#small bussines

[everlinet]

some new things! ✨🕯 in my handmade shop // here // @everlinet

[bouquetofgarnets]

This captivating cross-stitch design features a stunning gothic woman with dark flowing hair and a regal expression. Her intricate lace gown and ornate crown, adorned with dark flowers and elegant jewels, evoke the aesthetic of a noblewoman from a mystical or Victorian era. The deep, moody tones of purple, green, and gold, combined with the detailed floral and filigree framing, create an aura of dark romance and elegance. Perfect for stitchers who appreciate fantasy, gothic themes, or dark beauty, this intricate portrait brings to life the mysterious allure of a queen or sorceress from a bygone era. This piece can make a striking wall decoration, adding a touch of enchantment and drama to any room.

[jobeana]

Adorned

[crystaltowercrafts]

www.crystaltowercrafts.com

[bushwaa]

POV: Ur scout’s mom

[sheila--e]

. you think Sheila ever brings flowers to Clara's grave. do you think she can bring herself to do so. imagine she stopped going and then one day came back and saw her gravestone all covered in dirt and in a horrible state because there's absolutely no one to take care of it. because her only surviving family was her 10 year old sister. think of it. are u.

[spectrumpay]

Most Profitable Business in Rural Areas in India

We're about to embark on a journey into rural India's vibrant and often underestimated landscapes. Forget the hustle and bustle of the city for a moment, and let's dive into the world of endless possibilities, where tradition, craft, and simplicity still prevail in the heart and soul of rural people.

India, with its vast expansion of rural landscapes, represents a wealth of untapped opportunities for emerging businesses. While urban areas tend to witness rapid development, the potential for growth and development in rural areas remains mostly overlooked.

However, the transforming economic scenario and rising government focus on rural development have ruled out the way for rural business ideas opportunities in these areas.

Let's explore some of the most amazing business ideas that can thrive in rural India, contributing not only to the local economy but also to fostering sustainable development.

Profit-Making Business Ideas for Rural Areas

Indicash ATMs

Establishing Indicash ATMs in rural areas can fix the issue of limited and basic access to banking services. These ATMs are made to work efficiently in low-traffic areas.

 Providing convenience, flexibility, and secure banking services for rural people.

This not only enhances financial banking services but also creates fine opportunities for entrepreneurs to collaborate with banking services.

Digital Dukaan

Digital Dukaan platforms enable small businesses in rural areas to establish an online presence, expanding their customer reach in every prospective area.

Rural people can easily set up and manage these digital marketplaces, associating local artisans and businesses with a broader customer base.

This not only increases sales for rural entrepreneurs but also increases the standard of living of rural economies.

Mobile Repair and Service Centers

The increase of mobile phone users in rural areas has created a high demand for repair and maintenance services as well.

Setting up a mobile repair and service centre can turn a profitable business as this business is emerging day by day. 

Also, offering digital literacy programs alongside these services can empower and spread awareness in rural communities.

Rural Tourism

India's rural area has a rich cultural heritage and scenic beauty all around. Various people can start ventures on this by initiating rural tourism sectors.

Homestays, guided tours, and cultural experiences can attract people from urban areas to relax and flee from the hustle and bustle of the city and promote rural development as well.

This not only generates income for rural communities but also fosters a deeper connection between city and country life.

Handicrafts and Handlooms

Rural India is a treasured place of traditional handicrafts and handlooms and majorly popular for it.

Starting up ventures of handloom weaving, pottery, embroidery, or other traditional crafts can be both culturally enriching and financially rewarding. This is one of the best village business ideas to inculcate.

The global market's want for authentic, handmade products provides an additional avenue for growth through exports.

Summing Up

The key to successful business in rural India lies in understanding and aligning with the unique needs and resources of the people and working towards it. Working for businesses in rural areas is considered the world's best business opportunity to grow the country's economy.

By harnessing local skills, traditions, and resources. Various entrepreneurs can not only build profitable businesses but also contribute to the overall development and prosperity of rural areas. The inclusion of innovative solutions like Indicash ATMs and Digital Dukaan further enhances the potential for growth and transformative impact on the rural landscape of India.

[buiness-consultant]

https://www.topbest27.com

[marblepasta-creepyhornet]

Usually don’t send requests, but since you asked: which creeps do you think would take psychic damage from a friend or partner who purposefully misuses slang? Just thought to ask cus I thought Ben would probably have a physical reaction and I think that mental image was funny lol 

———

Characters used: Ben, Jeff, and EJ, Tim

———

BEN:

He’ll cringe. No questions.

Now, I headcanon Ben as a self-taught modern-day gamer in the creepypasta universe (as in he’s bought every modern day consoles and devices and has slowly learned the mechanics and is now an expert), he’s got a plethora of video games for all his devices, his PC, consoles, Nintendo switch, and even his old DS!

So imagine when he’s showing you a new game he got for his switch….

But then immediately regrets it.

As you were sat in his lap, watching him play, you just casually drop, “Wow, Ben! This game looks so litty on fleek, fam!”

MF hasn’t EVER put his hands on you, but he is now-

He pushed you off his lap and looked at you like you kicked a puppy!

“I…I can’t even look at you,” he’d be all dramatic, “I don’t know who that was, but I NEVER wanna see them again!”

You’d just be laying in the floor in a puddle of giggles.

———

Jeff:

It would happen on a mission. You and Jeff were targeted with killing a family and to leave none of them alive!

So, let’s say the targets son was a bit more than Jeff bargained for, so you swooped in and had to save the day, managing to tie the kids arms behind his back, “GET FUCKING YEETED, SCRUBLORD!”

Radio silence.

“WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!”

“What do you mean? Like, we gotta yeet him, you catching my driftwood, fam? No cap!”

At this point Jeff just rubs his temples and finishes off the target by stabbing him. His brain too absorbed in other things to try and decipher whatever you’re talking about.

Soon after you two left, blood stained and all, Jeff spoke up, “Please, never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, talk like that again!”

“Alright fine! No need to get so hostile, we gucci lit” you finished off with finger guns and a sly chuckle.

“(N/N)!”

———

EJ:

You were sick. Like, contagious sick.

So, per Jack’s orders, no leaving his infirmary only for the bathroom, always cough and sneeze into the elbow and not the hand, use tissues sparingly, wash your hands, and take showers to help alleviate headaches and open up your sinuses.

Unrelated, but don’t worry, he’s made sure his baby gets the best comfort, after all, he needs you well rested and feeling better! 🥺💙

It was around 8pm when he knocked on the door before slowly opening it, he was dressed in pajamas holding a bowl of soup, “Hi, love” He’d greet you with a smile, not wearing his mask, as a demon he couldn’t get sick and because he was comfy around you, “How’s my baby doing?” 😭

Of course you’d answer the same way every time, stating you were still sick, just like since the beginning of the week. 😔

“I made you some soup, I know it isn’t much, but it’ll help alleviate some symptoms, and you look like you’re freezing, baby” he’d say while handing you the soup.

You took a few bites of the noodle and a carrot piece, a small moan escaped your lips, “Fuccckk~ This shit is straight bussin’, Jack”

His smile that he had while watching you eat was replaced with one of confusion. “W-what?” 😩

You’d have to suppress a giggle, “What do you mean, ‘what? This soups straight bussin’”

He’d try to understand what you meant, trying to wrack his brain for any semblance of what the word could mean 😭

Overall, confused baby boi :(

Tim (Masky):

Masky angled the binoculars as he let out a low growl, watching as the group of targets were stationed at all access points. “Fuck.” He grumbled before lowering the piece of equipment as he turned to you and Hoodie. “This is gonna be a close call, they’re stationed at all points of access. Do you guys have your weapons?”

Hoodie gave Tim a firm nod as he pulled out his pistol from his hoodie pocket, Masky reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a rifle, cocking it. He was about to ask you when you suddenly grabbed the weapon.

