#she tolerates the copious forehead kisses i give her

[ahyesfish]

photo dump of my favorite creature

[nyxienoya]

Innermost Thoughts

A KiraShino fic for all your angsty needs

Plot: Yoshikage Kira has fallen in love, but how will he deal with it?

TW; angst

Word count; 3.6k

Fic under the cut

Yoshikage Kira still didn’t understand how he got into this situation; it had been round two months since he escaped the grasps of Josuke Higashikita and changed his face to Kosaku Kawajiri. Unbeknownst to him, more time than he would have liked as Kosaku had passed.

As usual, he lived life with a day-by-day routine which he stuck to by the minute, but one thing Yoshikage Kira would have expected was for his new personal life to infiltrate his business plans.

Before taking on this guise, Kira had no clue what he was getting himself into regarding having a new personal life to fit himself into, living life as a stranger to himself. He was hoping he picked a sad misanthrope much attune to his own desires, to which Kira could continue with his daily life with nothing major interrupting his plans, but alas, the ambush he had received gave Kira a limited time to switch faces. Rather, he got himself into a situation where he was a businessman with a wife and child. This situation was clear to anyone who could psychoanalyze Kira’s behaviour when he was around this family. It was uncomfortable, but Kira quickly learnt how to adapt to having a supportive family life. His ‘son’ Hayato, only aged eleven seemed to remind Kira of himself in some ways, he was intelligent, with a hopeless case of snooping into business that wasn’t his. He seemed to catch onto things quickly, and regarding Kira’s mission, it was not ideal. Despite this, Kira found himself to respect the child, slowly growing a fondness towards him, even to the point of helping him with his schoolwork at the kitchen table in the mornings.

However, Kira was currently pacing back and forth in the attic where resided Stray Cat napping, meowing softly in its sleep. Grasping at his hair, pulling it slightly; Kira groaned. Guilt was pouring into his soul, and it was reflected into Killer’s Queen’s performance, he wasn’t as agile and quick as usual, and all for one small reason. Yoshikage Kira had fallen in love.

Kosaku was married to this gorgeous woman, Shinobu. At first, Kira could hardly tolerate the woman, she was overly clingy and hopelessly in love with this Kosaku, but over these past two months of living this new life, Kira found himself becoming less repulsed by Shinobu’s touches and acts of generosity. It all started when she started to make coffee Kira’s ideal way rather than Kosaku’s without questioning it. The mere thought of that made Kira’s heart flutter. Further on into the relationship, Kira kissed Shinobu on the cheek; seeing her shocked and flustered face made Kira’s stomach pool in anger in the moment. He knew nothing about the past life Kosaku lived with Shinobu and Hayato, but with hints through their behaviour he caught on with the fact that their relationship wasn’t all that healthy due to Shinobu’s compliance, and Hayato’s reluctance to have long conversations with him.

Kira stopped his pacing momentarily, the mere thought of Kosaku’s previous life whether healthy or not made Kira flood with jealousy. How dare that scum have ever laid his hands on his Shinobu. Wait. HIS Shinobu. “Oh dear,” he starts, resting his hand against his cheek. “Why do I feel this way about a meaningless woman. I need to focus on the task at hand, and that is killing Josuke Higashikita, I can’t-“ he stuttered, “I can’t fall in love. It’s not in my nature whatsoever, but when she touches me, or kisses my cheek.” Kira shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts, a faint blush cropping up on his face.

In Kira’s mind, he wasn’t worthy of love, nothing he had done in life could even start to warrant any emotion as strong as love, even from a young child he knew his parents didn’t ‘love’ him. They only had him for the sake of having a child and being parents, this only becoming more prevalent in these recent months with his father helping with Kira’s goal of creating more enemy stand users to defeat and kill more people for him, making it easier for Kira to live a quiet life with no repercussions.

But now, he had a woman who was there for him no matter the situation, loving him unconditionally. Kira almost couldn’t take it, this much exposure to genuine love had him flustered to even the thought of Shinobu giving him a kiss on the cheek every morning.

Taking a deep breath, Kira tried to recollect his thoughts. He cracked open the window shades slightly, letting a ray of sunlight hit Stray Cat, causing it to wake up with a loud hiss. Kira’s eyes widened partially, letting out a ‘hush’ to the same volume as Stray Cat. “Listen up, I need you to distract that boy Hayato, I know he’s aware of your existence and I have plans that I need to get to. Understand?” He asked the cat-plant hybrid, to which he got a response with a soft mewl alongside a nod. “Good. I’ll be sure to leave the shader open slightly so you don’t lose track of your task.” He stated, tightening his tie. He walked over to the exit of the attic and promptly left thoughts of Shinobu ubiquitous in his mind.

As he exited the attic, he saw Hayato hiding around the corner from the corner of his eye, “I can see you Hayato, not as sneaky as you thought you were.” Kira said, a joking tone shining through his words. Hayato then revealed himself from the corner and solemnly held up a sheet of paper, looking down in embarrassment, “Mom’s taking a nap so she can’t sign it; so, can you? It’s for a school trip I have next week.” He said, still refusing to make eye contact. “Of course, I’ll sign it, what kind of father would I be if I didn’t?” He asked rhetorically, he continued; “Just leave it on the kitchen table, I’ll be down in a moment, I just have something to do really quick.” Hayato nodded and scurried off downstairs to the kitchen, then more than likely left to his room.

After hearing the door to Hayato’s room click, Kira took swift steps towards his and Shinobu’s shared room and softly opened the door and entered, being sure to not disturb her nap. Standing by the door, he took in the sight of his ‘wife’, she was sprawled on top of the sheets, napping. Poor woman must have been so exhausted that she passed out right as she touched the bed, even to the point where she still had her slippers on.

Kira stepped towards her, the smell of her perfume wafting through the room. It was a soft floral scent, hyacinths with a mix of honey and limoncello sorbet concomitant to the white flower. Gently, Kira took off Shinobu’s slippers, placing them down besides the bed. He sat on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight, causing Shinobu to stir slightly. He brushed his fingers across her face, brushing her hair out of her face. “You’re so gorgeous.” Kira softly muttered to himself. He was stunned that he even got himself to feel any emotion towards someone which wasn’t just pure lust for their hands, but love. A raw, intimate and genuine emotion Kira had never felt before, it was shocking that he’d even admit it to himself, let alone express it in the form of words of affirmation.

Noticing a blanket placed lonely on the dresser, Kira got up to grab it, unfolding it to place it over Shinobu’s unconscious body. Instantly, she snuggled up in the blanket, a tired smile flashing upon her face, round cheeks rosy. Walking back to her, Kira leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Shinobu’s forehead before exiting the room, not before having a longing stare at her form first.

When he did leave the room, he remembered that he had still yet to sign Hayato’s slip, heading to the kitchen, he took a pen out from his blazer pocket and quickly signed it as Kosaku. More often than not Kira would forget that he was living life as Kosaku and not himself, the emotions he felt for the other two members of the household were too strong for Kira to ignore. He genuinely saw himself as a part of the family, as Hayato’s biological father and Shinobu’s husband. Alas, neither of which were true, he knew Shinobu would never love Kira for who he was; he was a serial killer after all. He knew that Shinobu fell in love with Kosaku Kawajiri, not Yoshikage Kira, and what Kira saw in his fantasies and dreams was a life with just that. Him, Shinobu and Hayato as a happy family. Though Shinobu expressed her love quite often to him, she would never know that it was being directed to a stranger and not the man she married. Yoshikage Kira would never feel love aimed towards him directly, he only acted as a barrier to Kosaku Kawajiri. She will never love him.

Realising he was still gripping the pen, Kira cleared his throat abruptly, slipping the pen back into his pocket. Slapping his face quickly with both hands, he brought himself back to reality. Externally, it would look as though those thoughts didn’t affect him, but internally, it felt like an eternal heartache, knowing that he would never be significant enough in someone’s life for them to say those three meaningful words ‘I love you’. However, rather than dwelling on it, Kira decided to make something impactful out of it. Heading towards the front door, grabbing the car keys off a little hook hanging by the door and left.

The plan was to book a reservation at the fanciest restaurant in Morioh and treat Shinobu how Kosaku never did like royalty, it’s the least she deserves for essentially acting as a single mother to Hayato. Stopping by at the restaurant, he booked the reservation for 8pm. Looking down at his watch, he saw that it gave him five more hours to prepare the rest of the night. Next, he drove towards the centre of Morioh, where all the high-class stores were situated. Afterall, he was still Yoshikage Kira, he was able to effortlessly spend copious amounts of money at once and his bank account would hardly break a dent. Kosaku would’ve only wished to buy something as expensive as Kira’s signature suit which he no longer bared. Parking his car, he stepped out and locked the doors quickly before walking towards one of the stores, instantly being blasted by the overwhelming scent of lavender and sandalwood. Shooting a look of disgust to no one in particular, Kira remained stoic and walked over to the women’s section of the store, shooing off any retailer who came up to him. Kira knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t going to let anyone sway him otherwise.

There it was, the perfect dress, it was a long-sleeved, burgundy velvet dress that stopped just above the knee, it lay baggy on the slender mannequin, meaning it was a perfect fit for his wife. He could already envision it. The night was going to be perfect. He took the dress off the rack and laid it over his arm, “Can’t forget about some shoes,” he spoke to himself, walking over to where various pairs of shoes of different colours and heel heights sat. Kira could pride himself on one thing, and that was that he knew the exact styles of shoes Shinobu felt comfortable wearing and what she didn’t. She was a woman in her thirties, married with a child, high heels had no business being in her closet, rather, she was more suited to a kitten heel and pumps as they were less strenuous on her ankles. Perusing all the shoes, Kira came across a black kitten pump, so simple, yet so classy. He found the shoes in her size and took the box as well as the dress to the front desk. “That’ll be 46,294.19 Yen, sir.” The cashier said in a monotone voice. Taking his wallet out, he handed over five 10,000 Yen notes to the cashier, promptly receiving the change. “Have a lovely rest of the day.” Kira called out to the cashier as he left, bag in hand.

