#the man who made me like basketball and the man who saved my love for united | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

diremoone · 1 year ago

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the door with the floral wreath | r. sukuna

when sukuna gets a new neighbor on the third floor of his apartment complex, he’s pleasantly surprised to see who it is behind the door with the floral wreath. her two cats on the other hand, are a massive fucking problem.

w — honestly nothing? save for fluff and some cussing, slowburn-ish, implied boxer & sorta rich! Sukuna, implied polyglot(ish)! reader, cat! Satoru and cat! Suguru and both cats being in love, cozy themed again (I can’t help it), the formatting of this “fic” was how it was in my brain so I’m sorry if it’s a lil strange haha, this apparently became longer than I originally anticipated lmao, reader is mentioned to be partially Japanese but no physical appearances are ultimately described, mild angst at the end

a/n: not apart of the ‘make me (yours)’ universe but it’s definitely inspired by it

🌸 When Sukuna wakes up on a Saturday morning and opens his front door to leave for his morning run, the last thing he expects to see is a floral wreath on the door opposite of his. That can only mean one thing: someone has moved in. But if someone has, then why hasn’t he seen or heard the furniture being moved in? These aren’t exactly the cheapest apartments, so did they just not have anything?

It was weird, to say the least.

🌸 However, three months pass before he gets to see who the person who’s behind the door across from his.

🌸 Sukuna gets back from his jog a little early, the light sprinkles of rain turning into a downpour. That’s when he sees you leaving your apartment, locking the door to leave. Unfortunately, you’re not paying too much attention to your surroundings, and you two nearly collide into one another at the top of the stairs.

You narrowly turn in time to place yourself flat against the wall to avoid the behemoth of a man that was your neighbor from running over you and sending you both down the stairs.

“I’m sorry,” came your instant apology.

“It’s fine,” follows his gruff reply.

But he knows he certainly wouldn’t mind running into you again. Just not where you two can fall down the stairs and potentially break your necks.

On a random day not too long after your initial run-in (and near subsequent dangerous tumble down some stairs), you two run into one another to get the mail at the front office.

You pop up behind him right after he opens his mailbox, staring up at him and his very impressive height and build and apparently scare him, because when you speak next, his shoulders jump. “Gosh, you’re tall. You must’ve played basketball or something in high school, yeah?”

He would’ve either been silent or retort something in an asshole tone like he was used to. He just didn’t like people.

He would’ve, if it wasn’t his cute neighbor.

“Volleyball,” he replies quietly. “Quit after graduation.”

You frown. “That sucks. You must’ve been good at it.”

“It was a pastime.”

“Sounds fun though,” you chirp, putting your own key into your mailbox. “I tried to get into sports, but uh, lack of things made it hard to do so. Did track for awhile, until my ribs couldn’t keep up.”

Sukuna lets out a snort but says nothing further. He goes to leave, but not before hearing, “G’bye, neighbor!”

Ah, shit. He hadn’t told you his name, had he?

Hopefully, there would be a next time.

🌸 Sukuna doesn’t see you again for another month or two after that, fate still having you two separated like an awful slowburn romance.

🌸 What he doesn’t like in particular is the fact you don’t know his name and he doesn’t know yours. He doesn’t like that; doesn’t like that he’s missed his chance to know you a little better. By his logic, he should know your name, have your phone number, and have at least had you on a date and in his bed at least once already.

🌸 Come early December, he hears your door begin to open and close a lot. It becomes annoying, very very annoying, very very quickly.

That goes on almost until Christmas time.

Until one day he manages to catch the little reasons why your door has been slamming shut so much.

Twerp Number One wriggles in his hold as he holds them both up to eye level. She grunts and huffs at him. “Put me down!”

To which he scoffs at. “And why should I do that?”

Just as Twerp Number Two decides to speak, your door opens. This time it’s you.

“You can let them down,” you say, clearly amused. “They’ve come for cookies.”

Sukuna grunts. “So that’s why they’re always slamming the door.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve tried to get them to stop. They are six, though.” As genuine as your apology is, Sukuna can see the little twinkle of mischievousness appear at the end of your sentence in defense of the two twerps.

“Mr. Sukuna is a big grump anyway!” the oddly-orange-haired girl says. “At least that’s what my mama says.”

“Nobara, you shouldn’t be calling people names,” you scold the girl. “Put them down so they can get some cookies and head back, please. I’m sure Nobara’s mom is wondering about them. Nobara, the white box is for you to take home.”

Sukuna begrudgingly obliges. Nobara and her friend barge inside your home. The door stays open thanks to a cold breeze, allowing for the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls to drift outside and into his nose. And damn does it smell nice.

“So, I finally know your name,” you muse.

“Ryomen Sukuna,” he says, half-correcting you, “but everyone just calls me by my first name.”

“I can see why,” you reply in a joking tone and smile. “But yeah… It fits you. I’m [Name], and pretty much the same: everyone calls me by my first name. Since my last name isn’t exactly normal, you know… Since I’m not inherently from Japan.”

Sukuna’s brows raise. “You’ve lived here before?” he asks.

“My mom is [part/full] Japanese,” you admit. And then to his surprise, you ramble on further, “I’ve popped around, uh, a few countries over the last several years of my life, Japan included. I’ve just… never stayed in one place to technically be from somewhere. I was born in the States, but… I don’t, uh, really feel like I actually am from there… Does that make any sense?”

“It does.” But he doesn’t go into his backstory in return. And thankfully, you don’t seem to mind, just about as much as you minded sharing such a part of your life to someone who’s technically nothing more than a stranger to you, not in the slightest.

Nobara pops back out with her friend, who’s just a touch older than her.

“Thank you for the cookies and cimmanom rolls, Miss [Name]!” Nobara says.

You don’t bother to correct her cute mistake. “You’re very welcome, Nobara. Now head home. Goodnight, girls.”

“Goodnight!”

You watch the girls descend, and when they’re out of sight, you listen carefully for the telltale of their first floor door closing. And when it thuds shut loud enough to wake everyone in the apartments in the block, you turn your attention back to the gigantic man that was your next door neighbor… Who’s attention was on your door, more than likely concentrating on the smell in your kitchen.

Your lips curl up and you prevent a giggle. “You want some?”

Your voice snaps him from his stupor. “What? Want what?”

“Some cookies and cimmanom rolls?” you question, cutely reiterating Nobara’s mistake.

