#riley x nico

[bebepac]

Where Do We Go From Here?

I am participating in @choicesflashfics​ prompt  week 28  using: “I saw this  and it reminded me of you, and  “Sometimes forever doesn’t necessarily mean forever”  and past prompt  “I don’t regret it... but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake.”  All used quotes will be in bold.

I am also participating in @aprilchallenge​ for  the over all theme Just want to be with you.

This is Part 8 of the Cordonian Arrangement.

The Book:  TRF The Series:  The Cordonian Arrangement Pairings: MC is widowed, Past Pairings Riley x Nico (Riley x M!OC) , Past Pairing of Liam x Riley Word Count: 2232 Warnings and Ratings: Mention of character death, grief.  Mention of pregnancy complications, profanity: / Teen Summary:  Riley and Liam try to deal with a very awkward situation.  

Original Post 04/14/23  at 2PM EST.

It was barely dawn and the sun was only creeping slightly through the windows. When she moved, his embrace tightened, pulling her back close to him, so that he could lean into her  to kiss her neck.  He sharply inhaled because her natural scent was so intoxicating to him.  He had missed sharing tender moments like this with her.

  Riley was still waking from her slumber but to her, it felt like a typical morning, that she had lived every day when waking in his arms was commonplace.  

She  moaned softly as he continued to gently dot kisses to the sensitive skin of her neck, her body responded naturally to his touch.

“Let’s stay in bed.  Don’t go…." she mumbled in her sleep. “Stay with me.”  

“Always.”  

His voice made her immediately  leave that place of pre woke slumber to soberingly wide awake, quickly pulling away from him.

“Liam….”  

Fully awake, all the memories of the last few months, and from last night flooded back to her in a wave.

Observing the shock and almost disappointment in her eyes, Liam knew, as she shielded her bare body from him with the bedsheet.  

Liam’s voice was heavy with discontentment as he spoke.

“That wasn’t intended for me, was it?”  Liam’s gaze was piercing, full of disappointment causing Riley to quickly break eye contact with him. She just couldn’t look him in the face right now, but she wanted to be honest with him; he deserved that.  

“No… I’m…. sorry….” She  murmured as she turned heading towards the door still draped in the sheet from the bed.

“Riley, we need to talk about this.  There’s a reason you came to me last night. It felt right for us to be together that way. We felt like us again!”  

“For a brief second, this morning, I forgot the horror that has been my life these last three months.  Last night, I was lonely… I wanted to feel…. connected to someone again. I didn’t  mean to give you the wrong idea, and for that Liam, I’m truly sorry."

“Do you regret what happened between us last night?”

“No… I don’t regret it… but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake.  It was a mistake Liam.  We have way too much history for me to think that you would simply be okay with it. This is all my fault. I should have been clear with you what last night truly was….for me.”

“We made love last night Riley.”

“We… didn’t.  It was just sex, Liam.  I’m still in love with my husband.” She glanced down at the ring on her finger that she was still wearing. Nico's wedding band dangled from a gold chain around her neck.

“Your husband is dead.”  

Riley gasped in shock.  Liam immediately wanted to take the words back, but it was too late; the damage was done. Riley shook her head in disbelief.  

“Who are you?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like it came out, Riley. Forgive me, I didn’t mean it Riley. I promise you I didn’t.”

"Yes you did."

"I really didn't…"

“Get out of my house.”

“Riley….No… We’re supposed to take Angelo to the zoo together today.”  

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!!!!”

"Riley please…."

She adamantly shook her head no.

"Nico was wrong about what you and I could be to each other. I need you to pack your stuff and leave now.."

“Riley, that's not fair for you to say that.  We’re still figuring all of this out.  This isn’t easy for either of us to navigate.”

“I need you to leave Liam.”

“Not like this. I’m not leaving you like this Riley.”  

“Fine, then I’ll leave.”

Riley left his room and locked herself in the master bedroom.  

After a few minutes she heard the sound of Liam’s rolling suitcase on the floor, it stopping in front of her bedroom door.

“I’m going to say goodbye to my son before I leave.”  

"You should do that."

"For what it's worth Riley, I'm really sorry."

“Goodbye Liam.”  

A few minutes later Liam was gone.  Riley took a deep breath finally unlocking  her door.

Ruby One

“I was sure you said you were here until Monday, how the hell did I fuck that up?”  Leo asked when he got on the plane clearly confused and hungover.

“That was the plan.”  

“Well what went wrong?”

Liam explained what happened with Riley.  

“You’re an absolute fool when it comes to Riley.  That woman is a walking red flag right now, and trust me I know a red flag when I see one.”

“What?”  

“It’s not her fault though, she lost her husband.  You ignored all the signs because you want her back, and Riley’s not there yet.  She can't be what you want her to be Liam…at least not right now. You have had a front seat to her grieving Nico.  

You know how hard this whole ordeal has been for her.  When I saw her last, she was still wearing her wedding ring, and his wedding band.  Did she take them off?”

“No.”

“That’s not a woman that’s ready to move on with you, no matter how much you want her to be ready.  She’s stuck in that place where she still desperately misses her husband, and wants him back.

She was probably lonely, and let's be honest horny, and you were there, and she sought comfort from you, in that way.  You had to know what you were getting into when she showed up at your door last night.  Liam, be honest with yourself.  It wasn’t the beginning of rekindling of your relationship with her, and you knew that, but you wanted her so much, that you didn’t care. You just wanted her, any way you could have her.”

“You’re right. I love her."

“Liam, you have to give her time. If the two of you are meant to be, she will come back to you.  But what you did, didn’t help the situation, you got mad with her and said something incredibly hurtful.  It was true, mind you, but hurtful. You do this to her, you know and you need to stop."

"Do what?"

"You impose all these things on her, expecting her to follow them, to be what you what, how you want it, when you want it. Then you get all surprised that she rebelled against you and ran, and put up every wall imaginable to keep you out, this not being the first time she’s reacted this way to you.  Does this sound familiar?"

"I'm acting just like father would….."

“You are little brother.”  

“Give her some space, and she’ll come back around.”  

“If she doesn’t?”

“It was just never meant to be, and if we’re being completely honest here,  you lost her over three years ago; it might be time to finally let her go.”

Liam was in a deep state of contemplation the rest of the way back to Cordonia. He decided it was time to listen to his own message that was given to him by the late Nico Karahalios. Liam pulled his own envelopes out of his desk drawer. He had given him two envelopes one said "If it's working" the other one said "If it's not working."

He picked up the "If it's not working" video and began watching.

"Hey Liam. I can honestly say… I’m not surprised.”

Nico smiled. "You thought it was going to be easy, didn't you?"

Nico began to laugh.

"You really did, didn't you?!!"

Nico abruptly stopped laughing. "I'm sorry. This is not helpful.”

"Damn right it's not." Liam thought.

“I’m sure that you were expecting more from me.”

Nico sat silently for a few moments.

"Like what exactly? Did you think this was the part where I am going to tell you how to win my wife's heart back? How to get her to fall in love with you again? I'm not going to do that. I can't do that. She's not going to do anything because you want her to do it. She does things on her own time. That woman has her own mind, and she's not afraid to use it. Liam, she's a different woman than the one that came here a week after you met her in New York. None of the same rules are going to apply.  You have to get to know her again as the woman she is now.  She’s been a lover and a confidant to me, she’s been a faithful wife, and a beautiful mother. How I won her then, I  can’t even take credit for that, I didn't win her, but instead she chose me. 

I think she chose me because I was patient with her.  I did what I said I was going to do.  If I told her, we were meeting at 6PM for dinner, I’d be knocking on her door at 5:50. She could always rely on me being there for her.   Comfort and stability allowed her to relax with me, because Riley is not a calm person. Her senses are always heightened, waiting for the other shoe to drop, because of all the hurt and loss she’s experienced in her life. I finally got her to relax with me…and then I died on her. I will never forget the look in her eyes when I told her I was dying. She was completely blindsided. The light after everything she’s endured that you see in her eyes so easily, disappeared. It broke my heart.”  

Nico shook his head.  

“Our marriage wasn’t perfect.  We had  our fair share of fights.  Our very first year of marriage was particularly tough.  We lived with my mother.  Can you imagine? Small house, with a newborn, while my cousins helped me build the house we were in now.  Our first really huge fight, after we moved in, Riley kicked me out of the house and locked me out.” 

Nico laughed.  

“From my house.  I slept in a tent in the yard for 3 days.  My cousins saw me, talked all this macho shit to me,  and so I got all ballsy and I went up to MY HOUSE.  MY HOUSE THAT I BUILT FOR MY WIFE…And insisted Riley let me back in.  You know what happened Liam?  Can you guess?”

Nico was silent for a few moments.  

“It was the equivalent of upsetting a bee hive. I spent a fourth night out in that damn tent. Day five, I left her alone. Day six, when I woke, she had brought me breakfast, and wanted to talk.  Was she still angry with me?  Yes,  but she had calmed down enough that she could talk to me without shutting down on me.  I hope you understand what I’m trying to tell you.

