#plus digging through everyone’s bathroom cabinets

[tundrakatiebean]

Me an hour into this book: I hope that one goes batshit and kills someone

Me two hours into the book: yeah ok fraud is obvious

Me halfway through the book: I’ll just finish this bit and then go brush my teeth

The book: 👀 ☕️🍿🎉🦀

[boqvistsbabe]

Yeet - Adam Boqvist

*not my gif*

This is currently the title cause I don’t know what else to call it so. Also this is shitty and I know it is. It wasn’t planned and then I procrastinated it but I can’t start on the planned stuff till this is done because my brain is being dumb. Anyways here it is and I hope it doesn’t flop.

Warnings: none that I know of but if you see any lmk

Word count: 2,400

A/n: tried to make it as gender neutral as possible but I might’ve slipped up so if I did please let me know so I can fix it!

NOT EDITED

~~~~~~~~~

You woke up with a terrible headache and it had just gotten worse as the day went on and your coworkers weren’t helping. It seemed every single time you turned around someone needed something and you ended up getting none of your own work done. And on the way home traffic was terrible and to add on it started raining. So by the time you got home you were just ready to crawl in bed and stay there for the next week.

When you walked in the front door and saw the guys on the couch playing video games and you could tell they were invested in the game so you just mumbled a quick hello and then went upstairs to Adam’s room. You could go to your room but Adam’s room was cozier. Or at least that’s what you told yourself. The first thing you do when you walk in the room is change into some of Adam’s sweats and one of his hoodies before turning the lights off and crawling under the covers. Before you could even settle fully there was a soft knock at the door before it was opened and you heard someone shuffle across the floor before feeling the bed dip and a hand on top of your resting form.

“Hey are you okay?” At the sound of Adam’s soft voice you poked your head out of the covers to meet his eyes. You couldn’t even get the words out and you just shook your head as tears welled up in your eyes.

“Oh älskling come here.” He said, moving closer to you and opening his arms so you could crawl into them. When you were tucked into his side he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “When you’re ready tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”

When you had calmed down enough to tell him what had happened he wiped your tears away as he listened. And when you were done he kissed you forehead before getting up and walking out the door. You would question him but your headache had gotten even worse after crying, so you just laid down and pulled the covers up over your head again.

A few minutes later you heard him walk into the room.

“Hey kärlek, I’m gonna need you to sit up and take this.” He said softly though as to not make your headache worse.

You sat up and took the glass of water and the Exedrin from him before quickly swallowing the pill and following it with the water.

“Do you feel any better?”

“Adam, bud I just took it they don’t work that fast.”

“Oh yeah right sorry.” He responded sheepishly.

“No you’re good, thank you for the water and the medicine. You can go back to playing games with the boys.”

“What, no? Why would I leave,” he said with a frown, “You’re not feeling well so I’m gonna stay up here and cuddle you cause you need cuddles. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

You went to argue but he just gave you a look and you shut your mouth and rolled your eyes before laying back down. Once you were settled under the covers you look up at Adam, expecting him to be getting in bed with you.

“I’m gonna change into sweats so I’m more comfortable.” He said before promptly standing up and starting to undress. Which while it wasn’t unusual that he did something like that, lately you were finding yourself looking away so you wouldn’t get caught starring.

Once Adam was done he crawled under the covers next to you and pulled you back into his bare chest. Your face heated at the motion, though you had no idea why. You had cuddled with him many times but maybe it’s because for some reason this time felt different. But at the moment you couldn’t find it in yourself to care, you had a warm Adam behind you that was kind enough to take care of you and leave his friends to keep you company, and you were going to take advantageous that. So you snuggled further under the covers and into Adam’s chest and fell asleep moments later; missing the kiss Adam pressed to your temple before tightening his arms around you.

When you woke up a little while later, Adam was gone. In his place there was instead Burt and Ralph. You rolled over to check your phone to see a message from Adam saying he was picking up dinner and would be back in a little bit. So you texted back an “okay” before continuing to go through your missed notifications.

You were getting restless and you felt better so you decided to go downstairs. When you got down there Kirby and Alex were still playing video games and Lyndsey was watching something on her phone so you decided to go sit on the couch by her. You grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and curled up under it, your head felt foggy and closing your eyes made it better.

You didn’t mean to fall asleep, but you had. This time you woke up to Adam crouched in front of you, his hand on your knee and his soft voice coaxing you to wake up and eat. When he saw your eyes were open, he stood and reached his hands out for you to grab. He pulled you up and gestured for you to go ahead of him to the kitchen. You got to the island where the food was sitting. Before you could start digging in like everyone else, you felt someone tap your shoulder so you turned. And found Adam standing there with a suspicious smile on his face before he pulled flowers out from behind his back. Your favorite flowers to be exact.

“I thought you could use a pick me up and I saw these and I knew they were your favorite so I got them for you.” He said handing you the flowers.

You grab them from him and set them on the counter before turning back to him and pulling him into a hug. Tucking your face into his neck you mumbled a “thank you” and he squeezed you closer to him. You both stay like that for a minute before

“Are you two gonna eat or just gonna stand there?” Came Kirby’s voice from behind you.

Adam and you both immediately let go of each other. Adam went to the food and you picked up the flowers and smelled them before going over to the cabinet to look for a vase. The only vase you could find was on the top shelf. You were seconds away from climbing on the counter to grab it, when you felt a hand on your lower back and a tattooed arm reached past you and grabbed the vase from the shelf and set it on the counter. Adam pressed a kiss to the side of your head then went back to get his food. You had to stop yourself from thinking he was trying to tell you something. You knew it was just because he knew you weren’t feeling well, nothing more. You pushed the thought about how he only did this for you to the back of your brain, not letting yourself go down that rabbit hole.

It was a little while later when you all were done with food and watching a movie in the living room. You were sitting in between Adam and Kirby. Ralph was curled up next to you and you were mindlessly petting him as you watched the movie and tried to keep sleep at bay once more. Adam got up to go do something in the kitchen and Burt followed him in hopes of getting food. You were once again failing at staying awake and your head dropped to Kirby’s shoulder and he pulled you close so you were cuddled up to him. Which you in no way minded since he was a human space heater. You causing Alex’s eye and he gave you a look that you didn’t even want to begin to decipher and shook your head, going back to watching whatever dumb movie this was.

“I leave for one minute to go get you water and exederin and you chose to cuddle him? I’m hurt” you opened your eyes to find Adam standing at the doorway of the room with a slight frown on his face.

“You left I can’t cuddle you from another room.” You responded, your sentence almost getting cut short from a yawn escaping.

“Well I’m back now so cuddle me and not him. After you take the medicine though.” Adam said as he sat back down after setting the glass on the coffee table in front of you and handing the pill to you after you sat up.

Once you had taken the medicine and drank some water, you shifted so you could curl into Adam’s side, legs tangling without a second thought. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and settled it over the top of you both. You heard Kirby mumble something that sounded like “whipped” before Adam moved under you and you heard a soft “ow” from Kirby a second later. You assumed Adam hit Kirby but at the moment you only cared about the sleep that was tugging your eyelids down once more.

You woke up to someone carrying you up the stairs. When you opened your eyes Adam happened to look down and find you looking up at him.

“Hey you can go back to sleep, I was just gonna take you up to my room so you could sleep more comfortably.”

“Your room hmm?” You questioned with a smile.

“Well yeah, you always say my best is more comfortable than yours. Plus I sleep better next to you.” He said the last part nonchalantly as if it didn’t make your heart flutter.

When he made it to his room he walked over to the bed and gently set you down before moving to the bathroom to get ready for bed. You looked at where he was standing at the bathroom counter, brushing his teeth. It was as if your body moved in its own account when you got up to stand behind him and wrapped your arms around him.

“Thank you for taking care of me today. You didn’t have to.” Your voice muffled from how your face was pressed into his back. He turned around before wrapping his arms around you.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I love you and I hate it when you’re not feeling well.” He responded.

You quickly pulled back and looked up at him. You both have said you loved the other before, but only when you were drunk.

“You love me?”

“Of course I love you, I thought you knew.”

“If I had know I would’ve told you I loved you too a long time ago.” You chuckled, moving forward to wrap your arms around him once more. Adam broke the silence with his giggles.

“What are you laughing at you dork?”

“Well I love you and you love me so that means I can do this.” He said before leaning down and pressing his lips to yours. When you pulled away you both had big smiles on your faces. And then you yawned.

“Way to ruin the moment there babe.” You hated to admit it but your heart fluttered at the pet name.

“Well sorry I’m tired, but my boyfriend is keeping me from going to bed.” Was your response as you looked up at him with a big smile.

“Boyfriend huh?” Was the only thing he said before picking you up and walking back into the room before dropping you on the bed.

“Yeah boyfriend.” You said as he crawled into bed next to you. You leaned over to kiss him one more time before curling up against him and falling asleep.

You woke up before Adam the next morning. As you waited for him to wake up, you scrolled through your phone. It was about five minutes later when you got bored with that. So you set your phone aside and rolled back over to face Adam. He was sleeping peacefully as the the sun shined through the windows and onto his skin. You reached a hand up and started gently tracing the lines of his face. You knew he was awake when the corners of his mouth curled up.

“Mmm good morning.” He mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Morning sunshine.” You said with a smile before leaning over and pressing your lips to his. Before you could pull back his hand slid into your hair and held you there. He deepened the kiss as he moved to hover his body over yours. His free hand had just dipped under his your sweatshirt when his door opened.

“Finally! But also gross.” You heard Kirby say from the doorway as Adam let out a soft displeased groan at being interrupted. He turned his head to look at his best friend.

“Is there something you need or are you just gonna stand there and watch us?”

“Hey!” You said as you whacked his arm.

“I was joking babe. It’s not like I’d wanna share anyway.”

“Well,” Kirby interjected before you could say anything else, “ I was coming up here to wake you both up for breakfast but it seems like you two are busy so I’ll just leave ya to it.” He winked and shut the door.

Adam turned back to look at you and leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“You’re so beautiful.” He mumbled as his hand cupped your cheek.

You turned your head to press a kiss to his palm.

“I love you.”

“I love you too älskling.” He said as he pecked your lips once more.

“I KNEW IT!!! ALEX THEY SAID THEY LOVE EACH OTHER, THEY’RE FINALLY DATING!!” You heard Kirby yell from the other side of the door.

“Oh my Godd.” Adam mumbled as he dropped his weight into you and tucked his face into your neck. You smiled as you ran your hand through his hair. Yeah you could definitely get used to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m sorry you can tell how I rushed it at the end. It’s definitely not the best I could do.

Tag list: @stars-canucks @prettyboycozens @sidscrosbyy @joshsandersons @pierreslucdubois @no-pucks-given @augustrainfall

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[ener-chi]

I have an interesting story for you today ((: TL;DR - working with a ghost

So there is a ghost at my work.

I heard about it from my coworker. Apparently two separate people - without speaking to each other - told the same person that they saw a ghost in the bathroom mirror. They also both reported that it was a middle-aged man.

Other things I heard from talking to people: someone seeing things in their peripheral vision around that area; things falling off of counters and being knocked off of shelves; and two people having a conversation and watching cabinet doors open by themselves.

We weren’t sure where it could’ve come from. It might’ve been attached to the building, but we moved into the building in May and it not showing itself until now seems unlikely. The other big potential option is that (note: I work in like a crystal shop) maybe it came attached to something in our store.

Regardless, besides a bit of a nuisance, it didn’t seem hostile, and the people that saw it said that they didn’t feel that it was malicious. I’ve been working the shop lately so I decided to try and talk to it, see if I can’t figure out what was going on. Plus, this would be my first time interacting with an actual ghost, instead of just a spirit in the astral plane.

So that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t see them physically manifest or knock anything over when I was around. However, I did feel their energy in that corner of the building. As soon as I felt their energy and kind of honed in on it, it kind of came out from hiding and like - circled around me. I felt it behind me, and I had this reallyyy heavy feeling.

I could tell that it was kind of trying to spook me, which of course didn’t work. I pulled out my astral body and went into it, and then sat down in front of it. This definitely surprised it; it was NOT expecting a human to meet them on a spiritual level, let alone not meet them without hostility.

I sat down and told them my intentions: I was not there to hurt them or remove them; they didn’t seem particularly hostile, and I wanted to talk to them and see if I could get some information from them as to who they are and why they are there.

At this point, I was picking up a lot of feelings from it: uneasiness, suspicion. But I also suddenly got this desire for some tea (we have a tea bar at work). I immediately recognized it as its’ desire and not mine, and asked if it would like some tea. It was again hesitant, but nodded.

I then made it a wonderful cup of tea (irl), and then when I was finished, I linked the tea with it energetically, like an offering. It loved the tea, and the tea helped it calm down and also trust me more.

So I sat down with him and asked him some questions. It was actually interesting - I’ve heard of The Veil and how it makes you forgetful; not sure if this is related or not, but he was... having a very hard time remembering things - how he died, family, etc. I was able to kind of clear up the fog for us both and see things more clearly.

He was a farmer. Our shop is back-dropped by a lot of agricultural land. I got the sense that he owned and worked some land somewhere back there. I’m not sure exactly how he died - maybe covid - but regardless, when it happened, he didn’t want to leave quite yet. But he got scared, and he got lost - he remembered seeing our shop in passing and knew that we were a spiritual place, so he came here.

He was largely just frightened - about everything. Dying, being dead, where he was, what happens next, etc. I don’t blame him; I would’ve, too. I also got the feeling that a lot of “ghosts” are like him - souls who are lost, and frightened.

I talked to him about what he wanted to happen next. I talked to him about Passing Over - I told him that I have quite a bit of experience helping souls pass over, and that I could help. I told him what I knew of the “afterlife” or as I call it, The Place Where Souls Go.

The other option I said he had is that he could stay at the shop, as long as he wasn’t being a nuisance; I knew that he wasn’t malicious. Besides, he would probably Pass Over at some point - if he wasn’t ready, he could definitely take some time until he was ready to. And he also didn’t necessarily need my help for it - I don’t know anything about it, but apparently spirits do it all the time, so.

He was... very hesitant about Passing Over; scared and uneasy. But... there was something else. A longing - to stay with the land. I dug a little deeper.

His relationship with his wife was never the best; not that it was a bad relationship - they just never really connected. He very much liked to keep to himself - he was a quiet man, and preferred to be out in the fields and with nature rather than participating with society.

He loved the land, and the land loved him. I saw him in this... plains-place - like these rolling hills that have been tilled. He was being pulled there, just like I was pulled to move to the PNW. And the land LOVED him - I felt so much love and gratitude for this person from it.

Kind of hard to describe, but I felt something in his energy. After digging through it, I found it: a seed. I knew what needed to happen.

I told him that he could stay with the land. I also told him that it would not be permanent; I saw his Path, and it continued far beyond this. He was a bit hesitant, but basically jumped on the idea.

And so, we went to this tilled-plains-place that I saw before. As soon as we arrived, the energy and love was PALPABLE. The land loved him soo much, and he loved it too. I dug a hole, and asked if he was ready. He took a deep breath, and then said yes. I dropped the seed in.

It was immediately sucked and accepted into the earth by the land, and IMMEDIATELY he doubled-over. But not from pain - from surprise. He stood back up, and looked at his hands, with intrigue - they were slowly dissolving, fading. For the first time, he wasn’t scared or frightened - he actually laughed, and was filled with joy. As he began to fade, the seed began to sprout, and the more he faded, the more it sprouted, until he completely dissolved with a final thank you, leaving me standing over this small sprout, and just SOOO much love and warmth that it made me emotional.

I got back and cleansed the space, both physically and energetically, to clear it of any energy remnants, and that was that.

One interesting note, though - before we left, I asked if I could try and see him physically. He obliged. I didn’t see anything right away, so I softened my gaze, like I do when I am seeing auras. I DID see something - but it is hard to describe. It was an outline of a figure - but it came more from like... absence or obstruction. Kind of like refraction of light - or when someone is invisible in a video game - they’re invisible, but there is still some kind of form moving. At a few different points it became partially tinted-yellow, but that was it. I am definitely going to need much more experimentation and experience before I can come to anything conclusive about this, but it is interesting nonetheless.

So yeah! I’m glad I got to help him. It was also a great experience - my first time working with a ghost. I’m grateful for the experience.

That’s it for now! I hope that everyone has a wonderful night!

Blessings!

[ashhdaniellee95]

Bringing him & the crew lunch × Antonio Dawson

|Leena's POV|

It was a cold morning, when I wake up and slide out of bed to use the bathroom. I do my thing, brush my hair, wash my face and brush my teeth, and come back to the room to see my handsome husband laying in his spot on the bed, and smile.

I quietly give him a quick kiss on the lips, and head into the kitchen to make him breakfast.

I grab the carton of eggs, the milk, and sausage, and shut the door, then grab the coffee and start the coffee maker.

I grab a pan hanging from the island and put it on the stove then pour a little bit of oil in the pan.

I grab a small bowl from the cabinet and crack an egg in it, then pour it in the pan when it gets hot.

Antonio really likes his eggs with a little bit of yoke still runny, as do I.

I let the egg cook without poking the yoke, then turn it over and let it cool for a couple of seconds, then put it on a plate. As I put the other egg in the pan, i hear a creak from the floor from the bedroom, along with the creak of the door, and look over to see nothing but the door cracked open a little, and I left it closed. I think he might be trying to scare me.

I ignore the noises and continue to make breakfast for Antonio and me.

××

|Antonio's POV|

I slowly creep into the kitchen and hide behind the wall. I guess she heard the floor and door creek and looked over here, but she didn't see anything so she kept cooking.

After she turns her head back, I slowly creep forward, getting closer to her as much as I can without getting caught.

I sneak around the island and wait for the right time, then go around to her and wrap my arms around her tightly, and she jumps. "Toni, why'd you do that? I could've drop the eggs on you." I smile at her, "Oh baby, I'm sorry. I was just getting you back from the other day. I didn't mean to scare you." She smiles back, "it's okay I forgive you. I made us breakfast. Come eat." I grab my coffee and the sausage and sit at the table and wait for Leena.

She sits down with the eggs and two plates with her glass of milk then makes our plates. She gives me two eggs and a piece of sausage and does the same for her, then we dig in.

After we eat, and I get ready for work, I give Leena a kiss and head to Intelligence.

××

|Leena's POV|

After Antonio leaves for work, I wash all the dishes and put them up, then get a shower and get ready for work myself.

I have two jobs, I work during the day at a local diner/bakery as a waitress, and I'm the manager there as well, and my other job, I post ads to Instagram and Facebook whenever I have time off, or when I'm not working during the week.

I make sure I have all my stuff, my phone, purse, keys, etc. and head out the door.

I get in my Toyota 4 Runner, and put my keys in the ignition and turn on the engine. I back out of the drive way, and drive off.

20 some minutes later I pull up in my 'manager' parking spot and shut off the engine. I grab my things, lock my car and head inside through the back door.

I walk to my locker and put my things inside then close and lock it, then get to work.

When I became manager, I went from wearing a normal waitress outfit, to wearing jeans and a shirt. And the reason I became manager in the first place is because my aunt and uncle own and run this diner, and they knew I could take care of it in case they couldn't come in to run it themselves. You can do a lot of things when you're the manager at a diner.

I clock in on the machine and the register and put my apron on and get to work. Our busiest days are Sunday's and Wednesday's, and today's Monday, so it's probably not gonna be busy today.

As the day goes on, a few people come in and sit, and a few pickup/delivery orders come in over the phone. I help the customers with their orders, make sure they have plenty of drinks, and cash out a customer on the cash register.

Around 12:46 when it's dead, I tell the other waiters that I'm going on break, and tell the cook to make two egg and tomato and cheese sandwiches with our special mayo sauce, along with 4 other different things, and to make me a shredded ham and chicken salad with tomatoes, eggs, blue cheese crumbles, and bacon crumbles with plenty of avocado and avocado ranch dressing.

As he makes the food, I total everything up, and cash out with my card on the cash register.

The cooks put everything in boxes then in bags, then hands them to me and my coworker helps me take them to my car.

I thank her and grab my keys, phone and wallet and get inside my Toyota, and head off to the Intelligence unit.

××

I pull up into a guest spot and turn off the engine, then grab the food and head inside.

I greet Trudy with a smile, "hey Trudy, you hungry? I didn't know what you'd want so I brought a few different things." "Well, thank you Dawson." I smile at my last name. "Hey, can you tell Kim to come down? I want her to help me take this upstairs to the bullcage." "Of course, anything for my favorite Dawson." She winks at me. "I didn't know I was your favorite." She smiles and puts her index finger up to her lips. I smile and nod. "I won't tell. Promise." "Thank you for lunch. If you deliver, I'll call you for lunch. How much do I owe you?" I wave her off. "On the house. Don't sweat it." She smiles and thanks me as Kim comes up to me. "Hey, Lee. That lunch?" I nod my head. "For the crew. I just needed someone to help me take it upstairs. Plus, you and Trudy are the only ones who know about this, that it until we go upstairs and everyone see me with lunch." She laughs. "Alright, come on. I'll help you."

She grabs both the drink trays and a bag and we head upstairs.

She put her hand on the palm scanner and it lets her in.

We get upstairs and she tells everyone she's got lunch. "Aw, you didn't tell me you loved me." Came from Adam. "It's for everyone. Where's Antonio at?" Kevin answers, "bathroom." I nod my head. "Ah, okay. Well I've got lunch for everyone. I just got a few different things. If someone calls in a head of time, I'll get everyone what they want next time."

Everyone chimes in with "okay" and "thank you", then I hear "is that my wife?" My head swivels to see my husband coming towards me with a hug and a kiss. I smile, "I brought you and the crew lunch. My dime, so nobody owes me anything." "Well that was nice." "Yeah, it was dead over there, so I figured I'd bring lunch to you instead of someone over here coming to pick it up." I dig inside the bag until I come across a box with Antonio's name on the top, then hand it to him. "You're favorite, with fries." He kisses my forehead and goes to his desk. "Thanks."

Hank comes out of his office with a smile to greet me and he picks out his lunch.

After everyone grabs what they want, and I eat with them for a little bit, I say bye to everyone and give my husband a kiss, then head back downstairs to Trudy.

"Trudy I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiles, "Bye kiddo."

As I walk out the front door, I hear someone say "hey baby, wait up." from behind me and know who it is, so I stop at the door. "Let me walk you to your car. Since you know, it's cold and all." I smile at him. "Okay." He walks with me to my car, holding the extra stuff in his hands as we walk.

When we get to my car, I unlock it and he puts the stuff in the back seat and shuts the door.

I lean my back up against my driver's side door, and he stands in front of me with a smile on his face. "What's the smile for?" I ask. I see him look down, then back up. "No reason. Just that I love seeing you come bring us lunch is all." I look at him sideways, "Mmhmm. Yeah, okay." "It was really good. Everyone loved their food." "Yeah, I don't mind every once in a while, just as long as everyone let's me know what they want ahead of time." "I'll be sure to remember that." We stay like that for a few more minutes before I speak up. "I have to go, Toni." He nods his head. "Okay, I'll see you later at home. Love you." I smile at him, and lean up towards him and give him a kiss, "love you too." He opens my door, and let's me get in, before he smiles at me, his breath showing in the winter cold, and shuts the door and then I head back to the diner.

[minhoslut]

♡ summary: Y/N is a fairy in a world of magic hating humans, who moves into a house with seven young men after being kicked out of her old dorm. She learns about all their secrets while hiding hers for as long as she can. Lots of parties, games, sex and maybe even love.

