#so glad I’m able to just blast this in my car going to work tomorrow

[piningforthefjords]

Believe (Extended Remix) | shiro kuma

[krreader]

BTS scenario → your child that you raised together, despite not being together, playing matchmaker.

pairing: bts x reader fandom: bts warnings: / genre: fluff word count: 2.3k+

a/n: ooooh, I loved this so much, I really hope you enjoy reading this my loves ♥

kim seokjin

Despite her young age, your daughter had always known that there was something going on between you and her father.

It wasn't easy trying to explain surrogacy to a child, so you never did, but maybe you should have, because it was getting increasingly more difficult to make her understand that you and Jin weren't a couple.

“Such a beautiful family,” an old lady commented while you and Jin were walking with your daughter through a park.

Jin and you had been friends and neither of you had met a partner that you wanted to spend your life with, but due to you not getting any younger, you both thought that surrogacy might be a good option for you. And it really was, you two raised your daughter together happily, despite not being together romantically.

“Mommy and daddy look good together, right?” your daughter said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, they do, little one,” she knelt down in front of her, “You must be very happy to have such parents that love you and each other so much.”

Jin wanted to say something, but you simply grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. You'd rather have that woman believe that, than make her understand why you went for surrogacy.

“They pretend like they don't sometimes, but then I see how daddy looks at mommy and how mommy strokes his hair when daddy falls asleep on the couch,” she giggled.

And boy, did you two blush from ear to ear while your daughter and the old lady had a blast exposing you two like that.

min yoongi

“Help me out, I think my mom and dad still love each other, despite them being divorced.. what should I do?”

That is the tweet that had started all of this.

Your daughter hadn't thought she'd get so much notes on it, but oh boy, was she wrong. Thousands of people retweeted it and sent her messages with tips on how to, first of all, confirm whether or not you and Yoongi were still in love with each other and then, on how to help you two get back together.

And some of them really came through.

“Thanks for dropping me off, mom,” your daughter smiled at you.

“That's what I'm here for, right?”

“And you're sure it doesn't bother you that dad's home?” the small shift you did in your seat was enough for her to start grinning, quickly turning her head to the side so you wouldn’t see. But she saw how you smiled.

“That's fine.”

Your daughter could barely remember the two of you being together, since you had gotten a divorce when she was still a toddler, but somewhere along the line, you two must have realized that maybe it had been a mistake. Because when she watched you get out of the car first and Yoongi standing there all nervous, scratching the back of his head, it was like the two of you were the teenagers, and not her.

And so once she confirmed it and was sure that she wouldn't do anything that would hurt either of you, she came up with a plan.

A plan that worked perfectly.

“It's too late to drive home, you can just stay here,” you said one night after your daughter had 'gotten sick' and Yoongi drove her back to your house.

“No, don't be ridiculous.”

“Stop and sit down, I’ll make something to eat. Besides, I'm sure she'd be glad to see both of us here when she wakes up tomorrow. It'll be good for her.”

Yoongi told himself that he was doing this for his daughter and not for himself. But if that had been true, he would have gone to your spare bedroom and slept there. Alone.

Instead, he joined you in the living room and you and him ended up talking until four in the morning.

And when your daughter woke up the next morning, she found you and him cuddled up on the couch, his arm around your waist and your face buried in his chest, both sleeping in the most peaceful state she had ever seen you two in.

That day, she sent out another tweet: “Mission accomplished. Thank you to everyone who helped.”

jung hoseok

How were you supposed to tell your son that the reason why you and Hoseok weren't together was because you had never actually been in a proper relationship? You and him had been friends and then friends had turned into friends with benefits and that's all it had ever been.

The sex had been amazing and, well, it still was, but you and him had a hard time being with each other romantically. On a more deeper level.

But your son didn't know that and neither of you wanted to tell him that. And so he must have assumed that the two of you still had feelings for each other when he 'locked you in the bathroom so you could finally work things out'. Those were literally his words.

“See? I told you we should just tell him,” Hoseok sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

“Oh, so are you going to have that conversation with him? How his mom and dad are simply better at sleeping with each other than forming an emotional connection?”

At second thought, maybe not.

You sat down next to him and shook your head, “But you're right. We should have handled it differently. He behaved weirdly for the last couple of months. Maybe he thought that.. we were actually developing feelings for each other.”

“Yeah, right,” Hoseok crossed his arms in front of his chest and tried to act stubborn, while you just sat there next to him biting down on your lip.

Two hours. That's all it took for yours and his resolve to finally break down and finally – after fourteen freaking years – to talk about what neither of you had wanted to say. And you had your son to thank for that.

kim namjoon

Namjoon wished he could spend more time with his daughter, but with you living and working overseas and his daughter having decided that she wanted to attend school there, rather than in Seoul, school breaks was all he got if he didn't fly to visit her.

But those days that she was with him were his absolute favorite.

Right now, him and her were sitting in a small but beautiful café while she brought him up to speed on what had happened the last couple of months. Not that she didn't do that over the phone already, but face to face, she was able to properly tell him everything.

However, there was one thing that she hadn't told him yet. Mainly, because she wanted to see his reaction.

“Have you and mom talked lately?”

Namjoon's head shot up, “Why? Why are you asking?”

She grinned a little, “Oh, nothing, it's just, she's acting weird these days.”

“In what way?”

“Spends a lot of time on her phone, smiles a lot more and is in a better mood in general. I tried talking to her about it, but she's stubborn and doesn't let anything slip. I thought I'd ask if you knew anything about that. You two started talking again, right?”

Namjoon began scratching the back of his head, laughing and stumbling over his words.

It was useless. You weren't an idiot. You knew that him and her had started talking again, had overheard more than one conversations between them and knew that there was something going on. And from the way her father acted right now, she assumed that her hunch had been right and that they did start to get closer again.

And so she just leaned back with a smug grin and watched her father suffer.

park jimin

Your relationship with Jimin had always been a little unconventional.

When you were younger, you were fascinated by him. By his looks, his wealth, his charm. And he liked the innocence about you that he couldn't see in this industry anymore. And so you had started a relationship that could only be described as that of a sugar daddy and a sugar baby. And it went well. Better than that. Those were the best years of your life and Jimin enjoyed it just as much. There weren't really any strings, while at the same time, you knew that you were fully his and he yours. Whatever you needed, he got you and if he needed anything, you'd be at his door to give it to him, which often times, just was someone to listen to him.

You getting pregnant had not been the plan. But Jimin had never let you down and he didn't let you down then, he told you that, despite you and him not getting married for this baby, he'd still support you no matter what and so you raised your son together with him.

And the love and affection you still had was so obvious, everyone could tell that you two had a history. But it was your son that thought that maybe, you could have a future too.

“Hey dad, can I ask you something?” his son sat down next to him on the couch and waited for him to nod before he asked: “Mom and you go way back, right?”

“Of course, otherwise you wouldn't be here,” Jimin chuckled.

“No, I mean.. your relationship. It's.. deep. I see the way you two look at each other. Like there is some sort of connection that isn't just about me. I always wondered about that.”

His father became quiet for a moment, then he said, “Your mother has helped me a lot through life. And when she got you, I realized that I owe her everything. She gave me the biggest gift I could have ever asked for.”

“And yet, you're not with each other. Married, I mean.”

“You don't always have to marry each other to show how much you mean to each other, you know?”

“So she does mean a lot to you still.”

Jimin was once again quiet, but then he smiled, “I guess she does.”

Your son shrugged and got up, “I agree with you on the marriage part. But maybe you should tell her how you feel, who knows what might happen.”

Jimin couldn't believe that he actually considered taking dating advice from his son, but here he was, doing just that.

kim taehyung

“Oh, there they are,” Taehyung's mother immediately pulled you and your daughter into a tight hug, “I missed you both so much. Have you eaten? Oh, probably not, you two must be so hungry. Come inside.”

You might think that was a normal thing for the mother of your daughter's father to do right? True. But you and Taehyung had never gotten married.

You and him had been childhood friends and you had gotten pregnant very early from you and him  'experimenting'. It hadn't been ideal, your parents, his parents, everyone had been so disappointed in the both of you and even more so when you had decided not to get married. Why? Simply because you knew that Taehyung couldn't pursue his dream of becoming an idol if he did.

And so you raised her as friends.. as friends who could have been much more if you had only made different decisions.

And now that it's been so long and your daughter was older and your families saw just how well you had done by raising her as friends, it was all good again. His mother treated you like family, despite you not actually being that.

“Grandma,” your daughter pulled her aside and pointed at you and Taehyung hugging. And that wasn't just a friendly hug, that was him burying his nose in the crock of your neck and holding you so close to him that he was afraid you'd let go, “This isn't normal, right? Friends don't do that, right?”

“Your parents aren't just friends, my love. They're..-”

“What? They're what?!” but when she wanted to answer, her grandfather came along and pulled your daughter into the biggest hug you could imagine.

And when she managed to look at you and Taehyung again, she found her father brushing a strand of her behind your ear with a smile.

This wasn't normal. Everyone knew that.

But your daughter was tired of everyone pretending that it was. It was time for you and him to finally figure out what it was that you wanted, because playing around like that wasn't cutting it anymore.

She’d help. She’d help you two finally find your happy endings.

jeon jeongguk

“Uncle Jin? Can I ask you something?” your son sat down next to him, waiting for Jin to nod, before he asked: “Have you ever seen my mom and dad together? Romantically, I mean?”

“Why are you asking me this?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Dad once told me that when he went through one of the hardest times in his life, he confided in you. I'm assuming that by the hardest time, he meant the time where mom got pregnant with me.”

Jin sighed heavily, “You shouldn't be talking to me about this. It's not my place to tell you.”

“I'm not asking because I want to know what happened between them. I'm asking because I want to know if them behaving like they do now is normal. As a kid, I never really noticed, but now that I'm older and actually understand what's going on, I feel like it isn't.”

“Like what?”

“Like.. dad slept over last week. And not in one of the spare bedrooms, but in mom's. That's not normal, right?!”

Jin's eyes wandered over to the two of you laughing together, then back at your son, “They do that a lot these days?”

“Yeah. And it's frustrating me so much, because every time I ask, they say they're just friends. But I don’t do that with my friends.. do you?”

“Nope, I don’t, kid,” and with that, he got up and walked away before he’d expose something that he shouldn’t.

But your son had gotten his answer anyways.

[beauvibaby]

single mom – j.benn

a/n: this was a super random idea that just came to me, well really it was the grocery scene but it just clicked so

Your daughter, fast asleep on your lap, her head resting on your chest, you let the tears fall. You shifted her off of you and into her small bed, tucking her in before rushing out of the room, not wanting to wake her with your cries. You left her door cracked open, just how she had insisted she likes it, your mind racing back to the conversation you’d just had with her.

“I want daddy!” Jade shrieked at you, throwing her stuffed animal–from her father when she was first born–down onto the ground in protest. You looked at the three year old in warning, “Jade, honey, it’s time for bed.” You tried to push past the subject, you knew it was the wrong thing to do, but you had a long, exhausting day at work and you didn’t have the patience to have the conversation with her again that her father wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. He seemingly decided that she was suddenly too much for him, leaving her at your fathers house with a letter for you and then disappearing entirely. You knew, when she was born, it would only be a matter of time until he abandoned her, already blaming you for getting pregnant. “I don’t want you! I want daddy.” She snapped, not only shattering your heart, but also making you grow frustrated. “You don’t say things like that, it’s mean, you hurt my feelings.” You told her as calmly as you could muster, she huffed, but didn’t say anything as you continued pulling out her clothes for school tomorrow. “Mommy, I’m sorry.” She whispered after a moment, clinging to your legs, you nodded down at her, not trusting your voice for a moment.

You trudged to your room, finally being able to remove those constricting work clothes. An office job, which you hated, but it was the only thing that worked with the hours you needed for Jade. You cried yourself to sleep that night.

***

“How much longer mommy?” Jade complained from her spot standing on the side of the cart, “we just need your snacks and then some cereal.” You assured the fussy girl, knowing she hated going grocery shopping with you. “Do you want fruit snacks or–Jade?!” You had only turned for a few seconds, to see what they had on the shelves, but now she was gone. “Jade!” You called, eyes darting around the aisle, you yanked your purse out of the cart, abandoning it in a panic of searching for your daughter. You ran up and down the aisles, trying to figure out where she could have gone. Cereal, the cereal, you turned around and all but ran to the other side of the store, praying and hoping that somehow she had found her way there. Your prayers were answered as you rounded the corner and you saw Jade standing beside a fairly tall man, “Jade!” You gasped, running over to her, yanking her up into your arms quickly. “You can’t do that, you can’t just walk away from me like that!” You rushed, not even noticing the guy standing there holding the exact box of cereal you were going to be buying. “I’m sorry, mommy.” Jade looked at you with wide eyes, never seeing you like this, because she’s never pulled a stunt like this.

“Umm, excuse me?” The man spoke up, making you turn towards him, Jade still being in your arms, “yes?” You answered him, trying to calm your racing heart. “I believe she was looking for this.” He held out the box of cereal, shaking it lightly, Jade smiling at him with her biggest smile. “Mr Jamie got it.” She told you, looking proud of herself for having help in getting the cereal off the top shelf. You let out a soft breathy laugh, “thank you, Uh, Jamie, I guess.” You spoke lightly, “anytime…” he trailed off, not knowing your name. “Y/N.” You called over your shoulder, beginning the trek to where your cart was hopefully still left.

Once you’d gotten back to your cart, you put Jade in it this time, despite her protests, “no, you did the one thing you’re not supposed to do.” You told her, not giving into her pout, she huffed and dramatically crossed her arms, not speaking to you for the remainder of the time in the store. She only spoke when you buckled her into her car seat, before loading the groceries into the trunk. “Can you play frozen?” She asked sleepily, you nodded at her tired face, turning the car on and playing the frozen soundtrack off of your phone, her eyes shutting as she hummed along to let it go, falling asleep nearly instantly. You glanced up at the sound of someone walking past, Jamie, of course, he didn’t notice you as he walked, but that was short lived as he walked up to the truck parked next to your car. You stayed silent, only smiling when you felt him looking over at you, “it’s not really polite to stare you know.” You quipped, shutting your trunk lightly, not wanting to wake Jade. “I wasn’t staring.” He defended, smirking softly, leaning against the side of his truck, his small amount of groceries already packed away. “Mhm, thank you for the cereal by the way, I’m sorry she bothered you.” You responded genuinely, realizing you were too worked up in the store to thank him. “It wasn’t a bother, she’s adorable.” He assured you, smiling as you glanced into the car at her. “She is.” You agreed, finding yourself wishing you had more conversation to have with Jamie.

“Have a nice day, Jamie.” You bid him goodbye, shoving your cart into the designated spot, “you too, Y/N.” He responded, eyes lingering as you got into your car.

***

Jamie watched as Tyler looked at him with a shocked expression, “you met a girl?” Tyler gaped at him, the two of them talking while getting ready for the game, “no, well yes, but no.” Jamie stumbled over his words, not even entirely sure what to say. “It’s a simple question, yes or no?” Tyler smirked, halting his process to give Jamie his full attention. “Ugh, ok I was at the store, and this little girl came up to me, asking if I could get her this cereal, then her mom came running around the corner looking for her.” Jamie explained, “they were both so sweet, and her mom, she was just stunning.” Jamie added, feeling his cheeks turn pink. “Did you get her number?” Tyler asked, as if it was so simple. “No! I don’t know if she’s got a boyfriend or anything, I can’t just assume she’s a single mom.” He rushed, making up excuses, “she was younger than me for sure too.” He added, as if that would be reason enough to not have an interest in you. “Oh come on, who cares if she’s younger, if you see her again, by some miracle, you have to make a move.” Tyler insisted, and they left the conversation at that.

“Dad, are you sure she’s not too young?” You asked for the hundredth time, adjusting your daughters loose jersey, he had become your go to babysitter, and he insisted on taking you and Jade to a hockey game, saying that she would watch them on tv when she was with him. “She’s not too young, she’s going to have a blast!” He laughed at your concern, taking her from you, he had gifted you both with plain, non player jerseys for the team, your father wasn’t loaded by any means, but he had worked hard in his life, and now that your mother had passed and it was just him, he sold the house and got a small condo, using the extra money to buy himself tickets to see his favorite team. “Alright, alright, let’s go.” You gave in, following him into the arena.

The seats were better than you had thought they would be, and you couldn’t deny how it made you a little extra excited. “Go down to the glass, see if you can get her a puck.” Your dad insisted, sending Jade with you, once you reached the boards, you lifted her up to be on your hip, they were doing warm ups, some of the players not bothering with helmets, one in particular caught your eye. He’d skated by so fast, but something about him looked vaguely familiar, you couldn’t place your finger on it, but you pushed it to the back of your mind as you told Jade to wave at them, hoping one of them would be kind enough to send a puck over for her. A few of them went by without even noticing you guys, then the familiar one came to a stop, ice flying up, making Jade giggle, she shocked you by knocking on the glass, causing him to turn around. You went wide eyed, and so did he. You watched as he held up a finger in a hang on motion, Jade laughed, watching him skate quickly across the ice, doing something quickly behind the bench. He rushed back over, making sure to send some ice up again for Jade as she grinned, he pointed to her through the glass and tossed a puck up in the air, you caught it and gave it to her. Then he pointed at you, tossing another puck over, except this one had writing scribbled on it.

“Can I have your number?”

You read it with a blush, looking up to see him shifting his weight back and forth on his skates, you nodded, sending Jade to your dad who was standing in the aisle watching, she rushed over to him, excited to show him the puck. Jamie tossed a silver sharpie over to you, a grin etched onto his face, you motioned to the puck, and he nodded. You wrote the number down, sending the sharpie and then the puck back over for him, giving him a short wave as he skated back to the bench, a few of the guys nudging his shoulders. Your dad was watching skeptically, “I’ve been told that you know, Mr Jamie.” He quoted your daughter, smiling fondly when you turned pink. “We met in the grocery store.” You went on to tell him the story until the game started, all three of you getting sucked in to the sport as it went on.

Once your dad had dropped you and Jade off at your home, you were exhausted, and carrying her up the stairs to your apartment was only more tiring as the elevator was currently out of service. Jade didn’t make a peep as you laid her down in bed, a smile on her sleeping face, you kissed her forehead lightly, “sweet dreams, baby girl.” You whispered.

Your phone vibrated on your nightstand as you got ready for bed, an unknown number on the screen.

“I’m glad Jade liked the puck, you could definitely pay me back by going on a date with me.”

It was a bold move on his part, but you didn’t mind one bit. You read the message three times before coming up with your response,

“Wouldn’t I just owe you more after you pay for me?”

Your smile widened as the three dots came up right away, you couldn’t help but bite your bottom lip in anticipation.

“I have a feeling that time with you will be priceless.”

If you weren’t already daydreaming about him, you definitely would be now.

***

“Are you sure?” You asked your dad for the third time since he got here, Jade happily eating her dinner while you two talked just out of her earshot, “I’m sure, you deserve to go out and have some fun.” He assured you, “she’ll be fine, worse comes to worse, you can say you had dinner with Jamie Benn.” Your dad added, smirking at the end. You lightly whacked his shoulder, “thanks for having faith in my ability to have a good date.” You joked, earning a deep laughter from your dad. “You’ll be fine, honey, now say goodbye to Jade and get going!” He pushed you towards your daughter, smiling as she looked up at you with a messy smile. “Where did you learn to eat?” You teased her, squatting beside her, wiping her face with a napkin, “kiss.” You demanded with a laugh, grinning as she pecked your cheek. “I love you.” You told her, getting a muffled one in response as she continued munching away on her food. “Promise you’ll call me for anything.” You pleaded with your dad as he pushed you out the door, “yes, I promise, have fun.” He shut the door before you could continue, giving you no option but to head out for your date, your nerves growing with every minute closer you got.

“Y/N!” You heard from across the parking lot, your head snapping up as you slid your purse onto your shoulder, “hey, Jamie.” You called as he approached, a smile etched onto his face. “You look great.” He grinned, looking over the dress you’d chosen, a casual dress, nearly maxi length with a light floral print. A Jean jacket over top. “Thank you.” You closed your car door as you spoke, “you look great too.” You complimented him, smiling as he offered his hand as you stepped up the curb. He shot you a toothy smile in response, opening the door to the restaurant, a cliche first date, but the effort he put in was very much appreciated. You couldn’t say in full honesty that you’d ever been taken on such a proper date, Jade’s father had really been your first true relationship, and it wasn’t the best at times. Or ever, really. “Two please.” Jamie spoke to the hostess, you had zoned out slightly, taking in the slightly eclectic look of the restaurant. Jamie pulled your seat out for you, only making you blush more. “Thank you.” You whispered as he took his seat across from you, “of course.” He smiled, picking his menu up, peering over it at you as you both browsed silently. You shifted a little nervously as you looked at some of the prices, Jamie glanced up at you, unsure if he should ask if you were alright. “So, what’s good here?” You asked, breaking the silence, he let out a laugh, setting the menu down. “Can I be honest?” He raised an eyebrow at you, your head falling into a cautious nod, “I’ve never been here before, some of the guys said I should take you here.” He looked a bit pink in his cheeks, you bit your lip to stifle back a laugh, “you know, Jamie, I’m perfectly fine with more of the typical burger and fries type of place.” You giggled, watching his smile falter, before it widened again, “let’s go.” He abruptly stood up, his chair making a noise in the quiet restaurant. He rushed you out the door, laughing the entire time as you looked at him in shock.

“We could’ve eaten here, I wasn’t trying to be–“ “Y/N, just live a little, I’d much rather go get a burger than whatever was on that menu.” He cut you off with a grin, “well,” you paused, fishing your keys out of your purse, “I do know a great little hole in the wall place a few blocks away.” You grinned at him, watching as he matched your look. “Shall we?” “We shall.”

“Thank you, Jamie, I had a great time.” You smiled up at him as you stood between your cars, he reciprocated the gesture, “so did I.” He mumbled, “we should do it again sometime.” He added, watching as you nodded slowly, easing his nerves significantly, “I’d like that, a lot.” You trailed off, meeting his eyes, you could tell that he saw the concern on your face. You hadn’t done this yet, since Jade, and now you weren’t sure how it would work. How long did you date before you introduced him as something other than just Jamie? What if you never made it that far? What– “Can I kiss you?” Jamie interrupted, chuckling when your jaw dropped for a moment, not expecting him to be so abrupt. You barely finished whispering a yes before his lips were on yours, his hands on either side of your face, you melted into them, your hands resting on his sides as you kissed him back. He let out a sigh of content as you pulled away, “yeah, we’re definitely going to have to do this again.” You mumbled, laughing along with him as he was caught off guard by your comment.

***

That was three months ago, somehow the two of you had been making it work in the middle of his busiest time of year, Christmas had just passed, and it was finally time to introduce him to Jade, properly, as your boyfriend, not just as the guy you’d met in the grocery store. “Where are we going?” Jade asked, holding your hand tightly as you walked with her through the tunnels that you quickly learned to maneuver, Jamie having you come to a couple of games so far, and insisting you come down afterwards. “You’ll see.” You assured her with a giggle, she bounced happily beside you, eyes going wide as she saw Jamie leaning against the wall, she’d seen him a couple of times, but totally oblivious to what was happening between the two of you.

