#starting with these four since they work so well together as the series already :'D | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

senashenta · 3 months ago

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Cerulean Blue

Title: Cerulean Blue

Pairing: Destiel

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: SO MUCH SEX.

Summary: Cas and Dean meet up in New York City for one of their weekends alone together, and it starts out perfectly: spending seemingly endless amounts of time together, expressing desperately missed affection, and of course, having sex. Then they go for a walk down by the pier and find… something. Something WEIRD. Something Dean should probably be HUNTING, except it’s not like any monster he’s seen before. Cas and Dean decide to take it back with them and try to salvage their week while the little beastie does it’s best to cause them nothing but trouble.

Notes: Right, so more smut and fluff, but Cerulean Blue has a bit of a plot in it as well, so it’s got that going for it! :D;; (Who are we kidding, we all know you’re here for the smut. :P)

Interestingly, the one thing I obsess over is the travel times and how long it takes Cas to take the bus to all these different places, so I make a point of being relatively accurate with that because my OCD brain insists on it for some Goddamn reason. In this case, it takes roughly 16 hours and 25 minutes to drive from Tallahassee to NYC, so I added four hours for stops, transfers and layovers (since Cas IS taking the bus) which brings us to 20 hours and 25 minutes, give or take. Ta-daa!!

ALSO. Thank you so much to everyone who’s left comments/kudos on Horror High, Cheap Motel and Counting Scars in the last week, it’s really been helpful in cheering me up a bit and inspirational for working on writing the Horror High sequel. I’m glad SOME PEOPLE out there are enjoying this series! <33333

HORROR HIGH et al TUMBLR MASTER POST HERE.

CERULEAN BLUE By Senashenta

[31 Broadway Hotel, 38 West 31st Street, floor 4, room 12.]

For once they weren’t really meeting at a city in the middle. Usually, when they planned their meetups, Cas and Dean picked a town or city in-between Tallahassee, where Cas was currently living for school, and whatever city Dean happened to be in at the time. That seemed like the fair thing to do, all things considered. Sometimes one of them traveled a little father than the other, but never too much. Cas had seen half the country over the last four years of his relationship with Dean, he thought, not that it was a bad thing.

This time was different, though: Dean had been in New York City on a job, so they probably would have met up somewhere in North Carolina or Virginia, but Cas had expressed interest because he had never been to New York City, so Dean had suggested, if Cas didn’t mind being the one to do all the traveling this time around, that he simply stay put and Cas join him. He already had a hotel room and everything, he would just extend his stay.

Dean’s dad, who had been with him on the New York Hunt, had been unimpressed, but then he was always unimpressed when it came to his son and Cas. This time he had only pitched a minor fit, though, before tossing his things in the Impala and taking off for the next town. Dean had counted himself lucky to get off so easy. Usually, it took at least an hour of yelling before his dad wound himself down.

Now he was puttering around his hotel room—large this time, with two beds because they had been accommodating both himself and his dad—taking down all the newspaper clippings and hand-scribbled notes pertaining to the job they’d just finished that were taped to the walls and tossing them in the trash. Not that Cas wouldn’t understand, of course, but he preferred not to subject the other man to it if it wasn’t necessary.

Once that was done, he ran a hand through his hair—and came up with dirt still caked against his scalp from the night before. Dean made a face and headed into the bathroom, showering quickly and washing off the grime. He was just stepping out when someone knocked on the door—and he grinned.

Toweling his hair enough that it wasn’t actively dripping, Dean then wrapped the same towel around his waist and hurried through to unlock the door and open it a crack. His grin widened when he saw Cas standing in the hallway, and he flung the door open with a laugh, “you made it!”

Cas looked at him, blue eyes skimming up and down the length of his body, and complained, “oh, come on, how is that even fair?”

Dean looked down at himself, still grinning, and shrugged, “you caught me at a bad time.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a bad time.” Cas commented, eyes still flitting over Dean’s body. Finally, he shook his head and pushed a hand against the older man’s chest, easing him back so he could step inside and close the door behind himself. Crossing over, he dropped down to sit on the edge of one of the beds with a huff, dropping his bag by his feet. “Twenty hours on a bus is exhausting.”

Dean made a soft sympathetic noise, even as he undid the towel from around his waist and started using it to finish drying off—including his hair, which was beginning to drip again. Cas watched him perhaps too closely. “New backpack?” Dean asked as he ruffled at his hair, then draped the towel around his shoulders and headed over to dig out a pair of boxers.

Cas blinked, then glanced down at the backpack by his feet. It definitely wasn’t his old one, didn’t have all the distinctive embroidered patches on it. “My old one finally died on me. I still have to transfer my patches over.”

“Yeah, it’s weird seeing you without the angel wings and stuff,” Dean agreed, pulling on a pair of boxers, finally, and rummaging for his jeans. “Sorry, you really did show up right when I was in the middle of getting ready. Hey, how’d you get here, anyway? This city’s a maze.”

“Taxi.” Cas shrugged, “I knew I’d never find the place on my own. Also, walking all the way from the bus station didn’t sound fun either and I have no idea how the subways here work. So.”

Though he still wasn’t wearing a shirt, Dean had at least managed to put some pants on, now, and tossed the towel in the general direction of the bathroom before moving over to sit next to Cas and leaning to kiss by his ear gently. “Hi, you.”

Cas smiled and turned his head to look at Dean properly, then ducked in for a real kiss. “Hi. Thanks for the show, I’d missed that.”

“Pfft. You just want me for my body.” Dean accused, grinning again.

It wasn’t as if they didn’t get time together when Dean was on the road; they talked almost every day, one way or another, and were even intimate—remotely, obviously—when Dean could get his dad and Sam out of the motel room for a while. Video call sex did the job, but just wasn’t the same as being together and touching each other in person. (Not that watching Cas touch himself and moan Dean’s name over the computer would ever get old, of course.)

Another brief kiss and Dean shifted back to really look at Cas. “You do look tired.” He decided, and set to work, manhandling his boyfriend out of his trench coat and then maneuvering him up onto the bed to lay down. Dean stretched out beside him and pulled Cas into his side. “You getting enough sleep?”

Cas hummed an absent little noise and slung an arm across Dean’s bare chest, fingers tracing against his skin gently. “I do okay.” He shrugged before admitting softly, “just… lately the nightmares have been bad again, so…”

“So, you really do need a few nights with me.” Dean finished for him, one hand rubbing against Cas’s side.

Because for some inexplicable reason, even after all this time, being around Dean still kept the nightmares at bay. Nightmares that Cas had been having for as long as he could remember, of another life, a horrible life, a frightening life, a violent and painful life—but also an astonishingly weird one, and one of hope and love and joy, at times.

“I took the week off.” Cas said after a moment’s pause. He shifted to look up at Dean. Today was Sunday and—“I don’t have to catch the bus back home until Friday morning. Is that okay?” Then he hesitated before adding, “I can always catch an earlier bus if it’s not.”

“It’s fine,” Dean assured him with a smile, his free hand coming up to stroke against Cas’s cheek gently. “Dad and I only just closed out this job, so I can afford to stay a couple extra days. Dad won’t be happy, but when is he ever?” When Cas returned his smile and then leaned his head back down, he added, “besides, I’m not gonna turn down the chance to spend a whole week with you, Cas… we haven’t had that much time together in a single stretch since high school.”

And that had been almost four years ago, wasn’t that a thought. It felt like longer—it felt like a lifetime.

Cas hummed softly, fingers still tracing against Dean’s chest. He ran one over the older man’s nipple just to feel it harden under his hand, then commented almost idly, “so you’ve got your work cut out for you this week, being my personal dreamcatcher and everything.”

Dean took a sharp breath in and licked his lips, then accused, “you tease.”

“Says the guy who answered the door wet and in a towel. And then proceeded to take that off to dry off and parade around naked, after over four months of not seeing each other.”

“I, uh… I see your point.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t jump you the second the door was closed.” Cas grumbled. He rubbed a finger over Dean’s puckered nipple again, just for emphasis, making Dean sigh out a soft pleased sound. After a moment, Cas added quietly, “it was too long, this time, Dean. Four months is too long. One hundred and thirty-one days is too long.”

“You counted the days?”

“I do every time.”

“Yeah, I… hate being away from you, too, Cas. You know I do. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

Cas knew Dean and his dad had been in deep this time, Hunting something especially dark and terrible—something that had been hunting them back. Something so bad they had been forced to dump Sam off with Pastor Jim for the duration of the Hunt. And it had led them most of the way across the country before they had pinned it down in New York and finally dispatched it, very nearly at the cost of their own lives. It wasn’t as if Dean had been avoiding Cas; he had been doing his job, and his job was important.

They had still talked almost every day, on the phone or video chat, or even if it was just to send off a couple of quick texts, but four months was a long time for them to go without seeing each other in the flesh, so to speak—this was the longest they’d gone since the first time, three and a half years ago, right after Dean had left Jacksonville. They had gone seven months before seeing each other again, that time, and had promised never again.

The arm around Cas shifted, now, and Dean threaded his fingers into the other man’s hair, petting and stroking gently, soothing and apologetic. “Tell me about your dreams.” He said softly, “you said they’ve gotten bad, but how bad?”

Cas sighed and smoothed his hand up Dean’s chest so he could toy with his pendant almost absently. “I can’t even have a nap right now without dreaming horrible things. On the bus here I fell asleep and dreamt I was homeless, eking out a living from the trash… and then this kind girl took me home with her. We bonded; we had sex. Twice. And then the next morning she tied me to a chair and tortured me, then stabbed me to death. I could feel all of it.”

Dean grumbled softly at the sex part. Cas rolled his eyes with an amused smile.

“You can’t be jealous of a dream, Dean.”

“I can and I freaking will.” Dean grumped in response, but didn’t stop stroking through his hair, the touch warm and affectionate, “why is it that all your dreams have a touch of the brown acid, Cas?”

“How should I know?” Cas shrugged, “for that matter, how do I know what it feels like to have sex with a girl? I’ve never…” He blew out a frustrated breath and tugged at Dean’s pendant lightly. “Forget it, it’s just my messed-up mind making stuff up. I just need a couple nights of decent sleep and I’ll be back to normal. Right now, my brain is kind of fried.”

“You wanna have a nap now?” Dean asked.

“Can’t. I just got here, and I had a million cups of coffee on the trip from Tallahassee. I’m too wired.” Cas shook his head, then dipped to kiss against Dean’s chest gently. “Thanks, though.”

“You know what’s good for getting out energy and relaxing you, though?” Dean was grinning again; Cas could hear it. The older man shifted, pushing Cas onto his back and sinking down over him, leaning in for a kiss. “I’ll give you three guesses, but you’ll only need one.”

Cas laughed, legs apart now so Dean could settle between them and smiling up at his boyfriend in amusement. He hooked his legs loosely around Dean’s hips and met the offered kiss warmly, wrapping his arms around Dean’s neck. “You’re incorrigible,” He murmured against the older man’s lips a moment later.

“Guilty.” Came Dean’s agreement, already going for another kiss, “but you don’t seem too bothered by it.”

That was because Cas wasn’t bothered by it—not at all. He loved every part of Dean, every facet of his personality, and thought he always would. There was something special about Dean’s enthusiasm for everything in life—or almost everything. It was almost contagious, made the same enthusiasm swell up inside Cas as well.

There had been times when they had talked and he had been down, of course. Upset about his dad or Sam, or about the events of a Hunt. Angry. Depressed, even. But that was normal, right? Everyone got down sometimes.

And Cas was always there to talk him through it and out the other side, to bring him back around to the happiness he got from the little things, like diner burgers, cold beer and the motels that had Magic Fingers on their beds. Things like Cas himself, who was what sparked the most joy, more than anything else out there. More than anything else ever (except maybe his mom.) Things like…

Dean slid a hand up under Cas’s shirt, mapping along his side warmly as they continued to kiss, starting out with gentle little kisses and then sliding into a full-blown make-out session, hot and heavy and practically trying to devour one another while Dean pushed-and-pulled at Cas’s shirt until the younger man broke off—and pushed Dean back enough to strip it off and toss it away.

That was much better. Dean ducked back in to bite and kiss along Cas’s shoulder, then his collar bone, down to one nipple, where he paused to lick and suck for a moment, nipping at the perked nub and making Cas arch and gasp sharply. Dean smirked because turnabout was fair play.

Meanwhile, he eased his hands down and around to undo Cas’s pants, then hooked his fingers in the waistband and tugged, leaning up to give Cas another kiss and murmur, “hips up. Lemme get these off you.”

Then he was back down, pulling Cas’s jeans off with a little cooperation from the younger man, who kicked them away with a laugh a moment later. Dean grinned and went for Cas’s boxers next, and they landed in a heap on the floor with the rest of his clothes.

Dean ran his hands up Cas’s legs and then ducked his head, intending to suck Cas’s cock into his mouth—but Cas stopped him with hands on his shoulders, a little shake of his head and a smile. “You, too.” He said simply, reaching down to tug at Dean’s jeans—the ones he had only just gotten into, ironically. He popped the button open and worked the zipper down, then pushed at the waistband and gave Dean an expectant look.

A soft, low chuckle and Dean shifted back and to the side, quickly shucking out of his jeans and boxers and dumping them off the side of the bed before returning to his previous position—only for Cas to stop him again, fingers tangling in his hair and tugging. “Dean.”

Dean huffed quietly, climbing up over him and leaning in for a kiss. “What is it, Cas? What do you want?”

Cas hesitated slightly before licking his lips and offering, “turn around, so I can too. At the same time, I mean. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Dean just blinked down at him. “I understand, yeah, I just wouldn’t have thought…”

Cas was trying very hard to ignore the fact that he was steadily turning redder and redder. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, just say so, okay?”

But Dean was quick to shake his head. He grinned. “I think it’ll work best if we lay on our sides, don’t you?”

This time it was Cas’s turn to blink. “I—yeah.” He agreed. “That sounds good.”

Dean continued grinning and shifted against him, rolling his hips so their erections rubbed together before easing away and onto his side next to Cas, pausing there as he waited for Cas to shuffle himself around as well.

This would be something… new. Not the blowjob aspect, of course, there had been a great many blowjobs over the years, but this position, doing it at the same time. It seemed a natural progression, but every time he and Cas tried something new, Cas got a little bit shy about it and Dean had to navigate the waters carefully for fear of turning him off. Now would be no different.

So, Dean went first, once they were settled, one hand coming to rest against Cas’s hip and leaning in to take the tip of the younger man’s cock into his mouth, sucking softly at first, gently, before slowly easing deeper, taking more of him in, sucking along the shaft with a low hum in the back of his throat that vibrated down Cas’s dick and made him gasp.

“God, Dean…!” Cas moaned quietly and pressed his forehead into Dean’s abdomen for just a moment—then eased back, licking his lips and took Dean’s cock into his mouth, sliding deep and beginning to suck, swallowing down the salty taste of precome with every movement of his tongue.

Dean pulled off his cock with a lewd slurping noise to laugh, “you know, some day the Big Man is gonna get tired of hearing you say his name like that and actually show up.”

Cas made a quiet whining sound, a token protest because not only had Dean stopped, but he didn’t even believe in God, so what was he even saying? When Dean just chuckled and licked at the head of his cock again before sucking him back into his mouth, though, Cas’s whine turned into a muffled moan and he rocked his hips just the slightest bit, silently urging Dean to go deeper.

It turned out that, actually, sucking dick while simultaneously getting yours sucked was a bit more difficult than either of them had originally anticipated. More so for Cas, though, who was more of a talker during sex than Dean was—he kept having to pull off and press his forehead by Dean’s stomach to mutter out strings of curses and oaths and generally whined nonsensical babble when things got to be too much for him.

Dean just found it amusing, and poured himself even more into the blowjob he was currently giving his boyfriend—bobbing his head, swirling his tongue, even scraping his teeth the slightest bit—he could worry about himself later, if it came down to that.

But Cas was nothing if not determined, despite the fact he kept having to take little breaks to swear against Dean’s abdomen and resist the urge to buck his hips. He gave as good as he got, sucking hotly up and down Dean’s cock, slurps and other lewd little noises as he eventually brought his hand up to cup Dean’s balls and knead.

Dean moaned around the dick in his mouth, brows drawing together slightly and starting to breathe hard through his nose. Every time Cas was going down on him and did that it got him off especially well. Now he wished he was within reach of the lube because if he could get his fingers inside the younger man? No contest. But definitely not without any lube.

So instead, he redoubled his efforts, sucking Cas off hot and heavy, sloppy and wet, humming in the back of his throat so the sound vibrated along Cas’s cock and sent the other man gasping into his stomach again, panting there, hips twitching as he tried not to thrust even deeper into Dean’s mouth.

Dean pulled off of Cas’s cock at the same time to cough out, “you can move if you want to, Cas…”

Cas closed his eyes and shook his head, hair mussing against Dean’s skin. “Don’t wanna choke you.”

“Oh, for—” Dean just dove back in at that point, sucking Cas in—and then pushing deeper, sucking in a breath and swallowing him down into the back of his throat, then swallowing around him rhythmically.

Cas lost it. His hips bucked twice, completely beyond his control, and he came hard with a breathless cry, half-muffled into Dean’s stomach. Then he just panted there while Dean continued sucking him dry before pulling off him with a soft wet sound, licking his lips and swallowing thickly.

“You cheat.” Cas accused; the words panted slightly.

Dean laughed. “Says the guy who’s literally got me by the balls right now.” And then, not unkindly, “get out of the way so I can finish myself off.”

But Cas made a stubborn sort of noise and just pushed Dean onto his back, then squirmed around, limbs a little wobbly still, until he was down settled between Dean’s legs—then went right back to work, sucking Dean off like he was being paid for it. And it was easier now, without the distraction of his boyfriend’s mouth on his cock, to focus on what he was doing, sucking and bobbing his head, nipping lightly here-and-there, then pulling Dean’s own trick and shoving deep, swallowing around him until Dean could do nothing else but arch and come hard with a loud moan, one hand down and tangled in Cas’s hair.

It had only taken a couple of minutes; he’d been pretty close already. Once he was finished, Cas pushed himself to sit up, swallowing down the slippery feeling of Dean’s come in his throat, and crawled up to settle next to him on the bed once more. Dean pulled him close and wrapped an arm around his waist. Cas tossed an arm over Dean’s ribs with a hum.

“Solid eight out of ten.” Dean said finally, smiling up the ceiling.

“You’re rating my blowjobs now?” Cas asked with a little quirk of his lips.

“No, I mean the position. Doing it at the same time.”

“Ah. I actually failed rather spectacularly at that, if you recall.”

“All I know is your mouth is fantastic and I came hard. Hence the eight out of ten.”

“Eight is decent.” Cas agreed finally. “So, we give it another try sometime?”

“Oh, definitely. It’s great feeling you try to hold it together while you’re getting your dick sucked like that.” Dean grinned, then added; “but next time not in my Dad’s bed. Because gross.”

Cas stopped at that, pulled his arm back a little and lifted his head to look between the bed they were on and the other one. “Why didn’t you say something earlier, Dean?”

All Dean could do was laugh.

-- --

They spent the rest of the day and that night mostly in the hotel room, with a couple of quick outings to a coffee stand around the corner. Since they had the time, they took down the rest of wall of newspaper clippings, articles and photographs that Dean’s dad had had put up for the Hunt they had just finished, tossing it all in the trash.

They stole the pillows from Dean’s dad’s bed and tossed them onto Dean’s—the one they would be sharing for the duration of their stay—to make things a little more comfortable (the pillows and linens in this hotel… weren’t great.)

They ordered pizza in for dinner. They watched an old black-and-white movie on the glitchy TV while they ate, and Dean pulled a beer from the mini fridge to accompany his meal. Cas just leaned into his side with a happy sigh, content with his cola and Dean’s company.

They made love that night, slow and languid and full of emotion before they finally reached completion together. Then they fell asleep, tangled up in each other’s arms, and just like magic Cas didn’t have a bad dream for the entire night.

When Cas woke up in the morning it was to an empty bed—and empty hotel room—but he wasn’t worried. Dean would come back, and he could take care of himself if something happened. So, Cas took the time to have a shower and brush his teeth, then got dressed in clean clothes that didn’t smell like twenty hours on a Greyhound bus; a fresh pair of jeans and a graphic tee that Charlie had picked out for him last time they had managed to get together. Cas actually knew who The Pixies were, miraculously, and Charlie said it looked good on him, so he just went with it.

Cas was just finishing toweling his hair dry for the second time and smoothing it out (mostly) when he heard the door to the motel room open, then close, followed by footsteps. He quickly hung his towel up and poked his head out the bathroom door, brightening when he saw Dean, back turned to him, working on locking the door behind himself.

Wandering through, Cas sat down on the edge of their bed. “Hey. You were out early.”

“Yeah, went for coffee.” When Dean turned around, he was holding a tray with two cups of coffee in one side, a half-folded paper bag balanced on the other side. He set everything on the kitchenette counter and motioned for Cas to come over. “C’mon, sleepyhead, breakfast time.”

