#someone tell me why the fuck i almost put a sneeze tag only to see sneeze kink??

[wwaddless]

my dad just asked me why we say bless you after we sneeze and i said "so you don't get jesus in your heart"

[morathicain]

Okay I'm back because this one won't leave my brain and I'm dying to know

"Hyung"

Like I cannot for the life of me think of who this is for, so please tell me.

Also please, because I'm greedy -

"A fluffy menace"

I hope you're having a lovely amazing beautiful day! 💜🌻

Hello my dear and thank you for the ask! =^^= ALSO FOR THE GIFS, aaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAHHHH!

Also Ehehehe, you chose well XD

"Hyung" is actually a story for Semantic Error! It's basically Sangwoo being fascinated by calling Jaeyoung "Hyung" and what it does to himself but also finding out what it does to Jaeyoung. It's already over 1k long and rereading for the tag game made me want to go back in but I don't know where to lead it. Probably to a Jaeyoung driven to insanity by Sangwoo poking and poking till he gets the overwhelming consequences for it and Sangwo very much panicking but also wanting all of it. It's also set after he kissed a (not so much) sleeping Jaeyoung but before they kissed again in the bar. Here's an excerpt:

Calling his senior Hyung, finally, had been an act of desperation. Of trying. Of daring. Because he hadn’t known what else to do. How to get Jaeyoung’s attention. How to make him realise that this was a good plan. That he needed to come back. And Sangwoo needed him to come back. To make the game, to settle his restlessness, to get this weird feeling in his stomach and hands out. So, he’d said it, hoping it would open a door he’d never tried to open before and it had worked instantly. Not so much that Jaeyoung had agreed instantly, but his everything had changed and Sangwoo had watched it, had watched every little piece of it like a scientist. The widening of Jaeyoung’s eyes, the small stutter to his breath, the suddenly rising intensity in his eyes, the way he’d put down his phone. Instantly. He’d become obsessed with it. He’d truly become addicted to watching Jaeyoung each time he was being called Hyung. And:

It was probably his own fault for behaving differently. For being skitterish, for avoiding eye contact, for ... “Hyung”, he wet his lips but didn’t turn his eyes away from the computer. There was a moment of silence, enough for someone to take a deep breath or swallow whatever they were feeling. Enough for Sangwoo to think about his next step. “Yes?” There was no next step. “Hyung.” It was as if his tongue couldn’t form any other words anymore, got stuck in a loop. “What?” He couldn’t decipher what the tone of Jaeyoung’s voice was meant to say. Was he patient? Impatient? Annoyed? Curious? “Hyung.” He wanted to point something out on the screen, wanted to ask him something small, senseless, just to cover up the mess in his head. And he wanted to run, but he couldn’t too stuck to this place. To the addiction of trying harder. Of crossing the line with no coming back. Seeing where this would lead him. Instead of an answer, there was only a shaky intake to be heard.

"A fluffy menace" though, is a 3wbf story of Neo being turned into a BIG, fluffy dog by some kind of witch. Sadly, Shin is allergic and therefore somewhat grumpy, but Miw is rather happy. Well, at least until they realise there's no way of turning him back and then they go on a supernatural adventure to turn him back. Like visit some shrines etc. I don' have all the details planned yet but I love the idea of Neo as a big, happy doggo too much to let it drop XD And now, here's an excerpt:

Somehow, some way, Neo had turned into a dog. They didn’t know why it had happened, who was responsible for it and when exactly, but when they woke up this morning, there had been a big, fluffy dog in Neo’s place, covered by Neo’s clothes, snoring happily in their midst. They’d woken up with a scream and a sneeze, Shin almost toppling out of the bed driven by his allergies. First, they’d believed it to be a prank. The most elaborate prank to ever prank, but it was possible, okay? More plausible for sure than believing that Neo had turned into a fucking dog.

Anygay, thanks for asking about those two =^^=

More wip titles you can ask about

[justreadingfics]

It’s a Deal (Chapter 7)

Chapter Summary: How you and Bucky feel about the presence of your ex-boyfriend.  

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 4.3k

Warnings:+18 only, mention to smut, overdrinking, embarrassing behavior due alcohol consumption, Natasha knows stuff, ex-boyfriend, minor jealousy, minor angst, floof, Bucky has a somewhat creep confession, but give him a break, he’s never been in love.

A/N: Another smutless one, I hope you don’t mind. Thank you to my sweet Les for having my back. The link to my masterlist, where you can find the other chapters, is on my description. Feedback is highly appreciated.

Tag list for this story is closed.  

Previously:

Your shoulder brushes against him as you walk past Bucky and he turns his body around, following you with his gaze. He takes a long sip of his drink and places a hand inside his pocket, watching as you approach your ex-boyfriend.  

He tries hard to bury deep down inside him the tug on his chest.

“Oh, fuck…”

Natasha’s curse makes him turn to her and he realizes she’s been watching him, with a dumbfounded expression he’s not used to see on her face.

“What?”

She scoffs and shakes her head, seeming in an estate of disbelief, “This whole time I’d been worried with the wrong person.”

No point. Bucky sees absolutely no point in trying to make it like there isn’t  turmoil twisting inside of him. Not for Natasha, anyway, it would be to no avail. Also, he’s pretty sure there’s a kicked puppy look on his face to make it harder for him to put on any kind of façade.

“Fuck,” he sighs and run his hand harshly over his face, “What the hell is this, Natasha?” He whines, failing at trying to not sound as helpless as he does.

“You tell me, buddy.” She points at him with her glass of vodka, tilting her head with interest.

“Shit,” he exhales, looking down, before his face snaps up at her, “I’m … just weird, I’m not myself these days.” Bucky bites his lower lip as if trying to somehow refrain from spilling the words, but he just can’t, he’s dying to let it all out. He steps closer to her and lowers his voice as much as he can with the loud music beating around them, “I’ve spent almost every day of the last month with her. I have absolutely no desire to see or think of another woman and I have to restrain myself constantly, cause if I had it my way I would call her every five minutes to check in on her, and… and when I’m thinking about her - which is all the time, I fucking swear - I wonder if she’s thinking of me, and now? I mean, right now? I feel like snatching the blade right now on my ankle and shooting it right on that fella’s throat.” Finally taking a breath after his rambling, he points in your direction, before turning to see you right when you’re letting out a small laugh at something the punk has said.

“Wow…” Natasha lets out a whistle.

“A few days ago,” he turns back to his friend, “I snuck into her closet to find out the name of her perfume. And you know what I did next?  I bought a large bottle for myself, like a fucking creep,” sheer frustration plasters on his tone.     

“Oh my…,” Natasha snorts at the same time a mix of incredulity and amusement shines on her eyes, “That’s definitely creepy and it’s even worse than I imagined. The almighty Bucky Barnes, the I’m a whore and proud,” she thickens her voice playfully, moving her arms in a mimicking way, “The I don’t do romance and attachments king is a tiny lost puppy with big blue heart eyes, aww,” she inclines her head as if she’s thinking of him as exactly how she’s just described him.

Bucky tries but he can’t actually find the amusement in all of that. The fact one single woman is making him feel that way is entirely new, unpredictable and… scary as hell. He has no clue where to go from there.

Natasha seems to swiftly catch on his little inner self torment and, after letting out a deep sigh, she puts on a small smile and shakes her head, “Don’t worry Bucky, it’s probably a crush. A big one. But only a crush,” she places her hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze, “Y/n is one of my best friends and I know how delightful it is to be beside her. Maybe you’re just infatuated…”

“Maybe…” he exhales and shrugs, “I wouldn’t know… all I know is I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Not that I remember…. but I’m pretty sure I would.” He looks at you again while you’re still talking to the Eddie guy.  

“They have history,” Natasha says in a kind voice, following your gaze.

“I know.”

“He was her first and only boyfriend.”

“I know.”

“She thought she was going to marry him.”

“Damn Nat…” he breathes out his frustration, dropping his head for a moment, before raising his downcast gaze at her again, “Yeah, I know that, too.”

“But you’re Bucky fucking Barnes,” she snaps in a more cheerful voice shaking his arm with a enthusiastic force, “Don’t forget that, buddy,” she shoots him a warning glare, “Also, I’ve never seen a brighter smile on that woman than when she’s talking about you,” she beams.   

Bucky’s heart jumps and a quick breathy smile surges on his lips before he takes in a shuddering breath, “I’m not sure what I should do, though.”

“Well, figure it out,” she lets go of his arm and taps on it, “My advice for the night if you should accept it is let it flow,” she shrugs. “Go on with your thing and see what happens. Just try not to hurt you or her on your way, though,” Nat warns.

“I’m not even sure I-Wait,” he frowns after his gaze is drawn to the spot where you are again, “Did that fucker just leave her alone?”

He instantly struts towards you, ignoring Nat’s snicker.

~~~

“Hey,” you smile, gulping down the nervousness down your throat as you approach your ex-boyfriend. The one you haven’t seen ever since he broke up with you months ago.

“Hey,” he offers you a tight but kind smile back.

You halt on your way, the awkwardness building up a barrier on your way as you’re not sure what to do next. Should you give him your hand to shake? Hug him? Do nothing at all? Not once before you had thought that moment would play out between you and Eddie.

But he seems a bit more resolved than you and shrugs, leaning forward and wrapping an arm around your shoulders, “Congratulations again,” he says, still holding you, “You’re the best and most hard working person I know, you deserve it.”

The small smile in your lips grows wider and you accept the compliment, relieved that the awkwardness seems to be tamed. While you’re so close to him after all that time, you notice he’s wearing the same perfume he’s been wearing for years, the one which would make you sneeze all the time, but you never really said anything.

“Thank you,” you lean back, sniffing discreetly to suppress the sneeze threatening to come out, “I’m happy you could make it,” you add. The fact he’s arrived all by himself grasps your interest, considering how everyone around you would tell you he was probably seeing someone else… however, if he did have someone, he wouldn’t bring them to your party, would he?

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it,” he says with a gentle tone, but the formality is still there, you notice.  

You two engage in some small conversation and you can’t help but to take him in and realize that, just like the perfume, Eddie looks exactly the same with everything else. The same hairstyle, same grey t-shirt you gifted him on your last Christmas together, the same constant half smile while he talks… he still speaks quietly, letting out just a few small words, which has always forced you to be the one to push on the conversations…

It’s… familiar… even comfortable, you dare say. But if you’re going to be honest with your own feelings, ever since he walked away, you thought you would be yearning to feel that familiarity again, that it would lead you to a sense of… home.

Why it isn’t quite like that, though?

“You look different,” he says as the subjects of small talk seem to come to an ending point.  

You put your previous thoughts aside for later consideration.

“Oh…Different good or bad?” you ask, tilting your head with a small pull in the corner of your lips.

“I don’t know... just…different, I guess,” he frowns and quickly puts on that half smile of his.

“Oh, well… it’s been a while…“

“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” he says, regarding you with a wondering look in his eyes that makes you shift on your knees, “Listen,” he clears his throat, “I was wondering if we could meet to talk one of these days.”

“Oh,” you draw in a breath. Talking to him, having a real conversation, is something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. It still feels like you don’t fully understand why you’re broken-up. Regardless the time it’s passed, you still feel attached to him somehow, like, no matter how exciting and new, you’re now living someone else’s life and not the one you had planned for you years ago.

“I mean,” he adds before you can give him a proper answer, “We still need to figure out what to do about the condo.”

The words are like cold water thrown at your face. There you are, thinking he wanted to talk about your relationship, but what’s really on his mind is the condo you’ve bought together. Swiftly, you work on putting a small smile on your face, “Yeah… sure, you’re right,” you nod.

“Hey! Eddie!”

Both of you look towards the female voice and your eyes fall upon a beautiful young woman you recognize as one of the members of SHIELD’s tech team. You’ve worked with her on a joined project of the two organizations before. Chloe… you believe her name is Chloe.

She’s waving at Eddie excitedly, calling him over the little group she’s with. She doesn’t seem to notice you’re standing next to him until her gaze meets yours. The wide grin on her face drops into a quick cringe before she nods in a respectful manner and shifts her look away, whispering something at one of the guys in the group.

When you set your attention back on Eddie, you tighten your lips just as you notice how the bone on his throat bobs right before his flustered eyes meet yours again.

“I-I, ahm, gotta go,” he runs his hand on the nape of his neck, “Can I call you later?”

“Yeah, sure.” Your voice comes out calm and controlled.

“It was good to see you,” he says, before placing his hand on your shoulder, “Congratulations again.”

After you give him a small nod as a thank you, keeping the tight smile on your face matching his, he walks away towards the group and the woman. The one your friends kept warning you about, apparently, given how uncomfortable he seemed to be in front of you after you saw her. As soon as he gets there, you see the two of them talking in hushed words. He keeps a safe distance from her, but his hand on her arm is where your gaze sticks on. 

You don’t have the slightest idea of what’s happening with your feelings right now. Minutes ago you were realizing the familiarity of Eddie wasn’t what you expected it to be anymore, but now, seeing him so close to someone else… a beautiful woman, to be more specific, with her long black straightened hair and fancy blue dress holding each one of her beautiful curves…It just crushes you.  A lump grows in your throat and while your gaze flicks around, you feel small… lost… picturing ways you could flee away from your own party at the same time ten years of your life flash in your mind.

The cold, yet gentle touch of metal in your elbow is what takes you out of your own head, “Hey, everything alright?” says the silky and soothing voice.

Your gaze meets Bucky’s while he stares at you with concerned eyes. Those gorgeous blue eyes of his…There’s already a bit less  turbulence inside your chest and mind. You think nothing of it, though.

“Yeah, yeah…” you smile, “He, ahm… Some friends called him. He had to go.”

Bucky just lets out a hum – which sounds more like a groan – staring over your shoulder to where the little group stands.

“He said he wants to talk…“ you start, and don’t see when Bucky’s breath hatches catches on his throat, his eyes back on you, “About the condo,” you press your lips, “He said he’ll call me.”

While your gaze gets lost ahead, you have no idea that the sadness in them pinches deep inside Bucky’s chest. If you could read Bucky’s mind at that moment, you would find out that the fact your reencounter with your ex-boyfriend hadn’t ended up in some sort of hope for reconciliation hasn’t left him sad at all, but the lost look in your eyes… makes him wanna hold you in his arms and never let go. Not before punching a douche in the face, of course.

“Oh, come on, sweetheart,” he wraps his arm around your shoulder, side hugging and pulling you closer to him, “You’re the fucking boss now and, look around, ” he gestures with his glass of whiskey to the crowded and jazzing place, ”You have a damn Stark party just for you. We’re all here to celebrate the badass motherfucker you are. You’re not just going to let anything ruin your night, will you?” The corner of his eyes crinkle as he grins at you.

You let out a small laugh, the heaviness inside you slowly slipping out of your body as you allow yourself to synchronize with Bucky’s vibe. You can always trust  the upbeat way he presents the world to you to lift whatever mood of yours up.  You look down at your empty glass and shrugs, “I might need a refill, though…or two,” you shoot him a warning look.  

Bucky’s smile stretches even wider and he lets go of your shoulders to offer his arm, nodding towards the bar, “Shall we?”

You gladly accept his suggestion by wrapping your hand around his elbow and walking with him, not even noticing that Eddie’s gaze follows you with piqued interest.

~~~

Quite a few more drinks later and after listening to Tony’s very nice and very Tony speech on his toast to honor you, you’re already fully invested in your party again. Bucky stays by your side most of the time, but you also come across with a lot of your friends from work and a few others, who are all more than happy to put you high on a pedestal for your promotion and party with you. It stings a bit when Camilla, your friend from work, tells you she heard Eddie and Chole are really together, but two or three more drinks after, you end up hitting the dance floor with a few friends by your side, not even seeing when Eddie leaves the party early, right before Chloe.

You’re happy to see that Amanda, one of Bucky’s friends you met that night in the club, has made it to the party, but you’re already too tipsy and it slips from your attention when she comments on how Bucky has been quite distant from her and the other girls for almost a month now.

If you’re going to be honest, you end up not truly noticing a lot of stuff since you’ve been drinking a great deal more than you’re used to, probably due the drill of having a kickass party thrown for you mixed with the unexpected sight of Eddie with a potential new girl - after months without seeing him. As the alcohol does its thing in your senses, you don’t notice the way Bucky looks at you, the way he holds you a little bit stronger when you’re dancing together, how he glares at the guys who tries to approach you or the fact he only leaves your side when he knows you’re comfortable and safe.

All you see and feel now is the music and the lights as you sway your hips to the beats. The party is almost coming to an end, but there’s still a small crowd of people enjoying their last moments there. The alcohol, the music and your friends, more precisely Camilla, Olivia, Amanda and Nat – the last two in the middle of a flirting contest you fail to notice, as well – are the ones around you. The buzz clouds your mind in a delicious way until your back bumps into a hard wall. Your weakened knees give in but before you hit the floor the wall wraps around you and holds you still.

Oh, you know that hard wall of muscles… You know it pretty well.

“Hey, there.” A foolish smile plasters on your lips at the same time the back of your head leans against the wall so you can see his face. His gorgeous and ungodly sexy face, “Your face is sexy,” you decide it is a very good idea to tell him that now.

“That right?” Bucky smirks, holding your gaze.

“Oh, yeah,” you clumsily turn around to face him, prompting him to grab you tighter since you stumble a bit on your toes. You curl the hand holding your glass around his neck, “And you’re big, too,” you don’t even notice but you’re a slurring mess as you speak and look to see your running hand down his broad chest, roughly probing his muscles, “Very, very big,” you exaggerate a sultry tone, the alcohol erasing any kind of subtleness or refinement in you or the notion that there are people around you, while your hand explores further down his body to say it’s not just about his muscles you’re talking about.

“Sweetheart.” Not making a big fuss about it, he gently grabs your wrist over his lower stomach to place it around his neck along with the other one, ”I’m very flattered to hear that, you’re one very nice piece of ass yourself, too,” he engages with you, keeping the playful tone.

You let out a girlish giggle, turning your face towards your friends, the trio now whispering and laughing among themselves as they watch the both of you, “He said I have a nice ass,” you shout, not realizing how loud you actually are as you lift and shake your hips, making your friends laugh harder and causing you to trip on your toes once again. But of course Bucky catches you before you fall.

“How many drinks, so far, huh?” Bucky chuckles, keeping the hold of his arms and eyes on you.

“Three or four,” you answer with nonchalance, bringing the glass to your lips as you hold yourself on his neck, only to pout when you notice it’s empty.

Your friends scoff at your lie behind you, “You can add at least ten more to that count, sweetheart,” Natasha shouts from behind you, punctuating the word sweetheart with a teasing pull on her mouth. 

You make a dismissive face only Bucky can see, “Nonsense, check out what I can do,“ You step back from Bucky with the intention to put on a yoga pose you’re sure will convince your friends of how ok and steady you are and as soon as you lift your leg, you trip again and this time Bucky is not fast enough to catch you before your ass hit the floor.

The four of them rush to help you out as tears fall down from your eyes at how much you’re laughing, holding your glass up. It’s Bucky who ends up picking you up, though.

He and your friends shower you with questions to check if you’re ok but it all falls like a blur sound to your years.

“Ok, I guess it was a bit more than three or five,” ignoring the curious eyes around your group, you laugh making an ok sign with your hands before your stomach churns and you grimace, placing your hand over it, “Oh…” your face drops.

 “Alright, come one, let’s go,” Bucky supports you with his hands and urges you to walk with him.

“Where are you taking me?” You frown, sounding almost offended as he takes your glass from you and hands it to Natasha, gently pulling you along.

“My place… let’s freshen up, come on,” Bucky patiently says, nodding at the girls to say goodbye, who just nod back, knowing you would be in good hands.  

“Ooooo, bye girls, we’re going to his place to freshen up,” you wink exaggeratedly and make air quotations with your fingers, addressing your friends as you clumsily walk away with Bucky.

~~~

“Bridal style,” you loudly announce stretching your hands and legs to the air as soon as he steps inside his living room with you in his arms.

Bucky can’t help but laugh as a snorting giggle follows your words. If he had his way he would’ve carried you from the party, but he didn’t want to attract even more attention to your state. So, on the second trip on your own feet inside the elevator he picked you up. It would be easier that way.

Bucky carefully puts you standing on the floor and, as soon as he’s convinced you can stand on your feet without stumbling or falling, he turns to shut the door, only to have you jumping on him as soon as he faces you.

“Hey, hey,” he manages to say softly, placing his hands on your hips as you shower his mouth and face with sloppy kisses which taste strongly like fancy champagne.

“What? Let’s freshen up,” you answer in a log slur, dragging your lips on anything of him you can reach.

Bucky laughs, pushing you away with a gentle yet steady touch, looking deep into your eyes, “That’s not what I meant… not when you had so much to drink, sweetheart.” He flicks his thumb on your chin.

It takes a moment or two, but realization – and disappointment- finally dawns on your face, “Oh… you meant freshen up for real…” You shut your eyes and tap your hand on your forehead.

Bucky thinks you’re too damn cute for your own good.

You focus on him again, “Are you sure, though?” You insist, shoving a finger in your mouth and tilting your hips, putting on before him the unsexist pose Bucky has ever seen.

Yet, it’s the most adorable thing and his annoying heart swells inside his chest for you as you keep your attempts of seducing him, “Yeah, I’m sure,” he nods unrelentingly, holding back a laugh and waiting to see the follow up of your shenanigans.

“But I’m horny and I wanted to suck your big dick,” you pout, crossing your arms and thumping your foot against the floor.

Bucky takes in a deep breath. He is only human and can’t help that his poor cock twitches at your bratty whine. But your glossy half open eyes and dragged voice reminds him he’s the only one sober enough to make decisions in the room and therefore, his buddy down there needs to chill, “I’ll be more than happy to allow you to do so,” he’s amused when your face light up, “But not tonight, sweetheart,” he puts his hands on your shoulders and turns you towards the kitchen, not without spotting the dirty look you give him.

“You’re no fun,” you complain, barely able to put one foot in front of the other before you stop and swirl around, trusting on his strong hold to not let you fall wearing a devilish little smirk on your face.  

Bucky cocks an eyebrow, waiting for whatever mischievous pearl will come out of your lips now.

“What if…” you start before a hiccup interrupts you, “I show you my boobies?” You offer, leaning over and pressing your breasts together through your dress, “You looove my boobies,” you wiggle your eyebrows suggestively even if your eyelids can’t even remain wide open.

“I do love your boobies,” Bucky can’t deny, not hiding his amusement.  

Apparently, that’s all you need to hear before you throw yourself on him again. Bucky swiftly catches you with a huff, but you can’t do much more than circle your arms around his neck and rest your head on him.

“Love your muscles,” you mumble quietly against him, “There are so many of them.”

“Come on, sweetheart,” Bucky tries, “As much as I love your boobies and you love my muscles, now it’s not the time. Now it’s time to get you some water, maybe a sandwich, huh? Then I can prepare you a shower and you can rest a bit and… Y/N?” Bucky calls when you’re too quiet- not even making a sex innuendo when he mentions a shower.

He listens a not so soft snore as a response and looks down to see you completely dozed, with your mouth agape against his chest. He sighs… still the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, goddammit.

“Guess we can skip right to the resting, then,” he whispers through a fond smile.

Taking you in his arms he walks towards his bedroom and places you on his bed. You only stir a bit when he gently removes your shimmery and apparently uncomfortable dress and unties your heels. He dresses you in a t-shirt of his so you can rest comfortably. He manages to make you drink a little bit of water, to which you whine graciously enough, and, after covering you with a thin blanket – because he knows you’re never really that cold at night, no matter the temperature in the room –  he moves to get up and maybe take a shower for himself.

“Bucky,” you mumble and, without opening your eyes, you move yourself to nuzzle against his metal hand sprawled on the mattress, “You’re not going to leave me, are you?”

Bucky is absolutely sure you have no idea of what that question really means to him, how it falls upon the rising tangle of feelings inside him… which is all for you. Wonderful and beautiful and special you, who came unannounced and stirred up something in him he never thought possible. Something he just doesn’t know what to do with.

Moving meticulously slowly not to pull his hand and wake you up again now that you’re deep back into slumber, he lays down beside you. For your question… he doesn’t say anything. Simply because he doesn’t know the right answer yet.

~~~

To be continued. 

