#saving money while traveling in europe

[deetherusalka]

extremely funny to me that if I told average USA citizens about random trips and experiences I've got the privilege of live through as random European, they would think I'm from extremely rich background but my both parents are literally blue collar workers and I live in concrete ghetto in eastern europe

[sinner-as-saint]

you're no good for me.

Bucky x Reader AU

Run-through: After leaving a well-paying job you hated, you took the money you had saved and decided to roam around Europe: Paris, Monaco, Italy, Greece, trying to find a new purpose in life. That’s when you meet this drop dead gorgeous older man named Bucky. He’s respectful, funny, kind, flirty, and has a nice yacht. Honestly, he’s all you need at the moment. And together, the two of you embark on a journey that has potential to last a lifetime. 

Themes: age gap (reader is in her twenties), fluff, sugar daddy!bucky (basically), smut, praise kink, nicknames: princess, baby girl, daddy kink, soft!dom!bucky, HEA. 

a/n: inspired by this ask. Thank you @aquariusbarnes

“I guess I never realised solo travelling could get so… lonely, you know?” 

You said quietly to your best friend on the phone while you browsed through second-hand books in a small, cosy little bookstore you found while staying in Italy for the week. 

“Don’t get me wrong,” You chuckled, “I desperately needed this and I needed to get out of the city but, this is not doing what it should. All I do is eat, sleep, shop, and I have no one to talk to. I guess I can’t even make new friends anymore.” 

Your friend sighed, “Of course you can! You should meet new people. Go to a bar, wear something nice, and talk to some guy. Seriously, get some!” 

You laughed quietly. “I’m tired of the bar or club thing. That’s what we usually do in the city.” You groaned. “I need something new, and exciting, and-,” 

A deep voice spoke from somewhere behind you. “Excuse me, miss.” 

You turned around and had to blink a few times to register the sight in front of you. A god of a man. Tall. Well dressed in loose pants, white tank top and a delicious light blue shirt left open to show off his muscular chest. He had longish hair, tied neatly in a low bun. Pretty face, ocean blue eyes. Sharp jaw. And a slight smirk on his pink lips.

He looked older, maybe in his early forties? He radiated elegant masculinity. Very much old money. He looked like he belonged in some fashion show, or the cover of a magazine. 

“Uh, I’ll call you in a bit.” You quickly ended the call and gave the man your full attention. “Hello.” You said softly, sounding a little confused as to why would a man like that even stop and talk to anyone. 

The man gave you a stunning smile. “I noticed you dropped this.” He held out his hand and there was your tiny purse, in the palm of his large, veiny hands. 

“Oh.” You sounded a little embarrassed as you quickly took it from him. “Thank you.” You said, looking up and meeting his dangerously enticing stare. 

“Wow,” He said, with a little nervous chuckle. “You’re beautiful.” You froze at that and then he quickly added, “I’m sorry if that was too forward. It’s just… you really are beautiful.” He sounded so sincere, and you hadn’t had a proper conversation with anyone in weeks so you didn’t know how to act. 

“Oh, um,” You let out a nervous chuckle too as you looked down at your shoes, embarrassed. “Thank you.” Then you added as a nervous ramble, “I think you’re really beautiful too.” 

He smiled, then let out a little laugh which made your skin tingle in the best ways. He raised a perfect eyebrow and asked in his silky smooth, deep voice, “Then how about us beautiful people go get a drink and get to know each other a little better?” 

You actually felt your face get really hot as you laughed, “So this is the part where I’ll wake up tomorrow and find out you took my kidney?” 

He chuckled. “No, no kidneys will be taken, I promise.” Then he gave you a pretty smile, “Just one drink. You’re too beautiful for me not to steal an hour or two from your day. Else, I’m gonna regret it my whole life.” 

“I see you get your way in and out of everything by being a smooth flirt, huh?” 

You gave in. And said yes to having a drink with him. 

— 

One drink turned into a late lunch, then afternoon tea, then an early dinner. The conversation flowed so easily it surprised you. He told you mostly everything about him. You noted that his name was Bucky, he was in his forties, no immediate family as they had all unfortunately passed, he was a bachelor, a businessman, currently taking some months off work to travel and sail across Europe on his yacht. 

While on a quick bathroom break, you googled him just to confirm and sure enough, he wasn’t lying. Also, the guy was much more wealthy than he let on. But you liked that. You hated men who bragged constantly. 

When it was your turn to give him your back story, you were just as transparent as he was. You mentioned where you were from, how you moved to the city after uni once you found a decent job. You mentioned how although the job paid really well, you quickly realised that being a PA isn’t as glamorous as in the movies or books, but in fact so stressful and anxiety-ridden. So you quickly began hating your job and life. Hence the resignation letter and the sudden tickets to Europe. 

“So, you’re here all alone? That’s brave I think.” He said, after you were done narrating your story. 

You scoffed before taking a sip of coffee, “No, it's quite the opposite.” You argued, defeatedly. “I couldn’t handle it and I just got up and left. I quite literally packed my stuff and ran away from the city. And now I’m just roaming around, trying to see if I can find a new purpose, I suppose. That’s the opposite of brave. If I were brave I’d face it properly. Like an adult.” Your shoulders drooped down a little. 

“Hey,” He said softly. Then reached for your hand and held it in between both of his warm palms. 

This was the first time in the past hours where he touched you. He’d been so respectful so far, not once getting too close. But right now, as he held your hand lovingly and as his thumb gently caressed your knuckles, you realised you loved having your hand held by him. 

“That’s not true at all.” He said. “You were strong enough to walk away from a situation you no longer wanted to be in, do you realise how brave that is?” 

His voice was so understanding and soft, you immediately melted. 

He continued, “I mean, you’re braver than me when I was twenty something.” He chuckled at the memory, “My father had just passed, and I was suddenly responsible for the family businesses. And…” He sighed, “How I wish I could’ve packed a suitcase and travel at that age, but I couldn’t. I was so lost at that time too.” 

You watched him as he spoke. The intelligence and experience in his eyes. The crinkles by his pretty eyes as he smiled at something he remembered from the past. The sad smile when he mentioned his now dead family. He seemed older and wiser than his age. 

“What I’m trying to say here is that you’re so young. This is your time to be selfish with your years. You don’t like a job? Leave it, find another. You don’t want to be in the city? Leave that too, travel the world. Of course, you must have some sort of makeshift plan of where you might want to be in the next five or ten years, but for the most part, live for right now.” He gave you an enchanting smile. “So tell me, where do you want to be right now?” 

The sky began to turn darker. The golden lights from the restaurant made his eyes look magical. Deep blue, and shining like jewels. The chain around his neck caught the light and suddenly you wanted nothing more than to yank on it with your teeth… 

Woah. Where did that come from? 

“Just… away. For everything.” You answered, truthfully. Wasn’t that what you were looking for? An escape? Something new and exciting. And right now with your hand in Bucky’s warm ones, this felt new and exciting. And you selfishly wanted it. You wanted this. 

“Come with me. Just for tonight. We won’t sail too far from the docks, I promise.” He said, holding your hand firmly in his. “I’ll bring you back tomorrow morning. Kidney and all still in place.” He teased. 

You laughed. And said yes because fuck it. 

—

Bucky walked with you till your hotel, and waited downstairs in the lobby while you got your things for the night. Once you met him back downstairs, he offered to carry your backpack while the two of you walked towards the docks. 

Once you reached his yacht, you had to refrain from dropping your jaw. “Oh, she’s pretty.” You whispered as he held your hand and helped you onto it. 

He smiled and said, “She’s my favourite.” Because of course he owned other luxury yachts. 

The more steps you took inside the boat, the more mesmerised you got. He had a full staff even. Bucky gave you a quick tour, showed you the bar, the hot tubs, the main deck, and all. Then led you to a spacious bedroom. 

“Get settled,” He said, “I’m just gonna get us out a bit further into the water.” He traced a gentle finger down your cheek and you found yourself nodding immediately. Then he paused, and said, “If you don’t wanna be down here alone, come find me at the helm. Okay, babygirl?” 

You froze for just a fraction of a moment, then quickly smiled and nodded again. Bucky left with a wink and once the door closed behind him, you let out a loud sigh. Fuck, he was so dreamy. 

Once he left and you explored the room a little bit, you realised you didn’t in fact want to be here all alone. So as the boat moved smoothly, you took a quick shower, got changed into your swimsuit, with a flowy beach cover up and went to find Bucky. 

Finding the helm was easy. On your way there, you saw two staff members and they both smiled at you. For a moment you wondered if they were thinking of you as just another young girl on a rich man’s boat. Oh well, whatever. 

You found Bucky standing in the middle of the area, facing multiple screens and the helm itself and so many buttons and switches it made your brain hurt. 

“Hello captain.” You said, stepping closer to him. The sun was setting now, and it was all orange and pink, quickly becoming dark blue. 

Bucky gave you a bright smile, “Hello you.” He grabbed your hand and placed it on the helm, “Here,” He came up and stood right behind you, both of you steering the boat, “There you go, keep it straight. Just like that, see?” 

You laughed, while your heart raced both at the excitement of manoeuvring such a giant boat, but also because of how close Bucky was. Your back was right against his chest, but he was still keeping a good inch or two between your bodies. 

“Alright,” He said after a while, “We’ll stop here for tonight. Come, the stars look great from the deck.” 

He held your hand and led you out onto the spotlessly clean, spacious main deck. There was a circular fireplace in the middle, surrounded by sofas and a large hot tub in the corner. And the view… oh the view was to die for. The moment Bucky let go of your hand, you rushed to look over the handrail. The water reflected the colours of the sunset, and the sky. The stars began twinkling, the more you looked the more of them you found. The light summer breeze was just cool enough. 

“It’s so beautiful out here.” You whispered, looking over at the shore, where more and more lights were turning on. You could see the place at which you’d just had dinner. You could also see the bookstore if you squinted. Just then, you felt a warmth press up against you. 

You smiled as Bucky wrapped his arms around you from behind, placing his chin on your shoulder and holding you close. “Just like you, baby girl.” He whispered into your ear. 

You froze again, a familiar warmth washing over you at the nickname. A tingling sensation between your things which made you want to clench them together. Bucky must've felt the way you tensed up because he pulled away immediately. 

“I didn’t mean to make you-,” 

You cut him off quickly as you turned to face him, “Oh no, no. I don’t mind that.” You laughed, now a little shy. “It’s just that,” You couldn’t look at his pretty face as you admitted, “you make me a little nervous.” 

He laughed at that, and wrapped his arms around you once again. “Do I?” He teased. 

You hid your face by shoving it into the crook of his neck, which made him laugh even more. You couldn’t help but breathe in his scent. Fuck, it had been messing with you the whole day almost. He smelt like sin. Like pure, dangerous sin. But then he had that sweet, bright smile. And the contrast was making you dizzy. 

“Don’t hide from me, baby.” He held the back of your neck gently as he pulled your face back so he could look at you. 

You almost kissed him right there and then. He looked so good in this golden sunset. But you didn’t want to seem too desperate so you-

“Can I kiss you?” He asked, cutting off whatever you’d been thinking about. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” He admitted, with a handsome smirk. “So, can I? Please?” He gave you the softest puppy dog look ever. And you melted. 

You nodded once and the next thing you knew, he pushed you against the handrail and kissed you deeply. Lips soft against your own, his tongue stroking yours in a way that made you want to ride him until the sun came up the next morning. His hand remained at your waist, the other holding your head gently as he kissed you even deeper. 

“Fuck,” He groaned against your lips. “Does all of you tastes just as sweet as your mouth, babygirl?” He chuckled when you whined and squirmed. “I can’t wait to find out.” He whispered before kissing you again. 

Your brain was all foggy with desire. Your body warm and tingly under his touch. His mouth left yours and he kissed down your chin, and all over your neck and collarbones before kissing your lips again. “Bucky,” You gasped into the kiss when you felt his hand moving downward, towards your inner thighs. 

“Too much, baby?” He asked, pulling away to look down into your eager eyes. “Are we moving too fast?” 

You smiled up at him, “No. This is okay.” You grabbed his wrist and moved his hand even closer to where you desperately needed him. The thin swimsuit was all that separated his hand from the wetness accumulating at your core. 

He held your stare as he moved the fabric to the side and carefully touched your throbbing clit. You squirmed, grinding against his fingers slowly. He chuckled, “Oh?” He smeared your wetness around a little more, “All that for me? Hmm?” He leaned in and kissed the corner of your mouth while his fingers moved up and down your wet slit. “Have you been this wet the whole time we were together?” 

You couldn’t help but whisper a quiet, “Yes…” 

He smirked, kissing your skin. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? So unfair of you to keep this from me, babygirl.” He carefully slid a finger inside you, moving it in and out of you so slowly you couldn’t help but moan. “I would’ve taken care of you much sooner had I known you were dripping wet for me this whole time.” 

You whined again at the sound of his shameless words. “Please…” You begged. 

Bucky pulled away to look right into your eyes as he slid another finger inside you, moving both of them in and out of you while his thumb toyed with your clit. “Please what, baby?” 

You squirmed, holding onto him for dear life while moving your hips in time with his fingers. “Please,” You begged again. 

He smirked, “Use your words, princess.” He cooed. “Come on, tell daddy what you want and he’ll give it to you, baby.” 

You bit your lip to keep yourself from moaning too loud, afraid the staff might hear what a dirty young woman you were being. “I want to come, please.” You whispered, face burning at the lust in your voice. 

Bucky smiled in triumph. “There, wasn’t that easy?” He kissed your lips again, “Of course you can come, babygirl. You’ve been so good all day,” He said, “So kind and polite,” He chuckled, “Pretending like you didn’t want to climb into my lap anytime you looked into my eyes.” 

You gasped, both in pleasure as his fingers touched a sensitive spot, but also because he had just read you like a book. 

Bucky smirked. “What? You think I didn’t see it?” He leaned closer, lips brushing against your open mouth as he spoke, “I saw the way you looked at me. Longing and desire in your eyes. You just want to be taken care of. Just want a man to hold you and tell you it’s all gonna be okay and that you’re safe? Hmm?” 

His fingers brought you right to that edge. You were a whimpering mess by then, his words making you even more dizzy. 

“Look at me, baby.” When you did look up at him, he smiled softly down at you, “It’s okay babygirl, you’re with daddy now. You’re safe, and I’m gonna take care of you. Okay? Now, can you be my good girl and come for me? Hmm? Can you do that for daddy, baby?”

You came with a loud whimper, coming undone all over his fingers. Bucky watched you in awe, lips parted as he breathed deeper along with you. 

“That’s a good girl,” He whispered, leaning in for a kiss. “You are so beautiful, babygirl.” 

You kissed him back with even more passion than before, and your hands began exploring his body. His chest, down to his toned stomach, and further down… but then he stopped you by grabbing your wrists. 

“Later, baby. I don’t want to rush.” He said. “I’m gonna take my time with you.” He promised. “Now come on, get in the tub. Don’t want you to get too chilly.” He pointed towards the tub and you began walking towards it. When you turned around you found him walking in the other direction, towards the mini bar. 

You turned back around and headed over to the tub finally. You took the beach cover off and stepped in, nearly squealing with how perfectly hot the water was. Once you took your seat and submerged yourself till your shoulders, you noticed Bucky walked over with champagne flutes and a champagne bottle. 

But not just that. He was also not wearing anything other than tight black boxers which left very little to the imagination. You had to turn your head just so you’d look away from the gorgeousness that was this man in front of you.

But of course, he caught the look. “Don’t look away, babygirl.” He said as he stepped in and sat down next to you, his thigh rubbing against yours, “You can look. I don’t mind.” He smirked, and winked at you before popping open the champagne. 

