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sugarcoated-lame · 1 year ago

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oh my gosh, what an emotional rollercoaster !!! Did I cry my way through like half of this chapter? Yes (happy tears I promise). aaaah I’m so happy that Baby Bradshaw-Seresin is finally here, this chapter was everything I could’ve wanted and more!!

On his run that morning, he had thought about it. If he had woken you. Asked you for your number, asked you on a date. He had thought about the way you had joked the night before and the instant connection. But then he came home and realized who you were. It was all downhill from there with the way he had treated you.

He should have just woken you that morning, asked you if you would go to dinner with him. There are so many things he would do differently now. He swallows as he climbs into the driver’s side of his truck and wraps a hand around the wheel just to notice how much he’s trembling now.

Seeing him reflect on the night they met and wishing that he’d just treated her better back then and asked her out… my heart! 🥺 I keep saying it, but Bradley’s character development and growth throughout this series is just truly incredible

August third. It hasn’t ever been important before, it will be every day for the rest of his life. It’s his son’s birthday.

Bradley doesn’t have anybody, Maverick never had anybody. You’ve got two parents out there somewhere who are willing to let you go through this alone. He swallows softly at the thought and lifts his hand, brushing it tenderly over your head as he leans closer.

Mav being there for Baby Seresin and assuring her was so sweet and just melted my heart!!! 🥹 And I loved that moment with Baby Seresin saying she wants him there when Bradley tells him to leave!

oh my goodness did you have me worried for a minute there, my anxiety was through the roof, but i’m so, so happy that both Baby Seresin and Thomas are okay 😭

Bradley swallows the lump in his throat. Four and a half hours of labour without any tears. Twelve seconds of watching you with your baby and hot tears are stinging his eyes.

“I’m serious,” He tells you softly, watching you blink tiredly. “I’d have nothing if it wasn’t for you. I was bitter and mean, and you were way too nice to me. It’s because of you that we have him. I’m so, so grateful.”

I’m right there with ya Bradley, there are tears in my eyes too!!! 😭😭😭

Maverick feels the lump in his throat grow as he realises that it isn’t his best friend.

KATIE HOW DARE YOU!! I will forgive you for tugging on my heartstrings like that tho because that little moment at the end with Mav and Bradley made my heart so happy. Bradley’s letting him meet the baby put the biggest smile on my face and I hope that this is the beginning of them being able to heal and mend their relationship!

AHHHHHH BRADLEY AND BABY SERESIN ARE PARENTS!!!!! it’s insane seeing Bradley go from immature, douchey frat boy to being a DAD! It was so beautiful and genuinely brought tears to my eyes seeing how much love they clearly both have for each other and baby Thomas. This chapter was everything, it was absolute perfection and I couldn’t have loved it more!! I just love their little family so much already and I’m so excited to see more of story!! 🥹🧡❤️🧡

My Future in You | 2.5 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

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synopsis: Bradley’s twenty-two years old and not where he’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be out of the academy by now. Instead, he’s retaking his senior year of college and praying to god that he gets into flight school. Mav’s gone, his mom’s gone. He’s mad at the world. Then, a hook up at a Halloween party changes his future even more than he could have imagined.

warnings: accidental pregnancy, references to abortion in a few chapters, angst, will be fluff eventually, will be smut so 18+, enemies to lovers kinda thing, extreme inaccuracies on hospitals and the entire birthing process but this is fiction so we move. WC: 4.7k

…

Bradley spins the padlock, humming as he does, twisting the lock and pulling open his locker. That run was awful, his instructor has been breathing down his back and Bradley had fucked up two consecutive manoeuvres. He’s sweaty, and tired.

It’s nice out, though, and you’ve been so couped up recently that it’s driving you crazy. If he’s done early enough he could take you out. It’s the middle of summer, there are tons of properties not far that host drive-ins.

You’d probably like that.

He reaches for his bag first. Towel, clothes, soap — the necessities. Under that, is his phone, which he picks up absentmindedly, without checking. Immediately, it starts to buzz in his hand. He turns it over as he walks towards the showers, seeing an unknown number flash up on the screen.

Instinct tells him to answer. He taps the button and cautiously brings the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“There you are, you son of a bitch!”

Bradley blinks, frowning slightly. His stomach drops.

“Jake?”

“No, no! Don’t you dare fucking speak, where the hell are you?” Jake rants on the other end of the line. Bradley’s brows furrow as he plugs a finger into his ear to try to hear. He knows for a fact that Jake gets one call a week, and he hasn’t ever wasted that call on speaking to Bradley.

“What? — I’m at work, what’s going on?” About fifteen other pilots just piled into this room behind him, it’s hard to hear, even with the way your brother is screaming.

“My baby sister’s about to have your kid in your dumbass uncle’s car is what’s going on! — I’m so serious about this, Bradley, if you fucking let her down today, I will kill you — I promise you that I will actually—“

“Uncle? Jake, slow down, I’m grabbing my keys. Where the fuck is she?” Bradley turns on his heel and shoves his way back through the steam-filled locker room, pressing the phone closer to try to hear. It has been hours since he was able to check his phone and the thought makes his throat tight. He can’t think of how many times you would have tried to reach him, how scared you must be.

It’s the entire reason you’re here, away from everything you have ever known; so that he could be there for you. And he isn’t. He might have missed it. He could have let you down all over again.

“She’s on her way to Sacred Heart Hospital! Do you know how many fucking times she tried to call you?” Before Jake even gets to finish his second sentence, Bradley has started running, hoping that he doesn’t turn a corner and knock hot coffee into someone important.

Jake continues to rant on the other end of the line but Bradley’s far from even listening. All he can think of now is when he woke up the night after halloween and saw you laying in his bed, wrapped in his jersey. You had looked so comfortable that he hadn’t wanted to wake you.

“Are you fucking listening to me?”

Bradley swallows, fumbling to get the key into the ignition and balance his phone between his ear and his cheek. “Look, Jake… I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you when I can.”

Jake starts to protest, but Bradley hangs up anyway. His heartbeat thuds in his ears as he backs out of the parking spot. August third. It hasn’t ever been important before, it will be every day for the rest of his life. It’s his son’s birthday.

Maverick winces at your bedside. He has been told by nurses six times now to just sit, that it could be a while before a doctor can see you. But, he won’t. He has been standing to the right side of your bed for over an hour now. He has been acting on autopilot, he barely even knows how he got you here. It’s the one thing that has kept him alive in his career so far, probably. Instinct.

He watches as you double forwards, gritting your teeth, whimpering in pain.

“It’s alright, you’re going to be just fine.” He says quietly. Your hand darts out and your fingers link between his, squeezing hard at his shaking hand. As much as he’s certain that your grip is going to bruise, he just exhales slowly and smooths his thumb over the back of your hand.

He didn’t even know your name this morning.

“Alright, Miss Seresin,” The snap of a surgical glove alerts the both of you, looking up quickly to see the smiling woman in the colourful scrubs entering the room. “My name is Lucy, I’m just here to do a quick check on how things are progressing. How does that sound?”

Still gritting your teeth, you’re too busy holding your breath and waiting for the pain to subside to answer her. Maverick makes a pained sound at your side, exhaling deeply as you finally let go of his hand.

“Mhm.” You manage out.

Lucy offers you a sympathetic smile as she pulls up a stool at the end of the bed. Maverick turns his attention towards the ceiling as she settles between your legs. You make a soft sound, closing your eyes. You wish that your mom was here holding your hand, rather than Bradley’s last standing family member.

“Okay, you’re still at six centimeters,” Lucy hums. You drop your head back against the pillow and groan in frustration. You’ve been at six centimeters for an hour and a half. Maverick squeezes your hand softly as Lucy grabs your chart from the end of the bed. “How would you rate your pain at the moment?”

“I don’t know. Does it get worse than this?” Your voice trembles as you speak. After sobbing hysterically into both Bradley’s voicemail and to Jake’s commander, begging him to put Jake on the phone, you’ve been doing your best not to cry again. It seems to make Maverick uncomfortable.

“Can you give her anything? — An epidural, or whatever?” Maverick presses.

Lucy presses her lips into a line as she pushes herself to her feet and sets the chart back into its place. She gives a small shake of her head. If she knew anything about Pete Mitchell, she would know that ‘no’ isn’t a word he often agrees with.

“Why not?” He urges, brows knitting together as he drops your hand and straightens up. You glance between him and her.

She sighs softly. “With pregnancies that have complications, we tend to advise against epidural. It could put more strain on his heart, we would have to monitor very closely.”

“So monitor it closely. If you’re so worried, why has she been sitting here for an hour on her own?” Maverick challenges her. Lucy looks towards you and wrings her hands together.

“Pete, stop.” You breathe out.

“I can get the doctor to discuss it with you. It’s still an option at this point, but—“

“I don’t want it.” Your answer is instant. It’s the most confident you’ve sounded all day. Maverick’s head whips around and for the first time, you catch sight of Bradley in his eyes. It’s not a genetic thing, just more of a temperament. All of those hours spent together, Bradley’s quizzical, developing mind. He’s been copying those mannerisms subconsciously since he was in the first grade.

“But—“

“I don’t want it. We’ll be just fine without it.” You decide calmly, smoothing your palms over your swollen stomach for one of the last times. Pete opens his mouth at your side, he almost argues with you, but he stops himself. This isn’t his kid, or even his family — Bradley has made that clear. So, pressing his lips together, he just nods.

Bradley can feel all of the eyes on him. Maybe it’s because he’s in uniform, maybe it’s because he is walking so fast that when he collided with a doctor two minutes ago, he knocked the poor guy straight on his ass and just kept walking. His eyes widen as he spots the reception desk finally.

“Seresin. My, uh — my girlfriend is having a baby. Her last name is Seresin, she should be here.” Bradley breathes out. The nurse looks up at him and smiles. She sees a lot of stressed out, first time dads. This isn’t unusual.

“Alright. What’s your name, honey?” She smiles.

“Bradley Bradshaw.”

“I’ll tell her you’re here, I’ll come get you as soon as she says it’s okay. Why don’t you get some water, just take a breath?” She reaches out and pats the hand that he has resting on top of the counter. Bradley swallows, managing to give her a stiff nod.

She’s gone for less than two minutes, but Bradley’s pounding heart just makes it feel like it’s an eternity. She can see it on his face when she walks back towards him that he’s terrified. So, she just offers him a smile and nods for him to follow her.

At first, Bradley doesn’t even notice that there’s anyone else in the room. All he sees is you, sitting up in the bed, your hair pulled back and tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He rushes towards you. You whimper as he wraps you in his arms, grabbing onto him tightly. He leans down and kisses the top of your head. “Jake got through to me, I got here as soon as I could.”

“I was scared you wouldn’t make it in time.” You whisper into his chest. Bradley turns his head and kisses your temple, nodding. He opens his mouth to agree, and then takes notice of who is standing at the other side of your bed. His uncle. He hadn’t taken much notice of what Jake had said on the phone.

He stands up straight and stares, silent for a second. Maverick has learned by now to just keep his mouth shut.

“I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from my family.”

“Bradley, don’t. He got me here, he stayed with me.” You frown up at him. Bradley just stares over you, looking at the man who has let him down again and again for as long as they have known each other.

Maverick takes a slow step back, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ll go. I’m sorry. I’ll leave.”

“No, Mav—“

“I don’t want him here. He doesn’t need to be anywhere near—“

“I want him here.” You answer back, scowling up at your boyfriend. Of all the stupid arguments that the two of you have had, Bradley knows better than to pick a fight with someone who is in active labour.

Even so, Maverick has spent more than two decades going against Bradley’s wishes. Making him eat his vegetables, refusing to let him drop out of little league, almost ruining his career. He needs to give his nephew some leeway here, if this is going to work.

“I could go to your place. Get you some things, give you two a minute. I’ll come back, sit in the waiting room. If you want me, I’ll be right outside.”

“No.” Bradley deadpans. You shoot him a look, then turn to offer Pete a small smile.

“Can I text you a list? I have it all written on my phone.”

Maverick nods. He still has your keys from earlier, and honestly, he’s grateful to be out from Bradley’s glare once he leaves the room. You’re grateful that you aren’t going to have the two of them fighting while you’re trying to do this.

Bradley’s scowl fades once he’s certain that Maverick is far enough away. He turns around and perches on the side of your bed, draping his arm around your shoulders and kissing the top of your head.

“How are you feeling? — Did they give you anything for the pain, yet?” He asks softly, smoothing his free hand tenderly over your stomach. You scrunch your nose slightly and turn to frown at him.

“No — Bradley, you smell disgusting.”

He stares back at you, blinking slowly. “Honey, I ran a red light to get here. Showering wasn’t my top priority.”

“No, I know, but — could you maybe put your arm down?”

His mouth twitches, giving an amused shake of his head as he unwraps his arm from around you. He entwines his fingers with yours instead, giving your hand a soft squeeze. “What do you mean they haven’t given you anything? — Do you want me to talk to someone?”

“No, no. I can’t have an epidural, it would put him at risk. I’m going to do it without.” You’re quiet as you explain it, just waiting for Bradley to freak out like Maverick had wanted to. He’s quiet for a minute. You brace yourself.

He strokes his thumb softly along the fabric of the hospital gown. It takes him a minute to finally lift his head and look you in the eye. He exhales slowly.

“You’re sure?”

“You couldn’t change my mind if you tr— ah.” You wince, sitting bolt upright and holding your breath. Bradley barely even notices you squeezing his hand. He feels sick, watching the way your entire body goes rigid with the pain. He has read that this can take like eight hours the first time, and he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to sit through eight hours of watching you suffer like this.

That being said, there’s nothing he can do but be here. An hour later, he’s already on the verge of tearing his hair out as silent tears roll down your cheeks while you sip on water. He has suggested the epidural twice more since your first conversation, you’ve refused it twice.

The contractions are more regular now. You’re trying to keep him calm, knowing that he’s freaking out even more than you are, but they’re close enough together now that you haven’t spoken in a while. You knew this was going to hurt, but the last ten minutes have been agony.

“Okay, Miss Seresin, just here for another quick check.” Lucy strolls back into the room smiling again, shooting a quick look to the new man standing at your bedside. Bradley glances between you and her, fighting to ask her where the hell she has been. She sits between your legs once more. You sigh in discomfort. The thing about not having an epidural — you can feel everything. “Oh.”

Bradley looks at her. “Oh?”

“She, uh — We’re just about there. That was fast, you’re sure this is your first?” Her smile has faded for the first time. You stare at her face. She looks scared. You feel like you’re going to throw up.

“She’d notice if it wasn’t, wouldn’t she?” Bradley bites. You swing your arm out and smack him in the stomach. Lucy stands up quickly.

“I’m going to grab the doctor.”

You’re quiet as she hurries off, turning your head and looking up at Bradley. He watches your lip tremble and reaches out instinctively, stroking gently at your cheek. He wipes a salty tear from your skin.

“She looked worried.” You whisper to him.

He leans down, pressing a slow, soft kiss to your mouth as he squeezes your hand. “You’ve got this. You’re going to be just fine. This whole time, you’ve been so strong. Just a little longer.”

Squeezing his hand, you lean closer and rest your face against his arm.

“I’m so fucking scared.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, to either one of you.” Bradley kisses the top of your head, his eyes sting. He closes them and inhales the familiar scent of your hair. There’s no way in hell he’s going to cry in front of you. “Just a little longer and he’s going to be here, this is all going to be worth it.”

He doesn’t know that for sure, there’s no way that he can, but it’s enough for you to believe it. Besides, there isn’t a lot of time to be caught up in the fear. Once pushing starts, there’s only one thing on your mind and that’s getting this over and done with.

Bradley isn’t sure what he was expecting labour to be like, but he wasn’t expecting so many people. There are six people in this room and Bradley isn’t sure exactly what any of them are here for specifically. His main focus is you.

Each time you push, your body goes tense, you grit your teeth and you hold your breath. He’s sure that you’re going to pass out any minute now.

“Okay, another big one. You’re doing great.” The doctor instructs. Bradley shoots him a furious look. A nurse at your side is quick to rub your shoulder and tell you to breathe. He leans in close and kisses the top of your head. Once again, you grit your teeth and push hard. Bradley feels like he can’t breathe himself.

This time, you don’t hold your breath. Instead, it’s all forced out of your lungs at once as you scream out, digging your nails into Bradley’s palm, hot tears spilling onto your cheeks. The second that you’re done screaming, there’s no getting your breath back. You inhale too fast and sob back out an exhale. Again and again as the nurse at your side tells you to slow down.

“Alright, and again.” The doctor sighs.

Your eyes flicker to him, and Bradley snaps. He can’t stand the pain in your expression, and he can’t stand that doctor’s fucking tone. “Again? — She needs a break. She can’t go again.”

The abundantly calm older lady between your legs simply lifts her head and looks up at him through her glasses. She has been delivering babies longer than either one of you has been alive. “Son, there’s no time for a break right now. This baby’s coming. Rather than yelling at me, focus on her.”

Bradley’s jaw ticks as he settles in closer and brings your knuckles up to rest against his lips. He winces, blinking back tears as you have to go through another tough push. Your head falls back against the pillows in a moment of brief respite.

He studies your face for a second. Up until this exact moment in time, as he’s wiping tears from your cheeks with his free hand, Bradley had seen the two of you maybe having another kid. Right now, he’s certain that he’ll never put you through any of this again.

“You must hate me right now.” He whispers, giving a soft shake of his head. Honestly, he doesn’t really expect you to answer. He barely expects you to hear him. He definitely doesn’t expect you to laugh.

Your face is hot, and blotchy with tears. Your entire body is exhausted and trembling, and you’re laughing at him. Sniffling, you blink through the tears, “I’ve hated you more than I do right now, it’s okay.”

He can’t help but smile, brushing a few strands of hair back off of your face, then leaning in to kiss your forehead. “I’ve been thinking a lot, about the future, and about our family—“

“Don’t you dare fucking propose to me right now, Bradley. Don’t.” You growl. The nurse at your side just can’t hold it in. Bradley frowns at her as she giggles and rubs soothingly at your back. He kisses your knuckles and closes his mouth.