He placed the bag in the passenger seat of the car before checking his watch. It had already turned 4:30pm. “Hmm, that took longer than expected, by now Shinobu must already be awake, I can’t surprise her with this now.” A frown formed on Kira’s face before entering the driver’s seat. “Oh well, I’ll just find a way to sneak this into our room.” The car drive home was silent, but Yoshikage didn’t mind it, he tended to live his life in silence prior to changing his life, he almost missed it, but the sound of Shinobu’s voice sparked joy in his heart, Kira couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the melodic tone of his wife’s voice.

Before he even knew it, the drive home was complete, before he exited the car, he looked down at his watch once more; 4:50pm. Three hours left until the date.

He exited the car, bag in hand walking towards the front door, not before locking the car door. He unlocked the door and entered; the house was silent apart from the faint sound of the television playing a news channel in the living room. “Shinobu?” He called out, after ten seconds of no response he kicked off his shoes and walked towards the kitchen where he called out once again; “Shinobu, darling?” To which he still got no response. “She must not be awake still, surprising.” He muttered, placing the bag on the kitchen table and turning to one of the draw and pulled out a notepad and ripped out a page and took out the pen from his blazer pocket once more and started to write:

‘Shinobu, my darling wife,

On the dresser is a bag, be ready by 7:10pm, I’m taking you out on the best date you’ve ever been on.

- Love, Kosaku ♡

Taking the note as well as the bag, he walked upstairs to the bedroom where Shinobu was still sleeping and placed the bag and note on the dresser and promptly left to go do some office work.

Approximately an hour and a half passed before Kira’s trance-like state was broken by hearing a shriek come from Shinobu, a soft smile appeared on Kira’s face. “Well at least she’s awake,” he looked up to the clock 6:20pm “perfect.” He allowed ten minutes to pass for Shinobu to put on the dress before leaving his office and heading to the bedroom. He knocked twice before entering the room.

He was starstruck, stunned in place by the sight of Shinobu in the dress. Shinobu’s curves were accentuated through the dress, even the bulge of her post-partum stomach which had remained over the past 11 years stuck out in the dress. It made Kira more attracted to her than he typically was. Her plump thighs making the dress skin-tight made a soft blush form over Kira’s cheeks. “You,” he stumbled over his words; “you look stunning.”

Shinobu turned to face Kira, a bright smile plastered on her face. “You did this? All for me?” She questioned, just as starstruck as her husband. Kira could only muster a nod in response. He stepped towards Shinobu, cupping her face in his hands, causing a large blush to spread across her whole face. Kira leaned in and pressed a quick, but passionate kiss to Shinobu. The first of which Kira had ever shared in his life, and clearly through Shinobu freezing up in response, it was more than likely the first time she was kissed like that since hers and Kosaku’s wedding.

Pulling away, the two were flustered, they shared a momentary silence before Kira broke the silence by clearing his throat and looking away. “You should probably continue to get ready, you do look beautiful darling, gorgeous even.” He stated, a soft smile present, He placed a kiss to Shinobu’s cheek before exiting the room and heading into his office where he held a spare suit just in case. It was a matching burgundy suit with a black shirt with a tie being reminiscent of Shinobu’s favourite dress, black with white polka dots.

It took almost no time before it was 7:10, and the two of them was in the car, Shinobu did a natural makeup look, deciding to embrace the features she already had, her hair was in a low messy bun. She had never been faced with the need to get all dressed up for a date to the point where she stressed herself out so much that she ended up doing the bare minimum.

The car drive held some small talk about how their days had been thus far, all whilst Kira was holding Shinobu’s thigh, stroking it softly with his thumb.

As they got to the restaurant they were quickly seated in the back of the restaurant on the balcony, only for the upmost private of dates. Like a gentleman, Kira pulled the chair out for Shinobu before seating himself. The sound of a piano, violins and a harp played together synchronically creating a beautiful tune which Kira caught himself humming along to every so often. Shinobu found herself opening the conversation whilst picking up a menu; “Did you really mean it when you said I was gorgeous earlier? It’s just that you haven’t said that since our wedding, Kosaku. And all of a sudden, you’ve reverted back into your old self, pre-Hayato, pre-marriage, what’s up with it?” Shinobu questioned.

Kira feigned a look of shock, he knew Shinobu could quickly pick up context clues, that’s where Hayato got it from, of course, but Shinobu could pick up on it this easily? Despite the fake look of shock on his face, Kira himself even felt stunned slightly. He thought for a moment before responding, “Of course I meant it, love. Why would I fake that, I’m not a liar you know this?” To Kira, that statement was obviously applicable, but regarding Kosaku, he had no idea whether or not he was truthful. He continued; “Plus, I just felt like rekindling the old spark we had, it’s been lost in a mist for so long, and even to this day, I’m still surprised why you’re still with a man like me. You could do so much better-“ He was abruptly cut of by his wife’s voice, anger lacing her words, “Don’t even say that, you know in hopelessly in love with you Kosaku” she went silent for a moment, “even with how you’ve treated me this past decade, I’m not quite certain what I’d be like without you in my life. You mean the world to me.” Tears were brimming at Shinobu’s eyes.

Kira froze, for the first time in his life, he didn’t know how to react to a situation, it was this one woman who finally had the Yoshikage Kira stumped and not the masterful plan from an enemy of his.

How could a woman as perfect as Shinobu fall in love with scum like Kosaku to the point of not being able to leave him out of pure desperation of not knowing where her life would go. Finally, with what felt like eons, Kira finally plucked up the courage to respond to Shinobu’s outburst; “You really are the perfect woman Shinobu, my wife, I know it must have felt like forever ago when I last said this to you, but I love you Shinobu Kawajiri, and I’m proud to call you, my wife. I’ve always loved your feistiness, and how nurturing you are towards Hayato even when you are at the worst point in your life. You are indefinitely the most perfect person I’ve set my eyes on. From your stretchmarks to your eyes, to how much you cling to me, Hell, even to how your nose crinkles when you laugh, it’s all perfect.” Kira ranted, every word he said coming from the bottom of his heart, words laced with love and passion.

As he ranted, Shinobu sat there, stunned. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t the Kosaku she married, but hearing those words that spilled out of Kosaku’s mouth, it made her fall in love all over again. For years on end, Shinobu was longing, waiting to just hear those three meaningful words of ‘I love you’ and at last, after eleven, painful years, she finally got to hear them once again. Tears spilled from her eyes, rushing down her cheeks uncontrollably. As soon as Kosaku had finished his rant all Shinobu could muster to say was; “I love you too, unconditionally Kosaku. My heart has been aching for you to say that. Thank you.” She smiled, tears still streaming.

Kira took one of the napkins and as gently as he could, tried to wipe away her tears to no avail, she was so happy that she couldn’t stop crying. The sight of her made Kira smile, she was finally happy after 11 years, but with him, Yoshikage Kira and not Kosaku Kawajiri, if only she knew that, though. Thinking about that made Kira’s heart shatter, but for now. He’ll keep up the fantasy of Kosaku to keep her happy.

Maybe one day, he’ll tell her. Just maybe. Whatever makes Shinobu happy, Kira will abide by, for Yoshikage Kira had fallen in love.

[svnflowervol666]

Ma Petite Chérie: Sweet Creature (Harry Styles x fem!Reader)

Read more from this little universe, Ma Petite Chérie, in my masterlist!

Word Count: 3.8k

Summary: Harry goes out of town and leaves Tallulah with Y/N for the week. 

Author’s Note: Hiiiii. I decided to turn Ma Petite Chérie into it’s own little “thing,” so here’s another look at Harry, Tallulah and Y/N’s life! I’ve found it much easier to write in little blips rather than following a direct plot, so expect random little moments featuring the three of them. Also, this is not proofread and I am going through a period of having full blown insomnia, so I’m praying there aren’t too many mistakes. I hope you all enjoy and send any ideas, asks, or questions you have for them my way and I’ll be happy to respond! Take care and TPWK.

“I left her car seat in the garage. If she starts gettin’ fussy during the day, just put her in her room and turn on the noise machine and let her color - that usually does it. I refilled her medicine the other day, didn’t I-”

“Har-,” she shushed him, “We’ll be fine. I know the drill. Allergy meds and gummy vitamins in the morning, french vocabulary every other day, no tv before bed, and no sugar after six.”

He took a deep breath in and placed his palms on top of Y/N’s that are gripping his shoulders to ground him. He was a mess, but how could he not when one of the only people he trusted with his daughter, his mother, was away on holiday and couldn’t stay with her when he had to go on a week-long business trip? It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Y/N, he absolutely did. He just hated feeling like she thought he was using her as a free babysitter rather than the loving girlfriend she actually was. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but his anxieties always had a way of getting the best of him.

“Sorry. Always get nervous leavin’ her. Feel like something bad’s gonna happen every time and I won’t be there t’ help her.”

“It’s just a few days, bubs. She seems to like me, or at least pretends to. I’ll keep her entertained. Take her to the park and go get our nails done or something. It’ll be like one, big sleepover.”

“If yeh take her t’ the park, make sure yeh put sunscreen o-”

“Harry,” she’s stern and it shut Harry up immediately.

“Right,” he paused and took another intense, labored breath in an attempt to stop himself from canceling his plans and just staying home with Y/N and Tallulah for the week.

“She does like yeh. Asks about yeh all the time when you’re gone. Loves yeh a lot, actually. We both do.”

That word used to scare him, love. He realized long ago that he had only ever truly been in love with his daughter, so making himself vulnerable to sharing those same emotions with another person was genuinely terrifying. But each and every time, Y/N does something to remind him that it is well-worth the internal struggle he’s endured. 

The proud smile that adorned Y/N’s face at his words is another one of those moments. It’s full of light and reassurance that his baby will be perfectly safe and healthy while he tended to business an entire continent away.

“I love you both as well. Might have a slight preference towards Lulah, but it’s nothing to worry yourself over.”

“Swear yeh only datin’ me because of her,” Harry muttered under his breath.

“You’re absolutely right,” she scoffed, “I only come over five nights out of the week to watch The Little Mermaid with her and I just tolerate you.”

Harry laughed, a genuine cackle that reared his cavernous dimples and turned the apples of his cheeks a pale shade of pink.

