#shoutout to my mom followers on here while I’m at it

[mando-abs]

Yesterday my mom was saying that she’s gonna get orange marmalade for my dad because he loves it so and he’s the only one in this house who does. I told her that I loved raspberry jam but they don’t make it much here than in England but it’s my favorite jam. (But we make plenty orange marmalade which is so weird….probably internationally beloved Paddington’s fault)

But guess what was right next to the marmalade at the store today?

It’s so beautiful y’all. I want to cry just thinking about it. And seedless??!?!???!??!

[lavenderspence]

Missing the happy hormone | S.R.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Content warning: emotional reader, period mention, fluff

Word Count: 1.8K

Summary: Apparently Spencer Reid could make anything better - even the emotional disaster of being on your period

A/N: First, huge thank you to the cutie that sent in this request, you literally caught me while on my period so this was born. Also, here’s to my inability to write short fics, this is your only warning that i can make and will make anything long, lol. Also, my titles suck omg. And shoutout to my crazy bestie for making me a Mamma Mia girly, she rocks.

But also, happy one month to this blog! When I carved out this little space for myself a month ago I wasn’t really sure how I’d feel being back here and writing again, but so far it’s been a treat. A huge thank you for all of your support and love and thank you to my mutuals and everyone that interacted with my blog. 💕 Here’s to many more months to come!

Request: spencer x fem!reader on her period/ovulating and shes in tears all the time?? Im ovulating and have been crying for hours and keep calling my mom lmaoo he’d been so lovely and sweet I know it I can feel it in my bones

masterlist

It was a slow day at the BAU. The most exciting thing in the 6 hours Spencer had spent at work was Rossi’s invitation to dinner the following weekend. 

Paperwork had piled high after their last 2 cases, so every team member was hunched over their desk, writing and revising reports. It was a never-ending cycle - finish a report, close the file, open a new one, and start all over again.

His eyes had started getting tired after four and a half hours, his hand had started cramping and he was down two pens so far, yet there was still a prominent pile on his desk.

He suspected Morgan and Emily might have pushed a file or two from theirs onto his load, seeing as he was getting done the fastest. Regardless, every few hours JJ was bringing even more to pile on top of everything that wasn’t finished, so buried in paperwork they stayed - no matter how fast he wrote or read, or how used to the load he was.

He was just thinking about getting up to prepare a fresh pot of coffee so he could function properly for a few more hours when his phone started ringing. He felt around the pockets of his suit jacket, where it sat draped on his chair, and then pulled it free. 

His display showed an incoming call, a picture of you as he hugged you, hands around your middle and face almost buried into your neck, a soft smile gracing both your faces. A scenery rich with reds, browns, and yellows stood behind you, the beauty of fall was nothing short of spectacular. 

The picture you’d taken last year when the team spent a weekend at Rossi’s cabin in the woods, surrounded by the beauty of landscapes and leaves, nature for miles. 

He accepted the call right away, a small smile on his face. 

“Hey sweetheart.” His voice was gentle, if a little raspy from misuse. He hadn’t talked much in the last few hours - just a distracted short answer here or a hum there. He was happy you were calling, though, welcoming the reprieve from the most recent report. 

It was silent for a few seconds, and he wondered absentmindedly if maybe you hadn’t called him on accident, and then there came a tiny little sniffle from your side. 

“Sweetheart?” He prompted, “Are you there? What’s going on?” Worry was starting to creep into the base of his spine, but he still remained calm and kept his voice gentle. 

“I’m here. Hi.” Another small sniffle, “All’s good. Just…I was just wondering how much longer you’d be gone.” Your voice was small,like you thought you might upset him by asking, and a little crackly, like you yourself were upset about something. 

His eyebrows furrowed, and he checked the time quickly - 3:57 pm. 

“Probably about two more hours, there’s a lot of paperwork we need to go through.” His eyes met Emily’s as she sent him a curious, questioning look. 

“Oh, okay.” The resignation was clear in your voice, “I’ll see you later then.” The call ended abruptly, and it took him a second to catch up.

He couldn’t help but feel like not everything was as good as you claimed it was. For one, you rarely called to ask when he’d be home - you knew his work could span into the late hours, or even stretch for days. You let him update you on any changes in his work schedule. 

In your interactions, your voice was usually upbeat and teasing - especially on the phone. Your kindness was always evident in your voice, as was your mood. You were a sunshine person, if he ever met one, that’s probably why you and Penelope formed such a close bond upon meeting. 

There was something that nagged him - a change in your mood he could pick up on just by your voice - too low, too small, and the cracks that he could now identify as he replayed your conversation in his head. You were keeping yourself from crying out, and yet there was nothing more apparent than the tears in your voice. And that made him worry. 

“Reid, are you okay?” Emily’s voice snapped him from the hard stare he’d been giving his phone in the last several minutes since the call ended. 

“I…I don’t know.” His eye twitched, and he cleared his throat before he tried and failed to articulate exactly what was happening - he himself had a hard time understanding. One thing he knew was that he needed to get home. “I..um, I need to go. Can you, please?” He asked, gusting at the remaining three files on his desk before he pulled his suit jacket on and grabbed his satchel. 

Morgan and Emily shared a mildly concerned look before they both nodded their heads, “Yeah, go. Text to let us know if everything is okay.” Morgan reminded him before he exited the bullpen with a fast step and tried to keep calm.

He was aware the situation wasn’t anything that he needed to be incredibly worried over - if something was really wrong, he knew you would have let him know. Yet, he couldn’t help the way his heart constricted by the sound of your voice, or the overwhelming desire to come home and gently hold you, see what could have caused this behavior. 

You were curled up on the couch, watching as Donna helped Sophie get ready for her wedding, the gentle melody of “Slipping through my fingers” filling the empty apartment. Your eyes were watering, to the point that everything was starting to get blurry. A shaky exhale left your lips.

Today has simply been a rollercoaster. Kissing Spencer goodbye this morning was the highlight of the day. What followed was nothing short of an emotional disaster. 

You’d teared up during breakfast, images of picking berries with Spencer flying through your mind. The desire to make it a reality was strong. 

Following that had come the overwhelming urge to bawl your eyes out, for no apparent reason whatsoever. Just cry and cry until you had it all emptied out and you could take a deep breath and continue with your day. So, cry you did, and then you’d finished with your chores for the day. 

Apparently letting it all out and emptying your tear supply hadn’t happened. Seeing as around 3:30 you’d started missing your boyfriend so much, the need to hear his voice had won out, so you’d called him. You felt the need to have him home to hold you because this month’s visit from mother flow was making you feel like a crybaby.

But then there was disappointment at the notion that you needed to wait close to 3 hours before that could happen. So you quickly ended the call before he could pick up on the tone of your voice, and then you shed a few tears. 

Now here you were, rewatching Mamma Mia because you really needed a pick me up, and once again, eyes shining as the tears started falling. At this point, it was a losing battle, so you let them fall, humming to the song with a broken voice. 

That’s exactly how Spencer found you, not a minute later. His keys were in his hand, the satchel on his shoulder, and he was just a little bit out of breath. 

The moment his eyes met you, they softened as he dropped everything and sat down next to you. His hand reached up and he cradled the side of your face, wiping your tears away. 

“Hey, sweetheart. What’s wrong?” He asked in a whisper.

“Look at Donna painting Sophie’s nails, it’s...” You hiccuped, another wave of tears washing over you. “And you’re home, why are you home?” Your question was met with a furrow in his brow, as his thumbs continued wiping underneath your eyes. 

“You called.” He answered simply. 

“But you said-” He stopped you before you could finish your sentence.

“I did, yes. But you sounded off and sad, so. Want to tell me what’s going on?” He prompted you gently as he pushed your hair back and pulled you into his lap after, feeling like you needed the physical contact. 

You weren’t ashamed to admit it, per se, but you were ashamed that your hormones had caused him to leave work and race home to be with you. 

“It’s my period,” you mumbled, hands wrapping around his neck as you hid your face in his chest, too tired to prevent your eyes from watering again. “It’s been going on all day. Randomly, I’d just get so emotional, and the tears would start. I was missing you so much too, and then hearing the song, bam, tears again. I’m so done with this Spence.” You sounded barely coherent, with your face pushed as close to him as possible. 

It all made sense now, you’d been cranky a few days ago, and then you’d told him last night your cramps were unbearable, so he knew you were on your period, but right now he felt like an idiot for not figuring it out himself. 

“It’s okay, everything is fine. The drop in estrogen and progesterone, following your ovulation triggered this. This in turn reduced the production of serotonin, your happy hormone. So, we just need to boost it a bit.” He whispered into your ear as you played with the hairs at the nape of his neck. 

“How?” You sighed into his chest, almost being able to pick up on the sound of his heartbeat.

He got deep in thought for a few seconds as you breathed in his scent, and a sense of calmness slowly overtook you now that he was home and holding you. One of his hands was running soothing circles on your back as the other held your hand, fingers interlocked. 

“How about we take a trip to the store and get you some snacks? We’ll pick up dinner on the way home and then I'll hold you some more and you'll pick a movie for us to watch.” He suggested, kissing the crown of your head once, twice, and many more times until you gave him an answer. 

“Yeah, yeah, I think that would help, but just having you here has done wonders.” You finally laid your head against his chest, looking up to meet his eyes. He smiled, and so did you. Having him here really had helped immensely, and when had it not? He was your other half, your rock, and even when your emotions ran rampant or you were feeling down, just his presence, his touch, and his understanding were enough to make it all okay. 

Later in the evening, Penelope sent you a photo of Sergio sleep-hugging a little plushy you’d gotten him, and the waterworks started all over again. Luckily, Spencer was there, wiping your tears and kissing your head, saying a thousand things without actually speaking a word.

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

Requests are open for both Spencer and Hotch if you want to send any!

[writerblue275]

How Heartsteel would act when they are tipsy. (18+)

Let me say this right off the bat: PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY (AND ONLY IF YOU’RE OF LEGAL AGE TO BE DRINKING). BE KIND TO YOUR LIVERS AND FOLLOW LAWS Y’ALL.

(Seriously drinking too much is not fun. Either while you’re drinking, or the day after. I once learned the hard way in college that I become extremely emotional if I have a bit much and it’s just straight up not a good time. I still drink, but very occasionally and not much.)

Inspiration: Now all that being said……I’d love to have a drink or two with the Heartsteel members. I think that would be so fun!

Champions: Heartsteel

Genre: Headcanon

Type: Fluff (I’m still saying this is 18+ only. I’m American so technically the legal drinking age where I am is 21, but I know for a lot of places around the world the legal age to drink is 18.)

Gender: Gender Neutral Reader

TW: We’re talking about alcohol use in this one. Mention of a drinking game or two. Mention of sobriety. Swearing.

Aphelios

If you want a calm, chill, but still fun night, Aphelios is the guy to drink with. 100/10 vibes and I’m all here for it.

This is when he’d use more sign language to communicate. (I’m imagining tipsy Phel signing incredibly cheesy pick up lines to his partner and I’m OBSESSED.)

And you know how words can start to slur when people get tipsy? That concept maybe translates into his sign language juuuuust a little bit. Maybe a slightly sloppy sign here or there. But you know him well enough that you know what he’s trying to say.

And while he’s not super touchy, when he’s tipsy, he’s definitely staying connected to you somehow.

Either through linked hands/pinkies, an arm around you, or just some other way of him keeping connected to you.

You two turn into the parent couple a little bit, making sure everyone, including yourselves, is staying safe and hydrated. Aphelios might be mischievous and like pranks, but he knows when it’s time to be more serious, and keeping everyone safe when alcohol is involved is definitely a time to be more serious. (Surprise surprise, you might have thought Yone would be the parent but he’s already the band mom sober. The man needs a break. Out of the other members, I actually think Phel could wrangle people pretty well.)

Ezreal

Ezreal would be such a fun person to drink with just in general, but especially as your S/O. He’s energetic, fun, generally positive. In my experience, those people make for enjoyable beverage buddies (alcoholic or not). He’s the life of any party (#1).

He’s also a lightweight. Absolutely no question in my mind. He’s not a large man by any means. (I love this teeny pop prince.)

It doesn’t matter if the two of you have been together for years, once he’s tipsy, he’s pulling out all his best (read: cheesy as fuck) pick up lines and using them on you.

“Hey, my name is Microsoft. Can I crash at your place tonight?” “Ez, we’ve been dating for over a year.” “Yes we have. And? Can I not flirt with my own partner?” “…Ok that’s very sweet, please continue.” (He always manages to make you blush and make it feel like the first time you met him.)

Only uses them on you though. As flirty as Ez can be, this green bean is LOYAL to you. Only you get his flirty side. Anyone else tries flirting with him and they get some truly bombastic side eye.

Otherwise Ezreal’s just really fun to chat with or play drinking games with. The absolute best beer pong partner. There’s no one more accurate. And unless you’re sitting out a round, he’ll always ask you to be his #2. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are. When you do sit out and he plays, there’s always an argument about who gets to be his partner. The next best player is Sett, who is also very good, so there’s a house rule that the two of them can’t be on a team together 😂.

Kayn

I was struggling to figure out how to describe Kayn while drinking, and now I realize why I was struggling so very much…

Plot twist: Kayn is sober. (Shoutout to anyone on a sobriety journey, for whatever reason. I have so much respect for you. Our society loves to glorify alcohol and drinking culture, so for those who actively choose to go against that, props to you.)

I genuinely don’t think he drinks at all. Maybe he did in the past but he doesn’t currently. Rock stars historically haven’t always had the best relationship with substances. This could be one of those situations where he realized he didn’t like who he was when he drank.

Kayn is self-aware enough to know he’s already fairly impulsive and a little wild while sober. Alcohol added to that mix wasn’t helping anything. So he stopped and surrounded himself with a network of people that fully support his decision (that ofc includes you and the other Heartsteel members).

Now all of that being said, Kayn still likes to enjoy himself. He’s a fan of fancy beverages, even if they’re non-alcoholic, so he’s always getting a mocktail or a non-alcoholic beer (I’m really glad to see bartenders/companies starting to include NA options. Listen, sometimes I just want to feel fancy and sip a fun beverage that doesn’t have alcohol in it). Having something to sip on makes Kayn feel involved even if he’s the only one in a group that doesn’t have an alcoholic beverage.

Now even though he doesn’t drink, don’t think he’s a spoilsport. Even without alcohol he is a very fun person to be around, so when you’re out with him you’ll still have a great night filled with some shenanigans, fun talks, and laughter.

K’Sante

I’m not kidding when I say I want to have a drink with Heartsteel K’Sante so badly and I’m genuinely a little sad I cannot. I want to pick his brain. I’ve said it before but I get great vibes from him. To me, it’s very easy to see why he’s one of the co-leaders of Heartsteel.

Absolutely gets philosophical/goes into deep conversations when he drinks and those people are SO FUN TO BE AROUND. A perfect companion for someone who might be a little more introverted since he’d be focused only on you and he’d maybe take you somewhere a little quieter so you can hear each other.

I feel like it’s very easy to lose track of time when you’re talking with K’Sante. Like you look down at your phone/watch and an hour has passed just like that while the two of you chat and sip on your drinks.

These deep conversations can be about anything too. Maybe about literature that you’ve both read, dissecting their music with a close eye, discussing the meaning of life, or even him listening to you discuss your problems and offering you advice if you want it.

And even if the topics of discussion are deep, K’Sante is still making things light hearted. He never wants to cause you to not enjoy your evening.

In between discussions of deeper topics, he’s cracking some jokes or telling you funny stories about himself, his family, or the other members of Heartsteel. Whatever is being discussed, the overall vibe with K’Sante is very safe and fun. When you have a drink with him, settle in and enjoy a fun night talking about anything and everything.

Sett

Oh my god Sett would be so fun to have a drink with. He absolutely gives off “life of the party” vibes (#2) and I absolutely love that for everyone around him. Hell he gives off those vibes without alcohol.

This is going to be so damn specific: Sett gives me slight frat bro vibes BUT IN THE VERY BEST WAY!! (I SWEAR I mean this as a compliment!)

When I was in university/undergrad, I was in a sorority. (Hehe surprise! I’m definitely not the stereotypical sorority girl.) Because of this I am familiar with fraternities and frat bros. While generally I don’t have a high opinion of them, there was one frat on campus that was actually awesome. Their guys were safe/fun to be around, respectful, and kind (a lot of them were athletes so they knew they better behave if they wanted to stay on their teams).

THAT is the kind of frat bro vibe I get from Heartsteel Sett. Ma raised him fucking right. He has manners and is incredibly respectful to those around him always. (Unless they give him reason not to be but that’s a whole different thing.)

And just like Ez, his flirty side is totally coming out, but again, only with you. I can’t imagine Sett ever being unfaithful in a relationship. Ma raised him far better then that.

And if you’re out with him and getting unwanted attention, he’s definitely sticking up for you, whether or not you’re dating him. Hell even if you’re a stranger, he’s the type to pretend to be your boyfriend/brother/friend to get you out of a situation. Just overall a 100/10 man to be around. You’ll definitely have a blast with him!

Yone (Yes his is long but listen, I have thoughts!)

This man. This man is my dark horse. There are two possible ways I see Yone acting when tipsy. 1. Completely fucking normal and alcohol doesn’t affect him like at all. 2. Turns him into a clingy koala man who is a lightweight.

Clingy koala man is far more entertaining so THAT’S WHAT WE’RE GOING WITH. I feel like it doesn’t take much for him to feel it. Part of that is, Yone wouldn’t drink that much to begin with. Maybe a glass of wine on a dinner date with you, or the occasional drink at a party, but otherwise it’s not his thing.

All this to say, when he does have something, he definitely feels it. And that’s when he’ll be glued to your side. Now obviously if you’re in public, he’s not going to be wrapped around you, but even then, he’ll link arms to walk with you, keep his hand on the small of your back, or even link pinkies with you.