You’re right. He’ll finish that speech another time.

“Here’s his head.”

Bradley looks swiftly away and stares at the ceiling. The death-grip that you’ve got on his hand is the least of his worries. The thought alone is enough to make him dizzy. Jake’s going to kill him if he passes out. He inhales slowly through his nose and leans in again, resting his forehead against your temple as you cry out.

“There we go, that’s perfect. Keep going, he’s almost here.” The doctor’s tone never lifts above a breezy cadence. She’s beyond cool, finally glancing up to offer you a small smile.

He sticks to your side, kissing your temple. Your chest heaves. There’s not long to go, you’re almost done. But, the end is the worst. It really does feel like you’re going to black out. You don’t know how people have been doing this for so long, or why some of them choose to have so many kids after this pain.

You half expect to give up, to break down crying and begging for your mother before it’s all done. You’re right on the verge, whimpering into the sleeve of Bradley’s flight suit. And then, it’s over. The doctor exhales deeply and hums.

He takes his first big inhale and promptly wails into the air.

The doctor has him in her hands when she looks up and catches sight of the two of you before her. You’re clinging onto his hand and he’s pressing as close to you as he can without crawling into the bed. There’s a fearful, awestruck look plastered across both of your faces as you stare in the direction of the scream.

She smiles at the two of you. You’re going to be just fine.

“Would you like to cut the cord?” The doctor asks Bradley calmly. He regrets yelling at her now, but she doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge.

Bradley blinks, then shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to hurt him.

She chuckles, then shakes her head. “You won’t.”

He does as instructed, rolling his sleeves up, and quickly cleaning his hands and arms. He’s the first one that gets a look. As he sets the scissors back down, he turns his head towards you with a look on his face that you haven’t seen before.

Blinking back tears, Bradley smiles softly at you. And then he’s all yours. They set the baby down on your chest, starting to clean and dry him off right away. Bradley moves to your side once again, brushing your hair back off of your forehead.

Still wailing, you whimper quietly as you stare down at the infant. Ten fingers, ten toes, a good set of lungs on him. Bradley’s lips press softly to your forehead as you reach out, hands trembling, and trail your fingers featherlight along the length of his spine.

His plush, pink lips tremble as the wailing starts to subside. Bradley strokes tenderly at the nape of your neck with his thumb, rendered silent as he watches you with him.

“Hi,” You breathe out, hugging the towel closer to him. You inhale deeply, then exhale through your nose. A nurse smiles as she reaches around you to place the soft knit hat on top of his head. He’s warm enough now, you want to keep it that way. “Hi, baby boy.”

Bradley swallows the lump in his throat. Four and a half hours of labour without any tears. Twelve seconds of watching you with your baby and hot tears are stinging his eyes.

You get five minutes with him before they have to check his vitals, his weight, his height. As much as your arms feel empty without him there, you want those results. You want him to be fine. You want to see him in that bassinet beside your bed tomorrow night.

Blinking, you look up at Bradley. He scoffs as your mouth falls open.

“Allergies.” He mumbles, crouching down to kiss your mouth as tears dampen his cheeks. You reach up and wrap your arms around his broad shoulders, turning your face into his neck. You feel him relax into your touch. He kisses your shoulder, sniffling.

Both of you let it be quiet for a moment. You won’t be getting a lot of that once you’re at home, not with that boy’s vocal chords.

“Thank you,” Bradley mumbles into the crook of your neck. He pulls back from the hug just slightly, brushing the backs of his fingers along your cheek. He sighs, then nods seriously. “Thank you.”

“Just don’t ask me to do it again.” You joke, watching his tearful face shift into a grin. He sits forwards and kisses you. You close your eyes as he trails his fingertips along your arms.

Your lips quirk up into a soft smile. If Jake could hear some of this, he would probably start to like Bradley again.

Exhaustion starts to set in, but there’s no time to sleep when there are doctors and nurses fussing over you, and then he’s being bundled back into you again.

Your eyelids are heavy as you turn your head and look over at Bradley, sitting in the chair beside your bed. His flight suit is tied around his waist and his t-shirt is draped over the back of the chair. Your baby looks tiny nestled into his arms.

You fight to keep awake as your always calm doctor walks into the room once again and sits down between the two of you.

“Seventeen inches, four pounds and ten ounces. Congratulations.” She tells the two of you with a small smile. Bradley doesn’t look up at her, smoothing his fingertips through the soft, dark hair on your son’s head. She looks at you, then at Bradley. “He’s strong. He’s doing well. We’re going to move you to the neonatal intensive care unit so that we can keep an eye on his feedings. We need to get that weight up, keep him warm. But, I’m not concerned.”

You swallow softly. “The tests and everything… he looked okay?”

She stands up and takes two small steps towards you. She rests her hand softly on your forearm, giving you a sincere nod. “Aside from his weight, he’s perfect. Does he have a name?”

Bradley finally lifts his head and looks, offering you a small smile. You wipe the tears from your cheeks and nod at her. “His name’s Thomas.”

It breaks your heart when it’s time for him to go. The thought of him being without you on that ward. Bradley holds you while you cry, and truthfully, he feels like crying too. It’s been a long day. You’re all emotional.

He stays with you until you fall asleep. Then, half-awake himself, he heads off to see your son. It’s the first night that he gets to say goodnight to the both of you.

Bradley stops as he closes the door to your room behind him. He stares at the man asleep in the waiting area, drooling on his hand as it props his chin up. He knew Mav had gotten here a while ago, someone had brought the bag in. Bradley just figured he would have gone home by now. Exhaling slowly, he clenches and unclenches his fists at his sides.

“Mav?”

The older pilot startles awake, blue eyes wide and blinking quickly as he tries to figure out where he is. It takes him a moment to figure out who is in front of him. Tall, flight-suit, mustache. Maverick feels the lump in his throat grow as he realises that it isn’t his best friend.

He looks Bradley up and down. He looks older now than he did a few hours ago, not just because he’s tired. Because Maverick isn’t looking at a little boy anymore.

“There’s someone you probably want to meet, huh?”

…

tags: @chaoticweirdogeek @alanadetigy @itsmytimetoodream @oldnatgwenaccount @khaylin27 @bioodforbiood @luckyladycreator2 @mizzzpink @cherrycola27 @unordinare @shanimallina87 @heli991113 @ghxst-heart @momc95 @asteria33 @lilyevanswhore @diamond-3 @galaxy-moon @jostyriggslover96 @forgiveliv @shawnsblue @little-wiseone @lovemesomevesey @alm33 @averyhotchner @diorrfairy @thedroneranger @batdanceq @wkndwlff @cassiemitchell @himbos-on-ice @damrlova @fudge13 @xoxabs88xox @mak-32 @slutford

#Bradley thinking about how he’ll never put her through this again #sure jan #and baby seresin yelling at him not to propose while she’s in labor LMAO I love them #bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster #top gun maverick #my future in you #mfiy #faves #fic recs

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thelordofdarkreunion · 3 years ago

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Magnificent Scoundrels- Battle on the Citadel

Shenanigans. Hopefully some cool battle scenes. I will try to have the second part of this story out as soon as possible. Enjoy. “He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,

He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

You ain’t gonna jump no more.” -Blood Upon the Risers, paratroopers song

The air swirled as the shuttles touched down. The acrid scent of coolant wafted through the air at the Turian and C-Sec lines in front of the Citadel. Now designated with the unimaginative title “Command Post Alpha,” this was the main spot where shuttles would touch down to disgorge their contents of soldiers ready to take back the Citadel. Engines whined, and hydraulics hissed as various shuttles, bearing their precious cargoes of soldiers and supplies, touched down. Sharp and angular Turian ones, the Omen’s large and boxy troop-carriers, the Normandy’s sleek, yet rectangular ones, the Apocalypse’s heavy gunship carriers, and the distinctive three-winged transports of the Galactic Empire. All these touched down, soldiers disembarking rapidly, and took off immediately to allow the next in line to land.

Shepard, Vir, Quill, Cooper and Drake stood around a portable hologram projector as the various troopers milled around in organized chaos behind them. Captain Viter of the Turian Hierarchy stood off to the side, urgently conversing with someone over his encrypted communications gear.

“So we have the beginnings of a pretty sizable army here. What do we do first?” The question was addressed to Shepard, seeing as he had the most experience with the geography of the Citadel.

“We should probably just do a general push throughout the Citadel to take the entire thing back. Make sure there aren’t any hidden pockets of resistance. We also don’t know who precisely is attacking or why, so we want to make sure there aren’t any hidden plans we’re missing.” Everyone nodded their acceptance to this. Cooper turned and looked back at the groups of milling soldiers.

“First we have to get this mess in order,” he said.

“Oh boy,” muttered Quill sarcastically.

“Okay. How do we do this?” asked Sheaprd, looking at the mixed group.

“Get whoever’s in charge of each group and send them here for a tactical briefing,” suggested Vir.

“Sounds good to me,” replied Drake. “Saul! Garang! Rilgaldis! Over here.” He waved over the commanders of his armsmen. The three marched over, the large lizard-like Rilgaldis wearing a set of ornamented armor, Garang wearing a massive suit of heavy beige and grey power armor, increasing her height by at least four inches, and Saul wearing a suit of black combat armor with strange metal bracing throughout. They nodded at the Scoundrels and rechecked their weapons as the group commanders were called over.

Maverick of the Omen’s marines and Captain Detoi of the Valhallan 597th followed, Maverick wearing a typical urban camouflage patterned suit of combat armor and Detoi wearing an Aquilia emblazoned set of grey-blue flak armor.

A raven-haired woman, wearing an extremely tight, form-fitting black and white suit walked over to converse with Shepard; Vir recognized her voice as that of Miranda Lawson, Shepherd’s Executive Officer. She was followed by Garrus Valkarion, lugging Drake’s gift of an Exitus Rifle. Captain Viter gave him a weird look, then followed him over to the projector.

Gamora appeared behind Quill, startling him. Last to arrive were two figures wearing the white and black armor of the Imperial Stormtroopers and Death Troopers, respectively.

“First off: who are you two?” asked Vir, gesturing to the two latest arrivals.

“You can call me Commander Blaine,” responded the white armored Stormtrooper.

“DT-997731.” Emotionless. Cold, dark, and blank. As a Death Trooper should be. Not making him any friends, though.

“You can all introduce each other when you get in your groups. For now, let’s just get this started,” cut in Drake.

“Fine,” replied Shepard. “Here’s the Citadel,” he said bluntly. “Here’s where we are.” A glowing dot appeared next to the Citadel Tower, located in the center of the massive station. “We need to clear the entire station.” He turned to the rest of the individuals huddled over the projector. “Cooper, you’re fast moving recon. You’ll be by yourself.” Cooper nodded his consent.

“That’s how I operate best.”

“Good. Now…” Shepard paused and looked around, calculating precisely what he would need. “Vir and I will be taking a large strike force up the center area to the Promenade. My ground team, Vir’s Marines, the Drev clan, and both sets of Imperials; Galactic Empire and Imperium of Man will be coming with us. We get there, take out what is likely to be one of the largest groups of resistance, then split up as necessary. Quill and Drake will be taking their own selected teams the other way. Understood?” A chorus of affirmations greeted his words. “Good.”

“I’m picking my team,” interjected Drake. “Second and Third squads of my armsmen are going with Shepard and Vir. First squad with me. Oliver, Mark, and Muelka with me. Kraiker with them.” Cooper and Vir glanced at each other as Drake got a sudden malicious gleam in his eyes. He broke off from the group around the projector and went through the various huddled soldiers, and started to select specific individuals.

“You and your team.” Captain Federer, the 597th demolitions officer and his squad of engineers dutifully followed.

“You.” A short woman, covered in tattoos and wearing nothing except pants and two carefully placed straps over her chest stepped out from Shepherd's ground team. Shepard gave an apprehensive glance to Drake, who was grinning maniacally at this point.

“You.” An older man with battle-scarred armor from Shepard’s team.

“You and you.” Ramirez and Maverick from Vir’s marines. Vir had a very good idea what Drake was doing.

“Aaaannd… you.” Rocket Raccoon from Quill’s team. Drake turned back to the other Scoundrels at the projector. “Okay! I’m good to go.”

“I recommend staying outside a general kilometer radius from that particular team,” muttered Vir.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to blow up the Citadel,” Shepard deadpanned. Drake shrugged.

“Times change.” He wheeled around and gestured for his team to follow. “Come my glorious minions! Explosions, violence, and general tomfoolery are to be had by all!” Quill shook his head as Drake’s team filed out.

“He’s taking my guys so I’ll take his. His Second squad and Captain Viter’s Turians are with me. C’mon. I have no plan, so we’re just winging it. As per frickin’ usual.” Viter shot Shepard and Vir a quick apprehensive look before being dragged away by Quill.

Cooper gave a nod to the two remaining Scoundrels, before pulling on his helmet and jogging towards the area of attack.

Shepard and Vir looked at each other again, somewhat lost.

“Okay then,” muttered Vir. “Blaine! Detoi! Get over here! Let’s go!”

Approximately Five Minutes Later

Shepard ducked and dodged as fire spilt upon his kinetic barriers. He rolled, then tucked forward as a grenade went off behind him. Two Valhallans were tossed in the air, screaming. A combat medic slid up to them and started to tend their pulverised legs as bullets whizzed through the air.

Kinetic barriers. Very useful devices. They had kept him alive through many a firefight, blocking shrapnel and shell alike. He grimaced as a Death Trooper let loose with a fully-automatic barrage of blaster fire. A Cerberus trooper across the massive open gardens area screamed as he died, his torso filled with burning holes. Too bad kinetic barriers wouldn’t stop energy weapons.

Not that he particularly minded in this instance, he thought as he unslung Drake’s gift of a plasma gun. He let loose a stream of molten plasma bolts, melting away a group of traitor C-Sec agents along with their cover.

He sprinted forward, then slid into a crater next to Vir and Detoi. The wreck of an ATLAS mech stood nearby, the very thing that had caused the massive dent in the Citadel before being brought down by armored piercing missiles. Shepard had originally thought the mechs to be exceptionally large and terrifying; one of the few two legged things that actually frightened him. That was before he’d seen Cooper’s much bigger and heavily-armed Titan in combat. Still, they were nevertheless powerful, and one of the reasons the assault on this massive hotel had bogged down in the gardens in front.

Vir poked his head over the edge of the creator and fired his rifle indiscriminately at the machine gun positions located on the hotel’s second floor. Detoi was busy chattering on a bulky radio set with an unknown party.

“Last time I was in a war this intense it was just a bunch of bugs,” grumbled Vir. “They didn’t put up machine gun positions like this.” The three occupants of the crater flinched as an ATLAS mech heavy cannon tore up the ground only meters from their position. “Damn. They didn’t have those, either.” Detoi hung up his radio receiver.

“We aren’t going to be able to push through this without armor or air support. I talked to Cain and Cooper. We’re getting Titan and Scion support. They also talked to one of the diplomats, apparently, and-” the ground shook as the heavy mech took a rocket directly to the engine compartment and blew up with a six meter high fireball. “-shit. Anyway. There are drop troopers coming in behind the hotel to cut off their retreat. So we just huddle down here, and wait for the right moment.”

Above the Citadel

The incessant drone of gunship engines whined in the background as the elite soldiers of the Tempestus Scions checked each others’ weapons and grav-chutes one last time. They stood against the grey metal interior of the back of the craft, ready and waiting for the ramp to deploy. Deep, midnight blue armor covered their bodies and faces. Red helmet lenses glowed menacingly in dim interior lighting.

“One minute!” came the pilot’s voice over the intercom. One of the Scions, armor much more ornate than his fellows, stepped to the side.

“This is a hot drop onto a centrifugal-force gravitational space station,” he shouted over the engines’ racket. “Nothing’s going to go wrong, though, because you’re the best. All hostiles are to be purged. No non-hostile xenos are to be harmed. Inquisitors’ orders. Elimination protocols sanctioned. The Emperor protects.” He gave a nod to his squad.

“The Emperor protects!” replied a gravelly chorus.

“Fifteen seconds!” came the pilot’s voice once more. The Scions shuffled forward in the dim lighting, looking at a single glowing red light on the near the end of the space. The ramp at the end of the gunship lowered, allowing the group inside to see outside, onto the arms and artificial sky of the Citadel. At the very edges of the view were the other Valkyrie gunships of the squadron, deploying the full contingent of the Watch Eternal’s Scions onto the Citadel.

“Three! Two! One!” The red light turned green. The two closest to the ramp took two steps and launched themselves into space, followed by the rest of the squad, then their commander.

It should be noted that grav-dropping into a hot LZ is against the laws of common sense and warfare. It should also be noted that Tempestus Scions don’t care what filthy xenos or heretics think.

Aboard the UNSC Fifth Winter

Clean black surfaces glimmered with the blue and white lighting common aboard UNSC starships. Groups of soldiers, wearing green combat armor, chose, checked, and looked over weapons from a huge, hallway-spanning armory. Some made jokes to each other, others complained over the fact that they were deploying in what was supposed to be a comfortable diplomat protection detail.

Quiet footsteps sounded as the groups of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were called to their pods. They strode over the black grated metal walkways to banks of sleek drop pods. Clambering in, they pulled down metal restraints and strapped themselves in.

Small screens on the sides of the pods lit up with the images of two blank helmeted ODST’s.

“We are dropping in behind the hotel shown in the briefing. We are to stop any hostile forces from escaping. Make sure you don’t fire on any friendlies,” came the curt voice of the ODST commander.

Heavy claws roasted the pods into position. Through the front windows, the troopers inside could see down to the Citadel. The black void of space mixed with the blue of the massive station’s artificial sky. No problem. This is what they all trained for. It was in the name.

“Ready for drop. Three. Two. One. Drop.” The pods were fired from the carrier, and the ODST’s began their descent to the surface of the station.

On the Citadel

“These guys are fucking insane!” exclaimed Shepard. Throughout the battlefield, the firing did not abate, but Vir was sure people on both sides would be looking to the sky. Shepard pointed at the Imperial gunships, spilling troopers out of them. “They’re doing a sub-orbital drop onto a space station with centrifugally-generated gravity!” he continued. Some part of Vir had to agree.

