"The diner near her studio," Emily said.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," Chloe said. "Thanks for calling me."

"You're welcome," Emily said. "See you soon."

Emily ended the call as Beca returned to the table.

"I called Chloe," Emily said as Beca sat down. "She's coming to get you."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you're obviously sick," Emily said. "And shouldn't go back to work."

"I am not sick," Beca said.

"Puking twice in ten minutes is not the actions of a well person," Emily said, defensively.

"I'm not sick," Beca said. "I'll prove it to you."

Beca began eating her lunch and the food seemed to stay down this time.

"See?" Beca said after a few minutes. "Not sick."

Beca and Emily continued talking and eating. A few minutes later, Chloe came rushing in and looked around until she saw Beca and Emily.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked Beca as she walked up to the table.

"Oh, my stars," Emily said, seeing Chloe standing there. "I forgot you were coming."

"I'm fine, Chlo," Beca said, standing to give Chloe a hug and whispering in her ear "Just some morning sickness."

"Oh," Chloe said, pulling back to look at Beca.

"I should have called you back and told you Beca was fine," Emily said. "I'm sorry I worried you over nothing."

Chloe gave Beca a questioning look; Beca nodded and smiled.

"It's okay, Em," Chloe said. "You were being a good friend. But, we also have something to tell you."

"I'm pregnant," Beca blurted out.

"Holy Shit!" Emily squealed, causing several diners to look over at them.

"Language!" Beca chastised.

"Sorry," Emily said sheepishly. "This is wonderful news. How are you feeling?"

"So far, so good," Beca said, smiling happily. "Except for the morning sickness, which you just saw firsthand."

"So, that's why you had to throw up," Emily said as she jumped up and hugged Beca. "I'm so happy for you both."

Emily released Beca and grabbed Chloe next.

"Thanks, Em," Beca said. "We have to ask that you not tell anyone. We want to wait until we're one thousand percent sure everything's going to be okay."

"I totally understand," Emily said. "I won't say anything, I swear."

"Thanks, Emily," Chloe said. "For calling me and for keeping this to yourself. You're a good friend. And we love and appreciate you so much."

"I love you guys, too," Emily said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "And I'm very happy for you."

~~ Day 10 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

As with the first three pregnancies, Beca told Theo and Khaled that she was pregnant and asked that they not tell anyone. They agreed to keep it to themselves and allowed Beca to do all her work from home until after the baby was born. Beca was thankful she had a fully-equipped studio at home, and could video conference into any important meetings.

Everything was working out well. Beca's pregnancy was progressing normally and they managed to keep it a secret from Beca's fans and the media. Chloe was beginning to worry about how their families were going to react when they found out.

One night, as Beca and Chloe were cuddling in bed, Chloe was lightly running her hand over Beca's stomach.

"You're due in three weeks," Chloe said. "We can't wait anymore. We have to tell my folks we can't make it to Tampa for Christmas. And I think we should tell them why."

"I know, and I agree with you," Beca said. "And I think I have a way to let them know that will make them less unhappy with us."

"How?' Chloe asked, sitting up to look at Beca.

"I'm really comfy," Beca whined. "Could you get that small, dark blue box from the shelf in the closet for me?"

Chloe smiled and went to the closet. She stood on her tip-toes to reach the box and walked out of the closet with it in her hand.

"How did you get this up there?" Chloe asked, holding the box out to Beca.

"Don't worry," Beca said, reaching for the box. "I tossed it up there. Made it on the first try, too."

Beca smirked and Chloe laughed.

"Okay," Chloe said, getting back into bed. "Show me what you got."

"It's going to hit you in the feels," Beca said. "So, fair warning. I thought we could send it to your mom and tell her she can't open it until she Skypes us."

"Okay," Chloe said. "Show me."

Beca opened the box and took out a charm bracelet with five charms on it."

"It's a grandma charm bracelet," Beca said. "These two purple footprints are for the first two we lost."

Tears came to Beca and Chloe's eyes.

"This one," Beca said, her voice thick with emotion. "Is for Sophie."

"That one was really hard," Chloe whispered, sniffling. "We only had her for a few hours."

The two laid together, holding each other while they cried, letting all their pent up emotions out. They finally calmed down and Beca held up the last two charms together.

"And these two are for Dylan," Beca said, wiping her face. "It's a copy of his first sonogram and a blue footprint to let her know it's a boy."

"It's beautiful, babe," Chloe said, choking back her tears. "My mom will love it."

"Good," Beca said. "Because I had one made for each of us, too. Yours is under the tree."

~~ Day 10 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Two days later, Beca had sent Mrs. Beale's bracelet via overnight courier. Beca got a notification that the package had been delivered. Beca grabbed her laptop and went to find Chloe.

"I guess your mom will be calling any minute," Beca told Chloe, handing her the laptop.

It was only a matter of seconds later that they received the notification for a Skype request.

"Hi, mom," Chloe said, seeing her mom's face pop up on the computer screen. "I have Beca with me."

"Hi, Mrs. B," Beca said, waving at the screen. "Is Mr. B with you?"

"I'm right here, girls," Mr. Beale said, popping into view. "What's going on?"

"We just wanted to let you know we can't make it for Christmas," Chloe said, looking at Beca.

"Why not?" Mr. Beale asked, disappointment in his voice.

"Open the package you just got mom," Chloe said. "And we'll explain."

They watched as Mrs. Beale opened the package and held the jewelry box in her hand.

"Should I open this box, too?" Mrs. Beale asked.

"Yes!" Chloe and Beca exclaimed.

Mrs. Beale opened the box and took out the bracelet.

"What is this?" she asked.

Beca held up her wrist to show Mr. and Mrs. Beale her bracelet. She used it to explain what each charm was for.  Mr. and Mrs. Beale were in tears by the time Beca reached the final two charms.

"And these two are for your grandson who is due in a little over two weeks," Beca explained.

Mr. and Mrs. Beale both gasped as more tears flowed down their cheeks.

Beca cleared her throat and added in a shaky voice, "His name is Dylan and this is his first sonogram."

"So, Dylan is the reason why we can't come home for Christmas," Chloe concluded as happy tears ran down her face.

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Full Prompt from Tumblr User Anonymous: Bechloe Christmas 2020 prompt. Beca and Chloe announce to the Beale family that Beca is pregnant after 3 miscarriages (all Beca, Chloe is infertile), they announce by giving Chloe's mom a grandma charm bracelet with a sonogram pic and note saying "4th times the charm". There are 2 purple baby foot charms on it for the first two they lost, and a blue or pink one with an initial on it for the third who had to be delivered which they found out the gender and named the baby.