#pack me up to the retirement home boys

[kazieka]

i saw a bird I didn’t recognize out in the birdbath so I looked it up and found out it was a juvenile bluebird and this is the shit that makes me go “aww :) god im middle aged”

[strayrockette]

My Sunshine Girl: The Celebration

Next Chapter

Note: I’m finally giving in and writing this Benny fic my brain won’t stop rehashing. Enjoy 😊

Super Note: Listen, guys, gals, peeps...I really really really tried to keep this short but it ended up a lot longer than I intended. I even split it into two separate parts and it's STILL SOOO LONG IM SORRY! Also please excuse incorrect grammar. I tried to edit as much as I could but I'm sure I still missed something. My Masterlist

Summary: The birthday girl doesn’t want the night to end and a handsome stranger gives her an invitation.

Inspired by: (Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry by Darlene Love, He’s Mine by the Platters, and @storiesfromafan.

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Harold’s Diner was one of many to be open late at night. Where the others were dim and had few occupants, Harold’s Diner was packed with more than usual.

Half were regulars all grouped together on the far left. They held familiarity as they conversed and joked around. Laughter and chatter were loud and hard to escape in the mom-and-pop diner.

You fluttered from table to table, smiling wide, excitement and happiness oozing from your body. It had been a pleasant surprise to walk into your uncle's diner and find a couple of friends and family waiting for you.

Your best friend Nat had organized a small get-together for your birthday. Your Uncle Harold had allowed her to use his diner for the event, "it'll be good for business and it'll make her happy" He had shrugged his shoulders as if saying yes was the only answer. With his answer, Nat had taken it upon herself to decorate the diner in anticipation of the night.

While the diner was technically open to other customers, you didn't mind one bit. The small community you lived in was tight-knit and most customers were from nearby. Few and far between were out-of-towners who were just making a pitstop. But that didn't disturb you one bit.

Customers came and went as the night went on. Many wished you a happy birthday as you and your friends idled joyfully in the corner of the diner. You beamed with each happy birthday.

By the time your friends were ready to leave and retire for the night you pouted, the night was only beginning and you were too excited to see what the cool air and starry sky had to offer.

You’d tried to convince Nat to stay out later but her boyfriend wouldn’t budge. She grasped your shoulders softly, “We can hang out some other time hun, Mikey doesn’t like it when I stay out late”

You’d rolled your eyes and mumbled a passive goodnight. Waving her off with a small and placid smile. Uncle Harold had practically shooed you out of the diner so he could clean in peace. He’d ushered out a goodnight and a see you at home, before closing the diner doors to prevent another customer from coming in.

All too suddenly you were left alone staring up at the sky and wondering exactly what you would do next. Your feet ached in the black wedges Nat had bought you. And you really wished you could sit down somewhere.

You walked along the sidewalk, taking in the dimly lit path, you wondered if you should have taken Nat's offer to drop you off at home. But you didn't like Mikey, so you politely declined.

You continued to wander, your feet aching as you tried to think of where else you could go. Who else could you visit before retiring to your cold empty bed. Lost in thought you barely noticed soft hands moving to grasp your wrists “Y/N?”

You blinked, your eyes focusing on the person in front of you. Short hair and wide eyes, “Kathy?”

A smile broke out, “Oh my gosh! How are you?”

Kathy’s brown eyes twinkled, “Been better. Since when were you back?”

“About a month ago” you responded happily. “I didn’t think I’d run into you”

She fixed her purse over her shoulder, “Talk about perfect timing. Do you remember Alice? Well, she asked me to come to spot her at this bar, but I don’t want to go in alone.”

Her question was unsaid but you were too excited to keep the night going to even think about saying no. You hooked an arm around hers and practically dragged her into the bar. You weren’t prepared for what kind of club you were walking into. But if you learned anything from living in New York City for the last 4 years, it was always best to walk as if you belonged and barrel through bodies who got in your way.

You did just that, Kathy squeezing herself closer to you, your skirt rode up with each stride, the lime green plaid skirt catching more than a few eyes. But you were always prepared for a night of fun, dolling yourself up in the cutest skirts or dresses.

Your legs were covered in nude stockings a pair of dark shorts over ‘em, like hell I’d make it easier for scummy eyes and hands to slip into my “honey pot” the thought almost made you sneer outwardly but you attempted to keep the joyful smile on your face.

You pushed through, shouldering men bigger than you, slapping hands that tried to grab your waist and smiling sweetly when they insisted, “Not for you sweetheart”

Your confidence and boldness had men parting a path for you as you tugged Kathy behind you. Your eyes searching for a familiar blonde, green eyed girl you used to tease for the gap in her teeth.

Alice’s head popped up over the crowd, her hands waving enthusiastically in the air as she caught sight of your dark brown hair and smiling face, “Y/N??OH MY GOD YOU’RE BACK”

She screeched over the loud music and voices, completely comfortable in the bar filled with greasy old and young men alike.

You rushed through the last stretch of the crowd, breaking through to rush around her table, gathering Alice into a hug you giggled and swayed together, “I missed you, you chatterbox”

You teased her as you pulled away. Your eyes roamed her face. “Well, someone’s changed”

Her green eyes looked you over a smirk on her lips, “I could say the same for you, little miss, barreling through those men like you own the place,” she leaned forward whispering in your ear, “Good job”

You laughed, patting her shoulder you pulled a seat out and sat down. Kathy was already seated, her fingers digging into the purse she clutched to her chest. Pulling money from the bottom of her purse she slid it over to Alice, “Here take it”

Alice grinned, “Awe, thanks hun, you’re the best”

Kathy looked around her gaze warily taking in the rowdy men, their greasy appearance, and tattooed bodies, “Uh huh, I gotta go”

Alice frowned, “Awe come on, you just got here and Y/N here, the fun’s just got started”

Kathy shook her head, her discomfort growing, “No way, we can get together another day”

She stressed over the word day. You bumped her shoulder, “Oh come on Pumpkin, I could use a dance with you”

She turned her head to you, her discomfort and excitement warring with each other, “No can do sweets, I hate it here”

Alice snorted, “You hate anywhere that isn’t your home, anyways” She motions to the other end of the table, “over here is cockroach”

You followed, Alice’s gesture, noticing his rough appearance-much like many of the men here, but his eyes were gentle and warm, he’s a harmless bug you thought.

You gave him a nod of acknowledgment and a hello around the same time Kathy paused her jittery movements to say “What?”

She gave him a confused and disbelieving look. He nodded, seemingly used to the confused and odd looks, “They call me cockroach,“ he repeated.

Kathy scoffed her eyes once again looking around cautiously, “And why they call you a stupid name like that?” She asked.

You leaned forward, your elbows resting on the table, “Is it cuz cockroaches are indestructible?”

You were curious about his name and what meaning it had to him. Based on the group of men he hung with you assumed there would be plenty of weird names to learn. He grinned at you, “cuz I like to eat bugs, you know, like a gag but also cuz I just like to eat em”

You laughed amused by his statement. Kathy looked disgusted and she voiced as much, “That’s disgusting. Look, I gotta go, you comin’ with me?”

She turned to you at the end of her sentence. Her eyes pleading with you to leave the bar with her. You pouted, “Sorry, pumpkin, I think I’m gonna stick around a lil longer”

Alice sighed, “Ay, they’re not that bad,” she reached across the table, patted Kathy's hand, and smiled reassuringly, “Just sit here for a bit, okay?”

Kathy huffed as Alice slipped from her seat to go to the bar, her eyes glancing around nervously. You leaned in, whispering in her ear, “It’s best to pretend you belong than to act like you don’t, pumpkin.”

She turned once more her jitteriness increasing the longer she stayed, “And why in the hell would I do that?”

You sighed and shook your head, “to lessen the stares you’re gettin, duh”

She rolled her eyes, “they’d stare no matter what.” She concluded irately.

Alice slips back into her seat, handing you and Kathy a pop to drink.

Before you could respond to reassure Kathy, two men walked up to your table, one is shorter than the other, neither are bad looking but the grease on their skin and the scent of cigarette smoke hanging around them makes them undesirable to most women. At least, the women living the prim and proper lifestyle.

Kathy avoids making eye contact but you do it freely, unbothered and curious at what they’ve got to say.

The shorter one of the two leans forward his dark eyes roaming from Kathy to you, “Hey there.” His voice is raspy and not too deep nor high. It’s rather pleasant, you think passively. “Either of you wanna come live with me?”

It’s almost a tease and a genuine question, the other jumps in eagerly, he’s tall and bare-chested, and he’s wearing a jean vest that all the men in this bar are wearing, “What about me? Wanna go out with me” his eyes look to you, they’re a soft brown and you can tell he’s a sweetheart deep down. But with all the men gathered at this bar, kindness, and sweetness are buried beneath their manly-esque appearance.

Kathy utters, “No, thank you” with a shake of her head and her eyes downcast. But you stare up at them and simply say, “No”

You’re leaning back in your chair, hands calmly placed over your thigh, your legs crossed. You have no worries or cares and you’re not at all intimidated by these men. Kathy goes on to make excuses for why she said no. She looks around the table “Oh, I have a date”

The tall one hums, “A date huh?” He nods his head at you, “What about you?”

You tease them, "If I did have a date, it isn't either of you."

The tall one laughs hollering over his shoulder, "We've got a sassy one over here."

The short on places a hand on his heart, "I'm hurt sunshine"

You laugh enjoying the light banter and tease.

Kathy nudges you, her eyes wide and warning. You stick your tongue out a silent message for her to loosen up.

She pinches your side and then says unconvincingly, “Well, I’ve got a date. 12 o’clock," She nods to herself, " I-I have to get home. She's coming with me.”

Kathy insists on whisking you away from here, she's seen the looks these men give you and bless your heart. Kathy isn't sure if you're unaware or unbothered, she refuses to leave you behind. You were the one good girlfriend she had ever had, even if you had disappeared for 4 years.

The shorter one lifts his cigarette to his mouth and inhales, “You hear that cockroach”

He points his cigarette in Kathy’s direction, “Cinderella’s got a date" He points to you, "And Sunshine waitin' for her man”

Kathy sinks into her seat and you wonder if she would bolt for the door. But with the two men blocking their path, she remains rooted in her seat.

The tall one echos, “Yeah, Cinderelli’s got a date, and Sunshine’s waitin' for her man to find her”

Cockroach chuckles and shakes his head. The two men slip away from the table, the shorter one going on to say, “Cinderella’s gonna turn into a pumpkin or somethin’”

Another man hollers, "Wonder who the lucky man is, Sunshine"

You giggle to yourself, the men reminded you of another group you'd known in New York. It wasn't too bad once you found your bearings amongst them.

You glanced at Kathy, seeing her eying someone with suspicious eyes.

You followed her gaze, seeing an older man calmly sitting with his back to the wall and his legs propped up on a chair. He was eyeing you gals with soft eyes, he gave you two a nod as another man leaned down to whisper in his ear.

Your eyes lingered for a few moments trying to grasp what exactly was being said, with no luck you looked over to the group of men, two of them being the ones who had attempted to pick you and Kathy up, stood near the Jukebox. They lazed around, heads bent speaking to each other, one of them glanced up to look over at the table you sat in.

Kathy shook her head, her voice wavering, “Look at them whisperin and plannin’ somethin, oh I gotta go”

Kathy had reached for your hand, already pulling you up from the seat. Your feet nearly stumbling as you righted yourself to walk behind her. You tugged lightly, turning her around, “If you’re gonna drag me around like ole times, Pumpkin, give me a sec to get my bearings.”

She sighed and nodded. Her right hand clutching her purse tighter as she stood and waited.

You fixed your skirt and bent down to grab your purse that hung loosely over your chair, swinging it over your shoulder, you stood and got ready to leave.

You gave the bar one last sweep with your eyes, stopping when you saw him. Blonde windswept hair and baby blue eyes. Toned arms littered with tattoos, and grease sticking to his skin, you assumed it was motor oil and some other form of grease from tinkering away at bikes.

Your head tilted and a growing feeling of intrigue and curiosity overwhelmed you. Forgetting about Kathy, you plopped onto the chair and clumsily tapped Alice’s arm to get her attention. Your bag knocked against the table nearly falling off your shoulder and hitting the ground but you tucked it on your lap and leaned closer to Alice, “Hey Alice, who is that looker over by the pool table”

Alice looked to where your eyes hovered, catching on to whom you were asking about, “No, girl just no”

You turned, giving her a frown, “What?”

“Thats Benny, you don’t want to go there” She insisted.

Kathy slid into the seat next to you, her shoulder brushing yours, “Don’t tell me you’re eyeing one of these greasy fuckers”

You jabbed her with your elbow, “Be nice,”

Passing her a pleading look. Kathy sighed and leaned onto the table, her escape plan on hold.

You pleaded with Alice to tell you more, “Come on, spill! You never hold back, what’s the deal?”

Alice gave you an unimpressed look and shook her head.

"Just fill my curiosity meter, sweets," You shook her arm as if it would help make her spill.

Alice snorted, “You’re never just curious, Sunny”

Kathy hummed, “Agreed. You rarely give anyone the time of day, why are you askin' about this one”

That's a story that would be too long to spill, you sigh, "I'll tell yah later"

“Look, no one wants to date Benny, he’s trouble. Every time he gets on his bike he gets into an accident” she looked around conspiratorially, “and he’s got a temper on him, he won’t hurt no lady but put a man in front of him and he’ll swing any which way he pleases”

She tried to stress his flaws but you couldn’t quite let go of the curiosity in you. You didn’t have his name before, you’d wondered where he slipped off to after your uncle's diner. He’d shown up out of the blue in the early afternoon. His hair freshly ruffled from the wind, a cigarette hanging from his lips, his long fingers fixing his jacket, and his long jean-clad legs striving through the diner doors with grace and confidence. For a rebel against society's norms, he was handsome. Too handsome. You couldn’t believe he didn’t have a line of girls wanting to get with him.

But then again, most of them probably steered clear to avoid angering their families. Lucky for you, you had no such concerns.

You remembered how your uncle was about to throw him out of your diner, refusing to serve “vandal scum” in his family friendly diner. But you had swooped in, bouncing over before any hands could fly and faces bruised. You’d smiled blithely, gently reminding your uncle it was your birthday and you had no need or want for a fight to break out and break the mood that had settled into the diner’s atmosphere.

People were coming in and out, most were family and friends visiting to say hi and spend time with you for your birthday. Some were customers but even they stopped for a few to talk to you. Reminiscing over younger you who had greeted each of them one time or another at the diner.

You’d turned to the handsome stranger, your hair swirling around you in waves, a playful finger wagging in his direction, “This is a family friendly diner, handsome, I’m afraid you can’t smoke in here”

You had expected him to argue but he merely put out his cigarette, handing it to your outstretched palm. You discarded it in the trash behind the hostess stand and grabbed a menu for him. You glanced to your uncle and then to the stranger, “You can eat here as long as you behave. and you will, right?” You asked sweetly.

The handsome stranger merely nodded, giving you a half smile. His blue eyes staring intently into your own dark brown that glittered with a hint of gold and red in the setting sun that glowed through the windows.

You had waved your hands in the air, “See didi, there’s no trouble here. Just a handsome man wanting to eat your delicious food”

You had defused the situation so quickly it nearly gave everyone a whiplash but that was something everyone had missed. Your ability to lighten an atmosphere.

After getting the stranger seated you went back to your previous activities nearly forgetting the blue eyes that lingered on you throughout his stay.

You had almost forgotten, until now.

Alice shook her head, grasping your hand, “Don’t say I didn’t warn yah”

She glanced at Kathy, “If you wanna leave that bad, let’s get you to a phone to call for a ride mkay”

Kathy sighed in relief, “thank you, you’re the best”

They left you to your thoughts. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, thinking over what Alice said and remembering the brief meeting from earlier in the day. You contemplated going up to him, just to ask if had enjoyed the food. He had wiped his plate clean so you know he did. But perhaps you could also ask him why your uncle couldn’t stand the sight of him. Maybe that’s too personal you thought idly.

You would have sunk deeper and deeper into your thoughts if it weren’t for a figure slipping into a chair next to you. His arms hugging the back of the chair, his body leaning over to stare at you.

You almost choked on air realizing who was seated next to you. His eyes peered into yours, soft and gentle. His beard was a golden blonde like his hair, it framed his face nicely, his cheekbones and jaw were sculpted to perfection and you wondered if you ever laid eyes on someone who was casually perfect. “Hey”

Your eyes traced his face, “Hello handsome, I didn't think I'd see yah again"

He nodded giving you a half smile, so similar to the one you had received when you had helped him get a table at your uncles diner, “I’m Benny”

You noticed his voice was a deep honeyed rasp. Somehow smooth and bumpy. You wanted to listen to him talk all night, but based on your previous and current encounters; you didn’t think he’d do much talking.

You tilted your head to the side humming in reply, “I’m Y/N”

Silence fell, a bubbly giddy feeling in your chest almost had you giggling nervously. You’d never had a man stare at you so intensely without a crude or rude comment hanging from their lips. But Benny simply watched. His eyes trailing over your face, mapping out the curve of your nose and lips, the laugh lines in your face, the dimples resting at the top of your cheeks and the way your honey brown eyes watched him in return.

He wanted to reach out to touch your cheek wondering if they felt as warm as the redness in them implied.

You swallowed the giggle by biting your bottom lip, you seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. You hoped you wouldn’t bruise it with how much you had repeated this action. “You gonna stare at me all night, Benny”

You whispered his name and it felt scandalous. As if it was the most intimate pet name you had ever come up with prior to knowing his true name.

He smiled, rubbing a hand over his chin then through his hair, he adjusted his position, “Yeah, I guess”

He made no other comment. Not once bothering to fill the growing silence between you. Perhaps there wasn’t much to be said because his eyes said it all. He was interested, you gathered.

His eyes inviting, patiently waiting on you to confirm…something. You weren’t sure.

And as much as you wanted to do or say anything you simply went with, “I-Uh-I’m with my girls”

You stuttered, what a terrible flirt. You wanted to slam your head into the table, to sink into the floor and disappear. That wasn’t what you wanted to say but it was the only thing you could think of.

“Oh” he looked down at his arms then slowly looked back up to you, “okay”

His eyes were softer and a little sad. More silence. Your heart was beating so fast with adrenaline. You swore you would never forgive yourself for being an idiot. You hoped he would say something, ask you anything. Maybe give you something other than his contemplative silence. But no, he only lifted his hands up, “You’re with your girls”

He had shrugged as he said it, gracefully getting up to leave you alone. You could feel his eyes leaving you and he left you to a different kind of silence. You couldn’t believe how idiotic you had been. As if the invitation wasn’t clear enough you had shut him down. Leave it to you to blow off the only man who had ever made you feel anything other than disgust under their gaze.

Kathy slid into the chair to your right, her mouth parting ready to ask you if you would be leaving with her, but another figure slipped into a seat at the other side of the table.

You recognized him from earlier, the man who watched you and Kathy from his corner of the bar. He gave you girls a quirk of his lip and a nod, “What are your names, girls”

Kathy leaned back and sighed, “What is this? A rotary buffet?”

You could tell she was getting tired of all the men who were coming up to you gals. “I’m Kathy, this is Y/N”

The man nodded once more, “I’m uh Johnny, I’m the president of this club.”

You hummed, “Nice to meet yah”

Kathy rolled her eyes but gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He continued to speak, “Just want the two of yous to know that..you don’t have to worry”

Your brow raised surprised by his statement but knowing where he was going.

“Worry about what?” Kathy questioned with rising suspicion.

Johnny shook his head, “Nothin, that’s all. The guys just wanna have some fun…”

He nodded his eyes trailing to the group of men by the Jukebox, “I won’t let nothin happen to yah”

His grey eyes scanned the two of you.

Kathy quirked a challenging eye brow, “Oh yeah? And what’s gonna happen to us?”

You placed a hand on her arm, trying to calm her growing agitation, “Nothin” Johnny responded.

This didn’t appease Kathy at all, she rolled her eyes and sarcastically laughed, “haha, thanks for that, we gots to go now. Nice to meet yah. Adios. Bye”

You gripped your bag over your shoulder allowing her to drag you out of the bar. When you noticed the men leering and getting closer to her, you tugged her back and took the lead, shoving them aside with strength that once again surprised them. You got out relatively untouched. But you knew that there would be some grease stains on your skirt and stockings. Kathy didn’t seem too happy about the prints on her ass though.

You would have laughed if it weren’t for the enraged look on her face. “What animals”

She hissed. Trying to swipe away the grease but the damage was done.

“Alright, sunny, I called a cab and it should be here any minute. You gonna hop in?”

You sighed and hummed, after blowing off the Benny guy you wanted nothin but to go home and wallow in your failure.

Her lips smirked, “Gonna wallow in self pity for rejectin’ that biker guy?”

Her comment released a wave of groans from your lips, “My gosh Kathy! I blew it!”

You hooked your right arm though her left and followed her across the street, “I was THIS close” you lifted your thumb and pointer finger and squeezed them together, “to maybe going on a date or somethin’”

She laughed, “Oh honey, you’ve never even bothered to flirt nor talk to a man that wasn’t family or close friends. Of course you’d blow it”

Her tease left you pouting, throwing your head back you groaned and stomped your feet playfully, “If I had a second chance I think I could get it right”

Your eyes traced the Big Dipper, wishing for another chance. But for what? You didn’t even think you had it in you. Sure you could be confident and happy. Bulldozing your way through life. Making others smile and laugh. Getting others to feel comfortable and welcoming.

But flirting? Dating? Talking to an insanely handsome man?

An impossible task you really wanted to try.

A few minutes went by before Kathy started to nudge your side. You turned your head to stare at her, one brow raised in question. Her eyes flitted across the street and you followed.

He was walking across the street, cigarette on his lips and a lighter hovering in front of him as he lit it. His hand shoved the lighter back into his pocket and he nonchalantly walked up to his sleek black bike. Swinging his long legs over the bike, he jumped to start it, his bike roaring to life.

He sat down, fixed his jacket, and gave you a look over his shoulder. His eyes were obscured by shadows but with the slight incline of his head, you figured he was silently telling you to get on.

Kathy pushed you towards him, your feet stumbling over the pavement. You righted yourself and shot her a glare. She wiggled her fingers at you, shooing you in response.

You slowly took a step forward. Then two. Then three. And before you could turn around and run away you were standing next to him.

He plucked his cigarette from his lips and gave you a look. His eyes scanned you from head to toe. Amused to see you standing near him. Your fingers fidgeted with the hem of your skirt.

You were just about to ask him if you could get on. But rowdy men spilled out of the bar. Hooting loudly at seeing you next to Benny. Urging you to get on. Some commenting about your pretty skirt riding up your thigh. And some praising Benny for reining you in.

“Get on girl, it’s gonna be a fun ride” one of them laughed out.

Benny gave no indication he was listening to them. And he gave no indication of what he wanted you to do. You suppose he had already given you a hint earlier. You sighed and got on.

Once seated you tried to tug your skirt down the best you could. Silently thankful that you had prepared for the worst-case scenario. Your black shorts peeked from beneath your skirt. Your thighs resting comfortably over the bike.

More of the men hollered, “We’ve got a smart one”

“Ay suppose only Benny can take a peek underneath her skirt”

You blushed at the comment. You would like to deny it but saying anything would only fuel their provocative statements.

You turned to take a quick peek at Kathy, finding her getting on one of the men’s bikes. Having been herded by the others to take a ride. She had obviously given in to get them to leave her alone. She shot you a look. Her eyes flickered between you and Benny. She gave you a wry smile. She was excited for you. But not that pleased with her own situation. However, she’d pull through if you were experiencing it with her.

Your hands were loosely gripping onto Benny’s side, unsure of where to place them.

One of Benny’s hands reached around, grabbing yours to tightly wrap it around his midsection. You laced your fingers together and held on tightly. Trying to ignore the way your body pressed into his.

Someone shouted for him to take off and let him know that they would meet up with him on the expressway. With a jolt of the bike, you lurched forward. Your thighs squeezing Benny's legs and your grip getting tighter.

After that, you were a goner. The night sped past you in a blaze of light. The stars glittering and the town lights fading into the darkness. The wind swept your hair, tossing your neatly primed waves into a knotted mess.

You squealed, pressing your face into his back. Your eyes followed the passing scenery falling in love with the speed and the freedom that swelled up inside you.

You felt him chuckle at your reaction, you tore your gaze away and leaned at an angle to see the side of his face, you could tell he was smiling.

You were in trouble. All the warnings Alice had given you had been discarded. Your heart was a fool and your mind had been made. And you wondered where exactly this night would lead.

A/N: If you made it this far down, I applaud you 👏part 2 is already written and is currently being edited. If you want quick updates, comment for a tag! Thank you so much for sticking around to read this long fic!

[alotofpockets]

Mini mate | Katie McCabe

Pairing: Katie McCabe x Reader

Summary: Katie meets your kid for the first time, and they have an instant connection.

A/n: Part of the Mini Mate Universe

Masterlist | Woso masterlist | Words: 2.5k

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You were falling for Katie more and more after every date you had been on together. Besides her busy schedule, and your life with a toddler, you have managed to go on quite a few dates over the past two months. When you told her you had a child, and wanted to take things slow, she understood and respected that right away. Overall Katie had been great, and you loved the time you got to spend together.