♡ pairing: ot7 x fem!reader, fem!reader x various idols

♡ chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ? |

♡ series warnings: alcohol consumption, blood mention, drug use, mxm, fxf, threesome, foursome, orgy, swearing, anxiety, depression, past trauma, past abuse

♡ series genre: fluff, smut, slight angst

♡ series rating: R

♡ word count: 2043

♡ posted on: AO3

♡ chapter four: never have I ever...

When you reached the liquor store, you all exited the car and headed in. “I’ll gather the things the other boys want if you two want to find your own!” Namjoon suggested. Splitting up, you and Jimin wandered through the store. “What are you thinking of getting?” You asked him, looking at all the various bottles. “Mm, probably tequila, maybe some gin, beer… I’m a heavyweight so I usually drink a lot. Plus we all like to get blackout, so lots of liquor is a must.” You giggled and shook your head, “Makes sense I guess, I’m gunna get sourpuss and some raspberry vodka I think, maybe some growers… I’m a lightweight but I love to drink too.”

You both laughed and went on with your search, collecting bottles and finally heading up to the register. “Perfect timing!” Namjoon said smiling, his basket filled with beers, soju, vodka and rose. Once you had paid, you loaded them into the car and piled back in. Jimin connected his phone to the aux cord and turned the volume up. Up and Down by EXID blasted through the speakers and the three of you sang along as loud as you could. Your heart was full of laughter the whole ride home, these men were really becoming a great part of your life.

Back at the house, Jimin and Namjoon stacked the alcohol in the so called ‘buzz cupboard’ that held all of their other liquor as well. “I’m so glad you guys throw parties! I love to drink and dance!” You cheered from your seat at the island, a bright smile on your face. “That’s why we accepted your application, no one else seemed as interested in the parties!” Namjoon chuckled, closing the cabinet drawer and coming to lean on the island across from you. His eyes locked with your own and you could swear that they shimmered a beautiful deep violet. Shaking your head you hopped off the bar stool and slipped your shoes on, calling out, “I’m off on a walk be back sometime!” before heading for the woods surrounding the house.

The sun was peeking through the foliage as you walked, creating shadows that danced along the ground. You let your intuition guide you once again, just walking and walking, deeper into the woods. Eventually you reached a small clearing, covered with a beautiful green grass carpet. You slipped off your shoes and walked across the grass to the center, the ground was soft and cool under your feet.

The sun was shining onto you as you laid down, warming your skin and reminding you of your fairy home. It was times like this you would briefly wonder if you should have just stayed in your colony, safe in the arms of the trees, singing with the streams. The fact that your new home was close to nature would be comfort enough for now, but you never knew what you would choose in the future, though you would be on your own if you chose nature.

The idea of being alone was one of the few things you were terrified of, it was like a darkness that would consume you in an instant if you imagined it for more than a brief moment. Taking a few deep breaths you brought yourself back to the forest, the cool grass on your skin and the birds chirping in the trees. It was comforting here in the clearing, and you eventually drifted off.

~

When you awoke, the sun had begun to set and you scrambled to get up quickly, rushing through the trees back to the house. You hadn’t meant to spend so long there, especially not asleep, and you felt bad for just vanishing. The lights were on when you reached the old house, and you could hear laughter coming from the kitchen, making you smile to yourself. Walking up the deck stairs, you entered your home and slipped off your shoes.

“She returns!” Hoseok called from the table, making you rub your neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I fell asleep.” You explained quickly, taking a seat next to Yoongi. “In the woods?” Taehyung said, disbelief lacing his words, “Yeah in the woods, it’s nice!” You pouted at him and served some food for yourself. “I like the woods too, Y/N! It’s so peaceful there~” Hoseok chimed, giving you a smile. You nodded your agreement and started eating happily, listening to the guys talk about their days.

After dinner, you all moved into the living room as requested by Jimin, confusion on all of your faces. “Tada! Let’s do never have I ever! Every finger down you take a shot, and the first one with all their fingers down has to chug the rest of the vodka!” Jimin declared when he returned with several packs of beer and a huge bottle of vodka. “Sounds fun!” You smiled, settling the worries of the seven men around you. Everyone grabbed a drink and settled in comfortably, ready to begin the game. “So who is starting?” Jungkook questioned, leaning forward excitedly. “Jimin obviously, he started this!” Namjoon said decidedly, making all of you turn to Jimin.

“Alright, alright!” Jimin said, raising his hands in surrender, “Um, never have I ever passed out from drinking.” A collective groan came from the group as everyone but Yoongi and Jin put down a finger, “Ok! Let’s continue in the circle! ” Jin suggested smirking, and all eyes turned to Namjoon who was sat beside Jimin. “Never have I ever skipped my class 3 weeks in a row.” The three youngest boys protested at Namjoons words, but he just laughed at them, “I had to say something to get Jimin down!”

Yoongi went next with a simple, “Never have I ever almost drowned in the pool because I was drunk off my ass.” Making Jimin glare at him while everyone else was having a giggle fit. “Did he really?” You asked wiping tears from your eyes, “Yeah, it was the shallow end too, he was just sitting down!” Taehyung said when he caught his breath, “You all better watch out now, if that’s how we’re playing!” Jimin threatened, but he was just ignored as Jungkook began his turn.

“Never have I ever had a threesome~” He said slyly, making you, Namjoon, Jin and Yoongi put down a finger, you caught some of their eyes widen when you put your finger down but you just smiled and shook your head, the more the merrier in your mind. Hoseok, Jin and Yoongi only had one finger down, while you, Namjoon, Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook had two. Hoseok was up next, “Never have I ever made out with two people at the same time.” His comment had everyone putting another finger down, putting him in the lead.

You all crushed two beers before continuing the game, which made everyone tipsy, since you had each finished one already. Taehyung was up and he hummed for a moment before saying, “Never have I ever had sex on a balcony!” This time Hoseoks finger went down along with yours, Namjoons, Yoongis, Jungkooks and Jins, Taehyung laughed at the scowl Hoseok had sent his way when he asked the question. “Alright Jin you’re up~” You teased, putting a hand on Jins thigh and squeezing slightly.

He cleared his throat, a smirk on his lips as he announced, “Never have I ever cum on the couch.” This knocked down a finger on Jimin, Jungkook, Hoseok, Taehyung and Namjoon, leaving them blushing and you, Jin and Yoongi with tears of laughter in your eyes. “That was a low blow Jin, you better be ready!” Jungkook said shaking his head. You tapped your lips as you thought of a good question, smiling as you said “Never have I ever kissed anyone in this room.” Just like you had thought, your question made everyone lose a finger. “No fair Y/N~ Taehyung whined, but you just giggled at him.

By now a good amount of vodka was missing from the bottle and you were all sufficiently drunk, with the current stats being Jin, Yoongi and you with 3 down, Taehyung, Jimin, Hoseok and Jungkook with 4 down and Namjoon in last with 5 down.  The game continued for a while, words slurring more and more, while questions got extra sexual. You were basically fucking them with your eyes whenever you put down a finger, seeing as you had a pretty long sexual history and most things had you taking a shot. They seemed surprised by it, and you could tell they were trying to even the playing field by making specific digs at each other.

The game ended with Hoseok drinking the remainder of the vodka, though that ended up not being much, since a ‘shot’ had really evolved into giant sips straight from the bottle. Everyone was giggly and unstable as you all finally stood up from your circle, you stumbled and caught yourself against Jins chest so you wouldn’t fall. “Sorry handsome~” You slurred cutely before turning to face the group.

“Thanks for such a game so fun!” You managed to get out, though not in the right order. With a big two handed thrown kiss you clumsily skipped up the stairs and jumped into your bed, your body on fire and your mind a puddle. You had run away so you wouldn’t start begging for Jins cock in the middle of the living room, your drunk self tended to be even more bold and it wasn’t time for that, not yet.

~

You must have fallen asleep soon after, since next you knew the sun was in your room once more. Sitting up you surveyed the situation, clothes were strewn about the floor and you were only wearing panties, so you must have stripped before passing out. Last night had been the perfect way to find out what kind of boundaries there were for the party tonight, and you were extremely excited to test them out.

Slipping on a black robe and grabbing a high cut hot pink tube top bodysuit and some black sweatpants with a checkered stripe , you made your way to the bathroom to have a warm bath. As you filled the tub, you removed the robe and your panties, and organized your pampering items in the space surrounding the bath. Since you were aiming for some intimacy tonight, you were using all mango scented cleansers, and doing a full body spa.

You put on some relaxing music and sank into the tub, relishing in the warm water surrounding your body. Sighing happily, you began your routine, scrubbing yourself clean, exfoliating, shampoo, deep condition etc. When you got out of the bath, you applied a nourishing face mask before starting on toweling off and moisturizing your body. Finished with putting on lotion and getting dressed, you rinse away the mask and apply your face oil before collecting your belongings and heading back to your room to deposit them.

Feeling clean and satisfied, you went downstairs to make a fruit salad for breakfast, surprised to find all seven men scattered around the downstairs. “Good morning~” You sang when you came to the landing, skipping to the fridge and starting your prep. “Morning Y/N.” They all called from their various seats, “I’m making fruit salad, anyone want some?” A chorus of “yes” answered your question making you laugh as you pulled more fruit from the fridge.

Once the salad had been made up, you asked Seokjin to set the table while you moved the large bowl over. Eventually everyone was seated and had their own serving of fruit to eat, and  hopefully help clear any hangovers they had. “I had a lot of fun last night! I love party games like that!” You said in between scoops of fruit. “It was really interesting, you’re not easily embarrassed are you Y/N?” Yoongi said chuckling, and the other six nodded in agreement. “Nope! If i ever was I’d say something~ I’d much rather be comfortable and close with the people I live with, as long as they are ok with it, of course!” You smiled at them all, happy that they seemed to be starting to push their own worries about you away.

[jbhenwiler]

SU Fanfic: Redemption from a Dark World Day 1

REDEMPTION FROM A DARK WORLD

A STEVEN UNIVERSE FANFICTION TOLD AS A SCREENPLAY-PROSE HYBRID

This story is set about 6 months after the events of "Steven Universe: The Movie"  My Original Character for this fanfiction, just as Spinel was designed to emulate self-harm and abandonment-related mental disorders, is made to be a "poster child" for PTSD.  (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)  I hope you enjoy my "Fusion" of the prose and script styles of writing!  (Yes, I know I have problems switching between past and present tense... it's something I couldn't muster the effort to fix.) ====================================

---------------------------------DAY I

   A skinny body lay on the sandy beach in the afternoon.  It was a 21-year-old man dressed in tattered jeans and a ripped T-shirt.  He has short brown hair and pale skin.  Despite appearing to have been washed up from the ocean, his skin and clothing were perfectly dry.  A teenager and a group of mysterious beings approached the man who was still as if dead.  A darkish pink greatsword lay at the man's side.

Steven: (Checks the man to see if he is breathing) Oh thank goodness, he's alive.

Pearl: How did a human wash up here anyway?  The tides should have carried him further west.

Garnet: And for that manner, look at his clothes.  They're dry.

Steven: You're right.  That's kinda weird.

Pearl: (Notices the sword) Wait a minute... That sword...

Steven: What is it Pearl?

Pearl: That design style is Bismuth's signature look.  Only she would make a sword like that.  But I don't remember Bismuth ever making a sword for a human other than Connie...

Steven: In any case, he's out cold.  We should move him to a safer place.  Let's take him back to the house.

   At that point Amethyst arrived, having come from the fry stand, holding a paper bowl of fries covered in Fire Salt.

Amethyst: Yo, check out the dead body!

Steven: Amethyst, that's not funny.  And besides, he's alive.

   Garnet picked up the human effortlessly and began carrying him back to the beach house.  Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl followed her.

   At the beach house, Garnet laid down the still-unconscious man on the couch in the living room.  The man let out a sigh and his left arm jerked a little bit.  Pearl brought in the sword and set it down on a nearby table.

Steven: Even moving him didn't wake him up.  What exactly happened to him?

Amethyst: Just look at his shredded clothes, man.  Whatever he went through, it wasn't good.

Just then, the man stirred.  His eyes tightened up, then shot open.

???: ROSE!!

   Everyone jumped back at the man's sudden outburst, then everyone's face lit up with shock when they realized just what he had yelled out.

Pearl: Rose... who?

???: (Looks around the room) What happened?  Where am I?  Where's Rose Quartz?  (Looks at Pearl) And why did you change forms?

   Everyone is confused.

Steven: You're in Beach City.  Pearl's looked like this for a while, and how do you know my mom?

???: Beach City?  No, that's impossible.  Beach City's gone.  It was destroyed during the first day of the Second Gem War.

   Everyone is shocked and confused.

Steven: What are you talking about?

Garnet: (Appears to be thinking [Using her Future Vision])  Hmm...

Pearl: What is it Garnet?

Garnet: From what he's saying, and what my Future Vision's ability to read timelines is telling me... This man may be from a parallel universe.

???: Parallel... Universe?

Steven: What's the last thing you remember?

???: (Appears to be straining himself with thought) I...  Can't remember much... I think my name is... David?

Steven: It's OK, David.  You don't have to try too hard to remember.

David: Actually, something's coming back to me...  I fell off a cliff... I remember Rose trying to grab my hand but I slipped.  I fell into a river, my head hit a rock, and then I blacked out.  I guess that's how I got here somehow.

Amethyst:  So you were carried by a river into an alternate timeline?

Pearl: It's the only somewhat logical explanation we have.

Steven: Going back to the question you haven't answered yet... David, how do you know my mom?

David: Your... Mom??  You mean, in this timeline Rose had a son!?

Steven: (Lifts up his shirt) See?  That's mom's Gem.

David: (Stares at the Gem) So her Gem's in your body... That means she had to give up her form to make you... Yep.  That sounds like her alright.

Pearl: You mentioned a Second Gem War.  What exactly happened in your timeline?

David: (Straining himself again) Urrgh...

Steven:  Don't push it too hard, David.

Pearl: If I know anything about human amnesia, it's that the memories will come back with time.

Amethyst: Anyway, kid you look starving!  Here, try these fries.

Pearl: Amethyst don't you dare!  You know how humans react to high amounts of Fire Salt!  He'll end up burning down the house!

Amethyst: Aww, can't you take a joke?  Anyway, David, was it?  Let's get you some food that WON'T turn you into a fleshy flamethrower.  Come on!

   David and Amethyst begin to leave the house to go to the fry stand, but Pearl stops them.

Pearl: Amethyst wait!  David's clothing is all torn up, and come to think of it, he smells horrible.  He shouldn't be out in public like that; it would draw too much attention.  Wait here, I'll get some of Greg's old clothes.

Amethyst: Do you really think Greg's clothes will fit him?  The kid's really scrawny.

Steven: He's too tall to fit in my clothes so they'll have to do.  I think dad left some shirts and jeans in the closet from when he was living with us after his leg broke.

Pearl: David, wait here. (Goes to the closet and begins digging through it)

   David suddenly hunches over and collapses onto the couch.  Steven rushes to his side and the others follow suit.

Steven: David!  What's wrong?

David: I'm... Remembering something.  I think it's how I met Rose.

   Everyone gathered around.

David: I remember what happened to Earth in my timeline.  The Second Gem War wasn't a war.  It was a calamity for Earth and its people.  The Crystal Gems were grossly outnumbered.  The Diamonds themselves led a relentless assault on Beach City.  Rose and the others had no choice but to flee for their lives.  There were no human survivors of the attack, and Beach City was razed to the ground.  The Crystal Gems went into hiding and... Humanity was subjugated within days.  The Diamonds decided humans would make a good slave species.  This thankfully meant we weren't wiped out... But in our opinions it was a fate worse than death.  We were lower than the Pearls, assigned to Gems for forced labor, entertainment, and the unlucky ones were forced to fight to the death for the amusement of the elite Gems.

   Everyone looks horrified.

Steven: What was your job?  What did they make you do?

David: ..............................  Nothing, at first.  I was kept in a cage for about a year until Yellow Diamond herself came to requisition me for a job.  (David's face falls with sorrow as his memories slowly seep back into his mind.   His hand slowly goes to the bottom of his torn-up shirt, and with shaking hands, pulled it up.)

   Scattered all over David's torso, in a terrifying crisscross of flesh, were scars.  Crowning them all was a large, thick scar smack-dab in the middle of his chest.  Pearl's hands went to cover her mouth in an expression of horror, and even Garnet looked shaken.

David:  I was a living practice dummy for Yellow Diamond's soldiers.  That's... That's what they made me do.

Pearl: By all accounts you should be dead...  Only one thing could have saved you, and that's--

David: Rose Quartz.  She and Pearl happened to be in the area on a scouting mission.  By the time she found me... (Points to the chest scar) I was just impaled on a Quartz soldier's blade.  I remember the Quartz saying, "I love the sound they make when you skewer them."  I started going cold...

Steven: What happened after that?

David: Keep in mind... I was blinded by pain at that point...  What I do remember is Rose immediately jumping into action.  She poofed the soldier with her sword, which caused the sword inside me to poof too, and I began to bleed out rapidly.  I remember... Rose being physically restrained by Pearl so she wouldn't shatter the Quartz soldier.  My senses were failing me... But I remember Pearl telling Rose to focus on healing me rather than killing the Gem who attacked me.  Her rage immediately turned to sadness.  She crouched down and put me on her lap, then the tears started falling.  She... Wasn't just crying to heal me.  She was genuinely concerned for my life, the life of a human she just met.  It... Captivated me.  My stab wound started tingling and my ruptured heart started closing up, which was a very strange feeling.  Last thing I remember before finally fainting from blood loss was, heh... Rose flipping me over so she could cry her healing tears on the exit wound on my back.  ...I think that's all I can remember for now.

Pearl: That's... Terrible!  You're so lucky to be alive...

   David got up from the couch, and Steven, who was actually shedding his own tears a bit, rushed up and hugged David.

Steven: It's OK, you're safe now.

David: (While being hugged) Huh... That's uncanny.  That's exactly what Rose was saying as she was healing me.  You sure that's not your Gem talking?  (Steven giggles at this and he wipes his eyes)

Pearl: Anyway... Let's get you out of those rags.  Here.  Go into the bathroom to change.  You should definitely bathe too.  There's soap and shampoo in the medicine cabinet.

David: Thanks, Pearl.

   David took an oversized white t-shirt and jeans (Plus a belt to make the jeans fit) and went into the bathroom.  The sounds of water running can be heard from the bathroom.

Garnet: ...That timeline could very well have been ours.

Pearl: I know.

Amethyst: That is one broken human.  Imagine living like that.

Steven: How do you think he'd react if he knew mom's original form?

Garnet: (Checks Future Vision) Not well.  We should keep that under wraps for now.  We should also make sure the Diamonds don't show up, especially Yellow.  There's no telling how he'd react to their presence, whether the Diamonds are friendly or not.

Amethyst: Good point. He'd probably go to town with them with his sword.

Pearl: He's traumatized, not stupid, Amethyst.  I'm pretty sure he'd understand the futility of a direct physical assault on all three of them.

   A few minutes later, a fresh, clean David wearing comically large clothes walked out of the bathroom.

David: Uhh... How do I look?

Amethyst: You look--

Pearl: Amethyst, be nice.

Amethyst: You look a lot better, David.  Now let's get you those fries.

David: Ok...  (Still thinks he looks silly)

   David and Amethyst walked out of the house and started walking on the beach towards the boardwalk.

Amethyst: So... What was Rose like in your world?

David:  She did not take losing Earth well.  It was kinda like a personality disorder.  She would treat Gems, especially Homeworld Gems, like they were trash to be destroyed, while considering humans to be a sort of priceless treasure that had to be protected at all costs.  Rose was obsessed with protecting me, while Pearl decided that I needed to learn how to defend myself.

Amethyst: So she had Bismuth make you a sword.

David: Exactly.  Pearl taught me how to swordfight.  Rose wasn't too happy about it.  She didn't want me near any battles.  But Pearl insisted on it.  "You can't protect him from everything!"  She said.

Amethyst: Rose was treating you like her pet, basically.

David: ...Yeah, I guess that's right.  But it was definitely better than being sword fodder for Yellow.

Amethyst: ...That must have sucked.  Does it still... Hurt?

David: Not really.  But a lot of times I would have nightmares about getting attacked.  Rose would usually wake me up in the middle of them.  She was so focused on protecting me she would get all concerned even if I was being hurt in my dreams.  Now that I think about it, her constant worrying about me was really stifling.  Poor lady was doing her best to defend humanity when the whole planet fell out from under her.  It's the one thing she would never let me ask her.

Amethyst: What was exactly?

David: Why she was doing it.  No other Gem treated us humans that way.  Everyone else was perfectly happy with having us as slaves and didn't care what happened to us.  Rose cared so much that it hurt.  Sometimes Pearl would take me on walks away from the base just so she could sneak me away from her.  Speaking of which... (David's face becomes crestfallen) Rose must be worried sick about me...  Pearl probably thinks I'm dead, and Rose won't be having anything of it.  She's probably turning the world upside down looking for me.

Amethyst: What about me?  I mean, the other me.  You haven't mentioned her at all.

David: (Looks like he's thinking)  Rose mentioned an Amethyst... A couple times.  Unfortunately that's another thing she would never open up about.  She would always look sad when saying her name, though.  I hate to break it to you, but I don't think my Amethyst survived the Beach City Massacre.  Not even Pearl would talk about it.  It must have really hurt them to lose her.

Amethyst: Dang...  I hope I went out fighting.  I bet I was holding the last line of defense or something, buying Rose and the others time to get out alive.

David: ...Something like that.  Rose did also mention a human she was trying to escape Beach City with.  His vehicle was part of the escape plan.  Whatever happened to him wasn't pretty.  Rose keeps a picture of him and her together in a sort of shrine inside the base.  That and a broken guitar.  Some sort of musician I guess...

Amethyst: (If Gems could go pale she would be like a ghost right now) Hey, David?  Maybe you shouldn't talk about that with Steven or his dad around.  Just warning you.

David: You don't mean?

Amethyst: Let's just say that if that man hadn't met his fate... Rose might not have been around to save you.

David: (Grimaces) Yikes.

   They arrive at the fry stand.

Peedee: Welcome to Beach Citywalk Fries: Home of The Bits!

Amethyst: You know Steven doesn't eat fry bits as much as he used to right?  And he was basically the only guy eating them.

Peedee:  Not really.  Ever since the Off-Colors came to Little Homeworld nearby (David visibly tenses up) they've been interested in human foods.  And a lot of them learned that they were one of Steven's favorites so you bet they've become a hot item.  Anyway, what can I get for you?

David: (Whispers to Amethyst) What should I get?

Amethyst: (Whispers back) Fries and a Boardwalk Burger.

David: I'll have a fries and a Boardwalk Burger, please.

Peedee: What size fries?

David: Uhhh... Medium, please.

Peedee: That'll be $6.25.

David: (To Amethyst) Uhhh... Amethyst, I don't have any money.

Amethyst: Oh, right!  Hey, Peedee, just put it on the Universe tab!

Peedee: OK... But Greg better be coming by to pay up soon!  Dad's starting to get impatient and if this keeps up he won't let you keep doing this. (He goes into back to make the food)

Amethyst: So, David.  What's the food like over in Apocalypseland?  Cause the food here will blow your mind!

David: (Looks embarassed and somewhat sad)

Amethyst: Sorry, was that the wrong thing to say?

David: (Tearing up a bit) I miss my mom's cooking...

Amethyst: (Pats David on the back) Sorry, man.  Didn't mean to bring on the feels like that.  Look, here's your food.

   Peedee hands David his food and he and Amethyst find a bench to sit on.  David bites into the burger and looks delighted, the tears vanishing from his eyes.

David: I haven't eaten like this in forever!

Amethyst: You deserve it, bud.  By the time we're done with you, you'll be looking chunky in no time!

   By the time David was finished eating, the sun was beginning to set.

Amethyst: We should probably get back to the house.

   David and Amethyst walk across the beach towards the beach house.

Amethyst: Hey, kid, there's where we found you.

David: (Stops and stares intently at the body-shaped indentation in the sand, then walks over and begins searching the area)

Amethyst: Kid, I don't think anything else washed up with you.  We need to get home or Pearl's going to get all scoldy!

David: (Continues searching, now digging in the sand)

Amethyst: (Walks over) What exactly are you looking for?

David: (Looks at Amethyst, his eyes are tearful again) My picture of mom...  I always have it with me...  It wasn't in my old jeans pockets.  Wh-Where did it go? (Starts digging more frantically)

Amethyst: (Starts helping him look, but to no avail)  David, maybe we can pick up the search tomorrow.  It's starting to get dark.

David: (Wipes his eyes) ...OK.

   David and Amethyst arrive at home.

Amethyst: Yo, guys.  What's up?

Pearl: What took you guys so long?

Amethyst: Apparently Mr. Down in the Dumps here lost a picture of his mommy.

   Pearl and David both glare at Amethyst.

Amethyst: Sorry, went a little too far there.  Anyway, David is really worked up over it.  Maybe tomorrow we could form a search party and comb the beach for it?

Pearl: That's a wonderful idea.  Also, Greg stopped by, and we filled him in on what was going on with our new addition.  He's in the Galaxy Warp room with Steven and Garnet if you want to take David up to meet Greg.