“I’d do the same,” he said with a shrug.

“Harry, you’re stalling. You’re gonna miss your flight if you don’t get on the road soon. I don’t think you want me to kick you out of the door.”

He feigned ponderance and tapped his index finger on his chin.

“I do love it when yeh mean t’ me.”

“Harry, go.”

“Alright, alright. I’m leaving. Just...check in with me every once in a while. Let me know how she’s doin’, yeah? I’ll call every night t’ talk t’ her.”

“Was already expecting you to.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she repeated.

He cleared his throat, heart weighing heavy in his chest. He knew he was supposed to leave for the airport ten minutes ago, but he couldn’t find himself to wheel his luggage out to the trunk of his car.

“Goodbye, Harry,” Y/N whispers in hushed tones.

She reached up on her tiptoes to plant a chaste kiss on his bright pink lips, which he then took upon himself to deepen by loosely wrapping his fingers around her throat and applying just enough pressure to make her contemplate giving into his obvious hesitance about leaving.

“Tell Lulah I love her when she wakes up, okay? Feel like shit leavin’ her in the middle of the night.”

“I’ll tell her first thing.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too, Harry,” she smiles, “See you in a week.”

//

Their first few days went by smoothly, a little too smoothly, Y/N thinks. She’d let her pick one activity to do each day and it seemed like to Harry and Y/N, she was having the time of her life. 

Monday was the park, an obvious choice for a toddler. Tallulah wore herself out so much that she’d gone to bed that night with no trouble whatsoever.

Tuesday was a pampering day. Y/N had tried to get them into her preferred nail salon for pedicures, but there were no empty slots so she’d made up Harry’s master bathroom to look like a spa. She painted Tallulah’s nails blue (because Tallulah said blue was her dad’s favorite color), ran her a bubble bath with more bubbles than Harry ever allowed, and even let her put on some of her expensive face mask cream (Harry nearly shit himself out of pure adoration when he received a selfie of the two of them with pink goop smeared all over their faces and cucumbers over their eyes).

Tallulah’s request for Wednesday was a trip to the carnival that was in town, in which Y/N spent nearly fifteen dollars trying to win a stuffed bear for her but was unsuccessful. They went home with a real, live goldfish instead that Tallulah named Carrot because she claimed he looked like her favorite vegetable - she told Tallulah not to mention it to Harry and that she’d break the news to him later. She even let Tallulah have sugar after six o’clock (what Harry knew wouldn’t hurt him and besides, she told Y/N that she’d never had cotton candy before and Y/N totally wanted bragging rights for introducing her to basically a two-year-old’s fever dream of eating pink clouds).

She hadn’t asked about Harry once.

It wasn’t until Wednesday night after the carnival and her bath and daily FaceTime call with him that she began to get antsy with Y/N, claiming that she wanted her dad to tuck her in and read her a bedtime story. No matter how many times Y/N told her that Harry couldn’t do that but that he would be home in a few days, Tallulah didn’t understand why her dad wasn’t there to give her cuddles and rub her back until she fell asleep like he often did. Eventually, her exhaustion caught up to her and she gave in to the need for sleep, but Y/N had a feeling that that wouldn’t be the end of her tantrum.

It was nearly eleven o’clock, and Y/N was in the living room enjoying a glass of red wine from Harry’s vast collection of alcohol that he kept in his office (for some reason he had an irrational fear that Tallulah would somehow get into it, so he kept it locked away in a room where she wasn’t allowed in). The fermented concoction had almost lulled her to into a light slumber right there on the couch in the middle of a documentary about how agriculture influenced climate change when she heard the piercing cries of a toddler coming from down the hall.

Y/N rushed towards Tallulah’s room, all effects of the wine immediately dissipating as her mind went to the worst possible scenario. She’d fallen off her bed and hurt herself, she was having an allergic reaction, there was a strange man in her room trying to kidnap her. But there was seemingly nothing wrong with Tallulah when Y/N flung her bedroom door open so quickly she almost broke the knob.

“What’s wrong, Lulah?” she asked as she approached her on the bed that sat low to the ground.

Tallulah was red in the face, covered in a thin layer of sweat, and tears continuously flowed from her bright, green eyes that looked exactly like Harry’s and even shifted a teal blue in the sunlight.

Y/N’s heart sunk when she heard it. Over and over again. Nothing else. Only crying out one word.

“Daddy.”

She didn’t want to overwhelm her, so Y/N laid down next to Tallulah and pulled her close. As she brushed her curls away from where they were matted to her sweaty forehead, Y/N cooed her reptitiously in an attempt to calm her down. After about three minutes of incesant crying and copious amounts of fat, shiny tears, Y/N needed a better idea.

“I know you miss him, bubs. I miss him too. But he’ll be home soon, okay? I know something that might make you feel better. Do you want to come in daddy’s room with me?”

It was quiet and muffled over her blubbery cries, but Y/N heard a tiny, “yes,” escape through her lips and then she was scooping Tallulah up into her arms and carrying her off to the master bedroom.

She placed her in the middle of Harry’s bed and quickly began digging through Harry’s dresser for what she was looking for. When she found it, she ran back to Tallulah’s curled up body on the mattress.

“Okay, whenever I miss your dad, I put on one of his shirts because it smells like him. It always makes me feel like he’s close to me. Do you want try that?” 

The toddler had calmed down dramatically since she’d left her own bed, most likely due to exhaustion from crying so much in such a short period of time. She gave Y/N a gentle nod and let her take off her matching set of pajamas and replace them with the shirt of Harry’s that dropped almost all of the way to her feet. It was a white t-shirt with the words “Dream Boat” screened onto the fabric, which was perhaps a bit controversial for his two-year-old daughter to be wearing, but it was the smallest shirt of his that she could find. Otherwise, it’d be falling off of her shoulders and she wouldn’t be able to move.

“Can you smell it?” Y/N bunches the fabric in her hands and raises it to Tallulah’s nose.

“Smells like daddy, doesn’t it?”

Tallulah inhaled the best she could through her stuffy nose.

“‘mells good,” she whimpered, reaching her short arms to wrap around Y/N’s neck.

“Do you want to lie in daddy’s bed with me for a little bit? You can sleep in here, if you want,” Y/N spoke softly into Tallulah’s hair while she held her.

Y/N felt a nod against her chest and that was all it took for her to climb towards the pillow with Tallulah in her arms. She laid Tallulah on Harry’s side of the bed, hoping that the extra scent he left in the sheets would further will her back to sleep.

And it worked.

After reaffirming what felt like a million times that Harry would cuddle her for an entire day straight when he got home because he missed her just as much as she missed him, her eyes slowly shut and peace took over. Y/N thought the coast was clear and a crisis had been averted, and she also remembered that she hadn’t taken her makeup off yet. So she wriggled Tallulah off of her chest and slipped stealthily out of the bed like a burglar attempting to not get caught and tiptoed away into the bathroom to wash her face.

Right when she was patting her face dry with one of the plush towels on the rack in Harry’s bathroom, she realized that the coast was indeed, not clear, and Tallulah began wailing once again.

“It’s okay, Lulah. I’m right here,” Y/N consoled the small girl that looked even smaller in Harry’s king-sized bed.

But she wasn’t interested in Y/N at all. Her sobbing was louder than the last and it was Harry’s name that fell from her weepy lips like it was the only thing keeping her alive. This time, Y/N knew there was nothing that could soothe her besides Harry himself.

“Here, baby,” Y/N wriggled the toddler out of her arms and reached over to the nightstand to grab her cell phone, “Let’s see if daddy’s awake and maybe you can talk to him again, okay?”

“Okay,” Tallulah huffed, but it sounded more like “o-tay.”

Under any other circumstances, Y/N would be awing at the way she said certain words, but now, she just wanted Tallulah to go back to sleep. She was just as exhausted as Tallulah and was starting to become overwhelmed by the nature of everything that was happening.

Harry picked up her FaceTime on the second ring, eyes wide and concerning even though Y/N could tell that her call had woken him up.

“What’s goin’ on? ‘S she alright?”

Her cries that he heard through his speaker broke his heart, and he wanted nothing more than to jump on the next flight home to hold his sweet little girl until all of the tears had dried from her face.

“She’s been crying for the last hour, Har. She wants you. Maybe talk to her a little and see if she calms down?”

She heard Harry curse under his breath and rub the sleep out of his eyes. There was a sense of relief that washed over him when he realized that everything was alright and his daughter wasn’t in any immediate danger, but he didn’t quite feel better by any means. Y/N tilted the phone down towards Tallulah who had taken to rubbing the corner of Harry’s pillowcase between her thumb and forefinger.

“Lulah, baby. Talk t’ me. What’s the matter?”

“Daddy?” her face lifted from where it was buried in her stuffed elephant that she’d had since she was a baby and looked up to see her father’s face lit up on Y/N’s phone screen.

“Hi, lovie. Why’re yeh cryin’?”

“Want you come home,” she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out in a way that made her look far too adorable for how sad she really was.

“I know yeh do, petal. I’ll be home soon. I promise. Then, we can have a big cuddle. Does that sound good?”

“You come home tomorrow?” she asked, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Harry internally cringed when he saw her wipe it on his sheets, but he was obviously not going to scold her for it at the moment.

“Not tomorrow, but soon. I’m not goin’ anywhere for a long time after this so it’ll be just me and you for a bit.”

Tallulah grew upset by this, and understandably so. Her dad always gave her cuddles when she was sad. Why was he telling her that he couldn’t?

He sensed her tears springing back to life, to which he quickly diverted her attention away from.

“Tell me more about what yeh did with Y/N today at the carnival, bug.”

After sucking up a few slobbery breaths, Tallulah was able to speak to Harry again.

“We got a fishy.”

Damnit.

Harry’s ears perked up.

“A fishy? At the carnival? How did yeh do that?”

“Y/N gotted it.”

“She did?”

Y/N knew Harry was not only talking to Tallulah but also to her. A tone that suggested Y/N had some explaining to do, but he wasn’t going to bring that up now.

“Yeah, she winned a game.”

“Does the fishy have a name?”

“Carrot.”

