#tear in my heart series

[im-just-a-mississippi-girl]

Tear in My Heart: The Meeting

Pairing: Single Dad!Matt Jackson x Teacher!reader

Category: Fluff

Word count: 1,192

Summary: A special place in your heart is reserved for Madeleine Jackson. At the end of the first day of school, she introduces you to her dad. Is the spark you feel when shaking his hand reciprocated or is this just a crush?

Warnings: None

Requested by: @mrsmatt

A/N: I don’t think the summary is that great but it’s the best I could come up with. Anyways, here’s part one @springgirlwaiting4fall ☺️🫶🏻

Part 2: The School Play

Masterlist

Taglist

Gif is not mine. Credit to the owner.

The start of a new school year has came back around yet again. You loved teaching the little minds of the children in your class each year, seeing their eyes light up when they got the hang of something or when they win a prize out of the treasure box. First graders were always so excited and full of questions.

You spent the whole week preparing and planning for a fun first day for your students, name cards on desks along with a little goodie bag. You decorated your classroom in fun colors with a variety of educational materials and items hanging on the wall within the children’s reach. You had came up with all kinds of fun games for the kids to play and help them learn in the process. There was a toy chest filled with numbered blocks for learning math, books to help them read, and other useful tools to prepare them for the future.

You stood out in the hallway beside your classroom door as the bell rang and students began flooding the halls in search of their classroom. You smiled brightly as you welcomed each student that entered your room and helped the children that couldn’t find their teacher.

Inside the classroom, you welcomed them as whole and introduced yourself. You went down each row asking them to introduce themselves to the class and tell everyone one thing they loved. The answers ranged from dinosaurs to Barbie to trucks to seashells. One little girl’s answer just melted your heart. When asked about what she loved, she beamed and answered with, “My daddy.”

As the day went on, you kept thinking about how sweet that one little girl’s answer was. My daddy. You looked at the rows of desks and your eyes landed on the sweet little girl. She had gorgeous brown hair that cascaded around her shoulders, adorable chocolate brown eyes that had such liveliness in them. She was dressed in a purple shirt with a yellow butterfly printed on the front and blue jeans paired with a cute pair of purple and white Jordans. You watched how all the children interacted with one another and noticed she was always helping others and partnering up with the one or two kids that seemed to be left out.

At lunch time, you guided your class to the cafeteria. Some children had brought their lunch so you led them to the table designated for your students. You sat down at the same table with your lunchbox, smiling and chatting with the students already there. You opted to make yourself a classic PB&J. Just because you’re a teacher doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a kid like lunch.

A plastic cafeteria tray was sat on the table next to you. You looked up from your lunchbox to see the sweet little brown haired and brown eyed girl, Madeleine Jackson was her name but she liked Maddie better. “Hi!” You smiled as the little girl sat down.

“Hi Miss Y/L/N!” She cheerfully greeted you. She gave you the cutest smile and started up a conversation about how your day was going, your favorite color, favorite food and really just whatever she thought of. You would answer her questions and ask her some in return. You could tell she was thrilled to talking with you and honestly, you were happy she was interested in getting to know you.

After lunch, you led your students back to the classroom and started teaching a math lesson. All the children learned at different speeds which is to be expected. You explained the math lesson once more and gave a few examples on the whiteboard and with the blocks from the toy chest. When you felt like they had a pretty good grasp on it, you passed out a work sheet and blocks for visual aids.

You sat at your desk and went over the worksheets from the spelling activity when you heard a little voice from the front of your desk. “Can you help me more?” You looked up and your eyes met the sweet little Jackson girl. She looked like she was getting upset.

“Don’t don’t get upset, Maddie. Can you bring me some blocks? Maybe you need to think about it in a different way.” You offered and watched Maddie collect the blocks. When she returned, you helped her until she finally got the hang of it. “Great job Maddie!” She beamed at your praise, clearly thrilled she figured it out.

“I can’t wait to show daddy.” She grinned. You could tell by the way she talked about her dad that he meant the world to her, a total daddy’s girl. Once Maddie went back to her desk, you resumed going over the spelling worksheets from earlier.