[zimms]

an olliewicks flower shop au to soothe the soul! this is somewhat based on mine and @tingo-tango’s tags on this post. 

fields of flowers, soft beneath my heels

Ollie’s wrist-deep in a pot of soil, sweat rolling down his cheeks and sunlight streaming through the windows of Faber’s Flowers, when the shop’s bell rings and a new customer stumbles through the door. Ollie frowns slightly and hastily wipes the beads of sweat off his chin with the corner of his shirt, before plastering on his best customer service smile to greet whoever needs flowers at 7:30 am on a Tuesday morning. He mentally catalogues the possibilities; maybe they’ve forgotten their spouse’s birthday? Or maybe it’s a gift for someone at work? Maybe it’s an apology present because they accidentally cycled into a fruit stall and ruined a fresh batch of melons? 

(Okay, maybe not, but it would be a refreshing change in the cycle of constant businessmen grovelling for their partner’s forgiveness)

Ollie shakes himself from his thoughts and grins across the counter at the customer, who’s sporting a baseball cap and a t-shirt that sits just right across his broad shoulders. Ollie’s eyes track down the guy’s biceps which are a tad too big for the sleeves. Ollie consciously shut his mouth to stop himself from gaping; this guy was hot. As Ollie’s gaze roams across the customer’s face to meet his eyes, he realises three things. Number one is that he definitely shouldn’t be ogling a customer like he’s a piece of meat. Number two is that he hasn’t said anything to this guy yet. Number three is that at least a minute of awkward silence and staring has passed since the customer entered the shop. 

Ollie rips his eyes away from the customer’s face to stare at a spot slightly behind his left shoulder. “Hi! What can I help you with today?”

The guy shifts on the balls of his feet, scanning the shelves of bouquets and individual flowers. “Erm, I’m looking for a bouquet of flowers for my mom?” His voice raises at the end of his sentence, which is kind of cute, if Ollie does say so. He rubs the back of his neck and his checks flush pink. “I kinda need to apologise to her.”

Ah, a classic apology scenario. Got it. 

“What’s the apology for?” Ollie asks as he turns to the sink behind the counter to wash his hands. “Not that you have to tell me that is; it just might help as we make the bouquet.” He unravels the roll of tissue paper and cuts off a square to package the flowers in. 

Hot Guy winces. “Ah,” he says, “I kinda got into a fight in front of her the other night. She was not happy to say the least, so I figured I might as well get her some flowers to apologise for it.” 

“Cool, cool.” Ollie grins at him. “What kinda flowers do you want for her?” He gestured to the whole shop, where various buckets of flowers lined the walls, each displaying a different species. “We can get her just a plain old bunch that’s all just the same type of flower, or we could mix and match, create a nice piece of artwork that she’ll admire rather than a bunch that’s boring and all the same.”

Hot Guy’s eyes flick up from the counter and meet Ollie’s own, moving slowly up his body. If Ollie was feeling particularly optimistic, he’d say the guy was checking him out, but he pushes that thought to the corner of his mind because he’s made way too many faux-pas in the past by asking out guys that have come into the shop just for all of them to be straight. Hot Guy clears his throat. “Yeah, a mixture sounds good. I know her favourite flowers are hyacinths if that helps?”

“That’s perfect.” Ollie shoots him the most reassuring smile he can think of, eyes softening. He grabs the bucket of blue hyacinths that sit behind him. “These alright?” 

“Yeah, those are great,” Hot Guy says a little hoarsely, squinting at Ollie’s name tag, “Ollie.” Something settles in Hot Guy’s voice and he seems a bit more comfortable. 

“So, why'd you get into a fight in front of your mom?” Ollie reaches for the bucket of Narcissus behind him and waves a bunch at Hot Guy for affirmation. He nods in return. “Doesn’t seem like the best idea to me-” Ollie trails off, hoping that Hot Guy might get the hint and finally introduce himself. 

“Oh, uh, Pacer.” He coughs and the remaining tension leaks out of his posture. “Nah, a guy said something about Ma, and you know, I had to rush to defend her like the rash idiot I am.” 

Ollie laughs. “At least, it’s one of the more noble reasons to get into a fight. There’s a bit more chance of forgiveness, then.”

Pacer nods and his gaze wanders away from where Ollie is deftly making the bouquet to settle on the purple Clematis. 

“You like them?” Ollie makes a ‘gimme’ motion with his hands and Pacer passes the bucket over to him. Their hands briefly brush each other during the exchange and Ollie does everything in his power to ignore the jolt that goes through him at that brief skin to skin contact. “You’ve got a good eye; I was just about to grab them myself.”

“Yeah, my mom loves blue and yello-” Pacer cuts himself off with a sneeze. “Also, aren’t they the colours of the local hockey team around here? The Falcons?” Although he has a completely clueless tone to his voice, Pacer is studying Ollie’s reaction as if it might reveal the secrets of the universe. 

“Yeah, the Falcs! I only get to see them every so often, but they’re great,” Ollie says, doing his level best to ignore Pacer’s sudden intensity. “I was actually on the same team as Jack Zimmermann in college, which was pretty cool.”

“Really?” Pacer’s enigmatic expression becomes even more indecipherable. “That is pretty cool.” He looks slightly over his shoulder towards the street before meeting Ollie’s eyes and flashing a genuine smile at him. “I actually played a bit of hockey myself, you know.”

Ollie tries to convince himself that the bubble of excitement that rushes through him is because Pacer is such a good conversationalist and not for any other reason, like the fact that they have a couple of things in common, or that Pacer is one of the hottest guys he’s ever seen. 

(He fails.)

_X_

Pacer leaves about forty minutes later, with a bouquet and handwritten note in hand and a smile fixed firmly on his face. When Ollie goes to scrub down the counter and start repotting the plant he’d abandoned when Pacer had arrived, he spots a scrap of paper that definitely hadn’t been there before. The note is pretty cute; it’s a string of numbers and a smiley face, accompanied by a couple of lines from Pacer.

Would you like to go I would have asked you out earlier, but my tea friend always says it’s bad form to hit on workers whilst they’re on shift. Anyway, here’s my number if you want to go out some time? Call m Don’t worry if you don’t though!

- Pacer 

Ollie grins as he opens up his phone to add the number to his contacts, but pauses as he sees a Google Alert come through that he’s set up for the Falcs. The text reads, Providence Falconers acquire forward Pacer Wicks from Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and immediately underneath the caption, Pacer’s smiling face stares out at him. 

Pacer’s voice echoes in his mind. “I actually played a bit of hockey myself.”

Played a bit of hockey himself? Ollie cannot believe this guy. He plays in the fucking NHL and all he says is “I actually played a bit of hockey myself.” 

However, Ollie thinks as he opens up the article to see a picture of a bruised Pacer from his last game with the Avs, it would explain why he needed to apologise for fighting in front of his mom. 

_X_

Now that Ollie is aware of Pacer Wicks’ existence, he seems to follow him everywhere. Well, not Pacer exactly, but his name. 

It begins, like many things, at the grocery store. 

“Excuse me?” the cashier asks, as she’s scanning his groceries two days after Pacer first came into the florist’s. “Are you that hockey player? Pacer Wicks?” 

Ollie furrows his eyebrows. He doesn’t think that him and Pacer look that similar, but then again, Pacer’s only been in Providence a couple of days, so people don’t exactly know what he looks like yet. “No, sorry.”

The cashier purses her lips, taking a moment to study him again before ringing him up. “Huh, sorry! You guys just look really alike is all.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Ollie gathers up his groceries. “These things happen sometimes.”

(He almost texts Pacer to tell him about it, but, as Ollie looks at the clock on his phone, he realises that Pacer probably isn’t going to want to receive a message about how someone thought they looked similar mid-way through his game against the Pens.

Also, he’d have to wish him luck and honestly, as much as Ollie loves the Falcs, he wouldn’t wish them too much luck against his hometown team.)

_X_

ollie

hey! i’ve finished off that other apology bouquet for your ma!

let me know when you want to swing by and pick it up!

also i was watching the game tonight; do you need me to make up another identical one for your ma, or do you wanna come into the shop to choose this one?

pacer

thanks ol! i’ll probably swing by to pick it up tomorrow and then help make the next one at the same time?

ollie

sounds like a plan!!

_X_

When he said these things happen sometimes to that cashier in the grocery store, he didn’t expect them to happen all the goddamn time. Be it at his favourite café, on the street, or on the commuter rail, someone always, always, asks if he’s Pacer Wicks. 

_X_

ollie

oof that hit from eriksen looks like it’s gonna leave a mark

pacer

yeah, half my face is swollen

ollie

yikes

pacer

i assume we’re still on for dinner in a couple of days right?

even if my stunning visage has been marred by the fists of a schooner

ollie

that was a very weird way of putting it

but yeah, i still wanna go out with you even if your face looks like a dodgeball

_X_

A girl taps him on the shoulder at Bitty’s Bites downtown. “Excuse me, are you Pacer Wicks?”

Ollie smiles sheepishly at her, brandishing his coffee cup with a scrawled Oily on it as if it might keep the Pacer Wicks fans away. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong dude.”

He hurries out of there as quickly as his legs can take him after that, hands fumbling for his phone so that he can text Pacer about it.

ollie

jdshjkdsjh a girl just asked if i was you

pacer

oh?

ollie

yeah, i don’t really know why so many people ask if i’m you

especially as they usually ask when you’re on a roadie??

so i don’t get why they know who you are without knowing the falcs’ schedules

pacer

maybe they’re a fan of my dashing good looks rather than my hockey?

isn’t that why you agreed to go out with me after all?

Ollie grins to himself before sending back three words.

don’t push it

_X_

He’s less generous to the guy on the commuter rail, but in fairness that’s mainly because he stole the last seat just before Ollie could get there and it’s 6:30 in the morning. 

“Hey, aren’t you that hockey pl-?”

Ollie barely looks up from his phone before cutting him off with a sharp “No.”

_X_

Today, someone even asks him at the flower shop.

“No,” he says, heaving the deepest sigh he can whilst still remaining in customer service mode, “I think Pacer Wicks might have other things to do on a Saturday afternoon than work the till at a flower shop.” He shuts the cash drawer on the register with a bang and hands the customer their change and bouquet as quickly as he can. “Thank you for shopping with us! Enjoy your day!” 

He collapses back onto the wooden stool that he keeps behind the counter, taking a breather for approximately five seconds before a laugh echoes through the shop. Ollie jumps half a foot in the air before locating Pacer, who’s stood in the corner of the shop inspecting a piece of sea holly. 

He’s dressed up pretty nicely considering hockey players’ notoriously bad fashion sense, wearing a button-up, a nice pair of jeans that do all the right things for his hockey butt, and his ever-present baseball cap, but this time, unlike his first visit to the shop, it’s sat backwards on his head. He spins around to face the back of the shop, grinning his face off. “I’m impressed by the fact that she asked you that whilst I was standing in the shop and she still didn’t notice me.” He laughs, smirking across at Ollie. “Does that happen often?”

“Yeah, some people are surprisingly oblivious sometimes,” he says, “but also, I don’t look that much like you?” He pauses, trying to work out what Pacer’s face means. He places his hands on his hips and jokingly rounds on Pacer. “Do I?” 

Pacer chuckles, taking a few steps closer so that he’s leaning against the counter. “Not that much, but would it be so bad if you looked like me?” A mock-wounded expression plays across his features as he presses his hand to his chest. 

Ollie takes off his apron and hangs it up behind the counter. “Nope, because you are extremely hot.” He threads his fingers through the hockey player’s belt loops to pull him closer, feeling emboldened by Pacer’s flirting. “And if that means that people are inadvertently calling me hot whilst asking if I’m you?” He shrugs. “I can live with it.”

Pacer has to lower his gaze to meet Ollie’s eyes, the two inch height difference between them clearly obvious, even if Ollie is six foot, thank you very much. “You were right about something though,” Pacer murmurs, “I do have better things to do than stand in a flower shop on a Saturday afternoon.”

“Like what?” Ollie raises an eyebrow.

Pacer smiles softly down at him, taking his hand and interlacing his fingers with Ollie’s. “Like taking the cute florist that works there on a date for starters.” Pacer starts to move them towards the shop’s entrance. “There’s this lit-” He sneezes abruptly.

Ollie tilts Pacer’s head downwards. “That’s like the fourth time you’ve sneezed in the shop.” He rubs his thumb over his cheek, frowning when he sees that Pacer’s eyes are slightly red. “Are you okay?”

Pacer waves him off. “Yeah, it’s fine; my antihistamines just wore off.”

His-? Ollie furrows his eyebrows before leading his date out of the shop. “Pacer, are you allergic to flowers?” 

“No?” Pacer’s sheepish and slightly bunged up reply says everything that Ollie needs to know.

“Fuck, Pace, why have you been coming to the shop so much if you’re allergic? Surely you don’t like the aesthetics of flowers that much that you need to torture your sinuses every spare minute of the day.” Ollie pinches the bridge of his nose, voice full of exasperation.

Pacer holds his hands up in surrender. “In my defence, the first few times were because I did need to buy Ma flowers, but I didn’t keep coming back because the flowers were pretty.” He pulls Ollie close and frames his face with his hands. “I came back because the florist was.”

_X_

The final time Ollie is mistaken for Pacer is five years later as he’s heading towards the arena for Pacer’s final game of the season. In fairness, dressed in a Wicks jersey and a Falcs snapback, he probably looks more like Pacer now than he has at any time since he first got mistaken for him in the grocery store. 

“Excuse me?” A teenager taps him on the shoulder, their arm slung around a friend. “Are you Pacer Wicks?”

Ollie grins at the kid. “Nope,” he says, trying not to take too much joy in the hope fading from the fan’s eyes before he drops the bombshell, “I am his husband though.”

“Really?” The teenager’s eyes light up. “You’re not kidding, right?”

“Nope.” Ollie holds up his phone screen to show the kid a photo of Pacer kissing his cheek, just so that they know he’s not lying. “D’you wanna meet him after the game?” He smirks at them. “After all, I do know a guy.”

[brasskier]

Here, have an angsty, tiny little fic about Jaskier finding an abandoned shack on the way down the mountain and living as a hermit for a couple months until winter. Inspired by the absolutely hysterical mopey bard pics we got from Witchmas. I’ll eventually put it on AO3, but for now just read it here, below the cut.

When Jaskier stumbles upon the little shack three-quarters of the way down the mountain, he only intends to stay there just for one night. Take a load off, keep safe from any stray monsters that might be lurking about, and ensure he won't accidentally run into a certain witcher. But the shack is actually pretty cozy, and there's some furniture left inside that with a little TLC could easily be salvaged. He's close enough to Caingorn to drop by if he needed something or wanted to workshop a new ballad. So just for the night becomes maybe for a week or two to get my head back on straight and then is further extended to I don't have anywhere to be until winter so why not fuck off and live in an abandoned shack? 

He fixes it up nicely, nails the bed up good and tosses his bedroll over the frame so he's no longer sleeping on the ground, tinkers around with the stove until he can properly cook a meal on it, dusts and cleans until he's not sneezing incessantly from the dust any longer. Hunting becomes not only a necessity but a hobby of sorts, and even more than small game he finds himself relishing the tranquility of fishing in the river. He's still not the greatest cook on the continent, but he's managed to avoid giving himself food poisoning. He'll set back on the road for Oxenfurt closer to winter, but in the meantime this is his home. He revels in his newfound self-sufficiency and finds he has little desire or need to drop by town anymore, so he doesn't, and settles into a routine as a temporary hermit.

Geralt is sure he's dead. Every now and again a too-chatty bartender or innkeeper will ask him, "are you that bard's witcher?" He always says no, and they always keep prattling on anyway. "He was a sweet enough fellow, used to drop by 'round these parts time to time, always had that witcher with him." Geralt would grunt and nod along, struggling to be better at controlling his temper with his child surprise now sharing his company. "No one's seen 'em in a while. Reckon he's dead, the poor sod. What a shame." What a shame indeed. Geralt didn't dwell on it, pushed the thought of Jaskier's death (and his guilt) far out of mind. It was the damned bard's own fault if he got himself killed.

After the second or third identical interaction, Ciri (always too bright for her own good) seemed to catch on, summoned all her courage, and asked Geralt about it. "You had a bard, didn't you?" He did have a bard, she'd slowly learn. His name was Jaskier, he was a royal pain in the ass, and he was probably dead, most likely from his own stupidity. She knew better than to trust that Geralt would let someone he held only contempt for tag along with him for decades, but she was reaching his limit on interrogation. She didn't push any further; maybe when she finally got to meet Yennefer she'd know more.

A roving band of Nilfgaardian foot soldiers pressed them out of the way and further west. Geralt and Ciri were finally on the last leg of their journey up to Kaer Morhen; they just needed to head east and every so slightly north, and then they'd be safe. At least it wasn't terribly cold; the threat of capture meant they were wintering far earlier than usual, the trees still cast in orange and gold. But they were exhausted and never really out of harm's way. Which is why, when Geralt caught sight of an unoccupied little shack, he decides they're going to stop a little early, spend the night within the relative security of four walls. He tethers Roach to a nearby post, explains the plan to Ciri, and heads towards the door. 

The shed is cleaner than Geralt had expected; far cleaner, he'd almost go as far as to say immaculate. It looks lived-in, a half-finished cup of tea still simmering on the table. Clearly, he'd misestimated the vacancy of the shack. No matter, perhaps the resident might take pity and agree to house them for the evening. He turns back towards the exit - looking like a trespasser will not help his case - but he's too late, and a voice stops him while his hand hovers over the doorknob. The voice, it calls his name. Uncanny realization settles in his gut; he'd recognize that voice anywhere.

It was a pleasant evening, sunset painting his room in pink and orange through the window, and Jaskier was enjoying his evening tea when he heard movement. Eyes wide, he catches his breath in his throat to keep from crying out, and shuffles as silently as possible back to the bed to retrieve his dagger. Moments like these were where he'd silently wish Geralt was still there, and then immediately resent himself for even having the thought. He was a grown man; he could take care of himself. Blade in hand, he clapped his free hand over his mouth when he heard the door creak open, footsteps clomp through his kitchen, a little girl's voice. He dragged closer to the source, weapon drawn, legs trembling. And then he sees a shock of silver hair, the glint of steel. He'd recognize this intruder anywhere.

"Geralt?" He called, inflection somewhere between questioning and accusatory. The witcher turns slowly to face him, dirt caked against his cheek, and for a moment Jaskier feels like he might just pass out. 

"Jaskier." He grips onto the table to ground himself, thoughts spinning. And then he catches sight of her, blond curls tucked under the hood of a sooty cloak - the child surprise.

"You're…" he breathes, crossing the space between them in a few easy strides and kneeling before her. "The child surprise." He smiles fondly - looks like Geralt has finally stepped up to take responsibility. The girl cast an uncertain gaze up at Geralt. "Right. I'm Jaskier. Geralt and I, we were… well, we, uh, used to travel together." We used to be friends, or at least he used to think they were.

"I'm Ciri," the girl replied, still obviously skittish, brow knitted with confusion and uncertainty. "Geralt said you were dead." Jaskier snorted, falling back on his heels with laughter and startling Ciri.

"Dead? Brilliant, Geralt!" He waved a hand in front of himself. "I know that's what you wanted, but - gods! - did you run around telling the whole Continent that? Or did you just feel the need to feed your child surprise this lie?"

"The whole Continent told me you were dead," Geralt huffed, arms folded across his chest. "Everywhere I went, 'you that bard's witcher?' Everyone assumed you were dead - 'no one's seen the poor bastard around in months'. What was I supposed to think?" Jaskier straightened up, opened his mouth as if to speak, but Geralt kept going. "I don't-- I never said--" He raked a hand through his hair. "I never wished you were dead." Geralt wasn't sure what he expected - an exaggerated rebuttal, an exasperated shake of the head and a finger pointed towards the door, anything - but instead, Jaskier simply slunk back to the kitchen, slipped into the chair, and dropped his head in his hands. 

"Sorry," he mumbled, and Ciri tugged at Geralt's arm. "I'm just-- I just-- it's just a lot, you know? Gods, it's just a lot." Geralt eyed the setting sun through the window - if he wasn't going to let them stay, they needed to get a move on. Jaskier seemed to sense his antsiness. "You can stay the night. Ciri can have my bed." 

"Thank you, I…" 

"Don't." Jaskier waved him off, rising from the table again. "Just don't leave the place a mess, and I want you gone first thing in the morning." Geralt nodded, and Jaskier lead Ciri to his bed. "It's not much. Sorry."

"It's plenty," she replied, settling in. "Thank you." 

"Where will you sleep?" Geralt asked, tone as nonchalant as possible. Jaskier shrugged.

"I'm not tired just yet." He gently lifted his lute up by the strap from the corner. "Think I might play for a bit, just to settle me my mind."  Usually, Geralt would've rolled his eyes, told him to shut up - you play that damned thing all day, just go to bed - but this was Jaskier's home, and he did little more than nod. "I'll be off for Oxenfurt in a week or two. If you find yourselves needing shelter again, it'll be unoccupied." 

"Thank you." Jaskier disappeared outside, and soon the soft strum of lute strings floated in. Geralt laid out his bedroll next to Ciri and settled down for the night, trying not to eavesdrop on lyrics he realized might be about him. Eventually, the songs slowed, and then dropped off entirely, and Geralt fought the urge to get up and carry the sleeping bard inside like he’d done on a handful more occasions than he’d care to admit. Instead, he fell into an uneasy sleep, and knew that come morning light when Jaskier awoke, they’d, as promised, be gone again.

[stradlingmrstradlin]

Steve Riley x Mick Cripps

Requested by: Anonymus on wattpad

Words: 2419

Warnings: Nothing bad really, just the word "Fuck"

It's pure fluff and cuteness, enjoy

Story: Their adopted daughter meets the band for the first time

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

It was a cool, breezy night with a calm sky full of stars. Steve and Mick were sleeping peacefully next to each other while their daughter Bethany was sleeping in the room next door. They brought her home a week ago but she hasn't met the band yet. Mick thought it was a better idea to let her get used to her new environment before meeting those three crazy boys, and Steve agreed. Beth however got used to her new living space quite quickly, already calling Mick or Steve Dad or Dada by accident a few times, but of course, none of the boys minded.

At first, the band was quite surprised when the two announced that they are together but they weren't bothered by it, and thinking back to all the times they caught the two of them cuddling it wasn't surprising either. When they decided they wanted to adopt a little girl it was a long and tiring process, considering that they are two men in a rock band, but with the help of the band and a few family members after more than a year of waiting they could bring home Beth.

Before bringing her home they've met the little girl many times in the park or in the temporary home where she lived, and when they told her that she'd get to come home with them she was shouting and jumping from happiness.

Steve's dreams were interrupted by something or rather someone jumping on his chest and a quiet "sowwy dada, didn't mean to". He glanced at the clock on the wall and it read 10:23 am, might be time to wake up Mick. "Hey angel can you wake up Papa too?", as soon as these words left Steve's mouth Beth was already poking Mick in the face and shaking his shoulders. "Mornin' kid, are you excited to meet our friends today?' Mick asked as he slowly sat up lifting Beth in his lap, Beth nodding her head really fast "wowwy, 'ts making me dizzy" she giggled.

Beth wanted to choose her own outfit, but the dress she wanted to wear was really warm for a summer day, so finally, she agreed to wear a Hanoi Rocks t-shirt with a puffy striped skirt. Breakfast consisted of pancakes and fruits and Bethany made sure to put as much chocolate on her pancake as she can before either of her dads notice, she managed to stuff quite much in her mouth before Steve noticed something was up,

"What are you hiding kiddo?" a muffled "Notin" came back "You sure about that? Because I think there's chocolate smeared around your mouth" Steve said while trying not to laugh. " Maybe 'ts choco, but "ts yummy'' Beth said pointing at her tummy. "Alright kid, I'll let it slide this once, but don't tell Papa about it"

"What shouldn't I know about?" Mick asked when he walked into the kitchen. "Dada said I could eat this choco pancake if I don't tell you" she quickly blurted out making both of her fathers laugh and smile at her adorableness.

