#plus I wanna know what amenities this place actually has

[fae-morrigan]

locations that I think should come back:

I mean, I think we saw this for what, six issues before kid amazo destroyed it? then, it wasn't used in adventures or challenges at all. I think it'd be neat if they fixed it up and used it again. I wanna know what all the shit in this shot even does. it was so underutilized in book.

I think it'd also be neat if it became a team base/clubhouse for all their friends, not just jon and damian. So much of the Supersons friendship is defined by their isolated childhoods and being the only kids like them, but that's just not true anymore. neither of these characters are isolated nowadays, they both have friend groups outside of one another that could easily be brought together into one big community. use the fortress of attitude as the weird teenage dirtbag hype house. plus they can play D&D in there!

[deesseshesca]

PAC :How will your partner treat u during pregnancy ? (18+)

Foreigner ... Foreigner ...

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PILE 1 

Ace of wands

3 swords (reverse) 

First he is going to be hella proud. Like it boots his ego when he knows you are walking around carrying his offspring. Anybody that’s laying their eyes on you knows you are pregnant and y’all must be pregnant by them because everyone knows you and him go together real bad. No question required. Plus he is so giddy about eventually having the proof of your love walking around. I am hearing : ‘’ Yeah … I did that. Remember when I told you I was going to marry her and give her babies’’. Not in a cocky way but a more loving and boastful way. Maybe you were always the type of person to never settle, that would run at the thought of committing to one man, you would just throw up at the thought of opening up to a penis… Now what do we have here: a wedding ring and a waddling mother. Y’all may be in your maneater era don’t worry babe … enjoy. Mother era is waiting to be unlocked. Plus they are extra horny for you. They want you whenever and however. If you guys have a BDSM or quite experimental relationship, good for you. You will wake up often with a tongue between your legs. Which to some point will actually annoy you because y’all may suffer from morning sickness. I see you standing hair in a perfect bun (important to mention because in all my vision your hair is tight up. Maye because you usually have your hair down … who knows) and you are complaining about all your pregnancy symptoms, especially the heat. I am channeling a summer pregnancy for a lot of y’all , whether it be your first or your last. He just out here staring at you like a vampire in need of blood because all he's thinking about is taking you to pound town. Warning to all my future plus size mama, is going to be even harder for you. Your man is going to be IN LOVE with that ass. Everytime he sees you walk away, he grows a little harder. ( I am serious, let's hold hands for all our plus size baddies … Amen). Also his heart is overflowing with love. I actually see him going crazy every time he sees a cute outfit. I am hearing : ‘’ Babe look at this … Omg soo cute. No look at this is fucking cuter … No baby baby look … it’s say - I HEART DADDY’’. You just stand there behind with a tight smile blaming your mom brain fog because you know to always skip the kids section. Now the 15 minutes run has become 30 minutes and your feet hurt already. A lot of rituals will be created and you better not take his place. He loves rubbing oil on your stomach and after making sure you are sleeping … he always makes sure to remind the baby to allow you to rest. Whatever you need he’s on it. You speak once and it’s done. You can’t handle meat during pregnancy … ok the whole house is now vegetarian. You can’t sleep … ok he is dealing with the morning shift of the household. You hate when people approach you and public … ok activated mean muggin husband. You want, you got it babes. 

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PILE 2 

5 swords (reverse) 

Hierophant (reverse)

This news is going to bring you guys together. I don’t think there would be distance between y'all. But stress is winning in this relationship. You guys are both thriving in your profession and ego is getting the best of y’all. Like you both think that the other is not doing enough romantically and that you respectively are doing too much. Nothing extravagant nor toxic but the honeymoon is not honey no more. Still a lot of love but the focus is not it no more but more who is right. 

They are going to love seeing you work while being pregnant. Is important for you to go to work not because it is necessary just in your bones to work. So you want to do it until your body tells you to stop. They are going to support you to the best of their ability. They will prepare your outfit the night before, add belly cream in your bag, make sure to pack a healthy and big lunch for you and the baby, will try to always drop you off and pick you up from work. Lowkey giving house husband don’t be a fool he still very much a bossbabe himself because I can only picture him in suits. Y’all are definitely a power couple. Anyway he loves your dedication so he does everything he can to ensure the baby's protection and help achieve your goal. What’s wrong with y’all partner … they out here having the nastiest thoughts for all of you. First they are going to try to control their needs. I do think when y’all usually go at it … it gets pretty animalistic and they fucking love it. But they are trying to keep a distance between their thoughts and action but y’all are going to be needy and are going to ask for it. Not your men trying to keep it together while you are teasing him and you don’t give a fuck about it. I see y'all eating maybe at dinner with your friend and you ask ‘’ Are you going to fuck me tonight ?’’ Somebody is choking but your husband is unfazed.

 ‘’ I put my stiletto heels on today, you know how much they hurt my feet.

Babe I told you not to wear those’’, he adds while feeding you. ( By the way … y’all have a cute pouting face

But babeeee’’

The reality is he was actually scared to hurt the baby. He needs got darker and you’ve been needier and that’s a scary mix in his opinion. 

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PILE 3 

Ace of swords (reverse)

9 wands (reverse)

Y’all are not in a committed relationship when this bundle of enjoy arrives in your life. 

Is going to be a life changing experience. Like theirs is clearly before the baby and after the baby in his life timeline. I think he was always serious about his feelings for you but was too scared to end up hurt that he would push you away subtly. Funny enough I would be the first to call bullshit, I ain't never been scared to do that … y’all know that. STAY is not giving bullshit. Is giving a broken boy. He is scared you are going to walk away in his life or that he is going to lose his mind 2 just like the people that were supposed to raise him but end up abusing him. He keeps you away to protect you and you know it. Something about y’all relationship, y’all are not together but everyone knows it is just to 2 of y’all. He doesn't talk to no other, he doesn't look at other girls, I don’t even think he interacts with any other girl but you. You are the only one he craves, wand, need and desire but he is too scared to break you. So you accept the no name relationship so he can slowly come to term with the fact that you are not going anywhere. Then a miracle knocks on the door. I can clearly see their mouths wide open when they are listening the baby's heart. Like they just have a life epiphany. You are laying on your back like a stick observing nervously their reaction because you want to keep it. They may walk in extremely nervous and a bit dismissive but the sec that they heard that baby … they are coming out the most confident man. They change forever. They used to be apathetic about life and now they are all about living each day like it is their last. They will do extra shifts at work to give you the dream experience. Babymoon, baecation, push present, being a SAHM, everything is given. They don’t play about their baby's health, they are coming at every baby appointment, they are asking all the damm questions. They also don’t want drama around you. You know when you are pregnant everybody becomes an adviser which can be quite annoying because fuck off this is my baby. I am hearing: ‘’ I don’t want to breastfeed but your mama- ‘’Fuck what my mama said. Do whatever you want (name)”. I can clearly hear them going on and on about how all they care is to make sure they 2 babies are always fulfilled.

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[cevansbrat0007]

The Lake House: A Trio Fic

Summary: After the camping trip disaster, the boys decide to plan a couples getaway at Curtis’ family lake house where shenanigans ensue. Andy Barber x Black!Reader, Ari Levinson x WOC!OFC, Curtis Everett x WOC!OFC

Warnings: Bossy Alpha Males, Angry Andy/Ari/Curtis, Daddy Kink, Bratty Reader, Bratty OFCs, Smut, Oral (m/f), Manhandling, Spanking, Cursing, Alcohol Consumption, Minors DNI

A/N: Part of my Trio Seres. Please enjoy and let me know your feedback. Once again written on my phone. All mistakes my own.

Three big, rough-and-tumble men sat around a table at their favorite bar sipping on whiskey. None of them said a word, each of them deep in thought.

It had been months since they’d taken their girls camping, which had been just shy of a disaster. Their women, whom they loved and adored, had spent the majority of the time bitching and moaning about the heat, the bugs, the lack of available running water...

It was safe to say that they had not become one with the land. A man could only take so much complaining before he began to question his own sanity.

By the end of it all, Andy had considered drowning himself in the river. Curtis had been ready to seek out and fight a bear. And as for Ari, well he had been ready to walk off into the woods and never come back.

But they had somehow resisted the temptation.

Because you see…

Andy, Curtis, and Ari were at a point where they actually wanted to hang out together sometimes…as couples.

And by as couples, they didn’t mean them sitting out back enjoying bourbon and the occasional cigar while the girls curled up in the living room sipping wine.

Living separate lives.

Truth be told, it made it much harder to keep an eye on their sweet brats. They were mischievous little things, those girls. They kept their Daddies on their toes at all times.

“Alright, I think I know where we can go.” Curtis finally speaks up. “We’ll still get to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors, and the girls will get the air conditioning and other amenities they apparently need to survive.”

“I’m all ears.” Andy mumbles as he polishes of his glass. He motions the bartender for another round.

Ari on the other hand just grunts.

“My parents have this beautiful lake house about two hours from here. It’s fantastic - four bedrooms, two and half baths, big bay windows, a full kitchen, a gorgeous view of the lake, a pool, and -“

“Okay, okay, Mr. Better Homes & Gardens, we get it.” Ari lets out a gruff laugh. “Consider me sold.”

Curtis flips him off.

“Yeah, that’s sounds like something my lady would love.” Andy mumbles in agreement as his mind drifts to images of his baby girl walking around in nothing but a teeny tiny bikini. “When do we wanna go?”

“Next weekend is a holiday. So how about we leave Thursday morning and come back Monday evening?” Ari suggests.

“Works for me.”

“Me too.” Andy mutters. He was going to have to take his lady shopping. Let’s see. They were gonna be gone for four days, so if you did the math…carried the two, plus the...oh, and then one had to plan for emergencies, so…

By his calculations, his girl was going to need at least twelve bikinis. Which meant they had some serious shopping to do.

Two Weeks Later…

“Wow!” You mutter as you stroll into the lake house arm in arm with Story. “This is -“

“Gorgeous.” She finishes for you.

And then you hear a gasp. “Hey babe! Hey Story!” Ruby grabs you both and pulls you into a hug. “Holy shit, is the place dope or what?”

“That’s what we were just saying!” Story laughs as she boings one of her dear friend’s glossy curls.

“Why don’t you give us the tour?” You ask, practically bouncing on your toes.

“Girl, my big oaf has never brought me up here.” She frowns with a hand on her hip.

“Curtis has never brought you here before? What a dick move, bro!” Story yells from across the room. Just in time for Ari haul their bags into the impressive entryway.

“Aye! Watch your mouth, Story-book!” He replies with a grunt, prompting her to roll her eyes.

Setting the luggage aside, he strides over to his little love and picks her up by her ass with one large hand. “Roll your eyes at me again, and I’m going to give you a real reason to roll ‘em.” Her giant of a man leans down to peck her lips. “Now, how about you and your pretty friends go explore while the men finish bringing in your mountain of luggage.

Ari sets her down and walks away.

“Don’t worry, girls.” You hook your arm through a slightly trembling Story’s elbow, and then you do the same to Ruby. “One of these days we’re going to hit our growth spurts, and then we’ll be the ones slinging them around like rag dolls. Mark my words!”

And then off you go exploring.

At some point, the three of you end up in what must have been the library. It wasn’t huge by any means, but it had the most adorable little reading nook.

“I call dibs!” You and Story shout at the same time.

“Oh, come on nerds.” Ruby huffs as she pulls your glaring bodies along. “We’re not here to read. Plus we have more to see!”

The pool is gorgeous, and there’s a little bar in the corner that would be perfect for cocktails. There’s a balcony that sports a perfect view of the lake.

You were already dreaming about curling up with your sweet Andy as you watched the sunset.

And the kitchen! Once you all had stumbled upon the kitchen, Ruby had nearly swooned. And truth be told, you weren’t too far behind.

Every appliance was the latest and greatest, and not to mention stainless steel. You were damn near close to having a fucking orgasm over this kitchen.

Story on the other hand had shrugged and said: “looks nice - I think I could work with it.”

By the time you all finish your unguided tour, you find your men lounging in the den, enjoying a Sam Adams.

You plop yourself in Andy’s lap before grabbing his hand to take a pull of his beer. He leans in to inhale your scent before nipping your ear.

“Told you they’d be back.” Curtis chuckled. “Our girls always miss their big, strong, incredibly handsome men too much to stay gone for long.” He flashes an arrogant smirk and then proceeds smother his wife’s neck with kisses.

“Stop it!” She giggles, pushing his head away.

Meanwhile, Ari has pulled Story somehow both into and beneath his big body, effectively holding her hostage.

“I can’t breathe, you beast.” She huffs.

“Aww, baby. So nice to know that after all this time, I can still take your breath away.” He purrs.

Still struggling for breathe to turns her head to you and Ruby. “Yeah. It's called suffocation. Ladies, whatsay we hit the pool?”

“I’m down!” You both shout. You try to scramble off your boyfriend’s lap, but his arm around your waist won’t budge.

“The guys and I were thinking that we could order in some lunch and just chill for a bit.” Andy’s tone implies that his words are a suggestion. But you know it’s not. He’s telling you what you’re going to do.

“Well you guys can chill and order whatever you want while my girls and I go get wet. Maybe it’ll help us work up and appetite.” Ruby purrs, subtly grinding her ass against Curtis’ hard lap.

“Aww, fine.” Ari finally lets his girl up for air. “Let ‘em go take a swim for a minute. Means we get to drink and watch gorgeous girls splash around in the water.”

He lifts Story off the couch and delivers a hard smack to her ass. “Let’s get this vacation started, fellas.”

Andy sighs before pulling you up as well. “Come on my little princess, let Daddy show you to our room.” He presses a hot kiss to your hand and leads you up the stairs.

Your room was gorgeous - a mix of purples, oranges, and pinks. It kind of reminded you of a sunset to be honest.

“Wanna test out the mattress little girl?” He murmurs. His tone soft and silky. Andy’s lips lower to yours, only to be stopped when your hand covers his mouth.

Undeterred, he sucks your ring finger between his lips, softly caressing the digit with his hot, wet tongue.

He finally releases it with a sweet pop. “I want to see you in that black and gold monokini with the matching wedges.” Andy tells you.

“Go get dressed, baby girl. Daddy’ll wait right here for you in case you need help.”

Digging the items out of your bag, you rush to follow instructions. Once you’ve slipped on the suit, you push your curls on top of your head in a pineapple style. And then you lace up your wedges. A couple of poses and a careful swab of lip gloss, you open the door.

“Does your baby look good, Daddy?” You purr as you lean against the doorframe, making sure to arch your hip just right.

The sound of his growl reverberates in chest. “Fuck yeah, my baby does. Let me eat you before we go out there.”

“No!” You squeal as he pulls you towards him.

“Just one taste, sweetheart. Just one little fix.”

He throws you down on the bed, hefts your legs over his shoulders, and pulls the fabric protecting your pussy to the side. And then he buries his face in your soft, sweet wetness.

“I wanna get in the water.” Story whines up at Ari from her place kneeling between his thick, muscled thighs as he sits on an adirondack chair.

“And I want to admire my little sprite.” One roughened hand slowly strokes it’s way down her throat to rest between her ample breasts. Aren’t you glad I made you get this suit, baby? Hm?”

His scruffy chin soon replaces his hand, breathing in her sweet scent. His girl always smelled like peaches and sunshine.

Without so much as glancing around, Ari pulls the right strap of her suit down her shoulder, exposing her plump breast to his heated gaze.

“Mine.” He growls softly before sucking a pouting nipple into his hungry mouth. “Mmm.” He moans, before toying with it. Nipping and biting with his sharp teeth.

Story’s back arches of its own accord. Her light pink manicured nails grasping his head, drawing him closer. “God, Ari!”

He briefly releases her breast, only to dive back in with vigor. Pulling as much of her delicious offering into mouth as he can take.

Ari repositions his girl so that her drenched cunt is resting on his thigh. He pulls back again, breathing hard. “Ride me, my little sprite. Ride your Daddy’s thigh.”

She once again pulls his head back to her aching chest. Her cries getting louder and louder as her messy core bears down hard thigh.

“Ahhh! Ari - Ari! Ahhh!”

“Call me by name, baby.” He snarls. “Say it! Make me fucking happy!”

“Oooh! Da-daa-daddy!” Story whimpers as she cums, her much smaller body collapsing limply against his own.

Chuckling softly, he quickly rights her suit and rubs her back, just in time for Andy and Y/N to join them outside, with the latter rocking a rather blissed-out look of her own.

Ruby and Curtis were the last ones to emerge from the house. His chest is puffed out, and there’s a little pep in his step, and a slightly stupid grin on his usually serious face.

She looks at you both and shrugs as if to say, “yeah, I blew him - so what?”

He doles out beers to his boys and sets out a metal bucket filled with more bottles next to his chair before announcing something about a seafood smorgasbord for dinner.

“Ladies, I’m hot. Come take a dip with me!”

The three of you grab hands, turn around to toss a saucy wink at your boys, and jump in with a scream.

Splash!

“Fuck! Are we some lucky sons of bitches or what?” Andy mutters.

“Cheers to that, brother!”

A Little While Later…

“Come in with us guys!” You yell up at them as you float around the pool on an inflatable raft. “Please, Andy?” You hold out your dripping hand to him, wiggling your fingers as you do.

“No can do, baby girl. Daddy’s too busy enjoying the view.” He tells you with a cigar half hanging out of his plump mouth.

Yes, you wanted him to join you, but you also wanted him to put the damned thing out. He didn’t indulge in that disgusting habit often, but you always refused to kiss him when he did.

And also you blamed Ari for handing them out. So now your men were too busy lounging around, wearing sunglasses, and puffing away.

Eventually, they do put the cigars down. But Curtis notes that they’re not done with them yet. And moments later, you and your girls are treated to the sound of soft snores.

You roll your eyes and motion for the girls to get out of the water and join you on land. The three of you grab your towels and pad into the house.

“Ugh. Remember when they used to be fun?” Story grumbles.

“Whatever.” You shrug.

“Bunch of grumpy old men.” Ruby agrees. Mind you, none of them were over forty, but still.

“I say we shower and watch a movie. I’m dying to try out that indoor theatre downstairs.” Your suggestion is met with unanimous agreement.

“And the boys?” Story murmurs.

“Eh, we slathered ‘em all with sunscreen didn’t we? Let ‘em bake.”

When your men find you later, you’re holed up in the basement eagerly watching the sequel to 365 Days.

Of course they walk in smack dab in the middle of what feels like the twentieth sex scene…

“Dinner’s here.” Ari growls. “If you all can manage to pull yourselves away from…whatever this trash is.”

“Maybe later.” You mumble, eyes glued to the screen.

“Yeah.” Ruby mutters.

“Shhh!” Story hisses. “Can’t you see Laura and Nacho are about to…

“Oh, they are more than about to.” You smother an excited giggle. “We’ll be up later guys. Go ahead and start without -

The screen suddenly goes dark, prompting the three of you to whip your heads around in outrage.

Andy crouches down next to you, grasping your chin in his hand. “As much as I hate repeating myself, I will make an exception for my baby. Dinner is here. Now come up and eat. Or do you need help?”

You jerk your chin out of his grip before standing up and heading to the kitchen, ignoring him as you do.

Story goes to brush past her man, only for him to wrap one brawny arm around her waist. “I ordered your favorite baby.” He sighs when she doesn’t respond. “Oh, now don’t pout. You know what it does to me.” Her beast of a man subtly leans down to lick the curve of her cheek.

“You seriously couldn’t have let us finish our movie, Curtis? Is your ego really that fragile?”

He thinks for a moment, lips pursed, his head slowly shaking from side to side.

“Nah. But you were starting to drool just a little. And I see red anytime my woman drools over a man who isn’t me.” Curtis’ growl is damn near lethal.

He holds out his big hand. “Now, come join your man for dinner.”

Dinner, of course, was delicious. The table was practically overflowing with dishes like clam chowder, creamy lobster bisque, crab legs, lobster, grilled shrimp, fried shrimp, roasted salmon, grilled mahi-mahi…

But the company, well, that was altogether something different.

Things weren’t bad, just a little tense.

“Who paid for dinner?” You ask as you take another bite of your delightfully fresh lobster bisque. “Or, I guess, how much was it?”

“Good question, lady! Who do we three need to Venmo?

“I’m pretty sure I have cash…” Ruby murmurs, looking around for her purse.

Andy’s shoulders tense. Ari frowns. And Curtis growls.

“There’s no need. We’ve got it covered.” Ari snaps, a little more forcefully than he intends.

Story makes a beeline for receipt attached to one of the bags. You watch as her eyes go wide. “Holy shit!” She mouths. “We oh ‘em a good $85 a piece girls.

“Don’t you dare.” Ari growls.

“Oh, be quiet.” You growl right back. “We eat, we pay.”

“You know how I feel about reaching into your wallet when you’re with me, princess.” Andy’s tone is filled with warning.

“Y/N is right. We eat, we pay.” Ruby repeats your words, her voice filled with just as much defiance.

Sometimes even the little things were hard with these cromagnon hunks of yours.

“No, Rubeena. And that’s final.”

With a huff, the three of you go back to eating, choosing to ignore your men. Fucking old fashioned assholes.

“So what do you girls want to do tomorrow?” One of them asks, as Andy sets another lobster tail dripping with melted butter on your plate.

You dive in without so much as a thank you.

“You know,” Story speaks up. “I saw a sailboat out there. I was part of a group in college that used to sail all the time, maybe the three of us can do that for a bit.” She pops another bite of grilled shrimp into her mouth.

“Mm, I like that idea. Out on the open water, the wind in our faces. I vote yes.”

Ari, Curtis, and Andy exchange both concerned and disapproving glances with one another. The idea of their girls out on the water on their own…

Let’s just say Andy wasn’t the only one of them having heart palpitations. Why couldn’t their ladies ever come up with any “safe” activities…like crocheting, or scrapbooking, or origami? Shit!

“Oh, and then after, all six of us could go shopping and cook dinner together! Music, dancing, cocktails, yummy food!” You and Ruby high-five and then go back to eating.

You lean over to steal a bite of your boyfriend’s Mahi-Mahi and some of the accompanying mango salsa.

Good mood seemingly restored, you all go back to enjoying your meal. Everything is quiet for a moment, until Curtis speaks up.

“I love the idea of shopping and cooking together. Love it! We all do, right guys?”

They nod enthusiastically.

“In fact, I’m envisioning helping our gorgeous chefs work while they’re wearing nothing but bikinis and sarongs.” Your man hisses through is teeth, while Ari’s look of approval is very, very evident.

“But no to the sailing. We don’t want you girls out on open water in a boat that we’re not sure you even know how to navigate.”

“Excuse me!?” Story rises in an agitated huff. “I know what I’m doing

“Sprite, sit down and listen please.” Ari warns, as one thick arm goes to rest behind his head.

“No, Ari. I am perfectly capable of safely sailing that boat. And if that’s what we want to do, then that’s what we’re gonna do.”

“Sit down, please. Or do you need to come eat with me?” He quirks one tawny brow at her as he pats his lap.

“Argh!” She sits back down in a huff and pushes her plate away.

Silence once again fills the room.

“Alright ladies. Let’s compromise here.” Andy interjects, trying to be the voice of reason. “The boys and I will go golfing tomorrow morning, while you ladies take it easy here. Grab your kindles, lay out and enjoy the sun. Maybe send us a couple pictures of you in your bikinis if you think about it.” He winks then.

“And then when we come back, we’ll go out to lunch. Have some cocktails. And then go shopping. Sound good?

“It’s fine.”

“Whatever.”

“I really don’t give a shit.”

You and Ruby push your plates away and rise from the table. “Thanks for dinner guys. Hope you don’t mind cleaning up while we girls go watch the sunset.”

It really was beautiful, watching the sun fade away, only to be replaced by the moon. Such a serene, cosmic shift.

“I love him you know.” You turn to look it Story. “My beast is sweet and wonderful. He dotes on me all the time…but he’s just so goddamned over protective.”

“Like, I can be somewhere doing whatever I want and he just picks me up and moves me like it’s nothing. He actually gets mad when I climb the countertops instead of calling for him first.” A smile smile graces her lips.

You nod. “But that’s how some Daddies are, I guess. I mean, I’m not an expert by any means. I wasn’t even looking for - for this. Andy is my everything, but sometimes I feel smothered by the big oaf. If I say “no” to something, I somehow end up hoisted over his shoulder doing it anyway.

Ruby is quiet for a moment. “Curtis is just so dominant. At first it was just in the bedroom, and now it’s become a part of our every day lives. Sometimes it turns me on, and other times it makes me want to punch him in the windpipe…” She trails off.

“…So you brat.” You finish for her. “You act up. Act out.”

“To show them that they don’t have all of the control.” Story mumbles.

“We all do it. Because it’s necessary. Plus, we deserve to have fun too. So the bastards said no sailing? Okay, fine. But ladies…” You motion for them to come close.

“They didn’t say anything about the jet skis.”

You all return to watch what was left of the sunset, three evil smiles gracing your lips.

The next morning you make sure to be as loving and affectionate with your man as possible. You ride his hard, fat cock as if your life depends on it.

“Come on baby, give it to me!” You hiss when his fingers dig into your hips.

“Cum for me, Daddy! Please!” You lean down so can accept a needy tit into his waiting mouth.

“Fill me up!” You beg. “Ungh ungh ungh! Wanna feel you dripping out of me all day, reminding me that I’m yours!

That’s all it takes for your man to explode inside you, forcing you to follow suit. Your greedy walls gripping him over and over, milking him for every drop of his hot, wet seed.

When you’re through, you roll over on your back and pat his chest.

“Have a good game, sweetheart.”

The men are off and out around 8:30am after a light breakfast of bagels and fruit. You and the girls clean up and then prepare to go shower and change.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Ruby.” You narrow your eyes at her.

“Let’s just say that my husband has a wicked tongue and decided to use it on me last night. Three goddamned times.” She blushes.

“So that was you we heard last night? Woah.” Story giggles.

“Shut up! Miss “oh that’s right you big beast! Oh eat me up!”

Story pinches her lips and goes back to putting leftover fruit in the fridge. You, on the other hand, try to hold back a snicker and fail, prompting both women to turn on you.

“Cum for me, Daddy! Please!” Ruby mimics.

“Fill me up!” Your friend, Story, mocks.

Now you’re the one blushing. “Okay, fine. Now that we’ve established this place has thin walls, can we get changed and play with the jet skis already?"

Once you’re outside, you check your water proof watches. You had a couple hours of fun ahead of you until the boys returned. As long as you timed things right, none of them would ever know about your shenanigans. Story, your master of all things aquatic, makes a point of checking out each machine.

“We’re all good. Everyone got their life jackets buckled? Good. Now let’s get these babies into the water. Uh, you’ve both ridden before right?”

You nod. It had been a while, but whatever.