As the first day drew to a close, you helped your students collect their things and put away anything they were using. Once that was done, the bell rang signaling that school was finally over for the day. You helped direct your students to the buses and to the car rider line. You joined the other teachers in standing alongside the students from your class and others, asking them if they see their car and when they did you walked them to their car. As the number of students dwindled down to the final few, you noticed one of your students was left, sweet little Maddie Jackson. You made your way over to her and crouched down. “Do you want to sit over on the bench and talk to me while we wait?” You offered to which she happily agreed.

The pair of you chatted about Disney movies and your favorite princesses until a car stopped in front of you. Looking up the little Jackson girl’s face lit up as she squealed, “Daddy!” She jumped down and raced towards him as he exited the car, smiling wide as he scooped her up in hug.

You couldn’t help yourself from smiling at the sweet scene in front of you. The little girl’s dad was absolutely gorgeous, from his long brown hair to his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and his contagious smile. Looking between the two, there was no mistaking them as father and daughter, she was the miniature version of him.

“Daddy! Daddy! You have to meet my teacher!” Maddie insisted, tugging on her dad’s hand once he sat her back down from the hug. He just shook his head laughing, letting her drag him over to you on the bench.

“Daddy, this is Miss Y/L/N. She’s the best teacher ever!” Maddie excitedly informed her dad. You were happy and surprised at Maddie’s statement. You always wanted to make an impression on your students, but you never realized it could be done that quickly.

Maddie’s dad chuckled at his daughter’s enthusiasm. “I’m Matt.” He introduced himself, a beautiful smile on his face. He reached out to shake your hand.

You instantly returned the smile. “Y/N.” You accepted his handshake. As you did so, you felt a sort of connection, an electric connection, a spark shooting through you. Did he feel the same?

General Taglist: @legit9thlunaticwarrior @plentyoffandoms @1dluver13xx @sunshinevirus @wwenhlimagines @crowleysqueenofhell @jackson-nickthedate13 @omg-im-such-a-masochist @kmc1989

Matt Jackson Taglist: @mrsmatt @morgan-bucks @rubyred1980 @breezyvk @writtingrose @jennifuz @writtingelite @katries @siriuslyblackonback

[chenouttachen]

the courage it must have taken joke to find his dad in the hospital and ask him for help. the courage it must have taken to face the man who’s only ever been disappointed with him. the courage to reconnect with someone who hasn’t spoken to him since the night he was arrested. the courage to hurt himself in order to help jack and his grandma. to have that man publicly disown him without a second thought, and still have the courage to go right back and stand by jack’s side and carry on as though it never happened. and jack might never know. might never understand just how brave joke can be. for him.

[nenoname]

weirdmageddon 3 group hug my beloved

[anpanman95]

he misspelled everything but the word “lie”

nobody talk to me

[gunsatthaphan]

I‘m????? normal?????

[kojitheopossum]

Final breath of a dying star

Closeup and lightless + bonus version under cut

[bird-inacage]

Love Sea Episode 3 | "Could you not leave? If I ask and you refuse, I might never dare ask anyone again."

This was easily my favourite scene of the episode. Fort's performance here wonderfully encapsulates the mentality of a boy whose been forced to grow up too fast. Mut may be very mature for his age, but that maturity has come at a price. Underneath all that positivity, we forget this is a man who is still young. Who still needs to feel safe from time to time. Who needs to not feel deserted or that he's beneath having desires beyond his lot in life.

[undemalvm]

so i’m obviously watching the pjo disney series and let me remind you that chiron trusted annabeth with the geat prophecy about the big three when she was TEN. and when percy, a son of poseidon, came along, she loved him regardless of his fate as a weapon of olympus. without thalia, he could have been the first child of the big three to reach sixteen. for the next years, annabeth loved someone who was likely to destroy the whole world, or save it with by simply making a dangerous choice, perhaps dying in the attempt. in the end, it was percy precisely, but it was too as there was no coming back: she had already fallen in love. LIKE CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE HAD THIS KNOCK ON HER CONSCIENCE THE WHOLE TIME

[bevioletskies]

heart & li ming + favorite moments (in no particular order)

“See? I told you. If you asked your mom nicely, she would let you come.”

