#pasta was like. My Sisters Meal <- it still is why did i say it in the past tense

[todayisafridaynight]

If i could give daigo a bowl of pasta with parmesan and olive oil and a lil salt i would its what he deserves ultimately

[mj0702]

@helen-with-an-a ... there you go

“Lucy!!!” you came sprinting into the kitchen nearly running into your sister

“What?” Lucy asked chopping some fruits

“Can I go to London to surprise Lee and Meado?” you asked excited

“Why??” your sister asked not stopping her chopping

“Kei is in London and I kinda miss Meado and Viv – okay I miss Miley … and Lee… pleeeeeaaaaaase Lucy…” you begged pulling slightly on your sisters sleeve

“Keira is in London?” Lucy double checked

“Sí” you nodded frantically

“Get her on the phone so I can talk to her…” your sister huffed and you sprinted off getting her phone unlocking it with a broccoli before calling Keira

“How did you unlock me phone??” Lucy exclaimed shocked

“With the broccoli as always” you shrugged your shoulders “It always works with a broccoli… cauliflower doesn’t work by the way”

“What you mean with the broccoli ad always???” your sister was still flabbergasted

“You use face ID to unlock your phone… a broccoli works… Hi Kei… Lucy wants to talk to you” you said happily as the call connected

“Did you know you can unlock my phone with a broccoli???” was the first thing Lucy asked when she took the phone from you while you shuffled over to the couch looking down on Ona who had her eyes closed

“Qué?” the spaniard said keeping her eyes shut

“Did I wake you?” you shuffled around uncomfortably

“No Bebita… I wasn’t asleep in the first place… just relaxing a little bit” Ona answered a small smile on her face

“Can I relax with you?” you asked shyly and without answering Ona moved a little to the side making room for you

“Don’t worry Bebita… Lucy will let you go to London…” the spaniard said quietly pulling you into her arms calming you down immediately

“But what if Keira says no…” you said sadly

“… then Lucy will find someone else who will pick you up and look after you – of course it’s easier if Keira agrees because she knows you” Ona said calmly starting to gently massage your temple knowing it helps you to focus

“Muy Gracias Oni” you sighed out melting into her frame

“What is muy gracias Bebita?” the catalan chuckled “I taught you better than that”

“moltes gràcies” you huffed

“There we go…” Ona smiled happily

“Guys… dinner” your sister yelled from the kitchen making you whined

“I just got comfortable” you whined making Ona chuckle

“We agreed to one full meal a day Bebita” the spaniard said softly poking your side “You were far to close to slip into old habits again”

“I know” you huffed rolling your eyes but getting up nonetheless

“Bona noia” Ona smile getting up after you

“Lucy I can’t anymore” you sighed

“I little bit more Bubs… please… you didn’t even eat a third.. I know it’s a lot but please…” Lucy said softly

“I’m full Lucy…” you whined

“Lucy…” Ona laid her hand on her girlfriends arm “… Baby steps”

“I know…” your sister sighed and you immediately sunk back into your chair feeling like you disappointed her

“M’sorry Luce” you mumbled

“No Bubs… you did nothing wrong... I should’ve made something lighter… not pasta… still too much for you” Lucy said stroking through your hair “… but you ate something so… Go pack your bag… Kei will pick you up at Heathrow tomorrow”

“You letting me go??” you perked up

“Sure … but you promise to listen to Keira” your sister said seriously

“Promise” you said quickly before rushing to your room

“It’ll do her some good…. I know you already worry but Keira will look after her” Ona said squeezing Lucys arm lightly

“I know… but with her eating disorder flaring up again…” Lucy chewed on her bottom lip

“You told Keira right?” the spaniard checked

“Of course I did… she’s blaming herself too…” your sister answered

“None of us noticed it until it was nearly too late… and we’re living with her” Ona said softly knowing how much Lucy beat herself up over it “… but we caught her in time and she’s doing better… slowly… but steadily”

“I don’t know if we would’ve caught it it if it wasn’t for Tana…” Lucy said lowly

“It doesn’t matter now… we’re going to catch her every time she needs us too…” the blonde smiled slightly

“LUCY????!!! WHERE IS YOUR CITY JERSEY??? I NEED IT TO RUB SALT INTO THE WOUND!!!” you yelled down the hallway

“HOW SHOULD I KNOW???? I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE MY WOLD CUP MEDAL IS” your sister yelled back

“In our bedroom… wardrobe… left side fourth shelf” Ona now interrupted knowing if she wouldn’t Lucy and you would yell at each other the whole night

“GRACIAS FRIENDLY SPANIARD” you yelled and your bare feet could be heard as you padded down the hallway towards their bedroom

“Okay listen Bubs…. Kei will pick you up at Heathrow… you do NOT leave the building without her… if anything happens you call for a stewardess… I told the airline that you’re not comfortable flying and they’ll have an extra eye on you anyway – bit if you get a panic attack coming you tell one of them okay” Lucy said to you her voice serious

“God Lucy… it’s not the first time I’m flying on me own” you tried to play it cool but your sister saw right through your act

“I downloaded the Norway against Croatia game… we play both of them in friendlies in after the summer break… Sarina wants some ideas… you can go over your notes with Leah and video call Sarina…” your sister just kept talking knowing it’s best to ignore your act

“Why can’t Sarina tell me that herself??” you grumbled

“When was the last time you checked your emails??” Lucy raised her eyebrow

“Ehrm…. Dunno… couple of weeks?” you shrugged your shoulders

“Exactly… she did tell you… you just never check your emails” your sister rolled her eyes as your flight got called up “Okay Bubs… that’s it… you’ll be good for Kei and bring me back some Hobnobs and Penguin okay”

“Can’t you come with me Lucy… please?” you suddenly begged

“I can’t Bubs… you’ll be okay ... you get on the plane and watch the game and then it’s already time to get off the plane again” Lucy said lovingly as she pressed a kiss to your forehead

“Okay… okay…” you took a deep breath “… I can do that”

“Go… and don’t forget to text when you’re there” your sister gently pushed you towards the gates

“Come on.. just open these damn doors….” you mumbled to yourself “… people have somewhere to be”

Finally the Crew opened the plane doors and you were the first one to get off the plane making use off all the training Alexia and Lucy put you trough. You were pretty sure you tanked a business man back into hi seat but you didn’t care. You flashed through arrival area where people waited for their luggage and of COURSE the police officer got suspicious of your behavior. You were THIS close to the exit doors when two of them decided to stop you and starting to ask questions

“Okay guys look… I HATE flying with a passion… my pick me up is waiting just behind that door” you said panting “… can we please play 20 questions there?”

“Okay… you’re going to come us Ma’am” the older scruffy police officer said already grabbing your arm

“HEY!!” you yelled upset which was the wrong decision to make since his grip tightened around your arm and more police officers looked over

“We just have a few questions… don’t make a scene.. it won’t end good for you” the man said already pulling you along

“Look mate… I just want to get outta here and visit some friends… can you ask your stupid questions and let me go?” you asked getting angry yourself

“I decide where and when I ask NY questions…” the grey haired officer grumbled his younger colleague following

“I’m a citizen of the United Kingdom… you have no right…” you started to fight his grip

“… I don’t care if you’re English, African or Indian… if I have the suspicion you have something to hide I can stop and question whoever I want” the old officer said pulling you into an office

“Okay… boarding pass, passport and state your name and date of birth” the grey haired man grumbled

“I want a lawyer” you shot back

“This is not CSI Heathrow… you don’t need a lawyer” the old man rolled his eyes “Just cooperate and will be done in a couple of minutes”

“Y/n Tough Bronze, February 20th… I’m 5’4, 53.4 kg, blue eyed, I have a girlfriend and my Starbucks order is…” you started but got interrupted again

“You think this is a joke?” the officer asked

“Quiet frankly… yes… but I still try to be nice and respectful” you smiled sweetly

“You’re under age… what are your plans here and how long you’re staying?” the man didn’t even react to your sarcasm

“I told you me pick me up is waiting outside… I’m still allowed to fly on me own” you grumbled

“Give me a name” the officer said seeing you won’t answer any of his questions

“Keira Walsh… if you lived under a rock and don’t know what she looks like… Google her name” you said leaning back in the chair

“Insults won’t get you anywhere but okay… Keira Walsh my ass…” the man rolled his eyes

“My name is LITERALLY Bronze…” your voice full of sarcasm

“Okay… if you say so… Darren… get outside and retrieve “Keira Walsh”… I’ll start the paperwork for having John Cleese over here trough the night” the grey haired officer grumbled as his partner rushed outside

“Bitsy I swear if you attacked an officer again I’ll let you rot in prison” you heard before the door got ripped open and an angry looking Keira stood in the frame

“I did nothing I swear” you held up your hands in surrender “HE just grabbed me as I was on me way out”

“Holy mother Mary of God…” the older man mumbled

“Leave Mearps out of this… she would end you for even touching me” you said grumpily

“You… quiet…” Keira snapped at you before turning to the officer “…. What’s the problem officer?”

“She was acting suspicious running through the arrival area so I stopped her and she got all defensive and sarcastic…” the man explained and before you could even bring your two cents in you got hurled up by Keira who was apologizing over and over again explaining that you really hate airports and just wanted to leave as quickly as possible

“I can’t believe I had to pick you up at the police AGAIN Bitsy” Keira scolded you back in the car

“I didn’t do anything!!!” you got fed up

“Watch your tone… or your ass is back on a plane to Barcelona before you know it” the blonde said calmly

“Why is always everyone thinking the worst of me??” you said upset

“No one is thinking the worst of you Bits… but you need to think before attacking…” Keira stayed calm not fueling your fire

“I did nothing wrong” you spat

“You got sarcastic…” the blonde pointed out as she pulled into the emirates parking lot

“He was just being an asshat” you sneered as you bolted out of the car

“Keira?!” Leah asked surprised seeing her best friend slandering down the hallway

“Hey… you might want to clear the pitch before Katie gets out there…” Keira answered smirked but kept on walking

“Why would I clear….” Leah looked confused turning on her heels speed walking towards the pitch

“I swear McCain… go produce some fries and leave me alone” the arsenal captain heard your voice

“Your Insults are lacking… that’s all you got?” the Irish laughed as you launched yourself at her a angry cry leaving your lips

Before you could tackle Katie to the ground Leah caught you and turned you away from the Irish

“Hey Poppy… what’s with the mood” Leah hugged you tightly knowing if she let go now you would break Katies legs

“Missed you Leah” you mumbled against her shoulder relaxing a little bit

“I miss my little Pop…” the blonde mumbled back before you spotted someone and quickly pushed out of Leahs hold

“MILEY!!!! Hiiiiiii” you squealed happily as the brown fluff ball came running over to you

“I feel so loved” Meado deadpanned as she reached her captain while you were on the ground with Miley all over you

“Not even three minutes ago she was ready to break Katies legs…” Leah said watching you fondly

“Pumpkin… no… Miley!!!” Beth quickly interrupted your play

“We were just playing” you pouted

“Play nicely” Meado said sternly

“Where’s Viv?” you asked Miley now sitting by your side

“At home… first training today with our new signing” Beth answered

“I hate her already” you grumbled making Leah and Meado laugh

“You’ll love her” Leah chuckled

“100 bucks says I will” you challenge Leah

“You don’t have a 100 bucks” the blonde rolled her eyes

“I don’t… but Lucy has” you grinned and pulled Lucys credit card our of your Bra

“Does she know you took that?” Meado asked raising her eyebrow

“Of course not” you grinned victorious

“Hola Chiquiti” you heard a voice as a brown haired woman passed you

“Hola Mario” you greeted back not realizing the situation

You watched Mariona going over to team starting to warm up with them when it hit you

“WAAAAAAIT A SECOND??!!!!!” you yelled out as Leah and Meado burst out laughing beside you “ARSENAL?!??! Estas jodidamente seria ???”

“Welcome our new player Poppy” now Leah grinned victorious

[obitez]

Bean

Can also be read on AO3

The night before Chimney’s bachelor party, Buck had been running himself ragged. He had been running himself ragged all day really, but that night it started piling up on him. 

“How about you come over to my place?” Tommy asked as they were speaking to each other over the phone. “You can show me those cooking skills you were talking about?” 

“Really? Your place?” Buck asked. “It’s only been like a week and-” 

“Evan, it wasn’t even 24 hours after the coffee meetup [he still refused to call that a date] that we were having sex in your loft,” Tommy stopped him to say. “You invited me to your sister’s wedding. I think you seeing my place is a little overdue.” 

“Oh, well…” Buck trailed off, thinking. “Yeah, that sounds great then!” he smiled into the phone. Send me your address, I’ll grab some food at the grocery store and come right over! You don’t mind pasta right? I’d usually make a nice marinated chicken dish but this is kinda short notice and-”

“Sounds good,” Tommy said. “You get whatever you think will make a nice meal.”

An hour later, Buck pulled his Jeep into a driveway leading up to a single story bungalow right next to a gray pickup truck he had become very familiar with in the last month. He parked the Jeep and grabbed two grocery bags from the back seat as he walked up the short walkway to Tommy’s front door. 

As soon as he pressed the doorbell, Buck could hear the sound of a dog barking coming from somewhere inside the house. That was weird, he thought. Tommy hadn’t mentioned any dog in the time Buck had known him. Then, in the small window that lined the right side of the door, the face of a little dog appeared. 

The dog barked again, and - oh, it seemed Tommy did have a dog. Why had Tommy never mentioned a dog? 

Seconds later the door opened, and before Tommy could say anything the little dog tried to maneuver itself around Tommy’s legs and run up to Buck. 

“Oh Bean,” Tommy said as his eyes grew wide and he quickly leant down to scoop the dog into his arms before the dog tried to claw up Buck’s legs. Tommy made the action look so easy, so effortless… how? 

“You-” Buck blinked, his eyes focusing on the dog in Tommy’s arms. A dachshund, if he knew his breeds right, often called wiener or sausage dogs. This one was small, and could fit right into Tommy’s forearm. It, no he, had solid dark brown fur with a light brown snout and feet. The dog was cute. “You have a dog?” 

 “Yeah,” Tommy said, hitching the dog higher up in his arms. “His name is Bean. Bean, how about you say hi to Evan.” Bean only blinked his eyes up at him before turning his head around to look up at Tommy’s face. 

“You never mentioned him before,” Buck said, reaching a hand up for Bean to sniff him. Bean didn’t. 

“Really, I haven’t?” Tommy asked. When Buck shook his head no, Tommy thought back on it. “I guess I have been talking about him less often. Lucy and the others kept nagging me a couple months ago saying that it was impossible for me to not talk about him. So I tried to talk about him a little less and-” 

“You should talk about him more!” Buck said as he moved his hand to the top of Bean’s head, scratching his head fur. “How can you not talk about this little guy?” 

Bean leaned into Buck’s touch, blissed out. “Ph, he likes head scratches, doesn’t he?” 

“Yeah, he does,” Tommy said, a gentle smile on his lips. Buck could get used to seeing that smile on Tommy’s face. It looked good on him, really good. 

“So do you want to come in now?” Tommy asked, taking a step backwards. 

“Oh yeah,” Buck said as he held the bags of food up. “Got everything we need right here.”

“Well then let me show you my kitchen. 

🐕 🐕 🐕 🐕 🐕

Buck spread out the ingredients along the kitchen counter. The very nice kitchen counter. And oh boy did Tommy have a nice kitchen. Granite countertops, a six burner stove, even the sink had one of those fancy bendable faucets. It was fantastic, everything Buck wished he could have in his loft. 

As soon as Buck had opened the package of cheese, he could feel eyes on him. It wasn’t Tommy’s gaze, Buck knew what Tommy’s gaze felt like. Tommy was over in the living room though, looking for something. 

Buck’s eyes trailed down to the floor, and right around the corner of the counter that indicated the entrance to the kitchen, only seven inches above the floor were two eyes. 

Two large begging eyes. 

Two large begging eyes belonging to a very cute dachshund who certainly knew how to use them to his advantage. 

Buck turned back to the bag of cheese and grabbed a fingerful. He then squatted on the ground and held his arm out to the dog. “If you’re quiet,” he whispered. “You can have some. Don’t tell Tommy though, I don’t know if you’re supposed to eat this.” 

Bean slowly walked up to the outstretched cheese and gave it a quick sniff, before his small teeth came out and grabbed it from Buck's hand. Buck smiled as he watched the dog eat the small chunk of cheese, how could Tommy have kept this little dude a secret? 

“Found it!” Tommy then yelled out, coming back from the living room as Buck stood up and turned to the oven. 

“What were you looking for in there anyway?” Buck asked. 

Tommy came up behind Buck and wrapped his arms around his torso. “You’ll see later,” he said as he smiled into Buck’s neck. 

As Tommy leant over Buck’s shoulder, looking down at what he was cooking on the stove, they both heard a whining come from the floor below them. Buck looked down, only a step away from both of them stood Bean, staring up at them with his begging and pleading eyes. 

“What is it?” Tommy asked the dog. “Are you hungry?” 

The dog stomped one of his little paws, or he tried to, Buck assumed, it wasn’t that effective when his paw was only a fraction the size of Buck’s hand. 

Tommy chuckled. “I’ll feed you when our dinner is ready.”

Bean obviously hadn’t been satisfied with that answer as he gave another stomp and a small bark. 

Even though Buck wasn’t looking at Tommy, he could feel Tommy roll his eyes at his dog. “Fine,” Tommy sighed as he grabbed a bit of the cheese in one of the bowls on the counter. “I’ll give you some cheese now if you can leave us alone for ten minutes.” 

Buck blinked as he watched Tommy give Bean a piece of cheese. Oh, oh…

That dog had played Buck… oh he was smart. 

[ellephlox]

Lie Detector

Pairing: Matt x f!reader

Summary: Matt thinks that you can't successfully lie to him. The only way to settle the dispute is to challenge one another to a bet, but trying to deceive a human lie detector isn't quite as easy as you'd expect.