He handed you a flute filled with bubbles and poured one for himself, set the bottle aside and clinked your flutes together. You each took a sip and you couldn’t help but close your eyes and moan at the taste. Expensive champagne always tasted heavenly.  

When you opened your eyes again you found Bucky looking at you intently. 

You smirked and asked, “What?”

He wrapped an arm around you and pulled you onto his lap. You put up no resistance as you settled onto his thighs, an arm around his neck. “Nothing. Just thinking about how you’ll moan with other things in your mouth.” 

You chuckled. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing.” You replied, starting to get a little more playful around him. 

He raised an eyebrow, “Oh?” Then leaned in and kissed your neck, making you giggle and pull away. “You’re ticklish I see.” 

“Please don’t.” You yelped, and laughed as he tickled you even more. Champagne splashed everywhere, but Bucky didn’t seem to mind. “Stop!” You cried out in between uncontrollable giggles. Right as you were about to fall off his lap, he finally stopped. Kissing your face multiple times to make up for the tickle attack. Once you calmed down you said, “You’re mean. I think I wanna get off your boat now.” You teased. 

Bucky tightened his arms around you. “No,” He groaned playfully, “I’m sorry, I’ll make up for it. Right now, I promise.” 

One moment you were on his lap, and the next he was lifting you up and sitting you down on the edge of the tub. The handrail was right behind you to support your back, and you giggled as Bucky knelt in the warm water, right in between your thighs. 

“What if someone sees?” You asked, looking around to see if you’d find some of the staff members around the deck. 

Bucky placed both of his hands on your things and got closer to you. “They won’t.” He assured you. “Now come on, spread those legs for daddy.” He demanded, and you obeyed. 

You leaned back into the handrail and parted your legs. Bucky smirked, grabbing the backs of your knees to pull you closer, lowering himself and leaning in until his mouth was right above your core. 

“Don’t even try to hide your moans from me. You hear me?” He questioned, holding your stare. 

You nodded. 

“Say ‘yes daddy’.” 

You squirmed, pushing your hips closer to his mouth involuntarily. “Yes, daddy…” Your words ended on a gasp as he placed his mouth down and licked along your slit through the fabric of your swimsuit. 

He placed a soft kiss right over your throbbing clit before he finally slid the thin fabric to the side and looked up at you, held your stare as his wet tongue licked down your folds. He moaned loudly as he tasted you. “Knew you’d taste like heaven.” He murmured, going in for more. Eager and impatient to make you come all over his tongue. 

Your hands immediately grabbed the back of his neck, fingers sliding into his hair and gently messing up his neatly tied bun. You giggled at the sight, “I’m sorry I’m messing up your hair.” You whispered, followed by gasps of pleasure as he ate you out relentlessly. 

Bucky pulled away for a moment, looking up at you. “I must be doing terrible if you can still speak coherent sentences, babygirl.” He smirked. “I’m sorry, let me do a better job. Hmm?” 

You opened your mouth to tell him that he was just perfect but you ended up whining loudly instead as he parted your wet lips and pushed his tongue deeper into you. You threw your head back, resting it on the handrail as you moaned shamelessly, occasionally giggling as his fingers all over your thighs made you slightly ticklish. 

His warm tongue stroked you so perfectly, and Bucky growled as you lost control, moving your hips instinctively against his mouth as you chased that feeling of pure bliss. 

You whined loudly, goosebumps all over your body. You felt tingles shooting through you as his tongue teased you incessantly. Your fingers tugged harder on his hair, messing it up even more. 

“That’s better, isn’t it?” He murmured, before moving his mouth upward to suck on your throbbing clit. “You look so pretty like this, baby. All open for me to taste, whining and whimpering…” He playfully bit your inner thigh, “What is it?” He asked as another loud moan escaped your mouth. “Too much? You want to come? You want more? What is it, huh? Tell daddy what you want.” 

You just looked down at him, whimpering as you tugged harder on his hair, trying to get his mouth back on you. Your reaction made Bucky chuckle. 

“No,” He cooed, “Use your words, baby.” 

Damn him. 

“Oh please,” You whined, “I want you. I want your mouth… please daddy,” You cried out, trying to clench or rub your thighs together for some kind of friction but his muscular body being between them stopped you from doing that. 

Seeing your desperation only deepened his smirk, and increased the mischief in his eyes. “Such a good girl,” He murmured, biting down on your inner thigh before gently pushing his tongue inside of you again. You whimpered under his agonisingly soft touch. 

Bucky looked up at you as he teased you with his tongue, the intensity of his gaze making you tremble. The sky was getting darker, the stars shining more and more now. And yet, you couldn’t look away from his ocean blue eyes. 

“You’re all mine, babygirl…” he whispered, thrusting his tongue deeper into you. You moaned and whimpered, your body getting warmer and warmer with each touch of his tongue. “Say it.” He demanded, licking up and down your slit, making you grind on his tongue. “Tell me you’ll be mine. Tell me you’re daddy’s good girl.” 

You cried out, “I’m daddy’s good girl…” You felt your walls tighten around nothing, and you knew you were close. 

Bucky could tell as well. “Then come for daddy, babygirl.” He whispered against your skin before biting down on your inner thigh as you whined under him. 

You could only moan and whimper as he kept licking deeper into you. You felt him quicken his pace and you felt the pressure building up in between your hips until you couldn’t handle it anymore and you came undone all over his lips, moaning and whimpering. Humming in satisfaction, Bucky kissed his way up your body again, until he reached your mouth. Carefully, he pulled back into the tub and on his lap as he kissed you deeply. 

The warm water felt heavenly, but nowhere near how good his tongue had felt just seconds ago. You sighed in pleasure through the kiss, and you felt him smiling against your lips before he pulled away to look at you. 

“Where have you been all my life?” He asked, looking no less than a god in that tub. The soft lights made his eyes look ethereal. The darkening sky as a background made him look even more godly. 

You smiled at him, wrapping your arms around his neck as you straddled him. “Stuck in a city I don’t like. Doing a job I hated. Surrounded by people I no longer could relate to.” You joked, hiding the painful truth in your words. 

Of course, he caught the sadness in your eyes. “Well, you’re here with me right now. Forget about the city, the job, and the people.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead to yours, he said, “It’s just you and me right now, princess. Just us, and no one else.” 

You smiled, closing your eyes. Warmth from the bubbling water, warmth from his body, the cool breeze, the scent of summer and excitement in the air, it all surrounded you and it couldn’t have been more perfect. 

“More champagne, baby?” He asked, pulling away. 

“No,” You said, giving him a look he knew all too well. “How about we go inside now?” 

Bucky smirked, already moving to grab towels. “Whatever the princess wants.” 

—

You and Bucky made a quick stop in the kitchen found in the lower levels of his yacht, to grab some snacks. You held on to your chocolate fondue and strawberries while he held the other goods. And once you made it to the lovely bedroom, the two of you ended up lounging on the bed, just eating and talking about random stuff. 

“Wait,” You said, swallowing down a mouthful of rich chocolate and strawberry. “You haven’t been in a relationship in over ten years? A whole decade?” You questioned, right after he finished telling you about how he hadn’t. 

Bucky gave you a funny look. “I’m a busy man, babygirl. I didn’t have much time.” 

You frowned, confused. “Well surely you’ve liked someone. Or are you too busy to have a crush and all that?” 

He chuckled, and you along with him. “No, I haven’t. I guess it’s been just work and more work.” 

You sighed and shrugged, reaching for another juicy strawberry, “I can’t even judge you, I haven’t been dating for years either. My last relationship…” You trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, I-,” 

Bucky cut you off by grabbing your arm and pulling you on top of him, making you straddle him again. “No, it matters. Tell me what happened.” His tone was serious, caring, and attentive. 

You sighed again, “Well, it ended badly. We were both too young I suppose, and then he cheated and we were on and off for a while before I ended it a few years ago.” 

Bucky cupped your face, “You deserve so much better than that, baby. You hear me?” 

You nodded, smiling down at him. “Look at me now,” You teased, then finally took a bite out of the strawberry, unintentionally moaning. “Oh fuck…” You whined, “This might be the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.” You said. 

Bucky smirked, grabbing your hips and pulling you closer, “You know, I could give you something even better to put in your mouth, princess.” 

You swallowed your fruit and smirked down at him. “Oh?” You played along. “What’s that?” 

He caressed your cheek lovingly, “Want daddy to show you?” You nodded enthusiastically. And he said, “Okay, get on your knees, baby.” 

You shifted from his lap to kneel in between his legs and in the meantime, Bucky was undoing the towel from around his waist. The sight of his erection had you almost begging just so you could have a taste. 

“Do you want to take daddy in your mouth and make him feel good, princess? Hmm?” He gently grabbed your chin so you couldn’t look away from him. “Do you want to make daddy come? Make him feel so good that he fills your mouth with his come, baby?” 

You nodded quickly, “Yes. I do.” You couldn’t calm your racing heart as you watched Bucky lean back into the pillows, making himself comfortable while you knelt in between his muscular thighs, his cock pointing up… looking too good not to wrap your mouth around it. 

“Go on then, baby.” Bucky’s hand slid into your hair as you leaned down and took him into your mouth. 

You moaned, with Bucky’s cock in your mouth, at how good he felt. Warm, thick, veiny. 

“Your mouth feels so good, princess,” Bucky cooed, tugging on your hair gently. You looked up at him and took him even further into your mouth. “There we go,” He gasped, “Careful baby, I don’t wanna hurt you.” 

You whined, that caring tone of his driving you insane. Bucky held your head gently and slowly pushed himself deeper into your mouth. “That’s it, you’re doing so good, babygirl. You look so pretty with my cock in your mouth.” He said as you took him in until he hit the back of your throat. “Now be a good girl, and make daddy come.” 

You did as he asked, moaning around his cock and using your hand to play with what you couldn’t fit in your mouth. 

“Oh princess, you’re so good to daddy.” 

Bucky’s groans and moans were delightful. His head thrown back, eyes closed, lips parted slightly as he breathed deeply, occasionally grunting or moaning while you worked to make him come. 

“Just like that, babygirl, come on make me come in that pretty mouth.” 

You could feel the wetness starting to leak from you again. Fuck, this was so hot. The sounds he made, the sounds your mouth made, the desire and warmth washing over you… it was all too much. 

You teased his tip with your tongue, alternating between sucking on it and taking him deep in and out of your mouth until Bucky came with a growl, his grip tightening on your hair for just a moment before he went limp. Chuckling as he emptied into your mouth, and watched you swallow all of him. 

“Fuck, baby…” He groaned, “Come here and give me a kiss.” He said once you pulled him out of your mouth and you didn’t hesitate to climb onto his lap again, pressing your mouth against his. 

You moaned into the kiss, slowly grinding down on his thigh trying to alleviate the sweet pain in between your legs. 

“You’ll be the death of me.” He murmured against your lips, then went in for a kiss again before groaning, “Oh babygirl, daddy’s gotta have you now.” Then he flipped the two of you around, hovering above you as he smiled down at you. 

“Is this okay, babygirl?” He asked, caressing your face lovingly. “You still want daddy to make you feel good?” 

You trailed your hands up and down his muscular back, and nodded. “Yes,” You smiled up at him, then the chain dangling from his neck caught your eye. Without thinking, you grabbed it in between your teeth and yanked on it playfully. 

Bucky laughed looking down at you. “Is that what you want? The chain?” With one hand he got it off of him and put it over your head, you pulled it down until it rested on your neck. “There,” Bucky said, leaning down to kiss your neck, “First gift from daddy to his princess.” 

You chuckled, “Why thank you,” You pulled him down for a kiss. He deepened the kiss, his hand drifting down in between your bodies, getting rid of the towel that had been hiding your body from him. 

“You are so beautiful,” He whispered against your mouth as his hand touched you everywhere. “Wait, are you on birth control?” He asked. 

You chuckled, “Yes, don’t worry.” 

“Oh fuck, baby I can’t wait.” He groaned, pulling away to look down at you, “Can I fuck you now? Please? Can daddy make you feel good?” 

Your head spun with how badly you wanted him. Especially given how he shamelessly slid his tip up and down your slit. You nodded immediately, “Yes.” You said, “Yes, please.” 

He leaned in for a kiss again. He kissed your skin from your mouth to your neck as he carefully slid into you, so gently. “Tell me if I hurt you, baby.” He breathed into your ear. “Is this okay?” He asked, looking down at you. His pretty blue eyes so caring and gentle. 

You nodded, “I’m okay.” You whispered, feeling warm all over. 

When he pushed even deeper, your walls welcomed him perfectly and he moaned under his breath as he filled you up entirely, inch by inch. You gasped and moaned as he moved so slowly you almost lost your mind. 

Bucky swore. Your warmth wrapped around him, gripping him so perfectly he couldn’t help but just stay still for a moment and just enjoy the feeling of being inside you. “Babygirl, you feel so perfect for daddy. Look at me,” Once you did, he smiled down at you and said, “That’s it, keep your eyes on me while I fuck you, okay? I need to know I’m not hurting you.” He said. 

That only made you wish he’d fuck you like an animal. You groaned, “You’re not hurting me,” You said, “Please, daddy. Please fuck me harder.” 

He chuckled, “There she is,” He whispered into your ear, “You’re daddy’s dirty little girl, aren’t you?” Bucky laced your fingers together and pinned both your entwined hands above your head as he sped up into you. Fucking you nice and hard, “Does that feel good, baby? Hmm? Does my pretty princess feel good?” 

You nodded, moaning shamelessly, “Yes… more, more please.” You cried out, throwing your head back as he started rocking in and out of you. 

He leaned in and kissed your lips again, “I said eyes on me, baby.” He groaned, panting against your lips as he fucked you deeper. “Look at me.” 

The air around you got warm again as you met his heated stare, his movements were slightly rougher, but passionate and loving. His hips rolled against your body perfectly, and his body weight pressing down gently on you was comforting and intimate. His grip around your hand tightened each time you’d moan his name under your breath. 

“Oh babygirl, you’re all mine.” He whispered against your lips, and leaned in to kiss you deeply while he deliberately stroked his cock against your walls as slowly as he could just to make you whine and whimper even more under him. 

When he pulled away to look down at you, his stare was intense, but loving. His lips were full and swollen as he looked down at you like you were the most precious thing he’d ever seen. You felt his cock hit all the right spots each time he moved against you, and his lips parted and he groaned the moment your walls started clenching around him. 

He moaned at how tight you felt around his throbbing cock, and leaned down to whisper in your ear. “Come for me, babygirl…” He whispered, voice strained and gravelly which sent chills down your body. “Come for daddy,” He growled. 

His voice was enough to take you right to the edge. You felt the pressure and the familiar, sweet pain in between your legs, making you gasp for air and your walls clench violently around him. You moaned loudly again, wantonly. 

His hands reached down and grabbed your sides gently, keeping you in place as he sped up into you, his cock slipping in and out of you with ease. Your bodies moved perfectly against each other. He held you as close to him as he could, pushing his face into you and nuzzling your neck as he fucked you relentlessly. 

“Oh baby, you take this cock so well,” He growled into your ear, making your brain all foggy. “Look at you, so fucking beautiful while you take all of me in there, huh?” 

With a few more strokes of his cock, you came undone with a cry of pleasure, gushing out all around him, grinding against him eagerly while he moaned against your lips as he came right after you, filling you up. 

“Fuck,” He gasped, getting off of you quickly and holding you close to him as you caught your breath, “Are you okay, babygirl?” He asked, kissing your head. 

You ended up giggling as you came down from that high. A place so far away that no one ever took you before. “I’m okay,” You said, “I do want some cuddles though.” 

Bucky chuckled, “Whatever my princess wants,” Then pulled you into him, spooning you from behind. “Get some sleep, baby. I’ll wake you up tomorrow.” 

–

The next morning, neither of you could get your hands off each other. So that meant spending half of the day in bed. And by mid-day when you said that maybe he should take you back to the shore, Bucky refused. 