“Whoa! This thing is so fire!” You’d say as you inspected it with awe. “Tim, bro! This gun so fire! This definitely screams ‘I have BDE but I’m not trying to make it a big deal’, you know what I mean?”

…

….

“What the actual fuck are you talking about?!” He’d ask in confusion and irritation, quickly yanking his rifle back from you, “And give me that!”

You let out a small yelp when it was harshly yanked from your hands. “Calm down, Timmy, on the DL you’re still on my DTF list frfr. No cap”

Masky silently sat the rifle down, gloved hands pinching the bridge nose of the porcelain mask.

Overall: disappointment, confusion and irritation.

[catdoingblep]

And some more headcanons for this crossover (some mentions of the temporary death and canonical/side permanent deaths):

Eleonor was from Ravka, and she was a tidemaker (and Hob fell for her with the speed of tv Jesper). Robyn was a squaller, but their story still ends the same.

Nikolai Lantsov is a very-very distant descendant of Hob. Not like anyone alive knows it except Destiny.  (Robyn was the only kid Hob was aware of, but he didn’t care for real before Robyn that much, and he had his slut period right after he understood that he became immortal) 

Wylan is Hob's favourite Crow because he reminds him of Robyn. Both in Wylan Wan Sunshine and how-about-I-push-you-in-the-canal moods.

Hob and Jesper are vibing together. And they both have ADHD in my mind.

Randall Burgess was in the Fold because his best friend needed to go throught it, and Randall wasn't ok with his friend taking this kind of risk without Randall on side. They both and everyone who was with them didn't make it.

Inej had a knife that was called Sankta Robert. She broke this during the basement rescue (she may or may not broke it trying to crack a fishball). Hob brought her a new one instead, durast made.

New knife is by Mad Hettie. She do not do all the durast stuff anymore by her own reasons (and these reasons somehow connected to Destiny), but she was owe Hob a favoir. They also have a very strange friendship because you cannot don't interract when you are two immortals in one Ketterdam.

Kaz was really interested by the devil in the basement not because it was connected with Jan Van Eck but because anyone was thinking that it is impossible to steal thing from basement. He had a lot of other plans with Jan Van Eck, but he likes the challenge.

Hob once was in the Hellgate as a prisoner for few days during his worst times after Eleonor and Robyn. He will not recomend anyone Hellgate (0/10 for service), and he killed himself really bruttaly to be thrown out as a corpse. He had a very important meeting in few weeks, so not like he had time to enjoy Hellgate accomodation.

Ethel Crips is a tailor, and Roderic wasn't aware of it, so she run away from Ketterdam and tailored her face. Did she tailor also John's face? Nobody knows.

Jordie was asking Death if Kaz would be alright. She said that he will not die anytime soon.

Dream will definitely be once (or maybe more than once) asked by some drunkards is he related to Kaz Brekker. 

Nina still becomes the Corpsewitch in this universe and sometimes she is able to see Death around when Death doing her job.

Ok, I do not make tumblr posts, but I have this crossover stuck in my brain (and I am having a hyperfixation on the Shadow and Bones rn), so…

Shadow and Bones (TV) x Sandman (TV) crossover, Hob canonically was involved in the slave trade.

Hob Gadling, the new owner of New Inn (a small Inn on the edge of Barel) and your local saint (yes, he is known as Sankta Robert, and he hates this) and fellow Ketterdam immortal in his six hundreds, is trying to live his life in the Ketterdam right after his Stranger missed their meeting.

He was away for a few years after planned meeting (you know, all this “die and return as your nephew from Novyi Zem” things) and just returned to the city when Fold was destroyed. He doesn’t want to interact with any of Barel’s gangs, because it is hard to hide your immortality when someone shoots you in the middle of the street (it happened before. Twice, actually).

He still tries to know all the local rumours, so he knows about Crows, and now his Inn is apparently the Dregs’ territory.

Meanwhile, Kaz is planning how to destroy Jan Wan Eck and heard a rumour about the devil in the basement.

So, whatever it is, Jan Wan Eck is very interested in it and spends a huge amount of money every month to cover the costs of Burgess. And the guards of the basement are so well-payed that no one can buy them. Wylan barely knows anything about it, he only knows that once his father said him that Burgess promised his father to guarantee that his next child will not be an embarrassment (in exchange for the favour that is taking away the Dream bc Alex wants to get rid of the ball). 

(Roderic Burgess was not a grisha himself, but Randall Burgess was a grisha and Burgess was already making a lot of plans for how he will monetize his grisha abilities and how he will use Randall in his barely legal plans before he died in the Fold and Roderick was stuck with useless otkazat'sya second son)

Crows think that maybe this is imprisoned healer because older Burgess was too old to be alive.  

(Alex considered himself “forced through circumstances” after his father died bc he was too afraid of both Dream and Wan Eck telling everybody that is in the basement)

So Crows start some shenanigans to break into the basement, and Burgess or Wan Yek heard about it and hires some killers to take them down. One of the killers? Corinthian.

Corinthian caught one of the Crows (Nina who cannot take him down because he was made from the dreamstuff?) in the side street, but Hob is passing by. And he doesn’t want some kid to be killed on his watch. 

Hob attacked Corinthian and killed him (obviously temporally) but got stabbed in the process. In his heart. With a knife. So Nina tried to save him, but once she took out the knife, Hob comes to life.

And this makes Hob involved in all the things that he tried to avoid because he didn’t want to simulate his death too soon (and these children already saw that he is immortal), and Crows offered him to “forget” about his secret. Price? Help to steal whatever it is in the basement. 

After this someone (Inej who will have very mixed feelings about Hob being a saint? like they already met some saints but no one was a slave trader in the past) understood who Hob is.

All this Sankta Robert stuff that Hob hates. He is not only a saint because he just died and was resurrected with too many witnesses, but he also did this during the period when he tried to destroy his own slavery business after his Stranger’s advice. So years after he was known as a patron of the slaves and the ones who were illegally detained.

The eternal reminder of his own mistakes. He is not a saint, ok? Just an immortal man who made a huge mistake and tried to do something right when he understood that a crime he did.

(And in that life, he was going with his real name for some time, so he cannot use Robert Gadling anymore because everyone knows his name as the name of the saint)

Idk what will be next but it all ended up as Hob saved Dream from the fishball and they got together trope, yes. Same story but with some extra Crows flavour.

(And after the rescue of the Dream he is very amused with the fact that mortals call Hob Sankta Robert. Like previously, he never paid attention to the life of Hob between their meetings, only to the Hob’s stories on the meetings, and Hob did not mention this so he didn’t know).

Hob also somehow “adopt” the Crows because they are just a bunch of youngsters for him. Like they’re in their twenties, they are totally kids for Hob. Have they already saved the world? Not changing his opinion, they are kids! Kaz is trying to resist this but unsuccessfully (he is not so unhappy with this as he shows).

[everlinet]

new handmade update featuring some victoriana inspired & some fairytale magic ♥ // shop here // @everlinet

[bouquetofgarnets]

Embody the grace and power of the Sun Goddess with this cross-stitch pattern! Inspired by the beauty of stained-glass windows, this design depicts a regal woman draped in a flowing blue gown, standing tall against a backdrop of radiant sun and serene mountains. Perfect for cross-stitchers looking to create an awe-inspiring piece of art that combines nature, celestial elements, and feminine strength.

