#otherwise we can go ahead and get a pet as soon as we get settled in wherever we move 1-2 months after moving

[deadmomjokes]

Do you have any new adventures with bean?

Not so much an "adventure" as a "We all knew this day was coming, but now what do we do about it?" moment, but have the story nonetheless. (Because it is occupying my thoughts nonstop, mostly because she won't let it go.)

Picture this: It is bedtime for a young girl who historically hates bedtime. Because of this, we have done up her room with what one would consider The Works--blackout curtains, white noise machine, specifically-requested rainbow nightlight, and a brand new Big Girl Bed with a fancy headboard full of cubbies, which house her many stuffed animals/bedtime buddies.

Every night, she chooses one of these friends to sleep with (which may or may not get swapped three or four times throughout the night, because she is my child after all and indecision runs in our veins like a wild horse through a dewy morning field). This particular night, I ask "Which toy would you like to sleep with?" and she cheerfully says, "Duck."

Not a toy duck, mind you. It is a plushy cat named Duck, whom she loves very very much. Her other toy cat is named Toast. She is very good at naming things. But moving on.

She snuggles up with Duck the Cat, and I prepare to tell a bedtime story as usual. But something is wrong. In the pastel-neon glow of her rainbow nightlight, I see her eyes begin to well up. Her forehead wrinkles. Her eyebrows crease over a nose that is rapidly turning red beneath its smattering of freckles.

I am as confused as I am concerned. The protests and sorrows don't usually begin until after story time, when kisses and night-nights have been deployed. More importantly, they're usually all performative. But this is genuine sorrow.

Before I can open my mouth to ask what is wrong, she turns her watery baby blues on me and chokes out, "Mama, I'm sad."

I ask, "Why are you sad, baby?"

She looks from me, to her precious Duck the Cat, lying silent and still beside her on the pillow, and places a tiny hand on the plush, overstuffed head.

"Duck is my pretend pet cat. I'm sad because there is not a real cat." And she once more fixes me with a weepy, heartbreaking look of soul-crushing despair and says the words I have long dreaded: "I want to have a real pet cat."

Y'all, her dad is allergic to cats.

I'm not talking "sneezes and sniffles" allergies, either. I'm talking "was rushed to the ER as a child," "breaks out in full-body hives," "has full-blown reactions from simply interacting with people who have recently held a cat" kind of allergies. His allergies are so severe and sensitized that he essentially functions as radar for cat owners: hug someone and wait for the sniffles and itchiness. It never fails. There is no way this man could ever coexist in a house with a cat for longer than a few hours while doped up on benadryl, even one of the "hypoallergenic" breeds (which is very misleading and dangerous misinformation, but that's a whole other post in itself).

I mean, it's not like we can have a pet right now anyway. We live in a no-animals housing situation. We're also likely to move cross-country by the end of the year or early next, which would be difficult on any animal. I'm working on finding the right meds for my ADHD, my husband is running around to post-op PT and followups, Bean is dealing with her own specialty appointments for her gastric issues. It's just not a great time to bring in a pet. But the one-- the only one-- we could never have in our house to begin with is the one that my daughter happens to catch a Pining for at a grand 3.5 years old, which is, perhaps, the worst possible age to try and explain the many reasons we should not/cannot have a pet right now. Especially the one she wants.

The wee one knows Dad can't be around cats. That's part of why she was so sad. But the Pack-Bond Longing has officially come upon her, and she wants a pet. Really, really wants a pet.

Unfortunately, she comes by it naturally. My husband and I are both Animal People to the core. We run the Slimy Critter Rescue Brigade when it rains. Despite crippling anxiety disorders, I once skipped classes and made 3 hours worth of phone calls (as well as sacrificed my favorite handmade jacket) to catch an injured seagull that tried to take my face off multiple times. Her dad can't resist petting a cat if it comes within his line of sight even though he knows good and well it will have severe consequences. I have broken housing rules multiple times to care for injured or orphaned animals, only some of which were domestic pet species.

So it's not just her. We are all in Deep Mourning at the moment. It doesn't help that our brilliant genius child remembers the kinds of animals that Dad is not allergic to. She tells us at least once a day that she really wants to have a pet, and it is okay that we cannot have a cat in our house because Dad is not allergic to lizards/some dogs/fishes/birds/snakes/guinea pigs (that appears to be in order of desire), so maybe we can have one of those animals for a pet.

Worse, any one of us technically qualifies for an ESA to bypass the housing issue.

As the adults, we're trying really hard to be strong and think of the best thing for an animal, which does not include entering into a household in transition and likely to uproot soon.

But she's right and speaks for all of us: "I want a real pet animal to be in my house." :(

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Dancing 'til the break of dawn - Pt1

(TWST zombie apocalypse au for all your crack-fic needs)

Yuu would like to make one thing very clear: he did not start the zombie apocalypse on purpose.

In fact, he would like to argue that it – probably – would have started even without his help! Yeah, so he might have accidentally fed and housed a zombie cat because he had mistaken it for a very unfortunate stray on its last legs, and the zombie cat had bitten his parents, turning them into zombies, which kickstarted the apocalypse… but how did that zombie cat come to be? Hm? Hm?

The apocalypse was inevitable! He swears!

But, uh… he would admit that maybe taking in Grim was not the brightest decision he had ever made.

Or maybe it was an amazing plan. He hadn’t yet been attacked by a zombie. He was pretty sure that the zombies were a hivemind of sorts, and since he was nice to Grim they were all cool with him… or something. Maybe he was just uniquely disgusting to the point where no one wanted to eat him. Which was a weirdly insulting thought to have, so he preferred to believe that Grim was doing him a heck of a solid.

Which had its own problems. Had he accidentally sacrificed the entire human race for the sake of saving his own skin? Because that would be, at least, the tiniest, littlest bit messed up, he thought.

He rubbed his weird zombie cat’s head. Grim was a strange looking thing, with green skin and a face that was visibly on the verge of rotting. However, Grim was still a cat, Yuu was pretty sure, and therefore he deserved all of the love. He opened his arms, smiling when Grim readily hopped into them for the sake of pets. The texture was close to that of a hairless cat, save for a tiny patch of moss on the end of its tail, which looked soft, but Yuu had no intentions of touching it. Not right now, at least. Maybe if this zombie apocalypse survival stuff got too hard he would give in to temptation despite the very high likelihood that it could end in him getting infected.

Maybe tomorrow would be the day, he mused absently. After all, he was running low on supplies. He’d need to leave the safety of this random apartment and find a convenience store or something of that nature sometime soon, otherwise he’d starve to death.

But he didn’t wanna. Do you know how hard it is to find a store that hasn’t already been ransacked? Would you want to have to evade groups of humans who had taken to cannibalism way too quickly? Do you think it’s easy to explain to people that, actually, the zombie cat isn’t parasitic and lying in wait until it can kill you? How good would you be at ignoring the screams of people being eaten by zombies? Like, really, his life was so awful. You would think it was karma or something! He would like to reiterate that he does not deserve this! The zombie apocalypse was not his fault!

He groaned and flopped down in bed with Grim, burying his face in a pillow. It smelled off, slightly dingy, but he wasn’t going to complain. It wasn’t like the old owner had known they were going to have the most uninvited of guests. And he couldn’t file a complaint, anyways, because chances were they were dead already.

He huffed and pressed a kiss to the top of Grim's head.

"Make sure to get a good night's sleep, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," he mumbled. He wished he could say it was more to himself than anything, since he was aware that it was very weird to talk to a cat (a zombie version of a cat, no less), but... no. He was talking to Grim.

And Grim, to his credit, purred like he understood and settled down to sleep.

Yuu continued to stay awake for only a few moments more, his eyes remained trained on the ceiling as he pieced through his plan for the next day.

He ended up drifting off out of pure boredom before he had even finished planning his route.

It wouldn't matter anyways, though, surely tomorrow would be just another day.

~

Yuu sighed lightly as he trudged down the street. Zombies were avoiding him, as usual. He liked not being eaten, so this was nice.

The summer heat was not nice, though. He glowered at the orange skies above him as if he could will the sun to leave him alone already. It did not listen to him, which was disappointing, but he would live.

Probably. Hopefully.

He’d have an easier time living if Grim didn’t insist on being carried everywhere like the diva he was, because Yuu had seen him walk a few times, the lying prick, but fine. Whatever. It wasn’t like the ability to use his hands was necessary during an apocalyptic scenario or anything.

He was left to grumble incoherently as he continued on his search for a store that was still stocked enough to bother breaking into.

He found one… far sooner than he’d thought he would.

Suspiciously fast, actually.

He looked at Grim.

“What do you think, buddy?”

Grim blinked his one eye at him lazily.

This was practically a glowing endorsement! No zombies inside!

He deserves this, really.

He looked around for something to break the glass. It wasn’t difficult. He set down Grim despite the cat’s whining so he could pick up an abandoned brick. There was a dark red stain on the corner of it.

Ewwwwwwww. It was sticky.

He threw the brick at the glass door to the convenience store with probably a little bit more force than was entirely necessary. But, in his defense, it was gross to touch.

It wasn’t even worth it in the end! Because, the second he stepped towards the door, winding the cloth of his shirt around his hand so he could widen the hole enough for him to step through without injuring himself, the automatic glass doors slid open.

Yuu blushed. “Good thing no one saw that, right?” he said to Grim.

Grim, who he was beginning to suspect might actually know what he was saying, gave him what one could only describe as a raised eyebrow. Considering the cat only had half a face, making this expression was actually quite the feat. Yuu wasn’t sure how he felt about the effort the zombie put into making sure that he could accurately interpret how unimpressed he was.

He sighed, picked up the zombie again, and stepped inside.

The place looked like… well, just about any place in the apocalypse. Blood stained just about everything, rendering the food labels largely unreadable. The emergency lights still worked, but only barely, flickering more than the lights in a B-list horror movie. What had almost definitely once been a person was slumped in a corner, though it was almost unidentifiable now, its clothes missing and its guts torn out.

Yuu set down Grim so the zombie could go and have a snack.

Grim didn’t leave his side, instead he stayed close to his heels.

This, really, should have tipped him off that something was wrong. Grim never turned down the opportunity to eat.

Yuu, though, was too busy rubbing his thumb on a canned food label, trying to figure out what aisle he was currently in, to notice.

No, it wasn’t until Grim started growling lowly that he looked up.

A boy with a shock of messy red hair and clothes that were painted with way too much blood for it to only have been his own had been trying to sneak up on him. He had a knife out, and Yuu didn’t think that there was anything that needed cutting anywhere nearby.

Yuu shrieked and threw the can of beans at him. The redhead stumbled backwards, cradling his head, mumbling curses under his breath.

And then his expression twisted into a scowl. His grip tightened on his knife.

He took a step forward.

Grim hissed, baring fangs.

The redhead only spared a halfhearted glance down at the cat before turning his attention back to Yuu, who was scrambling for another can to throw.

And then the redhead did a double take.

He screamed and backed up a few steps, only barely stopping himself from dropping his knife in his surprise. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR CAT?!”

Yuu hesitated for just a moment too long. “Uhhhhh nothing is wrong with him.”

“THEY'RE GREEN?!”

“And you’re white but I wasn’t going to say anything about that,” Yuu sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy spluttered. “First of all. I’m Japanese. Everyone here is Japanese. We’re in fucking Japan. Second. Of. All. Humans can be white! Cats can’t be green!”

“Explain Grim then,” Yuu argued.

There was no response. The boy was too stunned to speak. Because he had realized that Yuu’s logic checked out perfectly, no doubt.

Slowly, the redhead ran a hand through his hair. He pulled on a few strands, hard, seemingly trying to make sure he wasn’t asleep, or in some weird fever dream, or that he hadn’t been bitten and was now going insane… he didn’t seem to be all that glad to realize that everything in front of him was actually very real.

He sunk a little in defeat, leaning against a nearby shelf and eyeing Yuu warily, but at least he was no longer openly hostile. “What is wrong with you?” he asked, somewhere between exasperated and genuinely curious.

Yuu frowned. He was not sure he liked this line of conversation more than discussing Grim. Grim was green, after all! Out of the two, surely Grim should be getting all of the attention.

But he was pretty sure that saying that out loud might be considered ‘hypocrisy’, and despite the fact that this guy had definitely tried to kill him, he didn’t want to seem like a hypocrite in front of him!

Wait a second.

“I’m the weird one?! You were trying to kill me!”

Grim didn’t look particularly happy upon being reminded of this fact.

The boy didn’t seem happy that Grim wasn’t happy, because he immediately paled and rushed to say that, “No, I wasn’t!”

Yuu looked at the knife in his hand.

He cleared his throat and dropped it. He tried for an innocent smile, as if that would somehow make Yuu forget what he had literally just watched happen. “You know, I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“Because you tried to stab me,” Yuu said flatly.

He stuck his hand out. “C’monnnn, what’s a little stabbing between new friends?”

Now, Yuu should absolutely not take that hand. Someone that had almost stabbed him once would almost certainly attempt another stabbing in the future.

But he had started talking to a cat, as of late. A zombie cat that you could argue (to much success) that he had made the much worse decision to befriend in the first place. And that had turned out fine. For him, at least.

So, he jumped at the opportunity for a new friend. He grabbed his hand in both of his own, shaking it with what was almost definitely way too much enthusiasm.

“I’m Yuu.”

“Ace…” the redhead said. He tried to pull his hand away, but Yuu was half convinced that he would turn tail and run if he did that, so he held strong. Ace looked mildly bewildered by the entire situation. He looked at the zombie cat at Yuu’s feet for a few moments. The cat did not seem all that pleased by this newfound friendship – the way he eyed the pair’s interlocked hands spoke volumes. “I don’t think that they like me.”

“He doesn’t like anyone,” Yuu said, shrugging.

Ace hesitated, briefly. His eyes flicked over Grim a few more times.

Realization sparkled in his eyes as he realized what, exactly, Grim was.

He looked at Yuu again, something appraising in his gaze. Something wary.

Without looking away from Yuu, he reached his free hand into his pocket. He pulled out a scrap of mystery meat and dropped it on the floor for Grim.

Grim sniffed it, once, before eating it.

Ace breathed a sigh of relief when the cat gave him what was unmistakably a nod of approval.

