#thank you alyssa lane

[spenglernot]

STORIES TELLING: NED LOWE AND THE DEATH OF POOR REPRESENTATION IN OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

In history, Ned Lowe was one of the most sadistic and violent pirates in the early 18th century, so he’s an obvious choice for a villain for season 2, episode 6 – Calypso’s Birthday.  What is interesting is what the OFMD writers chose to do with him.

Lowe announces himself to the crew of the Revenge with great fanfare (cannon ball attack) and gets right to the point.

Ed is thoroughly unimpressed.

Cut to Ed and Stede tied up while Ned attempts to set the mood so he can monologue about why he wants to kill Ed.

Ed knows what’s coming. He is going to suffer but he still can’t be arsed to meet Ned with anything but vaguely bored dismissiveness (and Stede is happy to play along).

Up on the deck, Ned prepares the crew for his big, dramatic moment of symphonic torture.

Note that the Revenge crew is tied down, braced by vices and generally unable to protect themselves from imminent torture and possible death, but their spirits are up. They don’t seem terribly fussed.

Then Stede uses his people positive management style to happily orchestrate a worker uprising in Ned’s crew.

Ned’s crew responds instantly; severing their allegiance to Lowe and telling him off.

The crew sails away and talks profit sharing while Ned dully threatens to hunt them down.

Ned is now a prisoner of the Revenge crew and seems entirely disinterested in his own survival.

And Ned sinks to the depths, without struggling at all.

There is a lot going on in this episode: pay and labor equity direct action, gay love engagement bliss, kink humor, Stede being a hero and saving his crew by playing to his strengths, then having to decide whether to kill in cold blood and feel the consequences of that choice. Ed having one more reason to be done with piracy (while being so impressed with and fond of Stede), and then watching his man make a fraught choice and having to deal with the fallout from that. (And, damn, I haven’t even mentioned the passionate sex bit.) Anyway, back to the point.

Now for the the meta part

The Ned Lowe sequences are perfectly in keeping with OFMD’s signature blend of madcap violence, humor, and big emotional gut punches. But something about Ned Lowe just strikes me as off for this show.

Ned is seriously threatening the crews’ lives, so why don’t they take him seriously?

Why does Ned have such a boring, throwaway backstory?

Why is Ned so nonchalant about his own death; like it’s a foregone conclusion?

Why does Ned have a silver violin and silver spurs on his slip-on dress shoes?

Why is Ned sartorially monochromatic?

And then I realized who Ned reminds me of.

This guy,

Earnst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever (1971)

And this guy,

Scar in Disney's The Lion King (1994).

And this guy,

Xerxes, 300 (2006).

And it sure seems like Ned Lowe isn’t just an episodic villain. He is an archetype of the one-dimensional, stereotypical queer-coded villain that has been endemic in film and television throughout history. The OFMD writers have a lot to say about what to do with this kind of character:

Don’t respect him.

Feel free to openly mock him.

Don’t let him take your joy, even though he will hurt you.

He won’t disappear on his own. You have to throw something at him (take action) to make him go away.

Once he’s in the water, he’s content to drown. He’s not into what he’s doing any more than you are.

Oh and, just to be clear,

The LGBTQIA+ community has a very long history of turning shit media into better stories. So, hey, big media, prepare to have your crap characters wrecked (improved).

Now, back to our transformative pirate show with rich, complex queer characters and a multi-layered plot that surprises me every week and makes me feel big feelings - most of all, joy.

Final thought: I do wonder if Ned Lowe is monochromatically silver as a tribute to/poke at, Hollywood and the silver screen.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

[we-may-still-have-time]

I just keep rewatching the last few minutes of "The Innkeeper" and weeping.

[ofmdrecaps]

11/11-12/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Alex Sherman/Alyssa Lane; Samson Kayo; Dominic Burgess; Vico Ortiz; Tim Heidecker; OFMD Crew Bsky Lists/Starter Packs! ; Adopt Our Crew; Fan Spotlight: OFMFF, Never Left Podcast, PatchworkPirateBear; Trans Existence Sticker Fundraiser; Citizen Dame; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

Hey crew! Gonna be talking a lot about blusky tonight just cause that was the big thing that happened these past couple days! Not only did the OFMD fandom take a huge leap over there, but a bunch of cast & crew followed as well! How cool is that?

== David Jenkins ==

David sharing some love from our fellow crewmates <3

Source: David Jenkins Instagram

And getting us all riled up over on Bsky!

Source: David Jenkins Bsky

Spreading the love <3

Source: David's Bsky

And in case you didn't have enough to scream about.

Source: David's Bsky

== Rhys Darby ==

There's a heck of a lot going on with Rhys right now! Edinburgh Fringe Night 5 Full vid out on Cryptid Factor Patreon!

Source: The Cryptid Factor Patreon

Some pictures from October of Rhys in Toronto!

Source: James Rogue Comedy

Bsky Info: There's a section below with everyones Blusky, Rhys isn't posting anything yet, but Rosie did set him up with an account, and special thanks to catski22 who was kind enough to alert Rosie to save the https://bsky.app/profile/rhysiedarby.bsky.social profile! She's responsible for us getting this lovely new profile pic!

Not enough Rhys content? No problem!

New Atlanta Comedy Special available for November 29, 30 & December 1st! Check out Helium Comedy for tickets!

Source: Rhys' Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

The new Holiday Short from Disney is out!

Source: Youtube

Another quick pick of Taika and Rita at the MTV EMAs!

Source: Joe Castro Insta

== Con O'Neill ==

David and Con starting up the chaos on Blusky!

Source: Con's Bsky

== Alex Sherman ==

Alex Sherman is ALSO on blusky and he sent us a lovely picture of Alyssa Lane (one of our writers) and some awesome extras from S1 <3

Source: Alex Sherman's Blusky

== Dominic Burgess ==

Dominic has made the switch from twitter to Blusky since people were being right jerks to him there! In celebration he sent us some lovely kitty photos! Feline Fettering Clan for the win!

Source: Dominic's Blusky

== Samson Kayo ==

Samson out with friends at a bday party <3

Source: IsThatFoot Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico is going to be hosting an In-Person Voiceover workshop Dec , 11-3pm in LA1 To learn more, visit ACTNOWLA!

Source: Act Now LA's Instagram

Did you get a chance to get out to the Boys Night Out Stand Up Comedy that went on in LA on the 12th?

Source: Vico's Instagram Stories

== Lindsey Cantrell ==

Our fabulous set designer Lindsey is out here signed the Certificate of Authenticities for the Tiny Boats Raffle going on by @ofmd-buys-boats!

Source: Lindsey Cantrell Instagram Stories

== Tim Heidecker ==

Our beloved Doug has a podcast up on Patreon! You can check it out here!

Source: Tim Heideckers' Bsky

== BlueSky Lists ==

As OFMDTwt Migrates over to blusky, lots of folks have been utilizing lists and starter packs to help find cast & crew and fellow crewmates!

Starter Packs:

Looks for a starter pack of the OFMD Cast & Crew? Michelle, aka longmayheroam over on bsky put together this Starter Pack!

Lists

OFMD Cast & CrewList: Several crewmates have been putting together a cast post list! Super special thanks to @jilliansauers who is apparently amazing at finding cast members!

OFMD Fluff Feed by ManicFanfic! - Wanna get your fluff on? Our friend ManicFanfic put together this great feed!

OFMD List by whores.horse: Our Flag Means Death feed :) mention "OFMD", "our flag means death", or "ourflagmeansdeath" to be included in this feed

OFMD Refs by @roximonoxide! - A feed for OFMD References and Production BTS #OFMDBTS #OFMDRefs #OFMDWardrobe #OFMDSetDesign #OFMDProps

Do you happen to have any good starter packs for Feeds for OFMD Fans? Please reach out!

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew have been boosting up the engagement on Bsky by asking our fellow crew some fun questions! If you're over on Bsky please give them a shout out on what you think! Don't have their bsky yet? Check them out here!

Source: AdoptOurCrew Bsky

They also asked what your favorite Laugh Out Loud moment was! If you're on Bsky please let them know!

Souce: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

OFMFF is also on Bsky!

= Never Left Podcast =

New episode of Never Left! This time the Run Me Through Awards Part 1! I can't wait to see what that's all about! Btw, NeverLeft Podcast is over on Bsky as well!

Source: Never Left Podcast Insta

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

Our dear friend @patchworkpiratebear made a colouring page for Halloween and I completely forgot to post it! Check it out! Since I'm sharing everyones Bsky's today, they're also available there!

Source: Patchwork Pirate Bear's Tumblr

= Citizen Dame =

It's been a while since I updated but there's lots of new episodes of Citizen Dame's Patreon Exclusive OFMD watch! They're up to Calypso's Birthday!

Source: Citizen Dame's Patreon

= Trans Existence Sticker Fundraiser =

Our darling crewmate @bbyteach has put together this awesome sticker (there's two versions) and is working on a fundraiser to help local NYC mutual aid funds! You can put in an order on their Ko-fi! Or Donate directly!

Source: @bbyteach's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. I hope you know just how much you mean to one another. One of the big things that came from people leaving twitter and joining other platforms, is how much love that's been going around. I've seen quite a lot of people mentioning just how much OFMD has meant to them and their families in case they couldn't find folks on other platforms, and it's been so very heartwarming.

I've also seen some pretty scary things... and people banding together to help each other. I know sometimes it's hard to see when we're in the thick of it-- but we really are stronger together. Even if everyone doesn't always get along fandomwise-- you all step up when things are tough, and that's what crew is all about, and it's beautiful.

You're beautiful.

Remember to be kind to yourself no matter what happens today. You deserve the same kindness you give, even when you don't have it in you that day. Take care lovelies, be well.

Source: NewHappyCo Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is just sillyness. Gifs courtesy of the gif-master generals @bizarrelittlemew and @meluli!

[ourflagmeansbts]

Source (Season 2 - January 10th 2024)

jesthekid: Another chapter closes. I wish I had more fun OFMD bts to show you, but it's a strange thing to be tv writing in the age of zoom & covid—being both intimately entwined with the making of something but also totally distant, having never gotten to visit set or even meet many of the people I was working with irl. So here's where a lot of my action went down: in the texts. Thank you @dvidjenkins @cryptostein @alexj_sherman Alyssa Lane @nataliesnorres @elidelsol @zayreferrer John Mahone @maddiedai @zackeryastephens. I'm grateful to have been dreaming deranged pirate shit with u all on zoom. And thank you to the fans, many of whom have come out to support my comedy bc they love OFMD so much. I promise I'll always be making h-word queer comedy for u. I hope you'll continue to support all of us who worked on the show as we go on to do our lil things. As Ed said, "bye bye" (but spoiler: he comes back later) 🏴‍☠️🍊🧜🏼‍♂️

[hughesmedicine]

bowling night | m. estapa

mark estapa x !duke reader

it was hard to find good couple bowling pics👎

on marks post imagine the guy has his hair color since ^^

markestapa posted to his story

caption: date with my girl💙 @ynduke

yourusername

liked by markestapa, dylanduke25 and others.

ynduke could say date night was pretty successful, thank you for the night out my love I love you❤️(and thank you for the best birthday ever<3)

tagged markestapa

load more comments…

markestapa happy birthday babe I love you and always welcome for the nights out💙 now time to drink(responsibly)!

ynduke thank you!! (totally responsible) so race you to the bar??

markestapa you’re so on!

dylanduke25 date: a social or romantic appointment or engagement.

ynduke please don’t do that here

dylanduke25 okay rude you should appreciate my definitions since I’m educating you!

ynduke but I’m already educated on a date??

dylanduke25 tomato tomahto

ynduke I hate you.

nolan_moyle okay but where was my invite??

ynduke please you should’ve came! we could have whooped marks ass together then I would have beat you!

nolanmoyle why are you so cocky??

ynduke I blame my brothers.

tyler__duke5 should be blaming alyssa that’s her field.

dylanduke25 ^

alyssa_duke being cocky is not my field that’s 100% you three!

nolan_moyle have to agree with her boys and girl, you three together are cocky central.

ynduke you’re uninvited.

nolan_moyle no I’m sorry I take it back!

ynduke too late.

rutgermcgroarty happy birthday y/n and duker!!

ynduke thank you rut!

dylanduke25 thanks man!

markestapa

liked by ynduke, dylanduke25, edwards73 and others.

markestapa when she’s better at bowling than you>>

happy birthday sweet girl I’m glad today was the best day for you but the nights not finished enjoy your party tonight! We celebrate for as long as you want. Thank you for being the best thing to come into my life since going to umich, couldn’t have asked for a better second year with you❤️

tagged ynduke

load more comments..

ynduke I’m sobbing you can’t just do this to me. I love you so much and I cant wait for more years with you<3

nolan_moyle someone else should pull a duker this time

dylanduke25 do it cap

nolan_moyle okay give me a sec

nolan_moyle bowling the game of tenpin bowling as a sport or recreation

dylanduke25 okay not bad but wasn’t gonna do the definition

nolanmoyle that’s concerning?

dylanduke25 here’s how to play bowling.

1: Understand the bowling lane. before you begin to bowl, you have to understand the function of the bowling lane. A bowling lane is 60 feet (18.3 m) long from the foul line, the line closest to the bowler, to the head pin, the pin closest to the bowler. There are gutters on either side of the bowling lane. If a ball veers off the lane, it goes into the gutters and is out of play. The approach area is 15 feet (4.6 m) long and ends at the foul line. The bowler cannot overstep the foul line during their approach or their shot won't count. If a ball goes into the gutters and then bounces out and hits the pins, it won't count.

2:Understand the bowling pins. Ten pins are arranged at the end of the bowling lane at the beginning of every frame. They are arranged in a triangle formation, with the point of the triangle facing the bowler. There is one pin in the first row, which is the head pin, two pins in the second row, three in the third, and four in the fourth. The locations of the pins are assigned numbers 1-10. The pins in the back row have the numbers 7-10, the pins in the row above the back row are numbered 4-6, the pins in the second row are numbered 2-3, and the head pin is pin 1. All pins will earn the bowler one point if they are hit. The numbers are based on location, not value.

3: Learn the lingo. Before you can call yourself a true bowler, you should be aware of a few different bowling terms. Knowing these terms will also make it much easier for you to understand the rules. Here they are. A strike is when you knock down all the pins with the ball on your first try. A spare is when you knock down all the pins on your second try. A split is when the first ball of a frame knocks down the headpin (the pin closest to you) but leaves two or more pins that are non-adjacent. It's tough to hit a spare in this situation, especially if you have a 7-10 split, which is the hardest split to hit. A turkey is three strikes in a row. If any pins remain after the bowler's turn, it's called an "open frame."

4: Understand how a game of bowling works.One bowling game consists of 10 frames. Each frame is equal to one turn for the bowler. The bowler's objective is to knock down as many pins as possible in a frame, ideally all of them. A bowler can roll the ball twice in each frame, provided that they do not hit a strike. A bowler gets an extra turn on the tenth frame if they knock down all the pins on the first turn.

5: Learn the scoring. If a bowler has an open frame, then they simply get credit for the number of pins they knocked down. If a bowler knocked down 6 pins after two turns, they simply get two turns. However, if a bowler hits a spare or a strike, the rules get slightly more complicated. If a bowler hits a spare, then they should place a slash mark on their score sheet. After their next turn, they will receive 10 points plus the number of pins they knock down with that turn. So if they knock down 3 pins after their first turn, then they will get 13 points before their second turn. If they then knock down 2 pins in their second turn, they get a total of 15 points for that round. If a bowler hits a strike, they should record an X on their scoresheet. The strike will earn the bowler ten points plus the number of pins knocked down on the player's next two turns in the following round. The most a bowler can score in one game is 300 points. This represents 12 strikes in a row, or 120 pins that were knocked down in 12 frames. A perfect game has 12 strikes and not ten, because if the bowler gets a strike on the last frame, then they can take two more turns. If those two turns are also strikes, they will have 300 points. If a player rolls a spare in the last frame, then they can take one more turn.

ynduke I’m just at a loss of words.

aylssa_duke you putting all your time into this is impressive.

nolan_moyle this made me love you even more

markestapa okay but you going and getting all this information from a website just for a comment is pretty crazy😭 I applaud you man

dylanduke25 please I didn’t have to look it up knew this all by heart

ynduke okay yeah that’s concerning.

tyler__duke5 A+ bro thanks for teaching me about bowling!

adamfantilli thanks duker now I can go teach Gavin how to bowl correctly thanks!

g.brindley4 I know how to bowl correctly wtf??

adamfantilli you don’t, remember the ceiling mishap?

g.brindley4 oh yeah

fan1 so duker commenting all about bowling is so concerning, need to know if he took a bowling class😭

ynduke oh he did! Took it for two years.

tyler__duke5 it was hell, he wouldn’t shut up about it.

lhughes_06 I got to hear all of it so you guys are lucky.

dylanduke25 you said you liked me talking about bowling so that’s your fault lukey!

lhughes_06 don’t call me that.

ynduke everyone should call you lukey now

lhughes_06 god please don’t

edwards.73 lukey on the back of his devils jersey, I would buy one also happy birthday y/n I love you!

ynduke about to text Jack to ask for Lindys number! and thank you son I love you too!!

lhughes_06 mark quick take her phone away

ynduke got it pal-mark

markestapa got his phone and it has lindys number in it thanks bye!

lhughes_06 im on my way.

woah okay I’m actually shocked I finish this and it’s long sorry 😭 all the bowling stuff is from wiki so creds to there! Expect some more insta fics throughout out the day till I work🖤 also yes I know insta comments can’t be that long but who cares lmao👎

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

Young American - Part 22**^

Ahhh, it's been a long while since I have posted for this series! I lost a bit of interest and got a little discouraged, but we're back! This will be the second to last chapter of this series!