However, the vast majority of the esteemed Admiral Adam Vir was almost squealing with delight. He was leading Imperial Stormtroopers, for God’s sake. From Star Wars. A childhood dream come true. Then there were the reinforcements. He looked up again. The meteor-like streaks of ODST drop pods and the contrails of Valkyrie gunships shone clearly against the sky. He knew about the Halo video games. Hell, there were copies of a lot of old Earth games in the Omen’s recreation room, Halo included. So, while he was inclined to agree that this was fucking insane, it was also fucking awesome.

“And those guys,” this was accompanied by a finger pointing to the drop pod streaks, “Are doing a full orbital drop.”

“They know what they’re doing,” said Detoi, though he looked apprehensive.

“They’re insane,” repeated Shepard. “Too bad I’m not up there with them.” Shepard grinned over to Vir. “Oh, man! Can you imagine that? N7 Special Forces doing an orbital insertion like that? You pilot, we drop?” Vir grinned back.

“Sounds like we have something to do after this mess is over.” He was cut from his thoughts by Detoi.

“I’m no expert, but they’re… cutting it kind of close, aren’t they?” Sure enough, the Scions were still in arms-outstretched free fall much lower than they should be.

“Yeah, they are,” muttered Vir. He couldn’t do anything about that other than just watch and hope the Scions truly did know what they were doing.

The falling troopers started to approach the height of the tallest buildings on the Citadel, and, just as Vir was certain they had judged it too late, the Scions flipped from belly forward, arms-outstretched postures to feet first. Blue jets appeared on their packs, and their descent abruptly slowed. The ODST’s drop pods started to jink and thrust, avoiding ground fire and coming into a perfect trajectory to crash behind the back of the hotel.

Ignoring the heavy weapons chattering over their heads, the Scions hit the ground hard. They rolled forward, and immediately started a pattern of fire-and-advance. Reddish orange lasers flew through the air, impacting against the architecture of the hotel. Vir moved up in the crater, but Detoi held out a hand to stop him.

“Wait one. We have heavy armor support incoming. Then we’ll crack this place open like an egg.”

Question: What is a grav-chute? A grav-chute is basically like a jetpack, except instead of boosting someone up against gravity, it merely slows someone’s descent into safe levels.

And, that’s that. If you have any comments, criticisms, questions, requests, or concerns, feel free to contact me. Enjoy your day.

#magnificent scoundrels #crossover #writing #my writing #mass effect #warhammer 40k #halo odst #star wars

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bird-was-here · 5 years ago

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Bird had stayed laying still, curled up in her bed for longer than was normal. She had spent a lot of time just staring off into space after the party. So accustomed to going home whenever she wanted, her detainment felt... suffocating. It had been so long since she couldn’t breathe.

Now all those feelings of helplessness, of being trapped, were flooding back to slap her in the face. Those feelings of being grounded, of needing to run, to fly away and never come back. It should not come as a surprise that she was flighty. Her name was Bird after all. And it there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that she did not do well with bubbles. No matter how much she loved her school. It wasn’t safe anymore.

@covingtonhqs, @ofantonia, @paintingpeyton, @brickyellow, @heartofgolds, @cagcdbirds, @flightsrsk

She watched one Dad pull his glasses off of his face to pinch his brow contained neatly on the screen of her phone. The other paced in the background. Back and forth. Back and forth. The dogs followed by his heels like he was their commanding officer. Anxiously waiting for some sort of command.

What do we do now, sir?

Army Dad was accustomed to his face in the dirt, forearms pulling him through sludge. He’d seen war. He was ready to kick in the door of the police station himself.

“They can’t keep you there.”

“When will you be home?” Her more reasonable father folded his hands neatly on his desk. He had always been less... explosive than his husband. “Chirstmas is just around the --”

“I won’t have it. Where are the keys?”

She let her eyes slip close. Listening to the shuffling and clattering that was no doubt her Pop tearing the house apart.

“Did you hide the keys?” She asked, satisfied with the short ‘I hid the keys’ she received in response. “...I gotta go in to talk to the law later today, Dad. I just want to go home. I just want to go home.”

“Bird. Look at me.” She felt like she was 12 again. She would close her eyes and pull her knees up to her face in her hoodie and baggy sweats and try to disappear. “You’re going to be fine. You can call us right after. We’ll be here, waiting for you, ok?”

She felt the pillow under her face dampen with silent tears. Her response came after a long moment of silence. “...I just want a jelly donut.”

“We’ll go get jelly donuts when you come home. First thing. I promise.”

can you tell me, to the best of your memory, what happened on the night of december 13, 2019?

Bird had seen the inside of a police station before. She did a lot of graffiti and hanging around older kids she shouldn’t have. This was back when she was angry. Always so angry.

“Well, I...” She ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, “I...” A sigh, “Honestly, mister Watson I was petty sloshed all night. It’s super embarrassing. I always do this to myself. I was having fun at the beginning. I’m, how you say, a floater, you know? It’s like I can hang out with any group of people really. I know a lot of people on campus. So’s I was, you know, bouncing around from group to group at the beginning of the affair. I even was doing good with the jello shots, you know? Pacing myself. Until, well...” She folded her hands on the table, “There’s this girl. You probably need to know her name right? Ant...onia Clarke. She’s... a dream: beautiful and super-duper smart and just...” wow, “-- We’re friends now. We were dating. But uh, sorry, you don’t need to know about my dating history.” A cough, “She’s dating Melanie now. And I, you know, maybe I thought at the party we could spend some time together and we did get one dance and, like, I was feeling over the moon about it you know because when Ant dances she dances but, yeah, after that, I saw her with Mel and I guess that... shot me out of the sky a little bit. Guess I hit the ground pretty hard because that’s about when I started really drinking. That was probably, like, 9:30?” She took a breath. She just realized she’d been rambling, watching on of detective in front of her scramble to write this or that down, “I can go slower if you want, sorry, I start talking and then I can’t stop, you know? I’m a lil’ bit of a space cadet.”

“Anything else happen that night, Ms. Jha.”

She turned her attention to the chief, “Van Rees-Jha. Ok, that’s a mouthful. I get it. What? Oh, wait, yeah, I was getting to it... Uh, so I was a little drunk and sad so I found my friend Peyton and she talked to my spirit guides ‘cause I really... I needed some guidance you know? And that was really it. I’m sure I was talking to a lot of people. Austin, Wolfie... Uh... Elle! -- Elle was super upset about something, but. I don’t think that was too unusual. Is that, wait, that sounds bad. I didn’t mean it like that.”

did you see anything unusual that night? was anyone acting out of the ordinary?

“...I went outside at one point. My bandmate was coming to pick me up because I was upset and drunk and I didn’t want to embarrass myself anymore... It was late, I can’t remember what time, I’m sorry. I could probably check with him. But I did see uh, what’s his name... Maverick Braxton, the third year, like rushing someone away and into a car. I couldn’t see who it was though and I was too,” she whistled, “-- To you know, think a lot about it at that moment. It didn’t sound... good. Like hurried and... I don’t know.”

can you tell me more about your relationship with melanie?

Bird sighed, “She was always so nice to me. Always. I didn’t really know her other than around, you know? And since she’s gotten with Ant I kind of see her around more often. Or have seen. But I don’t... Honestly, it’s hard to be around her sometimes, you know? Just because, she... She’s dating my ex! What do you want me to say? I’m not trying to be a third wheel.”

do you have any reason to believe that someone would want to hurt melanie?

She shook her head, “No. Not at all. So all of this is really shocking and confusing because I don’t understand why this would happen. How it could happen. It’s not like she.. I mean I didn’t think she had enemies! She was like the girl next door. Everyone loved her. It’s like it could happen to anyone if it could happen to Mel and I’m so tired and scared and I don’t do well when I’m trapped somewhere I get claustrophobic and I just want to go home to my dogs and my dads and...” She hadn’t noticed she was crying until the tissues were handed to her, “Sorry. This is all very stressful. I don’t do well with stress.”

do you have any questions about how the case will proceed?

“I heard there was a fire? Is everyone ok?” She paused, “And will I get to go home soon? I don’t want to miss Christmas. My Dads and I always watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and I have their gifts here and my Pop is going to have a conniption if I’m not home and I want to see my friends because we always celebrate Kwanzaa at their place and...” She sighed, “And you don’t care. Can I go now?”

#covtask #covtask 001

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calebswitching · 6 years ago

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Mav the Sass King - Maverick/Caleb/Eric

Where: Eric’s suite

When: Sunday May 5

Summary: While the three are hanging out, Mav gets snappy, and Caleb reacts badly.

@ericxanders @maverick-lynn

Although they’d all spent time together on vacation, there was something nice about coming home to his suite and being able to enjoy private space with Maverick and Caleb. He definitely more possessive of both of them than he’d anticipated feeling and because he knew he had no right to feel that way, he’d definitely struggled a little being in the company of others. He felt more pressure to not mess anything up. One thing he had missed was being able to have both of them sleep beside him. He liked the way he felt having each of them pressed up against each side. The afternoon had been a relaxing one. They’d both come over and he’d had treats at the ready. He wasn’t much of a baker but his Mom had helped him perfect a good muffin recipe; white chocolate and raspberry. He’d gone so far as to adorn each one with a chocolate heart which had prompted Caleb to remark how romantic he was. He’d brushed it off by calling himself a hopeless romantic; but in the back of his mind, he knew that was something he was starting to miss. They’d then moved to the couch and spent a lazy few hours just being together; it was easy and he loved that about being with them. Even when there were underlying issues and difficulties, it was never a chore. The more time he spent with them, the more he felt he was getting a taste for what he wanted his future claims to look like. ‘Alright, what’s next? As much as I love Sir David, I’m not sure I can watch another episode of this before I turn into a complete eco-warrior.’ He laughed.

Maverick had been looking forward to spending time together with Eric and Caleb. They’d had fun in Texas together, but he was looking forward to getting to spend quality time in Eric’s suite, and getting to sleep in the same bed as both of them again. He was absolutely planning on smiling sweetly and batting his eyelashes until he was allowed to sleep in the middle of the bed again, his absolute favourite position when it was the three of them. But then Eric had shown off the muffins he’d made, and while they were totally beautiful and tasted just as good as they looked, Maverick’s heart had sank. But his mood really soured when Caleb remarked about how Eric was a hopeless romantic. Mav had done his best not to draw attention to himself, and had smiled in all the right places, but he couldn’t help but think over and over about how of course Eric was a hopeless romantic. He practically screamed romance. Maybe it was an Anderson thing, hadn’t his brother gotten with a romantic Dom? Abs dude? Mav looked up from where he’d been sitting, at the end of the couch with his knees brought up to his chest. He smiled as Eric’s laughter. “Don’t Netflix have something like this though, Sir? We could watch that.”

Caleb was beginning to realize that Eric was a complete and utter sap. And he honestly loved it. He just wasn’t used to any Dominant being as sweet and cute as Eric was. And though Caleb knew that he might just be a third wheel in this situation, he still loved spending time with both of them. Maverick had told him that Eric wanted to claim with him, eventually, and so part of him worried that he was getting in the way of them having private time together. But Eric had invited him, too, and he wanted to be here, so he was trying not to over-analyze it too much. When their current episode of Planet Earth ended, Caleb stretched, sitting up from where he’d been curled into Eric’s side, with Maverick on the other side of the Dominant. “Yeah, but he just said he’s nearly at eco-warrior stage, Mav,” Caleb teased. “We have to come up with something that’s not a nature documentary.” He perked up as an idea occurred to him. “Oh, we could switch to space documentaries! There’s a really good one with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, it’s a series…”

‘Of course, our resident space boy would want to switch to space documentaries.’ He teased, cupping Caleb’s face and stealing a soft kiss. ‘What kind of Dominant would I be if I didn’t indulge you in your favourite things on occasion?’ He handed him the remote and smiled between them both. ‘It’ll be your turn next Mav. We can watch whatever your heart desires.’ He promised with a wink. ‘I’m putting good money on you loving that Marie Kondo tidying up show.’ He nodded. He let out a yawn, and arched up as he stretched. ‘I apologise if I doze off. It’s not that I’m not interested but honestly, I think I feel at my most comfortable like this with the two of you.’ He confessed. ‘You know, I don’t think you’ve moved from that spot since we first down you lazy minx.’ He remarked, arching a brow in Maverick’s direction. ‘Isn’t it about time you got up to get a round of drinks?’

Maverick couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched Eric tease Caleb about wanting a space documentary and then kiss the other submissive. Switch, he thought to himself. He really needed to remember that, for public spaces. It was so easy to think of Caleb as a submissive too. He smiled some more as Eric turned to him and teased him about wanting to watch the Marie Kondo show. “Real bold of you to assume I haven’t watched it twice already, Master,” he said quietly, still feeling a little withdrawn but doing his best not to show it. Maverick had been about to open his mouth and tease Eric for being so sleepy and comfortable, when Eric started his own teasing. Unfortunately, with the upset that Maverick had had from feeling put out at the mention of romance earlier, the teasing hit Mav in exactly the wrong way. His brow creased for a moment, before he forced himself to smile at Eric. “Yes Sir,” he said before he got up and headed to the kitchen. He’d emphasised the title, wanting to make it clear he hadn’t called him Master, because that was one of the most bitchy things Mav could think of in the moment. A few moments later, he walked back in with drinks for the three of them.

Caleb wanted to roll his eyes at the term ‘space boy,’ but it was too deeply ingrained to be polite to a Dominant, so he just gave a wry smile and returned Eric’s kiss. “I’ll pick a good episode, Sir.” Caleb started to pull up the series, so he wasn’t looking at Mav and Eric as they talked. He didn’t outwardly react when Maverick called Eric ‘master’ again, though it reinforced the notion that he was the third wheel. He did, however, react when Mav very clearly omitted the title. Caleb paused what he was doing and looked at Eric, confused. Was Maverick upset about something? But it wasn’t his place to question or comment, so he went back to what he was doing.

‘I trust you beautiful.’ He promised him, teasing his fingers in his hair. He watched Maverick get up to leave, his brow slightly furrowed. There was definite emphasis on his title but that was the only thing that seemed out of place. Maverick switched between the two on occasion and he’d never directly told him to exclusively use one or the other. He was always happy with what came out naturally. His choice that time however seemed deliberate. ‘Is everything okay Maverick?’ He asked, taking his drink and setting it on the side table next to him. There couldn’t be anything wrong. Everything had been going perfectly pleasantly so he knew he was being more cautious than maybe he needed to be but nothing bad would come from asking.

Mav placed Caleb’s drink down on the table in front of him, and shook his head at Eric. “Nuh uh, Sir,” he said simply, and quietly. He didn’t know how to bring up what was bothering him, or why it was even bothering him. They’d talked about this, more than once, and Eric had reassured him both times that if he didn’t want to spend time with Maverick, regardless of believing in romantic claims, he wouldn’t. And here Mav was, spending quality time with him and Caleb. So Mav was really at a loss to explain why he was feeling grumpy, but he was. He reached out and picked up the last remaining evil, vile, nasty, but beautiful, muffin with the heart on top and held it out towards Eric. “Do you want this, Sir?” he asked.

“Thanks, Mav,” Caleb said quietly when Maverick brought him a drink. It seemed like maybe something was up with Maverick, but Caleb wasn’t going to try to draw attention to it. He pulled up an episode and leaned back on the couch again, though he didn’t cuddle into Eric quite as much as he had before.

‘Nuh-uh everything’s not okay?’ He asked, a frown furrowing his brow. The more he looked back, the more he recognised that Maverick had been quieter than usual and where he’d put it down to quiet contentment before, now he wasn’t so sure. He shifted on the couch so he was sitting up a little straighter and shook his head at the offered moment. ‘No thanks Mav. Those were primarily for you and Caleb.’ He grinned. He did pluck the heart from the top, and held it up to Mav’s lips. ‘Go on. Treat yourself. I think Caleb and I have eaten more than you.’ He laughed.

Maverick shrugged his shoulders a little. He wanted to say that everything was okay, but even at his grumpiest he didn't have it in him to outright lie to Eric. He didn't like being grumpy and antagonistic with a Dom, or anyone he liked, but he couldn't kick himself out of this mood. He frowned as Eric held the edible heart to his lips and laughed, which Mav took absolutely the wrong way. “I don't like it!” he snapped, pulling away from Eric's hand.

Caleb was doing his best to studiously ignore the interaction between Mav and Eric, but he froze when Mav snapped he felt his heart start beating faster. His eyes darted between Eric and Maverick, increasingly alarmed. He wished he could just turn invisible. “Mav,” he said softly, barely a whisper, hoping Mav would catch his meaning without having to say anything more. It was a wordless plea. Caleb didn't know what was wrong, but he knew Maverick was crossing a line, and that was enough to scare him.

He didn’t feel the need to get to his feet. That was what a person tended to do when they wanted to intimidate someone and that was the opposite of his intention. Instead, he remained where he sat but fixed Maverick with a look that indicated he was far from impressed. ‘Have a think about the tone you’re using with me Maverick.’ He warned, although his tone remained quite gentle. ‘If something is bothering you, we can talk about it. But I won’t tolerate you snapping at me in anger; especially when there’s no need to be angry. If you don’t like the chocolate, that’s fine, but think about why you’re angry and think about how you want the rest of the evening to continue.’