(And then visibly had a crisis over the fact that he was, apparently, looking to a cat for approval.)

~~~~~~~

Pt2>

[babymetaldoll]

So happy together (Spencer Reid / Reader)

Summary: Spencer bumps into an old annoying classmate, who brags about his perfect family, and Reader decides to pretend to be Spencer’s wife to shut him up.   

Warnings: As fluffy as you can get 

Word count: 2,3K

Part II

Masterlist 

. 

It wasn’t strange that Spencer and (Y/N) spent their free time together when they weren’t on a case. Their job at the BAU left them just a few weekends off, and though they were all day on each other’s faces at work, they loved going out whenever the opportunity arose. 

It might have been related to the fact they were best friends. 

Also to the fact they were in love, but neither of them had still said a word about it. 

Years had passed. Years. Morgan and Penelope were going nuts waiting for them to confess their feelings, but though they had literally pushed them together - once they were “accidentally” locked in a supply closet of the BAU for two hours- nothing had happened yet. 

Even Hotch was annoyed. He was happy Spencer had someone he loved around him, but all Aaron wanted to tell him was: 

- “You have to act on your feelings before it’s too late, ‘cos you never know what will happen tomorrow, not just in this job, but in life. Take what makes you happy and keep it close”. 

Of course, the day he tried to talk to Reid, all Hotch managed to say was: “Tell (Y/N) wheels up in thirty” and that was it, but he was planning on giving the kid a speech about love, as soon as he got a chance. 

Then again, when did he have time to do anything besides work? 

It was Saturday, and Spencer was taking a calm walk in a park with (Y/N). She had promised Mrs. Sanders from 307B she was going to take Lizzy - her five years old corgi - out to play for a while, ‘cos it was making the old woman insane. Mrs. Sanders was the only neighbor (Y/N) actually talked to…. mostly ‘cos she was never long enough in her house to meet the rest of them. (Y/N) took her dog for walks as often as she could, and the old lady always baked her brownies and cookies for her “and her boyfriend”

- “Your boyfriend is too skinny, take him these and tell him you made them for him, men love when a woman cooks for them”- the old lady smiled and gave (Y/N) a tray with freshly made cookies- “And tell him to cut his hair, he looks scruffy”.

(Y/N) never told her otherwise, a part of her loved the idea of Spencer being her boyfriend…. and besides, it would be rude to break an old woman’s heart. Right? 

- “Do you want an ice cream?”- Reid asked her and took her from her thoughts. 

- “Yes! I need sugar ‘cos I’m so tired I’m gonna fall asleep standing here”- Lizzy barked at them and left her ball on the ground- “You on the other hand, never get tired, do you?”- the young woman threw the ball.

- “Go fetch, baby!!”

Spencer walked to the ice cream truck and got her a chocolate chip cookie dough cone - he didn’t even need to ask- and a mint chocolate chip for himself. He stared at her playing with Lizzy and for a second, he imagined she was actually his girlfriend, and they were spending their day off together, walking their dog, eating ice cream, holding hands. It was perfect in his mind. 

- “Here”- he gave her her cone and smiled. (Y/N) was about to thank him when a stranger’s voice stopped her. 

- “Spencer!! long time no see! how are you?”- a man stood next to them, he was maybe five years older than them, tall, good looking, he was carrying a little girl in his arms, and holding a woman’s hand tight. She was pregnant and smiling happily. It was the portrait of a perfect family. 

- “Carl, hey, hello, how are you?”- Reid was surprised to see him, it had been years since he had seen his old classmate, and he could have lived a long happy life if he hadn’t seen him again. 

Carl wasn’t really nice. He wasn’t mean, or a bully, or anything like that. He was just… an asshole sometimes. He was always bragging about everything he had: grades, cars, girls, anything you might think of. Spencer always thought it was because he needed to be validated over and over again as an alfa male, which wasn’t really his problem. But still, after hearing him for years when he was younger, Reid had enough of him. 

- “It’s so weird to find you here, I thought you would still have your nose buried in books like you always did on weekends!”- Carl laughed at his own joke, and Reid just nodded, with an awkward smile. 

- “No, I… sometimes I go out now”- that was all he managed to say

- “This is my wife, Andrea, and our little angel, Anna, she is three… and Carl Jr is on his way”

- “Nice to meet you”- Spencer waved and couldn’t even introduce (Y/N), ‘cos Carl continued talking. 

- “Can you believe I got married? I always said I was never going to settle down and here I am! with a happy family! you should come and visit us! We just bought this fantastic house outside town, with a big yard and lots of space for the kids to run and play!”

(Y/N) stared at Carl and bit her tongue. She had heard about him a lot in the last few years. Spencer told her all about the classmate who kept telling him about the dates he had with the girls he wanted to ask out. And all the fun he had at the parties he wasn’t invited to. And how he managed to always make him feel smaller, though he didn’t actually mean to. Sometimes people can’t help being assholes. 

- “And who is your friend?”- the assumption (Y/N) was his friend and not his girlfriend (although it was actually accurate, that was another problem) made Reid’s blood boil. Why couldn’t he have a pretty girlfriend too? 

- “Hi! I’m (Y/N), Spencer’s wife”- she waved and smiled- “Sorry I can’t shake your hand”- she added and showed them the dog toy she was holding, and the ice cream cone.

- “Come here Lizzy! come here!”- the dog sat next to her and (Y/N) pet her sweetly. 

- “Wife! man! I never thought you had it in you”- Carl didn’t realize he was an ass, he didn’t mean to, but that didn’t stop him.  

Spencer just smiled, and in what seemed to be the boldest move he had ever made, he wrapped an arm around (Y/N)’s waist and moved her a little closer to him. 

- “Yes, we’ve been married for two years already”- she added, resting her head against his arm, feeling her stomach tighten. Spencer’s perfume was all around her, and she loved it. Besides, the fact he was now holding her close was killing her. Literally, she could feel she was about to have a heart attack, and it was completely worth it. It took her a few seconds to realize her ice cream was melting in her hands. 

- “Shit!”- she jumped and moved from her “husband” to clean herself. 

- “Here”- Carl’s wife handed her some baby wipes and looked at her hands for a second- “Did you lose your ring?”- shit, Andrea was nosy and annoying, just like her hubby.

- “I usually won’t wear it playing with the dog, or at work”- lies came out of (Y/N)’s lips as easy as breathing- “You know… we are both FBI, and you don’t know when someone might actually take advantage of any kind of information they have about you”

- “FBI? you?”- Spencer looked at Carl and sighed. Right, he wasn’t done teasing him yet. 

- “Yes, I’ve been working at the BAU for the last couple of years, profiling serial killers”- Reid made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, and (Y/N) decided it was time to brag a little. 

- “Honey, don’t be so modest, you are the best profiler, we are the only team with a Doctor in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering”- and Reid blushed- “Besides, you joined the FBI when you were 22 years old”- (Y/N) smiled and looked at Carl- “Did you know he is the youngest SSA the bureau had ever have? there was no psychological exam or test the FBI could put in front of him he could not ace inside of an hour”  

Carl looked at Reid and nodded, trying to find something to say. 

- “That’s great, I’ve got my own law firm by the way, in case you ever get in trouble”- he joked and looked at (Y/N)- “Or in case you want to divorce him ‘cos he ignores you over books”

- “I could never! did you know he has saved around 352 lives in the last two years? he actually got the FBI Medal for Meritorious Achievement a few months ago… I am so proud”- (Y/N) leaned in and kissed Spencer’s cheek. He looked at her blushing and just smiled. 

- “You look adorable”- Andrea finally said- “It’s like you just started dating!” 

- “Well, we have to go”- Carl didn’t manage being overshadowed very well- “It was very nice to see you, Spencer” 

- “Same! take care, nice to meet you, Andrea”- Reid waved and smiled. (Y/N) did the same and kept eating her ice cream. 

- “I hate him”- she whispered as soon as they were far enough not to listen- “I’m so glad we didn’t invite them to our wedding”- Reid laughed and shook his head

- “You didn’t have to do that”

- “Nah, I wanted to”- she really did- “He was being a jerk, just like you told me he was” 

- “He doesn’t mean to… I think” 

- “Well, he got what he deserved”- (Y/N) felt Spencer’s eyes on her, looking at her in adoration. 

- “Thank you, buttercup”- and she giggled

- “You are very welcome, honey bunny…”- and the silence seemed to last for ages until Lizzy started barking. 

(Y/N) smiled and looked away from him, knowing she was blushing. She really loved that nickname, and he didn’t call her by it as often as she would like. She grabbed the dog toy from the ground and threw it to Lizzy, who ran immediately.

- “Mrs. Sanders made you cookies”- she said after a few minutes- “But she said I had to tell you I baked them for you, ‘cos that what’s girlfriend’s do to get men’s hearts”- Reid’s cheeks were still red, and those words didn’t make it better- “But considering we are already married, I guess I don’t have to do that anymore”. 

They both laughed and then, stayed quiet again. Reid could hear Rossi’s voice yelling in the back of his head “Ask the girl out, for crying out loud”, but he couldn’t even open his mouth, petrified. 

(Y/N) finished her ice cream, watching Lizzy playing with other dogs, and sighed. They were standing side by side, both looking ahead. 

- “We should head back”

- “Doyouwannagooutwithme?”

The slur of words was so fast, not even Spencer understood what he had just said. But (Y/N) did. She stood next to him feeling her knees shaking, as well as her hands. It had happened. It had finally happened. In her head, she was screaming “YES, OF COURSE I WANT TO”, but her lips weren’t moving, and Reid was starting to panic. Maybe Morgan was wrong, and (Y/N) did like him that way. Maybe he had just ruined the best friendship he had ever had. Shit! what had he done. 

- “I mean, I understand if you…”- but she didn’t let him finish 

- “Yes, I do”- that was really all she could process. And he didn’t know what to say next. There was no random fact to kill the silence, they would always have a lot to talk about, but that time they were speechless. 

- “Tomorrow?”- he managed to whisper

- “Ok”- she nodded as the two of them kept looking at Lizzy 

 - “I’ll pick you up for dinner”- Spencer’s voice was so soft he was scared it was going to shake and embarrass him  (he was already embarrassed, but he didn’t want to make it worst). 

- “Sounds good”- (Y/N) slowly turned her head and looked at him, nearly holding her breath. Her best friend finally asked her out. The best friend she had been in love with for years had just asked her out on a date. And all she managed to say was: 

- “So… do you want a cookie?”

- “Sure…”- he nodded and smiled. (Y/N) called Lizzy and put on her leash. Gave Spencer the paper bag with homemade cookies she carried in her purse and smiled.

.

- “Did you know Christmas cookies date back to Medieval Europe?”- and there it was, Spencer’s random fact of the day, just on time to kill the silence when they were about to reach (Y/N)’s apartment. 

- “Really?”

- “Yeah, the traditional Christmas flavors, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, became very popular, and those are exactly the same spices medieval cooks would have used in their cookies ages ago”

- “I love Christmas cookies”

- “I know”- he smiled and looked at her- You bake them all year long 

- “I can’t help it, they are too good”- she giggled and stood outside her building door. They just stared and smiled, Lizzy trying to get (Y/N)’s attention rubbing her head against her leg. 

- “I’ll see you tomorrow then”- Spencer blushed at the hint of their date and (Y/N) nodded

- “See you tomorrow”- and neither of them moved. Lizzy barked again and forced (Y/N) to wave and open the door. Spencer just stood there for a second, staring at the empty space in front of him where (Y/N) was standing a few seconds ago, and suddenly, it all sank in.

- “What the fuck did I just do?” 

[gojology]

Jealousy. (Extra)

You can find Jealousy here: Part One Part Two Part Three 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 | sorry for the inactivity, i’ve been taking a break. regardless, i’m super happy because i finished most of my hw! someone wanted an extra of my fic Jealousy, so that’s what im doing. you may have noticed this isn’t very good, but i haven’t written in a while so bear with me :(  𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 | Teen! Gojo Satoru x Gender Neutral Reader 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 | 1167 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 |  I didn’t exactly proof read this, and it’s rushed, so expect a lot of reusing of words and just overall not amazing writing. Cursing, ALL CHARACTERS HERE ARE AGED DOWN FROM PRESENT ANIME/MANGA INTO WHEN THEY WERE TEENAGERS. 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 | After confessing with Gojo Satoru himself, you and him walk on the path that would lead you back to Shoko and Geto, you two take your sweet time though, savoring the sweet, new love.

   Everything in your body was finally settling in. Your frazzled nerves had just begun to go away.    You’re walking back to the picnic, fingers intertwined with Gojo’s. Your pounding heart had subdued. Yet, you still felt fuzzy and warm, you had pinched yourself repeatedly to make sure it wasn’t a dream earlier.     The air smelled like fresh dew on grass, the scent of flowers weakly wafted in the air as well, you were drinking in the beautiful weather, enjoying the calm, quiet between the two of you.     Normally, every confession of love followed suit with cheers of joy, or perhaps a kiss, but strangely, a quiet walk through the park was something you didn’t mind.     Turning your attention towards Gojo, there was a slight curve to his lips. He didn’t smile like that often, it was either a full blown toothy grin, or nothing at all. Wind ruffling his hair, taking longer and longer strides that you couldn’t quite catch up with.     “Hey Daddy Long Legs, I’m not 6′3 you know.” you say, sarcasm and a hint of annoyance relevant in your tone.     “Oops. Sorry.” he looked down at you, stopping in his tracks.     “What? Satoru, we don’t have all the time in the world, come on, Shoko and Geto are probably waiting for us.”     ‘Why’s that matter?” crouching down so he could stare at you eye-to-eye, well, more like eye-to-glasses, you hadn’t seen his eyes too often. But when you did they were a brilliant shade of blue, flecks of different variants of the color sprinkled carelessly around, they were breathtaking. You hoped to see them more, why wouldn’t he show you them? After all, he was your... Boyfriend.     The term felt so weird to say, but so good.    “Didn’t we just start dating?” he said, cocking his head to the side, his eyebrows knitted together.     Snapping out of your daze, you study your shoes. “Well- Yes... But, that’s not the point.” your eyes flickered to the field of flowers dancing in the breeze.     “Honey, that’s entirely the point. We just got together and you’re gonna care about Shoko and Geto? You’re too considerate~” he cooed, pinching and pulling at your cheeks.     “...Is it okay if I call you honey..? Or uh, you know, pet names in general.” he added, you swear you can sense a quivering in his voice, some doubtfulness.     Biting your lip, you turn your full attention towards him, flower field be damned, you were dating the guy now, it was okay to be confident.     “...I actually prefer it.”     It took a moment to register in his probably small brain, but when it did, he beamed at you, giving a full blown smile.     “So I can call you Honey? Sugar? Cuddle Bug? Snuggle Wuffle? Snufflekins? Well I kind of already knew you were gonna say yes, by the way.” he cleared his throat, “because, I’m the strongest of all time, and I can also read minds, I swear.”     You giggle, not even realizing you were smiling at him as well, his face lit up.     “Satoru, It’s okay, just admit you were scared I was gonna say no.” He straightened himself, finally standing up. He put his hand at the back of his neck, still looking down at you.     “I wasn’t sweets, I knew you were gonna say yes, but uh, you know consent and stuff...” trailing off, he kicked at a pebble.     “I don’t think you need consent to call your significant other cute pet names, well, most of the time.” stifling a laugh, you turn to face to the very start of the pathway you and Gojo were walking on.     “Pretty, isn’t it?” he breathed. “Pretty place for a pretty person. I’m happy you told me here. Otherwise, It’d probably be when you’re fighting a curse and on the verge of death.”     “Satoru!-” Did this guy have no shame?     “What? I woulda saved you regardless, sweetheart. How am I gonna date someone that’s dead?” he chuckled, ruffling your hair.     “That’s insensitive!” you snorted, focusing your attention towards the growingly dark sky.    “It’s growing really dark, Satoru. We should head back soon.” you thought aloud, once again weaving your fingers into his hand.      “I didn’t even realize. Spending time with you makes everything fly by.” he flirted, lifting your limp hand up and kissing your skin.      You weren’t quite ready for another kiss in a span of 30 minutes.      Struggling to come up with something cheeky, you gape at him, opening and closing your mouth.     “My significant other’s a fish now? Aw whatever, you’re still cute. Want more kissies, darling?”      He doesn’t give you time to respond, instead diving face first into yours, lips interlocking. Soft, chaste kisses, there’s nothing sexual about it strangely, yet every each one still carried intimacy and love. You melt into his touch, sinking deeper and deeper into his embrace, your knees were just about to give out.      Exhaling sharply out of your nose, you could feel the cool air fanning onto your face, your skin was growing hot and sticky.    Just as you were about to try to take it a step further, he steps out of the kiss, panting heavily, drooling like an idiot.     Your brain isn’t quite working yet, and you peer at him, dumbfounded by the events that had occurred.     The still atmosphere was penetrated by the two of you panting, breathing in deeply. Your heart beating furiously, did that really just happen? Did Gojo Fucking Satoru just kiss you?      “Woah there.” panting, he crouches, looking up at you and catching his breath. “Didn’t know you were that straightforward, not now, not now baby. Didn’t you say we needed to go back to Geto and Shoko anyways?”      Trying not to whine, you clear your throat. “Oh yeah, I forgot about them.”      “Glad to know I have that effect on you.”     “Satoru!- God why did I ever have a crush on you?” slightly annoyed by his remark, you scoff.      “Because I’m handsome and strong and super cool.”      You couldn’t quite deny those claims, but your mouth was zipped shut.      “That’s what I thought.” grinning at you, yet you can only faintly make out his facial features.      “Fuck, Gojo, or uh... Baby, we gotta go! What if Shoko or Geto think we’re kidnapped or something?” Hands once again clasping with his unoccupied one, you sprinted, dragging him along the beaten trail.     “Fuck Shoko and Geto! They know I’ll protect the both of us, nothing scares me sweetheart! Let’s watch the stars together, (Y/N)!” he hollered back at you, taking longer and longer strides to catch up to you.      “Oh FUCK no baby, you are NOT beating me.” giggling, you let go of his hand, you found yourself 100 times lighter. Now sprinting at the speed of light, or at least the fastest you could run, at the entrance of the pathway. Estimating that it would take around 3 minutes of full sprinting to get to the area.      “Last one there is a rotten egg! And you don’t get any of the remaining snacks!” you screamed back at him, but he wasn’t there.     Looking forward, you realize Gojo is now ahead of you by a landslide. Yelling unintelligibly about the tasty remaining snacks in the basket. Atleast, that’s what you assume he’s yelling about, but you were sure he would save some for you.    Today, was a good day.

[ilovebeing-weird]

The bats' secrets

Tim Drake was a duck, no he was three ducks impersonating a human. He was the ducks you saw in duck tales covered by a trench coat. Contrary to popular belief he wasn't a human. Wanna know why he is a genius? Because he is three ducks as one human. And ducks are intelligent apparently.

Wanna know why is she so awkward? Because duck! He didn't know what to do in the human world! He lived with animals all his life.

Shocked? That's what Marinette was feeling right now. Her boyfriend wanted to tell her a big secret and she didn't know what could be a bigger secret than him being Red Robin, but there was! He wasn't a human!

Now what's next? Huh? Jason's Donald? Here to take care of his three nephews, and went ape shit when he saw his nephews nowhere. He must've thought that "Tim" had eaten them. This actually made sense. Donald did have a hell of a temper.

One of the ducks whom Marinette presumed was Lui stepped forward. "I know that it must be hard for you to process Marinette but I wanted to be honest with you. I couldn't lie anymore. I am really sorry."

Marinette actually didn't know how to process that so she ran away. She knew that Ti- no, the ducks must've expected it because they didn't follow herher or tried to stop her and she was thankful for it. She ran to her and Tim's shared room before deciding against it and running to a guest room. (She could've walked but that wouldn't have been dramatic enough)

Marinette collapsed against a wall (dramatically) and sat there not knowing what to feel. She wanted to cry and scream but she also wanted to laugh. Because if you remove the whole 'my boyfriend lied to me about being a human which is actually the weirdest lie I have heard in my life and I don't know what's real anymore and what's fake' this situation was actually really funny.

Before Marinette could figure out her thoughts a knock sounded at her door. She opened the door expecting the ducks or anyone but Bruce. He awkwardly stood there for a while and they just stared at each other for a while before Bruce spoke, "I-uh-heard what happened between you and Ti-." Before Bruce could finish his sentence, Marinette interrupted him.

"Please don't call them that." Marinette averted her eyes. Bruce nodded, understanding her feelings. What the fuck was even happening anymore. Marinette had no idea. Life actually stopped making sense when she discovered that her boyfriend was Red Robin.

Marinette motioned for Bruce to come in and sit down and he began speaking again "So yeah, I heard that you know who, isn't a human? I know that it must be hard. Because you loved him. And uh, I won't say that I understand all of this because I obviously don't, and um. I don't think I have anything else to say." Bruce said, getting up. Marinette got up too and slipped on him. Bruce caught her but Marinette fell on him and before she could comprehend what happened Bruce, or the bats, flew out from the cloak he wore.

Bruce wasn't real either! He was also a bat. Not one bat, 100 bats! what the fuck is happening!? Marinette couldn't contain her scream this time and she screamed and ran away. She wanted to just go home. She wanted to forget about all of this. Just wanted to sleep and wake up to everything normal. No duck boyfriend, no vampire bat human and no Donald Jason. Well, the last one hasn't been proven yet but given the circumstances it may as well be true.

She was about to run out of the manor Alfred stopped her. "Ms. Marinette, please sit down. Dinner would be served soon."

"I-uh, I have to go." Marinette said, fiddling with the hem of shirt. Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"It's very late right now Ms. Marinette, I can't let you go out in this dangerous city alone." Marinette couldn't disagree with Alfred and if she doesn't include the whole duck and bats situation, it was a win. Alfred's cooking was to die for. Marinette sighed and went to the dining table.

There she saw that the ducks (again in the costume) and the bats (also in the costume) were already seated. She almost went to her usual seat next to Tim but decided against it and got seated leaving a gap of two seats between them. Alfred raised an eyebrow but didn't comment otherwise.

One by one everyone (they were all staying at the manor for a while, even Jason. Courtesy of Dick) shuffled in the room. They all looked at her but didn't say anything. Well unless Jason came.

Jason whistled "What's up Replacement? What did you do to anger Pixie-Pop? Huh? You two are not being all sickenly sweet and lovey dovey like usual."

The ducks scowled at him, "I don't wanna talk about it." They glanced at her but went back to their food. Marinette felt kinda bad for them, but then remembered that they hid something so big from her.

Marinette didn't feel like eating, the food Alfred made was obviously delicious but she just wasn't hungry anymore. The occupants in this house were, she didn't even know what to say anymore. Not human? Why would someone lie about being human? That's just, kwami she didn't know what to say. Like, ducks and bats are cool but there's a fucking line. You don't pretend to be human.

Marinette wanted to groan loudly, what the fuck was happening!? This is all so weird. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Damian and the duck's voice fighting "They won't let me pet them father!"

"Damian, what the hell are you talking about!?" The bats were done.

"Drake is three ducks in a trench coat!"

"Get off me!"

"Let me pet you!"

"Damian! Get off Tim!" Dick rushed to his side trying to detach them. He pulled a thrashing Damian and Tim straightened his clothes. "Grayson, let me go!" Damian started kicking Dick but he kept his grip strong. "Dupain-Cheng! Drake is lying to you! He is not a human!"

"What are you talking about Damian?" Dick was confused, really confused. Damian always fought with Tim but he never said something like this. How can Tim not be a human!? "Damian, are you okay?"

"I think you should get some sleep demon spawn, you're behaving weird."

"Shut up Todd!" Damian snarled at Jason. Jason rolled his eyes, used to it all. Marinette had a turmoil growing inside her. Damian knew? All this time, Damian knew!? And he was mad because the ducks won't let him pet them?

Okay, her life couldn't be anymore fucked up now. "Master Tim, are you okay?" Alfred helped them get up from the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks." They smiled at Alfred and went back to the table. Everyone was soon settled back.

"You've been awfully quiet today Sunshine. Is everything okay?" Dick looked at her concerned.

"Let her chill Goldie. She and Timbo had a fight." Marinette sighed internally. This wasn't true but it stopped Dick from pestering her. As soon as she had finished her meal she stood up and went to the guest room she was in before. This earned her some weird looks but they let it slide.

She sat there, her head was spinning, she felt overwhelmed from all of this. Nothing was making sense. Her head was spinning so fast that she blacked out.

Marinette woke up with a start. Tim's arms were wrapped around her protectively. Thankfully, that was all a very weird nightmare. Or was it? What if she wasn't dreaming and they used a machine on her to make it seem like it!?

She heard a groan from her side. "Bean, what happened?" Tim asked groggily. Tim was sleeping, that's a sign of danger if she had ever seen one.

"Nothing mon canard, go back to sleep. I just had a very weird dream." Tim hummed and hugged her tighter. She also went back to sleep. She needed it.

When they woke up the second time Marinette had some questions prepared. "Sooo Tim, have you been craving any bread recently?" Tim gave her a weird look.

"Bean, you okay? You know I don't like bread. Why would I crave bread?"

"Nothing, just had a thought."

"O…kay"

"Well, wanna go swimming in a pond? Have the urge to quack?"

"Mari, is this some kind of weird joke? I get it that my last name means duck but I am not a real duck." Tim asked, glaring at her. Marinette just cheekily smiled at him and went to search for Bruce.

"So, Bruce, I had some questions." Bruce raised an eyebrow at her.

"Go ahead."

"Do you like blood? As in its taste?" Bruce spat out the coffee he was drinking and started coughing.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

"Yep! Anyways, have you been hitting any blood banks recently? Have the urge to tangle your feet in someone's hair? Can you like, see or do you use echolocation?"

Bruce gave her a look which said 'are you okay? Do we need to get you checked? Did you hit your head somewhere?' Marinette just smiled at him.

Bruce just called for Tim and he came rushing down minutes after. "Bruce what happened?" Tim asked, concerned. When Bruce pointed at Mari, Tim knew what was the case.

"Come on Bean, you are gonna stay in bed all day." Tim put one hand on her shoulder and started leading her back to their room. On their way they bumped into Damian.

"Hey Damian!" Marinette chirply waved to him.

"Dupain-Cheng." Damian nodded in acknowledgement.

"Can I ask you something?" Marinette asked. Tim's face paled.

"No, Bean you're sick, let's go to bed. You need sleep." Tim said, pulling her.

"Just one question?" Marinette looked at him with those puppy eyes that he couldn't resist. He sighed and gave in.

"You may ask your question, Dupain-Cheng."

"Is there any particular reason you hate Tim? Do you secretly like him?" Damian glared at Marinette.

"I hate Drake because he is incompetent and not worthy of father's time. Do you want any other reason?"

"Bean, let's just go." Tim finally dragged her to the room and settled her onto the bed.

"What are your thoughts about trench coats? Would you ever wear one?" Tim knew that something was wrong with his girlfriend. He just jumped on the bed with her and cuddled her back to sleep. That's really the only thing he could do.

🐕 dog emoji to apologize

[supremeinlilac]

Count  (NSFW)

Pairing: Pre Apocalype!Wilhemina x Fem!Reader

Word count: 3125

Warnings: Caning, bondage, slight degradation(?), just filth I guess

A/N: This is my first time writing anything nsfw (i wrote it before mirror, mirror), so please let me know if there’s anything I can do to improve it. I’m a whore for constructive criticism :)

Tag list idk?: @extraordinarilycelestrial

Anger bubbled through your body as you trampled through the gate at the front of the house you shared with Mina. The porch lights were on, meaning she was already home, despite having left work about an hour after you to catch up with work in the quiet of her office . Jeff and Mutt had been at you all day, chipping away at your patience as you tried your hardest to ignore their stares and inappropriate comments and complete the report you were currently working on.