Today you were out for lunch with your now girlfriend of a week, while your next door neighbour watched your son. Being a single mother, without any support from your family was hard in the beginning, but when Linda from next door had found out you were raising your boy alone, she had offered to watch him as often as she could. She was retired, and loved children. You had found a quick friend in the older woman, and honestly she was a lifesaver. 

You were a couple bites into your lunch when your phone rang, you looked down at the screen and saw your neighbour's name on the screen. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It could be about Jake.” Katie nods, “Yeah, of course.” You pick up the call, “Hi Linda, is everything okay?” On the other side of the line Linda responds, “Yes dear, little Jakey is doing just fine, don’t you worry. It’s just that I am afraid that I have double booked myself sweetheart, I have to be somewhere in half an hour, and I’m afraid I can’t take him with me.” You relax your shoulders when you realise that your son is alright. “Alright, I will be right there then. Thank you for calling.” Katie had already flagged down a waiter to pack your food as doggy bags. “My neighbour got something mixed up, so I have to go pick up Jake. I’m sorry for having to cut our date short.” She shook her head in response, “Don’t worry about it, darling. The waiter is just bagging up our food, and then I’ll drive you home, okay?” 

On the way home you were thinking how kind, and understanding Katie had been, something you weren’t all that used to. Your heart only warmed at the way she had treated you, which got you thinking. “How would you feel about meeting Jake?” You asked when you were almost back to your place. “I would love to meet him, but only if you’re ready for me to. There is no rush on my end.” Her answer made you smile, she was always making sure you were okay. “Yeah, I am.” 

Katie parks the car, and the two of you walk into your home. After putting away your lunch in the fridge you walk up to Katie. “Do you mind waiting here for a moment, while I pick him up? I want to give him a little heads up that someone else will be at home.” Again Katie was very understanding, and told you it was all good. So, you head next door. “Hi sweetheart.” Linda greets you when she opens the door. “Again, I am so sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin your date with the lovely lady.” You shake your head at the woman, “No need to apologise, I promise. And the lovely lady is actually sitting on the couch, waiting to meet Jake.” Linda brings you in for a hug, “Oh dear, I am so happy for you.” Linda had been a close friend of yours over the years, and had heard all about your growing liking of the woman you had been dating. 

Once Linda lets go of you, you hear little footsteps running your way. “Mommy.” The boy says full of excitement, he keeps running and jumps into your arms. “Hi kiddo, I missed you.” You pepper his cheeks with kisses. A car horn sounds outside, “Sorry honey, I have to leave, can you close up when you leave?” You nod, “Thank you, Linda. Have a good day!” 

You put Jake down, and start walking around to gather his stuff. “Did you have fun with Linda?” He nodded his head excitedly, he had been doing that a lot recently, and you loved his new adorable habit. “I play twains!” You sit him down on the couch, to put his shoes on. “That’s great baby, I’m glad you had fun.” You placed a kiss on his forehead once both his shoes were on. “There is someone waiting at home that I would love for you to meet. Are you ready to go?” He nodded again. “Okay, let's go then.” 

With Jake's hand in yours, you enter your home. Having Katie meet Jake was a big deal, and you were slightly nervous. You really liked Katie, and her and Jake getting along was very important to you. 

Katie was sitting on the couch, and waved to Jake who was shyly hiding behind your leg. “Hi buddy, my name is Katie.” Her kind smile, and soft voice made Jake move out from behind you. “Hi Kawie” Your heart melted at the way he pronounced her name. Jake let go of your hand and walked towards Katie, holding his bunny up to her. “What a cute bunny you have there, buddy. What's your bunny's name?” He hugged the bunny to his chest again, “Benny.” Katie smiled, “Benny the bunny, I like that.” 

The boy yawned, and started rubbing his eyes. “Hey kiddo, it's nap time. Can you pick out a book?” Your home was full of books for the toddler, and you loved giving him the freedom of choosing which story you would read before bed. He came back with a book in one hand and his bunny in the other, and walked straight up to Katie. “This one pwease.” Your fears of the two not getting along instantly fade away, when you see him reach up his arms for Katie to pick him up. She sat him on his lap and started reading the book to him, pointing at all the animals the book talked about. You snapped a quick picture, while watching the heartwarming scene in front of you.

When you came back downstairs after putting Jake down, Katie had plated your packed lunches from the restaurant, and had set the table. “You are amazing,” You say when her eyes meet yours. “and you were so great with him.” A tear escaped your, and you quickly wiped it away, but Katie had noticed. “Come here, darling.” She brings you in for a hug, and rubs her hand over your back soothingly. “I'm sorry, I've just been so worried about the two of you not getting along, and seeing him just walk up to you with his book, that meant so much.” She smiles and moves you so she can look at you. “Don't you ever apologise for that. You are a great mom, and I am so grateful that you wanted me to meet him.”

While Jake was down for his nap, you and Katie settled on the couch, cuddled up together while watching some TV. That was until you heard Jake start talking over the babyphone, letting you know that he woke up from his nap. You place a kiss on Katie’s lips before you get up. “I'll be right back.” 

“Kawieee” Your son runs to her the moment he notices that she is still there. She picks him up and twirls him around, “Hi my mini mate, did you have a good nap?” He does his excited nodding, as a response, and giggles when Katie tickles his belly. 

“Mini mate?” You ask once she has put him in his highchair for his post nap snack. “Yeah I call all my friend's mate, so he's my mini mate.” You laugh, “It's cute. I like it.”

Katie came over more often after that, the bond between the two of them only started to grow, and you couldn't help but fall in love with Katie over the next few weeks. Katie would be staying the night for the first time, you had stayed the night at her place before, but never at your place with Jake at home too. Jake was actually over the moon that Katie would be able to read his nighttime story, and help tuck him in. 

Once you got back downstairs you plopped down on the couch. Katie had gotten Jake a small Arsenal ball, and the three of you had been kicking it around in the backyard for a good part of the afternoon, so you were pretty tired. “You know how I was so worried for the two of you not to get along?” Katie moves her fingers through your hair and hums. “Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. He really loves you, you know?” She nods, noticing that you weren't done with what you were wanting to say. “I do too. Love you, I mean.” You were getting nervous, and messing up what you wanted to say, so you started again. “I love you Katie.” She smiles and moves her hand to your cheek. “I love you too y/n.” She pulls you in closer and kisses you. The kiss was soft, but at the same time it was filled with passion. 

A few weeks later you found yourself in the stands at Meadow Park along with Jake and Linda, cheering on Katie for the first time. Before the match started Katie had found you in the crowd and waved in your direction. Jake started excitedly waving back once you pointed her out.

You had watched Katie play on TV a couple of times since you had started dating, but never before had you experienced the game in such an environment. The crowd cheered and sang chants the whole time, it was truly amazing how much support the team got.

Arsenal won the match, and after she finished signing jerseys and posters, and taking pictures with fans, she made her way over to you. “You played so well. Good job captaining the team!” She brought you into a hug. “Thank you baby.” She hugged Jake next, and lastly she greeted Linda with a hug as well. “Kawie.” Jake said, making grabby hands towards her. She takes him from where you were holding him on the railing, “Did you and Benny like the football match?” Jake hugs Benny tight to his chest, “Yesss.” He adorably drags out the ‘s’. 

“Katie!” Is being called from behind her, “Katie, can you come here for a moment?” Katie sends her teammate a thumbs up, letting her know that she would be right there. “Duty calls.” She tries to hand Jake back to you, but he holds on tight. “Mini mate, I have to go for a bit, but I promise I will be right back.” She tries again, but to no avail. “Me with Kawie.” Katie looks up to you, “Do you mind if I take him with me on the pitch?” You shake your head, “Go for it. Jakey, listen very well to Katie, okay?’ You ruffle his hair before you let them go, and start your conversation with Linda back up. “You found a good one, honey, I can see how much she loves the both of you just from her eyes.” You blush at her words, she had always been very truthful with her words, even when they weren’t what you wanted to hear, so hearing her say that meant a lot. 

The team was waiting for Katie to do their post match team huddle to recap on the match through the eyes of Jonas. Once Katie joined, Jonas started talking right away, so no one had time to question Katie joining the huddle with a kid on her hip. At the end of the speech, Katie was the one to announce, “Team on three.” After which everyone put their hands in the middle, Jake wanted to join and put his hand on top of the rest of the girls. “Team!” The group said before moving out again. Though, some of the girls stick around. Katie was tickling Jake’s belly, pulling loud giggles from the toddler's mouth. “Who is this little guy?” Viv asked, tickling the boy’s belly as well. “This is my mini mate. Can you tell Viv your name, buddy?” The boy was loving all the attention. “Jake.” Katie smiles and holds her hand up to give him a high five, “Good job, buddy.” She then moves her focus back to her teammates surrounding her, “He’s my girlfriend's kid.” This piqued the interest of her teammates even more. “Your girlfriend is here?” Beth asked, and Vic quickly followed with, “Can we meet her?”

You watched from the stands as Katie was twirling Jake around, and walking back towards you with a few of her teammates. “Hi darling, they wanted to come meet you. This is Viv, Beth, and Vic.” She introduced them one by one. “It’s very nice to meet you, and good game by the way.” Katie sets Jake down on the ground, and starts softly kicking a ball to him, like you had done together in the backyard. He was loving all the attention he was getting from the girls, while you were getting to know Katie’s teammates. 

Katie had often talked about her teammates being like family, and the way they were interacting with your son, made you see that right away. You looked at the group of girls playing with him, and the big smile on his face, and in that moment you realised that your little family was going to be expanding over the next couple of months, in the form of lots of aunties. 

Jake was happily running around with Beth and Viv, a few steps away from you, when Katie joined you, both keeping an eye on the little boy. “What are you thinking, darling?” She says while wrapping her arm around your shoulder. “Just that I love you, and seeing him happy means the world to me.” You both smile at the giggling toddler. “I love you too. Beth and Viv asked if the three of us would like to join them for dinner tonight.” Katie turns to Linda, “You were invited too, of course, I just know you already have plans tonight.” Linda waves her off, “Don’t worry about me, honey, you kids have fun.” 

Katie kisses you before she heads down to the locker rooms, “I’ll see at the car.” You walk out of the stadium with Jake on your hip and Linda by your side. “Did you have fun, little Jakey?” Linda asks. His excited nods once again making an appearance. “Kawie and Beffy and Vivi play ball.” His pronunciation of their names brings a smile to your face. “Guess what kiddo, we’re going to see them later too.” His eyes widen before he hugs his body closer to yours, which you took as a sign that he was excited for it too.

-----

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[gildedkrone]

I'm the boy next door, let me come in🔞

Part 2 to this fic

Relationships: Ghost x verse!Male Reader Synopsis: You meet him years later and he still can't forget you. Master List

Simon doesn't text back anymore. You aren't so much surprised as disappointed to know it would end this way. He has a wife to go home to, and your next client wouldn't wait for you to get over the very one-sided heartbreak.

The chat ended on a single message from Simon.

["Take care, luv. Hope this helps you with your dream."]

A transfer of ten thousand pounds into your bank account. You don't want to know how he acquired said information, given he is a military man, you wouldn't put it pass him to have used his clearence to search you up. Would it have killed him to do it in person? No. But anything, is better than nothing from a man you should have never gotten attached to.

It's a bittersweet end and the end of your "relationship" with the man.

---

A cigarette between his lips and his moment of peace was interrupted by his secretary entering his office after two knocks.

"Mr Riley, you have an upcoming meeting at two with the Mr Decartes, should I arrange for him to wait in the conference room?"

He flicks two fingers (yes) and snuffs out the cigarette. The Riley family always had a name in the military business, and the newly retired lieutenant returned home to Manchester to hold the reins to his family empire. Post military life is mundane, he supposed. There's no threat of being knived or shot when out bumbling about the streets of the city and most people give him a wide berth of space, if nothing but fear of his size. The skull mask is gone, replaced by a simple black mask concealing the bottom part of his face.

---

The train to Edinburgh is packed to the brim and per his request, the entire business coach is booked out to give him some semblance of privacy. The online meeting is rotting his brain with the incessant business partners and their multitude of requests. Eventually, the meeting ends not before the train is slowing to stop.

"Dear ladies and gentlemen, due to a railway signalling fault, we are unable to proceed to Edinburgh and the train will be stopping at Carlisle. Please speak to a train attendant if you have questions about transfers and continuing your journey."

Fuckin' hell and now even the train is conspiring against him. The attendant is apologetic and informs him of his choices. Return to Manchester on the train in three hours or wait for an unspecified time for the next train to Edinburgh. Either way, he isn't reaching his destination within the same day.

---

He has hours to burn, and he begins with getting coffee. Carlisle isn't a big city and he spends some time walking about the place and looking at things. Whatever British people did for fun. His mindless walk brings him to a flower shop and before his mind could object, he was pushing past the doors and the sweet chime into the cool and empty shop. There is nobody at the counter and he rings the bell.

"Coming!"

Sounds of shuffling as a man returns from the rear of the shop and you stop behind the counter.

"Hey, is there anything I can do for you?" You flash him a smile and he is taken back by the sight. It's the man he's had a fling with five years ago but there is no recognition in your eyes. Was it the mask?

"I'm looking for something for a business deal."

"Oh, do you know what arrangement you would like?" He looks confused and you continue. "We can make it in different sizes and shapes if you have any in mind?"

"Not really. Do you have pictures?"

"Sure do." You grab the folder of pictures and flipped to the business section. When you looked up, the man has an unfathomable look on his face. He takes his time reviewing through the photos and asks several questions about the shop. How did it come to be etc. You tell him about the ten thousand dollars a man left for you once and he knows, confirms it is you.

"So I moved from London up north here to settle down and open my shop. Business is doing well and I've just received a giant order for a wedding. Might need to hire some people to help me out there."

He doesn't know what his traitorous mind was on when he mouth blurts out how willing he is to help. He is dressed in some formal attire and clearly not a contract worker but he is insistent, so you relent and tell him to meet you after dinner. Especially knowing how difficult and costly it is to hire rush work.

---

Edinburgh is the last thing on his mind when he shows up to your shop at eight in the evening. He opted for a large hoodie and some sweats and you usher him into the back of the store where the greenhouse is. His mask is still on and the hoodie is drawn over his head and you crack a joke about dressing correctly since it's cold in the greenhouse.

You make the first of many bouqets and he examines the shape and quantity of flowers in it. The silence is amiable and the man is a fast worker. Precise and controlled, his first bouqet is beautiful and well made. You disappeared into greenhouse to get more flowers and he follows you back in. Midway through the gathering of some flowers and he speaks.

"You don't remember me."

You give him a puzzled look and set the flowers back down. Did you know him?

He sighs and pulls back his hoodie and removes the mask on his face. It's him. It's Simon.

---

"What are you doing here, Simon?"

He sips his coffee and the both of you are seated behind the counter.

"The train broke down and 'm was exploring the city. Stumbled upon your shop and …"

"Are you no longer in the military?"

"Left the job. Had to go home and run the business."

He is still an absolute looker even five years later and his fingers gently brush against yours where it stays.

"Simon, your wife--"

"We're divorced. She's no longer my wife." He elaborates something along the lines of a falling out between the two families over business.

"Oh."

His hands are rough and calloused, and they hold yours.

"It wasn't a possibility then, but … I--"

"Simon, we can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Did you really love me? We had a fling, not a real relationship. I am past the age of flings and I want a real relationship."

"I can give yer that. Only if you would let me."

"Si--" And the rest of the sentence was stolen by his lips against yours. He is insistent and all of the walls you imagined comes crashing down at the taste of him and the hand on your thigh.

"Luv, fuck, missed yer fuckin' lips." And your moan is breathy as his touch crept up your thighs.

---

You weren't sure how it happened, but the kiss ends with you and him in the greenhouse and his hands in your pants. He is pleasure incarnate and his hands move with an urgency to feel you. They roam across expanses of skin before digging into flesh and unbuttoning your jeans. Your mind is drunk on the pleasure and your dick is aching to be touched, with the way it bobs up and down.

The touches are something clandestine, and you used to be his illicit affairs. Now, you are his partner? Lover? The definition is irrelevant as he turns you around to face him before pushing you into the wall. His dick is freed from his joggers where they tented the garment obscenely and he hands rest at your hips.

"If yer asking how serious I am, 'm fuckin' serious about this." The whispers of past encounters are strong and he gives your dick a few strokes before he hugs you tight and your dick pokes against his ass.

"Fuck, Simon, you sure about this?" His response is a sloppy kiss and a muffled yes.

"Have you done this--"

"Nobody. There's nobody after you." Fuck, if that doesn't send your desires higher to know he saved himself for you all these years.

You finger him gently to loosen his rear and gently slide into him until he is moaning and spasming around your dick. He is impatient and tugs your hand but you refuse to fully bottom out, knowing this is likely foreign to him and unwilling to hurt him. Tight, warm heat hungrily swallows your length and you fight off the urge to slam your hips into him—to show him who controls his pleasure. Gruff and gravelly moans get louder with each thrust and with eyes lidded in pleasure, he takes dick so beautifully and you reward him with kisses and bites to his neck. He chokes at the feeling of skin breaking when you leave a hickey. The sudden imagery of domming him and making him beg to cum is fire in your veins and you slow your thrusts.

"C'mon, fuck, yer heathen, stop teasin'." He gets another kiss and he whines.

The great Simon whining like a pup and trying to get himself off on your dick after years of abstinence is making your head all muddy. His hips squirm and he grumbles when you pull out of him only to turn him around to face the wall. The smack of his hands against the wall is loud when you enter him without warning and he is practically clawing at the walls to remain standing under the onslaught of pleasure.

"Fuck, not gonna last if you keep doin' this," and true to his word, his greedy hole tightens around you as he tipped his head back into a moan. Your hand guides him through his orgasm as the wall is coated with pent up ball batter and you are finishing in him with a whine and whimper.

He felt as divine as ever, even when he is below you and twitching from the aftershocks of an orgasm. Mercifully, he doesn't fight your attempts to clean him up even if a clench of his core meant more of your cum is dripping down his thighs. Your dick jumps at the creamy sight but Simon is fully sated and you are content to wait.

Here in the shop, everything feels right. Hearts aligned in a bow drawn taut towards love are yours and his.

---

"Simon, the dog is fighting the mailman again."

"Fuckin', luvvie, its your decision to get a dog."

"You didn't say no when we were at the shelter."

He groans when you shift on his lap while keeping him warm and cozy as the dick in your ass pokes against your prostate. Pre spills from your dick and he swipes a finger through the milky substance for a taste.

"This is, all your damn fault," you choke out between pants when his dick juts into further into you.

"Can't blame a man for wantin' more, sweetheart. Now sing for me," and those hips are determined to be the death of you. Ah, the joy of pleasure and to die from it, you think you could die happy in the lap of your man.

Raspy growls and a man possessed to chase and seek pleasure after years of draught is a dangerous combination. Your head rests against his shoulder amdist thrusts jostling your body.

"Fuck it, he can deal with that damned dog while I make you cum, darling."

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 14

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (but biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, angst, drinking, sadness, reference to divorce, kids doing sneaky things, swearing, references to the loss of a parent or parents, reference to past bedroom activities

Seresin Ranch, Clifton, Texas, Now

The ride home was spent in silence. The girls had quickly packed their things and mounted their horses after Savannah had shrieked at their father that she wanted to go home, right that second. Jake had nodded at them that they were going home, and they were all fully packed within a half an hour.

Savannah hadn’t made a peep since, only hissing at their father that his ‘chances’ with her father were now impossible before plopping herself onto a boulder and ignoring them all. Jake had only huffed a sigh and packed both of their bags up before tacking up the horses.

They had taken the short trail back to the ranch and took no stops, so they ended up back at the ranch just before dinner time, their mother peeking her head out of the curtains and frowning at them.

Savannah clumsily dismounted, Angel stomping her foot in discomfort until the petite blond had her designer cowgirl boots on solid ground. With a huff, Savannah whipped her hair as she turned towards their father and hurled her engagement ring at his chest.

“You could’ve been so much more than this,” she hissed at him, jerking her chin at his girls. “We could’ve sent them to a boarding school or to live with their mother, and you could’ve joined the Navy again like you wanted to! Instead, you’ll never be anything but some…some…farmer!”

Jake shook his head slowly at her, his eyes locked on her with a look that Charlie was very happy she had never seen directed at her.

“I would never have let you send my girls to boarding school. Being their father is the best thing I have ever done. And if you can’t see that, then it’s your fault,” Jake’s voice was calm and cool, but Rooster recognized it as he and Buttercup emerged from the house, trying and failing to look nonchalant as they rushed towards the tense looking confrontation. It was Jake’s mission voice. His Hangman voice. The same voice he had used when he had confronted Rooster about the Uranium Mission, about him not having what it takes to fly, about how he was only there because Maverick had flown with Rooster’s old man. Hangman was pure arrogance and jet fuel, with none of Jake’s tenderness and homespun, golden boy manners.

“Or is it your fault for not telling me there were two of those little demons?” Savannah sneered.

“Watch it,” Buttercup stepped forward. “Nobody gets to talk about my girls that way.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “You can have him,” she scoffed as she turned her back on them all and strolled towards the big, black SUV that was thundering up the drive. “Nobody will want him now anyway.”

Rooster moved to stand next to Jake as Savannah clambered up into the SUV that her father was driving, offering the retired Air Force Colonel a sarcastic salute before crouching and retrieving the fallen diamond ring.

They watched in silence as the SUV roared away, a collective sigh of relief rippling through them all as it disappeared into the distance.

“I feel like I should burn this thing,” Rooster mused, staring down at the platinum band. “Y’know, douse it in holy water and set it on fire so it doesn’t attract any more hell spawn.”

Jake groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Shut up, man. Hey! Slow your roll, you two!”

Rooster peered over his shoulder at the twins, who were trying to make a sneaky exit into the house. Rooster chuckled as they glanced at each other and slowed their footsteps but didn’t stop.

“Freeze, ladies!” Buttercup barked, striding towards them. “You know what your father meant.”

With a sigh that heaved their shoulders, Abby and Charlie halted on the porch and turned towards their parents.

Jake crouched in front of them and scanned their faces with his pilot’s precision.

“Someone better start talking…” he murmured into the still air.

“Well, you see—”

“We didn’t actually do anything wrong—”

“It’s only that—”

“Nothing dangerous—”

Jake held up a hand and the air went still again.

“Chipmunks don’t just miraculously appear in a closed saddlebag,” he started, staring between them. “They have to be placed there. And I don’t know anyone better at handling rodents than my daughter Charlie, who has been helping remove chipmunks and squirrels from the hay loft since she was a toddler.” Charlie flushed, kicking at a stone beneath her boot. “And while I appreciate the concern you both had about Savannah having an allergic reaction, that doesn’t explain this.” He pulled the open packet of itching powder out of his jeans pocket. Abby gulped. “And don’t think I didn’t notice the hay around the tent spikes of Savannah’s tent either.” He looked between them. “All I want to know is why?”

He stared at them for a long moment, green clashing with green, until Abby groaned and crumbled. “I’m sorry, Dad, but Savannah was awful. She bragged about being a champion rider, but anyone with eyes could tell she had never been on a horse! And she was always hanging off you like she couldn’t do anything by herself. And…”

“And her vibe was way off, Dad,” Charlie added, stepping forward. “And I think you knew that. That’s why you didn’t introduce us until after you proposed.”

“I didn’t introduce you because you were off at camp,” Jake argued, biting back a groan as he stretched back to his full height. “And I’ll admit that I should’ve told her that you’re twins, but at the time, I thought you didn’t know about each other.”

“So, you kept Abby a secret from me, and I kept my feelings about Savannah a secret from you,” Charlie grinned slyly. “Sounds like we both did the wrong thing, old man.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Maybe…but I’m the adult here. Which means I’m the one who gets to dole out any punishment for unnecessary pranks pulled on the trail ride.”

Charlie gulped. “You’re not going to make Mom and Abby go home early are you?”

Jake’s eyes softened. “I would never do that, Charlie-girl. But you and your sister are going to be doing extra chores around here. You’re going to have to muck out all the stalls in the morning, feed the horses, and polish the tack.”

Abby and Charlie grinned at each other. “Is that it?”

“Restricted phone time,” Buttercup shot them a stern look. “You can have your phones for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. But that’s it. I have no doubt you used your phones to help coordinate these schemes of yours, so this is just a natural consequence.”

“Can Abby still sleep in my room?”

Jake met Buttercup’s eyes and nodded. “We’re okay with that.”

“And we can still go to Uncle Javy’s football game?”

Buttercup grinned at Jake and rolled her eyes fondly. “I suppose that’s alright.”

The girls cheered and hugged each other. “We’re okay with that!”

They grabbed their backpacks and ran into the house, chattering away, and Buttercup sighed before following along behind them.

“Not so fast.”

She blinked and turned to him. “What did I do?”

Jake folded his arms across his broad chest and cocked an eyebrow at her. “You know what you did.”

Buttercup’s hands met her hips as she shifted her weight to jut a hip out. “Do I?”

Jake rolled his eyes as a smile played on his lips. “What exactly did Savannah say to you to make you bail on the trail ride? I know you. Spending time with Abby, getting to know Charlie, the opportunity to see me potentially make an ass of myself? You were ready and willing to go on the ride until I went outside to get the horses ready. So, what did my ex-fiancée say to my ex-wife to scare her off the ride?”

Buttercup scoffed. “I wasn’t scared. I figured it was a good opportunity for the girls to get to know their stepmother.”

“And if their stepmother got the chance to get to know them, and didn’t like what she saw?” Jake’s grin was sharp with challenge.