David: Did you say Galaxy Warp?  (A mixture of fear and anger cross his face)  No, I won't go anywhere near that thing!

Pearl: Excuse me?

David: ...Sorry, I... Just have bad memories of those things.

Amethyst: Let me guess, Gems invaded Earth using them?

David: (Nods)  Any moment a Gem could pop out of one.  I... Can't stand being near them.

Amethyst: Well if you won't go to that party then we'll just have to bring the party to you!  I'll go get Greg and the others!  (She runs upstairs)

   Amethyst returns with Greg, Steven, and Garnet.

Greg: (Looks at his clothing on David)  Gee, am I really that big?

David: (Blushes) No, it's that I'm really small.

Greg: It's OK, you don't need to be humble around me.  Although I should probably take you out shopping for more fitting clothes.  Pearl told me all about you.  You've been through a lot haven't you?  (He sits down on the couch)

   Going through David's head are thoughts of this man.  He was certain of it.  This was the man Rose had been in love with when the Gems invaded.  He had come from a universe with Rose and without Greg and gone into one with Greg and no Rose.  Uncannily, it was as if the two of them were fated to be apart no matter what world they occupied.  This saddened David.

Amethyst: Whatcha brooding about, big boy?  Come sit down with Greggy here and talk.

   David sat down next to Greg on the couch.

Greg: So... What was your life like on your world?

David: ....... (Blushes and also looks sad)

Greg: ... That bad, huh?  What was Rose like?

Amethyst: She sussed over him constantly and treated him like a pet.

Pearl: Amethyst!

David: ...No, that's basically it.

Amethyst: Anyway, from the chat me and the kid had on the way to the boardwalk, his Rose was a little different from our Rose.

David: ...From what Pearl... My Pearl told me, Rose changed after the invasion.  She became extra-clingy and possessive.  I only knew that side of her, and the hyper-aggressive persona she took on in battle.  Pearl was her only tether to reason... Honestly, without her, Rose Quartz would probably have gotten herself shattered from running headlong into an impossible battle.  It would have been nice to see the side of her before the war... Before our world turned bloody... Before my family... (He suddenly sobs and tears up, burying his face in his hands)

Greg: Woah, woah, easy there.  It's OK.  We can't change the past, and we can't dwell on it for too long.  Anyway, where did you live before all this?

David: (Calms down as quickly as he broke up) ...I lived in a suburb outside of Empire City.  Henleaf Town, it was called.  It's all gone now... Replaced with one of... THEIR creations. (His face suddenly turns red with rage)  They put up a stadium where humans are forced to fight each other and... And... Sometimes they have to go up against actual MONSTERS!  (Suddenly stops and just sits there panting angrily)

Pearl: Corrupted Gems... They actually had humans fight them for... Entertainment?

Greg: (Is sweating nervously a bit) I'm really in over my head here, aren't I?  This guy needs help.

David: ...The Diamonds' cruelty knew no bounds...

Greg: Have you told him about the--

Everyone but Greg and David: SHHHHH!!!

Pearl: We should probably get to bed.  Greg, David's sleeping on the couch, so--

Greg: Yeah, I know.  Back to the van for me.  Hey, David?  I'll come by tomorrow afternoon and take you to get some better clothes.  See you later!  (Exit Greg)

Pearl: David... You should probably get to sleep.  I'll get some blankets and a pillow from the closet for you.  Steven, get changed for bed.  (Exit Steven and Pearl)

   David sits on the couch, still reeling a bit from his emotional outburst.

David: (To himself)  I shouldn't be so harsh.

Garnet: (Walks up to David and sits down next to him, and puts her hand on his shoulder)  You have every right to be the way you are.  Under your circumstances you could only do so much.  I won't pretend to have been through what you experienced.  You're human.  You have lower limits than a Gem would.  The fact that you're able to express your feelings instead of bottling them up is a great strength.  What's important is that here you have a group of people who will genuinely listen to what you have to say. Good night, David.  (Exit Garnet)

Pearl: (Brought in blankets and a pillow)  Sweet dreams, David.  (David shudders)

   David lay down on the couch and closes his eyes...

   TO BE CONTINUED...

[unnecessary-database]

every movie has multiple epilogues, right?

 (the epilogues will be multiple)  (if you’re new here, don’t start here.)

Filming with a freshly engaged Kara and Lena was both a dream and a nightmare, Sam reflected. Their chemistry on screen had only grown with the years, going from something big and raw and nervous and real to something easy and safe and true and wonderful. It was exactly what Sam wanted to show on screen with a relationship, especially between two women. It went even better since Lena and Kara were so clearly stupidly in love and on the same exact page. It was a nightmare because they were stupidly in love. 

Sam had been dumb enough to film the bedroom scenes in the middle of the schedule. There had been another hickey fight, which the makeup department thought was amusing until they realized they had to cover said hickeys every morning. Kara had most definitely started it this time. Kara still maintained it was Lena's fault, since Lena started it the last time. (That was partially true. Lena had started it in revenge for the first time, though Lena had started it the first time too. Sam was still torn between grateful and annoyed she had them film those scenes towards the end of the movie last time, so they were together in real life when they did it. She had specifically planned it so hopefully they'd get their shit together and she wouldn't have to suffer through them playing that one out as "best friends". She was right, but then had to deal with them as a couple. It was a marginal win.) 

The hickey fight was, while amusing to most of the crew, almost entirely irritating to Sam, though she was sure she'd laugh about it eventually. Like when she used it as blackmail. She did have plenty of pictures of both of them covered in hickeys in bizarre locations. "I'm honestly stunned the two of you manage to contain the hickey fight to the filming of those scenes," Sam muttered at them at the end of one. Kara, already a little red, blushed scarlet, and Sam held up a hand. "I don't want to know."

Filming with them was also a nightmare because of how many of Sam's crew were hopeless shippers that couldn't stop sighing dreamily whenever they did something especially cute. And a fifteen-year-old Ruby that only wanted to spend her time with Lena and Kara, who were mostly only too happy to take her in.

But all in all, the dream side won out. Sam rarely had to track them down separately anymore. They both had their own trailers, but Sam was pretty sure that Ruby had taken over Lena's and turned it into a video game hideout, and Lena had yet to be seen inside of it. They were both always in only the highest of spirits, and did that annoying thing where they dragged everyone else up to cloud nine with them. Mostly though, Sam was just pleased she didn't have to watch them dance around each other anymore. That shit had been painful. 

Maybe also because Kara and Lena had already asked her to officiate the wedding.

---

"Lena," Kara whined. "We. Are. Going. To. Be. Late."

"And whose fault is that?" Lena called, and Kara sighed. 

"Sam's, I'm gonna say," Kara yelled back. "She put filming that final sex scene on the second to last day. She knew we'd have another hickey fight."

"And yet," Lena reminded her, appearing from the bathroom and tilting her head back for inspection. Kara nodded; nothing was visible. "You were the one who put them in such an obvious spot." Kara tugged at her collar wordlessly, baring her collarbone, which was much more colorful than usual. Lena shrugged, unrepentant. "Maybe I did it because I knew Sam wanted you in suits until the movie came out for promotional reasons."

"Uh huh," Kara said, accepting Lena's chaste kiss on her cheek. "Or maybe you are the one that wanted me in suits."

"So what if I do?" Lena asked nonchalantly, reaching for her purse and heading for the door. "It's good press, that's all I have to say about--oh!"

Kara had picked her up from behind and spun her around. "If you do, I might have to have a word with your inner demon-witch," Kara said, releasing her and failing to contain a smile. "Because she's not quite so inner every once in a while."

"Oh, please," Lena huffed, "I've been like this the entire time you've known me and you love it."

Kara tilted her head, considering. She twisted her lips to the side, and Lena raised an eyebrow. "You're right," Kara decided. "Now come on, Miss Morally-Redeemable-Demon-Witch, we've got tickets to the gayest show on Broadway's final run with its original stars and we really cannot be late, Winn and James will kill us."

"Alright, alright," Lena said, pushing at Kara's stomach to get her to move out the door. "After you, Prince Charming."

"Don't start," Kara warned, trying for stern but unable to stop the smile from pushing up at her lips. "Actually, why did you even start that?"

Lena shrugged. "I think it's very fitting. You're very dashing, you always charm everyone, you're like this paragon of goodness. You rescued me from my horrible family."

Kara wrapped an arm around Lena's shoulders and kissed the side of her head gently. "I know we've talked about this a million times before," she said in Lena's ear as they stepped onto the sidewalk, "But I never rescued you. I'm thrilled to be awarded the honor of being there for you, but you rescued yourself all on your own."

Lena took a deep breath in and out. "I know." She was silent for a moment, squeezing at Kara's hand. She smirked. "Maybe it's just because of your abs then."

"For the love of--"

"Come on, Kara, we can't be late. I know you've seen the show fifteen times already but it's still their last run." Lena tilted her head thoughtfully, smiling widely. "And Winn and James' two-year anniversary."

---

"Soon-to-be-married superstars are taking a break to go rebuild a barn?" Alex stared at them. "Lena, unless you've got something up your sleeve, this is a very poor plan. Kara knows nothing about building. She might look it, but she is not the handy type of gay. She can build a set, but structural supports? That thing will crush you in your sleep and I am not ever going to be in the mood to drive an hour upstate to come dig the pair of you out of the rubble."

Lena snorted and Kara protested, Maggie snickering in the background. "Relax, Alex, we're just redecorating. We already paid someone to do it. We're just helping with the design. It's where we're going to have the wedding, you know we've already set the date. Plus, you're all welcome to come visit."

 "Just not right away," Kara muttered. "We've barely finished with the press tour and haven't been alone together for more than a minute since New York." Lena slid her fingers into Kara's, whose frown eased out slowly.

Maggie raised a glass. "Cheers to your lesbian hideaway, then. May we borrow it when you aren't aware for forevermore."

---

Lena woke up to the sound of Kara cursing fluently and the smoke alarm. 

"Fuck ow shit damn fuck, the fuck is wrong with this thing? Shut up, you're a fucking mechanical piece of engineering, so stop beeping at the smell of my burned flesh it is seven thirty in the morning, for the love of god and sweet shit, there isn't even any smoke, thank you, that's right, shut the fuck up you motherfucking little--oh. Hey Lena."

Lena felt her eyebrow rise as she moved into the kitchen, wrapping her robe a little more firmly around herself. They were still working on central heating solutions. "Having fun with the kitchen?"

Kara smiled sheepishly, her face at total odds with the stream of venom coming out of her moments ago, especially with two of her fingers stuck in her mouth in a fashion that could only be described as adorable. She removed them to show Lena a mild burn across the backs of them, and Lena clicked her tongue in disapproval, moving the freezer to pull out the frozen peas. "Thanks," Kara murmured, hissing as Lena pressed them against the burn. 

"Morning, darling," Lena said mildly, and Kara looked up from her burned hand shyly.

"I was going to make you breakfast," she said. "I had not, um, something went wrong."

Lena glanced over to where Kara had at least successfully turned all the heat off the range. "Has it been a while since you cooked this?"

"New recipe," Kara admitted guiltily. "I wanted to try that thing on Giada last night."

Lena's stomach chose that moment to grumble, and Kara quirked an eyebrow. "Shut up," Lena muttered automatically, and Kara grinned. "Darling, that's very sweet of you, but I thought we established after the knife-in-your-finger-instead-of-the-corn and blood-in-the-cornbread incident that you wouldn't try any new recipes without going over them with me first so we could plan it out?"

Kara pouted, and Lena sighed. "But Giada went over it," she whined at her peas, still firmly facing the floor. 

"You have different strengths than Giada, superstar." Lena ducked to kiss Kara, who accepted it with her lower lip stuck out just the slightest, and Lena smiled into her. "Sit down and walk me through it." The smoke alarm went off again, and Lena sighed. "Over cereal," she added firmly, and ignored Kara's dramatic sigh. "I have plans for you that involve you being whole, and I am not about reschedule because you were feeling chivalrous, Prince Charming."

Kara smiled, slow and easy, and Lena felt the familiar warmth creep into her chest. "Yes, ma'am, Miss Robot Murderer."

"That really was your favorite role of mine, wasn't it?” Lena mused, pulling cereal out of the cabinet. “And we hadn't even met yet."

Kara blushed and looked back at her peas. "No comment."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Oh, there will be a comment," she vowed, and watched with satisfaction the red creep up Kara's neck.

[queeniewritesce]

Shall We Dance 6/?

Lucy lazily opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the light feeling the room, streaming from the beautiful arch windows near her side of the bed. Her head throbbed a little, she felt sore in places that hadn’t been used in quite some time, and she admonished herself for not taking some ibuprofen before falling asleep last night.

She tried to move but a firm hand gripped her waist, keeping her in place, digits digging the soft skin of her tummy. She turned her head, carefully to not worsen her headache, and regarded the sleeping man by her side; apparently, they were both stomach sleepers, arms under the pillow type of people and she wondered if that was uncomfortable for him, as he was not lacking on that department. Like, at all. She giggled quietly at her teenager mentality, studying the beautiful profile of Chris’s face, fingers itching to get closer, to lose themselves in the soft fur covering his jaw, trace the fullness of the lips that had driven her crazy the night before.

Ghost memories heated her skin as she slid out of the bed, padding softly to the bathroom, her thighs protesting the burn his beard imposed upon them, the sensation not dissimilar to the friction the pole created when learning a new move, but much more pleasant. She washed her face and used his moisturizer, the mirror showing her the purple marks he left on her neck and the top of her breasts, hair in disarray, and a small grin graced her face. She had been loved hard, and she reveled in every minute of it.

Lucy glanced at Chris’ sleeping form, grabbing his folded sweater and her socks and quietly slipping from the room, Dodger following behind her.

“Morning Dodger,” the stairs were cold on her bare feet as she descended. She makes quick work of his sweater, smelling the collar and folding the cuffs. She pulls on the thick socks while scanning the living room, locating her purse on a side table and to find a hair tie, tying a messy bun on top of her head. She grabbed her phone, opening the small bottle of Advil she always kept with her to grab two pills and walked back to the kitchen, where Dodger sat patiently by the door. “Listen, I’m not too keen on the idea of the alarm going off when I open that door, so I’m really sorry, but there won’t be any visits outside till your dad wakes up, alright?”

She could’ve sworn the dog ruffed before a small whine escaped him. Lucy spotted the treat jar on the island and gave the pooch two small ones as a peace offering. Satisfied, she opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and sat on the same stool she had occupied yesterday, unlocking her phone. She sends Penny a quick message saying she won’t be back till later because Chris is taking her to one of the museums and snorts when her sister’s reply is a bunch of eggplant emojis. Siobhan is next and she asks about Morris, quickly retelling what happens without naming Chris and promising to call soon. There’s a message from JP enquiring if Garret’s plan was to propose on Christmas’ Day, and she thinks it’s odd, ‘why wouldn’t he ask Garret directly instead of asking me?’, she ponders and decides to call her brother later. Her last new message is from Sunny, inviting Lucy to stop by whenever she has the chance. She replies explaining they’ll arrive early on the 23rd, maybe she could have dinner with the family that night.

Opening Instagram, she clicks the plus sign, it’s a habit to always post something about the latest football game she attends; a picture of everyone she’s with, a few words about the game and when the Patriots were involved, a sarcastic remark about Tom Brady. She scrolls through her photos and it suddenly hits her she can’t share the incredible day she had yesterday. Not only all pictures feature Chris, either smiling to the camera or in the background, but he’s also in every quip and every joke she can think of writing. Sure, her account was private, but when was the last time she weeded out her followers? She sighs and closes the app, adding the task to her mental to-do list.

“I was about to file for my missing sweater, but it looks so much better on you than it does on me.” Chris’s voice is right behind her and she jumps a little, but she smiles and spins the stool around to look at him. “Even when paired with those goddamn awful socks.”

“I have cold feet.” Her eyes follow him around and she licks her lips at the sight of the half-naked man turning on the coffee maker, sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips and she is almost certain that is the only piece of clothing he’s wearing.

“I kinda noticed that.” He pats Dodger on the head before disarming the alarm and opens the kitchen door, a very happy dog now bouncing on the fresh snow outside. “You might want to have that checked, I believe they’ve frozen some time ago and you just haven’t noticed.” Chris grins at her indignant face and she scowls at him, trying to elaborate a good comeback when he invades her personal space. “Good morning, gorgeous.”

He’s pressed right at her side when he speaks those last words, tilting her head back and kissing her soundly, the hands on her neck keeping her in place, and does she really need to breathe because she just wants to kiss him forever. Her whole body awakens, his touch moving like lightning on her skin. Her palms sprawl over his chest, fingers combing the short hairs covering the muscles and she’s delighted at the small moans coming from him. Sadly yes, they do need air to live and so they part, foreheads touching, fingers caressing and smiles on their faces.

“I believe it’ll be, yes.” She eyes him as he draws on her skin, following the pattern of the cherry tree branches on her arm, reaching the last flower perched near her inner elbow and she tenses. As wonderful as he is, they barely know each other, the scars on her forearm and wrists are part of the demons that plague her dreams, ones that she’s not willing to discuss. She feels better when his fingers skip the scars, going straight to her palms and tangle themselves with her own, bringing her hand up to kiss the knuckles.

“How about some breakfast?” He offers while his mouth skims over her hands. “There’s this great place right around the corner that serves breakfast till 3 p.m., we can walk over there and get my car afterward, go to the Museum?”

“Breakfast food for lunch?” her stomach grumbles at the mention of food. “I was gonna make a joke about it being so very un-Hollywood of you, but as you heard it, parts of me are already on board with the plan. But I do need coffee first.”

“As milady wishes.” He goes back to find two cups in the higher cabinet, grabbing the creamer from the fridge and setting it all on the island in front of her before seating by her side, “How are you feeling today?”

“I woke up with a bit of a headache, a little sore too, but I took some Advil when I came down, I’ll be right as new in a few hours.” She rests her chin on her hands watching as he scoots the chair closer to hers, knees touching as he runs slow circles on the small of her back.

“I’m sorry about the soreness baby, but damn, it was a tight fit, I almost blew my load when I first entered you, you felt so good.”

He says it like he’s commenting on the weather, not of giving her the best sex of her life. Her cheeks felt warm; the man had no filter, did he?

“It’s been a while since I last fooled around with anyone, it’s been mostly me and my hand for the past twenty months.” Apparently, she had no qualms talking about it with him either. Lucy felt at easy with Chris, from the first time they looked at each other she felt like a missing piece of herself finally found its way home. How would she keep going after today? She shook her head to clear her head, she wouldn’t think about that now. “And you're going around with a large concealed weapon in those pants. How do you get past TSA with that?”

He laughs with a deep bass guffaw, slapping his knee.

“Wanna give me a pat down, Officer Seabrook?” a waggle of his eyebrows had her chuckling before he got serious. “But almost two years baby, are New Yorkers that blind? You look smoking hot, do not give me that look, ‘cuz you do. I’d be following you around like a lost puppy for that ass alone.”

“There were plenty of opportunities, it’s just… It never felt right, I guess? I…” she stopped, unsure about giving up too much of her past. What was with this guy and the need to know all her secrets? And what was up with her and wanting to tell them all to him, hoping he wouldn’t run away screaming?

“Then I’m extremely glad it felt right yesterday. Because it felt right to me too, the moment you walked into that room? I was a goner. You had me at hello and all that shit.” He grinned at her over his cup, but she could tell his eyes were studying her and at some point, they would come back to this conversation.

“And all that shit uh? You’re such a romantic. Wait, the fact that you even know that the movie is awesome enough. It’s one of my favorites”

“Figures you’d have the hots for Tom Cruise being angsty as fuck” He laughed and batted away the packet of Splenda she threw at him.

“Oh shush, he’s not angsty, he’s had a revelation and it’s acting upon it. Plus, the ‘show me the money scene’ is already movie history.”

Chris lets Dodger back inside before grabbing the coffee pot, and he sits facing, a sheepish grin on his face while he poured himself a cup.

“So, if you had to choose, wine or coffee?” he asks as he prepares his drink; three sugars, a splash of creamer.

“Coffee, no doubts about it. I love wine but by this point in my life, I have coffee running in my veins instead of blood. There’s no way I could give the liquid gold up.” She pours half a cup, skipping the sugar and filling the other half of the cup with the creamer.

“What the hell,” he eyes her cup suspiciously, “that is not coffee baby, that’s an insult to anyone who drinks coffee.”

“Says the person who puts enough sugar in his cup to rotten teeth.” She scoffs before taking a long drink. “Delicious.”

“Oh my god, you’re one of those girls.” Chris grabs his chest, pretending it hurts. “You order a PSL at Starbucks.” He finishes with a low, horrified voice, whipping an imaginary tear from his eye.

Lucy was glad she wasn’t drinking when he finishes because she laughs so hard, she snorts.

“One hot, venti, two-shot, almond milk, no whip pumpkin spice latte. I’m a basic bitch who loves her PSL, so sue me.” She shrugs and brings her cup to her lips, sipping slowly.

“I bet the barista knows your name and draws a smile on the damn cup too.” He raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled over the brim of the cup, giving a little shrug. “I knew it!”

“There’s a store on the same block of my apartment and it’s on the way to the subway, they’ve been there since I moved to New York, of course they know me by name by now.” Pouring more coffee into her mug, she acknowledges, “This is absolutely delicious though, it’s Hawaiian Kona coffee, right?”

“Color me impressed.” Chris grins, nodding his head. “It’s one of the few things I splurge on, I have the company send a few beans bags every month to wherever I am staying. I refuse to drink the goo they serve at most places when I’m doing press for a movie.”

“You’re a coffee diva.” She states, amused by his confession.

“Some people hate green M&Ms, I hate bad coffee.” He concedes laughing. “I even provide the coffee, it’s not like they have to go and buy it, you know? Just follow the instructions or let my assistant make it and I’m a happy guy.”

“What is that like, having an assistant?” Lucy glances at Chris, untrimmed beard, mussed hair, no shirt, ratty sweats and barefoot. Incredibly good looking, but more of guy-next-door than a movie star, she almost forgot he was more than Garret’s hot best friend.  Their worlds differed so much, she couldn’t imagine having someone on her beck and call, or worst, a publicist. That gave her pause and she pursed her lips in thought while he responded.

“It’s weird at first, someone controlling your schedule, telling you where you need to be and when. But you get used to it so fast, especially since they seem to know exactly what you need and they deliver it, you know? Almost like a superpower, they learn how to read you and anticipate your moods.” Chris pondered and looked away embarrassed when he continued. “It’s… convenient. If you’re not careful you can get lost inside the Hollywood lifestyle, get jaded by the lights and you end up forgetting who you truly are. It almost happened to me once and I swore I wouldn’t let it happen again. It’s one of the reasons Tobias stays in Los Angeles whenever I’m here, I can take care of myself, I can be Chris.”

His words reassured her, but one question lingered. He was famous, he had an image to protect. As Samuel clearly reminded her, most people only saw her as a glamourized, overweight, stripper. She turns to face him, “Do I have to sign an NDA? Would pictures of the two of us together be bad for you?”

“What, Lucy, NO.” he shakes his head startled. “First of all, NDAs are ridiculous, they rarely work, I know that first hand. Maybe if you’re into some hard kink sex and doing it with random people, then okay, an NDA would be ideal, but I don’t ask people who I sleep with to sign them. And no, a picture of us together wouldn’t be bad for my image, it might stir some pots because some people believe they can dictate who I date…” Shaking his head, he grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together. “I know we’re still getting to know each other but one thing you should know is that I rarely give a fuck to what the media or the general public think of me. I keep my people close to my vest, I don’t talk about friends and girlfriends in interviews, but that’s because it isn’t anybody’s business what I do on my personal time. But I won’t shy away from being around someone I care about either. If a picture leaks or if they follow me when I’m with someone, I set my publicist on their cases because they are assholes, but the one thing I won’t do is to acknowledge their presence or react to them. It’s what they want, and I learned to tune them out.”

“I’m sorry doing what you love comes with so much bullshit involved.” Her thumb rubbed circles on his palm, in a soothing manner, her free hand combing his tousled hair. “Just so you know, if you decide a week from now that maybe I should sign one of those ridiculous things, I’d do it.”

“Thank you. The fact that you offered is enough.” Chris leaned into her hand, almost purring from the feeling of her fingers massaging his scalp. He closes his eyes, enjoying the moment and Lucy wants to save this forever, a perfect reminder of their time together.

He tastes of coffee when she kisses him, molding her mouth over his, dragging her lips sweetly across his own. She tastes like cream when his tongue touches hers, light touches that entice her, coaxing her lips to follow his when he retreats, seeking more, needing more.