A/N: Finally on summer break and I've had time to do some writing. I'm really drawn to a reader/matt dynamic that's super competitive, so... here we are, with yet another "game". Hope it's alright!

Sometimes, having a lie detector as a boyfriend sucked.

You realized this early on, when all of the sudden the white lies that you told habitually in order to protect others' feelings crumbled into a big dust cloud of useless whenever Matt heard them.

Last week at supper, for instance. Matt had cooked a beautiful meal — homemade rolls, oven-roasted vegetables, and your favorite pasta — and it was all delicious. Except for one experimental vegetable thrown in that you were... less fond of, to say the least.

But of course he asked you if you liked it, of course he did.

"It's incredible," you told him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "The pasta is cooked perfectly. Also, homemade rolls? I mean, these can't even compare to the local bakeries. It's all really good, Matt."

"And the... new vegetable?" he asked, taking a bite.

Shit.

You sat stock still for half a second, your mind whirring. Fortunately, you'd gotten better at dodging situations where typically you would just save yourself with a white lie, but with Matt, there was rarely a safe way out of a question.

"It's got such a unique flavor!" you said warmly. Truth. "I don't think I've ever had it before. Where'd you get the recipe?"

"Foggy's sister. It is unique," he agreed. "You like the taste?"

Damn it. Something told you that Matt suspected you didn't like it; why else would he be so persistent about asking? "It's so unexpected," you hedged. "You cooked it really well."

Which was also a truth. The texture was good, at least; Matt had roasted it perfectly. It was the flavor you were less keen on, and you had to fight the urge to drink water after every bite.

Matt's lips turned upwards. "Sweetheart, you don't have to choke it down for me."

From there, everything unraveled. "I love it," you tried to say, but Matt's eyebrows were raising and you yourself could feel that your heart was speeding up. "Really! I love it, it's fantastic—"

You loaded your fork with it, preparing to take a large bite out of a manic desire to ensure Matt didn't find out the truth, but he deftly reached forward and grabbed your wrist. "Lost cause, Y/N." His thumb grazed your wrist, as though to match the sensation of your pulse to what he could hear.

You reluctantly put the fork down. "Come on, Matt, stop reading me for once! You cooked a beautiful supper and I want you to know how much I appreciate it—"

"You can appreciate it while letting me know you don't like a certain type of food. I promise my ego isn't dependent on a single vegetable."

"But I feel bad!" you protested. "And with anyone else, I would have just lied and said it's amazing, but with you, I have to be a schmuck about it!"

"You're not a schmuck."

"Matt, I'm a schmuck." You pointed at yourself. "Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad schmuck. Plus, it's unfair. I'm sure you lie to me all the time, and I probably just don't even notice it. Like last week, when I asked you if I have a nice voice to listen to and you told me that me that it's music to your ears, or some crap like that."

"It is music to my ears."

"I call bullshit. Unless by 'music' you meant death metal or country."

"So start lying to me," Matt said, his fingers absently moving up your forearm. "If you're able to control your nervousness when you do it."

"Is that a challenge? I'm sensing a challenge."

Matt was smiling now, and it wasn't his charming smile, it was what you thought of as his shit-eating grin. "Aw, let's not call it a challenge. I know how upset you get when you lose."

"That's it." You slapped his hand away from your arm. "Prepare to be lied to. Constantly. And if I succeed, and you don't notice that I've lied to you, then you have to..." You thought for a moment. "You'll have to wear your Daredevil suit to Foggy's when we have dinner with him and Karen on Sunday night."

Matt's smile dropped instantly. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Um, obviously because it would be hilarious seeing you uncomfortable, and Foggy and Karen would take some awesome pictures of you?"

He grit his teeth as though contemplating. "Fine. And if I win, and I notice every lie, you can go through all of the old archives sitting in Karen's filing cabinet at Nelson and Murdock and make copies so that they can all be organized by legal topic as well as by date."

"What? How is that fair? That's hours of my time!"

"I thought you said you were confident that you'd win?"

"Well. Yeah." You leaned over to playfully shove at him. "Okay, then. I'm in."

"But if you actually are apprehensive about this bet, then we don't have to do the challenge. I won't hold it against you."

Bold way to throw down the gauntlet, Matt. There was no backing out now. "Nope. Deal accepted," you said, and stood up to clear the plates. "Oh, and by the way, I don't get 'upset' when I lose. I'm a fantastic loser."

"Lie," Matt said, almost lazily.

Damn.

That was how it began. Of course, together you enumerated more rules, both printed and in braille, and posted them on the fridge.

Rule Number One: A lie had to be the subject of whatever you were talking about. It couldn't be a throw-away comment unrelated to the conversation itself, nor could it be anything so minor that it didn't even matter. It was forbidden to, for example, tell Matt about your day and say green shirt when you were actually referring to a blue shirt and count that as a lie. It had to stand on its own, loud and proud.

Rule Number Two: You had forty-eight hours to complete the challenge. Which, admittedly, didn't give you a lot of time. Matt was on his guard every time you opened your mouth, which meant you'd have to be strategic about this, if you wanted to win.

Rule Number Three: The lie had to be delivered in heartbeat earshot. That meant you couldn't lie to him through text messages or a long distance phone call.

Rule Number Four: If Matt falsely accused you of lying more than twice, then you won. You argued this rule in as a safeguard; otherwise, he could call out your lies on whims without any consequences.

And, finally, Rule Number Five: A lie had an expiration on it of ten seconds. If Matt didn't name the lie within ten seconds of you delivering it, then you won. You had even argued for more time, but it was Matt who had told you, with a particularly cocky wave of his hand, that he'd sense it within that time.

Several times you had tried lying to him since the start of the challenge. Each time, he'd sniffed it out immediately — almost instinctively, even — so that it was almost embarrassing at how readable you were.

"You heading out tonight for patrol?" you asked him when you emerged from the shower that night, wearing only a tee of Matt's and a towel around your head.

"Only for a bit. I've got to catch up on some paperwork this evening."

"Anything I can help with?"

"No, it's just prep for my opening next Wednesday." Matt tilted back in his chair, stretching with a restlessness that told you he'd much prefer to be out on the rooftops than reading through paperwork.

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do," you said, and then added the lie: "I'll go do some reading, then."

Matt didn't hesitate. "What're you really going to be doing?"

You scrunched your nose at him, irritated. "And I thought I was so nonchalant. My heart is a traitor. Slow down, you." You slapped at your upper chest and lied again. "I actually wanted to do some online shopping. I need a new pair of sunglasses."

"No, you don't."

You released a dramatic exhale. "Fine! I'm going to journal a bit."

Matt listened for a moment, and then nodded, clearly placated. "I'll come say bye before I head out."

And then you even thought that you might get him when he came back, because it was past two in the morning and he'd taken a faster shower than usual — an indication he was anxious to get to bed —but when he crawled under the covers, apparently he was still on guard.

"Come in closer," you whispered, half-asleep yourself despite your hope of lying to him. "I meant to stay up for you, but I fell asleep."

Which wasn't true, even though you did often stay up for him. Tonight you had slipped into bed and fell asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow.

But Matt caught it; his hand nudged at your arm to acknowledge the lie. "Even this late, you're still trying to win the bet?"

Loopholes in the rules were hard to find, you realized. Matt seemed to appreciate your attempts to bypass them the next day — in fact, the closest you came to successfully lying was that morning, when you had about thirty-two hours left in the challenge. You had left to pick up bread for breakfast, and had just stepped out onto the street when you put your plan into action and dialed Matt's number.

Because technically, here on the street, right below the apartment, Matt could still hear your heartbeat, if he sought it out. But you hoped that if you were talking with him over the phone, then he wouldn't pay attention, and that he'd be distracted by the background fuzz of the call.

"Hey," you said, walking slowly down the sidewalk; you didn't want to be accused of leaving the earshot radius. "I just got a text from Foggy. He asked if I could bring that book I was telling him about the other day to dinner tomorrow night. Is it still on my dresser or did I return it to the library? I can't remember."

It was a clever lie, you thought. You had told Foggy about the book, and he did text you about bringing it to dinner. You did, however, specifically remember leaving the book on the dresser and not bringing it to the library the other day. It wasn't violating Rule Number One, either, because the question you asked Matt pertained directly to the lie.

There was a brief noise on the other end of the line as Matt presumably cocked his head, sweeping his senses out for a book on your dresser. In your head, you counted down the time. Ten... nine... eight... seven... six...

"The thick one?"

"Yeah."

Four... three... two...

"Lie," he said suddenly, and you could hear the smile on his face. "Nice try. Almost got me on that one."

"Crap," you said, sighing and adjusting your jacket as you picked up the pace, crossing the street after taking a quick glance left and right.

"If the lie hadn't been about a book, I wouldn't have thought to listen to your heart," he continued. "You care too much about your books to not know whether you've returned one to the library or not."

"Crap," you said again, but this time it was because the convenience store was closed; you'd have to go a couple blocks further to the larger supermarket. "Matt, I'm going to take a few minutes longer. The store's not open until nine."

Matt was quiet for a moment. "If that was a lie, that doesn't count. I can't hear your heartbeat from here."

"Nope. It's the truth. Anything else you want me to pick up while I'm at the grocery store? Ibuprofen, Advil, ice packs?"

Matt answered, but you didn't hear; an idea was formulating in your mind. "Sorry?" you said after a moment, picking up your pace as rain began to fall.

"Just more tea, I think."

"On it. See you in a bit," you said, and hung up.

Rule Number Four, you realized, was your ticket to winning. If you could get Matt to call you out on a lie when you weren't lying — and if you could get him to do it three times — you'd win.

So, the trick was to get your heart rate going at precisely the right moment. You left the grocery store with bread, tea, and a large espresso from the café next door.

And, miraculously, it worked. You walked in, your heart already feeling a bit more spry since you downed much, much more caffeine in the span of five minutes than you typically had over the course of an entire day, announced to Matt that the grocery store had been strangely busy today, and—

"Lie," he said, almost without even paying attention.

"Ha!" you said triumphantly, setting the bread down on the counter. "Wrong, Murdock!"

His brow furrowed. "What?" You could see him reaching out with his senses now, seeking what his mistake was, and...

"Espresso," he said, so quietly and forlornly that you laughed. "Damn. Your heart is racing."

"Brilliant, right? The grocery store really was packed." You waved the bread at him. "I'm starving. Can we make French toast with this?"

"Yeah. And don't get too happy yet, sweetheart. You haven't won yet."

"And there's the key word: yet," you reminded him.

Matt was on guard after that, so you waited the rest of the day before trying again; too often, and each effort would be futile. You could tell he was listening with far more diligence every time you spoke, and while it was slightly unnerving knowing that your heart rate was under constant scrutiny, it was worth it. Matt felt threatened that you would win. Even if you didn't end up winning the bet, that gave you enough pleasure to make the entire game worthwhile no matter what happened.

Step Two was getting Matt to watch a horror movie. You were a bit limited in your options, since Netflix didn't have many scary movies with audio descriptions available, but you agreed on one eventually and started it only once the sun had set.

And you waited. Waited, with Matt's arm wrapped around you, watching the movie and letting yourself get absorbed in it, because you were relying on your own natural adrenal responses to secure you the next false lie through Rule Number Four.

Fortunately, it was actually terrifying, so it didn't take much effort for you to feel a chill genuinely running up your spine.

"A door slowly creaks open," the audio description narrated. "The bathroom mirror suddenly swivels open. Standing in the reflection is a dark figure."

You physically jumped — thank you, jump scare — and seized the opportunity as your heart beat doubtlessly spiked. "Matt, I found some fan fiction that people posted online about the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. And I read it. Every last bit."

Matt's confusion was so palpable that you had to bite back a laugh. He reached over for the remote and paused the movie, his head tilted. "This feels against the rules."

"And yet, it's not," you said, rubbing his arm. "So, was that a lie? Or not? I'll give you a solid ten seconds starting now to answer."

"You can't just say something insane at the very moment your heart rate jumps from a movie!"

"Tick, tock."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again — you'd make a good lawyer."

"Aw. Thank you. Five. Four. Three."

"Come on!"

"Two. One."

"Lie," he decided, his jaw tight. "And for your sake, I truly hope it's a lie, because there better not be people writing fan fiction about me—"

"Sadly, it's the truth, Matt. Both that people have written it and that... I've..." You trailed off at the look on Matt's face. "Uh, that I might've possibly glanced over some of it."

"Please tell me there's not much of it."

"Um... well, there's a fair amount. People are fascinated by real life vigilantes, I guess. If you wanted you could always sue them for defamation."

"Sue? Sue as Daredevil? Show up to court wearing the suit?"

"Better yet, hire Nelson and Murdock as your lawyers, and you can switch back and forth during the trial between your lawyer suit and Daredevil suit, playing both roles. It'd be hilarious, like a real-life Mrs. Doubtfire moment."

"You find all this so amusing, don't you?" Matt tipped you back, his hands against the back of the sofa and caging you in. Goosebumps pricked up your arms as you glanced at his forearms; he'd rolled up his sleeves, and you could see the toned muscle in the dim lighting.

"Not at all," you said, your voice a bit higher.

"Lie," he breathed out, and leaned in to kiss you.

The next day passed, with every hour sliding by and bringing you nearer to the end of the bet. Once again you didn't dare press your luck, and chose to instead act naturally. The following morning and midday passed without only one or two halfhearted attempts to lie. ("Matt, did you hear that Captain America is starting up his own jazz band and he's going to be doing a world tour?" "Yeah, I did, right after the news segment announcing Black Panther's new clothing line of lingerie that he's founded.")

The loophole of Rule Number Four, however, was proving to be no longer viable as your winning method. Matt caught on to every truth that was meant to make him accidentally call you out on lying. In desperation you even did fifty jumping jacks to raise your heart rate, to Matt's amusement, but he had somehow latched onto the subtle difference between a heart rate raised by the adrenaline of exertion as opposed to the adrenaline of a lie.

So — you'd have to brainstorm instead.

With only about an hour to go until the bet ended, you set your alarm on your phone to go off just three minutes shy of the actual forty-eight hour mark.

The only challenge now was making sure Matt didn't check his own watch between now and the alarm.

"Time's almost up," he said, with the audacity to smirk at you, catching your arm as you went by him towards the bedroom. "Where are you headed?"

"To get something presentable on for supper," you said, gesturing down at your outfit.

"Karen and Foggy wouldn't mind if you showed up wearing that."

"I love you, Matt, but I look like a clown right now. I wish you could see the color combinations I've got going on. Think blue raspberry slushie dumped on top of black raspberry ice cream."

"Well, if you're changing, then what should I wear?" he said, mockery edging his voice. "That plaid shirt you got me? A white top? Or a sweatshirt? Y'know, since I won't be wearing the Daredevil suit, of course."

"Don't speak too soon. We still have a few minutes left." The bet still had five minutes, in fact; but the alarm would go off on your phone in two minutes. On a sudden whim you wrapped your arms around him, loosely holding your hands together around his neck as though you were about to slow dance together. Matt's hands naturally went to your waist, fingers grazing your hip bones. "If, in the extremely unlikely case that I do lose, you should wear your loose-fitted button-down from your birthday last year."

"Is that too fancy?"

"I don't think so. I'll be wearing a sundress. It's casual enough."

Matt spun you around, backing you into the wall. His eyes were intense, unblinking. "I know you're trying to keep my attention off of you. It's not going to work. I know you too well."

"Maybe you know less about me than you think," you challenged him.

"I doubt it."

"You'd be surprised, Matt. I've got secrets and ways of keeping them."

"Want to play that game, love? Because I can play that game." He tilted up your chin with his left hand. "That mosquito bite on your neck is still itching you, even if you've resisted scratching at it. You've still got the taste of mint in the back of your throat from when you brushed your teeth a few hours ago." His hand left your chin and brushed at your temple. "You got dehydrated this morning and had a headache, but it's gone away now. And your blush is practically a heat lamp right now, getting hotter with every second."

"Point taken," you muttered, but Matt wasn't finished.

"Down here," he continued, his hand now trailing down to your lower arm, "there's a bit of residue from the jam you got on your forearm during breakfast."

"I washed it off!"

"And I can still smell it." Matt lightly let go of you. "I could continue, if you'd like."

And then — your phone buzzed out a loud jingle, jolting both of you simultaneously. You fumbled in your pocket for your phone, shutting off the alarm. "Shit."

"Time's up," Matt said, with far too much pleasure in his voice. "I'm looking forward to spending a day at the office with you. Maybe we go in on the weekend?"

"Saturday I'm free," you said, as casually as you could possibly muster. "On Sunday I'm visiting a friend."

Which was a complete lie.

And Matt...

Didn't notice.

"We'll go in early," he said. "I had to go in this weekend anyway to get work done."

"Mm," you said, counting down the ten seconds in your head. "And I'm assuming you wanted me to help organize the files so that you wouldn't have to go into the office alone this weekend? This was all a ploy to get some company?"

"Of course. What kind of weekend would it be if I didn't get to spend it with my favorite person?"

"Foggy will take offense to that."

"Well, maybe I'll invite him too. And Karen. We can have a whole work-weekend at Nelson and—"

"Yes!" you shouted, so loudly that Matt tensed, as though scanning the room for a threat. "Get your suit on, Matt!" Without waiting for his answer you strode to the closet and pulled out the familiar red suit and mask. "A certain swindled devil now needs to make his appearance at a certain dinner party tonight."

Matt's expression was baffled. "But I won."

"Check your watch."

His fingers immediately felt for his watch, and then his face dropped. "You set the alarm early."

"And then proceeded to successfully lie about visiting a friend on Sunday. Oh, I can't wait to see Karen and Foggy's reaction when you arrive on the fire escape, dressed to the vigilante nines—"

"I can't believe you."

"Me either," you admitted. "I was getting nervous towards the end."

"I can't believe you," Matt repeated. "You're going to pay, sweetheart. That was playing dirty."

"Enjoy your retribution sometime else," you told him, tossing the mask over. He caught it, plucking it from the air without turning his head in the slightest. "We've got a dinner party to go to."

