#or at least that's how it felt as i was hauling my suitcase up and down stairs in the métro

[hedgehog-moss]

Some photos I took in Parisian second-hand bookshops this week.

[alisonfelixwrites]

sunlit. - muse one shot [harry styles au]

//

part two.

summary: in which Eden just graduated and spends her summer holiday with her father and stepmother in their italian house, and Harry is the mysterious, older neighbour her father doesn't want her to talk to.

A/N: this has been on my wattpad for a while but i recently rr it and re-fell in love with it, so i wanted her to have a tumblr-moment too :))

word count: 22,915

CW's: age gap, SMUT! oral (f & m receiving), rimming (f & m receiving) spitting, choking, degrading, unprotected sex, public sex, voyeurism, anal play (if you squint), spanking (if you squint harder)

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Eden had to admit that standing in front of the house she’d spent the next few months at, she wasn’t seeing what she had expected.

Her shoulder-length chocolate hair was wispy and in her face, her hand hastily moving up to tuck it away behind her ear, “Oh.” She mumbled.

“You like it, hon?” Her father closed the back of the car, “It’s cute, huh?” 

Eden nibbled her lip, eventually pushing her sunglasses up in her hair to keep it away a little bit in the warm wind. “Yeah.” She breathed, settling on that answer. Her dad chuckled and walked up next to her, “I know, I know. It needs a little bit of love, but the inside is so charming. We fell in love with it and you will too, promise.” He placed a kiss to her cheek before hauling her suitcases in, “We’re so happy you’re here! Colleen is very excited to spend some time with you.”

Eden exhaled and forced a smile, “I just… I thought you said we were close to the city?” She walked up behind her father towards the small, typical Italian house. Sure it had a lot of character, but for one – it looked tiny and second of all, Eden had paid attention during the car ride to notice they hadn’t passed by anything that looked like a bar or a store in at least forty minutes.

“Yeah, you just take the bike down the hill and then the train. There’s a little grocery shop down the hill with like a coffee house too, but the nearest city is about an hour by train.” He casually explained.

“An hour?!” Eden shrieked, being ignored by her dad who simply kept walking. Eden tilted her head back with a groan, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You’ll love it here!” He shouted in an attempt to convince her. Eden rolled her eyes and took her bag, walking into the house behind him. Her nose scrunched up at the welcome-mat that said live, love, laugh! in front of the front door.

The coolness of the house welcomed Eden though as she stepped inside with her slippers on. She closed the heavy door behind her. The house was tiled in a reddish-brown colour, which was so typical for a house like this. 

Eden exhaled another breath as she carefully stepped in, following the shadow of her father. The house smelled like citrus, Eden noticed. It was fresh and clean and she clutched her bag around her shoulder. She turned the corner to be met with a small kitchen, Colleen by the counter with an apron on.

“Eden!” She gasped, opening her arms wide to hug the daughter of her partner. Eden forced a smile, “Colleen, hi.” She gently hugged her back as Colleen squeezed her painfully. Her bouncy blonde curls smothered Eden and her perfume was heavy in her nose.

Colleen’s arms felt tight around Eden and she let go a few seconds after Eden was already uncomfortable. She took a quick step back, having near forgotten how… smothering her stepmother was. Colleen was loud, bubbly and very present in any company. Eden was much more soft-spoken than her and preferred to sit in silence or by herself.

No matter how badly she tried to like Colleen – who essentially did nothing wrong – Eden almost felt like she was too kind. And no one could be that kind. Eden had to do nothing more but let out a little yelp as she stubbed her toe and Colleen was ready to drive her to the hospital.

And Eden felt somehow frustrated by it. And it frustrated her even more that she had no good reason to dislike Colleen who did her best to be liked by Eden, the only daughter of the man she loved and moved to Italy with.

“Welcome to our crib!” Her father grinned as he put her bags down and spread his arms, “Darling, we are so happy to have you here! You’re gonna have the summer of her life.”

Eden forced another smile.

When her father decided to move to Italy a few months ago, Eden had felt multiple emotions at one. She felt sad to be far away from him and not see him as much anymore. At the same time, she saw an opportunity. An opportunity for warm, Italian summers. An opportunity for a tan, lots of red wine, limoncello and Aperol Spritz by a pool as she strolled around little towns and met strangers in hot bars.

What she didn’t expect was a remote, little house with no sign of human life in sight.

Eden let her eyes glide around the house. It was full of personality, like her father had promised. She saw little touches of him and Colleen around the interior, but mostly they had adapted a very typical Italian style and left most of their personal belongings back in England. 

“Haven’t even been able to properly congratulate you on graduating.” Her father stood behind Eden, placing his hands on her shoulders. Eden felt a warmth spreading through her chest, welling up with pride as she breathed out a chuckle, turning around, “Thanks, dad.”

“A famous photographer in the family.” He joked and Eden blushed a little, a smile playing on her lips. Colleen smiled as she took the coffee pot in hand, “Any thoughts on what you’re going to do now?”

It was the inevitable question, and one that made Eden’s stomach clench. Her smile dropped immediately and her father shot her a sympathetic look, squeezing her shoulders again, “Eden will find her way. It’s summer break now after studying for years in a row. Freedom, hm? You deserve it.” He softly defended her. Colleen said nothing and Eden smiled at her father, “Yeah. Just a few weeks of uninterrupted sun.”

“You’ve come to the right address.” Her father smiled. Eden tried to feel excited, but standing in the house she was meant to spend a few months in, her enthusiasm deflated a tad. She rubbed the back of her neck, “I’ll just put my things upstairs?”

“Yeah, you can go explore.” Colleen waved her hand to the narrow stairs, “It’s upstairs to the left.”

“Thanks.” Eden softly smiled. She took one of her bags, leaving the other one downstairs for now. The stone steps didn’t creak like the stairs at the house in England did. The heat of the upstairs of the house greeted Eden as she reached the landing. 

The hallway was narrow as Eden took a left, glancing into the first room. It was quite the small room and was basically filled with boxes and storage, things her father and Colleen had yet to unpack. Eden exhaled a breath and continued, the second room being much more tidy.

It had a small double bed pushed against the wall opposite the window. White sheets covered the mattress and there was an old wooden dresser and a little desk in the corner. It wasn’t too decorated for the rest, but Eden enjoyed the simplicity of it. 

Walking into the room, she realized this was home for the next few months. And all of a sudden, a feeling of homesickness washed over her for no specific reason. She sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the blank walls. Sun came through the cracked window. 

Coming to Italy for a few months after graduating was probably the most spontaneous thing Eden had ever done. But it was all fitting in with how she felt right now. Chaotic. 

All throughout college, Eden had one goal. Graduating. And it was as if she didn’t realize that she worked towards that for the longest time and once she finally reached it, it felt oddly… unsatisfying. 

She had reached that goal, and now there was just a big glob of nothingness, of no perspective, of just… empty. And Eden spiralled. While her friends enjoyed their graduation and their months of holidays and freedom and no more exams or deadlines, Eden bolted.

She broke up with her boyfriend, booked a ticket and left everything and everyone behind. And once again, coming to Italy was her perspective and her goal and now that she was here, it’s like she felt empty again. Eden bit her wobbling lip, overcome by emotions. And she sighed before leaning her elbows on her knees, “What the fuck are you doing.” She whispered to herself. 

The loud bark of a dog pulled Eden out of her thoughts, jumping up slightly from the noise. She narrowed her eyes, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before getting up and walking up to the window.

The view from Eden’s window showed the narrow grass path that wrapped around the entire house, connecting the small front yard to the backyard. A fence separated their yard from the neighbour’s, which is where the dog was barking.

It wasn’t just one dog and Eden’s lips curled up into a smile. She saw a large border collie excitedly wagging its tail and jumping around the garden, playing with a much smaller Maltese dog attempting to keep up with the collie’s pace.

Admittedly, the neighbour had the house on the street that everyone wanted and the one Eden was currently in, was like its ugly sibling. It was about double the size of her father’s and Colleen’s house and the yard was even bigger. And to top it off, the house had a pool.

One glance into the backyard of their own house and Eden winced under her breath, realizing there was no pool here. Her chest sunk a bit as she exhaled, really trying to see a silver lining here.

Deciding Eden had to get out of the mood she was in, she simply put her bags down and opened one up, pulling out a pair of denim shorts to change out of her jeans and be a little less dressed in these hot temperatures. 

She put on a pair of slippers and redid the clip in her hair, hopping down the stairs again. Her father and Colleen were talking in the kitchen and Eden walked past them, offering a brief smile before her hand reached for the doorknob to find the garden, “I’m just going to check out the garden.” She spoke.

Colleen glanced at her father, who simply nodded and let his daughter exit the house.

The hot, humid air of southern Italy hit Eden’s face after leaving the coolness of the house. She did inhale a deep breath though, feeling as if she needed it. The grass underneath her feet was crispy from the heat and crickets could be heard all around. The house had a beautiful view of the hill with a bunch of grape vines. The little town could be seen from here, all the way at the bottom of the hill.

Eden put her hands on her hips and looked around, her face lighting up when she saw the two dogs again out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh, hi.” Eden cooed, walking towards the fence. The border collie excitedly wagged its tail, jumping up a little as Eden approached. She crouched down, smiling at both dogs who panted and continued running circles. The smaller Maltese stayed close and Eden put her hand through the fence to pet its head. 

“Hey!” A voice made her jump up and Eden quickly rose to her feet, seeing a man emerge from the house next door. 

The dogs quickly approached him, circling around his legs. He wore a pair of bright blue shorts and a large white button-up, sunglasses on his nose and no shoes on. 

“Oh.” Eden swallowed, “M-Mi scusi signore.”

The man continued walking up to her, a thick frown embedded in his forehead, “Shit.” Eden muttered to herself, fiddling with her fingers, “Stavo solo osservando i – uh… i tuoi cani.” She tried in her best italian, “Mi dispiace. Non… non avrei…” She stuttered before exhaling, “fuck, I don’t know how to say that in italian.”

“Your Italian is shit.” His voice sounded deep as he stood a little bit away from her, his hands on his hips.

Eden exhaled a sigh of relief, “Oh, you’re British? Thank god.”

He didn’t respond and Eden cleared her throat, “Like I was attempting to say,” she chuckled, “I shouldn’t have just touched your dogs. I’m sorry. They just looked very cute.”

The man took a step closer and flicked his eyes to his border collie, “Did you give them any food?”

“Food?” Eden raised her brows, “No, I didn’t.”

“Good. They’re not allowed food from strangers.”

There was a moment of silence between them and Eden’s eyes dragged up his body. She saw tan legs, scribbly tattoos around his knees and muscles that bulged without him even flexing. 

“I-I just moved here, by the way.” Eden pointed her thumb to the house behind her, “I’m sure you’ve met my father and step mother. I’m Eden.” She extended her hand to shake his. He hesitated for a moment before stepping up to her, “You moved in? You live here?” He checked.

Eden used her free hand to tuck some hair behind her ear, “Yeah, for the summer. I think. I haven’t really decided yet.” She shrugged before nibbling her lip. He swallowed and also extended his hand, shaking hers, “Harry.” He introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you.” Eden smiled. “And sorry again.”

“That’s alright.” His voice sounded a bit softer, all the anger having disappeared from him all of a sudden. Harry even put his sunglasses up in his hair and more of his face came into view. Mossy green eyes met her dark brown ones. The slight wrinkles by his eyes indicated that he was a little older than her. Harry had chestnut hair that was wavy on top of his head. 

Eden’s eyes dropped to the moustache above his top lip. She fought her blush, realising that the man in front of her was plain gorgeous and she just got off a flight and didn’t wear any make-up. 

“So – uh, have you lived here long? Or just vacationing? Since you’re British.” Eden tried to start a conversation. Harry’s attention went back to his dog circling his legs, his palm brushing the head of the border collie, “A while, yeah. And no, not vacationing. I live here full-time.”

“Oh.” Eden nodded at the information, “Your house is really nice.” Her gaze drifted to the house behind Harry before darting to the pool. She offered him a small smile, “Perhaps you could show me around a little bit?”

Harry glanced at her, tilting his head to the side, “Show you around?”

“Yeah.” Eden casually shrugged. She popped her hip out and pushed her chest up a little, “Or I could go for a walk with your dogs if you want me to. It’s not like I have anything to do here.”

Harry just stared at her for a bit and Eden felt her heartbeat increasing at the depth of his gaze. It felt like he could see right through her and her flirting ways. As a last resort, she shifted on her feet a bit, “Or if you’d ever be so kind to let me take a dip in your pool on a hot day, that’d be appreciated.”

“A dip in my pool?” He questioned with raised brows, a hint of amusement to his voice. Eden breathed out a chuckle, biting her lip again before shrugging, “Yes. It’s not like you can take a dip in mine.”

Harry felt himself near choking on a breath, her words having a clear double meaning and it seemed like Eden realised it too, gauging his reaction. Harry swiftly licked his lip as he exhaled, “We’d have to be acquainted for that. I don’t really invite strangers into my house.”

“Well, we are acquainted, aren’t we? You know my name, I know yours. We shook hands.” Eden tried to joke and Harry narrowed his eyes again, trying to analyse Eden. She was… flirting with him. Bold. 

“We’ll see.” He ended up muttering, offering her a small smirk, “You might have to try a little harder than that to be acquainted.”

Eden batted her lashes, “If you’d let me.”

There was silence between them, both staring at the other. Harry was intrigued, for sure. She didn’t have a shy mouth and she was pretty for sure. But he also knew it was a bad idea. Just as he thought that, the back door of Eden’s house opened, her father – Ron – popping his head out, “Darling? Dinner’s ready.” He called for her, giving Harry a stiff, polite nod.

“Yep.” Eden smiled at him before turning back to Harry, “So, I’ll see you around?”

He softly cleared his throat, “Sure.” It was nothing but a mumble, hardly convincing himself. If she was Ron’s daughter, she couldn’t be older than… twenty-five. Chances were she was a bit younger even. And he was well in his thirties. 

With that, Eden turned around and headed back into the house. Harry couldn’t help but stare at her ass before exhaling a breath, shaking his head to himself. A young, hot new neighbour wasn’t in his cards for the summer.

“C’mon, girl.” He scratched Sadie over her head, the border collie still circling his legs before they also headed back inside.

“Sooo…” Eden spoke as she pulled back the chair at the table to have her first dinner in Italy with her father and Colleen, “I met the neighbour.”

“We noticed.” Her father mumbled, “sounds like he said more to you in those few minutes than he’s done to us in months.”

Eden raised her brows, “Really?”

Colleen scooped the spaghetti up on her plate, “Mhm. He’s a bit quiet. Which is alright, you know. Rather a quiet neighbour than a bad one.”

“True. But he’s… I don’t know.” Eden’s father shrugged, “He’s unfriendly almost. Like… moody. Every time he says hi or smiles, it’s forced. And he’s always on his own. It’s just weird.”

“He’s just a bit of a loner.” Colleen defended Harry as she sent Ron a slight scowl. Eden started eating her spaghetti, “What does he do for a living?”

Ron shrugged, “See? It’s things like that, that we don’t know. That’s not normal. We have no idea what he does for a living or if he even works. He’s here all the time.”

“Well, maybe he’s got some underlying health issues like you.” Eden softly spoke up, carefully eyeing her dad. Eden’s father had multiple heart attacks in the past which is why he was unfit to work another day in his life. He got paid by the government instead until he retired. Colleen had inherited the entire fortune of her deceased husband who had no other family and they had no children.

Colleen shot Eden a wink, “Exactly. Don’t judge a book by its cover. That man just likes being by himself and he’s not the most sociable person. That’s no crime.”

“Still, I think he’s bad news.” He kept his ground, “So I’d really prefer you not hanging out with him or anything.”

Eden rolled her eyes, “Dad, seriously. I know I’m living in your house right now but I’m twenty-four. You can’t just tell me who I can or can’t talk to.” 

Ron just mumbled something under his breath and ate his food as Eden chewed slowly, her thoughts with Harry. Tanned skin, tattoos visible through the white linen of his large shirt, deep green eyes. She kept seeing him and her legs near jittered to go back to the fence and continue talking to him.

He was gorgeous, so, so attractive. And Eden had an instant crush. 

Later that night, the fatigue of the flight and travel caught up to her and she tiredly moved up the stairs. Her father had brought her bags up a bit earlier but Eden near fell asleep in front of the television before hauling herself upstairs. 

The ventilator in her room was a gift from the heavens as she sat down on the mattress and exhaled a heavy sigh. She stifled a yawn and undid the clip in her hair, running her hand through it. Once Eden got up to close the blinds, she paused in front of the window.

Because there, separated by two little lawns and a fence, she could see Harry through the window in his house. Eden tilted her head to the side, wondering if it was his bedroom. And what it looked like. And if he spent the majority of the time there by himself.

As if on cue – or alerted by the light on in Eden’s room – Harry’s head shot up. He wore the same clothes as earlier and squinted for a bit, making Eden chuckle. She smiled softly and lifted her hand in a wave, noticing Harry breathing out a chuckle before he mimicked the move and waved back.

Maybe summer here would be more fun than expected after all.

***

Harry couldn’t think straight.

It had been a week. A full fucking week of tossing and turning in his bed as he had his mind with Eden. For some stupid reason. She was pretty, sure. But Harry knew there was one more thing about her which is why he couldn’t get her out of his head, yet refused to admit it.

He refused to admit he couldn’t get her out of his head because she was unattainable.

She was at least ten years younger than him and the last thing he needed was yet another woman misreading signals and assuming they were in a serious relationship before he inevitably broke her heart again because love just wasn’t in the cards for him.

Not that he was so hurt by someone it couldn’t happen anymore, but Harry just wasn’t a romantic. People bothered him quickly and he always preferred to be on his own. He sometimes liked dating someone, but after a while they always wanted more. And he could never give it to them.

For most people, it was normal. You like someone, you hang out with them and at a certain point you want to be with them all the time. That point never came for Harry. He liked hanging out but somehow always felt a sense of relief when they left. He just preferred living by himself and controlling when or where he met up with someone.

Which is why he didn’t date, he just fucked. And even then – when he clearly stated beforehand that he wasn’t looking for a relationship – he always ended up being the asshole who broke their hearts. 

He couldn’t exactly have a casual fling or a one night stand with the girl who lived next door. Especially because her father always shot him dirty looks and it’d get out. And Harry really liked this house and didn’t want to move. Not even one bit.

He didn’t miss England anyway. He didn’t miss anyone or anything, he never had. Moving countries on his own was the easiest decision ever. The only thing he took with him, were both his dogs.

His finger mindlessly scratched underneath Lola’s little chin, the fluffy Maltese on the bed with him as he stared up at the ceiling fan. 

The worst part is that he had seen her all week. Every morning, she jogged past his house and down the hill to get her workout in. Skimpy shorts and a sport’s bra, he could see her physique and forced himself not to drool. And every evening, he saw her through the window. Her waves got a little more spontaneous before she closed the blinds and the lights turned off.

And then he laid in bed, thinking of her. She was forbidden fruit and it only made him want her more. The more he told himself he couldn’t, the more he wondered what she was like.

So luck would have it that when Harry decided to clear his head and walk down to the little village for some groceries, Eden just exited her house in a sundress and slippers, a tote bag over her shoulder.

“Hi!” She bubbled, waving at him. Harry winced under his breath, wondering if he could just… slip back inside his house and leave her be. If he could pretend he wasn’t on his way down and came up with an excuse to not go with her – because he knew that’s what she’d ask.

Eden approached him with a soft smile. Her hair was back in a little butterfly clip and she pushed her funky green sunglasses up in her hair, “Are you also going to the village?”

Harry exhaled a breath, running his fingers through his hair, “Yeah.”

“Oh, great. Me too. Trying to brave the heat by going before noon.” Eden seemed to near have a skip in her step, her excitement and spontaneity something Harry had to get used to. He was by himself so often, he just was used to calm and quiet. Eden was like a hurricane, bubbly and very present. He noticed immediately that when they had walked a few steps, her mouth just didn’t close.

“So how did you end up here?” The inevitable question came and Harry stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts. His worn-out Vans slid over the gravel road they were walking down on and he kept a bit of a distance from Eden. Not that he couldn’t inhale her citrus-smelling shampoo from a mile away. She smelled fresh and soft and he forced his thoughts to stay pure. The same way he forced his eyes to not focus on the deep V-line of her sundress that showed off the swells of her breasts and he had even gotten a peek at the lace border of her bra. The same way he focussed his eyes not to stare at the length of her legs when a gust of wind exposed the slit in her right leg to bare most of her thigh.

Instead he just shrugged, “Prefer it here. The weather’s nice, food’s good, people are okay. And the dogs love it here.”

“Hm.” Eden nodded, “And do you work here?”

“My companies are based in London. I own a few but I don’t actively work in them anymore. I appointed different COO’s to do that for me, so I can stay here.”

Eden found herself impressed. He couldn’t be older than thirty-five yet here he was, basically retiring in Italy with his two dogs. He owned multiple companies but didn’t work, just made the money for it.

“And you’re only here for the summer?” He changed the subject. To be fair, it was awkward as fuck between him and Eden. Yet she didn’t even seem to pick up on that, telling stories with wide hand gestures in all her excitement while he was slowly dying inside because he wanted to drag her in a bush and kiss her stupid.

She nodded at his question, “Mhm. I think. I mean, I can stay longer if I want to, it’s not like I have anything or anyone waiting for me.” She shrugged her shoulders, “I just graduated and I’m not sure what to do in life, so…”

“What degree do you have?”

“Photography.” 

“Hm.” Harry hummed, “’S a tough field.”

“Sure is.”

It was silent again before he spoke up, “So what kind of photography do you do?”

“So I started out doing portraits but… I don’t know, over the years I just realized I’m better at motion pictures. So things that move, lots of light and people around. Like in clubs or something. I’d really like to be a tour photographer maybe. All of last year I was at this strip club every week to take pictures, that was fun too.”

Harry frowned, “At a strip club?”

“Yeah, like for advertising. I like to take these sort of blurry pictures. So for stripping, that was amazing. Because it’s not too naked or provocative, but more so erotic and artsy. It’s what the owner was looking for so I was in there one night every weekend for the website and socials and stuff.” Eden explained.

He didn’t really say anything, but soaked in the information. Their walk continued in silence until reaching the village, Eden fanning herself with her hand as they slowly strolled around. The markets were still up and so Harry and Eden each took their turn in ordering a few things.

“Red wine?” Harry questioned as Eden put the bottle in her bag. She curled her lips inside her mouth, “Mhm. Dad and Colleen are out tonight, they’re going to this play. So I have the house to myself and I’m cooking and drinking and listening to Arctic Monkeys.”

“Try to keep the volume down.” Harry mumbled, signalling the vendor that he wanted to buy some fish. Eden snorted under her breath, “Yes, dad.”

Harry rolled his eyes and made his order before looking at Eden over his shoulder, “Are you always such a brat?”

“When it’s called for.” She sweetly responded before taking a step closer to Harry again, “But trust me, most of the time I’m really good and do as I’m told.” Her voice took a near purring hint and Harry’s ears turned pink from the way her eyes dropped to his lips before she bit hers and turned around, walking up to where they sold the fruit.

Harry accepted the fish he purchased and strolled behind her, nodding at the vendor as Eden made her purchase of some cubes of watermelon.

“Want some?” She turned around and offered Harry one but he shook his head, “No, thanks.”

Eden shrugged, popping a cold cube of watermelon into her mouth with a soft moan, “Wow, that’s good.”

They eventually moved to sit on a bench, overlooking a square. Harry’s heartbeat bounced as Eden sat close to him, still slowly eating the watermelon. He saw a drop of the juice running down her chin and his fingers dug into his thigh to stop himself from scooping it up. 

Eden couldn’t help but behave this way around him. She hadn’t missed the way he looked at her and there was no denying the clear sexual tension between them. She couldn’t get him out of her head, so maybe one night together was just all it took to soothe that ache and have her moving on. So she flirted, and flirted, and flirted some more.

Harry didn’t exactly seem to pick up what she was putting down, but watching her now as she ate the fruit, he near seemed in pain. And Eden loved it. She swept her tongue over her bottom lip as she finished the jar of watermelon and then turned to Harry, “How long have you lived in Italy for?”

“Couple of years.” He responded, taking a sip of the water bottle he had brought. He stretched his legs out, ankles hooked over one another as he leaned back into the bench, soaking up some sun. Eden slowly nodded at his words, “And do you like it here? Or are you just wanted by the police in England or something?”

Harry chuckled, “Not wanted by the police. Just wanted some peace and quiet and it’s not like I left many people behind. I fly back every now and then but decided to come live here full-time about six years ago.”

“And you’ve always lived in that house on the hill?”

“Yep.” He nodded before clearing his throat, “How about you? Are you having fun here?”

“It’s… yeah.” Eden carefully spoke, nibbling her lip. Harry let her take her time and eventually she took a breath, “I just feel like it’s not really the solution to my problem. I thought I’d get more clarity here but in honesty, I’m just running. Graduating is fun and all, but I just feel insanely lost at this moment, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life whereas it seems like everyone around me does.”

Harry hummed, “Trust me, lots of people are faking that.”

“Maybe.” Eden leaned back a little more, her leg swinging a little as she continued, “It’s like I had a bit of a crisis and needed a complete change, thinking it was going to solve everything. But my problems are still here, only now I’m in the sun in Italy.”

“Seems as good a spot as any to think about life.” Harry offered and Eden smiled, “Mhm. I just got sick of my friends all knowing exactly how their life was going to pan out. Some had insane plans for the summer, wanting to do festivals and parties and I’m usually one for that but I just skipped it all this year and came here instead. Even dumped my boyfriend. Just… a completely new start.”

Harry turned his head to face her, “You dumped your boyfriend? How long were you together for?”

Eden puckered her pink lips in thought, “Probably a little over a year, so not that long.”

“Was he a dick?”

“No.” Eden chuckled, shaking her head, “He was nice. We just… didn’t end up having that much in common. Like I was attracted to him and he was attracted to me and the sex was so amazing, but there wasn’t much more than that.”

Harry found himself slightly surprised. It was his issue with any partner ever. The sex was great, the emotional connection just wasn’t there. At least not for him. With Harry though, it never lasted over a year. And especially when he still lived in London, word just got around and no one really wanted to go on a date with him anymore. He was labelled a player and a heartbreaker.

“I mean, sex is an important part of any relationship.” Harry argued softly, “But I suppose it needs more than that.”

Eden nodded in agreement, “It does. But it is an important part.” Her eyes flicked to him, “You know… You could join me this evening. I’ve got plenty of stuff to cook for two.” She innocently shrugged.

Harry exhaled shakily, “For two, hm?” He tilted his head to the side, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Eden softly smiled, tipping her head back to catch some sun while simultaneously pushing her tits out. Harry quickly looked away and Eden shrugged, “But you know, always welcome at the house of Eden. You know what it means, right?”

Harry swallowed, “What?”

“Place of pleasure and delight.” She murmured. 

Harry tried to control the shaking of his leg, flicking his eyes back to her to notice she was staring right back at him already, an amused look on her face. Harry held his composure, staring back, “Is it?”

“You have no idea.”

Harry didn’t respond and Eden nibbled her lip, “Unless – of course – you have a partner or something to get back to, or that you already made plans with.”

“I don’t have a partner.” Harry muttered and Eden arched up a brow, “Really?”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“Because,” Eden shrugged, “you seem like the person men and women throw themselves at.”

“I am.” Harry agreed before a small smirk formed on his lips, “I guess I’m just hard to please.”

Eden wanted to moan. 

Her tummy clenched as she stared back at him. They were close together and she really, really wanted to dip her head and kiss him. It seemed like they had a bit of a power play going on, because Harry now held the upper hand. It was clear in everything. The cocky smirk, the easy eyes, the comfortable position he had.

And Eden wanted control back, “How do you like to be pleased?” She purred.