The whiskers on his face tease her skin when he drags a line from her mouth to her neck, nipping hard at the pulse point, sucking the skin to sooth the bite. She gasps at how pleasurable the tiny amount of pain feels, fingers splashed on his hair, pulling him back till she devours his mouth, taking the lead.

His hands are everywhere, cupping her neck to hold her in place, squeezing the soft flesh of her breasts, gripping her thighs, finally circling her waist to bring her closer to him, hiking up legs over his, making the sweater she’s wearing ride up, his eyes popping when he realizes she’s not wearing anything under it.

“Such a naughty girl you are baby.” Chris murmurs against her mouth with a grin.

“I’m full of surprises.” She pulls the string securing the pants and it pools on the V of his abdomen, his cock springing upwards to rest against his belly. “I see I’m not the only one not wearing underwear.” Fingernails rake on the hard muscles of his abdomen while her teeth do the same to his collarbone, biting his neck. A thumb grazes the silky skin of his head and he twitches underneath her palm, his soft moans delighting her.

Her sweater is halfway up her body now, a large hand cupping the globes of her buttocks, while the other is busy massaging a hard nipple. Ripples of hot lava dances over her with every pass of his finger.

“I love how responsive you are, how you look ready to cum just with me playing with your tits.” Chris lowers his head to take a hard peak in his mouth when Lucy hears the low rumble of his stomach, making her raise an eyebrow at him. He ignores it and shushes her with a kiss, slating his mouth over her giggling lips, bringing her back to the moment.

A second, louder rumble follows. There is a pause and their eyes open, green meeting blue, mouths pressed together turning to grins before they are both laughing.

“I guess I’m hungry.” He remarks.

“When was the last time you ate something?” a hand smooths down her sweater when she stands up.

“I had a pretty nice snack last night.” A wiggle of his brows had her punching him on the shoulder as she narrows her eyes at him, still laughing.

“Oh my god, you’re such a man Christopher.”

“Glad you noticed babe.” He embraces her, kissing her shoulder. “Come on, we can shower together and save time.”

..__..__..__..__..

Showering together did not save time, she remarks when Chris closes the door behind him. It’s almost noon when they finally leave his house, all bundled up, gloved hands clasped together. There was no snow right now, but it’s supposed to start back late afternoon, so the plan was to be back home before that.

Lucy wasn’t sure exactly what he meant. Would he drop her off at Garret’s house after their outing (she didn’t dare call it a date) or would they go back to his place together? Sure, she understood the concept of one-night stands; she’d had her fair share of them but spending the day with one of them was never part of the deal, they had never asked, always leaving her house before the sun was up. In the beginning, she didn’t care about them leaving, her walls kept her safe, away from heartbreak. She had given herself away twice before and she had the scars, emotional and physical, to remind her not try it again.

Being single wasn’t something that bothered Lucy like it had bothered Penny or Siobhan and, unlike her sister and her best friend, she had welcomed it, focusing her energy and passion into dancing. She was proud of what she had accomplished in the last twelve years, the dance studio was thriving, she had made a name of herself and was now giving back to the community as much as she could.

Yet she now yearned for more. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when that happened but somewhere in the last six months the feeling snuck up on her and was now part of her daily routine, accompanying her from dusk to dawn. She pushed it aside, tried to bury it under her work but, no matter how late she stayed in her studio, how hard she danced, how tired she was, the loneliness that greeted her when she arrived home made her ache.

She wanted what JP had with Marianna. She wanted what she saw between Penny and Garret.

She had no idea how to get it.

Her eyes glanced over at the man walking beside her. Chris was funny, charming, interested in what she had to say and what she did for a living. It didn’t hurt the whole package was contained inside a sinful body, and boy, did he know how to use that body. She shook her head. This was a one-time thing, it’s not like he would want to see her again.

“We’re here,” Chris announced with a muffled voice, concealed beneath the heavy scarf covering his mouth, pointing to the red stone building that occupied the corner of the block they just turned. “The food here is amazing, you can’t go wrong with anything really.”

Lucy looks up before they enter and sees a neon sign with Mike’s City Diner written on it. The place had an old school vibe, a red, black and white theme that reminded her of the diner in Cooperstown, the one she went to almost every day after school for milkshakes and grilled cheese, or for family breakfast during the weekend. She’s about to ask if he comes here often when his name is called by a pretty brunette wearing an apron with the diner’s logo on it.

“Hi Chris,” the woman is all teeth and pink lipstick when she winks at him. Lucy tries to not pay attention to the way the hand, not coffee pot squeezes his biceps in hello.

“Hi, Corinne. Is my table occupied?” he questioned, removing his winter gear.

“It is, but the booth next to it is free, if you seat turned to the back wall, I’m sure no one will bother you. We’re past the rush hour anyway.” She grabs a couple of menus from the counter and leads them to the very back of the restaurant, away from the windows. “I’ll bring some fresh coffee for you.”

Chris helps Lucy out of her coat and mentions for her to get in first. He slides next to her and wraps an arm around her back, pulling her closer.

“I take you’re a regular?” She asked while reading over the menu.

“Yeah, I come almost every day when I’m not at my mom’s house. I’m an okay cook, but breakfast food is my favorite and I rather not screw it up.” He nods, not even looking up at the menu. “Very kind people, delicious food, most patrons are either engrossed on their food or too deep in conversation to notice me, which is a plus.”

“I grew up going to a very similar diner back home. My friends and I would spend whole afternoons at Patty’s, doing homework and playing the arcade games he’d kept in the back room. He was the sweetest guy, always looking out for the town’s kids, running fundraisers for a neighbor in need… And the food was so, so good.” Wistful eyes looked around the place, taking in the decor and the warm way the waiters would talk to the customers.

Corinne approached with a smoking pot of coffee, sashaying her mint skirt as she did. She poured Chris’s coffee and points the pot to Lucy in question. “Want some, sugar?”

“Please.”

“Alright, you guys know what you want?” she placed the pot on their table, whisking out a white pad.

Chris signaled Lucy to go first and she orders cinnamon walnut waffles with a side fruit, saying no to the meat.

“I’ll have the Dynamic Duo with bacon and scrambled eggs. And she wants cream, lots of it.” Chris says with a teasing smile.

“I can drink my coffee black, you know?” Lucy huffs after Corinne leaves them alone.

“Yes, but do you like it?” He gives her a pointed look, a lone eyebrow raised at her.

That was so unfair, who could resist that damn eyebrow?

“No,” she answers with a pout.

He laughs and steals a quick kiss. “So, no meat?”

“No meat. I can’t call myself a vegetarian because I love cheese and eggs and still indulge in some seafood, but it’s been almost ten years since I decided to stop eating red meat, eight since I last ate chicken.”

“Impressive. Hemsworth is thinking about adopting a plant-based regimen on our next bulk up. We’ve been discussing it for a while.” He plays with the empty sugar packets, sighing. “I don’t think I could do it.”

“Chris, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I don’t know the guy, but if he’s your friend I’m sure he’ll understand.” Her hand closes around his, giving it a squeeze. “Quitting anything is hard, my friend Terry has been trying to stop drinking soda since I first met him, sometimes he goes months without a single drop, other times he drinks Coke for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midday snacks.”

“Don’t I know it. I’ve quit smoking maybe a dozen times now. But I pick it back up whenever I’m stressed or if I go clubbing a lot.” He picks her hand up, dropping each finger on the table only to do it again. “I stopped after I broke up with my last girlfriend.”

Lucy pursued her lips. She once had called Penny to see how her sister was doing and throughout the conversation, Penny had been curt with her, until Lucy snapped and decided to end the call. That was when Penny apologized and explained she was mad by proxy because Chris’ girlfriend was being a bitch, divulging personal details about their relationship. Lucy didn’t know the actress was, but she instantly disliked the woman.

“Uh, so maybe a good thing come out of that?” her smile was sympathetic.

“Yeah,” Chris gave her a warm smile. “I was single when I met you.”

“And if you weren’t?” it was a serious question disguised within a light smile.

“Here’s the thing, I don’t cheat. I may be a shitty boyfriend at times, especially with all the traveling and time away from each other, but cheating? That is inexcusable.” His eyes were fixed on hers when he continued and the intensity she found in those eyes made her squirm in her seat. “Had I been dating someone I’d have watched you from afar, cursing whatever deity for giving me a glimpse of yourself when they’d know I couldn’t act on it… The truth is I would have left the game. I was drawn to you like a compass needle is drawn to the north and I wanted you. Anything from the moment we said hello would be considered cheating in my book.”

A flustered laugh escaped Lucy’s mouth; she wasn’t expecting any of what he said, admittedly his stand on cheating mirrored hers but the other half of his speech floored her. Never had a man been so candid in his interest towards her and she was at a loss for words.

She was saved by the arrival of a boisterous man who introduced himself to her as Jay, the owner of Mike’s City Diner. He and Chris shared that typical bro hug after he set down the plates.

“I took the liberty of making your waffle with almond milk when Corinne told me you said no meat.” He had an accent she couldn’t place it. “I hope it is to your liking.”

“That’s very thoughtful, thank you.” She took a bite of the waffle and moaned at the taste, speaking between bites. “This is amazing Jay, best waffle ever.”

“Thank you. I’m happy you like.” He looked between Chris and Lucy. “It is the first time you bring woman with you. Corinne was… disappointed. I can see why she can’t compete with your chosen fire head. Beautiful woman.”

“Keep it up and I’ll tell Janet you’re hitting on my girl.” Chris pointed his forkful of pancakes at Jay, before popping it in his mouth.

“Janet more prettier than Lucy because Janet is my wife.” Jay grinned at them. “I’ll leave you to your food. Wonderful day friends.”

She busied herself with another forkful of waffles and strawberries, trying not to focus too much on Chris calling her his girl.

“Don’t mind Jay, he’s a flirt. Didn’t I tell you the food was good?” Chris drizzled more syrup on his pancakes. “The man is a breakfast food king if I was a billionaire I’d hire him as my personal breakfast chef!”

“But you gotta eat more than just breakfast though. Who would you hire for dinner service?” she dumped most of the cream in her coffee, smirking when Chris cringed.

“Uhm… that’s a tough one.” He stroked his beard in thought. “Either Tyler Florence or Jeff Mauro… I’m going with Jeff Mauro; I love sandwiches and he is the king. What about you?”

“I don’t even need to think about it, it’s all about the good vanilla and the Italian mascarpone! Ina Garten is the Barefoot Contessa for a reason.” She observed.

“Now that would cost you an arm and a leg.” Chris countered. “And if you want Jeff to go make the cheese in a climate-controlled cave in Connecticut, then you’d be bankrupt by the next dinner service.”

“But she told me store bought was fine.”

“Store bought is never fine.” He gasped in mock horror.

Trying to contain her laugh had Lucy wiping away the moisture from the corner of her yes. “I can’t believe you watch Food Network, Chris!”

“Well, there’s just so many times you can play Boggle while on set. Sometimes you just want to watch something to take your mind off things you know?” He pushed his empty plate away, mirth in his voice. “Plus Chopped is psych! Scarlett, Sebastian and I place bets on our favorites. I usually leave a hundred dollars richer by the end of our marathons.”

..__..__..__..__..__

The Museum of Science was somewhat busy for a Monday since most schools in the city were already off for the Holidays, making Chris lower his cap to cover his eyes as they entered the building.

Lucy’s eyes got big when she took in the place. “Oh my god, this is incredible! It’s almost bigger than the Museum of Natural back in New York.”

“I believe New York has more exhibits but we have more square footage or something like that. They grow everything big in Mass.” He winked.

“Don’t I know it?” Lucy waggled her eyebrows, laughing before grabbing the map she had picked up at the entrance. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

“I got us tickets to the Lightning! show at two, the Planetarium at three thirty and the butterfly garden at five pm.” Chris held her hand and lead her to the right side of the building while pointing things up in the map she held. “Maybe we could start with the dinos and make our way back to the red wing for the show?”

“Let’s head downstairs and see the Triceratops exhibit then, they are my favorite.”

“So, you like then horny, uh?” Chris whispered in her ear while they descended the escalator.

“Horny and big boned.” She whispered back with a straight face, a sneaky hand landing on the fly of his pants. “Small boners just don’t do it for me.”

A mother cleared her throat behind them just as they reached the lower level, and they moved quickly out of the way, looking sheepishly at the woman giving them a death glare before bursting into giggles.

“You’re such a bad influence on me.” Chris tutted at Lucy, bringing her close to his side and putting an arm around her shoulders.

“ME?” she protested with a laugh. “I was merely stating the fact that I like big dinosaurs, like a triceratops or a brachiosaur.”

“I’ll show you a brachiosaur when we get home.” He winked at her.

“If I recall correctly, your brachiosaur has quite a thick neck. Can I pet it? Maybe kiss it a few times?” She teased him, rubbing his forearm in a suggestive manner.

“Are you trying to make me pop a boner in public woman?” she saw him discreetly adjusting himself. “Come on, let’s see those dinos.”

The exhibit was fantastic, three full skeletons held the main floor, including a small, unhorned hatchling that made Lucy tear up. They admired the displays, taking turns pointing something they liked and debating which dinosaur would in against various superheroes, in the end deciding Hulk would probably join the dinosaur side, just to even things out. When they got to the T-Rex exhibit, Chris joked about this being Dodger’s wet dream and that he the only reason he wouldn’t steal a bone to take home to Dodger was that it wouldn’t fit inside his house, prompting Lucy to ask about it.

“The whole main floor is gorgeous, but I looooove your kitchen, it’s freaking amazing. If I ever move, I want a huge kitchen just like yours!”

“It was the first room I renovate when I bought the house last year.” Chris beamed. “Every detail, from the island to the fixtures have a history or a special meaning. I installed the backsplash myself.”

“Wait, you did it yourself?” Lucy asked, wide-eyed.

“The backsplash yeah, but I’ve had a lot of help from Dix and Garret during the reno. I also stained the hardwood and installed the mantle over the fireplace.” Chris grinned proudly and pulled up his phone, opening the gallery app and showing Lucy the before pictures. “Dix’s a contractor, damn good one too. We hired a design to come up with a general idea of I wanted and went from there. We’ve finished all the main floor, the master bedroom, and bathroom plus the staircase, but the other three bedrooms, the guest bathroom, basement and the backyard are kind of a mess. We only work on the house when I’m not filming, so it’s going slow.”

They walked over to the entrance of the Theater of Electricity as it was almost time for the show to start, and sat on a backless wooden bench, away from the main area, Chris straddling the bench and Lucy facing him, one leg bent over the smooth surface.

“Chris, the fact that you decided to tackle your own renovations when you could just pay someone to do it for you is remarkable. It speaks volumes of what you are as a person and what you want in life. My dad always quotes, we shape our buildings: thereafter, they shape us. You’re turning that place into a reflection of what you want for you and it shows.”

Chris regarded her for a moment, wistful eyes scanning hers.

“My ma’ always told me something similar before I moved to Los Angeles: whatever good things we build, end up building us. I’ve been trying to live by it, surrounding myself with people that want to build each other up, who share their talents with others in the best way they can. It takes a while to weed out the bad, especially in a place that thrives in being fake. There are many good, hard-working people in L.A. but there are at least three times as fakers and clingers who just want to use you. I love my house there, but sometimes it feels less like a home and that’s especially true now that I’ve bought the condo here. Ma’ was ecstatic when I told her I had found a place here, granted she wanted me closer in Sudbury, but I reckon Boston is a heck of a lot closer than Los Angeles. She helped decorate the living room and the big ass island was more of her idea than mine, but in the end, I loved it.”

“She’s got an awesome taste; I have the biggest case of kitchen envy now. I absolutely adore my apartment, it isn’t small by the city standards, but it doesn’t have much kitchen space. It certainly doesn’t have a big ass island, but it’s home.” She shrugged.

“I remember Penny mentioning you guys are from somewhere upstate, when did you move to New York?”

Lucy shifted in her seat. She would not think about him and what made her move back home.

“Late 2002. I had just gotten back from England; I went through a rough patch for a while and I wanted to start fresh some place where I could lose myself and not worry about everyone from the neighbors to the Mayor knowing your name. So as soon as I could I packed again and moved to New York. My father was supportive, but my Mamma was livid, she didn’t speak to me for a whole month.” she saw the confusion on his face. “That might not sound like a lot, but my Mamma is originally from Trento, Italy. She embodies all the stereotypes of an Italian woman you can think of. Not talking to me was maybe harder on her than it was on me!”

“My mother is like a quarter Italian so I can relate a little when she gets going is you better shut up and listen because she means business.” Chris nodded. He looked her over and Lucy had the distinct feeling he was trying to pierce some of her story together. He was much more perceptive than she initially thought, there would be no glossing over details with him. “England, uh? For dancing school?”

“Yeah… I joined when I was sixteen. Did almost six years with the company.”

He looked impressed. “That’s a whole lot of time dancing. What was the school like?”

“Demanding. We had to be the best one hundred percent of the time, you could lose your spot if you ever slacked on grades or on your dancing. I had a private tutor for classes, so I had no free time until I was finished with their version of high school. Then I got promoted to first soloist when I was twenty, so I barely know any touristy spots in London.”

“I keep wondering why you don’t want to tell me that you actually danced for the Royal Ballet of London and not some random school.” Chris gave her a pointed look and Lucy’s eyes widened. “Your sister is your biggest fan you know? She might have mentioned you danced with them once… or twenty times.”

Lucy looked away, her face heating up. Penny had been so supportive back in the day, even at thirteen, she was Lucy’s most supportive family member, encouraging her older sister to apply to the scholarship, staying in during the weekends so they could practice together. The events that preceded her return to the States still stung Penny and Lucy never thought her sister would look over them to hype her up to her friends.

“I don’t know really, I feel like I’m bragging when I mention their name. And some people look at my body and think ‘yeah right’ because a ballerina is supposed to be always this dainty girl and I’m now the opposite of that.” She waved her hand in front of her body. “I got rather crafty with not saying exactly where I studied, they mostly assume it was just a regular dancing school.”

“People are assholes.” He conceded.

The theater doors opened before Chris could comment further and they were ushered inside after handing their tickets to the greeter. They chose a seat near the middle row, moving all the way to the last seats, Chris pulling his cap down and slumping a little in the seat while everyone got seated around them. When the lights diminished, he righted himself up, removing his hat and running a hand through his hair.

Chris brought her arm over her shoulder, drawing her closer. He leaned into her, whispering in her ear. “I’m sure you were the cutest ballerina ever, but I much prefer the upgraded version of you.”

Even if she had any cute comebacks, and she didn’t, lights went up on the stage and the presenter introduced Professor Lightning, who proceeded to show the audience how Tesla coils worked and how to create lightning strikes at the comfort of their own lab. That was the first of the many corny science jokes of the thirty-minute show and Lucy lost herself in it, along with Chris.

..__..__..__..__..

“Maybe they’ll get it ready before we die, can you imagine it? A holiday trip to Mars?” Chris was walking backward while talking to Lucy, hands waving around in excitement, and she thought he looked like a little kid dreaming about what he’d do when he got older. It was the cutest thing.

They had just left the planetarium wing and they decided to head back down to the Starbucks locates at the atrium for some coffee. Chris had fake gagged when she ordered a Caramel Brûlée Latte and she made a show of drinking it slowly, moaning and making faces to get back at him. He ordered three double espressos in a grande cup, making the barista blink and repeat the order back to him.

They were now sitting by one of the many tables overlooking the Charles River, and Chris was dreaming of spending weekends on Mars instead of down in the Bahamas.

“I guess if you had thirty million dollars you could do it.” She agreed just to appease him. She saw his smile get bigger, probably already deciding which investments he’d give up being in that voyage. “You know, for each leg of the trip.”

Chris dropped his shoulder, defeated. “Maybe I could just go to the moon then. A quick getaway to look at Earth from another perspective.”

He looked serious and Lucy had a feeling he was indeed planning for that excursion.

“Would you really do it?” She inquired with a tilt of her head.

“Hell yes, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d crap my pants while going up but man, that would be so fucking cool.”

Lucy watched as Chris got a dreamy look on his face and she contemplated if he would think she was crazy if she got him a Christmas gift. She just had the perfect idea for one.

“Send me a picture when you get there ok? You’d pay to go, I wouldn’t go even if they’d paid me.”

“Is it the heights?”

“Actually no, I love rollercoasters and I’ve bungee-jumped before.”

“You what?!” He stared at her with wide eyes.

“I did yeah! It’s such a cool experience, I’ll tell you about it sometime.”

“You better! So, if it isn’t heights, what is it?”

“I’m terrified of enclosed spaces. I can barely make out off an elevator without going into a mini panic attack.” Her body did a quick shake at thought of being inside a spaceship. “It’s not too much of being in a tight space but I need windows and I need to know I can quickly get out of the situation if the need arises. You can’t exactly do that while going to the moon.”

“I can see how that would pose a problem.” Chris nodded and finished his coffee. “How do you cope with flying?”

“I have a prescription for Xanax, but I try to avoid using it. I rely on lots and lots of distraction.” She picked her up her phone, unlocked and pulled up Spotify, showing him a playlist labeled Flying Sucks, and he scrolled through her picks. “I’m so glad I don’t need to turn off our phones anymore, I have my headphones on and music blaring from the moment I step into the plane.”

“I’m afraid to ask, but how does one go from Chopin to Slipknot in two songs?” He turned her phone back to her pointing from Nocturne op. 9 to Duality.

Lucy cocked her head at him, a grin on her face.

“My tastes are very singular,” she whispers trying to contain her laugh. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Chris paused for a bit and she saw the moment he got the joke.

“Did you… Did you just quote Fifty Shades Of Grey to me?” Chris was laughing so hard he dropped her phone on the table, his hand automatically landing on his chest. That was the third time she saw him doing that and vowed to try and make him laugh that hard again, it was the most adorable thing.

A few other visitors turned around startled by the sound of his laugh and Lucy shushed him, ineffectively. She saw a teenage girl squinting at Chris, trying to place the man sitting two tables away from her and Lucy immediately got up and stood in front of him, blocking her view.

“Let’s go, doofus, there’s a very curious teen staring at you and I say she’s seconds away from figuring it out who you are.” She gestured with a thumb to the table behind her. Lucy grabbed his hand and pulled him up, Chris lowering his cap while they left the cafeteria area.

“I still can’t believe you quoted that awful movie at me,” Chris said while tossing their cups on a nearby bin.

“And I don’t understand how you know that line at all.” She pointed at him, waggling her finger.

“They uh, may have offered me the role?” Chris glanced sheepishly at her.

“THEY WHAT?” Lucy shrieked and immediately covered her mouth. Chris pulled them into an empty alcove to get away from prying eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling but what?”

“They offered me the role. Twice. The second time they even threw veto power on whom would’ve play Anastacia.” He shook his head. “It was a hard pass from me. The sex scenes in the book were passable, but the plot felt iffy, very constricted and oversimplified.”

“You’re the first guy I know who actually have an opinion about the plot and do not dismiss it as being mommy porn.” Lucy praised him.

“I make a point of having an informed opinion and not rehash what others think.” Chris nodded. “If that means I have to read a book about kinky fuckery, hey, let’s do it!”

Lucy threw her head back with a laugh and they resumed their walk, discussing their favorite books and authors and soon it became very clear they did not share the same interests. Chris tended towards non-fiction, biographies, science and spirituality books while Lucy rarely picked up something that wasn’t about fantasy, especially vampires and wizards. They did agree on Harry Potter and A Brief History Of Time, so they called it a win anyway.

They circled back to the blue wing where the Butterfly Garden was located when a voice over the intercom announced that everyone with tickets for the five pm showing was now welcomed to enter the Garden, and they quickly made their way there.

They started the tour on the opposite side of the entrance, walking around a path brimming with the colorful wings of the kaleidoscope who lived there. Lucy took pictures of her favorites and marveled at how nature worked, turning into what most would consider an ugly nuisance into such an exquisite animal.

The thick, lush foliage extended all the way to the glass ceiling, the various shades of green a great contrast against the gray skies above. Each section of the garden filled with different types of flowers and plants to attract the butterflies, it was a cacophony of plants from all over the world, turning the area into something quite magical in Lucy’s eyes.

Chris stopped here and there to discuss whatever butterfly they could see, Chris pointing what he remembered of his previous visit and telling Lucy anecdotes of his time there with his family.