“It’s only ten.” Cas protested, but stood and headed over anyway, “and I’ve been up for half an hour. That’s early for our weekends and you know it.” When he got over to Dean’s side, Dean leaned in for a quick kiss, then left Cas to inspect the contents of the paper bag—donuts of some kind. He didn’t quite recognize them.

“Cronuts.” Dean supplied as Cas pulled one out of the bag, “they’re a big thing, apparently.”

Cas shrugged and took a bite of the one in his hand, pausing to consider before smiling and offering, “mm, they’re good!”

Dean smiled back and handed him his coffee. “Three cream and two sugar.”

“Perfect.” Cas’s smile turned soft, and he took the cup gratefully. “Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Dean was opening up his own coffee (black, naturally) and plucking out a cronut of for himself. “So, how’d you sleep last night?” He asked around his first mouthful.

Cas sighed and leaned back against the counter, still munching on his own breakfast, sipping his coffee in-between. “I slept really well. I always do with you. No nightmares, nothing. Just… rest. I always feel rejuvenated when I can spend the night with you. It’s only been one night, and I already feel almost back to normal.”

“You ever think you might be an energy vampire or something, Cas?” Dean chuckled, finishing off his cronut and going for another, taking a drink of his coffee. “Seriously, you know I’m happy to help, even if I don’t know how I’m doing it. So, I’m glad.”

Cas was quiet for a bit, and they ate in silence for a while before he finally spoke up again; “you remember last year, that fortune teller in Raleigh?” He paused again, pulling out a second cronut for himself and taking a bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing, “she said we were strongly connected. Asked if we believed in soul mates.”

Dean frowned slightly but shrugged with one shoulder. “So?”

“I know what you’re going to say,” Cas told him, looking at Dean with an almost unreadable expression. “But I think she might have been right. We’ve been connected right since day one, haven’t we?” A little, soft smile tugged at his lips, and he glanced down, “what if you being my dreamcatcher is because when we’re apart, our souls are split in half? And when we’re together like we are now, your soul and mine kind of… meld. And yours protects me.”

There was a long silence from Dean—long enough that Cas was absolutely sure he was about to get a Soul Mates Aren’t A Thing lecture—and Cas finally glanced up, intending to apologize for being stupid, just in time for Dean to drop a kiss against his forehead with a small smile. “Yeah,” He said warmly, surprising Cas a little, “I say we go with that.”

Cas smiled a bit more, then leaned into Dean’s side slightly and went back to finishing off his breakfast. When he was done his second cronut and still sipping at his coffee, he asked, “what time did you get up, anyway?”

“Early.” Dean peered into the paper bag as if considering a third cronut, but then decided against it and folded the bag over again to save the last two for later. He took a long drink of his coffee. “I’m just off a job, so my body is still trained to wake me up at the crack of dawn.” A smile. “I did stay in bed with you for a while before I left, though. You’re gorgeous while you sleep.”

“My hair is a mess, and I drool on my pillow sometimes.” Cas deadpanned.

“Adorable.” Dean chuckled.

Cas would have protested more, but instead conceded, “I like watching you sleep, too.”

“When you say it, it just sounds creepy.” Dean joked.

Cas reached with his spare hand and swatted him in the arm. “Don’t be a dick.”

The older man chortled to himself for a minute or two while Cas gave him a dirty look, then settled into his side once more. They were still leaning against the kitchen counter, but it was a nice moment between them, regardless. Cas enjoyed all the little moments like these. He had always enjoyed the little moments between them, right from day one, from when they had met. They were… pleasant. Almost domestic. Made him feel warm in his chest.

Now he lifted his coffee cup to inspect it curiously, but it didn’t have any markings, so he asked, “where did you go? This is really good coffee.”

“Little artisanal place a couple blocks away.” Dean smiled, “found it last week while we were still on the Hunt. I think I’d drive cross-country for their coffee alone. Dad’ll drink any old shit… I mean. So will I, I guess. You get used to crappy motel and diner coffee. But if I can get my hands on the good stuff I absolutely will.”

“I don’t blame you.” Cas laughed, “I was spoiled. Father always insists on keeping really good coffee in the house, so I kind of grew up on it, once I was old enough to start drinking it.”

“Yesssss I remember the coffee the mornings after our sleepovers.” The older man sighed deeply. “That was imported, had to be.”

“Straight from a tiny farming village in the deep forests of Brazil.” Cas confirmed, amused. “Can’t remember what it’s called, now… Brazil Mogiana, maybe?”

Dean chuckled and finished off his coffee, setting his cup down but not going anywhere, staying where he was, propped against the counter with Cas leaning into his side. He just watched as Cas continued sipping at his own coffee—he always took longer to drink his than Dean did his own. “So, what do you want to do today?”

Cas paused halfway to a drink. He blinked slightly. Then he looked up at Dean, an almost blank look on his face. Normally he would have suggestions, but this time? “I have no idea.”

-- --

New York had a whole laundry list of touristy things to keep them busy for the week but for once Cas hadn’t been on his phone looking them up while he’d been on the bus there. He had just slept for most of the trip, instead, bad dreams and all. So, after breakfast they sat together, using Dean’s beat-up laptop (the browser opened to Busty Asian Beauties dot com and Cas gave him a look; Dean at least had the decency to look sheepish) and did some searches for attractions around the city.

The first and most obvious one was Coney Island, and Cas had to admit that he’d never really been to a place like that before—somewhere with rides and games and vendors, the whole shebang. Dean said his dad had taken him and Sammy to one or two over their childhood, but just little, rural fairs, nothing like what Coney Island would be.

So, it was pretty quickly decided that that’s where they would be going that day. Even if they both ended up hating it, they could just go down to the beach and take a walk along the shoreline. That would be nice, too, Cas thought, though pictures showed the beach to be a pretty crowded place.

With that plan in mind, they lingered around the hotel room a little while longer and then grabbed their things and left. Cas of course wore his trench coat, even though it was warm enough to go without it; Dean teased him for it, but Cas would rather be safe than sorry. What if the weather changed? And it had large pockets, in case he wanted to buy anything. Besides, he could always take it off and carry it if it got to be too hot.

At some point Dean just stopped arguing and started to laugh, steering Cas down the hallway to the elevator with a hand at the small of his back.

They hailed a cab and got themselves dropped off at the entryway to Coney Island, and both of them were surprised to discover that there was no entry fee to the park itself, though if they wanted to go on any of the rides, they had to pay for those. So, they just walked in and began to stroll the boardwalk, Dean reaching for Cas’s had pretty much right away. Cas just made a little pleased noise and threaded their fingers together, squeezing gently.

The boardwalk was bustling with people, and while Cas had gotten more used to crowds after moving to Tallahassee for university, they did still bother him a little at times. Having Dean with him, holding his hand, helped a lot. He could focus on the feel of Dean’s fingers twined in with his own when everyone around them started pressing too tight.

They walked down rows of vendors, first, though neither of them found anything worthwhile for the most part. Cas took a few minutes at one particular stall, though, which was selling books of all kinds. He picked up and put down one book—“The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim”—several times before Dean finally huffed and snatched it from him, then went and paid for it himself, returning a moment later to shove it into one of the pockets of Cas’s coat.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Cas told Dean once they were back hand-in-hand, walking down the boardwalk again, “I could have bought it.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t have.” Dean rolled his eyes with a grin.

Cas smiled softly. “Thank you, Dean.”

They continued their perusal of Coney Island, stopping for ice cream and funnel cake on the midway before they reached the portion of the park that held all the games. And that was when Dean really lit up—he insisted on trying almost all of them, and successfully won prizes at most. Then he turned around and gave them away to random little kids who were walking past with their parents with a charming smile and a laugh.

One tiny teddy bear, a consolation prize for a game that he didn’t win at, went into Cas’s other coat pocket, though.

That was before the slinky drama. They got to a ring-toss game and Dean spotted a giant rainbow slinky as one of the prizes, and then Cas was forced to watch him play that bloody game for over an hour until he finally won and got what he wanted out of it. The grin on Dean’s face was huge, though, and Cas couldn’t help chuckling, smile fond as they headed off.

“You know that slinky cost you about a hundred dollars, right?” Cas asked as they walked, no longer holding hands.

Dean was busy unwrapping the slinky and playing with it gleefully. “I don’t even care!” Then he glanced sideways at Cas, paused in what he was doing, and looped the slinky over his arm before reaching for Cas’s hand again. “What do you think, beach now?”

“Unless you want to do the rides?”

“Nah, I’m good on the rides front.”

“Yeah, me too.” Cas agreed, then smiled and added, “let’s check out the beach, then.”

At some point over the course of the afternoon the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and a bit of a chill breeze was now coming off the ocean. Cas was fine in his trench coat, and Dean in the flannel overshirt he wore almost perpetually, but most of the beachgoers were starting to pack up and leave. Neither Cas nor Dean minded that, it just meant more time and space for themselves.

So, for a while it was just the two of them and a handful of stragglers—until the rain started up. Light at first, then harder until it was pounding down and everyone else scattered for the safety of the boardwalk. Cas and Dean scrambled across the sand and ducked under the pier, pausing in the gloom to take stock and deciding they weren’t too wet, all things considered. Beyond the pier, the rain just continued to pour down.

“Well.” Dean flopped back into the sand, settling himself with a huff. “Looks like we’re stuck here for a while.”

Cas continued looking around them for another moment before sitting down next to his boyfriend and asking, “are you going to let this ruin our date?”

“No.” Dean grumped. He pulled the slinky off his arm and set it beside himself in the sand. “Yes. Maybe.”

Cas chuckled and shifted around, propping himself up on one hand and leaning over Dean, ducking down to kiss him. “Don’t be grumpy.”

Dean hummed quietly and when Cas moved away, he reached to pull him back down, “hey, no, c’mere. I’ll stop being grumpy.”

Laughing, Cas ducked down to kiss Dean again, smiling against his lips. “What are you trying to do, here?”

“Make out with you~?” There was a little lilt to the end of Dean’s sentence, and he angled for another kiss, reaching up to tug Cas down on top of himself. Cas’s balance teetered and he tipped over, landing on Dean’s chest with an ‘oof’. Dean grunted softly but just grinned at him. “Much better.”

Cas frowned down at him slightly. “We are out in public, Dean.”

“Look around, Cas,” Dean glanced left, then right, before looking back at Cas. “We’re literally the only ones here.” And then he reached up, tugging Cas down again and dragging him into another kiss, this time deep and long. “Mmh…”

Cas made a soft protesting sound but even that faded out quickly and he found himself sinking into Dean’s chest, kissing back heatedly. Dean tasted of powdered sugar, pastry and ice cream and on the older man’s tongue it was even more delicious. He wondered, briefly, vaguely, if he tasted the same.

A few long moments later and they were making out heavily—and Dean had a hand up Cas’s shirt, fingers dragging against his side. And, Cas thought, he really should put an end to all this before it went too far. But then Dean broke away and ducked in to suck along his throat and that idea went right out the window. Cas groaned and arched his neck against Dean’s mouth, one hand moving up to thread into Dean’s hair, tugging gently.

“Dean…” He managed after another minute, “what are we, ah… doing, here?”

Dean bit at the crook of his neck, making Cas groan again, then pulled him even closer and asked with a grin, “what do you think?”

Cas swallowed hard and gave a token protest: “here? Really?”

“Really.” Dean’s grin finally faded into a reassuring smile, and he added; “there’s no one here to see us. The rain is so loud no one will hear us. It’s dark, it’s cozy…”

“It’s got all the sand.” Cas pointed out.

That made Dean laugh. He tugged at the lapel of Cas’s trench coat. “Instant blanket. Also,” He dropped one hand to grope in his own pocket for a brief moment before producing a small tube of lubricant. Cas gave him a completely blank look, even as he returned the lube to his pocket. The grin came back full force. “Just in case.”

When Cas still hesitated, Dean wrapped his arms around him and rolled them over, so he was laying half-overtop the younger man instead of the other way around. He leaned in to rest their foreheads together gently. “We don’t have to, if you don’t want to, obviously. You know I’d never force you. We can just wait out the rain and go back to the hotel and make love there, if you want. I just thought this could be… different. Fun.”

Cas started out frowning up at him, but as Dean spoke that frown faded out, replaced by a sort of… considering expression.

Dean had a couple of good points. There was no one else under the pier or anywhere around it right then, and the rain was still pounding down, it would mute any noise they made. It wasn’t like they would be having sex in public, with a bunch of strangers watching them. And Cas liked to think of himself as open-minded, he just hadn’t considered exhibitionism before—if this even counted, and he wasn’t even sure it actually did.

Finally, he gave Dean a serious look and told him; “if I get sand anywhere uncomfortable, we’re not having sex for the rest of this week.”

“But next time we meet up we’re cool again, right?”

“Dean.”

“Alright, alright. It’s a deal.” Dean ducked in to kiss him—and Cas kissed back despite his initial reluctance. When they broke apart a moment later, Dean kissed by his jaw and added softly, “we can stop any time, Cas, if you get uncomfortable. Just say the word, same as always. Okay?”

That made Cas smile again and he nodded slightly. “Okay.”

It was a slower thing this time. They began with Cas taking his coat off and spreading it out for them to lay on—and then almost embarrassedly taking his shoes off, followed by his pants and boxers. He refused to take his shirt off, wanting to keep as much of his clothing on as possible, just in case. Then he laid back on the coat and licked his lips, gesturing with one hand for Dean to get started.

Dean was still fully clothed when he pulled the lube back out of his pocket, spread the slick over the fingers of his right hand, then quickly capped the tube and stuffed it back in his pocket again. Then he ducked down to push Cas’s shirt up a little, trailing messy kisses along his abdomen and easing the first finger into Cas’s body, slow and deep. When Cas just shifted his hips and sighed out a groan, Dean smiled against his skin and added the second, both fingers stretching and parting, rubbing heatedly against the other man’s sweet spot.

And while Cas hadn’t started out hard this time, he very quickly stiffened up when Dean started playing with his prostate, working up to three fingers quickly, fucking Cas on them hard and deep, until Cas was arching and writhing, head back and moaning loudly—but still barely audible over the pounding rain.

When Cas was broken down to pleadingly panting for Dean—that was when Dean tugged his fingers out, pulled his hand away, and quickly undid his jeans, pushing them down just enough to pull his throbbing cock out. Then he settled himself over Cas, between his legs, and carefully pushed into the younger man’s body, sinking in deep and fast, making Cas bite back a cry.

This wasn’t going to be making love by any means. This was going to be quick and dirty, and they both knew it. But that was okay sometimes, was good sometimes, especially in this sort of a situation. (And how had Cas let Dean talk him into this, again? Cas threw his head back and laughed breathlessly at the absurdity of it all, only for Dean to drag him into a kiss immediately afterward.)

Dean began moving, then, quick, sharp thrusts right against his prostate that made Cas’s head fall back again, forced him to muffle loud little cries every single time. And his own cock was half-under the edge of Dean’s shirt, rubbing against soft skin—and cotton that was soft in a different kind of way—and they had never had sex while mostly clothed before. It was new and novel and not terrible by any means, although Cas admittedly missed the feeling of Dean’s skin against his.

One arm came up and around Dean, hand grabbing at the back of his shirt, twisting in the fabric there, and the other arm got tossed up above his head—Cas almost startled when it landed in cool sand, fingers curling in the fine grains, digging lightly. That wasn’t a texture or feeling he had previously associated with sex, and it was surprisingly jarring—but before he could think too much about it, Dean was back to kissing him and he returned to just moaning, panted and loud, as the other man battered against his sweet spot.

Finally, Cas lifted one leg to hook around Dean’s hip, the opposite heel sliding almost uselessly in the sand, and threw his head back to gasp out, “Dean…! A-ah…! So close…!”

Dean grunted out an affirmative and slid one hand between them to shove their shirts out of the way and grasp at Cas’s aching cock, beginning to stroke along with his continued, hard thrusts. He was jostling Cas up and down on his coat on the sand, but Cas didn’t even care anymore, gasping and panting for air, his own hips jerking and twitching until he came with a loud shout—it echoed under the pier, but was still, thankfully, drowned out by the rain falling around them. Dean followed after him, coming just a few thrusts later with a low cry of his own, again, just as covered by the sounds of the storm.

Then Dean slumped down over Cas, giving a pleased but breathless-sounding sigh against the crook of his neck, pressing meandering kisses there in a trail up to his boyfriend’s ear where he paused to murmur, “…you’re the best. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Cas replied, chest still heaving slightly. When Dean eased back onto his knees and pulled out of him a moment later, he groaned and shifted with a grimace. “Sand everywhere.” He protested, though he had a little smile on his face the entire time. He watched Dean tuck himself back in and do up his pants and asked, “happy, now?”

“So happy.” Dean agreed.

“I’m glad, now shake the sand out of my clothes so I can put them back on.”

A laugh, but Dean did as he was told, and soon enough they were both dressed again, albeit with sticky cum smeared under their shirts and a suspicious stain on the inside of Cas’s trench coat. It would have to be dry cleaned to get that out. At least it was on the inside. As for the cum, Cas hummed to himself while Dean lounged back in the sand and leaned over to lift the other man’s shift up, ducking down to lick the smears away from his skin—as much as he could, anyway, considering it was already starting to soak into his tee. Dean hummed and returned the favor a minute later, and then they both settled back to wait out the storm, pleasantly relaxed and boneless in the sand.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dean asked after a long, comfortable silence.

“I never thought it would be bad.” Cas corrected him, smiling up at the underside of the pier, “sex with you is always good. I was just concerned about the setting, that’s all. And just so you know, I wasn’t kidding, I have sand everywhere.”

Dean chuckled. “Sorry.”

“You are not. But I don’t really mind as much as I thought I would.”

“So, I’m not cut off for the rest of the week after all? Even though you got sand everywhere?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Awesome.”

The storm raged on for another forty-five minutes or so and they just stayed where they were under the pier, talking sometimes but more often than not just existing together in silence, listening to the weather howl around them. Eventually, though, the wind died down and rain petered off into drizzle, and then nothing. The sun beginning to peek out from behind the clouds again.

They continued to stay there until the sun was shining brightly once more and other people started coming back down to the beach—at which point they got up, gathered their things, and started to head out—

Until something caught Cas’s eye.

It was down at the end of the pier where it ran into the ocean, in the sand just beyond the reach of the waterline, shining iridescent purple. Cas, trench coat tucked under one arm, blinked, then squinted, and finally abandoned his boyfriend entirely and wandered over, leaving Dean to hurry after him.

Once they were both standing over the object in question, Cas looked at Dean for an explanation, only to get an exaggerated shrug in return: the thing was large, a little over a foot long and maybe half a foot wide, oblong and shimmery violet in color. It had clearly come out of the water—was loosely wrapped in seaweed. Dean, ever the resourceful Hunter, started looking around for a stick to poke it with.

Cas, on the other hand, crouched down next to it and reached with one hand to touch one finger against it gently. It had a hard shell, but that shell was covered in almost a gel coating, like a cushioning barrier. It wasn’t slick or slimy, just soft. When Dean looked over and Cas was touching it with his bare hand, he gave a startled noise and squawked out, “Cas, don’t touch it! Hunting rule number one is don’t touch the weird stuff!”

“I’m not a Hunter.” Cas pointed out, fascinated when something inside the object moved in response to his touch. He pressed his entire hand against it, watching the movement curiously before pulling back. “I think it’s an egg.”

“You think it’s an—great. Great. Just. Perfect.” Dean came back over and crouched down next to him to look at it properly. “We’re going to have to take this with us now, you know.”

Cas didn’t even look surprised. “Can’t leave it here in case it’s something dangerous.” He agreed, already spreading his trench coat out—and then carefully, oh so carefully, picking the egg up and placing it inside, wrapping it up securely. His coat would well and truly need to be professionally cleaned, now. Once it was wrapped, he picked it up and stood, then waited for Dean to do the same. “Okay, let’s go.”

They walked back up the beach to the boardwalk with Cas carrying the egg gently and Dean looking at him like he was holding a nuclear bomb. But there was something about the thing that made Cas feel at ease. He wasn’t the least bit worried about the egg or what was inside it, somehow. Maybe he just had screwed up survival instincts, or maybe Dean was naturally paranoid because of his job. Either way, they were having two very different reactions to the maybe-egg.

A not-so-quick taxi ride back to the hotel and they got into their room safely, at which point Cas set the bundle containing the egg on the second bed and stepped back, looking at the little parcel contemplatively.

Dean stepped up next to him. “Your book and teddy bear are wrapped up in there somewhere.” He reminded Cas blandly.

Cas chuckled—then stopped and looked sideways at Dean. “Where’s your slinky?”

Several emotions flitted across Dean’s face in quick succession before he scowled and muttered, “fuck!”—he’d forgotten it under the pier.

-- --

After a lot of discussion and going around in circles about it, they decided the best place to keep the egg—(it was probably definitely an egg)—was in the bathtub for the time being. So, Cas carefully unwrapped it and took it through to the bathroom to set it in the bottom of the bathtub gently. Whatever was inside it was still moving, so that was good. Or possibly very bad, he wasn’t sure which. And the egg’s color seemed to be changing as well, fading from dark purple to a lighter, brighter pink. What that meant, neither of them had any idea.