[chaconnewon]

drable ——— jungwon (suggestive)

the tension was heavy. i mean, heavy like you almost could feel its weight on your shoulders. there’s no way no one else couldn’t feel it. looking around you, seems to pass unnoticed.

but those feline eyes were glued to you; your actions, responses and the way you covered you shy smile behind your hand.

you stood up for a second, leaving the living room and walking towards the kitchen for some water. you should be at your own home, getting the sleep that you deserved after a devastating and exhausting week. but here you were, surrounded by a bunch of guys who invited you to a small party.

well, wasn’t a party at all. just . . . an intimate meeting? a close circle hang out? you weren’t sure.

when you came back, you noticed that jake took your seat, leaving you no where to sit. he smiled at you with innocence, tapping his finger tips into his lap. ‘fuck this jake sim’ you thought to yourself, not mad at all but subtly annoyed because now you had to take a spot on the floor. not the best idea, not even the comfiest but you had no options left.

you were about to sit your ass down when a cold, slender fingers wrapped around your wrist. side-eyeing to your left, jungwon was holding you. waiting for you to look at him before speaking.

‘sit’ and with his free hand, he palmed his lap twice.

you shook your head. you didn’t think about it, no need to. wouldn’t that make things uncomfortable? he could give you his seat. instead he wanted you to sit in his lap. in front of his six friend. the atmosphere was heavy enough, why would he put some more weight?

‘y/n, i said sit.’ jungwon pulled your arm slightly. a shiver ran through your spine, messing with you breath.

finally you took his offer and took a seat in his lap, feeling more cozy than you thought. no one seemed freaked out and that helped you to enjoy happily the conversation. of course he kept his hands off of your body, being used as a furniture. he didn’t want to touch you without your permission but you wanted to, at least, feel his hand on you waist. holding tight.

and soon, that’s what exactly happened.

‘stop moving’ you hear in your back. his voice calm but somehow intimidating. you didn’t mind since you thought you weren’t moving at all. but jungwon didn’t think so.

‘im not moving.’

‘yes, you are. and it’s kind of uncomfortable.’

you took a few seconds to answer.

‘why?’

he sighed behind you, his soft breath against your neck made you squimmer on top on him. and his hand sank into your waist.

‘because you’re getting me a boner.’

you widened your eyes at his confession, heat climbing to light your cheeks. you faced his friends, one by one. they looked to focused in their own bussines to know what was going on. it would be a lie if you say that his words didn’t turned on something in your stomach.

once again you were moving against him, lifting your ass subtly to top jungwon’s croth and start to rub it. you felt his body tense under yours, his breath losing his habitual rhythm. he tighten his grip on your waist, and you could feel his nails digging on your skin. a sensation of pain mixed up with . . .

‘p-please. . . ah.’

he let out a moan, and you quicked panicked at the idea of being caught but no one seemed to care. they were not paying attention to jungwon’s suspicious behaviour. or why you were squimmering so much.

to tell the truth, you liked the idea of his erection pressing your butt. knowing that the reason behind it was. . . you. just you.

and it didn’t stopped you.

‘please y/n, not h-here.’ jungwon sounded way too adorable. where was the demanding guy who almost obligated you to sit on his lap? you felt his forehead pressing your back, the way he was holding his shaky breath only increased your will to pleasure him.

eventhough the wanrings he sent you, you seemed to had so much fun. so when the living room was half empy, he aproached you and whispered to you ear:

‘wait untill we’re alone and you’re fucked up, pretty.’

[animeshotsh]

Bullet Proof - Various x Overlord!GunDevil

Notes: Reader has a human/demonic form and a full demon form (pic used). And has similar powers as the Gun Devil from Chainsaw Man, im leaving a link here if you want to read them in detail. Carefull with spoilers!!

Warnings: violence - mentions of flesh eating - Does not connect with other chainsaw man!reader pieces - Platonic and romantic - Grammar mistakes -

On November 18, Hell was shaked up when a portal opened up in the red sky. Demons feared it was another execution but the dates was still away.

What came from that portal was...a figure born from nightmares. With a furious roar a new sinner had came, lucing their back and arms with gun parts. They head was a gun and they chest was full of sckelletons.

Soon the figure started shooting, hitting some and missing others. Sinners ran, screamed and even cried.

The bullets flew in all direction, the new sinner moving fast, like they only wanted to end the circle.

Then a figure that never came out from his big castle was out in the sky, Lucifer wont ever confess how he struggle to finally make you faint, or how him found so....cute? Pretty? It felt like a fallen angel like himself had fallen. His heart beated up so fast he almost forgots to take you back to his castle for questions.

After you got a well nap and woke up in a big bed in a castle you were not suprised or scared, you had been in worse places thanks to your work and evil contract.

Speaking of it...you never guessed you would end being the gun devil in hell, your guess was that after consuming so much flesh from the demon and then dying and ending in its original home then you two became one.

Suddendly the door of the room you were staying opened revealing a small figure dress in all white with a hat and a cane. He eyed you then gave a polite smile.

"Hello Sinner, Im Lucifer Morningstar, yes the devil and yes you died, now i must ask you some questions for your safety"

Well, what a fine way to meet the devil.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Lucifer had only read stories of a monster like the Gun Devil. He never once saw it or felt it in hell till a few days ago. Its energy was different. But its way to be was the same, a being without brain that just fired at everything. He did not want to deal with it. However once he saw its human form...he was confused, the old records never mentioned of another form like this one. Much less a form that resembles a human.

He was agitated by it and wondered just what were humans doing with demons to end like that.

After having a small talk with you he discovered quiet the disturning things, no only how demons would accept back not only souls but human flesh, emotions and more, but also how a human would go for power.

Like you, who had consumed lots of the flesh of the original Devil itself to end being a danger to humans who killed you.

Understable, they were scared and you angry. But Lucifer could not really feel much symphaty for you. Still, he knew for hell it was important to keep such a powerfull being alive in order to keep balance.

And so he made you promise him that you would live and not reveal what devil you were.

~☆~☆~☆~☆

For years the secret was down, you were know as only a powerfull sinner who quick became an Overlord, not that you were too interested on it. You just wanted to be able to go back to earth to end humanity or at least end with the lives of these who betray you.

~☆~☆~☆~☆

Carmilla was the first one who became interested in you. Seeing how you during one exterminion took down two angels using some bullets that appear from your fingers. You were even able to injure the wing of one angel that was leaving, almost passing the portal to heaven.

Of course she got curious and wanted to know you and maybe do some bussines with you.

You were reclutant at first, but both became charmed by the other one and soon became partners in crime.

She was the one who introduced you to Zestial. The tall spider Demon did not think much of you till he saw you in action taking down multiple sinner and demons alike. From close to far distance.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Alastor was quick to figure out who you truly were, the change in the air after you appear for the first time was enough to let him know.

He did admit to himself he was jealous you were still so strong, even if know you had a human part you suprassed him by a lot.

He may try to get on your good side and trick you to have a deal. If rumors of you looking for a way to go back to earth were true then he just needed to press that desesperation.

~☆~☆~☆~☆

Oh! Charlie loved you!! Being honest she was warned from her father years back about you, she had read the previous information of you and was so interested!! If she could make the Gun Devil redeem then sinner and heaven would give her a chance, right?

Well all her hope crash down when you politely declined her offer but told her that if she needed help you would do it if she got you a way back to earth.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆

The V's wanted to get their claws on you as fast as they could. You would be such a good weapon! Vox had his second thoughts about being able to hypnotize you....knowing your streght, but negotiations were still open.

Till Valentino made a comment that caused you to shoot him on his shoulder ending the meeting and you leaving with a proud smirk.

~☆~☆~☆~☆

Characters who are romantic interest:

Carmilla: she finds your personality to be one to fall for. Your ferocity is cruel but your soft side is likeable to her. She loves how you treat her daugthers.

Zestial: Its a crush but is there! Not lots of sinner gets his attention but he so interested in you.

Lucifer: May not trust you but years seeing you from afar (totally not stalking) made him have a crush. He also likes how you never really revealed yourself to others but it was the others who figured it out. Maybe one day he will invite you over for tea and to try and talk you out of your plans on killing so many humans. Maybe wait till they are in hell to make your revenge.