“Then he convinced Shanna to lick the picture! So she goes up, takes the mounted frame from the wall and low and behold, licked the fucking leaf!” Chris remembered laughing. “Of course, the moment she lifted the frame a silent alarm must’ve sounded somewhere, and two guards appeared out of thin air… and that’s how the Evans Family got banned from the MOS for six months.”

Lucy wheezed as she laughed, trying to control her breathing. “Poor Shanna! You and your brother were not kind with your sisters uh?”

“We’re vicious sometimes.” He agreed. “But we’re also very protective, I got in trouble once because I bit a guy for pushing Carly off the swing set. Granted I was six at the time, but man, I drew blood and everything! Dad had to pay for his hospital visit and I lost dessert rights for a month.”

He pouted, making Lucy giggle.

“Your family sounds amazing Chris! Are you guys doing something special for Christmas?”

“Mom’s hosting a huge party this year, so the whole family will be there. Lots of Evans and Capuanos, plenty of food and booze, games, I live for those parties, they are my favorite, so much love going on. Big breakfast in the morning, let them go crazy opening presents, then we take the kids sledding or to ice skate on a pond nearby and then we all gather to the party. How about you?”

“That sounds lovely. It’s just the immediate family this Christmas for us. Mamma insists on having all her kids there at least every other year, it’s a deal she makes with all in-laws when they become family.” She paused. Lucy was the only one who had never taken a boyfriend to one of their gatherings. She had mastered the art of ignoring the looks of pity her family sent her way every time she arrived alone, dodging questions about her failed love life now second nature. “We don’t have many relatives in America, mamma being Italian and Dad from Scotland, so we kinda created our own family traditions; we decorate cookies on the 24th, mamma chooses the Yule log, and we sit around talking about our year while listening to the Beatles and drinking wine. Then on Christmas Day we go ice skating, hold the ‘Annual Seabrook Snowman Challenge’, which I suck at by the way, and consume way too much wine and crostoli.”

“I love crostoli, my mom never got the recipe right from her grandma so hers it’s not so great… But I’ll deny it to my grave if you ever tell her I said that.” He tapped the end of her nose, making her giggle. “It’s been such a long time since I had them though.”

“Mom makes a ton of them to give the neighbors as gifts, I’ll save you some and send them back with Penny.”

“That’d be awesome, thank you.” He ran a hand through her hair and brought her closer, intending to kiss her. His lips almost touch her when a group of kids no older than six-year-old breezes by them, screaming ewwww and making kissing noises. “I guess you got cooties.”

They giggle and separate, but he clasps her hand while they toured the winding paths.

Walking further into the garden they got to a small section where hundreds of white or blue butterflies floated over the flowers, enjoying a rare ray of sun that filtered from the glass ceiling above. Chris took his phone out from his front pocket and handed it over to Lucy before embracing her, arms closing around her front and pulling her closer, her back molded to his front. She shivered at the full body contact and had trouble opening the camera app. Searching for the best angle, she took a couple of pictures of them surrounded by the clouds of wings, including one where a blue butterfly sat on Chris’ shoulders and Lucy had a surprised look on her face, which quickly become their favorite.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the museum will close in ten minutes.”

The voice over the intercom made them both jump, and Chris looked at the clock.

“Wow, it’s almost six already?” He looked surprised.

“Are you serious?” Lucy couldn’t believe how fast the day had gone by.

Yesterday had been amazing, all the teasing leading to a frenzied and amazing night of sex but if she had to choose her favorite time with Chris had been today. There were no awkward moments, not long silences where they didn’t know what to say to each other. As much as she was pressed not call it a date at the beginning, there was no denying today had been exactly that. And she loved every second of it.

Now came the hard part, letting go of Chris and going back to her own life.

“At least it’s not snowing yet, roads should be clear.” He talked absently. Chris scratched his beard appearing to miles away from the museum already and Lucy tried not to let it bother her.

The escalator had a line and the elevator was for seniors, pregnant women and people in need of assistance, so they took the stairs, keeping closer to the wall as to not draw much attention.

He picked up her left hand, drawing patterns on her palm before twisting their fingers together while they descended the stairs to get to the garage. Lucy noticed how touch drove he had been the entire day, always reaching out to her, holding her hand while they walked, circling her waist while they waited in line for tickets. It occurred to her he would distance himself from her while they were in public and she understood why he would do it but in a deeper level, she was elated when he didn’t. She thought back to that morning’s conversation; I won’t shy away from someone I care about’, and her heart skipped a beat. Could he care about her in a more permanent way than a one-night stand? She shook her head. No, that wasn’t possible, right?

Then how you would explain your own feelings? Her heart had terrible timing, as always. Okay, so maybe today had been better than good. I was a fucking great day okay, could you at least own up to that? And Lucy couldn’t argue because it really had been that.

At least she’d had the memories of their time together, the last thirty hours had been incredible, and she knew a smile would always accompany those memories, no matter what happened from now on.

They got to the garage after a few minutes, people shuffling around them to get to their cars as quickly as possible. They walked fast, not bothering with their coats, just wanting to get inside his car. Lucy was really looking forward to sliding against the heated leather seats.

“Fuck, it’s cold!” Chris exclaimed pulling her along. His wide stride made her almost run after him, air leaving her mouth in smalls white clouds as she breathed out. He hit his key fob a few meters before they reached the car and engine came to life with a hum. He opened the door for her, and she placed a sweet kiss on his cheek before getting inside. Chris quickly went around to the driver’s seat and moaned when the heated air hit his skin. “Oh, much better.”

“Do you think Audi would sell me just one of these seats? The heating at the studios sucks, I’d love to have one of these for my office!” She wriggled happily in her seat.

“Or you could buy a proper office chair that does the same thing?” He pointed at her when he got behind the wheel. Soft jazz music filled the air around them when he turned the key, the melodic sound swirling around them.

“Uhm I could, but then I couldn’t tell people how I convinced fucking Audi to make me a custom chair. Now that’s a story.” She chuckled and turned on her seat, facing him.

“So buy a chair, slap an Audi sticker to the back of it and tell the story anyway, how ‘bout that?”

“Uhm… There’s an idea.”

He laughed. “Why are we discussing this particular one anyway?”

“’ Cuz there’s like a hundred cars trying to leave at the same time and we’re stalling?”

“Such a smart girl.” Chris reached over the console and picked up her hand, playing with her rings. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really.”

He nodded and concentrated on the traffic inside the garage, managing to get out and merge into the exit lane, all with one hand, the other still holding hers.

Why in the world did she say she wasn’t hungry when he asked? She wasn’t, that was true, but they could have gone somewhere to just talk, she could have a few more moments with him and now she blew it. God, she was stupid. She thumped her head in the back seat, cursing herself. Was it too late to say something, hey, changed my mind, let’s go grab a pizza or something.

She kept her body turned to him as he drove, a leg bent on the seat, studying his profile, the little bump on his nose, the mole on his left cheek, how his beard was not dark blond but auburn like Penny’s hair. She wanted to commit it all to memory so she could relive it once she got back home. Maybe daydream about not being a fucking coward and ask him to take her back to his place instead of back to Garrets.

They drove in silence for the next ten minutes, the only sounds inside the car coming from the speakers. He pulled to the curb of Garret’s house and Chris killed the engine, turning to Lucy. She felt the intensity of his gaze while she studied his face, waiting for his final words. This was it. He would thank her for a good time, say she was a nice girl and send her away.

Was it even possible to have feelings for someone you’d met in person just the day before? Maybe it was just some leftover infatuation from the night before? Sure, she had heard of him from Garret and Penny, they were practically his personal cheerleader squad, but meeting Chris had been a whole different experience. She couldn’t remember the last time she’s had so much fun with a man. It wasn’t just the sex, which by the way had blown her mind after twenty plus months of celibacy, but how he’d made her feel like the most important person in the world when he talked to her, how he listened with his whole body, really paying attention to what she was talking about. How he laughed at her jokes, cracking up with that adorable and dorkable laugh of his. He had cut through her walls and her fears with his witty banter and a charming personality and she had been impotent to resist him. She liked everything about him. She was falling for the guy.

No.

She had already fallen.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

Stupid, silly girl. Why on earth would someone like him ever want more than a one-time thing with the likes of her?

She screamed at that poisonous voice to shut up, she didn’t want to hear it today. She concentrated on the affirmations Doctor Clark had given her.

She was worth it; she was not perfect but every being deserved love.

She was happy with her body; maybe she wasn’t a size four or even a six, but she was stylish, some days she would be so bold as to call herself sexy.

She was a good person; a loving friend, a kind person, a passionate lover,

She was deserving of love.

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, willing away all bad thoughts, breathing in and out, centering herself.

Maybe not his love, but he had awakened something inside her, if Captain America himself thought she was worthy of his time, that voice surely must be wrong.

“Lucy?”

She opened her eyes and leaned forward, resting her hand on his knee.

“Thank you for an amazing time, Chris. I haven’t had this much fun in quite a few years.”

She kissed his cheek, lingering just one second more. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she moved to open the door.

“What, no, Lucy wait.” He hit the lock button, breathing rapidly. “Just wait, give a man a moment to breathe, will ya’?”

“Chris?” She tilted her head, watching as he took deep breathes, counting on his fingers while murmuring what looked like affirmations, much the same she did earlier.

“Sorry, I had to run a few scenarios in my head. A trick my therapist taught me for when I get anxious.” He explained, tangling the fingers of one of their hands and pulling her to him, kissing her square in the mouth. “None of that cheek kissing thing alright?” he pleaded when he released her.

“Alright?” she had no idea what to answer so she nodded instead.

“Good, good. We had a great day together, didn’t we?” his free hand reached for a stray lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingers.

“I believe I thanked you for it already.” She looked nonplussed at him.

“That you did baby.” He kissed her again, this time biting her lower lip. “What if this wasn’t the end of that time?”

“Chris?”

“What if instead of dropping you here, you get out, get your bags and go home with me?” his clears eyes shone with hope and he licked his lips, waiting.

“You know we leave after lunch, right, I told you that.” Her heart was speeding up and she was sure he could feel her hands getting clammy. Was he really asking her to spend the night again?

“That would give us more,” he checked his watch, “eighteen more hours together.”

“Are you sure Chris? I’m okay with this being the end of our little rendezvous, I really liked the day we had.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

His smile vanished.

“Oh, unless you don’t want to, I can understand that.” He chewed on his lip, defeated.

“Unlock the door, Chris.”

“Okay.” He hit the button and bowed his head. “Can I… can I kiss you goodnight?”

“Yes, you can kiss me goodnight.” She opened the door but didn’t move, waiting for him to look up. “You can kiss me goodnight after I have my wicked way with you after we get back to your place.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes! I was beating myself up for not saying yes when you asked if I was hungry.”

His face broke up in a huge grin.

“We can eat, then go back home.”

“I just want to spend more time with you, I don’t care what we do.”

His lips were cold when she kissed him, the outside air rapidly entering the car, but neither cared, too lost in each other to bother closing the door.

“I’ll go grab my bags.” She said when they separated.

“Hurry up woman, we have just nineteen hours and fifty-five minutes left.”

She threw her head back and laughed, getting out of the car and running up the stairs.

“Hey Lucy?” he yelled from the lowered window. She turned to him, after knocking on Garret’s door. “I hope you don’t have plans to sleep tonight.”

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

TRR New Beginnings Ch.6-Confessions, part 1

This is a 2 part chapter because it got a little long!

Words: 1950

After Drake changed into dry clothes he waited for Emma to return from the lake. When she walked in she was shivering, her once dry clothes clinging to her wet body and her wet hair plastered around her face. Drake knew she had brought some clothes with her, but he had already grabbed her a spare shirt and pair of boxes from his closet. He walked over to her and held them out

“Here, Rose. “

She frowned and said “Drake, I brought my own clothes.”

He smiled softly at her. “I know but…now you don’t have to dig through your suitcase.”

Slowly she reached out and took the clothes from him, their fingers brushing. Drake felt it immediately, that lightning bolt of pure connection. Judging by the way she yanked her hand back he knew she felt it too. She quickly shut herself into the bathroom. When she came back out Drake had trouble breathing. She looked so beautiful and so damn sexy wearing his clothes. He immediately wanted to tear them off and claim her as he had done over a year ago. But no. He needs to do this right. She’s obviously still a bit uncomfortable here. As she walked towards him brushing her hair she finally returned his smile.

"Thanks Drake. These are quite comfortable. I might have to steal these and never give them back” she joked.

Drake laughed “We’ll see.”

But on the inside he was screaming HELL YES, take everything I have and stay with me.

As the couch was still turned into a bed Drake decided he could make some food instead and they could sit in the kitchen. He was having trouble concentrating seeing her in his clothes with a bed so close by. For about the 10th time that day alone he tells himself he needs to do this right.

“Are you hungry, Rose?” She nodded. “OK, well I don’t have much but….” Drake trailed off as he eyed his fridge for the first time. Then looked in his cabinets. They were all full. Liam. He heard a chuckle behind him. He turned, surprised.

"Drake did you really just now realize that Liam shopped for you? He really wasn’t kidding when he said you barely ate, huh?”

Drake frowned. He was starting to wonder what Liam had told her about him. He had barely seen Liam throughout the whole past year, how much could he possibly know? His thoughts were interrupted again by another chuckle. Shaking her head and smiling Emma walked to the fridge and peeked inside herself, then checked the cabinets. She smirked.

"He told me he had groceries brought here but didn’t tell me what. He really went all out. With all this food we probably don’t have to leave the cabin for at least a month.”

She froze as she realized what she just said, and Drake’s breath hitched. A month?? Liam really wants us to stay here alone for a month?? Drake’s heart soared at the thought, but Emma had a look of shock on her face. Clearly, she wasn’t as happy about it. She cleared her throat.

“Well, don’t feel bad. I didn’t exactly eat a lot either. Minimum wage is no joke.” She gave him a half smile then turned back around. “So. What are we in the mood for? We could do breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, dessert…snacks. Umm. Basically anything we can think of” Her laugh was genuine this time.

Drake smiled and said “well since it’s lunchtime we should have lunch. I’ll cook. You have a seat.” She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow.

“The great Drake Walker can cook? Now this I have to see.” She glanced at him as she took a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh please, Rose. I’ve got moves you’ve never seen.”

He meant it as a joke but both her eyebrows shot up at the comment. He quickly he backtracked

“I mean, erm, in the kitchen, I have moves in the kitchen.”

He started mumbling to himself as he took out ingredients. Way to go Walker. Real smooth. I’m sure she was just so impressed. He rolled his eyes at himself. Such an idiot. He took out a slab of roast beef and started slicing. Next he took out the bell peppers and sliced those. He took out bread, butter, garlic, and swiss cheese. They were both quiet as he cooked but he could feel her eyes watching his every move. Drake plated the food and turned back to Emma with flourish.

“Tada!” he sang out as he placed her plate in front of her. She bit her lip to try to contain her laughter.

“Is this…Philly Cheesesteak?” Emma laughed.

“No. It’s Cordonia cheesesteak. Remember when I tried to explain the difference to you before? The meat is more succulent, the peppers sweeter. It’s grilled on garlic bread” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and spilled the rest out in a rush. “Plus you don’t like onions and swiss cheese is your favorite.” He met her eyes.

“You remembered” she said softly. He smiled sadly at her.

“Of course I do. I remember everything, Emma.”

A look of surprise crossed her face. It was very rare that he called her by her first name. The only times he did was when he was shocked by something or he was being dead serious. She was fully aware of it. She swallowed, hard, then turned her attention to her food.

"Well it smells delicious.”

Drake watched as she took a big bite of the sandwich. She closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure as the flavors melted together in her mouth.

"This is the most perfect Cordonian Cheesesteak I have ever had Drake Walker. Thank you.” She held her sandwich up and they toasted with them. They finished their meal in comfortable silence, stealing glances at each the entire time.

When they were done Drake cleared the table. He moved to her bed and folded it up back into a couch. “We need to talk, Rose.” He said, sitting down. She got up from the table and slowly went to sit next to him on the couch. She looked at him, expectantly. It was clear she was not going to initiate the conversation, so he started.

“I went to New York to find you and bring you back. I was devastated when you left, but I really thought I was doing the right thing. When you left the country…well, everyone asked me why. When I told everyone what I had said to you…obviously everyone was incredibly angry with me. Savannah actually slapped me. Liam stopped speaking to me. He was both pissed and hurt. I really thought I lost him as a friend. I had no idea that my actions would cause everyone I cared about so much pain. I hated myself for it, for all of it. So I got on a plane and looked for you for weeks. But I couldn’t find you. I came back and built this cabin, hoping beyond hope that you would come back on your own, or reach out to someone here but…there was nothing.” Drake closed his eyes as they started to water.

“I’m so sorry, Rose. Letting you go was the worst thing I have ever done…I knew it as soon as I said it but you were already gone” He whispered. He felt her hand on his leg and his eyes shot open. He saw his own pain reflecting in her eyes.

“I knew you were looking for me” she confessed.  “Daniel told me. He didn’t tell me you were actually in the city, just that he had talked to you.” She paused, thinking. “I actually never thought I would come back. I’m still a bit surprised that I’m here myself.”

“What made you come back with Liam?” Drake couldn’t stop himself from asking. He had to know. She blushed.

“Honestly, I think a lot of it was shock factor.” She laughed. “When he showed up at my door it was like all the oxygen left the room. My past had finally caught up to me. And so much had changed, so much had happened…I realized I had nothing left to lose. And I thought of you, alone, drinking yourself to death and I decided if I could change that fate then I would…” She trailed off, eyes faraway. Drake put his hand on top of hers, which was still on his leg. She jumped a little and Drake squeezed her hand reassuringly. She looked down at their hands but didn’t move as she continued.

“When I left Cordonia I was still carrying you with me. A big part of you, in fact.” Drake held his breath as she looked him in the eye. “I saw the nursery upstairs, Drake. I’m assuming Maxwell told you.” Drake nodded.

“Honestly, Drake, I never told him, he just…figured it out. Cuz ya know….he was around Savannah when it happened to her. And I wasn’t going to lie to him.”

Drake closed his eyes as he remembered his last conversation with Maxwell

“Drake, you idiot!! Why did you let her go?? Why did you say that to her?? She had already chosen you, you dummy! And why the hell would you say that to her after she told you she was pregnant??”

Drake’s mouth fell open and he stared hard at Maxwell.

“What the fuck are you saying, Beaumont?”

Maxwell got in his face.

“She was fucking pregnant you moron! She literally went to your room that night to tell you. And then what. You slammed the door in her face?? Who are you right now? The Drake I know wouldn’t do that. First your sister ran away without telling you, and now Emma? You’re a piece of work.”

Drake pulled his fist back and slammed it into Maxwell’s jaw. As his friend stumbled onto the floor Drake could barely comprehend what he was saying.

“She didn’t tell me! She didn’t get a chance to say anything. Where is she Maxwell, I know you know.”

“I swear I don’t” Maxwell spat out.

“I don’t believe you! Drake roared “You knew about Savannah, you surely know about Emma. Where. Is. She.” Drake was trembling with anger.

Maxwell stood up. “I have no idea Drake. She’s just gone. I came here as soon as I heard. I should have known you wouldn’t believe me!”

He walked to the door and flung it open. “Maybe you should ask yourself why the two most important women in your life were both afraid to tell you they were pregnant and would rather leave the country. That’s not on them, Drake. It’s on you.”

Drake started towards him again, fury in his eyes when Maxwell left and slammed the door behind him. And that was the last time he spoke to Maxwell Beaumont.

Drake opened his eyes again and looked at Emma, who was studying him.

“Liam told me you had a fight with him” she said softly. “You thought he knew where I was didn’t you? And you didn’t believe him when he said he didn’t.”

Drake nodded sadly. He was such an idiot. Of course, Maxwell wouldn’t hide that from him, not again. Not after Savannah. He should have known better, Maxwell had proven himself as a friend over and over. Just like Emma had proven her love over and over. He felt like he was the world’s worst friend. Drake drew in a deep breath and grasped both of Emma’s hands with his, afraid to let go, afraid of the answer to his next question.

“Rose…what happened to our baby?”

     @blackwidow2721

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[vcepsis]

Question: If you're taking yoi prompts, have you ever written/would you consider writing a sick Otabek? Figured you like him a lot since he's your icon. Plus it's always refreshing to have sickfic content for characters other than the mains.

Hey thanks so much for the prompt! I do love him, he is my precious son. I’ve never thought about an Otabek sickfic but I decided to try it! I find Otabek’s character a bit hard to pin down but I hope I did him justice.

Also, there’s a bit of Otayuri in this. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about Otayuri; for me, I don’t have a strong preference about whether or not they’re romantic or platonic. So I did write about Yurio here, but really you can read it however you want (I kept it pretty open to interpretation I think). There is no Yurio whump here though (I doubt I could ever write whump for him, lol).

Just over 2k. Enjoy!

Otabek’s alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. Approximately two hoursafter he had finally gone to bed.

Normally, Otabek was smarter than that. When he got offersto DJ at a club on a weekday, during training season, he always turned it down(it didn’t stop people from asking, though; apparently he had quite thereputation). Why would people want a DJ for a Tuesday night, anyway? It seemedthe party  in Almaty never slept.

Lately, however, everything had been going wrong. He hadbeen falling on his jumps in practice more often than not, to the point wherehis coach was growing concerned. His short program for the coming season wasnearing competition, but his free skate was still a complete mess. Thechoreography refused to work, no matter how many times he reordered things. Itlooked like he was going to have to scrap it altogether.

Plus, he woke up a few days before with his throat feelinglike sandpaper. It sent a wave of dread through him. This was not what he needed right now.

So when a friend had reached out about playing at a club,Otabek threw caution to the wind and said yes. Nothing else was working, butmaybe a successful show would finally knock his head back into place.

For the most part, it did. He was able to forget all about triple axels and quad salchows and getting sick in the middle of trainingseason quite well with the bass pounding in his chest and the free alcohol(despite the fact that he was underage, but really, nobody cared if the DJbroke a law or two, as long as the party didn’t stop).

Of course, that had been a mere three hours ago. He had managedto get a little bit of sleep to avoid another all-nighter before practice(hiscoach had threatened him in many colourful ways the first time he tried that) but he certainly hadn’t done hisbody any favours.

His alarm was still ringing in his ears, exacerbating theheadache that hadn’t quite faded. Sitting up slowly, he put a hand to his headas the room started to spin. Am I stilldrunk?

No, he hadn’t had enough to be hungover. He may have been anidiot by going out, but he wasn’t that dumb.

Sighing, Otabek rubbed his throbbing temples. The time onhis phone said 6:10. He didn’t need to be at the rink until 8. Surely he couldsleep a little longer, at least to get rid of this headache. He decided to liedown and close his eyes for another half hour or so.

Not two minutes later, it seemed, his phone started to ring.Groaning, he pulled it off his bedside table. It was his coach. He frowned abit, but answered.

“Where areyou??” Came the annoyed voice on the phone.

“What—” Otabek took the phone away from his ear longenough to see the time: 9:28 a.m.

Shit.

Shit.

“I’m sorry,” Otabek said earnestly, wincing whenhis voice came out more like a hoarse whisper than a heartfelt apology. Hetried clearing his throat. It didn’t help. “I’ll be there in—”

“Were you outlast night?”

This stopped Otabek in his tracks.

Shiiiiit.

“I only meant to sleep a little longer,” Otabeksaid, trying not to sound like a pleading child. “I’ll make up for ittoday, I’ll stay late, I’ll pay you double for the day—”

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. “Hang on, just stop for a second.” Thevoice was much gentler now. ”I knowyou’ve been frustrated lately, but I wish you would ask for help rather thantaking your frustrations out on cheap alcohol and loud music.“

Shame turned Otabek’s cheeks red.

”I’ll meet youhere at 10, and we’ll have a short day. Do not worry about fees. I just want tohelp you.“

Swallowing the fire in his throat, he agreed.