Now if you two are alone? And you’re not going anywhere for the evening? Oh all bets are off. You better do everything you need to do before sitting down with him, because once you do, he’s pulling you into his lap and that is going to be your spot for the foreseeable future. (It’s like the unspoken pet rule: “if a pet is on you, you’re not allowed to move until they do” but in reverse. As long as Yone is cuddling you, you’re not allowed to move. [Like of course you’re allowed to move, especially if you need to go to the bathroom or get more comfortable. He’s not an asshole. But he just really loves holding you.])

You’re already the only person besides Heartsteel’s hair stylist Yone lets touch his hair, but when he’s tipsy? He practically leans his head into your touch until you play with his hair, sighing happily as you do. He especially loves when you braid it. (God damn I want to braid his hair so badly.)

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I was discussing with my friends which fictional characters we’d like to have a drink with and that’s where this idea really stemmed from. Random, but fun to think about! 💙

(Also this is just a small reminder that my requests are currently open. If you have specific ideas, send them through my asks! Just check the rules post [linked on my masterlist] first!)

[fluffykitty149]

GUYS GALS AND NON-BINARY PALS I WELCOME YOU TO ‘WHAT I HEADCANON TALIA WOULD WEAR AT HER WEDDING TO BRUCE’!

Disclaimer I am neither Chinese nor Jewish so if there are any Chinese/Jewish fans who want me to change something or correct me on anything feel free to do so! (Ngl gonna make some of it kinda vague since I’m hopping between websites on my phone)

This started as just what Talia would wear to the wedding since as per tradition for those who can afford it Arab brides can have three dresses. But after a bit I got frusterated when she should wear what and ultimately decided to do a chronological order of the wedding. (Not including the engagement party, dinner party, or anything else. Just the night before and forward.)

shoutout to @daminette-56 for being the reason I planned this and to @immortaldino for being the reason I remembered to do this!

The night before is universally a bath night for the bride and groom. Both go to a Hammam (bath house) to get cleaned up and scrubbed down making sure to use pomelo leaves along side their respective choices of scents.

They then get into red and gold pajamas and slippers and at the right hour, the hair ceremony can begin. They sit in front of a window as a relative of good fortune combs their hair four times with blessings. They struggled to find a relative of good fortune but thankfully Talia was able to reach out to relatives on her mom’s side to help out. They were confused at first but realizing her and her fiancé’s bad record with parents decided to help out. (Had to keep a tight lip about the league). Once the ceremony is done and the red yarn and leaves are tied on the bride, the separate families eat and while waiting for the candles and joss sticks to die out the henna ceremony can begin.

After the candle has burned out and they wrap their henna to go to sleep they go to bed and the groom keeps his ribbon and leaves in his pocket for good fortune.

It’s the morning of the day and Talia wakes up early af to get ready. Meanwhile Bruce wakes up and has to take on ‘groom challenges’ trials set for him such as quizzing on Talia (he nails it) food tolerance challenges (just barely passes the spicy test) and finally giving packets of money to Talia’s bridesmaids so he can enter the room where Talia is to find her shoes. Ras made this challenge especially hard since he wasn’t allowed to go all out on the challenges but Bruce being the world’s greatest detective figures it out which brings us to Talia’s first outfit.

And ofc the shoes

After the shoes are found and placed on Talia Bruce carries her over to the tea ceremony. A red tea set with a Double Happiness symbol is used for the tea ceremony, where black tea is sweetened with dried longans, lotus seeds, and red dates. The tea is poured and distributed to paternal parents first, then paternal relatives, then maternal parents to maternal relatives. Afterwards Ras and Alfred give red envelopes of either money or gold.

Bruce: Alfred I couldn’t possibly-

Alfred: Consider it as a future investment for the property damage your future child will inflict Master Bruce.

Bruce: Fair enough.

After the tea ceremony Talia changes and they head to the next area of the wedding. Here Talia dons a white dress and a traditional Arab wedding cloak.

Its here that the Ketubah is read and signed in front of a small audience afterwards Bruce takes off Talia’s cloak and replaces it with a veil for Bedeken. (Apologies if I used the term incorrectly 😅)

Then Bruce walks down the isle towards the chuppa with Alfred, his groomsmen including Clark, Kate, Dr. Elliot (prior to Hush), some relatives and coworkers, and oddly enough both two face and Harley Quinn with Dick as the begrudged flower boy. Then, Talia follows suite with Ras and her bridesmaids. Nyssa, Amla, her closets friends from studying in Cairo and her ballet years, Lois because of Clark, and oddly Selina. They had a mutual agreement that if Selina stole anything her hand would get chopped off and Selina wouldn’t so long as she was in the wedding. Talia figured she could use the extra security and had her as a bridesmaid. Ivy is also a bridesmaid since she and the Al Ghuls tend to plot to save the earth together. (Hence Harley wanting to join)

They exchange vows, have Talia circle Bruce three times, exchange rings, have the seven blessings performed, and then Talia pulls back the veil and Bruce breaks the glass with people cheering.

After that it’s Yichud around lunchtime. Talia and Bruce have a moment to themselves and share a meal in calming silence. They talk for a bit and cry at the fact that their mom/parents couldn’t see this ceremony. They then get their parents (AKA Alfred and Ras) so they can legalize the marriage.

After freshening up it’s time for the reception. Aka, PARTY TIME!!! And Talia’s outfit.

outfit

Shoes

Makeup

Zaffee is their offical entrance as husband and wife with a drummer group following them and you can hear the ladies zaghrouta. The party is officially in full swing and the dancing begins. Naturally Talia leads the dabke but Bruce is no slacker and has no trouble keeping up. How does his wife dance in heels he doesn’t know but deeply admires. It’s a fun night of celebration and dinner is a huge feast of a buffet with different foods from all over the world. At the end of the night (basically 1-3 am) Talia is back in her white dress they dance and it’s the final dance called Hora where Talia and Bruce are lifted in their chairs while holding a kerchief. Afterwards, they’re cutting the cake with a sword (as per Arab tradition). Talia puts back on the cape, and the Newlyweds say goodbye to guests as they drive away in a car wrapped with flowers and a procession follows them honking horns and playing music. They make it to the airport and say goodbye to close family and go off on their honeymoon where a marriage bed made by the fortunate relative is there waiting for them.

They crash and fall asleep immediately.

I’m tired have fun and good night.

here’s Talia’s wedding ring btw. Comes in two for practical reasons idk.

Here is Bruce’s btw

[novastories]

Night Changes

Title and chapter loosely inspired the song “Night Changes” by One Direction.

Summary: Aurora spends time with her family, while Maverick is having a hard time letting go. 

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: My posting schedule is slowly sporadic. I've been on a week long trip enjoying my time out of the house. Also since summer is coming up, that means Top Gun summer! I feel a bit disconnected from the fandom lately, but I’m back and ready to keep writing! I hope you enjoy this fluffy chapter.

Shoutout to my best friend, beta reader, and editor, @reginleight 💛

As always, likes are great and all, but comments, reblogs, and feedback are highly appreciated and loved! 🤭

Previous | Next | Masterlist

“Mom! Dad! Over here!” Bradley calls out to his parents in the busy airport.

Today, the twins and Bradley were picking up Carole and Goose. The last she had seen them was around Peyton and her graduation. Of course she would still call them and send letters from time to time, but this was the first time in a while since they were all reunited in person.

“My Brad Brad!” Carole cries, as she comes over and hugs Bradley tightly. Bradley chuckles, and hugs his mom back.

“Okay hon, don’t choke him out before I can even give him a hug,” Goose chuckles, coming up with their luggage cart behind them.

Carole tearfully releases Bradley from the hug, letting Goose and Bradley have their moment. From just a few paces away she soon spots the twins, giving the family room for their reunion.

“My babies! Oh, my Aurora you’re here!” Carole starts crying again, grouping the twins into a hug. 

“Hi, Auntie!” Peyton laughs, hugging his aunt.

“We missed you!” Aurora smiles after being released from their hug, Carole turning her attention to Aurora.

“I knew Peyton was stateside, but when did you come home?” Carole asks her.

“Same day. I felt like it was time for me to come home,” Aurora softly smiles. Carole gives her a sad look, and Aurora remembers that Carole knew about her incident. Before she can explain, Goose interrupts.

“Little star!”

“Uncle Goose!”

Aurora gives her uncle a big hug, and groans when he tries to ruffle her hair.

“So glad you’re back home!” Peyton smiles at them.

“I can’t wait to hear your stories, Auntie! And the photos you’ve taken, Uncle Goose!” Aurora beams at them, while Bradley helps carry his mom’s bag, Goose pulling the luggage cart.. 

Aurora and Carole start conversing nonstop, with Peyton walking beside them listening in on their conversation. Bradley hung back, walking with his dad.

“So, talk to me Rooster, how’s the mission training going?” Goose asks, not knowing what had gone down yesterday.

“Intense,” Bradley sighs. “Let’s just say it was a rough day for all of us, and Aurora had an anxiety attack yesterday.”

“Shit, what the hell did you do?”

“Why do you think I did something?” Bradley looks at him exasperated. Goose gives him a look, to which Bradley sighs.

“I got mad. Hangman had said she wasn’t telling us everything and I just–”

“You were jealous that Hangman knew things about her that you didn’t,” Goose states, matter-of-factly.

Bradley turns red and groans. “I just, I don’t like when we keep things between us.”

“Brad, sometimes, things are harder to tell to those closest to us. You have to give her space.”

“I know. Let’s just say the tension was really bad yesterday.”

“You made a move yet?”

“Dad!” Bradley groans, while Goose chuckles at embarrassing his son. “We have a lot going on. It’s not the time.”

“Oh son, it’s never the time. But take it from your old man. I was thankful to live a life with your mom and you. You deserve a life with people you love, there is no perfect timing,” Goose tells him.

With a pat on the shoulder, Goose walks to catch up to his wife and his godchildren. Bradley sighs, following after his dad. 

—

“Mavy!”

“Goosie!”

Goose rushes up to his best friend, who immediately stands from his chair upon seeing him. 

“I swear, it’s like those two are married and not us,” Carole chuckles as the twins and Bradley also exit the car. The trio chuckles at the two men who were hugging each other, as if they hadn’t seen each other in years, when in reality it was probably only a few months.

Everyone was currently meeting at Ice and Sarah’s house as a small welcome back party for Carole and Goose. Ice and Maverick were sitting on the porch chairs until they all arrived.

Iceman shakes his head being used to the two’s shenanigans. Goose and Mav part from the hug and pat each other on the shoulder, before Goose turns to Iceman to give him a hug as well. 

“Hi Mrs. Bradshaw,” Maverick smiles, greeting Carole as she gets closer.

“Hi Mr. Bradshaw,” Carole teases him.

The trio greet their Uncle Ice, who they hadn’t seen since the graduation party. Ice gives Aurora a quick look, to which Aurora subtly shakes her head, knowing Ice wanted to discuss a few things, but now wasn’t the time.

Aurora and Carole decide to head into the house to help out Penny and Sarah, who were most likely in the kitchen, leaving the men out on the front porch to let them catch up.

Aurora spots Amelia playing with Ice’s grandchildren that were running around the backyard, Amelia looking tired from chasing them. She’d flopped down onto the grass, clearly exhausted and outdone by their energy.

Aurora laughs at the sight as she makes her way into the kitchen. She greets her mom and Aunt Sarah, and sits on a stool over the countertop so she could have a conversation with them, but not get in the way with them prepping food since they insisted they didn’t need any help.

Penny starts cutting up fruit next to Aurora, to which she leans over and steals a piece. Penny tries to slap her hand away, but because of Aurora’s reflexes, was unsuccessful. Rolling her eyes at her daughter’s antics, she proceeded to keep cutting the fruit. 

“So, little star. What’s it like being back home at a different office?” Sarah asks, as she stirs something over the stove.

Aurora pops the piece of pineapple in her mouth and chews quickly to answer her question.

“Different, but nothing I can’t handle,” she responds. 

“Well, I think we can all say, we’re all glad you’re home now,” Sarah looks over at Aurora and smiles at her.

“You can say that again. I don’t even want to know all the stuff that happened that you haven’t told us,” Penny sighs, knowing Aurora kept a lot of stuff secret to not worry everyone.

“So, you don’t want to hear about the number of times I’ve been shot at?” Aurora smirks at her mom. Her mom looks at her with a threatening look.

“What?!” 

“I’m joking! I’m joking!” Aurora laughs. “Not really,” she soon whispers under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, mom!” Aurora gives her mom an innocent smile, while Sarah and Carole chuckles.

“I swear, you and your brother give me gray hairs.”

“And Amelia hasn’t even decided what she wants to do yet. What if she becomes a Naval aviator?” Aurora thinks out loud.

“Oh no, she’s staying home until she’s 30.”

They all laugh at Penny’s comment before she suddenly remembers something.

“Speaking of Peyton, what’s up with him and Hangman?” she asks.

“Wait, Hangman? That name sounds familiar,” Carole wonders.

“He’s one of the pilots on the mission,” Sarah answers. Sarah usually knew a lot of things that went on in the Navy. Perks of being a Navy Admiral’s wife. 

“Oh! Didn’t he and Bradley get into a little tiff?” Carole asks.

“When don’t they?” Aurora rolls her eyes. “They literally got in one yesterday.”

“So, him and Peyton,” Penny implores.

“He and Peyton were a thing, but Jake has commitment issues and is worried about his reputation in the Navy. Peyton doesn’t like feeling used. Therefore, tension,” Aurora answers.

“Men are dumb sometimes,” Carole shakes her head.

“Auntie, what about Goose and Bradley?” Aurora questions.

“Exactly, they have their moments, but sometimes I wonder if they share a brain cell,” Carole retorts, to which the women nod and agree with Carole’s statement.

Aurora snickers as Peyton walks in with Bradley to grab a drink. The women see them walk in, and laugh out loud confusing the pair that had just come in.

“Are we missing something?” Peyton asks.

“Inside joke,” Aurora simply answers, before going back to giggling. Bradley smiles at Aurora, laughing. His heart warms knowing that she was feeling a bit better from yesterday’s fiasco.

He goes and stands behind her, leaning forward to grab fruit from the bowl Penny was putting them in. Penny slaps his hand as he draws back his hand from the bowl, successfully stealing three pieces of fruit. 

“Don’t make me ban you from the Hard Deck, Bradshaw,” Penny threatens. Bradley pops a piece in his mouth and tosses another one to Peyton, who was grabbing three beers from the fridge.

“I’m your best customer Mama Pen,” Bradley gives her a puppy dog look, to which Penny shakes her head and goes back to cutting the rest of the fruit.

Bradley holds out the last piece of fruit to Aurora who instead of grabbing it with her hands, grabs it with her mouth, letting Bradly feed her.

Peyton rolls his eyes at the two’s actions, whereas the moms watch and give each other knowing looks. 

“Alright Romeo, we got some beer deliveries to do,” Peyton calls out to Bradley, drawing the two out from their bubble. Bradley rolls his eyes, before giving Aurora a wink, following Peyton out of the kitchen.

Aurora watches them leave, as her face turns pink. Looking around the kitchen when the two leave, she notices the attention on her from everyone in the kitchen and what they’d just seen.

“Shut up,” she mumbles as they all laugh and get back to what they were doing.

—

“Ice, please don’t ask me to send someone else to die. Please don’t, don’t ask me to send him. Send me,” Maverick pleads to Iceman.

Maverick and Iceman decided to sit in Ice’s office to talk about the mission, away from everyone’s ears. 

Iceman types on his computer. ‘It’s time to let go.’

Maverick sighs seeing those words.

It’s not just about letting go of Rooster, but his twins as well. Maverick loves his daughter and his son, and he loves Rooster as well.

But he knew if he let Rooster go on the mission and he didn't come back, he not only lost his godson, but his children as well as his best friend. They wouldn’t forgive him. He couldn’t let go.

“I don’t know how,” he whispers.

“I’m not a teacher, Ice,” tears start running down Maverick’s face. “ I’m a fighter pilot. A naval aviator. It’s not what I am, it’s who I am.”

Ice sits and lets him rant.

“How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it’s not what Rooster wants. It’s not what the Navy wants. That’s why they canned me the last time, the only reason why I’m here is you,” Maverick goes on.

“If I send him on this mission, he might never come home. Goose and Carole would never forgive me. Let alone Peyton and Aurora,” Maverick chokes on his words, as the tears start streaming down.

“And if I don’t send him, he’ll never forgive me. Either way, I could lose him forever. I could lose Goose, Carole, the twins.”

Maverick looks back at the computer that had the words still typed out in front of them, as if it was haunting him. It was time to let go.

“I know, I know,” Maverick sniffles, knowing Ice said all he could. Ice nods for him and Maverick to stand up. He coughs a little before speaking to Maverick.

“The Navy needs Maverick. The kids need Maverick. That’s why I fought for you. That’s why you’re still here,” Ice hoarsely tells him. 

Hearing those words, Maverick hugs him. “Thank you, Ice. For everything,” Maverick whispers to him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ice chuckles before separating from the hug.

“One last thing,” Ice mutters. Maverick braces himself for what he’s about to say.

“Who’s the better pilot? You or me?” Ice asks. Maverick smirks at him.

“This is a nice moment. Let’s not ruin it,” they chuckle before hearing a knock on the door. Aurora pops her head in, seeing the two men.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Aurora asks them. They shook their heads.

“Good, dinner is ready! Better come soon before Bradley and Peyton eat the whole table,” Aurora snickers.

“We heard that!” Peyton calls out.

“You were meant to!” Aurora turns to call out down the hall. She looks back at Maverick and Ice before nodding back at them and turning to go to where the food was. Maverick and Ice chuckle, following after the girl together.

—

Dinner was in the backyard since there were quite a few of them in the house and they wouldn’t all fit in the kitchen. Everyone grabbed their food, and was scattered around the backyard, all in different groups.

The dads were sitting around a small table, talking with a beer in each of their hands. Ice had his phone out so he could type what he wanted to say. The moms were sitting on the porch swing, watching the kids and gossiping about who knows what.

Bradley and Aurora were sitting on the grass next to each other on a sheet that Sarah had laid out for them.