“Once.” Ruby responds.

“Okay, well just stay close to me.”

You three push the skis until you’re knee deep in the water before climbing on. Story does a quick demo, showing you how to start the machine, gun the engine, take off, brake, and stop.

After that, you were off!

You took your time at first, but you grew more comfortable with each passing moment, as did Ruby.

“Woooo!” You cry out as you do a figure eight with Story. You increase your speed, loving the feel of spray as it hits your warm skin.

You and your girls, who were quickly becoming your best friends, we’re having the time of your lives!

Ruby reaches out to hi-five you as you pass each other again.

You all take turns racing each other, doing crazy spins. At one point or another, each one of you manages to fall off of your ride. And all you do is laugh and help each other back up.

See, this is kind of shit you’d love to do with your men if they weren’t so curmudgeonly. Handsome grumpy gooses.

When the boys finally arrive home, they’re excited to see you girls, albeit a little bummed that none of them had received any bikini pics. Leaving their golf bags in the garage, they enter the house and begin searching for their respective ladies.

Surprised to find that the house is quiet, they stroll outside, expecting to find you lounging by the pool. But they’re not there.

“Maybe their downstairs watching that 365 porno bullshit.” Andy shrugs.

“Or they could be in the library.” Curtis rubs his grizzled chin.

Ari takes a series of steps forward, his gaze trained on the scene before him.

“What is it, man?”

“They’re not watching a movie, in fact they’re not in the house at all.” He turns to face the other men. “Our little brats are out on the goddamned lake.”

You, Ruby, and Story meet in the middle of the lake and pause your engines.

“This was the best fucking idea ever!” Ruby exclaims. “Fuck our men. If they don’t wanna have fun then we’ll do it without them!"

“Hell yeah!” Story cheers.

You were just about to join the celebration when you hear the sound of faint yelling. Immediately the three of you begin looking around, trying to find the source.

And that’s when you make out the forms of three men, yelling and waving their arms.

Your men.

“Well, ladies. It was fun while it lasted.” You murmur, suddenly feeling sad.

“Yeah.”

“Yes, it was. How about one more lap?” Her eyes glinting mischievously.

“I mean, why not? We’re already in trouble.”

So, off you go. One last lap. Making sure to wave at your irate men as you do.

“Turn around and get your ass back here, Ruby!”

“Story! I swear Daddy is gonna bruise that butt!

“Y/N - I’m gonna set that bottom on fire, I swear it!

You three laugh harder. When it’s finally over, you walk the jet skis back towards land. They are immediately wrenched out of your hands so your men can put them up. Leaving you all with time to run up to the house.

Towels wrapped around yourselves, you wander into the kitchen and each grab a bottle of water.

Curtis, Ari, and Andy burst into the house a few minutes later. Their chests heaving, faces red.

They are livid.

“Hi big guys, how was your game? Did you get a hole-in-one?” You take a sip of your water.

Ari lets out a deep growl. “I thought we said no going near the lake.”

“No.” Ruby points out. “You said we couldn’t use the sail boat. You said nothing about the jet skis.” She and the rest of you can’t help but puff at your chests out a little.

“Ruby?” Story asks. “Why is your husband’s face turning so many pretty colors? And also...Andy doesn’t look like he’s breathing.”

Sure enough, he did not.

“Baby, you okay?”

You pale as you watch his hands go to his belt buckle.

“Okay, uh uh. Ruby is right here. You said nothing about the jet skis, so technically we are in the clear."

“Yeah? Let’s see if all your “technicalities” manage to save your sweet little ass."

“Ari, you know we’re right. You told me that I wasn’t allowed to sail. And I didn’t. So how about you guys pull your heads out of your asses and acknowledge the fact that we followed your directions, just maybe not the way you envisioned it.”

The man in question strides forward, throws her over his shoulder and takes her outside. “I’ll teach you to twist my words, fucking brat.” After slamming the door behind him, it’s not long before you hear the sound of pained wails and cries.

Andy takes that moment to bend you over the counter, his belt doubled in his hand.

And then you watch as Curtis carts a furiously flailing Ruby into another room. “Let me go, you ass!” She keeps struggling. “Daddy promises he’s gonna get your little rebellious streak under control, damn it.”

“Baby…” You breathe out.

“Honey, your Daddy is going to teach you all about how he feels about technicalities. And I’m going to use my belt to make you listen.”

Andy delivers a hard swat right at the spot where your ass and thighs meet, making you squeal.

Slap!

“You knew you weren’t supposed to go anywhere near the lake without me.”

“Ack! Oww!

Slap!

“Ahh! Oww oww!”

“You know better than to argue with Daddy when it comes to your safety.”

Slap! Slap! Slap!

“Aaahaaahaa! Ahhhh! Daddy! Please no.”

“Slap!”

“Gotta get you and your brat to open up your listening ears.” He growls.

Slap!

END

[solalunar-eclipse]

Team Dark: A Holiday Special

Chapter One: Omega

Two | Three

Word count: about 5800 words

WARNING: this chapter contains entomophagy (eating insects)

Author's Note: I'm finally back! Sorry to make you all wait so long, but I really wanted to get this project out by December, so...here it is. I hope you all enjoy! (Also, apologies in advance for any bad formatting: Tumblr is being very uncooperative right now.)

...

It was, officially, a ‘lazy day’.

Team Dark was spending time at home, resting after the holiday frenzy of yesterday. Rouge had suddenly realized that they hadn’t decorated yet and that they all still needed to come up with present ideas for Team Sonic, so she and Shadow had spent the entire time in a sort of constant state of panic. Omega tried his best to help them, intermixed with a lot of gloating about his perfect memory and how he’d remembered to get a gift already.

He’d gotten punched halfway across the room for that one.

Now, a certain striped hedgehog was relaxing in his room, reading a book quietly. Until (of course) the peaceful silence was shattered by a loud blaring noise that sent him racing out the door and halfway down the stairs to their common area. Rouge was standing in the middle of the room, and shouted out to him, “Shadow! Come down here, I’m calling a group meeting!” Shadow winced and massaged one of his ears, his quills relaxing from their startled position as he walked over and sat down on the couch. He glowered at Rouge, who stood in front of him with the ‘team meeting airhorn’ still in hand. Despite his stare, she was still poised to blast again if Omega didn’t show up soon. Thankfully for Shadow’s hearing, Omega appeared quickly, albeit with much complaining about being dragged away from his targeting system calibrations. “Alright, Rouge, what’s all this about?” the hedgehog sighed, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. She smiled cautiously at the two of them. “Before I say anything, I want you guys to know that this offer is optional. If it’s too much for you, you don’t have to say yes.” Omega spun one of his hands around, making a slight whirring noise. “Please continue.” Rouge sat down on one end of the aforementioned couch, sinking into the cushions with a sigh. “Okay. Let’s see. I haven’t...ever talked to you guys about my family before, have I?” “I do not recall you initiating any such conversation.” Omega answered, at the same time as Shadow replied, “No….?” “Well. Considering everything...I kind of figured it’s about time I told you all my story.” She smiled again, but it was a little bittersweet. Shadow inched closer, caution sparking in his eyes. “Where to start...I mean, I have a mom, two sisters, a stepsister, a stepbrother, and a stepmom. And a dad too, I guess?” “You guess?” Omega asked skeptically, before being shot a fierce ‘no questions‘ look by Shadow. “It’s alright, hon.” Rouge said, putting a hand on the hedgehog’s shoulder. “I guess I should really start at the beginning.” “My dad was a cat and my mom is a bat- obviously, hah. My two officially related sisters are twins, three years younger than me. Right before they were born, though...my dad left. He took all the cash with him when he did. And, well. Left Mom with a barely-paid-for apartment and without a job. “We, uh. Heard later that he ran off with some lady from his job. Mom...didn’t take it too well.” Shadow’s eyes widened and Omega smacked a fist into one hand. “Rouge. Is your father, hypothetically, good at withstanding high-powered attacks from a hypothetical extremely destructive robot?” She snickered. “No, he’s not. But please don’t actually fight him, alright?” His hands crackling with chaos energy, Shadow hissed, “Rouge...I think I like his plan.” He bared his fangs as he spoke, looking furious. Rouge smiled gratefully at the both of them. “Thanks, guys, but he’s really not even worth your time. Let me keep going, okay?” Omega sat back, irritated at the lack of pulverizing Rouge’s father going on, and Shadow, reluctantly, allowed his chaos energy to dissipate. “Yeah, so he left, and that was a whole thing. Mom worked hard for us, but it just...wasn’t enough to make ends meet. I started my career of...relieving people of their fancy objects-” here she winked- “at the age of eleven to help out. Dropped out of school after eighth grade to start full-time thievery once I turned fourteen, and, yeah. I had to leave home, otherwise Mom and the twins would’ve been in real trouble. “I got busted after two whole years by the one and only Guardian Units of Nations- not a bad streak, if I do say so myself. Then, I started working for G.U.N. to pay my dues to society, and...you all know the rest after that. I still kept sending checks back to the family, though.” Shadow and Omega were both looking at her with unreadable expressions at this point. “I’ve stopped doing that now, actually, since Mom’s been with her girlfriend for like a year now. She’s dating this super sweet cardinal who gives her basically everything my dad never did- her name’s Camellia and she has two little kids from her last marriage. She’s been so good for Mom, honestly.

“I know it’s usually supposed to be this whole thing where the stepdaughter hates the stepmom, but that’s not for me. When I got the news, I was just like ‘Oh, so that’s why I’m pan’ - yeah, really- and now I’m cool with it. Plus, I’ve got two new little sibs, so it’s all fine.

“So...yeah. That’s my family.”

Shadow sat there in deep thought for a minute. “Your family sounds nice...I’m just sorry you had to go through all of that.” he said, when he finally spoke up.

“Yeah, they’re great- and it’s okay. I mean, if it wasn’t for all that, I never would’ve found you guys!” she said, looking much brighter now. “Now that you know about them, you wanna see some pictures?”

“Certainly.” Omega said, curious to see these people that Rouge cared for so deeply.

“Okay, so...these are my twin sisters, Midori and Neela.” she said, showing a social media post of two identical coffee-colored cats posing for a selfie. Even their fur markings were exactly the same, as well as the shade of their golden eyes. Despite the fact that they were felines, something about them looked an awful lot like Rouge. The shape of their faces, perhaps?

“And here’s Camellia and Mom.” A picture came up of a beaming, moderately curvy white bat and an equally overjoyed cardinal with their arms around each other in front of a beautiful sunset.

“This is Jade, my stepsister, she’s ten-” Rouge showed an image of a young goldfinch playing soccer, kicking the ball fiercely. “-and that’s Spark, my stepbrother.” A small cardinal with a grin as broad as his mother’s was swinging on a swing at a playground, his eyes bright with the excitement of childhood.

Shadow smiled, looking as though he were a mixture of genuine happiness and a little ever-present pain. “They all look wonderful, Rouge. I’m...honored...that you felt like you could show us this.”

“That wasn’t so bad, honestly- I’ve been wanting to figure out how to do that for a while.” the bat said. “This is going to be the hard part.”

Two pairs of eyes watched her expectantly.

She exhaled. “Every year...my family has this big, three-day Wintersweek party. And when I say big, I mean seven out of my mom’s nine siblings and their spouses and kids. Like, more than twenty guests big.”

Omega interrupted her there. “If your mother has nine siblings, why did none of them bother to help her when she needed them?”

Rouge looked at the floor, a little sad. “Four of them were in debt themselves, two live in crazy places around the world and didn’t really know, and...the other three tried to help. Mom refused to take more than she could pay back. They still helped do other stuff like watch us while Mom was working, though.”

“Understood. You may continue.” Omega replied, shifting into a slightly less confrontational pose.

“So. I always go to this party, except for those two years when I was on the run. This is going to be my third year back. And…

“I really, really, reallyreally want to introduce my family to my two best friends. You know, the ones who live with me and always have my back and mean the world to me.” she said, looking straight at Shadow and Omega. The former blushed a faint green at the praise, while the latter scoffed.

“Of course you wish to do so. Our excellence is unparalleled.”

Rouge smiled hopefully at them. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you guys, but...will you come to the party this year?”

Omega processed this for a minute. “How amenable is your family towards weapons of incredible destructive power being present in their home?”

“Well, see, about that….” Rouge muttered. “...you might have to empty your weapons cartridges before we go.”

“I am unsure if this is an acceptable outcome. I will respect your wishes to an extent, but I refuse to be without weaponry at my disposal.”

The bat thought for a moment. “...you can bring the flamethrower, but only if you put a PIN lock on it.”

“...”

“...”

Rouge stared him down. “There’s going to be kids there. Kids.”

“Accepted.” Omega said finally. His tone switched to a more triumphant note as he added, “I shall come and impress all of your relatives with my power.”

Shadow had reservations, too. “Won’t it be weird, having people who aren’t really your family there?”

“Shadow…” she said gently. “...you two are as close to me as my ‘real family’, and I want you to be there.”

Omega noted that Shadow was behaving in a manner that suggested he was ‘flustered’. He folded his arms tightly, lowered his head, and his mouth was pressed tightly into a line- an attempt to hide a smile. “...but won’t I take up too much space? An extra bed is more difficult to manage than an outlet.”

Rouge sighed sharply, becoming frustrated with his hesitance. “Mom has air mattresses up to her ears specifically for this, and she lives in Camellia’s house now, which has like ten bedrooms anyway. And you’re totally not going to be ‘a bother’ or anything, so don’t even say that. Mom basically screamed when she found out I was bringing people, and I mean that in a good way. She didn’t stop asking me questions for half an hour.”

“I…” Shadow said tentatively, close to giving in.

“If they’re ever too much for you, though, just feel free to hide in one of the back rooms. There’s plenty of places where you won’t be disturbed.”

The hedgehog sighed, but he didn’t look upset. “I suppose I can try, for you.”

“Yes!” Rouge shouted, kicking her legs before getting up and bouncing up and down. “Heck yeah! This is gonna be great!”

…

Over the next week, they discussed the party numerous times, and Rouge spent a lot of time sitting in the middle of mountains of wrapping paper, packaging presents for her family. Omega and Shadow had tried to help her, but she’d insisted that they not worry about it. “It’s my family,” she had said, waving them away. “You being there is already more than enough. I’d never ask anything else of you.”

Shadow had still made cupcakes, though. Omega helped with the icing.

On the first day of the event, they set off early, making the several hours’ drive from Central City up to Rouge’s family’s house (north of Empire City) so that they’d arrive just before lunch. Thinking of Shadow, Rouge didn’t want him in particular to get caught up in the early (and supposedly quite intense) greetings that her family usually participated in. Omega resolved to turn his force output down just a little- he didn’t want to accidentally break someone’s hand instead of merely shaking it in introduction.

Of course, this all meant they had to endure a four-hour car ride together, involving lots of fights over what music was playing, several different long-distance driving games, and multiple threats to toss one another out the window while moving at 80 mph or more.

So, generally uneventful for them.

...

When they arrived at the family’s house, the E-series robot decreased his optic zoom to 85% just to take the entire place in. It was truly an enormous building, built from what appeared to be stone but on closer inspection was...actually stone. Unexpected, yet impressive.

Omega was mildly uncertain about the heating capabilities of such a house, but at least it was structurally sound. He would have to decide on its defensibility later.

“Wow.” Shadow muttered, his eyes wide. “I know you said it had ten bedrooms, but...wow.”

“I said I wasn’t messing around with you!” Rouge laughed brightly. “This place is crazy big.”

As soon as they opened the door and the bat stepped inside, the team was greeted by a loud shout of “Rouge!” from various delighted family members.

Her immediate family rushed over first, giving her lots of hugs (while her parents relieved Omega of the numerous presents she’d had him carry). Her stepbrother jumped up and down, asking, “Did you bring a present for me? Do I get one? Do I?”

Rouge smiled at him, picking the little cardinal up and giving him a hug. “Of course you do. There’s one right over there!” she said, pointing towards the giant pile of presents.

Rouge’s mother came rushing back over at that, greeting her daughter with a tight embrace. “Oh!” she exclaimed, noticing Omega and Shadow standing by the door. “Are these your friends, Rouge? Come on, introduce us!”

The younger bat grinned. “Alright, so this is my partner-in-crime and our resident edgy goth, Shadow,” she said, gesturing towards the hedgehog. He responded with a glower at Rouge for the latter remark and a polite “Nice to meet you.” to the family.

“And this is my personal palanquin (just kidding, just kidding) and awesome destroyer of enemies, Omega.”

“Greetings, Rouge’s relatives.” Omega said, turning his volume down to a level that Rouge had termed ‘inside voice’. First impressions and all that.

After making their way through many, many more greetings- which Omega recorded to play back for name storage later- the team were finally seated at one of the large couches in the living room. Rouge, being Rouge, began to chat cheerfully with a couple of her family members, describing her latest escapades with the other two team members as well as her general social life.

Shadow and Omega didn’t speak much at first, but the latter in particular soon began to interrupt her stories to point out multiple inaccuracies (mostly Rouge underplaying how utterly awesome he was). He found that he quite enjoyed talking about their various adventures, in fact.

However, the three quickly discovered that some of Rouge’s relatives had...misunderstood her stories.

One of the many aunts- whose name Omega had not yet stored- spoke up. “Rouge, I know you said you were bringing friends, but you don’t have to be shy with us, sweetie. Shadow here seems like a very thoughtful boyfriend.”

Chaos ensued. Rouge choked on her water and Omega had to pound her on the back to help her breathe again. Meanwhile, Shadow seemed to have reflexively assumed a defensive, curled-up position, yet Omega could still make out a faint glow of green from within the black and red ball.

“No!” the bat shouted, once she’d regained her breath. “No, no, we’re only friends, really!”

Her aunt seemed unconvinced, as did several other guests.

Shadow slowly uncurled, prepared to back Rouge up- though he seemed to have temporarily forgotten how to speak in his shock. His mouth moved silently, and he seemed to be having trouble stringing together a coherent sentence.

“I am not romantically involved with Rouge in any way.” he began slowly. “I assure you, she means the world to me, but in a platonic manner. I am grateful to have a friend like her, but that is all we are to each other.”

Several other relatives decided to weigh in on this.

“He seems like a very polite friend!”

“Rouge, even if you’re not together, you had better hang on to this one.”

“He certainly likes you, and that’s what’s important.”

“It’s alright if you aren’t dating, honey!” Rouge’s mom added. “Healthy platonic relationships are very important.”

The younger bat shook her head, covering her eyes with her hand. “Guys, please.” she groaned, before looking over at Shadow.

The hybrid appeared to be surreptitiously trying to get in touch with his hedgehog heritage and burrow underneath the cushions by this point. Rouge grinned at him and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him back out into the open. “Come on, don’t make him embarrassed! It’s only day one, guys!” 

Shadow cringed at that. Omega, meanwhile, was most definitely not recording any of this and storing it safely in his blackmail folder. Not at all.

…

A little later on, after everyone had eaten lunch, Omega (being the strongest on the team, despite Shadow’s protests otherwise) hauled their suitcases upstairs with little trouble. Rouge had been too busy talking to come with him, and Shadow looked as though he’d buried himself in a pile of cushions and probably wouldn’t be moved without extreme force, so he’d gone up alone.

Looking around the small room, he...found it quite tolerable, honestly. Sunlight streamed in through two medium-sized windows, and there were several empty floating shelves on the walls for their things, as well as a linen closet. There were only two beds in the room, since Omega just required a…

Ah, there it was. A charging port.

The robot was actually more pleased than he expected with the amount of mock evergreen, poinsettias, and other such ornaments in the room, though. He wasn’t much one for artistic expression himself (preferring to express his thoughts via some choice language and a few well-aimed rockets), but his friends were more...appreciative of such things and would likely enjoy the decoration.

Bored with examining the room already, he put down the suitcases and began to explore the house, trying to figure out what the floor plan looked like. He walked through all of the different rooms, enjoying himself while examining all of the possible defensive vantage points and the most optimal attack areas. 

Sure, fighting was his job, but who said he couldn’t enjoy contingency planning? Mapping out attacks on his place of residence and figuring out how to best repel invaders was one of his favorite pastimes (right up there with visiting the mall with his friends).

However, once he had planned out about five different strategies, he realized that an hour had gone by and that it was probably a good idea to go check up on said friends.

After he carefully made his way back downstairs- trying to walk in a way that didn’t shake the house was difficult- he saw Rouge still chatting with some of her cousins and looking very happy. Shadow was barely even visible, curled up in a dark corner and alternating between reading and listening to the conversation. Everyone honestly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

However, there was one jarring thing about this warm, familial scene that Omega noticed. 

The little children.

They were everywhere. Climbing their parents like a jungle gym, interrupting conversations left and right, running around underfoot, and generally causing mayhem in their wake. While Omega highly appreciated their impressive ability to cause confusion and chaos, he suspected that most of the other people here did not. Multiple guests looked ready to break something, and the robot was fully aware that Rouge’s family did not share his opinions on wanton destruction.

So, he decided to do something about this.

“SMALL CHILDREN,” he shouted, gaining the attention of the entire household. “I CHALLENGE YOU TO A SNOWBALL FIGHT.” That was an acceptable (and fun) form of violence, if he remembered correctly. Rouge certainly looked interested.

The children began to bounce around in various states of excitement, their energy somehow increasing exponentially at this prospect. “Whose team will you be on, mister?” Rouge’s stepbrother asked bravely. 

“MY OWN. NONE OF YOU CAN DEFEAT ME.” Omega declared.

“Yeah, right!” an older child shouted. “Come on, guys, let’s go!”

The entire group rushed outside and began to build a snow fort for the upcoming attack. Most of the children were clearly struggling to organize, as half seemed to comprehend the need for a well-structured creation and half were just piling up snow like maniacs.

Meanwhile, Omega began to carefully form large building blocks out of the snow, building a formidable fortress (snow could be imposing, alright??). Once he was satisfied with his semicircle construction, he noticed that he still had a few minutes to wait before the children finished theirs. He spent this time making snowballs, as well as a few other...adjustments. When the children shouted out “Ready!”, he was more than prepared.

Since they were, again, Rouge’s relatives, he was very, very generous and gave them the first chance to fire. The children launched snowball after snowball, but he ducked behind his fort and only one found its mark. Once they were all out of ammunition and scrambling for more, he felt a smug sense of satisfaction.

It was time.

He loaded his arms full of snowballs…

And proceeded to launch them out of his machine gun ports at the children.

The kids scattered in all directions, shrieking with a mixture of fear and excitement. Omega, during their attack, had thought to make even more projectiles, turning what was supposed to be organized warfare into a one-sided rampage of destruction.

By now, Rouge had appeared on the deck and was currently howling with laughter, tears streaming down her face as she watched Omega launch his onslaught of snow. Shadow was standing at the doorway along with several others, a giant wicked grin spread across his face.

The E-series robot truly wished he could make that second expression right now. He turned to Rouge, watching her cackle…

...and immediately proceeded to fire a massive amount of snow at her as well. Her laughter transformed into a gasp of mock betrayal as she scooped up some of the offending substance, packing it into a weapon of her own. “Oh. It. Is. On.”, she hissed, shaking the snow off her wings.

Taking to the skies, she began a counterattack, distracting Omega with varied sizes of snowballs and forcing him to try and fire directly upwards. The children, realizing that they had a powerful ally in Rouge, began to make new projectiles themselves and threw them at him from all sides, until Omega finally found that he was struggling to handle the attack.

As he began to turn the tide again, he realized suddenly that this was entirely due to Rouge’s absence…

...and of course that was when a shadow fell over him.

Followed by a giant pile of snow.

He flailed in the icy trap as he struggled to regain his bearings. Once he had managed to clamber halfway out of the snow, he saw Rouge hovering above him. Her wings struggled to hold her in the air as she laughed again, and he noticed sulkily that she was holding a sheet.

“Cheater.” he muttered, indignant at having been trapped in such an unflattering manner.

“Cheating?! From the guy who launched snowballs like missiles? Really?” she shouted down to him good-naturedly, shaking her head. “Talk about hypocritical, Omega.”

The E-series robot still insisted on having the last laugh, though- he had to get out somehow, so he powered on all of his fans at full blast to clear away the snow. And if everyone was standing too close to avoid the resulting icy shower, well then that was their problem.

After that, though, everyone had to go inside and dry themselves off. Organics couldn’t handle being wet and cold very well, and Omega didn’t like the idea of his circuitry being shorted out. He felt a great sense of satisfaction at having established his status as the cool one on the very first day, though.

He spent a little more time with the young ones after that, playing several rounds of a popular card game called One with them and stacking up all of the plus-fours. The robot showed no mercy even in games.

Several children, evidently impressed by his prowess (or perhaps just in awe of the fact that he was a giant robot) begged him for promises that he would play more tomorrow, to which he quickly agreed. Not long after, to everyone’s disappointment, the kids’ parents came and practically dragged them to the dinner table, having shouted their names four or five times by this point.

As he walked into the dining room, Omega surveyed the area, focusing for a moment on the glow that the many candles gave off on the table. Fire was always a nice touch.

Looking further, he noticed that the wooden table alone was a formidable piece of furniture, filling the largest room in the house and forcing some chairs to squeeze up against the wall just to make space. And that wasn’t even mentioning the feast laid out on top of it. Omega ignored that for now in favor of sitting down on one side of Rouge after he saw her at the table. Looking over to her other side, he noticed Shadow surveying the food spread out on the table with what most would consider a completely blank look.

Omega, however, had experience with analyzing Shadow’s facial expressions, and noted the slight tension in his face as well as the fact that he was fidgeting with his silverware. Both he and Rouge had a good idea as to why, too- Shadow didn’t need any of this.

The hybrid had been created with incredible physical resilience, able to withstand the most arduous of conditions. This included a significant lack of food. He actually ate only about three times a week, and even then he only consumed small meals. While it was about time for him to eat today, the fact that there would be even more food over the next couple of days seemed to have produced a conundrum for him.

If he ate now, he wouldn’t need to later, which could be quite awkward, particularly when everybody else would. Omega thought through the options and decided that there were three main paths he could take: eat now and not later, not eat now but do so later, or possibly attempt to eat a little on all three days.

Rouge seemed to have realized this as well. Leaning over to Shadow, she whispered, “Whatever you want to do is fine, hon. It’s okay if you eat a lot over these few days- everyone else here will too. If you don’t want to, though, that’s cool- just make sure you have something at some point, alright?”

The robot watched as Shadow relaxed slightly at her understanding words. The change was almost imperceptible, but he now sat back in his chair instead of forward, and he’d stopped adjusting his place setting.

Once everyone was seated and they’d given a quick toast, the family began to dig in. Shadow sat back and waited for everyone else to take some food first- a wise choice. Rouge, on the other hand, entered the rather impressive food frenzy with a voracity that her team members knew all too well- she often complained that one of her few vices (aside from gems and other sparkly objects) was food.