~~~~

Otabek woke the next morning feeling, somehow, even worsethan the day before. His sore throat had evolved into  a grating cough which no amount of water woulddispel, and his head pounded so hard it felt like a bass drum.

His second alarm went off at 6:30 (after yesterday’s fiasco,he set four alarms to make sure he got up on time). With a groan, he switchedit off and dragged himself to the shower. When he finally arrived at the rink,his coach took in his pale complexion and weak voice with a raised eyebrow, butsaid nothing.

Practice was even more grueling than normal: Otabek feltcompletely drained by the end. His body had a heavy, groggy feeling that madeit hard to concentrate, and he was blowing his nose twice as much as normal.

Usually Otabek waspretty hardy when it came to illness, but his frustration at everything hadgotten the better of him, and he was ignoring his body screaming at him to slow down! Even now, when he had to stopmidway through his routine to cover his awful sounding coughs again, he refused to take it easy.

Distantly, he heard his coach sigh.  "I thought you were hungover yesterday,but it seems you’re not well.”

Otabek stiffened at the accusation. So he wasn’t feelingwell. So he could barely breathe without coughing and the room was beginning tospin. It was nothing. He could pushthrough.

A hand appeared in Otabek’s vision, cool on his forehead.His coach tsked. Otabek just shook itoff, scowling. “I’m fine.”

“Sure you are. Now go home.”

Otabek opened his mouth to protest some more, but he wasswiftly cut off. “No, I don’t want to hear it. You’ve been a mess latelyand now you’re neglecting your health. Go home, get some rest, and come backwhen you’re better.”

Obviously Otabek didn’t look convinced, because his coachcontinued, “Or you can stay here, work yourself into the ground, and getnowhere. While infecting everyone around you. Is that what you want?”

Otabek blinked, shocked. He had been doing his best to stayaway from his rink mates and cover his mouth, but what if it wasn’t enough? Heput a hand to his forehead, embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

His coach sighed again. “No, I’m sorry. That was toofar.” Otabek felt the weight of his coach’s hand on his back. “I knownothing seems to be working out, but this is not the solution. You need to takecare of yourself. So go home, get some rest, and we’ll start again when you’rehealthy.”

Otabek hesitated for a moment, but nodded in the end.

It turns out his coach’s advice was sound, as he barely hadthe energy to walk back to his apartment. Dragging himself through the door andtrudging to his room, he barely had the energy to change out of his practiceclothes before collapsing into bed and promptly passing out.

His phone, however, had other ideas.

The shrill sound of his ringtone cut through his fitfulsleep, and he groaned as the pain behind his eyes spiked anew. Turning towardhis nightstand, his phone told him two things: that it had only been a fewhours since he got home, and that Yuri Plisetsky was calling.

Ah, shit. In hishalf asleep state, he had completely forgot about his agreement to have a chatwith Yuri tonight. Sighing at his own incompetence, he hit the answer button. “Hey, Yuri.”

“Whoa, you soundwrecked,” came the greeting from the other end. “Were you out last night or something?”

Why did everyone assume that because he was a DJ, he waspartying every night?

Well….he was outa few days ago. Bitterly, he supposed it was a fair assumption after all.

“No,”Otabek replied. He held the phone away from his face as he coughed harshly.“Just a bit sick.”

“Oh,”Yuri said, sounding a bit surprised. “Areyou….uh, are you ok?”

Otabek couldn’t help but laugh a bit at Yuri’s somewhatfretful tone, which turned into another wet sounding cough. “I’ll be fine.It sounds worse than it is.”

“Yeah.”Yuri sounded unsure. “Did you, like,take your temperature or anything?”

Huh, that actually wasn’t a bad idea. “Not yet,”Otabek said, “I passed out as soon as I got home from practice.”

“Shit, did I wakeyou up?” Yuri sounded upset. ”Ishould have texted you first, ugh.“

“No, no, it’s ok,” Otabek said, rubbing his tiredeyes and sitting up in bed. “I should have let you know I was going to bedearly.” It seemed everything really was going wrong. He couldn’t even be ahalf decent friend.

“It’s ok,”Yuri said.

Otabek pushed the covers back and stood, blinking rapidlywhen black spots appeared in his vision. There was silence on the phone for amoment while he tried to get his bearings, and he stumbled a bit on the way tothe bathroom. Now that he was up and moving, he desperately wanted to blow hisnose, but didn’t want Yuri to hear (and be any more grossed out than heprobably already was), so he resorted to sniffling as quietly as he could.

He didn’t want Yuri to have to wait in awkward silence whilehe looked for his thermometer (when was the last time he even used the damnthing?). Clearing his throat—wincing at the raw feeling there—he asked,“How is training going?”

This, predictably, sent Yuri into a spiraling rant about “Victor goddamn Nikiforov thinks he’sSO GREAT and that PIG worships the ground he walks on it’s absolutely pathetic—”which allowed Otabek to dig through his bathroom cabinets. Despite Yuri’s angrytone, Otabek knew he didn’t actuallymind that much. Having Katsuki around was good for him, Otabek knew, from themultitude of texts he got about how well practice was going. Otabek hadn’tknown him long, but he knew that Yuri secretly looked up to Katsuki, and thathe maybe even enjoyed the sudden burst of activity Katsuki ended up bringing tothe St. Petersburg rink.

About halfway through Yuri’s colourful rendition of howVictor was an absolute prick, Otabek finally found his thermometer. Washing itoff quickly, he stuck it in his mouth just as Yuri was asking, “Can you believe the shit I have to dealwith?!”

Otabek couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Soundsterrible,” he said, the words a bit muffled by the thermometer. It beepedsoon after, the sound louder than he anticipated.

“Was that yourthermometer?” Yuri asked.

"Yeah,” Otabek replied, looking at the numbers.101. He couldn’t help the frustrated noise that escaped him.

Yuri was silent for a moment. “Is it….bad?”

“No,” Otabek said honestly. It wasn’t that bad,but his fevers always tended to stick around longer than his other symptoms. Itjust meant more time away from the rink.

“Well….”Yuri started, a bit unsure. “This isgonna sound dumb, so like, don’t listen to me if it’s stupid or whatever—”

“What is it?” Otabek asked, rubbing his nose withhis palm, sniffling quietly.

“You’veseemed….frustrated, lately,” Yuri said tentatively. “Like…you’ve been doing too much. Pushingyourself too hard. That’s probably why you got sick. Maybe…..this time awaywill help?”

Otabek was silent for a moment. He thought he hadn’t beencomplaining to Yuri that much, that he’d been pushing his concerns far enoughaway that no one else would notice. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. Because Yurinoticed.

Wait. Was Yuri….worried about him?

A sigh came through the phone. ”That was stupid, I know, just forget about it.“

"No, no,” Otabek said. “You’re….probablyright, actually. I have beenfrustrated. I might just need some time. Clear my head.” At this, hisbreath began to hitch, and he pulled the phone away to sneeze twice into hiselbow.

Yuri sighed a bit. “Yousound like shit. Go back to bed, dude. I can call you when you’re better.”

“Yeah,” Otabek replied, wincing at the evenrougher sound of his voice.

“And…..text me.When you wake up. Let me know you’re still alive.”

Otabek huffed a small laugh. “I will.”

They hung up, and Otabek finally got to blow his nose. SoYuri wanted him to text when he woke up….maybe he was worried after all.Otabek felt a bit bad for worrying him.

But also, it was kind of nice that someone cared.

He trudged back to his bed, making a quick note on his phoneto buy some cold meds the next day. As he was finishing, a message from Yuricame up: it was a cat meme, with no context, of course. Was he trying to makeOtabek feel better?

Otabek smiled at the thought. Sending a quick“LOL” to Yuri, he put his phone down, crawled back under the covers,and was out within minutes.

[abigfatbug]

Adimyos, Land of Greenery and Giants Ch. 1

This is technically Chapter 2, but I’m treating the first post as just a prologue.  That post is >>>here<<< This is not where you want to be if you want realistic stuffing and more moderate size/weight gain.  This is a story about royalty, Big Fats, and serious musclechub, plus fantasy elements. There’s gonna be sort of kind of an actual plot coming up soon, just with a lot of obviously kinky stuff thrown in. As before, there’s a Google Docs version >>>here<<< if you don’t wanna deal with reading something long on tunglr.hell.  From now on, this will link to a folder containing all currently available chapters of Adimyos.

Tanos woke up one morning in a huge, extravagant bedroom with mostly white walls and a large, very sturdy balcony with sliding glass doors that let in a great deal of light.  He had a soft, luxurious, expansive bed that seemed rather awkwardly enormous for just him, as he’d been expected to grow into it.  He was only wearing loose, puffy white pants, with bare feet and no shirt.  He stretched, rolled to the outer edge of his bed, and sat up, feeling almost immediately hungry upon waking up.  He was actually glad for that as he gave his soft, modest pot belly a squeeze, trying to see if it’d gotten any larger or softer lately.  He’d been working hard on his appetite, so hopefully he’d see progress soon.

    As usual, it was a hot, humid, sticky sort of day, but it was pleasantly cool in the castle.  With the sheer mass of Adimyosians, especially the Adimyosian royalty, avoiding overheating was a big concern even with the fact that they were used to heat and high humidity.  Fortunately, they had an excellent ice trade going with a northern region, and there were both some mages capable of magically inducing cold, as well as some tamed beasts with the natural ability to do the same.  The royal family in particular had access to many of their own ice dragons and mages, although they always had to be foreigners or using foreign relics of arcane power, because Adimyosians were never born with the ability to use elemental magic.  Cold-enchanted stones, each a bit larger than someone’s head, were placed throughout the whole castle to help cool it.  They were exceptionally high quality, so the magic in each stone could last a few years without any issue.  To an outsider, the castle might actually be a bit chilly, but it felt heavenly to the Adimyosians.  

The magic possessed by Adimyosians was subtly and passively interwoven with their natural biology instead, helping to explain how they could accrue so much height, fat, and muscle without ill effect, or how they could gorge themselves to such incredible extents.  When very hungry, even an average Adimyosian man could eat thirty to forty pounds of food in one sitting without discomfort, or more if they pushed themselves.  And in spite of their completely indiscriminate eating habits, even eating things that could poison other races, all Adimyosians were very hearty and healthy.  Regardless of gender, they were as strong as oxen, and they’d gone centuries without a notable plague, even when outsiders carried foreign bacteria and parasites.

Before anything, Tanos went to a large, ornate cage near his bed, where one would expect to see some sort of bird… Instead, it housed a dragon the size of a small housecat, with a long neck and scales colored iridescent blues and violets.  Two long, lightly curled prehensile barbels trailed from the sides of its head. “Morning, Vizzi.”  Tanos said to it, as he opened the cage  The small dragon replied with a high trill before impatiently bringing its barbels together and producing a small shock that hit Tanos on the knuckle. “Alright, alright, I know you’re hungry...”  Tanos said, as Vizzi immediately escaped the cage and got outside through a small opening in the wall about ten feet from the ground, which acted as a sort of “dragon door”.  Although only a tiny thunder dragon, Vizzi was still a very intelligent and prideful creature, so he preferred to get food by himself.  Honestly, Tanos knew the little dragon would’ve unlocked the cage himself if he’d taken too much longer, but Tanos discouraged that because it made him worry about the little dragon.  He needed to be inside when it was dark at all costs.  There were plenty of nocturnal predators awaiting him if he got too sure of himself at night   Tanos went into his personal bathroom to prepare for the day, walking past cabinets full of various equipment for dealing with beasts much larger than Vizzi, and the weapons he liked to train with.  Once he made it, he took a good long look at himself in a mirror clearly made with someone far larger and taller in mind than him. He couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of his body, even though a mainlander would definitely scoff or give him a jealous glare if they ever caught him acting unsatisfied.  But to the Adomyosians, he was nothing but a small, meek young man.  He’d been told more than once that “At least you still have a beautiful face,” in various soft, optimistic, or outright pitying tones. He flexed in the mirror, an action that showed off bulging muscle that would surely intimidate or impress almost any mainlander… But to Adomyosians, they were barely anything special at all.  There’d been plenty of thirteen or fourteen year olds already more substantial than Tanos.  Even scaled down a bit so they’d be at his height, most Adimyosian men would still have larger muscles than him.  Perhaps he was still too active to grow properly…  He’d have to try lowering his activity more and keep trying to push his appetite further. Tanos cleaned himself up and changed clothes, although they were almost the same, just a bit fancier and with the addition of a thin, clingy black top, decorated with ornate gold patterns, showing off most of his arms, and purposely only going to his belly button. Tanos stood and left his huge room through the equally huge door, which opened into the extra wide hallway.  Fine paintings and sculptures decorated the whole length of it, typically depicting fantastic beasts and massively fat and muscular people, often warriors and historical figures. He made his way to the dining room, which was absolutely colossal, and one of the finest rooms in the whole castle.  His parents and siblings all sat around the utterly huge table, which was packed and thickly stacked with all manner of luxurious foods that were nevertheless rapidly disappearing into everyone’s exceedingly round, heavy, corpulent stomachs.  Tanos took an empty, oversized seat next to two of his older sisters and immediately began digging into the massive, fully stacked plate already prepared for him, thanks to the very real danger of them stealing his plate before he could get to it. Attendants nearby had to continually help keep everyone clean and get them refills, as they ate so ravenously that even their relatively “refined” eating style still generated quite bit of crumbs and messiness.  Tanos plowed through his first plate of food without much issue, feeling just the slightest bit proud because it had to have been about ten pounds of food by itself.  After all, it was more like a large serving platter than any dinner plate a mainlander would be familiar with.  He’d packed all manner of rich, fatty delicacies into his stomach, such as thick, sugary jam on rich biscuits, the dense, fatty meat of dragons, tender ham, sausage from only the best fed cattle, sweet, dense bread, an unusually rich and high-carb breed of potato, pancakes with decadent syrup, and dense, creamy milk with an enormous fat content.   Even the fruits on the side were unusually rich in fat and sugar compared to mainland fruit, with their juice and flesh being refreshing, yet thick and syrupy, or sometimes buttery in taste and texture.  Adimyosians were always more than happy to adopt different foods and meal ideas from other cultures, often adding their own twists to make it even richer and fattier. Adimyosian tastes were quite different from the norm, being highly indiscriminate in what they would eat, but having an exceptionally high enjoyment of anything especially rich or dense with calories. Eating was naturally highly pleasurable and rewarding to any Adimyosian, and they were natural-born gluttons.  Even something like a solid stick of butter could be a delicious snack to an Adimyosian’s greedy pallet. Tanos pushed himself to have a second fully packed plate even as he noticed the chefs and servants bringing out a second massive table full of food, and most of his family members had already plowed through several plates each.  Huge belches and pleased moans began to erupt from the others as they continued to gorge themselves.  However, there was barely any talking at all, besides some enthusiastic cries for more. The second plate was already becoming far too much for Tanos, and he had to painstakingly push himself to clear it all.  In the end, he managed to put away about twenty pounds of especially rich food, totalling over 20,000 calories, but that was still rather pathetic compared to the rest of his family.  By time he was finished, his firm, bloated belly looked absolutely pathetic next to his family, all still ravenously devouring more and more food. Meanwhile, he could only sit back and rub his stomach, burping to relieve the pressure. By time the rest of the family had finished, over an hour had passed, and everyone just sat languidly in their huge chairs, unable to move at all.  The servants cleaned up the massive piles of plates and whatever meager scraps were left, leaving the family to digest. With everyone being far too busy during the meal, afterwards was the only real time to talk.  After all, they always ate until they could barely move anyway. “It’s so nice that you don’t eat very much, Tanos….” one of his older sisters started, before pausing to let out an enormous belch.  “It saves food for us!” “Thrin, don’t tease him.  He did a good job this time, he looks more full than usual.  Maybe he’ll finally get his growth spurts soon,” his other sister said, a bit younger but kinder than her sibling.  “Besides, when have we ever not had enough food?” “Honjya, you’re always doting on him. Tanos is the same cute little twig of a brother as always, isn’t he?  Needing to be stuffed just to have a belly half as big as Masu’s empty belly was at that age… No matter how you look at it, he’s just the prince of twigs!” “I am not the prince of twigs!” Tanos said defensively.  “Mainlanders have said I look strong!” “If you’re a twig, mainlanders are nothing but strings!  Being bigger than those pale, scrawny, ugly men is just the bare minimum of beauty!” Thrin countered. “Men from the mainlands aren’t so bad.  It’s really cute how they think so highly of themselves even though they’re so tiny and fragile.  They’re like naive little kids.”  Honjya said. “I suppose so.  One of those depraved skeletons tried to touch me without permission once.  I broke his wrist just by grabbing it.  It really is incredible how they even survive, being so soft,”  Thrin said. “If you’re calling them skeletons, how can you turn around and say they’re soft?  Clearly, we’re much softer than them,”  Honjya said with a laugh, squeezing one of her massive, oozing lovehandles for emphasis.  Just the short laugh made her gelatinous breasts and belly wobble noticeably. “But in a good way!  We’re soft and beautiful, like the most plush and luxurious fabrics.  They’re just metaphorically soft…  Really, I suppose brittle would be the better word,”  Thrin said disdainfully.  “Shriveled, brittle little skeleton men who we always have to play nice with when they’re the ones who came trying to ransack our home in the first place…” “Don’t be so harsh right after a meal, Thrin.  Just relax and let your stomach work, or you’ll become ugly,”  came a deep voice from beside Thrin.. “It would take more than that to ruin the beauty of a princess, Lamtu,” Thrin said dismissively to her older brother.  “Even a twig like Tanos couldn’t become ugly from something so trivial,”  Thrin said.  “After all, he’s still got a few suitors who are confident they can manage to fatten him up!”   “You should be more like the others,”  Lamtu said, motioning an enormous but very plush arm to them.  Sure enough, their five other siblings were asleep after such a filling meal.  Some days, if they could get away with it, they’d do literally almost nothing but eat and sleep. “Mom is asleep too,”  Honjya said with a giggle.  Her mother, the queen of Adimyos, was a gorgeous but extraordinarily large woman, with a height of 8’4 and a weight of nearly 4,000 pounds.  She was peacefully dozing right across from them, her belly gurgling contentedly with the massive several hundred pound feast packed inside.  Really, the incredibly wide and plush woman was still more than fertile enough to continue having healthy heirs.  Due to having some of the finest Adimyosian genes in the land, on top of the natural health and vigor of their race, she still looked almost as youthful as her daughters despite being in her 40s, but she and the king had mutually decided it was best to stop at nine children.  After all, if she got pregnant just once or twice more, the resulting weight gain would surely make her immobile.  She already relied on her great height, extra large frame, and fantastic Adimyosian strength to remain mobile at 4,000 pounds as it was.  Still, it wasn’t an easy task, and she often had attendants following her to keep her steady with each wide, ponderous step.  Immobile royalty wasn’t unheard of in Adimyos, or even particularly uncommon, but the queen wasn’t in a rush to get there. The king was next to her, every bit as incredibly stuffed and overfed.  He was somewhere between being awake and asleep, apparently fighting the desire to go to sleep after a breakfast that partially involved eating a whole roast pig on his own.  He weighed almost the same amount as the queen, but looked somewhat less flabby and elephantine thanks to being a foot taller and having much more muscle on his frame.  So, technically, it was the queen who was the fattest in all of Adimyos, but the king was no less stunning.  His long, wavy black hair was in a thick, voluminous ponytail, and he wore a massive, ornate crown embedded with precious jewels in many colors.  

The king and queen were considered the absolute pinnacles of beauty and desirability.  Every day, their already naturally gorgeous skin and faces would be tended to with only the finest lotions and oils.  Still, it was intentionally not enough to completely stop the formation of stretchmarks, which were merely another sign of beauty to Adimyosians. The queen’s breasts were still unbelievably round and surprisingly perky for how massive and heavy they were, atop a massive, gelatinous double belly with a center fold so deep the queen had a tendency to store extra snacks in it, or in her enormous cleavage.  Her black bra was absolutely enormous, but comfortable and finely decorated.  It was practically the only thing she wore on her upper body besides a thin, skimpy, silky top that was somewhat translucent and didn’t even attempt to cover her stomach.  On her colossal lower body, with hips so amazingly wide and a butt so globular and massive that she needed the widest seat at the table of all,  she just wore a long white floral patterned skirt that had a split from the thigh down so it wouldn’t be outgrown too easily.  She wore a beautiful crown of living flowers, able to be maintained without magic because they were naturally air plants regardless.  They were secured to a tiara made of high quality, finely engraved wood, with valuable gems set into the whole length of it. As Tanos tried to leave the breakfast table, Honjya suddenly seized his arm.  Even though Tanos was far from weak, and he could tell Honjya was being rather gentle, her grip was inescapable. “You’re not finished yet, are you Tanos?  We still need to bulk you up so much!”  Honjya said.  Tanos gulped, dreading what was coming next, but he didn’t resist.  He knew he needed it. Honjya called two servants over, and they almost immediately knew what had to be done.  Tanos watched them with a mixture of anxiety and envy.  They were each hardly even seven and a half feet tall, and yet they both looked much bulkier, better fed, and better suited to be princes than him.  The only advantage he had was a prettier face. They came back in only a moment with some twine and a funnel, along with a massive pitcher of something.  Tanos quickly had his hands tied behind his chair and the funnel forced into his mouth.  He was getting used to it by now, as it’d happened at least once a day for the last month.  It wasn’t anything particularly unusual, he was just taking part in the latest scheme to force him to fatten up. It was working, to an extent.  He’d gained eleven pounds in the last month, but that was hardly anything compared to his siblings, even though he should’ve been able to fatten up much quicker than them without the need to support the nutritional demands of so much fat and muscle, along with the energy required to remain strong and healthy in spite of extreme obesity.

Still, Tanos couldn’t help but wince as the pitcher was tipped into the funnel, and he was immediately forced to pack a thick milkshake into his already full stomach.  He struggled to even breathe as he forced himself to focus on nothing but swallowing.  The mixture was painful and overwhelming before he finally started to find some relief about a third of the way into drinking it, thanks to the herbs inside.  They were designed to soothe an upset stomach as well as relax and elastify muscles and tissues, allowing his stomach to stretch further than it could on its own… And hopefully, leading to permanent capacity increases over time.  Still, it was an arduous and painful ordeal.  There was a whole gallon of the thick shake mixture in the funnel, and it was somewhat denser than water alone, so by time he finally forced it all into his stomach, he’d added more than ten pounds and perhaps 25,000 more calories to his heavily burdened stomach. Still, the main theory as to why he could only grow so slowly with such extreme overfeeding was that his body was in an unusually prolonged unique phase of Adimyosian puberty known as the Great Shift.  Essentially, the Great Shift was a preparation phase.  The body was using up a disproportionately ridiculous amount of energy and not adding much more size or mass during this phase because it was busy converting the young Adimyosian’s body into a stronger and tougher body that could effortlessly endure heights, weights, and digestive burdens that would normally be impossible and highly dangerous and unhealthy, as well as being capable of safely gaining weight much faster, and building far more muscle than would be possible for a normal human. Normally, an Adimyosian was supposed to have already completed their Great Shift in the range of fourteen to sixteen years old, sometimes even sooner, but it seemed that Tanos’ body was simply running very late with it.  Fortunately, they’d ruled out curses or some dormant disease or defect in the bloodline, so now it was simply a matter of waiting out the unusually long Great Shift.  In any case, making sure the subject always had as much nutrition as possible was known to make the Shift conclude faster, so even though the force-feeding was difficult and only making slow progress so far, it would help either way.

Tanos rubbed his stomach and belched loudly, now packed with over thirty pounds of food at once.  His bloated midsection growled and bubbled uncomfortably, still aching and pulsing with mild pain even with the stretching and relaxing effects of the shake.  It looked like he was about to deliver triplets, jutting out a full foot in front of him, but he couldn’t help but feel rather embarrassed.  The servants were merely normal Adimyosians and even they could easily and happily eat the same amount of food in one sitting, with no help from a stomach-stretching painkiller shake, getting only pleasantly full rather than painfully overstuffed. Honjya slowly rubbed his stomach with a large, soft hand.  Tanos often noted that even her fingers were fat.  “You did really good this time, Tanos!  That was the entire pitcher!  Would you like me to carry you to bed?”  Honjya said. Tanos let out another huge burp before answering.  “Yes, please…”  he said, his breathing labored.  He was honestly rather embarrassed by the offer, but he was too full to try and preserve his dignity. “Okay!  Today, you can just eat and sleep all you want…  Soon, you’ll be as big as us,”  Honjya said caringly, as she stood and then proceeded to lift Tanos bridal style, as if he were only the weight of a small child, and not a 240 pound man with over thirty pounds of food in him. “Thank you…”  Tanos mumbled, although his face was burning and he couldn’t look directly at her.  As kind as she could be, it was still incredibly embarrassing to be carried around like a little kid by a 1,500 pound, 8 foot tall sister who was older by only a year and a half.  

It wasn’t exactly the fastest way to travel, but Tanos was back in his room soon enough, as Honjya gingerly placed him on his bed, although it was rather awkward due to her size.