They had continued even after your polite remark insinuating that you had a lot of work starting to catch up to you, and that they had caught you at the worst possible moment. Mocking and teasing “oooooohs” followed you when you finally slammed your hands firmly onto your desks and asked through gritted teeth that they let you be.

Usually you would relax with Wilhemina over lunch and bitch to her about them and their intolerable attitudes, but today she had been extremely busy as well and kept her office door locked the whole day, much to your disappointment. You found your lunch with a hastily scribbled note that read: when your periods finished, I’ll help relieve that tension you have going on,, J which you scrunched up and tossed in the general direction of the bin, huffing and clenching your jaw to stop yourself from marching over to where the pair of them were sat, mouths set in smug grins watching you from across the room, and slapping one of them across their faces.

To top off all that shit, your car had broken down 10 minutes away from your house on the drive back, which was a 30-minute walk back in the biting wind. Without, unsurprisingly at this point, your coat, which you’d left in the office in your haste to leave. You had no choice but to do just that as your phone decided that today would be the day it would give up on life and refuse to turn on.

Long story short, you’d had just about enough.

You dropped your keys trying to find the right one that would open the front door. You audibly exhaled in a loud impatient groan, wanting nothing more than to collapse onto your bed and lie there until the anger dissipated. Slamming the door closed behind you and throwing your bag down beside the coat rack, you ran your fingers through your hair before stomping up the stairs, ignoring the call Wilhemina gave you from the kitchen.

Flopping down on the bed, you released a long yell that was muffled by the pillows your face was buried in. Still feeling anger after the first yell fell short, you allowed yourself a second scream, hands in your hair now, bunching at the scalp, so unbelievably pissed off that you failed to notice the door click softly closed behind you.

“And just what do you think you are doing?” her voice cut through the silence which now hung in the bedroom, making you jump but remain in the same position, now sulking at your unfortune of the past 8 hours. “Where have you been?” she spoke again, ignoring your lack of response at her first question. Her fingers drummed impatiently on her cane, which was clutched tightly between her two hands; her lips drawn tightly together as she rigidly stood and observed you on the bed.

You decided in that moment that you needed something to take your mind off the day you’d just had, so you clenched your jaw shut and closed your eyes, smirking into the pillow. You knew what you were doing to the older woman stood by the door, but you were in one of your moods, and feeling far to stubborn to give her the satisfaction of your submission.

Wilhemina’s eyes narrowed as she slowly advanced towards the bed, cane tapping threateningly. “Don’t you dare be bratty with me Y/N, don’t think I won’t punish you simply because you’ve had a bad day. Now I’ll give you one more chance to tell me what has got you so annoyed”. You slowly turned around from your position on the bed, a heat settling in your stomach at her tone as you faced her, legs crossed and an innocent smile on your face as you remained silent.

She didn’t even give you time to be surprised, a single yelp escaping your mouth as she lurched forward, gripping your jaw in her hand bruisingly and forcing your head up to look at her. She wore a smirk that made the heat fall straight to your centre, making you overly aware of the throbbing now between your legs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you pet” her thumb brushed your lower lip and you eagerly took it into your mouth, suckling on it and watching her eyes with your own. Removing it, she wiped it off on your cheek before tutting loudly, “take your clothes off; leave your panties on”.

Your brattiness now long forgotten, you scrambled off the bed in your haste to please the woman before you. The incessant tapping of her cane spurred on your actions, clothes discarded as you stumbled around before standing patiently beside her, arms by your side, the cold of the room prickling your skin as you shivered under her gaze.

She leisurely walked around your fidgeting form, nails dragging across the skin of shoulder behind her before she stopped behind you. You fought the urge to turn to face her, feeling her breath lingering on your shoulder. She deliberately smoothed her flat palms up and down your arms, chuckling at the involuntary reaction your body has at her touch. Leaning forwards and bringing your earlobe between her teeth, she pulled slightly and you couldn’t help the soft moan that left your lips at her action.

As soon as her touch came, it was gone. “Bend over the edge of the bed, hands behind your back.” She commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument on your part, as you did as she requested, sinking to your knees and lowering your torso onto the bed, your bottom up in the air. You felt something smooth and cold slip round your wrists, a ribbon most likely, and restrain your wrists tightly together. Her movements paused, allowing you to test the bonds which failed to give when you tried to escape them.

“Is that okay babygirl?” she checked, stroking your cheek lovingly waiting for your response. When you gave her the go ahead, nodding and letting out a breathy “yes”, she allowed herself to slip back into dominance. Pacing back and forth, she allowed you to suffer in the anticipation for a while, until you whimpered and fidgeted where you lay. “I’m going to give you 10 spanks” she paused, her smirk growing watching you tense, “with my cane. And you’re going to count for me.”

Your eyes widened in surprise and slight fear; she’s never used her cane on you before, only ever using it as a threat when you were pushing your luck and being too bratty for her liking. You couldn’t lie, the thought had also aroused you to no end, being punished with the very thing she relied on so heavily; but you knew Mina was never soft with her punishments. “But you’ve never used the ca-” she cut you off quickly, not in the mood for any backchat now she’d made up her mind what you deserved.

“Do I need to gag you baby? Or are you going to be a good girl for me and be quiet?”

Her sweet, mocking tone made you squirm under her gaze, you shook your head against the sheets. You didn’t want to exacerbate your punishment further, not that you ever held your bratty attitude long when in her commanding presence. Mina smiled, she loved that you so quickly fell in line for her, allowing her as much of the control and power she seeked.

“No, we couldn’t have you gagged could we? Then I wouldn’t be able to hear you counting little one. You will count for me won’t you?” you whimpered, eyes finding hers over your shoulder as she closed in. “I always loose count otherwise, and I’d hate to have to start again” she drawled, the corner of her mouth twitching as she raised her chin, eyes not leaving yours.

“I’ll count” you gasped, her hands coolly massaging your shoulders, drawing out the suspense of the impending caning. She knew full well what she was doing, confident that her patience could hold out extensively, all while you would get impossibly worked up and needy.

“Good girl.” Patting your shoulder, she withdrew her hands and returned behind you, out of your line of vision.

She brought the cane down onto the skin where your thigh met the curve of your ass, your body jolting forward unexpectedly, and you gasped at the feeling, which at first felt hot, blood rushing to the site before the twinge of pain kicked in. “One” you spoke confidently, cheeks flushed as you found yourself eager for her to bring the cane down on you again.

She paused, allowing the anticipation to hang heavily in the air as she ran a single finger slowly down your spine, revelling in how your body shivered under her light touch. She waited just long enough for your guard to come down and you to let out a small breath of relief, before swinging her cane back down onto your cheeks, wood biting at the skin as you let out a yelp of surprise.

Your voice was more raspy this time, the number spoken quickly, your arms straining against their confines, aching to soothe the skin that were now hot where she had landed the strikes. After the third hit, you couldn’t help the shame that ebbed at your mind that you were involuntarily enjoying Wilhemina punishing you; almost as much as she was turned on by the power you allowed her to hold over you. The coupled feeling of both pain and pleasure sent sparks of electricity through your body, as if suddenly being lit by a flickering flame.

Four and five came down on your skin in the exact same place as the third, catching the raw line that marred the skin of your butt and eliciting a hiss from your lips. You counted, voice smaller now as you bit your lip to avoid unwarranted sounds from escaping. The sixth hit was the hardest so far, and your hips bucked backwards involuntarily, not going unnoticed by the older woman who’s eyes darkened and a smirk graced her lips. You weren’t expecting your girlfriend to use such force; or the fact that this was turning you on more than you ever thought it would. Your vision was starting to cloud at the sensation, mind hazy as you focused on the deep throb between your legs.

Her nails digging slightly into the tender flesh of your ass was the only reminder you needed, choking out a strangled “six” before returning to biting the sheets beneath your head. All you could concentrate on was the feeling of yourself trickling shamelessly down the inside of your thigh, praying to god that Mina couldn’t see how this was affecting you. “That was your last warning sweetheart” she cooed, cool palms soothing the sore flesh beneath them in slow rubs.

The final four strikes came in quick succession, Mina not even giving you time to compose yourself in between the hits. This meant you subconsciously let out a low moan at the force of her last cane strike, which was considerably harder than the rest, sending your body forward further into the bed.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you” she scoffed, and you could practically hear the smirk that adorned her features. She ran two fingers up the length of your inner thigh, collecting the juices and holding them up to the light. You bit the sheets between your teeth at her actions, suppressing a moan that threatened to bubble from your throat at her mocking tone.

At the lack of a response, Wilhemina quickly brought her open palm sharply down on your thigh, the sting pulling goosebumps up along the length of your bare back, nipples rubbing uncomfortably against the sheets as you squirmed. She fisted the hair at the nape of your neck tightly, pulling so your ear was aligned with her mouth, her hot breath tickling the shell of your ear as she spoke.

“When I ask you a question, I expect a response baby girl” she drawled, voice low and raspy, making you shiver and let out a shaky breath. “You know I don’t like disobedient little girls now do I?”. You shook your head quickly, eyes screwed shut as her voice went straight to your core, making you squirm in her grasp. She tugged again, warningly. “No god- No Ms Venable, I’ll be a good girl I promise” you spluttered out, moan catching in your throat as she relaxed her grip on your hair, bringing her hand round to your throat, squeezing experimentally.

“It’s a bit late for that- don’t you think little one?” her fingers flexed against your throat, feeling the muscles contract as you swallowed deeply at the feeling. “But since you were such a good girl and took your punishment so well for me, I think I could give you what you want”, you nodded desperately, tears in your eyes as a result of the pain and pleasure of the caning. “Please” you squeaked, no longer caring how needy you sounded to the older woman, only wanting her to give you what you wanted so badly.

Her eyes darkened with lust, pressing the slick fingers to your lips as you gladly took them in, circling them with your tongue as you moaned, the taste of your own arousal on her fingers made you physically ache for her touch, you were now too sensitive to do more than fight the urge to rub your thighs together to relieve the pressure that had built up there. She withdrew her fingers teasingly, coaxing you to turn onto your back while she hovered herself over your fidgeting body, arms either side of your head, propping herself up.

Capturing your lips in a heated kiss, her teeth nipping and pulling at your bottom lip harshly, as she allowed her fingernails to slowly rake down your stomach, red scores in their wake. A sigh left your lips as she grazed over your core, body reacting involuntarily with your hips bucking up to meet her hand.

“You’re dripping wet for me.” She drawled, voice low and dripping with arousal as she taunted you. “My little slut getting so worked up while being punished, tsk tsk tsk” she tutted as you groaned at her words, heat flooding to your core.

She trailed two fingers through your folds, collecting your arousal before slipping them into you slowly. Allowing you to adjust to her fingers inside, she kissed along the curve of your jaw, sucking a deep bruise on the underside of it, starting to pull her fingers back out of you and setting herself a quick pace that had you whimpering beneath her.

You bit you lip to quieten the breathy moans you were releasing at her fingers curling inside you with each thrust, and the feeling of Wilhemina’s hot breath on the delicate skin of your neck. “You don’t need to be quiet, little one. I want to hear your sweet little noises.”

You let your head fell back on the pillow, eyes fluttering shut as Wilhemina brought her thumb to circle your clit, adding pressure causing you to jerk up into her and let out a loud moan of pleasure. She quickened her pace inside you, adding another finger and hissing as you clenched around her fingers. “God you’re so tight” she husked in your ear, nipping at the lobe and trailing bites down to the swell of your breast.

You gasped at the feeling of her teeth grazing the hard bud of your nipple, tweaking it between her teeth. You arched your back into her touch. She sucked on your nipple, tongue swirling the bud and pulling back to blow cold air onto the sensitive skin.

She flicked again at your clit, smirking against your other breast at the way your body shivered under her, a little squeak falling from your lips, breathing becoming laboured.

“I’m gunna- oh god- Please, please can I come Mina” you moaned, feeling the familiar wave of an orgasm creeping up on you, tension knotted deep in the pit of your stomach. Her face left the swollen nipple she’d been biting and returned to hover over your face.

“Come for me baby.”

Her fingers continued to stroke against your insides as the orgasm ripped through your body, clenching around the fingers buried inside you, eliciting mewls to drip like liquid from your open lips. The waves kept intensifying as Wilhemina persisted; drawing your orgasm out for as long as she could to prolong the pleasure that rippled through your trembling body.

She let you catch your breath, still trembling beside her after the powerful orgasm she’d given you. Taking the fingers she’d withdrawn from your centre into her mouth, keeping eye contact with you as you let another moan escape your lips at the sight of her tongue circling the digits. Hand coming to curl behind your neck and bringing you towards her for a gentle kiss, allowing you to suck the lingering taste of your arousal off her tongue.

Her nails lightly scratched the skin of your scalp, prompting goosebumps to prickle over your skin despite the sheen of sweat you now wore. “Now baby girl. What are you going to do the next time you have a bad day and get all annoyed?” You whimpered, anytime she used an authoritative voice or questioned you like this making you weak with arousal.

“Answer me.”

“Not be a brat and – oh” you gasped as her hand found your throat, fingers flexing and squeezing in warning. “And tell you why I’m annoyed” you blurted out, cheeks flushed pink at the control the older woman had over your body.

“Good girl.” She patted your jaw twice, smiling, before moving to lie back against the cushions next to you. “Because you know that I can make you forget all about your bad day don’t you honey?” you nodded at her, eyes glazed over in admiration at how she could unravel you with only her words and make you forget whatever was on your mind.

“Now come here and apologise to me properly”

[all-about-seggs]

His Majesty, My King :

Rating: ❌18+, Explicit ❌

Pairing: Timeskip! Oikawa Tooru x fem reader

Word count: 1.6 K

Warnings: Blowjob, face fucking, possessive behaviour, just oiks being petty again

Jealousy;

An emotion Toru Oikawa was far too familiar with. The all consuming thoughts of never being able to reach the heights he wanted to or the people he cared the most about with him slipping from his grasp, everything he felt strongly about made him both happy and insecure. One would think over time this deeply seated fears of his would dissipate when he was the right person but the passage of time can only heal a person so much.

When it came to your relationship with Oikawa, keeping a close sense of security was a struggling point considering his career. For weeks you’d have to be apart with only a few calls exchanged, after a few years you thought you had gotten to the point where distance became meaningless but you were still unaware of the pent up frustrations he felt when you weren’t on his side.

Even if you unintentionally made him jealous, Oikawa was nothing if not petty when it came to your attention, glaring at animated and inanimate objects alike. Frequent eye contact with someone who was not him, your bright smile and the other wonderful features of yours he adored was something he had the right to see the most and there was nothing he hated more than having his perfect moment interrupted.

Today seemed like just one of the rare occasions where he refused to calm after you paid moderate attention to your highschool friend you met by chance at the bar you were dining at. The person in question sat next to you in the bar stool and started reminiscing about the old days and you were trying to be polite but the same wasn’t true for your boyfriend.

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little too touchy feely there pal?”, slinging one arm around your waist he glared at your acquaintance, the creases between his brows deepening as his mouth curled into a dangerous smile.

“Relax Toru, it was an accident, he just brushed off a lint from my hair” you try to reason with him but his rage already got the best of him.

“ It’s not an accident when it happens twice”, his low baritone was only slightly different from a growl and you knew he was going to difficult.

Wanting to avoid the drama that would surely follow if you kept quite you pulled Oikawa by the arm to exit the buliding, leaving your stunned acquaintance behind with a silent apology.

The cold December air caressed your cheeks as soon as you both were outside, strutting alongside an angry looking Oikawa you kept gazing at his profile to catch any opening to talk him out of his annoyance. His claw like grip on your hand threatened to cutoff it’s blood supply and to any by stander it would probably seem like you were getting dragged off by a maniac.

The previously dull neon lights of the streets soon changed to twinkling starlight that lit up the whole path indicating the lavishness of the main market. The prominent vein bulging from the side of your boyfriend’s forehead made you decide against asking what you were doing in the overpriced high end lane instead of the parking lot where his equally fancy car laid.

Soon he stopped in front of a high rise building which clearly looked like a hotel and strutted inside as if a regular in the place. You saw him talk to the receptionist about the stay and honestly all you could think about his rushed tone that couldn’t wait to get you alone and with his hand still clasped to yours, you entered the elevator.

A standard gasp of awe didn’t do the room’s decadence any justice. Perched in the 50th floor, the two of you entered the lavish presidential suite of the hotel, a place where you’d never even think of stepping in if it weren’t for Oikawa’s habit of never sparing any expenses when it came to your dates. Just by stepping in the room you could feel the entire mood between you changing.

It was intimidating at the very least, with the tantalizing shades of red and black the entire suit reflected upon the rough night ahead. With a click of the knob, you heard Oikawa lock the main door.

“ If you haven’t figured it out already babe, we are here to make up for the time that got ruined by that ‘friend’ of yours”, spitting those words out he made his way towards the gigantic couch covered with dark faux fur, giving Oikawa’s form a menacing aura.

“ Strip”, he gestured to your dress that he picked himself for tonight and you were grateful that he wasn’t shredding it to pieces.

Starting with the zipper of your dress you slowly pulled it down and exposing first your chest and then the lacy black panties that matched your bra. You knew what he craved when his usually honeyed eyes got their dark glint so you put on the best show you could manage. When you reached around your neck to take off the necklace he stopped you.

“ keep them on and the heels too”, his deep voice reverberating from his throat filled the otherwise silent room.

Following his instructions, you now stood before him, stark naked except for the glittering necklace and shiny heels that matched your discarded dress. He eyed every single one of your dips and curves before giving you an appreciative nod.

“ You know what to do now, right?, After our evening got ruined, I atleast expect you to behave during the night”, leaning sideways on the arm of the couch, his sharp eyes urge you to speak.

“ Sorry, I couldn’t straight up ask him to leave,” giving him your best apologetic look you continue, “forgive me?”

Pretending to mull over your request, he takes a few seconds to reply, “ Beg me”, his words were expected so you scamper near his seated position and perched yourself on his lap. You ran your hands up and down his thighs, the tips of your nails scratching his clothed skin which soon bloomed with tiny goose bumps. Moving your hand to the front of his crotch, you started palming his hardening erection. He watched your movements with delight, petting your own head now in a show of praise.

You slowly pulled your hands away and carefully placed yourself in between his legs, with your knees now on the plush carpet on the floor. Your fingers made quick work of his pants and then lowered his boxers to take his cock in your hands.

Gently feeling his weight you left feather light kisses on the dripping tip of his cock to tease its head while palming his balls, your attempts at worshipping Oikawa’s body showed it’s effect as the room slowly got filled by the sound of his sweet hums. He usually wasn’t a quite lover but today he intended to make you work for his approval so he bit his moans back.

His eyes met yours, the sight of you kneeling in between his legs, sucking away at everything he had to give made his member more sensitive to your ministrations. He threw his head back, eyes fluttering close from the incoming waves of pleasure your mouth provided.

Licking his shaft a couple of times you took him in you mouth, swallowing it as much as your comfort zone would allow. Hollowing out your cheeks you bobbed your face up and down at your own pace but it wasn’t long before a large hand crept up your head and tangled itself around your hair.

“No, you can take me deeper than this, can’t you? Or do I have to teach you how to please your master all over again?”

Giving you little time to prepare Oikawa pushed your head lower down his length and you soon felt his cock touching the insides of your throat. Starting off with a brutal speed he face fucked you with all his might. You clenched your fists to stop your gag reflex it induced, your mind focused solely on pleasing him. His previously soft hums turned into rough grunts and soon his hips bucked upwards to meet your mouth.

Every tug of his hand in your hair showed his thinning patience and you continued to deep throat him till you felt his entire body shake with the toe curling pleasure that was inevitably building up. The air from your nose was becoming insufficient due to the onslaught of his cock and you almost resisted his hand but caught yourself in time. You knew he was close and didn’t want to ruin his orgasm so you held out.

Slowing down a bit he pulls his cock out of your aching jaw and starts pumping his dick with one hand, the other still in your hair.

“Open your mouth y/n~ And make sure you don’t waste a single drop of it”, cooing softly he placed the tip of his cock on your extended tongue and shot his cum all over your mouth and lips. The salty fluid filled your taste buds and you gulp it down without a second thought, the fatigue from his rough housing settling in.

As his thick cum trickles down the side of your mouth and onto your neck Oikawa once again gives a sharp tug to your hair, making you look up at him, love and lust both swirling within you, blurring the line between them and you were certain that both of you looked at each other with heart eyes until his dark tone cut through the room.

“Now, let’s take it again from the top shall we?”

[elminx]

Energy Update: October 2021

October is a “6” Universal Month {10(October) + 5 (2021) = 15 = 1+5 = 6}. For most of us, the quiet introverted energy of the number 6 is going to be a deep breath of relief after September which with its 5 energy made us feel like we needed to scurry, hurry, and do away, even when there was nothing left to do.

6 Energy is in perfect alignment with the harvest season as it encourages home, support, empathy, and even stillness. 6 carries to pause of expectancy, much like you experience within the Inguz rune. Within the 6 energy, perhaps, we can find the balance we would otherwise be sorely lacking this Libra season.

The Setup

The Sun, Mercury, and Mars are all in Libra heading towards a stellium (conjunct of three or more planets) that will peek slightly after our Libra new moon. Venus is ahead of the gang in Scorpio. Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Chiron all begin this month in retrograde. This is the nadir of retrograde season. The air is hazy, perceptions may be a bit off. Sink into the 6 energy by spending time in your home – go deep with your space. That will be an antidote to this energy all month long. This is a great month to do a deep seasonal clean. Donate the things that no longer serve you. Hold a seed, plant, or clothing swap. Get together with your loved ones to have a good meal. Stay close to home. Mercury retrograde in Libra is going to bring a lot of the retrograde tension into our relationships to remember to make space for conflict and try to find a solution that fits all people involved. Watch out for stickler issues around people-pleasing and unhealthy compromises. You can refer to my post about Mercury in retrograde for those details.

There are big shifts happening this month, we will end the month with the Sun and Mars in Scorpio, Venus in Sagittarius, and with Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury stationed direct. When the planets stand still while they station, it can feel like life is also standing still. We will be going into and out of this retrograde fog until Mercury and Jupiter station direct on 10/18. I reiterate: you may feel helpless to affect anything outside of your immediate home right now, but you can always have an effect on your home. Tap into the 6 energy to make your home a perfect haven for you and your others.

As Saturn begins his ascent forward again, he will tighten the ongoing square with Uranus in Taurus – this is our force paradox beginning to re-exert the vice grip we’ve been stuck in all year long. If you feel like you can’t make any headway, know that you are right on time.

The Nitty Gritty

This month we are being asked to sink deep into the root of it. We are at the end of a cycle, during the new year our lunar nodes will transition from the Gemini-Sagittarius axis to that of Taurus-Scorpio. Something deep inside all of us needs to shift to accommodate these changes that are happening all around us. This is a time to go slow and really tune in to your own rhythm.

This month has a lot going on: we will experience two cardinal T-squares between Aries-Libra-Capricorn, 1 Air Grand Trine between Moon-Mars-Jupiter, 1 Air stellium of Sun-Moon-Mercury-Mars in Libra, three planetary ingresses, and four planets that station direct and out of retrograde. Every one of our planets are fully engaged in this transformative moment.

The MVP for the month is going to be Pluto in Capricorn. Here we see echoes of all of 2020 but most specifically last Autumn when Mars went retrograde in Aries and squared off with Pluto in Capricorn. Now, one year later, in the opposite sign, Mars will do so again alongside the Sun and Mercury. Pluto is also, ironically, the first of the planets to move out of retrograde. He also rules one of our two cardinal T-squares of the month. Some outdated form or structure needs to die. Agreements are being tested. Loyalties are being questioned.

Mercury and Pluto clash twice more this cycle: they square off while they are both retrograde on 10/1 and then later when they are both direct on 11/2. These are part of a series of ongoing cardinal squares we’ve been experiencing since the very beginning of 2020. The Sun squares Pluto on 10/17 and Mars squares Pluto on 10/23. Additionally, our full moon in Aries on 10/20 is overshadowed by an intense cardinal T-square as the moon in Aries squares off against Pluto in Capricorn and opposes retrograde Mercury in Libra. All of these dates should be approached with a reasonable amount of caution. Pack your patience and expect some explosions. Pay special attention to when Mars and Pluto square off in the sky – those are fighting words. It may be difficult to escape the adrenaline rush of quick reactions but it is wiser during this time to step back and sit with things before leaping.

Again, the 6 energy of October can really support Sun and Mars in Libra’s ideal of everybody getting an even slice of the pie. Dig into this. Where are you taking too much? Where are you not giving enough? Start small this month – look at your own body. Think about how you take care of yourself. Or, if you are more inclined, take a deep look at how you are taking care of your living space. Check on all of your plants. Do a roommate-style check-up with any humans that you live with. Spend some time with your pets. Come back to center by grounding yourself in your safe home, in your body, in this moment.

Mercury makes two additional trines to Jupiter in Aquarius during its retrograde cycle while both are retrograde on 10/3 and later when both are direct on 11/1. This is a fast-moving transit but can provide insight and luck when needed.