“I like to be pleased by someone who doesn’t have a smart mouth and doesn’t behave like a brat.” He instantly fired back. Eden held her breath, excitement running through her veins, “So you like control?”

Harry didn’t respond but his lip twitched slightly, his smirk growing. And Eden mirrored him, batting her lashes as she scooted even closer, their thighs touching, “Good. I like being controlled.”

Their eye contact was heavy until Harry turned his head, shaking his head softly with a smirk playing on his lips, “Something tells me you don’t.”

Eden near crawled up on his lap, “Only one way to find out.”

“We really shouldn’t.” Harry stayed level-headed, shaking his head at her. Eden was a little taken aback but rolled her lips inside of her mouth, “Okay.”

“Not that I don’t want to.” Harry shrugged, never really passing on an opportunity for casual sex with a girl as pretty as Eden, who then also was witty and quick on her feet and made his stomach flutter in anticipation. He could picture her with little horns on and he’d take much pleasure in taking her down a peg in the bedroom. She could be a challenge.

But there were too many red flags and Harry had to be the responsible adult. There was an undeniable attraction for sure, but acting it out wouldn’t be a good idea.

Eden could see the hesitation in his eyes and worried she maybe came off too strong. She had to admit that coming to live in Italy, she expected to be closer to a city so she could go out and party and bring home whoever she pleased to have the summer of her life. The only thing here was a very hot neighbour who then apparently refused to go there with her.

And Eden had an itch that needed scratching.

She exhaled shakily, “Well, if you change your mind… you know where to find me.”

***

And Harry was on the fucking verge of changing his mind. If Eden had been on the forefront of his thoughts the past week, it definitely hadn’t gotten any better after their little conversation on the bench. 

She liked being controlled and she wanted to please him. Harry came home to put his hand down his pants and rub one out, finishing embarrassingly fast after all the built-up tension. And she fucking knew what she was doing. She knew he was lusting after her, that he found her hot and sexy and that he was attracted to her.

In a way, she was playing him. Acting innocent but being a little devil deep down. They hardly knew anything about one another but somehow they didn’t care to. It was physical and that was that. Harry didn’t need that emotional connection and Eden just wanted to get laid. Still, it was a fucking bad idea. She’d be here the rest of the summer and Harry couldn’t predict how she’d behave. Either she’d start behaving like his girlfriend and he wouldn’t be able to get rid of her, or she’d give him the cold shoulder which would turn things just plain awkward.

Furthermore, he never wanted her father and stepmother to find out she had fucked her much older neighbour. Even if he didn’t necessarily have a connection to them either, they were still neighbours. Harry took it into account, how perhaps one day he’d need to drop off his dogs for an emergency. He needed the reassurance that he could count on them.

He lived a quiet, secluded life here and in no way wanted to fuck that up.

But it wasn’t easy when she behaved like that. Prancing around her room with hardly any clothing on, knowing full well he could see her. 

All throughout the evening, he had snuck glances. Walking his dog for the final time that day, he passed by her house to notice the car being gone. Music came from inside, just soft beats which was not what he had expected. He could imagine her dancing around the house with a bottle of wine in her hand in just her panties. 

And so Harry stopped himself from knocking the door to go back into his own house and brood some more.

Shit like this always happened. He met someone, got borderline obsessed with them, fucked them and then it was all over. 

And so Harry decided to go to sleep and just get her out of his head. Tiredly, he dragged himself up the stairs and into his bedroom, instantly glancing out the window to see if Eden was there perhaps. He was met with a darkened room on her end, and so he walked around to get ready for bed. 

By the time he was back in front of his window to close the blinds, his heart near stopped when he noticed her lights were on too. Squinting, Harry could faintly see Eden moving around the bedroom. In lace underwear and nothing else. She held a glass of red wine in her hand that was almost done, and she finished it in one sip before putting it down somewhere.

With her back to him, she then climbed up on her bed.

Harry held his breath, seeing the curve of her behind as she pushed her ass out, on her knees on the bed. 

He should’ve looked away, and he knew it. But he was in a trance. In a trance when Eden sat up and split her thighs over one of the pillows she grabbed. He was in a trance when she tipped her head bac and her hips rolled on their own accord. He was in a trance when she was humping the pillow to get herself off. 

Harry gulped thickly, watching the way her body rocked itself into the pillow. Eden leaned forward to arch her back but flipped her hair back, her hands grabbing fistfuls of the sheets as she sped up a little bit.

He could see the curling of her toes as she continued riding the pillow, her body moving itself in sultry waves. She threw her head back again, espresso-coloured locks casting down her back as her mouth was open. Harry wondered if she was moaning. Whimpering. Screaming.

He stood completely frozen, watching the girl in the neighbouring house ride herself to an orgasm and before he knew it, his hand was in his pants and Harry wrapped his fingers around his aching shaft. His breaths turned short as he pulled in languid motions from base to swollen tip, speeding up when he noticed her speeding up.

His heart stopped for a short moment when Eden seemed to look at him over her shoulder, but she quickly diverted her eyes again and continued. She leaned back now, hands cupping her own tits as she ground down into the pillow harder.

“Fuck.” Harry whispered, tugging his cock. The house of Eden, a place of pleasure and delight. An fucking hell, it really was.

And as Eden shuddered and shook and her hands turned white from gripping the sheets, Harry finished inside his boxers. He moaned, feeling the pulsing of his erection as he spurted out cum into his pants. His bicep bulged and he hissed through his teeth, trembling on his knees.

Eden seemed to slum down, her chest heaving as she relaxed, her thighs still shivering. Even if Harry’s vision was slightly blurry, it felt like he could see all of her very up close for some reason. Every detail, every ridge, line and bump of her. All the curves, freckles, dips and every clench of her muscles.

He stayed in a trance for a moment longer until Eden moved, and right as she turned around, Harry ducked behind the wall to hide himself. His breaths were heavy and he didn’t dare looking. In fact, he slid down to a seated position against the wall and waited at least ten minutes. With filthy pants, a filthy hand and his heart hammering in his chest. When he finally dared having a look, Eden’s blinds were closed and her room was dark.

***

“So how was the play?” Eden asked as she sipped coffee in the morning. 

Colleen and her father had returned in the early hours of the morning after Eden had long gone to sleep. She didn’t hear them return, her mind too dazed on the wine and her orgasm to hear or sense anything. 

“Really good!” Colleen chirped, “We had fun, stayed for a drink.”

“Hey – uh, Tony said he saw you and the neighbour at the market?” Her father questioned as he bit his toast. Eden lifted her eyes, “Who’s Tony?”

“He sells fish down in the village. Said he saw you two together.”

She frowned, a thick crevice etched between her brows while putting her mug down, “Are you spying on me?”

“What?” Her father chuckled, “Of course not, honey. He was there too and asked how we were, I said my daughter moved to town for a few weeks or months and he recognized you. New people are a big deal here, Eden. It’s a small town so everyone knows everyone.”

Eden rolled her eyes, “So what if I went to the market with him? We happened to be going in the same direction.”

“I’ve told you before, I’d prefer you to stay away from him.” Ron frowned, “He’s too mysterious.”

“He’s not mysterious.” Eden laughed, staring at her father in disbelief, “You just don’t know him.”

“Oh, and you do?! Eden, he’s literally ten years older than you.”

“What’s that got to do with anything.” She challenged and Ron clenched his jaw, “He’s too old to be your friend or whatever you want him to be.”

She narrowed her eyes, “Whatever I want him to be?” She repeated, pressing her lips together, “Why don’t you just call me a whore while you’re at it?”

“Eden!” He yelled and she raised her brows, “Hm? Seriously, what is the big deal with me having a fucking conversation with the neighbour? Did he piss on your flowers or something? You’re acting like we’re about to get married.”

He let out an aggravated breath, “Enough! It’s seriously impossible to have a bloody normal conversation with you.” He then got up to his feet, “As long as you live under this roof, you’ll do as I say! Or you can just go back to your mother!”

Eden felt like she got punched in the throat, staring up at him in horror. He was breathing heavily, glaring at her while Colleen stood off to the side, holding her breath.

“Seriously?” Eden muttered and he took a breath, “Seriousl-“

“Well, seriously fuck off!” Eden yelled, pushing her chair back before storming up the stairs. Her blood pumped through her body in rage as she harshly slammed the door of her bedroom, feeling fucking seventeen again.

The divorce between her parents was something that would forever haunt Eden. Ever since her mum and dad broke up, she felt like she didn’t belong anywhere. Her mum’s house didn’t feel like home, this didn’t feel like home.

And him saying that, just poured salt in a fresh wound that was attempting to heal up. Eden felt like an intruder everywhere. Her mum had a new boyfriend, her father had Colleen. He had sounded excited when she asked to spend the summer here, and after hardly one fucking week he had told her to go back to her mother.

Who would tell her to go back to her father.

Eden needed fresh air, so after changing into a bikini and putting a cap on top of her head, she headed back downstairs. She avoided the kitchen and living room at all costs, sneaking out the side to find a spot in the garden to tan a little bit. She had a book with her, and headphones to close off the outside world. Perhaps that way, she could pretend she was by herself.

The blue of the water in Harry’s pool looked inviting, but Eden knew better than to jump his fence and claim his garden for her own. She found a corner of the garden where no windows could spot her. She’d let her father think she was brooding in her room until he was ready to come apologize to her. 

And if he didn’t, she’d look for a flight tomorrow.

Eden had only been sitting down for about ten minutes until she heard a splash from the side. Sitting up in the sunbed, she squinted her eyes to see waves in Harry’s pool. Only seconds later, his head came up as he shook his hair out and puffed out a breath. 

His tanned skin glistened in the droplets, sunlight brightening him up. His two dogs excitedly jumped in the pool too, making an even larger splash. Eden peeked through the bushes to see him grinning and playing around a little.

His smile was beautiful, she felt. 

Last night when he looked at her through his window, he wasn’t smiling though. Eden could be mistaken, but if she wasn’t, it’d mean he was jerking off while she was humping a pillow. His lips had been parted, his brow scrunched up in delight. The rhythmic bulging of his bicep could mean he was stroking himself, but Eden hadn’t seen anything below his hips.

If she was correct, Harry had seen everything. And she had wanted him to.

She had sat waiting for him for the largest portion of the evening, hoping he’d come knocking on her door to fuck her into oblivion. Instead, she drank wine and danced around the house, enjoying being by herself for once. And he never showed up, so she decided to let him see what he had been missing out on.

Harry stayed in the pool for a little longer until hoisting himself out. Eden drooled at the sight of his back, so many muscles flexing and making him look absolutely incredible. Harry reached for a towel off to the side of the pool as his dogs also climbed out. He turned around, and the view made Eden’s throat even more dry.

Tattoos, so many of them. A well-defined six-pack of abs. The cross pendant glimmering in the sunlight and resting between small curls of chest hair against his sternum. He was ripped and so fucking gorgeous. Eden hardly realized she was clenching her thighs together as she stared at him.

Harry wrapped a towel around himself and shook out his hair at the same time his dogs shook out their manes. It was a funny sight, the three of them coordinated like that.

And Eden was too horny to let the moment go by, so she got up her feet, “Hi.” She spoke.

Harry was actually rather close to her, but Eden had been hidden by the bushes. He flicked his eyes up, towel wrapped around himself to dry off. He licked his lip, putting on his sunglasses, “Hey.” His voice sounded raspy and the real reason Harry put on his glasses was to check her out without giving anything away.

Eden was in a two-piece. A dark blue one, at that. Matching his own swimming shorts. The panties looked like they were a thong, bands sitting high up on her hips and nothing but a small triangle covering up between her legs.

Her tits near spilled out of the top, a simple bandeau bikini for minimal tan lines which also pressed her chest up more. She looked fucking delicious. 

“Getting a tan?” He asked, slowly walking over to her, the fence once more separating them. Eden scratched the back of her neck, “Yeah, something like that. You too?”

“Mhm. ‘M behind the house on the other side so I can hide beneath the trees a little bit. Full sun is too hot.” He explained, pointing to where Eden could see just a tiny sliver of one of the sunbeds on the other side of the house, hidden from the house she lived in for now.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eden fanned herself, “it is very hot. Our garden doesn’t really have any shade.”

Harry shifted on his feet a bit, “I take it you don’t want to go back inside either? I heard shouting earlier.”

She huffed out, pressing her lips together before shaking her head, “Nope.”

“I have an extra sunbed, if you want. You can swim too, cool off a little bit.” It was out before he realized it, but Harry realized he really was in no fit state to talk normally to her when she stood like that in front of him.

Eden raised her brows, “Really? Oh my god, I’d love that.”

“Sure.”

“Thank you so much, Harry. Let me just,” she turned around and Harry’s eyes dropped to her ass, seeing that it was indeed a thong. He groaned under his breath as Eden picked up the few things she brought. Her book, a towel, headphones and sunglasses. Her slippers were on her feet and she casually threw all of her stuff over the fence.

Harry chuckled as she then put her foot up on one of the wooden bars, “Wait, let me –“ He stepped closer, holding out his hands as Eden gracefully climbed the fence, accepting his hands before she jumped over. Her tits jiggled and she offered him a breathy grin, “Thanks.”

Bending down to retrieve her things again, Harry swallowed thickly. He snuck a glance behind him and led Eden to where the sunbeds were. “D’you want anything to drink?” He checked.

“What’re you having?” Eden took a seat on the free sunbed next to Harry’s after brushing off some fallen leaves. The dogs were sniffling around her legs and she gently petted them as Harry put on a flannel to cover himself up a little bit. It was checkered and he left it open, running his fingers through his hair to comb his wet locks back a little bit, “Sangria.”

“Sounds good.” Eden smiled, her eyes not so subtly drawn to his torso and his chiselled abs. Harry nodded and stepped inside of the house to get her some sangria, giving himself a small pep-talk in the meantime where he vowed to stay strong and not succumb to the flirting ways of Eden. Not even after secretly watching her masturbate the night before.

“Thank you.” Eden smiled as Harry handed her the glass and sat down on the sunbed next to hers again. They were shielded by some trees and off to the side of his house, facing the other direction than Eden’s house. No one could really see them here in Harry’s little side garden, which was the perfect spot for some sun and shade.

“They’re not bothering you too much?” Harry nudged his head in the direction of his two very excited dogs. Eden smiled and shook her head, “Absolutely not. I love dogs. What’re their names?”

Harry leaned back a bit, “Sadie is the big one and Lola is the small one.”

“That’s cute.” Eden murmured, scratching both dogs before taking a sip of her sangria, “Are you sure I can take a dip in your pool? I’m honestly so hot.”

“Mhm, of course. Just don’t piss in it.” He joked and Eden threw her head back in a laugh, Harry smiling along as she giggled, “That’s the first time I’ve heard you making a joke.” She teased, getting up from her seat. Harry’s eyes were glued to her ass as Eden walked up to the side of the pool, graciously diving in. 

All he could think of when watching her body, was how she moved when fucking that pillow last night. Delicate lace hugging her figure as she rocked back and forth and touched her own chest, looking so… seductive and sexy.

He took a breather, drinking more sangria as he lounged on the sunbed, hearing Eden splashing around the pool as the dogs joined her. He heard her giggles as she spoke softly to his dogs, petting them. Harry hastily took another sip, downing his glass. He felt blood rushing to his cock, especially when Eden got back out of the pool. She kicked a ball to occupy the dogs before making her way back over to Harry, water dripping down her body.

Harry’s throat ran dry as he diverted his eyes, clearing his throat and pretending to glance at his phone for a bit. Eden stood in front of him, wringing out her hair before tucking it behind her ears. Even just being in the sun for a few seconds, it was like she couldn’t remember the coolness of the water she just came out of.

Or it was Harry’s presence making her feel that hot.

“Your pool is heavenly.” She exhaled. Harry offered her a brief smile but didn’t exactly look at her. Eden put her hands on her hips, “You can look, you know?”

Harry pressed his lips together, shaking his head softly, “I think it’d be inappropriate.”

“But it wasn’t inappropriate last night?”

His head shot up in shock, a hint of pink rising up his neck and his cheeks as he stared at her. Eden smirked softly, “I saw you.” She took a step closer to Harry, eventually sitting down on the sunbed with him. She was so close, he could feel the coolness of her body from the water radiating to his warm skin.

Harry swallowed and tipped his head to the side, analysing Eden until it clicked for him. He narrowed his eyes, “You did that for me?”

“You enjoyed the show, didn’t you?” Eden murmured, scooting a little closer. Harry held his breath, the new information seeping into his brain. She knew he was watching, she wanted him to watch. She did that, knowing he was looking at her through his window.

“You’re insane.” He lowly mumbled and Eden bit her lip, “Well, I was waiting for you.”

“Eden.” Harry warned as she moved, lifting up to sit down on his thighs, straddling him on the sunbed. She pouted, something that made Harry’s heart skip ten beats. With the sun shining behind her, she looked absolutely angelic. The tiny bikini did a shit job at covering her up and her wet skin quickly dried from the temperatures.

“Why not?” She whispered, “I want it, you want it. Just… just once.”

Harry let out a breath and leaned back, swallowing thickly, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-four.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, “Are you lying to me?”

“No.” She quickly shook her head, “I promise. Twenty-four.”

Harry slowly nodded, “You look younger. And that’s why we can’t do this, I’m thirty-three.”

“I don’t mind.” Eden shook her head, scooting up a little on his thighs. Her eyes dragged over Harry’s toned body, the flannel loosely hanging around his shoulders, “If anything, it’s even sexier.” She rasped, “Boys my age are so immature, I need a real man.”

“You need a real man?”

She nodded, “Uh-huh.” Heat seeped into her bones, blood rushing between her legs at the closeness of their bodies, “I need to be fucked by a real man.”

“God – shit.” Harry cursed, “When I invited you here, I thought you’d behave.”

“I am behaving, aren’t I?” Eden panted slightly, “’M just begging for you.”

Harry’s eyes stared at her, sitting on top of him. Her chest heaved in shallow breaths and he swallowed, “You are. Just a pathetic, little thing you are, hm? Need to be controlled so bad, can’t even keep yourself in check around me. You want me so bad.”

“I do.” She moaned, “Please… I just want –“

“Shut up.” Harry muttered, making Eden’s eyes widen as he stared at her, “I don’t care about what you want. I’m in charge. Always.”

Eden panted out, her eyes hazy as she stared at him. Harry’s eyes darted over her face, “So pathetic.” He tutted, the tip of his index finger dragging up her thigh, creating goosebumps in its voyage, “I could just use you, hm? I could just… do whatever I want to you and you’d take it like a good girl just because you’re so desperate for me.”

Eden’s thighs tensed as she tried to listen to him but the words sounded so hazy to her. She just swallowed dryly and nodded, causing Harry to smirk and exhale a breathy chuckle, “Fucking pathetic little whore, you. Nothing but a little cockslut, hm? Should’ve known.”

“Fuck.” Eden whimpered, scooting up higher on his lap. Her hands found his chest, nails digging into his skin as she urgently rocked her hips into his growing length. Harry’s eyes fluttered at the stimulation, Eden tipping her head back in bliss from the relief of her clit rubbing into his swimming shorts.

“Fuck me.” Eden moaned, arching her back as she continued grinding into him, “Please, fuck me.”

Harry’s tongue poked the hollow of his cheek, “Think it’s that easy? You strip in front of your window and you get my cock?”

His dirty talk was so effortless, leaving Eden shaking and trembling. She could moan when Harry’s hands were suddenly on her hips, pushing her off. Eden was too stunned to react immediately, but found herself straddling just one of his muscular thighs now. She exhaled a sharp breath while staring down, seeing her legs split over the tiger tattoo on his leg.

“Go ahead.” Harry rasped, folding his arms back behind his head as he shot her a cocky look, “Ride me, do what you wanted to do last night. ‘S what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Eden shook her head, “I-I want your cock.”

“Brat.” He hissed, sending her a glare, “Said you’d behave, said you’d take whatever I give you. Well, this is what you get. For now.”

It sounded like a promise. Eden licked her dry lips. Behave now, get fucked by him later. Good. She shuddered just thinking about it, imagining him taking her from behind as she laid immobilized on the bed, perhaps even tied up, and he spoke to her in that low tone with those filthy words as his dick destroyed her.

Eden’s thighs tensed and Harry felt it, smirking slightly as he dropped his eyes to where Eden started grinding into his thigh. Her hands were on his chest still, holding herself up as she rolled her pelvis to rub into him. Just like with the pillow, his eyes were focussed on the way her body moved, the muscles she flexed, the breaths she held and the little moans she let out.

He had expected her to be loud for some reason, but she was biting her lip, whimpering out softly as she closed her eyes and worked herself on top of him. And Eden could feel his eyes on him, making her feel more powerful than she dared to admit.

She moved one hand, cupping her breast over her bikini top to give herself a squeeze. Harry’s eyes zeroed in on the touch, his fingers gripping the sleeves of his flannel to keep himself from pulling her top down and see all of her.

Next, her hand moved lower over her torso and down her hip before she shortly lifted off and hooking her bottoms to the side. Harry’s eyes bulged when Eden exposed her pussy and sat down again. A shaky moan left her lips as she picked up her pace again. Harry saw the glistening of his tiger tattoo, Eden’s wetness and arousal leaving a trace.

He was mesmerized, his arms still behind his head as he let her use his fucking leg to shamelessly ride herself to an orgasm. 

“Doing so good.” Harry murmured, eyes gazing in on the way her pussy lips spread over his thigh and her clit brushed his skin. He hummed at the sight, licking his lips, “So hot, Eden… Jesus.”

“Want you,” She panted out, “fuck – please… I need you.”

Harry swallowed, “’M right here.”

“No, you.” Eden choked out the words, “God – just fuck me.” She leaned over him, her forehead leaning against his. Their noses brushed together as she arched out. Harry tasted the sangria on her lips, “Sei così sporco,” He groaned, “implorando il mio cazzo in questo modo.”

“Holy shit.” Eden squeaked, “More.”

“Io che parlo Italiano ti eccito?” Harry smirked, “Puttana del cazzo.” He whispered, “Such a fucking whore, just look at you…”.

Eden moaned, “God – fuck, I’m gonna cum.” She whimpered, “Harry, I’m gonna cum.”

“Good girl. Brava ragazza.” He murmured, “I bet that little cunt tastes so sweet, hm? C’mon, look at me when you cum for me.”

Eden forced her eyes open, her body slumping in fatigue as sweat pearled her hairline. “O-Oh god,” She moaned, “yes!” The choked whimper escaped her throat as she sharply bucked forward and electricity shot through her body, toes curling as her eyes screwed shut.

Harry watched as she came, shaking, whimpering, deliriously grinding. Creamy arousal leaked from her to wet his thigh. He couldn’t even feel the pinching of her nails in his skin, too mesmerized by the sight in front of him. 

“’S a good girl.” Harry cooed, brushing his nose into Eden’s as she panted out sharply, her ears ringing. “Harry,” She murmured, cupping his cheeks. His eyes widened in surprise when she kissed him. He hadn’t expected it one bit, her lips on his. It almost seemed like Eden didn’t realize she was doing it, her eyes staying closed, just a soft kiss to his lips before she kissed his chin and then his jaw.

His eyes fluttered in delight of her gentle kisses, sponging up and down his jaw while her hands roamed his chest. Her fingers moved lower to his abs and then finally the waistband of his swimming shorts. That’s when Harry snapped out of it.

His eyes opened and he inhaled a sharp breath. He was painfully hard and Eden’s delicate touches didn’t necessarily help his cock twitching, “What are you doing?”

“I want to touch you.” Eden panted, opening her eyes finally. She looked drunk on her orgasm and Harry huffed, “Told you before, I don’t care about what you want. This is on my terms.”

“Harry, I want to touch you.” Eden repeated. His jaw tensed as he used both hands this time. His fingers came down on her cheek in a slap, making Eden gasp before he grabbed her chin and held up a finger of his other hand, “No.” He repeated.

Eden hardly seemed fazed by his slap, her cheek stinging deliciously. Her entire body trembled as Harry held her up by her chin and held up his finger in front of her in warning. But Eden didn’t feel too warned, ignoring him once more as she opened her lips and sunk down on his finger to suck it into her mouth.

Harry’s eyes glazed over in lust as he watched, Eden with drunk eyes and her cheeks hollowing out around his digit. She took him all the way, tongue swirling around before she moaned. Harry snapped out of it again after a moment, grabbing her throat instead to yank her up. She gasped as he squeezed her throat warningly, “Eden.” He hissed.

“I want to please you.” She wheezed out, making Harry choke her harder. Her eyes closed as she fought for air in the best way, her head growing dizzy as she still sat on his lap. Her hands clawed at his chest. Harry released at the right point, leaving Eden with a headrush so strong she near fainted.

“You still want to please me?” Harry taunted, “I’ll make you choke on my cock like that.”

Eden softly coughed, still held up by Harry’s hand around her throat as she managed to nod, “Yes – please.”

He smirked wickedly, shoving her off his lap. Eden stumbled a bit as Harry laid outstretched on the sunbed, swallowing as he reached for his cock in his shorts, pulling himself out. Eden felt weak on her legs when she watched him jerking off slowly, and she found herself on her knees at the end of the sunbed after a minute.

The hot tiles burned her knees but she didn’t care one bit, stroking her hands up Harry’s shins to urge him to scoot closer to her. He did, pulling his cock in slow motions as he inched closer to Eden. He decided to give her a moment and do her own thing before fucking her throat, but Eden seemed to have other plans.

Harry’s eyes widened when she stuck out her tongue to lick up her own release left on his thigh. She licked over his tiger tattoo before hovering over his hard length, spitting back onto him. 

“Fuck.” Harry whimpered, throwing his head back. Eden took the lubricated head of his dick between her lips, tasting the mixture of them together before sucking on him. She made him see stars in a matter of seconds, her mouth tight around the swollen tip of him as she flicked her tongue over his slit continuously. 

Everything in Eden’s movements showed Harry how fucking desperate she was to have him like this. He had her in the palm of his hand, she’d do everything for him. It’s what he wanted, it’s the challenge he liked. Taming her, shutting up that bratty mouth of hers and control her.

“Deeper.” He ordered. Eden batted her lashes at him, sucking on his tip only. Harry had pink cheeks from how heavily he was breathing. Eden popped off, licking her spit-slicked lips, “Make me.”

Harry clenched his jaw, “You’re fucking unbelievable.” He grabbed the back of her neck to force her down. Eden’s eyes widened slightly as he pushed her all the way. Her eyes pinched shut at the burn in her throat as he made her take him deeper. Harry had an impressive length and Eden sucked in a breath through her nose as her airway was restricted.

“There we go, that’s it.” Harry exhaled in bliss, feeling the tightness of Eden’s throat as she contracted around him, throat closing up with a gag from how deep he was. Harry licked his dry lips, “This what you wanted, hm? Wanted it to hurt? Wanted me to fucking bruise your throat? Finally shutting up that smart mouth of yours.” He snarled, using a grip on her hair to pull her off. 

Eden coughed and wheezed, lines of spit falling from her lips and webbing between his tip and her mouth. Her eyes watered and Harry stared at her, smirking softly, “You look pretty like this, Eden. Fucking destroyed cockwhore, so desperate for me.”

Eden licked her lips as she gathered herself, her throat already raw. She put her hands behind her back and shot him a nod. Harry huffed out a chuckle at her eagerness, “Fuck, you’re a dream. Pinch my hip if I need to stop.”

Eden nodded and opened her mouth, allowing Harry to push her down again. It was the nastiest blowjob he had ever gotten. Eden was just a mouth for him to use, not stopping him once as he thrusted up to fuck her throat while holding her head down. Tears leaked down her cheeks as she choked and gurgled on him. Harry’s moans were hidden by the bite on his lip, “Yes, all the way, take me all the way… fuck, feels so good.” He praised her, “Good fucking girl, such a tight throat for me.”