Riley put up with a lot to be in that arrangement with you, that experience changed her.  Now, yet again, she will be forever changed from losing me.  I don’t know if she’ll come around.  I hope she will, because I want her to be happy, Liam.  She’s had too much sadness in her life, to not be.  I wanted to be her forever, and sometimes, forever doesn’t necessarily mean forever.

So in closing,  whatever you did wrong… Make it right Liam.”  

Liam decided to take a page from Nico’s book.  He gave her space.  Finally after the most painful weeks of not speaking to Riley, he decided to send her a text.  Riley used to like a good meme in the past, so he decided to send her one.  

“I saw  this, and it reminded me of you. Just imagine they are butterflies, and I remember how you feel about butterflies.”

Later in the day he noticed she had seen the meme, but she hadn’t responded. He decided not to push and maybe Riley would respond on her own.  During the night  while Liam was sleeping she sent a meme back to him.

He took it as a sign she was ready to talk.  

He immediately called her and once she picked up he started speaking, not even waiting for her to say hello.

“Riley, I completely deserved the way you treated me that day.  I’m so sorry for what I said.  I never meant it, and I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me.” 

“This isn’t Riley.  It’s Athena, we just got Riley to the hospital, she wanted me to call you.”  

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the baby.  We’re really concerned.”    

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”  

Staff had the Ruby One prepped for departure within the hour.  Leo when hearing the news decided to go with him for support. Within three hours they  were at the hospital.

"What room is Riley Karahalios in? I need to see her."

"Are you family?" The receptionist questioned, and when he didn't respond she countered with "Only family is allowed back in this wing."

"He is family. He's the baby's father."

"He's right. I am the baby's father.”

She’s in room 224.”

Leo followed as Liam walked briskly down the hall at an accelerated pace.  

“She’s going to be fine. Her and the baby are going to be fine.  They have to be.”  

Athena and Mama K were sitting outside the room when he walked up.  Athena immediately stood.

“Athena, what happened to Riley?”

“She was having pains, and there was some bleeding.  We were really scared.  It’s stopped now.  They have her calm and she’s finally resting.”

Liam walked into the room, Riley was snoring, the beeps of the multiple monitors didn’t seem to be bothering her.   Taking her hand in her sleep and gently stroking it, Riley still did not wake.  So he sat there quietly holding her hand.

He softly whispered to her. “I’m here.”  

Riley woke up a short time later.  

“What are you doing here Liam?”  Her hand tensing slightly under his touch.

“Athena told me you wanted her to call me.”  

“No I didn’t….”

“Oh…”

“But I’m glad she did. I told her not to, because, I didn’t want to worry you.”  

Riley’s hand relaxed in his again, her free hand rubbing her stomach.  

“I thought I lost her, and I can’t lose both of them.  I can’t handle that. I’m such a mess right now. I’ve never felt this out of sorts in my life.  I’m sorry I got so angry with you. I get that this isn’t an easy situation for you either.”  

Liam could almost hear the words of the late Nico Karahalios in his ear.  “You have to get to know her as the woman she is now.” 

“It’s alright.  I know.  How about this?  Let’s just start over.  Let’s forget all the missteps on both our parts, and start at the very beginning. I’m Liam Rys,  it’s a pleasure to meet you….”  

“I’m Riley.   Riley Karahalios.”  

And that’s the woman, she is now.

[thenightmareofyourdrems]

@lightcreators sent: The sooner you face the facts, the better.

                   ˜”*°•.      Frustration .  Frustration  was  such  a  small  word  to  describe  her  feelings  at  the  moment .   Couldn’t  they  all  simply  stop  talking ?  Stop  existing ?  Her  mother  enough  of  a  fuss  already .  Lecturing  her  about  late  rehearsals  and  inappropriate  appearances .  Well,  she  was  NOT  a  kid  anymore ,  it  was  her  life,  her  career ,  she  could  CHOOSE  whether  she  wanted  to  set  it  up  on  fire  and  let  herself  rot .

The  glance  she  offered  the  other  was  not  even  close  to  friendly .  Air .  What  she  needed  was  enough  air  to  sober  up ,  yet  the  place  felt  SUFFOCATING .  ❝ I  have  NOTHING  to  face . ❞  Words  that  echoed  abrupt   -  at  this  moment  not  even  caring  that  she  was  yelling  at  her  friend .  Gemma  was  already  losing  her  patience  with  her,  would  it  be  so  terrible  if  Nico  did  the  same ? 

Breath .  Her  hand  went  over  her  face  before  eventually  dropping  to  the  side .  ❝ What  are  you  doing  here  anyway  ?  ❞  She  asked  -  question  now  lacking  the  previous  intensity .   If  she  had  to  choose  between  returning  to  that  room  with  her  mother  being  all  willing  to  mess  with  her  nerves,  she  would  rather  spend  it  with  him. 

[shmalk]

hi there !! this post isn't obligatory to view my content, but i'd love to introduce myself to you !

MY REQUESTS ARE : OPEN !

ʕっ• ᴥ • ʔっ here is what you need to know ! : ̗̀➛

• im shmalk ! you can call me malk, blue, shmalk, whatever you like !

• i write about almost anything, if i haven't heard of it, i'll do my best to do some research and write it as best i can !

• i mainly do { x reader } but i will also write { character x character } !

CURRENTLY, I WRITE FOR :

COD CHARACTERS :

simon riley, johnny mactavish, kyle garrick, john price, kate laswell, phillip graves, könig, horangi, valeria, alejandro, rudy, and farah karim.

ONE PIECE CHARACTERS :

luffy, zoro, sanji, nami, nico robin, brook, ace, frankie, trafalgar d law,

HARRY POTTER CHACTERS :

[ others ] newt scammander, tom riddle

[ marauders era ] james potter, sirius black, remus lupin, peter pettigrew, regulus black, lily evans,

[ golden era ] harry potter, ron weasley, hermione granger, neville longbottom, seamus finnagin, dean thomas, george weasley, fred weasley, charlie weasley, bill weasley, percy weasley, ginny weasley, cedric diggory, draco malfoy, blaise zambini, mattheo riddle, theodore knott, lorenzo berkshire,

TWILIGHT CHARACTERS :

[ vampires ] edward cullen, alice cullen, carlisle cullen, bella swan, jasper hale, rose hale, emmet cullen

[ wolves ] jacob black, paul lahote, sam uley, quil v ateara, jared cameron, embry call, seth clearwater, leah clearwater,

[ humans ] charlie swan, tyler crowley, mike newton, eric yorkie, jessica stanley, angela webber, lauren mallory,

[youreverydaygae]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH YOU FUNKY LITTLE GAYS

[themacabrebarbie]

tag drop 3 !

[sc0tters]

its devs au day people!

[lee-laurent]

Replacing Me - Luke Hughes

Summary: Luke and Tori's relationship becomes more serious, but maybe John isn't as okay with it as he thought

content: fluff, angst, past relationships, oc x ex!john marino, money issues, mentions of sex but no actual smut, arguing, physical fighting (not between any couples)

wc: 2.9k

notes: PART 3 of 'Done Trying'!! So go ahead and read the first two parts if you haven't! 'Done Trying' and 'Past Relationships' !! I'm loving writing this series!! Super excited to write this one!! I love writing Tori and Luke's relationship. But get ready for some angst between John and Luke in this one!! Enjoy!!!

Tori tossed and turned, making the boy next to her grumble. He furrowed his brow, rolling over to face her.

"Go to sleep," he slurred with his eyes closed.

"I can't."

"Mm," he moaned, his snores filling the air once more. Tori rolled her eyes, flipping onto her side for the hundredth time. John let out a deep sigh, throwing an arm over her waist, pulling her into his chest. She gasped, but made no attempt to escape him. He slow rise and fall of his chest, lulled her into a sense of security and finally she was able to sleep.

Well... for a bit at least.

"MAMA!" wails filled the apartment, seeming even louder through the baby monitor on the bedside table. "MAMAAAA!"

"I've got him," John stretched, presssing a kiss to Tori's cheek. He pulled himself out of the bed, padding down the hall to Riley's room.

"Shhh. It's okay, Ri-Ri. Daddy's here."

Tori would never admit it, but hearing John speak to Riley made her heart swell. He was so sweet with their son, never raising his voice, never getting cross. He was the best dad that she could ask for. And it made her want to jump his bones. She shook her head, she shouldn't think of John like that. She's seeing Luke now.

But John's sleepy voice sounded so hot coming through the baby monitor. She groaned, shoving her head in her pillow. Maybe she was just horny.

"Shhh. Everything's okay. Mama and Dada are here," John rocked the toddler back and forth, patting his back soothingly. "Dada's here. I'm not going anywhere."

Five minutes later, John was back in the bed, spooning his ex-girlfriend. Riley had settled pretty quickly compared to most nights and the couple couldn't have been happier to get their rest.

"Thanks, babe," Tori mumbled sleepily.

"No worries. That's what I'm here for," John yawned, tucking his head in the crook of Tori's neck.

