#so they need someone to take their place for her family

[lani-heart]

|| series masterlist || next // previously ||

genre(s) -> smut, fluff, non-idol, hybrid au, poly au paring(s) -> yunho ( centric ) x reader warning(s) -> smut, mdni. 18+ words -> 3.5k

abstract -> sometimes... the quietest are who are suffering the most

yunho’s perspective

How long have I been looking at this wall?

It was boring that I was stuck in here alone with my thoughts. I missed Mingi… even if we lived poorly. We had many stories about being on the street… but it was selfish of me to reminisce. He was happier… healthier and way better than he would be with me. 

“Yunho… cheer up today! There’s an adoption fair this afternoon!” The employee said I could only offer a soft smile to cover up my emptiness. 

Maybe… I'll get adopted and get a new start.

Maybe someone will fill the whole Mingi left… and I can atone for what I did when I was a thief, especially to her.

y/n’s perspective

“I see,” Mingi said after I finally sat down and talked to him about it. “Is it selfish to want to ask you to adopt him… but also feel sick at the thought?” he said and I smiled softly. 

“I’m leaving this decision to you, if you’re not comfortable with me adopting him I won’t” I confirmed and he nodded. “I just don’t want to feel like he’s replacing me” he muttered and I sighed. 

“He’d never replace you… look at it like this, Mingi. Yeosang and Wooyoung had the same insecurity” I said and he looked shocked.

“Wooyoung got so bad that he got into a small depressive episode cause he thought I’d abandon him… that I only adopted him because I wanted to be with San,” I said and he stayed silent… deep in thought.

“I don’t treat them differently do I?” I asked and he shaked his head. “And Yeosang thought the same thing but I'd never treat any of you differently…you’re my made family,” I said and he then hugged me in I rubbed his back hoping to comfort him. 

“Yunho had everything… he was perfect and he was never punished or anything. He would get away with everything” he muttered clearly envious. “You wouldn't be treated differently,” I said and he nodded. 

“I know… and I do really miss him,” he said with a sad smile.  “Today is an adoption fair… so this decision–” “I want Yunho back,” he said, cutting me off. 

In the end… they were a bonded pair. 

mingi’s perspective

I felt sick… nervous, anxious… What if he didn’t want to see me again? What if he decided to take revenge and steal them all from me? But I also really missed him. I wanted him by my side again…

The adoption fair was huge… It had lots of people looking at hybrids, special needs hybrids, yellow codes, some orange codes, and of course the green codes. But there wasn’t any place to see red or purple code hybrids, not to mention the black codes. 

Everyone though always seemed to be attracted to green codes, the prejudice of other codes sometimes isn’t aggression. But instead mental health or– “Jaemin told me that’s his” she whispered to me while pointing at the kennel at the end of the hall.

“Can I… go alone first?” I asked and she gave me a sweet smile and let go of my hand. I took a deep breath as I walked to the kennel. Yunho didn’t even see or hear me… he looked lost in thought lying down on his bed that could barely even fit him. 

“What’s so interesting about the ceiling?” I said and his ears twitched as he looked at me clearly confused. “Mingi…” he said and I swear I saw his eyes start to tear up. “You look… so much better,” he said as he got closer to the glass door shielding us from each other. 

“Yeah… she treats me like them. You were right about her you know… she’s one of the good ones” I said and he chuckled. He then just looked at me with a soft smile he used to… “I missed you” he muttered and I smiled. “I did too,” I said.

“Why are you here, Mingi?” he asked and I smiled. “No… I don’t want her to adopt me” he said and I was confused… “Mingi… I know you. You’ll get mad and not say anything… you’ll get jealous, and I want you to be–” “I won’t…” I know I was lying but I really wanted Yunho by my side again. 

Everyone back home was amazing but… Wooyoung and San were glued to each other, and so were the tigers. Yeosang was independent… I wanted someone who would be by my side again. Even if I regret this decision. 

But would I regret my decision?

“Want me to formally introduce you to the sweetest human you’ll ever meet?” I asked and he still looked at me skeptical but laughed anyway. “How is it?” he asked, now relaxing and I smiled, wanting to show him everything. Maybe even ask Seonghwa and Wooyoung to make my favorite dishes for them to make him. 

“Where do I even start? I just know you’ll love it”

y/n’s perspective

“Mingi worries me…” I confessed to Kun. Mingi said he wanted to talk to Yunho some more so I told him I'd get the adoption papers done. “His weakness is Yunho… he seems to have a possessive part of him. He wouldn’t want to share with Yunho but I think in a way he also doesn't wanna share Yunho” he said and I agreed. “What if in the end, I can’t keep Yunho because Mingi won’t allow it?” I ask and he sighs. 

“Then I doubt Yunho will ever be adopted… or he has a really rare chance of it,” he said and I sighed. 

“There's nothing we can do but… risk it huh?” I asked and he nodded while I signed everything. I was truly worried about how everyone was gonna treat Yunho. They treated Mingi… great and honestly had the better transitions into our home but… Yunho I was really worried about and not because of everyone else but Mingi himself. 

I waited in the waiting room when I saw Renjun and Mingi. “Yunho will be out soon but Mingi isn’t allowed in the grooming nor in Doyoung-hyung’s office” he explained and I nodded as he went back to work. 

“Are you excited?” I asked and he grinned. “I finally have him back!” he said happily and I hoped… My worries were for nothing. He talked about Yunho constantly, telling everyone stories and only good things about him. While I knew he had some jealousy and envy towards the golden retriever hybrid.

None of it had aligned with his medical records. And how he was abused more than Mingi was. 

Kun confirmed it… the file as well. 

He confessed to being starved for weeks at a time and even being physically and sexually abused. While Mingi was also abused… he was starved for one week at a time, and physically abused. His heat and Yunho’s would also sync together making his previous owner lock him in a closet while– 

“Yunho!” I felt myself snap away from my thoughts and see the golden retriever hybrid who I once thought was human now in a temporary collar and clothes while Mingi hugged him. He was attached quickly… They were a bonded pair after all. 

Yunho didn’t want to look me in the eye and I didn’t push him too as Mingi just ranted and said he was gonna love their new home. Yunho only silently nodded and smiled… he was happy but looked reluctant. 

“Ohh! And every week y/n takes me out to these cafes after my session! y/n the next time we go can we bring him a lot of the pastries!” he exclaimed and I agreed happily. 

Yunho was also given therapy sessions but bi-weekly… and on Mondays… but for now I didn’t want to tell Mingi that… I didn’t want him to think Yunho was taking things from him already 

 At the apartment, everyone gave him a warm welcome… which Mingi said they should but he already looked a little dejected. Even saying “When I first came, everyone kinda hated me since we did steal from y/n,” he said already showing him the difference… Wooyoung was the first to speak up and say they warmed up pretty quickly to him but I didn’t necessarily tell them to be careful. 

Though Yeosang and Seonghwa already seem skeptical. 

Mingi soon dragged him around to show him everywhere away from everyone… Even when Wooyoung offered, he was immediately rejected by Mingi.

“What's the wolf’s problem?” Yeosang asked and I sighed. “A long story,” I said and he hummed while taking me to his room where Seonghwa followed.

“Mingi is acting differently towards us… almost like he doesn’t want us to get close to Yunho?” Seonghwa added and I sighed. “Mingi is extremely envious of Yunho. In his file it says he has a love-hate relation with his bonded pair. Jealous that he was treated better in his eyes in their old home even saying he had more favoritism while Mingi had the hard-hitting abuse” I said and they nodded. 

“Was it not like that?” Yeosang asked and I shook my head. I handed him the file from my purse which he and Seonghwa read and they didn’t seem to read much before handing it back to me. 

“So… what happens to the two?” he asked and I shrugged. “Nothing… we have to act normal and accept Yunho cause he’s a part of our home now”

yunho’s perspective

I wonder just how much she knew about the problem of me being here truly. Seeing Mingi already trying to isolate me from the others was… not a good sign. 

Of course, he can’t do it forever. So while I had my own room, he already said how he was jealous of that but because no one could share a room with me. 

He was mated to her… they all were, which was shocking. He clearly stated how much living here was like a dream and how much he wanted me here but deep down he was a liar. 

Eventually, Mingi would show everyone just how much he hated me. Because while I do believe I mean something to him… at least in private, to others I'm soon gonna be discarded. Mingi hates when I take things from him because he assumes I already have more than him. 

But I wanted to be selfish and enjoy my time with him… at least for the time being. I really did miss him and I could only hope he missed me like he was saying. 

I don’t deserve a lifetime with him… so I'm hoping that fate can offer me a small amount of time with him until we separate again. 

Mingi was not doing well emotionally.

I was happy seeing that he could interact with other hybrids so easily and even y/n who really was the sweetest person I’ve ever and probably will ever meet. 

So seeing her trying to explain that I had a check-in with the hybrid specialist did not hit him well. Especially since I would be alone with her… doing something that was just like he would.

“Can I come with you?” he asked and she gave him a tight smile.

“Mingi…” she said trailing off and Yeosang scoffed. He wasn’t rude to me but he also seemed to understand what was happening actually… I think they all knew. 

“It's for his health… you want him to be okay and happy with us right?” she asked him and he stayed silent before eventually nodding. “You should start going any longer and you’ll be late,” Hongjoong said and she nodded but not before looking at Mingi who was silently looking at the ground. 

He didn’t even bother to look once as we left but I could see he was mad… his fists were clenched and his tail nervously moved. When we come back it won’t be a happy ending. 

“I’m hoping he comes around to the realization… that well, you aren’t taking anything from him,” I said and he smiled softly. “So you noticed it too? Sorry…” he apologized and it made me wonder if Yunho was gonna be harder to transition into being in a happy home. 

“It’s not your fault… don’t apologize when it's not needed I just hope you can enjoy it while being with us,” I said and he chuckled softly. “Everyone is really nice and you’re really exactly who I thought you’d be maybe even more… I hope so too that Mingi comes to the realization” he confessed and I nodded. 

The rest of the walk was… quiet and well by the time we were here I wondered if Yunho would ever open up to me.

“You okay?” I heard and saw Jaemin. “Yeah… just worried for Yunho,” I said and he sighed. “Did Kun tell you about Yunho not being up for adoption anymore?” he asked and I nodded. He looked sad but it was a part of this job…

“Yunho is such a sweet hybrid but… so susceptible to pretending everything is okay and that makes him an easy target you know that” he explained and it was true. With him being so easily obedient his masking of how he actually feels is dangerous. 

When hybrids are trained as well… obedient servants it makes it hard for them to find homes after since either transition will be hard or they’ll find themselves in another abusive home. These hybrids are often taken to the country with other hybrids and… well are under the hands of breeders. Which treat them well but… Mingi would regret it if that happened. 

“y/n? Can we talk privately before Yunho is dismissed?” Kun came to ask and I nodded and said my goodbyes to Jaemin. “He’s finding it hard to interact with your other hybrids due to mingi, I would probably recommend separating them in the home for the time being but be careful since it might trigger Mingi. So I would recommend to talk it out with both of them” he offered and I nodded. 

I trusted Kun’s input and Mingi needed something to push him into accepting a reality check. 

I went outside after signing papers where I saw Yunho. He was currently sharing Mingi’s clothes and… well he even said he didn’t mind so I knew it came from a place of jealousy. He’d hate to see Yunho get treated better than him… 

Mingi… didn’t like the day we got Yunho a collar either but I had to sit down and tell him it's something all of them have. Something that they have uniquely for them but from the same material each other has. 

Mingi has a brownish pink collar while Yunho has a gray one with soft yellow jewels on it. The gesture alone I know made Mingi upset. 

“Are you hungry? We could pass–” “No thanks…” he rejected and I know why. Though I didn’t want to push it… “I’ll ask Wooyoung to make you something special then?” I asked and he shook his head. 

He would continue to reject anything given to him… as long as Mingi showed his insecurity. 

yunho's perspective

I was worried about going up the elevator. Mingi exactly waiting…

“Mingi can I talk with you?” she asked and he nodded softly as she looked at me and gestured me to follow. Her other hybrids looked confused but as we made it to her room she gave us a shy smile. 

“Kun offered some advice… that the two of you should separate for a bit just to help the transition. Mingi you should let him go around the apartment alone and even with everyone else okay?” she asked and he nodded softly. 

“And please… share what you’re feeling? Bottling it up isn’t good for you” she told me and we nodded as we left her room. Mingi was angry…

“Did you go somewhere after?” he asked and I shook my head. “No, I wanted to come back to–” “I bet you did…” he muttered as he walked off but I sighed and caught up to him to grab his wrist when he suddenly jerked back and looked at me angrily. 

“Why do you steal everything from me!” he yelled at me and I knew this was gonna happen. “I went through hell with our old owner and you got off easy! You never suffered anything! You were 'Golden Boy Yunho'!” he yelled angrily and it was starting to piss me off. 

“Mingi?” I heard as I saw the panther… Mingi stayed silent, probably clearing his jealous thoughts. “Can you give us some privacy?” he asked and the panther sighed. “You do know that she isn't the type of person to replace you? She’s not a hybrid collector” he corrected and Mingi stayed silent as he left.

“They weren’t hybrid collectors either… So why? Why was I the only one punished!” he yelled again and I knew he needed to get this out of him. “I hate you… I wish we weren’t bonded so we didn't have to be stuck with each other!” he yelled and I let out a shaky sigh. 

“You know nothing about what I went through–” “Did you ever stop to think, what if I just never told you about what I went through?” I asked and he scoffed. “Like what huh?! She’d favor you always–” “If you haven't eaten for a day Mingi, I didn’t eat for two! If you were locked in a closet I was the one physically punished! You weren't the only one so stop okay!” I yelled... I am now sick of it, pretending I was okay when... just wanted to forget. 

“Don’t you ever wonder what’s happening to me when you're locked in the closet? Or how long has it been since I ate, if you were being punished? Why do you think she liked me so much huh? I did everything I could for you… and in the end, you won’t ever care! You’ve always hated me when I always tried my best!” I cried out now. 

He looked shocked but he shook his head… “Liar,” he said and I sighed and left the room. I can’t stay here if he really does hate me. I knew he’d regret having her adopt me…

I went through the fridge looking for things I could take that would last me a while. 

“Planning on running away?” I heard and I looked behind me to see them all… besides her. I was caught red-handed… “Why are you fighting so much with the overgrown wolf?” Yeosang asked and I sighed.

“He’s always hated me… ever since we were kids. He still thinks he was the only one getting punished but he would get smaller punishments from her” I explained. 

“So you took his blame most of the time?” Seonghwa asked and I nodded. “She finds every little thing to blame him and when I finally stood up for him, she said I could take his punishment. So she would starve Mingi and me but then she’d give me the choice. She'd give me one plate of food for a whole week which I'd sneak little bites but gave the rest to Mingi. Or if he was locked away in heat, she would get physical with me” I explained and I couldn’t look at any of them. 

“y/n knows… she has the records of your abuse in a file. She was hoping you and Mingi could clear things up” Hongjoong said and I shook my head. I subconsciously fiddled with the collar she gifted me.

“Mingi would never believe me… and I never corrected him. I let him hate me cause it was easier that way. I told him he’d regret me being here… so I’m sorry” I apologized and Wooyoung now got closer to me and opened the fridge. 

“If you’re gonna leave you should at least have a good meal” he muttered and I was shocked. “We’re not gonna stop you from doing anything but…we also can’t just let you go without nothing,” Seonghwa said and I noticed San was missing. 

“He isn’t gonna tell her…” Yeosang confirmed and I didn’t believe him until I saw him again. “She had some clothes for you to try on that she was planning on giving you eventually,” he said, handing me a trench coat and warmer clothes. Hongjoong also appeared with money… “This should get you around for a week,” he said and I nodded. 

“Why?” I asked confused and they shrugged. “You’re really unhappy… you can fool Mingi but everyone else can see how upset you are. Even if she can… she was planning on taking you back or finding someone to adopt you but if you're running away then there's no point” Hongjoong said and I didn’t want to cry in front of them. 

“This should be good for you, make sure to eat well” I heard as I saw Wooyoung hand me a lunch box and I couldn’t stop the tears. 

“I’m sorry I caused so much trouble” 

@wonuangel @danirael @angelsaway @krissroo @minkysmilk @mayonnaise-on-toast @robertsbbygirl @superbbananananana @hyukssunflower @kitty4hwa @justconniez @senpai-of-doom @kibs-and-bits @caityelise99 @ilovekinny @ateezennie23 @wooahaelemons @purplelady85 @watamotee33@chidess97 @littlelostdemonofthelight @maliamaiden @burntarm1n @spooo00oky @eastleighsblog @momo-peachy @kitstar1117 @quartzpirate

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[flwrkid14]

So is I alright if I ask this?

I've seen the post where everyone wants to be Tim's favorite, might I ask if you could combine it with the 'Tim will never be anyone's favorite' and the brain dead post spin off? I think it'd be super angst angsty if the bats realize tehy unitentionally screwed up with Tim.

Oh, this is such a good ask! and now I’m going to be feral about it, thank you. Combining all of those ideas? Buckle up because this is going to get angsty.

—

Tim Drake will never be anyone’s favorite.

He’s always known it, accepted it as fact, because it’s not just about how he’s never felt like anyone’s favorite—it’s about how he’s been conditioned to believe that no one could favor him. He spent so much of his life trying to make himself useful to the people around him, because if he couldn’t be loved, he could at least be needed. If they needed him, they’d have to keep him around, right?

So that’s what Tim became. The utility knife of the Batfamily. The glue, the fixer, the one who knew how to put everything back together even if no one ever thought to ask how he was holding up.

And if that meant sacrificing pieces of himself, so what? He was never anyone’s favorite. He had no illusion that anyone would fight for him, that he’d be prioritized. The mission came first. Gotham came first. Family was a distant second, if it ranked at all.

Then there’s Danny.

Danny doesn’t come in with the expectations or baggage the rest of the Bats have. Danny doesn’t know Tim as a placeholder Robin or a second chance or a stolen birthright. He knows Tim as Tim—sharp, exhausted, himself. And Danny thinks that’s amazing.

He says it, too, without hesitation. “You’re my favorite,” he says like it’s a fact. Like Tim has always been the first name on someone’s list.

And it’s such a foreign concept to Tim that his first reaction is suspicion. He doesn’t trust it—can’t trust it—because when has anyone ever favored him? Even when Danny shows time and again that he’s not going anywhere, that his affection for Tim is unconditional, Tim’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Danny to grow tired of him, to leave, to regret his words.

But Danny doesn’t. He stays.

And that’s where it all starts to unravel for the rest of the family.

They see it—the way Danny looks at Tim like he’s the most important person in the room. The way Tim slowly starts to relax around him, shedding the defensive, brittle edges he’s always carried with them. The way Danny makes it obvious—painfully obvious—that Tim is his favorite person.

It's then that it hits them.

None of them have ever made Tim feel that way.

They start noticing the cracks they’ve left in him, the ones they never saw because they were too busy leaning on Tim to hold them together. They think back to all the times Tim had been the one to put in the effort to maintain their relationships, the way he always came through for them when they needed him, but how little they ever did for him in return.

They see the way he hesitates when Danny shows him affection—how it catches Tim off guard every time, like he’s still waiting for it to be a trap. And the Bats realize they’ve conditioned Tim to expect exactly that.

It guts them.

Cass had always known, in the quiet way she read people, that Tim didn’t feel like he belonged. She saw it in the way he held himself—guarded, distant, bracing for rejection. She’d tried, in her small, subtle ways, to show him he mattered, but watching Danny with him now, she realized she hadn’t done enough, that there was so much more she could have done for him not to feel that way. She hadn’t known how deep the hurt ran, and the guilt settled heavy in her chest.

Danny... Danny treated him differently.

Dick, who always tried to be a good brother but never saw the way Tim’s shoulders tensed under the weight of being “good enough.” Jason, who hated him for wearing the Robin colors but never noticed how much Tim blamed himself for taking them in the first place. Bruce, who thought giving Tim responsibility was enough to show he cared, but never thought to give him unconditional support. Damian, who fought Tim at every turn but never realized how much Tim already hated himself for existing in a role Damian felt should have been his.

Even Steph, and Duke—all of them thought Tim was fine because Tim made himself fine. Because Tim was the one who fixed things, and none of them stopped to ask what he needed.

It becomes almost unbearable for them to watch Danny care for Tim, because Danny makes it look so easy. He loves Tim so openly, so obviously, that it highlights every way the family failed to do the same.

And Tim? Tim doesn’t even seem to know he deserves it.

It’s the wake-up call they all desperately needed but never wanted. They don’t know how to fix it. But watching Danny and Tim together, seeing the way Tim is finally beginning to believe he’s worthy of being loved, they know one thing for certain:

They can’t undo the past.

But maybe, if they try hard enough, they can make sure Tim never feels that way again.

[samgirl98]

Heart Stopper

Written for @silverblueglitter, I hope you like it

Danny’s body had developed a bad habit: his heart and breath would stop while sleeping.

If it hadn’t been for Jazz freaking out one Saturday afternoon after finding him, presumably, dead on the couch when he had been napping, he probably never would have found out. After going to Frostbite and being told it was just a new normal for him, Danny stopped worrying about it. Besides, the ecto in his body ensured that he was kept fine and healthy while asleep or knocked unconscious. He made sure not to take naps in places where he could be found, which sucked when he was in school.

It helped that his friends and sister were there to aid in keeping him awake.

Still, half-life moved on, and Danny adapted as he did with everything else thrown at him.

For example, he was currently in Gotham, trying to find Batman for help. Although it had taken a lot of effort to leave Amity Park while it was under lockdown, he had been able to do it. Now, if only he could find Batman or one of his associates.

Danny looked at the vast city from above while invisible. He wondered where he should even start looking.

He sighed. Well, there was no point in wondering. Danny flew lower and started looking at the shadows. Eventually, he would find someone.

At least, he hoped so.

Danny flew around for a few hours before he saw a dark shadow moving. It was a woman with her face fully covered in a bat-shaped mask.

Finally, someone who could help. Danny landed on a different roof and detransformed. He would get the help Amity Park needed, no matter what.

____

In Cass’ defense, no one had ever sneaked up on her. At least, not that she could remember.

So, when she heard a voice suddenly speak behind her, she reacted without thinking and kicked in the voice’s direction. Too late, she noticed it was just a kid—a kid who folded like a wet paper towel.

“Umph,” he said before going down.

“Oh, no,” Cass ran toward the boy to make sure he was okay.

Cass knew the moment she saw him. She could read the body better than a children’s book. The boy wasn’t breathing.

He was dead.

Still, she put her fingers on his neck, hoping against all hope that he was fine, that he was alive.

She exhaled sharply; there was no pulse, no breath.

Cass felt her body go ice cold. Her heart stopped and started beating double time.

She had killed someone. Not just anyone, but an innocent boy. What would Bruce think? The rest of her family? Would they kick her out?

Cass felt sick.

She took off her full-cover mask and threw up.

She killed someone. She killed someone!

With shaking hands, Cass turned on her coms.

“Black Bat to Oracle. I need help.”

“This Oracle, what’s wrong,” came the automated voice through the com.

Cass sobbed.

“Black Bat, what’s your status?”

“I did something bad,” she whispered. “I—I accidentally. It was an accident!”

Cass got to her knees beside the dead boy—the boy she had killed.

Oracle must’ve hijacked her lenses.

“Is that—is he dead?”

“Accident,” she wailed out.

“Black Bat, stay where you are,” Came Batman’s voice.

Cass felt relief and trepidation at the same time. Batman would fix this; he would make things right.

Batman would judge her; he could throw her in Arkham.

“Please,” she said, “please.”

Cass brought her knees up to her chest. She was a murderer. A murderer! She killed someone, an innocent boy who had done no wrong. She felt her stomach revolting again and turned around, not wanting to accidentally defile the boy by vomiting on top of him.

Cass heard the swish of a cape.

Batman was here. He went straight to her and held her.

“It’ll be okay. Tell me what happened.”

“I—I was patrolling when I heard a voice behind me. I didn’t think; I kicked out and hit him. Then he fell, and he was…he was gone.”

“Hmm,” Batman hummed. He took off his glove to check for a pulse. When he found none, he started doing CPR. Cass felt stupid. She could’ve been doing that. Instead, she wasted precious time freaking out. When the CPR did nothing, Batman took out a Taser and started electrocuting the body.

It was unexpected.

One second, the boy was dead; the next, he woke up yelling.

“What the actual fuck?!”

The boy got up and leaped away from them.

“Why would you electrocute me?”

“You were dead,” Cass said instead of answering the question, “I saw you. You weren’t breathing; your heart had stopped.”

“So you decided to electrocute me?”

“We wanted to bring you back,” Batman said, “we apologize.”

“You kicked me,” he accused.

“Yes, you surprised. I’m sorry for—for killing you,” she said.

“Hmm, you didn’t kill me; I was unconscious. I stop breathing, and my heart stops when I sleep, or I’m not conscious. It’s a quirk of mine.”

“What?”

“Yeah, sorry for traumatizing you,” he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ask him if there’s a reason he snuck up on Black Bat,” Oracle asked.

“Is there a reason you were snuck up behind me,” Cass asked.

“Oh, yeah, there is actually! Sorry about that. I forget how quiet I am. Anyway, I need help from the Justice League, and when I saw you, I figured you could contact Batman.”

“Why do you need the Justice League?”

Cass never thought she would be so happy to see someone take a deep breath. She would listen to the boy and help however she could. That’s what he wanted: help.

“Have you ever heard of the Anti-Ecto Laws?”

So danny's heart stops when he sleeps it's annoying but thanks to the ecto in his veigns ot doen't really caus any problems

Unfortunatly it also stops when he's more forceably knocked uncosnious like say a punch to the face from a vigilantes when he was going up to let them know what was happening with amity park

Now the said vigilante is panicing thinking they just somehow punched kid to death now

[tinfoil-jones]

Jerk Ford AU: The Love Pendant

Mabel this time around hadn’t just taken the love potions from the Love God- he saw that although misguided, her love for other people and desire to make sure everyone was loved was genuine, so he gave her a gift in the form of a "Love Pendant".

It did look a little tacky, a clunky heart carved out of what could be crystal or glass, it was hard to tell, and on a thin gold chain long enough that it could be looped over anyone's head and onto the neck, no clasps needed.

If you placed the love pendant on someone, it would glow in a specific colour and intensity based on how the recipient felt about the bestower. As explained below;

Red: Romantic

Blue: Self (if placed on self)

Green: Friendship

Gold: Family

White: Apathy (Anti-Love)

Black: Hatred

The intensity of the glow shows how strong that love is: the light will be dim if there isn’t a lot or if its weak/flimsy, but the light will be brighter and more intense if there is a lot of that love, and/or if its a very strong love that won’t waver. 

Mabel tests it out by first placing it on Soos, who is her cousin and also frequent companion to her and Dipper- the pendant glows a strong green, with intense flickers of gold, reminding her of holiday trees.

She then tries it on Grunkle Stan - the opposite of Soos, it glows gold with flecks of green, reminding her of holiday lights.

And of course, her brother Dipper - she’s not surprised, but absolutely delighted nonetheless, to see that it swirls in equal parts gold and green, glowing so bright it almost hurts her eyes. And when he puts the pendant on her? Exactly the same.