As the first full week of October progresses, the Sun, Mercury, and Mars fall into line for a stellium that lights up the sky when joined by the moon on 10/6. This is a big power day. If you have been looking for a day to find your new path, this one is it. Just remember, Mercury is still in retrograde so you may see your path only to have it obscured in the mists again. Look towards 11/6-11/7 when Mercury will again conjunct Mars (this time in Scorpio) for a day to put this new path into action.

On 10/7 Venus enters Sagittarius and the mood will get marginally lighter. Venus in Sagittarius is mutable fire energy – she wants you to let your heart roam. You might find yourself more interested in trying new things and going on adventures while Venus is in the sign of the archer. The excitement of Saggy bear energy will get tamped down quickly by the retrograde haze so don’t expect to follow through on those beautiful but whimsical plans anytime soon.

The weekend of 10/8-10/10 is a great time to take one big cosmic pause. Stay home. Say no. Take a bath instead. The Moon, Venus, and the South Node will make a brief conjunction at 02° Sagittarius just as Venus goes out of bounds. A planet is considered out of bounds when it goes above the tropic of Cancer, or, in this case, below the Tropic of Capricorn. These points reflect the plurality of the solstices and Summer-Winter connection. Planets that are out-of-bounds can be hard to reach – you may find it harder to access your feelings of empathy or may be down on yourself more about your physical appearance while Venus is out of bounds. This may be especially rough for our Venus-ruled Libras who are already undergoing an intense Mercury retrograde transit in their chart.

Be wary here. There’s a lot of prickle to the world these days and something about Venus going out of bounds right now reminds me a bit of checking out instead of dealing with what is going on in your own life. That won���t cut it through this year – through these hard aspects – you really need to settle in and do the work. There is so much to be gained right now by showing up and staying aware with yourself through these adjustments.

What is coming up during this time needs to be addressed. With so many personal planets involved, something close to home needs attending to. This weekend and really the whole month would be very counter-indicated for going away. Watch for who runs rather than showing up. On Sunday, Saturn stations direct at 06° Aquarius – this immediately reactivates our Saturn-Uranus square and tensions will begin to rise a bit. This is a long-term aspect that doesn’t resolve until the end of the year so there’s not much to do other than observe it now.

We experience our second cardinal T-square on 10/12 as Mercury retrograde in Libra squares off with the Moon in Capricorn and opposes Chiron retrograde in Aries. This is a major pain point, something that has been brought to light during this Mercury retrograde cycle.

This Mercury-Chiron oppositional peeks on 10/18 and will continue strong for another week or so. Mercury’s post-shadow stretched through the rest of October and into November, remember that we need to retrace our steps back through Libra before the lessons of this retrograde cycle will be fully revealed.

Mercury is joined by Jupiter going direct also on 10/18 – this is a go day. Do it. Make a difference. Make a plan. Make a list. You are supported.

The energy should shift drastically as the Sun enters Scorpio on 10/22 and Mars follows on 10/30. We might feel a bit like we’ve jumped from one deep pool to another as Scorpio season hints immediately at its own depths and the eclipse season that comes with it.

Our sweet Air Grand Trine happens on Monday 10/25 when the Moon in Gemini lines up briefly with Mars in Libra and Jupiter in Aquarius. This is another go day. Think big. We are starting to feel the pull of forward momentum now that some of the retrograde fog has lifted. The last week of October holds the lightest energy of the month – again, ironically.

As if we are walking this month backward, like Merlin. Spirit reminds me that he was another traveler who walked the low path.

All in all the energy of the month is going to be dense and prone to internalization. How you perceive that and how comfortable it makes you have a lot to do with your personal chart and comfort with self-reflection. Watch out for emotional regulation or disassociation especially around any of those harsh aspects between the moon, Mercury, Mars, and Pluto. Watch out for denial and rose-colored glasses – the world is trying to tell you something for a reason – it’s time to stop ignoring your gut instincts. It’s the time for you to show up every day, as often as you are able, for yourself.

Good Days: 10/2, 10/6, 10/8, 10/13, 10/16, 10/18, 10/25 Caution Days (Saturn square Uranus): 10/14, 10/21 Caution Days (Cardinal squares): 10/1, 10/3, 10/12, 10/17, 10/20, 10/22 Fuzzy Days: 10/6, 10/10, 10/18, 10/26

The Aspects

Please keep in mind that most aspects have an effect for a number of days before and after the day of exactitude, listed below. I have bolded aspects the require particular attention.

10/1 – Mercury Rx in Libra square Pluto Rx in Capricorn, Mars in Libra opposed Chiron in Aries 10/2 – Venus in Scorpio sextile Pluto Rx in Capricorn – sweet days 10/3 – Mercury Rx in Libra trine Jupiter Rx in Aquarius, Sun in Libra opposed Chiron in Aries 10/6 – Dark Moon at 13° Libra conjunct Mercury Rx and Mars, Pluto SD 10/7 – Venus enters Sagittarius 10/8 – Sun conjunct Mars 15° Libra – where do you need to move forward in your life? What motivates you? How can you be the best version of who you are right now? 10/9 – Sun conjunct Mercury retrograde, Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars, Moon square Jupiter Rx, Moon sextile Pluto Rx, Moon conjunct Venus and the South Node 2° Sagitarrius, Venus OOB – here you may really see where you are out of alignment with your path here. You may have to return to something you think that you’ve outgrown (Venus conjunct South Node). See warning above about Venus OOB 10/10 – Saturn SD 10/11 – Mercury opposed Chiron begins – this close aspect will last for the next 15 days, its a pain point that is being reactivated by this Mercury retrograde cycle – these to planets will stay within one degree of conjunction from 10/15-10/20 10/12 – Moon in Capricorn square Mercury Rx in Libra, Cardinal T Square – CAUTION – this is another one of these days that is going to light up that long-term fight. You know the one. 10/13 – Venus in Sagittarius sextile Saturn Rx in Aquarius 10/14 – Sun in Libra trine Jupiter Rx in Aquarius, Moon conjunct Saturn in Aquarius, Moon square Uranus – CAUTION – the Sun meets Jupiter while the sky is tense with our Saturn-Uranus square. Don’t pick that fight. 10/16 – Mercury Rx in Libra sextile Venus in Sagittarius – a way through, seek out freedom for everybody 10/17 – Sun in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn – CAUTION – go slow 10/18 – Jupiter SD, Mercury SD, Mars in Libra trine Jupiter in Aquarius, Mercury opposed Chiron – go days – get it. 10/20 – Full Moon at 27° Aries, T Square between moon in Aries, Pluto in Capricorn, and Mars in Libra – CAUTION. Take things slowly today. Watch your temper. Remember to pick your battles. 10/21 – Moon square Saturn, Moon conjunct Uranus – CAUTION, go slow 10/22 – Mars square Pluto – CAUTION, go slow. Take a break. Stay home. 10/23 – Sun enters Scorpio 10/25 – Air Grand Trine between Moon in Gemini, Mars in Libra, and Jupiter in Aquarius – go days, get it. think big. 10/26 – Venus in Sagittarius square Neptune Rx in Pisces – foggy 10/30 – Sun in Scorpio square Saturn in Aquarius

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[little-writings]

can i request a fanfic where mc is a veterinarian with her own clinic and the reason she meets jumin is because of elizabeth needing a checkup!

Oh my goodness absolutely! This was actually so fun to write! 

Anyhow, I hope you have an amazing day and enjoy!

———————————————————————————————————–

“How long has it been since Elizabeth 3rd has been to the vet?” V asked, grinning fondly as the snowy-white cat pressed against his legs, a purr beginning to rumble in her throat.  

“She doesn’t need to see a vet. She’s in perfect health.” Jumin remarked, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves absentmindedly. “I have a chef prepare her a perfectly figured diet, one of the most  accalimed groomers brush her coat once a week, and-”  

“They’re supposed to get examined yearly.”  

“Who are?”  

V scoffed. “Cats, dogs, and any other animal you could call a pet.”  

“I’ll see about having a house veterinarian come by.”  

“Well, I’ve actually been hearing quite a bit about a certain veterinarian. I think you’d like them.”  

“Are they on call?”  

“No, they have a well-established practice downtown.”  

“Then I’m not interested.” Jumin stated matter-of-factly. “Taking Elizabeth 3rd outside presents too many risks. She could get hurt, lost or both – or even worse. I would never forgive myself if that were to happen.”  

V’s brows furrowed behind his tinted frames. “They’re apparently one of the best in the country. I hear there’s not a pet they don’t get along with.”  

“I would hope so, being a professional. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s an on-site practice. Any potential danger to Elizabeth 3rd isn’t worth it.”  

“Do you really think I’d recommend something that could hurt Elizabeth 3rd?”  

Jumin jerked his head to V and found himself stumbling over his words, cornered by his own stubborn mind. “What? No, I ah – no of course not.”  

The ends of V’s lips curled up and he knelt down to scratch Elizabeth behind the ears, her quiet purring volume erupting to that of a lawnmower.  

“Then give them a try.”  

Jumin wrinkled his nose. “Why are you so adamant?”  

“Because,” V simpered. “I think you’d like them.”  

Jumin didn’t have to ask the next question for V to know what he was wondering.  

“They’re professional and very devoted to their work,” He rose to his feet and rummaged through his jacket, snagging a crisp, clean card from his pocket. He gave it to Jumin who eyed it curiously.  

“In fact, they remind me of you.”  

Jumin paused. Pawprints bordered the card alongside hearts and a phone number he supposed he had no choice but to call at this point. He hardly saw V enough these days, the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint him.  

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.”  

And so, later that evening, he found himself calling.  

“Loving Paws Animal Hospital, how can I help you?” The voice on the other line was sickeningly sweet and welcoming, as though dipped in honey and soaked in sugar.  

Jumin paused and bit the inside of his cheek, swallowing his pride. ”Yes, I’d like to speak to your lead veterinarian?”  

“MC? They’re currently with a client at the moment, but I’d be more than happy to transfer you to their voicemail. Have we seen the pet before?”  

“No. No one has.”  

The secretary must’ve been left at a loss at the stern tone and proclamation, but she did her best regardless against the statue that was Jumin Han.

“So, it’s a new pet?”  

“No.”

“Then… you’re a new client?”  

“Yes. Potentially.”  

Jumin heard an attempt at a stifled snicker and the hospital gained a mental strike in his mind.  

“Okay well, I’ll just go ahead and transfer you to MC’s voicemail. You have a wonderful day, sir!”

That sugary sweetness returned once more, perhaps even more high-pitched than it had been. There was a pause on the other line before your voicemail began. Your voice, in comparison, was light, airy. Jumin could only think of a pleasant song when listening to it – something he found himself falling into.

“Hi this is MC, I can’t get to the phone right now but if you’ll leave a message I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can!”

Despite all the preparedness Jumin thought he might’ve had, he still managed to stumble the second that alerting sound went off.

“I-I ah yes – my name is Jumin Han, and I was considering setting up an appointment for my cat, Elizbeth 3rd. It’s just for an annual exam, though I don’t even think she really needs it she’s in pristine-”

Jumin realized he was rambling and cleared his throat sheepishly.

“Anyways, I was hoping I could ask you some questions before making a final decision. If you would call me back, it’d be appreciated. Thank you.”

Jumin let out a deep sigh and relented to the horrible process of waiting.

You returned the phone call in the evening when the warm oranges, purples, and slightest hues of a deep, murky blue were settling in and spreading overhead. Jumin answered in an instant.

“Hi! Is this Mr. Han?” Your voice was even softer beyond a recorded message. You sounded sweet, but just the tiniest bit tired.

“Yes. MC, isn’t it? I’ve heard many things about you.”

You chuckled. “Good things I hope.”

A smile tugged at Jumin’s face. “Good things only. It has set my expectations high.”

“Well, I’d be delighted to meet those expectations, Mr. Han. Now, what can I do for your Elizabeth 3rd?”

“Technically speaking, there is nothing that’s necessary. Elizabeth 3rd is perfectly taken care of. I simply can’t imagine any problems arising for such a creature.”

“And what kind of perfect creature is she?”

“She is a Persian.”

You thought for a moment, and Jumin could hear a pen tapping against a desk. “Persian cats can have some complications, even if they’re in otherwise perfect living conditions. Unfortunately, it just comes with the breed.”

A sudden twisting of knots appeared in Jumin’s stomach. He tensed. “Such as…?”

“Well, you know their cute little smushed faces? Like pugs their nasal passages are shorter and more susceptible to their environments.”

Jumin opened his mouth to speak, but you continued on like a textbook’s worth of knowledge had just been released.

“And Persians specifically are prone to polycystic kidney disease, and you have to watch out for that because if ignored when they reach eight or nine years old they could suddenly collapse and die-”

You stopped yourself. You might’ve not needed to jump to that immediate conclusion.

“But I uh – it is also perfectly possible that Elizabeth 3rd is in a completely healthy state!”

Jumin was now staring wide-eyed at Elizabeth 3rd who sat uncaringly in the center of the living room. She was grooming herself and only her tail was lightly swaying from side to side across the carpet. She appeared almost serene.

‘They could suddenly collapse and die.”

A pit crumpled in Jumin’s insides.

“When’s the soonest I can come in?”

You laughed nervously. There was a clicking of a computer mouse and a brief moment of silence where you glanced through the schedule. “I can squeeze you in tomorrow afternoon?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Mr. Han… are you okay?”

Jumin looked once more at Elizabeth 3rd who now raised her head to meet him. She closed and opened her eyes slowly, mewing.

“I will be when I know Elizabeth 3rd is okay.”

You sighed. “It sounds like Elizabeth 3rd has a very devoted pet parent. She is lucky to have you Mr. Han.”

“I am lucky to have her.”

The call ended soon after with you meekly attempting to assuage his fears, and Jumin beginning to pace about Elizabeth like any cause for concern he’d already miss would simply leap out for a dramatic entrance.

Jumin could now hardly wait for the appointment he considered pointless just hours ago.

V may or may not have received multiple texts of concerns throughout the night. The internet truly did not help the situation.

‘I read online that Persians with blue eyes can have something called Congenital ankyloblepharon. While the website says it’s not deadly, another said it’s linked to a fatal disease.’

‘Because of Elizabeth’s small nasal passage, a website is now telling me Elizabeth will more than likely develop a heart condition. Elizabeth 3rd does not deserve this.’

V had begged him to just wait until tomorrow and Jumin reluctantly agreed.

When the appointment finally arrived, Jumin had made sure Elizabeth would only travel in the best his wealth could provide. However, diamond-encrusted cat carriers apparently took a great deal of time to create, so a polyester and mesh carrier would have to do – lined with sherpa, of course, and filled with her favorite toys.

While Jumin had been anxious and fidgety the entire drive, Elizabeth 3rd was curious, excited even. When Elizabeth was pawing at the mesh lining to peek closer at the car window Jumin was tugging at his sleeves and holding his breath. Even Driver Kim took notice, though his support did little to ease his worries.

He only felt a little ease when he finally arrived at the clinic. The secretary had been stunned at the famous heir’s arrival, but quickly recognized his voice. Her surprise then shifted to amusement, a sly smile stretched across her face.

“Hello Mr. Han! How’re you doing today?”

Jumin furrowed his brow, glancing away. “I am… anticipating my meeting with MC.”

“Stressed for the little lady?” The secretary pointed with her pen to Elizabeth 3rd, now rolled over on her back and playing with one of her toys. This was easily one of her favorite days already.

“Very much so.” Jumin answered.

“We’ll be sure to get you in quick then.”

Jumin nodded hurriedly, and sat down. When his name was called he nearly tripped from how quickly he shot up. It was a… difficult day for maintaining composure.

He ran his fingers through his hair, took a deep breath, and then proceeded on through the hall where you waited in the consulting room.

He hadn’t quite known what he’d expected when he saw you, but he still found himself without words, if only for a second. Your face was kind, far more than the ones he’d known throughout his life with eyes that offered a sense of comfort to soften the stress so clearly brimming at the surface.

“Hi Mr. Han.” You set a ginger hand on Jumin’s shoulder, offering a warm smile. “I heard you’re feeling a little concerned for Elizabeth 3rd?”

“That is an understatement.”

You folded your lips in thought, drawing your hand away only to lightly clap, determined. “Well I’ve never met an animal I can’t help, and I don’t intend to stop now.”

A bit of the weight dropped from Jumin’s chest. You tapped against the examination table – a heavy counter in the center of the room with a smooth, thick surface.

The room itself was decorated with pictures of animals surrounded by varying degrees of puns. The one the most caught Jumin’s eye was a photo of a cat, tail tucked just over its paws and a sweet expression beneath the words, ‘you’re purrfect.’

He wondered if you chose that one personally. He hoped so.

Jumin unzipped the carrier atop the counter for Elizabeth 3rd to poke out. She only hesitated for a moment before stepping out to greet your hand, fingers outstretched for her to curiously sniff. You beamed at the very sight of her, leaning down as she dipped her head against your hand, eager to be pet.

“Hello, Ms. Elizabeth! Aren’t you beautiful?” You scratched her cheek and her purring began, akin to a lawnmower. “She’s so sweet!”

Jumin watched as you examined her, flashing a light in her eyes and ears, squeezing her tummy for any masses, and flexing her legs for achy joints. Her temperature was normal, not even a rapid heart rate.

“Now I don’t want to stress her out on her first visit but I recommend we do an ultrasound,” You had remarked, rubbing her belly in one of the rare opportunities that a cat not only tolerated such an action but enjoyed it. Elizabeth 3rd was a rare creature indeed. “It’s just to make sure she doesn’t have anything bad developing in her kidneys.” 

“Do you expect there to be anything?” 

Elizabeth pawed playfully at your fingers, pulling them close to rub her cheeks against them when you relented. You had to draw your gaze back to Jumin to keep yourself from becoming distracted. It was rare to see Elizabeth 3rd warming up to someone so quickly. “Do I?” 

You paused, and then laughed. “Of course you’re asking me, I’m sorry! I don’t know what got into me – she’s just such a cutie! But ah – no I don’t. Elizabeth 3rd is as close to perfect as it gets. You weren’t kidding when you said how well she’s taken care of.” 

“She means the world to me.” Jumin hummed, Elizabeth tipping her head to see him and meowing. She almost appeared to smile when he scratched just beneath her chin. 

“May I ask how you found her?” 

Jumin hesitated, remembering the golden hair and slender hands that once held Elizabeth. It brought a pang. 

“She was a gift from someone dear.” 

You could see Jumin’s sadness so easily. You could only make your best effort to soften the hurt. “They must’ve known you two would be perfect for each other.” 

Jumin lifted his head to look up at you, and you smiled. It was gentle, and at that moment, brighter than the very sun. You wore your heart on your sleeve, and it was beautiful. He grinned, if only gently. “Thank you.” 

“Just being honest.” 

The ultrasound was an experience. Jumin thought you had to be lying or attempting a cruel joke when you brought the clippers. There was simply no way you truly could want to ruin Elizabeth’s coat! 

You had promised only the ‘teeny-tiniest’ area would be shaved, but you also promised it’d be cute. Jumin couldn’t completely disagree. 

You had him hold her still during the ordeal, his hands folded over her front legs and keeping her close as you carefully ran the clippers over her stomach. Elizabeth simply rubbed her head against Jumin’s suit. 

“See! Look at that little pink tummy!” You pointed to the now thin white hairs where just between the faintest hints of skin could be spotted. You encouraged Jumin to run his hand over and it was… oddly soft if admittedly strange. 

“There’s no way you don’t think that’s adorable.” You exclaimed. 

“It’s not not adorable. 

That made you laugh. 

The procedure itself was quick and easy. The probe found no problems within Elizabeth’s kidneys and the only issue that arose was Elizabeth 3rd squeaking in surprise at the cold gel spread over her stomach. 

“I’m sorry sweetie, I’ll get this chilly stuff off you quick, okay?” 

You made plenty of little comments like those to Elizabeth 3rd. While many others would hardly regard something as minuscule you took every effort to make Elizabeth 3rd comfortable. Jumin noticed each and every time. You were doting. 

Just as you said, you wiped her clean, only peppering her in pets all over her belly and sides as she could rollover. 

“She is the picture of health, Mr. Han. The only thing I’d recommend is we make these ultrasounds yearly to keep an eye on her – and so I can see her again.” 

Jumin chuckled. “I take it she’s swept you off your feet?” 

“Like she’s my prince charming.” You snickered. “I’m a sucker for pretty kitties.” 

“I’m glad someone else can appreciate Elizabeth 3rd for her perfection.” 

You nodded. “I also appreciate the owner that’s given her the chance to flourish so much.” 

There was a different type of pang in his chest and the tiniest bit of red flickered upon Jumin’s cheeks. Either you didn’t notice, or you didn’t say anything. 

But you smiled. 

“I ah – I might need to bring her in again sooner than her next yearly. I’ve been researching and read of other conditions in her breed that I’d like to look into.” 

You caught on quick. “Right, and we wouldn’t want to overwhelm Elizabeth 3rd with so much on her first visit! It might be best to stretch these concerns over multiple appointments just so we can do the best job possible for her.” 

“And you can teach me what to look out for and how to find them.” Jumin settled Elizabeth 3rd back in her carrier, pawing at you through the mesh, pink pads just barely peeking through. 

“Of course! And you are more than welcome to call! In fact…” 

You tore off a piece of paper from your notes, scribbling quickly before giving it to him. “Here is my personal phone number, for any questions you may have.” 

Jumin smirked and tucked it away in his pocket. “I expect I could find quite a few until our next appointment.” 

You clicked your pen, simpering. “I’ll be patiently waiting, Mr. Han.” 

“Jumin is fine.” He stretched out his hand, palm open. “In fact, allow me to properly introduce myself – we weren’t given the proper chance. I’m Jumin Han. It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

Warmth reached your cheeks, but you didn’t object, returning the gesture with a firm grip. “MC. The pleasure is all mine. I really do look forward to seeing you again, Jumin.” 

It was rare Jumin could say the same, but for once he did, he truly, truly did. 

“As do I.” 

[abbynx]

La Squadra Housemate, College AU Part 1

Genre: Platonic

This has been in my drafts in like... forever and i got sick staring at it. Enjoy the culmination of my delirium induced by sleep depravity!

It was one of those days again. The empty feeling settling between your chest, as you resume to your daily activities, head on autopilot because that's just how repetitive your days were, just slaving away in your desk, be faced with things to do such as the essays, the math equations, essay analysis... The lessons and lectures were different everyday, and yet all the same. You didn't even cared to take a break anymore, knowing full-well of the works which awaits you so why delay it? It's not like your homemade snack will make you feel any better. 

Another term paper finished, time to pass it tomorrow and have the professor tear it in front of you just in case you had a minimal typographical error, before you resort to picking it up to see where the hell did you go wrong. It ached the first time, but as time goes by, you just simply move on and comply, hurting inside but what's the point of getting it all out? A waste time, that is. You've been over it and quite frankly, it was getting so excessively pointless. 

Setting the paper aside, you went to get a hold of another one of the work next in line with a sigh. Exhaustion lingers on with the emptiness within, powered by forced determination to finish everything within your plate and burn yourself out in the process. I mean, isn't this the way to success all of them have been saying? If you resume to do this and go through the route of life, then you'd end up walking everywhere with an IV tube up your arm. 

There was a knock at the door you didn't hear and acknowledged, until the person from the other side of the door lets himself in. 

 "Hey Y/N, I said Illuso made some overcooked crap downstairs. Get your ass down and take a break." Sorbet would usually leave upon relaying the message in mind, but he remained standing by the doorway anticipating for your response, an acknowledging nod would be enough to send him on his way but your unresponsiveness prevailed.

 "Y/N! How many times do we have to call you, huh?! Get your ass down or we'll eat without you!!!" Ghiaccio's shrill voice boomed from downstairs, prompting Sorbet to wince and lift a finger up to his ear to plug it up. 

 "Go ahead, I'll catch up later." Your recent attitude alone has gotten all of your housemates concerned but they let you be because days like these were inevitable amidst the hectic days in university, but it's been weeks since you let your works take a hold of your reigns. 

 "Oh no, you don't. you're not sneaking in the kitchen at three in the morning to eat cold pasta. Come on now, take a break for once." Sorbet approached you, hand on your shoulder. "It's been weeks since you took your sights off those damns books. Just eat, okay?" 

 "I don't know, Sorb's... I have things to do and get done-- you know that, right--?" 

 "I know and it's tiring. Come now, just take a break for a moment. I promise you'll feel better." 

 For a moment you contemplated and reconsidered rejecting his offer, seeing his point but you were in dire need to be responsive with your work. You took a deep heave of breathe, lifting your palm up to cup your forehead, thumb brushing over your temple pulsing with headache you've yet to soothe. He's right, you haven't eaten anything at the duration of the day, as you've barely left your study desk in your room.

 "Okay. Just wait a moment, I'll be there--" Sorbet interjects sharply by pulling you by the wrist before you can touch anything on your desk, knowing full-well you wouldn't leave it alone unless someone were to physically drag you off it.

 "Ah Y/N, good to see you out of your cave." Proscuitto remarks with slight scrutiny, setting a plate on your usual spot on the dinner table. 

 "What's taking you too long anyways? Are you--" Formaggio positions his hand above his crotch, making a jerking off motion, which warrants him a smack from Sorbet. 

 "They were studying, you perv." The dark haired housemate narrows his glare at Formaggio as he seats himself on his usual spot, beside his boyfriend Gelato.

 "Says the one who got caught jacking it off in the hallway." Illuso scoffs, leaning his back against his chair. 

 "Oh yeah?" Formaggio challenges, leaning on the dinner table, clenching on his fork. Before anything can escalate, Risotto clears his throat. 

 A small laugh slips from your lips as you pulled yourself a seat between Ghiaccio and Melone. For a moment you forgot about the paperwork waiting for you back in your room, but it can wait. It's not like they'll leave. Sorbet was right, a quick break or two will make you feel better. 

~0~

 Sorbet bit his lip to fight his anxiety back, his clammy hand hidden at the depths of his shallow pocket to feel around its content whilst Formaggio starts the game. Here's to hoping nothing too terrible happen. 

 "I'm passing this phone to someone with the shortest temper." Formaggio bites his bottom lip in front of his front camera, rubbing his chin before passing the phone to Ghiaccio. 

The cerulean blue haired narrows his gaze at the phone owner, before recording himself. "I'm passing this phone to someone who's too obsessed with themselves." 

 Illuso raises his brow at the current phone holder, a hand instinctively landing atop his chest, before he gets ahold of the phone and pressed record once again, "First of all, I'm not obsessed with myself and second, I'm passing this phone to someone who planted a fake positive pregnancy test in the bathroom for fun." 

 "It was for scientific purposes!" Melone exclaims, before claiming the phone. "I'm passing this phone to someone who dropped their cookie but instead of throwing it out, gave it to me and watched me eat it." The lilac head playfully tosses the phone back to its owner, in which he catches it just in time it hits the wall. 

 "Pfft, it's your fault you fell for it." Formaggio cackles. "I'm passing this phone to someone who belted out G10 in the shower when the lights blacked out." 

"You're never gonna let me live that down, aren’t you?" Pesci reaches for the phone with red in his cheeks. "I will be passing the phone to someone who's the sanest in this household—"

 "BOOO! BORING!" 

 "Oh shut it," Sorbet smacks Formaggio, before collecting the phone from Pesci's grasp. "I'm passing this phone to someone who thinks pineapple on pizza is superior." He rolls his eyes, before passing it to his boyfriend. 

 "Um, sir— it does taste great! You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I would've torn you apart." Gelato snatches the phone from his boyfriend before focusing on the camera. "I'm passing the phone to someone who doesn't know how to cross the road because they're scared." 