And for the first time in weeks, Riley slept until 7 in the morning.

"MAMA!"

"Coming baby!" Tori exclaimed, pulling Riley out of his crib. "How'd you sleep? Did Winnie the Pooh give you good dreams?"

Riley nodded, hugging his stuffed animal to his chest.

"Dada!"

"Hi, baby!"

Tori turned, blushing slightly at the shirtless John standing in the doorway. He smirked, noticing the redness on her cheeks.

"Dada! Home!"

"Yeah, Dada's at our house! Isn't that crazy?"

"Cwazy!"

"Let's get you into some clean clothes! You okay to make breakast, John?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "We have an afternoon practice. But I'll be home for dinner."

"Sounds good!"

"Hey, Johnny! Running a little late today?" Nico laughed. Most of the boys were already dressed in their gear when John entered the Devils locker-room.

"Yeah, sorry. Riley was upset I was going."

"Riley?"

"Hm? Yeah, staying at Tori's for a bit. Working on getting Riley on a set bedtime routine."

"Oh. How'd you sleep?"

"Actually pretty well, considering we have a two-year-old in the house," he chuckled, throwing on his pads.

"You're staying at Tori's?" Luke asked, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah. Ri's been having some trouble sleeping."

"How long you staying?" Nico asked, not sensing the tension obviously coming from Luke.

"Two weeks... ish. Until we can get him down for a full night and keep it that way."

"Might be able to rekindle the relationship, eh, Johnny," Dawson laughed, clapping his teammate on the back. Luke frowned, the laces of his skates suddenly becoming much more interesting than the conversation at hand.

"Who knows," John laughed awkwardly, taping his socks.

"Let's go boys!" Lindy's voice echoed through the room, calling the boys onto the ice.

Luke was off all practice. His passes were shit and every shot he attempted on net missed. He noticed the worried looks from his brother and captain, but shrugged them off not wanting any attention on him. Did everyone want John and Tori to get back together? He didn't know much about their relationship before he joined the team. Maybe they were a power couple and that's why everyone wanted them together. Maybe everyone thought that he and Tori would be a bad match. Maybe they thought Luke was trying to replace John in Riley's life. Maybe...

"Luke! You good? I've called your name like four times," Jack waved his hand in front of his brother's face, driving down the street to their apartment.

"Huh? I'm fine."

"You sure? You didn't seem like your head was in it at practice."

"No, I'm fine. Just an off day, ya know?"

"Sure do. But, I'm here if you ever wanna talk about anything."

"I know, Jack," Luke forced a smile, checking his phone to see if Tori had responded to the text he'd sent two days before. But still there was nothing. Not even a thumb up. Just radio silence.

"'ockey!" Riley cheered, running in circles around the carpet in the living room. Tori was hoping he'd wear himself down enough to sleep all night. She'd put on a random highlight video of Sidney Crosby she'd found on YouTube and Riley was eating it up. "'ockey!"

John was standing in the kitchen, watching the scene unfold while we ate some leftover chicken parm. He'd done an extra training session with Holtzy that day and had missed dinner, much to his dismay because Tori had made his favourite.

"Let's use our inside voice, Riley. What if Ms. Nelson is trying to sleep?" Tori warned. Ms. Nelson was the elderly woman that lived across the hall. She'd been the biggest help over the last two years, especially in navigating motherhood. Tori wasn't sure she'd have been able to do it without her neighbour. She was like a third grandma to Riley.

Riley raised a finger to his mouth, "Shhh."

"That's right. We're quiet when people are sleeping. Let's use our quiet voice while we play. Okay?"

"O-tay, Mama."

"Good boy," she grinned, ruffling his dark curls. She quickly flipped over her phone that buzzed, skimming over the text from Luke, before placing it down on the table. She wasn't trying to ignore Luke. She just wasn't sure he'd understand the current situation, seeing as he wasn't a parent himself. Maybe she'd made a mistake by starting something with a 20-year-old. She was also trying not to use her phone as much in front of Riley. She and John didn't want him growing up depending on a screen for entertainment. He got a bit of TV time in the morning and a bit in the evening before bed but that was it. He didn't have a tablet, like many of the kids that Tori had seen at her parenting classes.

"Dada! Play!"

"I'm coming," John smiled, putting his empty plate in the sink. This was the first time he'd noticed that Tori's apartment didn't have a dishwasher. Did she do all the dishes by hand? She must have.

Tori clicked off the TV, watching her son sit criss-cross across from his dad. She placed the little bin of farm toys between the two, pressing a kiss to Riley's head, brushing some curls from his eyes.

"I'm going to take a bath. You alright with him for half an hour?"

"Of course. Enjoy your bath, Vic."

Vic. That wasn't a name that left John's mouth often. It was always "Tori" or "Victoria." Vic had been a name he used when they were dating. And the sound of it made her heart break a bit.

She had just settled into her steaming hot bath when her phone started ringing, ruining her peace. She sighed, flipping it over to see Luke's name flashing across the screen. She let it ring through, placing it back down on the counter. With her book and a glass of wine, she finally got a moment to relax. Maybe life with John was better than she remembered.

"Luke. I know you're not alright. What's going on?" Jack nagged, knocking his shoulder with Luke's.

"I... Tori hasn't been answering me."

"She's got a kid, Rusty. She never answers her phone."

"She was before John moved back in with her."

"Family bonding time?" Jack shrugged, "Don't let it get to you this much. You guys aren't even officially dating."

"So? I thought we were getting somewhere."

"Tori's hard to read. If I've learned anything from John, it's that. And Riley is her main focus in life. Nothing comes before Riley, including answering her texts."

"But she doesn't even answer at night when Riley's probably in bed."

"Dude, that's her time to relax. John told me that Riley has been a nightmare child recently. Give her some time. I'm sure she'll come around."

Luke just sighed, checking his phone again to see if she'd answered. Nothing.

John had taken Riley for walk, giving Tori some very much needed alone time. She was going through some emails when her phone rang again.

Luke Hughes

Accept. Decline.

"Hello?"

"H-hey, Tori. How've you been?" Luke sounded nervous.

"I'm alright. Yourself?"

"Okay. I, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to hangout again sometime."

"Oh, um, yeah. I just... I'm kinda busy with Riley right now. He's been a bit of a handful."

"I, uh, I could come help out.... if you want."

"That's really nice of you to offer, Luke. But John's here helping out."

"Oh. Are you... are you guys getting back together?"

Tori pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, Luke. You know what, let's go out tonight."

"Really?"

"Really," she smiled.

"You- you can come here! Jack's going out with some friends."

"Wow. Bold, Hughes. You trying to sleep with me?" she giggled.

"What?! No! No! That's not- that's not what I meant!"

"I know. I'm just teasing. I'll be over around 7. I just need to make sure that John has everything to put Ri to bed. Sound good?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then."

"We're home!"

"We 'ome!"

"My boys are home!" Tori grinned, spinning Riley around in her arms. "How was the park?"

"We 'ide!"

"You went on the slide?"

"Yeah," Riley clapped, running off to play with his Duplo.

"How was he?"

"So good. A few tears when I told him he couldn't have two snacks before dinner. But besides that, all was well."

"He use the bathroom?"

"Yep!"

"Riley! Good job, baby! Such a big boy!"

"Tank 'oo, Mama!"

"I, uh, I'm going to Luke's for a bit tonight."

"Hughes?"

"Yeah."

"That's still going on?"

"Why... why wouldn't it be?"

"I thought... never mind."

"No. You thought what?"

"You were focusing on our family right now."

"Am I not allowed to take some time for myself?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Victoria. Don't twist my words."

"Then what are you saying, John?"

"You just... I gave you the whole day to have time for yourself."

"And I appreciate that. But I spent it working to make money to support me and our child."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I can give you more money if you need it?" he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't want your pity money, John."

"It's not pity money! I'm giving it so you and our son can have a good life."

"Are you saying that I'm not giving our son a good life?" her eyes started to water.

"No! God! Why do you always twist my fucking words?!"

"Don't swear in front of Riley!"

"Go to Luke's."

"What?"

"GO!"

Tori was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand when Luke opened the door. His eyes widening when he saw the state she was in.

"Tori? I, uh, I wasn't expecting you for another two hours."

"I'm sorry. I just, uh, I had an argument with John. Can I come in?" she sniffled.

"Yeah, of course. Sorry. Come in, come in."

The two of them got comfortable on the couch, Luke wrapping his arm around her smaller frame.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"If you don't mind," she wiped her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie.

"Of course I don't."

"He, uh, he accused me of not taking time for our family. That I'm taking too much time for myself."

"That's not true. You spend so much time worrying about Riley. God, I didn't hear from your for a week! Riley's your number one priority."

"John can't see that," the tears started back up. "Then he offered me money. But, I felt like he was accusing me of not providing enough for Riley. I just... does he think I'm a bad mom?"

"Shh, Tori. You're not a bad mom. You- you're an amazing mom! Riley always looks so happy when I see him! You're like the best mom ever... well maybe after my mom, but... you get the point."

