#oh to be the girl who’s got her arm in between micks

[cruesuffix]

i think this is the first time i’ve seen micks promo teaser photo!! made me think he didn’t do one! anyways wish i was that girl… you know the deal!

[disneyprincemuke]

ღ this barbie has a baby

"wait a second," max blinks, hands in the air to stop the conversation from going any further than it could. the rest of the guys quiet down and slowly turn to him. "are we just going to glaze over the fact that she said she's bringing a baby to the paddocks tomorrow?"

lando furrows his eyebrows. "surely, she's not talking about an actual baby, right?" he looks around for approval. "i just assumed she was talking about a... partner... boyfriend, perhaps?"

mick shrugs, "i always just assumed she was talking about a grown person. she wouldn't bring an infant to the track."

"is no one even concerned that she's only turning 19 this year and you lot assume that she's got a baby?" alex asks, scowling at his friends as he scratches his head. "maybe she knows someone named baby?"

"she calls them 'my baby', though," mick points out as he presses his lips together. "it has to be a person, right?"

"who's betting what?" charles raises his eyebrows. "i think it's neither a partner nor an infant. a car she named baby, maybe."

max furrows his eyebrows, throwing charles a questioning stare. charles just shrugs before looking around the group to get their opinions as well.

"okay, i bet dinner that it's just a friend," alex says. "you're all going to be eating your shit when tomorrow comes."

lando shakes his head. "i still think it's a boyfriend."

"what if it's a girlfriend?"

"fine," lando scoffs, clenching his jaw as he glares at charles from the corner of his eyes, "then i think it's a partner. happy?"

mick scrunches his nose. "i am not participating in a bet about my teammate! and i've seen her car before – it's definitely not called baby."

"don't be such a party pooper," max frowns. "come on, mick, you have to have made some assumption about who or what this baby is. i still think it's an infant."

"she's 18!"

"potato, potato," max waves their concerns off. "so this is all for dinner, right? bet?"

"yeah, bet."

"mick!" she throws her arm into the air at the sight of the german entering the paddocks, waving him to approach her. "come here! i want you to meet baby!"

mick perks up, eyebrows shooting up that he's coincidentally the first face she's seen as their day starts. she's in the middle of a crowd, hands held out ahead of her as he approaches. as the crowd dissipates, he realises that she's got a stroller parked in front of her.

could it actually be an infant? oh, god, suddenly he's very concerned for her as a person in general. how could this have happened?

"this is baby!" she grins, unzipping its cover to reveal two ears and a brown sweater. "my cat!"

his blue eyes jump between the cat and the girl with a pink bow in her hair, unsure what to do with the revelation that baby is a cat. so who exactly is buying dinner tonight? "your cat? baby is a cat?"

"yes!" she beams, reaching down to scratch the feline's chin, who purrs and closes her eyes at the affection. "my dad got me baby two years ago when i finished in the top 10."

"wait," mick looks down at baby again, "is she wearing a louis vuitton sweater?"

"well, she's a sphynx," she frowns, fixing the sweater and pulling it down a little, "she gets cold sometimes." then she takes a step back with a grin, hands held out as she spins around. "and look! we match!"

"why are you spinning– oh, what's this?" lando grins, noticing the way they were conversing before he even passed through the gantry. "oh! what is that?"

"her cat," mick says through gritted teeth, eyes widening and hitting lando softly on the arm to urge him to just keep his opinions to himself. "baby. that's barbie's cat – baby."

"you named your c-" lando scowls softly, dropping his head low as the girl stops spinning. he turns to mick to hide his face away and blinks. "that's not a cat, mate. that's raw chicken."

mick simply shrugs in response. “i know.”

“she’s a sphynx! isn’t she cute?” the girl giggles, tapping lando on the shoulder. “and we’re matching clothes.”

lando stares at her. “this is baby… a cat? not even a person? not even an actual infant?”

she blinks at him. “infant? i’m 18.”

“what are you guys doing obstructing the paddock entrance and wh– hey, what’s this?” alex approaches with his hands grabbing the straps of his backpack.

“it’s baby,” lando grins, blinking hard at his friend. “a cat.”

“oh, how love– oh,” alex cuts himself off as he hunched over and looks into the carrier. he looks at lando and mick. “i imagined a more fluffy cat.”

“is that raw chicken wearing an lv sweater?” max pops up between mick and lando, furrowing his eyebrows.

“raw– she’s a cat,” she says again, pointing at baby with vindiction. “do you need to start wearing glasses?”

max grins with a small nod. he turns slightly to the men next to her. “why does her cat look something i’d find in the poultry section of the grocery store?”

“probably because it is part of the poultry section of the grocery store,” alex mutters, maintaining his grin to appease the young girl standing in front of them.

“oh, what a lovely looking cat!” charles beams, towering over the stroller wide eyed. “can i pet her?”

“yes! this is baby!” she shrieks excitedly, grabbing charles’s shoulder. she holds her arms out. “look — we’re matching clothes!”

charles’s eyes widen along with his smile. “oh! you have to get me some so i can match with you guys one day!”

“fun’s over,” max grumbles under his breath, waving his hands in the air to dismiss themselves. “i’ll see you and your chicken later.”

she furrows her eyebrows. “she’s a cat!”

— bonus

"a chicken?" oscar blinks, scowling slightly at the older men standing before him. "she has a pet chicken?"

"sphynx cat," mick points out with a tired sigh and a roll of his eyes. he turns to max, "you can't keep calling baby a chicken. you'll upset barbie."

max throws his hands in the air. "you should have seen baby! that's not a cat!"

logan tilts his head, eyebrows furrowed. "what's a sphynx cat?" he shrugs when he receives stares from them. "i'm not a cat person."

"those hairless cats," oscar explains. "have you got a picture of this said pet chicken?"

"pet chicken?" fernando had been walking by when he suddenly overhears something of a pet chicken which, in theory, is already such an absurd situation. he just has to know what is going on. "who has a pet chicken?"

"barbie."

he takes a step back. "that's some next-level rich people behaviour. not even lance owns a chicken?"

"sphynx cat," mick corrects again, looking around to ensure that she's not around to hear the guys making fun of her choice of best friend in the form of a pet. "it doesn't even look like a raw chicken, mate, it's a grey cat."

oscar grins. "so raw chicken that's expired?"

"a sphynx cat!" fernando cheers with a soft clap. "how nice! but isn't that a bit..."

"could be worse, really," mick mutters. "she told me earlier she originally wanted a tiger."

"really? what pulled her away from wanting a tiger?" logan asks.

mick sighs. "she read up that it's not very conducive for wild animals to be domesticated. she does, however, contribute tons of money to wildlife charities monthly."

taglist: @33-81 @darleneslane @namgification @happy-nico @nikfigueiredo @localwhoore @angsthology @renarots @elliegrey2803 @cha-hot @cosmoscoffeee @fanficweasley @sugarhoneylemons @aquangxl @omgsuperstarg @strawberryubin @lovecarsgoingvroom @mangotaitai @cherry-piee @ladyladybuggg @lethalvenus @gentlyweeps-world @spilled-coffee-cup @charizznorizz @wcnorris @storminacloud @minkyungseokie @viennakarma @leilanixx @daniellef89x @fezlvr @lavisenri @xcharlottemikaelsonx @ultraviolencesam @selsbackyard @ilove-tswizzle @riddle-me-im-sirius @kindestofkings

[dazed-and-confused23]

Dear Hearts and Gentle People 4

Summary: After their reunion at the Atomic Wrangler, Cooper decides that he wants more than just a quickie out of his wandering trader.

Pairings: The Ghoul | Cooper Howard x Female Reader

Warnings. Drug use and Alcohol. Fluff and Smut. Little longer than the other ones ❤️

DHGP Masterlist

Cooper sits on the side of the bed, inhaler in hand as he stares down at the chem. You are still asleep behind him, body tangled in the sheets, exhausted after the exciting reunion between the two of you. You had been a breath of fresh air for the ghoul, especially after finding out the truth behind the fate of his family, and then Lucy, the vaultie, had left him too. Gone back home to her vault to save them from those goddamn Bud's Buds.

Cooper had elected to stay in Vegas. He likes the city, and the booze was cheap, and the chems were even cheaper if you knew where to get them. However, now that the ghoul was borderline sober, and with you by his side, Cooper realized that he'd had something to look forward to. To live for again. You.

Every time the two of you had crossed paths, you never failed to send the ghoul's black heart racing. You were a wastelander through and through, but you were good, and Cooper didn't want to let that go. No. He would hold on tight, and nothing in heaven or hell would get him to let you go.

First thing first, however, was to show you that he was serious and that he cared for you beyond a quick fuck and drug transactions. Cooper turned in the bed and leaned over you, tucking his knuckle under your chin and kissing you until you woke up. A soft sigh escaped you when the ghoul pulled away, and you opened your eyes to see him above you.

"Well, that's one way to wake a girl up," you murmur, and shift to your back, opening your arms so that Cooper can fall against your chest, his face pressed in the crook of your neck. You hum softly and press a kiss to his bald head, "What's got you in such a good mood?"

Cooper buries himself against you, shoving his arms under you so that he can hold you close. He listens to your heartbeat, and the sound of content he makes sounds more like a cat purr than anything else. He debates with himself before deciding to hell with it.

"Let me take you out. On a proper date," He began, and the more he spoke, the more he felt like his old self, Cooper Howard, before the end of the world, "You deserve it after everything you've done for me."

You eyed him, though your lips were already turning up at the idea. Who knew your ghoul was such a romantic? You tilt your head to the side, "Oh? And what did you have in mind?"

Cooper rises to his elbow and admires how your hair halos around your face. You are beautiful, even sleepy-eyed, and dressed in nothing but your panties.