“Sleep well, Tanos,”  she said warmly, before waddling back into the hallway. Tanos, barely able to move on his own while so full, quickly fell into a deep sleep while absentmindedly rubbing his aching, jutting stomach. It was progress, but he still had far more to face than just painful funnel feeding and the struggle to gain more weight.

[billyhargrovetrash]

Sugar Cookies

After the incident with the door and the smoke and Belch almost running him over with his car, Mike biked home, headed straight for the cabinet in the kitchen with his grandma’s old cookbooks and pulled out the first one his hand landed on. The Dessert Collector, 3rd Edition. He stared at it for a moment, not quite seeing it, hands shaking, before putting it down on the counter and taking a deep breath and waiting for his breathing to even out before he opened the book to the back and looking through the recipes.

He was searching for sugar cookies. He’d never baked before in his life but his mom had used to make them all the time and Mike sometimes stopped in the bakery in town just to smell the nutmeg and remember his mom’s hand smoothing his hair down and cupping his cheek before tickling his belly until he giggled and twisted away from her questing fingers.

And Mike could have done any number of things to force the adrenaline from his system. There was still chores that needed to be done even if his grandpa had said he could be done after running the deliveries. The fields always needed to be checked for rocks or Winston Blackpool had said he would show Mike how to work on an engine. But Mike was desperate for his mother’s comfort and if this was the closest Mike could be to her, then he would bake.

Plus, people had liked Jessica Hanlon. She’d shown up to bake sales and church pitch-ins with her crumble cakes or lemon squares or blueberry cobbler and no one cared her skin was darker than everyone else’s. They didn’t care her hair was kinky or her lips were big. If she showed up at someone’s front door with a casserole after something bad happened in a family, it wasn’t a case of “That negro woman better get out of here” or worse. It was “Jessica Hanlon is so thoughtful, Oliver. We really should have the Hanlons over for dinner sometime.” She was sunshine and warmth and Mike had never seen anyone raise their voice or a hand to his mother.

Mike didn’t expect that to happen for him. He just wanted to feel closer to his mother and his best memories involved her baking while Mike watched wide-eyed, standing on tiptoes to peer over the counter and watch exactly how the cakes were made.

The first batch came out burned. The second batch looked good on the top but the bottom was just as burned as the first. His grandpa came in just as Mike was setting the third batch, and the best looking yet, on the cooling rack. He picked one up, bit into and promptly spit it back out onto the counter. Mike wilted and immediately took the cookie sheet to the trashcan to scrape the rest of the cookies in.

“Keep practicing, Mike,” his grandpa said, heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up. “Jessica’s were worse when she first started baking.”

Mike kept scraping the cookies into the trash but there was a small smile on his face now.

--

The second time he attempted sugar cookies, it was after a dressing down from his grandfather about staying out past the curfew. Mike had tried to explain it wasn’t actually his fault (which it wasn’t...Henry and his goons made Mike’s life a living hell whenever he set foot into town and that included making him stay out past curfew) but his grandfather hadn’t been willing to hear it.

So while his grandfather was in the study doing the books for the farm, Mike banged around in the kitchen, savagely hoping he was giving him a headache. A small part of him felt guilty for the thought but it wasn’t quite enough to make him stop being noisy.

It was only after his third time closing the oven door harder than necessary did his grandfather appear in the doorway to the kitchen, his scowl a heavy thundercloud on his face. He opened his mouth, ready to bellow, before looking at Mike who was watching him a calculated look of wide-eyed innocence. He let out a long gusty sigh.

“Keep the noise down in here or any mistakes I make will be coming out of your hide,” he finally growled before turning back around and stumping back to the study. Mike barely caught the mutter of, “Just like his mother” and grinned, somehow feeling lighter than he had ages.

This batch, while still nowhere near as good as his mom’s, was at least edible.

--

“Mike, you know I appreciate what you’ve been doing,” Leroy said, watching as Mike pulled mixing bowls and ingredients out of the cabinets. “And the men on the farm do, too. But do you think you could try something besides sugar cookies this time?” Mike frowned, considering. He had gotten good at them over the past few weeks but the men his grandfather hired to help out had also become his test subjects. Mike tended to judge how good his baking was by how fast the food disappeared and the past few times the cookies hadn’t lasted past a few hours.

“Alright,” Mike agreed and began flipping through the pages until he settled on sourdough bread. Instead of leaving, though, Leroy pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and sat down to watch Mike.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“What?” Mike faltered, looking up at his grandfather. “Why do you think there’s anything to talk about?” Leroy gave him an unimpressed look.

“You think I didn’t notice you only bake after you had a run in with the Bowers boy or after you and I have a fight?” Mike flushed and looked determinedly back at the flour he was carefully measuring out. “So. Do you want to talk about it?” Mike was quiet for a few minutes as he separated and measured out the rest of the ingredients.

“I asked Tina Pattison out today,” he said after a few minutes. His face was bright red, but Leroy only raised his eyebrows. “And she said no.” He tried not to feel upset but he had had a crush on Tina for months. They had grown up at the same church and been in the same Sunday school class and every now and then her family came over for supper. She had one of the prettiest smiles Mike had ever seen, looked beautiful in purple and could snap out a comeback faster than Sammy Walker could snap a rubber band across the room.

“Ah,” Leroy said. He was quiet for a few minutes while Mike worked. “This sort of thing happens, Mike.”

“I know,” Mike muttered. “I just...I really like her, Grandpa.”

“I know you do, boy, just hold on. Did I ever tell you how I met your grandmother?” Mike shook his head, pausing in his work to watch his grandfather. Leroy’s gaze was far away and he had a small smile on his face.

“I used to work in a train yard Bangor,” he began. “Loading and unloading the cars, that sort of thing. The first time I’d ever seen my Shirley, she was wearing a beautiful blue dress and was heading into the main office for her first day of work. Easily the prettiest woman I had ever laid eyes on and I knew I needed to talk to her.”

“What did you say?” Mike asked. It was rare his grandfather talked about his grandma. Mike had seen a few pictures but she had died before he was born. To his surprise, instead of spilling something romantic or something similar, Leroy began laughing.

“I whistled at her,” he told Mike. “Like she was one of the common girls on the corner at night.” Mike didn’t quite see how that was funny but he kept quiet. “And your grandma, she turns around, her head held high and she’s looking over the men in the yard and finally her eyes land on me. And anyone can see your grandma is madder than a hornet and she tells me in the iciest voice imaginable that I can take my whistle, shove it where the sun don’t shine and go to hell. Ooh, I thought winter had come early when she said that! But I knew then she was going to be the woman I married.” Mike huffed out a laugh.

“It doesn’t sound like she was real keen on the idea,” he said. Leroy laughed.

“She wasn’t at first,” he agreed. “It took me weeks to get her speak to me after that. I spent most of my wages bringing her flowers to make up for that damned whistle, but she was worth every penny then and after. There were times when I thought she’d leave for good. But only the good Lord knows how I managed to convince her to choose me in the end.” He looked at Mike, warmth shining from his face. “Mike, you’re young. I won’t tell you not to smart over Miss Pattison because I’ve been rejected a fair time or two and I know it stings. But when you the meet the one she’s going to be worth every moment you spend breaking your back for her because she’ll be there to help put you back together again.” He stood up to clap Mike on the back. Mike reached around to give him a brief one-armed hug.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Grandpa. But if it’s all the same to you, when I meet another girl I like, I don’t think I’ll ask you for advice on how to go about asking her out.”

Leroy roared with laughter, slapping his thigh.

“Worked out alright for me, Mikey,” he chuckled, wiping his eye. “But your daddy was the real romantic. If you’re anything like him when it comes to women, you’ll do just fine.” Mike grinned as his grandfather left the kitchen, the sting from Tina Pattison’s rejection not completely gone but softened a bit.

--

After Neibolt Street, Leroy bodily removed Mike from the kitchen. He didn’t know what was going on with his grandson and Mike was refusing to talk about it but if he had enough energy to cover the entire damn kitchen in breads, cookies pies and cobblers then he had enough energy to go help dig up potatoes. He expects whatever is bugging Mike will taper off in a few days but the weeks pass and Mike’s baking frenzy doesn’t slow down at all.

The only good thing that came out of it, that Leroy could see, was Mike improved by leaps and bounds, but he still refused to talk to Leroy about. Leroy shrugged it off. His friends hadn’t been coming around as much so Leroy figured it was a fight but Mike didn’t seem to be in any trouble that Leroy could tell so he left it alone.

--

“Holy shit, Homeschool,” Richie said when they met up three days after the sewers. “These are amazing!” Mike grinned sheepishly, ready to brush off the compliment as Richie being a little shit but then Bev chimed in.

“Seriously, Mike,” she said, taking another cookie and biting into it with a small groan of relish. Next to her, Ben choked on his own cookie. “Richie is right. Where did you learn to bake?”

“Uh, over the summer. I sort of taught myself,” Mike admitted. Richie’s eyes popped open.

“Are you serious? Do homeschooling courses include home ec? Mikey, can you sew, too? If I give you my socks -”

“Your socks a toxic hazard,” Stan cut across him. “Don’t do that Mike.” He shamelessly grabbed a handful of cookies, clutching them possessively and leaning away from Richie, who made a grab for one. “There’s an entire container full of them right there,” he hissed. “And I am injured!”

“So is Eddie and he’d share with me,” Richie shot back, making another try.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Eddie said.

“No, I don’t take home ec courses,” Mike interrupted, his tone a little defensive. He would not, however, admit to knowing how to sew to Richie in a million years. “My mom used to bake so I wanted to learn. Get closer to her, you know?” Everyone nodded.

“That’s really sweet, Mike,” Beverly smiled and Mike couldn’t help the bashful smile he gave her in return.

“But wait,” Richie said. “Didn’t you say -”

“Shut up, Richie!”

@stillreddie I know you didn’t ask for this but I really liked your headcanon about Mike and baking so I wrote something

[welcometophu]

Not Your Destiny: Chapter 8

Marked Book 1: Not Your Destiny

Chapter 8

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Ángel wakes up to the feeling of something poking him in the back, while a warm body lies on top of him, pressing him into a too-thin, too-hard mattress. He shifts, and Gabi groans, patting his chest.

“Don’t move,” she mumbles. “You’re softer than Luca’s couch.”

“Why am I on Luca’s couch?” While the couch has been pulled out as a bed, it doesn’t look as if anyone bothered to make it up. Ángel is wrapped with Gabi in a pair of blankets, with a pillow shoved under Ángel’s head. Gabi’s head is tucked against his chest, and she presses her hand against his chest again when he tries to roll away.

“We all came to one place after last night,” Gabi mumbles, patting him gently as soon as he stops trying to move. “You and Tanner and Hayley were totally smashed. Sam was kind of gone, too. Zita went home after; Danny would’ve killed her if she stayed out. But everyone else pretty much stayed here.”

“Luca’s place,” Ángel clarifies.

Gabi is silent, then makes a noise that sounds like no.

“Not Luca’s place,” Ángel tries again.

“’S’complicated,” Gabi mumbles. “It’s a really big place. But this is Luca’s couch.” She grabs the blanket, pulls it up over both of their heads. “It’s a shitty couch, but we should just keep sleeping. Easier than walking to my room.”

“You have a room and we’re… here. Did we…?” Ángel sits up, spills Gabi off to one side. He’s still wearing his jeans and his shirt, everything but his shoes. Gabi’s in sweats and a different shirt than he remembers.

“Fuck, no.” Gabi sits up, pushes her hair out of her eyes. “Ángel, I wouldn’t have sex with a guy so drunk he couldn’t think straight. Or not-straight. You may have waxed poetic about some guy’s ass last night, I don’t even know who. I sat on you to make sure you didn’t do something you’d regret. Besides. You kept saying you didn’t want to sleep alone, and Hayley and Tanner took one of the guest rooms.”

No, no, it’s okay, you guys go sleep together. I mean sleep. Just don’t. Please? I mean, I can’t tell you no, but really, maybe not tonight? It’s only been like a day, and Hayley, you’re better than that.

His own voice echoes in his head, and he winces at the memory of leaning on Tanner’s shoulder, lecturing them both. “Fuck, I was kind of an ass.”

“Kind of,” Gabi agrees. “But I don’t think they hate you. They were both pretty much plastered, too.”

Ángel falls back against the pillow, groans when the spring digs into his back just above his kidney. He closes his eyes, presses the heels of his hands against his eye sockets. “I can’t remember half of last night. After I started dancing again. After I told you guys about the soulmark ritual.” He groans again, long and loud. “And fuck me, why did I start telling you guys all my personal shit, anyway? It’s not like you care.”

Gabi rests a hand on his shoulder. “We care. Sort of. I mean, we’re stuck with you for another month, right? And you’re almost family for Maritsa and Cleto, which makes you our family once removed. Also, you should be warned for next time that Zita plus alcohol is a really potent combination for spilling your guts. You are not the first to fall prey to that. Danny won’t drink with her, and they’re married.”

Ángel opens his eyes slowly, rubs the sleep from them.

Then stops.

Because fuck.

There’s ink on his wrist: a sleek spotted cat with tufted ears and chin, poised to pounce, with a simple circle behind it. The skin around is slightly red, the color faded as if it burned into being hours before.

“What…? Oh.” Gabi leans in, sniffs at his wrist. “Yeah. It’s done now.”

He grabs her hands, twists them both. “It can’t be you. We touched—”

“Several times and it was still clouded when we talked last night, yes,” she says. “It’s not me. Hey.” She reaches for his face, cups his cheeks carefully. Her fingers are to the side of his eyes, blocking out the light so all he can see is her. “It’s okay, Ángel. You’re going to be fine. Whoever it is, they’re marked too, right? How hard can it be to figure out who got a surprise tattoo last night?”

“Unless they were drunk and think they got a real one,” Ángel says. His chest is too tight, and his hand curls into his shirt, twisting it above his heart. “They have no idea. I don’t know who it is. I touched someone last night, and it’s—they’re… fuck. I don’t know.”

“Breathe.” Gabi says, and Ángel does his best.

His skin itches, and his wrist aches like burning now that he’s seen the mark. He’s wide awake now, heart hammering, and he feels like his bladder is going to burst if he doesn’t move soon. “I need to go,” he says, and she lets him go, pulls backward to give him room.

He gets his feet on the floor, and the room spins, head pounding as he makes it upright. He grips the side of the couch for a moment, then takes a step. He stops, turns back. “Bathroom?”

Gabi points at a door on one side of the room, while the door on the other side opens. Ángel just reaches the door she pointed to when he hears Luca ask, “Is Ángel all right?” and Gabi’s whispered response.

No footsteps follow him, and that’s fine. Good.

The door opens into a hall, and Gabi yells, “Left!” so he turns in that direction. One door stands slightly open, and he hurries to it, thinking that has to be it. He shoves it further open, stopping when it smacks into someone.

Yes, it’s the bathroom.

Sam and Max are in it, one in boxers and the other in sweats, lips locked as they lean against the counter. Sam grunts at the impact from the door, and Max blinks at Ángel, pupils large and black.

“Bathroom,” Ángel manages to say, his throat tight.

Max tugs at Sam and they both squeeze through the open door, leaving Ángel just enough room to get past them and in, slamming the door behind them. He falls to his knees in front of the toilet, waits.

His stomach roils, but doesn’t empty, despite the ache behind his eyes. He closes his eyes, lowers his forehead to touch the lip, groans quietly.

“You okay in there?” Sam calls out.

“I’m not dying,” Ángel replies, even though he feels like his heart is pounding so hard they must all be able to hear it. Maybe some of them can hear it. Clan. He hasn’t confirmed it, but Gabi keeps smelling him. They have to be Clan. Right? But Clan and Mages. The Mollicones and Maritsa and Cleto.

It doesn’t make sense in his head.

Nothing makes sense.

A knock at the door. “Do you need me to get you some water?” Sam asks. “You’re probably dehydrated. You had a good time last night.”

“Heard you did, too,” Ángel mutters. “Probably better than I did after we left Antigone.” He draws in a breath, relieved that it comes more easily this time. He lets it out slowly, pushes himself to his feet. “I’m okay. I’ll go to the kitchen after this.” He pauses. “If you tell me where the kitchen is.”

“Stairs are at the end of the hall. Go down, and to the back of the house. You can’t possibly miss it.” A soft rap against the door. “And if you need something, yell. There are enough of us here. We take care of each other.”

Ángel laughs dryly. He’s pretty sure no one can take care of this.

He takes care of business, now that his stomach is no longer roiling, and washes his hands. He tries not to look at his wrist, but the ink catches his eyes every time he glances down. When he exits the bathroom, Sam and Max are gone, but Gabi and Luca are hovering in the door to Luca’s room.

Ángel crosses his arms as he walks back to them.

“It’s going to be colder today than yesterday,” Luca says, nodding at Ángel’s short sleeves. “Want a hoodie?”

Maybe asshole isn’t the right word for Luca. Maybe savior, at least right now, although Ángel suspects he’ll be back to asshole later. Ángel nods, takes the soft grey Tampa Bay hoodie that Luca offers. Luca must have arms like an ape, because the thing is too long, covering Ángel’s wrists easily, and he takes another shuddering breath once they’re hidden.

Luca holds up his hands, wrists toward Ángel. Both are blank, and Ángel nods.

“Thanks.”

“Anything to make you stop stinking,” Luca says.

“I just don’t know how I missed it. When it happened to Hayley, she jumped like something bit her. She didn’t see it happen, she felt it.”

“You weren’t exactly feeling much after the amount of beer you had in you last night,” Gabi says dryly. “You should probably start the morning with some painkillers and a lot of water, or you’re going to be miserable at the garage.”

“We leave in thirty,” Luca adds, and that’s another small punch to the gut.

“Right.” Ángel’s still wearing yesterday’s clothes. He smells a little like beer, and he’s feeling that headache coming on. And every time he looks down, he knows that his wrist is there and he’s going to see some damned cat that means something to someone else and he doesn’t know what.

And the worst of it is, he doesn’t know what would show up to signify himself, either, so he doesn’t know what to look for. If he even had any idea where to look.

He wavers, uncertain. He tugs on the sleeves, pulling them over his wrists, curling his hands inside. “Sam said the kitchen’s downstairs?” he asks, because he just needs to get away.

“Yeah, Tony’s been up for an hour already, so there’s probably food out. He does that when Sam and Max crash here,” Luca says. “It’s easier than letting them go through the cabinets. Gives us some more control over what they eat.”

“They don’t live here.”

Gabi snorts. “God, no. They have an apartment. So do Maritsa and Cleto, although honestly, they stay here half the time because this place is better, so they might as well kick in for rent. Zita lives with Danny in the suburbs. Me, Tony, and Luca all share this place, and we’ve got three guest rooms, too. Big rooms, but it’d be better if we had en suite bathrooms. I have to share with Luca and whoever’s in the guest space on this floor.”

“It’s a huge house for the area,” Luca admits. He grabs his leather jacket, shrugs into it. “I’m going out for a bit. You should eat. Shower if you want, there are towels in the closet inside the bathroom. No one will mind if you use something. But you’ve only got twenty-five minutes now, unless Tony says he doesn’t mind if we’re late.”

“I’ll ride in with Tony, give you a few extra minutes. You need to drop Tanner and Hayley off anyway,” Gabi reminds him.

Because Tanner and Hayley are here as well. Somewhere.

Ángel gestures down the hall to the stairs he can see. “I’m just going to….” He fails to finish the sentence, but Gabi nods as if he did. He doesn’t wait for either of them to reply before he walks away.

The stairs at the end of the hall go both up and down. Ángel can hear footsteps on the floor above, plus he spots a small landing only a few stairs up, and another door there. Maybe a space over the garage.

It’s none of his business. This isn’t his house, and it’s probably the only time he’ll be in it.

He really doesn’t care how big it is, doesn’t wonder where that door leads and why there are so damned many rooms.

Still, he walks up the few stairs to the landing, pauses looking out through the window, his hand on top of the low bookcase. He’s somewhere on the outskirts; he doesn’t really recognize the area, but there are other houses, mostly low and close together aside from this one. It has a yard, and with three floors he already knows it towers over most homes. With the bright grass outside, and the wrought iron fence he can see in the distance, he wonders exactly how much this house and land cost.

And how the hell three people under thirty afforded it.

The idea that Mollicone’s is a mob front drifts back into mind, and Ángel tries to ignore it. He knows it’s not true and it’s honestly a horrible stereotype, but he also knows there’s money coming from somewhere.

His fingers trail over the wood, knocking into a small statue that is on top of the bookcase. Ángel crouches down to take a closer look, snickers when he realizes that it’s a cheap ceramic knockoff of Michelangelo’s David. When he lifts it, the words Florence 2001 are written in awkwardly formed letters on the bottom. He sets it back down carefully, not wanting to destroy something that’s so obviously a keepsake from childhood.

He rocks back on his heels, lets his fingers drift over the spines of the books lining the two shelves of the case. All hardcovers, all old, and all well-read. He’s pretty sure some of them are older than he is, including a copy of a children’s book that’s so tattered that he’s afraid the binding would rip if he tried to pull it out. Still, he wonders what a book about a little girl named April and her kittens is doing here, alongside girl detectives and boy wizards, and not a few classics written long before anyone in this house was born.

The sound of laughter drifts up the stairs, and Ángel turns to go back down before he’s made a conscious decision to do so. He follows the murmur of Hayley’s voice, finds the kitchen just as Tanner bends down to lightly press a kiss to her lips. Hayley leans back against the long island, her hands framing Tanner’s face. His hands are on the marble, his body language cautiously staying out of her space except for where their lips touch. Sparks dance from her fingertips, lighting the tips of his hair.

Ángel coughs, and they break apart. A flush suffuses Hayley’s cheeks, but Tanner just grins.

“Dude, look at all the food. Real food.” Tanner gestures at the long, heavy oak table on one side of the huge kitchen. There are enough chairs to seat a dozen people, but no one is there currently. Plates line the table with bacon, eggs, fruit, bagels, along with two boxes of cereal and a carton of milk. It’s obvious that most of it has already been dug into, but there’s still plenty left.

Hayley reaches up, tucks her hair behind her ear then twists the strand around her fingertip. “Tony was down earlier, said he does this after nights like last night. He called us Gabi’s strays. Or Sam’s strays. I don’t know which, he kept changing it. He’s really cute, isn’t he? Tony, I mean, although Sam’s really kind of hot, too, and he and Max are so very hot together. Luca’s cute, too, and Gabi’s adorable, and did I hear that you slept with her last night?”

“Slept,” Ángel replies curtly, arms crossed, trying not to tug the wrists of Luca’s hoodie down. “I apparently used her like a teddy bear, or she used me as a mattress or something. And she’s kind of an asshole, and so’s Luca, but I like them. And I don’t really care how hot anyone is, I’m not looking.”

He’s not looking at anyone here, anyway. He’s touched them all before, he knows it’s not them. It can’t be any of them. Which means it’s someone anonymous out there… and… fuck. His chest tightens and he swallows hard, pressing his hand against his temple. The headache is starting to bloom, and he feels like he deserves every aching thud behind his eyes.

“Eat.” Tanner gets his hands on Ángel’s shoulders, nudges him toward the table. “Drink plenty of water or OJ or something, and you’ll be fine.”

Ángel picks up the pitcher of orange juice, heavily pulped and apparently freshly squeezed. His stomach turns.

He quietly puts a plate together of orange slices, a half a dry bagel, and grabs a bottle of water. He pushes Tanner’s hand away when Tanner tries to offer eggs for protein. “If I eat eggs right now, I’m going to puke,” Ángel mutters, and Tanner steps back.

“Are you okay?” Hayley asks softly, and her sparks prick along his spine when she touches the nape of his neck.

Ángel shakes his head quickly, regrets the motion immediately after. “Not really. I’m just going to go—” He trails off, not really sure where to go, but there’s a door on one side of the kitchen and he can see the sun streaming in through the window on it. He gestures with his plate. “There. I’m going out there.”

“Is it us?” Hayley asks, and Ángel turns so quickly that she has to grab his plate before it hits her.

He stops and they stand there, her hands curled around the edges of his plate before he pulls it back slowly. “It’s not you,” he says, and it’s only a minor lie. It’s them, and that kiss he just saw, and the fresh mark on the inside of his wrist that makes his arm feel heavy. It’s everything from the last few days and weeks. “I just need air.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Hayley says softly.