She giggled through her tears, listening to Luke's heartbeat for comfort.

"Thanks, Luke. I'm sorry. This probably wasn't what you were expecting."

"It's fine, Tori. Any time spent with you is good enough for me."

"You're too sweet," she sighed, meeting his eyes. He brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Do you want to spend the night here?" he offered.

"I-"

"Don't worry. John's got Riley. He'll be fine."

"I don't want to be a bother."

"You'll never be a bother to me, Victoria."

Was it too soon to be in love with this man? Because Victoria could feel herself falling already.

"I'll stay then," she smiled sadly, pressing another kiss to his lips. He hummed, kissing her back.

"Should we watch a movie?" he asked, not wanting it to seem like he was taking advantage of her when she was down.

"Sure," she smiled. What a gentleman.

Tori woke up to fifty texts and ten missed calls from John.

Are you coming home?

Hello?

Victoria

Victoria?

Are you okay?

I shouldn't have yelled. Please come back.

I got Riley to sleep, I think.

Hey?

Vic?

Please come home.

Vic?

Please.

I'm sorry

Vic?

Text me when you see these please

Riley slept through the night

I need you here from I leave for practice. For Riley. Not for me.

Victoria, don't be like this. Riley needs his mom

She attempted to pull away from Luke, but he was quick to pull her back into his chest.

"Don't go," he mumbled sleepily.

"I've gotta go, babe. You've got practice. And I have a toddler that needs his mom."

"Five more minutes."

"Luke," she giggled, flipping in his arms. She ran a hand through his curls, her fingers catching on a couple knots. "God, your hair is almost as bad as Riley's."

"Mmm."

"Come on, sleepyhead. Rise and shine."

He slowly opened his eyes, smiling cheekily at the girl in his arms. He leaned to give her a kiss, but was quickly rejected.

"I have morning breath."

"I don't care."

"Luke!" she squealed as he pressed kisses all over her face. "Luke!"

"I'll see you later?" he asked, finally getting a peck on the lips.

"Of course. I'll text you."

"Will you? Last time you said that you ignored me for a week."

"It was a long week, Lukey. I'll text you. I promise," she intertwined her pinky with this, finally pulling herself out of bed.

"Victoria! You're home! Thank God! I was getting worried," John rambled, running a hand through his hair. Tori could tell from how dishevelled it was, that he'd been doing that for a while.

"Of course, I am. I live here in case you forgot," she sassed, throwing her keys in the little bowl on the counter.

"Ri's been worried about you. He said I don't his 'babas' right."

"You probably don't," she shrugged, cooing at her son in his booster seat. "Hi, baba! Mama's home. She just had to go see a friend for a bit."

"You stay at Ally's?" John asked, picking up a piece of egg that Riley had chucked on the floor.

"No."

"Then who- you stayed at Luke's?"

"It's frankly none of your business, John."

He sighed, "You know what, I'm going to practice. I might be home after. If I feel like it. Since that's what we're doing now."

Riley cried as the door slammed shut, just making Tori angrier. God, now she remembered why shit with John didn't work out.

John stormed into the locker room, his target locked in on. Luke Warren Hughes. Number 43. Who was sat innocently in his stall, laughing at something his brother had said.

"You think it's okay to sleep with Tori?" John fumed, pushing the boy's shoulder. Luke was taken by surprise, falling backwards into the wall.

"What?"

"You think it's okay to take my child's mother away for night?! Leave me having NO idea where she is?! Huh?!"

"John-"

"Stay out of it!" he seethed. Luke stood up, puffing his chest out. If John wanted a fight, then a fight he'd get. "You think it's fine to whore around with Tori?"

"She needed me. You made her cry, if I'm remembering correctly," Luke shot back.

"She isn't supposed to need you! She's supposed to need me!" John pushed him again, earning a shove in return. Everyone was gathered around, silently watching.

"Well, you're doing a shit job at supporting her!"

That was it, John lurched forward, tackling Luke to the ground. His fist connected with the rookie's jaw. Another punch, this time from Luke. Another. Another.

"ENOUGH!" Nico pulled John off, holding him back. Jack grabbed Luke with the help of Dawson. Luke spat some blood on the floor, breathing heavily. He wanted nothing more than to make John feel the pain that he had made Tori feel emotionally the night before.

The locker room fell into silence, suddenly the door swung open.

"What is going on here?!"

[thealmightea]

🔁 reblog if you ship this couples like me...

[ come back for more to check for the newest because believe me when I said this will continue til the end of time ^^ because apparently I like collecting ships like collecting stamps or coins or cards. ]

[ there's canon and non-canon (probably semi-canon too) here, so if you don't like them as a couple/don't ship them/your ship is not here, don't come at me pls T.T ]

[ if there is good movies or series that you want to recommend to me and you think I should watch them, reply on my post down below at the end of this post or send me a message ;) ]

in alphabetical order

9-1-1 - Eddie and Buck (Buddie)

9-1-1 Lone Star - Carlos and T.K (Tarlos)

Addicted - Gu Hai and Bai Luoyin (Haioyin/Heroin)

Addicted - You Qi and Yang Meng

Alles was zählt - Deniz and Roman (Dero)

All of Us Strangers - Adam and Harry

Arrêstes avec tes mensonges - Thomas and Stéphane

Animal Kingdom - Deran and Adrian (Derdrian)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Aristotle and Dante (Aridante)

As The World Turn - Noah and Luke (Nuke)

Brothers & Sisters - Kevin and Scotty

Call Me By Your Name - Oliver and Elio (Olio)

Casualty - Jez and Mickey

Class - Matteusz and Charlie

Cuffs - Simon and Jake

Days Of Our Own - Sonny and Will (Wilson)

Dead Boy Detective - Charles and Edwin (Charwin)

Degrassi - Dylan and Marco

Degrassi - Miles and Tristan

Degrassi - Riley and Zane (Ziley)

Demain Nous Appartient - Rayane and Jack (Jayane)

EastEnders - Christian and Syed (Chryed)

El Cor De La Ciutat - Iago and Max (Maxiago)

El juego de las llaves - Valentin and Daniel

Emmerdale - Robert and Aaron (Robron)

Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho and Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho - Gabriel and Leonardo

Élite - Omar and Ander (Omander)

Eyewitness - Lukas and Phillip (Philkas)

Fellow Travelers - Hawk and Tim

Firebird - Roman and Sergey

Fisica O Quimica - Fernando and David

Free! - Makoto and Haru (Makoharu)

Free! - Rei and Nagisa (Nagirei)

Free! - Sōsuke and Rin

Freier Fall - Kay and Marc

Glee - Blaine and Kurt (Klaine)

Goede tijden, slechte tijden - Lucas and Edwin (Ludwin)

Grey's Anatomy - Nico and Levi (Schmico)

Hannibal - Hannibal and Will (Hannigram)

Hawaii Five O - Steve and Danno (McDanno)

Heartstopper - Nick and Charlie (Narlie)

Hit The Floor - Zero and Jude (Zude)

How To Get Away With Murder - Connor and Oliver (Coliver)

Hunter x Hunter - Leorio and Kurapika (Leopika)

In The Flesh - Simon and Kieren (Siren)

Interview with The Vampire - Lestat and Louis (Loustat)

Julie and The Phantoms - Alex and Willie

Kuroko no Basket - Aomine and Kise (Aokise)

Kuroko no Basket - Kagami and Kuroko (Kagakuro)

Kuroko no Basket - Kiyoshi and Hyūga (Kiyouga)

Kuroko no Basket - Midorima and Takao (Midokao)

Kuroko no Basket - Murasakibara and Himuro (Murahimu)

Legacies - Ben and Jed (Benjed)

Les Misérables - Enjolras and Grantaire (Enjoltaire)

Looking - Eddie and Agustín

Looking - Kevin and Patrick

Looking - Richie and Patrick

Love and Deepspace - Sylus and Xavier (Crowstar)

Love and Deepspace - Zayne and Rafayel (Snowfish)

Love Simon - Simon and Bram

Love Victor - Victor and Benji (Venji)

Man In An Orange Shirt - Steve and Adam

Man In An Orange Shirt - Michael and Thomas (Berrymarch)

Mario - Mario and Leon

Matthias & Maxime - Matthias and Maxime

MCU - Steve and Bucky (Stucky)

MCU - Spiderman and Deadpool (Spideypool)

MCU - Wolverine and Deadpool (Poolverine)

Merlí - Pol and Bruno (Brunol)

Merlin - Arthur and Merlin (Merthur)

Merlin - Percival and Gwaine (Perwaine)

Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed - Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian (Wangxian)

Nadie Nos Va A Extrañar - Alex and Rafa

O Beijo do Escorpião - Paulo and Miguel

One Live To Life - Oliver and Kyle

Oz - Chris and Tobias

Please Like Me - Arnold and Josh

Please Like Me - Geoffrey and Josh

Prisma - Daniele and Andrea (Dandrea

Queer As Folk - Ben and Michael

Queer As Folk - Brian and Justin (Britin)