Omega took this time to survey what he could see of the dishes, interested in finding out for himself what a proper Wintersweek meal looked like. He saw two dishes that appeared to be some sort of poultry, as well as bowls of finger food that looked like they were filled with crickets and beetles. Various platters of cooked vegetables in every color of the rainbow covered the table, some with sliced fruit available as well. Loaves of bread in multiple shapes and sizes were scattered throughout the presentation, accented by artfully placed centerpieces.

Quite honestly, it looked impressive.

Rouge had a little bit of everything on her plate, and was currently digging into a buttery baked potato like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. Omega silently put his napkin next to her plate, the (sarcastic) message clear: You need this more than I do.

Shadow, meanwhile, had taken a little fruit, one piece of meat, and two slices of bread, but seemed very hesitant to eat much more than that. He looked to be quite invested in a conversation that several of the adults were having about their own teenage experiences, often leaning in slightly when a funny story came up.

Omega mostly kept an eye on his friends, while also half listening to the children talk about the latest video game that had become popular. It seemed to contain lots of fighting combined with some impressive storytelling, and the robot made a note of the game title for his own use later.

However, as he checked on Rouge again, making sure she hadn’t choked on her food, he noticed that she had left her plate to the side in favor of talking to her family about...wait.

Omega knew this story.

This was a story where he was walking through the halls of an abandoned underground hideout for a highly sophisticated ring of criminals (an assignment for their entire team). In which said diabolical criminals had installed multiple traps designed to keep people out. And these traps. Included magnets. That specifically messed up artificial intelligence.

Omega’s memory had been severely impaired by the event, but Shadow and Rouge told him later that they had discovered him stumbling around the main hub of the base, rambling out loud about things as ridiculous as current weather patterns and- he shuddered internally- kittens. He was eternally grateful for this memory loss, though, as the two had apparently, instead of taking this seriously, dissolved into helpless laughter on the spot.

Of course, they had taken him to Tails to get fixed up. But not until after Rouge had filmed another five minutes or so of him acting absolutely loopy while their laughter, punctuated with the occasional gasp for breath, filled the background.

And she was just getting to the part where they found him now-!

The E-series robot shot out of his chair and clamped a hand over Rouge’s mouth, turning his volume low and hissing “Don’t you dare.” in her ear.

Unfortunately, this only added to everyone else’s interest, as Rouge began to cackle loudly at Omega’s evident embarrassment and her memory of the event. “Tell us! Tell us!” Camellia (Rouge’s stepmother) cried out, clapping her hands and looking for all the world like a child who had just been handed a chocolate bar. 

“Help me, Shadow!” Rouge shouted through the steel grip on her face, slurring her words with laughter. The hybrid, happy to take a break from the crowded room and equally happy to shame Omega, pried the robot off of Rouge and somehow managed to drag him out of the room as everyone now leaned in to hear her finish the story.

“So we were really worried, right? Since we hadn’t heard anything? And then we-”

Shadow shut the door on her voice and smirked at Omega, but there was a tinge of real happiness in his expression. “It’s alright, Omega. She doesn’t actually want you to feel bad, you know.”

“That’s what you say.” he scoffed. “Rouge isn’t in there telling them about the time you didn’t eat for a month on a mission and then binge-”

“Alright, alright!” Shadow groaned. “I get it, but let’s let her have fun, alright? This is her family, after all.”

“Fine.” Omega grumbled. “But I will get you back for this.”

“Sure you will.” Shadow raised an eyebrow at him.

This led to a fierce staring match/arm-wrestling battle and subsequent argument over who won, immediately followed by Omega pulling out his phone and the two watching a recently popular obstacle course show. Of course, they both agreed that they could do far better than any of the contestants.

Eventually, though, as the evening wore on, the two joined back up with Rouge to head to their room. Shadow took a hot shower while Rouge changed into her favorite pajamas- they were soft and white with little pink hearts all over (her favorite colors). 

She yawned loudly just as the hybrid walked in, already wrapped in a blanket and pulling on some plain black nightwear. He didn’t really need it, but his fifty-year stint in what was essentially a superpowered freezer had left him with a distinct dislike for the cold.

Omega had already plugged into the outlet and begun to charge, but yet…”Why don’t I get a blanket?”

“What the heck d’ you want one for?” Rouge muttered, already exhausted. 

“Well, you both have them.” he muttered sulkily, glowering at them from his corner of the room.

The bat opened up the closet in the room, looking up at the top shelf. “Shadow, c’mere. I can’t reach this thing by myself.” 

He walked over quickly, not appearing to be tired at all. Omega, as always, knew better, and saw the fatigue from the long day that he tried to hide behind his “Ultimate Lifeform” title.

Rouge jumped onto his shoulders in a practiced movement, snatching a pale purple fluffy blanket from the shelf and flinging it half-heartedly at Omega. “There’s your blanket.” she declared, before jumping straight from Shadow to her bed.

She settled into her usual sleeping position, with her feet hooked over the headboard and her face and pillow about halfway down the bed. It wasn’t a typical behavior for most, but she was a bat, after all. “‘Night, guys.” she murmured, already half asleep.

Shadow carefully lifted his blankets and slid under them, trying to keep them as neat as possible. The hedgehog shifted into a half-curled position, displaying his quills to the world and protecting his vulnerable legs and chest. “Sleep well, Rouge. Goodnight, Omega.” he said softly, still trying to stay awake.

“Good night.” the robot replied.

Omega kept an eye on his teammates, the room lit only by a patch of moonlight from the window. He listened to Rouge’s slight snoring, and watched as Shadow’s eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out.

The robot was always cautious about shifting into his own form of ‘sleep’, but reminded himself that this was not enemy territory. This was Rouge’s family’s house, and they were all safe.

Still, he watched his friends sleep peacefully for a while longer. Then, he selected low power mode from his menu of choices and allowed his eyes to go dark.

[argylemnwrites]

Change of Plans - Part 3

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (An It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment universe AU, set nearly 3 years after that epilogue)

Word Count: ~4700

Rating: NC-17 (language, 30 diamond scene)

Summary: Living in NYC in March 2020 is redefining normal for Drake and Riley. Life doesn’t always go according to plan during a pandemic, after all.

Author’s Note: Finally finished up the third and final installment of my AU inside my AU. Sorry the word count got away from me a bit here, but hopefully you all like this conclusion to the journey even further into the real world for these two. (I might have fallen in love with this version more than my planned version... oops)

Just like parts 1 and 2, this does hint at or reference some events from the prologue and the first couple of chapters of Why Are We Still Waiting?, but it does not spoil the core content of the story. And again, Trigger warning for coronavirus discussions. Also, explicit adult content in this part.

Part of Drake couldn’t quite believe that today was actually real. It felt sort of surreal still, even though he had the marriage certificate in his hand and was wearing a ring on his finger. Even though the officiant’s words still ran through his mind, pronouncing them married. It felt too much like a dream. But they were married. She was his wife.

They were in their cab, back to their apartment. Obviously, no reception. No bars or restaurants were even open, except for takeout. But that was alright. Being married to her, that was what mattered. Who really cared if it didn’t happen as they planned?

“So, for our honeymoon, what do you think about Brooklyn?” Riley asked, settling in under the arm he’d thrown across her shoulders after giving the driver their address.

Drake chuckled, “Sounds great. You have a place in mind?”

“Yup! I found this little one bedroom apartment with absolutely no amenities, but it does come with a corgi.”

“Perfect. Hopefully it comes with the opportunity for digital filing of cases, because that’s what I really want to do.”

“But you finished your work for today, right?”

Drake nodded. It had been a pain in the ass, but he’d been able to take care of enough between last night and this morning that he would probably not draw attention to the fact that he’d taken this afternoon off. It had seemed stupid to tell his supervisor his plan when he’d been able to get the work done. The firm might be letting people work from home, but that didn’t change the fact that the leadership on his team was a bunch of frat bro assholes that would have absolutely made him use a half day of vacation.

“Good,” she said, turning her head and leaning over slightly so that her lips were practically on his ear, “I’ve got plans for you.”

Drake swallowed roughly, sparing a quick glance towards the cab driver before turning his head and kissing her. The only thing hotter than the promise her words held was the fact that she was now saying them as his wife.

After a few moments, Drake pulled back, not wanting to make the driver too uncomfortable, but Riley tugged him down again, deepening the kiss slightly. However, after several seconds, a loud buzzing sound interrupted them. Riley leaned back slightly, pulling her phone out of her purse.

“What the hell?” she said as she unlocked her phone. “I have six texts from Maxwell. Wait - seven.”

Drake watched her open up her messaging app, and she let out a big sigh almost instantly. She quickly titled her phone so he could read the screen.

😲😃😭🤗😤🥳

That’s all my feelings

Because

OMG 

YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED 

YAY!!! 👰🤵🥂

WITHOUT ME

BOO!!!! 😡👎👿

Drake glanced up from her phone, “How does he know?” They had decided it was better to tell Liam and Iris, Hana and Catherine, and Maxwell, Savannah, Bertrand, and the kids at the same time, and since they had plans for a Zoom call this weekend, that had seemed like the perfect opportunity. No hurt feelings at being the last to know, no guilt trips from Maxwell, and no judgement from his sister for eloping. However, Maxwell had apparently found out within 15 minutes of the ceremony.

“I have no idea how he-” Riley started, but stopped abruptly, “Shit. Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“I want to check if Daniel posted our photos to Pictagram.”

“Liu, I don’t have Pictagram.”

“Yes, you do. Maxwell and I set that up for you like a year ago.”

“Yeah… I deleted it as soon as he left town.”

Riley rolled her eyes at him, but closed out her message thread with Maxwell and opened up her Pictagram account. Sure enough @liuthebagelbitch and @dw519 were tagged in numerous photos in Daniel’s account and story. Them signing the paperwork. Sitting on the couch waiting. Holding hands and saying vows. Putting on their rings. Kissing at the end of the ceremony.

“Maxwell must follow Daniel,” Riley said, scrolling through the feed, “Yup, squidwiththemoves has liked every single photo.” She sighed, exiting the app. “And he’s texted me ten more times. We have to call him.”

Drake nodded, but before Riley could even open her contacts list, a Facetime request popped up from Maxwell Beaumont. Letting out one last sigh, Riley swiped to accept the call.

“Hey Maxwell!”

“What the hell? I’ve been working on my speech for your ceremony for years, Riley!”

“Wanna try that again?” Riley asked, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

Maxwell sighed, “I mean, congratulations! I’m so happy you decided to get married without telling me or inviting me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry we didn’t consider you in our wedding,” Drake called out, leaning into the view of the camera and rolling his eyes.

“Drake! How could you do this to me, buddy?”

“Do you really want me to answer that question, buddy?”

Riley elbowed him slightly, probably wanting him to not escalate the situation. Truth be told, Drake was only mildly annoyed at Maxwell making their wedding all about him. The bigger issue was going to be getting Maxwell to keep quiet about it until Sunday. That was basically four full days from now, and Maxwell had barely been able to contain himself back when he found out that he and Riley were involved for half that time. 

“Sorry, Maxwell. But we didn’t want to wait again. Plus, I lost my health insurance, so now I’m able to go on Drake’s.”

“Why didn’t you guys tell me, though?”

“Because we wanted to keep this quiet and not make it everyone else’s business,” Drake grumbled.

“And,” Riley added, shooting him a look before she continued, “we were planning to tell all you guys together on Sunday.”

“I just can’t believe I wasn’t there,” Maxwell said, shaking his head sadly.

“We wish you could have been. We really do. But you understand why that wasn’t an option, right?”

Maxwell nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

“And do you think you could not mention it to anyone before we see everyone on Sunday?”

There was a long pause following Riley’s question before Maxwell responded, “I promise not to tell anyone else.”

“Maxwell… who have you told already?” Drake asked, the word ‘else’ jumping out in his mind.

“Not that many, people I swear!”

“Well, I just got a ‘congratulations’ text with several question marks from Hana,” said Riley, glancing at the notification that had flashed across the top of her screen.

“I had to find out if you had told her and not me!” Maxwell said, gesturing towards the screen emphatically with his free hand.

“And Iris just asked me if what she’s seeing is real,” Riley continued as another notification popped up.

“I wanted to make sure she wasn’t more looped in that I was!”

“And now Savannah’s asking if I really married her brother today.”

“Wait, why is my sister texting you and not me?” Drake asked as Maxwell continued his defense, saying “I mean, we live under the same roof, so of course I asked her what she knew.”

“Maxwell, is there anyone you didn’t tell?” Riley asked, shaking her head.

“Well, Liam didn’t answer my calls, so he probably doesn’t know.”

“You told Iris!”

“Yeah, okay… fair,” Maxwell trailed off, clearly trying to find someone he hadn’t told. “This really isn’t my fault, though! You posted those pictures!”

“Daniel was our witness and photographer. He’s the one who posted them.”

“Well, then blame him. I just acted the way any normal person in my position would have acted.”

“Wanna try that again?” asked Drake, prompting a chuckle from Riley.

“Fine, I just acted in a way that you guys should have totally predicted. In fact, part of me wonders if you wanted me to find out so that I would tell everyone, and you wouldn’t have to deal with the drama of telling them that you got married without them.”

“Maxwell!”

“Fine, I’ll let you go be nauseating newlyweds. Congrats, you two!” With a little wave, Maxwell ended the call.

“Well, I guess people know,” said Riley after a moment. 

Drake let out a sigh, tipping his head back against the top of the seat.

“You aren’t really upset, are you? I mean, I know we decided to tell everyone at once, but it’s not such a big deal that they know, is it?”

“Nah, it’s just annoying that instead of this just being our thing for now, we’re gonna spend our entire wedding night on the phone with people.”

Riley let out a little burst of laughter at that, so Drake twisted his neck to glance at her. “What?” he asked.

“I think you are severely overestimating how many close friends we have. I bet we can finish this up before we even get back to our place.”

“Really.”

“You take Liam and Iris; I’ll take Hana and Catherine. All our New York friends can wait, don’t you think?”

“What about Savannah?”

Riley paused for just a moment, “We can set up a video call with her and your mother tomorrow.”

“But she lives with Maxwell. She knows that-”

“She owes us our wedding day, Drake.”

Drake nodded. As much as he wished that Riley and his sister got along perfectly, he knew that Riley had a good point there. 

“So, I’m gonna call Hana. If you give Liam a call now, it can just be our time when we get home.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice, so as she tapped Hana in her contact list, he unlocked his phone and scrolled to Liam in his recent contacts. The phone only rang twice before Liam answered.

“Yes, Iris. I see. Please let me actually talk to him, love?” Liam asked, his voice muffled and quiet initially before growing much louder. “Drake, I’m glad you called. You are apparently the source of great excitement here tonight.”

“Yeah… I didn’t mean to be-”

“Well, you are, my friend. Between my three missed calls from Maxwell about, and I quote ‘something that I probably wouldn’t consider an emergency, but he sure did’ and Iris bursting into my office with pictures of Riley and you pulled up on her phone, I’ve not been able to get very far in reviewing my nightly briefings.”

“Sorry about that. But, I… er, do have some news.”

“So I am gathering. It appears congratulations are in order,” Liam said. In the background, Drake heard a quieter “Congrats, you two,” that presumably came from Iris.

“Uhh, yeah. We decided to get married.”

“I’m guessing this was Riley’s idea?”

“What makes you say that?”

“She’s just a touch more prone to impulsive action than you.”

“Well, you’re wrong this time.”

“This was you?” The shock was evident in Liam’s voice, and it did bring a smile to Drake’s face. It wasn’t often that Drake was able to surprise him.

“It was.”

“Congratulations, Drake,” Liam replied after a moment, “I’m truly very happy for both of you.”

“Sorry we didn’t-”

“No. I’m happy for you. I’m not accepting any apologies as there is nothing that happened today for which you should feel even remotely sorry.”

“Thanks, Liam.”

“Can I talk to Riley?”

Drake glanced over at Riley, “She’s on the phone with Hana,” but she held up one finger and then held her free hand open, “but I think she’s about to wrap up and wants to talk to you, too.” Riley nodded in agreement.

“Excellent. And I mean it Drake, I know how much this means to both of you. So, truly, I wish you congratulations and nothing but happiness.”

Feeling a lump in his throat, Drake swallowed roughly. But before he could process the words of his oldest and dearest friend, Riley was snatching his phone out of his hand and passing her phone to him.

Hana and Catherine wished him brief, but heartfelt congratulations, but Riley was still on the phone with Liam after he said goodbye to them. He could only really hear her half of the conversation, and she wasn’t saying much, mainly listening to him apparently. Every so often, she would throw in an “of course” or “you know I will,” but other than a few chuckles, she was largely silent. Every so often, he would catch a word or two from Liam, but their conversation was basically a mystery to him.

It was a little strange, to think about how a couple of years ago, having to sit as an outsider while Liam and Riley shared something private would have filled him with a mix of jealousy and guilt and anger. Now, it was certainly a bit odd that his best friend seemed to have more to say to his… his wife than he did to him, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, necessarily. If anything, he was mostly curious, with just a bit of fear about what tales from their youth and adolescence he could be telling her. Those stories would require more explanations than he wanted to give tonight.

Eventually, the cab stopped in front of their building. As Drake paid their fare, Riley wrapped up the call with Liam.

“Thanks, Liam. We’re actually home now… Yeah, I know… You too. Stay safe, and we’ll talk to you guys in a few days.”

“What was that about?” Drake asked as Riley ducked under his arm as he opened the door to their building.

“Oh, he just had a lot of really mushy things to say about you.”

“I’m serious, Liu.”

“I wasn’t kidding. I think he basically gave me his best man speech just now,” she said with a shrug as she unlocked the door from the mailroom and started up the stairs to the second floor, “He just wanted to make sure I knew how lucky I was, I think.”

“Well, that’s fucking dumb. I’m the lucky one here.”

“This has all the markings of going on for a while. Why don’t we just agree that we’re both mad lucky and call it even?” Riley called over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway and pulled her keys out of her purse.

“Wait! I’m supposed to carry you through, right?” Drake remembered as Riley moved to push open the door.

She let out a little chuckle and rolled her eyes, but stood there expectantly, so Drake stepped up and scooped her into his arms, sliding one hand forward to turn the knob and open their door. Anderson came trotting over, eager to see his two humans, while Drake placed Riley down close to the door, not wanting to track their shoes and jackets too far into the apartment.

“He could probably use a walk,” Drake said, “and we should probably shower after spending hours out in public. How about I take him while you get started since washing your hair is always a… process.”

Riley swatted his chest lightly, but nodded in agreement. “You’ll join me when you get back?”

“Absolutely.”

Anderson took care of his business quickly, so it wasn’t too long before Drake was back in their apartment, hanging his sport coat up next to Riley’s jacket and kicking off his shoes. After washing his hands, he made his way into their bathroom, where the shower was running. The steam was already starting to get thick in the room, and eager to get out of his clothes and to join her, Drake quickly moved to drop his shirt on top of the pile of clothing she’d left next to the sink, but a scrap of tan lace caught his eye.

“I knew you were bluffing!” he called out as he fully removed his shirt and started undoing his belt and jeans.

“Huh?” asked Riley, peeking her head out from behind the shower curtain.

“About not wearing underwear. I knew you were full of shit,” Drake said as he stepped out of his pants and boxers, kicking them on top of the pile before climbing into the tub and under the water, sliding his hands into her long, black hair, somehow even darker now that it was wet, as she placed her chin against his chest and her hands on his hips, turning her face up towards his with a playful little smile.

He dropped his head to hers, pulling her into a passionate kiss, trailing his hands through her hair and down to her back. After a few moments, she tilted her head back. “As much as I like where this is headed, we should actually probably shower and not get too distracted,” she teased, trailing her hands around and squeezing his ass with a wink before she ducked past him and started rinsing out her hair. “Besides,” she added, “our track record for shower sex is not great.”

Drake couldn’t help but laugh as he opened up his bottle of shampoo and started lathering up his hair. Something about the floor of this tub was extra slippery, as they had learned the hard way not long after they moved in and then foolishly required repeat lessons about at numerous times. The worst was the time that he’d needed three stitches behind his ear after colliding with the tap as he fell backward, but the time Riley nearly dislocated her shoulder was a close second. “Yeah, a trip to urgent care would be pretty far from ideal at this point,” he said as he dropped a kiss to her forehead.

And so they both showered, trying to keep any touches light and loving, not wanting things to escalate just yet, but the sight of Riley with water trailing all over her naked curves was obviously turning Drake on. Based on the way she dragged her hand across him as she reached for her body wash, she was feeling the same way. By the time she was rinsing off and stepping out of the shower, Drake was scrambling to finish up, wanting to join her as soon as possible.

When he finally turned off the water and stepped out, there she was, wrapped up in her lime green towel, working a comb through her hair. She smiled at him through the mirror, her skin still looking like it was almost glowing from the warmth and water. As he drew up behind her, he slid his hands around her waist and dropped his lips to her shoulder, prompting Riley to shake her head.

“Drake, at least let me finish working out the tangles,” she said before letting out a little sigh as he worked his way over to the side of her neck, biting down ever so lightly when he reached that spot that always drove her wild.

“Who cares?” Drake mumbled into her skin, working his fingers to gather up the towel and moving one hand to her now-exposed thigh, “You aren’t gonna be seeing anyone anyway.”

Riley shuddered, dropping her comb to the counter before snaking her hand behind his neck as he slid his fingers to her center, his touch still light and teasing. “Maybe I want to look good for my husband,” she sighed out, moving her other hand to the knotted portion of the towel across her chest.

Drake groaned. Was her statement supposed to slow him down? Because hearing the word ‘husband’ coming from her lips? Talking about him? Well, fuck. It turned him on even more. Riley had to know what that sentence would do to him, right? So, he increased the pressure of his fingers, stroking her in the way he knew she loved before sliding a finger inside her. The angle wasn’t perfect, but he could feel her arousal and the fact that she practically growled “Fuck” as she clawed her fingernails into his neck seemed to indicate that she was just as ready to keep going as he was.

After a few moments, Drake stilled his motion when Riley grabbed his wrist. She spun, letting the towel fall to the ground and hopped up onto the small counter. She tugged him between her legs, but Drake shook his head.

“Our bed is just a few feet away,” he protested as Riley wrapped her hand around him, causing him to question why he was trying to change anything going on here.

“But it’s nice and warm in here,” she responded, dropping kisses along his jaw, “and I’ve never been good at waiting, Drake. We can be all tender and gentle later. For now, I just want you to fuck your wife.” She punctuated the last words by biting down lightly on his earlobe. Letting out a groan, he brushed her hand away and lined himself up, sinking into her. He hadn’t wanted their first time as a married couple to feel like some frantic quickie, but it had always been nearly impossible for him to deny her anything. So he started rocking his hips into her, reveling in the feel of her around him. The scrape of her nails along his shoulders. Her breath across his cheek.

As he shifted his stance slightly to fill her an angle he knew would be better for her, he caught a glimpse of their reflection in the mirror. There it was, a gold band on his ring finger, resting along her spine. It was almost hard to look away, so he just kept staring at it, soaking in the sight that proved they were married. It mixed with the feel of her hands digging into his skin and her legs hooked around his back, the sound of her breathy sighs and whispered “fucks,” the taste of her skin of her neck, and the smell of her peach body wash, spurring him on and increasing his pleasure.

Sensing that he was heading towards his peak a little quicker than she was, he tore his left hand off her back, sliding it between their bodies. He glanced down to where they were joined, his thumb circling roughly right above that, his ring pressed against the skin of the thigh he clutched. He slammed his eyes shut and dropped his face into the crook of her neck, not needing any additional stimulation. But soon, he felt Riley’s leg clench around him a little more.

“Are you close?” he murmured into her ear.

“Yes,” she moaned out, arching her back slightly. He wasn’t sure if she was specifically answering his question or not, but her response was enough of an answer regardless. Picking up his pace, Drake stroked his thumb harder. He knew he was seconds away from release when he felt her clench around him. He barely was able to recognize her climax before he shattered, spilling into her as he groaned into her skin.

After a few breathless moments, Drake felt his awareness returning. He slid out of her and shifted up, reaching behind her for a washcloth off the rack, dropping a kiss along her cheek as he stood up fully and helped her off the counter.

He wanted to tell how much he loved her. How much he would always love her. How he would always try to prevent her from ever regretting today. But any words he could think of didn’t feel like they were enough to actually describe his feelings, so he settled for gentle caresses and light kisses as they got cleaned up. Before they moved to go to their bedroom to get dressed, Drake grabbed her wrist and tugged her back to him, kissing her deeply.

“I’ll make us something nice for dinner, Liu. Okay?” he said as he pulled back, running his hand through her wet hair.

She nodded and gave him a bright smile before responding, “And I have an idea for dessert.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, “You have an idea in the kitchen?”

Riley just shook her head. “Yes, you ass. And not only will I not mess it up, but I know you’ll like it.”

Dinner was a quiet affair, Riley having thrown on some acoustic cover songs in the background and lighting a couple of candles they had leftover from their Valentine’s dinner while Drake cooked up a couple of steaks, some roasted potatoes, and some sauteed frozen squash. It wasn’t a perfect meal, but he thought he’d done a decent job finding something special for them out of their stock. He’d been surprised when Riley had set their glasses of whiskey on the coffee table instead of their dining table, but he got it once she’d tucked her legs under herself and curled up against his side on the couch. It was cozy and warm and intimate and felt right for the way they’d gotten married.

After they finished eating, Drake started loading the dishwasher and soaking the pans while Riley dug around in the tall cupboard they used as their pantry and then pulled something out of the fridge.

“You better not be baking something,” Drake told her over his shoulder, “Eggs are too hard to find these days to use them in a kitchen adventure of yours,” chuckling lightly as he felt a towel whip between his shoulder blades.

“If you’re done being a smart ass, I’m ready for you.”

Drake shut off the faucet and turned to face her, a smile slipping onto his face as he took in the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars on the counter.

“I know it’s not exactly a wedding cake, but I figured we could do s’mores over the stove,” she said, settling in next to him.

“It’s perfect, Riley,” he said, slipping his hand into hers as he noticed an apple sitting off to the side, “but why the apple?”

“Oh, well I thought we could still do the apple-cutting,” she said with a little shrug, placing her chin against his shoulder, “I mean, I wasn’t sure if someone else needed to be there for this tradition or not, but I just thought it might be nice.”

Drake squeezed her hand, grabbing a knife out of the block and handing it to her. That she had remembered the one Cordonian wedding tradition he’d mentioned incorporating into their reception and thought to do it today was so perfectly her. Not snarky her, when she was annoyed at others or the world or at him. Not playful her, who would tease and laugh and lighten the room. But thoughtful her, who saw forgotten and neglected and broken people and made sure that at least for a moment, they felt seen and heard.