[emisprocrastinatingbywriting]

Alone and Forsaken

Chapter Summary:

You wake in a place that you've never been with a handsome stranger asleep in the corner of the room. After an interesting first encounter, you become more acquainted with your host.

Warnings: Angst/comfort, talks of past abuse, religious trauma, Joel is hard on himself as per always, brief mention of smut, A/B/O Dynamics

A/N: Hey guys! Here is chapter 2, as always let me know what you think :) - Side note, if you do ever get the chance to eat babka then please do. That shit is bussin

Chapter 2/20

Chapter 2: First Encounters

- Joel -

When Sarah was a baby Joel remembers standing over her crib for hours each night. She was so small, so delicate, and she only had him. Sarah’s mom split only a couple of months after her birth, Joel didn’t blame her. They were young and dumb, quick fucks sprinkled here and there when the need became too much. Hands pawing desperately at clothes in the dark corner of whatever dingy bar Tommy had dragged him to, late night hookups in the cab of his truck, quickies in the host’s bedroom at some party, frenzied days spent together locked away from the world as need coursed through their veins. Even during his rut, with his mind centered around nothing but pure instinct, he could never bring himself to bite down on that spot on her neck that beckoned him. 

Joel never introduced her to his friends or family, and she didn’t introduce him to hers either, that’s not what their relationship was for. So when she went radio silent for a couple months after a sloppy makeout sesh in the garage at Tommy’s SuperBowl party, he didn’t really think anything of it. Imagine Joel’s surprise when his booty call showed up at his door five months later with a rounded belly and bags under her eyes. 

He dropped everything. The guilt he felt for not being there for his pup, even in the womb, shredded him to pieces. He did everything he could for the mother of his child, taking out a mortgage to buy a nice house for them to live in as a family, waiting on her hand and foot, even using up all of his sick days so he could be home for if she needed so much as a blanket from the other room. Protect, provide, protect, provide, protect, provide - these words crashed against the inside of his skull, pulling him into a sea of instinct. An instinct that blinded him from seeing what was truly in front of him, until it was too late. 

Sarah’s mom had tried, Joel would give her that. She used all the strength she could to connect to the baby that had her hair, her nose, her chin. But this wasn’t the life she wanted and Joel most certainly was not the alpha she had pictured herself with. Slowly, Joel watched her draw into herself, dark circles framing her eyes and a frown morphing her face into something unrecognizable. He felt her slowly begin to detach from them, distancing herself until Joel couldn’t remember the last time she had even been in the same room as Sarah. 

The night she left, Joel had woken to the sound of Sarah fussing in her crib. Barely cognitive, he had gotten up and sleepily shuffled down the hall to Sarah’s room, only to come face to face with her mother. Coat and shoes on, with her purse over her shoulder as she turned to look at Joel. With her eyes red rimmed and nose running slightly, she had tried to say something but faltered before looking back down at Sarah again. He knew then, and it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would have. 

“Honey, it’s alright. I’ve got this, I’ve got her,” Joel had said to her softly, feeling the tension in the air break as the words washed over both of them. 

And she had left, never to return, which Joel was okay with. He had his sweet girl who he let paint his fingernails despite the ribbing he would get from Tommy over it, the girl that he would read stories to every night - always changing the ending so that she never got bored, the girl who as a preteen somehow dragged him to a Christina Aguilera concert - which led to another round of teasing from his baby brother. He would gladly do it all. Sarah’s mother wasn’t his mate. He had no claim over her and, as much as their beautiful baby was the air that he breathed, the role of mother had sucked the life out of the woman. Joel didn’t wish that on anyone, so he let her go. 

Still, being a single parent was no easy task and Joel oftentimes found himself sitting in the rocker in Sarah’s room as she slept, terrified that something would happen to her. Even when she got older and became more independent, some nights he would lie awake in his room for hours before creeping down the hallway, standing in her doorway and watching her breathe as she slept. Joel would let the aroma of strawberries and vanilla wash over him, bathing him in waves of tranquility. His pup was safe and sleeping peacefully, he had provided, he was good. After pulling the blankets up over her shoulder or carefully brushing her curls from her face, needing to fuss over her even in her sleep, Joel would groggily drift down the hallway and fall into a deep sleep every time. 

With Ellie it was different, dodging danger for months on end, but the result was the same. After Tess died he found himself sleeping less, staying up while she curled up in her sleeping bag, senses peeled for the first sign of danger. With Ellie, the smell of cinnamon and ginger was like a jolt to his nervous system. 

He would pace around as she slept, letting his instincts go into overdrive and mumbling to himself like a madman, “Can’t fuck this up again, she can’t d… FUCK, no shut up. Must protect, must keep my pup safe, can’t let it happen again, I’m going to fuck this up again, I’m going to…” 

Joel had never kicked himself harder for the time he had fallen asleep after laughing at one of Ellie’s corny jokes. Sure, Henry and Sam ended up being friendly, but that was no excuse. It had been the first dreamless sleep he had in years. He had never told Ellie that, he’s not sure he ever would have but he wishes he could now. He wishes for a lot of things. 

After Salt Lake City, he felt untethered from reality. Joel floated in limbo with nothing but his memories to guide him for four years, memories that he hated to admit; were fading every damn day. Everyday he felt like he was trying to do his best impression of what he thought a normal man would be like. Realistically Joel was just waiting out the clock until his last breath, hoping everyday that it would hurry the hell up. He assumed that he would never cross anyone else’s path again, except for maybe Tommy. He had even hoped for it, but now here you were. 

Sleeping peacefully in his bed, hands clasped under your chin as small puffs of air nudge the hair that is stuck to your face. Your scent, smoother now and oh so sweet, soaking into the sheets - HIS sheets. Joel longs to step forward, to softly push your hair back and take a wet cloth to the grime on your face but he refrains. Joel is a stranger to you and, despite his volatile past and general crankiness, he doesn’t want to scare a lost omega. He might be an asshole, but he has never been THAT type of asshole. Plus, he knows this reaction is just a biological response. Your despair has activated a part of his brain that he had thought died with Ell - no. He wouldn’t think about that right now, not when you needed him. 

After carrying you from the river he had stood in the entryway for a solid ten minutes, unsure of how to proceed. Joel felt uneasy with leaving you in the living room, wary of the springs in the old couch that always dug into his ass. He couldn’t even think about letting you sleep on the ground. Hell, he would let you use him as a mattress before he did that. Joel thought briefly about putting you in the bunk bed but he quickly shook those thoughts away. He hadn’t opened that door since his first day here and he did not plan on breaking that streak today. The only option was for Joel to put you in his bed but he hesitated, dreading it. He didn’t want you to think he wanted something from you, that he would ever take advantage of your vulnerability. He was also slightly irked at the thought of you invading his space, undoubtedly saturating the space with your scent. 

While Joel stood in silent contemplation you were none the wiser, cuddling into his chest and rubbing your nose on his shirt. Unbeknownst to him, you dreamt of lounging in the sun. Tendrils of his musk wrapped around your brain and pulled you deeper into relaxation. Joel was still standing there, wondering if he should just wake you up, when he heard it. Looking down, he watched as you practically smothered yourself with his shirt, pushing your nose into his chest and purring in your sleep. Hearing you flipped a switch in Joel’s brain, the answer becoming as clear as day to him. With a recharged sense of purpose, Joel carries you to his bed and settles you on his comforter. Easing the tattered boots off your feet, he practically swaddles you in his blankets. Besides a small noise of protest as he puts your body down, you remain unconscious while he fusses over you. He leaves the room only for a moment, tearing through the living room for more quilts to throw on top of your already buried frame. 