Eden hardly heard him, her vision blurred with tears and her jaw and throat aching as Harry used her and ruined her. She’d bruise and be sore and be without a voice, but it’s what he wanted and she let him want it. She let him take it. The elastic band between them had just exploded and now she was here on her knees, sucking him off with her father in the house next door.

She managed to open her eyes, seeing Harry blissed-out. His face was scrunched up in pleasure, every muscle in his body flexed as he held both hands in her hair to pump her up and down on him. His mouth was open in breathy moans whenever he hit the back of her throat and soon enough, he harshly bit his lip, “Fuck – Eden, ‘m almost there.”

Eden didn’t even have the chance to ask him if he wanted to cum in her mouth or on her face or on her tits, he finished before she could blink. Him being almost there apparently meant he was literally right there. With just one more thrust up in her mouth, Harry threw his head back and came deep inside of Eden’s throat.

Her airway was restricted, spurts and spurts of his hot cum filling up her mouth and her throat. Eden wheezed and coughed, but Harry held her there. Only when she violently slapped his hip, did he open his eyes and let her go. Eden disengaged immediately, ears ringing with panic as she felt most – if not all – of his release spilling down her chin, down her throat and onto her chest as she stumbled back and fought for a breath. 

Her cheeks were pink, her head dizzy and her throat sore as she coughed. Her arms trembled holding her up and her chest heaved in short, quick breaths after being choked by him. Harry hardly seemed to care, laying on his back on the sunbed with his head tipped back and his eyes closed, ragged breaths escaping his mouth.

Eden continued coughing, catching her breath as her chest burned and her tongue felt thick.

With Eden’s mouth leaving him so suddenly, Harry’s hand wrapped around himself again. Hissing in sensitivity, he gently stroked himself in the aftermath of his orgasm. Torturing himself almost. Eden stared as his thighs twitched and he seemed on the verge of pain and discomfort, pumping softly to get the final drops of cum out before he literally shuddered and finally disengaged.

He lazily blinked his eyes open, flannel hanging open over his chest, “You okay?” He checked, panting.

Eden managed to nod, “Yeah.” She rasped, her voice raw and her throat aching. Harry fought his smirk at her wrecked state and pushed up on his elbows, “C’mere.” He patted his thighs and Eden slowly climbed up her feet while Harry tucked himself back into his shorts.

Her legs shook from the lack of oxygen as she sat down on Harry’s thighs again to straddle him. His hands easily found her hips to pull her a little closer. His eyes gazed over her face. Red rimmed and wet eyes, swollen lips and his release basically everywhere. Harry loved it, painting her like this. Claiming her. She hadn’t exactly managed to swallow much and most of his cum was running down her chin, the column of her throat and glistening on her chest.

“Ragazza sporca.” He whispered, leaning forward to let his tongue drag over her skin. Eden’s brain near exploded when she watched him, his tongue running below her collarbone to taste himself. He hummed, licking up everywhere he could reach and swallowing down his own release. 

“Close your eyes.” Harry whispered. Eden panted and did as he asked, closing her eyes. She flinched in surprise when he spat on her face, spit mixed with cum dripping down her cheeks. Eden opened her eyes again, realizing he told her to close them as to not get cum in her eyes. It was thoughtful on the one hand, but Harry had a wicked smirk on his face as he watched her so filthy.

He licked his lips and squeezed her thigh, “Così carino.” He murmured, eyes slowly dragging up her entire form. 

Eden seemed at a loss for words and Harry chuckled, his eyes sparkling. She was surprised when he put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in, crashing their lips together. There was pure filth between them and when Harry’s tongue pushed into her mouth, Eden reacted by bringing her arms around his neck.

Her fingers cradled his jaw to tip him back, pressing herself all the way against him. She had to say the kiss surprised her. Passion radiated between them, but Eden it was just an aftermath of whatever sexual had just happened between them. It was lust. A craving. Two consenting adults wanted to rip each other’s clothes off and there was nothing wrong with that.

“Fucking sexy.” Harry lowly commented, eyes darting over Eden’s face where his cum was still streaking down. Eden grinned softly before darting her tongue out to lick over her bottom lip, tasting him a little bit. Harry bit his lip as he watched her swallow. 

Eden looked smug with herself, being able to wreck him at least a tiny bit even if she was the ruined one. Because even if she had an orgasm not even fifteen minutes prior, she wanted more. She was throbbing. Her fingers trembled as she refrained from pushing him down and riding him properly. Right here. 

But on the other hand, she didn’t feel like being rejected all over again. The begging was fun, the playing was fun, as long as she knew someone would inevitably give in at the end. And with Harry, she wasn’t sure.

So Eden got up and ran a hand through her messy hair before turning around and heading back towards the pool. Harry raised his brows, watching her as she walked away, “Eden, don’t you dare.” He warned, his jaw dropping when she dove back into the pool. He jumped up his feet, “Eden! My dogs swim in that water!” He referred to his release transferring from his skin into that water.

Eden came up to the surface with a giggle, “Oops.”

***

It was a few hours later – when Eden felt like toast – when she decided to head back over to her father’s house. 

Her and Harry had been lounging around the pool in the sun, hidden by the trees. They had been mostly in silence, sharing a few words here and there but nothing big or revealing. Eden had the feeling both her and him didn’t really mind. They didn’t exactly need to know one another or put up this façade that there was anything more here than sex.

Maybe it would even burst the bubble. Maybe they’d realize they actually don’t like one another and then all magic would disappear. So they didn’t say much, simply enjoyed the comfortable silence between them as the crickets made noise enough.

“Thank you for letting me stay for a bit.” Eden was gathering her things and Harry looked at her from his laying down position on his sunbed.

Truth was, he would’ve dragged her into the house if his dick was up for it. But he simply wasn’t. He ached, so sensitive still from her blowjob that it would physically hurt his balls to have sex right now. Eden looked absolutely delicious and the memory of her face with his cum painting her, entered Harry’s brain.

She had looked like absolute sex. A sight so erotic he wasn’t sure if he had ever witnessed anything like it before. Most women got shy or overly slutty when he came on their faces. They either hid, or made it a very over the top show of wanting it in their mouths.

Eden had simply looked… comfortable almost. It was fucking sexy. And she had sucked him dry. He had abused her throat, but even if he was fucking up into her mouth she had still managed to actually suck and use her tongue. 

Harry shifted slightly in his position, dragging his eyes up her form. Now that he’d had a taste, he for sure knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away anymore. The forbidden fruit he had taken a little bite out of, needed to be devoured. And he knew she wanted him to. 

It’s why he had found himself slightly surprised when Eden hadn’t made a single flirtatious remark in the past few hours. It was just the two of them here and in all their past encounters, she had been all over him. She had seduced him, pulled out all the moves to get his attention. And now she had him all to herself and Eden didn’t try to get him to blush even once. 

Harry wondered if what they had done was enough for her. Or if he had maybe done something wrong. 

“Sure.” He cleared his throat, getting up too as he put his hands on his hips, waiting as she gathered her things. Harry offered her a small smile, “Let me know if you need to cool down again.”

“Well – uh…” Eden flicked her eyes to her father’s house before pressing her lips together, “I might be going back to the UK sooner than anticipated.”

“What?” Harry frowned, “Why?”

She breathed out a chuckle, “Because I don’t feel too welcome here. A-And maybe I should just bite the bullet and start looking for jobs instead of running away.” The argument with her father was fresh on her mind. He wanted her to stay away from Harry and all but near slut shamed her for seeking his company.

And here she had been, riding his thigh and giving him a blowjob. Eden knew she had a free sexual life that would disgust some if not most, but somehow it stung that her father though that about her. Eden tried to be a bad bitch most of the times and faked it until she made it, but her façade could drop in the blink of an eye when someone close to her commented on her like that.

“So, uh – yeah.” She shrugged, “it was nice meeting you, I suppose.”

“Hey, wait.” Harry frowned, “You’ve barely seen anything from around here, you haven’t explored. You can’t just… leave.”

“I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna be out of here tomorrow but I don’t think I’m gonna stay all summer.” She shrugged.

“You should.”

Eden turned her head to look at him and narrowed her eyes as Harry ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back, “You know, I could show you around some more. Just spend the day with me tomorrow. There’s this… art thing I wanted to see, we can take the car.”

Eden continued frowning as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, “What are you doing?”

Harry exhaled a breath, “What?”

“What are you doing?” Eden repeated, shrugging her shoulders, “You don’t have to… fucking take me out or anything. We both knew what this was. I’m not expecting you to be this nice guy all of a sudden. Yeah, I sucked your dick, I don’t need a medal for it.” She shrugged again, “Let’s just… leave it.”

Harry huffed and shook his head, “I’m not thanking you because you gave me a blowjob. ‘M just… trying to have you enjoy your summer. This place is nice, you know? Fell in love with it when I first visited and haven’t left since. You definitely haven’t seen it that way. And besides, you should take some time before you start working. You busted your ass in college and got your degree, so take the win and enjoy your time off. You’ll work for the next fuckin’ forty years of your life.”

Eden stared at him, both their stances showing some defence. She took a breath and slowly sighed it back out, “Yeah. Okay.”

“Yeah? You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. Just enjoy Italy for a bit.” He shrugged, “I think you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Eden felt surprised. This was probably the most Harry had spoken to her in ever. She timidly nodded, “Right.”

“Come by tomorrow around ten.” He stood behind her and patted her ass, “Off you go.”

Eden shook her head to herself with a chuckle before doing as told. She didn’t climb the fence this time but simply walked out of the front of the house and back into her father’s house. And later that night, she didn’t give Harry a show through the window. She simply closed her blinds, noticing the lights off in his bedroom but on downstairs.

She figured he was on his couch or something, watching something. Or perhaps he was out and left the lights on for the dogs. Or he just forgot.

Getting him out of his head, Eden went to bed and fell asleep easily. 

And when she woke up the next morning, she almost forgot she had met up with Harry. At nine thirty, Eden ran through the house to get ready and grab some coffee. Her father was working in the garden at this hour and Colleen and her had some small talk in the kitchen.

Eden didn’t let anything slip about her plans for the day. She simply said she’d go explore on her own and walk down the hill, perhaps catch a train. 

At ten a.m. on the dot, she sneakily ran over to Harry’s house to ring his bell. He opened up wearing shorts that showed off his tiger tattoo that Eden knew all too well. Pairing it with another wide button-up which was halfway open and a bucket hat on his head, Harry nodded at her, “Morning.”

“Hi.” Eden smiled, the short sundress on her body flowing in the air. It was a nice temperature at this hour of the day. Harry wore worn-off Vans on his feet and had sunglasses in the v-neck of his shirt, a tote bag around his arm, “Brought some fruit for the drive. You hungry?”

“I just had some toast, maybe later.” Eden awkwardly fiddled with her fingers before pressing her lips together, “Can we – uh, go? I don’t want my dad or Colleen to see me here.”

“Why not?” Harry frowned, grabbing his keys and leaving his dogs for the day. They had food, water and a secluded part of his garden to their use, plus the cold tiles of Harry’s airconditioned house.

Eden huffed and shrugged, “Apparently you’re a bad influence.”

“I’d say you’re the bad influence on me.” He smirked before locking up his front door. He then shortly dipped his head to press his lips to Eden’s temple, “Y’look pretty.”

“Stop.” She rolled her eyes, “Don’t do that.”

“What, give you a compliment?” Harry questioned, walking besides Eden to guide her towards his car. It was a rather old car, a pale blue with no roof and an old leather steering wheel. Eden found herself impressed with the vintage look of the car and put her stuff in the backseat, opening up the passenger door to climb in. Harry stood at the driver’s side, holding up the keys, “Do you have a license?”

Her face lit up at what she thought he was suggesting, “Yes.”

“Wanna try?” He smiled and Eden squeaked, “Yes!” She bubbled, jumping over the gear box to get behind the wheel, “Oh wait… other side of the road.”

“Yeah, but it’s easy. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

Eden bit her lip, adjusting the seat a bit, “Yeah, okay, I’ll try.” She accepted the keys and with a wide grin on her face, they were on the road in no time. Eden found herself relaxing in the car, her short brown hair flowing in the wind even if she put in a little scarf. The sun climbed up in the sky, warming their skin. No music was on as Eden followed the directions Harry gave her.

They drove past the little town at the bottom of the hill and drove further, onto the highway and little coastroads that overlooked the sea. Waves crashed into the rocks and Eden couldn’t wait to take a dip later. She had a feeling they’d come close to water and brought a two-piece in her bag. 

Harry eventually had her driving into a bit of a larger city where he let her drive through little streets that he seemingly knew like the back of his hand, “This is the largest sort of city close by.” He explained, “There’s cheap parking in there, if you take a left.”

“Here?” Eden pointed and he hummed, “Yep,” his hand found its way to her bare thigh as he gave a gentle squeeze, “’s good. Did you enjoy driving?”

Her skin burned as Eden tried to focus on parking into the space Harry showed her. She swallowed dryly, moving her feet to brake, shift and accelerate, “Mhm. It’s a nice car.”

“Sure is.” He agreed, “Fits you.”

Eden didn’t really respond, unsure of how to take his sudden compliments. Eventually they got out of the car and walked around for a bit, Eden not really knowing what the plan for the day was. She simply went with it and followed Harry around. They stopped for some bruschetta and cold water to hydrate before Harry pushed his sunglasses up in his hair and stared at Eden from across the little rounded table.

His facial hair was slightly longer than the day before, a moustache decorating his top lip and making him look slightly older. It was sexy, Eden thought. She kept her eyes low and finished up her little lunch while feeling his gaze on her, “Why are you staring at me? Do I have something between my teeth?”

He chuckled, leaning his chin on his hand, elbow popped up on the table, “Nope. You just look beautiful.”

Eden rolled her eyes, “Stop flirting.”

“Why? You can flirt with me and I can’t flirt with you?”

“I haven’t been flirting with you. We’re just… acquaintances.” Eden shrugged. Harry raised one eyebrow, “True. You haven’t flirted with me since yesterday. Since we… had sex.”

“We didn’t have sex.” Eden corrected him, “I grinded on your leg and gave you a blowie.”

The corners of Harry’s mouth curled up into a small smirk at the easiness of Eden’s foul mouth, “That’s true. But I’m curious… is that just it? We fooled around and you’re done with me now?”

Eden stared back at him, “What’s the matter, did I hurt your feelings?”

“Ouch.” Harry chuckled, shaking his head, “No, I’d just like to know.”

Eden leaned forward on the table, “You know when I asked you if men and women throw themselves at you and you said yes? You really can’t stand it when someone doesn’t throw themselves at you, hm?”

“Think you bruised my ego?”

She puckered her lips in thought and shrugged, “Sounds like it.”

“Well, if I remember correctly… you were the one begging for my cock.”

“True, I was. But… Well, it’s off-putting if you keep rejecting me all the time. I’m a little desperate but not that desperate. No means no. And you said no.” She shrugged. Harry frowned, “I didn’t say no, I said maybe later.”

Eden rolled her eyes again, “Look, let’s just forget about it. It happened, we both enjoyed it and now we just move on. No biggie.”

“So you don’t want me anymore?” Harry checked and Eden chuckled, “Nope, I’m good. Unless you’re offering yourself on a silver platter… Just saying I don’t wanna work for it anymore. So… maybe it’s your turn to seduce me if you’re that desperate for it.” Her voice ended in a purr and Harry stared at her, his stomach clenching and his face growing hot.

Eden looked at him over the rim of her glass, “Finally ready to tell me where we’re going?”

He cleared his throat, running his finger over his moustache, “Yeah, it’s – uh… an art expo here. From Marino Mazzacurati. He’s a s-“

“A sculptor, right?” Eden finished the words for him and Harry flicked his eyes up, “Yes.” He watched as Eden’s face lit up with a slight twinkle in her eye. A dimple popped in her cheek as she flashed her pearly white teeth. His heart slammed in his chest as she just looked so… pretty.

Her skin was radiant and she had that little scarf in her hair. Her prominent collarbones were accentuated by the thin straps of the floral, white dress she wore. It was simple but so cute.

“So you know him?”

Eden smiled and nodded eagerly, “Yes, I do. I-I’ve studied some of his stuff during college. That’s sick.”

“Yeah, I bought two tickets online last night.” Harry shrugged and Eden arched up an eyebrow, “You did? That’s… sweet.”

“Mhm.”

“Okay. I’m excited.” Eden smiled, “Can we go now?”

Harry chuckled, “Yeah, let me just pay first.” He was ready to get up and Eden frowned, “You don’t have to pay for me.”

“I want to.” Harry shrugged as he scraped his chair back. Eden simply stared at him, watching as he walked up to the cash register and handled their bill in Italian. Soon after, both walked the narrow streets again on their way to the art gallery. Sweat pearled at Harry’s hairline due to the heat as they sought to walk in the shadows to avoid sun and burn up even more.

“This is it.” Harry breathed, taking off his sunnies again now that they were in the coolness of the art gallery. It was rather deserted as the two entered and watched the sculptures. 

Eden tilted her head to the side, looking at a certain piece in a large room. She heard footsteps behind her, Harry coming to stand nearly with his chest against her back. The hair in her neck raised as he breathed down, “It’s quite rare how he managed to represent cubism, expressionism and realism.” He spoke.

Eden’s throat bobbed in a thick swallow, “Mhm. He started out as a gravestone sculptor in his f-“

“Father’s company, I know.” Harry spoke and Eden could hear the smile in his voice. They were silent for a moment until Harry spoke, “Do you like this one?”

“It’s part of the Wrestlers collection, right?”

“Lottatori,” Harry corrected her in the proper Italian, “is what we call it here.”

Eden breathed out a chuckle and stepped aside, moving onto the next piece, “Did you learn Italian when you moved here or did you know it beforehand?”

“I knew a few words beforehand, but I really submerged myself in it when I decided to move here. Even when I was still in London and I hadn’t made the move yet – but knew I was going to - , I was reading books and stuff in Italian, or watching movies with no subtitles. And then moving here… it’s such a small town that really not that many locals speak English.” He explained, once again standing behind Eden.

Eden didn’t respond and Harry’s lip twitched up in a small smile, “I’ve been complimented on my Italian by the locals, by the way.”

“Yeah, you sound good.” Eden murmured and Harry’s smirk grew slightly, “I remember you liking it.”

Eden’s face turned hot at the mention of his Italian dirty talk the day before. She gathered herself, Harry unable to see her face. She flinched ever so slightly when his hand came up from behind her, reaching around to gently grab her chin, “You have to look at it from this angle.” He murmured, tilting her chin slightly.

She held her breath as she let him reposition her gaze, seeing the sculpture from a different angle to have it make sense. She puffed out a small breath of air, “Oh. I see.”

They moved on again, Eden stopping at the next one, “This is Little Caesar, right?” She questioned before her eyes zeroed in on the little information tag by the sculpture. “Yes,” Harry confirmed from behind her, “pretty sure it’s a replica though. If I’m not mistaken, his original one was sold.”

Eden slowly nodded. Her muscles tensed when she felt Harry’s hand on her hip from behind, giving a gentle squeeze through the thin fabric of her sundress, “C’mon.” He nudged her to the side, keeping his hand on her to guide her to the next piece.

This time, he placed both hands on her hips, standing closely behind her and peering at the sculpture over her shoulder. When Harry didn’t feel her pulling away, he went as far as slipping his arms around her form to pull her into him. 

With her back against his chest, he encaged her. Eden exhaled a breath and relaxed into him. Harry hummed at the feeling, “’S good. Lean back.”

Eden heart thrashed in her chest as she did, breathing shakily. Harry’s hand slipped slightly higher until he palmed her breast over the dress, giving a squeeze to her chest before reaching higher to cup her jaw again and tilt her to the side.

His lips came down on hers easily and Eden whimpered in surprise, tensing up. 

Harry kept it modest and even slightly teasing, giving a soft yet deep and long kiss to Eden’s lips before pulling back. She chased him slightly, needing more but Harry didn’t give in. He had a slight smirk on his lips and then used his fingers on her chin to direct her eyes back to the art, “That’s where you’re supposed to be looking, mia dolcezza.”

Eden flushed pink as she blinked a few times, staring at the sculpture again even if her legs felt weak. She felt grateful for Harry’s arms around her, and he smirked wider upon feeling her instability. 

Continuing the teasing touches, they made their way through the gallery. Eden tried to get the control back though, so every time Harry tried to kiss her, she pulled back right before his lips touched hers.

It was a game. For the both of them. 

And Harry had a feeling that it would be, which is why he had something planned for the afternoon. A boat ride, a yacht, just the two of them. Out in the ocean, there were no curious eyes, no one to disturb them.

Eden felt on a fluffy cloud when Harry drove them towards the coast and the harbour. She couldn’t even explain her giddiness upon seeing the boat, which Harry steered. She laid on the deck while staring at him. Their sexual tension was high, the boat rocking to the waves as they were surrounded by blue water.

“This is insane.” Eden mumbled. Harry dropped the anchor as he joined Eden on the deck, sun warming their skin. He closed his eyes and hummed, tilting his head up to the rays, “Liking Italy a bit better already?”

She chuckled, “For sure. I could get used to this.”

“A rich gentleman taking you out? You know what that’s called, right?” He teased.

“As if you wouldn’t jump on the opportunity to be my sugar daddy.”

Harry threw his head back in a laugh, “No comment.” He then glanced at her, “Want some wine?”

“Oh! Yes, for sure.” Eden grinned, “Oh my god, this is perfect. I wanna stay here forever.”

Harry chuckled and got up again, ditching his button-up and using his time below deck to quickly put on his swimming shorts and grab a bottle of pink wine and two glasses. 

Sunglasses on his nose, he went back to the deck to give Eden her glass. He found her slipping off the sundress as she was on her knees, and he stopped in his tracks.

She was in her underwear, just a small thong and a lace bralette covering her private parts. He could see her nipples through the lace, and the tiny thong did nothing to conceal her. Eden arched her back, making it a show of taking the dress off before their eyes locked. She smiled softly to herself, seeing Harry with his jaw on the floor.

Getting up, Eden sought her balance on the wobbly boat, “Can I change downstairs?” She checked, “I brought a bikini.”

Harry’s throat felt dry before he forced himself to nod, “Y-Yeah.”

“Okay.” She sweetly smiled. It gave Harry a few minutes to gather himself, and when she returned she was in a bikini as pink as the wine he poured. It hugged her tightly, showing her nipples through the little triangles covering her up with an equally small piece of fabric acting as her bottoms.

“Thank you.” She accepted the glass Harry offered her before they took their spots on the deck, sipping some wine. Both were lounging on a fluffy towel, soaking in the sun. Harry couldn’t keep his eyes of her body while Eden tried her best to keep her eyes off his.

The tattoos, the tan, the chest hair… He was just irresistible. Is she wasn’t so proud and stubborn, she would’ve jumped him. But Eden had the upper hand and she wanted to enjoy it – even if she knew deep down she’d crumple if he even gave her the smallest amount of attention.

And when the silence took over and Eden drank her wine, she could just imagine herself slowly riding him here on this deck. Harry blissed out beneath her as she’d rock her hips into him, feeling him deep inside her. The sun would be going down, engulfing them in an orange hue as she’d grind to the motions of the waves and make his toes curl in pleasure.

Goosebumps rose over her legs before she cleared her throat, “I’m gonna take a dip.” She announced. Harry watched as Eden got up and stretched her arms, “You too?”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, “I need some cooling down.”

Eden chuckled and put her glass inside of the little cabin before making a short run off to the side and diving into the cold water. Harry watched her disappear before she rose up a bit of a distance away, quickly followed as Harry too jumped in.

The bright sunlight reflected off the surface of the ocean and Eden smiled widely, throwing herself back to float in the endless pool of salt water. She heard soft splashing nearby and it came as no surprise to her to feel Harry’s hands on her waist, pulling her into him.

Eden giggled as his arms wrapped around her form, and with both of them no longer kicking up, they submerged. Eden closed her eyes, her teeth showing underwater as sound died down. Harry’s hands moved to her ass underwater, and it came as no surprise to Eden to feel a pucker of his lips against her own before he pulled them back up.

He coughed slightly and when Eden opened her eyes, she was met with a grinning Harry. He playfully splashed some water her way before diving back underwater to swim a lap around the boat. Eden climbed back up on the ladder in the meantime, dropping down onto the deck with a sigh to let herself dry.

Harry joined her a few moments later, water dripping down his abs as he let out a breath, “That felt great.” He commented, plopping down on his towel next to Eden, who hummed, “It did.”

Silence took over for a minute, Eden nibbling her lip until she sat up. Her wet hair dripped down her back but the scorching sun was drying her up quickly. She glanced at Harry, “Can you put sunscreen on me?”

Harry blinked his eyes open, “What?” He sat up, “Oh. Yeah. Of course.”

Eden sent him a sweet smile, “Good. Thank you.” And before Harry’s eyes, she reached behind her to undo her bikini, ripping the top piece off of her body. Harry swallowed thickly when Eden was left topless, his eyes shamelessly dropping to her soft tits.

His cock jumped in his swimming shorts as Eden rolled around to lay down on her front. Harry got the hint, reaching into one of the bags for some sunscreen before he hovered over her. Squirting the product in his hands, he started rubbing it into her warm skin.

Eden closed her eyes when he gave her a slight massage, the fingertips pressing into some sore spots on her back as he made his way down her back to the dimples all the way at the bottom. 

And he didn’t stop there. Eden bit her lip when his hands were on her ass cheeks. She knew her bikini bottoms were more of a thong than anything else, and that most of her flesh was exposed. Harry took his advantage, getting his hands on her, “Wouldn’t want you to burn this pretty little peach.” He murmured.

Eden softly hummed and he continued massaging her ass cheeks. Harry had his lip between his teeth as he stared at her plump behind, “D’you like it?” He asked. After a few seconds of silence, Harry glanced at Eden’s face to see her eyes closed. He clenched his jaw, bringing his hand back to deliver a sharp slap to her right cheek.

Eden yelped as she felt the sharp sting, immediately opening her eyes. Harry grabbed a fistful of her ass cheek in his palm, “I asked you a question.”

“Yes.” She breathed out, “Y-Yes, I like it.”

Harry hummed before pulling her hip, forcing Eden to roll over. Her tits bounced from the movement and Harry licked his lip, staring down at her again. Spreading more sunscreen around his palms, he wasted no time in placing his hands on her boobs to massage in the product. Eden held her breath, staring at Harry as he seemed mesmerized by her chest.

He kneaded softly before brushing his thumbs over her nipples, hardening them in a matter of seconds. He didn’t seem to mind that he used way too much product, covering Eden’s breasts in a white sheen of sunscreen.

“So filthy.” He mumbled, leaning down to let spit land on her chest from between his puckered lips. Eden moaned softly, feeling the warmth of his saliva on her skin before he spread that around too. His eyes looked glazed over, drunkenly staring at Eden as her tits glistened in his spit.

“Your turn.” Eden breathed, locking her leg around his thigh to flip them around. Harry’s eyes were wide in surprise when Eden climbed on top of him. Her hair was wild and untamed and she placed her palms on his bare chest, pushing her own tits together. Harry couldn’t keep his eyes away, breathing shakily at the erotic sight.

His hard cock was trapped in his swimming shorts, but he had no doubt Eden was aware of his erection. And that she was aware that she was the cause for it. She loved it, knowing she had a certain power over him. 

Harry stared up at her, illuminated by sunlight. His hands immediately smoothed over her thighs as she straddled him, sitting snugly up against his cock. “Sembri radiosa.” He mumbled, “come il sole.”

Eden breathed sharply as the Italian words tumbled from his mouth. Spreading the sunscreen between her palms, she then started rubbing the product into Harry’s chest. Subconsciously, her hips rocked into him simultaneously as the way she was moving her hands. 

“Fuck.” Harry sighed, dropping his head back and closing his eyes, giving Eden full control over his body. She stroked over his chest, up to his shoulders and then down his abs. He felt her shuffling down and then her hands were on his thighs. Moving higher, she pushed the fabric of his shorts up until stopping before reaching his dick.