Series masterlist

Warnings: everything about pregnancy, hand job, graphic descriptions of birth, mentions of being estranged from family, loving/gentle breast groping, arguing, mentions of abusive exes, accusations of infidelity, lying/sneaking around

WC: 16.1K

…. APRIL …

Y/N was 28 weeks along now and Harry hadn’t failed to let her know that the baby was in fact the size of a large aubergine and well, she couldn’t really help the horrified expression on her face as she visualized what the size of a large eggplant actually was. She still had a couple months to go, so she couldn’t even imagine how big the baby actually got. She couldn’t help but feel awful about the baby still having plenty to grow. She had been thinking about how quickly she’d wait to give their son a sibling, but now she was a bit hesitant about it. Despite her nerves, she finished getting ready for their little baby shower/house warming party with family and friends. 

Apart from this being the baby shower/house warming party, today was also going to be special because they intended on sharing with Harry’s family that they were indeed going to be naming the baby after Harry’s grandfather. They wanted to do that as privately as possible because they knew it would be something emotional for them. So after their other guests left after their brunch, they would have a dinner with everyone that had been able to make it from his family. Julie had also arrived a few days earlier and well, there was a small surprise in this for her too.

Y/N was having a nice time getting to know more of Harry’s family and friends and of course, bonding even more with the people she’d already met previously. Seeing Harry with his friends was really nice, she hadn’t really gotten to know them yet because she’d been setting up their house and well, she couldn’t drive in England yet (the one time Harry had taken her out for a spin to practice and told her to go right she ended up in the wrong lane and a delivery truck was coming and she panicked and almost crashed into a fence), but also she didn’t just want to drop by the shop randomly when he was working such long sessions, so she’d been alone a lot with Hillary and they’d grown quite close. She felt that spending all this time with her was healing the grief she felt for her own grandmother. Hillary was a lot more talkative and more of a riot than her grandmother had been, she was also a lot more receptive and openminded about a lot of things. Hillary had even expressed to Y/N her interest in getting a tattoo for Charlie, the way he had done for her, and this had Y/N crying over how cute she was. And now that Julie was here she was sure she’d have more company, especially as she got closer and closer to her due date.

“Hey love, you’re out of napkins.” One of Harry’s co-workers came up to her as she preoccupied herself with picking up some of the empty aluminum trays they had on the food table.

“Oh, thanks for telling me! I’ll go grab some.” She smiled and hurried into the house, well hurried as much as she could with a large eggplant-sized baby in her tummy. She set the empty trays down and then opened up a new packet of the napkins to take out. She was just about to head back out when Alyssa came in with a sour look on her face. 

“Hey Y/N, sorry to bug you, but have you got any sparkling water?” She asked and Y/N nodded.

“Yeah, of course.” She said and turned to the fridge, “Are you alright?” She asked as she looked inside.

“I suddenly got very queasy.” Alyssa explained and Y/N frowned.

“Ugh, was it the food? I told H we should’ve just left the eggs and sausages inside, it’s a bit warm out.” She explained, “We’ve got lemon and blackberry flavors.”

“Lemon, please.” She said, “But, no the food was alright. I don’t see anyone else having issues.” She said with a smile as Y/N handed her the cold bottle.

“Could you perhaps be…pregnant?” She asked as Alyssa opened up the bottle and upon hearing that she sighed and looked up into her eyes apologetically.

“Ummm, yeah actually, I am.” She confirmed nervously and Y/N’s smile grew wide.

“Oh my god! Congrats! When did you find out?!” She asked happily and Alyssa seemed relieved at her reaction.

“Just a few days ago. I’m about 10 weeks along.” She said with a bright smile and Y/N cooed, “We haven’t told anyone though! We’ve been trying to keep it under wraps a bit since it’s your baby shower week and we didn’t want to steal your thunder with an announcement yet-”

“Oh my god, no! Don’t even worry about that.” Y/N giggled happily, “If you want to share it tonight at dinner with everyone please do! We’ve got some news of our own to share so it’ll be nice to share this with your family while they’re all here.” Y/N assured.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! This is great news, Aly.” Y/N insisted.

“Oh, thank you so much. I’ve been trying so hard not to talk about it.” She confessed through a laugh and Y/N shook her head as she giggled.

“Oh no, this is such big news! But I promise, it’s not a problem with me and I’m sure Harry won’t mind either.” She assured her and she thanked her again, feeling relieved.

“I’ll let Nathan know, he’s been shooting me tortured looks all morning just from looking at the baby stuff.” She said and Y/N pouted.

“Awww, poor guy. He must be so excited.” 

“Yeah, he’s over the moon.” She said with a happy smile, “What’s your news? You’re not having twins are you?” She asked and Y/N’s eyes widened and she shook her head quickly.

“Good God, no!” She laughed and Alyssa burst into laughter as well at her response, “Harry’s got this thing where each week he’ll tell me the size of the baby and like it’s so sweet, he gets really excited about it. But this morning he let me know that baby is the size of a large aubergine and I started to panic.” She confessed and Alyssa looked concerned.

“Isn’t that like birthing size already?” She asked in shock.

“Right?! Like if he’s already that big and I’ve still got 12 freaking weeks to go… I don’t even want to know how big the baby will get after today!” She giggled and Alyssa nodded as well.

“Oh god… well, for selfish reasons I’m really glad we’re pregnant at the same time so that I have someone to gripe about this with.” She said and Y/N nodded through a smile.

“Oh definitely! Also, since my aunt Julie had cancer for several years I’ve got tons of natural remedies to help with nauseas and other weird symptoms you might have if you ever need it. Never in my life have I been more grateful for having to look after her and look into all of this stuff because it’s really helped with the pregnancy.”

“Oh I can imagine… is she alright now, your aunt?”

“Yeah, she’s in remission now.” Y/N smiled as she confirmed that and Alyssa looked relieved.

“That’s really great. I’m happy to hear it.”

“Thank you.” Y/N smiled, “Ummm, but our news is just sharing what we’ve decided to name the baby.” She disclosed softly.

“Oh, what’s it gonna be?” Alyssa asked with curious and excited eyes.

“Ummm, we’re naming him after your grandfather, Charlie, well Charles.” She said and Alyssa’s eyes softened at the news.

“Really?” She asked softly, trying to keep her voice down.

“Yeah. Harry has always talked about him to me and I know they were so close.” she said and Alyssa nodded, “And well, I’ve gotten rather close to your grandmother over the last few months being here and it just seemed like the best thing.” She said with a smile.

“Oh, everyone’s gonna love it! I know Gemma really wanted to name Archie that, but she let Skye pick the first name and she got the middle name and decided to give him Marc after their dad. She’s still a bit annoyed at Skye for naming their son Archibald but…what can we do now?” She giggled and Y/N laughed softly.

“Right…I mean he can always change it when he’s older if he hates it!”

“That’s true…” Alyssa laughed softly. “Look, I know you’re probably sick and tired of hearing the same thing from everyone, but really thank you so much for being patient with Harry and giving him a chance.” She said, “He’s literally the best person I’ve ever known and for a long time we all thought that he would just wither away. Like…we missed him, but it was also good to not have to see him the way he was. And we had also accepted that he would probably never come back from America…” she said and Y/N frowned, “It was really bad, Y/N. The person he is right now, that person didn’t exist for years.” She explained, “I think that’s why we all love you so much, he’s got his spark back.” She explained.

“Yeah, but he’s worked hard on himself too. I’ve believed in him all this time and stayed by his side, but I can’t take credit for the person he’s always been, that’s all him.” She said to Alyssa, “He also helped me a lot, so I think we just…found each other at the right time.”

“Well, whatever it was, we’re just all really grateful for you and we wish you both all the best. S’one of the reasons why we decided to hold off on the news of our baby because H deserves to be celebrated and to have his time, especially when he’s finally living a life with everything he’s ever wanted.” 

“Well, I do appreciate your consideration with that, but I promise you he’ll be really excited for you as well.”

“I’m hoping for a boy, so that would work out really well with your baby!” She smiled, “If they’re close in age they’ll be like each other’s siblings. Don’t know if I’ll want to do this again after hearing the aubergine thing.” She confessed and Y/N laughed.

“That was my exact thought this morning!” She admitted.

She had fluttered back outside shortly after her chat with Aly, she was playing hostess and Harry had been really sweet, encouraging her to just sit down and relax, but she just wanted to make sure everything was going perfectly. They did a little gift opening thing and they thanked everyone for showing up and soon they were starting to clean up. She was quite exhausted if she were to be honest and her back was aching something awful from all the walking around. She had just leaned against the wall for a second to let the ache subside but soon she felt Harry behind her as he hugged her and smushed his cheek to her head.

“Baby, please take a break. You’ve been fluttering around all morning!” He said and she sighed.

“Of course, I’ve been hosting! And I didn’t want to keep interrupting you with your friends and family.” She said and he tutted.

“Yeah, but you should’ve, it’s our party, love. You can’t do it all, you’ve gotta take it easy, you can say you’re fine but you look exhausted. I appreciate you wanting to give me time with my family and friends, but not at your expense, my love.” He reprimanded her very gently and she sighed.

“I am pretty winded.” She admitted through a smile and he sighed and shook his head, “But I don’t get to do anything all day so I’m also taking advantage, OK?”

“Sure thing.” He said softly before kissing her cheek. He straightened her out a bit and she winced, “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” He was quickly before her and assessing any visible part of her.

“Nothing, s’just our giant eggplant-sized baby is a little heavy.” She said, “Kinda hurts to stand up straight.”

“Babe.” He frowned, “let me get you upstairs so you can lie down for a bit-”

“Harry, it’s fine.” Y/N giggled, “It’s just a bit sore. Comes with the territory.”

“Yeah, because you’ve been doing too much. They can handle cleaning up-”

“But that’s not fair-“

“They understand, babe. C’mon, let’s go.” He insisted and started guiding her to the staircase, “I’m gonna pick you up-”

“Don’t you dare!” She laughed as they reached the bottom of the stairs, “If you misstep the three of us will get really hurt.” She reminded with caution in her eyes.

“You’re right…let’s go slow then.”

“I’d rather get up there faster than take five minutes to get up there.” She said and he sighed.

“You’re being stubborn.”

“Harry, I know my limits. It’s fine.” She assured him and he sighed.

“Fine. Up you go.” He said starting to walk her up with a hand at her lower back. The warmth from his hand there was helping a bit and when they finally made it into their bedroom he helped her lay down and even put one of the throw pillows under her legs to even out her spine. She was still really tense as she was slightly struggling to just relax, she knew it would ache when she relaxed, but she finally just surrendered to it and she winced as all of her weight just rested onto the bed and her body took several moments to adjust. “Should I get the hot water bottle or give you a little back rub?” He asked her and she hummed with her eyes still squeezed shut.

“A little back rub sounds nice.” She said and he smiled.

“OK. Let me just let everyone know we’re up here.” He said and she hummed and he hurried out. She did kind of hate this, she knew it would only get worse from here on out. Maybe she should relocate to the guest bedroom downstairs and also buy herself one of those maternity pillows. She was starting to regret telling Harry it was a stupid purchase, but it was just so expensive for no reason at all. Harry was only gone a couple of minutes before he came back and settled into their bed beside her and rubbed at her lower back with his warm hands.

“Thank you, baby.” She hummed tiredly.

“Of course, my love.” He whispered and then a silence fell between them for a moment, “Can I tell you a secret?” He asked.

“Of course. Always! I love secrets!” She grinned and he chuckled.

“Nathan accidentally let it slip to me that Aly’s pregnant.” He said and she smiled.

“Oh my god, I know! 10 weeks! She told me earlier.” Y/N beamed.

“Really? He said she was trying to keep it a secret for a bit more.”

“Yeah, but she was nauseous and we got to talking and she just came out with it.” Y/N said, “I told her to announce it while a good chunk of the family is here.”

“I told Nathan the same thing. He was gonna talk to her.” He said and she giggled.

“Love that we thought the same thing. I think it’ll just be another little thing to make this day special. She’s so sweet, didn’t want to take the attention off of our day, but I assured her it was perfectly fine. It’s wonderful news.” She said and Harry hummed in agreement.

“I love you so much, you know that?”

“Mhmmm, you tell me every day.”

“And if I ever forget to, you have my permission to put me back in line.” He joked and she giggled.

“You know, even if you don’t say it I still feel it. Like it’s in the way you look at me or talk to me…I don’t think I’ve ever felt like you’ve not shown it to me before.”

“That makes me happy.” He said, “I feel it too.” He added in and she smiled.

“Good. I told Aly about our announcement too. She was really happy about that. I’m really happy she’s also having a baby, we’ll have plenty of things to talk about and bond over. And you know, I was thinking that if Aly has a little boy too then maybe we can just have the one, you know?”

“Just one?!” He asked with a chuckle and she giggled.

“Baby, as much as this has been such a special experience, I don’t know if I’d want to do this again. It’s been…lovely but also…like having a baby can’t be a fun thing.” She confessed and he chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s probably true.” He hummed, “And really it’s whatever you want, I’d make fifteen babies with you if you wanted them!” He said and she squeaked out a sound that made him laugh, “But if one’s enough for you, then that’s fine with me too. S’not like I’m doing any of the heavy lifting.” He said as he stroked over her belly with his other hand.

“Thank you for understanding. But like I said, if Aly ends up having a little girl we can try for another one and hope for a little brother for baby Charlie.” She said and he smiled and she gasped as she was suddenly on her back and Harry kissed her deeply.

“Yeah… but we’d have to have them quickly.” He said and she giggled.

“How quickly?”

“If we can have them share a nursery that’d be ideal. Like 11 to 14 months apart would be good.” He said and she laughed.

“Not even gonna give me a break…” she sighed and he chuckled and then Y/N winced again, “Ow…fuck…” she whined.

“S’the matter?”

“This child is kicking around and got lodged up on my side.” She winced and rubbed over her side for a bit until the baby repositioned itself.

“S’kinda gross if you think about it…he’s just hanging out in there, swimming around…”

“Yeah, it really is.” She giggled along with him.

“OK, m’gonna shut up now and let you have a nap.” He said and she giggled as he helped get her back onto her side and he continued rubbing her lower back until she had fallen asleep.

“Hi darling, dinner’s going to be ready and served in about 15 minutes.” Y/N heard Anne’s voice gently rousing her.

“Oh god, what time is it?” She asked groggily.

“S’ about 6:30.”

“Oh great, not gonna sleep tonight.” She said with a tired huff and Anne chuckled, “I think you’ll be alright, the more and more the baby grows the more exhausted you’ll be.” She assured. “Do you need me to pull you up?” She asked.

“Please.” Y/N said and Anne smiled as she helped her sit up. “I’m just gonna freshen up really quick.”

“Do you want me to wait and help you get down the stairs?”

“It’s alright, I can still manage.” Y/N assured and Anne nodded and headed out of their bedroom. Of course, Y/N’s mascara had smudged at her lower lash lines and her made up skin had gotten a bit oily and splotchy, so she started to clean that up and once she finished she realized that she had a stain on her shirt and headed into her and Harry’s closet to grab another top. She had just thrown hers into the hamper when Harry came into the closet.

“There you are.” He said and she smiled.

“Yeah, sorry just changing my top, had food dripped on mine.” She explained as she looked through her hangers to find something else. 

Harry just took her in for a moment because she was absolutely gorgeous. Her body was a definitely a masterpiece before she was pregnant and he was so excited to get that version of her back so that he could do all of the wild things he’d been dying to do to her but couldn’t because of her current, fragile state. But seeing her like this, glowing and pregnant with his baby no less…it only made him marvel at her and love her more, but it also did things to him that he’d never felt before. In a way, it fed his ego, knowing that he did that to her. He was responsible for her and their baby, it swelled him with pride and with a ferocious and completely unconditional need for her. He felt a bit misogynistic for it sometimes, but how could he not find her so fucking sexy when she was literally carrying the most perfect product of their love for each other? He knew it wasn’t her sole purpose, but her body had literally been built to withstand all of it and then some! It just left him in complete awe of her every time he thought of it.

“What?” She asked upon feeling his intense stare and he blinked a few times as he smiled.

“You look incredible.” His voice was so gentle and sincere as he complimented her and she smiled bashfully. She loved when he’d do this because she didn’t feel incredible a lot of the time now. She felt big and slow and tired. “So fucking perfect.” He said as he stepped closer to her and grabbed her face gently but kissed her hungrily. Y/N felt her entire body tingle at his sudden romantic gesture. Harry’s tongue pushed into her mouth as he brought his hands to her bottom, groping her as he pushed her closer to him. He was so fucking hard and she sighed breathily as she got her hand in between them to rub him through his jeans. Moments later she brought her other hand over to start undoing his button and fly. “Mmmwhat…what’re you doing?” He whispered.