"We're in Vegas, Baby. Let's make the most of it."

~~~~~

Mick and Ralph's had a surprising number of preserved prewar clothing, and you picked through the dresses looking for the perfect fit. You spotted a cute, blue number that would hug you in all the right places and billow out at the waist. Mick even had a cute pair of kitten heels that he gave you on the house.

Cooper had also done some digging around and conveniently found one of his old set costumes. The colors were faded, but they looked brand new compared to the get-up he always wore. Dressed to impress, the ghoul admired himself in the cracked mirror. If you ignored the obvious, Cooper looked like he'd just come off set of A Man and His Dog.

He wold whistles when you step out of the back room, and even though you're custom to his flirty behavior, you still blush bright and give Cooper a tiny grin. You've never had an opportunity to wear something so nice before, and it made you feel different, but not in a bad way.

"Well, look at you, Darlin'. All dressed up and beautiful for little ol' me," He crooned and snagged your hand, spinning you in a slow circle so that he could admire you from all angles. You give him a smile so full of fond amusement that Cooper’s heart stutters in his chest.

"Only for you, Cowpoke," you say and curl your hand behind his head to tug him down for a quick kiss that Cooper melts into.

After paying Mick and Ralph, Cooper escorts you to the gate of the Strip where the securitrons let the two of you by after flashing the passports you'd paid the shop owners for. Inside, the flashing neon lights made you squint, and you did your best to take it all in at once.

"A lot's changed since the last time I've been here," Cooper comments and casts his gaze around. It's been over two hundred years, but the Vegas Strip still felt the same. The two of you bypass Gomorrah and the Ultra Lux, and instead, head for the Tops where a man with blonde, slicked-back hair greets them with a suave grin.

"Hey, hey cats. My name is Swank. Welcome to the Tops Casino. The floor is open, and Tommy's got some real class acts tonight on stage if you're interested."

The two of you hand over any weapons that couldn't be concealed and head upstairs to the theater. A live band is playing on stage, and a place has been cleared in the middle of the room for dancing. Cooper leads you to a corner booth and drops to kiss your brow before he lopes off to order you both a drink.

From there, the night goes off without a hitch. The two of you drink til you feel tipsy and brazen enough to tug the ghoul out to the dance floor where Cooper upstages you and everyone else there. He twirls and dips you, leaving you a giggling mess and eyes only for him.

At some point, Cooper gets the grand idea to spend some caps on some chips, and you stand beside him as he cleans the blackjack table, coming away with more chips that you have to help him carry back to the exchange desk. The two of you eventually stumble out of the Tops and mosied back down the road to Gomorrah.

Their weapons are confiscated once more, and Cooper pays the receptionist for a hotel room for later on. He doubted that they would be sober enough to leave this place later on.

His hunch was right hours later when the two of you stumbled to the elevator. Coop's arm is tight around your waist, holding you close to keep you from tipping over. You cling to him, giggling as you wind your arms around his neck, and he catches your eyes, glassy from the jet that one of the dancers had given you.

"Your eyes are so pretty, ya know that?" You slur, and Cooper snickers as he leads you out of the elevator and down the hall to the room he'd rented. He's not nearly as gone as you, but he chalks that up to being used to the substance abuse.

You plop on the bed and reach back for the zipper of your dress, feeling too constricted in the blue fabric, and get stuck with it halfway off. Cooper laughs at you and comes to help, tugging the dress away and tossing it behind him before he pounces.

His lips meet yours in a slow kiss, a gentle give and take that turns heated when you bite his lip hard enough to hurt. You sooth it with your tongue, and groan when Cooper curls his own around the slippery muscle, the kiss wet and sloppy. He looms over you, keeping himself propped up with his elbow, while his other hand grips your waist, and rocks his hips down.

Cooper groans into the kiss when his clothed cock meets the heat between your thighs. You buck against him, whining into the kiss and demanding he take his damn pants off already.

"Patience, young grasshopper," Cooper rumbles above you and slides off the bed to button his shirt and jeans. He folds them almost reverently before he turns back to the bed and crawls on top of you, "Great things come to those who wait."

You scoff at him, though your lips are tilted up in amusement, "I've been waiting forever, Coop."

Your legs fall open and wrap around his waist. You are so wet that the ghoul can see slick glistening in the low light of the room where it clings to your puffy folds. He swallows harshly when you reach down and spread them, giving him an excellent view of your clit and twitching hole.

"Now I want you to fuck me like you mean it."

Cooper doesn't need to be told twice and spits in his hand before wrapping it around his cock and stroking himself twice before he lines up and sinks down to his balls. Your cunt throbs around him, pulling him impossibly closer, and he falls forward, hips humping forward as you cling to him.

Coop fucks you like it's his last day on Earth. He shifts to his knees, and his cock slips even further, pressing against something inside you that makes stars shatter. You curse loudly, Cooper’s name falling from your lips like a mantra as he hooks your legs over his shoulders and bends you over. The new position makes it hard to breathe, but all you want is more.

"'M close," Cooper grunts in your ear, and you lock your knees around his head, meeting him thrust for thrust as you work for your release. He unlocks his jaw and bites into the hollow of your throat. The pain is enough to send you over the edge, your pussy fluttering and gushing around the ghoul's cock.

"Ah-fuck," He snarls and follows you right over the edge, pumping you full of seed until it dribbled out from your stuffed cunt. He finds your lips kissing you as he rides out his orgasm, hips jerking when you tighten around him.

Cooper lays there, breathing you in and curling his arms tight around your waist. He is far too tired to move, and you don't seem to mind the extra weight with how tightly you hold him back. The ghoul feels at peace as if a part of his life he'd been missing has slotted back into place. He raises his head just enough to catch your eyes, and you reward him with an adoration-filled smile, but it's your words that cause his heart to explode like an atomic bomb.

"I love you."

You don't expect Cooper to pull you in for another kiss, this one soft and slow. He rests his brow against yours and wonders how he ever made it this far without you.

"I love you, too."

Holy moly, that got way sweeter than I intended. I hope you enjoyed it!❤️

[angsthology]

“im just excited, is all” — or an alt title: roo vs. the australian allegations

who is roo, really? why is roo?

a/n a short one cause if im being honest theres just one tiny explanation and... yeah

or, yknow, alt alt title: daniel’s detective era

THE KANGAROO(KIE) VS. THE WORLD

“WOOOO!! I’M NEVER GONNA DIE!” she yelled into the radio, at this point not even shocking her engineer anymore.

“sure, kid.” he chuckled. “congratulations, again, i’ll see you out.”

as soon as she parked her car, the girl quickly jumped out of her seat and stand on the nose of her car, jumping repeatedly with both her feet going up and down excitedly. it ends with a last hard jump off the car and her hands up in the air, yelling on the top of her lungs.

when suddenly — to everyone’s dismay — she started shuffling. well, attempted, shuffling.

daniel, who had the pleasure of sharing the podium with her and was there to witness it first hand, could not help but unknowingly let his hand fly to his mouth to muffle his laughter. man, he just took off his balaclava, he thought.

then, just his luck, the girl stopped mid-shuffle and looked towards his way and waved at him excitedly before running towards the australian and attacking him in a bear-hug.

of course, the man expected the hug, what he didn’t expect was how strong it was going to be.

he let out a muffled “oof” as soon as she collided with him. daniel did not think he has ever gotten a hug this tight. let alone receiving it from a girl almost half his size.

“congratulations!” she could not get bored of hearing that. making her hug him tighter, “okay, oh, lord, i can’t breathe. please.”

“oh—hehe, sorry.” she immediately let go of the man and ran off—well, more hopped off—to get herself weighed.

the older man could not help but chuckle watching her hop away.

again, really?

the girl could never not get bored of all the demeaning questions that seemed to only be targeted towards her.

unfortunately for them, she was not having it that day.

so here she was, berating a man who was like generations behind her — and everyone else — with the rest of the grid listening, watching in amusement.

they always enjoy watching her absolutely destroying male fossils that walked the paddock. it was free entertainment.

her manager didn’t even stop her anymore — well, he did, usually when he knows she’ll say something completely unhinged and not for viewers ears — he just watches with a proud smile like the rest of the drivers until she eventually runs out of breath, all the while also stealing it from the opposite person.

and now it’s about five minutes later and the room was silent, really soaking in her words.

as usual, daniel was the one to break the silence — his tone doing its best to relief the tension that clouded the room.

“remind me not to piss you off.”

sebastian found his voice when he looked towards daniel, “i really admire her agression.”

“i try.”

the mclaren driver was minding his own business when suddenly he felt someone plop down on the seat next to him.

said person didn’t say anything, they just stared at him blankly for a good few seconds. in return, daniel had the expression equivalent of a question mark.

until eventually he felt a little creeped out, “what do you want?”

her response was… weirder.

“what do you want?”

“…what?”

suddenly, out of nowhere, the twenty-two-year-old pulls out a fanny pack from the side. and when she opened it, they were both met with all kinds of candy.

daniel raised his eyebrows at the girl.

“this stays between us.”

it did, but also no, she had previously already approached alex, mick, lando, and yuki, doing the exact same thing.

“…okay?” he then removed the confused expression on his face to one of curiosity of what’s inside the pack, “you got any haribo?”

“everyone, everyone, everyone!”

the girl hopped over to the group of men, dragging a slightly smaller one with her.

“yes, yes, yes!” replied george.

she the shoved the brunette girl in her arms to the front, holding her by both her forearms from the back.

“i want you all to meet daisy-mae!”

a strings of ‘hi’s and ‘hello’s along with ‘nice to meet you’s were exchanged.

the young driver then noticed a certain australian missing.

“hey where’s dan— DANNY!” she jumped when she saw said man approaching. as usual, she excitedly hopped her way over to him.

he chuckled, “hey, roo.”

at that, she stopped mid-way and looked at him confused, “who?”

“you.”

“huh.”

“you’re like a ‘lil kangaroo, y’know?”

still confused, she was brought out of a daze when she heard loud sounds of agreement from behind her.

“that’s what she is!”

“aw, that’s cute, our little kangaroo…”

“LITTLE?!”

taglist; @treehouse-mouse @disneyprincemuke @yansbolobao @leilanixx @judespoisons @vellicora

hope this didnt disappoint </3

[multifandomrandomgirl]

Not Alone - Mick Mars x reader

Trigger warning: panic attack

Masterlist:

Wordcount: 793

------

Electric red and blue lights lit up the night, the energy that could be generated at a Mötley Crüe gig was intense. The crowd of young girls screamed, and the men shouted along to the songs, the lights were blinding and the instruments were deafening.

Yet, behind the scenes, backstage, it was a whole other story.

Y/N leaned against the cold concrete wall, trying to steady her breath. The tears rolled down her cheeks relentlessly, they were hot and stung. Y/N’s body shook as the overwhelming emotions coursed through her. The backstage area was meant to be a place of excitement, but it now felt like a prison. The lights and noise only amplified her distress. She didn’t even notice the gig coming to an end.

Footsteps approached her, steadily, contrasting the chaos within her mind. She didn’t look up to see who it was; she couldn’t. The weight of her crying crushed her, she felt like she was drowning.

“Did I scare you?” The voice was low and it was unmistakable that it belonged to Mick Mars.

Y/N lifted her head, her eyes met his. Her vision was blurred by her heavy tears. She could barely make out his face which was framed by his long black hair. His usual cold persona was gone, his face was soft and full of concern, a side of him that Y/N had never seen.]

“Oh, sweetheart.” Mick murmured, he closed the distance between them, his hand reached out hesitantly and cupped her face, trying to ground her.

“I didn’t mean to,” Y/N whispered, her voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to fall apart.”

Mick’s thumb brushed away a few tears, his touch was delicate. “It’s okay, sometimes the world just seems so loud, doesn’t it?” He said softly. 

Y/N nodded softly, and a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes.

“I just got so overwhelmed. The crowd, the noise. Everything. You guys up there, powerful and untouchable. A reminder that I’m just a roadie. I’m nothing.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t,” Mick's face softened, his tone a little firm. “You’re more than enough, roadie or not. Trust me, even on stage, we all have our moments of fear.” “You? Scared?” Y/N asked, in disbelief.

“Absolutely. Every show, there’s a bit of me that is terrified. But I deal with it by playing my music.” Mick nods, giving her a small smile.

“I don’t know how to do that. How to turn this into something good.” She admitted sheepishly.

Mick moved his hand from her cheek down to her shoulder, rubbing small circles.

“You don’t have to know right now. It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling. Just remember, you’re here, you’re trying. That takes courage. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you,” Y/N whispered, feeling a glimmer of hope. “Thank you for finding me, for talking to me. I didn’t realise how much I needed it.”

“You’re not alone, okay? If you ever need a talk or a quiet space, I’m always here. Please come find me.” His gaze never left hers.

“I will.” Y/N agreed, his offer was like a lifeline to her. She finally began to calm down.

“Good, now, let’s go get you somewhere more comfortable.” Mick’s smile widened. He guided her away from the cold wall, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, he was like a safety blanket to her. As they walked through the backstage corridors, Mick held onto her, reminding her that she wasn’t alone.

Mick’s dressing room was silent, a significant contrast to the crowd from earlier. Mick took Y/ over to a comfy chair and sat her down before he pulled up another one next to her and sat down himself.

“Do you want to talk about it? What upset you?” Mick asked gently.

“It’s just… everything. The pressure, expectations. Feeling like I’m not enough, seeing other people be so confident.” She took a deep breath.

“I understand,” Mick said, he’d listened to her every word. “It’s so easy to look at other people and only see their strengths, but everyone has their weaknesses, their struggles. They find ways to deal with them.”

“I don’t know how to deal with mine, I feel like I’m drowning.” Y/N admitted, looking down.

“One step at a time, okay?” He squeezed her hand. “Remember, you’re not alone. I’m here to help you, to care about you.”

His gentle tone brought tears of gratitude to her eyes.

“Thank you, Mick. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“Anytime, sweetheart. I got you.” He smiled, kissing her cheek.

Y/N blushed a little and leaned into Mick’s touch. For the first time in a while, she felt safe and loved.

[thisismeracing]

https://www.tumblr.com/thisismeracing/736462766873919488/bonoreader-head-canons-cont-for-real-this?source=share

bono!reader head-canons (pt. 3)

even though bon is not biologically related to anyone in the paddock other than her dad, a lot of them see her as their kid because she really is. i think it’s hard not to grow attached to someone who is there, at your place of work, day in day out starting when that person is 5 years old. it also helps that said 5 year old is a little sponge for the work you do and is genuinely interested in it and can get so wrapped up in it but also still needs help tying her shoe laces. there was just this want to help raise this kid into the best possible version of themselves and if it took a small army to do so then so be it

other than english bon speaks: spanish (from nando), german (from toto, niki, michael,seb, etc.), finnish (from mostly kimi but a bit from val as well), italian (from toto, niki, and michael), and french (from toto as well) girl is multilingual and sometimes when she was very small her head got confused with all the languages and would start speaking in a different language each time she responded to what you said to her. because she could comprehend what she was hearing, but the wires in her brain just got a little mixed up

i think there is exactly one photo of max, mick, and bon all as babies and they all dont remember it but all the people around them see it and go “oh yeah! you did all meet that one time at that one race”

bon used to do work in bed. laptop set on her thighs or on the mattress in front of her, calculator somewhere in between the sheets, and a countless amount of work papers and documents strewn about. it’s a bad habit she developed over the years and knows it's bad but has never gotten around to breaking. that is until mick is over one day and he goes to get into the opposite side of the bed than she has gotten into and when he lays down he is met with an odd feeling at his back and when he investigates it’s her calculator. and before he can ask why it’s in her bed at all his eyes fall on her work laptop that is sitting in the gap between her pillows. at this point he has put two and two together and asks if she works in her bed and she sheepishly goes “maybeeeeeee” and god that look on her face is so cute so he pulls her into his space after removing the work related items and says “you may be cute but we are talking about this later” and then they continue their cuddle sesh with sweet nothings and stolen kisses until they fall asleep

[including this lil hc that i sent to you on email] bon has a teal ti-84 for work purposes and it’s always on her person and it’s a running gag amongst fans to grab screenshots of when it makes an appearance on camera and post it to their fan pages dedicated to her calculator of all things

susie taught her how to do makeup

painted a lot of peoples nails when she was younger, didn’t matter who you were. if you were around this girl when she was painting her own nails then you would somehow be sat across from her after trying your best to get out of the situation. (imagine toto with teal glittery nail polish just imagine)

loves to drape her arms around mick from the back and to kiss his head while having him in her arms

buys platform shoes on accident all the time. she pays attention to the design more than anything so when she wears them out she’s closer to toto’s 6’5” than before and in comparison her boys (her dad and mick) are just standing there 🧍🧍in their not tall statures

more of a mick hc than a bon hc but, mick’s wec and f1 helmets after they get together include a little something incorporated into the design of the helmet that reminds him and symbolizes bon [feel free to share any ideas on what it could be with me cause i cant really think of anything rn]

prefers to be the one driving when going somewhere and this extends to when traveling somewhere, by car, with mick. like this boy has tried to drive for his girl but she just wont let him so he’s just accepted his passenger princess fate

[i would just like to let you know this breached the a second page on google docs and that is how i knew where to end it]

☕️

Prev link

I love the fact that she grew around everyone because thats exactly as the saying goes: it takes a village to raise a child. it took the biggest village ever (aka f1 crew) to raise bono baby.

the fan page to the calculator loool this is something that I can totally see happening

I think for the helmet he would totally include a small calculator or even a cute draw of a sticker (to remind of when she was a kid and used to put them on everyones car), or a secret reference when theyre not public yet, maybe a doodle of something because she would totally doodle random cute stuff on some of the papers sometimes when shes distracted, and maybe she doodled a heart or a small cat, so mick will have this cat on his helmet.

[digitalsatyr23]

Bebop Bayou Tales #1

Rina vs. the Swamp Shark!!

Setting: Bebop Bayou Characters: Rina Woodshed, Lafayette Word Count: 14,895

Sit yourself down for a time and let me tell you a tale. Out in the Southern Wastes, way at the bottom of the map is a little ol’ place called Bebop Bayou. It’s a colorful and lively swamp full to brimming with beast folk. There’s the catfish Big Pete, who lives in his burrow; Mick Longlegs, a frog who loves his banjo almost as much as his pond; Matthew the Mink, who loves very little except for himself, and many others – but it’s not all reeds and roses. No siree. Monsters of all shapes and sizes pass through the bayou, hurting folk ‘cause they don’t know no better, or hurting folk because they just plain feel like it. Who keeps the bayou safe from these monsters, you may ask? Is it Big Pete? No. He just hides in his burrow. Is it Mick Longlegs? He’d help if he could, but he’s about as skinny as a flagpole. It certainly isn’t Matthew neither, seeing as how he doesn’t like to get his fur dirty if he can help it. No, the one beast folk that’s always there to fight them monsters and show them what for is a little gator girl named Rina Woodshed.

---

A fist came careening through the air, slugging the wombojo in the face. The quill-covered scavenger flew back, skipping across the water like a rock before smacking into a stump. This did little to deter it, however. It just got back on its insectoid legs and hissed.

“Looks like it won’t go down easy,” said Lafayette. “What should we do?”

“Well it won’t back down and it won’t leave the bayou willingly, so we’ll give it a little flyin’ lesson. Think you can get the boulder spoon ready?” asked Rina.

“Yes’m.”

The young gator girl smashed a fist into an open palm. “Then get to it! I’ll keep it busy and hogtie it if I can.”

“Sounds like a plan!” said the grey fox boy. Then Lafayette scampered off to prepare the spoon.

Rina stared the wombojo down, lowering her body for a springing jump. The half-mammalian half-insect beast met Rina’s gaze with eight sickly yellow eyes, wiggling its antennae and purple blue quills. In an instant, Rina was in the air, howling a battle cry as she came in for a dive kick. The wombojo saw this coming, lurching back to avoid the brunt of the force before grabbing Rina by the leg.

“Uh oh.”

The wombojo spun Rina around and around before tossing her up in the air and readying its quills like a stretch of floor spikes. Seeing this, Rina popped a pepper in her mouth.

“I ain’t goin’ down easy neither!”

The red pepper’s heat reacted to the magic saliva in Rina’s toothy maw. Fire erupted from the edges of her mouth, then she spit a fireball at the wombojo. The creature narrowly dodged the attack, but not without getting its front half singed. Rina landed on the ground on her knee and open palm. The wombojo hissed out of fear and anger. Then it unsheathed its scythe arms, giving chase.

Rina ran down the murky trail, splashing mud and pond water with every stomp of her boots. The wombojo skittered after her, taking a few swings with its scythes. Rina hopped, ducked, and rolled to avoid the attacks, scorching it with a plume of flame to counter. The wombojo shielded its face, though its scythe blades caught fire. It dragged its arms through the mud to extinguish the magic flame and kept up the chase.

Across the river, Rina could see Lafayette pulling the boulder spoon’s crank. While it was disguised with leaves and other shrubs, she could still tell it was about ready. Now it was just a matter of getting the beast over there.

“Lafayette, throw me some rope!” shouted Rina. Lafayette rummaged around in his leather bag and pulled out a bundle before tossing it to Rina. The gator then skid to a halt, readying herself for the charging wombojo. As the beast readied its scythes, Rina dove in with the rope, wrestling it to the ground. Punches, kicks, and bites were traded between the two, but in the end, Rina was able to tie the beastie up. The creature struggled in its bindings, hissing all the while.

“All right, you no good varmint!” said Rina. “It’s time to get yer flyin’ lesson in for the day!” Rina grabbed hold of a loose end of rope and spun around on her heels, twirling the wombojo around and around, making both it and her dizzy. Before the creature could free itself, Rina let go of the rope, tossing it right onto the boulder spoon. “Now!” she shouted.

Lafayette wasted no time and pulled the lever. The boulder spoon released and chucked the wombojo high into the air in an arc, sending it right over a nearby forest canopy.

“And stay out!” shouted Rina. Seeing the invading monster disappear filled the girl with pride. No one had asked her to defend the swamp, but Rina didn’t think she needed to be asked. Knowing that her homeland and its people were safe was all she really needed.

Before turning to leave, Rina rubbed the back of her nose with her hand – only to realize it was now covered in quills. The pain didn’t set in until she finally looked at them.

“Ow ow ow ow ow! Why didn’t somebody tell me them wombojos had so many dang quills?!”

“What’s the matter?” asked Lafayette, popping out of the river.

“What’s it look like? My hand just got turned into a pin cushion!”

“Ooh, that does look pretty bad. Want me to try plucking them out? I’ll be gentle!” The grey fox didn’t wait for Rina’s response. He yanked a quill out of the gator’s hide, causing her to howl. “Okay, maybe not me. Let’s go talk to Eli.”

---

Rina Woodshed was a young gator girl standing no taller than 4’2”. She had shaggy brown hair tied back with a red cloth, bright green eyes, a white tank top, raggedy blue overalls with a red patch on her right knee, and dirty boots. Her skin was bumpy, calloused, and tanned from always being outside in the swampland sun, and her hefty green tail dragged across the ground, leaving a trail wherever she went. Lafayette, on the other hand, was a young grey fox boy only an inch shorter than Rina. He had furry arms and legs, fox ears, and a fluffy tail. His fur was grey with splotches of white, orange, and black, and his skin tanned just a shade lighter than Rina’s. His eyes were amber, and his shoulder-length hair was just as fluffy as his tail. While he wore hand-me-downs from Rina, he didn’t mind it at all. Getting to wear things that didn’t fit Rina anymore made the boy feel closer to her, almost like they were siblings.

Rina and Lafayette were beast folk - creatures that resembled a mix of human and animal characteristics, with some being more or less human-looking. Another resident named Big Pete, for instance, looked like a walking catfish, whereas someone like Rina could pass for human, if she could only hide her tail (though her claws, fangs, and eyes would certainly give her away). It was said that beast folk first appeared on Earth more than a century ago in the “Before Times” when some cataclysmic event befell what most beast folk called the “Yesterday Folk.” Lafayette had heard a few conflicting tales about the before times, and since no one could ever get the details or dates straight, he decided to not worry about it and always focus on the here and now. That meant taking care of himself, the bayou, and his best friend Rina.

When Lafayette first came to the swamp three years ago, he was all by his lonesome. No friends, no parents. Nothing. The bayou decided to take him in and raise him as their own until he could stand on his own two paws. When Lafayette wasn’t getting dragged around on one of Rina’s many adventures, he was busy tending to tasks that needed tending around the swamp, using all the tools he carried in the leather bag he had strapped across his back. He didn’t know why his tool bag had a tag that read “Golf” on it, but he chalked it up to one of the many mysteries of the yesterday folk.

Despite only knowing each other for a few years, Rina and Lafayette had been fast friends since they first met, and even if they got each other in trouble from time to time, they always looked out for one another. In this case, Lafayette knew the best place to get quills pulled out was at Old Man Eli’s house. He was the founding member of Bebop and knew a great deal of things that few other beast folk did because he read strange collections of words called “books.” As the two kids had visited Eli dozens of times before, it took no effort to track down the old snapping turtle.

“Hmm. Looks like wombojo quills. Good thing your skin is as thick as your skull, otherwise you’d be deader than a prawn in a hot pot.”

Eli was an old but muscular man with rough skin, a hard shell on his back, and a bent nose. He had dark eyes, a sharp beak-like mouth, and calloused clawed feet and hands. He tended to dress light, wearing nothing more than a faded short-sleeved overshirt with a hole in the back and torn jeans. He carefully removed the last quill and treated Rina’s wounds with a handmade ointment and gauze.

“Are wombojo quills that bad?” asked Lafayette of Eli.

“They’re venomous.”

“Ha! I guess I really am the toughest in the swamp! I feel perfectly-” Rina turned away to vomit into a trash bin. A metallic clink rang out as a ring of keys fell into the bin. “Hueeegh. See? Perfectly… Fine.”

Lafayette gave Rina a consoling pat on the back, saying, “Better than dead, right?” Rina gave a thumbs up and continued to vomit. Eli shook his head.

“This is why I told you kids to stop with the heroics. It’s too dangerous for the likes of you.”

Rina took a swig of water from a canteen, gurgled, and spit out a window. As she wiped her mouth, she said, “Why you think I’m doin’ it? Of course it’s dangerous. But if I let all these monsters and varmints roam free, someone else would get hurt. We’re protectors of the people!”

“There have been a lot of migratin’ monsters as of late…” lamented Lafayette.

“I won’t argue with that. Were it not for the unstable ground, I’d have built a wall around the swamp ages ago. Even so, I can’t let kids do the work of adults. It ain’t proper.” Eli slapped his knees and stood up. “I’m gonna go tell your folks.”

“What?! You can’t tell ma and pa! The moment they learn what I’ve been doin’ on my walks, they’ll lock me up! No supper, no movies! I won’t even get to fish!”

“That’s the point.” Eli then grabbed his trash can, grimacing before opening the front door. Before he left, he looked over his shoulder at the kids. “Try and get some rest while I go chat with ‘em. There’s plenty of food in the fridge, so help yourself.” Then he was gone.

Rina dragged her sickly body over to Eli’s living room and plopped on the couch in a pout, arms crossed.

“It ain’t fair. No one else is lookin’ out for the swamp. If them quills are as bad as he said, that critter coulda killed someone. He could at least say thanks!”

Lafayette followed, snagging an apple from a clay bowl before sitting down on a soft chair. After giving the apple a shine, he took a few bites and talked to Rina with his mouth full.

“You know, not havin’ to fight all the time wouldn’t be so bad. It’s not like we’d run outta stuff to do.” Lafayette watched as Rina turned her back on him, burying her face in the couch cushions. “I’m sure there’s someone else that can take up the job. What about yer pa?”

“He’s too old to be fightin’ these days,” said Rina.

“Your ma?”

“Too busy in the kitchen and keepin’ the house in order.”

“What about Pete?”

“He’d probably just bury his head in the mud.

“Mick?”

“Too skinny.”

“Kylie?”

“Too busy runnin’ her barterin’ stand.”

Lafayette finished the apple, pocketing the seeds. He leaned back in his chair and put his legs up on the coffee table. “Huh… Matthew ain’t interested in getting’ dirty, Patches is too busy watchin’ her kids, and David’s always wanderin’ and grazin’, so folk can’t rely on him.” After some thinking, Lafayette’s eyes lit up. He went over to Rina and shook her shoulder. “Hey! What about Alyssa? With them wings of hers, she could go here and there nice and quick! And she’d always have a good view! … Except over the canopy. Still, she’d be perfect for warnin’ people about monsters and keepin’ the swamp safe!”