Amelia and Peyton were originally sitting with them too as they ate their food, but opted to play with Ice and Sarah’s grandchildren, with CJ as well. Ice and Sarah’s children were busy, so Ice and Sarah had offered to watch them for the weekend.

Aurora was pointing out a constellation to Bradley to which he was honestly trying his best to understand. Truthfully, he just liked stargazing with her, not really taking in much information. 

“You’re not listening, are you?” Aurora turns to look at Bradley. Bradley shakes his head.

“I am so listening.”

“Really? Then which constellation did I point out?”

“Uhhh…the really bright one.”

“Bradley!”

“Sorry!” He groans. “I’m just not looking forward to training tomorrow.”

“I think dad said something about a surprise,”Aurora tries to reassure him.

“Ugh, knowing him it’s going to be 500 pushups on top of a mile run.” 

Aurora laughs at Bradley’s complaining.

“You’ll be fine, B. I highly doubt it’s going to be that intense of a surprise.”

“He made us do 200 pushups on the first day.”

“Well, to be fair, I think that was all Fanboy and Payback from what I’ve been told.”

Bradley shakes his head before laying on his back. Aurora, still sitting, turns to watch him lay down.

“Just leave me here to die,” he mutters. Aurora giggles before deciding to poke his stomach.

He spazzes before trying to tickle Aurora in retaliation, but she was too fast for him and stood up right away before he could even start something. 

“I’m going to get water, do you want anything?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Bradley stays laying down, as Aurora walks away to grab a water bottle.

“Hey little star,” Goose calls out to her, as she passes them. 

“That nickname is never going away is it,” she sighs, as she plops into a seat next to him, with her dad and Uncle Ice sitting across.

“You’ll always be our little star,” Goose answers. She sighs and looks at them.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. I know what you’re going to ask.”

“Sweetie, we just want to make sure you’re doing okay,” Maverick reassures her.

“I am.”

“Hon, Bradley said you had an anxiety attack yesterday,” Goose says.

“Traitor,” Aurora mutters. “Look,” she begins to explain. “It was a long day, work was kicking my ass, tensions were high, and Bradley came on a bit strong when we were talking. He apologized, and we made up. I’m fine.”

“Did you tell him about what happened?” Ice types out on his phone.

“No, he said he understands I will come to him when I’m ready. And I’m not right now. But I will be, just not now,” Aurora sighs. 

“You have to tell them all eventually sweetie,” Maverick speaks up. “If you keep it in any longer, it’s going to crash down.”

“I know, dad. I just, I’m getting used to being back home. I need to be able to think straight before I tell them all the shit that’s happened.”

“We’re here for you whenever you’re ready, little star,” Goose reassures her. Aurora smiles at Goose, giving him a small side hug.

“Thanks, all of you for being there for me. I better head back to Bradley before he wonders where I am.” Aurora gets up, gives her dad and Uncle Ice a side hug, before heading back to Bradley. 

The three men watch her walk away before sighing.

“I’m worried, Ice. Her being back at NCIS worries me, even if she is behind a desk,” Maverick tells them.

Ice types out, “She’s a strong woman now. She’s not a baby anymore.”

“Aurora can hold her own, Mav. She’s a Mitchell, “ Goose affirms, agreeing with Ice’s statement. 

“That’s what worries me, Goose,” Maverick sighs. 

Soon Penny, Carole, and Sarah join them.

They all glance at Aurora and Bradley, who were now both laying next to each other, laughing as Aurora was trying to still point out a constellation to Bradley.

Peyton and Aurora soon sit next to them, while CJ sits next to Aurora. The adults all smile, realizing how much they all had grown up.

“Will they ever get together already?” Carole groans, as she sits in Goose’s lap. 

“You just want to win the bet,” Maverick chuckles.

“Well that too! I mean, how are they not together yet?” Carole wonders.

“Work, and timing honey,” Goose simply answers.

“Besides, even if they get together soon, Penny will be winning the bet,” Sarah answers. Ice looks at the document on his phone where they had put the bet and nods, agreeing with his wife.

“At least I didn’t put by the time they turn 50,” Penny accusingly looks at Maverick.

“What?! I’m optimistic!”

“50 years old, Pete?!”

“50 years old is young in my opinion!” Maverick argues. Penny shakes her head at Maverick.

“What about Peyton and his new boyfriend?” Carole asks.

“Boyfriend?! What do you mean?!” Maverick exclaims, not knowing about Jake and Peyton.

“Oh boy, you did it now Carole,” Goose mutters.

They start discussing, with Maverick trying not to flip out about how his kids were growing up. 

The group of four, Peyton and Amelia, sat back with Bradley and Aurora, turning to see them in a heated discussion.

“What do you think that’s about?” Peyton wonders.

“Do you really want to know?” Amelia answers back in the form of a question.

They turned back to see them, and shook their heads.

“Nope,” the trio replies. And they all laugh out loud.

The giggles and heated discussion from the backyard could be heard echoing through the night.

- - -

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—

Disclaimer: This story is fictitious. All works are written by me and only posted here. Please do not copy, repost, or plagiarize on any other platform without my permission!

[madsworld15]

I Am Still Here Part 3 (Brian x Justin, Support Group AU)

You can find Part 1 here. And Part 2 here.

As always, my lovely pals deserve a shoutout because they keep me inspired to write about this couple that I hold so near and dear to my heart. @winderlylandchime @maryp50 @lostcol