This made Harry snort, as he was not expected that one.

“And did Y/N get Carrot a nice bowl and some food?”

“Mhmm,” Tallulah nodded, “He’s in the kitchen.”

“Well, that sounds lovely. I can’t wait to meet Carrot. Gonna give him cuddles when I get home, too.”

“He said he loves you.”

“That’s very sweet of him. Tell Carrot I love him, too.”

There was a long pause in which Harry, Tallulah, and Y/N all yawned, clearly overtaken by the urge to fall into a deep sleep.

“It’s really late, Lulah. Yeh think yeh can go back t’ bed for me?”

Tallulah brazenly shook her head from side to side, no. 

Harry sighed heavily, his frustration and sadness becoming all too much for him to bear. He was nervous to do what he was about to offer, but he knew it was the last resort in anyone in this scenario getting any sleep whatsoever.

“What if I sing yeh your song? Will that make yeh feel better?”

He watched as her eyes light up with a glint of joy and he knew that that was possibly the cure to everyone’s problems. 

“Peas?”

“Of course, baby. Thank yeh for usin’ yeh manners.”

Y/N laid the phone down so she could reposition Tallulah in her lap as Harry’s melodic voice began to pour from the speakers.

It was her favorite song in the entire world. No matter what was wrong or how upset she was, the second he sang the first few notes and the sound registered in her ears, Tallulah was always able to bring herself back down to earth. 

The first time he sang it to her, she was only ten weeks old, just two weeks after she was brought into his life. He first thought it was a one-off chance that the song had lulled her to sleep, but he quickly found out he was wrong and that she took a genuine liking to it. He’s always assumed it brought on a sense of familiarity and comfort to her whenever she felt like her tiny, two-year-old life was crashing down on her. 

Y/N had never actually seen him sing to her. She’d heard it a time or two through the door of her bedroom when she stayed over, but she’d never asked Harry about it. She had always let their song be just that - their song.

Hopefully, and he genuinely means hopefully, the trick works just as well as it usually does despite him not being there physically. He’s got to be up at five and he refuses to hang up the phone until his baby isn’t sad anymore.

It took a bit longer than usual, but by the second round of the chorus, her eyelids were heavy and the grip she had on Y/N’s lotus pendant had weakened. Hell, the song almost put Y/N to sleep as well. Had she not been worried sick over waking Harry up in the middle of the night and his daughter spilling the beans about the fucking fish, she would have been out well before Tallulah. She loved his singing voice, but she only ever got to hear it when he bopping along to a song on the radio or when he was really, really drunk. 

As the last few notes of the song trailed to silence, both Y/N and Harry took a peek at Tallulah through the phone screen, eager to see if she was fully asleep or just in a state of tranquility. Sure enough, she was out cold.

“I think she’s asleep,” Y/N whispered.

“Thank god,” Harry muttered, “Bloody awful, that was. She’d been cryin’ like that the whole time?”

“Pretty much. Sorry for calling so late, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“‘S alright. Honestly, I was waiting for it. When she stays with mum, I usually get a call or two just like this. By the way, was she wearin’ my ‘Dream Boat’ shirt?”

Y/N starts to chuckle but remembers there is a fragile (both physically and emotionally) child on her chest and she can’t move too much in fear of waking her back up.

“Yeah, she is. I told her I wear your shirts and sleep on your side of the bed when I miss you because they smell like you and thought it would calm her down. It kinda did, but she woke up when I left to go to the bathroom.”

“Christ,” Harry wipes his face with his large, ringed hands.

“What?”

“That’s the cutest shit I’ve ever heard in my life. I love you. A lot.”

“I love you a lot, too,” Y/N grinned.

After a brief moment, Harry talks again.

“So, what’s this about a fish named Carrot?”

Y/N grits her teeth together and sucks in a deep breath.

“Have you seen her face? I know you have. What was I supposed to tell her? No? Got that fucker on the first try after spending seventeen dollars trying to win her a stuffed animal.”

A laugh from deep within Harry’s belly reached the surface and he stifled it with his fist.

“You’ve got a point, princess.”

“I can get rid of him, if you want. I figured she’d get bored and forget about him in a few days, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

“No,” Harry insists, “Keep him. Teach her how t’ take care of him. Give her a responsibility. Maybe she’ll stop harrassin’ me about gettin’ a damn cat.”

“Already done,” Y/N smiles proudly at the camera.

“She knows we feed him in the mornings and she told me she’d help clean his bowl once a week. Even taught her how to say ‘fish’ in french.”

“Have I already told yeh that I love yeh? ‘Cause I do.”

“You did. But I don’t mind hearing it again.”

Harry took a moment to just look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and he knew she probably felt like she’d just been to hell and back, but there, with his baby girl on her chest, she had never looked more beautiful. He was physically incapable of stopping the words that left his mouth.

“Move in with me.”

“Hmm?” she lifted her head from where it was resting halfway on her pillow and halfway on Harry’s as if to see if he really just said what she thought he said.

“Only if yeh want to. I know it’s a bigger deal because of Lulah, so I get it if yeh still want yeh space. Just...really want yeh around all of the time. And I know she does, too.”

Y/N smiled from ear to ear and placed her free hand that wasn’t holding the phone on top of Tallulah’s curls. She’d been wondering when this conversation would happen, given that she sleeps over at Harry’s more than she does her own apartment and she’d slowly taken over half of the drawers in his bathroom and three shelves in his closet; she just hadn’t expected it to come at midnight, directly after his daughter had the biggest meltdown she’d ever witnessed.

“If I say yes, will you sing to me like that every night?”

Harry blushed beet red as he breathed heavily through his nose.

“If that’s what it takes. Then, yes.”

“Think Lulah’s strong enough to help me carry some boxes?”

[mononyann]

a while back people requested that i share some of my headcanons for certain bnha characters, so here's some of the characters that i did

Shota Aizawa

- he absolutely has at LEAST 3 cats, he spoils the heck out of them too. that's why he's always eating those gel packs... he spends too much on his cats.

- he really does love his class. and we all know honey??? u haven't expelled any of them. ur soft for them ok.

- he likes to sleep with his cats bc he gets lonely at night... he will not admit it, but he likes having someone/something there :)

- he has reuccuring nightmares about the usj attack and how he could have failed to save his students

- has a very low alcohol tolerance and often ends up getting dragged back to his apartment by mic or midnight when they go out whilst he rambles and whines the entire time

- he hates crying and tries his best to keep his emotions held in, he's only cried in front of a select few people

- he tries not to let others opinions on him rule his life and tends to block it out if someone hates him

- he doesn't know it, but he is the entirety of class 1-a's dad.

- he really likes tea, and dislikes sweets

- as you would expect, he takes his coffee black

Hanta Sero

- he really likes kpop! he stans multiple groups and really wants to attend a concert

- though he seems really chill on the outside, he's actually quite sensitive and has some self confidence issues

- he loves being around people and finds that he gets his energy from being around those he loves

- definitely into e-boy fashion, and he is open about it

- pierced his own ears at 3 am and called kaminari crying about how he screwed it up

- he actually likes to draw a lot in his free time, it's very relaxing. he puts on some nice low-fi music and draws for hours

- he hasn't had many crushes in his life and doesn't find romance to be a big issue currently, but he's open to anything

- accidentally taped his hamster to the ceiling in 2nd grade, he didn't mean to and cried for hours (the hamster was ok)

Nemuri Kayama

- she is a BRO, she likes to crack a cold one open with the boys on the weekends

- she is bisexual and thinks everyone is beautiful in their own unique ways

- most likely talks shit about her coworkers to her classes

- she thinks children are adorable and loves them, often scaring them with her enthusiasm

- very touchy, she loves hugs and will probably not pass up a chance to use you as an armrest if she has the chance

- she secretly worries about aizawa a lot and is scared that he lets the past effect him too much

- did you guys know she has a cat?!

- i like to think she and mic are like... EPIC bros, she loves to paint his nails and do his hair while gossiping with him (aizawa would NEVER let her do this to him lmao)

- she isn't a mom, but finds the idea of having her own children very nice, for now having a cat will suffice

- she enjoys trying to make all might flustered, she thinks his reactions to things are always very cute and funny (it's all in good fun!)

- she's the mom friend! though she may seem very sexual, which she undoubtedly is, she is also very caring and has a very nuturing motherly personality, she's a lot more than just fanservice !!!!!

Todoroki Shoto

- completely oblivious when it comes to love... he doesn't even understand his own crushes

- "of course you can borrow my credit card uraraka" *pulls out endeavors card which he sneakily took*

- would be the person to tell a child that their pet guinea pig didn't go to heaven and be confused when they start sobbing... like "what... don't be honest?"

- allows his friends to huddle up to his warm side when they are cold

- is confused when people show him copious amounts of love and affection

- he would beat up anyone if they tried to do ANYTHING bad to midoriya

- he wants more friends. he really is enjoying meeting new people and having some new friends at ua!

- he gives really good hugs, he doesn't try to hug you too tight, but he doesn't half ass it either, very nice and warm

- he hates his scar. like. a lot. he wants to cover it up so bad but it just doesn't work. he's afraid it'll make other people scared of him.

Shinsou Hitoshi

- loves patd! and fall out boy, a brendon urie STAN

- loves to kiss his kitties on the forehead but dreads human interaction

- he loves to squish his cats' toebeans... he takes pictures of them and posts them to his secret cat social media acc

- he is gay but doesn't know how to feel about it and/or come out, he's really nervous and doesn't trust people to accept him

- he doesn't smile often but when he does it's the cutest thing ever

- he secretly really likes deku and kaminari and is hesitant about accepting their friendship, but appreciates the gestures a lot

- he suffers with social anxiety and doesn't really know how to make friends very well??? like, in middle school people were total dickbags to him so he kinda just closed himself off and decided he was gonna like... not make friends, but now that there's nice people around him he just kind of- doesn't know how

- this is actually canon! but he feels guilty about having to manipulate people when he uses his quirk, during the 4th school briefs book he feels guilty when he overhears midoriya and ojiro talking about him using his quirk during the sports festival, and he's like "i wish ojiro would say something rude about me to show he's angry so i wouldn't have to feel so guilty about this" since ojiro showed no ill feelings towards him

Izuku Midoriya

- "hold on I'll go get a blanket!" *opens closet* *thousands of all might figurines tumble out*

- watches cat vine compilations until 2 am, than freaks out when he realizes it is 2 am

- very good with children!