“Just spend another night with me. Please, babygirl.” He begged with those puppy dog eyes. “I’ll take you back to your hotel room tomorrow morning, I promise.” 

– 

He did take you back. But not to drop you, because he had convinced you to check out, take your things and move them to his boat. 

“We’re travelling to the same countries,” He said, “Let's just take the boat and go together.” 

You ended up spending two whole weeks with him after that conversation. Going into the third week, you forgot all about real life. All that existed were these perfect days with Bucky; sailing around Europe, watching sunsets and sunrises and stargazing, having amazing sex, and repeat. 

–

Reality hit you like a freight train one night when you finally remembered to charge your phone and realised that you had forgotten to update your friends and family about your location and whose company you were in. You scrolled through the endless missed calls, emails, and unanswered texts, and quickly responded to some of them. 

You didn’t get much sleep that night, not only because Bucky kept you up until the early hours of the morning, but because you were scared of having to get back to the real world. 

Bucky found you out on the main deck that morning. You leaned against the handrail, looking at the sun that would rise in a few minutes, wearing nothing but one of his shirts. He stayed a few steps back, just admiring you. 

But you knew he was there. You could always tell he was watching. So you looked over your shoulder and gave him a smile, “Good morning, handsome.” 

He rushed over and wrapped his arms around you. “I can’t get over how good you look in my clothes.” And when you didn’t respond with something sassy as usual, Bucky knew something was wrong. “What is it, baby? Are you okay?” 

You turned to face him instead of the sunrise, and just said it. “I should go back home. I’ve been away for longer than I should’ve been.” You watched how he frowned at you, his eyes still a little sleepy. His hair was tied into a messy, low bun. 

You knew you’d never be able to forget this man. Even if you go back home and get sucked back into a cycle you wanted no part of. You couldn’t help but touch his face gently, caressing his cheek. 

“But,” He said, a little confused still, “We’re having fun, aren’t we, baby?” He leaned closer, holding you tighter. “You can stay. You should stay, you hate that city.” 

You nodded, “I know. But I can’t stay here forever, Buck.” It hurt to even say it. 

“Why not?” He argued. “I’ll take care of you. Haven’t I been taking care of you?” He questioned, leaning in to kiss your cheek. “Please babygirl, don’t leave me.” 

You gasped softly as he kissed and nibbled on your skin, his mouth moving all over your neck. “I.. I need to go home at some point.” You said. 

Bucky pulled away to look at you. The sky began to get lighter. His eyes still shone like jewels. “And where’s that?” He asked. “Where’s home, baby? Hmm? In that city you don’t like? Surrounded by people you can’t relate to? Stuck in some job you hate?” He returned the words you’d said to him the night you first met. 

And for some reason, that made you tear up. The thought of the life before him. “I… I don’t know.” You said, lips quivering as a tear fell down your cheek. 

He quickly wiped your tears away, “Baby…” He whispered, “That’s not a home, princess. Home is supposed to feel warm, free, and happy. Are you happy or free in that city?” 

You shook your head. “No,” You sniffled. “But I can’t just keep running.”  

“Just be with me. Here.” He said. “This isn’t running, this is us having fun.” 

“Well, you’ll have to go back to real life at some point too. What then?” You asked. 

He gave you a smile, “I’ll take you with me when I do, princess.” 

You scoffed, “Bucky, I’m serious.” You said.

“So am I.” He insisted. “Stay with me, babygirl. I’ll take care of you. You know I will.” 

You sighed, and wiped away your own tears. “And then what? Make you my sugar daddy?” You joked. 

“Like that’s such a horrible thing.” He argued. 

You rolled your eyes at him, tried to get out of his arms but he wouldn’t let you. You faced him again, “I can’t do that.” 

“This is gonna work.” He insisted again. “Just stay with me.” 

“We’ve known each other for mere weeks.” You said, thinking back on how these mere week have been some of the best days of your entire life. 

Bucky gave you a wise smile, and said calmly, “I’ve been in relationships that have lasted months, and even years, and yet no one has ever made me feel the way you did these past few weeks.” 

You shed another tear, “I’m a mess, Buck. I don’t even have a job.” You chuckled humorlessly, then sniffled. 

“I’ll get you a job.” He offered. 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“No.”

“Okay then, whatever you want, princess.” He said, holding you close. “But I can't let you go. I won’t.” 

“You’re awfully stubborn.” You whispered, hiding your face into the crook of his warm neck. 

“Stay with me.” 

“Bucky…” 

“Baby.” 

“What am I gonna tell my parents?” You questioned. “Oh I found a really kind, charming and handsome older guy who took me on a nice ride on his nice boat and I think I’m gonna move in and start living with him?” 

Bucky chuckled. “I took you on more than just a ride on my boat.” 

You shoved him playfully. Then relaxed into his arms again. “I’m scared, Buck.” You admitted. 

“I’m not.” He said firmly. “Baby, we’ll figure it out. Tell me you don’t want this. Look me in the eyes and tell me you wanna leave what we have right now and go back to the city.” He pulled away to look at you. “Tell me that truthfully, and I’ll let you go. Can you do that?” 

You sighed, tears filling your eyes again. “No,” You whispered. “I don’t wanna go.” You said, “But I’m scared.” 

“Shh,” He hugged you close again. “I’ve got you, babygirl.” 

You wrapped your arms tightly around him, breathed in his scent and wanted to cry some more because this man was so dreamy. “What if you stop liking me?” 

“Hey.” He chided playfully. 

“I’m just saying. What if?” 

Bucky pulled away to look down at you again, “Why would you ask me that? Is it really that hard to believe that I love you? Haven’t I shown it to you these past weeks?” He questioned. 

Your eyes widened. “Oh. You love me?” You didn’t mean for it to sound like you were teasing him, but it did. 

Bucky rolled his eyes. Whispering under his breath, “You’re such a brat.” As he tried to pull away, you tightened your arms around him to stop him. 

“No, no, don't go anywhere.” You chuckled at the expression on his face. “Tell me more about how much you love me.” 

He gave you a kind smile, leaned down to kiss your forehead and whispered, “How about I show you?” 

So you let him show you. And you stayed. 

And the life you had together couldn’t have been more perfect.

[moody-alcoholic]

Shopping

Next part is a monster of a chapter, so enjoy the fluff while it lasts ;)

Also 100% had this image in my head when I was writing the wedding part.

Summary: Ghoap x Reader, throuple. Slow burn (sorry but not sorry). 2.3k words. Reader is female (she/her), army nurse, non descript physical features, names used: Ashe.

CW: Implied bad family dynamic/ relationship (not reader).

Previous parts - masterlist - next part

Enjoy <3

The next morning over breakfast Simon insists Johnny go with you while you run errands. You don’t complain it’s nice to spend some time with him, you invite Simon along but he said he has some work to catch up with. You take a taxi back to your place and Johnny hangs out in the living room as you take a shower and change. 

“What errands do you need to do?” Johnny calls as you throw some clothes and pyjamas  into a backpack. You need to remember to take this to their place. 

“I need to get keys cut, and I need to go to Lush.” You pause trying to think of the other things, maybe you should have written it down. 

“Oh I need new bedding.” You walk out throwing the bag by the door.

“You okay with us having keys to your place?” He asks.

“Yeah I don’t mind, besides if I’m being honest your place is way nicer then mine.” You say. “But hey if you ever get stuck on the other side of London you’ve got a place to crash.” Johnny chuckles as you leave the flat to get a taxi. You find a key cutters first expecting it to take a few hours but it was done in a few minutes. 

“There you go.” You say passing one of the copies to Johnny.

“Thanks.” He says attaching to his keys.

“Oh I usually rent my place out while I’m working, it’s good for the extra income.” You explain.

“The army really paying you that little?” He asks, you chuckle.

“Not like that, I put all the money in savings, for a mortgage one day or a nice big holiday.” You explain.

“Where would you go?” Johnny asks as you make your way across the shopping centre. 

“I don’t know, I’d love to go to Asia, Japan, Korea, China. Or travel round Europe. I’d love to go to Iceland.” You stop yourself before you mention every country on the planet. You look up at him he’s smiling you grab his hand lacing your fingers with his. 

“Where would you go?” You ask him. 

“Simon’s always talked about taking one of those super luxurious resorts in the Caribbean.” Johnny said. 

“Oh the ones with the crystal blue waters and white sand beaches?” You say. 

“Those are the ones.” He says chuckling. Somehow you couldn't imagine Simon laid out on a sun lounger relaxing, you expected him to be somewhere cold where he could wrap up and be inside all day. You walk into Lush letting go of Johnny so you get the list up on your phone. When you look back up he’s gone. You look around, you took your eyes off him for two seconds, you walk round the display and see him talking to one of the employs, who’s showing him a bottle of something.  

“Look for your muscles.” He says holding up a pot. You smile at him walking over. The woman explains more about it as Johnny listens, he seems invested so you leave him to go grab the few things you need meeting him at the till. 

“What’s that?” He asks picking up a bottle after the lady had scanned it. 

“Moisturiser.” you say looking at it, you hear the car reader beep. 

“Would you like a receipt?” The lady asks. 

“Johnny.” You protest turning to look at him chuckling, he wraps his arm round your shoulder. You nod at the woman taking the receipt. You’ll have to pay him back later.

“Sorry, I’m under strict orders.” He says leading you out the store. God damn it Simon. You head to get some lunch which you insist on paying for since he pulled that stunt, you don’t even let him near the counter. You bring the food over sitting down.

“When did you and Simon get married?” You ask, Johnny smiles. 

“I’d been trying to convince Simon for months, he kept pushing it, there was always a mission always something going on.” Johnny stops for a second pouring a sugar packet in his coffee. “I got shot, woke up in hospital 3 days later the first thing Simon asked was when could we get married. I’m pretty sure if I had left it up to him he would have wheeled me to the hospital chapel to get married right there and then.” You chuckle opening the wrapping round the sandwich.

“Anyway I insisted we get married in Scotland, there’s this beautiful little church my grandparents got married in. Simon planned the whole thing, flowers, suits even rented a house in the highlands for the honeymoon. He may not seem like it on the surface but he’s really a hopeless romantic.” You smile at him. 

“That’s really sweet. Sorry about you getting shot though.” You say. 

“Don’t worry about it I’m still here that’s all that matters.” He says biting into his sandwich. You try to picture it in your mind Johnny and Simon getting married, you would have to remind yourself to ask to see a picture, if they had any. You’re about to ask Johnny about the honeymoon when you hear someone call your name. You turn to look. It’s Chloe walking over to you with a baby in a stroller. 

“Oh thank God it is you.” She says stopping the stroller next to you, you look down wide eyed at the baby sucking on its dummy. 

“Congratulations?” You say shaking your head at her. 

“My sisters visiting, she’s wondered off somewhere and I need to pee so bad can you just watch her for a second?” Chloe asks dropping bags by the stroller. 

“Babies hate me.” You reply. 

“Two seconds I’ll be back,” Chloe says running off. You look over at Johnny then back down to the baby who’s just blinking at you. 

“She’s cute.” Johnny says. 

“Chloe or the baby?” You ask looking at him. 

“The baby.” Johnny chuckles. You reach out with your finger letting her grip it with her hand, she is cute. You’re cooing at her when Chloe comes back moving the stroller to sit in the empty chair next to you. 

“Christ, you have no idea how stressed out I am. She didn’t even warn us she was coming just showed up yesterday. Now my mum is insisting on throwing this massive party for her and Jack and the other boys. You have to come by the way please I cannot be around that many American generals and stay sane. At least if you’re there my mum will go easy on me you know she likes you.” Chloe is talking at a million miles an hour as she reaches over picking up your tea taking a sip. 

“Your mum only likes me cos I joined the army. And Jacks not a general he’s a lieutenant at best.” You remind her. “Anyway, Chloe this is Johnny.” You say introducing him. Chloe looks up at him smiling and putting her hand out so he can shake it. 

“Holy shit you are hot. Are you army too?” She says. Johnny goes to open his mouth but Chloe cuts him off.

“Anyway he’s been promoted so he’s a big-shot now mum want’s to celebrate had dad dig out all his old contacts, now it’s a whole thing, she’s already hired the waitstaff and the musicians. And Jack inviting all these really important marine guys so now it's all a big promotion gala.” She says shaking her head. 

“You don’t go from lieutenant to general he’s probably just a captain.” You say.

“See you know this stuff so much better then me please come I’m begging you.” She says gripping your hands, you go to reply when her phone starts ringing, she picks it up. 

“Yeah, where did you go?” She asks as you look at Johnny. You mouth ‘sorry’ at him he just chuckles and goes back to his sandwich. 

“Look I’ll meet you outside Primark.” Chloe says standing up and hanging up the phone.      

“Sorry got to go it was nice to meet you Johnny, I’ll send you an invite you can bring Johnny too.” She says winking at him as she picks up her bags and leaves. 

“I am so sorry she’s a handful I know.” Your cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

“It’s okay, is she the one who filmed that lovely video?” Johnny asked chuckling. Oh God. You nod your cheeks burning. 

“Well I commend her photography skills.” He says.

“Thanks, I’ll let her know.” You say sipping on the tea trying to quell your nerves. You tell Johnny about how you met in med school and worked together until you left to join the military. Her sister married this American marine and they rarely visit so it’s always a big thing. Chloe is the only one in the family who has never shown any interest in the military and her mum resents her for that. 

“Maybe we should go to the party?” Johnny says. You scoff.

“Trust me you do not want to go, her parents are so posh, like own a mansion in Hampstead and Mayfair posh, like spend the summers in the Riviera and the winters in Switzerland.” You explain. Johnny just laughs. 

“I think it would be fun.” He says. You shake your head. 

“Her mum only likes me cos I’m in the military, it’s like a right of passage in that house, she’d have a field day with you and Simon.” You think back to the time’s you’ve been to their other party's it almost felt like you were attending a work do. 

“We’re not going.” You say wrapping the rest of your sandwich to take home. You’d lost your appetite.

You finish up the rest of your tea deciding to get the bedding another time. You get a taxi back to your flat to grab your bag and drop stuff off. When you walk in there is an invite on the floor. Johnny picks it up before you get a chance. 

“I thought you were holding the taxi?” You say trying to grab it out his hand, he’s too quick pulling it away from your grip. 

“Dear sergeant, very posh.” He teases. 

“Johnny.” You protest trying to grab it again as he opens it. 

“You are cordially invited to attend a soirée on the 14th of June.” Johnny is doing his best posh British accent as he keeps the card just out your reach. 

“Look at this part, Black tie, officer formals. Ooo auction in aid of the Royal British Legion.” He says, you sigh folding your arms as he closes the invite. 

“We’re not going.” You say. Johnny laughs picking your bag up. 

“I think we’re going.” He says walking out the door. You follow after him.   

 —————————— 

When you get back to their flat you see Simon still sat at the table with a stack of paperwork by his side. 

“Christ Si did Price send more over?” Johnny says.

“Nope, this is all last months.” He says closing whatever he was working on. 

“Guess what happened to us today?” Johnny says all excited as he puts the invite down for Simon to see. 

“We’re not going.” You say coming over to try and grab it. This time it’s Simon that’s too quick for you. Simon looks over it then passes it to you and rubs his forehead.

“We’re going.” He says.

“Simon!” You say annoyed, Johnny starts laughing. 

“We’re going because Price has been invited which mean I’ve been invited, which means Johnny gets to suffer along with us.” Simon says, he sounds even less enthusiastic about it.

“What about Gaz?” Johnny asks. 

“Training, gets a free pass.” 

“Well you boys have fun, I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back.” You say putting the invite down and going over to the sofa. 

“Hey, you’re invited too.” Johnny says. 