He turned the light off and closed the bathroom door when he left, returning to the main room where Dean was on the phone with someone named “Bobby”, whom he claimed was the one to call for this type of a situation. And Cas kind of had to ask… what type of a situation? A “random potential monster egg on the beach” type of situation? That seemed pretty specific.

So, while Dean made his call, Cas rescued his book and teddy bear from his now (temporarily) ruined trench coat and stuffed the coat in the bottom of his bag to get it out of the way. The book and bear got tossed on the second bed for the time being, Cas smiling a little when he looked down at them in his hands. Then he dug out his own cell phone and pulled up the Skip app, ordering them dinner to be delivered to the hotel since it was about that time. Dean was probably starving—all they’d had for lunch was ice cream and funnel cake and Cas knew the older man simply could not survive on that alone.

The food was just arriving about the time Dean was finished his call with Bobby. He dropped his phone on their bed with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair before announcing, “Bobby says we’re both idiots and he’ll be here in a day or so.” Which, admittedly, was a much better reaction than if he’d called his dad. “He’s driving from South Dakota, it’s like a… twenty-three hour drive? If he floors it? So…”

It sounded like they had the beginning of a plan, at least, and soon they would have help with the potential tactical nuke they had stashed in their bathroom. Cas nodded, then just waved Dean over to the kitchenette counter where he was unpacking their dinner. When Dean approached, he basically shoved a burger into the older man’s hands and said, “eat. You’ve got to be hungry by now.”

Dean looked down at the burger in his grasp, then back up at Cas—and gave a huge, relieved sigh. “Thank you.”

Cas smiled but continued unpacking the paper sack. Two more burgers—one for himself and another for Dean just in case—and two little containers of fries that actually looked really good. Cas had just picked the place randomly off the app, since he had no idea about the restaurants in the area, but so far, the food looked decent. His smile widened when he pulled out the two little pocket pies as well and held them up. “Not the same, I know, but…”

“You bought pie, too?” Dean asked around a too-big mouthful of burger, “jeez, Cas, you share your ice cream with me at Coney Island, you let me fuck you on the beach, you buy me pie… it’s like you’ve got a thing for me or something.”

“Maybe a little one.” Cas agreed with a laugh, unwrapping his own burger and starting to eat and—oh. Yeah. Actually, this place had really good burgers, too. He absently checked the receipt for the name of the joint—Black Iron Burger—even though he knew he would likely never be back to New York again. “Anyway, you paid for the ice cream and funnel cake. And you bought me a book and won me a teddy bear. So maybe you’re the one who’s got a thing for me, hm?”

“Technically I think I lost you that teddy bear. That… ping pong ball fishbowl game was impossible.” Dean pointed out with a chuckle, going for another bite of burger.

“Doesn’t matter, I still love it.” Cas was enjoying his meal as well, just not with as much enthusiasm as Dean, who finished off his first burger quickly and reached for the remaining one, pausing to give Cas a questioning look. Cas nodded him on, and he was quick to unwrap that one and start in on it, too. “I’m sorry you left your slinky behind.” He added between bites, almost an afterthought.

A scowl from the older man, but then he just heaved a sigh and shook his head. “I guess some things just aren’t meant to be.”

“Maybe you’ll find another one some day.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

-- --

With the Egg Of Potential Doom lurking in their bathroom, they couldn’t exactly leave the hotel room just in case something happened with it. If a maid came in and found it, despite them leaving the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Or, God forbid, it hatched and whatever was inside proceeded to run rampant over the entire hotel.

They sat around and discussed it, briefly, on multiple occasions, trying to figure out what it might be, and every time they came up blank. Dean just didn’t know of any monsters that laid eggs like that (any monsters big enough to lay eggs like that), and Cas didn’t know enough about the supernatural stuff to be of any real use, either.

In the meantime, they did have the room to themselves and the Do Not Disturb sign firmly on the door, so they made the most of it, enjoying each other’s company—and bodies—throughout the long hours that passed while they babysat the egg and waited for Bobby to show up.

Now, for example, Cas was on his back, stripped to his skin, moaning breathlessly while Dean not only worked him over with his fingers but also sucked him off, the sweetest kind of torture under the guise of getting him ready for Dean’s cock—which brought about the question as to why Dean was still completely dressed, actually, it seemed rather unfair given the circumstances.

Eventually Cas couldn’t take it anymore, and after a particularly good rub over his prostate he grabbed at Dean’s hair and pulled the other man off his cock, shivering at the slick, wet noise that followed and tugging him upward to drag him into a kiss. “Dean, take your clothes off and fuck me.” He panted against Dean’s lips, “please.”

Dean tended to listen when Cas swore like that, because Cas didn’t swear like that very often. He had been raised not to use words like “fuck” except under dire circumstances. But this? He considered a dire circumstance. He was going to lose his mind if Dean didn’t get inside him immediately.

So, Dean just chuckled and sat back, pulling his fingers away, and quickly stripped out of his shirt, then his pants and boxers, Cas watching him intently the entire time, eyes half-lidded and licking his lips, shifting impatiently in the sheets. Once Dean was naked, Cas reached to drag the older man down on top of himself, pulling him into a breathless kiss.

There was little preamble after that, Cas wrapping his legs around Dean’s hips loosely and Dean pushing his cock into Cas’s pliant body, making the younger man let his head fall back and sigh out a moan as he was filled up completely, perfectly content with Dean finally properly inside him.

Cas would live like this, if he could—but it wasn’t about the sex, it was about the connection. Being as close to Dean as he could possibly be. Sharing an experience that bound them together, even if just briefly. Sometimes he wondered if Dean felt the same—and other times Cas absolutely knew that he did.

This was one of those other times, when Dean started moving inside him slow and deep and sensual, making love to him even though he hadn’t asked for it, and reached up to thread his fingers into Cas’s hair, tugging gently and pulling him into a heated kiss—and Cas felt nothing but love and devotion in ever single action.

And this was what John Winchester was so afraid of, this side of his son. The side that cared so deeply and let down walls and loved with everything he had. Who didn’t want to be the dark, unsung hero, not all the time, not when they had this. Not when they had each other; when they could go out on dates and have sex on the beach or in shitty hotel rooms and eat dubious diner food and just be regular people sometimes.

Now, Dean continued rocking his hips into Cas’s, fucking him so thoroughly and deeply it left the younger man gasping against Dean’s mouth, panting softly as he rolled his own hips in response, meeting Dean’s thrusts with his own, everything slow and hot, the pleasure building gradually in his limbs, in his gut, coiling slowly but easing him toward inevitable release.

Cas dug his fingers into the back of Dean’s shoulders, then dragged them down his back, nails scraping slightly, making Dean hiss, before pausing at the small of his back to hold there, kneading, feeling the way his boyfriend’s muscles bunched and released, shifting along with his movements.

He always wished it could last forever, when they made love like this, and indeed, it seemed to—everything stretching into what felt like an endless span of time, just the push and pull of Dean inside him, over him, around him, kissing him like they had never done this before and possibly never would again. It was always perfect, and this was no exception.

But as with all good things, it had to come to an end. Eventually Dean’s thrusts became faster, harder as he worked them both to their peak—and Cas fell over with a breathless cry, hot come spurting between them, Dean followed soon after, burying his face in the crook of Cas’s neck to muffle a too-loud moan and coming deep in the younger man’s body.

There was silence afterward, broken only by the sound of their panting, and stillness for a few, long minutes, until Cas unwrapped his legs from around Dean’s hips and Dean eased away from him and rolled to the side, landing on his back with a huff. Cas shuffled around to tuck against him with a hum, ignoring the fact they were both covered in drying come for the time being.

A while later, though, he pushed away again and announced that he was going to have a shower. Dean leaned up to kiss him gently and agreed, promising to join him in minute—he just needed another second, so his legs were more stable before he went to stand under running water. Cas laughed and headed into the bathroom without him.

Once he was in there he side-eyed the egg slightly, then carefully picked it up out of the bathtub and set it down in the corner of the bathroom, before finally moving over to get the water going.

Twisting the handle until the water ran at the right temperature—Cas liked his showers hot—Cas pulled the pin to start the shower and climbed in, pulling the shower curtain closed behind himself. Dean would theoretically be joining him in a minute or two, and he was looking forward to that, despite the ominous presence of the egg in the bathroom with him.

Cleaning the now-dry smears of come off his abdomen was the first order of business, and it was taken care of with a washcloth and some body wash. That was the only problem with sex, sometimes, the mess that needed to be cleaned up afterward.

Cas went on to clean the rest of himself up quickly before turning to his thoroughly sexed-up hair, wetting it down and then beginning to scrub it with the actually kind of nice smelling hotel shampoo, the whole bathroom filled with hot steam now—and then he stopped, arms up and hands in his hair, because…

A series of cracking noises from beyond the shower curtain, followed by a kind of muffled pop and a hiss.

Cas froze, listening, and after a moment little, sliding, shuffling sounds could be heard along the bathroom floor and—shit shit shit. Cas quickly rinsed the rest of the shampoo suds away, and was blinking a bit of soap out of his eyes when the shower curtain began to move—

And a little, blue head and neck poked around it, bright eyes peering up at Cas curiously.

“Uh. Hi.” Cas said, the words nervous and stilted, then raised his voice to call out “DEEEEEEEAN—!!”

There must have been some urgency in his shout because Dean was at the door in an instant, slamming it open and demanding, “Cas?!”

The little creature, meanwhile, had clambered up over the edge of the bathtub and slid down inside. It was actually kind of… cute. But still. You never knew. Cas didn’t particularly want to be naked in the shower with it. He took a step back against the wall behind him, “the egg, the egg!”

Dean’s head jerked around, his eyes searching through the steam before landing on the egg, which, of course, was now cracked open and empty. Dean swore and immediately reached to yank the shower curtain open, bodily pulling Cas out of the bathtub with an overly suspicious look at the little… whatsit, that was currently splashing around in the still-running water.

“I’m fine, it didn’t even touch me.” Cas assured his boyfriend when Dean began checking him over. “It just… startled me.”

“Understandable.” Dean grunted, one hand still holding onto Cas’s arm protectively. “Look, I think… yeah. I think we’re just going to back out of the room and close the door for now, agreed?”

While they watched, the tiny animal slid back out of the bathtub and crawled over to the empty eggshell—then began eating it, crunching away, obviously content for the moment. Dean tugged at Cas’s arm and the two of them slipped out of the room, closing the door behind themselves with a click, the shower still running in the bathroom behind them.

Cas stood there, staring at the closed door, for the longest moment, before muttering almost blankly, “should’ve grabbed a towel.”

Dean snorted and went to the second bed, pulling off the thin top blanket and bringing it back over—he tossed it over Cas, who floundered under it briefly before finding his way out again. “There. Dry off. It’s a hotel, they don’t care.”

That was a good point, Cas supposed. Besides, the blanket would dry before they checked out on Friday anyway. So, he just set to drying himself off quickly, until he was left ruffling at his hair. “So, I really wasn’t expecting that. It just started cracking… I could hear it. As soon as the room got hot. Maybe it was the steam that set it off.”

But this put them in an entirely different situation, now. Babysitting a stationary egg was one thing—babysitting a tiny monster was entirely different. Cas glanced at Dean as he let the blanket fall to rest over his shoulders, draped around him like a cape. Dean was staring hard at the bathroom door, a little frown on his face. Cas knew what he was trying to decide—should they be killing the thing or not?

Finally, Cas wandered over to toss the damp blanket back on the second bed and set about pulling clean clothes on—his last set. He would have to take his things down to the laundry room and get them washed. That was the big problem in packing in only a backpack, he could only fit so many clothes.

When Dean eventually turned back around, Cas was tugging a fresh t-shirt over his head, and the older man squinted at it before asking, “what’s The Amazing Devil?”

“Indie band.” Cas replied, “one of my favorites.”

“And you were wearing The Pixies earlier.”

“Yes, Charlie picked that one out for me.”

“With the band shirts now.”

The banter was helping them both calm down after this latest plot twist. Cas dropped down to sit on the edge of their bed and Dean came over to join him. Together they went back to staring at the bathroom door, listening for any sounds from inside the room. There was just the continued sound of quiet crunching, but not much else.

“You know,” Cas said after a while, “eating its own eggshell actually makes total biological sense. A lot of species do it. The shells are full of calcium and all kinds of other nutrients to give the baby… whatever-it-is, a good start in life.”

“Thank you, Animal Planet.” Dean muttered.

Cas allowed it, considering the circumstances. He reached to take Dean’s hand and squeezed gently. “What do you think we should do?”

“I ffffffreaking… I have no idea.” Dean admitted with a sigh.

“I think we should go have a real look at it.” Cas offered, and then, when Dean gave him an incredulous look; “I know, I know! It could be dangerous! It could bite or spit poison or—whatever! But it didn’t seem threatening and… we should figure out as much as we can, right?”

“My God, you sound so much like Sam right now.” The older man’s head dropped forward, and he gave a weak laugh, “okay, just… I am not going in unarmed.”

Luckily, he still had some weapons in his duffle bag from the Hunt he had been on with his dad before Cas had arrived (his dad had carted most of them off in the Impala when he left, though.) Dean lifted his head and leaned to kiss Cas’s cheek, then let go of his hand and went to dig his bag out from under the bed. When his rummaging produced a machete and a buck knife, Cas almost flinched. Dean just handed him the buck knife anyway, and he took it without complaint, but was very sure he wouldn’t be needing it.

Together they approached the bathroom again, Dean leading the way and Cas close behind him. Dean cracked the door open, and they both poked their heads inside cautiously to peer through the steam.

The little creature was a good halfway through munching down the leftover eggshell, and looked up when it realized it was being stared at. It was about the size of a cat, almost reptilian looking with beautiful, cerulean blue skin and scales, a long neck with a small head—a head full of little needle teeth. It also had flippers for limbs and a short, stubby tail that was probably vestigial. It looked right back at them with huge, bright blue eyes that held a startling amount of intelligence.

Dean didn’t move, but Cas eased past him and into the room, crouching down and setting the buck knife on the floor next to him—Dean uttered a harsh “Castiel!” at that—then reached one hand out, palm down and fingers relaxed, the way he had learned to approach Marshmallow when he was in a bad mood.

After another long pause, the tiny thing turned around and kind of hop-shuffled across to him, sniffing the air the entire time, until it was close enough to investigate his hand. It sniffed all over, then nipped lightly just once, clearly testing, before licking the side of his hand, rubbing its cheek over his knuckles, and turning back around, returning to the egg and its meal.

Cas watched it go, then smiled up at Dean. “I’m going to call her Sally.”

“Cas, we do not name the monsters!”

“She’s not a monster, though.” Cas turned his attention back to watching Sally, absolutely fascinated. “I think she’s just… an animal.”

Dean grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back out of the bathroom again, closing the door firmly behind them. Cas went along willingly. He understood. This was something beyond Dean’s experience, and he was a little freaked out. He supposed to a Hunter something “new” was never a good thing.

“Your knife is still in there.” Cas pointed out.

“It’ll survive.” Came Dean’s reply, grumpy. “You really think that thing’s okay?”

“She probably could have hurt me, at least a little, but she didn’t.” The younger man shrugged. “And we have to take care of her until your friend gets here, right? We can’t just leave her in the bathroom and let the shower run for hours. Besides, it’s the bathroom, we’re going to need to use it.”

“Why is it a ‘her’?”

“Because Sally is a girl’s name? Also, she has no external genitalia. Though I guess it’s possible her species just… has no external genitalia, as a rule.”

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

Dean went over to put the machete away again, then flopped backward onto their bed with a huff. Cas followed him over and crawled onto the bed as well, sitting next to him for a few minutes while he calmed down and then stretching out beside him, tucking into Dean’s side and leaning to kiss by his jaw gently. Dean grumbled but wrapped an arm around him anyway.

“It’s staying in there overnight; I don’t want it wandering around while I’m trying to sleep.”

“She. Her.” Cas corrected with a laugh, “but that sounds like a good plan, yes. Can I go turn the shower off now?”

“I guess.”

“Thank you.”

Untangling himself from the other man, Cas climbed back off the bed and went back to the bathroom, opening the door wide and going inside to turn the water off. Sally had pretty much finished off her egg at that point and he was impressed by her ability to cram so much food into her tiny body so quickly. On his way out of the room, he retrieved Dean’s buck knife—and then left the door hanging open in his wake.

Setting the knife on the bedside table, Cas returned to his spot against Dean’s side. Dean just wrapped his arm back around Cas without a word, and Cas’s own hand traced absent circles on Dean’s chest. “You never put a shirt on.” He observed, “when I yelled.”

“Didn’t seem like there was time.”

“But you put your jeans on?”

“Look, you don’t go into a fight blind, and you don’t go into a fight pantsless. I don’t make the rules.”

Cas laughed and reached up to thread his fingers into Dean’s hair, tugging him into a kiss. “You could have a shower now, you know.”

“I’m not that gross. I can handle being post-sex Dean for a while longer.”

“Mmm. Yes, I rather like post-sex Dean, myself.”

Dean’s lips actually quirked into a little smile at that—but then he paused when shuffling sounds came from the bathroom doorway. They both lifted their heads and watched as Sally hesitantly hop-crawled into the main room, looking around with bright, curious eyes. Dean scooted farther up the bed to get his feet off the floor and tugged Cas along with him, Cas rolling his eyes the whole time.

They stayed like that, cuddled up together on the bed, just listening to Sally explore the room for a while. She wasn’t doing anything untoward. Got into Cas’s backpack a little but that was his own fault for not zipping it closed and there was no damage done. Eventually they both sat up to watch her poke around. When she got to the side of the bed they were on she stretched up as far as her little neck would let her, then tried to jump—and fell, landing on her back with a frankly adorable squeak.

Cas leaned over to right her and Dean admitted, grudgingly, “okay, I guess she’s kinda cute.” Then he grabbed the hotel notepad off the bedside table, ripped a page off, crumpled it up, and tossed it across the room. Sally scrambled after it like a puppy after a ball and Dean actually grinned. “Did I say ‘kinda’ cute? ‘Cause…”

Cas settled back in the bed again, personally satisfied that they weren’t about to be eaten in their sleep, but having no doubt that Dean would insist on locking Sally in the bathroom overnight anyway, just in case.

-- --

They got to sleep late that night after letting Sally wander the hotel room for a couple hours and then corralling her back into the bathroom before spending some time just cuddled up together, talking about the logistics of keeping what was obviously a sea monster in their hotel room. There was a lot to discuss, but hopefully Bobby would be able to help them out with things when he arrived the next day. They finally went to sleep around one in the morning, curled around each other like always.

The next morning, they were woken up early to thrashing and splashing coming from the bathroom, just a general ruckus, and Cas stumbled over to check on Sally and make sure things were alright. As soon as the door was open, she bolted—as much as she could bolt—out into the main room and began searching for the paper ball again. Dean grumbled but it was good-natured grumbling, at least.

Once Dean managed to haul himself out of bed, the two of them left Sally on her paper ball hunt and took a shower, and then, when they were done, refilled the tub halfway for their new friend and left it like that.

Breakfast was shitty hotel coffee and the stale leftover cronuts from the day before, after which they set about the task of wrangling Sally for the next few hours, trying to keep her out of too much trouble until Bobby arrived around one o’clock. He must have been driving like a bat out of hell to get there so fast.

When the knock came at the door, they both looked up quickly, and Cas went over to check the peephole—which was pointless, really, since he didn’t know what Bobby looked like. He glanced back at Dean. “Older man, scruffy beard, baseball cap?” He asked.

Dean nodded. He was currently trying to redirect Sally away from his duffle bag. The bag was securely zipped closed, but she seemed determined to get into it. Cas just left him to it and unlocked the door, pulling it open. “Hello.”

“Hi.” The man said, then looked past him at Dean. “Dean?”

Dean waved for the man to come in and Cas stepped aside, then closed the door behind him, locking it securely. He swallowed slightly. With his track record with Dean’s dad, he wasn’t sure what to expect from Bobby, but still finally cleared his throat to offer an introduction at the very least: “I’m—”

“Oh, I know who you are, Castiel Novak. John had me run the entire gambit of background checks on you years ago.” Bobby informed him with a snort, making Dean swear under his breath from across the room. “I’ve heard a lot about you over the last few years.”

Cas gave him a somewhat surveying look. “Good or bad?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Bobby answered truthfully. “if you ask John, well…” Cas and Dean both winced. He didn’t need to continue that sentence. “But Dean, on the other hand, he won’t stop singin’ your praises.” Finally, the older man cracked a lopsided smile and held out one hand. “Bobby Singer. Nice to finally meet you, son, after everything I’ve heard about you.”

Cas let out a little, relieved breath and shook his hand firmly. “Nice to meet you, too.”

When Bobby let go of his hand again, he asked, “so I hear you’ve got an egg problem.”

“Actually,” Dean grunted, and finally just picked Sally up to get her away from the duffle bag, turning around with her in his hands. When Bobby just stared at him, Dean grimaced, “yeah I thought you might say that.”

-- --

“The Loch Ness Monster, Ogopogo, Champ, Morag… none of them exist, Dean, sea monsters, lake monsters, they aren’t real.” Bobby sounded incredulous. “They’re like Bigfoot, they’re myths.”