“So, just carve your initials,” Drake instructed, reluctantly dropping her hand so she could pick up the apple.

“Old or new?”

“What?”

“My old initials or my new initials?”

The weight of the day hit him again. Maybe this wasn’t the wedding they’d planned, but it was still their day. Their commitment. Their promise. And that meant more than having Maxwell as the officiant or getting married where his parents did or hearing toasts from Liam or Hana ever could. Watching the woman he’d loved for years, who he knew he’d love for all the years ahead, carve “RW” into that apple was plenty special.

He knew Riley could read him and his mood. She had always been good at that even before they lived together, so it didn’t surprise him that she kept quiet as he carved his own initials into the apple, then cut out a slice for them to share. She had to know he was dangerously close to being overwhelmed, so she didn’t push, just ate her portion of the apple before taking a step to the side and lighting one of the burners. After spearing a couple of marshmallows onto two forks, she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the stove with her. They toasted their marshmallows without saying anything and without letting go. They were ready to face the good and the bad, together and united. The world was changing, but their world felt steady and sure.

Permatag: @ravenpuff02 @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5 @speedyoperarascalparty @mfackenthal @lilyofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @jamesashtonisbae

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC only: @jovialyouthmusic @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @riley--walker @notoriouscs @butindeed @axwalker @drakesensworld  

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices @cosigottahavefaith @thequeenchoices @katedrakeohd @feartheendlesssummer @ao719 @ooo-barff-ooo @sunnyxdazed  

Change of Plans: @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @burnsoslow​

[becasbelt]

Chapters: 9/12 Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: T Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Characters: Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale, Dr. Mitchell (Pitch Perfect), Beca Mitchell's Mother, Aubrey Posen, Jesse Swanson Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, skateboarder!beca, Romance, Angst

* * *

Beca’s knees hit hard concrete as she falls off her board, the sensation of fabric and skin tearing sending pain shooting through her legs. She hears Briggs call out to ask if she’s alright from somewhere near the top of the ramp, but Beca waves him off.

The external pain is welcome; it gives Beca a break from her internal heartache.

She struggles to her feet and bends over to instruct the damage on her knees. Just as she’d suspected, her pants are ripped up and one of her knees is bleeding as a result of her skidding across the ground. Beca winces slightly at the sight of blood, but just straightens up and makes her way up the ramp to where a first aid kit was waiting.

The new hole in her jeans gives Beca convenient access to her wound, so she sets to work cleaning it out. Beca pours some water over her knee, ignoring the slight sting that comes as a result, and digs around in the first aid bag for a Band-Aid. She hears someone plop down on the bench beside her – probably Wyatt based on the now present scent of weed in the air – but chooses not to speak until prompted.

“So, Beca,” her friend says after a moment.

And there it is.

“So, Wyatt,” she replies in kind, her focus on unwrapping her precious Band-Aid from its wrapper.

Wyatt chuckles goofily next to her, and Beca fights off a grin at the familiar sound. “What’s going on with you, dude?” he asks, nudging her shoulder a little bit as he lights up a joint beside her. “You’ve been home for Spring break for, what- five days now? Why haven’t you regaled us with any stories from your time amongst the knowledge seekers?”

Beca rolls her eyes. “Either you’re not high enough to forget how to use big words, or you’re just high enough to start using them.” She glances at him teasingly with a raised eyebrow.

He wiggles his own eyebrows in response. “I’m gonna go with the second one,” he replies cheekily. Beca just laughs and steals his joint for a quick drag of her own before returning her attention to patching up her knee. Wyatt continues smoking quietly beside her.

“School sucks, man,” she says after a moment, choosing to keep her eyes focused on her wound. She smooths the bandage out over her cuts with some level of satisfaction, enjoying the way the injury seems to disappear completely. Out of sight, out of mind. “It’s just as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“I mean, yeah,” is Wyatt’s remarkable response. Beca looks at him to see an indifferent look on his face as he watches other skateboarders goof off around them. “There’s a reason none of us wanted to go to college. It’s a waste of time.”

Uncertainty flashes through Beca’s mind at that, but she ignores it and turns her head away to watch Briggs grinding a rail with mild interest and a slight scowl. “You’re telling me.”

“So have you had any fun at school at least?” Wyatt asks after a small lull in the conversation. “Like, do have anyone you hang out with, or are you doing the whole ‘lone wolf’ thing again?”

The question causes Beca to briefly think back on unwelcomed memories from the last few months- most having to do with a certain redhead that Beca’s been spending the entirety of the break trying to forget. The only problem is, Chloe Beale is not someone that you can just forget.

Try as she might, Beca can still remember the look on Chloe’s face as she walked away from her after semi-finals. The hurt and heartbreak that shown on the other girl’s face as Beca declared they were nothing is there in Beca’s mind every time she closes her eyes, which had also caused serious sleeping problems for Beca. Instead of sleeping, Beca had devoted her time to skating and partying with acquaintances- just like the good ‘ol days.

Though the parties may be a welcomed distraction, Beca has found herself yearning for the quiet afternoons she and Chloe often spent together: walks around campus, doing homework in Beca’s dorm room, lazy Sunday afternoons where Beca would run her hands through ginger locks while Chloe napped.

Beca hated how much Chloe made her not hate being at school.

She also hated how often she checked her phone for notifications. It was automatic at this point; every so often she would turn her screen on to make sure she didn’t have any texts that came through, but each time she looked, she was met with the sight of no new texts.

Beca clicks on her phone now, just to make sure.

Nothing.

Whatever. Didn’t matter.

She snatches the joint from Wyatt’s fingers. “You know me,” she says after inhaling smoke deeply, letting it out in a slow stream with her next exhale. “I’ve never been one to be overly attached to anything.”

“Amen to that, man,” Wyatt agrees, stealing the stick back to finish the rest off. He stamps the bud on the ground with his sneakered toe and pushes himself to his feet. “I’m gonna go show Briggs up on that rail. You wanna come?” he implores, then chuckles. “You could probably show us both up, to be honest.”

Beca forces a small grin on her face. “I think I’m actually going to head home,” she says instead of accepting, getting to her feet as well. “My mom is taking me out to dinner before I leave again.”

“Right on, dude,” is Wyatt’s response. He fist bumps her before riding over to where Briggs is, and Beca waves in departure to both of them before hoping on her board and making her way out of the skate park.

Beca takes the long way home, skating leisurely since she was in no rush. Her mom wasn’t taking her to dinner; in fact, Beca had hardly spoken to the woman since getting home for break. Long work hours on her mom’s end, plus Beca’s attempts at distracting herself have just resulted in not a whole lot of time spent together. Beca didn’t mind, though. She doubted her mom would have anything substantial to say to her anyways.

The sun is just setting in the sky when she arrives home, and Beca uses her key to unlock the empty house’s door. The front entryway is dark, but Beca doesn’t bother turning on any lights yet, opting to just rely on the fading light shining through the windows. Beca automatically heads in the direction of the stairs that lead up to her room, but pauses while passing the front room.

The piano that she has spent so many hours playing sits in its usual place under the window, the setting sun outside casting a faint orange glow on the polished wooden surface. The keys are covered, much in the way they were when Beca left for Barden. Beca studies the instrument for a moment before turning and taking a step away from the front room, but stops after only two steps and turns back around. She squints at the piano.

“And what do you want?” Her voice cuts through the empty air in the house, and Beca takes a few cautious steps towards the instrument.

The piano does not reply.

“Look at me. I must really be crazy, talking to a piano,” she mutters, laughing numbly. She wipes a finger through the dust covering the lid and slowly sinks down to sit on the piano’s bench, resting her elbows on the covered keys and putting her head in her hands. “Why am I such a mess?” she asks dejectedly.

Still, the piano remains silent.

Beca picks up her head and flops her hands down in her lap. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and places it on the bench next to her, turning it on briefly to check for notifications. As usual, no new messages appear on the screen. Beca sighs and glares at the piano as if it was judging her. “You’re not much help at all, you know that?” she tells the instrument.

Again, no answer.

She spends another moment squinting at the piano before letting out a resigned puff of breath. “Fine,” she murmurs under her breath as she lifts the fallboard up to expose the keys. “You win this time.”

When Beca places her hands on the keyboard and begins to play, she feels as though the piano finally responds to her. Beca plays with no real direction, no thoughts going through her mind. Her fingers dance over the notes on their own free will, and Beca finds herself taking comfort in the way the familiar action of playing eases her troubled emotions.

Soon enough it has gotten dark enough outside that Beca can no longer making out the piano very well, seeing as she hadn’t bothered turning on any lights upon arriving home. Beca pulls her hands away from the keys and reaches up to close the fallboard, but hesitates before she can pull it down.

The keys have spent enough time closed off, Beca thinks.

Beca wrinkles her nose at how lame that metaphor is for her life.

The keys remain uncovered as Beca rises from the bench and makes her way up to her room.

* * *

“What’s your favorite song?” Chloe asks, propping herself up on elbow from her place lying on Beca’s bed. Beca herself sits on the floor facing the bed, busy cleaning marks off the grip tape on her board. She looks up at Chloe’s question.

“I would’ve thought that you'd know I don’t listen to all that much music by now,” she replies wryly, focusing her attention back on her board.

Chloe huffs and pushes herself into a sitting position. “So you don’t have any songs you like?” she presses. “Not even from when you were a kid?”

“What’s your favorite song?” Beca retorts, redirecting the question.

“That’s not fair,” Chloe pouts.

Beca raises an eyebrow at her. “Then why’d you ask me the same question?”

Chloe opens her mouth, trying to come up with a response to that, but ends up shutting it again a moment later. Beca holds back a smug grin and looks back down at her board.

“Okay, well the thing is,” Chloe starts again. Beca sighs and sets her skateboard to the side; she’d have to work on it some other time. “It’s not a fair question because I don’t have just one favorite song.”

“Okay, what are you favorite songs, plural, then?” Beca asks, chuckling and shaking her head. She pushes off the floor and flops down on her stomach next to Chloe, who is still sitting upright, now deep in thought.

“Well, there’s Titanium, for obvious reasons,” Chloe starts out, shooting a suggestive wink towards Beca, who immediately flushes and lightly shoves Chloe’s leg with a laugh.

“Gross, dude. What else?”

Chloe begins to think again, and Beca ignores how easy the smile that comes to her face is as she watches the ginger ponder. “I’ve always been a big fan of ‘Here Comes the Sun,’” she eventually decides, nodding her head at the conclusion. “My parents used to call me their little sunshine when I was a kid, so I’ve just always had a soft spot for it.” Chloe starts humming the melody quietly and looks down at Beca with a smile on her face.

Beca listens to Chloe, debating with herself internally. Eventually Beca sighs a little and rolls onto her back. “Somethin’ Stupid,” she says, eyes trained on the ceiling.

Chloe’s humming ceases. “What?” she asks, a crease appearing between her eyebrows.

“It’s a Frank Sinatra song- a duet he sings with his daughter,” Beca explains further. “My dad and I used to sing it together when I was a kid, before he, uh, walked out.” She clears her throat awkwardly and starts picking at her cuticles. “My dad wasn’t the best singer, but he always loved singing with me, which is a good thing since I always wanted someone to sing with. My mom played a little guitar, and she would pull it out on occasion and try to play some chords along with us, even if she usually didn’t do a very good job.” Beca chuckles a little at the memories of her mom and dad playfully teasing each other when one of them would mess up a note or chord. It was the healthy kind of fighting- the kind of fighting that was more for show and flirting purposes than anything

Beca’s thoughts stray to nights spent listening to her parents actually fighting with one another, which dampens Beca’s moment of brief reminiscence instantly. The smile falls from her face while she shrugs as best as she can while laying down and laces her fingers together over her stomach before meeting Chloe’s watchful gaze. “I dunno. I guess the song has always just stuck with me, even through all the rough years.”

A soft smile forms on Chloe’s lips, and the other girl leans over to kiss Beca gently. Beca closes her eyes contently at the action, letting Chloe pull back after a few seconds and resisting the urge to deepen the kiss.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Chloe whispers, face still hovering close above Beca’s. Beca grins a little.

“You’re the one that asked the question,” she replies just as quietly. “Of course I was going to answer.”

Chloe giggles a little before leaning in to kiss her again, and Beca lets herself get lost in the way her heart beats fast and how her lips turn up in a smile with each new kiss.

* * *

The scotch that Beca had stolen from her mom’s liquor cabinet sits next to Beca on the roof, untouched save for a couple sips taken about an hour ago. It was weird, but drinking her feelings away didn’t have quite the same appeal as it did a few months ago. Roof time used to be drinking time for Beca, but she just didn’t feel like numbing her feelings at the moment.

It was so hard going back to feeling sad and numb after being truly happy for the first time in years.

Beca checks her phone.

Nothing.

She sighs and stares at her screen until it automatically fades to black again. Beca rests her crossed arms over the top of her bent knees and rests her chin on them, focusing on the lights of the city in the distance. From here she can just make out the shape of the Space Needle, as well as a few other buildings she sort of recognizes. The noises of cars passing by from nearby is the only thing breaking the silent night air, and Beca lets the familiarity of it all wash over her, soothing her a little.

“Knock knock,” a voice says behind her.

Though Beca is surprised by her mother’s unexpected visit, she doesn’t turn around to greet her. “Hey,” she says with no enthusiasm. Beca hears shuffling as her mom climbs out the window and onto the roof.

Her mom slides her way over to sit beside Beca, and out of the corner of her eye Beca sees her eye Beca’s drink, but doesn’t comment. “How you doing, kid?”

“Fine,” is Beca’s automatic response. She winces slightly at the snappy tone she uses. “Just, you know, tired and stuff.”

“And stuff,” her mom echoes, humming a little. The woman says nothing else for a while, and Beca feels herself become more anxious the longer they sit there together. Beca finally turns her head to look at her mom and sees that her eyes are also focused on the city lights.

“What are you doing here?” Beca finally asks, a little shortly.

Her mom shrugs. “This is my house, isn’t it?” she says, seemingly unbothered by Beca’s tone. “I think I have the right to sit on my own roof.”

Beca huffs. “Yeah, but what are you doing here with me?” she tries again, turning away from her mom again. “You’ve been doing a pretty good job at ignoring me all week, why stop now?”

Her mom sighs sadly. “Listen, Beca, I know I haven’t been the best mother lately.”

Beca rolls her eyes. “That’s an understatement,” she mumbles under her breath.

“And I’m sorry for that,” her mom continues softly. “I’m so sorry that I shut you out after your father left. It wasn’t fair to you in any way, and I’m ashamed that it’s taken me so long to realize that I was even doing it at all.” Her mom’s voice tightens as she talks, and Beca feels a lump form in her own throat in response.

Beca chooses to remain silent.

“I was so focused on my own hurt feelings for so long that I didn’t realize how much I was hurting you. It felt like I was in a mindless daze for three years, and it was only after you went away to school that I was able to snap out of it.” Beca turns her head slowly to see tears on her mother’s face, shocked by the first show of real emotions since right after her dad left. “It didn’t hit me until I was truly alone how terrible I’ve been the past few years,” her mom says, wiping tears off her cheeks. “I- I don’t know if you’ll be able to forgive me, but I’m willing to work to earn your forgiveness in whatever ways I can.”

Beca looks into pleading blue eyes, so much like her own, and feels all the anger and resentment she’s harbored towards her mother melt away. “You don’t have to earn anything,” Beca tells her gently, and Beca can see the surprise on her mom’s face at the words. “Of course I’ll forgive you. It was a rough few years for both of us, and I definitely could’ve handled it better, too. Just,” Beca puts on a faux stern face, “don’t let it happen again.”

A relieved, albeit shaky, chuckle sounds from her mom and Beca smiles at her reassuringly. “Are you too old for hugs from your mom?” she asks, holding out her arms hopefully.

The lump in Beca’s throat tightens even more. “I’ll never be too old for a hug from mom,” she says thickly before leaning into her mother’s embrace. Beca closes her eyes contently as something settles in her chest, making her feel calm.

After a moment of just sitting and holding each other quietly, Beca’s mom pulls back. “So,” she says, brushing a lock of Beca’s hair behind her ear. “How’s college? Is it as bad as you thought it would be?”

And just like that, Beca is spilling out everything that’s happened at Barden like the last three years of miscommunication never happened between them. She tells her about her job at the skate shop, and about how annoying Jesse is. She tells her about joining the Bellas and what competitions are like (though she leaves out the getting arrested part).

Beca spends a lot of time talking about Chloe- about how she convinced her to join the Bellas, about how kind and understanding she is; how she doesn’t seem to mind Beca’s perpetually grumpy mood and constant sarcasm.

About how she feels like Chloe has steadily broken down her walls.

How Chloe makes her want to be a better person.

“And mom, I,” Beca takes a moment to catch her breath, just now realizing how long she’s been talking for. Her mom doesn’t seem to mind; there’s a light in her eyes that Beca hasn’t seen in a long time, one that Beca hopes is here to stay for a while. “I started playing again.”

Her mom’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Piano?”

Beca smiles a little. “Piano, yeah,” she confirms. “Chloe asked if I did anything other than skate one day and I just… showed her. I didn’t even think twice about it.”

“How did it feel? Playing again,” her mom inquires.

“It felt…” Beca trails off for a moment, trying to find the right words. “It felt like I never stopped.”

Her mom smiles. “And based on the way the piano keys were open earlier, you’ve been playing ever since?”

Beca laughs. “I knew I should’ve covered them up again. Is that the only reason you came up here to talk to me?” she teases without mirth.

“No, but I was curious about it,” her mom reveals with a chuckle of her own. She sobers up a moment later. “I’m glad to hear that you’re playing again, though. I know that it’s something you used to really love.”

“I mean, it’s fine, I guess,” Beca says with a shrug, her tone giving away to the fact that she’s only joking.

“And,” her mom says hesitantly, “Based on the way you talk about this Chloe girl, I’m thinking piano isn’t the only thing you love.”

Beca’s mouth opens and closes at that, shocked to say the least. Her phone lights up with a Snapchat notification from Briggs, drawing Beca’s attention to the screen. She swipes the notification away and takes a moment to look at her screensaver. It’s a picture of she and Chloe, taken a couple of days before semi-finals. Chloe holds the phone while kissing Beca on the cheek, Beca’s face wrinkled up in fake discomfort. Chloe had teased Beca about how cute she was when she was grumpy, to which Beca had just rolled her eyes affectionately without complaint.

The memory brings a tender smile to Beca’s face. “Yeah,” she tells her mom, still looking down at her screensaver. “I guess you’re right.”

[madamslayyy]

Log Cabin And A Brewing Fire VIII

Pairing: Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes) x Reader

Warnings: This is a SLOW BURN FIC. I’m going at what I believe is a realistic place via my perception. I know y’all want some steam but this is SLOW BURN. Please checkout my Masterlist for other works if you’re looking for a little raunchiness.

A/N: To everyone I trolled yesterday, April Fools! (Except it’s not April) I’m definitely finishing this series, just had to make y’all sweat a little bit 😂😘 If you haven’t caught up on the previous chapters, check them out here via MY MASTERLIST.

Also I usually put this at the bottom of the Chapter but I don’t think people actually read that so I’m putting it here, if you want to be tagged, THIS POST will tell you how. Please don’t come to my inbox asking or leaving it on the chapters because I always forget to check and I feel so guilty leaving people out when they ask or accidentally ignoring them.

Anyway I’ve rambled long enough, love y’all and hope y’all enjoy this.

~*~

“Training Day again, Mr. Williams?” Nebraska’s students whined.

“It’s either that or run laps.” He grinned.

“It’s too cold to run laps. And it’s snowing outside. Aren’t there like... child labor laws or something?” One of his students asked.

“Could always make you guys run laps inside until 12:00. You all prefer that?” Nebraska grinned at the chorus of “No’s” coming from his class.

“Alright, Training Day it is,” Nebraska put on the film and retreated to his office. Today was the last day of school before Thanksgivings break. It was the Tuesday before the holiday and the students were only required to attend a “Half” day before being dismissed at noon.

You actually had the entire week off for the holiday and were planning on going to see your Aunt and Uncle this week. Nebraska has insisted you go on alone and enjoy your time with your family but you had refused.

“I’ll only go if you’re going. No one should be alone during the holidays.”

In these last couple of weeks Nebraska thought he’d been doing a pretty good job distancing himself from you. The two of you no longer slept in the same bed together, he was careful not to get too close to you when the two of you had to be around each other and even then he kept that to a minimal. The two of you rarely ever saw eachother and he was trying to keep it that way.

You, on the other hand, had a different idea. It seemed like the more he retreated, the more you would seek him out. You were determined not to let things get weird between the two of you. Nebraska wasn’t sure if it was out of pity that you were still being so nice to him after his screw up but he knew it only served to further his guilt.

Nebraska used the hour or so he had left to grade papers and before he knew it, the bell rang at noon and his students began filing out the classroom. He walked out his office to stop the movie and put up the equipment. That was one thing he actually did love about teaching the JROTC students, they were typically pretty well behaved. Nebraska was also sure it was because the other coach, Colonel McNeal, even in his old age, had put the fear of god in these kids.

Nebraska was almost through with his stack of papers he’d been grading and decided to finish it out before leaving so that was one less thing to grade during the break.

“Knock Knock,” Tonya peeped her head in through the door before coming in fully and taking a seat.

“Ah I thought you’d be halfway to St. Mary’s by now,” Nebraska chuckled. St. Mary’s was the elementary school her sons attended.

“Well the boys’ father have them today and tomorrow but Mama gets Thanksgiving,” she grinned, showing all thirty two of her nearly perfect teeth.

“Always good to get a little peace and quiet before the holidays,” Nebraska nodded.

“Amen to that. Which actually brings me to my next point. I know you’re new in town and single and I would hate for a nice guy such as yourself to be alone for Thanksgiving. What do you say to coming to my house for Thanksgiving? You could even stop by the night before, help me do a little Pre-dinner Turkey stuffing,” Tonya offered cheekily and Nebraska knew exactly where she was going with this. Again.

“Thanks for the... um... generous offer T, but I won’t be alone for the holidays, I have Y/N,” Nebraska said trying to let her down as gently as possible.

“Y/N? I didn’t know you two were so.... close,” Tonya said, her smile faltering.

“Yeah we’re driving down to see her Uncle. He was... actually still is... my Lieutenant. Anyway we’re just gonna stay with them for the holiday,” Nebraska smiled but the atmosphere was awkward. It was awkward every time he had to reject her but she was persistent to say the least.

“I see. Well I’ll get out of your hair. Gotta get going to the store before all of the good Turkeys are gone,” she laughed dryly before exiting his office.

“Enjoy your break, T,” he called as she made her hasty getaway.

~*~

Nebraska awoke with a start. He glanced over from his position in the passengers seat to see you, your eyes in deep concentration of the road ahead. He yawned and your face relaxed a bit from its focused contortion as you were made aware of his wakefulness.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” you chuckled. Nebraska glanced at the clock in the car and it read 12:34.

“That late huh?” He said sitting up.

“Yeah but the plus side is we’ll be there in half an hour.”

“I was out for that long? Sheesh,” Nebraska scoffed.

“Well you had been at work all day. I was snoozing the whole time.” You said in that melodic voice of yours. How were you this chipper even in the dead of night?

~*~

The two of you continued on the road until finally making it to your Uncle and Aunt’s home. It was well after 1 a.m. so you and Nebraska did your best to sneak in quietly. You were grateful they still kept a spare key in a potted plant just in case someone ever got locked out.

You and Nebraska creeped upstairs and made it to your room, it seemed, without being detected.

“Sheesh, I’m exhausted,” you said stretching out on your bed. Nebraska came in afterwards, carrying your luggage and his because he was still ever the gentleman.

“There’s a-“ Nebraska’s sentence was cut off by your bedroom door swinging open to reveal your Uncle carrying a steel baseball bat, eyes alert.

“Uncle RayRay!!!” You squealed jumping up to hug the man.

“Do you all have any idea what time it is? We weren’t expecting you to get here until Wednesday,” he croaked. He had clearly just woken up.

“It is Wednesday. And we wanted to get ahead of the traffic,” you pointed out.

“Well you nearly gave Mabel a heart attack. Williams, good to see you, boy. Let me show you to your room,” He said indicating for Nebraska to follow him.

“You as well, sir” Nebraska said, following your Uncle, his luggage in hand.

You had never really thought about it but you’d always just assumed Nebraska would stay in the same room as you, just like at home. Then it dawned on you, your Uncle had no idea how bad Nebraska’s sleeping patterns were. You thought maybe you should mention it but there was no way he’d willingly allow you and Nebraska in the same bed without a marriage certificate between you two. He was old fashioned that way.

So you reluctantly just resigned to your bed alone, the exhaustion from driving sending you immediately into slumber before you even had a chance to unpack.

~*~

The next morning you came downstairs to none other than your Aunt’s amazing home cooked breakfast. She was hovering over the stove still making Breakfast while Nebraska and your Uncle were seated at the table, already eating.

“So nobody was gonna wake me up?” You yawned, taking your seat next to Nebraska.

“Figured you’d be out til dinner the way you sleep,” your Aunt said putting down your breakfast in front of you. French toast, sunny side up eggs and her special fried hash browns. Your mouth began to salivate just looking at it.

“Thank you MaeMae,” you said, digging in. Breakfast carried on peacibly but you kept glancing over at Nebraska. He seemed tired, and quiet. Well he was always quiet but a little more than usual. Maybe he was a little uncomfortable here. The last time he saw his General, he had put a bullet through his brain. He never told you the reason why because you two never talked about it but you’d bet Raynard knew. And that’s probably what made it so awkward.

“Alright now Y/N I got a list here for you of things I need done today. I need you to run by the store and pick up some...” Your Aunt Mabel began naming off the various ingredients she still needed for Thanksgiving tomorrow and the other chores she’d assigned you for today. Even though you were an adult, she still believed in putting you to work.

“There. That shouldn’t be too tough,” she said finishing the list of tasks and handing it to you, “Maybe you could take that quiet fella with you, he’s pretty big, he can help you carry some of that stuff.”

“Oh Nebraska probably doesn’t wanna be bothered running errands with me,” you said shrugging off the notion.

“Sure I do,” Nebraska was on the other side of the kitchen leaning against the counter. Both you and your Aunt jumped in surprise, neither of you having heard him even enter the room.

“Good lord boy, anybody ever told you about sneaking up on an old woman! About to give me a heart attack,” Mae said clutching her chest.

~*~

“Why do we need so many flowers, again?” Nebraska asked as he watched the florist load bundle after bundle of fresh cut flowers into your car.

“Mae takes any holiday when family comes over serious. One time she ordered over 20 preplanted trees for Arbor Day. Ended up giving them away as party favors as everyone left.” You said smiling at the memory.