Then "The Author of the Journals" her Grunkles brother, stumbles out of the interdimensional portal they had no idea was in the basement they also didn't know about. And he's an unrepentant jerk.

Grunkle Stan kept trying to tell both of them that he swore up and down that Great Uncle Ford loved them, he really did, but he's always had a hard time showing people love, even saying it was a Herculean task for him.

Dipper vehemently refused to believe it. Of course he did, once he decided how he felt about someone or something it wasn’t easy to make him change his mind. And Great Uncle Ford wrote those Journals that Dipper hated because of how contradictory and unhelpful they were, and he’d spent the majority of the summer trying to correct them with proper observations.

Mabel? She didn’t appreciate Fords abrasiveness any more than anyone else, but… was there really something else there? She knew her Grunkle Stan was a nice and loving guy and all, but would he really dedicate thirty whole years of his life trying to bring back someone who was only a jerk?

He’d decided to take his grudge into his own hands, and has been actively ambushing their Great Uncle Ford with sports equipment, home decor, and even his bare hands, ever since. Not that it seems bother said Great Uncle very much, because he’s made of surprisingly strong stuff, and he’s waved off all of Dippers attempts at violence. 

One afternoon Mabel catches him dead asleep on the couch again.

Grunkle Stan told her and Dipper that his brother didn’t get as much sleep as he should of during the thirty years he was gone- he was in dangerous places a lot and there were things that could hurt you if you weren’t vigilant enough, and that’s why Ford slept so much now that he was back. As long as you didn’t get too close to him, it was almost impossible to wake him up once he was down.

Mabel considers putting the Love Pendant on him - the recipient didn't need to be conscious, because it connected to feelings and not conscious thoughts.

Then she remembers last time he passed out on the couch Dipper tried hitting him with a wiffleball bat. Even unconscious, Ford caught the bat before it could hit him, and tossed it across the living room with enough force to go straight through a window. And it was a plastic bat.

Grunkle Stan's brother maybe should have told his family that he's fallen asleep in active war zones before, and had still managed to defend himself. Now there's a broken window.

Okay... so maybe putting the pendant on him could wait.

[marvelwitchergilmore]

Tiny Tornado

Summary: Tyler Owens x fe!Reader -> When a tornado rips through a rodeo, you save a life you weren't expecting to have to save. Upon taking them home, Tyler comes to find out they're a Tiny Tornado.

Disclaimer: This fic does include child abandonment in the beginning, as well as damage done by tornadoes, angst. Happy ending. Slow burn romance, Wranglers being a family and the ultimate Aunties and Uncles, fluffy and funny moments, Tyler and Reader being parents. Not Proof Read.

Country music blasted over the speakers across the rodeo, different voices speaking over the lyrics as they announced which activities were about to start and when you could find them. 

Like every summer, you volunteered at the rodeo to help out with crowd control whilst the others did their part. Tyler was helping around the rodeo cowboys, talking some of them through their fear before they mounted a bull for the first time in front of the mass crowd. 

Dani, Dexter and Kate had set up a stall to provide information about their work, raise some money to help feed the families who were affected by the tornadoes that tore through homes.

Javi was on crowd control with you, helping those who were lost or in need of directions. Meanwhile, Lily and Boone were by the kids tent showing them footage of different tornadoes, explaining why they can be scary but that they don’t have to be afraid of them. 

And everything was going great until the sirens started. 

People started running, horses were set loose, bulls were either left or ushered towards their pens. Finding your fellow Wranglers, you all started directing everyone to safety whilst you all started running yourselves. 

Javi helped a four year old who had fallen into the ground, her mom thanking Javi before running along with him. Boone and Lily kept an eye on the kids as they ran towards their parents, grabbing their hands for dear life. 

However, as you ran past the stalls, colliding into Tyler, you spotted a box under the stands. 

It was moving. 

“Come on! We gotta go!”

Tyler tried to pull you with him, but your eyes remained fixed on the box. Maybe it was just the wind. 

But it wasn’t. 

Over the yelling, and the wind, and the tramping of feet, you heard a scream. 

A baby’s cry. 

Breaking free from Tyler’s grasp, you heard him yell for you but you remained focused on the box under the stands. Why was there a baby in a box? Had someone left them? Who would leave a baby in the middle of a rodeo?

Feeling your hand slip from his, Tyler turned and called your name but you ignored him. He tried to run after you, only to be cut off by a horse. 

“Whoa!”

He slipped in the grass but managed to regain his balance just as you came to a stop by a cardboard box. 

The sirens were getting louder, and so was the wind. You didn’t have much time. 

“Y/n! Come on! We’ve got to-”

Tyler stopped talking as he saw what you lifted from the box. Was it what he thought it was?

He didn’t have long to think because in the distance he could see a growing dark cloud, ready to tear everything from the ground. 

“Y/n!”

Finally you looked up and ran towards him. Holding the baby to your chest, he placed an arm around you, both of you ducking as something came flying behind you. 

“Come on, we need to get somewhere safe.”

And you did. 

Reaching a mechanics garage, Tyler looked behind him finding people either running towards their cars. He yelled but they didn’t hear him. 

The tornado was only getting closer. 

So he ran. 

Running and letting the door close, he ran into the pit before crouching beside you. 

You lowered the baby from your chest to take a look at them. They were wrapped in a sage green baby blanket, a note clipped to it which you were yet to look at. 

“Can’t be more than five months.”

“How can someone leave a baby alone like that?”

With a loud crashing sound, you cradled the baby as Tyler turned his body towards you, covering you from the noise. 

The baby cried out and all you could do was wrap the blanket tighter around them and try to cover their ears with your hand. 

“It’s okay, it’ll be over soon.” You heard Tyler say. 

Around you, there were kids no more than seven, cradling themselves into their parents. Some were crying, their parents comforting them; others were trying their best to be brave and seeing Tyler – the Youtube famous Tornado Wrangler – made them braver. Especially when they heard him say it would be over soon. 

From the back, one of the children stood up, shouting out for their mom. Standing, Lily ran towards the back and sat down with the kid. 

“It’s okay, we’ll find your mom. But we need to stay down, okay?” A loud crash came through the top of the garage and Lily covered the child as best as she could. 

You didn’t know how long it lasted. The wind just seemed to get louder and louder, more things flew in and out of the garage before finally the noise stopped. 

Everyone stayed down for a few minutes before standing, Kate and Javi moved to check outside before coming back and helping people up and back outside. 

Most places were trashed. Tents were blown across the field, food scraps melted in with the mud and dirt, and plenty of trucks and cars had been spun and flipped around the place. 

But you still held a baby in your arms. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re safe now. You’re safe.” 

It took a moment but you finally managed to settle the baby before Javi walked over to check on you. “Is that a baby?”

You nodded. “Someone left them in a box. If I hadn’t spotted it…”

Javi placed an arm around you. “Maybe we can find someone. I’ll go with you.”

After three hours and two different phone calls being made to social services and a ton of others being made to local foster homes – most of which had been hit by the tornado, too – you were in the passenger seat of Tyler’s truck as they drove back to Kate’s farm. 

She’d left not long after helping people out of the garage; fearful the tornado would take a turn and head towards her mom. 

The others stayed to help whilst Tyler took you back. He’d resupply and head back once he knew you were okay. 

“Have you read the note yet?”

You shook your head, plucking it from the blanket. “Who can just leave a baby like that? In the middle of a rodeo? What if I hadn’t spotted it? What if-”

“You can’t torture yourself with what if’s. You found ‘em. That’s what matters.”

You took a breath and looked down at the baby in front of you, sound asleep. So innocent, so tiny in comparison to the rest of the world. 

Looking at the paper, you read the cover. 

I’m Sorry.

Flipping it open, you read the short letter out loud. 

To whoever finds her, 

With everyone at the rodeo, I know she’ll be safe. It’s my hope one good family will take her in. I thought I could help her, but I can’t. Maybe you can. 

Please keep her safe 

Tyler looked over at you from where he sat. “What? No name?”

You shook your head. “Apparently not.”

“Is her birth registered?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “No idea.”

“Then we should name her.”

You looked at Tyler. “Can we even do that?”

“We can’t just keep calling her ‘her’, can we?”

“No, I suppose not.” Looking down as the sleeping baby in your arms, you spoke out loud. “What is your name, little one?”

As Tyler pulled into the driveway, he hopped out and rounded the truck to help you out as Kate and Cathy came to the front door. 

“Oh, the poor thing. Kate told me. I’ve set up a cot in the attic room. It’s the warmest room in the house.”

“Thanks, Cathy.”

“What did the cops say?”

Cathy followed you up the stairs, Kate going out to help Tyler load up the truck with fresh supplies. 

“That she has to stay with me for a few days until social services get in contact. Most homes have been taken out in the storm so there’s no-one to take her. And I didn’t like the idea of not knowing what’s going to happen.”

Cathy nodded. “I would have done the same thing. Do you know what you’re doing?”

You sighed. “Not really. I’ve never exactly found a baby in the middle of a tornado before.”

Cathy just graced you with a warm smile. “We’ll all help out. This kid won’t have to worry about anything.”

It wasn’t until just after two in the morning that everyone came back, instantly crashing into their beds. But Tyler waited. 

“She’s up in the attic.”

“Thank you.”

You heard Tyler’s footsteps walking down the hall before the door clicked open. “I’m still awake. It’s okay. Come on in.”

He slipped his boots off by the door before closing it behind him. 

“How is everyone?”

“Tired.” Tyler answered truthfully. “How are you?”

Tyler stood beside the crib where your hand was in between the bars, holding onto the baby’s hand. Gently, Tyler lifted up the blanket that had dipped a little before laying his finger in the baby’s other hand. 

Almost instantly, their fingers curled around his finger. Her head turned towards him before she sighed constantly and relaxed again. 

“I think she likes you.” You smiled at Tyler from where you lay in bed. 

Tyler couldn’t help but smile as he looked back at the baby. “Not a care in the world. Have you thought of a name yet?”

You shook your head. “Not yet. I was hoping the others could help. Cathy says she has a baby book somewhere filled with names.”

Slowly, making sure not to hit the creaky parts of the floor, he walked to the other side of the bed and lay on top of the covers with you. 

“We’ll find a name.”

It was laying in the silence, hearing the content snores from the baby, that sent you and Tyler into a deep sleep. When you woke up, your hand was back on your bed and the baby was no longer in her crib. 

For a moment, you panicked. Until you saw Tyler stood by the dresser, talking quietly to her. 

“You’re lucky I know how to do this, or else I’d be asking Boone for help and as much as he’s my best friend, he’s not the person I’d want to ask.” Tyler said to her. “You know, he once did a backflip off the top of my truck. Yeah, just did it. Right there. And as cool as it was, I did think we were about to end up in the ER. Point is – don’t follow Boone’s idea of backflipping off a truck. It’s very dangerous.”

Clasping the baby grow shut, Tyler placed the dirty diaper into a diaper bag and threw it into the lined trash can beside him with the other diaper wipes. 

Then you saw an image that your ovaries would never let you forget. 

A freshly washed Tyler dressed in a clean white t-shirt and jeans, lifting up a baby before holding her against his chest and walking around the small floor before taking her to the window, showing her the view. 

“You’re a natural.”

Tyler turned his head and looked at you before smiling. “Hey, you’re awake. How’d you sleep?”

You nodded. “Pretty good. How long have you been up?”

“Only about an hour. She woke up like thirty minutes ago. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

You smiled. “Thanks.”

Twenty minutes later, you showered yourself and got dressed before meeting Tyler downstairs where Cathy was teaching him how to properly burp her. 

Of course, everyone had a thousand questions so once the understandable questions were cleared up, you were all sat in the living room, the baby on Kate’s knee, going over baby names. 

“I never knew so much went into naming a baby.”

Cathy nodded. “It sets them up for the rest of their lives. God knows it took me long enough to choose Kate’s.”

“Really?” She asked. 

Cathy nodded. “Your dad and I vetoed a lot of names in the beginning. It wasn’t until the midwife came running up our driveway after her shift had finished that I decided on a name.”

Dexter flipped through the book before offering up a name. Nobody agreed on it. 

It wasn’t until after an entire day of going through baby names, different meanings, past relationships with the different names – some good, some bad – that a name was found. 

Despite having napped, eaten, burped and a fresh diaper, she just wouldn’t settle. Until Dexter took her outside to look up at the stars in the sky. 

By the time you walked out onto the porch, standing beside Tyler, Dexter was pointing up at the different constellations and explaining each one and what they meant. 

“I don’t know how he does it, but he’d settled her.”

“It’s because he’s calming,” you said. “If anyone was going to be calm enough to settle her, it would be Dex.”

Tyler smiled. “Any word from the social?”

You shook your head as you shoved your hands into your back pockets. “Not yet. They’re looking for a home but, in the meantime, she’s stuck with us. They’re sending out a social worker tomorrow to come and look at the place to make sure she’s not in any immediate danger with us.”

Tyler nodded. “We still need to find her a name.”

You sighed. “I know.”

Looking back out to Dexter and the baby, you leaned your head against Tyler’s shoulder.

“And no matter where you are in the world, you can just look up at the sky and know we’re looking at the same one.” Dexter told her. “I don’t know how long you’re gonna be with us, kiddo. But…if you remember us, or need some help, there’s a chance the stars will be able to show you.”

As Dexter looked up into the sky and back down to the baby, the stars reflecting in her eyes, something hit him. 

He turned around quickly. “SKYE!”

You and Tyler stood tall and looked at each other before looking back. “What?”

Dexter walked over to you both. “Skye. Her name. We could call her Skye.”

You and Tyler looked at each other before looking down at the baby. “Do you like that name?”

She definitely looked like a Skye. And by the happy babble she gave, she seemed to agree. 

Tyler looked at you. “Skye it is, then. Guys! Come out here!”

Following one by one, they all appeared on the porch. “Dexter’s found her name.”

They all looked at him, hopeful. 

“Skye.”

They all gave an ‘aww’. “Skye. Hi, Skye.”

Beside Tyler, Boone almost collapsed. “Man, I tell you. Choosing a baby name is hard.”

Tyler chuckled. “Maybe you can find another way to use those post-it notes.”

So, finally she had a name. 

All she needed was a home. 

But from the social worker’s inspection, she had already found one. 

She came over three times in the space of two weeks, surprising everyone each time. But each time, her report came out better than the last until she made you an offer. 

“Now, we can take her into foster care. There are a few homes a couple towns over but there’s no guarantee for adoption. Between the recent tornadoes and the cost of living recently, the cost of taking in a baby this young…it’s rare we’re gonna find a couple willing to take her in permanently. But, myself and my colleagues do believe the best place for Skye is here.”

You couldn’t deny you hadn’t grown attached to her. Nobody could. You’d all found a new routine that easily fitted around her, and deep down, none of you wanted it any other way. But was a Tornado family truly the best place?

“If you didn’t already have a home base, we wouldn’t have considered it so quickly. But…” The social worker looked around. “You’ve got a good home here. Space for her to run around, plenty of people willing to help. So, if any of you would, in fact, wish to take Skye on permanently, I can help you do so.”

With Skye in your arms, you looked around at the rest of the Wranglers. They’d all been in tears for the last two days, figuring out how to say goodbye to her since you’d all been under the belief the social worker was getting ready to take her away. 

“I…”

You looked at Tyler and the others. Then Lily leaned forward. “Can we talk about it, first?”

The social worker nodded. “Of course. This isn’t a light decision to be made. And it doesn’t have to be right away, but until you do make a decision, Skye will be taken into a foster home.”

Then Cathy stood. “It’s your decision. If you choose to keep her…her room is already set up.” Once more, she graced you with a warm smile before inviting the social worker into the kitchen for a drink. Then everyone took a seat. 

“It’s a big decision.”

“Are we sure tornado wrangling is the place for a kid?”

“It’s not like we’d be taking her with us into a tornado.”

“We can all split the duties.”

“But if we keep her, one of us is going to have to adopt her. We can’t all be on the birth certificate.”

“Do we even know what we’re doing? Shouldn’t she be with a less adrenaline driven family?”

“They do say kids have less allergies growing up on a farm. They have more compassion and understanding of the world.”

“And we can help her with her homework.”

“Two of my childhood friends are now teachers at our old school.” Kate mentioned. “So it’s a good school district.”

It was another ten minutes of similar discussions until eventually Dani spoke up. 

“You guys know what we’re doing?”

The other’s didn’t seem to catch on to what they were doing. But you did. 

Looking down at the sleepy baby in your arms, you felt yourself smile. “We’re planning our lives with her. I can’t imagine a life without her.”

“Neither can I.” Lily leaned over, stroking Skye’s arm. 

“Neither can I.” Boone joined, leaning over the back of the sofa. 

Dani was in agreement, then Javi, Kate, Dexter and finally Tyler. 

Crouching on the floor in front of you, Tyler looked at you. “So, we’re doing this?”

You both looked around at the others, them looking back. 