Rina turned her head and stared at Lafayette with a grumpy glare. “You flea-bitten traitor.”

“What?! I ain’t no traitor! I’m just trying to be realis… Realiv… Truthful. You said it yerself. Someone might of died today, and that coulda been you.”

“But I didn’t.”

“That may be true today, but there’s no tellin’ what might show up next. One of these days we’re gonna bump heads with somethin’ too strong, too tough, and too dang dangerous for us to bump heads with. You get me?”

“I thought you liked fightin’.”

“I do! Fightin’ you, fightin’ other kids. It’s fun! And we can certainly handle the small stuff, but maybe we should let the adults handle the big stuff like Old Eli said.”

Rina said nothing. She just grumbled and turned away. Being ignored by his best friend stung worse than a hornet. With a tear in his eye, Lafayette said, “Forget you! I’m goin’ back to my tree!”

Then the fox boy slammed the door on his way out.

Rina got tired of resting and grumbling and sat up, looking around. Eli’s home was small and practical, with empty chairs, bookshelves, a coffee table, and a renovated refrigerator that was powered, primarily, by Eli’s pet hamster Josie, who liked to run more than any critter Rina had ever seen. Struggling to get on her feet, Rina wobbled over to the fridge and grabbed a drumstick from a plate of leftover chicken. The meat was tough, cold, and far too dry. It did little to comfort her. After she finished eating, Rina put the bone in Eli’s bone pile and looked down at the red patch on her knee.

“Root… What would you do right about now?”

No answer. It didn’t surprise her much. Cloth tended to be rather quiet. Rina sighed and left Eli’s house. Fresh air would help her better than rest.

Rina lived in a large swamp known as Bebop Bayou, which connected to marshes, wetlands, rivers, and vast floodplains. It was a beautiful piece of nature where the sun shined bright, the water sparkled, and the leaves of Bald Cypress and Tupelo Gum trees danced to the music of the winds. Rina and the other beast folk weren’t the first to live in the bayou, though. Signs of the yesterday folk could be found all over. Collapsed power poles, submerged houses, bent road signs (Rina’s favorite was Stoppy, the only stop sign that could talk as far as she knew), and rusty cars sticking out of the mud. It was a serene little sanctuary, and the only home Rina had ever known. She’d do anything to keep the bayou and its people safe. It’s what her brother would have wanted, as she often told herself.

After kicking rocks along her path to nowhere, Rina decided to walk over to a river. She got on her hands and knees and stuck her face in the water, scaring some fish away. Then she took a deep breath and dove in, swimming after the fish. Just like a regular alligator, Rina could seal up her ears, nose, and mouth while underwater (though she could still use her chompies), and a thin secondary pair of eyelids could cover up her eyes. She was also fast – much faster than she was on land. The gator girl wiggled to and fro as she hunted her prey, eventually snatching up a fish about the size of her head with bright pink, red, and green scales. Having snagged her prize, Rina came back to shore, treating herself to fresh food. She preferred cooking, but she didn’t feel keen on going back home just yet.

It took no time at all for Rina to finish her fish, bones and all. With the first course consumed, she got back on her feet and rubbed her hands together.

“All right, time for the next… Round…”

Looking down at the river, the otherwise plentiful fish had all disappeared. The gator scratched her head, wondering what could have happened.

Strange, she thought. Fish scare easy, but they’re quick to get back to their business when the fear has left them. So why’d they all leave?

Rina stuck her head back into the water and looked around. All the fish had fled in one direction, as far as she could tell. Whether on land or in the water, her sense of touch always gave her an idea of recent or incoming movement. It was with that very same sense that she realized what the fish had fled from.

Something big was on its way.

Rina jerked her head back and stood up. She couldn’t see anything just yet, but there was a strange smell in the air. Something salty and rotten. Then, in the distance, a large fin could be seen cutting through the river like a glaive. Rina put up her dukes and got ready. Whatever it was, it was coming down the river fast. Just when it seemed like it would appear, the fin dipped down. The creature’s momentum carried all sorts of muck and debris through the river, making it impossible for Rina to tell if it had stopped or turned back around. Against her better judgement, Rina stepped close to the river’s edge.

“What in the-”

A giant mouth filled with sharp, triangular teeth snapped at Rina, causing her to leap back.

“It’s a gosh dang shark!” shouted Rina. “What the heck are you doing here?!”

The gigantic shark said nothing. It just tried to bite at Rina while beached on the river’s edge. Looking it over, the shark had beady black eyes, a red coloration on its top half while its underbelly was white. When its gills started to gasp, the shark forced itself back into the water, and everything was quiet for a time.

Sheesh. That’s the biggest shark I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a few! What’s something like that doing in freshwater turf?

While Rina pondered the matter, a slimy red tentacle wrapped around her ankle and yanked her towards the river. In an instant, she was thrown into the air.

“Not again!” she shouted.

The shark breached the water and opened its jaws wide, ready to devour Rina whole. Instead, she caught herself on the edge of the beast’s mouth and kept it open with her outstretched arms and legs. Anyone with ears could hear Rina howling as they both went up and crashed back down into the river with a titanic splash.

A giant octopus working with a shark? What’s the deal?!

Rina sunk deep into the river and looked around, realizing there was no octopus. The tentacles were the shark’s lower half. Feeling a cold fear grip her heart, Rina tried to swim back up, only to be grabbed by another tentacle and pulled back towards the shark.

So that’s how it is, monster? Then you leave me no choice!

Rina clubbed the shark’s nose with her fists, smacking the head away. While it was distracted, she bit down hard on the tentacle ensnaring her, tearing away red and white meat. The tentacle’s grip loosened, and the shark darted away, chasing easier prey further down the river. Now that she had the chance, she swam as fast as she could to the river’s edge and climbed out, gasping for air.

“Gah! What the heck was that all about?!”

It took a moment to realize she was beneath someone’s shadow. Looking up, she saw that Eli, Lafayette, and several others had arrived. Lafayette helped Rina to her feet as he asked, “What was all that about? We heard you screamin’ from miles away!”

“There was a shark! A real biggin’! It was red like blood and tried to swallow me whole!”

The beast folk looked at each other, then to Eli. The old snapping turtle scratched at the thick skin on his chin.

“A shark that big couldn’t possibly have come through here. Are you sure it was a shark?” asked Eli.

“O’ course I’m sure! It was THIS big!” Rina made an exaggerated gesture with her arms. “It was some kind of swamp shark! Or octo-shark! A swampy red octo-shark!”

“What are you goin’ on about?” asked Big Pete. “I’ve been livin’ in this swamp my whole life, and I ain’t never seen a shark like that.”

“Well I ain’t lyin’!”

“Are you hurt at all?” asked Lafayette.

“Nuh uh.”

“Did you see where it went?” asked Eli.

“It went that way,” Rina pointed down the river. “I slugged it in the nose and bit one of its feeler things hard, so I’m thinkin’ it thought better than to keep messin’ with me. We can still catch it if we go now!”

“Not one step, Rina Woodshed.”

A familiar voice called out that sent shivers down Rina’s spine. It was a voice that she both loved and feared. It was the voice of her mother. The ten-foot-tall gator woman stepped forward, her chunky yet muscular body adorned with a colorful spotted dress, cooking apron, and black rain boots. Her hair was done up in a bun, though the wind had made a mess of it, with long strands falling around her ears and forehead. Rina leaned back to look up, now completely overshadowed by her mother.

“Ma, what are you doin’ here?”

“I came to get you from Eli’s place, but it seems you can’t go one minute without getting’ tangled up in a scuffle with local wildlife.”

“This ain’t no local! It’s an outsider! One that’ll eat us out o’ fish and home if we don’t stop it now!”

Rina’s mother reached down and picked up the gator girl with the ease of plucking a flower, making sure the two were now at eye level. “Eli said he already has a plan for takin’ care of invadin’ critters from now on, so you just leave it to him and the others. You nearly put yourself under today, so there’ll be no more fightin’ and adventurin’ until things settle down.”

“But ma…”

“No buts! Now come along. I need me some help fixin’ suppah. Crush got stuck in his chair again, so there ain’t much help comin’ from him today.”

Rina was unceremoniously slung over the gator woman’s shoulder and carried off. She rested her head in one hand while tapping her fingers with the other, staring down Lafayette. With the two gators gone, Lafayette turned his attention to the rest of the beast folk. Eli was discussing the supposed creature Rina had fought with and asked everyone available to fan out and look for it, but no more than that.

“If anyone sees any signs of this supposed swamp shark, you come straight to me. Is that clear?”

The other beast folk nodded and went on their way. With the crowd cleared, Lafayette approached the snapping turtle.

“Do you really think it’s true?”

“What is?”

“That monster Rina talked about. A big ol’ red shark with tentacles?”

“It sounds crazy, but there’s no shortage of that around these parts. Even if Rina was just seeing things, it’d be better to know for certain than not and wake up the next day missing a local or two.”

“All right. Is there any way I can help?”

Eli shook his head. “Rina isn’t the only one on curfew. You stay out of this too, Lafayette.”

“But I can help! All we’re doin’ is scoutin’ right? I’m one of the fastest in the bayou!”

“Fast on land. If that creature drags you under, we’ll be short one grey fox, and I’m not letting that happen. You’re staying at my place until this whole thing blows over.”

“But-”

“I said no. We’ll wait and see what the others find before deciding what to do next.”

The frustrated fox boy dragged his paws as he followed after Eli. Looking back at the messy river’s edge, it seemed like something big had beached itself for a time. Whether it had tentacles or not, he had no idea. What he did know was he was regretting what he had said to his best friend.

---

It was late in the evening when most of the search party had decided to turn in. A few stragglers could be seen in the distance, and only because they were carrying torches. Big Pete was making his way around a mire when he heard a splash in the distance. He looked around. One less torch could be seen. He narrowed his eyes and stroked one of his dark brown whiskers.

That’s a might strange. Did they toss their torch in?

Big Pete’s eyes didn’t count for much, but his sense of hearing and smell made up for it. There was something strange in the air. He just couldn’t figure out what. He had never felt uncomfortable walking around in the dark before. He was a sturdy sort for his age. He had a gut, sure, but his muscular arms could pack a mean punch - though when it came to monsters, he was more likely to use his trusty machete. The dark blade hung from a loop on his belt, attached by a buttoned strap. As he continued to sniff the air, his hand unconsciously drifted towards the strap.

Another splash. Another torch went out. No other noise could be heard.

Pete changed course and made his way to where the torchbearers once were. Carrying one himself, the fire illuminated the wet sticks floating at the top of a large bog. Faint chirping sounds could be heard all around. Insects liked to come out and make their music in the dark of the night. It never bothered Pete before.

But then they stopped.

Pete looked around. He couldn’t see any movement in the bog. There was a harsh stillness in the air, and something pungent and coppery. It smelled like blood.

Instinct took hold and Pete stepped away from the bog. He was certain that if he didn’t, it would mean certain death. He’d already seen enough for the night. But just as Pete started walking away, he felt something slimy grip his fat ankle.

“Agh! The hell!” he cried, falling on his back. His torch fell in the mud and puttered out, but he knew damn well what was happening. He yanked his machete from his belt, unbuttoning the strap. Then the tentacle gave a hard yank, pulling Pete closer to the water and making him lose grip on his machete.

Pete spun around, digging his fingers into the muddy ground. His body felt electrified with fear. He knew that if he couldn’t get his machete, that would be the last of Big Pete. He put those two muscular arms to good use and struggled against the creature’s tug, inching himself closer and closer to his machete. The creature squeezed his ankle tighter, nearly breaking it. Pete didn’t give up, though. He kept digging into the ground and pulling himself forward.

“Got it!” Pete cried. He spun around and got ready to chop at the tentacle. What he saw, however, nearly made his jaw drop.

Two orbs of red glowed bright in the water, and a maw filled with row after row of teeth glowed a sickly green. Hints at wriggling tentacles could be seen all around the monster. He didn’t know what he was looking at. Only a single word came to mind.

Death.

Pete’s adrenaline flared up and he held tight to the machete. He chopped at the tentacle over and over again. Blood hissed from the powerful limb, but it kept pulling him further into the water.

“Come on, come on! Fall off already!!”

The wriggling tentacles, the glowing eyes and mouth, the slow descent to his demise. In that moment, Pete thought he was going mad. He slashed at the tentacle with an unbridled fury, finally cutting all the way through. The ground rumbled as the beast darted away, its sinister glow disappearing into the night. Pete ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, dropping his machete in a panic.

Unbeknownst to the catfish, long tentacles reached back onto land to retrieve the metal blade…

---

“You can never kill me, Samuel! I am invincible!” cried the mad doctor.

“You’re wrong,” said Samuel. “I have this!” The buff action hero on the screen drew a shiny gun from a robotic holster that came out of his leg.

“What? A mere gun? Ha! Now that Formula Omega is coursing through my veins, not even a tank could hurt me, let alone your measly pistol. Give up now and swear your allegiance to me, and I might just let you live.” Samuel was loading red bullets into his clip, clearly ignoring the doctor. “W-what? What are you doing? Pay attention to me!”

“I know regular bullets can’t hurt you, Doctor Helicopter, but these are no ordinary bullets. Everyone knows you don’t have any friends – merely minions.”

“Okay, that’s just rude.”

“So what I did was take a pinch of my blood and combine it with the blood of my friends. Within each of these bullets is the heart and soul of those you’ve harmed! Those who cry out for justice! My justice.”

“That’s disgusting. Also irrelevant! A blood bullet can’t hurt me! Give up now unless you want to try your luck!”

Samuel and Doctor Helicopter stared each other down from across the railing. Below them were countless soldiers and police officers, watching… Waiting… Just as the doctor reached for his gamma ray, Samuel let fire his .45 Ruger. The bullets pierced the doctor’s hard outer shell, bringing him to his knees.

“Gah! I can’t believe that worked… And it’s so… Unsanitary.”

Samuel stepped over to the doctor, checking his pulse. It was clear he had breathed his last. Samuel put away his gun.

“Doc… You may have drawn first blood, but I’ve drawn last. See you in Hell.”

Then the credits rolled.

“Did you see that, pa!” cried Rina. “That was so cool!”

“I don’t know,” said the giant bearded gator man. “The doc was supposed to be invincible, so it feels kinda lame that Sam had just the right kind of munition at the end.”

Rina’s father, Crush Woodshed, was as tall and heavyset as Rina’s mother, Shelly. Similar to Rina, Crush wore a huge pair of deep blue overalls and a black t-shirt. Unlike Rina, however, Crush had a long bushy brown beard and mustache that hid most of his face, save his nose, eyes, and sharp teeth.

“It’s not lame!” said Rina, standing up. “Those were friendship bullets! Doctor Helicopter was allergic to friends! He said so in the beginning of the movie!”

“Why couldn’t Samuel use those robo-muscles of his to wrestle the doc to the ground? That would have been way cooler!”

Rina scratched her chin. “You’re not wrong… But Sam already karate-chopped his way through the doctor’s goat ninja minions! It would have been repetitive!”

“What are you two couyons arguing about now?” asked Shelly, whisking a bowl as she walked into the living room.

“We’re arguing about how Samuel Roboboots defeated Doctor Helicopter!” shouted Rina.

Shelly’s attention was on the bowl when she asked, “Well, how’d he do it?”

“He used bullets that had bits of his blood and the blood of his friends!”

“Gross! And that worked?”

“Yeah!” Crush said, slapping the arm of his chair. “He just so happened to have what he needed right at the end! It’s ridiculous!”

“That is pretty convenient…”

“What do you think, ma? What would you have done?” asked Rina.

Shelly finished whisking the sauce in the bowl and hummed in thought. “Did Sam try and call the doc’s parents?”

“I… Don’t think so?”

“The doc’s parents were dead! Didn’t you pay attention to his backstory?” asked Crush.

“Oh shoot, I did forget. Well ma, I guess he couldn’t call his folks.”

“Hm. Well if he was a bad enough guy, I’d probably just yank his ear off like I was peeling an orange.” Crush and Rina looked at each other and grimaced. “Speakin’ o’ oranges, suppah is almost ready. Rina, come help me set the table.”

“Yes ma…”

Rina made her way through the gigantic log cabin that was her house. Ordinarily it was a warm and comfortable place, but having been locked up by her mother, Rina thought the logs were more like bars. Only after her pa argued on her behalf was Rina allowed to leave her room and watch a movie with him. It was an old recovered sci-fi action flick called “Sam Roboboots 2: Helicopter’s Revenge”. The movie had somehow been placed inside a flat circular crystal with a hole in the center. Rina found it months ago when she was scavenging with Lafayette. She found lots of things like that in the bayou. Small treasures left behind by the yesterday folk. She didn’t know how movies were made, put in discs, or how the old movie box they had in the living room worked, but watching movies with Crush was among her favorite pastimes. It hadn’t completely fixed her mood, but it helped.

Rina scampered up the wooden ladder set beside the dinner table. Since her folks were gigantic, the home they had fashioned with Eli’s supervision was proportionate. Rina had been a slow grower, so she had to make do with ladders and special stairways in order to reach the things her folks had no trouble reaching. When Shelly set down the plates and cutlery, Rina put her muscles to good use and moved things around the table until it was set. Then she sat at her special booster seat and waited. Crush was still in the living room, struggling in his chair. He could always get into it, but he had a hard time getting back out. With a low growl, the gator freed himself, then he hobbled on over to the table.

“Mmm, mmm, mmm, Shelly. Whatever yer makin’ smells right special,” said Crush.

“Of course it is! I made it!” said Shelly. Soon after, Shelly came by the table with a pan full of chicken. One by one, she loaded the plates up with food, serving the meat, greens, a sweet and spicy sauce, and a side of blood oranges. “There y’all go. Now what do we say?”

“Thanks ma!”

“Thanks chère!”

Rina and Crush spoke in unison, then Shelly said, “Yer mighty welcome. Now dig in before it gets cold!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Rina grinned. Despite the hard feelings she had, Rina loved her ma and pa dearly. No matter how bad of a day she would have, just the chance to sit down with her folks and eat some of her mother’s cooking always made her day.

The three Woodsheds traded simple conversation back and forth for what felt like an hour. Just when dinner was wrapping up, someone knocked on the door. “I’ll get it!” said Rina, then the girl slid down the ladder and walked over to the door, opening the smaller, secondary door at the bottom. It was Eli.

“Evenin’, Rina,” said the snapping turtle.

“Well if it isn’t Eli!” said Shelly. “We was about to put away the leftovers, but if you’re feelin’ famished, yer welcome to the eats. Come inside!”

Eli nodded. “I’d appreciate it.” The snapping turtle then gave a courteous nod to Rina before making his way over to the dinner table. As he climbed the ladder, he looked back at Rina again before returning his gaze to Shelly and Crush. “I… Need to talk to you both about something in private. Is that all right?”

“Sure thing,” said Shelly. “Rina? Why don’t you relax in your room for a spell.”

“Why can’t I hear what Eli has to say?”

“This is no time for backtalk, girl. Now get!”

The calm Rina had achieved was shattered. She stuffed her hands into her overall pockets and walked away, grumbling to herself. After shutting the door behind her, she slid to the ground.

It must be about that monster. Why else would Eli wanna talk about it in private? He probably thinks I’d butt my head right back into that business if I learned anything new. Not like he’s wrong, though…

Rina sighed, standing up and making her way to her bed. The room was rather small compared to her parents’ room, but it suited her just fine. It had a closet, a footlocker at the end of her bed, handmade dumbbells in a corner that were rocks strapped to bone, as well as a handful of restored books. One was about so-called “Cajun” cuisine, whatever that meant, wrestling techniques, and another that was filled with words and their meanings. Eli called it a dictionary. Rina called it boring. It had been passed to her by Shelly after she got it from Eli. Shelly wanted Rina to learn her words because she thought it was important. As far as Rina was concerned, the only thing that mattered was action, and she was doing very little of that right now. She flopped on her bed and rolled onto her belly. Then she rolled onto her back, then onto her belly again. Grumbling, she got up and put her ear to the door.

Rina’s hearing wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t spectacular by any means – that was more Lafayette’s specialty. Even so, she was able to pick up a few choice words from the conversation. “Monster”, “glowing”, “Pete escaped”, and “two missing”. The girl turned around and slammed the side of her fist into the wall.

Dang it. I knew we should have chased after that thing when we had the chance! Now it’s gotten at two of us, and I’m just supposed to sit here and do nothing? Forget that!

Rina climbed back onto her bed to reach her window. Try as she might to hoist it open, the window was sealed and barred. The door was no good either, as it had been fitted by a trick lock by Shelly herself. When it was locked, it could only be opened from the outside. Rina wouldn’t dream of breaking or burning anything in her home, so all she could do was get back on her bed and grumble.

This is worse than when I landed on my head trying to do a moonsault. I just hope Lafayette is doing better than me…

---

The grey fox boy opened his eyes. He had been lying on Eli’s couch pretending to sleep. The room was dark, save for the slivers of moonlight coming from cracks in the window curtains. Eli had left some time ago after Big Pete came knocking on the door to tell the news.

I still can’t believe the monster already got two of us. I need to help Rina. She’ll set that monster straight!

Lafayette got up and stretched, popping his back. Pulling a lockpick from a hidden inner pocket of his overalls, he tried to pick his way out of the trick lock on Eli’s front door. Unfortunately, the old snapping turtle had gotten wise to Lafayette’s previous schemes, so this new lock was beyond him. Taking a quick glance around the living room, however, the fox knew there was more than one way out.

The boy stepped over to the unlit fireplace, the weight of his body making the floorboards creak. Taking a look inside, the chimney was filthy and cramped, but not cramped enough for someone like Lafayette. He climbed up and outstretched his arms and legs, forming a misshapen X in the stone tube. It took a good minute to get all the way up, and Lafayette almost lost his footing on two occasions, but he made it out. After carefully climbing down the rooftop, he hopped onto the ground below and scampered through the woods.

Lafayette made his way over to Rina’s house, tiptoeing beneath the windows and doing his best to stay out of sight. Though he was dirty from the chimney soot, it was to his benefit, for even if the Woodsheds noticed the soot smell, they wouldn’t notice him underneath it.

The boy circled around the back of the oversized log cabin and up to Rina’s window. He could already see the girl was right cross, lying on her back with her hands behind her head. With a slight tap, he got the girl’s attention. She tried to speak, but Lafayette just put a finger up to his mouth.

“Shhhh. I’ll get you outta here,” he whispered.

Rina gave a nod and stood back. Lafayette fished through his pockets for more of his hand-made tools. The bars were on tight, but they were nothing the fox couldn’t handle. After carefully unscrewing everything, he removed the bars and slowly opened the window, helping Rina outside. He then took the time to close the window and re-attach the bars.

“This way!” he whispered for Rina to follow. With some distance put behind them, Lafayette stopped and turned to his friend. “Listen, things have gotten bad. Two of the people that went searchin’ for the monster didn’t come back. Pete said as much.”

“I heard,” said Rina. “Eli came to my place and wanted to talk with my folks. That’s why I was locked up in my room.”

“I’m real sorry about all this.” Lafayette lowered his gaze to the ground. “If I knew they’d treat us like this I would have never taken Eli’s side. I… Just didn’t want you to get hurt is all.”

Rina gave Lafayette one of her signature gator hugs, nearly crushing the poor boy. After setting the gasping fox down, Rina said, “Don’t worry about it! What’s important now is we find that gosh dang monster and give it a lickin’!”

“Sounds good to me. What’s the plan?”

“Uh… That’s a work in progress, Lafayette.”

“You don’t have a plan, do ya?”

“O’ course I do!”

“Is it punching it?”

“Yes! That an bitin’ it. Worked real good last time.”

Lafayette shrugged and smiled. Rina was always like this, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Then let’s get goin’, cap’n. We got a bayou to save!”

With a nod, Rina ran ahead, sniffing the air while staying on the move. Lafayette followed after, helping her search by using his powerful eyes and ears. Outside of being able to see in the dark and having fine-tuned senses, Lafayette’s eyes could see magnetic fields, and he could also hear infrasound. Whether there were disturbances or low-frequency sounds, the grey fox boy would surely notice them. Together, the kids found their heading and took off into the night.

---

Shelly waved goodbye to her longtime friend, Eli.

“Come by anytime, Eli! You take care now!”

“You as well.”

Then the snapping turtle was gone. Shelly sighed. She couldn’t believe something so strange and dangerous had appeared in the bayou. Sure, monsters and wild animals wandered in all the time, but nothing like this. The last time it happened, all Shelly had to do was pick up a few bobcats by the scruff and toss them out. She was still grappling with how often Rina had lied to her about going on walks.

That canaille girl… I just hope she doesn’t get no hair-brained scheme. This thing is way out of her league.

As it had been a while, Shelly stepped into the back of the house and through the hall leading to the other rooms. Turning left to reach Rina’s door, Shelly gave it a knock.

“Rina… Rina sweetie. Eli’s gone home. You wanna talk? I know you’re worried about the others, but I can assure you that-Rina?”

Even when she was irritated, Rina rarely stayed this quiet. Fearing the worst, Shelly flung open the door. The room was empty.

“B-but how? The locks were on!”

“What’s a matter, boo?” asked Crush.

“Rina, our baby! She’s gone!”

“What?!”

The two gator folk pushed through the doorway and looked around. Shelly checked under the bed, in the closet, in the footlocker, under the footlocker, and even behind the bookshelf. Shelly’s breathing grew fast and sweat ran down the sides of her bumpy face.

“No! Rina! Rina! Where’d you go?!”

“Hey! Come see this!” said Crush. “One of the screws is loose outside! Someone must of removed ‘em and forgot to tighten ‘em all the way!”

The gator folk went outside to double check, finding not only the faint scratches of tool use, but also footprints and a scent to follow. There was only one person smart and willing enough to help Rina like this. Shelly gripped Crush by his overall straps and started shaking him in a panic.

“It must have been that Lafayette! We gotta go find ‘em! They’ve run off to fight that horrid monster! I’m sure of it!”

“Gah! Get ahold of yerself, woman! O’ course we’ll go after the kids! But there’s a lotta swamp to cover! Who knows how long the trail will stay warm!”

“Then we need to get the others!”

“Who?”

“Everybody! Eli, Pete, Mick! Everybody willin’ to help! If that thing gets a taste of youngin’s, it won’t be long before it comes after everyone else’s young!”

“All right, we’ll call everyone! Together!”

Shelly gave a nod, and alongside her husband, she bellowed. It wasn’t everyday that she did this, but all the residents of the bayou had agreed that when one family called for help, the others would listen. Little by little, all the people of the bayou who were fit to help came to the Woodsheds.

“What is it?” asked Eli, ahead of the group. Shelly and Crush explained everything, to which the others gave their support.

“Don’t you worry,” said Alyssa, the egret woman. “We’ll give it our all to find those two!”

The others gave a rallying cry and started lighting torches. With Shelly at the head of the crowd and her husband by her side, she used her fine nose to follow Rina’s trail.

---

Lafayette and Rina ran through the night, light squishing sounds following in their wake. The sky was dark and cloudy, the air pungent, and glowflies were buzzing around, scavenging through muck and rotten bark. Lafayette never minded the glowflies, but he also knew they never came out in mass unless there was blood to be found. He grabbed Rina’s hand and quickened his pace. The sooner they found the swamp shark, the better.

Lafayette’s ears twitched and he stopped, moving him and Rina to cover.

“What in the heck are you-”

“Shhh. I hear somethin’,” whispered Lafayette.

Up ahead, a familiar group of older teens had gathered, shouting, fighting, and drinking the night away. They were a band of ruffians from the South Sea that kept sneaking into the bayou to cause trouble. Known as the Lemon Shark Gang, they were bad news for anyone, save the tougher adults. Rina’s parents had given them the boot several times, but they always came back in greater numbers the following year.

“What rotten timing. It’s them Lemon Sharks,” whispered Lafayette.

“I thought I saw you shorties,” said a nearby voice. Lafayette and Rina turned, dodging a claw swipe. “Didn’t think I’d notice ya, huh? Never underestimate a Lemon Shark!”

“Don’t go startin’ things ya can’t finish, Jacob,” said Rina. “We ain’t got the time nor the patience for you!”

“Is that so?” Jacob grimaced. “Let’s see what the boys have to say to that!”

Jacob snapped his finger and the rest of the gang approached. They were nasty-looking shark folk. Tall, muscular, but still young, with yellowish grey hair, beady eyes with rhombus-shaped irises, and rows of sharp teeth. They wore simple clothes, such as denim shorts, overshirts, boots, and tank tops. They also had fins on their forearms, gill slits on their necks, and long tails. Lafayette recognized a few gang members, but only because of the bite marks Rina had left on them.

“We don’t want no trouble,” said Lafayette. “There’s a monster on the loose, and if we don’t stop it, it’ll eat everyone in the whole bayou!”

“And how’s that my problem?” asked Jacob, leaning in close. “The way I see it, if we let that monster do its business, then we’ll have this whole place to ourselves! Besides, who are we to stop a fellow shark?”

“You know about the swamp shark?” asked Rina.

“Eh, nothing much. We overheard those yokels saying this and that about a shark. Even if we knew more, it’s not like we’d tell you.” Jacob then grabbed Rina by the overall strap. “And I still owe you for that tooth you knocked outta my mouth last summer!”