[im-just-a-mississippi-girl]

Tear in My Heart: The School Play

Pairing: Single Dad!Matt Jackson x Teacher!Reader

Category: Fluff

Word count: 1,392

Summary: A few months after school began, Maddie grew more and more attached to you. She would volunteer to do anything you needed assistance for. As for Maddie’s dad, Matt, he was consistently kind to you making your feelings for him grow. You knew you needed to do something about it, to confess your feelings. The only problem was every time you would flirt with him, he was either oblivious or ignoring it. Little did you know, Maddie picked up on your flirting with her dad and planned to help you out.

Warnings: Very brief, vague, and general mention of a car accident

A/N: This is part two of the Tear in My Heart series! @stardust181

Part 1: The Meeting

Masterlist

Taglist

Gif is not mine. Credit to owner

Tonight was the big night. The first graders were putting on a play about Little Red Riding Hood. Sweet little Maddie was none other than Little Red Riding Hood herself. She was thrilled to be the leading role and, according to Matt, took her role very seriously.

At school, Maddie was all giddy about her ‘big debut’. You weren’t sure where she heard that from but you rolled with it nonetheless, agreeing that you couldn’t wait to see her in action.

You, along with a few other teachers, were assisting the theatre teacher in getting all the kids in their little outfits and hair done. You had been working on a little boy’s outfit when you heard your name being excitedly called out. You finished up with the little boy and turned around seeing Maddie beaming and dragging her dad and another man who looked awfully similar to Maddie’s dad towards you. That must be her uncle she’s told me about. “Hi Maddie!” You greeted her smiling wide. She always made you smile regardless of how you were feeling.

Maddie practically tackled you in a hug. “Can you help me get ready? Daddy and Uncle Nick are clueless.” She sighed, rolling her eyes and making you giggle.

“You’re being dramatic Maddie.” Matt shook his head.

“I wonder where she gets that from.” Nick spoke, looking directly at his brother who had an offended expression on his face at the accusation.

You attempted to hold back a laugh until Maddie burst out laughing at her dad and uncle. Maddie’s little laugh was so contagious that you couldn’t help but joining her. “I can help you Maddie. Let me gather up my things and we can make you the best Little Red Riding Hood anyone has ever seen.”

After several minutes of helping Maddie with her outfit and hair, you were done. You held up a mirror for Maddie to examine your handiwork. Her reaction said it all. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open, clearly surprised. “Can you get me ready all the time Miss Y/N?!” She spun around to face you, eagerly waiting for your answer.

You weren’t really sure how to respond to her question but finally decided on something. “I would love to Maddie but your dad does a great job.”

Before Maddie could respond, there was a knock on a nearby wall. You and Maddie simultaneously looked up to see her dad and uncle. “Daddy! Uncle Nick! Look how cute I am!” Maddie jumped up and did a twirl for them. “Miss Y/N did so much better than you daddy.” Maddie stated matter-of-factly, putting emphasis on ‘so’.

“You’re right Maddie. She did way better.” Nick chimed in before Matt could reply, also adding emphasis.

Matt wasn’t even going to respond because he was so in awe at how fantastic of a job you did with Maddie’s outfit and hair. He was torn on his feelings at the moment. On one hand, he felt something in his heart that told him to ‘go for it and ask her out’, but on the other hand, he wasn’t sure if he was ready. There was part of his heart that wouldn’t let go of Maddie’s mom, that wouldn’t allow him to move on.

The theatre teacher made her rounds informing everyone backstage that it was almost time for the play to begin. During that time, Nick lightly elbowed his older brother to grab his attention while you held a conversation with the theatre teacher about the play. “Dude, you gotta make a move. I just met her and can already tell she’s a total catch plus Maddie loves her.” It pained Nick to see his brother so torn and possibly passing up on being happy again, on possibly giving Maddie a whole family again.

Matt sighed, meeting Nick’s bright blue eyes. “I just need some time to think it through. I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet. Maddie’s mom was my first everything and having her taken away so suddenly and tragically makes this way more complicated than some random breakup.” Matt’s chocolate brown eyes began getting misty as he remembered his late wife and Maddie’s mother. He’ll never forget the call he received to inform him of the car accident that resulted in her passing. It had been four years ago, but for Matt, it was still fresh.