After getting ready and putting the dishes in the sink the little family sat in their car to travel to the park. Their plan was that they'd meet the guys there and maybe later for lunch go back to their house and the boys could come if they want and then later, they'd have a concert. Saying Beth was excited could be an understatement, she was jumping up and down in her car seat and when the park came into view, she tried to stretch her neck to see if anyone was there already, but that proved hard as she didn't know who to look for. As Mick parked the car she was ready to get out already and both of her fathers took one of her hands into theirs and started walking towards the playground, her trying to pull them to go faster.

When they reached the playground area with benches one seat was occupied by a long black-haired dude who gave them a wave as he saw them approaching. "Hi, guys. Nice to meet you kid, I'm Tracii" he said while stretching out his arm towards the little girl. "Tracii, that's a girl's name? 'm Beth, nice to meet you." said Beth as she took his arm and jokingly shook it. While Beth played with the chains on Tracii's pants another voice could be heard talking to her parents and then looking at her. "Hi love, my name is Phil" the guy, Phil said with a funny accent. "Beth, you're not from America, are you?" she questioned while standing up from next to Tracii and sitting down next to Phil "No, I'm British, that's on another continent" Phil answered. Beth looked puzzled for a bit but then her attention was on a motorcycle parking in the parking lot and another black-haired guy got down from it. "Wowy, 'ts cool" she exclaimed to no one in particular and then only looked away from the motorcycle when the guy stepped in front of her.

"Hi little one, my name is Kelly, it's nice to finally meet you" Beth thought that the guy was very cheerful "Why do you have a girl name too? Oh, I'm Beth" she giggled and almost forgot to tell Kelly her name. Kelly faked being offended and that only made Beth laugh harder, finally when she calmed down, she convinced Kelly to climb onto the slide thingy at the playground with her, Kelly being...well Kelly he of course agreed with very little persuasion needed.

It proved to be harder than they thought to go down on the slide together because Kelly was taller than the top of the slide and they got stuck at least five times, when they got down Phil was laughing his ass off and the others had a smile on their faces too. "Let's play tag" Beth shouted and then slapped Phil's hand signaling to him that he was 'it'. So now Beth and five men who looked really funny were running around the park, the guys, of course, running slower to let Beth win. After about ten minutes Beth got tired and decided she wanted ice cream, and to her luck, an ice cream parlor was right on the other side of the street from where they were standing. Carefully crossing the street Kelly and Beth were discussing what flavor of ice cream they are going to get while Steve was still wheezing a bit from the game of tag. The little group arrived at the parlor and ordered their frozen treats. Beth ordered her favorite, chocolate ice cream and now probably more was smeared around her face and hands than in her mouth, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless.

After cleaning up they decided that they should probably head back to the house because it was getting increasingly hotter outside and wearing black didn't help much either, plus the guys were getting hungry and the ice cream didn't do much.

When they arrived inside Beth was eager to show her toys to the guys and even invited them to play dress-up with her. She was the princess and decided that Phil will be the prince on the condition that he will let her do his hair. "No, nope, sorry love but no." Phil said and as Beth was looking around she saw Tracii also shaking his head in protest. "Kelly, pwease?" she did the puppy eyes so of course, Kelly was now sitting in front of her while she asked Mick to bring her some hairspray and a comb "I'm going to make your hair pwetty, like Mike Monroe's" Beth cheered as Mick handed her the supplies.

She was not so gentle with the teasing and Kelly tried not to make any noises but the look on his face described everything. When they were done Kelly looked like anything but Michael, more like a bird decided to nest in his hair. But of course, he wasn't going to tell that to the little girl "Thank you kid, I look like a true prince now".

"See Phil, you would look pretty, but you didn't let me do it, you're not pretty now" Beth said half serious half joking while staring at Phil, Kelly tried to at least make his hair a bit less messy while Beth wasn't looking, but to no avail. They played princess for a bit more, but Beth got bored of it and the guys were hungry, so they decided to order pizza.

"Can we play hide and seek? Pweaseee"

"Fine kid, who should seek?"

"You Papa"

"Alright, I'll count to two minutes" Mick said as he closed his eyes and leaned against a wall.

Steve hid under the table, Kelly tried climbing into a closet but gave up and hid in the shower instead, Tracii quickly stood behind the curtain in the living room and Beth climbed under the bed, but she didn't want to be alone, so she asked Phil to go with her. Somehow Phil managed to fit under the bed, but climbing out probably won't be easy.

"Ready or not, here I come" Shouted Mick downstairs. The first to be found was Tracii because let's face it, the curtain only covered him above the knee. Then he found Steve under the table. Kelly was only found because he sneezed and then slipped and Mick heard it, "What in the name of...Kelly, what are you doing on the bathroom floor?" Mick questioned "I, ugh might have slipped?" Kelly said laughing a little

"Beth, Phil, where are you?" Mick shouted, no answer. He was searching for maybe a few minutes when he heard a small whisper from under the bed. "Found you" He exclaimed when he looked under the bed, and to his surprise, two pairs of eyes looked back at him.

"Ah, nice to see you too Mick, now please would you help me get out from under here?" Phil asked after a failed attempt to get out, in the end, he somehow climbed out but swore to never climb under a bed again.

When the pizza arrived it was probably around three in the afternoon and everyone was hungry. Beth was getting increasingly tired, but she acted like she didn't care because she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her new friends. After the pizza, everyone agreed that watching a movie would be an awesome idea. They watched The Little Mermaid as it just recently came out and Beth hasn't seen it yet.

"I'm a mermaid" Beth yelled as she was now running around the living room imagining that she was underwater. Then she decided to draw the guys and herself down, it was basically five black-haired people-shaped things and one smaller brown-haired thing. Steve decided that this drawing would look fabulous on the fridge.

After this Beth had to take a nap because she was going to see them play live tonight and she needed to be well-rested for that. While she was sleeping Kelly combed his hair out with a bit of help from Tracii in the back. When she woke up it was already time to go to the venue, so Steve dressed her up and strapped her in the car, "See you there" she waved to the other three guys.

There were so many people outside when they got there and some noticed them and screamed making the little girl whimper "It's okay kid, everything's okay" Mick whispered as he held her even tighter. Inside was a lot calmer and there were many doors and corridors and people running around setting up everything for the show. The next time Beth looked up she was in a dressing room with her fathers who were teasing their hair and putting on their stage clothes. There was a knock at the door and seconds later Kelly came in sitting down next to the kid "You want to cause some mischief before the show?" He asked with a grin "Yeah, like what?" Beth asked "You'll see kid, don't worry we'll meet you guys at the stage" he said the first part to Beth, the second to Mick and Steve.

"Okay, so we'll hide here behind the door and when Tracii or Phil comes by we'll jump out and scare them, ok?" Kelly explained the plan as Beth eagerly nodded, excited to scare people. They only had to wait a bit before an unsuspecting Tracii came out from the room, they jumped out causing him to yell out a surprised "Fuck".

Beth copied Tracii "Fuck". "Okay, um, kid you probably shouldn't say that or at least don't tell anyone I said it okay" Tracii tried explaining it to Beth before she yells out the word again. Luckily Beth forgot about the bad word in a few minutes and when Phil opened the door and they scared him, he luckily just made a loud gasping sound, no curses.

When the four of them got to the stage Steve and Mick were already there waiting for them "So you'll sit on top of the chair and stay there, okay?" Mick asked, pointing to the side of the stage where a chair was already placed for Beth. "Okay Papa"

She enjoyed the show sometimes standing up and dancing a bit or trying to copy the guitar sounds with her mouth or singing the words... kinda the words, but she tried and that's what matters. She was exhausted when the show ended and almost didn't Phil lifting her up and bringing her to his changing room to let her fathers have a bit of alone time.

"I'm sleepy, I wanna sleep" She mumbled as Phil placed her down on the couch and lifted her head into his lap. He started singing softly and she was asleep in a minute, smiling in her sleep.

Later Phil helped Steve put her into the car and buckle her up before saying goodbye and going on his own way. When the little family got home Mick lifted Beth out of the car and with the help of Steve opening the doors he placed her into the bed, tucking her in and both men placing a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams angel" and with that, they closed her door and went to their own room to take a shower and then snuggle up in bed and also fall asleep.

[beholdme]

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 11

Chapters: 11/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can’t help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Jon has a terrible, sinking feeling about what he considers their new Mary Keay problem.

He knows Gerry feels more confident that he can deal with her now, as an adult with his own resources and a solid foundation, but Jon doesn't want her ever walking into their lives again.

He feels the threat of her existence hanging over their hard-won peace like an anvil on a lace string.

"I think we should try to find her," Jon tells Martin one evening when they’re alone in bed. Gerry is downstairs painting, and even though he almost certainly can't hear them, Jon whispers it like a dirty secret.

"You think-" Martin looks up from his book with an almost comically incredulous look on his face. "You think we should look for a murder who threatened your life?"

Utterly uninterested in secrets between the three of them, Martin does not attempt to speak quietly.

"Well, when you put it like that," Jon grumbles, returning his attention to his book and pretending to drop it.

The next day at work, he puts his researching skills to the test. It doesn't even take very long, and in less than an hour, he has an address in Morden, where she apparently owns a bookstore of all things.

The information available is fairly spartan, updated more than a year ago, but Jon can see enough. He can see that she lives less than an hour from Gerry, and it itches at him.

He knows he shouldn't go. Knows that Martin and Gerry will be furious if they ever find out that he snooped, nevermind if he goes there and unsettles old ghosts..

But still, he takes a half-day off from work and gets on a bus to Morden.

*

When Jon arrives and finds the storefront boarded up, he is half reassured, half perturbed. He had felt almost relieved when he had a concrete lead to follow, but now all he has is more questions.

"She's dead."

Jon startles at being unexpectedly spoken to and turns towards a teen girl sitting in the storefront doorway next door.

"She died, like a while ago? Apparently she lost her shit and cut herself up with a piece of glass. Bleed to death on the floor." She inclines her head towards the dilapidated bookstore. She seems quite taken with the gossip, as if it's the most interesting thing to ever intercept with her boring life. It probably is, Jon thinks, uncharitably.

"When did it happen?" He prods, hoping for as many details as possible.

"Oh, like two years ago?" She nods at herself in confirmation. "You can go in if you want. It's haunted. People are always going in to see if they can find Mary's ghost."

Jon shudders, feeling that Mary's ghost is already plenty present enough in his life. He asks how to get in anyway.

Jon doesn't find any obvious ghosts inside, only a lot of dust, a few vandalised books, and a trashed building.

There's a staircase leading upwards and he stares up at the upper landing for a moment, weighing his options. Might as well , he thinks, and proceeds up it carefully.

There's literally nothing but more dust, and Jon descends into a sneezing fit just as he is deciding to cut his losses, feeling slightly dizzy.

The sneezing turns into coughing, and Jon takes a step back to lean against a wall.

But the wall isn't there, and he falls.

And falls.

And falls.

*

Jon calls Martin from the hospital. He’s down in Brighton, meeting with a business supplier, and Jon assumes this makes it a safe bet he'll arrive without Gerry. He assumes wrong.

Gerry arrives, alone, in half the time it would take Martin to make the trip, looking flustered and scared.

"How did you get here so fast?" Jon demands incredulously, made short by his shame and physical discomfort.

"How did I-" Gerry pauses and takes a deep breath, but his next words are still slightly shrill. "I took a fucking Uber, Jonathan. How did you get here?"

Jon opens his mouth, but Gerry cuts him off as he goes on.

"You went looking for Mary, didn't you?" Jon's guilty face must tip him off, because he simply goes on, pacing angrily. "Christ, Jon! What the hell were you expecting to find? And you know what, Martin didn't even sound surprised when he called me to tell me you were here. You know, I can understand this uncommunicative bullshit from you, but not Martin."

"That's not very nice," Jon grouses.

"And do you think it was nice for me to hear from Martin that you were hurt? I'm glad to know he was your one and only phone call from an ambulance."

"Gerry-"

"Don't fucking Gerry me."

"I'm sorry," Jon says, looking down at his hands.

"Are you, Jon? Because you don't even know the worst part yet. If you had asked me, I could have told you Mary was dead, and then we wouldn't be in this mess at all."

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew! I was her next of kin!"

Gerry stops, pressing his fingers into his eyes and blowing a hard breath out. He takes several more breaths, heart-pounding, anxiety through the roof.

"Jon, how hurt are you?" Gerry asks quietly, coming closer to gently take a hand.

"Just a few bruises." Gerry raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "A mild concussion." And the other. "Maybe a few broken ribs."

"Oh, my sweet, sweet idiot. How loving you makes me want to climb the walls sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Jon fills his voice with false levity, although it comes out rather shaky.

Gerry grunts, but leans down to kiss his forehead very gently. It's a minuscule point of contact, but Jon knows Gerry and can feel the tremble of fear (fear for him, who would have thought), and the tension of his frustration.

"I'm going to go talk to the doctor, okay? Just- just take it easy. Everything will be fine, love."

Jon doesn't believe him, not really, but he lets Gerry go. There's a lot of noise and movement after that, and Jon's head spins through most of it. Gerry is there, talking to doctors, querying the tests they want to run, and just generally making his opinion in regards to his partner's care very clear.

*

Martin knows it's bad when he arrives at the hospital and finds Gerry chain-smoking in the parking lot. His expression mostly just looks exhausted, but in his favorite black trench coat, and most intimidating combat boots, he looks ready to burn something down.

"That bad, huh?" Martin tries, but Gerry simply waves him towards the entrance, not making eye contact.

Martin almost cuts his losses, wanting to deal with one idiot at a time, but doesn't want to leave Gerry to sulk.

"How is he?" Martin asks.

"He's in one piece. They asked me to leave so they could do the x-rays. Apparently, he fell over a banister."

"A banister? How?"

"Your guess is as good as mine until we can interrogate him." Gerry takes a long, contemplative drag of his cigarette. "But apparently it's not all that bad and as long as the x-rays look clear, we can take him home in a couple of hours."

"He couldn't have chosen a worse time."

Gerry grunts in agreement. "He's going to tell us he wants to go back to his own flat, but that's only because he thinks I'm angry at him."

"And why would he think that?" Martin questions.

Gerry takes another long drag of his cigarette as if testing Martin's attention span, or patience, or both. Martin just waits, still and easy.

Gerry explains what he knows, his earlier outburst, Jon's guilty, stupid face.

When the cigarette is smoked and put out, Martin finally approaches Gerry all the way, and Gerry sinks into his arms gratefully.

"Everything will be fine."

"Hardly. This is my fault to begin with, and I yelled at him. In a hospital bed!"

"It's as good a place as any other, love. Come on, let's go get him so we can take him home."

Martin kisses him gently, before taking his hand and dragging him off to find Jon.

*

"Your partner is very loud." The blonde nurse with the buzzcut tells Jon as she wheels him to imaging.

"In his defense, I'm an idiot." He sighs, causing his battered ribs to ache.

She laughs heartily, wheeling him into an elevator. "Almost everyone I meet as an A&E nurse is. At least you seem like an interesting idiot."

Jon actually smiles, somehow pleased with the observation. "I'm Jon."

"Daisy Tonner." She offers a hand, which Jon shakes as firmly as he can manage. "You seem a bit old for trespassing in haunted houses, Jon."

The elevator dings and she wheels him out into the imaging wing. "I was looking for the woman who died there." Daisy gives him a skeptical look and he sighs dramatically. "I didn't know she was dead."

Daisy nods her understanding. "I remember when she died actually. They brought her here that night. Never seen someone with so much blood loss be so… Erratic. We had to strap her down." Daisy looks contemplative as she recalls the memory.

"She was a crazy bitch to the very end, then?" Jon asks, bitterness creeping through his tone at the woman who caused Gerry (still causes Gerry,) so much pain. Jon doesn't allow himself, yet, to dwell on the heartache of the years of Gerry she took from him.

"For sure," Daisy tells him. "What do you do for a living then?"

"I'm a librarian?" Jon tells her, but it goes up a bit at the end, like a question.

"Really?" Daisy asks wryly, "You don't sound very sure."

Jon considers laughing but remembers his ribs in time to settle on a tired smile. "I do work in a library but to be frank, most of the time I just feel like my boss's busy boy. Always running here and there and doing everything but what I thought I was supposed to be doing."

"Most professions aren't what we think they are when we sign up for them," Daisy observes. She parks his wheelchair outside a door and leans around to let them know a patient is waiting.

"Do you like being a nurse?" Jon asks her when she settles against the wall beside him, looking rather more intimidating than one would expect from the average health care worker.

"Most of the time. Sometimes it can be just exhausting and draining." She shrugs, contemplative. "Sometimes I get a patient that makes all the shit worthwhile. Mostly I just want to deck someone, though."

She cracks up at that and looks down at Jon to give him a feral grin. "Your boyfriend seems like a worthwhile candidate. Very punchable face."

"Careful, he might enjoy it," Jon warns her, deadpan.

They exchange a pointed look for a moment, before bursting into laughter. It pains Jon significantly, but he considers it worthwhile to enjoy the moment with a strange new friend.

*

By the time Daisy returns Jon to his room, both Martin and Gerry are there. Daisy looks pointedly between blue-haired, pierced, goth Gerry, and pink-haired, jumper clad, soft Martin and then eyes up 'born an 85-year old man' Jon for good measure.

Jon just shrugs at her and she nods in acknowledgment, before helping Jon into his hospital bed.

"As soon as the imaging comes through, it'll be checked by the surgeon on duty," Daisy informs them briskly, "then they'll come through and let you know what's happening. You'd best settle in for a bit of a wait. Buzz if you need me."

With a curt nod and a small smile for Jon, Daisy is off.

Martin comes over and pulls Jon into his comfortable arms, pressing his lips to Jon's forehead. He sighs out in relief to have solid reassurance that Jon is alright, alive, and relatively unscathed.

Gerry also moves over from his perch on the windowsill, and folds himself onto the bed, cross-legged in front of his errant partner.

They settle all together, Martin beside Jon, one unwavering arm around his shoulders, Gerry in front of Jon, both of his hands holding both of Jon's.

Jon opens his mouth to apologize.

"I'll go first," Gerry tells him, gently. "I am sorry that I was so upset earlier and that I raised my voice. I was fucking scared and I took it out on you when you needed me to be soft and steady. I'm also sorry that I didn't tell you Mary was dead before."

Jon tries to interrupt now, but Martin silences him with a squeeze.

"I meant to tell you, but it was all very messed up and over-wrought and I honestly forgot." Gerry looks chastised, a rare blush staining his cheeks. "I hope that we can get better at talking these things out so that this doesn't happen again."

He pauses, considering. "And I hope that if I have made you think that you can't talk to me by avoiding telling you things in the past, that you can forgive me and I will do what I need to be better."

Jon is truly floored, and utterly speechless. The words themselves had been a little bit halting and slightly awkward, as Gerry struggled to express himself, but the earnestness proves to Jon just how much Gerry loves him.

"I- I'm sorry too." Jon stutters out. "I'm an idiot but I love you. I hope we can get better at this together."

His words feel downright juvenile after Gerry's acknowledgement, but it's all he's got, pounding head and trapped emotions preventing similar declarations (oh and his total lack of social skills). Gerry beams at him regardless and he leans forwards to kiss Jon sweetly on the forehead.

Martin grabs Gerry's hand and places a kiss on his palm, sending him a significant look. It feels like approval to Jon, and he can't help but appreciate their bond just as much as his own with each of them.

They settle to wait, and they take turns reading from Martin's book to pass the time, each of their voices having a few moments to fill the air and weave around them.

Dr. Basira Hussain eventually comes in, assuring them that Jon's concussion is mild, his ribs are only bruised, and that he should make a full recovery (if he rests), in just a few weeks. They thank her profusely and she leaves them with Daisy to check out.

Gerry goes off to take care of the paperwork and in a few minutes, they're saying goodbye and walking out of the hospital together. Martin and Gerry flank Jon carefully, there to support him if he stumbles.

He also sits between them in the taxi, head on Martin's shoulder and one hand grasped between both of Gerry's. He feels exhausted and floaty from painkillers, and every jolt of the car makes it difficult to breathe.

He smiles, rather unexpectedly. Despite his current predicament, he's glad enough to know that Mary Keay is dead and that chapter of their lives is definitely closed. He does wish he had just asked Gerry, but he hopes that the strained feelings and injuries will blow over and she will finally be out of their lives for good, nothing but a sad, angry memory. A shade living only in the memories of those that didn't know her.

[stachmousworld]

Avenge me tomorrow (Ch.6)

Pairing: polyavengers x Black!reader 

Previously: The team couldn’t find Thea.

Tag: @thedarkplume​

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 -  Part 7 - Part 8  - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11

The journey to the compound went faster than she thought. Thea had made sure to block every call from the Tower and thanks to JARVIS, they wouldn’t be able to find her before she would be long gone.

She watched the forest surrounding the compound and relaxed a bit. She still checked in the rear-view mirror if no one was following her on the road or in the sky. It wouldn’t be surprising if they sent Thor or any Stark Drones after her.

Thea sighed. It was getting ridiculous. She wasn’t a kid, and she could do whatever she wanted. Leaving the Tower should have not felt as if she was doing something wrong. They were not bounded to each other. They weren’t even together to begin with. So why did she feel guilty?

She parked in front of the large building, almost expecting someone from the Tower to come out and…and…but there was no one. She looked around for the last time, enjoying the birds chirping, the wind in the leaves whistling some mysterious tunes.

Thea waved at a few young teenagers eating on the grass. Interns, maybe? They looked at her quizzically but reciprocated with a joyful smile. Why did she wave? She cringed, accelerating her pace and keeping her head down until she was inside the building.

The first thing she noticed was the lack of security. There were no security guards in the building and seemingly no cameras. She squinted her eyes looking above her. Did they really believe that no one would try to attack them from the inside? They were isolated but the barrier would be no obstacle against intruders. And what about the airways? Anyone could land a jet in the middle of the “park”. It was – a blue streak passed in front of her. Thea froze. Was that?

“Hello!” a soft chirpy voice said behind her.

She spun around quickly, heart beating fast. The blue strike disappeared in a pop.

“Are you Thea?” 

She slowly turned around and faced…Diablo. Excitation and happiness rushed through her veins. She bit her lips hard enough to stop herself from jumping on him. Diablo. She was in front of…She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to surprise you,” he apologized in a chirpy voice.

A few unintelligible words escaped her mouth and she flushed, embarrassed. Get a grip, she admonished herself. He is going to think you are a groupie. Her Diablo plushie and posters would prove otherwise.

 Before she became an Avenger fan, she has been totally invested in the X-Men. How many times had she played as Diablo, Hank, Storm or Wolverine…his name alone made her blush. Let’s just say that Wolverine has been the main actor of her fantasies for a long time. He is also the main reason why she never clicked with people her age. They all felt bland and childish compared to her heroes. They didn’t understand her, or her struggle and would change subject whenever she’d talk about deep subjects.

During high school and college, she had been isolated. No one wanted to be seen with her. And it didn’t help that she was pansexual. She may have gone to a prestigious university, but they had been pretty close minded. Fortunately, her family has supported her. At least the members that counted. Her mom, her siblings and her godfather, Rhodey.

“Hello?” Diablo said, waving his hand in front of her face. “Are you alright?”

She nodded not yet trusting her voice. Diablo tilted his head and started signing. Thea’s eyes grew wide.

“I don’t know how to sign,” she replied quickly, grabbing his hands.

“Oh.” He looked down to their hands. She jerked away, suddenly conscious of what she’d done. Really, could this day be worse?

“I’m sorry, I…I should have never touched you without your permission.”

Diablo was still staring intensely at his hands. He turned them upwards and caressed where her hands touched his. He then raised his eyes. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. His eyes were unreadable. His chirpiness has tone done down. Diablo didn’t seem mad at her. Maybe?

“I’m sorry?” she repeated, unsure.

“You are not afraid of me?” he asked slowly.

The question took her by surprise. What? “No.”

“Really?” He asked, his voice full of hope.

“Yeah, you are not scary.”

Diablo took a few steps forward stepping into her comfort zone. Thea noticed the dark blue tattoos on his skin. She hadn’t been aware of that. She frowned. Even the pictures she had didn’t show any tattoos and they spread everywhere, on his face, arms and to rest of his body, she presumed.

“I’m not scary”, he repeated slowly as if the words were foreign.

“You should see my mom,” Thea pretended to tremble from fear. “She’d make your worst nightmare seems like a dream.”