 "Ugh, rude!" You took the phone from the blond with a roll of your eyes. "I'm passing the phone to someone who left me on the other side of the busy highway to cross a busy road." 

 "You were too slow, that's why. I'm passing the phone to someone who screamed at us for a solid minute, accusing that one of us stole his glasses whilst his glasses rested on his head." Risotto hands the phone to the person who has yet to receive the phone. 

 "I'm passing the phone to someone who burned the whole kitchen at three in the morning because they left to stove on to cook peanut butter because we ran out of peanut butter." Prosciutto hands you the phone.

 "I'm passing the phone to someone who was petting and cooing at a pile of laundry thinking it was a cat." You glared at Prosciutto, before passing the phone to Formaggio. 

 "What? It was finals and I barely got any sleep!" He whines, before sighing. "I'm passing the phone to someone who has been passed around like this phone." 

 A choked gasp pried itself away from your throat as soon as he hands you the phone with a grin. "Well I'm passing the phone to someone who accused me for taking their red lacey thong but it turns out we own the same product." 

 "Wow, you're bold, I like you." Melone chuckles, before taking the phone. "I'm passing the phone to someone who was hungover during finals and managed to pass." 

 "Pretty impressive if I do say so myself." Sorbet smirks at his achievement, proudly reaching for the phone. "I'm passing this phone to someone who faked smoking at a party to impress a girl." 

 "Well I don't smoke! I don't like how it tastes!" Pesci insists. "I'm passing the phone to someone who got out of the house with his shirt inside out and backwards and didn't realise it until he was going home." 

 "I'm passing this phone to someone who cried when I pranked him with a fake electric razor." Melone smirks as he passes the phone to Illuso. 

 "I'm passing the phone to someone who's first instinct to nonchalantly say 'Nice' before going back to his business after receiving a nude pic from his then girlfriend." Ilusso gives the phone to Ghiaccio.

 "I'm passing the phone to someone who doesn't pick their hair clumps in the bathroom after taking a bath, clogging the shower drain." 

 "Well, I'm passing the phone to someone who screamed at the professor after he said Venice." 

 "I'M PASSING THE PHONE WHO THINKS IT'S OKAY TO SAY VENICE INSTEAD OF VENEZIA!" 

If it weren't for Illuso's quick response, the phone would've crashed against the wall and permanently putting it into a broken state. "Heh, okay then. I'm passing the phone to someone who has been with my man Gelato through thick and thin." 

 Sorbet gulps, his heart hammering in his chest as he reaches for the phone. His hand that has been hidden in his pocket since the very start of the game finally came out, with a small, black velvet box. Gelato glances at his longtime boyfriend, confused for a moment until the blond saw the little box resting within Sorbet's grasp. In shock, the blond's hands shot up to cover his lips and nose, his onyx gaze watering. Everyone in the room has their thoughts race rapidly with incoherent thoughts. 

 "I'm passing the phone to whom I want to marry and be with for the rest of my life, because without him I feel so empty and alone." Sorbet hands the phone to his longtime boyfriend, before taking a knee and opening the box. "Will you marry me?" 

 It would be a miracle Gelato would come to thank later as he didn't know he would still be able to respond despite being so deep in cloud nine. The entirety of the squad stood behind Sorbet at the edge of their seats, watching their carefully crafted plan unfold before them. 

 "Oh, yes. YES!" With the key word uttered, the once tensed room burst into excitement, jumping and screaming whilst the couple slipped on each others engagement rings before engulfing each other into a passionate embrace.

 "WHOOO YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING 'BOUT!" Formaggio cheers amidst the screams of excitement. 

 "Oh you guys, c'mere!" Sorbet caught you and Risotto's necks, before pulled in for a hug. Soon the others joined in for a group hug, almost squeezing the couple in the middle but it was all so worth it.

[yoonzeeno]

of fire stones and icy waves.  ━━ kmg x hvc

part one of the svt x pokémon!au — kanto.

❀ summary: broke pokémon trainer kim mingyu decides to go on an adventure to look for a fire stone. vernon unwillingly accompanies him. ❀ pairing: mingyu x vernon (brotp) ❀ word count: 4.7k ❀ genre(s): adventure, friendship, slice of life, slight action ❀ warning(s): none, i guess? lmk if there are any!

━━ a/n: my first fic is finally done! i planned this to be around 1-2k words but it's pokémon and seventeen - two of my favourite things together, so i couldn't help myself. anyways, lmk what you think and i hope you enjoy it! i finished this at five thirty in the morning so pls pls pls love it :(

━━ update: updated the poster bcs this one sucks less than the previous one.

the sun was shining bright and the weather was perfect, but sadly mingyu had to ignore the euphoric feeling of his feet sinking on the sand and rush towards the ocean. behind him was vernon, also running, but with untied shoes.

“i’m gonna kill you, hyung!” vernon cried.

“you can kill me once i get that fire stone!” this made absolutely no sense to vernon, but he didn’t have any energy left when it’s being used to run for his life.

once they reached the shore, mingyu motioned at vernon, hands moving frantically. “quick! quick!” vernon fumbled at his belt, looking for the right poké ball, before finally taking his dive ball — a blue ball with white waves etched on the upper half of the ball.

“lapras, go!” he shouted, aiming the ball towards the ocean as he ran before pressing the button twice — once to enlarge the ball, and once more for lapras to come out. an energy filled silhouette emerged from the half-opened ball, and a blue dinosaur-like pokémon finally solidified. her front side was mostly cream colored, and her ears were tightly curled. she also had a short horn on her forehead, four flippers with the foremost flippers bigger than the hind, and on her back was a heavy, gray shell, covered in blunt knobs. she floated in the ocean, letting out a beautiful cry.

mingyu braked in front of lapras in fear he would actually hurt the pokémon. his sudden brake caused vernon to crash into his back, which also resulted in mingyu falling face first into the sand. lapras watched them, letting out a cry in confusion.

vernon rose while groaning at the pain on his nose, while mingyu pressed his palms on the ground to lift himself up, spitting out sand from his mouth in the process. as soon as vernon was able to stand up, he hurried to his lapras, rubbing his neck to soothe him down. lapras closed her eyes and hummed. lapras was well-known for having a beautiful voice.

“vernon, we got no time!” mingyu said as he ran to hop onto lapras’ back, but vernon stopped him.

“don’t ride her before she says its okay! she’s going to throw you off her back!” mingyu clucked impatiently, feet tapping on the ground.. when lapras started nodding, vernon stepped onto her shell, before hauling himself upwards. as he finally settled down, he reached out to help mingyu on, and with vernon’s help, the older kid hauled himself upwards, settling himself behind vernon, vernon’s small backpack separating them. mingyu leaned on his backpack, gasping for air as vernon pat lapras’s neck twice. lapras let out another cry before she finally started surfing the sea.

“so, are you going to tell me why you banged on my door at seven in the morning?” vernon asked once the two of them calmed down after the morning run. lapras was surfing quite speedily, the wind hitting them felt refreshing on their necks. vernon’s lapras was smart — having braved the ocean before letting herself be caught by vernon. she had memorized the seas of kanto by heart, so it only took vernon to tell her the destination for her to surf towards the island.

mingyu sighed, patting his poké ball for reassurance. “i have to get a fire stone.” vernon raised an eyebrow at him.

“and… you have to wake me up at seven in the morning for that?” he asked. mingyu thanked god vernon was a pacifist. he knew if that was any other person, he would be in big trouble already.

“well, tomorrow’s the tide. and i have to get it before the tide starts or it’s gonna take a lot of time and i don’t know if the fire stone will still be there or not after the tide.”

“and you couldn’t have just rode the seagallop?” vernon asked, referring to the ferry. mingyu smiled sadly.

“well, if i had any money i would’ve ridden it instead of waking you up at seven in the morning.”

“then you could’ve just bought one at celadon’s department store?” vernon said in exasperation. “i wouldn’t mind accompanying you to celadon city by foot!”

“again,” mingyu mumbled, “no money.” vernon softened at the older boy’s words. money was hard, especially since mingyu’s ace, growlithe, can’t evolve without a fire stone. growlithe was mingyu’s pokémon since he was born, and vernon knew that there was no way mingyu would trade growlithe for anything else in the world.

but, since growlithe was unevolved, it means there are some limits to his powers. his stats wouldn’t be high enough to beat fully evolved pokémon, and even though growlithe himself was considered fast even as a growlithe, evolving into an arcanine would definitely make growlithe even faster.

“look, i’m sorry i had to drag you into this,” mingyu said, the wind sweeping up his hair. “i’ll make it up to you once we get back to vermilion, i promise.”

“it’s okay,” vernon said, quick to understand the older boy’s position. he was lucky lapras was already a fully evolved pokémon — no evolutions, to be exact — so if he won matches, especially gym matches, money came easily to him. and it was also the reason why vernon already finished kanto’s gym challenge, and mingyu hadn't even started his. “i needed to get out and go adventuring again.”

it took about three hours for them to ride from vermilion city to one island, where mt. ember was located. mingyu insisted that the fire stone was located at mt. ember. no trainer appeared during their ride (probably smart enough and rich enough to ride the seagallop, mingyu thought), but groups of seel and dewgong swam along them, and mingyu leaned back, his long arm reaching down to skim the surface of the water. sometimes, groups of staryu and horsea would appear, and mingyu would play with them, jokingly splashing water at them (mingyu didn’t know how he forgot about the fact that they were water type pokémon, but he did, and in return, got splashed by their water guns). the groups of seel and dewgong would also appear from underwater, waving their fins at him before swimming somewhere else. mingyu figured they probably saw the ferry often, but the ferry couldn’t stop to play with them.

it was about two and a half hours into the ride when the island finally came into view. vernon was currently knocked out, leaning his head on lapras’ neck with his hands around it. mingyu felt bad for the boy, for he did wake him up without any messages, so he decided to let him sleep some more. his hand reached out for the only poké ball he had with him, fumbling with it nervously.

to be honest, he had promised growlithe that he will evolve in two days, and growlithe had believed him, barking happily. mingyu knew that growlithe loved to battle and wished to battle stronger opponents, but mingyu also knew that if he didn't evolve he would have a hard time, and mingyu couldn’t beat seeing growlithe suffer. growlithe was, in a way, mingyu’s baby.

when mingyu could spot the pokémon center ahead, he tapped vernon’s shoulder, signalling him to wake up. vernon groaned as he opened his eyes, releasing his hold on lapras. he stretched to release the stress from his arms.

“we’re finally here,” he stated as lapras gracefully glided ashore. mingyu stepped off first, his feet hitting the soft sand, the sea water slightly splashing. mingyu held his hand out to help vernon off lapras, and vernon took it gratefully, before hopping down with a grunt. vernon turned to pat lapras’s neck, and lapras let out a happy cry before lowering her head, asking for a pet on the head. vernon laughed before obliging, and lapras hummed in satisfaction. vernon took out her poké ball, pressing the button to lapras’ neck. lapras then turned into a white silhouette, before completely disappearing into the poké ball.

“thanks. you did great.” vernon hummed, before turning around to face mingyu.

“i’m gonna have to go to the pokémon center first to rest lapras. is it okay?” mingyu nodded. after all, they had reached the island thanks to lapras. mingyu guessed it would be fine if they spared a few minutes for lapras to recover.

the two of them started heading towards the red roofed building otherwise known as the pokémon center. one island was a small island — so there were literally almost to no buildings besides the pokémon center and probably five houses. mingyu heard that bill, the guy famous for creating the pokémon box, lives here. he would want to meet bill if he had no deadlines, but sadly he had to fulfill his promise to growlithe.

the trip to the pokémon center only took them five minutes. vernon wanted to stop to eat, but mingyu stopped him, telling him they can eat during the way (for it was already eleven in the morning and mingyu didn’t want to waste any more time).

“according to the map, it says we should head for kindle road. it’s east from here.” mingyu said, staring at his map. vernon headed where east was, before stopping on his tracks.

“hyung,” he called. mingyu looked up from his map before it dawned on him.

“we’re have to surf again.”

this time, however, it only took them around fifteen minutes to surf from one island to kindle road. mingyu, feeling guilty for interrupting lapras’s rest, had fed her five oran berries as soon as they arrived on kindle road. lapras, delighted to see the berry, had eaten it speedily, almost chewing off mingyu’s hand in the process. as lapras was a gentle pokémon, she felt terrible, and rubbed her head on mingyu’s as a way to ask for forgiveness.

mingyu chuckled. “it’s okay buddy. you’re forgiven.” lapras cried in delight before vernon finally returned her to her ball.

mingyu turned to look at the scenery in front of him. he could see a lot of greens ahead — wild grass, where wild pokémon can be found and caught — and tall cliffs surrounding them. he could already see herds of ponyta and rapidash even from far away. flocks of spearow and fearow were flying above their heads. mingyu reached for his poké ball, pressing the button twice before a puppy-like pokémon emerged, barking happily as he finally solidified. mingyu grinned and opened his arms towards it, and the big orange ball of fluff leaped into mingyu’s arms.

“we’re finally here, growlithe! in a few hours you can evolve!” growlithe barked once more, wagging his tail in happiness.

in a glance, growlithe looked more like a tiger than a dog. growlithe’s fur was orange with black stripes, and the fur on its muzzle, chest, belly, and tail was beige, an additional tuft of fur on top of its head.

vernon smiled at the sight in front of him. he too, wanted the elder boy to start his gym challenge soon. that way, they can finally fulfill the promise they made when they were kids — battle each other with fully evolved teams. now mingyu was so close to his first step, and vernon wanted to help however he could (even if it meant being woken up at seven in the morning).

another small promise they made was to trade pokémon that can only evolve by trading. vernon already caught kadabra, and

mingyu put growlithe down, and the pokémon stood by mingyu’s side, wagging its tail furiously. growlithe is a loyal pokémon, and wouldn’t run until given orders otherwise. vernon could tell it was itching to run ahead, but since mingyu hadn’t said anything, he wouldn’t run until mingyu says it’s okay to do so.

“let’s go!” mingyu said, running for the greens ahead. growlithe barked happily, following his owner. vernon laughed at the sight, before running ahead after them.

“wait for me!”

the three of them slowed down once they reached the wild grass, afraid to startle any wild pokémon. the herds of ponyta and rapidash had been friendly, letting growlithe play with them once in a while. vernon sent out his own rapidash, who got along very well with the other rapidash.

after walking for half an hour, they settled down under a tree for lunch. mingyu had packed sandwiches and kimbaps — apparently, mingyu had packed a lot of spares for vernon and his pokémon too.

“i make a lot and i usually just give the leftovers to any wild pokémon in sight.” mingyu had told vernon when the latter accused mingyu of planning to take him all along.

vernon sent out all his pokémon except for lapras, which included the currently grazing rapidash, kadabra, scyther, snorlax and wigglytuff. snorlax, taking up most of the space, was still sleeping, as if he’s still inside his poké ball. scyther pokéd her scythes on snorlax’s stomach lightly, whilst wigglytuff went towards mingyu to help him, which mingyu accepted gratefully. meanwhile, kadabra headed towards growlithe in curiosity, and used his psychic to lift the puppy pokémon up. growlithe yelped in surprise before howling.

“kadabra, we do not randomly lift people up with psychic. now put growlithe down, please.” kadabra looked at vernon with a sad face, but vernon’s firm face made him lower growlithe down. as soon as growlithe's paws reached the ground, he ran for mingyu, wailing.

“it’s okay, baby,” mingyu cooed, petting his head. “he’s just playing with you. why don’t you play with bulbs too?” mingyu reached for the only other poké ball he has and released his bulbasaur out. growlithe barked in happiness as he leaped for bulbasaur, whose quick reflexes helped her catch growlithe with her vine whips.

mingyu had prepared a feast, to say the least. he had prepared lots of sandwiches (spicy ones for fire types growlithe and rapidash). they spent an hour for lunch (with snorlax eating almost half of mingyu’s sandwiches), and another thirty minutes to clean up. vernon sent back all his pokémon into their respective poké balls, letting rapidash say goodbye to her newly made friends.

bulbasaur had helped mingyu clean up the place before mingyu called her back to her ball. mingyu had offered growlithe to return to his ball to rest, but growlithe was too energetic to rest.

“how long is it going to take us to get to mt. ember?” vernon asked as he zipped his backpack close. mingyu looked at his map, and then at his watch.

“around two to three hours?” he said as he rolled his map before putting it on the side of his backpack. “it’s currently one pm, so if we hurry we can arrive there by three pm, and then go out by five pm. hopefully we can reach one island back around seven or eight pm, then head back to vermilion city.” vernon did not need to go through mingyu’s itinerary to feel exhausted. even only listening to the plan seemed exhausting — how were they going to finish that in less than twelve hours?

mingyu, however, wasted no time. as if the sandwich he ate earlier restored all of his energy, he ran towards north, growlithe catching up to him in no time. vernon realized that if he doesn’t run now, he probably would not be able to catch up with mingyu.

mingyu wanted to go to the ember spa so bad, considering his muscles were starting to cramp from running all day. but they were behind schedule, and mingyu’s perfectionist ass didn’t dare to waste another second.

they ran into trouble once when growlithe bumped into an angry graveler. growlithe’s fire typing was definitely a loss to them, but thanks to mingyu’s quick thinking by sending out bulbasaur, they managed to weaken the graveler to let them pass through. if bulbasaur had been a higher level, mingyu would’ve definitely caught that graveler — and trade it with vernon. but mingyu didn’t want to let any of his other pokémon evolve before growlithe — if his puppy was going to be loyal to him, then he’s going to be loyal to his puppy too, no matter what it takes.

once they passed the ember spa, they came to a slope leading towards a beach. when the horizon came into view, mingyu sighed in relief — if they can already see the ocean, that means they’re already halfway there. one more hour to go and they can finally begin the search for the fire stone.

growlithe started barking happily at the sight of the ocean, running even faster than before towards the icy water. mingyu shouted for growlithe in fear — he’s a fire type, for arceus’s sake! before anything bad could happen, mingyu spurted forward, using all the energy he has left to stop growlithe from diving into the ocean.

thanks to his long legs, mingyu reached growlithe right as growlithe’s paws touched the icy water. growlithe yelped in surprise when mingyu picked him up before losing his balance. mingyu’s body fell to the sand below, gasping for air. his legs had given out — he had ran as if his life depended on it. and in a way, his life did.

growlithe whined at the sight of mingyu panting for air, his head lightly bumping mingyu’s, as if asking if he’s okay. not soon after, vernon arrived next to mingyu. kneeling next to the boy as he handed the boy a bottle of lemonade. mingyu took it gratefully before sitting up, gulping almost half of the bottle in one shot.

“growlithe,” mingyu called, still wheezing for air. growlithe climbed into his lap, no longer as energetic as earlier. he probably understood that he did something bad this time, vernon thought.

“you’re a fire type,” mingyu said gently. “you remember what happened when you first battled lapras, right?” growlithe’s ears were down, and he let out a small whine.

“yes, you lost because of lapras’s water pulse. and the ocean,” mingyu gestured to the beautiful view in front of them, “is made of water. if you dive in there, arceus knows what would’ve happened.” growlithe was quiet, but looked at mingyu as if asking for forgiveness. mingyu ruffled growlithe’s fur, and growlithe looked a little bit better.

“maybe it’s time for you to return to your ball,” mingyu said, reaching for growlithe’s poké ball. “i’ll let you out again once we cross the sea, alright, buddy?” growlithe barked in agreement, and mingyu gently tapped the poké ball to growlithe’s body, who transformed into a white silhouette before completely disappearing into the poké ball. vernon patted mingyu’s shoulders.

“that was a close call,” vernon said, stepping towards the sea. “you go take a breather. i’ll get lapras out from her ball and ready her for our journey.”

as soon as mingyu was able to stand, he wasted no time to continue on the journey. the sun was shining bright on them — it was two in the afternoon, after all. the surf across wasn’t as fun as earlier, though — instead of friendly groups of seel and dewgong, the ocean was filled with groups of tentacool and tentacruel, and mingyu definitely did not want to touch any of the water.

lapras, however, was swimming faster than before — probably because the sun gives her energy. vernon occasionally patted her on the head, and she would cry in delight.

after an hour, they finally arrived in front of the entrance of mt. ember. mingyu heard vernon thank lapras before returning her to her ball. he took a deep breath.

this was it. they finally reached mt. ember after all the journey.

as promised, mingyu let growlithe out of his ball. growlithe barked happily, almost as if the incident earlier never happened. but then again, they were so close to getting the fire stone for him.

but growlithe — being a fire type — barked because he smelt something familiar. growlithe started for the cave, and mingyu and vernon followed behind him.

“he must’ve smelt the fire stone,” vernon stated. mingyu tilted his head.

“growlithe’s a fire type, and you know they have a very keen sense of smell,” he explained. “he’s been looking for the fire stone for all his life, and he’s a growlithe, so he must recognize the smell.”

true to vernon’s words, growlithe had sniffed the tracks, navigating their way towards the rocky mountain. sometimes mingyu and vernon would come across a machop or a geodude, but growlithe was so focused into searching for the fire stone that he moved so quickly, even the machop and geodude couldn’t catch up to him.

vernon was starting to lose energy half an hour into the hike — it was a mountain, after all, and the fire stone wasn’t located on the base of the mountain, sadly. he wanted to ask for a fice minute break, but he knew mingyu wouldn’t want to waste any more time, and he also knew growlithe wouldn’t stop for him. they’ve been waiting for this for almost ten years now, and vernon wouldn’t want to ruin the fun for them. he slowed his pace, still quick enough to not lose them, but enough for him to slowly regain his energy.

after what seemed like forever, growlithe finally stopped his tracks. vernon was leaning on a boulder, no longer capable of climbing anymore. but to his luck, they were already on the summit — now looking for the stone is all they need to do.

“hey, vernon,” mingyu called. “you just sit and rest. growlithe and i will look for the stone.” vernon did not oppose. he let his body fall to the ground, panting for air as he felt his legs cramping. he probably should’ve just called for kadabra to teleport him up to the summit — now, why didn’t he think of that? better yet, all of them could just teleport home after this!

he felt incredibly stupid for only realizing this now, but then again, mingyu also did not realize, so that makes the two of them.

on the other hand, mingyu and growlithe were actively searching — there were a lot of boulders and rocks. an hour passed and mingyu was sure they’ve been looking at every nook and cranny, but there were no signs of the fire stone anywhere.

that is, until growlithe kept barking into a certain boulder.

“what is it?” mingyu approached, but growlithe only continued barking. his front paws started scratching the boulder, so mingyu stepped forward to remove the boulder from the way. it was heavy — there was no way mingyu could do this on his own, but he didn’t want to trouble vernon anymore.

suddenly, growlithe let out a cry before pushing his whole body onto the boulder. the boulder moved, and mingyu realized right there and then that growlithe was using strength.

“good job, growlithe!” mingyu said, pushing together with growlithe. growlithe let out a little growl as the boulder finally moved out of their way, and in front of them was a small rock. growlithe pounced on it once for the rock to crack. mingyu took the rock and slammed it on the ground, and the rock finally cracked, revealing an ember colored stone. growlithe pounced on mingyu happily as mingyu fell on his back, hugging growlithe.

“we did it, growlithe! we found the fire stone!” growlithe was licking mingyu’s face and mingyu didn’t mind one bit. mingyu was laughing — a few hours ago he didn’t feel like he would succeed on his quest, but he did and he was so happy.

his happiness was cut short when vernon ran towards them, panting.

“hyung! i’ve been calling you, didn’t you hear me?”

“vernon, we found the fire stone!” mingyu grinned at him as he sat up. vernon looked frantic — what’s happening?

“that’s great, but i think we have a big problem!” mingyu opened his mouth to ask what the other boy meant when a cry of a bird broke the silence. above their heads, a red silhouette flew over them, and it felt like they were near a volcano. mingyu gulped. bird, red, hot. this could only mean one thing.

moltres landed on a boulder fifty metres ahead of them. mingyu and vernon were gaping in awe — they’ve heard legends of the legendary birds, but didn’t think they would ever come in contact with any of them! (when he got home, it occurred to mingyu that according to the legends, moltres resided on the summit of the mt. ember — mingyu didn’t know how he forgot about that small fact).

moltres was gold — it had a long, flowing head crest and a billowing tail, both made of reddish-orange and yellow flames. additionally, its wings were also shrouded in fiery plumage. it was eyeing them carefully, and none of them dared to move a muscle.

“should we make a run for it?” vernon asked. mingyu longed to take the fire stone, but he was scared moltres would attack him if he moved his hand.

“vernon,” mingyu said. vernon hummed in response, not daring to turn his head.

“this might be our only chance to ever battle moltres.”

“hyung, you only have growlithe and bulbasaur. we’re never gonna win.”

“it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” mingyu said. “besides, i need you to cause a distraction for me.”

before vernon could take his ball out, growlithe barked in anxiousness, and all hell broke loose.

from his beak, moltres fired a flamethrower towards growlithe and mingyu. growlithe yelped and jumped off of mingyu, and mingyu’s quick instincts screamed at him to roll to the right, which he did. the pebbles and rocks on the ground caused him to groan in pain.

“lapras, go!” vernon threw his dive ball out, and lapras emerged, crying out her battle cry.

“lapras, hydro pump!” lapras shrieked before shooting out a powerful hydro pump — but moltres dodged it easily, for it has wings.

while moltres was distracted, mingyu jumped for the fire stone — moltres might be beautiful and all, but mingyu will never forgive it if his quest fails, especially not because he’s a legendary pokémon.

moltres shot a fire blast at vernon and lapras, but growlithe leaped in front of the fire blast, getting slammed by the fire blast into the ground in the process. he yelped, and mingyu didn’t realize he had shouted for growlithe’s name in despair. he needed to get the fire stone to growlithe somehow!

“hyung!” vernon cried. “i’ll cover, so you go evolve growlithe!” lapras let out another cry before using avalanche against moltres — moltres’s flying-typing neutralizing the damage, instead of it being not very effective.

mingyu wanted to run for growlithe, but he knew if he did, moltres would turn him into a roasted mingyu, and mingyu didn’t want that. he saw growlithe grunt in pain, but managed to stand up, his feet stumbling. so mingyu did the only thing he could think of.

“growlithe, catch!” mingyu threw the fire stone towards growlithe, and moltres was too distracted by lapras to notice. growlithe jumped in the air and caught the fire stone in his fangs, and he shined.

everyone was too distracted by growlithe’s evolution to continue the battle — even moltres. growlithe’s body grew — his body and feet grew longer, the taft of fur on his head grew towards the back of his head, and his tail got visibly longer and bigger. when the blue light vanished, growlithe was no longer there — arcanine roared handsomely, eyes ready to battle.

mingyu choked back a sob. after ten years, his growlithe was finally an arcanine.

he didn’t have much time to rejoice, though, because once the evolution process was done, moltres decided it was a good time to attack them with another fire blast (in a way, it was though). vernon shouted at lapras to dodge, but mingyu knew lapras wouldn’t have made it. arcanine, however, with his newfound speed, managed to push back the fire blast with flamethrower — a stronger version now that he was fully evolved. he ran towards mingyu’s side in no time, his eyes staring at mingyu, full of trust.