“Uh…”

He takes too long to answer, so you decide for him. “I’ll get you some anyway.”

You go back inside, leaving him out in the cold. But you don’t take very long and come back out not even two minutes later with another white box and place it into his hands.

“Well,” you say, teeth chattering from the cold. “It’s nice finally knowing your name, neighbor. Maybe we’ll run into each other again soon… Goodnight.”

He barely gets out a “goodnight” before you close the door. Sukuna tosses his head back and settles for a heavy exhale rather than the audible sigh he knows you would’ve heard through your door.

Another fuck up. But at least he got some food out of it this time.

🌸 You both end up meeting each other a lot more often by “coincidence” after that, like fate has finally determined you’re allowed to see one another or something. (To him that just sounds stupid, until it comes out of your mouth.)

For Christmas, you end up gifting him a tin of popcorn and another box of sweets by leaving them at a front door with a cute handwritten note.

🌸 Gradually, the two of you begin to interact more, and naturally gravitate toward each other’s energy and finally getting to know one another; he’s over at your apartment most of the time, it’s cleaner and smells at lot more nice than his (in his opinion). It’s not that he’s dirty, he’s quite clean actually. It’s just that he prefers your apartment to his.

🌸 You find out that Sukuna is about ten years older than you, and was almost a volleyball player that almost went pro, had it not been for his father’s death. He lost all motivation for the sport, and eventually settled for doing numbers for his father’s company, taking up boxing as a side hobby. To which he was more than good at.

A year ago, he moved into these apartments, getting away from the corporate world had had dived into, opting to do things from home rather than in-person. His prior neighbors never stayed around for too long, not with the amount of noise coming from his apartment in the middle of the night. You’re honestly surprised the person below him hasn’t moved out yet either.

🌸 For Sukuna, he finds out that you almost didn’t get to graduate high school because of how much you’d been moving around. You’d gotten depression from leaving so many friends behind so often that you just made graduation by the skin of your teeth.

Now, you’re online for college, majoring in linguistics, all while working as a translator for a special needs school of Japanese children that are deaf. Through that, he finds out you speak several different languages as well.

God, your personality is just as sweet as the goodies you bake, huh?

🌸 There is one problem, however, when he comes over: your goddamn cats.

🌸 The white Maine Coon is for sure out to get him and make his life miserable, with his attempts at wooing you almost a failed attempt every single time. His name is Satoru, and he’s by far the most obnoxious cat he’s ever fucking met.

Why on Earth you’d give a cat a human name is beyond him. But the again, the fucking cat acts so human it’s disturbing — it almost kind of makes sense.

🌸 Satoru’s claws almost end up in his ass every time he walks through the front door. He can’t even stand openly, but has to stay against a wall or sit on the couch so the cat doesn’t get his claws into his backside. And he can tell that that damn cat has a smug-ass smirk on his face every time. How a cat can smirk, he’s unsure; but he just knows that the look on his face is the one of a smug little shithead that knows he’s gotten away with being a menace. Thankfully, you’re aware of his tendencies and can tell when he’s being more of an asshole than other times and get onto him.

🌸 The black Maine Coon, Suguru, isn’t as terrible, but he opts to creepily stare down at Sukuna from his cat tower rather than be proactive in his distaste. He studies him every second every time he comes over, paying attention to every single detail and movement Sukuna makes with you.

He’ll do things more subtly than his white counterpart, like “accidentally” wave his long, black fluffy tail into his cup of water you gave him. He’s just as much of a menace, although you don’t get onto him as often like the white one, because while you know Satoru is more of an extroverted menace, you just seemingly can’t see that Suguru is just as awful. (Mostly because you don’t actually see it.)

🌸 This goes on for months and months, Satoru scratching the behind of his pants as hard as he can to make it rip and getting white fur all over his clothes, and Suguru glaring down at him from his tower and putting his paws in Sukuna’s food. Although it becomes a little less as often because they’re seemingly growing used to him, as if they’re seeing that he actually makes you happy and finally get the sense that he isn’t just going to break your heart and throw you away.

🌸 And the growing approval of your cats seems to mean a lot to you.

“I picked them up off the streets,” you tell him after he asks about where you got the inseparable pair. “I found them as kittens in a cardboard box three years ago on the streets, drenched and matted in dirt and nasty water.”

You remember the day very clearly. It had just stopped raining, and just as you were about to head home, stopping at the vending machines before heading to your car, you heard animal-like cries of something small and weak. And sure enough, on the other side of the food machine, stuffed away in a tacky, ruined cardboard box, were two, rain-drenched kittens huddled together to keep warm.

That was the day you got two new cats, two new responsibilities. And although times got hard a few times, you’ve never regretted adopting them.

Sukuna gazes up at the two cats on the tower, sitting next to each other in the bed at the top. Their tails are intertwined, heads rubbing at each other’s necks lovingly. He would have never guessed that’s where you found them. From the looks of it, they he would’ve guessed they’d came from a pet store.

“So you’ve raised them since they were kittens,” Sukuna says. “They trust you with their lives. And looks like they love you unconditionally, too.”

“I’d like to think so,” you muse, sipping on your coffee. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it with how ornery they are.”

Sukuna keeps his eyes trained on the two cats in love. He’s slightly jealous, and no he’ll never admit it. He just hopes he can have that one day with you.

He just has to stop Satoru from ripping him a new one every time he comes through the door.

🌸 Your cats eventually grow fond of having him over, fond enough that they’re not being the usual mischievous selves when Sukuna puts his arm around your shoulders and tugs you closer to him when you invite him over for movie nights, not trying to bite his fingers off (Satoru) or sit between you both (Suguru).

🌸 After a year passes and you and Sukuna know each other, he finally gets to take you on a proper date after manning up. Although it’s not a restaurant date, since he knows you hate being looked at while eating. It’s a picnic by the ocean, with the weather nothing short of perfect.

🌸 Your attempts to leave your cats at home for said date, however, are fruitless, the pair determined to come with you and your now-boyfriend who declares himself as such after dessert just to piss off the pair of felines. Sukuna plants a big fat smooch on your lips, turning you into a giggly mess.

🌸 They in return, somehow find a stray kitten and plop it in his lap in return. The kitten isn’t as bad off as when you found Satoru and Suguru, but he’s just as scared. He immediately imprints on your oversized boyfriend, who secretly takes an instant liking to the orange-red (honestly a little pink, too) baby cat and becomes a cat dad.