“Need to make you come.” She said and he moaned softly as she reached into his briefs to pull his cock out.

“Shit, baby they’re gonna be waiting for us-”

“Not if you come quickly.” She said and he chuckled breathily as she started stroking his cock between their bodies. “Fuck, you’re already so fucking hard for me.” She panted breathily.

“Yeah, you get me so worked up, baby.” He grinned down at her and she smiled and tiptoed to kiss him quickly before nuzzling her nose to his. Harry moaned as he watched her slip her hand down the front of her leggings and she rubbed her fingers back and forth a few times before she drew them back out and wrapped them around his cock again, all slick and warm with her own arousal and he sighed at the smooth glide of her strokes now that his cock was lubricated with her arousal.

“S’this OK?” She whispered. 

“A little faster, my love…shit, just like that.” He sighed in relief as she set a new pace and he leaned further into her, gasping as she gently squeezed around the head, “Fuck, baby…fuck!” He groaned lowly and soon she started gliding up and down his shaft again with a tighter fist and his abs started to clench and his fingers dug into her ass hard.

“Gonna come for me, baby?” She asked softly and he nodded with his eyes squeezed shut, “Good boy, wanna see you shoot out a nice, big load for me.” She encouraged him and he moaned again.

“Fuck babygirl, I’ll give you so much fucking cum. Just keep going like that I’m so fucking close.” He grunted as quietly as possible as he started to thrust into her fist as well. Every time he’d buck up his tip would collide with the bottom of her belly and he looked forward to the short moment of friction before he’d pull back and do it again. It was the steady flicker of pleasure that was building him up at a rapid pace. He started going a bit harder and he started to lose his mind.

“Y/N, Harry? Are two still in here?” They heard Anne calling them and Harry bit his lip to keep his noises in and Y/N grinned up at him and squeezed tighter around his cock and his eyes rolled back as his head dropped back and accidentally knocked loudly into one of the thin panels of a cabinet in their closet. 

“He’s jus helping me get changed!” Y/N called out and Harry started to tremble.

“Oh fuck…Oh fuck…” he panted quietly and she smirked.

“Shhhh…shhhhh!” She warned through a quiet giggle.

“Alright, we’re all ready down there.” Anna announced.

“OK, thank you!” Y/N called and just then Harry let out a groan and her hand flew up to cover his mouth as he moaned into it. She could feel his warm cum shooting out against her belly and down her fist as she started to ease up on her strokes, he followed her speed with his hips as he started to get worked up even more. She remove her hand from his mouth as his orgasm had passed but he sighed.

“Fuck, I wanna be inside you.” He said as he continued thrusting into her fist slowly, “Can’t wait ’til we have the house to ourselves.” He said and she smirked up at him and then kissed the underside of his jaw. He sighed as they finally stopped and he pulled her hand up and licked his cum off of it before dipping down to kiss her. Y/N immediately opened her mouth as he smeared his cum-slicked tongue into hers, both of them moaned at his taste and then they pulled away quickly before they got further carried away. 

“Love you.”

“Love you.” He smiled. He then hurried to the hamper and grabbed her t-shirt from earlier to wipe his sperm from her tummy. She was quick to get a tank top on and then Harry helped her get into one of his cardigans before they headed down stairs. Dinner was delicious and they were all chattering away, Aly made sure that they were sure about letting her announce her pregnancy and Y/N reassured her about it once again. So after everyone seemed to have finished eating Harry smiled at Y/N before he stood up, instantly commanding everyone’s attention.

“Y/N and I just really want to thank you all for showering us with so much love and support today. Well every day actually since we’ve moved back. I think it’s so incredible how we always show up for each other with so much love and patience and kindness. And uh, moments like this are sometimes a bit bittersweet because…well, dad’s not here, nor is grandad. But I think that we’re honoring them and their fierce sense of responsibility to their family by being here for each other. And ummm…we want to keep their legacies alive and well as you know, the baby is coming in a few short months and so we’ve been busy with everything that has to do with that. And well, Y/N and I recently made an important decision about the baby and we wanted to share that with you all while we have you here.” He said and smiled down at her in her seat and she nodded, urging him to go on. Everyone was looking on with anticipation.

“Ummm, we want to share with you all what we’ve decided to name our son.” He said and everyone gasped in excitement or cooed in endearment, “So ummm, his name is Charles Julian,” he said glancing to Julie who chuckled as her eyes brimmed with tears, “Styles.” His family all cooed as he smiled at Y/N and then at everyone else as they cheered at the news. Hillary was crying tears of joy as Anne hugged her mother and then he and Y/N went over to her for a moment to just hug her, “Alright, that was it. Now ummm, we’re gonna turn it over to Nathan and Aly.” He grinned and everyone gasped as he said this and they stood up with big smiles.

“We’re gonna have a baby!” Aly announced with no hesitation and the biggest smile as Nathan held up a photo of the first sonogram. Everyone started cheering some more and Aly’s parents went over and congratulated them and for the rest of the evening everyone was just smiling from ear to ear.

**********

It had been a few days since the party and Y/N was still having issues with her back. She had evidently outdone herself and now couldn’t sleep from the ache that just didn’t allow her to get comfortable despite the muscle relaxant gel Harry had so kindly rubbed into her lower back before bed. She was so quiet as she got out of bed and slipped her cold feet into her fuzzy slippers as she headed downstairs slowly, her phone’s flashlight lighting her way down. She had a very particular craving and thankfully, Julie had smuggled in the goods; several bags of Y/N’s beloved and most missed snack, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Sure they, were available for order in some shops around London but they were outrageously overpriced as they were a delicacy in these parts. She had them hidden somewhere Harry never looked because he would give her so much shit for it, but right now that’s all she wanted. 

She wanted the deliciously spicy (but definitely unhealthy) flavored powder tickling her tastebuds once again. Her mouth literally watered as she carefully hoisted herself up onto the step stool they had placed in there to help her reach the higher cabinets when he was gone and she pulled out one of their empty kitchen appliance boxes and she retrieved one of the snack-sized baggies from inside because even she knew that overindulging wasn’t a good move. As soon as she pried the bag open she inhaled the spicy scent of the chips and hummed happily as she leaned against the counter as she started to eat the chips. She was taking it slow, savoring each and every one. All was right with the world until Harry walked in with slightly squinted eyes and then he shook his head as she completely froze right before she tossed another Cheeto into her mouth. His lips turned up in a smirk as he came closer and bit it out of her fingers.

“Really?” He asked through his chewing and she smiled.

“Oh hush, I’ve been so good.” She said to him and he hummed and went in for another one, “Nuh-uh! Get your own.” She said and he smiled at her, “These are for the baby.” She hummed as she reached into the little bag and he scoffed.

“That’s not gonna hold up tonight.” He said as he snatched the bag from her and grabbed a few Cheetos before plopping them into his own mouth. She scowled at him as he munched away at them happily, “I genuinely miss these.” He admitted.

“How do you think I feel? These were like a whole food group for me!”

“Yeah, I know…” he chuckled.

“When I was younger I would eat them with nacho cheese-”

“That sounds like a stomach ache.”

“Oh, for sure! But it’s well worth it.” She assured and he sniggered quietly. “Are you gonna be one of those psycho granola parents because if you are, I’m telling you right now, I will sneak our child the goods behind your back.” She warned and he scoffed.

“That’s fucked up.”

“What’s fucked up is depriving your child of the joy of sweets and junk. Like obviously, s’not gonna be his primary diet, but every now and again we can have junk foods and candies and stuff, not just on special occasions.  Like I think it’s smart to feed them mostly healthy food until they start socializing with other kids. My mom tried to be one of those organic, no chemicals moms and as soon as I got to pre-K they would feed us fruit snacks and give us juice boxes and cupcakes for other kids’ birthdays…I would overdo it and be all cracked out on sugar and eventually learned to stash my halloween candy so that I could ration it out for a rainy day.” She recalled and he chuckled.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t want anything like that. But I do think we should set good examples for our son, most importantly showing them balance. That’s all it is for me, just a good balance of each thing.” He assured.

“Why don’t you let me have balance then?” She pouted and he chuckled.

“Oh shut it!” he squinted his eyes at her unfathomable gall, “I know my gran sneaks you Jaffa cakes every day.” He said and Y/N burst into laughter, “And don’t think I’m oblivious to the location of your hot Cheeto stash.” He said with a knowing grin, “I’ve sussed you out.” He smirked at her through a laugh and she sighed.

“Well, I appreciate that you’ve let me believe I’ve been getting away with it this whole time.” She said to him and he smiled.

“Course, baby. Y’deserve it after everything you’re doing for our little baby.” He said with a soft smile.

“I don’t ever want to lie to you, I just felt like you might get on my ass about it and I figured it was just a little, white lie. Nothing harmful, you know?”

“Well I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to lie and sneak around just to have some processed snacks!” He exclaimed with a chuckle and she swore her entire heart just burst with adoration for him.

“I love you so much.” She said softly and he pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“I love you so, so much.” He hummed against her soft skin, “Is your back still bugging you?”

“Yeah. The gel stuff helped for a little bit, but it wore off fast.” She explained, “I was thinking that it might be a good idea for us to move down to the guest room in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, we can get set up down here.” Harry assured, “And baby, these next few days please slow down until the back thing subsides a bit, yeah?”

“I will. I promise. Your gran and I have been talking about her teaching me how to knit.”

“Oh really? A proper granny hobby for you?” He teased and she giggled.

“Yeah. I bought a pattern to make a little knitted Hedwig.” She pouted in endearment and Harry smiled.

“When does it arrive?”

“A week or two. So she’s gonna be teaching me some of the basics these next few weeks and then we’ll get to the owl.”

“Baby, I absolutely love how much you include her in things. You always do things with her that make her excited to come see you. Mum says she’s been a lot happier lately. Like, not that she wasn’t happy overall, but she did dim down a bit after my grandad passed, you know?”

“I can imagine. But ummm, yeah I have a lot of fun with her. I think we’re helping each other a lot.” She said and Harry smiled.

“I’m glad, baby.” He said and kissed her lips quickly, “Have you spoken to Julie at all about your parents?” He asked and she sighed.

“Nope. Don’t want to. I’m doing so well and I’m so happy right now with everything we’ve got going on, don’t need someone taking a crap in my cornflakes, you know?” Upon hearing this expression Harry burst into laughter and Y/N soon joined him, which definitely helped lighten the mood as they delved into this heavier topic. Once their laughter settled he tucked some hair behind her ear and sighed as he just took her in with the most loving gaze, “Have you talked to Julie about it?” She asked and Harry hummed and nodded to confirm.

“Yeah, for a bit.” He said and she sighed, “I can tell you if you want?” He asked and she bit her lip. It made Harry’s heart hurt for her because she looked so afraid and nervous to hear about anything related to her parents. And well, he couldn’t tell her that they said they were sorry or wanted to be part of her life. As much as he wished he could relay that message, it wasn’t it.

“It can’t be good if you’re asking if I want to hear it.” She said and he sighed.

“Well, it’s not bad either, it’s just…maybe what you’d expect I think.” He said to her and she nodded.

“OK, tell me.” She said.

“Your mum called Julie after getting your letters because obviously, she couldn’t reach you. She was a bit upset that you decided to leave without giving them a proper goodbye or not bothering to tell them about the pregnancy when we found out. Julie said she wasn’t mad, she was just more hurt than anything.” He said and she sighed, “Julie explained that they had made it abundantly clear that they wanted nothing to do with us and you didn’t want to risk sharing all that good news with them just for them to be so openly unsupportive.” Y/N nodded as Harry explained this, “That led to her getting angry and blaming Julie for creating distance between your family because you had never been this selfish and inconsiderate before you moved in with her. Julie knows she was just lashing out because she’s sad and hurt.” He explained as Y/N frowned upon hearing this.

“She then said that you were making your dad sick with stress because you got married without his blessing and she had no idea how she was supposed to tell him that you’re pregnant and have moved to another country altogether. I mean, it’s nothing new from what they always say.”

��Yeah.” She sniffled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Julie said she got so annoyed at her that she just hung up and blocked her number.”  Harry said and Y/N sniggered through her tears, “She didn’t even tell them she left too so ummm…she wonders if they might show up one day and just find that she’s gone too.”

“God, I fucking hope so. And I hope they realize that now they’re all alone.” Y/N said with an ill-intended smile, “I want nothing to do with them, Harry.”

“Baby, you don’t mean that.”

“Right now I do!” She said and he nodded.

“OK.” He said softly.

“I want the rest of my pregnancy to be good and peaceful, like it has been the whole time we’ve been here. It’s been so good here, I don’t even want to think of them.” She insisted and Harry nodded.

“OK, we won’t.This is our family, OK? We can build it and grow it however the fuck we want. And as long as we’re not like…joining a cult or something completely out of pocket like that,” he said and she giggled, “My family won’t meddle or try to change things.” He assured.

“It’s OK if they do. I mean, if it’s gonna help our family be like your family then I want that.” She said and he smiled and reached for her face, wiping her tear stains with his thumb.

“I hope our son is like you. So strong, and open, and brave.” He said quietly and she just surged forward and hugged him tight.

“Ughh, I love you so much.” She sniffled and Harry smiled as he rubbed her back gently, “I hope our son looks like you though because I’ve done those gender swapping filters and I do not make an even remotely decent-looking guy.” She confessed and she pulled back to look at him as he chuckled.

“You’re perfect.” He tutted.

“As a female-presenting person, yes! I agree, I’m so cute!” She stated with certainty and he chuckled, “But as a male-presenting person…ehhh…it was…a jump scare.” She giggled and he laughed and shook his head.

“I love that you know your limits.” He said and she laughed loudly at his response.

“Baby?”

“Yes, my love?” He asked pulling back to see her better.

“You’re literally my favorite person ever. It’s not lost on me how lucky I am to get to do all of this with you.”

“Oh hush…” he said warding off her compliment and she tutted.

“Baby, it’s the truth. Acknowledge it!” She insisted and he smiled bashfully as he looked into her eyes.

“We’re both so fucking lucky to be doing this with each other. That’s all you’re getting.” He said and she smiled.

“When are you just going to be a little bit cocky about something, H?” She huffed.

“I pulled you, didn’t I? M’very cocky about that. And well, if our son looks like me, specially after what you’ve just told me, I’ll definitely be cocky about that.” He said and she burst into laughter and playfully slapped his chest as he laughed along with her, “I am serious, though.”

“Trust me, I know.” She assured and he grinned smugly, “Alright, ready to head back up?”

“Yeah, c’mon.” He hummed as he grabbed her now empty Cheeto bag and tossed it in the garbage before walking them back up to their bedroom. They brushed their teeth again and were soon cuddled up in their bed, sleep seeming far away now that they had been up for a bit.

“Baby, I have a small request.” She whispered.

“What is it?”

“From this week onward, please don’t tell me what object or food size our baby is. It’s really starting to freak me out.” She confessed through a giggle and he chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“OK, I won’t. I promise.” He said and she sighed in relief, “I’m just really excited, didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“I know you did it with good intentions, babe.” She assured him, “I just feel like if I have a visual of like how big it’ll be I’ll feel like I can’t do it when the time comes, you know?” She explained quietly and well this made Harry frown when he fully understood her point of view. It made so much sense, sometimes ignorance truly is bliss! 

“Yeah, see I never thought of it in those terms. I was just excited that our baby is becoming a baby, you know? I’m sorry if I made you feel nervous or incapable with that, I really hadn’t even thought of what that would make you feel-”

“It’s OK. I mean, I hadn’t really been thinking about it like that until the whole eggplant thing.” She assured with a little giggle and he sniggered as well, “That one did start to freak me out. Like…how?” She asked and he sighed.

“I really don’t know, but I mean, clearly it’s possible.”

“Well I know that, like I get it, but like… your vagina is one thing, obviously very stretchy, but the cervix…mmmm, I don’t know how? Like the circumference of a baby’s head isn’t just 10 centimeters, but that seems to work out, I just never thought of it as like…stretchy.” she expressed her doubt through an unsure little hum and he literally stopped breathing for a moment.

“Wait, what has your cervix got to do with anything?”

“Baby, the cervix is what dilates, s’the first thing the baby comes through.” She reiterated and he sat up.

“No.” He said flatly.

“Yeah, H!” She chuckled.

“But it’s so tiny…s’just a tiny little thing!” he said with concern.

“I know, hence the reason I’m freaking out…” she stated as he laid back down.

“I’m so sorry…you poor thing.” He said monotonously and she burst into laughter.

“Yeah, s’pretty fucked up.” She said to him and he shook his head, still in complete disbelief. He was deeply disturbed now, he was so confident that he knew how all of this worked, but he had never really bothered with understanding the internal mechanics of it all and now he truly did feel bad for her.

“It is. OK, so one baby is perfectly fine, love. I don’t want you to have to do that ever again now that I know that…fuck.” He huffed and she giggled, “And well, with that knowledge in mind I might actually pass out…” he confessed and she sighed.

“Good god, Harry…”

“I’m an empath!” He defended and she laughed quietly at him, “Don’t laugh…it’s gonna be harder than I realized to have to-”

“Don’t even go there. It’ll be a cake walk for you.” She said and he sighed.

“Sorry…maybe I just don’t have to watch it happen. I mean, I’d want to, but maybe it’s not a good idea.” 

“Definitely not if you’re going to pass out.” She giggled, “I’ll need you fully conscious. Don’t think I could do it without you.” She said.

“Fuck, and now I feel bad for getting you pregnant.” He said softly and she knew he was mostly joking, but a part of him did feel bad that this was going to be a lot more intense than he had realized and they fell silent for a few moments until he spoke up again, “Are you sure it’s the cervix?” He asked and she laughed.

“Baby, how did you think this happened? Obviously the baby is not just like chilling in the…canal!” She said and he burst into laughter.

“Obviously! But like… I don’t know what I thought happened…” he mumbled and she grabbed one of his hands and kissed it.

“Well, now you know.” She said and he sighed.

“Much to my chagrin.” He mumbled and she giggled, “Hopefully he’s a tiny baby.”

“I don’t think the size really matters unless they’re over the normal range, like a 12 pound baby or something monstrous like that…you’ll still have to open the same for even a tiny baby.” she concluded.

“What? 12 pounds?!” she’d never heard him sound so English in her life, it made her start to laugh at the thickness of his accent, even his tone of shock was somehow super English, “That cannot be real.” he exclaimed in horror as she trembled with laugher.

“Oh, it’s very real.” She assured.

“No, babe…” he whined with a grimace surely on his face, “That’s so fucking awful…”

“I’m sure it is.” She agreed “Any other questions you might have about where babies come from?” She asked playfully.

“No. I definitely have enough information on this to last me a lifetime.” He assured with an evident feeling of concern in his tone and she giggled.

…. MAY …

On the days that Aly was feeling too queasy and sick due to her pregnancy she’d head on over to Y/N and Harry’s to hang out with her and her grandmother. True to Hillary’s word, she was teaching the two how to knit and well, Y/N was a bit impatient for not being able to go fast like Hillary, but she was at least precise about it. And well, getting to bond with Aly was also really nice and well, for the most part they would talk about what would be going on I everyone’s lives, it wasn’t gossip, it was just a recounting of information is what Hillary would say because she thought gossiping was very ugly and Y/N and Alyssa couldn’t agree more.

“-but regardless of what he says, Mr. Jones did in fact eat the neighbor’s takeaway!  And that’s why Harry’s going to be over early on Sunday to help install one of those cameras.” Hillary shared with the girls before she slurped up some of her Pho. She’d never had it before until she tried it with Y/N and now she was hooked, it was sweet really.

“Do you really think Harry can install a camera?” Aly asked and Y/N giggled, “No offense to your husband’s skill set.” She said and Y/N shook her head.

“No you’re fine, I was thinking the same thing.” She said softly.

“Oh, he’s young and smart! He’ll figure it out.” Hillary said.

“Gran, Harry is so technologically challenged!” Aly said through a giggle.

“It’s true, I had to do his assignments for his Procreate certificate.” Y/N added in.

“Oh god, should he even be tattooing then?” Aly asked and Y/N giggled.

“I mean, he just does all his stencils and designs on paper. He really hates virtual art.” She said and Aly nodded. “You should’ve seen when he learned about ChatGPT, he literally would not stop going on about it for days!”

“What on earth is a ChatGPT?” Hillary interjected.

“Artificial Intelligence, gran. AI!” Aly explained briefly and Hillary’s eyes widened.

“Already?! In my lifetime?”

“I think it’s really cool.” Aly said.

“I mean it is, but I think as a person in a creative field it does take away people’s integrity, it’s like taking the easy way out. So I do agree that it can be a great tool, but we need to moderate it before it like…gains too much consciousness and we’re in a live action Avengers film or something.”

“I wouldn’t mind that all too much…that Chris Hemsworth is dreamy isn’t he?” Hillary said and Y/N and Ally giggled. 

“What in the world are you still doing here?” Harry suddenly asked as he burst in through the garage door startling all three of them.

“Announce yourself y’bugger!” Hillary scolded him with a pout as Harry kissed the top of her head with a mischievous grin as he went around to Aly and greeted her next.

“What are you guys chatting about?” He asked as he then came over to Y/N and dipped down to kiss her lips, “Hi, my love.” He mumbled against her lips.

“We were talking about how shit you are with technology since gran said you’re installing some cameras at theirs.” Aly said and he immediately pulled away.

“Ummm, no I’m not.” He scoffed.

“Please Harry, you’re completely inept. I know about your procreate assignments.” Aly said with a smirk and he turned back to Y/N with a pout.

“How could you?” He asked her with feigned insult and she smirked.

“Not to mention you’ll be working with the home’s electrical! Are you sure you don’t want to have someone professional come and install it, gran? What if you’re out of power for a week because this idiot fucks a fuse or-”

“Oh hush, leave my handsome boy alone.” Hillary said to Aly and Harry rounded the table back over to her and knelt down to hug her all while flipping Aly off and she just rolled her eyes. When Hillary saw she joined him, demonstrating her own obscene gesture.

“Well, that’s my cue to go.” Aly said through a giggle and Y/N chuckled as well.

This was Harry’s last week of work at the shop and as much as he loved being in the shop, he was excited to get to spend these final stages of the pregnancy with Y/N. Y/N was at 31 weeks now and getting far too big for comfort and she just constantly needed more help than what Hillary could give her at the moment. While it was in Julie’s plans to help take care of Y/N as she got closer to her due date, it was also summertime and Anne’s flower shop had been immensely busy with a variety of events, almost back to back some weeks, so Julie was recruited for that because Anne really couldn’t do all this on her own. Thankfully, Aly’s wedding had put her on the map with some of her friends and those friends told their friends and so she’d experienced an uptick in demand that she couldn’t pull off on her own, so Julie was enlisted to help. And really, ever since she’d arrived Y/N hadn’t seen Julie as much as she expected, she was acclimating really well and she supposed it was because there really hadn’t been anything tying her down to the U.S. anymore.

As they had discussed a few weeks prior, they had moved down a bunch of her stuff to the guest room because getting up all those steps was brutal. And well, of course Harry slept down there with her, so she wasn’t all alone. She heard him coming back in from having taken Hillary back to Anne’s and she was just lotion-ing up her tummy and hips and well, her boobs as well because they were starting to grow a bit more and they were getting rather itchy and sore with the process. Harry just happened to walk in on her about to do that and he just smirked at here with lustful eyes. She had just come out of the shower and she had gotten her shorts on, but she needed to get this done before getting her top on, it was just easier that way.

“Perfect timing.” He said as he walked into the ensuite and immediately washed his hands and she laughed softly. He was thorough with his washing and then dried them off, “I’d love to help.” He said as he came and sat beside her on the bed.

“I’m sure you would.” She said with a grin and he chuckled as he pulled her out into the bedroom.

“Do they hurt?” He asked as she handed over the little jar of lotion, it’s one that Gemma swore by and well, it had been helpful thus far. But also her growth had been rather consistent thus far, but she knew that towards the tail end she would probably blow up and inevitably get stretch marks, but she’d do as much preventative work as possible as futile as it seemed.

“Just a little bit, nothing I’m not used to so far.” She assured and he hummed as he dipped two fingers into the lotion before spreading it in his palms as he shuffled around to sit behind her and she just let her weight back against him as he kissed her bare shoulder before reaching beneath her arms and gently taking a hold of each breast and starting to lather the moisturizer in.

“Oh…they do feel bigger.” He mused.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely gone over just one cup size now.” She sighed. Harry was so gentle and delicate with her, of course her nipples peaked in his big, warm, veiny hands and as much as she wanted to let herself get turned on by this as much as he was getting turned on, she just wasn’t feeling it and she winced as he playfully pinched at her nipples. “No!” She frowned as she sniggered through a wince and he chuckled and did it again which made her reach down and pull at the hair on his thigh and he winced and let go to rub over the spot on his thigh. “Serves you right.”

“M’sorry, baby.” He apologized, “Just got a little too excited.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” She sighed.

“You’re just so fucking beautiful. I get really excited over the fact that we did this.” He said as his hands ran down to her bump. “And I know that it’s not easy by any means, so I just…admire you more and love you more for it.” He said quietly.

“I know, baby.” She hummed, “I have an appointment next Monday, 7 month check up.” She said.

“Okay, great! Can’t wait to see the little guy.” He said with a smile that she could hear in his voice.

“I know… and I was thinking that maybe with you around I can just be a bit more active than just walks with your gran.” She said and he smiled.

“Yeah, we can do that. A few light things, yeah?” He asked and she nodded, “Well lucky for you, I’ve actually been looking into this yoga class, it’s specifically for pregnant people. They meet three times a week in the evenings. Obviously, we don’t have to go every day if you don’t want, but it’d be something nice to do together.” He suggested and she nodded.

“Yeah, I think I’ve been too sedentary, apparently more exercise will help with my back pain. Seems counterproductive but, it’s science.” She said and he chuckled.

“Maybe you can learn some stretches for it or something. But I think it’d also be a good way for me to like get in tune with your body in terms of like the birthing part of everything. Apparently they show different poses as well, so you can find what’s comfortable.” He explained.

“Yeah, that sounds really nice actually. But I’m not all that bendy, m’sure it’s worse now but I’ll definitely try it out.” She responded and he smiled.

“We’ll work on the bendy thing down the line, don’t you fret.” He said and she giggled.

“That’s slightly terrifying.” She said and he chuckled.

“I promise you’ll like it.” He hummed confidently and she just smiled.

“Can you get my shirt please? If it’s not beside you it’s under you somewhere.” She said and he searched around for a moment before helping her get it on.

“There you are my queen.” He hummed and she shook her head.

“No. No, we’re not that king-queen couple.” She said as she just let herself fall back onto the bed. It took a lot of core strength she didn’t really have at the moment to be able to lay back in a controlled manner. Harry was laughing quietly beside her because he knew how cringey she found that.

“It just slipped out. I promise!” He chuckled and she grinned as he settled into the bed beside her.

“Just as long as I never have to hear that again.” She said and he laughed.

“Promise.”

***********

Y/N was now 32 weeks along and after his first week at home, Harry soon recognized that the routine Y/N had with his grandmother was not one that could easily be broken. Within the first few days at home everything that needed to be built and set up he’d taken care of. When he didn’t have that to do he tried to learn to knit with them, but they were at a much different skill level than him and he felt inferior. He knew logically, that it wasn’t a competition, but knitting was boring, so he had to do something to spice up the experience for himself and decided he could finish his wing before Y/N. And well, that resulted in a very deformed wing for the knitted Hedwig they were working on and Y/N had to redo his. When she finished it in about an hour after he’d been working on that for at least three hours, he decided that he would try and introduce new activities to the pair that would also be fun for him. If he was to be home, he also needed to have a good time, it was only fair.

“What if we go to the park and have a picnic today?” He asked them on this lovely morning. The weather was perfectly warm. During the last few days or so they’d been ranging anywhere from 23 to 26 degrees (mid 70’s to 80 in Fahrenheit). He figured Y/N wouldn’t mind this as being from California she was used to much more intense heat. 

“Baby, that’s way too hot for me to be walking around and sitting in the sun right now. My body temp is already running a bit high according to the doctor.” She reminded.

“Oh c’mon, you’re used to much hotter. I know you can handle it.” He said with a grin before sipping on his coffee.

“Yeah, maybe I could when I was literally a third of the size I am now. I was sweating on my morning walk and it was only 70 degrees.” She said.

“She’s right, H. It’s easier for her to overheat and overexert herself with the extra weight from the baby and it’s not good for the baby if that happens. We’re in a heatwave, H.” His gran reminded.

“Well I don’t want to just sit around all day. I want to do something different today, just get out of the routine.” He reasoned.

“Well aren’t you two still doing that yoga or something in the evenings?” His grandmother asked.

“Yeah, but that’s part of the routine already.” He said. “Forgive me for wanting to spend some quality time with my wife and make memories with her.” He said with some snark and they both chuckled.

“If you want to go out so badly, go out and do something, H.” Y/N said and he frowned.

“Alone?” He asked as if she had suggested he fly himself to the moon.

“Baby, this is your hometown, you’ll be alright. It’s just getting really hard to move around and keep up with you. I just don’t have the energy to go and explore with you right now.” She explained and he huffed.

“M’just gonna go to the gym then.” He decided before finishing his coffee and heading upstairs to change. Harry’s feelings were hurt at her rejection to go out with him; he didn’t think he was asking for anything ridiculous. He went up to their bedroom to get changed and when he was heading back downstairs he saw her waiting at the foot of the staircase.

“Hey, I ummm…I feel like you’re upset that I didn’t want to go out with you.” She said and he shook his head in a fib.

“M’not, it’s whatever. You wanna spend time with my gran and-”

“Are you jealous of your grandma?” She asked with a grin and he chuckled.

“No. I just…thought we would be able to spend more time together is all. Just doing things that we enjoy doing.”

“I mean, we can have that picnic, just in the backyard?” She suggested and he sighed. 

“Baby, the point of the picnic was to get out of here. I didn’t think we’d basically be prisoners in our home.” He explained how he felt and she pouted upon hearing that.

“Well, you’re not a prisoner, H.” She said softly as his words stung her heart a bit. He immediately sensed that he’d made her upset and shook his head.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He mumbled.

“Then what did you mean?” She questioned and he sighed, sensing that even his explanation wouldn’t get him out of this one.

“Just that it’s a little bit…slow being stuck in here all day. I don’t see why you can’t knit at the park or anywhere else, babe.”

“Harry, your explanation is not really making what you said better.” She said and he groaned.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve got just a few short weeks before the baby comes and I just feel like you don’t want to spend time with me. Clearly you have a well established routine that you refuse to budge on and if that’s the case then maybe I should’ve just waited until your due date to stop working. I mean…everything’s going to change for us soon and we won’t be able to do stuff together that don’t involve the baby for a long time.” He vented a bit and she sighed and tried not to roll her eyes because well, his feelings were his feelings. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t upset her and she was going to clear that up right now.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” She said with a frown, “But let me just enlighten you a bit though, H. Everything changed for me the moment I got pregnant.” She said, “I’ve been living a completely different life from day one! And in the state I’m in right now I can’t even picture myself having a good time anywhere outside of this house. It’s harder than you might think and like, I know you have your own needs but I feel like you’re being really dismissive of my needs right now.” She said.

“I don’t mean to be-”

“I know that, but you are. Like…at this stage more than ever, I feel like even my body is not my own anymore.” She sighed, “And you’re right, things will only change even more once the baby comes. Like our lives are not gonna be our own for a bit and it is a bit sad, but I don’t think it’ll feel like we missed out on life alone. It’s just going to be different and like…I’ve already had that crisis and made peace with it, so I need you to get past this because you’re projecting and it’s making me feel like I’m being a shitty partner to you when it really has nothing to do with me.” She said and he sighed.

“Well I can’t help how I feel, baby.” He said.

“I know that. Trust me, I do, I felt that way too at the start. And I’d give anything to be able to have the energy to do more outdoorsy things with you and make more of our time, but I just can’t right now. Like…I’m not sure what you expected from paternity leave, H. But it’s not a vacation, not in the slightest.” She said and he sighed.

“Cleary.” He mumbled, his feelings still hurt.

“You’ll have to find your own kind of routine to keep you occupied when you feel…like you’re trapped.” She said with a hint of spite and a frown. It was hurting her feelings that he felt stuck. That feeling would only get worse and worse the closer she got to her due date, more stress, more urgency, always on standby, it wasn’t going to be easy. It worried her that he would continue to feel stuck even after the baby came. Maybe they had moved too quickly? And before she knew it a lump was forming in her throat as her eyes brimmed with tears as this massive wave of anxiety washed over her. 

“Hey, what’s the matter?” He asked quietly when he saw her tearful eyes.

“I just, ummm…realized that you said that being at home with me makes you feel like a prisoner. I don’t want you to feel that way with me.” She said with a sniffle and he pouted.

“Baby, it was a poor choice of words.” He said as he reached for her hands and she pulled them out of his reached and crossed them over her chest.

“The way you said them made me feel like you’ve been feeling that way for a bit. And like…this is only your second week at home.” She pointed out and he sighed. “If you hate it this much then maybe you can just do your own thing until I absolutely need you around-”

“Baby-”

“Don’t try to take back something that you sincerely meant, Harry.” 

“I didn’t mean for it to hurt your feelings.”

“I know, but you have. Just…go find friends to hang out with or something, shake off the feeling. It’s fine, I know you didn’t have that intention. Just go get a breather.” She nodded.

“I feel like this is a trap.” He said and she sighed.

“Well I’m sure it’ll beat being caught in this trap.” She said and turned around and walked back to the kitchen. He sighed when he faintly heard her start sobbing in the kitchen and he just knew she’d really prefer some space right now and he would whip up a really big apology and make it up to her when he got back.

*********

Harry had the least productive workout of his life. He had quite literally been googling “how to make up with your pregnant wife after a fight” while he leisurely peddled on the stationary bike at the back of the cycling class he’d joined. What she had said about things changing for her from the start of the pregnancy, well obviously he knew things had been different physically, but he���d never considered that it may have taken a toll mentally before. It was painfully obvious, but often times those are the details that are most overlooked. He was feeling badly though, because the way he had communicated his inner turmoil had been really hurtful to Y/N. He was just afraid and he tended to just be really projective and defensive when he was feeling scared or insecure and well, now Y/N was mad at him. He was still scrolling through his phone trying to come up with something that he could do or get her that would aid in her forgiving him…

“Class is over, you know?” He heard a familiar voice and quickly glanced up only to lock gazes with a familiar icy blue pair of eyes. Suddenly he felt his stomach flip as the woman before him smiled at his shock, she did always like to cause a scene.

“Chloe, hi.” He said softly with disbelief. Still in shock at seeing his ex-girlfriend standing there, grinning smugly at him. He felt so anxious just seeing her before him. He had done everything under the sun to get over all of the hurt she had caused him. He had effectively prepared for any possibility except this one; the one where by some insane and ill-turn in his luck, he’d run into her.

“Hi Harry. I heard through the grapevine that you were back.” She said with a smile and he nodded, “Knew you wouldn’t last overseas for too long. Though, I must say it was a good plan.”

“Plan?” He asked and she sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, that was part of your plan to…to move on right? And to heal?” She asked and he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of admitting that she had wrecked him. He knew her game and she thrived on leaving her mark on people. “Look, I’m not saying that to patronize you. I just ummm… I hope the move helped you.” She said and he looked at her cautiously.

“Well, thanks.” He responded and she sighed and chuckled.

“Well, did it?” She asked him and he didn’t want to entertain her, but he also wanted to show her that he had moved on and that he had healed and that he had everything she had told him he could never have because he wasn’t good enough for it. He was frustrated at the argument he had with Y/N and had been thrown off by Chloe ambushing him in this fucking cycling class. He wanted to get in the final jab to really stick it to her, so he didn’t really think about any consequences when he raised his left hand to her, showing off his wedding band.

“Ummm yeah, I’d say so.” He chuckled, trying to keep the smug look off of his face when her mouth dropped open in shock.

“You’re married?! Wow!” She gasped with a smile and he nodded. “You’ve been gone all of two years!” She giggled with a smile and he started to feel less worried about her intentions. She seemed to be happy for him, “When did you do it?” She asked and he chuckled.

“Yeah, we did it just this January, actually. We’ve got a baby due in a few more weeks.” He informed with pride and her eyebrows arched up.

“Oh! So it was that kind of thing.” She said with a small smile and he furrowed his brows.

“Oh no, I’d proposed way before the pregnancy.” He explained and she hummed in understanding.

“Well good, as long as it’s not some baby-trapping situation. I know plenty of friends who got sucked into those kinds of situations.” She said and as her words registered, he realized that this idea of him suddenly feeling trapped had been a projection of his previous bad experiences. His little meltdown had just been a version of the person Chloe had trained that was still stuck in there somehow. How could he feel trapped when he literally had everything he had ever wanted with Y/N? When he had everything he had been made to believe he never could or would have because he was made to feel like he would never be good enough for that kind of commitment and that kind of role. “Harry?” She asked and he hummed as he snapped back into reality from that little mental trip of realization.

“Sorry, m’just a bit distracted today.” He chuckled and she hummed.

“Is everything alright?” She asked and he suddenly wanted to prove to her that everything was in fact perfect and that he had come out stronger after everything she’d put him through. 

“Yeah, s’just a bit of a transitionary period, you know? Being a husband and a father.” He said and she hummed, not really validating how far he’d come. How he’d done what to her was always out of his scope of possibilities, “I’m not really doing anything after this would you like to grab a coffee or something and catch up for old time’s sake?” He found himself asking her. She looked surprised at his invitation as their breakup had been a complete shit show and her lips turned up in a smile.

“Yeah, that’d be cool.” She said nonchalantly and he nodded.

“Cool. We can freshen up and I’ll meet you up front?” 

“Perfect.” She agreed and they both headed out of the studio and into the locker rooms.

For Harry, this was a pride thing. He was suddenly blinded by his need to prove to her that she didn’t have power over him any more. That she couldn’t affect him how she had before. He was so convinced that he had the upper hand, that he was suddenly completely blind of the epiphany he’d had moments earlier about how somehow, she was still in his head.  What they’d had were four years of the most insane and toxic back and forth relationship that a person should be allowed to deal with. There was never a dull moment, and not in a good way. When he met Chloe he was broken and sad and he needed someone to prove to him that he was worthy of love him because he couldn’t believe that for himself at the time. And at first there was so much love and care and attention from her. But after a month or two, the mood swings started and it became impossible to not make her upset. But he was still riddled with so much self-loathing that he felt that he deserved the hurt she’d cause him. With Chloe the lows were horrifically low, but when she was in a good place she loved him fiercely and overwhelmingly. He felt on top of the world during those moments, but their happiness was so fragile and that’s when he started to lose himself. When he was so desperate to feel her love that he compromised every part of himself to ensure that he stayed in her good graces and she loved that.

When Eddie had talked to him about love-bombing and abusive partners he was enraged. And well, Chloe had warned him that people would try to break them up and come between them like that, so he was extremely defensive when Eddie questioned the health of their relationship. But every piece of evidence Eddie showed him about how his relationship was abusive was literally chipping away at his composure and sanity. He didn’t acknowledge Eddie for a week after that, he had been so hurt and angry that everything he had shared with him about his relationship had been seemingly turned against him. He felt attacked and was in this mindset of “it’s Harry and Chloe against the world” for quite a while. When the news of Gemma being pregnant with Ivy came to him along with an invitation to a little party at her house he decided that he would show up, despite Chloe asking him not to go. He was scared of how going would make Chloe react, but he was more afraid to show his face after ages of shutting out his family. But the moment his family saw him it became more of a “Welcome home, Harry” party than a pregnancy announcement party. He was overwhelmed by the warm reception from his family. He thought about it for weeks after and soon realized that love wasn’t something to be earned, love was to be freely given to those you care about. Even when you’re upset or in a fight with someone the love doesn’t just disappear, like he’d been experiencing with Chloe. It took him a bit, but he soon apologized to Eddie profusely for his attitude and that’s when Eddie talked to him about a plan he had to open a shop in LA in the next year or so and well, the rest was history.

When he changed back into his street clothes he went outside and had originally started typing out a text to Y/N that he ran into someone he knew and would be going out for a coffee, but quickly decided to not send the message. That should’ve been the first red flag that he was heading down a dangerous road. But he rationalized that away by telling himself that this would be a quick coffee and catch up, he didn’t want this to be a big deal. It was a one-time thing that he was doing for himself; putting the final nail in the coffin of his twisted and painful past. Harry hadn’t and didn’t want to recount all of the shit with Chloe to Y/N. By the time he’d gotten to LA he and Chloe had been done for nearly a year and he’d gotten away with not really talking about it to anyone and he was not about to start now. He felt that he had done a lot of the hard work to move on and he felt prepared to face her again without any consequence or negative impact to himself.

“Hey, ready to go?” He heard Chloe again and he turned to her and smiled as he shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Yeah. Should we go to the one just down the street. S’pretty good if I recall correctly?” He asked and she nodded.

“Sure.Do you want to walk? It’s really nice out today.” She suggested and he smiled.

“Yeah, I could go for a stroll after doing absolutely nothing in that cycling class.” He chuckled and she laughed along.

********

It was nearly 3pm and Harry hadn’t come home yet after leaving a bit after 9am. Y/N and Hillary were both starting to worry because he had said he was going to the gym. She knew that they hadn’t left off on the best of terms and she was anxious to have a proper conversation with him to find a middle ground about how to proceed from this point forward and of course, apologize for the argument. But he’d been gone nearly 5 hours without even returning her text that she’d sent about an hour before, asking when he was coming home. She’d chewed through her fingernails and had started to tear away at the sides of her thumbs when the front door finally opened. She got up from the couch and hurried to the front door as fast as she could. She opened up the door to the entry way and sighed in relief when she saw Harry close the front door behind him.

“Oh thank god, you had me worried!” She said and he turned to her with a small smile. He looked sweaty and a bit tired, figures if he had the longest workout known to mankind.

“I’m sorry, love. I ended up leaving the car at the gym and ended up in SOHO-”

“SOHO?”

“Yeah, I lost track of time out there. It was just such a lovely day.” He explained.

“That’s alright. I’m just not happy about how we left things this morning. S’why I was trying to reach you.” She said and he frowned.

“I understand, love. I’m sorry my phone was on silent. But ummm, I was also being a prick. I don’t feel trapped or like…imprisoned with you. I mean, we’re living the dream, yeah?” He asked.

“I would say so.” She replied softly. “And ummm…I know that this transitionary period is hard and I could’ve been more understanding. Especially since I went through it too. I’m sorry for making you feel bad and for snapping at you. It was wrong of me and I love you so much and I’m sure we can figure some things out to still have a little fun here.” She said and he nodded, “Just nothing with cards because your grandma stopped playing nice now that we’ve built trust.” She said and he chuckled and just hugged her and kissed her forehead.

“Deal. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She replied feeling relief now that they had spoken and apologized to each other.

“Well, you know maybe getting out on my own a bit is not so bad. I just have a lot of kinetic energy built up and just need to be able to get it out, you know? Maybe I can do my own workout or something a couple times a week, you know?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea and when we’re here I’ll be more inclusive about the things we do.” She said and he nodded.

“Thank you, my love. Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna have a shower because I am quite sweaty.” He said and she nodded.

“Yeah, go head.” She said moving so that he could make it into the home and then he headed down the hall to the guest room where they were currently set up.

After that, the rest of the day had gone well. Anne and Julie had come by for dinner and they all got to chatting before Y/N started to get sleepy and headed off to have her own shower after saying goodbye. She could hear everyone still chatting when she made it out of the bathroom and then she saw Harry plugging his phone in and setting it on the bedside table. He huffed when he saw that it wasn’t powering on yet.

“Should I head back out?” She asked and he just continued looking down at his phone and she cleaned her throat to get his attention.

“Huh?” He asked turning to her and she giggled.

“I said should I head back out after getting dressed?”

“Oh no, they’re just picking after themselves. I’ll walk them to the car don’t worry.” He said and then looked down to his phone, trying to power it on again.

“OK.” She said noticing how entranced he was by getting his phone back on, “Is everything alright? You seem anxious to check on something.” She said and he shook his head.

“Oh, s’nothing crazy. Just a review I was waiting for, Eddie said he’d reach out about it.” He said and she hummed, “Alright, make yourself comfy I’ll be back soon.” He assured and she proceeded with her routine.

In the time that he was gone his phone powered back on and as soon as it did, it chimed with a message. Y/N was just about to get into bed and just decided to check to see if it was the message he was expecting from Eddie. After the day they’d had she would be pleased to give Harry some good news. Y/N and Harry had never been private about their phones, so it wasn’t odd for her to just check his phone. She smiled upon seeing Eddie’s name on the screen and just pulled his phone off of the charger and opened it up to check his message. When she got into his messages app she accidentally opened a message that came in right then as Eddie’s was pushed down the queue on the screen and as she skimmed the beginning of it she felt her stomach twist and a lump to form in her throat as she continued to read what was on his screen…

She felt her dinner working its way back up her stomach. Her heart ached and her eyes welled up with tears as she tried to find some logical explanation as to what scenarios other than rough sex would lead to a woman having sore pelvic muscles and legs. She barely made it to the toilet when the wave of sickness hit her, and when she finished she hoisted herself up and flushed the toilet before heading over to the sink to brush her teeth once again. When she opened up the faucet her wedding ring shimmered in the light and she just took a long and calming breath before letting it out slowly. She didn’t know what this was…she needed to trust Harry. But he did appear kind of disheveled when he got home... She groaned and shook it out of her brain before brushing her teeth. 

When she headed back into the room she quickly plugged his phone back in and hurried to her side of the bed and got in before her mind started to flick through the friends of his she’d met. She was trying hard to place a Chloe, but she wasn’t coming up with anything. She’d never heard of a Chloe…maybe Alyssa or Gemma would know? But before she could reach out she decided to just keep this to herself until she had actual proof of anything else remotely suspicious. But then again, the message hadn’t been addressed to Harry specifically…but then she said she was glad he was back in town…so it had to be to Harry. Once again she was picking at the skin at the sides of her thumbs as she got lost in this spiral and avoided lunging over to look at the message again. She just laid down and kept spiraling down her thoughts until Harry suddenly came in.

“Has my phone gone off?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yeah, something came in from Eddie.”

“Sick.” He said as he hurried to his side of the bed and opened up his phone. She watched as his eyebrows arched up a bit as he glanced down at his screen but said nothing about it. The text was now read, so Harry knew Y/N’d seen that. He cleared his throat and just went to Eddie’s text message,“Ummm, TattooMaster is going to publish my tattoo and this review of my work and the shop in their September edition.” He shared with a smile. Y/N wanted to be happy at his news, but she was still really on edge and confused from the other thing she’d seen.

“Wow baby, that’s great!” She said as enthusiastically as possible.

“I know…shit.” He chuckled as he started typing away on his phone. 

“So uh…do you have any friends that live nearby to us?” She asked and he turned to her.

“Ummm, not really. Why?” He asked, hoping that she’d just ask what he knew she wanted to ask, but instead she just shrugged.

“S’just that maybe if you had anyone close by you could hang out with friends when you need to get out of the house a bit, you know?” She said and he hummed, “S’just a thought.”

“Well sadly my last several years here were not my best and ummm…I kind of burned all of those bridges except for Eddie. And well, a lot of the old crew I worked with before I left are also doing their own thing, so not really anyone for me to hang out with apart from you guys. Not that I mind.” He explained. Hoping that by him saying that he was fully addressing her concern over that text from Chloe that he knew she’d seen. Y/N hummed in understanding. “OK, I’m gonna turn down the lights to let you get some rest.”

“Thanks.” She said as she settled into her pillow and prayed that she had the guts to ask about it if he didn’t say anything by the next day. She would just show him the message and ask him to explain - it wasn’t that hard, was it?

But the next day she wondered if she had been delirious and imagined that suspicious text when she’d glanced at Harry’s phone again because the message was gone. And then another thought came to mind…why would be delete the message? 

She waited the rest of the week and nothing else ever came in from the number. If he had been with another woman then all evidence pointed towards this being a one time thing, probably a mistake that he never wanted to think of again - hence deleting the message. But then on Saturday morning he went for “a run” and came back with some pastries for her from a bakery she soon realized was in Hampstead, which was quite far for a run. It made absolutely no sense since he hadn’t taken the car. Later that night he received a new message from Chloe saying it was nice to “grab a coffee” and that was all she needed to confirm that he was in fact hanging out with someone else. Every time he’d go out for more than an hours he’d get a text that night and it’d be gone by the morning. He still hadn’t saved her number though, which was odd to her if they were just friends.  She had never been a paranoid person, but she was starting to become that way and she felt like she was going crazy. 

… JUNE …

She was 35 weeks now, the Sunday roast was taking place at their house and Y/N was a bit concerned about how things would play out. Harry had been off, just something was off with him since he started hanging out with his new friend a few weeks before. He had been drinking throughout the afternoon and was being a lot more crass in his humor and had regained an arrogance that she hadn’t experienced since the first few months they had known each other. Almost like he was going backwards. She needed to say something because she was losing her mind trying to figure this out. She didn’t want him to think that she was accusing him of something because she really had no proof of anything, but he just wasn’t himself.

“God Harry, help your wife!” Gemma scolded as Y/N tried to push herself out of her seat, she needed to do something about this. Harry turned to her and saw her back arched as she tried to get up, the seat was a bit lower than she thought. He immediately stood and helped her up and she smiled at him.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, love.” He hummed.

“Baby, can I use your phone?” She asked and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ummm why? For what?” He questioned her and that was an immediate red flag, he never cared before.

“I can’t seem to find mine and I was supposed to call G, he wanted to run through his anniversary dinner plans with his man really quick.” She said. “I just want to find it, I’m gonna call from mine, don’t worry.” She said and he bit his lip and nodded.

“Ummm sure. Yeah, of course.” He said before getting it out of his pocket and she grabbed it and typed in his password and it was wrong? “Oh, sorry forgot to mention I changed it. Archie knew it and downloaded a shitload of games on it and-”

“It’s fine, Harry. You don’t need to justify it to me. I trust you.” She said as she looked into his eyes and he frowned a bit.

“Right.” He chuckled and he took it and she wasn’t sure if it was subconscious or not, but he brought it up, out of her line of sight so that she couldn’t see the new password.

“Thanks. I’m gonna go look for my phone.” She said and he nodded as she headed back inside. She really was just going to call G, because she needed to talk about this with someone who was too far to start a fight over this with him. But seeing him hide something from her, whether he realized it or not, pushed her slight doubt in him into complete mistrust. She was going to call this Chloe chick.

