#or even put wrapping paper on her birthday present!! the bar is on the floor!!

[kratomqueen]

[lipstickstainz]

mismatched socks - s. r.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Request: Spencer's girlfriend (reader, FBI agent too) always wears mismatched socks and when they have their first night together at his apartment he notices, and his brain goes to mush, and falls in love with her even more

Warnings: fluff, some talk about Spencer being insecure Word Count: 2.2k A/N: thanks for the request, love! I really enjoyed writing it! requests are open guys! hope you enjoy. gif not mine.

Spencer had always known he was different. He had always been the smartest in school, which could be attributed to his eidetic memory. He wasn't invited to birthday parties because he liked to tell facts that were funny to him, but that no one else found funny. And he had been rather an oddball in other ways, too.

All his life this fact had made him insecure. He thought of himself as too skinny, too unathletic-especially when he compared himself to Derek, which was pretty stupid, of course-and his hair always lay funny, no matter how hard he tried to tame it. He wore cardigans over shirts-the watch over the cardigan, of course-which was pretty weird, but he wore Converse with them and two different socks every day. He loved magic and physics jokes. Spencer couldn't talk about the latest episode of Greys Anatomy, and he wasn't sure what Team Stefan and Team Damon were. Spencer didn't fit in perfectly anywhere and it had taken him time to accept that. He also never imagined anyone would find in attractive, or even want to be with him.

Until you came along.

On your first day at BAU, he immediately noticed three things about you. First, you walked incredibly fast, actually too fast to just walk from one office to the next. It seemed to her as if you were flying. Second, you tucked your hair behind your ears every few minutes, even when it wasn't falling in your face. He wondered why you didn't use a pin or a scrunchie. But it was a habit that didn't bother him in the least. From the moment he first saw you, he found you irresistibly pretty, and he was glad your hair didn't cover your face. And third, you could write ambidextrously. As the team sat in the conference room and you scribbled something in your case file - also something he noticed, you seemed to prefer paper as much as he did - you reached for your coffee cup with your right hand and continued to write undisturbed with your left, until the entire team looked at you as if you were from another star. It was a look Spencer knew all too well.

He had never met anyone like you.

Spencer liked you from the first moment he saw you. He liked that you took your backpack on both shoulders and that you preferred cocoa to coffee. He liked the way you smiled at him when he brought you one from the office kitchen and set it on your desk. And he liked the way your skin felt on his when you reached under the desk for his hand when you noticed a change in his demeanor. You then squeezed his hand twice. Once for "It's all right" and once for "I'm here, with you."

In your presence, everything seemed as easy as breathing. You listened to him when he blathered on about a subject you didn't understand, because you liked his intelligence and the way he explained things without looking down on others. You even asked when he had to explain something to you, which had surprised him so much the first few times that he had completely forgotten what your conversation was about. He had stared at you and the blush had come to his face. One feature that didn't escape you, but made him even more attractive to you.

When you went to his table one morning and told him that you had seen Star Trek for the first time the previous night, and now wondered how realistic the physics in the movie were, he could hardly stand it. You were beautiful and intelligent and interested in Star Trek? And when you asked him if he could explain something from the movie to you, he was sure his dream girl was standing right in front of him.

"I need your help", he told Derek that very day as they stood together in the kitchen. "How do I ask a girl out?"

Derek nearly choked on his coffee before turning to Spencer. "Since when do you want to date?" He noticed Spencer's gaze, which wasn't on him, but slid past him and lingered on you.You sat at your desk and tucked your hair behind your ears before looking up and over at Spencer's desk.  Derek could see your gaze wander around the office and then linger on Spencer before you smiled and got back to work. With a grin, Derek looked at Spencer. "You're going to ask Y/N out on a date? Oh boy, it's about time you finally do. I already said to Penelope that -"

"Please, Morgan. I just want to know how to ask her out”, Spencer interrupted him, looking at his friend.

Derek's grin gave way to an honest, friendly smile. "Don't make a big deal out of it. Just ask her directly."

"And if she says no?", asked Spencer uncertainly, his mouth twisting into a thin line. He couldn't imagine you going on a date with him, but he couldn't stay in the dark any longer either. He had to at least try.

"She won't”, Derek assured him. The whole team felt that Spencer and you would be perfect for each other, but he didn't tell him that. Spencer should learn to walk before he starts running. "I can see the way she looks at you. And if she does say no, she's not as smart as I thought."

Spencer trusted Derek's words and took it upon himself to ask you out on a date that very day. He had phrased the question countless times in his head, even encouraging himself in the mirror in the men's room, but every time he stood in front of you and looked at your beautiful face, he couldn't get a single word out. They got stuck in his throat and he was so embarrassed that he fled from you several times. By the third time, he had red marks on his neck, which you noticed immediately, and you wondered how you had made him so uncomfortable without having really done anything. When he said nothing again, you put your hand on his forearm.

"Are you okay, Spencer?", you asked, and he just nodded. It's now or never.

"Wouldyougooutwithme?" He almost mumbled, but you had understood him perfectly. "If you don't want to, that's fine, and we'll pretend I never asked. We'll just keep being friends and -"

"Spencer," you interrupted, smiling up at him, "I'd love to go out with you," you replied, and he was able to breathe deeply again. The marks on his neck faded as you tucked your hair behind your ear.

He had done it. Spencer had asked you and you had agreed, but where was he going to take you? Nothing seemed good enough for him. Going out to eat was nice, but you didn't seem like someone who needed to talk the whole time. He thought movie theaters were dumb because you couldn't talk there at all. After two days he had thought of something and he wouldn't have minded if you thought the idea was stupid, but when he presented his idea to you, you smiled at him excitedly.

"I can't wait."

You spent your first date in Spencer's favorite library, surrounded by knowledge and stories. You walked the aisles together, telling stories of books you had read and found to be good, and books you had abandoned because they were so bad you couldn't finish them. As you walked through each aisle, which had actually taken an entire afternoon, Spencer didn't want the date to end. He was going to suggest something else, but you beat him to it.

"There's a couch over there. Shall we sit there? Then you can read me something from your favorite book."

You would be the death of him.

A few weeks later, you had arranged to go for a walk. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too cool, so you strolled hand in hand along the paths. He liked the fact that you worked together but couldn't just talk about the job. You were explaining to him why a certain Matt Donavan from a vampire series was incredibly annoying when someone stopped in front of you.

"Y/N! How nice to see you!", the young woman said, unceremoniously wrapping her arms around you. When she broke away from you, you looked at Spencer.

"Spencer, this is Lisa, my college roommate. Lisa, this is Spencer, my boyfriend”, you explained before you could think about what you had just said. You chatted briefly before going your separate ways again. You noticed a change in Spencer's behavior and feared you had misinterpreted everything. When you couldn't take it anymore, you stopped.

"Look, I'm sorry I called you my boyfriend”, you said, looking down at the ground in shame. "We've never talked about what exactly we are, but it feels like you're my boyfriend and I wish you were, so I -"

"Y/N”, he interrupted you and tenderly reached for your hand. A smile spread across his face. He couldn't believe himself that he would ask you that. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

The bar was crowded and the later it got, the more crowded you felt. The team had been in the mood to celebrate after a difficult case, so everyone had gathered in the regular bar. Penelope was putting on some dance moves on the dance floor while Emily and JJ were bawling out the song, which neither Spencer nor you knew. He had his arm around your waist and pulled you tightly to his side, which you enjoyed very much. He didn't fit in here with his shirt and cardigan, but he fit you, you were one hundred percent sure of that.

As you stifled a yawn, he looked down at you. "Shall we go? You seem tired and I'm getting ready to go to bed too”, he suggested and you nodded. Outside, he hailed you a cab and as you got in, you gave the driver Spencer's address.

"We're going to my place?", asked Spencer, looking at you in confusion as you nestled into his side.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay”, you replied, "If it's too soon for you for us to sleep together, then you just have to say so. I won't be mad at you."

How could he be mad at you? You wanted to spend the night with him. You wanted to fall asleep next to him and wake up next to him. He had hit the jackpot.

"Would you like to drink something?", he asked as you sat down on the couch and kicked off your shoes. It wasn't the first time you'd been in his apartment, but you'd never entered his bedroom before and you didn't want to take the step without him. It was still his apartment and his privacy and you respected that.

"Just water, please”, you replied, pulling your legs up so he could sit next to you. He handed you the glass and you took a big gulp.

In your presence, Spencer had never felt like an oddball. You never made him feel like he was different or weird. You didn't laugh at him, you laughed with him, and you had assured him many times how incredibly attractive he was to you, even if he couldn't see it. He wasn't too skinny or too unathletic for you. He dressed askew, but it suited him like a glove and you had imagined more than once what he would look like without clothes. It didn't bother you in the least that he wasn't interested in the technology of today. For you, he was just right. For you, he was perfect.

Even though you often assured him how much you liked him and how happy you were with him, he was still insecure from time to time. But as you sat there together on the couch and you put your legs on his thighs, he was one hundred percent sure that he didn't need to be insecure. On your left foot was a green sock, while on your right dangled an orange sock.

You wore the socks like he did. Two different ones. Had you seen this on him and copied it or had you always worn socks like this? A question that could be answered later. His heart stopped for a second, his brain turned to mush, which is why he couldn't control his following words either. "I think I love you."

Surprised, you looked to him and noticed that his gaze lingered on your socks. "You see my socks and then say you love me? Maybe something isn't going right in that clever head of yours”, you grinned and leaned towards him. Blushes shot up his face. "I love you too, Spencer."

Gently, you placed your lips on his. The kiss was tender, hesitant, but Spencer saw his chance and gently pulled you onto his lap before wrapping his arms around you and holding you close. His heart threatened to overflow with love. As he placed his hands on your butt, you moaned softly into his mouth. He smiled.

In your presence, he didn't feel like he was different.

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter 30}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Written with @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

A/N: Wow. The final chapter. Tara and I are so glad you've come along on this journey with us. We've absolutely loved writing this story for you all and we hope you've enjoyed it as well.

Nesta looked around their home.

It was decorated to perfection - at least, that had been Nesta’s goal. The theme for Nyx’s second birthday was space cowboy, which had happened when Cassian wanted a cowboy theme while Nesta wanted an outer space theme.

It had been a challenge to perfect the space cowboy theme - especially when it came to a two-year-old’s birthday party.

There were aliens with cowboy hats and paper cows on UFO balloons. In the corner of the living room, there was a horse wearing an astronaut costume - a decoration that Cassian had created, and one he was quite proud of.

Nesta herself wore a “space-like” outfit that reminded her fondly of Zenon: Girl of the 21th Century. When Cassian came down the stairs, however, it looked like he had just walked out of the Wild West.

He wore chaps over his jeans, and Nesta found her mind wandering on those chaps alone.

She hoped he kept them.

They would be useful in the future.

He also wore a plaid button down and a cowboy hat.

She thought he should keep the cowboy hat, too.

Nyx, however, looked like the cutest little mess Nesta had ever seen. His onesie looked like a spacesuit, but on his head, instead of an astronaut helmet, he wore a teeny little cowboy hat. On his feet were genuine cowboy boots.

Nesta laughed as they reached the first floor landing, and Cassian’s grin widened.

“Now introducing our two-year-old space cowboy,” Cassian said, unable to control his laughter.

Nyx’s grin was wide as he clapped. “MAMA!”

Nesta laughed, taking Nyx into her arms. Yeah, he looked ridiculous, but he also looked oh so cute. “Happy birthday, sweet boy.”

Nyx took Nesta’s face in his hands and gave her a big, sloppy kiss.

With a chuckle, Nesta said, “Thank you, that was very sweet. Now, let’s go make sure everything’s ready, yeah? Our guests will be here soon.”

“Dada,” Nyx said, pointing to Cassian. “Hi-hi.”

Cassian laughed. “Hi, bud.” He went straight for the corner and adjusted his astronaut-horse.

Nesta just shook her head and brought Nyx into the kitchen.

It smelled delicious.

Nesta had spent the entire morning cooking.

At first, she had no idea what to make for a space cowboy party, but she really felt like she nailed it. She had a taco bar, which worked for every type of party, and baked and decorated a cake that looked like Cassian’s horse in a spacesuit.

It was ridiculous.

And absolutely perfect.

Nesta looked at the clock. “We have twenty minutes, Nyx. We have to make the homemade tortillas and get out the salsas.”

“What about the alcohol?” Cassian asked, sweeping into the kitchen.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “It’s our two-year-old’s birthday.”

Cassian blinked. “So, no whiskey, just wine?”

Nesta clicked her tongue. “Check the wine cabinet.”

“Yes ma’am,” Cassian winked, tipping his hat before he left the room.

Nesta snorted, even though she found it deeply charming and handsome as hell.

Yeah, she definitely hoped he’d keep that outfit.

Nesta took the dough out of the fridge that she had rolled earlier that morning and a rolling pin. When she had countless flat, doughy circles she dropped them in the oil-filled skillet one by one. Fifteen minutes later, she had a giant stack of flour tortillas and was carrying them, alongside a tray filled with different types of homemade salsas, to the table she had set up in the living room.

There was a quick knock on the door and it cracked open before Nesta could even turn towards the door.

“Oh, my.”

She laughed at Azriel’s reaction to the house, turning to see him carrying in a stack of presents, Elain’s camera bag and Persephone’s diaper bag. “Go big or go home, right?” She chuckled.

“You decided to go big at home,” he replied, shaking his head.

Nesta wasn’t surprised to see that Azriel hadn’t dressed up, wearing his traditional all-black attire instead, but a little space princess in cowboy boots ran in right after him and she couldn’t stop the grin as she looked at Seph.

Elain was a just a few steps behind, and as she came in, she dropped a black cowboy hat atop Azriel’s head. He rolled his eyes, but said nothing as he adjusted the hat, and was off in search of Cassian.

“Okay, you’ve outdone yourself,” Elain announced, beaming as she looked around the house. “This is awesome.”

Nesta shrugged. “He only turns two once, right?”

“I’ve got the wine!” Cassian announced, pushing through the kitchen door with two bottles of wine and a glass of whiskey.

Nesta chuckled. “I thought we said wine only?”

“We did,” Cassian said, setting the bottles on the table. “For the guests.”

“Am I a guest?” Azriel muttered.

Cassian snorted and motioned to follow him into the kitchen.

In the middle of the room, Nyx and Persephone were dancing to the techno space playlist Nesta had put on.

Elain laughed, quietly. “I need to get out my camera. Anything I can help with?”

Nesta shook her head. “You’re good. Take pictures and send them all to me.”

Elain promised she would, and Cassian and Azriel came back out with their full glasses of whiskey. Nesta looked around.

Elain was right.

They had done well.

Nesta hoped the rest of the guests thought so, too.

Before they knew it, the house was full, people were laughing and eating and drinking and Nesta couldn’t help but smile from where she stood to the side watching it all.

What a difference 365 days could make. Nesta couldn’t believe it as she watched Nyx and Persephone play with Viviane, who had also come dressed up, much to Nyx’s delight. He kept stealing her hat, and she let him, donning his tiny one instead, though it didn’t fit on her head.

She couldn’t help but think of the two people who were missing though. The two people who should have been here. Her eyes drifted to the cross Cassian had made, where it sat on the mantle, it’s permanent home.

A set of strong arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned back into Cassian’s embrace.

His chin was resting on her shoulder, and he said, “Nyx is happy. We’re happy. But… It doesn’t feel right without them here.”

As always, he knew exactly what she was thinking. She gripped his arms over her abdomen and held him there, letting him know she understood.

“They’re here, though,” Cassian whispered into her ear. “They’re here and they’re watching us, watching him. They wouldn’t miss today.”

Nesta nodded and held onto him tighter. If she would have tried to say a word, the tears would have come.

Sad tears because she missed her sister and brother-in-law.

Happy tears, though, because she loved Nyx, and she loved Cassian, and she couldn’t believe how far they had come in the last year.

Clearing her throat, and wiping a tear that had snuck out, she announced, “Let’s open gifts and have some cake!”

Cassian kissed her cheek before he was on the floor, Nyx climbing on top of him, and helping the two year old open his gifts.

It only took one or two gifts before he was completely distracted by trying to play and wasn’t even paying attention as Cassian opened his gifts one by one. But they made it through the pile and Nesta carried in the astronaut horse cake, which had Nyx on his feet and chanting, “Cakecakecakecakecake!”

With Cassian’s help, Nyx blew out the big “2” candle and narrowly avoided a smash cake for the second year in a row.

“Not this year, bud,” Cassian chuckled, carrying a confused Nyx to his booster seat in the kitchen. “We’re all going to eat this one. Not just you.”

His irritation disappeared as soon as Nesta sat a piece down in front of him, but he made nearly just as big of a mess as he had the year before.

“Nesta!” Elain called, and she turned from where she was cutting more pieces in the kitchen. “Come here, I want to get a picture of you guys.”

Her eyes found Cassian’s and they softened, thinking back to the picture they’d been forced to take a year before.

“Still think you’ll burst into flames if you brush arms with me?” He asked, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Maybe,” she said, and he chuckled as she wrapped an arm around him. “But I’m not as bothered by it as I used to be.”

Cassian grinned, and Elain took a picture of their little family.

*

It was the day after Nyx’s second birthday and all three of them anxiously waited in the living room. It wasn’t that they were scared about the visit, but after last time, there was a little bit of nervousness surrounding them all.

Well, everyone but Nyx.

He was giddy as he played with all of his birthday toys.

Nesta was pacing, while Cassian watched a hockey game around the path she was wearing into the carpet.

“Come sit down, Nes,” he said, reaching for her hand. “They told us it would be this afternoon, but that could be anytime.”

“I know, I know,” she said, biting her nail. It had been a horrible habit of hers when she was younger, but now it only appeared when she was nervous

He caught her other hand in his. “Sit,” he repeated, tugging her towards. “You know what the doctor said about stress. It’s not good for—.”

A knock on the front door had Nesta bolting for it, and Nyx asked, “Hello?”

Cassian couldn’t help but chuckle as he stood and walked to him, crouching down in front of him. He smoothed Nyx’s dark hair back from his face and said, “I need you to be good today, okay? Be a good boy and daddy will take you to get ice cream after dinner.”

He nodded and repeated, “Ice cream.” Or he tried, but he couldn’t quite pronounce it.

Cassian could only grin down at him.

“You’re taking too long,” Nesta chastised, hurrying toward the door.

Cassian rolled his eyes but said nothing more as Nesta reached the door, smoothed down her non-wrinkled dress, and opened it up.

Alis Birch stood on the threshold, a folder in her hand, and, surprisingly, almost wearing a smile. “Nesta, it’s a pleasure.”

Nesta nodded, hesitantly. “Yes, you too. Come in, please.”

Alis crossed the threshold and nodded at Cassian. “Good afternoon, Mr. Nazari.” She looked at Nyx. “And glad to see you wide awake for one of my visits.”

Nyx smiled as he waved, and said, “Hi-hi.”

“Ah, he’s talking,” Alis said, going into the living room and smiling at the toddler.

“Oh, he hardly ever stops,” Cassian snorted. “Picks a new word up every day, I swear.”

“Sit,” Nesta said, sitting in the chair. “Please.”

“Thank you,” Alis said, taking her place on the couch. “I hear someone just had a second birthday.”

“Yesterday,” Nesta said, nodding. “We had a party. He had fun.”

“Good, plenty of toys and excitement, I assume?” She asked, watching as he played with a chunky, wooden puzzle made of farm animals. As if it were a gift from the gods themselves, he slid the cow into the right hole, and grinned up at Cassian. “Mooooo!”

He chuckled as he sat on the arm of Nesta’s chair. “Good job, bubba. Cows do say moo.”

He kept on grinning but went back to his puzzle.

“So,” Nesta said, clearing her throat. “What sort of questions do you have this visit?”

Alis didn’t say much, just looked around at the living room and kitchen. Cassian’s astronaut horse was still set up in the corner, as he’d insisted it was a work of art and as such, deserved to be displayed for at least a few more days. “Honestly, I don’t have many today. You two have made it very clear that Nyx is your main focus, and I can tell that he’s very happy and is thriving under your care.”

Cassian doubted she knew it, but Nesta released a breath she’d been holding and nodded. “We love him, more than anything. We— We’ll always miss Feyre and Rhys, but it’s not just about doing right by them anymore. Nyx has…” She took Cassian’s hand and continued. “He’s become our son, and we’ve become a family. And we couldn’t imagine it any other way at this point.”

Alis nodded and jotted a few notes in her binder. Nesta could have sworn a hint of a smile was on her face. “And, as far as the relationship between the two of you goes, where do we stand? It’s been a few months since we last discussed it.”

Cassian was the one to answer. “We’re engaged. We have been since Christmas, and, since Nyx’s birthday just passed, the wedding planning will start soon. And actually, we’re also—.”

“We couldn’t be happier,” Nesta said, interrupting him, holding up her left hand and showing the sparkling diamond on her ring finger. She gently squeezed his hand, and he didn’t ask, but nodded. “We couldn’t be happier and neither could Nyx.”

Alis looked from Cassian to Nesta to Nyx, and nodded. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll put in a good report, and you have nothing to worry about. Truly, I wish you all the best.”

Nesta smiled, and it was genuine. “Thank you, Mrs. Birch. Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you all be,” Alis said, standing. She closed her binder. “If you ever need anything, please reach out.”

“We will,” Cassian said. “Thank you.”

With one last smile, she said her goodbyes and was gone.

Nesta leaned against the closed doors and sighed a loud sigh of relief. “We did it. We’re done.”

Cassian pulled her into his arms and hugged her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I never had any doubts.”

She pulled back and looked up at him. “I sure as hell did. Who knew an old woman could be so terrifying?”

He chuckled but shook his head. “What now?”

“We wait for Tarquin to reach out to us. There’s some official paperwork that will have to be signed after she submits her report and findings, but…” She looked over at Nyx who was still engrossed in his puzzles. “We’re officially a family.”

Smiling, Cassian leaned down to kiss her. “And we didn’t tell her about this one because…?”

His hand brushed over her abdomen, over the life that was growing inside.

“I’d say we’re entitled to a few secrets of our own,” she replied, smiling. “Besides, they’re more focused on ensuring Nyx is taken care of. We’ve proven that time and time again.”

They’d found out Nesta was pregnant just a few weeks before. Not even ten weeks, and for that reason, they hadn’t told anyone, not even Elain and Azriel.

“Fair enough,” he muttered and kissed her, again.

Nyx had walked up to them and was tugging on Cassian’s pant leg, begging to be picked up, which is exactly what he did.

They hugged him tight, and felt an overwhelming amount of peace.

A year of ups and downs and chaos had passed, but they had made it.

They were a family.

All four of them.

[jaeminlore]

Landslide | Mark Lee

summary: time makes you bolder. even children get older, and i’m getting older too.

words: 7.1k+

category: teacher!mark, single parent!reader, fem!presenting!reader, graham is the sweetest kid, mark is that teacher that lets kids pick earthworms during recess, friends to lovers, mark’s apartment is flooded so now he has to live in domestic bliss with his secret crush oh nooooo

warnings: talk of absent fathers

author note: it’s my birthday tomorrow so i wanted to give u all a present for supporting me for so long!! here’s to you <3 (cross-posted on /honklore)

Mark helps one of his kids press their palms onto the wall. When they release their palm, pink paint remains, making a sort of leaf to the tree branches painted onto the wall.

“Now write your name,” Mark advises another kid, whose orange paint had already dried.

“G-R-A-H-A-M,” the boy writes out with a large permanent marker. “Can I take a picture? For my mom?”

All the rest of the children begin to shout their agreements, also wanting to bring home a picture for their parents. Mark grabs his yellow Polaroid camera and takes a picture of each handprint.

He keeps all of the pictures in the chest pocket of his denim jacket. “Okay, guys— to the sink! Whoever has the cleanest hands gets to help me pass out snacks!”

“Why are we having snack time so early?” It’s Graham that asks, the little one always eager to be around Mark.

Mark ignores the boy’s paint covered hands poking at his clean jacket, and answers him as politely as he can. “Mr. Lee forgot his lesson plans today, so we’re going to watch a movie instead.”

“A movie?” Graham’s eyes widen.

“Yep,” Mark giggles. He crouches down to Graham’s level and whispers, “You wanna pick it?”

“Nature Nut!” Graham cheers almost immediately, causing Mark to wince.

Ah, yes, the wonderful little DVDs of a lonesome man teaching the watcher about bugs and weird types of slugs. Mark actually has the entire collection, and Graham happens to adore them just as much as Mark did when he was a kid.

“Alright, go wash your hands and I’ll get it started.”

It’s a little girl named Hana who cleans her hands the best, so she passes out organic fruit gummies to everyone while Mark puts in the DVD.

While they watch the video, Mark checks his text messages.

There’s one from Taeyong: “I’ve already got Haechan on the couch. Sorry, man. You can have the floor, but it’s not gonna be comfy :(“

Right. Mark forgot that Haechan lives in the same complex as him. His apartment is probably just as flooded as Mark’s is. Now if the landlord would just answer his calls and help him... maybe this situation wouldn’t be so stressful.

Mark didn’t forget his lesson plans; they’re just submerged in his bedroom with everything else Mark has left lying on his carpet. And maybe it’s his fault for not buying more storage bins, but a studio apartment can only hold so much stuff.

Serves Mark right for doing his lesson plans at home instead of at the school like most of his fellow kindergarten teachers.

He lets out a quiet sigh, careful not to disturb the children. He only has a short list of friends left to ask, and while he doesn’t think they’ll mind him asking, he really hates to put anyone in that position.

Besides, most of his friends have roommates or significant others and Mark doesn’t want to ruin their routine. He’d hate to intrude. And he could always sleep in his car for a few days, but the amount of stuff he had to pack because of the flooding has barred any chance of a good night’s sleep.

The video ends, and Mark gets the kids seated with coloring pages until their parents arrive.

One by one, he I.Ds the parents and tells the kids goodbye, helping them put on their coats and take home whatever library book they picked out earlier.

Finally, there’s only one kid left, and Mark is a bit embarrassed of his hyper-awareness to Graham. It’s not even his fault, really. Graham just has a beautiful mom, who happens to be Mark’s beautiful friend, and sometimes Mark gets eager to see you during pickup time.

Whatever. It’s no big deal.

The kindergartener already has his coat on. His curly brown hair is almost unruly as he continues to work on his coloring sheet.

Mark pulls at the hem of his sage sweater sleeves and wonders if his hair looks okay. Maybe he should invest in a little desk mirror; or maybe that’s vain.

“Hey, Mark! Sorry I’m late!” You rush in, holding on to your leather messenger bag. You fix your glasses before they fall off the bridge of your nose, and Mark is so focused on the movement that he almost forgets about your child.

Until said child is scolding his mother. “Mom! You have to call him Mr. Lee! It’s rude to call him Mark!”

“Your mom is an adult,” Mark reminds Graham (as soon as he finds his voice.) “Since she isn’t a student, it’s okay for her to call me Mark.”

Graham pinches his lips together, and then shrugs. “Fine. Mom, we watched Nature Nut today.” He runs up to you and wraps his arm around your middle. “Can we go to the park and look for slugs?”

“Sure,” you giggle. “But we need to get home soon, okay, Bud? I have to make dinner and then we have to clean up the mess we made last night.”

Graham turns to Mark and smiles naughtily, like the trickster he often is. “Mom said I could tear up her papers last night. She said it’s There-pee.”

“Ther-a-py,” you emphasize for the five-year-old.

Mark studies your face, and he can tell that you seem a little more stressed than usual. “Therapy, huh?”

You smile sheepishly. “Well, when your son catches you tearing up old love notes, you have to let him in on the fun, right?”

“You are a team,” Mark acknowledges. He wants to ask more; wants to dig into your heart and extract whatever is hurting you, but your son is standing between the two of you, waiting for him to say goodbye. Mark clears his throat and picks at his sweater again. “Anyways, uh, text me tonight? Let me know you two got home safe. And, I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” you breathe. You smile at him and then take Graham’s hand. “Thanks, Mark. I’ll text you.”

Mark spends the night at a motel down the road. He texts a few of his friends and hopes for good news in the morning, or at least a confirmation from his landlord.

When you text him, a little selfie of you and Graham, holding up what looks like microwaved s’mores, his heart grows fond, and he forgets about his own problems for a moment.

-

Life has never been very easy for you. From the get-go, you have always been destined to fail, growing up with an absent father and an overworked mother. With a dead-end dream like yours (writing, of all things), it’s no wonder you clung to what little breaths of freedom you had.

He was handsome and bold, with a carefree smile and brown eyes that mirrored the sun. The lead singer of a band, with a voice like chimes. And you fell just as hard as one of your many protagonists. Perhaps the mistake always lay in the fact that you put too much fantasy into reality. You have always romanticized the littlest things, and that comes back to bite you more often than not.

You never expected one: to get pregnant your senior year of high school, and two: have to go through it alone.

Of course, most people you come to love leave eventually. It’s something you have always remembered; something that sticks in the back of your brain like gum to the bottom of your child’s Spider-man skechers.

Graham is the only constant in your life. Though you’ve been blessed with a decent job editing for a webazine company, and you can work from home more often than not, Graham is the real thing that keeps you alive.

He’s the most precious boy, with brown curls and big brown eyes. He favors his father, and though that should deter you, it reminds you of innocent days, and it gives a new meaning to brown eyes. Graham is not his father, and he never was.

Graham certainly got his love of learning from you. Though he likes science more than writing, you adore how eager he is to always get to school. It helps that Mark is his teacher.

Mark’s been your friend since freshman year of highschool, when the two of you both took the same creative writing class the local university offered. Though the two of you had differing end goals, you often studied together and encouraged each other. He was there when you found out you were pregnant, and he was there when you found out you’d be raising your child alone.

Now life comes full circle, and you see him twice a day. You could go out on a limb and say he brightens up most mornings, but you would still give that slot to your son.

Mark is standing at the doorway now, greeting all of his students and helping them take off their book bags and coats. He’s wearing monochrome today: red pants, a red sweater, and red shoes.

Graham lights up almost immediately, and you are thankful today that you decided to dress Graham in his red t-shirt. “Mom! We match!”

“I know,” you grin, squeezing his hand.

Mark glances at Graham, and then you. His cheeks showcase that same pink hue they always do, and while it should clash with his red garments, it doesn’t. “Hey, Mark.”

“Hey,” he grins, cheeks full at the sight of you two.

Graham spreads his arms and waits for Mark to help him take off his jacket. “Do you see that we match, Mr. Lee?”

“Yo, that’s awesome, Little Man!” Mark gives Graham a fist bump that seems to appease him, and you wait for Graham to run to his friends before addressing Mark.

“How have you been?”

Mark sighs. He brushes his hair away from his eyes. “Okay. My- uh- my studio apartment flooded so I’m staying at a motel until my landlord can get me estimates on when I can come back home.”

“That sucks,” you frown. “You know, if you need a place to stay, I have a pullout couch in my office. And obviously, Graham wouldn’t mind.”

Mark pales. “Are you serious? I didn’t mean to suggest anything, Like I know you work from home and you need your office.”

“And you’ll be at school until three,” you say. “I’ll work then. C’mon, Mark. I don’t like knowing one of my friends has no place to stay.”

Mark bites his bottom lip and scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll drive over after I check out of the motel.”

“Great!” You smile. “I’ll order pizza.”

-

"Graham, clean your room," you say, struggling to push your desk against your office wall. "We're going to have a guest for a few weeks."

"Mom," Graham whines, "They aren't going to look in my room."

You begin to take the cushions out of the spare couch to start setting up the pull-out bed. "Mr. Lee is coming over, Graham.  Don't you want to show him your collections?"

Graham's brown eyes grow wide. "Mr. Lee? You didn't tell me he was coming!"

"He's going to be staying with us for a little bit, okay? So I need you to be on your best behavior."

“Can I show him my worms?” Graham asks, alluding to the compost bin in the small backyard of your townhouse.

“Yes,” you say, thankful that he isn’t putting up much of a fight toward cleaning. You’re also thankful he isn’t asking any questions, as Graham always seems to have a few at the top of his tongue.

Graham cleans up his room quickly. You know for a fact that he’s just shoved all of his toys under his bed, but it’s enough until the weekend, when you’ll have more time to help him organize.

The little guy hoards rocks like no one’s business. You curse the day Mark decided to teach the kids about geodes.

“Wanna help me make up Mr. Lee’s room?” You half-yell, while grabbing spare bedding out of your linen closet.

Graham’s little footsteps are heard before he answers, and soon he’s at your hip with a quick, “He can have my Frozen pillowcase!”

You hesitate to tell Graham that his Frozen pillowcase is currently on one of your pillows, and you can’t give your guest a dirty pillowcase. “That one is in the wash, Buddy. Why don’t we give him your Spider-Man one?”

“So he matches my pajamas!” Graham is easily pleased, and he even takes one of his stuffed bears to add to Mark’s made-up bed. (“So he doesn’t get scared at night.”)

By the time the pizza arrives, Mark is just behind, so you keep Graham busy with a slice of cheese and a glass of diet pepsi (only half of a can, and only because it’s a special occasion) while the two of you bring in Mark’s stuff.