“Jamie!” She shrieked, releasing your hand and running over to him, he easily squatted in front of her, smiling as she gave him a little hug. “Hey, Jade.” He murmured, glancing up at you as she began rambling about her day. “I like your shirt.” He told her when she finished, and she looked down to the stars jersey you’d slipped her in to, the same plain one your dad had gotten her, you on the other hand, had on your Benn jersey. Something Jamie had insisted on the second you two decided this was a serious committed relationship. “It’s just like the one you wear!” She told him, as if he didn’t already know. “Wow, that’s crazy.” He gasped, looking at it closely, as if it was new information, she laughed girlishly at him. “Jade?” You questioned, kneeling beside Jamie, suddenly terrified that your three year old would shame your relationship. “Jamie and I are dating, so you know what that means?” You asked her, Jamie glancing between the two of you. Jade tilted her head to the side, “that means you love him.” She answered, as if that was the correct answer, you smiled at your daughter, glancing over to Jamie, you hadn’t said it to him yet, but you were certain that you were in love with him. He stayed silent, but the grin on his face told you everything you needed. “Does that mean we’ll live together? Like you and daddy used too?” Jade gasped, suddenly excited at the idea. This time you were the one who stared and Jamie spoke, easing any nerves you had, “hopefully one day.” He assured her.

Jade was watching a quick video on your phone while you spoke to Jamie before the game, “I think that went well.” He shrugged, not really as concerned as you had been. “It did.” You sighed, hugging him quickly, knowing he had to get going, “Jamie.” You got his attention, cupping his jaw and leaning up to kiss him. “I love you.” You whispered, slowly stepping away from him, “I love you.” He grinned, “gonna play great now that I know that.” He shot you a wink, before going on to score two goals that night, one of them being the game winner.

Taglist: @vinceduhn​ @makarsy​ @kempe​ @literarycharleton​ @josty​ @mrs-ana-wayne​ @kiedhara​

[atmostories]

Johnny Lawrence x Reader

Matter - Chapter Four Tags: Angst, Gender-Neutral, Alcohol/Drug Abuse, Depression Something warm was rubbing the back of your hand. It felt nice, really nice. It was going back and forth across your skin, sometimes in circles, sometimes in lines. It was. . .comforting. . . - “Hey. Hey.” A hand on your shoulder was gently shaking you. You grumbled unhappily at the noise and the movement, not wanting to be woken up.

“Hey, wake up,” Johnny told you. Was it time for work already? It was like you'd only been asleep for ten minutes. You really didn't want to go, couldn't you call in sick just this once?    

“Five more minutes,” you croaked, tightening your grip on the blanket.

“Yeah, you said that fifteen minutes ago. I've already given you half an hour.”

“Can't you tell them I'm sick?”

“What?” You squinted at the bright lights, about to plead Johnny to make up some excuse to your boss, but you suddenly recognised you were in the dojo. It was empty aside from Miguel and Aisha who were grabbing their bags and blankets. Shit, movie night. The mats were sparse, there weren't any blankets, soda cups or pizza boxes anywhere to be seen. Surely they hadn't cleaned up already?

“Where's everyone?” You asked while you sat up and rubbed your eyes.

“Gone home. Movie finished a while ago.” Johnny was crouched next to you, his hand was still on your shoulder. He immediately pulled away when you glanced at his arm. “Come on, I'll take you to your place.”

“Aren't you driving Miguel back?”

“Aisha's giving him a ride.”

“I'll be fine in a minute.” You took to your feet unsteadily and starting folding up the blanket.

“You can't drive like this.”

“I just need to wake up that's all.”

“I said I'll-”

“Sensei! We're gonna head off now, so thanks for the pizza and the movie was awesome,” Miguel interjected. He was standing by the door and was looking at Johnny before he turned to you. “And thanks for the soda too. I'll see you on Monday, Sensei.”

“Have a good weekend,” you waved at him.

“Night, Diaz,” Johnny replied. The dojo was silent after Miguel left. You were awake enough to feel the tension rolling off of Johnny. He was standing right next to you, his jaw was tight, his arms were stiff at his sides. You had to refold the blanket after messing it up the first time. He stared as you held the blanket out to him but he didn't take it.

“Just let me drive you, okay? I'll come pick you up in the morning so you can get your car,” he explained calmly. Before you could voice a rebuttal, he spoke again. “And no, it's not too much trouble.”

He wasn't giving you any room to manoeuvre. You didn't know why he was so insistent on driving you back. In a few minutes, you'd be fine. The apartment was out of the way, and Johnny would have to come get you in the morning.

After the casual conversation on the way to the pizza place, you didn't want to push your luck and end up with things being awkward or turning into an argument. But you supposed it was too late for that now.

“Thanks, it's kind of you to offer but really I'm fine.”

“No, you're not.”

“Johnny-”

“You're exhausted. Do you know how loud those kids got? You didn't move at all, you just. . .passed out.” You were taken back by the look on his face. He seemed. . .worried. You lowered your head, unable to say anything back to him. You didn't remember, you didn't remember anything after you'd closed your eyes to get some rest.

That was during the first part of the movie. Johnny said that you'd already asked him for five more minutes before and you didn't remember that at all.

“I'm sorry,” you murmured, understanding his insistence. “If you wouldn't mind. . .”

“Can you take that out to the car?” He gestured to the blanket still in your arms.

“Sure.” Johnny grabbed the pillow before you could reach down to pick it up. You walked out of the dojo into the cool night air. While he was turning off the lights and locking up, you buried your face into the blanket and took in a deep lungful. The smell of him threatened to bring back memories of the two of you together, but the worst of it was how it made you feel. Calm, safe, content. You had to pull it away from your face.

After he came over, he took the blanket from you and threw it in the trunk along with the pillow. You got into the car with Johnny wanting nothing more than to curl over and sleep. He asked for your address before he turned on the ignition. When you replied he said he knew where it was, he used to live near there for a couple years with his mom.

He'd always found it difficult to talk about her, but he had reached the point where he could occasionally mention her to you in passing.

The streets were much quieter than earlier. You watched the apartment blocks and the stores pass by. It was a struggle to keep your eyes. You couldn't stop yourself from letting out a quiet sigh.

“You're not sleeping, are you?” He glanced over at you for a brief moment. Your gut twinged with anxiety. Not having the courage to look in his direction, you kept watching the road ahead. Trying to give him an excuse wasn't going to work.  

“It's been a little. . .difficult lately.”

“A little? When was the last time you slept? Properly.” You tried to think back to the last time you'd had a good night sleep but you came up blank. “You don't even know, do you?”

“I've been working a lot, that's all,” you replied dismissively.

“I thought I told you to take it easy.”

“It's not like I have a choice, Johnny.”

“Look, if it's about the money I can help.”

“I'm not taking your money.”

“Not all of it's mine. I still have some of Sid's money left over. Think of it as a loan if you want.”  

“Loan or not,” you clarified.

“Why can't you just accept my help?”

“Are you really saying that? To me?” You asked incredulously. You couldn't help the anger that seeped through your words. The reason why you'd broken up with him in the first place was because he wouldn't accept your help and now he's trying to preach the same at you?

“You don't need to make the same mistakes I did,” he responded quietly. His admission took you by surprise. You'd expected him to get angry, to lash out at you, to meet you punch for punch. Instead he'd done the complete opposite. “The offer's there, if you need it.”

You couldn't say anything. The righteous anger left you as quickly as it came. You should have said something, you should have thanked him at the very least but the words were stuck in your throat.

The rest of the drive was silent. No longer did you feel the urge to sleep, you were wide awake, anxious and guilty thoughts spiralling in your mind. He'd offered his help and your first reaction was to become defensive and reject it. When he pulled up outside your apartment block, you didn't know to do, whether to invite him inside or to simply say goodbye.

“Get some sleep,” Johnny said as he turned to face you, his wrist resting on the steering wheel. “Call me tomorrow and I'll come pick you up.”

“Thanks,” you managed to reply. Getting out of the Firebird, you waved at him before walking towards the entrance of the apartment block. He didn't leave until you were inside the door.

Oddly you got a solid eight hours of sleep that night. You called Johnny in the morning and he said he'd be about forty minutes, giving you time to shower and get changed.

The journey back to the dojo was thankfully uneventful. He asked a couple of questions, how you were, whether you slept. After a brief conversation, he turned the speakers up and you were able to enjoy the music with him. You weren't quite ready to start singing just yet, and neither was Johnny, but he was humming away instead. He parked up next your car which was still in one piece. You thanked him for the ride.

“I'm glad you came last night,” he replied in earnest, not looking in your direction. When his eyes finally met yours, your heart started beating a bit faster. “Maybe next time you can make it through the first act.”

You huffed out a soft laugh and nodded in agreement. You got out of his car and went to your own, taking out your keys on the way. There was going to be a next time? What movie was he going to choose next? Things seemed to have settled out between you and Johnny, even after the series of disagreements you had with him last night. It could have ended much worse. You were grateful that it didn't.

Johnny honked as he pulled out of the lot with his music blasting. You couldn't help but shake your head and smile as he drove off.

Maybe things weren't so bad.

- - -

Going to the dojo was no longer the dreaded affair that it used to be. Instead, it became something to look forward to. Johnny was getting along better with you, he didn't seem to be avoiding you like he was before. The tension had fizzled out and was replaced by something. . .friendly.

You were able to sleep a bit more even though you were still working a lot. It was surprising how much of a difference it made. You really seemed to be getting a handle on things. When you were sorting through the paperwork and the student fees, you weren't making so many mistakes. It saved lots of time because you didn't have to triple check everything.

A class was due to start in about fifteen minutes and already a fair number of kids were in the dojo. Miguel had chatted to you for a little bit when you arrived and Hawk had glared at you from afar as per usual. You wondered pointlessly how to repair things. Any attempts to try and talk to him would certainly be rebuffed, most likely with an insult. He'd already purposefully bumped into you, his dislike for you was made perfectly clear.

There didn't seem to be anything you could do. It wasn't like you could explain the intricacies of your relationship with Johnny. Even if you did he'd take his Sensei's side. You resigned yourself to giving him as much space as possible, hoping his disdain might naturally peter out with time.

Johnny came into the office while you were sorting through some consent forms from three new students.

“What's this?” He challenged, holding up a crumpled twenty dollar bill.

“Uhh. . .”

“What? Didn't think I'd notice?” He sounded only vaguely annoyed and he seemed rather amused by your guilty expression. “How about you earn it back and let me borrow you for this class?”

“Borrow meaning. . .you're gonna throw me onto the floor?”

“Only a couple of times. Five at the most. Well, definitely not above double digits,” he replied with a glint in his eyes, you couldn't help but roll your own. “I'm gonna show the kids a few self defence moves. It's better if I can demonstrate them with another adult.”

“Right, of course,” you mumbled sarcastically.

"Come on, it's not going to hurt." You stared at him for a few moments with your eyebrows raised. "It'll hurt a little bit, but you'll be fine. It's nothing you haven't done before."

“Alright,” you agreed, knowing that he wouldn't purposefully cause you injury.

It wasn't until half way through the class that he waved you to come into the dojo. The kids were all sitting around the edge of the mat and were waiting attentively. You were uneasy as you took off your shoes and socks. Focusing your attention on Johnny, you bowed before walking up to him. The nerves started to ease.

“Sometimes when fighting an opponent, you will be faced with two difficult choices,” he explained as he circled around you on the mat. “Okay, pay attention.”

Johnny stood right in front of you with his back turned and his knees bent. He widened his stance before taking a hold of your arm to wrap around his throat. Grabbing onto your other arm, he tucked it against his side and latched his fingers around your wrist.

“Your opponent has your neck, you have their elbow,” he described to the kids, pressing his chin into your elbow. His movement forced you to have a tighter grip around his throat. Automatically you tried to shift forwards to give him some room but he hunkered his chin down even further.

“If you try to break out. . .” He let go of your wrist and tapped your arm which was around his neck. Inferring what he wanted you to do, you secured your free arm around the back of his neck, applying pressure from both sides. “Your opponent is going to dig in and put you to sleep.”

His voice was strained, you could hear that his airway was slightly restricted. Your attempt to twist your elbow away from him failed. What was he doing? Was he trying to make it more realistic for the kids? It didn't feel right, especially after everything that happened with Kreese. It was almost as if he wanted you to hurt him.

“If you go for the opponent's ribs,” he explained, breaking out of your hold and placing his elbow on your side. You lifted up your knee in response. “You completely expose your chest.”

Johnny returned to the original position, with his hand on your wrist and you had an arm around his neck.

“Two difficult choices. What do you do?” He asked the students. They looked on curiously, unable to come up with an answer. But you knew what he was going to do. You tried to brace yourself.

He kicked the back of your leg, taking both of you down onto the mat. You managed not to fall on top of him and you were able to keep your arms up to reduce the impact. He helped you up off the mat and explained to his students to damn the consequences and power forward. After adjusting his gi, he told them to make a choice, to make a move and go all in.

He went through more self defence positions with you, ensuring that the kids could see exactly what he was doing to counterattack. Johnny was detailed in his explanations and as a result his students only asked the occasional question. Though you ended up on the mat a couple more times, it wasn't too bad. Johnny was careful not to make you go down awkwardly.

Thankfully he didn't get you to put him in another chokehold. If you were honest with yourself, it had worried you. You were probably looking into it too much. When he had finished his demonstration, he paired off the kids to do some practice amongst themselves.

You bowed before you left the mat and grabbed your shoes and socks. Sitting back down in the office, you were aching a little bit all over but nothing hurt in particular. After Johnny dismissed the class, Miguel came in to chat.

“Sensei didn't hurt you too bad, did he?” he asked, looking over you as if he was trying to spot any obvious injury.

“Nah, I've had worse.”

“Really?”

“I'm guessing he's already made sure that you can take a punch to the face right?”

“Yeah. . .” he replied, not quite getting your meaning. He raised his eyebrows when he finally realised. “Sensei punched you in the face?”

“Oh yeah. It didn't bleed too bad though.” Miguel smiled at that. “He's a good teacher. I'm glad he has you guys as his students.”

“I think you mean the other way around?”

“You're a sweet kid.”

“My Yaya would agree, but my mom. . .? I'm not so sure.” Before you could reply, Johnny called out for Miguel and he left with a rushed goodbye. About ten seconds later, Johnny came into the office.  

“Feeling delicate?” he teased, perching on the other side of the desk. Your reply was to shake your head at him. “It was a good class. I think the kids learnt a lot today.”

“I'm glad I could help.”

“And you didn't even hit double digits.” He told you, slapping down the twenty dollar bill in front of you. When you went to take it, he snatched it away jokingly. “Did you really earn this? I mean I deserve a couple more body slams at the very least.”

Standing up from the chair, you reached forwards and managed to grab onto the bill.

“Maybe next time,” you told him. He got off the desk, winking at you as he left the office.

- - -

You dreamt about him that night. It was visceral, you hadn't dreamt of something so vivid for a very long time. The memory of his hands on you was too fresh, it had sunk down into your subconscious. You woke up longing, aching, wanting nothing more than his arms to wrap around your body. When you remembered what happened the day before you could still feel him on your skin.

It was like something had broken inside of you.

Being busy at work kept you from thinking about it too much. Almost a week passed before the memory had faded enough where you could think about it without a reaction. The next time you were in the dojo, Johnny borrowed you again for another demonstration. You had come prepared with more comfortable clothes and shoes that didn't take so long to take off.

The session was about weapons and how the kids would defend themselves against someone who was armed. He gave you a piece of plastic to use as a fake knife.

When you were on the mats, he stood before you in a fighting position, explaining the situation to the kids. He raised his eyebrows to signal for you to attack. You quickly struck out your arm which he easily blocked. He knocked the pretend knife out of your grasp and took control of your wrist. With his other arm, he grabbed onto the back of your shoulder and forced you to bend over. He turned you around slowly so each of the kids could see his grip.

You went over numerous scenarios with him, You would attack him from different angles, sometimes keeping the knife concealed until the fight was underway. It was easy to anticipate what he needed you to do, it made the demonstration flow unhindered. Johnny explained one final situation to the kids where they should consider disarming their opponent from a distance.

He signalled for you to advance but you came in too fast, and he ended up kicking your wrist. The fake knife flew out of your hand and you held in a soft grunt from the impact. Johnny must have seen it on your face because he checked on you when he finished the class.

Coming round to your side of the desk, he leant up against it and took your hand in his lap. His fingers began to rub against your wrist.

“Where does it hurt?” You answered by wincing when he pressed his thumb against a certain spot. “Put some ice on it later if it's still bothering you. Otherwise I would recommend that you don't operate any heavy machinery.”

“Oh, is that your professional advice, Dr. Lawrence?” You replied in jest.

“Is that attitude my patient's giving me? Because you won't get a sticker if you're not careful.” He slid off the desk and opened up one of the filing cabinets.

“You actually have stickers?” You exclaimed in disbelief as he pulled out a sticker with the Cobra Kai logo on it.

“Some of the kids ordered a bunch from the internet,” he replied, letting you take it. The sticker was almost the size of your hand, you wondered where you going to put it. After thanking him for the present, he headed back into the dojo to get some equipment out.

Over the next thirty minutes or so, all of the kids left except for Miguel. Johnny was training him by himself and was holding out some pads for him to kick. With another batch of paperwork complete, you decided it was a good place to call it for the day. You waved to the two of them as you left and walked out of the front door.

As you pulled out your keys, you were surprised to see Hawk leaning against the door of your car, blocking you from getting inside. His arms were crossed, he looked impatient like he'd been waiting for you since class had ended.

“Everything okay, Hawk?” You asked as you approached him. He shifted off your car, uncrossing his arms and balling his hands into fists.

“Why do you keep coming around here,” Hawk said bitterly with a sneer on his face. “You should stay away from Sensei.”

“He asked me to be here,” you responded calmly, holding your ground when Hawk moved into your personal space.

“Sensei only asks you to come here because he feels sorry for you. You already dumped him, haven't you hurt him enough?” You looked away from him for a moment, taking in his hurtful words and wondering how much truth there was to them.

“Look. . .I understand that you care about your Sensei, but that's his choice to make. It's not your business.”

“Of course it's my business, he's my Sensei! You're interfering with our lessons. He gets all weird and distracted whenever you're around,” he told you angrily, moving even closer to get right up in your face. “So. Stay. Away from him.”

You had to take a step back from him to try and deescalate things. “Does he know that you're talking to me about this?” Hawk pursed his lips, it was clear that he hadn't talked to Johnny at all. “I'm sorry that you-”

You reeled backwards in surprise when he punched you in the face. Your lips began to throb, blood filled your mouth and it was already dripping down to your chin. It was a solid hook, Johnny had taught him well. Hawk's eyes were wide open like he didn't mean to hit you. After wiping your chin, you turned to the side and spat out the blood onto the ground.

“I'm sorry that you feel this way,” you told him, finishing off what you attempted to say before. It hurt to move your lips. You weren't angry at Hawk, he was a kid trying his best to protect someone he cared about. Giving him a wide berth, you managed to get in your car. You turned on the ignition and pulled out of the lot without checking in the mirror to see how bad your face looked.

Was Hawk right? Was it pity? You couldn't stop thinking about what he said as you drove back to the apartment. Was Johnny only asking you to come to the dojo because he felt sorry for you? There was truth in it somewhere, you could feel it, but you couldn't exactly see where.

Johnny might have asked for your help but you were the one who had taken that photo of the Cobra Kai flyer. You were the one who, the very next day, went straight to the dojo to satisfy your curiosity.

If you had minded your business, Johnny would never have sought you out. He would never have called. He wouldn't even know where you lived. Had he sensed your desperation to be close to him? It was only after parking up outside the apartment that you inspected the damage. You winced as you gently touched your top and bottom lip. It wasn't pretty, it was going to take a while to heal.

Running your teeth over one of the scabs, you felt a sense of relief when it started bleeding.

- - -

Smoking some weed was more awkward than you thought it was going to be. Though it hurt your lips, you didn't care, you needed something to calm you down. After work for the next few days, you got a good buzz going every night. It was better than letting the thoughts of Johnny run rampant in your mind.

When he called, you briefly considered giving him some excuse to get out of going. You wanted to refuse and have him try to convince you to come, hear the need in his voice. Hawk had probably said the first mean thing that came to his mind. Even if he was right, Johnny wouldn't ask you to be there solely out of pity, he needed you to help him and that was a good enough reason for you.

Parking up at the dojo, you quickly went over the excuse about what happened to your face in case anyone asked. It was nothing more than a silly accident where you bit your lip by mistake.

As you headed inside, there were quite a few kids already there, Hawk was amongst them. Instead of his customary grimace, guilt was on his face for a brief moment before he turned away.

Thankfully none of the kids asked what happened to your face and you were able to make it to the office unchallenged. As you sorted through some consent waivers that needed to be copied, Johnny came out of the storage room hauling some punching bags with Miguel and a couple others.

You went over to the printer by the door with the waivers and started making two copies of each one. Johnny manoeuvred a punching bag to the edge of the mat while nodding to the kids that were coming into the dojo. As soon as he turned to face your direction, he spotted you and his expression fell.

He immediately walked over and you pressed your lips together in a weak smile.

“What happened?” He demanded, his hand reaching up to rest on your chin. He tilted back your head and inspected the damage. You swallowed nervously, taken back by the seriousness of his reaction.

“Oh I'm fine. . .it's stupid really,” you replied nonchalantly and shrugged. When you tried to lean back from his touch, he simply moved forwards.

“What happened?” He repeated, his fingers pulling down the skin by your mouth so he could get a better look at your lip.

“I bit down on my lip that's all.” He suddenly stopped moving, his eyes met yours. Your gut twisted in nerves from the way he was looking at you.

“You're lying,” he said coldly, your heart aching at his words. His hand slipped down to the scruff of your neck and his grip on your shirt began to tighten. Anger and hurt filled his eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“It's really nothing.”

“Who. Did. This?” He growled, baring his teeth. Both of his hands were gripping onto your shirt, forcing you to move right up close to him. You could feel his hot breath on your face. He wasn't just angry, he was enraged. You'd never seen him like this, not even when he'd gotten into fights in the past.

“It was an accident,” you explained, gently placing your hand on one of his wrists. His body twitched like he was going to react badly to the touch. It didn't look as if he believed you at all. Rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand, you took in a deep breathe and exhaled slowly. You hoped that the movement might calm him down a little.

“It was just an accident,” you reiterated firmly. You weren't lying, as far as you were concerned that's all it was. “I swear to you.” Would he even believe your promise? Or was he too far gone? There was no change in his expression so you couldn't tell. Again you breathed in and out deliberately so that his hands would feel the motion of your chest.

“Is everything okay, Sensei?” You heard Miguel ask apprehensively. Turning to look at him, you saw all of the kids staring at you and Johnny. Worry was apparent on all of their expressions, even Hawk's.  

“Yeah, we're okay.” You smiled reassuringly at Miguel and the rest of the kids. “Isn't that right, Sensei?”

Hopefully calling him that rather than his name would remind him where he was and what he was doing in front of his students. When you looked back at Johnny, he seemed to snap out of the haze of anger. He shifted his focus onto the kids and immediately let go of your shirt. You placed a heavy hand on Johnny's shoulder and slapped it twice in an effort to convey that both of you were perfectly fine.

He pulled away from you and went to the storage room, with a deeply concerned Miguel in tow. It took a few moments for the tension in the dojo to dissipate and the kids soon returned to getting ready for class. Straightening out your shirt, you sat down in the chair and let out an unsteady breath.