“I want you guys to give it a chance,” Ángel responds, and that much is true. Very true. He doesn’t want to distract them. He just… he just needs to breathe.

Footsteps, and Ángel’s attention shifts to the entrance to the kitchen. Tony stands there, brows drawn together in a deep frown. Tony’s gaze skips across Hayley, comes to rest on Ángel. Tony stares at him for a long second before his eyes drop, skimming over Ángel from head to toe. The corner of Tony’s lip curls slightly, and Ángel tugs on the sleeves of Luca’s shirt.

Tony crosses his arms, thumbs peeking out from the holes in his long sleeves. “Hayley. Tanner. Luca’s dropping you off. Ángel, Gabi and I will open the shop. Ride in with Luca.”

“I was going to.” Ángel gestures with his plate at the door to the outside. “Right now I’m just going to eat. Out there.” He licks his lips, inhales roughly and twists to force himself to turn away.

“Dude,” Tanner says softly as Ángel touches the door knob.

“I’m fine,” Ángel repeats, voice low, not giving him a chance to say anything else before he escapes, the door slamming shut behind him.

It’s definitely chilly outside, cold enough that he’s glad he’s wearing a hoodie, although compared to the temperature he left behind in New York, it’s balmy. Ángel sinks to sits on the step, sets the plate down with a clunk beside himself. He knows he needs to eat, but his stomach is churning, and the idea of putting anything in it does not appeal.

He needs to know more about the mark.

He fishes his phone out of his pocket, swipes to unlock it, and stops before opening the browser. There are three unread messages that must have come in sometime late in the night.

That’s okay, but next time let me know earlier.

I know you’re an adult, but still.

I worry.

Papi. And Ángel never went home.

He scrolls back in the conversation, finds the start of it.

Papi, heading to Antigone with the people from work. Tanner is bringing Hayley. They will bring me home.

Ángel remembers sending the original text from Luca’s car on the way to the restaurant. When Papi hadn’t replied immediately, Ángel had switched his phone to silent and forgotten about it, until later. Much later apparently, after Papi sent a text Ángel doesn’t remember reading at midnight: Ángel, where are you?

At least it looks like he replied to let Papi know that he was staying at Luca’s. He must’ve passed out before the new messages came in. He quickly types out a message for the morning.

I know, and I’m sorry. I was drinking, and Luca was our DD, and everything’s fine, except I’m hungover and going to work now. We’ll drop off Tanner and Hayley with his truck so he can bring her home.

Ángel presses send and shoves the phone in his pocket, leaving the sound off. Papi won’t be thrilled, but at least he knows they’re all alive, and that’s what’s important right now.

He presses the tips of his fingers to the bridge of his nose, tries to stave off the headache that is blooming rapidly. He’s hungover. He’s marked with ink he doesn’t understand, and he has no idea who he touched. And right now, he feels like shit. He twists open the bottle of water he carried out. He’s pretty sure that there isn’t much that’s going to help right now, but at least he’ll be hydrated.

[ Previous | First | Next ]

[sneezehq]

(my ideas won't leave me alone, so you're stuck dealing with it, lol) Yuri P moves out of LIlia's house after his first win, he's living in an apartment on his own and is loving it. Except when he starts getting sick on one of the friday evening on one of his few weekends off, he's fine, he's old enough to handle it. He takes some old cough medicine and goes to bed, he gets worse, on monday morning when he doesn't show up to practice. By the afternoon, no one has heard from him and are concerned

(ran out of room) Yuuri and Victor concerned, go to check on him, and Yuri is so bad that he has to be rushed to the hospital. How it ends is totally up to you! I just want to see it written if possible, lol

I love this prompt! And feel free to send me your ideas anytime, I love hearing them!

It’s nice to have a place of his own again. After his win in the Grand Prix Finals, Yuri had decided that he didn’t need live with his coach anymore and had moved out of Lilia’s house, back into his own apartment. He was definitely old enough to live on his own, he argued. In the end, Lilia and Yakov had given up and let him have his way.

Yuri is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and he knows it. So when the lingering exhaustion he’s been feeling since he woke up hasn’t gone away by the time practice is finished, Yuri is pretty sure that he’s getting sick. His weariness is joined by a pounding headache and dry cough by the time he gets home, and Yuri groans, flopping onto the couch. Getting back up seems like an insurmountable task, but eventually he forces his aching body upright and drags himself to the kitchen to have some dinner, despite not having an appetite.

One shower and change of clothes later, and Yuri is digging through his bathroom closet. He finds a bottle of cough medicine that may or may not be expired; it’s difficult to tell. His pounding head is making it difficult to read the tiny print on the bottle. Shrugging, he figures that it can’t hurt, and pours himself what he believes the correct dosage before collapsing into bed. He’ll feel better in the morning, after some sleep.

Saturday morning comes, and Yuri doesn’t wake up until nine o'clock, which is late for him. Despite the extra sleep, he doesn’t feel any better-all his muscles have gone stiff overnight, and his throat feels like he swallowed glass shards. Some cough drops would be nice, but Yuri doesn’t have the energy right now to make a run to the store. He’ll just have to make do with what he has available.

At least he doesn’t have practice today. For once, Yuri is grateful that his coaches make him take the weekends off during the off season. He can rest up today and tomorrow, kick this bug’s ass, and be ready to practice on Monday morning. His plan firmly in mind, Yuri settles himself on the couch in the living room, watching a crime show that he used to watch with his grandpa.

It would be nice to talk to his grandpa right now, but given how sore his throat is, he’s pretty sure that his voice is pretty much nonexistent. Yuri always misses grandpa, but especially now, when he feels so sick and miserable. He makes a mental note to give him a call when he’s feeling better. He spends the rest of the day drifting in and out of a restless sleep, catching occasional glimpses of what’s happening on the TV. He only gets up to use the bathroom or to refill his water, and once to nibble on some crackers and eat some soup he heated up in the microwave.

Despite all his resting, Yuri continues to feel worse as the day goes on. His cough is getting thicker and sharper, and the room feels hot and cold in turns. When he dozes off only to wake up on the floor next to the couch, Yuri decides to pick himself up and go to bed. He’s probably getting hit with the worst of the bug now, and after another good nights rest, he’ll be on the mend. Another dose of that cough medicine should do the trick.

Yuri wakes up to a violent coughing fit. He coughs and coughs and coughs endlessly, gasping for breath, until the fit finally, blessedly stops. The fit is so exhausting that he just lays there for several minutes afterward, trying to take in some air.

Getting out of bed seems too difficult today, so Yuri doesn’t even bother to try, just closes his eyes and swallows against his painfully sore throat, scraped raw by coughing. It’s freezing in his bedroom so he tugs the blankets around him and curls into a ball, surrounded by his warm cocoon. Once the shivering tapers off a bit, Yuri gratefully lets sleep claim him.

It doesn’t seem like he’ll be better in time for practice tomorrow, but calling in to say that feels to much like giving up. By the time he even thinks to do that, his vision is too hazy to look at his phone screen. He can’t help but feel like he’s forgetting something, but he’s too exhausted to think of what it is.

When Yuri doesn’t show up at the rink Monday morning, everyone is worried. “We were supposed to meet up this weekend to talk about his free program, but he never showed up,” says Victor, concern etching lines into his face.

“Has anyone heard from Yuri at all?” asks Yuuri. The answer is a resounding no from everyone.

“It’s not like him a to miss practice,” says Yakov, a frown creasing his face.

“Victor and I will go and check on him,” Yuuri says decisively. He’s got a bad feeling about this.

Yuri’s apartment is only a five minute drive from the ice rink-the better for jogging before practice. They climb up the stairs to the second floor, but when they knock on the door, there’s no response. Even more worried now, Victor pulls out the key that Yuri gave him in case of an emergency and unlocks the door.

They find Yuri in the bedroom, sleeping restlessly. He looks terrible; his face is pale, his cheeks are flushed, and his hair is plastered to his face with sweat. “Yuri, are you feeling okay? You don’t look very well,” Yuuri says, shaking his shoulder gently.

After a few seconds, Yuri manages to slowly crack his eyes open. “Katsudon?” he croaks out. “And Victor? What are you doing here?”

Yuri’s voice breaks on the last word, plunging him into another bout of wet-sounding coughs. Yuuri rubs his back as he continues to choke and gasp for air, saying something to Victor that Yuri doesn’t catch over the sound of his own ragged breathing. When the fit finally ends, Yuri slumps back into the pillows, groaning when Yuuri tugs on his arm.

“You’re very sick. We need to get you to a hospital. Can you stand?”

As it turns out, Yuri cannot stand. His knees buckle when he tries and the effort sends him into another fit of rattling coughs. Yuuri scoops him up, bracing one arm under his knees and the other under his shoulders to carry him to the car. “Victor is waiting for us in the car. We were worried when you didn’t show up to practice this morning and came to check on you. Why didn’t you tell anyone that it was this bad?”

Yuri doesn’t have the breath or the energy to respond, but he focuses on Yuuri’s words in an attempt to distract himself from his throat’s efforts to shred itself. Yuuri settles them both into the backseat, and tells Victor to step on it. Sitting up helps Yuri breathe a little better, but he’s so exhausted he can barely keep his eyes open.

“Stay awake,” Yuuri says, nudging him when his eyes fall closed.

“Fuck off, katsudon,” Yuri mumbles tiredly. The last thing he hears is an exasperated sigh from Yuuri before darkness claims him again.

When Yuri finally regains consciousness, he’s in an uncomfortable bed surrounded by painfully white walls-a hospital. He groans.

“You’re finally awake,” says a voice from the chair next to his bed. Yuri turns his head to see Victor.

“Why’m I here?” mutters Yuri, his voice coming out raspy. Victor winces at the sound and passes Yuri a glass of water, which he takes gratefully.

“You have pneumonia. I’m afraid that you’re going to be here for a while. Probably a few days, at least.”

Yuri scowls but his throat hurts too much to yell like he wants to. He settles for a sulky glare instead.

“Yuri, why didn’t you tell us that it was this bad?” Victor asks, unaffected by Yuri’s anger.

“I thought it was just a cold,” Yuri argues, careful not to raise his voice. The water helped soothe the soreness a little, but he doesn’t want to risk setting off another coughing fit. “Plus, I was taking care of myself. I even took medicine!” he announces, as though it’s some sort of epic achievement.

“You mean that cough medicine that I bought you years ago? That’s definitely gone bad by now. You should look into restocking your medicine cabinet.”

Yuri smirks at him. “You’re one to talk, geezer. You didn’t even own any medicine before Yuuri moved in with you.”

[depressedandextrememlyobsessed]

Did You Yell?? *MC*

        "Michael," he ignored me, digging through the cabinet. I sighed, "Whatever." I pushed myself off the counter and went into the living room where Luke and Calum were playing video games. I plopped down on the couch and grabbed my book off the table. "Ava, can you ask Mikey if-" "No," I cut him off finding my spot. "Rude," Calum muttered. "I just sat down. Yell at him or something." I mumbled, sinking lower into the couch as Ashton went downstairs and into the kitchen. I read maybe 3 pages with nothing but the sound of the video game when there was a smash in the kitchen. I jumped up and ran in to see glass all over the floor. "Wh-What happened?" Ashton looked up, "glass slipped." I grabbed a towel and tried to soak up the water. "I got it," Michael pushed my hands out of the way. "It's fine" I tried picking up the pieces of glass. "I said I got it!" I backed up. "Michael." Ashton said sternly. "What!? I broke a glass. I can clean it up." He yelled, making me jump. "Calm down," Ashton tried. A loud bang sounded as fists were smashed on the counter. "Damn it Ashton I can't!" And with that, he stormed out, leaving both me and Ash standing their wide-eyed.  "Ava," Ashton started but I shook my head. "It's not your fault he's just-" I didn't listen, going straight upstairs and shutting myself in my room, locking the door.  _Michael_         By the time I reached the apartment it was midnight and slightly raining. I unlocked the door and was greeted by two worried stares that only got worse once they realized it was me. "What's going on?" There was running down he stairs and I was suddenly up against the wall. "What did you do?" Calum glared, "What do you mean? I went for a walk." I pushed him off. "Ava is gone." He pulled at his hair. "Wh-what?" That explained the pained expressions on their faces when I walked in. "We thought she just locked herself in her room, but I tried bringing her dinner and she wasn't there. The window was open and she left her phone here." Luke explained. "So she climbed out the window?" I ran a hand through my hair. "Well, she didn't teleport." Calum growled. I raised my hands up in surrender. "Michael, what happened last night with you two?" I looked up at Ashton, "We-we got into an argument, but surely she wouldn't wait a whole day to disappear." Calum turned around, "You guys fought?" I nodded, "Well...yeah but-" "Did you yell?" He pulled at his hair some more. "What?" "Did you yell at her!?" I stepped back, "Well, I was upset so yes yelling was involved at some point." Calum threw his hands up, "great." I looked at the others, who looked equally confused. "You wanna fill us in?" I was suddenly against the wall again, "Did she tell you about Christopher?" Calum asked, raising his voice as he stepped back. "What?" "Because if you know and you still did this I swear-" "For fuck's sake Cal, Who's Christopher?" Calum ran his hands through his hair again before sitting down.          "Three years ago, Ava started dating Christopher. He went to the same school, played football and basketball. He was a great kid." My stomach turned at the idea of this guy. "He started out great. They were together every chance they got. He'd come over all the time. It took months, but I trusted him. So, when we went on tour I let her stay at home." He took a breath, "I came home, expecting to run in and hug her and everything, but instead, she's locked in the bathroom. After sitting outside the door for two hours I finally get her to unlock the door and she's curled into a ball, crying in the bathtub. He cheated on her." He clenched his fists just talking about her. "I sat with her all night and held my babysitter because some prick decided that she wasn't enough for him but her plus the entire cheerleading squad was." I gritted my teeth, imagining the broken girl sitting in Calum's arms. "She cried herself to sleep and I carried her to bed. I was so caught up trying to calm her down, that it wasn't until that moment that I noticed the black eye on my own sister." I looked up from the floor to meet Calum's gaze. "For a whole year, my sister was being verbally abused. For months, he would push her around, grip her too tight, scream at her over nothing, he'd punch holes in the wall and slam things." I winced, not wanting to hear anymore. "When she walked in on him and the girl, she snapped, she yelled at him and broke up with him...but he didn't like that." Calum took another breath, rubbing his eyes. "Cal, You don't have to-" He shook his head, "Her eye wasn't all of it. She had a busted lip and bruises all over her arms...I couldn't take my eyes away. The worst part was I trusted the guy!" His face was red and Ashton had to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Ava wasn't able to watch an argument for months, even on tv! To this day if there's yelling involved she flinches and tries to get as far away as possible and that's even if it's not directed anywhere to her!"          "Michael..." I could feel the eyes on me as I recalled her face last night. I only yelled towards the end, but she flinched and went to bed directly after... "I yelled this afternoon..." I closed my eyes, running  a hand through my hair. "Mate, you didn't know." I shook my head, turning towards the door. "I'm gonna find her." I felt a hand on my shoulder, "It's my fault she's out there. It's raining, and it's 1 in the morning. I'm going after her." I spoke through gritted teeth. "I know." I turned back to Calum. "She's not at the beach or the park. We checked the library first and we've drove around the block 12 times." I nodded, "I'm not coming back without her." I shut the door behind me and got in the car driving. I went through my head crossing off my options. I drove by the park thinking maybe they just didn't see her but it clicked in my head as soon as I reached it where she was, at least, where I prayed she was. I did a U turn and headed that way, hoping I wasn't wrong. I reached the opening for the trail and parked the car, getting out and moving as fast as I could through the trees.  _Ava_         "Ava?" I jumped up, turning to see Michael standing there. “W-What are you doing out here?" His eyes widened, "What am I doing? Ava you're soaking wet. You just disappeared." He walked until he stood in front of me. "Everyone's freaking out." I sighed, biting my lip. "Ava, If I would've known about...I never would've yelled at you. I was just frustrated and I shouldn't have done it." I looked up at him. "Talk to me please." He looked down at me, the rain dripping down his hood. I opened my mouth, but said nothing. He reached his hand up and before my mind could think, I flinched. His eyes widened, "Ava, I would never..." I nodded, feeling the sting in my eyes as I realized the rain wasn't the only thing running down my face. I felt my legs began to shake and all of a sudden I was in Michael's arms. "Lets get you out of the rain okay? You're gonna get sick." I nodded, as he carried me back to the car. The ride back to the apartment was quiet, the only noise coming from the rain outside. "Stay here, I'll be right back." I nodded as we pulled up to the apartment. He leaned over the center to press a kiss to my temple before getting out and jogging to the front door. He came back a few minutes later with a bag. "Where are we going?" I asked as we turned down the road. My voice came out quieter than I had hoped and scratchy. "Hotel, I figured you didn't want to deal with the guys right now." I nodded, pulling my knees up to my chin. The woman at the desk gave us a sad smile as she saw our soaked clothing. Mikey got the room key and handed me the bag of clothes once we got into the room. I grabbed what I needed and went into the bathroom. "I think there's a dryer somewhere downstairs. If you hand me your wet clothes I can go find it." I opened the door wide enough to give him the clothes and then stepped into the shower, letting the hot water rain on me as the numbness of my fingers and toes went away. I don't know how long I stood in there before I realized that Michael was probably waiting to use the shower and I finally got out.          I laid in bed, rolling around for a few minutes until I gave up on the idea of sleep. I grabbed the room key and wrote a small note, letting Michael know I what I was doing and went out in the halls, roaming around. I walked around our floor and went down to the lobby for a bit before making my way back to the room. Michael was sitting on the bed when I came back. "Hey," His voice was soft. I set the key down and walked over to the bed. He opened his arms as I crawled over the comforter and into his lap, resting my head on his chest. "Mikey," I mumbled softly. "Thank you." His chin rested on my head. "Don't thank me. I've been an idiot." I frowned, "You didn't know."          I leaned up and pressed my lips to his, catching him off guard. One hand moved off my hip as he kissed me back, running up my side and to the back of my neck, pulling us closer. My hands found their way to his shirt, pulling him to me, as if we could get any closer. He pulled away slightly, his lips brushing against mine before I leaned forward to reconnect them. l breathed heavily as he moved down, pressing his lips against my neck. A shaky breath left my mouth as his teeth nipped at the skin, moving back up my jaw. His body pushed against mine and a small moan left my mouth. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as he chuckled, moving back up to my lips. "You're so fucking cute." He mumbled. His hand tangled itself in my hair, the slid under my shirt gripping my hip. His mouth connected with the base of my neck, my fingers found their way into his hair and tugged lightly causing a low moan to escape his lips. "What are you doing to me?" Both his hands found their way to my hips, his fingers rubbing against my bare skin as my shirt rid up slightly. He pulled away and kissed my forehead. I buried my face into his chest, positive that my face was blood red. “There’s one thing that I did mean last night.” I looked up at him as he talked. “I love you.” His eyes searched mine, “I didn’t just say it to change the subject. I really mean it and you don’t have to say it back I understand. I just want you to know.” I moved my head to his shoulder. “I want to say it Michael, I really do I just...” He nodded, “Don’t worry about it. I would wait the rest of my life if that was how long you needed.” I smiled, pressing a kiss on his collarbone.

[endlessarchite]

#103: Regrets From Our Beach House Reno

It turns out that restoring a vintage stove isn’t all cupcakes & rainbows, so this week we’re revealing some of the quirks that you can’t see from a pretty picture. We’re also spilling the beans on several mistakes, regrets, and missed opportunities from our beach house renovation. What tile choice did we screw up? Where did we go wrong on the exterior? And how are we going to correct things moving forward? Plus, why we’re spending a chunk of money to make our house smell better. SO NOT GLAMOROUS. 

You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Then use this page to check out any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.

What’s New

In case you missed it, here’s the original story of finding the pink stove

Also, can you spot the red light that’s always on in the photo above?

And here’s Ol’ Pinkie right after we moved it in last October, when it “popped” on us while plugging it in. What a relief that it’s (mostly) better now!

Beach House Regrets

I’ll do my best here to represent the mistakes that we discussed in the episode – but the episode is definitely worth a listen for a much more clarified and detailed rundown. Save yourself from these mistakes and just tune in for that 15 minutes!

Ok but first here’s a view into the hall bathroom, which is where we put the blue accent tile in the shower… which is hidden right behind that door. Code required us to put the light switches on the left-hand wall (otherwise they would’ve been deemed too close to the shower itself), forcing the door swing to go this way (I don’t think we’d want to walk into the shower as opposed to the vanity anyway) but we sure wish we had thought to use that tile in the downstairs bathroom where you’d see it right from the door. Oh well, at least this view is still pretty!

Here’s the downstairs shower, which is attached to the mudroom/laundry room. See how that tile could have been appreciated by everyone walking by thanks to this layout? Lesson learned.

And you’ve heard several times about the breakfast nook-turned-pantry (like in Episode #74: The Big Fight We Had Over A Fridge and Episode #85: What We Got Wrong In Our Beach House Kitchen). We just got kinda caught up in how charming a breakfast nook would LOOK (like the inspiration pic below)…

image source

… but when we truly thought about how well it would actually FUNCTION…. well, that it was a good reality check.

Thankfully we love the resulting pantry! You can also see how we built the walk-in pantry shelves here.

Here is one of the few shots of our little master bathroom sink. Although one of Sherry’s interior designer friends walked in and said “I LOVE THAT LITTLE SINK!” (which was a pretty nice thing to hear after being so convinced it’s stupid small) it’s still something we’re planning to fix… eventually. For now the shower and the tub still make that room one of our favorites, thankfully.

For reference, here’s the sink in our last home’s guest bathroom that still totally charms us. We just feel like it works better in a tiny, vintage-tiled space than our slightly bigger and more open beach house bathroom.

The photo below shows how rough the porch on the pink house still looks. So it’s easy to see why we regret not already taking care of it… but it’s on our list to do soon! Still gotta stain that front door too…

You can see and hear us talk more about the wooden steps on the side and the back of the house in Episode #99.

The photo below (from way before the laundry room was finished) is the best view of how high the plugs were originally placed for the washer and dryer. We didn’t really notice until the appliances were delivered that they would stick up well above them – and interrupt the area where we wanted to add a shelf.

So we had our electrician drop the dryer plug about 6 inches so it would sit just under the back lip (the other plug got covered by the storage cabinet). They’re still very easy to access without moving the washer and dryer (the shelves aren’t screwed in, they just rest in the bracket, so you can pop them off and easily reach all of the hookups right behind the top of the washer & dryer). Here’s where can read more about this laundry room makeover.

I don’t have any great current shots of our thermostat placement, but in some of these pictures from before we moved in you can see how we had them put near corners of walls (as opposed to being smack dab in the middle of the wall, where we’d later want to hang art and would forever curse their existence). Upstairs we put it right outside the entrance to the master bedroom, giving us plenty of room for art on that wall. Note: these pictures are from before we swapped the stock ones out for our beloved Nest E Thermostats.

Downstairs the thermostat is near the light switch in the dining room (it’s the thing covered in blue tape below). Again, that placement left us plenty of uninterrupted wall space for art.

In the photo above you can also see the transition between the living room and dining room that’s higher than we’d like. No one has tripped on it or anything, but we do wish it were as seamless as the one in the other doorway (see how the smaller doorway’s threshold is sunk into the floor and completely flush?)

Just like we did in the episode, let’s end on the high note of how much we love the back bedroom. We worried about adding the wall with the pocket doors, but it has been the perfect solution for bedroom privacy at night without losing allllll the light from that window in the daytime – all while still giving us access to our own “private” staircase in the back.

We’re Digging

Above are some of Sherry’s favorite photo prints from 527 Photo on Etsy, which has tons of beautiful travel photos for sale (an 8 x 10″ print is only $30!). There are over 400 listings in her shop, so here are the ones that caught Sherry’s eye the most: 1 / 2 (this is the one we bought for our living room) / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

And if you want to nerd out with a fun yet informative podcast, try listening to Every Little Thing wherever you listen to our podcast. Personal favorite episodes are: How Old Is Winnie The Pooh?, Public Toilets: To Sit or To Hover, and How To Get Paid To Clap On TV.

If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes.

And lastly, a big thank you to Universal Furniture for sponsoring this episode. You can enter to win $5,000 in new living room furniture at UniversalFurniture.com/YHL now through August 13th. Remember, YHLHAP podcast listeners have won the last two Universal giveaways, so it could be you this time!!!

Thanks for listening, guys!

*This post contains affiliate links*

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