“Then that would be her loss, just like you said.” Buttercup tossed her hair over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows at him. “I don’t know what you’re implying here, Hangman.”

Jake’s answering chuckle sent a small thrill through her. “I’m implying that I spent three months with Savannah, and the only way she would get near a horse would be if there was a risk of her losing face. And the only person who would be willing to put her in that situation is you. But you wouldn’t do that without reason, so c’mon, darlin’. Out with it.”

Buttercup sighed lightly. “She asked me to write her wedding vows for her. Her vows to you.” She could’ve giggled at the way Jake’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but the whole situation had left her with an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. “It was a power play, plain and simple. So, yeah. Maybe I got the feeling that the girls didn’t like her and would probably make her life hell on the ride, so I might have suggested to Savannah that she should go on the ride because it would make you happy and she would be able to bond with the girls.”

Jake chuckled in spite of himself. “You’re just as diabolical as they are, you know.”

Buttercup shrugged delicately. “They had to get it from somewhere. Too bad for you, I’m an adult too and you can’t dole out any punishment to me.”

Jake shifted on his feet, his quiet chuckle sending tingles through her body as the air around them spiked with…something.

“Not like I haven’t before,” he breathed, mostly to himself.

Buttercup folded her arms across her chest, almost as though she were afraid that her heart would beat right out of her chest. The memories of them, the things they had done together, surged through her brain, her bloodstream, lighting her up like a firefly. But he was still Jake, and any fire between her and Jake had been doused a long time ago, and it had to stay that way. For the good of everyone involved.

“Um,” she swallowed. “Rooster made chili. He said it was some sort of post-trail ride tradition. We were just setting the table when we heard the commotion.”

Jake nodded and patted Firewall’s flank. “Let me just take care of these guys, and I’ll be right in. Make sure you save me a bowl, alright? Charlie would eat the entire pot if we let her.”

Jake groaned as he pushed his bowl away.

“That was your best batch yet, Uncle Roo,” Charlie grinned a sleepy smile, inching towards food coma territory.

“I’m still pissed you couldn’t cook like this when we lived together,” Natasha grumbled, though the smile on her face stole any bite the words might have held.

Bob nodded in agreement. “The whole squadron would be shocked that Mr. Ramen and Burnt Toast has a degree from culinary school.”

Rooster grunted at them. “I only burnt my toast once. You two just won’t let me forget it.”

“More than once,” Javy grinned at him, leaning back in his chair, and Jake smiled. It seemed like, for tonight at least, Javy and Nat had called a truce. They hadn’t glared or shot thinly veiled remarks at each other all night. Of course, they hadn’t spoken or looked at each other either, but Jake found himself grateful for the lack of anything between them.

“Alright, well maybe I should prove my badass kitchen skills then, huh?” Rooster leaned forward, a smirk tugging on his lips. “I think it’s high time for a Daggers Reunion. What do you say? We can celebrate the fact that Jake isn’t gonna marry that absolute pain in the ass he called a fiancée.”

“Rooster!” Buttercup looked shocked. “I know you didn’t like her, but Jake wouldn’t have asked her to marry him if he didn’t have feelings for her.”

Javy scoffed. “More like feelings about his future. Your boy here didn’t want to have an empty nest when Charlie grows up, so he was gonna—ow, shit!” Javy winced as Jake’s foot connected with his knee. “Dude, what the hell?”

Buttercup felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “It’s alright, Jake. I get it. They’re almost 12. In six years or so, they’ll be off and we’ll be left on our own. I don’t know what the future holds for me either, and it’s a scary thought.”

“Don’t worry, Mum,” Abby yawned, leaning against her sister. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Buttercup grinned. “Thank you, baby. But I do think maybe you two should go upstairs to bed. You’ve had a busy day.”

Abby nodded and tugged Charlie off her chair before hugging her mother, then her father.

Charlie followed suit but stilled at the landing of the staircase. “I like Uncle Roo’s idea. A Dagger’s reunion sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Alright, kiddo. We’ll see if we can make it happen,” Jake smiled softly at the girls as they ascended the staircase.

“Can we also go out to dinner tomorrow?” Abby paused a few steps from the top. “Just the four of us? As a family?”

Jake nodded. “Sure, baby. Whatever you want.”

“Okay. Night, Dad. Night, Mum. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” their parents chorused.

“Dude, you’re such a softie now,” Natasha smirked at him over the lip of her wine glass. “They just cost you your fiancée, Bagman. And you’re letting them call the shots.”

Jake fixed her with a look. “I’m not soft, Phoenix.” He grinned. “In fact, everyone else on this ranch have been pulling their weight, except you two. So, I’d really appreciate it if you and Baby On Board would do the dishes while Javy and I go make sure everything is locked up tight.”

Natasha gaped at him. “What about Buttercup? Or Rooster?”

“Rooster cooked,” Jake shrugged. “And Buttercup’s been working on her novel. What have you and Bob been up to? Other than drinking my wine, eating my food, and eating up my Wi-Fi?” Natasha glared and he grinned. “Enjoy. C’mon, Javy.”

The two men rose from their seats and left the room, clearly headed to make sure the ranch was locked up for the night. Rooster rose with a groan and mumbled something about watching the football game in his room, leaving after patting Buttercup on the head.

Natasha looked around at all the dirty dishes and grumbled. “Your husband is such an asshole.”

“Ex,” Buttercup clarified quietly, running her finger over the lip of her glass. “Besides, you shouldn’t have shot your mouth off with the softie comment. You had to have known he’d retaliate.”

“Yeah, but did he have to bring me into it?” Bob sighed, already gathering dishes and taking them into the kitchen.

Buttercup giggled as her family disappeared into the kitchen, the soft sounds of their bickering carrying through the archway as she stared at the darkened front door, waiting for Jake to return.

The next day passed smoothly, and the four occupants of the main house (plus the grumpy uncle living in the attic) fell into a rhythm of sorts. Jake and the girls were out of the house by the time Buttercup woke up, jetlag and a sleepless night weighing on her mind. However, she found a breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal and fruit salad waiting for her on the stove and a box of her favourite tea sitting next to the kettle. Buttercup settled into the desk in her bedroom and cranked out a few more pages of her book, the characters finally deciding to play along and follow the plot, though the plot wasn’t turning out exactly the way she had imagined it. By the time noon came around, she had wandered down into the kitchen, where she helped Rooster prepare barbecue chicken Ceasar wraps for everyone before going out into the ranch and calling her family home to eat. After their meal, Jake stole them all away to the local high school, where he assisted Javy with coaching their football team. Even when they had been together, Buttercup hadn’t been much of a football fan, but she found herself enjoying the time spent in the bleachers, especially when Jake would demonstrate a play for the rookie quarterback (though she would deny that last part to the ends of the earth and back).

By the time they got back to the ranch, the girls were hustling their parents into their bedrooms to change for their family dinner.

“Babe, we didn’t even make a reservation,” Buttercup sighed as Abby shoved her make up bag into her hands and pushed her towards the ensuite bathroom.

“Any place that would dress code me for not wearing a suit would be booked up months in advance, kiddo,” Jake protested as Charlie tossed his navy-blue suit onto his bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” both girls had reassured their parents. “Our aunt and uncles took care of everything.”

The statement had been less than reassuring, but both parents were determined to play ball. Buttercup had conceded to wearing her aqua coloured midi dress (a dress Charlie had insisted she pack once she had seen it in her mother’s closet back in London) and had even put on the diamond necklace that had been a joint Christmas present from her family last year. Jake had begrudgingly put on his navy suit and the silver and blue aviator watch he had bought on a whim a few years back. The girls had dressed up in matching black dresses (no doubt a gift from their Uncle Bob) and ushered them out of the house before they could say goodbye to Bob, Rooster or Natasha. 

“Alright, ladies,” Jake grinned, spinning his car keys around his finger. “Ready to tell me exactly where we’re going?” He started as Charlie clamped onto his wrist, dragging him down the dirt path towards the dude ranch.

“Right this way, old man.”

Jake craned his neck back just in time to see Abby take a much gentler grip on her mother’s arm, steadying her as the heels of her shoes sunk into the dirt.

“Charlie, your mother is going to break her neck out here without much light.” In truth, the sun would be going down in a few hours, but the way it hung low in the sky had shadows painting the path in darkness. Charlie blinked up at him, a challenge gleaming there, and Jake sighed. “Let me go, kid.”

He shook off his daughter’s grip and strode backwards until he could offer Buttercup his elbow. “C’mon, darlin’,” he murmured. “Can’t have you breaking an ankle out here. Don’t want a lawsuit on my hands.”

Buttercup chuckled as she wrapped her arm around his. “Thank you…” she whispered as Abby pranced up the path to join her sister. “Honestly, I don’t know how they come up with so many harebrained schemes.”

“You think they’re scheming?”

She shot Jake a knowing look. “Do you know any family friendly restaurants where the diners dress up like this?” She gestured to their semi-formal clothing. “And if you do know any, are any of them located down this dirt path?”

Jake nodded his head towards her, conceding her point. “They’re your daughters, alright.”

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “I’m not the scheming parent, thank you very much.”

“Seriously? Wasn’t eloping in Vegas your idea?”

She bit her lip to hide her grin. “That wasn’t a scheme. That was taking advantage of the air show in Vegas and the fact that everyone we loved was there. Besides, that didn’t run the risk of potential bodily harm.”

Jake shook off the zing of pain that ran through him at the memory and forced the smile to remain on his face. “Maybe for you, but I have only the haziest memory of the morning after our wedding. Rooster and Fanboy kept pouring marga-beers down my throat even though you told them to stop.”

Buttercup giggled, and something warm flared in Jake’s chest. “Maybe they get it from them then. Rooster, Javy, and Natasha are all pretty heavy handed with the schemes, aren’t they?”

“Oh, more than you know,” Jake laughed as they approached the gazebo that overlooked the manmade pond. They’d put both features in a few years previous, trying to make the dude ranch more attractive for people who wanted more of a vacation than a chance to prove themselves on a ranch.

“Girls?” Buttercup called as they jumped up onto the gazebo before ducking out of sight. Within seconds, the whole structure was lit up, the tiny fairy lights glittering off the water.

“Speaking of schemes…” Jake muttered, guiding Buttercup over the rocky terrain and up onto the gazebo.

In the center, a small, round table for two sat invitingly, a vase of fresh wildflowers pushed to one side to make room for the plates, cutlery, and linen napkins that waited to be used.

“Hoo boy,” Buttercup whispered as he pulled out one of the wrought iron chairs and helped her sit comfortably.

“Girls, what are you doing?” Jake turned to find them standing by the stairs of the gazebo.

“We…wanted to thank you!” Charlie grinned. “Y’know, for being so nice about us switching places.”

“And blackmailing you,” Abby added.

“And blackmailing you,” Charlie nodded her agreement. “Oh! And we wanted to apologize for chasing off Savannah.”

“And you decided that a romantic dinner for two was the best way to do that?” Buttercup’s face was filled with such bemusement that Jake had to laugh.

“Well, if you’re going to coparent, you need to be able to get along,” Abby chirped cheerfully. “Consider this our way of trying to make that happen!”

“We’re going to leave you to eat,” Charlie grinned. “I really hope you can make it through a simple dinner without arguing. That would bode really well for all of us.”

Jake groaned as the girls skipped away, then groaned again when a shadowy figure stepped into the gazebo, carrying two serving trays.

“Hey man, don’t groan at me. Those two little demons are your spawn,” Javy muttered as he set the two trays of food on the table. “They’re better at finding information and using it to their advantage than the freakin’ Navy.”

Natasha scoffed as she stepped up beside Javy, brandishing a bottle of wine in each hand. “If they weren’t so damn cute, I’d want to kill them.”

Buttercup blinked at them. “You got sucked into another one of their schemes?”

Natasha shrugged. “Apparently, I need to watch what I say when Abby and I are watching trashy TV and eating junk food. The kid’s got Fort Knox as a memory. Don’t know what his excuse is though,” she added, jerking her head at Javy. “Now, do you want red or white? Because Rooster said either will work with the food, but Abby will throw a hissy fit if I don’t play along.”

“They got Bradshaw into this too?” Jake turned to Javy, who shrugged.

“You two somehow managed to raise two extremely intelligent blackmailers, with zero input from the other person and an ocean between you. It’d be impressive if it wasn’t kinda terrifying.” Javy sighed. “Natasha and I will be watching from the cabin. Buttercup, as much as you may want to, please don’t drown him in the lake.”

Buttercup stifled a giggle as their friends strolled away. “Well, at least they’re not arguing anymore,” she mused before lifting the lid off her meal and smiling. “Penne a la vodka with a side salad. How did they know?”

Jake gulped and hoped the dim lighting did enough to hide the redness in his cheeks. They had gone for Italian food for their first date, and that’s what they had both ordered. Buttercup because it was her favourite, and Jake because he’d been so taken with her that he had just said “Same” so that they could get back to their conversation without the waiter being present.

“I might’ve mentioned it once, I guess,” he murmured, taking the lid off his dish and picking up his fork.

“Should we toast or something?”

Jake smiled softly and picked up his glass of red wine. “To…fresh starts?”

Buttercup smiled so sweetly at him that his chest ached with it. “Yeah, fresh starts sound good.”

Buttercup couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard. Her sides ached and her cheeks hurt and she desperately hoped that she had put on waterproof mascara because, otherwise, she would have racoon eyes from the tears of laughter she had shed.

She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t real. This was the part of her relationship with Jake that had been easy. Falling in love with him had been as easy as breathing. He could make her laugh until she cried, and he would hold her while she cried until he could make her laugh. He made her want to pull her hair out, but one look at those bright green eyes and that sinful smile, and she would forget all about why he frustrated her. She always counted herself lucky that he was there to frustrate her. It hadn’t taken her long to realize that she would rather run the gamut of emotions with Jake Seresin than risk not feeling anything so strongly with another person.

Loving him was easy. Making it work with him was another story. And now, they had two young daughters who were depending on them. She wasn’t about to risk letting them down again. Still, she found she couldn’t quite keep her guard all the way up around him.

“…and that is why I will never take Charlie to another baseball game,” Jake finished his story to Buttercup’s peals of laughter.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you two,” she giggled breathlessly.

“Hey, she’s half you. She doesn’t get those nerves of steel from me.”

Buttercup rolled her eyes. “Oh please. How many confirmed air-to-air kills do you have under your belt?”

“Hey! That’s totally different. Having nerves of steel in the air while facing down enemy aircraft is completely different from having your six-year-old daughter try to beat the shit out of the opposing team’s mascot because it kinda looked like a monster from her nightmare.”

Buttercup snorted. “I don’t know about that. Sounds like you were both protecting yourselves with those nerves of steel.”

“You were too,” Jake said quietly, taking a sip of his wine.

“When?”

“When you left…” Buttercup froze, and Jake almost regretted saying anything. Almost. “It took guts to leave. I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but you were doing what was right for you.”

“I…” Buttercup took a fortifying sip of wine. “I hope you know I didn’t leave just because of you. I mean, I hope you know that I didn’t leave to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Emboldened by the wine, Jake reached out and took her hand. “C’mon, darlin’. Of course I know that. I know you never wanted to hurt me, and I know it felt like you were ripping your own heart out to leave Charlie behind.” He gave her hand a firm squeeze and something squeezed in his heart when she returned the gesture.

“I wish the pandemic had never happened,” Buttercup sighed. “It would’ve been so much easier to keep to the custody schedule if air travel hadn’t become so dangerous.”

Jake nodded. “I wish the court lady hadn’t transcribed our phone numbers wrong.”

Jake had called his lawyer earlier in the day and found that both of their numbers had been written wrong in the paperwork. It had happened to a few other clients, and that’s how they had come to realize that the court stenographer had been drinking on the job.

Buttercup scoffed. “Yeah…the odds were stacked against us at every turn.”

“You really think so?”

Buttercup blinked at him. “You don’t think so? Your deployments, my diagnosis, the pandemic, the clerical error? You don’t think that was fate stamping a big red X on our family?”

Jake leaned forward, close enough to her that she could smell the sharp tang of his cologne and the deep woodsy undertones that were pure Jake. “I think we had a hell of a lot going for us but neither of us knew how to handle the bumps in the road and we fell apart. Tell me, Buttercup. If we knew then what we know now, would we have made it?”

The question made her pause, made everything inside of her freeze. If her past self had all of her present knowledge, would they have made it? Would they have been able to dig through the tunnel of bullshit and make it out clean on the other side? She could imagine it. The open communication, the therapy, the fights they’d have, but together, not against each other.

She shivered at that imaging and met his green gaze. “I’m getting cold,” she whispered. “I think it’s time we go inside.”

Jake sighed but nodded, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

Knowing that Javy and Nat were on dish duty, he offered Buttercup his elbow and slowly guided her down the path, the silvery light of the moon illuminating mere feet in front of them. She leaned against him more now than she had when they had initially walked the path, but Jake knew that was the jetlag and wine working against her.

“We’ll have to thank Rooster for dinner,” she mumbled as they strolled. “That was probably the best penne I’ve had since—shit!” Her heel caught on a rock in the path and she pitched forward. Quick as a flash of lightning, Jake had her secure against him, one arm wrapped around her waist and one pressing between her shoulder blades.

“I’ve got you, you’re okay,” he murmured into her hair, only realizing how close they were when the scent of Hawaiian orchid wafted over him.

“S-sorry,” she whispered, leaning into his chest more as she steadied herself. She looked up and met his gaze, their noses almost brushing. All it would take was a tilt of her head, and they would be—

Buttercup abruptly pulled away from him, leaning down to take off her shoes and dangling them between her fingers.

“Sorry,” she murmured again. “I didn’t mean to…I can’t…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jake’s hand warmed the middle of her back. “No harm done, right?”

Buttercup gulped back the knot in her throat as she nodded. “Yeah…no harm done.”

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[wonik1ss]

✦ JUST SWINGING IN — ❝ kim minji ❞

[ 널 내게로, burn it up, 네 손길로, turn it up ]

synopsis • after meeting spider”man” in a mall robbery you just can’t seem to shake the city’s hero ( 4.4k ) fluff < playlist rec : just swinging in 🕸️ >

a/n : it’s finally here ! my longest fic !

you adjusted your glasses as you got down to your beakers level. just one drop and your class would be-

“oh I’m such a klutz sorry..”

“y/n..”

“yeah yeah”. hana waved you of as she pretended to limp over to your freshly 24 year old professor.

“we can use mine..”. yunah giggled as you got ahold of her hand grasping it for dear life.

“oh you sweet sweet angel!”

“calm down I already finnished anyways ..!”. you thanked your friend again and then began to jot down some notes. you were not even three months into college when your favorite class became your least favorite. last week your professor who looked like he was deadly close to kicking the bucket decided to fight a student and he ‘retired’ the school says by his own volition..

now with your new much younger professor you felt like panties were dropping left and right.

“it’s like seeing two birds mate..”. yunah playfully shushed you as a bell rang.

“ok see you all next week..!”. already packed up you and yunah giggled as your professor struggled to get your fellow classmate to leave too.

“so the mal-“

“can’t.. jihan needs to study for her science test and I can’t let her fail..!”. you nodded as yunah ran of to find her bestfriend. ever since you started all your new friends were old friends to others. so after school ended it was either frat party’s or staying at home binging kdramas.

you tried though. you went to three frat party’s in the three months you been their for no more then three minutes. after one minute you were seen as fresh meat, two y they stalked forward, and threw a bunch of horny college boys tired their luck with you

“his boobs were moving”. yunah tilted her head as she painted your nails.

“guys don’t have tits.. y/n”

“well.. he’s peeks like.. twitched..”. you heard a door open and you laughed at jihan s open mouth.

“you should have let me come..!”. as jihan played with your painted hand you went on to the point yunah had to close jihan a mouth herself.

snapping out of your daydream you stepped of the bus ear buds on. you went to get the essentials first. a new tooth brush since your roommate stepped on your old one, some more shower products then finally you got to your wants. walking into the sanrio store happy by wjsn playing in your ears.

you shopped to your hearts desire. or until you reached your debit cards limit. once you were done you wandered into a comic shop. but what caught your eye wasn’t the comics but the red and blue merch.

after coming to seol for that better education you soon found out in your part that somewhat resembled nyc a spiderman ran around helping peopl. last week it was snake in a tree, the next was the culprit of a cat napping and now you saw his suit on the cutest jacket.

$50

“fucking inflation”

“I know right..!”. you head jerked to the old white man in the front of the store.

“sorr-“

“no no I understand.. I tried to haggle it down but he’s just got to famous for that now..”. you smiled and as you put the tag of the jacket down you heard the caching.

“take it I’m closing up shop in a few days and it would suit you”. you tried to say no put the man put the jacket and something else in your bag and you bowed and thanked him on your way out. until you fell on your ass.

“watch it dude!”. when you looked up he was long gone and a bunch of people ran following. as you dusted of your legs you heard a stomp then another then another. you tried to scramble to your feet but his eyes trapped you. what looked like an old timely soldier. his eyes glowed blue.. it was like you were in a trance.

“thy must join me or per-“

“army’s are so old timey man just start a cult of something”. you saw red and blue legs infront of you.

“..I shall repeat myself onc-“

“are you alright miss?”. spider-man helped you up while simultaneously webbing the soldier to the mall wall.

“yeah.. shouldn’t you be fighting him though”

“feel like I should help a pretty lady escape first..”. you stood stunned when spider-man winked at you and rushed you to hide in his merch store..

“now how about you travel back in time and leave this poor mall alone..?”. the soldier broke the webs and charged at the webbed boy. spider-man dodged. webbing the soldiers face.

“I am the all powerful blamore kneel to me !”

“bla bla bla..”. spider-man pretends to yawn as the soldier pulled of the sword on his back and and tried to strike spider man again. put the man webbed it to wall.

“how far did you come from bro your really out of shape !”. after a couple hits taken from both men, you got tired of waiting. it had been twenty minutes and you could tell the solider was wearing down but spider-man was also.

“man let’s just call it a nig-“. you threw a spider man plushie at the soldier. both guys stated at you dumbfounded. taking this as you chance you keep on throwing the plushies. spider man getting the hint punched the solider in his face. after a few more hits the soldier fell unconscious. peering over the cash register spider man tilted his head at you hands gripping the counter.

“you know this is my job.. right..”

“didn’t look like it”. as you straightened up spider mans grip loosened as he chuckled. you didn’t know how to say it but you knew it wasn’t organic.

“are you using a voice changer?”. spider man stopped laughing and started to walk backwards as you left the counter and walked towards him.

“w-what no”. you crossed your arms as the spider tapped his neck twice and his voice got lower and then you heard a crack.

“did you just break your voice changer..?!”. giving up spider man nodded while staring at the floor. you bent your knees and tilted your head up at him.

“who knew seoul’s super hero was such a pus..”. as you smiled spider man raised his head and scratched his neck.

“I.. I peoples lives you know”

“mm”

“I mean the lady’s love me..!”. the spider gestured to the store. you picked up your jacket and your shopping bags and looked back at the strange guy.

“you have a really attractive voice spider boy”. you heard a pft as you walked out of the store

“and you have a nice style”. if there was ever a time you would be able to blush this would be it.

as the weeks went on you started to drift more to the spider man side of seoul. suddenly you found yourself searching up about the spiders past saves. a kid from a car that was falling of a bridge, a vaulter and much more. with this new interest came new merch.

“omg it’s like your his groupie now..”. jihan said as she showed one of the spider-man plushies to yunah who giggled.

“I mean it’s not like his an eyesore..”. with that jihan jumped on your bed.

“did you know hana was there when that guy tried to steal those old lady’s purses and she swore she saw the imprint of his abs on his suit..!”. you grabbed the plushie and put it back on your bed.

“hana also probably has connections to that one big drug dealer”. jihan wrinkled her nose and waved you off.

“well you should know y/n.. you were in the mall when that soldier guy stormed in right..?”

“blamore, he’s a soldier from like caesar’s time..”. jihan and yunah looked at eachother.

“I think your a little obsessed”

“no I just became.. a fan”. jihan looked you up and down.

“that spider man shirt says otherwise..”. you threw one of your other shirts on her and yunah giggled.

“are we going to get jihan that c or what ?”

“you said I could get an a !”. as you changed and jihan pouted yunah patted her head.

“yeah in a few years if you actually had a studying schedule..”. you giggled as you grabbed your purse and jihan stomped out of your dorm room.

approaching the library jihan gobbled down her corn dog.

“like what I’m going to slather the book pages with ketchup?”

“knowing how you eat you probably would”. jihan pushed you and before you noticed it you collide with something.

“oh shit I’m sorry”

“no problem.. just watching your step next time”. with that and a smile the tomboyish girl hurried into the library.

“nerd”

“that’s got to be you in a few weeks if you want to pass that math final !”. as yunah went on jihan zoned out and so did you. for some weird reason you felt compelled to the tomboyish girl. she looked really cute with her backwards cap, and her sweatshirt that was way to big for her.. how could she make her mess of a low bun look so good..?

“earth to y/n it’s been and hour and all you have done to help is stare blankly at the exit.. I think that means we should leave !”. jihan said as she turned to yunah who was nose deep in a book.

“sorry was just thinking about something”

“your web man”

“he’s not my anything”

“you zoned out and drew him in a sticky note.. he must mean something to you..”. your eyes widened at the post-it note jihan held up snatching it and throwing it at the trash can.

“if your not going to any help to help me study at least have aim”. you flicked the girls forehead as you actually started to help her. in the corner of your eye you swore you saw someone pick your trash up put never put it in the actual trash. to bad jihan face planting into her books distracted you.

one hour turned into two and two turned into four and you all parted your ways from the library. you ended up walking a small corner store for a small snack. as you walked in the owner waved you at and you smiled back. you grabbed your favorite snacks and a drink and as you were about to check out you felt something cold on your neck.

“get me the money from the cash register of I shoot her”. your breath shallowed as the owner hurriedly tried to find the key. a soldier and now a robber who smelt like.. tuna.. what’s next..?

suddenly the pressure of the gun was gone and your eyes darted to your side.

“I didn’t even get to ask for her number yet dude..!”. the robber struggled to get up while spider man turned to you.

“you ok..?”

“you should as the cash-“. turning to face the counter you saw the man had run out the door.

“looks like he’s spoken for”. you giggled and your swore the bug boys eyes widened.

“you gunna ask for my number yet..?”. the boy tilted his head and then you could feel the presence of his smile.

“yeah just gotta catch a bad guy no biggy”. you nodded as spider man webbed the robber to the stores door. webbing his mouth last.

“so that..”. you placed a note in his hand and as you walked out you turned around and signaled a call me with your fingers. so while spider boy geeked out you skipped all the way to your dorm snacks acquired. for the next two weeks you kept having run ins with the webbed boy.

“you didn’t answer my call”. you could hear the pout in the boys voice as you looked up from your subway seat. realizing your lips were suck tapped and so where your hands the boy jumped down and untied you.

“are you trying to say texting some spider boy is more important then my college degree..?”. thinking for amount spider man spoke.

“ya I thought we had something”. spider-man patted his chest as we walked away to un-duck tape the rest of the passengers.

“no you have a thing for stalking me..”

“not my fault your so crime prone”. you smiled as the boy stuck a note onto the subway hijackers head.

“you think that’s enough?”

“mmhm ‘someone’s been a very bad boy sorry cops sad face’”. you turned and frowned at the spider boy at the last part.

“don’t drown your ruin your beautiful face”. spider man nudged your face up as he heard multiple feet coming your way and winked and webbed the ceiling and left.

a few days later a museum was under attack by some rogue robots.

“you didn’t pay for the damages you caused for the subways ceiling..!”. as spider man pummeled one of the robots face in he laughed.

“you know your voice is even more pretty over the phone..!”

“your basically a villian too..”. as spider man beat the last robot her walked over and crouched down to your level.

“I thought girls liked bad guys..”

“considering your a boy and not a guy..”. spider smiled and untied your hands.

“get your degree or something dumb isn’t the new cute you know..”

“property damage isn’t the new hot..”. spider man winked at you as police ran in.

then again a week later at a outdoor frat party with some unwanted witch guests

“so you see I’ve been thinking..”

“shit you do that”. as spider man threw several webs at the witches he faked a laugh.

“could we maybe go on a date..”

“you don’t even have my actual number..”. he paused.

“what..?!”

“I gave you some sex lines number.. i don’t know who’s under that mask”. behind the bar you winked.

“your wicked..! we had deep conversations..!”. webs flew everywhere only a few catching the witches as they chanted spells that made him levitate.

“about what..?”

“how far cindy was from my location..!”. you giggled. he got your humor.

“so how about that date”. one witch was knocked out the other wouldn’t back down.

“where?”

“the roof of the candy exhibit on crest street..?”

“sure..spidey”. with a laugh spiderman webbed the witch to the floor and walked over to you.

“wear your best dress”

“wear your best onesie..”

“hah your funny”

“does it look ok?”. jihan and yunah titled their heads and then jihan ran over to you pulling the dress up a bit.

“perfect”

“I feel the air on my ass jihan”. the girl shrugged.

“just looked like you were in a night gown before sorry..”. you playfully hit her as yunah gave you your bag.

“remember I put a taser in your bag if anything goes wrong”

“what do you mean?”. jihan laughed.

“this man’s enemies are all over the city.. you might need it..”. you sighed as jihan reapplied your lipstick and you walked out the door. you decided to talk but you started to regret that decision as the high heels jihan picked out seemed to not be on your side today.

so as you half hazardly limped to the rooftop, a certain spider’boy’ just got home. spiderman slowly opened his window and crawled onto his ceiling. quietly crawling down the wall to jump infront of his door tapping the middle of his chest to tak of his suit.

“DUDE HAVE SOME SELF AWARENESS”. spiderman screamed like a girl because he?.. she was one. minji kim one day while studying like crazy fell asleep and got bit by a spider and she screamed the same way.

“HANNI WHAT THE FICK ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

“i don’t know you texted me to get here so as a good friend I did! what’s up?”. as minji changed into some streetwear hanni rolled her eyes.

“you stalked a girl and she willingly went on a date with you.. scratch that she probably was just scared…”. minji threw her back pack at the girl and she fell backwards onto the bunk bed.

“I swear she flirted with me though.. on like all occasions?”

“what happens when she finds out your a girl and not some.. tom holland look alike?”. minji paused and cursed.

“what if I just go in my suit? I could date a girl in my suit right?”. hanni sat up.

“mhm every girl loves making out with latex suits”. wiggling her eyebrows hanni made minji laugh and bit her lip.

“well maybe I’ll just wear the suit this time”. I’m lightning speed minji changed.

“you liked the tie”. minji flicked the tie she glued onto the suit as hanni looked between her and the door.

“FUCK AUNT TAEYEON! ”. taeyeon slapped the back of minji’s head.

“you got beat and bruised to ask out a girl who doesn’t even know your a girl??”. Minji scratched the back of her neck.

“no..”. taeyeon hit the back of her head again.

“your lucky I got a date.. if your not home by twelve your internship is done..”. aunt tae squinted her eyes at the teenage girl and then broke into a smile.

“so happy your finally dating.. oh wasn’t it yesterday I found out you even liked humans in gen-“. minji pushed aunt taeyeon as hanni giggled.

“can’t wait to hear about your date..!”. minji scowled as she climbed out her window but as soon as she was jumping from building to building no one but her knew the smile she held underneath her mask.

“is he calling me fat or something.. these stairs are killing me…

you stopped in your tracks as you reached the door leading to the rooftop. you heard promise by laufey playing. what guy listens to laufey..? opening the door you saw spiderman straighten up in his seat patting the pillow next to him.

“your late..”

“I just went up like twenty flights of stairs your lucky I even came..”. you stopped to see fairy lights lining the rooftop and peering below you a checkered blanket two pillows a basket and a candle. even further below a market of people with dazzling lights.

“pretty right..?”. you rolled your eyes to see spiderman already looking at you.

“I’m eighteen not stupid..”. Spider-Man held his head low as you giggled.

“oh thank god I was thinking you could be way older..”. you gasped and hit his knee.

“your the one head to toe covered in a suit!”. he laughed as he opened the basket. to reveal two sandwhiches, cupcakes and sugary soft drinks. spider-man set it all up and when he finnished looked at you.

“why are you smiling like that”. minji blushed a bit. after all her joking she finally looked at your outfit and you looked perfect.

“what I can’t smile?”

“no I mea-“

“just didn’t expect you to be such a gentleman..”. minji smiled and stood up urging you to join her. you stood up and tilted your head. minji got closer and you froze. she held your waist to make sure you didn’t fall and tilted your chin from her to the sky.

“woah..”

“yeah.. guess we haven’t ruined everything on earth..”. you smiled as you looked back at her.

“you really do so much.. what if I didn’t come?”. you stood on your tippy toes with your chin up, minji laughed.

“your lose..”. she got closer.

“your some random guy in a spider suit..”. you got closer.

“who fights crime”. she got closer.

“and looks hot doing it..”. as you got closer and closer you attempted to close your eyes as you pulled up his mask. thump thump thump.

“look dude I’m pret-“

slam

you turned around to see the warrior. blamore. he grabbed you by the waist and jumped two times the height of the building all the way to the infamous bridge spidey fought the reptile doctor at. it wasn’t easy for him though you keep tazing him the whole ride there.

“let me go !”

“not until your warrior is defeated !”. you rolled your eyes as he sat you on the roof of a car and used his gold rope to tie you up. you rolled your eyes as he use the rope around your mouth.

“you may delay the fight if you keep using that mouth of yours”. people ran and screamed as he seemed to power up glowing with every step he took looking in the sky for spider-man.

“you ruined my date”. blamore had no time to react as he was slammed onto the roof of a car.

“I study all day..”. a punch to the ribs.

“and all fucking night..”. a dislocation of his left leg.

“to finally ask her out..”. spiderman is punched to the floor.

“and you ruin it”. getting up a fist fight starts with a jab to blamores face and a sword slash to spider-man’s torso. instead of just watching you picked up your taser and while bending over backwards to laser through the rope you broke it taking of the rope on your mouth aswell. but instead of running a way for some reason you saw a baseball bat on the road and took it up.

somehow spiderman was now holding onto the bridge with all the strength he had left. the slashes with the sword never stopped and now he was bloody on the side of the bridge. but as blamore got closer you hit him over the head and helped spidey up.

just before you felt something on your throat.

“jump and she stays alive”. amour worn down hay knocked off and blamore still wanted the fight. you tried to use the taser but blamore just used it agonist your waist. you tried to not cry but that just made the tears fall down.

“spide-“

“it’s ok..”. backing away spider man fell. but just as soon as he fell you saw a web on your waist. the sword loosened and suddenly you were in his arms. blamore threw his sword with all his might but as she ran towards spidey he fell to his own demise.

“you ok?”. spiderman held your face in his hands.

“are you ok…”. you stared down at his waist and helped him to the side of a car.

“I’m so sorry.. guess he was just jealous..”. you pulled out tiny band aids and he laughed.

“just.. just text my bestfriend..”. with a sigh he told you his passcode and you texted the username ‘nando’ and caressed his cheek.

“shouldn’t I take of your ma-“

“no..”

“I’ll have a better chance fixing your face..!”. minji threw his head back.

“just..just close your eyes for a minute”. you did and after a minute you felt two hands take them away. infront of you sat a korean girl with a busted lip a cut on her eyebrow and some scratches here and there.. the finest one being under her right eye. immediately you put a spiderman band aid under her eye.

“no reaction..”

“you still look hot.. just more bloody then I expected”. minji laughed as you patched up her face with tissue and whatever was in your bag.

“you liked bruised college students..?”

“didn’t know thugs went to school”

“it’s not my fault he interrupted our date..”. you but your lip.

“should have just finished him off at the mall..”

“dirty.. I like it..”. you gasped as minji winked. as he held onto your waist and webbed his way throught the city. as you landed on the rooftop you stood stunned. minji patted your hair down and sat down.

“my names minji..”

“huh..”

“minji kim”. you turned around still in a haze.

“can we finnish our date now.. before the ants get to it..?”. minji tilted her head and you still shocked sat down next to her and took a bite of the sandwhich.

“you can’t cook for shit”. spiting out the sandwhich minji frowned.

“..I thought hybe had the best cooking classes..”. you laughed.

“I go there two how have I never seen you..?”

“I don’t know.. maybe because I’m always.. I don’t know.. fighting crime”. you nudged her shoulder as she ate her cupcake.

“oh fuck your right..”. you laughed as minji told you to turn around so she could change and you both could get some actual food. while at the same time as hanni approached the bridge she looked to to see a text ‘I’m still bloody just eating ramen with her! love uuuuu’

“sooo since I got a big fat c- can we go to that tanghulu stall! you can bring sunoo and and taesan”. you nodded as you text your new boy-friends. after last weeks events you thought making new friends was nothing. you even went to invite hanni too.

“sooo.. can you also invite the mystery girl..?”. you sighed and typed away as yunah poked your waist.

“so sad nothing happened with spidey though..”. jihan sighed.

“what if he had like a hot friend.. we would have it it of-“. jihan triped walking backwards and fell into the hands of a certain australian.

“oh shit you ok..?”. jihan looked up star gazed with a certain hue of pink dotting her cheeks.

“I’m jihan..”. hanni nodded and waved to you.

“oh hay I didn’t know you were still on campus we were heading to the tanghulu place!”. you laughed as minji opened her mouth.

“I told you we were going the right way”. just as you went to her side you felt something coming your way.

“oh shit sorry.. y-“. minji held the football in her hands and handed to the black haired boy.

“minji.. just got fast reflex’s ha ha..”. minji scratched the back of her head as sunoo nudged you about her. looking up you saw a big boom a few blocks away. you looked over to see minji already gone, hanni texting you.

“oh guys I forgot I got to study!”. jihan pulled on your sleeve as hanni volunteered to help you and as the rest left you looked up to see a certain spider slinging from building to building. jumping in the black van hanni looked at the cameras as you put in your ear piece. to hear some famous lines from spidey that the old shop keeper would probably put on a t-shirt as Minji approached the new villian.

“oh sorry dude I’m just swinging in”

[augustjustice]

Sharing Smokes Outside the Snow Ball

AO3 Link

It's the Winter of 1999, and Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson are standing outside the Hawkins Middle School Snow Ball, sharing a smoke.

Eddie can't believe he's back here, the whole thing feeling nearly as surreal as that nightmare, wayward Spring Break over ten years ago. He'd barely made it out of that hell hole alive, Steve himself practically having to hold Eddie together as they made their way from Forest Hill to Hawkins Memorial Hospital.

Spring had turned into summer, sweltering and oppressive as Eddie slowly, painfully healed.

There had been bright spots, though. Watching Lucas and Erica squabble during the one-shot campaign he had cooked up just for the party that June. Evenings out beside the Harrington's temperature controlled pool, beer bottle sweating in his hand as he traded a joint back and forth between Argyle and Jonathan, the sound of Robin's cackle loud and bright as she managed to hipcheck Steve into the pool. Steve's own blinding smile--a longtime feature of Eddie's secret high school fantasies--being turned on him the first time he made it from the front doors of the physical therapy clinic to the passenger side of his BMW, without needing any help at all.

But then summer had ended, and Eddie, finally back together again like a character out of a children's nursery rhyme, had packed up his van and headed straight to Chicago, not looking back.

Sure, there'd been post cards sent, phone calls to Dustin and the other Hellfire brats, promises to see everyone soon. Promises that Eddie couldn't keep, even if he wanted to.

Not when he didn't dare set foot in Hawkins, not ever again.

Then, over a decade into his second life as a struggling guitarist by night, record shop employee by day, his cousin Brooke had landed on his doorstep, looking too tired and too young all at once, a bruise around her eye. Behind her, her eleven year old son was studying the apartment hall's tiling.

"I left him." Eddie didn't need an explanation for that one. Her good-for-nothing husband, Nash. "Jake won't be any trouble, he just...needs a place to stay, while I get back on my feet. Somewhere his daddy can't find him. Just for a little while."

Eddie thought of his Mama. And then he called Wayne.

"Shit, Uncle Wayne, I--don't know what to do."

"Come on home now, boy," Wayne said, easy as anything, like Eddie had left only yesterday. "Come on back home."

So Eddie had.

That had been six months ago. And now he was standing in the aforementioned middle school parking lot with Steve 'the Hair' Harrington, while their kids--and wasn't that just a fucking head trip and a half--danced the night away.

"I keep half expecting Click to round the corner screaming my name," Eddie admits as he gives Steve a light. "Remember junior year, I sold to you in the alley behind the gym? Old bat nearly got me that time."

"Remember? I literally had to shove that joint down the front of my shorts, dude," Steve admits, which draws a snort out of Eddie to match his own chuckle. "Most of the guys on the basketball team couldn't move half as fast as you did that day. You practically vanished into the woods before she even made it to the stadium. Totally shoulda gone out for the track team, Eds."

Eddie clutches his chest, as though he's been shot. "Don't speak such blasphemy to me, Harrington."

"Yeah, well, you can quit worrying. Pretty sure she finally retired," Steve tells him, taking a long drag before he's passing the cigarette back to Eddie, even that brief touch enough to send sparks of electricity up Eddie's arm. Then he shoots Eddie that charming, infamous Harrington smile, boyish and cocky, the one that says he's used to getting exactly what he wants. "Even if she's not, I'm head of the PTA. If Higgins tries anything, I'll just threaten not to bring cupcakes to the next bake sale."

"Harrington, my hero," Eddie fakes a swoon, collapsing for a brief second against Steve's shoulder, an excuse to get close.

The theatrics get no rise out of Steve beyond an amused smirk. Even after all these years, he's still used to Eddie's antics, it seems.

"You know, it was total déjà vu," he nods to the middle school gymnasium, all decked out in blue and white, "dropping Sam off here."

Though he's actually gotten to know the Harrington offspring in person since he's been back, Eddie had received the rundown from Dustin and the others on Steve's journey to dadhood in their scattered calls over the years.

The December after Eddie had left, Steve had met a girl, taken her out on a few dates, and accidentally gotten her pregnant.

With Samantha, a name Dustin had proudly persuaded Steve into as the little girl's godfather. Every bit as adorable, now that Eddie had seen her, as the gushing picture the party had painted for him, all big blue eyes and wavy chestnut hair just like her father's.

Steve had gotten down on one knee long before she was born, determined to tie the knot and do right by her mother nearly as soon as he'd heard the news.

The pair had been divorced not even two years later.

"I don't think they were ever really in love," Dustin had informed Eddie one sunny afternoon impromptu of nothing, as always blunt in his honesty. "But you know what Steve is like. He's a hopeless romantic."

Eddie didn't, not exactly. But he's gotten enough glimpses, both back in '86 and much more recently, that he's starting to put the picture together.

Steve draws Eddie out of that particular reverie with another bright laugh. And then he's recounting the memory of Dustin's hair, done up in the infamous Harrington 'do, as Steve pulled up in front of the '84 Snow Ball playing chaperone in his trusty Beemer, long since traded in for the much more affordable sedan he's driving now.

"I demand photographic evidence, Harrington," Eddie insists, smile crooked, that distracting dimple appearing in his right cheek, "you can't conjure up an image like that and then not fork over the goods."

"Hey, man, talk to Dustin. Mrs. Henderson took like...a million pictures that night," Steve laughs.

But he's already mentally going through the album tucked away on a bookcase back at home, positive he's got his own photo to show for it. It'll make for a nice excuse to invite Eddie over for dinner one night.

The subject turns then to their own checkered experiences with school dances.

"Class of '85, baby! That's when they made your 'King Steve' title official," Eddie crows, teasing as he taps Steve once on the nose.

Steve goes a bit cross-eyed, following the movement of his finger.

"Yeah, well, talk about a total let-down of a night. I didn't even bring a date," Steve admits, tone blasé. The truth is, his entire senior year had been something of a disappointed trudge towards graduation, a walk he had taken mostly alone. There had been bright spots--the little band of miscreants he'd fallen into babysitting, for one--but they had all been far outside the walls of Hawkins High. "I'm guessing you weren't around for that? Not really your scene, especially with the Munson Doctrine's strict rules about 'forced conforming.'"

He puts Eddie's words in deliberate air quotes, his turn to give him a teasing smile.

"You're wrong about that one, big boy. I saw them, adorning your glorious locks with the crown." That mischievous smile is back. "We're not that old, dude, don't tell me you already forgot the whole 'prom streaking' incident?"

Eddie shoots him a loaded, deliberate look.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Shaking his head with a laugh, Steve waves his arms in front of him, like he's calling a time out. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me. That was you?"

"The one and only. What can I say, Jeff and Gareth dared me. Besides, by that point," Eddie shrugs casually, "I already knew I didn't have a shot at graduating anyway, so. Thought I'd close out the year with a bang."

"You've seriously never considered doing anything halfway in your life, have you, Munson?" Steve asks, giving Eddie's shoulder an almost exasperated nudge, smile fond in spite of himself.

"Absolutely not, Stevie boy. Life's too short. Where's the fun in playing it safe?"

Eddie swings into Steve's space, then, dark eyes sparkling. Goading and flirtatious. Just like when they were teenagers, thrown together in the worst of circumstances but making the best of it, before time and pain and trauma put all that distance between them.

And if Steve's eyes drop down to Eddie's lips as they share air, slow enough it can't be anything but deliberate, and their fingers brush just a tad too intimately the next time they trade the cigarette back and forth...well. They've got a lot of lost time--and shared smokes in school parking lots--to make up for.

[allwaswell16]

A One Direction fic rec of fics where a character asks another character who did this to you or something similar as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

— Louis/Harry —

💢 Remember Me Before You by @kingsofeverything

(E, 293k, New Girl au) Desperate to find a new place to live after he comes home to find his boyfriend cheating, Harry moves into a loft with three strangers.

💢 Undone, Undress by @angelichl

(E, 134k, uni) Louis' new roommate is shy, skittish, and flinches at the slightest sounds. He's an art major who gets drunk on cherry wine, wears lacy lingerie, and shows up late at night covered in bruises that blossom across his skin like flowers.

💢 Rogue by Laventriloque

(NR, 95k, a/b/o) Louis is a rogue Omega who's suffered through rejection and abuse for the biggest part of his life. He stumbles onto the Styles pack, quite possibly the kindest one he's ever met.

💢 Here In The Afterglow by fondleeds / @harrybridgers

(NR, 88k, hurt/comfort) 1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

💢 Spell my name wrong and take me in your arms by phacochere_9

(NR, 65k, coffee shop) Harry is in an abusive relationship. He meets Louis, the cute barista with all the tattoos.

💢 Petrichor by spotofpurple

(T, 64k, book store) When Harry has a panic attack in front of Louis’ bookshop and the older boy helps him, a weird friendship is formed. And soon developed into something neither of the boys expected.

💢 Strong in the Broken Places by @phdmama

(E, 46k, famous/not famous) A chance encounter leads Louis to a new job opportunity, and new relationships that will change his entire life.

💢 Buried Like Treasure by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(E, 40k, royal au) Semi-retired thief Louis Tomlinson has been pulled in for one last job: steal a painting from an uninhabited mansion. Neither one of them expects a natural disaster.

💢 Through a Mirror Dimly by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(M, 38k, uni au) Harry Styles, in his first year at university, has just been kicked out of one dorm and doesn't want to deal with yet another snobby, rich roommate. They don't get along, and that's just how it is, until circumstances force them to reevaluate.

💢 where the lights are beautiful by twoshipsdrifting / @polkadotlou

(M, 31k, a/b/o) the accidental bonding a/b/o fic

💢 Home (It's You) by sunniskies

(M, 28k, a/b/o) Louis and Harry are neighbors who can't seem to get along...until they fall in love.

💢 Keep You Sheltered From The Storm That's Raging On. by alxclightwood / @brooklynbis

(T, 7k, established relationship) Louis is possibly the best teacher ever, Harry owns his own bakery, and both give up their night to help a young student in trouble.

💢 I'd never hurt you by Larryswonderworld

(NR, 6k, established relationship) In which Harry gets beaten by a homophobic asshole, Harry's parents are sure that Louis is the one who causes the bruises on Harry's body, Louis just wants to help.

💢 Together We're the Greatest by @hellolovers13

(E, 4k, exes) It's not the first time Louis has to stitch Harry back together, but Louis will make sure it is the last.

💢 Healing Love by chaotic_muffin

(NR, 1k, a/b/o) Harry Styles, an omega, runs away from his abusive parents and lands in Louis Tomlinson's territory without realizing it.

— Rare Pairs —

💢 You remember burning cigarettes in my skin? by Ziamismyotp

(M, 41k, Zayn/Liam) where Zayn made it out of a bad relationship alive but you never come out of those things completely unscratched, do you?

💢 for your eyes only by @muldxr

(M, 9k, Harry/James Bond) While on a dangerous mission, 007 reunites with an old flame.

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Flufftober Day 7 | Swinging together

Pairing | Husband!Tony Stark x Pregnant!Wife!Female!Reader

Word count | 1.8K

Summary | You have always dreamt of having a porch swing on your porch, and now that you and Tony are moving into your new house, this is the perfect opportunity. He will do everything he can to build it before your baby boy arrives and make your little family complete.

Warning(s) | None.

Prompt(s) | 7. Porch swing | @flufftober 2023

A/n | This one shot is written for day 7 of Flufftober 2023. I will add the missing days as I go with this challenge, but for now I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did when writing it! 🖤

Likes, comments and reblogs will be very much appreciated 🧡

Divider is made by @cafekitsune | GIF credit goes to the owner

Main Masterlist | Tony Stark Masterlist | Flufftober Masterlist

It has been almost a year since you and Tony both retired from being an Avenger, though Tony occasionally goes back to help plan long missions when necessary. It happened more initially, but the day you and Tony found out you were pregnant, he went less and less.

Now you're sitting sideways on the couch on a warm spring day, your feet lying in Tony's lap as he's giving your feet a well-deserved massage, if you say so yourself.

''I think I have an idea what I want to put on the porch of our new house,'' you tell him, and Tony looks at you expectantly while he keeps rubbing your feet.

''And what would that idea be, Gorgeous?'' Tony asks.

''I have always wanted a beautiful porch swing in front of my house to sit and watch life go on in front of us, and when our little boy is here, I would love to sit with him on the swing while I talk about us,'' you say, a dopey grin forming on your face at the thought.

Tony thinks about it for a bit, and after a few minutes, he gives you the biggest smile. ''We can do that for our Munchkin and his amazing Mom, too.''

But before he could get started, the three of you needed to move into the new house first, and all the Avengers had agreed to help the two of you out on moving day a few weeks later.

You can only do a little to help, but they don't mind. Everyone thinks taking care of yourself, and the baby is more important than putting unnecessary strain on either of you.

You've opted to wear a maternity dress that shows off your growing belly since it will be a warm spring day again. Your hair is pulled into a loose ponytail, and you're not wearing make-up, instead opting to accessorize with your glasses.

As soon as the Avengers arrive, they all flock to you, as they don't see you as often now. ''You're glowing!'' ''The baby is growing so fast,'' and ''I can't believe you're this far along already,'' are only a few comments they let loose on you.

''Could you leave my wife alone long enough to get some moving done? I want to be done by the end of the day, not the next week!'' Tony jokes dryly, and they immediately get to work by loading every piece of furniture and all boxes into the trucks they've brought, and before you know it, your entire house is packed into a few trucks.

''Can you come inside with me for just a minute?'' you ask Tony, the others waiting patiently until you're ready. It's already past dinner time, but they'd stay all night if it's what you need.

''O'course,'' he says, and you grab his hand, leading him inside, walking into the house through your front door for one last time.

''I just need a few more minutes with just the three of us together in our old house to say goodbye to all our wonderful memories,'' you say as tears form in the corners of your eyes.

Tony pulls you into a soft hug, careful not to press too hard against your stomach, and you can't help but let the tears flow freely as you think back to all the beautiful memories.

All the anniversaries you've shared, the happy moments, the sad ones, and everything in between, from coming home after an extended mission to coming home after a night of drinking and partying.

This house has seen it all, but now you're leaving it behind to start a life in your new home accommodating your growing family. ''I can't believe we're leaving it all behind,'' you sniffle against Tony's chest, and he's shedding some of his own.

''I love you, Gorgeous.'' ''I love you too, Tony.''

After your tearful goodbyes, you walked out the door before leaving the keys inside, officially never returning to where you called home. Now you're getting ready for the new chapter in your life, in your new house.

The entire group of Avengers enveloped you in a group hug, letting you both know how much they love you.

''Right, time to get moving!'' you say before the group lets go with a lot of laughter.

Before you know it, Tony is behind the wheel of your car (his fancy cars were already at the new house), and you're sleeping in the car's passenger seat.

The other Avengers are paired in equal numbers over the other trucks, so they can switch if needed, but everyone decides to drive in one straight line to the new house. And this entire time, Tony's hand has rarely left your thigh, stroking it gently while your hands are protecting your belly.

The fact that you're moving to an entirely different state doesn't bother anyone, as they're happy to be along for the ride, but at some point, Tony decides to make a stop. Even though you're asleep, he wants to make a restroom stop just for you and others when necessary.

''Gorgeous?'' he nudges you awake gently, and with a snort, you wake up, earning a soft laugh from your husband.

''We're stopping for a toilet break; we're just over halfway there now,'' he says, pointing to a 24-hour diner, all the other Avengers already waiting outside for the two of you.

''Thank you,'' you say, followed by a small yawn as Tony gets up and over to your side of the door, ready to help you get up since that's not as easy as it used to be.

When you're standing, all of you go inside, and you, Nat, and Wanda go to the toilet while the men sit down and order food because they're starving.

The girls were done pretty quickly, but even with a baby pushing on your bladder, it was still a little shy; you don't particularly like using the toilet in places you're not familiar with yet, but after a few minutes, it finally worked.

''Sorry for that, shy bladder,'' you said with a shrug before washing your hands, but they don't mind. When you all return, Bucky stands up so you can slide into the booth next to Tony.

After a small peck on the lips, you sit comfortably, your back resting against the padded leather behind you, your hands on your stomach again, which is where they usually are nowadays.

''I got you some pancakes with extra maple syrup,'' Tony says, and you happily thank him since that's precisely what you've been craving. It's almost as if he's read your mind.

After the food has arrived and it's all gone, everyone continues the journey, but this time, you're taking your place in the backseat of your car, where you can lie down relatively comfortably for the rest of the drive.

Once you're there, Steve and Bucky get the bed out of the trucks and set up in the bedroom, which is done effortlessly between them.

''Gorgeous? Are you ready to get up and sleep in an actual bed? Steve and Bucky put it together for you already, so you can continue sleeping there; you're going to need it,'' Tony asks, and you sleepily nod.

''G'night everyone,'' you say, followed by another yawn and a small wave.

''I kept some of your pajamas, underwear, and clean clothes in a separate bag so we don't have to overhaul everything right now,'' Tony says as he walks you upstairs, the rest of the Avengers loading stuff out of the trucks and putting them in their respective places.

That night, you sleep like a log while everyone works as fast as possible to ensure everything is perfect with the little one on his way, at which they succeeded perfectly.

Over the two and a half months following the move, Tony has been constantly working on a brand new porch swing, and it's finally done. You're watching him as he puts the finishing touches on it.

It's a cooler day today, so you're wearing a comfortable outfit, especially now that the baby can come anytime. And it is almost as if the baby knew the swing would be done because you're actually going into labor later that day.

''T-Tony? We need to go to the hospital,'' you say with a strained voice, and within an instant, he's by your side and ready to go to have your son. The hospital bag is packed and ready to go, so you're out the door quickly.

Once you arrive in the hospital, you're immediately taken to the delivery ward, where you'll spend the next 12 hours in labor; your son decided to take his time to come out. Once he is finally here, you can't help but cry happy tears, mainly because he's a carbon copy of his Dad.

''Shall we call everyone?'' you ask, and you decide to FaceTime Bucky since he usually picks up his phone right away. You're holding your beautiful son in your arms, and Tony sits beside you on the bed.

Your iPad is placed on a table that hovers over your legs. It doesn't take long for him to pick up, and a happy face greets you.

''Hi, doll! How is-'' is all he says before he sees your son, and he can't help but run to the others before saying anything else.

''Guys, guys! Look!'' he says, and one by one, you see everyone passing by and congratulating you on the birth of your beautiful baby boy.

''We're so happy for you; we can't wait to meet the little fella in real life,'' Bucky says as he grabs his phone again, turning it sideways so you can see everyone.

''Can we guys tell you his name? Because we're excited to share it after keeping it a secret for so long,'' you say, and everyone is instantly excited.

''His name,'' Tony starts, ''Is Edward Howard Stark. Named after both Dad and Granddad,'' he says; you can practically see everyone melting when they hear it.

After a few more congratulations and promises to see each other again soon, they hang up, and you're left to bask in the enjoyment that is the little bundle of joy in your arms.

''He's beautiful, just like you,'' you tell Tony, and he captures your lips in a soft, sweet kiss that makes you crave more of the same, just like each of his kisses has done all these years.

The next day, you're all allowed to go home, and the first thing you do when you're back is take your place on the porch swing with Edward and Tony.

''This will be the first of many more times we'll be swinging together, Munchkin,'' you say to Edward, and Tony wholeheartedly agrees. Life was already great, but now it is perfect.

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

hii can I request yuuji with a spoiled rich girl gf who invites him over a lil pool day so that she can tease him because its been a while since they had sex? Thank you 🥰🫶🏾

Like A Good Boy 💦 (sub!BF!Itadori x Dom!Black!GF!Reader 18+ One Shot) [REQUEST FILL]

Pairing: Yuji Itadori x Black!Fem!Reader

Synopsis: In which Yuji, your adorable, pent-up boyfriend, gets an invite to your fabulous pool to spend time with you, his sexy, rich girlfriend, on a hot summer day that only gets hotter the more you tease him.

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+; BF!Itadori; Girlfriend!Reader; Black-coded!Fem!Reader; Teasing; Semi-Clothed Sex; 69ing; Deepthroat; Oral (Giving & Receiving); Fingering; Tit Fuck; FemDom!Reader/msub!Itadori; Public Sex; Cumming Together; Begging; Pussy Drunk!Itadori

Writer’s Note: I’m so sorry this took me so long, anon! I’ve been SO tied up with schoolwork and commissions. But I hope you enjoy this & thank you for requesting! ❤️ -Jazz

*********

“B-Baby, are you…oh, fuck…are you sure none can see…s-shit!…see us over here?”

“I promise you they can’t, Yuji. It’s just you and me in this cabana. Now be a good boy and let me keep strokin’ that big cock ‘cause you clearly need it.”

“O-Okay.” Yuji responded very softly, barely above a whisper, because he was too busy trying to bite back a moan as your hand gripped around the base of his cock and stroked upward so nicely.

He loved watching you stroke his cock. It was always such a treat to see his beautiful, amazing, wealthy girlfriend on her knees for him, treating him so sweetly. It was a treat now, especially since you were in your Fendi bikini.

His mouth watered at the sight of you between his thighs in your private cabana that overlooked the large pool glittering in the hot summer sun. Your warm, brown skin and glossy manicured nails looked so sexy against his pale complexion and thick, throbbing cock.

His yellow swim trunks with palm trees printed on them hung low at his ankles, forgotten and ignored. He had put them on to prepare for the pool day you had invited him to over at your house while your parents were away on a business trip.

Your folks were extremely wealthy because of their professions—your mom was a retired actress who mentored other young souls in the industry with her own agency and your father was a famous food critic who often traveled for TV shows and events. Your mom had gone with him to Italy this time for a documentary on cooking.

“They won’t be home till Monday afternoon,” you had purred into the phone. Today was a beautiful Friday, hot and sunny…and perfect for teasing your boo. “Wanna come over?”

Originally, you had invited Yuji over to only spend the day by your to-die-for pool with some takeout and drinks. But later, you called back and told him to bring an overnight bag. “Pack for 3 days,” you told him. He was over here in an instant.

You couldn’t wait to get your hands on him, neighbors be damned. You knew that anyone could look over the wired fence surrounding the pool and back patio to see you playing with your boyfriend’s dick in your cabana, but you didn’t care.

You realized just how long it’s been since you both had sex and you wanted to make him feel even more desperate than you did.

“You’re so sexy like this, Yu,” you purred, peering up at him under your lashes. “And so, so hard. You been waitin’ for this, haven’t you?”

Yuji nodded as fast as a bobble head, making him that much cuter. His handsome face was as pink as his hair, his eyes no more than tiny slits that gazed down at you as you used one of your other hands to play with his balls.

“Mmm, I bet,” you teasingly said. “I bet you were so excited to come over here ‘cause you missed me so much…especially my mouth.” Slowly, you wrapped your lips around him and engulfed his cock in your hot, wet mouth.

“Fuck!” Yuji moaned, tilting his head back at the feeling of your soft, plush, Fenty Beauty-coated lips wrapped around his hard dick. His toes curled and his hands fisted the cushion below him. You giggled as you popped his cock out of your mouth. “You’re so cute, Yuji,” you cooed, sliding a hand up his abs. “And you’re all mine.”

You slid back down to suck on him again like he was your own personal lollipop, your head bobbing up and down. Yuji couldn’t believe how gorgeous you looked—your brown skin shone from the suntan oil he helped you slather on for your IG pictures, your gold jewelry glittering in the sun. He felt your necklace against his skin as your head came back down again and again, swallowing him.

“God, baby,” he whined. “You’re so good to me. You make me wanna fuck you so, so bad!” You moaned around his cock, his dirty words making your pussy throb in your thong. “You will, baby boy,” you whispered around his dick. “Just noooot yet. We don’t wanna rush it.”

You bent down low, sticking your ass in the air and giving Yuji a perfect view of your behind while you sucked on his balls. The view was way too much for Yuji, combined with the feeling of your soft, wet tongue tantalizingly licking his balls while you jerked him like it was your profession.

“Christ, Y/N!” He moaned, throwing his head back in total pleasure. “I-If you keep goin’ like that, I’m gonna…I-I’m gonna—!”

Immediately, you pulled away, leaving him panting and confused. “Uh-uh,” you tutted, wagging a finger at him. “Not yet, baby. You still need to please me too.” You leaned over to dig into your beach bag and pulled out a bottle of suntan oil. “Can you do my back for me?” You asked, batting your lashes at him. “You forgot to do it earlier.”

Yuji stared at you like you just grew two heads. This is how he can please you? “Uh…okay,” he hesitantly asked despite his cock throbbing and dripping in pre-cum. “Then can I fuck you?”

You took a moment to think about it, tapping your acrylic nail against your chin. “Maaaybe,” you giggled. “Do a good job gettin’ my back oiled up and we’ll see.”

Yuji huffed discouragingly, but squirted some oil in your hands while you straddled him, your ass facing him. He struggled to focus on oiling up your back because his eyes were too busy staring at your soft, perfect ass in that damn string thong.

“You’re goin’ kinda low, baby,” you whispered. “You still gotta do my shoulders.” Yuji’s hands quickly slid back up, unconsciously having gone straight to your waist. “S-Sorry,” he stuttered. “You just look really fuckin’ hot in this bikini, babe.”

You giggled, happy from the compliment. “Thank you, baby! I can tell how much you like it.” You shifted your weight on top of him, causing your fabric-covered pussy to slide against his cock settled beneath you.

Yuji groaned, struggling not to roll his hips up into you and grind himself against your thong. “Y’know, I can please you in another way too,” he murmured.”

“Oh?” You purred, looking back at him. He nearly busted at the sight of you sitting on top of him. “How s—oh, fuck, Yuji!”

Suddenly, Yuji was bending you over, moving your thong to the side, and planting his mouth on your sobbing, wet cunt while his hands massaged oil into the flesh of your ass. His soft lips and tongue tickled your clit and slurped at your folds, each ministration enough to make you fuck his mouth.

“Oh, my God, Yuji,” you sighed. “You’re so, so good at this! At this rate, you’ll be inside me in no time.” He evidently liked the sound of that because his licks became deeper, his tongue exploring you like he hadn’t ever eaten you out before.

You reached down to take his cock in your hands, relishing the way he shivered. “I need to make you feel good too,” you sighed before taking him deep in your throat.

“Fuck!” Yuji moaned into your pussy, sending vibrations throughout your folds and throbbing clit. “Please, baby, take me deeper. I fuckin’ need you so bad!”

“Mmm-hmm,” you hummed around his cock, gagging on him as you did. You could feel him at the back of the throat the more you bobbed your head along his cock, taking every inch that you could while your hands stroked his shaft.

Finally, you pulled away and looked back at him, your lips coated in saliva. “Fuck my throat, baby boy,” you cooed. “And I’ll fuck your mouth until we both cum for each other. That sound like a plan?”

Yuji didn’t even need to answer you. His ministrations grew sloppier as he dove back into your pussy, even adding a finger that slid so easily into your slick, wet folds. You moaned at the sudden, explosively pleasurable feeling, your mouth open agape.

“You’re so wet for me, babe,” Yuji groaned, sounding pained by the sight of his finger sinking into your gleaming cunt. “You make it so hard not to cum right now.”

He dove back into sucking on your pussy, his tongue swirling around your clit while his finger curled up to stimulate that spot. You could hardly focus on giving him neck because of how good he is. “Then do it,” you whined. “Cum for me whenever you want, baby boy. I’ll cum for you too. And then, you can finally fuck me as much as you want.”

You dove back down to suck him off, hollowing your cheeks and taking every throbbing inch of him deep in your wet throat. You just loved how he stretched out your mouth! Every part of you was touched and filled by him.

You knew it was going to feel like heaven when he finally fucked you. When you finally got to feel that big cock filling you up and stroking your insides until you came all over it. Again and again and again. Because your Yuji is a generous lover.

You felt that he was close when you felt his hands grip your ass a little harder and his cock began to throb in your mouth. “Fuck, baby!” He moaned, still finger fucking you in an effort to get you there. “You’re gonna make me cum!”

“Where you wanna cum, Yuji?” You teasingly asked. “In my mouth? On my ass? Maybe on my tits?” You leaned down and peeled off your bikini top, revealing your naked breasts and hard nipples to him and the summer breeze. “Tell me where you want it,” you demanded.

Yuji was losing it, too lost in the pleasure to speak. “I-I don’t care!” He gasped. “I just want it all over you! God, Y/N, please just make me cum!”

You smiled, satisfied with his begging. “Good boy,” you cooed. “Now be a good boy and give me all of that cum. Give me what’s mine and I’ll give you what’s yours.”

You went back to sucking him off, gagging and choking on his cock as you felt him draw his hips up to fuck your throat. You fucked his mouth too, your hips rolling on his face like you would a surfboard, twisting and grinding this way and that.

When you finally felt that knot in your core tighten, you grinded faster and harder against Yuji’s mouth. “Fuck, Yuji, I’m gonna cum!” You whined. “Keep going, baby! Don’t stop!”

Yuji moaned into your pussy and continued to fuck you with his tongue and finger, all worry about the neighbors gone. When you finally exploded on his tongue, he let out a loud moan only muffled by your ass as he finally busted into your mouth.

You moaned appreciatively as he gave you every bit of his cum, shooting it down your throat. Greedily, you popped off of him and let him shoot more onto your tits, putting his cock between them and sliding them along his shaft for more stimulation.

You soared through the clouds together, your orgasm highs taking you on a trip that only you could make happen for each other. As you came, you giggled, delirious from the pleasure and Yuji’s skillful mouth.

Finally, your cries and moans of pleasure died down into sighs and pants accompanied by the soft splashing of the pool water. “Oh, wow,” you sighed, rolling off of him. He grabbed for you instantly, hugging your damp, semi-naked body against his. You fit so perfectly against him.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a sigh. “That was amazing. You always make me feel so good, babe. I really needed that.”

You smiled, looking up at him and his twinkling eyes in the summer sun. “We both did,” you giggled. “But you also know what this means, right?”

Yuji furrowed his brows at you, making an adorable face that made you want to ride it again. You leaned up to press your lips to his ear: “Now you can fuck me,” you whispered.

You swore, you had never seen Yuji move so fast until the moment those words were ordered. You were suddenly on your back with your thighs spread and him on top of you, blocking out the sun.

“What about the neighbors?” You asked, moaning as his semi-hard cock slid against your sensitive pussy.

“Fuck the neighbors,” he huffed. “I need you too badly right now.” He grinned down at you, flashing you that boyish Yuji smile. “I’ve got you for a whole weekend, baby, so get used to this.”

And when he finally slid inside of you and proceeded to fuck you in the cool shade of your cabana, you made a mental note to invite him over for pool days more often.

[cloudlessly-light]

Another Hotchniss filth age gap idea for you bestie: How about Dave is emily's father figure (not necessarily her step-dad but he has always been there when her real parents weren't) and Aaron is his best friend….so she's essentially fucking her dad's best friend haha

A/N: Bestie you know I love the AU’s and the age difference so you KNEW this was right up my alley lol. I hope you like our idiots being filthy together!

Title: From boys to men  Summary: From the moment Emily meets Aaron she knows that she has to have him, she doesn’t care that he’s older than her, doesn’t care that he’s Dave’s best friend. She wants him. Word count: 3,8k Rating: Explicit   Warnings: Smut, oral sex, dirty talk, choking, age difference, (Emily is 22, Aaron is 40-ish)

“Bella!”

The familiar sound of Dave’s voice makes her hurry downstairs from where she had been packing up the last few things that she still had in her parents’ home.

“Dave!” She beams and happily accepts the tight hug and kiss to her cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, kiddo.”

Dave had been in her life as long as she could remember, a close friend to her parents and the one who she had come to know as a second father. In some ways he had always been the one to look out for her, even when she didn’t want it. They had only gotten closer when she moved back to the states for college. And now she was moving to her own apartment, her dorm room all packed up and she was starting a new part of her life, a part she was excited for.

“Have you got everything you need?” Dave asks just as a second figure appeared in the doorway and Emily swore she had never seen a more attractive man. “Oh right, Emily this is Aaron, one of my best friends. He’s kind enough to help out.”

“Like you’d be able to carry all those boxes without breaking your back, old man.” Aaron says causing Dave to feign hurt.

“Hey, you might be a decade younger but I am still wiser.” Dave jokes and Emily rolls her eyes. She had heard that before.

“Oh right, that’s how it goes.” Aaron teases gently and smiles at her while extending his hand. “Aaron Hotchner.”

“Emily Prentiss.” She takes his hand and shakes it, eyes locked on his. “Thanks for helping out.” When she pulls her hand back her palm tingles, the heat of his hand feeling like a brand on her skin.

“We should get going.” Dave interrupts, seemingly oblivious to the way Emily can’t tear her eyes off his best friend. “So we have time to unpack the heavy stuff and then I was thinking I’d treat you to dinner?” He looks between Aaron and Emily, his smile as kind as always.

“Sounds perfect.” She says and she sees Aaron nodding in her peripheral.

It was going to be a great day.

“So, how do you feel about living on your own?” Dave asked, chopsticks in hand. She smirked at him, knowing that he was more worried about her than anything else.

“It’ll be fine Dave, no need to worry.” She leaned back in her seat. “It’s like I’m an adult now.”

“You can’t blame me, you’re the closest thing I have to a daughter. And you’re barely an adult.” He shrugged and as much as she tried, she couldn’t keep herself from smiling.

“I’m 22 years old!” She laughs but secretly she loves that he cares for her in this way, her parents never did. “I’ll be okay, besides you’re 20 minutes away, it’s closer than when I was at Yale.”

“Yeah but-” The sound of Dave’s phone ringing cut him off and he sighed. “Sorry, I gotta take this.”

“Never met a busier man.” Aaron said once they were alone and she nodded as she looked at him from across the table.

She had spent most of the afternoon looking at him, feeling her mouth go dry by the way he effortlessly lifted heavy boxes, felt tingles down her spine as she watched his large hands flex as he helped her move the couch, she wondered what his hands would feel like on her body.

“So Aaron,” She made sure to put on a face of innocence “how do you know Dave?”

“We used to work together, before he retired.” Aaron leaned back slightly in his seat as he spun noodles around his chopsticks. “He trained me.”

“Oh, so you’re working for the FBI?” She made sure to keep eye contact, trying to size him up.

“Yeah, the behavioral analysis unit.” He smiled easily and Emily found herself wanting to press a finger against the dimple in his cheek.  

“No wonder you carried those boxes like they weighed nothing.” When one of his eyebrows arched she let out a breathy laugh. “Of course I noticed, how could I not?” She batted her eyelashes and she could see him swallowing and then cleared his throat.

“I’m flattered.” He said and looked down at his plate. He should not find a girl more than 15 years younger than him this attractive, he should not wonder what her lips tasted like or imagine the softness of her skin.

“Sorry about that.” Dave is suddenly there, sitting down and Aaron breathes a sigh of relief.

He could not go there with Emily, she was off limits.

It’s been three weeks since she moved and Aaron and Dave had both popped in to help out around the apartment, building furniture and painting walls even when she had told them both that she didn’t need their help. But she wasn’t going to argue too much, because seeing Aaron always ended with her hand between her legs later that night as she thought of him. She knew that he had caught on to the flirting, but he was still keeping his distance.

What he didn’t know was that what Emily wanted, she got. And she wanted him.

It was a warm Sunday when she got home from lunch with a friend. When she entered her apartment it was bordering on suffocatingly hot and she quickly made her way towards the AC. To her frustration it was dead and she had no idea what was wrong with it. She groaned as she pushed her hair out of her face.

“Great.” She muttered and reached for her phone to call Dave.

“Hey kiddo.” He sounded unusually happy she thought.

“Hey Dave, I have a question. What do you know about AC’s?” She started to move around the apartment to open the windows.

“Absolutely nothing.” He chuckled when she let out a sound of annoyance. “Besides, I’m in LA for the weekend, coming back tomorrow. But call Aaron, he might be able to help.”

Well that got her in a great mood.

“Okay, thanks.”

“Anytime Bella.”

She hung up and made her way towards her bedroom to change as she called Aaron.

“Aaron Hotchner.” He sounded distracted she thought.

“Hey, Aaron it’s Emily.” She kicked off her jeans and tore of her t-shirt as she kept him on speakerphone.

“Emily, are you alright?” She could hear the pause in his voice and she didn’t blame him.

“Yeah I’m fine, but my AC is out and I don’t know how to fix it and Dave is gone this weekend but he suggested that I could call you… Do you think you could come over?” She bit her bottom lip as she waited for his response that seemed to take forever.

“I can be there in an hour.”

Game on.

Almost exactly 60 minutes to the dot later, he was knocking on her door. When she opened it she saw the quick look of surprise on his face at the state of her undress. She had decided on a thin tank top and the shortest shorts she owned, blaming it on the heat if he dared to bring it up.

“Thank you for coming.” She smiled and gestured for him to come inside.

“Not a problem, hopefully I can figure it out.” As he moved towards the AC, she sat down on the couch.

“I’ll call someone tomorrow if you can’t.” She let her eyes move over him, he really was a stunning man. She wasn’t sure if he heard her, his focus already on the AC as he looked it over.

It didn’t take long, Aaron pushing buttons and looking over some of the wires before the buzz of the AC sounded through the apartment and Aaron laughed.

“Well, that was quick enough.” He said, his eyes lingering on her smooth thighs for a moment before forcing himself to look away.

“Sorry you had to drive all the way here for that.” She stood from the couch and batted her eyelashes as she slowly licked her bottom lip. When his eyes fastened on it she knew that she hadn’t imagined the way he had been looking at her.

“Not a problem. But now it’s fixed so I-” His words are cut off by the feeling of Emily’s hands pushing him against the wall. She’s so close that he can smell her perfume, could count her freckles and he knows that he should push her away, but he doesn’t.

“What are you doing?” He asks instead, voice low and the raspiness of it lets her know that he’s not unaffected by her proximity.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She pushes up against him and he backs harder into the wall. With a smirk on her face she tilts her head as she looks up at him.

“We can’t.” He shakes his head, tries to rid himself of her perfume and soft body against his. Then her hand lands on his chest and he watches as she slowly moves it up to gently grab the back of his neck. When her nails scratch the base of his skull he swallows down a groan.

“Why not?” She doesn’t let his words deter her, she could feel his want pressing against her hip, could see how his pupils dilated.

“You’re too young.” He gets out through a clenched jaw and she laughs at his reply. “And you’re basically Dave’s daughter.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t” She tugs slightly on his short hair and his hands grab her hips in response. But he doesn’t push her away, and she knows she has him. “I want you. And I know you want me too.”

“Emily…” His fingers flex around her hips as he tries to keep some resemblance of control. But there’s no denying the want he feels when he looks at her, the attraction that had been clear the moment they met. When he opened his eyes she was even closer, her lips almost brushing against his. “I should have known you were trouble from the start.”

“You have no idea.” She whispers and then her lips press against his. The moment they kiss Aaron seems to give in fully, his hands moving from where they had been frozen on her hips to the small of her back, pulling her further into him. When his tongue licked at the seam of her lips she moaned softly and she swore she heard a sound of satisfaction from him.

He pushed her back, breaking their embrace and when he looked at her again, her breathing hitched. The hesitation that had previously been there was long gone as he looked at her with something dark, his eyes moving over her body slowly, deliberately and she felt her cheeks flush.

“What?” She finally asked, almost squirming under the intensity of his stare.

“You really are a gorgeous thing.” He muttered and caught her lips in another kiss, his hand firm around the back of her neck while the other sneaked under her tank top. He broke the kiss only to taste the skin of her jaw, her neck, taking note of what spots made her gasp and moan.

“Take of your shirt.” He said and Emily let out a breathy chuckle.

“So this is how this is going to go? You barking orders at me?”

“Yes.” The tone of voice was firm, determined, his face stern as he stared her down and she could feel her cheeks heating at the same time as heat settled as a dull ache between her legs. It’s his turn to smirk, happy with how fast the tables turned. “You don’t think I can’t tell that’s what you really want? What you crave?”

She swallowed hard when his fingers tangled in her hair, giving her a moment before pulling back, forcing her head back and she gasped.

“There she is.” He mumbled against her jaw. “See you’re not as good as you make yourself out to be in front of others, are you?”

“Aaron,” Her hands were fisting his shirt, close to ripping the fabric. In a matter of seconds he had taken complete control and she had never wanted anyone more. “Please.”

“Please what?” He nipped at her bottom lip, tugging it between his teeth and pulled lightly.

“More, fuck anything.” She breathed and he let go of her hair with a hum of satisfaction.

“Come on.” He put just enough distance between them to take her hand in his and dragged her towards the bedroom. When he turned back to her he quickly grabbed the hem of her top and pulled it over her head, a low groan sounding in his throat when he saw that she wasn’t wearing a bra. “Naughty girl.”

She didn’t get the time to respond, his lips once again on hers as they started to tear at clothes. Her hands moved over his strong chest, enjoyed the heat of his skin and the feel of his chest hair against her palms before moving further down to work on his jeans. With some help from him, she got them off, his jeans and boxers landing in a pile on the floor and her shorts soon following.

The sound that ripped from his throat when she wrapped her hand around his painfully hard shaft sent tingles along her body, and she knew she needed to hear it again. She pulled him into another kiss, only licking over his bottom lip for a moment before continuing to kiss down his jaw. His stubble was rough against her lips, a feeling she enjoyed until Aaron’s heavy hand pushed in her shoulder, urging her further down.

When her knees hit the floor with a soft thump she looked up at him with wide eyes, her hand still stroking him.

“Open your mouth Emily.” He pushes his thumb between her lips and when her tongue circles the pad of it he smiles. “Good girl.” He pulls his thumb out and gives her a nod and it’s the only thing she needs before she takes his cock in between her lips.

Her mouth is wet and hot and he hisses at the sudden pleasure as she licks around the tip of him, tasting his precum with a sigh before moving further down. He throws his head back as she takes more of him, he’s sure he’s never felt a more wicked mouth around him.

Emily keeps her eyes on him, gauges his reactions and feels smug as he groans and swears above her. Like he senses it he looks back at her, and his fingers tangle in her hair again. The scratch of his short nails against her scalp makes her moan and his hips buckles against her face in return to the vibrations around his shaft.

“Can you take it all?” He growls, fingers tightening slightly as she licks the length of him. She isn’t sure she can, he’s thick and long but she was damn well going to try so she nods. Her lips wraps around him again, and she slowly pushes forward, making sure to flick her tongue and relax her throat.

“Fuck, just like that.” He doesn’t push her forward, watches in awe as she chokes and her eyes turn glassy. “Gorgeous.” He mumbles, more to himself than anything as he watches how she pulls back to breathe and then takes him back in her mouth. This time she doesn’t stop until the entire length of him has disappeared and when she chokes, he groans at the way her throat contracts around him.

She pulls back gasping, a tear falling from her eye and he carefully brushes it away and she smiles, proud that she had done what he asked. As she tries to continue, his fingers tighten in her hair and she hisses at the pull.

“Come here.” He gasps and effortlessly pulls her up to stand again. His hands move over her body, taking in every curve and valley as he lays her on the bed. He listens to her moans as he sucks on a nipple, watches the flush on her skin as he touches her everywhere except where she wants. She tries to turn them, but he’s too strong and easily pins her down with a slight shake of his head. He licks between the valley of her breasts, sucks hard on her collarbone, making her mewl. When her legs spread for him he smiles against the skin of her neck.

“What do you need?” He whispers, one hand moving between her legs, gripping the soft skin of her thigh and then slowly moving further up.

“You.” She pants, her body feeling like it was on fire from his lips and touch. She could barely think, let alone form words and for a brief moment she wonders if this is what madness felt like. Then his fingers move through her, slowly, carefully and her hips twitch.

“So wet, all for me.” He wants to taste her, wants to make her fall apart again and again but his own need to feel her wins out and he quickly rolls between her spread legs. He groans at the heat of her against him, lets the length of him move against her as he claims her lips in a breathless kiss.

“Aaron, please.” She whimpers, and he knows that the sound of her begging him will stay with him forever. He keeps his eyes on hers when he pushes inside of her, wants to see the pleasure on her face. Her jaw turns slack, her eyes drift close and a moan, breathy and loud falls from her lips and he can’t help the way his hips snap in response.

Her legs wrap around his waist, causing him to go deeper inside of her and he groans lowly. He moves with long strokes, each of his thrusts met by her moving hips. She clings to him, her nails digging into his back as he fucks her hard enough for her body to jolt. The sounds that come from her are breathy and deep and unfamiliar to her, the pleasure he’s causing almost overwhelming.

“God you’re so fucking tight.” He rasps and she can only whine in response as he sneaks a hand between them to rub her clit. When her eyes roll back and her back arches into him, he takes advantage and sucks on one of her nipples.

It’s not long before she starts to feel the coiling in her belly, and she knows that Aaron feels the way she’s clenching around him when he looks down at her with a smug grin.

“If you stop I’ll kill you.” She breathes and he chuckles but he doesn’t stop.

“Already so close. It’s going to be fun to see how many times I can get you to fall apart for me.” His voice has dropped even further, his own arousal clear as he speaks. He moves up on his knees, continues to rub her clit and holds her hip with his other hand, keeping her in place as he pushes deep and hard inside of her.

She comes in only a few moments, tensing and shaking at the same time as she cries out loud enough that she knows the neighbors would be able to hear. It only seems to spur him on, his thumb insistent on her clit, and hips strong as he fucks her through it.

“One more.” He growls and she whimpers but nods. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he’d make her come again.

He grunts when she starts to clench around him again in no time at all and he rubs her clit faster. Watching Emily come might be the most erotic thing he’s ever seen and he knew right then that this wouldn’t be a one-time thing. She comes with a groan, hips buckling and head thrown back as she moans his name.

It isn’t until she’s sucking in desperate breaths of air that he slows to let her come down from her high. When her eyelids finally flutter open, her dark eyes are hazy and there’s a lazy smile on her lips.

“Let me ride you.” She says and he nods before laying down.

He watches with dark eyes as she straddles him, lets his hand rest on her hips as she starts to slowly grind on him.

“You’re so big.” She gasps, the fill of him close to painful as she moves above him. Her eyes find his, sees the same pleasure reflected in his eyes that she feels and she smiles.

“I know, baby.” He whispers as he enjoys the view of her on top of him. “You’re doing so good.”

“I want you to come inside of me.” She plants her hands on his chest and starts to move faster, lifting herself up and down. “I want to feel it.”

“Jesus Christ.” He grunts, his hips pushing up against her in response. “Make me come then, filthy thing.”

Emily keeps her hands on his chest as she grinds and rocks her hips above him, wanting him to feel as good as he had made her feel. When his hands grip her hips harder she knows he’s getting close and she lets him help her move. Then one hand moves from her hip to wrap around her neck and she gasps as she looks down at him, finding the look on his face close to wild.

“Fuck, that’s it.” He growls as he squeezes slightly around her neck. “Gonna come inside of you, pretty thing, don’t stop.”

She doesn’t. If anything her movements become frenzied, the feeling of his hand around her throat and the feeling of him inside of her driving her crazy. When his hand tightens and he groans her name she whines, the sound of his name falling from her lips and it’s the last nudge he needs before his hips stutter against her and he comes with a loud grunt.

His hands loosen and she switches to slowly roll her hips against his, drawing out his pleasure until he stops her with a breathless laugh.

“Give me 30 minutes and then we’re doing that again.” He says and she feels another rush of arousal settle in her belly.

“What’s the matter, old man?” She teases and he laughs.

“Do not even think about acting like a brat right now.” He pinches her side and she jerks before settling back over his lap, happy to watch him as he catches his breath.

“So, we’re doing this again?” She asks with smiles as she looks down at him.

“Oh yes, we’re definitely doing this again.” He gently pulls her down to kiss her. “There’s no way I’m letting go of you.”

[anamelessfool]

A Naming (part 2 of 5)

Rated Teen, Papa Emeritus II’s Son and Family

Tags: Halloween Hijinks, Eldest Kid Anxiety, Suburban Dad Secondo, Disabled Secondo, Post-Retirement Life, Magic Rituals, My AU with Seocondo being Papa from 2001-2008

CW: Underage Drinking

Paul is at the party. He gets a little too over his head. And he can't completely blame the punch.

Dedicated to @kissingghouls thanks for cheering me on you’re my little Hell Pumpkin🎃 I’m on AO3 with all my other fics but Tumblr gets mad at me when I post links check out #anamelessfool halloween tag for the prev chapter

The first thing Paul noticed when he approached the house party was that he was the only person not in costume. Even the most leather-necked of linebackers attempted something with a Ghostface mask perched on their heads. Everyone around him looked big, capable. He distracted his nerves by typing in his phone.

Paul L: I'm here

Dana: 🙂

Music thudded softly from within as he climbed the stairs. If he didn’t look to either his left or right he could pretend that he was confident about his choice of no costume. Yes, it was some sort of defiant, anti-establishment sort of thing. But they had just witnessed him exit a car driven by his father and piled high with little kids and their sugar-fueled screams, so perhaps the rebel act wasn’t very convincing.

Dana waved from the front door, ushering him in. He darted in like he was escaping some oncoming storm, and she the only chance at rescue. Inside the fairly large house was packed with most of the upperclassmen shouting over some punk rock cover of Monster Mash. “Hey, so happy you’re here.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” he replied, and at once he slowly removed his hands from his hoodie pockets.

“A freshman… You invited a fucking freshman?” Right. Dana wasn’t the only person here. A sour looking boy tossed the hair from his head, his mouth a thin line.

“Relax, he's cool,” said Dana with a small smile. Paul felt a warmth flood his entire body. “He’s most of the orchestra pit.” Dana was the lead role for the fall play. And midway through Act II he could get a clear view of her singing at the front of the stage. She was just as beautiful now, all dolled up in some kind of half-hearted witch getup that gave her the excuse to have glittering goth makeup.

“Yeah well what do you play then?” Asked the older boy.

The better question was what Paul didn't play. His father was a prodigy on piano but dabbled elsewhere. Paul took after his grandfather Nihil, who somehow despite his foggy brain took to every instrument like a duck to water. “Guitar, bass guitar, piano,” Paul listed and his confidence started to crawl back. “All percussion. Some violin. Trumpet. I'm learning saxophone because Mr. Baxter needs one for the Spring show. And…that's it. So far.”

“Wow, no wonder you’re a shut in,” quipped the boy before melting back into the crowd.

“Asshole!” Dana jokingly swatted at him as he left, then turned back to Paul with a wince. “Sorry. Hey. Make yourself at home. Go get some punch, okay?”

“No, he’s right I’m…not really out there…”

“First time for everything, right?” Dana held out her hand and he took it, deciding he’d be okay with dying right then and there. He floated along beside her as she led him to the punch bowl and ladled him a glass. “Just have fun, Paul.”

Yes. He was going to have fun. He didn’t dare want to let her down, and that fifteen foot walk from the foyer to the dining room was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to him. Partygoers wandered in and out around him but their voices were muffled from the pounding in his ears. The music felt miles away, at the bottom of a lake. At last he recognized someone coming towards him, an older kid named Brian who he spent most of his time with in the orchestra pit.

“Yo! You came!” Brian grinned. “No costume?”

“No time.”

“That’s cool. Hey… you want a little…excitement…” Brian whipped out a flask from his jacket, leering.

“I mean um…” Maybe it would do something with his nerves. And he didn't want to spend the rest of his life known as the fucking freshman invited out of pity. He was cool. Talented. Able to hold his liquor. He was supposed to have fun: Dana’s orders. “Um, sure.”

He tipped the punch down his throat, perhaps a little too fast. There was very little burn at all to scold him. As Brian kept talking to him, his mind kept floating away. He squeezed his eyes shut, leaned against the wall but nodded all the same like nothing was the matter. A stupid smile began to creep across his face as Ben talked and kept introducing him to the girls that wandered by. How may Poison Ivy costumes were there? At least five. Or was he meeting the same girl over and over? The red cup creaked in his hand as he held it like some sort of safety rope.

“Since dawn of time the fate of man is that of lice…” His father's voice unmistakably seethed out from the playlist. Paul looked desperately for the exit but the windows and doors swam unsteadily in front of him.

“What, you scared?” asked another girl dressed as Poison Ivy. Yes, he had seen at least three others in the past hour. “It's Ghost, you ever heard of them? You like metal?”

“HELL SATAN! ARCHANGELOOOO!”

“Yeah a little bit,” Paul said. “I don't think they're real metal.”

“His name’s Secondo, actually,” explained the kid who had attached the aux to his phone. “Yeah, he's out. His brother is in. They say now he's a…hey man what’s up with you?”

“Yeah, I know him,” Paul slurred with a slight giggle. “That's my uncle. Haven't seen him much, though.”

The kid peered suspiciously into Paul. “You…know them?”

Paul flashed a fuzzy smile and moments after speaking he wished everything was a dream. “Yeah. The guy singing. He's my dad.”

“What?” yelled the kid, and more party guests wandered over. “What, he's your dad?!”

“He uh…got sick. Retired.”

“He will ascend to the heavens! Above the stars of God! Hell Satan!”

A few phones whipped out from pockets and Paul watched in growing horror how every one of these upperclassmen started typing into search engines. A boy held out his phone and Papa Emeritus II glared out at them all. “This? This…is your dad?”

Paul smiled painfully. He decided never to drink ever again. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, I've seen him around! Holy shit!” A girl laughed and flashed another photo for them all to see: A photo of his father in shades, flanked by two women dressed as sexy nuns. “Is one of these girls your mom?”

“And he like, chops up dead bodies now,” said another kid. “You got dead grandmas in your freezer yeah?”

“Well, uh, my dad doesn't chop up the bodies, that's my mom’s job—” This was going nowhere, but the spiked punch made Paul plod on. “Yeah there's um a big difference between mortician and funeral director ya know my dad sorta just handles the documents….for the state….” He ended his statement with a careful sip.

“Holy shit this kid is a fucking riot.”

More partiers began surrounding him, and through his dizziness he was completely certain they were there to laugh at him. Voices swam in and out.

“Who’s that? Oh yeah, the gravedigger kid…”

“Wait, have you seen the music video? And your Dad was in that? Dude there were naked chicks in that video dude!”

“Yeah, uh…I guess…yeah…” Paul was ready to die. He waited for some holy lightning bolt to come down from on high, but if anyone noticed that his own mother was also featured in that video he would do the job himself.

The Aux kid was fully grinning. “That’s amazing dude, amazing, he’s literally Satan, dude—“

“He’s sorta boring, actually,” Paul threw in. His solo cup was thoroughly demolished. The sugar mixing with the alcohol was making his stomach turn. Perhaps vomiting would deflect all of this attention to the more ordinary embarrassment of destroying someone’s living room carpet.

“That means he knows spells.” Dana emerged from the shadows, flanked by some equally attractive friends. Her black lips pursed as her heavily-shadowed eyes gleamed. “If he's the devil he knows spells, right?”

“It's not real,” stammered Paul. Her gaze made him weak. “Well…it's…sorta real…”

“Real? It's all fucking real, no way! Have you seen him do spells?!”

Every morning, an odd musical chant. Every evening, another droning mantra. The man would not shut up about the weather and piles of his journals were scattered around the house. No flicks of wands or fairy dust or leaping demons. No fireballs or bursts of healing light. Just the sound of his father droning syllables and a disgusting collection of animal skulls and jars filled with rusted nails and weird smells. “Yeah, I guess…” And of course, Paul would not shut up. He could not, with how everyone was paying attention to him. He had to get out of this. And the only way out was through. “I can do them too, you know.”

***

Sandra was snuggled up on the couch with the on-call phone when Paul returned.

“How was it? So happy you went.” On the television two men chained in a filthy bathroom argued and came to the realization that yes, one of them would have to amputate.

“It was alright. Any…calls?”

“No, just little ol’ me alone,” Sandra replied, sitting up. “And Ed checking in to tell me the guys brought all the kid cousins out for a late dinner.” She rubbed her eyes, refocusing on the men screaming on the television. “The sequels didn’t compare to this one. Gratuitous. Real fear is all just head games, ya know? It’s all just…in the mind.”

“Yeah well, good night then.” Paul hugged her then walked down the hallway, glancing quickly back as he passed the door to his room and silently slipped into the office.

Secondo always kept a lamp softly illuminated in the corner. Paul moved soundlessly across the beige carpet to arrive at the TV hutch. His fingers trembled as he gently untangled the red ribbon across the knobs. Secondo was miles away surrounded by screaming children in a busy pizza place but still Paul was certain he’d hear the smallest disturbance. Maybe not his flesh and blood father but the Eye would.

The hutch opened and light shone across the crystal skull in its nest of dead flowers. The strong scent of frankincense and charcoal wafted across him, fleeing into the air like a freed spirit. In Paul’s heightened mind everything inside seemed much more foreign and terrifying than usual. Some sort of large, milk-white snake floated in a jar in the far back. There were stacks of rocks, rose petals in a stone urn before bundles of feathers arranged in a bouquet. A few mummified hawk claws hung on a string. Daggers were arranged like surgical instruments on top of a rabbit skin. A series of small journals were crammed where a VCR should go. And buried deep within, the golden goat head of Baphomet peered from behind a collection of railroad spikes, their arm raised as if scolding him for daring to do all this.

The topic of the admonishment was not necessarily betraying his father’s trust. The deepest shame the statue bestowed on Paul as he rummaged around it was the fact that all of this trespassing was done in the name of impressing some mortals the boy decided was worth the cost.

Paul knew his father barely worked with every material in his collection, but he had to make a good impression. His new friends wanted to see some magic, so a decent show of arcane wisdom was essential. He chose a thin deer’s tibia as his wand. An oddly shaped chunk of rainbow obsidian would make a decent centerpiece. He collected some chalk into his hoodie pockets along with a few dried rose petals and a black candle.

Now for the book. Paul was so distracted with worrying about his plan that he hadn’t really sat down and considered exactly what kind of magic he’d actually want to do. There were too many books on the shelves for him to skim through in the small scrap of time he had before his mother checked on him. He struggled to unwedge one of his father’s journals from the VCR shelf, and at last he had a sample of what he actually could do.

The front of the journal was dated: Oct 1999- March 2000. Inside was a mishmash of charts, sketches and the impeccable script handwriting of Secondo himself. Beautiful, but incomprehensible. Long strings of text were arranged in lattices, grids, and atop each other in a flurry of swirling ink. Some pages were perfectly mirrored, others held odd anagram symbols and ciphers.

All In all beautiful, but worthless.

There was not a whole lot of time. Dave was waiting down the street with everyone in the car and he had to think fast. Paul knew that luck and destiny were huge components to magic rituals so perhaps the book he picked out was the one that he needed to use. He’ll figure out which page later. He tucked the journal into his back jeans pocket and closed the hutch, carefully retying the red ribbon to the best of his memory. He turned to go and his father’s framed diploma fell off its nail and onto the floor.

Paul sucked in a breath. Nothing in here was an accident. Everything had magical Significance. He picked up the frame, staring past the large crack on the glass: …conferred upon MICHAEL LEIDER The degree of MORTUARY SCIENCE AND FUNERAL SERVICES. Paul returned it to its nail, apologizing to the piece of paper before sneaking out the room once more.

After climbing out his bedroom window Paul met up with the car of kids waiting for him. They squeezed him in the back between the door and an athletic junior boy, who leered at him as Paul attempted to get on his seatbelt. It was Dana’s warm smile from the passenger’s front seat that finally calmed his nerves.

“I thought you lived at the funeral home,” A boy stuffed in the opposite corner of the backseat called across the car.

The car lurched forward and Paul gave up on finding the seatbelt buckle. “Nobody lives there, my mom’s family owns the place.”

“So like, you ever see a ghost there?” The boy beside him had eager bright eyes but his breath absolutely stank.

“Well, everyone there is dead so like their soul’s moved on somewhere else so there really wouldn’t be any… y’know, ghosts—“

“Come on,” chided a kid from the hatchback trunk. He reached out and grabbed Paul by the shoulders, the other boy beside him hooting.

“Fine, yeah, I did see a ghost.” Paul’s voice was terse as he stared hard at the road. He had been mostly sober for an hour now, psychically punching himself for ever getting involved in a caper this stupid. Too late now. “It was…some old woman. By the freezers. She had old time clothes on.”

The reverent awe that descended on the kids in the car would have made a past version of himself swell with pride. But now he just felt sick.

A little too sick.

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Next chapter is in comments!

[topguncortez]

Congratulations on 3k!!! Could i request hangman and "im just glad youre okay"? Congrats again!!

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Shy!Wifey warnings: this is a bit dark. . . mentions of break ins, blood, hiding, fear, guns, swearing, happy ending tho:) Hangman Masterlist | Opposites Attract Masterlist Main Masterlist 3 fucking K celebration

"There's been a series of break-ins in the Sunset Hills neighborhood, which has residents on alert. Channel 10 news is-"

Jake clicked the tv off and Y/N gasped, looking over her shoulder and seeing her husband standing there, his arms folded across his chest.

"Hi," She smiled sheepishly.

"Hi yourself," He answered, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just watching the news," Y/N pushed herself up from her spot on the couch. She walked to her husband and draped her arms around his neck, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"I told you to quit reading into all that stuff. You're not sleeping."

Y/N sighed, she had been caught yet again. Ever since the first break in about two months ago, she had been on high alert and respectfully so. Although the chief of police told the neighborhood that no one was in danger, Y/N still felt unsafe every time she'd go to bed at night. The thieves weren't robbing houses if the occupants were home. They weren't hurting anyone or anything, but were stealing thousands of dollars and destroying property.

"I have a right to know what's going on, Jake!" Y/N argued, "I need to know what to look for incase-"

"That's not going to happen, alright," Jake said, and put his hands on her hips, "We have the best security that money can buy. Every window is armed, every door to the house is armed. Plus, we have Bucky and Steve." Jake gestured to one of the German shepherds that they owned, who was asleep at Y/N's feet. Steve was more than likely sleeping by Alex's feet.

"It still doesn't help me sleep at night," She mumbled, "But it brings me some comfort."

"I know baby, it's scary, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you or my family. Understand?" Jake asked and Y/N nodded, "Now, let's go back to bed. I have like. . . three more hours of shut-eye."

--- --- ---

Dinner at the Seresin house was always chaotic, especially when Jake wasn't there to help. It was just Y/N trying to get Alex and Ella ready for dinner. Life was hard with two toddlers, especially now that Ella started walking. It seemed like every time Y/N turned her back, Ella was pulling something to the ground or sticking something in her mouth.

Jake had texted her and told her that she was going to be late, which made her frown as she sat at the dinner table, a child on either side of her. Alex was good about feeding himself, and Ella liked to throw scraps on the floor for the dogs.

"Ella, stop feeding Bucky and Steve," Y/N scolded the little girl, who just gave her a smile before throwing yet another piece of food on the floor, "Oh you are going to be so much like your father."

"Dada!" Ella exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

"Mommy, can I have ice cream?" Alex asked and Y/N looked at her little boy who had spaghetti sauce all over his face.

"Not tonight baby, it's bath and bed," Y/N said and Alex nodded.