“We’re doing this.”

~~~~~~

The sun had been beating down all day. Yourself and the Wranglers had managed to chase the third EF-2 of the week and were finally putting the data through its paces. And just as the hum of the barn wrapped around you all for the second time that hour, you heard a familiar set of giggles. 

“Momma!” 

Skye giggled and shrieked as she looked behind her before running through the barn and towards you. Sliding away from your desk, you opened your arms and she jumped into them as quickly as she could. 

“Quick, you’ve gotta hide me.”

“Hide you? Why?”

Then you heard Boone’s voice from outside the barn door. “I’m the big, scary monster.”

Skye shrieked again before she wiggled from your grasp and hid under your desk. As you looked at her, she placed her finger against her lips and you nodded before you rolled your chair back towards your desk. 

Boone continued his act of being the big scary monster, calling out for his new best friend he was playing hide and seek with. 

“I’m sorry Mr Monster, I haven’t seen Skye anywhere.”

Boone pouted. “Mr Monster’s sad. He can’t find his best friend.”

Then from under Kate’s desk, Skye ran out and around. “I’m here!”

“Best friend!” 

Boone scooped her up into his arms, her giggles filling the entire barn. You’d never get tired of hearing her laugh. 

“Do I hear a Tiny Tornado in here?”

Skye leaned up high and gasped. “Let me down, let me down.”

Boone set her on her feet. “There you go, kid.”

“Yay!”

Running directly back down to the barn doors, Tyler dropped the pile of rope he was carrying over his shoulder, to the ground beside him. As Skye reached him, he bent down before he lifted her into the air, and he swung her back into his arms. 

“How’s your day been, kiddo?”

“Aun’y Cathy teached me to ride a ‘orse.”

“Taught!” You called out to Skye.

Tyler nodded. “Your mom’s right. She taught you to ride a horse.”

“She taught me to ‘ide and ‘orse.”

Tyler smiled. “Did you enjoy it?”

Skye nodded. “She promised to show me tomorrow.”

Tyler smiled, “Well, in that case, you’re gonna need your own hat.”

From your desk, you watched as Tyler set Skye onto her feet before he reached for something just outside the barn doors. Then, with one knee on the floor, Tyler pulled her to stand a little closer. 

“This right ‘ere. This was my first cowboy hat.”

Skye’s eyes lit up. You could all see her practically vibrating on the spot as she gasped and tried to stay still. 

“And since Cathy tells me you did such a good job with the horses today, I think it’s only right you get your own.”

“Really?”

Tyler nodded. “‘Course, kiddo.”

“So, Boone, you recording this?” Tyler turned back to Skye. “S’ not everyday a girl gets ‘er first hat.”

Boone pressed record as everyone came and stood around her, Dani and Kate giving their own rendition of a crowning ceremony theme. 

And once the hat hit her head, Skye’s eyes kept looking up at it. 

“What’d ya think, Momma?” 

Skye turned to you, her eyes begging the same question Tyler just asked. And you could help but just smile. 

“I think you look wonderful, little one.”

Skye started smiling even wider than before and jumping up and down before nearly knocking Tyler over with how tightly she hugged him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo.”

“Baby, you wanna go and show Cathy?”

Skye stood back and nodded. “Can I?”

You and Tyler nodded and with a hand on the top of her hat, she ran out of the barn and down the field towards Cathy. 

“Thank you for doing that with her, Ty.”

Tyler just smiled. “She’s my Tiny Tornado.”

“You know, she’s not gonna wanna ever take it off.”

And it was true. Skye wore it whenever she could. Running through the fields, eating her dinner, taking a bath; she did try and keep it on when getting dressed, but it got knocked off her head a few times.

The only time she took it off was when she saw Tyler take his own off when he hung it by the door. Coming down the stairs, you saw two cowboy hats hanging by the door and it made your heart melt. 

And it only melted even more when you walked onto the back porch and found Skye cuddled up and falling fast asleep on Tyler’s chest. 

An image like that one was one that you loved to see. It happened almost every night. Tyler was the one she would fall asleep on. Sometimes it would be in Lily’s lap when she played with her hair or when Dexter would tell her all about the stars. 

Skye would fight sleep when she was learning but eventually sleep would win. 

And she’d only fall deeper into sleep when Tyler began to lightly swing the porch seat. 

“Can you believe she’s almost four?” You asked Tyler later that evening as you both folded what was left of the bed sheets and clothes. The others had long since gone to bed. 

It was like that most nights; you and Tyler the last to go to bed. 

Tyler shook his head. “Feels like only yesterday we registered her birth.”

“Before we know it, she’ll be off to college.”

Tyler chuckled. “We’ve still got years before that happens, but…I know what you mean. She’s growing up.”

“She’s learning how to ride a horse. Before we know it, she’ll be taming a tornado.”

Tyler smiled. “I don’t call her a Tiny Tornado for nothing.”

You smiled at a memory. “Did you see she hung her hat up, same as you?”

Tyler shook his head and disappeared into the hallway before coming back. “I think that’s officially the cutest thing I’ve seen today.”

“I know you’re not down on her birth certificate, but…you are her dad, Tyler.” You told him. “She loves you like one, and I know you love her as a daughter. I…I just wanted to tell you that.”

Tyler smiled. “Thank you.”

Forcing your gaze away from his, you looked back to the freshly folded clothes. “We should get to bed. God only knows what time that kid’ll wake up to be outside with Cathy and the horses.”

Tyler chuckled, “You’re right. Goodnight.”

“Night, Ty.”

Tyler watched as you climbed the stairs with the washing basket of freshly folded clothes and he waited until he heard your door click shut before he made his rounds around the house, locking the place up. 

And as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, he wondered if he would ever be brave enough to tell you the truth about his feelings. 

But apparently, the Tiny Tornado had enough courage to do that for the both of you. 

It was a few weeks later, sitting at the breakfast table that Skye asked a question that nobody had been expecting. 

“What’s a romance?”

Swinging her legs over the edge of the table chair as she waited on her cereal, Skye didn’t know what kind of bomb she was about to drop. 

“Why do you wanna know, kiddo?” Dani asked as she handed Skye her bowl of coco pops. 

Skye just shrugged. “That’s what Boone called my princess book.”

“Well, it’s not a bad thing.” Lily assured the little girl. “In fact, it’s something really, really good.”

“Is it?”

You nodded. “Yep.”

As Tyler placed his plate down on the table, he sat down beside Skye. “And there isn’t just one kind, either.”

“There isn’t?”

Javi chuckled from where he was leaning against the dishwasher. “Maybe you wanna explain what a romance is first, before you tell her there’s more than one.”

And so they did. 

“It’s when two people meet in a story and they fall in love. So, like with Cinderella. You know how she meets Prince Charming but he doesn’t know who she is until she puts on the glass slipper and then they live happily ever after?”

Skye nodded at Cathy. 

“Well, that’s a romance. It’s when two people fall in love and live happily ever after.”

For a moment, you felt a pair of eyes fall on you, but when you looked up, he was looking back at Skye. 

“But there’s more than one?”

Crouching beside her, Dani explained. “You know how Dexter has all those books in the back of his camper?”

Skye nodded. 

“Well, think of a romance like them. Each one has a different story.”

“Like Disney Princesses?”

Dani nodded. “Exactly like Disney Princesses. Sometimes they don’t know who the other person is until the big reveal, sometimes they’re childhood friends who fall in love when they meet again, sometimes they’re mortal enemies and think they don’t like each other until something makes them realise they don’t hate that person anymore.”

“Ooh, like Princess Diaries!” 

Everyone, including Skye, turned and looked at Javi. 

“What? It’s a good film.”

“Are there any other romances?”

Dani nodded. “Sure there is. Umm…”

Dani looked around the kitchen for help. 

“Sometimes they’re soulmates who fall in love in every universe.” Skye gave a confused look, so Lily added; “Like the stories in the stars.”

“It can be love at first sight,” you told Skye. 

“Sometimes they can be best friends and not realise they’re in love, even though everyone else can see it.” Cathy mentioned. 

Then Skye dropped a tornado that was far too extreme to deal with at eight in the morning. 

“Oh, like Momma and Tyler.”

The entire kitchen went silent. Javi, mid chew, looked over at Tyler who was turning redder by the minute as he looked at you by the stove, standing incredibly still. 

Skye looked around, a little confused about what she had said. “What? What is it?”

You turned and looked at your daughter, speaking to her just as Tyler did. 

“Nothing, honey-”

Just as you and Tyler locked eyes, the tension sparking from both of you, Boone barrelled through the back door with Dexter not too far behind him. 

“Told you I could run it quicker, man.”

“A car is still faster.” Dexter told Boone. 

Then they looked around, noticing the sheepish looks on everyone’s faces. 

“Hey, what happened here?” Boone asked. 

Lily stood, coming to your rescue. “Nothing. Did you get the-” She looked inside the brown paper bag. “YES! Waffles!”

As commotion started up in the kitchen again, Skye looked up at you from her seat as you handed her a spoon. “Momma, did I do something wrong?”

You shook your head. “No, baby.” Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, you sneaked a glance over at Tyler before forcing a smile back on your face to look at Skye. 

“Eat up, honey. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

“Okay, Momma.”

For the rest of the day, you and Tyler avoided each other. Cathy apologised to both of you for having given the example in the first place, but she made sure to tell you she thought Skye was right. 

“You’ve been pining after her for years.” Cathy told Tyler as he lifted another hay bale onto the back of the truck. 

“We work together, Cathy. Nothing can happen there.”

“The hell it can’t.” Tyler looked at her. “Tyler, you and Y/n have been practically raising a kid together for almost four years. From day one of you getting here, I’ve seen how you look at her. And I know the others agree with me.”

Tyler stood tall. “How do the other’s know?”

Cathy just gave him a look. 

“Either way, the kid is right. You’re both in love with each other, you’re both just too chicken to do something about it.”

Cathy gave a similar speech to you, too, when you came to check on Skye at the stables. 

“And if you’re about to tell me you’re worried about Skye, don’t. Whether his name is on her birth certificate or not; whether she calls him dad or not. He is her dad. She is his daughter. Nothing will ever change that. Ever.”

With a short sigh, you looked out into the field where Skye was carrying a small bucket of water around to each of the garden plots. 

Similar conversations were had throughout the day until the late afternoon rolled in and Tyler and you had to awkward dance-shuffle around each other to get in and out of the house whilst trying to avoid all sense of eye contact, but giving plenty when the other wasn’t looking. 

Unbeknownst to both yourself and Tyler, Skye was standing on the fence bars with Kate. 

The kid sighed heavily. “They’re always like that.”

“You’ve only been here for four years, kid. Imagine being here seven.”

Skye gasped. “Seven?” She tried to count that on her fingers quickly, but needed Kate’s help. Skye gasped again. “That’s bigger than me.”

Kate hummed as she nodded. 

“Is this like one of the romances from before?” Skye sounded out. 

Kate nodded. “I’m afraid so, kiddo. I’m afraid so.”

And unbeknownst to Kate at that moment, Skye was hatching a plan. But she needed her best friend’s help. 

“Can you help me down?”

“‘Course, honey. Ready, three, two, one, jump.” 

“Weeeee.” Holding onto her securely, Kate lifted Skey from the bars and set her down on the ground beside her. 

“Thanks, Kate.”

“Be careful, honey!”

“I will!”

Less than five minutes later she burst through the barn doors and ran towards Boone, yelling out his name over and over again. 

“Slow your roll there, kiddo.”

“I need your help, now, come on.” She tugged Boone’s hand until he was stood up. “Come on, come on, come on.”

Skye dragged him towards the carrot beds before laying on the dirt, telling him to join her. And so they hatched a plan. 

“You’re a genius, Skye.”

“What’s a gen…gen..igus?”

“Genius.” Boone smiled. “It’s like a crazy smart person.”

“Oh, cool.”

High fiving, they got to work. Everyone had their orders to be in bed early. They couldn’t know why, but they all agreed. And Skye’s plan of laying in the dirt worked because the minute she came running through the back door, you caught her mid run. 

“Where do you think you’re going, little miss?”

Skye smiled like butter wouldn’t melt. “To the table.”

“Covered in muck? What have you been doing? Rolling in the muck? Come on, bathroom.”

You ran Skye a bath before shoving her dirty clothes into the washing machine with the rest of the dirty laundry. Twenty minutes later, the mud Skye had collected on her person was washed down the drain and she was in a fresh pair of pajamas. 

The rest of the night ran smoothly enough. Dinner was made and eaten, updates were shared about work, and Skye had asked Tyler to read her a bedtime story. 

He read two stories before she began falling asleep beside him so sitting up, he laid her down under her covers before tucking her in. 

And just as he shut the book and laid it on her nightstand, he opened her eyes and looked at Tyler. 

“Do you love Momma?”

Tyler felt his cheeks heat. “Get some sleep. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“But do you love her? Like in the stories?”

Tyler looked at his daughter. “What’s got you so interested all of a sudden?”

“Lily told me what soulmates means.”

“Did she now?”

Skye nodded. “That’s you and Momma.”

“Skye-”

“Do you love her?”

Looking at Skye, Tyler felt his heart tug inside of his chest. He couldn’t lie to her. 

“More than she’ll ever know. More than I’ll ever be able to tell her.” Tyler admitted, unaware of the presence just outside the door. 

“I think you should tell her.”

The corner of Tyler’s mouth curved into a smile. “Do you now?”

Yawning, Skye nodded. But then Tyler sighed. “It’s not that simple, honey.”

“But what if she floats away like Mary?”

Tyler’s brows furrowed. “Mary?”

“Poppins. Burt never got to tell her he loved her.”

Tyler chuckled. “Skye, your mom isn’t going to float away. Now, close your eyes and get some sleep.”

Leaning over, Tyler kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight, my Tiny Tornado.”

Then he flicked the lamp off; only Skye wasn’t finished. 

“If you love her, you should tell her.”

In the moonlight darkness, Tyler saw the look his daughter was giving him. She was pleading with him. 

And if a four year old could see it and say it…

He leaned back down and kissed her head. “Go to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning. I love you.”

Skye yawned. “I love you, too. Goodnight, daddy.”

It wasn’t the first time Skye had called him that. Usually it happened in moments like this, where she was really tired and already half awake and half asleep. But it made his heart soar out of his chest all the same. 

Quietly leaving the room, he closed the door behind him and waited there for a moment. The lights were off around most of the house since everyone had gone to bed once Skye had said she was. 

But one light was still on. 

And he knew who it belonged to. 

Walking down the hallway, Tyler waited by the edge of the hallway for a moment, just watching you fold some more fresh laundry whilst he prepared what he was going to say. 

“Hey.” 

That seemed like a good start. 

You looked up, a little startled. “Hey. She asleep?”

Tyler nodded and walked further into the living room before taking a seat on the arm of the chair, pulling a few items from the laundry pile to fold. 

A slightly awkward silence settled over you both for a moment. 

“Listen, about this morning-”

“She was right.” Tyler said, looking at you. “Skye was right. This morning, she was right. With everything that she said.”

“Tyler-”

He stood up. “No, just. Just wait. Please. Let…let me get this out? And then if you want me to leave and never talk about it again, I will.” You couldn’t speak so you just nodded and listened as he continued. “Skye was right. I am in love with you. I have always been in love with you. I think I always will be. I know there’s a lot to consider; work, home and, most importantly, Skye. But if…” Tyler took a breath. “If there’s any part of you that feels the same…I think we should do something about it.”

“Finally taking our daughter’s advice?”

Tyler was shocked but a small smile came to your face. “I wasn’t spying or anything. I was walking down the hall and I heard Skye and…thinking about it, maybe I was spying.”

Tyler chuckled. 

“But you’re right.” You told him. “You’re both right. I don’t know when my feelings changed for you, but I know what I feel today, what I feel when I see you with Skye, and what I feel when you look at me. I’m in love with you, too, Tyler.”

“You are?” You nodded. “You’re not just saying-”

You shook your head. “I’m saying it because it’s the truth.”

So, standing in the middle of the dimly lit living room, you and Tyler looked at each other. One of his hands in yours, your other resting on his wrist as he pushed his hand under your hair to cup your cheek.  

“Kiss her.”

The small and familiar voice made both of you and Tyler turn to look at the corridor. Skye stood, trying her best to hide, behind the lamp and the table it sat on. 

Tyler looked back at you with a smile which you both shared. 

“Can’t go against orders, can we?”

You shook your head. “No, we can’t.”

Finally feeling him kiss you was like a thousand dreams were shattering, only to be replaced with the fact that the reality of Tyler was much better than the fantasy you’d granted yourself. 

And, as it turned out, having you and Tyler finally grant yourselves permission to be open about your feelings for one another didn’t change much in terms of routine, save for a few more morning kisses before breakfast and quick pecks to the lips or cheek throughout the day when passing each other. 

It was definitely no surprise how Skye had come to the conclusion that you and Tyler were in love before you’d both admitted it to yourselves. 

[lostintransist]

The Boys' Home | Part 5

Part 1 | AO3

The suit, respirator, goggles, gloves combo had you sweating like the devil in church. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, except your in-ear headphones were overheating and not responding to your taps to change the song. Somehow you had been stuck on the same song for damn near forty minutes. It was a good song, don’t get it twisted, but if it didn’t require leaving the house and pulling off all the gear to change the song you would have done it on the third repeat.

With the last of the lathe and plaster removed and swept from the room, you detach the chute from the window. Carefully you strip off the protective gear, clothes soaked with sweat beneath them. The next thing you do is pull your headphones out and pause your music. Sliding between the layers of plastic keeping the dust from invading the house you make your way outside to breathe fresh air.

The boys were all at Lydia Fisher’s house as her grandchildren had finally arrived for the summer stay. You had already confirmed with Lydia that the pizza delivery you were paying for would arrive at five and she would send the boys home at seven. They would absolutely all need a bath before bed.

When you open the front door all of your focus is on laying out the gear to dry over the porch railing. The respirator and the goggles go down easily, the suit gives a wet sound when you snap it to straighten out all the wrinkles. That done you look up and nearly have a heart attack.

“Jesus and a chicken!” Your hand ends up on your chest as you heave in breaths.

Where you had expected empty space stood three of your neighbors, all watching you with various expressions of quandary.

“Why a chicken?” Kyle asked as he shoved one hand into his pocket.

Your brows pull together. “I don’t know, that is what came out of my mouth in a moment of shock.”

He gives a look of acknowledgment and glances at his counterparts.

“Did you guys need something? I’ve been upstairs stripping a bedroom to get insulation and new walls put up.” You brush your hands down your shirt, now quite aware that even in the moist heat your pits, under boob, and groin had yet to dry.

“Wanted to see if there were any neighborhood events we should be aware of,” Johnny spoke up, moseying up to the porch railing and hanging over it to talk to you.

You leaned against the main post, folding your arms as you thought.

“Nothing formal, but every third weekend a few families get together over at my place and we grill and let the kids run wild.” You direct your answers to the group but look mostly at Johnny.

Simon and Kyle step closer, like wolves you had watched on nature documentaries. When they close in you snap your gaze to Kyle and then to Simon. It gets trapped on Simon, the dark pitch of his eyes pulling you in like tar that swallowed ice-age animals whole.

“You need anything, bonnie?”

The hum of question you give is distracted. Turning your face away from Simon, it takes extra effort to drag your gaze to Johnny. Blinking a few times to clear your mind you process what you heard.

“Mmm, don’t think so. Unless you guys can sheet rock and mud a bedroom in under a day?”

Johnny grinned and Kyle chuckled, Simon let out a small huff that could be construed as a laugh.

“Can’t say we know how yet, but we will by the time we are done fixing up our own house,” Kyle smirks up at you.

“Been meaning to ask you about that. Are you all together or just really good friends?” They share a look and you go on, bulldozing past any awkwardness creeping up your body like kudzu. “I only ask because folks around here will talk and if I can head off the rumors your time here will be easier. Lord only knows why I’m their favorite subject.”

“Na, we work together. Military stuff and we find it easier to feel safe when we know there is someone who can watch our back as we rest,” Johnny gives a small smile to the gaps between the porch slats.

Nodding as if you understand, you most assuredly do not, you tuck that information away for your next run-in with any of the town gossips, Cherrie and Marline. They would be after you like hens after a chick when they found out you were now living next door two four presumably eligible, and decidedly, attractive bachelors.

‘What about your everlasting soul? Living so close to such men might tempt you into sin.’ They would always whisper the word sin as if one woman’s boy hadn’t been born out of wedlock and the other hadn’t been caught having an affair ten years back. One of these days you would remind the two of them of what Jesus actually called a sin, and it wasn’t ‘treating your neighbor as yourself’.

“Where are your boys today?” Simon speaks up now, everyone turning to look at him as he stares straight at you.

“They are at the Fisher’s. Lydia’s grandchildren have arrived and we have a standing agreement to timeshare the children until school starts back up,” you grin wide thinking about your boys. “I don’t know if you’ve met them yet, they live in the opposite direction from my house.”

Your former pastor had commented on it once. You didn’t go to church anymore, for too many damn reasons to recall or recount but Pastor Harry had been a good man and reminded you that there were people in the world who practiced what they preached.

“I know you never wanted to be a mom, but those boys? I can see the love you have for them written all over your face when you talk about them. I’m real proud of you for taking them in and fighting for them,” he laid a hand on your shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

The quiet comfort and confidence Pastor Harry had given you that day had fueled you for weeks and helped you swat away the nastier comments lobbed your way from parents of your students, the administration, and even the cashier at the local stop and rob.

Looking back to the men standing in the heat of the day you make a decision.

“Why don’t y’all take a seat and I’ll grab us all some sweet tea and ice pops.” Turning around without waiting for an answer you let the screen door slam shut behind you.

When you return the only seat available is next to Simon on the porch swing. Passing each man a refreshment you settle into the cushion and try to toe the swing into motion. When nothing happens you glance at Simon who is staring at your nice glass with something akin to mistrust in his eyes.

“You don’t have to drink it but can you at least lift your feet so I can rock the swing?” The single brow lift seems to do the trick.

“This is delicious!” Johnny cries as he stares down at his glass. “Never got the appeal of hot tea but this? I will miss this when we go back to work.”

The swing begins a soft back-and-forth movement. Glancing down you see Simon’s boot flat on the porch; his thigh bunches and releases in time with the movement.

“What do you think Kyle?” Sipping at your own tea you watch him for an answer.

“Might need this recipe for my mum, to be frank.” He looks down at his glass with a mixture of pleased concern written across his face.

“Be happy to send you with a recipe card.” You can’t wipe the smile from your face. Your front porch didn’t get as much use as you would like, they were the first visitors to use it this year.

Kyle and Johnny chat with you for nearly a half hour before by the winding down of the conversation the men stand in tandem. They all trail into the house to deposit their glasses in the sink before saying their goodbyes and rounding the house for the trail that would lead them back to their own home.

Placing your cup in the sink next to theirs you are surprised to see three empty glasses and a bone-dry sink. Seems the quiet man had sipped at his drink after all.

You would need to be sure to offer it again. Best to be sure if he liked it or if his mother had taught him it would be rude to reject an offer of a refreshment. Neither said anything bad about a person but it would help future interactions to know what your neighbors liked.

Boys Masterlist | Masterlist

@leahnicole1219 @harperstyles @sigynxlokiwifelover @fluffysmiko

[sanjoongie]

Bloody Belladonna~ 2

The Choi Brothers

ღPairing: Choi Jongho x Choi San x Reader (f) x Park Seonghwa x Jeong Yunho

ღGenre: smut with very little plot

ღRated: 18+ MINORS DO NOT FUCKING INTERACT

ღAu: Mafia (boss! Reader, husband!seonghwa, husband!yunho, husband! san, husband! jongho)

ღTrope: s2l, arranged marriage, poly

ღWord Count: 6,731 {mother fucker almost got a third smut scene, i had to cut it because WHEW}

ღWarnings: ⚠️FREE USE⚠️threesome, voyeurism, tied up, denied orgasm, mxm, dom! Yunho, switch! Hwa, cocksleeve! Reader, anal(f&m), double penentration, penetrative sex with no barrier, jongho needs some encouragement to cross the line of best friend and lover with San so there's a bit of coercion here {everything is consentual}, creampie(s), facial, jerking off, biting, marking, LOTS OF VERBAL FOREPLAY, fingering(f), cum eating, oral (m), proper lube, spit as lube

ღSummary: the wedding day with the Chois comes and so begins the learning curve of adding two new husbands to your family. It'll take the joint effort of you, Seonghwa and Yunho to keep the peace and to keep the marriage together.

ღBeta's:  @downtoamagicalland 

ღSeonghwa & Yunho: The First Husbands | Masterlist

San and Jongho weren't actually brothers but everyone thought they were. Same clan tree, different branch. But they were stuck together like white on rice. And so, in their calculated slight towards your husbands, and thus to you, the both of them suffered the same punishment for their shared crime.

You sighed heavily, standing at the altar once again, with Yunho and Seonghwa in black suits this time, no longer your ‘virginal’ husbands but the first husbands and therefore more powerful in the relationship than the men about to walk down the aisle towards you three. 

“Careful, Bell, or someone might think you don’t actually want this,” Yunho said through the side of his mouth. 

You took Yunho’s hand. To anyone else, it would appear as if you were searching for some connection, or perhaps reassuring your current husband. Instead, your nails pressed into the webbing of his fingers. To Yunho’s credit, he didn’t even flinch. 

“They will pay, Yunho, but you better not try to pull rank on me in front of them the first night,” You warn him. 

A tiny but cocky smile pulled at Yunho’s lips. “Yes, Dear.”

Seonghwa leaned over so that he could make eye contact with you. “Smile, please. Jongho’s about to come down the aisle.”

You pursed your lips to send an air kiss and Seonghwa’s face turned pink in pleasure. He smiled genuinely and then shuffled back to his place, one hand wrapped around his opposite wrist, crossed in front of his body. 

Choi Jongho, the younger of two Choi’s, walked down the aisle first with the Belladonna of his family. His head was held high, like this was his choice to cement the most powerful family in the city to his. Once Jongho made his way in front of you, his Belladonna handed him over to you. She made eye contact with you, a wary look. You gave her nod and you watched as her shoulders sagged with relief. The damage had been fixed and there would be no war.

Jongho took a step aside, leaving a space between him and you on your left. You kept your head forward. Jongho would be dealt with in conjunction with his distantly related relative, once everyone was home. 

The bridal march began again and Choi San turned the corner. Everyone in the church turned around in their pews and then let out a scandalized gasp. The elder Choi stumbled down the aisle, clearly inebriated, in only slacks and a long fur coat. 

The Belladonna turned the corner, a few steps behind him. Her eyes were wide in alarm and she quick-stepped after San. She made a grab for his arm to stop him but he shrugged her off. Clearly unsure of what to do next, she took her seat on the side of the church where the Choi Family tree were, at the front pew.

A slow, lazy grin grew on San’s face when he made his way to the front. “Might as well get this over with!” he announced.

He took his place between you and Jongho, amicably throwing his arm around Jongho, who was stiff in the hold. Jongho hissed something to San that missed your ears. San had an aw-shucks look on his face but didn’t fix himself at all. 

Once the vows were exchanged, the rings fitted on fingers, the kisses were next. Jongho stared you right in the eye and you couldn't quite read his expression. He seemed in control and stoic, his kiss feather light and unemotional. That was going to have to be fixed. San, on the other hand, kissed you sloppily and you had to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. It seemed like both of your new husbands were going to learn a hard lesson. 

“I now pronounce you all wife and husbands!” 

The limo ride was quiet and tense. Seonghwa held your hand this time, swiping his thumb against the back of it, hoping to keep you grounded because Yunho was glaring daggers at the Choi’s. Seonghwa would have been glaring too if not for his need to always be the balance between you and Yunho, regardless of the situation. 

Once the door on the mansion closed behind you all, however, it was a different story. 

You folded your arms under your breasts and took a wide stance in front of your two new husbands. “Follow me to my office. Now.”

Yunho locked eyes with you, so you told him, “You’ll come when I call for you.”

San snickered with his hand in front of his mouth and your eyes were back on him. “I have a perfect curved knife to castrate you. I can still fuck you with a cock, you don’t need your balls, I have three other husbands to breed with.”

San’s eyes narrowed in anger at you. He stepped up, to be directly in front of you. He used his height advantage to tower over you, his breath hitting your face. “You think you’ll make me one of your docile husbands?”

You smirked. “I don’t think, I know.”

“She’s not worth it,” Jongho finally speaks up. “Stand down, San.”

“Not worth it?” Yunho released his silence as well. “How dare you? She is not only your wife but your boss. She is the Belladonna and you will respect her.”

Jongho scoffed. “But I sure as hell won’t respect you.”

You could cut the silence with a knife. In fact, the sound of your personal knife that was held up the slit of your dress snug against your thigh, was exactly what cut through the silence. “I can’t kill you but I sure as hell can do anything but. If you two aren’t in my office right now, you’ll be tied up for the pleasure of my knife. That’s a hell of a way to begin our wedding night, don’t you think?”

Seonghwa left the hallway, showing that one of your husbands was able to follow a command. Yunho, after a long look exchanged with you again, left you to take care of your business, following his husband into your shared bedroom. 

You spun on your heel and made your way to your office, fully expecting the Choi’s to follow suit. San made a frustrated noise behind you but you were satisfied when you heard two sets of feet clack against the old wooden floor boards behind you. 

You sat on the edge of your desk and ordered Jongho to close the door behind him. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder. Jongho looked as if you were dirt under his fingernails and San looked like he was ready for a fight. If only they knew how hard they were going to fall.

You grabbed your wedding dress and slowly dragged it up your legs. Once it was hitched high enough, you sat further back on your desk and put your heels up on the edge. Your pussy was completely bare. 

“This is how you swear fealty to me. I bear the womb therefore I bear the power. Kiss my cunt and then you acknowledge that your family belongs to me now.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” San cursed under his breath. 

Still, he pushed forward first. He knelt in front of your desk, eyes flashing upwards to your face quickly, before he pursed his lips and lightly kissed your clit. “I do so swear fealty to the Belladonna.”

San stepped away and Jongho took his place. Jongho, however, did not simply do the mandatory kiss, oh no. Jongho swirled his tongue around your clit, a slow circle with his eyes downcast, and then one solid swipe up. He sucked on your clit to finish the kiss. “I do so swear fealty to the Belladonna,” He said, his voice slightly rough. 

“At least one of you knows how to eat pussy properly,” You announced. 

You closed your legs and jumped off your desk. 

San frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. “I didn’t think--”

You pressed two fingers to his forehead. “That’s the problem with you, San. You don’t think. Which makes you trainable, at least.”

You opened your door and stuck your head out. “Seonghwa. Yunho. You may enter now.”

You sashayed your way behind your desk this time, taking your seat in the chair. You folded your hands on top and waited until your first set of husbands came into your office. “I believe you two owe an apology to my husbands.”

Jongho stared right at you. You were starting to get irked that he had the balls to always meet your gaze. Bigger men than him knew better. “We’re your husbands too.”

You ignored him. “Seonghwa and Yunho are not just my husbands. They are my right and left hand, respectively. If something comes from their mouth, it’s as good as my own word. If I send them to do a job, it is like going myself. In fact, they are my husbands, MY FIRST HUSBANDS, and I am sending something more precious than even myself. Do you understand what you have done? You have acted as though I am not worthy of meeting at a drug meet. That you refuse to come through with a pre-negotiated deal. By all rights, I should have you hanging by your fucking toes, plucking your eyeballs from your sockets and pickling them for dinner.”

San’s Adam’s Apple bobbed finally with some nervousness. Jongho was still the tough nut to crack. “Then why are we here?”

“Because the head of your family begged me. She casted herself at my feet and wept for forgiveness. She said she would give me your hands in marriage to fix the gap between our families. And I took up the offer because my husbands decided that physical torture was not good enough for you two.”

Jongho’s facade was beginning to crumble as well. “What would you will of us?”

“From this moment forward, you are at the bottom of the food chain of this family. I am the head. Yunho comes after me. Then Seonghwa. We will decide your positions depending on your behavior, however, as it stands, the two of you are the bottoms.”

San pouted petulantly. “I’ve never been a bottom in my entire life.”

Yunho smacked San from the back of the head. “Did you just talk back to your Belladonna?”

San kept his head tilted down submissively. “No.” But the tone was still there. 

“To pay for your insults, you will spend our wedding night tied up and watching. you will not get to participate. You will not be able to relieve yourself. you will have to just observe. Perhaps, if you watch closely enough, you will learn what happens when you act like a true husband of the Belladonna.”

“We won’t have a wedding night?” Jongho finally looked like he was incredulous at this statement.

“Are you ready to cement our vows? All of our vows? Remember, you’re married to Yunho, Seonghwa and I. And to each other.”

San casted a look of calculation towards Jongho. “I didn’t think of that.”

“What did I tell you about thinking, San?” You scoffed.

“Ludicrous,” Jongho said under his breath.

“Come on, boys. We’ve a show to put on, it seems.”

You run your hand down Yunho’s tie, letting it slip through your fingers and then you continue out of your office and to your bedroom. 

“You're lucky she’s even going to let you watch,” Seonghwa sneered before following you.

Yunho gave both the Choi’s a rough push. “Go on. Follow her.”

You found the ties that you used for play sometimes in the drawer next to your bed and grabbed the longer ones. You had a feeling you’d have to double up for the Choi brother’s first time. 

Yunho and Seonghwa, respectively, kicked out San and Jongho’s knees so that they had no choice but to kneel before the bed. You tied their wrists behind their backs, securing them like it was just another day in the world of a Belladonna. 

“I hope your cocks ache against your pants as you watch us,” You tantalized, leaning down between the two and whispering delightfully. 

“I doubt it’s that good of a time,” San said petulantly. 

Jongho remained silent, appearing as if he was attempting to not miss a thing. You’d make sure that he was fed then.

“Strip,” You commanded next. 

Your eyes greedily ate up the meal as Seonghwa loosened his tie and Yunho went for his own pants immediately. The amount of times they had fucked you in their buttondowns and slacks was nearly not enough as much as you’ve had them completely naked and in your bed. Neither of them needed the command to go to your bed, however.

You pulled at your sleeves and shrugged out of your dress, letting it slither to the floor and off your body. Stepping neatly out of it, you sat down to take off your heels. Then it was time to remove your bra and underwear.

“Shit,” San cursed. He rubbed his lips together. 

Once you were fully naked, you crawled into bed with your husbands. 

“How do you want to do this?” Seonghwa posed the question first. 

Yunho’s eyes were almost unreadable. “The last command I got was that I was not to pull rank in front of those two.”

You sighed, contemplative. “I did this for you two. They should suffer while you two flourish.”

Seonghwa’s eyes bounced between you and Yunho, always waiting for his dominants to decide before he gave his opinion. “We were the ones to suggest it.”

Yunho pursed his lips to the side. “They are your husbands right now.” What he let hang in the air unspoken is

You smiled. Imagine that, the golden child of the Jeong family, taking into consideration that you always felt second fiddle to him. Someone was trying to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife. You wiggled in between your two husbands, but turned towards Yunho, slinging a bare leg over his. 

“They are mine but I am yours,” You whispered, your hands digging into Yunho’s hair and your foreheads pressed together.

“I don't want you appearing weak before them,” Yunho whispered back.

“It is you who cannot afford it,” You pushed back.

“They view us as lesser because we were married off, like them,” Seonghwa said, his emotional intelligence shining through once again.

“Show them that being my husband gives you power.” You stole a kiss from Yunho, a quick nip at his plush lips. 

“Cocksleeves don't speak,” Yunho mumbled against your lips, using the phrase to begin free use.

“Let me have her cunt tonight,” Seonghwa begged. His fingers dug into your arms as he physically turned you towards him.

“Bambi, this was your idea in the first place. It came to fruition. You get her pretty pussy,” Yunho said.

“Such a pretty pussy,” Seonghwa echoed. His fingers found your wet slit and ran between them. “What a good toy, so wet and willing and ready.”

“What the fuck is going on?” San loudly whispered.

“Shut up and watch, San,” Jongho hissed.

Yunho slipped a hand over your hip and ran his fingers over your ribs until he rested just below your breast. “Hurry up and make her come so I can use her wetness to lube up her ass.”

Seonghwa sent a bland look at Yunho. “Stop telling me what to do.”

You could hear Yunho’s smirk in his voice. “Then get to work, Bambi.”

Seonghwa pushed his middle finger into you, grinding the heel of his hand against your mound. “Wait your turn for the cocksleeve, Husband,” Seonghwa said through gritted teeth.

You whimpered as Seonghwa’s finger worked inside of you and it wasn’t long before he was slipping another slender finger into you. Your head moved back so it was fully supported by Yunho’s shoulder. You propped up your right leg so that Seonghwa had better access and you scooched your lower half forward, wanting more. Seonghwa gave it to you. He pulled his fingers from your cunt and played the pad of his wet fingers around your sensitive asshole. 

Yunho rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll make the toy come. I always have to do all the work.”

Yunho sucked two of his fingers and circled your clit. He was rough and direct and your hips jerked as flashes of pleasure and pain shot through you. You whined as you both got what you wanted but felt empty as well. 

“I’m stretching her out for you,” Seonghwa hissed. “How are you doing all the work?”

You cried out as you came quickly. Your thighs shook as Yunho pressed his fingers against your clit until you attempted to rescind from his touch. It pushed you further onto Seonghwa’s fingers that were now knuckle deep, slowly stretching your ass. 

Yunho, quick as a flash, grabbed Seonghwa’s rock-hard cock and rubbed the cockhead against your even more wet cunt. “You focus on your sweet prize and I’ll take care of the cocksleeve’s ass. How about that, Bambi?”

Seonghwa’s hips bucked forward, Yunho’s grip and your wetness being more than enough to get him ready for what was next. “You gonna put me inside of her too?” Seonghwa partly whined, partly growled.

Yunho dug his teeth into your shoulder playfully, then soothed it with his tongue. “You want me to?”

Seonghwa laughed and groaned in frustration. “Just shut up and fuck her ass.”

Seonghwa sheathed himself into your wet heat with a groan. “Fuck yes. Right where I belong.”

Yunho, in contrast, took his time fucking into your ass, letting you adjust with each slip of his cock inside of you. The entire time your cunt simply convulsed around Seonghwa, making him cry out. Seonghwa’s fingers dug into your thigh where he held your leg up and his teeth were digging into his lower lip. 

“Are you going to come before I can even get inside of her?” Yunho demanded incredulously.

 “She is so fucking tight around me,” Seonghwa cried out. 

You were almost delirious with the two of them inside of you. The fact that neither addressed you, that they continued to talk over you like they were simply sharing a toy, made you clench down on both of them. 

“Fuck, what a good cocksleeve,” Yunho moaned. 

“Are they sharing her and or she sharing them?” San spoke up. His voice sounded low and turned on. What part did he enjoy?

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I swear to god,” Jongho moaned quietly. 

You wished you had the energy to see if the Choi brothers were hard pressed against their pants, sweating at the show, but you didn’t. Nor did you think either of the husbands inside of you currently would have been impressed if you were focusing on anyone other than themselves.

Once both Yunho and Seonghwa were sealed inside of you, you didn’t have any more thoughts to spare regardless. When Seonghwa pushed into you, Yunho pulled out. Seonghwa slipped out and he was a bit mindless that he simply let his drenched cock rub along your legs and Yunho’s before Yunho directed Seonghwa’s cock back into your entrance. 

Yunho came first, regardless of his teasing towards Seonghwa. Your ass tended to be his weakness. He came with a deep grunt, sounding satisfied to the fullest. You came next, the feeling of Yunho’s cum dripping out of your ass and Seonghwa’s cockhead rubbing against your g-spot spurning it forward. As you clenched around Seonghwa, he came with a scrunched-up nose. 

The room was only filled with panting; the three of you coming down from your highs and the Choi brothers unable to obtain their own. It was music to your ears. 

“I’ll clean her up,” Yunho offered, practically a ritual by now. “You cut them loose.”

Every male gaze in the room watched as Yunho carefully wiped the cum from your gaping ass and cunt. You whimpered as the warm cloth circled around your clit. 

“So dirty,” Yunho murmured under his breath. “Did you like being a good little cocksleeve for your husbands?”

Seonghwa pulled the knife from your thigh before moving behind San and Jongho. His focus was off, because Jongho winced as the blade gave him a shallow cut. 

“I’ll assume you two know better than to touch yourselves once you’re dismissed,” Seonghwa said with a haughty tone. 

San rubbed his wrists, sending a sour look to Seonghwa. “How the hell are you going to know?”

You shrugged on the robe that Yunho had grabbed and neatly tied a knot. You got off the bed and padded to stand directly in front of San and Jongho. 

You ran a finger under Jongho’s chin but spoke to San. “If you're good boys you'll get rewarded.”

San couldn't help but drop his jaw in surprise. “You're giving us blowjobs tomorrow?”

“Should I tell him, or should you?” You raised an eyebrow at Jongho.

Jongho swallowed loudly. You liked when the big boy was nervous. “We'll be good.”

“Good.” You jerked your head towards the door. “Rooms have been made for you. You may retire.”

San stood, looking at Yunho still in bed, to you and to Seonghwa who now held open the door. He finally had a big brain moment. “But you three will fall asleep together?”

You folded your arms beneath your breasts, your lips twisting into a slight smirk. “Perks of being a good husband.”

Seonghwa closed the door once the Choi brothers were gone and slipped back into bed. “Do you think they'll ever…?”

“Yes,” You said simply.

“Yes?!” Yunho asked.

“I can see it in both their eyes. It was in yours too. Before I found you two in my study.”

Seonghwa ducked his head, snuggling into Yunho’s shoulder. “Oh,” Yunho replied. “Well.”

You laughed, making them both smile in response. “Yes. So I think the future is looking very bright for us, my husbands.”

The house was a little bit quiet despite there being more additions. The acclimation of the new drug trade took much of your time and focus. You had brief updates from Yunho and Seonghwa, dealing with your main branches of the family. Meanwhile, you walked through the underground factories that made the Choi drugs. You met with dealers. You made sure you understood every little bit of your newly inherited empire. 

Ever since that first night with your second husbands watching while your first husbands fucked you, the shift in the air was palpable. San and Jongho had been introduced to what this family looked like--and how it functioned--and were hungry for more.

San and Jongho stuck together like glue. To an outsider looking in, it would appear as if they were two lambs up for the slaughter, finding solace in the familiar. But you knew better. Especially considering the long looks you found Jongho sending towards San. 

You kept the Choi brothers close to your side. You would spend hours in your study grilling them, making sure you understand every agreement you inherited and every line where the brothers did not make deals. It was a lot but you were a very capable woman with a growing empire. 

Of course, with more stress, came more free use. With each night, San and Jongho were brought to witness exactly what they could get if they took the next step. Seonghwa and Yunho took their fill of you and helped you release your power to them. 

However, even though you were simply a cocksleeve between Yunho and Seonghwa, your eyes were sharp to recognize that San was looking close to breaking down. Especially when Yunho degraded Seonghwa, or fucked him. You weren’t sure if San was looking more forward to finally being with Jongho, or Yunho, or yourself.

So that’s when you decided it was time to make the leap. Everything in your life was always dealt with deals and negotiation, so it was time to mediate one within your small harem of a family.

Everyone was gathered in the living room. San and Jongho sat on the couch together, San with his arms spread along the back of the couch, legs spread, and Jongho with his elbows balanced on his knees, head in hands, in fierce concentration. You sat on a high back chair, with Seonghwa and Yunho flanking you. 

“Are you finally prepared for negotiations?”

San looked around cluelessly. “For what?”

Jongho rolled his eyes and sighed. “For snacks.” He smacked San from behind the head. “For bed, of course.”

San’s eyes grew hooded and he licked his lips, teeth flashing obnoxiously. “Finally.”

“Our bed,” Yunho reminded everyone in the room. 

“We are all married to each other.” Seonghwa made sure the bottom line was firm.

San’s eyes slid to Jongho before meeting Yunho’s gaze. “What exactly did you two do?”

Yunho’s ears became red and Seonghwa snickered. “Ours was a learning experience. But there is a privilege in sharing.”

“If this marriage is going to be a thing of truth, then you have to prove that you are willing to bed everyone. You two begin with each other,” You revealed.

Jongho’s eyes grew wide. “Us?”

You nodded. “If I just let you fuck me, that allows you to impregnate me which--”

“Isn’t happening,” Seonghwa growled.

You put a hand on Seonghwa’s arm and the tension eased from his body. Your husband took his breeding kink a little too seriously. 

You started to correct Seonghwa’s statement. “It gives you liberties and power that perhaps you haven’t earned yet. So, as proof that you are prepared to take on all responsibilities, if you are intimate with each other, then I’ll see that you’re dedicated.”

“Not to mention, we all see it,” Yunho said under his breath.

“See what?” San inquired.

Jongho shot upwards, standing quickly. “You would force our hand?”

You knew he was going to be the worst one to break, so to speak. You stood up and stood before the younger Choi. “Jongho. Force what, exactly?” you said low.

Jongho spoke back in a hissed whisper. “He is my best friend.”

“I know,” You acknowledged. “Yunho was my rival and Seonghwa I considered inferior. Do you see what we are now?”

“A force to be reckoned with,” Jongho finished for you. “Truly, you were as you say?”

“And now stronger because of how connected we are,” You nodded. “Yunho and Seonghwa bicker, but that’s their love language. Truly, they’ve connected for the better.” You leaned forward to whisper into Jongho’s ear. “I know you want that with Sannie too.”

Jongho stepped back and almost would have fallen back onto the couch if not for San’s firm hand pushing him back. San stood up, but his motion was more of affirmation. “I’ll do it.”

Jongho looked like he was a wild animal trapped. “You can’t be serious, San?!”

San pressed his lips together. “I’m curious. It looks like it feels good. I do like to feel good.”

“We’ll help,” Yunho moved towards San. 

San swallowed loudly. “How will you help?”

Yunho shrugged, like what he was about to say was of no consequence to him. “Let you bounce on my dick. Show Jongho exactly what he wants.”

Jongho gasped and then slapped his hand over his mouth. Seonghwa cackled. “Oh, he wants it alright.”

Yunho took your spot on the high back seat and began to unbutton his pants and push them, and his underwear, down to his ankles. “Seonghwa.”

Seonghwa bit down on his lower lip, eyeing you up and down. “Do you have him?”

You pushed your lips up against Seonghwa’s to reassure him. “Go give our husband a blowjob, huh?”

It took no further encouragement to get Seonghwa on his knees, swallowing Yunho into his mouth. It wasn’t long before Seonghwa couldn't play with soft Yunho in his mouth and he began to struggle with the length down his throat. You could see the spit that was dribbling down Yunho’s cock as Seonghwa choked and coughed with the effort. 

San took no time to strip himself of all his clothing. He fisted himself at the view of Seonghwa choking on Yunho’s cock. There wasn’t an ounce of shame in that man and you were starting to truly appreciate that about him. 

“Enough,” Yunho said gruffly. He grabbed Seonghwa by his hair and pulled him off his cock. “Would you suck me dry before I can fuck the slut, Bambi?”

You began to touch Jongho through his pants. He let out a muffled groan as the palm of your hand came in contact with him. “Someone’s awfully hard,” You murmured. 

Jongho looked away from the rest of your husbands. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a blow job.”

You sighed dejectedly. “He’s not ready, boys. Keep going.”

Seonghwa was quick to retrieve the lube that was in one of the side tables drawers, kept for quick access. The drawer had been custom built so that the lube was kept warm, just for the right occasion. Seonghwa grabbed the back of San’s neck and pushed him until he was at a ninety degree angle. With his hand firm, Seonghwa bent over so that his head was at the same height as San’s.

“This is your last chance, slut. I’m about to prep you for Yunho’s cock. If you don’t want this, now is the time to decline.”

San whimpered and you and Jongho both shuddered at the delicious noise. “I want it,” the older Choi admitted. 

Seonghwa squirted the warmed lube onto San’s asshole. He rubbed the pads of his fingers along San’s puckered hole and then pushed in his fingers to stretch San for Yunho’s rather large cock. 

You followed Seonghwa’s lead and unbuttoned Jongho’s pants and pushed his down to his thick thighs. Then you pulled his straining cock from the confines of Jongho’s underwear. “Look at how hard you are, Jongho. And wet.” You rubbed your thumb along the slit of Jongho’s cock and he grunted. 

You swirled his precum along the head of his cock and then spit onto it. You spread your spit by fisting his cock. You angled yourself behind Jongho, wrapping one hand around his stomach and peeking around his body, keeping your other husbands in view. “Once they’re all set up, all you have to do is come on San’s face and then the keys to the kingdom can be yours, Jongho. It’s just that easy.”

Speaking of the devil, San was making desperate noises as Seonghwa fucked him with his fingers. “Such an eager slut. Did you give all your stubborn brain cells to the other?” Seonghwa murmured under his breath. 

“If you make him come with those pretty fingers of yours, Bambi, I swear to God,” Yunho grumbled. 

Yunho began to strip completely and lie on the floor. The three of you had already spoken of what would be the most appealing for Jongho and San, and for the rest of you, if you were being completely honest. “I’m ready for him.”

Seonghwa pulled his fingers from inside of San and released him. He gave him a slight push towards Yunho and then moved back towards you and Jongho. “Now, for the other one.”

Jongho was enjoying you jerking him off, so you slowed down your pace. He swallowed loudly. “Puh--please.”

“Nuh uh,” You denied him. “You don’t get to come unless it’s on Sannie’s face, come now, Jongho. We’ve been clear. Just watch how well he takes Yunho’s cock.”

“How--?” San sent a confused look towards you and Seonghwa. Poor dumb puppy. 

“Turn around!” Yunho shouted. “Do I have to do everything myself? Spread your ass cheeks and crouch over my dick. I’ll do the rest.”

San did as he was told, eagerly of course. The three of you could see his face, in anticipation to get filled once again. He bit down on his lip as Yunho guided San down his cock, rubbing his hips as he took it one inch at a time. And then the bouncing began.

You nudged Jongho forward so that you two could stand in front of San, also in between Yunho’s spread legs. You started to speed up your pace along his length. 

"Don't you wanna come on his tongue, Jongho?" You purred into Jongho’s shoulder. 

You peered over to look down at San whose mouth was open wide obediently. San's mouth was partially open so wide because he was bouncing on Yunho’s dick but the fucked-out look only added to the allure of the scene. 

"Co-come, Jongho!" San whined, "Yu--" Yunho interrupted San by sticking two fingers in his mouth.

"Yuyu won't let San come until you've shot your load into Sannie's mouth, Jongho," You finished San's interrupted sentence. 

"But!" Jongho squirmed in your embrace. "It would be dirty."

Seonghwa folded his arms over his chest. "Just give it up, lover. He's not going to do it. Let me just fuck you as he lies under you. He can watch those tits sway and his cock can remain hard."

"I believe in him, Seonghwa," You shook your head. 

You sucked a love bite into Jongho's skin and he cried out at the sensitivity there.

"Puh-puhlease, wait a minute, that's my best friend!" Jongho protested.

"Whom," You pressed, "You would like to shoot all your cum over his face and on his tongue and when you think you're done, we can tap tap tap your dick on his tongue to make sure there's no more."

San whined as his orgasm approached, voice crescendoing higher and higher, only to let out a loud noise of defeat as Yunho's hips held up against him, deep in San, but no longer letting San move. He had once again been denied his orgasm.

“The only way you get her cunt is by exploding over your best friend,” Seonghwa stated with a lift of his eyebrow. “Don’t you want to fuck our wife?”

Jongho’s eyes get a look of fire in them. “I want the free use privileges.”

Yunho chuckled. “He wants the free use privileges.”

You ran your hand up and down Jongho’s length. “Where do you want me, Jongho? What’s your dirty thoughts been?”

Jongho swallowed loudly. “In the shower. When you get ready for the day. I want you covered in my cum.”

Seonghwa looked contemplative. “Have we done that yet?”

You sent a glare to Seonghwa to tell him to shut up silently. You flicked your wrist over the angry head of Jongho’s cock. “You can have that. You just need to come over San’s pretty tongue.”

Speaking of the devil, Yunho released San, and the fucker was bouncing eagerly on Yunho’s dick again. His noises of pleasure were punctuated with the slapping of skin against skin. “Wanna come, Jong, please,” San whimpered once more.

Jongho’s cock twitched and you smiled into Jongho’s shoulder. You leaned up to press your mouth to the shell of Jongho’s ear. “I know you want to, Jongho. Otherwise why would you be so hard while watching our husband fuck Sannie?” you purred. 

Jongho whined and you decided you were going to do everything in your power to continue to hear the rather stoic Jongho whine more. “It’s not dirty, Jongho. It’s fun. Yunho and Seonghwa have all kinds of fun. Don’t you want to have fun with San?”

“I want it,” Jongho whispered back to you. 

“Come all over Sannie, sweet boy. I want to see it.”

With your final command, Jongho ejaculated, and hard. He cried out, finally getting the release after all the edging. His cum covered San’s face, who flinched cutely, but kept his tongue out. Spurts of cum hit San’s shoulders and chest. He truly was the epitome of a pearl necklace. You continued to jerk off Jongho until he whimpered, feeling the overstimulation. 

You lifted your hand off Jongho’s length and raised an eyebrow at Seonghwa. “Told you I could get him to do it.” And then you made a show of sucking and licking Jongho’s cum from your fingers. 

“Come on, you slut,” Yunho grunted under San. “You’ve been bouncing on my dick for long enough. Come.”

San’s high-pitched moans escalated and finally, he jubilantly came. The sweet smile that spread across his face as he spurted over his own toned stomach was worth the hard sacrifice of the work put in. 

Yunho gently pulled out from San and let the younger man lay back in all his blissed-out glory on the floor. He patted his shoulder, muttering about how he was a good sport and then stood up. 

Neither of your first husbands had come and you were starting to feel a little nervous. The three of you had worked well together as doms to the two subs in the room but the three of you couldn't remain doms for long. Someone had to take the fall. 

Yunho grabbed a bottle of water and tipped his head back, drinking deeply from it. Seonghwa licked his lips, whether because he was thirsty for the water or Yunho, that was to be debated. 

You grabbed a warm wet cloth for Jongho and threw it at him. “Clean yourself up and help Sannie, Jongho. You did dirty him up after all.”

Jongho pouted, pouted, but did what he was told. Sannie was still smiling as Jongho ran the warm cloth over San’s face loyally. They exchanged words and Jongho finally smiled warmly at something San murmured. 

Hopefully this was the beginning of something beautiful. 

“That’s no fun,” Seonghwa said through a pout of his own. “I wanted to fuck you while he watched below you.”

You laughed softly. “There will be other nights, I'm sure, Hwa.”

“What about tonight?” He wondered. 

“I…” Your eyes slid to Yunho. You could tell Seonghwa was still in his dominant mood and he wasn’t about to melt for Yunho. What could be done?

Yunho used a towel to wipe down the sweat from his body but his cock was still hard and at attention. Seonghwa was still covered in clothing, much like yourself. Could that mean…?

You strode purposely towards Yunho. He kept his eye on you but leaned down so you could speak to him. “Want a treat?”

“Didn’t I just have one?” Yunho laughed.

“Let Seonghwa dominate you tonight. Show the other two that even the biggest dog in this room can get taken down a peg. Show them what it looks like from the outside to be taken care of. Show them you don’t need to dominate to be respected. Give Seonghwa some confidence tonight, don’t take it away from him,” You suggested. 

Yunho looked blown away at your suggestion. He chewed on his lower lip, however, and you knew he was considering it. “Give Seonghwa some confidence? Where does that leave you, sweetheart?”

You turned on the ball of your foot and made your way to Seonghwa. You liked how his eyes followed the sway of your hips. “Seonghwa, I hurt,” You whimper.

Seonghwa’s eyes sharpen at your words. “I can make you better.”

“Didn’t you see the way Sannie bounced so well for Yunho? I’m drenched now,” You admitted. 

“Show me,” He said gutterly. 

You discarded your high-waisted pants and finished walking in front of Seonghwa. You grabbed his hand and placed it against your underwear. His eyes widened to find you were completely soaked through them. 

You cried out when he swiftly circumvented your underwear and rubbed his fingers through your wetness. “Hw-hwa,” You stuttered, “What about Yunho?”

Seonghwa’s eyes focused on Yunho behind you. “What about Yunho?”

Yunho groaned in response. 

“Get your hand off your dick, Yunho,” Seonghwa snapped. 

“But--!”

“Do as you’re told,” Seonghwa commanded.

You could hear Yunho’s cock slap against his stomach as he let go and you let out a whimper. “Hwa, Yunnie hurts too.”

You watched as the gears turned in Seonghwa’s head. How could he keep in control but satisfy his husband and wife at the same time?

You wrapped your arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. “The floor is yours, Seonghwa, and we are your toys. Do with us as you would.”

Seonghwa’s possessive and dominant growl only made you wetter. 

You only hoped Jongho and San were watching and taking notes.

[spookwriter-xo]

Coppélia

Chapter 12 - The Muscle

Chapter Summary - the cobra is active once again, and someone close to Y/N has a target on their back.

warnings: mentions of murder

Series Masterlist

MINORS DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT

I awoke the following morning to yelling from downstairs. It seemed the appearance of my father had caused some tension to arise.

"How did he even get onto the property? The guards know not to let him in unless we say so." I heard Wooyoung say, his voice strained from stress.

I could imagine the fallout. Not only the impact of me leaving halfway through my own party, but also the fact that the majority of the guests that were there hated my father equally as much. Seeing him supposedly invited to a party at the ATZ Manor could cause some damage to their reputation, or worse, cut ties with allies all together.

"It was a masquerade ball. He probably snuck in as a plus one." Yeosang answered Wooyoung, his voice indifferent. Yeosang had gone radio silent since our time in the library. He wasn't avoiding me, at least not on purpose, I suspected he was busy with work.

"With everything going on, why would he think it would be a good idea to show up here?" Mingi grumbles. By this time, I had made my way out of my room and was now hiding on top of the stairs. By the sound of it, they were gathered in the living room.

"He obviously wanted something. Yunho, did Y/N say anything?" Hongjoong asks.

"She didn't want to talk about it. Honestly, I didn't realise it was her father until she outright told me." Yunho says. I could imagine him sprawled out on one of the couches, his head resting on the arm with a hard expression on his face, his dark hair messy from sleep.

"She didn't say anything about why he could be here? Anything at all?"

"No, I don't think we have to worry about her. She wants nothing to do with him." Yunho says, his words causing a pang of confusion to prick at my stomach. Worry about me?

"Good, just in case, Yeosang can keep an eye on her since he's finished with his work." Hongjoong says, causing Yeosang to let out a groan.

"Are you really making me babysit? Yunho just said she's not a threat." Yeosang asks, his voice almost whiney.

"We don't know her well enough, she could be a spy." Hongjoong says.

"I think work is making you paranoid." Seonghwa says, his voice low in warning.

"Maybe you should all be paranoid." Hongjoong hisses, the sound of a chair scooting on the floor tells me he's stood up now. "The Cobra is on the move again, Y/N's father shows up uninvited to a party he shouldn't have known about. Not to mention, two of our generals were killed in their own homes."

"That still doesn't mean Y/N has anything to do with it!" Seonghwa argues, probably standing also. "Do you think she's the Cobra?" He scoffs.

Hongjoong laughs bitterly. "I don't know! It's possible, just like it's possible it could be one of us. But I trust you more, don't I? More then -" He stops when he sees me, now standing in the doorway of the living room with a heart broken expression.

Did they really think that of me? That I was a spy? Did Hongjoong not trust me even after all those nights we'd spent alone together?

The others turn to see me, Mingi and Jongho mirroring a saddened expression. The others just stared, probably not knowing what to do. Hongjoong looks down at his feet in shame.

"You're right," Hongjoong says, sighing deeply as he takes a seat once more. "I'm paranoid." He sounded more disappointed in himself, more than the fact that Seonghwa was right. I felt attacked yes, a little heartbroken sure, but I understood his worries.

He had a family here, one that I still needed to fond my place in, one that he needed to protect.

"The Cobra is back?" I ask, my hands fidgeting with the string of my night dress.

"A body was found last night." Mingi confirms softly, standing up and walking over to me. He reaches for my upper arms and gently rubs them with his calloused hands, giving my biceps a gentle and comforting squeeze. "Nowhere near here, but it was a his M.O."

"Were any of you going to tell me this?" I ask, glancing behind him and, for some reason, looking directly at Yeosang, who stared right back at me. It was like he was talking to me with his eyes, and I understood every word.

'Be calm, and all will be told.' Patience was never one of my strong suits.

"There's a lot to unpack." San says, the boy lounging in only a pair of sweatpants and a coat, his bare chest and abs distracting me for a breath moment.

"Like what?" I ask, moving away from Mingi and towards the empty spot beside Yeosang. "I want to know."

Hongjoong and Seonghwa share a look, before Seonghwa lets out a sigh.

"He's announced his next target." Hongjoong tells me, his expression serious. "It's someone you know."

"Who?" I ask, a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Mia Hua." Wooyoung answers for him, his voice soft but loud enough for me to catch the name.

"Mia? But she's not involved in this world! What would the Cobra have to gain from her death?" I question, my words coming out in a shout as I stand.

"Doll.." Seonghwa says, reaching forward, but I move away. I had to get out of there, a moment of peace to collect my thoughts.

The only girl who had been nice to me in 3rd grade, and had never left my side since. The girl who protected me, and gave me a home when life at home got too much. My best friend.

My sister.

She had a target on her back, and for what? Being a painter? Did The Cobra know I was searching for him already? Why has everyone I'm close to become a target?

Then it clicked.

Why did everyone I know become a target?

I made it to the library when I had my epiphany, the gears turning in my head, making it spin in turn. I hadn't noticed I'd been followed, not until his hands cupped my face.

Yeosang stared back at me, slowly bringing me back to earth with his gentle gaze. He understood the pain and fear. He had to have, especially with Aurora. I let my breathing settle, matching the patterns with his.

"There you are." He says gently, his thumb gently stroking my cheek. "It's okay, baby. Everything is going to be fine."

"It's me, Yeosang." I say, my breath heavy. "I'm the big target."

"What're you talking about?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowing. As I move towards the back windows.

"Everyone I know, every single target aside from Aurora I have met or known at some point. Yeosang, I'm a common factor." I say, starting to pace. "The Cobra has to be someone close to me, or someone associated with my family."

Yeosang stared back at me, genuinely considering my words. "I'll bite; if you're right, who could possibly be a mindless serial killer?"

"My father probably." I grumble.

"It can't have been, he was here last night." Yeosang says.

"When was the body found?"

"Early this morning." Yeosang answers, not missing a beat. It felt refreshing in an odd way.

"Do we know the time of death yet?" I ask next.

"Around 7:30 last night." He says, his voice going quiet as we both stare at each other. I could see the gears turning in his head now. "This is insane." He says. "As much as I hate that man, he's got too much going for him. Besides, would he really try and kill you or your sisters?"

I thought for a moment, sure he was a cruel father, but he'd never kill any of us.

"But you believed it." I say, taking a step forward. "Even if it was just for a second."

Yeosang relaxes his shoulders, looking away briefly. "If you're right.."

"Yeosang we could put a serial killer away!" I whisper, closing the gap between us and taking his hand. "The man who killed Aurora, the man whose been tormenting my family."

"That's not what I'm worried about. Not anymore." He says softly, his eyes gazing into my own again. "If it is your father.. Y/N that would destroy you, no matter how much you hate him."

I look down at our entwined hands. A small part of me didn't want to believe it.

"He is not my father." I say, "If putting him away saves whats left of my family then so be it."

I jolt slightly as I feel Yeosangs lips brush the crown of my head. "Just.. Let us do the dirty work." He whispers, cupping my cheek as I loft my head again. "I'm not letting history repeat itself."

I always had a feeling Yeosang was a romantic at heart, but this? This was a whole other level. I felt like I was in a movie with the way he was looking at me.

"I'm not going anywhere, Yeosang. You have my word."

I slept beside Seonghwa that night, the mans arm draped over my waist as he slept soundly behind me. My mind couldn't stay in one place, my thoughts muddled with worry. Hongjoong had agreed to allow Mia to stay in a safe house deep in the city. Mark would love with her for added protection, though I'm sure the only thing he could do was talk them out of it (To which I had faith).

I felt Seonghwas lips on my shoulder, just above the elastic of my night dress.

"Doll, you should sleep." He murmers. "If you keep worrying about one thing, you'll never have any new ideas about other things."

I pondered his words for a moment before speaking. "Have any of you ever had a target on your back?"

My question seemed to humour him, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

"All of us had, but they were empty threats." He says. "The only time the Cobra targeted one of us was after he killed Aurora." He says.

"He targeted one of you after?" I ask.

"Yeosang." Seonghwa answers softly. My eyes softened at the thought. They really couldn't catch a break.

"The Cobra went into hiding before he could make anything of it." Seonghwa continues. "Until now at least."

"Would he still come after Yeosang?" I ask, feeling Seonghwa hold me a little tighter against his chest.

"I hope not." He whispers.

a short one cause I've got two big chapters coming up! sorry I've been away for so long, I've been absolutely hounded by work right now, not to mention I start up again at Uni next week.

on a positive note; updates should return to normal once i set my routine up next week. so look forward to some more chapters! also, questions and feedback are always welcome! i love reading your comments!

taglist:

@bellaptv @arilevenatz @my-atiny-kookie-rkive @hecateslittlewitchling @starhwacore @neuviloved @monstacheol @latisthegenderfluidwannabealone @vtyb23 @bigbabygremlin @professormingisglasses @nuggiesnuggetdog04 @pinuspot @astral-trashcan @ateezswonderland @joonhasjiminsjams @atzlordz @lightwxodd

[savehadeell]

Peace be upon you my family 🫂 How are you? I wanted to tell you about the updates. I hope you read my message to the end. The bombing of Gaza has stopped. Although the war has ended, our suffering continues 💔😞🍉. Donate to us

I am Hadeel Abu Jiab from Gaza. I am collecting money to help the rest of my family rebuild their future and livelihoods after we lost everything so that we can get the wounded members of my family out for treatment. Perhaps we can leave Gaza with your help. We live in tents without work, hospitals, or means to provide for our basic needs.

We will move from a tent in the south to a tent in the north. Different places, but the suffering is the same.

I also have a little girl who needs psychological and physical treatment. I am taking care of three children who lost their fathers, who are my nephews. I do not know how I will provide for their needs or how I will take care of my injured mother and my 75-day-old nephew who lost his mother and father. Your support can help us save all of these and start over.. Your donations that I received in the previous days helped me get flour, firewood, water, diapers, milk, food and blankets and we are in constant need of these things if your donations stop we will not be able to get them because it is the only way we get money because we do not have any source of income every week we need these things your blessed donations help us a lot 🫂 I hope you continue to support us and save us, 👇🏻 And there is another thing I want to draw your attention to my injured mother the crossing will be opened within days and whoever has the money to leave will be able to leave and receive treatment but I do not have it now to get my mother out she is in a lot of pain and you are my only hope to save her I will put a video of her below together we can help her get out and receive treatment if fifty people donate each person 100 dollars we will be able to get the money for her exit quickly or you can send our campaign and our story to someone you know who can donate talk about us and send our picture to everyone I am always blocked on all social media please do not leave us we need you

👇🏻👇🏻🙏🏻🍉

@gaza-giving-tree @gaza-evacuation-funds @gazanarchive @free @gazafunds @el-shango-drew-and-shot @nabulsi @mohtz @jaylung101 @kindledmetaphor @delta-dess @escape-to-heaven01 @whatifgarbagehasfeelings @thatpersonyoudontknow @fanglefangirl @vai-psst2 @gazavetters @lost-wandering-historian @palestinianhadeel1 @freeindie @theincubuscorp @gooseduck123 @hell-or-high-waters @the-fictional-wife

[fizziepopangel]

Stolas Going to Therapy

Stolas going to therapy headcanons because I know we all need these right now (Stolas included)

Despite having had them since Octavia tried to bring them to him, Stolas wouldn’t actually start taking his meds again, not seeing the point since he mostly took the pills so he could be the best version of the father she needed.

After what happened with Octavia, Stolas would resort to plucking his feathers. It’s self destructive and he knows that, but its a form of self harm he’s always used so its an easy pattern to slip into again.

Therapy would be Blitz’s idea. Having started to work on his own shit finally, and slowly but surely feeling better, he wants Stolas to have that same sort of “getting better” feeling.

He’d think about it for a while, but Blitz wouldn’t bring up the idea of therapy until he noticed the feather plucking. Stolas would reject the idea multiple times before agreeing to talk to someone.

Stolas would feel awkward seeing someone in this sense. He was a Goetia after all, demon royalty of his status wouldn’t show weakness by going to some sort of crazy person doctor…. This would result in him going only because Blitz wants him to, but not really opening up at first.

He would also struggle to find a therapist who was a good fit for him, and would switch providers a few times before feeling comfortable with them.

The first thing he would really talk about would be Octavia. It would start by simply saying he missed her, but the session would end in tears as he talked about worrying if she was really being taken care of by his ex wife.

He would get back on his meds after a few sessions.

The meds would help but having been off them for a bit, he'd still have some pretty low days. Blitz would be very attentive on those days despite not fully knowing how to help.

Blitz and Loona would both keep track of Stolas’ meds and remind him to take them on time.

Stolas would journal. It wouldn’t necessarily be something he does because of therapy or for his sessions, but he would occasionally bring it since he often kept notes of nightmares he had. Most of his nightmares revolving around past abuse at the hands of Stella, or his current situation.

Stella came up a lot in therapy.

Blitz comes up in a lot of sessions too; the good, the bad, and the ugly of the his involvement in Stolas’ life. 

He would spend a lot of time in his sessions learning about boundaries and learning how and when to set them for himself. It’s uncharted territory, but he does try to set them and stand firm on them when he does.

His sessions often had tears somewhere along the way. Not all were because he was sad, which he wasn’t used to.

Although Blitz suggested Stolas see a therapist, it would be Stolas’ idea to bring Blitz into a few sessions so that they could talk about their relationship (past, present, and future) in a controlled setting.

Bringing Blitz into his sessions wouldn’t be a true couples session, but it would give Stolas the idea that if they plan to be together, they should take down the information of a couples counselor just in case.

He would also take the number of a family therapist for himself and Octavia. He figures that if she ever wants to let him in, therapy would help them mend their relationship. 

Stolas would likely be on his medications for a lifetime, but he would get to a place where he didn’t need a therapist weekly, though he does keep the number. Just in case.

[marymary-diva17]

Abandoned sully (1)

Being the child of Jake sully was something that any child would be proud about, and everyone had praised the family for their close bond. There was someone who was a baby of a war hero jake and neytiri had other child a girl before Lo'ak and Kiri but she was not living with them.When she was born she was not like the rest she was born on rumored bad day and if five fingers were not something that scared anyone else, but some her human colored eyes scared them. Everyone had thought she will bring bad luck or she is a bad omen, all the the clan were in uproar of what shall become of the child, the alliance was in danger. Neytiri and Jake had to a hard decision to give up their daughter for the sake of everything else.

All the clans were in uproar of what will become of the child as no on wanted to keep the unions if you were still at the omatacayia clan.So neytiri and Jake had to make the hard decisions for their family, the clan, and for the rest of pandora they gave you up.

Moat " hear  my words clearly my daughter once you hand over your daughter this can be fixed" Moat and some elders told them not to do this as it will result in bad outcomes for everyone, but they were outnumbered in voted. 

Neytiri " mother we have to do this for our family and the clan" 

Moat " she is your family" 

Neytiri " she can't stay here if we keep her the clan will pay and make her pay ... we are doing this for everyone and her" 

Moat " you disappointed me daughter your father and sister will be ashamed of you" 

Jake " listen moat we are sorry but we will have to do what we think is right I'm olo'eyuthan and my word is final and it law, that what you and your daughter have taught me"'Jake looks at his mother in law, as he stands up for the decision him and his mate have made. 

Moat " then I will take her to a new home a place where she will feel safe and welcome" 

Neytiri " no mother let us take her so she can remember us" 

Moat " I'm an tshaik and elder I out rule the both of you now hand over the child it will be best if you stay here and, attend to your family and not some unknown baby" moat had taken the baby out of her daughter hand and soon called her ikran. 

Neytiri " mother please let her take this her song chord so she can remember us" neytiri was praying for her mother to hear her word, and just do this small for her. 

Moat " oh my daughter she will remember enough of everything and everyone"moat had glared at the string holding one gem, she didn't dare touch it right now. As she knew this songchord will only bring sorrow to the girl. 

Neytiri " please mother she needs to know we love her and will be waiting for her return"moat soon sighed and soon took the song chord into her hands. 

Moat " my the great mother forgive you all for your crimes against this child, but mark my words what ever happens in the future is all become of the decision made today" 

Jake and neytiri " ......."

Jake " we will stand strong together as couple and as parents for Kiri and neteyam, and in time she will never understand of the choice that had to be made here tonight" 

Moat " oh Jake sully you have fallen from the mighty hero you once were" moat turned her back on her daughter and Jake, but the couple followed her. 

Jake " tell us where you are taking her as her parents we have rights to know" 

Moat " the great mother has spoken you won't know where she is until right, now leave me be as you have two other children to attend to let's hope you don't abandon anymore kids until then" 

Neytiri " mother " 

Moat " I most leave if I'm going to get her there on time" moat soon got on her banshee and soon took off, into the air she was made about what was happening. She knew the child was innocent and old nasty rumors were sending her away from her family and clan. 

Many hours later 

???? " who is there you know it wrong to interrupt a tshaik when she listens to eywa" 

Moat " hello my old friend" moat was looking at an elder tshaik women. 

Tupia " moat it been so long I have heard your daughter has given birth to a baby girl" 

Moat " yes that why I'm here I have come here asking for sanctuary for the child" 

Tupia " come with me and we can speak about this serious matter" soon the two women and left to speak at Tupia home about you, and even Tupia was not happy about what she had heard. As the two elders talked you had been left in with some caretakers and younger kids, who already started loving you. 

Tupia " these young tshaik and leaders think they know everything, and the elders are worst holding the past against a child"

Moat " yes and if she stays trouble will come and I don't wish that for my granddaughter" moat worried about the safety and wellbeing of her granddaughter. 

Tupia " she can stay here and learn the ways of the Navi, the group will welcome her" 

Moat " Thank you" 

Tupia " does your daughter know of the major effect's because of her actions" 

Moat " I have tried speaking with her and Jake but they don't listen, they are worried about their family and clan" 

Tupia " they don't worry about their own child"

Moat" it seems like that" 

Tupia " do they know what the out come of this will be for them and everyone else" 

Mo'at " no they don't I have tried telling them that but they won't listen this is my own solution ... she can't go with the humans as they are being test by the other clans" 

Tupia " some of these human can come here and see the child as she might get Illness I can't cure here, and it will help her as well to undertake why she have five finger and toes" 

Moat " I will see if they can happen but seeing how they are loyal to Jake and his command they might not come" 

Tupia " then they will face harsh criticism from her when she become older hasn't anyone listened to you" 

Moat " they are all young and not experienced in life yet and think what they are doing will be explained easily for the child" 

Tupia " there a difference between fantasy and reality my friend ... they will see their actions to keep everyone else safe will be hard to get a child or teen to forgive them" 

Moat " it seems like my daughter was hoping she could rebuild a relationship with her when she was older rand welcome, her back home" 

Tupia " we will see if that happen my friend ... oh little y/n you will become something great it sad you will have to face it being seen as someone bad until the truth comes out" 

Moat " I will come see her when I cam and tell her what she needs, I won't keep her in the dark like everyone else was thinking" 

Tupia " understood" moat soon left but not without hugging you on last time and kissing your forehead she was sad to leave, but she knew her clan needed her and you will be safe with her friend. You could understand you were being left  behind and it took Tupia some time to clams you down but soon everything was better. Once moat had come home she didn't speak with anyone as she was upset about the situation she was praying to see you once again and that you will be well. Moat had knew you are safe and loved by those who will be there for you, until the end and make you into a wonderful Navi in time.

[lonely-ey3s]

With All My Love: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Past is a Bitch

Pairings: joel miller x f!reader (no outbreak)

Word count: 16.1k

Chapter Summary: Joel and you throw a barbeque celebrating your arrival with close family and friends. Tommy and Joel battle how to best help you and Maria with your mental health since being back as there are indications you both are experiencing PTSD. Meanwhile later on, as the party goes on, you and Joel make a bet to keep each other on their toes as you both can't seem to keep your hands off each other.

Chapter warnings: mentions of PTSD (nightmares), panic attacks, physical descriptions of panic attacks, SMUT (18+ MDNI), m!oral, f!oral, f!masterbation, filming yourself while you do some naughty things, filming you and joel while you do fun things, spanish dialogue with translations (joel's family speaks it), FLUFFFFFF, joel being the best and most supportive bf, joel and reader being filthy sluts, reader has long hair, mentions of blood/injury, if I missed anything lmk :)

A/N: i know today's going to be a hard day for some of us as there is a lot of uncertainty and fear with how things are going, with how tik tok magically came back, but is being heavily censored, and there are indications of the next few days being really hard and for some very dangerous. i am here with you, i am just as nervous as you. i doom scrolled on redbook and tik tok too late last night freaking out about what people are seeing and saying - just know that in great numbers we are strong and i'm so proud of how much we are fighting back against corruption and complete ignorance, but i also know the fight isn't close to being over with our corrupt politicians and billionaires but we are using our knowledge from A Bug's Life and not allowing those grasshoppers to control our rights. i love you all, please be safe and stay kind to one another. ❣️ enjoy this chapter, i hope it helps take you somewhere else if you need that for a little while today ✨

Dividers by: @saradika-graphics

Main Masterlist

About an hour later Sarah woke up to hearing Tommy’s laugh and ran downstairs, eager to meet Maria. 

Maria and Sarah got along fast as they both were relentless with Tommy, which was a treat to watch. 

The group of you quickly finished the rest of the list and prepared for the party a couple of hours from now. 

Tommy and Joel went out in the back to set up some chairs and start rotating the ribs on the smoker. Sarah was outside as well finishing up with some last-second decorations, making sure everything looked to her satisfaction. 

You and Maria were finishing up the inside, making sure everything was ready to go to either be baked or put out. Maria turned to you, “I heard you ran into Captain Williams in the airport when you got back, how was that?” she said softly. 

You shrugged, “It was good to see him, he seems like a kind man, and glad we got him back safe. His wife was a blubbering mess… huggin’ me like I dragged him from the depths of hell… it was a little overwhelming.” you chuckled, and shook your head. 

“I mean, if it was either of us in his place, those two would have been the same way, worshipping whoever brought us home, ya know? Love changes people…” she nods out to the boys, who you both know would move heaven and earth for you and your safety.

You nodded and smiled looking outside at Joel, “It does…” You looked back at the ranch dressing you were making, “I guess it still hasn’t hit me I have someone like that in some moments, you know? I’m just so used to bein’ on my own…” 

Maria nodded, and hummed, “Speaking of, have you heard from him since being back? Charlie?” 

You shook your head, and scoffed “No… I wasn’t in North Carolina for more than a few hours before Joel and I left for Austin. He had no time to even run into me. I didn’t even get my car.” you tsked and chuckled, “Knowing him though, the piece of shit probably already found it and stole it, who knows…” you put a small spoon in the ranch and did a taste test then adjusted the seasonings. 

“I uh.. I saw him when I got in town… he luckily had no idea who I was, you know… but he looked like shit, someone beat the shit out of him it looked like...” Maria said as she started to lay out paper plates and silverware. 

You didn’t even react, feeling numb to him now, “Hmm, he probably owed money to someone and they beat him for not paying it back.” you put a lid on the ranch and put it in the fridge. 

Maria shrugged, “Well karma came back and that’s all I’ll say about him.” she looked over and smiled at you. 

You smiled softly and nodded, “Agreed… karma.” you looked down at the list and saw you still needed to prep the burger patties. 

Maria got a text and looked over at you then cleared her throat, “Can I ask you somethin’ and you not get butt hurt or mad?” she looked your way, nervous about what she was about to bring up. 

You looked at her from the counter, confused by her question, “Umm sure…” you chuckled not thinking anything of it. 

She let out a small sigh, “What happened this morning?” 

You looked at her, confused about what she meant, “I… what do you mean?” you smiled softly then looked back at the hamburger meat you were prepping. 

“I… I’ll just be honest… Joel’s worried about you… told Tommy you were up early with a bad dream… Tommy asked I check on you.” she turned back to put napkins down. 

You shook your head, “It’s nothin’... I mean you know the shit we saw… bad dreams, they are normal.” you blew off the question, not wanting to dive deeper than that. 

“Y/N… it’s somethin’ when you can’t go back to sleep.” she turned back to you. 

You scoffed, “Maria, it was nothin’... I should have just gone back to sleep… I just…” you clenched your jaw.

“You couldn’t unsee what you saw…” she cut you off. 

You took a breath and looked down at the counter, “It was Z…” you cleared your throat, “I see his body… everywhere… in my dreams… I… last night was just a bad one…” you looked up at her, with sadness in your eyes.

She set down the rest of the napkins and came over and sat on the island next to where you were standing, “I can’t imagine what you saw, what you went through when he died… that’s something you carry that I can’t know or fathom… which means in ways… you’re alone in that trauma…” she looked down as she fiddled with her cuticles, “We both saw, did and went through some fucked up shit over there… it’s normal to you know… deal with some level of trauma.” she looked at you, “I just… I don’t want you to be someone who shoves it down and stays quiet and then it consumes you.” 

She was right, you were notorious for that. Avoidance. When you got to camp, you talked about Charlie once and then never again with her, but she could tell it still impacted you but you never brought it up, and when she tried you’d change the subject. She wasn’t dumb or ignorant and you knew that, but she respected how you weren’t ready to talk and just let it be. However, with this, you both knew how horrible a soldier's mental health could plummet when getting back home, especially if you have PTSD. You were told of the statistics all the time of suicide, self-harm, and alcoholism/drug abuse, drilled during seminars and training. You weren’t ignorant, but you thought you could just avoid it by not talking about it. However, Maria wouldn’t let you do that, and you had a feeling neither would Joel - as he most likely went through it with Tommy at one point when he got home.

“What are you suggestin’ I do then?” you sighed and leaned against the counter. 

“Talk to your boyfriend, let him in… or hell join a group like I’m going to do once I settle here…” she said nudging you with her leg, trying to get you out of your stubbornness. 

You sighed and nodded, “I’ll try…” 

Maria smiled softly and nodded, “That’s all I can ask of you…” 

You nodded and then looked at the time, “Wanna help me get ready?” you smiled, “Help keep Joel off me so this thing starts on time?” you chuckled.

“So they are the same… handsy and horny motherfuckers…” Maria chuckled as she hopped off the counter and headed upstairs with you as you both giggled. 

Joel and Tommy stood outside while you and Maria talked inside, putting chairs and things out from the shed. 

Joel seemed a little disconnected, he felt something was going on with you since this morning but hadn’t got a moment alone with you to check on you. He saw your mood instantly switch when Maria got there, but he knew something happened last night and he wanted to make sure you knew you could reach out to him, he didn’t want you feeling that the nightmares or trauma he knows you went through was going to be too much for him to handle, he wanted to be involved, to be a comfort, he just didn’t know how to help you see that. 

Tommy nudged his arm, “Where’s your thoughts at lover boy?” he chuckled. 

Joel smiled softly and then swallowed softly and cleared his throat, “Did you ever… what happened when you got home? Where was your head?” he asked softly, careful so Sarah didn’t overhear. 

Tommy looked at him concerned, “What happened?” 

Joel shrugged, “I’m not sure, I found out she had a bad dream and had been up for hours right before you came through my front door.” he chuckled sadly. 

Tommy nodded, and unfolded a chair, “Nightmares are common with PTSD, Joel.” he sighed softly. “I had ‘em when I got back. Bad ones… woke up in cold sweats or panic attacks. I’d hide in the closet for weeks after, couldn’t sleep by a window…” he chuckled and shook his head, “Took mama tellin’ me to get my head outta my culo (ass) and get some help.” 

Joel looked at Tommy, shocked, he had no idea it was that bad for him, “What did you do?” 

Tommy smiled, “I went to a local group… then they had me see a therapist, which I saw for about a year.” he took another chair out of the shed, “Maria is going to go to a group once she settles here, maybe she’ll convince Y/N to join her.” 

Joel started to dust off some of the chairs, “Has Maria been struggling?” 

Tommy nodded, “Loud noises are hard for her, she about had a panic attack in the airport… she also deals with guilt, from what she’s told me, they dealt with a lot of death, some they couldn’t help but some part of them blames themselves for not doing enough… I’d be surprised if Y/N doesn’t struggle with that… especially with what happened to Z.” he helped dust off the table and then got his phone out and texted Maria what happened and to reach out to you. 

Joel nodded, “I know Z hits her often, she just won’t talk about it, you know?” he sighed, feeling helpless when it came to these things. 

“I understand. There are just some things they won’t tell us… they think it’ll be too much you know?” he shrugged, “That’s how I felt at least… felt you already had enough on your plate with Rachelle leavin’ and Sarah bein’ a baby, handlin’ her all on your own. I felt guilty for even strugglin’ when you had that goin’ on.” he looked over at Joel. 

Joel looked at him sadly, he would have done anything for Tommy, “I would burn the world for you brother, I’m always here, especially for you.” He touched Tommy’s shoulder. 

Tommy nodded and smiled, “I know… but my younger, stupid, immature, and cocky post-deployment self - didn’t want to believe it.”

They both chuckled and nodded. 

“If it helps… I just let Maria know what happened, and she’ll try to reach out to her, and I’ll let you know what Maria finds out, in case it’ll help you.” he smiled softly, “We gotta stick together with these two, you know?” 

Joel chuckled and nodded, “We’ve got our hands full with them, don’t we?” looking your and Maria’s way. 

Tommy nodded, “I believe we do…” and softly chuckled as he nudged his brother's arm. 

You went upstairs and changed with Maria, she brought a change of clothes as she and Tommy were planning on staying the night and hanging out with you and Joel afterward. 

You had picked out another one of the sun dresses that Joel had in the closet for you, again aiming for comfort but also a part of you wanted to drive him mad all night. You came out of the bathroom and used some body shimmer sunscreen lotion to make your skin glow, Maria saw you and chuckled, “You are evil…” She shook her head as he also had a sundress on but yours was particularly a tease. “Joel is going to be drooling over you all night long…” she got up from the bed, putting on some earrings and last-minute touches to her makeup. 

You looked at yourself in the mirror and smiled cheekily, “I know…” you looked back at her, “Gotta keep him on his toes.” you sprayed yourself with some perfume and then smiled, “Ready to make some jaws drop?” 

She chuckled and nodded, “Oh yes please!” she straightened herself up as well and then you both walked downstairs, both of the brothers getting the grill ready out on the back patio. 

You and Maria both grabbed some towels that needed to go outside for the kids who were going to play in the pool. Then opened the screen door and walked out together. 

Joel and Tommy both were taking swigs of their beers when you both walked out and coughed up their drinks and then immediately followed you and Maria’s bodies as you moved, eyes glued to your curves and how insatiable you both looked. 

“Hey guests are gonna start arriving here in about 20 minutes, ya’ll need to go freshen up?” Maria asked, paying no mind to Tommy’s reaction. 

You walked by as well, and looked at Sarah, “Sarah, wanna help me with the food inside?” 

Sarah came over and nodded, “What do we need to do?” she zoned in, excited to help. 

You looked at Joel, and smiled sweetly, innocently, “Hup too cowboy, go change…” nodded your head upstairs then you went back inside with Sarah. 

Maria followed and closed the door after, both of you smirking as you walked. 

Joel and Tommy both stood there, blood rushing to the right place at the wrong time, smirking and in a daze from you both. 

Tommy cleared his throat, “That… that’s our girlfriend’s, right? We weren’t just graced by god herself, yeah?” still in somewhat shock. 

Joel chuckled nodding, “Cheeky devils those two…” he bit his lip and nudged his brother, “Come on…” he put his beer down and walked inside, closing the door behind him not waiting for Tommy. 

“Hey baby, can I have your help upstairs pickin’ out an outfit to match that…” he cleared his throat seeing Sarah turn around and smile innocently at him, “...beautiful dress you’re wearin’...?” he looked at you and nodded his head towards the stairs, biting his lip eagerly. 

You smirked and came over and pecked his lips, “Two steps ahead of you cowboy, laid out an outfit for you on the bed already…” You winked and continued to walk past him, getting the mac and cheese in the fridge to put in the oven. 

Joel watched your hips as you walked and chuckled lowly, “Oh did ya now?” 

You nodded and looked back at him, “Yes baby, from hat to boot, I got you…” you smiled sweetly and then bent over to put the mac and cheese in. Your thong outline showed through your dress just enough to make Joel’s cock harden immediately. He clears his throat and quickly moves to stand against the counter, “Baby?” his voice cracks slightly. 

Maria snorts and tries not to laugh so she turns it into a cough, “Sorry, my throat is dry…” She takes a swig of her beer, trying not to lose her shit at Joel’s behavior. 

You knew exactly what you were doing, and you felt so empowered by it, you loved making him like putty, so easy to make melt. 

You stood and closed the oven, turning towards him, “Yes sweetheart?” you smiled and put the oven mitts on the stove. 

Sarah came up to you, “Where does this go?” you smiled at her and then looked at Joel and smirked.

He shook his head and clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes, mouthing ‘Don’t you dare…I need you…now…’ knowing exactly what you’re about to do to him. 

‘I’ll pay for it later.’ you thought. 

You wink at Joel and then look back down to Sarah, “Here, let me show you sweetheart...” you walk with her towards the back door and purposely walk by Joel so that your perfume would waft his way. You open the screen door and look back, “Maria can you help me with somethin’ out here too?” then look at Joel, and blow him a kiss as you three walk out to the yard. 

Joel chuckles and scoffs, biting his lip, “Oh that’s it. Game on.” he said and ran upstairs to change into something he knew would drive you crazy. 

You had laid out a nice cream-colored button-up and dark wash jeans with a tan-colored cowboy hat you found in his closet. 

However, he was playing chess, not checkers as he came down in a dark brown button-up with his sleeves rolled up a little, exposing the veins in his arms, dark wash jeans with a nice belt, and black Stetson hat, with his nice cowboy boots. You had a thong on to be his temptation, so he had a tight-fitting black tee on that form fitted him in every delicious way possible under this button-up that he’d use as his discretion throughout the day to drive you just as mad as he’ll be with you and that dress. 

You were in the kitchen with Maria, laying out the food on the table, when you turned and saw him, immediately feeling the heat pool between your thighs. He clocked you, made immediate eye contact, and smirked. The two of you having this nonverbal conversation between the two of you. You bit the inside of your cheek and raised your eyebrow at him, cocking your head to the side signaling ‘Well played’ and you pursed your lips together and then smirked back, shaking your hands out to gather your composure, before clearing your throat softly, “You look handsome cowboy…” you came up and kissed his cheek before walking behind him and gathering the platter of hamburger patties, “Can you start on these, handsome?” you held up the platter but pushed your elbows together and up to accentuate your cleavage when going to hand him the patties. 

He bit his lip and looked at you, his cock starting to get hard again, he knew exactly what you were doing. He let out a small chuckle, “Of course my love” he bit out of pure frustration, gently taking the platter from you. 

He went to go outside, but Sarah came in and saw him and smiled, “Well don’t you look pretty…” she said looking him up and down, giggling. 

“Shut up…” Joel chuckled before stepping outside. 

Sarah shut the door and you and Mariah let out a laugh, Sarah joining in, “What’s his problem?” 

You smiled and chuckled, “I think he’s a little… hangry…” you lied for her innocence. 

Mariah said under her breath, “You mean horny…” 

You nudged her and she chuckled.

Sarah nodded, “Yeah, he’s such a drama queen sometimes…” she sighed and smiled, “Anythin’ else need to go outside?” she asked softly. 

You shook your head, “I think we are good, do you need to change?” you smiled at her as you laid out the veggie tray. 

She nodded, “I’ll be quick!” she ran upstairs and shut her door to change. 

Maria nudged you, and chuckled, “Joel’s playing fire with fire…” She winked at you and nodded towards him. 

“Yeah… I know. What the fuck… he looks fucking…” you sighed frustrated and chuckled to yourself, leaning towards the counter, looking down to gather what you said next in case Sarah could hear, “god damn he’s good in that damn hat.” you looked up and rolled your shoulders, and then your head side to side, “What a menace…” clearly just as sexually pent up as Joel.

Maria chuckled and Tommy came in, he had changed as well and also looked very handsome, you smiled, “Lookin’ sharp Miller…” You nodded towards him. 

Tommy chuckled, now cooled down and even headed, “You two started it… with those damn… dresses…” he looked at Maria up and down, eyes hungry. 

You cleared your throat, breaking his gaze, “Reginald, eyes forward… there’s a child upstairs.” you scoffed jokingly and chuckled as you walked past him to take a beer to Joel outside. 

You opened the screen door and came up behind Joel, “You seem a little thirsty cowboy… need a drink?” you smirked seeing him turn his ear towards you and chuckle lowly. 

He flipped a few burgers then closed the grill, turned towards you, and gently grabbed you by your waist, pulling you against him, growling lowly, “Mmm baby… I need somethin’ else to satisfy my thirst…” he looked at our lips, eyes blown with lust. 

You chuckled and touched his cheek softly, “I’m afraid that’s not an option on the menu this afternoon…” you leaned up and kissed him gently. 

You went to pull back when he captured your lips again and kissed you slower and deeper, and then whispered against your lips, “You’re always on the menu baby…” 

You bit your lip and quickly kissed him again, then pulled away, “Mmm as are you, cowboy…” 

He reached back for your lips, hand slipping down to cup your ass, you put your finger on his lips, “Mmm nice try, not so fast…” you gently pushed away and grinned, “I wanna play a little game with you tonight… I have some rules…” you bit your lip, “I wanna see how long the other can last as we are clearly playing sexual tension chess…” you chuckled, “...the winner gets to choose what happens when everyone goes home… and where… it happens…” you smirked as you saw that piqued his interest, you gathered that Joel might like risky location sex which was something that made you a little nervous, “You interest?” you tilted your head and put your hands behind your back, cutely. 

He nodded and smirked, “Go on, what are the rules darlin’?”

You stepped one step back to explain without distractions, “Rule 1, no funny business kisses.”

Joel bit his lip and chuckled, “Easy. Next…” 

“Rule 2, while we are with or around others, no gawking… if the other person catches the other… automatic loss.” you smiled at him, “In other words, we can gawk, just not get caught by each other.” 

Joel nodded and grinned, leaning against the grill, taking a swig of the beer, “That’ll be a fun one…” 

“Lastly, rule 3, dirty talk is free game, but… no touching… only thing we can do is hold hands.” you cocked your head challenging him. 

He stood up and scoffed, “No touching? How… I…” 

You smirked, “Ready to throw in the towel?” you raised your eyebrow. 

Joel clenched his teeth and let out a breath, his competitive side being poked. He grinned, and rolled his shoulders, chuckling, “Ok… you’re on. Deal.” 

You smiled and chuckled at his reaction, “Before we start, is there anythin’ you need to get out of your system?” tilting your head innocently at him.

He nodded and immediately swarmed you, taking your cheeks in his hands, smirking against your lips, “Oh god yes, one funny business kiss…” 

You giggled against his lips and put your hands on his chest, pulling him in by his shirt as he leaned in and kissed you slowly and deeply once, then he went to pull away, “Mmm wait, one more for good luck…” you pulled him back and he chuckled and kissed you once more, humming against your lips and then slowing pulling away, keeping his eyes closed, lingering close to you. 

You stayed like that for a few moments before hearing the doorbell ring and then giggling, “Let the games begin!” you pulled away and walked towards the screen door, holding out your hand for him to take, “You comin’...?” you opened the screen door and waited for him. 

He bit his lip and chuckled, “God I love you…” he grabbed your hand and walked with you to the front door. Tommy saw him come inside and traded places with him, taking over the grill so he could greet the guests. 

Joel opened the front door and was greeted by two older gentlemen, “Hey! We brought booze!” Frank said excitedly and stepped inside, giving Joel a pat on the arm. 

“You must be the famous Y/N that Joel hasn’t shut up about!” Frank winked at Joel and hugged you, kissing your cheek gently, “It’s so lovely to meet you!

Bill stepped in after Frank and grumbled, “I also brought a couple of pies…” 

Joel chuckled and let go of your hand, “Here Bill, let me get those for you…” he grabbed two pies from Bill's hands, kissing your cheek softly, “I’ll go put these in the kitchen…” 

You instantly remembered who these two were from Joel mentioning them a few times over Skype, “Oh my gosh, you’re the famous Bill and Frank! Joel’s told me so much about you! I am so happy you are here!” you hugged Bill and kissed his cheek softly, after letting go of Frank, “Come! Grab some food! Tommy is manning the grill so go get a burger too.” you smiled sweetly grabbing their arms and walking between them to the kitchen. 

Maria smiled and came over to greet them too. 

The doorbell rang again and Joel looked over at you immediately and smiled. He reached for your hand, and the both of you greeted guest after guest like this, together. 

About an hour later the house and yard were full of people, most were either long-time friends of the Miller brothers, family friends, or neighbors of Joel’s. 

You and Joel were in the kitchen, both corned by different people. 

You were corned by Mrs. Rose, she kept telling you stories of Joel when Sarah was little, although they were adorable and you loved hearing how great of a dad he is and was when Sarah was smaller, you felt you were drowning and needed a lifeline of some sort. 

Joel was corned by Frank, he kept asking the obvious questions, how were things going, had you guys talked about you moving in, all of the usual gossip topics Frank loved to discuss. 

You both heard the doorbell and like a god-given blessing, both excused yourselves. 

You chuckled as you both met in the entryway, “Mrs. Rose can talk, can’t she?” you joked and it made Joel laugh a deep hearty laugh, “You have no idea my love…”, and Joel opened the door, and turned his attention to see who was there, his face instantly turned to a shocked expression, “Mama?” 

A beautiful older woman stood on the front step, “I’m so sorry I’m late mijo… traffic was horrible!” she reached in and grabbed Joel by the cheeks, pinching them gently, and kissed him on the cheek then hugged him quickly, pushing her way inside, on a mission, “I brought empanadas… they are in car, tú o tu hermano tendréis que ir a buscarlos.” (You or your brother will need to go get them.)

Joel chuckled and kept a hold of your hand as you were now hidden behind his back, hugging her with the other arm, “Mama, Tommy said you couldn’t come, said you had something come up?” 

His mom pulled away, glared at him like he was crazy, and tsked as she slapped his arm softly, “Traes a una chica a casa, cambio mis planes, mi amor.”  (You bring a girl home, I move my plans around, my love.) 

You smiled from behind Joel, understanding every word she was saying as you took Spanish in high school. 

Joel blushed and smiled, then nodded, lightly chuckling. 

She looked around eagerly, not seeing you were behind Joel's figure as she had kept you guys in a tight space, “¿Bien? ¿Dónde está ella?” (Well? Where is she?)

Joel smiled lovingly at his mom and then moved aside slightly, “Mama this is Y/N…” 

You peeked out and smiled brightly, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, “Hello Mrs. Miller… it’s so lovely to meet you…” you held out your hand. 

She lightly gasped and held out her arms, “Cariño... ella es hermosa!” (Honey… she is beautiful) then she pulled you in for a gentle hug, “You must call me Elena, mi querida…” (my darling) she pulled back and put your face in her hands, “Come… we must talk.” she grabbed your hand and started to walk with you. 

You chuckled and looked back at Joel as she practically dragged you with her, smiling warmly and mouthing, ‘You didn’t tell me your mom was coming!’. 

He chuckled and shrugged then winked and watched, “I’ll go get the empanadas, mama!” and he left out the front door. 

She waved her hand to dismiss him and tsked, focused on getting somewhere to talk to you. 

Elena whisked you through the kitchen and out onto the patio, humming happily to herself, clearly on a mission. 

Tommy saw his mother weaving through the ground, you clocked his eyeline and nodded your head towards the kitchen as that was where Maria was. He nodded and knew exactly what you were saying, ‘You need to give her a heads up.’ 

“Uh… Mrs. Mi- I mean Elena… can I get you something to eat or drink?” you smiled down at her as you walked. 

She smiled and gasped, finding two lawn chairs, “¡Perfecta!, we must sit here!” she sat in one, and you sat in the other. 

You softly chuckled, “I must be honest ma’am, I didn’t know you were coming, I would have set you up a shaded area aside.” you looked at her softly. 

She waved you off softly, “¡Disparates!” (Nonsense!) “No need for that, I’m an old woman, but not one that needs special treatment, si?” she smiled warmly at you. 

You nodded, “Yes ma’am.” you looked down shyly, messing with the hem of your dress. 

She reached over and put a hand over yours, “Tell me… how does my son treat you, hmm? Le enseñé a adorar el suelo que pisas, ¿verdad?” (I taught him to worship the ground you walk on, is he?)

You blushed and continued to look down at your hands, then looked up at her, “He treats me like gold…” you smiled brightly “You raised a good man… he… I…” you looked back down at your hands and let out a small chuckle, “I love him very much, ma’am.”

She smiled and gently squeezed your hand, “He loves you more than I think he’s loved anything but that darling granddaughter he gave me.” 

You looked at her and smiled, “Sarah… she’s… I also love her, she’s so kind… smart…” you chuckled, “... she’s so funny… she’s such a good human. Joel… he’s a good dad.” you looked over at Sarah, playing in the pool with her friends, “She’s everything to me as well. I can’t express how much those two were my drive while over there ma’am… they got me out of a lot of shi-” you cleared your throat, and looked at her apologetically, “stuff…” 

She laughed softly, “You don’t need to tell me, I heard the stories of what you went through…” She looked at you sadly, “I was told you had a little boy… lamento tu perdida.” (I’m sorry for your loss) 

You teared up at Z being called your little boy and looked down sadly, a tear falling on your dress, without thinking responded, “Gracias, aprecio tus amables palabras.” (Thank you, I appreciate your kind words.) 

She gasped, “¿Tú hablas español?" (You speak Spanish?) She looked at you excitedly. 

You looked up, eyes wide, Joel didn’t know you spoke it, you wanted to keep it a bit of a secret, but then chuckled and shook your head seeing her reaction, this meant a lot to her that you spoke in her native tongue. 

“Sí, pero no tan buena como tú, estoy segura.” (Yes, but not as good as you, I'm sure.) you chuckled and winked. 

She laughed, “No, you speak it very well! Oh gracias a Dios…” (Oh thank goodness)

You chuckled and then saw Tommy and Maria heading your way, Maria in her head, looking nervous, “Here, let me go grab you a plate and drink, I’ll be back…” You nodded towards Tommy and stood up, squeezing her hand and smiling as you let go of her hand before passing by the pair of them, whispering to Maria, “She’s going to love you… just breathe.” then walking towards the screendoor. 

You made it into the kitchen and started to gather a plate of things you thought she might like, Joel came in and smiled with a bag of ice over his shoulder, “You got away…” he chuckled and came over, kissing your cheek gently, hovering his hand behind the small of your back, careful not to touch you, he smirked, “How’d it go darlin’?” then walked over to dump it in a bucket you had for beers and soda’s to put outside. 

You smiled and continued to collect food for her, “I think it went well… she’s very sweet. I think she liked the element of surprise though… catching us off guard.” you chuckled. 

Joel nodded, “Yeah, she likes keeping everyone on their toes.” he softly laughed. 

You looked up and smirked a little, “No mencionaste que tu familia hablaba español, mi amor…” (You didn't mention your family spoke Spanish, my love…)

Joel flipped his head around, and his eyes went wide, “You speak Spanish?” 

You chuckled at his reaction and nodded, “Not as well as your mom or you, but yes, yes I do.” you beamed and looked back down at the plate you were collecting. “Took 3 years in high school…” 

Joel grinned and bit his lip then came over and hovered behind you, careful not to touch you but close enough to know he’d drive you crazy, saying lowly, making his voice vibrate against you as he said, “Veo. Así que puedes entenderme cuando digo que eres una niña traviesa por usar esa tanga, ¿no?” (I see. So you can understand me when I say that you are a naughty girl for wearing that thong, right?)

You bit your lip and grinned, goosebumps spreading down your body, heat pooling between your legs again and your cheeks blushing, “Si, mi amor…” (Yes, my love) you said then turned around, careful not to touch him, and looked up at him, “Lo que significa que me entiendes cuando digo que espero usar ese sombrero mientras te monto esta noche…” (Which means you understand me when I say that I expect to wear that hat while riding you tonight…)

Joel smirked down at you, and leaned his hands against the counter to corner you in, “You have no idea how hot it is to hear that come out of your mouth baby…” he leaned in close to your ear, saying lowly, with hunger in his voice. 

Your eyes fluttered closed and you took a deep breath, feeling yourself flutter around nothing at your core. 

You looked at him up and down, slowly grinning, then made eye contact with him “Eso no es lo único que mi boca puede hacer, ¿verdad, vaquero?” (That's not the only thing my mouth can do, is it cowboy?) 

Joel let out a shaky breath, his cock starting to get hard again thinking about what you did to him with your mouth yesterday.

You bit your lip, leaned up, and kissed his cheek softly, “Excuse me mi amor…” you gently used the water bottle you were holding to move his arm to get out of his hold, carefully, not to break any rules before walking back outside, smirking to yourself, leaving him speechless against the counter. 

You walked over to Joel’s mom, she was still talking with Tommy and Maria, all of them laughing about something. 

You softly came up to her and gently touched her shoulder, “Here you go, ma’am…” 

She looked up at you and smiled, taking the plate, “Oh you’re too kind! Gracias…” She looked at Tommy, “Mijo, will you go find your brother?” she nodded towards the house and smiled sweetly. 

Tommy got up from his chair and came over and kissed her cheek, “Of course mama…” he reached back for Maria to come with. His mom shook her head, “No… let her stay here, rest her feet. I’m sure these two have been on them all day.” she smiled at the two of you. 

You came and sat by Maria in Tommy’s chair, gently touching her knee, smiling down at her. 

Maria smiled and nodded at Tommy, “I’ll be ok, she won’t bite baby…” she giggled.

Tommy nodded and leaned down, kissing Maria’s head, “I’ll be back.” he said before walking away to find Joel. 

“So tell me, girls, how have you been since being back?” she took a bite of a carrot stick. 

You looked back at Maria and smiled then nodded towards Mrs. Miller, “For the most part I think we’ve been doing pretty ok. I think it's setting in we are home…” you looked at Maria and she nodded then looked down shyly. 

“Yeah, I agree.” she said softly. 

Elena looked at you both and tsked, “Se honesta conmigo… por favor…” (Be honest with me, please) she sadly looked between you both, knowing you were both putting up a brave face. 

Maria bit the inside of her cheek and sighed softly, “I’m having a hard time being in busy enclosed areas… like the airport was hard.” she admitted. 

You looked at her and gently took her hand in support, “I’m… loud sudden noises I’ve noticed get me. But I’ve also been having flashbacks when sleeping.” you looked down at your hand holding Maria’s and clenched your jaw, feeling frustrated by this, sighing to let it go. 

Elena reached over and took your hand, “Talk to my boys… please. They’ll want to help… want to… solidaria.” (be supportive) She looked at you both with pleading eyes. 

Maria nodded, “Tommy is going to get me into a group locally when I get settled here… said it helped him.” she smiled softly. 

Elena nodded, “Yes, the group was his saving grace.” she sighed sadly, “He felt… uhm… como dices… culpable?” (guilty) 

You nodded, “He felt guilty for putting it on anyone but himself…” you looked at the ground and nodded, “I think that’s how I feel… don’t want to burden Joel with the hell we saw… went through…” you shook your head and tears started to cloud your vision. 

Elena squeezed your hand, “No eres una carga para luchar. Por tener dificultades para comprender y superar lo que pasó.” (You are not a burden for struggling. For having a hard time understanding and moving past what you went through.) 

Maria looked at you, needing translation.

“We aren’t burdens…” you looked at her sadly. 

Elena saw Tommy and Joel starting to walk towards you all from the back door, she looked at them both and nodded, smiling softly, signaling for them to give her a moment more. Both stopped and understood, and got pulled into a conversation with Bill, asking who made the mac and cheese. 

Joel focused on you, smiling softly at the sight of you and his mom together before turning his head towards Bill, explaining it was your recipe.

Elena looked back at you and Maria and reached her other hand for Maria to take, Maria moved in her chair closer and took her hand. She looked at you both and smiled softly, tearing up, “You… both… make my two boys very happy. Ellos viven para ti ahora…” (They both live for you now.) She gripped your hands a little tighter, “Let them take care of you, and give them the chance to help you when you… como decir… struggle?” she didn’t know if she used the right word. 

You smiled and nodded, “We understand… and we will…” You let go of Maria’s hand to wipe a few tears that escaped. 

Elena smiled and nodded, shaking your hands softly, “Bien…” 

You looked at Maria and leaned our head against her, offering her comfort, she chuckled as some tears escaped as well, and she wiped them as well with her free hand. 

You saw Sarah climb out of the pool, “Abuelita!” and grab a towel, running over to her, smiling. 

Elena smiled brightly, “Mi hermosa niña!” she stood from her chair and put her plate down, opening her arms to embrace Sarah. 

Sarah ran over and hugged her tightly, smiling from ear to ear. 

You stood up and looked down at Maria, “I’m going to go grab myself a plate now that everyone’s settled in, you need anything?” 

Maria smiled and shook her head, “I’m good thanks.” 

You nodded and then walked back inside, closing the door behind you, grabbing a plate, and looking to see what was left. 

Frank came in, “There you are! I’ve been waiting for Elena to let you go…” he chuckled. 

You looked up and smiled, “You need somethin’ sweetie?” you asked kindly, starting to put things on your plate.  

Frank shook his head and smiled, “No… not exactly, I just wanted to talk to you more. Get to know you more. Joel… well… he won’t shut up about you, but I’d like to talk to you, get to know you from… you.” he chuckled and got a beer from the counter.

You smiled, “Won’t shut up about me? I’m flattered…” you chuckled. 

Frank sat down at one of the barstools and watched you fill your plate up, “Joel he’s… he’s different. He’s not so grumpy since meeting you.” he chuckled. 

You looked up at Frank, “Joel? My Joel, grumpy?” you tsked and then chuckled, “He can be a bit closed up I’ve noticed, especially with Mrs. Rose…” you chuckled, “... but I can’t imagine him being grumpy…” You smiled to yourself as you grabbed a cucumber slice and took a bite.

“Well that’s Rose for ya, she’ll know the color of your underwear if you’re not careful with what you do and say around her…” he chuckled, “Which by the way, from one gay guy to a woman with a rockin’ body, you played with fire today…” he nodded towards your ass and you turned bright red. 

“Shit, you can see?” you all of a sudden got embarrassed. 

“Honey, every man within an eye shot and a cock between his legs can see you’re either not wearin’ anythin’ or what you are, is very very small…” he winked and laughed softly, taking a swig of his beer, “Joel keeps tellin’ his coworkers to keep their eyes forward and that you’re to be respected… he’s a very possessive man of what’s his.” 

You blushed and couldn’t hide the smile that stretched across your face, “What’s funny is we have this thing goin’ on and h-…” You stopped talking, realizing you were about to dive into this sex bet you and Joel were doing pretty much a stranger. 

Frank leaned forward and whispered, “Sweetheart, I’ve seen your thong, we are well past the ‘new person’ manners and decorum, finish the damn sentence…” he chuckled. 

You blushed and tucked a hair behind your ear, “Ok… fine.” you chuckled and leaned forward too, “We have this bet going on that we can’t… gawk at each other when the other person can see… and we can’t touch each other except for holding hands… so he’s most likely…” you bit your lip and then took another bite of the cucumber, “... a little frustrated if you catch my drift.” you looked at him grinning. 

Frank took a swig, “I like you… you’re fun!” he chuckled and then grabbed your hand, “Come on, we’ve got loads to talk about.” he took you back outside and sat with you on the patio swing. 

The both of you sat and talked for what seemed like hours, the sun had started to set and a few people left, but there was still a majority of the group sticking around, enjoying good food and company.

Joel came over and sat next to you, putting his hand on yours and his arm around the back of the swing, “There you are, I’ve been looking for you...” he kissed your hand softly then cheek then looked at Frank, “Frank that wine you brought, my mom wants to know where ya’ll got it from… it was really good.” he leaned and smiled at Frank.

You smiled against him, gently squeezing his hand when he settled in by you. 

Frank smiled, “Oh I have another bottle in the car, I’ll just give it to her… we got it when we traveled to France a few months ago, and had a crate mailed to us.” he stood up, “I’ll go grab it and be right back.” he set his beer down on the ground and then left to go inside. 

Joel kissed your cheek again once it was just you two, “I’ve missed you… I’ve felt I’ve not seen you much as we’ve been pulled separate ways every damn time I get near ya my love.” 

You smiled and adjusted yourself to look at him better, “I’ve missed you too…” you kissed him softly once then pecked his lips once more. 

He sat back and smiled down at you, “Are we breakin’ any rules by doing this? I’d hate to call a forfeit…” he chuckled softly, rubbing his thumb against your hand softly. 

You shook your head and giggled lightly, “No… we can have this. This is nice… nothin’ can be funny business when I’m sitting and swingin’ with you handsome.” you leaned your head against his shoulder and you two swung softly. 

Joel gently kissed the top of your head and sat with you peacefully. 

A few moments went by then Tommy came over, “Hey you two lovebirds…” he smiled and stood with his hip popped out like he wanted something. 

You smiled at Tommy, “Everything ok?” 

He nodded, “Yeah, can I just borrow Joel for a little bit? Bill wants some help with somethin’ on his truck. We just need a ‘nother set of hands.” he smiled down at you.

You nodded and smiled, “Yeah, of course.” you took your head off his shoulder and kissed his cheek, “I’ll just wait here…” 

Joel turned his head and kissed you softly, then stood up, “We gettin’ dirty?” he looked at Tommy. Tommy nodded, “Most likely… he needs undercarriage help” 

Joel nodded and started to unbutton his button-down, and then took it off, unveiling the tight black tee he was wearing under which was tucked in and had a nice buckled belt on which made him look even more delicious.

The tee exposed his broad shoulders, and thick muscular biceps, roped down with veins that bulged when he flexed to slide out of the button-up. Once taken off, he set it over his shoulder and took off his hat briefly, running his hands through his hair to push it back before putting it back on his head. 

Your jaw hung open and your eyes filled with not one ounce of anything appropriate at that moment. This - this was his thong, the bastard. 

Frank came out before Joel turned around to kiss you. He saw your face and how you were gawking, so he cleared his throat loudly, snapping you out of your daze before Joel saw, saving your ass in this cruel bet you both agreed to. 

You blushed and turned to Frank, he smirked, “I’m going to run this over to Mrs. Miller then I’ll be right back.” he walked towards that area of the yard, wine bottle in hand. 

Joel looked down at you, smirking, “You were gawking weren’t you?” he leaned down, chuckling, gently kissing your lips. 

You smiled against his lips, “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about cowboy.” you gently flicked the brim of his hat and winked before kissing him gently once more. 

He pulled back, “I’ll be back, don’t go far darlin’…” he smiled at you and walked out with Tommy to Bill and his truck. 

Joel and Tommy went out to the driveway and started helping Bill with something regarding his suspension, all of them getting greasy and a little messy. 

After about 20 minutes went by, Bill was trying to loosen a bolt near his strut and was getting frustrated as it wouldn’t come loose, “This damned thing…” he readjusted the wrench and his position and went to try again but his hand slipped and something sharp in the undercarriage and sliced through his palm and up his wrist, “Ah, fuck…” he grabbed his wrist, dropping the wrench, sliding out from under the truck. 

Tommy looked down with a flashlight at him, “Fuck…” 

Joel came around and saw, blood coming out pretty quickly. “Shit.” 

He yelled hoping you would hear him, “Y/N! Baby, we need help!” he looked at Tommy after a moment, “Go, go get the girls.” 

Tommy nodded and ran in and went to grab you both. 

You were laughing with Frank when you heard Joel yell for help. You sat up quickly and clocked Maria from across the yard, both of you in crisis mode immediately. You stood from the swing and ran in the house, out the front door, “Joel?!” fearing that something happened to him, not making it past the front steps before he looked at you and yelled, 

“Med bag now!” he looked at you, kneeling by Bill who you could see was bleeding. 

“Fuck…” you nodded and ran back into the house, “Frank, it’s Bill!” you shouted from the stairs towards the back door. 

You ran up the stairs and grabbed your medical kit from the bedroom, rushing back downstairs. 

Maria already had run out with Mrs. Miller and half the party while you were upstairs, all surrounding Bill and the truck, murmuring. 

You ran out and pushed through the crowd, “Someone call 911.” you commanded tying up your hair, locked into the situation. 

You knelt by Bill and took his arm, “Here let me see…” You accessed his hand, seeing he might have nicked an artery or major blood vessel by how much blood was coming out, “Someone tell me what happened…” you asked calmly, looking through your bag for what you needed. 

“Damn bolt was too tight, hand slipped.” he bit out. 

You nodded, “Got it. Who’s calling 911?” you questioned the group. 

Maria piped up, “I am. I’m speaking to an operator, what are your findings?” she knelt across from you. 

You unzipped your bag, opened it up fully, and began putting gauze on his wrist as that was where most of the bleeding was coming from, “Tell them we have a deep laceration of palm that extends up the inner wrist. Explain that the blood loss suggests that it may have nicked the ulnar artery or a major blood vessel, we need an ambulance now.” you zoned in and looked around you for resources. “Tommy, I need your belt...” you said while trying to get the bleeding to stop but it kept coming.

“My what?” he questioned. 

“Belt. Tommy… now…” you instructed, there was no time for questions and you were in your element, not worried about niceties. 

He undid his belt and handed it to you. 

You looked at Maria, “Maria, ETA?” 

“7 minutes…” she said and then set the phone down on speaker and helped you by putting pressure while you used Tommy’s belt to tunicate Bill’s upper arm. “We need them here now… fuck.” you were getting frustrated by the lack of tools you had at your disposal. 

Bill winced and cursed under his breath when you pulled the belt tight, “Ok Bill, I need you to lay flat for me.” helped his head lay down on the pavement as he was slumped against the tire. 

You looked over the arm, thinking, eyes scanning over everything you had around, whispering to yourself, “Think think…” 

Joel put his hand on your back, “Baby, what do you need from me?” he asked softly. 

“Ummm…” you thought about what could work to pack, then got it, “Can you get me some dish towels and duct tape?” you looked at him, “We need to pack this and this gauze isn’t enough…”  

He nodded as he stood up and ran inside, grabbing both within a minute. 

You smiled softly and took them from him, “Thank you sweetheart.” you started to gather them up to best pack the wound, “Bill, I’m going to start packing this, it may hurt, just warning you.” 

He winced as you began packing the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as much as you could. However, he started to lose color and get a little confused with his surroundings. 

“Maria… we need an ETA…” she stood up and took the phone, turning away to speak to the operator. 

Bill’s eyes started to close, so you gently tapped Bill’s face, “Bill, you need to keep your eyes on me. Tell me what’s going on with your truck, talk to me.” you tapped his face again until he opened his eyes.  

The vibe of the area drastically changed after that and people started to worry. Mrs. Miller hugged Tommy, worried. Frank was in tears standing to the side, and Sarah hugged his side to comfort him. Joel knelt by you but gave you enough space to work. He was in complete awe and admired how amazing you were under pressure, this was your element and he was grateful in a way he got to see you work. 

Bill started to slur his speech as he began talking about his truck and his eyes started to close again, his breathing becoming more shallow, you looked at him and touched his cheek, “Shit..” you looked up at Maria for a moment then back down, “Maria, I need an ETA!” you said asked with slight panic in your voice as you started to wrap the tape around his arm to keep the wound packed tightly, “Bill… look at me… keep your eyes open.” you coaxed. 

Maria turned around, “2 minutes… they have sirens going and everything.” 

You tapped Bill's cheek, “Bill wake up…” he didn’t respond. 

“Fuck.” you felt his pulse point, barely anything, he’s bleeding out. You leaned down to listen for breath sounds, weak and uneven. “God damn it Bill…” you said as you listened. 

“Maria, tell them his pulse is weak and breath sounds are weak and uneven, I’m starting compression and mouth to mouth, they will need an immediate crash cart upon arrival…” you yelled to her and then angled his head to the correct angle for compressions and mouth-to-mouth then sat up on your knees and started compressions. She nodded and relayed the information to the operator, turning around to hear what they were saying better.

Frank started to sob and Sarah did too, you looked at Sarah as you started pumping Bill’s chest, “Sarah, go inside sweetheart, I need you to get me my pouch that has a red cross on it, it's up in the bedroom…” 

She nodded and ran into the house, you stopped after a set amount of compressions and did two breaths into Frank's mouth then started doing compressions again, “She doesn’t need to see this.” you said as you looked over at Joel with a sad look in your eye, doing what you could to shield and protect her, he nodded and put his hand on your back in support. 

You looked at Maria, and she nodded at you knowing you wanted an update, “They are pulling into the neighborhood, I’m going to flag them down.” she ran down the driveway, and you began to hear sirens in the distance. 

You did two more breaths and then started to continue compressions, “Hold on Bill, I got you… stay with me.” you gritted as you pumped his chest. 

You looked at Frank, “Frank look at me, he’s going to be ok. He’s just lost a lot of blood, ok?” you continued to pump and then did two more breaths then felt his pulse, it was getting stronger, you nodded and continue compressions, “There we go… there’s that pulse comin’ back.” you chuckled out of breath from compressions, “Come on…” you looked up and saw lights pulling into the street. 

Maria brought two paramedics to where you were, one a woman and one man, they had a transfer board and the crash equipment, you continued to do compressions as you explained what was going on, what happened, his stats, and how his pulse was getting stronger with compressions. 

“Ok, we need to load him up, can you help?” the woman asked setting the transfer board down on the ground next to Bill.  

You nodded and rolled Bill on his side so they could put the transfer board under him. You looked at the pair, “I’ll lift the board if one of you straddles him and continues compressions into the truck…” you suggested.

The woman nodded and straddled Bill and started compressions again, you went to the head of the board and grabbed the end, your cleavage showing as you had to bend down a little, “On three?” you asked the other paramedic. He was looking at your cleavage, you glared at him, “Oi, eyes are up here… on three we lift?” you bit out. 

Joel heard and saw him ogling you, and glared at the paramedic. 

He cleared his throat and nodded, turning red, “On three…” he said.

You both lifted on three, grunting and then walking to the gurney behind some of the cars, Frank following close behind. 

Elena came up and touched Joel’s arm as he stood and watched, “She’s got fire mijo…” she said smiling softly watching you with him from a distance. 

Joel nodded and blushed watching you, “She’s amazing mama…” he hugged his mom to his side. 

You helped load Bill in and stepped out of the bay, after telling Frank you guys would come visit in a few days. He thanked you and hugged you then hopped into the bay, sitting and holding Bill’s hand.

The male paramedic cleared his throat as he jumped out of the bay after you and looked at you, drinking you in, and he smirked at you, “Hey, uh you ever wanna g-…”

Joel cleared his throat, coming up behind you and wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close to him, “Everything good to go darlin’...?” he kissed your bare shoulder, keeping eye contact with the paramedic. 

You blushed at Joel’s motives and knew what he was doing, you stepped back into his hold, “I think so cowboy… Bill’s conscious now…” You looked at the paramedic, “You guys are good, right? Going to Austin General?” you cocked your head at him, smiling sweetly.

The paramedic swallowed and cleared his throat, “Yes ma’am. Thank you for all you did to help.” 

He looked at Joel and nodded at him, “Ya’ll have a good night…”

Joel smirked, “Oh, we will…” he leaned down and kissed your shoulder then inside of your neck softly. 

He nodded embarrassed and closed the bay door and then tapped it twice before going around to the driver’s seat and driving off with Bill and Frank to the hospital. 

You chuckled watching the truck drive away, “Did you just lose our bet or should I give you a freebie with those funny business kisses and touching?” you teased as you leaned against him smiling. 

He kissed you again on the neck and took a breath, inhaling your scent, humming, “I give in… I can’t handle not holding you the rest of the night.” he rubbed your stomach with his thumb. 

You smiled and slowly pulled away, biting your lip, looking at him lovingly, “Come on then, let’s go have a good rest of the night…” you kissed his cheek, “I’m gonna go freshen up, wanna get the firepit started?” 

He nodded “Yeah sure baby…” but then looked at you with so much love in his gaze and took your cheeks in his hands and leaned in and kissed you softly and slowly a couple of times, pulling away a little, “You were amazing… I love you so much.” then kissing you once more. 

You smiled against his lips then pulled away and hummed, “I love you too sweetheart…” you kept your hands behind your back as you didn’t want to get him dirty with how much blood was on them. 

You walked back up the driveway, eager to wash yourself up, internally starting to feel overstimulated by the familiar sensation of blood on your hands.

Maria and Tommy were talking to Elena and Sarah. You smiled at Elena kindly and nodded your head as she looked at you before grabbing your bag and heading inside. 

She watched you and saw you roll your shoulders and shake your hands out, starting to feel anxious. 

Joel came up to the group of people hanging in the front yard and smiled, “Ok, the good news is Bill will be ok, he’s headed to the hospital. Y/N is going to freshen up and then we’re gonna do a firepit and do smores and put some music on.” 

Everyone let a breath of relief out and nodded, heading back inside to the backyard. 

Elena came up and took Joel’s hand, “Mijo… go check on her… ella parecía ansiosa al entrar…” (She looked anxious heading inside)   

Joel looked at the front door and nodded, then looked at her, “Can you ask Tommy to get the firepit started?” 

She nodded and kissed his cheek, “Of course, mijo.”

You went upstairs and shut the bedroom door quickly, starting to feel slightly on edge. You shook your hands out again and clenched your jaw trying to blow it off. You took your dress off which had Bill’s blood on it and put it in the hamper, before going to the sink and turning on the water, washing the blood off your hands, feeling yourself start to feel anxious by the familiar image of what happened with Z, flashes started to cross your mind. You let out a breath and shook your head, “No… it’s ok. I’m ok.” then you dried off your hands. You walked to the closet and got some loose-fitting Wrangler jeans and a baggy but cute brown sweater. You put it over your head, pulling your hair out and looking at yourself in the mirror, mentally telling yourself you were going to be ok. 

You sat on the bed to put on some different shoes and stood to go back downstairs when you heard someone’s truck backfire that was leaving the house. However, to you, it sounded like gunfire and you were instantly transported back to Delta 30. Flashes of Z and his body clouded your mind and instantly felt like you were suffocating, your heart started to race and you started to breathe fast, tears blurring your vision, feeling the room close in around you, you shrunk to the floor and curled into the corner, “Fuck.. fuck…” you started to hyperventilate. 

You shut your eyes and whispered, “Breathe…” you put your hand on your chest and felt your heart racing, your hand was shaking against your chest. 

Joel knocked on the door gently, “Darlin’, can I come in?” no answer.

You didn’t even register anything around you, your ears were ringing, and your senses were all over the place. 

Joel knocked again, “Sweetheart?” no answer. 

He opened the door and peeked in and saw you in the corner, hyperventilating, curled in fear looking at the bed. He instantly bolted over to you, kneeling in front of you, taking off his hat to get close to you, “Baby?” he gently took your face in his hands, and had you look at him, your eyes looked terrified, “Baby I need you to breathe for me…” his eyebrows furrowed in concern as he looked over you, “Hey… look at me, breathe in through your nose…” he took a breath in through his nose for you to mimic. 

You weren’t registering anything, his voice was muffled and your ears rang, you shut your eyes and held your hand against your heart, “I…” you started to cry, unable to catch your breath, breathing fast and unevenly. 

After speaking to Tommy earlier, he researched how to help with panic attacks and other things you might experience so he would be ready to help. 

He racked his brain to choose something he read to help.  

Joel stroked your cheeks “Hey… I got you, sweetheart, here…” he took your hand, opened your palm, and started to draw a circle in it, repeatedly, watching your reaction, you looked at what he was doing and your breathing slowly started to slow down. “There we go… shhh… it’s ok.” he kept doing it, leaning forward to kiss your forehead, whispering against your skin, “I got you, my love.” 

You watched as he continued to draw circles, beginning to come back to him, tears falling and starting to ramble as you were watching his finger, “He… he was just there and then he wasn’t…” your lip trembled, “I should have protected him… I didn’t check what was behind me and got detained… he… he got shot while I was captured because I didn’t do the one fucking thing I was trained to do in combat… check my surroundings…” you sobbed, “... he was a child… a baby… and he… he’s dead because of me…” you closed your palm and pulled it to your chest, reclusing back to the corner. 

Joel looked at you and shook his head frantically then touched your cheek, “No… no my love… hey… come here…” he moved quickly and sat by you and pulled you onto his lap, to lay between his legs, holding you close, putting your head on his chest so you could hear his heart to calm you down, kissing your head and he held you tight, “Darlin’, it was not your fault...” he rubbed your arms and back slowly and softly, “What happened back there, I will never understand what you truly went through, but I do know one thing, and that is, none of it was your fault.” he kissed your head, “None of it.”

You closed your eyes and tried to concentrate on his heartbeat, “I… I feel like he died because I wasn’t careful enough.” you admitted quietly through tears. 

Joel kissed your temple softly, and whispered, “Baby he died because evil men shot and killed a defenseless kid in the back of a car.” he sighed sadly, “His death is on them, not you.” 

You kept your eyes closed and focused on your breathing, taking in Joel’s words, focusing on what was around you, smells, sounds, textures. 

Joel gently would squeeze your arms and rub your back, trying to release tension, whispering soft promises of protection and safety to you. 

You calmed your breathing and nodded before sitting up slowly and wiping your tears, sniffing, “I’m ok…” you sighed softly. 

Joel took your hand softly and kissed it, finding your eyes, “We can send everyone home… do you need tonight to be done? I’ll go out and kick everyone out…” he said with every fiber of him. He’d burn the world for you. 

You chuckled and shook your head, wiping your tears before touching his cheek softly, “No… I need to be around our people tonight. I just need to be with you and I’ll be ok.” you smiled softly at him. 

He nodded, “I’m here, I won’t leave ya sweetheart.” he smiled and leaned in and kissed your forehead before pulling you in his arms once more. 

You hugged him and it was like everything dissolved, he brought such peace to you that you never thought you’d have, it was hard to describe but you knew with him, you were safe. 

He held you and then you pulled away after a couple of minutes and slowly stood up, grabbing his hat from the floor, and held out your hand for him to take, softly smiling at him. 

He took it and stood, standing inches from you, you leaned up and kissed him softly, while putting his hat back on his head, then pulled away, “You’re wearin’ this more often, yeah?” 

He chuckled, “Anythin’ you wish is my command, mi vida…” he cupped your cheek and kissed you slower this time, holding onto your lips, savoring this moment he had with you. 

You blushed and smiled after he pulled away, keeping your eyes closed, “Kiss me more like that too, yeah?” 

He smiled and nodded, rubbing his nose against yours, chuckling softly, “I can arrange that…” he leaned back in and kissed you again, this time holding onto your waist and the back of your head and neck, supporting your neck as he kissed you. 

You pulled away slowly after a few kisses, “If we don’t stop, we won’t make it back downstairs…” You looked up at him and slowly backed away, holding onto his hand as you walked backward. 

He bit his lip and smiled, “Maybe that’s what I want…” he let you drag him towards the door as you softly giggled. You opened up the door and let go of his hand and began walking down the hall, towards the stairs, hearing some music playing outside and people laughing and talking amongst themselves. 

Joel stood in the doorway and watched you for a moment, soaking you in. This was the happiest he’d ever been, aside from when Sarah was born. However this changed everything including his fears and anxieties, he didn’t want you to be consumed by what happened in the past. Whether that was your past back in Afghanistan or with Charlie, he promised to do whatever he could to protect and make you happy, keep those tears and fears away from you as best he could. 

You went down a few stairs then looked back and saw him in the doorway, you smiled and held out your hand, “Come on, they are dancin’ out there and I wanna see those moves you told me you had.” you giggled. 

He smiled warmly and pushed off the door and joined you, taking your hand, and walking with you out to the back.

9:48 pm 

People had slowly started to head home, even Elena who had a longer drive than most. Joel offered her the guest room but she insisted on going back home. You asked her to call either Joel or Tommy and let them know when she got home safely which she did about an hour after she left. 

Frank called and let you all know that they started some blood transfusions for Bill and he was going to be fine, they repaired his hand and found the cause of the bleeding. He said that he was going to be monitored for the next few days but everything was going to be ok. 

Sarah went home with one of her friends who begged Joel to let her sleepover as they wanted to watch a movie that had just come out for rent at the movie store. Joel told Sarah to call him before she went to sleep but let her go happily as that meant he’d have the house with you tonight. 

Tommy and Maria, a few other tipsy neighbors, and you both were left in the backyard. You were sitting by the fire laughing and talking to a neighbor of Joel’s and Maria. Joel and Tommy were insistent that you and Maria remained seated while they cleaned up a little and straightened up. 

There was music softly playing over the speakers and for the most part, people just talked while it played, the dancing had dimmed down after the masses headed home. Joel and Tommy showed off their moves and invited you and Maria to join them as they’d teach you how to do it. However, it was just an excuse for them to have you both close to them and sneak kisses from you in between each step. You and Maria caught on though and had a rough idea of how to dance. 

You had a glass of wine in your hand and were wrapped in a blanket, chuckling at a story Maria was telling when you heard a song come over the speaker, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran. You smiled seeing Joel walk over to you with a warm smile on his face and stop in front of you with one hand behind his back and one hand outstretched towards you, “May I have this dance with you darlin’...” 

You nodded, “Of course my love…” you put your glass down and gently slid your hand into his as you stood up. 

He brought your hand to his lips and kissed it then slowly walked you to the middle of the yard and held yours and his hand at his chest while pulling you in by your waist and slowly started swaying side to side with you as the song played. 

Some lights lined the backyard above you giving you, giving it a light and romantic atmosphere. Along with the fire pit burning, it was perfect. 

Joel hummed along to the first part of the song, holding you close, keeping eye contact with you before he started softly singing along, 

“And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70

And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23

And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe just the touch of a hand

Oh me I fall in love with you every single day

And I just wanna tell you I am

So honey now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are…”

You smiled up at him and put your free hand on his cheek as he sang along, gently stroking and tracing your fingers against his cheek, swaying along with him, holding his hand against his chest. 

Joel kept singing to you, gently rubbing his thumb along your waist and the back of your hand as he swayed with you, completely in the moment with you, not caring about anyone or anything else around, just you. He’d occasionally bring your hand to his lips and kiss it or your forehead.

Maria grabbed your phone that was sitting by your seat and took a few photos of the two of you, knowing how you always mentioned that was important to you, to photograph special moments with your loved ones, but that no one did it for you when you were in the moment. 

Towards the end of the song Joel took a step back and spun you around softly then pulled you into him to have your back against him and to hold you tight, arms around your waist as he swayed and leaned his head down and whispered into your ear, “I love you so much darlin’, thank you for all you do to make me happy.” he kissed your shoulder, inner neck and then cheek before setting his head by yours and closing his eyes as the two of you swayed like that to the rest of the song. 

Once it was over, Tommy whistled loudly, “Alright, I think that’s a good way to end a wonderful evening! If everyone will please gather your things, please take any leftovers you brought or would like and thank our hosts - it’s time to head home!” 

You chuckled and stayed against Joel, “Sounds like Tommy wants to go to bed…” 

Joel chuckled and kissed your cheek before pushing against your hip gently to spin you back around and pull you against him slowly and softly, continuing to sway with you while another slow song played in the background softly. He cupped your cheek and smiled looking down at you, “Did you have a good time today?” he caressed your cheek softly. 

You smiled, “I did, I’d love to do this like once a month or something with our friends and family… host a dinner or barbeque… it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time with a big group of people.” you looked up at him while you both swayed, ignoring the mass of people packing up to leave. 

“We can do that. How about every 2nd Saturday, we will do that, invite anyone we want to and it can either be something entirely made by us or like a potluck thing.” he said softly, “Anything you want to do, I’ll make it happen.” he leaned down and kissed your lips softly, pulling back slowly. 

You blushed thinking of something would love to do with him but you didn’t want to mention it as you criticized yourself for even thinking of it so early into your relationship with him. However, it’s how you felt, you wanted a life with him in every sense and meaning of it. You wanted to marry him, you knew that he was it, you had found your soulmate and partner in life, your best friend. You both had already admitted you wanted to have kids together and add to your family, it was just a matter of time before you got married, right? That was something Joel would want too, or so you thought. From what you know, Rachelle and he didn’t marry. They got pregnant with Sarah and then she left, he never mentioned marriage or divorce, just that she left. Was marriage something he wanted with you, or let alone anyone? You started to feel yourself overthink and some anxiety bubbled up and were just about to say something to Joel when Mrs. Rose came and touched your arm, snapping you out of the rabbit hole your mind just went down. 

“Thank you so much for the invite, I had a lovely time!” she smiled at the both of you and pulled you into a gentle hug and then grabbed Joel by the face and hugged him as well. He was hesitant but gave in and wrapped his arms around her softly, giving her a nice gentle hug. 

“Thank you for comin’ Rose. You’re a permanent invite on our guest list for future events, and always will.” you said smiling at her hugging Joel. 

She pulled back and smiled at you both, “Joel, could I trouble you for your help? I brought some casseroles but it’s dark and I w-” 

He cut her off, “I’d be happy to help Rose, don’t need to explain… just ask.” he smiled kindly. 

You saw something switch in Joel, especially in how he just interacted with Rose. Maybe Frank was right, maybe Joel wasn’t so grumpy towards those he usually is grumpy to? 

You gently touched her arm, “I’ll see you around, I’m going to go inside and make sure nothing gets left behind by others.” you smiled at Joel and went back inside to the kitchen. 

Mostly everything got taken by its rightful owner, all but two empty pie crystal dishes which you knew were Frank and Bills. 

You looked at the sink filled with dishes and rolled up your sleeves, thinking that you didn’t want to do anything tomorrow but rot and enjoy a nice easy day around the house with Joel. 

You filled one side of the sink with warm soapy water and the other with dirty dishes, you tied up your hair in a ponytail and put your phone on the counter which was playing some Fleetwood Mac on a lower volume. 

People greeted you and thanked you as they left, and after about 5 minutes, the house was empty.

You continued to wash dishes and either put them in the dishwasher for a deeper clean or put them on a drying rack near the sink to dry off during the night and put them away tomorrow. 

Maria and Tommy cleaned up the kitchen and living room by sweeping and wiping down the surfaces before telling you goodnight and heading to the guest room together. 

About a half hour later you heard Joel come through the front door and softly call for you, “Baby?” he took off his boots by the door. 

“Kitchen, sweetheart…” you said as you smiled washing down a pot that you used for mac and cheese earlier. 

Joel came in and smiled, coming up and touching your waist, kissing your cheek, “Where did Tommy and Maria go?” he grabbed a dish rag in the drawer by you and stood next to you starting to hand dry the dishes that were on the rack, doing his best to help or stay busy next to you. 

“They went to bed, they helped wipe down and tidy the kitchen before though, I just have been working on this mountain of dishes for a little bit.” you smiled and put the pot in the dishwasher, deciding it needed a deeper clean. “Did you get trapped by Rose?” 

Joel smiled and nodded, “Yeah, she needed help lifting something back onto a shelf in her garage and then chatted my ear off while I slowly backed up down her driveway towards the sidewalk.” he chuckled and started to stack plates that he would dry off to put away. 

You chuckled and dumped a bowl full of silverware into the water to soak, “She’s a hoot. I like her…” 

Joel nodded, “Me too, I just need to be better about tellin’ the woman I need to go.” he looked over at you, “I think gets lonely sometimes and I feel bad, you know?” 

You nodded and looked back at him, “Was there ever a Mr. Rose?” then you looked down and started scrubbing the silverware with a sponge. 

“Yeah, he passed about 5 years ago, Julio was his name. He was a nice guy, but he passed all of a sudden, I think he had a stroke or somethin’... Rose said he had a clot that traveled up to his brain.” he said sadly. 

You nodded, “Aneurysm it sounds like…” you said softly and sighed, “... that’s rough.” 

Joel nodded and continued to dry things off, “Can… what can cause that?” he sounded slightly concerned. 

“A lot of things, but mostly smoking, trauma, and genetic markers. Trauma is the most common though, the person hits their head or gets their chest crushed, it can lead to it.” you tsked, “It's a peaceful way to go though… you don’t feel a thing, you just… stop.” 

Joel looked over at you and nodded, “He was a smoker… I guess that makes sense.” he looked at the dishes he was drying, “And he didn’t suffer… that’s comforting to know.” 

You nodded, “If he did pass of an aneurysm, he would have just stopped breathing, but it wouldn’t have hurt him, he would have never known.” 

Joel nudged you softly, “Ok so we agree neither of us is dying that way, right?” 

You looked at him and chuckled, nodding, “Deal.” You started to load up the rest of the silverware in the dishwasher and then you bent down and grabbed a tablet from under the sink and put it in, starting the dishwasher’s cycle. You then unplugged the water rinsed down the sink then started to put away dishes. 

Joel smiled, “If I tell you to go upstairs and rest, you won’t will you?” 

You shook your head and chuckled taking a pile of plates in your arms, “Nope, we finish this together and go up together.” you walked behind him to the cabinet the plates go in. 

“Stubborn little thing you are…” he smirked at you. 

You looked at him and smiled, “Yep!” you giggled and continued to put plates away, humming along to the song that was playing on your phone. 

Joel shook his head and smiled, loving how easily you could make him happy. He put the remaining dishes away and then wiped down the counter with the rag before tossing it into the laundry room, coming back to the kitchen as you were wiping down the other counters with a dish rag, smiling softly. 

You turned around and smiled at him, he came over and put his hands on your waist, leaning in and kissing you softly, “Ready for bed?” pulling away gently and slowly taking your hand to pull you upstairs. 

You took his cowboy hat off his head and put it on yours, smiling, untying your hair to let it flow down your shoulders and back, “When do we get to go dancin’ cowboy?” 

He smirked and looked down at you, you looked adorable in his hat, but also something deeper erupted in him and he had to feed it, “I’ll take ya next weekend my love…” he kissed your lips slowly, cupping your cheek towards him, slowly pulling away after a few kisses, softly and lowly saying against your lips, “Darlin’ do you know about the ‘cowboy hat’ rule that you just broke?” he gently kissed you again, this time deeper, pushing you against the counter. 

You giggled against his lips, “Is this a legit rule or one you made up cowboy?” 

He grinned and pulled back slowly from your lips, grabbing your waist and lifting you to sit on the counter above him, slotting himself between your legs, looking up at you, nipping the tip of your nose gently, “It’s a real rule…” he had eyes full of lust, all the pent up tension you both had from teasing each other today, was coming to a head. 

You loosely wrapped your arms around his shoulders and teased your fingers into his hair, “I see… and what does this rule entail then handsome?” you leaned in and kissed his lips slowly, pulling his hair gently as you held onto his lips, smirking as you kissed him. 

He hummed and breathlessly pulled away from your lips, “Mmm first, you won our bet, where am I takin’ you?” he gently kissed your lips then moved his head down to your neck and began littering you with kisses and love bites there. 

You softly moaned, “Can I cash in my location for somewhere a little more… public another day?” you grinned knowing that would excite him. 

He groaned against your skin, and nodded, not being able to form a response for that request, he looked up at you and licked his lip, “Bedroom then?” he seemed desperate to get you somewhere, alone and quickly. 

You nodded and pushed his chest for him back up a little before you slid off the counter and then gently grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him close to you, leaning up to capture his lips, kissing him deeply a couple of times, before pulling back and grabbing his shirt and pulling it off him, throwing it to the floor then pulling yours off, revealing a black lace bra that left little to the imagination. 

Joel’s jaw dropped and he smirked. Between the wrangler jeans you had on, your bra, and the hat on your head, you were the image of a cowboy’s wet dream, “Fuck you’ve been hidin’ this from me all day?” he stepped forward and went to grab you when you stuck your hand out to stop him, biting your lip. 

“What’s the cowboy hat rule?” you held him where he was. 

He grinned, “If you steal a cowboy’s hat, you have to ride the cowboy darlin’...” he looked at your body up and down from where he was. 

You cleared your throat, “Eyes are up here…” you giggled. 

His eyes snapped up and met yours and then he gently took your hand and pulled it to his lips, “I apologize darlin’, I just can’t help myself…” he said making his southern drawl more intense as he looked at you with those big brown eyes and started to try and move towards you again. 

You bit your lip and stepped back, holding him where he was, “Mmm, hold it right there, I want you to do something for me baby…” you looked at him up and down, drinking him in. He was standing there in his jeans and belt that was very ‘cowboy’ of him and shirtless and you were soaking your panties while you were standing there, admiring and thinking of everything you wanted to do to his body. 

He nodded and was breathing quicker, more excited, there was an obvious bulge in his pants, “Anythin’ baby…”  

You looked over at the stove clock, “I’m going to go upstairs, and I’m going to touch myself…” the clock read 11:19 pm, you looked back at him and said slower, breathlessly, “If you can stand here… and wait til that clock hits 11:30 pm before coming upstairs to join me, we can film this… ‘cowboy rule’...” you grabbed his phone from the counter and grinned at him. 

He grinned sinfully, and groaned hearing this request, “And if I can’t wait my love?” he kissed your inner wrist, eyes on you. 

“You won’t need to worry about that baby, because you’re going to be good, and wait, aren’t ya?” you smirked and pulled our hand away, backing up towards the stairs then you stopped a few feet away and turned around and undid your jeans. 

You looked behind your shoulder biting your lip as you slowly slid them down your ass which revealed a black silk thong. You stepped out of your jeans, turned around to face him, and tilted the cowboy hat towards him, revealing the sinful black set you were wearing, “Remember cowboy, 11:30…” You winked and ran up the stairs. 

Joel was speechless and dropped to his knees, worshipping the ground you walk on with his cock straining painfully against his jeans.

You ran up and closed the door so it was just cracked open, you opted to keep everything you were wearing on as you knew Joel would enjoy taking it off when he’d inevitably make it upstairs. 

You took his phone and turned the camera on, pushing the record button, and then laid it down facing the bed on the dresser which sat at the foot of the bed, making it the perfect angle to capture you both at any position you may be folded into. You bit your lip and smirked as you backed up and looked at the bed.

You knelt in the middle of the bed, facing the door, which was also towards the camera so while you waited for him, you used the camera to your advantage knowing he’d see this too once it was saved to his phone. 

You slid your hand down your panties, finding your clit, and started to rub circles onto it lightly, moaning softly, smiling as you put your other hand behind your back, feeling how sensitive you are by just your touch, you felt excited to be fucked senseless by Joel. 

Downstairs, Joel knelt and held onto the counter like it was a lifeline, whispering, “11:30…” to himself as he looked back and forth from the stairs to the stove clock. 

He heard you moan his name at 11:26 pm and just about ran up, not caring about the recording, no matter how fucking hot it was you wanted to do that. 

He stood up and whispered “Fuck it…” and only made it a few steps before he bit his thumbnail frustrated and shook his head backing down, circling right back to where he was and kneeling back down again to avoid temptation. 

He watched the clock on the wall above the table which allowed him to see the seconds tick down. He tapped his thumb against the counter and watched as the minute hand got closer and closer to the 6. His breathing was slow and controlled but his heart was pounding excitedly. His feet were ready to run as soon as he gave himself permission to. 

He heard you moan again but louder at 11:29 and 15 seconds. He grinned and muttered to himself, “Less than a minute Joel, hold on…” he watched painfully as that clock ticked closer and closer to 11:30 and once it hit he didn’t waste a second. 

He slapped the lights off and ran up the stairs, 2 at a time, and at one time towards the top, using his hands to help him crawl up faster. The minute he got into the bedroom he closed and locked the door, and saw you on your knees, fingers teasing your clit as you had just come down from an orgasm. 

You sat up on your knees, pulling your fingers from your core, and licked your fingers as you made eye contact with him, humming in delight. You ran your hands down your body to the strings of your thong hugging your hips and started to tug on them, “Come ‘ere cowboy, I believe I need to saddle up…” you said lowly, then bit your lip as you rocked your hips back and forth as you had your legs spread like you were already straddling something. 

Joel swallowed and racked his brain, did he want to take this quick and erratic, or be slow and sensual, taking every ounce of pleasure from you? His cock was saying the first, but his heart and head said the other. 

He smirked and nodded then came to the bed and kneeled in front of you, gently took your face in his hands, cupping your cheeks, and leaned down to kiss you slowly, deeply, and with every ounce and atom of love he could put into a kiss. 

He pulled away slowly and said against your lips, “We’re gonna take this slow, I want to still be pulling pleasure from your sweet lips when that sun comes up…” he leaned back in and continued to kiss you, sliding his tongue between your lips after a few. 

You moaned softly and moved your hands down from his chest to his belt and began to unbuckle it and then his pants. 

He moved his hands down to his pants and tugged them down, along with his boxers, letting his cock spring free. The tip was red and angry with lust, dripping sweet precum from it. 

You put the hat back on his head after seeing his cock spring free and pulled from his lips slowly before moving your knees back and leaning down to lick up his shaft. You ass up in the air and lean on your elbows as you began to suck on his tip in front of him. 

He grunted when your lips sealed around his tip and began taking him down your throat, “Fuck… your mouth feels so good ‘round this cock…” he gathered your hair up in his hands and held your hair back for you as you continued to suck him off, getting further and further down our throat. He looked down and groaned, smirking, your eyes already looking up at him, “Fuck you look so hot like this… cock in your mouth, ass in the air…” he clenched his teeth and reached forward, to grab your ass, and shake it in his grasp. 

He began to rock his hips gently down your throat and move his fingers down your thong seam, feeling how wet you were, “Fuck baby, you’re such a good girl, cummin' on your fingers to get ready to take me…” he slapped your ass softly, earning a moan from you which caused him to whine as the vibrations around his cock almost became too much. 

He sat up and let go of your hair, which for you meant to take yourself off his cock, “Mmm fuck, my turn…” Joel grinned down at you and softly pinched your chin between his thumb and forefinger, bringing you back up to him, he leaned in and kissed your lips deeply then sucked on your bottom lip and pulled away, making you moan and grin. 

“Lay on your back…” he said lowly, panting softly. 

You scooted backward a little and then lay on your back, head on the pillows. Looking up at him, you breathed slowly and controlled. 

He slowly ran his hands down your thighs and touched the fabric sitting on your hips, hooking his fingers under it, “Hips up beautiful…” he requested. 

You lifted your hips and he pulled your thong off, smirking as he leaned over and opened his nightstand drawer, putting them inside and shutting it, “Those are mind now…” he leaned back up and gently spread your legs before backing his knees up and laying down on his stomach, nestling his head between your thighs, kissing them softly. 

He hummed and smiled as he continued to kiss them, “I only have one request…” he said into your skin. 

You looked down at him and your breathing sped up with him now between your legs, ready to devour your core. 

“You are not to hold back any of those sweet sounds that come from that beautiful mouth of yours…” he looked up at you with those big brown eyes, “Tommy and Maria were so drunk on wine and whiskey they are out cold, they won’t hear a thing, you understand?” he kissed your thigh, inches away from your soaking core. 

You gasped and nodded, “No holding back…” 

He bit his lip gently and then hummed looking at the sight in front of him, “That’s a good girl…” slowly leaning in and starting to lap up what you already had to give him before taking more.

Previous chapter - Next Chapter

A/N : hehehehehehe ya’ll thirsty for more… nasty bitches 🤠 this will be continuing in chpt 9 so get readyyyy 🙂‍↕️🫦

taglist:  @sarahhxx03, @blahkateisdone, @sunnytuliptime, @pedroscurls, @docharleythegeekqueen

[solarpire]

re: your tags on the poc/character post

I'm sorry but did. we watch the same Arcane

Ok so you've activated my rant card (I mean this with joy, I love talking about this kind of thing and I do enjoy the show they just did like abysmally for representation)

Here is why ekko rings as an empty/token character to me:

1. We get no personal motivations for him. We had three whole episodes of character setup for our characters. By the time we get to progress day, we solidly know what every character is about, and why seven years later they would end up in the places they did. Except for ekko. Sure he lost benzo, but what does that mean? All we ever see from that is him crying with vi. Why is he running the firelights? Did he start this group? What got him passionate enough to start all this? How did he find the tree? Why is he so jaded now? How does he feel about how things went down for vi and powder? Why does he hate jinx? (For those who dont know, that last one was apparently Supposed to be answered, but was among one of the MANY ekko scenes they decided to cut for time.) Genuinely we get better character drive for Marcus. We barely get to know his thoughts on anything, let alone see his downtime. The only exception to that is when hes playing at being someone else in the au episode. Which leads me into my next point-

2. He is always only used as a plot piece for the white characters. We only see him in the au in service of having an au episode, furthering jinxs plotline, and getting his time power in time to kind of help stop victor. In the game he always had it, he would use it as a kid to make dinners with his family last longer, and worked on furthering it when he was older to save his friend, that he ended up not being able to save in the end. That's interesting! That's something for him to have on his own, that's a driving force for why hes doing things. And when this

Is genuinely the best characterization for him? Theres a problem. (He also falls into the black hair tropes of white hair and that specific short dreads with the side shave look to make him look cool, but since the white hair was a problem with the original character design in a load bearing way, and dreads do work for his character I dont necessarily consider them the worst offenses. Can we Please explore some other hair styles though I swear his look is begging for some twists, or maybe some box braids). And otherwise, his screen time is next to nothing. I want to say season one he gets less than ten minutes total. They treat him as if hes a main character to further the plot, but the moment it doesnt matter to the more important main characters hes discarded.

3. He doesnt get to be questioned. Every single character in this show is grey in some way, except for ekko. He is lorded as an absolute moral good by the show, but we dont actually get to see what that means. We barely actually get to know how he feels about shimmer divorced from silco, let alone any of his politics in regard to zauns freedom. Hes put on a pedestal of "the good guy" without actually letting that mean or accomplish anything aside from being something pretty to look at. A token. They almost do better by sevika, if they didnt fully ignore her after the parts they needed her for in the first half of season 2, not let her mourn or even find out about the people she cared about dying, didn't let her participate in the last episode, and then did her the disservice of being the only zaunite voice on the council when it runs on majority vote (I'm sorry there is No fucking way shes rolling over and taking that deal after how much shes devoted to fighting for zaun)

4. HE FUCKING WORKS WITH THE COLONIZER OF ZAUN AS A FRIEND AND MENTOR. HELLO. I have so many problems with how heimerdinger was portrayed as a constant voice of reason, but the fact that in ADDITION to that they make him buddy buddy with ekko? Makes it incredibly clear that they have no fucking idea what they're saying.

All in all, on the surface? Ekkos awesome! Ekko is really cool and fighting for an important cause! But the moment you look past that there is almost nothing to him character wise. And when hes the only black character they use culturally black ties for outside of hair, and the only main black zaunite character? It rubs me wrong.

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Help, I Reincarnated as the Female Lead's Sister-in-Law!

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Chapter 13

‘Slight’ Yandere! Dion Agriche x Fem! Reader

Arranged marriage AU

Interact with this post to be on tag list. The DNI is on it so read that before anything.

NOTE: I gave up on looking for computer error codes (I do not understand what they stand for in full detail, I’m just a silly little guy), so sorry if I used the wrong one.

Warnings: toxic marriage/relationship general yandere themes, obsessive and possessive themes/possible actions/behavior, blood, blood drinking (kinda? Not really, but JUST in case), blood, self-harm (biting thumb hard enough that it’s implies the wound reopened), violence (kicking Dion in the chest), thoughts of violence (thinking of kicking Dion’s face), vomit, panic attack, mention of suicide but Reader is NOT suicidal, one or two suggestive lines, kinda implied future violence (not towards Reader OR her family for plot reasons), mention of the Reader becoming a 'doll'.Please tell me if I missed any.

Reader is NOT having a good time as usual. Pray for her. 

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE ANY OF THE HARMFUL AND/OR DANGEROUS ACTIONS THAT MAY TAKE PLACE IN THIS PIECE OF FICTION. THESE ACTIONS AND/OR BEHAVIORS SHOULD NOT BE NORMALIZED NOR ROMANIZED AS THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND TOXIC.

MINORS/BLANK BLOGS/BLOGS THAT DO NOT INTERACT WITH FANDOM RELATED THINGS (REBLOG/COMMENT ON FICS/ART, ETC.) DNI.

= = =

You ruined your own life.

That is the conclusion you come to when you wake up with an awful hangover, head throbbing, mouth dry, nausea kicking at your stomach and mouth, entire body aching, fatigued and dizzy. 

Dry heaving as an unknown hand holds your hair back, stationed right at home in front of the all too fancy trash can, puking your guts out, hot tears rolling down your face as you have the worst morning ever. Worse than your first night, because hey, at least you weren’t on the verge of fainting, a cold sweat drowning your body, throat burning from the acid in your vomit. Too busied with vomiting, you barely register a hand gently patting your back, mind elsewhere. 

Why did I fucking drink so fucking much?

The answer is simple - you wanted a distraction before you could become a hysterical mess during the dinner last night. Still, regret is a thing, and oh boy, are you feeling it in full.

Retching, your lungs painfully take in air, upset stomach getting in the way. Sweat dribbles down your temples and face, eyes wide as your body rejects everything from last night. Your entire body trembles as a hammer painfully smashes your skull into tiny pieces. Hands clammy, you almost start to think that having a panic attack would be better than this. 

“Urk! F-fuck…,” wiping away some of the vomit that clung to your chin, your body allows you to have a moment of recovery, muscles relaxing as you pant, lungs finally taking in the air that you desperately need. Heavy eyes struggle to stay open, a small dizzy spell falling over you, headache still there. Tears stop rolling down your face as your breathing becomes steady. Everything still awfully aches, though.

Finally becoming aware of your surroundings, you notice a gentle pat against your back as someone also holds your hair back. So gentle and comforting, and automatically assuming it’s Hana, you accept the help without a word of complaint. 

Well, that is until cold shivers run down your spine, as a oh so familiar low and sleepy voice speaks, only now noticing how large the hand that was patting your back was. 

“Better?” 

Freaking out was an understatement. 

Violently scampering away, definitely not missing the touch of Dion Agriche, a terrified and horrified expression paints your face, heart running and beating fast enough it could win first place at a race. Nausea fills your entire being, but for a completely different reason now. 

A worse reason. 

Opening your mouth, words fail to leave your dry lips. You lick them, mind racing on what to say and do. In the end you spewed out nonsense that doesn’t even make sense to you.

“O-oh, u-um, Arigche, good - fuck - good day? Weather?” 

The slight twitch of his dead tired eye doesn’t help your anxiety. Had you offended him? If so, how - because he witnessed an unsightly sight? One that he decided to stay for?

Quick pants and shaky legs, you search and search and search for any type of exit - failing to remember that the heavy double doors were literally right behind you. No, instead you eye the terrace behind him and consider jumping off. 

How quick can you run? Would he stop you? No, rather would he get the wrong impression and think you were trying to commit suicide?

What then? Hand you over to his mental father or mother to use as a bloody toy? Burn your face and stitch up wounds that they created? 

“S-sorry, but -,” scooting away until your back hits something sturdy and hard, the only thing you’re capable of is stare at your arranged husband like a deer in headlights. He doesn’t crawl closer, still kneeling, an unreadable expression across his facial features. Almost like he was keeping his distance on purpose, as to not scare you away like a scared animal.

And maybe to him, you are. 

“I - I, um, didn’t mean to make a mess -” On the verge of crying from stress, you blink rapidly, unable to decide if you should look at him or close your eyes. Tears kept at bay, by reflex you bring your thumb up and -

Chomp

It hurts more than usual. Feels more raw, tongue swiping over the healing bite mark, crimson blood that resembles his eyes drawn as the taste of iron all but makes itself at home on your tastebuds. Hysterical, you cower, hoping, praying that Dion would look the other way and ignore you.

He does anything but. 

Standing only to walk over to you, kneeling once more as his larger and longer fingers force your thumb out and proceed to wrap around your wrist right after. You hiccup as he stares at it, unable to tell what he’s thinking. Maybe it’s better if you don’t.

“That’s a horrible habit you have there,” he states like it’s the morning news before he, like the crazy man he is, takes the injured digit into his mouth.

You’re too flabbergasted to react. 

Your brain fries, error code 43. 

It doesn’t reboot until moments later when his disgusting and slimy tongue runs over the wound, his saliva unfortunately soothing it just the slightest bit.

The urge to puke returns.

You jerk your hand back and he lets you. You think your expression is one of disgust, but it’s hard to tell when Dion blinks oh so calmly. Like he didn’t just shove your thumb into his mouth like the pervert he is.

But fear overrides the disgust, helplessly watching as your horrible husband comes even closer. You feel trapped between the wall - doors, actually - and his towering, intimidating figure. Without a care in the world, he wordlessly places a hand on the door slightly above your head.

You can’t fight back when he oh so gently grabs your right wrist again, inspecting your bloodied thumb. You become boneless as he licks it, all the while keeping eye contact with you.

The shivers that run down your back aren’t pleasurable. 

“You should stop this,” he says as his head tilts, like he was curious about your reaction to everything. “You’re just making it worse.”

His genuine concern sounds like nothing but threats to you. Your flight-or-fight response kicks in when the hand planted against the wall - doors - goes to  your cold and sweaty cheek. As any sane person would, you kick him straight in the chest.

And somehow, someway, it hurts you more than him. It almost feels like a brick wall, wincing while he only fucking blinks. As if finally understanding the situation, he lets go and backs off, but still in front of you. You’re on the verge of throwing up, of running past him to jump off the terrace, laughing as a fear response.

The only reason you don’t do any of it is because your body is boneless, barely able to breathe. Barely able to think. 

Neither of you talk nor move, the distant sound of footsteps and chirping birds filling the silence. He’s treating you like a scared animal while you’re treating him like a predator. Two people unable to understand the actions of the other. Two people on the opposite sides of the spectrum, their definitions of ‘loving’ completely different.

Regardless, he still tries, and maybe if you were into the possessive and obsessive type, you would have praised him. Assuming you notice and realize he didn’t plan on hurting you and was in ‘love’ with you, of course.

“D-D-Dion.” You stutter after slightly recovering from the fright, the throbbing of your thumb forgotten in the background. You can’t feel anything, really, even the cold tiles you sit on.

“Wife.” His response does little to soothe your nerves - no, rather, they freeze at his voice. 

“W-what… were you doing? I think-think I’m still half asleep, haha…” Nervously forcing out a small laugh, you truly hope that this is nothing more than a nightmare. You’d rather wake up to the sound of loud and annoying construction going on outside your apartment.

Ah, but, you weren’t in your old world, were you? Not that you could be, not when -

“Soothing it.”

“O-oh… um, you do realize you essentially drank my blood…?” It’s a miracle you’re holding a conversation without fainting. Still, the idea of jumping off the terrace doesn’t leave your head. It was a reckless plan, but there was a chance you wouldn’t die or break something, and at least would get a minute or two to yourself without him. If you weren’t caught by the guards immediately afterwards, that is. 

“And?” His head tilts, observing your reactions, like you were a science project. Scarlet eyes leave your terrified face to travel to your right thumb. A very, very small part of you want to bite it again, to bite it harder out of spite. The thought leaves when he makes eye contact with you again. 

You look away.

“That’s-that’s really unhygienic…” A whisper is all you can manage, eyes swirling as a dizzy spell falls over you again. How are you able to talk to this perverted brute?

Maybe you were only able to talk to smooth out the situation as much as you could. Or maybe your mouth was just running on its own, hoping this is what he wanted. Why else would he do such a thing? Aside from satisfying his sadistic and perverted urges, that is. 

All you want is to go home.

“So?” His head tilts, jet black hair falling into his scarlet eyes, like he expected you to accept his ‘treatment’ to at least some degree.

“I-I mean, it’s rather-rather…disgusting, is it not?” Holding your right hand close to your chest, left one wrapped around your wrist, you hold your breath. You can’t think straight, unable to decide on staying or running away. To keep talking or go silent as a mouse. 

He blinks before saying, “Not if it’s you.” 

Error code 43. 

Error code 43.

Request for maintenance. 

Maintenance needed to continue functions. 

Ever so slightly, a grin tugs at his lips at your flabbergasted expression. Little do you know that your husband doesn’t like seeing you scared, but he enjoys making you speechless, mind blank. Now, if only he could do that to you in other ways…

No. This isn’t the time to think about such things, he mentally scolds himself. Truly out of character for him to even think about such a thing.

“Is that so hard to believe?” He questions after a bit, once your mind is working again.

“H-huh? Wait - this - don’t play with me, please…,” you beg while shaking your head. Your breathing speeds up again, heavier than it was moments ago. Your feet firmly plant themselves flat on the floor. 

You think about kicking his face this time, giving you some time to run before the shock wears off. 

“I’m not,” carefully and slowly, he leans in closer, gently holding the back of your neck like it’s his favorite thing to do. He pulls you closer and closer until he’s able to whisper in your ear, hot breath hitting it. He whispers -

“I mean it, really. You should stop assuming I’ll eventually throw you away.”

If the circumstances were different, if this was a healthy marriage, if this was a loving marriage, it would have been romantic. But because you’re married into the Agriche family, because your husband is Dion Agriche, it sounds like he’s trapping you in a cage, throwing away the key.

And in a way, he is, not wanting to let his pretty, lovely wife to part ways with him. 

Really, he’s not sure of how much longer he can keep himself in check - you drive him crazy and you don’t even know it. An obsessive and possessive husband with a scared wife, who will  one day, realize she has him tied around her pretty little finger. At the cost of her own loose collar in his hand, two people unable to escape the other. 

It’s awful, it’s insane, but who could blame him?

You’re just too lovely to pass and give up.

May God bless the poor soul who’s stupid enough to try.

It’s funny, really - the harder he tries to not drive you away, the more he does.

“You’re starting to hurt my feelings by doing so, (Name).”

  

Tag List: @tiny-mimi

[justhereforsubsevika]

tw, sorry if this is a little sensitive but can you do one where sevika deals with a suicidal reader? I've been going thru alot recently and it would be nice to have a fic abt it ^^

TW mentions of SH and suicidal thoughts/attempts

Yes ofc, sorry if this is inaccurate to anyone, I'm drawing from my own experience here

"Oh honey, I..." Sevika looks down at your wrist. You cringe and look away, look anywhere, a pit in your stomach that deepens, seems to hollow out and drain you of your insides. "It's nothing, I'm fine," you attempt, but tears prick at your eyes before you can stop them. You can't retract your arm because Sevi's holding it there, her strength prevailing over yours. "It's not... baby did I do something?"

The question breaks you, has you crumpling to the ground. Of course she'd blame herself, everything's always her fault. She joins you on the floor, bundling you up in her arms. You feel tears fall onto the top of your head, her lips pressing kisses wherever she can manage. You can tell she's panicking, and it makes the hole in your stomach worsen.

"Can you tell me-"

"Can we not... can we not talk about it. Just this moment." You say weakly, your tears gathering on her shoulder. She huffs out a breath, tucking your head into her neck. "I'll make some tea. Go lay down baby."

*****

She flicks on the lights in the bedroom and sits at the foot of the bed, handing you a mug filled with your perfect brew. You smile at how well she knows you, the colour just right, the sweetness perfect.

"Tell me?" She tries, offering you a comforting smile.

"I just... I haven't been feeling right... again... and I'm... I just think, maybe.... you know... it'd be easier if I just... If I wasn't around." You say it so quietly, so slowly, you're unsure if you were even intelligible. She nods and sets your cups down onto the nightstand, gathering you up in her arms again like she has to prove to herself that you are, infact, still around. She stays like this for a while, swaying you gently, staring into space.

"Baby," she starts, her voice catching in her throat, "I can't lose you. Maybe that's the most selfish thing to say to someone who wants to... yeah, well, if my being selfish keeps you around then I'm going to be selfish. I need to hear that stupid laugh when I tell a dad joke that doesn't land with anyone but you. I need to smell burning in the morning of every valentines because you've attempted to cook. I need to feel obligated to take a picture of every cat I see on my way to and from work." She sighs and turns to look at you.

"I have lost so much fucking family," tears start to roll down her cheeks, "you and Vi are all I have. I will do anything to keep you with me. I don't care if I have to stay up 24 hours a day to ensure you're not hurting yourself. I don't care if I have to follow you around like your shadow. Baby, you can't leave me. You're the most precious thing I know."

You sob into her chest, body wracked with guilt that you've put her through this. "I'm sorry, Sevi honey I'm so sorry,"

"Don't apologise, don't you fucking dare apologise. I'm so proud of you for telling me honey, now I know, now we can get help can't we?" You nod against her and hold her closer. You know she won't make it all better, make it all go away, but you feel slightly more whole knowing she'll be there to lift you up, there to hold your hand.

If you're in the UK you can contact Switchboard to talk about these thoughts, they're an lgbtq+ charity so will suit your needs if that's what's brought on your feelings.

There are tons of places to call. And I know you feel alone, G-d do I know that feeling, but you aren't. You have people who care about you. You have one in me. G-d bless and stay safe sweetheart.

[kuroosatoru]

let me love you - ceo!toji x fem!reader

based on 'let me love you' by ari ft. lil wayne and practice by drake // wc: 795

cw: mentions of: knives, overdose, harassment.. not proofread too good lol

you toss the last moving box inside of your new apartment and thanked your mother for helping you move once again. you guys weren't as close anymore but she still would be there for you in an instant. the place wasn't luxurious by any means, but you just needed a decent place to stay while you live through the last bit of your savings.

you had moved across the city to get away from your now ex boyfriend, who had turned into someone else overnight. his constant harassment was starting to get to you after he had called you from his now fourth 'new' phone number, and you had reached the point where you didn't answer any unknown number unless you were waiting on a call back from a job interview.

-

it had been a few months now and your money was running low, so you decided to finally look around for something somewhat enjoyable. after waiting a week, you had gotten a phone call from what you had assumed to be your ex begging to apologize for what he had done to you over a year ago. to your relief, it was a secretary opening reaching back out.

"hello this is sato with fushiguro industries homebase. is this miss y/n?"

"this is she. how are you?" if your memory was serving you correctly, sato was the young man who was the assistant to toji fushiguro himself.

"i'm better now, thank you. i'm reaching out on mr. fushiguro's behalf to offer you our secretary position, are you still available?"

a jolt of excitement ran through your spine, "yes i am," you reply quickly, trying to not sound too excited. the job was offering an honorable 55k a year and you mostly had to set up appointments and take calls for toji as he had his son handling the other intricacies of the job, "when can i start?"

"mister fushiguro needs you here at 6:30am monday. if you need transportation mr.fushiguro offered to send a car out to you," sato said with a little more pep in his tone.

"i will take him up on that, thank you sato." you say, a smile sneaking onto your face at the thought of your future.

"you're welcome miss y/n. see you monday." sato replied, ending the call.

you decided to end your night with a glass of red wine and called your mom to tell her the news the next morning.

-

"i thought i told you y/n? you can't ruin my life like this, i won't be anything without you. i didn't mean to, i promise you i won't do that ever again." he had gone off the deep end about a month ago after deciding to go on a ski trip with his friends and nearly overdosed after showing up at your job and threating your boss with a knife.

you cringe, "i'm ruining your life? you ruined mine when you took everything away from me by taking me away from my family and getting me fired from my job by being a damn nutcase!"

you have had enough of his games and of his empty promises to get help, and to be honest, you didn't really care what happened to him anymore. "yuma, you can do whatever the hell you want with your life. all i know is that i'm no longer going to be part of whatever sick games you're playing."

you wake up in a cold sweat, unaware of the torture your mind was going to put you through in your dreams, and you get into the shower. it was finally monday. even though you only had to wait three days, but it had felt like forever due to your excitment to start something new. after a quick shower, you put on your makeup, and take a second to ground yourself before putting on your outfit and heading out the main door to the car toji had sent out to get you. it screamed money and success and you told yourself you wouldn't get too used to it.

after a short drive, you arrive to the skyscraper of an office that was fushi llc. and hoped you wouldn't have to be too high up. the building smelled woodsy and clean and to your surprise, was actually quite beautiful inside despite its brutish exterior.

"ah! there she is, ms.y/n." sato exclaimed, happy to see you had made it in.

you smile at him tenderly, "hi sato, is this where i'll be staying?" you ask, glancing down at the welcome desk in front of you.

"this is megumi's area; he's who you'll be working with. please follow me. " sato replies, making his way towards the elevator and hitting the call button.

notes: sorry if it's a little rough, if it helps, the next part WILL be longer <3 i haven't written something in so long. im happy to be back and im so excited to finish this lil series. stay safe out there xoxo, jib.