“So it’ll be pretty packed tomorrow, huh?” Tre said watching the florist load the last bundle into the car.

“You have no idea.”

~*~

You couldn’t sleep. You’d tried everything from drinking tea to counting sheep but your body just couldn’t seem to fall into restful bliss without a certain burly figure wrapped around you.

You’d thought about going to see what he was doing, if he was still up but you refrained, not wanting to bother him.

He’d been... weird about things since the camping trip, even tried sleeping in his own bed again but you’d eventually broke him down by acting as if nothing had changed. That was a lie though, everything had changed. Where you merely acknowledged his attractiveness before, you now ached at the sight of him. The mere thought of his lips, so soft and inviting, was enough to send you into a frenzy. When his hand was on your stomach you could practically feel the strength beneath his fingers. You often thought of his strength and stamina. Fantasized about it actually. Fantasized about him getting rough with you, throwing you around before returning to his default sweet nature, making up for it in every possible way.

You were interrupted mid-daydream (or night dream since it was a little past 11p.m.) by a round of small knocks at the door followed by Nebraska peeking his head in.

“You still up?” He asked. You nodded and he came all the way in, closing the door behind him and leaning against it.

“Mind if I join you?” He asked and you felt that familiar shimmer in your stomach as your insides intertwined.

“Of course,” you said a bit breathlessly. He crawled in next you and it was actually a bit... awkward.

“I missed you,” you quipped, interrupting the silence. A goofy grin instantly broke out across Nebraska’s face, which he tried to hide via scratching the back of his head and looking away.

“I, uh, gotta admit I feel the same,” now it was your turn to be bashful.

“Why are we acting like we never see each? Like we didn’t just spend the last two whole days together?” You giggled and Nebraska smirked.

“I guess this is..... different, you know.... more... physical....” he was staring at your lips and you unconsciously bit your lip in response. That seemed to break his trance and he glanced up, a look of guilt marring his perfect features.

“I should probably-,” he said shifting away from you to stand up.

“Nebraska please, don’t...go,” your arm was now wrapped around his chest in an attempt to keep him from leaving. He was so warm, the curls of his chest hair tickling your fingers. His muscles were tense, you could feel them flex beneath you.

“I need you...” you whispered and that’s when the dam broke between the two of you. Nebraska pivoted in your arms, crashing his lips to your own. This wasn’t the same kind of kiss as in the woods. This was something completely different; something hungry and desperate. You could feel him still holding back so you decided to go all in, returning the smooch tenfold, both hands leaving their position at his torso to cup his face.

“Y/N...” he moaned, you felt like you might pass out. His hands latched themselves to your hips, pulling you into his lap. Your hands shifted from his jaw to his shoulders in order to steady yourself, pulling him even closer, meeting his eagerness with your own.

“Take thi- shit,” he moaned as you perched your full weight onto his lap, his already awakened member there to greet you.

“Too much? Am I too heavy?” You asked, beginning to rise from his lap only to have him pull you back down.

“No, you’re perfect babygirl. More than perfect,” he began kissing down your neck, his teeth grazing against the base of your neck hard enough to bruise.

You were melting beneath his touch. He was so quiet and reserved in his daily life so to be succumbed to his passion in such a raw and unfiltered way made your head swim. You never thought a man of his beauty, candor, and strength would look twice at someone like you yet here he was, your touch alone powerful enough to leave him a moaning, whimpering figure of lust beneath you. It gave you a surge of confidence you’d never quite experienced in the bedroom before.

“Take this off,” Nebraska said tugging at your night shirt. That’s when you remembered you weren’t wearing a bra. Meaning you’d be completely exposed to him, pooch, rolls and all.

“Hey, it’s just us here, okay?” He said pecking your lips when he sensed your hesitation.

“O-okay. Can you get the light?” You nodded towards the lamp on you side desk next to your bed.

“As long as I’ve been dreaming about this moment? No way, I gotta see you,” Nebraska said biting his lips, his eyes gazing over you with pure karnal lust. Your stomach fluttered.

You took your shirt off and he was immediately in awe. He gently took one soft mound in his hand, plopping your already hardened nipple into his mouth. Your nails dug into his shoulders as his tongue swirled around the sensitive flesh. Nebraska smirked at your obvious arousal, the vision of his pristine white teeth against your brown areola was almost a work of art.

When he began to go for the other nipple you pushed him back gently, crawling off his lap but he swiftly pulled you back on.

“Where are you going?

“Shhh... just relax,” you said and he finally let you go, allowing you to maneuver yourself between his legs, pulling his boxers down. His swollen member sprang free of the fabric and for a second you thought you might be hallucinating. He was certainly bigger than any man you’d ever been with, and his girth definitely looked more delectable, the pigment from his shaft to his head all one even color that matched the ebony complexion of his skin.

“You were hiding... all this... this whole time?” Your eyes were fixated on his throbbing length.

“Didn’t think you would care either way,” Nebraska said in a breathy voice. You gazed into his brown eyes in utter disbelief before returning to the task at hand.

You kissed your way up his thighs slowly to tease him, dragging your nails lightly along the sensitive area. His dick jumped in excitement.

He was already leaking precum, the head glistening with his essence. You gripped his base and feathered kisses up his shaft, teasing his head with your tongue. The second you took his tip fully into your mouth, he shuddered, gripping the bedsheets for dear life.

“Relax, Braska, let me take care of you,” you said in what you hoped was a ‘sultry’ voice. It had been a while since you’d gave a man head and you were racking your brain, trying to make sure there wasn’t anything you forgot with the inexperience of time.

You slurped him from base to tip, taking your time to get it extremely wet so your hand could pump him easily. You made sure to spit on it just for extra measure and you swore you saw Nebraska’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

You took him into your mouth and immediately hollowed your cheeks, sucking his over sensitive tip while pumping his base. You alternated between this motions and deep throating him as far as you could take him, making quite the show of gagging on his incredible length. You traveled down further, making sure to not to forget his scrotum, sucking one half and then the other while your hands handled the main attraction.

Where Nebraska was tembling before, he was a blubbering mess now, moaning your name along with a string of curse words as he chased his own pleasure. He took one hand and brought it to the back of your head, guiding you back to his swollen tip. You knew he couldn’t keep his orgasm at bay for much longer so you switched into full concentration mode, paying close attention to what would get him over that edge. His hand on the back of your head was gripping you so tight, you thought he might snatch your headscarf off.

“Shit, Y/N, don’t stop. Please, baby, right there, right there,” he begged and you made sure to adhere to him. Right as he was about to explode in your mouth, he grabbed himself and took it out, opting instead to nut on your face. You graciously accepted his release , the warm essence coating your face. You couldn’t help but giggle as he smeared some of it across your lips with his head, tapping the semi-firm member against them.

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” Nebraska asked out of breath. You shrugged as you got up to go wash your face.

You’d were in the middle of wiping off his ‘gift’ when he followed right after you, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind and nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck.

“Nebraska, I gotta wash my face and brush my teeth,” you cooed, grabbing a clean face towel and your night routine face wash. Nebraska turned your head to the side, capturing your lips in one of the slowest, sloppiest kisses you’d ever experienced, emphasizing his tongues presence in your mouth as a ‘Thank You’. When Nebraska finally let your lips go he continued clinging to you, only unwrapping himself once so that he could clean off his own member.

Once the two of you were clean, you took to bed. Nebraska, in a position much similar to earlier, engulfed you in himself, peppering you with kisses until he fell asleep. You fell asleep soon after, still not a hundred percent sure if what had just transpired was real or a dream.

~*~

You woke up noticeably cold. And alone. You glanced over to the other side of the bed to find it empty. That wouldn’t be that unusual any other morning but then the events of last night came flooding back to you. You couldn’t believe how brazen you’d been with him last night and the embarrassment immediately came crushing in.

Also why wasn’t he here? There wasn’t a single sign he’d ever been here. Even back home it was unusual for Nebraska to just silently wake up and creep out like a thief in the night. He probably came to his senses about you last night, which is why he’d ran for the hills.

What more could he possibly want anyway? You’ve already sucked him off. He doesn’t need to entertain you anymore. He got what he came for.

You tried to shake the negative thoughts from your head as you hopped in the shower but they were incessant.

What if he was in a relationship with Tonya. You were so desperate for him last night, you hadn’t even thought to ask. What if you made him a cheater because you couldn’t control yourself around him and just had to jump at the chance to show him you could be a slut. What would he want with one of those anyway when he has a woman like Tonya waiting for him back home.

As you walked down stairs you saw Nebraska moving tables with your Aunt supervising. You couldn’t bare to make eye contact with either of them. It didn’t matter because Mabel heard you anyway

“Y/N! About time you woke up girl, I need you to run down to Annie Sinclair’s- you remember Miss Sinclair don’t you? I need you to runs down to her place and pick up the four Pecan Pies she was supposed to have delivered yesterday,” Mabel said scribbling down the address. You nodded and grabbed your keys, leaving without a word. You didn’t notice Nebraska’s intense eyes longingly look after you as you left.

~*~

By the time you returned back home with your Aunt’s pies, there were cars filling up the driveway and parked on the street out front.

You carried them in but the kitchen was full of different dishes, along with her cooking and you had no where to put them. You sat them down on the dining table and hoped that would suffice for now.

You wandered around looking for her, speaking to various extended family members. Almost everyone here was from her side of the family but they didn’t treat you any different.

“So how’s that museum going baby? What is it you do there again?” You great Aunt Lettie asked.

“Well actually I-“

“Y/N! Girl I been looking for you everywhere! Come on in here and help ya Auntie in the kitchen,” Mabel said thundering down the stairs. You said your condolences to Lettie then followed your Aunt into the kitchen.

You looked around as she began stirring something in a pot, “So what exactly was it that you needed help with?”

“Oh child, nothing. I just know how Lettie gets and she’ll talk your head off all day if you let her,” she chuckled, throwing on her Apron. You sighed in relief, sinking down in a chair for the first time in what felt like hours.

“Tired?” Mabel quipped.

“You have no idea,” you rubbed the side of your temples trying to alleviate a potential headache in its tracks.

“Maybe you wouldn’t be if you actually slept at night,” you felt your heart drop as your eyes flew open.

“Save it. I went to fetch that boy this morning so he could move some furniture around for me. Imagine my surprise to see not only his room empty but that he’d some how stumbled into yours. Better be glad it was me who drug him out of there and not your uncle.” She turned her attention away from stirring the pot to... well... stir the pot.

“There’s nothing going on between us... we just sleep next to each other. But we’re not... like that,” you averted your eyes. Wait, did she say she drug him out of your room this morning?

“Sell that tale to some other simpleton, I’ve seen the way you been eyeing that man. And more importantly, how he looks at you. That’s love, honey, clear as day,” Was it that obvious that your heart ached for him every time you were in a five feet radius of the man?

“I... I.... I didn’t mean for this to happen...”

“For what to happen? To fall for him harder than a piano with a paper parachute?” She didn’t need an answer, your face said it all. “Look, I don’t know exactly what you two got going on rattling around in those big, pretty heads of yours but what I do know is if there were ever two people who needed a little love, deserved a little love in their life, I’m looking at them.”

You felt like you could cry. You’d been so in denial about everything you felt for this man for so long that now faced with your own feelings, they almost threatened to overpower you.

“I- if he doesn’t feel the same, if this is one sided- I- I’ve never really felt this way about anyone before. If he rejects me, it’ll tear me apart. I can’t risk the heartache,”

“Child the world is full of heartache the same way it’s full of rejection. That’s just the nature of life. But one things for sure, nothing will ever come of the two of you skirting around each other like a pair of mice. You need to clear things up even if it doesn’t go according to your plan, which knowing you, you probably don’t even have one. Go talk to the man.” And that was that on her lecture. She turned around and resumed stirring whatever she was cooking on the stoveto, only glancing over her shoulder when she noticed you hadn’t moved.

“I meant now.”

~*~

“And that’s when I told him, ‘look, I don’t care if the god damn Marshal himself rides up on a golden chariot and declares the sanction with feathers flying straight out his ass, I’m not moving my platoon for nobody!’” The table Nebraska was currently sitting at burst into laughter and he cracked a smile to be polite but he didn’t have the slightest clue what the conversation was about. Didn’t really care to be honest. His mind was on one thing and one thing only, that thing of course being you.

It all still felt like a dream to him, he’d almost believe it was if he hadn’t woke up in your bed. Correction, somebody woke him up and it wasn’t you. One look at your Aunt’s face and he knew the jig was up.

“Come help me move some tables, big fella,” she said closing your door behind her. He pulled on his sweatpants which had still been discarded on the floor and followed behind her. He stopped quickly in his own room to grab a shirt. Thank god you’d had the mind to cover up after last night’s escapade. That would only make the situation look worse.

Nebraska was sure he was in for a lecture but the older woman continued on as if she’d seen nothing out of the ordinary, giving out various orders to get ready for the day. Preparation that was much needed by the way. In only a matter of hours the house was filled to the brim with more people than Nebraska could have possibly anticipated. But that was hardly a problem because that gave him ample opportunity to avoid you.

He didn’t know what was going through his mind last night but he had embarrassed himself beyond belief. Looking back, he wished he’d done so many things differently. He wished he had been man enough not to ejaculate so early. He wished he had took care of your pleasure first before obtaining his own. He wished he had thrown all the foreplay out the window and been inside you. When you came downstairs this morning and wouldn’t even look at him, he knew you regretted it. Of course you’d expected more out of him. He had expected more out of himself, but he promised himself if he ever got the opportunity for such intimacies with you again, he’d ravish you the way you deserved.

And oh did you deserve it and then some. The way your mouth had worked Nebraska last night, he could have died a happy man right then, right there. You sucked him off in a way he’d never been before, leaving him completely putty on your well-versed hands. You obviously must have had quite the experience in this area because you knew exactly what to do at every turn, getting him to his release faster than he could himself. Just the thought alone made him crave you, want to seek you out. It had been easier for him to deny his sexual urges for you when he had no point of reference but last night had only served to intensify his need to bed you. A need he’d probably never satisfy after his embrassing performance last night.

Nebraska realized he was completely lost to the conversation with the oldhead army men around him, friends of the Lieutenant no doubt, so he respectfully excused himself then went to head upstairs. He needed a moment to himself to collect his thoughts and stop obsessing over you. But it looked as if luck wasn’t on his side today.

As he began his ascension up the stairs you were coming down and suddenly, your eyes locked. You looked just as beautiful as ever, your mauve skirt and Jean button down accentuating your tempting chubby figure. His mind immediately went to the feel of your curves molding against his own physique, the memory of your delicious weight on his lap igniting a fire in him. He really needed to calm down.

“Hey...” you said in a voice he almost couldn’t hear.

“Hey,”

“Can, um, can we talk?” You asked tugging at the bottom of your skirt.

“Course,” Shit, Nebraska knew where this was going.

“Okay, um..... in here,” she tugged his arm and pulled him into the nearest bathroom, locking the door behind her.

“We need to talk about last night,” Nebraska’s blood went cold.

“I’m listening...”

“I didn’t mean to- That wasn’t my intention to- if you- I wasn’t trying to-“

“Save it, Y/N. Just forget it ever happened.” Nebraska couldn’t listen to this. He couldn’t hear how much you regret being with him. What easily was a night of utter perfection for him was nothing more than an impulsive mistake for you and that realization hurt too much to hear verbalized.

“Nebraska please just... let me talk. Even if you don’t care about what I have to say, at least let me say it. Please...,” your voice cracked and he could hear the tears you were fighting back in your voice. He thought about storming out to save himself from having to watch this breakdown but he knew him leaving would only cause you to burst into tears and he just couldn’t do that to you. So Nebraska resigned to leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, indicating to you that you had his full attention.

“Ok look. I- I don’t know the full nature of you and Tonya’s relationship but I’m not an idiot. I knew something was going on with you two but I still went after you anyway and I just want to apologize profusely for impeding on your relationship with her,” you took a breath, “but I feel I owe it to you, and to myself, to be honest about my... feelings the last few months. I- I’m not the most experienced with men. I often read into things way too much. I’m anxious to a fault. But either way, I somehow deluded myself into seeing your kindness and gentleman-like ways for something they weren’t. I- I began developing feeling for you when I shouldn’t have. And for that I apologize.... again.” You took another breath, swallowing this time.

“You’re a great guy. One of the best men I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Last night... I don’t know what came over me. I’m usually not so aggressive, especially sexually, and I’m sorry for coming at you like some sort of deranged animal in heat. It wasn’t right and I promise you it’ll never happen again. I know all hope for the two of us being as close as we were is out the window. And I don’t blame you for that, by the way. It’s my fault and I take full responsibility. I just hope, that maybe, in time you’ll be able to forgive me and I can move on from feeling like this. I promise you I’ll get over it, I just need a little time but until then I was hoping we could at least remain friends. I know that’s a lot to ask but I don’t really think I could handle if things continued like this with you ignoring me completely. I know I’m probably being overly sensitive right now but it just... hurts....” you trailed off. Nebraska hadn’t said a word, his body frozen in that spot while his mind raced to process everything you’d just told him.

“Are you finished?” His voice was low, rugged.

“.... yeah, I guess I am,” he could hear the disappointment.

Nebraska walked up to you, cupping your jaw with hand as he captured your lips in his own. You eyes bulged out of your head in shock and for a second he though you were going to push him away.

“N-n-Nebraska I-“

“Shhhh. You got your chance to speak, now it’s my turn,” he returned to your lips, deepening the kiss. You moaned into his mouth as he lifted you onto the bathroom counter. His hands traveled under your skirt, gripping your thighs, undoubtedly his new favorite part of you. You let out a squeak of surprise when he suddenly pulled you flush against him.

“I’ve been agonizing over you since I met you. You think any man could be in proximity to all of this-“ he smacked your ass “and not want to break you in half? If you’re delusional then I’m in this fantasy right with you because I’ve been enamored with you for months. But you just seemed so disinterested I.... I couldn’t... I didn’t know...”

“Hey, it’s alright.” You cooed, cupping his face. He rest his forehead against your own, grateful for the intimacy.

“I just need you to know this isn’t one sided. You have nothing to apologize to me for, not now, not ever.” Nebraska wished he could say more. Wished he could articulate more coherently exactly how deep his feelings went for you. Wished he could express how you made him feel like he wasn’t such a monster, like he was worthy of his own personhood, even if he doubted it himself most times.

Nebraska opened his eyes to see you staring at his lips, the wanton look in your eyes making his cock throb. Yes he wanted to proclaim his undying love and affection for you but he also wanted to fuck you so good your pussy would need crutches the next day.

“C’mere,” he growled lowly and you almost bounced off the counter wrapping your arms around his neck to kiss him. He could appreciate his position of standing between your thighs however he knew realistically he couldn’t fuck you right here in the bathroom. Not with the house damn near filled to capacity. No, he’d have to show a little more restraint for your sake and his own.

“And, Y/N, about last night...,” Nebraska said breaking the kiss. You hummed in reply as you began trailing kisses down his neck.

“How did you expect to give head like that and not have a man fall in love with you?”

~*~

A/N: What y’all think? Told y’all I was gonna give y’all some action if you stuck with me 😘😘 I hope y’all liked this chapter because I actually worked harder on this one than any other chapter so far. As always please let me know what y’all think, it really helps me get ideas for the next chapter. 💕💕🥰

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[way-too-obsessed-gamer]

This is gonna be a long post, and since tumblr sucks and won't let me put a read more, you have my condolences

Ah yes, this is a long time coming. Not a long time coming in the sense that I will murder the person who murdered my past life's fiancee, no, we're not talking about Fallout today. Today, friends, family, and assorted acquaintances, we're talking about the Random Encounters Phoenix Wright the Musical... musical.

Now why, you may be asking, am I doing this? Why in the world am I writing such a long, unneeded essay on a musical that's like, 5 years old? Well, dear reader, that's a simple question, with a simple answer. And that is that I really just want the person who played Edgeworth to be recognized. What a sweetheart. Superb singing, and the bloopers are great. That's it. That's why. I really want people to watch it after they read this, with flaws in mind, and just enjoy the talents that went into it. So, let us begin.

So if you aren't super fans of Random Encounters (RE for short), they make musicals for games. Very good ones in fact. I really enjoyed "Finding Mister Midnight" And all of the undertale ones. And Phoenix Wright, obviously. I haven't watched their recent stuff (I don't really watch the musicals of games I don't already know or like, aside from Phoenix Wright (yes the musical got me into Phoenix Wright)) but I just might see what they've done because I always enjoy the bloopers and such.

Now

Phoenix Wright the Musical (no relation to Turnabout Musical)

What a superb, fantastic, blessing that is absolute garbage (in the nicest way possible). Like literally, let's dive into this

Flaws

Larry is the victim. God I wish he would die, but he won't. Cry about spoilers all you want, this musical is 30 mins, Larry isn't actually dead.

"My Best friend of several years is dead? Welp... That sucks"

Edgeworth openly admits he's "an amenable prosecutor", which he would never give Phoenix the satisfaction of knowing if it were true. I get that that's KiNdA how miles is, but he's still a stubborn bastard at the bench

Maya in the games does have quips and jokes, but honestly the judge would have threatened contempt of court if she kept talking like she did in the musical

Gumshoe isn't a very aggressively nice and loud person in the musical, it's more like a younger version of him I suppose

I can't tell what ages they are supposed to be. Say it's after Dual Destinies, the last game that came out before this musical, Phoenix just got his badge back and has a daughter... Except no because his suit is more the one before Apollo Justice and they never mention trucy. Aight, Trials and Tribulations era. But wait, didn't Edgeworth already say in that game "this is my first and last trial as a defense attorney "? No way he'd do it again so close. Plus, you know, other things (such as time and place) that will make this point too long.

Speaking of Defense attorney Edgeworth, they really just... Let that slide didn't they... Game Miles did all that work just for it to turn out that he didn't even need to.

Larry is alive

"When the night guards found the body," They apparently didn't bother to check if it was a real person oh, I dunno a blue freaking badger-

Who... Let "Doctor Hotti" Look at the body for the autopsy. It's funny but... How did this happen. Franziska shoulda whipped him

I understand that this musical is suppose to be welcoming to newcomers. But... "Everybody got trauma" Is something people should know! Don't mention DL-6, or Gant, Manfred, Morgan, Kristoph, Yanni Yogi. That's not what I mean... Just... Man, Edgeworth is a mess! Phoenix is a mess! Let them be a mess!

Maya was allowed to assist in the investigation, when she's the suspect... Ok?

And many more...

Now you're waiting for me to defend it and tell you it's strengths. But unfortunately... That is exactly what I'm gonna do!

Strengths

Every actor is a great singer. A special shoutout to Edgeworth and Franziska's actors 👏🏻👏🏻

The story was easy to follow and engaging enough to make me watch an entire play through of all the games (specifically I watched Nicob)

Almost every actor was perfect for their role and really sold it, may I once again point out miles and franziska, as well as Payne this time? Everyone did a lovely job

The twist was something that had never been done in aa to my knowledge. Though it might have been funny if Rise from the Ashes ended like that instead.

I criticized Miles being a defense attorney for an hour but I enjoyed miles and Maya interacting. Like yes miles, protect your basically daughter.

I can pinpoint the exact moment I became a narumistu shipper to the end of the musical, where Edgeworth and Phoenix were discussing the case, and Edgeworth said "Wright, a defense attorney does not sleep in his office". This line isn't romantic, but I remember 13 year old me whispering "what a good boyfriend"

Larry is likeable. You think I'm joking? I had high Expectations for Larry after watching this musical. Game 1 delivered, the rest did not. He is actually a good character in this musical.

I rewatched this musical for this post, but I didn't even need to, I could quote this musical like the back of my hand. It doesn't help that the lines are so quotable. "better the devil you know, Wright" And "it's half past shut your face and leave me alone! ...Pacific daylight time" Are personal favourites.

Grape juice

They had gumshoe. I miss you gumshoe. Come back to the newer games

The music is a blessing. "Wright is Wrong" And "The Loser Song" Are personal favourites, but I could jam to any of them (even oldbags sleazy jazz number)

And many more!

Look, it's not perfect. It's not anywhere close, especially if you are a fan of ace attorney. But it's a darn good watch if you have half an hour to kill, or just wanna hear some damn good singing.

Also, listen, John I think your name is? Person who played Edgeworth. Honestly pls sing more man, or audition for an Edgeworth part of a dub, pls man I'm begging you you're amazing.

[chanjisung]

friends to lovers ➼ woojin

» ❝ say it again. ❞

chan • woojin • minho • changbin • hyunjin • jisung • felix • seungmin • jeongin

i havent even started yet but im alr soft ; ~ ;

hnnnNNg okay

this cute bear right here

is the sweetest person eveR

will literally do anything to keep a smile on your face

sad bc of a test? d’aaaw dw 

woojin gives the beST hugs

ow my heart is soft

anyway

as everyone knows

he likes you

lmao legit everybody knows

your friend, your schoolmates, your parents, your teachers, the floor, the lockers, the ceiling, everyO N E

except for you

im so predictable and cliche bye

and he’s fine w it bc?? duh??

but if you would ever know

its cool as long as it doesn’t scare you away

plus he isnt really trying to hide it in the first place

you’re just THAT dense

kinda

ish

anyWaY

you both have a platonic relationship

yes

thinking abt woojins cuddles makes my uwuS

hugging here hugging there

kisses you on your temple too!!