Queer As Folk - Drew and Emmett

Queer As Folk - Ted and Blake

Raw - Geoff and Pavel

Rebelde -Luka and Okane

Red White And Royal Blue - Alex and Henry (Firstprince)

Roswell New Mexico - Michael and Alex (Malex)

Rykter - Mathias and Erik

Salatut Elämät - Lari and Elias (Larias)

Sala Samobójców - Aleksander and Dominik

Schloss Einstein - Noah and Colin (Nolin)

School 2013 - Heungsoo and Namsoon (Heungsoon)

Sense8 - Lito and Hernando

Sex Education - Adam and Eric

Shadowhunters - Magnus and Alec (Malec)

Shadowhunters - Raphael and Simon

Shameless - Ian and Mickey (Gallavich)

Skam - Even and Isak (Evak)

Skam Belgium (Wtfock) - Sander and Robbe (Sobbe)

Skam France - Eliott and Lucas (Elu)

Skam Germany (Druck) - David and Matteo (Datteo)

Skam Italia - Niccolo and Martino (Martinico)

Solo - Oskar and Milo

Spartacus - Agron and Nasir (Nagron)

Spartacus - Barca and Pietros (Bietros)

Station 19 - Travis and Emmett

Suits - Harvey and Mike

Supernatural - Dean and Castiel (Destiel)

Tatort Saarbrücken - Adam and Leo (Hörk)

Teen Wolf - Danny and Ethan

Teen Wolf - Derek and Stiles (Sterek)

The Eagle - Marcus and Esca (Mesca)

The Halcyon - Toby and Adil

The Magicians - Quentin and Eliot (Queliot)

The Maze Runner - Newt and Thomas (Newtmas)

The Night Shift - Drew and Rick

The Old Guard - Joe and Nicky (Joenicky)

The Originals - Aiden and Josh (Jaiden)

The Quarry - Dylan and Ryan (Rylan)

The Silmarillion - Melkor and Mairon (Angbang)

The Society - Sam and Grizz

The Walking Dead - Aaron and Eric

Torchwood - Jack and Ianto (Janto)

Verbotene Liebe - Oliver and Christian (Chrolli)

Voltron Legendary Defender - Keith and Lance (Klance)

Waterloo Road - Preston and Kai

Young Royal - Wilhelm and Simon (Wilmon)

Yuri! On Ice - Victor and Yuuri (Victuuri)

... to be continued ...

❣ Give me some recs pls ❣

❣ If you want to read the stories/fics about them, from talented and great authors, you can look for it on my list of collection archives, created each of the couples. ❣

[olinblogin]

REQUEST MASTERLIST! (REDONE)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ⁺ 　 . ✦

What fandoms I will write for;

-Lego Monkie Kid

-One Piece

-One Punch Man

-Assassination Classroom (limited characters)

-COD (call of duty, any game)

-ATSV (across the spiderverse)

-TADC (the amazing digital circus)

-Dandy’s World

-Pressure (only like three characters I’ll write for💔)

-Regretevator

-Cookie Run

-Arcane

What fandoms i won’t write for;

-Genshin Impact/Honkai impact

-Seven Deadly Sins

-Obey Me/Obey Me nightbringer

-FNF (Friday night funkin)

-MHA (my hero academia)

-Hazbin Hotel/Helluva boss

-other fandoms that have problematic backgrounds

WHAT I WILL WRITE!!!

-platonic

-light angst

-fluff

-slightly suggestive content (will have a warning)

-slightly suggestive content (not full on nfsw)

-childhood romance (no suggestive stuff)

-teen romance (no suggestive stuff)

-Reader x character

-character x character (very rarely)

-character x Reader x character

-polycules/polyamory (multiple characters x reader)

-T4T (trans for trans relationships)

-F4F (femme for femme relationship)

-M4M (masc for masc relationship)

-F4TF (femme for trans femme)

-F4TM (femme for trans masc)

-F4TNB (femme for trans non binary)

-F4A (femme for any)

-M4TF (masc for trans femme)

-M4TM (masc for trans masc)

-M4TNB (masc for trans non binary)

-M4A (masc for any)

-LGBTQ content

-Yandere Content (not extreme)

WHAT I WILL NOT WRITE!!!

- major nsfw

-r@pe/noncon/dubcon

-cnc (consensual non-consent)

-child x adult

-abusive scenarios

-anything to do with children involved in anything sexual

-racism

-ableism

-unsanitary fetishes (i.e. scat, wound f*cking, etc)

-severe angst

-s*icide & s*lf h*rm

- extreme Yandere stuff (r@pe, cannibalism, etc)

CHARACTER’S I’LL BE WRITING FOR

ARCANE

- Viktor

- Jayce Talis

- Vi

- Jinx

- Sevika

- Caitlyn Kiraaman

- Mel Medarda

- Ambessa Medarda

- Salo

- Lest

- Vander

- Silco

- Ekko

LEGO MONKIE KID

- MK (Qi Xioatian)

-Mei Dragon

-Redson

-Sun Wukong

-Six Eared Macaque

-Ao Lie

-Lady Bone Demon

-The Mayor

-Yin & Jin

-Tang

-Pigsy (mostly platonic)

-Sandy (mostly platonic)

-Nezha (platonic)

-Bai He (platonic)

ONE PIECE

- Monkey D. Luffy

-Vinsmoke Sanji

-Roronora Zoro

-Usopp

-Nico Robin

-Franky

-Chopper (platonic)

-Nami

-Jinbei

-Donquixte Doflamingo

-Donquixte Rosiante

-Boa Hancock

-Dracule Mihawk

-Crocodile

-Shanks

-Rayleigh

-Portgaz D. Ace

-Marco

-Thatch

-Izou

-Edward Newgate, Whitebeard (mostly platonic)

-Eustass Kidd

-Jewelry Bonney

-Killer

-Sabo

-Trafalgar Law

-Buggy

-Smoker

-Rob Luci

-Kalifa

-Yamato

-Perona

-Shaci

-Penguin

-Bepo (platonic)

ONE PUNCH MAN

-Saitama

-Genos

-Garou

-King

-Child Emporer (platonic)

-Metal Bat

-Speed O’ Sound Sonic

-Mumen Rider

-Watchdog Man (mostly platonic)

-Fubuki

-Atomic Samurai

-Lord Boros

-Bang

-Zombieman

-Flashy Flash

-Sweet Mask

-Charanko

COD - CALL OF DUTY (MW2/3)

-Simon “Ghost” Riley

-John “Soap” MacTavish

-John “Captain” Price

-Horangi (Hong-Jin)

-König

-Nikolai

-Valeria Garza/El Sin Nombre (F4F/NB/AFAB)

-Alejandro Vargas

-Phillip Graves

-Farah Karim

-Kyle “Gaz” Garrick

-Kate Laswell (F4F)

-Gary “Roach” Sanderson

ATSV - ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE

-Miles Morales (platonic/fluff)

-Gwen Stacy (Platonic/Fluff)

-Pavitr Prabhakar (platonic/fluff)

-Prowler Miles (platonic/fuff)

-Peter B. Parker

-Jess Drew

-Miguel O’Hara

-Hobie Brown

TADC - THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS

-Pomni

-Jax

-Zooble

-Kaufmo

-Ragatha

-Gangle

-Caine

-Kinger

Dandy’s World

- Dandy

- Astro

- Vee

- Shelly

- Sprout

- Pebble (platonic)

- Glisten

- Flutter (platonic)

- Toodles (platonic)

- Rodger

- Teagan

- Brightney

- Scraps

- Goob

- Boxten

- Poppy

-Cosmo

- Finn

- Razzle & Dazzle (can be semi-poly)

- Shrimpo

COOKIE RUN

- Hollyberry Cookie

- Dark Cacao Cookie

- White Lily Cookie

- Golden Cheese Cookie

- Pure Vanilla Cookie

- Pitaya Dragon Cookie

- Burning Spice Cookie

- Shadow Milk Cookie

- Wind Archer Cookie

- Moonlight Cookie

- Sea Fairy Cookie

- Black Pearl Cookie

- Frost Queen Cookie

- Stormbringer Cookie

- Elder Faerie Cookie

- Crimson Coral Cookie

- Shining Glitter Cookie

- Stardust Cookie

- Clotted Cream Cookie

- Nutmeg Tiger Cookie

- Street Urchin Cookie

- Rebel Cookie

- Mozzarella Cookie

- Burnt Cheese Cookie

- Smoked Cheese Cookie

- Captain Caviar Cookie

- Financier Cookie

- Crunchy Chip Cookie

- Wildberry Cookie

- Affogato Cookie

- Tea Knight Cookie

- Lilac Cookie

- Red Velvet Cookie

- Almond Cookie

- Black Raisin Cookie

- Latte Cookie

- Kumiho Cookie

- Milk Cookie

- Werewolf Cookie

- Vampire Cookie

(There’s just a lot)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ⁺ 　 . ✦

IF YOU DON’T SEE ANY CHARACTERS OF INTERESTS YOU CAN (in dms if you prefer) ASK IF I’LL WRITE THEM! ^^

please as well reread the will/won’t write section if you’re feeling unsure!

