#pros and cons of open kitchen

[hsmagazine254]

The Open Plan Kitchen Debate: Pros and Cons

Weighing the Advantages and Drawbacks Deciding whether to build an open plan kitchen in your home is a major design consideration that can significantly impact the functionality and aesthetics of your living space. While open plan kitchens have gained popularity in recent years, they may not be the best choice for every homeowner. Let’s explore the pros and cons of open plan kitchens to help you…

[vmsplusblog]

[hollandsangel]

voice | m. sturniolo

i had this idea a million years ago, please enjoy!!

summary: chris wonders if you can tell his and matt’s voice apart

warnings: super fluffy!! a bit suggestive at the very end, i’m questioning if it’s good or not

wc: 1.6k

gif by @mattsturnioloarchive !

“i call shower first!” you exclaim the second the garage door is open, sprinting past matt up the stairs to his bathroom.

“there’s three showers,” chris says matter-of-factly as you blow past him on the steps, holding a hand out in confusion.

matt sighs and follows behind you, passing chris as well, “yeah, but you don’t have to share,” 

you’re already on the mainfloor, running into matt’s bedroom to grab the change of clothes you’d left earlier.

“i’m so glad i don’t have a girlfriend,” chris mutters, earning a smack upside the head from nick, “jesus, fuck, what,”

“you’re just annoying,” nick says, deciding it’s a good enough explanation and getting a laugh out of matt.

“agreed,” matt’s still chuckling when they reach the kitchen table, setting down the take out the four of you had gotten on your way back to the house. he hears the water turn on in his bathroom, accompanied by the soft sound of your voice as you sing along to your music.

“oh she’s a nicki fan,” nick says to no one in particular, referencing the tik tok sound when he notices you’re listening to a nicki minaj song. 

matt looks up from the bag of food and laughs.

chris sinks into the couch but looks over at matt, arm slung over the cushions, “i wonder if she could tell our voices apart,” he says after a second. 

“what?” matt asks, thinking the question is mildy rediculous. 

“like do you think she could recognize your voice?” chris explains, wandering into the kitchen now. opening a pepsi and leaning up against the counter. 

nick chimes in now, having been fiddling with the vlog camera and battery, “like compared to you and me?” he asks chris, glancing back at matt as if to say ‘is this guy for real?’

“yeah,” chris nods.

“yeah, obviously she’d be able to tell my voice apart from yours,” matt is looking back at the food again, tone matter-of-fact, as if what he’d said was absolute common sense. 

chris is quiet for about half a second and matt thinks that’s the end of that absurd conversation. it isn’t, of course. 

“should we test it out?” chris asks through a sip of soda.

matt officially gives up on trying to set the food up, throwing his hands up in mock surrender before turning to chris, “and how are we gonna do that?”

chris shrugs, but nick has an idea, “chris, you could like, just go ask her for something, if you left something in the bathroom—“

“absolutely not,” matt shuts it down immediately with a shake of his head, “you're not going in the bathroom when my girlfriend is showering,”

“i won’t even go all the way in!! i’ll cover my eyes,” chris promises, but matt is still skeptical. “i’ll just like poke my head in the door and ask if i left like..a belt or some shit in there,” is chris’ next offer. 

matt sighs and thinks about it, weighing the pros and cons. of course you can tell his voice apart from his brothers…right? he’s making himself nervous, pysching himself out and worrying they all sound the same to you. it upsets him for some reason, he can’t quite decide why.

“fine,” he agrees after a beat of silence, convincing himself you know whis voice well enough to separate it from chris’, and if you can’t, he thinks he might actually feel a sick twinge of unjustified jealousy.

“yes,” chris mutters under his breath, always excited to pull a prank on anyone.

“this is definitely going in the vlog,” nick says, still messing with the camera and coming to sit at the kitchen table where matt is now.

“i can’t believe i agreed to this,” matt mumbles, rubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath. he stands from his seat and walks over to the wall where he can see the bathroom door, feeling some what protective, like he needs to supervise chris to make sure he doesn’t wander too far into the bathroom.

“what should i say?” chris turns back arms pulled in close to his body as if he’s nervous. he’s already grinning and trying to keep from laughing.

“ooh, call her sweetheart, matt always does that,” nick suggests, wiggling his brows in matt’s direction to tease him.

“oh my god,” matt groans softly, rubbing at his eyes, “i fucking hate you guys,”

“okay, i’m going in,” matt drops his hands at that, eyes on his brother immediately. chris puts a hand over his eyes, just as he said he said he would before knocking on the door. nick has the camera out to record and is trying to stifle his laugh in the collar of his hoodie.

at the sound of the knock matt hears your voice, calling out for him, no doubt thinking it’s him at the door. he has to cover his mouth, partly out of nerves but also to keep himself from saying anything.

“yeah,” chris starts, needing to take a second before continuing because he’s already making himself laugh. “yeah, sweetheart, did i leave my belt in here?” he asks, barely stood in the doorway of the bathroom.

“uhh, i think it’s in your bedroom?” you say after a slight pause, about to poke your head out from behind the shower curtain, but chris has already mumbled a ‘thanks’ and essentially sprinted out of the bathroom, closing the door and crumbling to the floor in giggles.

“you’re not fucking real,” matt shakes his head, laughing softly himself and pushing off the wall to go back to the kitchen table. he’s a bit bummed that you didn’t realize it wasn’t his voice, but he keeps that to himself.

nick pans the camera over to matt’s face, which seems expressionless, even with both his brothers cackling outside of the frame.

you come out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, heading into matt’s bedroom to drop the clothes you’d changed out of. matt is instantly sitting back up, the legs of his chair scraping along the hardwood floors.

“ooh, someone’s pissed,” nick turns the camera to himself, eyeing the now closed door.

“that was too fucking good,” chris says after a deep breath, still recovering from laughing so hard. he pulls a chair out next to nick and the two start to explain what had happened to the camera, eyes flicking up to matt’s door every few seconds.

in the bedroom you’re putting your dirty clothes back into your bag when matt comes in, looking a little bit pouty, “hey baby,” you turn towards him, laughing at the slightly pathetic look he gives you, “what’s up?” you wonder.

“m’ tired,” he tells you, slumping up against you for a hug. you wrap your arms around him and rub his back, letting him lay his weight into you.

“we’ll eat and go to bed, yeah?” you give his back another little pat when he nods against you, “mkay, let’s go,” you kiss his cheek quickly, only to have him turn his head in search of a real kiss. you oblige of course.

nick and chris have already started eating and updating the vlog on their day when you and matt come out of the bedroom. matt joins them at the table but you head for the fridge to grab a drink. “oh, did you find your belt?” you ask matt, still digging around.

“what?— oh yeah” he mumbles, gaze turned down to his fries.

“okay good. by the way you sounded so much like chris when you came in— it freaked me the fuck out” you say with your head in the fridge, still searching for the diet coke you know you left inside the door, “did one of you drink my coke–”

“wait what?” matt’s head snaps up, food forgotten.

“hmm?” you turn around to find all three boys looking at you. nick’s mouth open in a half smile and chris clearly trying not to burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. matt’s just staring at you with eyes a little bit too wide before he speaks up.

“what do you mean i sounded weird?” he asks, leaning forward. you notice nick’s shut up about whatever he was saying to the camera earlier, pointing the lens at you now.

“i dunno, when you said sweetheart it just sounded super fucking weird— why are you guys looking at me like that–” you have to ask, feeling slightly weirded out by the intensity of their gazes

“i knew it!!” matt cheers, punching the air and doing a silly little dance as nick doubles over and starts hitting the table.

chris’ jaw drops and he presses his fingers into his eyes as he laughs next to his brother, leaning on him.

matt bounds over to you with a grin, arms wrapping around your waist and lifting you off the ground slightly.

“whaaaat,” you giggle, clearly confused by their reaction. 

“it was me,” chris manages to say between bouts of laughter, “we– we were trying to see if you could tell our voices apart.”

“of course i can tell your voices apart, especially your voice,” you turn towards matt, saying it like it should be obvious, like it’s silly they doubted you for even a second. 

matt’s just grinning at you, feeling a strange sense of pride swelling in his chest, “i knew you could,” 

��bullshit!” chris exclaims, both him and nick still leaning against each other as they laugh.

“he’s right, you were freaked the fuck out,” nick manages to say between giggles, “you watched chris like a fucking hawk when he opened the bathroom door,” he looks over at you, his smile contagious, “he was definitely freaked the fuck out,”

matt groans and drops his head against your shoulder. you brush your fingers through his hair and chuckle to yourself, “awe matt,” you coo, “i definitely know your voice, i’ll probably be hearing lots of it later anyways.”

tags ! @st4rswrld @urfavvev3lyn @mattsturnioloarchive @averysbestyears @its-jennarose

[avatar-anna]

i saw this trend on tiktok where girlfriends flash their boyfriends to win an argument, and i thought that was genius, so...yeah! that's what this is. enjoyxx

"Baby, we've talked about this."

"I know, but I just think if you listened—"

"I have listened, and I just don't think now is the time to do this."

You rolled your eyes at your boyfriend, annoyed by both his tone and his words. "It'll never be the right time. You just don't want to commit to this relationship."

"Seriously? That's where we're going with this?" Harry asked, finally looking away from where he was chopping vegetables for dinner. "I say it's not the right time to get a dog and you think it's because I'm not committed? Really, Y/n."

He looked down pointedly at himself. Harry stood in the kitchen in an apron that said, Kiss the Cook! You got it for him as a gag gift on his birthday last year since he was always in the kitchen, but he ended up loving it. Naturally, he also demanded you kissed the cook whenever you helped him out with cooking.

You knew what he was trying to say without voicing it, that was committed to you no matter which way you tried to spin it to win the argument. And you knew that, you were just a little annoyed that you and Harry couldn't get on the same page like you normally were.

You and Harry continued to bicker back and forth about the pros and cons of getting a dog together. Harry insisted he wasn't against it, just not now, but you'd done too much research and you knew now was the time, or you would never get around to it.

"You always do this," you said.

"Do what?"

"Try and table a conversation only to never come back to it. Just have a backbone and say you don't want a dog instead of hiding and avoiding it."

Rolling his eyes Harry ran a tired hand over his face. "You know what? Fine, you're right. I don't want a dog."

"But why?"

"Y/n, we travel all the time. We can't train a puppy when we're—"

Harry paused, his eyes finally opening after removing his hand from his face, his eyes settled on you, a mix of emotions quickly running across his face.