Her tentative to joke fell flat. Diablo kept examining her. His eyes roamed her face for an answer she wasn’t sure to have. He may have found it because he smiled a little and finally stepped back. He wasn’t back to his bubbly self. Or was that a façade? Something to help people relate to him and see him as less of a threat. His tail swayed slowly behind him. Thea looked at it, entranced. It looked bigger than in pictures and more agile.

She was so concentrated on the appendage that she didn’t notice the quick movement. She blinked once and the next moment, the tail was in front of her face. The triangular tip brushed softly the tip of her nose. She twitched her nose refraining her sneeze.

“And now, are you scared?”

Thea shook her head and wiped her nose to erase the sensation of his tail. Chill ran down her spine making her shiver. She froze. The shiver turned to trembles. The snake appeared in front of her and hissed a warning. Someone is coming.

The rumble of a storm buzzed in her ears.

“We need to go now,” she urged Diablo, who stopped rambling. He stared quizzically at her. “One of the Avengers is coming for me. We have to go.”

Diablo quickly gripped her arms and transported them.

 The ship was way bigger than the Quinjet. It looked more spacious and colorful. It didn’t look like a jet, at all. She followed Diablo through a corridor. He walked quickly and glanced sometimes behind to make sure she was following. Her eyes tracked the paintings on the walls. Who’d put paintings in a jet? What purpose did they serve? She wasn’t well versed in arts, but these looked expensive.

“Why are they –”

Wolverine. Wolverine was in front of her. She squealed and jumped round him. Oh my God, Oh my God, this is Wolverine. She fumbled with her bag to get her phone and barely got it out without dropping it.

“Kid, you’re going to have stroke. Calm down,” he said, in a deep rumbly voice. It sounded like a growl. She barely had the time to register that he talked – actually talked to her, that she babbled.

“Why did you choose Wolverine as a nickname? Is it because wolves are “supposed” to be solitary animals? Although they do live in a pack so that’s ridiculous…”

“Kid,” he cut her off. “Calm down.”

She gulped some much-needed air and exhaled. Wolverine nodded silently and encouraged her to breath some more. As she let herself relax, she couldn’t miss the overall beauty of the man. His beard, the muscles rolling under his shirts and jeans. His stance seemed normal, but with her godfather in the military she was able to notice many things. Wolverine was favoring his left. He was consciously bracing himself for any attack. His muscles seemed tensed and ready. He thought she was a threat. Despite his soothing tone, he didn’t trust her at all. Good. Because she didn’t know what she was capable of. She felt somewhat reassured that he took the situation seriously.

“Come sit down and you’ll tell me why Xavier made us pick you up.”

They entered a room behind the cockpit. A blue hand appeared briefly.

“Is that Mister Hank?” She whispered.

“Kid,” Wolverine warned her.

She made a step in the direction of the cockpit. Wolverine stopped her.

“Don’t,” he growled.

Thea narrowed her eyes and moved, only to be stopped by adamantium claws. She couldn’t believe it. She…it…she was touched by his claws. Her squeal came back full force. She brushed her fingers against the claws. The metal was warm and deadly sharp.

Wolverine sighed but didn’t move.

“So, you have a fan, finally,” Diablo joked.

“Fuck you, Blue Devil.”

Diablo hissed in disapproval, Wolverine growled and Thea, well, she was now holding on dear life onto his callous hand.

“Kid, if you go sit down and buckle yourself, I’ll show you what I can do with these.” He raised his right arm and retracted his claws.

She yelped and ran to her seat. Her legs bounced nervously. Wolverine shook his head and raised his eyes to the sky.

“Last time I trust you, Xavier, last time,” he grumbled.

 If Logan had not really expected Thea to stay silent during the trip, he certainly regretted his wish.

She suddenly stopped chatting. Her head snapped to the right and she stared at the wall. Logan glanced at Diablo who shrugged, as uncertain as he was.

“Kid? Are you okay?”

“He is coming,” she mumbled, still out of it.

Hank who had been making his way out of the toilets stopped a few steps from them.

“Who is coming?” He mouthed at them.

They both shrugged. Hank rolled his eyes and came in front of Thea. She still didn’t react. Her eyes were unfocused and her shoulders high. The more they looked at her the more she seemed tense.

“Thea, who is coming?” Hank asked in his soft voice.

She finally drew her eyes away from the wall and looked at him in the eyes.

“The God of lightning.”

Logan narrowed his eyes. Xavier hadn’t told them they’d have to encounter some obstacles. He felt his claws breaking his skin. He didn’t know if he was strong enough to fight a God, but he’d try.

“Who is –”

“Drop it Hank.” Logan stood up and went to the cockpit. He looked at the board looking for the radar. Besides the normal interferences, he noticed something small coming in their direction at full speed. He snapped his fingers a few times to call Hank, who grumbled (“I’m not a dog.”)

“What?”

Hank dropped his eyes to the screen.

“Oh. The God of lightning, huh? Just that,” he sighed.

Logan’s frown was still firmly attached to his face. He stared at the clouds expecting at any moment to see Thor. The seconds turned into minutes. Then, nothing. Loga checked the screen again.

“Wolverine! She is down!” Diablo screamed from the other room.

Logan reacted quickly and ran to them. He almost broke the door of the cockpit and cut Hank’s hand in his urgency.

Thea’s body was bent in two. The only thing that prevented her fall was the chest belt. Wolverine assessed the situation quickly. Could Thor have an impact on her? Had he cursed her? Or was her “unknown” power weakening her?

He pushed Diablo away into Hank’s arms and kneeled in front of Thea.

“I can teleport her. I can do. I know I can. Let me do it,” Diablo babbled, panicked.

“Calm down, Diablo, everything is going to be ok. Xavier told me she was a bit on edge when she called him. She may have fainted from all the stress.”

Hank pushed Diablo to the side and forced him to sit.

“If we need you wi –”

The jet trembled and tilted on the right. Logan rolled on the floor, claws grazing the metallic floor. He bounced on the right wall, then ran to the cockpit. Hank followed him quickly. The cockpit was pure cacophony. All the screens were blinking, and the alarm was blazing. Logan quickly looked for the anomaly. Was it one of the reactors? Had they been attacked by something?

“Do you see the problem?” Hank screamed, as he looked for a way to turn the alarm off.

Logan shook his head, eyebrows frowned. Thea’s words about a certain God echoed in his mind.

As he was to voice his thoughts, the alarm stopped. The jet stop swaying. After a few minutes of this hell, the silence was as deafening.

“What the fuck,” Hank sighed, flopping on the seat. He took of his glasses, swiping his eyes and forehead.

“What? So, I thought you loved Norse mythology?” Logan joked, half-serious. He unclenched his fist retracting by the same his claws. His heart beat fast and loud. It was ringing in his ears. What the fuck, really.

The adrenaline slowly seeped out of his body, leaving him raw and drained. He took a big breath and sagged.

“You think it was him?” Hank asked genuinely.

Logan stayed silent. He looked behind him where the prostrated body of Thea was. Xavier, are you sure to know what you are doing?

 Thea took a few more minutes before waking up. Logan sat next to her and watched over her. Hank was back in the cockpit with Diablo. He hadn’t wanted to go. Hank had to physically restrain him. Logan had been surprised that Diablo hadn’t even think of teleporting himself back. They were all used to his personal level of anxiety but today he has reached his peak.

Logan played with his claws cleaning them with a wet tissue. A few movements on his left attracted his attention. He narrowed his eyes. Thea slowly rolled her spin out and groaned. She massaged her neck with shaky moves. Logan observed silently. His hands were clenched. If he wasn’t on high alert before he was now. He should have known what Xavier had in mind. Sending Hank, Diablo and him… The only time he did that was when he wasn’t sure of how powerful the new addition was and how dangerous their power could be.

“What happened?” He asked, serious.

“What?” Thea replied, still stretching her body. “I’m the one who should ask you that? Have I sle—”

“Don’t lie. I know you remember what happened.” A brief flash of fear appeared in her brown orbs. “You talked about the ‘God of Lightning.’”

She opened her mouth, then shut it in a click. “What about it?”

Logan counted to three. Why did Xavier thought he was patient enough to deal with this kind of bullshit?

“The jet almost crashed because something – someone flew past by with such a velocity that we almost lost control of the engine.” He sharpened his claws against each other, eyes still on her. She swallowed with difficulty. Good. That’s where he wanted her. “Now, spill it.”

 The rest of the journey went uneventful. After telling her story to Logan, Thea has been chatting with Diablo. Logan didn’t know what kind of story Diablo was telling her, but she looked beyond shocked.

“So…” Hank said, next to him.

Logan barely acknowledged his presence.

“What do you think of her?” The scientist kept going.

“What am I, a fortuneteller? If you wanted someone to read people, I’m not the right one,” Logan replied, with enough sarcasm to surprise him. He didn’t know why he felt like that. Worried and anxious. He was still on the edge from the near encounter with a God, but it didn’t explain the deep roots of his anxiety.

Something bad was going to happen. And for once in his life, Logan felt powerless.

Next chapter

[writingformadderton]

Why don’t you kiss me? - Part 2

Ship: Madderton

Word Count: 3200

Summary: Richard and Taron are a happy couple and enjoy their time together. No matter if it’s a birthday, Christmas, or simply taking care of each other. Prom gets closer and they realize once more how much they love their better half...

Additional Tags: FLUFF, birthday, comfort, cuddles, soft, prom, slow dance, matching suits

Based on the request by: @taron-eggmcmuffin

Part 1

---

Taron smiles brightly as he feels someone wrapping their arms around him. He can smell his boyfriend's cologne and reaches back to stroke over his hair lovingly. "Morning to you," he says and closes his locker.

"Mornin." Rich mumbles, still tired, resting his head on his shoulder.

"Someone's tired." he chuckles and Richard hums in agreement holding him close. Taron turns around in his grasp and giggles seeing how exhausted he looks. "Were you studying last night?"

Rich leans forward and gives him a tiny lazy kiss before burying his face in his neck. "Mm."

"Aw, don't worry so much about it. The exam is in four days and you need some sleep too." Taron nods and plays with his hair calmingly.

"I know, I'm just nervous," Rich admits and stands up straight with a groan. "I can sleep after the first lesson when we have one hour off."

-

And so they find themselves outside, Taron sitting in the grass leaning against a tree, Richard between his legs. Taron has his arms wrapped around him and Richard's head resting on his shoulder. It doesn't take long for Richard to fall asleep, feeling comfortable and safe in Taron's arms.

As soon as he's asleep Taron plants a kiss in his hair and shifts forward a bit so Richard can lie on his torso a bit flatter. He listens to the calm breathing of his boyfriend and feels peace settling in. He absolutely adored it when he fell asleep in his arms, cuddling into him as he dreamed.

"Richard, wake up, love," Taron says and softly rubs his shoulder. His boyfriend groans protesting and turns onto his side, burying his face in his chest. T giggles softly and rolls his eyes. "We have a lesson in ten minutes, come on."

"Don't want to." Rich whines and rubs his eyes tiredly.

"I know, but you're sleeping at my place anyway today. You'll have enough time to sleep and cuddle, I promise." T says and fondles over his head.

Richard sits up groaning and watches him with tired blue eyes. "I love you," he whispers and Comes closer connecting their lips to a kiss before leaning their foreheads against each other, nudging Taron's nose softly.

"I love you too, Richie," Taron whispers back smiling.

 -

Two months later it's Taron's birthday and Richard already planned some things for the day. He picks Taron up at home and his surprised boyfriend falls into his arms kissing him happily.

After school, they get some fried chicken and eat it in the park, where their relationship began almost two years ago. They keep on fooling around, sharing gentle kisses in between bites.

Richard pulls him on his lap and watches him adoringly. "Happy birthday, bubs," he says as a smile formed on his lips.

Taron beams at him and cups his face kissing him. "Thank you so much for all of this," he says and fondles over his cheek.

"It's nothing, T. Just lunch on your birthday." Rich chuckles.

"But it means more to me, I told you that I didn't really have someone celebrating my birthday with me besides my mum before we became a couple." Taron states and sees how Richard's face softens.

Rich grabs his backpack and takes out a package. "It isn't much but I think you can use it."

"Oh Rich, I told you you don't have to give me a present!" T protests but there is pure adoration in his eyes for the man in front of him.

"Shut up, it's your birthday, of course, I got you something" Rich laughs and rolls his eyes at him playfully.

Taron opens it and takes out a beautiful pair of round glasses. "Rich," he says and looks at him seriously. "Come on, I told you not-"

Richard leans forward and kisses him to shut him up. "I broke your glasses during a tickle fight, here, now you have some new ones," he says and takes them, placing them on Taron's face.

"You're cute, you know that?" Taron asks, chuckling.

"Damn, you should see your eyes right now," Rich says and watches him full of love. "Shining even brighter now." Taron starts laughing at that and Richard tickles him. "You're a real beauty, you know that?" he asks and watches pink creep up Taron's cheeks.

"I'm not, but thanks," T says and looks down at his hands.

"I've got no reason to lie to you," Richard says and lifts his chin with his fingers, turning his face towards him. "You are." he places a soft kiss onto Taron's nose and smiles.

"Shut it, Rich. You're the beauty here." he giggles and pets his cheek.

"Nope." Richard just says and kisses him firmly when he wants to protest. "You're perfect and sometimes I still can't believe you're mine."

Taron watches him lost for a moment before laughing. "You're a dork."

"Idiot," Rich mutters under his breath and rolls his eyes.

"I am the one who can't believe that you fell in love with me. You, my love, could have had anyone you wanted" Taron explains and straddles his lap, facing him now and wrapping his arms around his neck.

"For someone as smart as you you're a real dumb ass sometimes" Rich huffs and watches the man in front of him closely. "Think, Taron. I don't wanna have anyone else. I only want you." Taron rolls his eyes at him and kisses him. "Stop rolling your eyes every time I tell you something cute." Rich punches him playfully and they fall into fits of laughter.

"You know I love it when you tell me cute things. I just don't wanna tear up every time." Taron giggles as Rich rolls his eyes now. "Which is something I know you love, but makes me feel like an oversensitive idiot."

"You may occasionally be an idiot, but you're my idiot." he winks at him, making Taron blush. "And yeah you're right, I do love seeing you teary when something sweet happens."

- 

Taron tries to concentrate on the lesson, but his eyes keep on wandering over to the window to stare outside. It's December and Christmas is coming closer, snow is falling down gently from the cloudy sky. He braces his head on his hand and crosses his legs, tapping his foot nervously. T is waiting eagerly for this lesson to end as he looks back at Richard sitting at the table next to him.

His boyfriend looked awful, his eyes were shining feverish and his nose was blocked, making it hard to breathe properly. Richard was shivering visibly to him and had the sleeves of his hoodie pulled down over his hands. Rich was fighting off a bad cold at the moment but he refused to stay home, not wanting to miss any school.

Taron holds back a sigh and rolls his eyes looking at the clock and seeing they have still twenty minutes to go. His eyes drift back out the window and he is glad they already planned on Taron staying with Rich this week since they had been at his place the last week. It became a tradition to stay with each other most of the time since their mothers didn't mind having both of them around.

Richard sneezes loudly and catches Taron flinching in his seat. He can't hide a grin as he looks at him and leans down to his bag to get a tissue. "Fuck." he curses underneath his breath as he realizes he used all of them already.

Taron takes out a pack of tissues from his own bag and hands it to his boyfriend who smiles thankfully blowing his nose. "Keep 'em," he whispers.

After what feels like another hour the bell finally rings and Taron gets up relieved taking his books and putting them into his bag. He looks at Rich who's slower in his movements than usual, exhausted from not being able to breathe properly, and helps him to pack his stuff. "You okay?"

"Been better," Rich says and sniffs a bit in a pitiful attempt to breathe. "My headache got worse today"

"Let's bring you home," Taron says and grabs Richard's hand.

Outside Richard begins shivering heavily at the bus stop and Taron wraps him into a tight hug, rubbing over his arms. Rich hides his face in Taron's jacket and sighs a bit. He hates being sick and feeling so physically weak.

Taron leads them to a seat in the bus and Richard leans against him, searching his near. T wraps his arm around him and tries to keep him warm. He frowns a bit as he cups his cheeks. They feel hot underneath his fingers despite the bone-chilling cold around them. "You feel like you're running a fever," Taron says, and Rich nods.

"It feels like I am" he sighs and nuzzles into him.

"That means you'll stay at home until you're two days fever-free," Taron explained with an apologetic smile as Rich admitted defeat.

 -

This evening Taron sits next to Rich on his bed with a bowl of soup in his hands. Richard laughs as he starts feeding him and coaching him like a toddler. "Stop it." he chuckles.

But Taron was having too much fun with it and digs the spoon in the soup again. "And here comes the airplane for Richard." he makes some dumb airplane noises that makes them both crack up.

Richard takes the spoon into his mouth and smirks at T. "You're so dumb sometimes." he whispers adoringly and his boyfriend smirks.

"I know." he giggles and feeds him another spoon.

 -

When they finish the soup Taron lies down, Richard's head resting on his chest. He fondles through his hair and massages soft circles on Richards scalp, T knew he always loved that. "That'll be the first time I've had to be in school without you since we got together. You were never sick before." Taron sighs and looks up at the ceiling.

"Mm, you gonna be okay?" Rich asks carefully. Taron was safe from his former bullies as long as they were together. Since the kiss after the game he won no one dared to harm T in any way. But would that be the case when Richard wasn't around?

"Sure," T says and looks down at him. "Don't worry so much about me, Luv"

 -

And then there's Christmas. Richard picks up Taron in the evening and takes him out for dinner. After their meal, they walk through the park as it suddenly starts to snow. Rich grabs him by the waist and takes his hand, starting to slow dance with him. Taron giggled nose and cheeks red from the cold peeking out from under his coat.

"You're already practicing for prom?" he asks teasingly and Rich chuckles.

"Maybe," he admits and pulls him close. 

Taron blushes a bit and hides his face in his shoulder, wrapping his arms closer around him. They sway around for a bit in the powdery white drifts, holding each other close and enjoying their company. "I think I love you," Taron mumbles into his shoulder and smirks.

"I know I love you." Rich answers in a low voice and grins back. They look up into the dark night sky, covered with stars and their hearts warm. There were so many people on this planet, so many different stories and he somehow deserved to meet Taron to become part of his story. "This shit is unreal." he breathes out.

Taron pulls back confused and follows his gaze. "What are you talking about?" he quirks an eyebrow and chuckles softly.

Richard turns him around in his embrace and rests his head on his shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Look at all the stars up there and think of all the people on this planet. Every single one of them has their own life, and their own path." Rich says and T leans his head against his trying to understand what he means. "And sometimes two of them get close," Rich points at two stars close to each other. "But why them? Why does one of them deserve the other" he continues and T frowns a bit. "That's what's so unreal about us. What did I do to get you by my side out of all these people?"

"You know what else seems unreal?" Taron asks and turns his head sideways. Richard's deep blue eyes look at him questioningly. "How absolutely adorable you are," he whispers and connects their lips to a tender kiss. "You changed my life, Luv"

Richard leans their foreheads together and bumps Taron's nose with his. "And you changed mine, bubs,"

Taron turns around in his arms and wraps his hands around his neck. His eyes wander all over his boyfriend's face and his heart starts racing. "Merry Christmas, Richie,"

"Merry Christmas, T." Rich answers and inches closer to plant another sweet kiss on his lips.

 -

Taron puts the books he won't need today in his locker and closes it. He's a bit confused about where his boyfriend is because Richard told him they could go for lunch today. He seesaws on his toes and takes out his phone to text him.

"Hey, Taron."

T looks up and sees one of Richard's mates coming over to him. "Hey." he greets him with a smile and gets pulled into a tight hug. "Have you seen Rich anywhere?"

"Oh yeah, he got caught up with our trainer. He asked me to tell you to wait for him at the football field," he says and tries not to spill anything more.

"Okay. Thanks, mate." Taron nods, putting his phone back in the pocket of his trousers. He steps outside in the warm sun of May squinting his eyes a bit at the bright rays. The weather was finally getting more beautiful again. T wanders over to the football field and frowns a bit seeing only Richard. No trainer... What was he up to now? Taron starts walking over to him when Richard suddenly holds up a sign, asking him in bold garish lettering to be his prom date. T rushes over to him and jumps into his arms, nearly tackling him to the turf with a squeal.

"Is that a yes?" Richard giggles and holds him tight, one arm underneath his bum to hold him up.

"Of course it's a yes, dummy," Taron mumbles and buries his face in his shoulder. He breathes in Richard's cologne and imagines them at prom, slow dancing together and not giving a care About anyone around them. He was always safe with Rich.

Richard noticed how tight Taron was holding him and how deep he was burying his face in his shoulder. What could he say his boy was emotional. "You alright there, bubs?"

"I'm happy so happy," Taron says, pulling back tears shining in his eyes and down his cheeks.

Rich watches him with a soft expression. "Why are you crying now?" he whispered.

"I'm just- You know... I always thought prom would be shit and I would be alone." T shrugs his shoulders, his eyes wander all over his face. "And now I have the most beautiful boyfriend asking me to go with him, just a bit overwhelming."

Richard lets him down and cups his face lovingly wiping away his tears with the pad of his thumb. "Taron, you are amazing, kind and so, so beautiful. I still can't believe you're mine, so quit thinking you're the only one who got lucky here." he chuckles softly. "It's just as unbelievable to me to have you. I don't care if you don't believe me"

Taron shuts his mouth again and blushes all up his neck. "If you only knew how happy you're making me..."

"Trying my best," Rich admits and smirks at him. He closes the gap between them and presses their lips to Taron's tears stained cheeks ever so softly. "I love you so much, bubs,"

"I love you too." T let a shy smile creep back onto his face before returning the kisses full of love.

 -

"Will you please stand still now?" Taron giggles and shoots his boyfriend a playful glare.

"Sorry." Rich mumbles chewing his lip and stops hopping around. He couldn't stand still for long and the only thing that could keep him still was cuddling as long as he could move his hand in Taron's hair.

Taron fixes Richard's tie for the billionth time and beams up at him once it looks perfect. "You really didn't do that before?"

"No," Rich admits and his cheeks flush pink in embarrassment.

"Aw don't worry, love. I'll show you how when we have some time." Taron assures him.

Rich wraps his arms around his waist and nods smiling back. "yessir" he leans down and captures Taron's lips in a kiss.

T turns towards the mirror and looks at Rich. "I like it." he raises his eyebrows at him through the mirror.

"I like it too." Rich agrees and watches his boyfriend. Taron was wearing a brown suit, covered in patterns and some blue in it. He's wearing a blue tie in the same hue and it also matches Richard's blue suit. Richard himself was wearing a tie matching Taron's suit. Richard bows before him falling back into his manner of making fun of everything. "Mr. Egerton, it would be an honor if you would dance with me?"

Taron gives in. "Of course, Mr. Madden, but I'll have to warn you I'm terrible at dancing." he stretches his hand out and Rich grabs it pressing a kiss onto it before standing back up straight laughing.

"Liar! You know you can dance!" he protests.

"And you know I would kick your ass if you called me Mr. Egerton in front of anyone and 'bow' at me." Taron jabs back grinning.

Rich grabs him and starts tickling him. "Idiot," he mutters under his breath and pulls him close.

"Love you too."

 -

Taron sways gently in Richard's arms and smiles up at him. Richard's blue eyes are shining back at him beautifully and he feels himself sinking into them more and more as the song continues.

Richard lets his gaze wander over Taron's face and realizes once again how beautiful his man was. He holds him closer than ever and everything seems to be perfect. Rich leans his forehead against Tarons and nuzzles his nose with his own, T smiles and kisses him softly. "Please never leave me," he mumbles underneath his breath only for Taron to hear.

"I would have to be very stupid to leave you." T giggles softly and nudges his nose back against Richards. "I love you far too much to do that."

"I love you too, so so much, bubs," he admits and runs a hand over his cheek gingerly as the song ends. "I can't wait to get another yes from you, but this time permanently."

"Now you're getting cheesy." Taron laughs and shakes his head. "Chill, Madden. I won't go anywhere, you have enough time to propose."

Rich just laughs and cups his face, captivating his lips in a beautiful kiss as Taron hums happily. They would always have each other.

@sarahegerton96 @multicoloredchicken @primaba11erina @anxiety-at-the-classroom @maddertonmyheart @madderton-obsessed

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 107

Chapter Summary -  Danielle returns from LA and decides to go to Suffolk, only to be informed by Tom that she is supposedly in LA snuggling up to a man that is not him.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

All image rights belong to their owners

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Danielle walked through the street feeling confident and good in herself. Her return from the US had been quick and almost as enjoyable as her journey over, though if she was honest, she preferred First Class flying to a Private Jet, which she was sure to tell Tom, to which the reply was “duly noted :)” Mac trotted along happily beside her as she went about her day. They had gone for a run and had dealt with arranging the delivery and installation of the kitchen, now they were simply going for a walk because they were both bored in the house. With earphones on, Danielle only paid heed to road crossings, instead focusing very much on her own little world.

At one stage, she realised Mac had gone in front of her defensively and looked to see what he was looking at, on seeing the same photographer that seemed to effectively camp outside of Belsize in hopes of seeing anyone from there.

‘Where’s Tom?’ The man demanded as she walked by, acting as though he was not there. ‘You’d think since Irish people are supposed to be welcoming, you’d have the decency to answer someone.’ Danielle scoffed under her breath at that, but kept walking, Mac turning and giving a low growl and bark at the man before turning back to the direction of travel again.

Danielle scratched his ear when they came to the next traffic lights. ‘You love minding me, don’t you?’ his tongue lolled out of his mouth at that. ‘When the kitchen is done, we are going to Suffolk.’ Mac sneezed, ‘Glad you agree.’

*

The workmen were far messier than Danielle would have liked, but finally, the kitchen was done, she sent a picture of it to Tom as well of one when the men were getting more equipment, Mac sniffing the tools they had, one paw on them, she captioned that “I am not sure if this is against union regulation, but he seems trustworthy” Tom apparently laughed loud enough to pause production for people to come see. He sent her back a picture that someone had printed of Mac and the tools and put on set.

With the house cleaned and tidied, Danielle readied herself and went to Suffolk with Mac, who seemed elated to be back there for a while, nearly bowling over Diana when she came out to say hello.

With no annoyance, she was able to focus on her work and train for triathlons happily.

After a hard training session, she came home exhausted to check her phone, frowning at four missed calls from Tom and one from Luke. Worried, she rang Tom first. He answered after the second ring. ‘Tom?’

‘Elle.’

‘What is it?’

‘Where have you been?’

‘Out, I was cycling, what is it?’

‘There’s pictures.’

‘Of what?’

‘You and some guy in LA.’

‘Tom, I’m in Suffolk.’

‘I know that, but according to this, you and some guy are cuddling up in LA right now.’

‘I am not sure what you want me to say or do about that Tom.’ Danielle felt uneasy with the whole thing. ‘What guy?’

‘I don’t know, it’s you and some guy, is Lucas Aboriginal?’

‘No, he’s exactly what people turn on Home and Away and see, a white, surfer type guy.’

‘This guy looks native.’

‘Tom, I have no idea who the hell you are talking about, Khan is darker, but I mean, his dad is Middle Eastern, so he would be, but I only spoke with him in the offices. I have no idea who...okay, don’t talk for a second, I have to see this.’ she pulled the phone from her ear and got up Google and typed Tom’s name in. Sure enough, there was a piece by a Hollywood gossip column, claiming she and Tom were done and that she was in LA with her new beau. She rolled her eyes before focusing in on the picture. ‘Tom?’

‘Elle?’

‘That’s not me.’

‘What?’

‘She looks like me, but she has highlights in her hair and she has to be at least five-six or five-seven, and when did I start wearing shoes like those.’

‘I…’

‘And when did I get Chanel sunglasses?’ she giggled. There was silence on the other end of the line. ‘Tom?’

‘Those bastards.’

‘Tom? Wait, did you believe that?’ she felt genuinely hurt at that.

‘No, of course not. I know you’re at home and those movie posters in the background only were put up today, I heard Evans mention seeing them being put up here on the way to set.’

‘Then, why?’

‘They want to hurt us, they want to affect us.’

‘We don’t care though.’ Danielle commented. ‘We know the truth, you are there, making the biggest blockbuster of next year and I am here, working on everything I need to for my big “Oh my God, why the fuck did I agree to this” movie, as well as other things.’

Tom gave a small laugh. ‘I love you.’

‘What a coincidence Mr. Movie Star, I love me too. And you, sometimes, when you’re nice to me, and sometimes on Sundays.’ Tom chuckled more. ‘I miss you.’

‘I miss you too.’

‘Only two weeks left, then I get to kiss you again.’ She chirped.

‘Elle.’ He groaned, causing her to bite her lip.

‘No, not over the phone.’

‘You are an incredible tease.’

‘I am, and you are blocking me from answering Luke, so I am going to ring you again later.’

‘Do, the poor man is probably going grey.’

‘I blame you, goodbye Tom.’ she hung up and pressed the answer button for Luke. ‘Hello, Luke?’

‘I assume you got through to Tom.’

‘It’s not me.’

‘I had gathered that since you have been spotted here in London last week, though those photos were not very interesting and did not make it online, also the fact that this call is going through so easily.’

‘I am in Suffolk.’

‘The picture, what makes you sure it’s not just one from when you were there?’

‘It’s not me, her hair is different, she’s taller and I don’t dress in those clothes.’

‘That sounds fairly reasonable.’ Luke chuckled. ‘Alright, just get on with your day, I think you were spotted stopping to change a tyre earlier on your bike.’

‘No, just pumping it up for the way back, who the hell noticed that?’

‘Well, since last summer and the world declaration as to where Diana’s is,’ there was no hiding the disapproval in Luke’s voice. ‘There have been people waiting to catch Tom there.’

‘That’s disturbing.’

‘Why do you think he was adamant on you getting a gate on your driveway?’ Danielle frowned. ‘They have figured out you have the house next door.’

‘Well, I feel exposed.’

‘I can imagine.’ Luke acknowledged.

‘So we just ignore?’

‘Just ignore.’ Luke stated.

‘Diana and I were going to go to Aldeburgh later, there’s a Summer festival on.’

Luke chuckled. ‘That will confuse people.’

‘Yes, unless they say I went with him to get to his mum next.’

Luke laughed again. ‘I am sure there is someone somewhere that would accuse such a thing. Though thank you for the heads up.’

‘Sorry for the bother to you, Luke.’

‘Do not apologise, after all, it is not even you, is it?’ Luke dismissed. ‘As I said to Tom before, you are the perfect partner for a client, you do nothing to make my job difficult.’

‘Thank goodness I am boring.’

‘I would not call it boring, it is hardly sitting in watching trash television.’

‘That’s not boring, that is just wasting life.’ Danielle commented.

‘Indeed. If there is any issue today, please do not hesitate to inform me.’ Luke offered.

‘Thank you, Luke, have a lovely afternoon and evening, and sorry again for the trouble.’ she stated before hanging up. As she ended the call, she looked at the woman again and laughed. ‘In all fairness, if my arse looked like that, I’d wear those pants too,’ she commented to herself as she threw the phone on the bed and went for a shower.

*

Diana laughed as they watched two men walk by in seemingly medieval attire. ‘That is the wrong era.’ SHe informed Danielle.

‘I will have to take your word for it.’ Danielle smiled back as Diana linked her arm with hers. ‘Dare I ask?’

‘We’ve been spotted.’

‘Ah, well this will confuse them, they think I am in LA with some guy that is Tom’s replacement.’

Diana’s head fell back as she laughed. ‘Lord, do they ever stop?’

‘Why would they, as long as they have people willing to click on it and buy the trash papers, they will sell it.’ Danielle sighed. ‘I can accept it, or lose Tom.’

‘You can’t do that.’

‘Why, are you still looking at venues?’

‘No.’ Danielle looked at her. ‘I found the perfect one.’ That caused Danielle to roll her eyes. ‘But Tom would be lost without you now.’ She gave a small somewhat unbelieving smile. ‘You know it’s true.’ Diana pointed out. ‘Dismiss me if you want, but you and Tom are so good for one another. You are both so happy together. You add to one another’s lives yet do not need to be with each other at all times. Look at you now, smiling and happy, he, according to the texts you say you have received, is also happy. When you are together, you’d swear you were teenagers and not two people in very successful careers, looking to the future. You have never looked at life outside work before this.’ Diana pointed out, ‘In the six years I know you, you have not been so willing to step back and enjoy everything life has to offer.’

Danielle had to acknowledge the truth in her words. Though her career was only on the rise, the fact that now she had more work than ever, she was indeed making more of her life, and if she was honest, Tom was the greatest part to play in that, she wanted to make time to be with him when he was home and to be happy by herself when he was not.

[itsanerdlife]

Everything You Want 5/18

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warning: Lies. Fuck ton of lies. So many lies. Lots of secrets. So many fucking secrets. Language. Violence. Slow Burn. Lots of fighting. Heartbreak. Death threats. Kidnapping. Murder.

Someone is coming for you and your son, Anthony. Too many secrets and too many enemies for you to count. You got out, for reasons. Secret reasons, only Clint Barton knows. Or so you think? Clint takes you back to the safest place there is, Avengers Tower. But how are you supposed to face Peter? Keep your secrets in check? Keep your feelings under wraps? It’s been almost two years, can you really keep it together? You just need to put an end to whoever wants you. Than walk away, like everything is the same, right? Or will you be the one surprised? Everything blows up, leaving you holding the shreds of your secrets and fear.

Tag List Is Open!!

“Clint.” You hiss, as he gives you a shove through his bedroom door. Steve’s arms are folded over his chest as he stands in the room. Nat shakes her head as she moves in a line across the room.

“Oh stop the rooms are sound proof.” Clint rolls his eyes.

“But Peter could hear Anthony crying.” You blink at him.

“No that’s panic. He could sense Tony’s panic and pain.” Clint corrects you.

“Freak.” You mutter, rolling your eyes.

“Y/N just answer something.” Steve squeezes the bridge of his nose.

“You know who Ton’s father is.” Nat looks at you, stopping in her tracks.

“Yes.” You nod slowly.

“You knew the whole time too?” Steve looks at Clint.

“Since the day she found out.” Clint nods.

“And it’s,” Nat glances towards the wall, in the direction of Peter and Anthony in the kitchen.

“Yes.” You swallow, looking away ashamed.

“That’s why you left.” She blinks at you. You nod.

“He was with Mindy. He was so happy. It was just fun, no strings, but my stupid ass went and fell in love with him. Than she came along and we were supposed to go on like nothing happened. I tried, Nat I tried so hard. But every time I saw them together, I wanted to,” you let out a frustrated sigh.

“Strangle her.�� She nods.

“But he was so happy I couldn’t ruin that for him. I just wanted him to be happy, even if he wasn’t happy with me.” You shrug. “I asked Clint for an out, after I got the results back from a blood test. I couldn’t come between them, I couldn’t rip away his happiness by telling him he accidently knocked up his fuck buddy.” You run a hand through your hair.

“What happened between the two of you the night you left?” Steve asks.

“We argued.” You shrug. “Why?”

“He wasn’t the same after it. Whatever you said, it fucked the kid up. He was moody, sulking. I was sure Clint was going to punch him out if he asked where you were one more time.” Steve nods slowly.

“Man he got on my nerves.” Clint sighs, shaking his head.

“He said he wanted to apologize for letting me leave that night.” You explain. “You can’t tell anyone. You have to keep this between the four of us.” Your eyes growing wide at the three people in the room with you.

“How long are you thinking you can keep this to yourself? He’s starting to do things, Y/N.” Nat stares at you.

“What?” Clint turns on you, you wince.

“It’s just the one thing!” You hold up one finger. “Sometimes when he sneezes his hands or feet stick to himself as well.” You cringe.

“He’s sticking to things?” Clint blinks at you.

“Just once in a while.” You admit softly, looking down at the carpet.

“Christ Y/N, you’re not going to be able to keep this secret much longer.” Clint scraps a hand over his face.

“You bet your ass I can. I don’t have to stay here. I’ll leave.” You nod, standing your ground.

“What?” The three of them gasp.

“He doesn’t love me. He’s not ready for a kid. It’s my choice.” You stare at them.

“I’ll tell him.” Steve takes a step towards the door. Your foot slams into the back of his knee, before you slam your body into his, knocking him to the floor with a loud thump.

“Open that mouth Rogers and I’ll fuck your world up.” You hiss.

“Y/N!” Nat is blinking down at you.

“I didn’t ask for your help.” You stand up, glaring at them. “You dragged me here when I didn’t want to come.” You poke Clint in the chest. “I have no problem walking out. I’ll do what I have to, he’s my son.” You shoot the three of them a look, Nat’s helping Steve up off the floor. “Before any of you think about sharing my secret. Remember this, being around Peter, knowing he doesn’t love me, doesn’t want me, is torture. I had his love child, and am raising apart of him, do you understand how much my heart breaks every fucking day in general. Now living with Peter again, I want to claw my own heart out just to make it stop hurting.” Your breathing was ragged as if you were on the verge of tears.

“Y/N.” Nat blinks, her face crestfallen.

“This is my choice. Sharing him with Peter, it’ll hurt even more having a front row seat to watching his life move on. I’d rather stop breathing then watch that or feel that type of pain again.” You shake your head. “I don’t care if you agree or not. You’re good fucking people, so before you open your mouth, think about the pain you’ll be putting me through.” You turn around, ripping open the door.

“You okay?” Peter looks up as you enter the kitchen.

“Yeah.” You nod, pulling your hair up into a messy ponytail.

“Y/N,” Peter smirks scooping the last spoonful from the jar and into Anthony’s mouth.

“Yeah?” You look at him as you start the sink, filling it with water.

“I can tell you’re struggling.” He grins at Anthony as he pulls him from the high chair.

“What?” You blink at him.

“It’s in your body language. If you’re worried about whoever is after you, I’ll stay home during missions with you.” He holds Anthony up, so you can quickly remove his diaper, before he places the giddy baby in the water.

“No Peter, I’m fine. You’re right, I am worried. But the tower is the safest place, I’ll be okay. We both will be.” You smile softly at him as Anthony splashes and giggles in the base of the sink.

“Alright, but if you change your mind. I’ll stay.” His hand slips up your back as he leans in kissing your temple. “I’ll get you his towel and soap.” He nods, before turning and leaving you and Anthony.

“Oh yeah I see you have this really handled.” Clint’s leaning against the opening from the hall, arms folded, watching you.

“Barton, I’ll strip your title as God father, don’t think I won’t.” You mutter as you turn focusing on your son. Clint snorts, before you hear his footsteps down the hall. Moments later Peter is returning, joining the two of you again.

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

Everything Peaches 2/6/19: @xmtd5 @mo320 @all1e23 @courtmr @avxgers @eliza-kat @izzy--lee @irepeldirt @dumblani @crist1216 @a--1--1--3 @alyssaj23 @allyp1023 @joannie95 @nishanki1 @bugalouie @kolakube9 @rileyloves5 @sarahp879 @sea040561 @sexyvixen7 @pcterpvrker @pigwidgexn @doctoranon @tomhardy41 @abschaffer2 @justrae9903 @bookluver01 @teller258316 @callie-bear15 @nickimarie94 @wandressfox @amandab-ftw @carostar2020 @henrietteoaks @nea90sweetie @amberkay284 @circusofchaos @itsagalaxystar @bettercallsabs @miraclesoflove @lucifersnipnips @queenkrissy11 @this-is-mycrisis @sadyoungadult @destiel-artemis @xrosegoldwolfx @paintballkid711 @isabelcrichards @iwillbeinmynest @sweet-honey15 @chanelmadrid13 @mellxander1993 @killerbumblebee @spookygrantaire @geeksareunique @supernatural508 @sammysgirl1997 @itzmegaaaaaaan @booksbeforebois @optimistic-babes @childishhoebinoo @elizabethaellison @aspiringtranslator @mariekoukie6661 @pure-princess-97 @capsheadquaters @samanthasmileys @nerdypinupcrystal @atlas-of-the-world @youclickedthislink @futuremrsb-r-main @lovemarvelousfics @notyourtypicalrose @petersunderoos96 @loving-life-my-way @buckystolemyheart @booktvmoviefangirl @supernatural-girl97 @thefridgeismybestie @dumbbitchenergytm @abbypalmer14-blog @fanfictionjunkie1112 @meganlikesfandoms @awkwardfangirl2014 @supernaturaldean67 @xqueenofthecraziesx   @queenoftheunderdark @writingaworldofmyown @supernaturallover2002 @daughterofthenight117 @mustbeaweasleyginger @mcuwillbethedeathofme @sprinklesandsugarcubes @whothehellisbucky-1930 @verymuchclosetedfangirl @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @ocaptain-mycaptainmorgan @wonderlandfandomkingdom @crazy-little-thing-called-buck @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @stupendoussciencenaturepanda @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @supernatural-strangerthings-1980

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Peter ‘Fuck Me I’m Weak’ Parker: @ml7010 @ariminiria @dkpink123 @boltsgirl919 @quokkatrash   @everthenerd @ms-rogers06 @crayonwriting @baebeepeach @bellamouse16 @honey-bee-holly @messofamasterpiece @britkane-shsl-librarian @kiss-the-stars-goodbye

Everything You Want: @bellewithbooks @little-dr-cranberry @tom-hollands-blog @simply-sams-things @verymuchclosetedfangirl

[iplaydrake]

FULL CIRCLE - CHAPTER 13 - THERE GOES MY EVERYTHING

Catch Up Here :

CHAPTER 12 - CHANCE WORTH TAKING

Main Author’s Note : HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REBLOGS, LIKES, OR EVEN JUST READS!!! ITS WHY I KEEP GOING!!! As always, positive feedback, constructive criticism, and reblogging are always welcome. I own nothing except the storyline of my MC. Everything else belongs to Pixelberry.

Pairing: Drake x MC

Tag List: @likethetailofacomet @carabeth @rhymesmenagerie @speedyoperarascalparty @butindeed @wannabemc2 @client-327 @jovialyouthmusic @be-still-my-aching-heart @riseandshinelittleblossom @lodberg @drakesensworld @alj4890 @rainbowsinthestorm @ao719 @andy-loves-corgis @drakewalkerisreal @whenyourheartskipsabeat @furiousherringoperatortoad @silentcoyotesong @choicesmacmakes @ladyangel70 @lady-alex-keith @notoriouscs @lynne1993 @qammh-blog @gnatbrain @sirbeepsalot @crookedslimecreatorpasta @moneyfordiamonds @annekebbphotography @desiree-0816 @emichelle @addictedtodrakefanfic @kingliam2019 @burnsoslow

*** 15 MINUTES EARLIER ***

Drake pulled his door closed behind him as he finished his text to Remi, letting her know he was on his way to meet her. Hearing his name before he could hit send, he looked up and sighed in obvious frustration. “What do you want, Kiara?”

“I heard about the accident. I’m so happy you’re okay.”

“Thanks.” He was short in his response as he tried to side-step her, hoping she would take the hint, but she continued.

“I tried to come visit you in the hospital, but she was always there.”

“Well, I would hope so, considering she is my girlfriend.” His voice was laced with annoyance at her tone and Kiara did nothing to hide her shock at his statement.

“What? Drake, you can’t be serious!” 

“Not that I need to explain myself to you, of all people, but I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. Excuse me.” He once again tried to slip past her, but she refused to budge.

“…Well… If you've made up your mind, then I guess congratulations are in order. I'll be sure to find Duck and offer them to her as well." The threat was clear to him and he felt his anger build.

“You stay the hell away from her! I mean it, if she so much as sneezes while you’re in the same room-”

“Ugh, Drake, don’t be so dramatic. You know, I don’t know why you’re so angry with me. I’m not the enemy here.”

“Really? You’re not? Then tell me what happened that night.”

She dropped her gaze for a second, swallowing hard before meeting his eyes. “Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if she made that whole thing up... She always was looking for ways to keep your attention-”

“That's enough!” He yelled, leaning down to get right in her face as he spoke. “I swear, Kiara. You come anywhere near her, especially spewing that garbage, and I’ll hurt you.” He pushed past her but she grabbed his arm, turning him around.

“Drake, wait. I’m sorry, okay?... I-I didn't come here to talk about her. I want to talk about us… We used to be so happy, don't you remember? And I'm sure we can be happy again if you’d just give us a real chance... I still love you and I know there was a time when you loved me too.”

“No, there was a time when I thought I loved you. Big difference... But it’s never been you, Kiara. It’s always been her… She’s the only reason I’ve ever been happy… Now, if you’ll excuse me… Remington is waiting.” He put his hand on her arm, intending to gently push her back to get her to let him go. Before he could question her split-second glance over his shoulder, she threw her arm up around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

He pulled away quickly, as he heard someone behind him trying to clear their throat and his heart stopped as he turned around, coming face to face with Leo and Remi.

*****

“Remi... No! Baby, wait! It’s not what you think, I swear!” She was silent as she stepped back, her eyes going from his outstretched hand back to his face, before turning to leave.

"Remi, please!” He reached out to stop her, grabbing her arm and twisting her to face him. She yanked out of his grasp and without hesitating, slapped him hard across the face, stunning him into silence.

Her breath got heavy and tears filled her eyes as she yelled. “I cannot believe I was so stupid to think you really wanted me!”

“I do want you, baby! You know that! She kissed me! I swear to you, I would never-”

“It's not like you really put up that much of a fight, Drake.” Their eyes shifted back to Kiara as she stood with her arms crossed, the satisfaction evident on her face.

“Shut up, Kiara. You're not helping.” Leo said through gritted teeth. It didn't faze her as she kept going, knowing just how close she was to breaking Remi.

“How does it feel, Duck? Knowing you were second best to me again? That he was with me when he could have been with you... Congratulations, by the way. Although, I'm not sure you're going to need it anymore.” She added, smirking at Drake, her earlier words ringing in his ears.

“Damn it, Kiara! Shut the fuck up!” 

“Leo... So help me God, if you don't get her the hell out of my face, I will kill her where she fucking stands!” Remi's booming voice echoed through the hall causing Leo to jump. He grabbed Kiara's arm, leading her in the opposite direction as Remi turned her attention back to Drake. The silence dragged as they stared at each other, Drake willing her to say something, anything but all she could do was shake her head as she walked past him towards her room. Quickly following, he shoved his hands in his pocket to keep from reaching out to her again, not wanting a repeat of seconds ago. He stopped abruptly when she turned around after reaching her door and despite her refusal to meet his eyes, he watched the tears slide down her face.

“6 years... It took me 6 years to get to a place where I was almost okay. I was almost healed and then you happened." There was no anger in her tone anymore, only defeat, scaring Drake more than anything.

“Babe, I...”

She stepped inside and shut the door without another word.

*****

She'd managed to avoid him for the better part of the day, lasting as long as she could before finally heading to her room by herself in the early evening. Her head was clouded with the image of Drake; his hand on Kiara's arm, her other arm draped around his neck, their lips touching. It was consuming her and she needed to take a break so she could attempt to obtain some clarity. She could feel her tears well up all over again as she saw him leaning against her door, waiting for her.

“Can I explain?”

“I can’t talk to you right now, Drake. I just can’t... Everything hurts and I… I need some time-”

“No... No! I know what that means! We need to talk this shit out! You need to hear my side-”

“I need to think about what the hell I’m doing-”

"What?! What does that mean?"

"It means that if you care about me at all, you'll give me some room to think this through... Because I know, Drake! The rational part of me knows you didn't kiss her... But the not-so-rational part wants to kill her... And you, for putting me in this position to even have to question you."

"Is everything okay, guys?" They looked up, seeing Leo making his way towards them.

“It's fine. Drake was just leaving."

"No, I wasn't, Remi! Just let me-"

“Go... Please?”

“Drake... Come on, man... Just give her some space.”

The devastation on his face was clear and he was sure he could feel her slipping away from him; his biggest fear about to happen all over again. But seeing the desperate, pleading look on her face, he gave in to her. With a heavy sigh, he nodded and slowly leaned in to kiss her forehead before walking away. Leo met her gaze, understanding what she wouldn't say.

"I'll keep an eye on him for you."