Fuck, what just happened? - - - Taglist: @whyhaveyouwritten-mehere @lacontroller1991 @stressedstark @wndrcarol @carissakingofthecastle92 @witchcraftandwit @magicwithaknife @80strashbag @jem-my-greatest-sin @masonsbitch @wholesomehen @chlqefrazer @actuallydrew @jem-my-greatest-sin @masonsbitch  @wholesomehen  @deadpoolgirl23   @sorryyoureoutofmyleague​

[imaginesforjohnnydepp]

Violette Pt. 4

@kittenlittle24  @evelynrosestuff

Johnny was glad that he took up Violette on her offer because he had to get out of Los Angeles; Violette was a gracious host and they fell back in sync with each other. While she was at work, he took the opportunity to explore the area to find souvenirs for his kids and check up on them, other times he’d go through Violette’s books and movies and photo albums, which were his favorite things to do. The albums were completely filled up with pictures. There were pictures of her at weddings, work related parties, vacation pictures (lots of them), newspaper clippings of her accomplishments. It made him happy knowing that Violette became so successful and is well respected, because she deserves it.

When he heard the keys at the door, he quickly closed the book and turned up the volume on an episode of Chopped just as Violette walked in, shaking water off her umbrella and putting it in the stand.  “Sorry I’m late! I was held up with paperwork then there was a wreck, but on the plus side I got Italian!” It was nearly eight thirty when they sat down to eat, the both of them digging into their shrimp pasta as they filled each other in on their day. Since it was Friday and Violet didn’t have to be at work the next day, they watched TV together after dinner, the living room dark except for a lamp on a low setting. It was halfway through a second episode of Fraser, the one where Fraser accidentally tells Daphne about Niles’ feelings for her before the wedding when Johnny noticed Violette had fallen asleep.

Her head was tipped back and her chest was gently rising and falling; she looked so comfortable and peaceful he felt bad for waking her. Johnny shook her gently. “Hey Vi? It’s time to wake up, you’re gonna hurt your neck like that.” Slowly, Violette came to, lifting her head from the back of the couch, her eyes slowly opening. “Huh? What time is it?” 

Her voice was heavy with sleep and she stretched, arms above her head. “Bout time for you to go to bed. You fell asleep halfway through Fraser.” Violette knew he was right; she had a long day at work and now all she wanted was to apply a serum or two and get into bed. “You’re right, it’s been a long day. Do you want the bathroom first?” He shook his head no, and she smiled  before heading to her room.

“Good night Johnny.” They both headed their separate ways, and as he changed into his pajamas, Johnny could hear Violette doing her night time routine, the faucet running every few minutes as she rinsed her face. He checked his phone for messages, emails from his lawyer and Amber’s, two missed phone calls from his family about funeral arrangements, all things that can wait until tomorrow; he hooked it up to the charger and placed it face down. After a few more minutes, the faucet turned up for the last time, and Violette knocked twice before opening the door. “Bathroom’s all yours now.” 

He tried not to notice how long her legs looked in her pajama pants or how ample her chest looked, even in an oversized shirt. Frankly, ever since he got here, Johnny’s been trying to ignore how gorgeous Violette is; she looked good in just about everything she wore: her work clothes where the slacks she wore clung to her legs like a second skin, the leggings and tank tops he saw her in, drenched in sweat when she came back after a morning run. It was like acting in front of a green screen and trying to ignore how ridiculous Bill Nighy looks with black dots on his face as he wears a gray leotard. Johnny couldn’t ignore the fact that Violette has an ass and breasts, and he felt guilty checking her out when her back was turned, but what could he do? He certainly wasn’t going to tell a grown woman to cover up in her own home; with a sigh, he shuffled into the bathroom to do his business.

Meanwhile, Violette was in bed, simultaneously reading and going through her text messages; due to the torrential rain that would be coming this weekend, book club was cancelled (which she was grateful for because she’s kind of behind the rest of the group). Violette was just about to call it a night when a new message appeared, from Angela. I know you took my floral dress the other day. Mikayla said she saw you leave with it.  Yes, she did take the dress but that’s only because Angela took her favorite Dooney and Bourke handbag (something that happened months ago and Violette has yet to see it back in her closet) but unlike her sister, she plans on actually returning it. And what about it? she typed back. You can pick it up from the dry cleaner on Basin Street tomorrow, and you’re one to talk considering I haven’t seen my Dooney and Bourke purse since New Years.  

Once the message was sent, she went back to her book, which had five chapters left; Violette reached for the notebook and pen and started scribbling notes about the chapter when her phone buzzed again. Thank you. And as for your purse, I think Miki has it. It’s hanging on the doorknob of her closet. Probably thought it was mine. But how’s it going with Johnny? Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, and she didn’t know what to say. How is it going with Johnny? Violette wanted to tell her sister that things are great, like nothing’s changed between them, about her growing feelings for her ex husband, but all she texted back was that things are fine. 

Really, only fine? Leave it to Angela to be overly observant, might as well come clean now. It feels like nothing’s changed between us even though a LOT has. We’re cracking jokes, eating together, going out. It feels like old times. Violette knew what Angela was going to say next: that they need to slow down, how Johnny probably isn’t ready for another relationship when he already has so much going on. She hastily texted: And I know what you’re going to say next, but I can’t help it. He’s still Johnny. I gotta go, it’s late. 

She put her phone on the charger and placed it face down on the nightstand. Violette hoped that all her feelings toward Johnny could just be chalked up to not getting enough sex or boredom or loneliness, because really, what would a relationship with Johnny look like today? Probably a long distance relationship and media interference, and she’d had enough of that from last time to last a lifetime. Besides, Violette never dates men with children, and in her age group, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a single male in their late forties/early fifties who doesn't have children. Shaking her head at the thought, she pulled the covers up over her head and waited for the air conditioner to kick on to lull her to sleep.

So this was how the rest of their week went, both of them pining over the other without the other’s knowledge: Johnny pretended not to notice her figure and his growing attraction and Violette pretended that she didn’t harbor romantic feelings for him, until one day Johnny couldn’t take it any longer. He brought up the question while they sat in Violette’s car at a snowball stand, the a/c blasting and the radio on a low volume. “Why are we doing this, Vi?” The question was so out of left field that she almost choked on a bubblegum flavored hunk of ice. “What do you mean?” she asked, sucking the bubblegum syrup from the ice. 

“I mean, why are we ignoring… whatever this is? We’re adults, Violette, we should be able to communicate with each other.” She was sure she was doing a good job at masking her feelings, but apparently she was wrong. “Because Johnny, it wouldn’t matter. Your life is in LA, with your children and work and my life is here. What could we actually do about it? You’re only here for another week.” Violette was actually glad that he brought it up now, because there was no way they would be able to do anything about it, since Johnny would be here for another week before going home. Leaving Violette alone with her unresolved feelings.

“And you already have so much going on. Are you sure this is what you want? If you’re ready for this?” Violette put another spoonful of her snowball in her mouth, sucking off the syrup until the ice was hard packed on her tongue. “Is that what you’re scared of? That I might leave again?” Johnny asked. “Not might, but will. As you can see, I don’t have a normal work schedule and I’m not a fan of long distance relationships.” And because I’m scared you could hurt me again,” she added in her head.

“Johnny, we’re not in the ‘80s anymore. We’re so different now, we always have been.” Johnny sighed before putting his cup in a cup holder. “We’re not that different, you’re still you and I’m still me. We’re older now, have more life experience. Violette, we were so young when we got married. And I moved on from her long before I thought about filing for divorce.” She took his words into consideration, really thinking about it. Was the reason why she never remarried is because that deep in her subconscious, Violette knew she and Johnny would make their way back to each other?

“Just one chance is all I’m asking. Please.” He looked so sincere, and the offer was so tempting. How many times had Violette had this dream of Johnny coming back to her and begging her to take him back? Too many times in the early days of their breakup, and Johnny was right, they’re older now, old enough to know what they want in their partners. “What do you say? Can you give me another chance? We can take it slow, whatever you want.”

Violette put the last spoonful of her snowball in her mouth, savoring the last bite as she thought it over. While she was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, she’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t at least a little curious as to how a relationship with Johnny would be like today. A lot of traveling back and forth, probably meeting his kids at some point. And what about long term? Would they live together?

 Get married (or in their case remarried)? “We’ll take it slow?” Violette asked, just to make sure. “As slow as you want,” he answered. Violette smiled and grabbed Johnny’s hand. “Okay.”

[bellaireland1981]

New Beginnings: Ch 3

Characters: Andy Barber x Single Mom! Briella James (Named Reader), Jacob Barber, Ava James

Summary: Briella James is a HS teacher and has Jacob in her class. Jacob meets Briella’s 5 year old daughter and they form a bond. Andy is interested in Briella but her ex (and Ava’s dad) is becoming a problem!

Warnings: Mostly fluff, some angst, jerk of an ex that harasses Briella… will update in future chapters.

word count: 1922

A/N: I do Not own Andy Barber or Jacob Barber, they are fictional characters. I do not give permission for anyone to repost my work or translate it to another site. Reblogs always welcome!   This is my FIRST EVER attempt at writing for Andy…or any character, so be gentle!  THANK YOU to my friends for supporting me and encouraging me! I’m my own worst critic so I love their feedback! @denisemarieangelina​ @fluffymisha97​ @jamielea81​

Chapter 1   Chapter 2  Chapter 3 (?)

Ava had gone to bed without any complaint the night before. Spending all day at the zoo and getting ice cream had worn her out. After she went to bed you’d had time to sit and think about what Andy had said. You knew he was probably right about you ex, you were just scared to further set him off. Up to this point, he’d pretty much left you alone. You worried that if you pressed the issue, he’d make trouble for you or worse, for Ava.

You also had to admit that you’d very much enjoyed spending the day with Andy. He was easy to talk to and fun to be around. He was an amazing dad to Jacob and was sweet in his interactions with Ava. While you definitely enjoyed his company, you were still unsure whether or not he would be interested in anything other than just being friends, and if he was, was dating the father of one of your student’s a good idea?

With everything running through your head, you didn’t get much sleep. You dragged yourself out of bed when you heard Ava get up, slowly making your way to the kitchen. She was already on the couch watching cartoons, so you decided to take advantage and start the coffee before getting her some breakfast.

After your coffee was ready, you poured yourself a cup and then set to making Ava some French Toast and Scrambled eggs. While you were cooking, you heard your phone ping with new messages but decided they could wait, assuming it was just your ex again.

“Ava, come eat breakfast,” You called her once the food was done. “You have to eat and get ready, Papa will be picking you up soon.”

“Yay! I can’t wait to tell Papa about the zoo! And Jacob and his daddy!” She said excitedly. She came in and sat down at the counter and started eating her breakfast.

“I’m sure he’ll love to hear all about the zoo, Monkey.” You confirmed. And later, you were sure to get the third degree about Andy and Jacob. Sometimes you wished your brother and sister in law lived closer so that your parents could fuss over them once in a while.

“Mommy?” Ave asked, swallowing a mouthful of her French toast, “When can I see Jacob and his daddy again?”

“I don’t know, Babygirl” You replied, “I’m glad you had fun with them though.”

“I did!” She said, “I wish Jacob was my brother. Katie, at school, always talks about her brother and they do fun stuff together.”

You weren’t entirely sure how to respond to that. Your heart broke that she didn’t have a sibling. You knew how nice it was growing up with your own brother. Ava didn’t even have cousins that lived close. Thankfully, your dad arrived, which saved you from having to come up with a response.

“Good morning, Sweetheart.” Your dad said, entering the kitchen, “Morning, Ava Bug! Are you ready to go out on the boat?”

“Yup!” She said, happily, “I’m ready!”

“Go grab your jacket and put your shoes on, Monkey.” You instructed her.

While Ava got her jacket and shoes on, you placed her plate in the dishwasher and wiped down the counter.

“What are your plans today?” Your dad asked.

“I’m going to go get groceries and then come back and get some stuff done around the house.” You replied, “I’ve got some grading I should catch up too.”

“Try to do something that’s just for you, Sweetheart,” He said, hugging you, “It’s ok, to do things for yourself too, doesn’t make you a bad mom, teacher, or daughter.”

“Thanks, Dad.” You replied smiling, “I will try to squeeze some me time in there as well.”

“We’re happy to keep Ava Bug overnight, if you want to get out with other adults and paint the town red.”

“I’m not in my twenties anymore dad” You laughed, “No need to go out drinking or partying with friends. The recovery takes too long now.”

“The offer still stands” He insisted, “Being the only grandchild in the state, we’re more than happy to spoil her.”

“She’s more than happy to let you!” You said, shaking your head.

Ava came bounding back into the room, declaring she was ready and all but dragged your dad out the door. After quick hugs and a reminder to her to listen, they were off for their adventure.

Once they were out the door, you grabbed your phone to look at the missed text messages and phone calls.

You read through the texts, seeing that they were all from your ex. You were starting to get worried with the increase in calls and texts from him. He was clearly escalating. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves.

You decided to go get dressed and try to clear your head before making a decision on what to do about the texts and calls. You’d promised Andy you’d think about taking actions to get your ex to stop harassing you, and you had to admit he was probably right.  

By the time you got dressed and brushed through your hair, you’d made the decision to go about your day as planned, and you would reach out to Andy in an email on Monday.

You grabbed your car keys and purse, tucking your phone in your pocket and made your way out to your car. You blasted your upbeat playlist, hoping it would work to calm the remaining nerves before you got to the grocery store.

You were able to get the shopping done in record time without having to negotiate all the treats with Ava. You had a feeling she’d make a great lawyer someday. With the shopping done, you decided to reward yourself and grab a coffee from the small coffee shop around the corner from the grocery store.

As you stood in line, you heard your phone ding several times, alerting you to new messages. You pulled your phone out to check, and felt your anxiety increase again. You sent a text back asking to be left alone, knowing he’d ignore it.

“Fancy running into you here” A voice sounded behind you, startling you and causing you to flinch. “Woah, Brielle, are you ok?”

Finally recognizing the voice, you turned around, taking a deep breath and trying to calm your racing heart.

“Andy,” You replied, quietly, “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that, I wasn’t paying attention so missed when you came in.”

“You do realize I’m a lawyer, and can see right through that right?” He said gently, “You’re showing all the classic signs of distress. How about you have a seat while I get us coffees and then you can tell me what’s causing that distress.”

“I appreciate the offer,” You replied, “I have groceries in the car though, and wasn’t planning on staying.”

“I don’t think driving when you’re upset is a great idea either,” He reasoned, “It’s cool enough, the groceries should be fine while you have one cup of coffee.”

“Ok,” You smiled, softly, “You’re pretty good at bargaining.”

“Professional hazard” he joked, “What would you like? And before you argue, I’m buying the coffee and you’re going to sit and breathe.”

“Yes, Sir,” you smiled, “Mocha Latte, please.”

“Coming right up” He said, smiling warmly, “Grab us a table.”  

You quickly found a table in one of the corners, figuring Andy would be grilling you over why you were upset, you didn’t want the rest of the cafe to hear the conversation.

Andy set your coffee down in front of you and took a seat in the chair next to you.

“Thank you” You said, placing your hands around the warm up.

“You’re welcome” He replied, “How many more messages have you gotten from him?”

“Today? Or since you read the messages yesterday?” You asked to clarify, but mostly to stall.

“Sweetheart, if you have to ask that, it’s time to put a stop to it.” He said gently. Your heart fluttered at the endearment.

“I’ve gotten 9 more texts and 4 voicemails just since this morning.” You admitted, “I sent a text back asking him to stop, but I’m guessing that’s not going to be effective.”

“Probably not,” He agreed, “But it’s a good first step. Are the texts the same as yesterday or more aggressive?”

“They’re the same, just more frequent.” You said, “Honestly, I just want him to leave me alone. I don’t want to have to worry about him suddenly popping up or worry about if he’s going to demand to see Ava.”

“Are you willing to let me help you?” He asked gently.

“If you’re sure it’s not a bother…” You said, giving in, “I would very much appreciate the help.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to help,” He assured you, “Besides, my motives are purely selfish.”

“How so?” You asked, smiling.

“It gives me a reason to see more of you, which hopefully leads to us getting to know one another more, and in the interest of full disclosure, once this is all cleared up, I’m going to ask you for a date.” He admitted, smiling.

“In the interest of full disclosure,” You replied, “once this is all cleared up, I’ll probably say yes.”

“Probably?” He asked, laughing, “I can work with that.”

“You may have to run it by the boss…” you teased, “She’ll probably grill you on your knowledge of Disney Princesses.”

“I better do some research then.” He said, “I want to make sure I can pass with flying colors.”

“Ava was asking this morning when she can see Jacob again.” You said, “Seems she is very taken with him.” You left out the part about her wishing he was her brother.

“How would you feel about Jake and I coming to your house tomorrow?” He suggested, “He can keep Ava occupied while we sort through paperwork so I can get it done and filed with the court on Monday?”

“The only way I will agree to be the reason you have to work on a Sunday is if you at least let me cook you and Jacob dinner.” You bargained.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he joked, “I will happily accept those terms.”

“Any food allergies or aversions” You asked, “I was thinking about making lasagna tomorrow.”

“Jake and I eat pretty much anything.” he confirmed, “And lasagna sounds like Heaven.”

“I’ll plan on dinner then for around 5:30, but you are welcome to come any time.” You said, “And really, I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“No thanks are needed,” He said, “I’ve already admitted this is purely selfish on my part. Jake and I will come around 3:30, we’ll want to make sure Miss. Ava gets enough hang out time with Jake.”

“You’ll be her new favorite person.” You teased, “3:30 is perfect.”

“I’ve heard she’s the one I need to impress anyway in order to gain approval to ask her mom out.” He winked. “In the meantime, try not to look at messages from your ex or stress over the calls. We’ll get it all worked out soon. And do not say ‘thank you’ again!” he laughed, see you opening your mouth to do just that.

Andy walked you out to your car and you said your goodbyes before heading home to get groceries put away and laundry sorted. You were very much looking forward to dinner the next day.  

@waywardodysseys​ @nickysurfer28​

[cuddlepilefics]

We can tell

Fandom: Stray Kids

Sickie: Jeongin

Caregivers: Stray Kids

 No one's POV.:

Jeongin knew he could always rely on his hyungs. The were all quite protective of the youngest and would baby him at all times, despite Jeongin trying to push them away. Often times the attention became too much for him. Did they really not trust him for to things on his own? Sure, he appreciated their help when he asked for it but he was an adult too, who should be able to face most of his problems alone. It always got worse, when Jeongin was sick. In no time, the entire group would be pining over him and baby him. It always made the maknae feel guilty because he wasn't even feeling too bad but his friends would do everything for him. Want a drink? Don't move, I got it! Though he would be perfectly able to get stuff for himself, his hyungs would get it for him and he felt bad about his hyings unnecessarily going out of their way for him.

That's why at some point, Jeongin decided to not tell his hyungs when he felt unwell anymore. He'd go ask them for help or Medici ne when he knew it was getting to bad and he needed help but in the main time, he would handle himself. That was also exactly his plan when his throat started to hurt during his vocal lesson. He had probably only strained it a bit anyway. He'd make himself some tea when he got home and it should go away soon. Luckily, the vocal lesson was the last part of his schedule for the day and he could go straight home afterwards. Until his phone dinged with a message that is. Hyunjin had texted and asked if he wanted to join Changbin, Felix and him to get some ice cream. Jeongin contemplated it but decided the cold fruit wouldn’t do his throat any good and that he'd rather have some warm tea. He quickly typed and apology, feeling bad that he had to cancel on his friends. Then he header back to the dorm, happy that his workday was over.

As expected Changbin, Hyunjin and Felix weren't there when he got back. Neither were Chan and Jisung, who had texted the groupchat earlier, statong they'd stay at the studio late. Minho was probably in his room, while Seungmin stood in the kitchen. “Hey, what’s you making, hyung?”, Jeongin smiled, ingnoring the pain in that came with speaking. Seungmin continued to stir in the pit infront of him, turning to him with a smile: “I’m making some hot chocolate to drink while watching a movie. Want some too? You sound like your lesson was intense.” The maknae nodded, it was easy with Seungmin, the other vocalist had been in the same situation multiple times before. It was probably something that just came with their job. While the older finished up their drinks, Jeongin got two cups out and sat them on the counter before raiding their cupboards for marshmallows. He didn't find any so when Seungmin added some cream on top, the younger just added some colorful sprinkles. Jeongin decided to just join his friend with his movie since he didn't have much else to do and he wouldn't have to talk.

What he didn’t expect though was the fatigue that suddenly set in and with the help of the soothing warm drink, he was out before even making it to the middle of the movie. When Seungmin woke him up for dinner, Jeongin needed a second to recognize his surroundings. What he noticed first was the headache thumping behind his temples and the quilt Spread over his legs. They usually kept it over the back of the couch but it seemed like Seungmin had tucker him in after he nodded off. “Hey, the others bought home take out. We got you soup because I thought it'd be easiest on your throat”, the older explained. Jeongin scratched his head awkwardly, mumbling: “You didn’t have to go out of your way for me. My throat will be fine tomorrow.” – “Innie, I've strained my voice in lessons multiple times. We both know how much it sucks and just because it will be better tomorrow doesn’t mean we want you to suffer today. Besides, that was barely any trouble. Come on, let's eat. The others are waiting”, Seungmin smiled.

Despite his nap earlier, Jeongin felt tired and went to bed soon after dinner. His roommate Jisung didn't comment on it but he also turned his bedside lamp off and put in his headphones. The maknae was really grateful for it because his head was still hurting and he couldn't wait to get some rest. Sadly, rest didn’tcome as easy as he had hoped, instead he kept tossing and turning, frequently waking up drenched in sweat from another nightmare. Usually, the maknae wasn’t one to have nightmares and most of the times, he got them when he had a fever. Knowing this, Jeongin got up in the early morning hours and took his temperatur. Sure enough, he was running a mild fever. It wasn’t bad enough to concert him, he was just upset that he couldn’t rest properly. Especially now, that his headache had increased. Sighing to himself, Jeongin took some medicine for his headache and winced at how scratchy his throat felt. He knew he didn’t just push himself too hard the previous day, he was most definitely coming down with something. It would be okay though, he could take care of himself.

Jeongin groaned when jisung's phone blasted ‘fancy you'. Sure, he liked twice but it was way too early to blast any music at that volume. He grabbed his pillow and threw it at Jisung to get him to shut his alarm off. It took a while but eventually it stopped and the maknae almost went back to sleep. He was already drifting off again, when Chan popped his head into the room to make sure they were up, leaving Jeongin no choice but to get out of bed. He shivered as soon as the blanket was gone and decided to wear a hoodie with a t-shirt underneath. They were going to the studio for some recording today and he didn’t want to be cold there. Jisung left their room first, giving Jeongin the chance to try out his voice. He knew it hurt but he didn’t expect to sound this bad. Not even straining himself during practice ever left him this hoarse. How would he be able to hide this from his group. Sure, he'd just try not to talk but eventually he'd have to. Plus, how was he going to record? They'd know then at the latest.