Satisfied for the moment, Joel sits on the armchair by the window in his room. Watching the rise and fall of your chest, his mind is completely blank. He knows that he is going to freak out about this at some point. He can feel the suppressed panic attack stirring behind his ribs but, almost as if you can sense it in your sleep, your sweet aroma ripples out to him and pulls him deeper into the fog. With lavender and peppermint coating the back of his throat, he lets the in and out of your breathing lure him into an almost hypnotic state. 

For a moment Joel remembers when he and Tommy were pups and their parents took them to Crystal Beach in Austin. He remembers the sound of the waves and laughing with Tommy as they chased each other along the sand, their mother calling to them to be gentle and cringing as they tackled each other to the ground. Joel remembers his father’s laugh as he wrapped his arms around his wife, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh and swat him away. He also remembers the distraction leaving an opening for Tommy to launch himself into Joel’s side, knocking him into the water. He remembers smiling so hard that day that his face hurt the next morning. Joel huffs out a soft chuckle, realizing that he hasn’t thought about that day for the last twenty years. Feeling almost delirious, he closes his eyes. Listening to the waves in his head from that day, with your presence easing the tension in his aching muscles, Joel drifts off. 

-You- 

When you were seventeen years old, Miriam had taken you and Jake to the lake near camp to teach you to swim. She had grumbled for years about how ridiculous it was that nobody had ever taught you. Miriam had waited, carefully choosing a time where she knew Josiah would be off on a hunt and your mother would be sullenly kneeling in the chapel, saying prayers that you were beginning to understand meant nothing to her. 

With you presenting as an omega a couple years earlier, the noose had tightened around your neck considerably. Although you never really had friends before, Miriam and Rachel barely making the list of people you were allowed to interact with despite the fact that they were both pushing seventy, now you were basically banished to the house. Jake had presented a year before you, another omega, but this didn’t change your parent’s worries. Sure, he couldn’t impregnate you but he could certainly corrupt you in other ways. In a way he did, passing you notes in chapel with drawings of Josiah in compromising positions, smuggling you unapproved books that his aunt had stashed under her bed away from prying eyes, confiding in you whenever he could get you away from your mother about his secret kisses with a red haired omega boy that he thought was handsome, collapsing into your arms sobbing when that boy was forced to bond with the alpha Josiah had chosen for him. In a way they were right to worry about Jake, as he fueled the silent resentment that clawed its way further up your throat with each passing day. 

With both of your parents indisposed, Miriam had snuck the two of you out the back gate. You remember Rachel, being on patrol, giving her mate an incredulous look as she approached. 

“Are you fucking serious right now Mimi?,” the alpha had hissed as Miriam approached her. 

Unfazed, Miriam had sauntered over to her mate and playfully shaken her, “Come on Rach, they’re just pups. Let them have some fun, just this once? Pleeeeeease?” 

Scoffing and shaking her head, Rachel had let the three of you through with a strict demand to come back at the first sign of trouble. Although you could tell she was wary of allowing three omegas out completely alone, she knew Miriam could handle herself. 

The day was hot, with the sun beating down on your face and causing sweat to drip down your back. Even so, it was the perfect day. The water was cool and Miriam had been patient as she showed you the basics, managing to get a solid doggy paddle out of you before it was time to go back. Jake had spent the day swimming circles around the both of you but you didn’t mind, your dreams of being able to keep your head above water were fulfilled and that was enough for today. 

It was only on your way back that you noticed the redness of your skin, the heat radiating from the burn that covered most of your body. Although you had made it back to camp without alerting anyone, your mother immediately noticed the sunburn that stained your features. After giving you a good walloping on your already stinging backside, she had sent you off to bed without any supper. The next morning you had woken up feeling like death itself, with your body aching from the beating, your head pounding and stomach growling, and your sunburn making you feel downright feverish. 

“Worth it,” you had said to yourself before hauling yourself out of bed to tend to your chores. 

Waking in the bed of the stranger who had lifted you from the riverbank, you felt pretty much the same as you did that morning. Your body was raw, a dull throb present in all of your muscles and head, as well as your stomach panging with hunger. Above all you felt hot, too hot. Rousing yourself further, you felt the sweat pouring down your face and the weight of what felt to be approximately ten blankets swallowing you. Kicking the offending heap off of your frame, you cautiously looked around the room. 

The walls were bare, save for a drawing of a pink butterfly that someone had pinned to the wall. There was a worn joke book on the bedside table next to you, along with a pair of chunky reading glasses. Eyes adjusting to soft light shining through the window, you finally see him. You freeze for a moment, heart rising to your throat as you examine him. 

He looks… handsome, you think. You have never thought that about someone before, but as you observe how the orange glow of the dying day makes his skin appear almost golden, you decide that he certainly fits the criteria. He has a scar on the side of his face, a strong nose, a mustache that tickles his upper lip and whiskers smattered over his cheeks. His hair is slightly disheveled, graying curls tousled on his head as he slumps in the chair, his deep breaths fanning out over his crossed arms. Arms that threaten to burst out of the confines of the flannel he wears, muscles bulging under the fabric in a way that makes your throat dry and your heart beat a little harder. 

You can smell him, his woodsy scent inviting you to relax but you fight against the pull of your instincts. You know that he is an alpha based on his size alone, you know that you are in the middle of nowhere, and you know the position you are in. Steeling yourself, you gently creep out of the bed and tiptoe to the bedroom door. Looking back once more at the gorgeous man, you ease the door open and slip out as quietly as possible. 

Moving forward into the space, you find a well lived home. Shelves adorned with books and carvings someone had made, a couch that looks like it has seen better days supplemented with ratty throw pillows, even a guitar sits in the corner. You pause for a moment, unsure of what to do. Quite frankly, you had assumed that he was a part of a larger group of alphas and that you would have to make a mad dash for the front door to escape your fate. You had been warned about groups like those, but you breathe a sigh of relief as you only smell the sandalwood and bergamot that pours off of the stranger in the other room. Looking to the front door for a moment, you begin to weigh your options as a growl comes from your stomach and leaves you groaning. You need food and you need it now. Gliding as quietly as you can into the kitchen, you poke through a few cabinets before finding a hidden treasure. 

“Bingo,” you whisper as your shaking hands pull the box of chocolates from behind bottles of pickled vegetables on the bottom shelf. 

As you tear into the ancient box, drool threatening to slide out of your mouth with the prospect of sweets, you wonder if chocolate goes bad. Fuck it, you think, I’m gonna find out today aren’t I? Cramming the first piece of chocolate into your mouth, your eyes roll back into your head at the taste. It’s a little chalky with how old it is, but the taste is still the same and it makes you feel like you might cry for a second before you dig in again. You manage to finish most of the box before a voice makes you freeze in place and straightens your spine. 

“Whatcha got there sweetheart?,” the voice drawls, a distinct southern twang making your palms sweat for some reason. 

You turn cautiously, eyes rounding as you take in the man that had previously been sleeping in the chair, now suddenly right behind you. Asleep, he had seemed a lot more harmless. Awake, he was a wall of muscle that towered over you. His face was no longer softened with sleep, instead now he looked surly and mean. He looked like he could snap you in two without even breaking a sweat, and suddenly you felt nauseous. 

As if he can sense the change in your demeanor he steps further back, his hands raised slightly and palms faced outward, “Hey, hey, woah there sweet pea. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. Relax, you’re okay, you’re safe. My name is Joel, what’s yours?” 

Your knees wobble slightly as you look at him. “Joel,” you whisper quietly to yourself, almost like a prayer. 

“That’s right darling, Joel,” he affirms cautiously, hanging back as he tries to gauge your response and failing. Joel tries to meet your eyes but you keep looking away. 