*****

She smiled softly as she read the last text from Aria. After sending a final reply of her own, she put her phone down and laid across her bed, hugging her pillow tightly and letting her tears fall as she thought about the mess that was currently her life. She missed Drake, that much she was sure of and she'd told him the truth when she said she knew he didn’t initiate the kiss; there was no way he would do something like that to her. But she was hurt. The pain of the past was pushed front and center thanks to Kiara. She'd known exactly where to hit Remi to cause her to doubt Drake, and Remi couldn't help but feel like she let her do it. She let Kiara put a wedge between them and now, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had succeeded, ending their relationship before they’d even had the chance to start. 

The banging on her door startled her out of her thoughts and she stood up, crossing her room to pull it open. Panic set in as she took him in, standing in her doorway, the scent of alcohol so overwhelming that it made her sick as he roughly pushed past her.

“We need to talk…”

Want to continue? Click below for the next chapter :

CHAPTER 14 - ENTER SANDMAN

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Two

Part One , Part Three , Part Four

Pairing: Douglas Booth!Nikki Sixx X OC

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Language

Tag list: @fandomshit6000 , @lilmou5ie , @tamedhearts , @divaanya

**Let me know if you want to be tagged**

———————————————————————

“So, how did this happen?” I ask the four band members, taking another sip of water while we wait for our food. Vince and Mick glance at me while Nikki doesn’t bother looking up from the menu he’s pretending to be fascinated by, even though he’s already ordered. 

I at least expect Tommy to answer me, but he’s watching a woman in a short skirt walk by, reaching across the table to hit Vince and Nikki to catch their attention so he can show them the hot chick he discovered.

They watch as she walks by, as if they’ve never seen the lower half of thighs before, and Mick and I exchange eye contact with unamused looks on our faces.

“Idiots.” Mick mumbles, pushing his sunglasses up his nose.

“Horny idiots.” I add in the same tone, feeling a little better when the usually stoic face of the guitarist shifts and nearly gives me a smile. Nearly.

I don’t think they heard us, and when the woman’s too far out of sight and Vince leans back, smirking at me.

“So, Viv, what’ve you been up to these days?” He asks, completely brushing off my earlier question.

“Same thing I was up to freshman, sophomore and junior year. Focusing on school.” I tell him blankly and he rolls his eyes and groans, tilting his head back.

“When the hell are you gonna blow your fuckin’ parents off and have fun?” He asks me.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell her and she won’t listen.” Tommy cuts in and I look at him pointedly.

“I snuck out to come see you tonight.” I argue. “Dressed like a hooker.”

“Not a slutty one,” Tommy says it as if it’s not good enough. “You’re wearing a bra, and your shorts could be a few inches shorter.”

“If my mother saw me like this, she would exorcise me.” I state tiredly.

“Ugh, she’s one of those.” Mick comments blankly.

“You have no fucking idea, Mick.” Tommy shakes his head as he complains.

“Judging by how boring her spawn is, we have a pretty good idea, T-bone.” Nikki speaks finally, tossing the menu aside with a low exhale.

“Wow, you have been on it tonight.” I call him out with cut eyes, my arms crossed. “Did you not get all of your anger out during that brawl?”

“Did you not get all of your bitchiness out during the show?” He asks me, furrowing his brows. “You know, we encourage people to get their feelings out during a show so they go home chilled out and not so uptight.”

“Well, maybe you should do better next time.” I shoot back, getting annoyed with his attitude and he chuckles without humor.

Tommy and Vince stay quiet, letting us bicker, glancing at us quietly as Mick just sits still, keeping his face forward, minding his own business.

“I met Tommy after I left my band, London, and he said he could join me. He knew Vince from school, and we found Mick through a newspaper add.” Nikki explains to me with barely any emotion. “That’s how this happened.”

So, he was listening after all.

“How the fuck did this happen?” He asks next and motions between Tommy and I, and we look at each other.

“We met in first grade.” I tell him.

“I put gum in her hair.”

“Then tried to get it out with his spit.” I add. “Which made it worse.”

“So I just cut it out with scissors.” He finishes with a smile and a nod as if he’s a problem solver and I rub my lips together.

“Basically our friendship has consisted of him just making my life hard from day one.” I explain. “Which nowadays instead of putting gum in my hair, he’s screwing girls in the backseat of my car.”

“Oh my God. It was one time, Viv.” He sighs, looking at me.

“Tommy, I saw your everything.” I remind him and he waves me off.

“I’ve seen your everything before. It’s not the end of the world. It just brings us closer.” He tries to reason with me and I’m reminded of the one incident I was hoping they’d forgotten about as he and Vince exchange looks and try to hide their smiles.

“Oh, do tell.” Nikki’s interest is obviously a jab at me, the smug look on his face as he leans forward makes me want to come across the table and hit him.

“Her sophomore year, summer pool party, my house, her bikini magically came off.” Vince tells him, pointing his finger at me.

“‘Magically came off’ meaning Vince spiked my drink with Tequila.” I correct him and he gives me a tight grin.

“You know, now that I think about it, I can’t decide if it was the Tequila or the AC/DC that turned you in to a dirty stripper.” Vince thinks aloud and I have to keep from smiling.

“I was only fifteen. I was not a dirty stripper.” I assure Mick and Nikki.

“Tommy had to chase your naked ass down the street and wrestle you in order to get you to put clothes on.” Vince continues on, not helping my case and I give up. “Tell me you didn’t have fun that day.” He tries to make a point and I think for a few seconds.

“I don’t remember anything past me getting drunk, Vince. Why would you want to live life not remembering any of the fun you supposedly have?”

“Ugh, you’re one of those.” Nikki says to himself, repeating Mick from earlier, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forget having morals and a sense of sobriety is like having the plague to rockstars.” I spit out.

“Viv,” Tommy says under his breath and nudges me with his leg to get me to stop whatever rant I’m about to go on and ruin the mood.

“Do you plan on sticking with Tommy through all of this? Like if we happen to get signed or something and make it to the big leagues?” Nikki asks all of the sudden and Tommy and I stay quiet.

We’ve talked about the possibility of him finding luck in someone’s band ever since he started playing.

I promised him I would go with him wherever he went. We haven’t revisited the idea since I made that promise our junior year. Now we’re half way done with senior year and I’ve already been accepted into a prestige college on a dancing scholarship. If he happens to make it big, I wouldn’t be able to go unless I dropped out. And that would be a fun conversation with my parents.

“That’s what we agreed on. Why?” I ask him and he shakes his head slightly.

I wish he would’ve told me what he really wanted to say. Which was “you’ll never make it out alive.” I wish he would have given me even the slightest idea of what exactly I was getting myself in to. Not that any of it would have made me change my mind.

After we finished eating, I was half asleep, leaned against Tommy as he, Nikki and Vince talked about their next gig and what improvements need to be made for a better show. Mick’s already gone, he left before we even got food, and physically I’m here but mentally I’m in my bed at home.

“Tommy, I’m going home.” I say to him after glancing at his watch and seeing it’s almost two in the morning.

“Lame.” Vince pipes out.

“I know.” I admit, not even caring at this point. I just want to sleep.

“Are you okay to drive?” Tommy asks and before I can answer, he’s taking Nikki’s glass of Coca-Cola away from him and putting it in front of me. “Drink. It’s got caffeine.” Tommy suggests and I glance at Nikki to see him glaring at Tommy for snatching his drink without asking.

“No, thanks. I don’t want any contagious Devil-Spawn disease.” I push the drink away, hearing a single “ha” come out of Nikki’s mouth as Vince snickers.

I slide out of the booth we’re seated in and stand up, relieved to stretch my legs.

“Have fun on your knees, Viv.” Vince tells me slyly, giving me a grin. “Ya know, praying at church and all.”

“I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.” I promise him, looking at Tommy. “I’ll see you Monday.” I tell him, walking to the door.

“Drive safe.” He orders me and I give him a thumbs up before stepping outside to my car.

When I get home, I carefully shut my door as quietly as I can, stepping to my unlocked window. Once it’s slid up, and I climb in, I immediately go pee, strip down and fall in to bed, smelling like cigarettes, booze and sweat but I’m too tired to care.

I hated lying to my parents. And I never did anything necessarily wrong so they had every reason to trust me. Of course what happened at Vince’s pool party a couple of years prior could be considered “wrong”, but they’d never find out about that. And as Mötley Crüe’s success grew, I was having to lie more and more to my mom and dad because I was going to every show they played. Which meant I had to go behind my parent’s backs multiple times a week, multiple nights in a row.

I pace the floor of the dressing room, Tommy perfecting his hair as I continue ranting.

“...And I can’t even sneeze without them interrogating me so I don’t know how much longer I can keep this whole thing up.” I finish telling him.

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell them you’re tutoring me if they keep getting suspicious.” He tells me, teasing his hair, and I step behind him in the mirror, teasing a section that he missed. “Thanks, Viv.” He mumbles once I’m done, taking a swig of Jack that’s on the counter in front of him.

“They don’t even think I’m friends with you anymore, Tommy.” I don’t expect the hurt look on his face when I tell him this, and he snaps his full attention my way.

“What the fuck do you mean?” He asks and I breathe out.

“Mötley and it’s members are starting to gain recognition from my church. My mom told me I don’t need to be friends with you anymore.” I explain and his face scrunches up. “Being that you represent Satan and all of hell’s demons and what not.” I try to make a joke but he’s not focused on it.

“Who the fuck is she to tell you to stop being friends with me after twelve fucking years?” He hisses bitterly, looking in the mirror to line his eyes with black liner.

“I’m not listening to her, obviously.” I motion to myself.

There’s a pause of silence between us, and he finishes his eye liner, taking another gulp of alcohol.

“You don’t really believe that shit about us and Satan do you?” It’s a question I assume is meant to be funny but he’s dead serious when he asks it.

“No, Tommy, I don’t.” I state sternly. “There is nothing hellacious about you.” I add, smiling reassuringly at him.

I decide I better hurry and change from my “appropriate” clothes that I wore out of the house since my parents were still awake. They weren’t about to let me leave until I explained to them I was going to a prayer meeting at my friend Tansy’s house.

“Tommy, I need my clothes.” I tell him, taking the long, denim skirt off, along with the long sleeve shirt, leaving me in a bra and panties and he turns to hand me the skin tight, emerald green dress that leaves little to the imagination.

He doesn’t acknowledge the fact I’m in just my underwear, his face turned away as he hands me the dress and I feel a shred of pride that he actually can control himself to an extent.

I put the dress on, deciding it doesn’t look right with a bra and I can see the distinct panty line so I take it off again and toss my bra aside, and take my panties off, tossing the set of under garments on to the counter.

“Hide those from Vince or I will never see them again.” I tell Tommy and he gets a look on his face before turning to face me, screaming like a girl when he sees me completely naked.

“Tommy!” I scream as he screams “Viv!” And squeezes his eyes closed.

“Why didn’t you warn me?!” He asks with his face in his hands and I shouldn’t find this funny, but I do.

“I didn’t expect you to turn around and you’ve already said you’ve seen it all—“

I’m interrupted by Nikki and Vince barging in blaring out “Tommy” and “T-Bone.”

I have never seen Tommy Lee move so fast and before I know it, he’s shouting “No!” And tackling me, while I’m still naked, to keep Vince and Nikki from seeing me.

Judging by the looks on their faces, he was a little too late at covering me up.

[mojoflower]

Teen Wolf mpreg fic recs (99% Sterek, 1% Steter)

I know that you love me, even when I lose my head by LunaCanisLupus 22 E, 136k, Complete.  “We’re not mates, Cora,” he insists. “I mean look at him-“  //  “Ouch,” the kid says, no longer pushing that shit eating grin.  //  “He’s- he’s,” Derek tries, at a loss of how to explain why this can’t be possible. Why it shouldn’t be possible.  //  Or the one where Derek gets attacked by hunters, ends up with amnesia and forgets Stiles is his mate.

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Stiles, Alpha Derek, but Stiles is a BAMF, BAMF Stiles, presumably Actual Derek is also a bamf, but College Derek is pretty useless, Heh heh

Wow, this story just grabbed me and didn't let me go and now it's the end of a full day and I have no excuse for abandoning everything except that I was really involved and enjoying the plot.  //  Stiles is such a fucking badass, I love this, he's super-smart and strategizes and handles everything that comes up like a pro and it's totally easy to see why they have such a large and powerful pack. 'College Derek', meanwhile, is a complete sexist asshole (with the whole Alpha/omega thing) who says some super hurtful things in the first half out of sheer ignorance mostly -- although occasionally it's spite. Stiles handles it as well as he can, trying to hide that it hurts and striking back because he has backbone for god's sake... but his bondmark is slowly fading and that's terrifying and tragic.  //  Meanwhile, the Silva pack is due to arrive with some manifest bad intentions, and Peter is lurking around stirring up trouble, and it's a really fucking bad time for Derek to not remember who he is, because it makes their pack vulnerable.  //  Great story.

The Lighthouse Keeper by tugela54 E, 75k, Complete.  On a rural island just off Alaska’s northern Inside Passage, stands a centuries old lighthouse - the perfect sanctuary for its keeper to hide when the moon is full, to burn and rage through its cycle with the townsfolk being none the wiser.  //  But then a new resident comes to Beacon Harbour – a bright-eyed young student chasing an elusive whale species – and all of a sudden those thick stone walls seem paper thin…

Bottom Stiles, Like Whoa,  

 Whoa, that was an intense climax, I'm kinda breathless. Great story. Stiles is earnest and funny (and sooo hot for the giant, hairy, handsome man -- when author says size difference they are not messing around and it's mentioned frequently) and Derek is monosyllabic and awkward. They figure it out eventually, and there is hot sex (did I say size difference and hirsuteness?). Laura's a great werewolf-sister (Derek is the only werewolf) and her son Seth is a cutie. The cast of characters (Chris, Jordon, Finstock, Angus, Gladys and the two First People Miriam and Jonah) are interesting and fleshed-out. Love the plot, and the take on Derek's werewolf (not Teen Wolf style), love the First People lore and rituals, love the setting waaay up in Alaska on this tiny island.  //  (Don't let Major Character Death tag scare you, you're gonna be just fine.)

Hey Lover, I Got a Sugarcane by pibroch (littleblackdog) Steter, E, 17k, Complete.  [References to Mpreg rather than straight-up #mpreg]  “Put Peter on the phone,” Stiles says, too sharp to be polite.  //  “What?” Derek sounds completely thrown. “Stiles, I don’t think— Okay, you’re obviously not understanding what’s happening here. Peter isn’t talking. He’s basically just growling at this point, and he’s rounding on anyone that gets too close. He actually bit me when I tried to take back my pillow. I nearly lost a thumb.”  //  “Derek.” The reality of this shitshow of a situation is finally kicking in, undeniably, and Stiles needs to hear Peter’s voice. “Just trust the omega, okay? Tell him it’s me, and give him the damn phone.”  //  ---"Wrangling Rut-Drunk Alpha Boyfriends 101" by Stiles Stilinski, omega and responsible adult person.

I've loved other things I've read by this author

Delicious. And also funny.

I've Got A Sure Thing by skoosiepants  T, 11k, Complete.  Stiles's water breaks ten miles outside of Beacon Hills.

Fox Stiles, Werefox Stiles, Daddy Stiles

Precious: I love the style, it tumbles and tumbles over itself. Stiles is himself. Derek keeps hanging around, and he loves little Princess Leia. Cora keeps laughing at them. Stiles might be a little confused.

******

He calls Derek and says, “I think your entire family is here, dude,” and Derek roars, “What?” and, “Don't call me dude, “ and, “Fuck, I'll be right over.”

Derek shows up in his EMT uniform and with his partner Boyd, stoic and amused, and the wild look in Derek's eyes is probably as close to a panic as Stiles will ever see him in.

Derek says, “Oh my god, Laura,” and grabs for Prin just as Prin launches herself out of Laura's arms toward him. He swings her up in a practiced movement and settles her on his hip and Laura grins so wide her fangs are showing.

“The pack wanted to meet her, even Mom's here,” she says, gesturing toward a big black wolf that looks almost exactly like Derek in wolf form – the wolf lifts her head and sneezes at them, then goes back to nosing through Stiles's DVD collection.

“Mom,” Derek says, and holds Prin up so she hides his face. Prin tugs at his hair and knees him in the eye and giggles when he shoves her up so her tummy is balanced on the top of his head, it's so cute Stiles can hardly stand it, his life is insane.

“Okay,” Stiles says, clapping his hands together, “I'll make tea.”

I don't think that means what you think it means by ThroughTheTulips  M, 21k, 7 works, Complete.  Ever notice how aliens have mostly similar customs to humans in Stargate? There never seem to be words or concepts that just don't translate. For the most part that makes sense given how they were spread deliberately across the universe, but there should be more weird stuff.  //  So I made some. This is very fluffy and ridiculous. Enjoy.

I simply can't with this. What an unanticipated, hysterical delight.

 I Know Where Babies Come From, Derek by DiscontentedWinter  E, 52k, Complete (series is 132k of deliciousness)  [Implied Mpreg, rather than actual #mpreg].  Stiles finds a baby on the porch.  //  It looks exactly like him.  //  Well, this is awkward.

Favorite, read again, still a favorite

Funny and unique and gripping (and there's one part that's simply fucking heartbreaking, god every.time. I bawl like a baby). I love this so much. It's totally one of my return-again-and-again-comfort-fics (even though there's very little that's slow-paced and domestic about it).

 monday i can fall apart but by friday i'm in love by tryslora  M, 6k, Complete.  It's just past five in the morning and Stiles is barely awake, wearing only sleep pants that hang low below his pregnant belly, and he can't get the damned brand new jar of decaf coffee open. But he has a neighbor, and he's too tired to think that waking someone else up at this hour might not be the best (or politest) of ideas.

Alpha Derek, Omega Stiles, Caretaking,  

lol.  short and funny and sweet and Alpha!Derek is a caretaker (and pregnant omega!Stiles is a sass-spewing dork)

 finger on the trigger and all fired up by tryslora  E, 6k, Complete  [Implied Potential Mpreg rather than #mpreg].  Derek goes undercover to expose a drug trafficking ring running inside of a porn studio. What he finds is Stiles.

Hot and funny.

 I'm Not Immune by moodwriter  E, 24k, Complete.  “Did they inject anything into you? You can hold me back. You can stop me. I can’t stop you.” Stiles is in full blown panic mode now.  //  The one where Stiles and Derek get kidnapped, and sex needs to happen for reasons.

Great story, grows as it's written. Follows a lot of emotional development, tangled in the godawfulfucking situation they're trapped in.

Fire, Fury, and Flame by IAmAVeronica  E, 125k, Complete.  Stiles Stilinski was never going to be the omega who got knocked up right after high school, and then he's accidentally artificially inseminated with a stranger's sperm.  //  Awesome.  //  And the father of Stiles's baby just so happens to be Derek Hale. Half-feral, quite possibly a murderer, and pursued by a gleefully sadistic band of hunters who are only too eager to use Stiles and his baby to hit Derek right where it hurts.  //  Joy.

Omega Stiles, Alpha Derek, Mpreg, Kidnapping, Stalking, cultural ramifications of a/b/o

So, Stiles, the omega-rights activist who never wants anything to do with an Alpha and wants to avoid any of that biological imperative bullshit, winds up pregnant a la Jane the Virgin. BUT. Derek is unwilling to commit, or even to have Stiles tell anyone who the baby-Daddy is. This could be because a complete psychopath has him in her targets.

Kate is one fuck-scary villain, just, crazy as a bag of cats and vicious with it, and the filth that comes out of her mouth is truly chilling.

Stiles gets kidnapped pretty early on, which is frightening enough, and then she's back for another try. At that point, he's kidnapped again, this time by Derek, who whisks him across the country to the Preserve, a werewolf compound in Maine. Here, Stiles is the only human, pregnant and vulnerable and trying to make a temporary life until the baby is born. But will it only be temporary?

There's love, sociopolitical musings, lots of angst, lots of danger. The baby is born about 3/4 of the way through the story, and then Kate comes around to terrorize everyone again. Even though Derek and Stiles are living in a house that's reinforced with bars and a panic room, she still manages to nearly burn Stiles and the baby…

 Rescue Me (& Take Me In Your Arms) by tumtatumtum  E, 34k, Complete (series is 37k so far).  Just when Stiles is starting to reach panic-attack levels of stress, a leather jacket and firm thigh are pressed right up next to him, and an arm is casually thrown over his shoulder. Stiles looks up to thank this kind person who is saving his life, and suddenly forgets what air is.  //  Because HOT. DAMN. Call the police and the fire-man, this guy is smoking.  //  Or the AU where Derek helps save Stiles from an ex, and a steamy BDSM relationship ensues- with feelings all over the place.

Fake/Pretend Relationship, Sub Stiles, Dom Derek

Whoooaa, Nellie. Strap in for a ride, folks. Hot and also hilarious, which is a difficult combo to achieve. Loads of D/s sexy times. Stiles is precious. Derek is possessive and a wee bit insecure. They're awful fun to watch together.  ***The one where Stiles is Alpha Mate which magically means he starts leaking slick outta his ass, even tho he's human.

*******

[Kept trying to find this fic using key words bar and boyfriend and ex-boyfriend... which finally got me there. It's SO worth a re-read or ten.] I also tagged it with fake/pretend relationships, since it's fake for about the first 5 minutes, until Derek puts his hand on the back of Stiles' neck and Stiles moans and MELTS and lo, romantic and sexual interest is born.)

 It's a mad, mad world by ElisAttack  E, 74k, Complete [No #mpreg]  "They call him the Feral Wolf." The man laughs hysterically as Stiles backs away from him, fear coursing through his veins. "Feral Hale. Do you know why? Huh?" The man creeps closer, testing the restraint of his chains, white talcum falling from his skin, swirling in the air like the dust devils plaguing the wasteland. "Because he's fucking mad."  //  Or the one where Stiles is a prisoner looking to return home, but to do so, he may have to rely on a questionable drifter.

Really enjoyed this. Very interesting take on alpha/omega, haven't seen it before. And yay for apocalyptic mad max-type world. Scary as fuck.

a little advice for aspiring fires by The Byger (Byacolate)  E, 42k, Complete.  Regardless of his sadly lacking social circle, Stiles was going to have to get some physical contact or he was going to explode. Seriously. It’d be messy and Derek would probably become even more emotionally constipated having to clean up little bits of Stiles from his pristine walls and furniture.

Touch-Starved, Skin Hunger, Omega Stiles, Sassy Stiles, stiles talks CONSTANTLY, Mpreg, Kidfic

But We're Still Sleeping Like We're Lovers by CharWright5  E, 110k, Complete  [No #mpreg].  There are several things Stiles Stilinski knows to be facts: he's a werecoyote like his parents; his twin sister Malia could use a filter more than him; he's an Omega and terrified of his upcoming heat; and Derek Hale-McCall will never see him as anything more than his kid brother's best friend. Doesn't stop Stiles from asking the Alpha to help him during his heat. Or from developing some serious feelings that go beyond the bedroom. Basically, he's totally screwed, in more ways than one.

Fox Stiles, Creature Stiles, he's not a fox, but when I'm cruising that tag, I'll like to read this story

Idiot boys. Hot sex. More idiot boys. Angst. Fluff.

Jurisdiction by elisera  M, 7k, Complete (series complete at 20k).  John is a pretty level-headed guy. He wasn’t always, back during his own Sturm und Drang period, but he married a firecracker of a woman and got a kid with an affinity for trouble like he got payed for ending up in it, so someone had to level out or they would’ve ended up living in a treehouse or Lapland doing god knows what. Anyway, getting a hold of his temper is one of John’s better life achievements. It makes him a good sheriff and it kept him from blowing his lid too badly those last two years when Stiles started acting out in a way that John had never seen before.  //  But the temper is still there.  //  He’s reminded of it when he comes home on a random Saturday in March after spilling his milkshake all over his uniform shirt only to notice he didn’t have a spare in the station and finds Stiles bend over the kitchen sink with hunched shoulders.

Papa Stilinski is a total badass and mmm mmmm mmmm, so is Derek. Stiles has got some awesome muscle looking out for his best interests.

Into Something New by marguerite_26  E, 9k, Complete.  [Implied Mpreg rather than #mpreg].  Something is happening to Stiles. He’s losing time. Something is messing with his head, with his body. Maybe if he felt better he’d think to be worried.