If you are reading this fic, please let me know what you think. I'm enjoying the creation of it, but I still want to know other people's thoughts.

~~~~

The Next Day

Brian groaned as his alarm woke him up. This whole cancer treatment journey was fucking him in more ways than one. He used to be able to function with barely any sleep. Now if he got less than eight hours, his whole body was fucked.

He sat up but couldn’t get out of bed completely. He got to the edge of his bed before his vision started to swim. The dizziness didn’t go away at first, but when it did, it was as if his body had transferred it to his gut. Brian barely made it to his bathroom before vomiting a bunch of stomach acid, which fucked up his throat. 

Getting through his morning routine was torturous and slow. He nibbled on dry toast, hoping it would keep his stomach happy. A headache started to form behind his eyes and fuck if that didn’t piss him off even more. 

“Jesus. Can’t you just let me have one good day this week? I have client meetings today. I don’t have time for this shit!” Brian cursed toward his ceiling.

He grabbed a bottle of water, the other piece of dry toast, and his briefcase and then headed to his door. Just as he opened it, two things happened. His phone rang with Cynthia’s number, and he found his mom on his doorstep. 

He answered his phone while holding a finger up to his mom.

“Hey, Cyn. I’m on my way. I overslept. Don’t worry, I’ll be there before Remson arrives.” Then he hung up and stepped out his door, forcing his mom backward.

As he locked his door, he addressed the elephant in the room. 

“Well, if it isn’t Saint Joan. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You know I hate when you call me that.” Joan tittered in disdain at Brian.

Brian, having successfully locked the door, turned around. The spin must’ve been too fast, though, because he gagged on the toast hanging out of his mouth. He sniffed and coughed to recover himself in front of his mom. 

He forced a smile toward his mom and responded. “That’s why I do it.”

“I don’t know what I did to make you hate me so.” Joan tightened her coat around herself. 

“You want the laundry list or…” Brian rolled his eyes, pushing the button for the elevator. “Why are you here?”

“Well, I was wondering if you could take me to church again on Sunday. But, by the looks of it, you must’ve caught what Claire’s family had.” Joan stood a bit away from Brian with unease.

“It’s called a hangover, mom. But I figured you’d know all about that.” Brian climbed on the elevator. Then, with a sigh, he added, “What time?”

Joan contemplated getting on the elevator with him and then climbed in. 

“Service starts at 10. I want to get there by 9:30 so I can worship in peace.” Joan still stood away from Brian, “Are you sure it’s not the flu?”

Brian rolled his eyes, “Yea, mom. It’s definitely not the flu.” 

A silence fell between them the rest of the ride. Then, in the lobby, Joan turned around again. 

“So, can I expect you on Sunday?”

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose, “Yeah. I’ll be there with bells on at 9:30.”

“9. I want to be there by 9:30.”

“Right, okay. 9.” Brian sighed again, “Bye, mom. I have to get to work.”

Twenty minutes later, Brian was striding past Cynthia’s desk, a look of apology on his face. He wouldn’t ever utter the words “I’m sorry,” but he would definitely still convey them, at least to Cynthia.

“Remson just called. They said they were going to be running about 10 minutes behind schedule.” Cynthia grabbed Brian’s coat from him with one hand while handing him a glass of water with the other. 

She followed Brian into his office and silently watched as he loosened his tie and crumpled into his chair. She had seen many things from Brian since his diagnosis a month ago, but this was probably the worst he’d ever been. Her concern dripped from every word as she spoke to him again, demanding his attention.

“Are you sure you can handle the meeting? I’m sure Ted would have no problem stepping in.” 

Brian was about to respond when the door opened, and Ted popped his head in with a smile, “You rang?!”

Brian rolled his eyes and tried to focus his mind on the account files displayed on his computer. Better that than the war being waged in his gut.

“Yeah, Brian looks a bit peakish, don’t you think?” Cynthia motioned to Brian’s appearance while turning to face Ted. “I was thinking you should cover for him with Remson.”

Ted edged ever closer to Brian’s desk, a look of concern surrounding every single one of his features. 

“He does look a bit pale and clammy. I think maybe you should go home.”

“I appreciate the assessment, Theodore.” Brian finally muttered, looking between his two employees. “I can handle Remson. I’m fine!”

Just then, his stomach did a tremendous lurch, and Brian’s vomit barely made it into the trash can under his desk. Brian heaved a couple of times before his stomach finally seemed to settle down.

“Are you sure, Brian?” Cynthia crinkled her nose as she took his trash into the in-office bathroom to clean it out. “I could easily brief Ted.” She called over her shoulder to the office at large.

She came back into the office, and Brian greeted her with a hand on her shoulder and a fake smile plastered across his face. 

“I’ll be fine. Just be sure there is plenty of water in the conference room. I’ll be there shortly.” Brian went past her toward the bathroom to clean himself up, thought better of it, and turned, “Oh, and Theodore. There is something you can do for me.”

“Yes, boss?” Ted’s face lit up with excitement. 

“You can get these flowers out of my office, not sure who sent them, but they smell horrendous. And you can call my mother and inform her that I won’t be able to take her to church on Sunday after all. I’m sick.” Brian gave Ted a significant look as he said the word sick.

“Of course, Bri.” Ted nodded in understanding, having met Joan on multiple occasions over the years.

Once he was in his bathroom, Brian leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He felt like utter shit, but he needed to stay the whole day if he didn’t want his employees to be concerned. He was the CEO, and his business was still on the rise. An illness rumor at this venture, no matter how true it would be, wouldn’t do well for future business growth. His mind wandered back to the night before when he’d spent time with Emmett and Justin. Since being diagnosed, his relationship with Emmett had only grown stronger. After fielding concerned questions from practically everyone else in his life, it was nice to know there was one person he could spend time with who wouldn’t hound him about his health.

“So, how’s work?” Emmett had waggled his eyebrow and winked at Justin.

“You know I’ve been struggling to get my art department to fall into line. Each ad campaign takes ages and multiple redos to get the mockups even mostly correct.” Brian sighed and sat down on a stool next to Justin.

“That’s fine. I mean, you are a newer business. These things take time.” Emmett reached out and gently placed his hand over Brian’s.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brian saw Justin sitting on his stool, staring into the tumbler of whiskey in his hand.

“I know, but Kinnetik won’t have anywhere to grow if I don’t make waves now. I need to pull in the big clients to just break even.” Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in through it to steady the nausea that was starting to come back. Maybe that shot of whiskey had been a bad idea.

Justin didn’t move, so Brian gently nudged his foot. The blond looked up and stared into Brian’s brown eyes with his blue ones.

“You okay? You wanna leave?” Brian knew that it was about this time in terms of intimacy the week before that Justin had bolted. It just seemed natural to him that Justin would appreciate someone checking in.

Justin shook his head and dropped his gaze. Brian exchanged a look with Emmett, who looked extremely concerned about this kid. Brian knew a deeper conversation with his friend was on the horizon, but thankfully, it wouldn’t be tonight. No, tonight was meant to ease Justin’s mind and give Brian a chance to unwind from the horrendous few days he’d been having.

Brian splashed some water on his face, dried it off, and headed out to meet the Remson reps in the conference room. He made a mental note to have Cynthia field all his calls until noon; that way, he could possibly lie on his couch and rest for a bit before diving into some of the work that had been piling up.

He made it all the way through his pitch with Remson without vomiting or making anyone think he was anything less than perfect. If any of his artists or designers in the meeting noticed anything, it was that he might be a touch hungover, which wasn’t anything new. Even Cynthia’s demeanor seemed to ease considerably the longer Brian stood and presented the new campaign to their customer. So much so that by the end of the meeting, she was smiling at him as if it were a typical day. 

Brian shook the hands of the Remson folks as he saw them to the door. Then, he walked back toward his office with Cynthia on his heels. 

“Cyn, could you please hold all my calls until noon and don’t let anyone past your desk either.” Brian snapped. There were a few straggler artists still following them, and he didn’t want to give anything away.

“Of course, Mr. Kinney. If Michael or Lindsay call?” He knew by her tone she was just asking out of courtesy.

“Hold all my calls,” Brian repeated sternly.

She nodded, left him at his office door, and returned to her desk. 

BREAK

Brian was behind his desk once more, having laid on his couch to sleep for about an hour. The anxiety of knowing he had so much work to do kept him from truly sleeping the amount he should have. It was just as well because a few minutes after he started to look over the campaign contract they were going to send over to Eyeconic Optics, Cynthia came into his office with an apologetic look on her face. She had a glass of water in her hand, too, which could mean nothing good.

“I know you said you didn’t want to be bothered before noon, but two things need your attention. Leo Brown is on the phone saying he wants to talk. Do you think he’s wanting to come over to us?” Cynthia’s gaze turned to excitement at the possibility of such a large account.

Brian gave her his signature Cynthia smile. “Perhaps, but tell him I’m not in. Let him stew a bit, and I will call him back tomorrow.”

Cynthia nodded, put the glass down on his desk, and whispered in his ear, “And there’s a kid I’ve never seen before but says that he knows you. He looks like the artist type. Are we hiring a new intern?”

The moment she said he looked like an artist type, Brian knew she must mean Justin. There wasn’t anything specific about that descriptor, but something told him it was because the only things he’d ever seen Justin wear were jeans and graphic tees with paint on them.

“Either that or he's one of your tricks who doesn’t know a rejection. Should I send him packing?” Cynthia continued as she walked around Brian’s desk to face him head-on.

Brian gave a small nod of his head. “Send him in.”

Cynthia stood back and gave him an incredulous look, “But, Brian…” Then she leaned over his desk to get within inches of Brian’s face, “People will talk.”

“About what?” Brian scoffed, “Please just send him in.” Then he turned his attention back to his computer screen and the work that awaited his approval.

Sure enough, moments later, Justin, with hunched shoulders and his hands buried deep in his pockets, shuffled into Brian’s spacious office. He huddled by the door and refused to make eye contact at first, even when he spoke.

“I’m sorry to show up at your job. I just…” Justin paused and pulled his right hand out of his pocket. Brian noticed it was shaking and that Justin’s whole body had tensed up.

Brian lept out of his chair and moved closer to Justin. He didn’t want to get too close and spook the kid, but he also worried that something was wrong.

“Are you alright?” Brian asked, standing about 2 feet from Justin, who still wasn’t making eye contact.

“Yeah.” Justin rubbed his hand as it continued to spasm, “This is a regular occurrence since my bashing. Nerve damage, one doctor said, minor seizures was another one’s opinion.” Justin shrugged his shoulder.

“Fuck. And I thought my radiation side effects were brutal.” Brian brought his left hand up to his lips in a fist and bit on the top of his thumb, never once taking his eyes off Justin.

After a few moments, his hand calmed down, and Justin finally looked up.

“As I was saying. I am sorry for bothering you at work, but I was feeling particularly untethered today and…” Just trailed off again with another shrug of his shoulders.

“You wanted a familiar face?” Brian tried.

Justin nodded, “Plus, Daphne’s studying for her MCAT, so I’m kind of living alone at the moment, and that’s sometimes even more terrifying than being stuck in the center of a huge crowd.”

Brian backed away from the blond giving him space to move as he offered, “You can hang out here. It’s nothing exciting, but I do have a couch.”

Justin’s face lit up, and a smile stretched across his face, bigger than any Brian had ever seen before. It warmed his heart, knowing he had helped Justin have even a slightly good day. Brian sat back down behind his desk, watched as Justin slowly made his way to the couch, and sat down on it. The two began to exist in perfect silence for the next half hour. A few minutes after he sat down, Justin toed his shoes off, curled up into a ball on the couch, and fell asleep. Brian continued to work, hoping his phone wouldn’t ring so that the kid could sleep. It seemed like he really needed it.

Brian was looking over the month-end revenue and expense reports when he noticed an accounting error. While accounting wasn’t something he was a genius at, hence why he hired Theodore, he did still know the basics enough to spot errors. He picked up his phone and pressed the button to reach Ted’s office.

“Theodore, could you come to my office, please? I need to discuss the reports with you.”

“Right away, Mr. Kinney.” Theodore’s voice came through the phone in that excited, people-pleasing manner he was famous for.

Just as Ted arrived in his office, Brian felt the telltale signs that he needed to be in the bathroom right away. He smiled at Ted in his rush to get there in time. He sighed in relief after the vomiting was over. A hand floated in front of his face with a tissue in it. Brian looked up and found Ted.

“Here you go,” Theodore forced a smile while his eyes swam with concern.

“Would you knock it off? I’m fine. This new development in my life means I’m visiting the porcelain throne every few hours, sooner if I eat too much.” Brian glared at Theodore as he stepped around him and headed back into his office.

“Mr. Kinney, I apologize. It’s just. This is the second time today, and I’m a natural worrier.”

“Jesus, what the fuck is with all the Mr. Kinney bullshit?” Brian hissed as he took a sip of water from the glass on his desk. He glanced toward Justin to see the blond was still fast asleep.

“Well, I, uh.” Theodore floundered and then pulled himself together. “It’s the professional thing to do when it isn’t just the two of us.” His eyes motioned to Justin’s form on the couch.

“Oh, him? Don’t worry about him. He’s asleep.” Brian rolled his eyes. “So, stop with the Mr. Kinney shit. It’s Brian.”

“Of course, Brian.” Ted stuttered, wringing his hands anxiously.

“Anyway, I was looking at our expense report, and I noticed you carried this figure,” Brian pointed to Line Item C. “And this one,” Brian pointed to Line Item E. “Incorrectly.”

Theodore leaned in to look over Brian’s shoulder and he knew the minute the man saw it because he gasped, somewhat dramatically.

“Oh my god. I totally missed that. I’m so sorry, Brian. It won’t happen again, please don’t fire me.” Theodore started to grovel, which gave Brian a headache.

“Shut up!” He snapped unnecessarily. Brian then took a breath and tried again. “It’s okay, Ted. It’s an easy fix. This is why I review the reports every month.”

Then, for good measure, Brian added, “Breathe.”

Theodore nodded and stepped away from Brian. He walked around the desk and sat down in one of Brian’s chairs. 

“Was there anything else you needed?” Ted asked, looking terrified.

Brian simply shook his head. Then, in a flash, Ted was gone. As the door shut behind him, Justin stirred, stretched his arms, and woke up.

“You rest okay?” Brian asked in a soft, gentle tone.

Justin looked around and rubbed his face. Then he leaned into his hands and groaned.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep. I hope I wasn’t in the way.”

Brian looked the blond man over. It definitely meant something that this kid thought simply sitting or sleeping on a couch was in the way. Brian didn’t know much about Justin’s parents or how he was raised, but the kid’s dad definitely did a number on him.

Brian got up from his desk and sat down on the edge of the couch, furthest away from Justin, so as not to spook him. The blond was just sitting there, staring at the floor, his eyes unblinking.

“I want you to know you can always come here. No questions asked. You’ll never be in the way.” Brian wanted desperately to place a reassuring hand on Justin, but based on his body language he could tell it wouldn’t go over well.

[captainsophiestark]

Being the adopted child of the Jarvises would include...

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Requested by @bandshirts-andbooks​ :) This is my first time writing headcanons, so hopefully they’re good and you like it!

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: As the title says :)

Word Count: 1,096 lmao I’m incapable of writing short things

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: Special shoutout to @ghostofskywalker​ for beta-ing this for me (QUEEN ily) and for the addition about Bernard lol

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Ok, so as we know from Agent Carter, Ana and Edwin Jarvis both DEFINITELY want kids

As we also know, Ana can’t have kids biologically after she literally almost died from a gunshot

They would be SO EXCITED to adopt a kid, and probably started the process as soon as the Isodyne/Whitney Frost/Vernon Masters stuff got figured out

They would be SO. PROTECTIVE. Omg, you can’t even imagine

And the rest of the crew? OH BOY. But we’ll get to that later

Basically, these two are the best parents. Ever.

They’re both patient and kind and caring, and the three of you are absolute GOALS. I’m talking tightest-knit family ever

And like, you still argue sometimes, because everyone does. But no matter how much you argue, you know they both still love you so much. It never, ever hurts your relationship

Ana is so sweet and soft and kind

You can talk to her about anything

Peak Mom Vibes™

She’s always ready to listen with ice cream, cookies, and milk at the ready if you need them (or whatever your comfort foods are)

You can tell her ANYTHING and she’s ready to listen with no judgment, only kind understanding

She just loves you so, so much, and it’s so clear in every single thing she does as your mother

Edwin is equally kind and caring and loving, although in a slightly different way

Especially once you get into dating-age, he’s running full background checks on anyone you bring home with his SSR and Howard Stark connections

He just adores you and wants to make sure you’re safe and happy, and with someone as wonderful as you are

He’s also pretty easy to talk to though, and you guys share a bunch of special, unique traditions

Following him around in the process of taking care of the Stark Menagerie

Bernard adored you from the first day you met him and your dad’s still salty about it

Making THE PERFECT cup of tea and sharing it together in the living room as you listen to your favorite radio program together

Sitting and talking together over some leftover snacks, long after Ana has gone to bed, just sharing about your days and your lives and everything going on in them

He is low key the BEST dad, it’s incredible

Speaking of snacks, y’all definitely cook and bake together as a family

Like omg, the level of food coming out of your family kitchen??? InSANE

You become such a good cook just from hanging around in the kitchen with the two of them

And you end up loving cooking because they always made it a family event

You gather together, work on things in the kitchen together while talking about your days, eat together, and then do the dishes together

Basically, you three are absolutely inseparable, and you’re completely unashamed to say your parents are your best friends

Additionally, unrelated to Ana and Edwin’s parenting styles, the rest of the crew is so SO protective of you

Like, Peggy Carter would absolutely kill any man that made you feel unsafe/uncomfortable

You grow up calling her “Aunt Peggy”, which is its own kind of incredible, and she’s the fun aunt mischievous influence that we all need in our lives

“Aunt Peggy, this boy’s being mean to me at school”

“Punch him and show him who’s boss once and for all. Here, I’ll show you the right stance”

Daniel, although less chaotic, would also absolutely kill for you

Pity anyone you bring home, honestly

Daniel’s also a good person to go to with anything you might not want to bring to your parents, although there’s basically nothing you can’t talk to them about. He’s always kind and understanding, and if you tell him something in confidence, he never shares it with ANYONE

Jack is the Bad Uncle™ with all the shady skills and questionable advice to go with it

Ana and Edwin left him on babysitting duty exactly one time, and then never again

Still, he comes around for holidays and stuff and always teaches you fun new skills like how to hotwire a car, for emergency purposes only of course

He’d never admit it, but he actually has such a soft spot for you. He loves hanging out with you, and once you get old enough to know when to ignore his bad ideas, he’s on babysitting/chaperone/whatever else duty whenever Ana and Edwin let him take it

One time when Ana and Edwin couldn’t make it to be chaperones on a school trip, Jack volunteered to take their place, and it was an adventure to say the least. But that’s a different fic.

Howard has no idea how to handle kids, but he ends up absolutely loving you

Low key, you’re the reason he decides to have Tony after he gets serious with Maria

It’s just so FUN for him to have a kid around to pass knowledge on to and to share lab time with and everything else that goes with having a science child

Whenever you spend time with him, Ana and Jarvis pick up a few gray hairs from the new information he’s given you that can easily be put to use in terms of mischief

Like Jack, Howard is only allowed to babysit once or twice before Ana and Edwin realize it’s definitely not worth the trouble that comes after a babysitting session

With all your extended family at the SSR and Stark Industries, however, no matter how infrequently they babysit, you are SO. LOVED.

You’re the first kid brought into the mix, and everyone absolutely adores you

And you know you have at least 5 other parents who are hovering around you and ready and willing to help with any little thing besides your actual parents

But as much as that’s a wonderful thing to have, you don’t really need them, because Ana and Edwin are the best parents you could’ve asked for

They’re wonderful, even when you have challenging patches, and you love them more than you could ever express

The three of you are such a loving, tight-knit family, and you’re absolute goals for everyone else

Basically, being an adopted child of the Jarvises is a dream come true, to the same degree that you’re a dream come true for them to have as a child

They love you no matter what and they have your back through everything