“you did well today. now buy me ice cream since you’re so aMaZiNg”

and did i mention the your mom loves woojin

so much

more than you

bc i can imagine my mom loving him more than me smh

and your mom also knows that he likes you?

but thats not a shocker bc ur mom seems to know everything smH

yeah so

one guy likes you

i mean another guy

and in your opinion...

he’s a creep

but like,,just bc he keeps on asking too many questions

he’s actually a good guy but he just cant understand the meaNing of personal space

like legit he’ll text you every timE

“yo, where are you”

or like

“whatchu doin, wanna play a q&a game”

over text

wtf

ur all like, “dude, u aint my bro more less my boyfriend so can you kindly fuck off???”

but u dont actually say it bc ur too kind

bless Your Soul amen

and so one day 

you were walking out of class to meet woojin so you can both walk home already,

the creepy dude suddenly appears at your side

“hm, so y/n, any plans after school?”

out of instinct bc ur oh so honest you said “no not really”

you face palmed mentally bc wow self uR sO quiCk wiTteD

in short you regretted saying no

bc he said “cool! let’s go out for some boba then”

then he proceeded to drag you out by your hand 

and you’re like wtf

dude i did not approve of this proposition yet

so when you reached the lockers where woojin was supposed to meet you

hE wAsNt tHeRe

you mentally cursed him

he was your only chancE

oh woojin has failed you, his beloved best friend

“y/n did you know that this boba place is the beSt-”

you zoned him out bc you didnt really care what he said

all you ever wanted was to go home and play video games with woojin

or just listen to him sing

or just hug him to death

and this creep drags you into this

:((((

you sighed

oh well, atleast you’re getting free boba

you can see that you both were nearing the place

and as you were accepting your fate

someone suddenly grabs your other arm

“y/n! i’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

you turned and see kim freaking woojin there with a smiLe on his cute fes alsjdhn

“woojin!” you legit screamed bc finally! your hero!

the creep gaped at you and woojin

lmfao whatta sight

“umm? we’re on a date excuse me?”

you wanted to laugh and slap him at the same time

bC dUdE wTf A dAtE?

woojinnie here, bless him, flung an arm around your shoulders

he’s still smiling uwu

you’re melting but shh he doesnt need to know

but you could feel him getting agitated

“date? oh, babe i didn’t know you had a study date with him!”

your eyeballs almost popped off your sockets bc 

babe????!!??!

woah woah woah calm down kim woojin calm down

atleast you hope he’s calm bc you’re most certainly not

“o-oh? yeah study date bc his mind can’t process the fact that i have a boyfriend”

there 

you finally said it

and i felT greAt

the creep’s face was red hah!

but as much as you felt great

yo hort was not calm

you looked at woojin but he seemed

~calm~

eeeeEeEEnnnNgG

he wasn’t calm his heart was ready to be free

but yes going back 

the creep’s face is reD

“pfft, fine. your loss, not mine”

then he walked away

yAy bye you lil creep

anyway you and woojin laughed

bc wow yOuR lOsS noT miNe

siGh

after you both calmed down

the words babe and boyfriend came rushing back

cue the creek creek sound bc for the first time since forever 

there was an awkward silence between the two of you

“so, y/n-”

you cant stand the awkwardness so you cut him off “where were you, you loser. you could’ve rescued me from despair if you were by the lockers earlier!”

“well im sorrY, chan borrowed my notes bc he fell asleep in class. again”

“you could’ve just let him endure the pain hmp”

“well i doesnt matter know does it, i saw you go out of the campus earlier so i followed you!”

you looked at him with a pout and you felt your cheeks heat up

bc !!! the boyfriend part !!!

you sighed and decided to tell him the truth

“woojin i like you” you mumbled, barely coherent

but ofC he heard you

he alr had a big smile on his face but still said “say it again, i didn’t hear you”

you glared at him bc you know that he heard it jUst fiNe

“kim woojin, i swear-”

he laughed and kissed you’re forehead 

he placed his arm aroud your shoulders again pulling you close to his side

“im just joking, i like you too”

and ofc you were elAtEd and kissed his cheek

“now why don’t we have a date, since im your boyfriend” he smiled at you

damn i cant unsee his smile my uwus are spilled

your heart went nyooOom 

and you pulled him towards the boba place

“well good. your girlfriend is craving boba”

you both had biG smiles on your faces for the rest of the day

and you could hear all the “FINALLY”s at your school the next day when you went in holding hands

and thats it adios

STOP SLEEPING ON WOOJIN YOU COWARDS

a/n: halloooooo. my loyalty is now shaking bc kim woojin is existiNG. he’s just so cute can i cry? asjbfnckj. anyway here’s woojin’s part of the series! hope you all enjoyed it~

[bangtaninink]

i’m too lit to dim down a notch IV

Summary: Jeongguk is the new kid in town. Kind of. He’s looking for an Authentic College Experience™, and you have no problem helping him out with achieving that (fratboy!AU)

Part: 1 | 2 | 3

A rhythmic knock at his door makes Jeongguk flinch and nearly drop his shirt.

“Um, come in?”

He’s just about to wonder why the fuck someone’s bothered to knock because no one in the frat house ever bothers to knock, but all questions die on the tip of his tongue when he sees you walk in, dressed in a Doosan Bears jersey, black jeans, and white sneakers, holding a navy blue cap between your teeth as you pull your hair up into a ponytail.

“Mornin’,” you greet, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

Jeongguk fumbles, drops his shirt and scrambles to pick it up, tripping over a pile of dirty clothes that are in dire need of washing before he gets himself composed.

“Hi. Hey. Hi,” he stammers, so desperate to get his shirt on he almost runs into a wall. “G-good morning.”

“Sorry I’m a bit early, but I got out of the house as quick as I could because there’s a party happening at our house tomorrow night and the others are in some mad rush to get everything planned out. Some of the more senior sisters get a bit anal about making sure shit’s organised and I don’t like to be around them when that’s happening.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t mind me, okay? We’ve got heaps of time. Just pretend like I’m not here.”

Easier said than done, Jeongguk thinks, but he holds his tongue and tries to continue getting dressed, even when he sees you flop down to lie on his bed, cap resting on your knee as you hold your phone above your head. It’s ridiculous, the way your presence has all of a sudden got him question every little thing about today -- should he really wear this shirt today? This cap? Don’t even get him started on his hair!

Jeongguk freezes when the sound of your humming cuts through the quiet, resisting the urge to turn and look over his shoulder and watch your humming transition into quiet singing. Admittedly, you’re not that good. He doesn’t have particularly high standards (he leaves that to Yoongi), but he’s pretty sure even you wouldn’t call yourself the next IU. Still, just the fact that you’re here, in his room, singing-but-not-really-singing Two Melodies without another care in the world is enough to make Jeongguk’s cheeks warm with an unexplainable fondness for you.

He tugs his shirt on quickly, crosses the room to open up the door to his wardrobe to check himself in the mirror, all the while avoiding looking at you. Jeongguk tries not to wince at how unkempt his hair looks, and does his best to comb his fingers through it as casual and nonchalant as he can look trying to flatten out a cowlick or two. The cap, he thinks, is definitely gonna be needed today.

“Hey, Jeongguk?”

Jeongguk turns so quickly he hits his knee on the edge of his wardrobe’s door.

“Uh, yeah?” he replies.

“Can I ask you something?”

Dread washes over Jeongguk, and irrationally, he thinks, here it is. She knows what I did last night. Fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck. Bye, world! It was nice while it laste--

“Two things actually,” you continue. “How’d you get into Beta Tau so quickly, and if you’re a sophomore, why are we in the same anatomy class?”

Jeongguk nearly cries with relief.

“Oh, um. Well, my dad’s alumni,” he answers, giving up on his hair and slapping his cap on, kicking his wardrobe shut with the heel of his boot and moving to sit beside you, a complete bundle of nerves but, hopefully, looking calm. “He studied in Seoul and made it into Beta Tau Sigma when he was a student here. The frat has that rule about automatically letting family relations in or whatever. I forget the proper wording.”

“Oh, I know that rule,” you say, tucking your phone back into the pocket of your jeans. “That’s how Tae and Jin oppa got into Beta Tau as well.”

“Oh. Wait, wait. Seokjin hyung’s your brother too?”

“Nah, he’s my cousin. Might as well be my brother though. What about anatomy class?”

“W-well,” Jeongguk starts, trying to not jerk at the way you nudge the side of his thigh with your knee. “Uh, I did a lot of extra classes back in Busan last summer. Kinda built up enough credit that I might be able to graduate a year early. Or at least a semester.”

Strategically, he leaves out the part about having so few friends back in hometown that he had way too much time to himself in July that he’d resorted to just... studying.

“So... you’re like a super nerd then,” you laugh, teasing. “I like that. It’s a nice change from the other Busan boy.”

“Who, Jimin hyung?”

“Yeah. He wouldn’t have made it to senior year if it weren’t for me and Hoseok oppa. He spends way too much time doing everything else but studying, even now. I mean, I’m not really one to talk, I guess.” You sit up, resting your arm on Jeongguk’s shoulder, missing the way he tenses briefly. “But then again, I can find time to fuck and get fucked on the regular while getting straight As, so he really has no excuse.”

Jeongguk chokes on his own spit.

“Um, wow,” is all he has to say. You laugh quietly.

“Oh, I have another question for you. The other day, when I first met you? What’d you mean when you said you wanted to be a physiotherapist for athletes because you probably “won’t get to be one”?” you say, fingers curling in imaginary quote marks. “Who says you won’t get to be one?”

“Uh, no one, but... it seems a bit unrealisitic for me to aim to be on Yoo Heekwan’s level. Or Park Taehwan. Like, they’re gods, and I’m, like, a pleb.”

“You play baseball, Guk?”

“Yeah. And swim. Mostly swim. Well, no. Well, I dunno yet. Tryouts for the baseball are on Wednesday. And the swim team tryouts are on Tuesday. It’ll be a fucking miracle if I make it into either one, honestly.”

“Can I come?”

Eyebrows raised so high they almost disappear into his cap, Jeongguk looks at you with unabashed shock.

“To... to the tryouts?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Um... why?” It’s your turn to raise your eyebrows, and he stumbles over his words trying to recover. “No, I mean! N-not that I don’t want you there! Or... w-well, I dunno. Do I want you there? I-it’s a free country. I guess you could technically go whether or not I say y-yeah, but...” He trails off when you start to laugh.

“You’re cute, Guk. But I’d like to come and watch if that’s okay with you, because, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a fucking lunatic for baseball -- or just sports in general -- and, also, I wanna be there to tell you ‘I told you so’ when they ask you to join the team right then and there. Plus, swimmers are hot.”

Jeongguk blinks, dumbfounded and trying to listen to what you’re saying, instead of staring down at your lips while you speak like he wants to.

“But... you haven’t even seen me play or swim,” he replies.

“With a body like this, Jeon Jeongguk, I’m sure you play and swim great,” you laugh, lightly smacking his chest.

(He hardly feels a thing.)

“Um. Uh. Okay. Y-yeah. If you want to, noona. Wait. C-can I call you that?”

“You can call me anything you want, babe,” you say, chuckling as you stand, fingers wrapping around Jeongguk’s wrist to pull him up onto his feet. “C’mon. Let’s go see some epic shit.”

“Holy shit. That was amazing!” Jeongguk cries out, skipping backwards to remain facing you as you both leave the stadium, the afternoon sun warm on your heads.

“God, how does he make it look so fucking effortless?” you add, jogging after him. “I need me a man like Yoo Heekwan.”

“Yeah. I’m not even gay, but amen to that, noona. A-fucking-men.”

Laughing, you quickly grab Jeongguk’s wrist, pulling him away from the path of an incoming cyclist as he draws nearer to a pedestrian crossing. The adrenaline is still well and truly pumping through your veins and his, and another win for the Doosan Bears means neither of you will be calming down anytime soon.

“Hey, Guk. You hungry?” you ask. “Let’s get some food.”

“I’m down for that. Where do you wanna go?”

“Let’s get some burgers, babe.”

“I like burgers!”

Shaking your head, you laugh, not letting go of his arm as you lead him down the road to the nearest burger joint, a usual stop of yours after a game. It’ll be a welcome change today, for someone to actually eat with you and talk about what’d just happen, instead of the normal ‘do you even know how many calories are in a regular cheeseburger?’ lecture and constant eye-rolling at you waxing poetic about athletic form and pitching speeds.

(”Jesus. Okay, Bora. Just calm down and let me finish this in peace. I’ll get you your fucking salad in a sec.”)

In the middle of his monologue on a spectacular catch by Min Byunghun, Jeongguk reaches forward to pull the door open, letting you step inside first, not even breaking sentence or losing his train of thought once. You almost trip over your foot walking in, so not used to the chivalry, even if the both of you are just entering a fucking Burger King. Unphased and oblivious to your surprise, Jeongguk keeps talking right up until the both of you have made it to the counter to order.

“Hi. Can I please have a Grilled BBQ set with cheese, and a side of onion rings?” he orders, already reaching into the back of his jeans to pull out his wallet. “What’re you gonna have, noona?”

“Jeongguk, you’re not gonna pay for me.”

“Hmm?” Jeongguk turns to look at you, first with a look of confusion, then with a smile. “What’re you talking about? Of course I’m gonna pay. You bought my ticket to the game, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I asked you to come out today. Put your wallet away.”

“Noona, it’s just Burger King,” he says, laughing. “No offense.”

“Hey, dude. None taken,” the cashier says, waving a dismissive hand. “Think I care about this place that much?”

“See? This guy knows what I mean. Order whatever you want, noona. I’ve got this.”

Door opening and meal paying? This is too good to be true, you think.

“Fine. If you insist,” you say.

“Yup.”

“I’ll have a Supreme Cheese set, no pickles, and some extra cheese fries.”

“Too easy,” the cashier replies, punching in the orders, hand outstretched as Jeongguk surrenders his card unprompted.

“You can go find a table, noona. I’ll bring the food over when it’s done,” Jeongguk says, taking his card back.

You choose a table close to the back wall, still within view of the front counter. Cradling your chin in your hand, you look at Jeongguk’s back as he waits, fingers tapping against the counter top while he looks down at his phone, too busy wondering how the hell this kid can be such a... gentleman in this day and age? No one treats you like this, not even the rest of the guys in Beta Tau Sigma, so you can’t help but be taken aback by all of this. Does he not know who you a--?

It suddenly dawns on you that Jeongguk is new to Seoul, to the college you and the rest of the guys attend, and he has absolutely no idea what kind of reputation you’ve built for yourself over the years.

There’s this brief twinge of regret and paranoia that passes over you when you realise what could happen if anyone who knew you were to see Jeongguk with you, wondering what could happen if they were to start talking. What would they say about you? What would they say about Jeongguk? How shitty would you seem if you were to ruin all chances of him enjoying his college life in peace?

Before you even have a chance to work yourself up, however, Jeongguk appears in front of you, setting down the tray as he chews on a mouthful of fries.

“This is my kind of fine dining,” he says, swallowing before letting out a soft chuckle.

“Ooh, yeah,” you reply, reaching for your cheese fries. “This easily beats every five-star restaurant I’ve ever been to for sure.”

“You’ve been to a five-star restaurant, noona?” Jeongguk asks, handing you your burger.

“Probably twice? Yeah. Once for my dad’s birthday. We went to this really fancy place in Gangnam. Second time was for Christmas after my dad married Tae’s mom.”

“So that’s how you and Taehyung hyung are related. Kinda.” You hum around your burger in agreement. “Is Seokjin hyung your cousin cousin, or your... step cousin? Is that a thing?”

“Step cousin, yeah,” you say, chuckling. “If that is a thing. He’s Taehyung’s blood-related cousin, so I guess we’re just cousins by, like, association? This is confusing. I dunno.”

“Nah, I get it.”

“Like I said though, he might as well just be another brother. He nags like one. Or, like, an extra parent.”

“I can relate to that,” Jeongguk says, nodding slowly with a mouthful of his burger stuffed in his cheeks. “He’s, like... the mom of the frat. It was kinda weird, but... it’s good. We can’t all be a bunch of hooligans in that house, y’know?”

“Yeah. I’m sure without Jin oppa’s motherly ways and Yoongi oppa’s anal-ness, that house would’ve burned down years ago.”

“Yup.”

“You said your dad was alum though, right?” you ask, dipping fries into the melted cheese at the bottom of the paper basket.

“Yeah, he was. He seemed pretty happy at least one of his sons went to his alma mater. Even if I’ve only got about two years to go.”

“Oh? You have siblings?”

“Just an older brother. He decided to study in the States for his undergrad, and ended up staying there for his masters. Seoul’s been a big enough culture shock for me as it is. I dunno how he’s managed to survive in Chicago for longer than a semester. But then again, we’re, like, polar opposites, so I guess if anyone was gonna be able to live in America on their own, it was gonna be him.”

“Do you miss him?”

Jeongguk smiles, a little sadly you notice, picking at an onion ring, saying, “yeah. Heaps. He’s always been the one who kinda keeps me sane, even back in Busan.” You don’t say anything, just watch as Jeongguk seems to reminisce quietly to himself while you eat. “Like, it’s not as if I’m not on bad terms with my parents or anything. I love them. I miss them heaps too. But it’s like... my brother was -- is -- the one I can talk to about anything, because he kinda understands what I’m going though whenever something doesn’t make sense.”

“Must be good,” you chuckle, wiping your fingers on a napkin. “Having someone you can talk to about everything, I mean.”

“You don’t have any siblings, noona? I mean, like, blood-related. Not including Taehyung hyung and Seokjin hyung.”

“Nah, I’m an only child in that sense,” you reply, picking at the set cheese on the wax paper. “My mom left before she had anymore kids with dad.”

“Oh.” Jeongguk puts his drink down back onto the table slowly. “Your mom... left.”

“Yeah. I don’t really care about it though. She left when I was pretty young. To be honest, I don’t really remember much about her.” You shrug, ignoring the weird weight in your chest. “Taehyung’s mom is really nice though. It’s probably still pretty weird. She pretty much got a daughter overnight after marrying dad, but she’s been really good at treating me like I’ve been there the whole time, like I’m not just some kid that appeared out of nowhere. I can see why Tae turned out the way he did.”

Jeongguk seems a little hesitant about saying anything, so he doesn’t, and just continues to sip at his drink quietly, burger and onion rings demolished.

“That was probably the deepest conversation to have happened at a Burger King. Fuck,” you mutter.

You barely have time to flinch away before Jeongguk is spitting out his drink, tiny droplets of projectile soda hitting you in the face and chest.

“Oh fuck, noona, I’m sorry!” he says, coughing as he beats his fist against his chest. He’s going to apologise more, he swears, as soon as he can breathe properly, but when he looks up, wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes because choking hurts, he’s shocked, but, admittedly, a little relieved, to find you’re clutching your stomach as you too struggle to breathe, laughing hard.

“Jeongguk, you dick,” you say, breathless as you dab at the corners of your eyes, careful not to smudge your makeup.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk says, but he’s laughing, and silently marvelling at the way the drops of cola that landed on your cheeks now look like small freckles. “But you can’t just say something like that, noona!”

“God,” you groan, but there’s no malice in your voice as you carefully wipe your face and proceed to throw the scrunched up napkin at his chest, watching it bounce off him and land onto the table. “You’re the worst.”

“You’re the worst. You just ruined a nice moment,” Jeongguk counters.

“I love fine dining.”

“Noona!”

“Jeongguk, you didn’t have to walk me home. What the hell?”

“But noona,” Jeongguk says, hands tucked into the back pockets of his jeans. “Look how dark it is. How could you walk alone in this?”

“God. You are really something,” you say, shaking your head with a barely concealed smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry ‘bout it.” It’s warm out tonight, the air just borderline humid, a small teaser of what might be a very hot summer, and you’re starting to feel a little uncomfortable wearing so much. “Anyways. How’re you finding Seoul so far?”

“It’s alright. Not really what I expected if I’m honest,” Jeongguk replies, shrugging a little.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” you ask, chuckling.

“Uh... both?” He chuckles with you. “Nah, it’s good, mostly. There’s just a lot more people here. Not that Busan is the smallest city in the country or anything, but, y’know...” He shrugs again.

“Yeah, it gets a bit crazy up here, huh? It’s hard to get bored in Seoul though, I think. But I bet being so close to the sea is amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty great. My grandparents live pretty close to Haeundae so we’re usually there during the summer. This... it’ll be the first summer not by the beach for me, actually.”

You notice Jeongguk’s step slow just a little, and you barely catch the little shift in his expression as he no doubt is hit with a wave of homesickness.

“Jimin always goes back to Busan for a couple weeks in the summer,” you offer. “You could always go with him, if you don’t mind him talking your head off the entire train ride back. I swear to God, he never shuts up.”

“Jimin hyung does talk a lot I’ve noticed. So does Taehyung hyung,” Jeongguk says, the corners of his lips twitching with a smile. “I can hear them talking about aliens at, like, two in the morning. They’d make great swimmers with their lung capacity.”

“Tae doesn’t exercise. And Jimin only ever dances. Good luck getting them anywhere near a pool, Guk.”

“I could throw them in.”

“If you do, I better be there to record the whole thing. I wanna be internet famous.” Jeongguk breaks out into a wide grin. “What time are your tryouts, by the way?”

“Um.” He reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his phone as the both of you come to a stop at the lights. “Swim tryouts are at four, baseball’s at four-thirty,” he reads off.

“Tuesday and Wednesday, right?”

“You’re really coming, noona?”

“You don’t want me to?”

“No, I... I do. Really.”

“I could be your lucky charm, Jeongguk. You might set a new school record. Or hit a home run. Or both.”

“I doubt it,” Jeongguk says, chuckling, stepping forward as the pedestrian light turns green.

“You never know,” you say, singing your words as you jog ahead of him.

[ikesenhell]

Inked

This is the Professional Integrity series, part three. For all other parts and additional IkeSen works by me, see here.

Mitsuhide started his day the usual way: cleaning out the abusive comments on her social media. 

she just ditched the house I’m telling you She didn’t even let the fans in the funeral He would have wanted us to be there She hasn’t even released a statement I hear she’s partying it up in china and spending all his money

Click, click, click. They all disappeared. 

“How are you this morning?” Shingen asked with a smile, putting a plate of eggs in front of her. She half-laughed and shook her head. 

“I think I went one drink too hard.”

“Lightweights,” Kenshin huffed. “All of you.”

“Look,” Yuki argued, “We can’t all drink like alcoholics.”

“I don’t drink like an alcoholic.”

Sasuke lifted a piece of toast to his mouth, eating gingerly. “Everyone is being too loud.”

The Princess tittered and pet her friend’s head. “I’m sorry. Let’s be quieter. Thanks for the breakfast, Shingen.”

“No problem. Least I can do for an angel like you.”

“Oh, God.” She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. 

It looked like Kenshin was prepping a sharp-tongued barb to fling at his friend, but the Princess took his hand and he fell silent. “Thank you, guys. I’m so glad I got to see you all.”

“We’re glad we got to see you, too,” Shingen answered. 

“Yeah, um,” Yuki stumbled through his words before pointing at his dog, “Kuro liked having people over.”

“Oh, sure. ‘Kuro’ did.” Shingen smiled a smug little smile. 

Kenshin finally freed his hand from hers and set it on her shoulder. “Let us know if you’ll be coming back through.”

“I just might.”

They dropped Sasuke off at the Phoenix Airport. He and she hugged, long and hard at the security checkpoint until she cried, and then he had to catch his flight. Mitsuhide put his own, dark sunglasses on her to hide her tears and guided her gently back to the RV.

“Alright.” She settled into the passenger side, looking small and fragile, eyes locked forward and still wearing his circular sunglasses. “Where to next?”

“I don’t know.” He adjusted the seat, shoving it way further back than it had been. “Has anything ‘told’ you yet?”

A moment of pensive silence. She glanced up at him. “Anyone you wanna see?”

“Me?” He took a moment to check his surprise. “Friends of mine, you mean?”

“Yeah? Why not.”

Mitsuhide chuckled. “My friends are a handful. Plus, they live in New York.”

“That’s fine. That works for me. I can work with ‘handful’.”

He snickered and delved into his pocket, pulling out his cellphone. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“If they’re anything like you, I’m sure they’ll be great.”

The smile slipped off his lips for one long moment, trying to register what she was saying. At last, he decided not to think too deeply into it and pressed the dial button, gunning the RV powerfully onto the highway.

Hideyoshi picked up on the second ring. “Speak of the Devil.”

“It’s Mitsuhide, not Nobu,” he joked thinly. “What are your plans for this week, or anyone else’s?”

“Uhhhhhhhhh. Why?” There was a trace of suspicion in the man’s voice, and Mitsuhide had to resist the urge to laugh. “Don’t tell me you did something--”

“No, no, I did nothing,” he chuckled. “You remember how I told you I was bodyguarding Mrs. Matthews?”

“Uhh, yeah?”

“Well, she got a feeling for a road trip, and it’s my turn to pick where to go. How are you and the rest feeling having me show up at your houses and drink your liquor?”

“Just like old times, huh?” Hideyoshi laughed. “Okay, um, I’ll text them and see what’s up, but we should all be here this week, and you know that Masa is always game for something.”

“Let me know. I’ve got to get back to driving.”

“You’re driving? Hell, Mitsuhide, don’t drive and talk on the phone--!”

Mitsuhide hung up before the lecture could commence, grinning. “They’re looking forward to it.”

His bed was actually pretty comfortable for what it was. Pull-out couches generally weren’t the most amenable situation, but this was clearly an exception. Wrapped in a comforter, he lay with his feet propped comfortably against the driver’s seat, looking up through the skylight at the picture-perfect midwest stars. 

In the bed above the driver cab, he heard a faint, pained shuffle. 

“No.” She whimpered, then panted. 

“Princess?” Mitsuhide was on his feet in an instant. 

“Stop, stop, stop...” Oh, she was asleep. The sleepy distress was clear to him now. “Stop it.”

“Princess,” he repeated, softer, and reached into the bed, closing his hand around her ankle. She woke with a start. 

“Holy--”

“It’s just me,” he soothed, not releasing her foot. “You were having a nightmare.”

“Oh.” She shifted, but didn’t move her leg away from him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. I thought something was really wrong, and it would have been terribly awkward to figure out how I failed to protect you with about a foot of space between us.”

A titter. He finally released her ankle, trailing his fingertips along her foot until there was no skin left. “Anything I can get for you?”

“No, Mitsuhide,” she answered him softly, his name like a song, “thank you.”

“Any time.” 

She didn’t care much for food either and liked listening to The Eagles, Kendrick Lamar, and jazz. If she had to pick between four elements, she went for air every time, and he could see that in her--she always had the window cracked, the breeze rushing through her hair and sending it in rivers toward the back of the RV. Her favorite animals were snakes and bunnies.

“Yeah?” He grinned at her. “I’ve got a tattoo of a snake.”

“Do you really?” She glanced at him, up and down, returning her gaze to the road. “Where?”

He rolled his sleeve past the bend of his elbow, revealing the head of a serpent lying there on his bicep. “It goes around the arm, over my shoulders, and back down the other.”

“That is so cool,” she gasped. “I love it. It’s so very ‘you’.”

“Not the first person who’s said that.”

“I think I might get a tattoo some day,” she mused aloud. “I’ve bantered it back and forth in my head, but I just haven’t yet. Did it hurt?”

“Mostly over the parts of my spine, but otherwise, tolerably. I found it a good experience at the least.”

She smiled, and all those terrible comments he spent so much time scrubbing from her profiles swung like a black mark back into his mind. For the first time, he was angry. How could anyone try and say those things about her--this lovely, sincere, fun, sad woman? 

“You okay?” She said suddenly, flitting her eyes at him. “You look upset.”

“Me?” He forced a grin onto his lips. “When I’m around you? Never.”

They rolled into New York City later that day. 

“Look who is fucking here!” Masamune thrust open the door with a bang, garnering a shouted hey! from Hideyoshi, and wrapped his arms around both Mitsuhide and the Princess. “Mitsu-fucking-Hide!”

“Hi there!” The Princess laughed, patting his back. “Who are you?”

“The one, the only, Masamune Date.” He shot her a grin. “And you’re Mrs. Matthews?”