Maverick heard Caleb’s soft voice but he kept his eyes on Eric. He whimpered quietly, but his stubborn Southern streak, while rare, was kicking in and even though it had gotten him into trouble every time he'd given into it, he was doing so again. “Well, I don't like the chocolate,” Mav grumbled. “It's poop!” he declared quietly as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

Caleb’s eyes widened, and he pulled back, away from Eric and Maverick, without really thinking about it. Alarm bells were blaring in his head. “Mav,” he said a little more strongly this time. “Please….” He looked at Eric, plainly anxious and edging towards panic. Eric still seemed calm, he wasn’t raising his voice, but Caleb knew that look. That was the look of a Dom who wasn’t playing games anymore. Caleb was desperate to keep this from escalating further. He reached forward, taking the last muffin and the plate and standing up. “Here, I’ll put it away, there’s no need to- to be upset, please…”

‘No-one’s upset Caleb.’ He said. His tone was firm; his ‘Dom’ voice Cooper had always called it through laughter. He reached out and tested his hand on Caleb’s wrist, preventing him from taking the plate. ‘And you won’t be putting anything away.’ He turned his attention back to Maverick, and arched a brow. ‘You, however — you’re going to take the plate back into the kitchen and then you’re going to strip. You’ll kneel in the corner for ten minutes; nose pressed to the wall. Then we’ll address this attitude problem you seem to have developed.’ It wasn’t supposed to be a strenuous punishment. It was something intended to take Maverick out of the situation and gave him the chance to think, to cool down. ‘If you’re going to act like a child Maverick, you’ll be treated like one. Caleb, take your seat sweet boy. We can watch your documentary together.’ He advised simply.

Caleb froze, pinned in place by Eric’s authoritative tone and the hand on his wrist. His heart rate was skyrocketing. A time out in the corner was nothing, he knew that wasn’t a difficult punishment, not when it was only ten minutes, but Eric had promised more to come… and Maverick had been so disrespectful, the time out wasn’t going to be the end of his punishment. Caleb’s mind started to whirl with the possibilities, each worse than the last, with him having to sit and watch as Maverick was punished. When Eric told him to sit, Caleb shook his head, and without thinking he moved in front of Eric, between him and Maverick. “Please, he didn’t mean it,” he tried desperately, lifting his hands in front of him to try to placate the Dominant. “Please don’t be angry. He wasn’t trying to disrespect you.”

Maverick frowned a little more as Eric turned to him after talking to Caleb, and he was already feeling guilty about how Caleb was clearly worried. He stared downwards, his eyes rooted on Eric’s chest because he knew if he looked the Dom in his eyes, he’d kneel immediately and beg for forgiveness. Mav wasn’t about to do that if he could hold onto his righteous indignation a few seconds longer. He grumbled to himself as he was told what his punishment was going to be, but then his brow furrowed as he was told that if he was going to act like a child, he’d be treated like one. “Not a child,” Mav mumbled, seconds before Caleb moved to stand between him and Eric. He frowned a little, not really understanding why Caleb was so worried. Maverick was the one annoying Eric, so why was Caleb so worried?

‘Caleb, I need you to step aside. Maverick has chosen to be disrespectful. He’s chosen to be rude even after he was given the option to rethink his attitude.’ He explained. He was careful to not raise his voice and he met them both with an even expression. ‘I’m not angry.’ He assured them both. And he wasn’t. Not really. He was surprised. Concerned. Now for Caleb as well as Maverick but he wasn’t angry at either of them. ‘Maverick, take the plate and off you go. The next words out of your mouth should be ‘yes Sir’ before you go and do what you’re told. Caleb, you can kneel.’ This was a lesson; he’d never been in a position where he’d had to deal with two submissives who needed such different things and he had to keep his mind focused on the issue at hand. He needed to deal with Maverick first and then he could address what was bothering Caleb.

Caleb couldn’t disobey, not a clear, direct order like that. He knew what’s he’d already done was inappropriate. It wasn’t his place to try to stop Eric from dispensing discipline or try to convince him to change his mind. As much as he wanted to keep Maverick out of being punished, he couldn’t try any more, or he’d only make things worse. He may have made them worse already. Caleb quietly moved aside and then dropped to his knees in front of Eric. He sat back on his heels, hands in his lap, head bowed, eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, thankful that his voice wasn’t as shaky as he felt. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not my place. But please, he didn’t mean anything bad, he wasn’t thinking. Please don’t hurt him.” His voice dropped down to a whisper as he went, betraying his fear.

Mav felt really bad now that he saw how badly this had affected Caleb. He reached out to gently put a hand on Caleb’s shoulder as Eric was speaking and ordering him around. Mav’s gaze raised a little to look Eric in the eyes, and he grumbled a little more before bending down to pick up the plate from the table. “Yes Sir,” he grumbled some more, and headed into the kitchen. He put the plate in the sink and took his clothes off. For one final act of rebellion, though, as he wasn’t ready to give in totally, Maverick kept his socks on. He got down on his knees in the corner, with his nose pressed against the wall, and was instantly hating being alone with his thoughts.

He watched Maverick walk away and gave him a few minutes before he started the timer on his watch. He wouldn’t make him wait in the kitchen more than the ten minutes. He looked at Caleb and reached out to thread his fingers through his hair. ‘Please don’t be scared of me Caleb.’ He requested quietly. ‘I’m not angry and I’m not going to hurt him. Not really. He’s being punished because he was disrespectful.’ He explained, continuing to gently stroke through his hair. ‘Do you want to talk to me about what’s going on or do you want to wait for Maverick to come back?’

When Eric touched him, Caleb looked up, his expression cautious. “I’m not scared,” he lied. He was scared, but not for himself. Mostly. It was just that seeing Eric displeased made him want to hide, even though he knew Eric wasn’t going to punish him. He really didn’t want to see Maverick punished either, though. He shook his head at the question, not sure how to answer, because he didn’t want to talk about it at all. He just wanted Maverick to be forgiven. “Whatever you wish, Sir. Just, please, don’t let me make anything worse for Maverick.”

‘Maverick won’t be punished for anything you’ve done. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. Not really Caleb. But, this is one of those lines we talked about establishing. If Maverick needs to be punished, I will punish him. I will be fair and I will be firm. That’s my role as a Dominant. That’s what he needs from me as a Dominant.’ He explained. ‘We’ll talk about the more when I bring him back in. I think this is gonna be an important discussion for the three of us to have.’

When the time was up, he leaned down and kissed Caleb’s hair before he went to collect Maverick from the kitchen. He noticed his socks immediately, and he arched a brow. ‘Crawl here Maverick.’ He instructed. ‘Kneel in front of me.’

Ten minutes felt like an eternity when you were naked and kneeling on the cool tile of a kitchen floor. That wasn’t something Maverick had known before today. His own Southern-brand of stubbornness had given way to own unique blend of submission and need, and Mav hated how he’d acted. How many times over the last few weeks had Eric gone out of his way to patiently explain that while he liked romance, he also liked Maverick? They’d even talked about how they both saw claiming together in their future. How much more reassurance did one person possibly need? As soon as he heard Eric’s voice, Maverick shook a little and quickly crawled over to the Dom. He kept his eyes downcast, rooted on the floor between Eric’s feet, and made the decision right there that he would only speak when spoken to, like a good submissive.

‘Was keeping your socks on some sign of continued protest?’ He asked. ‘Because that doesn’t seem like the submissive I’ve come to know over the last few months.’ He explained. ‘The attitude out there was childish and unacceptable. If you have a problem, you tell me. You talk to me about it; and if you’re not ready to talk about it, you tell me that so I at least have some understanding of what’s going on.’ He itched to touch him, but he wouldn’t. Not yet. ‘Do you have anything you want to say?’ He asked.

Maverick’s face fell at Eric’s first words, he’d forgotten he’d kept his socks on. His cheeks flushed as he was scolded. Eric’s dressing down really had the effect of letting him know exactly how childish he’d been acting, and he was pretty sure it was impossible to feel more embarrassed. Then he thought of how he’d upset Caleb too, and embarrassment suddenly become the least of his worries. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, as he kept staring at the floor. He only realised he’d started to cry when a tear hit the tiled floor he had his gaze trained on. “I’m so dumb,” he sobbed quietly, shaking his head. “And...and I did keep my socks on as a protest, ‘cause I thought I should and ‘cause it’d make me a badass,” Mav cried.

‘You’re not dumb Maverick.’ He said gently. He reached out now. He couldn’t not touch him when he was crying. ‘You are my sweet boy and my own.’ He soothed. ‘You acted out and you were punished. You acted out by keeping your socks on and you’ll be punished. But that does not make you dumb. That does not make you less. I’m not angry at you.’ He promised him. ‘I’m going to take your cage off.’ He explained. In his head, he thought that might be a little harsh but he needed to make the point. He needed to be firm. ‘It’s only for the night. You’ll get it back in the morning. I’m doing that because you were given instructions; instructions that were part of a punishment and you chose to disobey me.’ He knew that was going to upset him. He knew it and he did it anyway because he wanted to be his Dominant and sometimes that meant making difficult decisions. ‘Then it’s over you understand. Your punishment is an evening without your cage but you’re forgiven Maverick. After this, we move on.’ He assured him.

Maverick was still sobbing quietly as Eric spoke, but his heart soared as Eric did his best to soothe him. Being called his sweet boy meant the world to Mav right now, even more so than normal and even through his tears, he smiled. He nodded miserably, though, as Eric explained that he’d acted out by keeping his socks on, and he needed to be punished for that. Mav understood, but once Eric told him that it meant losing his cage for now, Maverick let out a louder sob. He loved his cage, and he’d prided himself on being the only sub in the room with one. “I really will get it back in the morning?” Mav asked quietly, as he wiped at his eyes. “You’ll put it on me, Master?” he murmured, looking up very quickly at Eric, before looking back down again. He nodded as Eric explained he was forgiven, he just needed to get through his punishment. “I’m sorry, Master,” he mumbled again.

‘Trust your Master.’ He said firmly, kissing his hair. ‘I will lock you up again tomorrow morning. I promise.’ He gave him a small smile, something to comfort him. ‘Stand up.’ He waited until he had done so before he unlocked the cage with the key he kept in his pocket. When he set the toy aside, he pressed a soft kiss against his lips. ‘You are forgiven.’ He whispered. ‘You need to get dressed sweet boy. Caleb’s quite upset by everything that’s been going on and we, the three of us, need to have a conversation. An honest one. About what’s going on.’ He explained.

Mav smiled as Eric kissed his hair. He knew he had to look like an ugly crying mess, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was Eric wasn’t angry, or kicking him out, or any one of a hundred ugly scenarios that had run through his head in those ten minutes. “Yes Master,” he said softly, before scrambling to his feet. He whimpered as he watched Eric take his cock cage off, and then saw his traitorous length begin to harden a little because of its sudden freedom. “Thank you Master,” Maverick whispered back, beyond grateful for how forgiving Eric was. His heart twisted itself in knots as Eric told him that Caleb was upset, and Mav nodded. “I can do that, we all can. We’ll talk,” he said, quickly dressing, and made his way back into the main room with his Master, his eyes still red from his sobbing.

Caleb hadn’t moved an inch since Eric had walked away. He’d scarcely breathed. He couldn’t quite hear what Eric was saying, only catching a word hear and there, mostly just hearing his tone and cadence. But Caleb could hear Maverick crying. He had that deep down urge to run away, again, that same one he’d had on the day he and Eric had had that disastrous conversation that ended with Caleb locking himself in the bathroom. The urge wasn’t as powerful right now, and Caleb forced himself to stay still. Even when he heard Eric and Maverick return, he kept his head down, didn’t even look up.

‘You can kneel beside him Mav.’ He instructed. There was tension in the room; tension so thick it could be cut with a knife and he needed to diffuse it quickly and properly. He took his seat in front of them and let out a sigh. ‘So I think I need to make it very clear that I’m not angry with either of you. There’s going to be no-one hurt, no shouting, no running away and no holding things back.’ He said firmly. ‘The three of us are going to have a real conversation, an honest one. We’re going to talk about what happened, how everyone’s feeling and why we all reacted the way we did.’ He explained. ‘Do you want to talk to Maverick, Caleb? Let him reassure you he’s alright. I know you were worried about him.’

Caleb didn’t look up when Maverick knelt next to him or even when Eric spoke to them. He was having trouble keeping his composure. He didn’t want to talk to Eric, and he certainly didn’t want to talk to Maverick. He had no idea what had caused Mav’s little tantrum, but now that Maverick seemed to be out of imminent danger, Caleb’s feelings were shifting quickly from concern to frustration. Maverick was a good sub, he was well behaved, respectful. He knew better than to pull that kind of crap. He knew the kind of consequences it could bring, and with Caleb right there to watch or even be caught up in it. Just because Eric hadn’t given him more than a time out didn’t mean that Maverick was off the hook in Caleb’s mind. He scowled down at his knees at Eric’s question. “No, thank you, Sir.”

He realised Caleb’s concern had shifted into something else. On one hand, he was glad this was happening now. It was too early to really talk about such things but if he could have his own way, these two would be his future. So it was good that this was happening now because it meant these issues could be dealt with sooner rather than later. ‘Not talking isn’t going to get any of us anywhere. Not talking is going to let things build up, fester. Little annoyances will become huge unless we deal with them as they happen. The two of you are entirely too important for me to let that happen. Am I clear?’ He said. ‘I will keep you kneeling there all night and I’ll sit here just as long but we’re going to talk about what happened this afternoon and one of you is going to start.’

Maverick had knelt next next to Caleb as soon as Eric had given the order to do so. He’d made sure he had perfect posture, as he didn’t want to give any reason at all to look like the bad submissive he’d shown himself to be over the last twenty minutes. His head fell lower as Caleb made it clear he wasn’t happy with Mav and his actions, but Eric’s reply almost made things worse. They needed to talk, and it was clear Caleb didn’t want to be the one to go first. Besides, this was all Mav’s fault anyway. Mav cleared his throat. “I was silly, Master. I got upset, and I let it stew and boil inside me instead of talking to you about it. I let it ruin my afternoon, and then I did my best to ruin everyone else’s afternoon too,” he murmured. “I deserve a lot more than corner time and losing my cage, but I’m real grateful I’ve got an understanding Master. But what I’m also real grateful for is that I have a real good friend in Caleb, Master, and I couldn’t be more sorry that I made him upset today,” Mav said quietly, and softly. “I’ve...uh, I’ve always seen Caleb as a sub, because that’s what he told me he’s happiest as, but if you both agree, I’d be happy to accept a punishment from Caleb too, Master, ‘cause that’s his right and all,” he murmured, ducking his head lower.

It was all Caleb could do not to flinch when Eric asked if he was clear. “Yes, Sir,” Caleb whispered, though he still had no intention to say anything. Let Mav talk, he was the one who’d thrown a fit. Thankfully, Maverick didn’t make him wait. He couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes when Maverick offered to let him punish him also. “I’m not your Dom, Mav,” he said, and though his volume was low, his tone was no less sharp. He still didn’t look up, just glaring down at his knees. “It’s not my job to punish you for throwing a fit.”

‘I won’t have that. Either of it.’ He decided, looking between them. ‘Caleb isn’t your Dominant, I am. Beyond that, you’ve been punished once and you’ve accepted it. You’ve been forgiven, Maverick. You won’t be punished twice for the same thing.’ He suspected that was part of his training, part of how his Father had shaped his thinking and he wasn’t sure he liked it. ‘And Caleb, he wasn’t throwing a fit. Something upset him. Yes, he should have talked about it but that’s something we’re working on. Emotions are okay, and it’s okay to express even the negative ones as long as you do it right.’ He insisted. ‘Both of you need to stop staring at the floor and look up at me, or at one another if that’s who you’re speaking to. Why did you step between him and I, Caleb?’ He prompted. ‘Are you ready to talk about the specifics of what made you act up or do you need time to process that, and think about what you want to say?’ He asked, glancing to Maverick.

Maverick felt like curling up into a ball as both men told him he wouldn’t be punished again. It wasn’t often that he got things wrong as a submissive, but he’d managed to make a habit of it today, and he didn’t like the feeling at all. Caleb calling the whole episode ‘throwing a fit’ didn’t make him feel particularly good either. Maverick whimpered softly when Eric asked him if he was ready to talk about what had made him act up and looked down at the floor again, before remembering Eric’s order and looking back up at Eric. “It’s so dumb though,” he whispered miserably, convinced that his constant need for reassurance on the romance issue was going to annoy Eric.

In spite of Eric’s order, Caleb couldn’t bring himself to look up. It was difficult, but he also didn’t try particularly hard. He was still resisting the idea of talking about any of this. And he knew that if he looked up at Eric, the Dominant would see the way he was scowling. That, or Caleb would have to devise a more neutral expression, and that just seemed too difficult at the moment. “I’m sorry I tried to stop you, Sir,” he said mechanically. “I know it was out of line, and it won’t happen again.” That was all he could really say. He certainly couldn’t argue that yes, Mav had been throwing a fit. And he definitely wasn’t going to say the sarcastic comment he thought of when Mav protested that his reasons were dumb. Saying that there weren’t many intelligent reasons for being a brat to his Dom wasn’t going to win Caleb any points with either Mav or Eric. He just sat sullenly.

He frowned at both of them and waited until he was sure they’d both seen him. ‘The two of you need to listen to my questions and actually answer them instead of telling me what you think I want to hear, or a protest as to why you shouldn’t.’ He said simply. He pulled back from both of them and sat a little straighter, back pressed against the couch. ‘I’m not having this absolute silliness continue any longer. Caleb, talk. Look up at me, look at Maverick and talk. Tell me what’s going on, what you’re thinking and tell me why you stepped in front of him.’ One at a time. He couldn’t deal with the two problems at the same time so he’d have to divide and conquer; ensuring everyone felt completely heard.

Caleb closed his eyes for a second and took a breath. He knew Eric was upset with both of them, and he was right to be. But Caleb didn’t think he was capable of navigating this without getting them both in more trouble. As usual the only winning move was not to play, but Eric was forcing him to make a move anyway. He couldn’t keep refusing without provoking him. After a moment, Caleb forced himself to lift his head enough to look up at Eric. His jaw was still set in a harsh line, but he wasn’t scowling quite as much as before. “Because I didn’t want you to punish him, Sir,” he said flatly. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t think it through. I just didn’t want him to get in trouble.” He looked back down, still ignoring Maverick’s presence next to him, and refrained from grumbling that he shouldn’t have bothered.

‘I think that your instinct is to protect him. I like that you care so much about him that you tried to stop him when you could see his attitude coming out.’ He remarked. ‘But you could see his attitude so I want you to explain to me why you didn’t want me to punish him. You were afraid Caleb. I’ve seen you look like that before.’