“Oh yes but I will politely decline on this occasion, maybe next time.” You turn to look over at them. 

“What you’re not even going to go for Chloe?” Johnny asks. Oof, there’s that pang of guilt. Like a hot rod straight through the chest. You sigh.

“Fine! But I’m going for Chloe.” You say frustrated.  

“Who’s Chloe?” Simon asks. 

“The one who sent us the lovely video and pictures.” Johnny says. You lie back on the sofa trying to ignore the fact Johnny bought it up again.

“She’s the daughter of the host.” You say. Johnny comes over to the sofa sitting next to you. You cross your arms pulling your legs away from him. 

“What?” He says chuckling. 

“I have to buy a new dress now.” You say huffing. 

“Oh yeah, need help picking one out?” Johnny winks. 

“Simon can help.” You say back. Johnny pouts at you. 

“I bet I could find a pretty blue dress to go with my pretty blue suit.” Johnny says leaning closer to you. 

“Maybe I want to wear a red dress.” You say smiling at him. 

“Even better.” Johnny says his hands working their way up your legs. Before you can reply he’s scooped you up on his lap. 

“Johnny!” You protest, but you don’t fight him instead wrapping your hands round his neck looking down at his face. Why does he always have such a cheeky grin. You lean down and kiss him, his hand finding it’s way up your top. 

“If you two are going to have sex can you go in the bedroom, I have to get all this finished by 5.” Simon says, you pull way from Johnny, smiling. 

“Too bad, later.” You promise. Johnny pouts again, you get off his knee leaning up against him as he reaches for the TV remote.

“Do you really have a blue suit?” You ask. 

“Yeah, a red one too.” He says, winking.

“You should wear a kilt, Chloe would get a kick out of that.” 

“Maybe I will.” He says as he kisses the top of your head.

I could not for the life of me find a good ending for this.

Next part

[thefallennightmare]

Eternally Grateful-Miracle!Noah Sebastian

*GIF created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings: smut, language, fluff.

Summary: Reader refused to take the laptop Noah bought for her, after she specifically asked him to stop spending his money on her. That was, until he wore her down with his tongue.

A/N: Again, this takes place in the Miracle Universe! If you haven't read it, no biggie! You won't be missing too much! But you should really check it out. I've been told once or twice it's a pretty great story.

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @mitchhbitch @missduffsblog @hayleylatour @sleepyomens @loeytuan98 @artificialbreezy @marvelousmal @bngurngheart @lma1986 @dsireland86 @wild-child-7747 @calleyx13 @illmakeyousaywow @jaded-and-hollow-souls @exitwoundsx @shayzillaaaa @lookwhatitcost @badomensls @princesspeach-00 @burning-outx @shadowseve @collective-heartbreak @klutzy-kay24 @sorrowsofsilence @sweetlittlekitsune @shilohrosechicken @itsafullmoon @toospooktocute @niicoleleigh @thatchickwiththecamera @hoe-for-daddywise @whenthesummerdies @cookiesupplier @concreteemo @sammyjoeee @thisbicc

“Noah, what is this?” I pointed to the shiny plastic box in my suitcase. 

His head full of fluffy hair popped out of the hotel room bathroom. “What’s what?” 

I pointed to my suitcase again. “That!” 

“Oh,” he muttered while coming up behind me and shrugged. “Whoops.” 

Before he could walk away, I grabbed onto his arm, keeping him in front of me. I could feel the aggravation creeping in. I knew he did it out of his love for me but I specifically told him not to buy this for me. 

“I told you I didn’t need a laptop. Bryan has one for me to use.” 

Noah kissed my forehead. “Think of it as a birthday present.” 

“My birthday is in six months,” I crossed my arms. 

“Christmas present?” he suggested. 

“It's April!” I sighed exasperated while pinching my eyes shut. “When we get back home, please return it. I’ll save up my own money to buy myself one.” 

Noah’s lips parted to speak but there was a knock to our hotel room door, halting whatever he was about to say. When he opened it, Matt stood on the other side while nursing a Celsius. 

“Ready?” 

Bad Omens had a sound check at the venue before the show tonight, the first show of the Europe leg of the tour. 

“Are you coming?” Noah asked after turning back to me. 

I was still angry about the brand new laptop in my suitcase but didn’t want to cause a scene in front of Matt. So instead, I grabbed the camera Bryan gave me and pushed my way past the two guys, ignoring their protests of waiting for them. 

Ever since the fire and losing everything, Noah had made it his mission to buy me things I needed to replace. The necessities were fine but when it came to expensive things, I drew the line. Noah worked hard for his money and I felt terrible to have him spend it on me. 

The entire time of soundcheck, I didn’t say a word to Noah, hoping my silent treatment would show him how angry I was. Deep down, I knew it was a sweet gesture but it was in my stubborn nature to be a brat. 

“Angel,” Noah’s voice came through the microphone. “How does it sound up there?” 

I was standing up in the balconies of the venue because Matt was worried about how the mix would sound this high up. 

“It sounds good, Matt!” I called down to him, who was standing in the sound deck. 

Once again ignoring Noah. 

Then later, after I took my round of pictures, I was sitting on the edge of the stage and looking back at what I took when Noah sat beside me. His long legs swinging off the edge. 

“You’re ignoring me.” 

I hummed, still clicking through the pictures. I stopped on one I took of Noah bending at the knees while holding his microphone. The white tank top he wore always stood out against the tone of his skin. I bit the inside of my cheek when I noticed how thick his muscles were in this position. 

Curse the burning between my legs. Due to the long travel from the States to the U.K, we barely had time alone before dealing with things to get the first night of the tour set up. 

“Y/N,” my voice came out in a low rumble in his chest. “Why can’t you accept the fact that I want to take care of you?” 

“I told you not to buy me one and you did it anyway,” I said, not looking at him yet. 

I knew if I gazed up into those almond eyes I would falter immediately.  

“I wanted to,” Noah said. “Why is the idea of me taking care of you so hard to understand?” 

“Because I’ve been taking care of myself my entire life,” I semi-snapped while jumping off the stage and sauntered off to the green room. 

I knew from the thundering footsteps behind me that Noah was following and when we were alone in the green room, I placed the camera on the couch. 

“Please take it,” he breathed while placing his hands on my hips. 

I pouted, my resolve crumbling. “I feel terrible you spent a lot of money on it. On me.” 

“Angel,” Noah’s thumb grazed over my cheek. “I want to take care of you.” 

“It’s an expensive laptop, Noah. I know how much it cost because I’ve had my eye on it long before the fire,” I admitted. 

He had a playful smirk on his lips as he shook his bangs away from his eyes. “How do you think I knew which one to get you? You’re not very good at hiding things.” 

I scoffed while smacking his chest, causing a rouse of laughter from us, but I wasn’t ready to accept his gift; yet. 

“I don’t know,” I sighed while slowly moving from side to side in his embrace. “You could have used that money for something else. Something for the studio.” 

Noah led me to the couch in the green room, the back of my knees hitting the leather armrest. 

“Take it,” he spoke quietly before getting to his knees. 

When I didn’t say anything right away, he placed his hands behind his back and knelt even farther on the ground, resting his forehead on the toes of my boots. 

“Please, angel. Let me show you how much I want to take care of you.” 

My eyes widened when his long fingers hooked into my leggings, pulling them down to my ankles, and then made me sit on the armrest. The coolness from the leather felt wonderful on my heated skin as Noah spread my legs wide for him. 

“What if someone walks in?” 

He tore his hungry eyes away from my pussy and up to my eyes. “Give them a show, Y/N.” 

I gaped down in shock at him which caused him to give a curt laugh. “I already locked the door.” 

Soon his tongue flicked over my already sensitive clit and my nails quickly found his scalp, yanking him closer to me. 

“I fucking love the way you taste,” he groaned seconds before completely devouring me with his mouth. 

My mewls of pleasure sounded disgustingly loud in the small green room. Noah knew exactly what to do with his tongue to make my body ignite for him. His hair was a mess thanks to my fingers running through it, bucking on the ends to keep him in place. 

“Oh, fuck,” I shook when a finger slipped inside, pumping in and out of my pussy with such speed it made my head spin. 

“Do you want to be a good girl for me, angel?” Noah broke away from my clit to look up at me with wide pupils. 

My arousal coated his lips and I let out a small whimper when I nodded. 

“Then take the laptop,” he ordered before diving back in to enjoy his meal. 

I wrapped my legs around his head as another way to keep him close to me as my orgasm began to build and build. It teetered on the edge of the cliff and with one piercing cry of his name, I came apart. Noah lapped up my juices like a man who had just found water after trekking in the desert for days. 

When I blinked through the haze that danced at the edge of my vision, I noticed Noah was standing in front of me now, lips and chin covered in my wetness, and he held up a finger; a silent command. 

I brought it to my mouth eagerly to lick it clean, humming at how delicious I tasted. 

“You’re such a good girl for me, angel. Fuck,” Noah hissed when my teeth grazed along his finger as he pulled it out of my mouth. 

“Can I repay you for my gift?” I asked with doe eyes while raking my nails down the tattoos on his arms. 

Somehow Noah knew I wasn’t talking about money. 

In one swift motion, we switched positions so he was sitting on the armrest and I was standing in front of him; his large hand resting on top of my head. 

“On your knees, Y/N,” he demanded while pushing me roughly to my knees. 

His cock sprung free when I pulled it out of his black shorts and I wasted no time licking up the precum at the head before swirling it over my tongue. I took his entire length in my mouth and bobbed my head up and down in fast strokes. He always had a tangy yet sweet taste and I purred when the head of his cock hit the back of my throat. 

“Shit!” He hissed and gripped the back of my head. “Right there, angel. Fuck, I’m gonna-.” 

When my hand began playing with his soft balls, I knew he wouldn’t be able to hang on for much longer. With a grunt, his warm cum shot down my throat and I dug my nails into the skin of his thighs. 

“Every.” 

Thrust. 

“Last.” 

Thrust. 

“Drop.”

I did. 

My mouth popped off his dick and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before tucking his cock away. 

“I will be eternally grateful for your gift,” I vowed with a kiss to his lips; myself still lingering. 

Noah vibrated as he slowly pulled up my leggings for me just as the door to the green room opened with a distraught-looking Matt.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Noah. What the fuck! We only have ten minutes left before the doors open and your M.I.A.” He took off his hat to shake out his hair.

My gaze snapped away from Matt to Noah. “You told me you locked the door!” 

He winked with a shrug and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Whoops.”

[gabessquishytum]

Dream's evil guardian Burgess just wants Dream's inheritance so he "sells", gives, marries him off to the worst highest bidder; Hob spent years fomenting a reputation as the worst so he could be in a position to save Dream from Burgess, because he knew that asshole would do all he could to hurt Dream.

Dream doesn't even know that the Lord Cheval d'Blanc is Hob. Hob left when they were younger, breaking both their hearts, but needing to strike out to make his fortune.

He knew that even if he made a fortune, Burgess wouldn't consent to letting Hob marry Dream. Hob and Dream loved each other and Burgess hated Dream and the Endless family enough to never let any of them have a happiness he could prevent. So Hob knew that he needed to seem like the worst of the worst.

And he'll be the first to admit he started pretty bad (a little a lot of thievery & banditary, and some piracy thrown in for good measure) but once he got his feet under him,,, he tried to make what he did to gain his horrible reputation look bad, while actually saving and helping as many people as he could. It might have looked like people disappeared, never to be seen again, after Hob was done with them, but that was just because Hob was helping them out of their bad situations.

So Hob as Blanc had money and a rep in Ton as the absolute worst, but someone who was respected and feared. When Burgess finally put out that he was accepting marriage offers for Dream, Hob had his plan ready.

They didn't even see each other until Dream was forced down the altar. Then Dream saw Hob and started to cry ---- Burgess thinking he had won, that Dream was soo sad and scared of his new Husband he was crying. Not realizing Hob (& Dream) had won, and successfully put one over on Burgess.

Now they just had to plan, together, how to steal all the Endless money away from Burgess.

AHHH yes!! Love the idea of Hob having a longterm plan to get Dream away from Burgess. It's not easy, but its so worth it.

There's a moment or two where Dream doesn't even recognise his old friend/beloved Hob. They've both changed over the years, and Hob’s body language has changed to match his reputation as a harsh and fearsome Lord. But when Dream sees his eyes, he immediately knows that his Hob has returned to rescue him! He can't help crying, and it's so hard for Hob not to immediately comfort him. Instead he has to smirk and act as cruel as possible, so Burgess won't get suspicious and pull Dream out of the marriage at the last second.

But it all runs smoothly. Dream is handed over to be Hob’s property, now. Burgess is surprised to see the way Dream clings to his new husband, but he figures that Dream will soon find out that Hob isn't his knight in shining armour at all. But of course, once Burgess is out of sight, Dream is scooped up in Hob’s arms, delicately kissed, and immediately the two of them leave together for Hob’s country estate.

It's a curious thing - just a year later, Burgess dies after mysteriously hitting his head. It seems as though it was a complete accident. Even more curiously, he left his entire fortune (including the large portion that was once the Endless's) to his former ward, Dream. It's all there set out in his will, and although Burgess's son contests it, no one can deny that Roderick's signature is right there on the paper.

No one dares mention that Dream’s husband is a renowned expert in forgery. He's a Lord, after all. No one wants to get on his bad side. And surely even he wouldn't dare to murder Roderick Burgess and falsify his will?

Whatever the truth, Dream is blissfully happy. He intends to use Burgess's money to travel all over Europe with Hob, just like they dreamed of when they were young. Maybe they'll drink a toast to evil ex-guardians, as they revel in their happiness together!

[winchester-girl67]

Wild Hearts (Part 6) - Two Years After Dean Left

Summary: During her gap year, Y/N goes to visit Dean for his birthday in Sioux Falls while trying to figure out her next step in life. 

Masterlist

Pairing: AU!Dean x reader 

Square: Car broke down @spnfluffbingo

Word Count: 6,763 

Warnings: underage, age gap (reader is 18, Dean is 22-23), reader is feeling a bit lost, angst, past injury (scars), mentions of physical abuse by a parent/violence/death/prison, language, slow burn, kissing/cuddling, talks of sex/relationship, fluff 

A/N: Written for @spnfluffbingo. Enjoy. 

_____ 

Two years after Dean left.

So far, your gap year wasn't turning out the way you'd hoped. You weren't anywhere closer to figuring out what to do with your life and you didn't have the means for backpacking through Europe. Flights and hostels cost money and though you saved up, it would go fast and you'd already figured out that solo travel wasn't for you. 

So you bought yourself a car and it was a used piece of junk, but it was yours.

You weren't technically sure if you could categorize it as a car, though. It was more of a rusted piece of tin that would stall like a toddler having a tantrum, for no reason! It was only ever meant to get you from point A to point B, not go on cross-country road trips to see a boy who was never your boyfriend.

Yet here you were, on the side of the road on a particularly balmy day in January, waiting for a tow-truck. You'd almost made it all the way to Sioux Falls and you were so excited to surprise Dean with a blast from his past for his birthday. Then the engine overheated with a jarring clunk sound and you were forced to pull over as it stalled out again. Smoke billowing from under the hood. Stupid car. Stupid road trip. You should've flown but you wanted the time to think. Now you had too much time.

You were wrapped in your long winter coat and sat on the hood of your car. It had long since cooled and the smoke cleared but the dark paint attracted the sun and it was warm as you waited for the tow-truck. You had called the garage that you knew Dean worked at, but you got his uncle on the phone and were expecting him to show up. Instead when the truck finally arrived it wasn't an old man driving it.

"Y/N," Dean said with a look of shock as he stepped down from the truck on bowed legs.

Damn it, surprise ruined. You forced a nervous smile.