The sun was already down, and it sent a shiver up Y/N's spine as she carried her daughter up the stairs, Alex going in front of her. She made sure all the doors were locked as soon as she came home. She also left her car in the driveway, alerting whoever might be lurking that she is home. Jake had asked their neighbor, Paul, a retired Admiral to keep an eye on the house when he wasn't home.

Once the kids were bathed and put in their pajamas, Y/N put them to bed in her room. She had texted Jake again asking where he was, but he said he was trying to get home as soon as possible. Him and Rooster were way behind on reports. Y/N sighed as she rubbed Ella's belly as she drank a bottle before bed. She read the kids a bedtime story. When she was done, she put Ella in her pack-in play and turned the lamp off. Alex snuggled up to her, and put his thumb in his mouth, his bad habit that Y/N and Jake tried to break.

Bucky laid on the floor at the foot of the bed, while Steve laid on the bed, their heads up and turned towards the door, waiting for their other owner to return home. Neither one never truly went to sleep until all of their humans were home and in their shared bed, with them curled up at their feet. Dogs were smart, and Bucky and Steve had figured there was something changing with Y/N, and had spent more time connected to her and watching over her. Bucky let out a sigh, and lowered his head to rest in between his two front paws, eyes never leaving the door.

Sleep didn't come easy to anyone in the bedroom, but once Y/N heard Ella stop fussing and turning, she finally rested a bit, still holding on to Alex. The sound of smashing glass had Y/N, Bucky and Steve up in an instant. Y/N gasped and looked around the room. Steve had jumped down and stared at the door, as he was anticipating someone or something. Bucky had gotten up too, and moved over to Ella's bed, standing protectively. Y/N jumped out of bed, grabbing your phone and holding a sleeping Alex to her chest.

She looked around the room, and went to the bathroom attached to their room. Alex woke up a bit at the jostling of his body and groaned in his sleep. His green eyes opened up to see Y/N in a panic set him down on the hard tile of the bathtub.

"Mom-"

"Shh," Y/N shushed him and grabbed a blanket, "Cover your head, be quiet." Alex nodded, too scared to say anything. She then went to the pack-in play and reached in, grabbing Ella, when she heard footsteps and voices. Steve growled and Y/N shushed him. She rushed to the closet and set Ella down with her brother.

"Hold on to Ella," Y/N told Alex and he nodded, taking Ella into his arms. Luckily, the little girl was a heavy sleepier and was still asleep. She turned the lock, and shut the door, locking the kids inside. Y/N felt her heart racing as she grabbed the pairing knife she kept underneath the mattress. She dialed 9-1-1 and held the phone to her ear as the footsteps got closer.

“I’m armed and calling 9-1-1!” Y/N yelled, hoping to scare off whoever was in her house. Bucky had moved over to the bathroom door, while Steve was still pointed at the door. Y/N moved and ran to her bedroom closet, hiding inside.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“H-hi, I think someone just broke into my house," She whispered, "I-I have kids with me."

"Ma'am, someone has already called it in, and a unit is on the way. Where are you located?"

"My kids are in the bathroom, I locked it. I'm hiding in the closet. My dogs are in the room."

"Are you armed?"

Y/N looked down at the knife in her head and let out a shaky breath, "Yes. But please hurry I think-"

Her words got cut off by the bedroom door opening and the dogs barking. Y/N clamped her hand over her mouth as she dropped the phone and held onto the knife tightly, ready to use it if needed.

--- --- ---

Jake’s eyes were straining as he drove home on the dark streets. Everything was closed, and the only thing illuminating the night sky were the street lights. He was hoping to be home earlier than two in the morning, but time had slipped past Rooster and him. Jake had to finally call it quits and go home to his family. He had been away from them all day, and his body was starting to shut down.

Except when Jake turned the corner to his street, he was met with the bright flashing lights of cop cars and ambulances. He felt bile rise in his stomach as he parked his truck, and jumped out, running towards the crowd of onlookers in their bathrobes and pajamas. The closer he got to the scene the more he recognized the cops walking around his house. He felt bile rise in his throat as he ran to the police barricade.

"Sir, you can't go through," An officer said, stopping Jake from pushing through the yellow tape.

"That's my house!" Jake yelled, pointing at the house, "That's my family!"

"Sir, it is an active crime scene," The officer said and Jake felt his knees go weak. He looked around the scene, running a hand down his face as he spotted his kids sitting in the back of an ambulance. Jake pushed his way through, despite the various officers trying to hold him back.

"Sir!" An officer grabbed him as Jake approached his kids.

"Daddy!" Alex yelled.

"Those are my kids! Those are my fucking kids!" Jake yelled, fighting against the cops hold.

"Let him go," Another cop said, and Jake was freed from the constraint. He ran straight for Alex and hugged him.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, and looked over his son and then at the medic who was holding his daughter.

"They are both fine, sir," The medic said and handed Ella to Jake. He held his daughter tightly and placed a kiss on the top of her head, drinking in the familiar scent of her baby shampoo.

"My wife?" Jake asked, "W-where is she?"

"They took her to the Memorial, just to get some of her injuries checked out," The medic answered and Jake felt his heart stop. Alex tugged at his hand and Jake looked at his son.

"The police officer said mommy's a hero," Alex said and Jake nodded.

"Yeah, she is," Jake said, "Come on, let's go find her."

The hospital was nearly empty as Jake walked through the door, Ella on his hip and Alex holding his hand. A nurse directed him to where he could find his wife's room at. Jake was expecting the worse, as he walked down the hall towards her room. An older nurse was staying with the kids in the lobby. Jake didn't want to scar them by seeing their mother in a bad condition.

But when Jake opened the door to her room, he was met with the sight of her practically unharmed. Her face was turned away from the door, and she looked to be sleeping peacefully. He couldn't see any injury from that far away, but the closer he got, the more he could see.

"Sweets?" Jake called out softly. Y/N jumped a bit and then turned to look at her husband. His heart fell into his stomach as he saw her bruised face, "Oh my god."

"Cops said I put up one hell of a fight," She smiled, her busted lip cracking. Jake gently touched her face. Her nose was broken and was displaying a magnificent purple and blue bruise underneath her eyes. Her eyebrow had been cut and stitched up as well.

"I am so sorry," Jake sniffled, "I should've been home. I should've-"

"So you can look like this too?" Y/N asked and Jake shook his head, "We are okay. A little shaken up, but they caught the guys doing all this. No one got hurt, no one is seriously injured. We are okay."

Jake nodded and ran his thumb over her cheek bone, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I am too," Y/N said, "I love you Jake."

"I love you too," Jake kissed her forehead.

[thesharktanksdriver]

People are strange (platonic)

Basically the vamp boys had a kid they just now learned about.

This is entirely platonic and there’s a section for each of them individually as the father in this situation. beginning Half is just kinda context takes place two years before the film

Your mother always warned you of monsters when you were younger

Ones that would hide within the shadows

Glowing red eyes

Gnashing pointed teeth that shine in moonlight

Hissing and growling like wild animals

Ones that looked like you and I

Who seemed impossibly beautiful, like carved statues of cherubs and angels Who were really the devil himself in disguise

She taught you to be wary of the world

To trust your gut and never brush off the chill that goes down your spine when you feel something was wrong

Many called your mama a paranoid woman

One who was skittish and afraid of the slightest bump in the dark

But you knew there was always something more to her fear

A reason as to why she’s deathly afraid of the clock chiming midnight

You trusted her for she was your mother

You never complained from her working long hours to make ends meet or about not getting the latest toy

Her getting home late and locking the door, shaking hands and uneven breaths was enough to always keep you from making a pep

Especially as it all melted away at the sight of you waiting patiently to greet her despite how late it was

She was tough as nails despite how people gave her looks for raising you on her own

Yet another reason you respected her more than just being your mom

So despite how you had to move yet again you didn’t complain

Especially as she said that in this place the two of you would be staying in a bigger home

So she packs up yet again

And the two of you load up into her car, putting the limited amount of items into the trunk before making the trip to Santa Carla

The so called “murder capital of the world” via the back of a billboard advertising the place

The sun is up and as she drives through the town you see all kinds of people

People from different backgrounds and subgroups

It was all fascinating to your 12 year old mind

Especially since you’d only see leather clad and studded jackets on tv

Never up front and in person

You peered out in wonder at a few of the leather wearing people, even getting a few small waves or smiles from them

It made you wave back as your mom drove past a boardwalk

One that piqued your interest without much effort

Perhaps it was the sight of carnival games that were likely rigged

Stuffed Prizes as big as you were

Sugary sweets and greasy delicacies

Flashing lights from stomach churning rides

The sound and smell of the salty water of the sea crashing into the shore

But something drew you there

It was like a call in your mind

Beckoning you to go

Like Alice following the white rabbit into wonderland

Your mother sees your stare and chuckles a little

Hands gripping the steering wheel as she turns it

“Did you know that I used to live here?”

“Really?!”

“Yep. The house we’re gonna live in is where I used to live when I was a teenager”

“But…I thought grandpa and grandma didn’t like you because of me?”

“Grandma and grandpa…are in a retirement home. We got the house in return”

At that you nod

It sounded like it made sense

“Mommy actually used to go the board walk quite a bit. Maybe you’ll have fun there”

“I’m allowed to go there?”

“Yeah but…remember what I said about following your gut. Alright?”

“Ok!”

Moving in is relatively quick

The place is old and furnished in antique furniture

It’s better that what the two of you had before except for the old person smell

But that would go away with time…and fabreeze

You traverse through the place finding what you assumed to be your mom’s old room

It’s untouched

Remnants of the 60’s turning into what you think to be the 70’s

Posters hang on the walls, Janet Joplin and Jim Morrison are two you can clearly recognize

Their music played on the way to this very house

The covers of the bed are soft as you flop down onto the duvet spread of swirls and sunflowers

Your bag following suit as it spills open to let your stuff tumble out onto the bed

By the time night hits your surging with energy as your mom gets ready to go to her new work

It was weird but for some reason you always felt more energetic at night

Your mom always said you got that from your dad which made you giggle

You never knew him

Only heard bits and pieces about him from your mother who guarded it to her heart

Naturally you were curious about the man since he WAS your father

But by how hesitant she seemed you eventually brushed that curiosity away for her sake

Your mom gives you twenty dollars and a kiss on the cheek after handing you a sweater just in case

The rule was to be back by 10 which you’d definitely abide by lest you have this privilege taken away

So your off

Into the boardwalk you go as the last bits of sunlight die

The sun slowly going down in the horizon signalling night to take reign

Your a bit overwhelmed since this is the first time having such a big sense of freedom

Plus there are so many people here

For awhile you end up laying a few games, winning cheaply stuffed prizes before ending up getting some ice cream

You end up sitting by the steps going down into the beach

It was quieter there and less busy making it relaxing as you listened to the waves

And then you heard the sound of moter cycles roaring

Your eyes turn to see 4 boys, all teenagers around 18 or 19 coming to a stop

Their all laughing to themselves

Two blonds seemingly play fighting as another watches with a tall dark haired man

You get up from your spot, whipping of stray bits of sand sticking to you and approach the group who’d yet to notice you

“I like your jackets”

Their eyes search around for a moment before trailing down to you

Staring up at them with interest

You notice how whatever they were gonna respond with dies in their throats

You miss how momentarily their eyes flash to an cat-like yellow hue from being distracted from the detailing of their leather coats

Specifically the one with all the patches and dangly bits

The one in the centre responds first, thanking you before kneeling down a bit to be at a better height

Up till then you had to crane your neck up to look at the 4 of them

He introduces himself and then the others

There’s a noticeable intrigue in them that doesn’t go unnoticed by you

The one named Paul chimes in asking if your here with some friends

You respond with the truth that your here alone, your first night in your new home

“Must be pretty brave coming here all alone” the one named Marko comments with a wild smile

“Mom says the same thing. She also always says trust your gut”

“What does your gut say about us?”

“That your cool”

That gets a good laugh out of them

The rest of the night you spend it with the rowdy group of bikers

Paul and Marko showing you the best hacks for winning the carney games

David buying you a burger that you snack on as the night progresses

Dwayne placing you on his shoulders when you mention your feet starting to hurt

It’s fun

Possible the most fun you had in a long while

At a lot of your old schools you never really made friends

Partially due to the fact you knew you’d move but also cause you could never really click with other kids your age

But it seems that within minutes of meeting these delinquent bikers you’d made the friends you had so longed for

But eventually the night comes to an end the minutes to 10 are ticking down and you have to head home

You notice how distinctly upset one of them are compared to the rest

And how in your own way you feel the same

Almost as if you were about to leave a part of your soul if you left

“I’ll be back tomorrow night. We can meet by the same spot if you’d all like”

Immediately the mood is lightened

David nodding as the others smile and wave you off as you take the path home

Despite how dark the streets were and how afraid you probably should be when walking home in a new town

Let alone one named the murder capital of the world

You feel at ease

Safe beneath the starlit skies as the moon lead your way home

At some points you could’ve sworn you felt eyes on you but there was no feeling of danger

You could even dare say you felt protected as the wind howled last you

When you get home your mom is there to greet you with a smile

One that seemed less stressed than normal

“How was it?”

“It was fun!. I made some friends I think”

“You think?”

“Yeah…well this older than me but super cool”

She nods with a smile, sending you to bed with a spark of familiarity in her eyes as she stares out a window

The next night you keep your word, going to the same spot you met them when the light died

Letting night take it’s place

They arrive like they did last time but instead of laughing amongst themselves they immediately head to greet you

It repeats like this for your night times

Their always filled with fun and laughter as the group quickly welcomes you to its metaphorical ranks

There is an unknown sentiment shared between them

One that it takes awhile for your young child brain to catch onto

Eyes sending silent sentences as they ruffled your hair

The way how there’s an unspoken rule between them that at least one is with you at all times

How out of the bunch one specifically seems to linger near you more than the others

An unknown emotion filling their eyes as they have to say goodbye once the clock chimes 10

And then joy when they see you the next night at the boardwalk

How that one of the group is always the first to find you and greet you

It’s odd

But perhaps not in a bad way

It makes you feel happy and comfortable

Almost as if you greeting your dad after a long day of work or saying goodbye to him

It’s a feeling you enjoy especially as the nights are filled with joy

But with that also comes the odd feeling you have with them

A sense of kinship beyond just regular friendship

Something more alike to being part of a family

Along with that is also the odd smell your sometimes find lingering near them

It’s faint but there, an irony twang that isn’t from the studded boots or moter cycles

It hangs from them in an essence that only you seem to notice

For some reason you imagine the smell as an almost red mist

Something that also lingers around the video store that they avoid as best they can

Not like you can blame them though

Something in you tells you that danger lies there so you never go near it

There a noticeable change in you as you spend time with them

A sense of energy when the sun sets that leaves you somewhat confused since it wasn’t to this extent before

Now you felt as if you were more alive at night

Sometimes taking hours to even try to force yourself to sleep when your supposed to

And despite that you feel energetic as usual during the day but especially at night

It becomes an ongoing cycle you endure

Because if it meant being able to spend time with the boys you’d befriended then you’d bare it

David like the others can instantly tell that your his kid

They all can

It’s safe to say your now his number one priority

For a long while David feels clueless as to how he should handle this

Cause on one hand he wants to just take that step into fatherhood

To be there for you as best he could without up and saying he’s your dad

But at the same time he doesn’t know if that’s what you want or need

And that leaves him more scared than he’d like to admit

He doesn’t want to be like Max, someone who’d come into your life uninvited and decide that he’s now your dad

It’s fucked up and they know all about it from now being his “sons”

So for awhile he’d keep the relationship as being a big brother figure until he gets hints that he’d think it would be ok to take a more fatherly role

It’s odd for him to feel so…soft

He’s normally composed and at times gruff

The complete opposite of how he is when your tugging him to booth to win a prize

For the first in a long time David allows himself to let his guard down

To let the walls guarding his heart topple down and be vulnerable

It’s something he doesn’t do often even with the others

So it means a lot to him that he can do so without worry

He takes to hovering around you a lot

he’s not really affectionate like Paul or Marko but likes to just silently be near your presence

Watching you smile at a dumb joke

It comforts him that your not afraid of them, of him

That despite the looks and the scared glances from other people on the boardwalk you always come back

That also leads to him worrying for you

Especially since there are monsters in Santa Clara that may not be vampires but in his opinion much worse than they are

It’s cause of that he ends up personally watching and making sure your ok

That you get home safe to your mother

Speaking of which he may or may not be a bit bitter she kept you a secret from him

He partially understands her reasoning but it still hurts

What matters though is that he can be there for you now

Your a smart kid and it makes him proud especially as you begin taking after him in small ways

Sometimes it’s with how you walk as if you owned the place

Or how you went about a situation

He can’t help but chuckle a bit when thinking about it especially when he gifts you a coat similar to his own

The sight of which makes his crack a smile as you add it to your daily attire

It makes him feel a stroke of pride as you parade around like a mini him

Everyone knows that he’s something akin to a paternal figure to you and with that comes no one on the boardwalk messing with you

Unless they want him and the boys on their asses with a potential of ending up on a missing poster

But once again with that comes Max

Shit grinning Max who just had to stick his head into what didn’t involve him

David won’t admit it but he’s always on pins and needles when around the older vampire

For someone who is normally in control and the most powerful in a room he feels weak when the other vampire is around

All grip on the situation slipping out his fingers like sand in an hour glass

An sturdy object now cracked and moments away from breaking under the pressure of a fake smile and yellow eyes

Unsurprisingly Max is happy with this development

David dare even say ecstatic which leaves him uneasy

It’s better than him being mad but he can see the gears turning in his sire’s head

The prospect of his fucked up family dream coming one more step into fruition

Max makes one demand that David hesitantly agrees to which is bribing you in to meet him

So despite his clear hesitation David begrudgingly does so after exposing his…dad wanted to meet you

None of the boys are happy either but they put up some practices smiles and are able to convince you to help them pick out a video to watch

During this encounter you stick by David who is more than eager to shield you away from Max’s view as subtly he can

The older vampire peering down at you with intrigue

Despite nothing being amiss with the man behind the counter you feel uncomfortable

Something about him was wrong

The kind smile feeling almost Artificial as it hides something malicious behind it

You put up with that feeling though

Instead giving a shy but cordial greeting as Paul picks a film with Marko

Dwayne watching not too far away as David grasps your hand

The sight of which makes Max grin

After that the group takes you to their small hangout after you had gotten permission from your mom to stay longer

It’s something akin to a dream-like cave

Sea glass and beer bottle strung up to create blobs of coloured light

A large poster of Jim Morrison hanging on the wall just like your mom’s room that became your own

This places feels magical

“You like it?”

“Yeah!. Mom has a poster of Jim as well”

“Really?, well she must have good taste”

There’s a hidden amusement in his voice as he brings forth a wheelchair that he offers you to sit down in

It’s reminiscent of a throne as you sit down

David wheeling it closer to where the others sit as you giggle in delight

His eyes drift over to the bejewelled bottle every once in awhile as everyone watches the film

A part of him wants to offer it

That sweet golden ticket of immortality

But he holds back knowing it would be cruel

Though they may be sadistic he can’t bring himself to tricking you into turning

Can’t rip away your humanity and tear you away from your mother

He can’t find himself going to betray your trust

Perhaps later on in your life he’d offer it but for now he’ll lock those thoughts away

Despite how some part of his wishes to keep you forever young

Forever his child

His eyes trail back down to you dozing off

The others can’t help but laugh as the big bad David gentle picks you up with a certain soft look in his eyes

He glares but it only makes Paul and Marko’s giggles louder

Dwayne just smirks and nods

Getting the silent message of making sure the other two bozo’s didn’t burn down the cave as he left

And so he takes off into the sky with you in hand

Your smaller form fast asleep amongst the stars of the midnight sky

He can’t help but think about how fragile you are compared to him

A monster of the night

When he knocks on the door to your home he’s met by your mother whom stares with nostalgia

He asks if he can enter and she lets him

His jacket seems to flutter from a breeze coming in behind him

The next morning you wake up tucked into bed with the strangest dream of soaring the night skies

Your new friends Edgar and Allen say that you’d been reading too many superman comics

Dwayne feels his now unbeating heart stop as he stares down at you looking up towards them

Round innocent eyes that almost make him crumble and lose his usual stoic shield

He had always had a soft spot for children

And with you he absolutely melts like butter left in the Californian sun

The giant of a man accompanying you as you held onto his hand or the edge of his jacket

Out of them all he definitely takes to the role of dad the fastest

The quiet giant becoming the epitome of a gentle giant for you exclusively

It’s funny to the others how Dwayne will go from stoic badass to holding your hand when there’s a crowd so you don’t get lost

Honestly their all especially happy for him considering they all knew he once had a desire to have a family

It was initially what Max played on into initiating the brunette

Only for him to realize that those dreams were manipulated and played on

It’s due to that he is especially protective when he realizes you can be used as tool by Max

Like David he looms nearby but secretly loves giving you any affection that your comfortable with

Whether that be holding his hand or being placed on his shoulder is up to you but he never complains

In fact he only gently smiles, the edges of his eyes crinkling as a look of calm appears in his eyes

Dwayne (unlike the others) loves talking about historical events they had lived through

Of course he framed the stories as from relatives or now dead family members but there’s a certain look in his eyes that tells he’s talking of personal experience

Dwayne is a pro at the carnival games since he often times had to win them for Marko or Paul

He uses this to his advantage by winning you any and every prize you’d ever want

Whether that be the big ones or small your getting it

Thing is as well is that you don’t even need to ask him, he already seems to know which one you want and the next night or hour he returns with it in hand for you

The others now laugh cause now he stocks up on the cheaply stuffed toys and trinkets at the cave

Their in a neat pile away from the mud and grime

Plus Marko’s nabby hands for when he needs supplies for a new art project

Speaking of which he basically looms over Marko’s shoulder as he’s making you your own coat to match his

Jaguar and all

Marko knows he’s just excited but he has to shoo him off since having a giant looking over your shoulder while you work is kinda distracting

In the quiet moments where he sits with you and have ice cream by the beach he tells you of tales

How each constellation has a story

How flowers have certain meaning in Victorian and various cultures

Along with that he reads to you books of old

Ones with flowery language long forgotten to the modern world yet he holds an appreciation for

During when he reads he lets your read aloud with him, taking turns voice characters as he helps you sound out harder words

It makes him more happy than you can imagine that has someone (let alone his own child) to read along with

He likes Shakespeare and stuff considered to be classics but he has a soft spot for fantasy novels like Tolkien

Once considered reading to you Dracula but held back thinking that it maybe too on the nose and give you suspicions

It’s at this point he would also explain to you in detail his heritage of indigenous origin

Stories passed on from his people that he now shares to you

When he does so theirs a certain gentleness and vulnerability he has in his tone

It had been once again something he had dreamed of doing, passing down stories just as his parents and grandparents before him

One that was yet again something he didn’t think he’d get to do

But here he is, beneath the starry night sky retelling stories generations old as you look to him with pure amazement and interest

Something that makes him a bit more teary eyed than he’d like to admit

He often worries about your sleep schedule and about your health in general partially due to the fact none of them know what a half-vampire entails

Nor do they want to ask Max out of fear of sounding too suspicious

So he kinda has to wing it

Through the night he constantly makes sure to get you snacks and drinks to keep you hydrated

The other joke that he’s a mother hen but he takes that in pride

Pride that he can care for his own flesh and blood

But of course nothing can last forever and Max catches on when you accidentally stumble into his shop on night with Dwayne behind you

Safe to say it’s a bit of an awkward talk that has implications you don’t catch onto as the two “talk”

Well it’s more like Max is talking as Dwayne gave short answers and silent messages through his glare

Meanwhile your peaking out from behind the movie selection as the man behind the counter stares at you with interest

When the two of you leave after that you notice how for a long while he gets more protective

His hand gripping yours a bit tighter than usual or how his eyes scour through the crowds when your on his shoulder

When he brings you to the cave (after your moms permission to stay out later than usual) you ride with him on his bike

Unlike the others (cough Marko and Paul cough) he drives safely

He also makes sure that your comfortable enough

Once there he carefully guides you down into their base

Being sure so that you don’t trip over any stray jutting stones or debris laying around

It comes to no surprise that he talks of the history of this place

From how it sunk to how stalactites now begin to form

You sit down with him at the old fountain and he pulls out an old copy of Hamlet

He reads as the others do their own thing nearby, casually listening or throwing in a quip from time to time

It’s fun especially as Paul makes a remark that their all to dramatic

That gets a rock thrown at him by David

When your getting tired though he takes you home on his own

The hum of the motor cycle making it really easy to fall asleep as the very early hours of the morning

Your mother can only smile at the sight of him walking you to the door hand in hand

The next while that becomes a tradition

One in which that has you always happy at the end of the night from the fun memories and how easy it was to fall asleep

Dwayne’s new favourite activity though is teaching you to dance since you randomly asked one day

The tune of a song from the smiths or echo and the bunny people filling the cavern

Bouncing off it’s old walls as you stand on his feet following his lead

He fells at peace, purely content and happy in a way he hadn’t experienced yet in his undead life

“Am I doing this right?”