The men didn’t know that Maddie was deviously eavesdropping on their conversation. Maddie was smarter than she let on when it came to reading people’s interactions. She had seen how her dad would seemingly have hearts in his eyes when her teacher was around and how Miss Y/N would flirt with her daddy. Maddie had seen enough Disney movies to know what love was, at least what her idea of love was. Upon hearing her Uncle Nick encouraging her daddy, Maddie knew what she had to do and she would need help from her partner in crime, Uncle Nick.

Soon the announcement of the play about to begin came. You helped direct Maddie and the nearby kids to their places as Matt and Nick wished Maddie good luck before heading to their seats in the front row. Maddie decided to concoct her plan later, she had to focus on being the best Little Red Riding Hood ever.

After all the students were in their places, you took a seat to off to the side to give encouragement when they needed it. You caught Maddie’s eyes as you scanned the over the students. You gave her a big smile and a thumbs up to which she beamed.

Soon the play was in full swing. Everything was going smoothly, Maddie was nailing her lines and so we’re the other children. You glanced out into the audience and the parents and friends of the students were loving it. You noticed Matt looking in your direction, you smiled and waved. He did the same in return and Nick whispered into Matt’s ear. You were a little curious and starting to be self conscious. Surely that was a coincidence, right? Why would Nick be whispering about you? Maybe he was saying something about the play. You shook the thoughts away and turned your attention back to Maddie delivering her lines.

Once the play was over, the students took a bow and posed for pictures with their parents and guardians. In the meantime, you were packing up your things.

“Miss Y/N!” You heard Maddie yell your name over the commotion of the room. You looked up to see Maddie excitedly waving you over.

When you finally got close enough, Maddie asked if she could have a picture with her favorite teacher to which you nodded, not trusting your voice because your heart was melting at Maddie’s sweet request and the fact she called you her favorite teacher this time instead of ‘best teacher ever’. You crouched down next to Maddie who threw her arm around your neck. You both smiled wide as Matt took the photo.

“Alright, let’s take our star out for dinner! She deserves whatever she wants, right Maddie? You were the best Little Red Riding Hood ever.” Nick suggested, a grin wide on his face as Matt shook his head which didn’t go unnoticed by Nick. “Don’t give me that ‘we have food at home’ line.” He warned the brown eyed man. Matt just sighed knowing that Nick was right, they should celebrate how well Maddie did.

“Fine, what’s the plan Maddie?” Matt asked, turning his attention to his daughter.

“Spaghetti!” Maddie exclaimed. “Oh! Can you come with us Miss Y/N?”

You weren’t sure what to say being put on the spot like that. Thankfully Matt spoke up before you had to. “She probably already has plans for dinner Maddie.”

Honestly you didn’t have any plans unless you called watching tv and eating a sandwich a plan. You made the mistake of glancing at Maddie who had her puppy eyes on paired with a little pout. Welp, she’s totally getting her way. “Actually, I would love to join you if that’s okay.” You saw how Maddie’s eyes lit up in excitement. She grabbed her uncle’s hand and pulled him towards the exit of the auditorium, you and her dad trailing behind.

Mission Happily Ever After is ready.

General Taglist: @legit9thlunaticwarrior @plentyoffandoms @1dluver13xx @sunshinevirus @wwenhlimagines @crowleysqueenofhell @jackson-nickthedate13 @omg-im-such-a-masochist @kmc1989

Matt Jackson Taglist: @mrsmatt @morgan-bucks @rubyred1980 @breezyvk @writtingrose @jennifuz @writtingelite @katries @siriuslyblackonback

[morning-star-joy]

a stranger's heart without a home epilogue

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, Post-Outbreak

Chapter Summary: Now that you've found a place by Joel's side, you know you'll never leave.

Chapter Warnings/Tags: Smut (18+ Only MDNI) unprotected p in v sex, praise kink. Language (y'all know it by now), so much Fluff

A/N: We will return to this story with one-shots, drabbles, sequels, prequels, AUs, and whatever else I can think up, because I love these characters sm and I don't think I can ever let them go completely. But I hope that you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. All my love sent to every one of you!