"Hey, Dean. How's it hanging?" You said, sliding down from the hood of your car to meet him halfway to his truck parked in front of you. You stood a foot away from each other and shifted your weight from one leg to the other. Not quite the embrace you were hoping for after so long. "Damn it, I should've said something cooler... Surprise!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

That wasn't much of a warm welcome either. 

Why was this so awkward?

"Uh- um, you know, sightseeing." You pointed to the snow covered field to the right of the quiet highway, squinting at the trees in the distance.

"Yeah because Sioux Falls is the number one tourist destination. In the middle of winter." He said, glancing in the direction you had pointed with nothing substantial to look at. 

You'd argue the field still had its charm. Snowflakes sparkling in the sunlight. 

Dean looked back at you and cocked his head like he knew you were hiding something. His eyes burrowing into you, set on digging out the truth without the use of words. Somehow it worked and you folded your cards.

"All right, you caught me." You rolled your eyes dramatically, "You sounded kind of sad on the phone when you said you'd be spending your birthday alone and I... didn't want you to."

You left a little late but drove nonstop for as long as you could and made it there with half a day to spare. Tomorrow was Dean's twenty-third birthday!

"Sammy's only gonna be gone one night, I'll still have the morning with him before he leaves for his field trip." He said, still not believing you.

It was partially true, it was the reason you used to convince yourself to come. But the reason you risked the drive in such an unreliable car was different. And he knew it.

"He's in University, they don't call them field trips anymore." You teased but he remained stoic.

You talked on the phone and texted all the time. You should be able to read him better but video calls were glitchy at best lately with the weather and it takes time to be able to read someone's body language again after years apart.

"Why are you here, Y/N?"

"Can't a girl show up for no reason but to celebrate your birthday? I thought you wanted me to visit." You remembered the postcard he'd sent asking you to on your gap year.

"I wanted you to call first. I would've paid for a flight." He said, shoving his ungloved hands into his pockets, likely to keep his fingers warm.

It was winter after all, there was a nip in the air. He didn't wear a toque but the tips of his ears were still protected by his hair which he had let get longer since you last saw him. 

You sighed regretting the road trip and feeling stupid for thinking he thought about you as much as you still thought about him. Maybe he wanted you to call first so he could talk you out of making the trip. But then maybe you were over thinking this and letting your insecurities get the best of you. That has been happening a lot lately.

You shrugged and played with your mittens, "I needed to clear my head and driving halfway across the country sounded like a good idea to do that."

He sighed a visible manifestation of his breath, "What's going on? You sounded fine last time we spoke."

"Nothing, I am fine." You chewed on the inside of your cheek and blinked away watery eyes, "I just have no passion for- like, anything."

"I don't know what you're talking about, you are extremely passionate in everything you do." Dean said, somehow knowing this had to do with you struggling to figure out your whole future at eighteen. Sure, some kids had known what they wanted to do since grade school but for you, it felt like it was next to impossible, "You'll figure it out."

"Okay, okay, enough." You said, raising your mitten-clad hands.

You didn't want to think about it anymore. You were finally in a place to explore your feelings with Dean and although that's not why you drove out there, you'd be lying if you said it wasn't in the back of your mind.

"Where are you staying?" He asked, changing the subject.

"About that...? I fit on a couch pretty good."

Dean smiled, he knew exactly what you were getting at and he had the space since he and Sam had moved into their own apartment. "Good thing I got a couch then."

His attention shifted to your car parked on the side of the highway. His eyes scanned over the dents, scraped paint, rust and bald tires; the side mirror barely held on with duct tape and the bent antenna. The radio was staticky at best. His jaw tightened.

"Is this your car?"

"Yeah," you answered tentatively like it was an obvious answer and you knew you were in for a scolding.

"This is your car? This is the car that you decided to drive practically cross-country in?"

Here it was, "Um, yeah."

Dean walked past you to get a closer look at the car. "Y/N, this car couldn't limp to the next exit if it wanted to."

He kicked the tire and frowned back at you. No doubt seeing the extent of the worn tread. And he knew you knew better than to drive it that far. After he started his job at the Singer's Garage with his uncle he'd made sure to give you a lesson about car safety in case you took out your parents' car, let alone get your own. His attempt at teaching you to change a tire via glitchy video chat was by far the most epic of fails.

"That's kind of the problem, it doesn't want to." You quipped, giving him a cute smile to ease the tension but it didn't work.

"Who sold you this piece of junk, anyways?" He asked, looking away from you as if your smile was blinding him. 

He kicked the tire again.

"I don't know... Chuck, I think." You said, trying to remember the name of the salesman who sold you the car back home.

"Chuck?" He repeated and laughed silently without humour.

"Yes, Chuck. Why do you keep repeating everything I'm saying?"

"Chuck as in Chuck Shirley's Used Car Lot outside town? Y/N, he's a cheat. He sells nothing but lemons. You should've called me, I would've told you where to go." He sighed in frustration and bit his lip, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets.

"I wanted to surprise you, that was the whole point and I didn't want you to tell me not to come." You said and his green eyes immediately found yours. Your chin quivered either from the cold or what you were about to say next. You weren't sure which. "You don't really seem happy to see me."

"You think I'm not happy to see you?" He asked and his stare softened.

You bit the inside of your cheek, "Well, you are doing that weird repeating-everything-I'm-saying-as-a-question thing again."

"What if you broke down?"

"Uh, I did break down." You pointed to the hunk of tin on four wheels just sitting there.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, what if you had broken down somewhere I couldn't get to you. Y/N, you could've gotten yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere. Or worse."

"I'm pretty sure two hours outside of Sioux Falls is the middle of nowhere."

"You know what I mean. There are strange people out there."

"I know, I'm looking at one." You teased and pushed his shoulder playfully but he didn't react, "Why are you so worried? Dean, I'm fine, I'm standing right here. You could even do something as crazy as -Oh, I dunno, hug me?" 

He cocked his head at you and pointed, "You don't get to own the monopoly on worrying."

He was right, you were always worrying about him especially when you lived in the same town. And the current role reversal was throwing you for a loop. Just another thing you couldn't control.

You pushed back your hair and sighed, "Fine, but can we fast forward to the Dean that's actually glad to see me? I'm starting to think this was a really bad idea."

"In that car, it was a really bad idea." He agreed and you stared at your shoes, holding yourself. "But I am so fucking glad to see you."

He grabbed your shoulders and bent down so his forehead rested against yours. A single tear got away from you as your anxiety about seeing Dean again and everything in between boiled over and you wiped it away with your mitten.

"Really?" You sniffled but it could've been from the cold.

"Yeah, really." He pulled you in for a hug and you rested your cheek against his warm chest. Your arms wrapped around his waist and your hands clutched his jacket in case he decided to pull away before you were willing to let go. "Of course ‘really’, Y/N."

You hummed, "Hm, I'm starting to think this was a good idea again."

You held onto him until your fingers got stiff from the grip you had on him and pulled away. Dean looked down at you and brushed your hair behind your ear. A cold gust of wind turning the shell of it as red as your nose and cheeks. You had probably sat out in the elements a little too long.

"There's no way you're driving that home, by the way. I'm still mad but I can't believe you're actually here. It's like you haven't changed at all." A smile replaced his frown and he looked you over as if he expected you to look a hell of a lot different or maybe older with the time and distance between you.

"It's been two years, a lot has changed, I'm eighteen now!" Your hands went to your hips as you glared up at him. 

The truth was that it had only been two years and your reflection in the mirror hadn't changed a lick. You hoped it would, that you'd wake up eighteen and an adult and that mirror would reflect that, but it didn't and you weren't about to admit that even you didn't feel your age. You technically haven't felt any older since you got your license. Birthdays after that kind of lacked lustre.

Maybe that was what it was like getting older though. First you stop feeling like your birthday is a big deal, stop feeling any older despite the number, then the milestones get further and farther between and eventually you have to think about how old you are. Maybe that’s how it was for Dean and maybe that’s why he seemed so far away. 

"You're so cute." Dean said and roughed up your hair.

You hated the way it made you feel like a kid counting to ten on your fingers and shoved his hand away. Sure your life was a little unorganized at the moment which probably led to this epiphany about birthdays that you were having but that didn't mean you were a child. He didn't treat you like a child when he met you at sixteen and now you were legally an adult. So what was his problem?

"And you're still strange." You squinted.

"And wonderful, though, right?" He cocked an eyebrow and smirked, remembering the compliment you gave him the first night you met. 'You're strange and kinda wonderful.' 

Dean didn't tinker with your car's engine much before he gave up and hooked it up to the tow truck. You didn't think that had any indication on how good of a mechanic he was and more about the state of the engine itself. Every time he tried the key the lights would come on and the starter would spark but the engine kept quiet. You didn't know much about cars other than the basics he'd talked about since you ran out of other stuff to talk about over the phone. But still practical and theory were two very different fields and you couldn't tell the starter from the alternator, though Dean said neither of those seemed to be the problem.

On the drive back to Singer's Garage Dean let you pick the music and you tuned into a country station that he seemed to hate from the first note. So after a song you switched it over to classic rock which you knew was his favourite. The next couple hours were spent listening to him hum along, out of tune, to songs old enough that your father listened to them when he was a teenager. They weren't bad though and you loved the way Dean seemed happier.

You hoped it was real and not some facade he was putting on for your sake. Somehow, you didn't think it was.

Maybe he didn't need you to save him from his birthday alone after all, but he seemed to want you there. He took side glances at you the whole drive back; that had to mean something.

You walked into the garage after Dean. An older man stood at the desk in the office wiping the grease from his hands on a rag. It didn’t seem to help though since the rag itself was already covered in days old worth of oil and grease. He tossed it to the side of the desk when he saw you walk in with Dean.

"Hey, Uncle Bobby, this is Y/N." Dean smiled and wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

"Ah, the infamous Y/N. Me and the Mrs. have heard a lot about you." Bobby said and you blushed.

Dean talked about you when you weren’t around.

"Bobby," Dean warned, side eyeing you and Bobby held his hands up with a smirk pulling at his lips.

"You didn't tell us she was coming to town, son." He said and you saw how that word ‘son’ affected Dean.

Like he actually had a father worth getting to know, one that cared and worried and you loved that for him. Dean deserved to be surrounded by good people that treated him better than his blood had. 

He had hindered his own wants since childhood almost to the point that he denied himself of anything good until now. The lighter air about him, especially in the presence of his uncle, made you hope that he'd found a balance and that his move to Sioux Falls was for more than just Sam after all. 

You might've been trying to find yourself, so to speak, but maybe you weren't the only one. There was a twinge in your gut that made you feel like you were losing him, to another town, another life you weren’t a part of, and eventually another girl. Even if there wasn't one in the picture now. 

You hadn’t talked about relationships and he never mentioned any interest in anyone but you knew you weren’t together either. Dean was all sorts of awesome and a little broken but you admired everything about him; how he could stay calm through uncertainty, say exactly what he thought at any given moment and give up so much for the people he loved without asking for anything in return. You’d never met anyone else like him and compared every boy that asked you out to him, before you inevitably turned them down and skipped prom altogether.

Dean would’ve given you a blast for skipping so you never told him. Instead Benny and Cas took you sand surfing and out to Donna’s for ice cream afterwards. It was sweet and nostalgic and perfect. You wound up spending most of your time with them after Dean and Sam left. The three of you bonded over your love for the boys and the void they left in your life even though you’d only known them for a fraction of the time and still kept in contact with Dean. But sometimes the phone calls weren’t enough and it was just easier to spend time with someone who understood all of that and Benny really was a teddy bear once you got to know him.

You felt safe with them and the age gap didn’t seem to register when there was no chance of attraction. You were hung up on Dean and they knew that. Besides, Benny and Cas still flirted a lot, but never with you. You thought they’d make a cute couple if they ever realized the feeling was mutual and not just casual.

"He didn't know. It was a surprise." You said with a shy smile.

"And you ran into a bit of trouble, I see." Bobby said, walking over to your car that was parked outside the open garage door.

He took a look under the hood that Dean had propped open after disconnecting it from the tow truck and made a face. The same face Dean had made when he looked.

"Nothing Dean can't fix, I'm sure." You said and Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

“I could fix it but the cost would run more than the worth of that car. You said the engine overheats and stalls out regularly, not to mention that it still doesn’t want to turn over. Sorry, Y/N, but without an overhaul of the engine it’s basically a paper weight.”

“I guess, I’m flying home after all then, eh.” You sighed, staring at your two-ton paperweight.

You helped Dean around the garage for the rest of the day. Mainly working on this ridiculous orange shop truck, changing brakes and fluids. He said it was basically ready to sell and that’s how they made business during the lulls in customers. By finding salvageable vehicles and fixing them up. He also made you rotate the tires, though they looked brand new, and you were positive that was just his way of ensuring you knew how to change one; by the fourth tire you felt like a pro.

It was only a few hours before they closed up early for Dean’s birthday dinner. They were celebrating early with Bobby and Jody since Sam wouldn’t be home for dinner on his actual birthday and Bobby invited you along.

Dean took the luggage from your car and stuffed it into the trunk of his Impala. You noted the dents in the front bumper were still there and the headlight was taped up with clear plastic. Dean said he’d been scouring salvage and junkyards for parts but had yet to find any to fit Baby with. You could tell he regretted the damage he’d done to her; it wasn’t her fault, just like how their upbringing wasn’t his. You could tell he connected with her on some spiritual level that people connected with inanimate objects.

When you got to Bobby and Jody’s, a short haired woman greeted Dean with a hug and you with a smile. Until she learnt that you were Y/N and then she pulled you in for a bear hug like you were family. You wondered exactly what Dean had told them about you. However, whatever it was seemed to make a good impression.

Dinner was great and you fell into easy conversation with Sam about his courses. He’d taken the heaviest workload he could and was struggling with studying, so you said you’d send him your playlist for concentrating. You had used it a lot throughout high school and only added to it over the years. It was a mix of easy listening pieces, movie scores, and instrumental works you knew Dean would probably hate.

Dean was delighted in the way you scarfed down your slice of cherry pie. Jody apparently made it for him every year and it was by far the best you’d ever tasted. No wonder he’d bragged about it for as long as he did.

By the end of the night you were full and exhausted from your time on the road. You had only stopped at one motel along the way, and it was a good day’s ride to Sioux Falls from home. So, as much as you would’ve liked to spend the night partying it up with Dean, you were thankful that he just wanted to get back to his apartment and watch a show on Netflix with you. 

Dean carried your bag up to their apartment and let you get first dibs on the shower. Sam, of course, went to bed as soon as you got back. It was late and he had that field trip the next day that he needed to be refreshed for. Dean didn’t seem to mind though, he was mostly concerned that you weren’t too tired to hangout. You lied and assured him that you weren’t since you were determined to be awake when the clock struck midnight. But you passed out on the couch as soon as he hit play.

You woke up well past midnight to Dean carrying you. You were too tired to protest and kept your eyes shut when he laid you down in his bed and tucked you in. Then he left and you fell asleep again mumbling a ‘Happy Birthday’ that he wouldn’t have heard.

In the morning you realized he had spent the night on the couch and you woke up snuggled into comforters that smelt like him. The only thing you missed was the heat of his body. It felt weird to miss something you never had.

“Hey, birthday boy.” You yawned, meeting Dean in the kitchen and wrapping your arms around him from behind.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” He said, patting your arms on his waist.

You heard him sizzling something on the stove. A drop of grease spit from the pan and landed on your arm, “Ow.” You released him and rubbed the spot on your arm, “What’s with you and bacon?” He chuckled and you hopped up on the counter stifling another yawn. “Where’s Sammy?”

“He left.”

“Already?”

“It’s the middle of the afternoon, Y/N.” He said and turned to face you. He looked equally as tired, probably from that damned couch.