And maybe you'd still go into the office that weekend to help him out, you decided, a bit of guilt still stirring inside you, because he did just want you to be there with him, keeping him company.

After all, having a lie detector for a boyfriend really wasn't so bad.

[heartsoji]

suna rintaro here. my girlfriend, y/n, is being distant today and i don't know why. let me tell you about what happened.

we were supposed to have our separate zooms with her on my lap, but she left to a different room near the very beginning. she tried to play it off with "i have a pop quiz and i need to focus. can't have my grade drop just because i can't focus on your lap with your zoom in the background," but we all know that that is absolute bs. she could've focused on my lap just fine, and we all know that failing a 10-point pop quiz from chiahara-sensei happens to the best of us. and if you're wondering, i am the best of the best.

then, after we both finished our annoyingly long 1.5 hour lectures, (well she claimed hers was in fact a 40-point pop quiz/test but it def wasn't) she refused to cook together. she said something like, "rin, you burned yourself last time, remember? go sit down," but that, too, is bs. yes, i spilled hot water on my sweats last time i tried to make pasta, but it was on my knee, so it wasn't like it was a big deal anyways. i don't know why she kept making excuses.

then, after we finished eating the meal she cooked without me, she had the audacity to get on a zoom call when i didn't have one. and after that terrible offense, she refused to sit on my lap for it AGAIN. she said that inuzuka-sensei was always more strict about what we wore in zooms, and i wouldn't get away with no shirt on like soma-sensei let me. when i told her that her body would block mine, she said that my chest and shoulders would still be perfectly visible. then, she guilted me by saying that she didn't want other girls to see my "perfectly toned abs," as she called them. AND THEN she had the impudence to TEASE ME and LIE TO ME by telling me my cheeks and ears were getting red! couldn't believe her.

then, after all our classes were over, she refused to cuddle with me because APPARENTLY her friend's sister a block down rolled and sprained her ankle, and that it was getting pretty bruised and swollen. she also added that her friend didn't have any advil or experience in injuries, and apparently she was asked to bring some advil, a compression bandage, and a couple ice packs. when i told her that her friend could just buy some and that she could get her own ice pack, she tried to get out of it by telling me that her friend's sister was only 5, was bawling her eyes out, refused to be left alone but also screamed louder when she was picked up, and that we also had a lot to spare because we have a ton of supplies in the closet because of my constant volleyball injuries. again, absolute bs. her friend could just go grab everything herself. what did it matter that the kid was crying? fuck kids! do you know how funny those youtube videos of kids getting hurt and crying are? people enjoy them for a reason. it's because kids are annoying as hell and it's fun to watch them get injured. im subscribed to like 10 of those kinds of channels. her friend is literally getting free entertainment and y/n obviously just wants to watch the free entertainment WITHOUT ME because she'd rather be with her stupid friend than me.

all in all, please help. i don't know why she's so distant today. is she mad? please give me tips!

@.su.rin post made at 4:16pm

comments: @.y/n.l/n: HELP WHAT IS THIS @.y/n.l/n: for the record i got an a+ on that so it was worth it @.y/n.l/n: love u always rin <333 @.su.rin: reply to @.y/n./l/n- ik that u hate me its ok

[honoviadakai]

Foods I think Team Urameshi enjoys 🍜 😋

This post is kinda inspired by/a continuation of this post I made about Hiei so please enjoy my thoughts on the rest of the team’s taste in food!

Yusuke:

If the live action did nothing else, it definitely established that Yusuke’s a ramen guy 😂

He likes both the instant stuff and the traditional kind but the latter is his go to if he can afford it

The instant ones are good but they doo remind him of his childhood when either his mom didn’t have enough money to feed him properly or she was too intoxicated to feed him properly

He also really likes American food

If you get him a good burger, some fries and some soda, he’s your friend for life

He LOVES a good cheesy pizza! The greasier and cheesier the better

Honestly he just LOVES heavy, greasy, heart food

It makes him feel full and weirdly energized

He could eat an entire family bucket of fried chicken by himself, sides and all, and feel pumped up for a good workout 🏋️‍♂️

He also loves spicy food

His spice tolerance is average but he genuinely likes the burn 🔥

If he sees a spicy challenge, he’s gonna do it just to see how far he can go

He’s currently at a level 7 out of 10 on the 🌶️ meter

He’s also very open to exploring weird food combinations and food from other cultures

This includes food from the demon world

He actually kinda likes food from demon world, he just feels like it could use some more spices

Catch him trying Nutella and bologna because Chu swears that the last time he went to the human world he tried it and it was delicious

…he actually tried it…and he liked it…

9 times out of 10 he’s gonna try and actually like the cursed foods you recommend to him

Kuwabara:

He’s a big sandwich connoisseur 🥪 🧐

He just likes how customizable and portable they are

Honestly he likes meals that are not only balanced, but a comfort to the soul

So things like stews, ramen, soba, curry and pasta dishes

One of his personal favorites things to both eat and make are bento boxes 🍱

He loves making them for his friends and family for a number of reasons

For one, it’s his way of making sure his loved ones are eating enough

Some of his friends come from low income households that don’t always have enough money for food

He made sure that whenever they hung out, they were always well fed

He also learned how to make bentos from his mom and sister

He really enjoyed the cooking lessons and he enjoys the warm fuzzy feelings he gets when he feeds his loved ones

The one food he won’t make or consume is anything spicy

He can’t handle spicy food and doesn’t feel confident enough to properly make a spicy dish

Honestly he can’t eat anything spicier than a jalapeño

But he will try to beat Yusuke and Hiei in spice challenges

…my boy never wins and I don’t know why he thinks he will at this point 😂

Kurama:

Like seemingly everything else about this guy, his palate is very refined

He likes expensive things like lobster, caviar, and liver tartare

Part of why he likes it is Yoko has expensive taste and old habits die hard 😂

In Yoko’s correct opinion, if you’re gonna feed him, you might as well break out the good stuff

The other reason is that a lot of these foods have very strong flavors and he enjoys that every now and then

That by no means mean he hates ��Lowe quality” foods

He use to eat McDonald’s as a kid

He liked it

Still eats it from time to time

Not as often as Yusuke does, but like…if friends invite him out for a burger, he’ll eat it

Big enjoyer of fruit, grows it himself actually!

The fresher the better 😌👌

He loves ice cream! 🍨 specially strawberry, vanilla and most fruity sorbets

He actually has a bit of a sweet tooth tbh

Thank his mom for that cuz she’d give her baby boy sweets if he looked at her with his big puppy eyes

Mf didn’t even have to say a word

She’d either buy them or make them for him

Even into his adulthood, he can demolish a tray of cookies and macaroons on his own

The difference is that as a child he didn’t care about his weight or how much sugar he’s eating

As an adult, he absolutely cares because he wants to stay in shape and also his body is technically human so he doesn’t wanna deal with diabetes if he can avoid it

Now he also technically grew up with demon world food when he was Yoko

Demon world food is whatever you can find that’s edible

So usually it’s other demons and edible plants/produce

Some of which does that pretty good

But a lot of it is more for survival than taste

He’s absolutely had to eat a bug demon before and not only did it look gross, it tasted gross!

But it was either that or starve…

And believe me…he did debate it…but food doesn’t always just die for you so…🐛🐛🐛

Boy was he grateful that humans in Japan eat some of the best food he’s ever seen

Human food has also made Kurama appreciate the artistry that can go into food

When he sees the chef went out of their way to make the food look like a literal work of art, he’s always so amazed!

He actually has a hard time eating something if it looks super pretty

Expect him to take a few pictures before he eats btw 🤣

He also has an shockingly high spice tolerance

He can eat authentic Thai food without sweating

But certain peppers will automatically have him on his knees

He can and has grown his own peppers to see if he can make spicier peppers than what’s available

He has, but internet trends make people competitive enough to dethrone him by next week 🤣

Hiei:

Oh this guy ain’t picky

Honestly he’ll eat burnt food if he’s hungry enough

He can also eat 10xs his own body weight

Want proof?

Togashi himself knows this little gremlin is a bottomless pit of angst and hangry

He could easily eat you and 12 of your friends out of house and home and still have the audacity to wonder why ya’ll stressed 🙄

Hello grew up in an environment where food was not guaranteed every day so any food he got, he wasn’t wasting a crumb

Even if he’d been given a giant demon bug leg, best believe he’s eating it

Waste not want not as they say

The only food he’s very sus about is mushrooms 🍄

Especially when talking about demon world mushrooms, a lot of them are very hard to identify wether they’re poisonous or so he tends to avoid them

Unless Kurama is there to tell him it’s poisonous or not

He’ll never admit it out loud but he LOVES human food so much!

It’s so flavorful!

His favorite dishes are meaty rice and noodle dishes

Honestly any dishes with meat are an instant hit with him 🍖

But his all time favorite dishes are the spicy ones

The spicier the better 🌶️🌶️🌶️

His spice tolerance is otherworldly

I’m 99.99% sure he could eat lava and not react

To this day, Yusuke and Kurama are trying to find a dish or pepper spicy enough to make Hiei sweat

They so far have not been successful 😔

Honestly not sure they will succeed any time soon

Mf pops Carolina reapers into his mouth like popcorn 🍿 🌶️

[wolfsnis]

Clover (7/4/09-6/28/24)

I had to put down my beloved cat Clover yesterday. He was about a week shy of his 15th birthday.

He had been having "teeth issues" about two years now, but hindsight is 20/20 and it was probably the cancer growing in his jaw all along. But we didn't know until this year, in April. Then he got some badly infected teeth removed and we thought that was the end of it, but about two weeks later we realized the vet's original prediction was correct. We suspected the cancer also spread to his brain, as his behavior got increasingly erratic in the last two weeks. On the 27th the tumor caused his jaw to break which pretty much inhibited him from eating and drinking. It was the right call to put him down, but it still absolutely destroyed me. I don't know if I will ever be the same.

We picked him and his sister up as newborns from the family farm. His mom gave birth to them during a flash flood so they had to be inside. My parents said they had a third sibling (probably the runt) that didn't make it, I don't remember tho. I won't upload them here for obvious reasons but there's pictures of me when I was five or so holding him when he was just a few days old. We didn't even have carriers when we took them home, me and my brother carried them in our arms the entire time. Definitely not safe now that I think about it.

He had been with me throughout my life. When I came home from school he would be meowing at the door to greet me. I could never sneak around at night without him joining me (and often being very loud while doing it, he was a very talkative cat) he loved people food and would regularly jump up on the dinner table to "join" us for dinner. If you left your meal unattended for a moment he would snatch it up. He liked to drink the milk out of the cereal bowls. We had to cover the sink when we had meat unthawing because he would help himself. He would also frequently raid the pantry and eat uncooked pasta for some reason. He had such a silly meow too, possibly the most masculine-sounding cat I've ever heard. I swear he could say some words like "mom" and "hello" when he wanted to. He was a smart little guy, so maybe. He was a surprisingly fearless cat too, one of the few I've ever met who wasn't afraid of the vacuum. He straight up did not give a fuck. One of my favorite activities was to wake him up while he was napping just to see him look at me all disgruntled and then settle back down. I don't know why, but it always made me smile. He also really loved the outdoors, despite the fact we never let him outside until the end. He had a very high prey drive and attempted to take down a magpie until the magpie tried to take him down, lol. He was a very happy, active, and loving cat right up until his last day. So much so we went back and forth on putting him down.

He was a very charming cat, everyone who came by the house would comment on him. He was so full of personality and loud, he wanted to be involved in everything and that included social gatherings. People absolutely loved him. I had several friends joke that they would steal him from us. He made such an impact on people. He was so beloved. Maybe even a micro celebrity in my small town.

I was distraught last year when I had to move out for college. I demanded pictures of them every day I was away. When I did come home I loved watching him sniff me and then light up in excitement and meow when he realized I was back. I really hope he didn't think I abandoned him.

Saying goodbye to him yesterday was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. He's been such a huge part of my life for so long that the fact I have to go without him from now on feels like a foreign concept. I still don't know if I've fully processed the fact that he's really gone yet, if I think about it for too long I start to feel nauseous. I keep expecting him to round the corner and greet me or to hear him meowing when I close my bedroom door. My poor little buddy, I was really hoping you'd have a few years yet.

Rest easy my sweet boy. You were so much larger than life.

If you've read this far, thank you so much. Here's a gallery of him, bask in his greatness!

[legends-mania]

Kitchen Queen

"And why do I have to do it?" Sara asked, offended.

"Because you're the one who screwed up the mission," Rip answered. "And I think it's a fair punishment."

"Oh, come on! It could've happened to everybody," Sara basically whined. During the mission she got distracted and failed to do her part of the job, causing a big mess.

"Maybe, but it happened because of you, so quit whining and just make dinner."

"Why not Ray? He loves to cook."

"That's why he does it every week at least twice. You haven't cooked once since you're here."

"I have done other things. It's not like I've been doing nothing all day."

"Come on, Assassin." Leonard came to the conversation. "Is it really that bad to cook?" He smirked.

"Yes it is. But fine. If I have to take care of the food I'll just let Gideon fabricate something." Sara said, still refusing to actually cook.

"No! You are going to cook a whole meal for the team," Rip demanded.

"Fine!" Sara said a little too hard and walked away like a little kid who was sent to their room. Leaving the rest of the team, who had the luxury of hearing the whole conversation.

"So, how is it going?" Leonard asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Amazing," Sara said sarcastically, running from side to side of the kitchen counter.

"What are you making?" He asked with a frown. From one of the pan's came smoke and he heard the pot perking.

"Pasta," Sara answered, not in the mood for talking.

Leonard walked to the pot where the pasta should be in. "How did you do this?" He asked and when she just raised an eyebrow at him he clarifide himself. "Half of the pasta is overcooked and the other half looks like it's just in the water."

"That's not my fault! It didn't fit in so I just waited till it was all flubber. Now it fits though," Sara said, getting more and more annoyed. "Why?"

"Just because. And what is that?" He asked, pointing at the pan where the smoke came from.

"That's the sauce," Sara said, like it was obvious.

"That's what I thought. I'm sorry to say this, Sara, but you can't fix this."

"What do you mean? It looks fine to me."

"You can't be serious. It is as good as black. It's supposed to be red. And one half of the pasta is too sticky and the other too hard."

"I know," Sara said. Her face fell and Leonard thought it was adorable. "I can't cook. No one ever taught me and I never cared."

"Why didn't you just tell Rip. It could have kept you out of this mess."

"You know I have too much pride to do that."

"What if I tell you that we can make something easy in thirty minutes? We tell the team that you did it and the next time you have to cook I'll help you."

"Realy?" Sara asked.

"Of course, everything for my assassin." And he would never admit it outloud, but the smile that appeared on Sara's face was worth the extra chores.

"Hey, Len?"

"Yes?"

"What went wrong with the pasta?" Sara wanted to know.

"The pot is too small. Because of that the first half of the pasta was already done before the other half was in the water," Leonard explained as he threw away the pasta. "If the pot is too small, you have to break it so it fits."

"Ow. I'll keep it in mind," Sara promised. "But what about the sauce?"

"I don't know what actually happened, but I think you just let it burn. Meaning, you'll have to pay better attention to it."

"Okay," Sara said as she saw the burned sauce go to the trash containmed. "So, what are we going to make?"

"Cooked potatoes with a schnitzel and a salad," he answered. "Gideon, can you give me the ingredients I need?"

"Of course mister Snart," Gideon answered.

"Schnitzel? Interesting choice," Sara said.

Leonard took one of the potatoes and started cutting them. "One time, after a big job went horribly wrong, my sister and I went to Europe to lay low for a while. Germany to be precise. Tried a few new things and picked up a few simple recipes like this."

"And probably stole a few things."

"Of course. Little souvenirs from Europe. After all, I was a tourist. Have you ever been to Europe?"

"A few times. That's one of the few good things about the League. I got to see the world. Twice in Germany actually. Quite an interesting place."

"Yeah, you could say that. Hey, Sara, can you get a pan and put some butter in it?"

"On it!"

Twenty minutes later there was a fully cooked meal on the table.

"Smells good," Ray said as he walked in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think you did a good job, Sara," Leonard teased, which earned him an elbow from Sara.

"I just hope it's edible," she replied.

"It can't be that bad," Ray said as he took a bite from a potato. "This is actually really good!"

"You know," Rip said after he had taken his first bite, "I was mildly afraid that you couldn't cook like those two." He pointed at Mick and Leonard.

Sara raised an eyebrow at Leonard, since he was basically the one who had cooked this meal. Leonard just winked at her. She knew it was a promise which said I'll explain later.

And later was sooner than expected. Sara was putting the last plates on the counter when Leonard walked in again. "Need some help?" He asked as he grabbed the dishcloth and stood beside Sara. She started to wash the dishes and when they were clean, she gave them to Leonard. He dried them and put them in the right cabinet. This continued for a few minutes until Sara asked something.

"You can't cook, huh?"

"No, I can't," he answered with a smirk.

"Then what did we just eat?"

"Something you cooked, Assassin."

"I wish. But I can't cook. I've never had someone who taught me," she said, handing Leonard another plate. "If it was really up to me, we would've ordered something at Big Belly Burger."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he teased Sara. "But yeah. I told Rip I can't cook, because I don't wanna cook every week. If he thinks I can't cook he won't ask me."

"So that's why all the credits went to me," Sara stated.

"Exactly." But no, it was not the reason. He would've given Sara credits for the food no matter what. "But to your defence, you did a lot."

"I cut the vegetables for the salad. That's it."

"That's not all you did. You did something else important. You learned."

"It's not like I can do it next time."

"Indeed. You can't. Neither could you use a sword after seeing someone do it."

He had a point and Sara knew it. "Alright. But what do you propose? Cooking more often?" Sara laughed.

"If you want to." Sara looked at him and to her surprise he was serious. "I don't like cooking for the team, but I do like to cook with you." He confessed.