Wordcount: 3k

chapter 1 || chapter 19 || chapter 20 || masterlist

ao3 link

Waking up without being wrapped up in Joel’s warmth was not a feeling you were fond of.

So when your eyes slowly blinked open one morning, the bed empty beside you, a deep frown crossed your face as you were immediately thrown into a bad mood.

You grumbled to yourself, turning over to try and get some more sleep, even though you knew it was a hopeless cause when you were alone.

With a sigh, you pushed yourself up, glaring at his unoccupied side of the bed before slowly getting out of bed.

Despite your grumpy, early morning annoyance, you moved about his bedroom subconsciously, stooping down to pick up your panties that had landed across the room last night to pull them on before grabbing his flannel next.

Walking towards the hallway as you buttoned the shirt up, you paused in the doorway, head lifting as you sniffed at the air again when a peculiar scent caught your attention.

Was that…?

That frown that had been fixed on your face since you woke up quickly evaporated, melting into a small smile as you made your way towards the staircase, taking the steps two at a time before swinging around and heading towards where that delicious smell was coming from.

You didn’t try and sneak around Joel, but your footsteps were light by nature, and he had no idea you had found your way into the edge of the room as he turned over whatever was sizzling in the pan on the stove—though you had a pretty good idea just what it was from the smell.

Unable to help yourself, you loitered in the doorway, leaning against it with arms crossed, head resting against the edge as you watched him make you breakfast with a warm smile on your face.

When he turned to grab something off the counter, he finally saw you, jumping with a mumbled curse, and you couldn’t help but laugh softly to yourself at the sight of such a prepared man being taken aback.

Joel’s eyes darted across your face and down your body, a small smirk twitching onto his lips at the sight of his flannel barely reaching past your thighs as he murmured, “Morning, darlin’.”

“Good morning,” you hummed in response, pushing yourself off the doorframe to walk towards him, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a slow, sweet kiss before the sound of popping from the pan made him tear himself away from you.

You glanced towards the pan, seeing that your theory had been correct, but you still found yourself asking with a growing smile, “Is that bacon?”

“Yup,” Joel replied, stealing a glance at you as he was in the midst of turning the strips of thin, crispy meat over again, checking that they were fully cooked before removing the pan from the heat. “Gift from Tommy.”

“How kind of him,” you teased, reaching for one of the pieces of bacon before Joel playfully swatted your hand away.

“Table,” he insisted, nodding towards the small table next to the window where he insisted you ate your meals together, and you sighed dramatically, even as you were helpless to resist his endearing Southern manners while you walked towards it.

Plopping yourself down in a seat, you rested your chin on your hand, content to watch the domestic scene of him setting the bacon on three plates along with the eggs he had apparently also scrambled, before bringing two of the plates towards you.

You knew the last plate was to be saved for Ellie, and you smiled at the simple show of his affection for his surrogate daughter, before turning your attention towards your food.

The two of you ate in comfortable silence, not needing to fill the air between you with any unnecessary words, the same way it had always been between you, even before…this.

It was funny, how once you had allowed yourself to start falling, you couldn’t stop.

Most of your days were spent in Joel’s home now instead of your own. It wasn’t an adjustment either of you commented on, as most things went unspoken between you—but you had caught Joel’s smile when you brought your sister’s childhood drawing over to rest on the fireplace mantle next to Ellie’s drawing of Joel.

With your clothes in his closet and the old photograph that you had caught him observing set up next to his pictures with his daughters on his dresser—“your parents?” he had asked one day, and you nodded, letting him take in the picture without forcing you to speak on the matter until you were ready—you settled right into your place by his side, knowing for certain that now you had found your spot there, you would never leave.

When Ellie burst through the back door, saying something about smelling bacon until she froze in the doorway at the sight of you sitting at Joel’s table, in his flannel, sharing his breakfast with him, the young girl burst into laughter as your cheeks flushed, and Joel groaned.

“Ellie—”

“I knew it!” Ellie cackled, pointing between you with a gleeful glint in her eye. “We all fucking knew it!”

Joel rolled his eyes, glancing at you to make sure you were okay, but you were smiling yourself now, trying to obscure a giggle with a cough as he shook his head and rose to grab the third plate of breakfast.