“We both grow teeth back! Stop gettin’ yer jockstrap in a twist before I slap more of ‘em chompers outta ya!” Rina pulled away from Jacob’s grasp and got in a fighting stance. It seemed like a brawl was inevitable.

Lafayette looked around. There were eight sharks in total, including Jacob. They hadn’t moved in yet, but they could easily surround the two if given the chance. If they did, it’d be all over. But then, the fox boy noticed something on one of the nearby trees. It was one of his markers. Lafayette had hidden traps all throughout the bayou in case of monster attacks. Every time he planted some, he’d mark a nearby tree with a fox head symbol.

“Rina, I got an idea, but you gotta trust me.”

“You think I don’t? I’d trust ya with my life.”

“Then when I give the signal, jump.”

Rina gave her friend a nod and turned back to Jacob, who was grinding his teeth together.

“You think I can’t hear you?! I don’t care if a hurricane is comin’! You owe us a brawl, and we’re getting’ a brawl! Boys? Get ‘em!”

“Now!”

Rina jumped, smashing her head into Jacob’s chin and knocking a few of his teeth out. As Jacob fell back, Rina jumped past him. Lafayette hopped over one of the other gang members and ran ahead, gesturing for Rina to follow.

Grasping a bloody mouth, Jacob shouted, “You’re not getting away! Get those kids!”

Lafayette darted through the dark woods, hopping between rocks, fallen logs, and tree branches. Rina followed after, making a mighty leap and clambering into the tree the boy was waiting in. Not long after, one of the sharks tried the same maneuver, only to fall into a deep pit filled with thick mud. Lafayette helped Rina up to where he was while watching the shark struggle in the pit.

“That should slow him down. Come on!”

The chase continued, with two of the sharks gaining on the kids. Lafayette drew a small knife and made a quack noise just before ducking and slicing a rope. A suspended tree branch came loose and swung wide. Rina jumped before it hit her, and the branch slammed into the two sharks, knocking them over.

“Why the heck did ya do that? I was tryin’ to tell ya to duck!” said Lafayette.

“Oh! I thought you meant like how ducks sometimes hop into a pond!”

“Are you serious?” Lafayette heard a glass bottle whirling through the air and dodged. The bottle shattered on a tree, scaring off some of the glowflies. “Whatever. Just keep followin’! I got another trap that outta keep them Lemon Sharks busy all night!”

Up ahead was a cage trap. A lower portion had been carefully hidden in the mud while the upper portion was suspended by rope, obscured by the forest canopy. As long as the winds didn’t blow too hard (which they weren’t), cutting the rope would cause the upper portion to fall, and the force of the impact would lock the bars into place, trapping whoever was beneath it inside. Once the pair got to the tree, Lafayette turned to his friend.

“Think you can keep ‘em busy?”

“You know it!” said Rina with a flex.

Lafayette then dove behind cover, keeping his knife at the ready. Rina stood beneath the upper cage and readied herself. The remaining five sharks came charging in and started fighting with Rina. The girl punched, kicked, and bit the sharks as they pummeled her in kind. When Lafayette saw an opening, he shouted, “Jump!” and cut the rope.

Rina rolled out from the brawling sharks and watched the cage fall, but Jacob saw the trap coming and jumped onto the other sharks, catching the upper cage. He threw it at Rina, pinning her to a tree.

“Nice try losers, but I’m too smart for that!” shouted Jacob.

“Guess I got no choice. Sorry, Jacob,” said Lafayette.

“Huh?”

Lafayette pulled a lever hidden behind the tree. The lower part of the cage was designed with a secondary function in case the cage failed to lock into place. With the lever pulled, the lower cage pushed out of the mud and latched shut like a bear trap, pinning the five sharks inside with a nasty crunch. Jacob and the others roared in pain.

“You little twerps! Get me outta this!”

“No can do, Jacob.” Rina tossed aside the upper cage and stood up. “We got ourselves a monster to fight! Just be happy you got nothin’ but cartilage for bones. Now come on, Lafayette. The trail’s gettin’ cold!”

Rina waved down the fox and the pair ran off, leaving Jacob and the others to shout and groan. As the kids returned to the trail, Lafayette looked to his friend.

“Hey Rina.”

“Yeah?”

“How’d you know about that pit trap earlier? I didn’t get the chance to tell you about it.”

Rina clutched her belly and laughed. “I didn’t! I was just guessin’ since you hopped real far away from that rock! Pretty close call, huh?”

The gator girl laughed while Lafayette stared in disbelief. To see Rina shrug off something so important was both bewildering and, somehow, comforting. Lafayette joined his friend in their bout of laughter, even knowing the hardest part was yet to come.

---

Shelly led the rest of the search party, sniffing the air while holding her torch. She and the others heard a scuffle in the distance and came running, but it had grown quiet. Well, almost quiet. There were groans of pain and the sound of struggle, but little else. When she tracked down the source, she didn’t like what she saw.

“Oh not you again!” Shelly barked.

“What is it?” asked Crush, walking up. “Oh gosh dang it, it’s them Lemon Shark kids again!”

“Ooooh, hey there Missus and Mister Woodshed,” said Jacob. “Funny seeing you two on this lovely night.”

“Cut the crap, ya little bastard. Where’s my kid?!” shouted Shelly.

“Kid?”

“Rina, you idiot!”

“Oooooh, that kid. I’d be more than happy to tell you all about it if you let me and the boys out.”

“Shelly, don’t listen to him,” said Crush. “You remember the damage they did last year.”

“Don’t you worry. I have half a mind to leave ‘em for the swamp shark,” said Shelly.

“Wait! Don’t leave us!” said Jacob.

“Yeah! Let us out! I think I broke something!” said another shark.

As the rest of the search party approached, Shelly grabbed Jacob by an arm fin. “Now you listen here boy and you listen good. The only baby I got left in this world is out in the middle of these here woods lookin’ for a monster that’s already taken two of us out. I know she was here. I can smell her on you. If you don’t talk, I’ll do a lot worse than leave you behind.” Shelly gave the fin a twist, making Jacob wince.

“Okay, okay! We’ll talk!”

“Good!” Shelly tore open the trap like it was made of cardboard. The lemon sharks fell to the ground, slowly untangling themselves. Shelly yanked Jacob to his feet. “I let you out, so you better start talkin’!”

“Well…” Jacob took off in a sprint, only to be shoved to the ground by the rest of the search party. The Lemon Shark gang found themselves surrounded by a band of angry beast folk carrying weapons and torches.

Shelly moved in and pulled Jacob up by the hairs on his head. After turning him around and looking him in the eye, she said, “Where. Is. My. Baby?”

---

The air had grown still, and no glowflies could be seen.

Lafayette and Rina tracked the swamp shark, with Rina back in the lead. While she sniffed the air and followed the trail, Lafayette’s ears were bent down.

“So this shark,” he began.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” asked Rina.

“It’s already gotten two of us, right?”

“That’s what I heard, but who knows what it’s done by now.”

“Do you think they’re…” The last word lingered in Lafayette’s mind like poison. He forced it down and let the silence linger, even though it pained him to do so.

“I don’t know.” Rina turned to Lafayette, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But we can’t give up on ‘em. We’ll look all night if we have to. Just stick with me and you’ll be fine.”

Lafayette gave a nod. He was more concerned for the others than himself, but Rina’s words were reassuring, nonetheless.

The two kids searched the swamp for the better part of an hour, with no sign of the monster in sight. But then, something caught Lafayette’s eye. It was a glow greater than any glowfly he had ever seen. It was also moving towards them.

“Rina! Somethin’s comin’!”

Lafayette unzipped his leather bag and pulled out a hand shovel, ready to attack. Water splashed in the dark of the night, and the glow of the monster’s eyes and mouth came close into view.

“Here it comes! Get ready!” he shouted.

“Don’t have to tell me!” Rina shouted back, eating a pepper.

The shark beached itself, lunging at them with a ferocious bite. Rina answered its lunge with a fireball to the face, diverting its course while she and Lafayette dodged. Its tentacles flailed about, splashing water and mud, tearing down trees, and smashing rock apart.

Rina dove forward, grabbing the shark by the underbelly and slamming her fist into it over and over. It slapped Rina away with a tentacle, trying to grab her with another. Lafayette dove in and slashed with the sharp part of his shovel, severing the tendril’s tip. White blood hissed momentarily before muscular action closed the wound. After that, the shark pushed itself back into the nearby river with its other tentacles and submerged itself, disappearing. All was silent.

“Did we scare it off?” asked Lafayette. Then the ground shuddered. Tentacles pushed their way through the mud and swung wild. Lafayette dodged one, hopped another, then swung at a third, slicing it. Rina did much the same, ducking and weaving while clawing at tentacles that got too close. Lafayette then looked over and noticed something. The tentacle he had slashed earlier was regrowing its tip. “Rina! You seein’ what I’m seein’!? Its wounds are healin’!”

Rina ducked another tentacle swipe and clawed at a second tendril. “Just means we gotta beat this guy up faster than he can heal!”

“Are you crazy? There’s no way we can do that!”

“I ain’t givin’ up just yet! You can run if you want, but-” a tentacle slapped Rina aside, knocking her towards a tree. Lafayette dove to catch her, taking the brunt of the impact in her stead. Before the two could stand, the swamp shark had come around to their side and went to grab them both. Lafayette shoved Rina away and was grabbed as a result. Rina got to her feet and took hold of Lafayette’s wrist, doing her best to pull him free, but it was no use. Her boots skid across the mud they were pulled closer and closer to the swamp shark’s maw. Lafayette clawed and bit the tentacle, but it was healing too fast.

“Rina! Let me go, otherwise it’ll get us both!”

“Shut up! I’m not losin’ another friend!”

Lafayette panicked, looking behind him. He only had a couple seconds to make a decision.

“Rina… I’m sorry.”

The fox boy slipped his hand through Rina’s and disappeared into the swamp shark’s gullet. Shortly afterwards, it withdrew, going back into the water and swimming away.

“Lafayette! No!!”

Rina ran after the beast but slipped on the mud, skidding across the ground until she hit her head against a rock. She clutched at her head and growled, struggling to one knee. Hot tears ran down her face as she blasted a plume of fire into the air, howling at the sky.

---

Shelly and the others finally caught up to Rina, finding her on the ground with her back against a rock. The girl’s eyes were red from tears.

“Rina… What happened? I thought that fox boy was with you,” said Shelly.

“He was…” Rina sniffed. “He was.” Rina got up and explained what happened to everyone, ending it with, “And that’s why I can’t let it get away. I gotta take back what it took from me, one way or another.”

“So it’s true?” asked Eli. “Lafayette’s gone?” Rina merely nodded, making Eli’s gaze turn downwards. “… I see.”

“There’s no way we’re talkin’ you outta this, is there?” asked Crush.

“Of course not! You’d do the same if you were in my boots! I know you would!” shouted Rina. Crush had no rebuttal. “That’s what I thought. Now outta my way. I got a swamp shark to hunt.”

Shelly stopped Rina, taking her by the shoulder and getting down on one knee. “Listen, I know it hurts. I get it. But you can’t take this thing on by yourself. You fought it with Lafayette and look where that got you.”

Rina bit her lip, on the verge of tears once more.

“She’s right,” said Eli. “If we had worked together from the start, we could have avoided this. But now that we’re all here, we’ll fight as one.”

“Wait… You aren’t gonna stop me?” asked Rina.

“No. If what you say is true, we’ll need everyone we can find to help with this problem. But first, there’s something I need to show you all.”

Eli began walking away from where the swamp shark had gone. Rina ran up to the turtle.

“Hey, wait a minute! The shark went that way!”

“I understand that,” said Eli, “but if I’m right about what I found, we won’t have to chase it. We can make it come to us.”

“But…”

Alyssa the egret extended a feathered hand. “Listen to Eli. He’s never steered us wrong before.”

Rina sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

The search party, now led by Eli, traveled south through the swamp, veering east towards some of the submerged houses. One thing that was always a prominent feature of this part of the bayou were the rusted automobiles that sat half-covered in mud and dirt nearby. Upon returning to that place, however, Rina saw all the cars were gone.

“What the… Where is everything?” Rina asked.

“My point exactly,” said Eli. The snapping turtle approached one of the houses with a tiled roof just above water level. Part of it had nasty bite marks. “Not long after I received word from Pete, I traveled across the bayou to get to your house, Rina. I knew the swamp shark must have passed through here, but then, why were the cars missin’? That’s when I began theorizin’ about what this monster was after. I’ve heard tell that sharks have a special organ that lets them sense electric signals and the like, and this causes them to eat metallic things due to metal’s electromagnetivity. This shark is far from normal, but it seems particularly attracted to metallic objects. Why?”

“Maybe… It thinks it’s food?” said Crush.

“But it hunts people as well. If it preferred meat over metal, it should have been able to tell the difference from taste alone. If not the first time, the second or third. Has anyone lost anything metal as of late?”

Big Pete shook nervously as he said, “Wait, that’s right! I went to talk to ya about the shark and realized my machete was missin’, so I went back to look and… It was gone.”

“What are you getting’ at, Eli? Are you sayin’ this thing actually likes metal?” asked Shelly.

“I can’t be certain, but I think that’s the case,” Eli rubbed his chin. “Lafayette had his tools, and everyone I sent out earlier had weapons on them. There’s only one thing consistent between all of its targets. Metal!”

“Hold on a sec,” said Rina. “Then why would it come after me? I got metal buttons on my overalls, but that’s about it.” Shelly, Crush, and Eli looked awkwardly at each other, then turned to Rina. “What? I ain’t lyin’!”

“Rina, do you remember those keys you vomited up at my house?” asked Eli.

“Whaaaaat? I don’t… Not remember…”

“You kinda have a problem,” said Crush.

“I do not!”

“Oh yeah?” scoffed Shelly. “The last time you got sick, I found an old license plate, three beer cans, and a whole pile of bottle caps in yer spew bucket! That’s not even touchin’ on the fish scales and bones!”

“Hey! If it looks tasty, I eat it! What’s yer point?!” asked Rina.

“The point is, you tend to have a lot of undigested metal in your gut,” said Eli. “It’s not surprisin’ you’d be singled out among the others.”

“Then what’s the plan?” asked Alyssa.

“I have a car in my garage I’ve been tryin’ to restore with salvaged parts. It’s not much, but if the shark was hungry enough to eat the cars here, you can be certain it’ll come for my car when I set the trap. It’ll also be useful for savin’ the others.”

“Wait, you think they’re alive?” asked Rina.

“I don’t think, I know. I’ve learned a lot about sharks in my time down in the South Sea. Sharks take… A long time to digest their food. About three days or so. If this monster is anythin’ like a normal shark, there may be a chance we can still save Lafayette and the others.”

Rina’s heart swelled. She was certain she had lost her friend, but Eli’s theories filled her with hope. If there was a chance, any chance at all, Rina would do everything she could to help.

Eli explained the rest of his plan to the others. He would attach one end of a long metal chain via a locking hook to the back of his car while the other end would be held by most of the search party – primarily Crush and Shelly.

“You’re among the strongest here,” said Eli. “And the heaviest.”

Crush put a hand to his belly with a nervous chuckle while Shelly smiled as if she had been complimented.

“Now the reason we’ll be using my car,” Eli continued, “is because someone will be in the driver’s seat when the monster eats it. That way we’ll be able to get inside the monster and grab anyone who’s still alive. I doubt the car will hold up forever, though, so when I’ve got everyone, I’ll fire a flare using this.” Eli reached into a pocket and pulled out a 12-gauge flare gun, which was a discolored orange. “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see it since the monster’s mouth glows, but you’ll certainly be able to smell it.”

“Hold on, who said you’d be the one in that car? I’m the one who lost Lafayette! I should be the one goin’ in!” said Rina.

“If I had at least let you and Lafayette help earlier, you wouldn’t have ran off on your own. This is my burden to bear. Besides,” Eli smirked, “I need someone to hogtie that shark so it doesn’t thrash around while I’m inside. Think you can handle it?” Rina nodded excitedly. Eli turned to Rina’s parents. “Is that all right with you two?”

“Only if she’s willin’ to work together with the rest of us,” said Shelly.

“Then it’s settled. Everyone, follow me. We’ve got ourselves a swamp shark to catch.”

---

Lafayette woke up to a dull whirring sound.

The fox boy opened his eyes. What he saw beggared belief. He was trapped inside a fleshy pod connected to an equally fleshy wall, but not everything in the room was organic. There were walkways, bright lights, moving mechanical parts, and a crystal cylinder hooked up to a strange device. It looked like an engine, but Lafayette couldn’t be sure. Inside the crystal cylinder was a head-sized green orb of energy. It was smooth one moment then spiky the next. It changed shape and texture rhythmically the way a heart pumps blood.

“What in the world?”

Lafayette looked to his left, noticing some familiar faces. Mick Longlegs and David the deer were also trapped in flesh pods. Worse yet, long fleshy tubes ending in metal needles had been inserted into the tube. Blood was being pulled through the tubes and into another bizarre device embedded into the corpulent insides of wherever he was. The device hummed, and bottles were being filled with thick liquids – one dark yellow in color, and another pure red. When the red bottle was sufficiently filled, it was extracted by a tendril and inserted into the engine-like device wrapping around the crystal cylinder. Below Lafayette were vats as well, which contained piles of metal junk being broken down in what he assumed was digestive fluids. The boy remembered being eaten by the shark, but as far as he was concerned, he had woken up in a whole new dimension.

Not wanting to wait around and let his friends die, Lafayette clawed his way out of the flesh pod and climbed over to Mick and David, tearing open their pods and pulling the needles free. Lafayette lowered the pair onto one of the walkways, and they came to shortly after, though they were barely conscious. Lafayette did his best to lift them up.

“Come on, you two. We gotta get out of here!”

Then the lights above shifted color from white to a harsh red. Tendrils sprang from the walls and darted towards Lafayette. The fox drew his knife and slashed at them, keeping the tendrils at bay, but more were beginning to grow all along the walls. He could hold out for the moment, but how long would he last?

---

Out in a muddy field, Eli sat patiently in his car. He loosened his iron grip on the steering wheel to double-check that the flare gun was still in his pocket. Everything was fine for now. Ahead of him was a riverbank, and beyond that, a tangled mess of trees. Behind him, the others were lying in wait. Crush, Shelly, and several other beast folk had their hands around their end of the chain while the rest sat along the muddy ground. Rina and the rest of the beast folk were nearby as well, holding ropes and chains of their own. Once the sight of a large fin and an eerie glow came into view, Eli let out an anxious sigh.

“Well, here goes nothin’.”

Seconds later, the swamp shark breached the water and lunged at the car. It took every ounce of Eli’s willpower to not jump out of the car to safety. The shark latched onto the car with its sharp teeth and pulled it in with tentacles. When the chain grew taut, Shelly dug her heels into the ground.

“Now! Hold on like yer life depends on it!”

The beast folk used all their strength to keep the chain from slipping out of their hands. They gave just enough to let the car get pulled further into the shark, but once it was swallowed, they began their tug-o-war in earnest. The shark accepted this challenge, struggling to pull itself back into the water. This was when Rina and the others came charging out of the woods.

Beast folk flung ropes attached to grappling hooks over the top of the shark while Alyssa flew heavy chains over it. Rina went to work immediately, dodging the striking tentacles and tying them up as best as she could. She resisted the urge to claw and bite the beast, knowing what little good it would do.

With the shark occupied with pulling the car chain, Rina and the others made short work binding the shark in place. They anchored its bindings to rocks and logs, trapping it on the shore of the riverbank. For the moment, the shark wasn’t going anywhere.

---

Lafayette fought tirelessly to defend the weak and wounded Mick and David. However, something strange happened, causing the fleshy room to shake. Lafayette fell on his hands and knees, leaving an opening for the tendrils. Just before he was pulled back into a pod, Eli arrived on the scene, slashing the tendrils apart with his claws.

“Eli! What are you doin’ here?!” shouted Lafayette.

“I came to get you out! Where the hell is this place? Are we inside the shark?!” shouted Eli.

“How the heck would I know?” The room shook once more, and a thundering roar made Lafayette cover his ears. “There’s no time to explain! Mick and David are hurt real bad! We gotta get ‘em outta here!”

“Then watch my back! I’ll carry ‘em!”

Eli picked Mick and David up and ran back to the car. Lafayette followed, slashing at whatever tendrils, limbs, or pustules tried to attack him. With the fox boy’s help, Eli got Mick and David into the backseat of the car, buckled up.

“Come on, kid! Hop in!”

Lafayette leaped onto the hood of the car and tried to crawl inside as Eli pulled out the flare gun, firing it. The flare stuck itself into the ceiling above, hissing and sizzling. Already the car was starting to move back. As Lafayette was climbing into the car, however, more tendrils lashed out, grabbing hold of the fox and pulling him out.

“Lafayette!!” cried Eli. Too little too late. The car was yanked free of the shark, leaving Lafayette alone.

---

When the car was pulled free, it landed on the mud covered in a thick slime. Not long after, the shark went berserk. Through a sudden show of strength, it burst from its bindings and lashed out at Rina and the others. Rina sank inches into the mud as the tentacle came slamming down on her. She caught it just in time, but several others were swatted away. As Rina shoved the tentacle aside, Alyssa swooped down and picked her up by the shoulders, carrying her to safety. Then the shark dove back into the water, swimming away.

The beast folk gathered around the car, helping the others out. Rina saw Eli get out, then Mick and David were carried out, but there was no sign of Lafayette. Her blood went cold.

“Eli! What happened?” Rina asked.

“Things inside the shark, it got him as we were pulled out! He’s still inside!” said Eli.

“What?!”

Rina looked back at where the shark had swum away, gritting her teeth. “That son of a gun!” Without a second thought, Rina dove into the riverbank and swam after the shark. Shelly tried to grab her before she dove in, but was too slow.

“Rina! Rina, get back here this instant! Rina!!!”

It was no use. Something was telling Rina that if she didn’t chase the shark down now and save Lafayette, he’d be gone for good. Like a demon possessed, she swam as fast as she could in pursuit of her prey. Though the swamp shark had already covered a great deal of ground, it was slower than Rina expected. It seemed weakened, somehow. This gave Rina the opportunity she needed to close the distance. After breaching the water, Rina landed on the swamp shark’s back, grabbing hold of its dorsal fin.

“I’m not lettin’ you get away this time, swamp shark. I’m gettin’ my friend back if it’s the last thing I do!”

Rina popped a pepper into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Unlike before, when she used the magical heat to blast the beast, she kept her mouth shut and held the fire in. Her gut burned like a furnace as smoke billowed from her nostrils. Her skin changed color, gradually taking on the hues of flame. Her senses sharpened, her muscles bulged, and her blood pumped red hot through her veins. It was a trick she had learned after testing how long she could hold onto her fire breath. The magic flame in her belly gave her awesome power, but it hurt like crazy, and she was always at risk of passing out when the power was spent. Even knowing these risks, Rina used the power anyway. Come Hell or high water, she would save Lafayette.

The first thing Rina did was smash apart the shark’s dorsal fin, causing it to quake with pain. Soon after, she dove into the water and lashed out at the beast. Rina tore through the shark’s tentacles like wet spaghetti noodles before latching onto its belly with her teeth, tearing at it with a roll. The shark swatted Rina away with its massive body and put some distance between it and her. Its devilish glowing eyes locked with Rina’s, and it charged. Rather than attempt to bite Rina, however, it crashed into her, slamming her against large river rocks. A dull blunt pain shot through Rina’s body, but this was nothing compared to the burning sensation coursing through her. With a shove, Rina pushed the gigantic shark back, and the battle continued.

Both Rina and the swamp shark swam swiftly and struck each other with a ferocious might. While Rina’s wounds continued to accrue, the shark’s wounds simply healed. Even most of its tentacles had come back. And yet, as it was forced to heal its wounds over and over, the shark’s movements began to slow. It was losing stamina, and as it tired, it became easier to dodge, easier to strike. Rina pushed the advantage, punching, clawing, and kicking the ever-loving daylights out of the beast. Though her mouth was sealed, inside she cried out for her friend.

“Give back Lafayette! Give back my friend!”

After getting slapped around by the fearsome gator, the swamp shark turned tail and fled. Rina pursued, latching onto one of its pectoral fins with a bite. In a last-ditch effort to escape, the swamp shark aimed its fin (and Rina) at a sharp rock formation up ahead. Seeing this, Rina waited until the last second, then… Let go. The shark slammed into the rocks, smashing them apart with its huge mass. In doing this, it heavily wounded itself and slowed considerably. Now’s my chance! thought the gator girl. She swam after the beast and grabbed hold of its mouth, using what strength remained to pry its jaws open and slip inside.

---

Lafayette grew cold, trapped inside the flesh pod. He had been bound up inside the beast once more and getting his blood drained. Slowly but surely, an icy sensation washed over him. It took all his strength just to stay awake. Yet his strength waned, and the boy found himself straddling the line between the waking world and his dreams.

Fear.

What? thought Lafayette. What is this feeling?

For just an instant, Lafayette felt something inside his mind. Something that wasn’t himself. It was like something was calling out to him. Distant, feral, and afraid, yet it called out to him all the same. Perhaps it was because he was bound within its body, but somehow, Lafayette had formed a connection between himself and the monster. He saw the reflection of stars dance across a vast purple ocean. Creatures terrible and alien swam through the ocean, far, far away.

Lafayette saw himself being pulled upwards by a beam of light, and he lay breathless upon a huge metallic table. Strange beings, long and thin, were doing things to him. Horrible things. They were changing him. They were making him… Different. They gave him power. They gave him a mission.

Tunneling through prismatic halls of blinding light, he reappeared in other places, in other oceans. Hungry, he searched for metal and extracted what he could. He hunted a new type of prey in those distant seas on dying worlds. Again and again, he would travel, he would appear in a strange new place, and he would hunt until he was fit to burst. Then he returned, giving those thin beings what they wanted.

Countless years passed – too long to tell for certain. He had survived the thin ones. Now there was nothing left except the mission. Extracting metal no longer served a purpose, but the hunger remained. There was nothing left but power and instinct. The hunt continued, until one day he found himself on a new world. One both alien and familiar…

Lafayette came too. Rina was staring at him with dark-rimmed eyes. She pried open the flesh pod and removed the needles, pulling him free.

“R-rina? Is that really you?” whispered Lafayette.

“It sure is. I’m getting’ you outta here!”

“Wait…”

“What is it?”

Their conversation was cut short by attacking tendrils. Rina leaped away, carrying Lafayette. She landed on one of the walkways and lashed out at the tendrils with fang and claw.

“This thing doesn’t give up, does it?! Got any ideas?”

“There…” Lafayette pointed at the crystal cylinder. “This thing, it… It’s not from here. I don’t know where it’s from, but it’s not here. It traveled here using that.”

“I don’t know what the heck you’re sayin’, but if you want me to blow it up, I got just enough firepower left to do that!”

“Be careful…! I don’t know what’ll happen once that breaks…”

Rina nodded with a grin. “I make no promises.”

As more tendrils lashed out at the pair, Rina leaped into the air and spit a fireball at the crystal cylinder. The magic force of the blast broke open the cylinder and blew up the engine. When Rina landed on the ground, the inside of the shark began to quake and shift. Rina wasted no time and bolted back towards the shark’s throat. Sickly-looking tentacles and ghastly lumps of flesh tried to block her way, but Rina bulldozed right through while Lafayette was slung over her shoulder. Up ahead, the shark’s many fangs had latched shut. Without a second thought, Rina slammed her other shoulder straight into the teeth, busting through like it was a glass window. The gator flew through the air and landed on a rocky and muddy plot of land. Instinct took hold and she continued to run, all while Lafayette watched what transpired.

The swamp shark floated up and out of the water as if by magic, staying suspended in the air. Then the space around it warped, bending the shark into impossible shapes. In an instant, the shark imploded, and both the shark, as well as a sphere of space surrounding it, blipped out of existence. With a pop loud enough to make Lafayette’s eardrums ring, the monster was gone. Rina set Lafayette down and turned to look back at where the swamp shark once was.

“Hmph! Swamp shark, you may have drawn first blood, but I’ve… Drawn last.”

Then Rina’s strength gave out and she collapsed.

---

One day later, Rina and Lafayette were found passed out next to a log by Alyssa. The egret woman swooped down to check the children. They were alive, but badly injured. She carried them back to the others, and soon after, they were taken in by Eli. The old snapping turtle nursed the children back to health, first cleaning and bandaging their wounds, then steadily feeding them chicken liver. After two days, the children were back on their feet, welcomed by the bayou as heroes.

Rina and Lafayette were showered with praise by the other beast folk. Even when Shelly appeared looking angrier than ever, her expression quickly softened as she scooped up her daughter and gave her a great big hug.

“Rina baby! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Gah! Good to see ya too, ma!”

Crush joined the group hug, and before Rina suffered anymore wounds, she was set back down next to Lafayette.

“You done us real proud savin’ Lafayette,” said Crush. “We haven’t seen that nasty shark for a while, either. Whatever happened to that thing?”

Rina and Lafayette looked at each other.

“Uh… It’s a long story,” said the fox boy.

Together, Rina and Lafayette gave their own accounts of what they saw, filling in a lot of the blanks of what Eli, Mick, and David had said. When they were finished, everyone looked more confused than they were before.

“You’re tellin’ me that thing got here through some tunnel of light?” asked Crush. “That don’t make a lick o’ sense.”

“It’s not impossible,” said Eli. “It might have used some kind of magic spell to do it. There’s a lot we don’t know about the world or anything beyond it. We still don’t know why Rina can breathe flame, for instance.”