- used to be very self conscious about his freckles bc of bakugou insulting them; hid them with concealer for a while until someone told him they were beautiful

- loves his momma so muchhh he would do anything for her, he likes to surprise her with small favors to see her happy

- does not understand the concept of letting people handle their own problems

- stays after to class to offer his teachers help

- he has a lot of self doubts and is still struggling to this day to come to terms with the fact that he is worthy of having one for all

- he wants to learn how to cook for his mom and friends

Kyoka Jirou

- she is a lesbian!!!!! she has a crush on momo but is completely convinced that it's unrequited

- struggled with judgmental kids in middle school because of her sexual identity and style

- gets very easily flustered by anyone complimenting her

- that one person sitting at the back of the bus with their earbuds blasting full volume

- was a GOD at guitar hero

- acts like she's fed up with kaminari's (which she can be sometimes), but truly he's one of the people she can trust the most. she secretly appreciates the way he hypes up her talents and how he really helps her through the day sometimes!

- she loves heroes so much... when she was a little girl and didn't know what to do she'd ask herself "what would my favorite heroes do!?"

- she also secretly buys hero merch but hides it in fear of her being seen as sappy

Amajiki Tamaki

- would have trouble standing up for himself but if he sees ANYONE messing with mirio he WILL throw hands

- likes to watch bob ross videos when hes feeling anxious

- he once went to a butterfly museum with his parents and cried out of joy when one landed on his nose

- leaves food out for strays in his neighborhood, ends up attracting an entire hoard of animals.

- he can paint very nicely, he began to paint after he discovered bob ross

- mirio then saw his paintings and showed the entire class to tamaki's dismay, but everyone absolutely LOVED them!!!

- every day he becomes more and more capable and sure of himself, he is still very anxious, but he's learning to open up and embrace his talents <3

- he really loves to listen to music and any time he's not around others he'll probably have earbuds in, gently swaying back and forth to whatever he has on

- nejire loves to try out new hairstyles on him, and strangely enough, tamaki lets her, he loves it when people play with his hair

Shirakumo Oboro

- shares one collective braincell with mic

- that one person that brings EVERYONE valentine treats on valentines day at school

- most likely plays ding dong ditch

- *draws stick figure* "ah yes. just like van goh" (he cannot draw)

- hates to see his friends (and even random strangers upset) and will go out of his way to do dumb things to make them smile

- probably played soccer

- he's a massive flirt and likes to believe he will become a stereotypical anime protagonist with a massive harem

- he really wants to see aizawa come out of his shell more and tries his best to encourage him to see the best in everything

- he has most likely worn a schoolgirl uniform to class once

- he's very affectionate and loves to hug his friends (even if they don't want hugs), it's his way of showing he likes people

Hizashi Yamada

- he lives off of caffeine. he is a teacher, pro hero, and radio show host, im honestly not sure how he does it

- gives out stickers when students get the correct answer in class and has class parties when they are well behaved for the semester

- just like everyone else, he has his own turmoil as well, he likes to stay busy because it prevents him from having a lot of time to dwell on the past

- he gives really good hugs, and loves to feel the touch of others, it's very comforting to him

- was probably pretty troublesome when he was very young while he learned to get control of his quirk

- overall a really happy and excitable guy, he loves being the center of attention and if he can make people happy by being what he is, that's awesome!

- he shows his appreciation for people in odd ways, but he always means good, even if his wild antics can be a bit stressful lol

- he likes to sing a lot and does it a bunch when he's alone, he can also play a lot of instruments

- he can be very serious if needed, he does often put on a persona when he's present mic

- when he's hizashi (out of hero persona) he's even more of a dork than usual, very goofy, awkward and pouty. a manchild.

OK so I reached my image limit, if u guys wanna see the rest I might post some more later PLUS feel free to request some in my asks, I don't really know how all that stuff works bc I'm kinda new to Tumblr but ILL FIGURE IT OUT

[chillmichelle]

Open and Hoping

Y/n gets more than she bargains for when she suggest her and Harry begin an open relationship as a last resort

4k+ of angst 

-

-

Warning: Mentions of sex

3 years prior

I can almost feel the words on the edge of his tongue as he sips copious amounts of expensive wine in silence. I wonder to myself how he’s going to tell me he’s unhappy.

Maybe he’ll beat around the bush. He always had a high tolerance for alcohol, and he’s not very good at being upfront when he’s sober. There’s no way he’s drunk this quickly as his aura still seems tense. Forced, almost.

“I don’t think this is going to work.”

Maybe he’ll sugarcoat it. Coax me into agreeing with what he has to say with some romantic feature about our past.

“We had 5 great years together You were the first girl I ever really loved... but I think we should end it here.”

Or maybe, he just doesn’t love me anymore at all.

“I want a divorce”

Harry and I were still very much in love in certain ways. He enjoyed holding me while he slept, or watching cheesy movies with me while I built a sad excuse for a fort and popped some crappy knock-off movie theater popcorn and turned on badly filmed horror film from the 80s.

But he never told me I was beautiful anymore. Slowly, his compliments turned into looks, and his looks turned elsewhere. He slept with other women, I thought, because he couldn’t get off with me. It was incredibly painful knowing the man that I was hopelessly in love with no longer found me desirable, that he no longer tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear before smiling at me in adoration.

Eventually we both became more unhappy friends who were forced to be together. Harry would messily try to hide that he was sleeping with other people from me, ad the stress of having to sneak behind my back caused him to blame me for his tension instead of anything else.

There were times when I believed that it was his fault our marriage had turned out this way. But the more I pondered it, the more I realized that I could’ve tried harder. I could’ve flown out to see him when he couldn’t be bothered with a phone call, I could’ve told him how much he went to me sohe never had to sneak comfort in another person to begin with.

He loved me when it was convenient.

Before he has the opportunity to state what i’ve been fearing for the past few months of our crumbling marriage, I intercept his statement before it can begin.

“I know you’re sleeping with someone else, Harry.”

He chokes on his wine, sputtering the grape colored liquid across the napkin on his lap as he looks at me with wide eyes. I didn’t know he actually thought he was slick enough to make it any less obvious than it was.

“I know you’re not happy anymore” I breath out. It takes everything inside of me not to break down right then and there, because his facial expressions are just confirming my statements. And even though I knew they were true from the start, i’d always hoped they weren’t.

“It’s...going to be bad for the both of us if we get a-” I clear my throat in place of saying the word and he nods at me expectantly, clearly uncomfortable about the subject as well. The hairband on my wrist rolls around my fingertips, a habit I reconcieve when i’m nervous.

“The media will think you cheated on me. I mean - it’s not like you didn’t or anything it’s just...I still love you and I still want the best for you and I know that this isn’t it.” I stare at my lap for a few moments, blinking quickly a few times to clear the tears welling up in my eyes.

“An open relationship.” I blurt out. He stares at me in shock, as if he wasn’t expecting for me to suggest something so crude, something that was so incredibly against my values. He has brought up the subject while drunk months ago - when our marriage was slipping into oblivion but wasn’t necessarily there. I was quick to dismiss the subject with a “Yeah, but it’s a good thing we love each other too much” before he drunkenly nodded and proceeded to ramble on about another random subject.

I was so excited that he was finally speaking to me - drunk or not - that I proceeded to feed him soup to ache his inevitable hangover. And after he returned to his more distant self the next morning, I placed more thought into the concept of sharing him. The idea that I would let him live out his multi-woman phase before he could eventually return to who he was, and who he loved.

I figured that allowing him to be free for  while would make him realize that other women didn’t stand in the way of what we had. That he could freely do as he pleased, and then in our spare time together we could rebuild our relationship that had crumbled with our backs turned.

“We can both sleep with other people.” I choke out. I stare at the emotions running across his face. His beautiful, horrible face that I was so irrevocably, messily in love with. The face that belonged to the man I would do anything for.

“That’s what you want, right?” Some people would say that I was insane for agreeing to this, or even suggesting it to begin with. But it was Harry. My husband that I had poured myself into, that held more of myself than I did.

It was so incredibly painful that I would rather hang onto some of him desperately than to give up on him completely.

-

-

2 years prior

 “Happy birthday, darling”

He holds expensive shopping bags. The glossy, black colors contrasting with his pale skin littered with tattoos. He leans in to give me a quick kiss on my forehead before dropping them on the floor. I sit in a messy bun and a large t-shirt that smells like him.

I wrap my arms around his torso, burying my face into his shirt and inhaling the scent. He proceeds to grab my waist, rubbing his thumb over the large t-shirt I wear.

“Be ready to go somewhere in an hour, I have so much planned for today.” He mutters. I loosen my arms to lean back and smile up at him, “Does that mean I get you all to myself today?” I ask hopefully.

“Of course. You get me everyday, always.” He replies. Although i’m sure he means that we’re bound together by the simple silver rings on our fingers, I know that he’s not always mine to love. I’m aware that more often than not he leaves home with me to seek temporary residence with someone else.

“You and I both know that’s not true, Harry.” I tell him. I admit to him that it isn’t possible for me to share intimacy with anyone other than him, as I have many times before.

He sighs with a slightly sympathetic gleam in his eyes.

“Y/n, regardless of what we...do in this relationship, you still always come first to me. You’re my wife, you’re the love of my life and I married you for a reason. This is just what’s for best for us at the moment, you know i’m always yours when you need me.”

“What’s best for us at the moment.”

As in, not permanent.

I hold onto his words that imply this agreement has a possibility of being temporary. My birthday is turning out to be better than expected so far. And although every time I inhale him I smell less of him and more of other women, I push my thoughts to the back of my mind and place my focus on our potential.

I smile at the words he states, my hands wrapped around his waist lowering towards the buckle on his belt.

“One hour, you said?”

He smirks, leaning in towards me so that I can feel the whisper of his breath dance across my breath. I can’t help but think about how I might not have been the most recent girl to unbuckle his belt, to admire him from this close.