“You are, just follow my lead”

Edgar and Allen say he’s unfortunately not allowed in their shop cause he refuses to still wear a shirt so you can’t introduce them yet

No shirt no service as they say

Paul is freaking the fuck out internally cause out of all of them he was a dad

Him

The smooth talking ladies man who was as high a kite almost every night

Is he upset by this revelation? Fuck no

Is up surprised and unprepared? Hell yeah

Unsurprisingly the others tease him about this quite a bit but he doesn’t bite back since he’s too distracted wrapping his head around how he should act around you

Like the others he’s had a particular bad home life back when he was alive so he doesn’t really know how to be a good dad

Part of him fears that he’ll end up like his father

Controlling and often times would hurt him for acting out

It leaves him fearful that he could become him for he is already a monster of the night

There’s no telling if he’d fall as far as his dad

The others remind him he would never but a part of him still worries

During his time with you he is always cracking jokes and quips to hear you laugh

It’s perhaps his new favourite thing to hear as a smirk spreads across your face

A sight in which he does his best to be a constant expression on your face

The so called “twisted sister look alike” likes indulging in games with you

Along with spinning you around in the air or running with you sitting on his shoulders

Marko helps him with a lot of the these endeavours

The other golden hair vampire helping in the schemes he makes to make your nights all that more enjoyable

Several of which are stopped by Dwayne of David cause their apparently “dangerous” and “could blow our cover you dumb blonds”

The dumbass duo now becomes a trio cause your dragged along with them

The only braincell on the group as David and Dwayne desperately hope you don’t lose said braincell with hanging out with the two

Paul is very affectionate and shows this both verbally and physically

He’s constantly telling you how cool you look and patting your head

It’s his way of making sure you know your always loved

You can definitely bet he sneaks you into concerts that you maybe shouldn’t be at

And then at said concert he parades you on his shoulders so you get a good view

Wild hair flying everywhere as he bops to the tune with you doing the same

With you now taking up most of his attention he focuses less on woman since he’d rather spend time with someone who he knows won’t leave

Even when he does talk to woman though it isn’t like it was before

What started off as flirting derails when he starts talking about how proud he is of you and-

And the woman has now left and he hadn’t noticed

David jokes that he’s lost his skills but he doesn’t really mind as much as he initially thought

He just laughs it off with a “whatever you say man” before taking you to yet another booth where he wins you something

And steals a few extra prizes

He steals you quite a bit of stuff

Like you were looking at something for a millisecond?, he’s mentally notes that down to yoink later

Bit of a kleptomaniac so he has a shit ton of old concert merch and collectibles that he gifts to you

David been complaining that it’s piling up in the cave anyways so he’s happy it’s going to a good home

Still a bit sad cause he’s emotionally attached to those items but feels a sense of happiness when he sees you wear the old band shirts he’s collected

Speaking of which he had a ton of unused patches Marko has been unable to touch that he has added to your coat

All the way from Jimi Hendrix and the doors to Motley crew and black sabbath

He tries to hold back smoking near you but there are the times where he ends up high and is around you

You actually find Paul to be really funny when he’s high

The others disapprove cause it’s not exactly a respoible thing to do in front of a kid and cause he gets chatty and on several occasions almost blew their cover

He does try to tone it down for your sake though

Which is more than David could ever convince him to do

It probably doesn’t take long for Max to catch on that’s something going on that he hasn’t been let on to

Doesn’t fucking except Paul of people to have a kid

Well…maybe that’s a lie, he does know that he is quite good with women but still

Like the others Paul doesn’t really like Max but he at least tries to hide his discomfort with a lazy smile

Don’t be fooled though cause his foot is bouncing anxiously

Max is of course all smiles as you place a movie you’d like onto the counter

Paul holding your hand as you feel sweat begin to form on his

Max greets and talks with him but you can sense something is odd

The encounter ends fast and leads with Paul putting you on his shoulders and running off into the crowds

You still feel the other man’s eyes watching the two of you disappear into the sea of people

Eventually your able to get permission to go with them to their cave on the condition they drop you off back home

In an instant Paul is showing you his area of the cave

His figurative treasure trove that your allowed to touch without the worry of having a rabid Paul set loose for touching his stuff

You sit on a pile of old shirts as he shows off some trinkets that he thought were particularly cool

It’s there he also plays some of his favourite albums from the mixtapes Marko made

At some point he begins singing along with you following suit

Laughter and giggles every few verses as you mess up words and only remember the chorus

It’s the most fun thing he’s done

It’s so mundane yet it seems to ingrain itself into his memory

Something he’d hold close when he felt particularly lonely

When he takes you home he decides to park his motorcycle at the board walk and take you the rest of the way by foot

You laugh and joke with him and it warms his undead heart

You talk of your dreams and he makes you promise to never doubt your ability to accomplish them

Something his dad never did

Your mother already awaits at the door when he drops you off

He smiles and shoots her a flirty remark she giggles at as she shoo’s you to bed

As he’s about to leave she says he and the others always welcome to stay if the sun is too close

He nods and disappears into the night

Edgar and Allen say Paul isn’t allowed in the store after once catching him stealing several comics

Along with the fact their concerned his dumbassery will end up with the shop in flames

Marko is dumbfounded but also jumping with fucking joy

HE HAS A KID!!!

Oh my god- ow

Yeah definitely excited but then realizes that means he has a tiny human he’s now responsible for

A tiny human who is more fragile than regular humans

In an area infested with creepo’s and surf nazi’s

He’s now internally screaming and Dwayne is doing his best to help cause they all can hear it through their mind link

Definitely anxious about now having a kid who doesn’t know he’s their dad but simultaneously he knows their his kid

David is so close to sometimes snack him on the head

Marko is personally good with affection and dishes it out quite often but his favourite is gifts

Me makes (and steals) you sooo much stuff

Like if Paul was bad for snatching shit then Marko is going to a new level for you

Out of the bunch he’s the most artistic

And he’s very passionate about it

Me makes you bracelets, handmade pins out of bottle caps, patches and doodles

All of which end up being kept safe in your room or added to your clothes

He’d absolutely love to take you “shopping” around the boardwalk for supplies before starting an art project with you

Hunched near the beach as the two of you paint some random shit with patterns and drawings

It’s due to this the fights in the boardwalk has gone down 50%

David has almost staked himself several times for the countless times Marko and Paul end up in stupid situations as they dragged you along

It’s nothing too bad, just some light mischief that leaves you giggling as he runs with you clinging to him

He only wins at the carnival games cause he cheats via vampire powers

Like he could’ve learned to do it properly over the years

But using an ability is sooo much easier

Plus somehow miraculously winning every time to watch the hope drain from a vendors eyes is satisfying to him

As is reaping the rewards of giving you a giant plush and getting a bright smile

One time you surprised him with something you won him and he still cherishes it

He even gave the plush a name and refuses to let anyone but him touch it

That goes along with any drawings or small artwork you give him

It could be something as small as a post it note with a smiley face and he’d be asking David to frame it on a wall

He decides to make a scrapbook to keep it all in

Certain drawings he really likes end up becoming custom patches that he adds to his coat

Unlike the others who want to give you a jacket that relatively matches their own

Marko goes off the wall in creating something similar to his but at the same time different

He’s an artist, he ain’t making the same thing again

Do you know how that hurts his soul?…if he still had one!

…plus Dwayne would probably strangle him if your jacket had a half naked woman like his own

Your jacket becomes his main project he works on

Yours is customized to your liking with patches of bands you like

To Italian tapestries much like his own

He adds charms and beads and-

David has to stop him before it becomes too heavy for your small form to carry

They once had to stop Marko from committing a art heist cause you offhandedly mentioned you like one of the paintings a local museum had

He verbally torn apart by Dwayne but it was so worth it in his eyes since he was able to raid the gift shop for prints instead

(Still sucks he couldn’t get the original)

Sometimes when he’d feeling nostalgic he takes you around the area and shows you works of art he may or may not have made

Their all anonymous works so he can just tell you his “interpretation” of what it’s supposed to mean

He loves hearing your input though

Hearing your own version of how you view the message of a piece as he looks on

Marko has been breeding and training pigeons for generations so he definitely introduces you to his feathered friends

He shows you how to tell if their happily coo’ing and where to pet them

His favourite of the bunch is one he named “Legosi” after the actor

Legosi now ends up being a messenger pigeon that he uses during the daytime to send you little motivational messages or small charms

Like Paul it doesn’t take long for Max to catch onto something being amuck

And Marko is fucking terrified as he attempts to act like his normal self as the man behind the counter of the video store looks down at you with a smile

It feels almost like a predator smiling down at prey

When he takes you to the cave he shows you all his projects and artwork that is found around

The fountain and the pigeons

It’s fun especially since he shows you all the random supplies he’s collected over the years

Including weird ass paints that aren’t in production due to them using dangerous materials like arsenic

The others watch on as the usually chaotic blond becomes calm as the two of you finger paint

Or he teaches you to sew

It’s probably the most content they’ve seen him in a long while

He won’t tell you it but he has a habit of accidentally just divulging in Italian as he talks about amazing you are to the others without even noticing he’s switched languages

Yet again not allowed into the comic shop for stealing plus Edgar and Allen swear he’s cut out panels when their not looking

You can confirm after seeing his collage’s with comic strips that he probably cut out from the pages

For someone often considered paranoid many people find it odd how your mother moved back to her hometown of Santa Clara

Even with the inheritance of her parents home it still felt like a departure from how she normally was

The woman who’s jump at the slightest of sounds

Or insisted on having at heart 3 locks on a door

But perhaps what’s more strange is her response as to why she lets you, a 12 year old, out at night

Something that normally would seem like a decision only made by negligent parents in this town polluted by missing posters

“Their probably the person with the most safety in this town. Cause I’m this case their the metaphorical princess with a group of dragons there to protect them”

Most would write off this statement

But it’s more true than anyone would initially think

For the monsters who lurk the night don’t hurt one of their own

[wonik1ss]

pov : me after I see I’m at 500 and now have to finnish the 4k special !

here’s a little snit-bit ! most likely will come out on monday or tuesday ! spiderman!minji x f!reader

update : here it is for the lazy people just swinging in

you adjusted your glasses as you got down to your beakers level. just one drop and your class would be-

“oh I’m such a klutz sorry..?”

“y/n..”

“yeah yeah”. hana waved you of as she pretended to limp over to your freshly 24 year old professor.

“we can use mine..”. yunah giggled as you got ahold of her hand grasping it for dear life.

“oh you sweet sweet angel!”

“calm down I already finnished anyways ..!”. you thanked your friend again and then began to jot down some notes. you were not even three months into college when your favorite class became your least favorite. last week your professor who looked like he was deadly close to kicking the bucket decided to fight a student and he ‘retired’ the school says by his own volition..

now with your new much younger professor you felt like panties were dropping left and right.

“it’s like seeing two birds mate..”. yunah playfully shushed you as a bell rang.

“ok see you all next week..!”. already packed up you and yunah giggled as your professor struggled to get your fellow classmate to leave too.

“so the mal-“

“can’t.. jihan needs to study for her science test and I can’t let her fail..!”. you nodded as yunah ran of to find her bestfriend. ever since you started all your new friends were old friends to others. so after school ended it was either frat party’s or staying at home binging kdramas.

you tried though. you went to three frat party’s in the three months you been their for no more then three minutes. after one minute you were seen as fresh meat, two y they stalked forward, and threw a bunch of horny college boys tired their luck with you

“his boobs were moving”. yunah tilted her head as she painted your nails.

“guys don’t have tits.. y/n”

“well.. he’s peeks like.. twitched..”. you heard a door open and you laughed at jihan’s open mouth.

“you should have let me come..!”. as jihan played with your nine painted hand you went on to the point yunah had to close jihan a mouth herself.

snapping out of your daydream you stepped of the bus ear buds on. you went to get the essentials first. a new tooth brush since your roommate stepped on your old one, some more shower products then finally you got to your wants. walking into the sanrio store happy by wjsn playing in your ears.

you shopped to your hearts desire. or until you reached your debit cards limit. once you were done you wandered into a comic shop. but what caught your eye wasn’t the comics but the red and blue merch.

after coming to seol for that better education you soon found out in your part that somewhat resembled nyc a spiderman ran around helping peopl. last week it was snake in a tree, the next was the culprit of a cat napping and now you saw his suit on the cutest jacket.

$50

“fucking inflation”

“I know right..!”. you head jerked to the old white man in the front of the store.

“sorr-“

“no no I understand.. I tried to haggle it down but he’s just got to famous for that now..”. you smiled and as you put the tag of the jacket down you heard the caching.

“take it I’m closing up shop in a few days and it would suit you”. you tried to say no put the man put the jacket and something else in your bag and you bowed and thanked him on your way out. until you fell on your ass.

“watch it dude!”. when you looked up he was long gone and a bunch of people ran following. as you dusted of your legs you heard a stomp then another then another. you tried to scramble to your feet but his eyes trapped you. what looked like an old timely soldier. his eyes glowed blue.. it was like you were in a trance.

“thy must join me or per-“

“army’s are so old timey man just start a cult of something”. you saw red and blue legs infront of you.

“..I shall repeat myself onc-“

“are you alright miss?”. spider-man helped you up while simultaneously webbing the soldier to the mall wall.

“yeah.. shouldn’t you be fighting him though”

“feel like I should help a pretty lady escape first..”. you stood stunned when spider-man winked at you and rushed you to hide in his merch store..

get ready !

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Running From The Flames {Epilogue 1/2}

Pairing: Pierre Gasly x OFC Warnings: parenting - that should be a warning lmao, sexual themes

F1 Masterlist || Previous Chapter - Epilogue 2/2

There was only one word to describe my life and that word was: chaotic. That being said, I still wouldn’t change it for the world.

The family calendar on the fridge was completely full and colour coded so we could all see where we were needed on any given day. Even so, I still lost track of my husband or our kids at least once a week. 

“Sydney, honey, have you seen your father?” I asked the spitting image of Pierre who was in the race simulator. He was always in the machine, practising for his upcoming debut into Formula 4 now that he had turned 15 and could move up from karting. 

“Picking up Addie from the airport.” He barely looked away from the triplet of screens in front of him as he answered with all the attitude of a teenage boy being interrupted in life. “It’s on the fridge.”

I looked at the calendar and realised I was looking at the completely wrong day. “Shit.”

“Ha,” he laughed loudly as he navigated the virtual track of the Red Bull Ring. “You forgot.”

“I didn’t forget,” I said as I scanned over the correct day and saw I had a board meeting to prepare for tomorrow. “I just thought it was Tuesday today.”

“Whatever you say, maman. You can tell me I’m your favourite, I won’t say anything.”

“I don’t have a favourite, I love you all equally. Now, can you finish that game and go do your homework? You still need to pack your bag for the weekend too.”

Addie was coming home from London for the week, taking a little break from her own busy schedule, to watch Sydney’s first race with us in Austria. 

It had been difficult to let her leave home at 18 but she had worked hard to get a place in the Arsenal Women’s Under 21 team. I had left home at the same age and Pierre had left even earlier, so we were hardly the exemplary figures to deny her. All we could do was make sure she stayed safe and she knew she could call either of us 24/7 if she needed help. It was also never that long between visits, making plenty of stopovers in England as we travelled. 

The travelling for work was tiresome but so far we had yet to miss a football match on Saturday or a karting race on Sunday. It did help being our own bosses so Pierre and I could manage our schedule around the kids. He had been running Strauss Fashion for the better part of the last ten years, after Granny finally retired properly, while I had been the Chief Technical Officer at Alpine, which Grandpa had purchased. 

When Harry passed away three years ago I found myself suddenly thrust into the ownership of the team and though there were plenty of offers to sell it, I decided to take the leap of faith and see where the journey would take me. I hadn’t looked back and so far we had two Constructors' Championship wins with our seasoned pilots, Gabriele Minì and Oliver Bearman.

We had come so far, it was hard to believe until I saw the wisps of grey hairs among the dark strands. 

“Maman!” I was pulled from my reminiscence and looked at my watch to realise how quickly the afternoon had gotten away from me as Clare bounded through the front door and leapt into my arms. “Maman, look!”

Clare had been a wonderful surprise that completed our family two years ago. After Sydney’s unexpected and frightening early arrival Pierre had been reluctant to try for another child, though he had always wanted three. I thought maybe he would change his mind after the terrifying memory faded with time but then a few years passed, we both got caught up in work, and after that it seemed too hard to imagine returning to sleepless nights with a newborn. 

But, the universe had other plans for us. What I thought was a long-enduring hangover, after celebrating the rebranding of Alpine into Gasly Racing, actually turned out to be morning sickness. Those final weeks before her birth were stressful enough to send Pierre to his doctor for a vasectomy but thankfully her arrival went exactly to plan and he could breathe calmly once again. 

“Hello my Clare-bear, wow, you have another bracelet.” You quirked an eyebrow at Charles as he arrived with Clare’s backpack on his shoulder and her spare carseat under his arm. “Uncle Charles has absolutely spoiled you.”

“Of course. A princess deserves it,” he stated proudly as he placed her belongings down and nodded his head to the simulator. “Is he all ready for the big day?”

“He is, I’m not sure I am,” I admitted as I put Clare down and she immediately went to interrupt Sydney by climbing onto his lap mid-race. If it was anyone else they would have received an earful but he just paused the game and listened as she told him all about her day at Uncle Charles’ house. “God help me when he gets to Formula One, I think I’ll have to revert the car back to a slower predecessor for my own sanity.”

Charles laughed but I wasn’t completely joking. The cars were so much faster than they were when he and PIerre raced. Though the safety features improved along with the technology that made them rockets on wheels it was still difficult to imagine putting my little boy inside one and sending it off. 

“You could keep him as a reserve driver,” Charles offered before shaking his head at the thought and taking a seat at the kitchen island. “But he’s stubborn like his father, he’d just find another team to race for.”

“No way, I can at least trust my own team to keep him safe. Same goes for Marc.”

Charles chuckled at the mention of his son who at 8 years old he was already a junior karting champion. “He said someone called him Il Predestinato after his race last weekend.”

“Yikes, I’m sure they meant it in a good way.”

The front door opened again and Addie blew in with all the gusto of a tornado, whipping around the rooms to greet everyone before she was up the stairs to her old room. Entering a little more sedately was my husband, his arms laden with more suitcases than anyone needed for a week away, especially when she still had a wardrobe full of clothes upstairs. 

“You are lucky you only have sons,” Pierre said to Charles as he kicked the door closed behind him. “I don’t work out enough anymore to be carrying this shit.” 

He dropped the suitcases in front of the elevator and hit the call button rather than carrying them up the stairs before pushing them inside as the door opened. After a few bad winters, where not even the central heating could keep the aches of my bones at bay, Pierre had made the call for the elevator to be installed and it had been a godsend in moments like this when heavy items needed to make it to the floors above.

Sticking his head up the staircase he called out, “Addie, your entire life and everything but the kitchen sink is heading your way.”

“Thanks, dad!”

“What was that about?” I asked after he joined us in the kitchen while the coffee machine churned out our usual drinks. “I thought she outgrew the ‘I’m too cool to hangout with my parents’ phase.”

Pierre's lips pressed together and he took a seat next to Charles, picking up Clare who had left Sydney to return to his practice. “Elias.”

“Vettel?” Charles asked, his eyebrows lifting when Pierre nodded and pushed his mug away so Clare couldn’t reach the hot liquid.

“They have been out on a few dates, apparently. I’ll have to ask Davis about it, assuming he went with them, it’s not like it’s his job or anything. Did you know that?”

I shook my head at the news, cradling my mug in my hands as I leaned against the bench and wondered if she had ditched her bodyguard once again. “He’s a sweet boy from what I remember, much like his father.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t care who his dad is,” Pierre grumbled before repeating, “You are so lucky you only have sons, mate. Teenage girls are stressful.”

“Ah, but I have two boys who think it is funny to have a competition to see who can fart the loudest,” Charles said as he took a sip of his drink.

“I mean, that’s kind of funny,” Pierre said with a smirk.

Charles sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. “Not when one always pushes too hard to win.”

The sip I was taking went the wrong way and I spluttered as Pierre laughed, “It’s all shits and giggles, until someone giggles and shits.”

“To think my poor mother went through this too. Drives me insane, mate. Bet you’ve never had to worry about that?”

“Thankfully, no,” I answered after recovering from choking on coffee. “But it also wasn’t bad enough to stop you from having another.”

“And on that note, I should get going. Mia won’t let me back in the house if I don’t pick up her favourite carbonara on the way home.” He smiled as he thought of his wife’s pregnancy cravings. It was the same one she had when she was carrying Marc and Antonio so it came as no surprise at the gender reveal when the backyard was splattered with blue confetti. “Thank you for letting me borrow Clare.”

“Any time,” Pierre chuckled as he clapped his friend on the back. Charles had been busy reinstalling all the baby gates and safety locks in his home, despite the baby boy not even being born yet, and wanted a toddler to help test his craftsmanship. “I won’t complain about a little free babysitting.”

Charles placed his empty mug in the sink and before kissing the top of Clare’s thick wavy hair. “Bye petite chérie, I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“Bye Uncle Charles,” she said with a wave, but it sounded more like Unk Cha and made him laugh as he approached the simulator.

I saw Sydney pause the race and Charles crouched down beside him, sharing a few quiet words of encouragement for the upcoming debut race. I couldn’t help feeling incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many supportive people and my smile grew as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. 

I turned to meet his lips over my shoulder and the magnetism that attracted us was still evident even after 17 years. Of course, like any relationship, there had been times when stress led to arguments and I would find him hours later in a spare bed, wide awake because he couldn’t sleep without me beside him. Those fights never lasted long enough to even remember what they were about and forgiveness came easy.

I turned in my husband’s arms and draped mine around his neck to admire him. Pierre was truly like a fine wine. Age had made him even more handsome and the small wrinkles at the corners of his lips and eyes were a testament to a life that was full of smiles and laughter. 

“Addie said she’ll watch the kids tonight,” Pierre whispered in my ear as he gently swayed to the melodic tune of his voice and I hummed with contentment. “And I got us a table at L'Ambroisie. You’ve been working so hard I thought we could do with a night away, just the two of us.”

“You think I don’t know your game, baby,” I whispered back, all too aware Charles was still chatting with Sydney and imparting some real world advice. “Wine and dine, pretty words, a hotel room. There’s only one thing you want.”

His lips curled into a smile against my cheek. “You know me too well.”

“You would actually get a full night’s sleep if you put your foot down.”

Pierre looked over at Clare who had helped herself to a banana from the fruit bowl and as if sensing she had been caught she looked up with an innocent smile. “How can I tell her no when she looks like that?”

“Mhmm, and that’s why she keeps climbing into our bed. You are a big softy.”

His smirk was flirty and fun as his arms tightened around me, pulling our bodies flush together. His breath was hot on my neck as he hid his face in the curtain of my hair. “Not tonight, ma femme. Tonight you will see just how hard I can be.”

Pierre backed up with a smirk but not before he sucked at the sensitive skin above my racing pulse. He knew exactly what he was doing and the smugness showed as he whistled a little tune on his way to help Clare peel the banana.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the stairs and said goodbye to Charles with the message to remind Mia that our plans for a spa day had been booked - but that didn’t mean he could slack off from the ankle massages he was giving her each night. He gave an amused salut but I didn’t see it as I pressed the button for the elevator. He was well used to the reminders by now, it wasn’t his first rodeo.

Knowing my evening plans had changed I went to my office and shut the door to silence the music drifting down the hall from Addie’s room. As CEO of Gasly Racing there was an endless stream of paperwork to be checked and signed, especially with the new expansion plan for the factory about to break ground. On top of that were the invites to attend fundraisers or speeches to prepare for the various charities I was ambassador for such as Women's Refuge.

When I finally emerged with my inbox up to date I could hear the laughter of all my children from where they lounged in front of the tv and the sound never ceased to make me smile. I had missed the sound since Addie moved out because it was rare to have all five of us here at the same time and I was reluctant to leave even for just one night when it came time to pack an overnight bag.

“We are allowed one night away, mon amour,” Pierre said as he stepped into the master bedroom to see me hesitating to step inside the wardrobe. “You and me, no interruptions.”

I relaxed into his embrace and sighed as he brushed my hair over one shoulder before kissing my collar. “And what were you planning that was so important it couldn’t be interrupted?”

His chuckle sent a shiver of delight down my spine and his fingers trailed down my ribs to the hem of my shirt before they slipped underneath the material to caress the soft skin over my stomach. I had to take a shaky breath when his thumbs caught the waistband of my skirt and I held it as I waited for them to hook underneath.

His lips brushed the shell of my ear and my lips parted in anticipation of his dirty words. “To sleep.”

“Huh?” I blinked twice, peeking over my shoulder to see his green eyes sparkling with amusement. 

“To sleep. Why, what were you thinking?” He tried to look innocent but when he drew his bottom lip between his teeth and his hand slipped down beneath my skirt he let the truth show. “Did you want me to tell you how I am dying for a taste of you? How I can’t wait to have these sexy legs wrapped around me when I make love to you tonight? I don’t need to tell you, baby, I’ll show you.”

I knew he could feel how damp my panties were for him from the smirk on his face and I almost whimpered when he withdrew his hand from where I needed it. “Now pack your bag, and make it quick, I’m absolutely ravenous.”

I bit my lip at the depth of his tone and knew exactly what it was he was dying to taste. I didn’t even look at what I was packing, tossing the first items that touched my hands before he stopped me and grabbed one dress instead. 

“This one,” he said as he held a colourful sundress that I rarely wore anymore, a soft smile warming his eyes. “It’s my favourite.”

Click here for the final chapter. 🥺

Tagging: @my-only-way-tocooperatewithlife @prrttysposts @alwaysclassyeagle @dr3lover @adalynneva