#not a single oc in the office is safe from you

[dovewingkinnie]

note guy.... PLSSSS IMGGGG ONE CHANCE ONEEE CHANCEEEE im turning into those gojo fangirls for your ocs 😻😻⁉️

the best you'll get from him (guys thats his handwriting not mine my handwriting is far better than his!!!! definitely!!!)

[untoldstar]

male yandere psychologist x fem patient reader [introduction]

warnings: heavily implied that the reader is a patient at a psych ward, obsessive behaviors and tendencies, abuse of power, toxic environment, yandere themes, might not show in this part but for the future Ivan takes advantage of the readers vulnerable mental state.

There aren’t intense scenes in this at all (as I see it) BUT as for the coming parts of this OC it still has to do with a character who struggles with mental illness, an extremely toxic psychologist who abuses his position and being in a psyche ward so if you feel like any of that sounds triggering or there’s a possibility it could be triggering I would urge you not to read this or other parts of this OC.

pls be careful what you read guys and stay safe mwah🫶

Tick..

Tick..

Tick..

Ivan taps his foot impatiently and pushes up his sleeve for the millionth time to reveal his wristwatch.

2:59 PM

Just a few more seconds..

Tick..

3:00 PM

Ivan smiles, his stiff body finally relaxing and just like everyday a knock is heard on his office door and in walks the nurse pushing you forward like a criminal into his office. He only spares the nurse and nod and a polite smile before his attention is directed at you, focusing on your every move anticipating what you’ll do next. You huff and plop down in the chair in front of his desk rolling your eyes "Ah [name], how are we doing today?" he clasps his hands Infront of him and stares at you expectantly.

Just like everyday.

‘Why does he ask the same question every day? What could possibly change in the matter of a single day? They should've made these cheek-up's weekly instead. This is becoming such a pain.’

"Fine. Just like always." you answer curtly. He hums nodding "Well, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut to the chase today there’s something I must discuss with you.” You quirk a brow. You have to admit seeing the serious expression instead of the easy going one he usually has is a bit unnerving “I'm sure you already know that your..leave is to be expected soon." his lips twist in displeasure as if merely saying that has left a bitter taste in his mouth. You nod "Yes..what about that?" he sighs "Well, I'm afraid I've come to the decision that you'll have to stay a while longer, just to be safe." Your heart plummets. Sure you haven't been kissing Dr.Ivan's ass or being necessarily..nice to him but that shouldn’t have anything to do with your treatment. You know you've been getting better so what possible reason could have you stay here "Just to be safe? What is that supposed to mean?" you shoot daggers at him but he doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it "We’ve witnessed many patients show signs of improvement and seem like they’re ready to leave but there were also many instances where patients leave our facility and end up..falling into old patterns. Not that I expect that from you but I would like to guarantee your safety." You swallow the lump in your throat. Can they even do that? Is that even legal? "..How long?" a few beats of silence passes by while he blankly stares at you before answering "A month." Your shoulders drop down exasperatedly. Another month??

You feel frustration bubble up inside your chest. You feel hopeless as if you’re never getting out of here. You can’t take it you can’t take seeing the same hallways the same people this same fucking office everyday.

You don't say anything when you get up from your chair and start charging for the door "Our daily check up isn't quite done, my dear." His voice booms behind you "I don't fucking care." You spit back and go to reach for the door when his hands suddenly slam the door on either side of you, trapping you against it "Why are you always trying to leave me?" he whispers his shaky breath fanning against the side of your neck "..What are you talking about..Doc-" his hand clenches into a fist "Don't call me that!" You flinch trembling slightly "..I'm sorry I raised my voice, but I've told you countless times before you don't have to call me 'Doctor' my dear. Ivan is fine." You stay quite and he sighs "You won't even say my name.." he leans his head on your shoulder his body slumping almost exhausted from the interaction.

You hold your breath eyeing the door handle inches away from you "Why do you hate me so much?" his voice almost breaks "You roll your eyes at me, you barely say a few words in our daily sessions, You can't stand it when I go to visit you in your room.." he steps closer, his body now flush against your back "You throw a fit and almost walk out on me.." he moves his head to the side sniffing your hair and you hear him let out a groan “God I thought you’d be happy about staying here. All I want is for you to love me. Why won’t you love me? hm?” his arms slide down for the door to wrap around you squeezing tightly “Am I just the annoying psychologist your forced to talk to? Is that all I am to you?” he keeps talking almost in his own world too intoxicated by you, having you in his arms body flush against his your scent enveloping him “Damnit why won’t you-“ you take advantage of his vulnerability and decide to make a run for it, using the door to push back all of your body weight to at least have his arms off of you immediately taking a hold of the door handle and leaping out of his office, you run down the hall never looking back. You’re surprised he didn’t pull you back in maybe he was shocked maybe he wasn’t and he just..let you go. Whatever the case was you had to get as far away from him as possible.

Ivan’s left alone in his office panting, cheeks flushed and an obvious tent in his pants. He lets out a low chuckle looking far off into the hallway ‘Soon..instead of running away from me you’ll be running to me. I’ll make sure of it darling.’

[sleepinghypnos]

ITZY Yuna & Chaeryeong x Male Reader (OC)

Tags: Smut

Genre: Cheating, Threesome (kinda?), Facefuck, Rough Sex, Dirty Talk, Female Idol x Male Reader.

People view you as one of the outstanding bodyguard in the industry, many labels hired you because of your efficiency and strict rules on protecting the client. 

But you don't stay in a single label for too long. The longest you've been with your client is a month and you'll go with another K-pop group not long after your schedule. 

You got call from your security agency, well from the president herself. She told you to come to the office in the afternoon and so you did.

You knocked on the door and a woman greeted you with a smile. The President's Secretary, she showed the way and you saw the woman who called you. Ms. Park Eun-ji.

"Oh, you're here! Sit down." she said and you bowed as you greet her. "Good afternoon Madam!"

"So, we have a hiring request from JYP. They said they want a bodyguard for ITZY, it looks like the number of sasaeng stalking the girls have doubled in the past. They were worried about the safety of their idols thats why they contacted us." She said, "That is the reason why i decided to send the "Guardian" to help them.”

You chuckled in your mind because your name Kim Suho can be translated into 'Guardian'

"I don't have any problem working with anyone madam." 

"It's a deal then, you'll work with them and please make sure they are safe from those stupid miscreants." 

"You can start tomorrow in the morning, make sure you are not late. You can leave now." Miss Park dismissed you, of course you bowed again before leaving. 

–

You got up because of the alarm, it's your first day being the bodyguard of ITZY. You packed your things including clothes and other necessities. 

On the way to the designated location of the client, you read the information regarding the said group. ITZY became a ‘Monster Rookie’ because they won their first music show, eight days after their debut, since then their fame has been accumulating until the stage in the foreign countries opened for them, as they muster fame they also gain crazy fans that stalked them to their own home. 

Your mission now is to protect them, it is not new to you since you’ve been doing this for years now, it’s been a long ride and you arrived in the private home that JYP allocated them. There’s two guards in the gates, they have two manager here as well. 

“Good morning!” you greeted the guards and they let you enter the premises. The girls are waiting for you in the front door. They have smiles in their faces, it looks like they are happy about having a personal bodyguard with them. 

“Good morning, Oppa!” they greet you simultaneously. 

"Good morning! My name is Kim Suho, i'm going to be with you indefinitely. I'll be in you care!" You greeted them back and they proceed to go inside the house because it’s still early in the morning. Before you went inside you made sure that the surrounding was clear first and nothing seems out-of-place. You have a room for yourself here in the house, as you are their bodyguard you need to be with them all of the time even if their work is already over. Only the managers are allowed to go home. 

The girls have a photoshoot later in the morning, all of them were preparing for it. Since you are already prepared for the day, you are just waiting for the girls to finish their breakfast and wait for them to get ready. 

“Oppa do you have a girlfriend?” Chaeryeong asked, you shook your head as an answer. “I told you he doesn’t have any!” Ryujin said while lightly tapping her co-member Chaeryeong’s shoulder. 

“Does any of you is in a relationship?” i asked to just make conversation with them. 

"Aside from Yuna and Ryujin Unnie all of us are single." Chaeryeong replied. 

"Does your boyfriends aware about your situation?" They nodded as an answer. 

…

The ITZY members are already prepared and ready to go for their photoshoot. The managers put the things they need in the van, you noticed how Yuna kept on looking at you. 

She's been like that after breakfast. Looking at you secretly and she taught you didn't know. The managers are in the other van and you accompany the girls in theirs. 

The Vans that the Korean Celebrities and Idols usually use has partition. The driver seat won't be able to see the passengers. 

It makes the artists and idols more comfortable during the ride. You are seated in the back of the van and coincidentally, Yuna is seated beside you. 

"Are you okay? You've been looking at me since earlier." You paused. "Is there anything thats bothering you?"

She didn't answer but she suddenly put her hands on your crotch. "Sana Unnie said that yours is really big." She whispered in your ear and her hand keeps on feeling your semi erect cock in your pants.

This girl really is naughty. I felt a familiar feeling when she brought my cock out and started stroking it. Yuna knelt infront of you, the space inside the van is spacious enough for her to kneel. "This is not big. It's HUGE!" When she had a closed-up look on your cock.

Yuna didn't hesitate to put your rod inside her mouth, the idol started bobbing her head while making sure that the other members don't notice it. 

Yuna doesn't have many experience because you feel it. "You are not used on big dicks are you?" As you cupped her cheek to tell her to stop. 

The ITZY member nodded. "My boyfriend's isn't even close with yours!" 

And with that you snapped. You hold the poor girls head and impale her throat with your dick making her choke on it. 

Only half of your dick is enough to make this little slut choked. Her eyes started rolling back and she's drooling all over your balls. 

You didn't even bother looking at the other members because all of them has headphones on. 

"gwock.. gwock.. gwock.." gagging sound filled the back of the van, you didn't even give any fuck if they are eavesdropping or not. 

Yuna keep bobbing her head and using her tongue to lick your tip, you feel like you’re already cumming. So you hold her head once again and pushed it against your dick letting your cum explode inside the idols mouth. 

"Where's your phone?" You asked. She pointed at her purse and reached for her phone in it. She gave it to you and open the camera and started recording. 

"You're a cheating little slut aren't you?" Yuna nodded while her mouth is still full of your cum. "Show it to me, and swallow all of it" you commanded and she obeyed. 

The idol showcased the cum in her mouth and swallowed it, she even showed her mouth after swallowing it. 

Yuna licked clean your rod and went back to her seat beside you. She's now watching her own video giggling like a little girl who got what she wanted. 

"I'm going to send this to Twice Unnies!" She said and you are not even fazed about it because you know those girls will like that video. 

You already became their bodyguard once, and you know how filthy their minds is. 

–

The van arrived at the photoshoot location, the schedule for today is for their upcoming comeback. Well, they have multiple song released in the past months but what can they do when the people adores them. 

The ITZY members already inside and making preparation for the photoshoot when you notice someone outside the building, the person is in all black fashion, you conclude that he's taking pictures of the girls inside the place.

You went inside the building and find your way through outside again and to that person’s location. "They are adorable isn't?" You spoke and our guy jolted because of fright. 

You immediately grab the guy in the neck and immobilize him. "Who are you?" But you didn't get a response so you took the liberty to take his hood off and see who he is. 

Well, would you look at that, He's one of our prime suspects of stalking, this miscreant has been stalking the girls in three different occasions, I know because of the files given by Miss Park  

"Don't even bother escaping. I've been catching scumbags like you ever since I became a bodyguard." You told the guy and the horror in his eyes were noticeable, you just smiled at him while waiting for the police to arrive. Minutes later sirens filled the quiet surrounding that you were in, the police took the stalker and thanked me for what i did. 

The girls was disturbed by the sirens and came out of the building. Worry is plastered in their faces. 

"Someone was taking photos of you guys earlier. I just apprehend him and called the police to take care of it. You can go back now!" You assured them. "Thank you, Oppa!" Chaeryeong said while the other members just nodded. "It's the guy who took a picture of you while you're sleeping. You don't need to worry about that happening again" you tap her shoulders twice and lightly push her inside. 

–

The scheduled photoshoot is over and they are going to another location to shoot some of the scenes in their comeback. Only Yuna and Chaeryeong left out of five of them

The whole ride was quiet since both of them are tired. Even you was tired for them, they keep posing here and there to get shit done. 

We entered the house and let them release some of the tiredness they experiencing. "Wash yourselves and get to bed early, i'm going to stay on guard." You told them and they did it. Chaeryeong look at me. "Oppa, i want to talk to you. Please come to my room after 30 minutes." 

Is she still bothered by that stalker?

I just nod and let her go by herself. I sweep through the house to make sure again that nothing is out-of-place. I locked the doors, the ITZY members knows the passcode of the house so it doesn't matter. 

Thirty minutes came and i walk to the direction of Chaeryeong's room. I knocked on the door and the idol opened the door for me. 

She's beautiful… you said inside your head. 

She's still in her bathrobe, and her hair was free falling. Looks like she just finished her bath. 

(Photo not connected to the scene.)

"Oppa! You are right on time." She said, and pulled me in her room and guide me to sit on her bed. "I really want to talk to you about what happened earlier" 

"I-i'm just grateful that the stalker was caught in action and i'm also relieved because that fucker took a picture of me being ugly, i want to punch his face into pulp!!"

You chuckled because you find her whining adorable. 

"I'm just doing my job as a bodyguard and who said that you’re ugly? Are they blind or something?" You responded and you saw how she became flustered on your remark. 

"Doing your job? Does your job also include facefucking Yuna?"

You were stunned, you thought no one noticed but you're so wrong.

"It's not just me, all of the unnies know what the two of you were doing, but we didn't say anything because it looks like Yuna enjoyed what you did to her." she said while laughing, she also showed me the group chat of ITZY and the messages of the other members made my rod grow uncontrollably. 

"Opp - i mean, Daddy i want what Yuna had. I want it too!" 

"Daddy?" You tilted your head because of what she said.

"An idol is not as innocent as you might think you know. I got one boyfriend in the past and we did have sex before i debut but he got jealous of other guys liking me as an idol so i broke up with him." She's caressing my body while she talks about her past. "As our group gain recognition, of course we also got the attention of perverts who makes deepfakes of us and other idols, some of them writing erotic scenes, I found a story that has me as the material. I find it hot and sexy for some reason.”

She took off my suit and polo. 

"I was even portrayed as submissive slut, and maybe they were right. So Daddy, i want you to do everything you want to me."

She kneeled down and began unbuckling my belt, she pulled my pants together with my boxer into my knees. 

"I knew it! It's bigger than the one in the video." Amazed by the massive cock infront of her. 

"If i'm Daddy then what are you?" You cupped her cheeks and make her look at you. 

"Your submissive slut? Cocksleeve? I can be whatever you want me to be daddy!"

"If you are a cocksleeve and what are you waiting for? Suck it!" You commanded her. She put your cock in her mouth and just like Yuna and the other female idols you've been with she also can't get past half of your dick. 

Gagging sound filled her room, and you are ruthless this time around. You rest her head on the side of the bed and begin fucking her mouth like it's a pussy. 

"mmgh… gwock… mmgh… gwock…" her gag reflex is strong but you didn't care about it. You ravage her mouth with your huge cock until her whole face turns red her eyes began tearing up as well.

You let her breathe and you didn't expect her to hold herself that good. She didn't tapped out. 

"My past boyfriend didn't even have the chance to hold a candle against you." She said while still running out of breath. 

"Bend over."

She did what you demanded and did it as fast as she could. You spit on your cock and started teasing her entrance, you are making sure that it will go in smoothly. 

"Please! Daddy, f-fuck me please!!" Pleading for you to fuck her. 

You make her bend more and her face were rested against the bed by placing your hand in her back before slowly thrusting your cock into her. 

"F-fuck, d-daddy you are too b-big!" You can hear her whine but you still slid your member slowly. She moans louder as she felt that you are going deeper and deeper into her cave. 

"So fucking tight!"

You move your hips with a rhythm making her painful experience into pleasure. She started moaning like little slut who needs more. 

Minutes passed and you begin fucking her in a normal pace and you still didn't put all of your length inside her. "Daddy, fuck Chaeryeong like a cocksleeve. I want it all please!" She plead, her head turned to her shoulder to make an eye contact. You can't resist her lustful eyes. 

You assisted her into a missionary and lift both of the legs into your shoulders. Aiming your cock into pussy once again and started pounding the shit out of her. A mating press.

"Aaahh! Shi-shit! DADDY! DON'T STOP P-PLEASEEEE!" 

You keep fucking the idols beneath you, her sexy moans is like a music to your ears. Every press, her moan became louder. 

"I'M CUMMING DADDY! PLEASE. LET ME CUM!!! AAAAH!~ FILL ME UP WITH YOUR THICK AND DELICIOUS CUM!!"

You pressed one harder than the rest and let the idol experience orgasm. Several burst of your spunk was released inside Chaeryeong. You pulled out and her eyes were rolled back, tongue sticking out while she squirts. Your load and hers was mixed and flowing out of her pussy.

"I was wondering why can't i see you downstairs. It turns out you are here Daddy"

You turned your head to see whose voice was that and you see Yuna standing there in the doorway which is widely open. 

"I thought you'll be asleep." And walked towards her. The idols head was in the same height as your nipple, and she's the tallest of the bunch. 

"Well, i'm planning give you a head and drink your cum before i go to bed but i heard screaming and moaning and it lead me here." She looked at her unnie passed out because of pleasure. "Suho Oppa, i want what she had just now."

"You have a boyfriend remember?"

"I don't care, i just want to be fucked hard by you. I can also call you daddy. Please?" 

"Then kneel."

You commanded her, she let her tongue out, and you slapped her face and tongue with you huge dick multiple times. 

She sucked your dick like the little slut that she is and continued to bob her head, lust filled her eyes you can resist such look and you began fucking her small mouth. 

You cupped both of ther cheeks as she gags trying to do further from her limit. This cheating little bitch pushed her limit and got past what she did earlier in the morning.

Her eyes began tearing up, you feel the back of her throat everytime you thrust. This made her more lustful and horny as she undress herself and started toucher herself. 

Yuna held onto your thighs because of how hard you fuck her throat, however her eyes never falter and keeps looking at you as if she's saying she's a good slut and reward her. 

You didn't even warned her about you cumming and just grabbed the back of her head and shove it deeper into her throat and suddenly ropes of thick cum filled her mouth. 

Having your dick down an idols throat isn't news to you as you continue fill the little slut's mouth. 

Withdrawing your cock gives a pleasureable sensation to the young idol. She showed how filled her mouth with your hot cum and swallowed it. Not a single drop wasted. 

"Your cum really is best! Did i do a good job?" She asked while her face was still smeared with saliva and cum from Chaeryeong when you slapped her earlier. 

You put your hand on the top of her head and messed her hair as you nod. 

Her eyes were filled with excitement and accomplishments as she giggles. 

The other idol who passed out was already awake and masterbaited while watching you violate their maknae's mouth. 

"That was so hot." Chaeryeong went to the side of Yuna. "So, are you also a cocksleeve now? Cuz i am." she's tempting the girl by teasing her and the maknae gave in. 

"Yes, yes i am! So what?"

"So, i am still the sunbae even when we became both cocksleeves. We can't do anything about that."

"Shut up Unnie!"

"Yuna, we are not done. Come here!" Pulling her into the older womans bed. You lay down and position her into Full Nelson and the maknae's reaction was half excitement and half nervousness. 

"I saw this on one of the porn Yeji Unnie watched last week, i can't believe i'm going to experience it now" she said while mounting your dick. 

"You ready?"

"Yes, please use my slutty little pussy daddy!" 

Thrusting upward suddenly made the idol moaning unexpectedly loud even Chaeryeong was startled. 

"Don't stop! Don't fucking stop daddy please!!" 

"I'm going to have a videochat with the unnies, i'll let them watch" Chaeryeong said like it's funny that their maknae was getting plowed so hard in their own home. 

Yuna keeps on shouting, shrieking and moaning because of the pleasure bestowed by you. Cursing here and there and the Daddy became Master in an instant. 

Her pussy was being mold to copy the shape of you cock. 

– 

"Ryujinnie~ Jisu-ya!! Chaeryeong is calling us" Yeji announce to her members. She answered the call and was surprise to see their maknae getting plowed by someone. 

Heat began circulating inside their bodies and envy filled their minds. They can't believe how such a huge cock can go in and out from a tight pussy like Yuna's. 

"Can you see this Unnies? It's Yuna's turn now, i passed out earlier after doing it and woke up to them getting intimate" Chaeryeong was focusing the camera to the other two who looks like they are the only people in the world. 

"You call that intimate? Was that a Full Nelson?" Yeji shouted as a response.

"Yes, Suho oppa wanted it and the little slut named Yuna just let him do what he wants, well. I did the same thing. I let daddy use me with no remorse." she giggled. 

"Isn't that position what you always wanted to do when you got a boyfriend?" Ryujin asked the leader of the group and she just nod her head as an answer. 

Lia can't speak because she's laser focused on how their Suho Oppa was fucking the maknae like that. 

All of the people got startled even the two people with no care about the world when Yuna's phone suddenly starts ringing. 

"You bitch! You're boyfriend's calling you!" Chaeryeong's voice was full of panic as she handed the phone to Yuna. 

"Answer it." They all heard what Suho oppa said. "Make sure to not get caught."

Yuna pressed the answer button, "Oppa? What is it?" Yuna asked. 

No one can hear the boy’s voice and suddenly Suho thrusted into Yuna. 

"Nnngh! No, no, nothing i hit my elbow to the wall." Yuna is doing all can she do to avoid getting caught. 

Yuna is still getting plowed while talking to her boyfriend. "Ryujin Unnie, do find what Yuna's doing a little thrilling?" Chaeryeong asked Ryujin who is processing what is happening.

"What do you mean?"

"We know that your boyfriend has been messing with other girl before you accepted him right? So doing the same thing as Yuna will not be considered cheating because your boyfriend did it when he's still courting you."

Yuna's moan starts getting louder and louder, the call already ended. 

"I'm just saying Unnie, Suho Oppa- i mean daddy has a huge cock and you'll forget about that stupid boyfriend of yours. Bye!" 

"Chaeryeongie has a point, that fucker has been fucking around while he's courting you. If you do it it's just revenge." Lia took the initiative to talk first. 

"Can i really do it?" Ryujin asked them, Yeji and Lia just nod at her as an answer. 

–

"He almost caught us daddy! Fuck! Ooh sh-shit! Yes!" Yuna has been super loud after the call ended. You are still fucking the shit out of her. Her eyes were same as the older member before. 

"You little slut, what if your boyfriend caught you and publish an article about you?" Chaeryeong sat beside us. 

"Aaah shit! H-he will n-not because i know how naive that guys is" she answered while moaning. "Daddy i'm cumming! I want to be filled with your cum just like unnie! F-FUCK!!"

You speed up the pace while still in the full nelson and fuck her deeper than before. 

Her moans is so full of lust that it makes you go a little harder. "Da-daddy you’re destroying me! Please, harder! FASTER!!" Hot thick cum started to shoot inside the idols used pussy. She's twitching like she's having a relapse. Pleasure overflows inside of her. 

You are pretty sure Yuna has the same expression as Chaeryeong when you came inside of her. And you were right on the mark when Chaeryeong showed you the video of the climax.

"Daddy look at her! Our maknae really is a bitch! How can somene who has a bf have this expression when doing the did with someone else?" She chuckled while teasing the younger idol who passed out too. "Such a horny bitch!

"As if you are not the same." I answered while looking at her. 

"Well, you are not wrong in that. I love how you fuck me hard. Anyways i'll let her sleep here tonight." She said and i decided to go back to my own room. But before i truly leave, i kissed Chaeryeong on her lips and marked her in the neck with a hickey. 

[xmalereader]

Simon Riley x Male Reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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Authors note: Here is the beginning of a new mini series! These are not in order so you can read them however you like, here is the first part of the mini series! I’d also like to thank @crazymr for giving me a few ideas and inspiration of this new mini series!

Summary: Simon is still new to marriage and to being a parent to a pair of twins and there chaos.

Warnings: Fluff, slight angst, mentions of bullying, broken noses, Simon is a good parent, twins being chaotic, OC kid names, Simon is still in the military, sarcasm, fighting back.

Word count: 2.3K

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Very little people knew about Simon Riley being a married man. He kept his life private and never told anyone even if they asked he simply ignored the question and moved onto the next. You would think he would carry pictures in his wallet or perhaps keep them stored in his vest, but the man never carried that stuff with him. Too afraid and anxious of losing something important to him and perhaps putting them in danger if fallen into the wrong hands.

Simon was still fresh and new with marriage, suddenly getting married with his neighbor who was a single father raising twins on his own. Simon had interacted with the twins various times, always finding them on his front porch as they played with the stray cat that Simon had befriended and fed.

His neighbor was cautious of him at first, afraid of his tough structure but with time he grew to like Simon. Always knowing where to find the twins and trusting Simon to keep an eye on them if they ever ran off. After two years of the two dating it was Simon who wanted to marry the man and raises his kids alongside him. He’s grown to love the twins wether they were chaotic and a handful he didn’t mind.

With Simon being new to marriage he slowly grew used to certain things that both he and husband and kids did together. For example, they’d go out and eat or take turns dropping the kids off at school along with cleaning the house. It all felt domestic to Simon, something he thought he’d never have.

It wasn’t until Simon returned from deployment that he received a call from the twins school, urging him to come by the office due to Briar being in trouble. Simon only ever got contacted by the school in case of emergencies and was placed as a second option. Turns out that Y/n wasn’t able to get to the school and had contact Simon about the situation.

Simon knew that the twins were trouble.

Scratch that.

Briar, was trouble.

When Simon first interacted with the twins he knew that Briar was the tough one. Always speaking her mind and never cared for those who judged her while Ren was the quiet one. He was usually closed off and shy around new people but when he’s with family he’s just as chaotic as Briar.

If the two were separated in a room, things could be decent. But, if the two were in the same room, chaos arrives.

Simon learned to handle the twins attitudes, noticing the difference between the twin even though they had similarities and same age. Ren was the one who grew attached to Simon when he and Y/n first started dating, the small boy was always following Simon around like a lost puppy, he didn’t know why Ren did it.

Most children would run away from Simon in fear of him wearing a skull mask over his face or the big build that he had. Instead, Ren had told Simon that he felt safe around the man, protected. When Ren confessed his true feelings about Simon keeping him safe was when Simon grew to love Ren.

Protecting the kid and reassuring him during hard times.

Briar on the other hand was a handful. Simon expected Briar to grow attached to him at the same pace as Ren but she handled things differently. Briar was blunt towards Simon, maturing at a young age as she asked strange and interesting questions. Briar hadn’t really seen Simon as a parent until Y/n and him started growing serious.

Even though Briar had tough skin she did have one fear and that was Simon Riley. Simon could read her like a book and easily made her talk, there were times where she confessed that she found him intimating—a challenge.

Briar was young and tough and always stepped up for the hard tasks in life. The hears that Y/n spent raising the twins on his own, it was Briar who stepped up at a young age to take care of her little brother whenever Y/n was busy working. She’d clean, cook, and make sure that both she and Ren made it to school even when Y/n couldn’t be there for them.

Briar saw Simon as a challenge. Someone who was trying to steal her important role of the family.

When Simon arrived to the school he ignored the stares he received from both students and teachers as he makes his way to the office, stepping inside to find Briar sitting outside the principles office her arms crossed with an angrily look on her face.

Simons presence gets the twins attention, lifting her head up as the anger in her eyes melts away into a slight hint of fear. Quickly looking away as Simon sighed deeply under his face mask and sits next to Briar.

“Does dad know your here?” She suddenly asks in a soft whisper, getting Simons attention as he shakes his head. “Not yet, he will though.” Simon stares, leaning forward as his elbows are pressed against his knees, head on his hands.

“Okay…” She mumbled.

The two sit on silence until they are called into the principles office, Simon follows behind Briar into the room and the two sit down in front of the principles desk. The man on the other side of the desk can’t help but sigh at the sight of Briar.

“Briar Riley, you’re in trouble again?”

“Drink some cranberry juice.” She shot back with a grin.

Simon bites back a smile as the principle stares at her baffled. “What? No, not urine —you are in trouble!” He clarified as Briar kicks her legs, smiling innocently at the principle. It wasn’t until the principle is rubbing his temples with irritation showing on his face, knowing damn well that seeing Briar in his office was a regular thing already.

“Mr. Riley, is it?” The principle says, getting Simons attention as he nods in return. “I’m guessing you weren’t told why you were called here?”

“Unfortunately, no.” He answers honestly.

The principle nods in understanding as he laced his fingers together and set them in front of him, meaning business as he began to explain why Briar was called into the office today.

“Mr. Riley. The reasoning as to why Briar was called in today was because she got into a fight with a kid.”

Simon looks at briar in surprise.

“She punched a kid in the face.” The principle says.

“He deserved it.” Briar blurts out, glaring.

“You broke his nose!” The principle shot back with a deep sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose, disappointed and stressed.

“Do you know why she did it?” Simon finally asks, arms crossed over his chest as he allows the principle to explain. “Her and a young boy were arguing in the play ground and next thing I knew she was punching the kid.” He explains.

The room goes quiet after the explanation, giving Simon the chance to turn to Briar and ask for her side of the story. The nine year old huffs out a sigh as she explains.

“He was being mean to Ren, he pushed him off the swings and Ren scrapped his knees.” She mumbled out. “I told him to apologize but he refused and—he called Ren a mean name and I punched him.” She says, glancing at Simon who sat next to her and watched her closely. He’s able to read her eyes, knowing that she wasn’t lying.

He’s seen Briar fight kids in the past but it wasn’t for fun and games she mainly did when she was either defending herself or her brother. Simon knew that what she did was wrong, but can’t help but side with her on the situation.

“I see no problem with it.” Simon blurts out, getting a surprised look from both Briar and Principle. “Mr. Riley—“

“Briar was protecting her brother. It shouldn’t Briar sitting in this room it should be the other kid who didn’t hesitate to hurt Ren. Briar only did what she thought was right, by punching the kid.”

“She broke his nose!”

“Broken or not, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be here.” Simon shot back, giving the principle a glare. “I say the kids are even. He got to pick on Ren and in return he got a broken nose.” Simons voice is deep and full of order.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t do it again, but can’t promise she won’t hold back.” Simon stares, earning a shocked look from the principle as Simon stands from his seat and turns to Briar, nodding towards the door and signaling there leave. Briar looks from the principle to Simon before filling him out quickly, leaving a baffled principle behind.

When they reach the front of the office, Ren is sitting outside on the bench, kicking his legs nervously as he waits for Briar. When they make their appearance be jolts up from his seat and rushed over to hug Briar.

“Did you get expelled?” He asks, pulling away to look at Briar who shakes her head. “No.” She answers, looking down at the backpack that Ren held for her and smiles softly, taking it from his hands and slipping it over her shoulders.

“Doesn’t mean she’s not in trouble.” Simon speaks up, getting Rens attention. “You’ll father would want to know what happened.”

At the mention of Y/n, both kids are struck in fear.

—

Everyone knows that Simon is the scary one to be around when it comes towards missions. He was rough with his team and very demanding when it came towards getting things done. Thats only when he’s working, in his marriage it’s different.

Y/n is considered the scary one. He may look innocent and bubbly on the outside but once a nerve is struck he won’t hesitate to strike back. Which is why the twins feared him, afraid of disappointing their father who spent years raising them on his own and making sure they didn’t cause trouble.

Here he stood, hands on his hips as he tapped his foot angrily, glaring down at Briar who sat on the couch with a small innocent smile. Both Ren and Simon sat near the dining room, getting a clear view of the living room and easy access to ease drop on the conversation.

“Want to tell me why I got a call from the principles today?” Y/n asks, tilting his head to the side in questioning while Briar fidgets in place.

“I…uh—I punched a kid today..”

Y/n’s eyes widen. “You did what?!”

“I punched a kid!” Briar finally says, louder and full of pride which causes Simon to roll his eyes.

“Why?” Y/n demands. “He pushed Ren off the swings and called him a mean word.”

“And you think punching him resolved the issue?”

“She also broke his nose.” Simon pitched in, getting Y/n’s eyes to widen. “What?!”

“It wasn’t that bad…” Briar mutters. “You broke a kids nose!”

Briar frowns with a glare on her face. “What was I suppose to do? Teachers don’t do shit when kids get picked on and Ren was just swinging!” She says. “Then Ben and his friends came over and shoved Ren off while he was swinging and scrapped his knees and nearly hurt his head too!” Briar jumps off the couch, trying to size up Y/n and challenging him. “He called Ren a baby and I got mad and punched him! He deserved that broken nose!”

Her sudden outburst caused the room to grow silent. The only thing heard is Briars heavily breathing as she glared at her father who only stood there in silence, asking a small question.

“Punching someone isn’t the right answer.” Y/n knew how overprotective Briar was of her brother and would do anything for him.

“Yeah? Well—“ briar looks around frantically until her eyes land on Simon. “Simon, what would you do if dad got called something mean or tries to hurt him?” She asks.

Simon didn’t want to get dragged into the situation but at the mention of Y/n getting hurt Simon doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“Murder.” He says with narrow eyes. “See?!” Briar points out, earning a groan from Y/n who sits down and buried his face in his hands, groaning into them, knowing that Simon wasn’t making things better.

Briar takes in her fathers state and sighs softly. The nine year old approached him and hugs him, mumbling quietly. “I’m sorry for getting into trouble…I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Y/n looks up from his hands, sighing softly at his daughter as he pulls her into a tight hug. “God—your just a kid. I’m worried that your growing too fast.” He whines out.

Before Simon came into the picture, Y/n was raising the twins alone and seeing his kids grow was starting to take a toll on him. He enjoyed having them as babies but one doesn’t stay a baby anymore and his kids were growing a lot faster than he thought.

“They won’t stay kids forever.” Simon suddenly says, standing next to Y/n and Brair and smiles down at the two while his husband chuckled at him. “You’re right about that.” Y/n turns to Briar, pulling away from the hug and giving her head a kiss. “Just—no more fighting?”

“No promises.” Briar responds, earning an eye roll from Y/n who gently shoves his daughter away. “Go annoy your brother.” He gets a laugh from Briar as she rushed past Simon and towards her twin brother, leaving Simon and Y/n on there own.

“I always thought Ren would be the one to get in trouble.” Simons suddenly says, sitting down next to Y/n who raises a brow. “What makes you think that?”

Simon grins. “The quiet ones are always the deadliest.”

[serxinns]

Hello! :3 so I have yandere platonic another sibling request so how about Izuku having a older sister who is protective I mean protective of him and would always glare at anyone who is mean to him and plus she is a platonic yandere, so when she learn about students who make fun of him in junior school let’s just say those students got put in the hospital for bad burns, and Izuku’s older sister would be friendly to class 1-a and kinda friendly to bakugou because she almost burned him after she hear that he was bullying Izuku, also here’s a scenario so her and Izuku and he accidentally talked about the training island arc and how there was no teachers on the island and when she heard that she went to nezu office and started screaming at him and almost burned his office if it wasn’t for class 1-a holding her back, so if you want to add any another reader oc maybe Izuku’s cousin?

Ok!

You were always protective of Izuku, ever since you found out Izuku was quirkless you swore that you would protect him no matter what, whenever bakugo tried to mess up and tease Izuku about not being quirkless you would call off his bluff and you ended up turning and into a yelling match between the two of you, if it wasn't for izuku excusing "kaccha's" words saying he was just teasing him the two of you would've been in the hospital

Izuku admired his older sibling ever since then he thought that you were all might 2.0! He would glare at any student who dared to talk to his sibling or drag you away making excuses saying he needed help with some of his homework or wanted to show off his new all might figure as the years grew izuku grew more attached to you way too attached to the point where you can't even be alone with him but you brushed it off as it was your job as the older sibling to protect plus you even admired how he was protecting his younger cousin Izumi!

But ever since he suddenly got this Powerful quirk and went to Ua your stress levels and protective levels went to the chain, giving you a heart attack every time a new scar was on his or Izumi's body, your mom crying finding out about The USJ incident and the and endless hospital trips was giving you a gray hair you even begged for your mother to just pull him and Izumi put of UA already 😭

You just wanted your little brother and cousin to be safe why can't they realized it yet!?

One day when you izuku and Izumi were talking to One another izuku accidentally mentioned the camp and you went BALLISTIC pressuring both of them to tell what happened Izumi spat out everything every single detail while Izuku was sweating bullets from seeking your frown turned into a deadly glare

Nezu was busy doing some school paperwork it was 5 pm he was happily drinking his tea and humming to some sweet classical music until he heard a bang and some yelling "Y/N SAN PLEASE!!" "NO WHAT WERE THEY THINKING THOSE BASTARDS" He heard him turn down his music a bit to listen to Cleary of what the commotion was about not even a 1 min later he saw a raging h/c you fire coming out of your mouth and with what seems to be ripped tape around their body like someone was trying to restraint them and izuku and Izumi and other of his classmates trying to hold you down

"Y/N MIDORIYA THIS IS NOT A APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR AS CLASS REP I ORDER YOU TO STOP THIS AT ONCE" Iida yelled while grabbing into one of your arms while Kirishima held the other "Wow Izuku I didn't know your sibling was that strong" Kirishima said as he tried to pinned the other arm "Y/N PLEASE THEY ALREADY HANDLED IT I SWEAR IM FIN-" "BULLSHIT THIS WOULDNT HAD HAPPEN IF THIEE TEACHERS DIDNT DO THEIR FUCKING JOB" you said shaking and squirming around trying to get iida and kirishima off you so you can kill the rat

While all this is happening next looks so done just sipping his tea with a "😐" face and signs "4th destroying office incident this week" he thought as he sipped his tea once again and decided it was enough watching this tomfoolery "Right everyone let's y/n go I'll have a private chat with them" everyone including izuku and Izumi hesitated but let go praying you wouldn't kill the principal

After the whole conversation, you both agreed that the staff and teachers would be extra careful with you and make sure to watch out for Izuku and Izumi more (especially Izuku) in the condition that you get a week of house arrest cause you interfere with his quiet time and ruined almost half of his paperwork lol

[obstinaterixatrix]

Do u know any good mob psycho 100 fanfics?? Or authors??

well obviously my sister but I’m guessing you’re the same anon so 1) you already know her fics 2) you want different recs from what’s on her list (some of them being fics I rec’d to her lol). recs will skew heavily seri/rei and I’m just going through my bookmarks so it’s gonna be most recently read to oldest read. also seconding sister’s recs of bobmoss and crookedturtle. but I’ll add a fic from each anyway because I already wrote something for one while I was drafting this (oops)

Recollection by CowardlyBean

This is the journal of missing 31 year old Reigen Arataka, distributed with permission from friends and family. The version presented in this document has been kindly edited with added commentary by a loyal customer of his. -Editor’s Note

gen, experimental and in progress at 14k so definitely deserves more love than it’s getting. inspired by house of leaves; as the summary says, it’s some rando writing annotations about reigen’s journal, but Something Weird Is Going On. the 4th chapter updated so I actually need to catch up. also, sister rec’d this fic to me

Like Acid Reflux, or Love by partingxshot

Dating Reigen is like dating a single dad—only with more children, weirder scruples, and an extreme ruthlessness vis-à-vis group takoyaki discounts. He's not hot enough for this.

OR: "Me, You and Steve" by Garfunkel and Oates but with fifteen million teenagers.

OR: Outsider POV exploring Reigen’s dedication to his gaggle of bizarre children through an ill-fated dating attempt.

OR: Serizawa gets bruxism.

gen(/pre-relationship seri/rei), oneshot, 7k. oc/reigen breakup lmao. extremely funny concept, extremely good execution

Dream Dial by Alakazamboni

For the better part of nine years, Arataka has proudly worked in customer service at a behemoth of a company. At least, that's what he remembers, but a strange illness and a mysterious caller keeps trying to convince him otherwise. It doesn't help that this caller has the power to distort reality.

seri/rei, in progress, 16k. great uncanny atmosphere, and also reigen is trapped in time prison as a miserable office worker. hasn’t been updated for a while but read it anyway, the stoping point is fine

What We Make by crookedturtle

Reigen and Tome are kidnapped from the Spirits and Such office to be used as leverage against Mob. They have two goals: to contact the outside world, and keep each other safe. In doing so they engage in a dangerous game of lies and manipulation with their captors—a game with potentially deadly consequences.

gen (bg seri/rei), complete, 36k. Good for whump and high stakes interpersonal maneuvering & drama. I liked how the story extends beyond rescue and goes into how everyone navigates the fallout

Man's Best Friend by bobmoss

A cursed dog gets left at Spirits and Such. Anyone who pets it is doomed to die a horrible death.

Reigen, of course, pets it.

seri/rei, oneshot, 4k. funny and cute and sweet :) there’s a very charming tentative & tender vibe

heart line by ruthwrites

It doesn’t really matter, he reminds himself. He’s making a change, just like all of Reigen’s clients. What’s on his hands isn’t set in stone. He just has to make sure Reigen doesn’t see it— even if it might feel nice to have that steady attention, Reigen’s hands that are so much nicer than Serizawa’s folding around his.

(or: Reigen starts offering palm readings as a service, leading to Serizawa having to confront his feelings for his boss.)

seri/rei, oneshot, 6k. getting together fluff, a fun light read that also highlights serizawa’s insecurities—the internal narration has good character voice

If you won't believe me when I say it, believe me when I don't by deathdefied

Two years after Reigen invited Serizawa to work for him, he still can't quite categorize his feelings for his coworker. Instead of actually dealing with those feelings like an adult and talking to his friend, he decided to get really paranoid and overthink everything Serizawa does.

seri/rei, complete, 26k. reigen drives himself nuts lmao

Obvious by skeilig

Tome’s perspective on Reigen and Serizawa’s developing relationship.

gen (but about seri/rei), oneshot, 3k. I like outsider perspective getting together fics, especially when the perspective character is like ‘I’m actually not invested in this except when it affects me directly’

Cover Me by flecksofpoppy

Reigen’s shadow seems longer as the days move forward, more solitary. The cuts on his face heal and the ache in his bones go away, but a new sting replaces it. It’s loneliness, the thing he had managed to avoid ever since a primary school-aged kid who could make cups float stumbled into his office so many years ago.

seri/rei, oneshot, 3k. getting together fic that shows off a little of reigen’s gloomier side, it’s cute

loved you just a little too much by shcherbatskayas

You learn how to let go.

(It doesn't come naturally.)

gen(ish), oneshot, 2k. 2nd person character study of serizawa’s relationship with touichiro, I liked the ambivalence; effectively captures development over time with a relatively short wordcount.

offering genuine help with genuine results by suitablyskippy

“The curse was pretty clear on me not telling lies,” concedes Reigen. “It was pretty clear on me telling the truth. But,” as he lifts one finger, already sliding into the same educational tone he generally uses for imparting wisdom to Mob about life and love and the overall holistic benefits of making sure he’s always available for unexpected overtime work on weekends, “telling the truth isn’t necessarily the same as being honest, is it?”

“You’re the professional liar,” says Dimple. “You tell me.”

(Being cursed to only tell the truth and being cursed with Dimple as an employee are pretty much equally bad, as far as Reigen's stress levels are concerned.)

gen, oneshot, 2k. the tags include friends with no benefits whatsoever, which is very apt. Very funny to have reigen and dimple be petty and shady

a slightly more miraculous miracle by suitablyskippy

“Rumour has it that something impossible’s happened. Something that could never have happened. That shouldn’t have been able to happen.” In a single slick move Mezato produces a tiny voice recorder from an inside pocket, flips it open and active, and holds it up before Mob’s mouth to ask him, in a tone of devastating intensity: “Do you know anything about… a miracle, Mob-kun?”

Mob doesn’t hesitate. “We had maths homework to hand in,” he says. “But now we don’t have to. We don’t even have to go to the lesson.”

(The sun is shining, the birds are singing, Salt Middle School has been closed by an unexplained miracle, and the only thing wrong in Spice City is the fact that nothing is even slightly wrong at all.)

teru/mob, incomplete, 55k. for the most part I haven’t been repeating authors on this list, but listen. listen to me. I need you to listen. it is extremely unlikely for this fic to ever be completed. but hark, lest this sad probability turn you away and leave you dispassionately scrolling to the next fic, I need you (you specifically) to know that if I were in the same room as you, I would be wrestling the phone/mouse/trackpad/touchscreen/etc from your hands and furiously clicking the link. when I bookmarked this fic in 2017 I described it as having “some breathtakingly sensical prose and the funniest misunderstandings I’ve ever read”. trust me from seven years ago. open your heart.

skylight by inexhaustible

unconnected snapshots in what might, in some worlds, be something a little like recovery.

seri/rei, oneshot, 2k. character study that nails the tension of an escalating romantic atmosphere.

come on, come on, come over (take it off your shoulder) by mortarsmayfall

Reigen's free hand cradles Serizawa's head, curled under his ear just so to turn it for a better angle. He feels his pulse pound under Reigen's fingers, shivers just the slightest bit. If Reigen notices, he doesn't say anything about it.

seri/rei, oneshot, 2k. when I first read this I saved it as a private bookmark because I was so embarrassed by the sheer intimacy of haircuts with severely unresolved sexual tension. I’m guessing this was written after studio bones gave us reigen cutting serizawa’s hair. crumbs no more; for once we had a feast to enjoy. short & sweet getting together fic

Off-White by reigreitz

Some habits are tells.

seri/rei, oneshot, 1k. snapshots of pre-relationship and established relationship scenes, I’m quite fond of it. on my first reading I’m pretty sure I remember not paying attention to the habit piece at all (even with it being right in the summary) so at the last scene I was hit by the double whammy of ‘oh so that was what serizawa was reacting to’ and ‘AW… THAT’S SWEET…’; I think the fic does a great job of hiding/not acknowledging certain things the perspective character knows and is reacting to, which makes it fun to reread and pinpoint what exactly serizawa’s previously more opaque train of thought was. like, it’s the same stuff, but you get to read into more nuance.

the seven stages of falling in love by reigen arataka by matsunoble

You suppose one of the weirdest times to realize you've fallen deeply and irrevocably in love is when it's fuck o'clock in the morning and you're blearily checking your fridge for leftover curry.

seri/rei, oneshot, 3k. I was quite taken by the mundane (and sometimes unappealing) descriptions of love, and I like when serizawa has the upper hand

Mr. Psychic by beefstatic

Looks like trouble in Spice City...

seri/rei, oneshot, 4k. Serizawa Acts Like An Intimidating Bodyguard During Tense/Shady Situations. fun emphasis on that potential aspect of his character, I like how it’s done.

Late by hamlingo

For the first few days after hiring Serizawa, Reigen couldn’t help but be alarmed when the door opened at eight o’clock sharp in the mornings. He got used to it eventually, and in a month’s time he was more surprised when the door didn’t creak open right on time.

This was one of those mornings.

seri/rei, oneshot, 2k. this is actually among the first seri/rei fics I bookmarked so I can say with relative certainty that on may 20th 2017 I decided that maybe seri/rei was not just a joke of me indulging my own spurious unreasonable whims. fun character study and has that enjoyable tension of pleasant pre-relationship uncertainty.

Quiet Talks by krypkaktus

At some point, Reigen cutting his hair twice a month had turned into a mutual habit.

seri/rei, oneshot, 600 words. another charming snapshot of pre-relationship uncertainty, pleasantly embarrassing unresolved romantic tension.

walk in by ruthwrites

It was then he realized that the reason Reigen and Serizawa were standing so close was because they were kissing.

Mob was not really sure what to do with that information.

(or: mob leaves something at the office, comes back, and walks into something he wasn't supposed to)

seri/rei, oneshot, 3k. an extremely popular fic for extremely valid reasons, this is a shining example of the outsider POV shipfic where the perspective character is like. I’m 14 and did not want to see you guys kissing. and the couple is like. we also did not want you to see us kissing, this is excruciatingly awkward.

tomorrow isn't always another day by suitablyskippy

It’s like Reigen’s been waiting for the question. He stops dead on the pavement, grips Mob by the shoulders, and stares down into his eyes with an expression as haunted as though every ghost the pair of them has ever exorcised has taken up residence behind it. “Mob,” he says. “Mob,” he says again. “Tell me, Mob. Look at me and tell me. Tell me truthfully. Do I look cursed to you?”

Mob looks at him, and tells him truthfully. “No.”

“Well, you didn’t look very long,” says Reigen. “Let’s just stand here for a moment, like so, and you can have another look, a nice long look, and really think about it...”

(There's nothing strange about being called back to exorcise the same haunted photocopier six days in a row. It must just be a very haunted photocopier.)

gen, oneshot, 18k. I didn’t mean to rec the same author three (3) times but this is also one of my top faves. extremely funny time prison where nobody is on the same page ever.

space voyage by Anonymous

Tome Kurata is slightly famous—or notorious, more like—for being... a weirdo, to put it simply. She's definitely a person of interest. Just not exactly in a newsworthy way, which is obviously the only way that matters.

mezato/tome, oneshot, 1k. charming pre-relationship contention, they’re the same type of self-absorbed and tunnel vision (affectionate)

I was thinking of not writing up recs for sister’s fics but since one author got three (3) fics on the list I’m gonna also put 3 of my fave fics of sister’s

Reigen's Comprehensive Fool-Proof Guide on How Not To Be Next Door Neighbors With Your Employee (because that'd just be creepy) by MalkyTop

Reigen hires Serizawa and they somehow end up as roommates.

seri/rei, complete, 17k. a fic sister wrote for ✨ME✨ that shows off reigen’s neuroticism and his decidedly not-normal attempts to come across as Extremely Normal, The Most Normal Man Alive. there are so many comedic setups and payoffs. there are so many shenanigans. reigen gets frog-boiled into romance. actually, I drop that term a lot but I’m not sure it’s a common enough to intuitively understand. it refers to the boiling frog metaphor

If At First You Don't Succeed, Find a Loophole by MalkyTop

Reigen keeps dying; Serizawa keeps trying to save him.

seri/rei, complete, 18k. sister was insane for this because she trapped all of her readers AND herself in time prison by releasing one chapter a day. it was really funny to witness because I was the only person not in time prison by virtue of editing privilege. while we were watching mondays: see you next week (an office time loop movie), sister was saying she was impressed at how effective/efficient the movie was at picking which scenes to repeat. this is to say, as someone who notices these details, sister was very intentional about when things changed and how things changed from the perspective of a character completely unaware of time prison. also, the emotional momentum is extremely good, I loved reading serizawa’s increasing desperation from reigen’s context-less perspective.

in absentia* by MalkyTop

After what was supposed to be a routine exorcism, Reigen wakes up in the wrong body.

serirei, complete, 26k. slowburn bodyswap with mystery and intrigue. a solid casefic! I can be biased and right. there are metanarrative elements that I find fun and that, in my opinion, highlights how sister did in fact get a degree in philosophy. there’s also some fun subtle and messy characterization notes, like when serizawa asks reigen not to cook for him. it’s hard to talk about what I like about this fic without giving away a lot of specifics, so go read it.

[fickleminder]

first time for everything

DWBD AU. A series of firsts during Kirana's time in the Devildom.

It's been a while since I wrote about my F!OC in this AU. Masterlist here.

The first time Lucifer called Kirana into his office, it was to lecture her on her poor grades.

"But I've never even heard about any of this before—"

"That's no excuse. You are an ambassador of the human realm, a representative of the exchange program, and you will perform or else." Lucifer glared at her threateningly.

Kirana snapped her mouth shut and nodded meekly. She kept her head down until the demon finally dismissed her, and scurried away without another word.

The first time Mammon rummaged through Kirana's room, he stole her monthly allowance from under her bed.

Mammon didn't seem to understand the meaning of a locked door, so Kirana figured it was only a matter of time before her belongings fell victim to his greed. Reporting the issue to Lucifer only earned her Mammon's ire, and she knew her room was no longer safe.

Good thing she just opened a bank account to dump all her cash in. She owed Dracius a coffee the next time they worked the same shift at the royal library.

The first time Leviathan interacted with Kirana was to leave a comment on her Devilgram account.

The post was harmless enough, featuring a screenshot of her spirit collection in Mononoke Land. An event had just concluded, and Kirana was proud of her final haul despite not finishing the quests. She had grades to keep up, after all.

Seeing a notification on her D.D.D. about a new Devilgram comment, she opened the app and her face fell as she read it.

L3V1: LOL why bother playing if you're not gonna hit 100% completion? Get lost, normie!

The first time Satan cooked for Kirana, he almost set her tongue on fire.

"Sorry, I must have misheard you. I thought you liked spicy foods." Satan's smirk was anything but apologetic, and Kirana immediately knew he had done this on purpose. There wasn't a single dish on the table that wasn't loaded with spices.

No amount of water quelled the burning in her mouth; in fact, it only made the sensation worse. Kirana quickly excused herself and ran out of the dining room, leaving behind a napkin dotted with splotches of red.

The first time Beelzebub gave Kirana feedback on her cooking, it wasn't constructive in the slightest.

"It's not enough," Beel repeated for what seemed like the fifth time now. Kirana wasn't even surprised anymore; she only sighed and returned to the kitchen to prepare another round of food.

None of the other brothers bothered to lift a finger to help her, and by the time Beel was finally (finally!) sated, the only things left were her empty plate and a table full of dirty dishes.

The first time Belphegor cursed Kirana with nightmares, she knew she was never going to cook for him or his brothers again.

Belphie's smirk fell when Kirana came back lugging not baskets of fresh groceries, but a pile of takeout boxes. "What's all this?"

"Dinner." She gave him a firm look, a stark contrast from her usual downcast gaze. "That's what you wanted, right?"

She would need to pick up more shifts to avoid going completely broke, but it was worth not having to cook for those ungrateful, entitled brothers anymore.

The first time Asmodeus called Kirana by her name, it wasn't actually Asmo at all.

Kirana smiled sadly and stepped out of Asmo's warm hug, leaving him inside the magic circle. It was nice while it lasted. "These are the fakes, Lord Diavolo."

Things happened quickly after that. The clones were banished, the real brothers were released from their own magic circles, and Barbatos asked how she knew.

"They called me Kirana." She shrugged and turned away from seven guilty faces. "If we're done here, I have somewhere else to be. Please excuse me."

The first time Rache danced with Kirana was in the kitchen of Purgatory Hall.

The song blaring from the speakers of Rache's D.D.D. was in a foreign language, but it definitely wasn't demonic. Rache laughed at the look of surprise on Kirana's face. "I just discovered this the other day! How come you never told me humans had such interesting music?"

Before Kirana could even reply, the demoness started dancing to the beat, no doubt having memorized the choreography already.

"Come on, dance with me!" Rache held out her hand.

The dirty dishes in the sink were left forgotten as Kirana did her best to imitate Rache's moves, giggling when they both almost slipped on the tiles. She didn't know how Rache found out about K-pop, but in that moment it was the best damn thing ever invented.

The first time Igfuur successfully cursed an object, it was a gift for Kirana.

Igfuur never really liked curses. It was no fun to be afflicted with one, and they took too much effort to cast since they required a lot of intent to make their victims suffer. Personally, Igfuur would rather just leave justice up to karma.

But this time it was personal. Igfuur had but one goal: to make his sick friend feel better and leave her with something that could not be easily stolen. Kirana was not fooling any of them with the so-called 'ghost' in her room.

Several gloves later, the stuffed flame salamander was good to go. Kirana would be able to hold it with no issue, but the toy would burn anyone else who touched it.

Take that, Lord Mam— uh, 'ghost'!

The first time Vorgo cooked human world food was when Kirana was feeling homesick.

"I hope you don't mind, but I had to substitute a few ingredients," Vorgo explained apologetically, setting the steaming bowl of soup on the table. "The markets here don't really stock much from the human world."

"That's fine. Thank you for the meal."

"No, thank you for being my reliable taste tester!" The demon winked at her as she tried a spoonful. "So what do you think?"

"...Tastes just like chicken." Kirana's eyes were slightly watery, but there was no mistaking the warmth of gratitude in her eyes.

"That's great to hear! I actually had to use—" Vorgo cut themself off abruptly, thinking better of it. "Never mind, let's not spoil the moment. I hope you're hungry, because this is just the appetizer!"

The first time Talon carried Kirana was after a long day at RAD.

"Get on."

Kirana paused when Talon knelt down in front of her and faced away. "Uhh, what are you doing?"

"Giving you a lift, obviously. You're practically dead on your feet."

The offer was tempting, but... "You don't have to do that! I can manage—"

Talon rolled her eyes and smiled. "I get a workout, and you get a free ride. It's a win-win situation, so what's the problem?"

Well, when she put it that way. "Are you calling me heavy?" Kirana teased as she climbed on, sighing in relief as weight was lifted off of her aching feet.

"You're never too heavy for me, doll." The demoness stood up with ease. "Now just relax and let me do all the work, okay?"

The first time Belyth asked Kirana for help, it was for a school project.

"The course material is outdated. I ought to file a complaint." Belyth grumbled, taking her seat next to Kirana. "Good thing we're in the same class again. You're the only one I trust to provide accurate information."

"Just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm an expert on human culture. There's a lot of diversity among us, you know." Kirana pointed out. "In fact, I'd say Solomon knows way more than I do, especially given how long he's been around."

"If I want his help, I'll ask for it." That was a blatant lie and they both knew it. "It's not everyday our roles are reversed so don't get used to this."

"Whatever you say. Okay, so feet binding was a thing in ancient China..."

The first time Erkid gave Kirana flowers was when she was hospitalized.

Sprawling with white, pink and yellow lilies, the bouquet was so haphazardly arranged that Kirana suspected Erkid had put it together himself. Nevertheless, it was a sweet gesture and she thanked him as he stuffed it into an empty vase next to her bed.

"I hope you get better soon! And don't worry, we'll make sure those bullies don't get away with hurting you!" He promised. "Also I didn't find out until today but did you know different flowers came with different meanings? You can even make a bouquet that says 'fuck you'!"

The demon was rambling again. It was an endearing habit, but Kirana knew Erkid was worried and needed a distraction. "Tell me more," she said, leaning back and making herself comfortable.

The first time Dracius kissed Kirana, it was after making a pact with her.

"Are you sure about this?" Kirana looked absolutely bewildered. "I don’t want to give up my soul or anything, and I don't think you should be signing away your life like that."

"You make it sound as though I won’t have any free will left." Dracius cracked a small smile. "Besides, I trust you."

"But..."

"And I don't expect anything in return," he added quietly. "I may not be as strong as Talon, or as smart as Belyth, but I promise to have your back no matter what."

One look into Dracius' eyes and Kirana knew he meant every word. It made her wonder if he still harbored guilt over not being able to protect her all those weeks ago, but it seemed like he really wanted this. "Okay, I trust you too."

Dracius took her hand and swore an oath. Something warm branded itself onto Kirana's right arm, and she knew the pact had been forged.

Before she could promise him never to abuse his power, the demon lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her knuckles in a reverent kiss. Kirana froze at the implication, but Dracius only smiled before releasing her.

(Somewhere around the corner, hidden just out of sight, Satan gritted his teeth and scowled. A bouquet of red lilies dropped to the ground as he stomped away silently.)

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #41

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [Intermission] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

[AO3] [wattpad]

Sinbad x OC

*Mori goes to horny mecha *More sex ed things *Emotional/tonal whiplash ~POV Sinbad~ Mori couldn't keep their eyes off of him for days, but they turned away every time Sinbad returned their gaze. He was definitely getting under their skin. It was only a matter of time before they fully became his, but he wasn't certain he could make it happen before he left for the Kou Empire. It was only after he sat at his desk and couldn't seem to finish a single document that he couldn't deny Mori was under his skin too. Even the waves were pointing him away from his desk.

However, the King couldn't exactly leave when he had just started working -that was what Zepar was for. The bird circled the Black Libra Tower, and when it entered through an open window of Mori's office it wasn't his Beautiful Prophet inside. That was definitely Ja'far leaving the room holding a bunch of scrolls. And when he entered the court yard, the General was headed towards the White Capricorn Tower. Something told Sinbad that Ja'far was heading his way without the waves. He dropped control of the bird.

Sure enough, Ja'far entered his office with the scrolls and put them on his desk. "Sin, is what Mori wrote in these true?" Just glancing at the labels he knew, "I haven't read those ones yet, but I'm sure they are." "Read them now." Ja'far had not looked this upset with him in years. "I'll wait."

--- ~POV Sharrkan~ Mori was ranting and it was far worse than anything Yam had ever said. "Yeah, no! I don't care how pretty these are or how much of a tourist attraction they are! You have to stop selling and supplying quartz and wooden dildos!" The Prophet pointed one such facile at the group before her. "These materials are porous. They can't be properly sterilized, so they will eventually lead to infections no matter what orifice they're shoved into!" Sindria's best swordsman was stuck between covering his face or ears while Mori 'educated' him and the staff of the Red Light District. This was a mistake. 'Can the King just show up and kill me right now????' She sighed. "You can make a similar-ish affect to quartz with glass right? That's actually safe to use, easy to sterilize, and they can handle a wide range of temperatures so you can even use them for temperature play." The Prophet twirled the crystalline dick while talking. "I was surprised when I saw how advanced this country's glass is so there shouldn't be a problem making dildos out of safe materials with the glass work here." Sharrkan had thought she would just take notes or something and leave, not try to fix everything right then and there!!! What materials were safe, what practices were dangerous; 'didn't matter that she was also teaching them things they could do/use instead that would work better. Wasn't Mori supposed to be a huge virgin nerd like Yam??? Why did she know so much about all of this? There's no way this was just from her visions. The staff were the ones taking notes instead of the Prophet. 'At least they seem to be enjoying themselves.'

--- ~POV Sinbad~ Ja'far brought the remaining Fate scrolls Sinbad had yet to read, but only really wanted him to read parts of 2 of them for the conversation. The contents were telling, both in his mistakes of the past, and Ja'far's current glare. When his Beautiful Prophet first told him that he ran away from responsibility using 'Fate,' he thought he had found the true answer in the waves. But that was a contradiction. The waves were caused by people's decisions, so even if they guide people to opportunities it doesn't remove their agency. Without realizing it, Sinbad had fallen into another phantasm to protect himself from guilt. Some of the comments Mori made since they met had hinted at the real reason but it was clear she had no intention of telling him directly. All of the scrolls had signs of being edited here and there, but not these two. They were still in process. And so there was the truth written directly in the paragraphs after his release from slavery.

...He had long forgotten how to ask for emotional support ... Those feelings would fester every time he made another mistake until he was able to fully replace his guilt with the acceptance of 'Fate' as inevitable. He wouldn't be able to acknowledge his own potential for evil for another 15~ years...

That last line held the answer. 'His own potential for evil.' That was the point Mori was really talking around all this time. In her visions he hadn't been able to accept that side of himself until it was too late. He knew he was capable of such things on a factual level considering how he viewed some of his Kingly actions as 'necessary evils,' but that wasn't the same as acknowledging that truth in his Heart. The reason he had longed for the ways of his youth was because back then he hadn't done anything that would haunt the rest his life; he had yet to gamble in desperation only to hurt those around him. But even that wasn't really the truth. When Sinbad had read about when he left home after capturing the Dungeon all he could think of was how that action damned everyone in his village just as was revealed in the scrolls in front of him. He had been making this mistake since the start. 'Just what have I been doing all this time?'

Ja'far's darkened stare waited until he got through the 2nd scroll. "This is so much worse than how you made it sound. This is more than some kid thinking he's the chosen one." A hand went to his head as he tried to wrap his mind around everything. "Sin, why do you think we all swore our lives to help you achieve your dream?"

Sinbad couldn't look away from the scrolls. Doing so would only mean seeing the disappointment in his friend's eyes. He had spent so long keeping what happened in Parthevia a secret. There was nothing he could do about it now.

"I know you don't like sharing your plans, but I thought... Did you ever trust us to help you?! What was the point of gathering all of us then??"

The King opened his mouth, and the realization that he couldn't say the 'right' answer and believe his own words hit him much harder than Ja'far's accusations. His heart started racing to match the flow of the waves. The General may have only read those 2 scrolls but Sinbad had read everything leading up to them, so more of his past was fresh in his mind. Sure, he reached out to people to teach him things periodically, but any time he ran into a real problem he always took on that burden alone. Sinbad had expected 'support' from his Household Members and citizens, but never 'help.'

Sinbad lost control over his expression. "That's part of why I decided to change this path I'm on. Mori made it clear that I will repeat the mistakes of my past if I don't start relying on you all even when I..." He was unable to find the right words to finish his sentence.

"Sin." Ja'far practically hissed his name. "If you don't fix this bad habit of yours then I'll kill you myself, just like I promised all those years ago, before you can cause the 2nd Calamity."

"I'll count on that." He would rather that than be the one that almost destroyed the world. Taking a deep breath didn't help nearly as much as he hoped. "I think we've humored Mori long enough. I need to know for sure how I'm connected to the 2nd Calamity." ---

~POV Mori~ To be honest, I wasn't expecting the management of the Red Light District to believe me right away. But apparently, being officially announced as the Prophet was really good PR because they were very excited to receive some of my 'prophecies for the betterment of Sindria.' The waves had grown dangerously high during my info dumping. If I didn't know how much of a change a sexual revolution could cause from reading history I might have been concerned. Instead, it made my heart swell with pride.

Returning to my room empty handed was a bit disappointing, but it did make it easier to sneak back without being noticed. It also gave me time to make a space the bunch of the new glass dildos I preordered. I was definitely looking forward to the future.

"Finally!" Sharrkan groaned as we exited the district. "If I knew you were going to take so long figuring out-" Both of us froze in the gold gilded doorway.

'Why is Sinbad entering the Red Light District in the middle of the day???' That thought was immediately counter when I noticed Ja'far standing next to him. That meant he was here for official business, not pleasure. 'Why am I only now realizing I could have waited for him to leave the country before attempting this????' At least I wasn't carrying a bag of dicks. That would have been the most damning evidence. --- ~POV Sinbad~ When the guards had revealed that Mori was escorted to the Red Light District by Sharrkan, Sinbad was unwilling to wait for their return. However, something wasn't quite adding up to his expectations. Mori was happily walking out of the Red Light District, and Sharrkan was drained and depressed besides her.

Before the King could say anything, Mori greeted them. "Hello, you're Majesty, Ja'far! I was originally going to tell you after writing up a report first, but since you're here I'll let you know now: I realized I could share medical information for reproductive health here." She gestured behind her, "I just finished my first trip to see what is the current common knowledge, so I could better understand how I can help."

'Does that means Sharrkan didn't drag Mori here?' Even so she was talking a bit too quickly. She was definitely nervous about something.

Ja'far responded before the King could gather his thoughts. "Mori. You do remember that you promised not to invent anything, don't you?" His smile was not the nice one.

"Yes," she admitted without skipping a beat. "However I don't need to invent anything that we aren't already working on to help here." Mori's smile was unwavering.

Sinbad sought direct confirmation. "You really came here to figure out ways to improve this place?" ---

~POV Mori~ "Of course! Who do you think I am?" I said, you know, like a liar. I placed one hand on my hip, and the other over my heart for added flare. "The whole reason I came here was because the rubber experiments are coming along, and the same material can be used to make comfortable condoms you can actually feel through. That way no one has an excuse to not use them." The King and estranged prince coughed at my words. Ja'far's eyes widened. I took his lack of comment as a sign to continue. "We are already working towards rubber gloves. And what are the fingers on gloves other than tubes? We can make condoms by just making bigger tubes." I gave a perfect customer service smile to the man in charge of finances. "From my visions, I know how much trouble 'people' get into when they can't deny their desires, so I thought I could at least help with this part of the problem." "Mx. Prophet," Ja'far took a few steps forward and grabbed my hands. "You should have told me sooner! Something like is invaluable with a King like Sinbad." 'Fish, meet hook.' I softened my expression to lean into this pity angle. "I understand. I know how many complaints you've had to deal with because of him."

((Blatant Rose of Versailles reference ;3)) --- ~POV Sinbad~ This was a dilemma. Even though Sinbad had stopped taking partners, his Beautiful Prophet was none the wiser. This was a good opportunity to enlightened her, but there was something else he had to take care of first. Ja'far might have disliked Mori when they first met, but ever since the rebellion in Balbadd was stopped things started to change. They had started having periodic moments like this when their thoughts aligned. Sin didn't like it. He gently separated their hands and received their attention at the same time. "Hey now, I stopped asking for call girls weeks ago." On one hand, if Mori wanted something, Sinbad wanted to make sure she got it -if that was the assistance of one of his Generals so be it. But on the other hand, he didn't want anyone else catching Mori's eye. When he had heard that Sharrkan brought her to the Red Light District he had thought that one of his Household Members had betrayed him. From the look of things it was starting to seem like, instead of Sharrkan, it was Ja'far he should have been worried about. Ja'far took a few steps back. His eyes and brow scrunched in great disappointment and complete lack of fucks for the topic. "I think we will all feel better with this added protection considering your track record." "Yes, well..." There was no denying that. Sinbad cleared his throat into a fist to buy time as he listed the facts in his head: '-Mori has already admitted to her feelings for me before so clearly she wants to be with me. '-Mori is also aware of my own feelings even though she hasn't fully accept it yet. '-Mori has started working on condoms that are comfortable. 'She is clearly working towards our future, so we can have a long honeymoon before growing our family!!' Mori's expression was only marginally better than Ja'far's. "Are.... you sick?" The Prophet still trusted her visions far more than anything he could say. "I'm fine. I promise." This was a failure of a conversation. Sharrkan's snickering rubbed salt in the wound. There was nothing the Womanizer of the Seven Seas could say to clear his name. "...Okay." She clearly didn't believe him. Mori lightly clapped their hands together with a smile. "Well, on that bombshell, we'll let you go do whatever you were gonna do in the Red Light District." Regret. Humiliation. Was how he spent his life really such a bad thing for a future spouse? Wouldn't his experience and expertise mean that he would be guaranteed to satisfy them? Ja'far brought the topic around to their true purpose. "Actually Mori, we came to get you. We have some questions about the future you saw in your visions."

--- ~POV Mori~ The room they brought me to was the same one that lead to the balcony where I had dinner with Sinbad more than a month ago. As soon as we entered, the King started taking off his rings. Confusion spiked my anxiety. Sinbad gave me a reassuring smile. "I noticed during our meetings about Fate that you keep looking at my rings. When I remembered you know my Djinn's abilities it was obvious what you were worried about." He took off his remaining metal vessels and placed them on a coffee table. "I know I'll never use any of these on you, but actions speak louder than words at times like these." Ja'far followed his King's example and placed his metal vessels on the the table as well. I knew I looked at Zepar's ring a few times when talking about Fate, but I thought I made it seem like my eyes were wandering. I couldn't respond. My brain was still catching up and accepting what was happening. 'This isn't going to be about his trip to the Kou Empire...' I had already explained what visions I had of that trip during a meeting about preparing for it, but it was still the most likely topic I could think of. It wasn't until they settled in amongst the plush seating that I realized I should sit down too. Sinbad's expression went serious but he didn't feel angry. After a moment's hesitation he looked me in the eye. "The person who causes the 2nd Calamity is me, isn't it?" . . . . . . 'How????' The thought was immediately followed by the realization that since I hadn't responded right away there was no way they would believe anything other than admittance. I couldn't even consider the option. ((So that emotional whiplash of a cliffhanger, amiright? The chapter took so long to come out because- Surprised! That eye infection I had came back and being on the medication this time really messed me up. It's a stronger antibiotic since the last apparently didn't fully knock it out of me. I couldn't go outside without catching on fire and passing out, and I had to hyper monitor my diet. The doctor said I'm past the next stage so the dosage was cut in half. I feel more like a person again :D I'll be on it for at least another month. Wish me luck!! This chapter was also delayed because I ended up deciding to do Artober daily this year. It was my first year making a piece every day since Jake Parker ruined Inktober by trademarking it and doing a plagiarism. Anyway, I really enjoyed the challenge :D Inspired me to work on more of my original work and things. On that note, the next chapter is going to be delayed because I want to get a lucid dream one shot out by December 7th. I definitely chose that date for no reason in particular. It absolutely has nothing to do with it being a Jujutsu Kaisen dream. Promise UwU I also have an original piece I'm nearly done writing, but I'll wait to finalize it until I have the next chapter of Sindria's Prophet posted :3 The world and this country is on fire but that doesn't mean it's the end. We have survived every day up to this one, we can survive another. We will preserve.))

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

Ahhhhh Lester Billings fic was so gooodddd I loved ittttttt pls make a part two 🙏🙏🙏

45 Days of Waiting - Lester Billings/Reader

Warnings: Gender neutral reader, no use of Y/N, friends to roommates, accusations of cheating and abuse (both false of course), reader is still pining, Lester is still sad, happy ending.

Wordcount: 25210

Summary: You called in every favour you could to find someone to take his case so he could get his family back, but inviting him to stay with you was surely bound to have more consequences than even you could've expected as your friendship with him blossoms even more.

Notes: Ask and you shall receive hehe the idea of writing out the custody hearing was always in my mind when thinking of the sequel to this, but godDAMN did I not expect it to be so long. The hearing itself takes up a good chunk of this, but there's also a ton of other scenes as your friendship (and relationship? 😏) grows, so while this is the longest reader of mine to date somehow I promise it'll be a worthy read that'll lead into even more with him as I go through the final two requests for him in my queue 😊 And while there are OCs of mine in here as secondary characters again, I may've gone a bit overboard with my usual Matty cameo hehehe

I also looked up how long the original story was, and it was only 4808. I've written over 6x the amount of plot for this man than Stephen King himself, so I think it's now safe to say I now own him and this is now how his life turns out 👍 Hope everyone who might've looked forward to this enjoys it 💗💗💗

It was Thursday night again, your car pulling into the grocery store in town as it always did at around 5:15PM. It was the soonest you could get there after work, and you'd been working like crazy lately, your office phone ringing off the hook and calling just as much as you attempted to trade in every single favour you had stocked up. You were dead tired as you yanked a cart free and started on the list in your hand, the usual favourites now followed by a bunch of healthy foods as well as the odd treat. It was a long list, but money hadn't been an issue ever since you'd started your job at the firm, and now that Lester was working again he always made sure to pay you back since he was now spending his Thursdays, along with every other night, at the office for as long as he could get away with.

It'd been a couple weeks since you'd found him at Walkers, since he’d confessed to you that his wife was leaving him and taking his kids on the suspicion of cheating, and the thought of it still made your blood boil as you stared at the pasta sauces and grabbed your favourite, not hers. You placed two jars into your cart and moved on, each item crossed off your list until you reached the dessert counter at the end, the worker seeing you coming and already preparing two slices of Caramel Pecan for you and him to take home.

It was still a little strange to think about how he was coming home to you, just temporarily until he could finish securing a new place of his own that'd be suitable for his kids, something he hadn't dared to think about when he'd started his hunt, but to you all the same. He took up your entire couch to the point where you'd had to take pity on him after that first night, your bed offered to him when he'd woken up with his back irritated from being all bunched up. He didn't want it, he was already imposing on you during all of this, but one offered massage later had him feeling better and a little more ready to get a good night's sleep. 

You'd checked on him that second night, his suitcases decorating your floor and the single picture he'd managed to grab decorating your nightstand where he could see it before he fell asleep, and you vowed again that this wouldn't stay his future as you'd spent the rest of the night looking up every big name in your work contact list.

You packed the groceries into your car and headed home, his receipt separate from yours so he could keep track of what he owed you as usual, and you planned on what to make for him by the time he got home later that night all the way back to your house. It was a long drive, so you had plenty of time to create a meal based on what you'd just bought, your fingers tapping the wheel as you wondered if he'd prefer the kale salad tonight or if he'd want to go with the stir fry instead. 

It was almost unbelievable how fast your crush kept trying to come back now that you saw him every day, little reminders of why you'd properly fallen in the first place cropping up and trying to distract you from your cause, but each time you just swallowed them down; he needed a friend right now, the poor guy was about to lose his marriage for goodness sake, so any interference from you and your own needs would only make him feel worse.

You'd seen cases like this before, one wrong move and Rita would be able to use everything out of context and prove that he was unfaithful to the judge while she made her claim for full custody, and if you were the cause of her winning you'd never be able to forgive yourself.

You forced yourself to breathe as you pulled into the driveway, everything needing to be carried up the small steps to your front door as soon as it was opened, and just as you propped it open and got ready to bring everything in you ended up pausing at the smell of food. You stepped inside, sniffing curiously as you wondered if maybe one of you had forgotten to turn something off or throw something away that morning, and when you reached the kitchen you froze with a pounding heart when you saw Lester standing at the sink, currently peeling and slicing potatoes while a big pan of beef was browning on the stove. 

‘You're h- back early,’ you pointed out as he transferred the potatoes to another pan, and he jumped only a little before chuckling and wiping off his hands.

‘Yeah, I'm going in again after dinner, I just wanted to thank you for all you've been doing for me lately,’ he explained almost nervously, like you wouldn't appreciate the gesture, and you forgot all about the food in your car and all the wide open doors you'd left behind as you rushed forward to give him a hug. You caught yourself before he could hug you back, your hands coming up to straighten your work casual clothes as you cleared your throat. You were very aware of how inappropriate that just was despite you being friends, but before you could apologize he pulled you right back into it. ‘What kind of thanks comes without a hug?’ he asked into your shoulder, and you held him tightly until a mix of the beef spitting grease everywhere and your front door slamming shut made you part.

‘Oh yeah, the groceries, I'll help you cook after I bring them all in,’ you offered as you headed back for the car, Lester shaking his head and mixing around the beef now that more of it was browned.

‘This is my thanks to you, I do know how to make a thing or two without needing a menu,’ he joked lively, his familiar smile back again, and you just smiled right back before rushing out to bring everything in.

You were at work that week when someone finally called you back, a woman from a neighbouring firm who you'd worked with a few times and was interested in his case. She was aware of his financial situation, how Rita had kept all the cards and how he was stuck to his brand new debit account that was only loaded with a few paychecks for the moment, and together you'd worked out that this would be pro bono for now; when he was given access back to his personal savings - which she was hoarding in order to pay the bills - then he would be able to pay her. 

What he wouldn't know was that you'd also called in one of your favours so the bill for this would be lessened, just another kindness to him while he went through all of this. She was on the phone with you as you wrote all of this down into a personal report to give to her to help with the case, the receiver cradled between your jaw and shoulder before you remembered that speakerphone had been invented even on landlines. 

‘He's staying with me for the time being, he has a few places we're gunna check out next week to see if they'd be a good fit for his kids to visit until he can start hunting for a house again,’ you told her as you set the phone down, your hands moving fast over the keyboard of your laptop in time with your voice. ‘They're all in town, so they won't have to be too far from their school and friends, that was something he forgot about when he first started looking, but it's all sorted and we just need to settle on a location and price.’

‘You keep saying, “we,” be sure not to do that during any meetings, not when his wife is already accusing him of being unfaithful,’ Gwen reminded you warily, and you mentally slapped your hand to your forehead as you kept on typing.

‘Shit, yeah, sorry, it's been harder not to lately since he keeps asking for my opinion,’ you groaned, all of your thoughts on all the things you'd been doing together overwriting the fact that he should be doing this on his own even without you acting as his lawyer, just his friend. 

‘It's fine with us, I know you'd never put him in that position, but you never know who she might be hiring to falsify evidence in her favour when she's this convinced that it's true.’ She paused to take a drink of something so you paused in return to stretch your hands, your cell lighting up with a text from him asking if you want him to pick up anything on the way home since he knew you would also be late; home, he'd started calling it that even though you’d tried your damndest not to, and your crush whispered in your ear about how right it sounded as you quickly tapped out a reply and set the device back down again.

‘We don't spend any time together outside of the house, and we leave at different times so unless she has someone actually following us, which I will report, there's nothing going on here other than me helping out a friend,’ you told her as you got back to your report, and you heard her click her tongue a couple times before adjusting how she held her own phone.

‘Still, be careful during this, you may not be representing him due to your closeness to this case, but you became a liability to him the moment you opened your door to him under this suspicion. Keep it platonic, keep it distant, don't add fuel to the fire, and we can meet sometime next week to go over the rest of the details, okay? Just text me your address and I'll be there, the less he's seen in public with anyone the better so long as we don't know who she thinks the cheating is with.’ You nodded guiltily even though she couldn't see, your hands stopping their typing as you touched your cheek again even though the sting was long gone. 

You didn't know if it'd really be brought up during the hearing, but you didn't want to have to tell him that the accused was actually you, your appearance in his life only making everything go to hell in such a short time. You knew deep down that it wasn't actually your fault, you'd never made a single move on him and she was only lashing out in jealousy over something that didn't exist, but you knew that custody tended to favour the mothers and if there was a single shred of doubt that she could twist into him looking like a bad father then you would play the part of friend until even you believed it.

The call ended and you texted her your address along with a good time when the neighbours were usually out, it'd be easy to leave work for this at least on your part, Lester's boss giving him a little more leniency than usual while this was sorted so far so hopefully it wouldn't be an issue for him either. You saved your report and shut your laptop for the night, you had no more energy to do this and you needed to eat, your earlier denial of takeout being redacted as you texted him your favourites from the place he had to now pass by to get to you.

The meeting couldn't come sooner, Lester on constant edge as he paced around your room the night before. You could hear exactly where he was as you tried to sleep on the couch in the next room, each creak in the wood giving away his position until finally it stopped. You sighed, it'd been hours and it had honestly been keeping you awake, but not because of the noise; you were just as nervous as he was, the two of you up late before this deep cleaning your entire one-story house just to be sure you were ready to start this battle, and you were until you'd heard him get out of bed and start pacing.

Now your room was quiet again, and you waited for the sound of snoring when you heard your door creak open next instead. ‘Hey, I can't sleep,’ came his small voice from the doorway, and you couldn't even pretend to be asleep when he could clearly see your face looking his way from there.

‘Me either,’ you admitted as you pushed yourself onto your elbows, Lester brushing his messy bangs out of his eyes, and you could see how tired they were even from there. ‘Want me to put on some coffee? We can watch something until we fall asleep.’

‘No, but… it's silly, nevermind.’ He went to shut the door, your body sitting up even more as you pushed aside your blanket.

‘Wait, you can tell me, I'm worried about tomorrow, too,’ you confided in him before the door could shut, and he let out his own sigh as he opened it back up again.

‘I've been lying next to someone for over 20 years, and lately I've been too… too sad or too tired to notice but… I can't ignore it tonight, not now that I know this is happening starting tomorrow.’ Your mouth went dry as you understood his pacing, and you moved on instinct before you could stop yourself. ‘You don't have to, I just- don't want to be alone, tonight,’ he mumbled, this new and sad version of him cropping up again as the thoughts of sleeping without his longtime girlfriend and then wife and mother of his children clearly plagued him.

‘What're friends for?’ you could only say as you joined him in your room, an unspoken tension filling the air as he still tried to backtrack.

‘I'm not asking for… uh, sexual favours, or anything,’ he mumbled nervously, and you quickly raised your hands and took a step back as you prayed the darkness of the night was hiding your blush.

‘I didn't come in here expecting you to!’ you clarified just as nervously in way too loud a voice for that late at night, and he smiled in relief as his shoulders relaxed.

‘Okay, thank you, it's just that the thought of sleeping alone- for the longest time I'd forgotten how that felt, and like I said I've been too distracted to think about it until now, but if you'd rather not I can try,’ he insisted as to not pressure you, and you had to silence your crush with something louder as you took his hand and led him towards the bed.

‘You don't need to explain yourself to me, you're going through something I can't even imagine, if this'll help you then I want to help,’ you told him honestly, and he pushed aside his fear as he got back into bed. You made sure the blinds were all closed just in case, your talk with Gwen making you a bit paranoid as the room got even darker, and when you were done you made sure your pajamas were a little less loose before climbing in after him. 

You laid arm to arm with a generous amount of space between you, your entire body stiff as you felt him tense as well; neither of you were going to be able to fall asleep at this rate, so you quickly let out a breath and rolled onto your side. You faced him, both physically and metaphorically, in order to let him turn his back to you, maybe your arm around him would be more appreciated than him thinking he could hold you and pretend, but to your surprise he faced you as well, maybe stuck in the same train of thought of what he wanted. 

‘What do we do now?’ he asked you softly, your hands gripping the sheets as your eyes quickly looked away from his lips.

‘I dunno, how did you usually sleep?’ you asked back, and he gave a slight shrug as he also looked away from you.

‘She didn't like it much towards the end, but… I usually held Rita until I was able to fall asleep, something about the dark has always made it harder for me, I think I might’ve passed that on to Annie…’ He fell silent again upon thinking of his daughter, still at home and waiting for her dad to come tuck her in and kiss her goodnight, and when you both sniffed at the same time you couldn't stop yourself; you leaned forward in the dim light, your hand finding his cheek and leading the way towards him, and even though his breath hitched and he didn't close his eyes, he also didn't pull away as you pressed a kiss to his lips. 

You pulled back almost immediately, reality catching up to you the moment he angled his head just enough to kiss you back, and you sat right up and started apologizing before his gentle hand found yours.

‘I still love my wife, even though she's doing this,’ was all he told you, the kindness and understanding you'd come to love showing up when you wanted it the least, and you tore your hand free to wipe at your cheek.

‘I know, I don't know why I did that, that's not why I came in here,’ you said as fast as you could, your mind racing as you felt the embarrassment and shame from the kiss beat you down until you were starting to panic; you knew he didn't need this right now, any feelings you still had for him very unappreciated when he still loved his wife and was trying his hardest to get his family back. Your feelings for him coming out now would only ruin everything, you didn't belong in that part of his life, and if you'd just walked away that day at the party then maybe this never would've even happened. ‘I'm sorry, I'm ruining everything, I never meant to-’

‘Come here, it's okay,’ he shushed you, his voice too soft and too kind as he pulled you back down to the bed. He turned you until your back was to his chest, and you tried to still your sobs even more now that he could feel this with his entire body as he wrapped his arm around your waist. ‘I know I'm being selfish here, I never should've asked this much from you, but I can't return your kindness like this, not when I don't feel the same,’ he murmured into your shoulder, and you tried to hide the way your body instinctively curled up at his words.

‘I never wanted you to,’ you replied into your pillow, and you felt him hold you a little tighter until the sound of gentle snoring reached your ear; just laying like this had put him to sleep, the comfort of being able to hold someone again lulling away the stress of it all until he was able to rest. You held him just a moment before letting go, your hands clenched into your pillow as you stared at the faint moonlight coming through your blinds. ‘I'm sorry, I should've just walked away, I never meant to do this to you,’ you told him properly, but he didn't hear any of it, and you knew it as you kept apologizing until you also fell asleep in his arms.

Despite being up late, the two of you were awake as soon as the sunlight filled the room, the few hours you were able to get seemingly enough for him as he looked a little less tired. You slept a little longer than him, just enough to slip free and grab some clothes so you could shower fast and make sure everything was ready for Gwen's arrival a good 8 hours later. You were in the middle of rinsing your hair when you heard him moving around outside the door, the sound of him rummaging through his suitcases making you frown as the water ran over your face. 

This was temporary, he was here to save himself some much needed money from hotels while he looked for a new home, you didn't belong in that part of his life. You repeated that to yourself as you finished up, the bathroom free for him as you opened the door with your brush still in hand. He froze as he went to pass, your hand stilling as you tamed your drying hair, an awkwardness settling over you that made you wish he'd find his own place even sooner.

‘I'm sorry, about last night,’ he mumbled as he held his clothes for the day, this surprising you as you set your brush down. ‘I shouldn't have asked that of you, I didn't know you had…’

‘I don't,’ you were quick to lie, needing to console him more than let your feelings be known right now, ‘I don't know why I… did what I did last night, that wasn't fair to you.’

He looked away but not in his own embarrassment, even though he'd kissed you back despite saying he didn't feel the same. ‘It was a vulnerable moment, we can act irrationally in times like that,’ he began, his hands worrying around his clothes as he fussed with them, ‘I know this, because when Rita told me she wanted the divorce, I found myself getting angry at her, for the first time since we got together.’ You turned to face him entirely, your focus only on him as he all but collapsed against the doorframe. ‘We've had arguments before, it's not like I've never been mad at her in all our years of knowing each other, all couples fight, but when she said those words to me- I don't know, at the time I could only feel anger, betrayal, confusion, and-’

He stopped, you'd talked about how he'd felt after he moved in since he couldn't afford to see a therapist, but this was new as you waited patiently for him to trust you with the rest.

‘I lashed out, then. I didn't hit her, I never could, but I made her feel unsafe around me when I tried to get her to tell me why she was doing this. That's why she's claiming full custody, not because she thinks I was cheating.’ You didn't realize you were holding your breath until your chest started to ache for a different reason, and when you approached him he allowed you to lead him back to the bed so he could sit down. 

His eyes were sad again, sadder than you'd ever seen them, and you knew that he'd been carrying this secret the entire time you'd been trying to help him. 

‘I needed to tell you before it came out any other way, you deserve to know that much after everything you're doing for me, and that's why I don't blame you or hate you for that kiss, it wasn't like I didn't enjoy just a bit of positive affection, after everything that's been going on…’

‘Lester, I… thank you, for telling me this. You need to tell Gwen when she comes over, Rita is sure to use this and we need to prove to them that this was a one time thing, that you would never hurt your family,’ you told him seriously, your hands grasping his arm as he stared at the floor in shame of his actions no matter how they'd turned out. He nodded but didn't look hopeful, and you knew you shouldn't but still you wrapped your arms around him, let him know you were there and on his side; he eased into you, a long sigh of relief leaving him as you pulled him even closer to you, your hands locking over his arm when you felt him tremble.

‘It's my own fault, I caused this…’ You held him tighter, your face burying into his shoulder as he covered his own with his hand. ‘Maybe if I'd paid better attention to her, listened to her concerns, been a better husband-’

‘You did everything you could, I've never known you to be anything but that,’ you insisted as he shook his head, not wanting to hear it.

‘It wasn't good enough.’

You fell back onto the mattress, dragging him with you until he lost his balance, and as soon as he was laying down you let go of his arms to instead sit up and cup his cheeks so he'd look at you. ‘Stop it. I've been doing this a long time, Lester. I've seen truly bad people do even worse things, and I've seen colleagues I trusted represent these people in order to make them look like saints. I've seen bad, I've seen terrible, neglect, abuse, evil. And you're none of these things,’ you insisted, and when he was unable to look away he just laid there and listened as the tears rolled down his cheeks. ‘You're a wonderful father, and even if you made a mistake in a moment of great distress, that doesn't make you a monster. 

‘The monsters are out there, waiting to strike when you're most vulnerable, and they'll take and devour until good people like you are gone. And I won't let that happen to you or your kids, do you hear me?’ He met your eye when your hands started to shake, not with sadness but determination at your words, you were going to help him, he was going to get his kids back, and you'd fight off any monster it took to get to that point.

‘Why're you doing this for me?’ he suddenly asked as he fell completely still, and your hands left him as you sat back and just stared at him. ‘I know I've been staying here, but we still barely know each other, not enough for you to do this much.’

Because I love you.

‘Because I'm your friend, or, I thought I was, if you think that we're not close enough for this.’ You couldn't pretend it didn't hurt, your face betraying how hard you were trying to keep it together, and when he took your hands and brought you down you fell just as easily as he did.

‘You are, and you've been there for me when none of the others have,’ he whispered into your hair, your chest aching as you remembered just how many people had been at his parties. ‘Once it got out that I punched that wall they all sided with her, if it wasn't for you I'd be alone.’

‘It's not fair.’

‘...I'm sorry to put all this on you.’

‘No, it's not fair that she's taking everything from you. I wish I had contacted Gwen first, I wish I could be the one to do this for you, you don't know- fuck, I don't understand it,’ you moaned as you rested your cheek on his chest, the two of you just holding each other as the sun rose even higher in the sky and officially started the day. ‘We'll tell her everything, she's good, I've seen her help so many good people who didn't stand a chance otherwise, and I know you do despite how this all looks; we’ll convince them all it's not true, I won't stop until we do.’

‘You're a good friend, I wish I'd met you sooner,’ he said softly, and you could hear his smile as your hands clung to his shirt this time. 

‘Yeah, I do too.’

You both laid there until you fell asleep again, he really needed the comfort of another person there in order to really relax, and you both felt better as you woke up a second time a few hours later. Your entire home felt less tense, and there was no running around as you made some brunch and went over what you were going to say. Thanks to your report she already knew a lot of what'd happened from your perspective, but getting to meet with him would be what he needed now that he was ready to talk about everything and not just what you thought you knew.

When she finally arrived it felt like there was some real hope for him, everything coming out about that night as you all sat down in your living room and spread out the pages on your coffee table. He told you how she'd approached him before bed just after he'd tucked in Annie and Shaun, how she demanded he tell her the truth about who he was seeing, and when he couldn't answer how she'd then accused him of cheating in plain sight. Your heart ached and your hands gripped your couch so hard that they cramped as you listened, Lester going into full detail about how she'd then refused to say who she thought he was seeing, which you knew, but also slapped him when he tried to tell her the truth.

You saw red at that, Gwen stopping the conversation like she'd just realized you'd been there the whole time. ‘Maybe it'd be better if you went for a drive while I talk to him, without representing him there isn't much you can do here,’ she suggested carefully, Lester already starting to shut down as he touched the same cheek as your own slap.

‘No, I want to be here for him, everyone else left and I refuse to do the same, I have no one to break confidentiality with,’ you insisted as you sat up straighter, and when Lester gave a small nod to confirm that he'd prefer your presence there Gwen could only agree and let him finish.

‘Well, after she hit me we ended up arguing loud enough to wake Deni, whose room is closest to ours. She made sure to keep Shaun away when we got louder, she's too responsible for her age, it's because of her that I was able to snap out of it,’ he continued as he fiddled with the pencil he'd used to fill out the forms she'd brought. ‘But first, when Rita was yelling at me, tried to make me believe that I was lying to her and that I was just trying to keep seeing this lover she was convinced I had, when I was starting to get frustrated and couldn't get a word in, that's when she asked for the divorce, or demanded it, really, there was no asking. 

‘She was sick of me bringing this lover around to flaunt in front of her, started listing off all these times where I’d invited friends over for stuff like parties and movie nights, but it was always with people she knew, I still don’t- anyway, I think I might’ve blacked out after that, because the next thing I knew I was yelling at her, and when I looked down my knuckles were scratched up and there was an indent in our wall.’ He swallowed heavily, Gwen writing everything down as she stared up at him with a level expression.

‘Did you hit her at any point?’ she asked not to accuse or insinuate, but still you frowned at her as he shut his eyes and tried to concentrate.

‘No, I hit the wall but that was it, I didn’t even grab her when she backed away,’ he confessed, and you hated the woman even more as the tears started to fall again. ‘She told me she wanted full custody right before Deni rushed in to make sure everything was okay, and I didn’t argue with her again about it for the rest of the night.’

‘You slept on the couch?’

‘Deni’s room, she has one of those bunkbeds with the folding couch as the bottom bunk, since her friends are always staying the night; I slept on that since she didn’t want me to be alone, I swear she’s too mature…’ He smiled fondly but sadly as he cleaned himself up, he really missed her and her siblings, and you exchanged a look with Gwen as she finished writing. ‘The next morning she had a bag already packed for me, we were supposed to go on vacation so it was at the end of the bed, said she wanted me out because she was done listening to my lies, and I’ve only been back once since then to properly pack when the kids were out of the house so they wouldn’t have to see us fight again.’

‘And did you fight, that second time?’

‘No, I just packed up a few suitcases and left while she kept watch, made sure I didn’t take anything, it’s only while she was heading for the door that I was able to grab a picture of our kids from the TV stand.’ He let out a breath, he felt better getting it all out to someone who was going to help him, like a sinner confessing to a priest, and you reached over and gave his hand a reassuring pat as Gwen hummed to herself and put her notebook down.

‘Do you think you’d be able to remember exactly who was at these events she listed? If we can make a comprehensible list of everyone there we might be able to guess who she thinks this lover is, get them to stand with us and tell the judge that this is all a big understanding, although I do think a divorce might be beneficial for everyone after the amount of distrust and toxicity that arose between you,’ she said honestly, and instantly he straightened up, his hands grasping the table as he nearly fell to his knees.

‘But my kids-’

‘We’ll still fight for custody, at best it’ll be shared, but that’ll be better than letting her get full, don’t you agree?’ He nodded, even though he didn’t like the sound of not being able to see them everyday he still nodded all the same, and you reached for him again when Gwen interrupted by handing him her notebook, a new page waiting for him. ‘Try and remember as many names as you can, from as many of her events as well, everything helps right now,’ she told him as he took it, and he nodded again before concentrating on all the friends he tended to invite to his many parties; you didn’t realize how much you missed them until that moment, missed how in his element he was as he helped grill, set up the projector, toweled off his kids until they were embarrassed and had to fix their hair in front of their laughing friends.

The man before you was so different than him, all hunched shoulders and sad eyes, and with each name that he added to the list you knew that it was your fault he looked like this, everything all because of you and the reason why he wasn't at home right now throwing another party and jumping into the pool with a full stomach and reckless abandon. You wanted to tell him sorry again, your hands clasped in your lap as he finished up the list and handed it back over, Gwen’s eyes trailing over it for any names that stood out repeatedly when her frown of concentration turned to one of concern instead.

‘This is very helpful, thank you, I’ll start contacting them this week if you can give me their numbers next, and would you be able to help me grab something from the car real quick?’ The second part was directed at you, and your own frown turned to one of matching concern as he began going through his phone to write down as many numbers as he could before your return. You followed her outside, her car parked behind yours since his was hidden in your garage, but she didn’t go to it as soon as she shut the door behind herself. ‘It’s you, isn’t it?’

‘What?’

‘Please don’t play dumb with me right now, your name was listed under every single event right down to the movie night with one other couple, you’re the one Rita thinks he’s cheating on her with, aren’t you?’ Her gaze was serious and almost angry as she spoke, no more neutral calmness as she stared you down, and you tried to say no before it all spilled out all at once.

‘Don’t tell him, please-’

‘Jesus!’

‘We never did anything, he only ever invited me over with everyone else, there really was nothing going on,’ you insisted desperately, Gwen rubbing her eyes as she backed away from you.

‘You’ve just made this so much harder to prove, he’s been staying at your fucking house for weeks,’ she groaned into her palm, her eyes on the door like she could see him still seated at the couch on the other side of the wood. ‘What did you do to give her the impression that he was seeing you, because clearly he has no idea it’s you.’

‘Nothing-! I really did nothing, I just showed up a few times, it wasn't even that many, I would never pursue a married man.’ You needed her to believe you, she was his only shot and even though you only just barely knew each other you knew that if she bailed then that was it, no one else would help him. ‘I swear to you, my intentions have only been innocent since the start, he doesn’t even know I-’

‘You have feelings for him, sonofabitch if that gets out her lawyer will use that to high heaven, everything you’ve done will be twisted into something selfish, you letting him stay here could end up being his downfall, how could you do something so stupid?’

You bit your lip as you rested against the wall of the entryway, the bricks cold against your back as you fought not to shake. ‘I know it was stupid, but he’d just lost everything, I didn’t want him to keep shelling out money for that hotel while he tried to save up for a house, I thought this was the only way to help him…’

‘We’re going to find him a place today, and he’s going to stay in a hotel until this hearing is over and he can move in.’

‘What, no, he can’t afford it!’

‘And you can’t afford to have Rita find out he’s been here. Fuel to the fire, you know how we work, you know whoever she’s hired will take one look at this situation and use it as proof that you wanted him to yourself, no wife, no kids, just a man who was more than willing to leave his family behind the moment you asked.’ She sighed deeply as you crumbled to the steps, your leg spreading over the small two leading to your sidewalk as you ran your hands through your hair. ‘I know you had good intentions, but this has gotten way out of hand, and if you really want to help him then you’ll keep your distance until this is over. Whether he really is just a friend or if you’re in love with him, you know there’s a good chance you might have to stand up there in front of everyone and explain all of this if her lawyer demands to call on you as proof, and the more deniability you both have to her claims the better, alright?’

‘Alright,’ you repeated, and she left you a moment to grab a box of something from her car to make it seem like you weren’t out there to talk. You stood as she returned, getting the door for her since her hands were now full, and he was none the wiser as you sat again and started going over all the listings he’d bookmarked since he’d been kicked out.

Gwen ended up staying for much longer than expected as you went on a tour of his listings, his insistence that you come along the only reason you weren’t secretly forced to stay home. He’d found both a mix of decently large apartments and smaller houses, nothing near as grand as his old one, but each was affordable, cozy, and in range of both his kids’ school and his work. In the end he was able to make a successful offer on a one-story house similar to yours, and the price was lower due to it needing a bit of work, but it had three bedrooms, two for Deni and Shaun while Annie would sleep in his, a yard big enough to house a pool that just needed to be cleaned and refilled, and a living room big enough for everyone to have more fun movie nights.

It was a dream home, but the work had daunted all the other potential buyers, and he was more than ready to take on the challenge and fix it up himself if need be to distract himself from the upcoming hearing. You wished you could help him with it, but between work and needing to stay as far away from that home as possible you could only cheer him on from afar as he signed the paperwork that day and worked out a payment plan now that Gwen was there to represent him.

‘This is amazing, Deni will want this room because I know Shaun will have claimed this one, the kitchen needs some work but a new stove and some fresh paint will open the space right up, and this living room! If we keep the couches against the wall then everyone will be able to spread out again, maybe I’ll be able to get that sectional I wanted this time, that way there’ll be room for everyone without the need of a loveseat, but of course I need to fix that wall first; good thing this place is so small, I might be able to knock it out in a weekend- hey, you alright?’ You were snapped out of your thoughts as he leaned down a bit to look you in the eye, his ramblings about his new place coming to a halt when he noticed your expression. ‘You’ve been staring at the closet for about five minutes, I’m pretty sure there’s no monsters in it.’

You weakly laughed, stuck between being happy to see this side of him again and knowing that you wouldn’t be able to help with a single thing, it would just be him here, alone. ‘I’m alright, just thinking, I guess,’ you admitted as Gwen talked to the realtor in the kitchen, a space cleared off for more papers to be signed as they discussed ownership and payment. ‘Things are gunna be busy for me, for a while. Once the power and water get turned back on and you can move in I don’t think we’ll be able to see each other for a while.’

‘That’s okay, we can always see each other on Thursdays,’ he joked, but that only made this sting all the more as the darkness in the closet grew. ‘I really am thankful for all your help so far, but I’ll be alright while I do this; if fixing up an entire house will prove to them that I’m serious about wanting to see my kids more than a few times a year then I’ll do it, I used to be a bit of a handyman before I got my big, important office job, y’know.’ You laughed again, you didn’t doubt it after his emergency help when he backed up your sink and then had to fix it before the water spread to the living room.

‘I just wish I could help you, chores are always better with company, remember?’ you reminded him as you met his eye, and when he smiled and pulled you into a hug you felt Gwen’s eyes on you as you held him back.

‘I know, but if you’ve gotta work it can’t be helped, I can man a broom and mop on my own, just need to get a radio in here and maybe it’ll feel a little more lively.’

‘You can get spotify on your phone, then you won’t need to get a radio,’ you suggested, and when he pulled away he looked confused.

‘What’s that? I’ve heard Deni mention it before but I never figured it out, R- her mother was always better with technology,’ he frowned in confusion, and you laughed again before pulling out your phone and getting him to do the same.

Gwen dropped you both off less than an hour later, someone coming to the house within the week to get the power back on after the last storm knocked it out, and with no one living there no one had bothered to get it fixed again. The water had also been turned off as well as the heat just to save money, and as soon as it all was in working order again he was free to sweep out the master bedroom and move right in, the rest was up to him. You hadn’t been able to resist his request to go shopping with him for a new bed, he was always bad with those kinds of things and ended up regretting his choice as soon as he got home, so a second opinion was very much needed despite Gwen silently warning you not to.

‘I’d love to, the sooner that’s sorted the sooner you don’t have to sleep on the floor,’ you agreed, and you silently apologized to her as she let out a sigh. ‘You’re on your own with everything else though, and you’re not stealing my broom to clean up that mess, I’d much rather throw it out than let it back into my house.’

‘I’ll get two, one to keep and one to throw,’ he decided from the backseat, his phone out again as he started adding things to his cart despite not even being moved yet; he was ready to have the place livable so his kids could visit even before the hearing, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him it’d still have to be a while if Rita denied him visitation. It'd been so long already since you'd seen him so energetic, and it made you smile even though he'd have to do this next part alone; it'd be hard but he'd lived through that first month on his own, so he'd be able to do it again in his own space if he had the hope that it'd be full again urging him on, you knew he could.

You both waved goodbye as she drove away, and you couldn't help but join in his celebration as he ran out to grab dinner from his favourite place as well as some alcohol, neither of you had drank since he moved in after he hit the bottle too hard in that lonely hotel room. You had your own personal movie night as you finally got to show him the one you brought but had never gotten to watch, and sure enough he wasn't a fan of horror as he cowered almost dramatically on his end of the couch while you laughed and told him to watch the part coming up, it would be good, you promised.

You didn't get to bed until late again, you couldn't exactly sleep when he was sitting where your feet should be, but you knew you wouldn't be getting comfortable once the TV turned off and he shot you another nervous glance. He didn't even have to say it, he needed someone there more than ever with his upcoming lonely nights waiting for him, and this time you didn't kiss him as you both got into bed and fell asleep easier than you ever had before. 

The house was ready for him sooner rather than later, the text that he was good to go actually arriving as you were out shopping for a bed. He was indecisive as hell, trying out every mattress to make sure it was good for his back, and even when he found one that was comfortable he tended to pass on it just in case something even better was on display. He was laying down on what felt like his millionth mattress when he got the text, his eyes opening wide as he sat up only to flinch as his back did indeed twinge.

‘The water’s on, why don't we go over now, start cleaning up?’ he suggested excitedly, and your smile fell as you thought about how you shouldn't even be doing this much.

‘I don't know, shouldn’t we stay and get a bed if you can move in asap?’ you tried to defer, and he gave the one he was on a little bounce before getting up.

‘I'll take this one, it can stay on the floor until I get a frame, let's hurry up and go!’ While you were glad to have this nightmare end, it only caused the second one to start as he flagged down an employee and got the price, a frame ending up catching his eye on the way now that his big dilemma was solved. He bought both and together with two employees you stuffed it all into his car, the mattress thankfully crammed into a box to his amazement and saving him a ton of space. 

He also bought all the things he'd need to clean, his new broom and mop laying across the seat with a bag full of supplies and towels. You pretended to not feel the entire weight of them on your shoulders all the way to his new home, the spare keys already picked up from under the rock by the door and in his pocket before you could exit the car.

He threw open the door and rushed back to get the broom, you in charge of the mop by default as he began to sweep with all the enthusiasm of a cartoon princess, and it only made you fall harder until his actions caught up with him and he needed to sweep himself a small circle so he could sit down. You shook your head and took over for him, all the windows thrown up and the patio door open wide to air the place out until he was ready to help again, Lester now confined to cleaning off the counters while you handled the floor. The playlist you’d made on your phone followed you around as you did each room, his own playing even more favourites in the kitchen and then bathroom as he worked, his fight with spotify now rectified and used in his favour, music already filling the home as you tossed out bag after bag of garbage until it was time to mop.

He had the bucket already full for you when you went for it, the counters all cleaned and the bath/shower combo getting the attention it very much deserved next. It was a lot faster to wash the floors, and even though you knew they'd only get dirty again as the walls were patched up and painted eventually, it was still nice to stand in the living room and take everything in when you both were done. You dumped the dirty water down the drain and carried the bags to the road to be collected, Lester's single one joining yours when he was done scrubbing, and together you sat on the floor and decided if it'd be cheaper to patch everything up yourselves or hire someone to do it before he started moving his stuff in. 

In the end he called someone out on the patio while  you looked up weed wackers on your phone, the yard needing just as much attention; the pool would come last, it was already heading into fall after all so it'd just be covered up again before long, but it could at least be inspected and cleaned for next year once everything else was done. You ordered one for him so you could both fight over it versus the lawnmower when you found a way to bring it over, that was another expense that could wait til later, and you didn't realize you were smiling again until he walked back in and collapsed much too hard next to you. 

‘He can come tomorrow, someone canceled on him today so we lucked out,’ he informed you as he rubbed his sore butt from the fall, and you almost didn't catch it until your brain replayed what he'd said.

‘You lucked out, you mean,’ you corrected, and he winced at you as he stretched his long legs out in front of him

‘What?’

‘You said we lucked out, but you did, I'm not the one who lives here,’ you repeated, and he laughed a little as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, his forehead shining from the sweat he'd been working up the past few hours. 

‘Oh yeah, I think I forgot that part,’ he chuckled softly, and the air changed a little as your forced humour turned to something just as soft. ‘You've been doing so much, I think I forgot… that you're not coming with me, when this is over, it just feels like you've always been here already.’ You couldn't speak, your heart pounding as he interpreted your expression as something negative. ‘Sorry, didn't mean to put you on the spot like that again-!’

‘No, you didn't, it’s just that… I just realized that I think I started moving in my stuff in my mind as I was cleaning,’ you admitted nervously, and he laughed a little more easily again as the summer breeze drifted in and filled the house with the smells of barbecues and fresh cut grass. ‘I mean, I don't need two couches all that much, you know I'm too busy to host movie nights, so if you wanted one you could have it…’

‘You sure? I really was looking forward to that sectional,’ he joked with a soft jab to your arm, which you returned with a blush.

‘I can always take it back when you find your dream couch, it'd give me an excuse to see how the place turned out.’

‘You won't visit before then?’ 

You found yourself lost for words, of course you'd visit when this was over and cleared up, but it was the way he'd said it, like he was worried it'd take a couch in order to get you back there. ‘Of course, you think I'm gunna miss out on your first movie night in your new place?’ you said as your voice clearly shook, but he didn't mention it as he laid back and stretched out his back over the hardwood. 

‘Good, I'll make extra dip that night so you can bring some home, as thanks,’ he already planned ahead, his eyes closed and unable to see the way you let your face crumble at the thought of having to leave again after all of this.

‘Well if that doesn't give me more incentive to lend it to you.’ You stood up, brushing off your pants and cracking your back before offering your hand to him. ‘Alright, that's enough sitting around, might as well get that frame built before it gets too late.’

‘Empty house with just a bed, someone might think I'm squatting,’ he snickered as you helped him stand, and when his torso hit your chest you didn't back away immediately.

‘Nonsense, there's some towels in the bathroom too,’ you said with a wink as you headed for the car, the two of you managing to haul the frame in yourself thanks to some determination and spare cardboard underneath the end dragging on the ground so his floors wouldn't get scratched.

You didn't get home until late, even more takeout bought just because you were too tired and achy to stand around and cook, absolutely not. He wasn't that happy about all the unhealthy eating he'd been doing lately so he ended up ordering a small vegetarian pizza while you secretly planned ahead and ordered a large deluxe with some chicken wings, his favourite sauce also picked out when he wasn't looking. The smell filled the car all the way home, and sure enough he didn't last long with the vegetarian when he caught sight of the deluxe taking up half the coffee table.

‘You're terrible, you know I'm trying to eat better,’ he grumbled as he reached for a slice, and you swatted at his hand before grabbing a second for yourself.

‘This is my dinner for the next three days, if you wanted this you should've asked for one,’ you said nonchalantly as you took a big, dramatic bite, Lester eyeing it before you could only take pity on him and move the box a little closer. He split his pizza with you as he picked off the toppings he didn't like to create the perfect combo of both, and you pretended you absolutely didn't grab his favorite sauce on purpose when he also gave in and stole some wings. 

You could get used to this, you really could as he moved to your couch to be closer to the pizza; he was closer to you than usual, even more than normal couch sharing standards, and you tried to keep your eyes on the screen as you reached for another slice. Your hand hit his as he grabbed another wing, both foods dropped as you apologized and looked at each other, but when his gaze lingered longer than usual, just like the closing space between you, you found yourself doing anything but looking away from his mouth. He was smiling at you, that kind, gentle smile you'd fallen in love with at Walkers all those months ago, and even though you knew he didn't need this, knew that this would only make things worse, you couldn't stop yourself when he closed his eyes and waited.

You jumped when your phone suddenly buzzed, Lester sitting back and putting some space between you again when you saw that it was Gwen on the caller ID. ‘I'm sorry, I gotta take this,’ you mumbled as he cleared his throat and went back to eating, your face hot and your frown deep as you locked yourself in your bedroom. ‘Hey, sorry, we're watching a movie,’ you said the moment she picked up, but she didn't seem to catch your tone when the sound of shuffling came through the speaker. 

‘That's fine, how's the house coming?’

‘It's all ready for him, w- he got it cleaned up today.’

‘...Were you there with him?’ She asked like she already knew, and you couldn't lie to her when the stakes were so high.

‘We were already in town to shop for a bed, we decided to go after he found one, get started on the cleanup right away,’ you explained, and her sigh was all the answer you needed. ‘I know, but you saw the place, it would've taken him forever to-’

‘That's not your concern, not right now. When is he moving in?’ she interrupted, and you looked at the closed door as the movie continued on the other side.

‘Soon, the fridge is busted and he needs a dresser along with food, we can d-’

‘He can do that, no more shopping together, no getting groceries together, tell him no the next time he asks. Now that we know it's you who's to say someone won't be able to stand up there and say they saw you arrive and leave together, while acting like a couple the entire time upon further reflection? You're smart, please don't make another stupid mistake like this again, for his sake.’ She fell silent as she let the words sink in, and you looked at his suitcases, left open while his clothes were stacked on your dresser to be a little neater, how he'd need to pack them up again within the week at this rate.

‘I won't, I'll tell him I have a case coming up so I'll be scarce, he'll be able to do the rest over the weekend,’ you decided solemnly, and she agreed with that before changing the subject.

‘I've been told that the hearing has been scheduled for two weeks from now, when the children are back in school, Rita apparently requested that they not be present, and yes, before you say anything, it'll probably be because they'll not only vouch for him, but also because they don't need to see their parents arguing to that degree,’ she sighed heavily, and you quickly entered the date into your phone before you realized that you would only be there as a witness, you had two weeks to tell him the truth before he found it out from her unless you preferred to lie to his face some more about your feelings.

‘I'll let him know, and he'll be moved by next week, he'll want to be at the thought of them visiting.’ She liked the sound of that and hung up, and you banged your forehead dully off the door before opening it up and finding him on the other side.

‘Sorry, you were taking so long, I wanted to make sure everything was okay,’ he said, and he either didn't hear the bump or was choosing to ignore it even though your forehead slightly throbbed.

‘That was Gwen, actually, the hearing is in two weeks, while Deni and Shaun should be in school,’ you informed him, and his smile grew so wide it made your heart break.

‘So we'll be able to get custody then?’ he asked excitedly, and you shook your head and took in a deep breath.

‘It all depends on how things turn out, if the judge is split then another one might be needed now that we know she might use your anger in her favour even though she was the one to hit you,’ you continued, and just the thought of this not working out was enough to bring him down again. ‘I know it seems bleak, but Les, I know that-’

‘What did you call me?’

‘Did I c-?’

‘Les, you said Les, don't call me that,’ he suddenly said as he stood to his full height, and you flubbed your apology enough times to make him sink down again. ‘Sorry, that's what Rita used to call me, I don't want to hear that name from you,’ he muttered, and before you could say anything else he headed back for the door. ‘I've got work tomorrow, I'll take the couch tonight, I'm too tired to drive all the way home.’

‘You'd leave just for that?’ you blurted out, your body moving on its own to block the doorway before you even knew what you were doing; he didn’t push you aside or get angry, but he did walk past until you had no choice but to let him through, your dinner forgotten on the table as you shut the door again the moment he sat down without saying anything more.

You kept your distance from each other the next day, him by leaving for work early, and then you by staying at work late. You left him a text saying you had your own big case coming up just as planned, but for once he didn’t reply other than to say he would be shopping so it’d be best if you found your own dinner. You ate at your desk as the sun set outside, nothing but old work you needed to sort through and properly file away on your docket as you nibbled away at cold pizza.

Once it hit the AMs you figured it was safe to go home, no matter where he slept you’d be able to avoid him if need be now that there was something off between you, and if you didn’t lay down somewhere and fast you were bound to either sleep at your desk or in your car. The drive home felt like an eternity but finally you made it, the house quiet and telling you that he was indeed asleep. You opened the door as quietly as you could, all the lights off as you traversed the long trek to your couch when you didn’t see him on it; you were about to lay down when you saw the paper on the coffee table, the words completely unintelligible in the dim light. You held it up to your face until it came into focus, your eyes taking it in several times before you dropped it and rushed to your bedroom.

You threw open the door to find the room empty, his suitcases packed and your bed made, no Lester in sight. You went back to the note and read it again with the lights on, your face contorting in misery as you sank into the cushions. It said that he’d grabbed the last of his needed furniture that trip, so there was no need for him to steal your bed or couch for another night. He thanked you for your help, and he’d pay you back for everything else at the end of the month, and there was no goodbye, just his name at the bottom. You woke up your phone to see if he’d left you any texts or voicemails but there was nothing, he’d gone shopping and then that was it.

This was for the best, you were never meant to go with him and he was never meant to stay, now he could focus on his family again without you there to distract him. You’d helped as much as he could and now he could take care of the rest by himself, he was a grown man, he needed you as a friend, not a roommate, not a partner, definitely not as a lover, everything could move forward again now. 

‘At least I can come home tomorrow,’ you figured aloud as you turned the light back off, your shoes and coat left in the middle of the living room as you shed each. ‘I can make my own dinners again, sleep in my own bed, everything is back to normal.’ You shut your bedroom door and locked it, no need to keep it open when there was no one to walk in, your bed looking a little too made as you yanked the comforter free and sent the pillows flying. ‘No more suitcases on my floor that’ll make me trip in the middle of the night, and no more ties getting stuck in my dryer because he doesn’t know how to do fucking laundry.’

You picked up your pillows and threw them back into place, your face betraying you as you attempted to force a smile and only ended up accelerating the misery. You angrily wiped at your eyes before climbing into bed, your position changing from your left side as you faced the empty space beside you, to your right where you wouldn’t eventually feel his arm wrap around your waist, to your back as you stared up at the ceiling. You blinked and more tears fell but you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he did this to you after everything you’d done for him, your hands wet as you repeatedly tried to dry your eyes.

‘Couldn’t even say goodbye to me before you left, you bastard,’ you swore to the ceiling, the space beside you feeling bigger and bigger until you felt encompassed by it. ‘You said I was the only one who didn’t leave you, why’d you throw me away, wh- no. He’s the one who left, and he didn’t even leave, he went home. That was never here, I knew this was coming, I knew…’ Your words echoed off the walls above you, reminding you even more that you were alone, and that across town he was feeling the same, and would feel the same until he was able to have his custody confirmed.

This wasn't about you, or what you’d done for him, or your feelings. This was about him, his marriage ending, and his upcoming battle for his children. That’s what it’d always been about, you’d just forgotten between him admitting that he’d almost wanted you to move in with him and you nearly kissing him again on the couch.

You rolled onto your stomach and shut your eyes tight as you tried not to remember it, that had to have been why he’d left, you’d told him you had no feelings for him and yet you’d still leaned in of your own volition that second time. He’d seen right through you, and then you’d proceeded to call him by the nickname his wife used, how many more ways could you have fucked this up? You didn’t scream into your pillow, you were too old for that now, but you might’ve raised your voice into it a little as you curled up and felt just how cold the bed was without him.

You changed your grocery day to Monday so there was no chance of running into him again, you needed to give him space after such a big mistake, but you knew you couldn’t keep it up as soon as you stepped foot into the store and knew that he wouldn’t be waiting for you both inside and at home. You promptly walked back out and found another, their stock not as good and their prices a bit higher, but this would have to become your new regular. It was at least a bit closer to home, and still very far from his house, so even if he had the same idea there’d still be no risk of him finding you here on a Monday.

You missed your Caramel Pecan as you unpacked your food, this place not having its own dessert counter since it focused mainly on brands, nothing fresh made in-store, and you definitely felt the dent in your wallet as you found yourself with barely enough to restock after the missed week of not wanting to see him again and just not getting yourself any new food. You wondered if maybe you might need to cut back to two or less trips a month with this new place, honestly you’d only started going every week in order to see him in the first place, he’d always gone through food faster since he was buying for four, maybe this would be less painful on your finances going forward.

This really would be for the best to get back to normal you decided as you made yourself something for dinner, and when you sat down in front of the TV to enjoy it you ignored all the commercials about back to school sales.

You were at work when you got the reminder for the hearing, it going off in the middle of a meeting and forcing you to remember that you’d completely forgotten to silence your phone before entering the room. Your expression went from embarrassment to concerned sadness at the popup, your boss asking if you were done as you just stared at your screen.

‘Uh, yeah, sorry about that,’ you apologized as you turned it off and got back to listening, your hand on your pocket for the entire rest of the meeting.

As soon as it was done you headed for the privacy of your office and shut the door, Gwen already dialed the moment it clicked into place. She didn’t pick up right away, she was probably busy, but the moment she did she was quick to tell you it wasn't a good time.

‘I don’t care, I need to be there tomorrow,’ you said as fast as you could, your knees giving out at the realization that you’d actually planned on saying you wouldn’t come, that you couldn’t, that you’d just be a liability. The words had fallen from you faster than you could think, and you put her on speaker and collapsed into your chair when you nearly dropped your phone. ‘I tried, I really did, but I need to know how this ends.’

‘I really can’t talk about this right now-’

‘But I need to! I’ve been trying not to think about it, just get back to normal, but every time I imagine him out there in front of everyone I just- he said everyone else left, I don’t want him to be alone tomorrow, I can’t do that to him, Gwen, I just can’t.’ Your face fell into your hand, your shoulders hunched as you gripped your chair and tried not to let everyone see outside your door how much this one person and his troubles were affecting you, and she sighed before speaking again.

‘And if tomorrow ends up like we discussed?’

‘Then I’ll deal with that too, with or without him.’ You heard another sigh, but even if she were to have you banned from the building somehow you knew you’d find your way into this, no matter if Rita had you called up there as her main proof or not.

‘Fine, I’m not your mother, but be prepared for anything,’ she warned before hanging up, she really didn’t have time for more, and you didn’t call back again as you gave yourself a minute to just breathe. She was right, you really needed to be prepared, and you were; as a lawyer you always went to the worst possible solution and planned ahead to avoid that, and that had treated you well in both your career and life until you’d met him. Before then, you never would’ve stayed the moment Rita gave you that look. You wouldn’t have gone back for movie night, and you certainly wouldn’t have invited him over.

But there was something about him that kept disarming you, that brought your guard down and made you believe that nothing bad would happen if you just went with his flow, and now look where you’d made him end up. You wouldn’t do that tomorrow, in fact you’d be the most You you’d been in months for him in order to make sure this went as smoothly as possible. You wouldn’t react with or to him at all, or anything concerning him as you sat on his side of the court. You wouldn’t speak out of turn no matter what she said, and you definitely wouldn’t speak to him.

And if they did indeed find it necessary to call in witnesses to prove their statements, then you would swallow down your feelings as deep as they would go and prove to everyone that you really were just his friend and that she was wrong, because that was the truth.

You couldn’t concentrate after that, needing to call in early to head home and prepare, and you spent the entire rest of the day picking out your outfit for tomorrow, setting way too many alarms, and preparing a king’s feast of food to bring to his house no matter the outcome; you knew it wouldn’t help, but if it went in her favour then you knew he’d spiral again, lose all hope for the future, and you would not let him do that alone. You packed it all into a bunch of tupperware you rarely used outside of work lunches and stuffed it into the fridge, and by the time that, a change of outfit just in case, and a shower were finally over you ended up tired and ready for bed.

You set one more alarm and placed your phone on your nightstand before attempting to sleep, your eyelids heavy but refusing to stay closed as you went over everything a hundred more times. Your mind was fully racing in the dark and quiet when your phone buzzed and lit you up, and you considered ignoring it before accepting that maybe a little eye strain might work in your favour. You grabbed it and tapped the screen to check the notification, all the tired leaving your body when you saw what was waiting for you.

Lester Billings says: I miss you

You swallowed as you rolled onto your stomach, your phone taking up your pillow as you propped yourself up on your elbows. ‘It’s been lonely here, I won’t lie,’ you said aloud as you typed, and you almost deleted it before pressing send. Three dots bounced at the bottom of the message as he typed back, your back aching from the angle but you refused to move as the next words popped up.

I haven’t been able to sleep since I got here This mattress isn’t very comfortable

You let out a small laugh, your eyes already starting to cloud as you rested your chin on the end of the pillow before your hands. ‘I knew you picked too soon, you should’ve tried out more.’

I should’ve gotten your opinion Your bed is comfier

You shut your eyes tight and buried your face in the pillow a moment, another ping making you look up again when the pillow started to wetten.

Will you be there tomorrow

‘Yes,’ you answered immediately, your back still aching as you readjusted and typed as fast as you could, ‘if you want me to be, I wasn't sure after you left so suddenly.’ You sent it before you could even think to type something else, your eyes widening in fear at this confession, and when more dots bounced you closed your eyes so you wouldn’t see his answer. Your phone buzzed but you waited for as long as you could before opening them again, a small noise leaving you as you read.

I thought you wanted me to go

‘What? No,’ you told your phone, and you sat up to call him only for him to decline it. ‘I never wanted you to go, I’m sorry if I rushed you,’ you hurriedly sent, and there was a bit of a pause before his next reply.

You told Gwen you’d lie to me Said I’d be out by the end of the week I thought you didn’t want me there

You tried again to call him but he again declined, and you were in the middle of typing out the explanation when he messaged you again first.

I can’t sleep I want to see you Can you come over Yes.

You didn’t even change out of your pajamas as you kicked off the blankets and hurried for the door, your car started by the time you slipped into the one pair of sandals that you owned but never wore. You almost forgot to lock up you were in such a hurry, the streets thankfully almost empty as you fought not to speed to him. The lights were all off and his car was in the driveway, the yard now cleaned up while he was there since you guessed he also needed the distraction. Your hand was raised to knock when the door opened, and there he stood, in pajama pants and an undershirt, his hair a mess and bags under his eyes as he looked down at you.

‘Lester, I-’ you began before he pulled you into a tight hug, and you had no one to hide from as you nuzzled into his shoulder and held him just as tightly back. He led you inside, the door locked behind you, you weren’t going home, and you tossed your keys onto the kitchen counter just out of reach before following him to the bedroom. He’d bought himself a dresser in your absence, all of his clothes tucked neatly inside so his suitcases could finally be retired, and his bed looked big and lonely and not as comfortable as it did when you’d helped him set it up.

‘It’s not as comfortable as yours,’ he repeated quietly, his first words to you since he’d slept on your couch that final time, and you grabbed his hand and gently pulled him towards it.

‘Let me get that second opinion, then,’ you whispered, and when you kneeled onto the mattress you sank right down. You laid to his right, the two of you on your backs with space between as you stared at the ceiling, the comforter trapper underneath you but also unneeded in the summer heat, his AC must also not be working that well. You noticed he had his window open to let in the breeze, and you breathed deep when the wind blew the curtains open a little more. ‘It’s not that bad,’ you finally decided, and he turned to look at you before rolling onto his side.

‘Why did you want me to go?’ he asked without wasting another second, and you shut your eyes before rolling to face him.

‘I never did, it was Gwen, she was worried someone might think that I- that we…’

‘That you were the one Rita was worried about, I get it,’ he realized, but he didn’t look very relieved. ‘I had a feeling, but I wish you’d have told me, I really thought that you were… leaving me too.’

‘I was supposed to keep my distance from you, that was her legal advice, for me to not be seen with you and make anyone think we were together,’ you admitted now that you could, and again he looked like he understood but that that didn’t help it hurt any less. ‘But hanging out with you, going shopping and then cleaning this place up, I didn’t know how to stay away, and I knew if I couldn’t pull this off then it’d only hurt you in the end.’

‘To tell you the truth, I’d have rather been kicked out for that than spend the past two weeks thinking no one wanted me in their life anymore.’ His voice was low, and he was mostly in shadow, but you could still see him crying as he closed his eyes, and when you touched his cheek to wipe the tears away he held your hand in place. ‘I haven’t been alone since Rita and I moved in together, and even before then I always had my family or my roommates; I don’t know how to do this on my own…’

‘You’re not, I’m here, I’ll always be here, because that’s what friends are for,’ you murmured as you brushed your thumb over his cheek to collect the next tear before it hit his nose, and he choked out a small laugh before holding you hand to his chest.

‘I love you,’ he told you then, and you were just about to say it back when he continued. ‘You might be the best friend I’ve ever had, maybe even better than Rita was to me, I’m so glad I met you.’

‘Y-yeah, I’m glad too.’ You were never supposed to be in this part of his life. You were the reason this was happening. He would never feel the same. ‘Do you think you’re ready to get some sleep, now? Big day tomorrow, after all.’

‘I can try, now that you’re here,’ he smiled before getting up to pull the comforter free, and you masked your pain with a smile of your own as you laid back against his chest, his arm around your waist and his soft snores telling you it’d worked again not too long after. You wiped away your tears before placing your hand over his, the cicadas crying outside for you as you also drifted off with the breeze.

Your many alarms came in handy, the first failing to wake either of you in your exhaustion. It was the third that worked since they were so close together, this one making you crack open an eye to check the time instead of just to find the device and shut it up. Your heart raced as the adrenaline woke you fully, and his arm was still around you as you tried to sit and get him up. Seeing him there, still sleeping so peacefully gave you pause however, you’d really missed this sight, but it wasn't yours to keep, he’d sleep better when his kids were able to visit, this was the last time.

You swallowed it down and gave him a shake, Lester startling awake and blinking around in confusion, but when he saw you there, looking down at him with the sunlight streaming in and the wind pushing aside the curtains to cool the room a little more, he actually looked like he… 

He didn’t, he couldn’t, he’d said so already, and you held up your phone so he could see the time. ‘I’ve gotta head back and get ready, today’s the day,’ you whispered as his loving smile faded, and it was replaced with a serious expression as he nodded and sprung into action. He also had his outfit prepared, one of his nicer suits for work, the one he’d been wearing when you first met him you realized as he held it up and transferred it from his closet to the end of his bed while he picked out a tie.

‘You should’ve brought your clothes, we could’ve gone in together,’ he said as he looked between the red and the blue patterned ties he was torn between, and you froze as you straightened your shirt before another smile was forced.

‘I’m supposed to not add any fuel to the fire, that would’ve set everything ablaze,’ you chuckled a bit sadly, and he gave you a small look before holding the red up to his chest to look at in his dresser mirror.

‘I don’t care anymore, she can think what she wants, I don’t see her standing here with me. Which one do you like better? I can’t decide and I’ll end up without one if you leave.’ He held both up for you to see, and you decided on the blue after imagining it along with his suit. ‘Thank you, I was thinking the same but I wasn't sure.’

He set it down with his suit and moved onto some socks and other things to pull on after his shower, so you took that as your cue to leave as you slipped past him and headed for the door. Now that it was bright out you could see that he’d really only gotten the dresser and a new fridge, the old stove still in place and everything else unnecessary and just cutting into his finances for now, and you couldn’t help but think that your second couch would fit perfectly in the space against the wall leading to the bedrooms. You located your keys and stepped back into your sandals before opening the door to leave, and you were just about to walk through the threshold when his hands found you again.

They both slipped around your waist, holding you in place and keeping you there with him for just a moment longer, and you spun in his arms in order to hug him back when he surprised you with a kiss to your forehead. It was the first kiss he’d initiated, a show of thanks for coming over and clearing the air, and while it was still platonic as needed it made you wish you could have more all the same, your hands finding his chest, then his shoulders before you pulled him into his hug.

‘I’ll see you there, I wouldn’t miss this for the world,’ you whispered against his chest, and his right hand found the back of your neck before he let you go.

‘See you there,’ he repeated back to you, and then you were leaving, the shape of him on the other side of the glass blurry as he watched you go until your car was pulling out of his driveway.

You hurried home, no time to waste this morning, and you left your car idle and unlocked as you ran inside and had the quickest shower known to man. You got dressed even faster, you didn’t need to be there for hours but you couldn’t stay in your home knowing this was coming, the plan to have some breakfast and coffee at the shop just down the street from the courthouse. You went to check your phone to see if Gwen had said anything when you remembered you’d left it in your car, and you were thankful you lived where you did as it hit you that you almost handed your entire car to potential thieves.

It wouldn’t have mattered, you’d have found a way over regardless, and you hopped back into the seat and headed over for that breakfast before your body decided that you were much too nervous to eat. Parking was thankfully available despite the location thanks to the early hour, and you tossed a bunch of change into the meter before walking in and finding yourself a seat by the window. It was a quaint little place, you knew of it but had never been in before, and it was decently busy with what had to be its regulars as they all chatted and filled the room with light conversation.

‘Can I start you off with a coffee this morning?’ a young man in his what had to be his late 20s asked not too long after you sat down, and you stared at the menu he offered before taking it and ordering your usual blend. ‘We’re doing a special today, couples get their second breakfast half off if there’s anyone else joining you today?’

‘No, I’m not waiting for anyone, thank you,’ you murmured even as you glanced out the window like you were, just to watch for when he’d arrive, and your server nodded and didn’t even miss a beat.

‘Guess I don’t need to tell you that groups get their own discount, then,’ he attempted to joke, and you glanced up at him and his sweet grin that relaxed you enough to smile genuinely back.

‘No, I guess you don’t,’ you answered before finally going to the menu, and you ordered yourself a light breakfast to ease your hungry but also very worried stomach while you waited. He wrote it down, took the menu back, and headed for the kitchen to drop it off, your eyes catching sight of his haircut pulled back into a small ponytail before he disappeared from sight. You went back to your window as you waited for your coffee, and it’d just been placed in front of you when the bell above the door jingled and alerted him to the new person he’d have to talk to.

To your surprise they sat down across from you, and you looked up to see that it was Rita. Your entire body tensed as you failed not to glare, and he looked between the two of you before asking if you knew each other.

‘Not particularly,’ you said through gritted teeth, but she wasn't fazed by your new anger as she just ordered a mint tea and black coffee to go along with two bagels, one raisin with butter and one everything with cream cheese, obvious breakfast for her and whoever she hired to take Lester’s kids from him. You wished you could secretly tell your server to spit in her tea before you calmed and collected yourself, you were an adult, not a child as he walked away to grab everything for her, and she remained across from you as she folded her hands over the table.

‘I assume I don’t need to ask why you’re so close to the courthouse this morning,’ she remarked as she also looked out the window, and you shook your head slowly as you continued your fight to not add more fuel to the fire. ‘Is he meeting you here?’

‘No, I came in to have breakfast alone,’ you replied levelly, you wouldn’t give in to her provoking now that you both knew what she thought of you.

‘No time to do it at home?’ She was probing you to make you slip, probably to bring this back to her lawyer as just a little extra last minute kindling, and you shook your head and sipped at your coffee. ‘I heard he was able to find a place already, does he really think that I’ll let him see our children after this?’ Stay calm, you still had yet to confirm anything about her theories, just ignore her. ‘Because I won’t, not after what he did. I brought a picture of our wall to show the judge today, if such a sweet man can do that to the wall then how long will it be before he’s hurting my children?’

‘Tha-’ You cut yourself off so fast you nearly spilt your coffee, your hands grasped so hard around the cup that it was burning your palms, and you didn’t miss her expression as she smugly got out her buzzing phone.

‘Right on time,’ she said as she stood, your server waiting for her at the counter as he popped the lids onto her drinks. ‘I’ll see you inside, I’m sure the judge will be thrilled that you didn’t hide from this.’

‘I’m not hiding from anything,’ you snapped before you could stop, your eyes only on her as she stopped and looked back at you.

‘Good, that’ll make things so much easier.’

You didn’t look at her as she picked up her food and walked out, your burning hands pressed to the cold wood to cool them down as you glared at your cup, your shoulders so tense that the pain traveling up your neck was about to give you a headache. You didn’t move apart from finding new cold places on the table until your breakfast arrived, but you felt even less hungry than before despite your server’s wishes to enjoy. It took you until your eggs had stopped steaming before you attempted to eat, but every thought went back to her and how she was probably telling her lawyer all about your eventual appearance before them all. 

As such you ate slow, the time ticking away as the roads filled out and the sun rose higher; people flooded the streets and avoided your gaze as you searched for a familiar navy car, and the only thing that made you snap out of your search was your phone reminding you that your meter was about to run out. ‘Shit, I’ll be right back, need to put more money in,’ you told your server as he went to pass, and you left your phone on the table as collateral after pointing out your car through the window. You raced out, barely avoiding two old ladies currently walking by, and fished for more change when you felt a hand on your shoulder.

‘Looks like we’re early,’ Lester said behind you, and when you turned you saw Gwen beside him, her face very stern at the fact that he was already standing too close to you. ‘You just finish?’

‘I’ve still got half a plate, just needed to refill this,’ you let him know as you loaded up the meter as high as it would go, and he smiled warmly at you as you led him inside. Your server looked between you all and you asked for two more menus after thanking him for his patience, and just as you made room for him to sit beside you you found Gwen sliding into the space instead. He sat across from you, right where Rita had been not an hour earlier, and he looked nervous but also calm as he opened the menu and started choosing. ‘Looks like you can give us that breakfast talk now,’ you joked at your server, and he readied his notepad as he recalled the deal.

‘Since you haven’t paid yet I’ll count this as a group, but since families and friends have been stopping in together leading up to the start of school we have a deal going on, groups of three and up get a 20% discount off their total, and a 30% discount if you order the Back to School Special,’ he explained, Gwen clearly not listening but Lester paying attention fully as he set the menu down.

‘What’s that?’

‘It used to just be for kids, but everyone started ordering it, so- excuse me, it includes three meats, three eggs, home fries, toast, and a free glass of juice or milk, everything a growing kid needs before a busy day at school,’ he told him, and Lester smiled wide and asked for just that, his drink of choice orange juice since lactose tended to upset him in large amounts and he was feeling sick enough already. It was too much information and it made you smile fondly as your server let out a laugh he then quickly stifled as he took his menu back.

‘I’ll just have the coffee and brown sugar oatmeal, thanks,’ Gwen said as she handed her own menu back, the folder she’d been holding now open and taking up the available space the moment he left you. ‘I figured out who her lawyer is when we parked, I’d know that car anywhere, belongs to a scrappy kid who’s been known to hire people to help him get dirt on his opposition,’ she told you as she flipped to a page he needed to fill out while they had time, one final thing to prove that he had a suitable house and a steady income now that both things were true. 

‘Should we be worried about him then?’ you asked as he signed, and she bit her thumbnail as she frowned at the table, the most emotion she’d shown over this case other than the realization that you were the assumed lover.

‘I’m not sure, you haven’t spent any more time together lately, have you?’ she hissed under her breath, and you pictured yourself going to his house but recalling that no one had been around thankfully.

‘No, not since he moved,’ you lied, and she nodded to herself as he finished up and slid the folder back over.

‘All she has is speculation, so focusing on proving that you deserve joint custody is all that matters today,’ she decided, and Lester breathed a little unsteadily before his breakfast arrived. He thanked your server and dug right in, his nerves making him eat faster than he should’ve as you’d come to expect, and you went to reach for his hand to make him aware that he should slow down when you felt Gwen nudge your foot. She did so instead, and he drank half his orange juice to wash it all down, the glass thankfully not kid-sized as he went back to eating. ‘It’ll be okay, let’s just focus on saving this marriage and getting your kids back right now.’

‘Oh, I don’t want to save this marriage,’ he suddenly said around a mouthful of overly jammed toast, and your head shot up so fast in hope that your already stiff neck ached in protest. ‘No, I thought I did at first, but she can have her divorce, I just want my kids back, that’s all that matters to me now.’

You ignored the nudge this time as you held his hand, proud of him for being able to let go of such a long relationship now that it’d turned to this, he was aware that what they had was gone and that it would be different if they tried to reconnect. You gave him a reassuring smile that it’d be okay going forward now, he didn’t have to try and mend what she’d broken, and he returned it before the actual kick to your leg made you let go. He went back to eating, his pace normal and not bound to make him sick now, and you knew you couldn’t let him hear what you needed to tell the woman beside you. 

You got out your phone and quickly typed out a message to her, her phone pinging and making her grab it from her purse until she saw it was from you. She frowned but opened it all the same just to see that you’d said Rita talked to you, and you both knew you couldn’t ditch him to talk this time, not this close to the courthouse. She tapped back a quick reply which you answered just as fast, the two of you secretly typing under the table as he ate and watched the people go by, completely unaware of the reason why Gwen then sighed into her oatmeal.

She put away her phone, she wasn't too worried since his kids were his main priority, and quickly finished up her meager breakfast as a clock nearby chimed loudly. ‘We need to head over soon, it’s almost time,’ she reminded you both as you cleared your plates, and as soon as the bill was settled between the three of you you all headed out for the courthouse.

‘Oh wait, lemme fill the meter more, just in case,’ you said when you realized you didn’t know how long this would take since there was a lot to go over, and you let them go on ahead to Gwen’s preference as you fished for more coins to replace the time you’d spent inside.

‘Got some change to spare?’ someone asked as you found a quarter, and you frowned when you turned to see an unfamiliar face to this area approach you with an outstretched hand.

‘Yeah, uh, just let me do this first,’ you answered warily before filling the meter back up, a $5 bill added to your hand of remaining change so the man could get something to eat.

‘Thanks, you’re the first person all morning who’s given me the time of day,’ he told you almost sleazily as he counted the change, his eye on the seat you’d just vacated through the window as your server cleared your plates. ‘Heard this place is good, you just come from breakfast?’

‘Yeah, the coffee is cheap, so that should be good for a cup and something to eat,’ you replied, ready to walk away when he carefully sidestepped into your path.

‘That’s what I heard, yeah, anything you can suggest?’

‘I have somewhere I need to be, if you’ll excuse me,’ you tried to say without provoking him, everyone else giving you a wide berth as he stood in front of you again, and your eyes narrowed as you looked him over and realized he was dressed a little too well to be homeless.

‘Oh, of course, I was just wondering if you knew that guy you were with was a cheater, doesn’t make for a very good breakfast date.’

You froze as he grinned at you, your phone coming out to quickly text Gwen as he pocketed your change and crossed his arms. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?’ you asked as you typed, and he glanced at it before smiling for the camera in case you were taking a picture or video of him, he’d done this before.

‘You can call me Harley, you checking with that hot lawyer friend of yours to make sure I won’t be trouble?’ he asked as he tried to see your phone, and you held it to your chest seconds before her voice rang out. He heard her and spun to see her running back over, Lester waiting on the steps of the courthouse for you, and Harley grinned at you again before finally getting out of your way and heading down the street into a large crowd. He was gone instantly, Gwen out of breath as she arrived and made sure everything was okay.

‘I’m fine, but I think that might’ve been her lawyer,’ you figured as you turned back to see only strangers.

‘No, that wasn't him, but he might’ve been the guy he hired this time to follow Lester, have you seen him before?’

‘No, never, this was the first,’ you thought as you desperately searched your mind for any sign of him, but there was nothing, even though something about him felt so strangely familiar that you couldn’t place no matter how hard you tried.

‘C’mon, it’s starting in ten, we need to get in there,’ she said as she placed a hand on your back, and you crossed the street to where he was waiting nervously.

‘What happened?’ he asked as soon as you reached him, and you made sure to keep some space between you as you fixed yourself up a little.

‘Some creep asked me for change, nothing to worry about,’ you lied, and you let them go in first several minutes before you entered the building. You’d been in there many times before for your own cases, you knew the exact way to go as you headed for the main court where this would be held, and sure enough there was no one on his side while a few of their friends as well as Rita’s parents sat on her side with her, baby Annie currently sleeping in her grandmother’s lap. You tried to avoid the front row but you couldn’t, not when all of them stared you down in disgust, they all believed her claims since you were new, and you ignored them as you broke your first rule and sat directly behind him and Gwen as she prepared her opening statement.

In order to not glare very unprofessional daggers at the people who’d once claimed to be his friends, you instead finally got a look at her lawyer, and you outwardly groaned so loud that he heard it; he turned to find the source, his grin very wide and blue eyes very wild as he whispered something to Rita that you couldn’t hear. She didn’t turn, but she did smile as she looked over the papers in front of her, and you leaned forward with a quick and quiet whistle to get Gwen’s attention.

‘Why didn’t you tell me she hired Matt?’ you hissed between your teeth, and she looked at you in surprise.

‘You know him?’

‘Yeah, the prick’s been vying for a promotion for years and stole so many cases from me and many others to try and get it, the guy’s an asshole,’ you sneered a little too loud, and you heard him snicker from his table across the way.

‘All the more reason you stay as uninvolved as possible going forward, don’t bring work into this,’ she warned very seriously, and you nodded as you sat back against the unforgiving bench. It wasn't too long after when the judge walked in, and you, Gwen, and Matt all rose before everyone else on instinct. You liked this judge, she was around your age and very beautiful, but she had a temper like fire when unfairness was found, and you knew if Matt tried anything she’d be fast to shut it down. You smirked at him as everyone sat again, she’d see through all of this and clearly favour Lester after all, you had nothing to worry about as you sat back and relaxed for the first time in weeks.

‘Good morning, Judge Burkhardt,’ Gwen said as she stood again after a moment, the hearing officially started as she addressed the woman sitting above you all. ‘I’m here today on behalf of my client, Lester Billings, who wishes to contend his ex-wife’s claim of full custody.’

‘I was under the impression we’d also be discussing his previous concerns about the separation, as well,’ the Judge wondered as she went over her own notes, Gwen shaking her head and presenting her with a copy of everything she’d been collecting the past few weeks.

‘That’s no longer a concern, what he does care about is the very real possibility of losing the ability to see his children,’ she clarified as she went back to her seat, Rita whispering something to Matt before frowning at Lester.

‘I’ve got it, I’ll handle it,’ you heard him whisper back to her, and you felt your moment of relaxation start to fade at the tone of his voice.

‘If that’s what he wishes, please proceed.’

‘Thank you, now, before Ms. Rothschild can tell you her reasons for this, let me explain to you the situation from my client’s end, before bias and misunderstandings come into play; what brought this about was a horrible lack of trust between two people who’ve been together for a very long time, and who knew each other for even longer. Where there should’ve been love, jealousy arose. When there should’ve been understanding, stubbornness had taken its place. And when it was time to listen, to believe what my client was saying, there was only refusal, leading to an argument that could’ve been very much avoided.’ Gwen looked to Lester for this final part, and he covered his eyes with his hands as the guilt resurfaced once more.

You wanted so badly to go to him again but you couldn’t, the partition separating you from him feeling more like a sprawling chasm in order to stop the Judge from believing what Matt was bound to say next. So you remained seated, your hands clasped tightly in your lap as the Judge listened and read over everything Gwen had collected about that night.

‘Mistakes were made on both ends, but he doesn’t deserve to be punished with such severity, not when he loves his children this much. This is a man who can’t live without the love of his family, and if that’s taken away from him, then I fear that it’ll affect not only them as they grow up without their father, even if Ms. Rothschild does decide to remarry in the future, but also Mr. Billings as well. Thank you.’ She went back to her seat, Lester’s eyes sad but his smile thankful for what she was doing for him, and she stopped him from looking back at you as Matt loudly cleared his throat and took his turn.

‘What my client is here today to achieve is not just the separation of two people whose relationship has fallen by the wayside, but to terminate an agreement that was so blatantly broken. To allow someone who would disregard the feelings of others to that degree, and then proceed to take his anger out on her when called out on it, would be a serious risk to the children as the younger ones grow and develop.’ You grabbed onto the bench and dug your nails into the wood until it hurt as Matt strolled casually in front of the Judge while he spoke, his eyes occasionally drifting to you as he fought not to smile just because he knew you were the cause of it all.

‘I see here Mr. Billings became violent?’ the Judge confirmed, and Matt nodded in fake solemness as he went back to his table.

‘Punched a wall, their bedroom wall right next to her to be precise, so who’s to say he wasn't aiming for her and simply missed?’

‘I didn’t!’ Lester spoke up, the Judge giving him a warning look for speaking out of turn but ultimately not calling him out while also letting Matt continue.

‘In this picture my client has provided, you can see the actual indent where he made contact, note the sunken area from his knuckles, I know I wouldn’t want my kid to be anywhere near someone like that,’ he said a bit too casually as he shared the photo with her, only to receive his own visual warning for not taking this seriously. ‘Anyway, my point is that Mr. Billings is a liar, a cheat, and now, as of that night, prone to violent tendencies as well, which, if everyone may agree with me, is not a very suitable lifestyle when raising children.’

A chorus of agreements came from her side of the room, and you actually opened your mouth that time before shutting it tight and biting your lip. Matt collected his photo and went to sit back down, but not before shooting you a glance, and you were glad he worked on another floor than you because you were about to plan ahead and trash his office come Monday. He relished in your expression and sat back down again, the Judge going over the papers in front of her before looking forward again.

‘It says here that the main cause of separation was cheating, but according to his report he claims that to be the misunderstand that’s been mentioned; I know it doesn’t matter in the end since this seems to be mutual at this stage, but I feel like it would be better going forward to have this addressed so as to not give the children a skewed opinion of their father, if you don’t mind,’ the Judge said with a frown as she looked between both parties, and you quietly let out a calm breath while you mentally prepared yourself for what was to come.

‘It’s fine by us, Ms. Rothschild was looking forward to this getting cleared up,’ Matt loudly proclaimed so there’d be no chance you didn’t hear it, Gwen not as loudly agreeing as the Judge nodded and motioned for them to proceed. ‘Ms. Rothschild, if you would kindly take the stand so everyone can hear your side of things.’

‘This isn’t a trial, she can stay where she is,’ the Judge was quick to correct, but Matt’s smile was still wide as he looked back at his audience.

‘Yes, but we’ve also brought in some… ex-mutual friends of theirs who’d like to back up her claims, if you don’t mind,’ he informed her, and she considered it before deciding it might help to get their outsiders opinions even though you knew they were bound to side entirely with her until the truth became skewed even more, this wasn't fair. ‘Thank you, Your Honour; Rita, if you’d please?’

She stood and walked over to the stand, the bailiff overseeing everything shrugging before bringing over the court’s bible and having her say her oath of truth before returning to his spot. ‘Well, I’d say it started a few months back, when he returned from getting groceries. We decided that that would be his thing since I’d be at home watching Annie after preschool, and it was just easier for him to do it on his way home,’ she began, your eyes switching between her and Lester as he listened intently. ‘It was subtle at first, he’d get home a little later, something new would be in his cart that I hadn’t asked for, but it wasn't until he started talking about them that I knew something was wrong.’

You saw him open his mouth to object but Gwen silenced him, this was her time to talk, he would get his soon enough.

‘It was so little I barely noticed, just some dinner conversation as everyone talked about their day, but when they kept getting brought up, not just on Thursday but throughout the week, and then when my daughter asked for some friends to sleep over now that summer had started, he ended up turning it into this big party. We’ve thrown them before, we’re very social people, but there was something about this one that felt off, like it was just an excuse to get as many people there as possible.’ 

She paused, looking troubled as she thought back to it, and you hadn’t known that the party you’d been invited to was actually just supposed to be for her, that explained why so many of them had stayed when they went in for the night. 

‘But I knew something was wrong when he brought home that cheesecake, neither of us even like Caramel Pecan, and I tried to excuse it like maybe he’d gotten it for the girls, or maybe he was trying something new, but the moment I saw him give them a piece I knew it. I knew that there was something going on behind my back.’

The Judge frowned but didn’t say anything, murmurs drifting over from your right, and you looked at Lester as he and Gwen said something so quiet you couldn’t hear a single word even from that close. ‘A gift for the secret lover, was it?’ Matt asked like he didn’t already know the answer, and Rita nodded as she shot you a cold look.

‘And it wasn't just that, he also had them sit next to him while we watched movies, and I watched as he grabbed them around the waist and threw them into the pool so they could flirt not just in front of me but in front of all our friends, like he was flaunting the fact that he’d found someone else at me,’ she continued angrily, her voice rising as she turned her attention to him, and he tried again to speak only to be silenced. ‘He kept inviting them to our house after that, kept throwing parties of various sizes and always inviting them even though they barely knew each other, and they didn’t come often but whenever they did his eyes were always on them, I saw him do it.’

Your mouth fell open as you let out a soft gasp, and Lester stared straight ahead at her, completely ignoring you as you tried to think of him watching you while you were around, but you’d always tried so hard to keep it platonic, to not overstep any boundaries and stay out of that part of his life, had he really been looking at you the entire time?

‘That was when you decided to ask him about it, right before your vacation, correct?’ Matt asked like this was the best drama he’d ever gotten to witness because she was talking about you, someone he personally knew and contended against.

‘Correct, I didn’t want to go anywhere with him if he’d be thinking about someone else, and I certainly didn’t want to risk him inviting them along on our family vacation.’

‘Was there ever an actual concern about that?’ the Judge interrupted, and Rita shrugged before nodding.

‘Yes, at one point he asked if maybe we should let the kids bring one friend each so they could have more fun, teased about asking the Himuras since Deni is friends with their daughters, but it was the way he said it, like he wanted to ask someone but not them, that this was just another excuse, and that’s when I asked him to be honest with me about the cheating.’ Lester was shaking his head as she spoke, but whether it was because she was wrong or if he regretted what he said because it was true made you unsure of everything you believed before you walked through those doors.

‘And we know how that turned out; he denied your claims, refused to name the lover himself, and when you refused to say it he became violent-’

‘Objection, Mr. Billings told me explicitly that he never answered her questions in her favour because he wasn't aware of what she was even talking about, because this is all just assumptions and slander,’ Gwen interrupted heatedly, she also knew what he’d said and this was making her lose control of her emotions in your stead. 

‘He didn’t answer because he’d been caught and didn’t want to admit it and you know it,’ Matt said dismissively with a sneer, the Judge banging her gavel just once to quiet him when she remembered there was a sleeping baby present. 

‘Sustained until proven otherwise, leave the judgment up to me, if you’ll please,’ she warned him, and he sat back and crossed his arms as Rita was encouraged to finish.

‘He did become angry when I wouldn’t tell him what he already knew, and when he hit the wall I felt unsafe for the first time around him,’ she concluded seriously, her parents glaring at him as Annie kept sleeping in blissful ignorance of the situation. ‘That was when I asked for custody, and kicked him out of our room. After that he began to stay elsewhere, I never looked him up.’

Matt chuckled to himself but didn’t say anything, and when you felt your skin crawl you noticed that he was staring at you again. ‘Thank you, and if it would please you, Your Honour, I would like to call some friends of theirs to the stand, to share what they saw as well and to prove that this isn’t just a bad take formed out of jealousy.’

‘I’ll allow it.’

You watched as the couple from movie night entered together, their own oaths spoken before they agreed that he’d been oddly close to you during the party, how he favoured you during movie night by making you extra dip even though he never once did that for any of them, and some of them he’d known since highschool. They hadn’t wanted to believe it, but something changed in him since you’d appeared in his life, a change you’d never noticed because you only saw this new him, apparently. You could almost cry, the way they were saying it could almost make you believe he’d fallen in love with you, to the point where you were genuinely unsure if Matt had coached them to say all this for Rita’s sake or if this was the truth.

‘Sounds pretty cut and dry to me, no further questions,’ Matt said as they sat down, and the Judge looked equally as convinced as she turned her attention back to Lester.

‘Indeed, but we still need to hear from Mr. Billings,’ she reminded everyone, and he was about to stand when Matt held up a hand to interrupt.

‘Actually, I’d also like to call a colleague of mine to the stand before we get to him,’ he told everyone, and you saw Gwen twitch just a little just as you yourself did. 

‘Is this colleague here?’ the Judge asked, and he nodded before whistling; the man from the street, Harley, then appeared from somewhere behind you, he’d been hiding out of sight and was holding a coffee and a manilla envelope as he walked up to Matt and handed it over. He opened it up, peeked inside, and grinned so excitedly that it almost made you sick as he then turned to you and motioned for you to come forward.

You stood and did as he asked, it was finally your turn, and Lester watched you go along with everyone else as you sat in the worn seat and tried to keep your breathing level. ‘Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?’ the bailiff asked you as your hand shook over the cover, and you looked to Lester before steeling your gaze in Matt’s direction, his expression telling you that he thought this would be not only his win but your loss, that maybe this would finally be enough to up his credit enough to join the big leagues, this imaginary promotion that’ll finally tell him he was a success.

‘I do,’ you replied honestly, and he shook his head in amused pity before removing the papers along with a phone from the envelope to lay out on the table. He stood again, he couldn’t remain seated with this, and he cracked his neck for show before jumping right into it.

‘Thursday, May 9th, that’s when you first met him, wasn't it?’ he asked smugly as he checked over his notes, the Judge the last to know that it was all leading up to this as she sat up a little straighter.

‘Yes, that was the day I first spoke to Le- Mr. Billings at Walkers,’ you confirmed professionally, determined to not make this any worse than it could be, you could do this.

‘But it wasn't until a few weeks later that you were invited to his home, correct?’

‘That’s right, you know a bunch of us were collaborating on the Krill case around that time, I wasn't able to get much shopping done with the late hours,’ you replied, and he hummed and flipped the page.

‘I remember, you guys stole that one from me,’ he muttered because he couldn’t help but let it out, and you tried not to smirk amidst your attempts to keep everything calm and collected. ‘So that means you only met twice before you became friends?’

‘I guess- I mean, yes, technically, but that second time we spent around 40 to 45 minutes getting to know each other, the first time he had to run home shortly after I met him.’

‘And you were unaware that he’d been bringing you up around his family and friends the whole time you were kept away by work?’

Your eye twitched as you glanced at the man in question, and you found a lovely section of wall to stare out down the aisle instead. ‘I was not, no.’

‘And you still accepted his invitation, despite meeting once pretty much?’ He was baiting you, and you very much knew it as you acquainted yourself with the wall in the distance.

‘He seemed pleasant enough, and I don’t meet many people outside of work, I thought it might be fun to give it a try,’ you rationalized in front of everyone, the other reason that you simply liked him and wanted to see him again obviously left out.

‘And the cheesecake…?’

‘We’d stopped by the dessert counter and they only sold it in full cakes, not slices, he bought it as incentive for me to join so I could have some, a friendly encouragement for me to accept,’ you explained, and Rita scoffed as the Judge raised her eyebrow at Lester. ‘At least, that’s what I assumed, he never said it in words.’ It was a lie, an actual lie, and you watched his expression change as he became unsure if he’d said that to you or not.

‘Which you did accept, in the end, did you not? Directly from him according to Rita,’ Matt confirmed, and you nodded as you recalled that night.

‘He was handing it out to not just me, but a few others as well, I wasn't a special case,’ you clarified as you remembered him grabbing several slices from both cheesecakes to hand out to those still sitting and getting ready for the movie. ‘And before you mention the pool, yes, he did throw me in, but by pushing me, not by grabbing me around the waist, I don’t know where she got that from. He pushed me, jumped in, and then others did as well, it was a pool party after all and now that all the kids were inside or asleep it was the adults’ turn to swim.’

Matt frowned as he went back to his notes, another page flipped to as your shoulders relaxed just a little again. ‘And the movie gathering, with the dip?’

‘I arrived late so I’d missed out on it, he made more so I could enjoy some as well, and when I got my portion it was shared with everyone else, if I’d arrived on time he more than likely would’ve kept watching the movie.’ You felt satisfied when you saw the couple nod like they’d forgotten that point, you were winning them over, and they looked at you a little less dirtily as you fought the urge not to smile. ‘He only kept inviting me to things because we only had time to socialize while we grocery shopped, which isn’t very good for a new friendship, this was his way of keeping us familiar and not just shopping strangers since he knew my weekdays were full, I’m sure you’d be more familiar with that if you had more clients.’

A faint snicker filled the room at your comment, Matt’s face going red before he got serious; he flipped ahead so fast he nearly tore the pages, and when he found what he was looking for he looked like he was the cat and you were the canary. ‘Keep it up while you can,’ he whispered before smiling at the Judge, Rita looking worried until she saw his expression. ‘Thursday, July 18th, almost an entire month after the divorce was called, you went back to his home to find him, did you not?’

The smile you didn’t realize you were wearing then started to fall, and you concentrated on your patch of wall again as you nodded. ‘I did, yes. I hadn’t seen him in two weeks and I was worried.’

‘Oh, just two? Wouldn’t he have been missing for a month?’ he quickly asked, looking like he’d caught you, and you nibbled your lip a moment in frustration.

‘I’d assumed he was on vacation, he’d told me about it and since I knew the kids were on holiday I just figured he was in California,’ you clarified even quicker, but he didn’t look convinced as he flipped to the next page.

‘Uh huh, according to Rita it says here that you asked for him specifically while in a panic, and when she informed you of his move you began banging on the door and asking about their children, you sound pretty invested for just a weekend friend,’ he pointed out as he turned on his heel to face everyone, and when you looked at Lester he looked just as surprised to hear this news as you were to hear about him watching you. 

‘It’d been two weeks and something felt wrong, I needed to make sure everything was okay,’ you told him, your eyes no longer finding the wall as he spun to face you, his low ponytail creating a flash of gold across his crisp black blazer. ‘And she hadn’t told me about the move until after she assaulted me via a slap to the face, as well as insinuated that I’d come there to steal him away. I would never, that had never been my intention.’

‘At first.’ Matt skipped almost giddily over to you before handing the Judge a bunch of papers and slamming one on the stand in front of you, and you frowned in confusion as you saw yourself in the photo; it was the night you’d met up with him again, the two of you hugging in his car, and you desperately tried to find the words as the Judge frowned disapprovingly. ‘You met up with him again at Walkers a week later, where you proceeded to not only pay for his groceries according to my sources, but also invite him back to your home to stay while he searched for a new residence, instead of his current hotel room, where does all that fit in with your intentions?’

He was positively smug as the Judge motioned for Gwen to approach as well, everyone else whispering to each other until Annie started to stir and forced them to be silent. ‘Did you know about this?’ she asked while Lester sat there uneasily, and Gwen reluctantly nodded while Matt failed to suppress another chuckle.

‘If they may explain, it was a rooming of convince, nothing more,’ Gwen said on your behalf, and the Judge looked to you before letting her go again so you could finish. 

‘I was simply extending some kindness to someone who’d gotten me out of the house more times than anything else in those couple months; I saw a friend in need, so I offered him my couch until he could find his own place, I’d figured it would’ve been too hard to place a downpayment on anything when all of his funds were tied up into that room,  that’s all.’ You were starting to speak firmly, and he knew he was getting to you as he scrunched up his face in humorous disbelief.

‘Did you, though? Because from what I heard, he was actually sleeping in your bed the entire two weeks he was with you,’ he told everyone, and the only reason you didn’t get angry was because you were starting to get very confused.

‘Where did you hear that?’ you demanded to know, but he wasn't done talking.

‘Along with that, apparently you were also there when he signed the deed to his house, as well as went shopping for a new bed, where the two of you not only came but also left together to head to said house as soon as it was in working order,’ he listed loudly just so no one would miss it, a photo to prove each point landing in front of you as cruel reminders, and you made a grab for the notebook on pure instinct as he laughed and jumped back, holding it out of your reach.

‘Would you two please control yourselves? Is everything he said true? Remember that you’re under oath,’ the Judge asked you very seriously, and you looked around in a growing panic before your eyes landed on Harley; all at once you recognized him, he’d been one of the workers who’d helped you load up his car that day, your focus purely on the frame to the point where he’d been practically invisible to you at the time.

‘Yeah, yeah it’s true,’ you admitted, and Rita looked furious in her belief that she was being proven right. ‘He slept in my bed because the couch hurt his back too much, so I took it instead in the meantime, and we went shopping together because he’s incredibly indecisive and needed a second opinion. I helped him with his house because it was disgustingly dirty from being empty for so long, and it would’ve taken him ages to clean it up alone despite the size. 

‘Every single thing you’ve said has just reaffirmed that I’ve been helping my friend where everyone else had left him high and dry, there’s absolutely nothing you can take away from that and the fact that I have never once made any sort of move on him, not in my own home and certainly not in either of his. Lester is my friend, I’m here today to support him while he tries to get his kids back in his life, and I don’t see how any of this is going to reach that if we keep messing around on this false accusation!’ You quickly lowered your voice when Annie stirred again, a few hushes and leg bounces lulling her back to sleep as she held her grandmother tight, but Matt didn’t look dissuaded by your speech, in fact, he looked like he’d finally gotten you as he held up the final photo but didn’t show you.

‘Could you please read out your last conversation with Mr. Billings to the court, please?’ he asked calmly, and your anger turned to panic as Gwen silently asked what he meant to Lester out of the corner of your eye.

‘What?’

‘Could you please read-’

‘I know what you said, but why?’ you asked uneasily, and he sighed before turning to the Judge. 

‘Please follow the request,’ she ordered, and you sucked in an unsteady breath as you unlocked your phone and went to his chat.

‘You know he brought me screenshots, don’t make me use them instead,’ Matt muttered under his breath, and you didn’t even have to ask to know that it was because you’d left you car unlocked, giving your tail the perfect opportunity to take pictures of your messages after seeing Lester send them only for you to arrive shortly after the night before.

‘I can’t,’ you told him as you stared at the words, it would all be taken the wrong way, and he took your phone from you without a fight before handing it to the Judge.

‘“I miss you,”’ she read aloud, and Gwen put her head in her hand as Lester stood, the Judge reading the rest while Rita’s side of the room started whispering again. ‘“I can’t sleep, can you come over?” These speak for themselves, what do you have to say about them?’ 

You couldn’t get a single word out as your phone was handed back to you, but you needed to try before everything you’d just said was thrown out the window. ‘He was stressed, he couldn’t sleep, nothing happened,’ you explained weakly, Matt already on top of it as he held his page a little tighter.

‘The second the door opened you were in his arms,’ he let everyone know, and you shook your head when that wasn't the photo he wanted to share.

‘We’d had a fight before he left, a misunderstanding, he just missed me,’ you tried to say, and that’s when he struck, the image of the two of you lying in bed together fully selling the lie. ‘These were taken without our consent,’ you mumbled, but it was too late, Harley had been there, he’d seen everything from the start, this was just the icing on the cake of the lie to everyone.

‘Caught in bed, that doesn’t look very platonic to me, see he’s even got his arm around your waist for real this time.’ Matt was on Cloud 9 as he spoke, the Judge agreeing and completely convinced that there was something going on after all.

‘He couldn’t sleep,’ you repeated softly, and as if to add insult to injury, he finally brought out the phone from the envelope over from the table.

‘Last chance to tell the truth,’ he offered, and something in you snapped as your entire body went stiff.

‘Oh fuck off Matt,’ you snarled, a slap to the desk your warning since the gavel was too loud, and he gave you another fake sigh before pulling up the phone’s gallery. He turned up the volume and turned the screen to the Judge, and it was dark and a little shaky but the sound still filled the large and empty room with ease.

‘I love you.’

Lester’s voice from last night bounced off every corner until it was impossible to ignore, and Matt played the clip again just to be sure.

‘I love you.’

‘So much for platonic,’ he figured as he played it again for good measure, and the Judge took the phone to make sure that yes, that was the two of you in the video as well as his voice through the speaker behind the cicadas and crickets that conveniently blocked out the next part where he called you his friend. ‘And are those tears when you roll over at the end? Guess the guilt of destroying a family can do that to you, yikes… Your Honour, if you could now swipe to the right you’ll find them the next morning as well,’ he told her, and you just barely saw footage of you two hugging in the doorway, the camera perfectly catching his kiss to your forehead before you wrapped your arms around him; it cut off just in time to make your hug look like a real kiss despite your face never leaving his chest in reality, and your frustration and helplessness at what you’d done to him bubbled up and overflowed until you felt a hot streak fall down your cheek.

‘I knew it, how dare you stand up there and lie to everyone, you ruined my marriage!’ Rita yelled as you gripped the wood until your hands hurt, her outburst finally enough to wake up Annie as she started crying along with you. She was inconsolable, her grandparents unable to calm her as Rita rubbed her eyes, her own anger at this whole situation going in circles until she was ultimately proven right also overflowing as she banged her hand off the table. ‘Can you please just take her outside, mom?’

‘Please, let me,’ Lester suddenly said, his first words in what felt like ages, and he didn’t wait for permission as he crossed over to the other side of the courtroom to reach for his baby girl. ‘Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here,’ he whispered softly as he took her from her grandmother’s arms, and she blinked through her tears as she reached up to touch his face, ‘it’s just me, it’s your daddy, it’s me.’ Her crying calmed as she recognized him in her childish sorrow, her small voice confirming that it was indeed her father before she curled against him and held on tight.

The room went silent as he kept hushing her, his arm bouncing slightly until her crying ceased completely, and when she started to fall back asleep again he couldn’t stop his own tears from falling as he kissed her head and breathed in deep. ‘Alright, she’s going home, just gi-’

‘Let me hold her, please,’ he begged immediately, cutting Rita off and holding his daughter away when she reached out to take her. ‘It’s been two months, just please let me hold my daughter for a little while longer…’ Rita backed down, Matt scoffing at the wasted time as Lester gave Annie another kiss, and even though it physically pained him to let go he eventually did; her grandmother took her back before they both left, Lester not fully breaking until the doors had closed and there was no risk of waking her, an awkward but also sad air filling the room as his friends finally saw what they’d done to him.

‘Can we get back to this, if you don’t mind?’ Matt asked from the floor, but Lester was done, he’d just had to give away his little girl after watching his only friend be torn apart in front of him, and he was done.

‘No, because I do mind,’ he told him as he turned, his cheeks wet but his eyes deathly serious as he approached the stand. ‘I’m sick of everyone trying to tell me what I did, what happened when I was there, and I won’t let this go any further. I asked them to come over, and we did lay in bed together, but only because I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that I can’t do this alone, not because I cheated on you, Rita. No matter how you interpreted my actions, I know what my intentions were, and they were never to be disloyal to you. 

‘I’ve loved you ever since we were teenagers, and I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you, but I can see now that we married too soon, and that no matter how much I love you and my children, it will never be enough to fix what you’ve broken. I know I scared you, I was afraid myself, that night, and I don’t care if you can never forgive me for it, but don’t punish me for something I didn’t do by convincing yourself that I’m a monster.’ He stopped to take a breath, everyone silent as Matt leaned against his table and waited impatiently for this to end, and you couldn’t stay there any longer until he turned to speak to you and instantly froze you. ‘You’ve been nothing but good to me since we met, and I’m so sorry I dragged you into all of this.’

‘I’m the one who ruined your marriage,’ you murmured miserably, and he shook his head before turning back to Rita.

‘No, you ruined our marriage the moment you stopped trusting me and broke our vows,’ he told her, and for the first time she looked almost regretful of her actions. ‘You can have the divorce, spending these past two months without you has taught me that maybe this has been a long time coming, and I didn’t lie, I never cheated on you and never intended to, but… these two months have also told me that I don’t have to walk out of here with nothing even if they rule in your favour.’ He glanced back to you for just a moment, and you swore he might actually be in love before he focused on the Judge. ‘I know all of what you just heard and saw was taken horribly out of context, and… and maybe my intentions have changed over time, but I’m not a liar, and I would never harm my children, you have to believe that, Your Honour.’

‘Oh, I believe it,’ she agreed after watching him calm his crying baby with ease before baring his soul to everyone. ‘We might’ve gotten off track there for a while, I apologize for letting that go on for as long as I did, but it’s very clear to me that despite the multiple errors in judgment on pretty much everyone in this room’s part, it wouldn’t be a fair ruling to let you walk out of here without custody.’ She smacked the gavel now that Annie was away, and Lester’s legs nearly failed him as he smiled in pure relief. ‘Temporary full custody will remain with Ms. Rothschild while you finish your new residence, and when the house is furnished and ready to house the children, we’ll meet up again to go over things and discuss how often they’ll stay with the both of you.’

‘Thank you, thank you so much,’ Lester sobbed joyfully before he crashed into the partition gate, and you and Gwen rushed to him to help him remain standing long enough to get to a seat. Matt swore to himself as Rita kept her distance, their friends deciding to make amends as they walked over to him and apologized, they’d spread the word that Rita had been wrong, and he couldn’t seem to stop crying as he smiled until his cheeks surely hurt just as much as yours did.

Another month went by as summer finally gave way to fall, and Halloween decorations started to fill the streets as you drove through the neighbourhood. Four pumpkins were strapped into your seats and made the car smell nice as you drove, the familiar way to Lester’s home engraved in your mind until you were pulling into the driveway behind him. You left the car unlocked as you ran up to the door to knock, and it was clear he’d seen you through the kitchen window as the door swung open to reveal him standing there in the most dad-themed apron you’d ever seen; it was of another man with a very chiseled stomach, something of which you assumed he didn’t have based on the few glimpses you’d gotten when he’d stayed with you, and you raised an eyebrow at him as he went in for a hug.

‘It’s incentive to keep to my new diet, since you helped the last one fail so many times,’ he joked before pulling you to his chest, and you kept it to yourself that you didn’t mind how he looked as you hugged him back.

‘You’re a grown man, you could’ve always said no,’ you reminded him as you headed back for the car, Lester following after setting down the dish towel he was still holding. You grabbed a pumpkin each and brought them to the dining room, or the small section of room he considered a dining room since technically his kitchen and living room were openly connected. 

‘Shaun’s gunna love this one, I can already tell- where’s the fifth?’ he asked when you shut the door, and you looked around for it too in confusion.

‘Fifth?’

‘You’re spending Halloween with us, right? You’re not gunna make me hand out candy with just Annie, are you?’ he asked disappointedly, and you fought the oncoming blush as you looked at the four pumpkins on the table, the last one being baby-sized just for Annie to scribble on instead of carve. ‘There’s a new Stephen King movie coming out that Deni was really excited to share with us, please tell me you aren’t gunna skip out on that one?’

‘I just assumed you’d wanna spend time with your family, since Rita did agree to the whole week just for this,’ you muttered nervously, and the hand he placed on your arm was warm and comforting as he gave you another almost loving look.

‘I think we can consider you a part of the family, especially after everything you did for us,’ he told you honestly, but you still weren’t entirely convinced you could join this part of his life now that you knew you might have a chance at a more permanent friendship with him. ‘Here, I ordered a bunch of food for tonight from that pizza place we used to visit a bunch while I was staying with you, if you go grab it I’ll pay for your pumpkin if you can find one in the next… 27 minutes,’ he offered, and you realized his hand was still on you as it then moved to your hand to hold your palm up to accept his wallet.

‘It takes 13 to get to the pumpkin patch,’ you told him, and he just shrugged before letting you go.

‘Better hurry then, don’t wanna be left out when we’re all sitting here carving pumpkins and eating pizza,’ he tempted you, and when you looked down at the table and imagined it you realized you wanted nothing more than to be a part of that. ‘And, since Rita doesn’t get here til 7, I think it might be nice to just spend some time alone with you, just the two of us, like before… I don’t get to see you as often now that your Thursdays are all booked up,’ he admitted shyly, and your heart pounded when he rubbed at his neck and you finally noticed that he’d taken his wedding ring off now that the divorce was officially and mutually underway.

‘You could come with me, we could maybe check out the Halloween displays at Walkers for a little extra decoration ideas, your house is honestly lacking compared to your neighbours,’ you suggested calmly, and his smile was back to normal as he stripped off his apron and tossed it over the arm of your second couch that so perfectly fit against the living room wall across from his TV, the photo of his kids so far the only other decoration on the stand.

‘I think I could go for some Caramel Pecan cheesecake, if I’m honest, you made me like it a bit more than the Chocolate Fudge Supreme,’ he whispered scandalously as you both headed out the door, and this time you did lean into him a little when his hand found the small of your back on the way to the car.

[elcor-thespian]

What's your Rooks favourite place to be? Like either in the lighthouse or adventuring. Do they throw everything to the side to go to Arlathan Forrest any chance they get? Do they prefer the music room to the library?

Ok when I tell you that I am generally so touched somebody asked me a question in response to my most recent post. I have been on this site for 10+ years and no one really ever interacts with me. And this is such a great question! Please answer it too and tag me so I can read it!

Answering below because this is going to be long

My canon Rook is Nephele Mercer, and my first thought in response to this was the the market in Traviso. Nephele had a pretty horrific childhood, and once she ran away from home she's been sort of building the bridge out in front of her to make ends meet. Even with the Shadow Dragons she never really felt safe or like she could relax. She is also fascinated by luxury because she's never had anything nice.

It's hard to explain but some combination of the purple lanterns and the warm night air makes her feel like she can finally slow down. It feels homey in a way she doesn't know how to describe. The first time she saw it when they were rushing past with Teia all she wanted to do was stay behind and look around. And the second she got to go back she visited every single stall and talked to everyone she could. Probably also bought more than she could afford.

And fast forward to her being the wife of the First Talon, she absolutely refuses any discounts anyone tries to give her. She pays people what they're worth, and then some.

Now I also have 6 other OCs that while they aren't the protagonist of the game, they are all also present a the Lighthouse and are associates of Varrics. They also all have bird code names because I think I'm cute.

Nasreen "Raven" Aldwir: I actually think that Nasreen's bedroom is the music room. She likes to be alone, and she likes small dark quiet places, so it's a great place for her to hide out in. She also is a musician (a huge inspiration for her character was the elven instrument that you can have in Rook's bedroom). At the beginning of the game she would borrow stacks of books from Emmrich and hide out in her room for hours, occasionally going back to ask questions. Eventually she got more comfortable staying in Emmrich's office and reading on the couch.

Aleksei "Magpie" Laidir: This boy must be near to water at all times. He grew up on an island and now he's a sailor. But literally any body of water will do. Lake in Arlathan, beaches of Rivain, canals of Treviso. He's like a duck.

Konstantin "Wren" Ingellvar: I don't know that Konstantin has ever felt comfortable anywhere, bless him. He probably feels most comfortable in the halls of the Necropolis because at least he understands the rules there, and he can spend a lot of time alone without questions. His life's goal is to not to be noticed, but he's a 7'2" Qunari built like a brick shit house. I think after a few weeks his favorite place to be is the library, because that's where the most people who are happy to see him are likely to be (I'm sobbing. I love him)

Paloma "Dove": Paloma is also a Shadow Dragon (There's 6 backgrounds but 7 romances, so someone's got to be the bonus Jonas). Paloma and Elspeth (below) are the two I've played the least so I don't have them as fleshed out. I think she likes to be around people, but struggles to talk to them. Paloma is an escaped Sarebaas, and she's still not used to talking or other people expecting her to say something. She likes people watching, either in the Shadow Dragon hide out, at bars, marketplaces, or at the docks. She feels very protective of Minrathous, the place that took her in when she needed a place to go, so part of her people watching is being ready to shut shit down if she sees trouble starting.

Elspeth "Crow" de Riva: My first instinct is to say "wherever Harding is", because she is Lace's self elected body guard, but that feels too easy. She's definitely a city kid, and growing up as a Crow means she's a night owl. I actually think she spends a lot of time at home. Or wherever Viago is so that she can annoy him. I wonder what it says about them that I can best describe them in their relationship to other people?

Brenna "Kestral" Thorne: For a long time Brenna would have considered anywhere with a high concentration of Wardens to be her favorite place. Being a Warden means she is constantly shuffled around, so she doesn't get attached to places easily. 6 months after the events of the game, she gets permission to go watch over the griffons in Arlathan, essentially on mental health leave. She ends every day watching the sunset with the griffons on the hillside where she and Davrin had their picnic.

So yeah this was really fun! Would love to answer some more if anyone is interested.

[ereardon]

My Girl [Chapter 18][Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC]

Summary: Jake Seresin could be the answer to all of your dating woes. He’s the full package: steady job, mature, dependable, attractive to a fault. The polar opposite of every guy your age and he’s everything you’ve ever wanted in a partner. But there’s one roadblock: he’s a single father to four-year-old Ellie. Jake is looking for a level of commitment you’re not quite sure you’re ready to give, and he’s not willing to bring someone into his daughter’s life who isn’t there for the long haul. And even if you are stepmom material, is Jake ready to let someone back in his life while still mourning the recent loss of his late wife? 

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x OC [Lawyer Natalie West]

WC: 7K

Warning: Age gap, cursing, pregnancy, childbirth, mention of vomit

Series masterlist here

Please fill out this form here to join my tag list

Three Years Later

“Mrs. Seresin?” 

You turned with a smile on your face. “Yes?” 

“Doctor will see you now.” 

You nodded and pushed yourself up out of the chair. At thirty seven weeks pregnant, that alone was a feat. “Come on peanut,” you said to Ellie. 

She looked up with a grin and closed her book. Ellie loved joining your ultrasound appointments, especially when, like today, Jake couldn’t make it. 

In the room, you laid down on the table and pulled your shirt up, bunching it under your bra. The doctor sat down on her beige rolling stool and gave Ellie a smile. “How you doing, Ellie?” he asked. “How’s school?” 

“Good!” she said cheerily, eyes trained on the screen. Dr. Mason grabbed the abdominal wand and pressed it against your basketball-sized bump. 

“Alright, let’s see here,” he murmured, scooting in closer. “Baby’s measuring great, around eight pounds. That’s a healthy little man in there,” he said and you smiled. Ellie stood up and came to stand next to the bed, her eyes zeroed in on the baby on the monitor. “How are you feeling? Any Braxton Hicks?” 

You shook your head. “Not really. Can’t sleep at all and my heartburn makes me want to burn buildings down but other than that I’m alright.” 

He laughed. “Heard that before.” 

“Do you think I’ll make it to my due date on the ninth?” you asked quietly. 

“Well,” Dr. Mason said, “babies tend to come when they want. But I don’t see anything that would make me concerned for an early delivery.” He pulled the wand off of your belly and wiped at the leftover gel with a tissue. “That said, take it easy. And if you have any sudden symptoms like increased heart rate while stationary, or if you feel light headed, I need you to call my office, OK?” 

Ellie’s hand came out and grabbed yours and you squeezed it reassuringly. “Don’t worry, peanut,” you said softly. “Your little brother and I are going to be just fine.” 

***

“Dr. Mason said everything is good,” you murmured, running your fingers along your expanded belly.

“That’s great to hear honey.” Jake’s voice was a little crackly on the phone.

“Any more info on when you’ll be home?” you asked. 

“Still nothing,” Jake said quietly, “but I’m hoping next week. Can you two hold on that long for me?”

The baby kicked and you rubbed the skin over that spot. “We’re doing our best.” 

“How’s Ellie?” he asked. 

“She’s good. Phoenix took her to a movie this afternoon and she and Bob made dinner together which was really sweet.” 

Jake sighed. “I miss her. And you.” He paused. “All three of you.” 

You smiled. “We miss you, too.” 

There was a beeping in the distance from Jake’s end. “Sweetheart, I gotta run. I love you, I'll try to call you when I can, OK?” 

“I love you too,” you whispered. “Be safe for me.” 

“Always am, honey. Goodnight.” And then the line clicked and he was gone. You sighed, leaning back against the bed, waiting a few moments to psych yourself up enough to get out of bed and go downstairs for a snack. 

In the kitchen, you started to pull out an assortment of foods from the fridge — pickles, leftover pasta, an orange — placing them all on the dark granite counter. As you went to close the fridge door, you jumped. “Shit!” 

Bob stood behind the door in a pair of pajama bottoms and a long sleeve shirt, his hair slightly askew. “Sorry!” he said, hands in the air. 

You let out a breath and leaned one hand against the counter. “It’s fine, just didn’t expect you.” 

“I heard a noise, wanted to check and make sure you were OK.” 

Jake had asked Bob to stay with you and Ellie while he was on his three-week deployment. He had put in a formal request to defer the mission, but it was declined and he reluctantly went, pressing a kiss to your forehead in the doorway the morning he left, with tears in his eyes. He was terrified to miss a single moment of your pregnancy. You had told him it was fine, you would be fine. But the truth was, you were terrified, too. You didn’t have to tell him that, however. He didn’t need that added stress. You had simply told him that you loved him, and you would see him soon. 

You smiled and opened the pickle jar, digging out a fork and stabbing one. 

“I’m fine,” you murmured. “But thanks for checking.” 

Bob nodded. He turned to leave, but you stopped him. 

“Bob?” 

“Yeah?” 

You stepped forward and pulled him into a hug the best you could with the belly. His hands wrapped around you carefully, like you were going to break. That’s how all of the daggers treated you, even Rooster. Hugging you while you were pregnant was like holding fine China. “Thank you,” you whispered against his shoulder. “For staying. For everything.” You pulled away and wiped at your eyes. “We couldn’t have done it without you.” 

Bob smiled. “It’s no problem, Natalie.” 

“Seriously,” you said, brushing away the hormonal tears. “Not sure how I got so lucky, but I did.”

“It’s what you do for family,” Bob said quietly and you almost broke down into tears again. 

But you stifled them back and gave him a grin. 

“Goodnight, Nat,” he said softly, turning toward the door. 

“Night, Bob.” 

You leaned over the kitchen counter, eating your midnight snacks. Once the pregnancy was confirmed, you and Jake had tearfully sold his old house, upgrading to a larger one with enough room for Ellie and the baby and a spare few bedrooms for when the daggers inevitably fell asleep on your couch. You missed the wrap-around porch and the memories from the old house, but Jake had slid his arms around your waist, rested his chin on your head as you watched the movers pack up the last boxes and murmured into your ear, “We’ll make new memories, baby. Any place I’m with you is home.” 

***

It started in the middle of the night. One minute you were asleep, the next you were sitting straight up in bed, a shooting pain rippling across your midsection. 

“Fuck,” you muttered to yourself, leaning over and grabbing your phone to check the time. 2:05 a.m. You leaned back against the pillows, waiting for another pain to strike. Fifteen minutes later, you felt the rippling pain again. 

Hauling yourself out of bed, you slid on a robe and eased the door open, wandering down the long hallway to the very last door and knocking gently before pushing it open. 

“Bob?” you whispered. 

The aviator jolted awake, sitting up and reaching for his glasses instantly. When he spotted you in the doorway, frazzled, he stood up immediately and crossed the room. “Natalie? What’s wrong?” 

You grimaced. “I think I’m having contractions.” 

“Shit,” he muttered, running a hand down his face. “Are you sure?” 

You nodded. “I’ve never done this before, but yeah, I think so.” 

“OK.” Bob jiggled his leg for a second. “I’m going to call the Admiral, see if he can get word to Jake’s squad and get him released. You go get your bags packed and wake up Ellie.” 

“We shouldn’t leave until they’re like five or six minutes apart,” you said. “That’s what the books tell you.” 

“Got it. In that case, you get your bag packed, leave it in your room, I’ll bring it downstairs. See if you can go relax and I’ll come check on you once I’m off the phone, will let you know what they say.” 

“Let’s let Ellie sleep,” you said softly. “We can wake her when it’s time to go.” 

Bob nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

He turned to grab his phone and your voice stopped him. “Bob?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m scared.” 

Bob pulled you into a hug, his large hands warm on your back. “I know. You got this, mama.” 

The sun peeked its head over the horizon as you groaned, tossing your head back against the couch. Bob was frantically running around the house in his socked feet, trying desperately not to wake Ellie as he gathered your bags and loaded them into his truck, packing snacks in the kitchen, trying repeatedly to get in touch with Jake’s squadron. 

You bit back a moan as another contraction ripped through your side, eyes scrunched, when you felt the couch jiggle next to you. 

“Mama?” Ellie’s tiny voice pulled you out of your haze and you opened your eyes. 

Ellie sat in her red pajamas on the couch cushion, her feet tucked up beneath her, worry across her face. “Hey peanut,” you murmured. 

“Is the baby coming?” 

You nodded. “Yeah, he is.” 

Her mouth formed a little “O” shape. “What should I do?” 

You and Jake had talked extensively about what to do to prepare for the baby. He had been so excited, mapping different routes to the hospital depending on the time of day. Jake had his overnight hospital bag packed since your sixth month, just waiting near the door. He and Bradley had set up the nursery and had gone to the store to stock it with everything you might need: diapers, rash cream, a white noise machine. 

Meanwhile, you and Jake had initiated several conversations with Ellie about what it would be like to welcome a baby into the house. You had read book after book about how to add another sibling into a household, and what to do to make sure Ellie felt important despite all of the attention a newborn would undoubtedly take. 

What you hadn’t done was explain to her what was going to happen when you went into labor. 

You reached out a hand and brushed her hair back softly. 

“Have Uncle Bobby help you get a sleepover bag ready,” you said. “One change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, underwear. And then some stuff to occupy your time like some books or a game or your iPad.” Her eyes lit up. You and Jake only let Ellie have thirty minutes of iPad time a night in the living room after dinner. “Make sure you bring the charging cord, OK? It’s cold outside, so pack a jacket.” 

She nodded and stood up from the couch. As you leaned back against the cushions, Ellie paused in the doorway. “I’m excited,” she said and you gave her a tired smile. 

“Me too, El.” 

Ellie skipped off upstairs and you looked down at your phone. No new messages. You slid your thumb over the home page and pulled up Cassie’s contact. 

“Cass?” 

“Nat?” She yawned. “What is it? It’s like six in the morning.” 

“I’m in labor.” 

“You’re WHAT?” Cassie’s voice was so loud you had to pull the phone away from your ear with a grimace. 

“I’m in labor,” you repeated. “And Jake is still on his mission and we haven’t been able to get in touch with him.” 

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, her voice a lower, more normal register now. “Honey, we’ll be right there, OK. Brad! Brad! Get the fuck up, we gotta go home.” 

“Cass,” you whispered into the phone. You could hear Bradley in the background zipping up suitcases. They were in Santa Barbara for the weekend and you felt guilty they were rushing home, but you needed Cassie. You needed all of them.

You needed Jake. 

“I’m fucking terrified,” you admitted. 

“I know you are,” she said. “Cross your legs and keep that little boy in there. We’re leaving now, it’s a five hour drive. Bradley!” She shouted. “You’re gonna get us there in four, right baby?” 

You heard Bradley’s deep voice on the other end. “Anything for Nat and my little nephew in there.” 

You smiled. “I love you guys,” you said. 

“We love you, too,” Cassie replied. “Tell Bob to call me with updates, OK? We’ll see you soon, Smalls.” 

“Bye, Cass.” 

***

Three hours later, the contractions were officially five minutes apart and you called for Bob who helped you into the passenger seat of his truck, Ellie packed up in the back with the bags. 

Bob dropped the two of you off at the front door and swung around for a parking spot. The nurses settled you into a L&D room, and you sent up a silent prayer that it was a private room. 

“What did the doctors say?” Bob demanded as he stepped through the door, carrying Ellie’s pink duffle bag and your green Goyard tote stuffed with distraction material: books, a bluetooth speaker, a mini chess board, a cooling towel. 

You shook your head. “Haven’t seen anyone yet, they’re just getting me prepped.” 

The nurse managing your monitors smiled. “You must be Dad.” 

Ellie laughed from where she sat on the couch in the corner. You smiled while Bob flushed with embarrassment at the mix up. “No, this is my friend, Bob. My husband is on deployment, we’re trying to get in touch with his squadron.” 

The nurse touched your arm gently, looking at you with soft eyes. “Ok, dear, let’s get you hooked up.”

It didn’t matter how many books you had read or the number of birth classes you went to, nothing could prepare you for birth. Not the discomfort of the IV, or the sweeping nausea that caused you to grab the bucket that Bob held out and vomit until you felt weak. 

Nothing could have prepared you for the sinking feeling that with every minute that passed you were more and more sure Jake wasn’t going to make it home to see his son being born. 

You had just shut your eyes, Bob and Ellie had gone down to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat for lunch, when you heard a knock on the door. 

“Nat?” 

Your eyes flew open. Cassie stood in the doorway, eyes wide. “Cass.” 

She was on the bed next to you in an instant, her arms wrapped around your shoulders, and you felt salty warm tears rolling down your cheeks, landing at your lips. You didn’t even realize when you had started crying. 

Cassie pulled away and wiped at your face. “We made it.” 

You laughed. “You’re probably too early. Doctor said I’m only four centimeters dilated.” 

“How much is that?” Bradley grinned as he entered the doorway, carrying a vase of flowers. He leaned down and kissed your cheek and then proceeded to make a home for the flowers on the table next to the couch. 

You rolled your eyes. “The size of a walnut.” 

“Jesus, what kind of small ass head is this kid going to have?” Bradley teased and you laughed while Cassie threw him an annoyed look. 

“Brad!” 

“Cass!” he mocked and you laughed again. They were perfect together. 

“Uncle Rooster!” Ellie launched herself into Bradley’s arms and even though she was eight-years-old now and definitely not as light as she once was he caught her in midair perfectly, spinning her in a circle before pulling her in tightly and planting her back on the ground. 

“Hey honey,” he said softly. “How’s my favorite girl doing?” 

“We had pancakes for lunch!” 

You gave Bob a look and he simply shrugged. “Weird day, Nat. Can’t the kid have breakfast for lunch?” 

“Anything goes today I guess,” you sighed. 

“Have you heard from the squad?” Bradley asked. 

Bob shook his head. “Talked to Mav, but that’s it.” 

“Let’s try them again,” Bradley said, walking over to Bob and clapping his hand on the aviator’s shoulder. “We’ll be right back.” 

The two men exited the room and Ellie picked up her book, curling back up on the couch. Cassie dragged a chair next to the bed and plopped down. 

“Sorry to interrupt your weekend,” you said with a frown.

“Shut up,” Cassie said. “You know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” 

“Because hospital cafeteria food is so much better than the food at the Ritz.” 

She rolled her eyes. “How bad is it?” 

You shrugged. “Not pleasant, I’ll give you that. I already puked twice. Poor Bob had to hold the bucket for me.” 

Cassie grimaced. She hated vomit. “Thank God I got here when I did. Would have hated to see that.” 

You snuck a peek over at Ellie before turning your gaze back to Cassie. “What if he doesn’t make it, Cass?” You paused. “I don’t think I can do it alone.”

She grabbed your hand, the one that didn’t have the IV, and squeezed. “He’s gonna make it, babe. Jake would never miss this.” 

“What if they don’t get to him in time or he’s flying and doesn’t even get the call?” You were starting to panic. 

“Shh,” Cassie said, sitting up and brushing the hair off of your face. “Take a deep breath. If, by some horrible terrible worst last case scenario, Jake doesn’t get here, you won’t be alone. You have me and Ellie and Brad and Bob. And we fucking love you, Smalls.” She smiled down at you. “And we love that little bug in there, so just know you’re not alone, babe. You have a room full of people who love you. You can do this.”

“I needed that,” you sighed. “Thank you.” 

Bradley and Bob burst back into the room. 

“We have an update,” Bradley said. Your fingers locked onto Cassie’s. “We spoke to Admiral Simpson and they were able to get a call onto Jake’s ship. He knows you’re in labor and they’re making plans to lift him out as soon as possible.”

“Thank God,” you muttered. 

Another contraction started to build in your midsection and you groaned, leaning forward. Bob immediately reached for the bucket and Cassie’s eyes widened into saucers, pushing back in her chair. You grimaced, a small moan leaving your body, and once it was done you leaned back, waving away the empty bucket. 

“I’m fine,” you panted. 

Bradley stood in the door, frozen. 

You laughed a little at him. “Bradley, what did you expect?” 

He shook his head. “I don’t know, didn’t really think about it too carefully if I’m being honest.” 

“How about you and Cass take Elle home for a bit?” you asked. “It’s gonna be a while. Maybe watch some TV, take a nap, come back in a few hours? I’ll call you if anything changes.” 

They nodded and you turned to Bob. 

“Honey?” you said softly. “You should go, too.” 

He shook his head, glasses slipping down his nose slightly. “I’m not leaving you alone.” 

“I’ll be fine,” you assured him. “I’m asking too much of you to be here the whole time.”

Bob looked exhausted. You could see it in the bags under his eyes, the frazzled way he kept running his fingers through his hair. But you also knew he wouldn’t leave you there by yourself.

Bradley clapped his hand on Bob’s shoulder. “How about this? Floyd, you go home with the ladies. Take a nap, take a shower, make some dinner. I will stay with Mrs. Seresin over here.” He winked at you. “How’s that sound?” 

Relief flooded your body. Cassie reached over and kissed Bradley and Bob acquiesced, grabbing his car keys from the side table. Ellie approached the bed and laid one hand on your belly. You reached over and stroked her hair. “Bye, sweetie, go have fun with Aunt Cassie and Uncle Bobby.” 

She nodded and followed Cassie out the door. Bob shot you one final look and you smiled at him reassuringly. 

Bradley settled into the chair that Cassie had pushed away a few minutes earlier. 

“Just you and me, Smalls,” he said. Bradley had adopted the nickname Cassie had for you. 

“You didn’t have to stay,” you murmured. 

“Jake would kick my ass if I left his girl alone giving birth,” Bradley said. His warm eyes locked on yours. “He’ll make it, Nat. I promise.” 

“He’ll never forgive himself if he doesn’t make it back in time,” you whispered. “I know him. It’ll tear him apart.” 

Bradley shook his head. “He’ll make it.” 

You nodded before another contraction started and your face scrunched up in pain, fingers tightly gripping the white hospital bed sheets. 

“What do I do?” he whispered, panicked. 

“Give me your hand,” you groaned and Bradley stood up, inching toward the bed and you reached out, taking his enormous hand into yours, bearing down until you heard him choke back a muffled yelp. 

When it was done, you let go, panting, and Bradley shook out his hand. “Fuck, you should enter arm wrestling contests, Smalls,” he chuckled. 

“Sorry.” Your voice wobbled and Bradley caught it immediately.

“Hey.” Bradley wrapped his arms around you from behind, his lips pressing a small kiss onto your temple. You started to cry, softly, as Bradley held you in his arms. “You’re doing so good, Nat. You’re a fucking superstar.” 

You sagged in Bradley’s arms. He was the best replacement for Jake that you could think of, but he wasn’t the real thing. Once your tears dried, Bradley pulled away and sat back down on the chair. 

“If he couldn’t be here for this part,” Bradley said softly. “I’m really glad I get to be.” 

Bradley leaned down and took your hand, pressing a kiss to the back and you giggled. “Don’t make me cry again, please.” 

He shook his head. “Never.” 

***

The sun was setting by the time Cassie, Ellie and Bob returned. You had progressed to seven centimeters. Bradley had quickly stepped into the partner role, rubbing your shoulders, whispering positive affirmations in your ear through the contractions. 

“How you doing, babe?” Cassie asked. 

“I’m fine,” Bradley replied and she shot him a look. “I meant Nat.” 

You and Bob laughed. Bradley grinned sheepishly. 

“I’m fine, guys,” you said. “Hey, El, how are you?” You patted the bed and she slid onto it next to you, one hand on the bump. You looked up. “Do you guys mind leaving us alone for a minute?” 

They nodded and left the room. You stroked Ellie’s hair softly. 

“Ellie,” you said quietly. She looked up at you. “I just want you to know that your daddy and I love you very much. I know it’s going to be a big transition to have a little brother, but nothing is going to change in terms of how much we love you. Does that make sense?” 

She nodded. “I know.” 

“We’re still going to do all of our own special things,” you whispered with a smile. “Getting our nails done and going to the beach to eat ice cream. That’s all you and me, kid.” 

Ellie’s hand flattened against your stomach. “What are you going to name him?”

You and Jake hadn’t been able to settle on a name. It had been a long debate over the last nine months. “What name do you like?” 

She thought about it for a minute. “I like Henry.” 

You paused and looked down at her. It was perfect. “I like Henry, too,” you said and Ellie beamed. “Let’s ask your dad when he gets here, OK? But if he’s OK with it, so am I.” 

“When’s daddy getting here?” 

You shook your head, arm tightening around her middle. “I don’t know, baby. I wish I knew.” 

“I hope he gets here soon.” 

“Me too,” you said. “Or else your Uncle Bobby is coming into the delivery room with me and that might scare him too much.” 

“Can I come in?” Ellie asked. 

“I don’t think you want that, honey,” you laughed. “Wait until you have a baby, if you want one. I think it’s something you only need to experience, not view.” 

She nodded. “OK.” 

Just then, another contraction hit and you winced. The monitor started to beep. Ellie quickly unfurled herself from the bed and stood up. 

“Should I get Aunt Cassie?” 

You nodded. “Yes, please, honey.” 

Ellie tossed open the door and ran out into the hall. You clutched your stomach and grimaced, a few tears sliding down your cheek. You hadn’t wanted to do this alone, without Jake. 

The day you found out you were pregnant, you simply sat on the bathroom floor and cried. 

It was such a different experience from the time you had taken the pregnancy test in law school. Back then, you had been terrified it would be positive. You knew Sam was wrong for you. You knew your life would be uprooted. You wanted more for your child than the life you were willing to give them at that age. 

This time, it was different. You had Jake and Ellie and a life. You and Jake had talked about having kids, but in a casual way. Despite Ellie’s pleas to Santa for a little brother, the two of you had taken a lax approach to adding to your family. 

That’s why the two pink lines were such a shock. 

You couldn’t even stand when Jake knocked on the bathroom door and found you crumpled on the ground, back against the white wood cabinets. 

“Nat?” He rushed to where you were, took in the dampness of your cheeks. “Honey, what is it? What’s wrong?” 

You looked up at him. “I’m pregnant.” 

Jake’s jaw dropped. In a second, he was crouched in front of you, pulling you into his arms. “Oh my God, Nat,” he whispered against your hair. 

He pulled back, his green eyes on yours. 

“Are you happy?” he whispered. 

“Of course!” you said and Jake let out a sigh of relief, pulling you against him once more. 

“We’re having a baby,” he murmured, one hand stroking your back. “I love you so much.” 

***

The contractions were getting stronger. Bob’s hands rubbed circles against your back as you leaned forward with a grunt. 

“Where is he?” you cried, leaning back with a sob, your eyes filled with tears. It had been five hours since Bradley had spoken with Admiral Simpson. You had expected Jake to be there by now. 

“He’s on his way, Nat,” Bob whispered softly, taking a wet washcloth and pressing it to your temple. “I’m sure of it.” 

“I need Jake,” you sobbed, eyes screwed shut. Bradley and Cassie had taken Ellie out on a walk. She didn’t need to see this part of the labor. “I can’t do this without him.” 

“You’re doing great,” Bob said softly in your ear but you heard the pain in his voice. What he was trying so desperately to hide: he was afraid Jake wouldn’t make it, too. 

“I can’t!” you wailed. “I can’t do it without him.” 

“Nat, you have to,” Bob insisted, squeezing your hand. You looked at him through the tears. “You have to do this, whether he gets here or not. You’re strong, you can do it.” 

You leaned back, the contraction finally ebbing, and shook your head softly against the pillow. “Bobby, I can’t.” 

He leaned forward, his blue eyes glued to yours when the door opened. You both looked up eagerly, only to see the doctor. 

“How we doing, Natalie?” she asked sweetly and you let out a rough chuckle. 

“Awful, thanks Doc.” 

She laughed. “I know, but we have to ask. Alright, let’s check how things are going.”

Bob stayed near your head as the doctor sat down near your feet and checked your cervix. “You're eight centimeters,” she said. “Doing really nicely, Natalie. It’s going to happen soon, now. Could be half an hour, could be two hours. I’ll come back to check on you in thirty minutes but the nurse will be in around fifteen minutes from now.” She stopped and patted your hand. “You’re doing great.” 

Once the nurse was out of the room, you leaned back and dissolved into tears. Bob held your hand in his, stroking it gently with his thumb. 

“Do you want me to get Cassie?” he whispered. 

You shook your head. “No. Please don’t leave me.” 

Bob squeezed your fingers. “I promise.” 

The door swung open again and you turned, expecting the nurse. 

A full sob left your lips as you locked eyes with Jake. 

Jake rushed to the bed, wrapping his arms around you, kissing your head repeatedly like he was trying to convince himself you were real. “Baby, honey, I’m so sorry. Nat, I’m so sorry. I got here as fast as I could.” 

He pulled away, tears streaking down his face. Your fingers reached out to lace around his arm and you pulled him back closer, his lips locked on yours. 

“I love you,” he murmured, one hand reaching out to stroke your belly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” 

“You’re here now,” you said, shaking your head. “That’s what matters.” 

Jake looked down at you, wiping his eyes. Then he looked across the bed at Bob. “Bob,” he said, walking around the edge of the bed and pulling the other man into a tight hug. You watched as Jake shook as he teared up in the embrace and when they pulled apart you thought you saw tears in Bob’s eyes as well. “Thank you, for everything,” he said softly. “It’s more than I should have ever asked.” 

Bob shook his head and looked at you. “You don’t have to thank me.” 

You sat up and Bob approached the bed. You pulled him into a hug the best that you could, your fingers soft against the back of his head. “Thank you, Bobby,” you whispered.

“Of course,” he said softly, squeezing your hand as he backed away from the bed. Jake gave him a pat on the back as he rounded the bed, headed out the door. “I’ll let Cass, Brad and Ellie know you’re here.” 

“Thanks, Bob,” Jake said softly. He returned back to his spot at your side, hands traveling all over your body: your hair, your arms, rubbing your back, one hand resting on your belly, gold wedding band catching and glinting with the overhead fluorescent light. Jake sighed. “Thank God I didn't miss it. It’s all a blur, baby. One second I was on the ship and then they called me in and said you were in labor and they were lifting me out and I blacked out. I just remember running to my cabin to pack my bag and then running through the hospital doors.” He looked down at his green flight suit. “I’m a little underdressed for the birth of our son.” 

You chuckled, just as another contraction started to rip through your abdomen. You hunched forward with a grunt, and Jake placed his hands on your shoulders, whispering to you. 

“You got this, honey. You’re so strong. Take a deep breath, baby.” 

A small tear slipped out of your eye as you leaned back against Jake. He was so solid. You could do this now. “It hurts, Jake,” you moaned. 

“I know it does, baby,” he said and you could see the pain in his eyes. How much it hurt him to watch you in agony. He rubbed your belly gently. “I’m so sorry.” 

You shook your head, the contraction dying down. “It’s OK, you’re here now.” 

The door swung open and a nurse sauntered in, eyes trained on Jake. “Oh,” she said. “You must be Dad, then.” 

You nodded. “This is my husband, Jake.” 

She gave him a long look and then smiled at you. “Now I see why you wanted him around. Although the guy who was in here earlier was cute, too.” 

You laughed through the pain. She lifted the sheet and peered between your legs before looking back up at you. 

“Alright, Natalie. Are you ready to have a baby?” 

You glanced at Jake. His eyes were glued on you. You smiled. “Let’s do it.” 

***

They didn’t call it the ring of fire for nothing. 

You had your legs pulled back, fingers tight beneath your knees. You dropped back against the pillows, sweating, and turned your head to the side to look at Jake. He wiped at your forehead with a towel and smiled. 

“You’re doing great, baby,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of you.” 

You shook your head. “One, Jacob. We’re having ONE baby. This is it, sir.” 

The nurses and your OB laughed near your feet and Jake grinned, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “One is plenty, sweetheart.” 

Another pain slammed into your side and you hunched forward with a yelp. 

“Alright, Natalie,” your doctor said, her head just barely visible past your belly. “It’s time to push. Dad, you’re going to want to see this. He’s crowning.” 

Jake let go of your thigh and moved down, his eyes wide. He looked up at you with a massive smile. “I see him!” 

“Great,” you gritted. “Can you tell him it’s fucking checkout time?” 

Jake laughed as you bore down with a scream, a truly guttural yell, and there was so much pressure you thought you were going to break in two until you saw Jake’s face light up. 

“That’s the head,” the doctor said. “Take a breath and then give me another push, Natalie. Ten seconds.” 

Jake scrambled back to his place near you, his hands on your leg, and you sobbed, shifting forward, giving it your all. “That’s my girl,” he whispered into your temple. “You got this, baby.” 

And then there was relief. And a cry. 

You looked down as the doctor held up a squirming baby. 

Your son. 

He opened his mouth wide in a shrill cry and you started to cry as the doctor lifted him into the air, placing him on your chest. You looked up at Jake as he cut the umbilical cord. 

“Henry,” you said softly and Jake looked at you with tears in his eyes. 

“Henry?” 

You nodded, stroking his tiny arm with your finger. “Ellie and I decided before you got here. Hope that’s OK.” 

Jake smiled. “It’s perfect.” He leaned over and pressed his lips to yours. “I love you.” 

You were so caught up with the tiny, wiggling, perfect baby in your arms that you forgot to respond for a moment. 

“Hi Henry,” Jake whispered softly. “Your mama and I are so happy to finally meet you.” 

You broke down in tears, cradling Henry to your chest, Jake’s arm wrapped around you, the three of you with your heads pressed together. When you pulled back, you reached out a finger and wiped at Henry’s cheek gently. “Hi honey,” you murmured. “It’s mama.” You looked up at Jake with a smile. “Thanks for waiting for everyone to get here to start the show, little man.” Jake chuckled softly next to you, one hand rubbing circles on your back, the other resting gently on Henry. 

“We love you so much, sweetheart,” you murmured to the now quiet baby on your chest. 

You closed your eyes for a split second. And when you opened them again, you watched the way Jake was gazing at his son. You wanted to memorize that look for the rest of your life. Keep it in the back of your mind forever. You’d never get enough of it. 

Jake smiled at you once he caught you staring. “You did so good, pumpkin,” he said, lips pressed to yours. “I’m so proud of my girl.” 

***

The doctor and nurses took Henry away to get him cleared up, and Jake helped you get changed and cleaned up. 

“I’m going to go get Ellie,” Jake said as you sat with Henry asleep in your arms.

A few minutes later, the door eased open and you looked up. Ellie’s hand was slotted into Jake’s, and he led her to the bed slowly. 

“Ellie, meet your brother Henry.” 

Her eyes flashed brightly and she looked at you. “Henry?” 

You nodded. “I think it fits, don’t you?” 

Ellie stepped closer to the bed. You nudged the baby in her direction. 

“You can touch him gently,” you said and she reached out a small hand, stroking his tiny one. Henry squirmed and Ellie pulled away. “It’s OK,” you said softly. “You’re doing great, honey.” 

She nodded and reached back out, slowly petting Henry’s head. “He’s so small,” she said quietly. 

You and Jake chuckled. “Yeah, he is,” Jake said. “You were this small once, too, peanut.” 

“What’s his middle name?” Ellie asked. 

You looked up at Jake. “Well, your dad and I hadn’t actually discussed it, but I like Jacob.” 

“Like daddy?” 

You nodded. “Exactly.” 

“I like it,” Ellie said, her eyes glued on Henry. She slid one finger over his hand and he grabbed it reflexively and she giggled. “He has my finger!” 

Jake put his hands on Ellie’s shoulders. “You ready to be a big sister, El?” 

She smiled up at him. “I love him already.” 

“Us too, baby,” Jake whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. 

The three of you stared at Henry for a little while longer, Ellie’s tiny laugh filling the room as she shook hands with her baby brother. 

“OK, kid,” Jake said softly. “Let’s go get your aunt and uncles, OK? Let them meet their new nephew.” 

Ellie grinned and headed for the door. 

“Be right back, sweetheart.” 

And then it was just you and Henry, again. He looked like Jake, as much as a baby could look like anything. You knew he would grow up and charm everyone. You wanted him to grow up to be the kind of man his father was. To be the kind of person you had fallen so hard and fast for. 

You couldn’t wait to watch everything he would do and all that he would become. 

“Knock knock.” Cassie slid the door open slowly, her eyes wide. Bradley and Bob followed on her heels, along with Jake and Ellie, everyone filing into the room in a single line. Cassie wrapped one arm around your shoulder, leaning down and brushing a finger over Henry’s face. “Well, aren't you handsome?” 

“This is Henry Jacob Seresin,” you said with a smile. “Henry, meet your Auntie Cassie, your Uncle Bradley and Your Uncle Bobby.” 

They were all crowded around the bed. Looking up, your heart swelled as you watched these people who had become such an integral part of your life gaze down at the newborn in your arms. 

“Can I?” Cassie asked and you nodded, carefully transferring Henry into her arms. She cooed at him softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He’s perfect,” she whispered. “You guys did good.” 

“It was all Nat,” Jake said. “She’s a superhero.” 

You leaned back against the pillows. “When it’s your turn, Cass, get the epidural. I don’t care what anyone says.” 

She laughed gently. “Never a doubt in my mind, sweetheart.” Across the edge of the bed, you caught Bradley with tears in his eyes. Cassie must have noticed it too, because her face morphed. “Brad, honey?” 

He sniffled and pushed the tears away. “You’re a natural.” 

Cassie grinned. “Do you want to hold him?” 

Bradley shook his head. “Later. I’m enjoying the view a little too much right now.” 

“Ew,” Ellie said and Jake laughed. 

To your left, you felt Bob’s hand come down on your shoulder, his fingers squeezing you briefly. “How are you?” he asked quietly. 

“I’m good,” you whispered. “Thank you, Robert.” You paused. “Do you want to hold your godson?” 

He looked down at you with surprise and then over to Jake who nodded. “Godson?” 

“If you’ll accept,” you said. 

Bob nodded feverishly. “Of course. Yes.” 

Jake chuckled, approaching Cassie and carefully lifting Henry out of her arms. You watched as Jake seamlessly crossed the room with his newborn son in his arms, smiling down at the baby, before gently laying him in Bob’s outstretched hands. Jake helped him cradle Henry’s head, the rest of his body resting carefully in his long, strong arms. 

Bob gazed down at Henry with a mystified look that you recognized all too well. It was the way you sometimes caught Jake looking at Ellie. It was unfiltered adoration. Genuine and absolute happiness. 

***

Bradley and Cassie had gone back to their house after you finally shooed them away, taking Bob with them. They promised to return first thing in the morning with breakfast. 

Jake had taught Ellie how to hold Henry as the two sat on the couch across the room. She treated him like a porcelain doll, and you thought you might never get tired of watching the way she gazed at him. Or the way Jake looked at the both of them. 

It was late, and you had barely slept for going on twenty-four hours. But somehow, the adrenaline coursing through your veins made you forget that fact. 

So when Jake and Ellie fell asleep on the couch, Ellie curled into her father’s chest, one of his large hands wrapped around her back, holding her close, you couldn’t help but stare at them. How perfect they looked. 

And when Henry began to fuss where he sat in your arms, you shushed him quietly, rocking him gently until he was lulled back to sleep. 

It almost terrified you, how much you loved the three of them. More than you had realized was even possible. 

Holding your newborn son in your arms, watching your husband and daughter — you had officially adopted Ellie the day after the wedding — sleeping peacefully across the room, you felt truly whole for the first time in your life. 

You closed your eyes and thanked God it wasn't just a dream.

THE END 

A/N: This is the end, folks! Thank you so much for reading this series, I have absolutely adored writing it. I'm definitely happy to revisit Jake, Natalie, Ellie and Henry's lives in the future for drabbles down the road! xx

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[cawyden-gaming]

Hey! Another OC question if its okay - what was Venria’s upbrining as a kid, and how did she discovered her abilities?

Hi, yes of course, it's a pleasure, thank you for asking ❤️

Venria was born as Venria van Maynard on the voidship where her father served the imperial navy as Lord Captain. The van Maynards came from a long line of navy officers, although due to the war heavily decimated until only Venria and her family remained.

Her older brother died one day during an attack and this is when her father decided to relocate his remaining family (to secure the few who were still existing of the von Maynards) to the fortress planet Wrath in the Segmentum Ultima, Sector Jericho Reach while he would continue his duty on board. Venria was 10 at this point.

With her younger brother Tiberius and a close friend who came from the schola progenium, she was visiting the naval academy. It was a good life for her, although she hardly ever saw her father. She was different then too - confident, often smiling and always looking for a challenge.

One day, she was 15, she led Tiberius and their friend Refijel (for whom she had developed romantic feelings but hadn't told him yet) to a search across the float (ghetto-like settlements on the shore of the single islands on Wrath, consisting of rough floating platforms and lashed-together boats) for a disappearing pupil from their academy.

What she did not anticipate was stumbling into a nest of cultists in the middle of conjuring a daemon with the missing pupil as a sacrifice. A fight broke out and this is when her powers emerged, saving her life when she was about to drown in the ice-cold water. She saw a vague form above her and in her mind called for help and the telepathic command forced the cultist to pull her out of the water.

It ended with Tiberius heavily injured and Refijel dead.

She heavily blames herself for what happened, leading Tiberius and Refijel to their doom. She also shot an inflammable container above the cultists to end them without regard for herself and her brother and friend. She often asks herself why she didn't hesitate and tried to find another way.

She got lucky though, as Wrath also contained a safe house for the Inquisition and an Inquisitor was already investigating the cult and got curious about her. She still doesn't know what potential he saw in her, but he was the reason she did not have to spend too much time in prison (psyker ward) and was spared the black ship. She was sedated and woke up in a secret training facility for psykers on a different planet and from there, after surviving, she was taken into the retinue of another Inquisitor as an acolyte.

But it was her mistake, not the psyker powers that led to this, which is why she does not see them as a curse but as an opportunity to do good to find some salvation.

She never saw her family again and her family name was changed to Aldor-Lexis.

Thank you again, that was fun 💜

[cosmiccrushes]

Not Part Of The Crew

Law x OC || 2.2k word chapter || 12.9k words total

Read the other chapters on ao3!

CW: brief mention of blood

i've got a nasty cold right now so fingers crossed this chapter isn't complete nonsense but i'm on cold & flu meds and can't breathe out of my nose properly so fuck it, post

CH 6

“Fuck, fuck, fuuuck.” 

Rue shoves her way through the congested dock of Bell island. By no means as busy of a port as Ashita Island, but various fisherman and dock workers jostle Rue to and fro. Incredibly annoying, seeing as she was currently trying to make an inconspicuous exit from the crowd. No more than ten minutes after Law dropped her off, she nearly walked straight into a couple of Fang Pirates hanging a poster up at a bulletin board. A poster with her picture, her name, and a bounty. A literal fucking bounty. Rue’s heart dropped. 

Why would the government issue a bounty for her? She wasn’t a bloody pirate! She wasn’t part of Fangle’s crew! She’s only a bard, making berry for Malax, sure. But by imprisonment, not choice! She didn’t belong to his brutal fighting force- which the government hadn’t done a damn thing about anyways. And why the hell would the Fang Pirates- obvious by the Fang emblem they wore on their shirts- be the ones hanging her wanted poster up? A brief scan around confirmed there were no Navy officers in the port- per usual in these waters. Rue couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen a naval ship anywhere near Ashita Island. She suspected a hefty bribe kept them well away from Fangle’s business in this island chain. Rue snuck closer to the board, praying to the high seas that the two pirates wouldn’t turn in her direction. 

Well, shit. This poster was no government issued bounty. Oh, no. Right there under her picture and name were the words: Reward to be paid by the Fang Pirates upon return. Not even the decency to name his price upfront! That absolute bastard. Rue knew Malax Fangle would be coming for her, of course he would. The Fang Pirates would be hunting her. She hadn’t, to her complete chagrin, considered that he would enlist the local islands to do his dirty work for him though. 

Rue finally breaks through the throng of people and heads towards the first alley she sees, muttering obscenities under her breath. As the cool shade between buildings envelopes her, Rue slumps against the wall. Lightly thumping her head against the brick- can’t very well risk a concussion on top of this catastrophic turn of events. Rue’s plan, admittedly, largely involved exactly one step- escape. And it had just been rendered unimaginably more difficult. 

“Fuuuuck,” she said on an exhale, hanging on to the word for as long as her breath would allow- which was a while, she was a bard. A bard who now couldn’t safely perform in any tavern within the Fang Pirates’ territory. No berry for travel, shelter, food. She resisted the urge to put her fist into the brick wall in front of her, overcome by a deep wellspring of rage bursting forth. A rage untapped in years. Not even drawn from when Carlo’s blood spilled out in front of her, soaking into the wooden floorboards, seeping into the crevices of her memory. A stain she’d never get out. Too numb from the shock to feel anything, do anything but get away.

You can grieve later, you can be angry later. She’d told herself that as she’d plotted her escape from Malax’s clutches, her focus single-minded. Get away, then figure out how to get revenge. Justice. Rue was prepared to spend however long it took running from the Fang Pirates. But this? Malax had just made her a target for every single person eager to earn favor with him, desperate for a chance to earn berry. Now staying one step ahead of Malax meant outrunning his blasted devil fruit powers without the one thing that Rue could always rely on, her voice.

Just like that, Rue was sixteen again. She’d been traveling as a bard for a couple of years by then. Experiencing relief like a cold compress against a blistering wound each time she stepped in front of a crowd and opened her mouth. Wondrously shocking to discover she was not only good at something, but that she actually enjoyed something. Singing, weaving a story with her voice, became a salve Rue used to treat the deep gash in her life where a childhood should’ve been. 

Once, when she was sixteen, Rue caught a terrible flu. It lasted for two weeks, leaving her unable to perform. She’d had to rely on the meager savings she’d scraped together to rent out a broom closet of a room, a straw mat on the floor, the only furniture. Creeping out to steal food when she could muster up the energy to do so. Going hungry on the days she couldn’t. Rue laid curled on that straw mat contemplating that she may actually die there. All because she couldn’t do the one thing that gave her the ability to protect herself. It’d been hell.

And she’d been so angry. It wasn’t fair. All Rue had was her voice. Without it, she was trapped, helpless. She loathed feeling that way. It terrified her. Reminded her of being a child at the whims of whatever adults ruled the orphanage that week. Rue learned at a young age how to hide behind fake smiles and sharp words. When she sang, she felt seen, she felt real. She couldn’t fathom losing that tangibility after finding it. Without it, she was reduced back to a tiny pinprick of existence, balancing one goal of survivability on its needle edge. No room for her to be anything else. The parts of her that weren't about surviving were forced to become incorporeal, to hover at the edges of that point. But when she sang…when she sang she solidified. That knife edge turning on its side, still a sharpened blade but giving her more space to exist. 

The first sob wrenched out of her as she lurched further down the alley. The need to flee, clawing at her skin. But there was nowhere to go. Rue collapsed behind some discarded barrels, hunkering down over herself as her body trembled with the force of her silent tears. This is why Rue didn’t let herself form attachments. Attachments meant pain, loss. Because in the end, she was always all alone. Even as the thought occurred, Rue knew it wasn’t fair to Carlo. He hadn’t forced her to care about him. Certainly hadn’t forced her to stay for him. And he hadn’t really left her alone. He’d been by her side, until the very end. Because that’s what you do for family, Cerulean. 

Rue wills herself to take deep, shuddering breaths. She cannot fall apart now. Malax Fangle wields the Sagasu Sagasu no Mi- the Find Find Fruit. He can find anyone, as long as he’s touched them just once. Stay more than three days in one place and his devil fruit powers would lock onto her location. The closer his target was, the quicker their location was triangulated. Rue had no time to dissolve into a shivering mess in this alley. She couldn't afford to do that when she was sixteen and literally a shivering, feverish mess. Maybe not that much has changed for her over the years after all. But one thing has. 

You can grieve later, you can be angry later. Right now, you need to move. There’s one performance that cannot wait. Rue tells herself this, her breathing settling as she staggers to her feet. A requiem for revenge. A reprise of reprisal. Whatever title she gave it, someway, somehow, she’d make damn sure it was the last song Malax Fangle ever heard. 

***

“Please, Delphi,” Rue doesn't bother trying to keep the desperation out of her voice as she addresses the hostel owner. Delphi runs the hostel of choice amongst performers traveling through Bell Island. Off the beaten track, perfect for a bard looking for a quiet rest after a rowdy night on the stage. A risk coming to her, but Rue hoped her history of being a dependable and trouble-free patron would earn her a spot of kindness. Before being ensnared by Malax, Bell Island was a typical stop on Rue’s route. Rue couldn’t exactly say that she’d built a relationship with Delphi, but surely their professional rapport held worth. Rue hates asking for help. Knows it often comes with strings attached and Rue couldn’t handle being pulled in any more directions. Rue didn’t ask for help, she bartered. So much easier when expectations were clear and she knew exactly what someone expected from her in return. Standing in front of Delphi, there was nothing Rue could offer in return for the hostel owner’s help. 

The arms crossed over Delphi’s chest had any hope of a meaningful rapport rapidly declining. “I know you're wanted, Rue. I'm not looking for trouble by inviting an enemy of the Fang Pirates into my business.” 

“An enemy? Aw, come on Delphi, you know how Malax is! We're all his enemy! I'm just asking you for a place to lay low for a day and a hot meal to eat. Then I'm gone. I promise. I’m not trying to bring trouble to your doorstep. I just-” Rue’s voice falters. “I just need help.” 

Delphi sighs, staring Rue up and down before looking away. “You can go round back, hide in the kitchen. Get yourself a meal while you're there.” 

“Delphi, thank you.” 

Delphi gives Rue a hard look. “If Malax’s men come asking questions, I won't lie for you. Ignorance I'm willing to claim. I'll say I let you in before I heard anything about the bounty. Outright disobedience to Fangle though?” Delphi shakes her head. “I'm sorry, Rue. I can't do that for you.” 

Rue nods. “I understand, Delphi. I'll be discreet and I'll be out of here as soon as possible.”

Delphi hesitates, hand poised to close the hostel's front door. “For what it's worth, Rue, I hope they don't come asking questions.” Delphi closes the door before Rue can respond. 

***

Rue spends the hours making herself as small and unobtrusive as she can while Delphi's kitchen staff bustles around her. They offer her food and drink which Rue consumes, figuring it might be the last substantial and non-fruit centric meal she has in the foreseeable future. Because Rue’s pretty sure her next move is quickly turning into her only move, her signature move. Great. Well, there are worse ways to spend your life than hiding away in shipping crates of produce. Shipping crates of poisonous snakes, for example. Rue's dark sense of humor will be an excellent companion for her life spent in dark cargo holds at sea.   

She inquires with one of Delphi's cooks on whether they know the shipping schedule at the docks. As luck would have it, the early hours of tomorrow morning will see Bell Island's export of apples shipped out. Rue really, really hopes she ends up on a merchant vessel this time, not another pirate ship. 

Ending up on Trafalgar Law’s ship could've meant death. She got lucky that Law had a penchant for mysteries and didn't chop her up into pieces on sight. She may not get so lucky again. 

Rue pulls the book Law gave her out of her pocket. Her heart flutters as she stares down at it. A small novel bearing the title The Bard’s Bewitchment. Trafalgar Law. Suspiciously unmurderous, aggravatingly handsome, funny and…returning a flirtatious jab? It couldn’t be. He didn’t mean it like that, surely. Rue hadn’t bewitched him, she’d simply intrigued him. Rue ran a finger over the embossed title. Spending the day reading in his office had soothed her anxiety. A gentle, meditative hum in the midst of this discordant chorus of her life. She's never going to see him again. But what might it be like if she did? Would his coolheaded presence make her feel calm again? Would teasing him make her feel…real again?

Rue opens the book, settling into her wooden chair in the corner of the kitchen. She's got some time to pass. Might as well see what kind of book Trafalgar Law finds giftable. As she curls her feet under her, she lets herself imagine she’s back on his ship, sinking into his plush sofa cushions. Nothing more to worry about than what book to select next and what barb to send at Trafalgar Law while she did it.  

***

The predawn hours and a foggy chill shrouds Rue as she creeps along the wharf. She'd managed to sleep some, propped in a chair in Delphi's kitchen, Law’s book tucked safely back into her jacket pocket when her eyes grew too heavy to keep reading. She can feel the aches settling in her bones and the exhaustion settling behind her eyes. 

Fingers numb, she pops the lid off of a wooden crate, moving slowly to avoid drawing the attention of the few dock workers already bustling about. A glance inside confirms it's part of the shipment of apples she was aiming for.

As quietly and quickly as possible, Rue scoops apples out, gently tossing them over the side of the pier into the ocean. Cringing at how bad it feels to discard perfectly good food. Then again, she’s trying really hard to keep her life from being discarded. Sorry apples, it’s me or you. 

When there’s a space big enough for her to wedge herself in, she climbs inside, pulling the lid back into place over her. Pretending it absolutely does not feel like sealing her own tomb. 

[daddysfangirls-dc]

UnTamed CH24

Damian Wayne x Oc! Female

Prev| Next

Asta lands on the window seal next to Damian. Coming back from her work to find her love sketching. 

"Is everything alright?" He asked as she shifted and leaned against him. 

"A crocked Cop was trying to extort us. My waxing Gibbous handled it. Hood's gang witnessed. I'm sure we'll be talking about some new plans soon."

"I'm happy it worked out." he kissed her forehead.

Astas moved to sit on the bed. " Draw me," she said.

"Excuse me?"

"you've never drawn me before. " Not true. He actually draws her all the time. She's his favorite subject. He conveys all this with a look. " Actual me. Human me. Make me look pretty."

"You're already gorgeous." She snorted at that before positioning herself on the bed. Dick had definitely shown her Titanic. He flipped his book to a new page. " You don't believe me."

"Gorgeous is a big word."

"And it describes you perfectly."

-

Bruce finally finished updating his Sex Ed slide show and was ready to show it. He already got his office set up. This would hopefully go better than the last talk. With a single knock, he walked in to find Damian seated by his window with a sketch pad, and on his bed was Asta... posing... naked. He quickly turned and closed his eyes. " In my office. Now," Bruce quickly closed the door. He whines as it slams. And quickly parted.

-

Asta sat still in the office chair, fighting the urge to pick at the sweatpants Damian gave her. Bruce sat across from them behind his desk. " I am aware the two of you are in a relationship. ANd it seems to have become more serious, more intimate." They looked at him, confused. " And I just want to make sure everyone is safe, responsible, protected, and consenting."

"Oh my god," Damian mumbled, dropping his head in his hands. " This is not happening."

"what's happening?" Asta asked, very confused. She did not understand what was happening.

"He wants to give us 'The Talk'." She looked more confused. " Sex. He wants to talk about sex."

"Oh, I've never had sex," Asta responds innocently as if ending the conversation.

"That's good to hear, but one should still be informed -" she didn't like where this was going.

"I know what sex is. I've had very good teachers. I don't need this." Asta quickly got up and left, ignoring their protest as she went. 

-

Asta sat curled up on the bench in Martha's garden. " I know I'm not smart, but I'm not stupid either."

"Your intelligences has never been questioned." Damian as he placed a cup od tea on the side table next to her. He sat next to her. He allowed her her silence giving her the option to fill it. 

"Why does he think we're having sex?"

"A large portion of our time together is spent alone. And the few times we were interrupted, you were seen nude. They made their own conclusions."

She snorts. " I thought you guys were detectives."

"There are moments of lacking." There was silence once, with nothing but Asta sipping her tea. They listened to the birds chirp and tweet, singing as they went about their day amongst the garden flowers. The two reflected. 

Damian reflected on their relationship, how it used to be, and what it was now. It changed. He didn't know when or how it happened. One day, he simply realized the difference. It was the closeness they were always close, but after her injuries, they became closer. Suddenly, he couldn't imagine a night without her. He couldn't go a day without feeling the tenderness of her skin. To hear her voice. To see her beauty. He always had these feelings, but now it was intensive. Even now, sitting next to her, he had the urge to ...crawl in her skin. Did that make sense?

Damian never thought these feelings were sexual. But maybe... was he like them? The men who looked at her lustful eyes even as a child. The men who pushed her into hiding. The men she feared.

He sat on his hands.

Syn reflected on all the decisions that led to this current situation. How'd she end up here? With these people? In this house? In this garden? In these clothes?! Before meeting Damian, she was all instincts; she barely spoke, had little to no human interaction, and had no clothes. She was more animal than human back then, constantly switching between furs. Human skin was rare for her. Then Damian came and she was speaking to someone, learning to be human, and wearing actual clothes. She was now finding it hard to follow her animal instincts. She was different; she was changed, she was 'tamed'. Damian looked at her as she whispered under her breath.

" Have I ever told you about my brother Eren?"

[mellowwhumps]

Whumperless Whump Event Day 17: Dangerously high fever | “We have to get that number down somehow.”

OCs: Elowen, Naeri, Frances (same AU as day 10, continued from day 14)

CW: errr child sickness

@whumperless-whump-event

——

That was, by far, the worst phone call in her life. She went for the job interview, was in the office and promptly got told to come home immediately. She would have been mad, if not for the panicked undertone in his voice he failed to conceal from her. He does it decently well, on any normal day.

The house door slams open. She doesn’t even bother taking off her coat or shoes, already by his side in a second. The child lying on the bed isn’t even moving, a stark contrast from the day before; the room itself feels hot and just as uncomfortable as the sight before her. 

She can already take a good guess as to why he didn’t call her earlier.

“Thirty-nine degrees,” he states, dipping a cloth in water and squeezing it dry. She watches the water drip down into the pail, eyes following the movement, not quite knowing what to do. “I tried everything already, including medicine, and it’s still climbing. Think we might need to head to the...” His words trails off.

It’s not hard to guess what he wants to say. He doesn’t show a single sign of panic, but she knew what trying to stay strong was like. None of them had any identification to their names, long since erased from every part of the internet, as clean as if it never existed in the first place. They nearly lost her once before, in that cursed place. 

It doesn’t need to happen again. But how, then? Submitting forged documents was certainly out of the option, even if they had those. “We have to get that number down somehow. If this isn’t working then we have to go. I’ll leave first and call a taxi, you prepare. There’s no choice.”

Moments pass. The taxi skids to a halt in front of the both of them; the door is opened and slammed closed just as quickly. Time passes too slowly and too quickly. She looks out the car window, listening to the rush of cars outside instead of anything else.

Market stores pass by, and even while separated from that noise, she can hear it clearly. The sound of stall owners bartering their goods, a cacophony of voices nothing less than music to her ears. The sea, waves licking and crashing upon the rocks, high tides and low tides etched upon a stormy mind. There is no sea here. The car ride is quiet.

They bid the taxi off at their destination moments before a voice breaks through their silence. 

“Wherer’…we…?” Naeri asks, just barely conscious, lifting their head ever so slightly to look around. They squint. Even in their delirium and with unfocused eyes, it’s not hard to recognize the similarity of the corridors. Frances hears the child’s breaths get heavier, wheezing and heavy, even though she was the one running to call someone, anyone.

Elowen pulls Naeri closer in, trying to shield their eyes from their surroundings as they try their best to get away. They’re safe, he whispers, they’re safe. They close their eyes again, still resisting but too tired to argue otherwise. A nurse approaches and takes them from Elowen’s arms, gesturing to the already packed seats beside them. 

He doesn’t even react, blank eyes no doubt staring somewhere else; Frances leads him a short distance outside for a breather. No use being in a crowd. Before she registers it, there’s an ice-cold palm on her forehead, its weight trembling. She takes his hand and gently lowers it, mustering a strained smile. But a smile, nonetheless. 

“I’m okay. And they will be, too.” At least one of them had to pretend to believe it.

[wandawiccan60]

I’m Sorry

An Alfie Solomons X Freya(FemOC)One-Shot

A/N: Hello everyone I know I have ghosted for a while just school and other things have happened lately good and bad really. But enough said but here is a lovely lovely One-Shot that I had the honor with working with my bestie and lovely @i-love-th-characters1. We thought of this story out of nowhere and we decided to make Alfie be such a brute because we thought that Alfie never really apologizes so we decided to make this tale of him and we are very proud to share this short and yet long one shot of the lovely King of Camden Town and his beautiful Scandinavian. Gypsy Freya(our very own OC). Romance, Friendship, etc is presented before your eyes and I hope you all enjoy this as much as me and I-love had such a fun and brainstorming time to bring this to life. Without further ado please as always enjoy, Reblog, Comment, and thank you all for being around I appreciate it every single one of you.

Summary: ”I'm Sorry." 

Two words that she never thought she would hear from the man in front of her. If she's honest, she did look at him like he had 3 heads. Silence took over as they both stared at each other, wondering who would break it as his apology lingered between them.

WARNING 18+: Fem is a Virgin, Lit SMUT, Cussing, Mentions of Alcohol, & Lots Fluff

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The old grandfather clock chimed throughout the small hallway indicating that it was past 10 o'clock at night. Freya was peacefully sitting on the red velvet couch facing the small chimney fireplace. While in her hands she continued to read a book that she got from one of the bookshelves. Cyril was lying next to her feet on the floor while the smooth breeze of the ocean outside the window came inside the lit-up living room. Freya let out a low sigh placing the closed book on top of her lap feeling uneasy about Alfie not arriving home yet. 

“Where could he be, it’s getting late?” she said out loud resting her back against the head of the couch hearing the crackling sound of the fireplace continuing to burn. 

Feeling like time was going slow for Freya, Sophia, their young maid, appeared inside the living room making Cyril lift his head up from his nap. 

“Would you like me to get you anything else for tonight Mrs. Solomons?” the young girl asked while picking up the silver tray from the small brown table in front of Freya.

“No, I’m quite alright now, Sophia thank you. It's best you head home. I'm still waiting for Alfie to arrive from his workplace. Don’t you worry about me, I can take care of the rest of the house. You have done a lot today which I appreciate very much and so does Alfie but enough said. Oh, and yes, your payment for this week's salary I’ll get that right away for you my dear. I’ll be right back,” Freya said, walking her way out of the living room to head to Alfie’s office, while Sophia put away the tea tray in the kitchen area.

A few minutes later Freya returned with the young woman’s payment in her hands, she saw Sophia giving cuddles and scratches to the big Bullmastiff. She smiled at the site while the big dog lay on his back enjoying the amount of attention he was getting from the young housemaid. 

“Silly Cyril you, now come on then off to bed with you. Go on shoo, shoo,” Freya clapped commanding the big brown mutt to go away but was not listening. 

“Hehe, seems he doesn't want to go to bed just yet, but I must go now Cyril I’ll see you tomorrow you sweet dog,” Sophia cooed raising herself on her feet smoothing out her white shirt dress.

“Here you go love,” Freya said handing over the young woman’s money as she continued speaking, “We’ll see you at the same hour in the morning as always, you walk safely back home now. Goodnight Sophia.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Solomons, and I’ll be here at 7 in the morning sharp like I always do. And it is a pleasure to serve you and Mr. Solomon-.”

The front door suddenly burst open making both women jump back in fright, noticing Alfie angrily mumbling some words under his breath. Both Sophia and Freya couldn't quite catch what he was saying, as he shut the door with force. 

“Fuckin’ hell can tonight be something more difficult than the other nights,” Alfie loudly said walking his way towards his office room not noticing the girl's presence who have been seeing his small tantrum all this time.

“Umm, well then that means he didn’t have a good day at work I suppose. I apologize for my husband's behavior Sophia, he really isn't like this every night believe me. Anyways again goodnight dear, until the morning,” said Freya, opening the door for Sophia feeling embarrassed on the inside from Alfie’s actions.

After Sophia left the house, Freya with a small temper growing from inside, quickly walked her way toward her husband's private office. Cyril followed right behind as she opened the door with ferocity, seeing his back facing her way.

“What the fuck is the matter with you, Alfie? Have you gone out of your mind coming back home with that temperament?” Freya questioned, closing the door behind her and crossing her arms in front of her chest glaring her eyes directed at him.

“So fuckin’ what, eh? I can act whatever way I want, yea, you won’ understand the amount of shit I went through today,” he said, forwarding himself on his knuckles on top of his desk, letting out a big frustrated sigh.

Freya let out a slow sigh trying her best to steady her breathing, wanting to try and communicate with her loving husband. She felt her body relax until she talked to Alfie once again.

“Alfie, talk to me, you know you can always tell me what is wrong,” Freya said, placing a gentle hand on top of his left shoulder but he shoved her hand away from him startling her with fright.

“Why would you fuckin’ care about what happened to me at the job today, it's business that you won’t understand. And now you here telling me ‘what is wrong,’ like if talkin’ will make me feel better,” he said giving a menacing look at his wife, Freya felt chills forming through her body appalled by how Alfie was raising his voice at her.

“Are you listening to yourself, Alfie?” Freya now had her voice raised while her hands turned into tight fists as she continued on speaking, “What is the matter with you, how dare you're raising your voice at me when it isn’t my fault you had a terrible day at work. And you're standing here taking your anger out on me. Who by the way is your wife? Who wants to try and understand what the hell caused you to act like this.”

“Do me a favor, my dear yea? Why don’ you just leave me alone and shut your goddamn mouth and instead you can fuck off from my site yea! You're makin’ my damn head hurt more just by looking at your face,” he said breathing heavily in and out from his nostrils, Freya stayed silent feeling as though a sharp knife stabbed through her heart.

Not wanting to stay any longer Freya angrily walked out of Alfie’s private office, shutting the brown door with a loud bang. She leaned her back against the wooden door placing her hands over her eyes and letting out a small quiet whimper. She felt tears forming through her dark hazel eyes, inhaling a long breath of air as she walked her way through the small hallway. She grabbed a long black scarf from the coat hanger and wrapped the material around her shoulders. Freya made her way out of her house without a care in the world, as some thunder was heard in the far distance. Indicating that a storm was coming in but that didn’t stop her from walking her way to who knows where. Back inside the house, Alfie took out a bottle of whiskey from a side drawer of his desk. Before opening the cap, he stared at the bottle for a moment until he saw Freya’s face.

Realizing what he did and said to her was incredibly wrong and inside his soul, he was regretting it ever so much. Grabbing the whiskey bottle with his right hand he frustratingly threw it across the room, making a big splatter spot on the wall. Along with the pieces of glass shattered throughout the floor as he let himself fall on top of his armchair. Tilting his head back looking up at nothing else but the ceiling, exhaling a long sigh while he had his eyes closed. 

What the fuck did I just do… I’m such a fuckin’ idiot…

Alfie walked his way out of his office room, walking through the hallway towards the stairs that led up to the second floor. Cyril walked alongside him making their way up wanting to apologize to her for acting such a dick towards her knowing that his anger got the best of him. Alfie reached the bedroom door and before going inside he softly knocked on it. 

“Freya… sweetheart, I’m… forgive me for screaming at you. I… I don’t know what came over me,” Alfie said, letting out a disappointed sigh and placing his right hand on the doorknob making his way slowly inside the room.

But to his shock, she was nowhere to be found inside but only their empty bed and a small table lamp on the other side of the room. Alfie panicked feeling his heart racing out of control, as he walked his way back down the first floor. 

“Freya. Freya, where are you?” he called out looking from one room to the other, not finding any trace of her whereabouts.

Alfie started to become more agitated after failing to find her in every part of the house thinking about where she could be or run off to. Alfie caressed his fingers through his short brown locks, letting out another irritated sigh. Wondering where Freya could have gone too and somewhere he and she would know to go when they wanted to clear their heads out. That's when it suddenly hit him where exactly Freya could have gone to.

The old stone bridge… she must have gone there…

Alfie didn't wait another minute to pass by and made his way out of the house, leaving Cyril all alone in the house. Outside the dark chilly night, it started pouring small drops of rain as Alfie walked his way towards the path that leads to the old bridge. Where they met for the first time when they were in their adolescent years. He only hoped and prayed that Freya made it there safely the rain however only continued to come down heavily.

This is all my fault…my own damn fucking guilt…

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14 Years Ago: Somewhere In Camden Town

"Follow the path, Cyril. You know better." A young Alfie told his then puppy. 

The pup happily sniffed and walked along the path again, a path he and Alfie took for their afternoon walks for a few months now. It was all very familiar to both boys. Today was no different, or at least, it wasn't supposed to be. Yet, their ears picked up on something. 

"Stop." Alfie whispered to his pup who stayed in place in front of him, waiting for his owner to be closer. 

Looking around, Alfie couldn't place where the sudden singing was coming from. Not that he minded the joyous and raucous tune, but the path is known to be private, which is why he began walking Cyril here two months ago. Straining his sight again, he finally saw a figure under the old stone bridge. 

A young woman, to be exact. She was dancing while singing. Her swaying movements and the unfamiliar tune was like a siren's song to the young man and his puppy. Neither even felt themselves starting to walk in her direction. Their feet simply had minds of their own. Slowly, they approached the young woman who hadn't seen or heard them yet. She was too busy dancing her heart out, the jingling of her many necklaces clinking against each other adding a different beat to the, what Alfie could tell was a, foreign song. He was in a trance as he watched her body move. Nothing provocative, nothing grand. She just seemed so free. Cyril looked up at his owner, wondering why he hadn't said anything yet if he liked seeing the girl dance so much. So, being the curious puppy he was, he happily barked. 

The echoing noise immediately had the young woman stopping her movements and her song as she sharply inhaled, clearly startled as she looked towards the direction in which the bark came from. 

"No, no, shh." Alfie told his dog as he tried to subdue the embarrassment he began to feel since he had gotten caught staring.