Even if it’s not by blood, you’re a Jarvis to the core, and absolutely nothing could ever tell you otherwise

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

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate​

[umichenginabroad]

Stockholm Week 9: Booking the Rest of the Weekends!

This week was supposedly a stressful midterm week but thanks to the work I put in last weekend, I had an oddly relaxing week. 

I booked a bunch of flights (hopefully the last) this week too ⸜( ˙ ˘ ˙)⸝♡

My wallet is suffering but I’m brainwashing myself that this is a lifetime opportunity I need to catch. 

3/11 Mon: Ivar Los Park + Italy!

I had the mission of finding the tablecloth my mom bought in Stockholm Stadsmission during her stay. She was sad that she didn’t buy more of the same design since it fit the table size too perfectly. As a good daughter, I decided to do a scavenger hunt for it before it ran out of stock. 

Unfortunately, the ones with the same design were gone when I arrived. Although I failed my mom’s request, my own hunt was successful! I found a skirt and dress that fit perfectly. I couldn’t resist buying them since they were less than $10 each too. 

My Midterm paper for Crime Fiction class was due on Tuesday but I was close to being done due to last weekend’s grind. With light steps, I continued to spend time outside, enjoying the sun. Since I was already in Mariatorget and didn’t want to go home yet, I took a long walk around the Ivar Los Park. 

The park was smaller than I thought. I sat down on a bench for a little while until I got up to walk alongside Monteliusvägen. The clear sky amplified the beauty of the view, lightening up my mood as well. 

I tried to capture every moment in my head so that I could look back to these moments when I was exhausted. 

During my 40-minute walk, I discovered a kindergarten, church, ballet school, and Mojang studios (shoutout to Minecraft fans). I shared my happiness with my grandparents in Korea by calling them and chit-chatting for a while. 

A few snaps from my point of view 

I walked back home since the park wasn’t too far from my apartment. I noticed that our apartment also had a small garden and walking paths, so I strolled around in the little garden until I was satisfied with the amount of Vitamin D intake. 

For the longest time, something inside me had been bugging me to travel to Amsterdam and see the tulip festival. I tried scheduling times with my friends, but I couldn’t find anyone available during the weekend I was planning to go. 

It was then that I got in touch with my friend from home, who is also studying abroad in Europe. We started talking about our travel plans and scheduling availability. Going to Amsterdam failed again because of our tight schedule, but we managed to find a weekend to visit Italy!!! It didn’t take us long to book our flights and come up with Airbnb lists ( ˃ᴗ˂ ) 

3/12 Tue

In Swedish class, we were assigned random groups to do a team assignment.

There are too many ways to pronounce words

I don’t know how but dumplings kept coming up in our conversations (we were hungry), and I just had to go grab dumplings after class. 

These pork dumplings were a bit greasy but they tasted a bit like dim sum and I loved that 

I walked around the vicinity after getting re-energized. More and more flower vendors have been popping up here and there, and I walked by slowly to enjoy the sight and the scent of flowers. 

Tulips usually aren’t my favorites but the ones here are absolutely gorgeous ✿(′ᵕ′*)

For dinner, I followed a kimchi fried rice recipe with cabbage instead. It was delicious as usual :) 

I’m running out of menus though ;-; 

3/13 Wed: Productive Day 

Wednesdays without any field studies are arguably the best! 

I slept in and made a sandwich salad combo for brunch. 

Pesto is always right

I stayed home and worked on the second midterm essay of this week for Glued to the Screen TV Film course. I was more of a test girl than an essay girl but oddly, I enjoyed writing the three essays that are 2.5 pages each. I really think blogging is helping to lower the mental hurdles I have for writing essays. 

After finishing the essays early, I switched the subject and worked on two different group projects. It was a very productive day! 

3/14 Thu: Malta! 

I stayed in the DIS building after the morning class until my late afternoon core class began. I was going to go to one of these recommended study cafes but got too lazy to go out. 

A map of good places to study! 

I couldn’t get rid of the thought of going to Amsterdam, so I logged into Ryanair again. 

The Ryanair website had an option to select “Anywhere” for the destination. Out of boredom and curiosity, I set the dates to one of my available weekends and scrolled through the possible destinations. 

I found relatively cheap flight options to Hungary, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Malta. Out of those options, Greece and Malta caught my eye. I would’ve loved to go to Santorini but that wasn’t an option. When I searched Malta on Google, I was captivated by the scenery. I LOVE the beach and it happened to be Malta’s specialty. I could feel my lingering desire for Amsterdam finally dissipating as I looked at the pictures of Malta. 

I contemplated for a while, calculating the expenses, and clicked the button to buy the flight ticket. A solo trip to Malta in April is officially confirmed! I’m becoming more and more spontaneous but I don’t hate the change. I’m working on trying out things that I wouldn’t have done before, and this is a step towards my goal. 

For dinner, I made a quick and healthy meal out of oatmeal. I’ve been into oatmeal recipes lately; they are easy and fulfilling! Since oatmeal was healthy, I ate chips to balance out. 

For the rest of the night, I read the second half of The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir for the Crime Fiction class tomorrow. 

3/15 Fri

I woke up early around 7 am to finish the book. 

After classes, my friend and I grabbed lunch at a Thai restaurant.

The pad thai was good but I couldn’t stop comparing it to No Thai

If you’re reading this in Ann Arbor, please get pad thai or drunken noodles or potato curry at No Thai for me. 

Anyway, our lunch date didn’t end there. Yes, we were full after lunch. Yes, we got boba. I have been refraining from getting boba too much because I knew my addiction would kick in again soon enough. But it was Friday and I was productive this week, so I got it as a treat for myself. 

I tried working on homework that evening, but I couldn’t get myself to focus enough to finish it. So Friday night ended up as a self-care night in my bed as well ( * ˘╰╯˘ *)

3/16 Sat: Study Date

On Saturday, I got to sleep in until 11:30 am. I was still in my bed rolling around when my friend asked me if I wanted to come with her to go do work in a cafe. It didn’t take too long to realize that I wouldn’t do any work if I stayed home, so I composed myself and got ready to go out. 

We headed to Gamla Stan but it was packed with even more people than usual. I blame the good weather. 

After failing to find a spot in three different cafes, we moved over to T-Centralen and found a good study place. 

The cafe is called the Kaferang City - I got Snapple but it was $5.50 ;-;

The music and distant conversations helped me focus and finish my assignments (+ blogging) for the week! 

On the way back home, I stopped at ICA to get groceries. I bought a pack of raw chicken breast for the first time, and it took me TWO hours to cook it + make dinner. My legs hurt by the end but once I tasted my dinner I knew it was worth it!

I was so afraid that chicken would be raw so I cut some into thirds, not even halves

When I went back home I was irresistibly drawn to stay horizontal in my bed. I made a good choice to start a new novel but a bad choice to read until 5 am.  

3/17 Sun 

Free time! 

My roommate hasn’t come back from her weekend trip so I had all the space to myself. Moreover, I didn’t have much to do because I did most of it yesterday at the cafe. 

Sooo I basically spent the whole day finishing reading the novel except doing a brief project meeting and submitting finalized homework assignments. 

This week was an opportunity for me to rest peacefully, both mentally and physically. I love traveling but felt that taking a rest was a necessary step for me. 

It has been two months already since I came to Stockholm. Thank you for reading my weekly essays and I promise you that I’ll come back with more stories to tell next week! 

Vi ses, 

Jiwoo Kim 

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

[starlitangels]

Spitfire

So... I posted a Very Rough Draft snippet of this for WIP Wednesday like... months ago... and I’m just getting around to finishing it... sorry... Shoutout to @zozo-01 for helping me pick out what magic race Xavier’s partner would be for this 2.3k words (almost exactly)

CW: Inversion Angst, mentions of character death, grieving POV character (it starts happy I promise)

—

“Why, why, why, why, why?” I complained. “I moved to Dahlia for school for a reason!” I shivered, hands under my arms trying to hold in their heat, watching Xavier calmly slide his key into the lock. He chuckled, other hand in the pocket of his jeans, entirely unconcerned.

“Everything okay, spitfire?” he asked.

“No. It’s cold.”

He beamed, bright teeth shining against bronze skin. He shoved the door open and indicated for me to go inside first.

I slid past him and into the house.

Warmth rushed over me. Which surprised me, for a Fire-Contra household. Cold didn’t bother Xavier in the slightest. I’d imagined his parents probably kept their house fairly cool.

It took a moment—while I removed my shoes—for my shivering to relax.

“Y’know,” Xavier began in that tone that I knew meant teasing, “you’re the only Fire Elemental I’ve ever met who doesn’t generate heat like a furnace. Like, all the other Fire Elementals I know keep themselves perfectly warm in the winter and couldn’t care less about summer heat.”

I breathed on my hands, trying to warm them up. “Yeah, well, everyone has different relationships with their magic,” I muttered.

Xavier unzipped the jacket he’d been wearing, revealing the pale blue tank top he had on underneath, and hung it up on a coat closet door in the entrance hallway. Then helped me out of my parka overcoat and jacket. Smiling the whole time. “I know. I just think you’re cute.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

Xavier took a deep breath. “Mom! Dad! We’re here!” he shouted. I cringed away from him, screwing up my face.

“Little warning next time, babe?” I asked.

“Sorry.” He kissed my temple and dragged me by the hand down the hallway to a kitchen at the back of the house.

A woman, a few inches shorter than Xavier, was wearing an apron and vigorously chopping vegetables. When we reached the large counter island, she set the knife down, wiped her hands on the apron, spun around, and beamed at us. “You’re home! Oh—and you brought someone!” She had the same slightly-lopsided smile that Xavier did.

“Hi Mom,” Xavier greeted.

The woman came over to us and wrapped her arms around her son. He held on tight for a moment.

Her aura was that of a Freelancer.

When Xavier let her go, she turned to me, arms out. “Comfortable with a hug?” she asked.

“Sure,” I replied.

Her hug nearly crushed me. “You must be Xavier’s partner,” she said. “He’s told us a lot about you.”

I glanced at Xavier over his mom’s shoulder. “All good things, spitfire, I promise.”

“Nothing but the best,” his mom agreed. She pulled back from the hug. “I’m Elena. I’m his mom.”

I gave her my name in return. She smiled.

“I know,” she said. “So. Fire Elemental, huh?”

“U-uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m a Fire Elemental,” I agreed.

She nodded. “Well, you’ll fit right in here,” she replied. She turned slightly toward her cutting board with the vegetables. “Do you like baking?”

I didn’t answer immediately. “Uh… I know how to follow a recipe. Not the best at any necessary improvisations.”

Elena chuckled. “Well, don’t worry. I wouldn’t ask you to make pastry or anything. Just need you both to give me a hand with the breadsticks.”

Xavier smiled. “We can do that,” he said.

“Hope I don’t burn anything,” I muttered as he led me to a different part of the counter where a stand mixer was.

Xavier snickered. “Well, as long as you set the oven to the right temperature and don’t leave anything in too long, you should be fine.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” I retorted. A small plume of flame appeared over my palm. “I don’t want to get frustrated and lose control of this.” The gold fire danced in Xavier’s icy eyes before I closed my fingers and snuffed it out.

“You’ll be fine, baby,” he said, soft and encouraging. His warm hand rested over the small of my back as the other drew his mother’s recipe card closer. He squinted at it and brought it closer to his nose. “Can’t believe I forgot my reading glasses in Dahlia,” he grumbled under his breath.

I snatched it from his hand and looked at it. “Okay… hand me the yeast?”

He opened the door to the fridge. “Instant or active dry?”

“Instant,” I said at the same time as his mom. We met eyes. She smiled.

“I hear the familiar voice of my favorite son!” a voice called. I looked up from the small jar of yeast Xavier had handed me to see a man striding into the kitchen. Tall and bronze-skinned. Same dark hair and icy blue eyes. Fire Contra-Elemental aura.

“Hi Dad,” Xavier greeted, leaving his place beside me at the counter to give his father a hug. Which was returned enthusiastically.

His father caught sight of me. “Oh. And who’s this you’ve brought with you?”

I gave him my name.

Xavier’s dad’s grin widened as he glanced at Xavier. “The infamous partner! Your spitfire!”

The area directly around me warmed several degrees in a sharp spike of temperature.

Xavier’s dad came over to me and scooped me up into a hug with a big, throaty laugh. He reminded me of Huxley—who I’d met a couple times over the years at Xavier’s practices and games. “Nice to meet you!”

“Tom!” Elena chided. “You forgot to ask!”

Xavier’s dad dropped me back to the floor. “Oh right! Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I expected it.”

“Well, you’re part of the family, right? Xavier loves you, so we do too.”

My aura warmed again and I bit my lip while trying to force it to cool off. “Thanks,” I said softly.

“Xavier, breadsticks,” Elena reminded him.

“Right. Do you have a spare pair of reading glasses?”

His mom bustled over to a cupboard and opened it, pulling out a pair and handing them over. Xavier put them on and took the recipe card from where I’d set it on the counter. “Thanks,” he said.

We got to work on the breadsticks, Xavier and I working side-by-side. I carefully monitored both him and his parents out of the corners of my eyes, trying to work out the social rules of this family. Was displays of affection allowed beyond just the friendly hugs we’d exchanged when they met me?

Signs pointed to yes. Enthusiastically. Xavier’s parents were warm and sweet. Especially to each other. Tom in particular seemed to enjoy peppering kisses into Elena’s hair while they cooked. Xavier’s side brushed up against mine with ease and a complete lack of subtlety. He wasn’t worried about showing affection to me in front of his parents.

My tension eased out. Before Xavier, my now-ex-boyfriend’s family had been… stiff. Every conversation felt like I was being interviewed. Like they wanted to get to know me before they were willing to loosen up around me. Xavier’s family was the opposite. They were making me feel at home first. Like they wanted me comfortable without needing to know me. It was a relieving change.

“So, little spitfire,” Tom said to me with a hint of mischief at borrowing Xavier’s nickname for me, “you like tokenrun?”

“That’s how X and I met,” I replied easily.

Tom smiled. “You play?”

“Casually. With friends usually. We met when I ran into him before his first game at the academy. He was on his way to the locker room and I was just leaving class and heading for the stadium and I was looking at my phone to text my friends where I’d meet them and I ran headfirst into him.” I chuckled and reached back to rub the back of my neck. “Everything else is kinda history.”

Elena smiled and laughed softly. Tom’s eyes squeezed shut with his amusement.

“Quite the story,” he said. “Well if it wasn’t so damn cold I’d say we should give it a go out in the yard. X and I don’t mind the cold too much but he’s mentioned you’re not quite as easily-warmed as the average Fire Elemental.”

I glanced apprehensively out the kitchen window. It was snowing. “No, I, uh… I’m not,” I replied. “My relationship with my powers seems to go against the general trend. Most Fire Elementals don’t react to ambient temperature at all, y’know? Summer’s heat doesn’t bother them and they keep themselves warm in the winter. I’m just… not like that. I can go all summer without the A/C on, but I freeze in the winter too easily.”

“That’s fine, kiddo,” Xavier’s dad remarked with a dismissive wave. “We’ll just have to wait to play tokenrun on the SunBound solstice.” Tom glanced at Xavier. “If you two were planning on flying home for it, of course.”

Xavier glanced at me. “Wanna stay in Dahlia with your family or come here?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” I said. “It’s too early to decide now.”

“Fair.” Xavier kissed the top of my head.

“Sounds good! Tonight we’ll just focus on family and good food,” Elena remarked, giving me a smile.

“Yeah,” I agreed quietly.

Xavier wrapped his fingers around mine for a brief moment before we went back to making the breadsticks together.

“So. You two looking forward to the E&E Games?” Tom asked. “Heard you both made it on your teams.”

Xavier nodded. “Yeah! We’re both excited. Got our gear before we flew out. Fancy uniform stuff.”

“Thirty-Ninth Annual, here you come!” Tom opened a cupboard to get down a large bowl for Elena. “Y’know, when I was your age, it was like the fourteenth annual games. The competition is a lot steeper now. I’m sure nothing I did back then could even hold a candle to what the kids these days can do.”

“Well, you might be surprised. Some records have held up for thirty years,” I remarked.

“X, you sure picked a kind partner,” Tom said. “Thanks, little spitfire.”

I chuckled. “No problem.”

—

One Month Later…

—

Knock… knock… knock…

The knuckles on the door were heavy and slow.

I got up from my position and went to the door. I could vaguely see a familiar figure through the frosted glass.

I pulled the door open.

Huxley stood there, head down, fidgeting with the zipper on his green hoodie. “Uh… hey,” he greeted. “I, uh… I didn’t know if you’d be here.”

I opened the door wider and stepped back to let him in. He crossed the threshold. I shut the door quietly. “Xavier’s parents took over responsibility for the house. They said I could stay as long as I need to until I decide what to do,” I said softly.

Huxley nodded. But said nothing. Just kept flicking his zipper. Neither of us met the other’s eyes. I knew why he was here. I’d be stupid not to know. He was close to Xavier, and I knew losing him hit us both hard. He’d come to offer condolences—and maybe seek some comfort for himself too.

I sucked in a breath and blinked hard to try to keep tears from falling. I reached out and set a hand on his forearm. “Hey,” I said softly. “I know you loved him too.” Maybe not the same way I had, but it didn’t matter.

Huxley’s body jerked with a sob and he pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him too and let myself cry into his chest.

“We… we got separated in the chaos,” I said. “We tried to stick together. Someone slammed into me and I got caught in a tide of people. Couldn’t fight it. Couldn’t get back to him. Damn near died six times. I found the wolves on the south side before I could find him. They told me I couldn’t leave on my own. I knew no one would go with me to find him. I wish… I wish I’d known it was already too late.” Huxley stroked the back of my head comfortingly. “I didn’t even get to kiss him goodbye.”

Huxley squeezed me tighter as my body started trembling with sobs. He didn’t shush me. Didn’t try to soothe me. Just held me and swayed in place. “I miss him too,” he said softly. “I can’t imagine how much worse it is for you.”

“I feel like I’m coming apart, Hux.”

“I’m so sorry.” I could feel how deeply he meant the words. “I’m sorry.” The words escaped as barely more than a breath. I could feel his tears soaking through the shoulder of my shirt.

“We talked about getting married,” I said quietly. “After I graduated next year. Now I… I don’t even know what to do with myself. I’ll never stop loving him.”

“Neither will I. He was a good friend. One of the best men I ever knew. I’m just glad to have known him and had the time with him that I did.”

“We… we both are,” I managed to choke out past another sob.

Huxley released a shaky laugh. “You know, I’m not even sure I know your name. He… he only ever called you his spitfire.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh myself and gave him my name.

He chuckled. “Nice to meet you. Officially.”

As if we hadn’t spent hours around each other at parties and practices and before and after games. “Nice to meet you too, Huxley,” I said with a tiny smile.

“It’s gonna be okay. Maybe not today, tomorrow, or any time soon, but he’ll always be with us. In here.” Huxley rested a hand over his heart.

“I know.” I cleared phlegm out of my throat. “Thank you, Huxley. For… for coming to see me.”

“‘Course.”

[liberty-barnes]

Which Reynolds Is Most Likely To...? ft. Mom, Dad & Tommy

Part 8 of the (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds series

Tom Holland x Singer/Actress!Lively-Reynolds!Reader

Summary: Tom and Blake decide which Reynolds is most likely. It goes about as well as you might imagine.

Warnings: just fluff. Honestly, just pure fluff.

Word Count: 2.4k words

Estimated Reading Time: 11  minutes

A/N: Shoutout to @the-girl-in-the-chair for the Andrew Garfield battle idea! Love you, sweets <3

Also, in case you missed it, there are two more bonus chapters added to this series, you can check them out on the masterlist or here:

BONUS 4 | BONUS 5

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Click.

The image shows a grey cotton couch in a brightly-lit living room. On the right side sits Blake, dressed in comfortable yoga pants and an oversized sweater that most likely belongs to Ryan. Her legs are folded under her and she’s running her fingers through Ryan’s hair. Ryan sits on the floor in front of the couch, also dressed comfortably, head pressed up into his wife’s hand. Sitting on the left side of the couch is Tom, wearing his iconic bright pink Hello Kitty sweatpants along with a white shirt with the words lol ur not (y/n) lively-reynolds printed across it. On the floor, leaning against his legs sits (Y/n), wearing black sweatpants and a grey and red Louis Tomlinson World Tour crewneck.

“Good morning lovely people!”

“It’s three in the afternoon.”

(Y/n) sighs.

Cut.

“Good afternoon, my beautiful followers!”

“But what if when they watch this it’s night?”

She stares blankly at the camera.

Cut.

“Good evening-”

“But what if-”

“Oh, my God, Thomas!”

Cut.

“Hi, guys!”

Blake snorts.

“Today, I’m joined by my loving boyfriend, amazing mother, and god-complex of a father, round of applause, please.”

The three pose for the camera while sound effects of people clapping and cheering are put in the background.

“Now, the reason why we’re all here together is that, after three months, Tommy and I have finally finished moving into our new house! So Mom and Dad came to help us put everything away cause I’m really lazy, and also I suck at putting together IKEA furniture.”

Blake nods.

“So we just let the boys do it while we laughed at their stupidity.”