The others greeted him sleepily, when Jeongin joined them for breakfast. He just gave them a smile in return, so they thought he was still tired. Chan pushed a plate in front of him and ruffled the maknae’s hair affectionately. It all went well and Jeongin remained silent throughout their meal till Hyunjin addressed him directly. When the younger just shrugged in response, he frowned: “Yah, talk to your hyung!” The youngest just lowered his head in shame before Seungmin spoke up: “Jinnie, leave him be. He strained his voice yesterday and probably wants to rest it, so he can give his best later. Right Innie?” – ‘Thanks, hyung’, he mouthed with a smile, glad that one of them understood. “Aish. Next time maybe shoot us a text as a warning. We got a bit worried when you just kept quiet”, Chan chuckled, “If you don’t feel up to recording, let us know, okay?” Jeongin nodded and continued eating. Afterwards, he went through his morning routine and applied a good amount of concealer to cover the dark circles under his eyes. He also snuck some more painkillers into his pocket to take later and found a bag of cough drops at the back of his closet, which he quickly shoved into his backpack. Maybe, just maybe, they’d fix his voice enough for him to sing later. He was absolutely dreading the moment he had to record, fearing he wouldn’t be able to but his wishful thinking motivated him to push on.

Jeongin slept through the entire drive to the studio. Initially, he had fallen with his head against the window but it looked highly uncomfortable, so his seatmate Changbin carefully moved the youngest’s head onto his shoulder. While doing so, he clearly noticed the difference between the temperature of Jeongin’s skin and his own. Making sure the maknae really was a sleep, he whispered: “Guys, Innie has a fever.” Chan immediately leaned over to feel the youngest’s forehead for himself, his face dropping when he had to realize his dongsaeng was hiding something from them. Now that it was confirmed that Jeongin was sick, Changbin refused to wake him when they arrived. Instead, he carried him up to the study and laid him down on the couch there. The members either piled onto the other couch or sat on the floor, so their dongsaeng could rest. They weren’t planning on confronting him when he woke up, they’d rather Jeongin admitted it himself, so they continued to work, recording their parts while shooting the youngest concerned glances every now and then.

It had been almost an hour, when Jeongin sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked around confused, trying to figure out where he was. “You fell asleep in the car, so Changbin carried you to the studio. We thought some extra sleep wouldn’t hurt, since you’re not due to record until later”, Felix chuckled at the younger’s dazed look. Minho sat down on the couch next to Jeongin, a plastic cup in his hands, as he smiled: “I brought a large thermos bottle of tea, I thought it might help your throat some.” Jeongin bit his lip looking sad all of a sudden. Then he pulled his phone out and typed: ‘I really appreciate it hyung but seriously I’m fine. You wouldn’t have needed to bother doing that.’ He already felt guilty enough that Changbin had had to carry his lazy ass all the way up here, when he could have walked by himself perfectly fine. “Well, what if I wanted to?”, Minho asked and pressed the plastic cup into his dongsaeng’s hand. The youngest immediately wrapped both hands around it to warm, only noticing now how cold he felt. He gave Minho a shy and grateful smile before taking a careful sip, trying not to burn his mouth.

Minho had added a generous amount of honey and Jeongin almost sighed at how soothing it felt going down his throat. He didn’t want to admit it but he was quite happy that the dancer had gone out of his way to bring this along. Sadly, once the cup was empty, he didn’t have anything to warm him anymore and the chills were slowly starting back up. How could he possibly feel this cold, considering the layers he had put on? Pretending to go to the bathroom, the maknae snuck away to take another dose of painkillers. They were supposed to also lower his temperature, so maybe he’d feel a bit warmer if his fever went down a bit. At the same time, his hyungs knew he was lying about needing the bathroom, they were suspicious as to what he was really doing, hoping he didn’t feel sick to his stomach too, but they didn’t want to follow and pressure him too much. Should he be gone for too long, one of them would go look for him. “Is it just me or did you notice Jeongin shivering too?”, Jisung asked thoughtfully. Seungmin shook his head, stating: “Not just you, I think his fever is giving him chills.” They didn’t manage to speculate much further because right that moment, Jeongin returned.

‘Aish, what am I going to do with that little rebel? It would be so easy if he could just give in to the truth, so we could take care of him’, Chan sighed, rubbing his temples. He could still see the youngest shaking, though he tried so hard to conceal it. Then the leader had an idea. He got up and grabbed his coat, wrapping it around Jeongin’s shoulders. The he tried to muster as much of a lighthearted smile as he could and hummed: “Innie, it’s your turn soon, so you should probably start warming up. That way we can also hear how your voice is doing.” The vocalist was fast to regain his composure but the split second of horror, that flashed across his face, didn’t go unnoticed by Chan. Jeongin cleared his throat, trying to keep a straight face despite the pain, and tried to hum a little tune, they often used to warm up. Apart from him, there was complete silence in the room, everyone waiting for the moment of truth and cringing in sympathy at how raspy his usually clear voice sounded. Chan was the first to react when Jeongin suddenly broke into tears, pulling him into a hug. It wasn’t even the pain getting to him. It was his frustration about not being able to record that day and therefore holding his group back. His frustration about showing his hyungs that he wasn’t doing his best today and thereby making them worry about him.

“It hurts that bad?”, Seungmin asked in shock. Jeongin shook his head, while the oldest rubbed his back. He croaked: “I-I’m sorry, now I’m holding all of you back again. I’m just so – so f-frustrated w-with myself.” He didn’t even know why he got so worked up about it because he really wasn’t this emotional, maybe the fever got to him more than he wanted to admit. Chan clicked his tongue, leaning closer to Jeongin’s ear, and whispered softly: “Why do you always think you’re holding us back? You can just record another day. If you keep forcing yourself now, you might even damage your voice. That’s not worth it.” The younger sniffled and nodded into Chan’s neck. “Most of us are done already, so why don’t you go home with them and rest a bit? You don’t need to hang around here, especially since I’m sure, your bed is more comfortable than that couch and we wouldn’t want you cold getting worse”, the leader mused. Jeongin pulled away shocked, frowning: “How do you know?” – “Innie, we can tell when you’re sick”, Chan chuckled and helped his dongsaeng to put his coat on properly, so Minho, Felix and Seungmin could take him home. Being producers, Chan and Changbin had to stay back at the studio to finish up with Hyunjin and Jisung but they’d all join them at the dorm in another hour or two.

Jeongin had stopped crying but remained quiet on their way to the car. While settling in, Minho poured him some more tea before shoving the thermos back into his backpack. “Why didn’t you tell us you were sick, Innie? Or should I say, why did you try so hard to hide it from us?”, Minho asked hesitantly. The youngest bit his lip, selecting his words carefully: “You’re always there for me, all of you. You worry so much. I can take care of myself but y’all keep babying me and I feel guilty when you worry and do things for me that I can do myself. You don’t have to go out of your way for me and every time you do, I feel like a burden. I don’t want to be a burden. I took medicine and sucked on cough drops, went to bed early. I really did take care of myself.” When he started to get worked up again, Felix side-hugged him, causing him to shut up. “Well, it is our job as your hyungs to worry about you, there’s no way around it. You should know, as Chan said, we can tell when something’s up and if you don’t talk to us, we’ll most likely assume something a lot worse than what is actually going on. If you really want us to worry less, be honest with us, so we can see what we’re dealing with. Second, how dare you consider yourself a burden? You’re our baby and of course, we’ll always be there for you”, Minho frowned. Felix nodded and continued: “You might not understand the way we feel about you but we really love doing things for you, so please, please, please don’t feel guilty about it. For you it might seem like a bother going out of our ways but we really want to do all of that.” – “And, we don’t doubt that you can take care of yourself, probably better than half of this group. The thing is though, you don’t have to. If you really want to be more independent, that’s fine. We’ll try to hold ourselves back but just know, we’ll be there, not because we have to but because we want to”, Seungmin added. By now, Jeongin was almost tearing up again, touched by his hyungs’ words. He took a deep breath to calm himself, inhaling a faint whiff of Chan’s scent from the coat he was wearing. They really did care about him like brothers.

Already in a better mood after their talk, they made their way to the dorm, where Minho announced: “Let’s get a read on that fever and if it’s not too high, why don’t you take a nice warm bath. You’re still shivering.” They kicked off their shoes and Minho took him to the bathroom, watching as Jeongin took his temperature himself. It was moderate but not too high, so Minho started a warm bath while Jeongin went to pick out some comfortable clothes for himself. On his way back to the bathroom, he was stopped by Seungmin. “Hey, we thought it’d be fun to do a movie marathon if you feel up to it? And I wanted to ask if you’d prefer tea or hot chocolate like yesterday”, the second youngest asked. A wide smile spread on Jeongin’s face and he shyly requested: “Hot chocolate would be nice but you really don’t have to. I liked it when we watched the movie yesterday.” – “I’ll make hot chocolate for all of us, don’t worry about it”, Seungmin giggled and ruffled his only dongsaeng’s hair. Jeongin was just about to enter the bathroom with the pile of clothes in his hands when Felix came sliding on his fuzzy socks, panting: “Wait, wait, wait, I found this really cute pink bathbomb in my bag of toiletries and I want you to have it.” The maknae blushed, resembling the shade of the bathbomb itself, and thanked the Aussie before finally returning to the bathroom.

The tub was already filled and Minho told him to enjoy, before leaving to give his dongsaeng some privacy. He helped Felix set up pillows, blankets and some additional beanbags, so every member would find a spot when they returned from the studio. The living room was already smelling comfortingly sweet from the chocolate Seungmin was melting for their drinks. Maybe their dongsaeng wasn’t feeling all that awful but that didn’t mean that they didn’t want do make him as comfortable as possible and cuddle him all better. Plus, who’d say no to some quality time with their cute maknae? A group movie marathon really sounded like heaven right now and the only thing that could make it even better was the hot chocolate Seungmin prepare, decorating it with cute colorful sprinkles just like Jeongin liked it.

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 11- Shape of My Heart

Pairing: Rudy Pankow x Plus Size Reader

Summary: Falling in love with someone you can never have is the worst feeling in the world...

Taglist:

@jeyramarie @drewswannabegirl @sexualparkour @teamnick @jiaraendgame @agirlwholovescoffee @outerbongs @jaxxandcomet @velyssaraptor @baby-pogue @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon @must-be-a-weasley-92 @kaitieskidmore1 @ma10427 @ifilwtmfc @lasnaro @justcallmesams​ @judayyyw​ @lonely-kermit​ @gviosca​ @iamaunicorn4704​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @fernweh-fangirl​ @runway-to-my-aid​ @eb15​ @hurricane-abigail​ @tangledinsparkles​ @fandom-phaser​ @sunwardsss​ @http-cherries​ @bibliophilewednesday​ @evaporatedrosepetals​ @thetomatosaucee​ @tomatosauceagent​ @redosmo​ @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​ @obx-direction-sos​ @mxltifandoms06​ @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless​

Part 10 Part 12

Note: After crying over the last chapter, I was finally able to muster up this one. Also just in case anyone was wondering, we’re pretending COVID19 is nonexistent in this story because it would just ruin everything and I’m not about it!

=============================

It’s been a month and a half since Rudy told me about his short film, our conversations became less frequent which worried me deeply...

I didn’t want to drift apart from him, and that’s exactly what I feared was happening now. I tried to indulge into my school work, but it became harder to focus when I kept checking to see if I had a text or at least a SnapChat from him. I didn’t want to bother him by blowing up his phone either, becoming an annoyance he’d soon grow tired of. I expressed my concerns to both Maddie’s on our daily FaceTime call, hoping to get some reassurance for my MIA boyfriend.

“We’ve been in a lot of meetings with Jonas and Netflix to try and get season 2 of OBX approved, I don’t even know why we have to be there because they don’t really talk to us.” Maddi B commented.

“Plus Rudy has that short film on top of everything, so I imagine all of this is taking up his time. Don’t fret though, he said in our last meeting how horrible he felt that you all couldn’t talk as much with the both of you being so busy. He talks about you to everyone and how much he misses you.” Maddie C inputed.

“Awww, he’s so sweet. Maybe I am overthinking things, when I go to work tomorrow I’m demanding a week paid vacation because I need a break. Midterms are coming up and I’ve barely had any time to study.” I sighed.

“You need to focus on school, that’s the most important thing right now. You know Rudy would say the same, you need to take that week to relax and get everything in order.” Maddie B pointed out. 

“Yeah you’re right, jesus I forgot I have to fucking close at work tonight. I’m going to start applying to different places that actually care about their employees, and will work with school schedules.” I huffed, swinging my legs off of my bed.

“We’ll let you go then babe, love you!” Maddie B called, waving in the camera.

“Love you y/n!” Maddie C said, blowing a kiss in the camera.

“I love and miss you guys, I’ll see you later.” I smiled, hanging up.

=================================

Work was awful, being a shift manager was not all it was out to be. I hated dealing with difficult people and sometimes the other employees. I had just finished have a shouting match with this lady who was down right insulting both me and the other cashier working. I was so glad to be locking up once we closed, practically sprinting to my car, I was stopped by the cashier I had worked with tonight.

“Hey y/n, I-I was wondering you know if um..” he said.

Shit, I knew where this was going...

“Maybe we could hang out some time, I think you’re really pretty and uh...yeah I think we should get together more.” he spoke.

“That’s nice and all pal, but she has a boyfriend.” was heard from behind us.

I froze in my spot, tears coming to my eyes. I whipped around to see Rudy leaning against my car, his blue eyes zeroing in on the guy. He scurried off, leaving just Rudy and I.

“Hi baby,” Rudy spoke, a smile so wide on his face.

He looked different, having grown a mustache and slight beard. His hair was longer too, but still handsome as ever. I let out a watery laugh once I was out of my trance, blinking to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I dropped my stuff in front of my car, throwing myself in his arms.

“Oh my god, are you real? Are you really here?” I blubbered, pulling back to hold his face. He held me tight against him, combing some stray hair from my face.

“I’m here, you’re even more beautiful than I remember.” he gushed, beaming as he laid his forehead to mine.

“I look like shit Ru, I don’t even have makeup on.” I giggled, feeling his facial hair under my fingertips.

“You don’t need it, fuck I’m so happy to see you. I’m sorry we haven’t talked much, I’ve been so busy in meetings and filming.” he sighed, shaking his head.

“You came just at the right time, I have a whole week off of work.” I said, both of us grinning wide.

“Plenty of time for you to show me around then.” he smiled.

Rudy gripped my face in his hands, crushing his lips to mine. I had craved them for so long, having been deprived of the feeling. My heart went soaring, the feel of his facial hair tickling my skin. He moaned into my mouth, his hands moving to hold my hips to bring me closer. My fingers weaved their way into his now long blonde hair, tugging at the roots slightly. 

I pulled away once I became dizzy, pulling my hands back to caress his face. He gave me little kisses all over my face, fully caging me against him so I couldn’t move away. Rudy laughed along with me, pulling back fully now.

“Guess you’ll be my chauffeur for the week babe.” he smirked, opening my door for me.

I chuckled as I got in my car, Rudy jogging to the passenger side. He held my hand for the drive to my apartment, pulling it to his lips to kiss the back of it. We jammed out to some of our favorite songs, dancing crazy. I had the windows down so we could blast my speakers, probably waking everyone in the neighborhood up. Rudy even pulled out his phone to record us rapping Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, he got embarrassed after the first chorus though because that was the only part he knew and I was still going.

“Ok show off, trying to outshine me on my own Insta story.” he scoffed teasingly.

“Not my fault you don’t know the lyrical poet Ru,” I joked, sticking my tongue out at him. 

===================================

I threw my bag on the end table as soon as we walked into the apartment, Rudy taking a walk around. He picked up pictures, looked at my bookcase, and even pulled out some of the books I had to skim through. I sat on my couch to flip through some movies for us to watch, not wanting to miss a single moment spending time with him. Rudy walked into my kitchen, opening my cabinets, and my fridge. 

“Baby, why don’t you have anything to like eat or drink?” he called from the kitchen.

“I uh...I couldn’t afford to go to the store this payday. I had to pay my rent and my car payment which is basically my whole check, and the rest is for gas to school and work.” I murmured, knowing he was going to be upset with me.

“So like...what do you eat then?” he asked, peaking his head around to look at me.

I stared at the floor, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I could feel his anger radiating off of him, the tension in the room becoming nerve wracking. I was a poor college student ok, I didn’t have the luxury of my parents buying my way through it. I was lucky some nights to even have stuff to make a fucking cheese sandwich.

“I...I don’t.” I confessed, hearing a sharp scoff come from Rudy.

“Get your shoes back on.” he demanded, snatching my keys.

“Wha-...Where are we going?” I questioned.

“This shit isn’t going to continue, not on my watch. I am seriously pissed you didn’t tell me this.” he snapped, taking me aback for a moment.

“It’s not that big of a deal, you’re being over dramatic! It makes me lose weight so what’s the fucking problem?!” I yelled, Rudy whipped his head around, his mouth hanging open.

“The fucking problem is that I’m not going to sit here and watch my girlfriend struggle when I can help. Let me help you and stop being so stubborn. If you want to lose weight for you then that’s fine, but I don’t want you to have it in your head that you need to do it for me. You’re perfect to me.” he stated, earning an eye roll from me. 

“Alright Ru, let’s get this over with.” I sighed, secretly melting at how sweet and thoughtful he is. 

===============================

Goofing off in the store was all fun in games until I saw him..

Nick.

The guy that shredded my heart, still yet to be fixed. The guy that messed me up so bad I never thought I was deserving of love until Rudy came into my life. Rudy was in the middle of talking to me when I abruptly spun around and high tailed it out of the aisle. 

“What’s wrong?” Rudy asked as soon as he caught up to me. 

“We need to leave.” I declared.

“Babe, we haven’t even made it through half the store I-” he spoke.

“Hey y/n, long time no see.” someone said, my blood turning to ice. I turned around to see Nick with some of his friends, smirking at me. 

“Um..” I stuttered.

“Who’s blondie?” Nick scoffed, pointing at Rudy. 

“I’m her boyfriend.” Rudy said, glancing between the two of you. He must have put the pieces together from the very uncomfortable expression on my face.

“Boyfriend? Really y/n? You’re so desperate you hired someone to be your boyfriend? Pathetic really...” he laughed, his friends joining. I just wanted to ground to swallow me whole, I had to turn my head so they didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

“You’re Nick, the piece of shit who thinks he can just toy with women how he pleases.” Rudy concluded.

“Guilty, y/n and I had a good run didn’t we?” Nick commented, going to touch my shoulder.

“You lay one finger on her and I swear to god you’ll regret it.” Rudy said, his voice going an octave lower. 

“Oh please man, you seriously don’t have to keep your act up. How much is she paying you?” Nick asked, tilting his head.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but this isn’t an act.” Rudy hissed.

“Guys that look like us man don’t go for fat chicks.” Nick chuckled.

“The fuck did you just say?” Rudy bellowed, getting in Nick’s face. I had to intervene now, I couldn’t risk a fight in the middle of the store.

“Rudy please, he’s not worth it.” I said, tugging on his sleeve.

“Nice seeing you again y/n, remember what I said last time we spoke.” Nick cackled, leaving with his posse.

“What did that fucker say to you?” Rudy inquired, his chest heaving with anger.

“I’ll tell you when we get back, let’s just go to a different store.” I offered, checking out whatever we had in hand before heading to the car.

================================

Rudy spent way more than I told him he could, but I wasn’t surprised he didn’t listen to me. It took us four trips to carry in all the stuff we bought, I’m sure I’d be stocked up for a year now. I was seriously exhausted, and my mood hadn’t gotten any better since our run in with Nick. Rudy had tried to cheer me up, but I think he knew that my mood wouldn’t be saved tonight.

I planned on taking a quick shower, but I couldn’t stop my mind running through my past. My chest started to burn, my hand came over my mouth to conceal my sobs. I had hoped the water would drown out my cries, but Rudy still heard them. He shed his clothes and jumped in the shower, taking me in his arms. I leaned my head on his chest as I sobbed, his lips moving to kiss my wet hair. 

“I don’t understand! What did I ever do to deserve that!? I did everything for him! I was some sick game our whole relationship, how fucked up is that?” I laughed humorlessly.

“What did he say to you?” he inquired.

“He told me that I would never find someone to love me, that I was undeserving of love, and that I was the ugliest being on this Earth who was stupid to think I ever stood a chance with him.” I recalled.

“That’s fucked up, you should have let me beat his ass.” Rudy muttered, switching places with me so he could wash his hair.

“He’ll get his karma one day, someone will shred his heart beyond repair just like he did mine.” I whispered.

“I’ll have the best time repairing it then,” Rudy shrugged, leaning to plant a sweet kiss to my lips.

“Are you sure you want to go through that Rudy, I-I’m not...I’m not as happy go lucky as everyone thinks I am, I’m broken deep on the inside.” I said, shaking my head as I looked down to the tile.

“I wouldn’t of chased after you if I didn’t want all of you.” he spoke, tilting my chin up.

“Well I guess so but-” I started.

“It’s you and me against the world, no one will ever compare to you y/n.” he inputted. 

I kissed him hard, a moan leaving his lips. He pinned me against the wall, showing me exactly what I meant to him....

[happylifefanfic]

Safe Place Chapter 6

“Christopher, Jake, Claire!  The movie is starting in 5 minutes,” Emma yelled from the kitchen.  After dinner, the three children had gone to get their pajamas on while Emma cleaned up.  She had promised them earlier in the day that they could watch the newest release on the Disney+ app before going to bed.  

Just as she turned on the dishwasher, her phone rang.  A smile graced her face when she recognized Eddie’s ringtone.

“Hey, love.  How’s your shift going?” she said when she answered the call.

“It’s been okay.  We’ve had some crazy calls so far,” Eddie said with a sigh.  “How’s everything going there?”

“Good!  The kids are getting their pajamas on and then we’re going to watch that new movie they saw a preview for at Disneyland yesterday,” Emma replied as she moved to the room she shared with Eddie to change into her own pajamas.  They had decided to go ahead and move in together after he asked her to marry him.  Their wedding was set for the next month at Athena and Bobby’s house.

“I wish I was there with you guys,” Eddie groaned.  

“I wish you were here too,” Emma sighed.  “At least we’re both off tomorrow before I have to go back to work.”

“Thank God,” Eddie said.  “What time is your brother coming to pick up Jake and Claire?”

“He should be here around 9:00 in the morning, and Carla is coming to pick up Christopher at 9:30,” Emma said as she pulled her pajama top over her head.  The sound of giggles in the living room let her know that the kids were ready to begin the movie.  

“I forgot he wanted to spend the day with her tomorrow,” Eddie said quietly.

“Is that still okay?” Emma asked.  “I can call Carla if you’d rather him stay home.”

“He’d be so mad if we did that,” Eddie laughed.  “Plus, it will be nice to have some time alone.  We haven’t had the house to ourselves in weeks.”

“That will be nice,” Emma said dreamily.  “We have some more wedding planning to do too.”

“Let’s knock as much of it out tomorrow as we can,” Eddie said.  “Are you sure you don’t want to just go to the courthouse?”

“And have your mother and mine kill us both?  No, thank you,” Emma said as she walked down the hall to the living room.  

“I don’t blame you on that one,” Eddie said with a laugh.  Emma laughed along with him as she pulled up the Disney+ app on the television.  She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud roaring noise and then the unmistakable sound of an explosion that rattled the house.

“Emma!  What was that?” Eddie yelled through the phone, but got no response. 

Emma had fallen to her knees at the force of the blast and dropped the phone in the process.  Once the house stopped shaking, she grabbed the three children and ushered them quickly into the bathtub in the bathroom closest to them.  All three of them were terrified, and Emma paused a moment to calm them down.  

“You are safe,” she said.  “Stay here while I go check out what happened outside.  Do not leave this room!”

“No!  You can’t go by yourself!” Christopher yelled at her.  