“Most people just call me ‘Princess’. Besides, it’s weird to call myself ‘Mrs.’.”

“She’s a widow,” Mitsuhide interjected, slithering inside. 

“Oh. Shit.” Masamune stopped smiling. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s fine. Cancer. Was sort of expected.”

“Come on in!” Hideyoshi emerged in the doorway to the kitchen, wiping his forehead. “Hi! I’m Hideyoshi. Do you like Pizza?”

“Love it.”

“Great, cause Masamune prepped enough of them for an army.”

“Masamune eats like an army,” a blonde, fluffy-haired man groused at the kitchen bar. “He probably needs half of them for himself.”

“That’s Ieyasu,” Hideyoshi gestured. “Mitsunari is on the couch, probably reading still. He won’t hear you come in.”

“I’ll get him.” Masamune jogged into the living room. 

“And I’m Nobunaga.” A final, dark-haired man with carnelian eyes appeared in the hallway, a smooth smirk gracing his mouth. “Mitsuhide. How good of you to come and see me again.”

“I was practically jumping at the chance,” Mitsuhide chuckled. 

Masamune appeared at Nobunaga’s arm, wrapping his around the man’s shoulders, a pair of silvery glasses perched on his nose. The Princess laughed. “He’ll be showing up soon.”

“Have you seen my glasses?” A man with a sweet, confused expression emerged at last behind them, clogging the crowded hallway. “Oh! Who are you? I’m so sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“That’s the Princess, Mitsun.” Masamune tucked the glasses on top of the man’s head. “And you gotta be social.”

“Of course.” He smiled, bright as the sun, and Mitsuhide was almost envious of his charm and kindness. “It’s wonderful to meet you!”

“So what’s the plan tonight?” Hideyoshi asked, clapping his hands together. “Get out of my hallway, all you, get in that living room. You’re being a safety hazard.”

“Yes, mom,” Masamune muttered with a grin. 

“I was thinking,” Mitsuhide stepped into the familiar living room after them, “after dinner we might take her to some of the usual haunts, do a little drinking.”

“Could--” The Princess spoke up for a moment, then faltered. “Maybe, um, is there a place to get a tattoo around here?”

“Tattoos?” Masamune perked visibly. 

“Goddamnit,” Ieyasu groaned from the counter. “You don’t need another.”

“Masamune’s tattoos are great,” Mitsunari chirruped cheerily. “I think you’d look great with some, too, Ieyasu!” 

“Don’t compliment me like that, that’s weird.”

“Stop arguing, you two,” Hideyoshi wielded the pizza-cutter at them both. “I mean, we could do that.”

“I’m intrigued,” Nobunaga started, eyeing her with a smile. “What do you plan on getting?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” she smiled. “It’s great to meet you all, by the way.”

Mitsuhide didn’t smoke much, but Masamune and Nobunaga did, and whenever he was around them, he always wound up with one in his hand. They bounced between bars after dinner, getting drinks and dancing, riding the subway and causing mayhem. 

“You sure you want to do this?” He asked her, loitering outside the tattoo parlor. Smoke curled around his fingertips. 

“Yeah, I think so.” She smiled nervously at him all the same. “Can I have a drag on that?”

“Sure.” He handed it to her, watching the way the glow of embers glowed against her cheeks, how it flickered orange through her eyelashes and the smoke graced the curve of those lips. A cough; he snickered at her and tapped her mouth. “You don’t have much practice smoking.”

“That’s good,” Hideyoshi frowned at him, “Cause they’re bad for you.”

“Ready?” Masamune tucked his cigarette between his teeth and shot her a wink. “My guy is here. He’ll set you up good with something.”

“I’m ready.” But she latched onto Mitsuhide’s wrist, turning her face towards his, and asked--so, so, so prettily and sweetly--”Will you hold my hand or something if it hurts?”

“Sure.” He agreed. “I’d be glad to.” 

“Okay. Don’t take too long with that cigarette!” And she disappeared into the shop. 

Four sets of eyes turned onto Mitsuhide. 

“Well, well, well.” Nobunaga was smirking. 

“Ahhhhhh.” Hideyoshi had that infuriating, all-knowing grin on his lips. 

“Hmm.” Ieyasu eyed him hard. 

“What?” Mitsunari stared between all of them, eyes wide. “What? What?”

“You’re into her.” Masamune’s grin was so wide it threatened to split his head in half. 

“You’re all daft.” Mitsuhide snickered, taking a harder drag on his cigarette than he meant to and winding up choking himself. They erupted into laughter around him. 

“Lost your cool, there? I’m disappointed.” Nobunaga teased. 

“Hardly.” He thumped his chest to clear it. 

“She’s pretty cute.” Masamune leaned in. “When are you gonna jump on that? If you don’t, I might.”

“For god’s sake, Masa, she’s widowed. Recently. I’m fairly certain she needs a breather.”

“That’d be your loss.” Masamune grinned. “Come on, let’s go get her tattoo done.”

She got it on her back, right on the nape of her neck: a sun, the moon resting inside it, a series of chandelier-styled chains hanging from the points. 

“It’s beautiful!” Mitsunari praised easily, turning his head this way and that to look at it. “Wow! How did you think of that?”

“It’s based on a poem I like,” she told him, shyly. 

“Which one?” Hideyoshi asked. 

“Oh, I probably paraphrased it. But it’s: For the Sun loved the moon so much he died every night to let her breathe.” 

“Woah.” Masamune nodded. “That’s nice. Told you he was the guy to take you to. It looks cool.”

Mitsuhide realized with a start that she was still holding tight to his hand, as tight as she had been the whole time, as tightly as if he were the only lifeline between her and the rest of the world. He didn’t let go. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded hard. “Just need some air.”

“Well, come on.” He helped her to her feet, steering her past the guys and ignoring Masamune’s muttered git some. “Let’s get you some.”

They stepped out onto the New York City street, the rumble of the subway overhead echoing through the dark street. She shut her eyes hard, her fingers still locked with his. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked, tracing a thin finger on her cheek.

First she nodded, but just as quickly, she shook her head hard, tears spilling to her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Shhh.” Mitsuhide wrapped his arms around her shoulders, cupping the back of her head and resting his chin in her soft hair. “Shh. Why are you crying?”

“It--” Choked sobs escaped her. “It felt on my skin the way it feels inside my chest.”

Oh. And what did he say to that? He smoothed long, fine lines along her cheeks, neck, shoulders, feeling her rock back and forth in her arms. And here she felt like something fragile, something delicate and honorable, something worth fighting and dying for--a ray of something he’d never had in his life. The emotional honesty and vulnerability struck him in the center of a dark, sunken part of his chest, like a diver shining a light into the center of a shipwreck long lost. 

“Was that bad?” He asked softly.

“No.” She shook her head against his chest. “No. It felt really validating.”

“Good.” Mitsuhide wrapped her tighter against him and shut his eyes. He hadn’t wanted another tattoo, or so he thought, but now--now, if he could turn the way she made him feel into a picture and burn it into his heart, he would. “God knows you deserve it.”

[tipsycad147]

Carmelite Water (Lemon Balm Wine) – A New Take On An Old World Potion

Written by Sass Ayres

Upgrade your glass of white wine with some herbal goodness! This lemon balm wine is a new take on an ancient cure-all called Carmelite water. And while it has long lost its reputation as a miracle potion, Carmelite water can still be enjoyed today just as you’d enjoy any glass of wine. But maybe you’ll enjoy it just a little bit more knowing it’s full of nutritive and medicinal herbs.

This recipe uses herbs like lemon balm, angelica root, clove, and nutmeg, but could also be made with just lemon balm. The choice is yours!

HERE YOU’LL FIND: What is Carmelite Water? About the Herbs in This Lemon Balm Wine How to Make Carmelite Water (aka Lemon Balm Wine) Tips, Tricks, & FAQs Recipe for Carmelite Water

I’m a sucker for ancient herbal potions. There’s something so intriguing about the old uses of plant medicines, something so full of mystery and magic.

I’m constantly humbled by the human process of figuring it all out before science was as advanced as it is today. Many of these old herbal potions survived times when science was even silenced as evil or sin. Can you imagine?!

Come storytime, tell me about how our ancestors lived in relationship to the plants and this planet. I’m all ears.

What is Carmelite Water?

Carmelite water is an alcohol extract of lemon balm and other herbs and spices. In a time before modern-day medicine and all the amenities of science, these herbal alcohol extracts were often the backbone of the medical system.

They often served as panaceas for all kinds of ailments, everything from digestive complaints to the plague and leprosy. A little sip could make all your worries go away, sending you on your way to a long and healthy life.

The Origin of Carmelite Water

Carmelite nuns in France developed the original recipe for this lemon balm wine in the later 1300s for King Charles V of France. With the enthusiastic support of the aging king, Carmelite water garnered a reputation as an elixir of life or miracle water.

While the exact original recipe of Carmelite water is somewhat of a coveted secret, the star ingredient is consistently lemon balm.

Also called Eau de Melisse (as in lemon balm’s genus Melissa), Carmelite water also contains a varying combination of other herbs and spices, including chamomile, sandalwood, cinnamon, mugwort, sage, angelica, and fennel. Most typically, Carmelite water contains a mixture of anywhere from 9 to 14 different herbs and spices.

Traditional Uses of Carmelite Water

Interestingly, Carmelite water was also traditionally used as a perfume due to its unique combination of highly aromatic herbs. It’s strong in scent and bold in flavor. Accordingly, Carmelite water was traditionally sipped in small quantities as you would a bitters cordial or digestif.

>>Wanna learn more about herbal bitters & how they can help your digestion? Check this out: The Beginner’s Complete Guide to Herbal Digestive Bitters

“It causeth the Mind and Heart to become merry, and reviveth the Heart fainting to foundlings, especially of such who are overtaken in their sleep, and driveth away all troublesome cares and thought…”

Nicholas Culpepper, 15th century English botanist & physician on Carmelite water

About The Herbs In This Lemon Balm Wine

This recipe for Carmelite water is a variation on a recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs. The original recipe calls for the use of cinnamon chips. However, as a nod to ancient tradition, this lemon balm wine recipe is really open for interpretation. In fact, you could skip the other herbs and spices, just use lemon balm, and call it a day!

As you’ll read below, the herbs and spices in this recipe come with a whole bunch of anti-‘s, including anti-fungal, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It’s no wonder Carmelite water was once considered a panacea for all the ills of the times.

However, the collective nutritive and medicinal properties of the ingredients in this recipe lend towards a calming, anti-inflammatory herbal wine high in antioxidants that may also be beneficial for your digestion.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

This herb of happiness and sunshine is full of antioxidant flavonoids! Lemon balm is a beloved medicinal herb that not only tastes as good as it smells, but is equally as gentle as it is powerful.

In herbal medicine, lemon balm is often used to help soothe nerves, ease stress and anxiety, and even has anti-depressant properties.

Lemon balm is high in volatile oils (the smell good oils) that can help to support healthy digestion. Plus, it’s also known for its antiviral activity, especially against herpes viruses.

Angelica Root (Angelica archangelica)

Angelica root is a member of the carrot family and has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years.

Its primary medicinal uses include helping to balance hormones and support the liver‘s natural detoxification processes. Furthermore, also considered a bitter herb, it’s an excellent tonic to the digestive system.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

As perhaps one of my favorite culinary spices, coriander gets a lot of use in my household. Not only is coriander is a good source of minerals like copper, iron, and magnesium, it also has many medicinal uses.

Like lemon balm, coriander is also known for its ability to help support healthy digestion and soothe nerves. It’s high in anti-inflammatory antioxidants and has antimicrobial properties as well.

Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata)

It’s so easy to forget that many of our common herbs and spices also have such amazing medicinal properties. As another great source of vitamins and minerals, clove is such a great spice to include in our day.

Clove is also antiviral, anti-fungal, antibacterial, and pain-relieving. It’s full of anti-inflammatory antioxidants and like all the other ingredients in this recipe, clove is known to help support digestion.

Nutmeg (Myristicum fragrans)

And last, but not least, we have nutmeg. This ultra-fragrant spice is also incredibly supportive of healthy digestion, in addition to being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and more.

How to Make Carmelite Water

Here’s a quick overview of how to make Carmelite water (aka lemon balm wine). You’ll find specific measurements and methods in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Equipment You’ll Need

Fortunately, this incredibly simple lemon balm wine recipe requires very little equipment. You will need:

Quart-Sized Glass Jar (like a canning jar or recycled jar)

Small Funnel (small enough to fit into the neck of the wine bottle)

Fine Mesh Strainer + Cheesecloth or Muslin -or- Nut Milk/Strainer Bag* (I use these strainers for everything! And here’s my favorite nut milk bag.)

4-Cup Glass Measuring Cup (or something your funnel can nest into)

Ingredients

1 bottle dry white wine, organic if possible

Lemon balm, dried or fresh

Angelica root, dried

Coriander, whole seeds

Clove, whole

Nutmeg, fresh grated or shaved

Fresh lemon zest

Method

This recipe literally couldn’t get any easier. Here’s the quick-and-dirty of how to make this version of Carmelite water:

Add herbs and spices to a quart-sized glass jar.

Pour in wine.

Infuse for 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Strain.

Enjoy!

Other Botanical Beverages You Might Enjoy

Pink Paloma | A Grapefruit Cocktail with Chamomile Tequila Wild Flower Vodka Mojito Ginger Mint Hot Toddy Calendula Lemonade (non-alcoholic)

Tips, Tricks, & FAQs

What is Carmelite water used for?

Traditionally, Carmelite water was used for everything! It was a cure-all herbal tonic. The use of fragrant herbs and spices also made it a great perfume back in the day.

Today, Carmelite water makes for a delightful sipper on a warm afternoon. Or sip on a glass before or after a meal for a calming, anti-inflammatory herbal elixir with digestive support.

Can I make lemon balm wine with fresh herbs?

Yes, you can! Using fresh lemon balm in this recipe works really well! I actually prefer using fresh lemon balm. Lemon balm (and many of the mint family plants, in general) can quickly lose its potency. If your dried lemon balm is old or has been improperly stored, you’re better off using fresh if you have the option.

To know if your dried lemon balm is still good, just look at it and take a whiff! If it has turned more brown than green and hardly has any delicious lemony smell, it’s time to toss it.

Can I just throw the herbs and spices right into the wine bottle?

Yes, you could. However, you may have to drink a few sips of wine so that they’ll fit. Plus, sometimes it’s difficult to get all of the herbs out of the slender bottleneck when straining time comes.

My personal preference is to infuse the wine in a quart-size glass jar. After straining out the herbs and spices, you can then use a funnel to help pour the infused wine back into the original wine bottle.

What if I don’t have whole spices? Can I infuse wine with powdered herbs?

You absolutely can infuse wine with powdered herbs and spices! However, I do NOT recommend it. Powdered herbs and spices can be incredibly difficult to strain out of liquids. Your lemon balm may end up with powder in it. And who wants to sip on powdery wine!?

If powdered herbs and spices are all you have, when straining, try using a coffee filter or a double layer of clean cloth to help catch as much of the powder as possible.

Where is the best place to find high quality herbs?

The first best place to find high-quality herbs is to either grow them yourself or get them locally from someone who does. However, I know that not all of us have that option.

You can find the spices in this lemon balm wine recipe at conventional groceries and local food cooperatives. If you have a health food store near you, you may be able to find dried lemon balm and angelica root there. If it’s an option, always opt for organic herbs and spices.

And once you’ve exhausted those possibilities, the next best place to get high-quality herbs and spices is from reputable online retailers. I’ve purchased so many herbs online over the years. Without a doubt, I can tell you that Mountain Rose Herbs consistently outshines the others. The quality of the herbs, vast selection, and awareness and ethics around harvesting and environmental impact make them my medicinal herb go-to.

Carmelite Water (aka Lemon Balm Wine)

Course: Drinks Difficulty: Easy  Quantity 3 cups  Prep Time 4 hours

This botanical infused wine recipe is based off of Rosalee de la Forêt’s Carmelite water recipe. It’s fragrant, dry, slightly astringent, & there’s just something extra special about its ancient roots. I particularly love Rosalee’s suggestion to get lost in reveries of mysterious and ancient herbal potions while enjoying a sip of this infusion on a hot summer’s eve.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup dried organic lemon balm (or ~1 cup fresh lemon balm, loosely packed)

3 tablespoons dried organic angelica root

1 tablespoon dried organic coriander seed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest (~1 small lemon)

2 whole cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

1 bottle organic dry white wine

DIRECTIONS

Into a quart-sized glass jar, combine all herbs & spices.

Pour the wine into the jar, seal with a lid, & give the jar a shake to start the infusing process. Let the wine infuse for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator. (I do not recommend infusing for longer than 4-5 hours. The longer you let it infuse, the more medicinal the wine will taste.)

After a 4 hour infusion, use a fine-mesh strainer layered with several layers of cheesecloth, a coffee filter, or a nut milk bag to strain the herbs from the wine. Compost the herbs.

Return the infused wine to the jar (or use a small funnel to pour it back into the original bottle).

Enjoy within 3 days. This wine is best enjoyed chilled.

https://www.botanyculture.com/carmelite-water-lemon-balm-wine/

[lcsbicarchive]

[ kaya scodelario, twenty-seven, cis female, she/her ] ━ hey, I just saw [ hazel mendes ] walking down the streets of crownsville. they’ve lived in town for [ a year ], and you can catch them around town working as a [ tattoo artist ]. I hear they’re known to be [ kind-hearted & courageous ] and [ secretive & hypocritical ]. if asked, they would say their aesthetic would be [ coffee stains, sea salty hair, intricate dotwork tattoos, restless hands, smudged eyeliner, lipstick on a plastic fork, paint ridden fingertips, whispered secrets, and beaming smiles ]

i’m jujubee, i like long walks on the beach, bi--- maybe not. hi hello, i’m meg ( she/her ) i dwell in the good ol’ gmt, and i’m not great with introducing myself, but i am gonna admit that i’m typing this up way in advance because i’m excited, so hopefully something decent comes out of it ! but i’mma get to talking about miss gayzel, since she’s probably the more interesting between the two of us, and definitely the more relevant, so introduction to my favourite messy goblin in three,,,two,,,, fun,,, [ edit: yO i so i typed this up a while back bc ya girl got excited, but i just reread it and i have nO idea how helpful it is but i’m currently running around with my head on fire BUT I WANTED TO GET MY INTRO UP ANYWAY AND MEET Y’ALL so tldr: i might edit this later but hi hello nice to meetcha i’ll be on properly in a bit ! ]

honestly when it comes to hazel, i legit always have to no idea where to begin. but she’s an old ass muse for me, and tbh i know her like the back of my hand because of it, and if i can be a honest a lil sappy, i just want a nice rp home to settle in and i’m hoping crownsville will be that for me !

so although hazel has only been in crownsville for a year, georgia is actually her home ! she grew up in atlanta, but moved to new york when she was nineteen after a rough year, and she really just needed a fresh start and to start getting her life together. 

and she was in new york between the ages of nineteen and twenty five ( well, technically twenty six, since she literally turned twenty six a week after moving ) and in those years hazel trained to be and later became a fully qualified tattoo artist ( specialising in dotwork ! ) at a well respected tattoo parlour in ny, called permanent record. in the years she worked there, the original pr began to slowly expand, opening three other shops around the country, and when her boss started talking about opening a fifth, it kinda came at the right time for hazel specifically. 

her last boyfriend ( and i mean last boyfriend; hazel may still be in the closet, but moving from ny to crownsville was the ending point of her burying the bullshit, and she’s fully accepted her flaming lesbianism ) was a fucking garbage can of a human being, so after that relationship finally ended she was kind of looking for an excuse to leave, and lowkey looking for an excuse to go home, the latter partly being because there are parts of herself that are kinda,, missing ? that she lost due to shit going down, and she’d quite like them back ? she doesn’t wanna completely be her old self, because she’s changed a lot for the better, but there are some aspects she’d quite like back. however, moving back to atlanta wouldn’t exactly be the best thing for her, but she would’ve if that’s where her work lead her. which brings me to: her boss kinda casually said that if he opened up another branch somewhere, he’d kinda want someone he knew and trusted to keep an eye on it, so without really thinking, hearing he was thinking of georgia, hazel kinda jumped at the chance and offered to do it.

so that’s how hazel lowkey got promoted whoops. she doesn’t see it that she’s managing pr5, but that’s basically what she’s doing. the deal was, hazel would just be the eyes and ears for Big Boss, as he couldn’t be in two places at once, all while doing her actual job. she’ll deny being the manager/anybody’s boss, but she’s w r o n g. she’s just kinda casual about it. despite her definitely wanting to move anyway but not yet seriously considering it, and the fact she didn’t hate the idea of returning to georgia, she’ll still say she’s back ‘for work’ because,, she’s a goblin. 

but honestly she fucking loves her job, and she owes a lot to her job and to her boss. she’s also living in the apartment above the shop amen god bless

as far as her personality goes, hazel’s a mess of contradictions. she’s kinda had a life that would make it understandable if she were,,,, ruder, i guess ? or just.....bitter ? she’s not exactly the happiest of people, but i think after having a rather eventful life that getting a lil sadness as well as a pretty messy personality is nothing to complain about, since it could be far worse. but she’s a good person ! or, she tries to be. she’s working on it. she’s kind and she’s good but she’s got a repertoire of mistakes in her back pocket that she’s still dealing with, and she thinks stop her from being the good person she’s trying to be. a rather important note and something to keep in mind is that she tends to give off like,,, generally chaotic vibes a lot of the time ? like if you’re meeting her somewhere she’ll arrive late and slightly out of breath, or she can just seem a little flustered, or like her mind’s kinda elsewhere, or like she’s stressed/hassled/has too much to do and not enough time to do it in even if she’s actually doing okay, or if you need a pen she’s sure she has one but by the time she’s emptied her bag and found the pen, you could’ve walked to the shop, bought your own, picked up a milkshake, got a donkey ride, paid for a kid who didn’t have enough money to have their own donkey ride, had a walk in the woods, saved a woman from being mugged by a guy with his finger in his hoodie pocket, walked back, realise you don’t have the pen, can’t remember where you left it, went back to the shop and bought a new pen, and gotten back to her.

but in good news !! she’s a kind person, so plotting is made easier by that ! she’s pretty smiley on a good day, chatty, good with people, and just,, pretty good at the person aspect of her job as well as the actual ,,, Job part of her job. speaking of plotting, i generally kinda tend to suck at it, but i try my best and i make up for my lack of ideas with enthusiasm ! plus i’m always open to whatever ideas y’all may have, but to make our lives easier, i have a little plotties page here ! 

uhhhhh random things bout gayzel: legit thinks piano man it the best song ever written ( closely followed by barracuda,,, ) she’s one of those heathens that likes pineapple on pizza, she has pet fishies called ernie and bert and she cannot tell them apart, loves back to the future but also loves singin in the rain because girlie is your least favourite thespian lesbian, and she’s currently got the cute lil like,, Almost Ombre hair that kaya had in like 2014 or w/e ?? see above for reference sake, and i’m p sure there’s a reference linked in her stats too, which can be found here ! but tldr: the ends are just a lil lighter and it’s cute.

she also has a full ass like 6k word bio but tbh, it’s old, and i’m really not happy with the way it’s written, and despite the fact i never actually finished it, i want to rewrite it, so we’ll consider her current one a placeholder lol. disclaimer: hazel’s general story and background is a little trigger heavy, but obviously everything will be tagged, and her biography has warnings on it, and also says when the warnings have passed so you can keep reading if you wanna. 

okaY so if you got this far, you’re some sort of Wizard whom i greatly appreciate ! as i mentioned, i’m really bad with plotting and ims tend to make me anxious as heckery but if you give this post a lil LIKE i’ll swim into your ims nonetheless in hopefully the least awkward way i can possibly manage, but i’m also just up for having characters interact and see if there’s anything that comes to mind and stuff, but i’m excited to meet your cherubs ! general heads up: i apologise for any typos in this post and in future threads; i proofread everything to hell and back but my brain fuckin hates me so that usually means nOTHING but pls,,, just bear with me, i try my darn best !

[theabominableblogger]

Rewatching “The Force Awakens”

Welp, “The Last Jedi” is officially coming out in theaters FRIDAAAAYYYY so I thought “... I might as well rewatch the last onee.... I mean... why not?”

*scats opening theme crazily out loud*

GUYS THEY TELL YOU WHO “THE LAST JEDI” IS IN THE OPENING CRAWL!

Plus Yoda actually calls him “the last of the Jedi” in Episode 6

That Imperial ship passing in front of the planet there looks like a big fat middle finger.  Like “Haha suckas!”

BB-8!

So, age old question, is BB-8 a boy or a girl?  I think BB-8′s a boy...

Oh hi Max von Sydow, who’s barely in this movie!

So how is the Max von Sydow character connected to Luke?  And how does he have the last bit of the map needed to find Luke?

Yeeep, this is a J.J. Abrams movie

Oh that one Stormtrooper had a freaking flamethrower!

“I’ll [Poe] come back for you [BB-8]!”  Aaawww...

I like that the first indication we get that Finn is not an ordinary Stormtrooper is that we actually hear him breathing.  You never hear the other Stormtroopers breathing, just their voices.

*Kylo Ren’s leitmotif starts playing*   Yessss, blare those French horns, John Williams!

OH THAT’S AWESOME

Lens flare!

Take a shot every time one comes up in this movie.

“So who talks first?  You talk first, I talk first?  It’s just very hard to understand you with all the... apparatus...”  OK, so there’s the indication that Poe clearly knows who Kylo Ren was before he turned to the Dark Side so he absolutely gives no shits and goes forward with the straight on mockery.  Amazing.

He’s probably like “Ooooh why hello, Darth Edgelord.  I like your cape, did your mom make it for you?  NO, BECAUSE SHE AND I ARE TOTES BFFs NOW, I HAVE A DROID FOR A SON, AND YOU HAVE A STUPID FACE!”

Oh hi Phasma, who barely has anything to do in this movie!

You guys got Brienne of Freaking Tarth to play a bad guy, and she doesn’t do anything?!?

Aaawww, BB-8!

That’s the nightwatcher!  And it pops up in “Forces of Destiny!”

John Boyega!

Phasma’s armor in that shot doesn’t really look as shiny as it usually does.  Maybe it’s the low lighting

Rey!

Oh I love Rey’s theme

No lie, Rey’s speeder kinda looks like a USB drive

Man, Zazu looks terrible....

What the heck is that?

*imitates Unkar Plutt*  ONE QUA-TAH PO-TION

So has anyone actually taken the time to figure out how long Rey has been on Jakku based on the tally marks on the wall?

BB-8 looks so offended that Rey just shushed him

Oh my gosh, BB-8′s little “Yep!”