Instead of being able to control his puppy, Cyril barked again, and again, and again. His tail was wagging and his ears stood up halfway as he wondered why the girl wasn't singing or dancing anymore as she kept looking at them. Alfie wasn't sure what to do as he looked up from his dog. His eyes met the young woman's, and he could tell that she was either seconds from running away or she was too scared to move and was hoping they'd leave first. He knew one thing was for certain; neither parties moved from their spots as they simply stared at each other. 

He could tell she wasn't from here. He had never seen her in the town, much less under the old bridge that he has been passing under daily for two months. He softly cleared his throat as he gave her a tiny nod, unsure of what to do as she kept looking at them. He wasn't sure if she'd do them both harm, though she didn't seem to be a bad person. Cyril, on the other hand, was still curious about this girl who seemed so free a moment ago and was now hesitant to leave the safety of the shadows of the bridge. 

So, Cyril took matters into his own paws and sniffed the trail as he wandered over to where she was standing. He was surprised when Alfie didn't bother stopping him. Looking up at the girl who slowly looked down at him, Cyril barked, wagging his tail to let her know he was friendly. He sensed that she was being cautious, and the pup didn't blame her. He and his owner were strangers to her after all. He sat in place and softly whined, giving her the best puppy eyes that he could muster. Alfie took cautious steps towards the two, stopping just under the beginning of the bridge. 

He watched her necklaces clink together as she slowly moved to kneel down in front of the puppy. Cyril immediately climbed into her lap, causing the young woman to seem taken back by the gentle action. The pup nudged one of her hands with his small nose, letting her know it was alright to pet him. Carefully, she very lightly patted his back, now curious about the tiny animal in her lap who seemed happy to see her. So she patted him again, and again, and again. Each time, she grew less afraid, less cautious, and soon, Alfie felt himself smiling as he watched her scratch Cyril on his belly which caused one of the pup's back legs to scratch the air. 

He found her smile breathtaking, even if it was directed at his dog and not him. 

"I…um, we're sorry for interrupting you." He said, noticing how her eyes were taking all of him in. 

It made him feel too warm for his own comfort, but some tiny part of him deep down enjoyed the attention from this beautiful young woman. 

She only gave him another smile, seeming confused as to what he was saying. Deciding to try and help the situation, Alfie carefully kneeled down in front of her and his pup, hoping she could tell that they're both friendly and meant her no harm. 

"Cyril." He told her, pointing at the puppy. 

She tilted her head slightly to the right, still seeming confused. 

"Cy-ril." Alfie repeated, only slower this time so she could grasp the name. 

She looked at the dog, slowly nodding. Though she didn't say anything, Alfie knew she understood. Suddenly, she was pointing at him, head tilting to the right again. 

"I'm Alfie." He said, placing one of his hands on his chest. 

Her eyebrows raised in confusion. 

"Al-fie. Al-fie." He slowly repeated, being patient with her. 

She gave him a slow nod, understanding that he was introducing himself. 

"Alfie Solomons. I live here, in Camden. Do…Do you live here?" He asked, only to receive no answer.

They both stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Freya," She softly spoke, copying him and placing one of her hands on her chest, 

"Fre-ya." She said with a smile. 

"Freya." He repeated the name, liking how it rolled off his tongue. 

She happily nodded after he had said it. He stretched out his right hand towards her, watching as she looked at it with curiosity. 

"You give me your left hand, and we shake 'em together. That's how you greet someone who you just met." He explained.

Freya still didn't understand, so he gently took her left hand in his right one. Very slowly, he shook hands with her, noticing that she seemed to be paying close attention. 

"It's nice to meet you." He said, adding a slight smile for good measure. 

He tried to let go of her hand, but she didn't want to let him go. She had never been so patiently dealt with by someone foreign to her. Alfie felt himself blushing as they just awkwardly kept holding hands, wondering why she would choose to keep holding on to him. 

"Do you live here?" He asked her again, only to earn another head tilt. 

"Um," 

His mind was racing as he thought of ways to gesture at a house or anything that resembled a home. Suddenly, an idea hit him as he spotted a small twig beside his leg. She let go of his hand as his other began picking up the twig. He did the best that he could to draw an outline of a house between them on the sand beneath their legs. 

"Home?" He asked, motioning to his simple drawing. 

All Freya did was curiously look at him before something visibly clicked within her. She pointed to the twig, and Alfie quickly gave it to her. He was so caught up in looking her over that he hadn't realized what she was doing. That is, until a voice was heard in the far distance. 

"Freya!" A man's voice shouted.

Alfie watched as she happily turned around, looking towards where the voice came from. Turning again to face her new friend, she pointed behind her. 

"Tata." She said with a smile. 

Now it was Alfie's turn to give her a look of confusion, watching as she handed a snoozing Cyril to him before she carefully rose to her feet. He quickly followed, careful to not wake his puppy. 

"Freya!" The man's voice shouted again, sounding slightly closer this time. 

"Tata." The young woman repeated to Alfie who gave her a slow nod. 

Then it clicked. 

'Must be her father.' He thought as she gave him another smile. 

"Home." She softly added as she tried her best to copy how he had pronounced the singular word, once again pointing in the same direction she had a moment ago. 

"Oh, right, yeah. I best be headin' back myself. 

"Home?" She asked with a curious expression, her words laced with happiness. 

"Yes. My home is that way." He answered with a slight smile, pointing behind him, his thumb gesturing towards the path he and Cyril took.

"Jutro." She said with a look of hope. 

Once again, he was confused. 

"Jutro?" She asked instead, hoping it would make a difference. 

"I…I don't understand." He softly explained, taking a step closer to her.

"Jutro…jutro." She slowly repeated, making a gesture with her hands as she also took a step closer towards him.

Alfie paid close attention, trying to grasp what she meant as he closely watched her hands. Her left hand stayed still as her right one moved back to the front over her left. 

"Jutro?" She asked in a whisper. 

Then it hit him. 

"Tomorrow!" He blurted out, finally understanding. 

"Jutro!" She happily hummed out, grateful that he knew what she meant. 

"I'll come back tomorrow. Me and Cyril," He pointed to himself and his pup, 

"Will meet you," He pointed at her,

"Here." He promised as he pointed between them.

They were both happy that they had reached an agreement, just in time, as her father called out a third time, the voice closer now. She reached towards Cyril, giving his head a loving pat, being careful to not wake him. With a final look to Alfie, Freya slowly waved at him, giving him such a sweet smile before she hurried out from under the old stone bridge. He watched as she soon disappeared into the fog that was covering the far distance of Camden. 

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Some Time Later

Freya, Alfie, and Cyril were inseparable. Wherever one was, so were the other two. The three spent much time each day under the stone bridge. It was mostly because Freya was scared to leave its safety. She had never dared go past the bridge, and Alfie never forced her. Until one month later when one particular morning Cyril had stepped on a small thorn and Alfie wasn't sure what was wrong with his pup. 

"Mate, you're limping." He said in concern as Cyril sat in place. 

Squatting down, Alfie carefully looked over his whimpering pup, trying to figure out what the source behind the discomfort was. 

"Alfie!" Freya happily called out to him from under the bridge. 

Looking towards her, he waved at her since she was waving at him. 

"I'll be just a second, alright? Something is wrong with Cyril." He called out to her as worry towards his dog's health began creeping into his head. 

Freya quietly watched as Alfie sat on the floor and Cyril didn't climb in his lap. In her eyes, it was all too strange that the puppy would rather sit on the floor than in his owner's lap because Cyril loves being in her and Alfie's laps. 

She could hear Alfie talking to Cyril, but all he would get in return were whines and whimpers of discomfort. Worry rose within her, and it was so fast in that moment that she hadn't realized her feet had minds of their own. They quickly walked her out from under the bridge and towards her friends. She sat beside Alfie, who glanced over at her then back to his dog, but then he quickly fully looked over at her. 

"Cyril." She said in worry with a small frown. 

Carefully, she picked him up, doing some inspecting of her own to see if Alfie possibly missed something when he had done the same just a second ago. 

"Freya, you're-" 

"Found it." She announced as she very gently laid the dog on her lap. 

She spotted a very small thorn wedged between the pads of his left back paw. 

"A thorn?" He asked her as she held it up for him to see. 

"Yes." She answered before flicking it away from them. 

"Better, Cyril?" She asked the pup as she set him on all fours. 

He happily wagged his tail before barking, obviously in a much better mood. 

"Freya," 

She turned to look at Alfie who wore a surprised expression on his face. 

"Yes?" She asks curiously. 

"You're out from under the bridge." He told her gently. 

She looked behind them, finding he was correct. She had left the safety of the bridge. Yet it didn't feel different now that she was out from under there. She was with Alfie and Cyril, which made everything seem normal. 

"Is good?" She hesitantly asked him. 

He gently smiled at her, enjoying that she had learned the English language so quickly with his help.

"Do you feel good about being here in the open?" He asked her. 

After giving the question some thought, she nodded, giving him a smile in return. 

"Then this means I can show ya the shops in the town." He excitedly said, and the thought of seeing all the different stores and products they have to offer caused her to smile again. 

That day, while they were in town, he asked her if she would allow him to be her boyfriend. She looked at him in slight shock as she thought of what he had just asked.

"If you don't want to be with me, I understand. It's just…I fancy you so much, Freya. You understand me like no one else does. You're beautiful and kind. Your nature is to heal and comfort. Mine is to destroy and create chaos. But none of that happens when I'm with you." 

"Yes." She answered once his words ceased. 

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Slowly, big smiles began to spread across their lips before she happily hugged him. He hugged her back, holding her tightly as she excitedly giggled into his chest. 

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1914: World War I

Two months passed before their lives drastically changed. A war had begun, and by what Alfie told Freya, any and all help was needed. 

"They sent me this." He told her, holding up a folded paper. 

"What is it?" She hesitantly asked. 

He took a good long look at her. He didn't want to tell her. He couldn't. He couldn't bear to see the sadness he knew would be on her face. He didn't want to tell her that he might die far away from home. Yet he forced himself to answer her. 

"It's a letter. I've been…" 

She stepped closer to him, seeing the worry in his eyes,

"I've been drafted. They need me to go fight. I leave in two weeks." 

Silence lingered between them as they looked at each other.

"You can't leave." She whispered as a small frown took over her lips. 

"I have to. They'll punish me if I don't." He softly explained. 

"But…But what if you don't return?" She asked him.

Tears began to form in her eyes, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her. 

"I will. I will return. That much I promise you." 

Those two weeks were spent with each other. The young couple felt that they couldn't get enough time together as the day they both dreaded quickly approached. When that morning came, the two closely stayed by each other's sides as they waited for the designated train to pull into the station. 

Freya couldn't stop thinking about how to help Alfie feel less nervous. He was holding her hand as if his life depended on it. Then it dawned on her.

She moved to take off one of the many necklaces that hung around her neck. Making sure she had the one she wanted, she moved to stand in front of her boyfriend. He looked at her with curious eyes, wondering what she was doing. He had his answer when she held the necklace towards him. Understanding that she was trying to help, he slightly dipped his head down and felt her carefully slip it over his head. As it rested against his chest, he looked down at it, finding a small coin-sized plate hanging from the chain. The name of his girlfriend was engraved in a fancy font on the face of it. 

She had opened her mouth to speak, but the train was coming into the station, blaring its horn in the process. The other men, young and older and who had also received a letter that requested their help in the war, began saying goodbye to their significant others or their families. Slowly, Freya's eyes met Alfie's. 

"I promise to come back to you. No matter how far away I am, you'll be here in my heart. That's why you gave me this, right?" He asked as he pointed to the necklace. 

"Yes." She answered in a whisper. 

The train horn blared again, and even though the recruited men didn't want to, they all began lining up beside the train car to board it. Mothers and wives were crying while waving their sons and husbands off. Looking down at Freya, Alfie tightly embraced her. It was warm and loving, and neither wanted to let go. Reluctantly, he was the first to pull away after a solid minute. 

"Don't cry, my love." He whispered as he gently wiped away her tears. 

She placed her hands over his own, wanting to feel them in hers one last time until who knew how long. He leaned down, placing his mouth over hers, and she followed along by closing the space between them. The kiss was beautiful; familiar, and slow as they tried to be physically connected for as long as they could. When they couldn't breathe anymore, they pulled away, and after they caught their breaths, she sadly watched as he picked up his bags. 

"Can I ask you for a favor?" He spoke softly. 

"Anything." She answered quickly. 

"Will you please look after Cyril and collect my mail while I'm gone? I don't get much, if any, but I'll write to you every chance I get." He explained. 

She gave him a nod as it sank in for both of them that they were not dreaming and would be apart with neither knowing for how long. With an apologetic expression towards her, he began to also join the long line of recruited men. 

He was only 15 feet away from her, yet she was already missing his touch. So, she did what any love stricken girlfriend would do. 

"Alfie!" She called out. 

He was about to fill an empty spot in the line when he quickly turned around. He was met by Freya rushing towards him, and just before he could drop his bags, her arms were around his neck. The force that came with her was so great that he almost lost his balance, but the young men on his right and left sides steadied him. They gave him knowing smiles as they took his bags and held them for him. His arms were wrapping themselves around her waist once his hands were free. 

When she looked up at him, they kissed again, the action done in haste as the train horn was heard again. When they pulled away, Alfie rested his forehead against hers. 

"I love you." He told her with such seriousness that she couldn't help but smile. 

"I love you, too." She responded, and he slowly began to let go of her just like she did to him. The warmth they both felt from the embrace quickly turned cold as the two young men handed Alfie his bags again. Freya smiled sadly at him, earning the same smile from him.

A woman gently pulled her away from the line as it shortened, telling her that it was safer to wait by the waiting area than be too close to the tracks. Freya learned that the woman was a mother and had just said goodbye to her three sons. They both stood together, watching in fear and sadness as the train began to slowly take off. Alfie waved at her, just like the woman's sons did. The four had gotten seats right beside some windows. Freya waved back at him, trying her best to not cry so Alfie wouldn't remember her like that.

From that day, exactly one week passed until she heard from him. She was sitting in the living room of his home. Cyril was lying beside her as they both occupied the longest sofa. As she went through the mail to see if he had written to her, her heart raced when she saw her name on one envelope. She dropped the other few envelopes to the floor and got to opening hers right away. Her eyes were met by her boyfriend's handwriting, and they didn't hesitate to begin reading. 

'Freya, 

I am missing you. I know it has just been a couple of days, but I cannot wait to see you again. It is hard to be away from you for this war against France. I know that what I am doing is for the good of people, but nothing truly feels good without you. I am hoping to see you again soon. But, until then, know that I love you dearly and that I left my heart with you, my darling. 

I love you, 

-Alfie 

Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized that only a week had passed. How long would it be until they saw each other again? Would he make it back? Would this war turn him into someone she wouldn't recognize when…if…he returned? Looking at Cyril, who was closely watching her, Freya continued to softly cry. The dog became concerned, so he moved his head to be in her lap. As soon as she felt Cyril's weight, she hugged him, crying into his fur as he lowly whined. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Freya. Freya, can you hear me love?” Alfie called out walking through the big green forest both his shoulders and hair drenched in rain.

He has been calling out for his wife for an hour or so hoping that she didn’t go far from where they lived. Beneath his shoes the pathway was muddy in some spots trying his best to not slip. Some paces later Alfie saw a black smokey cloud in the distance. At first he thought it would be Freya’s family that were set at camp but as he made his way towards the cloud. It turned out to be the old stone bridge where he and Freya would mostly spend time together and where they first met all those years ago. It’s like he could remember it like it was yesterday.

How time flies so fast…

Seeing the smoke coming from underneath he carefully made his way down a steep path. Once making it down Alfie embraced the site of the old bridge placing a hand against its few stones. Remembering the old days of both him and Freya’s life when they would meet each other secretly. Until Freya’s father found out about their meetups one day and it caused both of them to not see or speak to each other for weeks. But eventually Freya told her father that Alfie was nothing but a gentleman and a marvelous boy towards her. Knowing that Alfie wasn’t never the type of man to lay a hand on her for any reason. Her father at first didn’t believe in her daughter for a while but eventually when one day Alfie without feeling afraid. Went to visit her home and talked with her family hoping that they will see a different perspective and let Freya be his friend. 

“If you ever do anything that will harm my lovely daughter you stay away from us and never come back. Is that understood boy?” Said Harald Freya’s father pointing a sharp finger at the young boy which in reply a nod in agreement. 

And after that discussion Freya was free to see and speak with Alfie which she was relieved that her father finally let her see her friend. It was as if that event just happened yesterday how he wished to relive that moment one more time.

Alfie then made his way towards the large opening of the bridge where he found Freya sitting on the wet cold ground. Hugging her legs together while she stared at the small campfire she made not too long ago. Her long dark brown hair was wet from the rain as well as her clothes. It didn’t bother her since she is after all a gypsy who has traveled to many places. And the rain was one of her favorite weathers feeling like she is at peace for the most part. Freya didn’t notice his presence until Alfie sat next to her. She scooted a bit to the side still feeling upset towards him not forgetting what he told her earlier. Alfie noticed this not wanting to push her buttons anymore knowing he has caused so much tonight. The crackling sound of the wood against the fire continued and Freya and Alfie didn't say much for a moment. While the sound of faint thunder was heard far towards the distance as the drops of water continued to gently pour down. Alfie wanted to say something at first but he didn’t feel brave to say anything yet. Freya tightens her long black scarf around her shoulders, feeling the cool wind feeling shivers running through her body. Noticing this Alfie without exchanging any words removed his long black coat from himself. He gently placed the warm material over Freya making her flinch but yet welcomed it. She looked him in the eyes giving off a small faint smile nodding her head in “thank you.” Alfie returned the gesture they both didn’t say much again. As some time has passed for too long Alfie finally surprising himself at the words he said next.

“I’m sorry,” is all that he could say looking forward to the fireplace.

When Freya heard him say those two words she looked at him with a confused look. Not believing in what he just heard him say.

“What did you say?” She then said wanting to make sure she heard him correctly.

Before he said anything he sat straight while clearing his throat. He turned to see his wife having to repeat himself again. Inhaling a small breath he heard himself again saying those two words he mostly never says until now.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you back at home my love. My frustration and stubbornness got the best of me and I never meant to say those things to you either. Work has been a pain in the ass these past couple of days and today was the worst of them all,” he says, lowering his eyes looking at his hands biting his lips together as he went on, “once those words came out of me mouth I knew I'd made a terrible mistake. Looking at your eyes I saw how hurt you felt and I wanted to just kill myself then and there for what I have said to the love of my life. I just…just.”

Freya could see the tears forming against his blue eyes knowing that he meant every word that he was saying to her. Seeing and hearing the guilt in his eyes and voice wishing he could take back what he didn’t mean to say. She also felt her eyes filling with tears as one teardrop stream down the corner of her right eye gently wiping it away with the back of her right hand. No words were exchanged Freya tightly hugged Alfie around his neck almost making him tilt to the side. But they both steadied themselves; she then felt his arms wrapping around her embracing in each other's arms. 

“I know you didn’t mean those words my love, but that doesn’t make me stop loving you no matter what. I love you so much my Alfie, like you don’t imagine,” she said leaning back to look him in the eyes, placing her right hand against his left cheek as their foreheads touch each other.

“I promise you at this very moment that I’ll not let my emotions get to me very easily. Because I never want to see my flower look sad and hurt ever again. And I love you too my Freya like you don’t know either,” he said back, placing a small light kiss on top of her forehead.

“I hope you know I’m not one of your workers who will tolerate your screaming and shouting, Alfie. I'm your wife." Freya reminds her husband placing both her hands on each side of his cheeks.

Alfie nods immediately. "I know, sweetheart.”

"Don't you ever do this to me again, yes?” Freya says, sounding not too angry anymore with a more relaxed smile.

He gives her a small smile while nodding again. "I wouldn't dream of it." He says as he gets closer to her. 

She can't stay mad at him forever, so she also gets closer to him. He leans down to kiss her, and when their lips touch, it all comes flooding back to him. The very first moment they shared their love for each other. 

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She could only imagine the beautiful bodies of other young women he had seen before she had ever met him. How could she compare? Surely they were much more beautiful than she. Every scar she had ever earned, from quick evacuations with her family when they encountered danger throughout their travels, were on display. They were like directions to every imperfection she had. Yet there she stood in front of the edge of his bed, bare. He stood before her, wearing only boxers. His bright blue-green eyes drank in every centimeter of her skin before they looked deep into her eyes. 

"Freya," 

The way her name gently left his mouth made her heavily blush. All she could hear in his words was love. The emotion was very clear, and it gave her some relief, but not enough to wash her nerves away entirely. 

“You’re absolutely stunning; a vision, a work of art.” He spoke, genuinely meaning every word.

He slowly closed the space between them, his eyes staying on her face the whole time as he walked a few steps towards her. She suddenly held her breath. She didn’t want to tell him that this was her first time having sex. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked in a whisper. 

He could see there was some concern written on her face, and it only grew the more he looked at her. 

“Alife, I…” 

He patiently waited for her to say what she needed, 

“I’ve never had sex.” 

His face grew pink at her confession. 

“We don’t have to do anythin’, love. I would hate to make you uncomfortable.” 

“I want to.” She quickly assured him. 

Silence took over between them as they stared at each other. 

“Neither have I.” He confessed. 

“What?” She asked softly. 

“I’ve also never had sex.” He clarifies. 

“Do you still want to…with me?” She asked with hesitance. 

“It would be an honor to have you be my first, my darling.” He answered.

She smiled up at him as her body relaxed a bit more. Slowly, she reached towards him, lightly placing her hands on his bare chest. It showed scars, all of them proof of his time away from home and fighting against enemies. A small smile crossed his lips as he placed his right hand at the back of her neck. His left hand made itself at home at her lower back. Before she knew it, he gently laid her down on his bed, helping her get more comfortable before he was hovering over her. His body was flush against hers but he made sure to keep his weight off her. 

“I’ll look after you, my love.” The promise was said in a gentle voice, and it caused the rest of her nervousness to fade away. 

Slowly, he dipped his head down and his lips began to pay special attention to the crook of her neck, leaving gentle kisses along one side. A sharp inhale had him straightening up. His eyes met hers, only to receive a nod. 

“I’m alright.” She whispered as a blush appeared. 

“I will not hurt you.” He spoke once he realized that she had been enjoying herself. 

Her focus on the soft pressure of his lips against the skin of her neck was broken when an entirely new sensation caught her by surprise. His right hand had begun to slowly trail up the inside of her leg. It traveled up slowly, leaving goosebumps behind as it rested on her hip. Lifting his head once again, his eyes were glued to her. He needed to make sure she was okay with what he was doing. The look of sheer lust in his girlfriend’s eyes was enough to send a blush erupting through his cheeks. He never removed his gaze from her face as his hands met at her underbust. 

“May I?” He asks, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. 

“Please.” She answered, arching her back off of the bed. 

He wasn’t sure if it had been the way she sweetly exhaled his name or if the sight of her so eager to be felt by him caused confidence to surge through him, but he was grateful that she trusted him so much. Slowly, his hands made their way up her sides, stopping on either side of her breasts. Very gently, he cupped them at the same time, earning a satisfied hum from her. 

“You’re warm.” She spoke, causing a chuckle to leave his mouth. 

“That’s one of the reasons you’re with me, innit?” He asked, watching a smile form on her lips. 

“One of many.” She answered, closing her eyes as his large, calloused hands began to completely cover her breasts. 

It was a nice contrast of rough against smooth. She enjoyed the way his hands held her so perfectly as his lips began kissing down her chest. They moved to kiss her left breast, then her right, and each kiss felt better than the last. He loved the way her back arched into him; it told him that he was doing a good job so far, and he wanted to keep that up. His index and thumb fingers found her nipples, and he gently began rolling them between his fingers at the same time. 

“Oh!” She moaned out. 

Her hands reached out to grab his arms, but by no means was she trying to get him to stop. Instead, she pulled him closer, and her fingers threaded his hair. She could feel immense heat between her legs, knowing that as much as she wanted to take it slow, she wasn’t going to last much longer. Her eagerness aroused him so much that his erect cock was throbbing in his boxers. Yet, he didn’t want to rush anything, for her sake. The last thing he wanted was to wind up hurting her unintentionally. His lips continued their kisses along her chest, leaving light love bites here and there, before they trailed kisses up to her neck. One of his hands left one of her breasts to gently glide down her stomach and stopped just above the place she needed his touch the most. She moaned into his mouth, hoping to convey her feeling of arousal to him enough for him to be bold enough to touch her. 

“Alfie, please.” She whimpered after they pulled away.

“You’re sure?” He hesitantly asked.

“Very sure. I need you.” 

“Say less, my darling.” He hummed out. 

He never removed his gaze from her face, his eyes boring into hers as his hands continued to move down her body while his mouth kissed every inch of her skin that was available. Finally, his fingers rested at her core, and the heat radiating from it was enough to make him groan in approval. Very slowly, his fingers circled her clit, and the look of pure relief flooded her face just as her head tilted back. Her back arched off of the bed and her hands found his hair to grab hold of. 

“Alfie…” 

The way she moaned his name had him circling her clit a little faster, wanting to see if the same blissful look would cross her face again. It did, and it made him so happy to see her enjoying his touch. His hands had done unspeakable things during the war, but none of that was important in that moment. Very slowly, he slid his finger inside of her, the accumulation of her arousal having made it an easy entrance. He slowly groaned as he felt her walls take his finger deeper, tightening around it while he gently moved it around inside of her. 

“You alright, love?” He asked, earning a moan in response. 

“More.” She breathlessly answered. 

“You’re sure?” He asked, slowing his movements. 

He stood up with his finger still inside of her, but he froze in place when she gave him a look of pure need. 

“I want you to make me yours.” She answered with such a seriousness that had his heart fluttering in his chest. 

“You're…sure?” He asked again as he hovered over her. 

“Yes.” She answered. 

His free hand made its way behind her head, lifting it enough so their mouth could meet for a loving kiss. He removed his finger from her aching walls and that hand swiftly slid down his boxers. No longer was there a barrier between them, and while it made her nervous, she found herself excited to finally be one with her boyfriend. He adjusted himself between her legs, gently parting them even more. When she caught a glimpse of his erection, heat flooded her face. It looked much too big to fit inside of her. 

“Do you want to stop?” He asked, having seen the way her eyes went a bit wide. 

“No.” She quickly answered. 

“Make me yours.”

Slowly, he brushed his cock along her soaking wet lips, causing them to slightly part. Then, very gently, he began pushing himself inside of her. Their groans harmonized for a few seconds as he stayed put for a few moments, allowing her to adjust to him. Everything felt so warm and so right when their lips connected once again. 

“You feel amazing.” He heavily sighed, the sound sending pleasant shivers up her spine. 

Her walls clenched around him each time he moved, the motion carefully done before he drove himself deeper. He held her body close against his, hoping to ease any pain that she felt. They lasted several minutes in that same position before her legs were wrapping around his waist. Their eyes met, and he could tell that she wanted more. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. The speed of his thrusting increased, and it wasn’t long until both of them were moaning messes. She didn’t even have time to process the entirety of what was happening to her before she felt an all too strong sensation flood her body that caused her senses to be at a standstill. He stopped moving, wanting to make sure she was alright as her high ended a moment later. He peppered her face with gentle kisses before his lips were covering hers. 

“Freya, I…I’m close.” He warned her when he felt her walls fluttering around him. 

She tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, preparing herself for what was to happen. He was about to move away from her to pull out, but she was quick to stop him by his shoulders. 

“Fill me.” 

A look of shock covered his facial features when he realized she was being serious. 

“Please.” She begged, and the whine alone was enough for him to give in. 

Hugging her to himself once again, he thrusted into her a few more times before he was groaning into one side of her neck. She softly moaned at feeling his hot cum filling her. He stayed inside of her for another minute before very carefully pulling out. He was quick to lay beside her, wrapping her up in his arms as she curled into his body. He reached for his discarded shirt, draping it over her as they both caught their breath. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, being the first to break the comfortable silence that filled his bedroom. 

“Yes. Are you?” She softly asked in return. 

“Yes.” 

“Thank you.” 

He looked down at her and gave her a small smile. 

“Love, I should be the one thankin’ you for trustin’ me so much.” 

She smiled at his words as he kissed her head. 

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Epilogue: 5 years Later

“Where are those two rascals off too again?” Freya said to herself looking around from one room to another.

It has been a while since they moved out from Camden Town where Alfie was lucky enough to inherit a house near the beach. Margate was the name and it has been treating them fairly well where there was nothing else but a wonderful view of the sea and most of all quietness. But that wasn’t the only thing that brought the couple closer together. 

The sound of a small giggle was heard somewhere beyond the hallways which Freya knew exactly who it belonged to. 

“Alright now come out, come out wherever you all are,” called our Freya quietly tiptoeing her way towards where the chuckles were coming from. 

After Alfie and Freya got married some 3 years ago they afterwards welcomed their first child. It was such a blessing for the married couple that Alfie thought it was all a dream. Ellie was the baby girl's name, brown eyes like her mothers with a mix of stubbornness just like her father. It was a day to remember when they heard their baby’s first breath. Ever since that day Alfie was determined to be by his wife’s side, not caring if the distillery could continue without him. What mattered to him the most was his wife and daughter helping Freya out whenever she needed some time away from the baby. One late night however when Ellie was crying for hours Alfie took the baby in his arms while rocking against a wooden chair. He started to sing a lullaby to her in his mothers tongue which surprisingly made the little creature feel at ease. He also didn’t notice that her tiny hand was tightly holding onto his right index finger. He then smiled as he placed a gentle kiss against Ellie’s soft hair.

“I love you my little Ellie always and forever.” 

Freya continued to quietly make her way to the small giggles that she could still hear. Knowing that she is already near them wanting to scare them in surprise. 

“Shhh… be quiet mama is going to hear us,” said little Ellie to someone else.

A couple of months later after the birth of Ellie, Alfie and Freya then welcomed their second child. It was Alfie that encouraged Freya to have another baby which she didn’t hesitate to say no to him. Nehemiah was the boy's name that was given to him. Just like his father he wasn’t afraid of anything, always liking to get into some sort of trouble taking no for an answer but always obeyed his father whenever he would go one step far. But he would also have his moments whenever he felt like he needed to talk with his mother. Trying to also find his calmer side of himself and getting as much advice from his mother. 

“Whenever you feel angry or lost, always remember that I am here for you my love. And so is your father but just know that you're never alone my little one.”

“Oh you also be quiet Ellie I’m sure by now mama will hear us,” Nehemiah said playfully, nudging onto his sisters right arm not noticing their mothers presence.

“FOUND YOU BOTH!” Surprised Freya, making the two children scream from fright. 

Both children got on their feet quickly running away from their mother which she wasn’t too far behind. She scooped Nehemiah off from the wooden floor yelping and laughing while Freya hugged him tightly around her arms. She then placed a couple of kisses on the little boy's cheeks while feeling Ellie hug her mothers legs.

“Haha mama let Nehemiah go, how did you know we were here?” The little girl questioned, still holding onto her mothers leg.

“You both were giggling and that led me to finding your hiding place. But enough of playing around you two how about we get the table ready for dinner before papa comes home. How does that sound, my darlings?” She said kneeling in front of her two beautiful children while they nodded their head in “yes.”

Some time later it was already dark outside as the cool breeze blew ever so gently while Freya and her two children waited patiently for Alfie’s return in the living room. The crackling sound of the fireplace was heard in the background while Cyril lay down beside Ellie and Nehemiah while the children played with their toys. Freya was sitting on top of one of the couches while looking at the clock, seeing that it had passed the time Alfie should be home by now. Quietly tapping her right foot against the carpet floor the trio then heard the front door open. Indicating that they had finally returned home as Nehemiah and Ellie then ran their way out of the living room to greet their father. 

“Papa papa,” said both children in unison as Alfie opened his arms wide out to them while kneeling down. 

They all huddled down to the floor making both children giggle at their action.

“How are my two lovely children doin’ eh? I miss you all very, very much,” Alfie said as he gently stood up off the floor while Cyril nuzzled his wet nose against his owner's face.

“I also miss you as well you big mutt.”

“Ummm excuse me where is my welcoming kiss? I  hope you don’t forget about me Mr. Solomon’s,” Freya said, placing her hands on top of her hips but gave a cheeky smile.

“Hehe why would I not forget my lovely beautiful wife that always brightens my heart whenever I see her hmm?” He said getting up on his feet while Freya smiled and giggled as they both exchanged a kiss on the lips. 

“Ewwww, gross,” said Ellie, making a disgusted face which Freya found funny. 

Once the happy family settled down for dinner the night went on perfectly. As everyone feasted, Alfie and Freya held hands together as they memorized their beautiful little family. Not believing that they have come this far not expecting to have children this quickly. Alfie always thought he would only focus on himself growing his empire until his passing. But when he found Freya all those years ago as a child and saw how they both fell in love with each other. Suddenly all those ideas faded away seeing the perfect future already blooming in front of him. As dinner was ending both Ellie and Nehemiah started to grow sleepy while they all sat in the living room together. Alfie took Ellie in his arms gently taking her up stairs to her bedroom. Freya following close behind held Nehemiah in her arms while the child tried his best to stay awake. 

“Mama I’m not tired yet really,” protested the little boy but Freya wasn’t having it.

“Now my dear don’t be that way, it is late and you need your rest. And we’re going to the beach and if you don’t get your sleep you’ll be tired the next day. Now be a good boy and rest your eyes now, yes?” She said as she opened the door to the boys room as he placed him down on the soft bed. 

“Really mama, do you mean it? Oh I can’t wait to go now alright I’ll head to bed now,” cheerfully says Nehemiah as he gets himself under the bed sheets making Freya chuckle at this. 

“Very well my little Nehemiah i will see you in the morning my love. Goodnight my sweet boy,” she said, placing a gentle kiss on top of the boy's head caressing his left cheek in between.

Once Freya quietly closed the door behind her Alfie was already out of Ellie’s room. They both smiled at each other Alfie held out his hand towards his lovely wife. Freya walked up to him placing her hand on top of his making their way towards their bedroom. Once inside Alfie gently shut the door behind him and without losing another moment he embraced Freya around his arms. They both looked deep into their eyes as their foreheads touched against each other. 

“How is my lovely Queen Solomon’s feeling hm?” He asked, feeling her arms hugging around his neck while she let out a small giggle. 

“Wonderful as always you know I always still question to this day. How did I get very lucky to have you in my life Alfie? Why me and nobody else?” She questioned him wanting to hear those same words over and over again.

“Hehe do you really want me to repeat the same thing over and over again? How many times do I have to tell you my love? Because if I never met you in my life I wouldn’t have known such a wonderful spirit free and goddess like you. And that I am grateful and blessed   to say that you're my one and only woman. I wouldn’t want no one else but you my dear,” he said while gently placing Freya down against the bed hovering above her, taking in her thin lips between his.

Embracing each other in their arms they both laid there nakedly while Freya could hear her husband's heartbeat against her right ear. A small smile was spread throughout her face wanting to be like this forever. And all the while without Alfie not knowing Freya is expecting another blessing that was growing inside her womb.

I love you always and forever Alfie Solomons… until the ends of the earth…

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