[ezrawip]

my f/o list!

green: i don't mind sharing!; yellow: ... iffy + slight discomfort!; red: nuh-uh. pls avoid my posts with these f/os and give me a tag to block T__T (still free 2 interact or follow btw ^_^)

the amount of color is referring to the intensity of it.

the Top Three ™ (at the moment)

dick grayson¹ (dc)

ekko* (arcane)

sylus (l&d)

other primary

li ‘iso’ zhaoyu (valorant)

genji shimada (overwatch)

lloyd m. garmadon²* (ninjago)

legolas greenleaf (lotr)

zoro roronoa* (one piece)

secondary

nanami kento (jjk)

leon kennedy (re)

toji fushiguro (jjk)

simon ‘ghost’ riley (codmw2)

todoroki shoto (bnha)

ben florian (descendants)

anakin skywalker* (star wars)

tertiary

nathaniel carello (sweet amoris)

five hargreeves (tua)

peeta meelark (thg)

alex walter* (mlwtwb)

neteyam (avatar)

hobie brown (atsv)

carl grimes* (twd)

mammon (obey me)

david³ (uglies)

[romantic]

sam & dean winchester* (spn)

nico di angelo (pjo)

[familial - brothers]

damian wayne (dc)

[familial - adopted son]

jason todd⁴ (dc)

[familial - brother-in-law]

viktor⁴ (arcane)

[platonic something]

pharah (overwatch), venture (overwatch), lifeweaver (overwatch), hazard (overwatch), connor (dbh), ellie williams (tlou2), jill valentine (re)

[crushes! not f/os... yet]

¹ im not against canonxcanon w him but pls give me a tag if its dick x zatanna. dickbabs is kinda iffy but idm it as much, as long as it's not comparing. i love dickkory n dickwally !!

² i dislike llorumi outside the context of selfshipping and even more inside of it, so pls give me a tag to mute if u do ship it. no hate!

³ i didnt like the movie, i think its badly made overall and i wont go after the books, so T_T yeahh i keep him a box in my mind and rotate him sometimes

⁴ my bestfriend selfships with him, and tho she doesnt mind sharing, ill post about it if given the chance. that's simply a warning for those who are nonsharing to be mindful when following

* i haven't watched or read the source fully, or am not too knowledgeable in the material. this ranges from the entire show or just a season 💀

[bebepac]

Shattered Heart

I am participating in @choicesflashfics prompt:  “Being stubborn will get you no where”  which will appear in bold.

I am also participating in @choicesmonthlychallenge for March for Pet cuddles

This is part 6 of The Cordonian Arrangement

Song Inspiration:  Lift Me Up by Rhianna The Book:TRH /TRF The Series:  The Cordonian Arrangement Pairings:  Riley x Nico (Riley x M!OC) past pairing Liam x Riley Word Count: 2484 Warnings: Grief, Mention of character death, profanity. Ratings: Teen Summary:  Nico is laid to rest.

Original Post: 03/14/23 at 10:10PM EST

"Thank you for coming, King Liam."

"Please just call me Liam."

"Liam, thank you. Nico said you would be the only one that would be able to get through to her right now."

"My heart breaks for her. She is in so much pain, as with your whole family. Nico was a good man.  She loves him."

Riley did  love him, present tense.  Even though it hurt him to say.

Liam hugged Mother Karahalios.

"She really does.  They lived a happy life here together."

"You're such a good boy too. Your mother would have been proud of you. My Athena is on her way to bring Angelo to you. He will need you now, more than ever."

"He barely knows me, and Riley is in no condition to care for him right now."

"You'll be fine. This is the start of you truly bonding with your son. Nico told me what you did, what you helped him with. It will help ease the transition. He’s a sweet child, he will begin to look to you as his father."

“Nico told you?”  

“Yes, it’s a beautiful gift.  One I’m sure Angelo will never forget. It’s going to help you bond with him. Seeing you with Angelo may begin to open Riley’s heart to you, again.”  

A few minutes later Athena walked through the door holding a sleeping Angelo in her arms.

“Where’s Riley?”  

“She’s still resting.”  

Athena held tighter to Angelo shaking her head.  

“Are you sure we should leave Angelo, Mama? Riley can barely care for herself right now. She needs some time. I can keep Angelo, so he can play with his cousins. Riley would be fine with us keeping him a bit longer.”  

“Liam will be here, with Riley, Angelo will be fine.  Give him to Liam.”  

“He looks shell shocked.”  Athena continued in Greek.  “Are you sure we should leave Angelo here with this man?”

"That 'man' as you called him, is Angelo's biological father. No harm will come to Angelo in his care."

Athena had  thought she was hiding her apprehensions of Liam behind the Greek language with her conversation to Mother Karahalios. Liam kept his face unemotional,

but  was relieved Mother Karahalios had defended him. Liam decided to show  Athena that Greek was one of the many languages he was also fluent in.  

“Angelo is safe with me. My son is safe with me.”  

“If that was the case, my brother wouldn’t have to have taken care of your child for you.”

“Athena now is not the time to do this.”

“Now is the perfect time.  Riley is our family and I am going to fight for her, because she is in no condition to defend herself from him.  I don’t care what Nico thought of this so-called ‘man’ that  broke Riley’s heart multiple times.  She told me about you, and how much you hurt her, and how Nico waited patiently for her, treating her the way she deserved. They would have had more time together as a family, if it wasn't for you. Riley deserves better, and she had it; she had it all with Nico.

That’s why she’s grieving so hard for him.  She knows what she lost when he took his last breath, and if Riley asks me what I think, I’m not sugarcoating my thoughts, just like now. To be a King, you have everything and nothing at the same time.  You do not deserve either of them in your life.”  

“I know my behavior in the past in my relationship with Riley… I was so wrong to treat her the way I did. She had every right to leave me…to find love with someone else, and she did. I don’t fault her for that.  She deserved to be loved by someone as much as she once loved me. But I'm here now, to be anything she needs."

"We can take care of her. We have taken care of her. She needs nothing from you."

"That's NOT WHAT HE WANTED!!!” Liam’s voice increased.  “I’m abiding by his wishes, what he asked of me. Being stubborn will get you nowhere!!!!”

“If I’m stubborn, then you’re a vulture, swooping in trying to take my brother’s wife. The only way you have a chance now to get her back is because he died.”

“OF COURSE I WANT HER BACK!!  I KNOW THE MISTAKES I MADE WITH HER.”

“Please stop fighting. Now is not the time.  She needs us to be strong for her, for both of them.  We are all better than this.  Athena, you don’t have to like Liam, but you will tolerate him, because it’s what your brother wanted. You promised your brother; we all did. We told Nico not to worry, that we would help take care of Riley, Angelo, and the baby and the peace on his face after that, helped him let go.”  

At the mention of Nico, and those last moments of his life, Athena’s facial expression changed, tears filling her eyes, nodding. She then handed Angelo over to Liam, and Angelo, still groggy from sleep, didn't open his eyes and rested his head on Liam’s shoulder.

“There is plenty of food  in the fridge.  I can heat dinner up for you if you would like?”  

“I can handle it. We’ll be alright.”

Once Athena and Mama Karahalios left,  Liam put Angelo in his bed. The house was eerily silent, and he had multiple calls to make because Riley needed support.  Not only from him, but her friends. He called Maxwell, Hana, Olivia and Drake to see how soon they would be able to get there.  

“Bastien, contact our tech to find a number for Riley’s friend Daniel Stephenson.  I am willing to fly him out here, once he is available to make the trip.  She’s going to need everyone who cares about her, around her right now.”  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

Nico’s dog Icarus was still sitting outside the room Nico had spent his last days in;  Everyone in the house was grieving for Nico Karahalios and little Chance had not left Riley’s side.

When he went to check on Riley, she was still sleeping peacefully, Chance nestled close to her.  He weighed the option of letting her sleep, versus waking her up for dinner.  He decided it best that Riley rested more.  He would make sure that she got up and had breakfast with them tomorrow.

Liam had been fortunate that he had decided the best thing to do was travel to Greece several times while Nico was still feeling well and had spent time with Angelo alone, so that he wasn’t afraid when he woke up finding Liam in the kitchen.  Liam smiled when Angelo ran to him to give him a hug.  Angelo appeared happy to see him.  

“I missed you too.” Liam whispered as he picked  him up carrying him over to the table.

“Mama?”  he asked.

“Mama’s sleeping.”

Liam was secretly relieved that Angelo did not ask about Nico.  

That night after Angelo’s bath and everything was quiet in the house, he put Angelo to bed.

“I bet you want a bedtime story?”

Angelo nodded.

"Your Bampás told me that he always read to you every night, and he made something really special for you.”  

Riley woke from her sleep startled when she  heard HIS voice coming from Angelo’s room.  She opened the door to find Liam holding  one of Angelo’s bedtime story books showing him the pictures, while Nico was on video, his voice lively and his face animated complete with funny faces, and  different voices,  as he read the story for their child.  Nico had been a great father.  