"Alright. Maybe tonight wasn't awful. And maybe I would love to do it again," Sara said, looking away. "But I still wanna know how you know how to cook."

"I had to do it a lot for myself and Lisa. My father usually burned things and then he'd get angry. So eventually I started to cook. It was hard, but I made it work back then. And it's a nice survival skill."

Sara laughed while giving him the last pan. She sat on the kitchen counter waiting for Leonard to finish. "Wanna get a beer?"

"Sure."

~

"Where do I put these?" Sara asked, pointing at the noodles.

"In here," Leonard said while he grabbed a pan from one of the cabinets. "Can you get the…"

"Vegetables, seasoning and oil?" Sara finished.

"Exactly," Leonard said. He looked at her as she found everything they needed. They've been doing this for a few weeks now and she started to get it.

He felt something weird. Something he only ever felt with Lisa. He felt proud of his Canary.

[seitmai]

I once again have so much to say lmao

He'd been touching you nonstop since he brought you home from the hospital. If you were awake, his body was in contact with yours, and his hands were on your belly. And when you slept, he seemed to miraculously clean the house and walk Tramp and make edible food.

The dream

With those words, you were on your back once again, and Bradley's lips were skimming along your belly. "Hey, Rosie. You having fun in there?" He grinned and glanced up at you, letting his mustache tickle your skin as he said, "Daddy would love to be inside Mommy, too."

Bahahah this cracked me up so bad 😂

"Damn," Maria said as you took the seat across from her. "He means business."

Oh he sure does

"You're so fucking lucky you have such a bossy husband," he complained. "And one with a mustache. If I didn't like you so much, I would hate you." You watched Bradley's broad back as he exited the restaurant and headed toward the red Bronco, pushing his sunglasses into place as he went. "I would probably hate me, too,"

So true lmao

You mom taught him how to make overnight oatmeal in the slow cooker, which seemed to be the only kitchen appliance that he was able to master on the first try. He fucking loved that thing; you just tossed food into it, and it turned into a meal like magic. He vaguely remembered his mom having one, which just made it even better.

That man is soon gonna have a Pinterest board dedicated to slow cooker meal and there is nothing wrong with that 😌

When he got to base, everyone was asking about you. "She's at home resting," he assured Nat. "She's sore and tired, but the baby is moving around a bunch. I'm taking them to get checked out again at lunchtime today. Oh, and thanks for getting groceries for me. And driving me to the emergency room. And making sure I didn't have a full nervous breakdown."

It takes a village and they have the best 🥹🥰

Nat gave him a big hug. "Literally what I'm here for, Soul Sister. Just keep me in mind when nominations come out for godparents," she told him with a wink.

She should obviously be first choice lol

You squeaked in delight and practically ran out of the room. "Let's get going," you called over your shoulder. "The sooner we ask, the sooner we can potentially fuck."

Bahahhah😂

Bradley drove with the radio playing softly, and eventually you squeezed his fingers and admitted, "I am a little nervous though." So was he, but he wasn't going to tell you that. "We'll figure it out. You don't have to worry about it alone."

🥹🥹🥹

"Right," you agreed. "And is it safe to fuck my husband?" "Sweetheart," Bradley groaned, resting his forehead against your arm in embarrassment. "What?" you asked while Dr. Morris chuckled. "You wanted to know, too!"

Dr. Morris is probably like: Oh these two cute horndogs again 😅

"Absolutely fucking not," he replied, feeling much better but still wanting you to rest a little more. "I'm going to take you back home where you will relax and eat a healthy snack, and then I'll come home and make dinner." You looked up at him in awe. "Those are words I legitimately never thought I would hear you say unironically." "Get used to them,"

Say no more 😌🫡

"Is that why it always tasted so much better when you made it? I never did that before today."

That is absolutely hilarious, that he didn't know that he should salt the pasta water 😂

He kissed your forehead as he muttered, "Taking perfect care of my girls. I'll get you home and feed you dinner, and then we can start packing for our trip before you go to bed early. Oh, and I got the Nugget on the waitlist for daycare today." "Bradley," you moaned, leaning into him. "You're the best husband. And like seriously, I don't even know how to deal with how fucking much that turns me on."

🤤🥵😮‍💨

Aim for the Sky Part 11 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley is determined to take care of everything so you can take take care of Rose. A visit to your doctor answers a lot of questions, and Bradley is hoping he can still give you the babymoon that he promised.

Warnings: Angst, injury, potential pregnancy complications, fluff, smut

Length: 4200 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Aim for the Sky masterlist. This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order.

Bradley had you eating three square meals a day all weekend long. He spent more time talking to your mom than you did, and she helped him cook while you took little naps. Any time food was mentioned, in any capacity, he got you involved.

"Cam and Maria want to know if I'm interested in going out for a belated birthday brunch since I'm feeling a bit better," you told him as you read your texts on Sunday morning.

"Tell them yes," Bradley replied where he was still in bed next to you with his head on your shoulder and his eyes closed. "But I'll drop you off and pick you up." His rough fingers tracing an intricate pattern along your skin from your belly up to your breasts, and you knew better than to argue with him.

"Okay," you murmured as he kissed along the side of your breast. He'd been touching you nonstop since he brought you home from the hospital. If you were awake, his body was in contact with yours, and his hands were on your belly. And when you slept, he seemed to miraculously clean the house and walk Tramp and make edible food. But while he'd been touching you constantly, he didn't initiate sex, and neither did you.

Truthfully, your hand was still aching a bit, and every time you felt Rose move, you silently rejoiced. Your body was sore, and you just kept wanting to go back to sleep. You found yourself stifling yawn after yawn, and you knew Bradley had noticed by the way he kept ushering you back to bed. Of course he would be very gentle with you, but right now, you didn't need anything more than what he was giving you.

Quickly, you finished texting Cam and Maria, then you tossed your phone aside. When you rolled Bradley onto his back, he was smiling as he whispered, "How's my Nugget?" while he played with your necklace charms.

Your visit to the emergency room after you fell at work had been terrifying, but having Bradley around always made you feel stronger. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

With those words, you were on your back once again, and Bradley's lips were skimming along your belly. "Hey, Rosie. You having fun in there?" He grinned and glanced up at you, letting his mustache tickle your skin as he said, "Daddy would love to be inside Mommy, too."

You snorted in response, something stirring the way it always did when Bradley's big, brown eyes were focused on you. "I mean... I don't have to be at brunch until eleven."

His biceps were on display along with his messy hair, and you were never going to stop wanting him. But he was shaking his head slowly as he told you, "I'm in no rush to make that happen. Let's see what Dr. Morris says tomorrow. You're supposed to be taking it easy, and so is Rose."

"You're right," you agreed, still biting your lip as the sensation of Bradley's mouth on your body.

"I love you," he whispered against your belly before hovering over your body to kiss your lips. "And I love you, Sweetheart. And you're never allowed to scare me again."

When he eventually drove you to brunch, he refused to just drop you off and come back. Instead, he walked you inside, his big hand wrapped around yours, and took you all the way to the table where Cam and Maria were waiting. 

"Hey," he greeted your friends, yanking his aviators down his nose as he wrapped his arm around you. "She's supposed to be eating plenty of healthy foods rich with nutrients and vitamins. Can the two of you be responsible for what she orders?"

"Roo," you whined, rolling your eyes, but your friends just nodded up at your husband.

"Yes," they recited in unison.

"Excellent," Bradley replied, largely ignoring your complaints as he added, "And you'll make sure she drinks at least three glasses of water?"

"Yes," they repeated.

"Perfect," he muttered, leaning in to give you a kiss while his hand slid down your belly. "Text me when you want me to come get you, Sweetheart."

As he walked away, you sighed, but both of your friends had their eyes glued to him. "Damn," Maria said as you took the seat across from her. "He means business."

Cam bit his knuckle before he picked up the menu as if he didn't already know what he was going to order. "You're so fucking lucky you have such a bossy husband," he complained. "And one with a mustache. If I didn't like you so much, I would hate you."

You watched Bradley's broad back as he exited the restaurant and headed toward the red Bronco, pushing his sunglasses into place as he went. "I would probably hate me, too," you murmured, picking up your first of three glasses of water and taking a long sip.

---------------------------

Bradley ran around with his checklist on Monday morning so he didn't forget anything. You mom taught him how to make overnight oatmeal in the slow cooker, which seemed to be the only kitchen appliance that he was able to master on the first try. He fucking loved that thing; you just tossed food into it, and it turned into a meal like magic. He vaguely remembered his mom having one, which just made it even better.

Every time he thought about his parents, he had to stop and catch his breath. His desire to do this right was overwhelming. After you fell at work, he knew there was no margin for error. He filled up a cup with water and carried it back to the bedroom where he hoped you were still asleep, but you weren't even there.

"Baby Girl?" he called out, but then he heard the toilet flush and the sink run before you shuffled back in from the bathroom.

"You're making me drink too much water," you grumbled as he ushered you back to bed. "I can't stop peeing."

He set the new cup down and picked up the used one. "Just humor me, please. I'll come back to pick you up at 11:45 to take you to Dr. Morris. I'll feel a lot better after she examines the two of you, and I have a list of seventeen questions for her."

You looked at him like he was joking. He wasn't. "Mmkay, Roo. Come back and get me later," you said, kissing his lips before climbing back into bed. 

When he got to base, everyone was asking about you."She's at home resting," he assured Nat. "She's sore and tired, but the baby is moving around a bunch. I'm taking them to get checked out again at lunchtime today. Oh, and thanks for getting groceries for me. And driving me to the emergency room. And making sure I didn't have a full nervous breakdown."

Nat gave him a big hug. "Literally what I'm here for, Soul Sister. Just keep me in mind when nominations come out for godparents," she told him with a wink.

"Huh," he grunted, because he hadn't even thought about that. If he had to choose someone, he would probably want it to be Nat, but he didn't know where you stood on the topic, so he didn't say another word about it. When he had to get in his Super Hornet and take off, his mind shifted back to Friday, and a flash of panic went through his body as his wheels left the runway. 

"Rooster, do you copy?" He realized Maverick had asked him something, but he had no idea what. All he could picture was your tear streaked face as you lay in the hospital bed shivering.

"Say again?" he asked, hand gripping the throttle as he tried to focus. He should have used a vacation day, but he was trying to save them up for after the baby was born. He was kind of terrified that you'd have to go out on medical leave, and he knew he wasn't going to feel better about any of this until he heard from Dr. Morris.

"Meet Payback at the rendezvous point," Maverick repeated, and Bradley pushed his nervous energy to the side. How much trouble could you get into at home with Tramp anyway?

The answer was apparently a lot. When he walked in the door to pick you up for your appointment, he headed for the bedroom only to find you sitting on the floor of the baby's nursery with the dog next to you. "What are you doing?" he asked with a sigh. "You were supposed to be resting all morning."

"Relax," you told him, holding up your hands in surrender. "I got bored, so I just started sorting the baby clothes."

He cradled his forehead in his hand. "Baby Girl. You're killing me. Tell me you at least ate lunch? And drank enough water?"

"Three glasses of water," you replied, holding up three fingers and nodding. "And a peanut butter and hot sauce and jelly sandwich. And carrot sticks dipped in ketchup."

Bradley wanted to gag just thinking about it, but he supposed that was actually pretty good for you. "Excellent," he replied, reaching down to help you stand up. "We need to get going. Now."

"Oh," you whispered, kissing his cheek once you were on your feet. "You're really hot when you're being bossy."

Bradley sighed and let his head tip back as you ran your hand down the front of his flight suit. "If, and only if, Dr. Morris says having sex is okay, I could get real bossy with you later if you give me an attitude about eating your dinner."

You squeaked in delight and practically ran out of the room. "Let's get going," you called over your shoulder. "The sooner we ask, the sooner we can potentially fuck."

Bradley grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator on his way to help you put your shoes on, and he was trying not to laugh the entire time. "Drink this," he told you before tying your shoes. Then he kissed you hard before leading you out to the red Bronco.

Once he backed out of the driveway, you reached for his hand. Bradley drove with the radio playing softly, and eventually you squeezed his fingers and admitted, "I am a little nervous though."

So was he, but he wasn't going to tell you that. "We'll figure it out. You don't have to worry about it alone."

He held your hand in the waiting room, and he had his arm wrapped around you when the nurse called you back to be examined. They took about a million samples from you before you were allowed to get cozy on the exam table with him sitting by your side, gently rubbing your left hand without touching your stitches. He was just thinking about what he was going to cook for dinner when Dr. Morris finally walked in.

"It sounds like you had a bit of a scare on Friday," she remarked, carrying your chart in her hand.

"Yes," you said sheepishly. "It was really scary."

"Well," she sighed, taking a seat with a smile, "let's take a look."

You were gripping Bradley's hand as Dr. Morris got the ultrasound equipment ready, and a few seconds later, Rose was squirming around on the huge monitor. "She got so big," he gasped. "Sweetheart, look at her!"

"I see her, Roo."

Dr. Morris looked completely calm, but Bradley asked, "Is she okay? After the fall?"

"She's just fine. Heartbeat is good. She's nice and strong."

"Excellent," he replied while you laughed in relief.

"However," Dr. Morris added, making his heart skip a beat, "we do need to talk about preeclampsia."

Your face fell when Bradley looked at you. "I have preeclampsia?" you asked softly.

Your doctor nodded. "A mild case, but yes. The baby looks fantastic, but I'm going to need you to monitor your blood pressure daily at home. And I have a list of foods you should eat as well as ones to avoid. And you need to eat and drink regularly so you don't faint again."

"Am I allowed to go back to work?" you asked.

"Yes. With the promise that you won't overdo it. And if you start to feel light headed, you need to sit down immediately and call me."

"Right," you agreed. "And is it safe to fuck my husband?"

"Sweetheart," Bradley groaned, resting his forehead against your arm in embarrassment.

"What?" you asked while Dr. Morris chuckled. "You wanted to know, too!"

Bradley shook his head as your doctor had mercy on him and said, "You can absolutely have sex with your husband as long as it's not causing you stress or raising your blood pressure too much. Monitor it. Keep an eye on it."

"Right," you agreed again, giving Bradley side eye as he pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket.

"I have a few more questions for you, Dr. Morris. If you don't mind." He cleared his throat and started to read his seventeen questions, nodding at each answer until he got to his last one. "And how about a babymoon vacation? Is that something we can do?"

"I don't see why not," she said with a smirk. "Assuming your blood pressure doesn't get too high, and as long as you go in the next few weeks if air travel is involved. You're only ten weeks or so from your due date."

Well, that certainly put things into perspective for Bradley. He had a few ideas of where he wanted to take you, but now he was going to have to plan quickly and try to get some days off from work. 

"Do you think I should change into my maternity tent and go to work for the afternoon?" you asked as he led you out of the appointment.

"Absolutely fucking not," he replied, feeling much better but still wanting you to rest a little more. "I'm going to take you back home where you will relax and eat a healthy snack, and then I'll come home and make dinner."

You looked up at him in awe. "Those are words I legitimately never thought I would hear you say unironically."

"Get used to them," he murmured, leaning down to kiss you before you climbed into the Bronco. "And you better not give me an attitude about it, or else I could end up getting really bossy." He clicked your seatbelt into place with a grin as you clapped your hands.

--------------------------------

"You made spaghetti?" you asked, arms crossed over your chest.

"Yes," Bradley replied easily where he stood in the kitchen hours later wearing your I Love Meat apron and holding a slotted spoon. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah. I'm not eating it. I don't want spaghetti."

"Hmm," Bradley hummed, carefully setting down the spoon and turning off the stove burner. "It sounds like you're giving me an attitude."

You had to squeeze your thighs together, already so turned on as he closed the distance to you while you said, "Maybe I am." You jutted your chin out at him and added, "What are you going to do about it?"

His gaze dipped down from your face to your breasts which were practically spilling out of your stretchy tank top. He had an erection which you could clearly see through his gym shorts and the apron. "I'm going to give you an attitude adjustment," he growled, pulling you closer to him. "And then you're going to eat the fucking dinner that I made for you without complaining."

You were already panting for him, so excited over this little roleplay exercise, but you squealed in surprise when he yanked your top clear off and and immediately got handsy. His thumbs were rough on your nipples as he stroked them and pressed your breasts together. Then he let his right hand slide down your backside where he gave you one soft swat and barked, "Hands on the counter."

You did as you were told, already rolling your hips as he stood behind you and yanked your shorts and underwear down. "Bradley," you whined when you saw the apron fall to the floor at your feet, and a second later, he was pushing his cock inside your pussy as you bent a little more.

He planted his hands on the counter next to both of yours, and he ran his thumb gently along the spot near your stitches as he pushed himself deep. You felt his mustache on your ear as he whispered, "Make sure you relax. No high blood pressure for you, Sweetheart. I love you." Then he started fucking you nice and hard as he growled, "You've had a bad attitude all day. You know that? It's about time I fucked it out of you."

"Oh god!" you moaned in excitement. "Please do, Daddy."

He went hard, alternating between talking sweet and scolding you for being bad. "You're so damn hot, I can barely stand it," he crooned. "You'll eat the fucking dinner I made, and you'll say thank you," he grunted, getting you more and more worked up as you gripped at the countertop. "You gonna eat the spaghetti?" he asked, fingers dipping below your belly to find your clit. "Huh?"

"Yes!" you shouted, eyes fluttering closed as he stroked you in slow circles that got faster and tighter. "Yes!"

Bradley's lips were pressed to the sensitive spot behind your ear, and you were treated to the deep, guttural sounds he made as his hips slapped against your butt. "Come on, Baby Girl. Come on." As soon as you felt that first perfect clench of your ograsm, he was coming too. "That's it," he groaned. "That's a good girl."

You were still bumping your body back against his, coming down from your high, when he wrapped both hands around to your belly and asked, "You feel okay? The Nugget's okay?"

"So good," you gasped, finally pulling your hands away from the counter. "Perfect."

You spun in his arms with a smile on your face, and your belly bumped his abs. His cheeks were all flushed, and he looked a little tired, but he was smiling as his cum dripped down your thighs. "You hungry for the spaghetti?" he asked, stroking your cheek with his fingers.