They stretch until they can high five.

Ryan and Tom roll their eyes almost in sync.

“Yes indeed. Now, the thing is that while we were alternating between laughing at their stupidity, filming their confused faces, and scrolling through Twitter, I stumbled upon a game you guys had made called Which Reynolds Is Most Likely? Now, the purpose of the game was to decide who between Dad and I was most likely to do whatever.”

Ryan continues.

“And obviously, we couldn’t help but join in on the fun, so we abandoned the VIITSJÖ, got the camera set up, and decided to participate in this game!”

Tom rests his hand on his knee, fingers gently brushing (Y/n)’s shoulder.

“(Y/n) will be reading the questions directly through Twitter while Blake and I, as the resident Reynolds experts, decide who would be most likely. They can argue, but our word’s final.”

Blake and Tom fist bump.

“I really don’t like how friendly you two are.”

“Ditto.”

“And if by some chance, Blake and I can’t decide, we’ll just text Taylor and she’ll decide.”

Cut.

“So let’s get right into it! We should do, what? Maybe ten questions? Fifteen?”

She turns towards the group.

“Fifteen should be fine.”

She nods at her Dad.

“Alright, then, off we go.”

Cut.

“Oh, here’s a good one! Which Reynolds is most likely to win an eating contest?”

The answer is unanimous, immediate, and almost fully in sync.

“Ryan.”

Tom’s the one to explain.

“(Y/n) likes to eat, but eating too much or too fast makes her nauseous and just overall feel bad.”

He tilts his head down, looking right at her.

“You do everything fast, you know? But you always eat slowly. Sometimes I feel like that’s the only time you actually stop to take a breath.”

Blake smiles at them.

Ryan scowls.

“Yes, yes, we get it, you’re in love, now stop looking at her like that it’s disgusting. Anyway, I win round one.”

(Y/n) side-eyes him.

“This isn’t a competition, father dearest, remember? This is more of a they-bash-us-and-we-can’t-say-anything-about-it situation.”

Cut.

“Oh, this one’s a bit obvious but still. Which Reynolds is most likely to adopt an animal and name it after its species? Like, naming their pig Piglet, or their cat Kitty, etc.”

Tom and Blake share a look of ponderation, though they seem to come to a conclusion after a little while.

“(Y/n). You’re always calling animals after their species so it’s really you.”

Ryan nods.

“If anything, you’d try to give them a normal name, but still only call them by their species nickname, to the point where both you and the animal will forget their actual name.”

She blinks.

“Well, alright, no need to call me out that much, geez…”

Cut.

She smirks mischievously.

“This one might be a bit harder. Which Reynolds is most likely to get arrested?”

Ryan immediately points at her.

Blake slaps his hand down.

“Stop pointing at her when the answer’s obviously you. My baby girl’s smart enough that if she ever does anything illegal, she won’t get caught.”

(Y/n) smirks.

“There’s a comment here too that says Which Reynolds is most likely to accidentally get arrested? Does that change your answer?”

Blake shakes her head.

“Nah. The only reason the first one’s answer is your Dad is cause you'd never get caught, but he probably wouldn’t do anything illegal.”

She smushes his cheeks between her palms.

“You’re a big softie underneath all your sarcasm. But you’d definitely end up accidentally getting arrested because you did something illegal without knowing it was illegal.”

Ryan purses his lips.

“Fair enough.”

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to completely forget how to function when left alone for a week?”

“You.”

It was almost like an instinctive answer.

She pouts but nods.

“Yeah, okay.”

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to drunk tweet a world leader and get an answer?”

Tom purses his lips.

“Well, I mean, you drunk-tweeted Meghan Markle once and she answered you, so that counts, right?”

She shakes her head.

“That was before she married Prince Harry. Besides, Dad’s more famous than I am, so I feel like he has the highest chance of having someone answer him.”

Blake nods.

“I agree. The world has a bit of an obsession with my husband.”

Ryan smirks.

“I’m every man’s wet dream.”

Blake laughs.

(Y/n) gags.

Tom nods in agreement.

Cut.

“Oh, this will make for a nice story. Which Reynolds is most likely to accidentally get on the wrong plane?”

(Y/n) and Blake immediately turn to Ryan.

“In my defence, it was six in the morning, I had just woken up and I’m not used to flying alone.”

“You went to Tokyo instead of London.”

“Heathrow and Haneda sounded the same to my tired brain!”

“They told you your ticket was for another plane.”

“I just thought I got it wrong when booking the flight!”

Blake facepalms.

“Oh for Heaven’s sake, Ryan.”

(Y/n) turns towards the camera.

“This is why Dad isn’t allowed to fly alone, by the way.”

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to get returned by their kidnappers cause they were being too annoying?”

They all turn towards (Y/n). She looks around wide-eyed.

“Why are you all looking at me?”

“Two words: One Direction.”

She nods at Tom.

“Yeah, that’s true. But what if the people who kidnap me are Directioners and they don’t mind me ranting about why The Sidelines is the best enemies-to-lovers fic because Escapade doesn’t count as one?”

Ryan blinks at her tiredly, like this monologue is one he’s used to listening to.

“Well, then they wouldn’t be kidnappers anymore because you’d willingly stay and follow them anywhere.”

She blinks but nods in agreement.

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to spend their entire fortune on concert tickets? Yeah, I don’t even know why I’m asking, I already know you’re gonna say me.”

Blake reaches over to ruffle her hair lovingly.

“If it makes you feel any better, your Dad would spend his entire fortune following you to them if you asked.”

(Y/n) smiles at Ryan.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

She throws herself into his arms and he hugs her tight, pressing a kiss into the crown of her hair. Blake and Tom smile fondly.

Cut.

(Y/n) smirks devilishly.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to buy things just to be able to say they own them?”

They all turn towards Ryan.

“It was one time!”

Tom cocks his brow.

“You bought a three foot tall figure of Green Lantern. You hate Green Lantern.”

“Yes, but Hugh wanted it so I had to buy it.”

Blake rolls her eyes.

(Y/n) nods as if that’s a very good reason to buy something you hate. To be petty.

“So, Dad, then.”

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to accidentally join a cult?”

Blake frowns.

“I think I’d say Ryan. Honestly, when you get into things, you don’t actually notice that they may be bad for you, so I’d say you’d definitely join a cult and not notice until it’s too late.”

Tom makes a noise of disagreement.

“Well, yeah, but (Y/n) also does that. And, since she can’t take proper care of herself and worships everyone that brings her candy, they could easily lure her out.”

“Well, yeah, but-”

The video’s speed increases, the screen gets a black and white filter, and a stopwatch appears. In the background, Blake and Tom animately talk and debate while Ryan and (Y/n) look increasingly put off. When the stopwatch reaches ten minutes, the image goes back to normal.

“And I understand that, but-”

“Okay, it’s been ten minutes, I’m calling in Taylor for a tie-breaker.”

Ryan takes out his phone and dials the number, putting it on speaker. After six rings, Taylor Swift’s distinctive voice comes out.

“Do you need a tie-breaker?”

“Yes, please, Tay. The question is which Reynolds is most likely to accidentally join a cult? Mom says it’s Dad, Tom says it’s me, I’m not gonna give you any of their arguments, I’m just letting you make up your own mind.”

She hums, then chuckles a bit.

“Well, to be fair, you became a Directioner and a Swiftie of your own accord, despite knowing how crazy these fandoms are. Ryan got pulled in cause he wanted to listen to the music to support us and you, and just ended up not getting out. That kind of counts as accidentally joining a cult, don’t you think so?”

Silence.

(Y/n) blinks into the void.

Ryan looks like he’s put on glasses for the first time after years of myopia.

Blake and Tom look pensive.

“Holy shit, she’s right.”

They let Tom’s statement hang in the air.

“I joined those fandoms? I’m a Swiftie? I’m a Directioner? What the fuck? How-”

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to turn one of their haters into a hardcore stan?”

Ryan immediately speaks up.

“That’s you. 100%. My haters are basic. Yours? They do almost as much research and obsessive following as your hardcore stans. It would not surprise me if you got all your hardcore stans from people who wanted to hate you but found out they loved you too much for it.”

Blake and Tom nod.

“I concur.”

“I do as well.”

Cut.

“Ha! Which Reynolds is most likely to burn the house down while trying to cook?”

Three fingers pointed at Ryan.

“I’m getting better!”

“You burned pasta last week cause you forgot to put water in the pot.”

Ryan looks down and pouts.

Cut.

“Which Reynolds is most likely to write a spicy fanfic about them and their partner? Nope, never mind, I should read things in my head before reading them out loud, this is not a good one.”

“Well, I mean, I’ve written some, so it’s pretty obvious.”

(Y/n) screams and covers her ears.

“Shut up! I don’t wanna know! Shut! It!”

Cut.

“And finally, wow this one has a lot of votes! It’s a poll one. The question is: Which Reynolds is most likely to fall madly in love with Andrew Garfield?”

Ryan scoffs.

“It’s obviously me.”

(Y/n) crosses her arms.

“Nuh-uh, I win this one. I’ve been obsessed with him since I was sixteen.”

“I kissed him.”

“And it meant nothing to him! You already got your heart broken, just move on and let me have him.”

Ryan gasps, and so the fight continues.

Behind them, Blake laughs delightedly, wincing playfully every time one takes a particularly good jab at the other. She watches the fight as one would watch a wrestling match: sympathetic for the athlete’s pain but simultaneously too enthralled by the fight to care.

Tom, meanwhile, looks out into the void in horror. It’s as if he’s going through the five stages of grief all at once. You can almost hear the words running through his brain.

We’ve been together for almost four years and yet she still likes Andrew better?

Cut.

White lettering over a black screen.

We debated for twenty-five more minutes. Mom tried to call in Taylor. She refused to get involved. We went to Louis and Harry. Taylor had gotten to them before us so their lips are tightly shut as well. Hugh agreed with me but Dad says it doesn’t count cause of their rivalry. Andrew didn’t answer the phone. The choice is in your hands.

End of video.

Recommended:

The Reynolds fam being iconic for 15 minutes gay

Me, You, and Steve - TomYnAndrew parody

Andrew Garfield & Ryan Reynolds Oscars Kiss

98,456,247 views ● October 10th 2022

65M 👍 2M 👎

560,981 comments

yn_my_beloved: So you’re telling me if I kidnap (Y/n), I get fic rants AND her amazing company? Brb, I’m off to buy a white van.

tomynschild: tom’s shirt tom’s shirt tom’s shirt tomsjdsdgfdhjsbaljfgla fuck

slutforreynolds: I love how much Blake loves the fact that the whole world is obsessed with her husband

thereynoldsfamownsme: (Y/n) and Ryan’s hug :’’) I’m just gonna sit here and bawl thanks that was the best fucking father daughter moment ever. 

steppingstonesholland: Ryan just now realising he’s a Directioner/Swiftie HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

tomfuckinghotland: I’m gonna be honest, I’d like to believe that (Y/n) is not the right answer for that last question just cause I don’t think she’d ever break Tom’s heart like that.

(Y/n) Lively-Reynolds ✔ reply to tomfuckinghotland: That part’s quite a bit of an inconvenience, yes, I’d hate to figure something out.

Tom Holland ✔ reply to (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds ✔: Oooor, you could just stop loving him?

(Y/n) Lively-Reynolds ✔ reply to Tom Holland ✔: I. Would. Rather. Die.

tomfuckinghotland reply to (Y/n) Lively-Reynolds ✔: omg mom and dad are fighting in my comment section :o

[malewifegradyruewen]

An Untitled Original Work, Part 11

previous | next | masterpost

trigger warnings: light swearing, ask to tag

word count: 872

shoutout to @an-ungraceful-swan for content and beta reading, as well as aer amazing drawing of Logan!!

“Mom! Tell Andrew to get out of my room!”

“Mom, tell Logan that she’s ugly!”

“Andrew Joshua Slater, apologize to your sister, then get out of her room. Don’t think I don’t know about your two weeks of missing math homework!”

Andrew gulped, said a quick “sorry,” and dashed into the hallway. 

Logan sighed and flopped down on her bed. She had nearly finished tidying up before Sammie came over when Andrew had burst in, asking what felt like a thousand questions about nothing in particular. She’d asked him to leave, because she really wasn’t in the mood, but that had turned into him hurling insults at her until their mom intervened. Finally, her room was quiet once more as she rolled over to grab her phone off her nightstand.

Ellison had texted her. lmk when Sammie gets there, I want to stop over but I’m babysitting my cousin rn

no worries, Logan sent back before checking the text from Sammie saying she was just a few minutes away. She took a minute to put her favorite hoops on before sliding her sandals on and heading downstairs to the kitchen. Andrew was sitting at the table, a textbook open in front of him. He glared at her and gave her the middle finger, which Logan quickly returned with a smile. 

Her phone buzzed again. Sammie was here. Logan walked to the entryway and saw her outside through the window next to the front door. As promised, she quickly texted Ellison before opening the door.

“Hey, Sammie!” she greeted her.

“Hi, sorry it took so long. My mom forgot she needed gas,” Sammie said as she stepped into the house. “Shoes?”

“Off, you can leave them by this bench here. Do you have to be home by a certain time?”

“Not soon. I think my mom said before ten.”

Logan checked her phone. “That’s not for like ten hours. We’ve got plenty of time. Here, follow me. We can go chill in my room for a bit.”

“Perf,” Sammie said as the two ran upstairs and closed the bedroom door behind them. 

-:-

Logan didn’t know how long they’d been cuddling, or how it had even happened, but she wasn’t complaining. It had started with Logan on her desk chair and Sammie on the beanbag, then suddenly they were both sitting on the bed, and next thing she knew they were cuddling, Logan leaning on a pillow against the wall with Sammie’s head resting on her chest. Sammie’s fingers had traced patterns up and down Logan’s thighs while Logan ran her fingers through Sammie’s hair. 

“What time is it?” Sammie mumbled. 

Logan checked her phone. “3:48. Ellison texted, she wants to know if we wanna meet her for dinner downtown.”

“I don’t know, I kinda just wanna stay here,” she said, looking at Logan sweetly. 

Logan could tell there was more Sammie wasn’t saying. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just don’t really wanna go out.”

“Bull. Tell me what’s up.”

Sammie sighed. “What are we doing, really? Me and Gina…” She trailed off, but Logan knew what she meant. 

She stroked her hair. “It’s okay. If you wanna go, it’s okay. But if you wanna stay—”

“I do wanna stay,” Sammie sat up. “But I don’t wanna hurt Gina. And I do kinda like her.”

She sighed as she laid back down on Logan. “It’s just so much.”

“I know. You have to tell Gina how you feel. Doesn’t matter what you tell her, I don’t care, but you have to tell her.”

“How do I know what to say when I don’t even know how I feel?”

“That’s the hardest part. Think about it. Who makes you happier?”

Sammie was quiet for a moment, before sitting up once more and turning to look at Logan. “Don’t you still have a boyfriend though? Isn’t this cheating?”

Logan was quiet for a moment. “I’m…going to break up with him. Nicely, of course, he didn’t do anything wrong, but our relationship just isn’t what it used to be. I told Ellison already, and we’re not going to let it ruin our friendship, but…I don’t know.”

There was more she wasn’t saying, but she couldn’t admit it to Sammie while she was both so conflicted about their feelings. Logan knew it would sting to see Gina and Sammie together, but she knew it would sting more to influence Sammie into being in a relationship that wasn’t fulfilling for her. Plus, what was life without a little drama?

“You’re the first person here in Lake Valley that I told about my dad. Only other person who knows is Mally.” Sammie grabbed her hand and looked her directly in the eyes. “I like you. Like, like like. But I can’t trust you yet.”

Logan was taken aback by Sammie’s confession of…whatever it was. She didn’t think it was love, per se, but it was pretty damn close. “Why can’t you trust me yet?”

Sammie was quiet. “I don’t know what happened between you and Gina. I need to know the real story.”

“Are you sure? It’s messy, and me and Gina are both the bad guy.”

“I need to know.”

Logan sighed. “Alright. Here’s what you need to know…”

[squeakygeeky]

This episode of Love Bill had a lot going on. We said goodbye to Loc and Minh unfortunately, but that led to Nghia and Thien calling each other from neighboring rooms and then getting ready for their totally-not-a-date.

Ba Vinh just looks so good in this series.

So does the scenery.

I went a little unhinged over the scene on the stairs. I love this character dynamic and how these actors are pulling it off. Ba Vinh as the uke this time and then Le Duc having this as his first BL afaik.

My bet is that the lays potato chip feeding scene was not actual product placement but a reference to UWMA. But the food item that really deserves a shoutout this episode is this instant pho noodle, doing the most:

Thien’s ex showed up for like two seconds and then immediately bounced, presumably because he realized Thien wasn’t living alone. I’m very concerned because VBL has a particularly poor track record with evil exes, but maybe this show can turn it around.

The exact moment Thien realizes he’s harboring a teenage runaway:

I'm actually interested in how this show deals with this, including whether it will at all. One of O2′s past shows has a HS student/teacher relationship, not that I really remembered what happened.

I actually find it hilarious and endearing that Nghia who is a) borderline homeless and b) convinced he’s too stupid to have any chance in school, is still putting the effort in to attend Zoom class...sort of.

I’m pretty sure Nghia is flirting intentionally, even if this does for some reason involve showing Thien pictures of hot girls from school. Telling Thien he should be his tutor...at night...yeah.

I’m so annoyed right now that MDL doesn’t list Vietnamese stuff. I really want to know what else this screenwriter has done, because they are clearly using this series as an opportunity to work through some stuff. Thien selling a script, but unable to be happy about it because he’s getting a terrible deal financially and he needs to rewrite including straightwashing a side couple and then the conversation about how to balance being a good kid with being happy immediately followed by telling his mom he sold the script and lying about the amount of money while secretly crying.

I think Thien coming out to Nghia is a really good scene. I mean, it’s been fairly obvious given his friends, his writing, his wall of BL, and Nghia already pursuing him, but this is definitely a show that puts things into words. So anyway it’s Episode 4 and we’re here already:

But now Duc Duy’s character is here and I’m have no idea where this is going.

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: vomiting, light angst due to body image issues (pregnant!reader)

A/N: i have been working on a WIP all day! it’s going to be my longest one-shot by far. if you would like a hint, click here (another hint: it’s not a retelling of the episode)

Masterlist

Chapter 28

Gradually over the summer, your bump started to peek out just a little bit. The bottom of your belly would poke out of your tank tops slightly.

Spencer loved it because it gave him better skin-to-skin contact. He would constantly be rubbing and kissing your tummy while whispering softly to the baby.

He would often visit you in your office for lunch so he could bring whatever you were currently craving. You learned this the hard way once when you packed a chicken caesar wrap for lunch one morning and by the time it got to noon, it made you nauseous just looking at it. Spencer brought you watermelon that day because it was the only thing that sounded good.

You were just finishing up an email when there was a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” you announced.

“Hi, love. How are we doing today?” Spencer inquired.

“Better now that you’re here,” you looked up from your computer to give him a kiss.

“I brought you your fruit salad with extra watermelon and your prenatal vitamins. Also, I don’t know how your stomach is feeling but I would like you to try to have some protein because fruit does not have much sustenance for you and little one. I brought tofu, peanut butter crackers, or a protein bar, whatever you think you can get down,” Spencer unloaded his bag.

“I finished the whole 64 ounce water bottle before noon. Aren’t you proud of me, babe?” you beamed, proudly displaying your empty bottle.

“So proud, I’ll go refill it right now so you can take your vitamins,” Spencer lifted your blouse up and placed a gentle kiss right on your belly button, “Daddy will be right back, little one.”

-

You awoke to the sickly twisting feeling in your stomach and you carefully rose from the bed in an attempt to not upset your stomach any more.

Spencer was up and out of the bed as soon as he heard the first retch. He grabbed a hair elastic and tied your hair back, rubbing soothing circles on your back.

“Spence, I can’t be sick today,” you cried.

“Jo will understand, love. I’ll tell her you are taking care of little one.”

“I don’t want to miss her first day of first grade,” you sobbed into his chest.

“I will facetime you and take so many videos and pictures, you won’t miss a thing,” he promised you.

“I’m going to call you out of work. Then, I’m going to get you some tea, plain crackers, and iced water,” he kissed the top of your head.

“Will you be okay in here by yourself for a little?” he asked quietly.

You sniffled and nodded.

“Okay, shout if you need me. I’m going to go get that stuff for you and wake Jo up.”

“I want to at least say bye to her. I want to see her in her first day outfit,” you insisted.

“Of course, we’ll be back up in a little,” he assured you.

About 15 minutes later, Spencer returned with a tray of just about every drink and food you had been craving for the past week.

“I love you,” you smiled.

“I love you more,” he replied, setting the tray down on your nightstand.

“Mommy, brother or sister is being bad?” Jo asked.

“No, baby,” you motioned for her to climb up on the bed with you, “They are just growing and it is making Mommy a little sick but it’s okay. I’m sorry I can’t drop you off with Daddy today. But luckily, I heard your new teacher is super nice and you have Henry in your class again this year.”

“Bye, Mommy. I’ll miss you,” she hugged you, “Bye, brother or sister,” she waved to your belly.

“Bye, Baby J. I am expecting a full report on everything that happened as soon as you get home,” you smiled.

“I’ll be back in 30,” Spencer helped Jo off the bed, looking at you worriedly.

“Spence, I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” you assured him.

“Call me if anything happens like even if you just think you’re about to throw up, call me,” he insisted.

You nodded, “Have fun!”