“vernon,” mingyu called.

“yeah?”

“if we die fighting moltres, i have no regrets.”

“you won’t, because the minute we start to become the losing side i will have kadabra teleport us back home.” mingyu laughed, too happy too contain his joy.

“well, i wanna fight first. how about you?” vernon smirked at the elder boy.

“i finished the gym challenge — i never run away from challenges.” mingyu smirked as both him and vernon switched into battle stance.

“lapras/arcanine,” they said in unison, “i choose you!”

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Benny and Techie Have It Out

The Pool Masterlist Pairing: Benny ‘Borracho’ Magalon x Reader Rating: Mature Warnings: Cursing; angst; mentions of past asshole exes; there’s a happy ending, I promise! Not beta-read Notes: Requested by @monicabennerman-blog (it wouldn’t let me tag you 😫) Summary: It’s not the first time you’ve gotten that answer from someone you’ve dated.

It doesn’t come on all at once - and it doesn’t even bother you at first. You’ve heard Borracho talk about his family a ton, is the thing, you know how important they are to him. The two of you have been dating for nearly six months, so you’re… A little worried about the fact that you haven’t met them yet. You try to bring it up a few times, mostly when Borracho mentions he’s going over to hang out with them for the afternoon. “Maybe I could come with you?” You offer, but he just pecks your lips and murmurs, “Next time, sweetness.” And the first two, three times? Fine. But the tenth time, it grates on you.

And it’s not the first time you’ve gotten that answer from someone you’ve dated. But in the past, it’s never been for a good reason - it’s been because exes haven’t thought you were serious, or have wanted to break up with you and haven’t known how, choosing instead to string you along until you cut the cord. So this time, when you ask, and when he returns his answer of, “Next time, sweetness,” You mutter, “Bullshit.” And that stops him at the door. He turns back to face you as he straightens his jacket. “What?” You shake your head, wave him back toward the door. “What did you say,” He’s more firm now, taking two steps deeper into your apartment. “You heard what I said,” You rise off of the couch, grabbing the plates from the breakfast the two of you shared on your couch and heading into your kitchen, “Otherwise you wouldn’t have stopped walking.” Borracho follows, watching as you start to passive-aggressively scrub at the dishes. “I heard it, I’m just wondering where the fuck it came from.” “Well then why didn’t you ask where the fuck it came from instead of acting like you need a hearing aid?” “What has gotten into you?” “If there’s not going to be an actual ‘next time’,” You shut the faucet off and turn to face Borracho as you scoop up a dish towel to dry your hands on, “Then you need to tell me that. Don’t just--” You wave a hand at Borracho, “Don’t just keep on pushing off me meeting your family like it’s gonna happen if you don’t want it to ever happen.” “Who says I don’t want it to?” “No one’s said it, but with the way you’ve been acting, you don’t have to. Do they even know about me?” “They know I’m seeing someone.” “Someone.” “Yeah.” “They don’t even know my name?” “Not yet.” Yet. Yet feels as bad as ‘next time’. “Not yet,” You repeat quietly, pinching the bridge of your nose, “Okay, well maybe you can clue me in. Is there some kind of information phasing that you typically use with your family?” “What about you? I haven’t met your family.” “Yeah, because they live on the other side’a the fuckin’ country, Ben!” You snap, “If they lived here, I would’ve introduced you by now. Fuck, I tried to put you on the phone with my mom two weeks ago!” “I didn’t wanna talk to her, I don’t know her!” “What the fuck did you think I was holding the phone out for!” You’re yelling now, both of you. Borracho shakes his head, takes two steps back, says, “I’m going.” “Do whatever the fuck you want.” -- 

You’re not expecting the bell to ring half an hour later. You frown. You aren’t expecting any packages, haven’t ordered any food. You press the talk button, ask who it is, then wait for the answer. “Can I come up?” He sounds miserable, even through the feed. And fuck, you wanna say no. You curl your hand into a fist and rest it next to the intercom for a moment. The irritation hasn’t disappeared, yet, is the thing. You’re still dealing with it, it’s still bubbling in your stomach like some shitty bicarbonate soda. You take in a deep breath, push it out through your mouth, press ‘talk’ the button, prepared to tell him to leave… Then you say nothing, hit the button to open the door instead. You walk over to the front door and unlock it for Borracho like you always do when he’s coming up. You go back into the kitchen. You haven’t finished cleaning up yet. As soon as Borracho left, you’d just started walking around your apartment, mentally continuing the argument that the two of you had been having - and winning it. You hear the door open, then close. You hear Borracho’s footsteps come down the hall, round the living room, stop at the entrance to your kitchen. You don't turn to look at him, just keep at your task. “Can we talk?” “Go right ahead,” You answer. “No, sweetness,” You pet name is tight in his throat, “I wanna talk to you, not at you.” You set down what’s in your hands and place your palms flat on the counter before you nod. Borracho comes further into the kitchen, stops at the counter beside you. He doesn’t reach out to touch you, doesn’t draw you to soothe the hurt with a kiss. It won’t solve anything and the both of you know it. “I’ve got a… A reputation with my family for jumping into shit too quick,” He says; his voice is quiet, a little apologetic, “After my divorce, there were a lot of women that I brought around, but they never stuck around long. On top’a that… My family didn’t think too highly of then. And I’ll be honest, those girls, they were just fun, I wasn’t serious about them. I’m serious about you. I just… I gotta ease ‘em into this. I don’t want them saying shit about you, not like that. Not like them.” Your hands curl into fists again, and you’re fighting to keep your eyes on the counter as your stomach churns. “Why didn’t you just tell me that? I mean-- No, Ben, listen,” You shake your head as you hear Borracho wind up to say something else, “You’ve been saying ‘next time’ like--? For months now. Months. And giving someone that expectation and then just yanking it away time after time after time--” “It wasn’t fair,” Borracho concedes, “I’m sorry.” You nod, let your head hang. “I’m sorry, too. The way I approached this was-- Really bad. I should’ve just told you that this was bothering me... And I shouldn’t have yelled.” Borracho does reach for you, then, and murmurs, “C’mere.” You go, curl into his chest, wrap your arms around him and press your face into his shoulder. He gathers you close, and you feel a tension to him. “I shouldn’t keep you too long,” You mumble after you’ve held to him for a while, “You’ll be late to get to Gabriel’s.” “Texted, told him I would be,” Borracho’s words are muffled against your shoulder. You smile a little bit, rub your hand between his shoulders. “Go on,” You urge him. He leans away just enough to duck in for a kiss. You sigh, sliding your hands up to settle on either side of his neck. “Can I come by...After?” He mumbles. You hum, nodding a little. “Gotta leave to come back, though,” You tease. You feel him smile against your lips and that makes you grin. You want to tell him that you love him but-- well the two of you haven’t used that word yet, and you’re not sure if the moment after a fight, right before he goes to see his family is the best time. You peck his lips one more time before you lean away. “I’m sorry again,” You murmur. He nods a little, rests his forehead against yours. “I am, too.” You pat his cheek. “Get outta here, Magalon.” --

You get a text from him later that says, ‘my entire family says you’re too hot for me’ It makes your heart swoop and you laugh aloud. Tag list: @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo​ ; @jedi-mando​

[slvtbible]

G O L D 

chapter two

summary: [y/n is a young stripper who is adored by many men. harry styles is a man who loves to carry danger with him]

word count: 4787

pairing: stripper!y/n and gangleader!harry

warnings: violence, vulgar language, sexual acts, alcohol and drugs

Read it on my wattpad here too!

previous chapter here and here’s the series masterlist !

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y/n swears she can hear her heartbeat beating loud soon as she sets herself down on his lap. Still, she keeps her flirty persona for a show so he won’t suspect anything, though on the inside she can feel herself about to faint. She doesn’t quite understand how difficult it is for her to avoid his sharp gaze either, it’s clear that his eyes haven't left her body the minute she stepped into the room earlier. Because when she looks up, his beautiful green eyes are already staring back at hers.

“So… Mr. Styles” y/n starts, giving him a naughty smile as her hands find their way to his shoulders. She feels how tense his shoulders are under her grip. “What brings you to this awful depth of New York city?”

He clears his throat, licking his lips before biting down his lower ones and keeps his hands on her hips. Finding no desire to remove them. “Stress reliever. Haven’t got a time off in the last few weeks. I thought to myself, ‘strip clubs should be fun’, to be accompanied by a gorgeous woman like yourself seems like a good idea.”

It’s either he’s being sarcastic or really is just telling the truth. But she refuses to believe the latter. He sure is charming and cheeky from what she can tell but y/n sure as hell isn’t buying it. “Mhmm, you sure are a sweet talker Mr. Styles.” She tells him as she begins to slowly grind against his bulge causing him to exhale a deep groan. “You sure you don’t talk to other girls that way?”

He mutters a “Christ” when he feels himself growing hard under her sultry move, yet she isn’t stopping. And she only had just started. “Believe me doll, I don't. Being in a mob, relationships are hard to keep, you know?”

“I’m not talking about relationships, Mr. Styles” she utters gently, starting to circle her hips in a slow pace but hard enough to keep him satisfied. She smirks as soon as she hears him mumble a curse. “Anyway. . . What did you and Joe talk about earlier before I came here? You must know something, Mr Styles i-”

“Harry” He cuts her off, his thumb softly stroking against her hip bone,

“What was that?”

“Call me Harry, doll. Just call me Harry” He repeats, staring intensely into her eyes,

She hums in response and nods. “Okay, Harry. . . You must know something that Joe, he never gives up on me that easy. Rarely letting me perform in private for anyone.” leaning herself back slowly and rests her palms upon the table, now moving her hips back and forth.

Harry shamelessly lets his eyes wander down from her perky breasts to her thick thighs, moving his hands to rest them there. “I threatened him” he says casually with a shrug, feeling her tense but brushes it off. “Said i’ll kill him if he doesn’t give me the 50 grand he owed me and a girl for tonight.”

He sounds so calm yet so serious it scares her a bit. With the way his eyes staring at her aren’t really helping too. And how his tongue pokes out a bit to wet his bottom lip, like he knows it makes her even more nervous. He really knows how to make a girl weak on her knees.

“Looks like someone is in trouble” she giggles cutely, imagining the terrified look on Joe’s face when Harry threatened him. “Not surprised. . . He does that alot to people. Including me.”

He cocks an eyebrow, curiosity building up. “really? Like what”

“Like. . . he knows I'm short on money because I keep stalling to pay the rent just so he can ‘borrow’ half of the earnings I got every week. He really is a dick and never pays me back” she spills casually, then her eyes widen when she realizes what she had just said about her boss. “Shit! Don’t tell him i said that.”

With a chuckle, he shakes his head. “Relax. . . He’s not the type of man I would tell my problems to.” He speaks lowly and continues to admire her body, rubbing gently on her soft thighs. “So tell me, how did you end up here?”

It takes her a while before answering. “Well. . . Short story. I ran away from home to start a new life. Began doing it when I was 18. Technically wasn’t illegal but it’s what kept a roof over my head”

“Mhmm. . . must be tough. But i’m glad you did otherwise we wouldn’t have met.” He flirts, shooting her a wink to fuck with her a little.

She rolls her eyes playfully and grins after. Carefully lifting her hands off the table and leaning forward to set them back on his shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. Her eyes suddenly fall on his two swallows tattoos, beautifully inked on his broad chest. She struggles to find the urge not to trace her fingers across them.

“Those tattoos are gorgeous” she comments blatantly, eyes stuck on the masterpiece. “Do you mind if i. . . touch them a little?” she asks softly, looking up to his eyes innocently yet teasingly,

Harry smirks, exhaling a deep breath. “Go ahead baby. . .” he speaks in a hum, voice so deep and carries a thick british accent that causes her to squirm a little.

She ignores the butterflies in her stomach when he calls her ‘baby’. Without being told twice, her soft hands make its way to his chest. Thumbing the large ink and feeling how soft his skin is. Her eyes are paying attention to the every single detail of the ink, wondering how the tattoos could fit so perfectly on his chest.

No doubt, he is the sexiest man she has ever come across to. She can feel his large hands going towards her backside, palming her plump cheeks and giving them a light squeeze. Usually she would tell anyone off for touching her like that especially if she told them no. Yet this time she doesn’t say anything. Not because she’s afraid of him but she strangely feels turned on.

“Fuck” he breathes out, feeling her ass one more time. Hearing her giggle as she gradually picks up her pace grinding on him, catching him off guard. “You really are a God’s masterpiece, huh? Bet you wouldn’t mind having that ass spanked would you?” He whispers against her ear, biting his lower lip hard.

Though she’d admit she wouldn’t, she can’t give up that easily. She slowly shakes her head and removes herself from him causing him to whine. Spinning around as she sways her ass side to side, sneaking a glance to make sure he’s watching. And he is.

Her hand wraps tightly around the golden pole. “You have to take me to dinner if you wanna go down to that path, Mr. Styles”

He watches with lust and adoration in his eyes as she now, hooks her arm around the pole, lifting herself off easily to give her body a gentle spin. Her eyes screw shut and her head is thrown back. Then she’s coming back down slowly, legs wide as she lands with a perfect split. Long brown hair covering the side of her beautiful features, her tongue licking her upper lip with her eyes looking at his.

He follows the curve of her round ass, eager to get his hands on them again but he knows he has to wait. His eyes squint a bit to spot a small detailed heart tattoo on her ass cheek.  

Harry learns that y/n is a little teaser. Enjoy making a man hard but refuses to be under the spell of a man’s touch. He likes that actually. He likes that a lot. It may be painful to have his cock hard at the moment while she’s not doing anything about it, but she’s worth it.

With that gorgeous face and beautiful body having to perform for him, what more could he ask for now?

“You are so. Fucking. Sexy” his voice is darker now, a seductive grin is slowly forming as he thirsts over her. “Must have made a lot of men mad out there.”

“So i’ve been told” she declares with confidence, putting on an innocent smile as she gently crawls towards him, seeing how hard he is from this view. Her eyes never leaving his.

She stops in between his legs and settles on her knees. Being the little minx she is, she brings her hands on his thighs. Giving them a gentle rub like he did earlier with her. “I’ve never come face to face with a man like you, Harry. . . Not sure if there’s another one like you either.”

“Because there’s only one Harry Styles, doll.” He delicately caresses her soft cheek, moving a few strands of her hair from blocking her pretty face. “And I am sure I'm the only man that gets to see you on her knees, being a naughty little thing with her hands on him knowing how hard she makes him.” He whispers gently, seemingly can’t take his eyes off her as she plays with him a bit more.

“You’re a handsome man, Mr. Styles. Any girl would be lucky to be on her knees. . .touching you in a way she wanted to” She responds cheekily, winking at him.

He chuckles deeply, shaking his head. “Now look who’s the sweet talker eh?” He jokingly asks, reaching down to grab her hand. “Up you go, pet”

She looks at him questionably but stands up anyway when his hand wraps around hers. “Um. . . we still have thirty minutes left. Joe told me to at least give you an hour.” She notifies, looking down at him as she fiddles with her fingers,

He nods. “I know. But doll, you’ve given me much already. Plus, if I stayed for over thirty more, I would probably bust in my pants because look what you've done” he shamelessly points to his tent. Chuckling as she blushes and biting down her lip. “That doesn’t mean this is one and done. I’d like to see you again next time. I did tell Joe I wanted you. Just wanna make sure i picked the right one and indeed i was” He stands, pulling out his wallet from the back and pocket and grab five hundred dollar bills from it,

“Here you go, sweetheart.”

She looks down on the bundle of cash he’s giving her in shock and lets out a nervous laugh. “Oh. . . no i can’t take that. It’s too much. Men usually paid me twenty or fifteen at least.”

He frowns. He doesn’t believe any word she just said. A gorgeous woman like her getting paid less? Fucking assholes.

“Well, I am not them, am i?” He quirks an eyebrow watching her adorable expression. “I’m Harry Styles, baby. Money isn’t a problem to me. Come on, you deserved it.”

She stares down at his hand and hesitantly takes the money from it. Giving him a soft, thankful smile. “Thank you, Mr-- uh i mean, Harry. I appreciate it.”

He grins, nodding his head as he slips his wallet back into his pocket. “Anytime, doll. Don’t go far from me, eh? Would love to take you out on a stroll sometimes.” He leans down a bit to peck her cheek. “Take care of yourself, love. I’ll be sure to call you once I get the time” with one last smirk and a wink, he swiftly walks out of the door and closes it. Leaving her dumbfounded in the room.

She tries to process everything that has just happened. Not once did any of her clients ever pull a move like he did. It’s not like she would be interested anyway since most of them are old and married. Something about him doesn’t terrify her anymore. Okay, maybe a little. Especially when she caught a glimpse of his gun fifteen minutes prior but she shakes it off quickly.

Maybe she did enjoy being alone with him. With his hands feeling her ass and his heavy voice speaks to her making her squirms in excitement. She tried really hard to not let him know he’s doing things to her but she thinks he’s smarter than that. He must’ve guessed that.

With a smirk, she hides the cash in her bra, checking if it’s prominent or not because she doesn’t want anyone--especially Joe-- to find out. She stands in front of a mirror, fixing her hair a bit and letting herself out of the room.

If he keeps handing her cash like this then she cannot fucking wait to see him again.

*

*

*

Harry steps inside the dimly lit room, removing his Rolex before laying it gently on a table. His feet allow him to carry himself towards a black safe, which it’s firmly settled on the wall as he unlocks it. Digging his hand through the bundle of cash to grab his gun before loading it with three bullets.

The thing about Harry is that he doesn’t like wasting precious things too easily. What he had learned for the past twelve years of being a gunrunner, he notices a few minor details about guns. How the bullets normally get wasted for less than an hour while they’re being used. Harry doesn't actually condone guns. He hates the idea of having to carry such a heavy weight item wherever he goes.

But somehow, guns are a ‘must have’ in every single mafia group. So he has to learn to live by it every day.

“You said there won’t be a bloodshed tonight, boss. What changed?”

Harry stops moving and turns around, meeting Reece’s gaze immediately and his smirk which plants on his features. Hands behind his back as he takes a couple steps forward.

Harry emits a deep chuckle while shaking his head lightly, putting the gun down. “If you’re talking about the Glock 43 i had in my hands, i wasn’t planning anything stupid. I like being prepared.” He closes the safe and locks it with four digits passcode.

Reece’s eyebrows raise and his lips form into a pout as he nods, retracting his hand from behind showing Harry a sealed brown document making Harry’s brows twist in confusion.

“What’s that?” Harry strides his way towards Reece’s figure, close enough to examine the documents he is holding,

Reece says nothing but pulls a few papers and pictures instead inside of it, throwing them on the table sloppily causing them to splatter a bit. Harry peers at the papers carefully, fingers reaching out to move the papers a little bit so he can observe them better.

“That’s Alejandro Blanco. He owns the infamous Blanco Cartel, passed on by his late father who died in 1999.” Reece begins to explain as he points at the picture Harry is touching, the twinge of his spanish accent comes into play as he speaks the name. “If you didn’t know, Blanco Cartel is an International Drug Trafficking organization and a criminal syndicate. Money laundering is a part of their characteristic work. Blanco Cartel is named to be the second most powerful International drug trafficking in the world right after the Sinaloa cartel.”

Reece then gently grabs another photograph of two young men having a conversation, dressed in pastel colored shirts with their glasses on. “They operate in Calabria, Italy. Seems like the United States Intelligence Community are chasing their asses too.”

Humming as a response, Harry quickly pulls the photograph off the table. Observing it closely towards his gaze as his eyes flicks back and forth to the other photos. “I may be out of my fucking mind but i could swear i’ve seen him before.”

“If you’re referring to the guy we saw at the black market two months ago, yes that was him. He wasn’t very subtle back then.” Reece pours two glasses of whiskey, knowing it’s going to be a long night. “Said he had contact with Joe too.” He hands out the glass towards Harry, which he grabs lazily.

His head snaps at the mention of his name, eyebrows pulling forward. “Joe? That son of a bitch who works in the Red Room?”

Reece can only give a small shrug, sipping on the alcoholic beverage. “We don’t know for sure. But i talked to a few guys at the club, they mentioned about Joe having a close off relations with other drug cartels. They didn’t give me names but it’s a coincidence.”

Harry nods, pinching his bottom lip with his forefinger and thumb. Something that he always does whenever he’s in a deep thought. “Joe’s an Italian… He said something about having colleagues who worked there six months prior.” He mumbles, fiddling with the bottom edge of the paper. “You’re saying that the package that I've delivered and the 50k he owes me, Blanco has something to do with it?”

“I didn’t exactly confirm it, Boss. but it could be. Joe’s a tricky asshole, he would find any kind of loophole to get out of his fucking mess.” Reece answers, gulping down his drink in one swig.

“Okay then… We’ll get our heads in the game tomorrow morning. Call Junior and Dominic as well.” Harry states, throwing the papers back to the table and exhaling a sigh. “Need to make a few calls tonight”

“Oh? Was it the girl back in the room, boss? Got her number already?” He teases, gathering the photographs and tucking them back into the brown paper.

“Fuck no” He laughs, pulling out his phone from the back pocket. “Not tonight.”

“So the answer to that last question is…?”

Harry rolls his eyes in annoyance yet pulling off a small smirk to grace on his face, sipping on his drink as he waves Reece off. Earning a loud cackle from him,

“Told your ass you would get it tonight right? Always listen to your right hand man, boss! Motherfucker is always right.” Reece sticks his tongue out as a form of mockery and point at himself which causes Harry to laugh,

“Yeah yeah whatever.” Harry says getting annoyed though really he can’t seem to fight back a smile,

“So what happened? Did she casually slip her number on or what?” Reece asks, moving towards the kitchen to put the empty glass on the sink,

Clearing his throat, Harry shakes his head. “Asked Beck for it. I don’t think she’s the type to easily give out her digits to a man she knew for less than an hour.”

Now Reece is confused. “So you asked someone else for her number and hope to pester her later?”

“No” Harry denies, “Just wanna surprise her a little. What’s with the interrogation?” He asks, getting quite defensive, twirling the drink lightly, causing the ice to clink against the glass.

Reece stares at his boss with a perplexed look before laughing, “you’re not making any sense boss but all right.” He shrugs on his black suit and reaches for his keys. “Night, boss. Try to get some sleep eh? You look like shit”

Harry rumbles a chuckle, “I’ll let you know if we’re on tomorrow. Drive safe”

With a nod, Reece salutes to Harry and opens the front door before walking out of his mansion and drives off back to his home.

*

*

*

Her head hurts when she wakes up, hand pressing on to it and giving a slight massage in hopes to ease the pain. She removes herself from the bed and struts her way to the kitchen just in her bra and panties. It has become her routine sleeping half naked--or just naked really-- she hates sleeping with clothes on. Especially during this time where the weather isn’t really considering to coordinate with where she lives.

She spots her phone on the kitchen counter and reaches out to grab it, pressing the home button key to find a few dozens of messages that were sent from last night. Mostly from Violet.

Vio: Okay you little bitch, you haven’t spilled the tea on how it went last night.

Vio: Please tell me you at LEAST sucked his dick

Y/n chokes on her morning coffee at Violet’s bluntness. Setting down her cup while shaking her head, swiping her finger to the right to respond to her message,

Violet is known to have a big mouth. She honestly could give two fucks about what other people think, one of the things Y/N loves about her best friend. Not that she’s any different from her.

“Vi you little ass” she mutters on her breath with a small smirk, typing down the message before pressing send,

Y/N: i did NOT suck anyone’s dick last night.

Y/N: aaand… nothing happened. Just got paid to do a lap dance.

As she puts her phone back on the table, she decides to make herself a breakfast. Pulling out a carton of eggs from the fridge and sausages. She sighs looking at her empty fridge, only spotting a half filled milk, bacon and the instant korean noodles from last week.

It’s not that she earns a very small paycheck from her job that she could barely buy groceries. But the thing is, being a stripper kept her extremely busy whether during the day or night. She’s barely even at her place most of the time. Joe always makes her come early to do unnecessary shit but of course, she can’t go against him.

Today is the lucky day though, it’s her day off. She can finally take a breather and relax. Perhaps watch the new season of La Casa De Papel or read a few books. She never got to finish Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Spy’.

“Okay, I really need to go get groceries” she utters, slamming the fridge door close before breathing out a sigh. Heading towards the stove to turn it on,

As she cracks open the egg one by one, she hears her device vibrate from behind causing her to stop her movement. She spins on her heel to see an unknown number calling, eyebrows knitting together as curiosity starts to build up inside of her.

‘Who the hell is calling her at 9 am in the morning? Other than Joe and Violet that is.’

As she clutches her phone in her palm, she’s debating whether to turn it off or answer it. Small chances are it’s her ex boyfriend, Kai. Begging for another chance to be with her since he fucked it up with their relationship the last time. He hasn’t stopped pestering her, changing his number every chance he gets.

With a sigh, she taps the answer icon before pressing it against her ear. “Hello?”

“Morning, gorgeous”

Her eyes bug out a little, freezing in place as she hears the voice speak. An unfamiliar deep british accent ringing through her ear. She can sense a smirk on his face as he speaks to her. That cocky bastard.

“Mr. Styles?” she asks carefully, feeling the need to confirm that it’s actually him. “No offense but… how the hell did you get my number?” She walks back towards the stove, finishing cracking the two eggs before giving it a mix. Pouring them on the pan to make an omelette.

“From someone” He says sarcastically, almost making her scoff. “Not from Joe if you’re wondering.”

“Mhmm” she murmurs, finding it hard to believe but she plays along anyway. “Can I ask you what you want from me, Mr. Styles?”

She’s not entirely annoyed that he called. But shouldn’t people learn to not ring someone at 9 am in the morning, especially if that person just woke up? Clearly rules don’t apply to him.

Harry smiles hearing her soft angelic voice, ring clad fingers tapping against his work table. “Can’t stop thinking about you if i’m being honest, doll. You were driving me crazy last night.”

She bites down her plump lip, smiling at how her charm gives that much effect on him. “Mhmm really? Which one? Me grinding on your hard on, me dancing around the pole, or the one where I was tracing my fingers along your tattoos? Gotta be specific” she teases with a flirty tone,

Groaning as a response, he throws his head back against the chair and shuts his eyes close momentarily. Imagining the look on her face when she teases. “You’re doing it on purpose. You’re gonna make me hard again, baby. Don’t start something you can’t finish”

“Big boss don’t like playing games?” She pushes, faking a pout though he can’t see her. Grabbing the steel spatula to flip the egg. “My bad.”

“Don’t tempt me doll. I love playing games. Especially with a pretty girl like you.” He responds, standing up from his chair only in his grey sweatpants. His tan chest glistened with flicker of sweat. “But what’s the point of playing around if your fine self isn’t here with me?”

She lets out a breathy giggle, playing with her uncooked eggs with the edge of her spatula. Enjoying every word that came out of his mouth. “Is that your subtle way of asking me out on a date?”

“Maybe. Didn’t really have the chance to get to know each other last night, yeah?” He questions, sinking his teeth on his lip. “You had me hooked the minute you stepped into the room.”

‘God, he’s good. He’s really good.’ she thinks,