Riley softly kissed Angelo’s forehead before she settled into the chair next to the bed.  Tears filled her eyes, and she was enamored with the screen.  

That’s when Liam truly knew, winning Riley’s heart again would not be easy; he would be competing for Riley’s love, with the memory of a dead man.  A dead man, Riley was very much still madly in love with.

After Angelo had fallen asleep, they both walked out of his room together.

“When did he have time to do this?”

“When he sent you to his Mother’s house, her mission was to distract you for a few hours.”  

“ Why didn’t he ask for my help? I would have helped him.”

“I’m sure he knew that.”

“He even planned his own funeral, down to the last detail.  All we have to do is show up.”

“Maybe, it was his way of trying to help you and it’s obvious he loved you so much. Riley, I think he knew that you would be in this state of grief and that trying to carry out his final wishes would be incredibly difficult for you.  He was trying to save you that pain, it’s really admirable when you think about it.  He was trying to protect you from that, so that you could just celebrate his life."

“I’M HIS WIFE!!!! I….was his wife. I would have done anything he asked of me…..”

“I know.  He did it to spare you that pain."

“I understand, thanks.”  

“You’re welcome.  Anything I can do to help.”  

“The house feels different without him.   He has….had this presence.  I can’t feel it.  I can’t feel him anymore.”  

“He is in a better place.”

Her voice turned angry.

“That I do not need right now.  Not a hallmark card. I’m sorry for your loss? I can’t stomach that shit right now.  He should not be gone, and I’m mad as hell about it.”  

Nico’s Funeral

Riley woke that morning to the sound of rain.  

She was pretty sure that Nico had wanted his arrangements to be outdoors as he loved being outside in the fresh air.  But of course, Nico had made a contingency plan for that.  She went into Angelo’s room to get him up, discovering that Liam already had him in the bath.  

Angelo splashed the water, causing Liam to laugh, Angelo was giggling as well.  

“You got me again!!!!  Good thing I’m not already dressed.”

Riley smiled for a moment at the two of them, before the look on her face turned serious once more.  

“I can handle getting him ready today. It’s all under control, and breakfast will be ready soon.”  Liam remarked.

“Alright. There’s a little black suit….”

“I know where it is.  Are you hungry?”  

“I don’t think I could eat right now if I tried.”  

“At least try to drink some juice, and eat a little, for the baby.”

“You’re right.  I’ll try.”  

It was still pouring down rain when they made it to the small Grecian church.

 Nico had grown up in the church, but as an adult moving back home, Riley and Nico weren’t avid church goers, but every holiday and occasionally accompanied one of his sisters.  

Riley felt her body halt when she saw Nico’s  closed casket at the front of the church.  

Riley sat with Angelo, Nico’s mother, and was surrounded by his sisters.   Liam decided it best, to give her a little space, and wanted to be respectful and not sit with Riley but a few seats behind her, as there were customs that were important to Nico’s family, and Riley being a newly grieving widow.  He didn’t want to give them the wrong impression.

The priest began speaking, his voice was calm and soothing.  

“I’ve known Nicolas since he was born. He was always a kind and caring child.  He took on a lot of responsibilities very young  to help financially support his family.  I can’t help but notice this, since the start of this day it has been raining. By sending rain at Nico’s funeral, God is telling us something very important.  Yes, he is shedding his tears, sadness for us that we are hurting, because I know everyone here is saddened that Nicolas is no longer physically present on this earth, and more importantly, God is sharing tears of joy that his soul arrived in heaven.”

The funeral was somber, and so many people spoke kind words and they expressed their condolences to the Karahalios family.  

Liam had managed to keep his feelings in check the whole time, his face stoic, but when they opened his casket, and Riley began to cry, he hung his head finally letting a tear fall. He felt a hand softly squeeze his shoulder, and he felt relief.  Leo had made it, finally with Daniel, Hana, Olivia, and Drake. Riley would be so happy to see them all.

The infusion of her friends and family around her in the coming weeks greatly helped Riley. He thought at times she still looked numb and going through the motions, but he could still hear her crying at night when everything was quiet and she was alone.

“Riley?”  

“I’m okay,”  she said through the door.

“May I come in?”  

Riley opened the door.

“I brought you a slice of galaktoboureko.”

He knew from Nico that it was Riley’s favorite dessert now, but Liam had remembered that Riley always had a sweet tooth.  

“I’m really okay.”  She insisted through the sniffles.

She ate in silence and Liam waited patiently for the truth, Riley finally confessed.  “I’m not okay, Liam. Far from it.”  

“I know. I wouldn’t expect you to be so soon after…..”  

“My husband died.”

Riley wiped away the tears once more.

“I miss him so much.  You’ve been really kind Liam, and helping with Angelo, some days when I just couldn’t get out of bed, you’ve been here to be with Angelo. I’m grateful. Thank you.”  

“You don’t have to thank me for this.”  

“Yes I do, you’ve been here the better part of a month, running a country from a distance, just to be here for me, Angelo, and little one.”  

“Because…. You are my family, and this is where I felt I needed to be.”

“We haven’t talked about it…. What Nico asked of you?...”

“I know, and we don’t have to now, if you don’t want to…”

“I need to.  If I’m being completely honest with you, and I want to be, I can’t see myself leaving Greece any time soon. Just like you know you need to be here, I need to be here in the coming months to properly grieve for him.  I can't get up and leave his family, after everything we’ve lost, and take the last living part of him with me. I won’t do that to them.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that Riley.”

“As for us…. I can’t even think of that right now.  I need to focus on Angelo and having a healthy pregnancy with as little stress as possible.”

“I think you should stay in Greece, and have the baby here, and be close to his family, your family.  I can visit you; it’s a relatively short flight.  I can come to the baby’s appointments, if you would like; I just want to be here; I want Angelo to know me well.  I don’t want to pressure you, but my hope is that one day you will look at me, the way you once did.”

“I can’t promise you that Liam.”  

“I know.”  

[thenightmareofyourdrems]

@lightcreators sent: with great power comes great responsibility.

                   ˜”*°•.      Power .  It  was  difficult  to  grasp  the  concept  of  power .  For  what  was  power  really ?  Saying  something  and  having  everyone  listen ?  Doing  something  and  having  everyone  follow ?  Or  was  it  more  than  that ?  Something  deeper ...  Going  to  bed  without  NEEDING  to  scream.  Living  without  simply  EXISTING .  ❝ It  does . ❞  Were  the  mere  words  to  escape  her  lips .  Indeed ,  when  supposedly  simple  songs  could  change  the  lives  of  people,  she  assumed  that  power  came  with  responsibility.  When  her  every  action  was  being  spied  on,  followed  and  then  copied,  she  assumed  she  owed  the  world  perfection .  However,  was  power  really  what  she  wanted ?  Was  it  what  Nico  wanted ?   ❝ Would  you  change  it ?  If  you  could  erase  this  power ... ❞  Question  that  echoed  curious  -  for  she  honestly  wanted  to  know .  Know  whether  she  was  the  selfish  one .

[eludin-realm]

Character Name Ideas (Male)

So I've been browsing through BehindTheName (great resource!) recently and have compiled several name lists. Here are some names, A-Z, that I like. NOTE: If you want to use any of these please verify sources, meanings etc, I just used BehindTheName to browse and find all of these. Under the cut:

A: Austin, Aiden, Adam, Alex, Angus, Anthony, Archie, Argo, Ari, Aric, Arno, Atlas, August, Aurelius, Alexei, Archer, Angelo, Adric, Acarius, Achilou, Alphard, Amelian, Archander B: Bodhi, Bastian, Baz, Beau, Beck, Buck, Basil, Benny, Bentley, Blake, Bowie, Brad, Brady, Brody, Brennan, Brent, Brett, Brycen C: Cab, Cal, Caden, Cáel, Caelan, Caleb, Cameron, Chase, Carlos, Cooper, Carter, Cas, Cash, Cassian, Castiel, Cedric, Cenric, Chance, Chandler, Chaz, Chad, Chester, Chet, Chip, Christian, Cillian, Claude, Cicero, Clint, Cody, Cory, Coy, Cole, Colt, Colton, Colin, Colorado, Colum, Conan, Conrad, Conway, Connor, Cornelius, Creed, Cyneric, Cynric, Cyrano, Cyril, Cyrus, Crestian, Ceric D: Dallas, Damien, Daniel, Darach, Dash, Dax, Dayton, Denver, Derek, Des, Desmond, Devin, Dewey, Dexter, Dietrich, Dion, Dmitri, Dominic, Dorian, Douglas, Draco, Drake, Drew, Dudley, Dustin, Dusty, Dylan, Danièu E: Eadric, Evan, Ethan, Easton, Eddie, Eddy, Einar, Eli, Eilas, Eiljah, Elliott, Elton, Emanuel, Emile, Emmett, Enzo, Erik, Evander, Everett, Ezio F: Faolán, Faron, Ferlin, Felix, Fenrir, Fergus, Finley, Finlay, Finn, Finnian, Finnegan, Flint, Flip, Flynn, Florian, Forrest, Fritz G: Gage, Gabe, Grady, Grant, Gray, Grayson, Gunnar, Gunther, Galahad H: Hale, Harley, Harper, Harvey, Harry, Huey, Hugh, Hunter, Huxley I: Ian, Ianto, Ike, Inigo, Isaac, Isaias, Ivan, Ísak J: Jack, Jacob, Jake, Jason, Jasper, Jax, Jay, Jensen, Jed, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jett, Jimmie, Jonas, Jonas, Jonathan, Jordan, Josh, Julien, Jovian, Jun, Justin, Joseph, Joni, K: Kaden, Kai, Kale, Kane, Kaz, Keane, Keaton, Keith, Kenji, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kieran, Kip, Knox, Kris, Kristian, Kyle, Kay, Kristján, Kristófer L: Lamont, Lance, Landon, Lane, Lars, László, Laurent, Layton, Leander, Leif, Leo, Leonidas, Leopold, Levi, Lewis, Louie, Liam, Liberty, Lincoln, Linc, Linus, Lionel, Logan, Loki, Lucas, Lucian, Lucio, Lucky, Luke, Luther, Lyall, Lycus, Lykos, Lyle, Lyndon, Llewellyn, Landri, Laurian, Lionç M: Major, Manny, Manuel, Marcus, Mason, Matt, Matthew, Matthias, Maverick, Maxim, Memphis, Midas, Mikko, Miles, Mitch, Mordecai, Mordred, Morgan, Macari, Maïus, Maxenci, Micolau, Miro N: Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel, Niall, Nico, Niels, Nik, Noah, Nolan, Niilo, Nikander, Novak, O: Oakley, Octavian, Odin, Orlando, Orrick, Ǫrvar, Othello, Otis, Otto, Ovid, Owain, Owen, Øyvind, Ozzie, Ollie, Oliver, Onni P: Paisley, Palmer, Percival, Percy, Perry, Peyton, Phelan, Phineas, Phoenix, Piers, Pierce, Porter, Presley, Preston, Pacian Q: Quinn, Quincy, Quintin R: Ragnar, Raiden, Ren, Rain, Rainier, Ramos, Ramsey, Ransom, Raul, Ray, Roy, Reagan, Redd, Reese, Rhys, Rhett, Reginald, Remiel, Remy, Ridge, Ridley, Ripley, Rigby, Riggs, Riley, River, Robert, Rocky, Rokas, Roman, Ronan, Ronin, Romeo, Rory, Ross, Ruairí, Rufus, Rusty, Ryder, Ryker, Rylan, Riku, Roni S: Sammie, Sammy, Samuel, Samson, Sanford, Sawyer, Scout, Seán, Seth, Sebastian, Seymour, Shane, Shaun, Shawn, Sheldon, Shiloh, Shun, Sid, Sidney, Silas, Skip, Skipper, Skyler, Slade, Spencer, Spike, Stan, Stanford, Sterling, Stevie, Stijn, Suni, Sylvan, Sylvester T: Tab, Tad, Tanner, Tate, Tennessee, Tero, Terrance, Tevin, Thatcher, Tierno, Tino, Titus, Tobias, Tony, Torin, Trace, Trent, Trenton, Trev, Trevor, Trey, Troy, Tripp, Tristan, Tucker, Turner, Tyler, Ty, Teemu U: Ulric V: Valerius, Valor, Van, Vernon, Vespasian, Vic, Victor, Vico, Vince, Vinny, Vincent W: Wade, Walker, Wallis, Wally, Walt, Wardell, Warwick, Watson, Waylon, Wayne, Wes, Wesley, Weston, Whitley, Wilder, Wiley, William, Wolfe, Wolfgang, Woody, Wulfric, Wyatt, Wynn X: Xander, Xavier Z: Zachary, Zach, Zane, Zeb, Zebediah, Zed, Zeke, Zeph, Zaccai

[fandom]

Ships

Week Ending May 8th, 2023

Byler +4 Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things

Steddie Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson, Stranger Things

Huntlow Hunter & Willow Park, The Owl House

Buddie -3 Evan Buckley & Edmundo Diaz, 9-1-1

Vashwood +2 Vash the Stampede & Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Trigun Stampede

Bowuigi Bowser & Luigi, the Super Mario Bros. franchise

Kavetham Kaveh & Alhaitham, Genshin Impact

Solangelo Will Solace & Nico di Angelo, the Percy Jackson universe

Destiel -5 Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural

Lumity -2 Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House

Tomshiv Tom Wambsgans & Siobhan Roy, Succession

Jegulus -1 James Potter & Regulus Black, the Harry Potter universe

Ghostsoap +3 Simon “Ghost” Riley & John “Soap” MacTavish, the Call of Duty franchise

Wolfstar -2 Remus Lupin & Sirius Black, the Harry Potter universe

Wenclair +3 Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair, Wednesday

Charlotte x George Queen Charlotte & King George III, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Chenford -3 Lucy Chen & Tim Bradford, The Rookie

Soukoku Nakahara Chuuya & Dazai Osamu, Bungou Stray Dogs

Wesper -2 Wylan Van Eck & Jesper Fahey, the Grishaverse

Lestappen -11 Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen, Formula 1 drivers

The number in italics indicates how many spots a ship moved up or down from the previous week. Bolded ships weren’t on the list last week.

[thedollydiaries]

masterlist

||*~ call of duty~*||

simon 'ghost' riley;

riley family road trip (riley family au)

bug's coming out (riley family au)

simon comes home (riley family au)

riley family headcanons (riley family au) - 🎀

silly goose simon after surgery - 🎀

ghost/könig gunplay+knifeplay –🍷🎀

simon x chronically ill!reader

2 ladies

ghost x autistic!gf - 🎀

captain john price;

-

kyle 'gaz' garrick;

-

johnny 'soap' mactavish;

-

valeria garza;

-

kate 'watcher 0-1' laswell;

-

farah karim;

-

könig;

ghost/könig gunplay+knifeplay –🍷🎀

keegan russ;

doberman!keegan bunny!reader🎀

nsfw alphabet–🍷

tf141;

tf141 as spotify playlists (ft. my oc) –🎀🪳

multi;

-

||*~one piece~*||

trafalgar d. water law;

sweet distractions – 🐰🎀

nsfw alphabet – 🍷

nico robin;

-

monkey d. luffy;

-

vinsmoke sanji;

-

roronoa zoro;

-

nami;

-

marionette d. aoife (OC);

intro to aoife - 🐰🎀

||*~ sally face~*||

sal 'sally face' fischer;

-

larry johnson;

-

ashley campbell;

-

||*~five nights at freddy's~*||

william afton;

will x burn victim!reader

snugglefuck with will –🍷

||*~genshin impact~*||

kaeya;

-

diluc;

-

lisa;

-

||*~criminal minds~*||

spender reid;

-

elle greenaway;

nsfw alphabet –🍷

emily prentiss;

-

penelope garcia;

penelope helping transmac!reader

double date with derek and savannah (trans!masc reader)

jennifer 'jj' jeareau;

-

matt simmons;

-

||*~hemlock grove~*||

roman godfrey;

-

||*~scream~*||

billy loomis;

-

stu macher;

-

||*~gravity falls~*||

wendy coudroy;

-

stan pines;

-

ford pines;

-

soos;

-

bill cipher;

-

****************************************************

legend;

🐰 – aoife content (one piece OC)

🪳 – roach/banshee content (call of duty OC)

🍷 – suggestive/smut

💔 – heavy angst/heavy topics (may be triggering; reader discretion advised)

🎀 - éabha's faves

[lifesupreme-if]

tag people you’d like to get to know better

tagged by @thirtybythirty

last song: theatre - etta marcus

currently watching: i don't really watch things but i drop in on what my roommate is watching like a mom who doesn't want to admit that she wants to watch keeping up with the kardashians with you, so currently, dexter

three ships: (all OC / OC)

• dylan riley X eli sharpe: we have assigned them the title of soulmates and it fucking kills me. i could write an essay on them. i am obsessed with every single universe's version of them. they destroy me on the daily.

• rowan x nico: obsession is love, obsession is love, obsession is love. they are the better end to the love story of their mothers, they've learned from their mistakes, they would sooner rearrange the world than see one of them die for the other.

• ulysses x penelope: literally just another iteration of another couple on this list but different

favorite color: pink

currently consuming: cup of cold tea i made before work yesterday and have left to sit since

first ship: the OC i made for neopets: the darkest faerie as a kid x tormund

place of birth: fuckass corn fields of iowa

current location: american southwest with a strong desire to be a cowboy baybee

relationship status: closing the distance with my lover soon when they move in and literally going to cry about it (in the best way)

last movie: scott pilgrim vs. the world

currently working on: the return

tagging: i am very nervous to tag people but @lapinlunairegames @awildhaunter @magiciansvoyage @deadweight-if (and anyone else who sees this and would like to do it please 👉👈)