“Christopher, I will be fine,” Emma said soothingly.  “I promise.”

Emma closed the bathroom door behind her and went to grab her gun, badge, and keys.  She grabbed her phone from the floor as she ran towards the front door.  

“Eddie?” she said into the phone.

“Oh thank god!” Eddie exclaimed.  “What on earth happened?”

“I don’t know yet,” Emma said as she jogged outside.  When she turned around to face her old house, a fireball lit up the sky the size of a mountain.

“Eddie, we’re going to need you guys here ASAP,” Emma said as she moved closer to the fireball.  Less than half a mile from their house, she found a scene straight out of a movie.  Remnants of an airplane were strewn all over a section of a neighborhood where houses once stood.  The whole area was engulfed in flames.

“What happened?” Eddie asked.  Emma could hear the sirens from the firetruck in the background.

“A plane crashed,” Emma said.  “The fire is out of control!”

“You need to get away from there,” Eddie yelled at her.

“I know,” she replied as she turned to head back to the house.  “I’m going to get the kids and take them to Athena and Bobby’s.  This fire is huge and it’s going to get bigger with the amount of jet fuel leaking from this plane.”

“Be careful,” Eddie warned.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.  You need to be careful too.  Come home to me safe and sound,” she said before she hung up.  As she got closer to the house, she saw neighbors coming out to investigate.

“You all need to go somewhere safe until the fire department has this area secured,” Emma said as she jogged past them.  When she returned to the house, she ushered the kids out of the house and into her car just as Engine 118 went roaring past.  

“That’s dad!” Christopher yelled. 

“It sure is,” Emma said calmly.  “We’re going to go to Athena and Bobby’s house and wait until it’s safe to come back.”

“Is Eddie going to be okay?” Claire asked with concern from the backseat as Emma maneuvered the car out of the driveway.

“Yeah, baby.  He’s going to be fine.  He does this kind of thing all the time,” Emma said as she smiled at her niece in the rearview mirror.  

On the inside, Emma’s heart was beating faster than normal.  She knew this was not your typical fire and that scared her more than she wanted to admit.  A wave of nausea passed over her as she pulled to a stop in front of Athena and Bobby’s house.  She and the kids went to the door and were greeted by Athena and Maddie.  

“Hey kids!” Athena greeted them.  “Harry is outside on the patio getting games ready for you guys.”

The kids followed Christopher outside as Maddie engulfed Emma in a friendly hug.

“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” she said as she released Emma.  “Buck called when Eddie couldn’t get you on the phone.  I came over to Athena’s to see what we could do to help.”  

“Bobby said the fire was awfully close to you guys,” Athena said to her partner.  “I’m happy to see you were able to get the kids out of there before it got really bad.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Emma said.  “It was like watching a horror movie unfold before my eyes.”

“Bobby said the FFA is reporting that it was a commercial flight out of Houston that crashed,” Athena said solemnly.  Maddie shuddered while Emma quietly hung her head.

“Let’s just focus on keeping things light and positive for the kids,” Maddie said.  

“Great idea,” Athena said.  “I can make us some popcorn.”

“That would be great,” Emma said with a weak smile.  “I’m going to go to the bathroom for a minute.”

“Sure, take your time,” Athena replied.  “We’ll keep an eye on the kids.”

Emma quickly made her way to the bathroom and barely managed to make it to the toilet before she became sick.  Several moments later, she emerged from the bathroom to see Maddie waiting outside the door.  

“How far along are you?” Maddie asked as she handed Emma a wet paper towel.  Emma took it, and gulped loudly.

“Six weeks,” she whispered as she moved the wet paper towel across her face.  

“Does Eddie know?” Maddie asked quietly.

“No,” Emma sobbed.  “I was going to tell him tomorrow after the kids left.  I just found out the day before we went to Disneyland.”

“Oh, honey,” Maddie said as she wrapped Emma in a hug.  “Eddie is going to be thrilled about the baby.”

Emma nodded her head unable to speak at the moment.  

“It’s never bothered me before that he puts his life on the line every time he goes out to a fire,” Emma said.  “I get it because I have a dangerous job as well, but for some reason today, it scares me to death to think of him out there in danger.”

“That’s completely understandable.  You love him, and you just found out that you’re carrying his child,” Maddie said as she rubbed Emma’s back soothingly.  

“You’re right,” Emma said quietly.  “I wish I would have told him about the baby yesterday.”

“You’ll be able to tell him when he gets home,” Maddie said.  “I smell popcorn.  You want some?”

“That actually sounds good right now,” Emma laughed as they headed out to the patio to be with Athena and the kids.  Even as Emma smiled and tried to act like nothing was wrong in front of the kids, her stomach rolled and she fought off the feeling that something awful was going to happen.a

[taeslovehandles]

The commercial - Shortstory

It had been quite a while since Seokjin was able to enjoy his games freely. Play long into the night while trying to win against Yoongi and Jimin that had picked up Teamfight Tactics because of him.

The lockdown was annoying, mostly because the members couldn't see their fans at all, but it also meant more freetime. All the members were finally able to pick up hobbies and activities they hadn't been able to do with their fully packed schedules.

It was great and most of the group actually spend time with their families or meeting friends. Seokjin however played games. A lot of them. All day and all night. He had ordered takeout and drank lots of soda. Taehyung and Jungkook often came by to eat and play together and sometimes Hoseok would visit with cupcakes and new receipts for his Hyung to try.

The year went by quickly and with it came changes. Heavy changes. Sitting all day without exercising and constantly stuffing your face had it's toll. And it was showing.

-Knock Knock-

Nothing. Seokjin didn't hear ithe knock. He was too panicked finding jeans that still fit him.

"Hyung?"

A shirt landed on Namjoons face.

"Hyung what are you doing in here?!"

"Joonie...Joonie I'm having some issues okay? Look." He pulled his way too tight shirt up to reveal a proud and sagging belly with wide and thick love handles. But the most prominent feature was his wide bubblebutt. It was massive.

"Oh."

"This is a bigger problem that a simple 'Oh' Joonie. These were my fat jeans Joonie. My fat jeans won't go over my thighs!"

That was a problem. But Namjoon couldn't shake the thought away how unbelievably hot his Hyung looked like that. To his demise his reddened cheeks couldn't either.

"Uhm... That is an issue but... I actually came here to ask if you read the group chat for the new schedule?"

"No. As you may have noticed I got bigger problems right now." Massive problems.

Namjoon bit his lips. "Well..."

"What is it?" Seokjin tried once more to get his tight shirt over his belly. It didn't even cover half of it. Good god he really let himself go.

Namjoon rubbed the back of his head. "Well the news you're about to hear won't be good ones then."

"Just tell me already. It can't be worse than this." He gestured to his body as he slightly jumped up and down. Everything jiggled. God Namjoon was glad he was wearing wide sweatpants and a hoodie to cover his erection.

"Well. The company accepted a new agency and we are having a shooting tomorrow for a commercial clip."

"Oh." Now it was Seokjin that said it. His eyes widened as his brain slowly realized what that meant. "Oh my fucking god. This is..."

"Bad?"

"Terribly bad. Shit. What am I supposed to do now Joonie!?" Seokjin truly panicked now. He had nothing to wear. How was he even. Fuck.

"Suits."

"What?"

"They told us to wear suits for the shooting. That's all I know." Namjoons red cheeks were still pronounced on his face. He only eyed Seokjins rare like five times.

"Oh god. I can't wear my suit though?"

"Well-" And Namjoon hated himself for suggesting something that was obvious but he was literally drooling over Seokjins wide ass. "Maybe your suit still fits? You should try it. The fabric is more stretchy. You didn't gain that much." He did. Seokjin looked like a version that ate Seokjin. Each asscheek as big as one curled up Seokjin. No way was the man gonna fit in his old suit. But Namjoon couldn't help himself. He needed to see this.

"No I haven't tried them on yet. Let's see." Rummaging through his closet, Seokjin pulled his black suit out and held it over his body. "And you really think -that- still fits in there?" He grabbed part of his jiggly big butt.

"It might be a bit tight but it should fit." Why was Namjoon like that. It wouldn't fit. Not in a million years.

"Alright then let's try it. Nothing to lose."

------

A disaster. It had been a disaster. Not only did Seokjin rip the button of his pants but also ripped his entire shirt open at the seams. And if that hadn't been bad enough the poor man also ended up splitting his pants in the process of hunching over to pick up the popped button from the ground, presenting Namjoon with his wonderful underwear. An underwear that had also been too small revealing a big asscrack. Great.

-sniff-

"What am I supposed to do now Joonie?" Seokjins eyes looked teary. He was about to burst into tears.

"Hey shh. It's okay. I know a shop that basically lives off of situations like this."

"People getting too fat for their suits?"

Namjoon pinched Seokjins nose. "No dummy. People that need a custom tailord suit within 24h. I'll call them and we buy you a new one for tomorrow okay?"

Rubbing his nose Seokjin looked hopeful now. "Okay...Thank you Jonnie. You are a life saver."

---------

The suit had been made with ease and Seokjin looked presentable for the shooting the next day. Namjoon had been nice enough to inform the other members about their Hyungs 'weight struggles' and asked them to be scincere as well as to not mention it around him or stare too much.

But it was hard not to stare. The man that entered the shooting was huge. Seokjin had really packed on the pounds this past year. So much that his butt had touched the door frame on both sides slightly. The members did not mentioned his weight gain nor did they stare. At least not when Seokjin was looking.

"Hey guys. Sooo does anyone know what this shooting is for? What commercial are we filming?" Seokjin asks curious but also a bit embarrassed. No one had said anything about his new figure yet. He was glad they didn't but he still felt out of place.

"Hyundai is revealing their new S Class and we will be the new ambassadors for them. It's a huge deal apparently." Yoongi answers.

"Oh. Okay. Cars. No that's. That's cool." Seokjin was starting to sweat. He hadn't sat in a car for a year and didn't know if he would even fit in one anymore.

"Do you know if we-"

"Alright guys. Please come over here and stand infront of the car. I want three of you sitting down and the other four standing around it please." The director yells from across the room.

Standing. Seokjin would definitely stand. He scooted next to Namjoon on the left side of the car to slightly lean against it. Somehow look cooler.

The director looked at them and took some test shots before directing them for multiple different shots. Some with everyone walking toward the camera. Some with units of two to three and Seokjin really thought he would be able to finish this without getting into any uncomfortable situations. He thought that too soon.

"Alright. I will be taking action unit shots now. I want Mr.Kim and Mr.Park for this one please. Just stand next to the car for now please."

Seokjin did as he was told until the director kept rubbing his beard. "Mhmm actually. Can Mr.Kim please sit inside the car and get out after Mr.Park says his line?"

"Sure." Oh god Oh god Oh god no why please. At first Seokjin kept calm. He opened the door and sat inside. Or more so let his heft pull him into the tiny seat. His belly was in the way and he couldn't close the door because of it but the director seemed to like the casual look of Seokjin only sitting halfway in it with his legs outside.

Jimin said his line and then it was over. Seokjin tried to get up and out of the seat but his butt wouldn't budge. He tried again. Nothing.

Jimin whispered. "What are you doing. Get up?"

"I can't." Seokjin whispered back. "I'm stuck." Oh this was a nightmare. How in the world was Seokjin supposed to get out of this with his pride in tact?

"Cut." The director glanced at Seokjin when he spoke more firmly. "Mr.Kim is there a problem?"

"Oh uhm. No. It's just." He laughed akwardly. "You see. I really like this car and I was thinking maybe I could just keep sitting in it for this tape?"

The director cocked his brow as he obviously looked the man up and down.

"I agree!" Jimin came to his rescue. "Wouldn't it be a more dynamic shot if Seokjin keeps sitting and me walking toward him as I say my line? That way the car would be more in the focus." Jimin you smart son of a bitch. Seokjin truly loved his members.

"Mhmm. Alright let's try it!" The director sat back on his chair and Jimin winked at Seokjin before leaving to get ready for his walking scene.

-------

It was a blast. The scene looked good and right after Jimins and Seokjins shot they switched to another car color with Namjoon and Hoseok. This gave everyone else time to figure out how to get Seokjin out of that damn car.

"Wait don't pull on my suit! It's gonna rip!"

"Hyung we need to grab you somewhere though. " Taehyung pouts.

"Yah. Less talking more pushing." Yoongi had climbed onto the front seat and was pushing into Seokjins butt to somehow get him free.

"This isn't working." Jimin states.

"It would work if you'd help me push or pull him." Yoongi was out of breath. But not giving up.

God Seokjin just wanted to disappear into the ground and never come back out again. His members hands were everywhere on him. Squishing his fat without succeeding in getting him out. He had never felt so embarrassed.

It took them 15 minutes until they finally managed to pull him out of the car seat. Unfortunately Seokjin had somehow managed to press one side of his butt against the steering wheel and the hall was filled with a loud honk.

Whoever had been busy and not staring at the members did now. And Seokjin was standing there with his jacket open and a ridden up shirt that revealed his jiggly lover belly as well as wide hips poking out of his pants.

He stood there and laughed akwardly. He had to diet. He'd start tomorrow. Or maybe in a few days.

[idyllicstarker]

“Come on, let’s go on a drive” • Starker

Warnings: One use of foul language, one comment with implict sexual connotations, otherwise none, just a healthy douse of fluff

“Come on, let’s go on a drive.”

Peter blinked surprised, head lifting from the soft pillow underneath his cheek, to look over his boyfriend. Tony was kneeling on the edge of the bed with a soft smile, his eyes still looked clouded with sleep, as he beckoned Peter to get up. The man was still in the boxers he’d slept in, but he looked as serious as ever.

Peter shifted under the sheets, hand reaching out to tap his phone screen, squinting at the sudden light as he tried to make out what the time read.

“It's 2am Tony”, he said quietly, rolling over again to face him.

“Okay.. so let’s go on a drive.”

Peter let out a tired laugh, shaking his head. “Come back to bed love, you were asleep five minutes ago.”

“Yes but you weren’t”, Tony stressed, his voice no louder than a whisper. Crawling forward he placed a kiss to Peter’s head. “I know you’re worrying over your final grades. So, I thought we could go on a little drive, I know that calms you down, especially when it’s raining”, he hummed softly.

Peter felt very warm - very loved; Tony spoke so gently to him. In all fairness, he was stressed, he’d been worrying all night, and Tony was right, he hadn’t been able to sleep. As the man let out snores, Peter had tossed and turned, and when he’d woken Tony up with all the movement, he’d profusely apologised.

What he hadn’t expected was for Tony to get out of bed. As silence fell over the room, Peter confirmed that it was indeed raining, he could hear the quiet pitter-patter against the window. It was soothing, calming even, and maybe that would lull him to sleep instead. Maybe.

As tempted as he was, he knew Tony was tired. Back to back meetings had wore him out, to make him drive him around so late at night just seemed selfish.

But Tony saw the hesitance in Peter’s eyes, and decided he wasn’t going to give an option. He tore the sheets off the boy, laughing at the way he squirmed.

“It’s cold Tony”, Peter whined, but the smile on his lips showed he wasn’t all that mad.

“Well then put a hoodie on and hurry up”, Tony prompted, gently pulling on Peter’s hands to help him sit up, before climbing off the bed to get into some of his own clothes.

***

The soft purr of the engine rang out into the quiet night. Peter winced, glad they didn’t live around anyone and turned his gaze out the window.

“We don’t have to do this Tones, I promise, I’m fine”, he muttered softly, the guilt obviously setting in.

He’d pulled on one of Tony’s old sweatshirts, the sleeves bunched up in his fists, and the hood pulled atop his head so that only a few chestnut curls could be seen peeking out. The man glanced over at him, and couldn’t help the affectionate smile that rose onto his face at how adorable he looked.

His face was slightly flush from exhaustion, but Tony could see how his brain was still whirring, so the drive was needed, even if Peter denied it.

He decided not to reply, simply pulling out of the garage and out onto the road. Peter let out a small huff at being ignored, crossing his arms over his chest. Tony laughed softly at the sight.

“Peter baby”, he muttered softly “relax.”

“How am I supposed to relax knowing you have four meetings tomorrow, and yet we’re out here at 2am because you’re too stubborn for your own good.”

For a moment the car was silent. Tony’s steady gaze focusing on the road in front of them. He’d put his glasses on before they’d left the house but they were slightly crooked in his haste to get out. He knew better than to drive without them though, especially if he had Peter in the car with him.

“I just wanted to help…”, the man finally whispered. He’d deflated in his seat, no longer as excited as he had been, and all at once a wave of guilt washed over Peter. “I just… I’m sorry, we can go back”, he continued quietly.

A fool. That’s what Peter was. Tony was doing this for him, he was always so good to him, and he still couldn’t appreciate it.

“I don’t want to go back”, Peter mumbled quietly, raising his hand to gently fix Tony’s glasses on his nose, and leaning over the console to press a kiss to his cheek. It was still cold from the shock of leaving the warmth of their bedroom, and so he moved to turn on the heater.

“Do you think you can reschedule the meetings tomorrow?”, he asked gently after a moment.

“If it makes you feel better.”

“It would.”

“Then I will.”

Peter nodded his head, letting out a small breath of relief. “We can sleep in. And I’ll make you breakfast in the morning”, he offered, almost as an ultimatum.

Tony huffed out a laugh, taking his right hand away from the wheel so he could rest in on Peter’s thigh. A smaller, warmer hand, found its way on top of it a second later, lacing their fingers together. “How could I ever say no to breakfast”, he hummed.

Peter laughed gently, resting his head back against the rest, titling his head so he could watch the raindrops fall slowly down the glass of the window.

His thumb gently ran over Tony’s knuckles, brushing over the grooves and scars left behind from a life of hard work.

“You can put on some music if you want”, Tony spoke after a good few minutes of silence, the sound of the rain hitting the top of the car, and the soft hum of the engine.

“I didn’t bring my phone.”

“Have you forgotten what a radio is?”, Tony asked teasingly. Peter giggled, closing his eyes as he yawned, and shook his head.

“Alright old man, we’ll do it your way”, he muttered, slowly opening his eyes to gaze over the man with a sleepy look of affection, before he leaned forwards to turn the radio on.

Within seconds, loud rock music was blasting through the speakers, Peter jumping twice his height as he scrambled to turn it down.

“Jesus Christ Tony”, he hissed, once it was at a more acceptable level. The man himself was laughing hysterically, the sides of his eyes crinkled in the way that Peter adored so much. Tony had such a cute smile, he didn’t know how anyone could ever disagree with that.

He rolled his eyes, moving his left hand to grip at the steering wheel, to make sure Tony didn’t swerve. He trusted him enough not to, knowing he wouldn’t put his life in danger like that. But he also knew that if they did get into an accident, Tony would do everything in his power to make sure Peter was as safe as he could be. Even if it meant directing the car in such a way that the hit was directed to Tony. Therefore, Peter acted as the balance, he wouldn’t allow that to happen. The road was largely deserted, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“You done?”, he asked, unamused as Tony began to calm down. The older male snickered, glancing over at the boy and smiling softly.

“You love me really”, he said simply, watching as Peter took his hand back off the wheel, to rest over Tony’s on his lap once again,

The boy made a show of pretending to think about it, letting out a hum as he gave the man’s fingers a squeeze. “I guess you’re right”, he ended up shrugging.

Tony scoffed at that, looking out at the approaching lights of the city.

“What?”, Peter asked with a soft giggle, “maybe if you didn’t leave your music blasting all the time, so that when I go to turn it on, I won’t have a heart attack… I’d love you more.”

“The car’s sound proof, no one can hear it…”

“I can!”, he interjected, pouting slightly.

They pulled up to a red light and Tony huffed. “Smile sweetheart, if you frown and pout all the time you’ll end up looking ugly like me”, he said softly, leaning across the console to press a kiss to the sweet lips that were basically inviting him to do it, so Peter couldn’t complain.

“Eyes on the road mister”, Peter muttered when he’d pulled away, but he of course, would never complain about a few extra kisses. “And you’re not ugly, so stop saying that. You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen”, he hummed.

“You have to say that, I’m your boyfriend”, Tony corrected.

“Oh please, the only reason I’m your boyfriend is because you’re sexy”, he teased, causing Tony to gasp as if he was offended, pulling off again as the light turned green.

“Then what happens when my looks start to slide?”, he questioned.

Peter raised an eyebrow, pretending to be very confused as he turned his face away. “I thought they already had”, he mumbled - of course it was all playful, a deliberate attempt to rile him up.

Tony knew that all too well, and began to laugh. “Hey now Peter, I don’t care if I’m seventy, and my chest is sagging, and my stomach’s round, and I have no hair, you're gonna love me anyway”, he said, nudging him gently.

Peter snorted, moving to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder, after having pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw. “I will, I’ll always love you. I don’t love you for your look:, even if the small gray hairs poking out of your head do sinful things to my thoughts. I love for who you are. So yes, even when you’re seventy, I’ll be right here beside you”, he whispered gently, nuzzling his cheek against his shoulder gently.

The rain had begun to pick up a bit more now. The raindrops sounded heavier against the roof. The buttery glow of the streetlights on their faces became more frequent as they turned into the more populated streets.

This was a conversation they’d had many times. Tony was usually the one to express his doubts. He may be egotistical most days of his life, but Peter had quickly figured out that he was a slight bit insecure about their age difference. He was always quick to reassure him, despite the jokes he made. Peter wasn’t going anywhere. And besides, he was pretty sure Tony Stark couldn’t age badly, it just seemed impossible.

“I know Peter. I do. And I thank you for that”, he said softly, tilting his head to press a kiss to his temple. He felt the way his cheek squished further into the material of his shirt as Peter smiled.

“Don’t thank me for loving you. It’s pretty hard not to.”

“I beg to differ.”

A roll of his eyes, and Peter was poking at his side gently. “Shush, I don’t have the energy to tell you all the reasons why I love you right now”, he huffed out.

Again Tony laughed, turning around a corner so that they could go back the way they came. They weren’t planning to go anywhere in particular, but he knew Peter preferred driving in the more secluded areas. They were more dangerous of course, but they made a great team against anyone who would try to cross them. “Fine, fine, I’ll leave the self loathing to another day.”

“Tonyyy”, Peter whined.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I love you too sweetheart”, he muttered instead.

Peter nodded his head, happy with that answer as he leaned forwards to change the station, ignoring Tony’s grunt. “You said I could play music, we’re playing what I want”, he said adamantly.

When he found a station to settle on, he gasped quietly hearing the song. He was up in an instant, Tony having to blink and register the fact that all the energy had seemed to come back to him. “I love this song”, he giggled, moving to turn it up just slightly.

The slight scrunch of Tony's nose showed it wasn’t quite to his taste, but with the way Peter was grinning, and making up an elaborate dance routine in his seat, he didn’t have the heart to complain. He was wiggling his hips to the beat, singing along quietly, and Tony couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He really did love him so much.

He turned it up just slightly, quite enjoying the personal concert he was receiving.

As the next song came on, Peter apparently coined onto the fact that he knew it. And was begging the man to sing with him. They bickered for a moment, but of course, Tony lost at the sight of the wide puppy eyes, and suddenly they were dancing and singing together.

By the time Peter had calmed down, Tony’s voice was hoarse, but it was worth it because the other seemed less tense. He was yawning slightly, Tony turning the music down as the younger male cuddled up under his hoodie, and curled into his seat. Tired eyes watched as they passed familiar buildings, but they were slowly starting to blur.