 Nowhere Man by 1lostone  E, 76k, Complete.  [Mpreg (off screen)]  When Stiles leaves Beacon Hills, he does it without a backwards glance. For two years he is happy on the other side of the country- until someone targets not only him, but his daughter.  //  Unfortunately, the asshole bodyguard his dad hired to make sure he gets back home is none other than Derek Hale. And that's really not very good for either of them.

1lostone is, as always, the goddess of the lengthy, painful, disturbing, angsty, violent, sexy story. God, I love it.

The Second Coming (of Werewolf Jesus) by lupinus, uraneia  E, 40k, Complete.  Stiles was enjoying his senior year until his crazy English teacher decided he made the best candidate to gestate Derek's kid. Now Stiles is a seventeen-year-old pregnant dude and he and Derek have to figure their shit out, because in nine months they are going to be tied together for the rest of their lives.

Sweet: very fluffy and domestic.

Pride and Place by DarkAthena (seraphim_grace)  E, 63k, Complete.  (Part of series A/B/O bodice rippers) [Mpreg, Discussion of mpreg, no men were pregnant in the making of this fic].  Derek Hale, Earl of Osterbrook, has inherited, following the death of Lord Montfort, a run down house in Yorkshire he neither needs nor wants, convinced his staff are robbing him, and with the mystery of a missing ward, he manages to get himself talked into a ridiculous bet, that he cannot pass as a steward until Midwinter, nearly two months away. So can he maintain the charade? Find the missing child? and manage to turn the shambles of a house around, or will he give up and let Peter take the thousand pounds he bet.  //  now with explicit epilogue - the rest of the story is teen rated though, so if you don't like the idea of explicit sex in your bodice rippers - just don't read that bit.

Great story.

The Well of Living Waters by kalpurna  E, 30k, Complete.  King Derek takes a consort.

 Within His Power by NoBezel  E, 69k, Complete.  [Discussion of mpreg]  Derek is a wolfish cyborg, brother of the Governor of California, heir to the Hale fortune. Stiles is a un-sequenced human in a world of designer DNA. When Derek is forced to choose a mate, no one expects him to choose Stiles. To be fair, Derek doesn't expect him to say no.

Pretty fucking phenomenal. Lots of world-building and political intrigue. If you're in it for the tropes, you'll be disappointed, but otherwise it's intense and dense and lovely.

The Threat of Human Sacrifice by vampireisthenewblack  E, 45k, Complete.  The sheriff bought a crib and made Derek help him put it together. Stiles thought of Hemingway and the shortest, most heartbreaking story ever told, and dismantled it on his own while Derek was out.  //  [The one where Stiles getting knocked up is the least of his worries.]

So excellent and intense.

The Honey and the Sting by the_ragnarok  M, 19k, Complete (series still wip)  Derek didn't remember what happened when he went into heat. He could only assume the worst. The truth may be stranger than that.

Beautiful.

Tiny Houses by ohmyjetsabel  E, 77k, Complete.  "So this is what Stiles does. He lies in Scott’s bed and waits for Melissa to say she’s found someone to get it out of him, to cure him of the wrongness and the bad, and he dreams.  //  God, he dreams.  //  He dreams of fire and swollen bellies and that scene in Alien, of giving birth to jackals through his urethra, the whole horrific nine yards. His head is a terrible place to be, he can’t imagine his stomach is much better, why anyone would want to put a thing inside of it."

Fuck.

 Shifts by gryvon  E, 15k, Complete.  Stiles has what he's always secretly wanted - he's in a relationship with Derek and he's one of Derek's betas - but all that gets turned upside down when Gerard kidnaps him and his unexpected baby.

Who doesn't want Stiles having emotionally confusing sex with Derek, getting knocked up unbeknownst to either of them, and then kidnapped for the future baby? I mean, really. It's classic.

A Mating Moon by unpossible  E, 37k, Complete.  (Series 55k so far.) [this is not mpreg, just to be clear]  “Hey, Scott, so, I uh, there’s this amazingly hot guy and I’m uh, gonna spend the weekend with him but, you know, just to be careful, I’m sending you his picture, so if by some terrible chance my bloated corpse shows up sometime Monday, just, y’know pass this along to the authorities.” He pauses. “Uh. Kidding?” and then hangs up with a rush of air.  //  “That is the worst voicemail in the history of voicemails,” Derek says.

fucking fantastic

 (Once in a) Blue Moon by clarkoholic, skywardsmiles  E, 60k, Complete.  (Series 63k so far.)  Stiles and Derek are getting along, but they’re not a family, and they’re sure as hell not mates. Christ, they’re basically just two stupid guys who happened to get pregnant because of a full moon and sheer dumb luck.

Oh, the angst, the pining, the guilt, the blame, the anger. Total pain-fest while we watch Stiles nearly die from the burden of the pregnancy. Lovely sweet ending, of course.

Tried and Tested Series by dancinbutterfly  E, 53k, 12 works, Complete.  In which Derek has a sex emergency with unplanned results, Stiles could be the baby daddy on one of those horrible MTV pregnancy shows, Sheriff Stilinski takes in strays and life in Beacon Hills never has a dull moment, not even when things are calm.

Really wonderful series. Stopped at Part 11, so am waiting for updates. A good investment of time, even incomplete. ;D  //  [Huh, evidently I missed an update somewhere along the line!]

In the Solstice of our Hearts by ravingrevolution  E, 73k, Complete.  "You're not putting that up your butt," Scott told him flatly and Stiles couldn't stop the pissed off whine he made, but his friend continued. "Stiles, you can't put that up your butt, you know that. Your butt won't be ready for anything to go in it until-"  //  "Okay, okay!" he said, flailing his hands to stop his friend's lecture. "Message received, no butt stuff until I'm pounced on by some freaking animal in the forest and ravished to within an inch of my life. Got it. Thanks, Scotty, I mean heaven forbid I actually try to take control of my life and give myself a fighting chance or anything."  //  "Not all alphas are animals," Scott said quietly.  //  Maybe he was right, but Stiles wasn't holding his breath.

Omega Stiles, Berserk Stiles, omega beast, everyone's a virgin, Hurt/Comfort, care taking

The one where there's a Mate Run in the woods, and Derek with his pack manage to frighten Stiles up a tree from whence he falls and is impaled on a branch (ouch!) and then they spend a week in a cave while Stiles heals. Meanwhile, Kate and her cronies are sneaking into the month-long Mate Run with the intent to a)finally kill Derek and b) sneakily bond with some omegas. So Stiles goes berserk, which is the omega form of a hulking violence monster, to protect Derek. (Story could have stopped there, but carries on for another 1/3.)

[thedarkrose17]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum Characters: Prompto Argentum, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Eventual Relationships, Accidental Baby Acquisition Summary:

The first thing Prompto wakes up to is concerned voices and someone fussing or whining.

It takes a few moments to sit up, adjust in the tent and glance around. It’s just Ignis, Gladio and a fussing baby. He blinks and looks again. The baby wasn’t here last night. ☆ ☆ ☆ A.k.a The astrals get tired of Prompto and Noctis' pining and decide to try and get them together

Read under the cut or on the link :)

Noctis is almost asleep when he hears a familiar squeak.  He yawns and grabs his phone, unlocking it and checking the text.

‘He's cute (ᗒᗨᗕ)’

“Both of them are.” Noctis mutters back.

Noctis smiles and looks around for the familiar furry face and finds Carbuncle on the floor, legs too tiny to get him on the bed.

The Prince slowly and carefully frees his arm from around Prompto before carefully helping the tiny fennec fox up onto the bed.

He gets an emoji with heart eyes in response and chuckles quietly.

“Not dating.” Noctis mutters, another message coming through his phone.

‘Shame (╥_╥)’

‘Baby's cute though (* >ω<)’

Noctis nods and gently rubs Solis’ back.

“I feel like I'm texting Iris and not a magic messenger.”

‘Rude ( ︶︿︶)_╭∩╮’

Noctis makes the most inhuman sound a person can ever make at the reply, Ignis even gives him a weird look for that. Gladio meanwhile tries not to laugh.

Noctis chooses to ignore them and reply to Carbuncle instead.

“What the fuck...You actually flipped me off.” He whispers.

‘(◕‿◕✿)’

“...You're a little shit. You know that.”

Noctis sighs and reaches out to touch him. Carbuncle carefully walks closer and sniffs Solis. Solis doesn't even stir.

‘(T⌓T) He's sick

“He's got a cold.” Noctis replies, sighing. “Hopefully he'll be alright in a few days.”

‘(╯°▽°)╯ ┻━┻ it's not fair!’

“Yep exactly.”

‘He's brave.’

“He is?”

‘He crawled over and pet me. When you first met me as a baby, you wailed.’

Noctis blushes and groans. “He takes after Prompto then, rushing off to pet soft animals.”

Carbuncle gently nuzzles Solis and Noctis gently scratches behind Carbuncle’s ear. He yawns and Carbuncle copies him moments later.

Solis slowly wakes up with a tiny yawn. He sniffles, blinking sleepily before he notices Carbuncle. Solis stares and grabs at the fennec fox with a tiny coo. He sneezes and whines before grabbing onto Carbuncle’s ear.

Noctis stares, mouth open slightly as he does. Solis can see Carbuncle. Just like he can. Honestly he doesn’t know if he should feel stressed by this or relieved.

“...I didn’t actually tell you his name.”

‘Nope!’

“Solis.” he replies and glances at his son. “And that’s Carbuncle….You’ll probably not be able to remember that or pronounce that for a while...So Carby for now...And you probably have no idea what I’m saying.”

Solis whines and clings to Noctis with one hand and Carbuncle’s ear with the other. He lets out an excited shriek before he starts coughing, Noctis carefully rubs his back and gently kisses his head.

‘Fatherhood suits you (* >ω<)’

Noctis smiles softly and glances at Solis.

“He’s a little ray of sunshine.”

‘(ᗒᗨᗕ) So pure.’

“Mmm?” a familiar voice groggily speaks up next to him and Carbuncle disappears much to Solis’ dislike as he whines about it.

Prompto yawns and gently reaches up, stroking Solis’ cheek.

“How’s my little soybean?” he yawns as Noctis huffs.

“No bean names.” he grumbles and Prompto tiredly smirks. “He’s not been awake long. Still has a cold.”

Prompto leans up, planting a kiss on Solis’ cheek. “My poor sunbeam.”

Solis whines and the boys attempt to soothe him.

* * *

A week later thankfully the cold is gone and everyone is relieved. Solis had cried a lot during his cold, it had been stressful and honestly heartbreaking at times to see him so miserable but now he was back to normal.

Noctis has put him in a little grey baby grow with “Ready player 3.” wrote across it, controller at the side, along with little cartoon chocobo face socks. Prompto claimed to have died the moment he saw it, the “I saw a cute thing” voice coming out the moment he saw Solis.

Ignis told them about a festival in Altissia, the chocobo moogle festival he’d heard about and Prompto almost yells about having to go as soon as possible. Solis squeals just happy to contribute to the conversation in his own little way.

Noctis looks like he’s not fully awake yet. He’s yawned about four times now, scratched at his stomach/happy trail which Prompto almost short circuited over and complained about the sun asking if it could turn the brightness down.

Ignis actually chuckled and agreed it would be a nice break for them all. Gladio asks if Iris can tag along and Ignis smiles.

“It would be a delight to have her.” the advisor says and Gladio shoots her a text. He gains a reply moments later of keysmashes and crying emojis. He takes that as a positive response.

“She’ll be here in five.” the shield replies, Noctis catches sight of the text and looks confused.

“You understood that?” he asks with a yawn.

“I’ve seen enough of it from Prompto.” Gladio replies.

“Hey! Check the internet, people do it.” Prompto huffs.

“Some of the lgbt youth online do it Gladio. I don’t actually know why.” Ignis says.

“...Iggy you’re twenty two, I’m twenty three. We’re all “youth.” still.” Gladio says putting an arm around him.

Ignis leans into it and rubs an one of his eyes. “I mean younger than us Gladio.”

“Small, bi and ready to try at your service.” Prompto replies, standing up straight. He’d salute if he wasn’t holding his precious sunbeam.

“Small, gay and ready to decay. It’s 6am, I’m practically a zombie.” Noctis mutters. “Small, ace and wielding a mace can work occasionally  too.”

Gladio snorts and rolls his eyes and Ignis sighs.

“Neither of you are small.” Ignis huffs.

* * *

Iris comes in with her luggage and a smile on her face.

She wore a black short sleeved shirt with red roses on it,some rounded sunglasses over her eyes, black shorts and knee high cat socks with her regular boots.  

The boys are wearing more casual outfits too. Noctis is the only one wearing his chocobo moogle festival outfit since he’s the only one who has one. Gladio meanwhile has decided today is a shirtless kind of day much to the complaints of Prompto, Noctis and Iris.

She asks if she can get a t-shirt from the festival when they get there and Gladio replies with a simple “We’ll see.” He’ll probably get her one.

Ignis during this decides to pull out his phone and check the weather forecast for the day.

The forecast apparently is set to be a nice hot day. Clear skies and warm temperatures until the evening. Perfect day for a trip.

* * *

They’d packed up and checked out by 7, finally reached Galdin by 9 and quickly headed down to the docks, heading up onto the royal vessel.

Iris stared up at the boat, slowly pushing her shades up onto her head. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever been on a boat before, she moves to step on before Prompto yells, causing her to freeze.

“Wait!” Prompto yells, handing Noctis baby Solis and rushing off leaving everyone except Solis confused.

Solis seems more focused on a seagull flying around. He flails in Noctis’ arms until Gladio speaks up.

Iris unfreezes and glances over, pulling her shades back down and heading over to Ignis.

“He’s starin’ at a seagull, I think he wants you to too. Or he has no idea what it is.” Gladio says.

Noctis looks confused until he spots it, and gently bounces on his feet with Solis in his arms.

“It’s a seagull. Smaller than the other bird at the hotel. Way smaller. These just steal food if they can.”

“One tried stealing my ice cream when I was five.” Iris chirps in.

“I saw one steal chips from a store online.’” Gladio adds making Noctis look back at him sceptical.

“It’s surprisingly real.” Ignis chirps in causing Noctis to whistle.

“Wow.”

Solis bleps, getting a little squirmy in Noctis’ arms.

“Should we go hunt for Prom?”

“Relax. Kid’s probably taking a piss.” Gladio mutters.

“Gladdy!” Iris cries.

“Gladiolus!” Ignis huffs.

“...What?”

“Oh shit! He brought out the first name.” Noctis says with a smirk.

“Noctis!” Ignis huffs. “Infant present. I would prefer you both either watch  your language and not be crass or cover his ears.”

“To be honest I think he’s staring at the tourists...Or like five seconds from needing a change.”

Iris glances over. “Nope...He’s definitely staring.”

* * *

Prompto rushes back five minutes later, tripping up over his own feet on the dock. Luckily Gladio grabs his arm and heaves him up before he faceplants. He blushes and thanks Gladio.

The blonde has a very tiny hat, it seems to have a blue band around it filled with doodles of cartoony fish along with a bottle in his pants pocket.

Iris coos at how cute and small the hat is.

“All they had was fish themed hats.” Prompto says, carefully putting the hat on Solis’ head. “There we go~ Protect you a little from the sun...I got him sunscreen but...Um do we have sunscreen for us?”

“We have some stocked on the boat..” Ignis states and lets Noctis lead the way onto the boat but Noctis lets Iris on first before following her on.

“This is gonna be Sol’s first boat ride.” Gladio says and Prompto in front of him gasps.

“...Do people celebrate that? Would it be weird if I celebrated that?”

“You got excited about his first hotel stay.” Gladio adds. “So maybe not?”

“I’m celebrating it then~” Prompto replies planting a kiss on Solis’ hat.

Solis clings to Prompto and attempts to take off a sock. Noctis heads over and carefully stops him, he boops Solis on the nose and Solis grabs for him.

Prompto smiles and carefully hands Solis over to Noctis. Solis makes a happy squeal loud enough for the rest on the boat to hear him. He earns some smiles and awws from Iris and Prompto.

* * *

Noctis hands Solis back to Prompto so he can steer the boat.

Prompto seems happy enough to sit Solis on his lap and hold him close. Solis meanwhile seems fascinated by Prompto’s glove, he stares at it and attempts to grip onto said glove.

Ignis was sat next to Iris, the duo surprisingly drifting off during their journey and Gladio was reading.

Solis gets whiny the longer they stay on the sea and Prompto decides to lie down on the surprisingly comfortable sofas with Solis. The duo yawn and end up napping together.

Gladio throws a blanket over the sofa to shield them from the sun or try to and neither of the pair stir from this, maybe 6am was too early of a start for them.

Gladio hears Noctis yawn from the captain’s seat and heads in.

“Hey princess.”

“Hey.” Noctis blinks tiredly and glances over at him before his eyes return to the sea.

“Tired?” Gladio asks and Noctis nods.

“I was on baby duty last night. Prom’s stomach was acting up so he slept it off.” Noctis yawns and Gladio places his hand on his shoulder. “Alright stop the boat. Someone else is taking over.”

Noctis doesn’t even protest, he brings the boat to a stop and rubs at his eyes. “...Controls are pretty easy.” he mutters as Gladio scoops him up out of the seat and carries him back to the others.

He’s pretty much asleep in Gladio’s arms by the time Gladio realises there’s nowhere for the prince to lie other than the floor.

So for now he gets put there, near Prompto’s little sofa while Gladio decides to take over controlling the boat, he’s swiftly banned from continuing the moment Ignis wakes up.

Noctis after that is placed where Ignis was. He naps the rest of the trip near Iris.

* * *

They splash out for a more expensive room, they’re on the rare occasion allowed to nap due to the long boat trip and the fact they have a few hours until the festival.

Ignis decides instead to leave the room and browse the sights with Gladio and Iris in tow. Prompto is sure Iris only went to give him, Noctis and Solis some alone time.

Noctis sits on the bed, taking off his boots and putting them at the side of the bed before lying down on said bed.

Prompto smiles at the sight and heads over with Solis in his arms. He bites his lip before speaking up.

“Can you take Sol for a sec?”

Noctis sits up and carefully takes Solis from Prompto. Solis whines and Prompto feels guilty so much so he attempts to explain himself to the baby.

“I’ll be back like super quick ok? Just stay with Noct ok?” Prompto says, planting a kiss on Solis’ head. “Be good for daddy ok?”

Noctis blushes a little and gently soothes their son who honestly doesn’t understand any of this. Prompto is going to kill him one day. He’s only making the crush he has on him much worse at this point.

“You forgot to go pi-Pee before we left huh?” Noctis asks earning a whine from his best friend in the process.

“I thought I could hold it! But I’m dying.” he whines at the Prince who snorts a little. “Go on. We’ll be ok.”

Solis looks at Prompto and whines and Prompto looks conflicted as he heads into the bathroom.

Solis wails and Noctis hears a heartbroken cry of “I’m sorry!” practically yelled from the bathroom.

Noctis tries to get Solis’ attention, trying to distract him until Prompto returns.  He hums to him and gently rubs his back and when that fails, he sings which gets Solis’ attention immediately. It’s something from anime but Solis doesn’t know that.

He smiles when Solis calms down and hears the bathroom door open moments later, a flustered blonde quickly coming out.

“Papa’s here buddy don’t wo-” he pauses and looks over at Solis and Noctis, mouth slightly open. “You’re a baby whisperer too huh?” he mutters.

“He likes singing.” Noctis replies, smiling before sitting up. “Can you take him back for a second? I have to pi-”

“Sure!” Prompto interrupts and blushes, apologising before taking Solis back and sitting on the bed with him.  “You think your dad would have had a bathroom on that boat.”

Noctis gets up and agrees, heading over to the bathroom, opening the door but pausing when Prompto speaks again.

“Blue Exorcist.” the blonde mutters.

“Huh?”

“You were singing something from Blue Exorcist to him.”

“...Oh yeah? What one?” Noctis replies with a smirk. No point in denying it.

“Itteki no Eikyou.” Prompto replies, sticking his tongue out. “We're a magical girl and boy anime house only mister.”

Noctis laughs a little and rolls his eyes before heading into the bathroom. “Like you’ve ever watched one.”

“Hey! I’ve watched-”

“Other than Sailor Moon.” Noctis replies from behind the door.

Prompto covers Solis’ ears before Noctis hears him clearly say “Fuck you.” with a snort which makes Noctis laugh.

* * *

Solis wailed again. It was a fairly short cry as Prompto decided to finish the anime song Noctis previously sang to the baby.

The song seemed to calm Solis and Prompto was so focused on soothing Solis with the song he almost missed Noctis come out of the bathroom.

“You finished the song?” Noctis asks, startling Prompto.

“Dude! Warn a guy first.” Prompto gasps and then makes a sound of confirmation to his question.

Noctis heads over and Prompto scoots up before lying down with Solis. Solis seems happy when Noctis lies next to them. He yawns and smiles a toothless smile.

“Hey sunshine.” Noctis mutters to him and he’s rewarded with their baby flailing. To Noctis it looks like an attempt at dancing honestly. It’s weirdly cute.

Prompting laughs quietly and carefully puts Solis between them. The baby sneezes and looks like an Anak in the headlights, prompting Prompto to blow a raspberry at him wondering how he'll react.

Solis jumps and stares up at Prompto looking utterly confused or as confused as a baby could look.

Prompto blows another raspberry at Solis and Solis rewards him with a burp.

“Nice.” Prompto mutters with a snort making Noctis laugh.

* * *

They undress Solis down to his nappy due to the room being a little warm and worrying the baby might overheat. Said baby attempts to crawl off in the process but the duo manage to keep him in one spot.

Then they decide to undress down themselves to just their boxers. They leave a balcony door open for a breeze, too lazy to put air conditioning on before napping together for a few hours, Solis safely in Prompto's arms.

* * *

Prompto awakes to cooing and yawns, carefully sitting up and gently holding Solis close. Solis naps peacefully, Prompto smiles and kisses his head.

Prompto spots Iris and the boys in the room and yawns wide. Iris at that point notices he's awake and rushes over, not phased by him and Noctis being half naked.

“I got you guys something.” she says with a smile and Prompto feels a chill from the breeze. He seems confused before glancing down and panicking, looking back at Iris with a look of embarrassment on his face.

“Y-You did?...Um...Can I just wake him up and we'll um look more...Presentable?” he nervously asks and Iris laughs a little.

“Sure! Do you want me to take Solis?” she asks and Prompto nods, carefully handing the sleeping baby over.

“H-He'll wake up pretty soon. He's due a feed.” Prompto stutters before elbowing Noctis when Iris heads over to Ignis and Gladio. “Dude wake up!” Prompto whisper yells to the Prince.

Noctis doesn't react.

* * *

It takes several attempts but Prompto manages to wake up Noctis and the duo quickly get re dressed.

The duo head over to the kitchen  where Ignis has set out some sandwiches for the group. Prompto smiles and the duo thank him, grabbing a sandwich each before Iris comes over with Solis.

Solis seems fascinated by her hair, attempting to reach while he clings to her shirt with his other hand.

“Hi buddy~” Prompto coos after he takes his first bite.

Noctis wiggles his fingers at Solis who giggles a little, Prompto nearly chokes over it so much Noctis thumps his back.

“T-That almost k-killed me.” Prompto gasps. “Cuteness overload.”

Noctis rolls his eyes and smiles at Solis. “That's Prompto speak for he's ok just being dramatic.” he mutters to Solis with a smirk, he laughs when he hears a dramatic gasp from Prompto.

“How dare you.” he says in his sassy voice, pulling a face and making Solis giggle harder than before, making Prompto and Noctis start laughing too. “Oh em gee, adorbs.” he mutters, Noctis making a noise of agreement around his sandwich as he takes a bite.

“Gladdy?” Iris looks over at her brother who's currently half way through his second sandwich.

“What?” he asks, mouth full to which Ignis sighs at.

“Can you take this little cutie?” she coos at the baby and Gladio carefully takes him.

Solis clings to him as Iris rushes off, quickly returning with a few bags. She thrusts the tiniest one at Prompto.

“It's for Solis but I got ones for you guys too.” she says with a smile. “I hope you like them.”

Prompto quickly finishes his sandwich and fishes in the little bag. He's weirdly excited as he carefully pulls out a tiny Moogle onesie.