"Starving," you replied, finally sated.

Two minutes later, you were sitting on Bradley's lap at the dining room table with one huge plate of spaghetti and two glasses of water. "I can't believe you made this. It smells incredible, Roo," you praised. 

"Your mom helped a lot," he replied, but you could hear the pride in his voice. "Did you know you're supposed to add salt to the water before you cook pasta?"

You tried not to laugh as you twirled spaghetti onto your fork and took a bite. "This is delicious. And yes, I did know that."

"Is that why it always tasted so much better when you made it? I never did that before today."

God, you loved him so much, it was ridiculous. You'd been cooking for the two of you for years now, but he stepped out of his comfort zone as soon as you fell at work, knowing you couldn't keep doing all of this by yourself. Instead of answering his question, you said, "I could never love anyone else as much as I love you."

"Same," he replied easily. "It's just you and Rosie for me. That's why I spent my afternoon planning out the perfect babymoon."

"You did?" you asked, turning to look at him over your shoulder.

"Keep eating, and I'll tell you more," he promised, nudging your shoulder before taking a bite for himself. 

Once you were eating again, he said, "As long as you can get a few days off at the end of the month, I want to take you somewhere that is plentiful with hot sauce."

"Del Mar?" you asked, thinking of the hot sauce restaurant and the reservation you missed on your birthday.

He gave you a bland look. "Come on, even I can do better than that."

"I don't know," you said with a laugh, and he nudged you again to take another forkful.

"Beautiful beaches. Spicy food. And a hot sauce making workshop," he whispered, and you nearly dropped your fork.

"You and Jake didn't try to make hot sauce again, did you?" When you thought about the disgusting bottle of spicy vinegar your husband brought home as a treat, you almost wanted to cry. "Please tell me no."

"Sweetheart," he said with a laugh. "I'm talking about Mexico!"

"Oh!" you gasped in excitement.

He looked so pleased with himself as he said, "It's a short plane ride away. We'll just go for a few days. It'll be like our honeymoon in Hawaii all over again, but this time you'll be pregnant in your little red bikini with your rooster tattoo on display."

You bit your lip as his hand settled on your thigh. "You really thought this through."

"I did," he replied. "You wanted a babymoon, and Dr. Morris said it's okay, so you're getting a babymoon. Now let's finish eating so I can check your blood pressure and clean the kitchen."

---------------------------

The next few weeks of work were tedious. Your lab mates often treated you like you were made out of porcelain, about to fall over at the slightest inconvenience. Even Bickel got into a bit of a habit of going easy on you before you met with him to tell him you were eating and staying hydrated and could carry your normal workload.

"I'm going to get something to drink," Cat told you one day as you sat in front of your computer working some calculations in the software. "Do you want anything? Maybe a snack?"

"You don't have to be so nice to me right now," you replied. "In fact, please don't."

She scoffed. "Are you trying to insinuate that I'm usually mean to you or something?"

You looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're certainly never this nice. And I mean that in a good way. I think I got used to you being a bit rough around the edges most of the time, and I like it that way."

"Who took care of your wedding rings?" she asked. "And who helped you battle your morning sickness in Annapolis?"

"You did," you replied easily. "But you're never this sweet to anyone besides Jeremiah and Jake. The two loves of your life."

She was silent for a beat before she said, "I'll just get you some juice." She left the lab, and you smiled. Jake wanted to get married, but she was putting up a hell of a fight even as she was steadily paying down the debt her husband accrued while Jake paid for Jeremiah's daycare on base.

You groaned and rubbed your eyes as you yawned. Getting Rose on the waitlist for the daycare was something you kept forgetting to take care of, and it really needed to be done. You were leaving for Mexico in just a few days, but there were so many things you wanted to take care of first. Maybe you could ask Bradley to take care of this one agenda item, since he kept insisting your top priority was taking care of yourself. You could practically hear him tell you that the only person he trusted with the loves of his life was you.

By the time he met you in the parking garage at the end of the day, you were yawning nonstop. "Hey, I don't like that," he said right away, jogging the last bit to get to you. "You're really tired, Sweetheart."

"I am," you agreed. "But I ate a salad and an enormous bowl of soup for lunch, and I had two snacks today."

He kissed your forehead as he muttered, "Taking perfect care of my girls. I'll get you home and feed you dinner, and then we can start packing for our trip before you go to bed early. Oh, and I got the Nugget on the waitlist for daycare today."

"Bradley," you moaned, leaning into him. "You're the best husband. And like seriously, I don't even know how to deal with how fucking much that turns me on."

He kissed your forehead again and said, "Okay, we can definitely add sex to the agenda if we stop wasting time and head home immediately."

"I'll get undressed while you drive," you joked, playfully unbuttoning your horrible shirt while he buckled you in.

"Baby Girl, those massive tits could cause an accident," he warned before he groaned. "Holy shit, all I can think about is you wearing that little bikini with your belly and fucking gorgeous tits all over the place. Everyone is going to be looking at me next to you, knowing I got you like this." His hand rested on your bump, and he swallowed hard. "Knowing that's my baby."

"Seriously," you panted. "We need to get home now."

Bradley drove at a respectable speed and made you swear you would eat the dinner he made. Then when you got home, he checked your blood pressure and had you drink a glass of water. It was only at that point that he fucked you into the mattress, really rather lovingly, before he served you dinner.

---------------------------------

Next up is the babymoon of her dreams. Then Natasha is planning a baby shower that will probably be a nightmare. Then it's time for the Nugget to make her grand entrance! Thanks for reading! Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

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[how-do-i-delete-this-acc]

suna rintaro here. my girlfriend, y/n, is being distant today and i don't know why. let me tell you about what happened.

we were supposed to have our separate zooms with her on my lap, but she left to a different room near the very beginning. she tried to play it off with "i have a pop quiz and i need to focus. can't have my grade drop just because i can't focus on your lap with your zoom in the background," but we all know that that is absolute bs. she could've focused on my lap just fine, and we all know that failing a 10-point pop quiz from chiahara-sensei happens to the best of us. and if you're wondering, i am the best of the best.

then, after we both finished our annoyingly long 1.5 hour lectures, (well she claimed hers was in fact a 40-point pop quiz/test but it def wasn't) she refused to cook together. she said something like, "rin, you burned yourself last time, remember? go sit down," but that, too, is bs. yes, i spilled hot water on my sweats last time i tried to make pasta, but it was on my knee, so it wasn't like it was a big deal anyways. i don't know why she kept making excuses.

then, after we finished eating the meal she cooked without me, she had the audacity to get on a zoom call when i didn't have one. and after that terrible offense, she refused to sit on my lap for it AGAIN. she said that inuzuka-sensei was always more strict about what we wore in zooms, and i wouldn't get away with no shirt on like soma-sensei let me. when i told her that her body would block mine, she said that my chest and shoulders would still be perfectly visible. then, she guilted me by saying that she didn't want other girls to see my "perfectly toned abs," as she called them. AND THEN she had the impudence to TEASE ME and LIE TO ME by telling me my cheeks and ears were getting red! couldn't believe her.

then, after all our classes were over, she refused to cuddle with me because APPARENTLY her friend's sister a block down rolled and sprained her ankle, and that it was getting pretty bruised and swollen. she also added that her friend didn't have any advil or experience in injuries, and apparently she was asked to bring some advil, a compression bandage, and a couple ice packs. when i told her that her friend could just buy some and that she could get her own ice pack, she tried to get out of it by telling me that her friend's sister was only 5, was bawling her eyes out, refused to be left alone but also screamed louder when she was picked up, and that we also had a lot to spare because we have a ton of supplies in the closet because of my constant volleyball injuries. again, absolute bs. her friend could just go grab everything herself. what did it matter that the kid was crying? fuck kids! do you know how funny those youtube videos of kids getting hurt and crying are? people enjoy them for a reason. it's because kids are annoying as hell and it's fun to watch them get injured. im subscribed to like 10 of those kinds of channels. her friend is literally getting free entertainment and y/n obviously just wants to watch the free entertainment WITHOUT ME because she'd rather be with her stupid friend than me.

all in all, please help. i don't know why she's so distant today. is she mad? please give me tips!

@.su.rin post made at 4:16pm

comments: @.y/n.l/n: HELP WHAT IS THIS @.y/n.l/n: for the record i got an a+ on that so it was worth it @.y/n.l/n: love u always rin <333 @.su.rin: reply to @.y/n./l/n- ik that u hate me its ok

[loveronlineee]

Off Limits Part 3 (Eddie Munson x Reader)

Masterlist   All Parts

Eddie Munson x Henderson! Reader (She/Her)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Y/N decides to make Eddie lunch, but how would she do it without her protective little brother finding out?

Y/N notes: none

Heyooooo it’s Willow! I’m enjoying this writing this series but I’m not sure where to take it from here? So if you want more, gimmie suggestions in my inbox! Also YES I’m working on part 2 of The Metalhead and the Material girl it’s just taking me a while cuz I wanna do it right.

Okie update over! Enjoy part 3!

Wanna be on the Eddie Munson tag list? Look here!

Wanna request something? Look here!

Dustin glared at his sister from the dining room table as she cooked. The siblings were eerily quiet. Just the sounds of the water bubbling as it cooked the pasta and the occasional bump of the wooden spoon hitting the side of the pot as Y/N stirred.

“You still having your lil temper tantrum?” Y/N asked, feeling his eyes burning into the back of her head.

“No.” Dustin sulked, arms folded. Y/N sighed and put down her wooden spoon, turning around to face him.

“I still don’t get what you’re so mad about.”

“Out of everyone at the school?? Eddie Munson???” Dustin stood up. “I just don’t get it.”

“What? He’s sweet, what can I say.” Y/N turned back around, adding some spices to her pasta sauce.

“Sweet?” Dustin repeated in disbelief. “Eddie is anything but sweet to me.”

“Yeah well you’re not a pretty girl.” Y/N joked.

“Ugh gross shut up.” Dustin huffed, getting fed up. He slumped back down into his chair.

“Okay okay okay. How bout I order us pizza for dinner instead? Will that cheer you up?”

“What about your pasta?” Y/N shrugged.

“I can just have it for lunch tomorrow. And you can have the leftovers from tonight. How’s that sound?” Dustin didn’t want to give in but his love of pizza seemed to outweigh his annoyance at his sister.

“Okay FINE.” Y/N smiled and went over to their phone, dialling the number she knew all too well. Dustin walked to the bathroom to wash his hands. She grinned.

Her plan was a success.

———————————————————————

Dustin stared daggers at Eddie the next day at lunch, only receiving an innocent smile back.

“Dustin I told you nothing happened.” Eddie reassured him once again. The younger boy continued to glare, unconvinced. He took an aggressive bite out of his pizza slice which made Eddie chuckle. He looked over to Mike who had his eyes wide, trying to get his attention. He frowned in confusion. Mike darted his eyes behind him to the rest of the lunch hall.

The metalhead looked around at the others before spotting Y/N half hiding in the entrance. She was staring at him and beckoning him to come over.

Eddie’s eyes moved to Dustin on his left. He had gone back to his pizza, angrily munching away. Mike began to distract him.

“Uh hey Dustin, did you understand that physics class? Cause I didn’t get any of it.” Dustin rolled his eyes and looked up at his friend.

“Seriously Mike? It was not that hard.” As Dustin began to explain, Eddie slipped away. As he headed towards Y/N, she dipped around the corner.

He turned to find her smiling at him. She began walking down the hallway. Eddie grinned and followed her.

“I thought you were banned from seeing me.” Eddie joked.

“Yeah I am. Why d’you think I was staring at you from across the room like a creep instead of coming over?” The two chuckled.

“So uh, what’s up?”

“What are you having for lunch?” Y/N asked.

“Nothing?”

“Wrong!” Y/N stopped and shoved a container into Eddie’s hands. Eddie opened the lid to find a creamy tomato pasta with chicken.

“Did… did you make this for me?” Eddie smiled in shock.

“Don’t flatter yourself Munson. I just had some leftover.” Y/N joked, holding up an identical container. “You should eat. It’s important.” She added, becoming more serious.

“No ones ever made me a meal before.” Eddie mumbled. “No ones ever cared that I wasn’t eating. I don’t know what to say.”

“How bout, let’s eat?” Y/N held his hand and led him into the empty music room. “I think we’ll be safe from my brother in here.”

She sat on the floor by the back wall. Eddie came and sat beside her, shoulders touching. She handed him a fork from her bag and the two began eating. Eddie’s eyes widened.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” Y/N giggled at the exageration.

“Glad you like it. I can keep making you lunches if you want.”

“What? Like everyday?”

“If you want.” Y/N shrugged. “I cook for myself anyways, it’s just a bigger portion now.” Eddie looked down at his food, feeling slightly guilty.

“I-I don’t know Y/N that’s a lot of extra work just for me-“

“I’d like to do it actually.” Y/N pushed. “No ones liked my food before. You make me feel appreciated.” She smiled softly. Eddie couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yeah okay then Henderson. You’re my personal chef now.” Y/N leaned into him before going back to her food. The two sat in comfortable silence, having their lunch.

They could just about hear the students walking and talking in the hallway. They heard two pairs of feet running frantically down.

It could be Dustin looking for them, with Mike close behind. Or maybe not. They didn’t care in that moment.

They were just enjoying their lunch and each other’s company.

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[storiesofsvu]

Her Everything Ch 15

“Hey!” You called through the apartment as you swung the door shut behind you, addressing Lucy, “Thank you so much for covering! You have no idea how much I appreciate it, work got insanely hectic.”

“I know how it is. Don’t worry about it.” She waved off your apology, handing Catalina her sippy cup back. The toddler gave you the briefest of hello’s before bounding back to the couch with her Paw Patrol.

“How was she?”

“Oh she was fine, always is. I gave her an Uncrustable when I got her but nothing substantial, she didn’t seem too hungry.”

“Thanks.” You smiled warmly as you locked your gun in the well out of reach safe on top of the fridge.

“But…you should know…she’s been asking questions…” she slipped a piece of construction paper out of Cat’s backpack, “They were drawing family trees in pre-k, Cat had a whirlwhind of questions for me.”

“Fuck..” you muttered softly, “What did you say?”

“I said she’d have to ask you.”

“Thank you.” You gazed into the living room, the tuft of her ponytail just visible over the couch, “I’ll talk to her. Rafael’s honestly been doing incredible with her, finally smartened up. I was gonna start to breach the subject soon anyways.” You turned back to Lucy, “now get outta here, I’m sure you have more fun places to be.”

“Thanks.” She gave you a soft smile, waving by to Cat before leaving the apartment.

You ran a hand over your face, sighing heavily. You knew this day would come, and you knew it was going to come sooner rather than later, but you weren’t prepared for what you knew would be an onslaught of follow up questions. Where had he been? Why did he leave? Why aren’t the two of you together? Is he moving in? Are you getting married? Can I have a baby sister? You couldn’t exactly explain to a near four year old that her Dad unplugged a baby, was tried for murder and then left the state with no contact info only to show up out of the blue four years later.

Filling a pot with water you pulled a box of Kraft Dinner out of the cupboard, your day had been long and your brain was about to get another workout, at least supper could be on the easy train tonight. When it was ready you mixed everything together, tossing a couple of cucumber slices on the side of Cat’s plate and collected her into her booster seat. She babbled on for a little bit as she started to eat, mainly about Paw Patrol, something about a few friends at school. She paused to munch on a cucumber, looking up at you with those gorgeous green eyes full of wonder.

“Catalina…how would you feel about meeting your Papi?” She looked over at you with a confused pout on her lips.

“But..Rafa’s Papi.”

What.

Were you going to have to really tear another strip off Rafael already? When had he even been alone with her to have the chance to mention anything?

“Did he tell you that?”

“No.”

“Did Abuelita tell you that?”

“No.” She chomped away on the cucumber slice before swallowing it, going in for another forkful of pasta. “Rafa calls Abi Mami. If Abi is his Mami then he’s my Papi, right?” You stared at her in disbelief,

“Anyone ever tell you you’re too smart for your own good?” She simply giggled a mouth of Mac and cheese at you in response. “But yes Cata, you are right. Rafael is your Papi.”

“Do I still call him Rafa?”

“Baby you can call him whatever you’d like as long as he’s okay with it.”

“Okay.”

“How would you feel about spending some more time with Papi? Maybe go hangout at his house sometimes? Have a couple sleepovers a month?”

“Where would I sleep?”

“You’d have your own room.”

“You come too?”

“No baby, just some daddy daughter time. That sound like fun?” She thought on it for a hot second, trying to finish chewing before she replied.

“Yes!”

“Okay.” You ruffled her hair softly, turning back to your own meal. Surprisingly she didn’t have many follow up questions, you told her that Rafael hadn’t known about her, and that you both loved her very much, and that was all that mattered.

It didn’t take long to get her settled in bed, the day of school and running around with the sitter tiring her out pretty quick. Making sure the nightlight was on, you left the door open a crack, heading back to the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of wine. Picking up your phone you scrolled through your texts until you found Rafael’s name, clicking the call button.

“Y/N? Everything alright?” Rafael’s voice came through the receiver, a hint of concern evident. You’d avoiding calling, usually opting to text, it was harder for him to argue that way.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Uhm…you wanna meet us in Central tomorrow, at that jungle gym she’s so obsessed with?”

“Yes. Absolutely. What time?” His heart began to race, you hadn’t made any impromptu hangout plans before, especially in the middle of the week.

“Two?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“K.” You sighed lightly, humming over a sip of wine, “You should know you managed to pass along that Ivy League brain of yours.” He laughed lightly, smiling at the friendliness evident in your voice.

“What’d’you mean?”

“She figured it out all on her own…Guess they were talking about family trees at school, she put together the pieces. Kids are way more intuitive than you’d think, turns out we made a pretty smart one.” Rafael couldn’t help but smile at your words, knowing that it seemed like things were turning a page, and this time a positive one.