"When we're what?" you asked innocently, trying not to smile.

Still not answering, your boyfriend opened and closed his mouth as if his brain was short-circuiting. "You—You just—That's cheating."

"What do you mean?" you said, no longer trying to hide your smirk as Harry stepped closer to you, his eyes not meeting yours at all. They were focused solely on your chest, where you'd conveniently lifted your shirt to expose your breasts.

Coming out of his stupor but still not meeting your gaze, he said, "You don't get to—to use your tits against me!"

"Why, is it working?"

Harry shook his head in utter disbelief, his eyes almost completely glazed over. Whether he liked it or not, you won this round.

"Yes—No—I mean...What were we arguing about again?"

Chuckling softly, you cupped his cheek with your hand. "We were deciding on whether or not we should get a dog."

"Oh. Right. Whatever you want, baby."

"Really?"

You thought this would soften your boyfriend, push him in the right direction, but you didn't think he'd cave so quickly. Harry was already leading you toward the stairs, clearly ready to leave the argument behind.

"Course. Come convince me some more upstairs."

*.*

"Seriously? You're still on that stupid thing?"

Harry barely glanced your way before looking back at the TV, his thumbs moving furiously over his game controller. He mumbled his greeting, too engrossed in his game to acknowledge your presence.

Your boyfriend wasn't typically the video game type, only ever using his gaming console occasionally. That was until a few weeks ago when one of his friends got him hooked on some new game and now he played it nonstop. You didn't really care if Harry played video games, but this had become a fixation. It had been ages since you and him went to bed together at the same time, or gone on a date,, or had sex.

You'd been thoroughly replaced by some game.

"H, have you even gotten up from the couch since I left?"

The response Harry gave you was abysmal, only sparking your irritation more. You'd left him in that exact position hours ago to run errands, and he was still there. You doubt he'd so much as gotten up to eat since you'd been gone.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"That sounds great, baby," Harry said, his eyes still glued to his game.

You narrowed your eyes at your boyfriend. "I will not be second to a video game," you muttered before inching closer to the TV. With a sigh, you reached for the bottom of your shirt and lifted it up, taking the bralette you wore with you.

Harry didn't notice at first, which was really going to piss you off, but his eyes snagged on your naked chest as he switched positions on the couch. His whole body stilled as he took you in, his rapidly moving thumbs coming to a halt on his controller.

"Are you done playing now?" you asked, your brows raising expectantly.

Not looking at his game once, Harry tossed the controller on the couch and stood up. As if in a trance, he walked toward you. As he got closer, you could hear shouts of protests from his friends coming from the headset still on his head. He took that off too, then lifted you up without warning. You quickly wrapped your legs around his waist as he led you to your bedroom. And when he laid you down on the bed, you grinned, satisfied that your boyfriend was still wrapped around your finger.

[louisferrignojr]

hello 911blr here's another little snippet of my fake dating au. it's going so slowly. but at least it's going!

Buck catches his attention pretty much right away − Tommy’s gaze is immediately drawn to his ridiculously plump, pink mouth, before taking in the rest of the picture. He’s frowning at the camera, almost like seeing his own reflection mirrored on his phone’s screen through the front-facing lens is offending him, somehow, and why would this guy choose that picture to be front-and-centre on his dating profile? Still, his messy, curly hair, and the scruff on his jawline, and − the ridiculous lips − are hard to resist. Tommy taps to check out the rest of his pictures. In one, he’s clean-shaven, wearing a white hoodie, smiling so big and bright, his gaze somewhere behind the camera, probably fixed on whoever was taking the picture; then there’s another frowny selfie right after that, taken inside a car, with a seatbelt across his chest and a black Labrador resting his little head on the guy’s shoulder, and okay, that’s fucking adorable. Tommy can’t help but smile − but that only lasts until he reads the guy’s bio.

hello grindr i’m not gay (but i’m an ally!) anyway i need a fake boyfriend to be my date to my parents’ stupid anniversary party because they told me not to bring “another new girlfriend” so i’m just trying to comply with their request :-)  in return you will get an all-you-can-eat-buffet and open bar. or anything else you want (short of sexual favours)

Yeah, that tracks. These wholesome-looking guys always come with at least one red flag. And this is a fucking massive one. 

Tommy bites down on his lower lip and tells himself he’s not actually thinking about messaging, but he knows he’s lying to himself. He tries to weigh the pros and cons for all of five minutes before he thinks, fuck it, and decides to send a message. What’s the worst that could happen? With a deep exhale, Tommy taps on the little message button and types out the only logical opener he can think of.

tommy: if you can prove you’re not a catfish, i’m more than happy to be your fake date

buck: how do i prove i’m not a catfish? buck: you can look me up on instagram. i’m buckley92

tommy: hah, nah, that won’t do. it’s gonna have to be a dickpic i’m afraid. with today’s newspaper of your choice.

buck: who the fuck is still buying newspapers buck: fine. give me half an hour

Tommy puts his phone aside with the biggest grin on his face. If nothing else, it’s been entertaining, at least so far. He still doubts this guy is real, or his request for a fake boyfriend isn’t just a thinly veiled excuse for a curious-but-still-firmly-heterosexual guy to go venturing in the most notorious dating app for queer men − which is entirely unnecessary. 

He gets to his feet and goes about cleaning up the mess in the kitchen he’s been successfully ignoring for the last 24 hours, and puts a load of laundry on, knowing he’s running out of clean underwear, and he’s settled back on his comfy couch, ready to dive back into Small Town Horror when his phone pings with a new notification, and Tommy grins when he sees it’s another message from Buck.

It’s a selfie of the same man from the profile pictures, and instantly Tommy exhales with relief. He looks a little different in this picture; younger, somehow, and it might have something to do with the haircut he’s currently sporting, and the lack of product in his dark blonde hair, letting the curls loose. Tommy wants to run a hand through his hair, but he files that away into a far away corner of his mind, as his gaze drops to the dramatically pouty expression on Buck’s face. He’s holding a copy of Los Angeles Times, which has the words “TOMMY FROM GRINDR MADE ME DO THIS” written across the front page in thick black marker. There’s a message sent right after the selfie that reads “will this do or… do you still need the dick pic?”

tagging some interested people

@osh-my-prince @apartmentsmoke @repressedqueen @jewishbuckley and i can't remember who else i might have talked to about this???? if interested in future updates drop me a comment and i'll tag you🫶

[yapuniversity]

He eats you out in order to make up for his mistake - (JJK fic or anyone you like)

(The ‘He’ can be anyone you want. Gojo, Nanami, Geto, Choso, Toji, Sukuna, the choice is yours<3)

This blog contains NSFW content so MDNI!!!

With that being said, i hope you enjoy (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

You and him have been living together for almost a month now. Before moving in, you guys have been dating each other for over a year. Moving in together was a big step and at first, you and him were nervous about this decision. But as the days passed by, you guys found it rather comforting and safe in each other's presence. Ofcourse, living together has its own pros and cons, but the pros outweighed the cons. The thing now is that you guys have a lot of time to spend together and well, the ‘spending time together’ meant showing one another how much you loved each other. And that meant a lot of physical activity.

Each day spent together increased the yearning for one another and now, it was hard for you guys to stay apart for a long time. Wanting each other turned into needing each other and needing each other turned into yearning for one another. But you guys couldn't help it.

It was one of those days where you had just come home from work but you still had a meeting to attend. You walk into your apartment and remove your shoes, placing them on the shoe rack.

“I'm home, honey.” you say, calling out to him. You look towards the kitchen and see him walking towards you, a proud grin on his face.

“There's my baby girl.” he says, closing the distance between the two of you and leaning in for a kiss. His hands subconsciously resting on your lower back as he pulls your body against his. He pulls back and kisses your cheek before asking, “how was your day, love?”

You sigh, giving him a tired look. “Hectic. I have another meeting to attend right now.”

“What?” he frowns, “can't they give you a break?”

“Well,” you say, while you stand on your toes to peck him on his cheek, “they don't care. But look at you, dressed in an apron?” you scan him from head to toe, a small smile playing on your lips.

His frowning expression turns soft. A shy look taking over his face. “I thought I'd make you something special. You know, for working so hard.”

You giggle at his remark and softly peck him on his lips before saying, “thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. But I'll be right back. I have a meeting to attend, remember?”

He nods understandingly and you make your way to your work desk. You close the door behind you, put your bag down, open your laptop and log into the meeting. For about twenty minutes, your focus is completely on the meeting. But then you see the door to your room is slightly being opened.

“Baby?” you call out. He enters the room, apron off - his shirtless body standing at the entrance of your door.

“What are you doing?” you ask in a hissed voice, eyes wide. You watch him as he confidently yet gently walks over to you, stopping right in front of your desk. “Love, what are you-” But before you could complete your sentence, his frame is immediately next to yours, and he quietly rests on his knees. “Baby-” you begin to say but stop your words when he slowly rests his head on your lap.

“I missed you, baby,” he says, neediness in his voice.

“I did too but this is not the right time to-”

“Shhh,” he whispers. “You don't know what I mean.”

“What has gotten into you?” you ask in a low voice. You look at your laptop screen and sigh in relief when you see that you’re on mute.

“It's just…I missed you. A lot,” he says, his head still rested on your lap.

“I did too, baby but-” but right before you could complete your sentence, you watch his hands tenderly yet forcefully pull your legs apart.

“What are you doin-” you begin to argue but he places a finger on his lips, commanding you to be quiet. He licks his lips when he sees your legs spread apart, revealing your red lace underwear. Regardless of being pissed at him for acting so carelessly during this situation, you can’t help but feel turned on by his actions.

“Let me prove to you how much I missed you,” he says and before you knew it, he buries his face in between your legs, inhaling your scent. You squirm under his sudden movement and a proud smile spreads across his lips. He gently nibs your underwear with his tongue and your hands immediately cover your mouth to muffle a moan.

“Is everything okay y/n?” a person in the meeting asks. That's when you realise that your camera was still switched on and your face drops in horror.

“Whoops,” you hear him say, his face still buried between your legs as he begins to draw small circles on your underwear. You push his face away and look at your laptop, “yes, sir. Everything is fine. I just hurt my toe.” The person on the other end does not say anything, just nods his head and concludes the meeting without any explanation.

“Fuck!” you exclaim in annoyance.

“What's the matter, baby?” he says, acting oblivious.

“What did you just do?” you ask, anger filled in your voice.

“I was just-” but before he could complete his sentence, you get up on your feet and walk away from him and head towards the door.

“You were just what? Do you not know what you have just done!” Before you left the room, you turned back to look at him - giving him a disapproving look. You watch his expression change from playful to instant regret. “Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that, baby,” he says as he sprints to his feet and rushes to you. Just before he could get to you, you slam the door on his face. “Don't talk to me!” you exclaim in anger. You stride towards your room but before you could enter your room, you feel a pair of hands grabbing you from the waist and pulling your body towards them.

“I made a mistake, I'm sorry. Now please, let me make it up to you.” he pleads, his cheeks flushed red as he fights back tears.

“How could you do this to me?” you say, freeing yourself from his grip and turning in his direction to look at him.

“I'm sorry. I really am, baby,” he pleads, his voice coming out dense and low. You open your mouth to say something but before you could process any words, he lifts you up and takes you to the bedroom, gently placing you down on the bed as he sits at your feet. “Baby, I'm sorry,” he says once again, his voice filled with regret. You can't help but feel bad by the way you lashed out at him.

You let out a disappointed sigh, “please don't ever do that again.”

“I promise,” he says while nodding.

You smile at him, cup his face in your hands and gently kiss him. He returns your kiss, but with more passion and eagerness. He pushes you on your back and straddles you. His kiss is deep and desperate - making it seem like this is what he's been thinking about all day. He pulls back from your lips and helps you remove your clothes, urgency in his movements. Once you've got nothing on but your red lace panties on, a grin takes over his face and he places himself between your thighs. “I've been wanting to taste you the entire day,” he says as he once again buries his face in between your legs. Your hips thrust against his face in response and he considers this as an invitation to take your panties off. You look at him with desire in your eyes and lift your hips, encouraging him to remove the last piece of your clothing. He takes your panties towards his nose and lets out a low growl when he inhales your wetness. Your thighs squeeze shut in response, unable to handle the lust that fills your body. A mischievous smile spreads across his face when he sees the way your body reacts to him and without hesitation, he spreads your legs open and lets his tongue do the magic. He licks your sensitive bud and hums in pleasure when he feels your hands running through his hair, pulling him closer to your centre.

“You drive me crazy, baby.” he says, increasing his pace on your sweet dripping cunt. You bite the back of your hand, muffling the moans that are fighting to escape your throat. “Cum for me. Show me how much you missed me,” he says, teasing you while tenderly nibbling your clit. You couldn't hold it in any longer. A loud moan of pleasure escapes your lips as you finally let yourself free. Your legs tremble around him but he's not done yet. He continues to devour your pussy and does not stop until he’s fully cleaned you with his tongue.

Once he's proud of work and sees you lying down with a flush expression on your face, he smiles at you proudly and nuzzles your neck in appreciation before saying, “That's my good girl.”

do not plagiarise, copy, translate or repost my works on any platform!!!

divider credit - @anitalenia <3

[loucifersbitch]

He feels like he’s being weighed down. Like he’s under water or a heavy blanket. His limbs are heavy, and he can’t get his eyes to open. There’s muffled sound nearby, but he can’t make out anything coherent. He’s also really warm. Uncomfortably so.

Is this what death is like? Is he in Hell? Or something Hell-adjacent? Were all the fire and brimstone idiots he refused to give the time of day actually right about something?

But then the heat is gone and there’s a cool breeze that skims across his skin.

Does he have skin? Do people feel their skin once they’re dead?

He’s still debating with himself as he gets pulled further under.

~***~

What is that annoying, repetitive sound? Did he change his alarm? Why the fuck can’t he turn it off?

~***~

It hurts.

Why does it hurt?

He can’t even tell what hurts, but something fucking hurts.

If he could just open his eyes and get up to take some ibuprofen.

Also his nose itches. Why can’t he fucking scra-

~***~

“Fucking bees.”

~***~

He’s warm again, but it’s not uncomfortable this time. 

He feels safe. And alive. 

He doesn’t feel as weighed down anymore.

It’s difficult, but he cracks his eyes open. He’s - in the hospital? That’s definitely a hospital ceiling and hospital lights and hospital machines beeping.

He turns his head to the left - slowly - and sees his arm is in a giant cast. That explains why he can’t lift it.

He turns his head to the right just as slowly. He’s surprised to see a head of curly hair lying next to his hip, a large hand in his own. 

When he flexes his hand, the curly head pops up immediately.

The man looks at him with bloodshot eyes that clearly haven’t seen sleep in days. He’s young - not alarmingly so but certainly younger than Tommy. The stubble on his jaw has gone far past 5 o’clock shadow and has entered the realm of beard, making him look slightly older. But who -?

“Tommy?” the man asks. His voice is low and raspy, possibly unused.

“Uh,” Tommy says. His own voice sounds even worse.

Without hesitation, the man turns - without letting go of Tommy’s hand - and pours a cup of water from the pitcher on the table next to the bed. Then he brings the cup up to Tommy’s mouth, a bendy straw pointing toward him.

Tommy drinks slowly, his mouth feeling like parchment that’s been left out in the sun too long. 

“Thanks,” he says.

The man sets the cup down and says, “Yeah, so um, h-how do you feel?”

He thinks for a bit, taking stock of himself.

“Sore. Numb in places. I assume they’ve got me on the good stuff?” The man nods, a cute smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “But there’s also the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen sitting next to me, holding my hand. So all told, I’m doing pretty well.”

The tips of the man’s ears turn pink, and a cute blush spreads across his cheeks. Adorable.

“You don’t have to flirt so hard, Tommy. You should know by now, I’m a sure thing.”

Ah, so -

“So we’re,” Tommy gestures vaguely with his head, “together?”

“Uh,” the man laughs uncertainly, “for about six months now, yeah.”

“Oh.” Tommy’s eyebrows shoot up. “But you’re so…” He trails off, not really knowing where he was going with that.

“So…what?” the man prods.

“Take your pick,” Tommy says. “Young? Pretty? Out of my league?”

“Sweetheart.” The man says it like they’ve had this discussion before, but he’s smiling. “Don’t try to amnesia your way out of being with me. I called dibs forever after our second date.”

Tommy smiles lazily. “Dibs forever, huh?”

“Yep. You’re stuck with me.”

Humming as if he’s considering the pros and cons, Tommy finally says, “I guess I can live with that.”

The man’s smile is blinding. “Evan,” he says. “Evan Buckley. In case you forgot.”

It comes back to him then - a cruise ship rescue in the middle of a hurricane, a basketball game, a kiss, a first date that ended terribly, more dates that ended perfectly, slow dancing in the kitchen, long nights together that ended too soon. A call during a bad storm, total engine failure, glass and fear and rain and acceptance and trees and blue eyes and a smile like warm sunshine.

“Evan,” Tommy says, pulling him closer. “Baby.” He kisses him softly. “I love you more than anything. How could I forget?”

Evan has tears in his eyes and leans their foreheads together when he says, “Don’t ever do that again. I thought I lost you.”

“I’m so sorry, baby. I thought so, too. I thought I’d never get to see you again. I’m so sorry.”

The next kiss is wet with tears - Evan’s or his own, it doesn’t matter. They’re here, and they’re both okay, and they’re together. That’s all that matters.

“I love you, too, by the way,” Evan says once they pull apart. “Can’t believe you waited to tell me until after you almost died, but I’ll take it.”

“I’ll say it every day until I actually die, okay?” he says. He gets a smack to his good shoulder for his effort, but they’re smiling too hard for it to have any weight.

There’s a long road ahead with recovery and therapy and stubbornness and frustration, but they’ve got this. They’ll get through it all. 

Together.

part 1

part 2

part 3

also now on ao3!

[pleasantlycrazyworld]

Summary: You don't have to sleep. Usually, it gets boring, but now you can take care of Logan when he needs someone

An: vampire reader and Logan aren't officially together just yet

As a vampire, you didn't need to sleep anymore. It had its pros, and it also had its cons. Before you lived at the mansion, you would hide out and hunt your next meal, but now blood was provided for you, and you were somewhere safe, so you didn't have to worry about hiding. Now, most of the time, you just stay up doing different things. You were trying new hobbies, training, a lot of cleaning... not sleeping was starting to become a con again, you were so bored.

Then Logan came home from an awful mission.

Nothing had gone as planned. Many got hurt, he had to kill again, he got seriously injured himself, and for some reason it was taking a while for him to heal. He wasn't expecting you to be in the kitchen when he came stumbling into the mansion. He was grumbling to himself, clearly in pain, scrubbing at the blood that was on him, and the sight made your undead heart sink for some reason.

"Logan?" You asked cautiously, his neck snapped over to you, and he nearly snarled before recognizing who was talking to him. "What are you doing up?" He asked, almost angry that you caught him. You ignored the question and moved closely to him, "Let me help." You said in a tone that left no room for argument. His shoulders fell, and he allowed you to drag him to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

After about twenty minutes, he was all cleaned and patched up. You asked no questions during the entire interaction, something Logan was very grateful for. You didn't know what exactly happened tonight, but you knew it was something best left undiscussed for the time being. "You know...your room is next to mine." You stated with a shrug. It was clear what that statement towards Logan meant. It was your way of saying: if you need anything, come to me, I'm here to help. Let me help.

He nodded and gave you a weak smile to show his gratitude. You returned the smile and left for your room.

A few hours had gone by and you were deep in your closet. How did you have so many clothes? You groaned as you continued going through shirts when your ears perked up. "What was that?" You muttered under your breath. You listened a little closer, and for the second time that night, it felt like your heart sinked again. "Logan?" You asked as you got up and went to his room as quickly and quietly as you could. You knocked on his door, but when there was no response, you just went in.

You let out a pitiful sound seeing him so clearly in pain and afraid. Logan was still asleep, but he was screaming. He kept saying the same thing over and over, and his claws were digging deeper into his mattress as he squirmed around.

"Logan... Logan!" You shook him awake, and when his eyes snapped open, his claws swipped right. He gasped louder than in his sleep when he saw his claws on your right side. He gasped loud and looked at the wound in horror. You cupped his chin, making him look up at your face and not the wound. "It's okay, just retract them, and it'll close up." You whispered, not wanting to cause bring anymore stress to his already stressful day. He nodded quickly before doing what you said, he winced with you and watched the wound close completely.

After he made sure you were healed, he looked up at you with watery eyes, "Could...could you stay?" He asked meekly and a bit uncomfortable. This isn't something he'd normally do, but knowing you'd heal if he ended up hurting you in his sleep calmed him much more than he'd like to admit.

You didn't say anything, just sat on his bed and let him arrange the two of you so you'd be laying just like he wanted to for the night. You brought a hand up to his hair and started to twirl some strands between your fingertips. Maybe this could be a new night hobby.

Once he was asleep again, you made a vow to not only him but to yourself as well.

"I'll always be here to keep you safe, my wolvie."

Tagging:

@userchai

@mahi-tamashi

@100percentlazybonez

@lanassmarty

@western-pyro

@misscrissfemmefatale

@marit332

@navs-bhat

@fluffy-b33z

@chaimshelii

@aoi-targaryen

@eyes-ofhell

[tteokdoroki]

*ੈ🌩️‧₊˚— after sickness, after health + sae itoshi.

૮˶ᵕ ༝ᵕ˶ა synopsis — your ex husband is a menace. married or not, you'll always belong to him.

⭑ warnings — please read + mdni ! characters aged up to 20s, smut, angst, divorce, custody battles, you have kids, cheating (with sae lol), manipulation, possesion, slight yandere if you squint, dub-con, tummy bulges, hold the moan, spit!kink, drunk sex, unprotected sex, toxic relationships, previously established relationships, mentions of arguments, ex husband + pro player!sae, fem!reader - not beta read !

⭑ words — 1.5K.

⭑ notes — hello... i was not meant to write this but,, i fear i cannot escape the bllk brain rot lmao !! sorry if he's ooc or too mean but i hope u like it ily guys mwah <3 - m.list ✩

oooo ex husband!sae is so annoying, jarring, he’s horrible.

the divorce is somewhat amicable. both of you pretend it is. you were young and in love but now you’re growing out of affectionate shoes that are too small for you now. it hurts. but you pretend.

ex husband!sae takes what’s his and you take what’s yours. sae doesn’t want what you have and what he gave you — being the big bread winner he was, you keep the house and the cars, the expensive wedding gifts his parents sent from abroad. pity presents, he calls them. he doesn’t want you to be out on your own.

the only thing you and ex husband!sae fight over are the kids — it’s a long and drawn out battle. very messy with tears on your end begging him to call it even and take the deal your lawyer offers up so that the public stops tearing you down. he likes that you’ve called him against the wishes of your lawyers, you’re coming to him as his ex-wife — pleading with him in that way that makes his lips quirk up in a cruel smile because it’s been so long since ex husband!sae heard you beg for him like that.

maybe the custody battle was only to drag you through the mud, make you hurt a little bit so you remember ex husband!sae for the rest of your life. the time you spend with kids is split down the middle.

ex husband!sae hears it from one of your little girls on the way back from their ballet class that mommy is seeing someone new. your other daughter likes him a lot, says he gets them ice cream on the weekends where you have them. and sure enough, your ex doesn’t like that, a weird and sick sense of possession curling around his heart and lungs because you’re not supposed to have been able to move on from sae. you’re only supposed to be happy with him.

ex husband!sae who invites himself over to dinner with your girls on the night he knows that your new boy toy will be there. a sense of pride washes over him as he takes in your expression when you open the front door to him; your eyes wide, pretty lips parted in a delicate ‘o’ — you look as though you might cry, asking him if he’s here for the girls and blinking quick when he says he wants to join the four of you for dinner. he watches the curve of your ass as you lead him inside, wanting to rip that little apron right off of you and make you his again in front of your boyfriend.

the kitchen is cramped with both men politely arguing over how to make the girls’ favourite dinner while they watch bluey out in the living room — paying no mind to the tension building down the hall. your boyfriend seems uncomfortable with how comfortable ex husband!sae is in your space. he knows where the spices are, how you like to wash the dishes as you go along, the way you set the dinner table. your stress runs high as sae flits through your home, after all he did live here once too.

your boyfriend puts his hand on your shoulder. sae smiles when you shrug him off.

the polite yet snide comments continue when your girls are seated for their meals. ex husband!sae makes it known that your current partner has no place at the table, that he could never have you because you’re too loyal to the routine and life that you know. you turn to the fancy bottle of red wine sae bought with him as stress relief.

you’re slightly tipsy when ex husband!sae puts your children to bed — he stops on the creaky stairs because he can hear you drunkenly argue with your boyfriend about tonight’s events and he can’t help but feel as if he’s won. your boyfriend doesn’t think that sae should be around, that he’s bad for you, for the girls too for picking fights in front of them. and like the loyal little thing you are, you defend your ex-husband because he’s a good father and he takes care of you. he always has.

sae only steps in when he sees you getting upset, crumbling under the weight of the evening, the stress of being a single mother with someone who doesn’t understand it the way your ex does. no one else should have the power to make you cry like the midfielder does. that’s sae’s job. the steps of the stairs groan under the weight of his footsteps as sae trudges down them — intervening when you flinch away from your boyfriend who’s raised his voice at you in an attempt to get you to see that ex husband!sae is bad for you.

you screw your eyes shut and clench your fists, not intoxicated enough to fail to gently remind your current partner. “please don’t yell at me.”

you sound so hurt by the argument and that only serves to piss sae off.

“i can take care of her from here,” ex husband!sae brushes past your boyfriend to pull your swaying frame into his chest — sweeping in like your knight in shining armour and ushering the man out of his house with a sick smirk. “i think you should leave.” your boyfriend says he’ll text you later on, no doubt, with the intention to smooth things over while he still feels threatened by your pro-football player ex. but you don’t find the time to respond when later does eventually come around.

because later that night, you give into your urges and succumb to familiarity where ex husband!sae has your knees pressed into your shoulders and your hot cunt wrapped around his shaft — milking him so good like you always have. like you’re meant to be. the midfielder shudders above you, listening out for the squelching symphony your sex sings for him as he fucks you nice and slow. sae fills you up until you can feel his cock in your lungs, dragging his milky pre along your walls as if it’s his signature on your body.

the older itoshi brother would be lying if he said he didn’t miss you, your body, your kisses. the way you dreamily echo his name like it’s a prayer every time he angles his cock to hit your sweet spots. you find his hands within the messy sheets, the slickness of your heat making it easier for sae to grind himself into you. he feels lightheaded with ecstasy, his grunts turning to deep rooted moans as he swoops down to kiss you with tongue — a poor attempt to silence your squeals since your girls are sleeping just down the hall.

the bed that you used to share betrays you, crying from underneath the languid push and pull of your bodies working together for orgasm. ex husband!sae is torn between capturing your teary face in the now and reminiscing all the times he’d fucked you or made love to you against these very sheets. the thought of your new boyfriend doing the same makes him hotter, makes him move faster — slurring and spitting his praises into your eager mouth as his balls clap against the curve of your ass and the crude mix of precum and your juices tie sae itoshi to you.

licking into his mouth, you lift a hand to curl into sae’s roots and tug hard in the way that he likes. “sae,” you mewl, breathless and bambi eyed. “feel s’fuckin’ good. hah! d-don’t stop, m-missed you!”

“don’t tell me what to do, ‘couldn’t stop even if you begged for it.” sweat beads on ex husband!sae’s forehead and he closes his eyes, hips stuttering even though they piston into yours. he can’t tell if you actually miss him or if it’s the sex that’s making you feel this way — and quite frankly, he’s in the same boat. he hooks your thighs over his shoulders and presses the entirety of his body over yours, putting all of his energy in to deep, long strokes that make you choke on your words and gush sweet and clear streams around the base of his throbbing cock.

“you feel me here, love?” your ex husband!sae, asks, magenta hair flopping over his eyes — his hips flush against your puffy clit as your juices pearl along side it. he gives you a rough thrust, fucking you like it’s your wedding night all over again and he hasn’t made the last few months of your life a living hell. like he loves you. “c’mon baby, pay attention. can’t believe you’re so shameless, letting me have you like this again. do you feel me?” sae presses down on your tummy where his thick dick bulges, the sensation making the whites of your eyes visible as they roll back into your skull.

you nod, delirious with desire, pussy trapping your ex husband inside of you. “y-yes, sae! f-feel you!”

“good, because i belong here, sweetheart,” ex husband!sae coos, an evil spark haunting his aquamarine eyes. “i’m the only one who ever gets to fuck you here. because no matter what happens — you’ll always be mine and i’ll always be yours.”

[vmsplusblog]

Open Kitchen Pros and Cons | VMS Plus

Open Kitchen vs Closed Kitchen

When choosing the best kitchen design for you, there is always that difficult choice — whether it should be an open or closed kitchen. Some kitchens are used as social areas, besides cooking and serving meals, while others are used solely for preparing and cooking meals and washing dishes.

Before you decide, it is essential to know what these two types of kitchens are, the pros and cons of open kitchen layout and the closed-off kitchen. So, let’s start with the first question.

What is an open kitchen?

An open kitchen has no walls separating the cooking area from the dining and living areas, referred to as “the great rooms.” The open-plan kitchen makes your space appear bigger than it is and facilitates the smooth flow between the common areas.

The open-plan kitchen concept has its advantages (Pros) and disadvantages (Cons), which are listed below:

Pros of an Open Kitchen

* An open kitchen is a smart way to maximize space, as no walls and doors serve as barriers.

* It allows interaction between families and friends, which is prohibited in closed-off kitchens.

* An open kitchen layout can accommodate more people.

* This open layout allows for the installation of a kitchen island.

* You can multi-task in an open kitchen. For example, you can watch TV while cooking and supervising the kids or entertaining some guests.

* More natural light can pass through an open kitchen.

CONS

These are the disadvantages of an open kitchen:

- The open kitchen is always visible to anyone who comes to the house, and it becomes self-evident if you fail to tidy up every time.

- The sound and smell of cooking travels to other house spaces.

- Cabinet space is limited because open kitchens do not have extra walls to place kitchen cabinets.

What is a closed kitchen?

A closed kitchen is a traditional kitchen layout. It is regularly seen in homes until recently. It has separating walls and barriers that differentiate the kitchen from the dining room, living room, and other spaces in the house. If you have a closed kitchen, you must go through a door before entering the space.

PROS of a Closed Kitchen

* You can hide the mess (if you do not tidy up regularly) by just closing the kitchen door.

* You have more storage. You get more options for placing cabinets, appliances and countertops.

* You can focus better when cooking or cleaning. People are unlikely to go out of their way to distract you from what you are doing.

* Cooking noise and smell are limited so that you won’t be disturbing other people in the home.

CONS of a Closed Kitchen

- Air circulation can be challenging unless your kitchen has expansive windows.

- A Closed kitchen usually lacks natural light, so it must depend on artificial lighting.

- The feeling is cramped and closeted, as this type of kitchen layout makes the space considerably smaller and will be crammed with your appliances.

The PROS and CONS of each type of kitchen layout tell the differences between the open and closed kitchens.

Important points to consider when choosing between an open and closed kitchen.

1. A closed kitchen offers more privacy and reduced noise. If you want a more private cooking experience or cooking-related noise to be separated from other house areas, your best option would be the closed kitchen design. It is also ideal if you have small children or pets, as you can have more control over your kitchen environment.

2. An open kitchen promotes social interaction. You and your guests can communicate with each other while the food is being prepared. There are no walls that separate the kitchen from the dining, living room and other areas of the house, so your space becomes more welcoming.

Conclusion:

Choosing between an open and closed kitchen should depend on your lifestyle and personal preferences. Consider your cooking habits and entertaining needs and preferences. There is no wrong or right answer because both kitchen styles have unique benefits and drawbacks.

If, despite the above, you still need help knowing which kitchen style is good for you, don’t hesitate to contact VMS Tradelink today, and let us talk about your renovation project.

[buckysxgal]

One Piece Fanfiction Recs

** if an author has multiple fics on here i only mentioned them once **

Eustass "Captain" Kid

Eustass & Pipsqueak [18+] by @honeysworld-offanfiction

Payback [18+] by @icy-spicy

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This by @sofixxoxo

Sex and Violence [18+] by @zoros-sheath

Magnet Crush by @muenbear

KIDD; soft and loving kidd [18+] by @matchadobo

Just a Name One | Two by @escenariosinfumables

KIDD; calm to his storm by matchadobo

KIDD; fvck me like you love me [18+] by matchadobo

Botherin' Me [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

KIDD; 3 times he almost said i love you and the 1 time he actually did by matchadobo

Flowers Are Stupid by @sheerxfiction

An Eye for an Eye by icy-spicy

Safe Haven by @sofixxoxo

You're lost, unsure if they can find you by @eustasssimp

Making the reader cry (good) by eustasssimp

Language! [18+] by @sanjis-all-blue

Furtive by @myonepiece

Massacre Soldier Killer

Close Encounters by @heyitsdoe

Shooting Stars by @motherofflies

It's Okay to be Difference [18+] by @anemptypuddingcup

Killer's Baby Girl [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

You Don't Need It, You Want It [18+] by sheerxfiction

Killer's Darlin [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

Killer's Straw Hat Crush by myonepiece

Wearing His Shirt by eustasssimp

Kitchen Mischief by sheerxfiction

Roronoa Zoro

Rip My Ribcage Open [18+] by @yourtamaki

Late Night at the Office [18+] by @zorosimpclub

Against the Mirror [18+] by zorosimpclub

How to Disappear by @zorobff

I Bet On Losing Dogs by zorobff

In All My Dreams by @bby-deerling

Flowers by @fanaticsnail

Comfort Drabble by @anime-cupid

Portgas D. Ace

Fill You Up [18+] by @maddddstuff

Tension [18+] by @sharks31

Black Leg Sanji

Jealous, Jealous Boy by @bleachification

Too Much (Take Me Home) by @secretwritingspot

Home is Where the Heart Is (That Heart Just Won't Stop Racing) by secretwritingspot

Pros and Cons by @toriswritings

I Can See You by @holymusicalmothman

Put My Name at the Top of Your List by @ladadiida

Mouse in the Kitchen by @honeydjarin

3, 2, 1 [Masterlist - includes NSFW] by fanaticsnail

That's What Friends Are For (Platonic) by bby-deerling

Just For Me by @blondeewhorre

Type by @yayakoishii

Charlotte Katakuri

Katakuri & Little One [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

Buggy the Clown

Roger and Jessica Rabbit Effect by @writingoddess1125

Didn't Mean to Make Your Heart Blue by @wood-white-writer

Vice Admiral Smoker

More to Grab [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

Playing Dangerous [18+] by @ninascloset

Donquixote Doflamingo

Doffy's Messy Girl [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

Monkey D. Luffy

You Drive Me Crazy by @soulofapatrick

Run Away With Me by fanaticsnail

Trafalgar D. Water Law

Three Times You and Law Almost Confessed and The One Time That You Did by @nina-ya

Three Times Law Said "I Love You" by nina-ya

Untitled by @grandlinedreams

Trades of Goods and Services by bby-deerling

Benn Beckman

Untitled [18+] by @nekassvariigs

Multiple

Jell-O Shots [18+] (feat. Kid, Luffy, Zoro, Law and Sanji (Separate) x afab!reader) by @bokutosbiceps

Convenience (Mishanks x Reader) by @stillxnunpxidintern

"Wrap me like a Christmas gift" (feat. Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Law (separate) x afab!reader) [18+] by @raggedyflowers

KIDD & KILLER; Gifts (KidKiller x Reader) by matchadobo

Helping Killer and Kid after escaping Udon Prison - HCs by heyitsdoe

Good Mouse (Smoker x Reader x Law) [18+] by @leakyweep

Telling Them "I'll be a disgusting whore for you." Headcannons (feat. Shanks, Zoro & Ace (separate) x reader) [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

Cowboys You Say? (feat. Zoro, Kid, Sabo, Marco & Ace (separate) x reader) [18+] by honeysworld-offanfiction

[wheelie-sick]

So you just got diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis....

A guide to coping with inflammatory arthritis written by someone who has been living with it for years

1. Warmth helps with pain and stiffness

Take a hot bath or shower

Use a rice bag to heat your most stiff and painful joints - How to make a warm rice bag (no sew) How to make a warm rice bag (sew) Adorable heated stuffed animals

Heating pads can also be good for heating specific joints (I don't like either of the ones I've had so I'm not dropping a recommendation)

2. Compression helps with stiffness

Compression gloves work really well in particular - Really cool compression gloves

Compression for other joints works well too

3. NSAIDs help reduce inflammation in your joints

Topical diclofenac is my personal favorite, it works wonders

Meloxicam is only available by prescription but has fewer negative side effects than over the counter NSAIDs do

Ibuprofen and Aleve/Naproxen are both OTC NSAIDs

Here's a full list of NSAIDs

4. Steroids reduce inflammation but are usually only used for flares. If OTC remedies are not working for your arthritis it may be worth asking about steroids to manage flares

5. Use adaptive devices

Note that I haven't tried all of these!

In the kitchen - Jar opener, pull tab opener, arthritis friendly silverware, ergonomic knife, another ergonomic knife

In the bathroom - My favorite shower chair, long handle bath sponge, shower grab bar

Dressing - Many button and zipper aids, magnetic jewelry clasps, sock aid

Standing assists - Bed rail, couch stand assist, cane with stand assist

Office - Pencil grips, book stand, vertical mouse

Other - Arthritis friendly gardening tools, so many grips adapters and holders

.... and many many more

6. Use mobility aids - I'd strongly recommend talking to a doctor before deciding to use mobility aids. mobility aids cause damage to your body so it's important to weigh the pros and cons of using them. Anyways my personal recommendations:

Canes - NOVA T cane, Carex ergonomic offset cane

Crutches - Millennial In-Motion Forearm crutches

Other people with inflammatory arthritis are welcome to add on!

[section-chief-prentiss]

Maternity Leave (part 1/3)

Summary: Past your due date and feeling desperate, you and Emily try everything you can to start labor.

Pairing: Emily Prentiss/Reader 

Word Count: 1,761

TWs: pregnancy, labor, fluff, comfort

Ao3

PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR

Every day past your due date that you woke up and weren’t in labor caused you to be in an extremely bitter mood.

Your raven-haired wife’s eyes would flutter open to find you curled around your pregnancy pillow, lips furled into a tight frown. Her eyes would crinkle in sympathy, and she’d reach out to comfort you.

By the fifth day, you’d officially had enough. You waited, somewhat impatiently, for your wife to wake up, wanting her to be well-rested. Your back was aching; there were no comfortable positions anymore—not sitting, standing, or lying down—and you felt like you were getting bigger every day.

You’d pushed the blankets off of you long ago—you were too hot these days, so all you could bear to sleep in was a sports bra and underwear—to look at your stretched belly. You rested your hand on it, feeling your daughter shift beneath your touch.

“I love you,” you mumbled, “but you can’t stay in there forever.”

Emily’s hand reached across the bed to rest on top of yours. “Still nothing?”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” you said, attempting to shift into a more comfortable position and wincing when you failed.

“Never apologize for that. How do you feel?”

“I love our daughter, but I want her out. Today.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Today, huh?”

“I had a lot of time to brainstorm when I wasn’t sleeping, and she’s coming out today.” You couldn’t be swayed.

But you knew your wife loved a challenge, so she sat up with a mischievous smile. “Whatever you want. What’s first?”

Fortunately, you had a specific craving that you hoped would move things along. With assistance from Emily, you sat up, resting your back against the backboard, and rested both of your hands on your ever-expanding belly.

“Baby wants scrambled eggs for breakfast. With extra spicy hot sauce.”

Emily leaned over to give you a peck on the lips before bending down to do the same on your bump.

“Whatever baby wants,” she said, throwing the blankets aside and jumping out of bed.

“I’ll be down in a bit,” you called after her, envious for a time when moving didn’t require quite so much effort.

Slowly, you eased yourself out of bed and threw on the first oversized t-shirt and pair of sweatpants you could find before making your way downstairs to the kitchen, where Emily was already hard at work.

She wasn’t much of a cook, but throughout your pregnancy, she’d mastered scrambled eggs and managed to make them exactly how you wanted.

It had taken you so long to get to the kitchen that breakfast was almost ready by the time you sat down. Emily already set the hot sauce on the table, and you debated the pros and cons of just emptying the bottle directly into your mouth.

But you weren’t quite that desperate yet.

Emily dumped the majority of the scrambled eggs onto your plate before setting a small amount on hers. She set the pan down in the sink and joined you at the table with a kiss on the top of your head.

“What else is on your master plan for today?” Emily said, reaching for the salt and pepper.

You bypassed both and started pouring hot sauce all over your breakfast.

“This,” you said, pointing to your plate. “Then some curb walking to that Indian restaurant for the spiciest spicy curry they will let us leave with. Curb walk back, eat the spicy curry, and if I’m still not in labor, I found some workout videos on YouTube that have comments raving that it sent them into labor.”

“And if you’re still not in labor?” Emily asked through a mouthful of eggs.

You stabbed the plate with more aggression than you’d intended before shoveling in as many eggs as you could fit in your mouth. The hot sauce burned, but you powered through it. Anything to not be pregnant anymore.

“Don’t you dare say that,” you said with a growl.

Emily raised her hands in surrender. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

You ate your breakfast quickly but with determination. As you chewed each bite, you waited for something to change, but to your disappointment, your plate was finally empty, and you still hadn’t felt anything.

Emily cleared your plates, knowing better than to ask after seeing the look on your face.

No amount of food was enough these days; so despite having just eaten, you were ready for some spicy curry.

Emily threw on some leggings and a t-shirt, tied her hair back into a ponytail, and joined you in the living room. She put on her own tennis shoes before putting yours on for you. You couldn’t remember the last time you could reach your feet.

Though it was only a few blocks’ walk to the restaurant, you could tell Emily was hesitant. If you did go into labor, it would be a long walk back, but that was a risk you were willing to take.

“It’ll be fine,” you reassured her as she held the door open for you.

You fought back annoyance as Emily refused to take her eyes off of you as you walked; you had to remind yourself that she only did it because she loved you to keep yourself from snapping in hormonal rage.

The walk to the restaurant was quick, and you’d placed the order on the way there so you could pick the food up and turn around immediately.

The walk back felt much longer, your body aching all over. But when Emily offered to run home and grab the car, you refused to give in. You would try this, and it would work.

As a reward, when you made it home, Emily rubbed your sore feet as you ate as much spicy curry as your stomach would allow. When your stomach started rebelling, you had to ask Emily to put the rest in the fridge.

You spent the rest of the day relaxing together until you regained enough energy to try the workout videos you’d found. Again, Emily hovered nearby in case you needed her, but you kept your focus on the TV, hyperaware of every sensation in your body, ready for any sign of labor.

But nothing came.

By nightfall, you were exhausted physically and mentally. Tears brimmed in your eyes. You’d come so far, and you couldn’t help but feel like you were failing. You sat on the edge of the bed, holding your belly, and your tears fell onto it.

Emily stepped out of the bathroom to find you a sniffling mess.

“Oh, love,” she said, sitting beside you. “Tell me what I can do.”

You rested your head on her shoulder, tears still flowing. “I’m sorry,” you whimpered. “She should be here by now; I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Hey, nothing is wrong with you,” she took your hand in hers. “She’ll come when she’s ready.”

You nodded and sniffled, not trusting your voice.

“Will you let me try something? It might help.”

You lifted your head, feeling wary. “What?”

“Stand up for me?”

She got to her feet first, offering you her hands. You took them gratefully, and she pulled you up.

She walked to the wall on the side of your room and pressed her back against it.

“Turn around,” she said.

You obliged, and she pulled you so your back was pressing against her body.

“I’m gonna lift your bump to try and take some of the weight off for you.”

You hesitated. “Are you sure? She’s pretty heavy…”

Emily scoffed. “Have you seen my arms? I’ll be fine.”

You giggled; she was right.

“Ready?” she said, interlocking her fingers and placing them under your bump.

“Yes.”

Gently, she lifted your belly, taking the weight from you.

The groan of ecstasy that fell out of your mouth was inhuman; your eyes fluttered shut, and you leaned your head back onto her chest. You could feel Emily’s arms shaking slightly from the weight, but you knew she would never complain. She would bear the weight for however long you needed her to.

Emily kissed the back of your neck. “I love you,” she murmured.

“I love you more,” you echoed in pure bliss.

After a few moments of peace, you knew you couldn’t ask Emily to hold on much longer. “You can set her down,” you whispered, bracing yourself for the weight to return to you.

Gently, she released your belly, and you immediately ached for her to take it away again. Instead, you whipped around and pressed your mouth against hers, hungry for her.

“You know,” Emily said with a giggle as you planted kisses down her neck. “There is one thing we haven’t tried to start your labor…”

She didn’t need to say anything else. You practically leaped into bed, Emily right behind you, stripping her clothes. You climbed under the comforter together, and you took a few minutes to try and maneuver the best way to pleasure your wife, but your belly posed an obstacle. It had been weeks since you’d last felt sexy enough to be intimate, and you hadn’t thought about how much a large belly would get in the way.

“Lay back,” Emily instructed, situating you on a cloud of pillows. You obeyed and felt the closest to comfort you’d felt in weeks.

“Let me take care of you,” she whispered, removing your clothes. When it was just your body and hers, she started biting your ear and planting kisses in a pattern down your body and over your bump.

You shifted a bit, pain lacing through your lower back.

“You okay?” Emily asked.

You nodded. “Keep going; you can’t imagine how that feels.”

With a smirk, Emily teased you, bracing a knee between your legs. You rubbed against her, pleasure building in your core. Even the persistent aching in your back couldn’t pull you out of the moment, this perfect moment where the only things that existed were you and your stunning wife.

“Are you ready for me?” Emily purred.

“Yes, love,” you panted.

“That’s my girl,” she said, parting your thighs with two fingers. You eagerly anticipated her entry, locking your eyes with hers, when you were interrupted by a new sensation. Water trickled down your thighs and onto the bed beneath you, and you sat up with a start.

Emily sat up with you, excitement in her eyes. “Is that…?”

Nervousness blossomed in your chest, quickly eclipsed by excitement. “My water just broke.”

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[animestsstuff2]

YandereProHero Bakugou x quirkless reader

I keep thinking of like yandere Bakugou with a quirkless reader, like someone he just became infatuated with and picked the perfect time to take them.

Content warning: kidnapping, implied non-con, yandereBakugou, quirkless reader, tied up, isolation, deprivation.

♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎

ProHeroBakugou, who entered the cafe you worked at one day looking to get an iced caramel coffee. His mood immediately changing when you greeted him with the brightest smile. He began coming in everytime (sometimes twice) when he was patrolling your area

ProHeroBakugou, who seen your cafe on the news as being involved in a battle. Bakugou who left his sidekicks, blasting through the sky and to the devastated area where the pros fought the villain.

ProHeroBakugou, who found you among the debris, swept your unconscious body up and took you to his apartment. ‘ProHero’ bakugou who clicked the cuff around your ankle as you stirred on the bed. A few superficial cuts littered your face and arms.

Bakugou, who greeted you with a grin when you awoke. Your eyes widening as panic settled in your chest, seeing the chain attached to your ankle as your breaths picked up and you tugged desperately at it. Your eyes whipping to meet his red ones as he grabbed your cheek. A caring smile on his face as he stared at your horror stricken self

YandereBakugou, who grew angry at your constant yelling and cursing at him, missing the sweet smiles and giggles you’d throw at him, instead you would throw anything you could grab, including the plates full of food at him. Bakugou who was believed you just needed time and patience (one he had very little of)

YandereBakugou, who realised hitting you was a guaranteed way to shut you up but the silence was more unnerving than the yelling. Bakugou who crawled into bed immediately after, wrapping his arms around your waist as his body settled itself between your legs. “C’mon doll, you were misbehavin’ you know I don’t wanna hurt you, c’mere gimme a hug”

YandereBakugou, who ignored any and all your protests when it came to physical touch. He would cuddle you in bed and the erection that pressed against your ass made you nauseous even worse was when he showered you, still being forced on a chain. This time it was connected to him. His hands running all over your body as he resisted bending you over the sink.

YandereBakugou, who began letting you have more freedom, allowing you into the living room and kitchen. He made sure all the knives were kept out of reach. A smile on his face after he convinced forced you to cook him dinner “gonna get a coffee machine too, so you can make me somethin’ sweet huh pet?”

YandereBakugou, who dragged you by your hair through the house after he came home one day to you picking at the balcony door lock. Bakugou who allowed you to roam the house whilst he was gone believing you loved him now and wouldn’t leave him.

YandereBakugou, who opened the cupboard door to see your wide wet eyes meet his. Your words muffled by the cloth gag, hands and legs rubbing against the rope that bound them. Bakugou who almost fell off balance when you practically jumped on him after being untied, fresh tears rolling down your face “m’sorry, p-please, dont leave me alone again” Bakugou who only rolled his eyes at your dramatics, it was only, what, two days?

YandereBakugou, who smiled down at you greeting him at the front door, adorned in one of his shirts as he smelled the meal you cooked from the kitchen. Bakugou who finally made you into his perfect partner no more fighting or protesting when he pulled your panties off. You just took it like a good girl “my good girl hmm”

[smoooothoperator]

What Was I Made For?

14: War Of Hormones

childhood enemies, forced proximity, accidental pregnancy, enemies to lovers (👀)

Warnings: 👀🤭

a/n: HIIIIIIII!!!! The moment I thought about a title for this chapter I had it very very clear, and somehow it made me go back to my BTS era... ANYWAY!!! Hoping everyone likes this one hehe

IMPORTANT: If someone wants to give me ideas of names you are very welcome! And ideas for a gender reveal too, I want to make it special and include your ideas!

if you want to play a game and ask things about Dafne

Masterlist

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If you want to be tagged don't forget to message me!

Every way of feedback is very welcomed

Facing a change often brings a mix of emotions.

At first, there's a sense of uncertainty and anxiety, as the familiar comfort zone is disrupted. This can feel like a tightness in the chest or a knot in the stomach. Alongside this, there's also a sense of anticipation and excitement about the new possibilities and opportunities that change might bring. 

The mind races with 'what ifs' and potential outcomes, creating a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, of pros and cons, and doubts and hopes.

When Charles and I arrived at the house, the mix of emotions settled into a more tangible form. I tried not to think about the kisses he pressed on my knuckles or the squeezes he gave my thigh.

I knew something changed between us, that the tension was still there but it transformed into something else, something less forced and awkward. We didn't want to give a name to it, opting to stay quiet and only communicating with our eyes and smiles, with touches and acts.

While I made dinner, Charles changed clothes, fed my cat, and moved around the kitchen. I felt him behind me, watching over my shoulder, his presence a warm, silent pressure.

“Smells good” he whispered, close to my ear.

I took a deep breath before nodding and smiling, trying to not then my head to look at him. I just focused on the food in front of me and anything else. Not even his presence behind me. Not even his breathing against my hair. Not even his warmth.

“Thank you” I said, sounding more rough than I wanted, clearing my throat and swallowing thickly.

He moved away and in the moment I could finally breathe. 

God, this is going to be hard.

“Dinner's ready” I sighed, putting the food on plates. “I'm going to get changed”

“If you want, you can grab some of my clothes” he suggested, his voice soft.

“O-oh… Don't worry” I nodded, blushing.

I walked upstairs and looked at the door of his room, taking a deep breath. Should I grab his clothes? He said I could… And the bottoms of my pajamas barely fit me anymore. Yeah, maybe I can grab a pair of joggers.

I took a deep breath and sighed, opening the door of his room and then going to the wardrobe. When I saw the joggers I smiled, grabbing a pair, noticing that he came with many pairs. 

And then I saw it. The plushie. My cat plushie, the one I loved when I was a kid and thought I had lost. I extended my hand and held it, looking at it with wide eyes. It's my plushie, definitely. Washed, somehow fixed, but my plushie. 

I held it close to my chest, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes tightly, to prevent the tears from falling.

“I found it when you left from Greek” 

I gasped softly, turning around with the little cat still pressed on my chest.

“And you kept it all this time?” I whisper. “Charles…”

“I wanted to give it back to you so many times, but you always ran away” he sighed. “So I thought about bringing it for our baby”

“Oh, Charles” I smiled, placing my hand on my belly.

“I kept it all this time, just as a reminder of my first love” be sighed, walking towards me. “And when I went back home to grab clothes and bring them here, I found it in my wardrobe”

I smiled softly, watching how he walked closer towards me, placing his hand on my belly and rubbing it softly.

“I want the best for you and our baby, Dafne” he whispered. 

“And you'll be the best” I nodded. “Just… Trust yourself more, believe in yourself”

He nodded and sighed, taking a step back, again.

God, no. I want him close, closer. I need him to touch me. I need his touch, so bad.

“Let's go have dinner” he said, walking out of his room.

I took a deep breath, getting changed quickly with his clothes and going to my room to leave my own clothes. I placed my plushie on top of my bed and smiled weakly, sighing.

Charles was already downstairs, with the plates already on the table in front of the TV. He was sitting on the couch looking at his phone, writing things on it.

“I was thinking… I know we said that we were only going to tell Pierre about the pregnancy” Charles said, looking up at me and following me with his eyes. “But, I think it will be better if we just tell them through the group chat. Tell all the drivers. Just in case the media ask them things, so they can help us”

“Are you saying that we should lie to them too?” I sighed, sitting next to him. 

“They can help us, Dafne… If we tell them that we have been dating in secret but our team didn't want us together, I'm sure they will support us” he said, holding my hand.

“Okay” I nodded, sighing. “I just… I wish everything was different”

“Me too, believe me” he nodded.

We had dinner in silence, looking at the TV, and when we finished we just sat there. I felt his eyes on me, making me move and look at him.

“W-what?” I frowned, looking at him.

“Nothing” he smiled. “It's just…”

“Just what?” I make nervous.

“You are glowing” he smiled. “Really. Like, you were always gorgeous. But now? You look like a goddess”

“Idiot” I whisper, looking away, blushing. 

“What? I'm not lying, I swear” he smiled. “You look so beautiful, Dafne. So damn beautiful carrying my baby, and it's so hard for me to stop looking at you”

“And touching me?” I said, regretting immediately what I said.

“Touching you?” he laughed. “God, not doing it is the hardest thing ever”

“And why you don't do it?” I mumbled. 

“Believe me, I'm dying to touch you” he whispered, his voice sounding deeper than before. “I'm fighting myself to not do it”

“I told you that those lines can be crossed” I sighed. 

“No, Dafne” he sighed, shaking his head. “I can't”

I swallowed thickly and looked at him. What lines does he want to cross? 

I sighed, looking away and focusing on the TV screen, or at least tried to. But the way his deep voice sent me shivers was repeating in my mind, making me look at him sometimes, scanning his face with my eyes.

His beard is making him even more attractive, and his lips… God, I don't remember how it feels kissing him, or even touching him. The night we had in Monza was something blurry, I barely remember what happened there.

I wish I could feel that again… 

No. No, Dafne. Stop it.

“I-I was thinking about start… Well, nesting” I whisper.

“Oh?” Charles smiled, turning his head sand looking at me.

“Yeah, well… I just, I guess it's time to start doing it” I sighed. “You know… Buy things, start planning a room. The typical”

Charles never stopped smiling while hearing me, and he moved closer, sitting right next to me with his arm on the back of the couch.

“You want to raise the kid here?” he whispered.

“I mean… I- I don't know” I sighed. “I have my apartment in Florence, and yours is in Monaco. I didn't think about it, actually… Before you came I only wanted to stay here and never leave”

“But then I came and broke all your plans” he sighed, leaning on me to place his hand on my belly.

“Yeah” I sighed. “But… I'm kinda glad you came. I think I needed to have you here, somehow. I can't do this alone, this is way harder than I thought…”

“Hey” he smiled. “We're in this together. I'll go wherever you want to go. You want to stay here? Then I'll come back here. You want to go to your apartment in Florence? Then I'll be there. I'll do whatever you told me to do”

“Thank you, Charles” I smiled, looking up at him.

I found his eyes, his green eyes looking into my eyes. He's so close, so close… I can feel his breath against my lips. Only a few centimeters…

“Cross the line” I whisper, my voice trembling with need. “Cross it…”

“Dafne” he whispered. 

“Please” I whisper, licking my lips, moving my hand to cup his jaw. “Please?”

He sighed, moving back and shaking his head.

“Is it because I'm pregnant?” I frowned. “You say I look beautiful, but you don't even dare to stand behind me, to hold me. Not even kiss me”

“No, Dafne” he sighed, messing his hair with his fingers. “It's not that”

“Then what is it? Please, tell me” I sighed.

“I don't want to hurt you” he said.

“Come on” I laughed, somehow trying to swallow the tears. “You are already hurting me whenever you stand close to me and can't even place your hand on my waist”

“I want to repeat that night!” he snapped, making me flinch, surprised. “I want to remember how it is to touch you, to kiss you. I want to remember how you sound when you moan my name and when you squeeze me. I want to do it over and over again. But I can't do it because I don't want to hurt you and the baby!”

I swallow thickly and look at him, standing up slowly.

“I… I'm going to bed” he sighed. “Good night”

“Charles-” I mumbled watching him go, my heart aching in need of his touch.

But he was already walking upstairs, closing the door of his room.

The bed felt cold and too big, an emptiness that hadn't been there before.

But what changed? Why does it feel cold and big now?

I sighed, turning again in the bed, facing the window, then looking at the digital clock. Five minutes passed since the last time I looked at it.

“Fuck” I groaned, sitting slowly on the bed and looking at the door.

I sighed, pacing the room. Should I go downstairs? Should I go to his room?

And before I could even think about it, I was already in front of his door, with my knuckles hitting the door softly three times.

I heard some steps seconds after knocking and then his door opened.

“Dafne?” he murmured.

“I can't sleep” I whispered back.

“Is the baby kicking hard?” he whispered, placing his hands on both sides of my belly.

“N-no… No” I whisper. “I just… Can you sleep in my bed? Please?”

“Dafne…” he sighed, stepping back and shaking his head, his conflict evident.

“Please. The baby seems calm when your hand is on my belly” I whisper. “And well, I feel good too”

I heard him sigh and I just closed my eyes, taking a step closer and wrapping my arms around him. 

“Look…” I sighed. “I'm going crazy, okay?”

“What? Why?” he whispered, and I sighed in relief when he wrapped his arms around me too.

“Because the fucking hormones are killing me” I groaned. “You just can't say that you want to fuck me and make me moan your name. You really can't do it”

“Dafne…” he sighed.

“You think I don't want to?” I whisper. “Hell. Something changed between us, I know. And it's going so fast that it's scaring me. You know I hate changes, that I hate doing new things. You know how bad it was for me when I moved to Ferrari… And know what is changing is how I look at you”

“But I don't want to hurt the baby, Dafne” he whispered, placing his hand on my head. “I don't want to do something wrong and hurt the baby”

I swallowed thickly and hugged him tighter, with my belly between us.

“Tomorrow morning, we'll go to a doctor” I whisper. 

“Hey, no…”

“Yes” I whisper. “I have to go anyway, hm? We will see our baby and then we'll check if everything is alright. And we'll ask the doctor everything we need to know”

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

“The hormones are making me horny, Charles” I laughed nervously. “You know how embarrassing it is?”

He chuckled softly, rubbing my back. He rested his chin on top of my head, taking a deep breath and playing with my hair.

“Let's go to bed” he sighed, pulling away and holding my hand, walking us to my room.

I smiled sleepily, holding his hand tight and then rubbing my belly, taking a deep breath when I saw Charles walking inside of my room and going straight to my bed.

“Left?” he whispered, making me nod.

He moved the covers of the bed so he could lay on the left side, opening the covers for me to lay next to him.

“Hold me” I whispered looking at him. “Please?”

He smiled and nodded, moving closer. I followed his movements with my eyes, taking a deep breath to ignore the anxiety of the situation. 

“Can I… Can I try something?” he whispered.

I nodded looking at him. He smiled and took the covers out looking at me, his eyes asking for permission.

“Go on” I whisper, feeling shivers all over my body.

A soft gasp escaped me as his hand gently lifted my shirt, revealing my belly. His hand, warm and gentle, began to rub my skin.

“There it is” he whispered, smiling amazed.

Until now, the only person that touched my bare belly besides myself was the doctor that told me the news, who had to do a scan to check if everything was alright.  And now, looking at Charles admiring it, only makes my heart beat faster.

I flinched softly when I felt his hand on my skin, but relaxed immediately when he started rubbing it. His hand is so big, practically covering my belly with it.

“Hey baby” he whispered, his voice filled with pure love, making my heart jump. 

He's talking to the baby.

“It's me, dad” he smiled, moving on the bed to be face to face with my stomach. “I can't wait to meet you, little one. Really, I can't wait”

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on top of his head, burying my fingers on his hair and closing my eyes when I felt his lips on my stomach, pressing tender kisses there. He wrapped his arm around my hips, rubbing his thumb over my stomach.

“I just… God, Dafne. This is the best thing you could ever give to me” he whispered looking up at me. “A kid…”

“Yeah” I smiled. 

“And in part it makes me hate myself for all the pain I gave you” he whispered. “And how bad it was the moment we made it…”

“The past is the past” I sighed. “Let's forget it, okay? Let's just focus on what we have now, on this chance of be the best version of ourselves”

He looked at me and smiled, resting his chin on top of my belly, carefully. He held my head and kissed it, taking a deep breath before pressing a new kiss on my belly button.

“Saying thank you is not enough for everything you are doing” he whispered. 

I smile weakly and squeeze his hand softly, taking a deep breath.

The way he looks at me is new. How he kisses my belly, how he closes his eyes when he does that. How he smiles, rubbing the tip of his nose and making me giggle softly.

“Come on, let's sleep” I whisper, yawning softly.

He smiled and nodded, moving to be in front of me but not pulling down the shirt. His face was in front of mine, his eyes looking into mine.

“Hi” I whisper smiling, biting my lip softly.

“Hi” he smiled.

I looked at him and took a deep breath, placing my hand on his jaw, rubbing my thumb over his cheek.

“Dafne…”

And then I did it.

I leaned in, my hand cupping his cheek as I pressed my lips to his in a kiss that held all the emotions I had kept locked away, deep inside of my heart. The kiss was soft at first, tentative, as if testing the waters. But then it deepened, fueled by the months of longing and tension that had built up between us.

Charles responded immediately, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me closer. The kiss was a release, a breaking of the dam that had held back our feelings for so long. My fingers tangled in his hair, my body pressing against his as I poured everything into that moment.

When we pulled away, both of us were breathless, resting our foreheads against the other.

“I told you that you can cross all the lines you want” I whisper, making him chuckle softly.

“I want to cuddle you” he whispered, making me nod and smile.

“All the times you want” I smiled, closing my eyes and letting him get comfortable in my bed beside me.

The next morning, his hand was under my shirt, gently rubbing my belly just as he has done last night.

I groaned softly, moving closer to him and feeling his warm chest on my back, sighing happily.

“Good morning” he whispered, his lips brushing my shoulder, making me smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Amazing” I whisper, turning my head, looking at him.

“That's good” he smiled, pressing his lips in the corner of my mouth. “So… What are today's plans?”

“Well… We can go to the village” I sighed, turning around slowly and hugging him. “Ask the doctor to have a fast appointment, meet our baby, and maybe go buy things”

“Mhm, sounds nice” he smiled, kissing my forehead.

The tension left my shoulders the moment he kissed me back last night, and this morning, and during all the times he woke up at night pressing a kiss on my shoulder.

“And we should call Fred…” I sighed, biting my lip when I heard him groan. “I know, I know…”

“It's just…” he sighed, pulling me closer. “I'm so happy in this bubble we’re in. I don't want to mess things up. I just… Can't we wait a little? Just a few more days”

I looked up at him and smiled weakly.

He's right, we are in a bubble, ignoring the outside world, just focusing on us. For once, we were acting like normal people.

“Alright” I sighed. 

I took a deep breath and hugged him, resting my head on his chest and wrapping my arm around his waist. As I tangled my leg with his, he flinched slightly.

“Eh… Wait” he whispered, tensing.

“What? What’s wrong?” I frowned, following his gaze. “O-oh…”

“Y-yeah” he sighed.

I swallowed thickly and moved, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks.

“I mean…” I whispered, looking up at the ceiling. “I could…”

“No, no” he said quickly. “God no, not yet. Just…”.

He sighed, sitting quickly on the bed and getting out, going to the bathroom of my room.

So that's what happened yesterday too. He had to leave the bed quickly because of his morning hood. 

“Fantastic” I groaned, covering my eyes with my arm.

I heard him opening the water of the shower, then his groans. God, if only… I could help him.

I got up from bed and grabbed the joggers I was wearing, walking slowly to the door of the bathroom and knocking on it.

“I'm going to make breakfast” I said, opening the door a little. “And I'll call the doctor to see when we can go”

“S-sure!” he gasped.

God… Send help.

I shook my head, rubbing my belly while I walked downstairs to get our breakfast ready. When I finished, and noticing that Charles didn't get out of the bathroom yet, I called the doctor to set an appointment.

“Hey” Charles sighed, walking inside the kitchen with an awkward smile. “Look…”

“I could have touched you, Charles” I whispered. “I could have help you, you didn't have to go to the bathroom and hide”

“I know, I know” he sighed, standing in front of me, and something inside of me threw a party when he placed his hands on my hips. “It's just… I want to do it all, okay? Go all in”

I smiled weakly and looked at him, nodding. He leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss on my forehead, making me close my eyes and breathe deeply, smiling when I recognized the shower gel I use.

“I called the doctor” I said. “We can go whenever we want, she's free this morning”

“Oh?” he frowned, surprised. 

“Advantages of being near a village that doesn't have over a hundred of people living there” I smiled softly.

“Oh, okay” he smiled. 

I looked up at him, smiling while leaning on the counter. He placed his hands on my sides and leaned slowly, pressing his lips on mine, kissing me softly and slowly, with no rush.

“I can't believe I can do this” he whispered against my lips before kissing me again. “I've dreamed of doing it for so long… For tasting your lips again… It's been a while…”

I pulled away slowly, looking at him with a sad smile.

“All this time?” I whisper.

“Since you kissed me in Greece” he smiled. 

I smile softly and peck his lips quickly. He pulled away and helped me grabbing the breakfast, placing it on the table and sitting in front of me. 

Time went by fast, and before we noticed, he was already parking his car in front of the medical center of the village, holding my hand and waiting to get called.

“It will be okay” he whispered, placing his hand on my knee after noticing how I was bouncing it nervously.

“I know” I whisper.

“Dafne Morelli?”

We stood up, still holding hands, as the nurse called my name and led us into the consultation room. An older woman sat behind the desk, smiling warmly as we entered.

“It was a surprise for me when I heard your voice this morning through the call” she said. “You must be Elena's daughter, right?”

“Y-yeah” I smile weakly.

“Well, let me tell you that I was your mom's doctor during your little sister's pregnancy” she smiled, making me gasp softly. “She was one of my first patients… God, how fast time flies, hm?”

I smiled nodding slowly, looking at her. She gestured to us to sit on the chairs in front of her desk.

“He might be your husband, hm?” she smiled looking at Charles.

“O-oh! No, no! We… We are not married” I gasped, shaking my head. “But he's the father of the baby”

“Oh good to know” she smiled, winking at us. “Well, tell me. How is it going?”

I took a deep breath and told her everything. My career, how I found out I was pregnant, how far, what the first doctor said… Everything.

“Well, then let's take a look on the bed, yeah?” she smiled.

I nodded, getting up followed by Charles. He helped me sit on the high bed and then I raised up the jumper I was wearing, taking a deep breath when the doctor grabbed the gel. I flinched when she spread it with the stick and immediately held Charles hand.

“Well, well… Let's take a look” she smiled, looking at the screen. “For what I can see you are around the week 17, close to the fifth month. Right now, your baby is of the size of a pear”

“Yeah” I nodded, looking at Charles.

“Do you know the gender?” We shook our heads and she smiled. “You want to know?”

“W-we… We actually wanted to do a little gender reveal, so if you could print the results…” Charles said softly, squeezing my hand.

“Oh, sure!” she nodded, pressing a button on the keyboard and then the printer started working. “Are you ready to look and hear your baby?”

Charles and I looked at each other with a smile, holding our hands tightly. We nodded nervously, taking a deep breath before the doctor turned the screen to us.

“Here, there is your baby” she smiled, moving the stick over my belly again and making the picture of the screen change.

I gasped, tears immediately springing to my eyes. It was so small, but so perfect. I turned to look at Charles, his eyes wide with amazement, a soft smile tugging at his lips. He was speechless, just staring at the screen in awe.

And then we heard it. A steady, fast and rhythmic thumping filled the room: our baby’s heartbeat. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I looked back at the screen, mesmerized by the tiny life growing inside me, and then back at Charles. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears, his expression one of pure joy.

"That’s… that’s our baby" he whispered, his voice choked with emotion.

I nodded, unable to speak through the lump in my throat. I reached up and wiped away a tear from his cheek, my own tears streaming freely down my face. 

"Yes, that’s our baby," I managed to say, my voice trembling with happiness.

The doctor gave us a moment, letting us soak in the incredible sight and sound. 

"Everything looks perfect," she said, her voice gentle. "The heartbeat is strong and steady."

The doctor printed out a couple of ultrasound images for us, and Charles held them carefully, as if they were the most precious thing in the world. 

"Look at this," he said, showing me the tiny, grainy image. "Our baby."

"Our baby," I repeated, feeling a sense of peace and happiness wash over me.

I smiled, feeling his lips against mine before he pulled away and grabbed some napkins to clean my belly, taking the chance and kissing my belly quickly.

“I… Well, we wanted to know some things” I said nervously, holding Charles' hand.

“Oh, sure” she nodded, writing on her laptop.

“W-well… Is it if we… Well” I mumbled blushing, looking at Charles.

“Oh! Oh, yes” she laughed softly. “Yeah, I get it. Young love! Of course you can. It's safe for the baby, don't worry about it”

“Oh, thank you” I nodded, sighing ashamed.

“Cuties” she chuckled. 

I blushed and looked at Charles, biting my lip. He held my hand and grabbed everything the doctor gave us and walked out with me.

“Well, what do you want to do now?” Charles smiled, holding my hand tightly.

I took a deep breath and looked at him, biting my lip. 

“I…”

And then a flash. Flash of a camera. Then another. And another.

“Fuck” Charles groaned, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking quickly towards the door of the car, helping me get in.

I looked around surprised, watching the small number of paparazzi taking pictures of us. Then they called our names, taking more pictures.

“Shit” Charles groaned, getting in the car and driving quickly away from the village. 

“H-how? How did they find us?” I mumble, looking back through the mirror. 

“I don't know” Charles groaned. “Are you okay?” 

I nodded quickly, placing a protective hand over my belly and then holding his free hand.

They found me. They found us. 

The three of us.

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[starlightshadowsworld]

Thinking about Atsushi adjusting to this new normal after being kicked out the only home he's ever known. And being homeless for at least 2 weeks.

There's a lock on his door that no one will open unless it's an emergency. He's never had privacy before.

He can own things, something he was never allowed to do before. Though the thought of something belonging to him makes his foot hurt.

The only chores he has to do are to upkeep his own living space.

There's no punishments other than a reprimand from Kunikida here and there. No orders, but suggestions and helpful hints.

There's no cage but there's a futon and it's softer than any park bench or street corner.

He doesn't have to sleep with an ear out so he can avoid any cops or other kids trying to attack while he's vulnerable.

Atsushi's safe and it's a concept he doesn't understand.

He doesn't have to outweigh the pros and cons of stealing or trying to find a soup kitchen. There's money in his hands to buy what he needs and it should feel great and it does but it's unnerving.

Atsushi's lived his whole life on survival mode that he doesn't know how to just live.

It's almost refreshing when the Port Mafia are hunting him because this, this is what he's used to this makes sense.