His eyes light up as he looks at it. There's a little hood, with a tiny pom-pom antenna and little purple wings. It's adorable and he can't wait to put Solis in it.

Noctis stares, zoning out trying to imagine the baby in his little onesie. Maybe they can put him in it later, he’ll probably gain a new home screen on his mobile from it.

“Wait...We have ones too?” Noctis asks moments later.

Iris nods and grins, pulling one out identical to Solis’ but adult sized.  Prompto gasps and looks over at Noctis.

“Dude we have to.” he mutters and Noctis can't bring himself to say no.

“Later. After the festival.”  Noctis mutters. “Just no pictures of me.”

Prompto pouts but agrees as he holds his onesie. He smiles at Iris and gives her a hug or a side hug.

“Send me pics later of them.” she whispers to Prompto.

“Will do.” he whispers back.

* * *

They all head out later for the festival, Noctis carrying Solis while Prompto has the nappy bag across his shoulder along with his camera in hand.

The group part ways. Ignis heading off with Gladio and Iris. The duo seemed rather content to be around each other and Iris seemed happy enough to be around that even if her brother had his arm around the chef’s waist.

Prompto meanwhile walked around with Noctis and Solis, practically beaming when someone commented on how cute their son was. Noctis being Noctis had no idea how to respond to such so he awkwardly thanked people and agreed with them.

Solis just sat in the baby carrier on his dad's chest and was plain adorable. The usual honestly. Until they had to take a detour and go hunt for a bathroom to change him. He was grumpy at that time and rightfully so.

The trio after that continued to roam around the festival, Noctis explaining what happened last time he came and watching Prompto's eyes light up. He didn't miss the slightly betrayed look Prompto gave him when chocobo chicks was brought up.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that which only lasted for a few moments before Prompto spoke up again.

“...Do you think Gladio and Iggy seemed glad to like abandon us?” he asks and Noctis sighs before nodding.

“Gladio put his arm around Iggy, Prom.” Noctis replied. “So yeah.”

“Oh em gee! I thought I was seeing things!” Prompto gasps.

“Nope. Totally had his arm around him.” Noctis replies popping the p.  He smirks a little.

“...You think they're…”

“Dating?” Noctis asks and Prompto nods. “They've been close for years. Wouldn't surprise me.”

Prompto grins and pulls out his phone. “I'm totally asking them...What if they're married?”

“Prom, neither have rings.”

“Maybe they're allergic.”

“I think we'd know if they was.” Noctis adds.

Prompto gestures to the baby and his ears, Noctis catching on quickly and covering Solis’ ears much to the baby's dislike.

“...Suddenly all the fuck eyes make sense.” Prompto mutters and Noctis wheezes.

“...What?”  he asks trying not to laugh.

“I'd see them like giving each other bedroom eyes sometimes. Usually when they thought we was asleep or like busy. At first I thought it was just a weird staring contest”

“Gods if they've been keeping a relationship a secret from me I'll be pissed.” Noctis replies. “Like it's not a big deal but I figure they'd like tell us.”

Prompto pouts and agree.

“Anyway let's enjoy the festival.” Noctis says  leading the way. Prompto nods and follows him.

* * *

The trio explore, wandering around as Prompto takes pictures of the sights.

They walk around for a while before Prompto carefully pulls Noctis to a stop, bouncing on his feet a little as he does.

“Hey...I gotta go…” he mutters and Noctis gestures to a nearby bathroom with his head.

“There's one over there Prom.”

Prompto sighs with relief and rushes off.

“Bee are bee!” Prompto yells as he practically sprints off.

Noctis watches him with a smile before looking down at Solis.

“That's your father right there. He's a nerd but I love him..He's my nerd.” Noctis mutters to his baby son. “..Least you can't tell him I said that.”

Solis sneezes and whines, Noctis mutters comfort to him before the duo fall silent as the wait for Prompto. Solis flails on occasion which Noctis finds cute honestly.

He zones out, focusing on the baby. He smiles and gently runs a hand through feathery blonde baby hair. He's so out of it, he misses the mascot coming closer.

He hears a familiar caw and tenses up, eyes widening in fear. Noctis glances up his fears confirmed when he sees Kenny Crow.  He freezes honestly, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Don't come closer. Don't come closer.” Noctis mutters to himself.

Solis wiggles in the baby carrier on Noctis’ chest. He grumbles and frowns. Noctis can't comfort him, too frozen as he stares at Kenny Crow.

Solis continues to frown and wiggle and Noctis comes to realise this is how Solis expresses anger. Wiggles.  Anger wiggles he calls it in his mind.

The baby continues his anger wiggles which in turn makes Kenny come over not realising what the wiggles mean. Noctis feels sick honestly.

The mascot attempts to talk to the terrified Prince and the baby, unaware he's the source of the Prince's fear.

“Noct?”  a familiar friendly voice speaks up before the person heads over. Prompto. He looks at Noctis, noticing how terrified he looks.

He notices Kenny and it all makes sense.  He also notices that Solis has stopped wiggling but he's managed to notice Kenny. The baby stares looking terrified before he wails loudly and Prompto realises at that point he has to be the knight in shining armour.

He apologises to Kenny Crow and quickly takes Noctis and Solis says far away from the mascot. Far enough for the duo to relax and calm down.

He carefully leads them to a table outside of a food joint and sighs.

“I'm sorry.” Prompto says.

“Why? You got us away from that daemon.” Noctis mutters. “I should be thanking you.”

Prompto smiles softly offering a hand to Noctis to hold. “Don't thank me. My boys was scared, I was just taking you both out of that.”

Noctis grabs his hand and squeezes it. “Can we sit here for a few seconds?”

Prompto nods and looks at Solis.

“It sucks he got scared.”

“Fear is a normal response to Kenny.” Noctis mutters and Prompto smirks.

“I like him.”

“You like birds.” Noctis replies.  “That's why.”

Prompto smiles and sighs.

“I just don't find him scary.” Prompto says, rubbing his thumb against Noctis’ hand. “I'll protect you both from him. Don't worry.”

Noctis smiles softly.

“Thanks.”

* * *

Noctis bottle feeds Solis while they sit there, Solis suckles greedily which prompts Prompto to speak up.

“Dude he'll get gas if you let him suckle so quick. He'll be uncomfortable.”

Noctis repositions Solis and adjusts the bottle, Solis suckles slower much to Noctis and Prompto’s relief.

“There's a Chocobo mascot wandering around. I think you'll like it if you're fine with dancing a Chocobo dance in front of people.”

Prompto blushes but looks excited. Noctis can see a spark in his eyes.

“We'll go find them after I burp him.” Noctis adds, laughing to himself as Prompto does his adorable little victory tune.

* * *

It takes longer than expected to burp Solis. Noctis wonders if the baby is dragging the waiting around process out or if said baby is having a difficult time.

Unfortunately Solis throws up a little during the process. Noctis’ face draining of colour the moment he gets baby vomit on his sleeve.

“Prom..We have an issue here.” Noctis speaks up and Prompto quickly rummages in the nappy bag, pulling out baby wipes.

He winces and opens the pack, carefully heading over and wiping Noctis’ sleeve and Solis’ mouth with wet wipes.

“He’s not sick right?” Prompto asks and Noctis shakes his head.

“He’s not fussing...Still want to see that mascot?”

Prompto practically beams and nods, rushing off the moment Noctis stands. The royal smiles as he watches him and then glances down at Solis who flails excitedly.

“He makes it hard not to get excited huh?” he mutters to his son who squeals in response. Noctis laughs and follows the direction Prompto went.

* * *

They catch up fairly quickly, Prompto having decided to wait for them and the small family head down to the Chocobo mascot.

Prompto beams when said mascot notices them, he beams a little more when the Chocobo mascot waves at them.

Prompto gets called over to do the dance and honestly Noctis has never seen someone so excited.

Solis flails a little as he stares at the sight, he seems fascinated, he squeals and giggles when the dance starts and gets more vocal than he has been before when Prompto copies the dance.

Noctis likes to think that this is a baby version of cheering Prompto on that or Solis is just making noises because he doesn’t know how to deal with emotions. He snaps a few photos off Prompto’s camera, Solis attempting to grab the camera from his little baby carrier.

The mascot hugs Prompto who returns it eagerly and the trio are on their way waving the mascot bye. Or Prompto is, Noctis just says bye awkwardly and prays the mascot wasn’t the same person from his visit previously.

Up next they head to the chocobo races. Noctis deciding his knight in shining armour deserves another treat.

“You sure you don’t want a go?” Prompto asks.

“Nah I’ll stay on baby duty.” Noctis replies. Plus his back is aching a little and last thing he wants is to annoy it further.

Prompto asks if he’s sure it’s ok he just goes and Noctis nods.

“Just go have fun.” he says with a smile , glancing down at Solis who’s looking at one of the nearby Chocobos. He’s not completely sure of the adult ones yet.

Noctis strokes his soft blonde baby hair and smiles making his way over to the course to cheer on Prompto as he’s lead away to pick a Chocobo.

* * *

Prompto had sped through the course in lightning time. Noctis is sure he beat his score from the last time but all that is forgotten the moment he sees Prompto’s bright smile.

Prompto coos over the race Chocobo, giving her a scritch and little cuddle before bidding her goodbye as he hands her back to her owner.

“How was it?” Noctis asks, already knowing the answer.

“Amazing! Noct she’s two and her name is Butterscotch and I would die for her.” the gunner cries.

“Don’t die, I need you for this parenting deal.”

Prompto blushes and smiles.

“No plan to.” he says, biting his lip. “Now let’s go to the prize counter!”

* * *

They get back into their hotel room at seven pm. The baby carrier is quickly removed from Noctis’ chest the moment Solis is out of it with a sigh of relief.

Solis is placed into a cot before Prompto and Noctis begin to undress.  Prompto without hesitation slips into the moogle onesie Iris got him.

“Aah~ Dude it’s so soft and warm~” he gasps and that’s enough to make Noctis change into his.

Prompto grins and grabs his phone, flicking on his camera app.

“Say Kupo!” he says with a grin, he puts an arm around Noct and the prince reluctantly says it as Prompto takes the photo, then sends the selfie to Iris.

After that they quickly change Solis before dressing him in his moogle onesie too. The duo freeze for a second before Prompto takes many photos, some going to Iris.

“Hey can you send one to me? I want one as my lockscreen.” Noctis asks.

Prompto smiles and quickly sends a couple for him to choose from.

* * *

They end up ordering room service. Ignis will kill them when he finds out they’re sure but for now it’s a good idea to have ice cream and catch a film on the hotel room’s tv.

Prompto snuggles up to Noctis’ side and Noctis puts an arm around him to get a little more comfortable. He tells himself it’s fine and Prompto looks comfortable and content at his side so he shouldn’t worry.

Prompto’s texting on the advert break. He’s texting Iris and gushing over the baby with her, among other things.

“She’s calling us old for being in bed at seven.” Prompto mutters.

“Tell her we’re only five years older than her.”

Prompto texts back and stretches against Noctis.

“Should I ask about Gladnis?”

“Glad...Nis?” Noctis asks, confused.

“Yeah...Like a couple name. People combine names together.”  Prompto replies.

“Oh that explains some stuff...Yeah ask.”

Prompto grins and texts back, gasping moments later.

“...What? What is it?” Noctis asks.

“...They’ve been dating since they was in high school.”

“What the fuck...How did I not know?”

“Iris says we’re just oblivious.”

Noctis huffs and carefully gets up, Prompto whines and reaches out for him.

“Noo you were comfy.” he huffs before pouting.

Noctis rolls his eyes and smiles.

“I’ll forgot something. I'll be back.” he says heading over to Solis’ cot. Said baby is wiggling around with a frown. “He’s angry.”

“How do you know?” Prompto asks.

“He wiggles and frowns.” Noctis says reaching over to open a drawer on the nightstand.

Prompto gasps and quickly heads over, he laughs a little at the sight and gently strokes Solis’ cheek.

“Dude...This is adorable.” he mutters. “Gods...Noct he’s too cute.”

Noctis smiles and agrees, pulling out the little Carbuncle statue from the drawer and placing it in Solis’ cot.

“Don’t be too grumpy for Carbuncle ok? He’ll let me know how you were.” Noctis mutters and plants a kiss on Solis’ head.

“Yeah be nice to….Carbuncle???? Why haven’t I seen him?” Prompto mutters, planting a kiss on Solis’ head. The kisses seemed to have quelled the baby’s anger who currently is staring at the statue.

“He’s only appeared to me and Solis. I don’t know why he likes making me look crazy by showing up on photos and not letting others see him.”

“Do they like each other?” Prompto asks.

Noctis nods and smiles. “He made it clear he thinks Sol is cute.”

Prompto beams and looks down at Solis. He holds onto the cot looking at their son, who’s staring up at him sleepily.

“Sleep. You’ll be sleepy and cranky if you don’t.” Prompto mutters.

“Also Carby’s waiting for you.” Noctis adds. Solis coos and yawns, Noctis strokes his cheek. “Yeah he’s waiting.”

Solis drifts off soon after, Prompto and Noctis heading back to curl up on the bed and watch their film. They return to their snuggling position and quietly talk to each other once it ends and a new one starts.

They might end up having a film marathon for hours. It extends past when Gladio, Ignis and Iris return at ten and even well past when the trio call it a night.

The boys are sleepy come the fifth or sixth film. They’ve lost count how many have played. They’re honestly blending together at this point plus they’re kind of stuffed due to the fact they ordered a large pizza and shared it together.

Prompto at this point is sluggishly pressed against Noctis and the royal is on his back, occasionally rubbing his stomach just as sluggish.

Prompto blinks slowly. He yawns and grunts. He wonders if the pizza was too much. Prompto hears a yawn right next to him and decides at that point film night is probably drawing to a close.

Neither have the time to turn the TV off. They just attempt to get comfortable and snuggle more against each other. Prompto’s almost asleep when he feels a kiss against his head. He drifts off with a smile on his face.

[sigritandtheelves]

Surface

Rating: Teen/Mature Timeline: Season 6 Tags: angst, UST, developing relationship

This is a follow-up to the story “Drown,” and I think it will be a 4-part series all together, moving from seasons 5-8 (probably veering into s8 AU). You don’t need to have read the other story first, but it may help. No beta: sorry. CW for brief references to child death (canonical) and hints at something non-consensual (”Biogenesis”).

For @scully-eats-sushi who wanted more. 

_+_

In their sixth year together, the world seems conspiring to mock her with nightmarish gestations: a slimy umbilicus down her throat, vomited out onto a freezing metal grate; a monstrous eruption from a man’s chest in the desert; a backyard of unearthed infant corpses, thrown away like trash. And perhaps most painful, the cruel incubation of Mulder’s once-dead relationship with another woman, rekindled.

Still, she thinks, he tries. Drugged, he tells her he loves her and it is like a fist gripping her insides. She brushes it off, heart pounding, and he never brings it up again. A few weeks later, she tests him—mentions dogs and kids and houses—and he play-acts dumbfounded, as if what she suggests were the truly alien, and not this midnight goose-chase. She doesn’t need the suburbs. Doesn’t want them, even. But she aches for a shared space, for a heavy arm over her waist when she wakes and two coffee mugs in the sink before work. She wants the car to take them to a cabin by a lake, not to Area 51; she longs for its trunk to be full of sunscreen and sleeping bags instead of case notes and clandestine emails. Not every time: she doesn’t need it always. But sometimes the desire to not be alone is overwhelming.

Christmas will be hard for her, he knows, so he distracts her with a ghost hunt that turns more real than he’d expected. Afterward, she shows up at his door and they grin and gift to each other, and it’s the best holiday he’s had in years. Maybe since childhood. He senses that she’s opening to him again, and he’s almost brave enough to do something about it. He settles for a kiss to her temple, on pulling her head against his chest while snow falls outside and colorful paper litters his coffee table. She takes a deep breath, nose to his solar plexus, and he feels her relax. They fall asleep, curled into each other. She’s late to her mother’s house in the morning.

In another hospital she almost dies, and he breaks down at her bedside again without her knowing. He sobs into the sheet at her shoulder and wonders how long he can keep himself from her, from scooping her to him and turning away from the work and the darkness and the car that drives the endless road. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into her hospital gown. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you need.” But she sleeps and sleeps and doesn’t hear. Later, when she’s awake, he toys with her thumb and tells her that maybe death only finds you when you seek its opposite. It’s his timid, cryptic way of acknowledging her desire for life, perhaps even her desire for him. It’s all he’s able to give that day.

Cassandra Spender re-appears, Diana Fowley wedges dangerously between them again, and the Syndicate burns. Two weeks later, seeking death’s cause and unwittingly finding its opposite, Scully delivers a baby during a hurricane and comes face to face, once again, with all the losses she’s tried to forget.

_+_

When the weather cleared, they drove the hour-long trek to the airport in soggy silence. Mulder sensed the weight of something—heavy—pressing between them, something besides the fiasco with Diana. Their flight was delayed, as were many others, because of the storms, so they sat uncomfortably in a crowded airport bar and grill. Mulder tugged at the two hanging drawstrings of his raincoat, wondering what he might have done to upset her. The star profiler, befuddled as usual by the complexities of his partner, blinded by his singular focus, was at a loss when he looked at her.

“Scully,” he said finally.

In a daze in front of her tuna melt and side salad, she at first didn’t respond. He said her name again and she looked up. “Yeah?”

“What’s up?”

Scully frowned, not knowing how to respond. What could she possibly say to him over bad food in a south Florida airport restaurant that could capture the thing that sat on her chest all day, every day? The men who’d kidnapped her, violated her, tried to kill her with cancer, created then murdered her child, and left her barren—almost all were all dead, but would never be brought to justice. She was entangled in a partnership with someone who would die for her, but who didn’t seem capable of intimate connection, unless it was with busty brunettes who worked for his enemies. And she’d spent the morning reliving in her head the miracle of childbirth that she’d witnessed first hand, trying to forget about the fact that it was a thing her body would never have a chance to do, no matter how much she wanted it. So she was running low on hope, running low on motivation. She poked at her salad and said, “Nothing, it’s fine.”

Her frown echoed back at her on Mulder’s face. “Scully, please. Talk to me.”

She considered briefly what he might do if she said all these things, though she was sure he knew them already. What he was asking for was a simple answer, and she had no such thing to offer. She shrugged. “It’s the same as ever, Mulder. I’m just...” she sighed. “I’m struggling to strike a balance between happiness in my work and being heartsick for all the things I’ve lost. Nothing new.” There. He could make of that what he would.

“You’re not happy in your work?”

Scully’s eyes closed and she shook her head. Of course that’s all he heard. “No, Mulder, I am happy in my work. I love what we do.” Flat, toneless.

“So, then…”

She wouldn’t help him; he could put together the other pieces on his own.

---

Perhaps out of some perverse misinterpretation of her distress, Mulder decided that playing house would be a good idea. The day after her birthday, they dressed in pastel and khaki to role-play in what felt like a vulgar mockery of what he seemed to think she wanted. “You know, you’d fit in really well here,” he said, and it was like an elbow in the kidney. He wouldn’t stop touching her, even once tried to kiss her, but it was all of it a cruel joke. She found herself slipping too easily into wanting to touch him back—a lingering pat on the hand, then her own fingers quickly jumping away when his eyes found her face. It could have been fun, she thought, this trash-monster suburban-horror case, but instead it just hurt. His eye-waggle as he patted the bed beside him—what would he have done if she’d wiped off her facemask and slid into that tiny space beside him? Or if she’d dropped her robe and straddled him right there, facemask and all? He’d have panicked and run, choked on his own innuendo.

But she didn’t want another case to end in awkward silence en route to an airport, so in their rented minivan on the way out of Arcadia, she spoke before the heaviness could settle between them.

“You know I’d never want to live in a place like that, don’t you? You can’t think I’d actually fit in there.”

“Why not, Scully? Nice houses, nice people…”

“Nice people?”

“Big Mike was nice.”

“Mulder, that place was like Stepford. What the hell makes you think I’d want that?”

“I…” but his mouth just hung open for a moment. “I don’t know,” he said. He was tired of guessing and being wrong.

“That’s not what having a life means to me, Mulder.” She was tired of his guessing and being wrong too.

“Then what…”

But he never finished the question, and she never answered.

---

He read Padgett’s “novel” in a state of both arousal and rage, the one feeding the other. How dare this man, this stranger, see her this way? How dare he be right when Mulder was always so wrong? She’d been sitting on his bed, goddamnit. About to fuck another killer, maybe, while Mulder waited for her two rooms away.

And then, “Agent Scully is already in love.”

Her face: inscrutable.

Later, in his arms, she sobbed like he’d never heard, and he squeezed her small body to him, desperate for the thump of her heart against his own. He rocked her, sat back on the floor to hold her closer yet. His hand went inside her shirt, up her back to feel her hot skin, to feel her heart beating from both sides of her ribcage. “You’re okay,” he whispered. “Shh, you’re okay. I’m here.”

“Mulder,” she whimpered into his chest, bloodying him everywhere and he didn’t mind. Of course her love was his, and how terribly uncareful he’d been with it, how stupidly, recklessly thoughtless. But then, how dangerous the pull of this thing now… He couldn’t help it. He kissed the top of her head and let himself feel, for once, the overwhelming current of his own love for her. When her breathing slowed, he cupped her face in his palms and kissed her mouth, just once, just briefly.

She looked at him with such vulnerability, he wondered if he’d made a mistake. How could he possibly shoulder the weight of that need? How could he give of himself to her, when he was needed in so many other ways? Rather than collapse under its burden and run, as he may have done months ago, he embraced it—embraced her, again. “I’m here,” he repeated, and he felt the shuddering heaviness of her sigh that emptied into his now-bloody shirt. Somewhere in his chest, something loosened. It was his death grip on the truth, he realized later, his fierce and desperate commitment to the Only Thing That Matters. And most surprising to him, he found that in the space created by that loosening grip, something else found its way in. Something like hope. Something like a future.

_+_

On a warm Saturday in April, he tries again not once, but twice. First in their office, he finds a lazy excuse to spend time with her—hurled clichés and a stolen mouthful of her frozen dessert, when he’d rather taste her mouth. They’re going to kiss, he knows it; he can feel it in his toes like the moments before a sneeze. But then he spots an out for himself, and, coward that he is, he runs again. He leaves her disappointed with melted sugar on her hands.

Second try: evening. Stars in the sky, the smell of suede from her jacket, the feel of her ass against his hips, crack! crack! of the bat, and she is giggling again, god help him. This is the best he’s ever felt. He is beginning to get it, he thinks: together like this, it hurts less. Maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t need to torture himself like some ascetic in order to deserve his victories. Maybe, just maybe, love makes him stronger instead of an easy target. In the parking lot he kisses her again, a real kiss this time, with one hand tucked into the curve of her waist and another in her hair. He is weak-kneed with want for this woman. Her mouth opens under him and he groans into it. How could he have known it would feel like this? It scares him and he lets her go. She lays her palm to his chest, closes her eyes for a moment, then gets in her car and drives away.

In shared hallucination, they recognize their codependency, their perfect complementarity. Hand to muddy hand across a bouncing ambulance car, they confirm their faultless symmetry.

And then he is sick, is hearing voices, is collapsing in a stairwell. She calls him and hears the worst thing, the very worst: that other woman’s voice that says “Fox” in that breathy way. She asks, but he won’t say who’s there, just tells her it’s okay (it is decidedly not okay; she knows who is there). He hangs up on her and then the other woman is suddenly naked and climbing into bed with him and he tries to tell her no, but his head hurts so so badly and he can’t stop any of this and he wants to cry out for his partner and feel her cool hand on his head, but he can’t, and then there is darkness.

When Skinner calls her “Dana,” she knows it is very bad. She learns, none too subtly, that the other woman was with him in the night. He screams her last name, his always-cry of desperation, and he can see himself through her eyes, through the fuzzy gray monitor, but he can’t hear her thoughts alone through all the terrible noise.

Then, as he did for her, she is flying across the world to save him. She is standing in warm sand (not ice) on a spaceship that is, though she does not know it, knitting her inner scars back together into smooth flesh, that is healing healing her, deep on the inside where what she thought she’d lost comes back awake. She is learning the secrets of all life’s origins while, inside her, originating cells come back to life.

-end-