“So she knows who I am?”

“Yup. I figured it’d be nice for you two to have a first actual hangout…and that we could talk some things over?”

“Of course!”

“K, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got a mountain of paperwork I need to get through.”

“Okay. G’night.”

“Night.”

Rafael felt a sense of blooming in his chest as he hung up the phone. Everything had kind of been a giant mess, a permanent ball of anxiety living in his chest since he’d returned to the city. Truthfully, he deserved it, and he knew it, but it was a complete relief knowing that things finally seemed to be coming up positively. He’d fucked up enough in the past, now was the time to rise from the ashes and shine, proving to you that he was more than worthy of being an incredible father.

*

You got to the playground first, Catalina too excited to want to wait any longer after lunch. There were a few other Mother’s you knew from school around, the kids all playing together. Though you dodged their bullshit by saying you had some work to catch up with on your phone.

“You ever put that thing down?” Rafael joked as he approached, an extra coffee in his hand for you.

“Thanks.” Accepting the coffee you pocketed your phone, “Trying to reason with Liv. You know how it is.”

“I most certainly do.” He took a sip of the beverage, happy to be breaching solo civil conversations with you, “She trying to wrangle you back in today?”

“No.” Sighing you leant back against the park bench, “Took a hit yesterday and she benched me.”

“What, you punch the perp back and she’s making you go to anger management first?” You let out a scoff of a laugh,

“The shrink. The hit was a bullet…” Rafael uprighted himself immediately, worry in his eyes as he glanced you over, a quick squeeze to your free hand.

“Jesus! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You waved him off, “I had my vest on, it’s just a bruise.”

“Isn’t your partner supposed to have your back?” This brought another laugh out of you.

“Rafael…you’ve seen the squad, we’re spread pretty fucking thin.  I’m the switch right now, no official partner. We took down a sting, just didn’t have all of our bases covered. It happens.” You shrugged it off. Rafael was beginning to counter when Catalina came running up, suddenly realizing he was there

“Rafa!” She clambered right into his lap, giving him the best of a hug she could, you helped him out a big, taking his coffee from him, “can I call you Papi? Or Daddy?” He shot a glance over to you, taking in the small smile on your lips and brief nod you gave him before answering.

“Of course sweetheart.”

“Yay!” She tossed her arms around his neck, snuggling against him, “Hi Daddy.” The words were muffled by his jacket, but they warmed him down to his absolute core.

Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he gave her a soft squeeze, lips meeting the top of her hair gently. When he turned to you, you could see the faintest shimmer of tears in his eyes, his lips mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ over Catalina’s head. He felt as if his heart could explode, the first actual, real hug with his daughter, it was something if you had asked him about years ago he would’ve laughed. The thought of having kids, having a family, it seemed so far fetched, that he could ever love someone as much as he loved that little girl, and they’d only just met. When Catalina pulled away, she started to babble on about a few things before you gained her attention,

“Baby, how about you go play with Alyssa a little longer? Momma’s got a few things she needs to talk to Raf about. We can get ice cream after.” You threw in the bonus treat as extra motivation, knowing she’d accept it.

“Okay.” She climbed down from the bench, running back over into the sand.

“So what’s the next step?” Rafael cautiously asked, taking his coffee back from you as he spoke.

“If you wanna do this, if you really want to do this, you need to really be her Dad. Not just someone who pops up every so often for play dates or Sunday dinners.”

“That’s what I want. Trust me. I’m in it for the long haul, just tell me what you need from me.”

“We’ll start out easy. You’ve got to kid proof your apartment, and if she’s going to be spending time there, staying overnight or weekends, she needs her own space. She needs a room, a bed, toys, books, the whole works of things that are hers. She needs to feel like she belongs in your space, that she’s welcome, not just a house guest.”

“Of course, I’ll get started on that right away.”

“She wants to spend more time with you, including overnights and I’m more than okay with that. We can hash out the rest of the details later.”

“I’m all ears whenever you’re ready. And y/n…thank you..”

You could see the unspoken words written in his eyes, how incredibly relieved he was that you were willing to take these steps, that there wasn’t a big elephant in the room waiting to be addressed anymore. That he was brave enough to take the step into actually being a father, not just watching from the sidelines anymore.

As you promised, the three of you stopped for ice cream on the way home, Catalina talking Rafael’s ear off even more than normal. Making sure she gave him an extra long hug when you parted ways, skipping her way back to your apartment hand in yours.

As Rafael promised he set up his second bedroom into a room fit for a princess. Lucia was more than willing to help, knowing he’d still be a little clueless about things, especially little things a non parent might miss. You sent over a few boxes of Cat’s stuff that she didn’t use on the daily basis, some extra clothes and the like, letting Rafael get everything settled before you did a brief walk through with him. He knew his Mom had already gone over everything, but he felt like letting you be the final seal of approval was the right thing to do.

When Friday rolled around, you had one very excited toddler jumping through the house as you got her to help you choose which things she’d be taking for her sleepover (along with making sure she had what she actually needed). You made it to Rafael’s just after five, following the two of them into the apartment as he gave her the tour, making sure she was comfortable in the space. When she settled in relatively quickly against Rafael’s couch, he walked you back to the door.

“Try to have her in bed by 8:30, though her nap was pretty long today so she might fuss.” You brushed a hand through your hair, “And please, let’s not play bad cop, good cop. If she misbehaves you have to reprimand her, no matter how big the puppy dog eyes are.” Rafael chuckled softly,

“I’m here to be a parent, not play babysitter.”

“Thank you.” You smiled, a moment of hesitation hung between you, “Call if you need anything.”

“You uh-sure you don’t want to stay for a drink?” You let out a huff of a laugh,

“Are you kidding me? For the first time in four years I’m not directly responsible for a tiny human. That tiny human is your problem for the next eighteen hours. Rollins and I are going to drink wine, watch shitty reality t.v and swear as loudly as we want all night.” That caused him to outwardly laugh,

“Okay.” You saw the way his smile faded, the sudden hesitancy in his eyes at suddenly being alone with his daughter, completely responsible for everything. Your hand darted out, squeezing at his reassuringly, your voice soft as a feather as you spoke.

“Hey…you’re not your father…you’re going to do great. I know it.” He gave you a warm smile in return, internally hating the warmth fading from his hand as you dropped it again.

“Thanks.” He gave you a small nod, “Better not keep Rollins waiting.”

“I’ll pick her up at two. Have fun.”

“You too.”

With another small smile, your back was turned and you were down the hallway in an instant, leaving him to shut and latch his door, taking a deep breath as he turned back into the apartment. There was a whole new level of life ahead of him and he was about to dive head first right into.

[jeongvision]

[ 4:33 PM ] ➞ [ 10:38 PM ] ➞ [ 6:21 PM ] ➞ [ 9:04 AM ]

pairing. husband! jeong jaehyun ✗ fem! reader

genre. fluff (!!), humor, domestic au, parent au, non idol au

warnings. y’all i’m so devastated that the father of my future child won’t be someone like jaehyun in this blurb :( heart been broke so many times

author’s note. this is the final installation of my timestamp mini-series! thank you all for reading and liking this! until next time <3

“Minho?” you called out.

The boy in question looks up to you with beady eyes, lips pursed from his mouth full of cereal. You chuckle at his silly demeanor and went to grab a napkin to wipe off the leftovers that stayed glued to his face. “Are you that hungry, baby? Did you eat anything for dinner last night?”

He swallows the remaining cereal in his mouth before answering you, proper etiquette he learned from you. “I did! Daddy cooked us some pasta last night,” he nods enthusiastically. There’s an excited look shining through his eyes, “It was really yummy, mommy!”

Just earlier, the 4-year-old boy woke up from his slumber after not feeling your presence in bed, confused as to where his mother could have gone. After walking out of yours and Jaehyun’s shared bedroom, careful to not wake up his father and twin sister in bed, he found you in the kitchen preparing breakfast. The delightful scent wafted through the air, waking up his tired eyes almost immediately. His two little feet brought him running to your legs, giggles filling in the spaces as his arms wrapped around your knee, hugging you with so much love that it melted your drowsiness away.

You tuck some strands away from his forehead, fingers weaving through his soft locks. “Yes, daddy does cook some really good food, huh?” You smile at your son, “Can you go wake up daddy and Minji for mommy, please? It’s time for us to have breakfast.”

With a nod, he runs back into the bathroom, not minding the tumbling sounds he’s making from his little rumbling steps. He barges into the bedroom and sees his father and sister still snoozing the morning away, both of their jaws slacked slightly open. Minji’s head rests against Jaehyun’s forearm, her limbs spread out like a starfish. Meanwhile the latter had his free arm laying across his blanket-covered abdomen, body aligned straight as a soldier’s.

Minho lets out a giggle before climbing onto the bed, his dimples poking through, a trait he inherited from his father. He shakes his sister’s shoulders, “Minji! Wake up! Mommy says it’s time for breakfast!” But she only mumbles incoherently, absentmindedly swatting away his pestering hands. He reaches over to his father and shakes him instead after gaining an unfavorable outcome from her. “Daddy! Mommy said to wake up! We have to eat breakfast now!”

Fortunately for him, Jaehyun was actually more responsive than the latter as he slowly opens his eyes, groggily groaning awake from his son’s spirited voice. However, he closes his eyes back to sleep, counting sheep in his dreams. Minho wouldn’t take that as an answer, so he proceeds to stand up in bed and start jumping, careful to not step on them in the process. “Wake up! Wake up! If we don’t eat breakfast, we don’t go to Disney!” And just from the word ‘Disney’, Minji almost instantaneously rises up from her father’s arm, head perked up.

“Disney? Did you say we’re going to Disney?”

Minho stops his jumping and plops down on the bed in front of her. He nods exuberantly, “Mhm! Mommy and daddy said yesterday that we are going to Disney today. That’s why we have to eat our food before we can go!”

Minji cheers gleefully to his words, her own set of dimples poking in her cheeks. And so, she assists her brother in waking their father up, jumping up and down on the bed in unison to cause more havoc to Jaehyun’s sleep.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!”

“Wake up, wake up!”

“Mommy said it’s time to eat!”

“Mommy said she won’t love you anymore if you don’t wake up!”

After hearing the last statement, he instantly lifts his head, an eyebrow raised. “Who said mommy won’t love me anymore? Hm?” he jokingly challenges. The twins stop their ministrations and, to avoid the blame, point at each other, a fit of giggles after doing so. 

“He did!”

“She did!”

He sits up from his position which prompted both of the twins to quickly dash off the bed, squeals and laughter resonating the halls of their humble adobe as they run off to safety they call their mother. He rolls his eyes before plopping back in bed.

“Have kids, they said,” he mumbles. “It’ll be fun, they said,” and yet, there’s a smile on his face that he can’t seem to wipe off. As much as how much of a headache they can be, he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He would do anything to keep his family safe and happy, even if he has to sacrifice hours of his peaceful sleep for it.

While he slowly strips the sleep out of his system in the bedroom, the kitchen was booming with sounds and chatters, plates and utensils clinking and clanking one another as you set up the table. As you were plating your children’s plates with delicious goods, you felt an arm wrapping around your figure, one that enveloped you in love and care.

You turn your head to see Jaehyun resting his chin on your shoulder, a sweet smile dressing his lips and you inhaled in his scent. “Good morning, my love.”

You let out a laugh, “Good morning to you too, my sleepyhead.”

“Hey, not my fault the kids wouldn’t let me sleep last night.”

“That’s because you let them have ice cream late after having their dinner,” you reasoned, waving a finger at him. “You know that’s a no-no in the Jung household. No late desserts after dinner.”

He playfully snorts to your words and mumbles under his breath, “But I wanted some ice cream too..”

After you all have a boisterous breakfast together, the kids are off to the bathrooms to brush their teeth and washing up for the day. Jaehyun took the initiative in washing the dishes in return for you prepping their meal. While he did that, you walk into the bedroom and start grabbing clothes for the twins to wear to Disneyland as you and Jaehyun promised them. The twins finally returned from the bathroom and waits for your command, visibly thrilled that they will be going to the happiest place on earth.

You got both of them dressed up and that is when your husband returns from his dishwashing duty and he starts getting dressed with you. After getting ready for the day, Jaehyun wraps his arms around your torso again, this time from your front.

He grins to you, “Remember when we were younger, you didn’t want to get married to me?”

You raise an eyebrow to the latter, “What are you talking about? You’ve only proposed to me once and that was on New Year’s.”

He shakes his head, “No, I proposed to you before that.”

“When?”

“Remember when I joked about you borrowing my last name?”

You searched through your memories to clue in on his insinuation but you were hit with a blank. You shake your head, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He gives you a narrowed look, “I asked you if I could borrow my grey hoodie at the time.”

“Wait, you were actually proposing to me at the time?” You’re gawking at him, finally remembering the incident he was referring to. While you tend to forget a lot of the conversations you have with him, you could remember every occurrence of him asking to borrow his clothes. Our clothes, you would correct him. Funny how back then in college, you were nowhere close to getting married to him, too afraid of what the future holds. Now here you are, happily married to the love of your life with wonderful twins you’re proud to call your own.

He shrugs his shoulders, “I mean, I was joking, but I wouldn’t mind if you actually said yes back then.” He grins again, “I have been wanting to marry you for quite some time.”

Smiling, you wrap your arms around his neck, bringing him closer to give him a soft peck on his lips. There’s a look of tender in his eyes, and you knew yours had the same look too. “Well, I’m all yours now. No more borrows and returns now.” You both rest your foreheads against each other. “Everything is exactly where we want it to be, my love.”

“Can I still borrow my brown cardigan that you stole from me last week?”

“Absolutely not.”

[cherryatiny]

𝐃𝐚𝐝! 𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 '𝐝𝐚𝐝'

𝐺𝐼𝐹𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠

⩥ 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠

„See princess? And this is how you trim audio when working on a song.“ responded Hongjoong excitedly, from how interested his daughter was in the matter of creating and producing music, just like her dad.

The little girl squealed on his lap happily, as she just edited her first song. „Wow, daddy's work is so cool! I'm gonna be like daddy when I grow up!“ He couldn't help but smile at how his cute daughter was an exact copy of him when it came to her looks, interests or even personality.

„Okay princess, can you be a good girl and be quiet for a while? Daddy just has to finish this one song, I promise it'll take just a few minutes.“ his daughter nodded, always obeying the words of her dad.

Sitting there quietly, she looked at the screen of his computer, the small pink headphones Hongjoong bought for her on times like these when they listened and worked on music together, on her head, as she listened to the song that featured her dad and his seven friends.

The girl suddenly jumped up on his lap, his hands swiftly catching her, not wanting to imagine the piercing cry of pain she'd let out if she fell. „What are you doing, princess? You have to be careful baby, or else you'll fall. Why did you even jump?“

„I heard dad singing in the chorus!“ exclaimed his daughter. „But daddy wasn't singing in the chorus, princess.“ frowned Hongjoong confusedly, not knowing what his daughter meant. „I know. I was talking about dad Seonghwa.“ his daughter not being able to distinguish between the voices would be completely okay, after all, she's just a toddler, but his daughter calling his friend Seonghwa dad intentionally, was not that okay for him.

„But Seonghwa isn't your dad. I'm your dad.“ Weird jealousy-like feeling flowed through his veins at that moment. „I know that you're my dad, but mommy said uncle Seonghwa is my dad too!“

„No my little dummy, you missed it, uncle Seonghwa is your godfather, not your dad, him being your godfather doesn't make him your dad, princess.“ explained Hongjoong as he smiled at his little girl, embracing her in a tight but careful hug full of love since she's tiny and fragile.

⩥ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

Heating the zucchini sauce, that his friend Hongjoong taught him how to cook, before pouring it on the pasta, Seonghwa served his twin daughters the meal they love so much. „Okay.. enjoy your meal, my loves, what do you say?“ waiting for their answer, the girls thanked him loud, cheerfully. „Thank you, daddy!“

Seonghwa smiled proudly at how well you two raised them. „That's it, smart girls, after your parents! And don't forget to eat everything! You have to eat, so you can be strong and healthy girls!“

No answer was given to him, as the two girls munched on their lunch, stuffing their mouths with pasta. In the meanwhile, Seonghwa washed the dishes he made dirty by cooking, before taking one serving of the pasta to eat as well.

Sitting down on the chair opposite of his daughter, he dug his fork into the meal, watching his daughters. „How is it? Do you like it?“ The younger twin tried to answer, but her words were muffled as her mouth was full.

„Princess, what did I say about talking while you're eating? Finish chewing first so you don't gag on the food and say it to me after that.“

„It was yummy but dad makes it better!“After finishing the last bits of their meals they place the empty plates one on another, the older twin, picking it up and placing it into the sink, she was hardly able to reach. „What are you talking about princess, daddy cooked it.“

„I didn't mean you, daddy, I meant dad Joong.“ Seonghwa felt his eyebrows frowning on their own at his daughter calling his best friend her dad. Yes, it was stupid to be jealous of something like this, but he just couldn't help it. „Why are you calling uncle Hongjoong your dad?“

„He's as old as you daddy, so I thought he could be my dad as well!“

⩥ 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨

Sitting his three kids into their child seats and fastening their seatbelts, Yunho got into his driver seat, carefully leaving the parking lot. Looking in the rear mirror, his two boys were playing together deep down in a conversation, while their little sister slept.

Nevertheless, he still drove quite slowly, because he knew the kids might throw up from the number of roller coasters they rode with Mingi's daughter today.

Coming home, his daughter was still sleeping and he didn't have the heart to wake her up from her peaceful state. Picking her up on his arms, her head laying on his shoulder, the two boys jumped out of the car, already running to the house to rant about their day to you.

Hearing their shouting from outside, you were already waiting for them in the hallway, the two boys jumping onto you, embracing you in a hug with their tiny arms. Smiling at your husband Yunho that was standing in the hallway.