He surprisingly didn’t bring much, and when you ask about it, he grimaces. “My studio is pretty small so a lot of my stuff was on the ground and got mildewed. Other stuff was in bins so I just left it there. I only need clothes and my lesson plans, anyway.”

“Well, here’s the desk and bed. It’s not much, but there’s a lock on the door in case Graham ever gets too inquisitive — bless him — and curtains so the stupidly bright sun won’t wake you too early.”

“Those both sound like personal experiences, Y/n,” Mark teases. He takes off his jacket and throws it on the bed. “Yo! Spider-Man?”

“Graham picked it out,” you say. “He also relinquished one of his bears to keep you safe in the middle of the night. His words, not mine.”

“He’s so cute,” Mark mentions offhandedly. The fondness in his tone takes you back a bit. Not because the phrase isn’t true, it’s just that most people find your son annoying before they find him endearing. The change of tone is nice.

“He is,” you say. “And he’s dying to show you his room after we eat dinner.”

Mark gives you that same lopsided smile he often had in high school. Part of your brain shifts to his personal life, and you wonder why Mark himself isn’t in a romantic relationship. Not that he has to be, but the both of you are getting older, and Mark has always been one to express a fondness for having his own family one day. Maybe he just hasn’t found the right person.

It isn’t until Graham is peacefully in bed — after a very chaotic reading of Goodnight Moon by yours truly, and an argument that Mr. Lee cannot, in fact, sleep in the same room as him — that you actually have a chance to show Mark around the house.

“Here’s the guest bathroom. Graham almost always uses the bathroom in my room because he likes looking at the big tub. He will beg you to play with him, but if you’re busy don’t feel guilty telling him no. He knows what no means and he’s good about playing by himself.”

Mark giggles. “Okay. I don’t mind playing with him, though.“

You show him around the kitchen, where you left little spaces for him in the pantry. You show him the garbage bags and the T.V. settings and the list of compostable ingredients. “And also, please come and go as you please. Like, I completely understand that you’re here temporarily and you aren’t a babysitter or anything like that. I don’t expect you to be in charge of Graham any time outside of school.”

Mark blinks. “But if you ever need time away, you can ask me. I don’t mind babysitting.”

“I know,” you smile. “But Graham is my kid. I don’t need time away from him.”

You’re lying. Mark knows it. You’ve been in this single parenting thing for five years and you aren’t about to reach out for help now.

“Anyways, if you have any questions just ring me or ask me,” you say. “I’ve got to get to bed. Goodnight.”

“Thanks, Y/n.”

-

Mark thinks it’s sweet the way Graham insists on making his own breakfast.

You’re already up when Mark gets out of his (temporary) bedroom with his clothes tucked under his arm. You’re busy arguing with Graham. “You can’t fry your own omelette for the last time.”

Mark quirks an eyebrow at your exasperated face. You look stressed beyond belief, even though the day has just begun.

Mark tosses his clothes back in his room and walks into the kitchen. “Hey, Graham! Do you want to show me your rock collection?”

Graham spins on his sock-clad heels, eyes bright at the thought of seeing his teacher. “Mr. Lee! Yes! Let’s go!”

He grabs Mark’s hand with ease, leaving you room to finish making breakfast.

Graham’s room is fairly simple. The small wooden bed is covered in a green quilt, and beneath that, frozen-printed sheets that certainly don’t match. He has a tub of stuffed animals shoved against a small dresser.

Mark gets distracted by the framed picture on top of the dresser. It’s a picture of you and Graham’s father, a few months before you got pregnant. He’s smiling, and you’re holding up a peace sign. It makes Mark feel a bit sad, knowing that Graham’s dad never stayed around to see how wonderful he turned out to be. Then again, a lot of people in your life left as soon as they found out. In high school, no one wants to be friends with a teenage mother.

Mark reckons that if he had a family like this, he’d never take them for granted.

Graham pulls out a gemstone. It’s a murky green one that Mark has let him take home from class. “Do you remember this, Mr. Lee?”

Mark grins. “Yeah, bud. Thanks for keeping it so safe for me.”

Graham beams. He grabs Mark’s hand and pulls him towards his dresser. “Can we match? I want to look like you.”

Mark feels his heart swell. He wants to smother the young boy in affection, but he doesn’t want to cross a line. He’s your friend, sure, but he’s also Graham’s teacher. He can’t coddle Graham more than the other children. He already has a godchild to coddle. “I’m wearing yellow today. Do you have any yellow clothes?”

“Let’s look!” Graham yanks open one of the drawers and begins pulling out the articles of clothing one by one. “No, no, no... Here!” He finds a pair of yellow overalls, folded amongst the mess he made. “I’ll wear these!”

“Let’s clean up first, okay?” Mark grabs the overalls. “So it’s clean when you come home from school.”

Graham, looking like the last thing he’d ever want to do is disappoint Mark, begins to pick up each shirt with obvious intent. He tries to fold them, and does a somewhat decent job, so much so that Mark leaves it, thinking you’ll find it endearing rather than annoying.

He really loves that about you. He likes your patience with Graham. You’re so young, and in reality, he squashed so many early dreams of yours. No matter your lot in life, you never blamed your child. Mark thinks that’s why Graham is so open, so adaptable, so endearing.

He helps Graham get dressed and leaves him in his room so that he, himself, can get ready.

When he emerges from his shower, hair wet and clothed in yellow, he smells something amazing.

He doesn’t want to intrude on your morning with Graham. He already feels too indebted to you already.

“Have an omelet,” you say. Wisps of hair cover your face. You place a plate down in front of him.

Graham is already eating his omelet, slowly, while flipping through a picture book. He sounds out words he recognizes, but stays silent the rest of the time.

Mark takes out his phone and scrolls through his instagram feed just as your own phone begins to ring.

“Shit,” you curse, and then immediately apologize to Graham. You press the red button and tap anxiously on the tabletop.

“Everything okay?” Mark asks.

You run your hands over your hair and let them rest on the back of your neck. “Yeah is just—“

The phone rings again, and this time you pick it up. “What do you want? ... Why would you tell me that? ... Why should I care? ... Please stop contacting me, okay? Goodbye.”

You slam the phone down and leave the room. Mark watches you disappear down the hallway, sniffling.

“Mommy is upset,” Graham says. He looks at Mark, lip quivering. “At me?”

“No, Buddy! Of course not!” Mark reaches over the table to ruffle Graham’s curls. “Never at you.”

“When we tore up paper, she was crying.” Graham fiddles with his book page.

Mark wonders why your ex’s actions are being brought up five years later. Last he heard, you had fully healed from the breakup long before Graham’s first birthday. But now he’s about to be six, and you're suddenly upset?

He’ll have to ask you about it soon.

“Are you ready to go to school, Buddy?”

“Yeah!”

-

You cradle your face in your hands and try to ease the tears back in. You’ll never get this article proofread and sent if you can’t see the keys.

The door opens, and Graham runs in just in time for you to finish wiping your eyes. “Hey, kiddo! How was school?”

“Mr. Lee let us finger paint!” Graham holds up his palm, covered in dried paint, and grins brightly. “Can I have gogurt?”

“Yeah bud. Why don’t you put something on the T.V.? You can have your snack in the living room today.”

“Yes!” Graham takes blueberry gogurt out of the fridge and — after getting you to tear it open — runs into the living room. Sneakers and backpack still on.

Mark trails behind, clutching a messenger bag to his chest. “What’s going on?”

You sigh and close the laptop. The manuscript will have to wait. “Ben called. About a week ago. His girlfriend is pregnant. Called me to tell me he wasn’t going to leave her— like that would heal what he did to me. Then he called this morning to tell me they’re engaged.” You burst into tears then, and you feel so pathetic for doing this in front of your old schoolmate, that you hide your face behind your palms and allow your shoulders to shake. “Why weren’t we enough? Why wasn’t I enough?”

Mark scoots one of the chairs in front of you and sits, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Hey. Look at me.” With gentle hands, he grabs your wrists and pulls them away from your face. “It is not your fault he left.”

“But it has to be me in some way,” you retort. “He must not have loved me. Something, because now he’s going to raise her child after he left mine. Graham deserves a dad.”

Mark places his forehead against yours. The two of you used to do it all the time in school, mostly with immature giggles in the spaces between, but now it’s heavy with intention. “Graham has not felt even a little bit unloved in your care. You are all he needs, okay? You’re amazing.”

You nod, head still pressed to Mark’s. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry for getting too emotional, there.”

“Be as emotional as you want,” Mark says. “I’ll be here to balance you out.”

Your heart stutters at the words, like maybe they mean something more than he’s letting on. Of course it’s stupid to think Mark Lee would ever even consider you, but just the knowledge that he cares makes your soul feel a little lighter.

“I’m a mess,” you stutter, bringing your fist up to wipe at your nose.

“Nah,” Mark grins. He runs the pad of his thumb across your cheek and grins. “You’re alright.”

-

“It’s snowing!” Graham wakes Mark up by jumping on his chest.

Mark sucks in a breath, winded at the sudden weight, and grabs the boy, lifting him off of his chest and onto the mattress. “Hey, Buddy. Let’s not jump on sleeping people, okay?”

“Okay,” Graham says. He’s already lost interest in Mark, now crawling off of the bed to open the blinds. “Come look at the snow!”

“I see!” Mark rubs his tired eyes and checks his watch. “We might have a snow day, Graham.”

“Yes!” Graham pumps his fist into the air. “Let’s go tell mom!”

You’re sitting on your bed, chewing on a red licorice rope and flipping through a fashion magazine. You look up when Mark and Graham enter.

Mark likes seeing you like this: the domesticity of you in the morning, lazy and true. His chest sparks when he thinks this may be one of the only moments he can capture you like this, so he intends to commit the sight to memory.

“Did I hear snow day?” You grin at Mark, childlike wit in your own eyes — the same as your son’s.

“Looks like it.” Mark rolls up the sleeves of the sweater he slept in. “You want pancakes? I make some mean chocolate chip pancakes.”

You shift your gaze away from his arms and clear your throat. “Uh, yeah. Just let me get dressed and I’ll help—“

“No need,” Mark insists. “Enjoy your quiet time. Graham and I will make the most delicious pancakes you’ve ever tasted.”

“With lots of chocolate chips!” Graham shouts.

You give him a pointed look. “But not too many.”

Graham huffs. “But not too many,” he repeats.

-

Momentary splashes sound from your bathroom, followed by Graham screaming “It’s a dragon! Run for cover!”

Mark giggles from his place on the couch. He’s got mushroom-patterned socks on, and he’s tucked up into the cushions, nursing a can of Monster. “How does he still have so much energy?”

You sigh and pull your beanie down over your forehead. “You’d think a snow day would tire him out. Thanks for constantly carrying him up the hill, by the way. I know you’re a teacher, but sometimes I forget how good you are with kids.”

“I do have a godson,” Mark reminds you.

“But Mikey is a baby,” you say. You only know the baby’s name because of Mark’s constant snap stories about him.

“Most babies and kids want the same thing. Affection and attention.” Mark scoots over to the edge of the couch and pats the cushion.

You sit next to him. “I guess that’s true. You’re really good with Graham. He’s not this open to other adults.”

Mark is clearly blushing now; you can see his pink cheeks even in the light of the television. “He’s great in class, always helping the other kids.”

“He wants to impress you,” you say. You pop open a can of orange soda and take a sip. “He thinks you’re just the coolest guy.”

Mark laughs and shakes his head. “Didn’t you hear, Y/n? I’m handsome and cool.”

“Oh, of course,” you nudge his shin with our own sock-clad foot. “How could I forget? Mr. Ladies Man in high school.”

This makes Mark blush even harder, because he most certainly was not a ladies man in high school. In fact, he was a nerd in all senses of the word, part of the debate club with a few other boys. He had a few dates here and there, but nothing ever stuck.

“Shut up,” he mumbles. “My time is gonna come.”

“Hasn’t it already?” you ask before you can really process your own words. But of course he knows that he’s grown into his face, right?

Mark is positively handsome, eyes bright and lashes long. He’s so warm and comforting to you. He must be just as comforting to everyone else.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re handsome, Mark,” you say plainly.

“You mean that?”

“Of course I do,” you say. “Why would I lie?”

Mark opens his mouth, perhaps to call you out. To tell you you’ve been too honest, but he’s interrupted by your son.

“Mom! I’m ready to get out now!”

“I should go,” you say, still looking at his eyes.

“Yeah,” he says. His sweater has small spots on the shoulders where snow has fallen and since melted. He shivers.

“You should take a shower. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Okay,” he whispers. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

-

Haechan comes over the following Saturday night to hang out with Mark, and you’re surprised at how much he truly hasn’t changed since high school.

He’s still got infamously perfect eyebrows, and his voice is still high despite its blunt sarcasm. “Nice place.” He raises his brows as he looks around.

“Who are you?” Graham is sitting at the kitchen table, watching Minecraft playthroughs (kid-friendly ones you’ve watched through yourself) on your phone to entertain himself while you clean.

“I’m Haechan, Mark’s friend.”

“This is Mr. Lee’s friend from school,” you say, detailing your words so they’re easier for your son to digest.

Graham stares at him for a moment, not quite judging but not quite accepting either. “Okay. Do you want to see my rock collection?”

Haechan looks genuinely excited, and accepts before you can come up with an excuse for him. Graham tells Haechan to stay in the kitchen while he grabs all of his rocks.

“How have you been?” you ask the taller man. “Like, with the flooding and everything?”

“Well, I’m on a couch at Taeyong’s, which is good since he doesn’t charge rent. But that means I’m near Mikey, and that baby has some lungs.”

You laugh. “I remember when Graham was a baby. I was so young, and my mom told me it was my responsibility to wake up and take care of him whenever he cried in the middle of the night. I was so pissed at her for making me do that, but those were some of the best nights to bond with him.” You realize you’re rambling and shake your head. “Whatever. Baby screams are loud as hell.”

“You can say that again. I’ve been talking to my friend Johnny about taking his spare room and paying rent. I dunno how many more sleepless nights I can take.”

“Why would you need to pay rent if you’re just crashing?” You wipe down the kitchen table to keep yourself busy.

“Didn’t Mark tell you? Our landlord is in heaps of trouble because the pipes weren’t up to code and that’s why they busted. The damage is basically too expensive to fix, so we’ve got to find new places.”

You stop cleaning. “Mark didn’t tell me that.”

“Oh.” Haechan scratches his brow. “He probably didn’t want to worry you. He feels really bad that he’s stayed with you this long.”

“It’s only been a month or so,” you counter. “Besides, Mark’s a great housemate. He cleans and keeps Graham occupied. Plus, now I have someone to watch corny game shows with.”

Haechan grins. “Oh. Okay, I get it.”

“Get what?” Mark, finally out of the shower, steps into the kitchen and immediately tackles Haechan in an energized hug.

“Nothing!” Haechan’s voice cracks

You shoot Haechan a weird look, and change the subject. “Where are you guys going?”

“To play video games at Johnny’s.” Mark says, and the thrill in his voice makes you think of high school. Of the debate team bus rounding the corner. Of you standing there, waiting to congratulate him with a big hug and a frosty from Wendy’s.

You miss it. “Have fun, okay? I’m probably going to tuck in as soon as Graham does, so just let yourself in.”

“You’re leaving?” Graham comes in, and his arms are filled with smooth and rough stones and gems he’s both found by himself and bought at random general stores while traveling.

“Not before I see your rocks!” Haechan says with so much enthusiasm, you think he’s telling the truth.

Graham giggles and drops the rocks onto the ground. Of course, he wants your guest to sit on the floor and count rocks. You’re almost embarrassed.

“ ‘ Okay, Y/n?” Mark laughs at your expression. Then he places his arm on your shoulder, thumbs the skin of your upper arm.

And once again, it’s high school. It’s senior year graduation and Mark is the only one who congratulates you. It’s his comforting touch, him coming over in the middle of the night after you texted him a picture of your first sonogram. It’s that same comforting touch. That little “I’m here,” and it melts you on the inside, leaves you in the shell of an eighteen girl again. Scared, and worried, and a little less alone.

“Yeah,” you manage. “I’m okay.”

-

The television plays Cartoon Network reruns on a low hum. Mark is curled up in a blanket, nursing a bottle of water and thinking over Haechan’s words.

You’ve liked her since high school, dude.

Which is a complete lie. Seriously, Mark didn’t have a crush on you in high school. He would know if he had a crush on his best friend. You’ve been his friend since freshman year, and that’s all you’ve ever been.

Now in college, it was different. In college, Mark was alone in a dorm with Taeyong, and you were one of the only people from high school he stayed in contact with. In college, he would bring you your favorite snacks and drinks, and other things you would forget to buy because you were a part-time student and a full-time mom. In college, you would pull all-nighters with him, working on your exams while Graham was asleep, then using energy drinks to get through the next day.

Mark even remembers the time your mom caught the three of you fast asleep on your rug, with unopened monster cans and an empty milk bottle beside you.

Throughout your entire pregnancy he was warned not to stay friends with the pregnant girl — it’d be too much for him, he wouldn’t want to become the new father, and all kinds of other stuff people would mumble to him when you weren’t around.

But you never expected him to be anything other than your friend. You never asked him for the help he gave — though you thanked him always — and you never once assumed he’d take the role of Graham’s dad.

And now… now he finds himself wishing you would.

“Mr. Lee?” Graham creeps up without him even realizing.

Mark jumps, sets his water — and thoughts — aside. “Hey, Bud. It’s really late. What are you doing up?”

Graham sniffs, and Mark realizes that the boy is crying. “I had a nightmare.”

Mark holds out his arms before he can think, and lets the five-year-old crawl into his lap. He wraps them both in his blanket and turns the television up just a little more. “Was it scary?”

“You left.” Graham says, voice less watery, like he doesn’t know the weight of his words. He’s focused on the rerun of Adventure Time that’s playing. He’s not even remotely interested in his nightmare now, with his tears dried up, and his eyes drooping back towards slumber.

“I’m going to leave one day,” Mark says, because he thinks it’s important that Graham knows.

“You should stay with me and Mom,” Graham says. He yawns. “We like you so much!”

Mark’s heart stutters. He tries not to think about it.

-

When Graham’s bed is empty the next morning, you freak out. He’s always in his room in the morning. Even if he wakes up before you, he stays in and plays with his toys.

You’ve already got your phone out, and your mother’s number called, when you walk into the living room.

Relief floods your system. Mark and Graham are asleep on the couch, snuggled up serenely like they didn’t just cause you to have a premature heart attack.

You hang up before the call to your mom can go through and stand there, watching the two boys sleep. Graham has both his arms wrapped around Mark’s forearm. It’s such a sweet picture that you take out your phone and snap one.

The flash is on.

Mark scrunches his nose and winces. “What the–”

“Sorry!” You whisper. “You both looked so cute, I couldn’t help it.”

Mark smiles, still sleepy, and finally opens his eyes. He peers at you, copper brown under fluttering lashes and you’re almost intimidated into looking away. “He had a nightmare.”

“Oh?”

“About me leaving.”

“Oh.” You frown. “I’m really sorry about that. I keep telling him that you’re moving out soon, but I don’t think he fully understands.”

Graham stirs. You reach down and pick him up. Your knuckles brush across Mark’s warm, sweater-clad chest and you suddenly wish you could cuddle with him, too. You shake the thoughts away and focus on your drowsy son. “You’re staying at Grandma's for a few days, remember?”

Graham rubs his eyes and perks up. “And I’ll see her cat?”

“Yes,” you confirm. “But we’ve got to get you dressed because she’s coming in a few minutes.”

-

“Mark Lee!” Your mom’s voice embarrassingly rings through the apartment, and you realize Mark has taken it upon himself to open the door. “Y/n told me she had a temporary roommate but I never thought she would finally ask you!”

“Oh my gosh…” you mumble, buckling Graham’s overalls and hauling him up into your arms. “Mom! His apartment flooded so he’s staying here. Don’t be weird about it.”

“But he’s so handsome,” your mom coos. You’re concerned she might reach forward and pinch Mark’s already ruddy cheeks.

“Thanks,” Mark laughs. “But she’s right, I’m just squatting until I can find a new place.”

Your mom harrumphs. “Well, I don’t see why you can’t stay here forever. Y/n doesn’t even use that office room. And even if she did, the two of you could just share a room.”

“Mom!” You plunk Graham into her hands and grab his overnight bag. “You have to leave.”

“Did I say something wrong?” She sounds worried, but there’s an undisclosed mirth in her eyes that makes you think of your freshman year, when you did have a crush on Mark.

“You said everything wrong,” you say, kindly pushing her out. “Have a good time, Graham. I love you! As always, Mom, call if you need me to come get him.”

“Yeah, right!” She yells over her shoulder. Graham is already giggling, so you close the door with confidence.

You turn back to your roommate. “I’m sorry about that, Mark.”

“It’s fine.” He smiles, but it’s reserved. “But speaking of me finding a place… I know Haechan told you that I can’t go back to my own apartment. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“It’s okay,” you say. You want to say “You can stay here as long as you want, and long as you’ll let me keep you,” but that would reveal too much, and you don’t want to lose the one good friend you have.

“And I was thinking I should move out soon anyway.” Mark pulls his sweater sleeves until they cover his hands. He’s hiding. He’s shielding himself the same way he did in junior year, when he got turned down by his crush to go to the prom. “I don’t think it’s good for Graham to get this attached to me if I’m just going to leave.”

“Oh,” Your sleeves are too short, but you want to shield yourself too. “Yeah, that’s… that’s probably a good idea.”

Mark stands there for a beat, like he’s waiting for you to say something more. Like he hasn’t just taken your heart and pushed it aside. Like this hurts a lot less than it actually does.

But any word out of your mouth would be tearful. It would be honest. It would ruin everything. “I’m going to go on a run.”

-

There’s a cricket outside that won’t stop chirping against your window. You blame it for your insomnia, choosing to ignore the anxiety of eventually losing Mark. It feels so horribly childish, since you’ll see him when you drop Graham off at school. And you’ll see him whenever the two of you go out for coffee on weekends.

But you won’t see him in the kitchen, reaching for the pancake mix so his shirt rises up and you can see the dimples in his back. You won’t see him humming along to the radio while he works on his lesson plans. You won’t feel his warmth when the two of you stay awake, nursing spiked lemonade and giggling at the commentary videos you find on YouTube.

He’ll just be Mark again. He won’t be home anymore.

Startled by the realization, you get out of your covers and rush to your door.

It opens before you can even reach for the doorknob, and there’s Mark in his pajamas, biting his lip and avoiding your eyes.

“I don’t want you to leave,” you say.

Mark confesses, “I love you.”

You open your arms and he dives in, face pressed into the space where your neck meets your shoulder. Warmth envelopes you and the scent of pine fills your nose.

Mark is timeless. Youthful glory and childish pride. He’s a pinch on the side and a push on the swings. Like a rock that actually skips on the first try. Like shoes that you can slip on when they’re still tied. And he’s here, in your arms, squeezing you like you’re something valuable enough to lose. He’s confessing love like you aren’t the worst possible candidate for his heart.

“I can’t offer you much,” you start, but Mark bumps his forehead against yours, boyish and playful — football fields and bright red lockers and secret notes on bathroom walls.

“I’ve known you for years, Y/n,” Mark’s voice is a low rumble. Copper eyes blinking at you like you’re something to second glance at. “I know what I’m getting into. I want you. I want Graham. I want everything this is, and everything we’ve been for the past month. I don’t want this to end.”

You close your eyes, because his are too honest. He’s open and vulnerable and gentle — a child on the first day of school, ready to make friends. You take a deep breath, try to remember what you were like on your first day. Rosy cheeks and shy glances. Knobby knees and a trusting heart. You reach out for whoever you once were — the Y/n with a heart open and willing to be loved. “I don’t want this to end either. I’m in love with you, Mark.”

His grin lights up your world in its entirety. Gold flecks in onyx black disappear as he smiles, too thrilled to keep his eyes open. And when he kisses you, warm lips against cold ones, you feel like a puzzle has just slotted into place.

It would only make sense that you would grow to love the boy you grew up with.

[wiypt-writes]

Riding On

CH25- A Series Of Very Fortunate Events

Summary: It’s Fliss’ birthday and Frank pulls off the surprise of the century.

Warnings: Bad language, Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 24

I dunno how you do what you do, I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better. I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you by my side, for ever and ever. Every little thing that you do, Baby I'm amazed by you

Fliss gave a start of surprise as two hands grabbed her waist and spun her round.  She laughed as a pair of bright blue eyes, sparkling with love and mischief, met hers, her hands sliding up their owner’s chest to his shoulders, as a warm palm pressed into her back, fingers splaying over the top of her thin camisole. “Happy birthday, Beautiful.” Frank grinned at her and she beamed back, her nails gently scratching at the nape of his neck, tangling in his short hair as he gently swayed them to the soft music which was playing through the speakers in the kitchen.

“Thank you, Sailor.” She smiled as his lips gently pressed to hers, a chuckle flowing from his mouth as he swayed his hips to the gentle rhythm of Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’. “You know, I had set my alarm a little bit earlier today ” He informed her, spinning them a little across the floor, “planned a little wakeup call plus breakfast in bed. So imagine my slight frustration when it went off and you were already gone.” “Sorry, but I woke up and,” she shrugged giving him an apologetic look, “you know once I’m awake I’m awake.” “I do.” Frank smirked, his hands on her hips gripped a bit tighter as he swayed his own along to the music. “Guess you’ll just have to wait for that particular present, Cowgirl.” She let out a laugh, the hand on his neck tightening a little in his hair as she pulled his head down to hers. “I love you.” “Love you too.” He whispered, his lips catching hers in a deep kiss, tongues sliding gently against one another before Frank pulled back, his forehead pressed to hers. “Can I at least make you breakfast?” “Sure but don’t you need to be getting ready for work?” “Nope.” He shook his head. “Booked the day off.” “Why?” “Well it’s a Friday and your birthday and I wanted to spend it with you.” He shrugged. “I know you’re working but thought I could finish the shelving and what not in the tack room and then we can get everything ready for the guys coming over.” Fliss beamed. “I’m so excited to show them the yard. I know it’s not fully finished but...” she sighed. “I’m really happy with how it’s turned out.” “And you should be.” Frank smiled, his hips swaying to the music. “You’ve put a lot of hard work in. I’m proud of you, Honey.” “We’ve put a lot of hard work in.” She smiled as he revolves them gently on the spot. “Couldn’t have done it without you and everyone else for that matter, Mum, Dad, Joanne, Steve...” “Well,” Frank grinned as he spun her out slightly, pulling her back into him, her back pressed to his chest, her giggle vibrating slightly into his body, “tonight we can fire up the grill as planned, thank everyone properly and have a few drinks to celebrate.” “Sounds good.” She sighed as his lips brushed her neck. “My last lesson finishes at two, I cut them early for the day.” “Perfect.” Frank gently nipped at her skin, his hands splaying over her belly, pulling her back into him. “And just think, this is your last birthday as a Gallagher. You’ll be Mrs. Adler next year.” “Two months.” She rolled her head to the side, allowing Frank to nuzzle into her even more. “I can’t wait.” “Me neither, Baby.” He whispered, his mouth now on her jawline. Eventually his lips found hers and he kissed her again, her head laying back against his shoulder as his right hand started trailing down further, and further, and his fingers had just worked their way into the waistband of her sleep shorts when a soft little whimper, followed by a louder garbled chatter chimed out from the baby monitor. Frank gave a groan, his head sagging forward and his hand moving back up to Fliss hip as she laughed a little, tilting her head to look at the screen where Alex was now pulling himself to a stand using the bars on his crib as leverage. “Cock block.” Frank grumbled as he shot the monitor a look and Fliss stepped out of his embrace, turning to face him. “I’ll go get him, you can start my birthday breakfast.” She smiled, standing on her tip toes to give him a gentle peck. As she padded out of the room, Frank watched her go, eyes firmly trained on her pert ass before he smirked to himself and turned to gather the ingredients for the waffles Fliss had shown him how to make. As he spooned out the flour into the bowl he heard Fliss greeting Alex good morning and their ten month old giving a garbled little response followed by a happy giggle, the one he always gave when he saw Fliss. “Momma’s boy.” Frank scoffed, picking up the baby monitor and pressing the intercom button alongside it. He heard Fliss laugh as she turned to the monitor, sticking her tongue out at the screen, knowing full well he could see and he chuckled, turning back to his task in hand. By the time she appeared after changing Alex’s diaper, Mary had surfaced, Fred hot on her heels, and the kitchen was full of the smell of waffles which sizzled away on the iron. Mary shot over to Fliss, wishing her a happy birthday before she placed Alex in his chair and Frank stepped over to give his son a kiss good morning. He smiled as Alex wound his small hands into his beard, giving a tug before he gently scruffed against the baby’s cheek causing him to shriek in delight. “Think I might try his cup again today.” Fliss pondered for a moment. “He didn’t want his milk after breakfast yesterday as he was full so Mum suggested offering it him alongside, he might be a bit more inclined to take it if he’s doing it himself, what do you think?” “Go for it.” Frank nodded, straightening up. “Don’t worry about it too much though, sweetheart. Mary dropped her morning bottle completely round the time she was his age. He’ll let us know if he’s hungry.” Satisfied with her choice, Fliss sliced up an apple and placed it down on Alex’s tray along with half a lightly toasted piece of bread and a sipping cup half full of formula. Alex immediately went for the apple, jamming it into his mouth making appreciative noises as Frank served their own breakfast of waffles, fruit and syrup up, handing a small piece of waffle to Alex. The baby paused, taking it with a cooing noise and proceeded to look from one hand to the other. “What’s it gonna be, pal?” Frank asked. “It’s a big decision. Apple or waffle?” “Bet you five bucks he goes for the waffle.” Mary grinned and Frank wrinkled his nose. “I dunno, he likes his apples.” “Yeah but waffles are much better.” Mary’s voice was muffled as she shoved a huge fork full into her own mouth and Fliss watched as Alex continued to ponder. In the end he raised both his hands to his mouth, attempting to shove the two items in at the same time. Fliss laughed and gently went to help him out, but no sooner had she done that, Alex had already realised it wasn’t going to work. His fingers still curled round precious apple slice, he dropped the hand holding it to his tray, using the other to shove the waffle piece straight into his mouth, chewing contentedly. “Told ya.” Mary smirked. The kitchen was full of laughter as they ate, and when they had finished and cleared the dishes, Frank and Mary disappeared upstairs coming back with a few gifts held in their arms. Fliss grinned as she took the one Mary handed her first. “That’s from me and Alex.” She nodded as Fliss kissed her cheek and tore off the sparkly blue wrapping paper, her smile growing even bigger as she saw the box which contained a radio mic along with ear pieces. “You said your old one was crap.” Mary grinned, ignoring the pointed look Frank shot at her for her use of the word. Fliss laughed. “Yeah it’s seen better days, everyone says I sound like a Dalek.” “A what?” Mary frowned. “Oh they’re an alien thing from a TV show called ‘Doctor Who’, they talk like broken robots.” Fliss waved her hand. “But this is great. Thank you!” “It’s fully charged and tested.” Mary grinned. “Dad had it on the other night in the garage fixing me a blow by blow description of how he was varnishing the boat. I stopped listening. “No wonder it’s taking you so long to finish.” Fliss smirked at him and Frank arched his brows. “The reason it’s taking me so long is because every spare moment I’ve had recently you’ve put me to work at the yard either building shelving units or painting.” He folded his arms. “You know, I could charge you a fortune.” “I pay you in other ways.” She winked and a Frank snorted as she reached for a smaller wrapped gift. She tore off the wrapper and Frank held his breath a little as she looked at the white leather box emblazoned with the logo of a company he knew she’d recognise. “Did you...” her eyes instantly misted over and Frank nodded as she opened the box with shaking hands. He watched as she studied the item inside before she picked it out to examine it in closer detail. It was a bracelet made out of the hair from Heidi’s tail, wound into a thick, chunky braid, the different shades of chestnut and dark brown perfectly woven together. The claw clasp was silver and there was a small silver horse shoe and heart shaped charms hanging from it, the latter engraved with the words ‘forever in my heart’. “Frank,” she stuttered and he gave her a smile. “You were talking about getting one, did I get the right style?” “Yeah.” She swallowed. “Oh, Sailor it’s perfect.” She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, giving a little sniff as she pulled back. “Can you...?” She handed it to him and then held out her left hand arm and Frank opened the clasp, fastening it around her wrist. She looked at it for a moment before she smiled and wiped her eyes. With a little cough, Fliss cleared her throat as she reached for the final box which was a little bigger and when she opened that one she gave an excited shriek. “You got me a Pivo? How? These are like out of stock constantly!” Her hands trailed the box and she grinned, looking at Frank. “Lucky try.” He shrugged as Fliss opened the box to look at the starter pack. Not for the first time she was overcome with just how much Frank actually listened to the throwaway comments she made. She’d talked about getting one of the smart tracking systems you linked up to your phone for a while, it would make filming her videos for sales and the online blogging and tutorials that she had recently launched on the website so much easier. “Thank you, you’ve spoilt me.” Fliss beamed at Mary and Frank, before she turned to Alex to give him a kiss, and Frank glanced at Mary giving her a wink, both of them fully aware that the gift that was arriving later that afternoon was going to blow her mind.