Dean’s eyebrows went up and he pointed at Sally, who was once again chasing her paper ball around the room. Cas watched her for a minute before looking back at Bobby. “Her name is Sally.”

Bobby gave Dean a look. “Her name is Sally.” He repeated sarcastically. Then he heaved a sigh and palmed over his face, “okay, so let me get this straight. You two idjits found this egg down at the beach, took one look at it, and decided to bring it home with you?”

A little half-shrug and Dean offered weakly, “it seemed like the thing to do at the time?”

“We reasoned that it was safer than leaving it out for someone in the public to find it. It was just right there in the sand under the pier.” Cas said.

“What were you doing under the pier?”

“Sheltering from a storm.” Cas responded, even as Dean simply replied, “screwing.”

There was a long silence, and it was obvious that Bobby was trying to decide whether or not to ask about that—but eventually he shook his head. “Where, exactly, did you find it?” Bobby asked, instead.

“Coney Island.” Dean told him flatly. “And that place is packed. We didn’t know what was in the egg, but it seemed that if it hatched it could be trouble. Better to have it with a Hunter, right?”

Bobby sighed. “I suppose so…”

“But then last night after I’d already called you it just… hatched. Ta-daa, baby sea monster!” Dean rubbed at his hair awkwardly, “she seems friendly enough. She’s kind of cute. But we don’t know how to take care of her, or how big she’ll get, or anything like that…”

For the most part Cas was keeping to himself, letting Dean have this conversation with his mentor. They didn’t need his two cents, really, Dean knew everything he did. But after a few more minutes of talking things out, Bobby’s attention shifted to Cas. He looked at Cas, surveying, searching, before looking back at Dean again.

“Hey Dean, why don’t you go out and get Sally some food? Let me and Cas here get better acquainted.” Bobby suggested, making Cas freeze and blanch slightly.

Dean, however, just smiled easily and stood, reaching to give Cas’s shoulder a squeeze and flashing a reassuring smile. He leaned down to drop a kiss against Cas’s temple before straightening—then stopping. “Wait, how am I supposed to know what this thing eats?”

“It’s obviously an aquatic predator, dumbass, try seafood.” Bobby snorted—and Dean nodded his head, grabbing his wallet off the counter and heading for the door. Once he was gone, Bobby turned his attention to Cas, giving him an obvious once-over before asking flatly, “state your intentions.”

Cas balked slightly. “I’m sorry, what?”

Bobby fixed him with a look. “I ain’t Dean’s father.” He stated, “but I damn near raised him anyway. I ain’t John, and I ain’t gonna treat you like John does. But I need to know your intentions with Dean before I leave New York. And they’d better be good or by God you’re going to wish I was John Winchester.” Then a pause and he asked seriously, “you met in high school, right?”

“I—" Cas shifted in his seat slightly, swallowing, and nodded. “Yes, sir. In final year. We both transferred into Caspar High at around the same time. I…” He trailed off for a long moment before breaking eye contact and glancing down, “we became friends, and then started dating, even though Dean’s Dad forbade it. We got really close… we are really close. I’m closer to Dean than I am with anyone else in my life, even my own Father.”

“Mmhm,” Bobby nodded to himself, then waved a hand vaguely, “and he told you all about Hunting, the life?”

“Yes. He was walking me home from school one day and a vampire attacked us… me. He saved me. And… well, I mean, we both came out okay, but I guess he figured he had some explaining to do, so he told me everything the next day.”

“You’ve been together ever since?”

“Not… geographically. But in all the ways that really count.” Cas looked back up, smiling a little. “I… I love Dean, Mr. Singer, more than anything. More than anyone. He’s the most important part of my life. And I know—I know things are tough for him, with the Hunting and everything, so I just try to be there for him when and where I can. I just try to show him how much he’s loved, every single day.”

“Jesus, kid, you’ve got it bad.”

“Yes, I do. But it’s not a passing infatuation, I promise you that.” Cas’s smile faded out just a little and his eyes flickered down again. When he spoke once more his voice was soft: “I know it’s not possible, not with his life, but I would marry him in a second if I could. Or, forget marriage, I would leave behind my whole life to go on the road with him, even. But… he wouldn’t want me to be in that much danger. And he would be in more danger with me around. So, I never ask or offer. I just keep meeting up with him every couple of months like this for us to eke out time together.”

Bobby eyed him for another minute before shaking his head. “The way John rants about you, you’d think you were the Goddamned antichrist, but here you’re just genuinely in love with his son.”

“I am, yes. I would give my life for his, if the situation called for it.” Cas hesitated before adding softly, “and I think he feels the same way about me.”

Bobby studied him quietly, then, “and you’re okay with the whole arrangement, the way it is now?”

“It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we can do. The best I can do.” Cas smiled gently. “It would be worse not to have him in my life at all.”

“You’ve gotta understand where John’s comin’ from, though…”

“Oh, I absolutely understand. I’m the wrench in the works. Dean’s Dad has spent Dean’s entire life, practically, teaching him and training him, making sure he’s strong and safe and competent as a Hunter. I’m a threat to that.” A small quirk of his lips and Cas shrugged with one shoulder, “I would never purposefully do anything to hurt Dean, but when he’s with me he shows… softness. Weakness. He lets his guard down. And I get it, why his Dad is so against our relationship, he doesn’t want Dean to get hurt. But I also know… Dean won’t let me go. Not without fighting tooth and nail. And I’m holding on just as tightly. We have been for years now. We will for years to come, hopefully… so…”

“So, you stay apart as much as possible and meet up in shitty hotels when you can.” Bobby finished for him. After a pause he offered a smile, “I can’t say I’m not a little worried—for both of you—but it is good to see Dean so happy, and if you’re the cause of that then I can’t exactly hate you for it.” Then the smile faded, though, and Bobby fixed Cas with a serious look; “but if you ever hurt him, kid, so help me God, you’ll have to deal with me, and like I said, you’ll wish I was John.”

Cas swallowed slightly and nodded. He didn’t doubt Bobby’s threat for a second. “I love him with everything I have, Mr. Singer, and do everything I can to help keep him safe and happy. I swear I’ll never do anything to hurt him.”

“Hence the critter currently running around here?” Bobby tipped his head toward Sally, who was had caught up to her crumpled paper ball and was currently chewing it into mulch. He raised one eyebrow.

“That��uh—yeah. Was a joint decision.” Cas gave him an apologetic look, “we just didn’t think it was safe to leave the egg out there on the beach with all kinds of tourists walking around. It was Dean’s idea, too.”

“Of course it was.” The older man took his hat off to rub at his head and then put it back on again. “I need a big cooler.”

“Cooler?” Cas blinked at the seemingly random declaration.

“Yeah, to smuggle Nessie here out in.” Bobby clarified, “we can’t exactly walk her out on a leash.”

He had a point. Cas watched Sally gnaw on what was left of her paper ball for a moment before standing up, going over to take the mangled paper away and throw it out, then picked her up, and took her through to the bathroom. He set her in the half-full bathtub, then left her there to play and returned to his seat opposite Bobby.

The two of them talked about various things (but mostly his relationship with Dean) for a while longer before Dean finally returned. He was toting two bags—one from a little supermarket nearby and one from a burrito joint he had stumbled upon on the way home. He dropped both on the kitchenette counter and then crossed the room to give Cas a quick kiss. “I brought food for us, too, since we haven’t had lunch yet.”

Cas hummed a happy noise—“thanks”—even as Bobby gave a little, hidden smile at the sight. Then Dean returned to the bags and fished out a couple of burritos, tossing one toward Bobby and one to Cas. He pulled the third one out for himself but set it aside for the moment, instead turning his attention to the contents of the other bag, “okay, so the grocery store had a whole section of fresh seafood, and I had no idea what to get, so I grabbed shrimp, sardines and uh… those little squareish blobs, you know… scallops! I got scallops. And I guess we’ll see if anything flies.”

“Squareish blobs.” Cas repeated with a fond look.

“Shut up.” Dean told him distractedly.

Cas laughed and started unwrapping his burrito to take the first bite, watching curiously as Dean got out the little bags of seafood and then headed through to the bathroom where Sally started sniffing the air and perked up immediately. She had long since finished off her eggshell.

In the end it turned out she would eat anything, basically, and gobbled down all of the shrimp, most of the scallops and about half of the sardines before finally seeming to have her fill. Cas was once again impressed by the amount of food she could cram into her comparatively small stomach at once. Then again, she was probably already growing like a bad weed.

When Dean existed the bathroom, he tossed the remaining scallops and sardines into the mini fridge to keep them from spoiling, then grabbed his own burrito and sat down with Cas and Bobby to eat. The three of them were quiet for a while, but eventually Bobby spoke up again with, “so I figure there are a few big enough lakes in my neck of the woods, I can probably plant her in one of those and she’ll do fine. Lake Oahe, maybe.”

“How do we know she’s not meant to be in the ocean?” Cas asked around a bite of burrito, “we found her egg there, after all.”

“Yeah, but she seems to thrive in fresh water, right?” Dean shrugged, “maybe the egg just travelled through the ocean to kind of… drop it on a distant shore?”

“To better disperse the species over large distances.” Cas said, sounding surprised, “that might explain the spongey covering on the egg—to protect it from the salt water!”

Another shrug. “If you say so.”

Bobby gave them both a surveying look, “are you boys sure we’re doing the right thing, here? Sally could get big, and we don’t know what her temperament will be when she grows up. Might be better to take care of her while she’s little like this.”

Cas was halfway to a bite of burrito and paused, glancing toward the bathroom, where Sally was currently clambering her way out of the bathtub again to waddle into the main room, looking for attention. “I think… it’s a chance we should take. Not everything is a monster, you know? I think she’s just an animal. She deserves a chance to live. And she’ll do okay, as long as we don’t domesticate her too much in the meantime.”

Bobby chuckled and nodded his head toward Cas. “Your boyfriend reminds me of Sam a bit.” He told Dean.

“Ugh, don’t even say that.” Dean complained.

“Alright.” Bobby set the last of his lunch aside and patted his hands against his knees before standing. “I guess I’m going out to get me a cooler.”

And Dean just made a muffled confused noise. “Cooler?”

Cas laughed and shook his head, because he’d had the exact same reaction.

-- --

In the end Bobby came back with the biggest cooler he could find, as well as a smaller one as well—the smaller one was for fish and whatnot for Sally along the way. And also, probably, for drinks for Bobby, no one had any illusions over that one. Strictly soda, though, since he would be driving, and Bobby was staunchly against drinking and driving.

After another hour or so of lighter conversation—Dean hadn’t actually talked with Bobby in forever—they loaded Sally into the bigger cooler, along with a couple inches of water, sealed it up, and Bobby and Dean hauled it out of the hotel and down the block to Bobby’s car with Cas tagging along, carrying the smaller cooler filled with ice and what remained of Sally’s lunch. Bobby would have to buy more fish later.

They said their goodbyes to Sally in the parking lot, and Cas gave her a fond little scratch on the head before sealing the cooler again and sliding it into the back seat of the car. Bobby and Dean exchanged a small glance, but both of them were smiling the entire time.

When it came time to saying goodbye to Bobby, they both said massive ‘thank you’s and promised that they owed him one. Bobby and Dean hugged, and when Cas held out his hand Bobby took it—but then pulled him into a hug as well, making him squawk out a surprised noise. He did hug back, though, once he got over the initial shock of the whole thing.

“Well boys,” Bobby said as he was climbing into his car, pulling the door shut and looking out the rolled-down window at them, “I wish you both the best of luck.” And then he caught Cas’s eye and added, “sincerely”, before finishing with, “I’ll call you once I’ve got her dropped off at Oahe. She should be happy there. You know how to get a hold of me if you ever need anything. That means you, too, Cas.”

Cas smiled widely. “Thank you, Mr. Singer.”

But Bobby just waved a hand, “don’t mention it. But no more eggs, ya idjits!”

“We’ll do our best, Bobby!” Dean called, even as Bobby was pulling out and driving away.

Cas watched the car until it was out of sight, then sighed deeply and reached to take Dean’s hand. “So, this’ll be an entry for your journal.”

Dean laughed as they headed back to the hotel to figure out what they wanted to do for the rest of the week, “I definitely won’t be showing it to Dad, that’s for sure!”

THE END

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #destiel #destiel fanfiction #spn #spn fanfiction #spn fic #shut up sena #sena writes #cerulean blue by senashenta

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sparkbeast20 · 3 years ago

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The Sea for Two (Leviathan X MC)

The Blue Lotus petals (series)

As a fan of Beauty X Beast pairing, Showing your “true self” to Lover or (Monster Love) Tropes. I figure to make a (More Demonic Forms AU/head canon) story for each brothers. Heads up each brother’s Story is long as fuck. So, I’ll be posting them as parts and finishing one brother before moving on to the rest of them.

(spoiler for lesson 1-60)

Warning: Swearing

“How long are we suppose to wear these- OW!” You flick Mammon’s ear as you guide all the brothers who are blindfolded to a surprise gift.

“we’re almost there” As you hold your laugher, not wanting to ruin the surprise.

“Oh, Oh! Is it, a new mall!” Asmo is still guessing the same thing, but your answer is still

“No” he huffs and you just laugh.

“Why do I have to be here, if this just a normie thing then count me~”

“Even though I work really hard on this” you made your voice sound like a kid wanting praise from their parents after doing chore well, to Levi who immediately back track his word.

“B-but to you, I-I’ll doing anything, please don’t get upset. I’m sorry” you smile and reach your hand and grab his, and stroke his palm with your thumb. Your way to tell him It’s okay, I love you, don’t worry too much.

Ever since you two became an item, with some of the brothers appose to it, for obvious reason. But learn to live with, with Mammon, Asmo, and Belphie are is on the fence about.

Since Levi is still new to this whole relationship thing, you decide to make sure that Levi isn’t going overboard with his thoughts and insecurities by making as acts of love without saying a word. Like handing his hand and doing small gestures like tighten your grip for saying I’m here, or intertwining your hands together and opening and closing your hand for I’m kidding, and what you just did.

Levi being a demon who wallows in his own self-doubts and thinks of himself lower. That is in the surface, and you learn that his more than that.

You wish he can see that.

You position the brothers and ran at your spot and ready your gesture.

“Okay, now you can take it off” Mammon, Levi, Asmo, quickly took off theirs while Lucifer, Satan, Beel, and Belphie took their time. Then Mammon and Asmo gasps in excitement. And Levi mouth is wide open. “Ta da! We’re going a Cruise” You presented a gigantic ship behind you with a big smile on your face.

“Oh my!! You’re the best darling~”

“What was that Asmo” Levi glances over to Asmo, who just chuckles at him.

“How did you~”

“Lord Diavolo ask me to think of a way celebrate, three year of successful exchange program, so we are all taking a two weeks cruise and are last stop is at the Galapagos Islands”

“Two-two weeks!?!”

“Yeah, that’s why I ask all of you to pack your thing for two to three weeks~”

“THREE WEEKS!?! B-but I didn’t even know that w-we are going out at sea, for THREE WEEKS” Levi Stumble to his bag and check his things “I didn’t pack nearly enough games for this”

“Levi we’re going on vacations, not moving out” Satan tells Levi, as he points with his eyes toward you.

You look sad that he was worried about.

“Wait-wait-wait!?! I-I-I d-d-didn’t mean it like that, I’m glad we’re going on vacations for two weeks” Levi stumbles his way towards you and hovering his hands over, try to comfort you but at the same time scared of touching in his frantic state.

You instantly smile as his cute flustered way of comforting you.

So, you grab his hand and rub your thumb on to his, and slowly calming down, then you turn your head to the others.

“Okay, come let’s go on board!”

Once inside the ship, you did expect it to be this big from the inside, you awe at the beautiful Greek theme that their going for, all the while all the brother set their bags at waiting area, and quickly Mammon grab a brochure nearby, and start listing all the things you can do in the ship.

“There’s four big ass pools, a spa-” Asmo perk up once he heard spa “a theater, 200 hundred buffet pleases-” Beel is already drooling “an arcade and AH CASINO!! Okay if ya need me I’ll be~”

But before Mammon could run off Lucifer grab him by scruff of his neck threw him at the bags.

“We just got on the ship, now you want to stir up trouble for all of us” Lucifer look down at Mammon who was about to talk back when suddenly. A gentleman in a uniform walk over to us.

“Ah! You must be, Sir. Diavolo’s friends. I’m the captain of this ship, Captain Sedeh Leh. But you can call me Captain Leh.” Leh approach Lucifer and pull up his hand, to shake, Lucifer was hesitant but took and shake his hand. Leh smile then let go. “I’m here to formally welcome you to the S.S Lotus” He present the inner part of the ship. “So, Mr. Lucius you and your brothers are in the upper class where you are pair up.” Lucifer glance over to you, seeing that you gave him a human name, you flash him a cheeky grin, and you heard him sigh.

“Now, the pair are Lucius and Mams, Sully and Asmo, Beel and Belphie, then finally Levi and y/n”

You hear Mammon in annoyance that his name is Mams and you can feel Satan burning a hole through your head, while Asmo and Belphie are chuckling in the background.

“Now if you all follow me, to your rooms. So, can finally settle in. will be debark in four hours” Captain Leh, lead the way to the upper class.

As you all walk, Satan lean closer to you ear. “I thought that is only between You, Me, and Simeon, speaking of which where are the others?”

“Yes, but they don't know that. And the others are on their way” you show him you D.D.D with your last Message from Diavolo. Saying that his and others are running a little late due to traffic.

Satisfied, Satan when back next to Asmo, while Levi tries to keep up to you.

“When did you have time to do all of this?” Levi asks, you grab his hand and smile at him, causing him to blushes and use his other hand to hide his face. “H-hey! Quit it, I’m asks you a question”

“When you did your two-day raid”

“And you, didn’t ask me for help?”

“Didn’t want to ruin your game, and besides I wanted it to be a surprise” you smile at him. All he can do is nodded with a blush on his face.

You look back Infront of you, while Levi is thinking that he should have help you, at the very least help you in looking for good spot to take a vacation.

“You two, settle in will all meet up in two hours” Lucifer tells you and Levi before went back on following Captain Leh, with Mammon being drag by his wrist.

Levi closes the door, and turn and look at your two’s bed room. While you are giddy and immediately jump on the bed.

“Its so soft” while you are enjoying the bed, Levi set the bags next to the drawers, and really to in that all of you are going to be in sea for two weeks. “Levi look!” you broke his train of thought, then he turns to look at you, then to what you’re pointing at.

“Oh cool” in a low tone.

“It looks like Lotan, doesn’t it” above the bed board was a mural of the Greeks mythological beast in legends, with one is a seven headed serpent.

“Yeah, it does…”

“Come here” you sat at the edge of the bed and pat the space next to you, Levi walks over, sat, then flops on bed and looks at the ceiling of the room. “Do you, hate it”

“It fine, I much prefer a tub”

“Well…... we do have a personal bathroom, if you’re not feeling the bed, you can sleep in the bathroom, and sleep next to you”

“Wh! No!?!” he jolts right back up “I-I’m sorry! Is just it’s a lot to take in that’s all?”

“Aww” you scoot closer to him, and lay your head on his shoulder “Maybe… I should’ve got you on this surprise, rather being surprise to”

He let out a sigh, and slowly reach to grab your hand and squeezing it.

“No…... it’s just being in sea for along time, brings back memories”

“Memories? Like your time being an Admiral?” you look up to him.

“Yeah…. Something like that. Anyway, let’s start unpacking” he let go of your hand and got up from the bed and head over to his bag. Seeing him like this, you can help to try to get him out of his gloomy state. So, you decide to change that.

You quietly rush and jump on his back and wrap your arms around his neck, and you start kissing his cheek, you can feel the heat coming off from his face, from the surprise attack.

“Hey-hey-hey, I told you not to do that”

“Well, also told you not to quietly mope, when it’s obvious that something is bothering you”

“Nothing is bothering me” he huffs and you just roll your eyes at his grumpy responds.

“Okay, Mr. Emo, maybe later to night we can binge watch something, maybe an anime….”

“You promise” you just hum, and in the instead Otaku Levi is back “Ahhhh, you’re the best” he turns and grab you by the waist and span you around. You can only laugh in joy seeing him be happy like this.

“Okay, okay. Now let’s start unpacking before Lucifer blows a casket.”

#obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me reader x leviathan #obey me monster love #obey me shall we date #obey me mc #obey me blue lotus petals

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dowhatisaynotwhatido · 2 years ago

Text

6.1 Article - The Rebuttal

Paring: Bea / Ina

Warning: Fluff. Kiss (hot kiss)

Description: part 8 of The article series. Ina got herself a disciplinary hearing, she goes after Bea

Word count: 3019

It has been a month after the wheezing accident and Ina couldn't stop thinking about it. She had done several meetings with the Dean and Health department demanding that all faculty should receive a first aid certification.

The rumors did spread across the faculty about her "not so subtle" show of affection towards her TA in that hallway.

"Professor Kingsley, you know that we have to address this. There are videos and, well, you know how it looked like" said the Dean.

That was a disciplinary hearing with the Dean and the Human resources attorney, and it was prolonging for the better part of an hour.