“You make a fair point…”

“Well I don’t care what that thing was or how it worked,” said Shelly, “I’m just glad I got my baby back.” She grabbed Rina once more for a second hug, but Rina resisted.

“Enough with the hugs! I’m glad to see ya too, but I ain’t yer baby anymore! I am ten years old! That’s two whole digits! You don’t have to worry so much, ma. I’m a big girl now!”

With a sigh, Shelly said, “I get that. Yer growin’ faster than a swamp weed, and you can fight with the best of ‘em, but you need to understand. After we lost Root, I…” Shelly stopped, sniffling. “O’ course I’d worry. Don’t I have the right?”

Rina looked to the ground, hands behind her back. “I understand… You don’t want me fightin’ monsters anymore, do ya?”

Shelly shook her head. “Rina, I couldn’t stop you even if I tried. And I’d know, ‘cause I tried! Knowing the shark is long gone and you two are okay, well, it’s clear you’re both more capable than anyone gave ya credit for. You can keep defendin’ the swamp and fightin’ monsters, just tell someone about it. Tell Alyssa, tell Eli, tell me! Communicate with us, and don’t be afraid to ask for help! If you’re willin’ to keep us all up to date, then I’m more than willin’ to let you do your thing with Lafayette.”

Shelly extended her hand to Rina. The girl looked at it in utter disbelief. Feeling waves of relief, Rina took hold of her mother’s hand and shook it vigorously.

“You got yerself a deal! Lafayette, we’re back in business!”

“Does it have to be monster fights every time though?”

“O’ course not. There’s still lots of places to explore ‘round here, lots of strange stuff we can learn about. If you’re willin’ to tag along on my adventures, I’ll tag along on yours too.”

Lafayette turned to Eli. “Well? What do ya think?”

“I think it sounds like a plan. Just check in every once and a while like Shelly said. You know how forgetful Rina can be.”

“Hey! I am not forgetful! At least… I don’t think I am. Do you remember a time I’ve forgotten somethin’, Lafayette?”

The other beast folk got a good chuckle out of this, leaving Rina looking around in confusion. Not long after, the crowd dispersed, and both Rina and Lafayette returned to their respective homes. Rina to her log cabin, and Lafayette to his hollow tree. They ate good food, took nice warm baths, and then crawled into bed for a well-deserved rest. Neither were sure what tomorrow would bring, but they were happier they didn’t know. The mystery made it more fun.

[little-corritrice]

Light of My Life - Chapter 26

Synopsis - y/n was your ordinary young women, who happened to be the daughter of Christian Horner. She is there every race, and every day, See how she gets along with everyone, including a special someone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As we ordered our food, me and Alex were both talking. "You look so beautiful in that dress, babe." He complimented. I shook my head, setting down the wine glass. "Stop with the compliments." I chuckled, staring at him. "Your going to learn to take them one day." He huffed, sitting back. I smiled, chuckling at his childness. Our food had came, and we were eating peacefully until it was interrupted by none other than the trash itself. "y/n! Why are you here with my boyfriend?" Alyssa dramatically said, wiping some fake ass tears. She turned to Alex, more fake tears spilling. "How could you Alex? After everything we have been through! I am pregnant with your child." She screamed, making me scoff. I was about to say something, but she slapped Alex making me pissed. I stood up, lunging at her. 

I started punching her, not really caring for anything right now. I heard Alex start yelling, and trying to get me, but I kept pushing him away. "You fucking whore! Why are you doing this Alyssa? Can't you just find someone else to play with?!" I screamed, punching her still. She was screaming and kicking, scratching my arms and pulling my hair. I was pulled off by Alex, and the waiter helped Alyssa. Alex dragged me out of there, making me push him off as I was still mad. "What the hell, y/n?" He screamed at me. I stood there shocked, scoffing at him. "Me? She fucking made a whole scene, and tried saying you got her pregnant. She also fucking slapped you. Do you realize how much shit your going to get from the media?" I yelled, pushing him away.

He scoffed, throwing his hands up. "You started attacking her for no reason! I don't care about your rivalry. That was not right!" He yelled, making me scoff. "Oh, so now I'm the bad guy for standing up for you. Well, I am sorry that she was going to ruin your career." I yelled back. "You just made it way worse than it is. Now I will have these pregnant and cheating rumors, along with the crazy girl who attacked her." He said, going quiet after. I scoffed, turning around. "That is so low coming from you. I thought you were better than this. I get that wasn't the right choice, but it was not wrong for me stand up for you. But if you find that wrong, then maybe this won't work." I said "Oh, so now your just going to walk away from this?" He said in a annoyed tone. I laughed, shaking my head. The tears slipped down my cheeks as I turned around. "Yes because if I don't, there will be no 'this'." I said, throwing the bag he gave me at him. 

I turned around walking off. He didn't follow, just rolling his eyes, and walking back in. I sobbed quietly, walking down the street. It was a good thing the hotel was right there. I walked into our room, luckily keeping the card in my phone case and having my phone on me. I grabbed all my stuff, walking out of the room and going down the hall. I didn't know who to go to as everyone was either gone or had their girlfriends, and I needed a cuddle buddy. I remembered that Mick was here, but he had his mom and sister. I thought to Lando, but he probably was out partying. I frustratingly cried, my emotions getting to me. I heard the elevator, and saw Robert walking out of it. He saw me, and ran over, grabbing my arms. "Hey, what happened?" He asked, rubbing away the tears. I sobbed in his hands, covering my face. He brought me to his room, putting my things in the corner.

He guided me to the bed, making me sit down. He squatted between my legs, still holding my cheeks. "Deep breaths. In and out." He said, taking deep breaths in and out. I followed him, my tears stopping and my breathing going back to normal. I stood up, grabbing some makeup wipes from my bag. I went to the bathroom, slightly slamming the door. I looked at myself in the mirror, sighing frustrated. I wiped all the mascara running down my face, and threw it away. I stayed in there for a good 30 minutes crying at myself in the mirror. I got up as I heard voices, and walked out. I saw Dennis, Robert, Lando, Oscar, and Arthur. They all looked at me sadly, and Lando came over. "Why didn't you call me?" He whispered, hugging me tightly. "I didn't know if you were out or in your room." I said, my eyes stinging with tears. He sighed, rubbing my cheeks. 

After talking to the boys for a couple hours, Lando made me go with him to his room. "Thank you." I said as we cuddled in bed. "You don't have to thank me. Your always welcome in my arms, anytime you need them. You know that." He said, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes, some more tears falling out. He didn't say anything, just rubbing my back softly. "I'm going to have a talk with him." He said, making me shake my head. "Don't make things worse." I said, squeezing his hand. He sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. Go to sleep." He said, rubbing my back still. After a little, I finally had the need for sleep. So, I took it, as Lando did too.

[libraryofloveletters]

Daddy’s Biggest Fan

Lance Stroll x Fem!Reader

Warnings: surprise baby!, babygirl is the star of the show and the gem of the stroll family, grandpa Lawrence is besties with his granddaughter, mentions of labour and giving birth (nothing graphic!), the vettel family is the cutest, soft uncle mick, uncle estie and auntie elena, some cheesy comments from lance, auntie chloe and uncle scotty for the win! 

Word Count: 6,210

Author’s Note: prompted by this video and this photo :)) enjoy soft dad lance! // also y’all know I cannot write lance without some mention of Canada lmaoooo forgive me please 

--- 

Weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix, 2022. 

The hallways were empty considering it was nearly midnight. Lance’s bag hung off of his shoulder, hitting his back as he ran towards the desk. “Y/n l/n, where is she?” He asks, fingers drumming against the counter as he waits for the nurse to tell him. 

“Who are you?” She asks and he huffs a sigh. “Her boyfriend.” 

“Oh, yeah okay. Uh, one sec,” she checked the charts to her left, “room 209.” She tells him and with that he’s off again, scanning all the door numbers before he finds the room. 

He walks in quietly, silently hoping he hasn't missed it. “Did I miss it?” Lance asks.

He finds you still very much pregnant on the bed. “You didn’t,” you smiled, your hand stretched out for him. 

The Canadian Grand Prix was this weekend which meant Lance was home in Montreal so the baby picked the perfect time to make their appearance into the world. The fact that you two were expecting was a bit of a secret, no one except your families, the Vettels along with Esteban, Elena and Mick knew. 

Seb only found out because Lance went shopping with him to pick up a few things for his kids and Seb was curious as to why he was so interested in baby clothes all of a sudden. As for Esteban, Elena and Mick, the 3 drivers were close and Esteban is bad at keeping secrets so that was that. 

Sunday was rolling into Monday and your contractions were closer together. Your sister in law was asleep on the chair next to your bed, Lance didn’t wake her but your groans did. 

“When’d you get here?” She yawns, looking at her brother. 

“An hour ago. Can you get the doctor though? Her contractions are closer together now.” Lance asked his sister, you and Chloe share a glance before laughing. Chloe squeezes her brother’s shoulder, “yeah, I'll go.” 

It was a few moments before Chloe returned, your sister in law beside your boyfriend as the doctor checked how far along you were dilated. “Alright, you’re just about ready to push.” The doctor gets up, letting the sheet back down. “We’ll get you prepped, who’s staying?” 

“I am.” “He is.” Chloe and Lance answer at the same time. 

You smile at the Stroll siblings, Chloe comes over to kiss your forehead. “I’ll be waiting outside. You've got this,” she tells you, and you nod. “I’ll see you after.” 

Chloe gives her brother a hug before stepping out.  

The doctor and nurses come in, it’s an overwhelming scene to anyone on the outside but you were relaxed, surprisingly. 

The room door was shut, the drape up between your lower half and you with Lance standing by your side, holding your hand the whole time. Your boyfriend whispered sweet nothings to you, praising you on what a good job you were doing. 

“That’s my girl,” he whispers, kissing your forehead. “Doing so good, baby. Just a few more pushes.” 

“Almost here,” Your doctor calls up to you, “few more.” She confirms your boyfriend’s theory.

Within the next few minutes, you had given birth. You looked a mess, hair matted to your forehead from sweat, your eyes teary and you were beyond exhausted and yet, he looked at you like you held the sun and the stars.

“So proud of you,” Lance whispers, pushing your hair away from your face as he kisses your forehead. The doctor was right next to you two, cleaning up the baby and doing her initial tests before wrapping the little baby in a white and pink blanket.

“Congratulations,” She smiles, placing the baby in Lance’s arms. “It’s a girl.” She tells you both, giving you a moment to coo over her.

The floodgates have broken, Lance’s face covered in tears as he sits by your bedside, resting the baby on your chest gently. This was probably the first time you’ve seen Lance cry this much, it’s quite sweet to see his daughter reduce him to a puddle to tears. His arm over the top of the pillow, the two of you looking at the baby you created.

Both of you crying, the little thing on your chest had her eyes shut. “She’s got your eyes,” Lance whispers, as if he would be disturbing the baby’s rest by being any louder.

“Her eyes are barely open.” You chuckled, looking over at your boyfriend. 

It was a little while with just the 3 of you. Lance already has a million and one pictures of his baby girl on the phone, changing the home screen from you to one of you and her. 

There’s a knock on the door, the nurse sticking her head in to let you know that you have visitors. Lance tells her to let them in, you were sitting on the bed, a baby wrapped up in a blanket being cradled to your chest with Lance sitting on the edge of the tiny hospital bed. 

Chloe held the first bag, a little stuffed lion and blanket in it and Scotty followed behind, some outfits for the baby in the bag. “When’d you get here?” you asked Scotty, the two of them coming over to see the newest addition to the Stroll family. 

“Chloe called me as soon as it was time for you to push.” He asks, watching as you hand the baby over to your sister in law. 

“You guys,” Chloe whispers, holding the baby like she was the most precious thing in the world. “She’s so beautiful.” 

Scotty and Chloe sat on the bench next to the window, the two of them cooing over their niece. 

“We didn’t tell you her name,” you look over at them, Lance snuggled in next to you on the bed. The older couple looks over, waiting for you to tell them. 

“Meet Elizabeth Chloe Stroll.” You tell them, glancing between Chloe and Lance. 

“Chloe?” The blonde asks, looking down at the baby in her arms. 

“Mhm hm, after the best auntie in the world,” you hold Lance's hand, the woman smiles. Scotty grins at his fiancé, you and Lance chuckling at her reaction.  

“Lizzie for short,” Lance says, a smile on his face. 

The two of you had wanted to name her with a name that started with L but you couldn't settle on any so you went with Elizabeth, Lizzie for short. Also because Lance wanted her to have L. Stroll like him. 

“She’s beautiful,” Chloe says once more, “like her mom.” 

“Wow, no credit for me?” Lance asks his sister, she shrugs. “Don’t worry, mate. I think you’re handsome.” Scotty says to his brother in law, earning a few laughs. 

--- 

The next few days had been a whirlwind of emotions. Lizzie was born on Tuesday just past midnight and you were released on the Thursday. Lance refused to leave you two, telling the team that he’d be missing media day and decided to opt out of practice on Friday as well. 

Perks of your dad owning the team you drive for I suppose. 

Lizzie was laying against her father’s chest, her little hand wrapped around his finger as he rubbed her back softly. You had gone to take a shower before Lance had to leave but the man was still on the couch, dressed for the track but he’s yet to move from his spot. 

“Lance.” You called, your hands on your hips. “C’mon, you can’t miss qualifying.” 

“Do I really have to go?” There’s a pout playing on his lips when you come over to take Lizzie from him. 

You’ve got the little girl in your arms when you stand between his legs. “Yes, you have to go.” 

Lance gets up, a pout on his face and you reach up to give him a kiss. You can feel his hand over yours, the one resting under Lizzie, holding her up in her little roots onesie. 

“Go on,” you nudge him towards the door. Lance begrudgingly makes his way to the door, picking up his keys and his phone before turning back to face his girls once more.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” 

“One hundred percent,” you smile at your boyfriend. You’ve got Lizzie tucked into your chest, an arm under her as your other hand rests on your boyfriend’s jaw. “We love you, now go.” 

“I love you,” he smiles before giving you a kiss. Lance leans down a bit more, kissing Lizzie’s head, “I love you the most.” 

You smiled at the man and his daughter, rushing him out the door before he missed the session. 

Lizzie was but a few days old, much too little for you to be taking her to a race. You’re certain there were rumours floating around that you and Lance had split after you not being there for a few months. Once you hit your 5th month of pregnancy, it was hard to find the bump under clothes and your doctor suggested staying in one place or only go to races that are much shorter flights. 

It was killing you to miss his home race this weekend but there was nothing you wouldn’t do for this little girl. 

You two sort of lay around for a bit. You take a million and one photos of her; new parents and not wanting to miss a moment. You had the tv on, watching as the sky sports crew made their way through the paddock, asking around while they set up for qualifying. 

Lizzie stretches in your arms and you decide to change her into the little outfit her grandfather had gifted her. 

The day after you two told Lawrence you were expecting, you received a basket of baby things; onesies, hats, shirts, little jackets and hoodies, a blanket and even a little car stuffie all in Aston Martin green with the little logo on it. 

The little girl was now in a onesie, the Aston logo across her tummy and the back had a number 18 on it. 

You put her to lay on the couch so you can take a photo of her. You send that on to Lawrence with a message attached; future aston driver ? 

Your father in law replied with a yes and a million emojis that he’s newly discovered and had come to love. 

“Your grandad is so cheesy,” you tell her quietly, picking her back up. You held her in your arm carefully, watching as they were doing last minute checks before the cars would be pulling out for quali. 

The two of you take a selfie, both you and Lizzie have on Aston Martin shirts with the matching 18 on the back. 

To Lance: good luck!! <3 *1 Image Attachment* 

From Lance: miss my biggest fan. 

To Lance: awh you miss me? how sweet. 

From Lance: you’re funny, you got booted. Lizzie is daddy’s biggest fan. 

To Lance: it’s not cute when you refer to yourself as daddy. 

From Lance: you love it mommy. 

To Lance: you’re sooooo gross. go race, we love you. 

Setting the phone down, you rocked the sleepy baby softly. The volume was low but the sound of the zooming cars and the rumbling engines lulled her back to sleep. 

You managed to stay awake through qualifying; Sebastian and Lance were starting one after another with the German in P17 and the Canadian in P18. 

Not the best but hopefully tomorrow will be better. 

Lizzie woke up at some point after qualifying. You changed her diaper, fed her, rocked her and sang to her until you two found your way back to the couch. It had been a repeat of the same thing for the last few days; sleep, eat, sing to her, take a million photos, change her and repeat. 

You tried to get a few minutes of sleep when she did which is what you were doing when your boyfriend walked into the apartment. The door shuts quietly, the man setting the keys down on the entry table softly before making his way over to his girls on the couch. 

Despite changing his clothes, you could still smell the burnt rubber and gasoline on his skin. “Hey,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss Lizzie’s head before sitting next to you. 

The girl in your arms and your head back against the couch cushions. Your eyes were shut but you open them when you feel him take her from you, giving you a break. 

“Weren’t you sleeping?” He asks, Lizzie’s little hand wrapping around his finger when he gently rubs over her hand. 

“Resting my eyes,” you hum, snuggling into his side. 

The man smiles, there’s nothing better than having his two girls with him. He rocks the girl in his arms back and forth ever so softly, calming her when she stirs. “Shh, go back to sleep angel. Daddy’s here.” 

You looked up from his shoulder at him, “what did I tell you about that daddy thing?” 

“I was talking to Lizzie, you freak.” He chuckles, kissing your head. 

---- 

Weekend of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 2022. 

You and Lance have finally decided to take Elizabeth to her first Grand Prix. It only made sense to take her to Abu Dhabi, seeing that it was the final race of the season, and that you would get there early enough to give her time to acclimate to the environment.

Also, you had sweet talk Lance into thinking it was a good idea because you wanted to be there for Sebastian's final weekend.

Lawrence had been asking when he was going to see his granddaughter at a race and all the things just aligned, it made the most sense to go then rather than wait for the start of next season. 

Lizzie was now six months old, and she was starting to hit a few milestones. She can roll over and sit up on her own, starting to pull herself up and make efforts to crawl. She's starting to babble and make funny faces at you. She also is starting to recognize people and she loves when her auntie Chloe and uncle Scotty come over because Scotty spends 98% of the time making funny faces at her, and it causes the sweetest little giggles you’ve ever heard in your life. 

You had given her a shower, getting her dressed for the day and you were about to get dressed yourself, thinking you’d be leaving her with her dad but the man was knocked out in the arm chair, the baby bottle sat on his lap and dripping on his shirt. 

It was too funny to ignore so you set Lizzie in her playpen, taking a photo of Lance before posting it to your Instagram story. 

It’s the first post of him you've made since you suddenly vanished from the paddock. Of course you cover the baby bottle with a little heart emoji and tagged him before setting your phone down.

“Sweetheart,” you nudged him softly. Lance stirred a bit but didn’t open his eyes. You take the baby bottle off of his lap and sit on him. “Lance, c’mon.” 

The man finally opens his eyes, a scowl on his face. “Why’d you wake me?” He groans.

“You have dinner with the guys tonight.” 

“Noooo,” he whines, his arms wrapped around you. “Let me stay.” 

“I’ll give you Lizzie and have her drool on you if you don’t get up.” You give him a look and his brows raise, “you wouldn’t.” 

You get off his lap, going to get the girl out of her playpen. “Fine!” He shouts, grabbing you by the waist when he rushes over you, his arms around you once again as he hugs you from behind. Lance's chin rests on your shoulder, “I love her but she drools soooo much.” He sighs, earning a laugh from you. 

“Go change,” you wiggle him off of you. Lance nods, leaving you two to go change for dinner. 

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” He yells from the bedroom and you roll your eyes; you know he means well but sometimes you swear he forgets it’s just the two of you when he was away racing. 

“Chloe is coming over, we’re gonna catch up on our gossip.” You tell him, picking up Lizzie and swinging her around. The little girl giggled, her big brown eyes wide and her gummy smile on display. 

Lance comes out of the room, “and what do we plan to do with little missy when you two are catching up on your gossip?” 

There’s a knock on the hotel door and you walk over to open it, Chloe and Scotty arriving together. Lizzie babbles when her uncle reaches for her, smothering her cheeks with kisses when you hand her over. 

“Voila!” You show your boyfriend, his sister and her fiancé enamoured with their niece. 

Lance shook his head, “you’re something else, babe.” 

“It's called delegating, Lance.” 

“Whatever,” the man nods, giving you a thumbs up with a look of fake disappointment. He gives you a kiss goodbye before saying hello to his sister and Scotty. He takes Lizzie from Scotty for a minute to say goodnight to her, knowing she'd be sleeping by the time he got back from dinner. 

“I love you, sugarplum.” He whispers to his daughter, “sleep well.” He kissed her temple gently before handing her back over to her uncle. 

----

The final qualifying of the season and you two had just returned to the paddock after almost an entire year of you not being there. 

This time with a special guest. 

Lizzie was in her dad’s arms, pulling on his sunglasses every other second as he walked through the paddock. 

The little girl looked out into the swarming photographers then back to her dad who was whispering something to her. His other hand was holding yours, the obvious fact was that this was why you had vanished from the paddock. 

You make it to the garage and while you two settle in, Lizzie is going from hand to hand, basking in all the attention she was getting; she gets that from you, her father wasn’t the most sociable with people he didn’t know, while you were a social butterfly. 

Lizzie’s got a pair of clunky green headphones over her ears, protecting her little ears from the loud noises. She was currently on Seb’s side of the garage, Britta holding the little girl as Seb showed her something he had in his hands. 

“I think Hanna’s gotta prepare herself for the ‘I think we should have one more’ talk,” you joked with Lance, nodding towards Seb who was clearly enthralled by the little girl. 

Lance laughed, “Seb just loves kids, babe. He’s been asking me to bring her around.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” You smacked his arm lightly, “I would have brought her.” 

“Sometimes I think you like Sebastian more than you like me,” he gives you a pointed look and you smile, “I do.” You walked off to get Lizzie before the session started.

“Hey,” you wiggled your fingers at the girl, getting her attention.  Seb turns to see you, pulling you into a side hug, his arm over your shoulders. “She’s so cute, y/n.” He tells you, Britta had bent down so Seb’s daughters could talk to her. 

“Thank you, Seb.” You smiled, “I think she looks like her dad.” 

“No way, she's your carbon copy. She just has his eyes.” He says, “that’s why she’s cute, if she looked like him... well..” 

“Sebastian!” You laughed, taking Lizzie back from Britta. 

The German laughs, “I'm kidding. Hanna’s upstairs and that’s where you two are going, right?” He looks over at his daughters, the little blonde girls nod and hug their father before turning to you. 

“Can we play with her later?” The oldest asks and you nod, “of course. I’ll bring her upstairs in a few minutes.” 

The girls ran down the hallway hand in hand, back upstairs to their mother and little brother. 

“Good luck,” you tell Seb, “say good luck to uncle Seb,” you tell Lizzie, lifting her chubby hand to wave to the man before returning to Lance’s side of the garage. 

Lance takes the girl from you the moment you walk back over, sneaking in as many cuddles he can before he was needed in the car. You took a few photos of the two; Lizzie’s little green dress matches the colour of her father’s race suit and her chunky hands rested on her daddy’s cheeks, smacking his face softly as he pretended to bite her chubby cheeks. 

One of his engineers gives him the signal, time for him to get in the car. “I love you sugarplum,” he whispers to the girl, handing her back over to you. 

The moment Elizabeth is back in your arms, she starts crying. It was safe to say she was a daddy’s girl through and through, she had that man wrapped around her finger; Lance had a pout on his face like you had ripped his heart out and stomped on it the moment she started crying. 

“Don’t,” you warn him, your hand on his cheek when you kiss him. 

Neither of you seemed to notice the cameras flashing or the fact that they had gotten the whole sweet moment before Lance and his girls in camera. 

“Go before she wants you again.” You tell him, shooing him off while Elizabeth was looking over your shoulder, away from her father. He blows his girls a kiss once more, walking off to get his helmet and get in the car. You bounce Lizzie in your arms until the car pulls out of the garage and then you head upstairs to find Hanna and the kids. 

-- 

Quali had finished faster than expected but neither you nor Hanna were really paying attention; the woman was letting you in on the secrets of motherhood while the children played. 

The little boy was laying on his mum’s lap, his eyes shut and his blonde curls all over the place. You were sitting on the floor, Elizabeth on your lap while the girls showed her their toys, putting on a show for her. Lizzie had no idea what they were on about but the expressions on their faces along with the colourful toys captured her attention enough to get her to babble along, swinging her hands happily.  

Sebastian and Lance found their way upstairs to see their kids before having to go off to press. 

If you had asked Sebastian if he thought both he and Lance would be going up to see their children by the time he retired when he first started at Aston, the man would have laughed in your face. 

But it’s funny how life works and children change you for the better. Sebastian told his teammate as much. 

Lance find his way to sit behind you and you lean back on his legs. Sebastian is next to Hanna, sinking into the couch when he lets out a big breath. 

“How’d we do, boys?” You asked and Seb shrugs. “Could be better.” 

“Says the man in P9,” Lance laughed, his hands coming down to rest on your shoulders. “And you?” You leaned back, your head on his knee as you looked up at him. 

“P14.” 

“Tomorrow will be better.” Your hand comes up to rest on his, giving it a soft squeeze. 

“Ah young love,” Seb sighs, nudging Hanna. “Remember when we were like that?” 

“You’re still like that, Sebastian.” The woman gives him an exasperated look, earning a few laughs. 

Elizabeth was looking around now, instantly wiggling from your grasp and trying to turn when she heard Lance’s voice. You lean to the side, letting Lance hunch over and pick her up. She’s standing on his lap, hands on his face to keep her balance as she looks around. She sees Sebastian to her left who was making faces at her. 

The little girl babbles, her father’s hands being the only thing keeping her up when she reaches for Sebastian. Lance hands her over to Seb, Elizabeth sitting comfortably on his lap when you lean back to take a photo of her, Seb and Hanna. 

“Can’t believe both of my girls prefer Sebastian over me.” Lance grumbles, making you laugh. 

“He has 4 championships, how many do you have?” You asked your boyfriend, the man rolling his eyes at your comment. 

Sebastian looks down at the little girl, her hands tugging on the bracelet on his wrist. “Remember when the kids were this little?” He asked his wife and she smiled. 

“You could always have one more,” Lance suggests to the older couple. 

“No.” Hanna says, while Seb had a whole other answer; “yes.” 

You and Lance exchange a look, laughing at them. 

“Feel free to babysit Liz anytime you want another kid, she’ll change your mind.” You tell them and Seb shakes his head, lifting the girl when he looks up at her. 

“Mum says you’re naughty,” he gives her a look and she giggles. “Yeah, you’re not bad, you're a good girl.” He smiles at her, “I know you are, sweetheart.” He sets her back on his lap, facing him. 

At some point, Britta comes looking for Seb, both of the drivers having to up and leave for press. There’s lots of smooches, the kids wanting their fathers to stay and promises of sweets upon return. 

----

P8 for Lance and P10 for Sebastian. 

The Astons finishing off the season in the points and almost beating Alfa Romeo for 6th in the constructors was a good position to be in. 

You had joined the mechanics on the pit wall for the final lap, watching the cars cross the finish line. Lizzie was a few feet away, her chunky green headphones over her ears as her grandfather held her. 

Sebastian was currently doing his final donuts of his F1 career and you could see Hanna and the kids to your left, watching with the proudest looks on their faces. You smiled at them, a hand on your back pulling your attention away from the family. 

Lance stood beside you, his arm over your shoulders and his race suit rolled down to his waist. “Back so soon?” You asked, assuming he would have still been in parc fermé and yet he was here. “Wanted to see my girls.” He smiled, letting you lean in to kiss him. 

“I’m so proud of you,” you whispered against his lips and he kissed you once more. 

“Where’s sugar plum?” He looked around when he realized you didn't have her. 

You nod towards the pit wall; Elizabeth was banging on all the buttons on the table, Lawrence laughing as he watched the little girl. 

The chaos on the track died down, everyone returning to their respective garages or off to watch the podium. The paddock was still packed; fans, crew, drivers, families, celebrities despite the fact that it was nearly 10pm. 

The two drivers were in the garage, the Vettel children running circles around their grandparents as Seb and Hanna made the rounds, Sebastian getting into a conversation with everyone he stopped to talk too. You and Lance were soaking in the last few moments of the season on track. Elizabeth was with her granddad, the little girl being carried around the paddock as he said his goodbyes and small talk with the other team principals. 

“Can I get a picture?” The photographer asks when he sees Sebastian and Hanna with you two. 

The 4 of you manage to find yourselves together after the few drinks you’ve had, all adorning dopey, happy grins on your faces.

It was a bittersweet moment; the start of a new adventure for both drivers.

Sebastian navigates retired life while Lance figures out how to be a father - something he knows he’ll be turning to Seb for when he’s at a loss. 

You two say your goodbyes to Sebastian, Hanna and the kids, as well as Seb’s parents and his brother. Lawrence catches the Vettels on the way out, letting Lizzie say bye to her new friends before they head out for the night. 

“Can I have my baby back?” Lance asked his father and the older man shook his head, “no. She’s my granddaughter.” 

“But she’s my daughter.” He bickered with his father. 

You let them bicker, quietly taking Lizzie from Lawrence without either of them noticing. When they finally stop fighting and notice you’re holding the girl, you smile. “You forget she’s still my girl before either of yours.” 

Lance packs up the rest of his things shortly after saying goodbye to everyone else in the garage. You three were on your way out when you got stopped by Elena shouting for you. 

“Y/N!” She starts running to you three. 

“ELENA!” you shout back, rushing over to give the woman a hug. Lizzie was squished between you two, Elena taking her from you. “Mon amour,” she fixed the bow on the little girl’s dress, “you’ve gotten so big.” She kisses her cheek. 

Esteban and Mick weren’t far behind. The Frenchman coos over the little girl with his girlfriend and Mick joins in. 

The 3 of them had come to meet Elizabeth post Canadian Grand Prix along with Sebastian. The 4 of them and Hanna, were the only ones aside from your families that knew you two had a baby hence her instant connection when she saw them again. 

Once again, Elizabeth is the star of the show. Esteban is forced to take a million pictures of her and Elena. One thing with Lizzie was that she loved the attention, she always found the camera in the room. Mick was passed the phone next, taking one of Esteban with the girls. You and Lance joined the couple, all of you smiling for the camera. Elizabeth was getting fussy so you took her back but she started wiggling, her little arms stretched out for her uncle Mick. 

Mick was holding the girl now and you asked one of the Alfa Romeo crew members passing by to take the photo for the 6 of you. 

You smiled, watching as Mick spun around with the girl in his arms. He was telling her something, tickling her side as he did. 

“We’re headed to the club, you guys want to come?” Elena asks, her fingers interlocking with her boyfriend’s. 

“Uhh,” Lance looked at you and you shrugged. “We’d have to get someone to watch Liz first.” He tells his friends. 

Esteban nods, “the joys of being parents.” He jokes. 

“Well, I'll text you where we end up, text me if you’re coming!” Elena tells you, saying goodbye as they head out. Mick joined them once he passed Elizabeth back to Lance, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

“Do you want to go?” He asks you, the three of you heading out. “It’d be nice but who’s gonna look after Lizzie?” You looked over at him and he paused, literally stopped in the middle of the parking lot. 

“I know exactly who.” 

It’s a short walk back to the hotel, you two pack up whatever you think Elizabeth would need for the night, putting her in the stroller before heading back to the elevator. Lance hit the button for the 16th floor and you know exactly what he’s thinking. Once you got off, you followed the man to the door. 

He knocks and Chloe opens the door. “Hey,” she smiles, leaning on the door frame. “Everything okay?” 

“I was wondering..” Lance starts. “Since you’re my favourite sister and all-” “Your only sister but go on,” she folds her arms, waving him on. 

“Can you watch sugar plum tonight? I know you two don’t have plans and we wanted to go out.” 

Chloe gives her brother an obviously look but she nods, “of course we’ll watch her. Do you have her stuff?” 

“Everything’s in her baby bag, thank you guys.” You tell her when Lance pushes the stroller into the suite. “No need to thank me, I know you two needed a night to relax. Go have your fun, we’ll see you in the morning.” She gives you a shove out of the room. 

“You’re sure you’ll be okay ?” Lance asked his sister and she smacks his shoulder, “duh, I used to look after you. We’ll be fine, I'll call if anything but I won’t need to, so go.” 

The two of you were a little hesitant to leave Elizabeth without either of you  for the night, seeing that it was the first time that you've actually done that but you knew she’d be in good hands with her auntie Chloe and uncle Scotty. 

You two ended up meeting Elena, Esteban and Mick at the club and had the time of your lives; dancing, doing shots, singing along to the horribly loud music that was playing.

It was the type of night that you wanted to remember forever that won’t be fully remembered. The best kind of night. 

It was nearly 8am when you found yourselves back in the elevator and on your way to get your daughter. Lance wanted to go back to the hotel room and sleep off the hangover he knew was incoming but you at least wanted to see Elizabeth first.

You knocked on the door quietly, Scotty opened it with a wide awake Lizzie in his arms. 

“You two look like hell,” he laughed, bouncing the girl in his arms. “Sorry we’re late,” you tell him, smiling at the girl who was still sleepy and drooling all over his shirt. 

He steps aside. “It’s okay, c’mon in.”

Chloe was knocked out on the couch, the baby bottle in her hand. “Lizzie put her to sleep?” You chuckled and Scotty nodded. “It’s hard work but it's worth it, isn’t it?” 

“So worth it.” You smiled. 

Lance has found himself to the spot next to his sister, dropping down and his eyes already shut. 

“You should stay for breakfast.” He says, sitting on the couch across from the one Lance and Chloe were on. “I doubt we’ll be having breakfast anytime soon,” You nod towards the sleeping siblings. 

“That's okay,” he smiles, “you should get some rest too. I can watch her.” 

“Are you sure? You guys had her all night.” 

Scotty waves you off, nodding towards the bedroom. “She slept through the night like a champ, woke up like 30 minutes ago. Go get some rest.” He sends you off. 

It was maybe 3 or 4 hours later when you felt the little hands on your side. Lance in bed with you and Lizzie between you two. “Hi sugar,” you picked her up, kissing her temple. 

“Sleep well?” Your boyfriend asks and you nod, “good enough.” 

“We ordered lunch, should be here by time Chloe gets out of the shower.” He rubs your leg, “she left some clothes for you.” He nods towards the t-shirt and pants at the end of the bed. 

After a few minutes, you got out of bed and changed, making sure to wash your face and brush your teeth before joining Lance, Elizabeth and Scotty in the living room. Chloe joined a few minutes after you just in time for lunch to arrive. 

All of you settled in around the table and started having breakfast, chatting away and you took a moment to make a post on Instagram for the first time in a long time. 

It’s a couple photos from the last few days in Abu Dhabi. 

The first one from race day, you and Lance leaning on his car with Lizzie peeking out from under the halo of the car while she sat in his seat. 

The next one is Chloe, Scotty and Lizzie. The three of them laying on the floor from the night they came over while Lance was at Seb’s retirement dinner. 

The next 3 are from post race before you went out; one of Elena, Esteban and Elizabeth, one of Mick and Elizabeth and finally one with all 6 of you in front of the Aston Martin garage. 

Lawrence had sent you a photo of Lizzie and him sitting on the pit wall that one of the engineers took, her big chunky headphones being tugged on while her granddad tried to fix them. 

The last group photo was on you, Lance, Seb and Hanna in the Aston garage before you all headed out for the night; arms wrapped around each other and big goofy grins on your faces. 

There were the final two pictures; One of you and Lizzie, she’s on your lap while you do your makeup and one of her and Lance in the pool, he’s holding her while they’re laughing at each other. 

The set was captioned with a perfect end to the season <3. 

You set the phone down, looking back at the people sitting around the table. Your boyfriend, your daughter, your sister in law and your brother in law.

The little unit made some of the best memories and had some of the most important people in your life there. 

It truly was the perfect end to the season. 

----- 

taglist: @timetoracewrites @diorleclerc @lickmeleclerc @dragon-of-winterfell @benedictscanvas @elisaa-shelby @hnmaga-blog @czechoslovakiandisco @dr3lover @troybolton14 @Lovingroscoee @compulsiveshit @somanyfandomsbruh  @damnyoulifee @barzysreputation @vickyofalltrades @yeolsbubbles @barzysreputation @thybulleric @valkyrie418 @ricsaigaslec @idkiwantchocolatee  @sessgjarg @molliemoo3 @bisexual-desi @sunf1owerrq @alwaysclassyeagle @coldmuffinbanditshoe​ + @lovelytsunoda​ because i know i love lance <3

[brattyfics]

Like That

Pairing: Rio x Black!Reader

Summary: You and Rio get to know each other better. Loosely based on ‘Like That’ by Doja Cat. 

Warnings: Smut.

Word Count: 3.5K

Installments: Say So | Like That | Talk Dirty

And baby, I want it, and I'll just be honest 'Cause I just can't front when I look at you

About six weeks have passed since Rio declared himself your man, and you quickly learned he took the title very seriously.

He was busier than usual with ‘flipping his game,’ and you were busy preparing to transition your shop, but you saw each other often despite time constraints. You agreed date nights at least once a week were a must, but when you couldn’t see each other, Rio made sure to end nights with a phone call. Virtually falling asleep next to him gave you butterflies, reminding you just how exciting new relationships could be. It took prodding, but he told you made-up bedtime stories and the boring details of his day. In return, you shared things about yourself— childhood memories, the crazy things your mom did to embarrass you. He was sweet and attentive, and you found it refreshing to be with someone who was just as infatuated with you.

On your second date, he took you to his favorite restaurant, a fancy sushi place with expensive rolls. He taught you to hold chopsticks the wrong way the way he did and even fed you across the small table, a couple of unfortunate rolls falling apart due to his prodding. You tried your best to hide your amusement at the pensive look on his face. For whatever reason, Rio thought of himself as a sushi connoisseur, but it was clear to you that he was still learning.

“You’re no better than me!” He admonished when he noticed the way you held your chopsticks. Like his technique, it was incorrect, but it worked for you— sort of. “I never said I was.” You couldn’t keep the amusement off your face any longer. “You’re the one who comes here weekly. I thought you were a professional, and we’re in the same boat.” He folded his arms on top of the table as he insisted you were wrong, but secretly he found your teasing endearing. Later that night, he called and gave you a cheesy line about loving to see you smile.

The following week, you had lunch at a mom-and-pop soul food restaurant that served the best cornbread and peach cobbler in the city. The owners, an adorable older couple, Donna and Gene, and servers alike stopped by your table to meet Rio. Donna gushed over Rio, showering him with compliments and extra cornbread. “Girl, he is cute!” She told you, failing miserably at whispering. He smirked as you rolled your eyes, but he handled the attention well, being friendly and personable even when Gene kept going on and on about changes to the menu, one chef to another.

A few days later, he called you up randomly and asked you to get ready and ride with him somewhere. “What should I wear?” You asked, hoping for a hint. You could hear him smile as he said, “It doesn’t even matter, ma. You always look good.” The occasion had turned out to be ‘Foodtruck Friday.’ Barbecue, kebab, taco, ice cream, and other miscellaneous food trucks were parked in a spacious lot in Downtown Detroit. You settled at a picnic table and shared several plates of food as you discussed the possibility of your own mobile ‘Mad Batter’ shop somewhere down the line. It got you thinking about the future.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” You asked the dreaded question in between bites of a colorful Korean fusion taco. He stiffened as he considered the answer. “What is this, a job interview?” Sometimes you saw peeks of bossman Rio rather than the Christopher Castillo you were getting to know. It happened seemingly out of nowhere when you asked questions he felt were invasive.

You looked up from the panko-fried shrimp, red cabbage, shredded carrots, and tasty orange sauce wrapped up in a flour tortilla with a frown. You had two choices: respond in the way he had or make light of the situation. So, you said, “Kinda. You’re auditioning for a spot on my roster, so...”

He stopped chewing the half-eaten dumpling and swallowed hard. “That’s not funny.”

“You better start taking the interviewing part of the audition more seriously then.” You wiped your fingers on a napkin, and he gathered your hand in his own, wearing a look you couldn’t decipher. “You got it, ma.”

You played a game of mini-golf at the local arcade. Rio stood tall behind you, holding you by your hips as he corrected your stance. You purposefully arched your back, brushing against him just slightly. “Like this?” You looked over your shoulder with the most innocent look you could muster, but his eyes were glued to your ass. “Yeah, just like that.” He answered in a low tone without looking up. You giggled as you took your swing, adding a wiggle for his benefit. You pretended to care about the ball as it glided across the bright green tarp towards the hole. “How was that?” You chirped, looking down the lane.

“I can’t even lie. I don’t care about the game right now. I just wanna watch you.” Your aim was terrible, and the ball never went in the hole without several attempts, but he insisted you finish playing the course. You teased him about it for days after despite his claim that he actually enjoyed the game because it was one of Marcus’ favorites.

“Stop lying! You just wanted an excuse to openly watch my ass.”

“Why you always gotta call me out?”

You shopped a cozy health and wellness store with hundreds of cool little trinkets for sale. Neither of you had been there before, so you took your time exploring, stealing unexpected kisses from the other. Rio took full advantage of the size of the store, pulling you by the hand and holding you close to his side.

He frowned at the large collection of shiny crystals. “A rock, really? What does anybody need with a rock?”

“It’s not a rock!” You hissed, head whipping around as you hoped the owner didn’t hear him.

“What is it then? It looks like a rock to me.” He picked one up, turning it over in his hands.

“It’s a crystal!”

“What’s the difference?”

“It has healing properties...” Rio snorted but strung his arm across your shoulder and listened intently as you read the info cards to him. When it was all said and done, he bought an aventurine stone to apologize to the owner for prosperity, well-being, and good luck.

The next day, he disappeared with no warning. You had been worried sick until Mick let you know he was busy handling something. It would have only taken a minute to tell you that, so you were (understandably) pissed. He showed up at the shop several days later like nothing had ever happened. “What’s up, mama?” The greeting that usually melted you grated on your nerves. All of your feelings about the situation bubbled up to the surface. It was hard to find the right words— you were still getting to know each other, so how mad could you be? At the same time, how little did he think of you to not say anything? Finally, you settled on, “I can’t do the disappearing act.”

Rio wasn’t used to answering to anyone, not even his child’s mother, about his whereabouts, but he put his palms up in surrender when he saw the serious expression you wore.

“You’re right, mama. That’s my bad. It won’t happen again.”

And it hadn’t.

But knowing ahead of time only made it a tiny bit easier, especially when he didn’t have a set return date. You were going on day seven (the longest you had gone without seeing him since you started dating) when he called to say he made it home and wanted to see you. Your heavy heart swelled with relief. You missed him way more than you probably should have, so you insisted on a night in at your place, wanting him to feel relaxed and at home instead of on guard somewhere public.

It had been a long six weeks without sex while he romanced you with delicious food and beautiful words. It wasn’t an easy task, but you knew as soon as sex was thrown in the mix, you would be done for, either destined to be his or ruined by him. It was a scary thought, but distance had indeed made the heart grow fonder, and you cared about him enough to take a chance.

He was set to arrive within the hour, but you were still unsure of what to wear, frantically rummaging through the dresser for something cute and comfortable. You let out a frustrated groan when your phone started to ring, thinking Rio might have come early, but when you look down at your phone, you see your best friend’s name and face. You swipe quickly, accepting the FaceTime call. “Hey, girl!”

“Hey, stranger!” You pick up the phone, so you can look at her. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” She replies with just as much sass. “I haven’t talked to you in what— two weeks?”

“We talk—“

“—text.”

“Okay, fine. Text. We text every day. What are you talking about?”

“That’s not the same.” She insists even as you remind her of the ridiculous amount of time you spend trading memes and food pictures with her.

“Anyway, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to decide what I’m going to wear between this, this, or this.” You move the camera around, showing her the different options. A black-and-white tank and short set with ‘Being cute is not a crime’ in a cute font. A fuzzy grey sweatsuit set with hearts, or a simple cream hoodie with matching shorts.

“Um, what’s the occasion?” You giggle at the look on her face, knowing she thinks none of the above are appropriate for wearing outside of the house.

“Movie night in.”

“You need help picking an outfit for movie night with yourself?” Her face scrunches up in confusion. “Wait, is it movie night with yourself?” You try to be casual about it, shrugging your shoulders in response. As usual, she sees through your bullshit and goes straight into an interrogation. “Oh, bitch. You been holding out on me!” She asks you five questions in a row without stopping to breathe before settling on one. “Who?”

You gnaw on your bottom lip. “...Rio.”

“Rio?” She frowns. “Like the guy we work for, Rio? With the eyebrows and the neck tattoo, Rio?”

“Yes, that Rio.”

“Wow.” You wince but decide it’s best to get it over with. “What? I know you, so I know there’s more where that came from.”

“I don’t know what to say! From what I can tell, he’s a decent dude, I guess, but you know what he does. You definitely know what we do for him! You don’t think that could be a problem?”

“It’s messy, for sure, and I can admit that, but I’ve been thinking about getting out anyway...” She nods. “Then, I guess there’s nothing else for me to say about that. You’re both grown, and you know what you’re doing.” She was your best friend, which meant she’d always give her honest opinion, but wouldn’t berate you about your choices. Just like that, you return to your regular discussion topics, everything from warehouse gossip (yes, even in the business of crime, there’s a rumor mill) to new music releases. Before you knew it, forty minutes had passed, and Rio was calling your phone. You promised to call her more often before hanging up.

You sing your ‘hello’ into the phone, hoping Rio can’t detect the shakiness in your voice as you clumsily pull on your bottoms.

“Hey, mama. You about ready? I know you’re sensitive about your space and all that.” He was referring to the fact that he had never been past the doorway of your home. Your home was your sacred place, so you were extra careful about who came in and what energy they brought. It was always nerve-wracking to let somebody into the space that you cherished so much.

“Yeah.” He picks up on the hesitancy in your voice. “Are you sure?” You nod your head as if he can see you before telling him yes with a giggle. “Alright, well, I’m outside. Can I come in?” You bite your lip, butterflies fluttering in your tummy. “Yeah, I’ll come unlock the door.” He whispers his thanks, and you take a moment to force yourself to relax. When you meet him at the door, you do so with an open mind and heart, taking in his appearance with a goofy grin on your face. As usual, he’s dressed in all black, wearing a well-fitted t-shirt and sweatpants. He’s casual but still so high quality and attractive.

“Hi.” You breathe out like a dork when you realize you’re staring. It helps that he seems just as mesmerized, stepping forward to envelop you in a tight, warm hug. He sways you from side to side before pulling back, his hands resting heavily on the top of your ass. He settles for a quick peck on the lips because he has something to say. “You’re as pretty as ever, darlin’.” He says earnestly, shaking his head as he steps back to look you over once more.

“Kiss me again.” His hands cup your ass as you devour each other in the open doorway. You forget your surroundings. “Damn, ma. Can I at least get inside before you jump my bones? I don’t mind giving your neighbors a show if that’s your thing, but…” You turn to hide your embarrassment, leaving him to close the door behind you as you gesture around the room as if you’re in an episode of MTV Cribs. “... here’s the living room. The kitchen’s through the arch. The bathroom’s over there...” He follows you with his red as you point.

“And the bedroom?”

You snort. “The tour stops here for now. Sit down.” Your tone leaves no room for argument. He settles into the soft couch while you grab the snack tray from the kitchen. Homemade popcorn, chocolate-covered pretzels, and dried fruit gummies are on the menu.

“All this for me?” His arms snake around your waist so that you can curl up into his side. “What we watching?” You grab the remote. “I saw a trailer this week that caught my attention. I’ll play it for you.” He didn’t care what you watched as long as he got to be close to you, so it didn’t take long for you to get the movie started. He stole glances at you when his knuckles brushed against your bare knees under the blanket. You’re embarrassed at how wet the small action makes you, so you stretch out across the couch and place your bare feet in his lap, silently planning your revenge. The movie may as well not be playing because you couldn’t be less interested in the plot as you lightly stroke him through his sweatpants with the balls of your feet.

“Ma...” He warns, watching you in the low lighting. He’s come to learn you like to tease, but he doesn’t think he can take it, not tonight. “Hmm?” You hum innocently, loving the strained look on your face. He doesn’t move even as you sit up on your haunches and kiss him. It’s slow and long in the best way. He pulls you to sit in his lap. His hands roam your body as you grind down onto him, relishing in the feeling of the soft skin on your tummy. He sighs into your mouth as one hand finds your bare breasts.

He pulls away to talk shit. “No bra? You just knew I was gonna put out, huh?” He pushes the cotton material up so he can see you properly. “Perfect.” He murmurs into your skin. You let him kiss and lick and suck on your nipples until the pressure you feel below is too much to handle. You’re a quivering mess when he finally helps you pull the cotton material up and over your head. It lands on top of the television behind you, but neither of you notice.

You nudge him until he removes his own shirt, and then he lifts his hips to help you when you begin tugging on his sweats. They puddle at his feet while you spread your legs wide, desperate to get your hands on him. “I could cry right now.” You admit honestly when you finally see him, biting your lip. He arches a brow. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing, darlin’?” His hips jerk when you take him into your hands, the cold temperature surprising him.

“It’s definitely a good thing.” You whisper excitedly, staring with wonder as he hardens in your hands. He barks out a laugh, stunned by your ability to make him laugh, even with his dick in your hands. “That’s really nice, ma. I feel real special.” Your eyes meet, and silent promises of all the filthy things you’re going to do to each other are exchanged. “You should. I’m about to change your life.” He throbs in your hands, loving that you find small ways to challenge him.

“Come on. Let’s go to bed.” He wraps his arms around you in preparation to get up, but you stop him with a shake of your head. “I don’t wanna.”

“No? What you wanna do then?”

You answer him by slipping to your knees. You spit on his dick, stroking him up and down slowly. He watches you closely as you lower your mouth, wrapping your lips around the tip. It takes a lot of restraint, but he lets you do your thing, slowly working him deeper into your throat. He closes his eyes as he concentrates on lasting, but he can’t turn his ears off, the obscene smacks painting a vivid picture for him. When you swipe your tongue across his balls, he moves to stop you, grabbing your shoulders. Fire dances in your eyes as you realize you got him where you want him. “I don’t wanna.” You repeat.

“You are a brat.”

You release him with a pop. “The biggest.” You admit, swallowing him once more. He groans, thinking he can’t believe you’re the same sweet girl who bakes in a frilly pink apron and begs him to tell her bedtime stories.

“I want you to fuck me now.” He stops you before you can bend over the couch. “Slow down. I want you on your back, darlin.”

You throw his earlier words back at him. “That’s nice. I feel really special.”

“You should.” He mocks you, instructing you to hold your legs wide. He wastes no time licking and sucking you as enthusiastically as you had done him. “You’re so pretty. I could eat this pretty pussy forever.” He compliments as you squirm in his hold. “You’d let me, huh?” You shake your head frantically. “No! You’d drive..me crazy!” Payback is a mother, especially when Rio’s the one dishing it out. “Wait, wait—“You whimper, clawing at his shoulders.

“What?” He cajoles. He almost wants to laugh at the distressed look on your face. “I want you.” You pout, trying to sweet-talk him.

“You have me.”

“Not like this. Inside.”

“Yeah? You sure?”

“Mhm.” You swallow, watching as he fumbles around with his pants searching for a condom. He opens the golden foil packet with expert fingers, positioning himself in between your spread legs. “You don’t have any pointers for me now?” He drags his tip up and down your slit, slowly pushing his way further. Teasing. You shake your head. “No. Just fuck me.”

“That ain’t polite. You gotta say please, mama.” You scowled, but he didn’t budge. “Please.” You pleaded with the sweetest tone you could muster, sighing as he gave in. You cursed at the stretch, him at the way you squeezed him. “You feel…” He couldn’t find the words, so he buried his face in your neck, trying to gain some composure. You caressed the back of his neck sweetly. “You feel good too, baby.”

His hips stuttered forward, and you gasped as he worked himself deeper. You grasp his shoulders tightly, your nails embedding themselves into the soft skin.

“Yes!” You squeal.

“Like that?” He grits out, struggling to keep his rhythm.

“Yes, just like that!” You cry, moaning as he pounds up into you. His lips find yours again, and it’s bliss. Then before you can stop yourself, you’re calling him Daddy like it’s his given name. He groans into your sweaty neck like he’s in pain.

“You’re so nasty.” Overwhelmed and breathless, you whine your protest, “You’re nasty. Look at what you’re doing to me.” His eyes shift to where you’re connected. You’re creaming all over him and leaking down onto the couch, but you can’t bring yourself to care about anything other than coming. You do just that, mewling as you make an even bigger mess between your legs. He whispers filthy things into your ear as he finishes, grunting at the way you seem to be sucking him in even deeper.

“That was—“

“—unreal.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of you can bring yourself to move. Your sweat-covered skin sticks together. You swipe your hand against your forehead while he pants.

“I wanted to ride you at least once tonight, but after that, I’ll be lucky to make it to bed.”

GENERAL TAGLIST

@woahitslucyylu @briannab1234 @sheeshgivemeabreak @breakingnewsin-no-oneasked @angelreyesgirl @blessedboo @glimmerglittergirl @apantherinmypastlife @brownsugarcoffy @marvelmaree @starrynite7114 @scuzmunkie @thewarriorprincessxo @sadeyesgf @pearlkitten33 @imanerdychubbyqueen @literaturefeen @ourlittlesecretsoveragain @everyhowlmarksthedead @yourwonkywriter @trulysuccubus @sparklemichele @luckyharley1903

RIO TAGLIST

@xsweetdellzx​

[arrowflier]

I wish you would write a fic where the gallaghers + kev & vee find out about ian's 87% comment and they all give their opinions and ask why mickey, ian's husband who's been a part of ian's life for nearly eleven years only gets 87% of his heart, if the other 13% goes towards his toxic exes and why since they're not in his life anymore, ian explaining himself and ends with ian taking the comment back so mickey has 100% of his heart

I decided this was perfect for Gallavich Week Day 5: Fix-It! Thanks as always to @gallavichthings for hosting💖. Also on AO3.

Eighty-Seven Percent (Anatomy of a Heart)

It was a normal morning in the Gallagher kitchen.

That is to say, it was chaotic.

Carl and Liam sat across from each other at the narrow table, tossing dry loops of off-brand cereal at each other over Franny’s backpack, which lay open between them. The girl herself was running circles around them both in her pajamas, Debbie chasing after her with a stern face and a frilly dress held in outstretched hands.

“Come on, Franny,” she muttered impatiently as her daughter evaded her again by diving under the table, “just put on the dress!”

Mickey laughed when Franny ran to him instead, trying to hide behind his legs where he stood by the brewing coffeemaker. Ian ruined her attempt by swinging her up into his arms and twirling her around until Debbie snatched her from him, resulting in an angry shriek as Franny writhed in her hold.

“For fuck’s sake, keep it down in here!” Lip hissed, coming in from the living room where Tami had just gotten Fred settled in his play pen. “If you get Fred crying again, I swear I’ll fucking end you all.”

If anything, the kitchen got louder as everyone there chimed in in their own defense.

Mickey just snorted as he grabbed two mugs and got to pouring the fresh coffee. “Good luck with that,” he offered to Lip, amused. “You get one Gallagher going, you get the whole fucking pack.”

Lip glared at him, opened his mouth the say something undoubtedly scathing and most likely regarding Mickey’s place in the family, when Carl laughed and chimed in from the table.

“Funny, man, that’s what Trevor said to me and Ian at the station yesterday.”

The room went quiet.

Or maybe it just seemed that way to Ian, who could see the way his husband’s back immediately tensed at the familiar name, the way he gripped the handle of his mug a little too tight and poured the coffee a little too high before setting down the pot with a hard clack.

“Trevor, huh?” Mickey asked, voice deceptively mild, and Ian winced behind him.

Carl didn’t get the memo.

“Yeah, you remember him, right?” he checked. “He still works at that youth place, came in to post bail for some kid when Ian was bringing by lunch.” He shrugged, tossed a handful of cereal into his mouth. “We chatted a bit,” he mumbled as he chewed.

Mickey gripped the edge of the counter, knuckles going white under his tattoos. “Funny,” he said quietly, “Ian didn’t think to mention that.”

Ian sighed, ignoring the eyes of his family on their quickly unfolding drama. They’d been fighting a lot lately, a lot more than they used to, and today had been shaping up to be better, damn it. Now he had to do damage control again instead of enjoying a quiet day in with his husband.

“We’ve talked about this, Mickey,” he started, a tad bit exasperated. It must have come through in his voice, because Mickey’s shoulders went up. “Trevor’s not a bad guy, and I’m not gonna avoid him if I see him around.”

Mickey released the counter to grab his coffee again, taking a long, scalding swallow. “Right,” he said finally, not looking at Ian. “Not a bad guy at all. Just wanted to leave your ass rotting in jail when you couldn’t be his poster boy anymore, that’s all.”

“Mickey…” Ian warned, but it didn’t stop him.

“Tell me, Ian,” Mickey mused, turning to face him with hard eyes. “How much of that thirteen percent belongs to him?”

Fuck. Not that again.

“Wait, what’s he talking about?” Debbie was the one to ask first, voice cutting through their palpable tension. She’d even stopped trying to force the dress over Franny’s head in the interim, allowing the girl to escape up the stairs unscathed. “What thirteen percent?”

“Oh yeah, he told me about that,” Lip butted in. “Said Mickey got all bent out of shape cause Ian still thinks about his exes, or something, right?”

Ian closed his eyes against the hurt in Mickey’s as his brother revealed that he knew about their squabble. Fuck his family right now, seriously.

“Not quite,” he gritted out, but when he opened his eyes again, Mickey had schooled his face back into disinterest.

“No, that’s just about it,” Mickey confirmed. “Got my nose out of joint because Ian, here,” he gestured at Ian with his mug, ignoring the hot coffee that splashed over the side, “said I only got eighty-seven percent of his heart.”

Someone whistled, low and long. Ian couldn’t tell who.

“It’s not that big a deal,” he insisted yet again. “My whole life is a fucking shrine to you, Mick. If my heart was a room, there’s be posters of you on every fucking wall.” He took a step closer, until Mickey’s mug pressed into his own chest, leaving a wet spot on his shirt.

“You really can’t let the others have a little space in that room? Not even in the bottom drawer of a dresser that nobody uses anyway?”

Mickey was still, and silent. Then he spun around and slammed his mug back down on the counter, shoved past Ian, and stormed off up the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Ian called after him.

“To clean out the goddamn drawers!”

It was quiet in Mickey’s wake, and then—

“Dude, that’s fucked up,” Carl said frankly, and Liam nodded in agreement, eyes wide.

“Did you really say that?” Debbie asked, sounding horrified, and before Ian could answer the back door slammed open.

“Morning neighbors!” Vee greeted as she came through, Kev on her heels. She was holding something, a dish covered in foil, and a carton of juice hung from Kev’s hand.

“We brought you guys some…” Vee trailed off when no one even looked at her, noticing the tension in the room.

“Uh,” she voiced, confused, “what did we miss?”

Carl answered, still looking at Ian in disbelief. “Ian told Mickey he keeps stuff from his exes in a drawer, so Mickey’s up there looking for it.”

“Oh, that’s cold man,” Kev breathed, and Ian exhaled.

“It was a metaphor,” he muttered, and Vee heard him.

“A metaphor for what?” she asked, curious.

“For the thirteen percent of Ian’s heart that belongs to other people,” Debbie revealed, and Vee set down her dish with a clatter.

“You said that to him?” she clarified, and at Ian’s reluctant nod, shook her head and turned to Kev.

“You ever say shit like that to me,” she said firmly, “I’ll cut off thirteen percent of your dick.”

—

A few long minutes later, after he had finally escaped his family’s inquisition about the state of his relationship, Ian made his way upstairs, alone.

When he got to their bedroom, Mickey wasn’t actually going through their things. He was just sitting on their bed, back to the wall, spinning his wedding ring round and round on his finger. Next to him, balanced on their folded blanket, sat the little box with the fancy ones they used in the ceremony just so they wouldn’t have to take theirs off.

Ian’s heart beat harder. That box had been sitting safe in the bottom drawer of their shared dresser.

The one that nobody used.

“Hey,” he said softly from the doorway. Mickey didn’t look up.

“You okay?” Ian asked, and that at least got a response.

“Do I look fucking okay to you?” Mickey returned, eyes on his knees.

He didn’t. Not really. He looked haggard, and upset, his hair spiky where restless fingers had combed through it. Ian couldn’t see his eyes, but he had a feeling they were rimmed in red.

Ian let himself into the room, sat opposite Mickey on the bed with his feet still firmly on the floor. He reached out to trace a finger over the rings in the box, and then the ring on Mickey’s finger.

Mickey let his own hand fall away when he did.

“You know that’s not how I meant it, right?” Ian asked, suddenly desperate to hear Mickey agree. He needed to know that Mickey understood, that just because he remembered his past, it didn’t mean he wasn’t dedicated to his future.

But Mickey just shrugged.

“Not a lot of ways you can mean it,” he said, and shit. Ian had really fucked up this time. “Either I have your whole heart or I don’t,” Mickey continued, “and I don’t. So,” he shrugged again, “whatever.”

Ian took a moment. A long one. He thought of Mickey’s reaction the first time he had said it, when he was mostly just teasing. The way he had been shocked to think that Ian still had fond thoughts for other men. And he thought of his family downstairs, each one more fucked up than the last, all in agreement over the severity of his error.

And to be honest, he still didn’t quite get the uproar. But maybe that was because none of them got his side, either.

“You’re right,” he began, “you don’t.”

Mickey tensed further, pulling away from him on the bed, but Ian wasn’t done.

“You have all the good bits, you know,” he continued. He went to rest a hand on Mickey’s chest, saw his stiffness, and pointed at his own instead.

“You have all four chambers,” he told him. “Atrium and ventricle. You keep my blood moving, keep it useful, keep me alive. And you have my valves,” he added, trailing a finger side to side to point to the right spots as he spoke. “Mitral and aorta, pulmonary and tricuspid.” He smiled. “You keep me going in the right direction.”

Mickey was softening, he could tell, the tension seeping from his limbs as Ian droned on. He kept going anyway.

“You have all my arteries, Mick,” he whispered. “You’re in all my veins. You said I was under your skin, once?” Ian laughed. “Well you’re under my skin, too. And in my muscles, and in my blood.”

“And the others, they’re like…” he hesitated, searched for the right words. Better words than he had used before. “They’re like cholesterol,” he settled on, “plaque. Or…like the scar tissue from a triple bypass, the parts that don’t work anymore.”

Mickey’s lips quirked, despite himself, and Ian counted it as a victory.

“You have a lot a heart surgeries, Gallagher?” he questioned softly, catching on.

Ian smile widened, and he reached out to take Mickey’s hand. This time, Mickey didn’t pull away.

“Maybe a few,” he admitted. “And maybe I’m better for it.”

He lifted Mickey’s hand to his lips, held it there.

“I don’t mind the broken bits,” he told his husband. “The pieces they left behind. Because you pushed through them every time, and made me healthy again.”

Mickey fidgeted, and nudged himself off the wall to settle closer to Ian’s side.

“Alright,” he allowed, “I get it.”

“Do you?” Ian asked earnestly. “Because I want you to, you know.” He dropped Mickey’s hand to hold his face instead, gently stroking a thumb over his cheek. “I want you to know that that thirteen percent, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters are the parts that are you.”

"I chose you, Mickey," he murmured. He reached out blindly for the spare rings in their box on the bed, worked one free. Slipped it onto Mickey's finger without looking away from his eyes. Mickey's hand clenched around it, around Ian's hand, and held tight.

"I married you," Ian added. "Because I love you with every real part of my heart, every little bit that works."

“All eighty-seven percent?” Mickey prods with a soft expression, leaning forward until his nose brushes Ian’s.

“All eighty-seven percent,” Ian confirmed, and kissed him.

[prettyyoungandbored]

I’m sending in something for you to save until the next time you do requests so I won’t forget it. It’s a one-shot taking place between Always There and After Party. I guess you could say it’s a side story. Hayden and Ashton just got engaged. The reader takes Hayden dress shopping and helps her with the wedding decorations. Nikki, Tommy, Mick, and Vince give speeches at the wedding and take turns dancing with the bride.

Author's Note: I have no idea who wrote this, but I apologize it took this long to write it.

===============================================

White Wedding

Pairing: DadNikki Sixx and MomY/N

Characters mentioned in here are from this story.

Y/N and Nikki knew it was coming. Ashton had asked for their permission on Saturday afternoon in the family living room. To say Y/N and Nikki were thrilled was an understatement as the two had grown fondly of him.

In the past, Hayden had only dated a couple guys but none of them compared to Ashton. He didn’t put on act the first time Hayden brought him over to meet her parents. He charmed them with sense of humor and quick whit. Most importantly, he treated Hayden with the upmost love and respect.

When Ashton, Y/N, and Nikki attended the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,  Ashton stood up and cheered her name with pride, the same way she’d done for him at his games. It was then both Nikki and Y/N knew he was for their little girl.

Hayden and Ashton chose to get married in Anaheim at the Oak Canyon Nature Center on a Saturday in April. The venue was outside and had a garden-vintage style to it.

The ceremony was outside with as guests piled in one by one.

Meanwhile, inside the bridal suite, Y/N helped to smooth out Hayden’s bridal gown. Hayden has opted for satin ball gown with a  V-cut off-the-shoulder neckline and cathedral train. Her makeup was light, sticking to neutral tones while her jet black hair curled and put up in low ponytail with her curtain bangs hanging loose.

“You look so beautiful,” Y/N marveled putting her head on her daughter’s shoulder. Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so, so happy for you.”

“Mom, I love you but I need you stop crying before I start,” Hayden snorted.

Y/N pat her daughter’s back when they heard a knock at the door. Both women turned to see Nikki enter. The old man’s eyes filled to the brim with tears at the sight of his daughter. He shook his head, letting out a sniffle.

“Oh Dad,” Hayden sighed, a hint of laughter in her voice. She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s gonna be ok.”

“I know, I know,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes. “You ready to go?”

“Let’s go,” he said, clearing his throat.

As Hayden went to collect her bouquet, Y/N went over to Nikki and kissed his cheek. “It’s gonna be ok.”

================================================

Guests seated outside as the ceremony leader, Jake, made his way down the aisle. Jake was a comedian and mutual close friend of Ashton and Hayden.

Ashton walked down the aisle with his brother, Chris. Ashton’s best friend,Pete, walked Y/N down the aisle before joining Ashton and Chris. Ashton’s parents, Annie and John followed suit.

Then came the bridesmaids. First was Hayden’s childhood best friend, Piper and then Ashton’s young sister, Vanessa.

Everyone stood as the Bridal Chorus began to play. Hayden held on to Nikki’s arm.

“It’s time,” he told her.

The two began walking down the aisle, onlookers smiling. When Nikki and Hayden passed by Vince, Tommy, and Mick, who all held back tears.

When Nikki presented Hayden to Ashton, Nikki kissed the top of her head and pat Ashton on the shoulder. He then took a seat beside Y/N, taking her hands in his as she kissed his temple.

The ceremony was short and simple, but by the end of it, Hayden and Ashton were husband and wife.

==========================================================

The reception was held outside. A DJ was also set up.

Hayden and Ashton’s first dance was to “How Deep is Your Love” by the Bee Gees. Ashton then danced with his mom to “

Nikki and Hayden’s dance was to a song Nikki wrote and had the boys perform especially for her. It made both of them cry, more Hayden than Nikki as she was taken aback by the sweet gesture. Even more sweet, each member of Mötley Crüe took a chance to dance with her.

The boys were close with Hayden, as she grew up going on tour with the boys and was the only kid around them until Tommy’s kids came into the picture.

Y/N watched with a smile, twirling her necklace in hand. She would treasure this moment for as long as she would live.

[billiebeanhoward]

Silence - Multi Character

A/N: hello this has been an enormous project for me to do. Thanks for @stayevildarling for the prompt and for the help with this. Apologies, it's a long one. Tenses are a bit fucked but just go with it.

Prompt: Each character receives a mysterious invitation to visit a Hotel Cortez in LA to prove they're not alone in their struggles

TW: alcohol, mention of murder / death, cigarettes, swearing, mention of character death, hints at suicidal ideation,

Word Count: 4480

Tag list: @stayevildarling @okpaulson @mrsdeanhoward​

Working at Kineros Robotics for the vast majority of her life, nothing really fazed Wilhemina anymore. Especially with the bullshit her bosses come up with daily, but when the redhead finds a strange invitation on her desk that morning, she never thought her life could get any stranger. The invitation that was written, well, typed, on very fancy looking stationary, held coordinates to a Hotel she never wanted to visit in her existence, but when she sees there is a list of nine other women's names, she assumes they're women, anyway; It piques her curiosity regardless and later that evening takes the rest of the weekend off work so she can drive the few hours to the Hotel.

Never been one for tardiness, the redhead arrives a mere twenty minutes early, the receptionist with ridiculous glasses asking her if she had booked a room to which she banged her cane and left towards the bar without a word.  Conversation, socialising has never really been her strong suit, you can really blame her mother for that. She had been isolated from the outside world for most of her life growing up. Thinking back, she's glad for it. People are despicable. The bar isn't too shabby, not that she could complain, dark, quiet, she quite enjoys the ambience. Her cane clanks, hitting off the floor as she makes her way over to the bartender.

"And what can I get you, this fine evening?" she, she assumes, smiles politely. Nice enough.

"Anything purple?" her nose scrunched at the ridiculous request that leaves her mouth and she scolds herself silently moments before the bartender points a finger at her.

"You know what? I have just the thing," she turns around to pour the drinks, Wilhemina watching her every move, "So what brings you here?"

"Is that any of your business?"

"Oh, no, not at all." she shakes her head, "Enjoy your drink," Wilhemina eyes the mysterious neon concoction in front of her momentarily, before spotting a straw holder in the corner of her eyes and she reaches out to grab one when a hand grazes over her own.

"Oh, sorry," a British woman with a blonde pixie cut says quickly, pulling her hand away. "You look familiar, do I know you from anywhere?"

"No, I assure you, you don't."

The blonde put the green straw into her whiskey? before sipping it, "My name's Audrey, Audrey Tindall. I know what you're thinking..." Does this woman ever shut up? "I'm not related to the royal Tindalls, no."

"Did I ask?" Wilhemina cocks her head a little towards her and she quickly shies away, "Get out of my sight," The blonde scurries off to the other end of the bar while Wilhemina tries to enjoy her drink.

-

"Mom, what's this?" Ally looks over her shoulder, her arms elbow-deep in her sink as she washes up the dishes from dinner.

"Not sure, Ozzy. Can you read it for me, Sweetheart?"

"To whom it may concern, You are not alone.

34.0443° N, 118.2508° W

Ally, Audrey, Bette, Billie, Cordelia, Dot, Karen, Lana, Sally, Wilhemina. What does it mean, Mom?"

Ally empties the sink and clears away the dishes before wiping her hands on a towel, "I really don't know, does it say anything else? Give it here," she holds her hand out and he passes it to her as she studies it curiously.

-

"Karen!" The woman turns her head towards the door at her friend with a little smile on her face, "Guess who has mail?"

Her eyes widen in anticipation, "No, you're joking! Me?"

"Of course you! Open it." Mickey smiles as he passes it to her. She excitedly rips open the envelope, careful enough not to destroy the contents and unfolds the paper curiously. "Well, What does it say?"

"A bunch of numbers and names, Mick I think this is just junk,"

"No, Karen, the first mail you get in years, it can't be junk. Let me see," she passes it to him and in the dimness of the room, he looks at the letter. "They seem to be coordinates for somewhere,"

"Like for treasure?"

"Exactly, well, you never know, but could be someone who wants to murder you for all we know. But look, it says You are not alone."

"Course I'm not alone, fuck face, I have you."

-

Cordelia sets aside her paperwork for the evening, cradling a cup of hot coffee in her hands, she sighs as she takes a look at the monstrous pile of work ahead. She nudges her glasses further up her nose as the door of her office swung open. "Madison, how many times have I told you to knock?"

The younger blonde rolled her eyes as her arms crossed against her chest, "And why would I do that?"

"I could have been doing... something." the Supreme says before taking a sip from her coffee.

"When exactly was the last time you got laid, Cordy?"

This time the Supreme rolls her eyes before glaring at the younger witch, "And when was the last time you got laid, Maddy?" she snaps back, Madison slumps her shoulders, the smirk that graced her lips disappearing quickly, "What do you want?"

"I forgot to give you this when the mail came this morning," she absentmindedly threw a letter down on the desk before storming out.

Cordelia once again rolled her eyes at the girl, eyeing the mysterious envelope before picking it up.

-

Wilhemina looks down at the watch on her wrist whilst trying to figure out who exactly she's supposed to be meeting. The bar is seemingly quiet, and she stays seated at the stools near the bartender, Liz, who had told her her name, although she definitely didn't ask. Liz is a talker and a very annoying one at that, although Wilhemina is quite enjoying her company right now, or rather lack of as she attends to other women at the bar. A thought enters her mind at that moment, the name Audrey did ring bells, although not any ridiculous royal ones. She pulls the letter out of her blazer pocket and adjusts the glasses on her nose. There. The second name. Audrey. Was that her? Great. Now she does have to actually go off and talk to the chatterbox. She rolls her eyes before sighing, picking up her cane as she makes her way over to where Audrey is sitting, she seems to be sitting next to a brunette who did look quite familiar.

"Oh, hey!" Audrey greets, getting up from her place at the booth seemingly for Wilhemina to seat next to her. Wilhemina quickly turns around grabbing a chair from behind her and drags it to towards the table closer to the brunette instead, "Oh," the blonde says before pulling out a packet of cigarettes from her purse. "Do you mind?"

"I do actually, yes," Wilhemina says and the brunette turns to her.

"Are you here because of the letter as well?" Wilhemina nods and the other woman brings out her hand towards her for her to shake it, "I'm Ally, Ally Mayfair-Richards?"

"You're the one that was in that cult weren't you?" Wilhemina says. This has got to be the most interesting thing that has happened all night.

"Oh." Ally pulls her hand away looking around slightly awkwardly, "So you don't know me from my senator work? How did you know about the -"

"I saw it on this silly show I watched on the True crime channel."

"Right. So must know a lot about me then," she sips from her wine and Audrey annoyingly, despite Wilheminas dismissal, lights up a cigarette. "What's your name."

"Wilhemina Venable."

"Oh your name is Wilhemina, it's such a -"

"I'd prefer to be referred to only as Ms. Venable." Fine. Wilhemina has now made this awkward, thanks mouth. Change the subject. "Seven more women to find," she states, looking at the two, her hand gripped tightly around her cane. "Is this some sort of gangb-" Nope. "Right, I'm going to get another drink, excuse me."

"Sally that girl, what can I get you?" Liz asks a blonde that is definitely stuck in the '90s. Her hair is fully crimped, her outfit choice, however, is far more ridiculous, fishnet tights, a very short skirt, revealing shirt. Stop staring.

"The usual," she mumbles before diverting her attention back to the woman beside her. "So, are you from Tennessee? You're the only ten I see," Wilhemina almost spits her drink out as she hears the conversation between the two.

"No actually, I'm from Massachusetts." the brunette says, nodding slightly, clearly slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's pretty close though, right."

"No you blonde idiot, it's a 17-hour drive," Wilhemina says and the blonde turns to look at her and this time she looks at her face.

"Did I ask you?"

"No, course not. I just like correcting idiots,"

"Well, I'm sorry we all couldn't afford to go to private schools," the blonde then storms off somewhere else, Wilhemina genuinely doesn't care. The brunette, however, slides closer over to Wilhemina.

"Thank you," she smiles.

Wilhemina's face turned to one of a fish, "What for?" The other woman continued sipping from her drink before leaning a little too close for comfort to Wilhemina before taking a deep breath.

"Is this.." she pauses, Wilhemina only furrows her brows at her, "Is this a 'girl' bar?" she asks curiously, "I'm only asking because..."

"Good question," the redhead smiles as she looks around the room, only women are seated, mainly bundled together with Ally and Audrey," Maybe this woman is one of the names on the list too. "Surely hope not," she mumbles. She doesn't want to make conversation but it seems she needs to. "What brings you here?" she continues to drink the nuclear waste that Liz calls a drink and looks at the brunette. She seems familiar too.

"I... This is going to sound really weird."

"Not as weird as that, I assure you," she points behind her and the brunette turns around to see a woman with two heads walk through the door with the frizzy blonde talking to them.

"Probably just as... How is that possible? That's fascinating." The brunette brings up her purse and pulls out a notepad."I'm a writer, you may have read my book. It's quite popular among women." She speaks but Wilhemina isn't listening. Distracted by the definition of fucking weird that just entered the room.

"You girls here for the "meeting"?" the frizzy blonde asks them and the head on the left nods. Creepy.

"Nice," she grabs a cigarette, it hanging from her mouth lazily as she spoke. Ok, so far there are Audrey, Ally, writer girl, the one Liz called Sally, the two-headed beast... Wilhemina looks around and spots another blonde speaking to Audrey and Ally. So extra blonde. And a homeless woman sitting at the back end of the bar.

"If you're here for the meeting, come over here!" extra blonde calls out over to her table and Wilhemina rolls her eyes, her cane clanking loudly as she walks over to the table. "I'm Cordelia Goode. Supreme of my coven in New Orleans."

"Ally Mayfair-Richards, I came here from Maine. Had to find a babysitter before I drove all the way here,"

"Audrey Tindall. Had to get a flight back from England."

"Lana, Lana Winters." the writer girl added.

"Wait.." three heads turn to her. "How is that possible?" Ally spoke.

Lana shrugged, an uncomfortable smile gracing her lips, "What do you mean?"

"You're... young?"

"Oh, wow, am I that old?"

"I- no of course not."

"What's that?" Wilhemina turns her head towards the left of the beast as she stares down at Sally's cellphone.

"Oh, come on I've been stuck here since the nineties and even I know what it is." she rolls her eyes.

The right one furrowed her brows. "90s?"

The two of them stared into space for a moment, their expressions changing every so often as if they're in a conversation and Wilhemina shakes her head and diverts her attention to the homeless one toddling over to the rest of the group. She looks paranoid, looking over her shoulders as if someone is following her.

"The rest of the introductions?" Audrey says, bringing the letter out and Lana handing her a pen from her purse before she ticks off the names of people here. "What's your name, sweetheart?" she asks the homeless one but she doesn't answer, peeking into the massive tote bag on her shoulder before Wilhemina hits her ankle with her cane to gain her attention.

"I'm not telling you my name. I don't even know who you are," she states

"Why are you sitting with us then?" the right one says before the homeless one gives them a look.

"I know people like you, fuck faces, huge assholes," she mutters

"I'm Dot, this is Bette, "Right one says almost headbutting the other

"I can introduce myself, Dot,"

Dot turns her head to look at her, "Well you were taking your sweet time,"

"Okay, we're only missing Billie and Karen."

Sally chuckles, her cigarette still hanging from her mouth, "That's definitely Karen," she points over to a blonde with wavy hair, pink blouse, pearl necklace and a pencil skirt and fake nails. "I actually thought you were Karen until you said your name is Audrey," she looks to Audrey and Wilhemina purses her lips trying to stifle her laugh.

Audrey looked offended as if someone ran over her mothers already dead body. Her nostrils flaring as she leans over the table towards Sally, "And what do you mean by that?"

Before anything happens and all hell breaks loose in the Hellmouth they already were in, the homeless one squeaks up. "I'm Karen."

That's it. Wilhemina laughed. "What's so funny?" Cordelia asks the redhead who continued chuckling as she tried to drink her acid.

"Nothing, continue."

Lana finally pieces the puzzle together, "That's Billie."

"Congratulations, would you like a gold star. I'm sure Mommy senator here has plenty for you." Wilhemina chuckled at her own joke because it was funny. The other women did laugh too. Billie made her way over somewhat gracefully, her hands flaring as if she's trying to pick up a watermelon. Karen probably has one hidden in that Mary Poppins bag of hers.

"Good evening, girls. I'm Billie Dean Howard, Medium to the stars." she flutters her fingers around like one of those stupid ASMR videos that Wilhemina has not ever watched before and took a seat beside Bette and Dot.

"Were you the one who sent the letters?" Bette asked, her fingers fiddling with the hem of the dress she shared? with Dot before Dot slapped her fingers away.

"No, I assume you're all here for the same thing. As am I. Unfortunately, it had to be here though,"

Cordelia sighs, shifting uncomfortably in her seat seeming to know what the hell Billie was actually talking about. "I know, it's like they're screaming in the walls."

Liz comes over handing Billie her drink while giving a pointed look towards Sally, "What? I didn't kill everyone here, y'know."

"Your reputation says otherwise." she turns to the rest of the group, "Enjoy your stay,"

"Does anyone actually know what this is about... Wait I know you, I've seen your face on the side of a bus," Audrey says excitedly

"And I know you, Ms Audrey Tindall. Making a big name for yourself I see after My Roanoke Nightmare." Billie smiles at her and Wilhemina gives a look of impressive to the two blondes.

"Oh god don't. My shrink is still drilling it into my head that it wasn't real."

"What wasn't?" Lana asks curiously, her notepad in hand as she continued to write notes.

"You haven't seen the show?"

"What show?"

Wilhemina diverts her attention towards Ally's and Cordelia's conversation although it seemed to be about cheating exs so then she focuses on what Dot, Bette and Sally were saying.

"It's 1952 where you're from?" Okay, now that is interesting. "How did you get here?" Sally points her phone in their faces.

"Can you please get that thing out of our faces! It's scary," Bette says,

"We killed our mother and you're saying that's scary." Fine. She stood up and made her way to Karen.

"Don't want to talk to you." she mumbled, seemingly comfortable slightly curled up in the seat.

"I don't want to talk to you either." Hmm, maybe the homeless one isn't too bad after all.

After a few extra drinks, everyone seems to be in a better mood, laughing, joking, much to Wilhemina's dismay, and even still trying to make conversation with her. Which she has done. Gotten to reluctantly know more about those with who she was almost forcefully made to be made acquaintances. Sally stood up on the chair, wobbling slightly as she tries to regain her balance. "Ladies, Unfortunately, Liz is closing up for the night." most women whined but Wilhemina was genuinely happy she finally got to go home. Was this it? What exactly was this about? "But... We can take this party up to my room,"

Wilhemina almost growled to herself, the thought of being at home a lot more comfortable than being in a hotel room with nine other women. All women stood up and followed Sally to the elevators. Billie and Cordelia following behind as they chatted.

Wilhemina slowed her pace a little mainly because she felt like her back couldn't handle it but also because she wants to know what the two blondes are talking about. "If the letters weren't really from you, then who was it?" Cordelia asks

"I genuinely thought it was you, dear. Seems like a 'you' thing to be bringing in people of all backgrounds, especially lonely ones at that,"

"I'm not lonely. You don't even know me." Karen pipes up defensively, still holding her bag close.

"No, not at all." Billie shakes her head, "But I do know when one is feeling lost and doesn't know how to get back up," she says before rushing off to get to the others.

Wilhemina's steps slowed as she enters the elevator, not one for taking the stairs. She opens her mouth but Cordelia is quick to speak, "I like your hair," the redhead raises an eyebrow at the blonde, a hint of a blush rising on her cheeks.

"You're drunk, Ms. Goode,"

"Oh, please. Call me Cordelia. I'm nothing like my mother." she says before her expression turns somewhat sorrowful. Her mouth opened, slightly agape seeming as she wants to speak but she doesn't. So Wilhemina decides it's humane of her to change the subject.

"You know Ms. Howard?" she looks down at the floor, the elevator dinging indicating their arrival on the floor where Sally's room is located.

"Oh yes, she's not a witch though," the blonde slightly stumbles out, almost tripping on her heels when Wilhemina rolls her eyes reaching her arm out to catch her.

"I didn't ask," she states, although she is due for another awful round of dosed up fuckery that is her medication she fights through it, tries to anyway. Liz's miracle drinks seem to be working fine as an atomic type of painkiller. She allows Cordelia to loop her arm around her shoulder, hers around the blonde's waist as they walk down the hallway towards the room Karen just strangely snuck into as if she's there on a heist.

"You know of my story then?" Lana asks seemingly gobsmacked towards the other women, "And not from my book, from my talk show? One I don't even have yet?"

"How exactly did you get here?" Audrey asks curiously as she sits down on the bed, crossed legged like an elementary school child.

"I received the letter, like the rest of you. I took the train. Fell asleep, woke up at the station and everything was different but I couldn't really explain it. Then I asked around about the coordinates and someone guided me to this hotel."

"The same thing happened to us," Bette smiled at her but Dot was quick to scold her

"Don't listen to my idiot of a sister, we've never been on a train in our lives. We woke up, found the note at the foot of our bed and started to get ready for our show."

"Show?" Billie asks before closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Does the name Eudora mean anything to you?"

"We work fo-" Bette starts

"No, absolutely not. Bette, we're leaving."

"But we've been having so much fun, Dot."

"No,"

"She says she forgives you."

Tears well up in both their eyes for a moment as they sit back down on the bed. Wilhemina slowly helps Cordelia sit down on the armchair beside them and awkwardly perches on the arm of said chair.

"She forgives you Bette for what you did but," she closes her eyes before facing Dot, "She doesn't forgive you for what you tried to do to your sister."

An awkward silence filled the room, only to be heard are the sniffles from the twins and the lighting up of cigarettes before Sally broke the silence, "You know, I would probably do anything to have a sister and you tried to kill her?" Dot looks away ashamedly.

Bette, sweet Bette, she seems so childlike, she just smiles, "I would do anything to make my Dot happy,"

"I would rather kill myself than let anyone treat me the way she treats you." Sally rolls her eyes "And I'm dead," she brings her hand to the side of her mouth as if she's revealing a huge secret.

"At least she's not alone," Ally says, sipping on more wine. "I'd do anything for my son, the way Bette clearly would for her sister."

"And let her kill herself?" Audrey remarks, "That's not love."

"Wouldn't you kill for love? Fight for others."

"I'd rather be a lover than a fighter, because all my life, I've been fighting." Lana says, "I've lost the love of my life and had been through so much I ca-" tears escape her eyes and Audrey curls up beside her, wrapping an arm around her frame.

Karen opened her mouth wanting to speak, most of them probably expecting her spewing profanities but instead, her face was calm, "I've never felt a feeling of comfort. All this time, I've been hiding. Where I'm from the stupid fuckfaces who live there..." There we go. "All they do is just think I'm some mad homeless woman -"

"Aren't you?" Wilhemina blurts out, a smirk gracing her lips and Karen glares at her.

"That's not the point, you fucking, purple, fucking, dragon bitch."

Wilhemina tilts her head, impressed with the insult. "Carry on."

"I don't want to anymore."

"I never had someone to call my own," Bette says, her usual smile now a frown as she fights back her own tears

"I'm so used to sharing." Dot mutters, looking down at her fingers. Billie reaches out to hold their hands to comfort them.

"Love only left me alone," Audrey says,

"I've found peace in the violence, can't tell me there's no point in trying," Sally says, cigarette hanging from her mouth as she speaks, mascara running down her face

Wilhemina thinks it's her turn to speak, Cordelia looking at her intently from the seat. "I'm in need of a saviour," it feels like she confessed her deepest darkest secrets. Words she would have never thought she would say out loud to anyone. She sees Billie lift her head as if to speak "But I'm not asking for favours," she says, Billie nods understandingly.

"My whole life, I've felt like a burden," Cordelia pipes up, her chin quivering as she spoke. "I think too much, and I hate it"

Ally pulls a small face, finishing her wine before she spoke, "I'm so used to being in the wrong. I'm tired of caring."

"Loving never gave me a home" Karen speaks again, probably feeling a lot more comfortable with the group now. Which is surprising as she acted as if they would kill her.

"I'll sit here in the silence," Billie says. She hadn't said anything. She gave a small smile before lighting up a cigarette. Wilhemina only groans, now her clothes probably stank worse than an ashtray at the amount the four women had smoked like a chimney. "I'm at one with myself. I've been quiet for so long."

There's silence for a few moments. Not uncomfortable at all, surprisingly. Although plenty of tears, small sobs escaping and a few hugs. This was needed. Everyone felt seen, even in the silence of the room. They felt heard. They all understood and could relate one way or another to each other and, maybe the letter was right. You are not alone.

But the one question is... who was the one who had sent it?

Maybe someone out there who cared enough for each woman individually and knew their struggles maybe even up to a personal extent. Maybe whoever sent it just wanted the women to know that they are loved and people do care.

Maybe it was you.

-

The night was slowly coming to an end, the women started to say their goodbyes when Lana had an idea, "Sally?"

Sally lifted her head from where it lay on Cordelia's shoulder as the two blondes were almost fast asleep. "Hmm?" Wilhemina stood, collecting her cane ready to leave but Cordelia's hand stopped her, grabbing onto the hem of her blazer.

"Give me your cell number, I have an idea." the brunette gave Sally the pen and paper and Sally wrote her number down, passing it back. "If I remember you'd hear from me again," then the brunette vanished. Magic tricks aside, most of the women were either too drunk or half-asleep to even react. Sally's phone began ringing loudly, Wilhemina picked it up, disgusting fluffy case in hand as Sally snatches it from her.

"Hello?"

"Sally? It's me, Lana. Put me on speaker." the familiar yet different voice said. The women looked, Wilhemina observing from the door until she noticed Bette and Dot aren't there either.

"Lana, it's you?" Audrey says, tears in her eyes, "God I've missed you." It's been less than two minutes you dramatic blonde. Wilhemina rolls her eyes as Lana chuckles down the phone.

"I've missed you too, Audrey. It's been fifty-five years since I had last heard your voice."

Wilhemina, now confused, was ready to leave. She pried the sleepy blonde away and left. On the way back to her home, she magically bumped into Billie. "What do you want?" she almost snapped.

"We're wondering if you'd like to meet back up at the hotel again next week." the blonde smiles, of course, cigarette in hand. Wilhemina sighed, as much as she hates to admit it she really did enjoy the company in comparison to her lonely nights at home in the silence.

"Okay," she says, Billie, raising an eyebrow at her expectantly.

"Okay? That was easy,"

"Don't think it'll be any easier than this, Ms. Howard, I'm a busy woman."

"Hm, I'm sure."

"If Ms. Winters is.. a woman of age now, What happened to the Tattlers?" Wilhemina asks out of curiosity, Billie purses her lips as she thinks of an answer.

"They're gone. They're at one with the silence."

"Good night, Ms. Howard." Wilhemina opens the door to her car.

"Good night, Ms. Venable," Billie says but Wilhemina can literally hear the smile that's on her lips as she says it. "Oh, Cordelia wants me to give you her cell," Billie hands the redhead her number through the crack of the window. "Then you don't have to be at one with the silence for so long. Neither of us do. We have each other now, just remember that. All thanks to Y/N."

[yeah-all-of-it]

I’ve had this headcanon for awhile now about Ian and Mickey starting a family and since I’m becoming more comfortable with writing, I thought I’d turn it into a fic. Enjoy!

A Life Changing Gift

“Debs, are you sure you understand what you’re offering right now?,” Ian questions, feeling a bit skeptical.

It is Debbie after all. Sometimes she’s perfectly pleasant and reasonable, other times she can be a raging bitch. But, she is his sister and he can’t imagine her offering something this monumental only to renege after they’ve gotten their hopes up. And she’s definitely mellowed out since they didn’t end up selling the house and she didn’t have to find a new place to live.

Ian and Debbie are sitting at the kitchen table in the Gallagher house. She had called him over to look at a cut Franny had gotten playing in the backyard. Wasn’t sure if it needed stitches and thought Ian could use his past medical training to check it out. In reality, it was barely a scratch. Ian should have known at that point Debbie was up to something, especially when she invited him to stay for coffee.

“Ian, I’ve been thinking a long time about this. Came up with the idea months ago but wanted to be completely sure before I said anything,” Debbie explains.

“Yeah, but, Debbie. This is fuckin’ huge. Think about how hard it’ll be on you-“

“I’ve already thought about all that shit, Ian. I’ve been through it before, you know. It’s really not that bad,” Debbie assures him.

Debbie seems sincere. Like she’s really considered every angle, every downside, upside, and in-between. He’s trying to keep his excitement reined in because he still has to convince Mickey that this is a good idea, which could be easier said than done.

“Listen,” Debbie says. “You don’t have to say anything now. Go home, talk it over with Mickey. You can even bring him over here and we can all talk about it if you want. No pressure.”

They both stand from the table and Ian goes to give her a hug.

“Wait, what the fuck are you doing?” Debbie jokes. “Thought you hated me and that we don’t do hugs anymore.” She laughs, and Ian knows she’s remembering how tense things were a year ago when she thought she’d be homeless and alone and she lashed out at all her siblings.

“Would you just fuckin’ come here?” Ian smiles warmly and holds his arms out.

She steps into his embrace and he just holds his little sister. Sometimes he still likes to imagine her as that sweet little girl that was always helping people. Always loving people, sometimes so much she would get hurt. It would kill him to see the tears in her eyes.

Sometimes, he sees glimpses of that caring little girl in the jaded woman she’s become. Like when she pretended to be the bride at his wedding; staying in the kitchen, missing the whole ceremony, just so he and Mickey could get married without any problems from the homophobes at the venue. And now, when she’s offering this selfless and life changing gift to them.

Ian whispers into her hair, hair that’s the same vibrant shade of red as his own, “I don’t even know what to say, Debs. Just… thank you.”

Debbie gives him one more big squeeze before pulling away. “You’re welcome. Now, go home and convince your husband to let me have his baby.”

———

“No fuckin’ way, NO fuckin’ way!” Mickey exclaims. “No way am I bangin’ your little sister.”

Mickey hops up on the counter, takes a long chug of the Old Style in his hand.

“Mick,” Ian sighs, leaning up against the opposite counter. “That’s not how it works. You would basically jerk off in a cup and she’d use a turkey baster, in the privacy of her own room,” he emphasizes,” to… place the sperm where they need to go.”

“Don’t you need like, a doctor or some shit to do that?” Mickey asks incredulously.

“Well, you can use a doctor but it’s expensive. This way is free,” Ian clarifies.

Mickey is clearly churning the idea around in his brain. Finally speaks.

“I thought we were just gonna like, find a fuckin’ kid that didn’t have parents or somethin’.”

“We can do that too, one day. Ya know, if we like the first one enough to do it again,” Ian says lightheartedly, slight grin, trying to calm Mickey.

Ian steps toward Mickey, placing his hips between Mickey’s knees, resting his hands on his thighs, rubbing softly.

Ian continues. “Think about it though, Mick. This baby would be us, you and me. It’s the closest we can get since we don’t exactly have the right stuff to do it on our own. He or she would have your DNA and, through Debbie, a little of mine too.”

Mickey beams at this, wraps his arms around his husband’s shoulders. “It would be kinda fun to have a little version of us runnin’ around,” Mickey admits. “You know a kid that’s part Milkovich and part Gallagher is bound to be a little shit though, right?” Mickey jokes, smiling at the thought.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Ian quips, leaning in and planting a sweet kiss on his smiling husband’s lips.

Ian pulls back from the kiss and asks seriously, “So. Do you wanna do this?”

“Yeah. Yeah I do. What about you?” Mickey questions.

“Fuck yeah, I do. Let’s call Debs right now.”

———

“I’ve done a lot of research about this. You guys know it might not work on the first try right? Don’t want you to be frustrated or disappointed if it doesn’t work this month. Doesn’t mean it won’t ever work, but it can take a little time,” Debbie explains.

They are sitting in the Gallagher living room the day they are making their first attempt at insemination.

“Yeah, we know, Debs. Don’t worry,” Ian replies. “We’re not in a hurry.”

“Okay, good. Keeping your expectations reasonable is good,” she says. “I’ve also been tracking my basal body temperature and took an ovulation test, so today is my most fertile da-“

Mickey interrupts, “Thanks, Dr. Gallagher, but we don’t need all the gory details. Now where do I jerk off? Hey Ian, you gonna gimme a hand, man?” Mickey clicks his tongue and bounces his eyebrows playfully.

“Ugh, no gory details, right? Let’s just keep all the personal shit to ourselves okay?” Debbie requests.

“Yeah, this is already awkward enough. Don’t need to make it weirder,” Ian agrees and eyes Mickey scoldingly.

Ian and Mickey are forced to go into the bathroom because Lip and Tami live there now and their old bedroom is now Fred and the baby’s room. They’re not home but it would be uncomfortable seeing Fred’s little toddler bed, his stuffed animal collection staring at them while Mickey gets off. So, bathroom it is.

“Listen, Mickey,” Ian explains. “I’ll help, but we are keeping this clinical. Short and sweet. We can fuck at home later for fun; this needs to be done with a purpose, a goal. Debbie’s waiting.”

“Ugh, Jesus, man, why you gotta bring up Debbie? Doesn’t exactly make this process easier to think of her waiting in her room to squir-“

“Okaaayy, focus Mick,” Ian interrupts before that sentence goes any further.

Ian yanks down Mickey’s pants and gets to work. He knows exactly how Mickey likes it to make him come quickly. It works and Mickey finishes into the bulb of the turkey baster in record time.

Ian wipes off the edges and walks it to Debbie’s room, knocking on the door. She opens it just enough to stick her arm out and Ian places the bulb in her hand. Ian hears her say, “Uh, you guys can go home. I’ll text you later,” and shuts the door.

On their way back to the Westside, Ian’s phone dings. He picks it up and reads the text from Debbie out loud. “Transfer is complete.”

“What now?” Mickey asks.

“We wait,” Ian answers.

———

“It should have worked by now, right?” Mickey asks, an edge of concern in his voice. “I mean, it’s been almost 4 months. What if like, my fuckin’ swimmers don’t work or somethin’?”

Ian tries to calm Mickey down, rubbing his arm that’s slung across Ian’s belly. It’s midnight and they really should be asleep but Mickey’s spiraling over the whole surrogacy thing.

“Mick, this is normal. We knew it could take awhile. There’s no need to freak out yet,” Ian assures. “What’s all this about, anyway? All the worry.”

“Just… I know it took a long time for me to even wanna have kids. Then you had to convince me to do this shit, to be okay with Debbie carrying my baby. Fuck, that still sounds creepy as hell. But anyway, I know I wasn’t on board with everything at first, but now? Ian, I’m so fuckin’ excited to have a baby with you. To be a dad with you. It’s just hard to wait, that’s all. And then I think… what if it doesn’t happen? What if this whole plan just fuckin’ fails? Then what?”

“Then, we come up with another plan,” Ian assures. “I wanna raise kids with you too, Mickey, so fuckin’ much. I wanna give them the childhood we never got to have. I wanna take them to the beach with you, I want us to play blocks on the living room floor, and read bedtime stories together. All that shit. It’ll happen, Mickey. One way or another, we’ll make it happen.”

Ian snuggles Mickey closer, kisses him on the top of the head, and they fall asleep in each other’s arms.

They are woken up by Ian’s obnoxious ringtone at 6:00 am, well before they have to be up for work.

“Who the fuck is calling this goddamn early? Better be fuckin’ important,” Mickey grumbles while rubbing his eyes.

It’s Debbie.

“Hey, Debs!” Ian says with fake cheerfulness, still half asleep. “What’s up?”

“There’s two lines!” she screams on the other end of the phone.

“Okay?” Ian replies.

“There’s TWO lines!” she repeats, emphasizing the word two.

“I don’t know what the fuck that means, Debs. Two lines where?” Ian questions.

“On the pregnancy test, dipshit! It’s positive! I’m pregnant!” she yells.

Ian bolts upright in bed. Mickey grumbles “what the fuck” under his breath, eyes still half closed.

“Holy fuck! It’s positive?” Ian exclaims. “It worked?

Mickey’s up now too. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Debs! Thank you! I love you! I’ll call you back later!” Ian says, unable to hold in his excitement.

He hangs up the phone. Turns and looks at Mickey. “It worked. She’s pregnant,” Ian practically whispers, unable to believe it. Ian sees tears well up in Mickey’s eyes and, for only the second time Ian has ever witnessed, they spill out onto his cheeks.

———

“Damn, you look like a beached whale, Debbie,” Mickey observes.

Debbie gives him a dirty look but chooses to keep her mouth shut.

She’s a week past her due date so they are at the clinic today to make sure everything is good. Debbie is up on the table and Ian and Mickey are sitting in the two available chairs when the doctor comes in.

“Hi, Debbie! Hi, Dads!” she says cheerfully. “So we are going to measure your belly and do a quick ultrasound just to make sure your amniotic fluid looks good.” Mickey grimaces at the term “amniotic fluid”. “I’ll have her back in a jiffy, guys!” the doctor says as she whisks Debbie out of the room.

They spent the last 6 months getting everything they needed for their new baby. Tami even threw them a shower where they got clothes, bottles, a swing, a carseat, and about a billion diapers. They decorated the nursery in light gray bedding with tiny white stars. Gender neutral because they want to be surprised. They have everything ready, all they need is the baby who is taking its sweet time.

Around 20 minutes has passed when the doctor pokes her head in the door.

“Sooo, I have some news. Debbie’s water broke while we were doing her ultrasound and her contractions started coming really fast. From what I’ve been told, her first delivery was pretty quick so we’re transporting her to the hospital just down the road, just to be safe. You are welcome to head over there now. I will be delivering so I’ll see you guys there!” and her head pops out as quickly as it appeared.

Ian and Mickey just look at each other, stunned. Finally Mickey regains his senses and breaks the silence. “Well, let’s fuckin’ go!”

They finally make it to the OB floor after a couple wrong turns inside the hospital. A nurse points them to Debbie’s room and they walk in when she’s in the middle of a pretty intense contraction. Once it subsides, she greets them and informs the epidural is on its way.

Once it’s been administered and Debbie is blissfully pain free, she asks, “Do you guys want to be in the delivery room?”

They both look at each other. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Ian replies.

“Fuck, no,” Mickey says. “I don’t wanna see that shit.”

“Mick, you don’t have to watch. We can stand up by her head. Hold her hand. Be supportive since she’s bringing our baby into this world.” Ian turns to Debbie. “Are you sure you don’t mind? We understand if you want to keep things private.”

“Ian. I gave birth to Franny on our kitchen table in front of… like, everyone. Kev saw my vagina. V saw my vagina. Fuckin’ Sean saw my vagina. Trust me, I don’t care if you two are in the room.”

Ian looks at Mickey. “Fuck… fine. We can be in there,” Mickey relents.

A nurse comes in to check Debbie and informs her she’s 100% effaced and 10cm dilated. It’s go time. Things move at a quick pace after that. More nurses come in, turning on extra lights, bringing in supplies, wheeling in the heated bassinet.

Ian and Mickey stand side by side to Debbie’s left, Ian holding her hand, while she pushes. It’s fast. She only pushes for ten minutes before they hear cries and the doctor’s holding the baby in her hands, declaring, “it’s a girl!”

The next thing they know, a nurse is throwing a clean blanket over Mickey’s chest, and another nurse walks over and places the baby, his daughter, in his arms, blood, vernix, and all. Ian expects him to be grossed out but Mickey just stares in awe at this beautiful baby. This baby that looks like him in the face, but has a head of red hair.

Ian steps up to Mickey and wraps an arm around his shoulders, placing his other under Mickey’s arms that are holding their daughter. There is not a dry eye in the room. Ian and Mickey are crying, Debbie is crying, even the doctor and nurses are crying.

The next hour or so is spent getting the baby, and Debbie, cleaned up and dressed. They take the baby and run the normal tests and give her a vitamin k shot.

Once Debbie is in a room, the nurse brings the baby in to her dads. Ian sits in the rocking chair snuggling her while she sleeps and Mickey is right next to them.

Debbie just gazes at this new little family from her spot in bed. “So,” she finally says. “What are you naming her?”

Ian and Mickey just smile at each other before Ian responds, “Debbie, meet Margaret Laura Gallagher-Milkovich. Maggie for short.”

Debbie’s eyes tear up. “You guys gave her my middle name?”

Mickey surprisingly fields this question. “We wanted her to be named after the person that’s responsible for her bein’ here. For helping’ create her for us. I know I give you a lotta shit, but I love ya, and I appreciate the fuck outta you, Debbie.”

“Aww, Mickey, I love yo-“ she begins before being interrupted.

“Don’t get fuckin’ used to it. I’m emotional today,” he snaps with feigned grumpiness. Then smiles at her.

They let Debbie snuggle her for a bit before being released by the pediatrician to take her home. Thankfully they had already installed the infant seat in their car so they were prepared.

They walk through the door of their apartment 30 minutes later. Ian sets the carrier down and picks the baby up out of it, snuggling her tiny body to his chest before passing her off to Mickey.

“I’m not sure what you were so worried about, you’re a natural, Mickey,” Ian says as he gazes at his handsome husband tenderly cradling their beautiful baby girl.

They walk over to the sofa and sit down, thinking about the whirlwind of a day. Not knowing when they got up this morning to take Debbie to the clinic that by evening, they’d be holding their daughter in their arms.

Ian wraps Mickey’s shoulders with his arm, places his hand on their swaddled baby and says, “Welcome home, Maggie Gallagher-Milkovich. Your dads love you so much.”

[football-rambles]

Chapter One: Dumb Love

Recommends to listen to Mimi Webb - Dumb Love

Disclaimer: This is purely fictional, I do not know the people involved so this is purely fictional.

Flashbacks in italics

Chapter One:

Alexie and Declan met five years ago when Declan moved away from his family to join West Ham Academy. As ecstatic as he was to finally be living his dream, he knew it would be difficult settling into the academy, equally as he had to settle in and make friends at a new school. A girl in his class instantly took his eye, and keeping to his true personality, he was the practical joker in the class mainly to get her attention.

It wasn’t until the last year of school when Alexie really took serious notice of Declan, and that he wasn’t just the annoying lad that sat behind her in maths. After working on a project together, she got a glimpse of the real, goofy Declan who was serious about football.

“Are you going to help me with this? I need help,” Alexie asked as she turned her desk toward Dec who was throwing the football up into the air on her bed.

While still throwing the ball in the air, Declan shrugged and said, "I'm helping.".

Alexie rolled her eyes and turned around and snatched the ball off Declan. "Can you please not think about football for five minutes?" asked Alexie.

Dec and Alexie became friends after working on a project together, now that she no longer viewed him as the annoying kid in class. Even though she wasn't into football, she went to watch him play for West Ham; she wasn't sure if it would work out for him, but as a friend, she was supportive.  

Despite Dec's liking for Alexie, Alexie was oblivious. It wasn't until her friends pointed out that Dec liked her that she became aware of the fact. Alexie ignored her feelings and kept on with her normal routine, disregarding any hint of emotion. While Alexie was studying for her exams, she told herself that she didn't have time to date.

Alexie, having been charmed by Declan, agreed to go bowling with him and his friends. It was just the two of them in the end and she spent most of the time under his grip, but she didn’t even notice.

Despite Declan's embarrassing stunt in the canteen, Alexie accepted Declan's invitation to the prom. Her parents, who enjoyed Dec after meeting him only once, were more excited for Alexie than she was to go to the prom with him. She avoided inviting him over too often because she knew he would talk football all the time.

In her prom dress, Alexie walked downstairs; her mother shrieked when she saw her.

"Oh Lex," she said, trembling.

"Mum, it's prom! I'm not getting married." Alexie laughed out loud, then hugged her mum as the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Declan. Mick, you let him." Pam, Alexie's mom, ordered.

"Alexie, stand in front of the mirror. I want a photo." Pam said.

Alexie rolled her eyes and obeyed her mother's command to pose for the camera.

“Oh, now we need a picture of you two!” Pam squealed in excitement as she pulled Declan to Alexie.

“Mum” Alexie hissed.

“It’s alright, my parents threatened to come with me… I said we would send them a picture” Dec looked at Alexie for a few seconds. “You look beautiful by the way.” He complimented.

“Thank you, you scrub up well…I was expecting you to turn up in your West Ham kit.” Alexie smiled as she turned to face her mother, ready for another photo.

“It was close, to be fair. I just managed to shower.” Dec spoke, as he put his arm around Alexie waist to pose for the photo.

Alexie wrinkled up her nose at Declan’s response, before bursting out laughing.

Alexie and Declan’s relationship was fun, but it was young love between them, their friends made fun of them both saying that they were both going to marry each other, but Alexie shrugged it off and said that they were enjoying the time they have together.

Declan still played at West Ham. And he played well, so much so that he trained with the senior team. Alexie was in University; she chose a University near London so she could see more of Declan but continued studying.

Despite both busy schedules, the time together went well and there was constant love and laughter throughout the relationship. Declan’s personality brought an interesting and fun side out of Alexie she didn’t know she had.

The years flew by, Alexie graduated and now working full time. Declan was now playing for West Ham regularly and had recently been called up to the England squad. Life was great between them…or that’s what they thought.

- 

thank you! @hotyeehawman​ and @chilwell-my-beloved​ 

[13uswntimagines]

McFiance (Sam x Reader)

Requested by @hales548​  : R is a basketball player (who is taller than Sam by a few inches). They are also teammates with Sue Bird on Team USA. The USWNT have a day off on the day of the gold medal match for the basketball team. Sam suggests that the team goes to support the women's basketball team during their game. Reader surprises Sam after receiving their medal by proposing in front of both their teams and the world. Lots of fluffy happy moments.

Author’s Note: First and Foremost Happy Birthday my dude! I hope you have an awesome Day!! @literaryhedgehog​ and I had a lot of fun writing this (and it gave us an idea for another one...) so i really hope you enjoy it!

“So are we just going to pretend that you didn’t drag us here to watch Mchottie shoot baskets?” 

Sam almost missed Sonnett’s comment, watching as her girlfriend did a layup, her eyes following the ink that accentuated her bicep. and tricep. General arm area. God, her girlfriend’s arms were amazing. Delectable. Heaven‘s gift to her…? She didn’t care if that was overkill, the fact was her girlfriend had some beautiful arm muscles perfectly outlined by the tattoos Sam loved to trace with her fingers whenever she had the opportunity. 

“Sonnett if you keep talking during the game you’ll miss something. I’m not explaining why someone’s doing a free throw if you miss the foul again.” Megan said, elbowing the blond defender and glaring in her direction. You had spent months planning this, and the blinds complaining wasn’t about to mess this up. 

“You’re just pouting cause Mcsexie came off after the half,” Emily huffed, rubbing her arm. 

“This isn’t a fucking Grey’s anatomy episode, every player doesn’t need a nickname with a mick,” Tobin laughed, shaking her head at Sam, who still hadn’t looked away from you. She was glad the tall blond had found love like she had found Christen. Sam lit up when she was around you and vice versa, you completed each other and made a hella cute couple (and took amazing couples photos helped by your 3 inches over Sam). 

“And I would actually appreciate it if you didn’t nickname my fiance ‘Mcsexie.’” Megan said, offhandedly. “For starters it’s demeaning, but also, I mean come on. You know Sue and Y/n, you’ve met their teammates, you can’t just call them the stupid nicknames you give literally every other girl to annoy your girlfriend.” 

“SWOOSH” several people in the crowd said interrupting the conversation. Emily jumped, not expecting 

“Fuck yeah, that’s my Mchottie,” Sam yelled, standing from her seat as you got a 3 pointer in seconds before the buzzer went off. Then the ref blew their whistle and the two coaches ran across the court. 

“Why can Sam call her Mchottie and I can’t?” Emily whined, missing the worried looks Megan was sending Sam’s way when you didn’t pop back up. 

“Not the time babe, Y/n just got fouled,” Lindsey said softly, leaning close to her girlfriend so she could hear, placing a hand on the defender’s thigh to calm down her boisterousness slightly. 

One of your teammates gave you a hand up and you stood in a group of your teammates, waiting to hear the call. You were pretty sure you knew what it was going to be, considering the defender had smacked you in the face as they tried to get the ball. You had still gotten the points, and fallen back just like you trained to do (so you didn’t accidentally foul your defender back) but they could have decided it was accidental. It probably was accidental- you did have several inches on the girl defending you. Still, it was unnecessary contact and you grinned as the ref beckoned you to take your place at the free-throw line.

“That was a world-class flop, I bet she took lessons from you, Pino,” Tobin snorted as you stepped up to the line. 

“Nah, she got it from Sue. I do a bit more rolling to really get my point across,” Megan shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. 

“She’s got the best stats in the league, there’s no way that she’s going to miss these,” Sam mumbled, more to herself than the rest of the group. You worked your ass off to be the best, spent hours taking shots from the line for moments just like that. You were the best for a reason, and now you just had to show it off. 

Emily rolled her eyes. Your team was up by 16, so there was no way you were going to lose no matter what the outcome of these next three shots were (an opinion she thought better to not voice considering the death grip Sam had on her seat). 

She looked around to see rows of people in the audience raising their hands in the air as you lined up to take your first shot. 

“SWOOSH!”

*****

Your grin was blinding as you bent to accept your metal, your eyes glued to your girlfriend rather than the commissioner placing the gold around your neck. It was only now that you felt the butterflies bloom in your belly, fluttering excitedly. You had been dead calm about the game but terrified of what you had planned for after. 

What if she said no? Everyone, you knew assured you she wouldn’t, but what if it was too soon? You had both talked about the future as though there would be one, and while you hadn’t specifically said ‘hey Sam, I want to marry you’ you were pretty sure she knew. Unless she didn’t.

“You better take a deep breath before you pass out kid,” Sue’s voice broke through your internal ramble, her warm hand on your shoulder grounding you back in reality. You blinked at the veteran’s kind eyes, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. 

“Good, now I think you’ll need this yeah?” She smiled, passing you the tiny ring box. You clutched it tightly, running your thumb over the velvet. Some people said it was corny, but you wanted everything to be perfect. To fulfill the dream your girlfriend had in her head since she was a little girl. 

You took another deep breath, squaring your shoulders and swaggering over to the group of soccer players staring at you from the sidelines. 

“Hey superstar,” You smiled, engulfing your girlfriend in a very sweaty hug, ignoring the gagging noises from the blond defender behind her. 

“Hi goldie,” Sam said, giggling. “Or do you prefer just plain ‘winner’?”

“Hmm, you can call me anything you like baby,” You said, pulling back, suddenly feeling all the bravado and swagger you had on the court fill you. “as long as you let me call you my wife,” You finished, dropping to one knee and pulling out the ring. 

“Oh my god,” Sam breathed, looking down at you. 

You gulped, your mouth suddenly feeling very dry.“I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to do this, but I really fucking love you. You’re my first thought in the morning, and at night and like a billion times in between. Every time anything happens, you’re the one I want to tell.  I want to share everything with you. Every experience, every moment, every win, and every loss with you for the rest of my life. So, will you marry me?” 

You blinked up at the woman in earnest, waiting with bated breath for her answer. Sam opened and closed her mouth a few times, and just as you thought she was going to respond, Emily gasped. “I thought it was supposed to be a ring pop?”

“Sonnet!” Megan and Sam said at the same time, both turning to glare at her 

“What?” Emily said, “you always joked that diamond rings were overrated and that a ring pop...” going quiet at Lindsey’s “just shut up” look. 

“Well,” you said, clearing your throat as you drew the attention back to yourself, “as you can see it’s not a ring pop. Or a diamond. It’s a very pretty green onyx ring that I would like to give my girlfriend/fiance…”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Sam said, cutting off your rambling, grabbing the front of your jersey, and pulling you into a kiss. 

“Is this a yes?” You mumbled against her lips, your neck bent at an awkward angle and unsure what to do with your hands considering you still had the open ring box in your left and you didn’t want to drop the ring. 

“It’s a definitely,” she said, holding out her hand so you could slip the ring onto her finger. 

“Cool,” you said, grinning as you took just long enough to get the ring on her finger before she pulled you into another kiss, her fingers tango long in the baby hairs at the back of your neck, and your hands firmly grabbing her hips. 

You were so engrossed in your fiancé (and how great it felt to call her that) that you almost missed Emily asking “So like, they’re McFiances now right?”