***** Frank spent most of the morning putting up the shelves as promised, hanging the doors and whatever else he needed to do, whilst Alex was happily entertaining himself in his little pack and play, the air-con in the new large room a godsend as it gave some well needed relief from the sweltering late July heat. Bill and Verity arrived at midday with lunch from their favourite sandwich deli. Fliss beamed when she opened her gift from her parents which was a tripod for her new Pivo plus a year’s subscription to a new editing software app for her MacBook and iPhone. Once they had eaten, Verity offered to take Alex back to the house for his nap, leaving Bill and Frank free to head down to check that the new perimeter fencing had been done properly whilst Fliss carried on with her day's schedule, this time her, Joanne and Mary setting up the Pivo to film a little VLog for their YouTube channel that was linked to the stables. Then at just before two, Frank got the call he’d been waiting for, his big surprise was half an hour away. “I’m a little nervous.” Frank admitted as he and Bill walked back to the yard. “I mean, if she doesn’t like the damned thing when it arrives, I can’t exactly return it.” “Trust me, she’ll love her.” Bill shook his head. “If nothing but because it’s connected to Heidi and it’s something for her to start work with from the ground up. It’s what she’s always loved to do, and she does it well. As this all proves.” Bill waved his hand in the air, gesturing around the land and the various horses as Frank nodded. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.” He was on edge for the next fifteen or so minutes as he tried to concentrate on a little more painting, but then they heard the rumble of tyres as the truck pulling the transporter trailer wound slowly up the drive. Bill looked at Frank with a grin before he pulled out his phone, no doubt to message Verity, and Frank glanced over to see Fliss had straightened up from where she had been leaning over the laptop at her desk and frowned, her head tipping to one side as she glanced out of the window which overlooked the entrance. “Joanne?” She called and the girl appeared. “Did we book a new client in today that I forgot?” “Nope.” Joanne shook her head. “Who the hell is this then?” Fliss’ frown deepened as she turned and headed out of the room, Frank following with a very excited Mary. As they walked into the courtyard, Frank watched Fliss speaking to the driver as he opened the door and hopped out. He saw the shock register on her face and a small smile played on his own as she stood stock still, blinking at the man who handed her an envelope. With a frown she took it, turning to Frank who merely gave her a puzzled shrug, before she tore open the envelope and her eyes scanned the message inside which Frank had asked them to prepare. There was a delicious moment where Frank saw Fliss’ face washed blank with confusion, like her brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the information from her wide eyes. Every muscle of her body just froze before a grin crept onto her face, it soon stretched from one side to the other showing every single tooth. This time when she looked at Frank, he smiled back, and she shook her head her own smile not faltering. “You did this?” She managed to stutter out as Bill chuckled, walking to the back of the large transporter to help the man with the ramp. “Well, I had help but yeah, I’ll take the credit for it being my idea.” He wrinkled his nose as Fliss gave a shriek and launched herself at him. Laughing he caught her as her legs wrapped around his waist and she pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She whispered. “But how did you even know I’d been looking at her? I never-“ “Mary.” Frank said simply as her hands slid to cup his face. “You should know by now she never misses a thing.” “Hey, Titch, you gonna let go of Frankie boy for long enough to come meet her or what?” Bill called, and Mary nodded. “Yeah, hurry up Mom, I wanna see her!” Giving him another quick kiss, Fliss moved and Frank dropped her to the floor. She turned, sweeping Mary into a huge hug before she took her hand as they walked to the back of the trailer as the beautiful bay horse was led off. Amazement didn’t quite cover what Fliss was feeling at that point in time as she stood rooted to the spot, observing the animal who stood up tall and glanced round, snorting loudly at the strange surroundings. It was a cacophony of emotions all firing at once and the smile Fliss was displaying on the outside sure as hell couldn't have adequately reflected what she felt inside; like every neurone of her brain was trying to fire in both directions at once - the best kind of paralysis. Simply put, the animal was beautiful. Sleek dark bay with unblemished limbs, two white socks on the hind legs and a blaze very similar to Heidi’s down her dark face. Her mane and tail were shiny black, and whilst the animal had little muscle definition, Fliss new that was down to the fact she hadn’t ever been ridden before having been used as an attempted brood animal. It was clear she had been looked after and cared for as the mare had a sweet eye, it wasn’t looking at anyone suspiciously or worriedly, simply curiously as she spun quickly on the spot, giving a shout which was answered by Cap in the barn, Fliss knew his whinny off by heart. As Cleo turned her pretty head, she glanced straight at Fliss who took a deep breath as shiny, bright brown eyes gazed back at her. At that the horse gave a soft little nicker and there was an explosion in Fliss’ brain... the good sort... the buzz of electricity she had felt when she’d been to view Heidi for the first time. As dramatic as it may have been to admit this out loud, to her it was the calling card of adventure, of paths awaiting both their feet that they could enjoy together. Whatever was ahead could be a great challenge, and there would undoubtedly be tears and frustration, many hours of patience and hard work as there was to be expected with any horse you were backing and teaching from the start, but it was Fliss’ adventure to take. With a gentle breath she stepped forward slowly, towards her new animal and held her hand out, palm up, offering the horse a sniff. “Hey, Cleo.” Fliss spoke gently as her other hand ever so quietly moved to scratch the horse on the wither. “Hi, how you doing, girl?” Frank watched and let the happiness Fliss was exuding soak right into his bones. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to smile at Verity who juggled Alex in her arms as she stood by his side. “You do realise that if you weren’t already, you’ve effectively just become a horse widow before you even get married, right? Backing a horse is gonna take a lot of her time and become an obsession.” She grinned as Frank offered to take his son from her and she obliged. Frank gently turned him and held him to his chest, facing outwards so he could see what was going on.

“I don’t much care.” Frank chuckled as he watched Mary extend her hand out to pat Cleo as the animal rubbed her head against Fliss who reached up to wipe the tears of joy from her eyes. “Look how happy she is.” He took a deep breath, her happiness was infectious and Frank was simply savouring the feeling of sheer pleasure in his system at seeing his girl so full of joy because of something he’d managed to pull off. Simply put, he wanted to still be able to make her feel like that when they were old. Half an hour later the horse in question had been given a quick feed and a drink of water and left to settle in a spare stable. Fliss had then been given a blow by blow account of what Frank, Mary and Bill had dubbed ‘Operation Cleopatra-Comin’ At Ya’ and she thanked them all, once more getting emotional over how much thought and effort had gone into everything so far. Eventually, once Cleo had been turned out into a field with Monty for the evening, they all made their way back to the house, showered and changed ready for the BBQ they were hosting later, Bill and V taking up residence in the guest suite for the night. Frank was already in the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a blue and white checked button down, sleeves rolled up, when Fliss walked in wearing a pale blue sun dress which accentuated her waist and boobs, much to his delight, her Cowboy boots completing the look.

Their friends arrived and there were more gifts exchanged before drinks started to flow and they then made their way to the yard so Fliss could show their friends around. She laughed as she saw that Bill had jokingly put a ribbon over the gate for Fliss to cut, which she did to a few cheers and some sarcastic comments from her brother, one of which earned him a slap round the back of the head from Verity. Frank watched as she showed everyone around, Jake taking particular interest in the state of the art security system that was installed as he said it was similar to the one he was looking at for Lisa’s cake shop. The pride was simply flowing out of Fliss as she talked and explained everything, and Frank loved to see it. A few hours later, it was dark and their back yard was lit up by the various strings of lights and lamps dotted all around, which Frank fake-grumpily liked to point out made their garden look like a Fairy’s grotto. The air was full of chatter, light music and laughter as everyone milled around in the way they always do at parties. After more drinks and the food had been eaten, Fliss said she was going to head up to check on Cleo and Frank hastily offered to go with her, not least because he didn’t want her going alone, but because he wanted to snatch a moment alone for the pair of them. It was a beautiful, clear night. Peaceful and quiet bar the sounds of crickets. The horses, who were in the fields happily settled, all raised their heads as they passed, Cap trotting over to the fence line to greet them. Frank gave him a quick stroke on the nose before they moved down to the next paddock and Fliss ducked under the electric fencing and strode over to check Cleo. Satisfied that nothing was amiss she came back, a smile on her face and they set off back down the path, her hand linked in his. “Thank you.” She broke the comfortable silence a moment or so later.

“What for?” Frank glanced down at her and she let out a contented sigh.

“Everything today. And everything everyday.” She said, her voice laced with happiness. “All my gifts, it just shows how much you actually listen to me...”

“What you mean is I don’t ignore you deliberately as you accuse me of doing?” Frank shot back and Fliss snorted.

“If anything this proves it is deliberate when you do something I don’t like.” She looked at him and he chuckled before shook her head. “I still can’t believe you managed to get a horse here from England.”

“Yeah and basically empties half our savings.” He snorted and she shrugged.

“She’s worth it. I’m impressed, Francis.”

"Well like I said, I had a little help, it was a family affair.”

“I know and I love that Mum and Dad and Steve all chipped in but still, it was your idea.” She smiled. “It’s so thoughtful.”

“Well, you spend enough time thinking about everyone else, making sure we’re all happy,” Frank shrugged, the pleasure lancing through his system at her happiness made him in turn feel contend. “I thought it was time you got something back.”

“You make me happy every day.” Fliss shrugged. “And I’m not saying that just to be sentimental either. It’s a fact. And you know what else is a fact?”

“What?”

“That you’ve now imported as many horses into this county as I have.”

“Guess that makes me the Cowboy to your Cowgirl.” He nodded seriously as they stopped at the end of the path by the large open fronted barn just off the main yard area.

“Yeah? Is there a snake in your boots?”

“There’s one in my pants.” Frank grinned, and she laughed. 

“Is it dangerous?”

“No, but it spits.”

“Frank!” She scoffed, elbowing him in the side as he laughed, looping his arm round her shoulder,  pressing a kiss to her head as he pulled her back into him, his chest flush to her back. “Wanna fuck in the haybarn?” His voice was deep and soft in her ear as his lips dropped to the side of her neck, large hands curling softly over the curve of her hip, the cotton of her dress bunched in his fingers. Her entire body erupted into goose bumps and her belly was in knots, but still it was there, that overwhelming sense of comfort and familiarity that enabled her to laugh softly as she tilted her head to the side to look at him. “Only taken you what? Like three years to suggest that?” "So I'm a little slow.” Frank chuckled as she turned to face him, her hands sliding up his chest. “Well,” she smirked up at him, eyes flashing in the moonlight, “better turn up the speed because they’ll be wondering where we are.” “Fuck ‘em.” Frank shrugged, but still he wasted no time as he hurriedly backed Fliss into the haybarn, the two falling into a pile of it with a giggle. His large hands hiked up the sides of her dress, exposing her panty covered mound as his lips latched to hers in a deep and tantalizing dance. Thick fingers, soft and rough in their own way, played at the hemline of her panties just at the apex of her thighs, a thumb pressing into her clit just over the fabric. As his mouth moved from hers to her jawline, the scruff of his beard giving her that delectable burn she loved so much, a needy rumble vibrated from her throat and chest, Fliss enjoying every bit of pressure Frank offered. Then, a cool breeze touched her wet opening as she realized Frank had moved her panties to the side, an elicit sound escaping her lips as he slipped two fingers inside her. "You know today, I remember thinking that your laugh was the prettiest sound in the world.” Frank’s breath was hot on her ear as his teeth nipped at her neck. “I was wrong, it's your moans." Fliss choked a little on another groan as his fingers curled against her spot, over and over, in a beckoning motion, as if he was motioning her towards him. The heel of his palm pressed up against her clit and she pushed her hips down, rotating them a little as she sought out the friction of his strong but gentle touch. “That what you want?” Frank’s voice was husky, his mouth hovering over hers as she gave a wanton mewl, his hand keeping the same steady pace, forcing her to up his. “You wanna cum on my fingers, huh?” “Yeah, God, Frank...” a hoarse murmur  slipped from her lips as her eyes flickered shut, head tipping back in pleasure. “Jesus, that feels good!” “I got something that’ll feel even better.” He quipped in a low, rough tone that was almost a growl and a grin spread across Fliss’ lips as he slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing the noise of protest she made as he removed fingers from inside her, kneeling up, both his hands flying to his belt buckle. Fliss sat up, wriggling her panties down her legs and over her boots. With a cheeky flick of her eyebrow she tossed them straight at him. Possessing reflexes Fred would be proud of, Frank caught them in his left hand and held them to his face, his eyes locked on hers as he pressed his nose into them, inhaling deeply. “You’re a dirty, little shit, Adler.” She let out a naughty sounding chuckle as Frank stuffed her panties into his back pocket. “Yeah, and you’re filthy, goddamned minx, Gallagher.”  He quipped back, and a matter of seconds later he had his jeans and boxers down over his slim hips. Falling back over her, his mouth pressed back to hers again and he gave a hiss through his teeth as she reached down and grabbed him in her hand. Her fingers curled around his shaft and she gave him a few, quick strokes, before she guided him to where she wanted him. Slowly he pushed into her, the pair of them letting out a shuddered breath before his hips began to move quickly back and forth with fast, shallow thrusts and Frank reached down, large fingers curling over her thigh, hooking her leg up round his waist. His hand moved upwards, bunching the hem of her dress up, stopping as he grabbed at her hip, his other palm flat on the rough, coarse hay bale that they were propped up against. His lips crashed to hers in a desperate, needy kiss. His tongue traced the inside of her mouth as her hands tangled in his hair and she let out a little whimper, tipping her hips up to meet his as his thrusts grew deeper, more powerful, his pace still equally as fast as he drove her nearer and nearer to her high, a broken groan rumbling from his chest as he felt her walls tightening down around him. Fliss’ chest hitched, and her eyes closed momentarily, her mouth falling open as she croaked his name repeatedly, almost in time with his thrusts, a mantra as he watched her face which was contorted in pleasure. “Feels so good, don’t stop.” She mumbled, her hands tangling in his hair as her eyes opened. His forehead pressed to hers, a sheen of sweat covering both their red faces as his hips snapped back and forth, simple, fast ruts. Fliss could feel him, deep inside her, and soon that familiar heat and tingling began to burn between her legs and in the bottom of her belly. Her breathing quickened and then the waves of pleasure washed over her, her back arching as she gave a loud cry her nails digging into his scalp. Frank continued thrusting through her orgasm, and it didn’t take him long to catch up with her. “Fuck, Lissy...” his words cut off and a broken whimper slipped from his mouth as he came with a final deep thrust, his fingers tightening around her waist before he collapsed forward, burying his head against her neck. Fliss could feel herself pulsing around him, the aftershocks of her orgasm still coursing through her body, her walls contracting every so often as they lay still, his dick still twitching inside of her. Leaving a soft kiss to the spot under her neck, Frank pushed himself up and brushed his nose against hers, giving her a soft kiss as she gave a hum of satisfaction, the fingers of one hand gently stroking the nape of his neck, the other brushing up and down his bicep. “We should get back.” She whispered. “We’ve been gone half an hour.” Frank gave a groan but nodded and moved gently away, pulling out of her. He stood up, held his hand out and helped her to her feet, tugging her into him, large hands cupping her face. He kissed her again, deeply and she smiled as he pressed his forehead to hers. “Love you.” His lips pecked hers again, and she chuckled, giving him another kiss. “Love you too.” She beamed, stepping back to sort her hair out. Frank pulled his boxers and jeans up, brushing the remnants of forage and dust off his thighs and shirt before Fliss turned round and he did the same to her, plucking away a few strands of straw and hay that had become tangled in her auburn locks. “Am I presentable?” She asked and Frank nodded. “The evidence of our crime is eradicated.” He nodded, giving her a little smirk before he jerked his head towards the outside. “Erm, you’re forgetting something.” Fliss stopped him. “What?” “My knickers.” She held her hand out, palm opened and Frank gave a teasing frown. “Oh, do I have those?” He asked and she rolled her eyes, his hand falling to her hip. “Yes, so gimme.” Her fingers curled into her palm and back out in a demanding gesture and Frank shrugged. “You threw 'em away, so I think I’ll keep 'em.” “Frank, I can’t go back with nothing on underneath this!” She gestured to the floaty skirt of her knee length sundress and Frank shook his head. “Just don’t bend over and we’re good.” He looked at her with that maddening, cheeky smile, holding out his hand. “Such an asshole.” She scoffed, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her out of the barn. 

 As they walked, she squirmed a little, feeling his release beginning to trickle down her leg and Frank looked at her, a knowing smug expression on his face and she glared at him. “I’m going straight upstairs to clean up.” She grumbled and he laughed, letting go of her hand so he could loop and arm round her shoulders. “That would be rude considering we have guests.” He teased, pulling her close he pressed a kiss to her head as her own arm slipped round his waist, a smile on her face, the sounds of laughter and chatter from their guests drifting to their ears as they neared the farm house. They walked into the back yard through the gates and Fliss smiled at Mary who came running over. “Was she okay?” “Yup, settled in the field with Monty and eating away. He’s a good babysitter.” “That’s so cool!” “Where’s Alex?” Frank asked and Mary looked at him. “Poppa Bill has him.” She said, and Frank glanced around to see the man in question did indeed have their son in his arms, the baby grabbing at his short, grey hair letting out squeals as Bill pretended to bite his little neck. “Hey Mom, are we still going in the pool? Joel and Charlie are exited for night swimming!” “Yeah, in fact I’ll go in and get changed right away.” Fliss smiled, shooting a smug glance at Frank as she has been unwittingly handed a perfect excuse to go and clean up. “Cool!” Mary shot off, passing Bill as he walked over towards them. “Hey Dad!” Fliss smiled, “I’ll be right back, the kids want to go swimming so...” “Yeah okay.” He smiled, handing Alex over to his dad who pressed a kiss to his chubby cheeks. “Oh, Titch?” “Hmm?” She spun round to face him and Bill looked at her then to Frank and back again, his eyebrow raised. “Might wanna pull that hay out of your hair too before you come back down.” Fliss felt her cheeks heat up and her hands hastily moved to the back of her head, pulling a few long strands from her ponytail. She threw an accusatory glance at Frank who simply shrugged. “Guess I missed a bit.” He replied innocently, although he was anything but. He knew full well they were there, but there was that naughty, smug little shit inside of him that had wanted everyone to know they’d just been for a roll in the hay, quite literally. It appealed to his macho, alpha-male masculinity. “Dick.” Fliss scoffed, and as she headed inside his laughter accompanied by her dad’s exasperated chuckle hit her ears. 

**** Chapter 26

[jadedxrealityw]

-Surprise- Draco Malfoy x Female reader

   ♡~🐍~♡

   Request: Hi bb,, if your requests are open may i pls request for a fic where it’s the reader’s bday and she thought Draco forgot about it but by the end of the day he surprised reader with a lovely dinner where he cooks all the food? Just pls make it super sweet hehe thank u! 🐻💓

   Kody- hehehehehe okay okay. Sounds interesting. I’m going to age them up for plot purposes. I also added a lot of extra things, i couldn’t help myself.

   Warning: Ginny supremacy, cursing, and Draco being the absolute sweetest.

   House: N/A

   ♡~🐍~♡

   eyes fluttering open, you were met with no sign of your fiancé. Which was strange, you expected him to be there since he said he take the day off of work for your birthday. You prop yourself up on the bed and wipe the tiredness from your eyes.

   a piece parchment was laid on the edge of the bed in front of you. Grabbing it, you unfolded it and noticed Draco’s handwriting. Reading its contents only made you more confused ‘Hey, love. Sorry i’m not there this morning. I have a early morning today, hope you have a lovely day -Draco’ 

   your mouth twisted into a frown. Had he forgotten your birthday? No, he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t, right? As your mind continue to rationalize, you stood up from the bed and made your way over to your dresser to change out of your night clothes.

   you slip on some more comfy house clothes and leave the master bedroom. It was bit lonely being stuck in the house all day, but Draco had insisted he wanted you to stay home. So you were a housewife just without the ring.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   sitting at the table alone and eating breakfast you made felt more lonely than usual. Maybe it’s because it was your birthday. Just as you were about to take another bit, the doorbell rang. You sighed and pushed the chair back, standing up. You walk over to the door and open it.

   giving you a bright smile, Hermione waves “Happy birthday Y/n!” she exclaims and pulls you into her embrace. You smile and return it, wrapping your arms around the used to be Gryffindor women. She pulls away and you smile “Thanks, ‘Mione”

   she smiles and reaches into her purse, shuffling around before she grabbed a small neatly wrapped present. It was red wrapping paper with a small black bow. “This is for you! I was hoping i’d make it in time before work” she laughs a little as you grab the present.

    “You can’t stay?” you asked, a hint of sadness in your tone. Hermione shakes your head sympathetic smile on her face “No sorry, but hey you have Draco to spend the day with right?” she waves before turning on her heels and walking down the path, apparating away.

   your smile drops as you slowly close the door. “Right” you repeat her words in a bittersweet way. You look down at your hands at the gift and began to tear at the wrapping paper. Underneath the paper is a small black box, opening revealed a silver necklace with a small dragon. It was beautiful.

   you take it out of the box and unclip it. Reaching behind your neck, you clip the necklace on, the cold metal made you shiver slightly. It was a pretty gift and you would write a letter to Hermione thanking her for it later. Draco would of liked it, if only he was here right.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   slipping the black robe over your bare body, you turned off the shower. You slowly walked out the bathroom and made your way down the stairs making a beeline for the kitchen. Harry had gotten you some nice red wine and you figured why not since you were along anyway.

   As you poured the wine into the glass you began to feel bitter. Draco hadn’t talked to you all day. No surprise visits during his lunch break, no letters, no nothing. How could he forget about you on your day? You lift the glass to your mouth and take a sip.

   “Is the wine good?“ a voice intrudes from behind. You turn quickly and see the one and only Ginny Potter “Ginny? Bloody hell, i have a door for a reason. You cant just apparate here” you narrow your eyes and take another sip. She eyed you up and down before placing a hand on her hip.

   “You don’t look like someone who has been showered in affection and you definitely haven’t been getting railed because your still walking ” She points at you, laughing “Tell me about it” you hiss and take another sip. “I thought he’d be here considering he hasn’t been at the ministry all day”

   your eyes widened. He what? “but he left a note saying he had an early morning. Are you telling me Draco lied?” you questioned and her eyes go wide as well “Holy shit. That slimy Slytherin did lie. You seriously haven’t seen him all day, like all day?” Ginny asked, walking over to you to lean on the kitchen counter.

   you shake your head slowly. Draco lied to you? You felt your heart tug violently. Ginny looked visibly pissed. “Is that bastard cheating?” she said out loud. Your face contorted into one of sadness and distraught. She looked at you and shook her head “oh my merlin! I’m sorry i didn’t mean to say that”

   you waved her off and grabbed the bottle of wine, going to take a chug “yeah no we are getting you proper hammered, not whatever this is-” she took the bottle and looked at it, her face twinging in disgust “-what the fuck is this weak shit?” Ginny questions and you shrugged “Harry got it for me”

   she rolled her eyes setting the bottle down on the counter “of course he did” she shakes her head slowly. “Anyway, go upstairs and don’t come out until you look somewhat decent” Ginny says and you nod slowly before leaving the kitchen.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   walking down the stairs in boots almost made you trip, but you were okay in the end. As you neared the last steps you saw Ginny sitting on the sofa. You walk down and she spots you in the outfit. “Good. You look great. Let’s bounce ” She stands up and walks over, grabbing your hand. 

   “where are we going exactly?” you ask. Ginny gives you a wink before apparating with you. You blink a couple times and you were standing outside a bar “Aw makes sense” you nod and the ginger leads you inside.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   you had only finished a bit of your drink when your mind flooded with different thoughts. Was Draco really cheating on you? It would make a bit of sense considering he hadn’t seen you all day and had been a bit distant in the days leading up to your birthday.

   you hadn’t noticed the fresh tears rolling down your cheeks until Ginny tapped your shoulder “Hun, are you alright?” she asked, setting her glass of firewhiskey down. You shake your head, standing up from the stool “I just want to go home and sleep” you choke out, wiping a stray tear. 

   Ginny checks the time on her wand and nods “Yeah okay, lets go” she says and grabs your hand and off you both apparate again. This time outside the Malfoy Manor “Couldn’t you apparate me inside?” you question, turning to face her. Ginny shrugged “Sorry love, anyway Happy birthday” she winks.

   you raise a brow and look towards the manor, why are the lights on? You turn to face the ginger, but it seems she already apparated away. You sigh and walk up the door, pushing it open. Your met with a very delicious smell, which makes you super confused.

   you pull out your wand thinking someone had broken into your house, too cook? That didn’t make any sense. You slowly crept up to the kitchen and could see a shadow placing stuff on the table. You quickly lept from around the corner and startled the intruder- wait no it was Draco.

   “What the bloody hell Y/n! You could of killed me!” he exclaims as he placed the plate on the table. You stood there frozen for a moment before the metaphorical dam broke. “I should’ve killed you Draco Malfoy! How dare you show up this late!”

   Draco eyes widened a bit as he opened his mouth to speak, but you cut him off. “and don’t even say you were at work, because no one has seen you all day! So if your cheating on me just take your fucking ring and leave!” you shout and pluck the engagement ring off your finger and slam it on the counter.

   you look at the counter that had a bottle of wine on it and your eyes slowly trail to the table that wa set with a literal four-course meal spread on it, two glasses of wine and card that said ‘Happy birthday Y/n.’ you snap your head to look at him and see he was a wearing an apron.

   it hit you in the head like a train. Oh-. You slowly gulp and slide down the counter until you reach the floor and sit down in shame “This was a surprise wasn’t it?” you ask, not even looking at it and he nods slowly, taking his apron off and setting it on the counter “Spent all day preparing?” you question.

   it earns another nod from the pale boy, he grabs your ring off the counter and slowly sits next to you. He hands you your ring and you push it away “Love?” he says, a worried tone present in his voice “i can’t believe i thought you cheated on me, i mean how overly dramatic can i get?”

   “I mean- you are engaged to me and i’m the most dramatic person i’ve ever met” Draco jokes, trying to lighten the mood. You snicker, a small smile forming at your lips. He grins and wraps an arm around you “Don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s okay, i most likely would have overreacted more than you did”

   you lean onto him as he grabs your hand, slipping your ring on your finger once again. “Alright enough sulking, let’s eat” Draco stands up and pulls you up from the ground, he leads you to your chair and you sit down. He leans down to press a kiss to your temple, making you smile.

   “Happy birthday, my love” he whispers before taking a seat next to you. You look at the food, it was all your favorite dishes. He really went all out and it made your heart flutter. “Thank you so much. I really don’t deserve it” you forced out, making the blond boy roll his eyes. 

   “of course you do. Now hush and eat darling before the food gets cold” he grabs a serving spoon and begins to put food on his plate. When he’s finished you lean over and plant a sweet kiss on his lips. Surprised, he kisses back. You both pull away and you smile warmly “I love you Draco Malfoy”

   “As do i, Y/n Malfoy”

   ♡~🐍~♡

   Kody- uh, this took me three days because procrastination is great. I also went like a million different directions with is, eh- i’m not feeling to great about it. Anyways, peace.

[martialstories]

Tape to tape - Chap. 2

Coops - High School AU

All credits for the world & the characters for @lumosinlove. I’m kind of sad that SW is ending but luckily there’s still Coast to coast left and 12 days of ficmas isn’t far away.

I wrote this fic(of a fic) before the last chapter was out. In case someone hasn’t read it yet, I won’t tell any details but I have to admit that the ending was far better than I could have hoped for. I was literally jumping up and down after reading that❤️

Happy reading!

_______________________________________________________________________

Tw: child abuse (not direct but definitely implied)

In the three months that Sirius had known Remus they had gotten pretty close. Sirius had to admit that he enjoyed being with Remus but he was rather surprised that Remus seemed to also like his company. You see, Remus was one of those people who was rather popular with his peers. Remus had adjusted to the team quickly and found his place easily. Of course there were some people who didn’t like him but he didn’t care about them. Luckily Remus had found his place within the better people in Sirius’s opinion.

Sirius on the other hand couldn’t usually come along with people like him. Or rather people like him didn’t like Sirius’s closed off nature. Remus seemed to be an exception. They had spent a lot of time with each other in practice and school as they shared the same French class and usually paired together in training and he hadn’t (yet) gotten sick of him.

Autumn was finally starting to blend into winter with temperatures dropping and sun rising later each day. This also meant Sirius’s birthday was getting closer. He didn’t really enjoy his birthday as it didn’t come with any special occasion in his family. Somehow his parents seemed to be even more annoyed by him around his birthday which resulted in Sirius getting a few punches more than usually. Especially his father seemed to consume rather impressive amounts of alcohol around this time as well.

Previous years he hadn’t had anyone who genuinly wanted to wish him happy birthday and pay attention towards him. Of course his teammates wished him happy birthday but they didn’t really notice his sullen mood and certainly didn’t bug him about it.

”Sirius, are you sure you are okay? It’s just that you seem a little quieter today than you usually are.” Sirius was stretching in the gym with Remus. They had already figured this routine that worked well for them. They both liked to stay and stretch well before showering so why not do it together?

”Yes. I’m fine.” Sirius answer came out maybe a little harsh but on his defence he was tired and just wanted to get to his bed and sleep. This wasn’t the first time Remus had asked the question and somehow it was getting harder and harder not to lose his temper.

”Okay, I believe you. I was thinking, we could maybe do the run together that we are supposed to do over the weekend. Since your birthday is on Sunday maybe tomorrow?” Remus asked.

”I think you should go alone this weekend. I’m going to be pretty busy.” Sirius said while l lying on his back and stretching his thigh.

”Oh. That’s alright.” Remus sounded a little upset and they sat in silence for a few moments.

”Are you really fine Sirius? I mean you just seem-”

”YES! I am fine, Remus! Just stop asking. Please.” Sirius let out a shout. He closed his eyes and sighed little. What are you doing? He is just worried. Sirius rose from the ground and walked to the locker room for the showers. He hoped Remus would say something but the silence wasn’t broken.

One shower later Sirius packed up his gear and headed outside. After a quiet drive Sirius opened stepped inside his home. He tried to be as quiet as possible getting to his room but apparently he wasn’t quiet enough. He heard his father calling for him from his office. Sirius knew he had no choice as he slowly turned and headed for the office.

When Sirius gained his consciousness the first thing he registered was how much his head was pounding. The second thing was how his back ached. The third thing he registered was the bunch of little sniffs he was hearing. He felt how something tickled his nose.

Sirius opened his eyes to see a tiny black puppy with wet eyes on his bed with him. It was sniffing at him before it curled up next to his head. They looked at each other for a while before Sirius properly processed what he was seeing. He slowly raised his hand to pet the little ones head. The puppy let out a tiny whine and pushed against his hand.

After a few pets Sirius started to wonder how the puppy had gotten there. That startled him awake. He was sure that he had locked his door before he had passed out here.

He rushed to turn around to see the whole room and search for any danger. When he looked at the door it was still closed and locked. Wait. Can this puppy teleport or something?

In the soft glow of the desk lamp Sirius’s eyes landed on the boy sitting on his desk looking at him. He frowned. How did Remus get in here?

”If you are wondering how I got here, I climbed through your window. And no, no one saw me. It is already dark outside.” Remus said quietly.

Sirius coughed before answering. ”I see.”

Remus looked at Sirius face. Sirius knew that he propably looked bad. He could tell that he had at least a black eye and his lip was split. There might be other bruises but he wasn’t sure.

Remus got up from his place on the table and walked into Sirius’s bathroom. Sirius could hear the sink being turned on and a while later Remus emerged with a wet cloth in his hand. He sat next to Sirius, scooped up the puppy from his side and dumped it onto Sirius’s lap.

”It wants attention. Can you pet her?” Remus asked as he raised the cloth to wipe at Sirius’s lip. Sirius’s breath hitched at the contact but he still started to pet the little puppy on his lap.

They stayed quiet while Remus cleaned his face from blood. After he was done he got up to take the cloth back to the bathroom. Sirius concentrated on the puppy and holding it close.

”You don’t have to talk about it. You don’t have to lie to me, but remember that I am here.” Remus said quietly when he came back. Sirius lifted his gaze from the floor to see Remus looking at him.

”I- umm…” Sirius hadn’t talked about this before with anyone. He trusted Remus with his whole heart but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to bear Remus with the knowledge of it.

”I’m not sure if I can.” Sirius’s voice was shaky when he spoke.

Remus nodded understanding. ”You don’t have to. But if you change your mind I’ll be here. Always.”

”Thank you Remus.” Sirius scooted to lay against the wall with the puppy on his lap. It had gotten comfortable to Sirius’s presence by now so it was play-attacking his hand and whipping its tale around uncontrollably. He felt the bed dip with Remus weight as he got up to retrieve something from his jacket’s pocket.

While Remus wasn’t looking at him, Sirius let himself tear up a bit. He finally felt like the universe was paying back for all the shit it had given him over the years. He had finally found someone who cared about him, and who Sirius cared for as well. He hadn’t known this was something he needed but now that he had it he didn’t know how he had survived without it. Now he couldn’t help but dream about more.