„I missed you my loves! The house was empty without you. Did you have fun today at the amusement park?“

„Yes! Dad bought us ice cream!“ Yeah. You could see that since a chocolate stain adorned his light green t-shirt, smiling at your sons whose day was lightened up by the chocolate ice cream they loved that much.

„Yuyu, what did I tell you about buying the kids ice cream. It's full of sugar and chemicals, I could've made them one myself when you came home, and it won't stuff chemicals into their bodies.“

„But I didn't buy them ice cream, Y/N, Mingi did... Wait! Did you two just call uncle Mingi your dad? I'm actually hurt.“

Yunho cried and fell to the ground dramatically to show how much his boys calling his best friend their father hurt him. Only resulting in the boys laughter.

„[Mingi's daughter's name] said she's our little sister as well as [Yunho's daughter's name] and that you're one of her dads, so we thought that Mingi's our dad too!“

⩥ 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠

„Mommy, mommy, can you please braid my hair?“ squeaked your daughter cutely as she ran towards you with a hairband in her small hands. Handing it over to you as you cooked a meal for lunch.

„Mommy is busy, come over here, daddy is so good at braiding hair.“ exalted your husband Yeosang himself as he motioned for his daughter to come to him.

Spreading his legs widely for his daughter to sit in between them in his lap as her back faced him.

Brushing her soft and silky hair into a ponytail, he took the hairband from her hand and started braiding her hair into a (really messy) braid.

The girl stood up, running over to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. Stepping out onto her stairs so she can see herself, she saw the terrible creature that was supposed to adorn her head.

Unbraiding the messy hairstyle, she ran back to the room where you and Yeosang were. Ignoring Yeosang who looked at her confusedly as to why she damaged the braid he made, the little girl tugged at your t-shirt to gain your attention.

„Mommy, mommy, why are dads so bad at braiding hair?“ scoffed the girl as she pouted with playful anger at Yeosang.

„Do you have experiences with other dads that you can generalize it?“ asked Yeosang as he watched the two of you with wide eyes, to catch every detail. „Dad Jongho couldn't braid my hair as well.“

His daughter calling his best friend dad seemed to spark jealousy and some kind of anger in him. „And who told you to call uncle Jongho 'dad'?“

„And who told you that you're good at braiding hair as you claimed?“ scoffed the little girl at her dad as she hugged you closer to her, not letting you go as she was acting petty with her dad. „Damn, who is this kid so mean and sarcastic after...“

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧

Looking out of the window on the immense garden their house had, San's two sons were playing soccer there. One as a goalkeeper and the second one trying to score a goal against his older brother.

The last night there was a big storm which caused the mud to be all over their garden. However, the boys didn't seem to care that they were covered in dirt head to toes.

Even though it was in the boys' nature to not care if they're dirty, he knew you'd be angry when you came home and saw all the dirty clothing and scraped knees. So he rather called them to come inside, the boys ran inside the spacious house.

„Boys, you know how angry mommy will be, what did we say about playing in the mud?“ Scolding them playfully the boys didn't like the restrictions you two made.

„But daddy Wooyoung lets us play outside even after rain when there's mud." The younger one whined, trying to persuade his father San to let them continues playing, instead getting a reaction out of his older brother.

„He's not your dad, Wooyoung is our uncle you dumbass.“ Not believing his ears, San kneeled down to be on the boys' eye level as he scolds them.

„Hey you, don't call your younger brother dumbass, where did you even learn that word? And you, don't call uncle wooyoung your dad, or I'll have to have a serious conversation with that dumbass.“ scoffed San at the two boys as he stood up, about to look for some clean clothes to clean this mess before you came home and scolded all three of them.

„Daddy? And if you can say dumbass, why can't I?“

⩥ 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢

Coming home from work, all exhausted and your body sore, you placed your keys and bag on the table in the hallway, shouting some greetings to alert Mingi and your daughter that you're home.

Not getting any response, you stepped into the living room, being met with the image of your husband Mingi pouting and sitting on the ground with arms crossed over his chest as he frowned cutely at the little girl that sat opposite of him.

Your daughter doing exactly the same as if they were imitating each other. „What's wrong with you two, did something happen?“

Looking at them with confusion in your eyes, you sat on the ground with them, waiting for their clarification of whatever happened.

„[Mingi's daughter's name] called Yunho her dad. He's not her dad, I'm her dad! If I called any other kid my daughter she'd start crying too, so why can't I?“

Trying to hold back the laughter at Mingi's childish behaviour, you looked at your daughter, expecting her to say something. „Daddy don't be jealous, even though I have eight dads and you're one of them, you're the best one, and my most favourite one! I love you, daddy, so don't be mad at dad Yunho anymore.“

You could see Mingi's bottom lip quirking at her words and you knew that he wanted to cry from the heartwarming words your daughter said to him, nevertheless he couldn't lose his composure as he was playing offended with her for the past two hours.

„Okay princess, come here, to the best daddy you have, but don't you dare wish any of them on the father's day.“

⩥ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

Sitting on the soft couch in your and Wooyoung's house's living room, you listened to the conversation between him and San as you watched your son of 10 months laying on the mat with clattering toys dangling above him, that was placed on the living room's floor.

His tiny figure trying to reach out for them, but failing. Seeing how his eyebrows started to shrug, the displeased expression on his face, Wooyoung could sense what was about to happen and he was definitely not in the mood to hear his son's piercing hysterical almost scream-like cries.

„Okay, okay, young man, come to daddy before you make us deaf with your crying.“

Picking him up, Wooyoung placed your son on his lap, the tiny boy laying there as he looked up at San's dimples, the man in question couldn't help but smile and giggle at how cute his best friend's son was.

Leaning towards him, he tickled the baby with his fingers, not failing to make your son a giggling mess. The boy in your husband's lap reached out to touch his dad's friend, his tiny fingers gripping on San's t-shirt.

„Da-da. Dada!“ Both your and Wooyoung's eyes widened at hearing your son talk for the first time, „Say that again, bun.“

Encouraged him Wooyoung, trying to make his son say 'dad' again, however, he wasn't the one his son meant.

Reaching towards San, your son somehow turned himself over onto his stomach and tried to get over to San. „Dada!“ screamed your son once again as he was trying to move himself to San's lap somehow.

„W-what? Baby no, that's not your dad! I'm your dad, that's uncle San, he's not your dad.“ Wooyoung tried to turn your son over, so he could look at his real father, but the boy only protested, letting out those cute 'dad' blabbers over and over, resulting in you laughing at how grumpy Wooyoung got because of this situation.

Well, saying that Wooyoung didn't invite San over for about a month was understandable.

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

Sitting on the ground of his room, while playing with cars that belonged to him, you listened to him rambling about everything - his day in the kindergarten, the toy cars, the cute puppy he saw, when suddenly he switched the topic of his chatter,

„Mommy, why doesn't daddy Yeosang have a boy, who'll play soccer with me?“ Not realising the way your son called your friend at first, you thought about a way to answer his question, when you actually discerned one of his words after a while,

„Look, baby, it's- wait, why did you call uncle Yeosang 'daddy'? He's not your daddy, as you've said he has his own child and you have your own daddy.“

„I know mommy, that he's not my real daddy, but he's [Yeosang's daughter's name]'s daddy, and when I'll be grown up, I'll marry her and he'll become my daddy too!“ explained your little son before returning to his previous task of playing with the cars that were all over his room's floor.

Not being aware of your husband Jongho that stood outside his room and eavesdropped your whole conversation, he exposed himself when he suddenly scoldingly whined from the hallway,

„Yah, aren't you way too young to have a wife, definitely not Yeosang's daughter, if that girl is at least as half the way as Yeosang is, she'll be able to kill you with her words alone. And her father is way too buff, it'd be stressful to have him as your father in law, what if he gets angry. Definitely not, he won't be your father in any way, young man.“

[beauvibaby]

table for two – a.beauvillier

a/n: a little fic I threw together that I really love 🥺 it’s not proofread tho

“A forty minute wait?” You tried to hide your disappointment, it had been a terrible day at work, your feet were aching and your stomach was on the verge of growling. “Yes, I’m-“ the hostess stopped herself, she glanced over to the only other single party here, “give me just a moment.” She gave you a smile before rushing off. You sighed dramatically, pulling your phone out. The only reason you were so stuck on eating here is because you had a gift card and didn’t want to cook tonight. You glanced up as the hostess approached you, “we have a table for two available, if you don’t mind sitting with this gentleman.” She explained, motioning to the guy sitting in the corner, he had an optimistic smile on his face. He clearly had a much better day than you, as you were about to turn down the offer, your stomach clenched, reminding you how long it had been since you ate.

“Yes. I’ll sit with him.”

You stayed silent, following them to the table, the guy shot you a soft smile as he sat across from you, he seemed like a nice guy, his eyes showed his genuineness. The bright blue only making them more vibrant, you mirrored his smile, crossing your legs under the table. “So, how are we playing this? Awkward silence while we listen to each other eat, or are you going to tell me your name?” He spoke up as you hid behind your menu, you raised an eyebrow at his forwardness, although you could hear a slight nerve in his tone. “You first.” You laughed softly, lowering the menu to reveal your whole face. “Anthony.” He grinned, the name fit him, his smile wide and bright as he looked over at you, not having even picked up his menu yet. “Y/N.” You spoke, glancing between him and the menu, he chuckled at your obvious desire to eat, not that he could blame you, he’d been waiting for a while before you showed up, and the hostess undoubtedly was trying to play matchmaker, not that he was complaining. “Nice to meet you, Y/N.” He murmured, opening up his menu, he glanced over at you, seeing your eyes darting between two items, “never been here before?” He asked, already settling on his meal. You shook your head, chewing your bottom lip as you weighed your options, chicken or pasta.

“Are we ready to order?” The waiter asked, setting down the drinks you’d ordered when you sat down. Anthony nodded, going first to give you another second to decide. He ordered the exact chicken dish you’d been debating on, “is it good?” You asked him, closing your menu, he nodded instantly. “I’ll have the same, please.” You handed over your menu, watching the guy whisk away. “So, Y/N.” Anthony started, resting his elbows on the table, “are you a nurse?” He asked with a tilt of his head, motioning to the scrubs you were wearing. “Medical assistant.” You answered, looking over at his outfit, “I have no clues, this isn’t fair.” You countered, stifling back a laugh when he looked down at his pants and shirt, he hummed, giving you a smile. “You watch sports?” He asked, you thought he was derailing the conversation, “not really.” You answered truthfully, he nodded in understanding, “I play hockey.” He told you, and you thought he was just being a show off. “Athletic, fun, still doesn’t tell me what you do for a living.” You countered easily, whether it be the way he was so easy to speak to, or the way you were sure to be dying of hunger, the words toppled out before you could stop them.

You felt your face flood with warmth as he tilted his head back in laughter, “hockey.” He spoke, raising an eyebrow, “I play hockey for a living.” He watched your face go from confused to shock, “oh.” You whispered sheepishly, “for who?” You asked, mirroring his earlier actions and resting your elbows on the table. “New York Islanders.” He spoke with ease, glancing over the restaurant, suddenly feeling like he came off as arrogant. “Oh thank god, my family would disown me for talking to a Rangers player.” You quipped, you might not have been much into sports, but growing up in New York, you knew a fair bit about the local teams. Plus your cousins were avid fans. So maybe you knew a bit more than average.

“Thought you weren’t into sports?” He answered instantly, becoming engrossed in the conversation with you. He listened intently to you as you began to ramble about the hockey fans in your family, you hadn’t realized how long you’d been talking until the food showed up. You fell silent abruptly, embarrassed for how much you’d spoken. Anthony gave you a reassuring smile as he began cutting into his chicken. You did the same, brushing your sheepishness aside. Your eyes shut in relief as you ate your first bite, “told you it was good.” He spoke up as he swallowed his food. You giggled softly, looking up at him through your lashes, he smirked to himself as you hid behind some of your loose hairs. He found himself wanting to do this again with you, sit, talk, eat. A classic date if he’d ever seen one, but it wasn’t, you were just a complete stranger that he’d probably never see again.

Your meal had come and gone, and you both settled your checks, about to part ways out in the parking lot, “you know, I might just have to take my cousin up on that extra ticket to the game in a couple weeks.” You blurted out, cursing yourself mentally, he faltered in his steps, “I’ll be looking for you.” He called as he walked to his car, leaving you there to process his words with a flutter in your chest.

Of course, the first thing you did when you got home was look him up on Instagram, boldly following him and wondering about the what if’s.

***

You rushed out the door the next morning, knowing you’d never hear the end of it from your cousin, Ava, if you were late. It was a tradition for you, her and her twin brother to get together once a month for breakfast, something your dad had instilled in you all, and something you made sure to keep up after he passed.

You didn’t even check your phone.

“You’re late!” Aidan shouted, “shut up! I tried my best.” You groaned, tossing your purse down on the counter, your phone half hanging out of it as you went to wash your hands. As you turned the water on you heard Ava scream at the top of her lungs, you went running out as Aidan shrieked in surprise by his sister's actions. “What? Are you ok?” You gasped nearly slipping in your socks, “Y/N.” She gaped at you, she had your phone in her hands, “why did Anthony Beauvillier request to follow you?!” She shouted, Aidan snatched the phone, “oh my god.” He mumbled, unlocking the device, seeing that it really was his account. “He what?” You mumbled, yanking your phone out of his grasp, quickly accepting his request, before facing the millions of questions they had.

It felt like an eternity until they stopped asking you things, “well obviously you’re going to the game with us, and you’re borrowing my Beauvillier jersey.” Ava smirked, you began shaking your head furiously, “no, no, no.” You whined, crossing your arms as they gave you glares. “Yes, yes, yes.” They mocked you, “by the sounds of it, he was clearly flirting with you, how could you pass up on him?” Ava dramatically swooned, “besides, maybe you’ll fall in love and you can get me in with Mat.” She giggled girlishly, “puck bunny.” Aidan muttered jokingly, she turned to him quickly, “I’m not afraid to hit you with my stick again.” He didn’t say anything after that as he shifted away from her.

“I’ll go to the game, but you better not embarrass me.” You mumbled in defeat, only wondering what you just got yourself into.

***

“Stalking her now beau?” Mat joked with his friend, looking over his shoulder as he scrolled through your Instagram, “shut up.” Tito sighed, faltering as he stumbled across one of your beach pictures. “Oh, damn.” Mat whistled teasingly, he shut himself up when his friend glared at him.

***

“Ava.” You snapped, lightly whacking her hands away, “I’m fixing your hair.” She complained, pouting at you, sneakily grabbing your pony tail and tightening it before you could react, “ow!” You snapped nearly falling on the escalator, Aidan chuckled as you scolded her. “It’s not funny.” You both snapped at the same time as you stepped off the escalator, following them to their seats, you all the clueless to how close to the glass you were really going to be. “Woah.” You gasped, Ava grabbing your hand and pulling you a couple rows down to look up close at the glass, Aidan settled into the seats, snapping a few pictures of the two of you looking out in amazement. “There’s Barzal, oh and pageau, you wanna keep your eyes on them. They’re really good right now.” Ava explained, you nodded listening as your eyes darted around, looking for number eighteen. “Have you spoken to him since that night?” Ava asked as they began skating around the ice, pucks flying everywhere. You stayed silent as you suppressed a smile, easily spotting Anthony as he passed a puck back and forth with Mat. “You have!” Ava gasped, shaking your shoulder violently, “so what if I have?” You mumbled, biting your lip when she looked over at you. “You are something else.” She giggled, shrieking softly when Anthony skated up to the glass, a puck in his hand. He motioned for you to catch it, which you did with ease. “Good luck!” You shouted, hugging the puck close to your chest as he grinned, he gave you a quick wave before going back to skating around.

“That was flirting.” Aidan declared as you both settled into your seats beside him, “yeah, it was.” You surprised them by not arguing, you felt your face warm up as they looked over at you in shock.

The game had gone on without a hitch, the islanders winning 4-1. So you did what you’d promised Anthony, Tito as he requested you call him, you sent him your number.

“Good game, you earned this.”

You felt giddy as you sent him your number, knowing by the time he saw it you would probably be asleep for the night, but the excitement of if he was going to use it, that kept you on your toes.

***

“What can I say, you made me work for it”

“Goodnight, Y/N”

Your heart fluttered more than it should have when you woke up to his messages, bright and early, much earlier than he would be up the day after a game.

“Morning, Tito!”

You sent it, eyes widening as three bubbles popped up instantly.

“Have a good day at work”

You read it over and then saw him typing once again.

“Are you free Friday?”

Your heart nearly lept out of your chest.

“See you Friday”

A confident response that unknowing to you made him nervous, he was never nervous when it came to dates, but you were already so different to him.

You went about your day as normally, occasionally sneaking a moment to text Tito back as he sent you random things throughout the day, including the planning of your date for Friday. He insisted on picking you up, and you agreed, appreciating the chivalry he was showing that not many guys still had.

You were giddy, and he was thrilled, already mentally preparing himself, although he knew once he was around you, it would be easy. It always was.

***

The knock on your door made you inhale sharply, glancing down at your outfit once more, the skinny jeans hugging your curves just right, and the delicate blouse showing just enough skin to be flirty but modest, and it went along with the casual dress code he had established. You quickly zipped up the sides of your wedges, you flipped your loosely curled hair behind your shoulders as you unlocked the door. “Hey, Tito.” You breathed out, smiling at him, the both of you quickly taking in the sight of each other, “hi, you look great.” He complimented, his nerves instantly melting away as you let out a sheepish giggle, “thanks.” Your voice was soft and he soaked up every bit of it, seeing the shy smile adorning your face. “You clean up nice.” You responded, grabbing your purse as he chuckled, looking down at his dark jeans and short sleeve printed button shirt, you took notice of the chain he had underneath it. You shot him a smile as you turned back to him fully, “ready?” You asked, adjusting the purse on your shoulder.

“Ready.”