But I allow myself to become immersed in the part of him I have now. This was better than divorce, right? It was better than the constant arguments and silences we would have a year ago. He loved me, and he put me before others when necessary. He might be with others some evenings, but his nights belonged to me. And if I pushed hard enough, perhaps his mornings may be as well someday.

I spend the hour giving him pieces of myself I haven’t let myself give other men. I allow myself to pretend that he thinks the same of himself, and with every word he tells me, I allow a fantasy to grow inside my mind. One of exclusivity, happiness, loyalty.

One that i’m aware expired long ago.

Hope.

It drives us, and sometimes it drives us insane.

-

-

Present Time

He presses me up against the wall, his large fingers leaving pearl sized dimples where they meet my thighs. His lips hungrily nip at my neck, but all I can think about is Harry.

I wonder who he’s sleeping with tonight?

I think back to when we were younger and surely in love, to when we were always insatiable and in need of more of each other, and I close my eyes and I imagine i’m 22 again and being with Harry exclusively. If I close my eyes hard enough, the man I have no interest in slobbering all over my neck becomes the man that I love.

Yeah, Nope.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t think i’m feeling it.” I tell Jordan, my personal trainer. He groans before slowly lowering me from the lockers onto the ground and I awkwardly rub the back of my neck.

“Well can you at least suck me off or something? You kinda got me worked up.” He chuckles. I look down to see a prominent bulge in his pants, but the thought of being with someone other than Harry frightens me and quite frankly, disgusts me.

“I’m really sorry Jordan.” I mutter, fiddling with my sock-clad feet before slipping them inside my tennis shoes. I grab my phone from the bench in the family locker room and scroll through my contacts, dialling Harry’s number.

His phone rings multiple times, and I almost think he’s going to forget about my again until he answers.

“Hell-Hello” He breathes out heavily. I wonder why he’s so exhausted, but don’t think too far into it before replying, “Harry. You promised you’d drive me home from the gym on the way back from work, remember?” I ask, trying not to sound too annoyed.

“Shit-Shit, yeah, babe. I completely for-forgot about that. I-I’m on my way.” I sigh when he hangs up, sitting on the bench in front of the gym. The sky looks grey and thunder rumbles a I sit alone, sipping from my water bottle occasionally.

Why couldn’t I bring myself to do it?

Harry slept with countless women ever since our agreement was first put into place. It seemed as if he picked up women everywhere he went.

There were pros to an open relationship though, without the tensions of Harry’s constant infidelity lingering in the air, we were much closer as a couple. We often spent time together and he always managed to wake up next to me, regardless of how it happened. Well, sometimes he would stumble in after I had awakened, but I lied to myself and pretended to sleep just to feel him hold me.

A few droplets of water fall onto my face. Initially I believe it’s sweat, but I soon realize the droplets become heavier and heavier. I turn around to seek refuge from the rain inside of the gym, only to realize it was closed and the only reason I got in was because Jordan worked here and had a key, leaving the door locked without him.

I begrudgingly walk next to the curb, drenching myself in the rain in the process.

I couldn’t bring myself to have sex with someone other than Harry. It just felt wrong because regardless of the circumstances, my heart belonged to him. It was shattering to lie around while he was granted the ability to sleep with countless women, but I believed he did still love me. I just think we had different ways of expressing that love.

I finally see his expensive car pull up next to me. My clothes are drenched, and Harry’s taken far longer than the 3 minutes it takes to drive from his studio to the gym. I grab my things and open the passenger’s seat, rushing to get in before I get even more wet.

“Woah, woah, woah, this is italian leather” He protectively places his hand over the passenger’s seat and shoots me a cheeky grin. I playfully flick water at him and he whines, rubbing the minimal droplets off of his forehead as I slosh down next to him.

“How was your day?” He places a hand on my dampened thigh. It gives me warmth after standing outside in the rain and my heart swells at the gesture.

“Good. Went to the gym, wrote a couple pieces for my new poetry book.” I simply reply. He smirks and looks at me when we halt at a red light momentarily.

The smell of perfume and air freshener lingers in the car while he drives. As if he at least attempted to cover up what felt like infidelity before I came. Sometimes, I wondered if things had been different had I suggested something else that night, if I had moved on rather than holding on.

“Right, I forgot I was married to a New York Times bestseller.” He tells me in adoration. More often than not it felt as if we were friends instead of significant others, but not wanting to turn down the compliment he utters, I smile. I playfully punch his shoulder again, the both of us giggling playfully as he tries to defend himself.

“You’re in an awfully good mood today.” I tell him, happy about the moment we’re sharing. Moments like these give me confidence that we can eventually rebuild our marriage, that we can have the relationship we once had again.

“Yeah, I got some good head from a new intern before I picked you up.” I was absolutely clueless. That’s probably why he was late, and sounded so exasperated over the phone. Because he was with someone else when he was supposed to remember to pick me up.

There goes my confidence.

“Cool.” I try to reply enthusiastically. Truthfully, I can only take so much of his crude remarks and blatant honesty.

“What about you?” He asks, lifting his eyebrows up and down suggestively, “You getting it in?” He asks me. I fake a laugh at his childish behavior.

“I’ve been busy.” I simply reply. He nods, and the rest of the ride back to our place is in silence.

-

-

“Hey Love, I bumped into a girl at the gym the other night and she wants to go out tonight, would it be alright with you if I cancelled movie night?” Harry pokes his head in as i’m writing one of the pieces to my new book. Truthfully, movie night was the one thing I was looking forward to this week. I would finally be able to get some alone time with Harry. Him holding me and the occasionally contact of his shoulder to mine as we sat next to each other on movie nights was the closest i’d been to him in a while.

“Why can’t you go out with her any other night?” I ask in annoyance. He rolls his eyes before replying, “Why can’t you reschedule movie night to another night?”

“We’ve had these plans in place Harry. Besides, you have booty calls set up every other day of the week, why does this one matter so much to you?” I reply bitterly.

“C’mon, babe, she almost won Miss America in, like, college or something. That’s so hot. Please, baby? I swear i’ll make it up to you.” He wraps his arms around my neck from behind. A flame of hurt grows in my chest and I turn to look up at him.

I sigh before speaking, “Sometimes I feel like you put your booty calls before me.” I honestly tell him. Tears involuntarily well up in my eyes, but I fake shyness and look down at my shoes to avoid confrontation.

“Well what do you expect me to say, Y/n? You’re the one who suggested we even do this thing to begin with.” He replies, his voice distraught. My lip begins to quiver and I stare up at him. His expression softens and he sighs.

“I swear i’ll be back by 10, that’s when Elf starts, right?” He asks me, a hopeful and persuasive grin on his face. His mood shifts dramatically from when he snapped just seconds ago.

“Harry, it’s not just tonight.” I sigh, shaking my head. “Recently I just don’t even feel like your wife anymore. We don’t spend any time together, we haven’t had sex in months. I just...I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” I bite my lip, my eyes beginning to form puffy rims.

“Hey, hey, hey, no.” He grabs both of my hands, taking them in his own as he squats down to where we’re levelled in height. “You are the love of my life. I love you so much baby, and no amount of women is going to change that.”

Listen, he sighs as if he’s forcing his words instead of genuinely meaning them “If it’s what you really want, I can stay home tonight.” I can already tell that even if he stayed, he would do so in a hostile mood. So before he mutters swear words under his breath, I briskly respond.

“You can go, just...you owe me one, okay?”

I smile a bit but my heart still aches for my own well being.

“It’s our anniversary next week, love. I swear we can have the whole day, just you and me. All I want is tonight. You can stay in, write some poetry and drink some tea. I’ll be back before you know it.” He quickly replies. I can tell his mood is elated as he speaks quickly and his voice seems higher than usual.

And before I can reply, he walks out of the door.

-

-

Harry never came back that night.

The next morning, he walked in with sex hair and the same outfit he walked out in. He looks at me guiltily before rushing past me to our bedroom upstairs, the very place where I slept alone last night.

Harry is getting everything from this relationship. As far as the media is concerned, he’s an amazing husband and we’re a happy couple. He gets to sleep with whoever he wants and it’s just no fair sometimes.

But I guess I don’t get to complain. It was my selfish need to continue to be with him that brought us here to begin with.

I think my least favorite thing is when Harry’s on his phone.

He’s continuously typing away on his device. I know it’s because he’s texting his other women. I talk about how my book is coming along and he pretends to listen, but then his phone vibrates and i’m speaking to myself and the walls of our home.

I peek over his shoulder as he’s immersed in typing away on his device.

“She’s just my wife for publicity purposes, nothing more than that. We don’t even have sex because I don’t like her like that. It’s not that big of a deal, I promise I can find a way to spend the night with you again. Just let me-” Harry looks over his shoulder to see me turning my head, heading towards what now just seems like my bedroom. It feels as if i’ve been cheated on for the second time and it hurts unbelievably badly.

“Y/n” Harry calls from the couch.

“Y/n, love. Honey you know I didn’t me-”

And I slam the door from upstairs, sliding down the door and sobbing into my hands. Harry holds pieces of me everywhere he goes and throws them into women incapable of knowing what to do with them.

I grab my purse in front of my vanity, and open my wallet, pulling out a business card I never thought i’d have to use.

-

-

Ever since that afternoon, Harry and I have been on edge.

We had sex once.

Our marriage wasn’t the same anymore, neither was anything else that we seem to share. He doesn’t look at me anymore, doesn’t care about what I want before he briskly releases inside of me and rolls off of me in a hurry.

I can’t help but think it’s more for himself than it is for me. That he did it because he doesn’t want to lose this squeaky clean reputation that goes down the drain if I leave him. I could tell he didn’t want to do it, resulting in me silently crying in bed afterwards, while the door slams shut and he leaves me again.

-

-

It’s our anniversary today.

Harry had told me that he was going to make it special, or spend the whole day with me, was it?

I should really stop trusting him to have my best interest at heart when all he does is use me to manipulate other women.

Am I really so horrible that he can’t bear to sleep with me? That he has to find comfort in women he doesn’t know, women who don’t care about him.