It didn’t take much coaxing for Ellie to join you at the small table then once Joel brought over another chair, and you glanced between the two with a grin as Ellie refused to let Joel eat in peace, teasing him over your presence at every single opportunity, and drawing a laugh from you every time she did so.

Joel just shook his head, letting out sighs every time Ellie would rib him about it, but you saw the warmth in the smile he tried to conceal behind each bite as he looked between the two of you, sitting together with him in his home.

When Ellie left to meet up with Dina and Jesse for some regularly scheduled mayhem for the day, you barely began to clean the dishes before Joel’s hands were on you, sliding up your thighs and under the flannel while he tugged you back into him.

“Joel—”

He interrupted your half-hearted protests with his lips pressed to yours, drawing moans from your mouth as he turned and lifted you easily, setting you on the edge of the counter to take you while you still wore his shirt.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remembered the first time you had found yourselves like this—pressed against the counter in your kitchen, your back to him as he fucked into you until you both found much-needed release, no matter how short, how temporary.

Now he held you tightly to him, rolling his hips into you at a leisurely pace, facing you fully with his lips pressed to yours again and again, taking all the time in the world with you.

Because that was what you had.

All the time in the world.

When you were finished, it didn’t last for long, only taking the time to clean up the mess you had made before you were scooped up into his arms, your bright laughter echoing through the house as he carried you up the stairs to have you again in his bed.

You would never get tired of being with him like this, and you knew he felt the same just from the words he murmured every time he was inside of you—murmurs of “fuck, sweetheart, so perfect, so good for me” and whimpers of “oh, mi luna, always want you, always.”

That late morning, when you were spent in his arms, cheek pressed against his chest to listen to his heartbeat slow back down to a calming pace, you found yourself saying quietly, “Hey, Joel?”

“Hm?” he hummed, fingers dragging up and down your spine in a lazy, affectionate manner, and you smiled against his skin before pulling yourself up so you could share his pillow with him.

“I’m gonna ask you something, just—” you cut yourself off, sighing as you felt your cheeks heat, avoiding his searching, curious gaze before you mumbled, “Just don’t laugh.”

“Mm,” he hummed again, arching an eyebrow as you looked back at him, and you smacked him in the chest as he teased, “No promises.”

“Fuck you,” you snapped, the harsh words devoid of any bite and instead filled with a fond warmth, and he chuckled, the sound softening you as you gazed into his eyes and asked, “Do you believe in other lives?”

Joel’s brow furrowed, clearly wondering what had brought this on as he looked over your face, but to his credit, he didn’t judge your line of thought as he replied truthfully, “I dunno, I’ve never really thought about it. Why?”

With a sigh, you traced the lines of his face with the tips of your fingers, grazing them over the scar near his temple as you answered, “I just…”

You shrugged, trying to avoid his gaze again as you suddenly felt self-conscious, stupid at the soft sentiment that you had been mulling over the past few nights.

But Joel was having none of that.

“Look at me.”

Even though the gentle, firm command made you blink in surprise, you followed it instantly, almost subconsciously as your gaze flickered up to meet his.

Joel searched your eyes, probably trying to find the reason for this unexpected question, and you distracted yourself from his quick calculation by glancing down his own body when he shifted himself to face you better.

Between his legs, you could see his cock was stirring again just from having you this close to him, half-hard and Jesus, even though he had just fucked you so well—twice—you still wanted him. You were sore and aching, blissed out from far more than one orgasm and you still wanted him.

Would you ever stop wanting him?

Biting your lip, you began to wonder if you could convince him to partake in a third round, and then maybe then you could bring it up, pour your soul out to him as you rode his dick that you watched twitch under your rapt attention.

Knowing that just the simplicity of your eyes on him evoked such a response from him, your desire for him eliciting his own desire for you, made your heart begin to race again, and, fuck, now you just wanted to—

Your name being muttered pulled your attention back as you began to fully space out, and you blinked a few times, looking up as Joel gently pushed you back onto the bed to hover over you.

His thumb brushed along the scar on your cheek, a story you had yet to tell him, just as he had yet to tell you the story of the one on his temple. You knew you would speak of each hidden part of your lives eventually, but you were in no rush, content in how you already knew him as well as you knew yourself.