You burst into laughter as he pulled into the parking lot, the same restaurant you met at, “you’re serious?” You asked through a smile, he nodded, “I mean unless you don’t like it–“ you cut him off as he was about to ramble. You grabbed his hand that was resting on the center console, “no, I love it. It’s really cute honestly.” You assured him, not missing the way he instantly relaxed when you touched him. “Oh, good.” He breathed out, “let’s go inside.”

The hostess did a double take as she saw you two walk in hand in hand. It was the same one from the first night you met, “hello.” She grinned, grabbing two menus, “sitting together, again?” She asked, Anthony nodded brightly. “Yeah.” He answered, letting you walk in front of him as you followed her to a table. “Thanks.” You smiled at her, sitting in your seat, Anthony thanked her as well as he followed behind you. “So, is the chicken any good?” You asked, he broke into laughter, his head tipping back as he gave you an incredulous look. “I think it’s really good.” He answered, snickering as he picked up his menu, you smiled at his reaction, feeling giddy as you knew you were the reason he was having such a good time. “Ok but seriously, what else is good here?” You asked, shifting to an overly serious tone as you scanned over the menu, he smiled at the concentration on your face.

“It’s all good here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Taglist: @boqvistsbabe @tortito @2manytabsopen @heybarzy @barzysreputation @yzas-stuff @iwantahockeyhimbo @matbarzyy

[the-broken-truth]

The Strings That Bind Us ~ The Lords' Dinner

Summary: The Day of the Lord Dinner has arrived: The Meals are prepared, the table is set, the guests are arriving, but are the hosts ready? Can Donna handle the stress of housing her family for this dinner? Will all of Vulcan's hard work be in vain? More importantly - What is Vulcan's Truth?

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Vulcan

[House Beneviento - Dining Room]

The last crystal wine glass was placed in Miranda's place at the table by the hand of the dollmaker. Donna stood at her full height as she gazed upon the set table: 4 plate mats, 4 crystal wine glasses, 4 sets of utensils sat on the long edges of the table - 2 of each on either side. 2 more of the same set up sat on the short edges of the table - one across from the other. Donna looked at the written-down diagram Vulcan gave her - the seating chart to make sure there were going to be no issues.

Donna and Mother Miranda would be across from each other at the lone plates.

Alcina would sit next to Moreau and be across from Vulcan, who would be sitting next to Heisenberg and Donna.

Broken Truth: In Clockwork Order: Donna, Vulcan, Heisenberg, Mother Miranda, Moreau, Alcina, then back to Donna. Get it? Got it? Good.

After looking at the paper then back at the table, Donna let out an exhale; she was not looking forward to this.

"Calm down, Mother; Papa will make sure this dinner is going to be perfect." Angie said as she floated up to Donna's height. The dollmaker smiled at the nickname Angie gave Vulcan.

"I know he will, it's just...I'm not looking forward to dealing with them; especially Alcina, who had the nerve of laying her hands on my partner." Donna exhaled as she took a seat in her chair.

"That understandable but you know Papa knows how to deal with her and say no. He wouldn't leave us, Mother." Angie said as she walked over to Donna's side.

"I know he wouldn't - as I've said before, I trust him; I don't trust Alcina or Heisenberg around him. I mean - he goes to take their orders & Alcina sinks her teeth into him while Heisenberg sends his creatures against him. I'm even skeptical of Mother Miranda - I've seen the way she's started at him before and I don't like it." Donna said as she rubbed her forehead, careful not to touch the Cadou Scar - it still bothered her; while Vulcan accepted her, she wished she could be more for him.

"Don't worry, Mother. They won't try anything against Papa; it's against Lord Dinner Rules." Angie said.

"Thanks for reminding me. Speaking of Vulcan, where is he? The others will be arriving soon." Donna asked as she looked at her doll.

"Papa said he had to pick a few things up from the Duke." Angie answered.

Donna opened her mouth to speak when the sound of heavy knocking upon the front door filled her ears.

"Let's hope he gets back soon, the show is about to begin." Donna said as she rose from her chair to answer the door. Opening it, she came face to face with her first guest.

"Well, good afternoon, Little Sister." Smiled the Mistress of Castle Dimitrescu.

"Alcina, I see you're the first one here. Please, come in." Donna said as she made way for the tall woman to come in. It made Donna chuckle as she watched Alcina try to get her tall figure into her door.

[Meanwhile - In The Village]

"A Bottle of Romanian Red for 5000 - A Bottle of White for 3000 - A Bottle of Southern Whiskey for 1500 - And one bottle of Grape Wine for 2000. Your total will be 11,500 Lei." The Duke said as he placed all the wines in boxes individually before placing all the boxes in a paper bag. Vulcan stood before him - his House Beneviento Suit was repaired and crisp, his hair was gelled back and brushed back. The Duke watched as the House Servant counted out the respected amount of money and placed it in a separate pouch.

"Here you go." Vulcan said as he handed the pouch to the large man - who smiled and handed the bag of drinks to Vulcan.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Lord Vulcan." Vulcan exhaled at the notion.

"Duke, for the last time - I'm not a Lord, even if I'm courting a Lady of a Noble House." Vulcan said but that was met with a chuckle and a shake of the Duke's head.

"That is where you are wrong, My Boy." The Duke said.

"What are you talking about?" Vulcan said.

"For as long as you have lived, you lacked one thing - A Surname." The Duke explained.

"Just how do you know that?" Vulcan asked.

"I've been around of a very long time, my boy; over hundreds of years to be exact. I know things that others would see as superstition. As for what I'm talking about - do you remember anything about the family who ruled the house at the belly of the wild woods?" The Duke asked with a smile.

"The Bloodthorn Family?" Vulcan asked. "What about them?"

"That house was been vacant since the last master died of...unknown circumstances, yet the house remains locked; many have tried to enter but the house remains locked - only opening with the right key." The Duke said.

"What does the Bloodthorn's House have to do with me?" Vulcan asked as he secured the bag of drinks in his arms.

"Let's just say - your right arm might be more than just a vessel." The Duke said with a smile. The two of them exchanged goodbyes before Vulcan turned on his heel and walked away.

'My right arm might be more than a vessel?' Vulcan wondered as he looked at his right arm.

[Back at the Beneviento House]

All the guests had arrived - Alcina arrives first, followed by Heisenberg, behind him, Mother Miranda arrived and Moreau followed like a lost dog. Donna greeted them all and gave everyone their assigned seats - with the seat between Donna and Heisenberg remaining empty.

"Where is Vulcan, Donna?" Mother Miranda asked from her seat across from Donna.

"He went to see the Duke for something - he will return in a moment." Donna said.

"Hmph." That was all Miranda gave in response.

"Quite a shame, I was hoping for a little sweet talk before the meal started." Alcina said with a smile.

"You will not be getting it here, Alcina. Keep your distance from Vulcan." Donna gave a warning as she glared at her larger sister's figure.

"Why so angry, Donna? You look like a mad kitten." Alcina chuckled.

"This 'kitten' has claws and will not hesitate to use them if you don't keep your distance from that which is not yours." Donna said.

"Ah - I see. Vulcan told you about our little moment in Castle Dimitrescu." Alcina chuckled.

"There was no moment." A familiar voice called out - everyone turned to see Vulcan standing in the dining room threshold with a paper bag in his hands. He gave a bow to the table of lords. "Please forgive me for not being here to welcome you all - I had to make an important purchase. I shall collect the meals and prepare your drinks." Vulcan rose to his full height and walked past the table of lords and disappeared into the kitchen.

"At least he knows how to make a decent apology." Miranda said.

"Vulcan is truly well behaved, Mother Miranda," Alcina said as she looked at the village leader. "I think he is too well behaved for Donna." Alcina said.

"Stop, Alcina." Miranda said. "The male is that of House Beneviento, leave the mortal alone to serve his mistress." Miranda said.

"That male is no mortal, Mother Miranda. His blood told me that." Alcina said this made Miranda raise her eyebrow.

"What do you mean he is not mortal?" Miranda asked.

"No mortal has blood as...divine as his - not even the maidens I use to craft Sanguis Virginis. He is more than a mortal and he shouldn't be wasted on Donna; give him to me and I shall use him to create a powerful bloodline unlike any other." Alcina proposed.

"Now, hold the hell on." Karl interrupted. "If anyone else gets him, it's me - that bastard is too good of a fighter for me to let you turn him into a breeding machine." Karl said.

"Neither of you is getting my Papa, so stop thinking that!" Angie yelled at them, making are look at the living doll.

"Your...Papa?" Miranda started as she turned her gaze from Angie and looked into the eye of Donna. "Is there something that you want to tell me, Donna?" Miranda said.

"No...Not at the moment. I'll inform all of you later." Donna said as she closed her eye - trying to calm down from the shaking feeling from inside her chest.

Before anyone could speak again - the kitchen door was opened by a serving cart carrying 6 meals covered by a silver shield on its surface on the top and 5 different bottles of drink on the bottle - the cart being pushed by the servant of House Beneviento.

"Meals shall be presented." Vulcan stated as he lifted the first two platters by their bottoms and walked over to Donna and Miranda but didn't remove the covers - he then did the same with Alcina and Heisenberg before finishing with Salvatore's then his own. He went back to the cart and retrieved the drinks, filling each lords' glass with the drink of their choice; he then returned the bottles to the cart once all the drinks were poured. He took his place beside Donna and looked at the silver covers that concealed the meals before he raised his right and snapped.

Instantly - all of the silver coverings disappeared and the lords stared in awe at the food before them.

"How did you make the covers disappear?" Miranda asked.

"I'll explain later, Lady Miranda; for now, let us dine on food and beverages." Vulcan said before he took his seat.

Miranda looked upon the lasagna before her - it looked perfect and smelled divine but would it be good? She lifted her fork, cutting through a corner of the pasta, and lifted it to her lips, taking the first bite of the dinner. There was a widening of her eyes but she was quick to revert them back - the slowness of her chewing made it clear that she was savoring the taste of the food. The other lords followed suit and all their reactions were the same - it was clear they loved the food.

"This is perfect. You really outdid yourself with the sauce this time, Vulcan." Donna said as she lifted the spaghetti noodles to her lips, slurping them between her lips before chewing with a smile. "What did you use this time?" She asked.

"I use a little bit more garlic this time but I wasn't sure if I altered the recipe too much." Vulcan said as he took a bite out of his garlic bread.

"Recipe? You made the sauce yourself?" Alcina asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk hiding behind her wine glass.

"I made everything myself, including the noodles. I happened the purchase a machine that shaped the noodles to my liking and continued from them." Vulcan said.

"Well, this blood steak is perfect; quite a shame you didn't use your blood in the sauce, it would have been heavenly." Alcina purred as she took another bite of her steak.

"My blood is off limits unless Donna asks for it." Vulcan said.

"Donna? You mean 'Lady Beneviento'. You are not allowed to use your mistress's first name as if you are equals when you are not." Miranda said with a glare.

"We are equals, Mother." Donna spoke up.

"Donna, dear. He is not the same as you - you are of noble blood while he is common cloth." Miranda said as she looked at her daughter.

"That doesn't matter to me. Vulcan has done so much for me and...I would never consider my partner beneath me."

Cue complete and utter silence.

*Crickets Chirping In The Background*

"Donna..." Miranda said in a low voice "What do you mean 'Your Partner'?" Miranda asked in a snarl.

"Mother, Vulcan and I are...in a relationship, we began courting the same night you announced we would hosting the Lord Dinner here; he asked me to trust him with getting everyone's orders the next day." Donna said as she looked down at her food. Everything was quiet before Alcina's chuckling caused everyone to look in her direction.

"Her? Surely you jest, Vulcan." She looked into his eyes "I could give you more than her - you could live like a king in Castle Dimitrescu and have everything."

"For what? I told you before that I have everything I could ever want and need with Donna and Angie; I traveled to become worthy for them and no one else." Vulcan said.

"I told you, you would never be worthy of her!" Miranda said as she glared at Vulcan. "You are dirt, filth, mud under my daughter's shoes and you have the nerve to try to court her?! I should feed you to Heisenberg's Lycans!"

"M-Mother, Donna is happy with him... Isn't that enough for you to leave them be?" Salvatore asked as he looked at her.

"Shut up, Freak! No one is talking to you!" Heisenberg yelled, making the 3rd Lord shiver and duck.

"I told you to stop disrespecting your brother like that, Karl Heisenberg!" Vulcan growled at Karl.

"That freak is not my brother! I have nothing to do with him and I never will!" Karl said.

"You have the nerve to say that and you use his Lycans as you see fit?!" Vulcan yelled.

"His Lycans? They are mine." Karl said.

"Lies - You know it just like I do: Lord Moreau was the one who created the Lycans and you bullied him into making you more." Vulcan glared at the 4th Lord.

"You...You know?" Salvatore asked with a quivering lip.

"On my way out of your domain, I noticed a few things: doctor's supplies and a journal. It was wrong of me, I know, but my heart couldn't just let me walk away. I know you made the Lycans using the Cadou and Wolf's Blood to please Madame Miranda and I always know that Heisenberg has been bulling you to make new kinds of Lycan - like the Valcolac and Urias." Vulcan said as he began to rise to his feet. "Lord Moreau, you do so much to make Madame Miranda and the family you know happy but no one really gives you the respect you deserve...so I am going to return to you what the Cadou took from you."

Everyone looked wide-eyed at his words but Moreau was the most confused.

"What do you mean?" The small man asked.

"Come with me outside and I shall show you." Vulcan said as he began to remove his house jacket, revealing the dress shirt he hand underneath. Vulcan placed the jacket on the back of his chair before making his way around the table, to the first door - he could sense Moreau following him. The two of them made it outside, down the stairs, and stood in the front yard - the other lords rushed out the house to see what Vulcan was doing.

Vulcan lifted his right hand, using his left hand to lift his sleeve to reveal his forearm - Miranda's eyes widened as she saw that familiar red glow shine through Vulcan's skin as runes and markings riddled all along his forearm.

'Those markings - He can't be...'

"Lord Moreau, I need you to close your eyes: I want you to remember what you looked like before the Cadou changed you. Remember who you were before all of this happened. Remember the brilliant doctor you once were." Vulcan's word echoed in Salvatore's mind as he seemed to have fallen in a trance - remembering who he once was before he became a lord.

Before he made the Lycans.

Before he got the Cadou.

Before he met Mother Miranda.

Once the image was in his mind - he felt a hand grasp his face followed by a horrible pain that ripped him to pieces. Moreau couldn't see anything - he was standing in an endless void of darkness, but he could hear thing echoing in the darkness:

Donna's screams.

Miranda demanding to know what he did to Moreau.

Heisenberg's incoherent muttering.

Then, he heard Vulcan: "Remember who you once was and come forward - walk to my voice."

Moreau did just that - he began walking forward and things began becoming clear: he saw fragments of his life before all this happened - he saw the patients he helped, the happiness on their faces, and how it made him happy - he remembered how much he loved his work and the feeling it gave him to see a project through - he remembered standing before the bedroom vanity of the house he built his own hands. That all come together into a bright light before him - and he entered it with a sense of...completeness.

Then he opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the smile on Vulcan's face - there were a few spicks of blood upon it but...he noticed he was standing perfectly fine - his face leveled with Vulcan's if not a little bit more. He looked over Vulcan's shoulder to look at his family - they all looked as if they saw ghosts.

"What...Why are you all looking at me like that?" His voice was different - it wasn't gurgling as before, he spoke perfectly clear and his voice was deeper than Karl's. "What's wrong with my voice?" He asked as his hands reached up to touch his throat - his human throat.

He looked down at his hands - human hands of pale skin but not too pale. He looked at Vulcan who gestured him to follow - he did with no argument. The two of them went back into the house and Vulcan pointed to the first mirror he saw, the 3rd Lord walked over to it and gasped.

He was human. Completely human!

His hand touched his face before reaching up and running through his long grey hair, he had a beard with grey eyes. He was fit but had a bit of a belly and was still wrapped in the black tarp he used to conceal him but it looked more like a cloak now upon his human body.

"I'm human... I'm normal." He said before turning to Vulcan. "What did you do?" He asked.

"I returned what you lost. I felt how bad you felt about your looks, that why you were so willing to do what you had to do to earn the love of the people you knew as your family and the woman you knew as your mother. I gave that back and you didn't lose anything. You still have your Cadou but it's more like an extra organ now - you have your abilities; that's why you have closed gills on the side of your neck." Vulcan pointed them - 2 sealed gills on either side of Salvatore's neck. "They'll open when you go into the water so you can break."

Salvatore turned back to look at the mirror while Vulcan turned the look at Karl with a smirk.

"Can't call him a freak anymore, can you, Karl Heisenberg?" Vulcan smirked.

"Why you..." Karl growled.

"That's enough." Miranda said as everyone looked at her.

"But, Mother Miranda..."Alcina began before Miranda silenced her.

"I said enough, Alcina. We will speak of this on a later day but now, we will finish the Lord Dinner and...reflect on this day's revelations." She finished as she walked back to the table.

Everyone followed her hand the dinner continued in silence, as did dessert. Once everyone was gone, Donna walked up to Vulcan who was clearing the table before surprising him with a kiss.

"Thank you for what you did for Salvatore...I've never seen him so happy before." Donna said as she placed her hand on Vulcan's chest.

"I'm happy I could help him." Vulcan noticed a familiar glare in Donna's eyes. "Is there something you want to ask me?" He smiled.

"I..." She wasn't sure what to say. "I was wondering...is it possible..."

"You want me to return what you lost when you got your Cadou, don't you?" Vulcan finished.

"I...yes." She looked at Vulcan's eyes full of hope. "Can you?"

"For you..." He placed his hands on her shoulder. "I would do anything." He placed his lips on the Cadou scar and a golden glow filled the room, engulfing them both in a warm embrace.

[Meanwhile]

Miranda sat alone in the darkness of her domain in her chair as she looked out her window that overlooked the whole village, a glass of wine in her hand.

"I thought they were all gone..." Her lips curved into a smirk. "This could be my chance." She rose and walked over to the window, looking down at the village - mainly, House Beneviento.

"Eva shall return to me and you will be the one to do it, Vulcan Bloodthorn."