"It looked like I was calming a student down in the best way I could. And as I recall, she is now fine and in good health despite all the other faculty that were simply staring at her" Ina said without showing any emotion

"Why do you own an inhaler, Ina? You failed to mention asthma in your admission report" said the HR, clearly fishing for information

"I didn't mentioned because I don't have asthma" Ina took a deep breath and confessed “Look. I lost my aunt due to an asthma attack while younger, ok? And my niece has it. So it has been years since I started carrying it with me, because if needed, I could provide help."

• Just a mild lie. Charlotte was just fine and yes, my aunt did die of an asthma attack, but she only bought the inhaler after she knew about Bea's asthma•

"Oh, I had no idea" said the Dean with a surprise glare

" No, you didn't. Look, this is basic 101 asthma care: call 911, sit the victim, calm her, and provide a puff every 30 seconds, until a maximum of four. That is what I did and you would've known that if you haven't vetoed the first aid course."

" we don't have the budget yet, Ina" - explained Ms. Steinheim

"Don't insult my intelligence, Marguerite. We all know how much you are paying for this HR attorney to be here in a disciplinary hearing. It could easily pay for that. But no, here I am explaining why I am a decent human being that saved somebody's life" - Ina shook her head: "Look, has she or her parents filed a formal complain?"

"No but.." The attorney started to object

"Am I facing termination?"

"Of course not, Professor Kingsley, this is just a hearing!"- The Dean said

"Well, then I believe we are all settled here? I have a class to teach"

And she strolled off the Dean's office.

Her sister's advice was becoming increasingly more appealing •I am just sick of this fake concern. They just care about money and property. Not a single soul gave me a pat in the back for saving a student life. I wonder how much this is affecting Bea•

----

Bea knew that Ina was in bad sheets after rescuing her in the hallway. That just made her isolation from the whole college grows deeper. She no longer cared about partying and social events, she barely left a free time in her agenda: class, work, voluntary. She need to avoid being caught alone or unbusy, otherwise she would start thinking of Ina again

° I should ask how is she fairing with all that, but it would just make it worse, wouldn't it?°

She had been called to testify in the Dean's office a few days ago and made sure that both the Dean and the HR had no clue about what actually happened between them.

"Why did you resign your position after the convention?"

"Well, I was already thinking about it, but decided to stay until the event to help Professor Kingsley"

"You two have been seen until late hours in college together..."

"As I am sure a lot of TA and teachers are.. If you stopped to over work your faculty, maybe that wouldn't be necessary" -Bea snapped. It wasn't Ina's fault if they decided to give her 120 students in a 60 student contract.

"Do you want file a complaint against Ina Kingsley?"

"Oh my god! Are you crazy? That woman saved my life! Stop this witch hunt nonsense! I would be dead if I depended on Mr. Button or Ms Montgomery who were just watching me get breathless!"

"Do you.."

"No, that is it. This is harassment. Ina saved me; I am very grateful to her, my parents too. We have not been romantically involved in anyway and I will not stand for this line of questioning. May I be excused?"

It wasn't her brightness moment, but she did feel awfully guilty of asking Zoey to get Ina that day. She was desperate back then and she knew Ina would calm her. Maybe the 911 would have been fast enough and all of this would have been avoided.

•but would they?•

-----

It has been 2 months since the convention and it was getting easier to go through the day, except on Monday and Thursday when meeting in class was unavoidable. Bea became good in leaving her sit as soon the bell ran and coming late every single day. She was working in one of the coffee shops near college, but Ina never stopped by. Ina surely knew that she worked there because Lexi went there at least twice a week with a victorious glare.

"Hi, welcome to the coffee house, how can I serve you today?" Bea said automatically while trying to fix the machine.

"Hello, Ms. Hughes" Ina said with an easy smile

And there she was. Beautiful, breathtaking, with a freaking Goddess aura, Bea stuttered:

"Pro.. professor? What are you doing here?"

"Getting coffee?"

" oh, right. You can take a table and I will bring it right up"

Ina chuckled and raised a brow •she is nervous•

" I don't remember ordering, Ms. Hughes"

" Double black coffee, no sweet, and a croissant with extra butter by the side" said Bea without taking the eye of the expresso machine

•God dammit, why did I say that? Stalker much?•

"You haven't forgotten" Ina seemed pleased

"You are a difficult person to forget" Bea said with a small smile and turned to the next costume in line

"Hi, welcome to the coffee house, how can I serve you today?"

Ina retracted as she noticed a line forming behind her and went to sit by herself at the end of the Coffee.

"Here is it, I am sorry for the delay, we had a problem with the machine" - Bea said with a flat tone and prepared to quickly leave

" Stay" Ina reached to Bea's forearm with a light touch

"What?"

"Take a break, sit with me." Ina pointed towards the empty seat cross from her

"That wouldn't be wise, Ina. You are already in trouble at college for helping me"

"It is just prejudice, right? We can't let them win, can we?"

"You already did, Ina" Bea said looking at the floor

"And I have regretted it every single second since then" Ina said taking Bea's hand in hers

•What?• Bea's eyes widening in surprise and confusion

" What are you talking about, Ina?"

"Well, if you haven't gone to such lengths to stay away from me, I would have done this before. But you haven't forgotten about me, have you? You still think about me?"

"I... I am not answering that" She said taking her hand off Ina's

"Well. Why don't we start small? What time do you leave? Let me walk you back home" - Ina smiled hopefully

" I don't know, Ina" - Bea eyes were in her apron, she was afraid of letting her in again. It was so hard to get her life in a small resemblance of order - "I need to get back there. We are understaffed today"

" Just.. just give me today, Bea" - Ina's eyes were pleading. Yes, she was begging for it. The great Ina Kingsley, begging.

" I will think about it" Bea said as leaving a dazzled Ina behind

/text/

(B) I leave at 8h. But I need to get groceries

(I) I do have some stuff to buy too. Charlotte is coming over this weekend.

/text/

As both of them strolled across the aisles, Bea noticed Ina shopping a very greenly healthy cart for Charlotte.

"You know that Charlotte is not vegetarian, right?"

Ina chuckled "Yes I do. But I have no idea how to cook meat, so she is going veg for the weekend."

"Poor child" Bea said nodding her head

"Hey! What does that mean? Aren't you a vegetarian?" Ina said playfully

"Well, yes. But I am not the 6 yo who will have to abide to your cooking for a whole weekend." Bea said laughing

"I will have you know that I cook rather fairly, ok?"

"Yes: salads, omelets and onion soup" - Bea said teasingly with a vomit face

"Well, if you are that worried about Charlotte, maybe you should come cook for her." Ina suggested with a silly grin.

Bea stopped at her tracks.

"I don't think that would be appropriate"

"She does miss you"

"Would be worse for her if I came back in - just to be back out when I get my senses back." Bea said resentfully

"Is that what you are afraid of?" Ina grabbed Bea's cart and turned her to look in her eyes

"Of what?"

"Of letting me back in? That I will leave?"

Ina asked while searching the answer in Bea's expression. But she just directed her gaze to the aisle and said

"Just grab that veg hamburger, 2 minutes in the skillet, cheese on top, tomato, bread, and you get yourself a nice weekend children meal" - Bea said spinning in her heels towards the back of the market.

------

/text/

(I) So, you did say 2 minutes in the skillet, right?

(B) Oh my god, Ina. Were you able to screw up a veg burger??

(I) Well, not totally mess up. It just sticked itself to the pan, we can scrape it off with a fork. And I am just slightly curious about why is my kitchen so smoked out...

(B) LOL. You need to oil the pan, genius! And that is why you put the lid in the skillet

(I) I didn't even know that skillet had lids! It is the tiny one, right? The omelet's pan?

(B) Jesus Christ. You are hopeless.

(I) That means that you are going to come save the day tomorrow? I don't think a kid can survive 3 straight days on take out.

(B) I work tomorrow

(I) We will get you at 8pm in the coffee house

(B) don't, Ina.

(I) it's a date. Let me go because she starting Frozen again and I am this close to lose my mind.

/text/

Bea spent the day thinking about the night ahead. She would be back at Ina's apartment - what was not a good idea to begin with- and she would see Charlotte again - she did miss that little girl.

She spent the last hour of her shift in front of the mirror trying several hairstyles that seemed pretty but effortless.

•Hughes stop trying so hard!•

When she left the coffee house she was a little disappointed to not see Ina's car anywhere.

• maybe she forgot•

As she was starting to walk to the bus stop, a little giggling voice got up to her

" BEA!!!"

Puff, a little flash knocked the air out of her with a hug, "Hi, Char! It has been awhile"

" Aunty Ina said that you can cook real food!" The girl looked so happy to see her, that it warmed Bea inside out.

" Well, any grown-up can, except your aunty" she winked to the young girl as Ina rolled her eyes at the pair

"I am sorry I was late. The little one decided to take her time in the bath"

"That is ok. I just thought you had finally achieved maturity and learned how to cook in the past few hours" Bea said dismissively

"Ouch, that hurts" Ina said playfully taking her hand to her chest. "Let's go eat, Char-Char, we have a chef tonight!"

" yeeeeey!"

A couple of hours and some spice later

"This was delicious, Bea. Thank you"

" It is just food, Ina"

"Ooooh, I was hungry." Charlotte said patting her belly like a lazy sailor.

"Come on, Char! You make it seem like I haven't been feeding you" Ina said playfully pretending to be hurt

"Well there is a limit of substance that pizza can provide" Bea teased

" Hey, we had China today, ok? You two stop ganging up on me" Ina said while collecting the dishes

"Why I never see you anymore, Bea? You don't like me?" Charlotte asked with sad eyes and the Kingsley famous pout

"Oh no, honey. I have just been very busy" Bea said putting a golden lock behind the kids ear.

" But aunty Ina is busy too, and she went to my birthday"

" I am very sorry, Char. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?" Bea said heartbroken

"Frozen!!" Charlotte suddenly got up in her chair pouncing

"What?" Bea chuckled

"Watch Frozen with me! I could be Elza and you could be Anna!"

"Er.. is getting pretty late, Char" Bea said taking a glance in the clock (9h30pm)

"Please please please pleeeeeease"

"Well, why don't we watch just the beginning of it? I will drive you home later, Bea" Ina suggested

"Yeeeeeeeees" and Charlotte was off running to the TV.

"Ina..."

"Just watch a movie with us, Bea." Ina smiled

"You shouldn't be using your niece like this" Bea said shooking her head with a small grin

"A woman needs to use all the arsenal that she has, isn't that right?" Ina winked.

"I am going to be late for Anthro tomorrow"

"I think the Professor might let this one go. Maybe she will totally forget to mark presence tomorrow"

" I don't know. She is kind of an ass." Bea winked

---

Several minutes later Bea found herself between Charlotte resting her head in her lap and Ina a lot closer than she honestly needed to be in that huge couch.

It was already the middle of the movie when Ina got the courage to take Bea's hand in hers. Bea didn't move it away, but neither squeezed back. They just stood there hand in hands for a while.

"I think she has slept" - Bea whispered.

"Yes, she certainly has. Let me take her to bed" Ina said getting her niece in her arms

Bea was picking up her stuff and arranging the kitchen when Ina arrived back

"So.. Was it that bad?"

"Is always a pleasure to see Charlotte, Ina"

" And to see me?" She said approaching the brunette

" Ina.. "

" Bea, this last few weeks had me thinking a lot about life, about work, about love. I really want to give us a go"

"You are going to get fired" Bea said keeping her eye in the dishes

" Honey, I don't care" Ina said putting a small lock of hair behind Bea's ear and turning her head by the chin to stare at her eyes "I cannot accept that I lost you, Bea"

"You are late, Ina. I have already forgotten you" Bea lied taking Ina's hand of her chin. Lied her face off: she couldn't forget Ina if her life dependent on it, but she couldn't trust her again

"Liar."

"Wha..." Bea's voice was muffled by Ina's lips. The kiss started tenderly, a connection between souls. Warm, sweet, slow. As Bea didn't pull it back, Ina brought her closer, tightening her arms around the younger woman waist. Bea was lost at it. She was happy, she missed this and her doubts were rapidly washing away as she moaned opening her mouth to Ina.

"Ina..."

They kissed like it could make everything right, their tongues slowly and expertly dancing with the other. Bea's arm was around Ina's neck, in her hair gently pulling now and then to deepen the kiss. Ina's hands made sure there it was not a single part of their bodies not touching and Bea took it all.

Sooner than later they teared apart with rapid breaths, keeping their foreheads locked together.

"Bea.. Stay" Ina whispered

"This was not supposed to happen, Ina" she said breathlessly

"Well, I would be lying if I said that I didn't expect it" Ina chuckled "I've missed you"

Soon as they broke apart, they kissed again. This time eagerly. Ina raised Bea into the kitchen counter, Bea spreading her legs allowing Ina to get close, her hands searching for Ina's blouse, taking it off roughly. Ina's hand were grabbing Bea's ass, pulling her close against her hip. The kiss grew hotter as Bea pulled on Ina's hair getting her lips back to her.

Ina's hands were already expertly traveling down to Bea's center, unbuttoning her jeans when..

"Ina - Ina, stop. This is just going to make it more difficult" Bea whispered trying to free herself from the hug. Too lightly to actually mean it.

"No. Don't leave." Ina said coping Bea head with both hands, making sure that she was looking right into her eyes. She took a deep breath:

"Yes, you were right all along. I want you, I find you beautiful and so very hot, I die of jealousy of every single person who touches you, and I like you, so much. We can be together. I want to be with you, Bea. Let me have you."

Before even realizing what had been said, Bea crashed her lips eagerly in Ina's. There Bea lost all resemblance of self-control and threw all her previous doubts out of the window

-"Then take me, Professor"

-"We can just cuddle, you know?" Ina said playfully

Bea smacked Ina's arm

-"Don't you dare go soft on me"

#ina kingsley #ina x mc #choices #wlw

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fuckyeahgoodomens · 4 years ago

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Was doing Staged a big decision, because it’s so personal and set in your homes? Georgia Tennant: We’d always been a very private couple. Staged was everything we’d never normally say yes to. Suddenly, our entire house is on TV and so is a version of the relationship we’d always kept private. But that’s the way to do it, I guess. Go to the other extreme. Just rip off the Band-Aid.

Anna Lundberg: Michael decided pretty quickly that we weren’t going to move around the house at all. All you see is the fireplace in our kitchen.

GT: We have five children, so it was just about which room was available.

AL: But it’s not the real us. It’s not a documentary.

GT: Although some people think it is.

Which fictional parts of the show do people mistake for reality? GT: People think I’m really a novelist because “Georgia” writes a novel in Staged. They’ve asked where they can buy my book. I should probably just write one now because I’ve done the marketing already.

AL: People worry about our elderly neighbour, who gets hospitalised in the show. She doesn’t actually exist in real life but people have approached Michael in Tesco’s, asking if she’s OK.

Michael and David squabble about who’s billed first in Staged. Does that reflect real life? AL: With Good Omens, Michael’s name was first for the US market and David’s was first for the British market. So those scenes riffed on that.

Should we call you Georgia and Anna, or Anna and Georgia? GT: Either. We’re super-laidback about these things.

AL: Unlike certain people.

How well did you know each other before Staged? GT: We barely knew each other. We’ve now forged a friendship by working on the show together.

AL: We’d met once, for about 20 minutes. We were both pregnant at the time – we had babies a month apart – so that was pretty much all we talked about.

Did you tidy up before filming? AL: We just had to keep one corner relatively tidy.

GT: I’m quite a tidy person, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying Instagram people with perfect lives. So strangely, I had to add a bit of mess… dot a few toys around in the background. I didn’t want to be one of those insufferable people – even though, inherently, I am one of those people.

Was there much photobombing by children or pets? AL: In the first series, Lyra was still at an age where we could put her in a baby bouncer. Now that’s not working at all. She’s just everywhere. Me and Michael don’t have many scenes together in series two, because one of us is usually Lyra-wrangling.

GT: Our children aren’t remotely interested. They’re so unimpressed by us. There’s one scene where Doris, our five-year-old, comes in to fetch her iPad. She doesn’t even bother to glance at what we’re doing.

How was lockdown for you both? AL: I feel bad saying it, but it was actually good for us. We were lucky enough to be in a big house with a garden. For the first time since we met, we were in one place. We could just focus on Lyra . To see her grow over six months was incredible. She helped us keep a steady routine, too.

GT: Ours was similar. We never spend huge chunks of time together, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least until David’s career goes to shit and he’s just sat at home. The flipside was the bleakness. Being in London, there were harrowing days when everything was silent but you’d just hear sirens going past, as a reminder that something awful was going on. So I veered between “This is wonderful” and “This is the worst thing that ever happened.”

And then there was home schooling… GT: Which was genuinely the worst thing that ever happened.

You’ve spent a lot of time on video calls, clearly. What are your top Zooming tips? GT: Raise your camera to eye level by balancing your laptop on a stack of books. And invest in a ring light.

AL: That’s why you look so much better. We just have our sad kitchen light overhead, which makes us look like one massive shiny forehead.

GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael.

There’s a running gag in series one about the copious empties in Michael’s recycling. Did you lean into lockdown boozing in real life? AL: Not really. We eased off when I was pregnant and after Lyra was born. We’d just have a glass of wine with dinner.

GT: Yes, definitely. I often reach for a glass of red in the show, which was basically just an excuse to continue drinking while we were filming: “I think my character would have wine and cake in this scene.” The time we started drinking would creep slightly earlier. “We’ve finished home schooling, it’s only 4pm, but hey…” We’ve scaled it back to just weekends now.

How did you go about creating your characters with the writer Simon Evans? AL: He based the dynamic between David and Michael on a podcast they did together. Our characters evolved as we went along.

GT: I was really kind and understanding in the first draft. I was like “I don’t want to play this, it’s no fun.” From the first few tweaks I made, Simon caught onto the vibe, took that and ran with it.

Did you struggle to keep a straight face at times? AL: Yes, especially the scenes with all four of us, when David and Michael start improvising.

GT: I was just drunk, so I have no recollection.

AL: Scenes with all four of us were normally filmed in the evening, because that’s when we could be child-free. Usually there was alcohol involved, which is a lot more fun.

GT: There’s a long scene in series two where we’re having a drink. During each take, we had to finish the glass. By the end, we were all properly gone. I was rewatching it yesterday and I was so pissed.

What else can you tell us about series two? GT: Everyone’s in limbo. Just as we think things are getting back to normal, we have to take three steps back again. Everyone’s dealing with that differently, shall we say.

AL: In series one, we were all in the same situation. By series two, we’re at different stages and in different emotional places.

GT: Hollywood comes calling, but things are never as simple as they seem.

There were some surprise big-name cameos in series one, with Samuel L Jackson and Dame Judi Dench suddenly Zooming in. Who can we expect this time around? AL: We can’t name names, but they’re very exciting.

GT: Because series one did so well, and there’s such goodwill towards the show, we’ve managed to get some extraordinary people involved. This show came from playing around just to pass the time in lockdown. It felt like a GCSE end-of-term project. So suddenly, when someone says: “Samuel L Jackson’s in”, it’s like: “What the fuck’s just happened?”

AL: It took things to the next level, which was a bit scary.

GT: It suddenly felt like: “Some people might actually watch this.”

How are David and Michael’s hair and beard situations this time? AL: We were in a toyshop the other day and Lyra walked up to these Harry Potter figurines, pointed at Hagrid and said: “Daddy!” So that explains where we’re at. After eight months of lockdown, it was quite full-on.

GT: David had a bob at one point. Turns out he’s got annoyingly excellent hair. Quite jealous. He’s also grown a slightly unpleasant moustache.

Is David still wearing his stinky hoodie? GT: I bought him that as a gift. It’s actually Paul Smith loungewear. In lockdown, he was living in it. It’s pretty classy, but he does manage to make it look quite shit.

---

Omg the mug’s origins :D

‘GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael. ‘

#staged #georgia tennant #anna lundberg #david tennant #michael sheen #staged season 2 #staged interview #david's michael mug

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forever-rogue · 4 years ago

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In Name Only - Part 16

A/N: Hi, hi, hi! I’m finally back with some more of Oberyn and his Sunshine! I’ve missed them so much, and I hope you’re all excited for more as I am! As always, feedback and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know. xx

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 7.2k

Warnings: discussions of pregnancy, violence, slight language

IN NAME ONLY SERIES MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Those are so pretty," Saria chirped excitedly as she reached up and touched one of the newly bloomed flowers. It was brilliant shades of yellow and orange, creating the illusion of a sunset. You nodded in agreement before delicately plucking the blossom and tucking it behind her ear.

"And now the prettiest girl has the prettiest flower," you told her as she beamed at you. She giggled wildly before touching the flower and running to join the Dorea and Loreza who were busy playing in a different part of the garden. They'd come to stay for a while at Sunspear and you were more than happy to keep them as long as they wanted.

"And what about you?" you turned to Altair who was intently observing a different flower, “which is your favorite?"

"I like this one best I think,” he commented thoughtfully as he touched over a dark red flower, one that was native to Dorne - hardy and resilient, just like its people. It almost reminded you of a rose, but what with a bit.