“Look at me,” he murmured again, and you did.

Joel’s thumb moved to stroke along your chin and up the edge of your jaw, and your eyelashes fluttered, helpless to resist his request as he whispered, “Tell me.”

Licking your lips, you finally found the courage in his comforting warmth to say, “Do you think we found each other?”

Joel’s brow furrowed, still not following your line of thought, and you sighed quietly, heart racing in your chest as you clarified, “In another life.”

At the clarification, Joel’s face softened, his hand reaching back up to cup your cheek as his eyes locked with yours.

Open, honest, real, and you knew that if you did meet him in any other lives, you were without a doubt fated to helplessly fall for him all over again.

“Do you think we found each other in another life?” you asked quietly, breath trembling as you danced your fingers over his face, cupping his cheek in the same way he still held yours. “Where nothing bad ever happened to us?”

Joel’s lips were already pressed to yours, desperately kissing you as you finished the question, and you sighed into the affectionate action, knowing his answer even before he parted from you to speak.

“I hope so,” he whispered, bumping his nose against yours as he stole another kiss before laying back down to face you on his side again. “Sarah would have loved you.”

The genuine comment brought a surprised laugh from you, the sound nothing but fond as you smiled at him. “And my Little Star would have loved you.”

Joel returned your smile, wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you closer, his forehead resting against yours before he asked, “What would this life have looked like?”

You hummed in thought, resting your cheek against the pillow to glance over his face, the open, earnest affection in his deep brown gaze, considering the question before answering, “I go to school for photography, and my sister and I move in next door to you.”

“Interesting,” Joel said slowly, his brow arching as he smiled slowly at the scenario you were setting up. “Go on.”

“Well, you are absolutely smitten with me at first sight, of course,” you teased, heart racing as the word smitten left your lips, the description much closer to the feelings you shared for each other, but never dared to speak of directly, even now.

To his credit, Joel didn’t hesitate, his eyes filled with warmth that was only for you as he murmured without missing a beat, “Of course.”

Butterflies were taking flight in your stomach to fill your entire being, and you suddenly felt like you were in something as close to heaven as you could get, unable to help but grin as you continued, “My sister and Sarah become best friends. Tommy’s there too, of course—he comes over for dinner every Friday.”

“Damn, can’t get rid of him even in our fantasy,” Joel teased, and you smacked his shoulder, earning a deep chuckle from him that made your heart skip a beat.

“Every Saturday, we have our movie night, with all five of us,” you continued, speaking slowly, as if you didn’t want this fantasy to come to an end as you imagined it in the comfort of your shared bed with Joel. “With my feet in your lap, and you and Tommy complain about the acting while the girls laugh and tell you both to shut up.”

Joel’s smile was still on his face, but it softened even more into something you didn’t recognize, a look you had seen from him on occasion, one that made your heart race as you struggled to find the next words, “And on Sundays, we spend the mornings in bed, like this. You fuck me, and I kiss you, and you say—”

“I love you.”

Your heart stopped.

You looked at Joel, seeing his entire soul laid bare to you as he placed his heart into your hands without a second thought.

And then your heart started again, pounding against your chest as you licked your lips and whispered the truth you had known, deep down in your soul, for a long time, “I love you, too.”

Joel’s smile then could be described as almost giddy, his kisses nearly joyous as he pressed them to your lips and all over your face, and you laughed, wrapping your arms around him, limbs entangling as you rolled around in your bed and kissed and kissed until you both lost your breath.

When you settled again, foreheads pressed together as you tried to catch your breath, you asked quietly, “When did you know?”

Joel tucked a hair behind your ear, shrugging a shoulder as he answered, “I don’t know. I think I knew for a while, in some way.”

You hummed, giving your agreement to the sentiment in the sound as you gazed at each other, no more barriers left between you as he added softly, “I think that, when I met you—I could tell.”

Propping yourself up on your elbow, you raised an eyebrow as you asked, “Really?”

“Well,” he licked his lips, shifting onto his back to gaze up at you, his hand caressing your back as he explained, “Not love, but—there was some part of you that felt like a part of me.”