You tell him your name while looking at the wall behind him, saying it so quietly that he almost misses it. You try and fail to stop yourself from crying but tears begin to wet your cheeks as you stand in front of the alpha. You feel like you’re waiting for a judge to hand you a death sentence. Joel moves towards you carefully, hands still up, as if he is one of those bad guys in the cop shows your dad used to watch. As if you are the detective and he’s the criminal about to turn himself in. It would have made you laugh if you weren’t so damn terrified. You expect him to grab you, to drag you down the hall as you kick and scream for him to stop. What you don’t expect is for him to stop in front of you and take off his flannel, holding it out for you to grab. You raise your eyebrows, finally meeting his eyes as you size him up. They are nice eyes, more expressive than you think he would like them to be. While his face seems to be stuck on a grimace, his eyes are brown and remind you of a puppy dog. 

“It’s uh, well you don’t have to take it but I’ve heard it helps for omegas when they - I mean, shit honey, I don’t really know what I’m even talking about but uh... Just take the damn thing, would ya?,” Joel says, getting more impatient the longer he stands there holding the fabric out to you. 

You step forward and snatch the flannel from his hands, scurrying back even further than before and knocking your backside against the drawers behind you. You look down at the worn green flannel, still warm from his body. Or maybe that was just the warmth you felt holding it, feeling calmness invade your senses with this gift. You lean forward, diving face first into the fabric and drawing long breaths in through your nostrils before putting it on to let the feeling surround you. It feels almost like he is surrounding you, like his big arms are holding you close to his chest, like he’s leaning down and brushing his lips against - STOP. Nope, not gonna do this, definitely not gonna do this now, definitely not going to have these kinds of thoughts around a literal STRANGER, you chastise yourself as you try to pull yourself out of lala land. Looking back up at Joel, he looks a little red in the face as he watches you. Was he… flustered? No, definitely not. He’s probably just uncomfortable with the strange woman nearly foaming at the mouth while snuffling at his sweaty shirt. He crosses his arms over his chest, burly arms now on full display with only a white t-shirt covering him. He cocks his hip, watching you watch him. You realize Joel is waiting for you to say something. 

You don’t know why you say it. Maybe because you’re nervous and desperate to cut the tension in the room, but the first thing you manage to say to him clearly is, “I really like chocolate.” 

A beat passes. Joel looks at the chocolate smudged on your face, then down at the nearly empty box, then back up at your face. 

“I can see that,” he deadpans. 

You fidget as you meet his eyeline, trying to discern whether he is angry with you or not. Instead of rage, all you see is curiosity, maybe even a hint of playfulness hidden somewhere in there as well. 

“I’m sorry, I was so hungry and I know I shouldn’t steal. Father Josiah would have my head if he knew I had raided your cupboards sir but I haven’t eaten in so long and I -,” you babble until he cuts you off. 

“I ain’t mad, keep the rest for all I care. Just don’t be eating all my peanuts, I traded good meat for those,” he says, brushing past you to root through the fridge. 

You stand there frozen as you watch him begin to pull stuff out to cook, unsure of what to do with yourself. Do you just leave now? Does he want you to stay? Can you stay? Why is he not saying anything? What does he want from you? Feeling your discomfort, Joel turns back around. He looks at you with a gaze that feels almost reverent, a gaze that has you shifting all of your focus on him immediately. 

Joel’s eyes brush over your features as he says, “I’m gonna say this one more time Omega, and I need you to listen this time. You. Are. Safe. We can talk after you’ve had a shower and something more than sugar in your belly, okay?.” 

His voice is lower as he speaks, almost a growl, which sends tingles from your core that radiate out to your fingertips. Without even thinking about it, your shoulders relax and you’re nodding at him as he hums in approval. 

“Good girl, now go get washed up. There’s soap and towels under the sink in my bathroom. I’ll leave some clothes out for ya on the bed. When you come out we’ll eat and figure this out darling. Don’t worry about nothing. Go on now, get,” Joel commands, turning back to cooking. 

Good girl. Those two words hook into the depths of your chest and steer you back down the hall to fulfill the task he had set out for you. Stumbling out of the kitchen, you pause in the hall as you catch a glimpse of another door. Hesitantly, you reach out and grasp the handle before his words yank you back towards the ensuite bathroom. 

Grabbing the soap underneath the counter and turning the shower handle, you’re pleasantly surprised to find warm water gracing your filthy hands. The camp you had lived in before didn’t even have warm water. Hell, even the QZ showers were freezing, but that was mainly because the warm water only ever graced the homes of those low enough to work for FEDRA. You don’t even remember the last time you felt warm water like this, but you think maybe it was before the outbreak. A distant memory rises from the depths of your mind of you splashing your father as he tries to get you out of the bath before bed, his laugh bouncing off the walls and frizzy hair weighed down with soapy water. 

You use all your strength to push the memory of your dad away and step under the warm spray, sighing as you let the heat soothe your tender muscles. You stand there and try to forget again as other, less kind, memories threaten to come to the surface. 

-  Joel - 

Joel uses all of his energy to focus on the task at hand, cutting the vegetable and slathering the meat with spices, throwing everything into a pan and boiling some rice in the pot beside it. Soon, the air is filled with the aroma of the makeshift stir fry he’s trying to create but it doesn’t make him feel any better. He feels crazy. 

Why the hell did Joel give you his flannel? He doesn’t even know. It’s true that he had heard that the smell of an alpha could soothe a distressed omega, a faint recollection from a health class that he would have attended nearly 40 years ago. Still, he definitely didn’t think it through. That much was obvious as he stood there and watched you not only accept his gift, but cherish it so openly in front of him. Joel had to grit his teeth, jaw popping to keep the groan that was threatening to spill out of his mouth. His cock, long since forgotten between his legs, twitched awake in his pants and he wished the ground would swallow him whole. You had looked up at him so sweetly and Joel almost forgot how to breathe. But then, after adorably establishing the fact that you liked the chocolate you had been scarfing down, you began frantically apologizing. 

Joel had to stop himself from bounding forward and grabbing your small face in his hands, from commanding you to stop apologizing, from imploring you to never apologize to him ever again for something so trivial. You could have all the chocolate you wanted, you could take everything he owned and then some, he didn’t care. Couldn’t you see that? Joel would happily pluck out his own eyes if that’s what you wanted, if it would make you content. He would - wait what? Fuck, he thought, no, no, no, what the hell is happening to me? 

Somehow even more flustered than before, Joel had squared his jaw and commanded you to relax, to go wash up so that you two could talk. Once again, being the idiot he was, Joel had thought that that was a good decision. But as he watched your body relax in response to his words, and more importantly how you reacted when he let those two words slip from his lips, he wanted to find the nearest body of water and walk directly into it. Good girl?! Seriously dude? Come on, get it together. 

You were so… jumpy. So much so that it made Joel’s blood itch as he pondered what had made you that way, WHO had made you that way. Nonetheless, you had been soothed by his scent, his command, his words. Now he was making you dinner, trying to pull recipes from far off memories so that you have the best meal possible with what little options he had. You needed real food, you deserved something delicious, he needed to provide that for you, it would make you happy, it would make you feel safe, he would keep you safe, he would - Joel groans as he stops that line of thinking before he gets too deep, before he thinks about how he could make you happy, before he thinks about how he could make you feel good, before he thinks about what you would taste like if he pulled your panties to the side and slid his mouth against your- 

“FUCK,” Joel shouts as the water boils over and scalds his hand, pulling him from those thoughts. Serves him right, he thinks to himself as takes the pot off the burner and berrates himself for being such a perv. 

Running a hand through his hair and willing the bulge in his jeans to go down, he tries to focus on other things as he strains the rice and leaves the rest to simmer. Moving into the bedroom, he hears the shower running. He can smell your scent mixing with the spiciness of his soap, and he tries to think of anything to keep himself from going insane. The time Tommy accidentally sacked him so hard that he almost threw up during a game of backyard football, the time he watched an eight year old Sarah fall out of a tree head first and thought he might die of a heart attack, the time he got stabbed in front of Ellie, the time he got grilled by Tommy’s terrifying wife after Salt Lake City, anything to keep you off his mind. 