I go through with dialling the number on the business cad i’ve been pondering for so long. I spend my day planning out exactly what i’m going to say to Harry when he walks through to doors to our house.

He comes in at 3 in the morning, with sex hair and disheveled clothing.

“Y/n? What are you doing up?” He asks, squinting at the bright light of the living room.

I hand him a small gift bag and an envelope. Both of which say “Happy 5 year anniversary” in my handwriting. His eyes widen and he looks at me in shock.

“Baby, I-”

“You gonna open your present?” I cut him off. He stares at me expectantly, but realizing i have nothing to say to him, he gulps and then returns to hesitantly opening his envelope.

His eyes widen despite his tired state.

“Divorce papers? Over me forgetting our an-”

“Don’t you dare pin this on me! You know damn well what you did, reap what you sow. Now open your other gift bag so I can go to sleep in MY room. I waited all night for you.”

He looks so stressed already, but after he tears out the purple tissue paper from the bag his eyes almost bulge out of his head.

“Y/n, are you preg-”

“Yes” I cut him off, not wanting to hear him say it. His expression quickly shifts from one of worry, to one of happiness. I can’t help but wonder why, he’s in no state to be responsible for anything else but himself.

“Baby...this is great! We can-” I cut him off again, “No!” I cut him off loudly. His eyes widen as he stares at me in shock. “Whatever kind of picture perfect family you think we could now be, is never going to happen. You can’t even commit to a girl for more than one night, Harry. You couldn’t commit to me for more than a few years, I don’t trust you to commit to a human child. Especially one you conceived from sex you didn’t want to have to begin with.”

He looks defeated, stressed and worn. Like he wants so many things but has given up on having them, a feeling I can very well relate to.

“Y/n, I love you, you know that.” He tells me sincerely. I dodge his look and hand him the business card of my divorce attorney, leaving him speechless as I walk out on him for the first time ever.

[ltwilliamhavers]

Camping Trip (Rosawatts)

authors note: its been forever since i’ve written, huh? sorry about that. lol. anyway, i didnt have a cool title for this one. sorry. lol. anyway in this fic neil and eva are already dating. just an fyi

The air around them was warm and humid. The hot, unbearably bright sun shone above the two. The sound of cicadas buzzed in the air around them. Mosquito bites covered their arms in itchy, red spots that they couldn’t help but scratch- even though they both knew they made that worse. Sweat caused their t-shirts and shorts stuck to their skin. And with all that, they had to carry an intolerable amount of weight on their backs, with all of their supplies to help them prepare for the weekend inside.

“Isn’t this just beautiful?”

Neil, leading the trek with  couple feet ahead of Eva, stopped abruptly, turned around, and outstretched his arms. He smiled at Eva goodnaturedly. She glared back.

“How do you even tolerate this, let alone do it for your own enjoyment?” Eva says, stopping to put her hands on her hips. Not that she would ever admit it to Neil, but she was glad for the short break from hiking- she felt like they had been walking forever.

“Aw, come on, Evie!” he says, in a sickeningly sweet voice. Eva responds by deepening her glare at Neil, but this just makes him grin wider.

Neil walks over to where Eva is standing, and pulls her into a one-arm hug. Eva leans into him, smiling slightly. Neil uses his other free arm to gesture to the wilderness around them. “I mean, this place is such a beautiful getaway from everything, you know? Away from work, away from responsibilities…”

“Away from Robert?” Eva jokes with a small grin on her face.

Neil hugs Eva even tighter, laughing. “Yeah, that too,” he says, planting a kiss on Eva’s forehead. Neil then suddenly pulls away, and points dramatically at her face. “You tell anyone I said that, you’re dead, Rosalene.”

Neil then starts walking up the dirt track again, waving Eva to follow. Eva takes a deep sigh, then starts to follow him again.

Moving the copious amounts of extra branches around their hiking area, Eva starts to get more and more annoyed. “Did we really have to do this in the hottest time of the year?”

“Yes, of course we did!” Neil responds cheerfully, still a couple yards ahead of her.

“It’s July.”

“Yeah, you caught me,” Neil says, stepping over large holes in the ground and ducking under particularly low-hanging branches, “I chose July specifically because I knew it would make it so much worse for you.”

Eva’s bad mood can’t help but be brightened at Neil’s many attempts to cheer her up. “Thank you for finally admitting the truth,” she says, with a smile on her face.

After a few more minutes of hiking in relative silence- the buzz of mosquitoes and cicadas were still in the air- Eva starts up again. “Neil, we have been hiking for an hour.”

“We sure have!” Neil says, somehow still as cheerful as ever.

“I haven’t had coffee seven hours, Neil. All because for some reason you thought it would be okay if we woke up and left the house at 5 am.”

“I think you’re going to survive. The view’s worth it. Plus, if it makes you feel any better, we’re almost there.”

“We are?” Eva asks excitedly.

“Yeah,” Neil says. “Also, can you please come up here? It’s lonely when you’re about a mile behind me.”

* * *

After what had felt like another hour to Eva (but was reassured by Neil that it was really only fifteen minutes), they had reached a clearing.

“Wow,” was the only thing that could come out of Eva’s mouth at the time. The clearing around them was impressive, to say the least. It was small, but beautiful. The trees they had just emerged from led to a completely empty area, isolated to just themselves. It was rested on the edge of a cliff, where you could look of the side into the gigantic ocean just below. The bugs had even seemed to disappear here.

“Neil, this is so beautiful!” Eva said, still taking in everything before them.

“I told you it was,” Neil said, setting down his backpack and starting to unpack.

“You sure you’re okay with the fact that we’re on a cliff?”

“I’d be much more okay with it if my loving girlfriend wouldn’t mention it so I could put it out of my mind.”

“We’re on a cliff. About 200 feet off the ground. Nothing but the ocean below us.”

“Eva!” Neil whines. “I’ll turn us around and go back home. I swear.”

“I trust you on that one.” Eva takes a seat on the lone bench facing the ocean, but just far enough away from the edge that there’s no actual danger involved.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she hears from behind her.

“I feel like it’s pretty obvious, Watts. I’m sitting down.”

“Oh, we’re pulling out the last names now?”

Eva giggles, turning around in her park bench. “Yeah. You gonna do something?” Neil looks at her with a steely face. “Rosalene, you know I truly want nothing more in this world, but there’s no way I’m going to get anywhere near that cliff.”

“Guess I’m safe over here then.”

“Please just help with the tent.”

“Fiiiiine.”

“Thank you, Eva.”

“No problem, Maurice.”

Neil stands up, bright red. “You can’t pull out the middle name! That’s cheating!” he says in a high, squeaky voice that happens every time he’s embarrassed.

Eva walks over, gets on her tiptoes, and kisses Neil quickly. Neil still turns as red as the day they started dating when she does that. She thinks it’s sweet.

“Does that make up for it?”

“Yes,” Neil barely squeaks out.

A few hours later, the tent is finally set up. Neil bought one of those fancy tents online for some reason, and between the two of them, there were two PhDs, multiple people they’ve helped in many ways, and many years of education- but no knowledge of how to put together a tent. There were so many failed attempts, even after they looked up videos of how to put it together on the internet.

But it didn’t matter. The tent was together, and only barely falling over.

“So… what’cha making me for dinner on our romantic getaway?” Eva asks, while the two are laying on the grassy clearing, Eva’s head in Neil’s lap and Neil’s hands messing with her hair.

“It’s only five, Eva.”

“Five is a completely normal time for dinner!” Eva says defensively.

“I was thinking that we wait until it gets dark, and then we start a campfire and stuff ourselves full of s’mores.”

“Dr. Watts, that is the best plan I’ve ever heard.”

Neil sits himself up, and looks down at Eva in his lap. “You wanna slow dance ‘til it gets dark?” he says, grinning. Eva smiles back up on him. “I redact the last thing I said. This is now your best plan ever.”

Neil softly pushes Eva off of his lap, stands up, and extends his arm out to Eva. “M’lady,” he says, slightly bowing.

“Ew,” Eva says, but she can’t help but smiling. “Please don’t ruin this moment,” she says, grabbing his hand and dusting herself off. Neil grabs his phone out of his pocket, smiling widely. He presses a button, and a love song starts to play. Eva gasps. “You made a playlist just for us?” she says, putting her arms around his neck. Neil avoids eye contact. “Well, I just clicked on a playlist that said ‘cute love songs’ but… I still think it counts.” Eva rolls her eyes, but still leans in to kiss him.

“I love you,” she says.

“I love you too, Eva Rosalene.”

They dance the whole time until sundown. Neil wasn’t the greatest at dancing- constantly stepping on Eva’s feet and stumbling more times than she could’ve counted, but she didn’t care. He was here, in front of her, and they were dancing. She couldn’t ask for anything more.

“This would’ve been so much better in a lighthouse,” Neil says cheekily.

Eva slightly pulls away from Neil, looking dead into his eyes. “Don’t. Don’t even mention that case. You know how it makes me upset,” she says, but in a still lighthearted tone.

Neil fully pulls away from Eva’s embrace. “Hold on, I have something to show you.” He starts walking away from her and towards the still lopsided tent, grabbing a huge bag he was carrying. He unzips it to reveal a huge telescope- one of the ones you can set onto the ground without having to hold it up the whole time.

“Neil- you carried that the whole time?” Eva asks, a little impressed.

Neil picks up the telescope and carries it over towards the cliff. “Yep. But there’s more to me than big muscles.” He sets down the telescope with a huff, about ten feet away from the edge of the cliff. “I also have a brain.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Eva says.

“Okay, that’s just rude, first of all,” he says, continuing to set up the telescope.

Eva looks up around her. It’s dusk, right when all the stars are just coming out. A couple of them are especially bright, but even at dusk, there are more stars out than in the city.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Eva says, almost breathless. Neil laughs. “Wait until it gets even darker,” he says, then stands up and gestures towards the telescope. “Wanna give it a spin?”

Eva looks at him, slightly confused. “I thought you said it was better when it gets dark.” Neil waves his hand in a ‘pshh’ fashion. “When it gets dark it’s best for your eyes. Telescopes are good all the time.”

“What about noon?”