“Sorry,” you muttered, “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were tired and it’s not like either of us have anywhere else to be today.” He shrugged and smiled, “I wanted to ask yesterday but I didn’t wanna pry. How long can you stay?”

“September,” you said hopefully and he laughed.

You technically hadn’t applied to college yet, but you were planning on taking something in the fall. You just didn’t know what and you were trying not to think about application deadlines.

You helped Dean make an early dinner since you hadn’t eaten yet. You peeled potatoes for his ‘famous bacon mashed potatoes’ and he grilled a steak on the small balcony sized barbecue outside. It took longer than a regular barbecue and the sun was setting by the time you sat down with your food in front of the TV. 

You were starving and ate quickly while Dean ate at his regular pace. His affinity for adding bacon to almost every recipe including mashed potatoes doing little to curb your appetite. It was actually pretty good and you both grabbed seconds. 

"This looks familiar," Dean chuckled, tugging the fabric of your hoodie between his fingers.

Your dinner plates abandoned on the coffee table to be rinsed and washed later. 

"I should think so," you grinned and blushed. "It's yours -It was yours, it's mine now."

You clutched the fabric of your hoodie in your hands. It was the sweater Dean had given you the night you met. You'd forgotten to give it back that night when he dropped you off at home and kept it ever since. It was worn but it was your favourite sweater now. It provided warmth and comfort over the years and there was no way you were giving it back. 

"Looks better on you anyways." Dean laid his arm along the back of the couch behind you.

"That's what I thought." You smiled at him and his other hand brushed your cheek, his fingertips grazing your jaw as he tucked some hair behind your ear.

"Did I tell you how happy I am that you're here?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

The show you were watching faded into the background and all you could hear and feel was the heartbeat in your chest thumping wildly. He held your gaze as his palm warmed your already fiery skin. You wanted him to kiss you but he didn't.

"You saved me, Y/N, I never told you that. I was just barely hanging on when I met you. Surviving everyday just for Sammy, but then you showed me the beauty in life and made me wanna fight for myself again. When I looked at you I saw a future, a glimpse of something that kept me going and maybe it was a fantasy, it felt like a dream, but now-"

You turned and kissed him, tucking your legs underneath yourself so you could push up on your knees to meet his lips with a little weight. Dean's hands clutched your waist, fingers pressing into your skin and you wrapped your arms around his neck.

It wasn't the kiss you wanted. He held back and a tear trailed down his cheek. You pulled apart your lips and he sniffled, his hands still gripping you like you would disappear.

“This can’t work.” He whispered and met your eyes, shaking his head. “You’re everything I want but this won’t end well, it can’t right now, Y/N.” 

What? You pushed your brows together, "I would never hurt you, Dean."

"No, but I won't let you hurt yourself either." He pushed you away.

“You’re scared. Of this, of us. That’s it, isn’t it?” You asked, pointing between you. 

He sighed and rubbed a palm down his face, “Y/N, you know that’s not true.”

“It’s not just about me, Dean. There’s another reason you’re holding back.”

“Cut me some slack, Y/N, it’s my birthday.” He said, playing the birthday card pretty fast like he had it in his back pocket. 

But you didn't drop it.

You placed your hand on his heart and raised his to lay over your breast. Each heartbeat thumping wildly enough to feel the vibrations in your palms.

"Do you feel that? Our hearts are wild, Dean. They wither in cages waiting to be broken. Do yourself a favour. Don't cage your wild heart, set it free." You pleaded. He was the only one you ever wanted, a feeling that was mutual as much as he fought it. "I know you love me."

He kissed you then and it was like lightning coursing through your veins. All thought was lost and your bodies mended together as he crawled over you. Your back pressed into the couch and he held his weight over you as his tongue gained entry to the warmth of your mouth. The air in your lungs replaced with the air in his and his hands grabbed at yours, linking your fingers together and pushing the backs of your palms into the cushions next to your head. 

You panted and hummed, breathing heavily through the nips and sucks to your lips and throat. You angled your hips up to his, wrapping your legs around him and pressing your heels into his backside but Dean didn’t close the distance to give you more friction. He just kept kissing you. 

You separated your hands from his and pawed at his henley. Dean sat up, pulling you with him and letting you push his shirt up his chest. You tugged it over his head and away from his arms, tossing it to the floor next to the couch.

He leaned in to kiss you again but you stopped him with a hand to his chest. The lamp next to you was lit and it was the first time you'd seen him bare chested. You felt the raised skin beneath your fingertips as his chest rose and fell with each breath.

The scar you had only seen the tail end of that night on the beach ran from his collarbone down the left side of his chest and into the waistband of his jeans towards his hip. Dean sighed when he saw the tears in your eyes and reached for his shirt.

"No, wait," you grabbed his hand and settled into his lap, wrapping yourself around him in a tight hug. You rubbed your hands over his shoulder blades feeling a myriad of raised skin, forming other unseen scars that covered his back. Your chin quivered, faced with the irrefutable proof of the pain his father inflicted on him and you let the tears drip onto the skin of his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I knew what he did to you but somehow I still didn't know."

"It's over, Y/N, he's never going to touch me or Sam ever again. Not even when he gets out of prison. I'll kill him myself before that happens." He said as if he was promising himself.

You went to kiss him again but he turned away and pushed you off of his lap. You sat next to him on the couch and he slipped his shirt back on and rubbed the nape of his neck, then sighed as looked at you.

That look of lust in Dean's eyes was gone and now he was stopping whatever this was between you before it got out of hand. Even if it was the last thing either of you wanted.

"Y/N. My heart will always beat wild for you whenever we're together, but it's also like I can't think rationally when we're close like this. My mind and body are clouded by this fleeting feeling and when it's gone neither of us are going to feel any better about this. And that's exactly why this can't happen now. You're still trying to figure things out and I can't stand in the way of that. You're not done growing yet. So for now, my heart stays here," he tapped the left side of his chest twice, "And I'm not caging it, I'm containing it because if I released it, it would devour you."

"Couples grow together, Dean. Haven't you ever heard of growing old together."

"Couples grow together when the time is right." He brushed the sweat-dampened hair from his face.

"How do we know when the time is right?" You asked. 

"Because it'll be easy... natural.” He explained, cupping your cheek with his palm and running the pad of his thumb along your cheekbone. 

"I want it to be easy now." You said, grabbing his wrist as he pulled his hand away. 

"Trust me, me too. But when we get there, it'll be worth the wait because there will be nothing standing in our way. You'll know it's what you want." He said as if he still wasn't sure you wanted him.

"I know that now. I want you now." If there was one thing you were sure about, it was that. Your feelings for him had only cemented since you were sixteen.

"You think you know that now, Y/N. You're still young." He said like he still saw the girl he'd first met and finally pulled his hand away. 

"Just because I haven't figured out what I want to study doesn't mean I'm a baby. I may never know, Dean." You frowned.

You were more than old enough to know what you wanted in your romantic life. You wanted a man to treat you right like you knew Dean would. He'd proved it time and time again in almost every other way.

"I never said you were a baby. I just want you to take this time to focus on yourself. Be selfish for once. Do you really think it'll be easy to start something now when I live halfway across the country and who knows when we'll get to see each other again." He explained making too much sense for your dopamine soaked brain. "I won't lose you to some meaningless fling when that's the complete opposite of what I want." 

"Maybe, I could go to college here." You thought out loud but you liked the sounds of it.

"Or maybe you could figure out what you want rather than make decisions based on me."

"But, Dean-"

"Y/N, how can I ask you to move here for me and shape your life around me when this is only my home for the now."

"What do you mean?" You asked and sank back into the couch, feeling unwanted.

"Sam wants to transfer to Stanford Law after his degree here in USF. That gives me time to get some work experience and him some time to get to know the closest thing we have left to family. That means three and half years from now California will be our home and I don't know what comes after that. I can’t ask you to move with us, take you away from your family, your home, your friends, interrupt your own studies; that’s not fair to you. Maybe one day, when I can take a breath, when we’re both settled... All I want is you happy.” 

He was right. You had a chance at a life of your own, the only problem was that it wouldn’t include Dean. Not in any physical form anyhow and you were torn, between building a future, and the boy who taught you to care. 

"You make me happy." You decided.

"No. I would make you happy for now but it wouldn't last. You deserve more than that, more than I can give you right now. I plan on changing that, I plan on being the guy that can make your dreams come true, but right now, that's just a fantasy." He explained and shook his head like he could see a future that you couldn't. 

One where you were together, but how long would that take? A fantasy. That's exactly what it felt like, a fantasy, meaning it would never come true. He would just keep waiting and wasting time until it was too late.

You knew you didn't want that.

"You're saying 'right now' a lot but tomorrow never comes, Dean."

"Our tomorrow will." He said with conviction in the greens of his eyes. "Just not today, Y/N, sorry."

"All right...” You sighed when you saw Dean’s pout. The way his eyes pleaded for you to understand and you did. Being open to love took more than just turning a certain age and it wasn’t your time yet. “Okay, it’s okay, Dean, I get it.” You smiled, “Happy Birthday." 

Dean wasn’t ready. You could see he was overwhelmed and he was still figuring things out for himself. He was willing to wait for you two years ago, now you could wait for him. 

You stayed the rest of the month, helping out Dean in the garage with small jobs. Bobby didn’t object even though it probably took you twice the amount of time to change oil as it would if they did it themselves and they had to double check everything you did. Short of retightening a few bolts though, you thought you got the hang of it pretty quick.

When January turned to February and things were starting to get too comfortable, you knew you couldn’t continue to hide in Sioux Falls forever. You had to get back home and take that next step. Otherwise, you were in for a life standing still.

“Y/N, can you come here for a minute?” Dean called from the front door of his apartment.

“Hey,” you walked out from the kitchen, having just put a lasagna in the oven.

Bobby and Jody were coming over for dinner and Sam would be home from class soon. 

“Put your boots and coat on, I’ve got something to show you.” He bit back a beaming smile and raised his brows. 

“What’s this all about?” You asked, dressing in your winter gear.

“You’ll see,” he smirked and pulled your toque down over your eyes like a blindfold.

“Ugh, Dean, I don’t like this.” You said, stretching out your arms to feel around. 

“Two minutes, trust me.” He said, directing you out of the apartment and into the elevator.

You squirmed with his hands on your shoulders as he directed you out into the parking lot, snow crushing under your boots from the storm the night before. You trusted him but you were starting to lose your equilibrium. 

“All right, open your eyes.” Dean said, pulling off your toque to reveal the monstrosity of a truck in front of you; with orange paint the shade of a pumpkin. It was the shop truck you had helped him with your first day here. “Before you say anything, you’ll need wheels to get you home and then to college and anywhere else life takes you. I know you think the paint job is ugly but this truck is safe and reliable and best of all, I won’t worry about you driving it. Well... I’ll worry less.”

You shook your head, “The colour is perfect,” and it was, “And I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“You already have, Y/N. You worked at the garage for no pay.” He said as if a week's pay would've been enough to afford the truck. 

“That was fun and you and I both know that I held you guys up all week.” You said and cocked your head with a shy smile. 

“No, you didn’t. We liked having you there, you boosted our morale, and Bobby and I wanted to do something to show our appreciation.” He said, holding out the keys for you and jingling them. "Please, just let me do this for you." 

You nodded, “I love it.” You launched yourself at him, hugging him tightly around the waist. “Thank you.” You kissed his cheek again and again. 

“Now, next time you visit I won’t have to worry about getting a call from you broken down on the side of the road.” He laughed, hugging you back and resting his chin on the top of your head.

“You won’t because it’s your turn to visit me next time.” 

_________________________

Part 7

_________________________ Dean: @akshi8278 @laycblack @thoughts-and-funnies @mrsjenniferwinchester @crustycheeks @kazsrm67 @sexyvixen7 @lyarr24 @suckitands33  @eliwinchester99 @yvonneeeee @igotmajordaddyissues @djs8891 @leigh70 @globetrotter28 @backseat-of-deans-67chevy

SPN: @hobby27

Wild Hearts: @justrealizedimmascifygurl @evieluvsjamie @kimberkingrivers @vicmc624 @ladysparkles78 @deans-spinster-witch

[cakerybakery]

… human au crowded train meeting? So many different versions are possible.

An underground subway in New York. Lucifer is a business man running late so he decided to take the train to avoid rush hour in a taxi. Adam is a construction worker trying to get to home. It overcrowded with others trying to do the same. Lucifer is standing by the doors and Adam is beside him. There’s an accident and the train car tips. Lucifer is pressed against the door and Adam against him. Holding himself up but still pressed against each other Adam is doing his best not to crush the much smaller man underneath him, unable to move as the car full of people tipped just enough that everyone is pressed against that side of the car and Adam is keeping them off of Lucifer. Lucifer finds Adam’s strength attractive, Adam’s never thought of a guy that way before but he can tell this is doing it for Lucifer. Adam’s always been a little desperate for positive attention, and this is definitely positive attention. Lucifer tells Adam he’d strong. Adam says he works out. Lucifer asks him to dinner as a thank you, Adam invites Lucifer back to his place afterwards under the shared pretence that Adam is going to show Lucifer his workout routine. They fuck.

Western themed. Bank robber and sheriff. Lucifer is there to rob the train and Adam is undercover to catch the elusive gang of train robbers. Lucifer is hurt when the train is taken over but before he can reveal he’s one of the robbers. Adam tries to protect him and Lucifer falls head over heels. Since he’s hurt the gang switches to their backup plan of pretending to kidnap Lucifer. Adam goes to hunt the gang down and save Lucifer only to find Lucifer is the leader and gets captured. They hold Adam hostage for money but Lucifer is kind and tends to Adam’s injuries sustained while trying to rescue Lucifer. Adam starts to fall for Lucifer. Maybe they get the money for Adam’s release and they let him go only for Lucifer to show up at Adam’s window at the jail house and asks Adam to run away with him. Adam’s willing to go, but Lucifer has to give up his life of crime. Not like Lucifer’s gang ever killed anyone that didn’t shoot at them first, and if they did it was other criminals. Lucifer agrees and takes Adam back to his homestead where young Charlie has been looked after.

Trains are just ripe for stories. You could do classic anime trope of student on an overcrowded train and one saves the other from some perv. Passagers travelling through Europe during turbulent times and now must travel through the wildness together to survive. Around the world in 80 days inspired.

I have more ideas than time in the world to write so I hope someone latches onto some of these I throw out there into the void and writes something

[galaxy-forest-productions]

Devlog 20/08/2024 - Travel game idea that will probably change with time but I felt like sharing cuz it's 10 p.m. and I'm not sleepy yet

Since I'm traveling now and dropping zines as I go I've been inspired to create eventually a traveling themed TTRPG. I'll take my experiences during this train trip in europe as inspiration and learning material for this future game.

The idea I have is for a large project I call fantasy tourist, a game about traveling in a fantasy world. The base mechanics are simple. You have a buget for each town, you can stay for as long as you have money. I also wanted to add the fantasy adventure element of being allowed to take small jobs to increase your budget and stay in a town you liked for longer.

The reason this would be a large project, is that I wanted to properly write town guides. I wanted this to be a little bit more guided than my usual solo rpgs. Yes, imagining yourself is part of the fun, but I want this to feel like a choose your own adventure book in a way. I want you to feel like these places exist already and you're exploring them.

In my ideal version of this game each town guide would have:

Budget – depending on your character and other factors the budget you have on each town may change. I'll also add a dice roll for a little bit of fun randomness.

Overall description – this is just a description of the town you’re in and what is known for.

Attraction guide – this is the list of things you can do and see in this town. Some attractions also come with guided tours, if that’s the case it means you’ll get a detailed explanation of the inside and little details of each work of art etc… Most will be a rough information guide, when it's open, how long does it take to explore this attraction and how much it costs.

Events - some towns will have seasonal events and I like the idea of the game following a calendar, so you'll know when you're in each place and even plan for certain's town's events that you really wanna see. You can even choose to travel for a whole year and plan all the events accordingly.