Relaxing slightly, Joel tears through the closet to find the clothes he had shoved behind the hangers four years prior. He didn’t think he’d ever need the women’s clothes he had found in the drawers that day, but now he’s grateful he did. Laying out some choices for you, he hears the water stop. Heart beating quicker now, Joel darts out of the bedroom as fast as he can, wanting to give you privacy but also wanting to save himself from a sight that he knew would bring him to his knees. 

- You - 

Feeling like a brand new person, you dry off before wrapping yourself in a dark towel. Stepping into the bedroom with steam billowing out from behind you, you find a small pile of women’s clothes on the bed. You’re surprised, a pinch of jealousy running through you for a moment before you tamp it down. You have to remind yourself that you have no claim over Joel.

Sifting through the pile, you land on a pair of soft black sweatpants, the side of one leg boasting some women’s volleyball team in thick red letters. After shucking them on, you pick through the shirts for a moment but none of them appeal to you. From the corner of your eye, you spy a hamper filled with unwashed clothes. Creeping up to it, you snatch a soft looking brown t-shirt from the top. Hesitating for a moment, you pull it on over your head. Joel wouldn’t mind, would he? He had been the one to give you that flannel, this isn’t really any different. Right? Shoving your feet into the thick gray socks Joel left for you, you step out into the hall. 

The delicious smell of whatever Joel is cooking makes your stomach growl. You feel like one of those cartoon characters being lifted and carried over to a windowsill by the steam billowing off of a freshly baked pie. Turning into the kitchen, you find Joel putting the food into bowls and mumbling to himself. 

“It smells good,” you say quietly, wanting to alert him of your presence but he seems unphased, like he already knew you were behind him. 

Joel hums, grabbing the bowls and forks before turning towards you. A moment passes between you as he sees you in his shirt. You watch as pink forms on the highs of his cheekbones before splotching down the side of his neck.  Is he mad? You almost offer to take it off. Joel swallows audibly before walking towards you. 

He stops in front of you, managing to hold your eyes for a moment before he says, “Let’s sit down, ain’t good to eat standing up.”

Joel brushes past you, eliciting a gasp from you at the contact. You follow him but remain in the doorway, watching as he places bowls on opposite ends of the table. Joel looks back and cocks his head, gesturing for you to come sit before he turns and falls into his chair with a groan. You scurry over and sit, finally looking down at the mouthwatering food he prepared for you. You pause and look up, watching Joel as he shovels steaming spoonfuls into his mouth. You suddenly feel slightly overwhelmed. You haven’t been given a meal as good as this in ages. And the size of the portion, he gave you so much?! Surely this is a test of some sort, you didn’t deserve this much food, you were an omega. 

Joel looks up, frowning at you before speaking through a mouthful of food, “What? You a vegetarian or something?” 

“Veget- what? What’s that?,” you say back. 

He huffs out a laugh, shaking his head, “Nevermind, do you not like stir fry? I didn’t really know what else to make but if you want, I can make you something else.” 

You sit there confused. Do you not like stir fry? Well first of all, you had never had it so you didn’t even know. Secondly, what did he mean he would make you something else? You could just simply… opt out of eating what he cooked? That was an option? Looking back up at Joel, he looks bewildered as he watches you grapple with your own thoughts. 

“ I-I mean, I think I like it. I don’t know, I’ve never had it,” you mumble, looking down as you begin pushing the food around with your fork. 

“Then eat it?,” he says incredulously, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

You look him in the eyes, trying to see if he’s tricking you before you ask, “Do I get to eat all of it or will I get in trouble if I do?” 

“Troub- what? What the hell are you talking about? I made that for you, you can eat some or all of it. Or fuck, I don’t know, eat none of it if that’s what you want. But ya gotta eat something other than candy or your belly is gonna be achin’ real soon darling,” Joel says, clearly baffled by your words and growing more impatient every second that you don’t eat. 

You look down at the food again, sighing before you dig in. Joel watches as you moan around the first bites with a look in his eye that you can’t quite place, a look that makes you feel comforted even though you don’t fully understand it. Seemingly satisfied, he turns his attention back to his food and the two of you eat in silence. 

The food is good, like really fucking good. Your mother had cooked, this is true, it was expected of her but she was never good at it. She boiled practically everything and what she didn’t boil, she would inevitably burn. Before the outbreak, you remember it was your father who had cooked all the family meals. You remember him playfully banishing her from touching anything in the kitchen ever again after she had started a small fire. After the outbreak the QZs only had rations, which didn’t really leave much room for culinary creativity. 

Once Josiah came into your life your mother had taken up the task of homemaker, as that was the role he expected from her, but she never got any better at it despite the punishments she would get. The only time that you ever got to eat anything good was the rare occasions Josiah would bring candies for the pups, but you started getting left out of that the second that you reached puberty. Besides that, you remember that Miriam would sometimes sneak you pieces of sweet bread that she told you was called babka. You remember her bringing it to you after you had told her a little bit more about your dad. Miriam made you promise you wouldn’t tell anyone that she made it for you, especially not your stepfather, but you never understood why. Now you sat, eating the delicious food Joel made for you, and you wished you could repay the favor to her. 

Once you were done Joel collected your plates, shooting you a stern look when you tried to help him before ushering you into the living room. You perched on the far end of the couch while he dropped down on the other end, the springs groaning from the weight of him. 

“Okay,” Joel sighs before beginning, “Clearly, you’re a little bit lost. Well… I would say actually very lost because there ain’t a road in sight for damn near 30 miles, but that’s besides the point. You’re in a rough spot is what I’m trying to say, and I wanna help ya out but I need to know a bit more about you. Now, you can spare me the details, I just need to know who to take ya to.” 

A beat passes before you say, “There’s… there’s no one.” 

“What do you mean there’s no one? Where’s your group?” 

You sigh, looking towards the wood carving of a man riding a horse on the bookshelf for a moment before you continue, “ I had a group… We had a leader, my stepdad, he… anyways, we were safe for a while, a really long time actually, but then a swarm of infected came from nowhere and we couldn’t fight them off. I left with a few people and we moved around for about a year before we stopped for gas in a town somewhere that way.” 

Joel nods as you point vaguely in the direction you think it might be in, “Yeah, I know that little strip. The one with just a few shops and a gas station? Reckon it used to be a stop for truckers back in the day.” 

You nod, hugging your knees to your chest with the tears starting to fall, “We weren’t there for very long but th-those things, they just came out of nowhere and then it was just me and R - … she told me to run so I did. By the time I stopped, I was lost. I didn’t know where to go so I just kept walking. I’d stop for a while but then I’d get scared and keep going. I ran out of food and then water. I thought I was going to d-die but then I heard the river. I was so happy but I p-passed out before I could make it.” 

The real tears come now, violent sobs beginning to wrack your body. You had been so tired for so long, battling the elements and trying to stay alive. Fuck, even before the camp had been destroyed, you had been fighting. You choke on your tears, almost gagging at the desperation that feels like it’s clogging the valves of your heart. Suddenly, you’re lifted up and your eyes shoot open as Joel manhandles you onto his lap. 

“Hush now sweet pea, s’all right. You’re okay, just breathe,” he murmurs, a large hand pushing the back of your head gently so that your face rests in the junction between his neck and shoulder. 

Joel’s other hand comes up to draw circles on your back as you straddle him, feeling the heat of his chest against yours. You sit there frozen, unsure of what to do. What the hell is going on? You’ve never been in a position like this with an alpha before.