“That’s one of my favorites too,” you agreed as you pulled one of the hardiest blossoms off and held it out for him, “do you want to know why?”

“Why?” he asked, his dark eyes wide and glittering with excitement. You couldn’t help but ruffle his dark hair, an affectionate smile on your face.

“My husband planted them for me,” you explained, thinking back to the day you had found Oberyn in the gardens, hard at work by himself planting the flowers as a surprise for you. He was many things, but a green thumb he did not possess, unlike you. But he had been so proud and excited to show them to you, his hands covered with little cuts from the harsh thrones and thick stalks, “and they remind me of Dorne - home. Strong, beautiful, and welcoming to those who treat it right.”

“Can I keep it?” he asked quietly as you nodded. He threw his little arms around your waist and you bent down to press a kiss to the crown of his head, “I’m going to go and show the others!”

Before you could even get a word in edgewise, he was gone, off to join his sister and the younger girls. You crossed your arms over your chest, a content sigh escaped your lips as you picked up your watering can to continue tending to your flourishing garden. But you were once again estopped by a warm of arms wrapping around your waist, causing you to make a small sound of surprise.

“Hello, my sweetest sunshine,” Oberyn’s voice was like golden honey in your ears as he pressed a kiss to your neck, “how I have missed you.”

“And a hello to you my moon and stars,” you couldn’t help but laugh as you put your hands on top of his, deftly spinning around in his arms before facing him and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, “it has been what...about five hours since we parted ways for the afternoon? I hardly think you’d had adequate time to miss me.”

“I always miss you when we’re not together,” he insisted, playfully pouting at you, “the insinuation that I should feel anything but wounds me so, dear wife.”

“Oh stop,” you swatted at his chest before he pulled you towards him, “you are a fool of a Prince. Besides, I for one have not missed you!”

“Oh?” he teased, his eyebrow arching as you broke into a fit of giggles, “I spy a little liar.”

“You’ve caught me,” you acquiesced, “but alas, I have been busy with the garden and these little ones constantly under foot. Loreza is a little trouble maker, just like her father. But Dorea is as steadfast as her mother. A lethal little duo.”

“Ahh, they have learned well,” he snorted as you nodded. He wrapped his arms around you as he watched the four young children running around and playing, the wistful look on your face not lost on you, “the twins seem to enjoy spending time with them.”

“They do,” you agree, biting on your lower lip, “I k-know we’re not supposed to play favorites, but they just...they’re special to me.”

“And they adore you just as well.”

“They adore you,” you insisted with a laugh, “the prince of legend! The lethal, ever deadly Red Viper.”

“I do have a reputation to uphold.”

“I know your bark is worse than your bite,” you insisted as you kissed him, cutting him off before he could argue, “it is not wise to argue with your wife.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised, “will you take a turn about the gardens with me? There are some things we should discuss..”

You knew it wouldn’t be anything bad, there was no reason for it to be, but a lump still welled up in your throat. Such things always made you nervous, especially since the majority of the times you’d been asked to speak in such a manner only bad news followed. But judging by the light smile on his face, you knew it would be okay.

The past month, almost two, had been a whirlwind, especially when it came to helping Oberyn get closer and closer to be back to perfect health again. It had hardly allotted you many moments to talk properly. He grew stronger and stronger each day, and it some ways it was almost like nothing had happened at all. But you knew - you remembered. It was always in the back of your mind, reminding you that your family was the cause of this. You still needed to talk about it, but you’d never found the right time. But as you looked into those soft brown eyes, you decided it could wait. For now, all that mattered was this.

He offered you his arm and you looped yours through his, allowing him to dictate the course. It was silent for a few moments, not but the sounds of the fountains, chirps of birds, and the sounds of laughter reaching your ears.

“I’ve been thinking…” he started slowly, “and before you say anything, I do realize it is a rare occasion!”

“I would say no such thing,” you promised with a wink as he just shook his head in amusement, “please my prince, do tell me what has been weighing on your mind.”

“It’s…” he paused before exhaling slowly, “the twins.”

“The t-twins? What about them?” you tried to rack your brain for something that you could have possibly done wrong with them, “I haven’t…”

“It is nothing in the negative,” he must have sensed your worry without you even having to do anything. You visibly relaxed as you nodded and waited for him to go on, “I note that you’ve grown ever closer to them, you spend much time with them at your side.”

“I know we are not..to play favorites,” you answered nervously, “I fear I must have been doing a horrible job of that.”

“And your actions are not at fault,” he insisted, as you offered him a confused look, “I know we talked before...about children...”

“I can’t have children,” you interrupted him, answering his silent question. You kept your gaze pointed straight ahead, attempting your best to conceal your emotions. Oberyn’s gaze was trained intently on you, his expression soft. It wasn’t often that he was rendered speechless, but this turned out to be one of those rare moments, “I speak with the maester when we returned from Starfall and you were gone in King’s Landing.”

“Oh,” was his simple answer as you nodded, “and she…”

“There’s no way to be completely certain,” you said softly, “but there are ways to be almost certain, as certain as one can get. And it seems that the odds are not in my favor.”

“You said there is no way to completely certain,” he insisted, “there’s still a chance, and if you should want, we can always try...”

“No, Oberyn,” you stopped in your tracks as you pulled him towards you, a hand going to his jaw before you ran a hand through his dark curls, “it does not matter, my love. I am happy, so happy. Nothing makes me happier than you, I swear it. You, the girls, Ellaria, the rest of the family, we have so much already. There’s nothing for me left to want.”

You had hoped that saying the words out loud would somehow make them more true, more real. But they still hurt, cutting deep.

“You deserve the world, my sunshine,” he promised, kissing the top of your head, “whatever you desire you shall have it.”

“I’m afraid that nothing will give this to me...us, not even all the gold in the Seven Kingdoms,” you offered him a small smile, “now, tell me, what you were going to say before I so rudely interrupted you.”

“The twins,” he said, cradling your face in his hands, “I realize this might be a bit unconventional, but what do you say about bringing them in our family? Adopting them?”

“A-adopting them?” you weren’t quite sure what you were hearing as the word tumbled from your mouth. Looking at Oberyn, you opened and closed your mouth a few times, tilting your head to the side as you tried to figure out what was happening. He was watching you with a small smile, waiting for you to realize what he had said, “Oberyn? D-do you mean it?”

“Of course I mean it,” he said softly, “I would not joke about such a matter. I know...it is unconventional and not very common, but I would like to bring them into our family. By convention, they would not be recognized as Martells in other parts of the Kingdoms, but in Dorne it would not matter. It-”

“Does not matter at all,” you finished for him as he nodded in agreement, “it is not the name that makes the person, the quality of their heart - their actions.”

“If only the rest of the world thought as we did,” he gave you a fond smile before pulling you into his arms, “but what do you think?”

“Oberyn…” you looked back up at him, your eyes already misty with tears as you nodded at him. You knew you wanted this - not because your dreams of baring your own children were gone, but because you loved them, truly. And you wanted nothing more than to bring them into your family, your family that had nothing but love and kindness to give.

Oberyn seemed to know what you were thinking, because he quickly wiped away the tears that slipped down your cheeks before pressing a soft kiss to your lips. He paused for a moment and rested his forehead against yours as he held you tightly in his grip, “everything is going to be alright, my love. Please don’t think ill of the situation...no one is to blame, absolutely no one. And you know my love for you will never change or waver, never. Things will work out as they are meant to, I know it doesn’t feel like it right now.”

“I’m sorry,” you said softly, hearing his words but failing to process them in the moment, overwhelmed by emotion, “I’m sorry, my love. I-I...I can’t even give you a child of our own. I’m such a -”

“Stop,” he whispered softly, his heart breaking a little at your anguish. He wrapped his arms tightly around you as you buried your face in his chest, tears soaking into the fabric of his tunic. You knew it was silly to get so upset, especially since you thought you’d come to terms with this, and you knew Oberyn wouldn’t be upset, “I know this means nothing coming from me, but i will be okay. I swear it. I will do whatever it takes to get you to understand that.”

“You’ll still love me?” you asked softly as he chuckled warmly and pressed a kiss to the side of your head.

“I will always love you. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever change that,” he promised, and you relaxed slightly, “my love for you knows no bounds. And you have my heart and soul. Completely and fully.”

“I love you,” you whispered, “so much.”

“And I you,” he responded, “and I’ve got one more bit of good news for you. I know it’s not much, but I’m hoping that perhaps it will at least bring a smile to that pretty face.”

“You’ve given me nothing good news and love,” you laughed at your foolishness as you pulled back from him, “and I give you nothing but theatrics. What else could you possibly have for me?”

“Have you ever considered traveling across the Narrow Seas?” your eyebrows immediately shot up at his question as he seemed to be holding back a gleeful grin.

“I can’t say it’s really crossed my mind…” you admitted, “what lies there that has you asking?”

“Essos,” he answered, “the King needs an envoy to go to make the journey and ensure that plans and laws that were instilled by Daenerys still stand.”

“And he asked you to go?” your heart immediately grew worried and nervous as your eyes darted to his side, the spot concealed by his tunic where he still bore the scars of the stabbing that your brother had inflicted on him. You were reluctant to let him leave again, especially anywhere out of Dorne, “a-are you sure, Oberyn? I don’t know if that’s the best idea…”

“You worry?”

“Of course I worry,” you insisted, “there are enemies everywhere, as you have said many times. I couldn’t even trust my own flesh and blood. The last time you left, you almost….and Essos? That’s half a world away…”

“I would not go with your blessing,” he promised as he put his hand on your cheek, “nor would I go without you. It’s a large and wondrous world, and I think it would suit you. Essos and the Summer Isles are some of the most beautiful places in the world.”

“You want me to go with you?” you asked hopefully as he nodded.

“What is this old fool without his wife next to him?” he teased, “besides, I was told that I could not venture into the world without you...I think it would be quite dull without my sunshine. I would not let anything happen to you.”

“Nor I you,” you promised, knowing you would cut down any man or woman that even breathed wrong in his direction, “you’re serious about this? You’re sure it will be safe?”

“Yes,” he insisted, “and yes. We won’t be going alone. The retinue will come, as well some other Lords from around the Kingdoms. Honestly, I doubt it will take much work from our end...it will be more of a vacation than anything else.”

“You’re sure about this?” your words were gentle and soft as put your hand on his chest, “positive?”

“I am,” he took your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles, “what do you say?”

“For you?” resting your hand on his cheek, you brushed a finger over his cheekbone, “I would do anything and go anywhere. Yes. Let’s do this.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

Diplomatic ventures had always seemed so....droll. Plagued by aged and old fashioned men who claimed to know what was best for their people, who claimed to know what people wanted but did everything but. Naturally there were exceptions, such as your father, and it wouldn’t be fair to lump all men into the same category. But from your childhood trips along with Lord Beesbury, your hopes were not high that this would be any different.

But you should have known better because like with most things, Oberyn was able to turn into a pleasant adventure. Along with the shift of having a Stark King on the Iron Throne accompanied by the Queen in the North, things were...different. Gone were the stilted and old ways, slowly morphing into workable and tangible - change.

What you were sure was destined to be nothing but boring roundtables without anything productive being done, turned out to be the opposite. Men, and women, of different backgrounds and creed came together to work for the people, not just their people but all people. It was something to marvel at and instilled a sense of hope in you.

Hope that Oberyn’s children, your children, would grow up in a world where things would be different from your youth, where they would not have opportunities denied to them because of their birth, their origin, or the truths and beliefs they held. Things would never be perfect, but they would be better and that was enough to carry you forward.

Watching Oberyn, not just your husband or the Prince, but a man of his people - the people - in action was a treat unto of itself. Eloquent and well spoken as ever, he carried himself with an ease and comfort that you could only wish to obtain a fraction of. He was never loud or over the top, but his tranquility and calm aura did not let you forget that he was still as deadly as the rumors suggested.

This was a man that spoke in prose as lovely as roses but sharp as hawthorne. A man that would charm and persuade to see his ways, but would not hesitate to cut you down if necessary. The duality of Oberyn Martell was a gift to behold, and somehow it still stunned you that you were in the very center of his universe. But somehow you were, his sunshine that brightened every facet of his life while he was your moon and stars, grounding you and keeping you safe and sound.

“What?” Oberyn’s voice was warm and gravely, still heavy and thick with sleep as he opened his eyes to find you watching him closely. A warmth flooded into your face as you attempted to burrow your face into the pillow; you hadn’t expected him to wake up and just wanted to study his features while he slept. You’d done it a million times before, or so it seemed, and you wanted to do it a million times more. There was something about how calm and at ease he looked while his broad chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. His chocolate curls were mussed and wild, practically calling for you to comb throw as his plush lips were drawn in the lightest of smiles. He was just so...golden; drawing you in like nothing else mattered.

The soft, warm air of the Summer Isles was coming in through the windows which you had left open the evening before, perfuming the air with the faint smell of the salty ocean. You’d had a late evening before and were in no rush to get up, despite the fact that you knew he had duties to attend to. There was something about the comfort and safety of waking up in his bed, your, bed that always kept you wanting to stay tangled up with him.

“Nothing,” you insisted as you opened one eye and peeked at him, watching the corners of his mouth tug up. He laughed lightly before his strong arm found you under the covers and pulled you closer to him. A contented sigh escaped your lips as his fingers traced aimless, gentle shapes into your back. You closed the small gap and pressed your lips against his, feeling him smile against your as he chased after you with a few kisses of your own, “Oberyn.”

“Yes?” he teased as he kissed long your jaw and neck, nipping and sucking at the delicate skin in a way that he knew would leave marks, “tell me what’s on your mind or I’ll stop.”

“Such a tease,” you huffed tightly as you tugged on his soft curls, “I was just thinking about you.”

“About me? Whatever for?” he seemed genuinely surprised and pulled back for a moment, which allowed you to take advantage of the situation. You pushed him flat on his back as you rolled on top of him, your bare body flush against his. He almost laughed when he realized what you had done, one of his large hands going to your bum and giving it a firm squeeze, which elicited a soft sigh from you, “cheeky girl.”

“Hmm,” you hummed as you kissed him, “I was just thinking about all the ways in which I love you, which, in case I haven’t reminded you lately, are infinite. But now, I’m thinking about something far different.”

“Oh?” he pressed your forehead against his as he held you with a vice grip, “and what would that be?”

“How much I want you,” it was a gentle, breathy whisper in his arms as you kissed the shell of his ear before working your way back to your lips, “my moon and stars.”

“Then take what you need, sweet girl. I am all yours,” he promised, “body and soul. Besides, I quite like you on top. A sight to be marveled at it, that even the finest art could never capture in essence.”

“Always a poet,” you flourished under his praise as your hands roamed his body, “almost as lovely as watching you come undone, Oberyn Martell. Now, don’t hold back, my love, let them all hear you…”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Be safe,” Oberyn whispered against your lips before slowly pulling away. It was endearing to know he was so concerned about your safety, despite the fact that the Summer Isles were one of the safest places to be. You nodded slowly before sneaking in another kiss and smoothing down the soft fabric of his bronze tunic. He was handsome as ever, and despite the fact that you were dressed in a soft, breezy gown of your own, you knew you would never match his beauty.

“I will,” you promised, “I’m just going to explore the markets, maybe go to the ocean, nothing dangerous at all. Besides, I think I found something that the girls will like and I want to get it for them if it’s still there.”

“Do you want-”

“Oberyn,” you insisted firmly, but with a soft tone nonetheless, “I will be fine. I can handle myself, and besides, Jeron’s taught me a few tricks for the times I should be parted from you, in the off chance I need them. It should be me worrying about you. Politicians and Lords are the real snakes here after all, remind them who the Red Viper is, remind them that you are the Prince.”

“I should know better than to worry about you,” he said with a small laugh, “I will see you this evening for dinner then. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you grinned at him before gently pushing on his chest and back towards the building in which all of these so called important meetings had been happening, “now go and get your work done. I don’t want to keep you away!”

“Wait,” he ducked after you and reached for your hand, despite the fact that you had just turned away from.

“What?” a look of surprise coloring your features as he brought your hand to his lips and delicately kissed your knuckles, “Oberyn!”

“I missed you the moment you turned away,” he said softly, as you just shook your head at him, “until your paths cross again, sweet girl.”

“You are a fool of a man,” you teased as you let him be the one to walk away. He turned and gave you one last look before crossing the threshold and giving you a soft smile, the one that made you weak in the knees and a fire pool in your belly.

Staring at the spot he had previously occupied, you let a small sigh before walking away, ready to take on your own leisurely day. The island of Jhala was a beautiful place, filled with kind souls and beautiful scenery. You’d never seen any place like it before, but you already knew a piece of your heart would remain here even long after you were back in Dorne. Hopefully Oberyn would not be opposed to coming back soon.

You’d even made a few friends during your extended stay, finding the people welcoming and open, much more than most people in Westeros and they’d even taught some of their language, simply dubbed the Summer Tongue.

As you walked through the bustling marketplace, your eyes came across glittering jewels of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, fabric of the brightest tones and colors, arts and sculptures, and anything else you could possibly imagine. You made it a point to find something special for everyone back home, including all of the girls, and the twins you’d soon be calling your own. The hunt for something special for Oberyn was proving to be the most challenging of all as you tried to pick your brain for what to get him. Anything that had crossed your mind, he had in turn picked out and gotten himself, he already had, or was something that just wasn’t quite it. But you’d kept your eyes peeled anyway.

So peeled, in fact, that you didn’t watch where you were going and walked right into someone. A small oof escaped your lips as you looked and found a little girl with bright, eager eyes watching you eagerly. She was gorgeous, skin almost as dark as the richest chocolate, with hair that was intricately styled in braids you learned were traditional to the people of Jhala. Her dress was feathered, a brilliant symphony of greens and reds as she grinned at you, completely untroubled or phased by the fact that you almost bowled her over.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” you offered an apologetic smile and looked her over to make sure she was okay, “I should have been watching where I was going. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she chirped back in your tongue, “we’ve been expecting you!”

“Expecting...me?” you asked as she reached for your hand, and started to pull you away from the crowd. Nothing but a cloud of confusion hung over you as you followed the young girl; you were nervous or scared, but you were intrigued, “who’s been expecting me?”

But she didn’t say anything else, instead pulling you near a small back alley where there were almost no people, just a few here and there milling about. When she seemingly reached her destination, she dropped your hand as you studied your surroundings. Strange, you thought to yourself, I’ve never seen this before.

“Hey-” you turned back to your mysterious little friend but found...nothing. There wasn’t even so much a single disturbance in the air to suggest that anyone had been there or moved away rapidly...there was nothing. A huff of air escaped your lips as you turned and did a spin to just to make sure no one was there; surely you didn’t mind all of that? No, you couldn’t have....you were positive you could still feel the touch of her small hand in yours. It was like a direct call back to your encounter with the mysterious woman in the woods, but this you were sure was real.

“Hello?” your voice sounded small and diminutive in the large open alleyway, reverbing off the stone walls. No response met your ears but you were positive that you heard your name being whispered softly, calling to you and drawing you in. You were like a moth to a flame as you walked along the cobblestones to the place you were being drawn to, “hello?”

You stopped in front of what appeared to be a small little shop that smelled deliciously of warm spices. Flowers decorated the small window and doors, immediately giving you a sense of warmth and ease. Pushing aside the curtain made of hanging beads and jewels, you slowly stepped inside and looked around. The small space was lit up from the golden sunlight streaming in from the window and softly flickering candles. A small table and two chairs, both looking soft and cozy were in the center of the room, the rest of the space occupied by trinkets from what you assumed were around the world.

“Lady Martell,” the voice was warm and richly accented as you turned and found yourself looking at yet another new person. She offered you a warm smile before coming over and holding her hand out to you; there wasn’t even a moment of hesitation as you reached over and took it, giving it a firm shake, “a pleasure to meet you.”

“How do you...know my name?” you asked as she led you to the table and pulled a car for you to sit in. You sat down and watched her intently as she busied herself with making tea. You tensed for a moment as you flashed back to the tea that had once been presented to you with a most devious intention. But you didn’t think this would be anything like that. She took a few moments, humming under her breath before coming back to you and placing it in front of you before and taking a seat.

“There is no need to worry,” she insisted, “everyone knows who you are. The Prince’s wife, of course. He’s always a welcome sight here as is anyone with him.”

“Oh,” you laughed at yourself, “of course. Sometimes I forget that my husband is such...a prolific figure.”

“As you should,” she said with a warm smile, “he is no stranger to you, but your partner, your lover, your friend - just another person in your life. But to us, he is a man of myth and legend.”

“Yes,” you agreed, “that is he is. Do you...umm...do you happen to have a young girl? I bumped into her and then was gone…”

“Acacia,” she sighed with a smile on her face as a sense of relief washed over you and you realized that you most definitely were not crazy or imagining things, but she had been a real, tangible little girl, “she’s a wily, sneaky little thing sometimes. Here one moment and then gone the next, and almost impossible to keep track of. I wish I could have even a fraction of her energy.”

“She was there one moment and then gone the next,” you told her, “I thought I might have imagined the whole thing.”

“No worries,” she promised, “she’s something else...but I find that people often land where they’re supposed to be at the right time.”