“Do you think I’m going to pass everything tomorrow?”, he asked quietly after a moment. He seemed timid and shy, turning his body to look over Tony, as he yawned once again.

“I know you’re going to pass tomorrow Petey. With flying colours, top of your class”, he corrected.

The boy sighed out, pretending to seem uninterested with that reply, but Tony noticed the blush creeping onto his cheeks. “Be serious”, he huffed, and Tony laughed quietly.

“I am sweetheart. I know you better than anyone. You can say I have high expectations but I know your abilities and what you can do. Even if you don’t see it. And I know you’ve tried your hardest no matter what. And that’s all you can do. Your best. I’ve seen your sleepless nights studying, the way you’ve overworked yourself… you’re going to be absolutely fine. I know you are.”

“But what if my best isn't enough.” The look on Peter’s face almost broke his heart. Tony knew, the effort he’d put into his grades, and to fall now, Tony knw would wound the boy much worse than any enemy of the boy could.

“It will be”, he soothed, gently moving to take Peter’s hand in his, and being the smooth knuckles up his lips, pressing a comforting kiss over them. “Everyone, including me, will be proud of you, no matter what you get. If you get into M.I.T great. It’s your dream, and you deserve to live it. If you don’t, then fuck them. You’ve tried so hard everyday, and we all know your so much better than any grade that you get on a piece of paper”, he said.

As the streetlight washed over Peter’s face, he could see the blush had only grown stronger. Spreading over his nose and to his ears. But what got Tony most of all, was the tears that were in his love’s eyes.

“Baby…”, he muttered quietly, his entire expression softening at the sight. He ended up pulling over, onto the side of the road, shutting off the engine so he could give him his undivided attention.

“You really think so?”, Peter ignored his concern, instead focusing on his words. He sounded so trusting of Tony as always, but there was clearly something holding him back from believing in his own worth. It was something that Tony had become well accustomed to by this point. Something he’d tried to make sure wouldn’t grow too heavy on the boy's shoulders. It took a lot of encouragement, praise and overall a healthy support system, something Tony was more than happy to provide.

“I know so, sweetheart”, he confirmed. “Your intelligence is unmatched-”

“Apart from yours of course”, Peter giggled wetly.

Tony shook his head, usually appreciating the ego boost, but not right now. “Peter, honey, sweetheart, baby, love bunny.. you’re so much smarter than I will ever be. And at 18 years old too. You’re amazing. I’m jealous of that little brain of yours. And if M.I.T can’t see that, regardless of your grades, then they’re idiots.” (Peter hadn’t let him interfere with the process, he wanted to do this on his own - the only thing he did was send a glowing recommendation that was of course only filled with praise)

Peter was sobbing by the end of his little speech, and Tony took off his belt, moving to take him into his arms. He held the boy as he trembled, rubbing his back, and letting him cry off all the stress he’d been holding in.

When he was done, and he pulled back, his eyes were puffy, but as always, they held so much love for the man beside him in the car. “Thank you Tones…”, he mumbled quietly. What else was he supposed to say. There were no words he could give to truly display the way he felt.

But Tony didn’t want anything else. He just wanted Peter happy. That was the most important thing. “I love you”, he said softly in the end, moving his thumbs to stroke softly over his cheeks, and wipe away the rest of his tears.

“I love you too”, Peter muttered gently, laughing as he caught sight of himself in the reflection on the window.

“I’m a mess”, he added after, shaking his head, as he caught Tony’s lips against his own.

When he pulled away, Tony winked at him. “My beautiful mess”, he offered instead.

Peter rolled his eyes, but loved the phrase nevertheless. “I guess we can say that”, he hummed playfully, looking over Tony with all the love and affection the small body could possibly give.

Tony could see past that however, noticing how tired he was now. The good thing was, he did seem to be a lot better. And he supposed his words had taken some good effect. At least he could do that right. A quick glance at the clock told him it was nearing 3:30am now, so home was a given, even if he was quite enjoying their time in the car. He wanted Peter at least a little rested, he didn’t want him collapsing from exhaustion. He started up the car again, mumbling about how they should get him home, as he pulled off onto the street.

Peter didn’t try to stop him, or interject. His body was heavy as he leaned back in his seat, rolling his neck as his gaze tried to focus on the lights of the city. They all fused together eventually, his eyes slowly closing despite how hard he was trying to fight it. Tony’s hand still lay comforting on his thigh, and the soft purr of the car was quite a nice background to his fading thoughts.

As the city lights began to diminish, and the car rolled forwards towards home, sleep won the battle over Peter’s body. He knew that whatever happened tomorrow, he’d made Tony proud, and really, that’s all he’d ever wanted to do.

***

Tag list: @itsmexavie @icandoakickflip @peterparker-starks

[someguynamedstevewrites]

My Roommate is an Apparition: WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT TO HAVE A DAD - Part 1

Based on characters created by @reddpenn

————————————-

It was Saturday afternoon and Lily was dancing around in a baggy shirt, baggy sweatpants, socks, and jamming out to Michael Jackson’s Thriller; blasting it out from her computer’s speakers.  She had been vacuuming the floor, washing dishes, gathering trash, and doing other reasonable adult chores with a spring in her step.  Lily was feeling fantastic and even if someone told her that her car had been towed and had a $300 fine, she wouldn’t have cared and continue to dance.

She was, to put it bluntly: hyped.  

Something she had been looking forward to for a very long time was coming and Lily could not contain her glee.  On the wall, her calendar had a big red circle around March 7th: the upcoming Thursday.  In the pantry were a wide variety of snacks, munchies, treats, and goodies (some of them were leftover from the Pink Panther marathon a few weeks back, but were never opened, so they were still good).  Visions of possible ways to decorate the apartment to celebrate floated through her head as her heart beat with excitement.  To most others, this Thursday wasn’t anything particularly special, but In about six days...

...Castlevania Season Three was going to premiere on Netflix.

————————————-

As Lily danced while she worked, a pair of eyes were watching from the walls.  Lily knew they were there, but didn’t mind, since she knew those eyes belonged to her apparition roommate.  Their name was “Tulpa” (since that’s what they said it was when Lily asked) and recently, Lily had begun addressing them by name as opposed to simply “Roommate” or “Roomie”.

“Hey Tulpa!” Lily called out to the pair of eyeballs embedded into the wall, “Hope you don’t mind the music!”

Materializing from the wall, the nose-less, ear-less, long haired, spiky-toothed being moved closer and stared at their roommate doing the “Boogie of Unreachable Back Itch” with a puzzled look on their face.  The apparition couldn’t remember the last time they ever saw Lily look this happy.  Usually, she wasn’t nearly this energetic on her days off when doing chores, so something good must have happened.

“Why... are you... dancing?” Tulpa asked quietly in their trademark raspy voice.  Unfortunately, they were too quiet since Lily didn’t hear a word they said over the music coming from the computer.

“Lily...”  her roommate called out slightly louder, “Why... are you... dancing!?”

Once again, Lily couldn’t hear a thing and her ghostly roommate was starting to get annoyed.  They needed to do something to get her attention, and in a way that didn’t disturb the neighbors, frighten Lily, or result in something breaking.  (The two of them had a very long chat about it after “The Pink-ening” back in February.)  Eyeing Lily’s computer, Tulpa got an idea and hovered over to it.

One quick YouTube search was all it took to change the music to something Tulpa was more... familiar with.

“IN THE HEART OF TRANSYLVANIA!

IN THE VAMPIRE HALL OF FAME, YEAH!

THERE’S NOT A VAMPIRE ZANIER THAN

DUCKULAAAAAAA!!!”

*click*

————————————-

Lily stopped the music and looked at Tulpa with a half-smile on her face.  “You rang?” she said jokingly.

“Why... are you... dancing?” asked Tulpa.

Lily chuckled to herself, “I’m glad you asked!” she said joyfully, “One of my favorite shows has a new season premiering this Thursday!  Castlevania!”

“Castle... vania?” Tulpa asked inquisitively.  Despite being an apparition with no physical organs or body parts, they did have a memory, and something about that name seemed familiar.  Almost reflexively, Tulpa said, “Simon... Belmont?”

Lily raised an eyebrow and looked at her surprisingly knowledgeable roommate.  “You know about Simon Belmont!?”

“Mega... Man...” Tulpa continued, “Kid... Icarus...”

Lily was going to ask what Tulpa was talking about when her phone began to ring.  Walking over, she picked up her smartphone and answered knowing exactly who it was on the other end.  From the phone came a baritone voice that could best be described as “Overly Hammy”.

“YOOOOUUUUU HAVE MET WITH A TERRIBLE FAAAATE!  A GREAT CUUUUUUURSE HAS BEEN PUT UPON YOOOOOUUUUU!  OOOOOooooooooooo!”

“Hi Dad,” Lily answered with a smile.

“Hey sweetie!” came a cheerful voice over the phone, “Looking forward to this Thursday!?”

“You bet I am!” beamed Lily, “Did you hear they cast Bill Nighy to play Saint Germain!?”

“I did!” her father beamed back.  

————————————-

As father and daughter chit-chatted on the phone, Tulpa looked over Lily’s shoulder with a slight look of envy.  They could see how happy Lily was on the phone talking with her family.  Tulpa, however, hadn’t used a phone in a very long time, and they were kind of amazed at how far phones had come.  Any phone that let someone watch cartoons on it was the best phone ever in their book.  Deep down, they wished they had one of their own.  The apparition gave a breathless, wistful sigh as it watched Lily talk, but then Lily’s face was suddenly no longer smiling.

————————————-

“What do you mean THIS weekend?” she asked over the phone.

“Well I did say I was coming over the first weekend of March, didn’t I?”

“Yeah!  March 7th and 8th, right!?” Lily asked starting to feel a little panicked now.

“Noooo...” her Dad trailed off, “I was talking about this weekend.”

“Dad!  This is not the first weekend of March!  It’s the last weekend of February!” Lily said with exasperation,

“Tomorrow’s March 1st, and a Sunday, right?” her Dad pleaded his case.

“Yeah!  But the first weekend of any month usually means the first FULL weekend of any month!  It doesn’t count if it’s half-and-half!” Lily stated as a sinking feeling began to form in her gut.

She could hear her Dad shrug over the phone, “Oh well, my mistake then.”

“YEAH!” said Lily, “I don’t even have the place cleaned up yet.  I’m not ready to have company over!”  Her roommate noticed that Lily was looking at them when they said that.

“Honey, you know I don’t care if the place is cleaned up or not,” her father said.

“I DO!” Lily almost shouted. 

Despite her protesting, the apartment was actually looking good that Saturday.  The vacuuming was finished, dishes were being washed in the dishwasher, trash had been taken out, the display cases for her rock collection had been dusted off, and the apartment was, for all intents and purposes, presentable.  The real problem was that Lily hadn’t gone over her Dad’s visit with Tulpa yet to  make sure they understood how to behave themselves.

“Look,” Lily began to beg, “Could you just stop by and visit next weekend?  It’d work a lot better for me.”

“Yyyyyyeeeaaahhhh...” her Dad said while trailing off, “...about that...”  As soon as he finished saying the word “about”, Lily began to feel a little nauseous as she whipped around to look at the front door.  Beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead as the dreaded noise she feared most came from her front door.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

————————————-

Lily practically dropped the phone as her pupils shrank and panic began to set in.  She turned to her roommate, and tried to grab their hand.  Unfortunately, given Tulpa’s natural state of transparency, Lily’s hand went right through theirs.  Realizing that wasn’t going to work, Lily began to frantically move her arms and make gestures to get Tulpa to hide.

Tulpa, meanwhile, wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but picked up on Lily’s gestures and went into one of the bedrooms.  Lily then closed the door and walked quickly over to the front door.  She opened it up, and just as she suspected, there was her Dad standing right outside with his phone up to his ear.

“Hey, Hey, Hey!” he said with a smile, “Guess who’s here!”

Lily had to use every muscle she had to contort her face into a forced smile, “D-D-Dad!  Hi!”  There was no mistake that it was him.  There were very few people who would consider a T-shirt that had an 8-bit pixel sprite with the caption “Uncle Vlad’s Wall Chicken” on it as “casual going out” clothes.  It was a Christmas gift she had gotten him a few months earlier, and while she was glad to know it fit him okay, seeing him out and about in it was somehow incredibly embarrassing.

“May I come in?” he asked politely.

“Uhhhhh...”  Lily stammered, “C-Could you give me a second.  I just, ummm...” she trailed off while trying to think of an excuse, “...need to pick up some laundry off the floor.  Yeah.  Don’t want you stepping on any... underwear or socks or anything!”  Lily’s laundry had already been cleaned, folded, and put away, including the towels in the linen closet, but her Dad didn’t know that, and she was banking on it.

“Sure!” her Dad agreed, “I did kind of drop in unannounced.”

“THANKS DAD!” Lily again almost hollered as she had to hold herself back from slamming the door when she closed it.  She immediately ran to the room where Tulpa was and looked her square in the eyes.  “Okay,” she began, “I know this is sudden, but my DAD is here!  I’m going to need you to be on your BEST behavior while he’s here, okay?”

Tulpa blinked and looked at Lily with their usual vacant expression on their face.  “...why?”  

“BECAUSE... Because...” Lily trailed off as she tried to think of a good reason.  Tulpa couldn’t be seen by anyone other than her, and she wasn’t entirely sure if other people could hear Tulpa either.  But her ethereal roommate was somehow able to make the entire apartment pink last month all the way down to the toilet paper, and could hold and carry things in their ghost-like hands.  “...I don’t want to scare him off!” was the best excuse Lily could think of off the top of her head.

Tulpa nodded, “...okay...” she said.  Lily detected a hint of them sounding disappointed, but she’d find a way to make it up to them later.

“I’ll make it up to you later!”

[See? Told yah!]

Tulpa wasn’t entirely sure why Lily was acting so strange all of a sudden.  She was acting as though her Dad would be able to see them even though they both knew that wasn’t possible.  Despite this, Lily still seemed uncomfortable with the whole situation, and not wanting to trouble their friend, Tulpa nodded.

Lily followed up with a quick, “Thank you!” before turning around to dash to the front door.

————————————-

Opening the door again, Lily gestured to her father to come on in, “Make yourself at home!” she said like she knew full well just how cliche it was to say.

“Don’t mind if I do,” her Dad said with a smile as he walked in.  It was then that Lily noticed the backpack he had on.  She recognized it as the “Electronics” backpack her Dad carried whenever he was taking a laptop or any other electronic device with him to places.  He headed straight to the living room, took his backpack off and began fishing around inside of it.

Lily gulped, “Did you bring-?” she began to ask before her Dad pulled out a family treasure from inside the backpack.

“Indeed I did!” he said proudly as he cut her off.  In his hands was one of his most prized possessions:

A Nintendo Entertainment System.

It was the same NES that he got back when he was fourteen years old in 1986.  He had been a video game fan ever since the early days of Atari and took meticulous care of his game systems to make sure they lasted and functioned for decades to come.  Even in his middle-ages at forty-eight years old, he still had the same passion for video games as he did when he was a kid.

Only one question was on Lily’s mind which she had no trouble verbalizing: “Why?!”  

Her Dad grinned a smug grin as he reached into the backpack and pulled out a small, black, plastic sleeve that contained an NES cartridge in it.  It wasn’t just any NES cartridge either; it was Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.

Seeing that cartridge gave Lily mixed feelings.  She could remember the times growing up with her father when he would insist that she sit down and play video games with him.  But it often wasn’t so much to play them as it was to lecture her about them.  He would regularly go on and on about the history of video games, how significant they were to modern society and culture, nifty bits of trivia, and for Lily, NOTHING took away the fun from video games more so than trying to make them an educational experience.  In the back of her head, she knew they weren’t all like that; she still had many good memories playing games with her father (and playing the same games her father was lecturing about whenever he WASN’T lecturing), but the look in his eyes told her that this was going to be another one of his signature talks.

“Dad,” Lily pleaded, “No.  No, please!  Can’t we just, I dunno, watch Castlevania on Netflix?  Maybe check out the Japanese dub or something?”  She knew exactly what was about to happen.  He was going to connect the NES to her TV, put Castlevania III in, and then play it while talking about how the game eventually became the show she adored with voice acting by Richard Armitage and Graham McTavish.  All this to “prepare” for the season premiere in a few days.

Unfortunately for Lily, her father shook his head and said, “Now I didn’t spend my high school years breaking down blocks for wall meat and whipping away Medusa Heads for nothing.  C’mon!  Don’t you want to see your old man defeat Dracula?”

The answer to that was an emphatic “NO!” from Lily, but she wasn’t about to hurt her Dad’s feelings.  While it wasn’t how she planned to spend her Saturday, she figured that as soon as he got it out of his system, the sooner he could head back home.  Plus, talkative as he was, he was still rather decent at playing difficult video games even at forty-eight years old.  As long as everything went well, he ought to be able to finish the game in about an hour; two hours tops.

————————————-

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes was watching from the bedroom door (as in, within the bedroom door) as Lily’s Dad effortlessly hooked up the NES to the TV.  Tulpa began to remember some of the people that used to live here also had video game systems like the one Lily’s Dad was hooking up.   They were pretty interesting, and Tulpa was somewhat curious about them even if they weren’t cartoons.  Eager to see more of what was going on, they poked their head out more and more from the door.

Lily sighed as her Dad continued to fiddle with the cables behind the TV, and turned around in time to see Tulpa who was now poking their head out in full view.  Before Lily could say or do anything...

“AAUUGGHH!!”

Lily spun back around and looked at her father who looked like he had seen a ghost...

...but he was actually looking at the jumbled mess of pixels on the TV screen.  “Aww man,” he groaned, “I thought I cleaned this already!”  Turning to his daughter, he asked, “Hey can you reach into my backpack and grab the Q-Tips and alcohol?”

Sure enough, there was a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol and Q-Tips in the backpack, and Lily deftly fished them out and gave them to her man-child of a father.  Or was the correct term “Child-Man”?  Lily wasn’t quite sure but pushed that thought to the side as she said to him, “Hey, I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick!  B.R.B.!”

“Okie dokie,” her Dad said as he happily cleaned the game cartridge pins.  He always found something so cathartic about cleaning cartridges and getting them to work.  It was almost zen-like.

Of course, Lily did not go to the bathroom.   Instead, she walked right over to Tulpa’s levitating elongated neck and head, opened the door they were peeking out from (which pulled their head out of the door), and marched in with a mixture of disapproval, frustration, and worry on their face.  “What are you DOING!?” she demanded with her teeth clenched and her voice lowered.

“Want to... see,” Tulpa said bashfully.  Lily noticed that they weren’t looking her in the eyes.

“It’s just my DAD and his games!” pleaded Lily.

“I’d like... to meet... him,” said the curious ghost.

Lily turned to look at the door, then back to Tulpa, and raised her thumb like a hitchhiker to point to the door behind her.  “Him!?” Lily said incredulously, “What for!? He can’t even see or hear you anyway!”

It was true that Tulpa could not be seen by anyone other than Lily, and Tulpa knew that all too well.  Not a single living soul was able to see or truly hear them any time before now.  Lily was the exception and neither of them had any idea why.  But, the apparition thought to itself, the person out in the living room was Lily’s father.  What if...

“AH HA!” Lily practically jumped from her father’s victorious cheer, “I GOT IT!” he crowed from the living room.   Lily did a small face palm as the shout gave her flashbacks to when she was eight-years old and her Dad would practically scream at the top of his lungs every time he died playing Ninja Gaiden after Lily had gone to sleep.  Few things were more terrifying than being woken up out of a deep dream by the shrill shrieks of your own father.

Lily turned to Tulpa and made a shushing gesture, “If you’re gonna watch, just... make sure not to touch anything so he won’t know someone’s there, okay!?”

Tulpa nodded, somewhat solemnly, as Lily stepped out to join her Dad in the living room.  Inside the room Tulpa was in, there was a large mirror attached to a vanity table.  The inquisitive incorporeal individual looked at its reflection in the mirror.  They could see their matted hair and large googly eyes, as well as lack of facial features, and for the first time in its existence, began to think about its appearance.

No one before could see them, so what they looked like never really mattered.  Lily was the first person who could see Tulpa, and she accepted them for just the way they were.  That was something they really liked about Lily.  At the same time though, they never thought about how they wanted others to see them if they could see them.

Tulpa thought about how Lily included them in the things she did, and how much they enjoyed spending time with Lily.  Even if they weren’t watching cartoons, the time they shared was always fun and enjoyable.  They wanted to get to know Lily better, and what better way than by getting to meet her Dad?  Wouldn’t it be better if they were all together?

Sure he probably wouldn’t be able to see them, but...

...maybe he could?

And if he could, what would he think of them?

What would Tulpa want them to think of them?

Continuing to stare at themselves in the mirror, Tulpa made a decision.   It was going to take all of their concentration, but “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”  It began by taking a very, very, very deep breath.  They sucked in as much air as they could, practically inflating themselves like a balloon.

Once they had inhaled as much as they could, they held their mouth shut and tried to squeeze the air out using whatever specters had for muscles.   The human equivalent would have been if someone were to hold their breath, pinch their nose, and try to get their ears to pop.   A small popping noise could be heard in the room, as Tulpa succeeded in popping out some ears.

————————————-

Back in the living room, Lily was resting her arm on the armrest of the couch, with face resting in the palm of her hand, and looking extremely bored.  Her Dad was already sitting on the opposite end of the couch, navigating Trevor Belmont through Stage 1 after showing off how the game’s prologue fit the Netflix show’s narrative.  Lily was, naturally, not paying attention to any of it as her mind was somewhere else completely.

“What am I doing?” she thought to herself, “Why does it matter if Tulpa’s out here or not?   I mean, it’s not like Dad can see them or anything.”  As she thought to herself, deep down she came to realize what her problem was.  It wasn’t about her Dad meeting Tulpa, it was about Tulpa meeting her Dad!

Despite him being good natured and an affable person, he was still her Dad, and Dads by definition tended to be embarrassing as Hell!  He had actually researched Dad jokes and has kept an arsenal of them up his sleeves ever since Lily could remember.  He rarely ever acted like an average 48-year old man in public, and some times, Lily would feel ashamed that between the two of them, she would be considered the adult.

(During the Christmas season, he saw all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1-Up Arcade Cabinets on display in Wal-Mart and would always turn them on and set the volume to maximum!  According to him, he was trying to recreate the “arcade atmosphere” of his youth.)

But despite the occasional embarrassment, he was still her Dad, and she wouldn’t trade him for any other Dad in the world.  He was always open minded, and whenever he didn’t understand something, he made an effort to try and understand.  Like that time he asked her to show him her rock collection and tell him about all the different kinds she had and what made them so unique.  He was always a cool Dad like that.

He raised her the best that he could and helped her with her homework.  He drove her to places she wanted to go when she was little, and took her to theme parks, the zoo, science centers, museums... he was always actively involved in her upbringing and that meant a lot to Lily.

The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard from the hallway.

“I’m overreacting, aren’t I?” she thought to herself.   “I should have just asked Tulpa to sit down and watch him play. I mean, misery loves company, right?   And plus he-“

It was at that moment that Lily’s eyes began to widen as she realized she had just heard the sound of a door opening and closing come from the hallway.  Her Dad turned around at the noise and Lily whipped herself around at breakneck speed.  She nearly choked on her own spit at what she saw.

It was Tulpa. 

 It was definitely Tulpa...

...But they looked human!