“I said, breathe, omega. Do it,” he says into your ear, his words somewhere between a command and a plea. 

And so you do, a whine making its way out of your mouth before you even know it’s coming. Normally you’d be embarrassed, but Joel only makes a sympathetic noise and continues to rub your back with one hand while the other scratches at your scalp. You nose at the gland on his neck, drawing a soft growl from him but he doesn’t move to stop you. The smell coming from his neck is so him, so Joel, and you want to figure out a way to bottle it so that you can keep it forever. Slowly your body sags against him as the panic ebbs away. You worry vaguely about being a dead weight on top of him but he doesn’t seem to notice or care. 

Gently, Joel pulls your head back, keeping his fingers in your hair as he eyes you. You look back at him with heavy lids, not scared of making direct eye contact with him at this moment for some reason. He removes his hand from your scalp, only to push a few strands behind your ear while his other hand continues to rub your back. 

“Pretty girl,” he says quietly as he studies you. 

You don’t think Joel even knows that he said it as he continues to dote on you for a moment. Meeting your gaze once more, he sighs and drops his hand away from your face. The other hand on your back stops rubbing circles, but remains there unmoving. 

“Better?,” Joel questions, to which you nod, “Good. Now listen sweet pea, I ain’t gonna take you someplace you don’t wanna go but you don’t have a lot of options. My brother, Tommy, he’s a bit of an asshole but a good man. His mate, Maria, she’s the toughest beta I ever met. Scares the fuck out of me actually but don’t say nothing if you ever meet her.” 

You giggle, which seems to please him before he continues, “They’ve got a place, Jackson it’s called, a community. It’s real secure, with loads of people and food. I could take you there and I’m sure they’d love to have ya. You’d have everything you need with them.” 

You wait for him to continue, wondering when the other shoe will drop but Joel doesn’t say anything else. He just sits there looking at you. 

“And?,” you prod, wondering what the catch was. 

Joel clears his throat, shifting uncomfortably underneath you before he says, “The thing is darling, winter is about to hit. I’d bring ya there tomorrow if I could but I can’t - I wouldn’t want you out there when it gets real bad, you’d freeze.” 

You nod again, raising an eyebrow at him, urging him to continue. 

So he does, “I can bring you to Jackson darling, I think that’s your best option, but I can’t bring you there until the end of April. That’s when me and Tommy should be meeting up. I know that you probably don’t want to be stuck out here with an old man like me, I’m not saying that ya have to but I don’t know what else I can - OOF.” 

You cut Joel off by launching yourself at him, practically suffocating him as you hug him tightly. He pauses before returning the hug awkwardly, despite the intimate embrace that you two had shared just moments before. 

“Thank you Joel,” you whisper into his ear, eliciting a shiver from him. 

Joel swallows, nodding before moving you off of him, ignoring your whines as he places you beside him on the couch. He is red in the face when he looks at you, biting his lip as he eyes the shirt that covers you - his shirt. 

“Ain’t nothing. Now look, the bed in there can be yours. I’ll stay out here to give ya some space. You can do whatcha like while you’re here. The only thing I ask is don’t go too far, there’s bears in these woods, and don’t go into the room at the end of the hall. Got it?,” he asks. 

Curiosity almost makes you question him but you decide against looking the gift horse in the mouth for now. Putting your questions aside for another day, you nod. 

“Good girl,” he says, pausing for a second while heat rises to his cheeks once more. 

Joel looks out the now blackened window, clearing his throat before looking back at you, “It’s getting late darling and you’ve had a long day. Might wanna head to bed, I’ll be out here if you need anything.” 

As much as you want to stay up to soak in Joel’s presence just a little bit longer, you know that he’s right. Exhaustion pulls at your eyelids and injects lead into your limbs. Yawning, you nod and bid him goodnight. Trudging into the bedroom, you flop down on the bed, welcomed by the Joel scented sheets underneath you. Breathing in deeply, you drift off before you have time to even pull the covers up around you. 

[bearieio]

hi spencer lets talk about keegan! 🥰

ummmmm !!! i don’t really think i have much to say about keegan !!!!!!! hmm……. (＾＾＃)

except for the unfortunate fact that i think of him as being a total heartbreaker :(

I DONT KNOW WHY DONT ASK!-

another thing is when the two of you first started going out, and he tried to act like the nonchalant, quiet, and mysterious guy, but failed on like the third date because you mentioned your love for video games. 

now that the two of you are moved in together, he WILL torture you with that voice and those eyes of his.

he’ll sneak up on you and startle you with his deep-toned and booming voice, making sure to get his lips as close to your ear as he physically can. 

he’ll also just stare at you until you notice that he’s staring at you. genuinely scaring you, and giving no context as to why he was staring at you. AND LIKE IT’S INTENTIONAL SO-

toxic loser gamer bf. idk. probably plays overwatch and league/valorant and gets mad and screams into that poor mic of his..

“where’s our GODDAMN lucio?!- w-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING REIN-“

definitely makes random dad noises…

speaking of dad noises, he has one of those la-z-y boy recliners that has a built in cup holder, back massager, and led lights or some shit

i think he gives off a sort of “older brothers best friend” typa vibe… which ALSO means that he’s definitely a bully and teases the absolute hell out of you.

one day he’ll go to town on some show you seem to enjoy. “isn’t this show for kids?”, “ babe why the fuck does the main character look like that?”, “you’ve seriously watched 3 seasons of this bullshit?-“

and then like the very next day he’ll be like “baby, why aren’t you watching that show you like so much?

MOTHERFUCKER YOU-

also correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t keegan’s love language acts of service? whether it’s big or small, he’ll always want to do something for you!

tying your shoes

opening doors/pulling out chairs

helping you out with the laundry

putting gas in your car

making you a cup of coffee/tea/anything in the morning

helping you out with dinner

taking the time to ask you how you are, if there’s anything you wanna talk about. 

how he loves watching your eyes light up and widen and how your lips will contort into that “stupid little smile of yours” (his words, not mine!), and how you get all excited and your muscles don’t look so tense anymore.

he’s mean but he cares :(

keegan is that person we all know whose literally an endless pit. eating anything and everything in sight (he’s just like me fr).

he will eat tomates whole

and more than likely brags about his “human vacuum” ability to everyone he meets. 

is most likely the person who asks if you’re gonna finish something on your plate you haven’t even touched yet.

speaking of eating everything in sight, when he’s the one making dinner, he’ll serve you 2-3x the amount you usually eat. but he just wants to make sure that you’re okay and eating! (eat your food, people!)

keegan’s just a really crazy silly wacky guy!

he sends you and the guys memes that only he understands.

and he MAKES the memes that only he understands.

the one time you guys can even look his memes without trying to decipher the four color theorem first, they usually look something like this: 

circling back to when i mentioned that he bullies and teases you every chance he gets- he teases you ALL the time, in private AND in public!!!

“babe- it was literally just like that time when you shot milk outta your nose and then you tripped and fell over-” he shouts, in front of the rest of the ghosts

“guys this one time my girl and i were walking somewhere downtown- and- and we saw a lizard scurrying along the ground- and she LITERALLY almost crapped herself-“ 

this guy will almost always automatically bust into a full song & dance routine whenever he hears taylor swift on the radio. 

does he necessarily like taylor? fuucckk no! but IS going to be bussin it down to ‘love song?" fuccckkkk yea!

‘party in the USA?’ you’re curled up on the bed, reading a book, when you’re suddenly transported into a stadium with 50,000 people screaming and the voice of miley cyrus is engulfing your ear canals. minus the fact that you’re not in a stadium, and 50,000 aren’t screaming and jumping around you. it’s keegan and his portable speaker blaring the obnoxiously loud music, while doing backflips n shit on your guys’ shared bed, messing up the sheets and prompting the dogs to come running in right after him.

he’s insane. i love him.