“I…” you mulled over her words as you drank some of the tea; it was sweet with a hint of a spice, but delicious, “I suppose they do.”

“What troubles you?”

“I’m sorry?” you almost choked on the tea as you set it back down. You looked around and tried to put together who the mysterious woman was when it hit you, she was likely some of...something. You were unsure if there was even a proper label for it, “I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“You appear happy,” she said as you nodded, “but I can tell there is something underlying...there is something in your eyes that suggests a deep sense of unhappiness.”

“What?” you asked as you almost laughed in her face. Of course you were happy, you had no reason not to be...your life was practical bliss… “I am happy, so happy. I-I have everything and then some…”

“That may be so, but one can still experience unhappiness,” you swallowed thickly as you shifted in your seat, “but you have to be honest with yourself...what plagues you? What keeps you up at night?”

You wanted to argue with her and tell her she was wrong, but in that moment you just couldn’t. Instead, your eyes welled up and stung as you stared at the table, playing with the delicate lace of the fabric that covered it. You closed and opened your mouth a few times as a few warm, salty tears filled down your cheeks. You had thought, you were sure, that you had been able to conceal your emotions so well, that everything was in check, but apparently you had been very, very wrong. All the feelings you thought were resolved were apparently very much unresolved.

“Umm,” she handed you a handkerchief which you used to dab at your eyes, “it’s...gods, I feel silly being so worried and still ruminating on this, but my husband...he was injured at the hands of my family, my brother specifically. Oberyn told me to let it go, that things would be resolved, but I can’t just let it go...I can’t forgive them for what they did to him. He almost died, I stayed by his side as he clung to life, and he wants to let it go.”

“And you don’t want to do that?”

“No,” you insisted sharply, “I don’t. My entire life I have been the black sheep, the scorn of the family. I have had so many things taken from me, and I refuse to let them take more. I don’t...I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to Oberyn...I would....I cannot fathom it. But I can’t let it go and let them think they can do this. Oberyn thinks it’s better to let it go and not stir up trouble, but this isn’t like nicking some chocolate. They wanted to kill him and they almost did. I want them to know what they did, to experience the pain I did.”

“And what would you do to them?”

“I would make them suffer, the same cruel harshness that Oberyn had to go through,” you said through gritted teeth, almost surprising yourself with such harshness. You’d had these thoughts swirling in your mind since you had first discovered the truth from Jeron, but to hear out loud like this was another story, “I want them to know what I went through. And I want to know why. Why can’t they just let us alone and experience our own happiness? Oberyn went to them with peaceful intentions, asking almost nothing of them, but they couldn’t let it go.”

“Every action has a consequence, you understand this, yes?” she asked as you downed the rest of your teeth, studying the grit at the bottom of the cup “

“Action-Reaction,” you concluded with a nod, “I won’t do anything that will cause trouble. There is no reason to incite a war, which my husband has reminded me of many times. He worries too much about me sometimes, I think. He wants to protect me, I know he does, but sometimes I want to protect him too. And I know that I would have all of Dorne support me in this, he is their Prince! The Stark King would make them see reason and realize their actions will not go unpunished.”

“Does their violence necessarily mean you should respond in kind?”

“I....” you paused as you mulled over her words as you realized she had a point, “I don’t know. There’s a million different ways to look at this, but I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore. I just know...I can’t let them do this without saying something.”

“And have you told Oberyn about all of this?”

“Yes - in passing,” you sighed lightly, “and he’s fervent in his request to keep things civil and let them go.”

“But you don’t want to.”

“No.”

“You should express this to him,” she took your cup and swirled the two drops of liquid around as she looked at the grit, making a small sound in the back of her throat, “the two of you will be able to work things out and see eye to eye.”

“He’s insistent.”

“And you shall be just as insistent back,” she suggest as you nodded, “make sure he knows that you do not want to let this go and that you want words at least. That you at least want to express your grief to your family.”

“And if he shall not agree?”

“Remember who you are,” she said softly, “before you became a wife, before you became a Martell. Remember your roots and that you are not to be trifled with. You were strong then too, and now you need to remember that. What were your words?”

“Before Our String.”

“What are your words now?”

“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.”

“Remember those,” she took your hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, “remember that you are strong, with or without your husband. Don’t do things in haste either, but do not allow yourself or your feelings to get pushed around either.”

“I won’t,” you promised softly, “I am not just Oberyn’s wife, I am so much more than that. I will...I will have what I want.”

“Everything,” she whispered as she pushed the cup back at you and motioned for you to look inside, “everything you want will be yours.”

“Everything?” you whispered as you looked into the cup and tried to see what she was seeing. Your voice cracked slightly as you knew she meant so much more than just your issue with your family. I…”

“I don’t think that’s true,” you gave her a small smile as you pushed the cup back at her and cleared your throat to keep from crying, “I can’t...I have everything I want.”

“This world, here and back in your home, is strange and mysterious. Sometimes it is best not to question things and let them work out as they were intended,” she shrugged lightly as you felt as confused as ever, “have faith in yourself and the universe.”

“I have faith in things I know, things I can touch and see,” you shrugged lightly, “I don’t know about the rest.”

“Exactly,” she stood up as she gathered your cup and hers, “we don’t know and perhaps we’re not supposed to.

“I don’t understand…”

“Mama!” Acacia poked her into the shop and offered you both a gap toothed grin. You stood up and brushed off your dress before walking towards the door. You gave the young girl a small hug before turning back to her mother.

“Thank you,” you told her softly, “I realize I still don’t know most things, but I do know some. I do know I love my husband and I will go to the ends of the world for him, but I also know I refuse to let things go without a fight.”

“You are well on your way, young one,” she insists as you give her a smile, “things happen as they are supposed to.”

“Yes,” you agreed, “thank you for your help.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Oberyn!” by the time you reached the small villa you were staying in, Oberyn had already been back for some time and he was sitting out in the garden, a book perched on his lap as there often was. He didn’t even hesitate to close it and toss it onto the table as you rushed over to him, throwing yourself in his arms as he stood up to meet you, “my love.”

“You are very energetic this afternoon,” he beamed as he picked you up in his arms and spun you around gently setting you and offering you another kiss, “did you have a good day?”

“I missed you,” you told him, reaching up and threading a hand through his curls, “I always miss you when you’re not with me. But yes, I did. I have a very eventful afternoon. How was...business?”

“Business as always was...business. Nothing terribly exciting, and as always my day would have been better at your side,” he touched your cheek gently, “was the market nice?”

“Very,” you promised, “Oberyn, you know I love you more than anything, right?”

“Of course,” he gave you a curious look as one of his eyebrows perked up, “you have never given me a single reason to doubt that. And I feel the same, of course. Tell me, what brings about this sudden declaration?”

“I want you to know. That no matter what ever happens, silly disagreements and bickering, should they happen, you will always be my moon and stars,” you told him and a mildly concerned expression crossed his features, “there’s nothing to worry about my love. But I also...we need to talk.”

“And whatever is so serious that it requires this level of commitment to speaking?”

“I think you know, Oberyn,” you put your hands on his shoulders, “we’ve ignored the issue since it came up and passed, and I...I don’t think I’ve had my fair say.”

“The issue is over and done,” he immediately picked up on what you were talking about, “there’s no reason to dwell on things that are over and done with.”

“That’s just it, it’s not done,” you insisted softly, “not to me. Oberyn, please just listen to me and hear me out…”

“No,” it was a firm statement, laced with a sharp bite as he stared firmly into your eyes. It was the first time he had ever said it to you in such a manner, “this is over and you....we are letting it go.”

“Oberyn,” you pulled back and gave him a hurt expression, one that immediately caused him to regret his decision to speak in even a likely harsh tone, “I...we should be able to talk about this…”

“I respect that you have feelings about this, and that they differ from mine,” he promised, “but I don’t think you understand the gravitas of acting upon what happened.”

“I do too! They hurt you, Oberyn. They were going to kill you!”

“And they didn’t,” he held up his hand as if trying to end the conversation then and there, “I know it’s hard to accept, but sometimes inaction is the best response.”

“It’s not...no. I understand exactly what you’re saying, but I don’t think doing nothing is the right response.”

“No,” it was harsh and final, “you are but a child when it comes to affairs of the kind! You know nothing about them. We are not going to do anything and that is final. You will listen to what I say and we are not discussing this further.”

“Oberyn…” you blinked at him a few times, trying to keep your tears from spilling over. He’d never yelled at you before. He let out a long, heavy sigh as he looked at the ground, already angry that he had spoken to you in such a manner The last thing he ever wanted was for you to cry because of him. A few tears rolled down your cheeks as you turned away from him with a small nod, “okay. I understand…”

“Sunshine,” it was soft, reverent whisper as he reached for your hand. But this time, for the first time, you didn’t let him take it, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you in such a manner.”

“It is no matter,” you lied as your lips trembled with cries that you tried to keep quiet, “like you said, I don’t understand these matters. I am but a child and don’t understand these types of things. “

“Please, my sweet girl, listen to me-”

“I’ll see you at dinner, Oberyn.”

With that you walked away from him, hastily wiping at your eyes as he stared after you, unsure of what to do. His shoulders slumped as he regretted every word. He only wanted to protect you, to shield you from the harshness of the world, and yet he was the one that had hurt you.

That was going to be the first and last time, he quickly decided, he’d make sure there was never a single tear from you ever again.

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#oberyn martell #oberyn martell x reader #oberyn martell x you #prince oberyn x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #in name only #ino #got

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nastybuckybarnes · 4 years ago

Text

Of Kings and Beasts - Five

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings: Language, Kinda Slow Burn, Fluff, Injuries, Kinda Angst

Word Count: 2.7K

A/n: Happy New Year to all you beautiful people. I’m writing this and I’m feeling pretty happy right now but I’m also feeling very drained because I’m working so much and there's shit going on, BUT I wanted to post this because it’s been long awaited. It’s shorter because it’s a rare (Kinda) fluffy chapter and It ends off on a good place to have me starting the next part openly. My brain is mush rn so Idk if this is even making sense.

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

~*~

“I need to know exactly what you did to her. She is in there, in pain and agony and you stand here acting as though you are the one who had to endure the hardships.”

James grinds his teeth together, wishing his reunion with his beloved was going better.

“I... I was harsh with her. I told her she would never replace you... that her only purpose was to give me an heir and that she could be easily replaced. She... she angered me and I struck her... I have forced myself upon her in my anger and my haste to consummate the marriage. I know I am wrong for all I have done but I am doing everything in my power to right my wrongs.”

He doesn’t see it coming, only realizes it when his nose crunches beneath Steve's fist.

“You are a coward! A King would not behave like that even if he had lost his entire kingdom! You have treated our wife as though she is a prisoner! And I say our wife because in title that is what she is. However, she is my wife in my heart as well. But anyone can see that she is not your wife in yours. The way you have treated her... you should not be allowed near her.”

He strikes his husband again, his knuckles knocking the side of his cheek as the brunet dodges swiftly.

“I know. I understand that what I have done is wrong but-” “No, James, I don’t think you do! She is terrified of you! She’d sooner seek comfort in me, a stranger, than in you. You are the first face of our kingdom that she met and you...” The blond trails off, beyond furious with his husband.

“You have broken that woman. What can you even say for yourself?”

The brunet backs up a step, his hands raised in surrender as Steve steps closer to him, his hands clenching into fists.

“Nothing will excuse my actions and I realize that. But I will not stop trying to fix the damage I have caused.”

Steve scoffs, shaking his head at the other man.

“I’m not sure if you will be able to fix it.” They’re both quiet for a long moment before Steve speaks again, walking past his husband and towards the door.

“I think it would be best if you gave both (Y/n) and myself some space. Do not come to either of us unless we have directly summoned you.” The brunet nods, shoulders slumping in defeat.

Steve has to focus on his breathing as he walks back to your chambers, wanting to be there when you wake up and wanting to be in a better space as to not scare you.

When the door opens you’re awake, seated on your bed nursing a small cup of tea.

“How are you feeling?” He asks softly, dismissing Wanda with a nod. You take a deep breath and smile weakly at him.

“Better than yesterday, Your Majesty.”

A shake of his head at the use of his title.

“Please, (Y/n). You’re my wife. You may address me by my name,” he says while stepping further into the room.

“Steve,” you test the name, surprised at yourself for liking the way it feels rolling off your tongue.

He smiles warmly at you, sitting at the edge of your bed when you motion to it. You take a moment to really take him in as he sits in front of you.

The second King of Acadia is as gorgeous as his husband. He’s got endless blue eyes that shine with kindness, a kindness that has been shown to you only by Natalia and Wanda since you entered the Kingdom.

His frame is large and muscular, and you find yourself entranced and intimidated by him. Your brows furrow, however, when you see his split knuckles.

“You are hurt?” You ask, looking pointedly at his right hand. He instinctively clenches it into a fist then sighs, shaking his head.

“I’m afraid I let my emotions get the better of me when I learned of what His Majesty did to you.” You frown, looking down at the porcelain cup in your grasp.

Fragile and delicate, just like you.

“My very presence drives a wedge between the two of you. For that, I am sorry.” He shakes his head, fingers coming under your chin and lifting it until you look at him. The way you flinch when he raises his hand has his heart aching.

“It is not you who has created a wedge, nor is it you who drives it between us. James is well aware of his actions and he must face the consequences. He does not get special treatment because he is King. He’s lucky I only struck him for what he’s done to you. He deserves far worse.” You shake your head, grabbing the King’s hand tightly in yours.

“Please do not punish him. I fear he may think his fears are coming true. I do not wish to replace you nor do I wish to replace him. And by punishing him more I fear he may think that that is what is happening.”

Steve’s brows pull together in confusion.

“Do you not wish for him to feel what it is you’ve felt?” You shake your head, a shaky breath leaving you as you choose your words wisely.

“I... I would not wish my treatment upon anyone. But he has made efforts to repair our relationship. I do not wish to anger him with a relationship with you. I fear that us being close may be enough to bring his anger back to the surface.”

Steve is quiet, pondering your words for a long moment before lifting your entwined hands and pressing a kiss to your knuckles.

“If he makes one hostile move towards you I will have him thrown in the dungeon. He will not bring you any more pain. I give you my word.” You nod slowly, not used to someone being so protective of you.

“Now I’m sure you need your rest, so I will not deprive you of it any longer.” He goes to stand up but you tug on his hand, not wanting him to leave just yet. His presence is refreshing. Something unlike anything you’ve experienced in years. And you do not want him to leave anytime soon.

“C-could you perhaps stay with me for a while longer? I... I value your presence. I know that I have only just met you, but you... you are a comfort in a kingdom that has brought only pain.” You don’t mean for your words to hurt him, and the sadness on his face nearly makes you regret speaking.

Until he settles back on the bed, a smile on his face as he squeezes your hand gently in both of his.

“I will stay with you until you no longer want me. This place should be a home to you, not a place of pain, and I will do all I can to ensure you feel safe and comfortable in your own Kingdom.”

The new approach has hope sparking in your belly, and you’re cautiously optimistic about your relationship with Steve. You only hope that you’ll be able to repair the one you have with James before he gets angry again.

~*~

“Is she eating?” Wanda nods, smiling at the blond king from her spot in the kitchen.

“Good. She looks ill. I want her to be healthy again. It is my goal to have her happy in her new home. Undo the damage that James caused.” Wanda sighs, shaking her head.

“They were rebuilding their relationship. Slowly but I’m sure they will have grown to love each other,” she says softly, and then it’s Steve’s turn to shake his head at her.

“It would be nothing more than love built on lies and fear. She deserves more than that.” Wanda nods, her heart heavy. She knows you haven’t been treated fairly, but she had hoped you and James would be able to build your relationship.

“Will you forgive His Majesty?” Steve sighs, not truly knowing the answer.

“I want to, but with what he did... it feels wrong to forgive him.” Wanda nods knowingly, gathering things for your lunch.

“Well, I know that the Queen is well on her way to forgiving him. I think it would do you well to forgive him. However, I have already overstepped. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go tend to my lady.”

She pauses at the doorway, looking over at the King and speaking freely for a moment.

“I think you would do well to speak to the King with a cool head. Consider all that has happened and all that you had planned for your marriage.” She bows her head then leaves the kitchen, having given Steve many things to consider.

He stays in the room for a while longer, gathering his thoughts and trying to figure out what to do.

As he’s leaving, he nearly bumps straight into his husband.

James averts his eyes, although it pains him to do so. He wants nothing more than to devour every inch of the man before him.

He says nothing, instead, bows his head and waits for Steve to do something.

“James.” His eyes snap up, meeting the endless blues of his lover.

“Steve. H-How is she?” Steve grinds his teeth for a moment, Wanda’s words echoing in his mind before he huffs out a deep breath.

“If you would like, I will take you to see her. However, if she requests you leave, you will leave immediately. Do you understand?” James nods, his shoulders lifting slightly.

As they walk towards your chambers Steve takes a moment to take in the appearance of the brunet.

He’s got deep bags under his eyes and a heeling bruise on his cheek branching out across the bridge of his nose.

His skin is pale and almost lifeless, and Steve feels and for a moment. Until he remembers what his husband did to you.

By then they’re already at your door, far too late to turn back, and Steve knocks softly.

“My darling? May I come in?”

Your voice calls out eagerly, allowing him entrance.

In the few days since his return, he’s spent every waking moment with you, and you find yourself missing him in the few moment’s that he is not by your bedside.

He smiles at the sight of you. You’re far livelier than before, a smile on your face as he walks in.

“Good afternoon,” you say softly, your smile fading slightly as you see the man behind him.

“Your Majesty,” you greet him, bowing your head slightly.

“He is your husband, (Y/n). You may address him by his name. We would prefer it if you did.” You look between the two before nodding slowly, scooting back on your bed to make room for the two of them.

Wanda smiles warmly at you, handing you a fresh cup of tea before excusing herself.

“May we sit?” James asks softly, motioning to your bed. You nod, taking a slow sip of tea while not taking your eyes off of the two men.

“You look well. You are eating more?” You nod, smiling at James softly.

“The same cannot be said for you,” You whisper, frowning at the bruises on his face.

“It is nothing that I do not deserve. I deserve far worse for all I have done. It is only my hope that we can grow together.” You’ve got a sad smile on your face as you look between the two of them, the tension rolling off of them in waves.

“What is it, darling?” Steve asks softly, reaching out to take your hand. You squeeze his warm hand then sigh, struggling for a moment to find the words.

“I have created a wedge between you. That is not something I ever wanted. I never wanted to come between you, nor have I ever wanted to replace either of you. I... I apologize for all that my presence here has caused.”

They both shake their heads, eyes meeting momentarily, Steve's filled with accusation while James’ are filled with guilt.

“You have done nothing wrong. That is something I want you to fully grasp.” You look at James as he speaks, heart thumping in your chest.

It’s been a while since you’ve had him so close to you and you’re not sure how you feel about it.

“Everything that has happened... it is all my doing. You have not done anything wrong. I am the one who has created a wedge between us... the one who has caused such distance. And I will spend every day trying to make up for that. I know you may not trust me or what I say, but I mean every word that I have spoken today.” You look between him and Steve, bottom lip tucked between your teeth for a moment.

“I want to trust you. I want us to be happy and I want us to have a good marriage, however, I will need time. But I do not want the two of you to be at ends with each other because of me. I fear it will cause far more conflict than it is worth.” Steve looks at you for an impossibly long moment before nodding, looking over his shoulder at where his husband is.

“I do not know how you have forgiven him, but I suppose I will try as well. We will forgive, but we will not forget.”

James nods, wanting to feel relieved but something is gnawing at his stomach.

“Your forgiveness is far more than I deserve. I will not, for as long as I live, be able to ever forgive myself for what I have done to you. The pain I have caused.” His eyes flitter down to your stomach, now devoid of the life that was growing. Devoid of the child that would’ve been his. A child that would’ve been the product of pain and of torment.

“How are you feeling, truly? I can only imagine the pain.”

You follow his gaze down to your stomach then swallow hard.

“If I may be honest with you... a small part of me is sad... but a larger part is relieved. I know it is wrong and horrid of me to think, but I am grateful to not be carrying a child that was forced upon me. It is my duty as Queen to give you heirs, and I shall. But not like that. It is too bold of me and I apologize, but if we are to make this marriage work then it is something that you must know.”

He nods easily, understanding what you mean.

“This marriage... we chose you, (Y/n). Specifically you,” Steve says softly, waiting for you to look up at him before speaking.

“We could’ve chosen any woman.”

Upon seeing the frown on your face, James jumps in. “When he says that, he means that we had been offered wives before but none of them stood out to us. And then we were presented with you...” You look at him, confusion bringing your brows together.

“The princess of Orlen. A woman with kindness and beauty. From the way your father spoke of you, we chose you. If only to save you from a fate that he promised.”

You’re not sure how you feel about this.

“We spoke of you for weeks on end. We spoke of how we would love you, how we would treat you. How we would bed you...” A shiver races down your spine and you glance down, shaking your head.

“I-I do not think I will be ready for that for quite a while. I am sorry, but I just... I cannot. I can hardly walk without being in pain and Doctor Banner thinks that it may take weeks before I can do anything such as that.” Steve’s hand is on your back, rubbing soothing circles.