They had a nose, two ears, and opaque, pale skin.  Their hair still looked matted and unwashed, their eyes were still large, and their teeth still looked sharp even though they were a bit more rounded.  They were wearing a turtleneck blouse and a long skirt that went all the way down to their ankles.  On their feet were white socks which were probably there since Tulpa hadn’t really gotten the hang of manifesting realistic feet yet.  And they were definitely female (or going for the feminine look).

They looked kind of like that one really tall girl from that really popular anime everyone kept talking about, “Hands Off My Aerosol Can” or something like that.

There was a brief moment of silence in the room that felt like it stretched on for an eternity (even though it only lasted a fraction of a second).  Lily’s Dad was looking right at them, or at least, in their direction.   Lily could tell Tulpa had “dressed up” to meet her father, but doubted it would have mattered since there was no way he could-

“Hi there! You must be Lily’s roommate!” greeted Lily’s Dad.

...To Be Continued...

[lady-of-glass-and-bone]

i've read through some of your works over on Ao3 and goodness! i loved them! i just had to ask, may i request angst/fluff with jason where the reader has to comfort him after a bit of a rough breakdown? usually it's the reader that needs comfort, but i much prefer helping someone else personally lol

Ahhh! Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy my scribbles! And thank you for requesting! I'm definitely also in the category of preferring to help someone else as well. Hope this is okay!

Jason x reader

Warnings: animal death beneath the cut, mourning, reader kills some people

So I had to put my dog down last year, she was 11 years old, and had cancer. I was there when she passed, I carried her to the car, dug her grave myself and I never really talked to anyone about how much the whole thing effected me. So I guess this kind of helped me a little with that.

What I listened to while writing this: Work Song by Hozier / Now or Never by Halsey /  Heavy by Linkin Park ft. Kiiara / How Dare You by Steaming Satellites / Lots of A Perfect Circle

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

-It happened on the worst day possible. The anniversary of Pamela's death(which I fully believe Jason saw because he killed Alice in the second movie. REVENGE)and mostly, people stay away from Camp Blood on that day more than any other day.

-But. Asshole teens who want to test the legend of Camp Blood are gonna be assholes.

-Jason just wanted to be left alone, alone with you and the little pack of stray animals you both had taken in since you arrived. He wanted to mourn on the day of his momma's death, clean up her shrine a bit and spend the rest of the day tucked up inside with you.

-But Jason also wants to keep people off his land. He's spilled enough blood for it, as did his momma, and even though you urge him to just let them go, just for today, if they're still there tomorrow go after them. But not today.

-He goes anyway. He doesn't notice Mae, the large, half blind shepherd mix he'd scooped up off the side of the road years ago, follow him out into the woods with her nose to the ground and hot on Jason's scent.

-The two are inseparable, ever since Jason brought her home in the pocket of his tattered coat, she'd followed him around, bumping into everything until she got the lay of the cabin. They go on patrols together, but only when Jason's reasonably sure there aren't any trespassers about.

-It's while you're taking a head count of all the pets as they eat dinner that you notice Mae is gone. Which would be funny considering how large she is. But it sends a spike of dread through you. There's a group of rowdy, more than likely drunk, teens out on the hunt for the famous killer of Camp Blood and if you know Mae, she'll protect Jason with her life.

-You get everyone where they're supposed to go, tucked safely inside the cabin before grabbing your sawed off shotgun and set out into the woods determined to bring both members of your family home safe and sound.

-Of course, life doesn't always work that way. You know these woods, even in the dark, but not as well as Jason and you get lost once and that's enough time for it to go to shit.

-You can hear it across the lake, the screams of the unfortunate victim's, the attempts they make to fight back. You follow it, shot gun ready and adrenaline pumping through your blood. And it had to be on the beach. The goddamn beach of all places!

-You're too far away. The last two victim's are scrambling on the waters edge as Mae lunges in front of Jason and tackles one of them to the sand. She's growling and snarling like you've never heard before, nipping at the arms thrown up to shield her target's face.

-Jason seems stunned. Mae was his baby. A gentle giant, just like him(on occasion) and then the other one is suddenly pulling Mae off by the scruff. No. There's a glint of metal. She's falling off, body limp, suddenly silent and when they let her fall to the sand to turn and help their friend, you can see the knife handle sticking up from the back of her neck, the sand seeping red with blood underneath her.

-Jason drops down beside her, machete forgotten on the ground, gently putting a hand on her rib cage. It doesn't rise and fall, she's dead. She wasn't even supposed to be out and now she's dead.

-You watch the survivors back away, one looking at Jason, the other sweeping the area for a possible weapon. You don't give them a chance. You're angry. At them. At everything. You're angry for Jason, who doesn't even seem to notice you come to stand behind him, shot gun raised, poised to protect.

-When you first came to Crystal Lake, you wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger, let alone aim well enough to kill them both with one blast each. But this is your home now too and they have hurt your family, taken one of them. Now, it's easy and maybe you'll see their pained expressions in nightmares on occasion but now, you all you care about is the frozen figure hunched over Mae.

Tears are starting to gather in your eyes and the shotgun seems to weigh a ton in your hands so you drop it carelessly to the sand. Jason has seemed to stop, still as a statue with one large palm resting over Mae's side, like maybe if he waits long enough, she'll come back like he did.

You know better. There's no coming back for Mae. It doesn't make the hollow feeling in your gut any less painful.

When you place a hand on Jason's shoulder you feel the fine tremor in his frame. It starts small and if you weren't so attuned to Jason after all this time you would have thought he was shivering.

'I'm sorry' 'I should have watched her better' 'I shouldn't have gotten lost' 'Tell me how to fix this.'

The words scramble in your brain at the low sound the man before you makes, his fingers clenching in Mae's fur, and you wrap your arms around him, pulling him gently to lean against you. You have to brace yourself when he slumps against you, shoulder digging into your stomach and head on your chest.

You hold him tight, curling over to place your cheek atop his head, your face away from the bloody scene. You try your best to communicate silently, the way Jason seemed to do so easily with you,

'I'm so sorry.'

His breath rasps in and out in harsh sweeps as he reaches up to grasp the arm you have curled around his collarbone, clutching tighter as if asking,

'Why do they all die? Why do they leave?'

'I don't know. I'm here, right here. I'm not leaving, I'll never leave.'

Both of you stand vigil, un-moving, for long enough that the sun begins to stretch between the trees on the far edge of the lake. You know he would stay there for days if you let him but you can't keep listening to him cycle between a quiet, unnerving calm and the near brink of silent sobbing.

So you give him a squeeze with your arms and a slight shake before pulling away to kneel down beside him, trying and failing to turn his face away from Mae's body. You try harder and eventually he relents, the tension draining out of him at the meeting of your eyes.

"Let's take her home okay?" you whisper "Let's go home and put her to rest."

There's a brief flash of anger in his uneven eyes and then it fizzles out. It leaves nothing but a flicker of pain before he moves to take off his coat and lay it over Mae, only stopping long enough to pull the knife out of her. You take it from his hand and hurl it into the lake, as far out as you can, while he wraps her up.

He carries her home to your cabin, a slow stain blooming on the coat. It's the closest to a funeral procession you can imagine, shot gun still heavy in your hand. You almost offer to dig the grave but that would take longer than you think he could stand, so you let Jason do it.

Leaving him in the back yard as you go through the morning routine with the rest of the pack, minus one, you can feel them looking for Mae. Missing her in their own way.

You pick from various patches of wildflowers around the cabin until you have a bundle big enough to spread over the length of the mound of dirt that sticks out like a sore thumb. Eventually one of you will find something to mark it with as the ground settles, but as you lay the last few flowers, giving Jason a watery smile as you do, you think this with be good enough for now.

The look he gives you says he agrees.

The both of you sit on the back steps of the cabin, hand in hand, enjoying the silent comfort of one another.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

you took me on a cut-your-own-christmas-tree-farm date & holy frick you make a cute lumberjack I WAS UNPREPARED 

A couple of cuss words are in here. Fluffiness ahead.  

All the instructions said were for him to dress warm, which in Race’s mind was jeans, a shirt with a flannel shirt over it and his winter coat. He wasn’t prepared to see Lumberjack Spot walk out of their bedroom, tugging on his winter coat. His breath was momentarily taken away as his eyes slowly made their way up Spot’s body. “You done checking me out?” 

“Uhhh . . . I may need a moment or two more.” Race grinned, taking another look before Spot grabbed his hand and dragged him out of their house. “So where are we going?” 

Spot gave him a look as they got into the SUV, they had recently purchased. It was the first car either of them owned that wasn’t used and both had a blast test driving so many cars before landing on a deep navy blue Nissan Rogue. “You know what the date is, right?” 

“Uhhh . . . December 1st, right?” Race had a hard time keeping track of the days as they mostly just blended together with appointments and work. 

Spot started driving, giving his boyfriend a grin. “Yes, It’s December 1st and it’s a surprise if you haven’t figured it out yet.” 

Race nodded, hooking his phone up to the bluetooth as Michael Buble’s “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” played softly through the speakers. Race laced his fingers with Spot’s and squeezed them as they headed out of the city. 

“How has your week been?” Race smiled, looking over at Spot. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at all.” 

Spot grimaced, his engineering firm was about to close a big deal with a local hospital on building a state of the art facility that would take a couple of years and millions of dollars. “The deal is almost done. We’re anticipating being able to sign on Monday. I’ll just be glad when it’s done.” 

“Have they named a head engineer on it yet?” Race asked, knowing just how badly Spot wanted the job. 

He shook his head. “Not yet. My boss said they’re going to announce it in a few weeks.” 

“Fingers crossed that it’ll be you, Spottie.” Race grinned. 

Shaking his head, Spot clicked off the cruise control as they merged onto an exit. Race looked up, not recognizing where they were headed. “Don’t jinx me. Yes, I want it but I’ll be happy that the firm is getting the business. There’ll be other big deals.” 

One of the many things that Race loved about Spot is that he was modest. One of the things Race disliked about Spot was that he didn’t toot his own horn and own his accomplishments. Spot was a brilliant engineer who had finished the new art museum to rave reviews. They had toured it several weeks ago and even Race was impressed by the building. 

“You’re too modest. You deserve that contract, Spot.” Race gave him a look with a soft smile. “Own that and let yourself imagine it for a second that it could be yours.” 

Spot nodded, as they turned into a seemingly empty lot. They quickly parked as Race’s eyes widened in realization. “We’re cutting down our Christmas tree today, aren’t we?” 

“Yes, yes we are. It’s tradition after all.” Spot laughed, getting out of the car and heading into the little hut off to the side. Race watched as he talked with the lady behind the counter, her handing him a map and a saw. A few more words were exchanged before Spot joined him outside. 

“That looked to be an interesting conversation.” Race noted as Spot nodded, opening up the map she had given him. 

Nodding, Spot laid the map out on the hood of the car, surveying it. “She asked if we had done this before and I told her yes. Then she asked about the particular tree that we were looking for. I told her something that’s full, won’t shed a lot, and tall. She suggested the Fraser Fir, as they have a firm needle.” 

Race snorted at the statement before hip checking Spot as he looked at the map, pointing at a spot. “So we’re heading over here?” 

“Let’s go find us a tree.” Spot scooped up the map, grabbed the saw and Race’s hand as they made their way out to the field. They headed to the left side, where the Fraser Firs would be. In passing a few trees, they quickly decided to keep walking. “How big are we looking for?” 

“Well the house ceilings are 12 feet, so something significantly less than that.” Spot shrugged. “Maybe like 8 or 9 feet.” 

Race nodded, stopping to look at one, letting his fingers comb the branches. “How about this one?” 

Spot eyed it, shrugging. “How about we keep looking? It doesn’t feel like the right one.” 

Race laughed, throwing his head back. “You’ve get a feeling about the right tree?” 

“It's instinctual.” Spot said, walking a few yards away from Race. 

He shook his head, watching his boyfriend walk away. “Now I know you’re just making shit up.” 

Spot’s laugh echoed in the open field, causing Race to smile before going to find him. Race found him looking at a tall tree with a grin. “How about this one?” 

Race joined him, letting his fingers fall to the branches and giving them a hearty tug. The needles were soft under his fingers and the tree was taller than him, which wasn’t saying much. “I love it. I think this might be the one.” 

“Want to do the honors?” Holding out the saw to him, Spot gave Race a look before busting up laughing.

“Have you met me?” Race wheezed out over the laughter. “I can’t cut anything straight. I’ll muck it up.” 

Spot dropped to his knees before falling to his stomach, grumbling about being on the cold ground before starting to cut down the tree. Race took the opportunity to gleefully stare at his rear in the tight jeans. “And quit checking me out.” 

Gasping, Race gave him a grin.  “I wouldn’t do such a thing.” 

“Then why do I feel your eyes burning holes on my ass?” Spot looked over his shoulder with a grin, continuing to cut down the tree. 

The tree fell with a flourish as Spot held a hand out to be helped up. Race pulled him into his arms, kissing him with a grin. “Great job, Spottie.” 

Spot laughed, picking up the truck before motioning Race to grab the top. They awkwardly walked back to the parking lot, allowing the employees to wrap it up and tie it down to the car. After paying, they were on their way back to the city. “How are we going to decorate it?” 

“Lights, ornaments, the whole 9 yards that we typically decorate it.” Spot shrugged, not really understanding where Race was going with this. 

“All tonight?” Race asked, fiddling with the radio. 

Spot caught his hand in his, lacing their fingers together, squeezing them gently. “If you want. Or we can put the lights up tonight and do the ornaments tomorrow.” 

“Rather just get it done and over with.” Race sighed, relaxing back in his seat, watching the world pass them by. “It’s hard to believe it’s already December. Seemed the year just started and now we’re almost done.” 

Spot smiled, listening to Race go soft. “Are you ready for the mayhem that’ll be coming with work?” 

“Christmas dances are already underway and we have our big showcase on the 21st- you’ll be there right?” Race asked, biting his lip. 

Spot nodded. “It’s in my calendar and I wouldn’t miss it for the world, especially since Ella is making her dancing debut.” 

Jack and Kat’s daughter, Ella, was 3 and all she could talk about was dancing at Uncle Race’s studio. The little girl loved her uncles and loved dancing even more so it was a natural fit. 

“She’s so good, Spottie.” Race sighed. “It’ll be fun watching her grow and continue to get better.” 

Spot loved listening to Race talk about dancing. He had been a dancer his whole life and the decision to open his own studio wasn’t one he took lightly but he excelled at it. He had a waiting list of potential dancers due to the popularity of the studio and the high standards he held his dancers to. 

Race sighed. “It’s going to be chaotic these next few weeks but it’ll be nice to have some time off at the end of the month.  Maybe we can get away for a few days after Christmas.” 

“That sounds like a plan. We should probably book something sooner rather than later and maybe in the middle of the week.” Spot loved the suggestion and knew that Race was correct about the chaotic nature of the weeks ahead. 

Once home, they made quick work getting the tree into the house and setting it up in the corner of the living room. “Hey, where did we put the lights?” 

“Uhhh . . . I think they’re in the attic.” Spot called back, tightening the tree stand, ensuring that the tree was secured. 

Race nodded, heading into the hallway where their pulldown stairs were located. Once the ladder was secured, he climbed it immediately finding the big box that had Spot’s scrawl on it. Grabbing it, he heffed it downstairs, putting in near the tree with a huff. “You okay?” 

“Have I mentioned how much I hate our attic?” Race gave him a look with a shake of his head. “Because if I haven’t, I really hate it.” 

Spot chuckled, because it was the same statement every year around this time. “I’m sorry that you had to go up there.”

Race shook his head, opening up the box, grabbing a string of lights. Spot stayed back, knowing how much Race loved to put the lights on. “Quit staring at my ass.” 

“Payback is hell.” Spot grinned, letting his eyes scan Race’s backside with a chuckle.

Race looked over his shoulder and wiggled his butt at Spot as he continued to clip the lights into place, causing Spot to laugh at him. Before long, Spot was grabbing the step stool for Race so he could do the top part of the tree. While he did that, Spot went up to the attic to retrieve the boxes that were filled with their ornaments. 

“Spottie?” Race called, standing at the bottom of the ladder, looking uneasily up into the attic. “You up there?” 

“Yea I’m up here.” Spot handed him a box, watching him take into the living room before appearing once more. He handed him one more before walking down with the final box. 

Looking at the boxes, Race looked over at Spot with a grin. “How do you want to do this?” 

“How about we start with our ornaments for the year?” Spot suggested as Race grinned.

They had started the tradition the first year they were together. They would each buy each other ornaments that reflected on the past year. In the past four years, they had to get creative with the ornaments. 

Spot walked into their bedroom, grabbing a box and went back into the living room as Race came from their home office. “You hid yours in the home office?” 

“You never go in there so it was the perfect hiding place.” Race grinned, sitting on the couch as Spot joined him. “You go first.” 

Spot grinned, handing over the colorfully wrapped box. Race’s eyes lit up at the box before slowly starting to unwrap it. A plain brown box was in his hands as he slid his finger under the tape. Opening it up, Race gasped at the silver box that had a silver ribbon on top with a red ribbon attached to it. “It’s so pretty. But I don’t understand.” 

Spot took the box from him, before lacing their fingers together, giving them a quick squeeze. “Antonio, it’s been an amazing four years since you walked into my life. You have turned my world upside down and I am so thankful everyday that I can call you mine. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” 

Dropping to his knee, Spot unlocked the silver box to reveal a silver hammered ring, nestled in the velvet inside. Race’s jaw dropped as a tear made its way down his face. Nodding, he sniffled. “Yes, Sean. Yes.” 

Taking the ring out of the box, he slid it on Race’s ring finger before pulling Race to him, kissing him. “I love you, Racer.” 

“I love you too Spottie.” Race held his left hand up, admiring the ring. “Damn you Spot. Making me cry . . . it’s supposed to be a happy day.”

Spot chuckled, kissing him once more. “It is a happy day. You just made all of my hopes, dreams, and wishes come true.” 

“And now you want me to give you my ornament?” Race said, wiping his eyes with a sigh. Spot grinned at him, nodding. 

Handing Spot a simple red wrapped box, Race ran his finger over the ring that was just placed on his finger with a grin. Race had had a hard time picking out Spot’s ornament but hoped he would love it. 

“Don’t look so nervous.” Spot grinned, pulling off the wrapping paper watching Race bit his lip. “I’m sure I’ll love it.” 

Race nodded, his lip still in between his teeth. Spot opened the box, gasping at what was laying among the tissue paper. Race had gotten a local artist to create an ornament of the two of them. Their backs on the ornament with Spot’s arm around Race’s back. Along the bottom were their names along with “your my person” and the year. 

Spot looked up at Race with tears in his eyes. “I absolutely love it. This is amazing.” 

“You sure?” Race asked, despite the reaction from Spot, he was still nervous. 

Putting the ornament on the coffee table, Spot leaned over to Race, pulling him in for a kiss. “Yes, I absolutely love it. It’s perfect for this year.  Our ornaments go hand in hand.”

“Unintentionally but yes they do.” Race grinned, pulling Spot back in for a kiss. “I love you Sean Conlon. Thank you for making me the happiest person yet.” 

“Love you too Antonio Higgins. Thank you for making me so happy.” Spot sighed, lacing their fingers together. “What do you say staying here for a few hours before we decorate the tree? Wanna cuddle with you.” 

Race nodded, kicking off his shoes before laying his head on Spot’s chest, fingers still laced together. “You’re a sap Conlon but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“Love you too Higgins.” Spot grinned, running his fingers through Race’s curls with a sigh of contentment. 

Later, after the tree was decorated, they would sit in front of it with Race’s ring on display as they texted and called their friends and family, bringing them into their little secret. Race would look over at Spot with the biggest grin on his face, knowing his life was complete due to the amazing person sitting next to him. 

Any feedback you have would be awesome! Hope you enjoyed the fluffiness of these two!!! 

[too-much-sunshine]

Fangs for the Hospitality

Chapter 4

Summary: After Roman leaves his family reunion mad at Remus, his car breaks down. The huge snow storm forces him into the forest hes always been told to stay away from. Who will he meet? And why are they being so nice? Most importantly, why are his teeth so sharp?

A/N: My self-indulgent magic/vampire fic! Let me know if I need to tag something or you wanna be tagged!

Relationship: Familial DAM, Eventual Roceit, Eventual Intrulogical

Warnings (per chapter): Small reference to past child abuse, mention of late parents, let me know if there anything else!

Catch up!: Master list, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Word Count: 1869

Read on AO3!

Remus sat on the steps of his childhood house. Or well...mansion. Even he could recognize that this wasn't a house. It definitely wasn't a home either. 

He had his head in his hands thinking about everything that happened that night that led up to this point. He really, really messed up.

It wasn't that Remus thought that nothing bad would happen when he told that rumor to his mother. In fact he was quite hopeful some shit would go down. His mother would be the best to win over with her propensity for being very gullible. Then he was hoping he could just coast along to victory after she believed him. Sadly that worked and bit too well.

Remus knew everyone was hoping Roman would finally contribute to the family. So by giving him and wife, fake or not, would alleviate the worry in the family. They wouldn't question it too much. What he didn't account for was the fact that Roman never wanted that kind of attention.

Remus was kicking himself remembering the look on his brother's face as he ran from the ballroom. He looked scared and shook up. Remus was hoping he would take it as a joke, or at least play along until Remus could dispel the rumor. But It was already too late.

He ran right out the door and into the car and away before Remus could catch him. Which leaves Remus on the front porch in the snow regretting most of this night.

Remus just thinks too fast most of the time. Never being able to stop the next thought even if the first one isn't finished yet. It's not an excuse for putting Roman on blast, but it is a reason. He just never thought though to the consequences before he opened his mouth. The fact of the matter is that he should of asked Roman before he talked to anyone.

 Remus gave a heavy sigh as Remy came up from behind him. 

“Listen babe, you should come back inside for a bit. I’ll drive you home once nobody is looking for us.” He said solemnly.

“Where do you think he went? There so much snow, that car is a piece of shit and hes freaking the fuck out.” Remus said back, not hearing, or not caring about, Remy's first statement.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Its fucking cold out here Rems. Lets go inside and talk about th-”

“NO! Remy you don't get it! Who knows what he could be doing or thinking! I never think! After all these years he's been the person this family hated the most and I certainly never helped him!” Remus stood up and started yelling at the snow falling. “I’m his twin brother and even I treat him so poorly.”

“I hear what you're saying and I raise you, you are the only one who has ever stuck by him. Yes you fucked up today Remus but he’s bound to forgive you. You have your own issues Rems. He knows you didn't mean it. Just give him a bit to calm down.”

“I know he’ll forgive me. He always does. He's the kindest person in the whole bitch ass family! But no one has ever been the same to him!” Remus groaned loudly at the sky. 

Remus turned back to look at Remy, who was still standing and shivering on the porch. Remy looked over Remus and nodded his head.

“You’re right. But you and him stick together. Just let him go for a bit. We’ll find him tomorrow.” Remy pulled a set of keys out of his coat pocket. “For now I’m sure that nobody is looking for us since no one came after us. Come home with me and then we will find him. Grab his coat before we leave though.”

Remus huffed then nodded back. He walked back inside to grab both him and Romans coats from the coat rack. He doesn't feel any better from what happened. He’ll have to have a long talk with Roman to try and figure this out. 