-

“There’s my big first grader!” you smiled with open arms.

You were waiting on the couch for Jo and Spencer to come home from pick up time.

“Mommy!” she ran into your arms, “Ms. Moore is so nice. She let us color whatever we wanted for an hour during craft time today and she had a whole bin of dinosaur books in the library. And, me and Henry played on the big kid swings at recess today and I jumped off into the air!” she exclaimed.

“Oh my gosh! What a fun day you had!” you smiled.

“And you didn’t even hear the best news yet, Daddy signed up to be a classroom helper,” she beamed.

“Did he now?” you grinned, turning your attention to Spencer.

“Ms. Moore had the sign-up sheet out at pick-up time. How can I resist spending more time with Jo? I’m going to get lonely when both my girls are at work and school,” he plopped down on the couch and squeezed you both.

-

You couldn’t find a single cute blouse that still fit you that morning. You had to wear an ugly wrinkly gray one from the back of your closet that you bought a while back and hated but never got around to returning. You brushed through your hair quickly and forwent any makeup because you already felt like utter crap.

You would have called out sick but you had an important department meeting today that you had to sit through. Luckily, that meant little to no talking but you just had to pray that your stomach would settle.

At the end of the long day, you went home and changed into sweats. In an attempt to cheer yourself up, you drove to Jo’s school to see Spencer in action. It was his first day as class assistant.

You approached the classroom to see Spencer surrounded by a group of moms. They were all over him, practically swarming him like bees to honey. These were the exact moms that were horrible to you last year. They were all dressed in high heels and skinny jeans, stuff you couldn’t wear anymore.

You turned around and headed back out to the car.

-

Spencer immediately noticed your car wasn’t in the driveway when they got home.

“Love?” Spencer called out, setting his keys on the table when they entered the front door.

No response.

Spencer tried your cell but it rang out.

He immediately had Garcia on the phone next, “Penelope, I need you to track Y/N. She’s not home yet and not answering her cell and I’m worried.”

“Oh, McDonald’s? Okay, yeah thanks. That’s been one of her cravings recently,” Spencer hung up the phone.

“Why did Mommy leave school and now she’s not here?” Jo questioned.

“Mommy wasn’t at school today, Princess. I think you are confused,” Spencer furrowed his brow.

“Daddy, I saw her,” Jo stated.

“Okay, I believe you,” he picked the little girl up and exited the house once again.

-

You didn’t want to be the crazy pregnant lady in a McDonald’s crying with a chocolate milkshake and a large fry but that is who you had become.

You heard the bell chime but you didn’t look up, dipping your next fry into your milkshake.

“Love, what’s wrong?”

Spencer was standing over you, looking very concerned and carrying Jo on his hip.

He set her down and whispered, “How about you go play in the play place for a little, Princess. Daddy will order you a happy meal.”

Jo looked at you with the same amount of concern in her eyes before deciding it was best to just follow what Spencer said. She ran off and Spencer took the seat across from you.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he spoke softly.

“Not particularly,” you took a long sip of your milkshake.

“Jo said she saw you at the school today,” Spencer stated.

It didn’t take a profiler to see the way your face sank even more and you stopped sipping your shake.

“What upset you so much, love? I need to know if I’m going to fix it,” he grabbed your hand and kissed it.

“Nothing fits,” you stated.

“We’ll buy you more maternity clothes,” he replied quickly.

“I look ugly,” you protested.

“Completely and unequivocally false,” he answered sincerely.

“Those moms are going to steal you away from me,” another tear slid down your face.

Spencer’s face softened, he moved from the seat across from you to right next to you.

“You are probably feeling some residual feelings of abandonment because you had to do this alone last time,” Spencer stated softly.

You buried your face into his shoulder as confirmation.

“Love, I am never leaving you or Jo or little one ever again. There’s nowhere else I want to be. This is what makes me happy,” Spencer looked around, “I’d gladly stay in this crusty McDonald’s forever if you and Jo are here.”

Your giggle was muffled by his cardigan.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Spencer smiled, wrapping his arms around you.

A/N: i named Jo’s teacher ‘Ms. Moore’ as a little shoutout to @homoose !!! moore...moose, close enough. she was one of the writers who inspired me to start writing my own fics

taglist: (just ask to be added or removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange

[nugnthopkns]

i wish i could disappear

word count: 3.6k

warnings: explicit!fem reader, cursing, feelings of anxiety due to social media harassment, invasion of privacy that border on stalking

recommended listening: brutal | olivia rodrigo

series masterpost: here

a/n: and we're off to the races!! i love this album and olivia so much. there's a shoutout to goon by tobias jesso jr. in here bc it's my favourite album to cry to lmao (highly recommend giving it a listen!). i'm on the fence about this one but am posting it anyways because i don't think i can make it any better

How the fuck do people find your social media?

All of your accounts are private and Kevin makes sure to never tag you on the rare occasion he posts a picture of the two of you together. The wives and girlfriends who have public accounts make sure to never post about you, and you’re careful not to comment on posts often. You’re a private person and though you understand that due to the nature of your relationship with Kevin you intrigue some fans, you don’t want to give them more than you have to.

Despite making no attempt to open up to the public or media, every day you wake up with hundreds of follow requests from complete strangers. At first it was a little exciting knowing that people were curious about your life but after years of the same routine it’s become draining. It takes you nearly twenty minutes each day to weed through them and accept only the people you know personally. Kevin doesn’t actually know how many people want to catch a glimpse of your daily life because you do your best to keep it from him. Knowing would only bring him stress, and you want him to be able to focus on winning games and loving you with his entire heart.

☼☼☼☼

The phone on your desk rings loudly, pulling your attention away from the computer screen that has way too many numbers on it for your liking. The finance department needed someone to proof their audit before sending it away and since you’re the only one in human relations that has a business degree the job landed on your shoulders. Eager to take a break, you pick it up and press the receiver against your ear.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other side laughs gently, but you immediately know it’s Kevin. “Hi sweetheart,” he says warmly, “How’s work?”

“Fine I guess. It’s work, Kev. Nothing terribly exciting happens here,” you explain but continue to fill him in on all the coffee pot gossip you got this morning. Kevin listens as you complain about forgetting your lunch on the counter and chuckles at how upset the situation makes you.

“What if I told you I’m outside your window with a burrito bowl?”

Excited at the possibility of seeing your boyfriend before dinnertime, you whip towards the window and spot Kevin on the sidewalk, waving like an idiot despite knowing your office is on the fifth floor. You hang up quickly after telling him you’ll be down in two minutes and let the receptionist know you’re stepping out for lunch. There’s a line for the elevator so you head to the stairwell, taking them two at a time in your haste. You’re crossing the street to the small park where Kevin has set up a picnic before your co-workers are even out the door.

You plop down on the blanket beside Kevin and lean into him. He presses a sweet kiss to your forehead before passing you the food he brought. You take a bite, sighing at the taste. Kevin knows you better than you know yourself and knew exactly what to get that would satisfy your mounting hunger.

“Thanks babe,” you smile, holding up your fork and offering him a bite. He takes it graciously but makes a face. “What’s the matter?” you laugh as you take the utensil back.

“I fucking hate avocado.”

The two of you eat in relative silence, speaking only when you remember a detail from your morning. Kevin tells you about the drills he’s going to lead at practice in the afternoon and what he plans on cooking for dinner since he’ll be home before you. You insist you can whip something up when you get home but Kevin shakes his head. He reminds you that relationships are give and take, and that you’ve made dinner the past three nights because he had a string of games. You manage to reach a compromise that has you doing the dishes before you have to return to work.

Kevin insists on walking you back to your office even though you protest vehemently. Your relationship is far from secret, and has been the topic of workplace gossip more times than you can count, but after five years you’ve learned to ignore most of it. However, you don’t want your co-workers to think you flaunt your NHL player boyfriend to prove you’re better than them. They all love Kevin, and a couple of them congratulate him on last night’s goal as he follows you down the hall. A few of the newer hires stare in awe and shake his hand, completely blown away that one of Philadelphia’s biggest stars is asking how they like their jobs.

“Pretty soon they’re going to approach you to do PR for us,” you chuckle as you flip the light on and close the door of your office.

His laughter echoes off the walls as a pair of strong arms find a home around your waist. “It would be kind of fun to hear myself crush those radio commercials.”

“Since when do you listen to the radio?”

“Checkmate,” Kevin sighs, pulling you closer. He kisses you quickly, not wanting to give a show to anyone who could be walking past, but it still sends you reeling. You don’t want him to pull away and kiss him again.

You get your way for a few more moments and then Kevin’s leaving with a promise to not burn the house down and wishes for a good rest of the day. Focussed on giving the audit its final once-over you don’t bother pulling your phone from the drawer you had placed it in when you got to work that morning. You turn up the small radio at the corner of your desk and get to work scanning the document for errors. There’s a mistake halfway through that skews the rest of the data and fixing it takes a bit of time, but it isn’t a huge deal. You have nothing else to do except answer a few emails and organize meetings for after the weekend.

An hour or so later you’ve completed all your tasks and debate what to do. It’s too early to leave for the day, so you decide to kill time by checking your phone. You’re expecting a few notifications, perhaps two or three memes in the group chat you share with your friends, but not the hundreds that greet you.

The majority of them are instagram notifications, and assuming they’re just more fans requesting a follow you ignore them, instead heading to your text messages. There’s a picture from Kevin of a dog he found walking home and another from your mom asking why you haven’t called home in a few weeks. However the one from Claude’s wife is the one that piques your curiosity.

Just a heads up that someone posted a pic of you and Kev to one of those stupid wag pages. I filed a request for Instagram to take it down but it’s gotten a lot of traction. Sorry :((

Your heartbeat increases rapidly and a million thoughts fly through your head at a rapid speed. Fingers shaking, you respond with a thanks and open up the dreaded app. You don’t see it immediately, your feed being full of photos belonging to friends and family, but it’s in your messages almost two hundred times. Many of them have text attached and you know there will be a comment about your relationship regardless of which one you open.

Tapping on the most recent message you brace yourself for the worst. The new window opens a photo someone took of you and Kevin while eating lunch in the park across from your office not even three hours prior. It’s grainy and the camera angle is strange, but you’re eating and Kevin is looking somewhere out of frame. The accompanying caption reads Kev and his girlfriend out for lunch today! Follow @philllywagupdates for more :).

You let out a sigh of relief – it could have been a lot worse. Personal pictures of yourself have made it onto pages like that before and most of them they’re paired with mean-spirited captions about your appearance or other trivial matters. Assuming you’re in the clear, you head back to the page of the original message to thank the person for bringing the post to your attention. However, the message accompanying the post is anything but positive.

He can’t even fucking look at you. It’s only a matter of time before he leaves you

The blood in your veins runs cold. You know it’s not true – Kevin’s made it clear you’re the one and truthfully you’re just waiting for a ring – but it doesn’t stop the sting you feel. What could possess someone to say such horrible things? You decide not to respond despite, possibly opening another can of worms with the seen function, and close the app. Leaning back in your office chair you focus on anything but your phone, looking out the window at passersby while regaining your breath. It works for a while, but eventually not knowing what others said eats away at you. You go through every single message to see hundreds of similar comments to the first, with only a few saying they’re glad you’re happy or how posting the picture is a violation of your privacy.

By the time you’re finished your spirit has been crushed. However, it’s also an acceptable time to start the weekend – at least no one in the office will have to see you cry. Things are hastily packed into your bag and you wave a few quick goodbyes before once again taking the stairs. You curse yourself for deciding to walk to work that morning and set off in the direction of home wiping away tears. The last thing you need right now is for someone to recognize you, but you have to get home. Tobias Jesso Jr plays at much too loud a volume through your headphones and Kevin will most certainly remind you it’s bad for your hearing, but the melancholy piano riffs of Goon overpower the thoughts swirling around your head.

Do people really feel that way about me?

Are my friends just too nice to stop inviting me places?

Does Kevin really feel trapped?

Hundreds of similar sentiments and situations cross your mind as you stumble through the streets of downtown Philadelphia, but you force them as far back as possible before opening the door to the apartment you share with Kevin. Hoping to slip inside undetected, you take your shoes off slowly and throw your jacket on the end table instead of hanging it in the closet. Your plan fails somehow and Kevin hears you, greeting you in a goofy apron covered in flour.

“Hey sweetheart,” he smiles, but it drops once your eyes meet and he sees the hurt on your face. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing,” you insist, trying to step around him in pursuit of the bathroom.

Kevin doesn’t buy it and sees right through your feeble words. “It’s not nothing if you’re this upset. If you don’t want to talk now that’s fine, but I think you should get it off your chest.”

You know he’s right, but you also know you can’t tell him the true cause of your despair. “Just some work stuff,” you sigh. “The audit got all fucked up and I had to fix it even though it’s not my job.”

It’s not technically a lie, which makes you feel better, and Kevin buys it. He presses a sweet kiss to your lips in sympathy. “Go take a shower and the gnocchi should be ready by the time you’re done. We can spend the night cuddling on the couch.”

“And watching Selling Sunset?”

“We can watch whatever you want sweetheart,” he chuckles. You part from him with a final kiss and head to the bathroom. Hopefully the steam from the water will carry away the negativity brought on by that damn post.

☼☼☼☼

Time passes but the hateful comments on social media don’t stop. In fact, you’re pretty sure they get worse. It’s so bad that you’ve deleted every app except facebook because you need it for work. Kevin doesn’t notice your abstinence from social media, but he picks up on how you spend more time criticizing yourself or staring off into space. When he pushes you either brush him off or feed some bullshit excuse about how work is getting you down. You know he doesn’t believe you but trusts you enough to come to him when you’re ready to talk.

You aren’t sure if you’ll ever be able to tell Kevin what’s been going on. There’s been scrutiny from social media before, when you first started dating, but it quieted down after the initial media frenzy. He helped you through that but it’s different this time around. Never before have you had strangers tell you your life is worthless or that your boyfriend should end your relationship. Some of the other wags notice your absence on instagram but chalk it up to you just taking a break. They reach out via the group chat and send wishes to see you at the next home game. It’s nice to know they care, but the voice in your head that has grown much larger in recent weeks tells you they don’t truly mean it. This leads you to decline the invite as politely as possible, citing extended work hours for your absence. In reality you’re too anxious to be anywhere that isn’t home or work, petrified someone is going to post something that will add fuel to the flames of those who interrogate you.

It’s another Friday afternoon, and you’re leaving the office early once again. There’s a small craft exhibition taking place around the corner from work and today is the last day it’s open. You had been meaning to go all week, hoping to find something small to add to Kevin’s birthday gift. As you step out of the building there’s a small group of young women, who don’t look old enough to have graduated college, standing off to the side. It fills you with dread, worried that somehow someone found out where you work and the insults are going to start occurring verbally, but you force yourself to be rational. You work fairly close to one of the artsier districts in the city and it’s more than likely they just want to find a cute mural to take pictures in front of.

You pass by and swear you hear them snicker, but you remind yourself you’ve just been jumpy lately. When they peel from their place on the wall and follow behind at a distance you think the coincidences are running out. It seems a little too strange how their movements line up with yours, and you go down a few winding side streets in an attempt to lose them. Part of you feels ridiculous because what group of barely legal girls would track a full-blown adult around a city of nearly two million people, but your life is currently strange enough you can’t be sure. They don’t follow you, and by the time you reach the market your heart rate has returned to normal.

The first few stalls have little to catch your eye, but a few rows in you find a leatherworker who makes adorable wallets. Kevin’s is ridiculously old and falling apart at the seams – his mom bought it for him before the two of you got together. You think a new one will make a perfect addition to the concert tickets you already bought and browse the table for something simple and elegant. A deep brown one with tan braiding around the edges catches your eye and you know it’s the one for Kevin. Checking the price to make sure you have enough cash in your wallet, you approach the shop owner to purchase. The older man has a kind smile that reaches his eyes as he thanks you for purchasing from him.

“No, thank you for making something so beautiful!” you gush. “My boyfriend is going to love it.”

It’s then you hear it – snickering accompanied by the click of a camera. You look over your shoulder to see the same group of girls from before laughing as they huddle over a cell phone, no doubt already starting to broadcast the photo across the internet. Tears prick at the corners of your eyes but you refuse to let them fall. Those girls don’t deserve to see their mission accomplished, but the longer they laugh at you the harder it is to swallow your feelings.

Head held high, you thank the owner one more time before holding your head high and walking past the group. The only way out is past them so you hold your breath and pray they don’t notice you. Unfortunately you aren’t that lucky, and one of them looks up just as you come into earshot.

“If Kevin doesn’t leave you after that sorry excuse for a gift I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” she sneers.

Another one chimes in, “You’re honestly so pathetic.” They all cackle in amusement, and you speed up. The tears flow freely now, and you call an uber even though it will be a ridiculous amount of money. You just want to get home.

The uber driver doesn’t say anything when you get in, though you know it’s strange to be bawling your eyes out at four in the afternoon. You can’t help it – weeks of keeping all the hate to yourself finally got to you and being followed with the sole intent of ridicule is the final straw. At one red light he silently passes you a box of tissues, which you accept gratefully.

Luckily the lobby of your apartment complex is empty and you manage to get to your floor without encountering a familiar face. There’s a few hours until Kevin gets home from his final roadtrip of the season, and if you play your cards right you can get all the tears out and be as normal as possible before he comes through the door. You don’t even bother to put anything away, just head straight to the bathroom to slump against the tub. Sobs rack your body and you lose all sense of time. All you can feel is the hurt you’ve been holding in releasing itself and soaking the material of your blouse.

Kevin finds you laying in the position hours later. He tripped over your shoes coming in the door and immediately knew something was wrong – you always place them neatly on the rack in the closet upon arriving home. Peering through the quiet house for a hint at where you are, he sees the bathroom light on and makes a beeline for the room. It breaks his heart to see you like this, and even more so because he doesn’t know what spurred it on.

“Sweetheart, hey,” he coos, maneuvering his body to sit beside you and pull you into his lap. “What’s the matter?”

You bury your head in his shoulder and clutch the material of his dress shirt as you cry harder at the sound of his voice. Kevin takes your reaction in stride, rubbing circles on your back and working on evening out your breath. He doesn’t pressure you to speak and provides the stability you desperately crave as the world around you spins. An unknown amount of time passes before your tears run out, but spend it all on the bathroom floor curled into Kevin.

“I guess I should have told you sooner,” you mumble, “But I didn’t want to bother you.”

Concern laces Kevin’s features and his eyebrows knit together. “Tell me what?”

“I, uh, have been the subject of some internet hate for the past little bit,” you say sheepishly. It feels stupid to not have told him now, but you can’t change that. “But you were really busy with the season and I wanted to make sure your head was completely focused on the game so I just dealt with it myself. I deleted the apps and tried my best to go about my life. And then today after work I was followed by some people and they said some really hurtful stuff and shit became a little too real.”