Caleb grimaced and turned his head away. He didn't want to admit that he'd been afraid. It felt foolish. “... Everything was… calm. Before Mav… you know. I just wanted to keep him from ruining things. I didn't want you to get angry, Sir. I… I know you're more patient than we deserve. But for a second, I thought you were angry.”

‘So here’s the thing, something has been playing on his mind yeah? I don’t know what that is yet but it’s something. Everyone gets stuck in their head with things sometimes. It’s not always easy to just come out and say something is bothering you. I fully expect that to happen many more times until we find out groove. I expect there to be tones when you snap, or when I snap. That’s human nature. But I’m glad when it happens, because that’s better than Mav continuing to keep whatever was bothering him pushed down. That’s when things can really explode.’ He explained gently. ‘He hasn’t ruined things. He had an attitude, he was punished, and now it’s over, so he’s forgiven and we move on.’ He insisted firmly. He gave his head a shake and touched his fingers to Caleb’s cheek. ‘I’m not more patient than you deserve. I think patience is important; you both deserve it and I hope when I need it, you’ll be patient with me too. There may be times when I get angry. It takes a fair bit but I can be pushed there. What I need you to understand is that I will never punish anyone when I’m angry. When I punish someone, it always comes from a place of calm and measured thought. Does this make sense to you both?’ He prompted, looking between them. ‘Do you want to tell us what out you in a bad mood in the first place Mav?’

Mav was really hating how he’d managed to really mess things up today, especially for Caleb. There was no denying that he’d upset the other man, and that was in turn, upsetting Mav too. Eric’s words were, like always, really comforting and helpful to hear. Maverick was nodding along with everything the Dom was saying. “Yes Master, perfect sense,” he said quietly. “I think we both know you wouldn’t ever punish someone from an angry place. I always trust you to punish me when I need it, and keep me safe when you’re doing it,” Mav murmured. He took a deep breath as Eric asked him to tell them both what had put him in a bad mood, and once again, he looked absolutely miserable. “You’re gonna be upset with me, ‘cause I’m dumb and you’ve had to reassure me so many times already,” Maverick whispered. “You, uh...you had heart shapes on the muffins, and Caleb said you were a hopeless romantic, Master,” Maverick mumbled, his gaze falling to the floor again.

Caleb lowered his head again and went back to starting at the floor as Eric spoke, even though he knew it wasn't what Eric wanted. It was hard enough to sit still and listen without reacting badly, it would just be too much to also watch Eric. Still, when Eric touched him, Caleb leaned into it, chasing whatever reassurance he could get. It didn't make sense to him, he didn't feel like he understood, but he just murmured, “Yes, Sir,” anyway. He didn't understand why Eric was so calm. He wasn't even telling either of them off, or explaining what they'd done wrong. And Caleb couldn't help but think that Eric's claim that he wasn't more patient than they deserved was demonstrably ridiculous. Mav had thrown a fit like a child and Caleb was now sulking like one, too. Just the fact that Eric was still calmly explaining things to them was more patience than they deserved. But Caleb knew better than to press the point. He didn't react visibly to much of anything, until Maverick explained what had upset him, and Caleb looked up at him incredulously. “You got mad… because Eric did something sweet? You risked punishment over that?” He didn't understand at all. It seemed insane.

He pushed down the amused smile that wanted to come forth at Caleb’s casual use of his name. It was both adorable and amusing; even in the context of expressing shock and frustration at Maverick. He addressed Caleb’s point first. ‘He’s not mad because I did something sweet. He’s scared of the romantic implication of it. Maverick doesn’t want a romantic claim. He doesn’t experience that kind of attraction.’ He tried to explain. ‘You can stop me if I’m wrong,’ he added, glancing to him before continuing with his explanation to Caleb. ‘This is something we’re working on. He’s worried about feeling like he doesn’t fulfil something for me, or that eventually I won’t want him because of that. It’s probably a pretty unsettling feeling. I don’t blame him for getting frustrated or scared or upset by that. The focus going forward needs to be on expressing that, letting me know that’s what’s going on rather than letting it come out in a snap. Does that make any more sense to you?’ He asked, giving him a smile which he then turned to Maverick. ‘And you are not dumb. I don’t mind reassuring you. I’d rather you told me so I can reassure you Maverick. The communication is important.’

Mav wished he could shrink into himself and disappear as Caleb spoke. He kept staring down at the floor, refusing to look at the other man, or at Eric now. He really wanted to just go back to his own room and curl up on his bunk bed and not leave for hours. If it wasn’t for Eric trying to do his best to reassure him, Mav would’ve been halfway there already. He frowned a little as Eric told Caleb that Maverick didn’t experience romantic attraction. Had that been what he’d told Eric? Was that even true? Maverick wasn’t really sure. He’d definitely never felt it, that was true. The idea of being romantic with any of the Doms he’d fooled around with back home was laughable, but did it meant he’d never feel romance for anyone? Mav nodded when Eric said he could stop him if he was wrong, but he really wasn’t sure if Eric was wrong or not. “I’m sorry, Master,” Maverick mumbled again. “I’ll do better with communication, I promise. I will,” he said quietly, before turning his head to look at Caleb. “You don’t gotta hate me forever,” he murmured. “I made a mistake.”

Caleb didn't know what to say. He was staring at Maverick, utterly shocked. Possibly even appalled. “I don't hate you,” he snapped, though his tone was far from comforting. He just didn't understand where to even begin. “Mav, you…. He lets you call him Master, for fuck’s sake! And you threw a fit because he put hearts on the muffins? You told me that he said he wants to claim you! How much clearer can-” Caleb cut himself off, realizing he was ranting, and looked away. “I don't hate you, Mav. I think you did something stupidly dangerous for not enough reason.”

‘What exactly is different about Maverick’s behaviour and yours just now?’ He asked simply. He reached his hand out to thread through Maverick’s hair, hoping to provide him some comfort from Caleb’s harsh words. He didn’t think he meant them to be as hurtful as they sounded; that didn’t fit with the Caleb he’d come to know. ‘Caleb, I have never, nor will I ever, belittle you because of how you feel. What exactly does snapping at him accomplish? Nothing other than make him feel worse than he already does.’ His voice took on a firm edge. He wasn’t amused or happy with Caleb’s remarks; and while he wanted to understand and support the Switch, he drew the line at putting Maverick down. ‘There was nothing stupidly dangerous about what he did. It wasn’t the smartest way to deal with things but he’s been punished, he’s acknowledged that it was a mistake and he’s apologised. That’s the point where we move on.’

Maverick stayed quiet as Caleb talked so angrily at him, but the way he described what Mav had done as stupidly dangerous made his frown. He didn’t understand at all what had been dangerous about what he’d done, had he done something dangerous and not realised it? Or did Caleb really not trust Eric? How could anyone not trust Eric? He was the best Dom Mav had ever submitted to, he always had a submissive’s interests at heart. Especially when he was responsible for that submissive. After a few moments, as Eric was speaking, Mav realised tears had begun to roll down his cheeks and he quickly wiped them away. Once Eric was done, Mav scrambled to his feet. “‘Scuse me,” he mumbled, “think I made a mess in the kitchen, gotta clean it,” Mav said quietly, before hurrying away.

Caleb heard the disapproval in Eric’s voice, and he looked down, curling in on himself. He knew he deserved to be scolded, even punished, for not holding his tongue. He knew he shouldn’t have snapped at Maverick, and he certainly shouldn’t have done it in front of Eric. He was just so frustrated. It was to feel anything but bitterness right now, even though he knew he was behaving just as poorly as Maverick had in the first place. “I’m sorry, Sir,” he muttered as he glared at the floor. He didn’t look up until Maverick moved, and then he stared at the retreating submissive. He realized two things at the same time. The first was how much he’d actually managed to hurt Maverick, which flooded him with guilt. The second and more surprising thing was that Maverick really, truly didn’t think what he’d done was all that bad. He didn’t see how it could have spiraled out of control. Caleb could tell from the look on Maverick’s face as he fled. It was hurt, but it was a surprised hurt, not a shameful, expected hurt. It was the look of someone who didn’t know why they were being yelled at. “...Fuck.” The expletive came out under Caleb’s breath as Mav made it to the kitchen and out of sight. Caleb looked towards Eric for a split second before pushing himself away, backing up and then getting to his feet, and apologizing as he went. “I’m sorry, Sir, I didn’t mean… I should go. I’ll go back to my dorm so you can take care of Mav. I’m sorry. Just, please tell Mav I’m sorry? I’ll apologize to him in person later, but I think I should just go now…”

He didn’t immediately chase Maverick. He could understand him being upset and needing a little space. He’d give it to him. He needed to speak to Caleb first. ‘No Caleb, this is one of the moments where you need to do something differently than last time. You have to not run away.’ He explained. His voice had become softer again, encouraging; the last thing he wanted was for Caleb to leave. ‘I can only assume that a lot of this anger and fear comes from your previous experience with your ex. I get it. Your brain has made all sorts of associations and patterns over the years and even if you’ve never seen me behave like him, your brain sees a similar situation and you react. I think there’s part of you that really understands what you went through was wrong, and I think that’s why you stepped between Maverick and I today.’ He continued. At that stage, he got to his feet and held out his hand to Caleb. ‘What I think needs to happen is that you should face the same consequences as Maverick for behaving in the same way; that means stripping and kneeling in the corner with your nose pressed to the wall for ten minutes. I want you to really think about our conversation, and think about what you understand, what you don’t so we can talk about it later. You mentioned how patient I am so please believe me when I tell you, I will go over this and explain where I’m coming from until you feel happy you understand.’ He promised. ‘When your punishment is over, you can apologise. And I think the person you need to apologise most is Maverick. We’ll go to him together. After that, it’ll be over and done with. After that, I’m going to bring you both to bed and have you cuddled against me for the rest of the afternoon. After that, it’s forgiven and we move on.’

When Eric said no, Caleb looked up at him helplessly. Why was Eric's voice gentle again? When Caleb deserved to be yelled at for being an asshole to Maverick and rude to Eric? But then Eric continued, bringing up Mark, and Caleb looked down. Was Eric right? Was this somehow all Mark’s fault? He couldn't deny the fact that he had never seen Eric get truly angry, the way he had feared might happen when Maverick had snapped at him. It was hard to believe he had learned that only from Mark, when it felt like a universal quality of dominants. But Caleb shoved all this aside for a moment when Eric assigned him a punishment. It felt inadequate, too lenient for the trouble Caleb had caused, but to say so would mean talking back, so he kept his opinion to himself. At least it made some sort of sense, having the same punishment that Mav had been given. “Yes, Sir,” he said quietly. He glanced towards the kitchen, where Maverick's punishment had taken place, but paused, because that was where Mav was currently hiding. He would strip right here, but he didn't deserve the luxury of kneeling on carpet when Maverick had knelt on hard tile. “….I'm sorry, but… where should I….?”

‘You can strip here Caleb; and kneel on the wooden floor over there.’ He pointed towards the dining area. It wasn’t quite the same as Maverick’s punishment but he didn’t want to bring him into the kitchen just yet. When Caleb got himself situated, he touched his hair. ‘I’m going to go on into the kitchen to check on Mav.’ He explained. ‘If you need me, just call my name or use your safe word and I’ll come out to you right away.’ He was cautious about leaving him but it made sense in his mind to recreate Maverick’s punishment to the best of his ability. ‘This isn’t me leaving you Caleb. It’s just for ten minutes. As soon as your time is over, I’ll come get you.’ He promised. He withdrew then and headed into the kitchen to check on the tearful submissive hiding there. ‘C’mere sweet boy.’ He requested, moving to fold his arms around him. ‘He didn’t mean that. I think you know he didn’t mean it. He’s got his own things he’s working through.’ He kissed his forehead. ‘Are you okay Mav?’ He prompted.

Maverick had gotten a bottle of kitchen cleaner and a cloth out from under Eric's sink and had started to wipe down the already perfectly clean counter, so he could have something to focus on. As soon as Eric walked in and gave him an order, Mav had crossed the room and had wrapped his arms around the Dom instantly. He buried his face in Eric's shoulder, tears staining Eric's shirt. “Maybe he didn't mean it forever, but he doesn't like me right now,” Mav mumbled. “I did this, I made him think about bad things. I'm a bad friend.”

‘He doesn’t hate you at all. He feel terrible that he upset you; he wanted to leave so I could focus on you.’ He replied, stroking his hands down his back. ‘I wouldn’t let him do that though; I think we both want him to stay right? He’s being punished now; kneeling just like you did for snapping. I’m going to go get him in ten minutes and I think he’ll be itching to apologise to you.’ He guessed, pressing another kiss to his hair. ‘You get upset when you worry about the fact I experience romantic attraction to people; that’s all to do with how you feel, your upbringing maybe influenced it. Caleb has his own things he worries about, things his past has impacted. That’s something he needs to work on. We’ve all got something right. But the three of us are going to work through those things together yeah? We’re a team sweet boy.’ He tilted his head up and caught his lips in a soft kiss. ‘You are a good boy Maverick. You’re my good boy. I know everyone’s a little upset right now but it’s okay to be upset. When we’re done, I want the three of us to fall into bed together so I can hold you both as tightly as I want to.’

Maverick closed his eyes and let the feeling of Eric's gentle touches wash over him. Eric had a way of taking care of him that Mav was really coming to adore, and he was quickly realising that the Dom was cleverer than him when it came to emotional things like this. He nodded as Eric explained how this was all something Caleb needed to deal with, the same way Mav needed to deal with his feelings about romance. One thing was still on his mind, though, and he pulled back gently. “So, um, he doesn't think I'm dangerous to be around? Wouldn't be the first time someone we were hanging out with thought that,” Mav mumbled. He nodded, having loved the gentle kiss. “I'd like that, if Caleb wants it too, Master.”

‘You are not dangerous and you are not at fault for other people’s fears or worries.’ He insisted. He hated that Kurt’s toxic feelings had somehow seeped under Maverick’s skin and had impacted how he viewed himself. Kurt’s hatred was different than Caleb’s fear. ‘Caleb doesn’t think you’re dangerous. He thinks it’s dangerous to make me, a Dominant, angry. That’s something he needs to work through. That’s something you and I can help him with sweet boy.’ He assured him. The timer on his watch sounded, and he kissed him again. ‘Wash your hands and take a seat at the breakfast bar.’ He instructed. ‘I’m going to get Caleb and then we’ll all come together okay?’

Caleb was perfectly still, his posture flawless, hands clasped behind his back and nose pressed into the wall in the corner of the dining area. His knees were protesting by now, after kneeling on the hard wood for ten minutes, but he leaned into the pain and focused on it. He deserved worse than this, so he wasn't going to shy away from the pain in his knees or the humiliation of being naked and ignored. He kept his eyes closed as he knelt there and tried to think, as Eric had instructed. He kept coming back to the thought of Mark, and Eric blaming Mark for the way Caleb felt and acted. He still couldn't tell if that was right. It was too subjective, he had no way to be sure of any of it. Perhaps Mark was the reason Caleb had felt that rush of fear when Maverick had initially misbehaved. But that didn't really excuse or explain the way Caleb had treated Mav afterwards. And he was still confused by the idea that Maverick truly didn't see what he'd done as dangerous. He probably thought that Caleb hadn't done anything dangerous or stupid today either. It was insane. Did Maverick really think that Eric would always be this patient? No one was perfectly patient every time. Everyone had a limit. He didn't want to find Eric's limit. Eventually, Caleb was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming into the dining area, but he stayed perfectly still, not planning to move until given permission.

He watched him for just a second; and felt his heart ache for him. He couldn’t really determine how much Mark had influenced him but it was clear he had, and that it wasn’t a positive influence. He touched his fingers to his shoulder and invited him to turn around. ‘Hello sweet boy.’ He greeted, adopting the same kind tone and familiar pet name. ‘Your ten minutes is up; you’re forgiven and this is where we start to move on. Am I right in saying you know and want to apologise to Mav?’ He asked, threading his fingers through his hair. ‘You can do that after you get dressed and after I’ve given you a hug; I think that might be something we both need.’ He stepped back a little and held out a hand to draw him to his feet. As soon as he had done so, he wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace. ‘You’re a good boy Caleb. Being punished doesn’t change that.’ He whispered. ‘I think we all have a lot more to talk about, we all have our own issues to work through but I think we’ve done a lot of talking today and everyone would benefit from taking a break.’

Caleb turned to look up at Eric, but didn't otherwise break his posture. He didn't answer right away, just nodded when Eric asked if he wanted to apologise to Mav. Caleb only really moved when Eric held out a hand to him. He took it and stood, but didn't move towards Eric until the Dominant physically pulled him in. Even then, he didn't fully return the hug, just rested his hands on Eric's waist and dropped his head on the Dom's shoulder. He shook his head without pulling away from Eric when the Dom said he was still a good boy. “I'm not. I'm not good. I'm sorry. I made everything worse. I don't know why you're being so nice to me. I.. I still think I should go so you can take care of Mav, but I won't leave unless you give me permission…”

‘But you are a good boy Caleb. One thing doesn’t define you. You lashed out; you were punished and you’re going to apologise. That means it’s over and we can move on from it.’ He cupped his cheek, stroking his thumb lightly against him. ‘I’m being nice to you because there’s no reason for me not to be. I don’t care about you any less, I don’t like you any less and I certainly don’t think any less of you than I did an hour ago.’ He promised. ‘Neither Maverick or I want you to leave. We both want you to stay, to be with us. I don’t just want to take care of him. I want to take care of you both. You’re both my boys as far as I’m concerned right now.’ He confessed quietly.

Despite his misgivings, Caleb stayed right where he was, pressed into Eric, where he could absorb whatever comfort the Dominant was offering. He knew that this was more than he deserved. He didn’t really know why Eric wanted to continue to bother with him, especially when he had Maverick to take care of already. And he certainly didn’t know why Mav would want him to stay. But he would do whatever Eric wanted, whatever he thought was best. So if Eric wanted him to stay, he would stay, and try to do better. “Yes, Sir,” he said quietly before finally pulling away and glancing towards the kitchen. He waited, though, for Eric to decide it was time to go talk to Maverick.