Date not necessarily ruined. But definitely not what he had planned.

🌸 After a week of having, he fondly named the cat a human name — Yuuji, and the fur baby took just as much liking to it as his owner did him. You do have to teach him the ropes and warn your boyfriend that he’d better be ready to have some of his stuff deep-cleaned if Yuuji doesn’t get to the litter box in time.

Satoru and Suguru take to the kitten like two doting parents. And as much as they still kinda dislike your boyfriend taking you from them, they still help train him to use the litter box. (Long story short, they felt bad after seeing you cry after they’d tore up [and peed] all over your third couch and quit being as ornery as they used to be.)

A few months had passed since Sukuna got Yuuji plopped into his lap, since you two had become a couple. It was always amusing seeing your big boyfriend playing with such a small cat. Honestly, the cat looked like he was part tiger.

You feel overwhelmed with contentment. You have a good job, a wonderful boyfriend (who’s apparently secretly rich) who loves to give you kisses, and two cats who love you. You have enough now, so why was the universe trying to take that from you?

You don’t know how your ex got your number, but what you do know is that you have to tell Sukuna. No later than tomorrow.

You exhale. You can’t think about it. You’ll tell him. You’ll tell him tomorrow that your dyed blonde-haired ex wants to see you again. You’re hopefully of one thing though: that the moment your boyfriend meets your ex, you hope Sukuna has enough restraint to not beat the shit out of him.

“Baby, you okay?”

Sukuna’s brows are raised. One would miss the concern on his face if they didn’t know him as well as you do.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m good.” Woman up, girl, you tell yourself. “I do have something to tell you later. Just… remind me before dinner.”

The concern becomes more evident on his face, which prompts you to walk to him and kiss him.

“It’s nothing serious… I don’t think. Don’t worry,” you reassure him, partially reassuring yourself. “What we should worry about is what’s for dinner,” you joke. “Don’t think I can eat those leftovers.”

“Goddamn, I’m sorry I put too much salt in it.”

You laugh, wanting this happiness to ever be trampled on. You’ll do what you can to protect and keep it.

taglist:

#sukuna x reader #sukuna x y/n #ryomen sukuna x reader #sukuna ryomen #sukuna fluff #sukuna fic #jjk sukuna #modern! sukuna #modern au

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serejae · 4 months ago

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ID NEVER FIND SOMEONE LIKE YOU | BND

pairing : bnd x reader

genre : fluff

WHAT ! - summer love with bnd. TW: loser bnd

w.c : 1409

for this anon :) | @onedoornet

SUNGHO :

sungho was at the carnival with woonhak after woonhak begged him to go.

“stop being a old man and come with me” woonhak begged as he tugged on sunghos shirt and that was sunghos last straw

you can offer him money, threaten him, but DO NOT call him old.

so now he was waiting in line for the basketball game as woonhak enjoyed his cotton candy, glaring at woonhak he looked up and saw you with your friends who were pointing at him as you stared. as you both made eye contact your lips quirked upwards and so did his, you were beautiful how could he not?

as the line progressed woonhak kept dragging sungho up not knowing what the old man was distracted in, sungho then realized it was their turn to play so he started to shoot the basketballs in order to impress you taking slight glances to see if you were looking. the younger boy put two and two together and realized what was going on.

woonhak turned over to you and yelled

“hey! he likes you” while pointing at sungho making sungho loose a bit of grip on the basketball but he caught it

mumbling a “shut up” to woonhak, woonhak rolled his eyes as he turned back to face sungho as he ate his cotton candy

“i like him too!”

sungho and woonhak turned their head IMMEDIATELY.

“me?” sungho shouted to you

“yes you!” you shouted back

BONK

he didnt pay attention when looking at you and didnt realize he was simultaneously shooting the basketball and as a result of not watching his movements the basketball hit him straight to the head

he held his head as he walked away from the game while woonhak ran to get ice

“are you okay?” you asked making him look up

gosh he was going to pass out

you kneeled down to get a better look at him making his breath hitch

“i like you”

“what?”

“go out with me”

RIWOO :

(imagine icecream worker riwoo…)

riwoo dreaded each summer, he hated going to the sticky and barely insulated ice cream shop he worked at during the summer. but he knew he needed the money to save up for his getaway trip.

the weeks went by normally, boring, angry parents, annoying kids, until you

his eyes perked up as he watched you watch towards the shop and silently hoped that you would order something instead of walking past. riwoo adjusted his shirt and checked his looks through the mirror before turning back to see you standing in front of him making his breath hitch

“uh, how can i help you?” he said trying to keep his voice steady

“can i get a scoop of strawberry please?” you asked making him go heart eyed. your voice was so heavenly

“yeah sure…thats my favorite!” riwoo smiled as he scooped. he was lying

his favorite was that alien flavor they only sell at his shop (but you didnt need to know that)

as he handed you the ice cream he purposely slightly touched your hand while smiling before ringing you up

“alright can i get your number?”

“my number? for what?”

“oh its needed for points…”

“ah i dont think ill come back, i dont go out for ice cream often-“

“please put your number in.”

as you told him your number he smiled writing it down

“arent you suppose to put it into the ipad or something?” you called him out making his eyes go wide

“oh yeah, totally” he coughed as he leaned on the counter slightly tripping pressing random buttons into the ipad

“if you wanted to ask-“ you were then cut off

“lets go out.”

JAEHYUN :

(LMAOOO IM CACKLING)

he didnt know how he got here, but his uncle scored him a job as a mascot for a furniture company. but he cant lie though he enjoyed the job….

jaehyun stood outside waving the banner that waved to the store spinning it around while dancing dressed up as a couch. he was having the time of his life singing songs about the store that he made up while freestyling dances. but as soon as he saw you across the street he froze, jaehyun ran his hand through his hair while clearing his throat trying to act nonchalant after embarrassing himself infront of a baddie. he then saw you walking across the street to him making him panic so his first response was to turn around while using the sign to cover his head

he felt a tap on his shoulder making him wince a bit before he turned around and saw you. for a second he thought he got ran over and died because gosh, you were gorgeous.

“excuse me, i think your signs facing the wrong way…” you laughed

jaehyun looked down and his sign was in fact facing the wrong way. it wasn’t facing the pizzahut rather than the furniture store

“ah silly me” he laughed scratching his head “maybe thats a sign we need to get pizza together”

shit

that came out smoother then expected

laughing at his charm you walked away, when you suddenly heard him call for you

“cmon! im not that bad, lets get pizza!”

so now you were sitting infront of a couch with cut out for jaehyuns face where he smiles proudly as he spoke

summer maybe wasnt going to be boring after all….

TAESAN :

taesan sat on the beach reading his book with his headphones in while every so often looking up at the people around the beach. when he turned he saw you laying on your beach towel reading a book while listening to music the same way he was

the way the sunsets light beamed on you from every angle made him stare. its not like he meant to but he couldnt help it

everything about you made him curious

did you do this often?

what were you reading?

what were you listening to?

how fast can he make you his partner?

woah there.

just then you sat up and looked over at him making his cheeks go red at the embarrassment of being caught. he looked back down at his book and tried his best to ignore you

“hey”

dont look up.

dont respond.

ignore.

ig-

“hey” taesan said looking over at you

gosh you were even prettier when he got a full view of your face

“what are you listening to?” you asked looking down at his phone connected to his headphones

he quickly turned his phone on to check the song

“black star, radiohead” he smiled slightly

“i love them!” you smiled back

okay now u were fr the love of his life

“really?”

“yeah im listening to glass eye right now” you said showing him your phone

you both scooted closer to each other and slowly through the conversation

books were forgotten

he took out his headphones

you took out yours

and it was just you two with the sunset painting you both

LEEHAN :

leehan was browsing for a new friend for his fishes

this placed was his new home, all the staff knew him

they knew his name

his fishes name

his-

he didnt know you.

as soon as he walked in he noticed you standing at the cash register organizing some stuff, but couldn’t recognize you.

were you new?

he didnt know much about you but knew you were a angel. you looked like the epitome of a perfect fish tank in a human form

so as he browsed the tanks he kept taking small looks at you through the tanks wondering if he should go up to you

now you, very concerned see a man (very handsome one) staring at you repeatedly through the glass not knowing it makes his eyes and face look weird. so it was kinda funny seeing his eyes go big then small and his face go wide to a v shape through the glass

after leehan picked his fish buddy he went up to you to collect his human buddy

“can i get the corydora in the tank in the back?” he asked softly

you nodded and grabbed your supplies while walking to the back. he pointed at the fish he wanted and watched you scoop it into the bag

“you like fish?” he asked

you paused at the question

“a little i guess”

“well i like you”

“WHAT?”

“HUH?”

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azzibuckets · 6 months ago

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For the Love of the Game [Pazzi | Part 3/10]

paige bueckers x azzi fudd

summary: paige and azzi find themselves in a very sticky situation, with only one way to get out

a/n: none of this stuff is accurate to the time line in real life but who cares

word count: 1.4k

masterlist w/ all parts

“Two weeks in and you’re already causing problems.”

Azzi shrunk under the critical stare of Geno Auriemma. Although Geno was a physically stout man whom she would’ve towered over had they been standing, he was still extremely formidable in his legacy as a basketball coach. This was the seven-peat titled NCAA coach of the year, who’d guided UConn to eleven nattys and USA to three olympic gold medals, and he was glaring at her.

“I’m sorry, sir, but-,”

“And you,” Geno interrupted, fixing his reproachful frown on Paige. “You’re going to be captain this year, and this is how you lead the team?” The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat, glancing haughtily at Azzi. “Frankly, I’m very disappointed in you. The fact that multiple of your teammates had to inform me about your behavior is very concerning.” Paige hunched her shoulders and stared at her feet, looking like a puppy who’d gotten kicked to the side of the road.

Geno focused his attention back on Azzi. “Cursing at your teammates? You signed the player contract, Fudd. We don’t tolerate foul language or bullying of any kind. Do you know what the punishment is?”

Azzi’s mouth went dry. “I don’t know, sir, but I promise I can explain.”

Geno’s eyebrows dipped down, and his mouth was pulled into a firm line. “The punishment is suspension from all non-NCAA pre-season team activities. This includes next month’s tour in Europe, since we’re only playing exhibition games.”

Everything went blank. Azzi’s heart raced, disbelief coursing through her veins. She’d only been at Storrs for two weeks, and she was about to get kicked out of the European tour that she had been looking forward to so much. What would this mean for her? She’d miss out on team bonding, and even more importantly, wouldn’t be able to debut for UConn with the other freshmen. She’d be behind, and all her teammates would hate her, and the sports news outlets would go crazy with gossip over her suspension and-

Paige’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Geno,” she said solemnly, “I have to tell you something.”

Azzi gaped at the blonde. Was Paige about to play the hero by admitting that she was the one who had started all the arguments?

“Azzi and I are dating.”

Okay, that was very much NOT what she had been expecting to come out of Paige’s mouth. She shifted in her seat, about to speak out in horror because the mere thought of dating Paige made her want to throw up, when she felt the other girl lay a palm on her knee.

Geno looked between the two of them, surprise evident in his eyes. “You two? Dating?”

“Yeah,” Paige shrugged. “We uh, wanted to keep it on the down low. So that we wouldn’t distract the team. So we decided to act like we didn’t like each other, but we might’ve taken it a little too far.” Paige chuckled, and Azzi had to restrain from rolling her eyes. Even she could tell that Paige’s laugh was forced.

Geno opened his mouth to respond when his phone rang. He looked down and grunted. “Give me one second,” he said before picking up the phone and slipping out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Azzi swatted Paige’s hand that was still on her lap. “What the hell was that?” She hissed. “I don’t know what kinda weird kinky stuff you’re into, but dragging me into this is not cool.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “Just trust me, okay? I might be an asshole, but not enough to get you kicked off our trip to Europe. Just follow my lead.”

Azzi was about to protest, not understanding how telling Geno they were dating could save her ass, but he stepped back in before she could. Paige squinted at her, as if to make sure she was in on the plan. Azzi was completely and utterly confused. But she didn’t know what else to do, and she really wanted to go to Europe. So she decided to go along with Paige’s schemes, at least for now.

Their coach interlaced his fingers, resting his chin on them. “So what you’re telling me is that you two are in a relationship? A romantic relationship?”

Paige nodded, a little bit too enthusiastically, before taking Azzi’s hand in hers. She tried not think about how soft and warm Azzi’s hands were. “Yeah. I promise you that Azzi didn’t mean anything. She just gets a little bit too into her role sometimes, you know?” Paige smiled fondly at her, and it seemed so genuine that Azzi herself was almost convinced that they were dating.

“I promise, though, that there’s no bad blood between us. None at all.” She squeezed Azzi’s hand, signaling that it was her turn to shine.

“For sure!” Azzi’s voice came out high pitched and squeaky. Feeling Paige’s hard side eye, she cleared her throat and tried again. “There’s nothing but love here. Right, sweet cheeks?”

Paige winced, and Azzi realized that that might not have been as smooth as she’d thought. But the blonde forced back a smile, coming to her rescue. “Geno,” she said pleadingly. “Do you have to suspend Azzi?”

Geno took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with a sigh. “I’m having a hard time believing that you two are dating.” Both girls nervously waited with their breaths bated. “But,” he continued, “since you guys apparently are, I now have a request for you. My daughter Paula is doing a little video series on the team this year as part of her assignment for her film class. She’s been wondering how to approach the personal life segment, but now you two just opened a wonderful opportunity for her!”

Paige and Azzi exchanged looks. This was not what they thought they were getting themselves into.

“If you could help Paula with her assignment, by you know, showing the dynamic between you two and how that can translate to chemistry on the court,” Geno paused, studying them over the rim of his glasses, “I could possibly see about giving Azzi a lighter punishment. Like cleanup after practices. Nothing as severe as suspension from the Europe tour.”

“Send Paula our numbers,” Paige said immediately.

Geno’s face brightened, and he looked at them with a pleased smile. “Great! I expect both of you to keep your relationship professional during practices and games, but other than that, you have no objections from me.” He sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. “Have a good day, girls,” he dismissed.

The two basketball players hurried to leave. Once outside and walking down the corridor, Paige turned to Azzi. “Sweet cheeks, really?”

Azzi blushed furiously. “Stop,” she complained. “I didn’t know what else to say.”

“Okay, honey buns,” Paige smirked, elbowing her gently in the side.

They fell into silence as they walked. “So what do we do now?” Azzi finally asked. “Pretend to date?”

The taller girl furrowed her eyebrows. “I guess. But just to make it clear, I don’t have feelings for you. I’m doing this because we can’t start off our season without one of our players, especially one as…promising as you. It’s for the team’s better if you’re in Europe - it’s for the love of the game.” She stared straight ahead as she spoke, avoiding eye contact with Azzi.

“Okayyyy,” Azzi trailed. “What’re we gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“They can’t know,” Paige responded quickly. “Did you see how all the stuff we said to each other got back to Geno? We’re gonna have to pretend in front of the team too.”

Azzi halted in her steps, realizing the full extent of what they were about to do. “You realize this means that we’ll have to act like a couple basically all the time right? We’re always with the team.”

The corner of Paige’s lips turned up. “What?” she asked. “You scared you’re gonna fall in love with me?” When she saw the look on Azzi’s face, she said in a more serious tone, “Don’t worry. We can always break up after Geno’s kid finishes her assignment. I think the issue is making everyone believe we’re dating after…you know.”

Azzi nodded, deep in thought. “We can say that in the meeting with Geno, he forced us to spend time together and we just kinda grew on each other.”

Paige made a noise in agreement. “It’ll be kinda hard, though,” she said. “Not being mean to you.”

“Shut the fuck up. And for the record, I’m straight. I will absolutely not fall in love with you.”

“We’ll see about that, sweet cheeks.”

#paige bueckers #uconnwbb #azzi fudd #wbb #wcbb #pazzi

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celaenaeiln · 1 year ago

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lol hi its me 12 am anon so uh tldr is that i hung out with my friend and we got drunk and we made out or smth but more importantly they made w fuckin list of dick grayson things i started talking abt while drunk

- “bad idea right?” but its dick grayson and his exes

- bruce technically gave dick a family but dick’s the one who like truly made it feel like a family when it comes down to it he’ll fuck up bruce for his siblings

- that one “5 man band” trope and how he can fit as the leader and the heart

- into a specific (blank) to lovers? dick grayson’s got you covered

- the “barney from how i met your mother basketball hoop scene” and “eleanor from the good place mom she never had” but make it dick and bruce (teenage or adult idc i’d love both)

- nightwing could 100% be the figurehead of the dceu (like im talking spiderman level) if dc would do something [this was timed . i talked abt this for like 30 minutes all on its own]

i am . so embarrassed. also i dont know if we made out before or after the rant and i dont know which is more embarrassing .

what. what. "more importan-" NO! NO ARE YOU KIDDING ME THAT IS NOT MORE IMPORTANTLY OH MY GOD!!!

MY MIND IS LITERALLY BREAKING RIGHT NOW!

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT? Do you like her? Did she say anything?! I-

WAIT DOES THAT MEAN DICK GRAYSON LITERALLY GOT YOU TWO TOGETHER?!

NO WAIT!! SHE KISSED BACK. SHE KISSED BACK!

oh my god i'm reeling.

Have you guys talked about it yet?

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

I LITERALLY CAN'T THINK OF DICK GRAYSON RIGHT NOW AFTER THAT BOMB YOU DROPPED ON ME BUT FINE

"Bad idea right" was literally written for Dick Grayson!

Nightwing (1996) Issue #133

"Bad idea right?"

Actually every single Olivia Rodrigo's songs feels like Dick wrote it.

Like the sour album? Every time I listen to it I imagine that Dick just wrote the album because he was so mad at bruce after being fired from Robin lol.

"bruce technically gave dick a family but dick’s the one who like truly made it feel like a family when it comes down to it he’ll fuck up bruce for his siblings"

That's true too!

Batman (2011) Issue #11

"The truth is, I didn't save you from some dark fate, those years ago. You saved me from one."

Batman (2011) Issue #11

"And you still are saving me, every day."

Bruce gave Dick security but Dick gave Bruce a life. He gave Bruce the ability to become human, to be happy.

Take Gotham War for example,

Batman (2016) Issue #138

Bruce tells Jason he's saving Jason from himself and Jason in turn asks Bruce who's going to save Bruce from himself.

Cut immediately to -

Batman (2016) Issue #138

Dick.

Dick has always been there to pull Bruce out of his darkest days when he tries or is willing but Bruce giving up on Dick's ability to do so is symbolic of him giving up on himself. It's the height of Bruce's irredeemability.

Even after Jason died, Bruce indirectly called Dick to come join him but at this point his back up personality is too far gone for him to recover.

Batman: The Return

Dick literally is the reason Bruce stays connects to the batfamily. In a good way.

He has no reservations about keeping Bruce in check.

"that one “5 man band” trope and how he can fit as the leader and the heart"

5 man band trope: one leads, one contrasts, one thinks, one fights, and one keeps all of the above from killing one another

DAMN RIGHT

He's the leader.

Batman: Gotham Nights (2020) Issue #12

And the one that keeps them all together

Batman: Gotham Nights (2020) Issue #12

Dick is the defacto leader when Bruce is gone or lost it.

Batman (2016) Issue #137

Batman (2016) Issue #704

"Selina doesn't run Gotham. You do. While I'm away."

And the family's protector.

Batman (2016) Issue #137

"into a specific (blank) to lovers? dick grayson’s got you covered"

Yup!

Canonical:

Childhood partner to lovers - Raya Vestri

Friends to lovers - Barbara Gordon

Enemies to lovers - Shawn Tsang

Psuedo-family to lovers - Helena Wayne (they actually married in Earth 2)

Crime fighting partner to lovers - Helena Bertenelli

Kiss at first sight to lovers - Koriand'r

Pseudo-therapist to lover - Bea Bennet

Landlord to lovers - Bridget Clancy

Teammates to lovers - Zatanna

X to lovers - literally him and everyone

He's just so shippable that way. Not gonna lie, literally all of his relationships Dick and his lover have been great together.

the “barney from how i met your mother basketball hoop scene” and “eleanor from the good place mom she never had” but make it dick and bruce (teenage or adult idc i’d love both)

youtube

The New Teen Titans Issue #50

Man this hits hard. I've never seen how I met your mother but the parallels in the basketball hoop scene and Dick's talk with Bruce are uncanny.

The thing I think is weird about Dick and Bruce's relationship is that it's steeped in insecurities for each other. Dick feels hurt and betrayed and lost as to why Bruce would take in a new robin so suddenly and Bruce's tenure as Dick's robin is riddled with insecurities about him not being a good enough partner.

Batman and Robin Eternal Issue #6

However it's because of these insecurities that I believe they are close.

The difference between Barney and his dad, from what I gather from the clip, is that his dad never acted like one to Barney.

But with Dick and Bruce? Bruce was a good dad to Dick. But he was a terrible partner. Bruce treated Dick like an equal while still fielding reservations about his age and dealing with his own insecurities. Bruce knows that what he's doing is not right but at the same time Dick is far too competent. His intelligence, his athletic skills, his compassion, and his fearlessness were light years beyond anyone Bruce had ever met and Bruce acklnowledges this.

Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder Issue #2

"The GAS was supposed to knock his OUT. His brain out to be sailing past the MOON, right now. What's this brat MADE out of?"

Batman: The Widening Gyre Issue #1

Bruce's biggest problem with Dick is literally that he talks to much.

Dick is equal in every way to Batman and even exceeds him in some ways when he was Robin itself. So Bruce pushes the responsibilities of Batman's partner on to Dick while treating his as his son, mother, therapist, and partner. And Dick steps up to that. Soon they fall into a rhythm where Dick is Bruce's one for all human interaction. So imagine when you have a constant thing with someone that you're comfortable with and they suddenly start holding back from you. They begin talking about how you're too young to handle adult responsibilities. How you shouldn't be facing that burden. Now you're confused. Those responsibilities they are criticizing you for are the very ones that depended on you for. So now you start doubting yourself and trying harder and harder to make them see that you can handle the job. While you're struggling with confusion, they're struggling with guilt.

That is Bruce and Dick's relationship. Bruce grew a conscious after 10 years and Dick can't understand it. So there comes the self-blame and strife.

What Dick doesn't understand his Bruce feels guilty of his over reliance on Dick. Dick's self-blame has come to such a point that now even when Bruce in full honesty rants about how proud he is of Dick, Dick holds reservations because if Bruce was really proud then he would dump all the responsibilities on him right?

It's really messed up.

"nightwing could 100% be the figurehead of the dceu (like im talking spiderman level) if dc would do something [this was timed . i talked abt this for like 30 minutes all on its own]"

LOL

I think the Dawn of DC does have Dick be the figurehead or at least he will be in the future. We're just getting the beginning now.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #100

"We want you to lead."

Justice League (2011) Issue #51

It comes full circle.

#PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE UPDATE ME #dick grayson #nightwing #bruce wayne #batman #tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #robin #jason todd #red hood #batfamily #clark kent #superman #robin dick grayson #diana prince #wonder woman #thanks for the ask!#cl 12 am anon asks

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angelfirstclass · 6 months ago

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Magneto: A Villain playing Dressup or Reformed Tortured Soul?

This is going to be hard one for me because I don't want to be too negative about Magneto because I think in X-men 97 he isn't the villain, but upon rewatching the show I think this question is viable. I may be accused of being a Romy shipper and Charles apologist, but I'm not really. I like Magneto in the show and he says some of the best lines in the show. But sometimes he says and does things that are kind of assholey am I right?

To start off with, the way that he introduces himself and announces that he's the heir to Xavier's mansion and the X-men. Did he really have to barge into Xavier's office and confront the team as they were bonding together playing basketball? He is so smug in that scene which is something I like about Magneto, his Alpha male strength and directness. It's hot and works when I'm writing Magneto fan fiction, but it is a tad presumptuous. His first reactions from everyone on the team is anger and suspicion and then he wonders why he's not getting a warm reception. He could have been normal and called or rang the doorbell or something, but it wouldn't have been as dramatic or as Magneto to come barging in.

The way that he says My X-men at the end of episode 1 is kind of smug and sinister is not? Maybe it's just the writers wanting tension out of that moment and having the readers shocked by Magneto, a known X-enemy inheriting everything, because at that moment we don't know if Magneto is going to be a good leader or not.

Then we see Magneto in action and he's playing the good guy. He saves a child from a busted ride and the Morlocks from the Friends of Humanity. It is shocking to the X-men but also shocking to humankind because of Magneto's past crimes. He enters leading the X-men tamping down his evil past and his more destructive methods of getting back at anti-mutant groups, but he is still Magneto with all his arrogance and his confidence and his strength of belief in himself.

Something that I actually love is the line that he toes the line between trying to be a good X-man and his feelings about humanity. He has seen so much that he is formed by those traumas and pain which cannot be so easily let go of. When he talks of not harming the Friends of Humanity members, the sneer when he says "sapiens" is pure gold. This Magneto is a tempered Magneto and we have to appreciate how far he's come. If it wasn't for his love of Charles Xavier he would be 1000 times worse.

It could be argued that other people might have made better leaders of the X-men, but for this season's storyline having Magneto play the leader was brilliant. He was just enough of an asshole to make the whole thing interesting and made the twist at the end more believable because he never really lost himself completely. You saw moments of him being potentially selfish, arrogant, cruel throughout the season which made him an interesting, complex character.

"My intentions here was not to cause drama or discord." Lol! Says the man in the cape and big M on his costume and the one who barged into the mansion without notice. Yeah, sure, Jan. He yielded to the UN, but not until after he proves how powerful he could be. A note to point out his that Wolverine talks about people being upset over all the things Magneto has done and "can't say I blame them" for being upset and I take this seriously. So currently he's trying to reform, but in this universe and timeline, Magneto has done some awful things.

The trial scene is really amazing. There are some great lines in it. The speech is probably the most compelling reason to want to trust Magneto. He is a great public speaker and he speaks of his past, how the oppressed become oppressors and that loving or being different will cause you to be punished. He is speaking Xavier's words and attempting to walk his past, but he must also acknowledge his past and the consequences of them. This is where I get confused or conflicted as I don't know if Magneto went too far or just enough or is justified or crazy. I don't know and I don't think it's something that the writers even know- like that is the crux of the show itself.

His sardonic wit is the best! "Oh to play by the rules and still they come for you." Yes. It's all going sideways and Magneto is not panicked in the least. He may be a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them. He saw this all coming and knew it was a matter of time that the extremists broke through and the judges would be deemed traitors of the race. It's like a part of him wanted things to get extreme, so the X-men would get to be on his side and see that humanity is not to be trusted and making nice doesn't work.

When asks if this is the high roads destination and essentially kidnaps all the judges, viewers are justified in thinking he might have snapped and gone back to his evil ways. We are surprised to see that he is walking Xavier's path and applaud him for that. He eventually lets the people go and asks them to not let him let them down and that's so poignant because we see just in episode 2 what Magneto is capable of and what he could do if he wasn't walking Xavier's path.

Magneto did a pretty good job of leading the team from episode 3 to 5, he is concerned about Jean, Scott, and Nathan and coordinates the team. He fights clone Jean or Madelyn and she taunts him with the line about a villain playing dress up as a hero. I think that line is so apt with Magneto because I think that his character arc is at the heart of the storyline. I wrote once saying that his relationship with Xavier was the thesis of the story and I also believe that Magneto's belief of Xavier's ideals and his own is also a pivotal part of the story. Madelyn had the power to delve into the psyche of each mutant and find their weak spots, so it proves here that Erik is self conscious of seeming to play the hero and most likely doubts his own commitment to Xavier's cause.

Then we go to Genosha in episode 5, where Magneto is king, literally. There are posters and statues of him everywhere and this all was his dream. Magneto is a savvy politician and understands making grand speeches or doing publicity stunts. Even other mutants at Genosha understand that he is the handsome face of Mutant kind and especially after joining the X-men and following moderation is liked by moderate mutants as well as humans. Even when he speaks to the group, he acknowledges that this was all Charles' dream and he didn't believe that it would happen. He is asked to be king and then he asks Rogue to be his queen. Episode 5, I think is tragically the peak of when Erik is believing Xavier's dream and thinking that peace is possible and happiness is possible for him as well. He is letting down his guard, accepting the King position, declaring his love for Rogue, trying to walk Xavier's path, be a good X-man, and etc. We know what happens next tragically however.

Everything he believed gets snatched and beaten out of him in Genosha. He tried to walk Xavier's path and it did not work out for him. He was already scarred, but this time was too much. He was kidnapped, tortured, and saw many deaths. He was already toeing the line before and felt justified in a way for committing crimes and atrocities and Genosha set him back to that way of thinking.

When we see him later, trying to persuade X-men to join him, EMPing the planet, attacking members of the X-men trying to stop him, he is traumatized and reacting poorly to Genosha. I don't justify his behavior, but I understand it. This is an Omega level mutant that has a track history of hurting humans for hurting mutants, so when a massacre hits it is not surprising that the mutant in question flexes his powers and gets angry.

What I don't know and am still on the fence about is how dedicated he truly was to Xavier's cause. Was he really a believer and dedicated to being a X-man or did it just take one incident for him to return to his ways? Also, how far is too far? Who is allowed to seek revenge or retribution? And to what extent? It is these questions that I think are so fascinating and I'm glad I don't know. These questions about Magneto are what made the show so interesting and complex and wants to make me see Season 2.

#x men #x-men #magneto #erik lensherr #x-men97 #x men 97

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naruwasnthere · 1 year ago

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"You and I" |Akaza x Reader|

Warning:NSFW, vanilla smexy time, sub reader,reader has no gender but a coochie bc idk, mentions of kidnapping,Akaza just being a wholesome basketball, Praise,LoRd AkAzA,A bit of spelling error (my bad) and reader being called pet names.

You knew you'd have been so foolish to sit your self on his lap. Only a few seconds after that here you both are, sweating nonstop. "Baby you're doing really good for me~" Your husband, Akaza who you had married only 3 months ago. The man who took you in after being kidnapped and almost murdered, The man who turned out to be a demon who had by your luck fallen for you. Who wouldn't even sleep in the same room as you at first due to the fact he didn't want to loose himself and take your body for his own at first! Was now making you ride his dick and kissing your stomach sensually as if holding back from destroying your clit fully. "I'm all yours A-Aka-" You felt his lips meet you upper chest only a few inches away from your breast making you blurt out in an estatic sensation "Master please- Ah~" The demon stopped briefly "Master?" He started to chuckle as if amused by this "I'm sorry, Master??" You attempt to get off his dick in embarrassment as he continued to laugh a bit and yet you were stopped and by slight force were sat back on the throbbing cock a moan jercked out of you in suprise.Whispering seductively while going slightly faster than before but still gently he whispered "I'd prefer it if you'd address me as lord,my sweet flower~" . You push down on his cock back in a confusing joy more than happy he pushed you back onto him. Your clit creaming and yet too dumbed out to notice you just obeyed"Yes, my lord". Going even faster than before making you smile shamelessly he leaned your body even closer to his as you enacted a sensual kiss. "You wouldn't mind riding a bit faster for me right, flower?" As soon as that command was given you brought yourself into him faster than before the soft moans that came out of you before turning into desperate but still sincere begging as your hips buck into him faster and faster almost going dumb on his dick"Lord Akaza please take me fully!I don't know if-" just in the middle of words a huge pool of cum flooded you body leaking out rapidly causing you to moan estaticly "Lord Akaza~!!" the more cum filled your body the more you froze "I'm proud of you my love you did so good" You could barely speak it was still leaking into you and all you could do is stare at you clit happily as your stomach felt a kindred warmth. "Thank you..." Akaza looked puzzled "For what dear?". Tears formed in your eyes but never fully developed "For saving me, for taking care of me for...." You pause as your smile widened and you pulled yourself off his dick, sat on his lap and hugged him. A tear finally forming fully rolling down your cheek your voice breaking a bit "For actually loving me". Akaza hugged you back as if in a solem understanding "My love for you will never stop" He continued to kiss your head softly and then lay your head on his chest. Strangely this made you drowsy.."Why?.." asking him like you expected him to ridicule you but he only whispered softly "Because it's us against it all". As your eyes slowly gave into slumber you heard him whisper "It's you and I, my little flower." "You and I"