“This is not the time to be sarcastic.”

“Wow. That’s awfully bold coming from you, Watts.”

Neil rolls his eyes, waving Eva over. “Just please look through the telescope. It’s a beautiful one. It’s stunning to look through.”

“You’re acting weird.”

Neil runs one of his hands through his hair, while the other nervously adjusts his glasses. “All I’m telling you is to look through the telescope!”

“Did you put ink on the telescope?”

“What? Eva, just- please look through the telescope.”

“Okay, fine,” Eva says, walking towards where Neil is standing. Eva grabs hold of the telescope as Neil steps a few feet behind her, but she then turns around at him, pointing her finger. “Neil Maurice Watts, I swear if you actually put ink on this telescope, I will remind you how high up we are as much as possible.”

Neil takes a few steps back from the cliff, again. “I promise I didn’t put ink on the thing! And thanks for reminding me, Eva.”

Eva suspiciously looks at Neil for a few seconds, then finally puts her eye up to the telescope. To her surprise, Neil actually did not put ink all over the looking glass of the telescope- all she can see is the beautiful night sky before her.

“Wow, Neil, this is so…” she says, trailing off, trying to find the perfect word.

“Stunning?” Neil finishes for her.

“Yes! Do you wanna take a-”

“No!” Neil yells, almost a little too quickly. Eva starts to take her eye off of the telescope, but she hears Neil yell, “Don’t look at me!” Eva looks back through the telescope, very suspicious of Neil’s actions.

“What are you doing back there?”

“Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Don’t worry about it. Just keep looking through the telescope.”

“You are being so suspicious right now, but whatever. I trust you.”

Eva continues to look through the telescope for a few seconds, when she once again hears Neil’s voice behind her.

“Okay, turn around,” he says.

“Neil, I swear if you’re about to scare me or something I’ll-” she starts to say angrily, but she’s quickly cut off from shock.

Just a few feet in front of her, there’s Neil Watts. Down. On one knee. With a ring in his hands. Smiling up at her.

She gasps. “Holy cucumbers!” Eva half-yells, putting her hand over her mouth.

Neil smiles slightly at Eva’s reaction. He then clears his throat and starts to speak. “Eva Rosalene, from the first time I saw you, something inside of me always knew that-”

“YES!”

Neil, a little shocked, looks up at Eva after her outburst.

“What?”

“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!”

Neil stands up, a little sheepish. “I mean, I had a whole speech prepared, but this works too, I guess.”

“Just come over here,” Eva says lovingly. Neil walks towards her, kneeling back down to put the ring on her finger. Eva smiles at him, as he stands right back up- picking her up from her waist and swinging her around while hugging her. Eva laughs gleefully. Neil sets her back down, and Eva uses her hands to hold his face and bring him in, kissing him deeply.

“I love you so much,” Eva says.

“I know,” Neil responds. Eva whacks his arm.

“Hey!” Neil whines. “Say it back or I will take this engagement back, I swear.”

Neil smiles, grabbing Eva and bringing her close to him, only about an inch between their faces.

“Eva Rosalene, you are the love of my life.”

Eva runs her hands through the back of his hair.

“You’re the love of my life too, Neil Watts.”

[n3rdybird]

Like Fathers, Like Son

Like Fathers, Like Son

Sons of Anarchy

Reader x Chibs/Tig x Venus Family fluff.

Growing up SAMCRO, you knew the club was family, albeit sometimes dysfunctional family.

Even when a fling with Alexander “Tig” Trager ended up with you knocked up, your dysfunctional family stepped up in every way they could.

Tig was a great father. No one would have pegged him to be excited to be a dad again, and at first he didn’t know what he felt. But the day he found out he was going to have a son was one of the happiest days of his life. That moment was trumped only when Leonard Trager-(Y/L/N) came wailing into the world. He had the same wild dark hair as his dad, and your eyes.

Co-parenting with Tig had its ups and downs, but you made it work. Although you were now parents, you both decided staying friends and focusing on your son was the best plan of action. Besides, a copious amount of alcohol and one night stand doesn’t make a functioning relationship.

Gemma was an amazing help especially since your own mother had died when you were younger. Leo also had a multitude of uncles to help out and spoil the newest “member” of SAMCRO. Each one of the men kept a close eye on you and Leo.

Especially a certain sexy Scotsmen. Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford. He was always quick to help when Tig wasn’t available, running errands and generally just being there for you and your son. It was only a matter of time before the late night conversations led to feelings of the romantic kind.

When the two of you grew closer, Tig watched with a smile on his face. It was clear that Chibs was falling for you and vice versa. He was quick to give his blessing to his baby mama and long term friend.

*********

You were having coffee with Venus when your cellphone rang.

You answered with a smile, in the middle of laughing about something Venus was telling you.

Within seconds, your smile disappeared as you listened to the voice on the other end of the conversation. Venus picked up on your mood change, her face mirroring yours in concern.

You hung up the phone and rubbed the bridge of your nose with a sigh.

“What’s wrong hun?” Venus asked.

“That was the school. Leo was in an “altercation”,” you said mimicking the principal’s words.

Venus gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

“No way, not our Leo,” she said in disbelief.

You shook your head, also having a hard time believing it. Regardless of who he grew up with, Leo had never been in a fight before.

“Either way, I have to go to the school. Can you call Tig and Filip while I drive?”

Venus smiled and nodded.

“Of course hun, whatever you need.”

She gave you a hug, and the two of you tossed your coffee cups on the way to your car.

**********

Two voice mails later, the two of you entered Leo’s elementary school main office.

Leo was sitting on a bench alone, kicking his legs. He looked up to see you and his Auntie Venus. You gave your son a smile to show you weren’t angry, and Venus flitted to her nephew, fussing over him. She brushed his hair away from his face, checking for bruises or cuts.

Unlike the bruised and bloodied boy sitting across the hall, Leo was relatively unscathed. The only signs of him being in a fight was his red eyes and slightly red knuckles.

Venus sat next to Leo and you knelt in front of him, kissing his forehead.

“Hey baby, what happened?” you asked softly.

“What happened is your unruly monster attacked my poor Donnie,” a woman snarled as she stalked up to her son. She pulled out a handful of tissues, dabbing at her son’s broken nose.

“Monster-” you started, your rage starting to boil, but Venus put her hand on your arm to keep from snapping at the Stepford PTA mom. Brenda Decker was the same uptight hag from high school.

The door next to them opened, and Principal Carter waved the parents into his office. He looked to you and tilted his head in confusion.

“Will Mr. Trager be joining us?”

“I’ve called both Filip and Alex, but they are working. This is Venus Van Dam. She’s one of Leo’s emergency contacts.”

He nodded and sat down at his desk, gesturing for the rest of the group to follow suit. When they settled, Principal Carter steepled his fingers.

“Leonard and Donnie were involved in an altercation this afternoon. Both have refused to say what caused the fight.”

“There is no way my sweet Donnie would ever start a fight,” Brenda interrupted. She sniffed haughtily at you and your son, her nose high in the air.

“Clearly he was just defending himself,” she said.

You held back a snort. Donnie looked terrible compared to Leo.

“He did a shit job defending then,” you muttered. Venus heard you and had to hold back a laugh.

Principal Carter cleared his throat.

“I’d like to ask again what happened. Leonard?”

You ran your fingers through your son’s hair.

“What happened baby? I promise I won’t be mad.”

Leo glared at the other boy.

“Donnie said my family was bad. That daddy and pop are bad guys. And that Auntie Venus was a…” He paused.

“He called Auntie Venus a bad word. And I said he was wrong. And he pushed me. And I hit him.”

You sighed. Charming would always be small town with small minds.

“While I’m glad you stood up for your family baby; we don’t hit,” you said proudly but firmly.

Brenda tsked.

“Well there you have it. What are you going to do about this? He needs to be punished.”

“We have a no tolerance rule for fighting, and normally Leonard would be expelled. However, since it is his first offense, he will be suspended for a week.”

Brenda looked outraged and all you wanted to do was smack her. Which would not solve anything.

“Suspended? And have my Donnie back with his attacker?”

Principal Carter leveled his gaze at Mrs. Decker.

“This is not the first time I’ve heard that Donnie was bullying another student. We also have zero tolerance for bullying. So Donnie will be suspended for two days.”

Brenda tried to argue, but the unflappable principal held up his hand.

“My decision is final.”

**********

You and Venus walked out of the building, Leo swinging between your hands.

Brenda rushed past you, bumping your shoulder as she drug her kid behind her.

“You better keep an eye on your son. Pretty soon he’ll be in jail just like his father,” she sneered.

You stilled.

“I’d keep walking if I were you,” you said evenly. This woman was working your last nerve.

“Or what? You and that tranny-”

You snapped, letting go of your son and closed the distance to Brenda. Her nose exploded in a gush of blood.

“You shut your damn mouth. Venus is a classier lady than you’ll ever be. So you can take your busted fake nose and your close minded cunt rag of a son, and get the fuck out of here,” you growled out.

Brenda paled and all but shoved Donnie into their minivan.

You shook out your fist and turned to Venus who had covered Leo’s ears when you started your rant. You kneeled in front of your son, feeling like you failed him.

“That was wrong of me. To hit Donnie’s mom.”

“To hell with that, that was the sexiest thing I’ve seen,” Tig called out. He and Chibs were sitting on their bikes a few spaces away.

They duo sauntered over to you. Chibs slapped you on the ass.

“Nicely done lass,” he whispered against your neck, giving you a kiss.

You blushed.

“Brenda Decker is such a bitch,” you mumbled.

“I’m such a bad influence on you, I love it,” Tig said wrapping his arm around Venus, who popped him in the stomach.

“While I admit that woman was a nightmare, you didn’t have to do that honey. She wasn’t the first or the last to talk about me,” Venus said.

“No way was I gonna let her talk shit about our family.”

Venus smiled, tearing up a bit at your declaration. Tig took this moment to kneel next to his son.

“So it looked like you won bud,” he said proudly. He held up his fist and Leo bumped it proudly.

“That’s our boy,” Chibs said laughing. You and Venus shared an exasperated look.

That was your men, rough and sometimes crude. And you loved them all the same.