‘I promise, sweet boy, you’re still my good boy.’ He insisted once more before he reached down to lace their fingers together. ‘Let’s go see Maverick yeah?’ He gave his hand a squeeze and led him through to the kitchen, smiling when he saw the submissive waiting exactly as he’d been instructed. ‘Come sit down Caleb.’ He invited, leading him to the bar stools where he perched on the stool at the end, leaving the one beside Mav free.

Caleb managed a small smile for Eric, out of gratitude if not actual happiness. He nodded and followed Eric into the kitchen, bracing himself for seeing Mav, knowing he might well have been crying. Caleb kept quiet, moving to sit on the stool next to Mav, keeping his posture withdrawn and small. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, glancing up at Maverick. “I was a dick. You didn’t deserve to get yelled at. By me, least of all.”

Maverick looked up from his position in the kitchen when he heard Eric and Caleb coming into the room. He moved to the bar stool and sat down, smiling just slightly when Caleb sat next to him. He glanced over at Caleb as the other man started to speak, and his smile grew. “I’m sorry too. I’m real sorry you had to see me being so grumpy, and I’m real real sorry it was something that upset you,” he said quietly. “I hope we’re still friends.”

He reached out and took each of their hands in his, bringing each one to his lips. ‘I’d like to think we’re all still friends at the very least.’ He commented, flashing a warm smile. ‘If you’re both accepting each other’s apologies, I hope we can move on and still enjoy our evening together.’ He got to his feet and moved to stand behind them, this time draping his arms across their shoulders. ‘We have a lot to work through right? But like I said, maybe we’ve done enough of that for today.’

“Yeah, of course we’re friends, Mav,” Caleb said softly. He looked up at Eric when he moved behind them, and then ducked his head down. He was pretty sure that eighty or ninety percent of what they collectively needed to work through was issues that he was bringing to the table, not Eric or Maverick. He felt incredibly guilty about that, and couldn’t help wondering if Mav and Eric would be happier if he wasn’t there. But he nodded anyway, and looked at Maverick. “If, um… if you want me to go… I won’t be offended or hurt or anything, if you want some time with Sir Eric… I don’t want to stay if you’re uncomfortable.”

Maverick smiled as Caleb confirmed that they were still friends. “I definitely want to still be friends,” he grinned back at Caleb. He frowned a little as Caleb continued to talk, especially after Eric had pointed out they had things to work on, even if it that talking wasn’t going to happen today. “I’m not uncomfortable. What I really, really want is to curl up in bed with both of you,” he reassured Caleb. “Well, maybe do some knitting before I fall asleep.”

It hurt his heart to know both boys who so completely captivated him had insecurities and fears to work through. Not because he had any objection to being there for them but because he just wished they didn’t have to suffer that in the first place. ‘Knitting’s a good idea.’ He nodded. ‘I’ve been thinking maybe Dom whale, and sub whale could use a third to keep them company.’ He suggested with a wink. ‘Let’s go get comfy yeah?’ He felt like he was glossing over things a little bit right now, that seemed to be the best move. Both boys were evidently drained emotionally and pushing for conversation wouldn’t be productive. Best to regroup and try again another day. ‘We can watch your space show in bed Caleb,’

Caleb had a feeling he still needed to talk to Maverick to make sure things could go back to normal between them, but it could wait. He wasn't going to force any more unpleasant discussion if Eric wanted to move on. “Yes, Sir,” he said softly, sending Eric another small smile. He reached over to put his hand on top of Maverick's and squeezed. “Sorry I was a dick. Want me to go get your yarn?”

Maverick let out a little giggle, and nodded. “Maybe a really cute sub-leaning switch whale with really great defined abs?” he grinned. He nodded again at Eric. “Being comfy sounds really good. Maybe we can watch in bed, Sir?” he asked hopefully. “I know its a little early, but I really love cuddling in bed. Mav looked across at Caleb as the other man, and smiled softly at him. “I’m sorry I was a dick too. Yes please!” he said quickly. “What color do you want your whale to be? Oh, how about me and you go into town tomorrow? I need to get some more supplies.”

His whole being felt a little lighter now that the conversation had shifted and they were all somewhat calmer. Progress, he reminded himself again. ‘Alright, you two, go get comfortable. Save a spot for me in the middle.’ He instructed. ‘I’m going to see about organising some drinks, some snacks and ordering dinner.’ He informed them. He anticipated some protest about how they could do that but he’d already made his mind up. He needed to take care of things; and he was only ordering in because he didn’t want to be apart from them. ‘Scoot. Go get comfortable. Change if you want.’ He invited, smiling warmly between them.

“Yeah, we can do that,” he said softly to Mav, smiling, thoroughly relieved that Maverick seemed to be bouncing back to his usual self so quickly. It took longer for Caleb, but he could fake it with Mav being so cute like this. He looked up at Eric and nodded, standing up and starting to go, but then he hesitated when Eric said he’d be taking care of everything else. “Could I help you, Sir? At least carry things?”

Maverick pouted slightly when Eric told them to save him the spot in the middle. He was pretty sure everyone liked that spot, but Eric seemed the most territorial over it. “Sir, you shouldn’t have to pay for dinner for all of us,” Mav said, shaking his head a little. He glanced at Caleb when the other man spoke, and while he ached to go to the bedroom, change and relax, he didn’t want to go alone.

He looked between them both and shook his head. He had anticipated protests and the fact that he’d been right brought a smile to his lips. ‘Sir; that’s what you both call me right?’ he reminded them. ‘Indulge your Sir and let him take care of you both.’ he insisted. ‘I don’t have to pay for dinner but I want to.’ He thought for a moment; maybe a task would do them both good. A positive order to replace the punishments they’d both had. ‘I want the two of you to change into something more comfortable, turn the bed down and you can bring the cutlery in now. We’ll need that when food actually arrives.’ It wasn’t much but it was something; he hoped that would be enough to distract them from their desire to want to help in other ways.

Caleb looked cowed when Eric took a moment to remind them of their place, and that they should be obedient to whatever Eric wished. “Yes, Sir,” he said softly, and he almost apologized for not having obeyed immediately, but he was pretty sure Eric didn’t want an apology. Better to just show his repentance by doing as he was told without hesitation or question. He gave Eric a little smile before going to the drawer to get forks and then heading into the bedroom.

Mav grinned as Erc gently reminded them of their place, and that grin only grew when Eric gave them little orders to follow. He was sure that Eric had given those orders just to help them after their punishments, and Mav cherished that. It was a sign of how well Eric looked after the subs in his care. “Yes Master,” Mav smiled and took Caleb’s hand as they walked into the bedroom. “Do you think Sir meant naked when he said something more comfortable? That’s my comfortable, but if you guys are wearing something, that might turn me on and I don’t want to start something when we’re supposed to be having some downtime,” Mav babbled a little as they moved into the bedroom.

Caleb looked over at Maverick, surprised that the sub would take his hand. Had Maverick forgiven him that easily? He squeezed Mav’s hand, though, not wanting him to feel rejected. “Um… I dunno. I was just going to put on sweatpants and a t-shirt….” He set the forks on the bedside table. “But if you’re comfortable naked… I don’t know. Maybe you should go ask? Actually, no, we shouldn’t bother him with more questions. Usually if he wants us naked he says so.”

Mav nodded, and moved to grab his clothes. “I think I’ll stick with sweatpants. If Master doesn’t want me shirtless, he’ll tell me,” he smiled as he eased himself into his grey sweats. He began to turn down the bed, wanting everything to be perfect before Eric came back in.

‘You know, this is definitely a sight I could get used to.’ He announced, leaning against the door frame. He couldn’t explain the desire he felt around both of them. It wasn’t always sexual in nature; it wasn’t on this occasion. He just found he consistently felt confident, comfortable and cherished when he spent time with them. They made him feel good; and something in him screamed at him to create the same comfort for them. ‘Food’s ordered. I went for pizza and sides. I figured it’s impossible to go wrong with pizza. Should be here in an hour or so.’ He explained, walking further into the room. ‘You both feeling alright?’ He asked, looking between his boys.

Caleb looked up at the sound of Eric’s voice and tensed, because he hadn’t heard Eric coming. But he looked relaxed, so Caleb relaxed as well and sent him a small smile. “Pizza is good, thank you, Sir.” He moved back a little, giving Eric room to get into bed first. “Yes, Sir, I’m alright.” He spoke quietly, his voice small and his posture pulled in on himself, clearly trying to take up as little space as possible, both physically and emotionally.

Maverick turned and grinned when Eric spoke. “Both of us preparing the room for us all to relax and sleep?” Mav asked, as he thought about what that implied. He had to admit that, even for a sexual submissive like himself, he loved domestic moments like this a lot. “Oh, please tell me you ordered cheesy garlic bread, Master,” he said with a hopeful tone to his voice, in an almost deliberate attempt to try to ignore the intenseness of earlier. “I think maybe...we need hugs and stuff from our Dom,” Maverick said softly, hoping that Eric got his implication.

‘Hugs and stuff I can definitely do.’ He lay back on the bed, settling into the middle spot before he beckoned Caleb and Maverick over. ‘I want both of you tucked up against me.’ He insisted. There were definite doubts in the back of his mind that he was handling this all wrong; particularly where Caleb was concerned. He wanted to show him that things could go back to normal; that he wasn’t going to hold anything over his head and so he didn’t give either boy an option to create any distance between them. He drew them both as close as he could, and turned his head each way to kiss their hair. ‘You’re both good boys; and right now, you’re my good boys.’ He nodded. ‘I couldn’t be prouder honestly.’

‘Your Dom,” Caleb thought when Maverick asked for hugs, but Caleb wanted to be held too, and he didn’t want to cause any more trouble. He was quiet and kept his head down as Eric got settled and he followed suit, climbing into the bed. He didn’t hesitate to move in close, because Eric had told them to. He obediently tucked himself into Eric’s arm, laying on his side so he could lay his head on Eric’s shoulder and slip his arm over Eric’s waist. He bumped Mav accidentally when reaching across and murmured a soft “Sorry,” as he pulled back and tried to be conscious of sharing Eric with Maverick, curling his arm so he only took up a little space on Eric’s chest. “Thank you, Sir,” he said again, just as quiet, when Eric praised them. He still didn’t feel like he was a good boy, certainly not compared to Maverick, but he wasn’t willing to do anything except accept Eric’s affection right now.

Maverick smiled softly as Eric told them they were good boys, and that were his good boys right now. As soon as Eric was laying on the bed, he laid down with him, snuggling into Eric’s side. He watched Caleb doing the same on the other side of the bed, and copied him by putting his arm across Eric’s waist, a little lower. “It’s okay,” he smiled across at Caleb, and blew him a gentle kiss. He turned his head slightly, dropping a kiss to Eric’s stomach, before resting his cheek against Eric’s torso. “Gotta figure out a way for me to lay like this and knit, Master,” Mav smiled softly.

‘Pfft, I’m not sure even you could manage to find a way to do that comfortably Mav.’ He retorted, giving his head a shake. It felt right to have the two of them like this; he felt right. For a brief moment, he thought about what it would be like to claim them both. A thought that was probably entirely too premature but one he enjoyed regardless. Something still didn’t feel right with Caleb however; he didn’t sound right and he couldn’t ignore it. ‘If something’s not feeling right Caleb, I want you to tell me.’ He said quietly, turning to look at the Switch. ‘If you’re not feeling right after a punishment, there’s more I need to do.’ He pointed out, squeezing the arm he had draped around his shoulder. ‘You sure you’re okay?’ He prompted.

Caleb wanted to cringe when Eric asked if he was okay again. He had been trying to take up as little of the Dom's attention as possible, but that clearly hadn't worked. He wanted to pull away, but he knew that it would upset Eric if he did, and probably upset Maverick too. “I'm sorry for worrying you,” he said softly, ducking his head down so Eric couldn't see his face. “I'm okay, Sir. Please don't… please don't worry about me. I don't need anything. I'm only concerned that Mav is okay.” He looked across Eric's chest, meeting Maverick's eyes, and sent him a little smile.

Maverick smiled at Eric’s gentle teasing, and pressed a little kiss to Eric’s chest as a reply before laying his head back down on the Dom’s torso again. He stayed quiet as Eric talked to Caleb. He could tell there was something up with Caleb too, but he knew it was Eric’s place to try to help, if Caleb was ready to accept any help. His heart did a little somersault as Caleb admitted to being worried for him, and he reached out to take Caleb’s hand in his own, their hands resting on Eric’s stomach. “I’m still a little upset at myself,” he said softly to Caleb, and then looked up at Eric too. He squeezed Caleb’s hand gently. “I know I have things I gotta work on to make sure this doesn’t happen again, but I know Master will help me get there.”

‘I can’t help but worry about you sweet boy.’ He purposefully chose to use the term that he knew Caleb loved so much. ‘I worry about the two of you in equal measure because I care so much for you.’ He replied simply, honestly. ‘You’re both — more important to me than I anticipated either of you being and that means I can’t not worry about you.’ He let out a short laugh and rested his hand over theirs, linked on his stomach.

Caleb turned his hand over to fit into Maverick's and squeezed lightly. He was glad at least that Maverick still wanted to be his friend, and Eric still cares about him. When Eric admitted that he cared about both of them more than he'd expected, Caleb looked up at him. He searched his face for a moment, trying to understand. “I don't want to be a burden to you,” he said finally, softly. “Either of you. And I know you'll just say I'm not, but… Sir, I've already caused you more strife than any sub should. Not just today. I know I'm difficult.”

‘I don’t think you’re difficult at all.’ He replied immediately. ‘I can’t think of a single second of strife that you’ve caused me. I’m sure Maverick feels the same.’ He breathed out a sigh and shook his head. ‘I don’t think I can really convince you of that. I think that’s something you need to come to believe yourself. The only thing I can ask is that you keep trusting me as long as I give you reason to, and that you give me the opportunity to show you how much I care for you.’

Caleb gave Eric a disbelieving look. “One time I locked myself in your bathroom for ten minutes while you sat outside and listened to me cry,” he said flatly. Eric could try to reassure him all he wanted, but Caleb knew that he had given Eric cause for distress. But he shook his head and looked down, tucking his face into Eric’s shoulder again so he didn’t have to make any more eye contact with him or Maverick. “I trust you, Sir,” he murmured. “I know you won’t hurt me or yell at me.”

‘You think I haven’t sat in a bathroom and cried before?’ He prompted. ‘This goes for both of you. There are going to be times, plenty of them, when you feel like your emotions are overwhelming you. I might not always be able to stop that but I always want to be there for you. That’s the exact time you’re supposed to come to me, and I hope, that’ll be the time when I can lean on you too.’ He confessed. He let out a sigh and turned to kiss Caleb’s hair before he turned to kiss Maverick. ‘Let’s just relax a while. I think perhaps, for right now at least, we’re all talked out.’

Caleb sighed softly and nodded, his cheek rubbing against Eric’s chest. “Yes, Sir.” It was true, he didn’t want to talk anymore. He wanted to be quiet and have no one look at him or talk to him or pay attention to him, and just lay here with Eric and Maverick. He closed his eyes and squeezed Maverick’s hand softly.

Maverick closed his eyes as Eric kissed him, feeling a million times more content and relaxed that he had done a couple of hours ago. “Relaxing would be good,” he mumbled, as he held Caleb’s hand while they lay snuggled against Eric. He squeezed Caleb’s hand and shot him a little smile, before closing his eyes.

#eric #maverick #maverick the sass king

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placetobenation · 4 years ago

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Breaking News – The WWE has released Zelina Vega.

WWE has come to terms on the release of Zelina Vega. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.https://t.co/RUebMGwBTA

— WWE (@WWE) November 13, 2020

Talk about your Friday afternoon news dump. Gone from the WWE Universe is one of its best personalities. During the first few months of the pandemic, it was Zelina Vega, Andrade and Angel Garza who we saw each and every show, multiple times a show, that carried the company through a tough time. Vega’s was reportedly very vocal in voicing her displeasure at the way the WWE has banned its superstars from benefitting on third party apps like Twitch for supplemental income. In Stamford, it’s either Vince’s way or the highway. And now, it looks like Vega has her bags packed to travel to another place of work.

It’s a brand new world and with AEW, Impact Wrestling, MLW, New Japan and Ring of Honor all out there ready to make a splash, it shouldn’t take long for Vega to find a new home after her non-compete clause is fulfilled.

It’s too bad that the WWE couldn’t find a way to use Vega correctly as her passion, in and out of the ring, combined with her talents and amazing good looks, not to mention an attraction to the Latin audience, should be a plus to any company. Now, here’s hoping they don’t punish Aleister Black the way they punish Lana when Rusev, i.e. Miro left.

As for the rest of the week around the WWE, the temperature is rising towards Survivor Series. It’s an odd PPV in that there’s no real build-up to the matches themselves other than the red brand vs. the blue brand for one night. RAW vs. SmackDown isn’t as sexy as last year’s “what will NXT do” against the major players. Now, don’t get me wrong, the matches that night will be good, if not very good. It’s just that there are no consequences to the outcomes of the matches as each side will just go back to their brand-specific storylines after Survivor Series.

Survivor Series – Updated Card:

The Undertaker’s Final Farewell

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks

Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits

United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn

5-on-5 Women’s Survivor Series Elimination Match (RAW – Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose, Lana vs. Ruby Riott, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, TBD, TBD)

5-on-5 Men’s Survivor Series Elimination Match (Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, Riddle vs. Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins, TBD)

RAW

RESULTS

Second Chance Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Riddle defeated Elias & Jeff Hardy

Shayna Baszler defeated Lana

Riddle & Keith Lee defeated Braun Strowman & Sheamus

United States Championship Match: Bobby Lashley defeated Titus O’Neil to retain title

Non-Title RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka defeated Nia Jax via DQ

24/7 7-way Championship Match: R-Truth wins title after multiple changes

Mustafa Ali defeated Ricochet

Drew McIntyre & The New Day defeated Randy Orton, The Miz & John Morrison

8TH TIME! 8TH TIME! 8TH TIME! 8TH TIME! #WWERaw @LanaWWE @NiaJaxWWE pic.twitter.com/LDPA4DTMUI

— WWE (@WWE) November 10, 2020

Clearly, RAW is broken. And yes, I mean broken in more ways than the 8 tables that Lana has been put through by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. That one storyline is a microcosm for what’s going on during Monday nights. It seems like the WWE is more interested in getting Lana through yet another table to somehow make her sympathetic to the audience, it’s not happening BTW, than giving us a compelling story with the RAW Women’s team for Survivor Series. They threw away a championship match between Asuka and Nia Jax (again!). They had Shayna Baszler and Jax backing down at one point to Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose (why?!). All this to show us no one likes each other and to put Lana through a table. No sense at all!

They used Riddle wrestling twice in an hour just to show us how dysfunctional the men’s Survivor Series team is. I’m expecting Styles to be kicked off the team so that Drew McIntyre can join in. One of the few bright spots on the 3-hour marathon was the backstage talk between Sheamus and McIntyre.

WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW! #WWERaw @KingRicochet @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/JAp8a0XRVH

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 10, 2020

Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet was amazing, as expected. Unfortunately, it got buried in the course of the night beset with problems. For now, RETRIBUTION seems to be nothing more than a mid-card angle. Seems to be a waste of Mia Yim and Dominik Dijakovic.

I have no clue why Angel Garza is still being wasted on the Bachelor gimmick. No one cares. Give him a night with Charly Caruso and be done with it.

Alexa Bliss says goodbye to Nikki Cross for The Fiend. Expected but kind of a throwaway.

The Legend will see his way out of this one. #WWERaw @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/zcLGL1Cpnc

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 10, 2020

Randy Orton kisses off his tag team partners in the main event, leaving The Miz and John Morrison to get destroyed by McIntyre and The New Day. You know that Orton wanted no part, especially now that he’s got to defend his WWE Championship against McIntyre Monday night in the go-home show to Survivor Series (can you say The Fiend interference anyone?).

All in all, not a great show for RAW, something we’ve become accustomed to over the past few months.

NXT

RESULTS

NXT North American Championship Match: Leon Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano to win title

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match: Santos Escobar defeated Jake Atlas to retain title

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Xia Li went to a no-contest

Candice LeRae defeated Toni Storm

Timothy Thatcher defeated Dexter Lumis

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch defeated Breezango to retain titles

From top to bottom, NXT continues to show exactly why it’s everything RAW is not.

Surprises, sense-making angles and in-ring action that’s second to none in the company. That’s what we got Wednesday night.

THE UPSET OF THE CENTURY HAPPENED ON #WWENXT!!! pic.twitter.com/fb7Gaa1rI8

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) November 12, 2020

Starting right off with Johnny “Wheels” Gargano using the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal contenders match to choose Leon Ruff as his opponent, it was a night of fun. Gargano’s own move backfires immensely as Ruff upsets him, with Damian Priest’s help, to become the new North American Champion. Then, later in the night, it’s Gargano’s better half, Candice LeRae getting the better of Toni Storm with the help of her friend, Miss Scream, Indie Hartwell as they move the feud with Shotzi Blackheart one step ahead.

#WWENXT @CandiceLeRae @indi_hartwell @ShotziWWE pic.twitter.com/egPWHAPTif

— WWE (@WWE) November 12, 2020

THAT’S WHAT WE DO #WWENXT #PATISNXT pic.twitter.com/6ZfEzLKEY8

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 12, 2020

In the main event, Pat McAfee returns to lead what he calls the best four-man group in wrestling history to a successful tag team title defense. Sure, McAfee’s claim is in gest Four Horseman fans, but the fact that he says it is magnificent. Not only do Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, along with Pete Dunne, retain the titles, but also take it to Drake Maverick, who tried to help out Breezango. Nice punt on Breeze to by McAfee himself to close the show.

In the ring, Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas was impressive. LeRae vs. Storm was just getting going in a match that I think we’ll see again down the road. Timothy Thatcher vs. Dexter Lumis was physically as heck too!

"I ain't scared of you, Lumis…"@CGrimesWWE is facing his fears and then some on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/cmFZ8jaVYE

— WWE (@WWE) November 12, 2020

Now, I could do without the burlap sack over Lumis’ head that I think will lead to a blindfold match (I hope not!) between Cameron Grimes and Lumis, but at least it makes sense for Grimes to get revenge from Halloween Havoc. It seems like everything done Wednesday night made sense.

"This 2020 locker room culture… it's going to change."

#WWENXT @NXTCiampa pic.twitter.com/3w72SXO7hk

— WWE (@WWE) November 12, 2020

Tommaso Ciampa vowing more change to the NXT locker-room was a beauty of a backstage promo. Raquel Gonzalez beating up Boa after the no-show of Xia Li is intriguing as have no idea what anything between Li and Boa and a new mystery man means for any of them.

All in all, a very good show considering those missing – Finn Balor, who returns this week to talk about his next NXT Championship challenger and The Undisputed Era. And oh yeah, Karrion Kross could be coming back anytime soon!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn defeated Apollo Crews by count out to retain title

Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler

No Holds Barred Match: Rey Mysterio defeated Seth Rollins

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Liv Morgan defeated Natalya, Chelsea Green & Tamina

Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Jey Uso

Before we get into the show itself, I ask this. Shouldn’t the final chapter between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio have been built up a bit instead of just announcing it an hour before its onset Friday night? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy the final chapter is here because the storyline has been overdone, but if you’re going to have finality, make it seem bigger that what it was portrayed.

"I don't watch RAW. It's all good, nobody does. Nobody is watching that show because they are all watching SmackDown." – @WWERomanReigns to @DMcIntyreWWE OH SNAP! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/vwFQgp8vFt

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 14, 2020

Count me as one who would rather see Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. The moment that McIntyre stepped into the SmackDown ring to open the show with Reigns, it seemed BIG. Loved the back-and-forth and a bit of shooting going on too. Roman needles Drew about blowing the audition when he flubbed his lines. Drew shooting back about Reigns not being there for WrestleMania when McIntyre was. Reigns firing off that he doesn’t watch RAW, no one does! Really good stuff.

Sami Zayn is downright hilarious and creative as hell! Loving the latest from the I-C Champion. The match was what it was against Apollo Crews. It did what it had to do: keep the title on Zayn.

Team Baymella forever. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/WFGVZXIDKS

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 14, 2020

Could we get Carmella and Bayley teaming up to take on Sasha Banks? Sure feels that way.

Is Chad Gable about to build his own stable with the Alpha Academy. The quick vignette was worth more than his match with Dolph Ziggler. It’s got me intrigued to say the least and it has a Cobra Kai feel with maybe Kurt Angle coming back to play the John Kreese role.

A triumphant night for the Mysterio family & @WWE_Murphy! What a way to end the final chapter on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/7gI8XW0be8

— WWE (@WWE) November 14, 2020

Even without the buildup, Rollins and Mysterio put together a well done No Holds Barred Match. It was a little slow to start but heated up. Nice save in the middle by the pair with an almost botched powerbomb from the top rope through the table. Murphy aligning himself with Mysterio and attaching Rollins was a no-brainer too! Love and lucha libre conquers all, even the Messiah! It’s all about the moments in the WWE and that one paid off with a handshake and a family hug. I hope Murphy now gets a chance to show how good he really is without Rollins. But first, he’s going to have to face Seth trying to destroy him.

.@WWE_Murphy just DROPPED @WWERollins! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/x0TZUy53sr

— WWE (@WWE) November 14, 2020

I’ll say it once, I’ll say it a thousand times. The “I’m entitled” look for Natalya is not a good one. Especially when she does nothing with it but lose. Welcome to the Blue Team Liv Morgan. Does Chelsea Green have inside track to the team through Adam Pearce?

Messages SENT.#SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @DMcIntyreWWE pic.twitter.com/4zAFF7Fp8h

— WWE (@WWE) November 14, 2020

Give WWE credit. They’ve made Jey Uso into a main event player. It’s another Friday night where Uso is looking good, this time against McIntyre. I liked that it still went to a clean finish even with the Reigns distraction. Kudos as well to the end where Roman asks Drew if he understands and tells him to get him a championship and we’ll see you at Survivor Series. Good foreshadowing there? I’m in if they do. Either way, that potential match already has more heat than the scheduled Reigns vs. Randy Orton contest.

Parting shots:

ICYMI: Tribute To The Troops returns December 6th on FOX! pic.twitter.com/n6oPG3Erta

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 14, 2020

Good to see the Tribute to the Troops coming back on FOX. It’ll be taped at the WWE ThunderDome and broadcast on FOX during NFL Football Sunday either prior to or after the local market’s game on December 6th (3pm or 4:30pm). It was amazing to see back in the day when the WWE would go overseas to perform in front of the troops, but after not having a show last year, the show returns in a different, COVID-19 safe version.

RIP Eddie Guerrero. Hard to believe it’s been 15 years. Long live Latino Heat!

Coming up this week:

RAW: WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyreRAW Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin

NXT: NXT Champion Finn Balor returns NXT Women’s Championship Match: Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley

SMACKDOWN: Seth Rollins vs. Murphy

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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itsworn · 8 years ago

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Exclusive: Factory Stock is Fast Blast at 2017 Gatornationals

The year was 1972. NHRA’s Pro Stock class was rapidly changing, thanks in no small part to William Tyler Jenkins and his SRD car-building crew in Malvern, Pennsylvania. During the past season and for most of 1970, the Chryslers had been dominant – Ronnie Sox, Dick Landy, Herb McCandless, and Mike Fons had won all but three titles since the class’ debut at the 1970 Winternationals. With Hemi power proving dominant, Jenkins had talked with NHRA about using a Vega for 1972, one with a very well-developed small-block Chevrolet. Jenkins had actually won 66 percent of the non-Chrysler victories (the 1970 Winternationals and inaugural Gatornationals) before being shut out for almost two seasons, so the mouse that roared was sweet revenge indeed, if only for a season. After dominating most of that season, by the end of 1972, NHRA refactored the small-block Chevrolet, and so began the epochal era of Pro Stock four-door Mavericks, AMC World Champions, and other unique combinations until the sanctioning body returned to the flat cubic-inch/minimum, weight/approved body class still used today.

Beyond all the hoopla, something died in Pro Stock when Grumpy’s Toy showed up in Pomona in 1972. This had been a class for Detroit’s hot rods, and muscle cars themselves were fading fast from the factory scene as well. The 1974 gas crunch simply sealed the deal that had begun with emissions controls, mandatory safety equipment, and insurance premiums. Camaros, Mustangs, and Mopar’s E-body Challengers and ‘cudas all either morphed into shadows of the big-block era or left the production environment entirely.

Nearly five decades after Jenkins’ two 1970 wins, we are at the 48th edition of the NHRA Amalie Gatornationals. Pro Stock is still a professional category, featuring wildly configured Camaros and a handful of Dodge Darts with 500-ci approved engines. Attention to that class remains part of the Mello Yello Series, but the narrative above lays the groundwork for what may be one of the most exciting developments for NHRA doorslammers in recent memory: the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology (SAM Tech)-sponsored Factory Stock Showdown.

The Factory Stock Showdown will encompass five events total. The 2017 Gatornationals was the class opener, followed by the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, April 28-30, Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, June 22-25, Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, and AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, with a 16-car field scheduled for the Big Go at Indy.

The most important factor that makes the category exciting is that the cars are Stock Eliminator legal. In other words, this is a combination of advanced factory development, individual engine building and blueprinting of that equipment, and a nine-inch-wide tire that makes this as much of a driver’s race as a horsepower race. No matter how good the combination is, everyone is on a fine line between smoking the tires (too much power) or wheelstanding (too much launch). Therefore, the driver needs to carefully consider their style and conditions on each pass, which are run off using a .5 pro yellow/green tree. For the fans, it is the idea seeing all the brands are involved and ‘runnin’ all you brung’ wheels-up action that differentiates this from Pro Stock.

Seventeen cars eventually showed up to qualify for eight spots in the FS/XX supercharged class. According to the rules for the blower cars, Chevrolet’s COPO Camaro is limited to the 350 ci engine, the Drag Pak Challenger is allowed 354-inches, and The Cobra Jet Mustangs can run the Coyote 5.0L with either a 2.3L Eaton supercharger, or a 2.9L supercharger, with differing weight breaks for each: 3,350 or 3,550-pounds, respectively.

In the normally-apsirated class, the 427ci COPO Camaro, 426 aluminum Gen III Hemi, and 429-inch Ninja late-gen Ford must weigh 3,350 pounds. Mopar’s V10 drag engine bumps the weight up to 3,425 and, seemingly in a nod to the Grump’s legacy, “all other entries [must weigh] 3,200.” The cars also qualify with Stock Eliminator, which at Gainesville were three time shots on Thursday; two qualifying runs, and the first round of class runoffs. This gave the quickest eight cars spots in the eliminator, with the rest of the cars classified in XX being allowed to drop back into the overall Stock Eliminator program ladder. The eight qualified cars then got their first round in between Saturday’s two professional qualifying sessions, and final two rounds on Sunday afternoon.

With that introduction, leading the pack with near identical times of 8.10 was the 2015 COPO Camaro of Gary Wolkwitz driven by David Barton (8.101) and the 2016 Cobra Jet Mustang of Chris Holbrook, a tick behind at 8.109. Both men are from engine building families. Holbrook is from Michigan, the son of Ford racing expert Carl Holbrook, while Barton hails from Pennsylvania, the son of noted engine builder Ray Barton. Also in common is that both are seasoned drivers. Holbrook has piloted cars as fast as 800-ci IHRA Pro Stocks, and Barton has run the baddest-of-the-bad SS/AH Hemi A-bodies. Both have the work ethic that makes modern champions – long hours on the dyno and assembly rooms, talent in everything from laptop tuning to suspension blueprinting, and the willingness to go all out to win. Shreveport, Louisiana’s Stephen Bell was third in a 2015 COPO at 8.148, followed by young Peter Gasko Jr in a 2015 Camaro at 8.167. Bell also won the FS/XX class title Thursday evening. Next up was NHRA Pro Stock World Champ Erica Enders in a Patterson Racing 2017 Camaro. Sixth was Geoff Turk, a former Caterpilar engine designer who trained at the GM Tech Center and has drag raced Mopars most of his life. He had the only Drag Pak in the field, likely the most competitive one in the nation. Turk and his wife Sandi ran the car called Blackbird (of supersonic jet plane fame) in Super Stock trim last year, and popped off an 8.204 in Factory Stock trim on his second pass here. Multi-time winning Comp driver Todd Patterson from Kansas was seventh at 8.22 in his 2017 COPO, and veteran blue oval racer Chuck Watson put a second Ford in the program, with an 8.238 in his 2015 model to take the bump spot. That meant five Camaros, two Mustangs and one Dodge, separated by just 0.14 seconds.

Qualifying had been in amazing weather, with mineshaft-level air and sub-50 degree temperatures. Saturday was something altogether different, now at 75 degrees, bright sunshine, and air measuring over 1,400 feet above sea level. The first pair out was statesman Watson versus the young man Gasko, and even though Watson’s nose went up, he gathered it in and won in an upset, 8.53 to 8.76. Next, Turk’s Blackbird lifted up of the ground and then smoked the tires, getting to see Holbrook thunder to a fast 8.15 for low time of the round. The third pair was the Camaros of Bell and Patterson, and Bell used all his class-winning practice to score the win, going 8.30 over 8.41. The last pair was Barton and Enders, and the distaff Pro Stock pilot succumbed to traction issues while Barton ran a fat 8.18 to finish off the round.

The second round occurred on Sunday with two Chevrolets and just one Ford, as Holbrook had cracked a block in his winning effort but was out of parts and already on his way home. Watson got the chance to check the track on an 8.22 single. Then Barton and Bell left the line heads-up, with Bell wheelstanding high on both the launch and second gear change; a move towards the wall meant he had to lift, and Barton, who dominated the 2016 season in this same car, was again on his way to the money round after another 8.18 to Bell’s slowing 9.10.

The final would match the Number 1 and Number 8 qualifiers, Ford-versus-Chevy, and times of 8.18 and 8.22. Coupled with Turk’s 8.20 in the Dodge, it appears to be a pretty even program for all involved. The fans watched as the two lined up. Watson had already cranked through the water and was ready to go as Barton came forward from staging. At the green, the Camaro grabbed a wheels-up lead and held on through the lights, an 8.131 to Watson’s second 8.22 in a row.

With four more events on the schedule, it is expected that even more drivers will be involved in this as times continues. Fuel car pilot Leah Pritchett made a couple of runs in a Drag Pak and may also be a future participant from Dodge, while both Ford and Chevrolet racers are eager to get another shot at the program’s fame later in 2017. Be forewarned, as part of Stock, come early if you want to see them run qualifying; it’s well worth the cost of an early-morning wake-up call and a Thursday ticket. Be there.

2017 Gatornationals Factory Stock Showdown

Final Field 1 10 David Barton, Robesonia PA, ’15 Camaro 8.101 169.91 169.91 2 3334 Chris Holbrook, Livonia MI, ’16 Mustang 8.109 167.97 168.32 3 439 Stephen Bell, Shreveport LA, ’15 Camaro 8.148 167.86 167.86 4 1991 Peter Gasko Jr, Monroe Twp NJ, ’15 Camaro 8.167 166.83 166.83 5 430E Erica Enders, New Orleans LA, ’17 Camaro 8.170 163.49 163.49 6 360 Geoffrey Turk, Yorkville IL, ’15 Challenger 8.204 168.01 168.01 7 5250 Todd Patterson, Augusta KS, ’17 Camaro 8.220 167.01 167.01 8 3469 Chuck Watson, Grosse Ile MI, ’16 Mustang 8.238 169.06 169.06

———— Not Qualified ————

9 1587 Don Fezell, DuBois PA, ’08 Mustang 8.252 165.05 165.05 10 R210 Richard Bierie, Atworth GA, ’17 Camaro 8.396 162.04 162.04 11 3805 Kevin Skinner, Grove City OH, ’14 Mustang 8.476 163.04 163.04 12 243 Roy Hill, Sophia NC, ’14 Mustang 8.601 157.17 157.17 13 2749 Matthew Bell, Piedmont SC, ’16 Mustang 8.619 157.71 157.71 14 4731 Austin Ford, Spring TX, ’16 Mustang 8.719 156.73 156.73 15 1141 Gardner Stone, Addison VT, ’16 Mustang 8.735 162.63 162.63 16 222 Waldemar Rodriguez, Cidra PR, ’15 Camaro 9.485 146.89 157.71 17 473 Arthur Kohn, Richmond TX, ’16 Camaro 13.700 60.37 60.37

David Barton’s ‘shop car’ COPO Camaro came to Gainesville and left with top qualifier and winner honor; he also won multiple times in competition last season. Owned by the Wolkwitz team, this COPO is the most feared in the series, and Barton is basically one of Factory Stock’s pro-level pilots.

This is what they got up early to see; late-model factory supercharged muscle, running heads up. This is the Mustang of Don Fezell, the first Stock driver to ever go in the eight second zone, and Arthur Kohn’s SAM Tech backed 2016 Camaro. Neither made the final program at Gainesville.

Chuck Watson’s WR Racing Mustang will be familiar to NMRA and NHRA sportsman fans. The seasoned pilot parlayed his Number 8 qualifying time into a final round berth against Barton, running consistent 8.20s.

Geoff Turk and his Drag Pack were the only Mopar in the field, and he ran times of 8.26 and 8.20 before traction woes ended his weekend during eliminations. The Blackbird is a reference to the sonic-era military plane.

Chris Holbrook spent the winter making multiple repairs. His colorful Holbrook Racing Mustang qualified second with an 8.10, but his first-round race win resulted in a cracked block.

This semi-final match was the most dramatic round of the event. Stephen Bell pulled a high wheelstand again Barton, and held on as the car lifted again at 200 feet out. With a choice of either lifting or hitting the wall, Bell chose discretion and likely saved himself some body and paint work.

Erica Enders-Stevens was in a new Camaro fielded by the Patterson Racing team. She qualified for this show as well as the Pro Stock field, but lost traction here in round one. Even with finesse, it is a driver’s challenge when launching on nine-inch-wide tires.

Yes, Peter Gasko, Jr had this run disqualified when he came down from a high wheelstand and crossed the centerline. This is why Factory Stock is attracting so much interest; there is no sure way the high-horsepower combinations will get down 1320 feet – up, across, or otherwise. With the combinations so close, there are no freebies in this deal, either.

Gainesville is one of the most modern tracks on the NHRA tour, and the tower design fits the Florida motif well. These are the entries lined up for round one action, which happened in front of a great crowd.

Barton was on time and enroute to his first 2017 title in the final. Watson ran close to his qualifying effort but was late getting off the lane; this was on Sunday and was broadcast live on Fox.

David Barton talks shop inside the transporter. The engine is stock, the car is covered for scratch protection, and the blower is on the counter. He notes this has been a great experience for him, and as a result, Ray Barton Racing Engines has become known for much more than the 426 Hemi packages they previously made famous.

Here is Chris Holbrook, checking on data following another run. Holbrook has driven many cars but is a very strong contender in Factory Stock. He is running the latest iteration of the Coyote Ford 5.0L engine in his Mustang.

Looking like just another racer, Geoff Turk is actually a career powertrain engineer who’s training at GM has allowed him to see the LS engine package before it was ever released. Now retired from Caterpilar, he had Tony Bischoff (BES Racing) blueprint the engine for Factory Stock racing.

Watson hooked hard in round one but made the numbers work to send Gasko home; these were the Number 4 and 8 qualifers and the first pair out for Saturday’s battle.

SAM Tech, based in Houston, has an entry for both Ford and Chevrolet fans on hand; this is an excellent vehicle to promote both their involvement in drag racing and hands-on experience with these special OEM combinations.

Even the great Roy Hill, whose racing school uses Mustangs regularly, got bitten by traction woes in round one, though he did leave Gainesville with a (get this) 7.78 in Super Stock to be the fastest-ever entry in that division.

The post Exclusive: Factory Stock is Fast Blast at 2017 Gatornationals appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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rpsports · 8 years ago

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Maverick Multisport Team: An interview about Coaching and Ironman Training Tools

Bevin: On today's hot property interview, we're very happy to be able to welcome Chris Hutchens from Maverick Multisport Team to the show. Welcome to the show, Chris.

Chris Hutchens: Thanks Bevin. Appreciate it.

Bevin: We just spoke before the interview and we were talking about how our podcast of light has just been focusing a little bit on the professional ranks and how professionals make money. This being the upsurge in professional Troy teams. We've been talking about BMC recently in Bahrain. You're not quite on those guys' budget levels just yet, but you've been around for a while now. Where did the concept of Maverick Multisports stand?

Chris: Oh gosh. You want the 60-second version or the long version? Which do you want?

Bevin: The long version.

Chris: Long version. Okay. Well, a little backstory on me. I was actually an airline pilot for about five years. When my wife and I had our third child, I ended up leaving Delta to be a stay-at-home dad. After about a year, I got a little stir-crazy. As a former collegiate swimmer and active triathlete, I started in the fall of I guess 2012. Helping out some pros in the sport that were really struggling with getting sponsorships lined up. That's what I went to university for.

I have some experience after college in that market. I stepped in and said, "Hey you're doing this all wrong. [laughs] Let me help. Please let me help you. I don't want to see you banging your head against the wall any longer." I hopped in and I helped three pros that year. It was one of those things where I said, "Hey, I'm not too bad at this. I'm actually having some success at it." That was in 2013, was the first full year that I did that.

From that I jumped in. 2014 is when it really took off. That year I had five pros. I had Matt Hanson on the team. His first year as a professional triathlete, he won Ironman Chattanooga that year and obviously, he's gone on to win Ironman Texas. I think everybody for the most part probably knows who Matt is. I had Amber Ferreira on the team that year. She won Ironman Lake Placid and went to Kona.

That second year, it just went like a rocket ship, and all of a sudden, everybody knew at least who we were as an organization. It just took off. Then last year, well I guess in 2015, we had six pros and we spun off an age group component to give us some additional bandwidth. Last year, it continued to grow with seven pros and 20 age groupers and now here we are.

In 2017, we've signed five pros for 2017 and we've got 48 age group athletes, now that raise for us. It's grown quite a bit from five years ago when I just had three pros and now we've got 53 athletes under the Maverick banner I guess you can say. It's been a fun ride. It's one of those things you can look back and say it like, "Wow. I can't believe where we are." It's just one foot in front of the other.

Bevin: Interesting. Really, really interesting. Would you say that you started off as more of an agent and working with them as individuals? Did it actually get to a point where you started to attract brands to these individuals and thought, "If I can retain all these brands, we may as well create a banner and then bring individual pros under that banner." How did it go from three or four athletes into what is your own brand?

Chris: Actually the name Maverick came from -- I started coaching youth and junior draft legal athletes. Here in the area where I live, I live in Louisville, Kentucky which is home to the Kentucky Derby. I was looking for something that would reflect the area. So horses and maverick and that's where the name Maverick Multisport came around. I started working with these three pros under that same banner and the pro thing really took off. The coach that I was running the junior team with, she moved to Colorado.

At that point I made a decision to say, "Okay. As much as I love coaching the youth and juniors, I'm putting all my chips in with the pros." It was one of those things where I really see a huge advantage being able to go to a company and saying, "I'm bringing to the table five, six, seven professional athletes that are going to have a very uniform look to them. Everybody is on the same bikes, the same wheelsets, the same power meters, wetsuits, everything like that." It gives a very clean look. Obviously if you're a company and obviously you use Polar as an example because Wayne sets this up.

Bevin: Great friend of the show.

Chris: If Polar comes to me, they're obviously a lot -- it's a lot easier for them to activate a relationship with me as one person as opposed to saying, "Okay, Chris. We would much prefer to go out and just find five or six or seven pros on our own." Well that takes a lot more legwork on their end where they can just come to me and say like, "Boom." It's a one-stop shop.

All the sudden, they don't have to worry about the contracts. They don't have to worry about anything else that goes on behind the scenes. It's just basically like, "Chris, we want to work with you guys." You activate the relationship and supply all the content and manage everything on the backside. If I was a company, I think it will be a dream relationship.

Bevin: Did it start like that though? Did you look when you had your first couple of pros and you were looking at them as individuals? Did you immediately into the market with that concept already fully formed?

Chris: No. I just went into the market with I'm going to package everybody under one umbrella as opposed to try and say, "Okay I've got this athlete. What can you do for this athlete, this athlete, this athlete?" I said, "I have a collection of athletes. This is what I wanted to do with them. Can you support these athletes as a single unit?" Fortunately, we had a couple companies that signed on that very first year which allowed it to start that snowball effect.

If that wouldn't have happened then, obviously we probably wouldn't be sitting here. Things worked out that first year and we got some traction. I think once you get a couple big companies signed on board, then the chips just started to fall into place like, "Oh okay. Well, you're working with XYZ company already." That's a pretty reputable brand. You must be doing something right if you already have a relationship with them. It just seemed to work out.

Bevin: Now that you've been doing this for a little bit, what is the sponsorships based like for triathlon? It seems that the budgets are getting a little bit tighter. We've got provisional triathletes that I coach. We talk to professional triathletes who are up and coming in and entering this market. You've just signed a couple of professional triathletes. One who's just entering the 70.3 space coming out of ITU, Dan Wilson who we had on the show a few weeks ago. Do you think that these teams are where most of triathlon is going to end up if you are actually trying to enter in as one of those newer pros?

Chris: If you are new or still relatively -- you're trying to establish yourself in the market, I think that getting onto a team is really and truly the way to go because again not just from a corporate standpoint but from an athlete standpoint if you go to a team, you immediately walk into relationships with bike companies, wheel companies, nutrition companies. You instantly even as an athlete have just a spider webbing reach where -- and then it takes a lot of the pressure of having to develop all these relationships.

I think that's something that certainly you have to do down the road, but if you are like you said Dan Wilson 10 years' racing ITU, coming into 70.3 this year, I think it's a great way for him to segway into non-draft racing. He may be on the team for a year. He may be on the team for five years, who knows, but I think it's a great way for him to get his name out there and step into a situation where he's got a ton of bandwidth behind him; because with 48 age group athletes on the team, all those athletes are obviously going to be following Dan and Clayton and Leslie and John and Rhuidean, all the pros that are on the squad- -and helping to like and re-tweet and follow and just do all the things that go on to help build a brand for them online.

Bevin: When did you decide to deviate into the age group side of things? And I noted from your website that initially you're only looking for a dozen age group for the team, but it's obviously moved out since then because it's successful?

Chris: Yes. I think at the end of the day, this is a business. As a business, you have to look at "Okay, how are we positioning ourselves to make money?" If you go to an Ironman race, a challenge race, 98% of the people on the starting line are age group athletes. How do we tap into that market? How do we leverage that relationship? Best by engaging with the age group athletes as a brand. We started that two seasons ago with six. Last year we had 20 and now we're up to 48.

It allows us to -- as a brand also go to the companies that we've worked with and say -- "The buck doesn't just stop with the five pros that we've worked with. You're also able to tap into and have a trickle down effect with these age group athletes. It's a good relationship. I think it's a win-win-win for everybody. It's a win for the age group athletes. It's a win for the company. It's a win for Maverick as a brand. It's just like a circle. You've got to keep everything going around and you don't want to break the chain. As long as we continue to do that, then I think it continues to work.

Bevin: Okay. Triathletes are trying to make money out there.

Chris: Right.

Bevin: Maverick's is trying to make money. How does it all work in terms of a business model because you're not doing it -- most of us in triathlon are doing it for the love [laughs] including a lot of the pros, but how does the business model actually work, so it serves both the pros and makes a sustainable living for you as a director of the team?

Chris: It's definitely tough. I wouldn't say that anybody is really getting rich off of it. I think we're able to provide a solid level of support for athletes. I think that there's probably 25 or so men and 25 or so women something like that. Really like globally that are able to I would say like this is --

Bevin: Yes. Paying the bills.

Chris: I've been around long enough to know what most people want, what most people are making. Like you said Bevin, I think most people are doing it for the love of the sport. There certainly are people that are making good money doing it. I know that for a fact. I think that we're able obviously to provide a lot of things that would be difficult to go out on your own and get. I don't want to go into it too much because I don't want to get on it all completely. We support the athletes to a degree where they're able to be successful.

Bevin: Also to a point where you see yourself in the market because as I say some of those other brands obviously -- there's no prints giving you --

Chris: On our back pocket of course.

Bevin: And no property you magnate in Europe.

Chris: We're basically in a stage, maybe you'll lose, get a President elect and put him in a pocket or something like that.

Bevin: Get one who's fond of triathlon.

Chris: That's perfect.

Bevin: What's the long-term goal for the team then? Obviously, it's really well established now. It's been running for a longest period of time. It's in that sickened tier of teams but it's successful and you've got some great brands aligned with you. Your job would be to obviously continue to try to expand.

Chris: Yes. Just like any brand, I come to look at it just like you would at any product. How do we make this watch better? How do we make this bike better? How do we make Maverick multi-sport as a brand better. We did that by continuing to recruit better pro-athletes. We try to do that by creating better relationships with the companies we work with. We try to step up to what we're doing from just a content creation standpoint. Because at the end of the day, as maybe shallow as this may sound, all these athletes is just an extension of the marketing departments for these companies. That's what an athlete really has to recognize that.

You're not part of their production. You're not part of their -- maybe sometimes they're indeed, but you're not part of their shipping department, you're not part of their executive department, you are part of their marketing department. We have to find the best and the most creative ways to help these companies market the products that we represent, so that we can provide the best ROI for them. So that when we come back around to the next year to look at contracts, they'll say "Yes. Dollar for dollar you guys gave us the best bang for our buck of anybody that we work with." That's what I've pretty consistently heard across the board.

The only complaint I've ever had from anyone is like "Chris, you gave us too much stuff," [laughs] which is a good thing. I guess our goal is to continue just to grow. Obviously just like any sport, whether if you're playing American football, you want to go to the Super Bowl. If you're playing in the NBA, you want to go win an NBA championship. Or you want to win a World Series in baseball. I think for us as a brand, obviously we want to try to continue to chase championships. 70.3 World's get somebody top 10 in Kona. Obviously podium at Kona maybe in the next two or three years. It's one of those things, it takes some time and it takes proper athlete. It takes at the end of the day money. But I think it's possible. I think we're on our way.

Bevin: One of the things that we've just talked about is actually last week on the podcast is that -- And I've been privy to a couple of contract offers for some of the athletes, my professional athlete that I coaches who sign for a team. There seems to be some push back from some of the brands at the moment as to where the athletes rise. Do you find that the market is Ironman scene trick from a sponsorship perspective? From the brands that you're dealing with? It is about 70.3 Worlds or do you find that it's a little bit more broader than that and the events like in the past we've had Rev3 and we've obviously got challenged and Toughman Tri's trying to establish itself. Or do you feel some pressure from the industry that it has to be 70.3 and Ironman focused?

Chris: I think that obviously Ironman and Ironman 70.3 is -- that's top dog. It probably will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. I think challenge is second there. Some of the other brands you mentioned Toughman and Rev3, they're great brands. We've got athletes to do those races, but I think that they still need to establish themselves a little bit more. They need to develop those brands. They need to get the following behind them. It's hard to compete with the brand where you got athletes; as soon as they finished the race, the next day are going to tattoo parlors to stamp.

Though you've got people that are so over-obsessed with Ironman, it's hard to get people to get that focus away. I think from an athlete's standpoint though, as far as companies that we work with, I think they prefer Ironman. I haven't really heard anybody say like "You have to do all Ironman races." I think at the end of the day, it's about how you -- if you go and win Challenge Rugby or whatever it may be, I think that at the end of the day, it's how you relay that information and how you take those results and repackage them and then obviously distribute it, and then just really activate that.

I would rather have somebody go and get third place at a race and we really blow the marketing out of the water and really create some buzz around that- -as opposed to go and have an athlete win a race. And then it's just crickets where nobody hears about it. That does nobody any good. I think it's [sic] really falls on the athlete's shoulders how you put a spin on the race result.

Bevin: This year you've got a few new athletes on the team. It's an exciting year for you because there's always going to be athletes who come and go. Say in Dan Wilson's case, his entry to 70.3 race has been actually pretty spectacular today. You've actually maybe signed up someone who could be quite a heavy hitter at 70.3 before the end of the season. Does that excite you with the people that you're working with this year?

Chris: Absolutely. Yes. Like you mentioned Dan, he transitioned after 10 years of ITU racing to 70.3 and goes and wins Noosa, and then -- the world's largest Olympic distance race. And then he follows it up with a win at the Challenge Shepp and Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney. He's into 2016 on fire. I'm excited to see what his -- how 2017 starts. I think as long as he stays healthy and just continues to do what he's been doing, I think he's going to be just fine.

And then, obviously, we brought on Clayton Fettell, another Aussie and he's had a great career over the past few years. Obviously, he's been to Kona and he's got his sight set on Kona this year. He just got married and had a little boy last year. So I think last year was probably pretty busy for him. From a personal standpoint, I think this year, the focus is going to be pretty lasered and dialed in. I expect great things from him this year as well.

Bevin: Well, it looks like -- You never know, Dan sneaks a 70.3 world title, all of a sudden Maverick Multisport is going to be spoken about in the same breath as BMC in Bahrain.

Chris: You never know. You never know. I wouldn't put it past him.

Bevin: No, I wouldn't put it past him either. Anyway, Chris -- Well. Thank you so much for taking some time out this afternoon to have a chat to us about Maverick Multisport. We'll definitely put the links up to your website and Facebook on our show notes. It's exciting to see the team expand and evolve, and we wish you the best of luck for the 2017 season.

Chris: Well, thank you, Bevin. I really appreciate the time. Thanks for having me on today.

- Interview brought to you by Fitter Radio (http://www.fitter.co.nz) & Chris Hutchens, Maverick Multisport

Check out Maverick Multisports recovery tools: (http://www.rpsports.com/recoverypump-products)

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