Guys, I want a BB-8 so bad now.  Please get me one.

Holy crap, what the heck did they do to Poe?

Oh hello Hux!

I like the little hissing noise that happens when Finn takes off his Stormtrooper helmet

WHY IS THERE A CABLE?!?!?

Wilhelm Scream!

Oh, there’s a targeting thing on the windshield too!

How the heck could Kylo sense that Finn was exactly that one Stormtrooper who was freaked out at the village?  And how does he know Finn’s identification number?  Did he extract the number just on the whim of it?

“No droid can be that important!”  “This one [BB-8] is!”  ThAT’S HIS SON, DAMMIT

Finn gradually stripping off all of his Stormtrooper gear reminds me of “The Prince of Egypt” for some reason.  Plus there’s a sequence of him trekking through the desert to get to a settlement.

“They’re [Hux’s soldiers] obviously skilled at committing high treason.”  The sass is strong with this one...

Hux is like “Son of a bitch...”

Happabore!

Finn’s face when he sees Rey beat off Unkar’s men!

*Rey charges at Finn like an angry bull*  Pfffttt...

“Yes I am.  I'm with the Resistance, yeah.  *whispers* I’m with the Resistance.”  Finn is the K2-SO of the sequel trilogy.  Brilliant.

“[Finn] Stop taking my hand!” Oh let him!

*Rey offers Finn her hand*  Thank you.

AN:  Just a heads up.  I’m only 31 minutes in.  Because I am a motormouth and the video’s stalling so I got time to write down more thoughts.

“That one’s garbage!”  Don’t call the Falcon garbage!

Run, little soccer ball [BB-8], run!

*Rey and Finn absolutely wreck the Niima outpost with the Falcon*  Guys... no...

Holy shit so what exactly happened at the Battle of Jakku that so many Star Destroyers crashed to the planet’s surface?

“I’m [Finn] getting pretty good at this!”  That’s great, kid!  Don’t get cocky!

*The Falcon makes a sharp right out of the graveyard*  OOOOHHHH THAT WAS NICE!

According to the script for this movie, this dude’s name is Mitaka.... please tell me his first name is Hakuna

Wouldn’t Kylo recognize the make and model of the Falcon?  Because, you know, that’s his dad’s ship

“What girl?”  The one.  The one you’re gonna get super pissed at/obsessed with in the next movie.  Because status and other crap.

“Droid, please!”

Where the heck is the Ileenium system?  Probably in the Outer Rim as per usual I suppose?

Pretty sure BB-8 just flipped Finn off

“[Rey] You got a boyfriend?  Cute boyfriend?”  Oh my God...

The hell is that?  It’s even got teeth!

HAN AND CHEWIE!

Han’s like “Oh yeah.  Reunited with my baby.”

Where and what the heck are half the things/planets Han and Finn talk about?

Why didn’t Han have BB-8 hide with Rey and Finn?  He doesn’t know the Death Gang is working with the First Order so isn’t it only common sense that he take extra precautions?  Well then again, this is Han we’re talking about...

“I got a bad feeling about this.”  That’s prequel style IGABFAT

Take a shot every time someone fires a blaster at a sealed door and it opens

“I [Han] never ask that question until after I’ve done it.”  Same.

“This is not how I thought this day was gonna go.”  Also same.

Hi Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke)!

I like how Kylo just slowly turns toward Hux like “Excuuuusse me, bitch?”

I know Snoke here is just a hologram but dang the motion capture gets so much better in the next movie

Please tell me we get more of the Knights of Ren in the next movie.  C’mon, Rian Johnson, don’t let me down.

*claps with each word*  More flashbacks concerning Kylo’s turn to the Dark Side, please!

Ohhh the Force theme!  I hear you, John Williams!

“I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy.”  I mean, it is a green screen...

“Women always figure out the truth.”  Salud!

I would love to see/read an AU of Rey working as second mate with Han and Chewie

*sings along with the “Jabba Flow”*

“Where’s my [Maz] boyfriend?” “Chewie’s busy working on the Falcon.” *spit take*

Skeksises!

“Forgive me.  I feel it again...” *resists urge to sing “Johanna” from Sweeney Todd*

“... the pull to the light.”  Oh thank God.

How the heck was Vader’s helmet recovered from Endor?

“Leia doesn’t wanna see me [Han].”  Why the heck not?!?

Wait, that attack on the village in the beginning was Finn’s first battle?!?

The heck...

Biggest question out of the whole movie:  how was Luke’s first lightsaber recovered from Cloud City in Episode 5?

Yoda...

Palpatine?  Did I just hear Palpatine?

Alec Guinness Obi-Wan...

The heck kind of ship is that?

“These are your first steps...”  Ewan McGregor!

So Maz isn’t Force sensitive but she knows about it... please tell me she’s met Chirrut somewhere before the events of Rogue One

Roll those r’s, Hux!

No, not Martha Jones!

How the heck are the beams separating after being shot into space?  Were they separately programmed to hit a specific planet before Starkiller Base fired them?

“Where’d you [Maz] get that [Anakin’s lightsaber]?”  “A good question... for another time.”  Well that’s mighty convenient!

*Kylo Ren’s leitmotif starts playing*  Here we go...

Han just shot that Stormtrooper without looking.  Badass.

That’s like Hawkeye in “The Avengers” shooting down that one Chitauri without looking

*in best TR-8R voice*  TRAITOR!

Those wave vortexes though!

*Kylo pops out of nowhere*  Oh crap!

I like how when Kylo uses the Force to make people stop in place, it’s just like they literally freezed and they look so uncomfortable and rigid when it happens

I just noticed that whenever Adam Driver speaks like really softly, his voice gets a little high pitched

So how did Kylo knock out Rey with the Force?  Is it like a unique Force ability that’s already out there?

In Rebels, the loth wolf knocks Sabine out but it’s more of a roofie breath effect.  Here, Kylo does this kinda pulling motion when he does it.

Oh my God, Leia...

GOD DAMMIT, 3PO

OH MY GOSH BB-8 RUNNING TOWARD POE WITH JOY!

#WeNeedMorePoe2k17

Fun Fact:  the medic attending Chewie is played by Christopher Lee’s niece

“Princesses...”  Excuse you [3PO]?!?

“R2-D2 has been in low power mode ever since Master Luke went away...”  Well, that’s convenient!

Something I want to see:  young Ben Solo traveling with his dad Han Solo. 

Dad Solo:  A Star Wars Story

“Where am I [Rey]?”  “You’re my [Kylo] guest.”  Is Kylo always super smarmy with his prisoners?

*Kylo takes off his mask*  Oh no, he’s... a regular human being... with somehow perfect hair...

*shrugs*

I mean, hey, apparently we’re getting Beefcake Kylo in “The Last Jedi,” so I guess this was Star Wars getting its fandom ready...

Hey guys, I found the cast of Rogue One.

“You [Rey] know I [Kylo] can take whatever I want.”  EEEUGGHHHHH

This is how the script describes Kylo’s first attempt at reading Rey’s mind:  Kylo Ren nearly TOUCHES HER FACE...  THEY'RE BOTH SURPRISED: they react to a feeling that passes between them -- AN ENERGY THEY RECOGNIZE IN EACH OTHER. And then it's gone. Adversaries again.

STAR WARS, EXPLAIN!  I AM CONFUSION!

“You... you’re afraid... that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader.”  OOOHHHHHH

So what is Snoke’s backstory?  Apparently he’s older than both Plagueis and Palpatine and he’s got his face cut up like a Papa John’s pizza.  So what’s up?

[Kylo starts stalking down the hall] *starts scatting “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees*

Bwahahahahahaha... *deep breath*  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Those two Stormtroopers though!

So to power Starkiller Base, they suck the energy out of a Sun?  Wasn’t that used in “Revenge of the Fallen?”

“It’s just another Death Star.”   AMEN!

“Some things never change.”  “True.  You [Han] still drive me [Leia] crazy.”  AAAGGHHH

*Han and Leia hug*  AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH

What the heck is Galactic Standard Time?  The announcement at the base said that everyone needs to re-synchronize their time to that.  So does that mean there’s a Galactic Daylight Saving Time as well?

“We’re making our landing approach at light speed?”  Uhhh yeah... that’s gonna work out well...

*The Falcon slides to a stop*  Yeaahhhh no, everyone’s dead after that.

“That’s not how the Force works!”  Best.  Line.  Ever.

I still want that on a poster.

If Rey could get a hold on a blaster, why can’t she also just knock out a random trooper and take his armor?

Finn, why did you leave Phasma at the desk by herself?!?!?

What are those two troopers?

*Finn and Rey hug*  Aaaawwww....

“It would take a miracle to save us now.”  Oh but of course.

No lie, Kylo with his mask on kinda reminds me of Daffy Duck for some reason. 

Aaw Finn gave Rey his jacket!

“BEN!”  WhAt, Daaaad?!?!?

Oh that shot’s awesome

“I’m [Kylo] being torn apart.”  HI BEING TORN APART, I’M DAD!

NOOOOOOOOOooooooooo....

*Han runs his hand along Kylo’s cheek before falling*  Gooodd.... I’mmmm not OK, I am not OK

*Leia senses Han’s death with the Force*  AAAAAAGGGHHH

Take a shot whenever you see a random Stormtrooper go flying from an explosion

I just realized that when Kylo was giving his little speel, he was looking directly at Rey and completely ignored Finn standing right beside her.

“TRAITORRRRRRR!!”  Oh there ya go.  Now ya pissed him off.

“That lightsaber- it belongs to me!”  IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!

*Rey uses the Force to summon the lightsaber*  WHOOOOOOO LET’S GOOO!

Oh wow, they’re just hacking down trees right and left.

Ex-PLOsions...

*Rey does a somersault*  PARKOUR!

I love how Rey’s just basically using the lightsaber like a bat.

*softly*  Oooohh the Force theme...

That shot’s awesome too.  Holy crap.

Rey just sliced up Kylo’s face and arm like a Christmas ham.

[Rey and Kylo get separated]  *sings*  We’ll meet again... don’t know when... don’t know where...

I wonder if Rey even knows who Leia is.  Stupid question but it’s gotta be asked sometime...

Someone hug Chewie, dang it!

The first thing R2 does when he wakes up is insult 3PO.  Amazing.

So how long was R2 asleep?  In extension, how long has Luke been away?

Leia:  May the Force be with you

*cries*

Skellig Island [Ahch-To] looks gorgeous

How long has Luke been standing there?  Did he know Rey was coming and go “Oh, I gotta do a dramatic turn around and reveal when she comes.  Better get ready...”

*Rey offers Luke the lightsaber*  So was there a hand attached to that?

It would be pretty freaking hilarious if in the next movie, Luke takes it and then pulls a Moana and just chucks it.  I would literally die laughing.

[whichwitchami]

I don’t know if its the weather or what, but my depression/ irritability is way off the charts right now

Everything is super shitty and frustrating. and I”m just gonna go on a huge rant that everyone can ignore

Basically just a long rant about my roommate and living situation. I thought it was gonna be more, but it just took off. 

I don’t want to live here anymore. This apartment complex I live in is way over priced and fucking shit. Sure, its nice, sure, there’s a lot of amenities, but I feel like I’m living in a glorified dorm room. I don’t even want to finish out the lease I have right now, let alone sign a new one. My current roommate made this big fuss about how we weren’t going to live together anymore once her boyfriend graduated, so I started making plans to find another place, a cheaper place, and then she went “but what about me?” with her big ol’ eyes

its always “what about me???” with her. 

Did I buy someone a new necklace for Christmas? “what about me?”

Did I go to Cleveland with my boyfriend? “What about me?? i wanted to go there with you!” 

Did I have fun doing crafts with my sister over Thanksgiving? “What about me?? I wanna go and do crafts with her!”

Bitch this is my fucking life! you’re a friend sure, but you can’t just hijack every damn thing I do! Especially when I do invite you places! I invited you to lunch yesterday with your co-worker who wanted all three of us to go out and spend some time together. You turned me down and I went with her by myself. She constantly says we should do stuff together but once I actually try to plan stuff, she doesn’t want to do it. I’m so fucking done with that. 

Going back to the lease. So it turns out when this current lease is up, she wants to live with me for a little bit longer. By a little bit longer, I mean six months. Not a full 12 month lease like most places do, but just six more months, so that way when she graduates at the end of the fall semester, she can move in with her boyfriend. 

Umm....what???? no. I’m sorry, that’s really fucking inconvenient for me. What the actual fuck honey?

Signing a 6 month lease is not ideal for me, because what the fuck am I supposed to do at the end of those six months? My boyfriend and I have agreed that we aren’t sure about living together just yet, new relationship and all, plus he lives 30 minutes away from my school and I don’t wanna make that commute for classes. So what? I just sign a 6 month lease and then get left high and dry?

Her solution?

Stay right fucking here. 

In this damn apartment that I hate. 

She works in the office to get free rent, so she can sign a full year lease and then dissolve it when she quits after 6 months and graduates. I can sign what? A year long lease? Another fucking year in this hotel that passes itself off as an apartment building?

Fuck that. I want to move somewhere cheaper, somewhere that works better for me. 

I get that we’re friends and that as much as I bitch about her we actually work really well living together, but that doesn’t mean that we should hold onto it. 

Why can’t she just move in with her boyfriend when this current lease is up? Why does she have to do this awkward as shit thing where she moves out in six months?

Or, alternatively, why can’t she just fucking deal with it? sign a 12 month lease with me somewhere else and just live life accepting that things don’t always work out perfectly for us? So what if she has to spend 6 more months with me before moving in with him?

This place is so fucking expensive. I had to take out an extra loan just to pay for rent here. We talked about moving to a lower floor where its cheaper, but guess what? The leasing office pulled some shit and so its only $10 less to live on a lower floor. What the fuck is that about? That’s not worth shit. 

I’m moving. That’s what this comes down to. It’s great that she gets free rent for working in the office, but they’re super bitchy and wont’ hire me, so I don’t get that deal. She can get a studio here and dissolve her lease in 6 months. I’m moving out. If I have to move into my own space and not have a roommate at all, that’s fine. I got friends and a partner, I won’t get lonely. 

Also, she and I agreed that she would do laundry today and I would do it today, but her damp clothes are still in the washer and there’s a full load in the drier. Plus, she puts my dishes in the dishwasher, ones that I’ve explicitly told her don’t go in the dishwasher. She’s ruined two of my mugs but continues to use them and put them in the dishwasher despite the fact that they’re clearly ruined from it. Who the fuck does that and doesn’t say anything?

I’m so done with this. I want to live alone. 

[annaxkeating]

How to Create Irresistible Facebook Landing Pages (Examples)

Imagine a potential customer is sitting in their car, waiting to pick up their kids from school. They’ve got 15 minutes to kill, so they pick up their phone and (because they’re 46 and don’t know about TikTok yet) scroll through Facebook.

Between checking out their best friend’s pictures from a tropical vacation and trying to untangle their Aunt Ida’s… uh, “unorthodox” political insights, they see your Facebook advertisement for gorgeous, handmade leather bags.

Your ads reach people like this because of tracking, pixels, lookalike audiences, and all the other technical magic that powers Facebook’s advertising platform. Facebook can see that this potential customer is in the market for a new leather bag (they were just searching for one last night!) and, based on the demographic targeting you’ve applied, shows them your ad.

There are only five minutes left until the school bell rights and children flood out the doors into the car, demanding snacks, Fortnite V-Bucks, and meaningful action to address global climate change. So, your prospect clicks your ad with the intent to buy.

Only… your Facebook ad doesn’t send them where they expected. Instead, it takes them to the homepage of your store. The beautiful leather bag you were advertising is nowhere in sight. Now the kids are in the car, the phone is back in the console, and the sale is lost. Where’d you go wrong?

In this article, we’re going to discuss how dedicated Facebook landing pages help you capture more of these near-miss conversions. Along the way, we’ll highlight ways you can optimize your pages to make ’em more impactful and share some examples of digital brands who’re doing it right.

What Is a Facebook Landing Page?

A Facebook landing page is a dedicated page designed to convert visitors from a specific pay-per-click (PPC) Facebook ad.

These landing pages are different from other pages (like product pages on your website) because they’re tailor-made to complement your Facebook ad. They continue the story—the hook, the design, the call to action that was introduced to the reader as they scrolled through their Facebook newsfeed.

Years ago, Facebook offered landing pages within their own platform. These allowed businesses to gate their content for Facebook likes (earning them the nickname “like gate”), but they haven’t been available since 2014.

In this post, when we talk about Facebook landing pages, we’re talking about the first page someone sees after they click on a Facebook ad—not to be confused with the on-platform landing pages Facebook used to offer.

Why Do I Need Landing Pages for My Facebook Ads?

Everyone’s Facebook newsfeed is unique. The content and pages you like, the friends you’re connected to, the groups you’re joined—these things all influence the way your newsfeed populates. Because prospects’ newsfeeds are personalized and the ads they see are highly targeted, your Facebook landing page needs to be tightly aligned with your ad if it’s going to be successful.

Here are some other reasons that having dedicated landing pages for each Facebook ad is good practice:

Potential customers need more information

Scrollers, readers, and browsers on Facebook need extra nurturing to go from ad click to purchase. These potential customers are in the brand awareness phase. To convert on your page, they’ll wanna see specific information related to whatever got them to click on the ad in the first place. A focused Facebook landing page—with concise info and a consistent message—is the best way to turn them into customers.

Mobile users are distracted users

People don’t log into Facebook for in-depth reading and focused learning. They’re filling time, or just picking up their phone for a quick check-in. And because 94% of Facebook ad revenue is from a mobile device, you should assume everyone who sees your ad only has five minutes or less to make a purchase.

That’s why you need to make it as easy as possible to go from Facebook ad to landing page call to action. Every navigation obstacle or confusing message risks losing your prospect’s attention and having them move on to something else.

Homepages are slow and overwhelming

Homepages are great for solution-aware prospects looking for specific information, but they can be overwhelming for visitors from social media. (Just think of all the distractions: nav bars, calls to action, lists of products and features.) A MECLABS study found that 44% of clicks generated by B2B companies send readers to a homepage and not a dedicated landing page. That’s a lot of businesses that aren’t optimizing for conversions.

An average visitor won’t wait more than three seconds for a page to load. Most websites are heavy with images, scripts, and other elements that make them slower than an optimized landing page. When you send your Facebook ad traffic to your homepage, you’re probably losing more customers than you realize.

How Do I Create a High-Converting Facebook Landing Page?

We’ve got a quick-reference list of Facebook landing page best practices below, but there are two things you really wanna keep in mind as you start building your page:

Know your audience. It’s no secret that Facebook has amazing targeting capabilities, but you won’t be able to take advantage of them if you don’t know anything about your ideal prospects. Before you shell out the cash for Facebook ads, make sure that you know your audience well. Spend time investigating how potential customers search for your solution, what words they use when describing products or services similar to yours, and what features or benefits interest them most.

Keep it consistent. When writing for a Facebook landing page, remember to keep the messaging consistent between your ad and your landing page. Marketers might think that repeating copy is repetitive, but it can help reinforce your message to prospects and reassure them they’re in the right place after they click. Same with calls to action: if someone clicks an ad about earning a doctoral degree, that’d better be the main focus of your landing page.

5 Facebook Landing Page Must-Haves

Clear unique selling proposition (USP). Visitors should immediately be able to tell what makes your product or service a fit for their needs. Don’t bury the most important details lower on your page—show ’em above the fold.

Strong, descriptive headlines. Your headline should make the reader want to know more or see more. The headline on both the Facebook ad and landing page should convey the same offer.

Consistent design elements. The goal here is to continue the story you started on Facebook, and that includes visuals. If the images on your Facebook ad are neutral colors with images of smiling kids, then your Facebook landing page should also have neutral colors with images of smiling kids.

High-quality images or videos. This seems like a gimme, but you’d be surprised how many Facebook landing pages use low-res visuals that scare off prospects right after they’ve clicked an ad. Make sure to use images or videos on your landing page that shows your offer in the best light.

A singular, compelling call to action. You can repeat your call to action throughout the page, but you should only ask visitors to do one specific thing. Plus, your copy should tell them exactly what happens when they do that thing: for example, “get the ebook” rather than “submit” on a form.

Examples of Facebook Landing Pages Done Right

Of course, we’d never give you all this information without providing some concrete examples. Here’s a breakdown of Facebook landing pages from Unbounce customers who really know what they’re doing.

Quarters: Target Your Ads with Demographic Information

Quarters is an all-inclusive community living space in multiple locations around the world. They advertise their service on Facebook by highlighting their transparent pricing, contract flexibility, and included amenities.

This Facebook ad that Quarters is running has five variants. Each features copy and imagery designed to target people looking for housing in a particular city or neighborhood—say, Manhattan—allowing Facebook to surface relevant ads depending on audience location.

Image courtesy of Quarters. (Click to see the whole thing.)

When someone clicks through to the landing page, Quarters encourages them to “Check Availability,” repeating the call to action throughout the page to keep it top-of-mind. This does a great job of guiding visitors to take the next step in the purchase journey.

Choosing a place to live can be a substantial expense (especially in the Big Apple), and Quarters anticipates their prospects will have plenty of questions. The landing page includes tons of useful information, including 360-degree tours of available rooms, details on the neighborhoods (with images and maps), and quick-reference lists of amenities and pricing.

TapSnap + Samuraw: Give Visitors Everything They Need to Convert

Here are a couple of landing pages that show it’s often more important to be clear than clever.

TapSnap is a photo booth rental company and their Facebook landing page makes that obvious. Above the fold, their message is super straightforward: they’re selling photo booths, they’ll deliver them to you, here’s how to get in touch. Boom.

Side note: Check out the arrow at the bottom of the fold that directs your eye to more information. Without it, the page might’ve created a false bottom effect, leading people to believe that they were at the bottom of the page when there’s actually more to read.

Image courtesy of TapSnap. (Click to see the whole thing.)

Further down, TapSnap provides a concise, skimmable list of features that help prospects quickly understand what they can expect from the product. Plus, the brand shows its booths in action with photos from real events (alongside examples of the different kinds of pictures available) to show off the experience they create.

TapSnap doesn’t leave anything to the imagination—and neither does Samuraw.

Samuraw offers a high-quality mineral and probiotic supplement made from natural ingredients, and this Facebook landing page (built by Webistry) delivers that message right away in the headline. By including the “add to cart” call to action above the fold, Samuraw also gives visitors a clear path to purchase.

Image courtesy of Samuraw. (Click to see the whole thing.)

If you’re already in the market for a real-food multivitamin and probiotic (who isn’t?), you might choose to purchase right them. But if you’re curious about ingredients and other nutritional details, Samuraw has done a great job of providing all that information further down the page.

Another neat feature of this Samuraw landing page is the sticky call to action that follows visitors as they scroll the page. This helps keep the offer top of mind and makes it easy for readers to purchase the product when they’re ready to convert.

Wanna see how other brands are using Facebook landing pages to grow their businesses? Check out this post about how a baby food brand used Facebook to create an email list of 14,000+ subscribers, or this one about how Indochino drove 50% growth in just one year.

Taboola + TurnKey: Use Proof Points to Establish Credibility

Leveraging proof (like evidence of your supposed benefits or testimonials from happy customers) in your Facebook ad and landing page copy is a powerful way to create trust with your audience.

Take Taboola, an advertising and sponsored content platform that you’ve probably seen surfacing content all over the web. In this Facebook ad, Taboola makes sure to highlight their expansive digital network: “Reach 1.4B users – and get traffic that converts.”

That’s a huge benefit that’s sure to get the attention of businesses who wanna get their message in front of loads of prospects.

Image courtesy of Taboola. (Click to see the whole thing.)

Taboola continues to build trust on their Facebook landing page. Above the fold, they’ve included a banner of some of their most recognizable partners and customers: USA Today, IKEA, and Microsoft, to name a few.

Further down, Taboola even includes concrete results that brands have gotten with the platform. It’s one thing to say you can increase someone’s conversion rate or audience engagement. It’s another thing to prove it with hard numbers.

TurnKey gives us another great example of how to use proof on your Facebook landing page. As a vacation rental platform, the company needs visitors to trust that their properties will be handled with care. They do that by including featured media logos and various awards in a banner above the fold.

Image courtesy of TurnKey. (Click to see the whole thing.)

But the most compelling proof on this page is a testimonial that TurnKey includes lower down. This customer totally lays out TurnKey’s unique selling proposition: other rental platforms have left their home in shambles and failed to earn them what they expected, whereas TurnKey puts their mind at ease by protecting the property from damage and generating more revenue.

You’ve gotta hire this guy, TurnKey.

CommuniCloud: Convert More with a Compelling Incentive

Sure, your offer is great—but to really get people converting, it can help to give ’em a little something extra. For ecommerce companies, maybe it’s free shipping or a discount. For SaaS brands, it’s usually a no-commitment free trial.

That’s how CommuniCloud is driving registrations on this Facebook landing page. The brand keeps things simple: along with a quick description of their benefits and some social proof, we’ve got a quick form that asks just for necessary information.

Image courtesy of Communicloud. (Click to see the whole thing.)

It’s important to note that CommuniCloud doesn’t require a credit card to sign up for their trial. That’d create some serious friction at this stage, so better to capture contact details and sort out the payment side later.

Schedulehead + HiredHippo: Show Off the Product In Action

Some products are… let’s say, more photogenic than others. It’s easier to get people’s attention with a picture of food or clothing than something like software. Still, showing off your product—whatever it is—can better (and more quickly) communicate what you’re offering than words alone.

Schedulehead is a software platform that helps companies manage their employee scheduling and payroll. On this Facebook landing page, the brand is sure to highlight their user interface right from the beginning—before even getting into the specifics of their functionality.

Image courtesy of Schedulehead. (Click to see the whole thing.)

This helps visitors understand that Schedulehead isn’t some overrated spreadsheet. There are at-a-glance graphs and charts, map and calendar integrations, and loads of other features to help track your workforce.

And check out this page from HiredHippo, a job search network that automatically matches professionals with hiring companies. (Love this headline, by the way. Finding job opportunities without updating a dull resume sounds like a dream come true.)

Image courtesy of HiredHippo. (Click to see the whole thing.)

After listing some of the benefits and sharing testimonials from users, HiredHippo is sure to include a snapshot of the platform to show visitors what they can expect. Even just from this image, we can see that the dashboard makes evaluating job opportunities way easier by sharing the key details in a bulleted list.

Start Building Your Own Facebook Landing Pages with Unbounce

Ready to create a landing page for your next Facebook ad campaign? Be sure to check out how Unbounce helps digital brands turn more followers into customers. Then head over to our templates to get a head start building a customized landing page that’ll keep your campaigns consistent and convertin’.

from Digital https://unbounce.com/social-media/facebook-landing-pages/ via http://www.rssmix.com/