Remus walked out the front door to Remy's car.

 ~~~

Janus walked through the halls of his house, away from the guest rooms. He knew that there was no way that anyone could go in or out of that room without his knowledge. But that did little to alleviate his worry of having this stranger in his house. 

There was so much unknown with this stanger. How could he see Janus’ house from the road? That road was miles away from his house, and it is heavily snowing. Even if he could for some reason have seen his house, there should have not been a way for him to just wander into the forest. 

These woods were not the typical thick forest that one may travers as they want. Janus didn't want to say it had a mind of its own, but they may be the best way to describe it. It just...played by its own rules. He needed to go to his library and, though he didn't really want to, call a friend over. Maybe they would know more than he would about these things. ‘They probably won’t but it’s worth a shot.’ Janus thought.

Janus continued meandering his way to his home library, thinking of the possibilities of why this Roman could walk into the woods. 

‘I’ve lived in this damn forest for over a century and I’ve never met someone like this.” Janus thought. ‘It should have just sent him away. Humans can't walk in here. I certainly couldn't so why him?’ As Janus continued his inner monologue he passed by his son's door. Realizing this he stopped and took a step back.

Janus realized that before he goes to his library to inevitably get lost in his thoughts and books, he should check on his two sons. The night had had a lot of excitement; it had been just short of a nightmare getting the two to sleep.

He made sure to put the stranger into the room furthest away from any of the living quarters that either his kids or himself used. That being said, his room was the closet, then Virgils, the last being Pattons. 

He first peeked into little Virgil's room. The 3 year old was sleeping soundly in his crib. The poor child had the hardest time sleeping without some sort of song sung beforehand, not that Janus minded. He's pretty sure he would do just about anything for the little boy. He was just about ready to move into an actual bed, which Janus was not looking forward to. He's growing up too fast.

He still remembered when Virgil was a baby. He was so small and fragile. Janus has done many things in his life he was not proud of, but taking Virgil in will never be one of them. He will admit that taking in the infant was not what he had planned that day but he's forever glad he did.

He was a hard baby to take care of too. He was a mix of two beings that were told to never be together. And instead of punishing the parents, they went after the small child instead. Virgil was in pain most of his first months of life. His little body is a mix of things that have never been mixed. Janus was so glad he grew out of the pain, even if he still needed a little help sometimes. 

Taking little Virgil from his crib turned prison, was one of the best decisions of his entire life. 

Smiling softly at the sleeping child, Janus stopped his walk down memory lane. He was just so glad to have Virgil with him. Janus was determined to give this child a second chance that nobody else was willing to give him.

He silently closed the door to move to Pattons door. He cracked the door open in on the 8 year old. Luckily, he too was sound asleep. 

He's had Patton longer than he's had Virgil, but he didnt take Patton in as young as Virgil. He still thinks about Patton's story and gets a bit misty eyed. Janus had been great friends with Patton's biological parents, and though Patton didn't remember them much, Janus did. They were amazing forest witches and had a love for nature. They are the most loving people. Distantly Janus thought that you'd have to be to be friends with him. 

He would always rather have Patton's biological parents here, but he will never ever regret agreeing to being Patton's godparent. After Pat's parents passed, and he was left in Janus care, it was a large learning curve on how to be a parent. But now he wouldn't trade either of his sons for all the power in the world. 

Patton had scared Janus so bad when he opened the door for the stranger. Yes Pat wasn't used to visitors. But he was taught from a young age to never open the door alone. Janus had always preached safety to them both for fear of what lurked around in the woods. Pat was lucky the person behind the door was actually a person. They were going to have to reiterate the rules of the front door once the morning hit.

Closing the door to his son's room he finally let out his last strained sigh. It's been a long night even though it's already 2am. 

Finally catching some calm, Janus made his way just past his two sons' rooms into the fairly large library. The circular room went from the first floor all the way up to the third, and even a bit into the attic. It could be entered from any of those levels as well. Each shelf was completely filled with books. 

This is the place where he spends arguably the most time. Even his sons would hang out here with him. There just so many things that can be learned here.

Speaking of learning things, he needed to find out who the hell Roman was. There was no way this guy was who he said he was if he was able to see and walk into the forest. There were many things that could be happening here. Though Janus thought there were a few that were more likely than others.

No matter what though, Janus thought that there was no way in heaven or hell that Roman was trustworthy. 

Running his hands down the spines of the books and he walked around the room, Janus was looking for a specific book. After a few minutes of reading through the books with his fingertips he finally found the right book: ‘The Complete Book of Different Beings, Magic and Otherwise.’

“A-ha!” He whispered triumphantly. “This should be it!”

Taking the book to the corner of the room, Janus sat in his favorite chair. Not for the first time he's glad he doesn't need to sleep, he's gonna be here for a while. The book itself was quite large and he really didn't know where to start with Roman. 

With a contented sigh Janus opened the book, and started at the beginning.

~~~

Next Chapter

Taglist:

@primaveradoodles @bluerosesbleedred

[spideyfic]

Red and Blue

Peter reached out and moved the projection back and forth. “Did you change the color scheme? This looks red and black.”

“Thought it might be time for an image over-haul. Tone down the primary colors, make things a bit sleeker, a little more grown-up.”

Peter bit his lip, trying to say what he was feeling without sounding ungrateful. “And it looks great Mr. Stark, it really does, but I like the red and blue. Could we change the color back?”

When Peter is invited up to the compound to work on his suit with Tony, he's surprised to find that red and blue is now red and black, and Tony wants to know why he's so attached to his original color scheme.

Read on AO3

Peter was pulled abruptly from his dream by the sound of Back in Black blasting from his phone, which was weird on two levels – one, he usually had nightmares, not dreams, and two, his ringtone was a yodel.

He fumbled for his phone, pulling it towards him by its charging cable, and nearly dropped it when he registered the caller ID. Why the hell was Tony Stark calling him at 8am on a Saturday morning?

Hitting decline, he dropped the phone face down in the blankets, turning over to face the wall and wrapping his pillow around his head.

“Did you just send me to voice mail, kid? Why can I only see darkness? It’s like looking into the depths of my soul.”

Peter let the pillow spring away from his head and reached back behind him to grab the phone, dragging it over his body until he could see the screen. Tony’s face looked smugly back at him, entirely too cheerful for someone who had just woken Peter up from the best dream he’d had in months.

“’s 8am Tony,” he muttered, squinting at him with one eye closed. “I was sleepin’.”

“Yikes, rough night? You should get more sleep, you’re a growing spider-baby and all that. I was in bed by ten last night, and I feel great this morning. Hey, how come you’ll call me Tony when you’re half-unconscious but not when you’re actually awake?”

Peter suspected that Tony was mostly feeling great because of a massive amount of caffeine, if his run-on sentences were anything to go by. He felt a moment of jealousy - he was six weeks into a total caffeine ban after May caught him downing five cans of Red Bull following a patrol that had ended an hour before he was due to sit an AP exam. “Was there a point to you forcing your call through to my phone? Because I don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Stark, I like talking to you and everything, but I only got home from patrol at three and I’m tired.” Oops. And there was his early morning lack of filter.

“May still got you on that caffeine ban, huh? You’re very direct when you’re tired, did you know that?” Tony took a sip from his mug of coffee, and Peter caught a flash of the Spider-Man symbol printed on the side. That was almost enough to make him forgive Tony for his blatant caffeine consumption. “I was calling to see if you wanted to come up to the compound today and mess around with a few concepts for upgrading your suit, but if it’s not a good time - ”

Peter sat up so fast he nearly brained himself on the slats of the top bunk. “Yes! I mean, I gotta ask May, but yeah, that’d be great, thanks Mr. Stark.”

“Already talked to May, she said yes to you coming over and staying the night. Get moving kid, Happy will be at your place in fifteen. See you in a couple hours.” Tony ended the call on a wink.

Peter flung himself out of bed, standing in the middle of his room and looking wildly about as he planned what he needed to take, before pulling open his closet and looking for the overnight bag Tony and Pepper had given him for his sixteenth birthday. With the exception of the suit, it was the most expensive thing he’d ever owned - it probably cost more than the entire contents of his closet, and he lived in constant fear of somehow losing or damaging it.

“May!” he called, panicking when the bag was nowhere to be found. “Have you seen my bag? The one Mr. Stark and Pepper gave me?”

His bedroom door swung open and May stood in the doorway, his bag in her outstretched hand. “All packed and ready to go, baby.” At his confused look, she smiled. “Tony called last night when you were on patrol, so I packed for you and told him to call you this morning.”

“You’re the best, May,” he said, kissing her on the cheek as he slipped past her to head for the bathroom.

“And don’t you forget it,” she called after him. “I’ll have breakfast to go waiting for you.”

Exactly ten minutes later, Peter was sitting in the back of the Audi Happy always picked him up in, clutching a breakfast burrito in one hand and a blessed travel mug of coffee in the other, feeling slightly dazed.

“You OK there, kid? You look a little flustered.”

He met Happy’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “Fifteen minutes ago I was asleep and dreaming about M - uh, I was dreaming, and now I’m in a car heading up to the Avengers compound to work with Tony Stark.” He shrugged, taking a bite out of the burrito. “And Mr. Stark woke me up by forcing a video call through to my phone.”

Happy chuckled, turning his attention back to the road and pulling out into traffic. “Yeah, Tony’s done that to me a buncha times. He stopped when he caught me – well, you don’t need to know what he caught me doing, but he doesn’t do it anymore.”

It took everything Peter had to stop him screwing his face up in instinctive disgust at the idea of Happy doing whatever he’d been doing and covered it by taking a sip of coffee. His timing was bad, because Happy spoke again. “Maybe he could catch you with MJ.”

Peter gulped his coffee down and breathed in at the same time and coughed so hard he thought he was going to hack up a lung. “Happy!” he rasped, when he was able to breathe again. “Me and MJ – we’re not – you know. We’re not even dating.”

“Only in your dreams, right kid?” Happy said, with a knowing tone. “You should ask her out. You talk about her all the time.”

“I talk about Ned all the time but you’re not telling me to ask him out,” Peter mumbled around a mouthful of burrito.

“That’s because you don’t look like a lovesick baby deer when you talk about Ned. All I hear from you is ‘MJ said this’, ‘MJ is so great’, ‘MJ is terrifying’. It’s like it’s 2011 again and I’m listening to Tony talk about Pepper.” Happy signaled to merge onto I-295, flipping off a car that tried to cut in. “What I’m saying is just ask her to be your little nerd girlfriend, and then you can mentally scar Tony for life and he’ll stop forcing video calls through to your phone.”

“Happy, stop,” Peter moaned. “MJ doesn’t even like me like that. We’re just friends.” He wasn’t about to tell Happy he thought MJ kinda liked him liked him, and that he was going to ask MJ out during the trip to Europe at the end of Junior year. OK, that was almost a year away, but he was a planner, and that plan involved – well, he wasn’t quite sure what, but it would be meaningful and heartfelt and away from New York and Spider-Man. It would just be Peter Parker and Michelle Jones in some romantic European city, and if he was lucky it’d play out like his dream.

“Sure, Parker, whatever you say,” Happy said, apparently deciding to humor him. “Finish your breakfast and go to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we’re five minutes out.”

Never one to pass up the opportunity for a nap, Peter did as he was told. He spent the rest of the journey curled up against the window and lulled into a light doze, only stirring as they passed the Esopus fire department.

“We’re almost there, kid,” Happy said as the car turned on to the narrow, tree lined road that wound its way down to the compound. “Hey, you know this road is called Parker Avenue, right?”

He said it so casually, like he didn’t know that Peter had obsessively Google Street viewed as much of the area as possible.  “Yeah, I know,” he replied. “Why?”

“Nothing really. I just thought it was a nice coincidence, Tony owning this place since before you were born, and the main road in being called Parker.” Happy pulled up at the security stop, flashing his ID at the bored looking guard stationed there, who waved them through. “You know you’re good for Tony, right?”

Startled by the question, Peter almost dropped his travel mug, his stickiness activating just in time to stop coffee spilling all over the expensive upholstery. “Uh – I – what?”

“You’re good for him. He’s really settled down with Pepper, the company is in better shape than ever, he’s sleeping properly for the first time in years, and he seems to get a kick out of spending time with you.” Happy parked up in front of the compound and then turned in his seat to look at Peter. “You’re a good kid. All I’m trying to say is I’m glad Tony found you.”

“Oh.” Unused to Happy showing him anything other than bemusement, Peter grabbed his bag and fumbled with the door handle, desperate to get out and break the awkward mood. “Uh, me too. Thanks for the ride, Happy.”

“You’re welcome, kid. I’ll be back tomorrow evening to take you home.” Happy, apparently feeling as awkward as Peter, made a show of busying himself looking through the glove compartment until Peter closed the door, then drove off.

Peter watched him drive away, then climbed the stairs up to the foyer, heading straight for the elevators up to Tony’s lab. “Hey FRIDAY! Could you take me up to Mr. Stark, please?”

“Good morning, Peter. Boss is waiting for you in lab two.” The elevator doors slid closed and the cab began to move smoothly up. “Are you enjoying your summer break from school?”

“It’s been great! May is letting me patrol every night until one, and Ned got the LEGO Saturn V as a reward for the results of his AP exams so we’re gonna build that next week,” Peter responded enthusiastically, long over the strangeness of making conversation with artificial intelligence. “Oh, and I keep seeing this dog when I’m out on patrol - he’s a husky and he’s such a good boy. His owner is this really sweet old lady, she’s like sixty, and I walk with her when she takes him out in the evening, because her husband died last year and she doesn’t like being on her own that time of night.”

The elevator doors opened, and Peter stepped out into the labs entrance hub. “Thanks, FRIDAY!” He dropped his bag outside the doors to lab two, then pushed them open to find Tony huddled over something on a lab bench. “Hey, Mr. Stark! Thanks for having me over.”

Tony swiveled around on his chair, grinning widely. “Hey kid. Did you manage to sleep on the ride over? I told Happy you were running on about five hours of shuteye and to let you rest.” He crossed the lab and pulled Peter into his side in a brief, one-armed hug as they walked back to the bench.

“Yeah, I zoned out for most of it. I’m good, May made me some coffee for the trip.”

Tony deposited him on a chair and then sat next to him, making a sweeping gesture that saved and cleared the hologrammatic schematics of the Iron Man suit he’d been working on, and bringing up the selection carousel for the Spider-Man suits.

“So, I ran with your suggestion of using your webbing as an underlying protective layer for the suit, and the initial tests are looking really promising for friction and fire resistance,” Tony said, expanding the schematics of a suit design Peter hadn’t seen before. “Even if the outer layer gets damaged, the webbing should hold up long enough to get yourself out of whatever dumbass situation you managed to get into.”

“Hey,” Peter grumbled, mildly offended. “The dumbass situations find me, not the other way around.”

Tony gave him The Look™ and even though he wasn’t a dad, he’d obviously been taking parenting lessons from May, because it made Peter confess every stupid thing he’d done recently.

“OK, so I guess accidentally knocking myself out with my own taser web was my fault. And that time I thought the mayor was breaking into her own office and I webbed her up was probably my fault too. But you have to admit my ass being set on fire wasn’t on me. And that did make me think about using my webs as fabric.” Tony raised an eyebrow and Peter sagged dejectedly. “I’m a dumbass, aren’t I?”

“The smartest dumbass I ever met, other than myself,” Tony confirmed. “When you’re old enough I’ll tell you about what happened in Vegas. It involves superglue, a massive amount of alcohol, and a poker chip, and you can’t hear about it until you’re twenty-one because I think telling you now would count as corrupting a minor.”

“Can you wait until I’m like, forty? I don’t think I’m ever going to be old enough to hear that story, Mr. Stark. The trauma of future me is so strong that it’s radiating back through time to current me.”

Tony snorted. “Trauma builds character, just like having your ass catch fire inspires innovation.” He tapped some codes into the system, and a half-scale, three-dimensional full color projection of the new suit formed in the air in front of them. “Take a look, see what you think. If you like it, I’ll start the building process and you can take it for a spin this afternoon.”

Peter reached out and moved the projection back and forth. “Did you change the color scheme? This looks red and black.”

“Thought it might be time for an image over-haul. Tone down the primary colors, make things a bit sleeker, a little more grown-up.”

Peter bit his lip, trying to say what he was feeling without sounding ungrateful. “And it looks great Mr. Stark, it really does, but I like the red and blue. Could we change the color back?” His voice wobbled and he swallowed in an effort to cover it up. “You know what, never mind, the red and black is fine.” He turned his seat back to face the lab bench, ducking his head and pretending to concentrate on the coding displayed on the StarkPad set into the surface.

Tony spun Peter back to face him, turning him with a hand against his knee. “Kid, you can have red and blue, it’s not a problem. Why are you so attached to that color scheme, anyway?”

Peter twitched a shoulder up in a one-sided shrug. “I just like it, is all.”

“Pete,” Tony said quietly. “C’mon, I can see you’re upset, and I’m not that great at comforting people, so why don’t you just talk to me?”

“I chose red and blue because they’re the colors of the NASA logo,” Peter said, twisting his fingers together. Tony didn’t say anything, just looked at him with a soft, sad expression on his face, like he knew there was more to it. “Ben – my uncle – he loved NASA, like full-on fanboy. He was a cop, but when he was a kid, he wanted to work in mission control. He was born in 1961, so he grew up during the space race, watched all the moon landings, and he had all these binders full of newspapers and magazines.”

“I wish I’d been around for the moon landings,” Tony said, and Peter believed it – he had a look of childlike wonder, the same look Ben used to have whenever he talked about it. “’We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.’ How can you not be inspired by that?” He gave a little chuckle. “Sorry kid, my futurist is showing.”

“No, it’s fine, that speech was Ben’s favorite, he had it pretty much memorized. He used to tell me all about the NASA missions at bedtime, and I when I started really getting into geometry, he got me copies of Katherine Johnson’s calculations. NASA was our thing, you know? He was going to pull me out of school to go watch an Atlas V launch, we had a whole road trip planned. But he died the night before. He knew about my powers, did I tell you that?”

Tony shook his head, and Peter carried on. “The night he died, we went for a walk, and he got the story out of me about the spider bite, what I could do, and he told me that I had power, and that meant I had a responsibility to do good with it. All I wanted to do was make a stupid YouTube channel and post videos of me doing pointless shit, and we argued. And then we walked right into the middle of a bodega robbery and he was shot.

“May came and got me from the hospital they took me and Ben to, and when we got home, she made me take a shower because I – because I was covered in blood. She grabbed me some pajama pants and this shirt.” He gestured at the NASA t-shirt he was wearing. “This was his, but it was mixed up with my laundry and she didn’t realize. We just sat on the couch together and cried for most of the night until May fell asleep. I couldn’t switch my brain off though, couldn’t stop thinking about how if I’d – “ he trailed off, his voice thickening with impending tears. “How if I’d stepped in front of him, he’d still be alive.”

“And you might be dead,” Tony said softly. “And I can guarantee that out of the two, he’d choose you living over himself.” He placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “He’d be so damn proud of you, Pete.”

Peter sniffed, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes to stem the tears, but they kept coming, and so did the words. “The next morning, I decided I’d use my powers to do good like he wanted me to, and I looked down at his t-shirt and that’s when I chose red and blue for Spider-Man’s colors. Because it’s like having Ben with me when I’m out on patrol, reminding me why I’m doing it, who I’m doing it for.”

“Jesus Pete, I don’t know what to say.” Tony slipped off his chair, then pulled Peter off his own chair wrapped him in a tight hug.

Surprised, Peter momentarily tensed up before relaxing into it, bringing his arms up to make the hug a mutual one. “Oh,” he said, his face pressed against Tony’s shoulder. “Are we there?”

“We’re there,” Tony confirmed, slapping his back and then stepping out of the hug. “Kid, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have changed the design without talking to you first.” He made a move to delete the schematics, and Peter reached out to push his hand down, before closing the projection with a pinching motion.

“No, keep it,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I do, I’m just – not ready.”

“That’s fine, we can use the old external design and lay it over the new internal structure.” Tony paused, the moment still and quiet and loaded with emotion. “And it’s also fine if you’re never ready, too.” He cleared his throat and picked up his phone, rapidly tapping out a message to someone. “Give me a minute, and I’ll show you how to isolate design elements and combine them into one suit.”

Peter felt a wave of relief that Tony had understood. It had to seem like something so small and insignificant, but the idea of being Spider-Man without his own, private tribute to his uncle felt wrong. He knew that feeling might change in the future, but for now, the red and blue was like a comfort blanket he drew around himself every time he pulled on the suit. “Thanks, Tony.”

Tony looked up from typing something into his phone, and the smile that lit up his face made Peter’s internal struggle to say ‘Tony’ rather than ‘Mr. Stark’ totally worth the effort. “See, that wasn’t hard, was it? I knew you could do it.”

“I can only do it under a really specific set of circumstances, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, struggling to keep the smirk off his face.

Tony put his phone down, obviously not feeling the need to keep his own smirk in check. “Do those specific set of circumstances include us flying down to Florida next month to watch the Falcon 9 launch from Kennedy, followed by a private tour of the center?”

“Are you joking?” Peter gasped. “Please tell me you’re not joking, Tony. Because if you’re joking there’s a chance I might die of disappointment and you said if anything happens to me, it’s on you, and that’d definitely be on you. Really? You’re actually taking me to the Kennedy Space Center?”

“Glad to see that warrants a ‘Tony’. And yup. Got a buddy from MIT who works in Launch Control, he’s always inviting me down there for a tour. I’ve already squared it away with May.”

Impulsively, Peter flung his arms around Tony in a brief hug. “You’re the best Mr. Stark – “ he faltered at the look that got him – “Tony. Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing, kid.” Tony waved it off, like his statement was actually true. “You work hard, it’s about time you had a little R&R to make up for it. And talking of hard work, come on, we’ve got a suit to build.”

It was an awkward segue, but Peter eagerly got to work, glad to move on from the unexpected emotion of their morning. Tony coached him step by step through how to use the system, and Peter clumsily mirrored his smooth, practiced gestures again and again until they were in perfect synch, hands moving gracefully through the air as they uploaded the finalized plan to the construction capsule.

Tony wasn’t a replacement for Ben. He had his own distinct role and place in Peter’s life, a mentor and a friend and a father figure all wrapped up in one, and Peter was pretty sure that Tony cared for him in the same mixed up way, the lines starting to blur in their relationship.

 “Tony?” The name was starting to have emotional weight in his mind and on his lips, like saying May,or Ben, a whole lot of meaning and emotion caught up in two small syllables.

“Hmm?” Tony looked up from watching the webbing under-suit forming in the construction capsule, his usually coiffed hair curling loosely over his forehead, and his eyes bright and unguarded without his glasses. He looked relaxed and happy, nothing like the carefully controlled Tony Stark image he presented to the world every time he left the sanctuary of the compound or Tower.

“I’m really glad I met you.”

Tony looked surprised, and tried to hide it with a sniff, but he gave Peter a soft smile. “Yeah? Same, kid.”

Peter wasn’t ready to leave behind the red and blue, but he felt like one day, red would mean Ben and black would mean Tony, and it would just feel right to wear their colors together.

***

Seven years later, but only one year older, Peter, weary, battle worn and determined, stands in a jet as it hovers above a field of tulips and decides that he’s finally ready to use the red and black suit.

When he glides down towards Tower Bridge and the biggest solo fight of his life, it feels like Ben and Tony are there keeping him safe, their colors wrapped around his body like a talisman. Proof that they existed. That they loved him. That he’s got this.

They’ve returned to stardust, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone.