#that her idea of 'good' for them is to stay 'happily' in their service positions

[tortoisesshells]

Perspective Flip for the last fic you were really excited about and didn't get to talk about enough!

This is a little bit of a cheat - it's a Perspective Flip of something that hasn't happened yet in Customs (and, frankly, I'm not sure I'm ever getting there at the rate I've been writing) and it's ... not that upbeat, for a wedding. I suppose that has something to do with the whole "there's a war on" "there's that whole murder thing" and "no magic bullet for personal problems"?

Decades ago, when Boston was a different place, no man would sell or give a parcel so that the Church of England might set foot on good Puritan land – this, Nellie told herself, such flowers as could be found in October in hand, hesitating on Tremont Street the morning of her second marriage. This was why the King’s Chapel had had to be built on what public land could be peaceably given – and, however querulous the dead of this plot had been in life, they were in no position to contest old Governor Andros’s decree of a half-century past. If there was a world beyond this one, Nellie had sometimes thought old Winthrop must have been enraged to share his eternal rest with what he'd crossed an ocean to escape, but nothing had ever stayed the same in Boston –

An object lesson. Nellie Treat could not remain as she was, either.

She did not think about walking through the dead towards her new life – just as she could not think that she had walked past the new Granary and the burying ground and fixed her gaze on the dirty street rather than look for Samuel’s headstone – that she would have to halt and apologize for what she was about to do, that she had gone on as his widow as long as she could. She had gritted her teeth and walked along with her family attending, and tell herself that these were no particularly bad omens. Aunt and Uncle Bendish had been married here, at King's Chapel, and gone on to live happily and prosperously.

She breathed deeply, bracing herself. Aunt B put her hand under her elbow, and quietly called her name, and when Nellie swore it was only the expected kind of nerves, kissed her cheek and wished her happiness. Polly and Sam, ambivalent about the idea of a step-father at the best of times, followed behind the Bendishes like ducklings in a stream – it was not painless, but as she had reasoned over the past three weeks, all other options were worse.

Inside – but Nellie hesitated here a moment, too –

Inside, King’s Chapel was better attended than she would have expected – whether it was Commodore Norrington’s prominence, or the curiosity of her neighbors that had filled the pews, she couldn’t say. Certainly at least one gossip had accidentally let slip within her family’s hearing that some suspected Nellie had gotten herself in the family way – that stung, but as Newport has said much the same thing about her marriage to Samuel Treat, she at least had old habits of equanimity to fall back on. She tried to imagine that her doubts underfoot as she walked to her place before the altar, as easily crushed as maggots and other insects – smiled up at James, splendidly dressed and fitting in this place, as much as she feared she was not – and breathed a calm, deliberate sigh. He is my partner – she told herself – this is safety.

He took her hand. The rector read the ceremony. Her mind wandered. It was not as it had been, thirteen or fourteen years before. There was more pomp to the Church of England’s service, she noted idly – some shade of her life to come; she had little idea what James Norrington was thinking, as he had done what he always did when under scrutiny – gone still and impassive as a statue. Samuel, she remembered, had winked at her when the minister had not been looking at them – a badly need buoy to a girl of nineteen who had been shaking in her mended petticoats. Her new dress, the finest thing she had ever owned, felt more like armor than anything else – she wondered, vaguely, if James felt the same way about his ridiculously ornamented coat. She had been assuming so – but, Lord, wearing his pride as armor seemed a dangerous business.

When it was over, Nellie wrung the nerves from her hands before she trusted herself to sign the license – and then, legally and in the eyes of God, Elinor Coggeshall Treat ceased to exist.

[dr-piper-fulton]

Intro

BIRTH NAME :  Piper Fulton

ALIAS  /  NICKNAME :  Pi, pipes, doc

AGE : 37

DATE  OF  BIRTH : 

PLACE OF BIRTH : New York City, New York

HOMETOWN : New York City, NY & Chicago, IL

TIME IN EAST HAVEN : 2 months

RESIDENCE : Maple Hills

TW : Divorce, medical issues, malpractice, criminality

EDUCATION : BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, MD

OCCUPATION : General Surgeon

GENDER : Female

PRONOUNS : She/Her

SEXUALITY : Pansexual

FACECLAIM : Sophia Bush

HAIR COLOR : Brunette

EYE  COLOR : Green

HEIGHT : 5′4”

LANGUAGES : English

TATTOOS : None

PIERCINGS : Ears

POSITIVE  TRAITS : Diligent, intelligent, compassionate, and resilient, 

NEGATIVE TRAITS : Guarded, cynical, opinionated, and reticent, 

PHOBIAS : Sharks, clowns

FEARS : Letting down a patient or not being a good parent

HOBBIES : Playing violin and piano, knitting, reading, tennis, tv-binge watching

HABITS : Biting her nails, clicking a pen, shutting her eyes tight when thinking hard

FATHER : Lewis Fulton (estranged)

MOTHER : Antonia Russo formerly Fulton (estranged)

SIBLINGS : TBD

PARTNERS : None

CHILDREN : None

PETS : TBD

INSPIRATIONS : Dana Scully (X-Files), Caitlin Snow (The Flash), Chloe Decker (Lucifer), Jemma Simmons (Agents of SHIELD), Sam Griffith (Good Sam), Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park)

BIOGRAPHY

A child of divorce, Piper hardly remembers a time when her whole family was living under one roof. She was barely three when Antonia and Lewis Fulton finalized their divorce. To hear her mom tell the story now, the custody battle was tedious and drawn out but eventually their lawyers were able to come to an agreement. Piper grew up spending her school years in New York City and summers and holidays in Chicago. From a material perspective, the young woman had her every need and want cared for without a second thought. In many ways both her mother and father tried to use gifts and bribes to try and curry her favor against the other. By the time she turned 18, Piper was more than thrilled to leave and go to college to spend as much time away from them. She was accepted to every school of her choosing through some combination of strong applications and an affluent background. Her mother was thrilled when she chose Yale, seeing it as a win that her daughter would be staying closer to her than her father. But Piper’s attitude once at school wiped any smile off Antonia’s face as she made sure to see her mother no more than was absolutely necessary.

Entering college, Piper, like many kids, wasn’t completely certain what she wanted to do with her life besides build something for herself and by herself. Taking an anatomy class the second semester of freshman year, she fell in love with the medical field. It would take another two years and the experience of her roommate and best friend getting acute appendicitis unexpectedly for Piper to settle on surgery, particularly general surgery. Her parents were confused at best and appalled at worst. Why pursue something so difficult and service focused when she had plenty of inheritance and support to fall back on? But despite their objections and concerns, Piper continued forward with medical school (remaining at Yale) and then her residency at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Having impressed her mentors and superiors, Piper was offered a job at Cedars upon completion of her residency. She happily accepted and continued building a life of her own full of friends and found family that left her parents on the outside.

It finally seemed like her path had fully unfolded. She was settled and happy in LA and in love with her work. But whoever or whatever controlled destiny apparently had more ideas in mind. Quite by accident, Piper stumbled on a wide-scale malpractice scandal. After wrestling with her choices for several days, She went to hospital management. To her disappointment several key figures suggested they simply make the issue go away by offering those impacted money and NDAs. Realizing that her bosses simply wanted to sweep it under the rug, she went to the authorities. Before Piper knew it the federal government was involved and the entire thing had become more massive than she could’ve initially imagined. But, she did her part and helped investigators in every way she could, including wearing a wire. When charges were finally filed after nearly a year, Piper found herself in the middle of a firestorm. Her contributions were supposed to remain anonymous but one way or another her name got leaked. Half the hospital was on her side, but the other half and many on the outside in the media and the rest of the medical community began to give the cold shoulder. Exhausted and eager to leave the entire chapter behind, Piper resigned and took a job at a small hospital in East Haven, Maine.

[firebirdsdaughter]

And today on…

… Disappointed the satellites never really got to interact…

The Ark: How come whenever I have fun, it’s considered wrong? Zea: People die when you have fun.

They could’ve been a fun ying yang… Aaaaahhh.

[xxhornyonmainxx]

I saw you were taking smut requests could I request a Steve one where single dad Steve falls for the nanny? X

After Dark

Pairing: Steve Harrington X Fem!Reader

Warning: oral(fem receiving), mentions of penetrative sex, late night confessions, masturbation

An: I normally write porn without plot, but this idea was so cute, I couldn’t help myself<3

You were working your ass off, trying desperately to chip at your ever increasing student loans. From customer service to dog walking to tutoring, you were doing every job you could get your hands on. Things needed to change, you haven’t had a break in ages, your stress levels are high, yet you had nothing to show for it. That’s when you saw the ad…

You were sat in an artsy cafe, sipping tea, and reading the paper when you saw it. An ad for a live in nanny, essentials fully taken care of, extraordinary pay, and a hot piece of ass as your employer. The second you got home, you called the number from the ad.

“Hello, Harrington residence, how can I help you?”, he answered,

“Hi, I was looking to apply for the live in nanny position, is it still vacant?”,

“It sure is, would you mind meeting up for dinner tomorrow night, consider it your interview, and if I deem you to be trustworthy, I’ll take you back to my place to meet my daughter?”, he explained, “Does that sound good to you?”

“Sounds perfect, pick a place and I’ll meet you there Mr. Harrington”.

You timidly approach the mildly bland diner. A small bell rings above you as you enter. You glance around the diner when you spot him, Mr. Harrington. You rush towards his table, and delicately sit across from him in the booth.

“You must be Y/N?”, he reached his hand out,

“Sure am”, you confirm, shaking his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you”,

He giggles, “The pleasures all mine… So, about the position…”

The interview continued for a little while before in Fades into casual conversation. Steve was incredibly easy to talk to. You wanted to confess your sins to him, tell him your deepest darkest secrets.

You both made your way outside, the chill air sending a shiver through your body. Steve takes notice, and pulls of his coat placing onto your shoulders.

“Oh thank you”,

“Of course, wouldn’t want you getting a cold”, you can’t help but stare up at him in awe, “Would you be comfortable going back to my place, and meet Chloe, my daughter?”,

“Oh?”, you gasp, “I would love to, good to know I did good for you”, we both chuckle, but I see something darken in his eyes,

“You uh… You sure did”.

When he opened the door to his large house, you could here the little patter of foot steps running towards you.

“Daddy!”, Chloe can running down the hall, Steve swoops her into his arms,

“Hey pumpkin, how’re we feeling?”,

“Good, Robin gave me Coke”,

A girl, you assume to be Robin, enters.

“I didn’t realize it would turn her into a Looney Tune when I did it, I’m so sorry”,

“I can’t believe you giving drugs to my daughter”, Steve jokes,

“Not that kind of Coke, dingus!”, Robin takes one good look at you, “Sorry for interrupting you time, I’ll leave, have fun Steve”, as Robins leaving she grabs Steve, “She’s a keeper Harrington, she’s smoking”

When Robin leaves, he signs, “I’m sorry she thought this was a date”,

You notice his sweet little girl staring at you, “Hi there”, you wave at her,

“Hi”, she whispers back,

“Chloe, this is Y/N, they’re gonna keep an eye on you while daddy’s at work, okay?”, Steve explains, Chloe nods her head in understanding,

“Would you like me to show you where your gonna stay?”,

“I’d love that”.

After moving in with the Harringtons, you keep finding yourself ‘playing pretending’. You can’t help but imagine being with Steve, taking care of you daughter Chloe, and living happily ever after. You try to remind yourself that it’s your job, you live in his house, take care of his kid, but you are not one of them. No matter how bad you wanted to be.

Sometimes at night, you can’t help but think what Steve mouth would feel like, kissing along your curves, sucking on your clit, bruising your throat.

Most days he’d come home late. A couple hours after you put Chloe to sleep. You watch him wipe the sleep from his eyes, sitting next to you on the couch, having small talk, and then heading to bed. It was a ritual the two of you had.

Your body was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening.

“Shit. Did I wake you?”, Steve cringed,

“No your fine, I was waiting for you to get home”,

Steve takes a seat on the sofa next to you, “How was Chloe?”,

“She was great, we went to the park at about five, so putting her to bed was ALOT easier than usual”,

Steve smiles, “And um… How was your day?”,

“It was good, I’m a live in nanny for this guy and his kid, it’s pretty great”,

“Oh yeah”,

“Yeah. There is one problem with it though”,

“What’s that?”,

“The guy is… just wow, he so funny, and kind, and he’s so cute”, you gulp, “and it’s really hard working for him when all I can think about is being his”,

“Oh”, Steve exhales a breathe he didn’t realize he was holding in, “Yeah I totally get that… I have a daughter, right? And I needed some help taking care of her, and I didn’t expect the most perfect being alive to apply. Anyways, she’s a great fit, I mean, does her job perfectly, Chloe loves her, but I want her to be more. Anyways, That’s guy, he’s be an idiot not to want you. All I’m saying is if you two happened to be on some type of couch together, you should maybe try to kiss him. I think he’d like it.”

I giggle at his antic, leaning in to kiss his pillowy lips. The kiss is soft, sloppy, lazy, loving, and mind melting. He leans into you even more placing a hand onto your hip. He stops kissing your face to kiss down your cheek and chin, all the way to your neck.

“God your mouth is better than I imagined”, you let slip,

“You’ve imagined this? What else have you imagined?”,

You smirk, “Are you sure you want to know?”,

“Definitely”.

Steve maneuvers you on your back, spreading your legs to make room for him. He leans back in to continue kissing your soft neck.

“Sometimes when I touch myself”, the phrase already earning you a moan from Steve, “I think about what it would feel like to have your hands gripping my waist while you pound into me. I imagine you…” you feel Steve slowly start grinding into you, “I um-“, you pause to moan, “I imagine that you tease my clit with your tongue while yo- you prep me with your fingers… God Steve”,

“That’s it moan for me baby, and I’ll give you what you want”, he mummers into your neck as he starts to pull down your pants.

He pulls on your panties, using them to tease you before slowly pulling them off. He run his fingers through your dripping cunt, groaning at how wet you are. He leans face first into your heat, slowly inserting one finger. He starts by kitten licking your clit before sucking it between his lips. Your soft moans and pleas pour from your mouth as he already has you close. You feel like your seeing stars when he inserts a second finger. Your walls twitch around his fingers signaling your close.

“C’mon sweetie, come all over my fingers”, Steve moans against your clit sending you straight into your first orgasm of the night.

“That was- fuck - that was amazing”, you fumble out,

“If you, uh if you wanted to head to my room, I could give you my cock”,

“I’d like that”.

AN: I liked this idea sm, hope you enjoyed!

[poisonouswritings]

Hi! Love your work and it's been getting me through the last legacy drought ;-;

May I request the main 3 with a MC that wears really cute or baggy clothes so you can't see their figure too well but one day after idk getting caught in the rain the mc is changing the LIs just see that mc is ripped/ has badass tattoos and the LIs just shuting down lol

Literally none of them are prepared for this

GN!Reader, changing the scenario a little bit, Colored Bullet Rule (Felix, Anisa, Sage)

It's a casual day. You've been working on some spellwork for the better part of the morning and decide to take a quick stretch break. So out you go to Fathom's training yard! Only to see Anisa throw Sage (like a sack of potatoes) into a stack of haybales while Felix applauds from a bench on the sidelines.

Sage clambers up to his feet, straw stuck in his braid, growling and snapping at Anisa and demanding a redo. Meanwhile Anisa is trying not to snicker as she says that Sage must be getting slow.

That's right about when you step into view, wearing some sweatpants and a baggy hoodie.

Felix beckons for you to sit next to him, eagerly asking you how your studying is going. Do you need help with anything? A lot of those spells can be quite difficult for someone who has only recently started learning, though you are doing a magnificent job so far

Anisa happily goes to hug you - aka pick you up and spin you - in greeting. Says it's good that you're taking a rest! Spells can be difficult, and you need to take it easy. She just doesn't want you tiring yourself out. Though if you need someone to carry you, she's at your service

Sage is now significantly more mortified at the fact Anisa just yote him. He tries to play it off but his face is bright red and his tail keeps twitching. You hardly even get a word out before he starts loudly proclaiming that Anisa Is A Dirty Cheat! And He Totally Wouldn't Have Lost If She Had Played Fair! As if you haven't seen him get his ass handed to him multiple times already. Okay Sage. Whatever you gotta tell yourself.

You wave their concerns away and assure them you're fine, just a little antsy. Maybe a spar would help you get your focus back? And obviously your partner jumps at the idea. So game on!

Felix hops up from the bench and takes his place on one end of the little battlefield. Green flames flicker at his fingertips. This will be a good chance to judge how your offensive spellcasting is coming along :)

Anisa takes her position and readies her sword, rattling off a few things for you to remember - stay out of reach of her blade, aim low, etc etc. This can be a good teaching moment. She's a little less concerned about you learning to fight as she is you defending yourself - after all, she's your knight. She'll be there to fight for you :)

Oh, Sage saunters over to his spot, picking the last of the hay from his hair. First one to pin the other wins. Sound good? He's taught you enough that you should have a fighting chance, so long as you don't start overthinking it. Just know that he won't take it easy on you ;3

Alright. You yank your hoodie up over your hea-

Holy fucking shit you're ripped

And you have badass tattoos?

No one was prepared for that. At all.

Felix's flames immediately sputter out. Suddenly he can't look you in the eye. The tips of his ears go pink. He knew you were strong - you've helped him lug around massive piles of books enough times to be sure of that - but he had no idea you'd look like this under your usual baggy attire! He... He wants to see you in a corset. Sorry not sorry.

Anisa nearly drops her sword in surprise. Her pupils do that excited cat-prinpick thing that happens when she's excited, and her hair poofs like fur. Man. She's gonna have to make some adjustments to your training regimen. Which she'll plan out as soon as she stops drooling.

*tail wag tail wag tail wag* Sage Will Not Recover From This Anytime Soon. Suddenly he's a lot more interested in this match, though you get the sneaking suspicion from the flustered-yet-excited look on his face that he's totally gonna let you win because he's horny and wants to be pinned. Obviously he asks if you have more tattoos. He'll show you his if you show him yours.

You try to spar with your partner but,, uh,,,

Felix's spells keep fizzling out because he can't concentrate.

Anisa is so flustered she nearly trips over her own boots.

Sage practically lays down on the floor for you to pin him.

You end up just going to do some stretches and maybe whack a training dummy a few times while everyone (especially your partner) tries to wrap their heads around what they just witnessed.

Sorry your partner is a massive fucking simp

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 75

So here we are. the last chapter is here and my emotions Arte all over the place.  There still will be an Epilogue but the main story finishes here. I am in tears. This fic had been an amazing ride.  18 months, 457k words, 76 chapters. I will miss this AU so badly, but I have a few outtakes ready and once fic for Rowan’s week. 

So... are you ready for some pure crazy fluff? I read this chapter a billion times and I hope I did it justice.

PS: the last sentence in the fic is almost based from a line from the books. It was just too perfect and beautiful.

Spring had arrived once more and with it warmer days and the snow had finally melted away after a harsh winter.

It was April 12th and east station was getting ready for the big event of the day. Aelin and Rowan’s wedding.

With Dorian’s blessing, the station had been pulled off service for a few hours. Second shift led by Pete was on site, but until east was back on, they were just enjoying the big day.

Truck and engine had been parked towards the back of the apparatus floor while the ambulance was tucked away on the apron so that the main floor could be filled with chairs for the guests.

All the members of east were already present and Marcus, Aedion, Fenrys, Ilias and their teams had joined in too. As soon as Aelin had the date she had contacted them and told them to have their second shifts on duty on that day. Dorian had managed to take day off from his duties as chief and he and Sorscha were busy wandering the station. 

Elide was running around running the operations. The common room was full of people enjoying some appetisers before the big event. Enda had happily accepted to cater for the wedding and he and his husband were entertaining the guests while Sellene was with the ladies.

When she went back to the apparatus floor Elide noticed Lorcan sitting down.

“Lor, what are you doing here?” She shouted at her boyfriend who was sitting on one of the chairs.

“Waiting for the ceremony to start.”

Elide glared at him, hands on her hips and Lorcan knew that position and feared it “Go to Rowan and stay with him.”

“And do what? I am not married, I have no last minute wisdom to impart, Aedion is there. He is married. He can do that.”

Elide kept glaring at him and Lorcan sighed “Fine, I’ll go.” He had learned very early in their relationship that Elide could be quite bossy. And in the end it was one of the things he loved the most about her. She seemed tiny but Elide had fire in her.

Elide kept playing host while all the guest arrived. Lys was with the other women in one of the upstairs conference room with Aelin, she had offered to be in charge of the mayhem downstairs.

She spotted Marcus and the other captains approach the apron and she went to welcome them “thanks guys for coming, everyone is in the common room, we have appetisers and booze.”

“Love what you did with the rigs,” added Lizzie.

“It was Asterin’s idea. They removed east off service an hour ago and we had to get everything ready very quickly.”

To the truck they attached a massive bow whereas the engine had a white sheet resembling a veil. Asterin had lamented that she hadn’t been able to procure googly eyes big enough for both vehicles.

“Go, Rowan is in the bunks room if you want to see him.” In that instant Chaol, Yrene Nesryn and Sartaq joined the guests and Elide as a good host went to greet them and suggested the refreshments as well. 

Lorcan, on Elide’s orders, joined the rest of the guys and once he arrived in the sleeping area he saw all the men already there. Aedion, who was meant to officiate the wedding, was sitting on a bed bouncing his son on a leg. Fenrys was sitting at Rowan’s side and then he spotted Con, Vaughan, and all the other guys from the station. They all had their dress mess uniform and were looking perfect.

He walked to Rowan and patted his shoulder “how are you feeling?”

Rowan grinned “nervous, but it’s a good nervous, right Aedion?”

The blonde man nodded “oh yes, I was freaking out before marrying Lys.”

Lorcan scoffed.

“Wait till you marry Elide, then it will be you in my shoes. The unflappable Salvaterre destroyed by a woman.”

Lorcan gave him the middle finger and he knew it was his way of showing his affection.

“Aedion, you are the only married man in here. Any last minute wisdom?” Asked Ress.

He played with his son and cleaned his face with the bib and the boy giggled happily “don’t let the bad days get you. Talk to each other. Never take what you have for granted,” he sighed “honestly I have been figuring out as we go, to be honest.”

Rowan chuckled and patted his shoulder “this is perfect.”

He finally stood and walked to the mirror on the wall and adjusted his paramedic uniform.

Fenrys walked to him and made sure it was perfect and pretended to remove invisible fluff “we don’t want Lorcan to fail you because you are not spiffy enough.” The young man looked at his ex CO and grinned.

“Good thing that you still remember proper attire rules, Moonbeam.”

“South house is camp Ashryver, with three ex military we only expect perfection.”

Aedion roared with laughter “he is right.”

Rowan turned and looked at the group of men in the room with him. His new found family and his old one. Or what was left of it. A slight pang of sadness hit him at Gavriel’s absence. He wished his friend was there.

“Come on everyone, let’s join the others,” said Brullo.

Rowan remained alone with Aedion and Aidan.

“Thank you for making Aelin happy. Since you entered her life she is a brand new woman.”

“She helped me too.”

“I know.” Aedion chuckled “I still remember the day after one of your initial fights when you called her menace, she was so mad she started punching a dummy after dragging it around the yard a few times.”

Rowan smiled “it feels like a lifetime ago.”

Aedion stood “I will see you outside.”

*

In one of the conference room upstairs Aelin was surrounded by a group of women. Manon, Borte, Asterin, Ansel, Sellene and Lysandra were fussing over her.

Lys had dumped her son to his father so she could deal with Aelin who was downright panicking while pacing the room.

“Aelin, will you stop for a second?”

“I am freaking out.”

“Getting cold feet?” Joked Ansel.

“No. I am terrified I will forget my vows or drop the ring while placing it on his finger.” She stopped and stared in the mirror at her light green dress. 

Lysandra stopped in front of her and grabbed her shoulder “wanna know a secret?”

Aelin nodded.

“I did forget my vows. I stepped in front of Aedion and my mind went blank. So I just improvised, I talked from my heart.”

“Considering the very hot specimen you are about to marry it will not surprise me,” interjected Asterin “I agree with Lys. Just go with the flow. Tell him how you feel.” She smiled at her captain “you could probably just go with gotcha and the man will still fall on his knees for you.”

Ansel nodded “she is right.”

“Rowan knows how you feel, just remind him that if he is not good to you I am going to kill him,” added Sellene and the group of women laughed hard and Aelin managed to relax.

Elide entered the room a moment later “all the guests are here,” she then walked to her friend “cap, you are stunning and Rowan is going to have a heart attack and it’s a good thing we have a few paramedics on site.”

Aelin looked at her friends and grabbed the bouquet of kingsflames that Elide had given her. She took a deep breath and all the ladies left and she was left with Lys who put into action their plan.

Lysandra kissed her cheek “I will see you downstairs.”

Her friend disappeared and Aelin moved a step to the big window, looking down she noticed all the guests and then she spotted Rowan. He was standing in front of the engine, his paramedic uniform on and looking dashing.

She took a deep breath and got ready.

Rowan moved to his place in front of the engine and joined Aedion who was the one officiating the wedding. His eyes scanned the room and saw that everyone was seated. Lysandra was the last one to appear and he knew she had been with Aelin. He wondered if shew was just as nervous as him.

At the end of the line of chairs he saw the bridesmaids line up. Elide was at Lorcan’s arm and Lysandra was accompanied by Fenrys since Aedion was busy.

They walked down the aisle and reached the spot in front of him where Aelin was meant to be. The two men peeled away and took their place behind him. Both of them being the groomsmen.

The station went silent for a moment, wondering where the bride was. Lysandra then looked at Rowan and winked while lifting her gaze.

Rowan followed her and looked up at the hole with the pole. A moment later he saw the hem of a green dress appear. He grinned. An instant later Aelin was sliding down and Rowan contained his laughter. She was wearing her bunker jacket and boots and a bouquet of kingsflames in her hand a few in her nicely combed hair. She stopped in front of him with the most beautiful smile. Her hands went to her hips and looked at him seriously “Did you call the fire department again, captain?” 

Rowan just grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him for a kiss, not caring about anything. She would never stop surprising him “You look hot,” he whispered very quietly in her ear.

A cough brought them back to reality and Aelin grinned at Aedion “sorry, got carried away.”

She kept her bunker jacket on and smiled at the man in front of her.

Rowan stared at Aelin, while his heart raced in his chest. That was it. He had dreamed that moment for a very long time and soon the woman in front of him would be his wife. The vows he had prepared were not enough to express the love he felt for her.

“Dear friends,” began Aedion bringing the situation back on track “we are here today to celebrate our two captains finally getting married,” he looked at them with fondness “Over three years ago a fire broke out at the posh boys base. We efficiently arrived and saved their spoiled arses,” he grinned “on that day the captain faced the fire that changed her life.”

Rowan grabbed her hand and smiled. He did not propose on the anniversary of the fire because he could not wait, but they had decided to get married on the date of their third anniversary.

“This will be the toughest call of your life, but also the most amazing and I wish you both all the happiness that you both deserve.”

After Aedion was finished he nodded to Rowan knowing that the man was gearing up for his vows.

He took both of Aelin’s hands “Fireheart, three years ago on this day on a bench in our favourite park you pushed me to face my feelings. You, this fierce and incredible woman, had entered my life and stole my heart. That morning in January I would have never imagined that a fire would change my life this much,” his hand caressed her face “we both were in a dark place but with time we walked the path to happiness together and look at us. You are my menace and I am ready for our next adventure in life. To whatever end.”

Aelin was staring at him while hiding the sobs threatening to break free. Gods he was a sappy old man.

“Rowan, my buzzard, life in unpredictable, messy and cruel and we both know that.” She squeezed his hand “we had our ups and our many downs. Fate tried to pull us apart in more ways than one, but here we are, standing in front of each other on our wedding day. We chose each other over fear, deciding to be a little braver day by day. You are my best friend, my other half and I love you so much.”

Rowan pulled her to him and kissed her ignoring the fact that the ceremony wasn’t even finished. Someone cheered in the background but he ignored them. He had eyes only for the woman in front of him. Slowly he pulled back and saw Aelin crying and with the pad of his thumb he brushed away her tears.

“I am sorry,” she apologised with a wet chuckle.

“Do we have the rings?” Asked Aedion bringing the ceremony back on track. Lorcan turned and Sellene passed him something and everyone apart from the couple laughed. Lorcan was carrying bird Rowan. Around its neck a chain with two silver bands. Sellene took the toy back and hugged it, holding it as if it was watching the wedding too. Aedion looked at them “He is one of the family, we could not leave him at home,” explained Rowan while removing the rings from the chain and passing them to Aedion.

“Do you, Rowan Whitethorn take Aelin Galathynius as your lawfully wedded captain. Promise to cherish her, protect her and love her in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, till death do you part?”

Rowan stared in the depth of Aelin’s blue eyes “I do.” He took the ring and placed it on Aelin’s finger together with the engagement one.

Aedion then turned to Aelin “Do you, Aelin Galathynius take Rowan Whitethorn as your lawfully wedded paramedic. Promise to cherish him, protect him and love him in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, till death do you part?”

“I do…” she pushed back the tears. They had made it and was looking forward to the next stage of their lives. 

“Well, dear guests gathered, you can let the sniffles go while I present you mr and mrs Whitethorn-Galathynius. Give them a good cheer as they happily smooch away.”

Rowan grabbed Aelin’s hand and pulled her to him and his lips crashed on hers sealing the promises they had just exchanged.

“Hey, we got minors around,” shouted Fenrys from the background bur Rowan did not pay attention to his friend. He pulled back from Aelin and the woman in his arms, his wife, was all that mattered.

As soon as they separated a constant stream of people reached them.

“You sappy old bastard,” added Vaughan while exchanging a manly pat with his friend. Lorcan approached him “I like wife number two,” and he smiled broadly and knew that from Lorcan was a great compliment.

A tornado of silver hair hugged Aelin fiercely “You two are perfect and I hope my cousin makes you happy.”

Aelin nodded with tears still flowing “he does.”

“Welcome to the family. Officially. You are a Whitethorn now.”

Aelin grabbed bird Rowan and kept him with her as she wanted him in the photos too. He really was one of the family.

After half an hour Aelin took the stage “everyone, east house needs to go back in service and Pete needs his station back. The party is relocated to our house.”

She moved to Pete and hugged him “East is all yours again, we will clear the rigs right away.”

The man laughed “imagine showing up with a truck with a bow.”

“It’s a classy truck.”

In the distance she noticed Asterin and Manon getting the two vehicles ready for the shift.

“There is still a lot of food, that’s for you guys. We have more ready at my house. Keep the party going.”

“The hungry hungry hippos will be delighted to hear that.” 

Before they left, the all of second team went to congratulate bride and groom.

*

Twenty minutes later the party had moved to Aelin and Rowan’s house. Enda and his husband had left a bit early with Sellene to get the catering ready. The day was lovely so the lunch was being served in the big back garden.

Tables and chairs had been set and a corner had been saved for the band. On another side Enda was getting the barbecue ready. Aelin and Rowan had requested comfort food, so the man had planned a barbecue with an assortment of other foods requested by both. Sellene had been in charge of the cake.

When Aelin and Rowan arrived a bit later everyone was waiting for them. Instead of going home right away they had decided to stop at their park and spend a moment on the bench were it had all started. They had taken a few pictures and reminisced about those three years together,

Eventually Rowan convinced her to join the mayhem at their house.

“Look who has finally decided to appear,” shouted Ren happily “Come on you two.”

While they waited for the barbecue to start they did the rounds. They walked to Chaol and Aelin was happy to see the man walking around with just a cane.

“Look at you, I knew you’d do it.”

Yrene patted her husband’s shoulder and he grinned “I am not ready for duty again but I am getting there.”

“Good because I miss my best PD officer on calls.”

Chaol grinned.

“Go guys, there’s a lot of food. Have fun.”

Fenrys was walking around making sure that everyone was okay. He had already removed the formal jacket and his shirt had the first two button of his collar open and the sleeves rolled up.    

Twenty minutes later Enda shouted to grab their seats as the food was coming.

Not long after he and Micheal started walking towards the tables with trays full of food but before they could start eating Lysandra stood for a speech “Hold on, you hungry hungry hippos,” she raised her glass “I want to make a toast before we start stuffing our faces. To Aelin and Rowan, you did it, you are married and after the madness that these past three years have been, it makes me happy to see you here today. Cherish this day and all the ones to come. I love you both.”

Rowan leaned forward and kissed Aelin.

A moment later Fenrys stood “let’s get this out of the way so we can eat in peace,” and a huge grin spread on his face “I have known that grumpy old bastard for a very long time, since I was just a troublesome pilot who made his hair even silver. He then met the captain and learned to smile thanks to the amazing woman at his side. I owe them a lot and I wish them a happy life together,” he turned to Aelin “you transformed him from a grumpy old bastard to a sappy one. It’s terrifying.”

He drank his iced tea “I love you both and good luck in this next adventure.”

The crowd cheered and Fenrys sat down and Ansel kissed his cheek.

“We want food!” The shout had come from Brullo.

An hour later they had decided to take a break from the feast and the band had announced they were starting to play, so the guests had started to crowd the free space.

“Hello everyone, Now that you are all fed, are you ready to dance?”

The group shouted a loud yes.  

“Good, the first dance is for Aelin and Rowan. Our groom has a special song for their first dance as husband and wife.”

The guests peeled at the side and Rowan offered his hand to Aelin and together they reached the centre of the garden. Aelin had removed bunker jacket and boots back at the station and was now barefoot.

He pulled her to his chest as the slow tune started and his hand moved on her back, while the other held Aelin’s hand against his chest. Her other hand sneaked behind his neck. They swayed and Rowan kissed her neck “All the ways of my life, I’d rather be with you. There’s no way without you…”

Aelin looked up at him and kissed him gently.

Rowan squeezed her a bit more “hi wife.”

“Hi husband,” another kiss “I love the sound of it.”

He nuzzled her cheek with tenderness.

As the song drew to a close they saw their friends move in but Rowan held her tight, not ready yet to share her with anyone.

Eventually he had to let his wife go and allow the other guys have a dance with her while the female counterpart asked a dance with him.

Lysandra was the first one to ask him to dance “you look happy.”

Rowan chuckled, “I married Aelin. We have a dream house. I have a job I love. I am more than happy.”

“Thank you for looking after her. I have my best friend back and I will be forever grateful.”

Rowan nodded and squeezed the woman.

Two hours of dancing later Sellene called for a break and for the cake. Aelin’s ears perked up. She moved to Rowan and took his hand “my mouth is already watering.”

In response he just kissed her head.

Enda and Micheal carried a big tray out in the garden and deposited on the table. The cake was covered and once it was safe Sellene spoke again “This is a special cake that took a lot of planning, but I needed it to be perfect,” she pointed at the table and grabbed the sheet and pulled it to uncover her creation. The guests gasped.

On one side it had an airbase and a small fire truck in front of it. On the other side it had a fire house with an ambulance parked at the front beside the red truck and at their sided two figurines. One with blonde hair, the other one silver.

In front of it it read Fireheart and Buzzard and their wedding date. Near the date there was also a small bench.

“Sellene…” said Aelin far too emotional. It was a work of art.

“I though I had to do something super special.”

Aelin ran to the woman and hugged her fiercely “it’s almost a crime to eat it.”

“Don’t worry, Enda took a lot of pictures.”

Later on in the afternoon Rowan had finally freed himself of the dances and went looking for his wife. He had spotted her dancing with Dorian, and the rest of the guys of the firehouse but then she had disappeared.

He walked around the house looking for her until he spotted her on the front porch leaning against the rail.

“Here you are…” he said while his arms sneaked around her waist “hiding?”

Aelin leaned her head against his chest “trying to escape the crazy dancing.”

Rowan chuckled and both arms wound around her in a protective gesture “all those men claiming my wife’s attention, I am jealous.”

She looked up at him “say it again.”

“My wife,” he whispered against her lips and brought her left hand to his lips kissing the rings.

Aelin’s hands threaded his long hair that after a lot of dances was not as perfect anymore “my husband,” said Aelin basking in the beauty of those words.

They remained like that for a while with the party in the background.

Then Aelin grabbed his hand and moved it to her abdomen “do you think we can add another member to our family? I think bird Rowan will be happy to have a little human.”

Rowan’s eyes widened as he stared at his hand on her belly. He looked at his wife and Aelin nodded.

“You are pregnant…” he whispered very quietly while his heart threatened to burst with joy. They had been trying for a while now and although there was no hurry he had been just as gutted as Aelin every time the test came back negative. But now… he felt tears make an appearance at the corner of his eyes.

Aelin nodded “about eight weeks. I found out a week ago, but I wanted to tell you today.”

Rowan grabbed her and started turning on himself with Aelin in his arms “we are having a baby?”

Aelin’s hand carded in his hair and kissed him “yes, buzzard, we are having a baby.”

He finally put her back down and both his hand went on her belly and kneeled. Rowan kissed her stomach “hello you, I am your dad and your mum just made me the happiest man on the planet today. Twice.”

Aelin sobbed “you can’t do that to a pregnant woman.”

Rowan stood and kissed her deeply “but it’s true fireheart. I have all I need here in my arms.”

**

Later on that night after all the guests had left they had retired and finally changed in comfortable house clothes. Rowan had been walking on a cloud of happiness all day since Aelin’s confession. They hadn’t told anyone yet as Aelin had to speak with Dorian first.

He placed his uniform in the closet and joined his wife in bed. Aelin was laying down reading her latest romance book. He pulled the blanket back and then exposed her still flat belly in amazement.

His hand caressed it and then placed a soft kiss “hi baby,” his green eyes met Aelin’s who placed the book down and looked at him.

Rowan had been brooding for a long time and the day she found out she was pregnant she had almost told him on the spot but the decided that their wedding day was the perfect occasion. She studied him talk to their unborn child and had no doubt that he’d make the most amazing father.

Aelin grabbed bird Rowan and placed it on her exposed belly “he says he is happy that there will be soon a new human in the house to cuddle him.”

Rowan laughed and kissed her stomach then he slid up and landed at her side and tugged her to his chest while his hand remained on the belly.

Aelin snuggled closer and looked at him in his eyes “To whatever end?”

Rowan lowered his gaze until his eyes met the woman who was his soulmate, who he had been chasing his entire life, probably even before their essences had sparked into existence. His wife, his fireheart “To whatever end.”

tags:

@rowaelinismyotp​ @swankii-art-teacher​ @whimsicallyreading​ @elentiyawhitethorn​ @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj​ @sailorsassley​ @leiawritesstories​ @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire​ @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn​ @backtobl4ck​ @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee

[atlafan]

Something New - One Shot

a/n: I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks, rewrote half of it, and now I feel like it’s good enough to post. I guess you could call this enemies to friends to lovers??? they’re both idiots, honestly lmao, anyways, enjoy biology teacher!Harry (not proofread) reblogs and feedback are helpful!

Warnings: a little bit of angst, fluff, and smut

Words: 20K

Divorced, new home, new town, new job, and a new school district for the kids all within the same year. Y/N had been separated from her husband for a couple of years prior, but when he moved in with his girlfriend, she knew it was officially over. It sucked. She knew she’d look back on it someday and be grateful that they ended things, but right now she wasn’t too happy about it. He got to be a weekend dad with his young girlfriend by his side, and there she was looking like the crazy old hang. It wasn’t her fault for not taking the best care of herself. She was depressed, could you blame her. They lived in one of those towns where everyone knew every little thing about you, so it was time to get out.

Securing the new job was the first on the list. If she could do that then maybe the kids would be more understanding about leaving. Y/N was a database manager for a non-profit organization. She was behind the scenes, and that’s how she liked it. She didn’t have to be the one asking for money or on the front lines vising donors. It was a job she could do anywhere, and she’d get paid well because of the software she knew how to use like the back of her hand.

There was a private school she had seen a job opening for. Normally, she’d be more apt to work for a non-profit, and not just some school for snotty rich kids, but their website made it seem like it wasn’t like that. Their donors gave out scholarships for students all of the time, and staff/faculty could send their kids to the school for free. That was a no brainer. Giving her kids a good education was her dream. The school was a K-12, so that would mean an easy pick up and drop off. After thinking it over, and researching the surrounding towns, she sent in her application.

Two weeks later she got a call for a video interview. She accepted happily. A week after that she was asked on campus for a second interview. Y/N put on her best blazer and nicest blue dress, the school colors were red and blue after all. She even made sure to wear red heels. Y/N spoke eloquently during her interview. She had researched everyone in the development office so she already knew faces and names. They were impressed. She spoke about her experience with The Rasier’s edge, the database management system, and they were awe-struck. She was given a tour of the campus, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The elementary school was a separate building, and the middle school and high school were separate, but connected by two connectors to make one large building. The development office was set up in this cute white house. They shared it with the alumni office, and apparently it was one of the oldest buildings on campus. Although, it was taken of so you’d never know it was old. They even showed her where her potential new office would be. There was a pool and ice rink as well that Y/N got to see. She was impressed. She interviewed the people on the committee too, knowing it was a two way street. She liked what they had to say.

A week or so after that, she was given an offer, a really good offer. Now it was time to talk to her kids. She couldn’t just accept without speaking with them first. Her daughter, Riley, would be going into ninth grade, and her son, Ben, would be going into eighth. Y/N was only thirty-three, she was a young mother, thanks to her ex-husband who was about seven years older than her. A red flag she should have been more wise to, but she was young and naïve, and that’s all that needs to be said about that.

It was a difficult conversation with the kids, but after calming down they had become more open to it. They were upset with their father, and the idea of being a little farther away was sounding really nice. Living in a new home to make new memories in was sounding really nice. Making new friends and having a fresh start was sounding really nice.

So, Y/N accepted the position, and was given a moving allowance. She was able to find a home quickly that was perfect for them. A decent three bedroom about fifteen minutes from campus, so the commute would be easy enough. Riley and Ben took a liking to the uniforms, and since you did all of this over the summer, they’d be able to blend in easily on the first day of school. No awkward ‘walking in halfway through the term’ bullshit.

“When am I supposed to see them?” Your ex had asked you over the phone when you told him you were moving.

“Every other weekend, same as before.”

“So now I have to drive an hour out of my way to-“

“It’s not an hour, it’s forty-five minutes at best. Shouldn’t it be worth it? They’re your kids.”

“You’re taking them from me.”

“You did that to yourself, Joseph. The weekends will stay the same. Be happy our kids are getting a good education. Goodbye.”

She knew she was harsh, but after being cheated on, and left for a younger woman, she thought she earned the right. A week before school started, the kids had gotten their schedules in the mail.

“Who do you have, Riles?” Ben asks her.

“Someone named…Mr. Styles for homeroom, he’s the biology teacher too.”

“Thought you took bio sophomore year.” Y/N says to her.

“Nope, my grades were good, remember? I’m in the honors class.” She smiles.

“What about you, Ben?”

“Um…Mr. Horan. Looks like I’ll have him for pre-algebra.”

“No female teachers for that, huh?” Y/N asks.

“I have a woman for Geometry, Mum, see?” Riley shows her.

“Oh good. Got worried for a second there.” Y/N chuckles.

“Are you nervous to start your new job?” Ben asks her.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m actually really excited. The time off has been nice, but I’m eager to get back into it.”

//

Y/N drops off the kids on the first day before going over to the staff lot. The program support assistant, Millie, is waiting for her with a cup of coffee and a warm smile.

“Morning, Y/N.”

“Hi, Millie.”

“Cream no sugar, right?”

“That’s right, thank you so much.”

“Let me lead you upstairs to your office. You have a meeting with the director of development, John, in about half an hour, and then you’ll have a team meeting with the rest of the people on your specific team, the gift processors, customer service. Then at lunch the development team and the alumni team will get together to welcome you.”

“Oh my, well, alright.” She chuckles.

“I put everything on your calendar for you.”

“Thank you.”

Y/N was used to doing everything herself at work, this was already a breath of fresh air. She hoped Riley and Ben had a good morning just the same.

It takes Riley a moment to find her classroom. She stops short when she walks in when she sees Mr. Styles, and another student walks right into her.

“I’m so sorry.” She says to the boy that nearly knocked her over. “Um, I wasn’t sure if this was the right classroom.”

“it’s okay.” He says. “Are you new?”

“Yeah, I’m Riley.”

“I’m Chris.” He smiles. “Wanna sit next to me?”

“Sure!” She says and sits a few rows back with him.

“Where’d you move from?”

“Just form a few towns over. My mom just got a job in the development office here.”

“Oh, cool! My mom works grounds here.”

Riley noticed that Chris had a rainbow pin on his blazer. She smiles at it. He notices her looking at it.

“I…uh…like your pin.”

“Oh, thanks.” He mumbles.

“My best friend back home has a lot of rainbow stuff in her room.”

Chris nods in understanding. More kids come in and claim their seats. The second bell rings, and Mr. Styles closes the door.

“Good morning, everyone.” Riley’s jaw drops at his accent and deep voice.

“Get used to it.” Chris whispers to her. “A lot of the teachers here are from other countries.”

Riley nods and continues to listen to Mr. Styles.

“Welcome to another year at our fabulous school. You’re officially high schoolers!” He grabs the handbook. “Which means there’s even more rules to follow, so let’s get through this together, yeah?”

Mr. Styles was quirky. He cracked jokes and made Riley feel excited to have him for biology. She turned to look at all of the lab benches in the back. She loved science in general, so this was good.

“Lastly, open house for parents will be at the end of the month. They begin at 6PM, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet all your folks. We also have a really fun fall carnival on campus. There’s games, rides, and it also gives a chance for families to see where you go to school. It’s all a part of our homecoming weekend.” The bell rings and everyone stands up. “Riley, could we chat for a second?”

She nods and looks at Chris.

“I can wait outside for you.” He says to her and she feels grateful. Their schedules were just about the same.

“Um, hi.” She says shyly.

“Hi, dear, so I was informed you’re new, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. Usually we have new students stand up and introduce themselves, but I don’t like making people do that. It’s so forced. I can see you’re already making a friend.” He smiles. “Is it just you that’s new to us? Any siblings?”

“My younger brother is in eighth grade. He has Mr. Horan for homeroom.”

“You don’t say? That’s my best mate, believe it or not. He’s in good hands.”

“That’s good to know. I’m sure it’ll give my mom some peace of mind.”

“I don’t want to make you let, just wanted to give you a more friendly introduction.”

“Thank you, Mr. Styles. See you for bio.”

“See you later.”

Riley was making friends right away thanks to Chris. She had people to sit with at lunch, and she made sure Ben did too. He seemed to be sitting at a full table which was great. Her last class of the day was bio, which was perfect so she’d be near her locker.

“Welcome to honors biology.” Mr. Styles says. “This is a mixed class of ninth and tenth graders. Today we’re going to settle on lab partners, and we’re going to get lab safety out of the way. It’s the bane of my existence, but I need to know you all know how to be safe.”

Chris offers to be Riley’s lab partner even though he had other friends in the class. Mr. Styles writes down who is partnered with who. Then he essentially gives a tour of the classroom. He shows them where all of the lab coats and goggles are, the eyewash station, the sanitation shower, and the other equipment they’ll be using throughout the year.

“Now, in biology, we’ll be learning a lot about plants and animals, and we’ll also get into human anatomy. These subjects can be tough at times to grasp, so please, don’t be afraid to ask questions. I want to make sure I’m explaining things properly. I’m always will to meet after school for extra help as well, or put together a study group.” Mr. Styles explains.

Riley was finding that all of the teachers were really nice so far. She meets Ben after school and they walk over to the staff lot where Y/N was. She had asked to save her lunch hour for 2PM so she could scoot the kids home quick. Her supervisor had no problem with it.

“How was it?”

“Mr. Horan is hilarious, and he’s Irish!”

“Mr. Styles is British! And super nice. I think I’m gonna like it here, Mum. I already made a friend, so I had people to sit with at lunch.”

“Me too!”

It warmed Y/N’s heart to hear that the first day went well. It was all she could have hoped for. She gets them home, set up with a snack, and back out the door she goes. She had a couple of hours left of work anyways, so it was a nice break in the day. The lunch she had earlier with her new colleagues was fantastic. Everyone was welcoming and had no problem showing her the ropes.

When she’s walking to the parking lot around 5PM she notices other people making their way as well. She smiles at a few, and she gets some friendly nods back. She’s parked next to a black range rover, and she was hoping to get to her car before the other owner because she had parked a little too close to them on their driver’s side, but it wasn’t her fault. It was the only open spot when she got back.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Shit, she thinks to herself as she approaches. Not a great first impression to make at all.

“Just crawl in on the other side, H.”

“It’s the principle of the thing! They could have scratched it, or-“

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Y/N yells as she hustles over. “I had to bring my kids home, and this was the only other open spot, and the person previously on the other side of me was parked over the line, so I had to squeeze in, and I know it looks like I’m the asshole, but I swear I’m not.” She panics as she gets her keys out of her purse.

“It’s fine, miss, Harry’s just a jerk when it comes to his fancy car.”

“You sure like riding in my fancy car, so I suggest you shut it.” Harry huffs and looks at Y/N, furrowing his brows. “Look, I’ve had to be nice all day, and I’m exhausted, could you just back out so we can leave?”

“I said I was sorry.” She mumbles. Her eyes widen, though. An Irish accent and a British accent. “Shit, I think you’re my kids’ teachers.” She sighs. “Do the names Riley and Ben ring a bell?”

Harry’s features soften and he runs a hand through his hair.

“You’re Riley’s mum?”

“Yes.”

“Seems like she had a good first day. What department are you working in?”

“I’m the new database manager for the development office.”

“Ben was a delight! Laughed at all my jokes.” Niall says and you smile.

“He said you were funny. Riley liked you too, although now I’m not sure why. Taking a long day out on me. I’m sure the first day is a lot, but it was my first day too, and I’m equally as tired.”

“Maybe you should get home then.” Harry says, and she rolls her eyes.

“Nice meeting you both…well, one of you. I’m sure I’ll see you again, but if not I’ll be at the open house.” She gets into her car and carefully backs out, not scratching Harry’s car.

“You were rude.” Niall says as they both get into the car.

“I paid a lot of money for this car. I park far away for a reason, and someone has to park that close to me?”

“She apologized.”

“Good for her.”

“Harry…”

“Ugh, Francie texted me today, and it just sent me into a fucking spiral, and I had to act like it didn’t all day.”

“What?! When did she text you?”

“After homeroom, she told me to have a good first day. I didn’t even respond.”

“You should just block her number.”

“I haven’t quite reached that point yet, but it’s coming for sure.”

“You still shouldn’t have taken it out on that woman.”

“I’m sure she’ll forget all about it. I’ll be nice next time I see her, alright? Can we please just go get a pint now?”

“You’re the one driving, find a place you wanna go to.”

//

Y/N had successfully avoided the rude Brit that had given her such a tough time on her first day. Riley still raved about him, though. She said he was one of the best teachers she ever had. Ben really enjoyed Mr. Horan as well. He made math fun, which Y/N was grateful for. Ben was never really a good student, but he was doing really well so far.

“I can’t wait for you to go to the open house. Make sure to be super nice.” Riley tells Y/N. “I don’t want my teachers suddenly being mean.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about.” Y/N scoffs.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, honey. So, you’ll walk me around to all the classrooms, and you wait outside?”

“Mhm.” She beams.

“Mum, wait until you talk to Mr. Horan. He’s going to tell you the best things about me, I just know it.” Ben says.

“I’m looking forward to it, honey.”

Y/N had a draining day on the day of open house, and she just decided to stay on campus. She ended up taking the kid home at two, and told them she could figure out where the classrooms were herself. She got to have a one on one with Mr. Horan first.

“You can just call me Niall. We don’t need to be so formal.”

“Alright.” She smiles. “You can call me Y/N.”

“Ben’s doing really well so far. I was a little nervous at first, but he’s getting the hang of it.”

“Thank god.” She sighs. “So, he’ll be in ninth grade taking algebra one next year, is that okay?”

“Perfectly okay. A lot of students do that.”

“I just wanted to make sure because my daughter is in geometry.”

“Math isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. I was checking out his other grades, and he’s excelling in history.” She nods.

The conversation goes well. Y/N makes it through all of the meetings, and her last one is with Harry. She hears laughing from inside the classroom. The door swoops open, and a couple walks out chuckling with Harry.

“Ah, Mrs. Davidson, come on in.”

“It’s Miss Y/LN, or just Y/N if you want.” She says as she sits down on the chair near his desk. He sits down on his chair.

“My mistake, Riley’s last name is-“

“Her father’s last name. I’ve changed mine back. We’re divorced, didn’t really feel like keeping it.”

“I’m, um, sorry, I know how rough divorce can be.”

“Yeah? Been through it yourself, Mr. Styles?”

“Just call me Harry, and my parents were divorced, so I know enough about it from a child’s perspective.”

“They’re not too keen on their father right now. Classic situation of him cheating on me with a younger woman, which of course they found out about.”

“That’s weird.” He rests his cheek on his fist. “You seem pretty young yourself.”

She blushes slightly and clears her throat.

“Could say the same to you. I had them young, yeah, things happen. I don’t regret it though.”

“Riley’s been a real pleasure to have in class, and she’s fitting right in. She seems to like biology the best.”

“She loves science.” She smiles. “Think she gets that from me. I was really into math and science as a kid.”

“Guess you being a database manager makes sense then. New job treating you well?”

“Yeah.” She cocks her head to the side with a smirk. “Although, my almost perfect first day was just about sullied by a man you bullied me in the parking lot.”

“Okay, okay, I was an ass.” He sighs. “Thanks for bringing it up by the way.”

“Why were you so nasty to me anyways? I’ve been avoiding you.”

He frowns at that.

“My ex…fiancé texted me and wished me a good first day, so it just ruined my day and I had to keep it all bottled up. You parking that close just brought me over the edge. I apologize.”

“Yikes, I’m sorry. Well, at least you got out of it before you got married. You saved a lot of money and time.”

“It’s alright…” He looks away for a moment. “Are you bringing the kids to the carnival? It’s all part of homecoming weekend.”

“Yes, and they’re really excited. I have to work technically since a lot of donors come back. I mostly just need to be on the ball. Their father is coming too since it’s his weekend with them technically. I guess it’s good for him to see where they’re going to school.”

“If you need a break from him I’ll be working the candy apple booth.” He smiles.

“Good to know.” She yawns. “Jesus, sorry. I gotta say, I’m whipped.”

“Makes sense, it’s past eight.”

“That late?!” She stands up immediately, and so does he. “I need to get home to them. Um, well, this was a much better meeting.” She sticks her hand out for him to shake.

“I agree. Don’t be a stranger this weekend.”

She nods and leaves his classroom. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an asshole as she thought. Y/N’s had her fair share of bad days, he was allowed to have them too.

//

“It’s like a college campus, this place is huge!” Joseph says once they’re at the football field of the school.

“Yeah, and there’s a pool! I’m trying out for the winter swim team soon.” Riley tells her dad, in a better mood since he didn’t bring his girlfriend.

“It’s really all free for them?” He asks Y/N.

“Mhm.” She nods. ���Okay, here all your meal tickets. I have to bee-bop around since I’m technically working. Have fun with Dad.” She smiles and they lead Joseph off towards some of the rides and games.

Y/N meets up with her colleagues and mingles with some of the donors she hasn’t been able to meet yet. She meets back up with the kids later to go on a few rides, and then goes to get food with them. She spots Harry at the candied apples tent, and she goes over there.

“I knew you’d find me.” He smirks.

“I’ve got a sweet tooth, what can I say?” She shrugs.

“You know, me too. Major sweet tooth.”

For whatever reason that makes her blush.

“Um, so I can I have it dipped in caramel and chocolate?”

“A woman after my own heart! I like mine the same way.” He picks up one of the apples from its stick and dips it in the chocolate first. “Any sprinkles or anything?”

“No, the sauces are fine, thank you.”

“So, where’s the-“

“Hi, Mr. Styles.” Riley says as she, Ben, and Joseph approach. “This is my dad.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Riley’s homeroom and biology teacher.” Harry hands you the apple once it’s done, and then shakes Joseph’s hand. “She’s a real pleasure to have in class.”

“So I’ve heard! Nice to hear it straight form the source, though.” There’s an awkward silence. “Um, well, kids do you want an apple?”

“Yeah!” Ben says and tells Harry what he wants.

Harry’s eyes catch Y/N biting into her apple, and how she licks around her lips. He looks a little too long because Joseph notices, and he clears his throat to snap Harry out of his trance.

“You two about ready to hit the road after this?” He asks them.

“Sure.” Riley shrugs. “Bye, Mr. Styles.”

“Have a good weekend, see you Monday.”

Y/N hugs both of the kids, and nods at Joseph.

“So…no kids this weekend?” Harry says to her.

“Nope. It’s funny, I always look forward to the little break, but by the time Sunday night hits I miss them.”

“Any plans?”

“Just relaxing. I’ll probably catch up on some sleep tomorrow. How about you?”

“A few of us are going to the pub after this…if you’d like to join, you’re welcome to.”

“Oh!” She says a little surprised. “Well, that would be great, actually. I haven’t really had time to explore some of the night life around here yet.”

“I could drive us from here if you like. I can always bring you back to your car.”

“You actually trust me to get into that fancy car of yours? I’m shocked.” She smirks, and he rolls his eyes.

“I apologized for that, didn’t I? Can we move on? Let me give you a ride later.”

“Alright.” She smiles. “Sounds like fun. It would be nice to get to know more people.”

“Great, I’ll find you later then?”

“Sounds good.” She walks away with her apple in hand, and he smiles.

After schmoozing with more alumni and donors, Y/N felt pooped. Did she really feel like going out and drinking? She could easily go home, draw herself a bath, and have a glass of fine all on her own. She had socially interacted so much today, and the thought of doing more was draining. Maybe she could go out with Harry another time. She tries looking around for him, but she’s not sure she spots him.

“Y/N!” She hears from behind her. “You ready?” Harry asks.

“About that…I think I’ve changed my mind…”

“How come?” He says with a slight frown.

“I was very social today, so I’m feeling a little tired. I don’t think I have enough pep in me for drinks tonight…but maybe another time?” She clasps her hands in front of her waist, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden.

“Oh, yeah, I definitely get that. Um, yeah, another time for sure.”

“Thanks, well, see you around, Harry.”

“See you…”

//

“Mum, we’re home!” Ben says Sunday evening as he and Riley come inside.

“Hey.” She smiles. “How was Dad’s?”

“Annoying.” Riley huffs. “I can’t stand Margaret. She, like, tries too hard to be our friends.”

“Mm, well, that’s what happens when a forty-year-old man decides to date a twenty-five-year-old woman. She probably knows how to babysit and be a pal.”

“Doesn’t it gross you out that he’s with someone so much younger?” Ben asks as he plops down on the couch.

“Of course it does. It won’t last long, unless she’s after his money.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why, it’s not like we were living the high life before.”

“Ew, what if he gets her pregnant.” Riley says with disgust. “I don’t want another little sibling, one is plenty.”

“Yeah, and then we’d have to pretend like we’re happy for him. I’m glad we didn’t have to do two nights over there this weekend.”

“Me too.” Riley sighs. “Did you do anything this weekend?” She asks Y/N.

“I just relaxed. Caught up on some TV, nothing special.” She shrugs. “Did you get all your homework done?”

“Yes.” They say in unison.

“Alright, go get ready for bed then.”

Riley and Chris meet at their lockers the next day at school and talk about their weekends. They chat in homeroom about their upcoming biology test. Chris was feeling a little nervous, but Riley was feeling confident. She studied almost all day Sunday. When it was last period, and Harry gave out the tests, her eyes bugged out. She read all of the questions over, and it wasn’t at all what she thought. She looked up at Harry dumbfounded. He was typing away at his computer, answering emails. She walks up to his desk with the test.

“Done already?” He jokes with a whisper.

“Mr. Styles…I don’t know any of this.”

“What do you mean? I gave you a study guide.”

“I…I know you did, but I left it at my mom’s, and so I was going off memory…I think I studied the wrong chapters by accident or something.” Her eyes were about to well up with tears.

“Alright, step out into the hall with me. Did you take notes while you studied?”

“Yeah.”

“Grab them for me.”

He stands up and goes out to the hallway to wait for her. A few of the kids in class were watching, but they get back to their own tests. She hands him her notes, and he makes a few humming noises.

“Right, yeah, you studied the wrong chapters.”

“Ugh, I knew it! So…does this mean I fail?”

“No.” He sighs. “It was an honest mistake, you’ll have to take a makeup exam after school sometime this week, though.”

“I can do it tomorrow! I would just need tonight to study. I could study in class now.”

“Get the rest of your things, I can give you a pass to the library.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Styles.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They both go back inside and she grabs the rest of her things. He writes her the pass and out the door she goes. Chris makes a motion for her to text him before she slips out, and she nods. Tuesday morning, just as Harry was sitting down at his desk with his coffee, he got an interoffice phone call from Y/N.

“Hello?” He answers, voice still deep from sleep.

“Hi, Harry, it’s Y/N.”

“I know…caller ID and all that.” He chuckles.

“Right, well, I wanted to say thank you for letting Riley take her test later this afternoon. She was a wreck last night when she got home.”

“It was an honest mistake. Plus, when I saw how much studying she did I knew I had to give her a chance to just take it later. Do you think she’s prepared enough for later?”

“Oh, definitely. She feels much better. Do you mind if Ben comes to sit in the classroom with her while she takes it? No sense in me zipping him home if she’s going to stay after.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“You’re a life saver, thanks! Talk to you soon.”

“Bye-“ He’s cut off by the sound of the phone clicking on the other end.

Riley stays after class to take her test. Shortly after Ben shyly walks into the classroom and takes a seat. He does his own homework while she takes her test. Forty minutes later, Riley finishes her test, and hands it to Harry.

“I can grade it now if you like since it was all multiple choice.”

“That’d be great.” She smiles.

He looks at his answer key and checks off all her right answers. He writes 92% in big red ink and circles it.

“Well done. I can’t give it back to you until tomorrow, of course, but at least you can rest easy about it.”

“God, what a relief! Guess I’ll be a pro when we reach the chapters I already studied.”

“I bet you will be.”

“Do you mind if we hang out here until our mum’s done with work? She said she was just gonna pull up out front of the building.”

“Sure, I have some other grading to do anyways. In fact, would you like to help? It’s for another class, I could give you the answer key.”

“Yeah!”

Harry sets her up, and he even plays a little music for all of them.

“Mr. Styles?” A boy named Austin walks in. He was a sophomore in Riley’s class. “Thank god you’re still here.” He sighs.

“What’s up, Austin?”

“I was wondering if you graded my test yet? The football coach needs me to fill this progress report slip out. He’s making all of us do it.”

“Oh! Yeah, let me look. I can just tell you your overall grade. Have a seat, it’ll take me a minute.”

He nods and sits down, glancing at Riley briefly. She gives him a small smile and blushes.

“How come you’re here?” He asks her.

“Oh, I needed to make up the test from yesterday. I accidentally studied the wrong chapters.”

“Happens to the best of us.” He smirks. “You’re new to town, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You should come to the football game Friday, since it’s home.”

“Yeah, um, maybe I will.”

“Cool.”

“Alright, Austen, I’ve got your grade.”

He stands up and goes to Harry’s desk.

“Sick, a C+! That’s way better than I thought.”

“Let’s try to keep it that way, yeah?”

“I’ll do my best, thanks.” He walks out of the room and Riley puffs out some air.

“Don’t tell me you have a crush on that guy?” Ben chuckles.

“He’s so cute, I can’t help it. That’s the most he’s ever spoken to me, and now he wants me to go to the game. I have to go Friday, I need to text Chris.”

“If you go, can I go?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “The more the merrier.”

Riley and Ben had always been close. They were practically best friends. They got a lot closer when their parents were going through the separation/divorce process, leaning on each other for a lot. Harry hear the sound of heels clacking on the floors outside the classroom, and there Y/N is appearing in the doorway looking lovelier than ever. She had a long coat on, synched at the waist, and her hair was down and wavy.

“Hi, kids, ready?” They both get up, and Harry stands as well. “Thanks for letting them hang out for a bit while I finished up.”

“It was no problem. Riley was pretty helpful to me with some grading.”

“How’d the test go?” She asks her daughter.

“Got a 92!”

“Amazing! I think that calls for takeout tonight.”

“You just don’t feel like cooking.” Ben chuckles.

“I’m sorry, are you complaining about getting Chinese food, or?”

“No! Just making an observation.”

“Mhm, okay, let’s go. Have a good night Mr. Styles.” She says to him.

“Same to you.”

On the ride home, Riley gets a text from Chris saying he’s down for the football game on Friday. She sighs with relief, and looks over her mother.

“So…can Ben and I meet up with Chris on Friday? We’d like to go to the football game.”

“A boy asked her to go!”

“Shut up, or you can’t come with me.”

“Hey!” Y/N says. “A boy asked you to go?”

“Well, sort of. He just said I should go if I wanted. I haven’t been to one yet, it could be fun. Chris said the snack bar is pretty stacked.”

“And you’ll keep an eye on your brother?”

“I’m only a year younger than her.” Ben scoffs.

“You’re in the eighth grade, that’s a big difference right now, even if it doesn’t feel like it. What time does the game start?”

“6:30, I think.”

“Sure, you can go. I think that’ll be good for you kids to go to.”

“Awesome, thanks Mum.”

//

“We’re gonna be there anyways, just ask her to tag along.” Niall says to Harry over lunch on Thursday.

“You make it seem like I wanna date her, I just think she’s cute.”

“Just ask her if she wants to go out with us after, would you?”

“Fine, I’ll give her a call right now.” Harry reaches for his phone, and looks up Y/N’s extension. She picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, Harry.”

“Hi, do you have a minute?”

“Sure! Is everything alright with Riley?”

“Yeah…this isn’t about her. It’s more of a personal matter.”

“Oh…what���s up?”

“Niall and I are chaperoning the football game tomorrow night. All of the faculty take turns doing it. We just walk around and make sure no one’s drinking underage. We were wondering if you’d like to join us. We’d be going to the pub after most likely too.”

“I don’t know if I should. Riley and Ben are going to the game, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m hovering around them, you know?”

Niall gestures for the phone and snatches it from Harry.

“Y/N? It’s Niall. Enough excuses, yeah? You’re coming out with us tomorrow night, and that’s final. You need to get more involved with student life.”

“I’m plenty involved!”

“You import and export donor data all day. I bet your kids won’t care.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Y/N did think about it, and then she asked Riley and Ben how they’d feel if she went. They said as long as she wasn’t up their butts they wouldn’t mind. It made things easier for her to drive them there at least. She watches as they meet up with Chris and essentially run off from her. She sighs and looks around for Niall and Harry, suddenly feeling like a loner.

“Oi, there she is!” Niall shouts, handing her a hot chocolate. “This should warm you up quick. You look cold.”

“I didn’t think it would be chilly enough for gloves.” She chuckles. “Thank you.”

“So, basically we just walk around, but we get to enjoy the game for the most part.” Harry explains.

“Is our team any good?”

“We’re decent, yeah. Think our lacrosse players are better to be honest, but they don’t get as much recognition.”

Y/N nods and takes a careful sip of her warm drink. She walks around with the guys, mostly listening to them talk in their accents. It was sort of fun to see all of the parents, staff, faculty, and students at the game cheering the team on.

“See that one, number 11?” Harry says to her, pointing towards the field. “That’s Austin, he asked Riley to come to the game. They’re in my bio class together. I think she likes him.”

“How can you tell?”

“I catch her looking at him from time to time. I might be wicked and assign them a project to work on together.”

“Teachers actually do that?!”

“Oh, sure.” Niall says. “I switch up the seating chart once a term just so I can pair people up. It’s pretty interesting to see what happens.”

“The students gossip to us all the time too.” Harry laughs. “They have no problem sharing personal information.”

“So…you think he might like Riley back?”

“I have no idea, he sits in front of her, and mostly just takes notes.”

“Is he nice?”

“He’s not a dolt if that’s what you’re asking. Definitely not your classic meathead, not to worry, Y/N.”

Y/N nods, and keeps walking around with the guys. The team wins, and everyone cheers. Riley, Ben, and Chris find her in the crowd of people near the exit.

“Mum, can we bowling?” Riley asks.

“With who?”

“Me, Miss Y/L/N.” Chris says and you raise your eyebrows. “Okay, and some of the cheerleaders and football players, but it’ll be fun! It’s cosmic bowling night. My dad said he could drive.”

“Please, Mum.” Ben pouts, and you roll your eyes.

“Alright.” She sighs, and takes her wallet out of her small sling bag. “Here’s some money, have fun. Home by ten, do you hear me? I’ll be out for a bit myself, just in case you get back before me.”

“Where are you going?” Riley asks.

“I’ve made some friends of my own.” She grins. “Go on, have fun.”

“Thank you!” They all say and head off.

“I can follow you both to the pub.” Y/N tells Niall and Harry, and they all walk to the parking lot.

She feels a little nervous going out with them. She had made a few friends so far, mostly her colleagues that she saw every day. There was this weird divide between faculty and staff, so she had noticed. So, Y/N wasn’t sure how welcomed she would be by the others they were meeting up with. She takes a deep breath before getting out of her car, and meeting Harry and Niall at entrance.

“You’re gonna love this place.” Harry says, putting a hand on her shoulder as they go inside. He leads her to a table where a few people were sitting already. “Oi, everyone, this is Y/N, she works in the development office.”

They all look at her and smile, saying hello. Niall takes his seat, and Harry has you sit between the two of them. Y/N learns the names of some other faculty members. Shane, Lora, and Jess. None of them had Y/N’s kids in class so she could rest easier. She found Harry and Niall to be hilarious, often almost choking on her drinks from laughter. She notices that Harry’s rolled his sleeves up, and can’t help but look at his tattoos. He explains a few of them to her. Around 10:05 she got a text from Riley.

Riley: just got in, thanks again for letting us go, it was amazing! When are you home??

Y/N: soon, baby, thanks for checking in

“Well, I should probably get going.” She says to Harry. “My kids just got home, and I don’t like leaving them alone too long when it’s late.”

“Fair enough, can I walk you to your car?” He says, leaning in a little bit. “Just so I know you left safely.”

“Sure, um, that’d be great.” She throws some bills on the table to take care of her tab. “Thank you all so much, I had a great time.”

“See ya, Y/N!” Niall says with a smile. She misses the wink he gives Harry, and Harry mouths ‘be cool’ at him.

“M’just gonna walk her to her car, I’ll be right back.” Harry says, addressing the group before heading out the door with Y/N. “You’re good to drive, right?” He says as they both walk outside.

“Of course, I only had, like, two drinks. You saw me nursing them.”

“Alright, just wanted to be sure.” He watches her fish for her keys out of her bag. “I’m glad you came out tonight.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You’re a lot of fun to be around.”

“Aw, thanks, you’re fun to be around too.” She smiles, biting her bottom lip. He can’t help but let his eyes drift to it.

“Are you in a rush to get home?”

“Well…I…”

“It’s not like they need you to tuck them in, right?”

“N-no…” She raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you…are you making a pass at me?” She was backed up against her car with him a comfortable foot away from her, but she was starting to feel warm.

“Maybe.” He shrugs, stepping a little closer. “Would you feel uncomfortable if I was?” She shakes her head no and swallows.

“Do you do this with all your students’ mums?” She smirks, gaining some confidence back.

“Well, considering that I was in a four year long relationship up until six months ago, I can confidentially say no.” She opens her mouth and smirks. “And no, I don’t usually do this with colleagues either.”

“So…why with me then?”

“You’re cute.” He grins.

“Harry, I…I’m not really looking for anything serious right now, I’ve just started a new job, I bought my own house, I’m juggling teenagers, I can’t start up a relationship.”

“I don’t think I asked you for that. In fact, I haven’t asked for anything, yet.” He says smugly. “M’not looking for anything serious either.”

“Alright, what do you want from me then?” He shifts his weight to his other hip, and just looks at her. Her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. She looks around, and steps closer to him, barely any space between them now. “You…you want to have sex with me?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? I think you’ve really got it going on.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure, you really know how to fill out a pair of jeans. Your bum looked awfully cute at homecoming.”

“All this coming from the guy who was about ready to murder me for almost scratching his car.” She scoffs.

“I have apologized for that over and over, but clearly my words mean nothing to you…” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “Maybe there’s something else I could do to make it up to you.”

“You’re my kid’s teacher, Harry.”

“Not after 2PM I’m not. Right now I’m just a guy who wants to fuck you.”

“I can’t go back to your place with you right now.”

“My car’s got tinted windows and a spacious back seat.”

“How…how old are you, anyways? I mean, I’m thirty-three, Harry, and you’re a little baby faced. I’m not one of those people who-“

“I’m twenty-nine. Do you wanna go fuck in my car or not? It’s okay if you don’t, I’m not trying to pressure you, but it’s bloody cold out here and I wouldn’t mind warming up.”

Y/N hadn’t had sex with someone in since the last time her and Joseph had sex, which was a few years ago. She also couldn’t remember the last time she had sex in a car, probably when she was a teenager. Was she really about to do this with some she had just started to become decent friends with? Was this is the only reason he wanted to be friends with her?

“Is the only reason you’ve been wanting to invite me out? To get my pants off?”

“No! I genuinely think you’re nice to be around, but I also wouldn’t mind getting your pants off.” He smirks.

“Okay.” She nods. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Really?”

“Quickly, before I change my mind.” He grabs her by the wrist and tugs her towards his car. He unlocks his car and he lets her get in first. He reaches forward to turn the car on so the heat is on and there’s a little music playing. He goes to cup her cheek, and she backs away. “I’m a little nervous.”

“We don’t have to do anything crazy if you don’t want. We could just kiss if you like.”

“I just…it’s been a while for me, you know? Like, a long while, so…I want to, I’m just nervous.”

“How can I help you relax?”

“I guess…um…could I sit on your lap and maybe we could hug for a bit?”

“Sure.” He nods.

She moves to straddle him, and she wraps her arms around his neck. His go around her back, and he rubs her soothingly. He gets a good whiff of her perfume, and it makes him smile.

“Comfortable?” He asks softly. She hums her response and he holds her a little tighter. “I like whatever perfume you’re wearing.” He feels her giggle against him.

“It’s just apple spice.” She mutters into his neck, and moves to look at him. “Nothing special.”

“Well, I like it.” He tucks some hair behind her ear. “Would it be alright If I kissed you now?”

“Yeah.” She smiles.

He licks his lips and presses them to hers. Her eyes flutter closed and she tugs at his hair. His hands squeeze her hips as the kiss deepens. He sucks on her bottom lip, and it makes her whimper. She rolls her hips down on his and he grunts. He kisses sloppily from her mouth, to her jaw, and to her neck. He mouths at her neck, full well knowing he can’t leave a mark, but it doesn’t stop him from licking and sucking a little over the area. She tugs at his hair a little harder and continues grinding against him, feeling his bulge getting harder. His lips move back to hers as his hands roam up her front, hesitating before reaching her breasts. She takes his hands and puts them over her boobs, squeezing his hands over them. He takes over from there, kneading them as best he could over her coat.

She gets frustrated, and get shimmies her coat off. He’s happy to see her nipples peeking through her shirt. He moves to suck on it through the material and she gasps. Her chest was heaving when he came off and looked up at her. Her hands move to unbutton her jeans, and he wastes no time sticking his hand inside. Instead of smirking when he feels how wet she is, he presses his lips back to hers, loving knowing that he was turning her on this much. His fingers move along her folds, and he slips his middle finger inside her gently. He groans when he feels how tight she is.

“Christ, you weren’t kidding. Do you never use anything at home?”

“Who the fuck has the time?!” She huffs as he starts bringing his finger in and out. “M’too exhausted half the time, and even when they’re gone I just do something quick.” A moan leaves her lips when his thumb starts to circle around her clit. Her forehead presses against his, and her eyes pinch closed.

He gets his ring finger inside her as well, and he curls them both up. She moves back and forth on him, riding his fingers. She makes fists with his shirt, and she starts panting. He groans from watching her, and just from the way she feels. He pets against her g-spot, and his thumb works into her clit.

“Oh, oh my god.” She says, biting her bottom lip. “I…I think I’m gonna come.” He doesn’t let up on her, doing his best to get her there. Her whimpers and whines were just egging him on. “Oh, shit, oh, shit!” She cries out as she comes around his fingers. He works her through it, and then retracts his fingers, sucking on them while making eye contact with her.

“Well?” He smirks.

“Do you have any condoms?”

“Yeah, get your pants the rest of the way off.” He lifts her off of him and places her on the seat while he reaches forward into the console, and grabs a condom.

“Aren’t you a little old to be leaving condoms in your car?” She says as he slips her jeans and underwear off.

“Wouldn’t be able to fuck you if I didn’t, would I?” He winks, and undoes his belt and jeans. “Think you’ll be able to ride me reverse, or do you need to go missionary to ease you into it.”

“Don’t be an asshole, I know how to have sex, it’s just bene a while.”

“I wasn’t! I don’t wanna hurt you.” Her eyes widen as he pulls his hard dick from his boxers, rolling the condom on.

“You think you’re the first guy with a larger prick to fuck me? Think I can handle it.”

“Now who’s being the asshole?” He chuckles and grabs her to bring her back to his lap, her back pressed to his chest. He reaches around to rub on her to make sure she’s still wet. “You want this still?”

“Yeah.” She lifts her hips and he lines himself with her, pressing up into center. It’s a tight squeeze, like she thought it would be, but she does her best to relax around him. She nearly shrieks once she’s sat fully on him.

“I’m gonna make you feel so fucking good.” He says into her ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

She hooks an arm around his head while he grips her hips, and her head falls back to his shoulder. He thrusts up into her while rubbing on her clit, and her mouth falls open. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time, this was incredible. She tugs on his hair and helps herself move on him so he doesn’t have to do as much work. He frees up one of his hands to grip and squeeze one of her breasts. She looks up at him and yanks his head down to hers. She licks into his mouth and he moans into her. He sucks on her tongue and her eyes roll back. Between that, his fingers on her slit, and his dick fucking up into her, she was about ready to lose it again. She pants into his mouth as she comes again. He thrusts begin to get sloppy, and then he’s spilling into the condom. They sit there for a moment catching their breaths before she moves off him.

They both get dressed, and Harry throws the condom into a nearby trashcan as he walks her back to her car. Her face was flushed, and she for sure looked like a mess, but she felt good. He cups her cheeks and backs her up against the driver’s side door, kissing her tenderly.

“That was fun.” He says.

“Yeah.” She breathes and looks down at her watch. It was already 11:30. “Shit, I really need to get home. Ben gets worried when I’m out late.”

“Sweet kid.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Well, get home safe and all that.”

“You too.” She smiles and opens her car door. He closes it for her once she’s inside, and she starts the car.

As Y/N drives home it starts to hit her what she just did. She just fucked her child’s biology teacher, who she also happens to technically work with. Never in her life had she done something like this. Maybe in her younger days she would have done something this rebellious, but she had grown up a lot, and she was a professional now. She takes a deep breath before keying into her home. She sighs when she sees the light from the TV coming from the living room. Riley and Ben were passed out on the couch.

“Hey, kids.” She coos. “Wake up, I’m home.”

“Mum?” Ben says sleepily. “Where were you?”

“I…I was out with friends, remember? Um, let’s get you both into bed.”

She turns the TV off as they both slowly make their way upstairs to their bedrooms. Once they’re both in their beds, she goes into her own room, and gasps once she gets a good look at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was smeared, and her hair was a mess.

“Christ, Y/N, what did you do?” She says to herself and sighs.

//

The next day, Y/N was walking around like she had a stick up her ass. Maybe her body wasn’t quite ready for someone of Harry’s size. Nevertheless, she had to get up and start her day. She got some laundry going, did some dusting, and then made some breakfast for the kids. They both come into the kitchen around 10.

“Can you both put your sheets in the laundry room for me? I’m doing a linen load in a bit.” They both nod as she puts two plates of eggs in front of them. “How was bowling?”

“So much fun!” Riley says. “I actually got a strike, I couldn’t believe it.”

“You did?! How’d you manage that?”

“Um…Austin helped me, you know the one in my bio class? He’s really nice.”

“Riley, I’m happy for you and all, but I don’t know if I want you dating yet.”

“I’m not dating anyone! At least I wasn’t the one who stayed out until nearly midnight doing god knows what.”

“I’m an adult, I can do what I want, that’s one. Two, if you and this boy decide you really like each other, I think it’s only fair I get to meet him.”

“Just because he helped me bowl a ball doesn’t mean anything.” She rolls her eyes.

“What about you, did you have fun?” Y/N sighs as she asks Ben.

“Yeah, I hung out in the arcade, it was sick.”

Just as she was sipping on her coffee, Y/N’s phone goes off. It was in front of Riley and Ben, and Riley furrows her brows.

“Who is it?” Y/N asks.

“Um…Mr. Styles. Why is he calling you?”

“I…I have no idea.” She snatches her phone quickly. “H-hello?”

“Hey, Y/N! Just wanted to see how you were.”

“I’m alright, um, I’m in the kitchen with the kids, could you just give me a second?” She leaves the room and goes down the hall to her home office. “Okay…um, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I just didn’t wanna be a dick and not call.”

“Well, that’s nice of you.” She blinks a few times.

“So…you feel okay about everything?”

“Yeah! Wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t. Little sore, but other than I’m good.” She chuckles slightly and so does he.

“Well, next time I can be a little gentler…if you’d like there to be a next time, that is.”

“You…you don’t want last night to just have been a one-time thing?”

“Not necessarily, I had a good time with you, and I think you had a good time with me.”

“I just…I don’t know how smart it would be to start something up with my kid’s teacher.”

“Well, you already sort of did…”

“Yes, but I think to continue it would be stupid. I don’t want to do anything that could potentially embarrass her. Riley and Ben are really starting to make friends. They were cool about moving here for me, so I want to be-“

“It’s not like we’re dating, Y/N. No one has to know.”

“As if you haven’t told Niall yet.” She scoffs.

“I mean he was curious as to why I didn’t come back to the bar last night, but I didn’t give him the full details. He knows how to keep things to himself.” He pauses for a moment. “Look, I get it, you’re just trying to be a good mum, I can admire that. But after a certain point you need to remember that it’s okay to do things for yourself.”

“Like fuck a guy in a parking lot?”

“Exactly!” He laughs. “You’re still so young, why not let yourself have some fun?

“Harry…”

“All I’m saying is, if you’re ever lonely, or if you can’t sleep…you can call me.”

“I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to them. Probably wondering what we’re talking about.”

“Yeah.”

“Have a good rest of your weekend.”

“You too.”

She hangs up, completely shocked by the conversation she just had with Harry. She goes back out to the kitchen where the kids were waiting with raised eyebrows.

“What did Mr. Styles want?” Riley asks.

“Oh, um, someone left their wallet at the restaurant we all went to last night, that’s all. He was trying to figure out who it belongs to.”

“There was no ID in it?” Ben asks.

“Apparently not.” Y/N shrugs.

//

At first, Y/N wasn’t sure if she wanted to take Harry up on his offer. She genuinely didn’t want to make things difficult for Riley. When mid-November rolled around, it was time for parent-teacher conferences. These were the more serious one on one meetings before the holiday season to make sure students would be able to pass all of their classes. More often than not Y/N found herself meeting with Ben’s teachers than with Riley’s, but Y/N wanted to check in with everyone to make sure her kids were acclimating to the new school fine. What she wasn’t expecting was for Joseph to want to come to the conferences as well. She got away with blushing a little when they saw Niall. He didn’t make anything awkward, but it was when they made their way to Harry’s room that she was starting to feel like she wanted to vomit. The door swings open and two people walk out. Harry steps out and looks into the hallway, smiling when he sees you, then frowning when he sees Joseph.

“Mr. Davidson! How nice to see you again, please come in.” Harry says, gesturing to step inside. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Harry.”

“You can call me Joseph.” Joseph says as he sits down and Harry nods.

Harry and Y/N make eye contact briefly, and then he clears his throat.

“Well, I’m not sure why Riley signed you both up.” Harry chuckles. “She’s doing exceptionally well, and not just in my class. She’s a bright girl.” He takes out a few of her lab reports. “The first semester tends to be easier since we’re learning more about plants and those types of organism. Next semester we get into zoology and human anatomy. I always make it known there’s study groups and after school help. I try to make it as engaging and fun as I can. We even play a few rounds of operation.”

This makes you smile as Joseph furrows his brows at Riley’s lab reports. He nods along with what Harry is saying.

“I’m glad she’s doing so well. She was sort of a big fish in a small pond at her last school.” Joseph says. “I was a little worried she’d feel overwhelmed. This transition for them was really abrupt.”

“They had most of the summer to get used to things.” Y/N says, rolling her eyes. “This isn’t a snotty school either, the teacher’s actually help the students succeed.”

“I’m just saying-“

“Listen.” Harry cuts in. “Seems like you two might have some things to discuss that don’t really involve me. Riley’s doing great, and Niall tells me Ben’s doing just as great. Nothing really more to it.”

Joseph nearly had a decade on Harry, but Harry owned this room. Having Joseph be put in his place definitely did something for Y/N. She can’t help but smirk as Joseph sits up straight.

“Yes, well…thank you. We’ll make sure to relay the message to them.” He says and Harry nods. Joseph stands up, as does Y/N.

“Y/N, did you happen to drive separately? An alum emailed me today, and I have a couple of questions about our donation site.”

“Oh! Sure, I can stay a few moments.” She looks a Joseph. He stands there for a moment, looking between the two of them.

“Goodnight.” He says, and out the door he goes.

“So…what’s your question?”

“I didn’t actually have one.” Harry smirks at her and she blushes.

“Oh.”

“You seemed uncomfortable with him here.”

“I don’t exactly enjoy his company anymore.” She sits slightly on his desk.

“I know, shit like that is just awkward. Francie and I still have some mutual friends, and we’ve had to be at a few of the same parties since the breakup.”

“Can I ask…I mean, you said you were together for four years and engaged…what happened?”

“Why don’t we have this conversation over drinks?” He stands up, grabbing his keys and jacket.

“Harry…it’s a school night.”

“And? It’s only seven. Not like we’re gonna be out all night are we?”

“I have two kids at home.”

“You have two teenagers at home. Come on, just one drink and I’ll tell you everything.”

“And then what?”

“Whatever you want.” He winks and leads you out the door.

//

Y/N texted the kids to let them know she was just grabbing a quick bite, and that she was very proud of their hard work. She followed Harry to a pub, and they grab a booth inside. They each order a drink and munch on some popcorn.

“Alright.” He sighs. “So I was with Francie for four years, and we were engaged for all of five months. It was working out great, we were living together, had a couple of pets, you name it. She works for this tech company, right? So, she got promoted, which was great, but it would have involved her to start traveling a lot, and eventually moving to New York. I didn’t want to move, and she didn’t want to do long distance.”

“Why didn’t you want to move? You could have found another school to work at…”

“It was the principal of the thing! She didn’t even ask, she just expected it, like her job was more important than mine. We started arguing more and more, and when I asked her why we couldn’t just try long distance she said that would make things difficult to start a family, and I said we already had a family, and that opened up a can of worms. She wanted kids and I didn’t. After that we ended it. She took our dog and cat, and left.”

“She took the pets?!”

“Yup! Left me the ring though.” He scoffs.

“Wait…so you don’t want kids?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, I love babies especially. But…I just don’t see myself being a dad.” He shrugs. “It’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of money too. I don’t know if I could take care of someone else. And maybe…when she said it…I had this thought of if I did want kids I wasn’t sure if wanted her to be the mother of them.”

“It took you that long to have that kind of conversation?”

“What about you? Did you and your ex have a proper discussion about it?”

“No, he knocked me up, proposed later that year, and we got married in a courthouse while I was seven months pregnant.” She finishes her drink. “Just like a fairytale. Then when he promised we could have a real wedding, I got pregnant with Ben, and all that money went to him. S’alright, though, it would have been a waste of money.”

“Can I ask why you got divorced?”

“Well, the age difference was one thing. He’s seven years older than me, which may not seem like much, but it was. I felt like I couldn’t talk to him sometimes. Then he decided to cheat on me with some other young thing, so we went from separated to divorced real quick.”

“I’m so sorry.” He frowns slightly.

“Don’t be, it was a while ago. I think things worked out for the best. We’re all doing better now.”

“I think it’s admirable that you’ve turned your life around the way you have.”

“Thanks.” She smiles and he finishes off his drink. Once they pay their tab they head out. “I think it’s too cold to do what we did last time.”

“And I couldn’t persuade you to come back to my place for a bit?”

She looks down at her watch and sees it’s already 8:30. She sighs, biting her bottom lip.

“I…I want to, and if I didn’t have two kids at home waiting for me I would. Maybe…maybe you should find someone else to be your little fuck buddy. I’m not easy to be with.”

“Maybe that’s what I like about you.” He says, leaning forward so his lips brush yours, kissing you quickly before backing away. “Have a good night, Y/N.”

She groans once she’s in the car. When she gets home both Riley and Ben are in their rooms unwinding. She says hello and goes to her own room to get ready for bed. Y/N wonders what she would have done with Harry at his place. How he would have touched her and kissed her all over. She sighs and gets into bed, aggravated as fuck.

//

It was Thanksgiving weekend when Y/N took her next shot with Harry. The kids spent Thanksgiving day with her, and they had the rest of the weekend to be with Joseph. When Saturday night rolled around she was bored and lonely, so she called him.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Hi, Y/N. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”

“I did…although, I have way too many leftovers.”

“You don’t say?”

“Yeah! Um, you wouldn’t happen to be hungry, would you?”

“Starved.”

“Great, well, if you’d like to come over you can.”

“I can be there within the house. Just text me your address.”

He had assumed Riley and Ben weren’t home. He needed to take a quick shower before coming to see her, and she needed to do the same. She wanted to be as fresh as possible for him. When she heard the doorbell, she raced down the stairs to open it.

“So, I can heat up whatever-mph!” He had gripped her cheeks and pulled her into him, kissing her passionately.

“I didn’t actually come here to eat.” He breathes. “Well, I did…but not food.” He smirks and lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist and kisses on his neck as he carries her upstairs. “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Last door on the right.” She mumbles into his hot skin.

He gets her in the bedroom, and sets her down. He starts taking his clothes off, and she does the same. He knees onto the bed to hover over her, and he kisses her, sucking on her bottom lip.

“Glad you finally called me for this.” He says as he licks around her nipple.

“You could have called me.”

“Didn’t want to look any more desperate.”

He nips at her stomach as he works his way down, giving her little to no warning before he licks into her. She gasps, gripping onto his hair. She bites her bottom lip as she feels his warm tongue lapping away at her. He sucks on her clit and slips two fingers inside her.

“When was the last time someone made you feel this good, hm? When was the last time someone made you this wet?”

“Wh-whenever the first time we hooked up was.” She whimpers.

“And before that?” He kitten licks at her clit now.

“God, I have no idea!” She moans out as his fingers pet inside her against her g-spot. He struggles to get a third finger in, so he doesn’t bother.

“Tighter than a fucking finger trap you know that?”

“I told you, I don’t make time to-oh!”

He started sucking on her clit again, and pumping his fingers quickly. She was squirming underneath him, panting and moaning loudly. She cries out as she comes, and he pumps his fingers slowly as her hips move along with his motions.

“Condoms?” He asks when he pops up.

“You don’t me to, um…?”

“Another time, I don’t think I’d last very long if you sucked on me.” He had been rutting himself against the mattress. She nods and reaches into her bedside drawer for a condom she toss it to him and watches as he rolls it on. “Roll over.”

She does as he says, and gets on her elbows and knees for him. He grips her hips, and lines himself up with her, pushing inside. It’s a tight squeeze, but he gets in no problem. They both moan out from the feeling. He reaches around to rub her clit, and she collapses onto the bed.

“God, just do what you want with me, Harry.” She grunts, and he moans from behind her.

“You’re so fucking sexy, you have no idea. Come for me, Y/N, come on.”

She cries out into her pillow, and he spills into the condom. Somehow after they both got cleaned up they ended up back in bed together. Harry through his arm around Y/N and pulled her to his chest.

“What are you doing?” She giggles.

“Cuddling you.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel like it.”

She laughs, but doesn’t fight him on it. Then…they fell asleep. It was a total accident, Harry never intended to spend the night. He just wanted to cuddle for a bit before heading out. He was more tired than he thought, and so was she. She nudges him awake.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” He says, knuckling at his eyes.

“It’s okay. Would you like to take a shower with me?”

“I would.” He smiles and gets up with her.

It was the dirtiest shower she had ever taken. He had gotten on his knees to eat her out, and then he lifted her up, fucking her into the bathroom tile wall. She left many scratch marks on his back, and then he came on her stomach. They got cleaned up for real after that, and headed downstairs for some coffee. Just as she was about to offer him some breakfast, she heard the front door open.

“Oh my god!” She whisper screams. “They’re not supposed to be back until later!”

“Be cool, Y/N.” Harry says.

“But-“

“Mum, we’re…Mr. Styles?” Riley says as she comes in with Ben. “What…what’s going on?”

“I should ask you the same. Why’s your father bring you back so soon?”

“We asked if he could.” Ben says. “Can only handle so much of his girlfriend.”

“So…Mr. Styles, um, no offense, but what are you doing here?”

“Well, your mum just so happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She had all these leftovers and asked me if I’d like any, and I said yes. I may be a Brit, but I love Thanksgiving dishes. So I came right over. Just got here a couple minutes before you did.”

“Yeah, I was just about to pull the food out. Why don’t you two go put your things away?”

Riley furrows her brows, but shrugs it off, and goes with Ben upstairs.

“You’re quick on your feet.”

“Wasn’t a total lie.” Harry says, finishing his coffee. “I better get going.” She walks him to the front door, and he gives her a sneaky kiss along with a bum squeeze. “See you soon, I hope.”

“Definitely.” She smiles. “Bye.” She opens the door for him and out he goes. She sighs happily, and goes into the kitchen to make a little breakfast.

//

Riley was a little suspicious after that morning. She spent most mornings in homeroom analyzing Harry’s features. He was his usual chipper self, but there was certainly an extra pep in his step. Then in biology it was the same thing.

“Riley?” Austin was standing in front of her desk, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, hey.” She smiles. “What’s up?”

“Are you free this Friday?”

“I…I think so.”

“Would you wanna go to the movies?” He runs a hand through his hair and she swallows.

“This is gonna sound really lame, but I need to ask my mom first.”

He chuckles slightly at that.

“No worries, let me know if she says yes.”

“I will.” Austin goes to his seat, and Riley looks at Chris who was giving her a thumbs up.

“Alright, if we could all settle down?” Harry says. “Today we’re going over fungi cells so I need all of your attention on me.”

Harry liked attention in general, probably one of the reasons he wanted to be a teacher in the first place. He just happened to also enjoy biology and he was good at explaining it to the youths. During class Riley felt her phone buzz, and saw she had a text from Ben.

Ben: reminder that I have a doctor’s appointment, so you have to wait after school for Mum to come get you

Riley: okay thanks, I’ll just go to the library to wait for her

“Riley!” She snaps her eyes up at the harsh tone from her teacher. “Is that your phone?”

“Y-yes…I’m sorry, Mr. Styles, my brother-“

“I don’t care.” He shakes his head. “You know the policy.” He gestures for her to give it to him.

“But he was just-“

“Is it an emergency?”

“No.”

“Alright then, give it here.” Everyone was looking at her, and it made her face flush. She gets up and walks towards him to hand over her phone. He takes it puts it in his desk drawer. “You can have it back after class.”

She nods, and goes back to her seat. After class she walks out, completely forgetting she had her phone taken away. She gets settled in the library, and gets some homework done. She was there for over an hour until Y/N showed up in a huff.

“Riley Davidson, I’ve been calling you for fifteen minutes!”

“Mum, be quiet!”

“If your brother hadn’t told me you were in the library I never would have found you. Where the hell is your phone?”

“It’s…oh shit.” She says as she packs up.

“What?”

“I forgot that Mr. Styles took it from me.”

“He what?!”

“Ben texted me while I was in class, and I texted back. He caught me, and took it away from me. It’s the policy.”

“I don’t give a fuck, that’s your property. Come on, hopefully he’s still here.”

He was. When they walk in, he was writing something on the whiteboard, furrowing his eyebrows. Looked like it was a chemistry equation. Y/N clears her throat to get his attention.

“Oh, hello ladies.”

“Where do you get off taking my daughter’s phone?”

“Oh! I completely forgot about that. You left right after class, Riley.” Harry goes into his desk and grabs the phone. “Here you are.”

“Thanks.” She says as she swipes through to check any notifications she may have missed.

“It’s the policy, Y/N.”

“What if I got in a car accident and someone needed to reach her? Then what?”

“Did that happen?” He crosses his arms.

“No, but it could have.”

“But it didn’t. There’s no texting in class, no phone use of any kind, actually.”

“Mum, it’s fine, we can-“

“Excuse me, but that’s her property. If I need to get in touch with her, or if her brother does, then she should be able to send a quick text. It’s not like she was scrolling through Instagram.”

“But she could have been.”

“But she wasn’t!”

“Maybe you should hover over a little less, hm? Kids rely on their phones so much because their parents are constantly trying to see what they’re up to.”

Y/N takes her keys out from her purse, and hands them to Riley.

“I’m parked out front, go start the car for me. I’ll be just be another minute.” Riley nods and leaves quickly, knowing how bad it can be to be scolded by her mother. She certainly didn’t want to watch her favorite teacher get bitched out. “You don’t have kids, so I wouldn’t expect you to understand-“

“I have dozens of kids, actually. Ones that come to see me to talk to me about their problems, I’m also always studying trends of the today’s students, so don’t stand there and-“

“Do not interrupt me when I’m speaking.” She says firmly, and he closes his mouth. “You may speak when I’m finished, Mr. Styles. I’m a single mom doing my best for my kids. I will not be lectured in front of my daughter about being a helicopter parents because I’m not. However, I’m doing the job of two while my ex gets to be a weekend dad, who my kids don’t even want to see. It’s my fault Ben texted her at the time he did, alright? I asked him to remind her that I wouldn’t be picking her up until later because I had to take him to a doctor’s appointment.”

“May I?” She gestures that he can speak. “She didn’t need to text him back right then. It’s the school policy to take a phone away if we see it out, I was just doing my job.”

“Well, you should have remembered you took it so you could have given it back to her! I was sitting in the car for nearly twenty minutes waiting for her, I was starting to get worried.” Y/N pouts, and even though this was a very serious matter, Harry couldn’t help notice the blood starting to flow right to his prick.

���I’m very sorry about that.” He puts his hand on her shoulder, and she glances at it before looking at him. “I take ownership for that mistake. I feel terrible that I even caused an ounce of worry. If there’s anything I can do to make it better, please let me know.” His tone was condescending and seductive all at the same time.

She places her hand on his and removes it from her shoulder.

“Have a nice evening.” She says.

“Same to you.” He smirks.

Y/N makes her way to her car, and sighs heavily once she’s in there with Riley.

“Please don’t tell me you just yelled at him. He’s my favorite teacher, Mum.”

“No, we had a very adult conversation, and he apologized for not giving you back your phone when he should have after class.”

“I guess I could’ve waited to text Ben back. I’m sorry I caused all this.”

“It’s not your fault, honey, it’s fine.” She smiles at her daughter and they make their way home.

“I…I was asked to the movies this Friday, can I go?”

“With who?”

“Austin.”

“I’d like him to come to the house first so I can meet him properly. You’ve been hanging out in groups with him. Would this be one on one?”

“I think so. I can ask him if he minds coming inside first before we go.”

“That would be great.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Are you…are you and Mr. Styles, like, seeing each other?”

“What would ever give you that idea?!”

“I just think it’s weird that he was at our house.”

“We’ve become friends, you know I hang out with him and Mr. Horan sometimes.”

“Yeah, but Mr. Horan wasn’t there. It was just you and Mr. Styles, and you both had wet hair.”

“I had showered before he swung by, he must have done the same.” Y/N shrugs. “We’re just friends, honey, nothing more.”

“Okay.”

Y/N could tell Riley didn’t quite believe her, but she knew her daughter wouldn’t press her on it more for now. Not if she wanted to go to the movies with Austin.

//

“It’s nice to meet you, uh-“

“You can just call me Miss Y/L/N, it’s nice to meet you too, Austin.” Y/N smiles. They were all standing in the front hall. “So…it’s just you two going to the movies?”

“That’s the plan.” He says with an innocent smile.

“Have her home by 10:30, please.”

“Can do.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

“Have fun.” She sighs and turns around to Ben. “What about you? No plans?”

“Not tonight. I was just gonna play video games.”

“Well, if you’d like to have a friend over-“ Her cell phone goes off and she furrows her brows. “One second, sweetie.” She goes into the kitchen for some more privacy. “Harry?”

“Hey, what are you up to tonight?”

“Hanging out with my son…why?”

“Oh, they’re not with their dad this weekend?”

“No, they were with him last weekend.” She sighs.

“Damn.”

“Why?”

“Well, Niall and a few other people were gonna go to this place where you can throw axes, and we thought you’d like to come.”

“That sounds like…fun? Um, but I can’t just leave Ben here alone. I’d feel terrible since Riley’s out.”

“Hey, Mum?”

“Honey, I’m on the phone.”

“I know, sorry, Kyle just texted me and asked me if I wanted to sleep over. I know it’s last minute, but-“

“You can go! You can definitely go, I’ll even drop you off.”

“You’re the best! I’m gonna go pack up my stuff.” Ben races out of the kitchen.

“Guess that just solved itself.” Harry says.

“Guess so.”

“Let me come pick you up. Text me when you get back from dropping him off, yeah?”

“Alright.”

Y/N gets herself ready, and then drives Ben to Kyle’s house for his sleepover.

“Why do you look so nice?” He asks on the way there.

“Well, I made plans with my own friends since you and Riley are out. Is that okay?” She chuckles.

“S’fine.” He shrugs. “Feel like you’ve been going out a lot lately. Are you, like, dating?”

“No, baby, I’m not dating. But I am making good friends, which has been nice. I didn’t have many friends back in our old town. Too many judgey moms.” She pulls up to Kyle’s house. “Have a great time, call me if you need me.”

“I will, thanks!”

She watches Ben go inside, and then she makes her way back home to wait for Harry. She liked his car a lot, and it would be nice to actually go for a drive in it, instead of just riding him in it. Y/N was shocked when she heard the doorbell.

“You didn’t have to come to the door.” She says as she steps outside.

“Sure I did. I may be just trying to fuck, but I’m a gentleman at the end of the day.” He smirks as he opens the car door for her. She rolls her eyes at him, and climbs in.

“This really is a nice car.” She says as she looks around.

“Saved up a long time for it.” He places his hand on her thigh as he backs out of the driveway, and he keeps it there.

“So, an axe throwing place?”

“It’s all the rage right now. You can drink and throw axes, it’s pretty cool. I’ve been once before it’s a hoot.” He chuckles and squeezes her thigh slightly. “I’m glad you were able to get out for a bit.”

“Me too.”

She lets him keep his hand on her leg for the entire ride as they chat over the music. He parks the car, and gets out, jogging around to the other side to open the door for her. She smiles at him, and they both head inside. He even gets them their drinks from the bar. It was starting to feel like a date, especially when she only saw Niall with one other person, some woman she had yet to meet.

“Y/N, this is my girlfriend Anna.” Niall says.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Y/N says to her. Harry comes over and hands her a drink. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We all set?” He asks Niall.

“Yeah, we all just need to sign the release forms.”

They all sign and are brought over to the axe throwing area. They’re told how to do it, and they get going. Harry and Niall go first, and of course their axes stick. Y/N takes a deep breath, and throws her, but it doesn’t stick.

“That’s alright, give it another go.” Harry encourages her.

“I…I don’t think I threw it quite right.” She says to him.

“Would you like some help?” She nods yes at him and he steps closer to her, putting his hand on her back. “You need to release from this point, okay? Give it all you got.” He steps back and lets her throw it. It sticks and she squeals, turning to hug him. “I knew you could do it!”

Anna hits her target as well. The four of them were having a great time. Once their time is up, they all grab table for food. Y/N checks her phone, it was just about nine. No texts from the kids. She hoped Riley was having a nice time on her date, and that Austin was being respectful during their movie.

“Miss?” The waitress says to her.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. Um…” She looks at the menu and then to Harry. Everyone else had clearly ordered.

“She’ll have the same as me, thanks, love.” Harry hands the waitress the menus and then looks at Y/N. “You like turkey burgers, right?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. My daughter’s on her first date, and I was just checking my phone to see if she had text me or anything.”

“You have a daughter that’s old enough to date?!” Anna says, shocked. “What’s your secret, girl? You look fantastic!” She laughs, and so does everyone else.

“I was a young mum, nothing more than that.” Y/N chuckles. “She’s only fourteen, a freshman out with a sophomore boy from her biology class. It’s cute, really, he’s on the football team and she’s been to a few of his games. They’ve been hanging out in groups, but tonight is the first one on one.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Listen to me, it sounds like I’m recapping an episode of The Bachelor.”

“Do you have any other kids, or just the one?” Anna asks.

“I have a son, Ben, he’s thirteen. Niall’s his teacher actually.”

“Yup, great kid. Harry has Y/N’s daughter in class too.” Niall tells her.

“Is that how you two met?” Anna asks, and you smirk.

“No, actually, the three of us met because I parked too close to Harry’s precious car in the staff lot. I work in our development office.” She sips her drink smirking at Harry who had slumped in the booth. “He yelled at me, it was quite the meet cute.”

“Yikes, I’ve never seen Harry yell before.” Anna says. “You’re usually so calm.”

“I’ve had that car for two years, not a scratch on it, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Harry says. “It’s all water under the bridge now.” He puts his arm around Y/N, smiling down at her.

There’s more talking during the meal. Y/N really liked the turkey burger Harry had ordered for her. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. It was about ten, and Y/N wanted to get home before Riley like a responsible adult. She tells Harry this, and he nods.

“It was really nice meeting you, Anna.” Y/N tells her again.

“Same to you, have a nice night.” They all part ways in the parking lot. “Oh, I like her so much better than Francie already.” She tells Niall.

“Me too.” Niall sighs. “But you know they’re not really dating.”

“I know, I know, but this was a very nice glimpse for them to see what a date could be like. They were so cute with each other.”

“I agree, I just think Harry’s still on the rebound. I also don’t think he’s mature enough to be dating a woman with two teenagers. Little kids maybe, but teenagers? That’s a lot to take on. Besides, what if he wants kids? Y/N’s in her early thirties, she probably wouldn’t want more.”

“Isn’t that what Harry and Francie broke up over? She wanted kids and he didn’t.” Anna shrugs. “Let them figure it out.”

Y/N and Harry were parked in her driveway making out. The damn console was in the way, but he was still able to get his tongue into her mouth. Her hands were in his hair, tugging him closer to her even though she knew she needed to get out of the car.

“Harry.” She breathes as he starts kissing on her neck. “I…I need to go inside. I can’t be out here like this when Riley gets home.” She gasps when she feels his teeth nip at her skin, and then he pulls away, almost glaring at her.

“Man, nothing to kill a hard on more than a mention of a student’s name.” He huffs.

“I told you…this might be easier for you if you wanted to fuck someone without kids.”

“Well, I’m kinda hooked on you now, so I can’t do that.” His thumb brushes her bottom lip as he cups her cheek. He leans in to kiss her again. “Do you think we could get together tomorrow since it seems like we can’t fool around tonight?”

“Sure, I have some errands I need to run anyways, so I can add you to the list.” She winks. “I’ll text you.”

“Alright, sounds good.” He chuckles. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“So did I, goodnight.” She smiles and hops out of the car. She quickly gets herself inside.

Harry backs out of the driveway just as Austin pulls up with Riley.

“Whoa, who do you know with a range rover?” Austin asks.

“That’s…Mr. Styles’ car.” She swallows as she watches him drive away. “He’s friends with my mom. She texted me saying she was seeing some friends tonight, I guess he drove her.”

“Cool.” Austin says. “I’ll walk you to your door.” He does so, and they linger there for a moment. They hug each other, and he gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Can we do this again sometime?”

“I’d like that.” She smiles.

“Great, well, have a good night.”

“You too. Thanks again.” Her heart soars as she goes inside. She finds Y/N sitting on the couch watching TV.

“How was the movie?”

“Really funny.” Riley plops down next to her. “Where’s Ben?”

“Sleeping at Kyle’s.”

“Oh, nice. So…where did you go tonight?”

“To this axe throwing place. It was fun, look.” She takes her phone and shows Riley a video of her throwing an axe and it sticking to the wooden target.

“Cool! You went there with Mr. Styles?”

“Mhm, and Mr. Horan and his girlfriend Anna.”

“Oh my god, Mum.” Riley gasps. “You went on a double date!”

“I did not.” Y/N scoffs.

“Did Mr. Styles pay for anything?”

“Well…yeah, he did, but he said it was just easier.” Riley gives her a look. “What?”

“Mum, he definitely was making a move!”

“And what do you know about moves, hm?”

“Apparently more than you. You two should go out one on one and see how it goes.”

“I’ve done that with him before.” Y/N shrugs. “We’re just friends, Riley.”

“He drove you tonight, right? I saw him pulling out of the driveway when I got home.”

“He offered to drive, yeah, and I accepted. He’s got a really nice car, thought it would be fun to go for a ride in it.” Y/N blushes slightly, annoyed at her own innuendo. “I’m not dating your teacher, don’t worry.”

“I wouldn’t hate it.” Riley shrugs. “You deserve to have someone, Mum. Dad’s out there with miss thing living what he perceives as his best life, you should do the same.”

“I don’t want to be in a relationship right now.” Y/N sighs. “I don’t have time for it. If Ben hadn’t gone to Kyle’s I wouldn’t have been able to go out tonight.”

“He can stay at home by himself.”

“But I would have felt bad about it. I like being home when you guys are home.”

“We’re not babies, that’s all I’m saying.” She twiddles her thumbs. “Plus, he’s super cute, so-“

“Riley!” Y/N chuckles and throws a pillow at her. “Don’t talk about your teacher like that.”

“He is! I don’t have a crush on him, but anyone with eyes can see how cute he is, Mum.”

“I’ll agree with that, he’s very cute.” She yawns. “Well, now that you’re home I’m gonna go up to bed. Was Austin respectful and all that tonight?”

“Very.” Riley smiles. “He asked me if I wanted to do it again sometime. I’m excited about him.”

“It’s a nice feeling, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Y/N hoped the feeling would never fade for her daughter because she knew all too well how it felt when it does.

//

The next day, after Ben got dropped off, Y/N told the kids she was going out to run some errands, and asked them to get some chores done while she was gone. She genuinely needed to get some things while she was out, so she did that before going over to Harry’s. It felt odd to be going over to his place in the middle of the day for a dick appointment, as the kids would say, but this was happening. She pulls up to a nice duplex, and she recognizes Niall’s car in the other driveway. She texts Harry that she’s down front, and she sees the front door open on one side. She gets out of her car and greets him.

“Find it alright?” He says to her as he lets her in.

“Mhm, this is a cool place.”

“Thanks, Niall and I bought it together, like, five or so years ago. We fixed up one side and then the other.”

“So he gets one side and you the other?”

“Yup, worked out well. I’ve redecorated recently, for, um, obvious reasons.”

“Right, trust me I know how hard it can be living in the same place where good and bad memories were made.”

“Is that why you came out here?”

“One of the reasons she sighs as she kicks her shoes off. “I needed a fresh start.”

He hums his response as he cups her jaw in his large hands, bringing his lips to hers.

“How long do you have?” He says against her lips.

“An hour at most. I have to go to the grocery store after this.”

“Oh.” He smirks. “You won’t be going to the store after this.”

“Wh-why not?” She swallows.

“Because you’re not gonna be able to walk when I’m done with you.” He bends down and lifts her up over his shoulder and she squeals.

“Harry!” She giggles as he brings upstairs to his room. Fuck, he was strong. “What will I tell my kids when I’m walking funny?”

“Tell them good old Mr. Styles cracked your spine in half, I’m sure that’ll go over well.” He drops her on his bed, and gets his shirt off. She looks up wide eyed at him. “Oh, love, I’m not actually gonna do that.”

“I know, I’ve just never seen your tattoos in the daylight like this. I mean when we showered I sort of did, but…they’re so pretty.”

His features soften and he picks her up again, getting himself on the bed and laying her down. He sucks on her bottom lip as she wraps her arms and legs around him. His hands work to undo her jeans, and he tugs them down past her bum. She kicks them off the rest of the way, and he pets her over her underwear. She moans into his mouth, and his dips his fingers inside, sliding along her slit. She could feel him growing hard against her hip.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you blow me for a bit?”

“Of course! Lay down.”

He gives her a relieved smile and lays back on the bed. She gets between his legs and does his pants. She gets them off and tugs his boxers down. She kisses his tip first, then gives his shaft kisses before licking him up and down. She looks up at him and sees he’s already watching her. She smirks and wraps her lips around his tip, sinking down on him as much as she could.

“Yeah, just like that.” He groans. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

She moans against him and bobs her head up and down. This wasn’t her favorite thing to do in the world, but she didn’t mind do it for it for Harry since he was so attentive with her. She gets him to the brink of coming, and then he pulls her off of him. He gets her naked, and opens her legs up, diving right in. The flat of his tongue sliding up her center to her clit. He sucks both of her lips, one at a time before focusing on her clit again. Two of his fingers slip inside her, and her eyes roll back. He has her crying out moments later, and before she knows it he’s getting a condom on.

“Can I go on top?” She asks.

“Sure.” He shrugs and lays down, his cock stiff and ready for her.

She swings her leg over him, and rubs his tip over her clit before sinking down on his. His hands grip her hips as she moves around in a circle to get comfortable. She moves herself on and off his cock, enjoying the stretch he’s giving her. When she gets a little tired she comes down to him chest to chest, and kisses him. His hands slide to her ass, and he moves her on him. He thrusts in and out of her, and she moans into his neck.

“Like the way I feel like this?” He grunts.

“Yes, fuck.” She mumbles. Her clit was rubbing against him perfectly, and she was trying to concentrate on that. “Don’t stop what you’re doing.” She tugs at his hair and he nearly growls.

He thrusts into her faster and faster, it has her panting and moaning. His tip was hitting her g-spot, so the whole thing was really overwhelming. She moans out his name loudly as she comes, and he fucks her through it. He lifts her off of him, and sets her down on her stomach. He gets behind her and pushes back inside. She gasps, but it feels good. He fucks her from behind until he comes, and collapses on top of her. He holds her for a moment before pulling out and getting rid of the condom. She uses the bathroom, and gets dressed. He throws on a pair of boxers and a sweatshirt.

“Thanks for adding me to your list of errands.” He says to her as they stand in his front hall. She giggles into his chest as he hugs her and kisses the top of her head.

“My legs are working just fine, by the way. But I’m too tired to go grocery shopping now.”

“Well, you only gave me a bloody hour, love, and you made me come really fast.” He pouts. “Can’t seem to last that long with you.”

“Maybe you should jerk off before I come over next time so you can handle it.” She grins and he rolls his eyes.

“You came twice didn’t you?” She nods yes. “Alright then, quit your complaining. Go on, get outta my house.” He pats her bum and kisses her one more time. “Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

“You too.” Y/N drove home with a smile on her face the whole way.

//

Things were like this most weekends, especially when the kids were at Joseph’s. Harry would come over on Friday night instead of Saturday in case he fell asleep. Plus if he stayed the night that meant they could have sex most of the day Saturday, which was really nice. Y/N was having a lot of fun with Harry. Sometimes they’d meet up with Anna and Niall to go bowling, or catch a movie. In a way it felt like dating, but there was absolutely zero pressure. It was the exact companion ship she had hoped for.

When the holidays rolled around, she got the kids for Christmas, and Joseph got them for New Year’s, which meant Y/N could go to the party Harry was having. Apparently it was an annual thing. There were a lot of people from school there so she felt right at home. Y/N hadn’t had a New Year’s kiss in quite some time, so it wasn’t even on her mind until all of the couples migrated towards each other as it got closer to midnight.

Harry was wandering through his home trying to find her. She was in the kitchen refilling her drink. He lets out a sigh of relief. He could hear people starting the countdown.

“Christ, there you are!” He says to her, pulling her into him.

“You were looking for me?”

“Course I was, who else am I gonna kiss, hm?” They hear everyone yell ‘one’ and he plants one on her. She thought it would be a simple peck since there were people around, but no, Harry full on kissed her. “Happy New Year.” He breathes and then kisses her forehead.

“Happy New Year.” She says faintly as he walks away from her to continue being a good host. She was one of the last people there, feeling drained at nearly two in the morning. She was getting her coat, about ready to say goodbye when he looked at her funny. “What?”

“Where do you think you’re going at this hour?”

“Home.”

“Nope, sorry, m’afraid you’re staying with me tonight. Get that coat off, now.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“Is that so?”

“it is.” He nods, and she smirks at him stepping closer to him.

“Make me.” She grins and his eyebrows raise.

“Right.”

Before she knows it she’s being picked up and carried to his room. They both giggle as he gets her in his room. He gets her jacket and boots off, and he tosses her one of his bed shirts.

“What’s this for?” She asks as she holds the shirt up.

“To sleep? Can’t fuck you right now, I’m knackered.”

“Oh.” She blushes. “Alright, well, thank you. Um…you wouldn’t happen to have a spare toothbrush and a washcloth then would you?”

“Sure, I’ll pull that out of the linen closet for you, one second.” He leaves the bedroom and comes back shortly and gives her what she asked for.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” He shrugs and starts taking his clothes. “Feel free to use the bathroom first.”

She nods and does so. She liked the way his shirt fit, how it hugged her thighs and just barely covered her bum. She washes up and shyly pads back into the bedroom. He smiles when he sees her, and watches as she crawls onto the bed.

“Well, don’t you look cute.” He pinches her thigh as she settled.

“Oh! Don’t do that.” She swats his hand away and he chuckles, getting up from the bed.

“Back in a tick.”

He shuts the lights off once he’s done in the bathroom, and gets into bed with her. She felt awkward until he yanked her onto his chest.

“You can be pretty forceful sometimes, you know that?”

“Does it bother you?”

“Not really, it’s not like I don’t feel safe.”

“You feel safe with me?” He asks softly.

“I do.” She feels him hold her a little closer.

“I just want what I want when I want it I guess.”

“So I’ve noticed. I like a man that knows what he wants, though, so it’s not like it’s a turn off.

“Aw, so you feel safe with me and you like me. A Happy New Year indeed.” She sucks her teeth at that and it makes him laugh. “What’s wrong, can’t take a bit of teasing?”

“I can, you’re just annoying.” She nudges him and he kisses the top of her head.

“You’re fun, Y/N.” He chuckles.

“Let’s get some sleep so you can fuck me in the morning, yeah?”

“I like the way you think.” He sighs and lets his eyes droop closed.

Y/N and Harry spent most of New Year’s day in his best, and neither of them would have had it any other way.

//

“Y/N?” One of her student workers comes into her office. “Mr. Horan from the math department is here to see you.”

“He is?” She raises an eyebrow. “Um, alright, he can come in.” The girl nods and lets Niall in. He closes the door behind him. “Is everything alright with Ben?”

“Yeah, this isn’t work related.”

“Oh…alright, would you like to have a seat?”

“No, it won’t take long…um…did you know Harry’s birthday is on the first of February?”

“I did not know that, no.”

“Right, well, I’m throwing him a party at this pub he really likes to go to. He’s turning thirty, you know? Wanted it to be a little more special for him.” She nods and he continues. “He’s shy about his birthday, and he’d never come right out and say it, but I know it would be mean the world to him if you came.”

“Well, of course I’ll go. It’s not like I haven’t been to a party with him before.”

“Yes, but instead of casually coming over to his New Year’s party…you’d sort of be showing up as his lady, you know?”

“What are you getting at here?”

“Come on, Y/N.” Niall scoffs. “He’s crazy about you, can’t you see that?”

“Niall…” She says in a hushed tone. “You know very well that he and I are nothing more than-“

“Fuck buddies, yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “This has been going on for months, you seriously don’t want more with the guy?”

“No.” She swallows. “I’m getting exactly what I need from him. He doesn’t want more either, what we’re doing works for both of us. Has…has he said something to you?”

“Not in so many words, but he talks about you enough. I think it’s silly to not go for it.”

“Look, if I didn’t have two kids maybe things could be different between him and I, but it’s not that simple. I don’t want more…at least not right now.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “I’ll text you the details for the party, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and keep it a secret. He thinks we’re going on a bar crawl.”

She nods and out the door he goes. She sighs heavily and shakes her head. Now there would be all this pressure for his birthday. Did she need to get him a gift? And what kind of gift should it be?

//

“Mum, you look so good.” Riley says sitting on Y/N’s bed when she comes out in a red dress.

“Thank you, honey.”

“And this is for a friend’s birthday party?”

“Yes.”

“Whose birthday?” Riley grins.

“Harry’s.” Y/N sighs.

“Did you get him anything good?”

“I…I got him, like, well, you know how he likes to wear all those rings? So I saw this ring at the store that I thought he might like.”

“You got him a ring?”

“Is it weird? It’s weird right? I just…I saw it and I thought of him, and I-“

“I bet he’ll love it, Mum.”

“Alright.” She nods. “Listen…you’ll be alright with Ben tonight? I…I could either be home really late, or I might not come back until the morning depending on how much I have to drink.”

“He’s setting up some movies and popcorn for us as we speak. We can handle it.”

“Good, okay, thank you.”

“Where would stay if you don’t come home?”

“Mr. Horan has offered me his guest room if need be.” It was a blatant lie but she couldn’t very well tell her fourteen-year-old that she was most likely going to have birthday sex with her teacher.

“Okay.” Riley shrugs and goes downstairs with Y/N. The doorbell rings. “I’ve got it.” She says as Y/N gets her coat on. “Hi, Mr. Styles.”

“Hello, Riley, is your mum ready to go?”

“Mhm, she’s just getting her coat on. Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thank you.” He smiles and then uses all his willpower to not let his jaw drop when he sees Y/N. He couldn’t even see her dress, but he could tell she’d be a knockout tonight. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She smiles and turns to Riley and Ben. “Don’t be afraid to call if you need anything. I can be home in a flash. I’ll text you later to let you know what my, um, plans are.” She blushes and pushes Harry outside as the kids wave them off.

“She’s not subtle.” Ben says as he plops onto the couch.

“I know, I wish they’d just admit they’re in love and get on with it.” Riley says and starts the movie.

//

Harry opens the backseat of Niall’s car for her, and then he jogs around to the other side. Niall was driving, and Anna was in the passenger seat. Everyone greets one another and off they go. Harry keeps his hand on Y/N’s knee the whole way, and she puts her hand over his. They smile at each other, but nothing is said. Needless to say he was surprised by there being a party at the pub for him, but he was delighted.

Niall had done really well. Lots of drinks and appetizers going around, good music, and people mingling. There was even a cheesy slideshow of every single one of Harry’s school pictures throughout the years, and Y/N had to fight tears from laughing so hard at some of them. Harry couldn’t have asked for a better birthday, especially with Y/N around. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her all night, and eventually his arm didn’t leave from its place around her waist. No one really paid it any attention. Most people knew there was something going on between the two of them, but it was none of their concern. The single men in the room at the least knew not to hit on her. No one really wanted to get on Harry’s shit list.

There was a table for gifts, but Y/N kept hers in her purse, not wanting it to get lost. She also wanted to give it to him in private in case things got awkward. She had overthought the ring over and over. It was this nice topaz band that she thought he’d like. He said he was always looking for a pop of color in his wardrobe.

“Hey.” He says to her, pulling her into him. “Are you gonna come home with me?”

“Yeah.” She smiles. “Are you having a good time?”

“A great time. Couldn’t have asked to turn thirty with better people.” He tucks some hair behind her ear and she shivers. “Can’t to get you back to my place, though.” He leans in to speak in her ear. “M’gonna mess up all this pretty makeup you’re wearing.” He kisses her cheek and lets her go. She was suddenly counting down the moments until it was time to leave.

When it came time, she helped grab all of the gifts off the table and bring them to Niall’s car. She had texted Riley that she wouldn’t be coming home which she felt slightly guilty about. She didn’t like giving up her weekends with the kids like this. Niall and Anna help get everything inside, and then leave Harry and Y/N alone, drinking water in the kitchen. He comes over to her, putting his hands on her hips, and pulling her forward.

“Have I told you how fucking sexy you look tonight? I’ve had to hold my hand under my jaw all night just to keep it from dropping.”

“Idiot.” She chuckles. “Oh! Wait, I got you something.” She snatches her purse from the counter.

“So it’s not lingerie? Sort of thought you were my gift.” He smirks and she rolls her eyes.

“That wouldn’t be very original, and I don’t find lingerie to be particularly comfortable, sorry, Sport.” She fishes the ring box out of her purse. “Here we are. If it’s weird feel free to just kick me out…I saw it thought you’d like it, nothing more to it than that.”

He takes the box from her, furrowing his brows. His eyes widen as he opens it up. He looks between her and the topaz band several times.

“Are you serious?” He says.

“Y-yeah…do you like it?”

“Are you kidding? I love it! I just can’t decide what finger to put it on.”

“I guessed on the size. You have such fat fingers, so I went with a larger one.”

“Think that’s the first time I’ve heard you complain about my fingers. Better be the last.” He slips the ring onto his middle finger and holds it out. “It’s perfect, thank you so much. You really didn’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I wanted to. Like I said, I saw it and thought you’d like it.”

He hugs her and she hugs him back. He kisses her cheek and works his way to her lips. He sucks on her bottom lip, and she tugs at his shirt. His hands slide down to her ass and he squeezes.

“Fuck, I want you so bad.” He says against her lips, and lifts her up onto the counter.

“Mm-mm, just bring me upstairs, I don’t wanna have sex on the counter again.”

“But it’s my birthday.” He pouts.

“Yeah, and last time we did this my back hurt for, like, three days, so bring me upstairs.”

He sucks his teeth and lifts her back up, carrying her bridal style out to the staircase, and up to his room. He sets her down on the bed and takes her heels off, sliding his hands up her calves and thighs. He pulls her to her feet so he can lift the dress up over her head. He tugs her nylons off along with her underwear, and unclips her bra, leaving her naked in front of him. He licks his lips and kisses her. Running his hands all over her body. She works to get his shirt undone, and pushes it off his shoulders. She undoes his pants and lets them drop to the floor, he steps out of them, and they both fall back on the bed. He grinds his hard dick, still clothes by his boxers, right into her core, and she groans. He continues to grind against her, and she moves her hips along with his to get some extra friction.

“I want you to suck me off while I fuck you with my tongue.”

She nods and they switch positions so he can lay on his back. She gets situated over his face, and she lowers herself on his body. His tongue moves back and forth along her slit before entering her. She gasps just as she’s getting her lips wrapped around him. His hands grip her hips so he can lick into her in just the right way. She moans around his cock as she tries to bob up and down on him. He removes his tongue from her so he can finger her, and he licks up to her other hole, something they’ve done before. She chokes on his dick and pulls off, choosing to pump him instead.

“Shit, Harry, oh my god!”

He moans against her as she comes around his fingers. He pulls his fingers away and laps her up. He rolls her onto her stomach, and he grabs a condom quickly. He rolls it on and spreads her legs wide open. She lifts her hips up as he pushes inside her, and he grabs a pillow to put under her back. He rocks in and out of her as his hands knead her breasts. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him down to her, and she licks into his mouth. He moans into her as their chests touch and sweat starts to form between their bellies.

“Y/N.” He moans into her ear, and it raises goosebumps all over skin. She wraps her legs around his waist to pull him even closer. He kisses on her neck and she runs her fingers through his hair. “I want you to come at the same time as me, think you can do that?”

“Y-yeah.”

He snakes a hand between them so he can rub her clit and her mouth falls open. They make eye contact the entire time, and they cry out as they come together. He collapses on top of her, and she holds him close, kissing his cheek multiple times. He keeps his head buried in her chest for a few moments. He looks up at her, about to say something, but her phone goes off.

“Shit, it could be the kids…”

“One second.” He pulls out of her with a grunt, and lets her up. She gets up and waddles over to his dresser and grabs her phone.

“Ben?”

“Hi, Mum, I’m sorry it’s so late, but Riley doesn’t feel well. I think it’s her period, but she’s on the floor, like, clutching at her stomach and I don’t know what to do for her…”

“Shit, okay, um, get her a glass of milk and two ibuprofen from the cabinet. I’ll be home soon, I’ll set up a warm compress for her. She gets really bad cramps like me sometimes.”

“Okay, thanks, sorry again.”

“No problem, I’ll see you soon.” She turns to Harry. “I…I’m sorry, I can get an uber or-“

“I’ll drive you, don’t be silly.” He says, already throwing some sweats on. “Do you want something to change into so you don’t have to put all that back on?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

He gets her a sweatshirt and some sweatpants. Once she’s cleaned herself up they’re out the door and into his car. This time around he holds her hand the whole way, their fingers intertwined and everything. When he turns the car off when he pulls in, she gives him a funny look.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m coming in, obviously.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I know, now come on.”

They get inside, and poor rile is still laying on the floor sucking milk out of a straw. Ben was sitting on the ground neck to her rubbing her back.

“Mum?”

“Hi, sweetie.” Y/N gets on her knees next to her.

“Feels like someone’s squeezing my insides with a spiked glove.”

“I know, baby, the medicine will work soon, I promise.” She sighs. “Ben, in the bathroom cabinet is where the warm compresses are, could you get one for me please?”

“Yeah.” He stands up and looks at Harry, but doesn’t say anything. Riley sees Harry’s sneakers and turns to look at him.

“Hey, Mr. Styles…”

“Hey.” He smiles. “Not feeling great, huh?”

“Cramps.” She says bluntly.

“Ugh, that’s the worst.” He sits down next to her. “My older sister used to get them really bad, I felt terrible.”

Ben comes back with the warm compress, and Y/N snaps it to get it to warm up, and she presses it to Riley’s lower back. She sighs from the feeling.

“See? Better already.” Y/N says.

“I don’t know what happened. I was fine all night, and then I got up to get some more soda, and I basically fell to the ground.”

“The bad ones can creep up on you unfortunately. I need to get you up to your room.”

“I could carry her…if…if that’s alright with everyone.” Harry says.

“That would be okay.” Riley says. “No one else could do it anyways.”

He helps her up, double and triple checking it’s okay that he’s touching her, and he carries her up. Y.N has Ben clean up the living room before he goes to bed. Y/N goes into Riley’s room after Harry’s places her on her bed.

“All set?” Y/N says to her, brushing some hair away from her face.

“Yeah, thank you.” She yawns. “Goodnight.”

“Night, honey.”

Y/N tugs Harry into her room, and closes the door.

“I’m so sorry, thank you for coming in…I don’t know how I would’ve helped her upstairs, I would have had to make a bed for her on the couch.” Y/N starts tearing up. “There are so many things I can do for them on my own until I’m reminded that there are things that I just can’t.”

“Hey.” He puts his hands on her shoulders. “You’re a great mum and you’re doing what you can. I couldn’t imagine being so young and raising two teenagers. You make it look easy, honestly. You’re amazing, Y/N.”

“You really think so?”

“I do.” He nods.

“Would you…I mean…it’s late, um, would you want to just stay here?”

“It wouldn’t be weird for you?”

“No.” He smiles and starts taking his clothes off. They get into bed together and cuddle all night. He somehow was always exactly what she needed, and it scared her a little. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Put me at ease the way you do?”

“I don’t know.” He smiles down at her. “Didn’t realize I did that for you.”

“Well, you do. And I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Christ, Y/N, just admit you like me as more than just a guy who fucks you good so we can date already.”

“What?” She sits up and so does he. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be. You don’t wanna date? I mean we practically already are when you think about it. I’m not seeing anyone else, are you?”

“With your clingy ass? Who would have the time?!” She laughs.

“Oi, I resent that.”

“You ask me to hang out literally every weekend.”

“Yeah, cause I need to get to you before someone else does.”

“Harry…you realize if you get into a relationship with me you’re getting into a relationship with my kids, right?”

“I do.” He nods. “I know it’ll be a lot, but if it means I get to be with you…I think I could be all in with them. I can’t speak for Ben, but I know Riley likes me. I feel like we could make this work.”

“I don’t want more kids…I’m almost thirty-four, I would hate for you to end up wanting kids of your own. That’s not something I can give you, Harry.”

“You know what I’d really like?”

“What?”

“A dog. I’m great with pets, absolutely great. I miss having a pup around. If we get to a point where we feel like that’s the right move, that would definitely be enough for me.”

“I’ve always wanted a dog.” She bites her bottom lip. “Wow, okay, so…we’re doing this?”

“We fucking better be, I think Niall will explode if we don’t.”

They both giggle, and kiss each other. They settle back down to get some sleep, ready for whatever the morning brings.

a/n: if you liked what you’ve read, and are able/want to support me, please consider buying me a coffee. 

[shinebrightlikeanarwhal]

Random SF ideas

It has a lot of Travis ships because that's my feral lil bby. I'm having fun keeping him from bullying people by bullying him instead lol

Every time he enters school Sal mutters “anything can happen in the Bronx”. Todd is the only one that doesn’t understand.

Travis is emotionally constipated and will take it out on others, but later do small things as his form of apologizing. Philip and his mother are the only people that understand him and understand why. Sal thinks he may be bipolar and Larry has probably called him the r-slur under his breath. (Stinky boy probably would say it openly if not for Sal's disdain for that word).

Maple and Travis bonding over jewelry and make up. Travis won’t admit it to anyone but her but he likes the way Maple accessorizes. Obligatory Chug appreciation to keep on her good side, later forms a healthy and wholesome friendship.

Travis and Larry fight verbally. It doesn’t get physical unless Larry loses control and shoved Travis. This prompting a snarky reminder that Larry is no better than Travis’ own father. They cuddle and fall asleep later tho, after Sal puts them in their get along corner.

Nicknames. Travis’ weakness is nicknames. Lisa discovers this and shows Larry and Sal who abuse this power. Travis’ tan cheeks are bright red anytime he’s out public with them because of their stupidly sweet nicknames. Their go to for reactions are baby(boy), sweetheart and bottom

Shameless PDA when Sal is jealous. Travis learns the hard way how easy it is to make him jealous when a hand is in his waist and holding him close to the shorter. Fingers tracing any exposed skin to keep Travis focused on him. Sorry Lar, you took up too much Travis time..

Travis’ mom being an absolute babe. Apple if her eye is her sweet boy. Probably passed while he was young and had to watch him grow in that unhealthy environment.. maybe reaches out to Sal for help since he’s more intuitive. Def terrifies Larry a couple times as a prank. He hit her son, bully or not, it just felt right to braid his hair to his bed post a couple times and paint his nasty thoughts on his chest.

Travis hates surprises and loud noises because of his father. They don’t learn that until they throw a surprise birthday party with cheering and loud pops of confetti balloons, his panic attack damn near gave him a heart attack. (He refused to accept apologies for something they didn’t know. Instead demanding they spoil him for the rest of the week as compensation for his hospital trip on his birthday)

I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Service. Animals. Mr. Phelps legally obligated to give him a service animal and Travis is somewhat saved from Kenneth's abuse. Taking more time outside for walks (the dog can’t bare letting Travis stay in the house for long with his father home). He genuinely bonds with other students over his new dog (the dog allowing contact when not in uniform but if Travis’ needs are present will attach itself to Travis’ hip.

Religious trauma and coping. Because PLS, can we please address the amount of abuse because of the Bible?? That boy may stay and follow the proper words of his lord. Or he could detach himself from the church entirely (especially because of the cult!)

Travis ships: Salvis and Larvis

Asked out: Oh. Oh no. How did they fall for Travis?!? What did they do to find that feral little kitten so cute?? Was it they dyed hair? The dresses when he shows off more legs than they anticipated? Him apologizing and changing for the better?? What happened to him to make him so interesting!? Sal absolutely starts approaching Travis cautiously. Taken aback when he's greeted with a warm smile and compliments. They start to grow as friends and spend time together often. Sharing eachother with their friend groups and on their own. It takes a couple of years before Sal nervously asks Travis if he would be interested in getting closer. Travis doesn't understand and Sal just awkwardly blurts out if he would try dating him... for an experiment or anything. Travis is excited, he wants to be closer and happily hugs onto Sal as his answer.

Larry is a lot ore aggressive. Cornering Travis and glaring down at him. Demanding to know what his game is. Travis doesn't fight he just nervously asks if Larry hates him. Larry almost says he does but gets distracted by the trembling and cowering kitten before him. Fuck, he can't possibly hate Travis. Larry instead starts approaching Travis. At first Travis is afraid that Larry will hit him if he doesn't like something he does. Larry hates to admit it, but Travis infested his mind. Dreams were no longer sacred when teenage hormones and a new love interest were involved. Many a times he had to look away when Travis were a particular skirt or dress because his dreams seemed to run rampant with those items. When they finally talk, Travis initiates it. He Pushes Larry into a bathroom stall and demands he explain himself. He's staring at him like a piece of meat and following him around. Larry is scaring HIS friends. Larry doesn't even hesitate to pounce on Travis. Mouth to mouth and hands on ass. Travis surprised but kinda into it allows the kiss until Larry gets too handsy. He returns to his friends with an angry red hand print on his cheek. It takes a month of apologizing Travis finally agrees to give Larry a chance. (Larry tells his mom and dances around the apartment that night)

First kiss failures: Larry got too into the kiss and starts feeling up the poor boy. Sal pecks him in his sleep and never tells Travis. He just happily holds the memory of kissing his sleeping princess.

First dates: Larry tries to show Travis the fun things to do in this sleepy little town. Travis is excited just to go anywhere other than church and school. At first there are a few hiccups, maybe weather, maybe places are crowded or cancelled. But it still ends well with the boys passed out in the truck, snuggled under a blanket Larry stores with a big smile on their face. Sal is much more romantic. Candles and flowers. Dresses up nice and styles his hair in a neat bun. He wants to impress Travis and assert he can be the man for him by presenting more masculine (Travis snorts and tells him even in a dress Sal could fight a bear). Its a simple dinner at home with Gizmo as their lazy server, sleeping on the couch in a little suit. The night ends well with the boys enjoying a night stroll and admiring the calm and almost desolate surroundings of Nockfell.

First Times: Sal does NOT expect Travis to offer it. In fact, he almost shattered his favorite mug with the tight grip he put on it. Travis thinks this means Sal doesn't want him, but no nono, Sal wants it/ He wants Travis bad. That simp wastes no time scurrying to their room, cleaning his bed and all necessary items are prepared. He was well stocked for... college purposes, but Travis offering to give Sal his first?? (Yes. He did a victory dance and scream in the tree house when he thought he was alone.)

First Time: Larry would waste no time, grabbing Travis and making sure, this is what he wants. Larry may sleep around before they got together but he would never expect Travis to offer his first time so soon. Travis agreeing and Larry in tears hugging onto the confused man. He has never been so gentle with a partner and savored every second, sound and action. It may not have been Larry's first but he was more than happy to say it was his best. Larry would 100% scream to Sal about it later though. He is a man that appreciates his partner and would be an aftercare fiend. Relishing in any reactions Travis gives him while massages and treats the poor tired bum.

Living together: Hell hath no fury like Travis on cleaning day. The boys no not to be in his way if he has his cleaning apron and swiffer. The only one allowed to interrupt his most sacred day is Gizmo and any animals they adopt. Larry has to moderate his metal music or sleep on the porch, he tried to test Travis and found the porch uncomfortable during a rainstorm. No ghost hunting after 11pm. If you even think Travis will allow you in the house after hunting ghosts he will promptly pack your bags and ship them off to your parents. Sal has his own room dedicated entirely to clothes and accessories. His prosthetics he tries to hide at first but after a harsh scolding from Travis (while he literally hand cleans every single prosthetic so Sal doesn't get an infection) Sal starts putting them away where he feels comfortable and clean. They don't expect Travis to be semi nude half the time. Especially before they marry and start a family, no pants. Never wearing pants. Larry hams up the free skin. Sal is too embarrassed of his sinful thoughts.

Proposals: Travis would be terrified of marriage after what happened to his mother. If they were to propose they ould make sure he is fully comfortable and settled in their new life. They would make sure he is loved and never feels any of the fear his father had instilled in him. Larry mentions marriage in passing to gauge his reaction. Ig Travis tenses, he kills the conversation and instead distracts Travis. If Travis reacts positively he would sneak a ring on his finger and just smirk until Travis realizes and smiles. Sal =, however, is sneaky. Keeping close tabs on Travis. If Travis starts showing signs of interest, he would 100% plan the biggest proposal for Travis and make sure he feels cherished during every moment.

[domesticblisss]

Silence

Timothy Thatcher x Female Reader Rating: Mature (Minors DNI) Word Count: 1493 Warnings: Fluff, smut, one bed. Summary: Tim finally tells reader why he acts like he does. A/N: This is a continuation to this drabble. You should read it before reading Silence.

We didn’t talk that morning. When I woke up, Tim was already out of bed and nowhere to be found, so I followed through with my routine.

The cheery, blonde receptionist still sat on the front desk, happily greeting everyone that stopped by.

“Good morning, Miss. Did you sleep well?” She asked when I approached her.

“Like a baby. Do you have any news on the snowstorm?”

“It picked up during the night, the roads are still closed and they have no idea when they are opening again. The news this morning said it might get worse, actually.”

“Damn, guess I will be staying more than one night here.” I laughed. “Do you think you could do me a favour? If it’s possible, could I get an extra bed in my bedroom?”

“We are packed, but I will see what we can do, Miss.” Anna, I could finally see the name on her ID plate, said with her sickly sweet voice. God, I wanna hug her.

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Breakfast was uneventful, except for the fact that I met Marcel and Fabian at the buffett.

“Where’s Tim?” Marcel asked after we sat down to eat.

“No clue, he was already gone when I woke up.”

“He didn’t text you or anything?”

“Are we talking about the same person?” I asked as I shoved a piece of hash browns inside my mouth, “you guys know Tim hates me, he only works and travels with me because the company makes him.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” Fabian opened his mouth for the first time. The ironic look I had on made him continue. “He just… he has a hard time opening up.”

Yeah, right.

All of our phones beeped at the same time.

Text message from: Emily H. (NXT Prod)

The show is cancelled. Please stay safe in your hotels and send us the invoice so the company can reimburse you. I’ll hit back with new info as soon as they come out.

“Time to figure out how to have fun in a snowstorm, boys.”

Turns out, the hotel is way bigger than we thought and has a lot to do during a snowstorm. We hit the gym after breakfast and after training, we ended up finding out that the hotel has a huge gaming room, a cinema, a sauna, a big library, and they were even offering cooking classes. Marcel wearing an apron was such a sight.

It was past 7p.m. when I arrived, and Tim was already back in the room. He sat on the bed, a book in his hands and his headphones on. He didn’t acknowledge me.

It was when I left the bathroom after my shower that he finally talked to me for the first time that day.

“Didn’t see you come in.” he said, his voice a little louder as usual.

“Yeah, got back like, forty minutes ago.”

“Did you have a good day?”

I actually stopped putting my clothes back onto my suitcase to look at him before answering. He never asked how my day was.

“Yeah. Marcel and Fabian are here too, we spent the day together. The hotel offers a lot of stuff. Did you have a nice day?”

“Yeah.”

And silence fell upon us again. I had just finished getting my things in order and gotten my skincare done when I started feeling hungry. Deciding against leaving the room, it was so, so warm inside, I decided to order in.

“Hey,” I called Tim, “I’m getting room service. Do you want anything?”

“Sure, a cheeseburger is fine.”

“With fries?”

“Sure.”

We ate in silence, we watched whatever movie was on in silence, we fell asleep in silence.

The following days we were stuck in the hotel followed the same routine. I would wake up and Tim would be gone, I would chat with Anna, and save her from getting her heart broken by Marcel, him, Fabian and I would have breakfast, hit the gym and explore whatever the hotel had to offer. When I had gotten back to the room, Tim would already be there reading or watching something, we would exchange three words, eat and sleep.

Today, for some reason, I wasn’t blessed by the gods of sleep. As much as I tried not to, I kept tossing and turning, just waiting for the moment Tim would wake up and complain.

“Can’t sleep?” his hoarse voice came from behind me.

“No, sorry for waking you up.”

“You didn’t, can’t sleep either.” he got up as I turned around to look at him. “Do you want some tea?”

“It’s…” I looked at my phone to check the time “2 a.m., room service is not working anymore.”

“I’m making it. Peppermint tea helps you sleep, want it or not?”

“Sure…”

He comes back from the tiny kitchen five minutes later, with two mugs in hand, and hands me one.

We drink the tea in silence, and I take it as my cue to ask him the same question I did on our first night here.

“Why do you hate me, Tim?”

He sighs and takes his left hand to his head, disheveling his already messy hair. “I don’t hate you.”

“Okay… then why do you strongly dislike me?”

“I don’t have negative feelings towards you, I think you are a nice person. Why do you keep asking me this?”

I sat my mug on the side table and turned to face him, laughing. “Tim, are you serious? You barely look at me, you don’t say more than two words to me, and when you do, you get annoyed with me and shuts me off mid-sentence. I know I’m annoying but c’mon. Have I ever done anything to you?”

“No, you have not.”

“Then why do you treat me like this? I know you are a quiet dude, but I’ve known you since your Ringkampf days, I’ve seen you around your friends.”

Tim sighed again and laughed a defeated laugh. And nothing. Five minutes passed and, like usual, he didn’t dignify me with an answer.

“See, this is what I’m talking about. You alwa-”

“I strongly like you.” he cut me off, raising his eyebrows as if he wanted to cue me in on a secret.

“Huh?”

“Since that day we met backstage at PROGRESS.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything?”

“You were dating Brookes at the time and he was my friend, why would I act on it?”

“If it serves as consolation, Chris used to cheat on me all the time.”

Silence fell upon us once again, but this time it is different. Tim’s face is stony as he stares at me, his eyes are softer than usual, and I can see that he is processing what I had just revealed. Chris and Tim were good friends, but Tim is also known for his thoughts on how women should be treated.

Once again, I took it in my hands to break the silence.

“Then why don’t you do something about it now?” I raise my eyebrows like he had done previously.

Tim’s lips were on mine in no time. They are hungry, but soft at the same time, I can feel the need coming from them. His touch feels like how I had always imagined, it is strong and rough, and he cradles my face like he never wanted me to go away.

Eventually, we separate to catch some air and I see the need in his eyes. Tim grabs me by my arms and positions me on his lap. He attacks my neck, kissing and biting it, and he moves his ministrations to the skin of my chest that is exposed on the camisole I’m wearing.

I can feel his hard on poking my core, and I roll my hips around to tease him. I can feel how affected he is by it, as he curses after every shift of my hips.

It gets unbearable after he starts meeting me halfway.

“Tim, this is great and all,” I moan as he bites the sweet spot behind my ear, “but I need you inside me, now.”

We waste no time taking our clothes off, as Tim lowers his shorts down enough to take his cock out and I just shove my panties to the side.

He is thicker than I had anticipated, and it takes me some time to get used to it. We fall into a steady rhythm, his thrusts always meeting me halfway.

I could sense he was near his end, just like me, when he picked up speed. I lost it after one particularly strong stroke on my g-spot, having to bite his shoulder so I wouldn’t wake up the whole hotel. He kept going, taking a second, earth shattering orgasm from me, his own coming right after.

Tim held me closer, tighter. We laughed and kissed, and our night went on like we knew best: in silence, enjoying each other.

[violet-knox]

The Family Secret

Chapter 5: Home

Pairing: Young!Snape x Reader

Summary: After spending what felt like forever in the hospital, it’s finally time for Severus to come home. 

Word count: 3093

A/N: Last chapter! Thank you everyone who’s made it all the way to the end! I hope this chapter lives up to the rest of the story and wraps it up nicely. It’s been a long journey starting with the idea of a summer visit to Cokeworth and travelling with the knight bus way back in July of 2020, and I had no clue where I wanted the story to go from there. I’m absolutely thrilled at the experience this story has brought me and I’m very grateful for the support I was given this month with each chapter being posted. 

Since this is the end of this story, I will resume posting my requests and new chapters of LSL next week, alternating between them. I really enjoy posting on Saturdays, no pressure to post on work days and I can take my time putting the post together, so I think from now until further notice, I will continue to post on Saturdays (probably more like Sunday for some of you on the other side of the world). Hopefully this is a schedule everyone will enjoy (let’s see how long i can keep it up this time) and I can’t wait to continue growing my masterlist (which is getting really long and I should probably do something about that). 

Previous Chapter - Chapter 1

Days passed by like weeks, each one just as exhausting as the last, your worry over Severus whenever you were forced to leave him growing until you couldn’t take it anymore. Every day you’d ask if he could be released, pleading with them to let him heal at home, but ‘no’ was all you heard until finally, by the grace of Merlin, they let him leave the hospital and you would no longer have to spend the night complaining about leaving his side. 

You wasted no time running to Severus, finding him dressed and ready to go. You stood by the door and watched him walk towards you, your feet springing to life as you leaped on him, almost toppling him over as you finally gave him a proper hug. You wrapped your arms around him, your bodies pressed together as you buried your face in the crock of his neck. His small chuckles music to your ears, the way his hands ran up and down your back, pressing you into him. He had his strength back, he was whole again, happy and free. You closed your eyes and wouldn’t dare move, too scared to let him go. But of course, as they always did, your parents walked into the room saying it was time to go, only this time, you knew Severus would come along with you and that was the only thing that gave you the strength to push him away. You took his hand and made your way down the halls of the hospital, beyond ecstatic you wouldn’t have to come back here again tomorrow.  

“So, I’ve decided what I want to do after Hogwarts,” you said to him as you walked through the hospital doors, leaving that horrific chapter of your lives behind, keeping your eyes forward. 

“Oh?” Severus smiled, looking over to you in admiration. He loved your optimism, your ability to turn any situation into a positive and he loved how much you cared for him, your grip on him never faulting. 

“I want to be a healer,” you said firmly, smiling right back at him. Severus burst out laughing almost immediately, the irony of your choice rather amusing. You giggled in return, never offended by his hysteria, but simply elated with the sound of his joy. His face was glowing with life, his skin warm beneath your touch, his smile radiant and his booming voice a thing of miracles. Not one week ago was his voice taken from him, the pleasure of hearing it stripped from you. But now, to see his lungs able to take in such a breath as he laughed was the best gift you could have ever received. 

“Why is that funny?!” You asked, a bit taken back by his sudden outburst, wondering what was on his mind.

Severus shook his head as his laughter died down to a smile, his eyes beaming at you, looking at you with admiration. “No, I think you’ll be an amazing healer.”

You smiled back at him, opening the car door and pulling him inside, refusing to let go of his hand as you slid into your seat. Severus wouldn’t dare loosen his grip on you, knowing it would absolutely shatter your heart as it would his. For a week he’d been leaching onto your company, letting it heal him, and for a week, he felt himself become enveloped with sadness every time you left him in tears. He couldn’t wait to get back to his life with you, to return to Hogwarts and finally find himself home again. 

“I’m glad you’re alright,” you said, getting yourself comfortable, sitting as close to him as you could, your head on his shoulders, his arm pressed into your chest, his fingers interlocked with yours. You ran your free hand up and down his arm, until his own hand stilled it, grasping it to rest between you both. 

“Me too,” he whispered, resting his cheek atop your head, a few strands of his hair falling over his face. Severus had always resented car rides, only ever getting the privilege of experiencing one when he grew old enough to help his parents with work or chores. But this car ride made him forget the past and it couldn’t even compare to the one he’d enjoyed when Lily’s mother drove them to the movies for her birthday. He could feel the peace of the city moving past him back then, his life belonging to him and him alone. For the first time in his life, he could do what he wanted, spend his life how he liked and he was happy he’d found you to spend it with. 

All in all, this wouldn’t have been his optimal choice for introducing himself to your parents, but they seemed so nice, so supportive and he knew your influence likely had a hand in how they treated him this past week. He couldn’t imagine what your father had to sacrifice to take on the night shift every day just to look over Severus’ recovery, but he was grateful for it. He felt accepted, like he’d always been a part of your family. It was odd knowing there were people who cared for him as much as he did you, but it was a good feeling. He felt important, like he had purpose, a reason to go on, to live the best life he could. 

Having you lead him inside as he entered your house was such a surreal feeling. He knew he’d been here once before, but he was so out of it last week, the pain in his chest, the worry sitting in the back of his head too overwhelming for him to analyse your home. Your house felt welcoming, the sitting room open for all, the walls splattered with pictures of you and your parents. His imprint was nowhere to be found, no indication that he’d so much as stepped inside the house before, and yet he felt home. 

“Severus, (Y/N).” Your father called for you both, his eyes giving away the seriousness of whatever talk he was about to give you. You looked at him in worry, holding Severus tighter than before. You couldn’t have him ask Severus to leave, not after everything you’d been through and you weren’t ready to hear a lecture about your safety and the dangers of sneaking out at night. “Have a seat. There’s something we need to discuss.”

Severus felt his heart drop, his legs shaking in fear of what your father would say next. You could feel his nerves, his eyes heavy with worry as he looked at you. Smiling, you squeezed his hand as you led Severus to sit on the couch adjacent to your parents. You moved as close to Severus as you could, holding his arm with both your hands, showing him you wouldn’t let anything they said change how you both felt right now. You would defend him, his right to stay with you in this safe warm bubble until September came.  

“That policeman who spoke to you both last week,” your father began and you felt Severus shift in his place, both of you suspecting where this was going. For you, it was about finding assurance in his safety, but for Severus, it was about keeping himself informed to keep you out of harm's way. “After that night at the hospital, he contacted child protective services and a case against your parents was opened.”

Your father spoke mostly to Severus, but you kept yourself hung on every word as if they were meant for you. Anything that concerned him directly affected you whether your father liked it or not. You were invested in him, living happily with him, planning a future with him.

“We don’t know all the details, but we do know the police tried to visit Eileen and Tobias Snape to ask a few questions and instead found their home bare. They spent about a day searching for them before releasing a warrant for their arrest,” your father spoke calmly, doing his best to ease you both into this new development, but you couldn’t help wonder how long he’d known about this, how he’d spent all week waiting for Severus to come home, for the pressure you felt to melt away. 

“What?!” Severus could hardly believe what he was hearing. Of all the possibilities he thought would come of the interrogation with the policeman, this was not one of them. He wasn’t sure how to feel, what could possibly be going through the minds of his parents right now. “What of the house?”

It wasn’t the most prominent question he could have asked, and judging by the look your father gave him, it wasn't the question that was expected to be asked of him, but he needed to know. It was now the only thing left tying him to his childhood, the only piece of his past left to hold him back. He needed to know if it was something that would come back to pull him into the horrors he’d lived through, or if he’d been truly freed from the cruelty of the life his parents had given him. 

“The house currently remains under the name of whoever owns it, I assume your parents, and if they were to be tried, they will need someone else to make their payments, otherwise the bank will take ownership of the house.”

Severus nodded, bowing his head as he thought through what could happen next. His parents had no one that would care enough to help pay off their mortgage. No one except him. It was up to Severus whether or not he wanted to let the house die in the loneliness it felt now, or revive it, build it anew and create memories he perhaps wouldn’t grow to hate. He held the key on his past possessed with the power of ridding him of everything he’d resented over the years. He shouldn’t have hesitated to slam the door shut, lock it and toss away the key, but it was hard from him to let go. As much as he hated Spinner’s End, that house was the reason he’d grown to be who he was, the potential he held within him. 

“Severus, there’s something else you need to understand.” Your father leaned forward and you both gave him your full attention again, your hearts beating furiously as you waited to see what more you’d missed this past week. “Your parents were declared unfit to raise you, which means child protective services filed to put you under their care.”

“No!” you immediately protested, completely heartbroken at the thought of Severus having to leave you for a bunch of strangers who wouldn’t care for him like you would. Your father raised his hand, asking you to wait until he was finished, but you couldn’t contain yourself. You couldn’t take any more of this. “He’s not leaving! I won’t let them take him!”

“I understand (Y/N),” your father stayed calm as he tried to go on and for the first time since you saw him that day, you let go of Severus’ hand just to throw them over his shoulders, hugging him as tightly as you could. Severus gently wrapped his arms around you, bowing his head to meet your shoulder. It could have been worse. His parents could have found him before all of this and cleared it all up with the authorities, but they didn’t and at least this way, he could still see you, he could still be with you. “Your mother and I have discussed this, and we know that in the Wizarding World you are of age Severus, which means you won’t need legal guardians once you leave for Hogwarts. Until then, we’ve decided to take up the responsibility of becoming your legal guardians.”

Both of you were left speechless, frozen as you stayed with your arms wrapped around one another. It seemed too good to be true, a golden ticket just handed to you after the headache of a week you had. Loosening your grip on Severus, you looked over at your parents and giggled in glee. You were so blissfully happy you weren’t even sure how to react.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” Severus spoke in such a small voice, his tone neutral. You’d never seen him so starstruck before. Even if he never showed it, he'd always been sure of himself, always knew how he felt, what to say, but for the first time ever, he was completely helpless to the situation. Your smile grew wider as you took his hand again, pulling back from Severus to look at your parents with such gratitude. 

“We’re just glad you're safe,” your mum smiled at him, standing from her seat. “I’ll go make lunch, I’m sure we’re all feeling a bit famished after everything that’s happened this week.”

She walked out of view and you felt yourself relax, taking in the fact that it was truly over. Everything had worked itself out; Severus was safe, and you didn’t have to worry over him all summer anymore. You could finally enjoy your time together and perhaps for once, Severus could have a summer that didn’t end with him looking forward to a new semester at Hogwarts.

“I’ve moved your belongings into the guest bedroom. I suggest you start unpacking. Tomorrow, we can drive by your house to pick up anything you left behind.” Your father gestured down the hall before he stood to follow your mother into the kitchen. Finally, you were left alone and you couldn’t do anything but let out your happiness, throwing your head back with your arms in the air as you sighed loudly.

Severus looked at you and smiled, sitting back with you, watching you let go of all the stress he’d caused you this past week. Your arms fell down in your lap and he reached out to take your hand for once. You gladly squeezed back as he tightened his hold on you, seeking for the comfort you’d so graciously let him lean on this past week. He was happy to see you finally let go of your worry over him. He never wanted to weigh you down and he didn’t want to be the source of any of your stress. 

“Let’s go unpack,” you said, pulling him off the couch and leading him down the hall. The guest room was much larger than he would have imagined, larger than his room at least. The bed was large, a queen-sized mattress sitting in the middle of the room against the back wall. Two nightstands stood on either side of the bed, a few picture frames hanging around the room, bringing the room to life. His trunk was at the edge of the bed like it had been sitting there for years. You walked inside the room and sat on the bed, watching him as he opened up his trunk to find everything he held dear in this world safe and sound, ready to settle into his new home. 

“Your parents are generous,” Severus said as he shuffled through his trunk, removing his clothing and stacking up his books to one side. He’d never accepted help like he had from you this past week, and to have your parents do what they did, offer him a home and welcome him into your family was an absolute astonishment to him. He’d grown up around people who wouldn’t think twice about passing him by, assuming the worst of him because of where he lived or the clothing he wore on his back. But not you. You were the first to have ever truly accepted him for all he was, and now your parents had done the same.

“They wouldn’t turn their back on someone I love, Sev.” You were of course grateful for what your parents did, but you weren’t all that surprised. It was the right thing to do after all and it broke your heart knowing Severus didn’t understand that. He’d been so used to rejection, his parents treating him the way they did, this town shunning his side of the street, even his childhood best friend, abandoning him after everything he’d been through.

“They don’t know me,” Severus knew he shouldn’t question the generosity he was shown today, but he couldn’t help it. Your parents gained nothing from helping him, they didn’t know him and had no reason to trust him enough to let him live in their house for a few months. It didn’t make sense to him in the slightest, and his curiosity got the better of him.

“They know enough.”

“Like what?” he pushed, the urge for answers growing greater as he got closer to an explanation. 

“They know that you’d always been there for me, that you stuck by my side at Hogwarts when no one else would. They know you care for me and that I care for you. And they know you’re brilliant and deserve a chance at happiness.” Your eyes twinkled, a smirk smeared across your face as you spoke to him. 

Severus smiled as he closed his trunk, placing his clothing atop it to be put away later and carrying the stack of books to one of the nightstands. Taking a seat next to you, he ran his fingers along your hairline until his hand rested over your jaw. He looked at you as he felt you leaning into him, placing a hand over his, returning his smile.

“Your dreams are too optimistic,” he said softly, secretly hoping you were right. He would love nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with you, to support you as you’d done him. 

“I beg to differ. I think they are completely realistic.” Severus chuckled. You always opposed his pessimism, the light in the darkness he lived in and he had no idea what he would do if that light ever went out. For years he’d tried to imagine it, living without you, trying to stay independent, but he couldn’t do it anymore. It was too exhausting, and it wasn’t worth it. You’d never once given him a reason to doubt you’d do anything but stay together, and he was happy for it. He let himself dream of the future he wanted, the life he needed and no matter how impossible it seemed in the past, it was definitely one that seemed probable now, one he’d fight the world to have.

~

Fin

~

@sleepysnapesnake​ @wanderingtrails​ @darkthought15​ @bush-viper-cutie​ @fluffymadamina​ @dracos-mudblood​ @mitchiesdungeon​ @severuslovebot​ @ravenhopeflyte54​ @cuddlebunny0330​ @flowerdementia​

Edit: I’m so sorry I forgot to tag some of you yesterday! Forgive me 😖

@lizlil​ @eave3​ @serena-9623​ @1975weasley

[hale-13]

Strangulated

By Hale13

For the Summer of Whump Day 26 Prompt - Asphyxiation

“That’s pretty new,” Peter muttered aloud, perched on the side of a building in Midtown and staring intently at the man in a full on metal rhino costume destroying the front of a Well’s Fargo. The police that had responded to the call had drawn their weapons and were perched behind their cars, clearly just as baffled and making no attempts to stop or prevent the crime.

Words: 1754, Chapters: 1/1 (Complete), Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Rhino

TW: Strangulation

Read on AO3 or below the line break.

“That’s pretty new,” Peter muttered aloud, perched on the side of a building in Midtown and staring intently at the man in a full on metal rhino costume destroying the front of a Well’s Fargo. The police that had responded to the call had drawn their weapons and were perched behind their cars, clearly just as baffled and making no attempts to stop or prevent the crime.

“It is new Peter,” Karen’s voice chirped happily from his mask. “You have not faced this criminal before. Would you like me to activate instant kill?” She sounded far too hopeful for Peter’s liking and he sighed, dodging the small chunk of concrete that flew his way.

“Karen, darling, love of my life. We’ve talked about this,” he told her gently, swinging closer and dropping down behind the line of cop cars. “Instant kill is not the answer to all lives problems.”

“If you say so,” and she sounded so disappointed. Peter would have to have a conversation with Mr. Stark – he had no idea how he made his AI’s so lifelike but he really wanted to know.

“Ugh,” one of the cops said, rolling his eyes as he noticed Peter. “Scram Spider-Guy, this ain’t any of your business.”

Peter fought an eye roll of his own. “Real nice pal,” he said sarcastically, stepping forward anyway. The guys partner nudged him pointedly in the side.

“Just send in the freak. Might save us the effort.” Peter fought the urge to cringe at the sneer directed at him. He had a pretty thick skin but he wasn’t the biggest fan of being called a ‘freak’. Especially by the people he was trying to help.

“Happy to be of service,” Peter grunted with a two finger salute. “Just stay back and let the professional work.” He fired a web and took off in the direction of the rhino guy before either of the police had the chance to respond. He purposely used their car as a jumping off point just to really rub it in and smirked a little at their grunts of irritation. “Hey big guy!” He called as he landed in the pock-marked and cracked street. Rhino-guy turned around and charged with a roar. “Whoa there!” Peter called as he jumped over his head. “You haven’t even introduced yourself yet!”

“I will squash you like bug!” The man said in a thick Russian accent, scraping one of his feet against the ground like a bull and charging Peter head first again. Peter nimbly dodged again and dangled with one hand from a nearby streetlight.

“You know spiders are arachnids right? Not bugs?” Peter bantered, swinging around the pole and releasing at just the right moment to launch himself across the street the nail Rhino in the face, sending him stumbling back before he corrected himself with a roar. Peter somersaulted out of the way of another charge.

“Stay still so I can kill you,” he roared.

“Tempting,” Peter mused, webbing Rhino’s arms to his sides. “But I’ll pass.”

Rhino roared again in obvious frustration and ripped through Peter’s webs with great effort. “That’s not ideal,” Peter said as he fired more webs in an attempt to slow down Rhino to no avail. Freed once more, Rhino changed forward. This time, however, Peter took a step back into one of the holes in the asphalt and tripped; he was able to right himself quickly but not fast enough to dodge out of the way of Rhino’s hands.

“Oof,” Peter gasped, hands flying up to his throat where Rhino had wrapped his mechanized hands around Peter’s throat, holding him a couple feet above the ground and leaving Peter to flail his legs in an attempt to escape. “Not cool bro,” Peter breathed out with his limited air supply as the Rhino squeezed tighter and backed him up to slam Peter into a nearby brick wall.

“You talk too much,” Rhino grumbled, redoubling his hold on Peter and making him grunt with effort and scrambled to pull the hands from around his throat.

“Peter your pulse ox is dropping rapidly,” Karen said, displaying the number on his HUD and Peter squeezed his eyes shut as it ticked from ninety-three percent to ninety-two. “Calling Mr. Stark.”

“No don’t,” Peter wheezed out a little desperately, his throat feeling raw and swollen and his lungs beginning to burn.

“On my way kid,” Tony’s voice said through his comm as Karen connected his mentor to Peter’s HUD. “Any chance you can break out before you pass out.” Peter just let out a frustrated puff of air and, with intense effort, lifted his legs to press his feet against Rhino’s chest to begin pushing. His vision was tunneling and pulsing around the edges and Peter knew it was only his stubborn pig-headedness and sheer force of will that was keeping him conscious at this point. The pulse ox reading in the corner ticked down to eighty-seven and, with Herculean strength, Peter finally knocked the Rhino away from him and collapsed to the ground.

“‘M good,” Peter croaked tightly, letting his head rest back against the road as he recovered his breath. He didn’t have long through as his Spidey sense tingled violently and he threw himself to the side of the road to dodge out of Rhino’s path. His vision was still a little spotty and he stumbled like he was drunk but Peter was able to pull himself back to his feet and stand without assistance. “Not cool dude,” he said, his throat burning and his words coming out like he had been gargling gravel.

He needed to end this quick. He couldn’t afford to get caught again. With effort, Peter jumped back into the air, firing webs at rapid speed as he did so – attaching Rhino to the ground in a veritable cocoon. Rhino screamed in anger and struggled but Peter’s webs held this time much to his relief. “He’s all yours boys,” he said in the direction of the police, his voice thready and painful and he swallowed down a cough.

It took all the energy he had left to swing away, alighting on a nearby apartment roof and dropping first to his knees and then back to sit cross-legged. His neck hurt and he could feel the swelling starting to constrict his trachea and vocal chords. Tony landed in front of him a few seconds later, stepping out of his suit and squatting down in front of Peter with several cracks and pops of his knees.

“Try not to talk buddy,” Tony told him, lifting his mask up to his nose and pulling the neck down carefully, wincing at whatever he saw and making Peter hunch his shoulders and pull away, fixing his mask back to its usual position. “Helen’s waiting for us back in the MedBay. I’m going to carry you and your not going to bitch about it capiche?” Peter rolled his eyes knowing it would translate to the large white lenses on his mask but didn’t protest when Tony stepped back into the Iron Man armor and picked him up.

The flight back to the Tower was quick since Peter had ventured into Manhattan to patrol today and they were soon landing on the small balcony outside the MedBay doors. Peter still felt a little light-headed and dizzy and swayed a little in place when Tony lowered him back to the ground to stand on his own while the suited disassembled around him and flew off to the armory. “Steady there,” the man said gently, slinging Peter’s arm across his shoulders and helping him walk into the building.

“Hey Peter,” Helen Cho said as she approached them from the nurses station down the hall and ushered them into an open exam room. “Karen sent me your stats so let’s just see the damage yeah?” She said as Peter settled on the exam bed.

Peter smacked his hand into the spider emblem on his chest, letting the suit fall down to rest around his hips, pulling his mask off and tossing it next to him on the bed. Dr. Cho wrinkled her nose and softly palpated Peter’s neck making him grunt and grimace, manfully resisting the urge to pull away from her. “Well you’ve already got some pretty severe swelling,” she said, clipping a pulse oximeter onto his finger and frowning at the result. “And you’re still not oxygenating as well as I’d like.”

“So what’s the plan then,” Tony said, slapping a hand over Peter’s mouth when he opened it to speak and ignoring the glare Peter sent him and the spiteful lick Peter gave his hand in the hopes that Tony would remove his hand.

“Well I’m going to start supplemental oxygen first,” Dr. Cho said, unwinding an oxygen mask from the wall and pushing Peter back until he was reclined on the bed and slipped the mask over his mouth and nose. “I’ll have a nurse come in with something for you to change into and then I want to start IV steroids and pain relief to get the swelling down. With you’re healing,” she said addressing Peter, “you should only be here overnight. I just want to make sure that your airway doesn’t swell closed. You’ll also need to rest your voice since you probably have some damage to your vocal chords.”

Disappointed, Peter nodded. This was not in his plan for the day and he was really looking forward to playing Beast Slayers with Ned tonight but, if he was confined to a MedBay bed and doped up on his pain meds he doubted he would be worth much of anything. Well at least he’d probably catch up on some of his sleep.

A few hours later, floating due to his super strength meds and curled up under a pre-warmed blanket, Peter squeaked out a hoarse ‘thanks’ making Tony, sat beside him and tapping away at a tablet with his feet propped up on the end of Peter’s bed, fix him with a glare. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting your voice?” Peter just gave him a dopey smile and burrowed deeper into the blanket, adjusting the melting ice pack that was wrapped around his still tender throat.

He’d have to do some research of mechanized rhinos in the morning. He had already come up with some fun tweaks for his web fluid that might be beneficial going forward. With chemical equations dancing around in his brain, Peter fell into an deep, easy sleep.

[princesslocket]

🥣 Made With Love 🥣

Hi hi! Before we get to the fanfic, I'd just like to say a big thank you to @ina11writingexchange for hosting this awesome writers exchange! I'm so glad to have been able to participate for this round as well as being given the opportunity to gift @hachuna yet another gift this year!

With that being said, I hope you enjoy this Hachuna! It was a lot of fun to write ((Btw this fic is also cross-posted on AO3 if anyone is interested in reading it there too! The link is in the title))

If anyone were to ask Endou Natsumi what her favorite pass time activity was, she’d automatically answer with “cooking!” and then excitedly list off all the dishes she had made within the past week. It always amazed her friends just how passionate she was about preparing food in the kitchen.

However, she hadn’t always been a fan of cooking.

Natsumi’s love for cooking had originated during her time spent managing the Raimon soccer team in her middle school years. In the beginning she had been quiet hesitant to even try making a rice ball but after she mastered the art of the rice ball, her love for cooking sparked almost instantaneously. It only took preparing a couple more meals before Natsumi was fully onboard with the idea of preparing food in general. It filled her with a sense of pride whenever she was able to witness the team enjoying the meals she, Haruna, and Aki made for them. The compliments they dished out were a great source of ego boosting as well, but she always made it point to stay humble. And even after the team graduated, leaving her with no one else to cook for, Natsumi continued to search up new recipes to try making for herself in the comfort of her own home.

Over the years her cooking had improved, albeit not as significantly as everyone had hoped for, but just enough to where she no longer mixed up the salt and sugars when she tried baking the occasional birthday cake. It was a subtle yet profound type of improvement that left Endou that much more hopeful for their future meals seeing as he had married her not too long after her cooking had started to improve.

One thing that really helped Natsumi improve in her cooking was through the aid of an old looking cook book she just so happened to borrow from Endou! She’d seen the book several times laying in various places throughout their house but had never bothered to look through it until one day when her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself rejoicing at all the cool looking recipes inside. Oh the joy she felt while flipping through the pages was almost too good. How had she not opened the book sooner?

Following the days upon opening the cook book, Natsumi happily followed the messily written instructions provided by the cook book to prepare dishes that she could only assume had been passed down from Endou’s family. She would later find out from Endou himself that the cook book she had been using was actually Endou Daisuke’s hissatsu manual. The discovery came as quiet a shook to Natsumi seeing as she had been following the instructions of the book for several weeks, even going as far to serving a boy named Matsukaze Tenma some of said dishes as well. But all Endou could do was laugh at the situation they found themselves in.

“You mean to tell me that this really isn’t the kanji for egg?”

“I’m positive, Natsumi. These are the instructions for God Hand- Wait a second! How were even able to mistake this for a cook book? I thought you knew what Daisuke’s hissatsu manual looked like?”

“It’s been a while since I last saw it okay!”

Even after the discovery of the ‘cook book’s’ true nature was revealed Natsumi continued to use it. Admittedly, the food Natsumi made following the hissatsu manual never inherently tasted terribly bad. So what harm was there in letting her continue to use it? As long as Endou was there to assist her with some of the misinterpreted kanji of the book, everything was fine.

Unfortunately, not all good things lasted forever. On one particular day an unforeseen disaster appeared out of nowhere…

Natsumi had been preparing dinner in the kitchen when it happened. She hadn’t thought anything of it at first. Ever since Endou took over as Raimon’s coach, he would occasionally return home late, so why would this time be any different? As the minutes ticked by Natsumi continued to prepare dinner. While she maneuvered around the kitchen she kept herself entertained with the quiet sound of the T.V. playing in the background.

Although she usually paid no mind to what the news anchors were saying, something about that night in particular urged her to listen carefully. She had been cutting away at a bundle of carrots when a certain news report caught her attention. Although they weren’t showing video footage of the incident taking place, the news anchors reported a massive car crash near Raimon.

Upon hearing the name of the school, Natsumi put all food to the side and quickly ran to her phone, dialing up Endou to ask if he was still at the school. Knowing her husband, he would most likely be assisting whoever had been unfortunate enough to get hurt outside of their old school. But when he didn’t answer her first, second, or third call, Natsumi began to worry. The news anchors wouldn’t disclose the names of the people involved in the accident, nor would they show the faces of anyone other than the reporter on duty. They did, however, announce the arrival of special dispatched services on the scene as well as the name of the hospital the heavily injured were being taken to.

After a while Natsumi’s phone began to ring, which she immediately answered. Letting out a sigh of relief, Natsumi pressed the phone to her ear, ready to hear Endou’s cheerful voice. With everything appearing to be taken care of on screen, Endou was surely going to fill her in on everything that had happed. It was a good thing she had prepared so much food for the night!

“Natsumi, it’s Kidou, we don’t have much time- It’s Endou… He got into a car crash and- You need to hurry. An ambulance is already taking him to the hospital but… I’ll fill you in on everything once you get here-“

“I’m on the way.”

Within seconds Natsumi was already racing out of the house, dinner abandoned in the kitchen and T.V still playing quietly in the background. She did everything in her power to get to the hospital as fast as she could but it was too late. By the time she came rushing in through the hospital doors, Endou had been pronounced dead.

Time flashed by in a blur following Endou’s death. His funeral came and went, the days following blended together a little too seamlessly and Natsumi’s love for cooking diminished along with her once cheery life. Without Endou around, she no longer held the motivation to prepare any kind of meal in or out of the kitchen. Even when Haruna, Aki, and Fuyuka tried to rekindle their little cooking arties, Natsumi couldn’t bring herself to make anything. Everything she had ever made was out of her love for Endou.

As time went by, Natsumi slowly began to store her cooking utensils away. If she wasn’t going to be cooking anymore, than why bother keep them out in the open to collect dust?

She was in the middle of labeling a soon to be packed away box of kitchen ladles one day when the sound of knocking stopped her. Setting her marker to the side, Natsumi walked to the front door. Her knees nearly buckled when she gazed out the peep hole to see who was outside.

Standing just outside the door was Endou… But it couldn’t be him, right? He had passed away months ago. She had gone to his funeral and everything! There was no way her could possibly be standing outside. As she was thinking these thoughts an almost indescribable feeling washed over her. Suddenly she couldn’t remember attending a funeral nor could she remember why she had started packing away all her cooking supplies. It was as if she was just now waking up from some type of horrible nightmare, a nightmare had clouded over her real life for the past several months.

Whatever nightmare she been under was finally over. Any trace of sadness and despair melted away the longer she stared at Endou. Instead, the feelings were replaced with joy and relief. Although the sudden change in feelings were a little unexpected, they weren’t unwelcomed. In fact she was all the happier to embrace them!

Not wanting to keep Endou waiting any longer, Natsumi decidedly threw the door open, startling Endou as it swung to the side, and proceeded to jumping into the arms of the man in front of her.

“Mamoru!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she pressed herself as tightly as she could to her husband. “I can’t explain it but it feels like I haven’t seen you in forever! Where have you been all day?”

“Woah! I missed you too! Oh man, Natsumi, you wouldn’t believe all the crazy things that happened to me ‘today.’ I’ve got so much to tell you but, uh, I think it’d be best if we went inside first.” Contradictory to his own words, Endou hugged Natsumi even closer to himself, thus rendering any attempt to head into the house useless.

For several long minutes the two stood outside their house, hugging each other, and exchanging a few words before wither one of them made any real attempts to pull away. But when they did, it was Natsumi who moved away. She waisted no time in dragging Endou inside and towards their dining room table, pulling out a chair for him to sit in and then rushing off towards their refrigerator in search of something for them to eat.

Strangely enough, the refrigerator was once again filled with an abundance of food Natsumi had almost no recollection of buying. She glanced a look to Endou, who at first made no comment, but as soon as she turned her back had heard the faintest of words from him.

“I guess time really did reset itself.”

From that day on life returned to normal, or as normal as it could be with Natsumi knowing her ‘nightmare’ had in fact been real but was now a part of a separate timeline of sorts. But seeing as their current timeline was restored, Natsumi decidedly let her supposed bad months drift away.

She started cooking again, only this time she followed tutorials online through YouTube and an odd app called TikTok. When Endou asked why she was following so many different cooking videos, Natsumi would claim that “the hissatsu manual could only offer so much.”

Despite her best efforts her cooking still left much to be desired from. But Endou never truly cared about the overall outcome of the food he’d be offered.

“It’s the thought counts.” He’d tell himself whenever a dish was placed in front of him. “If it’s for Natsumi, I’d gladly eat a thousand more meals of her cooking- I’d do anything to make her happy.”

[rosesgonerogue]

I didn’t so much fall in love - It kicked me in the face  Chapter Five

Trigger Warning:  There's implied rape in this chapter, kids. It's never discussed or described explicitly, just beware, and keep yourself mentally safe and healthy.

The Wayne family wouldn’t leave Marinette’s head for a number of reasons. Their evident knowledge of the Lazarus Pit was an issue, and there was the fact that their butler was a previous Miraculous user. Tim also happened to have a bruise in the precise spot where she had kicked Red Robin the other day. Too many questions and coincidences were piling up for any one family, it was alarming. 

But the mere thought of Tim was incredibly distracting. A slight blush stole over her cheeks at the mere thought of him. He wasn’t what she had expected of the C.E.O. of Wayne Enterprises. To be completely honest, she had chosen to consult him last so she had time to get in the zone and not make a complete fool of herself. She had to act like a professional! 

But he’d also been kind, so incredibly kind when he had dealt with Leo, and unlike most people, completely non judgemental of the fact that she seemed too young to have a five-year-old. She felt… she wasn’t sure how she felt. She recognized some of the same emotions her younger self had felt around Adrien, but it was also more mature. She didn’t feel like she was going to trip over her tongue every time she spoke to him.

 Luckily Leo was absorbed in scribbling down one of his many ideas in the car, so she was able to try and puzzle some of this out.

Was she really suspecting Tim Drake of being Red Robin? Some of the mannerisms matched, sure, and there was also a possibility of the rest of Gotham’s vigilantes and the Wayne family being connected. It would explain a lot. She hadn’t seen much of Red Hood in action when he’d found her, and she’d seen absolutely nothing of the others, but from what she knew, it fit. It fit eerily well, even the mystery of the butler somehow felt right.

In the hotel room, Marinette and Leo were soon swarmed by eager kwamis. (Initially Marinette had been staunchly opposed to bringing the entire Miracle Box with her to Gotham, but as it was a longer stay, and a dangerous area, they convinced her that they needed to come as well. Secretly Marinette was convinced that they just wanted a sort of vacation.)

“How was it? What were the Waynes like?” 

“Were they handsome?” 

“Gotham is dangerous, are you okay?” 

“We’re just fine, thank you for worrying,” Marinette said warmly. “Duusu, I have an important question for you. Does the name Alfred Pennyworth mean anything to you?” 

The peacock’s face positively lit up. “Oh, did you meet Alfie? How is he? Where did you meet him?” 

“He’s the Waynes’ butler,” she explained, stretching her arms. “So you did know him?” 

“Oh, we worked together for years! He’s my favorite chick I’ve ever had. I would have happily stayed with him for years, but someone stole the brooch,” Duusu said, wilting a bit. “Nooroo and I were sold from buyer to buyer until Gabriel found us.” 

“Can he be trusted?” 

“Alfred? More than any other human I know.” 

Marinette patted the kwami on the head with one finger. “I’ll get a message to him, if you’d like.” 

“Just make sure that none of the Waynes overhear,” Wayzz warned. 

“They aren’t what they seems,” Trixx agreed sagely. 

“But they’re not bad people,” Leo said suddenly, notebook forgotten. “We can trust them when the time comes.” 

A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine as she looked into the eyes of her son. When Marinette was pregnant with him, she had worried endlessly. All previous holders had given up their Miraculous when they were pregnant, but their children were always faster, smarter, and stronger than average. But Marinette was the guardian, which sometimes made her feel like her body was more magic than human. How would it affect her dear child? 

Leo turned out to be the best child she had ever met. He could be mischievous at times, but he was endlessly kind. He was mature for any age, and Marinette often felt magic thrumming through him, though the kwami assured her that he had to be a bit older before that could manifest. All you had to do to see that he was different was look into Leo’s eyes; her son just saw more than other people. 

“I believe you, mon cher,” Marinette said with a smile. “You’ve never been wrong before.” 

“Monsieur Tim is the best, though,” Leo said gravely.. “He showed me their paintings and trophies and books, and it feels like we were supposed to meet him. He’s important.” 

**************

Tim couldn’t help but dive a little too deep into Marinette’s records. It wasn’t the most extensive report he’d ever done by any means, but the more he found out, the more he wanted to know. 

MDC was a saint. She frequently auctioned off commissions publicly for various charities, all respectable and legitimate, and  a good portion of her income was privately donated as well. But more than being a philanthropist, she also regularly organized community service efforts, none of which she connected to MDC’s brand, and all of which she ended up in the thick of, working harder than any other volunteer. 

One particular finding bothered Tim, however. He’d noticed with mixed feelings that there was no father listed on Leo’s birth certificate. That seemed contrary to Marinette’s character, but he very muchh did not want his suspicions to be proved correct. 

It was buried fairly deep, no part of the proceedings were made public - much to his horror, Marinette had still been a minor at the time of the trial. He didn’t know much of the French legal jargon, and most of the records were confidential enough that he didn’t dare go digging any farther. It wasn’t worth causing another international incident. 

The only concrete things Tim was able to learn were, 1.) at seventeen-years-old, Marinette had testified in court, and 2.) the man had been found guilty, and served a sentence that Tim couldn’t help but find too light. It was far too tempting to dig into the man’s past and completely ruin his life on the off chance that the man was ever released, so Tim forced himself to find a distraction. Remembering Leo’s words, that distraction came in the form of a particular Parisian superhero. 

He’d heard whispers of Ladybug, naturally, but he had mentally categorized her as a public mascot, someone that was of very little consequence or threat. There were hundred of PSAs with Ladybug online, and everyone knew about Ladybug Day, a day where everyone participated in some kind of service of kind deed. 

Tim wasn’t sure what he expected to find, maybe the actress’s name, but as soon as he dug any deeper than surface-level, he found himself tangled in a truly impressive firewall. He couldn’t help but be excited - he hadn’t had a challenge like that for quite some time. If Paris was this secretive about Ladybug, there was clearly more to her than meets the eye. 

The firewall took some skill to get around, but he wouldn’t be stopped. When he finally made it past everything, he leaned forward in his chair, eyes riveted to the screen.

Taglist: 

@ii-fox-demon @queen-in-a-flower-crown @novaloptr @saphiraazure2708 @iamabrownfox @smolplantmum @redhoodedtoad @loysydark @slytheringinger300 @finallyaniguana @brokenwordsarehard2 @abrx2002 @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @moonlightstar64  @marinettepotterandplagg @black-streak @purplesundaze @maribat-is-lifeblood @the-fusionist @river9noble @chocolatecatstheron @darkthunder1589 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @dast218 @k-poplunardreams @meanids @changelinggarden @ladybug-182 @pawsitivelymiraculous @zotinha456 @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @somebodyspersephone @spider-person95 @zestyzealot

Author’s Note: 

I promised you guys some more Leo time, and I delivered! I love hearing your comments about him in particular - kid characters are tricky, but I've had a lot of fun with Leo, and I've picked bits and pieces of his personality from nieces and nephews that I still miss dearly. Let me know what you guys think!

On a slightly different note, I know that Leo’s dad is a different route than most Maribat authors would take. I understand that it’s a sensitive topic, but this is more of a recovery success story. I don’t want to undermine any of the canon characters, and Leo is more of a child of the kwamis than he is his biological father. We’re going to see more of that later, though. This is only really going to be brought up once more in the story. 

[benex78]

Forgive our Sins

5 years after the events of Immortality, Sara and Grissom are living back in Las Vegas when a ghost from their past reappears in their life forcing them to face some old decisions. GSR of course! Enjoy it! I hope you like it and please review it! (Sorry if there are mistakes but I'm not a native English speaker and a special thanks to my friend LuLu for reading it)

PART 1 They went through a lot together during their 16 years long relationship. She left him and the sin city, he went to Costa Rica for her, they got married, they got divorced, she went to San Diego and sailed with him. They hurt each other more than once, but their love never stopped. In the end, they gave up their carriers to stay together, got married again and now they were finally living happily together. Grissom and Sara are back in Vegas, living in a small house in the university district. While Sara works as a consultant for the crime lab, Gil is a part-time professor of entomology who tends to stick his nose in his wife’s forensic cases. 14 years have passed since the miniature killer events and Natalie Davis is still in prison. In her cell she keeps a collection of miniatures and she is now working on a new one. She interrupts her work on the miniature to write a letter. It’s a difficult one: she had tried to write this letter so many times without success, in fact there are a few ripped sheets of paper on the floor. This time is different, she manages to use the rights words and, once done, she sends the envelope to the Las Vegas Crime Lab. It’s addressed to Sara Sidle. What does she want from Sara? Does she want to make amends? Does she want to go after her again? PART 2 A car is parked outside Sara and Grissom's house and the driver is observing Sara. One day on her way to work, Sara notices him and tries to run away, but suddenly she’s caught in an incident. She is brought to the hospital where a frightened Grissom arrives. Fortunately, Sara is fine, she only has some bruises and she is soon allowed to leave the hospital to go home with her husband. Sara tells Grissom what happened and now they fear someone is chasing them. Thanks to the street CCTVs the police finds and arrests the stalker, however the man has nothing to do with the accident. Thus, he is released, but not after securing a conversation with Sara Sidle. He is a private detective and he needs to talk to Sara because his client, a woman named Kelly Ross, wants to meet her. Sara asks the detective the reason for this meeting and he responds that Mrs. Ross instructed him to reveal only in which part of Vegas she lives and, most importantly, that they have someone in common. Sara is caught off guard as she doesn’t know what to expect from this. However, she can’t help but feel curious. PART 3 On their day off Grissom drives Sara to Mrs. Ross, but he waits outside in the car. He is worried but he respects Sara’s decision to go in alone. When opening the door, Mrs. Ross welcomes Sara with a warm hug then she lets her in. Gil Grissom observes the whole scene speechless. When Sara comes back couple of hours later, she is in shock and immediately askes Grissom to take her home. He wants to know about the meeting, yet Sara begs him to give her some time to put her thoughts together. That evening in their kitchen Sara tells him a story she kept for herself for far too long. FLASHBACK:13 YEARS EARLIER The miniature killer had changed everything: the team had found about her relationship with Grissom, she had to join swing and above all she felt something inside her had broken and no one, not even Griss, could do anything to help her. She was so depressed that she decided to leave Vegas and the love of her life. She was in L.A. visiting her mom when she started to feel unwell. It took her a few days to even conceive the idea that she could be pregnant. She went to the nearest drugstore and paid for a test that she took directly in the customers toilet. She waited in there for almost an hour with the result in her hands: POSITIVE! How could it be? She didn’t want a child and Grissom neither. They talked about this at the beginning of their story and even more recently when he proposed. They (she and Griss) were the only family they wanted. How could she tell Grissom something like that? At least by phone she could avoid looking into his eyes and see his disappointment. She went back to her motel room and waited for the morning to come. She didn’t sleep all night, she kept looking at the clock on the wall. When she was sure Grissom could be home from work, she called him. He picked up almost immediately. She heard him giggling at the other side of the phone, but his joy faded at the news. Sara was so depressed; their relationship was stalling and surely, he wasn’t ready to be a father. Thus, they both agreed to end the pregnancy. Grissom offered to come to L.A. to be close to her, but Sara declined. She wanted to do it alone and he didn’t complain. She had just booked an appointment at a private clinic, when her mother got sick, so she had to postpone the whole thing. When she finally got there 3 weeks later, it was too late to proceed with the abortion. She had no another choice but to contact the social services to find a family for her unborn child.  She never told Gilbert she carried their baby and that he was put up for adoption. To him, this was a dead story. Just 10 days before Warwick’s murder she delivered a healthy baby boy who she held only briefly in her arms before giving him away. When she came back to Vegas, Grissom was so devastated he didn’t even notice her body didn’t have the usual silhouette and she kept the secret for herself. Until now. Sara’s confession is very painful, she fears Gilbert’s reaction. She fears he will hate her and never forgive her for taking his son away. However, Grissom isn’t angry. He seems quite relieved instead. Grissom reaches his hand out across the table and places it on top of Sara’s, giving it a gentle squeeze: - I don’t begrudge you honey. In the end, you did what we had decided. At the time we didn’t want a kid and you didn’t keep it. Honestly, I’m quite happy it went this way. – Sara raises her head: - Really? – Grissom admits: - Yeah, because now, 13 years later, we are talking about someone we created, someone who has our genes and who probably is still alive. Even if he is somewhere, we don’t know where and who raised him – Sara reveals: - Gil, his name is Dylan, he is here in Vegas and Mrs. Ross is his adoptive mother – Grissom is astonished: - What? He’s in Vegas right now? Did you see him? – Sara shakes her head: - No, he was at school - Grissom: - How did Mrs. Ross find you? – Sara: - I can’t explain it, but since I had decided for an open adoption, she must have assumed a detective to find me. - Grissom: - But why now? – Sara: - Because she wants to give us a second chance – Grissom: - Sorry I don’t get it – Sara: - She is dying, she has terminal cancer and her husband has died of Covid last year. She fears that once she’s dead her boy will end up living in an institute until his 18th birthday. -   Grissom’s heart starts beating fast, he can’t bear it any more. Maybe it’s his age but he wants to be a father now. However, he knows everything it’s up to his Sara: - Can we…? What do you want to do? - Sara: - Honestly… I don’t know – Grissom: - Sara, we are his parents! – Sara’s answer is firm: - No, we lost that right a long time ago Gil! – Grissom corrects himself: - You are right, but we have to do something. Don’t you want to get to know him? To see who he looks like? – Sara:  - Of course I want to, but I am also terrified. I abandoned him. For all I know he could hate me. – Gil replies: - He could love you. -   Sara gives Grissom a sad smile. Grissom tries to lift her spirit: - He could be a geek like us - Sara announces: - Gil, he is a special boy, he is not like the other kids – Grissom asks: -What do you mean? – Sara: - Mrs. Ross told me Dylan can’t hear, he has a genetic disease that made him almost deaf 5 years ago. Grissom is hurt, he can’t find the words to express his feelings. Sara notices his reaction and she gently touches his leg. Sara: - Are you ok? – Grissom nods: - I just don’t know how to feel about this: happy because I have something in common with my son or sad that I passed this pain to him It's all my...  – Sara raises Gilbert’s chin, she cuts him off this time, shaking her head: "No, it's not. and it's not right to put the blame all on you. We both made stupid decisions in our relationship that lead us to where we are now." She takes a breath and speaks again more softly. "Now, I just want to put all of that behind us and start over..." Grissom clears his throat and asks in a more serious tone: - So... what do you think? –   Sara takes both his hands in her and smiled a little: - I think we are going to speak with Kelly Ross and arrange a meeting with Dylan. Ok? – Grissom nods satisfied. Sara: - Let’s see what happens but we have to keep our hopes grounded – Grissom: - Ok… Come here – and takes Sara in his arms: - I love you, no matter what! – Sara leans towards him. She looks him in his eyes and responds with a tender kiss on his lips whispering against them "I love you too”.

PART 4 Sara spends the week working and thinking, thinking and working. Tension and expectations building up every day, more and more. In her mind Sara has imagined their meeting with Dylan at least 300 times, she has repeated all the possible things she could say to him, but every time his reaction is bad and the meeting goes wrong. Even Grissom is anxious; nonetheless he tries to distract Sara: he invites her to see one of his lessons at the university, he proposes a trip on a boat over the lake Mead and he takes her out to dinner. The Italian restaurant they go to is one of their favorites. They eat a very good lasagna and they drink a little more than they usually do, just to relax. Once at home, they go to bed. They face each other but, thinking of the day ahead, they can’t sleep. Grissom: - It’s gonna be fine – Sara: - You can’t know that – Gil caresses her hair: - No, but we have to stay positive – Sara takes Gil’s hand and brings it to her cheek: - I don’t know what to tell him – Gil’s finger brushes her lips: - The truth! If he asks, we’ll tell him the truth - Sara: - But? – Grissom: - Honey, if we want his trust, we have to be honest. We can’t lie. - Sara: - I am scared! -   Grissom: - Me too – and he slowly kisses her. She returns the kiss as they are taken by the passion of their bodies, entangled in one. Their minds are lost in the rhythm of that primordial act of desire, they know so well. They are just flesh and skin, sweat and moans. PART 5 It’s afternoon and they are sitting in a park near Dylan’s school. The sight of the boy approaching them with his mother takes their breath away. Kelly greets them from afar and points them to her son. They stand up and walk in their direction. Sara and Grissom stop when they are in front of Dylan and Kelly.  4 souls, 4 people meant to be a family finally together.  Dylan is a mini version of Grissom. He is not so tall but he’s slim. He has short curly brown hair. His eyes are blue and curios. Behind his left ear he has a hearing aid. Kelly addresses them to Dylan; she gestures in sign language and tells him: - They are the friends I was talking to you about. – Grissom takes courage and speaks first, gesturing his words: - Hi Dylan, my name is Gilbert and she is my wife Sara. We are happy to meet you. Your mother told us a lot about you. – Sara: - Hi, sorry but my sign language is a little rusty. I will try to improve. – Dylan: - Don’t worry, I can hear you (he indicates the implant to Sara). Moreover, I’ve learned to read lips. You, (he addresses to Grissom) on the other hand are very good. – Grissom: - Thanks. My mum was deaf, she taught me – Dylan nods pondering the answer. Sara tries to break the silence: - How was your day? Do you like school? – Kelly intervenes: - He is the best of his class – Dylan gives her a little buff on her right arm: - Mum please! – Kelly smiles: - He is shy, he doesn't like to brag – Grissom and Sara, grinning, exchange a look of complicity mixed with pride: - We can imagine – Dylan fixes them and he asks abruptly: - Why don’t you tell me who you really are? – Grissom and Sara almost choke: - What? – Kelly scolds him: - Dylan?! – Dylan continues: - You are my real parents, aren’t you? Sara feels responsible and wants to give him an answer: - You are right, I’m your birth mother and he is your father. – Dylan insists: - Why are you here? – Kelly: - I asked them to come – Dylan turns to his mother in shock but Kelly goes on: - I have to know that you would be safe, cared for and loved when I will be gone – Dylan: - How could you think that I would stay with someone who abandoned me? – Kelly interrupts them: - You three need to talk, you need to know each other. Dylan please, you have to listen to them – Dylan: - I don’t want to – and he runs away. Kelly touches Sara’s shoulder, she feels her pain and apologizes for Dylan’s reaction: - Give him some time.  He is a good boy… he’s very smart – Grissom sighs: - I see – Sara is ashamed: - He is right, I made a mistake. – Kelly tries to soothe her by saying: - We all make mistakes, Sara – Sara: - But he is the one who’s paying the consequences of that mistake – Grissom: - We had our reasons, dear– Sara locks her eyes on Gil: - and why does it all seem so wrong now? – Kelly: - Let me talk to him – Sara replies: - No, I want to try - Sara goes to look for Dylan; Grissom follows her but she turns and stops him: - Give me 5 minutes – Gil nods; she approaches the boy. He is sitting on a swing. Sara asks him permission with a soft voice: - Can I? – Dylan shrugs his shoulders and Sara sits in the swing next to him. The boy leaps down and faces her. Sara: - I’m so sorry for everything, Dylan. I’m sorry for your mum, for your dad, for your earing problems, and above all I'm sorry for what I did to you. – Dylan: - Why did you leave me? – Sara tries her best to formulate an answer: - It’s complicated.... I wasn’t feeling very well. Something bad had happened to me. – Dylan interrupts her: - My father? Did he hurt you? – Sara: - No, absolutely not. He has always been kind to me – she invites Grissom to join them and he moves in their direction. – I was, I still am a Crime Scene Investigator. Do you know what it is? – Dylan nods and Sara continues: - I was working on a case, and a serial killer kidnapped me and left me to die. I managed to escape, your father and other members of my team saved me – Dylan listens very carefully. – But after that, nothing was the same. I was broken and unhappy. I wasn’t myself anymore and I couldn’t stay there. I went away from your father, from this town, from my old life. I could not be a good mother for you, you deserved more. – Dylan looks at Sara and then Grissom and says: - You are married now – Sara declares: - We got back together 5 years ago. – Grissom kneels in front of Dylan: - We're not here to be your parents, you already have them – Dylan states: - My mum is great! – Grissom agrees: - It’s true. We just want to know you, Dylan! – Sara teases: - Can you give us a chance? – Dylan thinks and then asks Sara something that has always intrigued him: - Did you give me a name before.. you .. ? Sara affirms instantly: - Arthur, I named you Arthur –

LITTLE FLASHBACK OF 13 YEARS EARLIER Sara was holding her baby when a nurse entered the room to take him. The social assistant was waiting outside. The woman checked the papers she had filled in. On the birth certificate she had written her name, Gilbert’s, and a new one: ARTHUR. She gave her baby a kiss on the forehead and passed him to the nurse who left the room, closing the door to a crying Sara. Grissom turns towards Sara, surprised by her admission. Sara looks at him directly in his eyes: - It’s your father’s middle name! – Dylan chuckles, satisfied by the answer: - It’s my middle name too – Sara is grateful that the Ross in some way had kept the name she had chosen for him. Dylan remarks: - My father was a pastor, he always told me to forgive the others. I’m forgiving you! – They give him an appreciative smile before Grissom touches his head saying: - He’d be very proud – Dylan nods and walks over to an emotional Sara. He wipes a tear from her face, similarly to what Gilbert would have done. She whispers a thank you to him, then they return to the bench where Kelly was sitting, watching the whole scene.

PART 6 Grissom and Sara start seeing Dylan every day after school. Their bond gets deeper and deeper. Dylan looks more at ease with them. He loves spending time with Gil, making experiments, going fishing or sailing. They find a new balance in their lives. Every once in a while, he even spends the night with them. The guest bedroom has become his room now. Kelly’s cancer on the other hand gets worse and she ends in hospital. It’s a Wednesday morning when Sara picks up Dylan from school and brings him to the hospital to give his mother one last hug. Kelly Ross dies at 2.00 PM of that same day and Dylan cries in the arms of Gilbert.  At the funeral he stands between Sara and Grissom. He is brave but silent. Over the last year, he has lost both of his parents and found two new ones. It’s strange how life takes an unexpected turn sometimes and turns up the way it should have from the beginning.  In fact, before her death, Kelly had arranged things so that Sara and Gil could have full custody of the boy and become a family.

PART 7 Sara is in a hurry; she greets her boss and some other members of the team as she prepares to leave the office. The receptionist at the desk calls her back and gives her some correspondence. She doesn’t have time to read it, she will do it later with calm. All she wants to do now is to go home to her boys and to enjoy the evening with them. After dinner Dylan does his homework in the living room, Gil prepares his lesson and Sara tidies the kitchen up. She suddenly remembers the letters in her purse, so she takes a break to read them. An envelope without a sender attracts her attention. She rips the envelope and her jaw drops.

Dear Sara Sidle, I’m Natalie Davis, you probably remember me as the miniature killer. I’ve been thinking of you very often lately. I know, I don’t have the right to write to you after all this time, but my journey here in prison made me reflect on my actions and on what I have done to you and to the other victims. I’m so sorry Mrs Sidle, I can’t change the past and my apologies can’t relieve your pain or what you’ve lost. I was angry and I seeked vengeance for no real reason except because I couldn’t accept the daemons from my past. I should have known that that wasn’t the answer but I was too lost. I hold Mr Grissom responsible for the death of Arnie Dell and I tried to take you away from him because of his love for you. However, and now I know this, it was not his fault and you were a collateral damage in my inner war. I don’t deserve your forgiveness; I’m not searching for redemption. I’m just happy that you are alive. I also hope life has been kind to you and that Mr Grissom is still by your side.                                                                                                      Sincerely, Natalie Davis                    

Sara confronts Grissom about the letter and what to do next. They are concerned, still they decide to go to the county jail to see Natalie in person. As CSI they get a special permit to meet her in the interrogation room. The door opens and a guard escorts Natalie Davis inside. She is handcuffed and she’s wearing an orange suit. For the first time in 14 years she, Sara and Gil are in the same room. The guard moves to stand in a corner and Natalie sits at the table. Natalie is surprised by this visit: - I didn’t expect you to come. - Sara: - I didn’t expect your letter either. - They contemplate in silence for some time. Natalie clears her throat: - Anyway, thank you. Your presence here is very important to me – Sara replies: - I’m here because I wanted to look you in the eyes, to make sure your words were true and your regret sincere. Natalie: - Mrs. Sidle, I don’t know what to do to prove it to you - Sara: - You wrote you don’t deserve forgiveness… – Natalie: - No, I don’t. I’m a sinner and I need to be punished for my sins! – Sara: - Hmmm. It was not easy to understand it but now, now I’ve got it. We have different backgrounds, different stories but we have one thing in common – Natalie looks confused. Sara continues: - We are survivors, Natalie! We are women with physical and psychological scars. I could have surrendered to the difficulties that life put in front of me, as you did, but I decided to move on and I’m still doing it – Sara grabs Gilbert’s hand and squeezes it. They exchange a tender look. They both smile before Sara shakes her head and goes on: – Therefore, I forgive you! – Natalie is incredulous: - Why are you so good to me after all I’ve done? - Sara: - I’m not good, I just think this place and your sense of guilt are enough for me. We cannot live in resentment forever, and you know what? I’ve learned such an important lesson from a very mature 13 years old boy who has been through hell in such a short time. Goodbye Natalie. - Sara and Gil stand up and leave the room, Natalie and her nightmares behind. Dylan will be home soon with some of his friends. Tonight, they will go to the Luna park, they will ride the rollercoaster and then eat pizza. Their future is definitely bright.

THE END

[dcbbw]

Drake. Singing "Jolene" in the shower. Please please pretty please. xoxoxo

Hahahahahahahahahaahahaha, BURNS!!!! Hopefully I delivered what you were looking for.

To provide context/background to whomever reads this, @burnsoslow and I have random late-night convos that cover a whole range of topics. The other night, we were discussing Drake Walker’s taste in music. I see him liking old-school country and 70s rock (think The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac). Then I got this image of Drake in the shower singing Dolly Parton’s Jolene, a song about a woman pleading with a temptress not to take her man.

Well, then the question became which Drake? The answer is below the cut.

Song lyrics are from Jolene and are the property of their respective owner(s). Forgive me, Dolly for taking liberties with some of your words, but Burnsy came up with the BEST name!

Thanks to my bears for pre-reading!

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Answer has hints of lemon. 

Driam

Drake Walker was in the shower, his fingers working shampoo into his thick, brown hair. As suds bubbled over his scalp and transformed his mane into a white, soapy cap he sang.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm begging of you please don't take my man Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Please don't take him just because you can

Your beauty is beyond compare With flaming locks of auburn hair With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green Your smile is like a breath of spring Your voice is soft like summer rain And I cannot compete with you Jolene

Liam joined him, the hot water pelting his body as Drake began the second verse. Liam’s heart twisted at Drake’s song choice. Coronation was mere hours away; Liam would be fully duty bound to Cordonia and her soon-to-be Queen before the night was over.

“You have no competition, love,” Liam murmured against Drake’s wet skin as he stepped behind his lover, his arms encircling his waist, hands splayed across Drake’s hips.

Drake stopped singing. “Hey, Li,” he said softly.

“This Jolene is not an apt description of Lady Riley. She sounds more like Duchess Olivia,” Liam frowned as his hand began stroking Drake’s length.

“Ha! Never made the connection, but I suppose you’re right.” Drake’s eyes closed in both bliss and hurt at his King’s touch.

“I swear on everything Drake, Lady Riley won’t come between us and what we have. It’s just a temporary situation.”

Drake stepped closer under the shower head, letting the water rinse the shampoo; rivulets of soapy water rand down his back, causing Liam to release his hold from Drake.

“Did you hear me, love?”

Drake nodded, not trusting himself to speak. If his lips parted now, he would tell Liam the truth and he had promised Riley she could be the one to tell Liam.

Liam’s choice would refuse his proposal. Because she had chosen Drake. And they were leaving for America in a week.

It broke Drake’s heart, but he and Liam would never be together they way they both wanted and deserved. Everyone was free to love the way they wanted to except the King. And Liam would never, could never give his country the attention it needed if Drake were in the picture.

Already, he was planning to divorce a Queen he hadn’t even married.

Drake would say his goodbyes to Liam after Riley broke the news. He wondered if he could ever say goodbye to Liam. The man was ingrained in his mind, his skin, his very soul.

He had to. It was for the best. It was for Cordonia.

Commoner’s Wife AU Drake

The Duchess of Valtoria blearily opened one eye, letting out a loud groan at the time. 9 am. Her head hurt and her mouth was dry from consuming too much alcohol and not enough food at the charity gala her Great House had hosted the night before. She had been too busy being the dutiful wife and gracious hostess.

She sipped whiskey with her husband, Drake, as they made their rounds; their smiles were wide, and their questions sincere as they networked with their fellow nobles. She drank wine with the ladies of court while the men smoked cigars. She had flitted from table to table during dinner, making sure everyone was full and happy, with a martini in her hand.

When she finally sat down to eat with her husband, the orchestra had begun to play, and the Duke and Duchess led everyone in the first dance.

The entire evening, her eyes constantly strayed to the King, who had escorted Duchess Olivia to the soiree. Riley’s eyes narrowed whenever Liam’s fingers touched Olivia’s. Her jaw clenched when she saw the King and Duchess dancing, his hands placed just above her buttocks and her slender, pale arms snaked around his neck.

Her husband saw it all.

Riley rolled onto her back, her head sinking into her pillow. She had already decided she wasn’t going to do anything other than hydrate and pop ibuprofen. Her phone buzzed; her hand reached out to grab it.

Liam:  Last night’s gala was magnificent, yet pales compared to the shining jewel that is you. The Crown’s contribution is forthcoming. I miss you.

Riley deleted the message and tossed her phone back onto the bedside table. Fuck you and Olivia.

She had just risen from the bed to use the bathroom when she heard the shower turn on. Drake. She decided she would kiss her husband good morning and plead hangover to get out of any plans he may have made for them for the day. What good was being a Duchess if one couldn’t take a day to rest and relax?

And sulk over one’s lover being lovey-dovey with someone else.

Riley entered the bathroom, hearing Drake singing. She raised an eyebrow. Two things Drake didn’t do: sing and dance. She listened to his voice, a deep bass, singing an old Dolly Parton tune. But the words were wrong.

She talks about you in her sleep And there's nothing I can do to keep From crying when she calls your name JoLiam

And I can easily understand How you could easily take my girl But you don't know what she means to me JoLiam

Riley’s hand covered her O-shaped mouth. Did Drake know?  The twisting in her stomach was not so much about being caught; she did have enough love for Drake to not want him to be hurt. It just wasn’t strong enough to overcome her need for Liam.

She hastily coughed to announce her presence; the singing stopped.

“Brooks?” Drake called out.

Riley stuck her head in the shower; the spray lightly peppered her skin. “Good morning,” she said softly.

Drake grinned. “Good morning.”

“Hey, how about waffles for breakfast? And that thick cut bacon you like?”

Drake looked at her in confused surprise. “Are you up for it? You had more than your share of liquor last night.”

Riley kissed Drake’s wet lips, slipping in a little bit of tongue. “You’re my husband! Of course I’m up for it. And anything else you may want to do today.”

Drake looked searchingly over his wife’s expression. “Are you sure?”

Riley nodded, a bright smile on her face. “Positive!”

Drake soaped his washcloth. “Brooks, are you happy? With me?”

Riley swallowed over the lump in her throat. “There’s no one I’d rather be with,” she lied.

She left the bathroom to cook breakfast before her husband saw the truth in her eyes.

Upstate AU Dramien

Heavy rain poured outside while Drake Walker and Damien Nazario lay in bed watching the Saved by the Bell reboot on one of their many streaming services. It was 10 am, but with no lights on their bedroom, the room was as dark as if it were still 6 am.

“Thank GOD we cleaned out the gutters last weekend,” Drake commented.

“Hmmmm”, Damien responded absently.

He wasn’t the house person. He liked the idea of home ownership: It represented adulthood and was a great investment, but the work it took to keep up the house and protect it from unnecessary problems? The tree pruning, gutter cleaning, keeping sewage lines clear? Drake took care of that or found folks who would.

“You know, it doesn’t get dark like this in the city when it rains,” Drake observed as they watched Lexi shy away from kissing Jaime because he really liked Aisha.

“The lights from all the stores and office buildings penetrate the cloud cover.” Damien shifted in the bed to pull more sheets over his body. His eyes were glued to the screen. “Why does it not surprise me that Zack Morris is an absentee father?”

“I wonder why Jessie is still hanging in there with her loser husband. He’s having an emotional affair with a character from his book!”

“And now said character is pregnant.”

Drake shook his head as he grabbed the remote to turn the television off. He glanced over at Damien. “Breakfast?”

Damien nodded. “I’ll cook if you wash the dishes.”

“I cleaned the gutters so we don’t have to worry about it raining on our heads. You cook and do dishes, and I’ll take care of dinner.”

“Deal”

Drake climbed out of bed. “I’m gonna grab a shower.”

“In our new manly bathroom?” Damien teased.

“It was PINK! ALL OVER! Like a teenage girl puked up everything Pinterest in there! Even the toilet was pink.”

“I like pink!” Damien argued.

“You like everything I don’t.” Drake gave Damien a quick kiss on his lips and padded into their master bath.

Alone in the bed, Damien stretched before getting up and making the bed. He then went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. The sounds of the shower and Drake’s singing greeted him.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm begging of you please don't take my man Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men But I could never love again He's the only one for me Jolene

“Why are you begging Jolene to leave me alone?” Damien teased as he stepped into the shower with his lover.

“Why aren’t you cooking breakfast? Drake countered.

“I missed you,” Damien replied as he grabbed his washcloth.

Drake looked at him knowingly. “You think I’m going to do the cooking as well as the home improvements.” He shook his head. “Not happening.”

“Jolene would happily do it.”

“I’m not Jolene. And she needs to stay 50 feet away from your ass.”

“I love it when you’re jealous.”

Drake grabbed Damien around his waist and pushed his back against wet tile. “How about some … dessert before breakfast?”

Damien kissed Drake deeply. “Always down for dessert.”

“But only if you’re making it with me,” Drake clarified.

“Jolene only cooks breakfast.”

DC AU Drake (Issa throwback)

It was the morning after Drake Walker had broken up with Riley Brooks inside of the Columbia Heights Target. He hadn’t slept a wink and was hoping a hot shower would soothe his red, burning eyes and relax him enough to get some type of rest.

Or wash away his guilt.

He stepped beneath the water, wishing there was someone he could talk to, but he didn’t even have an explanation for what had happened. He wanted to call Brooks and see how she was holding up; they had been friends too long for it to just end that way. But Drake had no idea what to say to make it better, and she was hurting enough.

As he shampooed his hair, a memory came to him.

Drake was in the shower, his hair filled with suds and his conditioner bottle in his hand, his mouth to it as if it were a microphone. He was belting out Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, and so caught up in the song he didn’t notice that Riley had slipped into the shower behind him.

She stood, her hands crossed over her chest as she giggled. Drake turned quickly, dropping the bottle; he grinned at her sheepishly. “You heard that, huh?”

“You’re missing the boobs and hair, but you kinda nailed it.”

“Ya think?” Drake picked up the conditioner.

“I didn’t peg you as a Dolly Parton fan.” Riley stepped in front of him to let the water wet her body.

“She is ICONIC, and we do not deserve her!” Drake began to shampoo his girlfriend’s hair. “Did you know rumor has it she wrote Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day?”

Riley squirted her rose and peony scented bodywash onto her washcloth. “Really? Homegirl was going through that day.”

“But she’s been married to her husband for over 50 years,” Drake pointed out.

Riley turned to face him. Her hands pressed against his shoulders. “Doesn’t mean they didn’t have problems.” Her eyes looked into Drake’s, the slightest hint of uncertainty in them. “We’re good, right?”

Drake looked at her, puzzled. “Why do you ask that?”

“I just don’t want to be hurt. Or killed.”

Drake pulled Riley closer. “You’ve been watching too many Lifetime movies.”

“Maybe.” Riley laid her head on his shoulder. “I just … “

“Shhhhhh,” Drake interrupted her. “You’re it, Brooks. We’re good. We’ll always be good.”

Drake wiped a soapy cloth over his torso. He shook his head, wondering what the hell he was going to do. Brooks deserved an apology, an explanation. But he had to find the words, because right now it was looking like he was thinking with his dick.

And Alyssa Devereaux was so much more.

Devereaux. She deserved the truth.

Drake had to find a lotta words.

Fuck!

Another Dolly Parton song popped into his head and in a cracked voice, he began to sing.

I had to have this talk with you My happiness depends on you And whatever you decide to do Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm begging of you please don't take my man Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Please don't take him even though you can Jolene, Jolene

Tagging:  @sirbeepsalot @jared2612 @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @hopefulmoonobject @amomentofsinclairity @ao719 @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @janezillow @marietrinmimi @annekebbphotography @merridithsmiscellany-blog @queenjilian @texaskitten30 @glaimtruelovealways @indiacater @forthebrokenheartedthings @kingliam2019 @bebepac @zaffrenotes @liyanin @liamxs-world @choiceslife @ac27dj @the-soot-sprite @gnatbrain @sanchita012 @anotherbeingsworld @atha68 @hopelessromanticmonie @amandablink @cmestrella @iaminlovewithtrr @cinnamonspongecake @lifeaskim @starrystarrytrouble @liamandneca @liamrhysstalker2020 @alyssalauren @ladyangel70 @yourmajesty09 @gkittylove99 @neotericthemis @twinkleallnight @umccall71

 #long post #dcbbw answers #Jolene ask #very slightly, lightly ns*w #drake walker

[shining-m00nlight]

First Love (2)

This is a second part of “First Love” my modern Au young Nedlyn story and it’s for @leialannister​ because she asked for it twice and I finally found the time to write more in this universe. I hope you like it.

"Are you ready?", he asked in his deep northern voice.

"Mmh", Cat nodded.

"One, two, three", Ned counted and then she was lifted up from their bed into her husband's strong arms. Immediately she placed her head on his shoulder. Even holding her own head up right was an exhausting activity nowadays. 

Ned walked through the door into the adjoining bathroom. It was hot and steamy inside and Cat could smell the sweet flowery scent coming from the water. Ned knelt down, which wasn't an easy task with her in his arms, so she was able to reach the water with her hand. It had the perfect temperature. Ned would call it boiling hot but she called it the minimum temperature a bath should have.

"Does it feel right?" her darling asked in a soft voice.

"Everything is great, my love. Just help me get into the tub."

So she was lifted up again and over the edge of the tub into the warmth. Ned grabbed her under the arms so he could hold her upright as he climbed into the tub himself to sit behind her. He pulled her close and she sank against him. 

She finally relaxed knowing that she was safe in his arms. She sometimes couldn't believe that she was actually here with Ned sitting naked behind her in her childhood home at the age of 20. 

Their own apartment was empty while they lived in Riverrun waiting for her death. If she died here and Ned could move back into their apartment without being burdened by the memory of her lifeless body everywhere. Then he could also finally concentrate on his studies properly. He had stopped going to college last year. Ned had told her he wanted to take a break but Cat knew it was a lie and he actually did it because of her and her illness. She felt terrible thinking about it.

She had known that she was being selfish when she asked Ned to marry her but the last year made her feel like she robbed Ned of a good life. The first year of their marriage had been a bliss. Ned had started studying law and she had done a lot of community service. Continuing to study just didn't make any sense for her and keeping a job with her being so sick was just impossible. 

But then her situation changedI for the worse. Instead of her regular hospital visits for her treatment she had collapsed in the middle of a restaurant and was hospitalized. She had stayed in the hospital for 8 months with Ned almost constantly by her side never wanting her to feel alone. 

She had numerous operations and experimental procedures done, it was the doctors and her family's desperate attempt to keep her living longer than it was intended for her. After all of these things failed, she was sent home to die. That's when Ned and she moved into her old childhood home. 

She first didn't like this idea at all. But she realised that her father desperately tried to have some time with her before she would leave this world behind, that this way Ned did not have to carry the burden of caring for her all by himself and he would not be alone when she died. 

Of course her family wouldn't be the biggest comfort to him but she couldn't shake the image of Ned standing in their apartment alone next to her body and this way there was at least somebody there with him. She had her uncle Brynden promise her that he would call Ned's father as soon as she died, as Ned would not do so himself.

She wasn't quite sure how Ned felt about living with her father, uncle, brother and sister. He had told her he thought it was a good thing that she would be close to her family and he would happily do what would bring her the most joy but she wished they could do what would bring them both the most joy.

Luckily their living space was separated enough from the rest of her family that they had their privacy. 

She opened her eyes again as Ned began to wash her body. Like almost everything now she loved and hated it at the same time. She loved the feeling of the warm water of laying skin to skin with Ned and of Ned's hand caressing her naked body carefully. But it also reminded her of how little she could do now, how weak she felt, how she needed help to even do everyday activities like taking a bath and how her husband had to fill the role of a nurse rather than a husband. Ned never complained about anything though, not about living with her family, not about having his studies interrupted, not about taking care of her and not even about the lack of sex their marriage was having.  

It has been over a year since the last time they made love and it sucked. Obviously they couldn't have done it in the hospital especially with her constantly having to heal from one or another operation. When she was released they had tried but she was just sore all the time and a touch that was anything but light as feathers hurt her skin. What used to be a comforting weight on top of her now felt like she was being crushed under it and she was too exhausted to do any of the work. 

After a few truly horrendous tries Ned had refused to try again. This had hurt her more than she was willing to admit. Logically she knew it was because he didn't wanna hurt her but she couldn't ban the thought that he just wasn't attracted to her anymore. She had lost her true beauty a long time ago when she started to get sick but the last year gave her even more surgical scars, she got thinner to a point that could just be described as sickly and even her skin looked wrong and old. Ned still told her she was beautiful but one look in the mirror revealed the truth to her.

Another thing that made her feel guilty for having asked Ned to marry her was that this was not a life a twenty year old young man should have.

"What deep thoughts are plaguing you my love?", he asked her.

"Oh nothing", she tried to dismiss his question. 

"I can see that something is troubling you. Please tell me. I would like to help if I could."

Cat moved her arms through the water, making little splashes to listen to the sound of the water.

"Do you regret marrying me?", she asked in a very small voice.

Like on instinct Ned pulled her closer: "Not for one second. Why would you ever believe such a thing?"

"Because this is not a life you should have my love. You're twenty years old, you should be out partying with Robert, living on crappy food, flirting with beautiful women and worrying about passing exams and not having to take care of a sick wife, you should not be responsible to feed, wash and comfort me"

"As appealing as eating crappy food and making sure Robert doesn't throw up sounds. I'm pretty sure it was in my marriage vows that I should do these things. Something about in sickness and in health. I'm not sure if you remember that part."

"But maybe those vows should have never have happened", she whispered.

"Cat?", his voice was now filled with insecurity: "Do…, do you wish that you had never married me?"

She tried to turn around as best as she could and took his face into her hands. It was an awkward angel and it kind of hurt but she needed to look him in the eyes to make sure he understood what she had to say next. 

"No, no, not for a moment have or will I ever wish that I was not married to you! I just want you to be happy and I'm afraid that my being sick is taking that from you!" 

"It will" Cat could have sworn she could see his heart break through his eyes.

"You being sick will take you from me. And when you leave so will my happiness. But not having this time with you now would just rip my heart in two pieces sooner and the thought of not using every moment the Gods granted us is unbearable. You are my love and my happiness." 

"You are mine too but Ned please try to find happiness when I'm gone even if it seems hard…" she took a moment.

"I wish we could have had a lifetime together. Just imagine us in our own house with our beautiful children. But you're right we should concentrate on what we have and the moments we have left."

Cat now turned back around, her position had made her feel tired and weak to the bones. She leaned back into his arms again so she could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. It comforted her and made her feel calm.

As she closed her eyes once more she said: "Ned? Thank you for loving me so I have had enough love for a lifetime" 

She never opened her eyes again.