“We will wait. Your body has gone through something that neither one of us could ever imagine. We will not be angry with your healing process and we will not rush it. It is as I said before, your health and happiness mean everything to me.”

James nods his agreement but can’t help feeling left out of the tender moment being shared. As much as he may try, he knows he will not be welcomed with open arms. And he doesn’t expect to be. However, it doesn’t lessen the pain. If anything, it amplifies it.

Jealousy and anger simmer deep in his core, and he has to take careful breaths to make sure he doesn’t let them show. The last thing he needs is to scare you further. And although he truly does wish to be on good terms with you, seeing you with his husband the way you are... it brings something monstrous to the front of his mind.

Something he’s only ever taken out on the battlefield.

The good part if him is afraid for your safety if he cannot reel in the beast. But the beast roars beneath the surface, ready to claw its way out and reclaim what is his.

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inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years ago

Note

Hi Steph! Hope you’re well :) Do you have a 5+1 rec list? It’s one of my all time favourite tropes and having just found a new one I wondered if you knew of any more? Sorry if you already have one linked somewhere, I’m still not very familiar with tumblr! (The new one I found is works/23857900/chapters/57342538 - sorry I’m not sure how to link properly on asks yet either! 😖

anonymous asked: What’s ur opinion on 5+1 fics?

Hi Lovelies!

Ahhh, sorry for the delay on this one!! I love 5 and Ones!! :D I’ve been tagging them since the beginning 3 years ago so I could more easily find them, just WAITING for people to ask, LOL. I read them a lot on FFNet (it was a BIG fad in the early noughts to have 5+1 fics, just like song fics were a 90′s thing lol)

So here y’all are, plus the one @johnlockedin221b suggested which I haven’t read yet! Please feel free to add your own here!

I’ve also added some *CLOSE TO* five and ones, so like four and ones, I have a 7 times fic, and just one with 5 times. Hope y’all enjoy!

----

FIVE AND ONES (and SIMILAR FICS)

Once Upon A Time by ProfessorSquirrell (T, 908 w., 1 Ch. || Family, Snippets of Life, Romance, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Implied Drug Use, Angst with Happy Ending) – There is a room in Sherlock's mind palace where nothing gets deleted. And it looks like this...

The Four Incidents by TheGirlWithRedHair22 (K+, 1,064 w., 1 Ch. || S1 Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, John Whump, Accident, John POV, Hand Holding, Worried Sherlock, Sherlock’s Self Esteem) – The first time John was present when someone insulted Sherlock, he brushed it off as a strange coincidence.

Five Times John Watson Remained Oblivious by thriceandonce (K+, 1,154 w., 1 Ch. || Five and Ones, Romance, Friendship, Asexual Sherlock, Queerplatonic Relationship) – ...And one time he didn't.

Five Times John Didn't Notice Sherlock (and one time he did) by somanyhands (T, 1,369 w., 6 Ch. || Friendship, Five and Ones, 221B Format Oneshots) – Five times out oblivious John Watson didn't notice Sherlock, and one time he really did. A short series of (five plus one) 221B fics, just because.

The 3x John Carried Sherlock, and Once ViceVersa by ShinkonoKokoro (K+, 1,673 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Friendship, Three and One, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Worried Sherlock, John Gets Shot) – It happens more than he suspects.

The Perfect Place by SilverSmile (K+, 1,955 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Romance, 5 and Ones, Fluff, Experiments, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock attempts to find the perfect place to sleep, but his little experiment proves to be far more difficult than expected.

Like Euphoria and Scotch by FinAmour (M, 1,856 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3 Fix It, Five and One, Alchohol / Drinking, POV Second Person Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Imagination, Armchair Sex, Cracky and Fluff, Happy Ending) – 5 different ways it all could have gone + the one way it actually works itself out.

Five Times Sherlock gave John a Pebble and One Time John Returned the Gesture by grimmfairy (NR, 1,895 w., 1 Ch. || Love Confessions, Fluff, Penguins and Pebbles, Nervous / Pining Sherlock, Oblivious John) – Sherlock isn't good with words, so he decides to tell John his feelings the way penguins do, by bringing him pebbles with different meanings. John catches on.

Five Times Sherlock Realized He Was Getting Older by Mildred Graves (T, 9,215 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Old) – . . . And one time it didn't matter.

It Was All Right There In Front of Him (A Five Times Plus One Story) by bees_stories (T, 3,191 w., 1 Ch. || 5+1, Protective Idiots, Grooming, Bed Sharing, Lestrade POV) – DI Greg Lestrade is a good detective. But sometimes he doesn't trust the evidence in front of him, until there's a compelling reason to do so.

Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down by standbygo (M, 3,282 w. || Post-S4, Five Plus One, Missing Scenes, Parenthood, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Declarations of Love, Fluff, Food, John Whump) – Five times when Sherlock and John ate together, and one time they didn't. A history of the boys, in food.

Atrium by kali_asleep (T, 3,460 w., 1 Ch. || 5+1, Valentines Day, Fluff & Schmoop, First Kiss) – Five times Sherlock gave John his heart, and the one time Sherlock got a heart in return (literally)

Because Your Coat is Part of You by camellialice (K, 3,705 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and 1, Canon Compliant, Sherlock’s Coat, Angst, Fluff) – Five times John wore Sherlock's coat and one time he didn't need to.

Five Times John Cooked Something with Peas and One First Kiss by 221b_careful_what_you_wish_for (T, 3,915 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Cooking / Food, Sick Sherlock, Music, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss) – After John cooks five dinners that slowly reveal their hunger for each other, Sherlock and John finally share a first kiss.

Human Body Pillow by Lunavere (K, 4,122 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Five and Ones, Sleepy Johnlock, Bed Sharing) – A story about the five times John fell asleep on Sherlock, and the one time Sherlock fell asleep on him.

What John Doesn't Know (Won't Hurt Him) by blueink3 (NR [T], 4,392 w., 1 Ch, || S3 Fix It, Pining Sherlock, Snippets of Life, Hurt/Comfort, Scars, Fluff and Angst, Five and One, Hopeful Ending, POV Sherlock) – Five people who see Sherlock's scars before John Watson. But Sherlock's secrets were never something he could keep from his blogger for long.

Carry On by Mazarin221b (M, 4,647 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and Ones, H/C, Afghanistan, Frottage, Hand Jobs, First Time) – Five times John didn't want to be carried, and one time he did.

Bed-Sharing Between Flatmates by testosterone_tea (T, 5,053 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Bed Sharing, PTSD John, Science, Whump, Insecure Sherlock) – 5 times Sherlock had an excuse to share John's bed, and the one time he didn't need one.

Storytelling by amythedork (T, 5,126 w., 1 Ch. || John’s Past, Friendship, Humour) – Five times John Watson opens up to Sherlock Holmes, and one time Sherlock Holmes opens up to John Watson. Gen, though could easily be read as pre-slash.

Sociopathy and Other Fibs by kinklock (M, 5,314 w., 1 Ch. || 5+1, Miscommunication, Humour, Friends to Lovers, Post S3, Love Confessions) – Five times John called Sherlock out, and one time Sherlock returned the favour.

five times sherlock holmes lied to john watson (and one time he finally told the truth) by miss_frankenstein (G, 5,948 w., 1 Ch. || TAB Compliant || Homophobia, Pining Sherlock, Oscar Wilde Trials, Happy Ending) – Set in "The Abominable Bride" universe, this piece adopts a familiar format to chronicle Sherlock's quiet suffering in the wake of the 1895 Oscar Wilde trials and the particular way they affect his relationship with (and feelings for) John.

Five Times John Noticed But Didn't Really by ScandalousMinds (T, 6,383 w., 5 Ch. || Domestics, Fluff/Angst, Bratty Sherlock, Idiots, Pre-Slash, Jealous Sherlock, Love Confessions) – 5 times John (thought) he noticed something peculiar about his and Sherlock's relationship but really missed the obvious.

once upon a time by darcylindbergh (M, 6,501 w., 6 Ch. || Fluff and Angst, First Kiss / Time, Love Declarations, Christmas) – It starts with a wish. In the beginning, John comes home. Part 1 of things fairy tales are made of

Five Times by AliuIce0814 (T, 6,667 w., 6 Ch. || Drama, Canon-Compliant S1 & 2, Angst, 5 and Ones, Reunion) – ... Sherlock woke John, and one time John woke Sherlock.

Six Dates by avawtsn (E, 7,421 w., 2 Ch. || 5+1, First Time / Kiss, Post S4-Compliant, POV John) – A rather accidental 5+1 written for the prompt "is this a date?" Hint: it is.

Galapogos by anchors (E, 8,460 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Angst, 5 and 1, John Whump) – Somewhere in the depths of the universe, and somewhere in the middle of Sherlock's chest, a star goes into supernova.

All the Times Something ALMOST Happened by allonsys_girl (T, 9,049 w., 6 Ch. || POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Canon Compliant, Angst, Friendship/Love, UST) – John and Sherlock dancing around what they dance around in canon.

Illogical, even. by magikspell (E, 9,119 w., 1 Ch. || Grey-Ace Sherlock, Character Study, Growing Up, Victor Trevor, Romance, First Time/Kiss, Sherlock-centric) – Five reasons Sherlock never believed in love and one reason he does now.

A Different Kind of Love by Svenja The Strange (T, 12,357 w., 6 Ch. || Fluff, Humour, Romance, Five and One) – The five times people noticed and the one time John did. A collection of oneshots (some short, some longer) raising the issue of Johns endless dilemma of being deemed for Sherlock’s boyfriend.

A Study in Linguistics by rizandace (T, 12,425 w., 1 Ch. || S1 Canon Compliant/S2 Divergence, Friendship, Slices of Life, Communication, Cranky Sherlock, Hospitals, Sherlock Whump, Pet Cat, Jealous John, Sherlock’s Violin, Anxious Sherlock, John Whump) – Sherlock Holmes and John Watson had their own language. It was a language of few words and minute facial expressions, and John had learned that it was nearly the only way to have an honest conversation with his eccentric flat mate.

First Response by Arwen Jade Kenobi (T, 13,516 w., 8 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Five and Ones, Whump / Injury) – Five times John had to perform first aid on Sherlock and one time Sherlock had to perform it on John.

Never-Ending Cycle by orphan_account (T, 17,211 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas, Est. Rel., Proposal, Fluff) – Or, four times Sherlock Holmes attempted to propose to John Watson, and the Christmas Party at which he finally did. Sherlock thinks he's a miserable failure, John is confused, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade provide some unsatisfactory advice, and Mummy is, as always, the solution. All in a lovely, fluffy holiday theme.

Just a Kiss by emmagrant01 (E, 19,695 w., 7 Ch. || 5+1, Case Fic) – Five times John and Sherlock kissed because of a case and one time they kissed for real.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: Sherlock Holmes, RELATIONSHIP: n/a by blueink3 (M, 5,533 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt John / John Whump, Five and One, Fluff & Angst, Worried Sherlock) – The first time John Watson’s emergency contact is called is the first time Sherlock Holmes finds out that he has the job. Part 1 of The Emergency Contact Series

EMERGENCY CONTACT: John Watson, RELATIONSHIP: Saint by blueink3 (M, 6,229 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt Sherlock, 5+1, Hurt / Comfort, Caring John, Scars) – The first time Sherlock Holmes realizes he needs an emergency contact is the first time he mentally appoints John Watson with the job. John, of course, does not know this and neither does the local hospital. Part 2 of The Emergency Contact Series

Caught In The Act by ShirleyCarlton (E, 7,009 w. across 6 stories || Est. Rel, Voyeurism, Character POV’s, Masturbation, Switchlock) – This is a series of six scenarios written from the points of view of six different people as they accidentally walk in on Sherlock and John having sex.

Five Times Sherlock Realized He Was Getting Older by Mildred Graves (T, 9,215 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Old) – . . . And one time it didn't matter.

The Five Stages of Mourning, Plus One by SunnyRea (T, 10,557 w., 1 Ch. || MCD, Pining / Grieving Sherlock, URT, Heavy Angst, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Drug Use, Graphic Death, Depression, Unhappy Ending) – Sherlock did not want this, did not want another stalemate with John in the middle, a gun in Jim's hand. This cannot have happened without a sign. There has to be something he missed anything which said today is the day I kill for real.

About Sleep and Coffee and the Existence of Fate by Atiki (E, 17,426 w., 6 Ch. || Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Humour, 5+1) – Naturally, John was startled when suddenly the ultimate solution occurred to him: Marriage. This was, of course, a bit of a fundamental problem rather than an actual solution. One didn't simply use the words “Sherlock” and “marriage” within the same sentence. Not even in a hypothetical context. Five times John kind of wanted to propose to Sherlock, and one time he didn’t have to.

Just a Kiss by emmagrant01 (E, 19,695 w., 7 Ch. || 5+1, Case Fic, Kisses) – Five times John and Sherlock kissed because of a case and one time they kissed for real.

5 Times John Got the Girl (and lost her) and 1 Time John Got the Guy (and kept him) by LiviKate (M, 21,695 w., 6 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Kissing, Oblivious / Awkward Sherlock, BAMF / Sexy / Stud John, Embarrassed John, John’s Scar, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Sherlock) – John has always had good luck with the ladies. He's charming, friendly and funny, not to mention great in bed. However, his usual skill with the opposite sex is constantly being thwarted by Sherlock and his outbursts. How will John ever get a leg over when Sherlock is always cockblocking him?

Five Times: Watching and Waiting by Ira Lea (K+, 23,034 w., 13 Ch. || Friendship, Post-TRF, No Slash) – Five times Sherlock didn't know John was watching, and one time he made sure of it. Five times John didn't know Sherlock was watching, and one time he figured it out. Three years of "he's dead", one moment of "he's alive", and the resulting chase through the streets of London. (Two 5:1s in quick succession and a bonus).

And A Doctor by StillWaters1 (T, 27,393 w., 6 Ch. || Friendship, Doctor John, Whump, Soldier / Doctor Dichotomy, Five and One) – It was only when people actually saw John working as a physician that they began to understand: that it wasn't just about bullets and IEDs and trauma care under fire. That "doctor" actually covered a pretty wide field. And that John was bloody good at covering ground. 5 times Dr. Watson treated others and 1 time he treated himself.

Five Times They Kissed for a Case, and One Time They Kissed for Real by fleetwood_mouse (M, 32,406 w., 6 Ch. || 5+1, Slow Burn, Fluff / Angst, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers) – A stolen ring! An artful blogger! And many more adventures for your enjoyment.

The Case of the Vanishing Pants by SwissMiss (E, 44,025 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Post-TRF, Case Fic, UST, Homophobia, Friends to Lovers, Pining John, Showering Together, Couple for a Case, Sherlock’s Bum, Fantasies, Jealous Sherlock) – Five times John and Sherlock lost their pants in the course of a case.

MARKED FOR LATER

Five Times Sherlock and John Had Realistic Sex and One Time They Didn't by pennydreadful (E, 1,811 w., 1 Ch. || Five and One, Anal/Oral, Finger Fucking, Hand Jobs) – Reality is a bitch.

A Study in Night Terrors by Dovahlock221 (T, 2,811 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Night Terrors, (Emotional) Hurt/Comfort, PTSD Sherlock, Worried John, Hurt John, Angst with Happy Ending) – Five times Sherlock suffered from night terrors and the one time he had the best dream of his life.

What Every Step Is For by Anyawen (G, 2,921 w., 1 Ch. || Five and One, Bedsharing, Injury, Illness, Cold, Lack of Beds, Fake Relationship, Fluff) – Five times bedsharing occurred due to circumstance, and one time it happened by invitation.

5 Times John Almost Told Sherlock He Loved Him, and 1 Time He Did by wanderlustmind (T, 3,006 w., 1 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Additional Tags to be added) – As adorable as a box of puppies, I promise.

The Fundamental Things Apply by Raina_at (M, 6,263 w., 1 Ch. || Five and One, Kissing) – "Kisses that are easily obtained are easily forgotten." - Proverb

Five Times Sherlock Fell Asleep in John's Arms by Accident and the One Time He Did It – Accidentally – on Purpose by WillowGrove (T, 7,201 w., 6 Ch, || Five and One, Falling Asleep, Cuddling & Snuggling, Texting, Tea, First Kiss, Dreams, Fever, Comfort, Caretaker John, Love, Humour, Fluff) – Sherlock notices that John keeps cuddling him to sleep and he rather likes it. But then John stops, and Sherlock has to result to schemes to make it happen again. Who falls asleep, who wakes up in who’s arms, and – most importantly – will there be a kiss in the end?

Dinner Conversations, a 5+1 by BakerTumblings (G, 7,559 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Blended Families, Parentlock, Dinner Conversations, Established Relationship, Family Adventures, Five and Ones) – Five times that John had something to say at or about dinnertime, and one time where John was requested to listen. Part 8 of Eyes Wide Open

The Refractive Index by NoStraightLine (E, 10,395 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, BAMF John, Crossdressing, Sherlock is Shot, Oral Fixation, First Time, Hurt/Comfort) – Five times John and Sherlock fuck in a bolt-hole, and one time they don't.

Five Christmases that went wrong and one that didn't by love_in_mind_palace (M, 11,685 w., 6 Ch. || Christmas, Fluff & Smut, Domestics, Est. Rel., 5 and 1′s, Canon Divergence, Tooth-Rotting Fluff) – John isn’t sure about most of the things in his life. Except for the fact that he loves Sherlock, Sherlock loves him back and that after years of bad luck, he is getting the Christmas he always deserved.

In Plain Sight by SilentAuror (E, 18,100 w., 1 Ch. || Post-HLV, 5 and Ones, POV Sherlock, Sex on Trains, Sex During Investigations, Sex in Offices, Unspoken Feelings, Anal, Slight Medical Kink, Public Sex Kink) – Five times that Sherlock and John have sex of some kind without talking about it and one time when they do. Part 1 of the Public Sex Kink

Just Dance by 7PercentSolution (M, 22,784 w., 6 Ch. || Four and One, For a Case, Drug Use, Abusive Boss, Ballroom Dancing, Sherlock Loves Dancing, Blackmail, Unrequited Love, Courtship) – Four dances that Sherlock taught Janine — and one he didn’t. Never mind if it leads him into dangerous territory; how could Sherlock resist a case from Lady Smallwood that lets him use his dancing skills? This is a gift work to Silvergirl, who is an inspiration to us all.

5 times Sherlock got (a) dressed like a woman, plus 1 he did not by Nauss (M, 25,719 w., 6 Ch. || Friendship and Romance, 5 and Ones, French Language Fic) – Ton regard est baissé et ton attitude ne brille pas de son habituel éclat Je-sais-que-tu-considères-que-je-n'aurais-pas-dû-mais-la-science-John. À la place, il y a tous ces petits détails que je ne parviens pas à voir, alors je m'approche de ta silhouette enrobedechambrée. Puis je lève la main, bouche bée. - John rentre en avance du travail et tombe sur un imprévu sherlockien.

Exit- An Ex Files Special by 7PercentSolution (G, 27,148 w., 6 Ch. || Sherlock/Victor Trevor, Angst Like Whoa, TRF-Compliant, Multiple POV’s, Unrequited Love, Whump, TBI and Recovery, Heartbreak, Romance, PTSD, Grieving, Five and One) – The end (or not, as the case may be), covering The Fall and its aftermath. Can be considered both a conclusion to my Fallen Angel series and a coda to Extricate and The Ex. A five plus one.

under the burden of solitude by subtext-is-my-division (E, 27,947 w., 5 Ch. || S3/S4 Fix It/Post TLD, Angst, Grief/Mourning, First Kiss, Mentions of Rape, Hurt/Comfort, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Fantasies, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Suicidal Thoughts Mentions, Five and Ones) – Five times they shared a bed platonically, and one time they didn't.

Caesura by emilycare (M, 36,608 w., 10 Ch. || Five and One, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Friends to Lovers, Past Abuse, Past Drug Use, Angst with Happy Ending, Suicidal Thoughts, Oral Sex, Blow Jobs, Domestic Fluff, Soft Sherlock, Gay Sherlock, Bisexual John) – The violin is a retreat that eases the quiet of Sherlock Holmes' solitude. It also speaks for him when he cannot bridge the gaps his defenses create. Moments when music helps Sherlock reach out or let others in, like his stalwart flatmate and, in time, the doctor's daughter. Five times Sherlock Holmes played the violin, and one time he did not.

Magpies Series by 7PercentSolution (T, 218,813+ w. across 4 works || Series WIP || Post TRF, Drug Withdrawal, References to Torture, Confessions, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Fic, PTSD, Oblivious John) – The Magpies series covers the events of the broadcast series three and four, "translated" into my universe. I wrote a lot of it before the episodes were broadcast and made some of my themes into AU (such as the Holmes parents and the sibling). Darker, more intense and angsty than Game Theory and Fallen Angel, the Magpies stories show the effects of the hiatus on all concerned. When parts five to 8 are completed, the series will bring the Ford saga to a conclusion.

#steph replies #five and ones #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #johnlockin221b #long post #number fics #five times fics

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