Theme parks – if a town happens to have a theme park that attraction will include multiple small attractions inside. The rides, the places and such will all be described. I might even include a park map just for the funsies.

Restaurant guide – this is a guide of places you can eat at in this town and the prices too. I will include tiny menus for each restaurant just because I think it would be cute and add to the worldbuilding. Like each page could be a menu of that restaurant.

Available missions and when – missions are a way to make more money. Each mission will sacrifice time. Sometimes a few hours, and sometimes a whole ass day. You will be provided with money for completion. Some missions also can only be completed during specific days and some can be repeated.

Hotel guide – a guide with the hotels you can stay in. Some of them include breakfast, some are hostels which means you’ll share with others. Honestly these are mostly for flavor, paying for a better hotel won’t affect your gameplay much, except for the included breakfast, meaning one less meal.

Townspeople – some relevant citizens may be mentioned in this section. This will be most prominent in small towns where everyone knows everyone. In big cities there will be less of these since there isn't that local people feel.

I also wanted to make some other little guides that would be used all the time:

Traveler guides – this is the booklet with all the other travelers you meet. You might once in a while meet other adventurers. If you meet them frequently enough you might become friends. If you are friends with another traveler you might even agree to share a room with them to save on money, or even go to attractions together. I also might make the hotels relevant by having some of these characters be easier to find in certain hotels. Maybe one is always trying to save and staying in hostels, maybe another is a rich girl that will always take a 5 star hotel so meeting her requires you stay in a top quality place and so on.

Friend guide – Sometimes you'll have friends in other towns. If your character has a friend in that town they can ask to stay there for free for a little while. Each friend has their own limit of how long they will let you crash there before they get angry. I think which friends you have in each town should be picked in character creation.

And that's the ideas I have so far. Making each of those town guides will be hell, but I feel like it would be a super fun worldbuilding project. I also think it would be a cool base to then have other versions with different flavor. I'm not even sure what kind of flavor I want for this one when it comes to the fantasy aspect. It may be the classic medieval fantasy, or should I go more urban fantasy, reflecting how we travel today with phones and all that but with fantasy creatures and magic existing? There are tons of options.

[kemetic-dreams]

Lucien Victor Alexis (1887-1981)

Not very much is known of Lucien Alexis’ early childhood in New Orleans, but what is known are the achievements he would make in later years to come. Born on July 8, 1887 to Louis Victor and Alice Saucier Alexis, he was educated in the local schools where he excelled academically. Alexis was determined to attend Harvard University. Not having the finances to do so, he began working in 1907(at the age of twenty) as a railway mail clerk, saving for the education he so desperately desired.

By the time he reached twenty-seven, he had set aside enough money for four years of college. He applied and was accepted at Harvard but was asked to attend (for one year) Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, a prestigious preparatory high school. While at Exeter, he lived in the home of Mr. H.F. Quimby and soon developed a keen interest in foreign languages and the sciences. By now he had only enough money for three years upon entering Harvard, so he managed by graduating “cum laude” a year early (1917). It was there, at Harvard, that he earned the nickname: “The Negro Einstein.”

That same year, Alexis entered Officers’ Training School in Des Moines, Iowa and was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant and assigned to the 367th Infantry on October 15, 1917. World War I was raging in Europe and Alexis sailed for service in France on June, 1918. Two months before departing, Alexis married Rita Holt in Gulfport, Mississippi and together they would have one son, Lucien Victor Alexis Jr.

Upon returning to New Orleans, Alexis took up the profession of teaching. He was assigned to McCarthy Elementary in 1921 and appointed Assistant Principal in 1923 at Willow Elementary. But his greatest reward came in 1926 when he became principal of McDonogh #35, the only public high school opened for the education of colored students in the city of New Orleans. For the next nearly 30 years, he would leave an indelible mark on this institution which is still being echoed by many of his formal students up to the present day.

“It was not unusual to spot our principal walking up and down the corridors of the Rampart Street School reading scientific works printed in German. Noted for his mastery of Latin, he often found time to instruct advanced classes in the subject.” (Class of 1936)

Other graduates affectionately tell stories of his successful administration but also his dreadful “army”. Being a former military man, Lucien was said to be strict but fair as well as famous for his method of disciplining students. Students who violated his dress or discipline code were forced to join Alexis’ “army” and ordered to march up and down the second floor of the school building.

Respect for Mr. Alexis soon extended beyond the school grounds and into the community. Since McDonogh #35 was located on South Rampart and Girod Streets, the students had to pass through a neighborhood of sleazy bars, houses of prostitution and various other vices. Often the girls were meddled by men on the way going and coming from school. Fortunately, once it was known that you were an “Alexis” girl, you were never meddled again. They respected Mr. Alexis and knew to show respect to his students.

The “Negro Einstein” did not give up his interest and love for science once he became principal. For five years he engaged in serious scientific study and soon published a 40 page brochure outlining his principles of a new theory which he termed his “ethonic” theory.

From 1929 to 1937, he published the following scientific articles: Fundamentals in Physics & in Chemistry, The Thermo-Electric Formula, The Riddle of the Magnetic Field, An Empirical Disclosure of the Fallacies of Relativity, A Counter-Deduction from Bent Alpha Tracks, Radiations-Their Loci of Travel and Their Loci of Origin, The Co-Origin of Gravity&Cosmic Rays, Simple Formulae for Measuring Atoms, Their Speed, and the Speed of Light.

Upon retirement, the brilliant educator and published author opened Straight Business School on North Claiborne near Esplanade Avenue and Mrs. Alexis basically ran it. Lucien Alexis also was president of the Supreme Industrial Life Insurance Company, founder and executive director of the School of Post-Modern Science in New Orleans, and a charter member of Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Alexis also spent a great deal of time on his favorite hobbies at home. On the 25th Anniversary of his graduation from Harvard, he told the Harvard press of these hobbies:

“Don’t interfere with my physics and chemistry, which I have raised from the ignoble position of a hobby into the dignified status of a science. Don’t interfere with my Italian which I have picked up since leaving you fellows. Don’t interfere with my German, my French, or my Spanish which I have kept plugging at. These are my near hobbies. You may interfere with my gardening and my frequent efforts at directing operettas, especially the Gilbert and Sullivan ones, for there you are in the field of real hobbies of mine.”

Lucien Alexis passed away December 18, 1981. He is buried in the family’s tomb in St. Louis Cemetery No.3.

[lavender-at-heart]

Velvet and Lace

Part 1 : The Invitation

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

Pairing: Aro Volturi × fem!OC

AN: while this is a oc series I am purposely limiting descriptive elements so it may be read as a reader insert. I don't know how long this series will be, I also haven't posted on here in so long. Please give me feedback and wish me luck! Thanks for reading/engaging!

Warnings: none for this chapter

Word count: 710

Masterlist

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

A year. I haven't been to Forks in a year. I spent my entire life thinking that it was everything, now I'm not so sure. I miss my home more than anything, but the wonders I have seen while away. I can only imagine what those quiet town folk will think of my stories. My reason for returning? An envelope that arrived to my hotel room in Bankok. Simple, off white paper with silver etchings that read the following:

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

Isabella Marie Swan

And

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen

Together with their families, request the honor of your presence at the celebration of their marriage.

Saturday the thirteenth of August, two thousand and eleven, five O'clock in the evening

420 Woodcroft Ave

Forks, WA

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

I could hardly believe the words as they spilled from my mouth. My sister, married? My sweet, anti-social, 18 year old sister? Yes I'm aware that she had found herself a boyfriend, our phone calls over the past year have been of nothing else, it seems. It's so unlike her, but nevertheless I am giddy. Later that evening I recive a phone call from the bride herself, bestowing upon me the title of maid of honor.

When I first met Edward Cullen, I was surprised. I never had any classes with him since he was a grade bellow me, but he always seemed off. His whole family did, which became the talk of the town for months and months. The rest of his siblings seemed relatively well rounded, with sharp minds and passionate interests. I became acquainted with Emmett and Rosalie during our shared English class. Rosalie, while much more reserved than Emmet, was always helpful and kind. We never became friends outside of school but I was shocked to find out that she had a disdain for Bella (I would later realize that this was due to me not trying to stick my nose into vampire business, although I would have if I had known that the Cullens were supernatural beings.) Emmett was very sociable, we didn't have much in common but I was glad to have such a friendly classmate.

After the shock of the wedding died down, I booked a plane ticket home as soon as possible. My father, Charlie, would pick me up from the airport. I would get to see Bella. Gosh. I haven't seen her in person since I left. Bella, one year younger than me, has always lived with our mother. That was the agreement. She went of to sunny Arizona and I started in the rain. I always liked the rain though, and I always liked Forks. Right before I started grade 12, Bella moved here. And I loved it. I had never been happier. But that only lasted so long. Bella got caught up with her vampire-like boyfriend and I started feeling a horrible longing to leave. I made the decision, much to my father's dismay, to take a gap year. Travel. I had been working at the diner after school since grade 9 and I had saved almost all of the money I made. My favorite thing about Bellas new beau was his family. They were quite lovely people, although strange, and they helped me quite a bit with my travels. Alice, the only one who I had become moderately close to, aswell as Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, had filled my mind with many inspirations for my travels. They also gave me some extra money to help make it as fulfilling as possible, despite me protesting about 100 times. By the end of grade twelve I was itching to leave. My itinerary was stacked, I planned to stay in Europe for two months and the rest in Asia. I cherished the cathedrals in Germany , the busy streets in Mumbai, the quiet ashrams in India, sights of Nepal, Vietnam, Italy, France, and now Thailand. I have come away from this trip with a bigger sense of the world, and myself. But now I've grown rather homesick from shuffling village to village, my sense of adventure has been filled and I'm ready for peace and simplicity. I think I'm ready to go home. Little did I know that returning to the middle of nowhere, Washington, would lead me on the greatest adventure of my life.

END

Thanks for making it to the end! <3 -CC

[lawfullycaffeinated]

So I haven't done any official studying lately. However, I have been doing some research about the Romani people, because apparently one of my great-grandfathers (not sure how removed he is from me) was actually Hungarian and was forgotten as a baby in MX by his family and taken in by my ancestors.

My mom's oldest sister shared the story with me, but both my mom and aunt have a slightly different version of the story. I wonder who, if anyone, knows the real story as it happened so they could share it with me.

According to my aunt's telling-

There were always these caravans of Hungarian gypsies that would travel to MX and set up tents and booths in a circus/carnival-type thing where they would do fortune-telling through different forms of divination (palmistry, crystal balls, tarot). During a cold winter, Little Baby was forgotten and found by Ancestor who tried to take him to the police. The police, however, were basically like "Just take him home and we'll let u know," and no one ever claimed Little Baby. Little Baby was then raised by Ancestor as his.

However, my mom says he was forgotten as a little boy, not a baby and she isn't sure it happened during winter. She also thinks it was to flee the persecution of all the Romani people in Europe and seek momentary refuge. But, I don't think the reason they arrived in MX matters too much because if it was to flee, they still had to do something to make some kind of money to afford to stay alive in the new location they arrived- hence, their divination practices. Additionally, they lived a nomadic lifestyle, so their arrival to MX would've happened regardless, at a certain point in time.

While their telling of events differs, one thing that is certain is that we have some kind of European/Middle Eastern ancestry.

As I did research on Hungarian gypsies, I found that one, they're not gypsies, but rather Romani people. The Romani people in Hungary are Hungarians of Romani descent, and the Romani people originate from Northern India. There's linguistic evidence that shows the Romani share basic lexicon with Hindi and Punjab; Phonetic features with Marwari; Their grammar is closest to Bengal.

Genetic findings say that the Romani originated in northwestern India and then migrated as a group. So my ancestor's journey had to look something like this:

Northwestern India → Middle East → Romania → Hungary

However, there's something that confuses me about my research because in my readings there was something that said the Romani people were often called "Egyptians" and/or "the Pharaoh's People," but as I try to find more information on "the Pharaoh's People," nothing shows up. So, were the Romani just falsely identified as Egyptians in the same way that people from countries like Guatemala and Cuba are called Mexicans? Or is there a real tie/connection between the Romani and Egypt? If so, are all people under a Pharaoh's rule referred to as the Pharaoh's People, or is this label saved for their "employees?"

One thing is for sure- my people have never known peace.

How sad is it, that my whole ancestry line has known nothing but discrimination and genocide. From the Spanish conquistadores who took over Mexico. The English colonizers who took Mexican land from its people. The Nazis persecuting my Romani ancestors alongside the Jewish in the Holocaust. To present day discrimination in Hungary that the Hungarian-Romani people are still facing and the discrimination Mexican people face in the US.

[kitwennim]

I wrote this on Twitter but I have two followers so I wanted to try here.

It was the middle of the summer when Steve and Robin ran away. It was unexpected, but it just happened, Hawkins was an unbearable nightmare on their lives and it had never felt like home, so, one night both grabbed all their belongings, stuffed them on Steve’s car and drove to Dustin and Max’s place to say their last goodbyes.

Both kids cried a little but the eye bags on Robin and Steve’s face stopped them from begging them to stay. They knew it would kill them.

Robin read her whole old diary to Steve in their way to Indianapolis, translating all the bits she had written in other languages and laughing every once in a while over how in love was she with Tammy. All of her old plans to run away to Europe were there, she had a whole trip planned, so when Steve and Robin entered the airport and saw that the first flight available was to Lyon both bought their tickets with their own savings without hesitation. About five hours later Robin and Steve’s parents arrived to the airport to find Steve’s car parked between the hundred of cars of other travelers and the little boards with all the flights tagged as deployed. They were gone.

Robin did all the talking at first, Steve just followed her holding her hand and eating whatever Robin had managed to fit in their budget, the hostel they were staying was horrible and they didn’t know anyone, but they were free. The croissants tasted amazing, the people didn't even paid attention to them and the streets were beautiful at night, so they stayed there as long as their money allowed them.

Steve studied harder than he had ever done it to learn to move on his own, he was used to be alone, learning in a new place to do the same wouldn't be hard, and he had Robin with him now, he wouldn't be alone anymore.

Sometimes he would order by himself his food, or pay at the grocery store, sometimes some locals would tell him little grammar corrections and he would feel embarrassed, going back to his ‘stupid self persona’, that stigma that everyone had of him, but everyone was so nice, they understood him, they made the effort to understand him unlike other people.

The day that everything changed on Steve was when a tourist asked him to take a pictures of her in French and he understood her. He felt so warm over the fact that people didn’t know who he was, and if he was capable or not, they asked him because they saw him as someone who could help, and Steve felt useful without having to risk his life for once. Steve couldn’t be happier.

By the time their old savings were running low, Robin had managed to get some tutoring jobs for kids and Steve had landed a job at a local restaurant as chef. A secret of Steve was that he was amazing at cooking. A friend of him had got him the job at one of his friend’s father restaurant.

So they saved money again and by the time two years had gone since they had left Hawkins they left Lyon now, jumping this way around most of the most touristic cities in Europe.

About ten years later they had already visited (and worked, and made friends and even fucked) France, Italy, Andorra, Portugal, and Spain, settling on the last one.

It was around 3 in the morning when Max called (because time difference) and Max laughed loudly when Steve answered in Spanish.

By the time they settled on Spain Steve spoke a good chunk of French, pieces of Italian and Portuguese and he had also learned Spanish and some Catalan, something he never imagined he could be able to do . Forced proximity to a language was a real thing. Robin on the other hand was on another level, excelling all the languages from the places they had live in, but that wasn’t anything new. Steve was more than thankful because he wasn’t sure he could’ve done it without Robin.