Sirius quickly wiped his eyes as Remus sat next to him. He took the puppy from him but exchanged it with a little present.

Sirius’s eyes shot up. ”Happy birthday Sirius.” Remus said with a small smile.

”Oh, you didn’t have to get me anything.” Sirius answered little unsure of how to handle this situation. He hadn’t received gifts in years.

”I know but I wanted to. Now, go on. Open it.” Remus assured Sirius while holding eye contact.

Sirius whispered an okay and proceeded to carefully unwrap the present. He let out a wet laugh when he saw that the wrapping paper was hockey themed.

Inside the wrapping paper Sirius discovered three chocolate bars. One was regular, other one was dark chocolate and the third one was filled with mint chips. Sirius was tearing up again.

”I wasn’t sure what you liked but I thought, how wrong can I go with chocolate?” Remus laughed a little worried as Sirius didn’t say anything. ”These are from my favourite brand. If you like these, we’ll have to try their special winter edition. They change the formula every year, you know. I heard rumours that this year they’d do one with gingerbread.” Remus started rambling as Sirius still just stared at the chocolates.

”I- Thank you, Remus. This is the best present I have ever gotten.” Sirius glanced at Remus.

Remus flushed a little. ”Oh. Well good. Though I doubt this is the best one you’ve got-”

”Trust me. It is.” Sirius said and opened the regular chocolate bar. He broke off two pieces and handed one to Remus.

After they had eaten a couple pieces in silence Sirius opened his mouth looking at the puppy now asleep on Remus’s chest. ”So. I didn’t know you had gotten a puppy.”

Remus petted the puppy and smiled. ”This one actually isn’t our own. You know my parents are vets, right?” Sirius nodded. ”Well, now that we have fully adjusted to life here they have gotten back to their usual antics. When we lived in the States they used to bring sick animals and ones that needed to be fostered back home all the time. They had to take a brake from that hobby for a while but yesterday they brought this little guy home. He was found on the side of a highway abandoned.” At that Sirius frowned worriedly and Remus grabbed the puppy gently and laid it on Sirius chest. The puppy nuzzled contedly and fell back asleep.

”After I couldn’t reach you all day I decided to come check on you. When I got up to leave she woke up as well and wanted to come outside with me. I didn’t want her to wake the whole house up with her small barks so I just scooped her up and put her in my pocket for the walk.” Remus told him.

”My phone must have died. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you. I didn’t know you even wanted to reach me.” Sirius muttered.

Remus shook his head. ”If you think I the little argument we had after practice is enough to scare me away, you are very wrong. And stop apologizing. It’s not your fault.”

”I’m sorry, I’ll stop-” Sirius was quick to apologize.

”Sirius!”

”I’m sorry- NO, I mean okay. I’ll stop.” Sirius stammered.

Remus laughed a little. ”Okay. Good.”  

They continued talking for about half an hour after that. They talked mostly about puppies to avoid any uncomfortable subjects. The clock was nearing 3 a.m.

Sirius yawned loudly.

”I think I should go. We should both propably get some sleep.” Remus yawned as well.

Sirius stretched under the covers. ”We propably should.” And threw his hand over his eyes.

Remus rose from his place where he was sitting on top of the covers. Sirius watched him walk over to his desk and put his jacket on. After that he reached inside his pocket where he pulled a dark brown beanie that he put on his head.

Remus turned around eyeing Sirius suspiciously. ”Where is the puppy?”

Sirius cracked a smile at that. ”I don’t know what you are talking about. I haven’t seen any puppies lately.”

Remus walked over to him and suspected his form beneath the covers. Sirius knew what he was looking for but he still blushed a little. Remus grabbed one corner of the blanket covering Sirius and yanked it off of him. Sirius quickly turned to cover the puppy sleeping near his side. Sirius started to laugh as Remus tried to reach the puppy but ended up tickling him. Remus smiled brightly at the sound but despite that he dove on top of Sirius to reach the puppy. He managed to grab her and turned with a wolfy grin towards Sirius. They both froze at that since their noses were almost touching each other.

”You found the puppy.” Sirius breathed out.

”That I did.” Remus said as he rose from the bed. He composed himself quickly before turning back towards Sirius who was pulling the covers back on. Remus held the puppy in front of Sirius’s face and smiled a little. ”Say bye. Now you’ll at least have a reason to start visiting.”

The corners of Sirius’s mouth lifted as he looked at the puppy. ”True. I’ll have to come see this little one.”

Remus slid the puppy into one of his coat’s inside pockets and walked up to the window. On the way he shut off the lamp leaving the room to be lighted up by the moon. He opened the window and raised one of his legs onto the other side.

Sirius took a breath in. ”Remus, thank you. For the chocolate. And for bringing the puppy.”

”It’s alright. I hoped you’d like them.” Remus said quietly. ”Good night. Text me when you wake up.” ”Good night.” Sirius whispered as Remus climbed out the window and slid it shut. Sirius burrowed deeper underneath the covers and let his eyes close. In the quiet darkness Sirius noticed how he could still smell the puppy and a slight tint of chocolate.

That night Sirius didn’t dream of pain and flying punches but of brown curls peaking out beneath a beanie and small puppies. When he woke up he wasn’t sure if last night was real but at the sight of chocolate on his desk he let out a relieved sigh.

Chocolate really is good no matter what time you are eating it. He thought as he munched on a piece while texting Remus.

[atsukashii]

❝confetti love❞ // d. kaminari

SYNOPSIS: ➛ when Kaminari surprises you with tickets to see your favourite band for your birthday, you finally tell him how you feel in the best way how

» CHARACTER PAIRING: denki kaminari x reader

» WORD COUNT: 2.7K

» GENRE: 3rd year u.a, aged up characters

» WARNINGS: swearing, fluff, fluff, fluff and fluff

« masterlist || ao3 »

“Open mine next!” Mina squeals, shoving a very pink wrapped box into your hands. You smile at your eccentric friend and shake your head at her antics.

“Calm down, it’s not a competition.” You joke, beginning to unwrap the gift now in your lap.

“You joke but it dead set is. Whoever gets you the best present is the superior friend. And as your best friend ever, I am determined to win.” Her grin is borderline concerning but you can’t help but laugh as you look over the rest of your close friends crowded inside your dorm room. 

Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari, and even Bakugou showed up in your dorm before you had even woken up this morning, showering you with presents and complete with a cupcake with one of those annoying fake candles that wouldn’t go out. Apparently, it was a birthday tradition that they had just started this year… on your birthday. You aren’t complaining though, so far, you had a new pair of sunglasses thanks to Sero, a box filled to the brim with your favourite candy and protein bars because Kirishima couldn’t help but put something somewhat healthy in to ‘balance it out’. Bakugou had taken part too and had gifted you a scarf that was by far the nicest thing you now owned. 

Mina is staring at you before gesturing with her hands for you to hurry up, her excitement practically making her almost bounce off the walls. 

“Okay, okay, I’m hurrying!” You laugh before pulling the fluorescent pink paper off the box and carefully flicking open the lid. “Mina…” you turn to your friend and can’t hide the grin off your face as you pull the new skins for your Nintendo switch from the tissue paper. “I’ve been saving for these!”

“I know, but I thought I would get them for you first.” She says, winking at you. Wrapping her arm over your shoulder, she gives you a tight squeeze. “Happy birthday sweetie!”

Turning back to the boys sprawled across your dorm room, she smirks at them. “So did I win or did I win?” She teases. 

“Who fucking cares who wins or not,” Bakugou growls from his perch, leaning against your door as if ready to make a quick escape. 

“Oh please, you’re just pouty because you lost,” Mina fires back, using her hand to gesture an L sign with her fingers at him, but Bakugou surprisingly says nothing in response. It had been one of your requests for your birthday, no fighting. And although you had only been awake for like ten minutes, they were agreeing to your terms for now. But you wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t last long. 

“You’re about to lose pinky,” A voice suddenly says, and Kaminari gets up off the floor and stands in front of you. With a gentle smile and pure mischief in his eyes, your heart flutters inside your chest. 

“Happy birthday y/n.” He smirks, holding a plain envelope out to you. Your eyes lock onto him before staying focused on the paper in his hands. 

If Mina was your best friend, Denki is your second half. You had become attached at the hip in your first year of school at UA, and years later, you were still just as close, something that hadn’t changed. Well, one thing had changed... That feeling you felt for so long and pushed off as admiration for your best friend, you had realised was much more than that. 

You had been in love with Denki Kaminari for almost a year and hadn’t told him, purely because you were too scared that he didn’t feel the same and it would ruin one of your most treasured friendships. There were times, that you thought he might feel the same, but it was hard to tell. Kaminari is a flirty guy, so when he was like that with you, he was also like it to a lot of other girls. You thought you were conspicuous about your crush too, but apparently everyone knew just how you felt about your best friend. Even Kirishima, who could be one of the most oblivious people you had ever met at times, could tell. And somehow, Denki didn’t know? 

To be honest, what you felt for Kaminari was almost exhausting sometimes. How your heart would race every time he came near you, how you would have to remind yourself to breath when he would throw his arm over your shoulder. You weren’t sure how long you could take him not knowing… But this feeling is better than rejection, you think.

“You’re not going to win this,” Mina grumbles at Kaminari, still situated next to you. The blonde in question only folds his arms across his chest, that smirk still stretched teasingly across his lips. You quickly make work of opening the envelope and the second you do, two small strips of paper fall onto your lap, making your breathing stop. Oh my god.

“What is it?” You hear Mina ask, peering over your shoulder to catch a glimpse, but you can’t seem to focus on that. You pick up the tickets, not quite believing what you’re seeing. You turn them over, looking at the printed text on them, and this time, you can’t hold back your scream of excitement, which earns a groan from the group.

“Holy shit Denki!” You scream, before diving off the bed and onto your best friend, who catches you around the middle, steadying you so you both don’t fall over. 

“How did you get tickets? I thought they were all sold out?” Still clutching the tickets to your favourite band in your hand, you pull back from your embrace and look up at the electric blonde. The grin that covers his face you know matches yours, and the look somehow makes your smile grow even more. You’re sure you look like an idiot right now, but you’re too excited to care.

“They were, but I managed to win some from a radio station.” He shrugs like its nothing, but you know just how hard those tickets would have been to win, so you just squeal and hug him again. His arms wrap around your waist as you bury your head in his neck. 

“Thank you, Kami.” You whisper before being interrupted by a loud groan from Mina. Looking over Kaminari’s shoulder, you see her pouting face and barely hold in your giggle.

“That’s so not fair! That’s like the trump card Kaminari!” She protests, but Denki just shrugs again and looks at them all as you pull out of his hug once more, even though your heart protests the action. 

“I don’t know why you guys are surprised. Hello? The superior friend here since day uno.” He grins which only makes them roll their eyes. 

“Whatever, are we done here?” Bakugou groans and you smile and turn to all of your friends. God, you’re so grateful that you have them in your life. Even your angry gremlin of a friend. 

“Thank you guys for all of this. This has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.” You say, your words bringing soft smiles to their faces. 

“Well, the days just starting Y/n!” Kirishima grins at you both.

“And I bet it's going to get a lot better.” Sero’s eyes cut to Kaminari as he speaks and you’re grateful that Denki can’t see the blush covering your cheeks at the words. Thank god for small mercies. 

As they all make their way out of your room, Kaminari looks down at you, hesitating to leave. “The concert’s tonight, I got permission from Aizawa to go as well. So I’ll meet you downstairs at five.” Denki says, shooting you a wink before giving your hand a quick squeeze. He turns to walk out of your room, and you instinctively step forwards as if to follow him when he meets the door. 

“Denki,” He stops at the door, looking back over his shoulder. Those golden eyes pierce your own and lock your feet to the floor, and suddenly, you can hear your heartbeat in your ears. How is he so attractive?

“Thank you,” you say quietly, unable to completely articulate just what you’re feeling. Something flashes through his eyes, but it is gone as quick as it arrived. The blonde instead just smirks, shooting you a wink that strikes your heart making it ache. 

“Only the best for my best girl.” He replies before walking out the door. The nickname wasn’t something new, it had been his name for you for a long time now, and your heart still didn’t know how to play cool when you heard it. 

Looking down at the tickets in your palms again, you can’t help but let out an excited squeal and flop back down onto your bed. You’re going to a concert, with Kaminari, to see your favourite band, with Denki! You pull your pillow over your face and squeal into it, not wanting to annoy your neighbours. This was by far the best start to a birthday you’ve experienced, and you just knew, tonight was going to be even better. 

                                          ♫     ♫     ♫

This can’t be real.

The words have been on loop in your head since you walked into the arena with Kaminari. You are really here, even though you had at first missed out on buying tickets when they had originally gone on sale. You had thanked your best friend multiple times during the trip to the arena, but Kaminari had just simply shrugged, and squeezed your hand which he had been holding the whole time. ‘To make sure I don’t lose you,’ he had said when he entwined your fingers with his the second you had gotten out of the taxi. But you weren’t complaining.

You have also decided that going to concerts with Kaminari was one of the most fun things you have ever done. He is unafraid to jump around like an idiot with you and scream along to the music to the point that you were glad tomorrow was a weekend, as you doubted you both would be able to speak tomorrow. Kaminari has a way of making you feel so comfortable and confident in your own skin, and you love every second of it. 

One thing, you don’t like, however, is the guy next to you that has spent the majority of the concert brushing up against your side with a smile that made you want to run in the opposite direction. 

You had gotten Mina’s help when choosing what to wear tonight, wanting to look good for Denki (and yourself), but apparently, this guy liked the way you looked as well. Too much, for your liking. Again, you feel the man brush against your shoulder, and you surpass the point of being creeped out and reach pure S.O.S freak out mode. Instinctively, you step closer to Kaminari, hoping that the man will take the hint. The second you move towards Denki, he immediately pulls you in front of him, wrapping his arms around your shoulders, locking you against his chest. A smile pulls at your lips as you rest your head back against his shoulder, he was always so observant when it came to you. But still oblivious to your feelings. Your heart feels as if its a hummingbird inside your chest, fluttering skittishly far to fast to be comfortable. 

“I’ve got you.” Kaminari’s breath meets your ear, his voice just loud enough for you to hear. Goosebumps break out across your skin, at his closeness, and you freeze, not wanting to break the moment. Also wishing to reply to him, but not wanting to shout, you instead reach up and squeeze one of his arms locked across your collarbones, in thanks. Leaning back and finally relaxing again, you can’t help but think that this is one of the greatest nights of your life. You’ve sung your heart out, danced like a maniac and spent the entire time with the guy you like, could it get any better?

As if hearing your thoughts, the band announces that its the last song, and Kaminari immediately lets go of you.

“Alrighty babes, get on my shoulders.” You are grinning as he slinks around you, kneeling to make it easier for you to climb up. Thank god you and Mina had decided on shorts because there was no way you would have done this in a skirt. Once your legs drape across his chest, Kaminari stands, making you squeal and thread your hands in his hair for something to grip. If he cares, he doesn’t mention it. He just holds the tops of your thighs firmly to keep you in place and looks back at the stage. Its a whole different energy being on someone’s shoulders at a concert, and you are living for it! You sing along with every word as they band play, trying not to move too much so Kaminari doesn’t drop you, but its the second that the confetti explodes from the ceiling, you find yourself laughing. Strips of rainbow metallic looking pieces of paper scatter through the crowd in a never ending shower and look up to the ceiling, closing your eyes. 

This was perfect. Everything about it was so indescribably wonderful, this was one of the best days of your life. 

Your attention turns back to the man below you. And you look down at Kaminari, only find him already staring up at you with pure adoration in his eyes. Was he watching you? You know you’ve got tears in your eyes, but you’re so overwhelmed with how thought out this whole gift was for you. He truly knows you and, god you loved him for it.

Kaminari’s mouth moves, but the bass swallows the words before they reach your ears/

“What?” You shout, leaning down a bit to be closer to his face. 

“Happy birthday babe!” Kaminari shouts, a mega-watt grin covering his face as he reaches up and pulls a shiny piece of confetti from your hair. For a moment, you just blink at the man below you, letting the whole night sink in, desperately wanting it and the feeling of pure euphoria to last forever. All the excitement and happiness running rampant through your veins has your head feeling dizzy, so your not entirely surprised when your mouth moves on its own.

“I love you Denki!” You yell down to him, loud enough for him and probably the people around you both to hear it over the music. You witness as your words are processed through the blonde’s brain, and you don’t care about the consequences of your words, you love him and you need to tell him. Hell, you need to scream it off a rooftop or something, so screaming it off his shoulders will have to do for now. 

Kaminari looks up at you, saying absolutely nothing. But you see nothing but happiness in his eyes, and your thundering heart seems to get some peace from that. Without another second of hesitation, his hand leaves your thigh before it meets your cheek, and he pulls you down until your lips meet his. Holy shit! He’s kissing me!

It’s awkward because you’re on his shoulders, and essentially am kissing him upside down, but it’s so you and perfect that you can’t help but love it. Your hands tighten in his blonde hair as he deepens the kiss, and you feel him smile against your lips. Shocks spark to life inside and across your body, ones that have nothing to do with Kaminari’s quirk, and for a second you think that your heart may have just exploded and that's the aftershock. But as you pull away and stare down into Denki’s grinning face, you’ve never felt more alive and more important in your entire life. 

“I love you too, babe.” He yells back up at you and quickly wipes away a tear that slips down your cheek. You laugh at the fact that you’re crying at something like this, and quickly wipe your eyes, thankful for the waterproof mascara you donned. 

Looking down at Kaminari one more time, you lift your hands into the air and cheer as the band plays their final notes. 

Best. Birthday. Ever. 

©️ 2021 all rights reserved to atsukashii, do not change, edit, translate, or repost any works on any platform.

​

[lupins-sweater]

Christmas With the Lupins

(Remus Lupin x Female Married Reader)

Summary: You and Remus celebrate Christmas Eve with your kids

Based off a dream I had :) also tried to write something a little longer than what I usually do

Professor Lupin sighed as he gently placed the graded midterms in his filing cabinet marked “7th Years.” He finally finished grading the exams; he can go home for the holidays now. Just the thought of opening the door to see his two children, Evelyn and James, running to greet him while his wife Y/N standing in the foyer waiting for a kiss gave him excitement.

He put his grade book and lesson planning journal in his worn brief case his best friends gifted him before they graduated Hogwarts and clicked the latches shut. While exiting the classroom, he thought of how proud he was of his students; they all did remarkably well.

Remus made his way to the Great Hall, ready to leave. He wished Peeves a merry Christmas and happy New Year’s and received a raspberry. He smiled fondly, remembering his interactions with the pesky poltergeist as a Maurader. Peeves seemed to enjoy the occasional trouble they caused. Sometimes he was even seen cheering as Filch chased the boys around the castle.

As Remus passed the Banquet Hall, Professor McGonagall stopped him. “Mr. Lupin, would you care to join us for our Christmas Eve dinner? We’d love to have you.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Professor. I need to get home to my lovely family. It’s been a month since I’ve seen them in person.”

“Ah. Well invite them, too! I’m sure Mrs. Lupin would love to have a break from cooking,” she offered. Her kind face and thoughtful gesture was hard to decline.

“I’m sure she would. I’ll have to run that by the missus, but she’ll most likely love the idea.”

“See you soon, Remus!” she said turning back into the hall.

He nodded goodbye and went down the stairs.

——

He unlocked the front door, anxious to see his two beloved toddlers and wife. As soon as he stepped through the door, James ran toward his father squeeling. A giant smile plastered itself on his face as he crouched down to pick up his son.

“James! Merry Christmas Eve, bud!” He greeted and hugged him tightly. “Now let’s see where your mother and sister are,” he said as we walked into the kitchen and living room area. You were standing next to the fridge giving Evelyn a sippy cup of juice and looked over to see her tall husband staring at her with gaze so full of love you melted.

He kissed James on the head and twirled Evelyn around in the air; her happy giggles warmed your heart. “Hello, Princess! Have you been good for mummy?”

He set her back down, and you gave her a sippy cup. Once you stood back up, you flung yourself in Remus’s arms. “Remus! Oh Merlin I’ve missed you!”

He rubs your back comfortingly. “Me too. Me too. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to wake up in the same bed again,” he murmured. Remus lifted your chin with his hand not around your waist and kissed you like it’s been years since he’s felt your lips.

You stayed like that for a moment, trying to make up for the time you’ve missed. Your husband eventually pulled apart to your dismay and took off his coat. “McGonagall invited us for dinner. Would you like to go or stay here?” He asked peering over the counter to make sure the kids weren’t up to no good.

“That sounds great. We just have to get the kids dressed,” you pointed out, “Hey! You’re wearing the jumper I gave you! You always look so handsome.”

It was Remus’s favorite one, and he’s owned enough jumpers to clothe all of London. It was a tan cable knit with dark blue lines meeting at a point near the collar and dark blue around the sleeves. He received the present for his birthday and dons it whenever you bring the kids to the castle.

“It is my favorite, love,” he says blushing. He kisses your head and walks over to James. “Okay. Let’s get you dressed, he tells him as he grabs James’s hand, “what do you think about the navy sweater? Do you want to match Daddy?” He asks walking into the twins’ room.

“Come here, Evie,” you cooed, hoisting her on your hip. You let her pick a red dress to wear to the occasion.

——

The Lupins eventually made it to Hogwarts where they were greeted cheerfully by Professor Sprout. “Y/N how are you, dear!” She rushes to the small children and pinches their cheeks. “They’re absolutely adorable! Are you excited for Santa Claus tonight?”

James giggles happily and reaches for Pomona; you hand him to the herbology professor. Evie ran after them into the hall; however, you and Remus stayed back. You grabbed his hand and looked into his warm eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re home, Rem.”

“Me too. I feel guilty for leaving you at home to take care of the kids. I know you love your job at Flourish and Blotts, but we are looking for a librarian. Don’t feel like you have to take the position, but it’s something to think about,” Remus told you.

You were delighted. This was an opportunity to spend more time with him, for Rem to play with his kids more, for you to comfort him before and after full moons. Maybe you could actually think about the possibility of trying for another kid; you didn’t want to raise two toddlers and a baby by yourself, but he’d be here. “I’d apply for that job in a second, Rem.”

He beamed back at you, excited to have you closer. “Let’s go see what the kids are up to. Shall we?”

You blushed at his loving behavior and nodded.

Candles floated overhead casting a warm glow over the tables, and snow seemed to drift from the ceiling. A large tree shining with twinkling lights and glass ornaments in the different house colors stood in the corner of the room. Food lined the middle of the long table; it looked exactly like your years as a student. Madame Pomfrey, Sprout, McGonagall, and Hagrid were laughing and playing with your children.

You walked hand in hand to the staff table and sit in between McGonagall and Flitwick. “Do you mind if your little munchkins eat with us down here?” Pomfrey shouted a couple seats away. You looked at Remus, and he nodded with a smile.

You gave her a thumbs up and waved to your tiny loved ones.

“How are things at home, Y/N?” McGonagall asked while passing you the pumpkin pie.

“Wonderful. Remus’s mother Hope stops by to help out with the kids frequently. She’s so kind; she even knits these cute sweaters and blankets for James and Evie,” you said, cutting a slice for you and your husband.

“So that’s where that lovely sweater James has on came from. He looks rather sharp like his father,” she complimented Remus.

You giggled and laced your fingers under the table with Remus’s. He looked at you from the corner of his eye, pride and love overflowing his senses thinking about his wife taking care of the twins. “I told her about the possibility of the librarian position opening up. She’s interested in applying,” he informed the transfiguration professor.

A smile formed on her wise face. “You’ll be perfect for the job, Mrs. Lupin. I’ve heard many good things about you at the shop. And we’d love to see James and Evelyn more.”

“Awww thank you, Minnie! You’re too kind.”

“I’m simply telling the truth. Your husband would agree.”

Your attention turned back to Remus who as listening to the conversation. “Take whatever time you need into making this decision, dear,” he whispered and brought your hand to his lips. He kissed your wedding ring making you blush.

“How are the kids?” Flitwick asked, stabbing a piece of steak with his fork.

“They’re very well behaved. Although I’ll occasionally have to break up a fight over a toy,” you answered as you scooped some vegetable casserole from the bowl.

“They’re both starting to talk, too. Merlin help us if they develop your tongue,” Remus teased and elbowed you.

You playfully rolled your eyes. “Or your sarcasm.”

Evie started crying; without thinking you got up from your chair. A hand went to your shoulder, stopping you before you could move any further. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry,” Remus said before walking to your daughter. Your found yourself smiling watching your loving husband pick her up and hold her close to his chest, whispering everything’s alright. He made his way back to you with Evie still against his chest.

“I think it’s time to go. We still have yet to finish decorating the tree and make cookies for Santa tonight. Thank you for inviting us!” you said goodbye.

Everyone waved and shouted their happy holidays as you exited the room.

——

James and Evie half ran half wobbled to the door, screaming happily. The little witch and wizard looked so cute in their little coats and mittens; you chased them to the door. You opened the door and yelled, “Now wait just a minute! You need to take of your coats!” Remus locked the door and helped you shimmy off the coats off the squirming children.

After you hung their coats on their respective hooks, you hurried into your shared bedroom. Your husband looked at you with a quizzical look as you sped off. He took the ornaments out the boxes and showed the little ones where to hang them. You emerged from your room wearing an oversized green sweater with lit Christmas lights. It looked as if you wrapped yourself in the lights on the tree.

Remus, obviously amused, laughed heartily. You twirled around to show off your ugly Christmas sweater. “Absolutely stunning,” he said, pecking your lips.

“Why thank you. I have something for you, too!” You entered the room again and brought out a dark red jumper with half wrapped chocolate bars knitted all over.

He threw his head back and laughed again. Your husband kissed you sweetly, leaving you grinning up at him. The light from your jumper reflected off your eyes making them shine brightly. “You always amaze me, Y/N. Thank so much.”

You finished unboxing the ornaments, paper strewn around the floor and table. You turned off the lights to see the tree better and a warm yellow glow emulated from it. Evie and James “oohed and ahed” at the gorgeous decoration. Remus picked up James and pointed to different ornaments, each telling their own story. You couldn’t help but smile watching your boys smile and laugh; Merlin you loved it when Remus came home.

“Mommy!” Evie pulled on the edge of your jumper. “Yes, Baby?” You asked. She pointed in the direction of the kitchen; you knew what she wanted. It was time to decorate the cookies for Santa!

You felt the sensation of someone watching you, and you looked up into Remus’s loving eyes. “You’re right, Evie! It’s time to decorate the cookies!” you exclaimed.

You followed your little girl into the kitchen; Rem and James not too far behind both yelled “yayyyyy!”

The four of you worked together to mix the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter together to make the icing. Red, green, and blue dye was added to the separated bowls of icing. You guided James and Evie to ice the sugar cookies. There was even a competition as to who could decorate the best looking ones; of course your talented husband won. But the fun ended when the clock struck 8:00.

Both you and Remus were exhausted from a day of parenting even though you enjoyed it. The twins didn’t want to stop and threw fits when it was time for bed; however, you explained to them Santa wouldn’t come down the chimney unless they went to sleep. Their teeth were brushed, clothes were changed, and goodnight kisses were given.

With a wave of your wand, the kitchen and living room were spotless once more. You both tip toed into your bedroom, careful to not wake the kids. “How was your day, lovey?” you asked.

“Perfect. Couldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Remus said genuinely as he changed into a set of matching pajamas. “Awwww,” you cooed.

“And what about you?” He inquired and helped you untangle the lights from your sweater from your hair, chuckling a bit. He put one of his sweaters he took from Hogwarts over your head. “Loved every minute of it. I honestly feel like we can accomplish anything when we’re with you.”

You kissed Remus slowly and let all your love for him flow into movements. He cupped your face when you pulled apart after a couple minutes. “I know we were going to stay up tonight, but I’m really tired. I can tell you are too with your dark circles, Rem. Do you mind if we take a rain check for tomorrow?” you asked not wanting to break your promise.

“Of course, my darling.”

A fire was lit and you were under the sheets with Remus. He pulled you as close as possible where you laid your head on his shoulder and wrapped a leg over his. You hummed happily, nuzzling into his neck. Your breathing lulled him to sleep and the other way around. “I love you,” you whispered before giving into your heavily eyelids threatening to close.

“I love you, too.” You felt him press his lips to your forehead and holding you tighter.

——

General Harry Potter Tag List

@summer-writes @masterofthedarkness @iliveiloveiwrite @siriusly-addicted-to-writing @nebulablakemurphy

Thank you, @poppin-potter for your help!!! I love working with such a talented and kind writer

[sweet-barnes]

Those Heels - b.b

Pairing: Bucky x tall!Reader (modern au)

Summary: You found your family in university and they had never left your side, and even after all these years the ‘surprise’ birthday parties are still going strong. Bucky finally decided it’s the right night to go after the girl.

A/N: i’m really bad with summaries, i apologise for whatever that is lmao thank you to @invisibleanonymousmonsters and @writingsoftheloser for helping out with ideas/concepts when writing a tall!reader, i appreciate it💕

You were grateful for your friends, there was no denying that. They were such a big part of your life since the day you had met, you knew you would be a completely different person altogether without them.

It had all started at university, in the student accommodation where you were all put on the same floor by some miracle. You met Natasha first, you had walked into your assigned room and she was already laying out paint samples ready for decorating. You knew from then on you were going to be in trouble with her. It wasn't long before she was introducing you to the rest of her group, and there was a lot of them.

The girls were in the rooms that surrounded you, so you naturally met them first. Wanda, Nakia, Peggy and Okoye were the sweetest bunch you had ever met and you instantly felt part of their little family. 

Next were the boys, all which you met at the party that was thrown at Tony's house. Natasha had explained to you on the way that he was the ‘rich one’ so he refused to stay in student digs. Instead residing in his dad’s mansion near the university and one of his many expensive cars in every day. 

Once you arrived at his place, you were blown away. You had only seen houses like these in passing, never did you think you would be invited to a party in one. The huge windows indented in the pristine white walls showed off the colourful lights inside and the masses of people who were already in there.  

The music could be heard thrumming from outside and as you all piled out of the car, you were pulled towards the entrance by Wanda.

Inside is where you met the rest of your family, unbeknownst to them. From Steve Rogers to Peter Quill, T'Challa to Tony Stark. There were so many people, you didn't think you could keep track of them all, but now you knew them like the back of your hand.

The one person who definitely stuck in your mind was the one brooding in the corner. His fluffy dark hair and his piercing blue eyes took your breath away as soon as you were introduced to him. 

Bucky Barnes had your heart from the moment you set eyes on him, but that dream was soon shattered by the small blonde that sidled up to him, wrapping an arm around his waist and placing her head against his arm. 

You knew from then on you never stood a chance with him, and the countless other girls he introduced to the group just clarified that. You gave up on that dream quickly, promising yourself you wouldn't get too close to him for your heart to break.

Very soon after that, you may have let your secret crush on him slip to the girls. Of course they freaked out but you soon shot them down, not wanting them to get your own hopes up for something that wasn't going to happen. The way you said "he only likes small girls" gave away to them how you really felt and they tried their hardest to make you see it from their view, but it was no use. 

They were all so petite, yet so strong and powerful in the way they held themselves. They would never understand how you felt within yourself.  It wasn't that you didn't think you were strong and powerful, you knew as a woman you had your place in this world to do your bit for the better. You just weren't petite like them. You were at least a head taller and you felt like you didn't belong.

Despite the sharing your insecurities one drunken night at fresher’s, the girls never let go of you. Your friendship with them, even though it was only 5 days old at the time, was too precious for them to lose. That still stood 11 years later.

--

You placed the jumpsuit in front of your body, looking it up and down in the mirror before throwing it back down on the bed. "Are you excited?" Natasha asked as she walked into the room, a black body con dress hugging her body. You let out a groan, plopping back onto your bed. "Am I ever excited for one of Tony's parties?"

Tony was still rich, of course he was, he was a genius. His habit of having parties at every possible opportunity had never wavered, and birthday's were no exception to that rule. A 'surprise' birthday party was thrown every year for everyone within the group, even though all of you knew it was coming, it was like clockwork.

Everyone else loved it, you on the other hand, would rather be curled up on the sofa with a tub of Ben and Jerry's watching Netflix. You couldn't exactly avoid this one, it was your birthday and this party was especially for you.

The girls had taken you shopping earlier that day, which had already set your anxiety off. You hated clothes shopping and even though they tried their hardest to get you to buy a nice dress for the evening, you still arrived home with a jumpsuit, a classic look for you. There was no way you were going to a party that you were already uncomfortable with and making that worse with a dress.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get there," Natasha sat next to you and that's when you noticed the gift bag in her hand. "Nat, I told you I didn't want anything," you gave her a look before flitting your eyes down to the sparkly bag, curious to see what was inside. 

"I know but I couldn't not get my best friend something for her birthday, and it's a bit of a risky present if I'm honest but I would really appreciate it if you maybe wore them tonight?" Your mind was all over the place trying to think of what it could possibly be. Natasha pushed the bag towards you and you didn't waste any time in pulling out the tissue paper to reveal what was inside.

You lifted the shoes out, or should you say heels, and turned them slightly to inspect them. "Do you like them?" Natasha whispered next to you, leaning in slightly. They were black, thick straps along the top and around the ankle, with a small chunky heel and a slight platform.

They were pretty, you couldn't deny it, and they were just your style. "Yes," you breathed out. Without thinking, you shooed Natasha out, telling her you would be two minutes before changing into your outfit and putting on the shoes.

You stared at your figure in the mirror, the jumpsuit hugging in at your waist and stopping just above your ankles, showing off the straps on the heels perfectly. There was a slight plunge neckline, showing off your chest just enough that you didn't feel completely ridiculous. 

"Oh my god," that was when you heard the murmuring from the doorway and you turned to see all your girls stood there, mouths dropping at the sight of you.

"You look gorgeous!" Wanda squealed, making everyone laugh. Every one joined in with the compliments and you felt the heat rising to your cheeks at all the attention you were getting. 

"Don't we have a party to get to?" You questioned, attempting to stop the onslaught of comments. It worked in your favour and soon, you were all piling into a taxi, making your way to another of Tony's mansions.

You felt the base through the floor as you stepped in through the double doors. You looked around at the familiar faces, shooting back a thank you every time someone greeted you with a 'happy birthday.' Most of these people were just acquaintances, people your group had met along the way and had been nice enough to be invited to one of the parties. 

To be honest, Tony just liked having a lot of people at his parties. 

You all weaved your way through the crowds of people, picking up your drinks in the kitchen and making your into one of the large back rooms. Every one you knew and loved was in there and as soon as they saw you, a chorus of happy birthday's was shouted in your direction.

You couldn't help the giggle that erupted from you as you went in to give everyone a hug, all their grips strong on you as they pulled you into them. "You're getting old now," Sam joked, grabbing you around the waist and pulling you into his side. You gasped, "hey, that's rude," you gave him a light slap on his chest before laughing along with him.

You looked around at the small circle your friends had formed, consisting of Natasha, Nakia, Steve, Sam and Bucky. Your eyes scanned them all, taking in the joyous looks on their faces before your eyes landed on Bucky. 

Your heart leapt as you locked eyes with him, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth as he looked you up and down.

A wave of self-consciousness fell over you and you felt yourself retreating slightly into Sam's side. You sent Bucky a quick smile before looking back at Steve to try and concentrate on the story he was telling.

And the night went on like that. Flitting between different groups of your friends, trying not to feel out of place. 

You had noticed a few glances from people as you were taking photos, especially with the girls. It was now just natural for you to bend your knees slightly when taking selfies with them, you had been doing it since you had first met but clearly other people weren't used to it. You tried to ignore them the best you could but with the more alcohol you consumed, the more irritating it became.

You were at the bar again, ordering another drink when you felt the presence of someone beside you. Their musky vanilla smell hit you, and you recognised it instantly. 

"You look really good tonight, Y/N." His voice was husky and you could tell he'd been drinking. You looked to your side, taking in his sculpted face next to you. "Do you not have some small blonde with you tonight?" You attempted to joke but you truly meant it. Bucky chuckled, "not this time, got my eye on someone else."

You rolled your eyes, taking the drink that had just been placed in front of you, not saying anything else.

"I noticed you were wearing heels, that's a-" Bucky was cut of by a sharp "hey." You both turned to see Nakia stood behind you, a stern look directed straight at Bucky. She was the wrong person to mess with and clearly Bucky had pissed her off. 

"You do not say anything about her heels, do you understand Barnes?" She pointed a finger at him, nudging him slightly and the bewildered look on his face nearly made you laugh. "What? I wasn't going to say anything-" She cut him off again. "I heard you, James," you took the opportunity to sneak away, hearing their voices fading as Bucky was trying to defend himself against her.

If there was anyone that would stick up for you, Nakia was the best for it, everyone listened to her and they didn’t dare try to disagree. You slipped out onto the balcony, grateful for the cool evening air against your hot skin. You took another sip of your drink and the alcohol burned slightly as it went down.

Of course it was Bucky who would point out the heels. He just couldn't help himself. For someone who was so good with the ladies, he definitely didn't know how to talk to one. Or talk to you at least.

The door behind you slid open, letting out the loud music before muting it again as it closed. "Y/N?" Bucky's voice was soft and you turned to meet his nervous stance. "Look, I'm really sorry about what I said back there, Nakia explained it and I really didn't mean it to come across any type of way," his was wringing his hands together as he looked at you. 

You let out a sigh, "it's okay, Buck, I know you didn't mean any harm." His womaniser demeanor was gone as he moved to stand next to you. A moment passed before he spoke again, "I was going to say you look really hot actually," chuckling at himself. 

Your heart stopped, questioning whether he really just said that. "And I'm not just saying that to sleep with you, I know you think I'm like that sometimes but I wouldn't do that to you."

You eventually found your voice, looking into Bucky's hopeful eyes as he tried to read your thoughts. "I'm not like any other girl you've ever been with Bucky, why now?" There was a shift in the way he looked at you before he looked down. 

"Since the first day I met you at Tony's party, 11 years ago, I knew I felt something for you. I was just a dick and I slept around too much and I knew you didn't like it, I could tell by the way you looked at each new girl whenever I showed up with one. Then you became more and more distant, I knew it would be harder to get to you and make you see how I felt so I thought it was better to leave it," he paused, taking a deep breath. Your mind was all over the place, not knowing what to say or do, but Bucky carried on anyway.

"But I've stopped that now, I've been single for about a year and I was hoping you'd see that and see I'm not the guy that you thought I was but I guess that was a stupid plan." You laughed a little at this and Bucky joined in. "I was going to ask if you'd like to dance with me?" 

Your mouth was already agreeing to it before you could fully process what was happening. Bucky took your hand in his, leading you back inside and into the cleared area that had become the dancefloor. A slow song had started playing and couples were paired together around you. 

As you walked into the centre with Bucky, you felt eyes from all over the room looking at you. Your gaze landed on Natasha's over the shoulder of Bruce, she sent you a wink before a big smile broke out onto her face. She knew your feelings for Bucky never truly faded and she couldn't help the happiness she felt at seeing you two finally together now.

Bucky turned to face you, his arms snaking around your waist, pulling you close to him while your arms went over his shoulders. "Is this alright?" He whispered, his blue eyes sparkling even in the low light, as you looked across at him. You simply hummed in response, nodding slightly. 

No one said anything. Your skin was on fire from where his arms were touching you, even through your clothes and a feeling of serenity washed over you. It was like everyone else in the room melted away and it was just you and Bucky dancing alone. No more eyes prying into your business or making you feel small.

"This is nice," you said softly, Bucky placed his forehead on yours, closing the distance even further. You felt yourself becoming flustered and moved your head to rest on his shoulder instead. He moved your body so it was flush against his. "I could do this forever," he murmured into your hair. "How have I been missing out this long?" 

You were sure he was talking to himself at this point but you couldn't help yourself, "well... if you hadn't screwed all those other girls-" 

You were cut off by his hands moving to tickle your waist, his laugh mixing with yours as you tried to get away. "No, you're not going anywhere," he tried to grab you again but you were too quick. 

"Just watch me, Barnes!" You shouted, slipping away into the crowd. Bucky shook his head at you, pausing for a second to watch your figure disappear. 

“Why did I wait so long?” He whispered to himself, before running into the crowd after you.

[slowly-writing]

Part of the Family: Part 3

Avengers x Kid!Reader

Part 1    Part 4

Word Count: 2850

“Y/n? You almost ready?” Steve calls and you run towards the common room, hoping as you try to put on your right shoe.

“I’m ready,” you say back as you get there, sitting down quickly to tie your shoes. The whole team was taking you to the movies today. The new Justice League movie has come out and you convinced them it would be fun to go. Plus you had never been to a movie theater before, so they caved pretty quickly.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go put on some long pants, or at least roll your sleeves down. It can get cold in movie theaters,” Natasha explained, crouching down in front of you.

“I’ll be okay,” you said quietly, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t get very cold...because of, uh...the serum.”

“Steve’s got jeans and a jacket on kiddo, you don’t have to act tough,” Tony teases and you frown.

“They don’t fit anymore. They all got too short,” you say and Natasha takes your hand.

“Well, that’s okay. We can get you some new ones, I know you’re growing super fast,” she says, trying to coax a smile out of you. She frowns when you just continue to stare at the floor. “Y/n, why didn’t you want us to know?”

“Because I don’t want you to have to buy me more. You just bought me clothes a few months ago,” you say softly and they all exchange sad looks.

“Y/n,” Steve says crouching next to Natasha, “all kids need new clothes sometimes. It’s part of growing up. And sure, you grow a little faster than everyone else, but you can’t help that.”

“So I can get new clothes?”

“Yes y/n, we’ll get you some new clothes. You don’t have to be afraid to ask us for what you need, okay? Remember when I told you we were a family? I meant that,” Natasha says and you smile.

“Until then, you can wear my sweatshirt, it’s super warm,” Steve says, pulling his hoodie over his head and helping you put it on.

“Steve, she’s drowning in that thing,” Tony says and you laugh playing with the sleeves that are much too long.

“I know, it’s adorable,” Steve says and you smile up at him.

“Thank you, Steve.”

“Anytime, kiddo. Are you ready now?” He asks and you nod trying to stand up only to immediately trip over the sleeves of the jacket.

“Here let me help you,” Natasha says, taking your arms and rolling up the sleeves, “there we go, I knew you had hands hidden in there somewhere,” she teases and you giggle as she helps you up.

“Thanks, Natasha!”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

xxxxx

“I’m just saying, our team is way cooler,” Tony says walking out of the movie theater.

“But the Flash can run so fast! Isn’t that cool!” You ask and he rolls his eyes.

“Steve can run fast too,” he says and you shake your head.

“But it’s not a superpower!” You argue, “we can still see him when he runs. The flash goes so fast he disappears. Steve is like Superman! Cause he can do a bunch of stuff! And that’s cooler than the flash. And you can be Batman because you have all the cool stuff like he does! And Natasha is like Wonder Woman, cause she’s super tough and she’s the only girl!” You say, getting really excited.

“What about me and Bruce? Do we get to be on the team too?” Clint asks and you scrunch your face up in thought.

“You can be cyborg because he blows things up and you have arrows that blow things up and Bruce can be aquaman because they’re both really strong and they’re both green!” You say proudly causing them all to chuckle.

“That’s some pretty good analysis there, kiddo,” Steve says and you smile up at him.

“Look it’s the Avengers!”  You hear somebody yell and your eyes get wide as you move to stand behind Steve.

“Take her and go,” Natasha says quietly and Steve pulls your hood over your head before picking you up and walking towards the exit. He holds you tight as you bury your face in his neck. They all know that they can’t keep you a secret forever, but they try to secure your identity as well as they can. You also weren’t very comfortable in public, so you gladly accepted the excuse to leave.

“Who was that?” You whisper and Steve rubs your back softly, trying to calm you down.

“I’m sure it was nobody. Somebody probably just recognized us and got excited,” he explains and you nod.

“Can we go home now?” you say softly and he nods, seeing the others exit the building. He can tell by the looks on their faces that there wasn’t any trouble.

“Yeah, y/n. We’re going home now.”

xxxxxx

In the months that you lived in the tower Natasha and Steve had quickly taken on the parental roles in your life. You looked up to both of them and loved how much they helped you with whatever you needed. You had begun thinking of them as your parents. They did everything parents were supposed to do, and they were better than any parents you have ever had. Steve was the only one who knew how it felt to have the serum in your system and Natasha was a much needed female role model. In a tower surrounded by boys it was nice to have her.

“I can do more,” you told Steve as you were training.

“Y/n, I’m not sure. There’s already a lot of weight on the bar,” Steve says and you roll your eyes.

“You’re just afraid I’m gonna beat your record,” you taunt and Natasha looks over at the two of you.

“Y/n, honey, there’s already almost 400 pounds on that bar. I know you have the serum but we don’t want you to overdo it,” she says and you roll your eyes again.

“Come on, mom! I’ve been training for almost a year! I can do it!” They both pause and you look between them, tilting your head at the surprised looks on their faces, “what?”

“You… you just called me mom,” Natasha says, her face expressionless and your eyes go wide.

“I-I’m sorry” you stutter and that snaps Natasha out of it.

“Hey, it’s okay. Do you think of me as a parent, sweetheart?” she asks walking over to you and you shrug.

“I mean that’s kind of what you guys are, right? I never had real parents before but when I imagined it, it was always like this…” you trail off, looking between Natasha and Steve.

“You think of me as your Dad?” Steve asks and you look at the ground.

“Yeah, is that okay?” you say and he walks over grabbing your chin to look at you.

“Of course it is,” he says pulling you into his arms. Before you can react you’re trapped between Natasha and Steve in the tightest hug of your life.

“You’re squishing me!” you yell and they both laugh, letting you go. “Now, about adding more weight?”

“No.” they both say in unison and you groan.

“I’m starting to rethink this whole parents thing.”

xxxxx

Before long your 13th birthday was approaching.  You didn’t think much of it, you had never really celebrated your birthday before, but you were excited to be a teenager. It seemed so cool and like such a grown up age.

You groaned as someone shook your shoulder and rolled over.

“C’mon y/n, time to get up,” you heard Natasha’s voice and pulled the comforter over your head.

“No, it’s Sunday. We don’t train on Sundays, mom” you mumble, your voice muffled by the blankets over your head.

“First day as a teenager and you’ve already got the attitude. Tell me, how long until you hate me and Steve, huh?” she teases and you pulled the blankets back.

“You remembered?” you ask, rubbing your eyes and your mom laughs.

“Of course I did, sweetheart. Now come on, it’s time for breakfast,” she says and you nod.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” you say and Natasha smiles before heading towards your door.

“Oh, and y/n?” she says poking her head back in, “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks, mom,” you say with a smile.

“Happy Birthday!” everyone yells as you walk into the kitchen. You smile at the ground as your cheeks get red.

“Happy Birthday, doll,” Steve says picking you up and spinning you in a circle.

“Daaaadddd,” you groan and he laughs.

“Hey, how come he gets to be ‘dad’?” Tony asks and you roll your eyes.

“Because he doesn’t let me bust my face open with wrenches,” you tease back and he groans.

“It was one time! I apologized!” Tony argues and you laugh, looking up at your dad who has his arm around you.

“You kinda did straight up admit I’m your favorite with that one,” He says with a cocky grin and you glare.

“Who says mom isn’t my favorite?” you ask and he steps back, putting a hand over his heart.

“That’s my girl,” Nat says, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. You laugh at the fact that she can’t reach the top of your head anymore. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m almost taller than you,” you say proudly and she rolls her eyes.

“She is pretty short, huh?” Steve asks.

“Yeah!” You agree with a grin.

“Watch it, kid. It’s not too late to take back your presents,” Natasha says and the smile falls from your face.

“You guys got me presents?” You ask, tilting your head to the side in the childlike way that reminded them all how young you really were.

“Of course we did, Cap Jr.” Tony says, “that’s what you do on birthdays. Especially for kids.”

“I never got a birthday present before,” you say softly and you see your dad’s eyes narrow.

“I’m gonna kill Fury for leaving her there so long,” he grits out and you look at him.

“He didn’t need me yet. I wasn’t useful so he had no reason to get me,” you say with a shrug and Natasha pulls you into her arms.

“Your happiness doesn’t depend on what you can do for others, y/n. Even if you never go on a mission, you still deserve to be happy,” she says and you smile.

“But I’m gonna get to go on a mission one day, right?” you ask and everyone laughs.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Steve says and you narrow your eyes.

“You didn’t answer the question, dad.”

“Do you wanna argue, or do you want pancakes?” he raises an eyebrow and you sigh.

“Fine. But this isn’t over!”

xxxxx

“Okay, you wanna open your presents now?” Tony asks and you grin, nodding.

“Me first!” Clint calls and you laugh as he hands you a wrapped box. You turn it over in your hands to find where it’s taped and start carefully removing the paper.

“What are you doing kid?” Tony asks and you look at him confused.

“I’m unwrapping it.” You say, “Mom, am I doing it wrong?” you ask quietly, looking to her for clarification.

“You don’t have to save the paper, sweetie,” she explains softly, “ripping it is half the fun.”

You look at the box and tentatively rip a strip before looking back to your mom. She smiles and nods, encouraging you to go on. You rip the rest of it smiling as you set the paper aside. You look down at the headphones and ipod and grin.

“They’re completely automated and I can help you upload any music you want. The headphones are noise cancelling so you can drown out all us annoying old people,” Clint teases, “but seriously, we should probably get her around some people her own age.”

“Thanks Clint!” you say and he smiles and nods to you.

“Okay, my turn. Time for a field trip,” Tony says, taking your hand and leading you to the elevator, everyone else follows behind curiously. When you get off the elevator you see a dirt bike with a bow on top.

“Is that for me?” You stare in disbelief.

“It is, you ever ridden one before?” he asks and you shake your head.

“I don’t even know how to ride a bicycle,” you say, eyes still wide and Tony laughs.

“I’ve got some land upstate. We can all go up there one day so you can learn, how does that sound?”

“Awesome! Thank you!” you say wrapping your arms around his neck and he laughs.

“Did you seriously buy a 13 year old a motorcycle?” Natasha asks, her anger clear in her voice.

“C’mon mom, I know you ride one!” you argue and she sighs.

“I know how to ride, sweetheart. They’re dangerous, you could get hurt.” she says and you give her your best puppy dog eyes.

“Please? You could teach me! And are we even sure I can get hurt anymore? I heard the story about the time dad jumped out of the plane without a parachute!” you look at Steve for help and he raises his hands in surrender.

“Nope. I’m staying out of this one, kiddo,” he says and you sigh, turning back to Natasha.

“Please, mom? I promise I’ll be careful,” you beg and she sighs, looking over your shoulder at Tony.

“That thing better come with a helmet, Stark,” she says and you grin.

“Thanks, mom!”

“Okay I’m up! My gift’s down here too,” Bruce says grabbing a flat box. He hands it to you and you sit on the floor to unwarp in. When you get the paper off you see a copy of your dad’s shield with your mom’s symbol replacing the star in the center. You look up at Bruce with tears in your eyes and he smiles.

“It’s for when you start going on missions. I know how much you love your dad’s shield, so I thought you’d like one that represented both of them.” You set it to the side before tackling him into a hug.

“Thank you,” you whisper and he nods with a smile. You let go, picking up the shield and running to your parents. “Mom! Dad! Look, isn’t it cool!”

“It is, darling,” your dad says and you smile up at them.

“I can be just like you guys now!” You say and they both chuckle.

“Okay, back upstairs. We have one more gift for you,” Natasha says and you smile at her as you all head back up to the kitchen. When you get there you sit next to Natasha with Steve on her other side. You smile at them as everyone sits down.

“So, your dad and I weren’t too sure what to get you for your birthday, and these guys seem to have gotten you everything you could possibly want,” she gestures to the three men sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“Hey, you two get to be parents, we get to be cool uncles!” Tony defends and you giggle, looking back to your parents.

“Anyway,” Steve continues, leaning around Natasha so you can see him. “This is from your mom and I.”

He hands you a small box and when you grab it, it’s light as a feather and you furrow your brow, “What is it?”

“Open it and find out,” Steve urges, and you look to Natasha who nods at you.

You rip open the paper and take the lid of the box. There’s a stack of papers inside and you take them out setting the box on the empty seat next to you.You tilt your head to the side as you look at the papers. There’s a bunch of lines with your name and other information written on it. You look at the top and see the words ‘adoption form’ at the top. Your head snaps up to your parents who are waiting for you to say something.

“You wanna adopt me?” You ask softly and they both nod, huge grins on their faces. Your jaw drops as tears fill your eyes. Before they can say anything you throw yourself at them, sobbing as you wrap an arm around both of them.

“Is that a yes?” your mom asks and you nod against her shoulder, before pulling back.

“You’re really gonna be my mom and dad?” You ask and they nod.

“If that’s what you want, sweetheart,” your mom says and you smile.

“Yes! I love you guys!” you say latching onto them again. They both pause. You had never told them you loved them before.

“We love you too, doll,” Steve says and you can practically hear his smile.

“So much, y/n,” your mom says and you pull back to grin at them both again.

“That’s gonna make you all famous,” Tony says putting his phone away, having filmed the whole thing.

“They’re already famous,” you argue and he rolls his eyes.

“Whatever, Mini Widow.”

[honeywithblueberries]

Jumpstart Chapter 3

This is getting a lot of my attention. I really have no clue what started this Jack/Skye kick, but someone tell Kulkum we’re ready for another chapter of Savage Dark. I think that will cure my obsession :).

…………………………………..

The music was soft and lights dim, a romantic hue being cast over the reception hall. The Arctic todd clinked his scotch glass with his wife’s wine glass before turning back to the dance floor. The smile he had given his wife melted and became slightly sad and disappointed when he turned his blue eyes towards the dance floor. There, his little vixen was wrapped in the arms of the last mammal he would have chosen for her. And he had given it several shots throughout the years.

Daniel Frost remembered the day his nine year old daughter had brought her new friend over after school. At first he felt pride. His daughter had not only taken his words to heart but had gone out her way to unalienate the new kit in her class. He had called into work for the day to catch up on house repairs, and was finishing up repainting the kitchen when Skye came home from school with Jack. Standing at the sink, rinsing the paint roller, his ears perked at the sound of the door opening. A glance at the clock and he figured who it could be.

“Welcome home, sweetie! I’m in the kitchen!” 

He set the roller aside to scrub his paws, only to pause at the sound of two sets of footsteps. Mixed with an unfamiliar male scent, his daddy instincts kicked in. Turning around, he was greeted by his Skye and an unfamiliar rabbit kit. The most ridiculous, little rabbit kit he had ever seen. 

“Hi, Daddy!” greeted his little vixen happily. She put an arm around the small buck, who looked up at him with a shy smile, and gestured between the two males. “This is my friend Jack! He’s in my class. Jack, this is my dad.”

With eyes that took up most of his face and ears that were nearly as big as he was, the rabbit took a breath and stepped forward. Daniel blinked down at him and his tiny, outstretched paw. Combined with the dark stripes framing his face and running down his arms, it was a lot to take in. Fortunately, his astonishment lasted only a mere moment before he shook it off to accept the pawshake.

Such a formal, serious, weird little thing, he thought.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jack,” he said out loud, with a smile. Jack smiled back, his large teeth distracting him for a moment. 

“Pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Frost.” 

Fantastic manners, though.

“Can Jack stay over for a while?” Skye asked, clasping her paws together in a pleading manner. “Please? I don’t have any activities today and Jack said he can help me with my math homework.”

“And I could really use Skye’s help with our vocabulary homework.”  

Both kits looked up at him, Skye’s big blue eyes combined with Jack’s hitting him in a very unfair manner. Daniel looked from one to the other and saw no harm in saying:

“Sure! Go get started on your homework and I’ll get a snack ready for you two.” 

Watching with bemusement as they grinned and darted to the living room, he thought about what an odd pair they made. Giving a final shake of his head, he chuckled, happy that his daughter had made a new friend. And knowing she was willing to risk her reputation to stick up for others made him proud as hell. The few times he had met that skunk had been less than pleasant, so he wouldn’t be sad if she was out of his daughter’s friend circle. But kids changed a lot as they grew up, so who knew how long a friendship with a bunny buck would last.

“I give it a month, tops,” he muttered with a smile. 

Cutting up some veggies and making a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, he set everything onto plates just as the door opened again. 

“Hi, Honey! Hi, Jenny Benny!” 

His wife called back a greeting, followed by his youngest and echoed by Skye from the living room. Both plates were gathered up while his ears picked up sounds of his daughter introducing Jack to her mother and little sister. Daniel was secretly glad Marie was staying the night at her friend's house. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself from making snarky comments. He passed his wife on the way to the living room, the vixen giving him an odd look as she went by. It confused him for a moment until the reason became all too clear. 

Skye and Jack were set up at the coffee table, workbooks, papers, and pencils spread out. Jack stood over Skye, who had remained seated, and explained the math problem to her, totally and completely in his daughter’s space. The young vixen was happily unbothered by it. She elbowed him, her own father, away on a regular basis due to her love of space. Jenny sat on the other side of the table with her own little workbooks (courtesy of the first grade), watching her sister and this new… friend with stunned curiosity. Daniel was immediately put off by how close the pair were but kept his mouth shut.

“Here you go, you two.” He set the plates down in front of them and received a pair of smiles and thank yous in return. Unease filled him when his daughter passed Jack half of one sandwich before taking the other.

Skye NEVER shares food! 

“I’ll bring one out for you, too, Jenny Benny,” he assured his youngest, his eyes still on the odd pair, now working and munching. 

“She can have this one, Daddy,” Skye offered, looking over at Jack, who smiled at the younger vixen and passed her the other plate. To Daniel’s astonishment, Jenny blushed and giggled, accepting it with a shy smile at the rabbit buck.

“Ooookay,” Daniel backed away slowly as the kits settled into their homework and snacks. He finally turned away when he reached the kitchen just as his wife Abigail was tying an apron on.

“Perfect timing,” she began with a smile, scooping up another and throwing it at him. “I need someone to peel the veggies.”

He caught it without a word, amazed at how undisturbed his wife was. All he could was gape as she started about the kitchen to make dinner. She paused, though, once she realized he was still staring at her in disbelief. 

“What?” she asked with concern.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked. Glancing towards the living room, he got closer and lowered his voice. “What the hell is going on out there?”

Abby’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?” His paws gestured towards the room, approximately where Jack and Skye were working. She snorted in amusement. “Danny, come on. They’re kits. We raised a daughter who is so sweet and charming, she can put a bunny at ease. And let me tell you now, that kit looks like he needs some good friends.”

“And a hell of a personality,” Danny muttered under his breath. Abby snorted and gave him a light slap while chuckling. 

“Just give it time,” his wife assured. “Kits outgrow friends all the time. Jack only recently transferred to this school and he just needs to break out of his shell. Skye’s great at helping others fit in! Once he finds his place in school, he and Skye will go their separate ways. Trust me! I’ll be very surprised if they’re still talking this time next year.”

4 YEARS LATER

“I can’t believe you’re not in ANY of my classes!” Skye stared down in disbelief at Jack’s school schedule. They sat in Skye’s family kitchen, tucked away in the bay window seat, the pair looking properly discouraged. Jack shook his head at Skye’s schedule in his paws.

“This is so unfair. Our first year of high school and they expect us to not be together? We even have different lunch hours! That’s sick!” Skye nodded in agreement before looking up when Jack snapped his fingers decisively. “I think I can get Trent to change it for me.” Skye beamed at him hopefully and Jack grinned at her. “He owes me a favor after I covered him on Mom’s birthday present. Mom would have killed him if she found out how much he spent on it!”

“She looked so good in that dress, though.” Skye scooted closer to him and put the schedules together. “I might be able to convince my parents to fix mine, too!” Her chin moved to rest on his shoulder as the pair debated and argued and negotiated on how things could be rearranged. 

Daniel sat at the breakfast bar with a coffee in paw and a plate of fresh eggs and toast in front of him, his eyes glued on the duo. Jack was a frequent visitor in the mornings and afternoons, whereas Skye was usually found at his house on the weekends. Both felt Jack’s was too crowded to spend vast quantities of time at. Marie sat next to Danny, phone to her ear, jabbering away and oblivious to the resigned look her father had. Abby came to stand beside him, sipping from her own cup and gazing at the pair with her own brand of disbelief. 

“She can’t possibly think we’re going to change her schedule to fit her friend in,” he whispered to her. He met her eyes, hers just as troubled as his. “Can she?”

They exchanged shrugs before looking over at them again. 

“You both are in some serious denial,” came the voice of their youngest.

Jenny had entered the kitchen and bounced over to the stove to help herself to breakfast, Marie tuning in to briefly nod her head in agreement before jabbering away again. Everyone looked over to the pair when they started laughing with each other. Marie pulled the phone from her ear and pressed it to her chest to address her parents.

“Those two,” she pointed one perfectly manicured claw between Skye and Jack, who were grinning at each other, “are going to be together forever.”

“Get used to it,” confirmed Jenny as she sat on the remaining stool with her food.

Danny and Abby looked back at their daughter and her friend. 

Skye had blossomed- as Danny knew she would- getting taller and more willowy like her mother, and just as beautiful. She had those sparkling eyes that could melt even the coldest heart and a smile that welcomed anyone and everyone. Jack, however, had remained small and out of proportion. His ears and front teeth were still comically too big, and he had barely grown at all. 

Until that summer.

One moment, he was just the nerdy, little bunny that his daughter insisted on spending her time with. The next, he was only slightly shorter than Skye, his mouth growing around his teeth and ears growing into the rest of him. His face, once dominated by his eyes and stripes, now began to wear them as a compliment to the rest of his features. He still had the air of an awkward teen (his body had grown longer, leaving him lanky in the arms and legs, with no real muscle structure to compliment it, yet), but the todd knew it wouldn’t last forever. 

It was only a small comfort that Skye hadn’t noticed yet.

4 YEARS LATER

Jack balanced a stack of boxes as he followed Danny down the hall. Young students of all species rushed past them, most with parents trailing behind. Around them, joy and anxiety circling the first year of college radiated. It was an emotional day for everyone. Especially parents who were going to be apart from their babies for the first time ever.

“In here, guys!” Skye’s voice called out. 

Both males turned into the dorm room, greeted by Skye, who was setting up her side of the room with her mother. Abby smiled at them as she reached for the boxes her husband was carrying, though it became an eyeroll when her daughter ignored her father’s outstretched arms to approach Jack instead, relieving him of the boxes. The two teens smiled happily at each other while she set the stack on the floor next to them and embraced her friend. Jack closed his eyes and hugged her back fiercely. 

“Thank you so much for helping, Jackie,” she muttered.

“I hate that name,” he protested with a sad smile. “And don’t thank me too much. You’re helping me move next weekend, remember.”

Skye loosened her grip and Danny smiled expectantly, re-raising his arms to accept a hug from her. But his face fell when she just held Jack at arms length and smiled at him sadly.

“But this is the first time we’re not going to have any classes together.” She sniffled and blinked away tears. “Or live next to each other!”

 Jack’s eyes became misty as Danny and Abby rolled theirs. 

“I know,” he choked out. “But if you start crying, then I’m going to cry, and if I start crying, you’re going to tell Josie and then I owe her thirty bucks and I don’t have that kind of money, Skye!”

She gave a small, watery laugh and hiccup as she tried to compose herself. “I would say, ‘I would never’, but you know me too well.”

He laughed, too, pulling her back in for another hug. It was a long one, one that the parents were going to interrupt before they finally broke apart and wiped away their tears. 

“Okay,” began Jack, backing away with a sad smile. “Like a band-aid!” He gave her a wave and smile, before seeming to realize Danny and Abby were still there. His ears tinged pink but he still gave them a parting farewell. “Great seeing you two, Mr. and Mrs. Frost.” His eyes moved back to Skye. He held his paw up to his ear in a phone sign. “Call me later?”

“Definitely,” she assured with a nod. Jack grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up before turning to leave. He rushed out the door, past a pair of bunny does who gave him interested looks he didn’t notice. Skye did, however, and glowered at them unconsciously until they passed by; only then did she remember her parents were still there.

“Thank you, guys.” With tears still in her eyes, she moved to hug her mother and father. 

“Of course, sweetheart,” her mother mumbled, burying her nose into her daughter’s head fur. 

She still has that new baby smell, Abby thought sadly.

“Anything for you, princess,” Danny said gruffly. He squeezed a bit tighter and looked to where Jack had vanished. “And don’t forget-” Skye pulled away to look up at her father expectantly. “College is not just about grades and academics. It’s about meeting new mammals. Experiencing different cultures. Making new friends.” Skye blinked up at him. “Meeting new mammals.” He grinned down at her only to be gifted with a look of confusion from Skye and a small kick from Abby.

“Ooookay then…” his daughter said, backing away. 

“Okay then!” Abby pulled away and clapped her paws together. She gave her daughter a final smile and hooked her arm through Danny’s. “We love you. Please be safe and call us if you need us.”

After Skye agreed, the Frosts gave her a final goodbye and left. The door closed behind them and they began the walk back to the car.

“This is the year, right?” asked Danny with a hint of worry.

Abby simply smiled and shook her head. “Nope.”

He looked down in alarm at her. “What makes you say that? It’s college! She’s bound to meet a TON of new mammals.”

“And she will,” Abby agreed. Her eyes looked up at Danny. “But Marie was right.” She sighed heavily. “Those two will be together forever.”

Danny groaned. 

“That’s what I thought.”

5 YEARS LATER

“I think I claimed that apartment first,” Skye argued with a grin. Jack shook his head in disagreement. This was their latest ‘argument’.

“Considering I viewed the apartment first,” he countered, grinning at her eye roll and playful slap to his arm, “and have already signed the paperwork, I get first dibs.” 

Skye leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Danny tried to not growl at their closeness, opting instead to drink deeply from the glass in his paw. Abby smiled at her husband and refilled his wine when he was done. The todd smiled his thanks before turning away from his middle child, towards his oldest in her wedding dress, greeting tables with her new husband. The handsome todd was positively radiating happiness, but the newlywed’s love for each other seemed to be dimmed by the pair next to him.

When Marie had sent out her wedding invites, the Frosts were eagerly hoping their middle daughter would find a proper date. But neither were surprised when Marie paw delivered Skye’s invite on a day Jack was joining them for breakfast and announced she expected both to show up. Skye was a bridesmaid and Jack a groomsmale, Sam (Marie’s fiance) having been a contractor who had worked with him at Jack’s lab. The bunny was the reason the couple had met. Neither Marie nor Sam had thought twice about including them on the same invite. 

And Jack and Skye hadn’t thought twice about it either.

Danny had pretended to be resigned to the fact that his Skye and Jack were a permanent feature the day he dropped her off at college. But that was so it made it more natural to introduce her to any and every todd he met, any chance he got. A few times, she had even agreed to a meal with one or two, which made him optimistic. Only for the follow up to disappoint every time. Her relationship with the rabbit confused him, to say the least. They were always together, they carried each other’s scents, practically shared living spaces, yet had never announced their relationship to their families. 

As far as Danny knew, Jack’s parents had not spoken to him about his perpetual bachelorhood. Nor about his relationship with his daughter. Danny got the impression they didn’t care one way or the other and the times they had gotten together with the Eairs-Savage clan, the rabbit couple only seemed to encourage it. As his fellow bunnies were settling down, Jack stayed by Skye’s side. Danny had heard he had a doe from time to time (which made the todd confusingly upset), but nothing that had been enough to derail his relationship with his daughter.

With every passing year, they’re relationship grew stronger.

And then, the day Daniel Frost had been fearing since Skye first brought him home at nine years old, when Skye showed up with Jack for dinner at their house. That was not an unusual occurrence. But his arm around her shoulders and her paw on his leg combined with the occasional nuzzle, elevated things to a whole new level.

After an enjoyable meal filled with the usual laughter and chatter, it was more than obvious they had finally transcended ‘just friends’. Daniel thought the news about Officers Hopps and Wilde getting married may have been the reason behind it. Which was a pity, because Danny remembered Nick Wilde from when he was in high school and had hoped to set Skye up, somehow. Marie, her husband, and their two kits had been visiting, and Jenny had come up from graduate school with her new partner to join them. As always, Jack charmed the vixens, bonded with Sam, and doted on the kits. But this time, Skye looked on with a naked look of love.

He could handle Jenny coming home with a vixen and declaring her love for her. His tongue was held when Marie had told him they were homeschooling their children and moving to the country for a more simple life. It was not his life they were living, after all. He even grinned and bared it when his wife decided to rent out their free rooms to travelers for extra cash. 

But he was entirely unprepared for his daughter, his little genius and prodigy, to lean into the rabbit buck she had spent the last twenty five with and kiss him. She kissed his lips and he returned it with equal love and devotion. A small quiet fell over the dinner table. Considering this was the first time either had been intimately demonstrative of their relationship, it was understandable. 

“I love you,” Skye told him, thumbing away a smudge of lip gloss from his bottom lip. Jack’s blue eyes drank in every detail of her face.

“I love you, too.” She beamed at him before realizing they had captured the family’s attention. Together, they blushed and laughed, the night carrying on after a moment.

Later, after the plates had been cleared and leftovers stored away, the females had branched away to visit with each other, leaving Daniel with Sam and Jack. The trio moved into the living room, Danny trying to drag out the boring conversation he was trapped in with Michael to avoid Jack’s questioning gaze in his direction. The buck sat at the piano and played a bit while waiting for an opening to jump in. It was to the older todd’s dismay that his son-in-law excused himself for the restroom, leaving him alone with the bunny for the first time since he was a child.

Jack continued to play the melody he had chosen, looking over to Danny with a grin.

“This is our favorite song to play together,” he explained. His finger’s moved across the keys with skill and grace. “Skye loves this part, right here,” he smiled and closed his eyes as the complicated notes echoed around them. The buck smiled, his eyes still closed. “I’ve been practicing for years and she can still play circles around me.” His eyes opened as the piece started to wind down. But the smile remained. “She’s way too good for me. But…” He played the final notes, pausing his fingers on the keys to let the sound play out. Once it faded, he lifted his paws and smiled again at the todd in his chair.

“I guess I’m a pretty lucky guy.”

Jack gulped and stood from his seat. He strode over to where Danny sat, the todd’s jaw set and eyes narrowed with suspicion. His blue eyes looked up at the handsome, successful buck in front of him, remembering the odd, almost ugly little kit he had once been, and braced himself.

“Mr.Frost,” Jack started after clearing his throat. “I love your daughter. I think I’ve loved her ever since the day I met her. She’s the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing, smartest mammal I have ever known. And I don’t want to spend another moment without her knowing I’m hers.” Jack shrugged. “For the rest of my life. I was hoping you would give me your blessing to ask her to marry me.”

Daniel Frost took a sip of his drink to gather his thoughts. 

“No,” he said simply.

The way it was said, without hesitation or thought, had the buck blinking in response, obviously thrown by his answer. Jack opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off.

“My daughter can do better than you, Jack,” Daniel continued, his lips becoming more pursed with every sip of his drink. “And I’m happy to bide my time waiting for that day to come.” With a grin, he reached down to release the footstool on the recliner and gave a satisfied sigh when he reclined back and settled in. “I know tons of todds who would be a better match for her.” He gave the rabbit a smug look and shrugged. “It’s just a matter of time until she meets someone better.” A wink was tipped to Jack over the rim of his glass. “So, don’t get too comfortable, Stripes.”

The younger male gave him a look of disbelief before opening his mouth to argue.

“Asking you is just a formality.”

Both males jumped and looked over to the living room entryway. Skye stood, looking at her father with angry eyes. Behind her, Abby gave her husband a sympathetic look. Danny lowered the footrest and stood from his seat.

“Now, sweetheart,” he started, the paw not holding his drink out stretched, “I’m just looking out for you. You’re young, brilliant, and beautiful. Do you really want to waste your best years with a rabbit?” Her eyes widened at him but her father wasn’t done. “What about kits? Do you think you’d be able to start a family with him?” He saw Jack’s expression fall out of the corner of his eye and fought off the guilt. “I won’t let you throw your life away for someone who won’t be able to give you the life you deserve. And you deserve a husband who can provide for you and give you children and with whom you can grow old with.”

Skye’s eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded before turning her gaze to Jack. Jack’s own tears fell freely as his paws fiddled with the box in his paws. Daniel hadn’t noticed him pulling it from his pocket when he stood from the piano.

“If we gross you out so badly, Dad, you may want to look away.” Skye stepped closer to Jack and grinned, still teary eyed.

“Jack,” she got down on one knee and took his free paw, pulling her own ring box from her jean’s pocket, “I love you, so, so much. And the idea of not being yours for the rest of our lives sucks.” Both mammals laughed, Jack gripping her paw and bending to kiss it. “You’re my best friend, my confidant, my partner.” She gently tugged her paw free to open her ring box, Jack sob laughing at the sight of the silver ring hidden inside. It was removed and his left paw taken up for the ring to be slipped onto his finger. “ Jack Edmond Savage, love of my life. Will you marry me?”

Danny’s jaw dropped and his eyes went to his daughter on her knee, to his family watching with happy astonishment from the hall. Jack laughed through his tears of happiness and nodded, joining her on his own knees. His ring box was opened, Skye gifting him with a gasp of joy at the tasteful, vintage ring inside. He took her paw again and slipped it onto her finger with a smile.

“Yes, Skye Abigail Frost,” they exchanged looks of pure love, paws now clasped together, “I will marry you.”

There was no further discussion, Daniel realizing there was nothing he could do but sit with his mouth agape as his daughter embraced her new fiance. His wife, daughters, and their partners impatiently waited for the chance to congratulate the couple. 

Which brought him to this moment. 

The second moment he had been dreading since the day his little vixen brought that odd, awkward, unfortunate looking little rabbit kit home. 

His daughter was marrying a rabbit. 

He walked her down the aisle to the buck, whose eyes were alight with happiness at the sight of his bride. And Danny knew he was wrong. He wasn’t happy about it, but as he reluctantly released his daughter’s paw and stepped aside for Jack, he knew their lives were made for this moment. The disaster he had hoped for, never happened. They were together, for richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. It only made Skye and Jack’s bond stronger. Danny was used to it by Christmastime, when his wife opened the door to the happy couple. In his opinion, their relationship had desensitized himself from a lot of things life threw at him.

But not the positive pregnancy test the couple had gifted them for the holiday.

[blackenedwhite97]

Birthday Gifts-Reader x Aizawa [BNHA] {NSFW}

Request:

 “Idk if your requests are open or anything but can I get a (really detailed lmao) Aizawa oneshot? It's the reader's birthday and to celebrate it they go out with their friends (Aizawa, Mic, Midnight, those peeps) and they get drunk with Aizawa? Then Aizawa takes them to his house and they have a heated, drunken makeout session and end up doing it? And they wake up sober and all and they just look at eachother like 👀 Please and thank you (you can just delete this if you don't wanna write it lol)”

This post includes: , sexual content (so many), cursing, alcohol use and unprotected sex.

As usual I overwrote! Use the “keep reading” page breaks as your guide, the smut and fun times will be nested in between breaks for easy access to anyone who just wants a one way ticket, no lay overs, to horn town.

Author’s note: Requests are super cool and fuel me when I’m brain dead. If you want something sexy/ steamy please keep the character request over 18+ and keep it (fantasies/ role play aside) groovy and consensual.

Okay, birthday sex now.

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 You could hear Midnight’s heals echoing down through the halls of your apartment, the thin walls couldn’t defend against her unstoppable strut. You looked yourself over in the full-length mirror you’d hung next to the coat rack, smoothing out your mesh shirt. You had tried your best to dress up, you had even rooted through your closet until you had found your good jeans. If you were honest with yourself, you were a full-time teacher and a full-time pro-hero, most social events usually demanded your hero costume, or your agency provided appropriate formal wear.

In recent years your wardrobe had thinned out considerably, any and all clubbing clothes were long gone or buried under the pile of ruined costume pieces you refused to clean out from your closet. The black mesh shirt you were wearing was borrowed, embarrassingly enough, from your niece who also had to supply the black tank top under it. You had never felt so desperate for clothes than when your niece had to start lending you clothes for your own birthday party. The one silver lining was seeing the scandalized look on your brother’s face when he saw what you had grabbed from her closet.

The front door swung open, Midnight’s spare key dangling in the lock.

“You know you can knock if I’m home.” You took stock of the mass of bags hanging from her arms.

She paused and looked you up and down. “A for effort but I have something for you to wear.”

You looked down at yourself then back at her. You had thought the mesh shirt was bordering on scandalous but compared to Midnight’s shimmering cut out dress you definitely looked like your sixteen-year-old niece had dressed you.

“But,” You gestured to your torso dramatically. “I did the mesh thing! That’s not hot?”

Midnight laughed and dropped one arm of bags unceremoniously on the ground.  She scurried around you towards the kitchen pulling out a very luxurious looking bottle of champagne. “It’s your birthday and you aren’t showing leg.”

Since becoming friends with Midnight you had found yourself being spoiled left and right by her. She enjoyed the finer things in life, fine clothes, good drink and gourmet food. She also enjoyed good company, which she reminded you daily that you fit that bill. It was nice, when it wasn’t overwhelming.

“Pink bag.” She said and pointed to the pile of bags on the floor. “I’m getting you laid tonight.”

Your mind tried to picture the dress and all you could come up with was different iterations of Midnight’s hero costume. While you adored Midnight and her style and confidence, it wasn’t quite you. Aside from that the bag was embellished with the logo of a local high-end boutique. Expensive. “How much-”

“It’s a birthday present.” She cut you off.

“Midnight I can’t take-” you tried again.

“Don’t refuse a gift,” the bottle of the champagne rocketed up and dented your low ceiling. “it’s rude.”

You pointed to the ceiling. “That’s rude.”

“Just go put it on!” she waved you off as she began a fruitless search for champagne flutes that you surely didn’t own.

You scoped up the bag and looked at your jean clad legs longingly, you could do so much in jeans and so little in a dress (without revealing yourself).  You peaked inside, a neatly folded mound of matt black fabric peeking through the decorative tissue paper. At least it’s not shiny.

As you headed to your room Midnight called after you. “The boys are coming here and we’re all splitting the cab there!”

Your heart jumped in your chest. The boys. Plural. Did that include- no he hates clubs. If he is coming over then that meant that he’d see you in whatever Midnight had selected for you. You grinned to yourself as you stared at the bag on your bed. Sneaky. No wonder she seemed so proud of herself. Although you certainly tried to keep it a secret, Midnight read you like an open book. She noticed how you trailed after him, stared at doors he’d left through.

You lifted the dress from the bag and left it unfold in your hands. It was simple, fitted and clean. You sighed in relief. A small bundle of lace fell out of the bundle to the ground and you looked down red faced to find a black thong on the floor.

“Put everything on!” You could hear the shit eating grin plastered on Midnight’s face.

You huffed and slid off your jeans, staring at the lacey panties with hesitation. Dressed fly up all the time, and you were somewhat of a public figure. But it would be hot to reach up your dress to find those.

Shit.

You swapped your underwear and slid the dress on. You very quickly realized that you’d have to go braless, the plunging neckline wouldn’t allow it. You had to admit, Midnight knew how to dress just about anyone. When she didn’t get overzealous that is. A memory of the sequinned ball gown she tried to convince you to buy last Christmas for Mt. Lady’s party flashed through your mind.  You peaked into the bag, the shoes she’d thrown in were a pair of her own and were far too tall and had far too much ankle snapping capabilities for you. Luckily you had swiped a pair of heels from your agency’s closet, you were the only one with the right size of feet to wear them anyways. They were semi ornate burgundy heels that were tall enough to give you those sculpted calves but not so tall as to lend themselves to causing you serious bodily harm should you take a tumble. 

You looked yourself over in the mirror and liked what you saw, a new confidence washed over you.

“I look hot as hell.” You declared under your breath.You opened your door, ready to show off Midnight’s hard work. 

All confidence drained out of you for a split second when you made eye contact with the Aizawa as he leaned on your counter, a wine glass filled with champagne.

“Uh, H-Hi!” you squeaked. Aizawa looked lost for a moment, probably trying to zone out the energetic conversation Mic and Midnight seemed to be having on the opposite side of the kitchen island from him. He straightened up at the sight of you and you could have sworn a light pink blush attempted to break through across his cheeks. You liked to hope it was you he was blushing at but told yourself he could be a blusher when he drank.

“Hi.” He rubbed his neck awkwardly. “You look…like the birthday girl.”

He blinked long and hard. That sentence was as awkward for him as it was for you. Midnight jumped towards you, arms outstretched and demanded a spin.

“Let me see my work.” She spun you around and leaned in close so no one could hear. “Is it all on?”

You grinned despite yourself. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Her hand patted your ass and she stepped away.

“You don’t have any champagne flutes!” She said, declaring a change in topic.

“I don’t drink champagne, why do I need champagne flutes?” You defended yourself and she slid a bubbly filled wine glass towards you, but also suspiciously close to where Aizawa was leaning. You took the glass and settled for a more comfortable distance from him, not that you didn’t crave getting as close as possible but you thought you should at least wait until you could blame any embarrassing advances on the alcohol.

“Yeah,” Midnight gestures at herself. “but I do!”

“They’re just skinny wine glasses, though.” Aizawa chimed in, his low calm voice hinting at entertained.

“Sho, my man.” Mic reached across the island and clapped a hand on Aizawa’s shoulder. “You are not a man culture.”

Aizawa turned directly to you, his deep eyes boring into yours. Again, you noticed that slight flush of color on his cheeks. “I think you wine glasses are just fine, don’t listen to these two.”

 You grinned at him. “Thank-you, on behalf of me and my wine glasses.”

Midnight jumped, pulling her phone from her ample cleavage. “Cabs here!”

Aizawa began collecting wine glasses but you waved him off. “Don’t worry, I’ll get them in the morning.”

He placed his in the sink before Midnight was practically yanking you and him out the door.

“I need my wallet!” you yelped trying to grab your purse on the way out.

“No, you don’t!  You aren’t paying for anything tonight!” she said wrapping a ridiculously strong arm around your shoulders.

Aizawa shot an arm out grabbing your purse off your coat rack as he was ushered out the door and handed it to you. “Uh, here.”

“Thanks.” You turned to lock the door, but Midnight was already pulling her key from the lock.

“Let’s go!” she sang as she began her unstoppable strut out of the building.

 Midnight had shoved you and Aizawa in the back seat of the SUV, demanded her jacket be given its own seat in the back with you and insisted it could not get wrinkled. She was really good at this. You ended up sitting in the middle seat, having to lean into Aizawa periodically when she would remind you not to lean into her jacket. It was a very nice faux fur jacket, but you knew fur didn’t wrinkle. And you were pretty sure Aizawa knew that too.

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There was a big surprise that was ill timed but all together commendable. When you entered the bar some of the guests were still scurrying into their hiding places, you pretended for everyone’s sake to be very surprised. You even jumped and grabbed onto Aizawa for support, which the thankfully played along with by “catching” you in your shock. You were flooded with drink offers, some by hero’s you’d never even met before. Big parties with lots of booze do that, make everyone want to buy the birthday girl a drink. You gladly accepted a handful of drinks before pawning them off on All Might who had the metabolism of a God and Aizawa who soon enough was drunker than you.

Midnight and Mic were in their element, dancing and singing away. The crowd was so drawn to them that after a while you were able to retreat to a booth in the back and watch them light up the room from afar. You spun your untouched glass of god knows what, watching the melting ice swirl around the nearly fluorescent liquid.

“What’s that?” Aizawa grumbled towards your drink as he slid into the booth next to you. At some point in the night his shirt had become progressively more undone, the sleeves were rolled up and his hair fell from its elastic. He smelled of booze but beyond that a subtle wave of musk and soap washed over you.

“Dunno.” You said pushing it away and leaning into his shoulder. “Stay still, kay?”

“Room spinning?” He asked, leaning into you.

You nodded and closed your eyes taking in his smell. Something about this was so comfortable.

 “I like this.” You said pulling on his shirt. “You look good in a dress shirt.”

“Thanks.” He chuckled. “You look beautiful tonight.”

You smirked. Hell yeah you did. “You should see what Midnight has me wearing underneath.”

There was a moment when all you could feel was Aizawa taking a deep breath beneath your head. “Is that an invitation?”

You opened your eyes and looked up at him. He was definitely blushing now, but there was no awkwardness in his eyes. They were intense, alight with heat and intent. You nodded against his shoulder and watched a smirk spread across his lips. A warm calloused hand found its way to your thigh and traveled upward under your dress, barely brushing the lace panties. It was barely a brush, but you felt excitement pull at your gut.

“Well, shit.” He breathed.

You swallowed your fear and decided that you were drunk enough to be able to blame it on that if this went poorly. You sat yourself up and pressed your hands to his chest, his hand stayed at its post between your legs and his eyes stayed glued to yours. You leaned forward, pressing your lips to his. He melted into you, his spare hand finding your hip. He instantly began nipping at your bottom lip and running his tongue across your lips until you gave into the wet sloppy drunk kisses. Not that you minded, you too were wet, sloppy and drunk.

His hands traveled everywhere, grabbing and stroking any part of you he could. By the time his hand found your inner thigh again you had swung a leg over his lap and he had begun to leave love bites across your collarbone and neck. You reached down and palmed him between your legs and he hissed, pulling away from you and taking hold of your jaw so he could look you in the eyes.  It took you a minute to focus on him, the heat running through you threatening to burn through your clothes.

“Not here.” He breathed, huffing when you stroked him through his pants again. “I’m not fucking you here.”

You pouted and slumped back, hitting the table filled with drinks at varying stages of finished. He caught you by the hips before you fell too far back and laughed, his eyes impossibly warm and soft. “My place is two blocks away.”

You slid off of him and pulled our skirt down, hiding what fraction of our pride you still could for any possible on lookers. You reached out towards him. “This is my get laid dress, so lay me.”

He paused for a second, shaking his head and chuckling. You cringed inwards, possibly the worst sentence you leave your mouth.

“I know what you mean.”  Aizawa said, ducking back to grab your purse from the booth. “Here.”

You grabbed it and latched onto his arm as the two of you leaned onto each other for support, hopefully creating the appearance of two only mildly buzzed people. You were both swaying, his hand unable to detach itself from your ass and yours keeping itself warm under his shirt. The walk was quick but clumsy, your “practical” heels failing you and demanding to be taken off over a sewer grate.

The most treacherous part of your journey was perhaps the dreaded keyhole in his door handle. You thanked god he lived on the first floor, at this point stairs were not an option. As soon as the door was open you were practically thrown inside to the dark apartment, your back hitting a wall a few feet from the door. He kicked the door closed behind him and was on you before the latch closed. In one smooth movement he hoisted you up into his arms and turned to place you on a set of drawers where you hit a glass key dish. It fell to the ground with a crash and off in the dark apartment a surprised cat yelped. You let out a giggle, holding onto Aizawa’s head as you pulled away to laugh. His head fell to your chest as he finished off the buttons on his shirt, shedding it and laughed with you. “You good?”

You nodded and pulled his face back to yours. He began working on your dress, the zipper on the back gave way under his surprisingly steady hands. In one swift movement he scooped you up and slid the rest of the dress from your body and placed you back down, this time careful to mind any stray key dishes. His hand ran along the wall looking for the light switch. The entrance to the apartment lit up with a dim amber light, his hair was mussed and his cheeks red, one of your love marks already bruising nicely against the pale skin of his throat.

You realized that you were nearly completely naked save the thong. Under any other circumstance you would have been mortified and scrambling for cover but given the alcohol and the way he was looking at you right now, you let the moment exist. He leaned forward pressing his forehead to yours.

“Beautiful.” He whispered.

“Pants.” You whispered back. “Off.”

He chuckled and obliged, dropping his pants and stepping out of them.

“Okay, sex now.” He huffed as he grabbed you by the waist and carried you into the barely illuminated living room.

He dropped you on the couch unceremoniously and manhandled you into position until you were sitting on the edge of the couch, your legs draped over his shoulders and his strong hands grasping at your thigh and breast. He trailed kisses up your thigh, his fingers hooking around your panties and tugging them down your legs. His hands left your body briefly, warm air hitting your face as your thong whipped past your head and over the couch.  His hands gripped your thighs tight, holding them in place on his shoulders and he ducked down and began his work.

At first it was slow, tentative, almost shy. Then he found the spot, the spot that made you shiver and clench your thighs. You felt his scruff rub against your sensitive skin as he grinned, his grip tightening, and you began to squirm. He lapped at your clit, slow then fast, nipping when your squirming seemed to slow, keeping the knot in your gut swelling with every move. You moaned and dug your hand into his wild hair, the soft curls swallowing your fingers. You held him closer, practically begging him not to stop.

The knot in your stomach swelled until your thighs shook and your breath came out in quivering waves. You wanted him to fuck you so badly that the thought of cumming now felt like treason. You pushed against his head, yet he was unyielding in his assault on your core.

“Fuck.” You breathed, trying to delay the inevitable. “Sho, fuck me already.”

He pulled back, his hand replacing his tongue. “Not until you cum first.”

“N-no, please. Fuck me.” You begged, the knot tightening impossibly.

“I’m drunk.” He huffed, his breath washing over your already hot core. “Once I cum I cannot be held responsible if I fucking pass out. Now hold still so I can give you a birthday present!”

He dove back into your core, this time renewed with an almost aggressive approach, not that you were complaining. Your hands tighten in his curls and you gave in to him, everything he was building up to until you were rocking into his mouth and mewling like a cat in heat. He slipped in two fingers, your slick greedy vagina gladly accepted them.  You felt him curse against you, no doubt the warm wet feeling of you wrapped around his fingers a siren’s call straight to his dick.  

He pumped in and out, his tongue never yielding until finally the knot in your stomach released and a wave euphoria and shiver racked your body, your legs and arms twitching as your body felt as if it was floating.He helped you ride your high, adding another finger and whispering a cacophony of dirty words in your ear. You gripped his shoulders as you came back to yourself, he was covered in a thin layer of sweat and his scent wafted in painfully alluring waved towards you. 

He lifted your weak legs and folded them into your chest, his boxers now discarded along with your lace panties, tossed into the dark abyss of the apartment. He placed a hot kiss to your forehead, then to the tip of your nose then to your lips. There he stayed as he lined himself up with your entrance and pushed forward. He was girthy and stretched you in ways you hadn’t expected.

“Breathe.” He pulled back, looking into your eyes. You hadn’t noticed you’d been holding your breath until now and let out the breath you were keeping locked away in your chest. Your body melted into the couch, forming to fit him perfectly as you relaxed. Again, he started slow, setting a pace while he figured out what felt right. He must have found the jackpot because suddenly his pace picked up, his breath hot on your neck. You felt a familiar knot, loosely forming in your stomach, your nerves still buzzing from your previous orgasms.

Aizawa reached forward, his hands finding your breasts as he leaned down into you. You were pressed back further into the couch as he drilled into you, the sound of skin hitting skin echoing in the dark. With each thrust the knot in your stomach tugged on itself, tightening. Aizawa paused, adjusting himself at your entrance before thrusting forward, stars shooting across your vision as a hot wave rattled through you. You’re mewls grew to yelps and gasps with every thrust, his grunts starting to match your love sounds.

You could feel yourself starting to shake, the tension in your gut almost too much to take, when he began to get sloppy. Every thrust became an endeavor as he struggled to find a pace he could keep while slowly coming undone.  His hands slid down to the couch, gripping the fabric like he was going to be whisked away at any moment.

“Fuck.” He cursed; his body twitching out of rhythm.

You grabbed each side of his face and looked him in the eyes, pools of deep lust consuming your vision. You pulled him close, suddenly craving his lips on yours. He mirrored your urgency and soon his pace evened out, each thrust stronger and faster than the last. You felt yourself clenching around him, your legs locked at his shoulders.

He pressed his head against yours pulling out of the kiss so he could look into your eyes as he came. He drilled into you until your yelps turned into a silent scream of pleasure as the knot in your gut burst for a second time that night. With a final, strong thrust warmth spread through you as he leaned into you, his uneven breaths washing over your skin. 

He slid down to his elbows as he rode out his own orgasm, his lips brushing your collar bone as he muttered sweet nothings to you.You twitched beneath him, stars and black spots dancing in your periphery. Your legs slipped off his shoulders and found rest at his hip, the two of you sweating and panting in the sweet afterglow of sloppy drunk sex.

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The rays of sun that broke through the blinds berated your eyes, the searing white light like a smite from god with the hangover you were about the nurse. Groaning against the light you reached over to your bedside table for the bottle of water you put there before leaving for the night. Your hand stopped short at a wall of plush and springy fabric…like the back of a couch. Your eyes shot open, bright hot sunlight filling your vision. You groaned and scrambled backwards out of the light’s reach, kicking something on your way back.

“Fuck!” You knew that voice.

You blinked away the retina burns, and your stomach dropped. At your feet a very sleepy and very naked Aizawa was lying on his front, his arms folded under his head.

“Sorry!” you chirped; realizing it was him you had just kicked. “D-did we-”

Aizawa looked up at you, at first he seemed just as dazed and confused as you did but then a sly grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

You looked down at yourself, realizing you too were very naked. You pulled your legs up to cover as much as you could and wrapped your arms around your chest. “Do you…remember any of-”

“Not at all.” He grumbled, sitting himself up and grabbing a pillow from the ground to cover his junk. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

You squinted into the distance, calling on fuzzy memories of fluorescent cocktails and straying hands. You could feel your cheeks heating up. “Your hand up my skirt.”

“Was that-”

“My idea? Yep.” You recalled.

“Oh.” He nodded to himself. “Good.”

You both sat in silence staring at each other.  A long-haired white cat leapt up onto the couch and rubbed its body up against your shins, begging for affection.

“Did you want to shower? I have some sweats you can-”

“Yeah, thanks!” you interrupted and jumped up, painfully aware of how very vey naked you were. You dashed towards the first door you saw.

“That’s my room, Bathroom’s down the hall.” You could feel him smirking at you.

“Right!” you said as you turned and strutted down the hall.

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch9: Doctor’s Orders Part 3 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Part 2

 Once the diving tours and usual chores were done for the morning, the team gathered together again at lunch time. The aftermath of Ari and Sammy's fight still lingered but they had been avoiding one another like the plague all morning and as such, lunch was as civil as it could.

"So what’s in store for the afternoon, Red, seeing as you have an honorary getting old day off…" Jake asked as they finished lunch.

"Still younger than you Loop, in fact any of you round this table so…" she said, waving her hand at the rest of them.

There were a few mumbled groans about her being the baby of the group, and Max threw a breadstick at her which landed on the floor much to Simon’s delight. Rachel then appeared and nodded to Ari, telling him she had finished setting up what he had asked her to, and he smiled at her before he cleared his throat  "Actually I need Hannah to help me with something this afternoon." 

He cursed internally, rolling his eyes at himself, when he realised what he had just said. His words eliciting sniggers and oooooooohs from everyone around the table. Well, bar from Sammy of course, who was glaring at him and Hannah who was looking at him with curiosity.

"Want me to babysit Simon? You know, wouldn’t want the poor pooch to end up more scarred than he is." Max obviously wasn't letting the opportunity to tease pass him by.

Ari rolled his eyes. "It’s nothing like that, get your minds out of the gutter."

"Yeah, you know…" Jake agreed, eyeing Simon up. "I really shouldn’t wear shorts around him."

"You’d get tan lines then Loop." Hannah quipped.

Max sniggered. "He’ll be putting matches between his toes next and walking like a penguin."

That image of Jake sent everyone bursting with laughter and Jake shrugged. "Suppose I should be flattered I’m the fuckable uncle."

"Better than the grumpy one." Hannah deadpanned as she stuck her tongue out at Sammy who rolled his eyes, a flicker of a smile on his face.

"I think we all know I’m his favourite uncle…the food one." Max grinned with satisfaction.

Ari was listening to the conversation, checking his watch. He was anxious as the next part of his plan was set to commence in 10 and he needed to do something first but, at the same time, he was also glad the nonsense they were all talking had diverted Hannah's attention so that she wasn’t trying to guess what he was up to. Hoping there weren't any more setbacks for the day after Sammygate, he tapped her on the arm, grabbing her attention.

"Come on."

She looked at him, shrugged and stood up. She was even more curious now but decided to just roll with it.

Ari turned to Max. "Watch Si for us, will you?" 

Hannah looked at him amused, now he was talking as if he was a concerned parent who needed his kid looked after while he was busy.

Sammy glared at Ari. "Seriously..."

Hannah turned to her brother sharply, her hands on her hips. "Stop. Now."

Sammy groaned and sat back in his chair, clearly sulking. But Ari couldn't be bothered dealing with him, Rachel would have to cope with his petulance. He simply took Hannah’s hand and led her out of the room and down the beach towards her hut.

"You taking me to my hut, lobo?"

Ari chuckled. "Yup. But not for what you think though."

"Bummer." 

Ari laughed at that and looked at her. "Later sweetheart. We got all night and all morning now everyone knows."

She stopped and turned to face him, smiling. "I know the way it happened wasn’t ideal but…I’m not gonna lie. I’m so relieved."

"Me too." He smiled back at her and leaned down to place a lingering peck on her mouth that he had to break as a few cat calls erupted from a group of teenage boys on the beach. Hannah sniggered as Ari tossed them a sarcastic wave.

"Feels good to be able to just do that." she sighed contented.

"Damned straight." he agreed before resuming the walk to the hut. "You know Max made a good point before?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said us being together is an even better cover. I mean think about it. A couple making a go of a hotel here together is much less suspect than some random, single, white man in his late 30s doing it alone." he explained.

"Oh, so that’s why you’re with me?" she teased him.

Ari nodded. "Yeah, can’t think of a single other reason. In fact, I’ve been plotting this whole thing since the night of your 21st."

"Oh, I see, so seducing me was part of some huge plan was it?"

Ari raised an eyebrow at her.  "Seducing you? Now, you know that’s not exactly true Firefly."

 "I was an innocent little wallflower until you corrupted me." she retorted as they stopped at her hut door.

"Bullshit." 

Ari opened the door for her to step inside and she followed. He waited to speak till he had closed the door behind him "Now open the first drawer in your nightstand."

"You’re so bossy." she rolled her eyes.

"Don’t pretend like you don’t like it, wallflower." 

At that Hannah gave a full on laugh causing Ari to grin as she headed to her nightstand and then paused and turned to look at him, squinting her eyes in the process. "Why do you want me to open my panties drawer?"

Ari hesitated, mentally cursing Rachel as she had earlier told him that was where she would leave his present. Think, Levinson. He looked at Hannah before he grinned cheekily.

"Because I bought you a vibrator. Isn’t that were you’re supposed to keep them?"

Hannah blinked for a second or two and then laughed heartily.  "Well, I hope it runs on batteries, not like I can charge it in reception, is it?"

Ari pondered for a moment. "I dunno, be amusing to see Sammy’s face."

"He’d go into cardiac arrest. And that’s not funny…"  Ari rolled his eye, he was done joking. "Just open the damned drawer Hannah."

"Eager much are we, lobo?"

Ari took a deep breath, she was pushing too far, and dropped his voice. "You know you’re paying for this tonight firefly."

"Oh no…" her voice sounded as sarcastic as it could be. "Please don’t threaten me with wild sex Ari…"

"You’re gonna beg for it, believe me…" he said, his voice a low growl which went straight to her core and her reaction didn’t pass him by. He smirked. "Now, open the drawer." Ari held his breath as Hannah finally did as she was told and found a little package nestled in amongst her underwear, wrapped in light blue crepe paper. She frowned and pulled it out before turning to look at Ari whose face was impassive but she could tell from the way he licked his lips, he was nervous.

"Ari, what…"

"Open it and see." He insisted.

She didn't hesitate and opened it as anticipation was killing her and she gave a little gasp as she took the silver and amber firefly pendant in the palm of her hand. She fell speechless. Ari saw her gape but nothing came out and then she looked at him, finally finding her voice. 

"It’s a firefly, Ari." she said so softly he almost missed it.

Ari laughed softly. "I know that. Why do you think I bought it?" Hannah looked at him, her eyes sparkling, and he smiled. "I saw that in Port Sudan when we went that time, we weren’t even together back then… nor was I dreaming we ever would be."

"That’s…that’s why you didn’t take me the last time? Because you wanted to buy this for me? I thought…"

Ari cut her off. "I know what you thought, and I hated making you upset but…"

She looked at him again, then to the necklace. "Can you…" she asked as she handed it to him and turned around, pulling her pony tail out of the way. Ari moved to drape it round her neck, fastening the clasp at the back. 

"You know, it shines in the dark too, just like my firefly."

She reached up to grab the pendant, tipping her head round to look at him with tears in her eyes and he smiled, steering her to the mirror. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder as she looked at the necklace in the mirror. He placed a soft kiss to the crook of her shoulder, straightening up. 

 "I love it." she said, her eyes locked onto his in the mirror and he swallowed. 

Fuck it. He loved her, he damned well loved her and he should have told her 9 fucking years ago. So he took a deep breath and before he could chicken out he spoke, his voice soft but clear. 

"I love you, Hannah."

Her breath caught and she turned slowly in his arms to look at him, silent tears escaping her eyes as she cupped his face with her hands.

"You don’t need to say it back, not yet, I just…" 

Ari was dying to lean in her touch but she had fallen silent and he didn't want to push her into doing something she didn't want or feel. So he stayed put, letting his eyes do all the work for him.

"But I do. I do. I love you, Ari.” her voice was gentle, and Ari felt his chest doing flips as a huge grin spreads across his face. He leaned down, his mouth slanting on hers in a deep kiss that left them both breathless when he pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers.

"I should have told you that years ago."

"Better late than never." she whispered, her lips grazing his.

Late. That word made him remember something. Shit!

"Yeah, hold that thought sweetheart." he said as he pulled away from her and his arms fell to his sides.

"What?" she frowned.

"Trust me. I got a surprise for you." He brushed his hair out of his face with his fingers and smiled at her.

"Another one?"

Ari nodded and turned his eyes to the bed and Hannah for the first time saw one of their radio transmitters. She couldn't believe she had been far too wrapped up in Ari to pay any attention and notice the equipment on her bedspread.

"Was that there all this time?" she looked at him.

"Yup. And we’re late so…" Ari bent over and hit a button.  "Team leader to base."

There were some static crackles and a few seconds later, Ethan’s voice rang out. "Base receiving, we are secure."  There was a pause and then Ethan spoke again. "See you are as punctual as ever Ari.”

"Sorry, we got a little side-tracked…" Ari grinned at Hannah.

"Sure you did.” Ethan said sardonically “Congratulations Hannah, I hope you’re having a great day…"

Hannah was grinning ear to ear at the sound of the man’s voice. "Thanks Ethan, it’s been great. I’ve been spoilt and…it’s just been amazing…" she explained as she smiled at Ari while she sat down on the bed. Ari's stood beside her, his hand gently between her shoulder blades, his thumb skating the back of her neck.

"Glad to hear it, and I have someone here with me who is going to make it even better."

"What do you mean?" 

She looked at Ari who shrugged. There was a bit of rustling at the other end and then a voice spoke, a familiar voice which made Hannah’s hand fly to her mouth in shock, tears instantly filling her eyes.

"Hannah, are you there sweetheart?"

Hannah took a deep breath, her voice shaking with emotion. "Yeah, I’m here mama…"

"Don’t cry honey…”

"I’m sorry mama, I’m just so happy to hear your voice” she sniffed, “I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too my little girl, but you’ll be home for a visit soon, right? Feliz Cumpleaños, mi niña"

Hannah nodded, wiping her tears which were now falling uncontrollably at the sound of her mother wishing her a happy birthday in Spanish. "In a few weeks, yeah."

Ari bent down and kissed her cheek, whispering. "Let me go find Sammy."

Hannah smiled, knowing full well Sammy would want to speak to their mama too.

Ari left, giving Hannah and her mother some privacy and wandered down to the main building. Sammy was surprised when Ari came out of the blue into the reception area looking for him but was even more shocked when he explained him what was going on. He blinked and looked at Rachel who smiled and nodded. Wordlessly, he followed Ari to Hannah’s hut. Sammy went in and spoke to the radio and Ari heard Mama Navon’s exclamation as the 3 of them then began to furiously jabber away in a mixture of English and Spanish. 

He waited outside the door, for 20 minutes or so, sitting on the sand just watching the waves and smoking. He smiled as Simon trotted over, apparently having dodged Max again, and flopped down next to him.

"You shake off Uncle Max buddy?" he asked the dog as he scratched his ear. 

He heard Hannah calling so he stood up and went in, Simon following suit and jumped up on the bed, ignoring Sammy as he stood there wagging his tail which repeatedly hit him in the face. Ari chuckled as Sammy stood up before he greeted Mama Navon who thanked him for setting the call up and then told them all to stay safe. After a quick goodbye they ended the call and Hannah looked at him as she stood up.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." she said as she hugged him tight.

"I told you, anything for you firefly." he spoke, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. 

Sammy took a deep breath, looking away as he too composed himself from speaking to his mama. He then cleared his throat. "Hannah, can you give me a moment with Ari?" She pulled away from Ari and looked at him narrowing her eyes as he shook his head gently. "I promise I’m not gonna punch him again."

Hannah then looked at Ari who nodded. She turned to leave, but not before she pointed at Sammy. "You best not break your promise, or I’ll break your face Samuel." And with that she left, whistling to Simon who followed her, closing the door behind her as she went.

Sammy tore his eyes from the door to look at Ari and took a moment to assess him before he finally spoke.  "Listen, Ari…what you did for her there, with the call, it was just.."

Ari shrugged. He got what Sammy was trying to express but couldn't find the words to and decided throw him a bone. "Well I know she misses home so…"

Sammy shook his head. "We all miss home, Ari."  he sighed. "But that was…” he trailed off. “Look, sorry I punched you in the face."

"Call that a punch?" Ari snorted.

Sammy narrowed his eyes at him. "Don’t temp me."

Ari held his hands up. "Wouldn’t dream of it."

He gave Sammy a sincere smile. He was confident the call from their mother had done more to help his cause than all the words and apologies in the world could have done. Sammy looked for a moment like he was about to say something else but he didn’t, instead he nodded before turning and leaving.

****

Later that evening, Ari headed down to the dining area to find everyone, bar Rachel and Hannah already there. He knew that Rachel had been doing Hannah’s hair for her so he wasn’t surprised they were still absent. He nodded to Max and Jake, flashing a tentative smile at Sammy who returned it with a jerk of his head, and he walked through to the kitchen to grab a beer. He returned the dining room, settled himself in a seat and was watching a couple of guests settle at a table a few down when he heard Max give a low whistle. “Damned Girl!

Ari looked round and almost choked on his drink at Hannah’s appearance. She was wearing the outfit her mama sent her. The white crochet top was cropped, and fairly low cut, leaving not much to the imagination (not that he needed to imagine it) and the high wasted matching skirt finished mid-thigh. On her feet she wore a pair of flat, gold gladiator sandals that twisted up her legs to her knees. Her hair was cascading down her back in dark, silky curls, the top half of which had been twisted away from her face and fastened into some kind of loose braid. Her make-up was light, as always, but the subtle burnt gold she’d shaded over her eyelids made her blue eyes pop even more. She looked stunning.

God, was it hot in here or just him…

Max meanwhile was stood to the side of the room, watching Ari, whose mouth was hanging open. He nudged Jake who in turn glanced at the positively gawping man at the table and grinned.

“Radio base…Team Leader is unresponsive.” Max sniggered and Jake let out a groan.

“Man, and to think I was chasing after her myself when all the time…” he shook his head “I’ve been an idiot haven’t I?” Max gave a nod “Yes, you have.”

“That’s what I thought.” Jake confirmed, watching as Hannah approached the table.

“You never stood a chance pal.” Max patted his shoulder sympathetically “Not with Ari here anyway, they have history, you know that.” Jake sighed as they too made their way to the table. As they passed a group of tourists, one of the girls made a deal of looking Jake up and down before winking at him. He grinned at her, nodding, all the time keeping his eyes on hers as they passed. Max gave a snort.

“Can’t keep a good man down for long…” Jake smirked.

“There’s nothing good about you, you’re a dirt bag.” Max rolled his eyes.

As they got to the table, Sammy was complaining about Hannah’s outfit. “Seriously? Mama made that? Hannah, I can see-“

“Don’t you dare say it…” she glared at him. Sammy simply rolled his eyes as she moved to take her seat at the table, before he turned to say something to Rachel. Ari took his chance and dropped a soft kiss to her lips as she settled next to him.

“You look beautiful.” He smiled, and her cheeks flushed shyly.

“Thanks.” She looked at him, taking in his light blue button down. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Lobo.”

They ate a dinner of seabass, Hannah’s favourite, engaging in pleasant talk and a few drinks before Max stood up and loudly announced to the guests that there was a gathering planned on the beach with some music to celebrate Rosa’s birthday. After a few more drinks they migrated to the area on the sand which had been set up, the boys all carrying cool-boxes full of beer and spirits down with them. Drinks where handed out and over the next hour or so the group sat, Jake integrating himself with the girls he’d noticed at dinner. At some point Sammy’s guitar made an appearance and he provided the music for the group as Hannah sat on Ari’s knee as he perched on the wooden logs which were being used as seats.

Whilst everyone was clear that they were an item now, they still didn’t want to flaunt the PDAs too much, but the more alcohol they consumed, the less of a shit either of them gave. Soft stolen kisses became more frequent, Ari’s hand gently skated her bare thigh in a not-so-subtle way that was easily noticeable to anyone watching. When Jake and Max declared loudly that enough was enough of the strangled cat routine Sammy was giving (earning them the bird in response) the stereo kicked in and Sammy placed his guitar down, his eyes straying to his sister and Ari. They were both talking to one of the guests, Ari’s hand looped around Hannah’s hip as she perched on his lap, her own arm draped around his neck, the plastic cup full of gin and lemonade hanging in her hand.

Sammy placed his guitar down, took a deep breath and looked away. Rachel, not missing the look on his face gave him a dig with her elbow. “I thought you’d made your peace.”

“I apologised for punching him.” Sammy turned to look at her “Still doesn’t mean I’m happy about them. And I certainly don’ want to see it.”

“Sammy, look how happy she is, how happy they both are.” Rachel corrected herself. “Have you ever seen Ari like that?”

Sammy sighed, because he hasn’t, not even with Sarah. The fact was, Ari Levinson, or Guy Thomas as he was tonight, was behaving like a love sick teenager. The smile hadn’t left his face for a second.

“Exactly.” Rachel took Sammy’s lack of response as an answer. Her eyes strayed to Hannah, who tipped her head back in a loud laugh at something, and then she turned back to Sammy “Have you seen the necklace she’s wearing?” “Spotted it before.” Sammy replied “And now it’s glowing it’s kinda hard not to see it.”

“I was with Ari when he got it for her in Port Sudan, the day after he came back from his leave.” Rachel said simply and Sammy turned his head to look at her. “You should have seen his face when the guy explained the firefly glowed in the dark. He told me he’d spotted it weeks ago and had to come back to get it for her birthday…”

“Ok, I get it Rachel.” Sammy rolled his eyes “Look, I’m happy she’s happy and I guess, I’m glad Ari is too, I just…” he signed and shook his head “Forget it, it clearly doesn’t matter what I think.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.” Rachel shrugged “But if you can’t learn to live with whatever is bugging you about it all so much, then they’re gonna learn to live without you.”

“Well then, guess I don’t have much of a choice then huh?”

Before Rachel could reply, the brash tones of In The Navy rang out of the speakers. Jake stood to attention, saluting Max who flipped him off and Ari shook his head, he drew the line at this musical abomination. Hannah pouted a little as he stood, jolting her from his lap but he simply gave her a kiss and told her he was heading off for a drink. When she declined his offer of a top up, he strode away from the group who were now marching on the spot, a few of the girls from the guest groups having joined in. Simon was also doing his best to remain part of the festivities, jumping around and barking.

Ari gave a chuckle at the dog’s antics and opened the lid to the cool box which was set a little further back from where they’d set up camp for the evening.

“Can you pass me one?”  

Ari jerked his head up to look at Sammy, before he gave a nod, grabbing 2 bottles from the box. He popped the lids on both, tossing the opener back down and handed it over.

“Thanks.” Sammy took it from him, taking a long pull.

They stood in silence for a while, Ari knowing Sammy well enough to know that he was currently contemplating how to say what he clearly wanted to. And, sure enough, after a moment or too he heard his friend give a heavy sigh as he turned to him and spoke.

“Look, I’m not ok about any of this but well, Hannah, she deserves to be happy and for whatever fucking reason you seem to do that for her so…” Sammy shrugged “But Ari, I am warning you, you hurt her and I will kill you.”

It was Ari’s turn to sigh “Sammy why do you always have to think the worst of me? Yeah I fucked up with her in the past but let’s not forget, not all of that was my fault.”

“Look, man.” Sammy shook his head “I gave the same warning to Andy ok. I can honestly say it isn’t personal this time.”

At that Ari cocked his head, looking at him. He knew that this was Sammy’s way of giving him and Hannah a very grudging go-ahead. Not a blessing as such, but still, it was better than open hostility. Ari’s hands fell to his hips and he looked down at his feet before he raised his eyes to look at Sammy, a small smile playing on his face.

“You know when it comes to it, I hope Rachel’s brother hates your guts too.”

“Rachel? I…what…why do you…” Sammy furiously blushed as he stumbled over his words. Ari said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow and Sammy shook his head, snorting “Guess you know too huh?”

“Hannah told me she suspected it a while back.” He nodded.

“She always has been a pain in my ass.” He grumbled.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think that’s ever gonna change.” Ari smirked, his eyes glancing back over at his girl, where she was still dancing.

“Probably not.” Sammy took a deep breath, “You know, for the record, I don’t hate you Ari…I love you man, and I love my sister.”

“So do I.” Ari looked at him, “And I don’t ever want to hurt her again.”

At Ari’s words, Sammy took a deep breath. Love…ok, that was a little unexpected. But as he stared back at Ari, there wasn’t a shred of insincerity on the man’s face. He gave Ari a small nod, and turned back to watch the group as the opening bars to YMCA rang out over the night air, along with Jake’s loud shouting. As the two men watched, he and Max jumped up onto the over turned logs, launching into the dance routine.

“Which one is the cowboy?” Sammy asked and Ari snorted.

“Max.” he concluded after a little pause. The two men shared a grin and Sammy slapped Ari’s back.

That was the point Ari knew that it was going to be ok. Not wanting to make too big a deal of it, he smiled and then changed the subject.

“Do you remember that time we were singing to Rod Stewart, Do You Think I’m Sexy in that car in the middle of New York?”

“Jesus…” Sammy half-chuckled, half-groaned. “You know I try not to think about that a lot. The windows to the car were wide open…”

“Yeah, and those girls walking past just stopped and stared at us like we were 2 crazy bastards.”

“You are a crazy bastard.” Sammy teased and Ari gave a little nod, conceding the point playfully.

As they stood, still watching, Hannah and Rachel were pulled up onto the log by Max and Jake and Sammy shook his head, chuckling.“You think we should rescue our girls from those two idiots?”

Ari paused, the use of the term registering in his brain. He grinned and looked at Sammy “So you’re there already? Calling her your girl?”

“Piss off you cocky bastard”

Ari snorted and turned back to the dancing in front of them “Nah, leave them, they’re having fun. Besides, they can handle themselves.”

This remained Ari’s sentiment until YMCA finished, and Hungry Like the Wolf started to play. He watched, the 4 of them step down off the bench as the beat started, and then Jake  looked like he was having a little too much fun with Hannah, his hands on her hips from behind as she swayed side to side.

Ari stiffened slightly and Sammy, not missing a thing spoke, his tone amused. “Want me to hold your beer?” Ari turned to give him a look before he thrust the bottle at Sammy and pushed through the group of dancers. When he reached the two of them he tapped Jake on the shoulder. “Do you mind if i…”

Jake raised his hands. “Sure man I’m gonna…ummmm….just go.”

Ari watched him leave before he turned to Hannah, fingers curling around her hips as his lips pecked her neck.

“Didn’t think it would take long before you showed up.” She quipped, tilting her head to look at him.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like him touching what belongs to me.”

 Hannah chuckled “You’re such a possessive bastard.”

Ari hummed in response as Hannah reached down, grabbed his hand and tugged him towards where Rachel and Max were dancing. He protested at first but then, for the first time in God knows how long just let himself go. He danced along, grinning as Max started doing some furious type of dance thrusting his shoulders inwards and be arched an eyebrow as they were joined by Sammy too. Hannah watched him carefully for a moment but he simply flashed her a huge grin which she reciprocated and continued her dancing. Ari spun her around, and she giggled, stumbling a little until he reached out and caught her, his own chuckles being drowned out by the music.

The group of agents remained on the beach in the middle of the temporary sort of dance floor, under the large wooden archway which was decorated with fairy lights, simply dancing and laughing for another few songs until the music slowed down and the opening notes of Your Song drifted across the sea breeze. Ari grinned as Hannah’s arms slid up his chest stopping on his shoulders, his hands falling to her hips as they gently moved their bodies a little closer than they had been. Ari leaned down and placed a soft peck on Hannah’s lips, her hand gently stroking his neck, fingers lightly dancing over his skin. If he was Simon, his damned leg would have started to shake as every time she did that it felt like fucking heaven.

“I saw you talking to Sammy before. Everything ok?” she asked, her blue eyes bright as she glanced up at him.

“Yeah.” Ari said honestly “Yeah, I think it is.”

“Good.” Hannah beamed “Because I can’t stand the thought of you being at one another’s throats.” “It wasn’t really a thought I was relishing either.” Ari said, before he grinned wickedly as he bent a little closer to speak into her ear whilst he spun them both around a little to the music. “Although one I am relishing, however, is just exactly how I’m gonna make you beg like I promised before.”

His hands gently squeezed her hips and she felt his fingers softly bunching in the crochet material at the side of her skirt. “I didn’t realise you liked my outfit so much.” She spoke softly as his fingers continued to play with the item of clothing.

“I do.” He grinned back, “But as nice as it is, I’m looking forward to seeing you with nothing but that necklace on Firefly.”

“Yeah, well I gotta admit I’ll be glad to take it off. I mean, it’s pretty and everything but the top is a little uncomfortable…” at that she wriggled her hips and Ari gave a grunt as she pressed up against him, her pelvis almost flush to his. “Or maybe it’s the fact that I can’t wear a bra with it.”

Ari blinked, looked straight down at her cleavage, making no attempt to hide the fact that he was ogling at her before he glanced up at her to see her biting her lip.

And that was it, he was done.

“Ok.”  With a swoop he bent down and lifted her so she was over his shoulder causing her to give a squeal. He swatted at her ass as he turned and began to stride away from the group of party makers. There were loud whoops and cheers, above which Max’s trademark filthy chuckle could be heard and a low groan from Sammy.

Hannah planted her hands in the base of Ari’s back so she could push herself up slightly to wave at everyone. “See you tomorrow guys!”  she giggled as Ari strode away from the group and down the beach.

Hannah’s hut was nearer so that was the one he made a bee line for. He opened the door, made sure Simon was inside before he shut it with his foot and set her gently down on the floor.

“I suggest if you like that outfit you take it off pretty quickly before it ends up in pieces on the floor.” Ari looked down at Hannah, his hands grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him.

“Wait…” Her palms fell flat on his chest, before her fingers nimbly moved to the buttons on his shirt. “I wanna unwrap my last present.”

Ari arched an eyebrow at her but didn’t protest as she undid the buttons on his shirt, before she reached up and pushed it back over his shoulders, her hands smoothing down from his pecs to his defined, but not ripped abs, biting her lip as she took her time appreciating him. She glanced back up, her hands following her eyes before she reached up and pulled his head down to hers in a searing kiss. His lips locked on hers Ari trailed his hands up her sides, brushing the bare flesh that was on display from her short top before he grabbed the hem of it. She moved back, holding her arms up so he could pull it over her head and then his lips were back on hers, his large hands splayed on her back, pulling her chest flush to his.

He trailed open mouthed kisses across her jawline, finding that spot by her neck, giving a nip, all the time listening to the soft whimpers she was making in his ear as he backed her towards the bed and rather unceremoniously shoved her back onto it. She gave a soft giggle and started to move herself to the middle but in a flash he reached out and grabbed her ankle.

“Ah ah.” He said, as he dropped to his knees. “I told you, you were gonna beg for it sweetheart.”

She looked at him, propping herself up on her elbows, Ari groaning internally at the sight of her bare chest. His hands slid up her legs, finding the waistband of her skirt and in a single movement slid it down, along with her panties, leaving her bare on the bed before he unbuckled her sandals and slid those down over her calves.

Taking her left leg in his right hand he pressed a kiss to her ankle and continued his affections upwards, pressing small yet sloppy kisses all the way up until his nose was skimming along the apex of her thigh. She let out a groan of delight as she gently bent her other knee to allow him access and this time he couldn’t stop the soft moan which bubbled from his throat and he snuck one glance up at her, to see her head was already titled back in arousal. He reached up, and pushed on her shoulder, causing her to lay flat and then set his mouth on her.

There was nothing gentle about any of his movements, his tongue lashing at her, teasing her sensitive bud before poking deep into her, positively fucking her with his mouth. Her hips bucked upwards, pushing onto his face and he couldn’t help but smirk at how easy it was to draw the reactions he wanted from her. One of her hands reached into his hair, as he continued to eat her out with the ardour of a man starved. Her sweet, salty tang on his tongue set every nerve in his body on edge and the more he tasted the more he wanted. He felt her grip in his hair tighten, as her hips rotated slightly, seeking more friction and the relief that came with it, and as he felt her breathing begin to quicken he abruptly stopped, pulling back. Hannah stilled and gave a low whine as his fingers gripped at her hips, his mouth moving to the insides of her thighs, away from where she needed and wanted him most.

“Ari…” she began to protest and then his mouth was back on her again, edging her closer and closer to her orgasm until, a short while later as her breathing and gasps became ragged, he once more he pulled back.

“Ari, please?” her voice was broken plea, and he grinned, rising to his feet as he looked down at her.

“Told you, you were gonna beg Firefly…” he said, shedding his remaining clothing and freeing his now painfully hard cock.

“Don’t…” she looked at him, shifting slightly as he crawled over her. “Don’t be mean, it’s my birthday…”

“I’m well aware…” he muttered, his lips ghosting a path up her neck to her chin “This time 9 years ago I was kissing you outside a Club in Tel Aviv…”

He nipped at her neck and she keened underneath him, her body begging him for more, so needy and so ready for him. His tongue licked a line up her throat as his hands slid up her bare sides, calloused fingers ever so gentle over her ribs. His hands found hers and he pinned them to the bed either side of her head as his mouth moved down and his tongue flicked at her nipple as he took it between his lips, drawling a loud groan from her as her hips bucked involuntarily at the sensation. 

His lips caught hers in a deep, sloppy kiss, and he moved his hips and with a powerful thrust forward he sheathed himself inside her, causing her to wail into his mouth, her lips open against his. He started moving his hips, slowly, deliberately. Each thrust measured and powerful, his open mouth never once leaving hers as they panted together, sharing air. With every rock into her, moans of delight and pure pleasure flowed from her throat to his, every inch of their bodies pressed as close as they could get.

Ari plunged his tongue into her mouth and it was a hotwire straight to her belly and Hannah squeezed her hands around his, the tips of her nails digging into the skin just below his knuckles as she was completely overwhelmed by him and powerless to stop her body’s reactions.

“Let go…” she gently flexed her fingers. “Wanna feel you…”

Ari obliged and she moved her hands round his broad back, her fingers skating over the expanse of muscle and he gave a groan at her touch, his mouth straying back to her neck, his lips and beard gliding over her skin. Hannah turned her head, nudging his jaw with her nose and he raised her head, allowing her to reciprocate the affection, her mouth kissing at his neck and jaw line.

“I love you Ari…” she muttered, and he gave a low groan, rotating his hips as opposed to thrusting, causing her to cry out, her hands grasping at his shoulder blades.

“I love you Hannah…” he said, repeating the motion, well aware she was fast reaching the end, his lips crashing back to hers, chests gliding together, both of them covered in a light glisten of sweat. Ari’s hands gently cupped her face as he pushed into her as deep as he could go, his movements becoming slow and deep, rocking into her as opposed to thrusting, not wanting any inch of his body to be away from hers. “I love you so much baby girl…”

In contrast to his furious actions before, Hannah noticed the shift. Everything about his movements now screamed pure love and affection, and that drove her wild with her own love and lust and it wasn’t long at all before she felt the heat beginning to swell in her lower belly.

“Ari…Ari…” his name became a mantra, punctuated by her breathy moans and pants, her lips moving against his as she repeated her chant until the words died in her throat and her head tipped back in a silent cry.

“Fuck, Hannah…” Ari groaned as he felt her pulsing around him as she came, a strangled moan escaping her mouth and his lips became furious against hers, the kiss deep, his tongue wrapping onto hers as he picked up the pace slightly. His hips pushed forward deeply, and with another few sharp thrusts his rhythm stuttered and the world around him positively span as he came, hard, with a surge that he wasn’t quite sure he’d felt before. He stilled, deep inside her, before he gave a few shallow thrusts, riding his own orgasm out before he collapsed down on top of her, completely and utterly blissed out, the pair of them waiting for the world to right itself.

And for the first time since their reunion, Ari realised, that there was no goddamned rush. There was nothing to worry about, no concern about them falling asleep and sleeping in too late.

Nothing.

The revelation sparked something in his chest and he swallowed, pushing himself up slightly so he could lean down and give her a soft kiss, his forehead pressing to hers, his eyes shining as she glanced up at him.

“You ok?” she asked softly, reaching up to brush his hair back off his face as she noticed the look on his face.

“More than ok.” He smiled, his lips on hers again, “Because I just realised, we got all the time in the world Firefly.”

She grinned and nodded “Yeah, yeah we do.”

Still inside her, not ready to put that distance between them quite yet, he pulled her with him as he rolled to his side, her leg hooking over his as his hands skated down the bare skin of her back, his mouth trailing soft kisses down her neck to the crook of her shoulder as she gave a soft hum of contentment. He pressed his lips to her temple as she sighed happily, tucking her head underneath his chin the two of them simply laying in the dark, alone, wrapped around one another as close as they possibly could be.

**** Chapter 10

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind Ch 9: Doctors Orders Part 3

Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: The final of the 3 parter!! We hope you’ve enjoyed this one, it’s been a monster chapter!

Catch up with Part 1 and Part 2 first…

 Once the diving tours and usual chores were done for the morning, the team gathered together again at lunch time. The aftermath of Ari and Sammy's fight still lingered but they had been avoiding one another like the plague all morning and as such, lunch was as civil as it could.

"So what’s in store for the afternoon, Red, seeing as you have an honorary getting old day off…" Jake asked as they finished lunch.

"Still younger than you Loop, in fact any of you round this table so…" she said, waving her hand at the rest of them.

There were a few mumbled groans about her being the baby of the group, and Max threw a breadstick at her which landed on the floor much to Simon’s delight. Rachel then appeared and nodded to Ari, telling him she had finished setting up what he had asked her to, and he smiled at her before he cleared his throat  "Actually I need Hannah to help me with something this afternoon." 

He cursed internally, rolling his eyes at himself, when he realised what he had just said. His words eliciting sniggers and oooooooohs from everyone around the table. Well, bar from Sammy of course, who was glaring at him and Hannah who was looking at him with curiosity. "Want me to babysit Simon? You know, wouldn’t want the poor pooch to end up more scarred than he is." Max obviously wasn't letting the opportunity to tease pass him by.

Ari rolled his eyes. "It’s nothing like that, get your minds out of the gutter." "Yeah, you know…" Jake agreed, eyeing Simon up. "I really shouldn’t wear shorts around him."

"You’d get tan lines then Loop." Hannah quipped. Max sniggered. "He’ll be putting matches between his toes next and walking like a penguin."

That image of Jake sent everyone bursting with laughter and Jake shrugged. "Suppose I should be flattered I’m the fuckable uncle."

"Better than the grumpy one." Hannah deadpanned as she stuck her tongue out at Sammy who rolled his eyes, a flicker of a smile on his face. "I think we all know I’m his favourite uncle…the food one." Max grinned with satisfaction.

Ari was listening to the conversation, checking his watch. He was anxious as the next part of his plan was set to commence in 10 and he needed to do something first but, at the same time, he was also glad the nonsense they were all talking had diverted Hannah's attention so that she wasn’t trying to guess what he was up to. Hoping there weren't any more setbacks for the day after Sammygate, he tapped her on the arm, grabbing her attention.

"Come on."

She looked at him, shrugged and stood up. She was even more curious now but decided to just roll with it.

Ari turned to Max. "Watch Si for us, will you?" Hannah looked at him amused, now he was talking as if he was a concerned parent who needed his kid looked after while he was busy.

Sammy glared at Ari. "Seriously..."

Hannah turned to her brother sharply, her hands on her hips. "Stop. Now."

Sammy groaned and sat back in his chair, clearly sulking. But Ari couldn't be bothered dealing with him, Rachel would have to cope with his petulance. He simply took Hannah’s hand and led her out of the room and down the beach towards her hut.

"You taking me to my hut, lobo?"

Ari chuckled. "Yup. But not for what you think though."

"Bummer." 

Ari laughed at that and looked at her. "Later sweetheart. We got all night and all morning now everyone knows."

She stopped and turned to face him, smiling. "I know the way it happened wasn’t ideal but…I’m not gonna lie. I’m so relieved."

"Me too." He smiled back at her and leaned down to place a lingering peck on her mouth that he had to break as a few cat calls erupted from a group of teenage boys on the beach. Hannah sniggered as Ari tossed them a sarcastic wave.

"Feels good to be able to just do that." she sighed contented.

"Damned straight." he agreed before resuming the walk to the hut. "You know Max made a good point before?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said us being together is an even better cover. I mean think about it. A couple making a go of a hotel here together is much less suspect than some random, single, white man in his late 30s doing it alone." he explained.

"Oh, so that’s why you’re with me?" she teased him.

Ari nodded. "Yeah, can’t think of a single other reason. In fact, I’ve been plotting this whole thing since the night of your 21st."

"Oh, I see, so seducing me was part of some huge plan was it?"

Ari raised an eyebrow at her.  "Seducing you? Now, you know that’s not exactly true Firefly."

 "I was an innocent little wallflower until you corrupted me." she retorted as they stopped at her hut door.

"Bullshit." 

Ari opened the door for her to step inside and she followed. He waited to speak till he had closed the door behind him "Now open the first drawer in your nightstand."

"You’re so bossy." she rolled her eyes.

"Don’t pretend like you don’t like it, wallflower." 

At that Hannah gave a full on laugh causing Ari to grin as she headed to her nightstand and then paused and turned to look at him, squinting her eyes in the process. "Why do you want me to open my panties drawer?"

Ari hesitated, mentally cursing Rachel as she had earlier told him that was where she would leave his present. Think, Levinson. He looked at Hannah before he grinned cheekily.

"Because I bought you a vibrator. Isn’t that were you’re supposed to keep them?"

Hannah blinked for a second or two and then laughed heartily.  "Well, I hope it runs on batteries, not like I can charge it in reception, is it?"

Ari pondered for a moment. "I dunno, be amusing to see Sammy’s face."

"He’d go into cardiac arrest. And that’s not funny…"  Ari rolled his eye, he was done joking. "Just open the damned drawer Hannah."

"Eager much are we, lobo?"

Ari took a deep breath, she was pushing too far, and dropped his voice. "You know you’re paying for this tonight firefly."

"Oh no…" her voice sounded as sarcastic as it could be. "Please don’t threaten me with wild sex Ari…"

"You’re gonna beg for it, believe me…" he said, his voice a low growl which went straight to her core and her reaction didn’t pass him by. He smirked. "Now, open the drawer." Ari held his breath as Hannah finally did as she was told and found a little package nestled in amongst her underwear, wrapped in light blue crepe paper. She frowned and pulled it out before turning to look at Ari whose face was impassive but she could tell from the way he licked his lips, he was nervous.

"Ari, what…"

"Open it and see." He insisted.

She didn't hesitate and opened it as anticipation was killing her and she gave a little gasp as she took the silver and amber firefly pendant in the palm of her hand. She fell speechless. Ari saw her gape but nothing came out and then she looked at him, finally finding her voice. "It’s a firefly, Ari." she said so softly he almost missed it.

Ari laughed softly. "I know that. Why do you think I bought it?" Hannah looked at him, her eyes sparkling, and he smiled. "I saw that in Port Sudan when we went that time, we weren’t even together back then… nor was I dreaming we ever would be."

"That’s…that’s why you didn’t take me the last time? Because you wanted to buy this for me? I thought…"

Ari cut her off. "I know what you thought, and I hated making you upset but…"

She looked at him again, then to the necklace. "Can you…" she asked as she handed it to him and turned around, pulling her pony tail out of the way. Ari moved to drape it round her neck, fastening the clasp at the back. "You know, it shines in the dark too, just like my firefly."

She reached up to grab the pendant, tipping her head round to look at him with tears in her eyes and he smiled, steering her to the mirror. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder as she looked at the necklace in the mirror. He placed a soft kiss to the crook of her shoulder, straightening up. 

 "I love it." she said, her eyes locked onto his in the mirror and he swallowed. 

Fuck it. He loved her, he damned well loved her and he should have told her 9 fucking years ago. So he took a deep breath and before he could chicken out he spoke, his voice soft but clear. 

"I love you, Hannah."

Her breath caught and she turned slowly in his arms to look at him, silent tears escaping her eyes as she cupped his face with her hands.

"You don’t need to say it back, not yet, I just…" 

Ari was dying to lean in her touch but she had fallen silent and he didn't want to push her into doing something she didn't want or feel. So he stayed put, letting his eyes do all the work for him.

"But I do. I do. I love you, Ari.” her voice was gentle, and Ari felt his chest doing flips as a huge grin spreads across his face. He leaned down, his mouth slanting on hers in a deep kiss that left them both breathless when he pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers.

"I should have told you that years ago."

"Better late than never." she whispered, her lips grazing his.

Late. That word made him remember something. Shit!

"Yeah, hold that thought sweetheart." he said as he pulled away from her and his arms fell to his sides.

"What?" she frowned.

"Trust me. I got a surprise for you." He brushed his hair out of his face with his fingers and smiled at her.

"Another one?"

Ari nodded and turned his eyes to the bed and Hannah for the first time saw one of their radio transmitters. She couldn't believe she had been far too wrapped up in Ari to pay any attention and notice the equipment on her bedspread.

"Was that there all this time?" she looked at him.

"Yup. And we’re late so…" Ari bent over and hit a button.  "Team leader to base."

There were some static crackles and a few seconds later, Ethan’s voice rang out. "Base receiving, we are secure."  There was a pause and then Ethan spoke again. "See you are as punctual as ever Ari.”

"Sorry, we got a little side-tracked…" Ari grinned at Hannah.

"Sure you did.” Ethan said sardonically “Congratulations Hannah, I hope you’re having a great day…"

Hannah was grinning ear to ear at the sound of the man’s voice. "Thanks Ethan, it’s been great. I’ve been spoilt and…it’s just been amazing…" she explained as she smiled at Ari while she sat down on the bed. Ari's stood beside her, his hand gently between her shoulder blades, his thumb skating the back of her neck.

"Glad to hear it, and I have someone here with me who is going to make it even better."

"What do you mean?" 

She looked at Ari who shrugged. There was a bit of rustling at the other end and then a voice spoke, a familiar voice which made Hannah’s hand fly to her mouth in shock, tears instantly filling her eyes.

"Hannah, are you there sweetheart?"

Hannah took a deep breath, her voice shaking with emotion. "Yeah, I’m here mama…"

"Don’t cry honey…”

"I’m sorry mama, I’m just so happy to hear your voice” she sniffed, “I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too my little girl, but you’ll be home for a visit soon, right? Feliz Cumpleaños, mi niña"

Hannah nodded, wiping her tears which were now falling uncontrollably at the sound of her mother wishing her a happy birthday in Spanish. "In a few weeks, yeah."

Ari bent down and kissed her cheek, whispering. "Let me go find Sammy."

Hannah smiled, knowing full well Sammy would want to speak to their mama too.

Ari left, giving Hannah and her mother some privacy and wandered down to the main building. Sammy was surprised when Ari came out of the blue into the reception area looking for him but was even more shocked when he explained him what was going on. He blinked and looked at Rachel who smiled and nodded. Wordlessly, he followed Ari to Hannah’s hut. Sammy went in and spoke to the radio and Ari heard Mama Navon’s exclamation as the 3 of them then began to furiously jabber away in a mixture of English and Spanish. 

He waited outside the door, for 20 minutes or so, sitting on the sand just watching the waves and smoking. He smiled as Simon trotted over, apparently having dodged Max again, and flopped down next to him.

"You shake off Uncle Max buddy?" he asked the dog as he scratched his ear. 

He heard Hannah calling so he stood up and went in, Simon following suit and jumped up on the bed, ignoring Sammy as he stood there wagging his tail which repeatedly hit him in the face. Ari chuckled as Sammy stood up before he greeted Mama Navon who thanked him for setting the call up and then told them all to stay safe. After a quick goodbye they ended the call and Hannah looked at him as she stood up.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." she said as she hugged him tight.

"I told you, anything for you firefly." he spoke, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. 

Sammy took a deep breath, looking away as he too composed himself from speaking to his mama. He then cleared his throat. "Hannah, can you give me a moment with Ari?" She pulled away from Ari and looked at him narrowing her eyes as he shook his head gently. "I promise I’m not gonna punch him again."

Hannah then looked at Ari who nodded. She turned to leave, but not before she pointed at Sammy. "You best not break your promise, or I’ll break your face Samuel." And with that she left, whistling to Simon who followed her, closing the door behind her as she went.

Sammy tore his eyes from the door to look at Ari and took a moment to assess him before he finally spoke.  "Listen, Ari…what you did for her there, with the call, it was just.."

Ari shrugged. He got what Sammy was trying to express but couldn't find the words to and decided throw him a bone. "Well I know she misses home so…"

Sammy shook his head. "We all miss home, Ari."  he sighed. "But that was…” he trailed off. “Look, sorry I punched you in the face."

"Call that a punch?" Ari snorted.

Sammy narrowed his eyes at him. "Don’t temp me."

Ari held his hands up. "Wouldn’t dream of it."

He gave Sammy a sincere smile. He was confident the call from their mother had done more to help his cause than all the words and apologies in the world could have done. Sammy looked for a moment like he was about to say something else but he didn’t, instead he nodded before turning and leaving.

****

Later that evening, Ari headed down to the dining area to find everyone, bar Rachel and Hannah already there. He knew that Rachel had been doing Hannah’s hair for her so he wasn’t surprised they were still absent. He nodded to Max and Jake, flashing a tentative smile at Sammy who returned it with a jerk of his head, and he walked through to the kitchen to grab a beer. He returned the dining room, settled himself in a seat and was watching a couple of guests settle at a table a few down when he heard Max give a low whistle. “Damned Girl!

Ari looked round and almost choked on his drink at Hannah’s appearance. She was wearing the outfit her mama sent her. The white crochet top was cropped, and fairly low cut, leaving not much to the imagination (not that he needed to imagine it) and the high wasted matching skirt finished mid-thigh. On her feet she wore a pair of flat, gold gladiator sandals that twisted up her legs to her knees. Her hair was cascading down her back in dark, silky curls, the top half of which had been twisted away from her face and fastened into some kind of loose braid. Her make-up was light, as always, but the subtle burnt gold she’d shaded over her eyelids made her blue eyes pop even more. She looked stunning.

God, was it hot in here or just him…

Max meanwhile was stood to the side of the room, watching Ari, whose mouth was hanging open. He nudged Jake who in turn glanced at the positively gawping man at the table and grinned.

“Radio base…Team Leader is unresponsive.” Max sniggered and Jake let out a groan.

“Man, and to think I was chasing after her myself when all the time…” he shook his head “I’ve been an idiot haven’t I?” Max gave a nod “Yes, you have.”

“That’s what I thought.” Jake confirmed, watching as Hannah approached the table.

“You never stood a chance pal.” Max patted his shoulder sympathetically “Not with Ari here anyway, they have history, you know that.” Jake sighed as they too made their way to the table. As they passed a group of tourists, one of the girls made a deal of looking Jake up and down before winking at him. He grinned at her, nodding, all the time keeping his eyes on hers as they passed. Max gave a snort.

“Can’t keep a good man down for long…” Jake smirked.

“There’s nothing good about you, you’re a dirt bag.” Max rolled his eyes.

As they got to the table, Sammy was complaining about Hannah’s outfit. “Seriously? Mama made that? Hannah, I can see-“ “Don’t you dare say it…” she glared at him. Sammy simply rolled his eyes as she moved to take her seat at the table, before he turned to say something to Rachel. Ari took his chance and dropped a soft kiss to her lips as she settled next to him.

“You look beautiful.” He smiled, and her cheeks flushed shyly.

“Thanks.” She looked at him, taking in his light blue button down. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Lobo.”

They ate a dinner of seabass, Hannah’s favourite, engaging in pleasant talk and a few drinks before Max stood up and loudly announced to the guests that there was a gathering planned on the beach with some music to celebrate Rosa’s birthday. After a few more drinks they migrated to the area on the sand which had been set up, the boys all carrying cool-boxes full of beer and spirits down with them. Drinks where handed out and over the next hour or so the group sat, Jake integrating himself with the girls he’d noticed at dinner. At some point Sammy’s guitar made an appearance and he provided the music for the group as Hannah sat on Ari’s knee as he perched on the wooden logs which were being used as seats.

Whilst everyone was clear that they were an item now, they still didn’t want to flaunt the PDAs too much, but the more alcohol they consumed, the less of a shit either of them gave. Soft stolen kisses became more frequent, Ari’s hand gently skated her bare thigh in a not-so-subtle way that was easily noticeable to anyone watching. When Jake and Max declared loudly that enough was enough of the strangled cat routine Sammy was giving (earning them the bird in response) the stereo kicked in and Sammy placed his guitar down, his eyes straying to his sister and Ari. They were both talking to one of the guests, Ari’s hand looped around Hannah’s hip as she perched on his lap, her own arm draped around his neck, the plastic cup full of gin and lemonade hanging in her hand.

Sammy placed his guitar down, took a deep breath and looked away. Rachel, not missing the look on his face gave him a dig with her elbow. “I thought you’d made your peace.”

“I apologised for punching him.” Sammy turned to look at her “Still doesn’t mean I’m happy about them. And I certainly don’ want to see it.”

“Sammy, look how happy she is, how happy they both are.” Rachel corrected herself. “Have you ever seen Ari like that?”

Sammy sighed, because he hasn’t, not even with Sarah. The fact was, Ari Levinson, or Guy Thomas as he was tonight, was behaving like a love sick teenager. The smile hadn’t left his face for a second.

“Exactly.” Rachel took Sammy’s lack of response as an answer. Her eyes strayed to Hannah, who tipped her head back in a loud laugh at something, and then she turned back to Sammy “Have you seen the necklace she’s wearing?” “Spotted it before.” Sammy replied “And now it’s glowing it’s kinda hard not to see it.”

“I was with Ari when he got it for her in Port Sudan, the day after he came back from his leave.” Rachel said simply and Sammy turned his head to look at her. “You should have seen his face when the guy explained the firefly glowed in the dark. He told me he’d spotted it weeks ago and had to come back to get it for her birthday…”

“Ok, I get it Rachel.” Sammy rolled his eyes “Look, I’m happy she’s happy and I guess, I’m glad Ari is too, I just…” he signed and shook his head “Forget it, it clearly doesn’t matter what I think.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.” Rachel shrugged “But if you can’t learn to live with whatever is bugging you about it all so much, then they’re gonna learn to live without you.”

“Well, guess I don’t have much of a choice then huh?”

Before Rachel could reply, the brash tones of In The Navy rang out of the speakers. Jake stood to attention, saluting Max who flipped him off and Ari shook his head, he drew the line at this musical abomination. Hannah pouted a little as he stood, jolting her from his lap but he simply gave her a kiss and told her he was heading off for a drink. When she declined his offer of a top up, he strode away from the group who were now marching on the spot, a few of the girls from the guest groups having joined in. Simon was also doing his best to remain part of the festivities, jumping around and barking.

Ari gave a chuckle at the dog’s antics and opened the lid to the cool box which was set a little further back from where they’d set up camp for the evening.

“Can you pass me one?”  

Ari jerked his head up to look at Sammy, before he gave a nod, grabbing 2 bottles from the box. He popped the lids on both, tossing the opener back down and handed it over.

“Thanks.” Sammy took it from him, taking a long pull.

They stood in silence for a while, Ari knowing Sammy well enough to know that he was currently contemplating how to say what he clearly wanted to. And, sure enough, after a moment or too he heard his friend give a heavy sigh as he turned to him and spoke.

“Look, I’m not ok about any of this but well, Hannah, she deserves to be happy and for whatever fucking reason you seem to do that for her so…” Sammy shrugged “But Ari, I am warning you, you hurt her and I will kill you.”

It was Ari’s turn to sigh “Sammy why do you always have to think the worst of me? Yeah I fucked up with her in the past but let’s not forget, not all of that was my fault.”

“Look, man.” Sammy shook his head “I gave the same warning to Andy ok. I can honestly say it isn’t personal this time.”

At that Ari cocked his head, looking at him. He knew that this was Sammy’s way of giving him and Hannah a very grudging go-ahead. Not a blessing as such, but still, it was better than open hostility. Ari’s hands fell to his hips and he looked down at his feet before he raised his eyes to look at Sammy, a small smile playing on his face. “You know when it comes to it, I hope Rachel’s brother hates your guts too.”

“Rachel? I…what…why do you…” Sammy furiously blushed as he stumbled over his words. Ari said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow and Sammy shook his head, snorting “Guess you know too huh?”

“Hannah told me she suspected it a while back.” He nodded.

“She always has been a pain in my ass.” He grumbled.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think that’s ever gonna change.” Ari smirked, his eyes glancing back over at his girl, where she was still dancing.

“Probably not.” Sammy took a deep breath, “You know, for the record, I don’t hate you Ari…I love you man, and I love my sister.”

“So do I.” Ari looked at him, “And I don’t ever want to hurt her again.”

At Ari’s words, Sammy took a deep breath. Love…ok, that was a little unexpected. But as he stared back at Ari, there wasn’t a shred of insincerity on the man’s face. He gave Ari a small nod, and turned back to watch the group as the opening bars to YMCA rang out over the night air, along with Jake’s loud shouting. As the two men watched, he and Max jumped up onto the over turned logs, launching into the dance routine.

“Which one is the cowboy?” Sammy asked and Ari snorted.

“Max.” he concluded after a little pause. The two men shared a grin and Sammy slapped Ari’s back.

That was the point Ari knew that it was going to be ok. Not wanting to make too big a deal of it, he smiled and then changed the subject.

“Do you remember that time we were singing to Rod Stewart, Do You Think I’m Sexy in that car in the middle of New York?”

“Jesus…” Sammy half-chuckled, half-groaned. “You know I try not to think about that a lot. The windows to the car were wide open…”

“Yeah, and those girls walking past just stopped and stared at us like we were 2 crazy bastards.”

“You are a crazy bastard.” Sammy teased and Ari gave a little nod, conceding the point playfully.

As they stood, still watching, Hannah and Rachel were pulled up onto the log by Max and Jake and Sammy shook his head, chuckling.“You think we should rescue our girls from those two idiots?”

Ari paused, the use of the term registering in his brain. He grinned and looked at Sammy “So you’re there already? Calling her your girl?” “Piss off you cocky bastard” Ari snorted and turned back to the dancing in front of them “Nah, leave them, they’re having fun. Besides, they can handle themselves.”

This remained Ari’s sentiment until YMCA finished, and Hungry Like the Wolf started to play. He watched, the 4 of them step down off the bench as the beat started, and then Jake  looked like he was having a little too much fun with Hannah, his hands on her hips from behind as she swayed side to side.

Ari stiffened slightly and Sammy, not missing a thing spoke, his tone amused. “Want me to hold your beer?” Ari turned to give him a look before he thrust the bottle at Sammy and pushed through the group of dancers. When he reached the two of them he tapped Jake on the shoulder. “Do you mind if i…”

Jake raised his hands. “Sure man I’m gonna…ummmm….just go.”

Ari watched him leave before he turned to Hannah, fingers curling around her hips as his lips pecked her neck.

“Didn’t think it would take long before you showed up.” She quipped, tilting her head to look at him.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like him touching what belongs to me.”

Hannah chuckled “You’re such a possessive bastard.”

Ari hummed in response as Hannah reached down, grabbed his hand and tugged him towards where Rachel and Max were dancing. He protested at first but then, for the first time in God knows how long just let himself go. He danced along, grinning as Max started doing some furious type of dance thrusting his shoulders inwards and be arched an eyebrow as they were joined by Sammy too. Hannah watched him carefully for a moment but he simply flashed her a huge grin which she reciprocated and continued her dancing. Ari spun her around, and she giggled, stumbling a little until he reached out and caught her, his own chuckles being drowned out by the music.

The group of agents remained on the beach in the middle of the temporary sort of dance floor, under the large wooden archway which was decorated with fairy lights, simply dancing and laughing for another few songs until the music slowed down and the opening notes of Your Song drifted across the sea breeze. Ari grinned as Hannah’s arms slid up his chest stopping on his shoulders, his hands falling to her hips as they gently moved their bodies a little closer than they had been. Ari leaned down and placed a soft peck on Hannah’s lips, her hand gently stroking his neck, fingers lightly dancing over his skin. If he was Simon, his damned leg would have started to shake as every time she did that it felt like fucking heaven.

“I saw you talking to Sammy before. Everything ok?” she asked, her blue eyes bright as she glanced up at him.

“Yeah.” Ari said honestly “Yeah, I think it is.”

“Good.” Hannah beamed “Because I can’t stand the thought of you being at one another’s throats.” “It wasn’t really a thought I was relishing either.” Ari said, before he grinned wickedly as he bent a little closer to speak into her ear whilst he spun them both around a little to the music. “Although one I am relishing, however, is just exactly how I’m gonna make you beg like I promised before.”

His hands gently squeezed her hips and she felt his fingers softly bunching in the crochet material at the side of her skirt. “I didn’t realise you liked my outfit so much.” She spoke softly as his fingers continued to play with the item of clothing.

“I do.” He grinned back, “But as nice as it is, I’m looking forward to seeing you with nothing but that necklace on Firefly.”

“Yeah, well I gotta admit I’ll be glad to take it off. I mean, it’s pretty and everything but the top is a little uncomfortable…” at that she wriggled her hips and Ari gave a grunt as she pressed up against him, her pelvis almost flush to his. “Or maybe it’s the fact that I can’t wear a bra with it.”

Ari blinked, looked straight down at her cleavage, making no attempt to hide the fact that he was ogling at her before he glanced up at her to see her biting her lip.

And that was it, he was done.

“Ok.”  With a swoop he bent down and lifted her so she was over his shoulder causing her to give a squeal. He swatted at her ass as he turned and began to stride away from the group of party makers. There were loud whoops and cheers, above which Max’s trademark filthy chuckle could be heard and a low groan from Sammy.

Hannah planted her hands in the base of Ari’s back so she could push herself up slightly to wave at everyone. “See you tomorrow guys!”  she giggled as Ari strode away from the group and down the beach.

Hannah’s hut was nearer so that was the one he made a bee line for. He opened the door, made sure Simon was inside before he shut it with his foot and set her gently down on the floor.

“I suggest if you like that outfit you take it off pretty quickly before it ends up in pieces on the floor.” Ari looked down at Hannah, his hands grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him.

“Wait…” she said, her palms falling flat on his chest, before her fingers nimbly moved to the buttons on his shirt. “I wanna unwrap my last present.”

Ari arched an eyebrow at her but didn’t protest as she undid the buttons on his shirt, before she reached up and pushed it back over his shoulders, her hands smoothing down from his pecs to his defined, but not ripped abs, biting her lip as she took her time appreciating him. She glanced back up, her hands following her eyes before she reached up and pulled his head down to hers in a searing kiss. His lips locked on hers Ari trailed his hands up her sides, brushing the bare flesh that was on display from her short top before he grabbed the hem of it. She moved back, holding her arms up so he could pull it over her head and then his lips were back on hers, his large hands splayed on her back, pulling her chest flush to his.

He trailed open mouthed kisses across her jawline, finding that spot by her neck, giving a nip, all the time listening to the soft whimpers she was making in his ear as he backed her towards the bed and rather unceremoniously shoved her back onto it. She gave a soft giggle and started to move herself to the middle but in a flash he reached out and grabbed her ankle.

“Ah ah.” He said, as he dropped to his knees. “I told you, you were gonna beg for it sweetheart.”

She looked at him, propping herself up on her elbows, Ari groaning internally at the sight of her bare chest. His hands slid up her legs, finding the waistband of her skirt and in a single movement slid it down, along with her panties, leaving her bare on the bed before he unbuckled her sandals and slid those down over her calves.

Taking her left leg in his right hand he pressed a kiss to her ankle and continued his affections upwards, pressing small yet sloppy kisses all the way up until his nose was skimming along the apex of her thigh. She let out a groan of delight as she gently bent her other knee to allow him access and this time he couldn’t stop the soft moan which bubbled from his throat and he snuck one glance up at her, to see her head was already titled back in arousal. He reached up, and pushed on her shoulder, causing her to lay flat and then set his mouth on her.

There was nothing gentle about any of his movements, his tongue lashing at her, teasing her sensitive bud before poking deep into her, positively fucking her with his mouth. Her hips bucked upwards, pushing onto his face and he couldn’t help but smirk at how easy it was to draw the reactions he wanted from her. One of her hands reached into his hair, as he continued to eat her out with the ardour of a man starved. Her sweet, salty tang on his tongue set every nerve in his body on edge and the more he tasted the more he wanted. He felt her grip in his hair tighten, as her hips rotated slightly, seeking more friction and the relief that came with it, and as he felt her breathing begin to quicken he abruptly stopped, pulling back. Hannah stilled and gave a low whine as his fingers gripped at her hips, his mouth moving to the insides of her thighs, away from where she needed and wanted him most.

“Ari…” she began to protest and then his mouth was back on her again, edging her closer and closer to her orgasm until, a short while later as her breathing and gasps became ragged, he once more he pulled back.

“Ari, please?” her voice was broken plea, and he grinned, rising to his feet as he looked down at her.

“Told you, you were gonna beg Firefly…” he said, shedding his remaining clothing and freeing his now painfully hard cock.

“Don’t…” she looked at him, shifting slightly as he crawled over her. “Don’t be mean, it’s my birthday…”

“I’m well aware…” he muttered, his lips ghosting a path up her neck to her chin “This time 9 years ago I was kissing you outside a Club in Tel Aviv…”

He nipped at her neck and she keened underneath him, her body begging him for more, so needy and so ready for him. His tongue licked a line up her throat as his hands slid up her bare sides, calloused fingers ever so gentle over her ribs. His hands found hers and he pinned them to the bed either side of her head as his mouth moved down and his tongue flicked at her nipple as he took it between his lips, drawling a loud groan from her as her hips bucked involuntarily at the sensation. 

His lips caught hers in a deep, sloppy kiss, and he moved his hips and with a powerful thrust forward he sheathed himself inside her, causing her to wail into his mouth, her lips open against his. He started moving his hips, slowly, deliberately. Each thrust measured and powerful, his open mouth never once leaving hers as they panted together, sharing air. With every rock into her, moans of delight and pure pleasure flowed from her throat to his, every inch of their bodies pressed as close as they could get.

Ari plunged his tongue into her mouth and it was a hotwire straight to her belly and Hannah squeezed her hands around his, the tips of her nails digging into the skin just below his knuckles as she was completely overwhelmed by him and powerless to stop her body’s reactions.

“Let go…” she gently flexed her fingers. “Wanna feel you…”

Ari obliged and she moved her hands round his broad back, her fingers skating over the expanse of muscle and he gave a groan at her touch, his mouth straying back to her neck, his lips and beard gliding over her skin. Hannah turned her head, nudging his jaw with her nose and he raised her head, allowing her to reciprocate the affection, her mouth kissing at his neck and jaw line.

“I love you Ari…” she muttered, and he gave a low groan, rotating his hips as opposed to thrusting, causing her to cry out, her hands grasping at his shoulder blades.

“I love you Hannah…” he said, repeating the motion, well aware she was fast reaching the end, his lips crashing back to hers, chests gliding together, both of them covered in a light glisten of sweat. Ari’s hands gently cupped her face as he pushed into her as deep as he could go, his movements becoming slow and deep, rocking into her as opposed to thrusting, not wanting any inch of his body to be away from hers. “I love you so much baby girl…”

In contrast to his furious actions before, Hannah noticed the shift. Everything about his movements now screamed pure love and affection, and that drove her wild with her own love and lust and it wasn’t long at all before she felt the heat beginning to swell in her lower belly.

“Ari…Ari…” his name became a mantra, punctuated by her breathy moans and pants, her lips moving against his as she repeated her chant until the words died in her throat and her head tipped back in a silent cry.

“Fuck, Hannah…” Ari groaned as he felt her pulsing around him as she came, a strangled moan escaping her mouth and his lips became furious against hers, the kiss deep, his tongue wrapping onto hers as he picked up the pace slightly. His hips pushed forward deeply, and with another few sharp thrusts his rhythm stuttered and the world around him positively span as he came, hard, with a surge that he wasn’t quite sure he’d felt before. He stilled, deep inside her, before he gave a few shallow thrusts, riding his own orgasm out before he collapsed down on top of her, completely and utterly blissed out, the pair of them waiting for the world to right itself.

And for the first time since their reunion, Ari realised, that there was no goddamned rush. There was nothing to worry about, no concern about them falling asleep and sleeping in too late.

Nothing.

The revelation sparked something in his chest and he swallowed, pushing himself up slightly so he could lean down and give her a soft kiss, his forehead pressing to hers, his eyes shining as she glanced up at him.

“You ok?” she asked softly, reaching up to brush his hair back off his face as she noticed the look on his face.

“More than ok.” He smiled, his lips on hers again, “Because I just realised, we got all the time in the world Firefly.”

She grinned and nodded “Yeah, yeah we do.”

Still inside her, not ready to put that distance between them quite yet, he pulled her with him as he rolled to his side, her leg hooking over his as his hands skated down the bare skin of her back, his mouth trailing soft kisses down her neck to the crook of her shoulder as she gave a soft hum of contentment. He pressed his lips to her temple as she sighed happily, tucking her head underneath his chin the two of them simply laying in the dark, alone, wrapped around one another as close as they possibly could be.

[ultimate-distaster-material]

-Shuichi Saihara Birthday Special- Birthday Boy~Vol.2

SHUICHI POV

I wake up to the unbearable sound of the monokubs yelling into the monitor, alerting me to wake up. Something about today felt different from the last, as excitement flushed through me, and had absolutely why I had felt like this. Today had a quite special feeling to it that I couldn't recognize. Yet I ignored the thought and quickly got dressed, brushing the sprinkles of dust littering my uniform and wasting a full 5 minutes contemplating whether or not to wear my hat to breakfast. I decided to leave it behind, trying to fight off my addiction to wearing it. Plus, if things got out of hand, I could always come back for it.

I briskly walked out of my dorm, venturing to the kitchen to fix myself a coffee and relax. I love coffee.

"Shumai!"

I instantly knew who that voice belonged to. My lovely boyfriend, Kokichi Ouma. I turned to witness him bouncing excitedly towards me, with a big box rested in his arms. I pondered for a moment.

-Why does he have a box? And why does it have wrapping paper on it?-

Suddenly everything clicked. The special vibe to the day, the present Kokichi was carrying, and why I had felt an overwhelming excitement earlier.

It was my birthday.

September 7th

I waved happily at Ouma as he inched closer, somewhat struggling to carry the present and running out of breath rather quickly. I quietly chuckled at his attempts, and watched him as he almost dropped the present onto the seat and collapsed into my arms, panting heavily. I continued to laugh at his childness and ran my fingers through his silky purple locks, while he impatiently looked up at me, before suddenly jumpscaring me by throwing his hands into the air.

"Happy Birthday, Saihara-Chan!"

I smiled as he aggressively hugged me like a human teddy bear, and I thanked him soon after. I watched as he began to speak, not expecting what happened next.

"Saihara-Chans a big meanie! He doesn't wanna open my present!"

He wailed, clearly attempting to make a dramatic scene as crocodile tears poured out of his purple orbs, hitting the floor with a slight splat. I rolled my eyes and picked up a present.

"Calm down Koki. I'm opening it now."

"Yay! Let's see what you get Shu-Shu!"

I gently peeled the checkered wrapping paper, revealing the box hidden inside it. I was a little scared to open it because it was from Kokichi, yet I still trusted him. Carefully, I opened the box, to reveal a ton of objects scattered inside.

"You didn't' have to waste all your money on me, y'know."

He grinned and put his arms behind his head, doing his signature pose.

"Don't worry! I used Momota-Chan's money instead!"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, nishishi!"

I sighed and pulled out one of the objects, which was a stack of mystery novels. I swore he could see the stars in my eyes, even without looking. I studied the books, acting like a child on Christmas Day. If he got a cent for every time I said thank you to him, he would be rich. I peered down at the box, reaching for the next object. Mascara. I glared at him.

"Really?"

"Y e s"

I sighed and placed the mascara back into the box, pulling out a black coffee mug instead. I smiled at the object, studying the designs decorating its outsides. Beautiful thin streaks of teal blue slashed across the side, and the deep black colour surrounding the lines.

"Thank you for this, Kokichi."

He smiled at me, swaying back and forth on his heels, his black and purple shoes digging into the tiles. I carefully placed the mug onto the table, and grabbed another object from the box. A checkered scarf. dug through the box to find the very last item. I let out a long relaxed breath as the last item sat perfectly in my hands. A realistic drawing of Kokichi and I, hugging each other. I peered up at my boyfriend, curious.

"Did you draw this?"

"Maybe."

I sighed and stared at the beautiful picture in my hands, before gently placing everything back into the box.

"Sidekick! Maki~Roll and I are here to wish you the best birthday to ever happen in the galaxy!"

"Shut up. You're just embarrassing yourself."

Maki sent a deadly glare at Kaito, making him shiver a little as he handed over the present. I ripped the wrapping paper that was littered with stars and gazed down into the box. I picked up the first item, which was a plastic covered CD of some sort. I inspected the disc, reading the information on the back. My Chemical Romance. I had been secretly wanting this for a while, yet would never admit it. The only person I told was Maki, because I know she honestly doesn't care about judging people other than Kaito and Kokichi. And maybe a few others that I shall not name. I peered back down into the box, double checking that I hadn't forgotten something. The only thing there was a 'Milky Way' chocolate bar that I would eat later.

"Atua told me to give this to you, Saihara~Kun!"

The random voice popped out of nowhere as I was thanking Kaito and Maki. I almost jumped off the chair in fright.

"A-Angie! How long have you been there-?"

"Only a few minutes, nyahahaha~"

I sighed and took Angie's present from her hands, the paper decorated with paint splotches and strokes. I repeated the process, open the box and find a new item to add to my growing collection. This time I had gotten a quite large paint brush, and a drawing of me. I gratefully thanked Angie for her gifts as Miu dramatically entered the room.

"Ayo virgin! I got something for you emo boi. Take it or leave it, it's from Miu Iruma herself! "

She sat down a few chairs away from me after handing me the box. I wasn't prepared. It was probably gonna be something sexual. To my surprise, it was a extra pair of her goggles, but just the way I would've wanted them. I've always told Miu her goggles looked cool, and now I was thanking her for giving me a pair.

"Also...Piano freak told me to give you this and say happy birthday for her."

She passed me a photo of Kaede and I playing the piano, which I admit seemed was a memory I would cherish forever.

As the day went by, I was almost buried in gifts and wrapping paper from all of my classmates. I got a load of new items, and I was grateful for all of them. Gonta had even gotten me a mini cage with a small caterpillar in it, so I could learn how the insect turned into a butterfly. And Rantaro got me a necklace that matches his. Tenko only go me some chocolates, claiming that she didn't wanna give me something better since I was a 'degenerate male'. Himiko had gotten me a beginners magic trick set and a guide to go with it. Tsumugi had sewed me a cool detective costume I had grown quite fond of. Kirumi and Ryoma had even offered to play board games with me and had rented me some books from the library. Korekiyo had gotten me a 'ritual guide', which I studied a little and was pretty interesting. Kiibo had even set up a huge slumber party for all of us. Kaede showed up eventually, claiming that she was helping Kiibo set up the surprise party.

I must admit, that was one of the most fun birthday I have ever had. Ever.