***********

She had called Chloe and unfortunately, Chloe had done nothing but stoke the fires of Y/N’s feelings of betrayal. Chloe played coy, like she didn’t know he was married, but that obviously wasn’t the case when she slipped up on a few things, like knowing about her being pregnant and then mocking her that he hadn’t even lasted a year without being able to cheat on her. Y/N had learned 3 things from this conversation. Well it was more like rampage for Chloe. But she now knew Chloe was his ex-girlfriend. She knew that Chloe was clearly not of sound mind or psychologically stable in any capacity. And she knew for a fact that Harry hadn’t slept with her. Chloe was trying too hard to convince Y/N of something she knew wasn’t the truth. The Harry she described was nothing like Harry that Y/N had married. Maybe it was the Harry Chloe had known years ago and something like the one Y/N had first met, but it wasn’t at all like him now.

He had been sneaking off with his ex though. And he was still actively hiding it and lying about it which was worrisome to Y/N. Maybe he missed her? Or had started to like her again? Maybe seeing her again just made him realize that what he had at home wasn’t enough? It made her feel that way given everything he had told her already about feeling trapped and clearly he had been talking to Chloe about how he was feeling because she was throwing it back in her face and was not even hesitating to twist the metaphorical knife. Y/N refused to be manipulated by this woman though, she would not give her the satisfaction.

“Well, thank you for telling me all of that, Chloe. I guess Harry and I have a lot to talk about-”

“Open the door, Y/N.” She heard Harry through the door and she bit her lip nervously. Maybe she had taken it too far by calling Chloe but she just needed to know what was going on there because he wasn’t telling her. Y/N swallowed the lump in her throat, barely hearing what Chloe was saying to her now.

“-I just think you need to stop kidding yourself. You seem like nice girl and he’s just not the person you think he is. I know you might be angry at me for being the one to tell you this but you deserve to know.” Chloe said playing sympathetic, Y/N could already hear the victory in her voice though and she couldn’t let this person get away with feeling like she’d won.

“Right, well this conversation was actually very enlightening. Thank you so much for looking out for me.” She responded sarcastically and immediately hung up the call before she could say anything else. She did feel bad for going behind Harry’s back but it had to be done. She was about to have his baby, she needed to know if he was in this with her or out. Y/N walked the few steps towards the bedroom door and took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. Time to face the music.

… TO BE CONTINUED …

< Previous Part < > Next Part >

---- Tag List ---

@sunshinemoonsposts @anotherdudetteinthisworld @matildasatellite @sad-avocado @sunflovverharry @cherrysulewski @daphnesutton @gurugirl @jessitpwk@permanentllyharry@here4thefanfics @slutfortigertattoo @angelbabyyy99 @freedomfireflies @behindmygreyeyes

[lunarcovehq]

I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know, make my wish come true…

WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE

Tis the season of giving and the Magnolia Inn will be opening its doors once again to host their annual White Elephant party. So, for everyone willing to brave the cold, get dressed up in your ugliest sweaters, bring a gift and see what sort of present you might be able to steal by the end of the night.

RECAP EVENT POST

Below you will find the recap event post for White Elephant, in case you missed some of the chaos...

HIGHLIGHTS

Safiye asked Kaye if they were holding bets & Kaye starts acting like a bookie- Saf puts 20 down on Dilan & Poppy, Leyla puts 20 down on Dilan, Rio puts 30 down on Dilan, Kaye puts 20 down on Elif noting that their mood seems atrocious to which Elif overhears. Kaye ups their bid on Elif to 50 and offers to split with Elif if Elif wins. while Linden & Song bet that Todd can in fact fit a whole little pie into his mouth at once.

Suresh makes a comment when he opens a gift about how Jake turned down going back to a hotel room with him. Kaye's opinion of Jake has risen significantly since finding out he'd turned down Suresh's hotel room.

Rangi opens a pet rock and names it Dwayne.

Rangi's gift is opened by JC. It is comic books that were collected for Mason. This gift will get stolen down the road.

Suresh mentions fucking some blocks from the Willy Wonka experience back in the day and cringes at Jonah's sweater.

Linden opens Leyla's haunted Labubus gift. Todd names the haunted Labubu Gizmo. Only for the possessed Labubu to disappear.

Dilan starts talking about how there is a reason Elif isn't a therapist anymore and doesn't have a job because people won't talk about her feelings as Elif is sitting there drowning herself in red wine. She challenges Dilan to say one more thing about her to which Dilan tells her to 'fuckin' chill'. The two girls flip each other the bird.

Poppy calls Linden a 'surface level bitch'.

Ben realizes the price of a Birkin Bag.

Dilan opens Ronnie's number (a gift that will be stolen) and tosses it at Ronnie and Elif saying she doesn't need it. Elif still pissed at Dilan tugs Dilan's hair and tells her that she should say thank you when receiving a present before telling Kaye that Kaye won the bet and she was the first to loose her chill. Dilan screams and pours a bottle of alcohol all over Elif. Elif then sweeps her foot under Dilan's to trip her to the ground. Dilan throws her heels at Elif and then tells her that she would gut her the same way she did Hande and would not feel bad about it if Elif tries her again. Nyra tries to intervene. JC starts to jump in too. Nico steps in too and warns Dilan to back off.

Gizmo, the haunted labubu found a knife from the food table and is now flinging through the air towards Todd with it. Todd ducks down in-time, oblivious, but he knows a thing or two about being an object ghost and is sympathetic.

Elif moves to go sit back down with her claws raised only to mouth to Todd that Labubu might love to meet a certain brunette.

Linden is a typical sibling saying "pot meets kettle" back at Poppy. They go back and forth a bit, before Poppy crumbles up cookies and tosses them in Linden's face saying "fuck you asshole." Linden responds with "Oh no. Not the cookies. Whatever will I do with myself" in a deadpanned sarcastic tone before rolling his eyes at his twin. Poppy uses audible inundation on her brother. JC tries to tell Poppy and Linden to control themselves. Poppy tells JC to stay in his lane. JC calls Poppy stunted ("You know what? Fine. I'm not twelve. You enjoy being...stunted? Angry? Whatever.). Linden taunts Poppy ( "Yeah the cookies aren't your style, feel like lighting something on fire?") only to have magic used on him. Linden tells Poppy she reminds him of Alyssa. Poppy says she no longer has a twin as far as she's concerned for him saying that. Linden says she's like Alyssa again. Poppy cries.

Rohan helped Todd imprison the living toy beneath a salad bowl.

Sav steals Rio's gift. Rio tells her to go politely go fuck herself. Aaliyah mutters under her breath, "If any vampires start fights, I'm committing a crime." Sav apologies. They agree to hang out afterward.

Devrim tries to go play candy crush in the bathroom but is denied.

Jas scoots to the other side of the room away from the haunted labubu whose thoughts she can annoyingly hear. Gizmo stabs Ken. Ken lets them. Dilan & Leyla scream. Dilan shouts to throw Gizmo in the fire. Rohan says they should see if Poppy can exorcise Gizmo. Rio says if Ken wanted to be stabbed, he should have just asked. Ken points out that Leyla wouldn't like it if she tried to stab him. Rio thinks Leyla would give her a free pass.

Gizmo tries to stab Leyla. Ken holds onto Gizmo instead and gets stabbed again. Todd screams out in defense of Gizmo not wanting Gizmo to get thrown in the fire.

Devrim begins playing uno on his phone with Rio. He notices Ken get stabbed and frowned.

Dilan and Ken make plans to burn Gizmo later in a fire.

Jake is trying to strike up a business deal and convince Kaye to get a tattoo amongst the chaos.

Leyla gets stabbed by Gizmo.

Savannah opens the gift that is Mr. Sniffles Wigglesworth the Third, the bunny that thinks he's a vampire. The bunny bites Savannah, before biting Rangi. Mr. Sniffles runs around the room bitting any non vampires and tries to launch itself especially at the wolves snarling its little bunny fangs.

Devrim looks up as Dilan screams, then gasps in horror as he sees Leyla has been stabbed.

Nico gets out the first aid kit, which is actually labelled "for White Elephant" and tries to help people.

Dilan says "I'll gladly be the villain" as she tosses Gizmo into the fire. Todd cries out 'no!" Rio, putting down her UNO, jumps up with a bottle of tequila and splashes the alcohol into the fire to accelerate it and ensure the gizmo was well and truly barbequed.

The resurrected Todd, cursed to wander the Earth peeking beyond the veil he once walked, is somewhat comforted seeing the manifestation of Gizmo's possessor near the fire. Ashes to ashes.

The bunny has bitten Rohan. Todd now has a bloody gash on his finger as well. Jonah gets bite by Sniffles. Bri scolds Sniffles.

Rio thought about burning Mr. Sniffles for a half second but decided against it. Dilan and Jake were appalled that Rio would even think about burning the bunny. Especially Bri who is horrified anyone would want to burn her gift. Rio admits she is scared of the bunny.

Ronnie opens the mistletoe gift and kisses Elif before twirling her hair around her finger and asking around 'who's next?'. Elif goes off to kiss someone else herself.

Ralph opens Sav's gift that unbenowst to everyone (Savannah included), it contains fae food. Mr. Sniffles eats the cookie and stops biting anyone. Only to begin to grow the size of half the room while Jake shrinks down the size of a teacup.Rio grabs her tequila bottle and jumps behind the bar to hide from the fluffy monstrocity. Jacob begins to screams, "TURN ME BACK. TURN ME BACK." Except his voice just sounds like little squeaks because he's so small.

Linden starts throwing his bite-coins at the giant bunny.

Bri snatches one of Ralph's cookies and shoves it in Sniffle's mouth, watching sniffles shrink back down and curl up in her hands. Jake sees Bri feed the bunny more cookie then it turns back to its normal size. He then begins to squeak at Todd and Ernie to give him more cookie.

Ken asks Nico if he can siphon him. The giant bunny recedes and Nico turns to Ken, and looks down where he was stabbed too and agrees.

Rangi and Kitty realize they both have December Bdays.

Jake eats a cookie and grows huge. Jake screams as he begins growing and growing and growing. He fears he will never stop until, finally, his head bumps the roof. Dilan gets bumped out of her chair by Jake's big ass body. Everyone runs around screaming as Jake's body crushes him. Nico tries to go find Jas before she gets smushed. Jonah has his face buried in Jonah's shoulder, wishing this all would end. Suresh offers to find a nice airplane hangar for Giant Jake to live in. Ernie is surprised at Song's reaction trying to leave before he gets squished. He would've thought it was Song's dream to watch Jake "grow huge'". Devrim runs out of the way to avoid being smooshed by a giant witch and uses it as a distraction to escape to the bathroom to play candy crush. Elif and Rangi flee for cover and make out as everyone thinks they're going to die by Jake's rear end.

Jake hits his head on the ceiling again as he tries to move. "I can't live this way... I don't want to live in an airplane hanger." Jake slowly lowers himself on the ground, away from people but knocking some chairs and tables over as he tries to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling again. Eventually he gets in a, mostly, comfy position on his side. More charries run screaming for cover. There is now a hole in the ceiling of the Magnolia Inn's Lobby from Giant Jake's body.

Jake returns to normal height. Suresh is still not over the Campfire Retreat and makes a dig about it: "Just feed the bloke the bloody biscuit. Amusing as I find this. Not nice to be publicly humiliated, is it, witches?" He seems annoyed Jake didn't lose a few meters of height and let him be the tall one around here.

Linden hits on Jake again.

Gia snuggles with Mr. Sniffles back in her seat.

Savannah opens up mood enhancing fae drinks that have been concealed to look like regular drinks. She offers them up to people in the room, still bleeding from all the bunny bites. Xavier gets sad after drinking it about Gizmo, asks the witches to resurrect Gizmo and begins to sob. Ernie sips on his drink and begins to feel soft, vulnerable, and most important, fruity. Out of nowhere, Devrim begins to feel sad. The emotion swells until he burst into tears. Rangi drank lust and is hitting on Ronnie and Savannah. Todd is also crying about Gizmo but didn't even drink anything.

Ralph and Ernie have an adorable gay moment where they talk about his pornstar past.

Rio hits on Jake too.

Xavier sobs over opening a toothbrush.

Efe stole the black card to use to renovate the entire library for the human kids of Lunar Cove. Ben wipes a tear from his eye at the sentiment. Dilan pouts over the black card.

Rio unwraps Gia's haunted doll and is horrified (the doll will later be stolen by Bexley who had never had a doll growing up only to be stolen back by Gia out of spite from having her gift stolen).

The dentist is horrified at opening a box of peach O's candy. He regrets not stealing back his own toothbrush.

Song takes Mr. Sniffles from Gia. His smile only growing in amusement as Mr. Sniffles bites him.

Suresh makes a deal to take the toothbrush so that he can get to go into the VIP area at Sinners whenever he wants. Bexley doesn't like the sound of that deal and will be requesting to not work the VIP room for a while. She doesn't like the grumpy fae man.

Jake reminds Rio of how Rio friendzoned him saying that Rio is right and they're better off as friends. Rio is now in a foul mood.

Frankie steals Bri's vampire bottle opener from her. For the third year in the row, the vampire gift Jonah got/Dilan replicated, is stolen from her. Bri's eyes go dark as Frankie takes her gift. In a rage blackout, she lunges at Frankie and flashes her fangs. Poppy intervenes. Bri shoves Poppy before realizing what she had done.

Poppy calls to Meena and Aaliyah saying “‘Meena and Aaliyah would either of you like to handle this? Because I’m about to if you don’t.” Jake came back in from the hall, wiping a few tears from his eyes as discreetly as he could. All the salt watered dried up when he saw Bri shove Poppy. "Hey!" He yelled at the vampire. "Back off!"

Aaliyah grabs Bri by the neck. Meena is pissed at everyone given that she can still barely walk from being bitten by a werewolf multiple times earlier on.

Ernie pulls out his phone to record. For his close friends. Ronnie comments on Bri saying she's fucking crazy in an endearing way, even if "she was a feral little monster".

Bri snarls at Jake. "You're dead. You and your sister. I don't care when or how, but it will happen," She warns, before she knocks Aaliyah's hands off of her. Holding her hands up in the air as if waiving the white flag. Jacob laughed, no humor in the sound, with his head nodding decidedly. "You threaten me and my family and there will be repercussions on your head" - threatening her back. He proceeds to call Bri a "psycho".

Xavier tells everyone they sure know how to ruin a man's birthday. Bri goes over to Xavier and mentions how its her birthday soon too to commiserate with him.

Cat cracks a joke about how if Poppy needs help throwing someone against a wall she can have her back, before looking for alcohol. Poppy says thats not how she does things anymore and how nothing productive will come from this anymore before shooting Linden a pointed look. Poppy makes a comment about how "some of us turn into our mother after all" before saying she's going to get drunk.

Billie gets her gift stolen by Bexley. Bexley steals it so Billie can get something else she might like. Billie doesn't understand this as Bexley doesn't say it out loud and steals the alcohol because she needs a drink.

Rangi overhears Bri and Xavier chatting about their bdays feeling ruined and holds her flask up and says loudly. "CHEERS TO ALL THE BIRTHDAY BITCHES!" Bri's bite down her bottom lip to stop herself from crying. Jonah tries to comfort her saying "I just wanted to make you smile...not for it end up like this. Again." which only makes her sob more. Dilan holds her as she cries. Sensing that everything was a little calmer, Rio went to sit by Bri, softly placing a hand on her arm in a gesture of awkward support.

Frankie asks Jake if she should give the gift back to Bri who she notices is crying while Jake says not to and calls Bri an "entitled asshole".

Bri looks over at Aaliyah for help given Jake is still going in on her and she was told she's not allowed to fight back.

Linden and Poppy make jabs at each other some more.

Dev's phone died.

Kitty's comic books get stolen. Kitty dies inside.

Nico checks on Meena's pain levels.

Linden tells Jake he's going home with him.

Rio asks Devrim for a ride.

Gia gives Bexley back the doll.

Cat gives Rangi the comic books back and she gives them to Kitty asking her to take good care of them for Mason.

Rangi gives Dwayne the Rock to Cat as a trade.

Everyone else goes home.