y/n clears her throat, tracing her finger gently around the empty plate. Just like she did to his tattoos last night. “I thought Mafias don’t do relationships?”

“We lie sometimes doll. Doesn’t mean we actually meant it.” He declares, smiling to himself at her playful teasing. “So what time do i have to pick you up?”

A small laugh escapes from her mouth, shaking her head side to side at his question. Plating the egg on the plate before moving it to the counter so she can sit on the stool. “Very forward. I’m flattered” She admits, feeding herself a small bit of the dish. “What would happen if i said no?”

His eyes look up to the ceiling as he answers, “then i’ll keep asking again and again until you say yes.”

“Talk about harassment!” she gasps in a playful way, hand on her heart. “Please tell me your last girlfriend didn’t witness the same thing as i am right now.”

He chuckles, pinching his bottom lip with his long fingers. Mind fills with the image of her gorgeous body moving like she did for him in the private room. “She went through far worse, you should be grateful” He jokes, hearing her laugh after. “So? What time?”

It may sound like it’s a bad idea for her to go out with him, knowing he’s the most dangerous and possibly most wanted man in New York. Yet, on the other hand, why not?

Go hard or go home, she guesses? Besides, it’d probably just be two strangers getting to know each other. What harm could it bring?

Perhaps she won’t be hearing the end of it from Violet.

She tilts her head as she thinks of a way to respond. “Just a friendly hang out right?” she asks, chewing on her meal. “I could use a friend.” she flirts

“If you wanna call it that, doll” he utters, shrugging his shoulders a bit. Playing along to whatever game she’s pulling. “I could use a friend too. . . been pretty lonely” he flirts back, wondering what her answer may be.

She tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She really does. But how? This man is way too fucking good with the way he speaks. As if he knows he’s gonna get her wrapped around his fingers soon.

y/n taps her fingers against the tiles, purposely keeping him waiting. “I’m free at 8. . . or 9 works too.” she bites her lip, playing with her food with the fork. She can’t find any desire to eat anymore, too busy playing around with the world’s dangerous mafia boss.

“9 it is then” he confirms. Walking out of his work room to go downstairs. “I’ll see you tonight, beautiful.”

“See you” she then hangs up on the phone and sets it down. Grabbing her coffee with both hands as she lifts it to her lips and takes a sip. Locking her eyes on the phone screen, trying to process what just happened.

Stomach swimming with excitement and nerves as she thinks about having another intimate moment with Harry later. She has no idea where he’s gonna take her later but she knows one thing for sure,

She’s not gonna wake up in her own bed in the morning.

*

*

a/n: there you have it, part 2! :) don’t worry, the smut scene is coming up on the next chapter (hopefully). Enjoy reading my loves! 

[haloud]

things we could burn in one go (eminence) - chapter 7

also on ao3

Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Isabel Evans & Max Evans & Michael Guerin, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Forrest Long/Alex Manes Additional Tags: post-s2, Canon Compliant, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, starts forlex ends malex, other characters may appear - Freeform, tags subject to update

Chapter Summary: Alive but weak, Michael wanders Alex’s house as he tries to come to terms with the past few days.

Excerpt:

 At night, Alex slept in his bed, and Michael slept in the guest room, but the sheets were Alex’s, the pillows were Alex’s, the walls and floor were built to hold him, he picked out the curtains. Alex was inescapable. And now, neither could Michael escape knowing that he still slept in old band shirts worn soft and peeling, that he composed music with his eyes closed and hid his written notations in books around his house, that he kept all his condiments room temperature and screwed up his nose at the thought of cold sauce on hot food. All these domestic details he’d lived and loved without, stuffed inside the empty spaces in his skull after only a few days.

 What was he supposed to do, knowing this? The little details made up friendships, too, for certainly Michael knew plenty of his siblings’ idiosyncrasies, even kept shelves in his heart for lovely little scraps old one or two-night lovers had left him as parting gifts.

 But things would never, ever be so simple and nostalgic and normal with Alex. Too many years had passed for Michael to even attempt to fool himself. His ribs sung like a tuning fork struck pure, and Michael longed, with the oldest, basest longing, to be anything so useful for Alex to set the music of his life to. And here he was, sharing Alex’s house with Alex and Alex’s boyfriend’s dog and Alex’s boyfriend’s toothbrush on the sink and Alex’s boyfriend’s clothes in the laundry.

 So he’d live with it.

--

 “Fuck!”

 Michael’s water glass flew to his hand but bumped the edge of the table and skidded the last few feet, spilling water across its surface. Still cursing, Michael shoved his chair back and got to his feet to clean shit up the old-fashioned way, on weak and shaky legs, with weaker and shakier lungs.

 Max kept healing him, checking for any possible little injury, but it seemed that Michael was just weakened by the enormous strain Jones’s “teaching” had put on his body, and he’d have to build back his strength.

 So there it was. All his fears about not being to protect anyone, all the needy clamor in his head, all of them led him here, by nothing but his own recklessness and desperation. Weak as a kitten. More a burden on Alex, quite literally, in his life, taking up his space, invading his home, leaning on him to get from point A to point B.

 Fuck.

 He was, at least, too tired to wallow in much, in between long jags of ragged sleep, torn apart by vivid dreams of light and letters and scraps of knowledge just out of reach. But despite the awful aftertaste of near-death those dreams represented, they were almost better than his waking hours, hovered over by a furious Isobel and a Max worried half to death, Valenti inspecting him head to toe the normal way, Maria trying to cheer him up, and      Alex    .

 They hadn’t spoken much since Michael awoke. Alex had to work, and when he didn’t, they, well. Cohabitating was a lot to get used to. But no matter how awkward things got, he offered a perfect porcelain protection, and Michael studied him obsessively for flaw, for the true Alex underneath the façade brought on by Michael’s own foolishness.

 “Everything going okay?” Max asked, emerging from the guest bedroom, Buffy at his heels. She’d become his shadow in the days since Michael’s near-death; it was almost endearing enough to keep Michael from snapping at him, but only almost.

 “Fine,” he snarled, but far from driving Max off, his tone brought Max forward, to sit across the table from him and fold his arms.

 If snapping wasn’t gonna keep people away, why had he been working so hard to not be a total asshole for the past few days, through every well-meaning coddle and condescension from any one of their friends, from everyone but Isobel, who wasn’t talking to him.

 Max sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, and a twinge of guilt disturbed Michael’s surly mood.

 “Go ahead,” he said a little too loudly, before those thoughts could get to him. “Tell me what a hypocrite I am. One of you has to, and it might as well be you. I was fucking stupid after getting on your case constantly, and it almost killed me. Go ahead!”

 “You seem to have gotten a head start, so I don’t see the need,” Max said wryly.

 Michael scoffed.

 Picking up Michael’s abandoned glass, Max ran his finger around the rim as he spoke. “You know, I know what it’s like to lose this. When my heart was still so weak…I pushed myself too hard and almost…well. You know. So I understand. Give yourself time. Let your system settle and see where you are.”

 The words were too kind and too logical for Michael to bear, so he let out another bratty huff and didn’t respond.

 Max just sighed again. “Well. Anyway. Kyle’s going to be here soon. I know you hate him, but he’s—”

 “I don’t.”

��“Huh?”

 “Hate him. Kinda hard to hate the guy after what he did for you. I don’t like the doctor shit, but…”

 That brought out a small smile on Max’s face, and the knot in Michael’s stomach unclenched. “That’s good,” he said.

 A knock on the door saved Michael from having to find a dignified answer, and he stood hastily to answer it—a little too hastily, it turned out, because the world tipped and took Michael with it.

 “How ‘bout you let me,” Max said as Michael dropped heavy back into his chair before falling. He clapped him on the shoulder as he passed. “Alex’d kill me anyway if it was trouble and I let you answer it.”

     Alex.    The too-casual reminder that he might have some kind of stake in Michael’s well-being sent him reeling. What was he supposed to do with that information, that perspective? How did he earn it, how was he worthy of it, and how did he keep it from flying away? All questions that were too much to answer—questions he’d asked his ceiling and his eyelids and his stars every night for a decade and was farther than ever from answers even now that he was coming to accept the core truth of the problem’s existence.

 Of course, there was no trouble at the door; it was just Kyle, as expected, and he pet Buffy with one hand while waving at Michael with the other.

 “Hey, Guerin. How’s it going?”

 Michael marshalled himself to answer.

 “How do you think it’s going, Doc? A newborn deer’s got fancier footwork than me right now. But I’m alive, so…”

 “Can’t complain,” Kyle finished the sentence with an amused shake of his head. “That’s one way to look at it.”

 His exam was quick and efficient, something Michael was grateful enough for that he’d die before he ever let Valenti see it, and when he was done he took a seat across from Michael.

 “It’s not exactly a clean bill of health, but your condition seems stable and improving. The condition of your body, at least. It’s hard for me to give any diagnosis about what might be impacting the use of your powers.”

 “Yeah, yeah, wouldn’t expect you to. I’ll figure it out. You’ve done enough,” Michael said, scratching idly at his temple where Max’s handprint lay, thankfully hidden by his hair. “Tell me this, Doc.” He glanced around to make sure Max wasn’t in earshot, and when he spied him through a window throwing a ball for Buffy, he continued, “Have you had a chance to check out Max yet? The healing he did, with his heart—”

 Kyle smiled, and Michael glanced away from his knowing face, shifting in his seat.

 “I did, and you have nothing to worry about. He’s fine. It was a significant strain, but considering the alternative, the outcome could have been much worse.”

 “But what about his condition otherwise?” Michael powered through. “He’s been dealing with depression and exhaustion for months since—"

 The back door swung open and Buffy bounded in for her water bowl, Max following. “How’s it going?” he asked them both, but mostly Kyle, voice full of false cheer.

 “All good,” Kyle said easily, getting to his feet. “It’s going to be fine,” he tacked on the firm reassurance to Michael. “I should get going so I can get ready for work. Catch you later, Max.”

 “Thanks again, man.”

 “Free drinks at the Pony for life, you know my price.”

 As little as Michael cared to socialize with Valenti even now, awkward silence descended when he was gone and it was just the brothers again. What did you say to the guy who saved your life—again—when you had nothing but your own stupidity to blame?

 It didn’t help that Max’s ability to make Michael feel small and stupid and guilty as hell without even trying was still unparalleled, or that he was still too weak to pace it out, or that he was hyperaware of how everyone would perceive him if he sampled some of Alex’s liquor cabinet to take the edge off.

 “I’m going out to the back to get some light exercise,” he said eventually.

 “Okay,” Max said, not arguing or inviting himself along.

 “Thanks,” Michael replied, not elaborating on what for as he passed him at the fastest shuffle he could manage.

 Outside, under the sun, Michael’s head was no clearer, his muscles no stronger. Alex’s backyard was featureless, incomplete, clearly not somewhere he spent much time, unlike the front patio, which at least had some furniture, some lived-in rested energy. And, Michael thought, of course: Alex would spend his leisure somewhere he could anticipate most attempts to accost him.

 Letting out a heavy sigh, Michael ambled from one end of the fence to the other. As he went, Alex’s cameras followed him, and Michael tried not to feel weird about that, weirdly paranoid despite it being      Alex,    weirdly comforted to know Alex could watch him. The whole thing was weird. Living in Alex’s home was…weird.

 At night, Alex slept in his bed, and Michael slept in the guest room, but the sheets were Alex’s, the pillows were Alex’s, the walls and floor were built to hold him, he picked out the curtains. Alex was inescapable. And now, neither could Michael escape knowing that he still slept in old band shirts worn soft and peeling, that he composed music with his eyes closed and hid his written notations in books around his house, that he kept all his condiments room temperature and screwed up his nose at the thought of cold sauce on hot food. All these domestic details he’d lived and loved without, stuffed inside the empty spaces in his skull after only a few days.

 What was he supposed to do, knowing this? The little details made up friendships, too, for certainly Michael knew plenty of his siblings’ idiosyncrasies, even kept shelves in his heart for lovely little scraps old one or two-night lovers had left him as parting gifts.

 But things would never, ever be so simple and nostalgic and normal with Alex. Too many years had passed for Michael to even attempt to fool himself. His ribs sung like a tuning fork struck pure, and Michael longed, with the oldest, basest longing, to be anything so useful for Alex to set the music of his life to. And here he was, sharing Alex’s house with Alex and Alex’s boyfriend’s dog and Alex’s boyfriend’s toothbrush on the sink and Alex’s boyfriend’s clothes in the laundry.

 So he’d live with it.

 His pocket buzzed frantically, and he swore loudly, startled, before he realized it was just his phone ringing.

 “Fuckin’ spam calls,” he muttered as he fished it out. “Why the hell does anyone carry this shit around all the—”

 But it wasn’t a spam call at all.        Ortecho    sat dead center on the screen, and, not knowing what ring it was on, Michael answered immediately.

 “Mikey!” Liz’s breathless voice shouted before he could say a word.

 “Well it’s about damn—”

 “Thank god, are you okay, why am I hearing from Maria that you almost      died,    what the hell?”

 “Glad to know that’s what it takes to get a hold of you,” Michael snarked back.

 “Listen, I—”

 Michael just sighed. “I know. I get it. But we’ve been calling you a damn lot, Ortecho.”

 “…I know.”

 Despite what he said, he didn’t understand. He’d never understand the running, not as someone so stuck in the ground he’d been planted in that he’d die if he tried to rip himself away. But he couldn’t love Alex after ten years without accepting what he’d never understand and knowing how to survive it.

 He hadn’t thought, until now, that maybe he and Max could talk about this shit. But maybe it’d be worth a try. If there was one thing that Michael      did    know, it was that Liz and Alex wouldn’t talk about how the situations made them similar until they’d exhausted all possible escapes from that conversation.

 “Well…” Michael said into the silence. “How’s California been? How’s the Genoryx lab; they better be letting you do all the mad science shit, or else what good’s a shady government drug company…”

 “Don’t change the subject! You haven’t even answered me.      Are you okay?    ”

 “I…”

 What was the harm in being honest? Liz wasn’t even here, wasn’t even talking to anyone who wasn’t dying, so who would she tell? Maybe Maria, but Maria could read it from him like an open book.

 “Gotta tell you, I’ve been better,” he admitted.

 Liz let out a soft, sympathetic noise. “What happened? You can…you can talk to me, if you want. I know I haven’t been the most reliable, but we’re friends. We are. Okay?”

 Shaking his head, Michael paced the length of the fence again, one hand on it to steady himself.  He reached the house and kept walking to the front, leaving the barren back garden behind.

 “There’s not that much to say. Maria probably told you already. I made a bad gamble on Hyde, and Jekyll had to haul my ass out of the fire. That’s it.”

 That version of the story left out the part Isobel played, but Michael didn’t have the words to describe walking his own head as it melted around him, images flying past bright enough to sear his eyes, snatches of conversation, aphasia in every sense, and how empty and cavernous and      bereft    he felt now, knowing what Jones had stuffed inside him—the knowledge of his entire people—knowing he wasn’t      enough    to contain it, weak, corrupted, and now he might never get it back. And knowing Jones did that to him on purpose, gave him more than his body and mind could handle to make him feel this way, didn’t make the feeling it any damn easier.

 Liz went silent on the other end. There was a question she wasn’t asking, but Michael let it ride, gave her the space.

 But finally, he answered it for her. “Max is okay. His heart held up, and so did the pacemaker. And I’ve got a handprint six inches from my nose, so I can call him on it if he tries to bullshit me.”

 “I—okay. Thank you, Mikey.”

 “Don’t thank me. Seriously, don’t. I, uh, said a lot of shit I probably shouldn’t have in your voicemail, about Max. But it’s up to you if you want him in your life at all, so, uh. Yeah.”

 “No, no, it’s fine.”

 There was a thunk on the other line like she’d dropped or hit something.

 “Look, I should go,” she said.

 “Okay,” Michael replied.

 “I’m—really glad you’re okay.”

 “And, uh, it was nice to hear from you.”

 “Okay.” Her final reply was soft and hesitant and awkward as Michael felt making an earnest overture a friend might make. “Bye, Mikey.”

 “Don’t be a stranger.”

 She hung up.

 Michael dropped his arm and let his phone dangle at his side for a little while. His legs shook a little, so he held onto the back of one of the patio chairs to steady himself, but he wasn’t ready to sit just yet.

 Friends or not, clearly he and Liz had plenty to work on if they were that fucking awkward without a project between them.

 Still, this was something. Something unexpected. Michael was too tired to sort through feelings right now.

 But he should have—

 Before he could second guess himself, he pulled his phone back up and dashed a text off to her.

     We all get together on Thursday nights. Open invitation. -G  

 Then he dropped his phone face-down on the seat and sat down several feet away so he wouldn’t be tempted to look at it if she texted him back.

 All the chairs on Alex’s patio were tilted subtly to watch different angles of the approach to the house, so Michael settled in the one that was shadiest. It was too fucking hot to be relaxing outdoors without water or sunscreen, but the air indoors with Max hovering and Alex…everywhere…was just as stifling.

 Max hadn’t asked him why, yet, even though the question itched at Michael’s head, even through the careful distance they were keeping from the handprint bond between them. Which was good, because, in the sunlight, on the other side of the storm, his arms wrapped around his own stomach, holding himself, Michael couldn’t have answered it himself.

 Eventually, though, people would ask. And what would he tell them—should he admit he thought that the pollen would be enough to keep himself from harm, should he confess that he’d been willing—or thought he was willing—to accept the risks if it meant no one would have to take a blow for him?

 The street stretched long and quiet as far as Michael could see. Every now and then, a car would pass from one point on the line to the next, disappearing down some other driveway or just continuing until the heat haze swallowed it whole. The sun hurt his tired eyes, so he blinked slow, and let minutes trickle past, waiting for something to happen.

 Maybe his phone would ring again; maybe Max would come looking for him. Maybe Flint Manes would leap out of the bushes and shoot him. Maybe Alex would come home from work and smile when he saw him. Maybe Forrest would come home early and try and fight him for shacking up while he was gone. Maybe Jones did something to him that was lying in wait and would detonate his heart any second.

 Thinking of possibilities was an endless sort of entertainment for a man who never knew what to do with having a future and who just nearly lost his lease on it.

 As Michael watched the road, a truck appeared on one side of the horizon, moving faster than most would on a residential street like this. It whipped up dust as it went, and Michael rolled his eyes and slouched deeper into the chair. Fucking assholes in their screaming steel overcompensators almost universally considered themselves above getting work done in a junkyard, and that didn’t exactly give Michael a better opinion of them.

 And this piece of shit in particular, Michael recognized. What the hell was Wyatt fuckin’ Long doing on this side of town? Michael tensed as he roared by, just waiting for him to slow or stop—did he drive by often, harassing Alex for dating his cousin? Or looking for his cousin to harass somewhere off the farm where a real adult might stop him?

 He didn’t do either, though, and in seconds he was gone, cowgirl mudflaps dangling behind him.

 Asshole.

 What time was it anyway? Narrowing his eyes, Michael focused on his phone where he dropped it in the other chair and, slowly, tried to pull it toward him. It took seconds and enough strain his head hurt before it moved, but move it did, wobbling slowly towards him. Halfway there, it changed velocity and came shooting toward him, and he only barely managed to catch it before it overshot and slammed against the wall behind him.

 Still, progress.

 It was later than he thought. Shouldn’t Alex be home from work by now? Should he be worried?

 He was just hovering his thumb over Alex’s contact, deciding whether or not to call, when another car hissed along the drive and slowed. This one, though, turned into Alex’s driveway, and Michael relaxed.

 Alex pulled the car to a stop, and Michael stood up to greet him, stretching as he did. Unexpectedly, Maria was also in the front seat, but her presence answered the question of why Alex was late. If he wasn’t talking to Michael, at least he was talking to someone.

 “Hey,” Michael greeted them.

 “Hey, Guerin,” Maria replied.

 “Is everything alright?” Alex demanded.

 “Yeah, it’s fine. Kyle was by earlier. Seems like I’m still on the mend.”

 “That’s good to hear,” Maria said, as Alex said nothing.

 Michael gave her a smile. “Yeah, it is. So…are you staying for dinner? Maybe I can cook something…”

 Side-eying Alex, who stood as stiff and stoic as Michael had ever seen him, shoulders and back soldier-straight, Maria returned Michael’s smile and said, “Oh, Alex just asked me to take Buffy out for her walk for the next few days, so I’m here to see her.”

 “I didn’t want to impose on you for that,” Alex added.

 Michael rocked on his heels, hands shoved in his pockets, chewing on his tongue to hold back any indication of how desperate he was to be imposed upon. The weakness in his legs kept him from making a real argument; despite her age, Buffy was a hell of a walker.

 Was that the reason Alex was asking Maria to step in? Was his leg okay? Michael rocked forward again, swaying toward Alex and tugging himself back, an old, familiar dance.

 “You could’ve. You’re puttin’ me up, I oughtta work for room and board,” Michael joked.

 It didn’t exactly land. If possible, Alex shut down harder, face cold and hard, though his voice was soft.

 “You don’t have to work for me to take care of you when you’re in need,” he said, every syllable clipped and careful.

 Michael should have known something was up then and there, seen it, seen Maria’s downcast eyes and crossed arms, the way she hovered close between them and kept to herself; he should have expected it, Alex to pull some kind of bullshit, but his head didn’t go there. Not yet.

 “So…you going somewhere?” he asked, licking his lips. The thought might have sent a bolt of panic through him, but now that Alex had a life here, a house and a job and roots, the threat was less immediate.

     That didn’t stop Liz,    his mind whispered, but he shook it off.

 Alex wasn’t answering, so Michael continued, “You heading out to meet Forrest in DC? You should have gone with him in the first place, man, take some time off.”

 Maria shot Alex a loaded look, but Alex’s face just hardened.

 “And been across the country when you almost died on my doorstep?” he demanded so fervently Michael took a step back, and Alex closed his eyes, chest rising and falling with a deep breath. “Sorry. Sorry.”

 “No, uh, it’s fine. You’re right. I’m glad you were here.”

 Somewhere deep in his heart, Michael thought that it wouldn’t have mattered where in the universe Alex was when he lifted his foot and stepped across space to get to his door. His thoughts were inside out, tripled and rearranged with pieces missing, he couldn’t have said what he did or the powers he used or how he could do it again, but he could say this: for a brief moment, he’d possessed the ability to reorder the universe to put himself at Alex’s side, and no technicalities of time or distance would have stopped him.

 He didn’t have that power anymore, though, and neither did he have the ability to read Alex’s mind.

 “Seriously, though,      are    you going somewhere?” he asked again.

 “…I should get inside. My phone’s dead, I need to charge it,” Alex said.

 “      Alex,    ” Maria said in a scalded voice.

 Michael, though, was cold. Frozen. It barely registered when Maria reached out and squeezed his wrist to reassure him; he wasn’t reassured, though he was pathetically grateful to her for trying. She was a good friend—better now than she was or he was when they were two isolated points on a severed line, ten years as two stars on an unintelligible constellation, half its lights gone out.

 But that friendship, as cherished as it was—could it hold him up if the new foundation he’d built for his life was ripped away again? Again, he’d built it up around Alex without expectation or intention. It was reflexive, habitual, migratory. He followed a pattern etched into his bones. He didn’t know any other way to build.

 “Alex, I told you,” Maria said.

 “I know. But—”

 “No! No buts. If you can’t even be honest about what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be doing it.”

 “It’s fine,” Michael said. His voice was distant inside his own skull. “I get it. You don’t have to tell—you don’t owe me anything.”

 For some reason, Alex turned back around to face them, then, his face so openly wracked with pain and indecision that Michael had to close his eyes.

 Even less than he could stand to watch Alex walk away again, he couldn’t stand to watch it hurt so bad and him choose it all the same.

 “I’m      not    leaving you, Guerin. Michael. I’m—not. I’m not!”

 He said it again and again, like he was arguing with someone who wasn’t Michael or Maria, both of whom were silent. Maria pressed closer to Michael, leaning her weight against him, wordless but telling him:      I’m here.  

 “I’m not leaving,” Alex said again.

 Michael forced himself to open his eyes. A few feet in front of him, Alex took up the same amount of space he always did, posture helplessly perfect, hands helplessly flat at his sides.

 Through a tight throat, Michael said, “Okay. Then why…”

 Alex struggled for the words. At his side, Michael felt Maria breathe in and release a heavy sigh.

 “Talk to us, Alex. Please,” she said.

 Dropping his eyes, Alex replied, “I’m just going to be busy and out of the house a lot for the next few days and won’t have time to give Buffy the attention she deserves.”

 “Really? That’s it?” her voice was close to tears, and Michael unlocked himself to wrap his arm around her. She continued, “I asked you to      talk to us,    not just repeat what you told me before. What business, Alex? You’re scaring me.”

 “What am I supposed to do?” Alex cried, spreading his arms wide. Then he dropped his arms just as suddenly, head snapping back and forth looking for anyone who might have heard the outburst, then he dragged a hand over his face. He continued, quieter, flatter, “I get so wound up about one threat, and another one starts swinging from my blind side. I’m not waiting for Fields to come calling while Michael is here. And Jones—” That awful blankness crossed his face again. “—What am I supposed to do, let what he did to you go without doing something about it? Wait until he tries again? Absolutely not.”

 Every word stung Michael’s senses; he had no response, mouth parted but silent, eyes wide.

 Maria let out a frustrated growl. “And would you have told anyone these plans if I hadn’t forced you? Oh my god, of course not, you both suck so bad! What part of this one,” she jerked her thumb at Michael, “getting his gray matter pureed forty-eight hours ago makes you think now is the time to run off with some lone wolf Rambo act? What’s the point of being able to see the future if no one ever asks or listens?”

 “Did you? See something?” Michael asked.

 “Well. No. But I might have,” Maria replied.

 “Wait, nothing at all? It’s been how long now?”

 “Too long,” she admitted. “It’s not nothing, I just keep seeing our bearded friend standing in a field. I can’t even tell if it’s now or if it’s from before or even if it’s from the home planet. He doesn’t look at me, just…stands there.” She shivered.

 Alex’s eyebrows drew down. “Can he…block your sight? Is that possible?”

 Shrugging helplessly, Maria said, “I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure we can’t just ask him. What are we going to do?”

     We.    Part of Michael wanted to protest, in the face of the danger that alliance would pose to two of the people he loved most in the entire world. Standing alone already almost got him killed, left him weaker than he’d ever been, but still part of him would try again, and again, until he was out of second chances, if it meant sparing Alex and Maria anything.

 But that wasn’t in question, was it. They’d made their choice. It was time for Michael to learn to live with it.

 “Thursday’s coming up,” he said. Maria and Alex turned to look at him, and he lifted and dropped his shoulders, curling in on himself. “If you guys are still available. We can talk about a game plan.”

 “      Guerin,    ” Maria sighed. But she smiled when she reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “Of course we’re available.”

 Alex didn’t reply. Silence fell between the three of them, until Maria sighed again and headed toward the front door.

 “I already came all this way, I might as well spend a little time with Buffy. Since I won’t be walking her after all.”