Silently asking for permission, Harry realized. He kept his eyes closed, giving Eden equally silent permission by lifting his hips. She hesitated for a moment before sliding down the waistband of his shorts to free his cock.

“God – fuck.” Harry cursed, his fists balling when Eden’s hand wrapped around his throbbing dick. He was wet in precum, forcing himself to open his eyes and push up on his elbows to at least see the sight in front of him. Eden, topless, stroking him from base to tip with a twist in her wrist. 

She had her lip between her teeth, “You’re big.” She commented. Harry huffed out a chuckle, “Yeah. You still want it?”

“Mhm.” She nibbled her lip before releasing it with a pop, “It’s gonna hurt. I want it to hurt.”

Harry groaned and quickly grabbed her, pushing her on her back on the deck before his fingers fumbled with her bottoms. Eden assisted him, lifting her hips too so she could be as naked as him. Harry shuffled out of his shorts and pushed Eden’s legs to the side to spread her for him.

The boat rocked on the ocean as he stared down her bare cunt, wet in arousal as her lips were spread for him. He could see every fucking inch, hungrily licking his lips, “I can’t fucking wait.” He groaned.

“J-Just fuck me.” Eden choked out. She submissively brought her hands up over her head to give Harry all the room and space he needed, arching out her chest for him. He spat down again, using his fingers to spread it around her nipples as he breathed harshly, “It’s gonna hurt.” He warned.

Eden just nodded, “I know, make it hurt – please. I need it hard.”

“God, you’re such a fucking whore.” Harry bit, guiding himself to her. His tip caught with her entrance and Eden mewled, shuddering at the pressure. Harry stared down at where they touched, not pushing in more than just an inch, “Like that?”

“Fuck, yes!” Eden moaned. Harry panted out, “You’re so wet.” He whispered, watching as he pulled his tip back out, shining in her arousal. He dragged his cock up her slit, pressing into her clit. Eden shuddered and writhed more. A blurt of precum pearled her clit and Harry fucking lost it. Without more thought, he pushed inside of Eden in one swift motion.

She let out a high-pitched moan, clenching her thighs at the intrusion. It stung and hurt, but in a way so delicious her eyes rolled back. He was big, stretching her. And deep. So fucking deep. 

“Fuck, baby, haven’t even started and you’re creaming over my cock.” He taunted, although Harry’s voice slightly trembled too as he tried to hold himself together. Eden was wet and warm, and after letting her adjust for a bit, he could feel her completely melting and relaxing. 

“That’s good.” Harry praised, “That feels so fucking good… what a good, wet girl you are.”

Eden bit her lip and moaned, bucking back into him. Harry kept her legs wide open before he drew back and slammed back in. A gasp was stuck in Eden’s throat as her eyes bulged at the pressure, and Harry could only watch in awe as her tits bounced.

They were naked on the deck of a public boat, but no one was around them. The boat rocked a little and the sun was hot on Harry’s back as he sat on the heels of his feet with Eden in front of him.

He was fucking her raw, but neither cared. His cock was wet in her arousal, pulling back before pushing back in. Eden squeaked with every thrust, her eyes watering. 

After a few minutes of easing Eden into it, Harry got more comfortable. He leaned one hand next to her head, pushing her leg up with the other so her knee was against her shoulder and she was split wider for him.

“God – Harry…” Eden whimpered, “harder, please… harder.”

“Harder?” He panted, “You’re a fucking whore.”

Her eyes were screwed shut, “I am.”

“Tell me how often you’ve done this, huh?” He fucked her harder, his skin slapping against hers, “How often have you fucking seduced a man to spoil you and then fuck you like this?”

Eden couldn’t respond and Harry grew impatient again, raising his hand to slap her cheek, “Tell me.”

“I-I d-“ Eden gasped, crying out as Harry angled himself differently and screwed into her harder, “Such a dumb whore for cock.” He spit, “needing a rich, older guy to put you in your spot, hm? Need me to feel good. Need me to fucking destroy your cunt like this.”

Harry grabbed her hair to cock her head back harshly, Eden stretched out as she still refrained from using her hands. She had an adventurous sex life before, but she had never been fucked like this. On a boat, after just having a day full of tension altogether. And it just snapped. The touching just got out of hand and now here she was, with a man balls deep inside of her.

“Gonna let me feel this pussy cum for me?” Harry panted, popping his thumb in his mouth before pressing down on her clit. Eden shook and mewled as he drew tight circles, at the same time his cock kept brushing into her g-spot over and over again. 

“H-Harry – oh my god…”

“Feels good?”

She threw her head back with a moan as her tummy tightened, “Y-Yes, I’m gonna cum… Oh my god, you’re gonna make me cum.”,,

Harry held his breath when he felt it, her walls pulsating around him as her body trembled. Eden cried out curses, her hands finally attempting to reach for him. Harry caught her hands easily, lacing their fingers together as he pushed them back over her head and completely hovered over her. His hips didn’t let up, continuing to fuck into her in sharp, short pulses.

He watched Eden’s eyes water, the way her brow scrunched up in pleasure, the way her lips gaped. He spat in her open mouth and saw the way his saliva pooled on her tongue before she choked and coughed slightly.

Her orgasm seemed endless, Eden unable to get any air to her lungs as Harry relentlessly fucked her. And when she was on the verge of passing out, he pulled out sharply. Eden whimpered and shook as Harry grabbed her hip and rolled her around again. She was on her stomach, feeling his hands on her hips as he pulled her up. She leaned on her elbows as he pushed her knees to the side and slid into her again.

“God, y’feel so fucking good…” He moaned.

Eden couldn’t do anything but whine, feeling as her knees bruised from the hard deck, same as her elbows as she scooted up with each hard thrust of Harry’s hips. She was on the constant brink of pain and pleasure, letting him use her like a fucktoy but she wanted nothing else.

She was trembling, her lungs burning as she couldn’t seem to get a decent breath in. All the air got knocked out of her whenever his hips collided with her ass. Harry stared at the jiggle in her ass cheeks, holding his palms on her. Eden sunk down through her arms more to arch out, completely pushing back against him as soft whimpers filled his ears.

“Such a good, wet cunt.” Harry praised, slowing down just a tad as he felt his heartbeat violently hammering. He pulled out even, giving his cock a break before he leaned down behind her. Spitting down between her ass cheeks, Eden’s eyes rolled back when she felt his tongue wiggling through her pussy lips.

“Oh – fuck… yes!” She moaned, “Harry – oh my god.”

His tongue was salacious, slipping down to her budding clit to give a soft suck before moving back up. When he buried his tongue between her ass cheeks, Eden violently bit her lip to keep from screaming out. He kept her nice and spread, licking over her rim and eating her out with no shame in sight. 

Spitting down once more, Harry straightened up again. His hand took a hold of his cock, which he slid between her cheeks to tap over the tight ring of muscles. Eden choked out puffs of air mixed with whimpers as she pushed back against him, “P-Please… I need it.”

“I know you do.” Harry cooed, watching his wet cock sliding against her tightest entrance, “I know, you need me so bad… You’d let me do anything, hm? So fucking greedy.” He slapped his tip against her hold and Eden buckled through her arms, near biting down her own arm to suppress her whines. Harry watched her shake and shudder as he went further, teasing with the idea of intrusion as he placed his tip against her hole and threatened to push in.

“Y-Yes, Harry… Please.” Eden deliriously begged and he hummed, “Look at that, you’d let me fuck your ass. You really want it to hurt, don’t you?”

“Uh-h-huh.” Eden stammered, tears leaking down her cheeks as she felt herself going insane in anticipation. Her arousal was running down her thighs and she couldn’t remember ever being this turned on in her life. “You think you could take me?” Harry taunted, “Baby, I’ve already destroyed your tight cunt… you wouldn’t be able to walk.”

He couldn’t believe it. Unprepped and unprotected, she’d just let him use her. All of her. He knew that if he pushed her further, she’d truly let him fuck her there. But Harry still felt a sense of responsibility and at least a sense of care. She’d truly be in pain if he did that and even if she claimed she liked it when it hurt, he wasn’t sure if she realized what she was asking for.

“Little, ruined cumslut.” He tutted, “Go on, ride me. Show me how much you need me.” He pulled away completely, laying down on his back on the deck as Eden forced her limbs to move to straddle him. Her movements were uncoordinated, amusing Harry as she trembled and sniffled. His smiled faltered when she took a hold of him, jerking him off for a few seconds before positioning him at her entrance. 

The warmth of her pussy welcomed him again, Harry tipping his head back as his toes curled and he gripped her thighs. Eden took him slowly, inch by inch as he disappeared inside of her soft, wet pussy until their thighs touched.

“D-Doesn’t even feel like you’ve ever been fucked before.” He croaked, “Not by a real man, at least.”

Eden chuckled to herself, drunk on his words as she started grinding. Tears sprung to her eyes immediately at how perfect everything felt. Her tummy jumped in excitement when he continued brushing over her spongy spot up her front wall, sitting so snugly inside of her it was like they were meant for each other.

“Shit.” She sighed, leaning her head back as her hands braced themselves on his thighs behind her. Harry couldn’t help but just stare at the erotic sight in front of him. Eden working herself on top of him, her muscles working to keep her hips rocking. Her nipples hard, her stomach flexing as she rode him slowly and deeply. She bit down on her lip to keep her moans down and he just… couldn’t look away. Not even if he wanted. He couldn’t even blink.

They had been staring at art most of the day but nothing had made him feel like this did. She was just such a sight for sore eyes. So, so fucking sexy. 

His fingers found her clit again, Eden gasping in sensitivity when she could feel him touching her. Teasing. Flicking. Playing with her. She shuddered before slowly opening her eyes. Harry was bathing in the yellow sunlight, lit up completely but his eyes were on where they touched. Eden continued rocking her pelvis into him as his fingertips toyed with her nerves.

“D-Do you want me to cum again?” She breathed, fingers digging into his thighs when her entire body tingled in delight. Harry smirked, “Fuck, yes. You want my cum so bad, hm? Need to be fucking filled like a whore. You need it so bad.”

“I n-need it so bad.” Eden confirmed in a stuttering gasp, throwing her head back as the beginnings of her orgasm started. Her hips fell out of rhythm as she trembled in pleasure, Harry holding a steady hand on her hip as his free hand continued playing her clit. 

And just like with her first orgasm, he didn’t stop once she shuddered and cried out, he kept her going. Even when Eden tried to push his hand away with her eyes screwed shut. Harry didn’t oblige, instead wrapping an arm around her torso to pull her down. Her hands braced themselves as his cock slipped from her.

“H-Harry…” Eden slurred when his fingers abandoned her clit but moved to her opening, plunging two inside of her to replace his cock. While her body was dealing with the aftermaths of her second orgasm, Harry began building the third. 

Eden’s knees could hardly keep herself up when his fingers curled, and curled, and curled to massage her swollen g-spot until she gasped and cried and begged. He stared at her intently as he played her like only he knew how to. He knew a woman’s body well and was easy at picking up signals to figure out what they wanted or how they liked it.

Eden liked it rough and she liked to be pushed, so when she writhed in discomfort of an orgasm this long wrecking her body, he didn’t let up. “C’mon.” He panted, “Give me another one, hm?” Her arousal ran over his knuckles as he licked his lip, “Make it wet. Do what you do best and soak me.”

“I-“ Eden gasped, fully dropping her face into the crook of Harry’s neck as she slumped against him. Drops of creamy arousal fell from her, wetting his hand and part of his lap as she had a wet orgasm. Her body ached and felt tired all over, and her brain felt hazy.

“Fuck, good girl.” Harry kept fucking his fingers inside of her to keep it going until Eeden fully whimpered and protested. He was slow in sliding his fingers out, bringing them to his lips to savour that sweet taste. His tongue swirled around his digits as Eden laid motionless on top of him. He felt her ragged breaths into his neck, their sweaty bodies pressed together as she was cradled up on his lap.

Harry took a moment to catch his breath before nudging her to roll around again. She thudded on her back and he saw the pink in her cheeks, the fatigue in her eyes and the bliss written all over her face. He chuckled softly while hovering over her again, using his hands to split her knees.

With a kiss to her lips, Harry guided inside her again. Eden tensed and winced, but Harry hardly cared. The pressure at the bottom of his spine overwhelmed him greatly, and he needed to cum inside of her. “Fuck.” He breathed, their lips brushing together. He held her hands again, up over her head as Eden pliantly let him slam inside of her.

It was uncomfortable and she was sore, but the look in his eyes convinced her more than ever to let him have this. He looked animalistic and desperate at the same time. Like he needed this orgasm but only with her. Like it mattered that it was her he was finishing inside of and no one else.

“Baby.” He croaked, tipping his head back with a tightly clenched jaw. His eyes screwed shut, brows knitted together in pleasure as he panted out and fucked her deep. “’M gonna fill you up so good.” He rasped.

“Uh-huh.” Eden nodded, “Please, I need it all. Need you to stuff me.”

“Holy fuck.” Harry cursed in disbelief. He tried to keep his eyes open as he sped up more, harshly thrusting into Eden and gazing into her irises. His forehead dropped on hers as his orgasm started, noses brushing together. Harry moaned shakily, tensing completely. He grabbed her hands tighter, his knuckles turning white as he curled his toes and pushed as deep inside of her as he could, “Oh my fucking god.” He whimpered, “F-Fuck.”

Eden gasped as she felt him pulsing, his orgasm spurting out of him to coat her insides in a white, sticky mess. His hair flopped over his forehead as his jaw opened and he desperately gasped, “Eden – I’m… holy fuck.” He squeaked, voice cracking as he continued coming inside of her. She could feel his release leaking down the sides of his shaft, dripping down her pussy.

The sight had aroused her so much once more, and Harry was limp on top of her as he finally finished. His cock twitched against her walls and after some nagging from Eden, Harry managed to lift his head. 

“Scoot up.” She whispered. He blinked twice, “What?”

She shot him a look, “Scoot up.” She near pushed him off and then tapped her chest, “Here.”

Harry’s legs felt weak as he slipped out of her before doing as she asked. He could hardly think straight, and even less now that he was straddling her chest and Eden got to cleaning him up. Harry bit his lip as her tongue gently ran over his softening cock. He was slick and wet in both their orgasms, and she tasted the mix of them thoroughly by giving a gentle blowjob in aftercare.

“Shit, babe… ‘s so good.” He threw his head back in a breathy moan when he felt her angling up his softened prick to lick at his base and eventually his balls. Harry felt delirious in sensitivity. It was so painful but so good and delicious at the same time. He constantly had to bite his tongue, knowing he was a second away from begging her to stop but also wanted her to continue more than anything.

And then he felt her hands on his cheeks, urging him up higher. Harry felt the stinging behind his lids at the pleasure she wanted him to receive. His tired body did as she asked, and he felt her tongue on his rim next.

“Eden…” He moaned, trembling on his knees as he hovered over her face and she ate him out. His hand lazily stroked his half-hard cock, so twitchy and red from the hard fuck he had just done. Eden hummed, pushing her tongue inside of him to eat him out. Harry whined, shaking as he sped up his hand, tugging on his own cock and angling up to give Eden room to breathe through her nose. She’d bump into his heavy balls every once in a while, also licking that part of his body.

Even after the orgasm, he was still so ready to give more. And she could feel it. Sucking his balls into her mouth, she could feel him pulsing and near grinding down onto her mouth. Harry was overstimulated and sensitive, and quickly scooted back when he felt like he’d cum again. It was near impossible and his cock felt like he was about to explode. It worried him just a touch, the touch of his own hand felt burning hot as he squeezed around his base. Eden submissively stuck out her tongue but knew Harry had no intentions on finishing in her mouth.

He came on her face again, just a few blurts of milky come painting over her face and not a single drop actually landing on her waiting tongue. Harry cried out, shaking all over as he emptied himself once more. He had never had two orgasms this close to one another, and for a moment he truly feared he was about to pass out.

Eden hummed, stroking her hands up over his chest as Harry continued hovering over her. Eventually she assisted in laying him down next to her. He breathed heavily, sprawled out completely with Eden next to him. She laid on her side, gently playing with the chest hair on his sternum to calm him down. His cock was spent and laying soft between the fern tattoos on his hips.

Both didn’t say a word until Harry thickly swallowed, “Well, that happened.”

“It did.” Eden chuckled. 

He turned his head to the side to watch her, an easy smile on her lips as she stared back at him. She had used her hand to wipe off some of his release but hadn’t been completely thorough. He suspected she just didn’t care all that much.

“Still thinking of moving back?” He checked.

Eden bit her lip to fight her smile, “Well… I don’t know. You might’ve convinced me.”

“It was the art expo, wasn’t it?” Harry teased and Eden burst out into a giggle, Harry’s heart warming at the sound. He pulled at her arm, getting her to lay her arms over his chest and lean over him a little bit. He tucked her hair behind her ear, “I promise that if you stay… I’ll fuck you like that every day.”

“Every day?” Eden huffed, “Yeah, no, I’m not surviving that.”

He smirked, “I thought you liked it rough?”

“I do, but not every single day.” She got a bit more comfortable, her fingertip tracing over his eyebrow, “If you want to fuck me every single day, you’re going to have to be a bit… slower. Gentler.”

“Gentler?”

“Mhm. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to be a gentleman.” She smiled and Harry returned it, “Just made you cum three times, I’d say I know how to be a gentleman.”

“Harry.” Eden giggled, shaking her head to himself. He chuckled along, clearing his throat, “No, I get it. I’ll be gentler, promise. In fact…” He took her arm again and rolled them over, hovering over her again, “why don’t I show you how gentle I can be?”

Eden frowned until her eyes widened, Harry lips on her chest before he shimmied down between her legs, “Harry,” She gasped, “no, I can’t.”

“Shh,” He cooed, the hold on her thighs making Eden part her legs as Harry fit his shoulders between them, “let me return the favour, yeah?”

The words were stuck in her throat, and Eden dropped down on her back when his tongue flicked through her slit. She held her breath, the mix of pain and pleasure shooting through her. And where Eden feared it’d be mostly pain, she was proven wrong. Harry was slow and soft, his tongue gently licking through her folds to lick up any of their releases.

He kissed the inside of her thighs, even softly running his wet tongue over her pained clit until pushing her thighs up a little higher to give himself more access. His tongue pushed inside her pussy, flexing and sucking to get every single drop of their mixed orgasms. He hummed with closed eyes, hearing the way Eden softly moaned. Her fingers in his hair encouraged him, and her body arched to move with the pulses of his tongue. 

When there was nothing left to clean up, Harry lifted his head with a lazy smirk, “How’s that for gentle?”

Eden laid blissed out, a lazy grin on her lips as she chuckled, “So good.” She murmured, her body lax and unable to move. Her limbs felt heavy, and Harry felt the same way, laying down next to her again. His hand found her waist, and for the rest of the afternoon there was always some contact.

Even when they jumped in the ocean for another swim, he stayed close. They teased and whispered to each other, giving gentle kisses. He squeezed her ass softly whenever she was in reach and Eden often had her arms around his neck.

They didn’t talk much, both of them just not feeling the need to. 

This was physical, and they knew it. Harry could feel something in his chest whenever she was near, but it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t enough at the end of the summer to ask her to stay. So he watched her leave.

For the past few weeks, they had spent a lot of time together. Harry and Eden got to know each other on a superficial level. She didn’t feel the need to share every detail about her life and he didn’t ask. Their dynamic was good, until it wasn’t. Until Harry wanted more. 

He felt something but didn’t know what it was. So it’d be unfair to ask her to stay for something he couldn’t promise or guarantee. Perhaps he only felt like he liked her because he knew she’d leave again. Perhaps if she stayed, he’d get sick of her and then he’d feel guilty.

So Eden was at his place one final time, putting her clothes on again after they had rolled around his sheets for the past hour. She zipped up her shorts and tucked her hair behind her ear, sending him a smile. Harry buttoned up his shirt again as he returned it.

Her hair was wet from the shower she just had in his bathroom. Even if they had sex multiple times a day, Eden always insisted on having a quick shower afterwards. Mostly to clean up his release as Harry always insisted in coming inside of her. After they had established a no-condom rule and Eden briefly opened up about how she was unable to carry children, he was quickly on board. 

They were only sleeping with each other and since a pregnancy scare wasn’t in the cards for them, there was no reason to deprive them of the pure pleasure of having raw sex.

And if he didn’t come inside of her, he’d come on her face or her tits. Never in her mouth. He loved it too much, watching his release drip down her body.

They were a great match, sexually, and it proved in neither of them being able to keep their hands off of one another in the past few weeks.

Eden had to admit she hardly spent time with her father over the course of the summer. She was more around Harry’s place than anything, sneaking over in the middle of the night without alerting anyone. Her father assumed she made friends somewhere, not knowing she spent most of her nights next door in the neighbour’s bed. 

Harry knew that once she left he’d still find bobby pins and parts of her scattered around his house. Her shampoo in his shower, her favourite tea in his cabinet, the dog toys she purchased for Sadie and Lola one day, her panties in his laundry. And her scent in his sheets.

She’d cuddle into Harry at night, the hot Italian air not stopping her from seeking the warmth of his body as she curled herself around him. He’d stir awake to roll around, grip her waist to tug her into his chest. And then they woke up with Eden breathing into his neck, her legs locked around his hips.

He had to admit the bed would feel big without her here.

But she was leaving. Today. Eden had been searching for jobs and finally got an offer back in London. She started in a few days and had to set some stuff up back at home, so she booked a flight. Harry could argue that she could work somewhere around here too with a degree like hers, but refrained from asking her.

His chest ached when they were at his front door. Eden closed up the final button of her top before Harry pouted in delight, batting her hands away to undo it again. She giggled as he leaned down to press a kiss to the swell of her breast, “Cancel your flight.” He mumbled into her warm skin. He pushed her against the door and dropped his hands to her ass, kneading her cheeks over the denim of her shorts.

“Harry,” Eden giggled, “I can’t.”

“You can.” He argued, brushing his nose over her collarbone before he kissed her jaw and eventually her lips. She closed her eyes, knitting her fingers in his hair as they kissed softly for a moment against his front door. Sadie and Lola were on the couch, watching the pair intently.

Harry tried to smile as they pulled back, but just couldn’t. He swallowed thickly, realizing he’d fucking miss her once she left. The lump in his throat felt tight and he didn’t know what to do besides kiss her again. Differently this time, and Eden felt it too. She was breathless and spinning as he passionately roamed his tongue around her mouth and fitted his body around hers.

He didn’t want to pull back but had to, gasping for a breath. Swallowing thickly, Harry brushed his nose against hers, “Don’t forget to text me when you land.”

Eden smiled, shaking her head, “I won’t. And I might be back sooner than you think.”

“Yeah?” There was a tinge of hope in his voice and Eden bit her lip, smiling, “Mhm. You know how close I am to my dad. And Colleen.”

He heard the teasing in his voice and breathily chuckled at her joke, “Sure. Your dad and Colleen.” He nodded.

“And the dogs. I’d miss them too much.” Eden continued.

Harry smirked and pecked her lips once more, “Anything else you’d miss?”

“I could think of a few things.” Eden whispered.

Harry smiled and stared into her eyes, “If you’re ever visiting your dad again… don’t be a stranger.”

Eden bit her lip with a smile, “What if I’m in a very committed, serious relationship by then?” She teased.

Harry chuckled, palming her ass to give a squeeze. His lips brushed hers as he smirked softly, “Bring him.”

//

sOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO do i need to write a part 2 to this orrrrrrrrrrrrr??

[amourkive]

EXPEDITION| MYG

a/n: erm....hit a writers block with this one NGL...and I feel like I made it too long at the end. Also added Jungkook bc of the circumstances of the fic lol, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless !! Stay Gold⁷ -miri

masterlist

/ᐠ• ㅅ •ᐟ\

"Hey, you ready?" Yoongi asked, leaning against his car, hands cradled in the warmth of his hoodie pocket. You had just walked out the house, eyes squinting at the assaulting brightness that your house lacked a few minutes prior.

With a single nod, you dragged your suitcase down the driveway of your house, hauling it into the trunk, as you pushed yoongi away to start the car; it was cold and you didn't care for a "gentleman's gesture" at this moment.

"I'm so tired! I should have chosen a later time to leave." You buckled your seatbelt with a whine as Yoongi let out an amused snort, putting the car in drive, slowly leaving the side of the street.

"that's why I'm here...so you don't have to drive yourself, just close your eyes, I'll wake you up when we arrive at the airport, okay? Let Min Yoongi handle this." He stated, pulling a blanket from the backseat, over your lap.

"....okay, min yoongi. I'm trusting you." you muttered, poking the side of his arm, and with that you lowered the seat, covered yourself better, and went back to dreamland.

"Hey, uhm, baby?..." You heard, and you couldn't tell if it was from your dream or not. "baby..." you heard again, and realized it was yoongi. Which, was alarming.

He only ever called you baby in two conditions:

1. when he really wanted you to do something

2.when he does something that he knows is going to upset you so he tries using the baby card

You opened your eyes, face to face with a sheepish looking yoongi, who had his lip in between his teeth. "you called me baby, what did you do." and he put his head down, with a sigh.

"it wasn't my fault! totally out of my control!" he defended himself immediately, pulling away from you, placing his hands on the steering wheel, "the car broke down." he muttered, and you sighed, leaning back into the seat.

of course it did.

Before you could say anything, Yoongi was already next to you again, head on your shoulder, and you knew he felt bad. "you know how the battery gets when it's winter....i should have asked Hyung for his car like you said, and I'm sorry about that, but- then what would be the point in having our car? I thought it would at least make it to the airp-"

"gigi...nicest way possible, shut up." you spoke softly, placing your hand on his cheek, rubbing it comfortingly. "you didn't know it was gonna break down at this moment...did you call anyone?"

you feel him nod his head, with a sigh, "yeah I called a tow company, and Jungkook-he's the closest so he said he'll take you. I'll have to wait for them here." Even though you figured that much, you still frowned hearing it out loud. Yoongi wasn't going to see you off back home.

"well come on...it's cold, and I'm still tired." you sat up, him moving away from you in the process, watching as you, quite difficulty, went to the back seats, with the blanket. You turned to face him, as he sat in his seat, and rolled your eyes.

"I want cuddles, gigi. C'mon~ before I leave, please?" you griped, holding your arms open, for him. (he was going to whether you asked or not, but he liked the extra effort)

once he made it to the back, like a koala to a tree, you clung to him right in-between his legs, his warmth stopping the cold that lingered. Sighing with satisfaction, you leaned into him more, as he ran his fingers through your hair. It was like you forgot the car broke down and you had to make it to the airport in less than an hour.

"how long are you staying at your parents, baby?" he asked, him trying to keep conversation for he felt a little drowsy now himself. "just a month...maybe less, depending." weakly shrugging, turning to face him,

"are you gonna miss me?" and really, him laughing was not the answer you expected. "of course I'm going to miss you. who else is gonna bother me-" "hey!" "sorry not bother, keep me company! who's gonna keep me company?"

You smiled, "Jungkook."

yoongi tsked, shaking his head, "yeah right. more like he'd keep me up more than I already do." "no, baby, Jungkook's right there." In a swift motion, yoongi turned his head to see Jungkook drawing hearts around his head, and he had to force himself to not roll his eyes.

"oh, yay, how nice of him to arrive." he muttered sarcastically, patting the side of your leg, for you to get up, so he can get out and help.

"hello you two lovebirds! having fun ? I bet you were~" with a smack to the head, he pouted, crossing his arms. "I was just kidding! gosh, can't take jokes anymore? what a loser."

At this point, Jungkook was talking to himself, because yoongi had all his focus on you, clambering out of the backseat, and right into his arms.

"can't Jungkook stay with the car, and you take me? no offense kook-" "none taken, really." "-i just...I really wanted you to be there when I left."

Yoongi pursed his lips, looking down at you, wishing he could. "you know I would if I could...but they're gonna need me for the information. I'm sorry, baby."

you nodded, understandingly, because once again, you knew that. But still the circumstances sucked. "it's okay, I give good hugs too hyung." Jungkook added, with a shrug which made you laugh a little. He was trying to lighten the mood, but you don't think yoongi appreciated it.

"you want to get smacked upside the head a couple more times don't you?" he asked, looking over towards Jungkook, his grip tightening on you. "be nice, gigi... he's only trying to be nice. Plus-" you look down at your phone that you pulled out from your pocket, "I should be going now."

yoongi sighed, "how about I just take you instead? Jungkook give me your keys, I'll be back before they even come." jungkook shook his head, "not possible! it's a 30 minute drive there and back! that's more than an hour! I highly doubt you'll be back before they come."

You nodded in agreement, "he has a point, yoongi. Just do what needs to be done." he frowned, "but if we go now-" "Sorry to interrupt but any of you Min Yoongi?" With a look towards you, Yoongi nodded, walking up to the guy, "yeah. that's me. Just- can you give me a minute?"

Once the guy nodded, Yoongi turned back to you, grabbing your face in his hands. "I'll miss you." You nodded, grabbing onto his sweatshirt, "I'll miss you too...I'll call you when I make it there." He smiled, "I know you will...please be careful. If anything happens to you I will-"

"-be on the first plane to me." you laughed, "I know. you say it all the time. I'll be careful, you know, all that good stuff. So, don't worry so much."

"augh, my sweet girl has to leave, what will I do for the next month?" Yoongi muttered, leaning down placing a kiss on your nose, before placing two on your cheeks. You smiled, relishing in his kisses, giggling as he placed one on your lips.

"you won't have to worry about her leaving if you guys don't finish this goodbye. Sorry to ruin this cute moment of course-" "we were getting there, Jungkook! Read the room sometimes man, just go before I might actually keep her here." Yoongi whined, letting you go with one last kiss.

As you walked with Jungkook to his car, Yoongi kept his eyes on you, until you disappeared in the car. As Jungkook drove past, you blew yoongi a kiss, smiling as he pretended to put it in his pocket, finally turning to face the tow guy.

You sat back in your seat, smiling softly. A month. Then you'll be able to give Yoongi all the kisses you wanted.

[tracingpatternswrites]

Married at first sight - Moving in together

(Start from the beginning)

This week our couples leave their dreamy honeymoons behind and return to reality. They have had the chance to decide where to live, but is it more of a challenge to move in with a stranger or to let a stranger into your home? Seeing how someone lives can tell you a lot about a person, and sometimes it can even make you reconsider what you think you know about them. All in this week’s episode of Married at First Sight.

Read on AO3.

Snippet below the cut.

“Welcome home.”

Sirius grinned as he opened the door with a flourish, making an exaggerated sort of bow as he held it open for Remus to step through. Remus did, but he stopped almost immediately on the other side of the threshold and Sirius had to nudge him out of the way so that he could enter too.

He pushed both of their suitcases to one side to give them a bit more room even though it was hardly needed. Remus was still looking around and his face looked strangely blank. Sirius felt a flutter of nerves in his chest as he too looked around the spacious hallway, as if seeing it for the first time.

The house was nothing special, but it was his place and he was very fond of it. He had worked hard to get it just the way he wanted it, a far cry from the stifling house where he had grown up. The rooms were light and airy and, yes, perhaps it was a bit on the big side for just him. It wasn’t outrageous though, and in comparison to the house where he had grown up, it would be considered modest.

“Leave the bag,” he told Remus. “I’ll bring it upstairs for you later, but I’ll give you the tour now if you want?”

“Is there time before they get here?” asked Remus and Sirius threw a glance at his watch.

“We should be okay, just–“ he was cut off as there was a knock at the door and Sirius pulled a face. “Never mind.”

Remus chuckled lowly as he stepped out of the way enough for Sirius to open the door. Marlene grinned widely at them as soon as she caught sight of them both.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully as she stepped into the house, pulling Sirius in for an enthusiastic hug. “This place is fucking amazing, it’s absolutely huge . Looks like you hit the jackpot, Remus.”

Marlene winked at Remus before pulling him in for a hug as well, and Sirius gave an awkward laugh. He glanced at Remus briefly but the other man kept his eyes on Marlene, smiling politely. 

“Sure seems like it, doesn’t it,” he replied neutrally.

A man was hovering on the doorstep behind Marlene, someone that Sirius didn’t recognise but Marlene quickly introduced as Matt when she realised they hadn’t met before. Sirius gestured for them to come inside, grateful for the large hallway as they squeezed through with all their equipment.

“You two want a cuppa?” he asked but Marlene shook her head.

“Nah, we’re alright, we don’t have long so we better get started. I thought we’d start with filming a little tour and then I’ll have a chat with each of you in private. That alright?”

“Uh, sure,” Sirius said, glancing over at Remus who nodded.

“Just act natural,” Marlene said brightly, turning to Matt who hauled his camera up. “At least this place is big enough that we won’t be falling over ourselves. Some people live in the tiniest places and they’re a nightmare to film in.”

“Er, right,” Sirius mumbled, glancing at Remus but he looked mostly amused as he watched Marlene.

“Yeah, I think this’ll do,” Matt said, adjusting the hold he had on the camera. “We just need to get you mic’d up.”

“Right, that’s my job,” Marlene beamed, pulling her hair into a bun at the top of her head before diving into the bag she’d dropped right inside the door.

It only took a few moments to get everything up and running, but Sirius was still feeling increasingly more uncomfortable. He did his best to hide it though, and he tried not to let his discomfort show too much. Remus sent him a small smile over the top of Marlene’s head as she fitted the microphone on him, and Sirius felt something unclench in his chest as he gave a wobbly smile in return.

“Off you go,” Marlene said brightly, giving Sirius a slightly nudge that felt unnecessarily sharp. “Just act as if we’re not here.”

“That should be easy,” mumbled Sirius under his breath, but he felt something warm flare in his chest as Remus snorted a laugh next to him. He took a deep breath, turning towards Remus with a slightly forced smile. “Welcome home, I guess. D’you want a tour of the place before you unpack?”

“Sure, that would be perfect,” Remus replied with a small conspiratorial smile, as if they were sharing a secret joke, and Sirius’ heart did a little stutter in his chest. Remus brushed against the back of his hand lightly, settling at the small of his back. It was warm and comforting, grounding. “Lead the way, I’m right behind you.”

Continue on AO3.

[doctorcorby]

In Justice We Trust (76501 words) by thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed.

All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.

-

December 24, 8:50 pm

14 hours in an airplane was a tiring flight, no matter how excited you were to watch your rockstar bestie film a commercial, and by the time Trucy and the gang shuffled out to go pick up their luggage, even she and Pearl were dragging.

Pearl stumbled, and caught herself on Trucy's shoulder, giving her an exhausted smile. "Oops! sorry about that."

“Oop!” Trucy caught herself from stumbling too, flashing a bright smile at her as she managed to keep them both from toppling over. She yawned. “Don’t worry about it! I’ve never been on a plane like that before. It felt like we were flying forever.” 

"Right? And Mr. Nick and Mr. Miles were like, mostly asleep the whole time," Pearl giggled, straightening up a bit in Trucy's arms. "I'm glad we at least got to chat with Kay! Do you think she'll be too busy to go see Klavier with us?"

Trucy put a gloved hand to her lips, her arms around Pearl’s shoulders as they shuffled along. “It was nice to talk to Kay. I’d been wanting to get that pickpocketing secret from her for like, years. Maybe we can ask her? I hope not, I think she’d be over the moon to see it instead of whatever Mr. Edgeworth wants her to do.” 

"Same," Pearl nodded. She chewed on her thumb as they waited by the baggage claim for their suitcases to appear. She dropped her voice low. "Whatever it is, they sure aren't excited to tell us about it, huh?"

“Nope…I tried asking Daddy and he went white as a sheet and told me it wasn’t something to worry about." She sniffed in quiet frustration as she watched the baggage belt roll past “which usually means it really is.” 

"For real!" Pearl nodded. "Mr. Nick always tries to handle all his problems himself. That's why we always have to butt in and help him, right?"

“Exactly! Just like always, yeah? Because who’s gonna help him if we don’t?” She shook her head. “He really should have learned by now that the more he tries to leave us out, the more we get involved, right?” 

"He really should have," Pearl nodded, and continued to chew thoughtfully on her nail. "But um, we'll do that after we go see Klavier, right?”

“Well yeah!” Trucy gave her a squeeze, her hat slipping down her forehead. “Like heck I’m gonna miss his show after he invited us all the way out here! He’d probably cry from a lack of Trucy and Pearl gracing his stage.” 

"I bet he would! And that would be awful!" 

"Hey ladies!" A voice greeted them from behind. "Need a hand with your suitcases?"

“EEEK!” Trucy jumped, her had leaping a full inch over her head before plopping back down on her brow 

"Whoa, whoa, sorry!" Apollo Justice held out his hands apologetically as they both turned around to see him. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"Well, um, you did!" Pearl pouted. "Gosh make some noise next time…"

Trucy stuck her tongue out. 

“Polly, you usually boom everywhere with that voice of yours!” She pointed to him with a grin. “for that you get to carry my bag for me! And Pearly’s too!”

Apollo blinked at her, and pushed his hair back. 

"Trucy, I just offered to.-- you know what, never mind. You got it." He laughed and grabbed both their suitcases as they came down the track. "I don't have one to carry right now anyway."

“Really?” Trucy gasped in surprise. “...why didn’t you pack anything, Polly? You’re gonna worry Klavier!” 

"No, no, I packed," he explained, hauling the cases across the airport floor as he looked around for Trucy's dad and the rest. "Well– okay technically Athena packed for me. I didn't have any time, so, she's got my suitcase… I hope."

Pearl giggled behind her hands, but Trucy noticed she was watching Apollo carefully. "Gosh, Apollo! Kind of scatterbrained, aren't you?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Miss Pearl."

Pearl meanwhile, glanced significantly over at Trucy, and Trucy remembered what they'd talked about the night before.

Trucy nodded seriously at her, before she put on her best and brightest smile. 

“Hey, Apollo…I wanted to ask you something when you got a moment for your favorite little employer.” 

"Huh?" He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Um, sure, of course Trucy. Maybe when we're settled at the hotel?"

As Trucy looked at him, she thought, maybe it was a trick of the light but his eyes, and his hair looked darker than usual.

“Hmm…” Trucy’s strange eyes stared him down for a long moment before she broke into a bright smile. “yeah that sounds great!”

December 24, 9:20 pm

At the hotel, Trucy and Pearl hurriedly got comfortable in their room together. They laid out their things, brushed their teeth, checked the channels on the hotel's tv, and giggled with excitement about going to see Klavier the next day.

Soon, Pearl said, "I'm gonna take a shower if you don't mind, Trucy. Are you still planning to talk to Apollo tonight?"

“Of course!” Trucy replied as she leaned up and stretched, using the motion to ease herself to her feet. “I think I’m gonna ask him about the ghost thing…when you channel someone you can see it, right? At least a little.”

"With the Kurain technique of channeling your whole body transforms," she murmured thoughtfully. "I don't know exactly how it works for other types of channeling or possession, but i think you can see it at least a little.."

“I think I saw some of it. Apollo didn’t look…exactly himself.” she murmured to Pearl. “I think it was his friend.” 

"I thought that might be the case. Um, Trucy?"

Trucy leaned in with a tilt of her hat as she placed it upon her head .“Yeah Pearly?” 

"Be careful, okay? If Apollo doesn't want to talk about it, maybe don't push too much? Um, I don't know him too well, and I didn't know the ghost that's hanging on to him at all– I'm sure he was a nice person, but…" Pearl trailed off nervously.

“But you don’t want me to be ghost murdered?” Trucy said with a serious nod “...I get it. Ghosts can be kinda touchy, right?” 

She nodded seriously. "Exactly. Ghosts don't always react like living people, especially if they're not being channeled by someone with experience, or if they don't know they're dead and you make them think about it. They can get um, I think the word I've heard used is 'erratic'."

Trucy shivered as the ‘worst case scenarios’ flashed through her mind. Still, she bonked herself atop the head with a broad grin.

 “I promise, Pearly. The minute he starts getting too weird or makes a sudden move, I’ll bonk him with Mr. Hat and make a run for it.”

December 24, 9:30 pm

Apollo was staying in the same room as her Daddy, but she was pretty sure that Daddy was with Mr. Edgeworth in his room, talking about whatever it was she wasn't supposed to know about. Probably a murder. It was usually murder.

Anyway, that meant she was reasonably confident that Apollo would be alone– or as alone as possible given the circumstances– when she knocked on the door, and as luck would have it, she was right.

He popped his head out the door, wisps of unruly hair flopping over his face.

"Hey, Truce!"

“Hel-lo Apo-llo” she sounded out the words with a playful grin, leaning in with a flutter of her cape. “Got some time for your favorite boss?” 

"Did my favorite boss send you to ask that?" he teased. "Assuming you mean you– come on in."

“Uh huh.” She stuck her tongue out at him, before she slipped inside. “You haven’t been around as much lately. I’ve missed you!” 

Apollo's hotel room was already a mess with Trucy's daddy's things– she saw one of his blue suits laid out over the chair. Apollo stood awkwardly by the desk, and smiled over at her.

"I've missed you too. But it's been quite a week, huh?"

“It’s been crazy.” Trucy agreed, tucking her dark hair over her ear as she shut the door behind her. “I didn’t expect to be traveling halfway across the world so soon!” 

"Yeah, tell me about it," Apollo said. He shook his head. "I didn't know until this morning. Feel like I've hardly had a chance to catch my breath."

“Yeah? I know I’m coming to see Klavier~” she mused as she plopped herself up on the table beside him. “Daddy’s also here but he won’t tell me why. Typical. Like he thinks he can actually keep secrets from me.” 

"He didn't tell you?" Apollo raised his eyebrows. "So, wait– you didn't think I was coming to see Klavier too, did you?"

Trucy leaned towards him with a shake of her head. 

“I’d kinda hoped! But I figured you were here with Daddy…which means you know what’s goin’ on.” She pointed her finger at him. “I wanna know, a secret for a secret, okay?” 

He crossed his arms, leaning against the desk. "What do you mean, a secret for a secret?"

“I mean I’ll tell you a secret we noticed in exchange for what Daddy’s doing here, Apollo!” 

"I mean, your dad's not going to be happy with me if I tell on him– although I can't imagine it staying a secret for too long with everybody here," he muttered. "...is your secret a good one?"

“It involves you?” Trucy offered with a bright smile. 

"It involves me," he repeated, narrowing his eyes. He sighed heavily, and Trucy watched him fidget with his tie, loosening it. "Alright. Fine."

Trucy snuck closer to him, inching over the top of the table with a huge grin. “you first.” 

"Okay," he pulled his tie open, leaving it hanging over his vest. Trucy thought she saw his appearance seem to shimmer strangely as he stood there, a far away expression in his face. "You probably guessed it's for a case. Some interpol agents were killed, and Edgeworth wants us to look into it."

Trucy nodded sagely. She took off her hat, and left it on her lap as she hummed.

“Yikes. Sounds like it’s kinda a big deal if Mr. Edgy is getting involved too. So that’s why Daddy’s being secretive about it.” She tilted her head at him. “...Innnteresting. Alright, as payment...about the thing I wanted to tell you…” 

"I'm listening," he nodded, his dark gaze flicked toward her.

“We’re secretly brother and sister,” she lied with a wicked grin. 

He snorted, and she watched his shoulders jerk in surprise. 

"What?" He rubbed his bracelet–it must have pinched him– and looked at her with one eye open, "Trucy, it's not funny to lie about that kind of thing."

She laughed, kicking her feet with an innocent grin on her face before she bopped the top of her head with her tongue out.

“Sorrrryyyy. I was just kidding around! Sorry…but the real thing is ah..” she bit her lip. “Pearly said she saw a ghost in you. Like…you’re possessed.” 

His chin jerked up, and his dark gaze fixed on her again. She watched him rub his bracelet again, this time with a different frown written across his face.

"Can you say that again?"

“Pearl says she can see another spirit in you.” Trucy tilted her head to the side, as her hand reached back to rest on Mr. Hat’s mechanism, just in case. “She’s a spirit medium, you know? And I’ll be honest…I’ve kinda noticed too. Sometimes you look just a little different…and act different too.” 

He looked away still rubbing his bracelet. He had to know that she wasn't lying.

"Pearl shouldn't make jokes like that."

“It’s not a lie,” Trucy said slowly, “or a joke. Pearl wouldn’t joke about that kinda thing, Polly. I know I can joke around a lot, but I’m being serious when I say I noticed it too…and Pearl super did.” 

"I don't want to say anything unkind about Pearl, but I think maybe she's just got an active imagination, and wrapped you up in it, Trucy." Apollo had crossed his arms tightly and protectively over his chest. "I know Pearl was raised to believe in ghosts, but is that something you really believe in, Trucy?"

She stared at him incredulously. “I’ve got eyes that can tell when someone’s lying, and a family of magicians. Plus, Daddy says his old legal assistant Maya used to summon her dead sister into her body all the time to give him pep talks and stuff.” 

"Trucy, not to be negative, but 'eyes that see someone lying' is more like weaponized anxiety than anything else. And I know what Mr. Wright says but– I'm serious, Trucy, do you really actually believe in ghosts? You're not 12 you know."

Trucy felt a sting of irritation, causing her to pout as she leaned back on the table. 

“Yeah, no shit, Polly. But I’m saying stranger things happen every day…and Pearly says she can see and channel ghosts and I believe her. Did you know?” She pointed to him. “You’re a lawyer, so you super should. The existence of ghosts is a legal fact, dummy. It was proven in court like, 8 or so years ago. They had an exorcism on live tv! Daddy’s nasty ex girlfriend, everyone saw it!” 

Trucy knew that Apollo must have seen it too– after all, Apollo had hero worshiped her daddy for a long time. That was what he had said, that Phoenix Wright had helped him want to become a lawyer.

"Just because it was accepted as evidence in court doesn't mean it must have been real," he murmured bitterly. "Trucy– I don't want to fight with you. I don't want to make you upset but I– I lost someone really close to me recently, you know? You can't just say things to me like ghosts are real and not expect me to be upset."

Trucy grimaced, looking down with a slight flush of guilt. She gripped her wrist, glancing up at him with her focused eyes.

“I..I know, Apollo. I know you’re hurting, a lot. Trust me.” She shrugged her shoulders gently “I’ve lost a lot of people, too. But…you seem different. Really different, sometimes…maybe I’m a little worried that you don’t think you can trust me to talk about it….or I dunno. You’re going to start getting distant…or whoever’s in there with you will.” 

"Trucy," he repeated. He looked at her with absolutely heartbroken, exhausted eyes. "Trucy, I know the last time you lost someone you were really young. But I am grieving, okay? You have to understand that I am going to be different because I'm seriously– I'm seriously messed up about this."

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with a dark, haunted expression. "I'm not going to tell you I haven't been different. I have– I know I have. Even after I made up with Athena. But grief does that, Trucy. Grief can make you somebody else for a while. I can't– I have to– I have to work really hard to get over this big part of my life that's just been torn out of the world forever."

Apollo's voice hitched and broke. His fingers dug into her shoulders. "I have to, okay? I have to work through this, and get over it. I have to. You can't come in here and tell me that when I hear his voice in my head that's real, that that's really him. That's not– that's not healthy, Truce."

His big, haunted dark eyes looked terrified, and were beaded with tears.

Trucy winced under his hands. It wasn’t exactly true that the last time she’d lost someone she cared for was when she was young. She’d seen pictures of her father’s corpse far more recently than that, and pushed herself to smile through the trial, forged evidence and all.

It wasn’t like she forgot what grief felt like, or how badly the gaping hole a loss left could sting.. But she couldn’t help but think that maybe knowing they were there, with you still, was a comfort rather than something unhealthy and hurtful. She liked to imagine Zak Gramarye there in the crowd at every show, clapping proudly as she performed quite literally in his name.

But it was clearly hurting Apollo to even imagine the possibility. She hiccuped, her shoulders shaking.

“S-sorry Polly,” she managed to say, “I just t-thought, you know…it’d be nice if you k-knew it wasn’t forever.” 

His fingers dug into her shoulders for another moment, and then he pulled her into a tight hug. She heard him make a choked noise as he held her, and she felt his body shudder.

"Sor–sorry, Trucy," he murmured, holding her tight. "Sorry to be such a bastard about it I just– I can't. I don't know how I'd– sorry."

Trucy rubbed his back, feeling even guiltier. 

“You’re not a bastard…Pearl was worried about me sayin’ something. I should have thought a little more before I …y-you know…said anything.”

If there was a ghost inside Apollo…it wasn’t erratic…it was hurting. 

Apollo swallowed so thickly that Trucy could hear it, and he didn't let go of her, just nodding against her shoulder.

"Can I… can I tell you something, Trucy? Without you thinking less of me?" he murmured.

Trucy nodded against him, holding him tight. “Of course..we both say all kinds of stuff all the time. Nothing you tell me’s gonna make me think less of you, okay?” 

He took a breath, rough and raspy, still just holding her, face buried in her shoulder. "Clay wasn't just– he wasn't just my f-friend, Trucy. He was– we were– we were together romantically, y-you know what I mean? Like dating…"

Trucy’s eyes widened in sudden understanding. 

That explained a lot, honestly.

“Oh. Oh Apollo…” she bit her lip “I’m sorry…I didn’t know you guys were dating, I didn’t…” She felt even guiltier. This had all been a big mistake. “He seemed like a really great guy.” 

He squeezed her again, and she could hear his embarrassment when he said, "it wasn't exactly the kind of thing you talk about at work, you know."

It wasn't exactly something you talked about at work. Her daddy and Mr. Edgeworth didn't talk about it. She hadn't even known for sure that they were together until a little more than a year ago, when she'd been sat down for a 'serious talk'.

It wasn't that it was something illegal, or that it was wrong, per se, but it just… wasn't talked about. It wasn't respected. Certain people wouldn't take you seriously if you 'weren't the marrying type'. It had just always been that way.

Trucy remembered that it had come up at the trial about Aura, and everyone got embarrassed and tried to dance around the subject.

It made sense why Apollo wouldn’t have told her, no matter how absolutely ridiculous she felt the social ‘norm’ was. She knew the way her own heart tended to lean, without heed to the arbitrary line of ‘gender’...and her own attractions.

It just wasn’t something talked about– and Apollo was suffering alone because of it.

“I know what you mean ..but you can talk about that with me. I understand it.” She squeezed him tighter, “I’m sorry, Polly. I’m sorry you lost your boyfriend, and I’m sorry I pushed you on it.” 

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and squeezed her again, sniffling. "Thanks, Trucy. I appreciate you understanding…"

“Of course I understand,” she murmured against him, doing all she could to hug him as comfortingly as she could manage. “You can talk about anything with me, okay Polly? Anything.”

He nodded against her, holding her for another minute. Then he took a breath and a step back, arms still on her shoulders.

"Thanks… I'm sorry I snapped at you. I've been barely holding it together this whole week…"

Trucy rubbed at her eyes with one hand, shaking her head. “It’s been a really hard week for you guys…don’t be sorry okay? I pushed a little too hard.”

Apollo squeezed her shoulders more gently this time. "It's okay. I know you just wanted to help."

She smiled at him , her big and bright showstopper of a smile that won hearts at the Wunder Bar. “Because you’re important to me, dork.” 

He grabbed the rim of her top hat and pulled it down over her eyes gently. "You too, Truce. Even if I'm kinda shit at showing it right now."

“Wah!!!” Trucy bopped the rim of her hat to knock it back up with a puff of her cheeks. “You’ll get better. Just gotta retrain you on Trucy Wrangling, I guess. Just don’t let yourself fall too deep in your own head.” 

She shrugged her shoulders gently.

"I'll do my best," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets and standing awkwardly in front of her. "So… h-hey…"

Trucy tilted her head to the side. “yeah Apollo?” 

"If Pearls thinks I have a…" he shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, and she watched him clench his hands in his pockets, "ghost attached to me… what did she want me to do about it? Did she want to.. I don't know, perform an exorcism?"

“No! Of course not!” Trucy put her hand to her lips with a gasp. “No way! She just noticed it and I thought it might…help. To know. You know?”

"So she just wanted to… bring it to my attention, then?" he asked, raising his chin curiously.

“I mean yeah? She didn’t exactly grab my shoulders and go TRUCY WE GOTTA EXORCISE THAT GUY. More like she just pointed it out and I had to agree?” 

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, his face tearstained and rough. "Well, that's a relief. Here I was worried I'd have to dodge her coming around the corner with spirit charms."

Trucy leaned forward and wiped away some of his tears with her gloved fingers. “Nah, Pearly’s not that kinda girl. She’s nice.” 

"Well yeah of course she is. But if she thinks I'm possessed or something she might be convinced the nice thing to do is help me whether i want it or not, right?" He rubbed his face again, and then started to root around the desk for a box of tissues.

“I think she’d probably ask first, Polly.” She wiggled her feet nervously. “Don’t worry. Nobody’s gonna try to kick whatever ghost you totally don’t have with you out. Promise.” 

"Alright," he nodded. She watched him wipe his teary face with a tissue. "Frankly, because I think the stress of it might kill me, not because I have a ghost possessing me, understand?"

He gave her a wry smile, but his voice was firm.

Still, Trucy wasn't sure whether he believed it or not.

“Of course!” She flashed her smile again. “We wouldn’t want to add to the ‘are ghosts real’ question by having YOURS around too after you have a coronary.” 

"Yeah," he chuckled, rough and pained. "One ghost is too many, but two would be complete anarchy."

December 24, 10:15 pm

Pearl was carefully combing out her long, long, long hair after her shower when Trucy returned to the room after talking to Apollo. She'd only seen it down a few times before– it had to be all the way to her knees, if not her ankles.

"How'd it go?" Pearl asked softly, looking up at her as the door closed.

“Preeeetty bad.” Trucy took off her top hat with the same weighty sigh as her father taking off his tie after a bad day in the courtroom. 

"Oooooogh…" Pearl put a hand over her mouth as she frowned. "Nobody's hurt, right?"

“No, nobody got hurt.” Trucy shook her head with a sigh as she plopped herself down next to her, before letting herself fall back against the bed with an ‘oof’. “But he got really upset…told me that it’s not real, and it can’t be…and then got really really nervous that you were gonna try to exorcize the ghost.” 

She chewed on her thumb gently. "I was kinda worried about that… we'd better keep an eye on him."

[the1975attheirverybest]

Winte(ring)

A/N: for @abiiors 12 days of Christmas prompts. Sorry I’ve abruptly abandoned them. IM SORRY ITS SO SHORT I CANT WRITE FLUFF OKAY.

Inspired by my first winter away from home during the 2014 snowmageddon in Boston. If you know you know. Let me know what you think!!

Prompt: Snowed In

Warnings: nah.

———

“Darling, please! Put that down!” Matty trailed after his girlfriend as she dashed around their rented cabin, gathering her belongings and stuffing them into her suitcase.

“I promised Denise-“

“I promise you that my mum does NOT want you to drive in the middle of a snowstorm just to be there for presents. She’ll understand.” Matty squeezed her shoulder urgently.

“If you wanna stay here all alone, then, suit yourself. But I’m leaving.” With that, she hauled one of the bags over her shoulder, turning doorknob open.

“Are you mad? You think I’m going to let you drive in the middle of-“ Matty stepped outside in his slippers, nearly slipping at the doorstep. “Jesus fuckin Christ!” He gasped when he saw the giant icicle looming down from the dam on the roof, ominously, threatening to break off at any moment and stab them.

“Come with me, then! Get dressed and let’s go before snowfall resumes. It’d be much safer if we could make it back before dark.”

Matty knew that was the logical thing to do, but that wasn’t the plan. THE plan. The one that he’d booked this cabin trip specifically to carry out. “But I’m- I’m sleepy. And- uhhh….ive still got to shower. And I haven’t packed-“

“Instead of standing here arguing with me about it, you could get started with all that!”

She could hear him mutter something under his breath about her being the most stubborn person he’d ever met. Shaking his head, he rushed back inside, his slippers completely drenched, his feet aching.

She shrugged, pressing the button on the car remote and listening to it beep twice. She was in the middle of loading up the car when she heard Matty come back out; with a feeble jacket on, a layer not strong enough to protect his precious body from the elements. He had certain not changed or packed, but at least he had his boots on. She glanced at him quickly before turning back to return to her task. Behind her, Matty was mumbling.

“I knew you were gonna be the death of me the moment that I met you. I just never expected us to die in a snow storm, for fucks sakes.”

Ordinarily, this is what would instigate a fight. He would share his inside thoughts out loud, inevitably saying something to set her off, she’d bite back with something quipping and sarcastic, and they’d kick off their competition for who would have the last word. But, considering that they were in a hurry to get on the road, she let his complaints slide.

“It’s my fault. Should’ve known you’d make this an impossible task. But no, I had to plan this fuckin romantic shitshow.”

Her brows furrowed as she moved their bags around inside the car, trying to fit them together like Tetris pieces. Behind her, she heard Matty zip and unzip his backpack repeatedly. Was he planning on loading up his stuff one individual item at a time?

She pushed the back of the car closed, sighing loudly in an attempt to exhale the annoyance out of her body. But, then, she turned around.

“Oh- my- fuck-“ she was stunned.

Before her eyes, Matty knelt down on one knee. Among a huge bed of rose petals that were presently sinking into the snow, slowly being covered up with white, disappearing. He popped the little box in his hand. A gorgeous diamond ring sparkling from within.

“Will you marry me?” Matty asked as soon as their eyes locked. “My darling—“ he swallowed. His heart beating against his coat. “will you do me the honor of being my wife you stubborn, relentless, ridiculous human being?” Marty was shocked at how nervous he’d felt. Despite the fact that they’d been together forever, talked about spending the rest of their lives as a couple, discussed marriage, starting a family, felt comfortable in their decision that they never wanted to be with anyone else, ever again. Matty still felt vulnerable and scared. To offset the unnerving feeling, he did what he does best: rant. “I had this whole thing planned. It was meant to happen inside! By the fireplace. Tonight. Dinner. Just you and me. There was going to be wine- umm…I can get the wine actually!” He went to stand up “probably shouldn’t get up before you answer. I just….theres nobody else I’d rather be snowed in - or out- with. I suppose you could say- the storm….it’s an awfully clear metaphor for- you know….the unexpected ups and downs of life that come your way in a marriage- or something obvious and dramatic like that….i just mean I love you and only you. I never want to love anyone else for the rest of my days. And I can’t think of a better way to honor that, than, like, marrying you, so I think we should be husband and wife. Forever and-“

She knelt down, kissing him with tears in her eyes. The sudden, added weight, threw him off balance, his knee sinking into the soft snow.

“Yes.” She whispered giggling into his mouth. “Yes I’ll marry you, you pretentious dickhead. Give me the ring…”

[marleysfinest]

   After arriving at London Gatwick following a spur-of-the-moment booking, Reiner stretched his tired frame as he stepped off of the British Airways flight that had just landed from Vancouver. His neck pillow clung to him haphazardly and he heaved a hurriedly-packed duffel bag over his shoulder as he and the other passengers shuffled towards immigration and baggage claim. His body clock was shot - in his head, it was 2am, but the blinding, 10am sunshine told him otherwise, and while he’d managed to sleep on the plane, his head and eyes felt heavy as they yearned for rest. 

   He made it through immigration with ease, and was soon restlessly twitching his leg as he waited for his suitcase at baggage claim. The dusting of sleepiness had cleared thanks to the fluorescent lighting and excessive air-con, and Reiner’s thoughts had returned to seeing Marley, who was waiting on the other side of the wall at arrivals. Or, rather, was waiting in her car in a pick-up bay. She’d messaged him just after landing saying that the arrivals hall was busier than they’d anticipated, and to avoid an unwanted media-frenzy, she was going to wait in the car just outside. 

   On sight of his silver Samsonite suitcase, Reiner all but barged the waiting travellers out of the way so he could haul it from the carousel and head for the arrivals hall, feeling thankful that he’d chosen a four-wheeled case that glided with ease and, most importantly, speed. He dodged a small number of paparazzi by raising his hood and ducking his head, and upon seeing Marley’s car parked in the pick-up bay, ran full tilt, forgetting his prior tiredness. He threw his things onto the back seat before excitedly climbing into the passenger side of the black Mercedes G-Class, immediately leaning over and cupping Marley’s face to pull her into a forceful kiss. Marley giggled her way through it, ever moved by Reiner’s apparently uncontrollable affections, and the two of them smiled at one another wider than they had done in a while. 

   Click. 

   Everything fell right back into place as Reiner fastened his seatbelt, and Marley began to pull away from the airport. It perhaps wasn’t the best idea to drive - what with at least ninety minutes ahead of them as they drove to Marley’s London bolt-hole in Battersea - but Marley knew that Reiner couldn’t have stomached being folded up on a train, even if it did cut the journey time, not after such a long flight. She didn’t mind, anyway. In her mind it just gave them time they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

   “How was your flight?”

   Reiner’s head lolled back against the headrest as he turned to look at Marley; she didn’t have to take her eyes off of the road to know what expression he was making, and she couldn’t help but laugh. 

   “Come on!” she pleaded, “Business class on British Airways can’t be that bad, can it?” 

   “Mar.” Reiner’s voice was surprisingly stern, although he was still smiling. “I got put next to this greasy businessman who did not stop smacking his lips after throwing peanuts in his mouth the entire flight. Whenever this guy was awake he sounded like a… bulldog, or something.” 

   Having had a good night’s sleep and not just endured a nine and a half hour flight, it was easy for Marley to find the humour in the situation. She pouted her bottom lip.

   “Poor baby,” she mocked, “time to start flying on a private yet, although I have to say, I’m fond of a peanut on a flight…”

   “Stop,” laughed Reiner as he gently hit Marley across the arm, “you made your point. Go back to asking me about my favourite colour, or something.” 

[deafmangoes]

An Ambitious Purchase

After getting a little too drunk with his peers, a Fiendish Braggadocio heads to Polythreme with half a purpose and less of a plan.

Link to AO3! Here's my entry for the @fallenlondonficswap, written for @bizarrebazaar13 and featuring over-confident devils and the delights of Polythreme!

When London fell, there were 4412 registered public houses. No one's entirely sure how many remain, or how many have appeared since, because the damn things no longer stay still long enough to be counted. Living in the city you eventually learn which pubs are For You, and which Are Not For You, according to your status, wealth, morals or humanity. The Seven Bells in Spite was a haunt for the infernal sort, pent up after a day's work at the Brass Embassy and looking to relax in ways that might be fatal to humans.

At a table near the bar a trio of devils were working their way through pints of bitter lager and glass after glass of brandy. The conversation had turned to boasting about recent acquisitions.

"Took the soul of a judge this week! Sold it to me for a kiss, the pervert," remarked a young devil, flushed with booze.

"Well, I got a ladies' sewing circle up near the palace. Every last one of them," replied another. The third devil, a Fiendish Braggadocio, fidgeted with his glass in silence for just a moment too long. The pair saw this and pounced.

"So, what did you drag in this week?" they teased, knowing the answer already. The third devil looked anywhere except at the pair. He hadn't made a successful purchase all month. It was galling. What he needed, he thought to himself as his companions laughed, was a really big score. Something monumentous. Incredible. Something that would get him noticed.

He finished his pint and slammed the glass down on the table. They stopped laughing.

"I've got a lead," he said, alcohol-induced terrible ideas coming to the fore in the form of the biggest lie he could think of, "I'm off to the docks, and..."

They stared at him, incredulous.

"I'm going to buy Polythreme."

That's why the Fiendish Braggadocio was stepping off a rusty steamship onto the living stone of Polythreme's quayside, clutching a suitcase filled with spare clothes and paperwork. He strolled along the water's edge, ignoring the muffled complaints of the flagstones below his feet, and searched for someone upon which he could foist himself.

He found one in the shape of a bundle of scarves and pair of damp zailor's overalls, hauled back from the depths. There may have been someone inside, the devil thought it best to not pry. The enthusiastic (if fishy) Salt-Encrusted Ensemble shambled forward and shook the devil's hand with gusto. Its glove had barnacles on it.

"Welcome to Polythreme, the Island Of A Thousand Voices!" it said, with a watery gurgle, "That's our new tagline, do you like it? Oh, no, don't answer yet, I'll send you a survey at the end of the tour."

"Tour?"

"Yes! We are one of the Polythreme Tourist Board's official guides, here to show new visitors the many Sights of Polythreme and our Vibrant, Living Culture!" it continued. The Fiendish Braggadocio felt he could hear the pronounced capitals. The clothes colony dragged him with a surprisingly strong grip up the harbour and into the main streets of the small city.

"To your left you'll see the Muttering Ampitheatre, and its twin the Grumbling Ampitheatre. Over on the right we have the city's finest coffee house - ignore the screaming, that's just the kettles - and the Wailing Folly, our tallest and least useful building..." it continued in this vein for some time, before finally dragging the devil to a boarding house that had been been garnished with a sign reading 'HOTTEL'. The clothes colony entered first and ducked behind the makeshift counter, re-appearing with a foppish top hat and monocle.

"Good afternoon, sir! May I furnish you with one of our finest suites? Our beds are the quietest and most co-operative in the city."

The devil nodded, a little dazed. The Salt-Encrusted Ensemble (and the Hotelier's Hat) shook his hand again, directed him to sign the guestbook (blank, maudlin) and gave him a key (conciliatory, fanged). It then ducked behind the counter a second time, re-appeared wearing a bellboy's cap, and snatched up the devil's suitcase. When at last the Fiendish Braggadocio sat on the bed (thankfully silent, for now) with a survey form in hand, he realised this had all perhaps been a mistake.

After three days the devil was certain: this was a mistake. His cravat had rebelled on the first day, refusing to be worn and professing its undying love for his left sock. He caught the cravat cavorting with his right sock later that evening, and the arguments ("I didn't know you had a twin!", "they seduced me!", etc.) continued all night. On the second day he found his suitcase had eaten his favourite hat, and the rest of his belongings refused to go on until they had held a funeral. On the third he had a nasty run-in with a razor that had turned bloodthirsty. The whole time he had struggled to get any information. Clay Men avoided him. The occasional visitors from London or the Elder Continent exchaged polite nods but little else. The Clothes Colonies were more interested in fashion trends than business. He was no closer to his goal than when he'd started, and didn't dare return to London empty-handed.

On another walk around the island he passed by a delegation from the Khanate. His Mongolian was rusty, but he was able to make out something about 'the Hundreds' refusing their meeting. It wasn't much of a lead, but better than he'd had yet. The devil returned to his lodgings and caught the Salt-Encrusted Ensemble as it was cleaning (in a maid's apron, no less).

"Who is- or who are, the Hundreds?" he asked while it dusted.

"Oh, didn't I tell you during the tour? The Hundreds is our king. A father, of sorts, to the Clay Men. I suppose to me he's more like a stern uncle."

"Where could I find him?"

"Everywhere, really! He's the entire island. But you won't be able to speak to him, he doesn't take many visitors. People try of course, they march up the hill but almost no one gets through the gates."

"So he lives up there?"

"I suppose from your singular perspective you could say he 'lives' there, it's where the island began."

The Fiendish Braggadocio considered his options. He had to talk to this king. Gifts were out of the question, he had nothing to offer, and he assumed the Clay Broker wouldn't make introductions. That just left breaking in. He could do that. He had experience. A plan came together.

Living islands needed their sleep too, it seemed, and there were periods of time where Polythreme became quieter. He had taken note of these over the days, and chose one such time to walk up the winding street towards the hilltop. He crouched in the shadow under the villa's walls and prepared his equipment: a rope stolen from the harbour, excited to be used for new purposes, a set of lockpicks that bickered with each other but could be bribed to co-operate, and his spare suit, ready to cause a distraction at the gates.

He gave the signal and his clothes lumbered away. Shortly after they were arguing with the guards, and the devil waited until he heard the Clay Men on the other side of the wall scraping towards the commotion. He threw the rope, which knotted itself to the wall, and made short work of climbing over. Quickly down the gravel path to the door and the lockpicks came out. They made short work of the lock, cajoling and daring it to open for them.

It was dark inside the villa. Fine copper lamps lined the walls but remained unlit. The devil stalked the sprawling complex, finding only room after room of furnishings that never saw any use. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Finally he came to a room simpler than the rest: it looked like the interior of a village hut and spurned the decor seen elsewhere in the palace. A marble statue finer than any he had seen in the streets sat over a low fire. It turned its head to meet him and the devil yelped.

"Well? You've broken into me and roamed my corridors. Here I am," it said, in a soft, accented voice that reminded the devil of the Fourth City. "I could summon my guards to remove you, or if I felt like it simply move myself such that you'd be left outside, but..." it paused, and gestured for the devil to sit. "I saw you arrive. I saw you outside the walls, I saw you open the door. I could have stopped you at any time, but I didn't. Why is that, do you think?"

"My charm?" the Fiendish Braggadocio offered, though there was uncertainty in his voice. The King with a Hundred Hearts chuckled, and the house shuddered with the statue's shoulders.

"You piqued my interest. I've had agents of the Presbyterate try to get in. I've had Hell's Triremes dashed on the rocks of my cliffs. Thieves from every fallen city. But they all knew what they were after, and it seems that you don't. I should be plain with you: I don't have a soul. Not anymore. I heard you speak with my Broker about it."

The statue stared into the fire in silence for some time.

"I will make you a deal, if you like. You may have something else from me, in place of what you cannot, so long as you do me a service in turn."

The Fiendish Braggadocio leant in close, the light of the fire glinting off his fangs. The King with a Hundred Hearts reached into the ashes with a stone hand and drew out a shard of diamond the size of a thumb. The whole building sighed and relaxed, as if something uncomfortable had been removed. The statue turned it over, watched it shine, then offered it to the devil.

"A piece of my heart. Take it west. Take it all the way to Hell." It saw the devil's surprise and explained, "I was a traveller once. I journeyed from my home in the far east following the sun. I went west until I found the Crossroads Shaded by Cedars. That world is long gone now, but still a part of me desires to go further. So take it - take me - west, further west, over the Hinterlands and past the White City. That's my price. Do we have a deal?"

"We do," the Fiendish Braggadocio replied, clutching the shard tightly. He felt the villa shift around him, and a door appeared behind the marble statue.

"Very well. Take this exit. The guards will not bother you." It dismissed him with a waved hand.

The devil made his way back into the quiet streets, and it seemed to him that everything held its breath as he walked. The Salt-Encrusted Ensemble stood outside its 'hottel' with the devil's bag already packed. It assured him that the bill had been settled and heartily wished him good luck.

So the Fiendish Braggadocio climbed back aboard the steamer and headed west, back towards the lights of London. He smiled to himself, looking at the diamond in his hand. The next round at the Seven Bells was on him.

[athenasparrow]

New Fic! Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Publishing my first @jilymicro-oops fic! This fic covers much more than a "Glance" now : )

Read Chapter 1 on AO3

Summary:

But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t take his eyes off her figure as she moved effortlessly in rhythm with whatever song she had playing. He learned she was wearing more than a t-shirt when she slid across the kitchen on her socks, throwing her head back to sing words James wished he could hear.

OR: In a world where social distancing reigns supreme, two strangers find themselves confined to their apartments with love only a window away.

Chapter One - Enchanted

Fucking hell, this bag was heavy .

Lily’s steps were slow and deliberate, burdened by the deceptively cheerful turquoise suitcase that carried everything from her year abroad in Melbourne. Her breath was hot against the itchy mask that was irritating, but necessary until she was ensconced in the sanctuary of her own apartment.

Despite the extensive weight of her bag, Lily was determined. She hauled it up the stairs, into the lift, and the sound of the small rolling wheels echoed as she tugged it down the long hallway, before finally sighing as she stepped into her new flat. She opened and closed her fingers to help return the blood to her fingers again where the suitcase handle had pinched and marked her skin. She supposed arriving home just after covid hit had been lucky. At least she was in the same bloody country as her parents incase things got worse. 

Not that it really mattered; she couldn’t see them anyways. But it was comforting somehow, knowing that they were within a train ride instead of an overnight flight.

She’d only ever seen the flat online, and although it hadn’t been as much of a gamble, thank you 3D walk-throughs , she was still quite relieved to find it as charming and clean as the photos had been.

It was a bright, sunny flat with high ceilings and large windows. The rays of the evening sun hit the light walls with a golden hue, excluding a peacefulness that crept up and over Lily as she stood in the doorway. Her potted plants of various sizes and shapes were scattered throughout the living area, lending further serenity and freshness to the room. 

She’d have to thank Marlene for arranging for her things to be brought out of storage - and for picking out that heavenly looking sofa. It sat facing the large window that looked out over the cosy street. After hours of sleepless travelling and swaps stuck up her nose, Lily was never more thankful the movers had unpacked most of her things that had been in storage, so Lily only had the finishing touches to do. Her feet padded across the hardwood floor as she made her way to the window, determined to open it for the breeze if this was the fresh air she was limited to for god knows how long .

There was a tree to her left that blocked her view of any apartments down the street, the only one she could see was the one directly across from her, arranged in a mirror image of her layout.

And to the right…

Marlene had done well.

***

WhatsApp Chat

Private: Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon

Lily Evans: Marls, you beautiful woman!

You got me a corner apartment looking out onto a fucking park?!?!?!

A park!!!!!

I see nothing but trees on my North side.

Excuse me while I wipe up my drool from these hardwood floors.

I am in heaven : D

Marlene McKinnon: Ahh! I’m so happy you’re back!

And that you like it : )

It was a good find with prices down at the moment.

I figured a bit of green would be nice while you’re stuck inside all day!

Not as much green as me, but tried my best X

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Lily Evans: So so nice!

I feel like I’m in my own private oasis.

Lol, are you on a lake?

That’s prime isolation real estate!

Hello to Dorcas X

Marlene McKinnon: You deserve it lovey X

She says hi!

Facetime when you’re settled < 3

Lily Evans: Will do!

***

Lily felt happiness wash over her as she settled. It was kind of happiness that made the air feel fresher, that boosted her energy and let her face rest in a content smile. It felt good to pack away her things, nest , her grandmother had called it. And be home. In her city. Even if she couldn’t enjoy it.

Lily pushed the timber desk against the wall so she could look out over the trees while she worked, dragging the chair across the carpet to complete the basic set up. The walls were more bare than she would like, but artwork would have to wait for tomorrow. For now, the laptop, monitor, keyboard and mouse were all she needed to work.

She really should save more of this for tomorrow, Lily thought as she eyed her clothes in the closet and the pile of books in her living room. Rinse off and sleep , she instructed herself firmly. 

Thank you Marlene was her last thought before sleep hit as she noticed her curtains were drawn for the night.

-------------------------

WhatsApp Group Chat

Members: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter

Sirius Black: How are you doing Prongs?

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James Potter: Oh fuck off Padfoot

Poor you, stuck in lockdown on a bloody private beach

Sirius Black: You could’ve come too you know

James Potter: And disrupt your romantic trip?

I don’t think so.

On the upside, someone has moved into the flat across the street 

There are boxes in the living room and bedroom light was on last night

So at least I’ll be able to see another human going about their life, right?

Sirius Black: That sounds like the optimism of a miserable man stuck in London

Remus Lupin: Don’t be mean Pads

And really, I feel a bit of guilt shirking the responsibilities of work because we’re stuck

Sirius Black: I don’t. Not one bit.

James Potter: They’ll move you online

I’ve already got a set up here

Sirius Black: Your company is run by your family 

James Potter: Not sure what your point is, since you work for the same company???

When you even work at all…

Sirius Black: I have no point other than that you’re a sucker

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***

James set his phone on the table, heading to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Well, that was his original goal, anyways. Now he stood frozen, unable to move and barely able to breathe.

It turns out someone did move in across the road. But not just anyone.

James felt bewitched . Enchanted . Transfixed . It was hard to look away from her. 

She’d obviously just woken up. Her hair hung in a messy state –flowing down her back in soft curls and whisps covering her face as she moved– and she wore an oversized t-shirt that lifted when she danced to reveal–

He shouldn’t be looking , James reprimanded himself sternly.

But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t take his eyes off her figure as she moved effortlessly in rhythm with whatever song she had playing. He learned she was wearing more than a t-shirt when she slid across the kitchen on her socks, throwing her head back to sing words James wished he could hear. He felt a surprised laugh escape him at the pure joy this woman seemed to exude…all for making breakfast. James stepped closer to the window and strained his ears – he could faintly make out the faint tunes of That’s why they call it the blues as she swung and shimmied her way around the kitchen, opening all the cupboards in obvious search of something.

-------------------------

Lily sang softly as she set the plate on the counter, twirling to adjust her eggs in the pan.

And I guess that’s why they call it the blues

Time on my hands could be time spent with youLaughing like children, living like–

She did a double take. There, in the living room of the apartment across the way, a young man about her age stood stock still, mouth parted, staring at her. A very fit man . He had a rugged intellectual vibe with messy hair Lily wished she could reach over and touch, thick framed glasses that had slid down his nose slightly and broad shoulders that his t-shirt stretched over deliciously . 

Lily froze. She felt a flush creep over her face as she remembered her state of undress and a strange rush of exhilaration overcame her at that same thought. An embarrassed laugh crept out of her when he hesitantly lifted a hand and waved.

She hurriedly waved back, before ducking her head and grabbing her breakfast, very aware of her state of attire - or lack there of - from her waist down.

Lily spent the day setting up her office and avoiding looking through the window. Boxes and boxes of things to set up until her home was just right aught to prove a sufficient distraction, right?

But her mortification only grew as she recalled how scrumptiously appealing he’d looked.

God, how embarrassing . She really should have checked the window, but the street was unusually narrow and the view particularly detailed. 

And now she was stuck – unable to avoid him if she wanted to eat meals every day, unable to only spend nights at home because the whole country –the whole bloody world– was in lockdown, and unable to move–

Fuck’s sake Lily, shake it off , she told herself sternly as she tried to push the cloud of shame out of her chest. She knew deep down that the embarrassment, humiliation and self-conscious feeling would recede eventually, it was just difficult to recall with her pounding heart and flushed cheeks. 

“Just ignore him, you’ll be fine,” she muttered to herself as she slipped a hair tie from her wrist so she could pull her auburn hair off her neck.

Lily had not yet learned just how impossible of a task it was to ignore James Potter.

[tundrakatiebean]

I haven’t edited these at all but I just want to put them here for now. I may make it rebloggable in the future if people are interested but not right now

Some pieces of writing about my mom.

December 2021

I’ve picked out what I’ll wear to your funeral. There’s nothing else I can really do to prepare for it or avoid the eventuality, no matter how much I want to. I can’t stop this. I can’t fix it. I can’t stop thinking about how really we’re all dying with every breath we take, inching us closer. You’re just farther ahead, you took some time to sprint ahead while so many looked around or steadied themselves for the long haul. I know who I’ll have to be when you reach your end. I’ll have to be stable and caring. Holding the pieces of what you left behind with a gracious smile and gentle hands. Try to help heal something deep, before it can fester, before absence leads to abscess. Try to pretend like it’s a shock before turning to the next person who wants to touch me, seeking to comfort something leaden and sharp, and scrunching my eyebrows just so while I nod to the trite “at least they’re not suffering.” I’ll need to remind myself that the person means it. Thinks this is better. Is trying to help what can’t be helped. Fix what can’t be fixed. Encourage us to take another breath and continue inching towards the line you sprinted towards. I’ll stare down at the tips of the black shoes that hurt my toes and wonder if it would have been better if I had tried to sprint too.

——————

December 2022

Dad is making a pie in the kitchen

He likes making them now

They used to be purely my mom’s domain

But he likes to experiment with his crusts

Trying to find the right ratio of butter

Or crisco

Or both

To the flour

And how long the ball of dough

Wrapped in clear plastic

Sits in the fridge

And lets the flour suck up the water

Letting it moisturize

With the luxury of time

He didn’t like his last pie crust

He doesn’t like this one either

He throws a spoon on the counter

Letting it skitter away

The clatter ringing in the silence

And says

“Your mother needs to come home from the hospital

I haven’t made a decent pie crust since she left”

The words hang in the air

Suspended

Like the puff of flour when you start mixing

Settling around the invisible shape

Showing

Exposing

The thing we’re all too afraid to voice

——————

January 2023

I didn’t pack the shoes I planned to wear

When I was hurriedly throwing things into a suitcase

Instead of making list

After list

After list

Of what I needed to remember to bring

It was more sudden than I had pictured

Than I had planned in my head

While I was realizing the path of grief

We were all plodding down

I didn’t pack the shoes I planned to wear

But I still packed a pair

That pinched my toes

Maybe they were better

They were like ones you wore

People said they were a good choice

But I still looked down at them

In between shaking hands

And fielding condolences

And thought too hard about sprinting

Before smiling at the next face telling me a story

About how loved you were

And how much you were already missed

How much they’ll continue to miss you

How worried they are about the people you sprinted away from

And the next time I felt my toe pinch

I realized that if I had sprinted

Nobody else would be here to help sweep up the dust

After all the grief settles

Around an empty chair

The unread books

The glasses

The still wrapped Christmas gifts

I’m here for a purpose

Even if it feels like it’s pinching my toes

[zacharyja]

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Purgatory Day

Today began at about 9:30am, where I then finished packing my suitcases and getting ready to check out of my hotel. Once 11 rolled around I dropped my keys off and got an uber to my next hotel, so that I could drop my bags off while I waited until 3pm to check in. After arriving and dropping off my luggage I didn’t really have anywhere to go or anything to do until 3 so I decided to walk around the Kawaramachi area for a while.

I went to a bunch of stores and did some window shopping, not really looking to buy anything as I didn’t feel like having to carry it around with me for multiple hours while waiting for the hotel check in time. I then decided to grab some lunch, and felt like having some Katsu Curry so I popped into the nearest Coco Ichibanya and got a table for one. I ordered my usual meal of Chicken Katsu curry with naan, and demolished it as per usual.

After eating I hung out at the restaurant for a bit before deciding to head over to Round One, which was only about a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. While here I decided to play some Maimai and spent the next 45 minutes doing just that. I kind of want to buy a cheap pair of gloves for Maimai but I also don’t really want to look like a tryhard sweaty Maimai player. I also went from 3708 to 5000 today, big money moves!

Once I felt I had my fair share of rhythm games, I decided to walk around the area a bit more and kill some time. I wound up at a cat cafe/puppy store. All of the dogs were insanely adorable and I wish I could take them all home with me. I have no idea how they always have such cute puppies but I guess there is a big market for that here.

After more dilly dallying I was finally able to check into my hotel, which is located in a really good spot nearby to Kawaramachi and is sort of a downtown type of area. The hotel itself is also really nice, and I am impressed with the view of the city that we have.

After a while my sister finally arrived at the hotel and it was great to see her after many months. She was hungry after traveling and we decided to hit up a Matsuya nearby while my laundry finished drying (it took 3 hours thank you Japan for the worst dryers in existence). The food was pretty good as always, no complaints from me.

After this we walked around the area a bit before heading over to Family Mart to make a snack run, the haul was pretty phenomenal as you can see from my snack spread.

After this we attempted to go to Round One, which I was under the impression was 24 hours or at least open past 1am but I was apparently wrong, even though it says open until 6am on google. So since we couldn’t do this we decided to find some low key place to hangout for a bit, and settled on Bar Back Alley, which was pretty empty and nice to just talk for a while. They were out of ¥500 beef jerky so the guy offered me “Junkie Potatoes” for a ¥450 discount which was nice of him.

The food was decent but I was mostly in the mood for beef jerky, oh well another time i’m sure - c’est la vie!

[msvblight]

"Three... Two... One... Lift!" Hartman commanded as we hauled the so called 'suitcase nuke' onto a sled. Damn thing was as heavy as a mule and felt like it'd need one to transport it - 'portable' my arse.

"Hartman, I can see Collins, she's getting back up out there." Gregors snatched the maser from beside the door and readied to throw it open. A month ago we laughed at the Central Expeditionary Comission giving us 'ray guns' to melt the ice buildups on the vehicles and base, but now when our colleagues and friends are rising from the dead? It sure is useful to have something that can internally boil flesh from bone in an instant.

"Leave her, Gregors, we need to get the bomb ready. Franklin, how's the holo-guide coming along?"

"Nearly there, Hart," I responded, tinkering with a tangle of wires, "with that storm blowing in I need to override it's programming to lead us back to base."

"Alright, let me know the second you're finished. I want to reduce those ruins to vapour."

"It's a hospital." Gregors interjected, "Or at least it was. It's... It's why they come back. It's fixing them, just... Well, it's not designed for human biology."

As if on cue the frozen, shambling, corpse of Collins - our former anthropologist - began pounding at the door.

Text: The third member of our team freezes to death outside our arctic base. And then he comes back, lifeless, thoughtless, his brain ice, but craving warm blood to replace his own.

[ruki--mukami]

I really wanted Ruki and Nunnally to interact again, so I have decided to (force) help them to do so. I hope it is okay to send another ask so shortly after the last interaction. And putting Ruki into such an uncomfortable situation…

Nunnally was sitting in the Mukami’s manor entrance hall. Her suitcase standing next to her. She was sitting perfectly straight, her fists clenched on her lap, her eyes cold. She was visibly furious.

“Why do I need to be here?” – she thought to herself – “Why did He send me to be here? You have to remain calm Nunnally. Do not let them provoke you.” – she continued speaking to herself. – “It is just seven days and six nights. Five school days. You can avoid meeting these…” – she could not find the right word to call the Mukami brothers – “…Perhaps you will not even meet the eldest of them. You were told to stay here not to talk with them."

When she heard somebody coming, she stood up and looked in that direction. “What a bad luck!” – she thought – “Ruki!” She instantly forgot the speech she had carefully prepared before coming here. She was standing there throwing daggers at Ruki for a few moments. Then she turned away and pretended to be interested in one of the paintings hanging on the wall. Not facing Ruki, she said --:

“As you probably were informed, I will be staying in this manor for a week…upon His decision.” – she stated coldly – “I would like to be shown my room and have my maid introduced to me. And I hope you are perfectly aware that neither you nor other…other inhabitants of this household are not allowed to have my blood.”

"So I see you've finally arrived, Nunnally." He sighed at the girl's slight clumsiness. For someone greeting him in his own house, she seemed a bit more surprised than he would’ve imagined. Perhaps he truly intimidated her that much if she felt inclined to feign interest at a mere decoration on the wall. The reaction brought a faint smirk to his lips for just a second.

Before she arrived at the Mukami estate, he had been preparing a savory chicken rice soup for dinner and reading a book in the meantime. Closing the novel shut at his side, he laughed at the girl's supercilious demeanor. She just arrived and yet she already demanded a servant. How ridiculous, he thought to himself.

"In what corner of your small brain do you think we would have maids here? Don't make me laugh. This manor is not the same as whatever ivory tower you've grown accustomed to."

If Nunnally glared daggers at Ruki, then he returned her gaze with Excaliburs of his own.

"Fine, I'll show you to your room, but if you need help with small chores then I'll summon our familiars for you. Those will have to suffice in place of maids."

The Vampire headed down the hallway, escorting Nunnally to one of their spare bedrooms. Inside the surprisingly spacious room she would be staying in was an ornate off-white wallpaper with a desk and dresser containing many drawers for her convenience. To the adjacent wall was one large window adorned with beige curtains and a matching mattress of the same color. Fit for any important guest Karlheinz instructed them to care for, or at least Ruki figured.

"Here's where you'll be sleeping." A familiar hauled her luggage inside before seemingly vanishing into thin air. "Somehow I doubt we're not allowed to have your blood if I have already sucked from you before, but whatever helps you sleep at night."

A brief moment passed, allowing Nunnally to familiarize herself with the room. If Karlheinz really instructed the girl to live with them for a week, then Ruki began to ponder various explanations as to why she would have to life here. Was something of importance occurring this specific week? Was their benefactor trying to teach them a lesson by caring for the eccentric girl? Despite not knowing the reason, he pushed those thoughts aside for now.

"Well, you're just in luck. Dinner is about to be ready. I do hope you aren't averse to soup."

🧩 Aww, it's nothing to worry about at all. It's fun for me to watch these two interact as well. 🥺 🧩

[egcdeath]

first impressions

pairing: soft!ransom drysdale x reader 

summary: [request] “hmm prompts... Ransom introducing you (a total opposite of him) to his family for the first time, or a Thrombey wedding! if you feel like it” i like where your brain is at anon! but why not a little bit of both? ;)

word count: 3.7k

warnings: pretty fluffy, some angst, toxic family dynamics

author’s note: this has been super lightly edited so pls forgive any mistakes <3 click here if you’d like to be added to my taglist & all reblogs are super appreciated!

You felt slightly out of place driving through the neighborhood of your youth in the passenger seat of Ransom’s beloved Beamer. Thinking of how your parents would react to your boyfriend, let alone his lifestyle of excess, made your heart rate increase, and you shuffled a bit in your seat unconsciously as a result of your nerves. As if he were reading your thoughts, Ransom set a steady hand on your knee and gave it a tiny reassuring squeeze before parking in front of the curb ahead of your home. 

Nervously exiting the vehicle, you watched wordlessly as Ransom grabbed your overnight bags from the trunk, and hauled them over his shoulders. Still saying nothing, you reached out and grabbed Ransom’s hand, constricting his circulation as you strolled up to your door, and rang your own doorbell.

When your mother whipped open the door and offered you an excited grin, you finally were able to let out the breath that you weren’t even aware you were holding.

“Goose!” your mother cheered, squeezing the life out of you while you snuck a glance at Ransom who seemed rather amused by the childhood pet name. “And who’s this?” she asked, pulling away from you and looking him up and down.

“I’m Ransom, your daughter’s boyfriend,” he announced with confidence, offering your mom friendly smile, before glancing back over at you and raising his brows the slightest bit. 

“Finally putting a face to the name, then. I’ve heard all about you from this one. Come on in,” she gestured for the two of you to enter. “Y/N can show you to her room, and dinner will be ready in about a half hour,” with that, your mother was off, and you were once again alone with Ransom.

You showed him up to your room, where he set down the bags and flopped down onto your bright pink duvet.

“Goose, huh?” he questioned, rolling on the hyperfeminine twin mattress. 

“Shut up,” you mumbled, before sitting down next to the headboard of the bed.

“Do you think she liked me?” Ransom asked, seemingly out of nowhere. “Did you tell her good things about me?”

“Since when do you care about what other people think of you?” you giggled a bit, and planted your fingers in Ransom’s hair. 

“I care because…” he thought for a moment, calculating just how honest he wanted to be. “I care because this is the longest relationship I’ve been in, and I want my future parents-in-law to like me.”

“We’ve been together for like, a year, Ran. But I applaud your commitment to me,” you massaged his scalp as you spoke, and ignored the butterflies floating throughout your torso at his mention of marriage. 

“Well? Do you think she likes me?” he asked once again. 

“Mmm, I like when you care about things,” you pressed a little peck to his forehead, and hovered a bit over his face. “She said like, 20 words to you, max. But after dinner I’m sure they’ll like you. At least I hope they will.”

Ransom playfully swatted at you. “How comforting. Wait, stay right there,” he reached up and held the hand that was massaging his scalp in place. 

——

By the time dinner came around, you seemed to have switched emotions with your partner, as you were feeling much more relaxed, and Ransom on the other hand, was not.

He kept a hand on your knee under the table in what seemed like a grounding technique, squeezing every now and then while your father plated your meals.

“So, how did you two meet?” your father questioned, sitting down beside your mom.

“We met while we were volunteering at the Humane Society together,” you gushed, glancing over at your partner who was nervously sipping his water, then back at your parents. “He always seemed so pissed in the beginning. I mean, the amount of times I saw him growling obscenities while tugging on harnesses, or playing the most unenthusiastic games of fetch I’d ever seen in my life is astounding,” you laughed softly, and looked over at Ransom once again as if you were cueing him to speak.

“Yeah, I really didn’t like it there at first. Not really a dog guy, but my grandad said it was community service or no allowance, and I was not interested in the latter,” he chuckled awkwardly and received confused expressions from your parents, which granted you an SOS squeeze on the knee. 

“Um, anyway, one day we were closing, and I went into the last cat suite, and there grumpy old Ransom was, cuddling with Garfield, you know, the old cat with the three legs, and it was literally the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Especially ‘cause Garfield is so hard to please,'' you paused to take a bite of the food in front of you. “We started talking more after that, then he asked me out, and of course I said yes. I guess the rest is history.”

“Aw, Goose, that’s so cute!” your mom cooed, but the moment didn’t last too long. 

“What do you do for work, Ransom?” Your dad asked, tilting his beer at the man. 

“I’m currently in between jobs. But, uh, I’ve been doing a lot of volunteer work.” 

Your father nodded wordlessly and paused for a second. “Volunteering get you a Beamer?”

“Dad!” You interrupted in a yelp, “please.” You frowned as you looked between the men. 

“Y/N, it’s fine. It’s a good question, but I got it as a gift a few years back. And, you know, my family’s comfortable.”

Before your father could respond, your mom popped in to save the conversation. “No money talk at the table, please. Tell me more about your relationship,” she gave both of you a sympathetic look. 

——

After that, dinner went on without much of a hitch, and you agreed upon doing the dishes with your mother while your father and boyfriend prepared a little fire outside.

“He seems sweet,” she commented after a long period of silence. 

“I’m glad you think so. He was really worried about you not liking him, and honestly, I was too,” you rinsed the last glass before setting it in your dishwasher.

“I just want you to be careful, okay? When you have that much money, people do strange things, or say things they don’t mean and expect you to just take it. He seems like a good boy, but just don’t let your guard completely down. The last breakup you went through-“

“Stop, I get it,” you sighed softly. 

“This doesn’t mean I don’t like him. I just don’t want to see you that hurt again,” she gave your arm a soft squeeze. “Let’s go stop your dad from catching a murder charge,” she beckoned you to follow her out to the backyard, where your boyfriend and dad were… laughing together? If you weren’t so relieved, it’d almost be off-putting. 

The rest of the night went alarmingly well, Ransom finding a way to bond with both of your parents after an awkward first half of the evening. As the two of you crawled into your tiny bed and spooned while drifting off to sleep, Ransom slurred a tired ‘I think they liked me,’ into your ear. 

From that point on, Ransom’s position within your family only became better. For the first time, he was welcomed into a familial environment that wasn’t more toxic than a Chernobyl cooling tower, and Ransom was loving it. After suggesting to spend that year’s Thanksgiving at your parents’ home, spending the holidays with the L/N family became a frequent occurrence for the two of you. 

Though you occasionally wondered why you were four years into a relationship with the man, and still hadn’t met his family, which to your understanding, was rather large, you had better things to concern yourself with. You understood and respected that Ransom’s relationship with his own family wasn't the best, from the little that he shared with you, but occasionally curiosity often got the best of you.

Yet, things seemed to shift after your engagement. In the midst of dress fittings and cake tastings, Ransom had decided that it was finally time for you to meet the rest of the Thrombey clan, and that there was no better time than Harlan’s book release party, which was being celebrated out in California, at the Thrombey Vineyard.

In your years of relationship, you’d become no stranger to luxury, and the finer things in life, but arriving at the Vineyard put you in awe at just how affluent these people were. Perhaps that’s what happens when you’re one of the great writers of your time, and your offspring go off to become equally “self-made” successes.

You were a bit tired from the three hour difference between Boston and Sonoma Valley, and as soon as you hopped out of the car at the vineyard, you could only think of getting to your room, out of your baggy travel clothes, and to sleep as soon as possible. 

Trailing behind Ransom, you looked around at the vast expanse of crop-filled land around you in astonishment while you walked up the cement path to the mansion, not really noticing the petite woman with curled blonde hair, and an oversized straw hat approaching you. 

“Oh gosh, you must be Y/N!” she said gleefully. “I’m Joni. I’ve seen you all over Ranny’s Insta,” she paused and looked you up and down. “Well, you do look a little different there,” she chuckled.

“That’s great, Joni. Maybe you can Tweet about how exhilarating and life changing this experience has been for you to all your little pyramid scheme friends.”

“You’re always so rude, Hugh,” she sneered.

“I forgot about your chronic victimhood. Goodbye, Joan,” he rolled his eyes, and practically tugged you inside the massive building in front of you, before dragging you up the stairs. You were honestly in a little bit of shock at seeing how nasty Ransom got from just a small interaction.

You set your Louis Vuitton Keepal, and aluminum suitcase down on the granite floor of the bedroom, before flopping down, and spreading your limbs out on the massive memory foam bed that sat in the center of the room, “What was that, Ran?” you questioned as he sprawled out next to you.

“The reason why I didn’t want you to meet them. They’re like sharks, looking for anything that even resembles blood in the water,” he threw an arm around you and yawned. “We can talk about this in the morning, though. Right now, I think that both of us need a shower.”

“Speak for yourself, you stink bug.”

“But what if I get lonely in there?” 

“Fine,” you huffed, moving his arm off of you, and heading off to the en-suite. 

That night, as you stared at the blank wall in a vain attempt to quiet your mind enough to fall asleep, you questioned if coming to meet Ransom’s family was more of a mistake than you initially anticipated.

The next morning felt a bit frantic. You and Ransom woke up a few hours before everyone else, as they’d been in California for a few days now and had adjusted to the time difference, while you two had not. An in-house chef made you two a gourmet buffet of a meal while housekeepers laid out your clothes back in your room, and you were feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the sudden interferences in your life. Though it was nice to not have to do all of the work, you weren’t sure how you felt about other people doing it for you. 

The majority of your day felt similar to that morning. You quickly realized that Ransom’s fortune was just a small portion of the Thrombey estate, and that his family were essentially a bunch of monsters with money. Throughout the day of horse riding, wine tasting, and wine painting workshops, you couldn’t help but notice how they turned their noses up at you, treating you, and the staff working at the vineyard, like some sort of outsider. 

Your alienation only became more apparent during Harlan’s celebratory dinner, when insults and sneers were tossed at both you and Ransom for being together. 

“Are you trying to get revenge on us, or something?” Richard asked at one point, gesturing to you, and catching you completely off guard, 

“Why would you say something like that?” Ransom asked, trying not to let his offence show as his jaw clenched.

“It’s just not like you to want to settle down, especially with someone like… her,” he spoke about you like you weren’t sitting right there.

“No, I agree,” Walt added. “For once in our lives I agree with you,” he laughed aloud, and a few other folks at the table laughed with him. “Can you believe that after all these years, we’re bonding over Ransom’s little girlfriend?” 

You weren’t even sure how to react, so you laughed awkwardly along with them, and stared blankly at the vast expanse of grape trees behind the row of Thrombey and their friends. What you would give to sprint out into that, and never come back. 

Ransom looked to you in your obvious discomfort, and grabbed your knee, offering it a little reassuring squeeze before he interrupted them. 

“You know what? All of you dickheads can eat shit. Y/N is really the only person who matters to me at this point, and you pricks need to respect that. Hell, you need to respect her.” 

“Look at little Ranny, getting all soft,” Walt chided. 

He ignored the comment and continued on, “And If I don’t start hearing apologies soon, every single one of your wedding invites have a one way ticket to the shredder.”

A silence fell over the table. You were a bit surprised too, since your invites had already gone out, and Harlan was the only Thrombey to receive one.

“...You’re getting married?” Meg asked, breaking the silence. “Why wouldn’t you tell us?” 

“Why do you think?” you muttered, pushing around a few things on your plate before standing up, and pushing your chair away. “Excuse me.”

You knew that by leaving, you were only opening yourself up for more criticism, but you genuinely weren’t sure that you’d be able to take one more second of hostility. You pushed your chair back in, before heading off the patio, into the gigantic home, and up to the room that you’d claimed.

You rolled on top of the bed, and screamed into a feather filled pillow. It wasn’t too long after when tears stung your eyes as you came to the conclusion that these monsters were just a few months away from becoming your in-laws.

You thought you’d heard the most of it after the table, yet a prompt knocking at your door proved otherwise. Letting herself in, you turned to face Ransom’s mother herself, and you just knew that you were in for it.

“Listen, you whore,” Linda began in a sharp, yet quiet tone, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do with my son. Isolate him from us. Try to ‘change him’ like I know you think you’re doing. But just know that at the end of the day, he’ll always pick us. You’ll always be the second choice, especially when Ransom realizes that you barely have a dime to your name, and his bank account starts to runs dry,” she approached you, and pointed an accusatory finger towards you. “You’ll never be anything but a disgusting, sloppy little gold digger. You may be his toy of the week, but at the end of the day, you’re just an afterthought. I suggest that you get out of his life sooner than later. I’m sure Ransom wouldn’t mind, considering we already have your replacement with one foot in the door,” she gestured over to the window facing the back patio, where Ransom was chatting with a brunette woman that appeared to be quite a few years younger than himself.

“You’re cute, Y/N. Really! It’s cute that you’re thinking right now that he would never leave you, cheat on you with some new, younger, hotter piece of ass. Just know that you don’t know Ransom as well as you really think you do. I can promise you, it’ll be much easier to break off an engagement than it’ll be to get a divorce. Especially with that prenup he’s considering dropping on your desk any day.” she tutted as if she cared. “Well, sweetheart, it was great meeting you. I’m glad that these were our first and last words together,” she gave your back a pat before leaving the room, and you looked out the window in shock. 

Shaking as you dig into the pocket of your sundress, you sent Ransom a simple ‘help’ message, before setting your phone aside and trying to pack your belongings in as quick of a manner as possible.

When Ransom opened the door, a steady stream of tears and mascara was staining your face, while you urgently threw things into your suitcase.

“Goose, what happened?” he gasped, hurrying over to your kneeling form, and setting a hand on your shoulder. 

“Why,” you sniffled. “Why would you let her come up here and say all that shit to me!” you croaked, swatting his hand away from you. 

“What?” he watched as you pressed down on the overfilled suitcase and frantically attempted to zip it, to no avail. “Linda said she was gonna come apologize?”

“Telling me that I’ll never be enough for you is just a perfect apology,” you muttered, “I need to go home.”

“God,” he grumbled to himself, ��This is exactly why I waited so long for them to meet you. Okay, we can go home then. I’ll buy us tickets right now.”

“This is on you too, Ransom. You didn’t tell them about us, like, at all. You had so much time! You couldn’t give Linda a call and say ‘hey I’ve been seeing this girl’ or even tell Harlan to deliver the message for you?” you hiccuped, but continued. “All of this could’ve been avoided if they had four years to adjust to our relationship. Maybe then they wouldn’t call me a whore and a gold digger every other sentence.”

“I was just trying to protect you from them,” he frowned.

You finally managed to zip up the suitcase, and stood up along with it, “well, you clearly did a great job of that.” 

You dusted off the skirt of your dress, and grabbed your phone. “I’ll let you know when our car gets here,” you huffed before walking into the en-suite and closing the door behind you, just to have a moment for yourself (and make yourself look a bit more put together before you leave.)

A tense car ride, and awkward flight later, you marched straight into the guest bedroom, and cocooned yourself under a copious amount of blankets. You felt like you stayed there for years, only getting out of bed to shower and use the restroom, and living off of the crustless sandwiches and jarred spaghetti your fiancé brought to your door. 

You slept most of the time, and in the moments you weren’t sleeping, you were dwelling on every vicious word thrown at you at the vineyard. Every day, you listened to Ransom apologize through the door, yet every day, you questioned if going through with the wedding was truly the wisest idea. 

A few days into your stay in the guest bedroom, you finally allowed Ransom to stay in the room for more than just dropping off food. He sat down next to you in bed, and cupped your cheek in his hand, rubbing his thumb softly back and forth against the skin. 

“I don’t know how I can make things right for you,” he said softly. “I really did set you up, and I didn’t even mean to. I should’ve made better decisions, but I can’t change four years ago. But I can keep those heinous people away from you. They’ll never have the chance to do, or say anything like that to you again, okay?” his thumb caught on a tear, which he promptly wiped away. “Just… please don’t leave me. The bed feels too empty without you, and it’s just been a few days. I can’t imagine feeling that emptiness for the rest of my life.”

You whimpered and sat up, abruptly embracing the broad man. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let your idiot family make me question the validity of our relationship,” you muttered into his shirt. 

“I promise you you’ll never have to worry about them again. They had their opportunity to make things right, and they missed it.”

-----

Things were more or less smooth sailing after that fiasco. You found your perfect venue, decided on your ideal Honeymoon spot, and finished your seating arrangements with time to spare, and the next thing you knew your wedding day was around the corner. 

It all seemed to happen so fast, one second you were being walked down the aisle, the next, exchanging vows and rings as aisles of your friends and family members cheered for you, Y/N Drysdale.

Your reception also seemed to slip right through your fingers, your first dance, toasts and cake cutting finding itself over almost as soon as it started. You were grateful that you hired a wedding videographer, as the day was so overwhelming, you weren’t quite sure how much of it you’d remember. 

As you drove off to the airport, Ransom set his hand upon your knee one more time. A warm, fuzzy feeling formed in your chest at the all too familiar gesture. You turned your head from the window to your husband, who was grinning back at you, and couldn’t help but to think of how perfect your wedding ended up, though it felt like it sped by quickly. More than anything, you were grateful that you didn’t give up on Ransom despite his interesting family. 

[laurensprentiss]

Jouska [Hotch x Reader]

Chapter 19:

A/N: Here it is besties, v sorry for this but I live to cause chaos!! They both have some growing and living to do over the next chapters which will span around ten years. Stick around it’s gonna be interesting! Also Hotch looks rlly good here hehe

Warnings: None, really. Swearing, mentions of pregnancy, heavy angst.

———

“I'm scared I'm going to spend the rest of my life in a state of yearning, regardless of where I am.” - Melina Marchetta

———

08:00

It happens slowly then all at once. He knows he feels lighter, physically, before he’s fully conscious - can’t feel the warm weight of you on top of him. He frowns as he slowly awakens fully, feeling for your body next to him.

When all he feels are sheets, he comes to, a little quicker, opening one eye to look around. When he doesn’t see you, he figures you left to go to the bathroom but a piece of paper on your pillow catches his eye.

He frowns as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes when the doorbell begins to ring incessantly. He looks between the door, the paper and then the door again, tucking the note underneath his pillow to come back to later. He takes a cursory look at the clock -

08:00

He runs downstairs with a grin, thinking maybe you went out to grab coffee and forgot you didn’t have a key, but when he opens the door, icy shock runs through his veins.

“Hi, Aaron.”

“Haley?” He replies stunned. He glances behind him, increasingly alarmed now as to your whereabouts.

She averts her gaze from Hotch’s half naked form, it’s nothing she hasn't seen before but there’s a barrier between them now. Even with what she’s about to tell him.

“Can we talk?”

“-This…. isn’t really a good time.” He replies, glancing behind him again. He uses his body to block what lies behind him, clothing littering the floor as evidence of last night. His cheeks run hot when he realises Haley already spotted it all.

“We need to talk. I wouldn’t have shown up like this, but she told me to come by at 8. Said I should talk to you.”

He frowns. “Who?” He asks, despite hazarding a very good guess he already knows the answer.

“Look, can I just come in? I'm really cold and this is incredibly awkward.”

He sighs, “Yeah- yeah come in.” He steps aside to let her in, picks his shirt up off the floor and begins to button it as he invites her to sit.

Haley tells him that she managed to track you down outside your apartment yesterday. His jaw ticks and he runs his thumb over his bottom lip, agitated. “Why would you do that?”

“I figured I owed her an apology. Ultimately I was the one who put her in danger with-” She licks her lips. “With him. I thought we should talk.”

“So you resorted to stalking?” He paces. He can’t figure out why you’d ask her to come by now, especially if you were going to spend the night last night.

“I know, I’m sorry.” She looks sick. “I kind of knew that you felt something for her, and I figured she probably did too. Clearly I was right.”

“I’m not doing this with you.”

She throws her hands up. “No! No, that's not what I meant. I need to tell you something but before I did, I needed to tell her, I owed her some courtesy after everything at least.”

He tilts his head and his eyes narrow. “Get to the point.”

She pulls out an envelope and slides it across the coffee table. She breathes shakily, nodding at it. “It’s all in there.”

He watches her quizzically, confused at her demeanour - she’s never been one to be at a loss for words. He takes a seat opposite, studying her as he peels open the envelope.

A sliver of cold panic works its way through his veins as he scans the page.

LABCORP DNA TESTING SERVICES

Sample 1 - BROOKS/HOTCHNER : Positive Match

Sample 2 - BROOKS/HOTCHNER : Positive Match

“What the hell is this?” He asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

She swallows thickly, abetting her gaze. “It’s a paternity test. I’m pregnant.” She tells him quietly.

His chest tightens and his head starts swimming. “What? I don’t believe you.”

“It’s right there on the paper. It’s yours.” She looks like she’s holding back vomit, the colour on her face drained. She studies Aaron for any kind of a reaction but he still looks confused.

“I want another one.” He tells her waving the paper. “How far along are you?”

“3 and a half months.”

“Wait,” He winces as the cold realisation hits him. “You told her?”

She nods.

The colour drains from his face and he shoots up from his seat, remembering everything he’d told you yesterday about how he would do things differently if he ever became a father. Knowing now what you knew then, he can’t begin to fathom what must have been going through your mind yesterday.

He shoots up the stairs three at a time, hoping he’s not too late.

———

06:00

Your eyes burn with the lack of sleep and the aftermath of your breakdown. You lay still against Aaron’s chest, your hand splayed flat against his skin. You’ve been watching him sleep for most of the night, memorising all you can about him, and imagining an alternate future where you could’ve ended up together.

But it doesn’t help. All it goes is drive a stake deeper into your heart because no matter how much you imagine, it doesn’t change your future. The sun begins to rise sure enough, a promise of another day but the lighter it gets, the more your stomach turns and the tighter your chest gets.

You pull Aaron in closer one more time, fusing your body to his and you close your eyes. His hands run down your bag gently as he stirs in his sleep. You take a minute to take him in one last time, despite your aching heart you try to hold onto the happiness you’d felt before it all came crashing down.

You doubt you’ll feel for anyone the way you feel for him. But you can’t be selfish, not now. You whisper to him, barely audible, the words you need to get off your chest and with a gentle kiss to his sleeping face, you slink out of his arms.

You gather your clothes, and from the credenza drawer downstairs, grab a pen and paper.

‘Dearest Aaron…’

Tears stain your face as you initial the bottom of the letter and with a final breath, you fold it and scrawl his initials on top. You reluctantly walk back upstairs and when you see Aaron’s peaceful face in a deep sleep, it takes everything in you to walk away. You place the note on your pillow, and turn away before you change your mind.

But as you approach the door, you turn to take one last look at him, willing your memory to hold on to this image, to the feel of him. To what it feels like to be loved by him.

“Goodbye Aaron.” You whisper.

———

08:30hrs:

He struggles to get his pants on, throwing on odd socks and grabbing the note on the pillow which he stuffs haphazardly into his three day old jacket. He runs down the stairs three at a time, passing Haley on the way as he grabs his keys.

She looks at him with panic and confusion. “Go back to the hotel, I’ll call you!” He tells her. She looks around, stunned as the door slams shut behind him.

He fumbles with his phone, dialling your number, but it goes straight to voicemail. He tries Emily but it goes to voicemail too. He dials the direct line to your assistant and on the last ring, she picks up.

“Agent Hotchner?”

“Leah?”

“Yeah? Is everything okay?”

He desperately asks if she has any idea of where you are today, if you have anything on your docket.

“Not that I can see, no. Is everything okay?”

“Look, can you find out if she’s home and call me?” He hangs up and purposely turns on the sirens to weave through traffic to your place. In a cruel twist of fate, he curses the numerous traffic logs he encounters on his way, thinking he’ll deal with the fallout of using his lights without reason later.

He finally turns onto your street, tires screeching as he pulls up behind a blacked out towncar, into which an older gentleman appears to be hauling suitcases. He doesn’t bother closing the door as he exits his SUV, his eyes trailing on the suitcases being piled into the trunk of the towncar when he hears your voice.

He stops in his tracks.

“Alright, James. I think that’s the last of the b-”

The air leaves your lungs when you catch sight of him. There’s a brief moment when you think you think you’re imagining him but your chest squeezes when you look at his face, halfway between confused, devastated and just plain betrayed.

He utters your name with a shaky whisper. “What is this? What’s going on?” He asks unsteady, already knowing the answer.

You hand your bags to James who ducks between you to receive them, the tension thick and heavy. “I’m sorry, I planned on…” You struggle for the words. “Being done earlier than this. This is what I wanted to avoid.”

He retreats, eyebrows shooting up. “This, what? You wanted to avoid saying goodbye to me? You couldn’t even extend me the grace of telling me you were leaving?” He pulls out your note from his pocket, shaking it in front of you. “You left this and thought it would be enough? After everything that happened with us.”

“Come on, Aaron. You know that’s not what I meant. But you know why I’m leaving, it’s why you’re here. And I knew you would do this, I knew you’d try and talk me out of going. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” You swallow the lump in your throat.

The desperation inside him starts to claw at him. “You don’t have to leave. We’re adults, we can figure this out.” He takes both of your hands tightly in his.

You shake your head. “I won’t put you in that position, I know how important this is to you. I won’t put myself in that position either.” He opens his mouth to oppose you but he knows as well as you do that this is the end. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this but this was easier when I had a stalker, all I had to worry about was making it through the day without being murdered. But things are real now, you have a career and a family to worry about, I have to go to college. I guess we just didn’t think this through.”

He retreats slightly, a hurt expression on his face. “That doesn’t mean it was wrong.” He says, quietly. “I told you I’d wanted to be with you for a long time, and I meant it. I don’t regret any of it.”

You cup his cheek. “Neither do I. But we both know what needs to happen. I can’t stay.”

He caresses your hand on his cheek with bereft eyes. “You changed me, you know?”

You laugh dryly. “With your gig at the BAU? Forget it, you’ll be saving people left and right.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” His voice cracks. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t have more time. I think this could have been something.”

“Did you read the note?” He shakes his head. “Wait until I’m gone to read it - you don’t have to. But if you ever find yourself doubting or second-guessing who you were to me - who you are to me? You should read that. It has everything you’ll need to know.”

He brings his forehead to yours, glassy eyes watching you with so much affection you think you might just break. “Can we stay here? Just for a minute? I’m not ready to let you go yet.” He asks.

You nod and loop your arms around his neck, tiptoeing to reach his height. He hugs you back with ferocity, face burying in the crook of your neck as he takes you in, memorises the way you body slots against his, how you smell and feel. He presses his eyes shut, willing his brain to commit every last feeling to memory, terrified that there may come a day when he no longer remembers how he loves you.

You muffle your sobs as best as you can, clutching at the material of his shirt, and the small tufts of hair at the nape of his neck. Try as you might, when you close your eyes, all you can see is a reel of your relationship with Aaron, spanning from the moment you met to now.

All of it comes rushing back: the gazebo, your apartment, numerous late night coffees and dinners, his face in the cabin, the hospital and of course, the nights and days you spent in bed. The pond, the balcony, the laughter. The love. You feel a hole consuming your chest and you struggle to breathe, cursing yourself for falling in love with the one man you couldn’t possibly ever have.

James beeps from inside the towncar, and you reluctantly loosen your grip on Aaron, sniffling as you let him go. It feels infinitely harder to detangle yourself from him now, like tearing a bandage off of a raw wound, but you know you need to go.

And so does he.

His eyes are watery when you look at him, yours mirroring his heartbreak. “I guess this is it.” He rasps.

You clear your throat. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Can I kiss you goodbye?”

You nod solemnly. His hands cup your cheeks lovingly, wiping away a stray tear. He leans in, and presses his lips to yours for the last time. He takes his time, allowing himself to linger in the moment, and convey everything he can in this kiss without having to say it. Wants to remember how soft your lips are and the way you taste.

Your tears fall steadily now, your own hands tangling in his hair. You selfishly wish you could stay here, throw away any and all integrity just to keep him for yourself. But you both have things to do, futures to live.

You break the kiss, forehead resting against his. His hand cradles the back of your head, and he presses a tender kiss to your forehead, lips lingering before he finally lets go.

You fish in your pocket and take his hand in yours, dropping your key into his palm. He looks at you quizzically. “Keep it, give it to the super, I don’t mind. But lock up for me?” You ask him.

He nods, closing his hand around yours, a desperate attempt to keep you close for a few more fleeting moments. He presses a desperate kiss laced with finality on your lips as you release yourself from his embrace.

Watching you reach for the car door sends him into a tailspin. You’re just about in the car when you hear him call your name. His voice is strained. “Listen, I just- before you go. There’s something I need to tell you.” His face is contorted with desperation and his voice laced with something utterly heartbroken.

You know where he’s going with this. You weren’t sure if he felt it until now, horrible fucking timing, but it’s still something.

“Don’t. I know what you’re going to say, Aaron. Please don’t.” You sob. “This is already one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, please don’t make it harder. I know what you’re going to say. But before you do… just please don’t?” You plead.

He swallows thickly, choking back tears, too. “I do, though.”

You breathe through the hole in your chest. “I know, Aaron. I do, too.” Your smile is bitter as you open the car door and step inside gingerly, keeping your eyes on the sidewalk where he stands. He walks over to you, tangles your fingers with his briefly before cradling your chin, wiping another stray tear.

“Maybe in another life?” He whispers.

“Maybe in another life.” You tell him with a sad smile.

“Goodbye, sweetheart.”

I love you.

“Goodbye, Aaron.”

I love you.

He watches the car peel away longingly, muttering aloud the words that he’d whispered two nights ago when he thought you were asleep.

“I love you.”

———

09:15

Your car pulls up to the airstrip forty-five minutes later and you can hear the deafening engine of the plane before you even step out of the car. You place a $50 in the hand of the man who opens your door for you, throwing a quick thank you his way as you obscure your puffy eyes with a pair of sunglasses.

You offer the men loading your luggage a small smile and hand them their tips, before boarding the plane. You spot Emily on the far left side of the plane, her face buried in a copy of Mother Night.

When she sees you, she shoots up from her seat, throwing her book onto the table in front of her. “Oh my God! You came! Hi!” Her good arm wraps around your neck for a hug and you stiffen against her. “What made you change your mind?” She asks.

You close your mouth just as soon as you open it when the curtain dividers open.

“Darling!” Ambassador Prentiss emerges from her office, behind a divider on the plane. She has a phone receiver against her chest, you assume to muffle her voice to whoever is on the other end. “Emmy and I are so glad you decided to join us, we’ll be taking off in around 15 minutes.” She tells you, glancing at her watch.

You shoot her a polite smile and thank her, and she looks between you and Emily, excusing herself back to her office.

“I’ll let you girls catch up.”

Emily leads you to the seat opposite her, her face now showing signs of concern. She watches your face for an answer but when nothing comes, she asks outright.

“What happened? I thought you were going to stick around and see what happens? You had a date right? Her words scratch your skin.

“Date’s off.” You swallow.

Her eyes widen. “What? Why?!”

“His ex is pregnant and it’s his.” You reply nonchalantly, rapidly blinking back tears behind your sunglasses.

Her mouth drops open. “Holy shit! Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” You reply, gazing out of the window.

Emily watches you in shock, unsure of what to say. She can tell by your demeanour that you’re in shock but she can’t do anything except hold your hand and tell you she’s sorry with a quiet voice.

“Yeah.” You sigh.

———

09:00

When he keys open your apartment door, he’s hit with an eerie silence, a heart wrenching emptiness. He attempts to turn a lamp on but the electricity has been turned off, leaving the living room cold and dark.

His mind fills in the spaces between the emptiness, picturing you sitting on your couch, or on the bar stools around your island. Can hear the incessantly loud TV, and your laughter from your room.

Your room is just as empty too, a few stray clothes hangers remain in the wardrobes and when he turns to look out at your balcony, he swears he sees your shadow outside. He makes sure the doors and windows are secure and makes his way back to your living room, the entire experience harrowing, like walking through a graveyard of memories.

His legs give out as he walks back to the living room, sinking onto the couch. A picture of you catches his eye on the side table next to him, the same one he’d caressed gently when you’d been taken by Jordan. He’d thought then, that was the worst moment of his life, had he known what was to come, he’d have reserved his judgement.

He swallows the lump in his throat as he gently brushes a finger over the glass, unable to keep the tears from coming now. He wishes with everything you could have stayed, can feel it deep within him that you’ll keep a part of his heart for years to come. Then he remembers the note.

He opens the folded paper with trembling hands.

‘Dearest Aaron,

I sit in your living room right now, struggling for the words to write but I can’t seem to come up with anything that truly encapsulates how I feel. How I’m incredibly sorry to have to leave like this, how I wish with everything in me that I didn’t have to, I wish this could have ended differently.

I want to say thank you. You may not know or understand this, but for all the good and bad, you truly changed my life. I met you during the darkest and scariest part of my life, when I had nobody - when I was all alone. And in you came like a light and protected me fiercely, taught me everything I needed to save my life. You did that.

You saved me.

You changed me.

Despite the circumstances, we did have something, a friendship, maybe the start of something more - something real. Don’t ever doubt that. The last two days were two of the best of my life, a fitting reward, I thought, after everything I’d been through. But I couldn’t let you talk me into staying, because I know you, and you would have tried, told me that we could’ve worked something out - and it would’ve been selfish of me to stay.

I want you to know that I am so incredibly happy for you. This wasn't an easy decision, but I’m leaving of my own choice. I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be an amazing father. That child will be loved and oh so lucky to have you and your warmth as a father. I know how much this means to you, how important it is for you to give your child a better life than the one you and Sean had.

And you will.

Thank you for everything you did for me, thank you for saving me over and over again. Thank you for teaching me to be brave, and for coming into my life. My hope for you is that you’ll build a wonderful life with your beautiful little family and achieve everything you’ve ever wanted and more.

You’ll change the world one day.

Know that I will always have a special place for you in my heart.

I’ll never forget you.

All my love.’

He swallows the burning in his chest. Two days were all he had with you and he stupidly saw himself able to imagine a future with you, could imagine loving you for the rest of his life - but then he’d been in love with you long before you’d asked him to stay.

He winces as something digs into his chest and he reaches for his inside jacket pocket until something cold makes contact with his fingers.

His heart stops, molten lava running through his veins.

Your necklace.

He grips it until the sharp edges of the pendant feel like they’re about to puncture his skin.

Maybe he wasn’t destined for peace, for love. The love that he wanted. Maybe a happy ending wasn’t written for him and he’d have to make peace with that. At least he had the memory of your face burnt into his brain, the smell of your hair, the sound of your laughter.

That finite part of you would get him through eternity.

———

20:00

You’ve rejected every meal you’ve been offered by the staff aboard the plane, instead choosing to down Emily’s bottle of red wine. It eases the heaviness in your head, that’s true but the ache in your chest still remains.

Emily’s since drifted off to sleep, her book laying open against her stomach, meal half-eaten. You stare at the blinking lights of the plane and the clouds below you until everything starts to blur.

You love him. He loves you. That much is true. You never had believed in the concept of the right person but the wrong time, how could you? If the person was right, the timing would surely be inconsequential.

That was until you met Aaron.

In this life, in the grey harsh reality, after everything you had been through with him, the simple fact that two people love one another pales in comparison to the bloody reality of commitments, matters of the mind and sacrifice.

He loves you and you love him. It just isn’t enough.

He aches for you and you ache for him. But it’s still just out of reach.

Your hearts aren’t your own anymore. But you have to go on anyway.

———

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[teiasviago]

Signs

Episode: “Je Souhaite” | Rated M | @today-in-fic | Warning: if any of the symptoms of pregnancy are squicky for you, it would be best to avoid this fic. Also, a reminder that we use Fahrenheit in the U.S., so don’t freak out at the wonky temperature stuff, my Celsius loaves.

Scully feels a little guilty for sending Mulder home last night after teasing him all day about what she was going to do to him in bed, but she blames her upset stomach on being “forced” to skip lunch that day. Scully had waved him off after three hours of on and off vomiting, feeling like she sent the entirety of her pizza and soda into the toilet.

She’d sent him back to his apartment so he’d stop hovering, his incessant chatter only magnifying the headache beginning to build at the base of her skull.

Mulder had called as soon as he got home, leaving a voicemail for her to please not come in tomorrow if she’s still sick. Well, Scully had fortunately felt right as rain when she woke up, aside from the minimal gnawing feeling in her stomach.

She regrets eating two bagels with lox and her real cream cheese now. This must be her punishment for breaking the rule of saving it for the fair amount of bad mornings she encounters. Her stomach’s mutinying again at the smell of Mulder’s black coffee and she can feel another toilet session coming on.

“Oh, God,” Scully whispers, all intent to apologize and press a soft kiss to his lips going out the proverbial door as she sprints out the real one and hauls ass to the bathroom.

She must have a stomach bug, Scully reasons, trying to even out her breathing as she folds some paper towels and wets them before pressing them against her face and neck. She’s suddenly feeling strangely hot, evidence of her sick flushed away.

Mulder knocks three times on the bathroom door. “Scully?”

“Yeah?” she sends back, splashing her face with water. She groans as she feels another gag coming on.

“I brought you some ginger ale and—and some Pepto Bismol. And Tums. I know you don’t like the Pepto but, you know, I figured this called for all the stops.”

She can imagine the look on his face as he hears her vomiting again. Scully checks her watch when it’s over. It’s still only 8:27 in the fucking morning!? How the hell is she supposed to make it through the rest of the workday like this?

The door hinges creak and she looks over at Mulder. “I told you not to come in if you’re still sick, Scully.”

“I wasn’t! I felt fine this morning, and then I walked in the office and smelled your coffee and...”

He leans against the counter and crosses his arms, puckering his lips as part of his exaggerated thinking face. Scully stands up straight and shoots him a look. Mulder shakes his head and puts his hands up. “Look, all I’m saying is that it looks like the same thing happened last night. As soon as we got out the ice cream, you bolted to the bathroom.”

She sighs and shakes her head. “What are you getting at, Mulder?”

“Just that you should go home and at least take a nap or something. If you stay off your feet for a few hours and relax, I’ll be happy. Nibble on some crackers, catch a soap opera...” Mulder shrugs. “You’re clearly sick, Scully. If not for yourself, do it on the chance that it’s contagious.”

Scully places the wet paper towel on the back of her neck, holding it there. “Fine. But only because it might be contagious.”

“I mean—that doesn’t make it better, but thank you nonetheless. Do you want me to drive you? What if there’s a random smell that sets you off on the ride there?”

She rolls her eyes but tells him, “Fine.”

—

Mulder’s assertion that certain smells have been setting off whatever’s going on with her stomach seem to be proven true when she comes back to the office after a few hours of rest and relaxation to the harsh sight of a man whose... whose mouth suddenly disappeared and had to be surgically recreated. Not a twinge from her stomach aside from shock butterflies.

Scully’s relieved that she’s been able to keep down her lunch. To be fair, it was crackers with a little cheese and a full two cups of water to make sure she was hydrated, but any food is good food. She proudly announces to Mulder during their ensuing flight the next day that it seems whatever illness hit is gone.

—

It’s not cold in Creve Coeur, Missouri—certainly not in Spring—but Scully’s feeling every degree of the breeze through the open windows like it’s in the thirties. She’s shivering the entire car ride to the Mark Twain Trailer Park, and noticeably enough for Mulder to glance at her with concern before putting up the windows and turning the heat up.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little cold.”

He frowns at that but lets it go until they hit a red light, when he leans over and presses his hand to her forehead.

Scully quirks her lips in a smile. “What are you doing?”

“Checking your temperature,” he replies. “You don’t seem to have a fever...”

“I’m fine, Mulder,” she insists, leaning into his hand for the few seconds she gets the light turns green.

“Alright, but if you’re still sick, Scully, then you have to promise me that you’ll go back to the motel, okay? I brought the meds just in case, if you need them.”

She smiles softly and places her hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

“It’s what a good boyfriend does.”

—

Her stomach bug really does seem to be gone, which is a relief. However, she’s now insatiably hungry for two things: Mulder, and the bagels from the bagel place two streets over from her apartment. Well, she consoles, one is attainable, at least. And, boy, does she attain it. They’re both breathing heavily by the time Scully’s through with him, and even though they’re sticky with sweat, she curls her body around Mulder’s anyway.

Her breasts are tingly, which has never happened after sex before, but she chalks it up to Mulder’s harsh treatment of her only a minute ago as she nuzzles his chest. She inhales and sighs happily. “I love the way you smell,” she murmurs.

He laughs and she feels it against her cheek. “Coming from the woman who made me start using a different deodorant,” he jokes, squeezing his arm around her shoulders. “Your nipples are darker.”

“What?” Scully props herself up with her forearm to make proper eye contact as her brows furrow.

“Yeah. I don’t know. They’re darker. Feel a little heavier, too. You didn’t notice?”

She shakes her head and laughs. “Unlike you, Mulder, I don’t spend hours studying my boobs.”

He shrugs and rolls them over so he’s hovering over her on his forearms. “Your loss.”

—

“Fuck,” she swears, digging around in her suitcase, fresh from her shower. She’s only got one hand because the other’s holding her towel wrap together.

“What?” Mulder asks around his toothbrush, exiting the bathroom. His tie is slung behind his neck and his suit jacket is waiting for him on the bed.

“I don’t have any panty liners.”

“Do you want me to go out and get some?” he asks, heading back to the bathroom to spit.

“Yeah, that would be great.” Scully walks past him into the still-warm bathroom and lets the towel drop as she uses the one wrapped around her hair to dry the wet strands.

“Alright. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She drops the hair towel when he takes the singular step needed in the tiny motel bathroom to invade her space in favor of pulling him down for a kiss by the ends of his tie. “Mmm, settle down or the plan’ll be botched.”

“I was just thanking you,” Scully says, affecting innocence as she does his tie for him.

“For buying you panty liners? What would happen if I surprised you with some ice cream?”

“I would eat the ice cream.”

“Damn.” Mulder presses a kiss to the top of her head before heading out to put on his suit jacket. “Do you mind me asking why you need panty liners? Also! What brand?”

“Any with wings. And I need them because there’s been an unusual amount of vaginal discharge in my underwear and I don’t want to ruin any more of them.”

“Right.” He steps back in view of the bathroom and takes in her naked body.

Scully raises an eyebrow at him. “What?”

(Their books on pregnancy are buried inside their storage closets from a time best forgotten.)

“Nothing. I just like looking at you.”

She smiles at him, drying her hair again. “Get going, hotshot.”

—

Halfway through the flight home, Scully discovers something that makes her a bit worried. She’s not supposed to get her period until next week, so the blood on the liner she quickly tosses away with shaky hands can’t be because of that. She tries to forget about it as she walks back to her seat next to Mulder, but he must see something on her face that prompts him to ask if she’s okay.

“I’m fine,” she lies, managing to give him a smile. “Just tired.”

He seems to accept that and leaves her be. It’s not even a lie; she feels exhausted after everything that happened over the past few days. Scully makes a mental note to book an emergency appointment with her Ob-Gyn when they land, and closes her eyes.

—

“Dana,” Dr. Namin starts, disrupting her patient’s thumb twiddling.

Scully abruptly stands up as her doctor moves to stand in front of the exam table, computer and several documents in hand. “You don’t look concerned,” she says, following Namin to the exam table.

“Because there’s nothing to be concerned about at this stage except plenty of rest, hydration, and eating at least three good meals a day,” Scully’s doctor replies, opening up her computer and spreading out the documents. “We’ve done all the tests you asked for, but nothing came up. However, based on the symptoms you listed, I performed one more, and that’s where we found the culprit.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re pregnant, Dana. Plain and simple. Congratulations.” Dr. Namin slides one of the documents towards Scully, who takes it. “You’re about three and a half weeks along. You can take all the papers. There’s suggestions for all the prenatal vitamins you’ll need to take and how much water to drink in a day. Resources for managing symptoms, too.”

Scully nods dumbly, tears gathering in her eyes as she stares at the diagnosis. “Um, when should I come back?”

“Don’t worry about that right now, I’ll have someone give you a call with that information. Just relax and enjoy the news. I remember how much you wanted this, Dana. I...I don’t know how this happened, but the baby’s doing well. Minor bleeding is completely normal and you don’t need to worry. If it gets worse or doesn’t stop soon, then come back.”

“Okay,” Scully chokes out, smiling widely as she wipes away her tears and collects the documents on the exam table.

—

She spends a few hours at her apartment trying to figure out how to tell Mulder the good news but gets nowhere. In the middle of pacing around her couch, one arm unconsciously wrapped around her abdomen, her phone starts ringing.

“Scully speaking.”

“Agent Scully,” Skinner starts, and she immediately knows that Mulder’s done something stupid again, “could you check on Agent Mulder? He snuck into my meeting and was yelling at my chair.”

“Yes, of course, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Scully hangs up the phone and sighs heavily. Looks like God’s giving her a sign to just get it over with. When she enters the office, however, the woman Mulder keeps insisting is a genie is there, too. She licks her lips nervously and tries to ignore her.

“Skinner called me, Mulder. Is everything alright?”

Sitting at the desk, computer on, she has to wonder what he’s doing. “You don’t remember disappearing off the face of the Earth for an hour this morning?”

She gives her head a small shake as she tells him, “No,” truly starting to get concerned.

Mulder just shrugs with a little smile and gets back to typing with a nonchalant, “Well, I guess everything’s okay.”

Get it out, just say it, she thinks, trying to psych herself up. She sighs. “Mul—” But the woman’s still there in the office. “Could you give us a minute, please?”

“Sure,” the woman—Jenn, Mulder told her on the plane—says with a nod.

Scully steps closer to the desk, butterflies in her stomach. Jenn isn’t moving, and it’s making her annoyed, quite frankly. “Like, today?” she says, turning around, but the black-haired woman is nowhere to be found, not even in the annex. Scully turns back to her partner, extremely confused. “Where the hell’d she go?”

Mulder childishly imitates a genie disappearing and she feels the sudden urge to laugh at the thought that this man is the father of her child. “No...” she says, softening the guffaw trying to escape to a scoff-laugh. “It’s gotta—” She scoffs for real this time. “It’s gotta be hypnotism, or—or mesmerism, or something.”

And thus begins the verbal sparring. As he lists all the things he wants for the world, Scully thinks, again, of how this is the father of her child. Something suspiciously soft is trying to emerge from her heart as she responds, and she’s a coward to boot, so she leaves without telling him. Driving back to her apartment, Scully feels guilty at how little effort she put into trying to break the news to Mulder. She just—she doesn’t know what to make of the news herself, let alone how to explain it to him.

An hour into The Exorcist, hugging a pillow as she wishes Mulder was watching it with her, the phone rings. “Scully, do you wanna come over and watch a movie? I’ve got your favorite popcorn...”

She grins. “Of course. I’ll bring the drinks.”

—

They’ve both changed their clothes for the movie night, and when Mulder opens the door, they’re sporting matching grins. “Oh, zero alcohol content?” he faux complains, taking the case of six drinks into the kitchen. “Is this your punishment for me, Scully?”

She elects not to respond as she follows him and takes out the package of popcorn and a pot. “Can you grab the olive oil, Mulder?”

“Yeah, of course.” He puts four of the drinks in the fridge before reaching into one of the cabinets to grab the oil and put it on the counter next to the stove, which Scully’s turning it on.

“I’ll never understand why you won’t just microwave them. It’s faster.”

“Yeah, but if you do it in the pot, it tastes better,” she shoots back, opening the package and pouring the kernels into the pot.

“That’s just because of the oil.”

“Well, you can continue to eat shitty popcorn for the rest of your life if you want, but I’m going to eat my good popcorn.”

They turn to face each other as the kernels pop and hit the lid, a staring contest beginning. Scully wins when she licks her lips and distracts Mulder enough to get him to blink.

“Ha! I got you! I win!”

“That’s cheating!”

“I won!” she says in a sing-song voice, emptying the finished popcorn into the bowl.

Mulder shakes his head with a smile. “Why don’t you take the drinks and get comfortable. I’ll finish the popcorn.”

Scully nods and does as he suggests, but as she’s crossing into the living room, she pauses and turns around. “No butter, please,” she says, and he turns around with a scoop of butter in a bowl in his right hand, the handle of the microwave in the other.

“No... butter...?” She nods. “We always put butter on the popcorn, Scully.”

“Well, I don’t want butter this time,” she says, and makes her way to the couch, sitting down and placing the drinks on the coffee table. She hears Mulder sigh heavily and put the bowl of butter in the fridge before making his way to the living room, bowl of popcorn in hand.

He shakes his head as he grabs the movie case from the table and inserts it into the player. “Can’t believe you don’t want butter on your popcorn. Eugh. It’s un-American.” He steps around the table and sits down next to Scully.

She takes the case from where he left it and makes a face. “Caddyshack, Mulder?” she questions.

“It’s a classic American movie,” he insists, grabbing his drink and propping his feet up.

“That’s what every guy says.” Scully grabs her own and untwists the cap, tossing it onto the table. Mulder does the same, but his bounces off onto the floor, and she laughs into the bottle. “So, uh... What’s the occasion?” she asks, as if they still take the justifying movie nights thing seriously.

Last week’s was I thought you might need some help feeding your fish.

“I don’t know. Just felt like the thing to do. Cheers.”

Maybe it is time to turn over a new leaf, especially considering the baby growing inside her, cell by cell. They clink their bottles—“Cheers,” she says—and drink. Tell him, tell him, tell hi—

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I, um, never made the world a happier place.”

They nod together and Scully knows that this is the moment to tell him. She takes a deep breath. “Well, I’m fairly happy. That’s something.” A smile slides onto her face and she looks at him, a lot more than fairly happy now. “Actually, I’m ecstatic.” She gives a little laugh and reaches into her pocket for the piece of paper she’d stared at for hours earlier.

“Really? Is there a specific reason, or...?”

Scully pulls the paper out and looks at the blue highlighted text on the portion of the paper that’s not folded back for a moment before handing it to Mulder. “That’s why,” she says, voice trembling a little out of happiness.

She watches his face as the words sink in. He reads it again, murmuring, “Diagnosis: pregnancy (3.5 weeks),” as he does so, a grin spreading across his lips. “Scully...”

“I know,” she says, setting her bottle on the table, and before Mulder can say anything else, she cups his cheeks and kisses him, unwilling to fight the urge.

“Scully, this is wonderful!” He laughs joyously and kisses her again, setting the paper and his drink on the table. “I’m so happy.” He brings her into his embrace and buries his face in her shoulder for a long moment, both of them starting to cry. He suddenly pulls away and puts his hand on her abdomen under her shirt, his other arm still wrapped around Scully.

“I love you,” she tells him.

“I love you, too,” he replies.