[sunskate]

Skate Ontario August Sectionals FD:

Sheri Moir and Cara Moir for IAMO, Benjamin Brisebois for IAM, Mitch Islam for Mariposa, Marc-Andre Servant? for Carol Lane's school, Paul Macintosh and more

Juniors: Layla and Alex have a sense of unity between them that's a pleasure to watch, their skating is looking beautiful, and this La Strada program has a grandness that works very well for them - there were a couple glitches today towards the end - in the ChLi in particular, but they won by 9 points here. he wore all black today instead of the orange and black shirt

the Mariposa teams did really well again - the tango program for Rachel Martins/Juel Kowalczyk is so good, and they skate it like they want to eat it up - they were 2nd in the FD but didn't quite make up the gap from yesterday's RD, so they were 3rd overall. and Summer Homick/Nicholas Buelow are well matched and have long lines, and i think that helps with the judges? they had a twizzle issue, but without that, they might have been ahead of Martins/Kowalczyk in the FD which doesn't feel right

these schools do an impressive job - maybe that's a given, but it's so exciting to see teams transforming. Chung/Mackenzie were new and green last season - Carol Lane talks about teaching skating on the circle, and this team had such better skating skills this time - you could see them curving more and looking faster and more secure. i love seeing that so much. Liv Corneil/Alex Emery from IAMO had a competition they must be happy about - they're having a successful junior debut season so far

Seniors: Lots to celebrate - Lily and Nathan's Firebird already looks stronger than a few weeks ago. it's exciting to watch it come together. the end of the program is backloaded- the twizzles looked more secure, one big element after another culminating in that huge ChLi - they lost a level here and there, but this was still beautiful, and they came in 1st

Leia and Pietro won the FD - i love the way they're able to change energy with the music and sustain a mood. one of their best performances technically - excited for what's to come as they go deeper into this

Nadiia/Peter - they're portraying the character of ballroom Latin well - i still don't love the music, but the first half of the program is starting to sparkle. after the spin, it starts to feel chaotic - that crazy slide doesn't work for me, and then they had a fall right at the end of the program. they were 2nd overall

Alyssa/Jacob - their performance was so emotional it made me cry - congratulations to them for their first 100+ point FD

thanks to @danelledo for the info that it's Kieran MacDonald's sister, not mother, who's on their coaching team at Kitchener/Waterloo. Korneva/MacDonald did a really nice job on their first outing of their FD

Ritter/Brykalov were in all black instead of the costumes they wore at Lake Placid. this program is lovely. their combo lift is so big and dramatic - their lifts in general are a high point, though i guess they were a little too long - a couple extended lift deductions

how did i miss before that Athena Roberts's dress changes colors mid program lol she has such core strength it allows them to do creative lifts. he has nice extension

Shilling/Baeten i notice her warmth as a performer - they have a nice connection. this Celine program has potential to really build. they had a fall in their hydroblade at the end- it looked like it went too big, and they slipped off their edge maybe

[imperfectly360]

I told Rick Rick that I really like Hannahballarina the ballerina from ballerina farm and Rick Rick is so amazing and told me he will sacrifice Alyssa and their two children so that I can live my dreamy homestead life with him. He told me he will do it right away. I'm so happy Rick Rick will demolish his family for me. He's everything I hope for. He's everything I need. We could both care less about ham hocks and demon children and make joint decisions that make us both happy. Rick Rick understands my heart and we live to please one another. Bye Alyssa! We are considerate and caring and are really sensitive with each other. Rick Rick wants to see me milk cows and smash patties and fry fritter tatters together with other smorgasbord and scoop out that big gourd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rick Rick! Has told me a candle a day keeps our fire burning a forever and that he will soap up my toes every day with well water from the jack and jill hill!!!!! I love Rick Rick he even told me I can keep Alyssa's gnarly slippers from our own mountain goat idk how Alyssa got her paws on them but they sure aren't hers and we snatched them back real quick. Rick Rick told me he doesn't remember Alyssa who anymore. I told Rick Rick, same. We just double sear our potatoes in maple glaze and much on cherry tomatoes all day that we apricot London and champagne because tree bark love music pets and bird to the chicken and wake up eggs zucchini mushrooms gluten magnesium skinny cow popcorn becomes Meijer small bin box bulk small 1.25 feed sunflower enrichment extra foamy squeeze cotton cloud mommy blankets clean linen naked baby no clothes moccasins bb love clean pampered butt powder clean dirty animal no more spaghetti with garlic bread carbi barbi deer rabbit nature milk and kitchen thrift store flea market garage sale yard sale lemonade stand cookies lonely soldier wolf bush berries tent sad boy never cry again whopper big Mac 8 dollars pay lovers lane Starbucks sweet drink more please thanks good boy see you l8r lol apron hairnet nanny Jewish homebody bake bread good morning rise and shine I love Rick Rick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spenglernot]

STORIES TELLING: ED TEACH’S JOURNEY FROM ARMOR TO AUTHENTICITY

One of the joys of watching season 2 of Our Flag Means Death is discovering the visual parallels with season 1 that add so much meaning and richness to the story. With affecting, extraordinary economy of visual storytelling, we can see the progression of Ed’s journey from choosing armor in season 1, episode 10 – Wherever You Go, There You Are, to choosing authenticity in season 2, episode 7 – Man on Fire.

[I have to point out the gorgeous cinematography here. Panning down on the left, panning up on the right. The clear resolve of S2 E7 Ed turning to ascend to the deck. I also love the timing of both shots. S2 E7 Ed is turning toward the red silk that S1 E10 Ed will release.]

S1 E10 Ed considers the red silk. The symbol of his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability.

S2 E7 Ed hoists his leathers and his firearm - his literal and symbolic armor and protection - to the edge of the deck.

S1 E10 Ed releases his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability to the sea.

S2 E7 Ed releases his armor and protection to the sea.

S1 E10 Ed throws the person who understands what he’s going through and is in a position to help him work through it in a healthy way, into the sea.

S2 E7 Ed makes breakfast-in-bed for the person with whom he shares emotional and physical intimacy. An act of care and service that strengthens his bond with Stede.

Show, don't tell doesn't seem adequate to describe these two sequences. They are masterful and say so, so much.

The double-edged sword of self-awareness

You’ve really got to give it to Ed. He’s making huge progress. Making a better choice for himself. Moving forward.

Change can be terrifying. For Ed to release that which protected him for decades is, well… it’s courageous and demonstrates hard-won self-awareness and integrity.

Of course, choosing to be authentic to yourself doesn’t translate into automatic relationship building. Understanding and communicating with other people, particularly the person you are in love with, is a related but different skill set. It is also true that, once you know that you can’t perform a persona to please other people, no matter how much you love them, you risk losing them.

Ed in the second frame, above, kills me. He knows that piracy might be the wedge that drives Stede and him apart. He is trying to share how he feels. But Stede is so enamored with finally being a successful pirate (and glowing from the best (and only) love-sex of his life) that he can't hear Ed.

I love that OFMD takes no shortcuts in matters of the heart. If these lads are going to be together for reals, they are going to have to work for it, and there is still much work to be done.

I'm looking forward to likely being simultaneously emotionally fulfilled and mentally devastated by the season 2 finale in about 30 hours.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

[little-corritrice]

Light of My Life - Chapter 25

Synopsis - y/n was your ordinary young women, who happened to be the daughter of Christian Horner. She is there every race, and every day, See how she gets along with everyone, including a special someone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As we were packing up to go to the hotel, I heard Alyssa's loud voice in the garage. "Hi! My name is Alyssa! Pleasure meeting you." I heard her, and looked at Alex. We both ran out, seeing her all over Max as Kelly was by the door. I went to her, seeing her confused. "Don't worry, he is not cheating. Her name is Alyssa and she is very much a slut." I patted her shoulder, but she gasped making me look over. I saw Alyssa's hands on Max's chest and her other hand on his cheek. I got super pissed, especially since I saw Max as my younger brother. "You fucking bitch!" I yelled, walking over to her. I grabbed her by the hair, pulling her out onto pit lane. But I kept pulling her, making her scream and cry. "y/n!" Alex yelled, trying to stop me. 

I pushed him away with my other hand though. "I don't know who you think you are, or why you think you can just come in here trying to hook up with the drivers. Your a fucking piece of trash that needs to be taken out. Your lucky I don't fucking beat your ass right here." I seethed, tugging her head up. I dragged her down pitlane, all the drivers watching me. Alex was still next to me, trying to calm me down. "I let it slide the first time when you were with Ethan, but then you fucked Jay right in front of me! You have no idea how much I hate you! Then you have the audacity to fucking flirt with my boyfriend! Then another persons partner!" I yelled, arriving to the entrance. I threw her down, grabbing her collar. "You don't belong here. If I ever see you again, it's going to be way worst than this." I seethed, throwing her on the floor. She screamed, kicking her legs. She stared at me with fear, making me smirk.

I was about to walk away, but I stopped and turned around. "Oh, and this is mine now." I said, yanking the pass that was around her neck. "Make sure you get her daddy, and mommy out of here too." I said to the guard, to which he nodded. I turned around, seeing  the drivers standing there. Some were smiling, others looked shocked. I grabbed Alex's hand, and started walking to the garage. "Damn." He whispered, still staring at me. "What?" I snapped, turning to look at him. "That was hot." He smiled, making me shake my head while chuckling. "Your so stupid." I said, entering the garage. It erupted into cheers and clapping. Everyone was staring at me, some patting my shoulder. "Your dad wants to see you." One said, making me sigh. "Welp, I'm dead." I said, kissing Alex on the cheek before walking to his office.

I slowly walked in, not seeing him in there. I sat on the chair, looking around. I saw the photo of mom, me, and him behind his desk. I went to it, picking it up and smiling at it. The door opened and Christian came in. I set the photo down, turning to him. "Hi dad." I nervously chuckled. "Look, I'm not going to chew your ass for taking out the trash. But you could have done it more cleaner. It's all over the tv now. Everyone will see it." He explained, patting my shoulder. I let out my breath, laughing afterwards. "Oh my god. I thought my ass was going to get kicked out." I said, making him chuckle. "I could never kick you out. Unless it's something really stupid." He said, making me nod. I bid goodbye and left to the driver's room. I saw Max and Kelly smiling at me, making me go to them.

I hugged them, sending smiles towards them. "Thanks for that. It was funny." Kelly said, shaking her head. "That was so badass." Max laughed. "You literally had everyone dying." He finished, holding his stomach. I laughed along with them, shaking my head. "She shouldn't be all on everyone. Nobody wants to fuck with her, but she thinks everyone wants her dumbass." I huffed, getting annoyed again. "Well, you should go cool off. Alex should be waiting in the room." He said, hugging me. I hugged him and Kelly, saying goodbyes to them, and heading over to the room after getting past some engineers. I went into the room, gathering all my stuff, and walking out. I debated whether to go to the front or the back since Alex wasn't in the room. In the end, I decided to go to the back, since the parking lot was that way. 

As soon as I stepped out, a swarm of people surrounded me. "Oh..." I said, covering my face with Alex's hat. I started walking, spotting Alex waiting by a tree. I ran over, grabbing his hand and jogging to the car. "Hurry up, bub." I said, basically dragging him. "I'm trying." He laughed, unlocking the car. We threw our stuff in, starting the car. "So, how about dinner tonight?" He asked, driving away while grabbing my thigh. "That sounds fun. Then we can go to the pool and chill?" I suggested, playing with his hand. He hummed, giving me a soft smile. "Love you." He whispered, looking over. "Love you most." I smiled, kissing his cheek.

[ofmdrecaps]

07/18-19/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys & Rosie; Samba Schutte; David Jenkins; Taika Waititi; #FirstMateFriday: Con O'Neill; Vico Ortiz; Linds Cantrell; Alex Sherman & Alyssa Lane; Kristian Nairn; Rachel House; Erroll Shand; Jes Tom; WBD Status; ; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; Stede & Ed; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Love Notes ; Daily Darby / Today's Taika;

Hey crew, sorry for the delay. I was going to finish yesterday's recap this morning, and then my draft got nuked again due to my computer crashing, so yeah two day it is!

== Rhys & Rosie ==

Rhys and Rosie are out at the AllBlacks Rubgy game! They're super excited for AoNZ vs Fiji!

Source: Rhys & Rosie's Instagram Stories

== Samba Schutte ==

So some of the news that came out of Florida Supercon last weekend was Samba revealed in a panel that there was supposed to be an official OFMD Podcast and it was in the works until WBD said they "ran out of money". You can read the Full Article here

== David Jenkins ==

Chaos dad came out and had some commentary as well regarding it-- and Samba had more to add.

Source: David Jenkins' Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika out and about!

Source: Rosie Matheson's Instagram

Annnd Taika just being goofy!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by i Licaoni Digital Studio (@i_licaoni)

Source: i_licaoni's Instagram

The associated Press released another interview with Taika and Jemaine!

and yet ANOTHER interview with Taika and Jemaine, this time with Brad Gilmore!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brad Gilmore (@bradgilmore)

Source: Brad Gilmore's Instagram

== First Mate Friday: Con O'Neill ==

There's a new trend this week! Folks on twitter have started up #FirstMateFriday in honor of Con O'Neill! There are so very many lovely tributes to him! I was only able to fit a few in, but they're all beautiful, and full of so much heartfelt love, and I'm sure he is out there basking in it all right now! Thank you to everyone who sent him some love today (and thank you to the lovely folks below for letting me share them!) Also, special thanks to RudestFish on twitter for coming up with this love fest for Con!

Source: RudestFish's Twitter

Source: lividturkeys Twitter

Source: wndrngnomad's Twitter

Source: 1chloreen1's Twitter

Source: Tayleafy's Twitter

== Alex Sherman and Alyssa Lane ==

Our beloved writers/co-producers Alex and Alyssa were out in Mexico City! So nice to see them out and having fun again!

Source: Alex Sherman's Instagram

Alex also popped in to appreciate our darling @fidisart on twitter!

Source: Fidisart's Twitter

== Long Post is Long, Lots under the Cut ==

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico wants to wish everyone a Happy #NonMonogamyVisibility Week! They shared a lot about their history with polyamory and lots of Garlic Soup on their Instagram Stories as well!

Source: Vico's Instagram

== Linds Cantrell ==

Lindsey Cantrell is the biggest sweetheart by the way and she's been so happy to be interacting with everyone in the OFMD community-- it was just nice to see her feeling included and loved (she shared this on her IG Story). If you don't already follow her on IG, please do, she always has super cool stuff to share, even if it's not OFMD related. <3

Source: Linds Cantrell's Instagram

== Rachel House ==

Rachel was out seeing Bob Tidicue!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram Stories

== Erroll Shand ==

New Episode yesterday of The Twelve on Binge!

Source: Binge's Instagram

== Jes Tom ==

Jes was featured on the "GOOD BOYS" Podcast: Episode 2: Model Behavior! Wanna listen in? You can check out their linktree.

Source: For Them's Instagram

Some photos from Jes' recent comedy show with Tessa Skara: Corporate Pride.

Source: TessaFuckinSkara's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian is the special guest at Van Love Fest in Elvington Airfield, York!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

== WBD News ==

So many of our crewmates on twitter have been highlighting some big news with WBD. It sounds like they may actually be doing a split in the upcoming future. Lot of articles below with more info.

Warner Bros Discovery drafts break-up plan

Warner Bros. Discovery might split itself into two pieces

Cord Cutting Today Warner Bros. Discovery Selling Max? Here is What We Know

Why Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Jumped 15% This Week

David Zaslav's Come To Jesus Moment

Sources: Meowzawowza, Never Left Podcast, Ashley (seven_sugars), MrButtons294 on Twitter

== Trends ==

Always nice to see!

Source: Never Left Podcast's Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Naureemum S. was another one of the stand-ins in OFMD according to https://ofmd-crew.com/ - Thank you to @melvisik for giving her a spotlight!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

== Our Flag Means Fanfiction ==

Are you going to be at San Diego Comic Con on July 25-28? Well keep an eye out for these free bookmarks from Our Flag Means Fanfiction!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! I hope the end to your week was good to you! A lots happened in the last 48 hrs, and I apologize I'm so late sharing some of it. Please let me know if I missed anything! I love how much people are really stepping up the love for cast members after all the Emmy stuff that went down. I see everyone just aggressively (I say affectionatly) loving so many of them and it's so heart-warming and uplifting. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but your love and kindness is so incredibly impactful. You may never get to see the fruits of your love (although the cast and crew does tend to show us they hear us) but know that every little bit builds up. Maybe someone was having a bad day, and seeing how much we love them gave them that extra boost to get through it-- you never know! There is an old greek proverb: "A society grows great when [folks] plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

That is really true about kindness and support and love too. You are sowing the seeds and roots of a better tomorrow, even if you yourself never get to see the branches and fruit that love produces.

Never let the harshness of the world dim your light lovelies. Your kindness and love moves mountains tiny bits at a time.

I hope you all have a wonderful, fairly uneventful weekend (unless you want it to be eventful!) and get some good rest <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

There is no theme tonight! Just Rhys being ridiculously hot, and Meow blessing us with this adorable Taika smile. Happy belated Meow Day! Rhys Gif by @ofmd-ann and Taika Gif by @blakbonnet!

[ourflagmeansbts]

Source (Season 2 - January 10th 2024)

jesthekid: Another chapter closes. I wish I had more fun OFMD bts to show you, but it's a strange thing to be tv writing in the age of zoom & covid—being both intimately entwined with the making of something but also totally distant, having never gotten to visit set or even meet many of the people I was working with irl. So here's where a lot of my action went down: in the texts. Thank you @dvidjenkins @cryptostein @alexj_sherman Alyssa Lane @nataliesnorres @elidelsol @zayreferrer John Mahone @maddiedai @zackeryastephens. I'm grateful to have been dreaming deranged pirate shit with u all on zoom. And thank you to the fans, many of whom have come out to support my comedy bc they love OFMD so much. I promise I'll always be making h-word queer comedy for u. I hope you'll continue to support all of us who worked on the show as we go on to do our lil things. As Ed said, "bye bye" (but spoiler: he comes back later) 🏴‍☠️🍊🧜🏼‍♂️

[nicolemaiines]

Hi Victoria! Could I get some help finding latinx fcs for Lois Lane around late 20s-mid 30s? Thank you!

adria arjona, mj rodriguez, zion moreno, lindsey morgan, diane guerrero, karla souza, nathalie kelley, alyssa diaz! 