“I’m so fucking sorry.”

It’s your turn to be confused. “Why are you sorry Kev? You're Not the one sending me death threats.”

He tucks a loose strand of hair back into your ponytail. “Maybe not, but I still made you feel like you couldn’t talk to me about what was going on. What kind of partner am I?”

“The best one,” you say confidently. “It’s okay, I’m okay. I just want to forget about it right now. Can we just disappear for a little bit?”

Kevin wraps his arms around you tighter, as if he can engulf you to protect from the cruel outside world. “We can do whatever you want. If you want to get out of the city for a bit if you want, or just spend the next few days here away from prying eyes.”

“I love you.”

You say it because you mean it, and if you could scream it from the rooftops you would. Kevin is incredibly easy to love, even when you make it difficult for him to love you back. You know another much longer conversation is coming about everything that has happened recently because communication is the only way to solve problems and Kevin deserves that, but you’re thankful he’s willing to put it to rest for a few more moments.

He cracks a smile for the first time since he’s been home and kisses the crown of your head. “I love you too sweetheart,” he whispers, “Always and forever.”

Things are far from over and though you still never want to show your face in public ever again, you know that Kevin is going to do whatever he can to make things better and that’s enough for you.

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @ricohenrique @tortito @boqvistsbabe @iwantahockeyhimbo @himbos-on-ice @2manytabsopen if you want to be added just shoot me an ask :)

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Resurrect Me: Part 2 (N.R.)

Part One

Huge shoutout to @confusinggemini612 who requested this a loooong time ago and I’m just now getting to it (I am so sorry for the wait). I hope this is what you had in mind :)

Warnings: swearing; PTSD; mentions of suicide/self-sacrifice

Word count: 2.6k

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

The cool breeze blows through my hair, the hand in mine being the only source of warmth in the chill of the Russian countryside. As we walk closer, a chorus of pigs snorting fills my ears. Natasha had given me a brief rundown and a quick pep talk before taking me to meet her family. Now, it was game time.

“Are you ready?”

“Not in the slightest,” I respond to the redhead.

“Let’s do it then,” she says with a smirk, to which I reply with a scoff.

We walk through the gate and enter the small house, immediately hearing three distinct voices, each laced with a thick Russian accent. The voices hush as the door closes behind us, and a blonde woman is the first to greet us.

“Ah, сестра! Mom and Dad are flirting again, let’s make a run for it,” Yelena whisper-yells.

“So put a sedative in their vodka or something, I don’t know,” Natasha replies. I’m not sure if I should introduce myself or not, so I just stand there awkwardly.

“They are both spies, they’re not going to fall for- actually, Alexei would, but Mom would never fall for that,” Yelena pauses as she notices me. She looks me from head to toe and squints before her lips quirk into a smirk. “And who might this be? Is this your little girlfriend?”

“Yelena, don’t be an ass,” Nat grumbles with a scowl.

“Hi, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

Yelena hums before turning back to Natasha. “She’s definitely your girlfriend.”

“Oh shut up,” Natasha whines, walking further into the house. I look at Yelena and nod in confirmation before following Nat. I hear her whisper “I knew it” from behind me, causing me to laugh. Natasha turns to give me a questioning look, but I just brush it off with a shrug and a smirk. She narrows her eyes and opens her mouth to say something, but is cut off by a deep, booming voice.

“Natasha! Welcome home! Look at this, all my girls back together again! It is so nice to see you,” Alexei says, moving forward to pinch Natasha’s cheeks. She gently pushes him away with a scowl, and I can’t tell if she’s really uncomfortable or not. Either way, it brings my guard up, ready to defend her.

“And who might this be?” Alexei questions, turning to face me.

“Dad, this is Y/N,” she says before I can answer. I offer a kind smile.

Yelena, who had made her way to the kitchen table with a bottle of vodka, says “She’s Natasha’s girlfriend.”

“Thank you for the input, Yelena,” Natasha says with a tight-lipped smile.

“Girlfriend, huh? When did that happen? Natasha, I was not aware that you, uh, how do you say? Swing that way?” A dark-haired woman slaps his arm for his comment and he exclaims, “Ow!”

“Pay him no mind, Natasha. He is a bit slow, but Mama always knew. You were not very discreet about the way you looked at that Hannah girl in Ohio. And as for you, it is nice to meet you. I’m Melina, what is your name?” Her demeanor is friendly, but her gaze is skeptical. She’s probably already planning how to kill me if she decides that I’m not good enough for her daughter.

“I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you, too,” I say with a nervous smile.

“Alright, guys, that’s enough. Please stop harassing my girlfriend,” Natasha says with a sigh.

“Come, sit,” Yelena commands with a wave, still sitting at the kitchen table.

I sit across from her and Natasha sits next to me. Melina and Alexei follow soon after, with Alexei sitting at the head of the table and Melina sitting next to Yelena.

“Here you go,” Yelena says as she slides me a shot glass full of vodka. I clink it against hers in the air and down it in one go, grimacing at the burn. “Are you alright?” Yelena asks with a smirk, clearly enjoying my agony.

“Oh, yeah, I’m great. Just not used to Russian vodka, that’s all.” Yelena nods, satisfied with my answer, before going to pour me another shot.

Natasha stops her by saying, “Yelena, no more vodka. You’re going to kill her.”

“You’re no fun,” the younger sister says, but complies, nonetheless.

“Natasha, you are slouching again. Sit up straight,” Melina interjects.

“Mom, I’m not slouching. I told you I don’t slouch,” Nat protests.

“So how did you two meet?” Yelena asks, interrupting the banter.

“Oh, we met in New York during the invasion, when the Avengers were formed,” I answer.

“You are an Avenger! I knew you looked familiar. Tell me, does Captain America ever mention me, the great Red Guardian? I could kick his ass, you know. I’ve done it before,” Alexei says, causing the three Russian women to groan and complain.

“That never happened, Dad,” Yelena mumbles at the same time Natasha says, “He doesn’t talk about you because you guys have never met.” 

I raise my eyebrows at them. They seem awfully familiar with this conversation; how often does Alexei say this crap?

“So, Y/N. What happened when you guys brought everyone back? How did you do it? Natasha won't tell me,” Yelena questions. I chuckle nervously, glancing at Natasha, who is clearly uncomfortable with this topic of discussion.

“Um, I don’t know if I should… It’s complicated, really,” I say, trailing off.

“Yelena, stop. It doesn’t matter. And don’t put her in the middle of things,” Natasha responds, defending me. An awkward silence fills the room until Alexei speaks up again.

“He really hasn’t mentioned me? Have you even asked him about me?”

<//>

“Why won’t you tell them what happened?” I ask quietly. It’s nighttime now, and I’m lying in bed next to Nat in the guest room. She seemed so uncomfortable, and it’s been worrying me since.

“They just don’t need to know,” she replies shortly

“But they got snapped away, Natty. Don’t you think they deserve more of an explanation than what they’ve seen on the news?”

“Don’t tell me what to do with my family, Y/N.” Her sharp tone feels like a blade to the heart, but I take a deep breath and soften my resolve, knowing that she’s only snapping at me because something else is upsetting her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push. I just, I can tell that something is upsetting you. You can’t just bottle stuff up, Nat. It doesn’t have to be me if you’re not comfortable, but you need to talk to someone about it.”

She doesn’t respond immediately. “I’ve told them. I gave them the basics: Thanos snapped people away, we time traveled, got magical stones, snapped people back, and then killed Thanos. That satisfied my parents, but Yelena wants to know the whole story.”

“And you’re not comfortable retelling it?”

“Parts of it are bearable, but… I can’t think about it. You almost killed yourself for me, Y/N. You did die for me. I can’t think about that day, let alone tell my baby sister about it,” she says. Her voice is quiet, breaking as the tears flood her eyes. I pull her head into my chest and run my fingers through her hair.

“I’m right here, Natty. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. You don’t have to tell anyone about what happened. I was terrified of losing you on Vormir. I hate talking about it, too.”

“Is that why you went to Dr. Garcia?”

“Partly. There were other reasons, too.” I hesitated before continuing. “I kept hearing the tortured screams. When I slept, in my head, everywhere I went. I heard them all the time. And I would get random whiffs of burning flesh. As you know, I went to the Underworld when I ‘died’ and I guess it just affected me more than I had originally thought.”

“Angel, why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.”

“I didn’t want to worry you, or freak you out. The whole thing was pretty weird. For a while, I honestly thought I was haunted. It was probably pretty selfish, but I didn’t wanna scare you away.”

“You could never scare me away. But just to be clear, you aren’t haunted, right?”

I laugh quietly. “No, I am not haunted. A mild case of PTSD, but I’m doing better now. The therapy helped a lot.”

“Do you think it would help me? I still get nightmares sometimes...of you going over that cliff. I just, I close my eyes and you’re gone, and I hate it.”

“I’m so sorry, my love. I hate how much pain I’ve caused you. But I do think it would help. We can find someone when we get back home, yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, Natty.”

<//>

“Just do it! It will be fun! I will go easy, I swear,” Yelena begs.

“Okay, fi-”

“No! No way in Hell. You are not sparring with her,” Natasha argues.

“I’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, she kicks my ass,” I say.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure the worst case scenario would be if I accidentally killed you,” Yelena says flatly. “But that won’t happen! Please, Natasha. I want to see what she’s got,” she pleads with a pout.

Natasha sighs and rolls her eyes, muttering something under her breath about us being a bunch of children. “Fine, but if you so much as scratch her-”

“Y/N will be fine. Come on,” Yelena says, grabbing my hand and dragging me into the backyard.

Thirty minutes later, I’m flat on my back in the grass, wheezing. I groan as I attempt to sit up, the whole world spinning as I do.

“Yelena! What the hell did I say?! You literally threw her,” Natasha yells.

“No, no. I’m good,” I say weakly.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting her to be so...defenseless.”

“I am not defenseless,” I counter.

“You cannot even throw a punch,” the blonde deadpans.

“That doesn’t make her defenseless,” Nat says as she helps me to my feet. “She could take every single one of you out right now without even moving.” 

From a few feet away, Melina quirks an eyebrow and Alexei mumbles “she could not take me out.”

“You are delusional, Natasha. How are we supposed to trust this woman to protect you when she cannot even protect herself?” 

“She can protect both of us just fine, Yelena. Not that I need anyone’s protection.”

“Your sister has a point,” Melina tells Nat. “Sorry, Y/N,” she adds. I open my mouth to speak, but don’t even know what to say. This is my worst nightmare.

“You must be able to punch when you are in trouble! Much like I did to Captain America back in the day,” Alexei adds.

“Alright, enough. I’ll have you know that Y/N is one of the most powerful Avengers. Actually, she’s a literal goddess,” Natasha snaps.

“Well, of course you would think so. You are her girlfriend,” Melina says.

“Guys, I’m being serious!”

“Do not get snappy with us. We are just looking out for you,” Alexei says.

“I don’t need-”

“Somebody has to be there to keep you safe, and this girl could not bring harm to a plant,” Melina remarks. 

“I’m literally standing right here,” I mumble under my breath.

“She literally saved my life! How is that not keeping me safe?!” My eyes widen; what happened to not revealing that tidbit of information?

“What do you mean? You saved her life?” Yelena asks as she turns to address me.

“If it wasn’t for her, I would be dead right now. And you guys never would’ve come back,” Natasha retorts, clenching her jaw.

“What? Why? What happened,” Yelena rambles. I can see the worry etched on her face, and it makes her look oddly childlike. It almost makes me want to pull her into a hug, but I’m fairly certain she’d throat punch me if I tried.

“On a planet called Vormir. A life needed to be sacrificed to get one of the Infinity Stones. It was me, Clint, or Y/N. I tried, but Y/N stopped me. That’s what I mean.” Natasha is seething. She clearly didn’t appreciate her family’s doubts.

“You tried to kill yourself?” Yelena addresses Natasha, but no one has the chance to answer her before Melina speaks up.

“If you sacrificed yourself, then how are you here?”

“It’s complicated,” I say with hesitance. “I am technically a goddess. I have many different powers, but most of them deal with death. When I died, I went to the Underworld, where I met my mother, Hecate, who is a goddess. Then, I came back. Resurrection is one of my powers. I know it’s a lot to take in, but that’s the truth.”

It’s silent for a minute as everyone processes my words. Everyone is staring at me with bewilderment, except for Yelena, who hasn’t taken her eyes off of her sister. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and a deep frown rests upon her lips.

“You tried to kill yourself?” Yelena repeats, this time only a whisper. Natasha finally turns to look at her younger sister and her mouth bobs open and closed, seemingly unsure of what to say.

“I didn’t have a choice, Yelena,” Natasha finally says.

“You saved her?” the blonde asks me.

I hesitantly nod my head. “Yes, I guess I did.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, giving a curt nod before turning and walking mechanically back into the house. I awkwardly clear my throat and turn my gaze to the ground.

“Will you show us?” I raise my head to look at Alexei, confusion crossing my features at his request. “Will you show us your powers, I mean.”

“Dad…” Natasha warns.

“No, it’s okay. I can show you a little bit,” I say, right before teleporting away. I watch from a hill in the distance as Alexei looks frantically around him. I can hear him asking where I went, which makes me laugh.

I teleport into the house and walk around, looking for Yelena. I walk into a bedroom and find her sitting on the floor with a bottle of vodka. “Hey, are you okay? We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m fine. Because learning that your sister almost died and there was nothing you could’ve done to prevent it is so much fun,” she scoffs.

“I’m sorry. We probably could’ve broken the news a bit softer.” I sit on the ground next to her, leaving about a foot of space between us.

“It’s not your fault,” she murmurs. “I’m sorry for doubting you.”

“Don’t be. I am a horrible fighter,” I joke. She chuckles slightly, nodding in agreement.

“That you are. Can I see some of your magic, or whatever it is?” I hold out my hand and black mist dances above it with eerie elegance. I close my fist as it fades away, lowering my hand.

“Cool,” she says with a crooked smile. We hear the front door open and three sets of footsteps entering the house. I hear Nat calling my name.

“You okay?” I check one last time.

“I’m good. Thank you, Y/N, for saving my sister.”

“I’d do anything for her, Yelena. You don’t have to thank me for it.”

The bedroom door opens and Natasha’s head pokes in. “Y/N, we thought you’d completely left for a minute. Everything okay in here?”

Yelena and I look at each other and I look back to Natasha, overwhelmed with love for the redead. I smile and say, “Yeah, everything is just fine.”

[feysandfeels]

IT’S VAMPIRE TIME BESTIES. BITE BITE MFS.

Firs of all lets enjoy my background. Beautiful. Stunning. Dramatic

Now.

Did someone ask for this? No. However I am in the second chapter and I have thoughts. Decarte would be proud. 

Special shoutout to my eternal love @cassianandfenrysaremyboyos​ because she’s the one who recommended this book to me. So if you’re annoyed with my thread, go complain to her. 

Bites bites.

1. I already like Isolde. I don’t know if its the complete irreverence with which she regards her own sexuality, the fact that she is 26 (god bless someone who is my age), the fact that she is a brunette or that she grew up training to be a fighter. 

2. There is an Alucard looking dude in the woods and I, as an Alucard slut, say thank you and I am willing to become his humble hoe. Clearly the vampire prince... but I love this trope of “random dude in the woods who I am attracted to turns out to be big baddie”. Also, points for the man, monster, lover, line... that got me. 

3. Poor Killian?? They called him bad dust (Colombian colloquial way of saying you are bad at sex... if you are good then it’s good dust)

4. I’m already here for the fact that Isolde is to be queen and no one is like “oh but she’s a woman”. Solid points to this world because of this. 

5. Also solid points because this book gave me two minutes of normal narration and then it went oh “HORNY HOURS START NOW”. Much appreciated, now I know what I am heading into.

6. Oh she’s a cynical romantic? Are we besties Isolde?

7. Also how are we feeling regarding Jamie Campbell Bower as this Alucard dude... whatever his real name is I will call him Alucard. But yea I am feeling Jamie. Either him or Daniel Sharman... but he is already my Dorian.. and Jamie does have more vampire vibes. 

8. Right so.. the mom is dead. Is the mom a vampire? Idk Idk maybe Idk. 

9. Killian is a little snitch. And snitches end up in DITCHES. Little bitch.

10. Also that father is dead. He will not survive this book or series. 

11. Papi, Commander Killian, shut up! Let the sexy blond speak. If he wants marriage then we must consider it, for the good of the people.

12. Alucard really did say “love at first sight”. The man is a romantic, a hopeless full romantic. See? nuance.

13. ohhhhhh forced marriage trope?

14. Kinda think that Alucard and the kin would have a wonderful husband-father in law relationship. Shame they are enemies. OH MY GOD! ENEMIES TO HUSBAND/FATHER IN LAW LOVE. OH MY GOD.

15.well marraige it’s not about having kids Isolde.. have you thought about that? maybe the man saw you in the forest and decided he loved you and wanted to spend eternity with you. Sometimes it happens. 

16. “you assume I want a wife, I came for a queen” OH MY JESUS ALUCARD WOW, SIR. “I am offering the promise of pleasure” sir i am IN PUBLIC!

17. “tomorrow I would marry our conqueror” Post colonialism trope besties.

18. I think it should surprise no one who has been following me for a while that if I could I would 100% want to be a vampire. Yes I would go through the process of transformation and yes I am willing to live eternally. I do not care. I would be a vampire. 

19. Is she going to? oh okay... she’s going to cope with the whole day by masturbating? okay yes. It was one of those days I guess. 

20. Killian for the love of fuck stop being so inconvenient. I swear to god you’re making the cardinal sin of being annoying. 

“drive a knife to his heart and then we can wed” AJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA  What the fuck man? have you not been paying attention. 

He truly gave me no choice but to laugh

21. There was this one time Isolde went like “there’s only wrath in me” and I was like #CROSSOVER!

22.Bestie what do you mean you weren’t made for running? Aren’t you a trained fighter?

23. OH he calls her my sweet?! *bites lip not in a sexy way but like in an “i need to quiet my scream way”*

24. Honestly baby you giving Alucard the “intel” that Kilian wanted to kill him is not the news that you think it is... it’s like telling a teenager that his obsolete toddler brother is after him. 

25. “I promise not to kill your people, but I do not make any promises regarding the life of your commander”. 

Me *serving champagne*: oh well, we lost more in the great rains

26. My girl really agreed to this marriage proposal because she was *that* horny and I fear besties, I fear, I cannot judge her for it. 

27. “any attempt will be met with my Wrath”, “as if your Wrath could be any worse” #CROSSOVER

28. I am so Alucard coded because I too use “my sweet” as a threat and nickname. 

29. Lets be real Killian’s sex move is “I will tell your father”. 

30. oohhhhhhhhh Isolde is the reincarnation of Alucard’s love?? Please please please please let it not be her mother who was with Alucard. I am begging.

31. Yes of course you’d want to be armed in your wedding. Attending your own wedding without at least one knife hidden in you is just tactless and calls for a passionless marriage. Everybody knows that. 

32. Lol how fucking horny do you have to be to be trembling when you try to control it. 

33. “Soon, I hope you find pride in being my bride” This man is not even denying how P*ssy whipped he is.

34. Wait he can read minds? EDWARD CULLEN IS THAT YOU MY LOVE? Alucard ft Edward Cullen?? Yeeeeeesss don’t mind if i do.

35. Want to bet the song in her music box will be something Alucard remembers and when he listens to it he will freeze and be like “how do you know that song?” and then some big reveal about her mother and their past lives... yada yada yada. 

36. Also what do we feel about the theory that she was promised to him since birth or something like that and her mother, scared, hid her pregnancy with this human husband king and then faked her death to protect her baby further.... maybe the human king somewhat knew of it... so that’s why he didn’t put that much of a fight. 

37. Is it going to be a public consummation of the marriage?? Like right in front of Killian? JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA ah no. 

38. They send her to fuck in a room that has not been dusted?! NO WHAT THE FUCK. At least clean the whole room. Ugh. 

39. “I might hate you but the sex is so good to lovers”. Isolde bestie enjoy it! Enjoy it for the both of us. Morals do not exist. 

40. Oh my god she really did stab him. Respect. Wow. Of course that will turn him on and barely make a scratch, but respect. 

41. oh and he has scars... I love scars.. I fucking love scars. 

42. Oh my jesus.. “scream my name so that your commander knows how much pleasure I give you” JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA in this house we want to annoy the shit of Killian. AJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA ZERO RESPECT TO THAT MAN TRULY. 

43. when Isolde said that Alucard looked at her like he had been starving and all that... I’m telling you he already knew her and had literally been waiting for her for centuries or something.. I’m even willing to say that all this war was to find her.. his promised queen

44. “Because as much as we were fighting for dominance he had given me the one thing I was looking for... “ she’s going to say orgasm isn’t she? My girl Isolde is about to sell her kingdom because the power of d*ck is that strong, and that doesn’t have me questioning her morals.. rather like... wanting to see for myself said power. You know, for science.