Max allowed both Robin and Steve rant a little about their new lives in Spain now that they were awake, she felt a little guilty over waking them up (mostly because the hadn't had the chance to talk a lot lately). After hearing how well was doing Robin at this company she was working as a translator and how nice were the kids she was tutoring and how Steve had been very stressed the last week hiring cooks for his restaurant, Max finally invited them to Will's first gallery.

It was no surprised for any of them that Will was already hosting a gallery of his art but both Robin and Steve felt suddenly very aware over the fact that it had been ten years since they left and last saw all of the party, they all had graduated now and were working their new paths.

They accepted the invitation gladly. Some vacations would be good from their new agitated life in Europe.

Max of course didn’t tell anyone other than Dustin.

Around a two weeks later when they arrived they decided to visit a gay bar that Max told them about the day she called them in the middle of the night claiming she had just gone the day before (both Steve and Robin had found it odd but the kids were odd anyways so they didn’t question it)

After leaving all their luggage in their hotel and heading to the bar they waited around twenty minutes before they could finally enter, and as soon as they did it they started to fight over who was going to get drunk, because of course Steve claimed it was Robin’s turn to take care of him because he took care of her after that party they had in Catalonia, but Robin reminded Steve that she had to run his restaurant a whole day (which was horrible because Robin can’t handle the stress of such a crowded place) that time Steve had been hungover after a party in Barcelona. So the fight keeps going on and reaches a bartender who is laughing excitedly at the sight of two (still) sober friends throwing in their faces the times they had to take care of the other.

So the bartender promises he will be back and leaves still amused because he has to serve more drinks, that's his work, the thing is he had to serve specifically Nancy and Eddie’s drinks who happen to in the same bar together (after forming a very nice friendship discovered by their mlm and wlw solidarity). After all, after Steve and Robin left they were all they had before moving to Massachusetts, Nancy going to college and Eddie working around in the music scene that Salem and Boston had.

Hence why when Steve screamed that he was not going to drink soda and sparkling water when there was Tequila in front of him both Nancy and Eddie turned to find their old friends, because they could recognize those voices everywhere. They could even after ten years. Yet no words came out of their mouths, they were both gaping at a loss of words.

Mostly because Steve looked so different now, he’s wearing glasses but they suit him amazing, and he has a new haircut that enhances his jawline not to leave behind the fact that Eddie can tell Steve is still in very good shape even from the distance, and it bothers Eddie, it really does, because who gave Steve the right to look so good even after all these years. He was supposed to be the guy who peaks in high school and then has his downfall, but if anything, he looked better than he ever did (something the old 21 year old Eddie would find impossible because Harrington was already the definition of perfection back in the day). He is glowing, Steve was genuinely shining, he looked like a whole different person.

And Robin, she has long hair now, it goes all the way to the curve of her waist and Nancy tries to focus on that detail but she can't, she can't do that because Robin is laughing and smiling when Steve tries to reach the Tequila bottle and Robin is fighting him to not do it, but even when Steve is next to her, she looks like she’s the only one in the room, or at least the only person Nancy wants to pay attention, and Nancy isn’t sure if this is how she remembered Robin ten years ago.

And Steve let’s go of the tequila bottle when he makes eye contact with Eddie, Eddie Munson, who is standing a few meters away from them, wearing his classic leather jacket and vest combo. He looks taller but Steve is almost sure is because he’s wearing boots. His hair is even longer now but Steve can’t tell how longer because it’s tied on ponytail that allows Steve to see all the new piercings Eddie has gotten, it also allows Steve to see his neck and for some reason that gives him a chill. So Steve froze, because he remembered wishing to meet a girl with the same facial features that Eddie had back in the day when he didn’t knew some things about him. He knows things about him know, and Eddie is there.

Robin doesn’t get any time to scold Steve for letting the bottle fall because she finds herself in the same situation when Nancy, next to Eddie, smirks at her. And Robin feels like she 17 again because that’s the same smirk Robin remembers ranting Steve about how she was tired of liking people who would never like her back (the same night that they decided to ran away) Nancy being one of them.

When times moves as it should once again the bartender comes to the rescue and finally catches the bottle, speaking at the same time, bringing them back from the shock.

"Little gift from them—" he mutters placing in front of Robin and Steve two shots of tequila as he nodded towards their staring opponents.

It tastes sour, Steve and Robin immediately remembered why they hadn’t drank tequila in a long while, the Barcelona party had been almost a year ago. Exchanging a witty look they both wondered if the fight that they just had was worth it because they no longer enjoyed alcohol like they did in Italy and France, at the beginning of their adventure. A not so proud moment of them.

With a loud clash on the counter they left their caballitos behind and decided to reach Eddie and Nancy. And it’s awkward, it’s always awkward, mostly because Nancy and Eddie were still hurting a little over the fact that they left, as much as they didn’t want to admit it. And Robin and Steve are scared, because they know it wasn’t the best way to leave, so most of their polite chat comes in short sentences and whispers, which isn’t good because the music is loud and it’s actually hurting Steve who has to lower the volume of his hearing aid, something only Eddie notices but is scared to ask.

But they try, and Nancy as bold as she always is takes the first step and invites Robin to dance. And they disappear in the crowd, Robin giving a slight nudge to Steve to push him to try, but nothing comes on. Steve tried first and asked Eddie if he preferred Italian or French food because he could cook any of them if he ever wanted but Eddie hasn’t tried any of them. Then Eddie gives it a chance and asks Steve what does he think about the recent Grammy nominations but Steve is lost because he barely knows what music is trending, most of the time the ambience of his restaurant is in charge of the managers. So they stop.

Steve doesn’t try again but attracts Eddie’s attention when he laughs after seeing a girl wearing a Padres shirt in the bar because he’s a Mets fan. And Eddie just jokes that he’s actually a Padres fan (he doesn’t know much about baseball but Wayne is a Padres fan and he is one by inheritance) so Steve is about to apologize when a guy interjects and claims he’s a Mets fan too.

And Steve feels good to find another Mets fan, but this wasn’t the circumstances he wanted to find one, and he doesn’t have the heart to cut him or politely decline him because he hasn’t done this in a while, the restaurant consumes most of his time and he already had a few ‘friends’ who he hung with, so the guy just keeps going over the season and the players. But he stops, he stops when Eddie throws his arm around Steve and pulls him a little closer to him. The poor ginger just stumbled a few times before he went back to his friends a little embarrassed.

"Figured you needed help" eases in Eddie and Steve smiles, genuinely. And that’s it, that was the breaking point they needed, because after that none of them can shut up, and neither separate, because unconsciously (totally consciously) Steve grabbed Eddie by the waist and pulled him closer too.

So when Nancy and Robin laugh seeing them Steve can’t help to roll his eyes sensing his best friend eyes, but he doesn’t care because he feels okay like this. And he can also see the way Nancy’s hand never left the curve of Robin’s back as she guided her dancing. He can also tell there is a slight blush under her freckles, and they’re both sarcastic and know each other too well so the next morning is gonna be embarrassing for both of them, but that doesn’t feel important right now.

The night goes on, at some point Eddie asks if Steve wants to leave and they do, about four hours later he arrives at his hotel only to find Robin arriving at the same time and they both laugh over the fact that they had only come back to the hotel to not worry the other. They both fall asleep before they can tease the other.

The next morning Eddie and Nancy are waiting for them in front of the hotel.

Both Max and Dustin laugh maliciously and high-five each other when Steve and Eddie arrive together and Steve is wearing Eddie’s leather jacket that he lent him last night when he drove him back to the hotel. Nancy and Robin are just behind, Nancy helping Robin to do the tie she had completed her outfit with.

So when Mike ask Max if the bar he had recommended her (which turns out it’s a bar the 4 eldest know) was fun, she doesn’t know what to say, because she didn’t go. But she smiles.

"Yeah, it was pretty good" jokes Eddie answering Mike’s question while side eyeing Steve who just rolls his eyes and gives both Max and Dustin a we'll-talk-about-it-later look, even though he doesn’t have any complaints.

The day goes on, and the gallery is a success, they see the rest of The Party, and enjoy gathering with them, Steve and Robin try not to cry but every once in a while Eddie and Nancy catch their eyes looking glassy because they missed so much. But at the same time, both Nancy and Eddie notice the way Robin and Steve move, and they see the freedom in them, there is no hint of the fear they had in Hawkins. They also reach for the other constantly just for simple touches of reassurance and they can both see that if they hadn’t left, they wouldn’t be here today, so this feeling of hurt leaves both of them.

When the gallery ends, both Nancy and Eddie invite Robin and Steve to a double date everyday of the week before they have to go back to Spain.

And they need to figure out things because they’re living in different countries, and they all need to meet again because they’re not the teenagers they were, but they feel like they have time, unlike in the past, this time they feel and know there is a future, so they’ll work on it.

I hope this is well written because my wrist gave up almost at the end.

[violentlyviolettripledecker]

I have five chapters up of Water and Earth, a Tommy Shelby/OFC fic.

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Explicit sex, time travel, found family, touch-starved, PTSD

Read it on AO3!

Excerpt under the cut

She stayed for two drinks but cut out after that. Hands in the pockets of her jacket, Mandy walked back to the docks where she made her home. She sat on the edge of the canal, cross-legged, and lit a cigarette. She had just enough money to buy herself some food, and a drink once in a while, and still save up for a room at a boarding house. Sometimes she splurged and bought smoking papers and tobacco. She had struggled to roll her own at first, but Charlie had taken pity on her. Every time she rolled one up, she thought of Amara, how she had laughed when Mandy tried to roll a spliff.

She missed Amara like she would miss her right hand. She felt like everything was backward without her. She had met her in 2007’s Birmingham, but they had been friends for a long time before that. They had been part of a pen pal program when she was in sixth grade, and they got on so well, that they just kept up the correspondence, eventually moving to email, and then adding each other on Facebook. When Amara had seen that Mandy was in Europe, she asked if she rated a visit. They’d kissed that first night she was there and moved in together two weeks later. Amara didn’t really get the U-haul lesbian jokes Mandy had made, but they had made it work. They fought a lot, but they were young and poor in a city that didn’t care about young poor people. Mandy had still been happy enough.

She stubbed out her cigarette and leaned back on her hands despite the grit she felt under her palms and fingertips. It was starting to get dark. She watched the sunlight fade behind the ever-present clouds and layer of soot and ash.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked to her left. There was someone there. A man. A man in uniform, if she wasn’t mistaken. He had something shiny in his hand and threw it into the Cut. He watched it sink then threw another. He stood there for a moment and lit his own cigarette before turning around and walking away.

Once he was at a safe distance, Mandy got up and walked over to where she thought the man had been standing. The light was dwindling quickly, but she got on her hands and knees and peered into the dark water. Glinting on the edge, she thought she saw two medals.

It wasn’t really any of her business, she reminded herself. She stood up and made her way to the stable before it was too dark to see. She lit one of the glass lanterns they kept on the wall and made her way to the bedroll she kept in the last stall. As she got ready for bed, she wondered about the kind of man who didn’t smile when he saw his family and who threw his Army medals away.

[shares-a-vest]

@eddiemonth Day 8: Rockstar, Confident

Word Count: 952 Rating: T | cw: No Happy Ending, Break-Up Fic, No Resolution, Hurt No Comfort My first post for Eddie Month! With this event's prompts, I reallyyy want to challenge myself and write things I typically wouldn't/haven't so far. I'm sorry for starting out a week late with a no-happy-ending fic, I didn't mean for it to work out this way 😭😅 Thanks to both Lex and Lex for creating and hosting this event 💖💖💖

Since he was a boy, listening to a healthy combination of his mother's records and any and every radio station his dad could tune into, Eddie dreamed of being a rockstar.

When he was six, his grandma gifted him a battery-operated plastic microphone with sound effects. Later when he first moved in with his uncle and the Munson family had dwindled down to just the two of them, Wayne brought home an acoustic guitar from Goodwill.

Eddie practised and played away, sometimes for hours too long until underdeveloped callouses stung and bled. Wayne helped him paint 'This Machine Slays Dragons' on it so he could be just like Woody Guthrie, one of his mom's favourites.

He soon found his fellow bandmates in Jeff, Gareth and George. Gareth offered up his garage and Jeff came up with the name Corroded Coffin. Eddie and George made merch and drew up posters.

They practised and played until Gareth's mother kicked them out of the garage, complaining about what the neighbours might think of their noisy metal thrashing. They entered the Battle of the Bands contest in middle school, then started playing at The Hideout perhaps a few years too early for a handful of drunks who probably weren't listening anyway.

Then they spent the next few years scrimping and saving between jobs, travelling to other towns in his shitty van until they found an even shittier (but bigger) van and a studio that was willing to give them a booking to record a demo.

They shopped it around for a good long while as Eddie turned on his charm.

And one day they got a chance.

George called Eddie, frantically talking about a producer who wanted to re-record the demo with an expert on hand, all the while promising more music and a meeting with a potential manager.

And if all that wasn't enough, Eddie found himself with none other than Steve Harrington by his side.

After a good few years of pining and failed dates and the temporary comfort of other people, they finally got their act together. It was Christmas, just a few months after the demo got picked up. They kissed out on Claudia Henderson's front porch with snow falling around them as they promised each other more.

Then Corroded Coffin made it.

The perks came fast. Money – oh-so-much fucking money! Private cars and drivers to take them anywhere they wanted. Touring around the world and sightseeing between gigs. Adoring fans. Photoshoots. Magazine covers, interviews and TV spots.

Eddie always maintained it was about the music, though. The rush, the confidence and power it gave him to be performing on stage. Whether it be The Hideout or a goddamn stadium. It filled his soul from the moment he stepped on stage until the band finished their encore.

But most of all, he had Steve by his side. Always.

Until he didn't.

Until the night he got back to their hotel room, a swanky penthouse overlooking New York City that they always stayed in. They were barely a night out from returning back to the States from a quick promo tour in Europe for the new album.

Steve had left a note scrawled in his messy handwriting on the hotel's branded notepad.

'Going to Robin's' is all it said.

Eddie was angry at the time. He balled the note up in his fist and hurled it across the room.

At the time he was pissed because Steve was acting all bitchy pouty at the airport after barely speaking a word to him the whole flight. Then he was tapping away incessantly on the limo's middle armrest the whole car ride, looking at the window with his stupid Tom Cruise sunglasses on.

At the time he guessed it had something to do with the last night in Amsterdam. The band had a gig, the last one and Eddie just wanted some quiet so he skipped out on dinner, telling their security to pass the message on to Steve.

But it was just a tiff, right? Steve knew what it was like – how exhausting being on the road could get sometimes.

He thought Steve knew what the deal was, that he didn't mean anything by not going to dinner. Hell, Steve was used to a last-minute change of plans after years of this, right?

At least that's what Eddie told himself until Steve didn't call.

Or come back.

So, Eddie called Robin's number. No answer.

Then he asked Jeff to call, even their manager. Still nothing.

A call to Wayne made it real though.

"Eddie," his uncle had sighed, voice low and impossibly disappointed.

And then everything he had gained came to mean nothing.

As Eddie now stands at the door to Robin's apartment in Chicago, he knows he fucked up. Knows that it won't be easily forgiven.

Knows that Robin will probably cut his dick off if she arrives home from... Which gallery had she moved to, again? Steve told him. Weeks ago... months? He thinks...

He should have asked his publicist to look up the name of the gallery along with Buckley's address.

His stomach drops and tears begin to fall as Steve opens the door.

"Oh," his boyfr – Steve – mutters as his brows quickly knit together.

Eddie slaps his hand onto the doorframe, chancing the guy slamming the door shut and thus smooshing his guitar-wielding digits.

But then Steve rips off his wire-framed glasses and presses the heels of his palms into his reddening eyes.

"How could you just forget about me?" he sobs, his whole body shaking.

And Eddie is confident the sound of Steve choking on his own breath as he cries will haunt him for the rest of his life.