[something-tofightfor]

1.5k follower event winners!

Once again, thank ALL of you for submitting. I enjoyed reading your responses so much, and it gave me a chance to go back and think about all of the stories that I haven’t worked on recently. It was a welcome trip down memory lane. 

I put the names of the users that submitted posts to me - there were 14 total - into a randomizer. The video below shows this, and it shows the winners, too. 

This is the selected order: 

1. @dearmarii

2. @fific7

3. @ificouldhelpyouforget

4. @lindatreb

5. @the-blind-assassin-12

6. @gollyderek

7. @addictedtofictionalcharacters

8. @malionnes

9. @pheedraws

10. @audreychaz

11. @bisexual-space-slut

12. @eternitydarkling

13. @alraedesigns

14. @suchatinyinfinity

Congrats to all of you! Below the tag are the official lists for you to pick from, as well as what I need from you.  **feel free to send your responses via message or ask; I won’t post the asks until I’m ready to post your story ** 

I’ve decided to change things a little - and while the lengths of the pieces will remain the same (1st place at least 1500 words, 2-5 at least 1000 and 6-14 at least 500), everyone can choose all three categories for their piece. 

So. 

Everyone on the list above, please pick 1 character, one setting and 1-2 prompt/dialogue options. 

*if you want a specific type of story/overall tone, let me know too*

Characters:

Billy Russo (be sure to specify S1 or S2)

Logan Delos (if you want a certain Logan, please specify)

Samuel Adams

Ryan Brenner

Benjamin Greene 

King Caspian 

John Whittaker (I will try him, but please be warned, if I begin writing and am unhappy with it ALYSSA I will reach out and ask you to pick again because I’m not gonna do my husband dirty)

Settings/Dialogue: 

This post contains the setting and dialogue options for you to choose from for this event.

If you’re confused about anything, please feel free to reach out and I’ll answer any questions you have.  As soon as people begin submitting these, I’ll add them into my spreadsheet and start writing.  If I don’t hear from you by Tuesday (September 15) I’ll reach out - if I still don’t get a reply, I’ll write for you based on the character and story you selected when you sent your initial message. 

[dcbbw]

(last one, I promise!) Rachel prompt 28 - I'm alone and I just bought $15 in candy bars. What do you think?

Thanks so much for the ask, @zaffrenotes! I am using the DC Crew for this full-blown fic;  in the first chapter of Aftermath of a Breakup, the gang did not see each other over the Christmas Break. This is what they were doing instead of hanging out……

Prompt is in bold. Please excuse any typos and/or grammatical errors.

All characters belong to Pixelberry except Alyssa Devereaux; she belongs to @burnsoslow and is used with permission.

Song Inspiration: January, Millie Lee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3pIWpdzs2A

December 23

Riley

Riley stood in the feminine care aisle of her neighborhood CVS, braless under a tank top. Her sweatpants were loose around her waist and baggy everywhere else. She wore flip flops on her feet. Her hair was bushy and uncombed.

It was 12 degrees outside. She wore no coat.

Riley was not having a joyous holiday season. Ever since Drake Walker broke up with Riley at Target…her Target….life had not been good.

At work, her raise request had been turned down, and the Christmas bonus she received instead had been miniscule; while Maxwell used his bonus to pay off his credit cards, Riley was calculating how she could squeeze a dinner out and a tube of the new Bobbi Brown lipstick out of hers.

She wasn’t sleeping and was stress eating; her cart so far was filled with king sized chocolate bars, bags of some off-brand Cajun trail mix, and pints of ice cream.

If dealing with heartbreak and being broke wasn’t enough, Riley had a yeast infection, which is why she was now indifferently perusing her options for treatment. She tossed a box in the cart, and after a moment of thought, tossed in a box of Summer’s Eve as well.

As she dragged her feet up the aisle towards the cashier, she saw her Nosy Neighbor, Zack, headed her way. Inwardly, Riley rolled her eyes. The last person she wanted to see was anyfuckingbody. She mustered a tired smile and greeted her neighbor quickly.

“Riley, Riley, Riley! All set for Christmas?” Zack asked cheerfully.

Riley looked at him through slit eyes. Do I look ready for Christmas? Her tone, however, was neither sullen nor depressed, so she patted herself on the back for that.

“Just gonna be a quiet day for me”.

She eased past Zack towards the front of the store, hoping that was the end of the conversation. However, her neighbor followed behind her, still chatting. Riley tuned him out.

At the register, Riley pulled her items out of her cart, setting them on the counter. Zack reviewed her purchases, his eyes growing wide.

“Are you okay, Riley? That’s a lot of sugar!”

Riley kept her eyes on the counter, watching as the cashier swiped each item. “I don’t know, Zack. My boyfriend broke up with me less than three weeks ago. I’m alone and just bought $15 in candy bars. What do you think?”

Another candy bar was swiped. “Oh, my bad. $18 worth of candy bars.”

“I’m sorry, Riley”, Zack said softly. “You know, the church is having a dinner. You’re welcome to come.”

A sad smile crossed Riley’s lips. “Thanks, Zack. That’s very thoughtful of you.”

The cashier gave Riley her total; she dug in her pocket for her credit card.

Her card declined.

With a confused look, Riley ran the card two more times. Each time, it declined. The line behind her grew longer and a bit more impatient.

Riley couldn’t believe that on top of EVERYTHING ELSE, her card was freaking declining. To add insult to injury, it was the one with the highest credit limit.

Zack took out his card. “I got it, Riley. You can pay me back whenever.”

With tears in her eyes, Riley gathered her purchases and ran out the door.

“Merry Christmas, Zack!” she called over her shoulder in a broken voice.

Olivia x Max

Maxwell was stretched out on his couch, wearing nothing but his pajama pants. He was firing up the blunt he had just rolled. He inhaled deeply, feeling the acrid smoke fill his lungs. He exhaled with a deep sigh and smiled up at Olivia, who was straddling his lap.

Her hair was loose and fell in soft waves to her shoulders. She was wearing Maxwell’s pajama top and a lacy thong.

“Do you think we smoke too much weed?” he asked with a frown.

“It’s CHRISTMAS! Green is the color of the Christmas”, Olivia responded.

“So is red”, Maxwell countered.

Olivia clutched the bottle of merlot in her hand and held it aloft. “Which is why we have this baby!” she giggled.

The couple exchanged kisses between tokes and pulls at the wine bottle.

“You’re a Queen, you know”, Maxwell murmured against her skin.

Olivia shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

“You are!”, Maxwell insisted. He motioned for Olivia to get off him; when she did, he sat up, his gaze fixed on the scenery outside their living room window.

“We could live in this place far away. Cordonia! That’s its name! We could all live there! Be royals and nobles and shit.”

Olivia exhaled. “And what would we do there?”

“Noble shit! The guys would walk around with ivory tipped canes and wear monocles. And the ladies would wear fancy dresses and sip tea all day.”

“What roles would we have?”

Maxwell thought as he swigged wine. “Drake would definitely be a Duke. Of a real masculine sounding place…like Ramsford!

Madeleine would be noble but barely…. she’d be like a Baroness or a Countess or something. Her place would have a weird name.”

“Valtoria!” Olivia proclaimed.

“Riley…. she’s a Duchess for sure. Of Fydelia!”

“She could change the name to Rydelia!”

“Liam…. he’s like a Lord or something. Of Krona.”

Olivia frowned. “Krona sounds too masculine. You should make Drake Duke of Krona, and Liam the Lord of Ramsford.”

Her green eyes took in Maxwell. “And what about you?”

Maxwell thought. He reached for the blunt. “I don’t think I’m Duke material. I would probably be a Lord or something. Of Lythikos! There would be mountains and snow and stuff so I could ski and sled year-round.”

“And what about me?” Olivia demanded as she reached for the wine bottle.

Maxwell’s arm went around her shoulder as he pulled her closer. “You’re the Queen, my dear.”

“Who’s my King?”

“Bertrand. He’s the King.”

“Over my dead fucking body!” Olivia swatted Maxwell’s thigh.

“You two could have an arrangement or something. A Cordonian arrangement! And I, the Lord of Lythikos, would be your most loyal servant.”

Olivia stood, stretching her lithe body. “Well, come along, loyal servant; we have gifts to wrap before the munchies overtake us.”

Leo x Madeleine

“What can we take that won’t trigger Mother?” Madeleine asked as she and Leo wandered Whole Foods.

They were spending Christmas Eve with her mother, who was a newly recovering alcoholic. Adelaide had been sober a little over thirty days. Madeleine picked up a carton of egg nog; it had alcohol in it. She searched for a non-alcoholic version.

“Your mother drank anything that had liquor in it and made sure it did have alcohol when it didn’t. For over twenty years. At this point, liquids period is a trigger”, Leo said. “We should stick with tea, water, and soda.”

“I want to support my mother, Leo! She’s making strides to get better, to be better!”

Leo pulled Madeleine closer to him; one arm went around her waist, his hand splayed against her back. The other hand took the carton of egg nog from her hand and tossed it back into the dairy case.

“I know you do, Mads. I want to support her as well. But you can’t be her babysitter. If she didn’t think she could handle a dinner party, she wouldn’t be throwing one.”

“But Father will be there……” Madeleine’s voice drifted off as Christmas carols blared from speakers.

Leo’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed a little. “Did she invite him?”

Madeleine shook her head. “I don’t know. All she said was we were invited, and Father was coming.”

“That bastard has some nerve! Okay, change of plans. Your mom is coming to our place!”

Madeleine looked up at Leo, her green eyes hopeful and uncertain at the same time. “Are you sure?”

“Addy has thirty days under her belt. I want to see her get thirty-one. Godfrey being anywhere near her guarantees she goes back to Day Zero. She’ll stay with us through the New Year. She can sleep in our room and we’ll take the sleeper sofa.”

“But you just said we can’t babysit her”, Madeleine reminded him.

“She’s about to step out in front of a bus traveling at high speed down a narrow road. We’re protecting her.”

“I love you so much!!” Madeleine was near tears as she hugged Leo tightly.

Leo kissed her hair. “Same here. Now, you call your mom while I see if they have any cookbooks in this bitch.”

Drake x Alyssa

Drake’s eyes were fixed on the road as he drove Alyssa to the airport. Alyssa was singing along with a 90s song on the radio. Her hand rested lightly on top of Drake’s as DCA loomed in the distance.

“I wish you didn’t have to go”, Drake muttered as he changed lanes.

“Shhhhhh…I’m serenading you”, Alyssa scolded.

Drake grinned as he shook his head. How did this little tornado bowl him over so quickly? She made him smile, she made him tingle, she made him feel complete in a way no one had before.

Not even Brooks.

Guilt and sadness filled him at the thought of Riley. He needed to talk to her, but he had no idea what to say. Sorry wasn’t going to cut it, and Drake wasn’t good with words. He was shaken from his thoughts by Alyssa asking him if he enjoyed her singing to him.

“Of course, Devereaux. You should stay and give me an encore.”

“When I get back! And if we’re still together this time next year, I’ll bring you with me. Daniel and my friends will be thrilled to meet you!” Alyssa promised, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones.

“If we’re still together next Christmas, I’m taking you to Texas.”

“Christmas needs cold and snow, not swimming pools and shorts!”

Drake took the exit to enter the airport. “When you come back, if you’re up for it, I want to introduce you to my friends. We get together about once a month or so and hang out. Dinner, movies, bowling……that kind of stuff.”

“I’d like that”, Alyssa said softly.

Her eyes grew anxious. “What will you be doing on Christmas Day? I don’t want you to be alone.”

Drake shrugged. “Sleep. Watch basketball. Dinner with my sister, her fiancé, and my nephew.” He leaned over and snatched a quick kiss. “Missing you.”

“Stop making me fall for you!” Alyssa giggled as she pushed his arm lightly.

“I’ve already fallen. Join me, won’t you?” Drake said softly.

“I might take you up on that offer.” Alyssa tightened her hold on his hand.

Drake pulled up to the doors to the airline; he shut his truck off and rushed around to open Alyssa’s door. He lifted her from the seat and helped her out. She grinned up at Drake, her eyes shiny with tears. She stood on her toes, throwing her arms around his neck.

“I’m going to miss you so much!” She pressed her pink lips against his.

“You’re back on the 28th, right?

Alyssa nodded. “Late flight, though.”

Drake kissed her again. “I don’t care if it lands at 2am. Let me know when your flight is due back. I’ll be here.”

After a lingering kiss and a tight hug, Drake pulled Alyssa’s suitcase from the back of the vehicle and walked her to the doors.

As a bitter cold wind blew through his wool coat as if it were a cotton shirt, Drake waved to Alyssa until he couldn’t see her anymore.

Liam

Liam pulled underwear and socks from his dresser drawer to toss into his suitcase. He had his Santa socks, his Christmas tree socks, his jingle bell socks, his reindeer socks. He frowned as he looked for his socks with the gift boxes; ahhhh, there they were!

He was going to Boston for Christmas. It wasn’t his original plan.

Liam had wanted to stay in DC, come into the office while everyone else was on vacation, get some work done.  Spend time with his friends, maybe go out for Chinese food and a movie on Christmas Day with Riley B. Or maybe Riley B. would cook Christmas dinner, and he could go to her place. Liam wouldn’t even have minded the fact that Drake would’ve been there.

Anything to take his mind off the fact that he was alone at Christmas when he wasn’t ready to be.

But when he met up with the gang last week, neither Riley nor Drake were there. Madeleine and Leo were going to her mother’s for a Christmas Eve dinner party and staying overnight. Maxwell and Olivia were going to Bertrand’s for the day and staying for dinner.

Liam figured Riley and Drake had plans as well, probably visiting Riley’s family in North Carolina. So Liam would be alone this Christmas, and the thought of going to an empty office drained him of his motivation to prove that he was worthy of the promotion.

After dinner with the gang, Liam had called his mom and told her he wanted to come home for Christmas. Eleanor had been ecstatic; she missed her sons.

“Is your brother coming?” she asked excitedly. Leo was not her biological child, but Eleanor considered him her own.

“Not this time. He’s going with Madeleine to see her mother. And he has to work the day after Christmas.”

“Well, we’ll see him next time! And we can Skypetime him or something! Now, I’m making a turkey and a leg of lamb. And my oyster dressing. And corn. And mashed potatoes with sour cream and giblet gravy.”

“Mom, you know I hate oyster dressing!” Liam protested.

“Your father loves it! I’ll make two dressings, but yours is coming out of a box.”

“Why can’t you just scoop mine out before you add the oysters?” Liam frowned.

“Stop frowning! Maybe I can do that…. we’ll see. You eat your weight in dressing, Mister!”

“How did you even know I was frowning?” Liam asked curiously.

“You’re my son. I know what you do!”

Liam smirked thinking that if his mom knew all he did……

“I know you do that too! So when will you be here?”

“Looking up flights now.”

“Let us know so I can have your father pick you up.”

“I can Uber, mom. You guys don’t need to come pick me up!”

“Nonsense. Your father will be there. Okay, gotta go……600 Pound Life is coming on, and I need inspiration to stick to my diet!”

Liam tossed in pants and sweaters; after some internal debate, he tossed in his work laptop. He had reached out to some old friends still in Boston, so hopefully he wouldn’t be working, but just in case. His packing done, he glanced at the clock. He had an early flight out in the morning, but he wasn’t sleepy.

He was thinking about Riley B. and what she was doing. He wondered what Drake bought her for Christmas. He hadn’t asked anyone for suggestions as he usually did. Liam wondered if it was a ring.

His eyes fell on the wrapped present he had bought for Riley B. They hadn’t done Secret Santa this year, but Liam knew Riley B. would love the bottle of Coco Chanel Mademoiselle. It was one of her favorite scents.

Liam decided to wait to see what Drake got her; it was five years now for them. Time to put a ring on it or let her go. If Drake did give her a ring, it could be an engagement present.

Liam hoped it wouldn’t be.

With a sigh, he climbed into bed and turned off the lamp. He grabbed his phone and texted Riley, wishing her a Merry Christmas.

She responded back almost immediately. Merry Christmas, bestie.

Liam stared at his screen before sending his response. You’re my best friend, too.

He rolled over, closing his eyes, phone clasped in his hand. I love you.

  Tagging: @sirbeepsalot @wannabemc2 @topsyturvy-dream @jared2612 @katedrakeohd @hopefulmoonobject @custaroonie @i-am-liam-rhys @jovialyouthmusic @thequeenofcronuts @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @amomentofsinclairity @bobasheebaby @ao719 @sashatrr @marietrinmimi @ladyangel70 @gardeningourmet @umccall71 @angi15h @romanticatheart-posts @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @blznbaby @tabithacarlisle @emceesynonymroll @bbrandy2002 @ab1901 @janezillow @debramcg1106 @radlovedreamer @jessiembruno @lodberg @thecordoniandiaries @ramseyandrys @caroldxnvxrs @princess-geek @burnsoslow @annekebbphotography @merridithsmiscellany-blog @emichelle @indiacater @loveellamae @forthebrokenheartedthings-blog @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @glaimtruelovealways @bebepac @zaffrenotes @queenjilian @princessleac1