You softened then, tears nearly springing to your eyes as you knew exactly what he meant. It was a feeling you had experienced too, for a longer time than you think you even knew. Joel had always been a kindred spirit to you, not only in being a cold cynic, but in the loneliness deep inside his heart. For so long, you had no place to call home, and he was exactly the same.

And now he was your home, as you were his.

“Is that why you created those stupid fucking rules?” you asked, the comment eliciting a laugh out of him that you joined in with. “To keep me away?”

Joel’s thumb stroked along the small of your back, surprising you as he nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

You were struck silent for a moment, feeling an old ache in your chest that was only satisfied when you leaned down to kiss him again. “Well, you did a great job at keeping them.”

“Mm,” he hummed in content into your mouth, chasing your lips for another longer, deeper kiss when you pulled away. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

“Yeah,” you murmured, kissing him again before you laid on top of him, resting your head back onto his chest. “Me too.”

After a long moment of silence that was filled with nothing but an understanding for each other that rested in your souls, you spoke again.

“So it’s settled, then,” you said, raising your head back up to look down into his eyes. “You’ll find me in the next one.”

Joel smiled up at you, cupping your cheek as he pulled you down into a long, lingering kiss that told you everything you needed to know.

Still, he said it aloud, and you finally found peace with the four simple words.

“I’ll always find you.”

[captainsweet]

I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM SO NORMAL I AM- ←(Person who just watched mutant mayhem)

[an-actual-floof]

back from the landing party

(inspired lowkey by Nightvision by Susan K James. Fully a Spirk fic but the McCoy/Kirk dynamic making me weep a bit)

[bulbabutt]

donnie probably starts to say "that makes no sense" but he gets smacked by everyone

cass apocalypse au papa raph infested my brain i cant think of anything else but like.... i realized casey jr has a funny twisted gap between his front teeth and that probably grew in like a snaggle tooth and i made myself cry about it

[color-beyond-lines]

The scene between Alan and Dean (traitor) at the end of ep 10 is so so so good.

Alan, who sees his team as his family and his responsibility to take care of, facing the reality of Dean’s betrayal. And undoubtedly feeling partially responsible.

Dean, who was desperate for recognition and acted too rashly, facing the reality of what he’d done (even though he technically wasn’t at fault for the severity of the accident). And hopefully feeling regret.

Both of them breaking down over what they’d lost in the process.

Dean claims he had no future at X-Hunter, but Alan saw so much potential for him.

From anger to despair and the love for their little found family woven together through the years. I felt those tears and all the emotions that came with them.

The look on Alan’s face when he tells North to call the police. He knows he has to turn Dean in. But it physically pains him to have to do it. This is his family. Regardless of how f*cked up Dean’s actions were, it hurts.

I feel like we don’t see very many scenes like this, in bl or anything really. Sometimes the people we care about do something irreparable. So often, we see the anger. The punches. The fighting. And then that’s it. Relationship over. Goodbye.

But that’s not really representative of real life. We rarely feel only one emotion at a time. And feelings are never stable, they’re always fluctuating. This scene understands that. Beyond the anger is grief. Because this betrayal means loss. Loss of family. Loss of future.

Severing a relationship with someone you’re close with is difficult, even if one of you did something to warrant it. Love doesn’t vanish instantly.

(Now hugs for everyone pls)

[catlailasgf]

trk rant! (spoilers)

can't stop thinking about neil in trk when he genuinely believed his future would end with him dying in may, so with the time he thought he had left he used it to do things he never thought he would,

he actually put in effort to get to know the rest of the foxes, learning things about them; such as renee's birth name being natalie, dani wanting to coach her own exy team rather than going pro, matt idolising his mother and more,

he told little truths about himself, about the real neil, not the neil he portrays himself as. that is so heart wrenching to me to the point it made my heart burst, 8 years of his life was spent running and constantly lying about every. little. thing. playing the new person he rebirths as when he travels to a different state or country or continent. so for him to share that he hates vegetables but loves fruit, his favourite colour is grey, and he doesnt like loud music or movies (weirdo but ily anyway) makes my chest ache so bad i get goosebumps.

he stopped thinking about his future, and started to try live in the present, for as long as he thinks he has left.

neil josten i love you so much :(