 As she passed Alex, he made a soft noise, and whatever it was, she understood perfectly, because she turned to meet Alex’s raising arms, and the two of them hugged tightly.

 “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You were right. I’m sorry I didn’t--I shouldn’t have made you--”

 “Stop with the ‘shouldn’ts’,” Maria replied. “Just...don’t make us watch you destroy yourself alone when we’re here for you, okay?”

 Michael flinched. Neither of them looked at him, but her words hit home anyway. He was part of that grief, too.

 Alex nodded against her shoulder. “I won’t.”

 Then she gave him one last squeeze, he let her go, and she went inside, leaving Michael and Alex alone.

 And alone, what was there to say? They hadn’t found it so far.

 Michael’s heart still beat uncomfortably fast in his chest, a frantic effort to keep him standing and sane while his brain and body figured out that Alex wasn’t going to disappear from before his eyes, and it only pulsed harder when—he blinked to clear his eyes and—Alex got closer, closing the space between them in a few long, uneven strides.

 On instinct, Michael took a step back, but Alex stopped six inches away, just staring at him with his dark eyes. They scanned from his feet to his hair, taking in every minute tremble of his damaged muscles.

 Jittery, Michael licked his lips and said, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer--”

 Alex took Michael’s shirt in his fist and pulled him in. They hit, chest to chest, Alex’s arm trapped between them until he pulled it away, down and out, clamped it around Michael’s back and held on, held on for dear life. He didn’t need to hold on so tight; Michael froze with the shock of Alex around him and couldn’t have budged for love or money, not until his mind caught up with his body and he slumped in Alex’s safe arms.

 “I’m so mad at you,” Alex said in his ear, close enough that his hitching breaths stirred Michael’s ear.

 “I know. I know,” Michael spoke back, lips moving against his shoulder. He let his eyes fall shut again. Like this, he didn’t need them, dropped every sense that wasn’t touch, anything that didn’t tell him the only thing he needed to know. Alex was here. Michael was here. They were alive. They were together.

 “How could you? What did I do wrong?” His breathing hitched harder, enough for Michael to feel it in Alex’s entire body.

 Gripping him tighter, one arm around his lower back, one arm around his broad shoulders, Michael murmured, “Nothing, God, nothing. I was stupid. I just wanted—I just had to—”

 “I wanted to protect you. That’s all I wanted—did I push too hard?” Hot, wet heat hit Michael’s neck. “I’m so shit at this, Michael, every time I try, I just make everything worse!”

 “No! No, hey, hey.”

 They were too tightly entwined for Michael to do much, but he maneuvered them enough to press their foreheads together.

 “I just wanted to protect      you,    ” Michael rasped. If he looked at Alex this second, this close, he wouldn’t be able to stand it, so he squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know how to—be protected. You making that sacrifice for me, I don’t know how to be worth it. It’s not your fault.”

 “You don’t have to do anything. Ever. I’m so fucking—sorry, for all the times I made you feel like you had to—earn...”

 They swayed slightly back and forth, half because Michael had pushed himself too far on his weak legs, half because it was an old self-soothing motion one or both of them fell back on, completely alone in the universe as children. They did it together, now.

 “We’ll figure it out,” Michael swore, clasping Alex’s sweaty hand in his own sweaty hand, in the nonspace between their chests, knuckle to sternum, palm to palm, sternum to knuckle. The words tasted like hope on his tongue.

 They opened their eyes, Alex first, then Michael, and they stood like that for a long time. Alex’s eyes were red from crying, but beautiful. Always beautiful.

     We’ll figure it out.    Neither of them believed it fully, but if both of them held a half, maybe they’d manage to make it work.

 “We should get back inside,” Michael said eventually, dropping Alex’s hand, stiffening his own to keep the shape of it held to his side as they parted.

 “Actually, could we, um.” Alex cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe we could sit out here a while longer. It’s a nice sunset? And maybe we could catch up on normal stuff.”

 Michael looked over his shoulder at the sky. It really was stunning, broad beyond comprehension, all alien with pinks and purples and golds.

 “Normal stuff sounds great,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

[obnoxiouslylongandboring]

My Tunnels Are Long and Dark These Days

Featuring snapshots of the three most important road trips in Zemo and John's journey of working together.

To love is to pretend, don't try to love yourself again That is the worst kind of pain We're not those kinds of freaks, amen We're a different sort of breed of men

KARAKORAM HIGHWAY, CHINA-PAKISTAN

Zemo sat slouching in his seat, one hand hanging out the window of the truck, another draped on the steering wheel. The road stretched out in front of them, disappearing into the shadows of the mountains and forests. The sun was not up yet, it was early morning. 5AM, where no one rose out of bed but the office workers, the labourers, the soldiers coming out of their blanket shells. And where no one entered into slumber but the gravediggers, the night-shifters, the soldiers retreating into their blanket shells. The truck had been trotting along the road for hours, a small brown beetle with its headlights shining pale yellow, framing the one-meter radius ahead of it. Twenty-four hours ago had been when they first kicked the ignition into its churn in the region of Kashgar (a former trading town along the Silk Road), and when the prospects of a proper ceramic toilet had bit the dust. Twenty-four hours come and gone, with Zemo quietly helming the operation.

From Kashgar, they had traveled to Karakul under the cover of night, a journey that had taken them six hours. There had been no scenery of note but white moonlight glinting off the peaks of the two tall snowy mountains, Muztagh Ata and Mount Kongur. The shimmering scales of the Karakul lake had enraptured Zemo for hours, greeting him whenever a sharp jolt in the road woke him from his slumber.

And now, after resting a few hours at a local abode, they continued on to Tashkurgan, where from there they would go right into the borders of Pakistan.

A small muffled sound came from the lump beside him. “What’s the situation?” John mumbled blearily, poking his head through the covers. Zemo cast him a sideline glance, frowning at his sleep-mussed hair and squinted eyes. “It’s not your turn yet.”

With a snort, John closed his eyes again and rolled over, facing away from Zemo. He settled into another deep sleep.

A big, military-looking truck drove by them, momentarily blinding Zemo with its headlights. Heartbeat quickened in his chest, Zemo sat up straighter and observed the truck through the rearview mirror, hoping for its retreat. He glanced quickly towards his small driving compartment, doing a mental catalog of the materials there: a driver’s license, a forged visa to pass the border customs, fake passports with cover identities for himself and Walker… good, very good. All according to plan. Zemo rolled down the windows of his truck slightly, listening intently. The roar of the military truck did not fade into a distant hum. Instead, there was the screech of tires and the sudden whirring which indicated only one thing- Walker had better practiced the cover story that Zemo told him to, or the ensuing events would be catastrophic.

The urgent, piercing honking behind them startled John into wakefulness. He bolted up, then as if realizing that there was nowhere to go, settled back gingerly into his seat. “Zemo…”

Zemo tightened his grip on the wheels. Flexed his knuckles once, twice. Gently, as if petting a startled cat, rolled the ball of his foot over the brakes. “Anderson, don’t panic,” he says with practiced calm. “Remember what we rehearsed?”

“Yeah, Niki,” John replies. Though his face was carefully composed, the telltale twitching of his leg told Zemo otherwise.

All John had to do as Anderson was play the part of a slightly confused USA diplomat, heading from China to Pakistan over some matters of a proposed trade deal. Niki was to be his driver and translator, a man who had been an exchange student in China briefly where he picked up some basic Mandarin. Zemo had learned barely enough to get the both of them through a ten, fifteen-minute exchange. For the rest of his persuasion, he’d have to rely on the forged documents and the facade of confidence. If all went well, they would be sent on their merry way very quickly, and deliver all eight billion dollars worth of SHIELD information straight into the hands of Contessa. Of course, Zemo had taken an innocent, ‘accidental’ look at the confidential information, and deemed it useless enough to give to the woman. If it were anything that he found potentially dangerous, he would dispose of it immediately. Dry kindling could turn into a wildfire in Contessa’s hands, and that was the kind of risk he would never take.

“Stay calm. I will settle it quickly. The officers don’t want to make a big deal out of this either- we will be on our way soon,” he hissed to John as soon as he heard the crunch of boots on the tarmac.

Zemo rolled his window down to the silhouette of a heavily-clad soldier, who was covered head to toe in military gear. His eyes seemed to be narrowed, whether it was from suspicion or simply fatigue.

“有签证吗？” (Do you have a visa?)

“有。” (Yes.) Zemo reached into the compartment and retrieved the documents. The soldier took a quick look at them via the torchlight and passed it back to him. Then, tipping his chin at John- “他是你的朋友？” (Is he your friend?)

“他是我的老板。” (He's my boss.) Zemo struggled to recall the words for a moment. “我帮他翻译。” (I help him to translate.)

“对于游客来说，这时间挺早的。你们从卡拉库尔来的？” (This time of day is quite early for a tourist to be travelling. Are you coming from Karakul?)

Zemo blinked, processing the words. “可以…重复吗？” (Can you... repeat that?)

The guard sighed, then said slowly- “你们从，卡拉库尔，来? ” (You came, from, Karakul?)

The pieces slot into place in his head. 卡拉库尔 - Karakul. You… from… you came from Karakul.

“对，对。抱歉，我的华文不好。” (Yes, yes. Apologies, my mandarin isn't good.)

The guard laughed, but there was no condescension or meanness in it. “对于老外来说，发音挺好。” (For a foreigner, your pronunciation is pretty good.)

He continues, “好，好，谢谢。打扰你了。不多说了，你们走吧。” (Yes, yes, thank you. Sorry for the disturbance, you can go.)

Zemo, displaying the kindest smile he could, nodded and bade the man farewell. He turned off the lights in the car and smirked, knowing John could see it- This is how a professional works.

Another voice rang out, different from the one earlier. “先别走。” (Don't go yet.)

Zemo’s foot froze at the pedal. John’s expression was one of pure confusion and panic, his calmness now barely held together. Through the conversation earlier, Zemo had already sensed him vibrating with stagnant energy, and now it was manifesting in dangerous, careless ways. Zemo quickly reached out to touch John shoulder and calm him down- he's learnt that the other man responded best to physical contact, something he himself detested.

John’s wild gaze lifted to a point above his shoulder and lingered there.

The sharp rapping at the glass behind him are like bullets to his ears.

Zemo turns around, “为何…” (Why...)

His voice died in his throat. Standing there outside the car, equally shocked- Karlen Constantine.

Zemo could recognize that face anywhere. The rounded jaw, the brittle mouth, and that hateful, hateful look in his eyes.

The same look he gave when Zemo framed him for murder and left a two-million-dollar bounty on his head in Madripoor. Eight years ago.

Zemo takes quick stock of the situation. Judging by Constantine’s badges- high ranking. Heavily armed. A long, long road ahead of them. Walker has no shield, not yet. That was still in the process of being manufactured in Romania. Car chases weren’t an option. Evasion wasn’t an option. Anything other than negotiation would lead to their death. Zemo swallowed the saliva that rested heavily on his tongue.

“Karlen, please,” he says. John inhaled loudly behind him, he ignored it.

“You son of a bitch,” Karlen laughed gleefully. “Oh, this has made my day. I’m going to enjoy this.”

“What the fuck is going on, Zemo?” John snarled, ditching the pseudonym. He knew the game was up, the only question was how they were going to get out of this situation.

“Karlen, I’m invaluable to you,” Zemo continues carefully. His heart is pounding wildly in his chest, and it’s taking every iota of energy in him to keep his voice steady, to prevent the wave of panic from engulfing his mind. Any wrong word, any wrong move, and he would be dead within minutes. The car was bulletproof, but at such close range… with a shotgun, no less… Zemo knew the specs of the glass well, but he loathed taking risks. “I can-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Karlen screamed, spittle hitting the glass. “Both of you, get the fuck out. Hands where I can see them. Slowly. Fucking do it slowly, or I’ll blow a hole in your leg.”

With steady breaths, Zemo complied. He could feel the adrenaline rushing up to his brain, reducing everything to a frantic pulsing in his muscles, the instinctual urge to run or fight. He got out of the car, hands raised to his shoulders, holding John’s gaze steady- don’t do anything rash. Follow my lead. And surprisingly, John did. He followed without a single word of protest, even though Zemo knew he was aching to throw a punch, to smash his fist into someone’s temple, or feel the satisfying recoil of a gun vibrating against his bones.

Zemo felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed between his eyes, at the same time that John jolted forward and cried, “No!”

“Don’t FUCKING move!” Karlen roared again, clicking off the safety. “Stay where you are or I’ll fucking kill him. Zemo, he answers to you, right? Tell him.”

Zemo glanced away to catch John’s horrified stare before his head was painfully yanked back by the roots of his hair. “Hey. Eyes on me. What did I say?”

“John, don’t move,” Zemo said slowly, grimacing as Karlen’s grip tightened.

“Now kneel.”

Zemo complied, breathing heavily. He could feel the fur of his jacket sticking to the back of his neck, and how hot his entire body felt, alight with energy. The aching of his scalp and knees had faded into a dull buzzing, overtaken by the hyperawareness of Karlen, his every movement, and Walker’s unyielding presence at his back.

As if sensing the same, Walker leaned forward carefully to place himself in Zemo's peripheral vision, discreet enough that Karlen wouldn't notice.

"Three years. Three years, I had to run and run and run. All because you stabbed me in the back, like the fucking coward you are. We were friends, but that didn't mean shit to you, did it? I'm glad your fucking wife and kids died. I hope they suffered. Oh yeah, I hope they screamed. I'm going to make this very painful for you too, Zemo."

Zemo's hands were trembling with the force of keeping them from Karlan's throat. It was taking everything he had to restrain himself. He tipped his chin up, looked straight into the matching pair of hateful eyes, and spat at Karlen's feet. "Fuck you."

It barely sounded like his own voice. The hate was thick sewer sludge, bubbling past the broken glass in his throat. A blinding burst of red splattered across his vision- Zemo flinched from the force at which the rage slammed into his mind. I will kill you. I will peel your skin from your bones, bit by bit. You're going to be screaming like a pig by the time I'm done. Constantine, you'll wish you were dead-

Karlen punched him so hard his entire body collapses to the side. Zemo tasted blood on his tongue, and god, it was pouring out of his nose. It wasn't broken, however- he turned his head just in time to prevent that. The lights look blurry- his eyes were watering.

Another kick connected with his stomach and Zemo cried out in pain, curling up into a ball.

Stop, stop, fucking stop, someone was shouting. When his head finally stopped ringing, he realised that it was John.

"You're friends with this guy?" Karlen laughed. "Oh, come on. He's just going to stab you in the back too. In fact, I'm sure he's already plotted multiple ways to kill you or fuck you up."

"He's tried," John laughed mirthlessly. His voice dropped into a low growl, a voice meant for spilling dirty little secrets- "Many, many times."

"And guess what, I'm still here. You aren't. A word of advice? Don't take yourself so seriously. You don't mean shit to him if you can't keep yourself around," John continued.

Zemo struggled to push himself back up, panting hard. He can't gather enough air to shout, stop talking. Those words laid like a brand against his skin, spelling out the name John Walker, a possessive claim.

I'm special, John Walker practically crowed.

And Zemo hated that he was right.

"If you like him so much, you can join him." Karlen laughed, raised his gun to John Walker, and fired.

He was fast.

John was faster.

The bullet buried itself harmlessly into the ground. The soldiers startle, reaching for their guns. One shot, Karlen's body dropped. The muffled thump launched Zemo's body into action. His fingers found a gun, and without blinking he whirled and pulled the trigger three times.

A few more shots rang out, and two more men are down.

Zemo swayed on his feet, but before he could collapse, there were strong arms around him, leading him to the car. He's shoved into it in a daze. John Walker entered through the other side, at the wheel.

"Shh. Shh. Hey. Hey, princess, look at me." A damp cloth was pressed into his hands, and he instinctively brought it up to his nose to staunch the bleeding. They're both breathing harshly from the fight. Gunpowder blue eyes stared back at him, brows furrowed. Light glanced off the mirror, staining John's hair a warm golden. Zemo was reminded of his vintage brass rulers, the beautiful old smell they had...

Wait. Light? He lifted his head to see the sunrise, then the time on the electronic clock. 6.05 AM. The tourist buses would be moving out soon, which meant-

"Drive," he whispered, and John kicked the car into high gear without a word.

"I'll text Contessa to put a roadblock on both sides and clear up the scene as quickly as possible. Once at Tashkurgan we'll leave the car, take the tourist bus, and blend in with the rest. I will arrange for Contessa to meet us earlier than was planned. When we arrive in Pakistan, we need to get past the border security. Even though we're compromised, this will not be risky. It's broad daylight and there are too many people at the border to cause a scene. The congestion will be in our favour. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"And the next time, I'll tell Contessa that travelling at night is a bad idea."

John frowned. "Hey, don't blame yourself. No one knew this was going to happen."

"We were nearly killed, John."

"Yeah, what's the big deal? Do you know how many times I've nearly been killed, Zemo? More than I could count. And trust me, this does not even come close." John laughs brightly. "We got outta there fine, yeah? Trust me. Not even close. It was a team effort."

Zemo looked down, and saw the slight quivering of his leg that John tried to hide. He dragged his eyes up to John's face, and recognised the tiny, near-imperceptible strain in his eyes... something you would not catch unless you were specifically looking for it.

You can be a really good liar if you tried, John.

"You're special to me, you know." the words came out in a rush, stumbling over one another. It sounded like a confession, and Zemo hated how it made his heart stutter, how his hands tingled, how the pain and the anger faded away into a schoolboy-nervousness.

The entire world, bottled down to a single response.

And he waited for an answer with bated breath, though he was uncertain of the question he had asked, if any at all.

My ending thoughts:

John Walker tells Zemo about love, like how a parent tells their child about the unobservable universe, about the untouched depths of the ocean, as if whispering: don't fear the unknown, for we'll explore it together.

Inspiration and images were taken from:

Zion National Park, United States (Utah)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, United States (Colorado)

Trollstigen, Norway

Transfăgărășan road, Romania

Karakoram Highway, China-Pakistan

Images were taken from Google, not owned by me.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

The Perfect Morning

You have been asking for it loud and clearly so I decided to write the Sprace baby you’ve all been waiting for. This is part of the “Life in the ER'' Series but a rare moment that doesn’t take place in the hospital. There are curse words and mentions of a hospital/working in a hospital. As always, feedback would be wonderful and would make me very happy. And if you have anything you’d like to see happen in the series, just let me know - I’m always looking for new situations to put our favorite characters into!

April 17, 2021

The house was quiet when he woke. It hadn’t been that quiet in almost six months and his first thoughts were holy shit. The second was questioning the time. He rolled over and looked at the green numbers of the clock - 7:34.

Running a hand over his face, he sighed before letting the hand flop to the other side of the bed. Empty. Cold. Sitting up, he blinked a couple of times, allowing his eyes to scan the room.

“Spottie?” He called, pushing himself off the bed and heading towards the room across the hall.

Pushing open the door, he was surprised to see it was empty. The dark wooden crib they had spent hours debating about sat across from the door, a light blanket thrown over the side. A mint green onesie was haphazardly thrown near the hamper and a stuffed elephant was nearby but otherwise nothing was out of place.

Continuing on his journey, he headed towards the living room thinking his husband and young child could be there but he came up empty once more. The dog was even missing which caused him to pause in his hunt.

At that moment, he fell in love with his husband a bit more. Here it was a rare morning that Spot didn’t have an early morning shift at the hospital; yet he had gotten up, taken care of their child and puppy so he could sleep in a bit.

Their lives were flipped upside down with the adoption of their daughter. It had been a period of adjustment for all of them, especially for their puppy, Sassie. From the moment they brought their little girl home, life had completely changed for the good. The two of them had always been a great team; however, they didn’t know how good of a team they would be until the doctor handed them Mackenzie Jayne Higgins-Conlon and wished them congratulations.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Race grinned putting in creamer before heading out to their front porch. He shouldn’t be surprised Spot would do this - it’s just him and his little ways of showing love. Taking a seat, he took a sip of his coffee as he waited for the rest of his family to return from whatever adventure they had gone on.

Relaxing into the chair, he sighed, listening to the birds chirp in the trees as he held the warm mug in his hands. Just as he went to kick his feet up, Sassie came bounding up the stairs, with her leash dragging behind her. Putting his mug on the table, he bent over and rubbed his hands up and down her sides, wishing her a good morning.

“Where’s dad, Sass?” He asked, looking down the street for him. What he saw caught him off guard.

Spot was pushing the jogging stroller that Jack and Kat had gotten them as a shower gift, shirtless, hair pushed back by a headband and sunglasses over his eyes. Race took a moment to publically ogle his husband, appreciating the physique that Spot effortlessly maintained. Race was careful not to let his jaw drop at how utterly gorgeous his husband was. There were very few times he could unabashedly stare at his husband and he was going to take full advantage of it.

Unclipping Sassie’s leash, he opened the front door for her to go inside before he bounded down the stairs to where Kenzie and Spot were. Race couldn’t help but catcall and whistle as he came closer to the two. “Hey good lookin.”

Grinning, Spot looked up from where he was unclipping Mack. “Hey yourself.”

“Have I mentioned how utterly gorgeous you are lately?” Race saunted closer to his husband and daughter with a shit eating grin on his face.

Spot adjusted Mack in his arms before throwing his head back and laughing. “Right now I’m a sweaty mess but thanks for the compliment. I wanted to give you a chance to sleep in since you’ve been taking night duty.”

“Sweaty mess or not, you’re hot. Own that. And thanks, I appreciate it.” Race leaned over and kissed him. “Did little miss enjoy the run?”

Spot kissed him back before handing Mack over to him. He leaned down to grab something out of the bottom of the stroller before giving Race a bright smile. “She was fussy when we first started but seemed to settle down as I got into a rhythm. I did about a 45 minutes run. We ran through town, picked up breakfast before heading back.”

“You’re my hero.” Race said, walking back up the stairs to the front porch. “Do you want a cup of coffee or water?”

Spot waved him off. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Do you need anything before I do that?”

“Nah, we'll just hang out here. If she wants, send Sassie out here.” Race pressed a kiss to Kenzie’s forehead. “Come back out when you’re done.”

Spot dropped kisses to both Race and Mack’s foreheads before slipping into the house, only to open the door again to let Sassie out.

Settling Mack with her back against his chest, Race relaxed in the chair, listening to Mack babble to herself. “Did you have fun with daddy this morning, Kenzie?”

She tried to adjust herself to see Race. He picked her up so she was standing on his legs as she continued her babble. Race continued his conversation with her as she tried to put her fingers in his mouth. He playfully ate them as she dissolved into baby giggles. They continued that game until she caught sight of her puppy.

Soon she was leaning forward to try to pet Sassie. Putting her on the porch floor, she babbled to and crawled over Sassie as the dog watched her young sister protectively.

He heard the door open and close just as he took the last sip of his coffee. He smiled gratefully at Spot as he spied the cups of coffee in his hands. Spot handing him one with a smirk. “Thanks. Feeling better?”

“Much less grimly and sweaty.” Spot took a seat, watching Sassie and Kenzie with a proud smile. “What’s the plan for the day?”

Race shrugged. “As far as I know, there are no plans. Jack and Kat mentioned getting together but nothing was ever put into place.”

“If they don’t reach out, I’m all in favor of a lazy day. We haven’t had one of those in a while so that’s my vote.” Spot said, stretching his legs out in front of him as he reached out and laced his fingers with Race’s.

Race nodded, squeezing their hands. “If I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’m proud of the life we’ve built. Perfect husband, perfect daughter and dog. Jobs we both love and great friends and family.���

“Sap.” Spot was quick to tease him but squeezed his hand. “I love our life too. Love you Racer.”

“Love you too Spottie.” Race leaned over and kissed him. “What did you bring for breakfast?”

Spot chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s always food with you.”

“Not always.” Raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively, Race smirked. “But I’m hungry for food right now.”

Spot pushed himself off the chair before sauntering into the house and returning with the white bag from earlier. “I got a couple of different things - didn’t know what you would be in the mood for.”

“Thanks snookums.” Race opened the bag, pulling out a cinnamon twist donut before taking a bit. “When do you work next?”

“Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday this week.” Spot drug through the bag taking out a donut. “Plums is working Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday with me so it’ll be a good couple of shifts.”

“Kenzie in daycare Wednesday and Friday?” Race inquired trying to keep the schedule fight.

Spot nodded. “Yea. You’ve got what seven weeks left of the school year?”

“I think. Days are starting to blend together.” Race sighed. “I’m just ready for summer.”

“We’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do. I have a couple of weeks of vacation that need to be used up before September.” Spot gave him a look. “Maybe we can head to the mountains or a beach. She’ll love the water.”

Race nodded. “Maybe Kat, Jack, Al, and Finchie would want to do something, at least for a few days.”

“That’ll be fun. We know how much Kenz loves Addie.” Spot grinned, thinking about the trouble the two would eventually get up to, as the two were only 4 months apart.

Race groaned. “No talking about the two of them growing up. They’re 5 and 9 months old and that’s all my poor heart can take.”

“Calm down papa bear. She’s still our little girl and Addie is still our little niece.” Spot squeezed his hand. “But I do love your idea of making it a family affair. Maybe momma and Smalls would want in.”

Race relaxed in his chair, thinking about all the adventures they would have ahead of them. With Spot and Kenzie by his side, he was content and happy. A thought popped into his head as a sly grin crossed his lips. “So, uh, Spottie . . . wanna tell me how you’re such a ripped dad?”

Spot threw his head back laughing before reaching over and shoving Race’s shoulder. “I could but you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.”

“Is that a challenge?” Race raised an eyebrow in a warning.

Spot snorted loudly. “Race you complain when you have to walk to the mailbox to get the mail - no way you’re running 45 minutes with me.”

“I can kick your ass boxing.” Race gave him a look as Spot sighed. “Want me to reserve the ring for next weekend?”

Picking up Kenzie, Spot gave him a look. “Sure and we can see who’s king of the ring. You’ll always reign supreme running circles around me but I might be able to take you in the ring.”

“Keep up with the trash talk . . . we’ll see who’s still standing and who will get the bragging rights.” Spot gave him a knowing look.

Race held out his hand as Spot interlocked his hand with Race’s with a grin. “You’re on.”

He watched Spot tickle their daughter’s belly as a shrill laugh escaped her mouth. She pushed at his hands as he looked down on her fondly. “Hey Spottie?”

“Yea Race?” Spot looked up from their daughter with a smile on his face.

“If I haven’t said it, you’re a really good dad. I love watching you two interact.” Race said as a fond smile crossed his face.

Spot leaned over and kissed Race. “You’re a really good papa with her. We make a pretty good team, huh?”

Race nodded, reaching over and tickling Kenzie’s stomach as the girl looked at her dads with a gummy smile. In Race’s book, there was no better place he’d rather be than on their front porch with his husband and daughter.

So what did you think? Feedback would be wonderful. If there's something specific you want to see in this verse, feel free to send me a message.