@warringwarrioridiot

#akaza x reader #kny akaza #kny #akaza smut #kill my ass

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jessnotfoundd · 2 years ago

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how many kids does the boys want to have? any specific age gaps? i wanna know everything

Dream

He wanted to have two, after Dylan, your son, he begged you to please start with a baby trying so they won't be so different in age, but you decided to wait a year, and then try again because you would be super tired having to take care of Dylan and be pregnant. At least a year to get used to the parenting life. He was okay with a year.

What he didn't expect, after that year, and you got pregnant again, the very big surprise was when at one appointment, the doctor told you both that you were having twins. Istg he almost passes out there.

Sapnap

He wasn't sure how many kids he wanted to have, but after Ashley, he was sure to want another one, but he didn't want to pressure you.

But 3 years later, you tell him, you're pregnant. He's shocked. The happiest man standing on earth.

-Hope this time's a boy, so we can play basketball together.- he jokes and both of you laugh. Ashley sleeping, and you both sitting in the kitchen.

-I'm super lucky to be with you.- I lean my head to rest it on his shoulder.

-Yeah, I'm the reason these kids are gonna be the prettiest at school.- he whispers and he goes again.- We should be tagged as "the hottest people alive"- he left a kiss on your head and drinks his last bit of coke so he could throw the can.

And yes, the baby arrive, and Ashley was obsessed with her little brother. You couldn't happier. You both formed a perfect family.

George

Well, he was so happy to be a father, he wanted a girl so you tried three times, and she finally came. Aaron and Isaac were 6 and 4 when she was born. Madison was the princess of the house, and George was always telling the boys that they have to protect her at all costs. The boys would take this very seriously and would try to be with her all the time. They would be so gentle when playing with her. The British were proud of them.

-So, you're telling me, this- you point at the broken cup- was about to hurt Madison?- the two boys have their eyes on his feet.

-Okay mom, we broke it, and not, he was not gonna hurt madison, we are really sorry.- and it's there when you realized you both did a good job.

-It's okay, I was worried about you two getting hurt with the broken cup, I'm glad you're both safe, go play with your dad.- they run straight to George.

Karl

Only one, a little girl, Sarah Anne Jacobs. He was terminated because he was okay with only one, and the fact that you had a dangerous pregnancy. It was hard for him when the doctor ask him aside when labor started if in any case, who should he save, you or the baby.

He couldn't decide, both were terrible and left him shaking in the waiting area. When he saw both of you he knew it was a miracle, and he didn't want to go through that again.

Quackity

Two girls, Olivia was 4 when Victoria arrived, she was a little jealous, but he made sure to let her go that none of you would love her less just because you were gonna have another baby.

-plus, you'll have someone to dress as a princess- he says smiling.

-Uncle Karl is not gonna dress as a princess with me anymore?- she pouts and you admire how pretty she is, so like Alex.

-You'll be three then.- he pinches her little cheeks and she smirks.

Punz

A girl and a boy, Matthew was 2 when both of you got the news, Luke was happy, but he drive you crazy about he wanted to have a girl.

-If it is not a girl, well keep trying- he has you seated on his lap, Matthew just fall asleep like a minute ago.

-This is the last pregnancy ill go through.- you smirk.

-Fine.- he sounds offended.

When the baby turned out to be a girl, he was all over you, super proud of saying that he manifested it.

-You can't manifest a baby's gender- you insist.

-Then how do you explain?- he looks at you with a smirk and then his eyes are on the road again.

You just rolled your eyes and let him think he manifested the baby's genre.

Foolish

Angela was enough, he was happy with the baby girl and you, so the baby's factory was momentarily closed. Not wanting more kids.

At least for now, she's 5 months old and she's calm basically perfect.

Wilbur

Jessica was 6, Emily was 5, and Lily was 2 when you both settled down and decided to be 5 members of a family. Wilbur was in love with her three girls. Four actually.

Tommy was proud of both of you and he was the funny uncle the girls would run every time you say no to something they asked.

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shizuostrans · 2 years ago

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(Here's my translation for the infamous succubus-taking-form-of-Izaya part of Duramp! I will try to do the other parts later, but it is LONG. t/n under the readmore.)

Duramp! (Shizuo's Encounter)

Ikebukuro, in front of Seibu Department Store

All things considered, this city called Tokyo is very crowded with people. It's far different from that rural island.¹ I'd say in lieu of that, the presence of non-human beings here is faint amongst them.

Oh, there he is.

Hmm, he's wearing sunglasses, but he looks like a well-behaved man.² There's also the fact that he’s related to that boy, so I shouldn’t have to worry.

Alright then, let’s copy his desires onto my own body, just as I did with the boy named Mikado a while ago.

Now, what form does this man desire…

...a man?

What the hell? He’s gay?

Ah, but that’s fine, love can take any form.

Besides, I was starting to get hungry, and I suppose once in a while it could be nice to indulge in an unusual situation between two men.

And from what I've heard, it's said that same-sex couples have deeper and more sordid desires swirling around in them.

Well, with that in mind––

"Hey."

I changed myself into the form the man with sunglasses desired, stood in front of him, and shot him a smile.

I made sure that no one other than the man with sunglasses would be able to see me. Unlike the unfortunate case with that Mikado boy, this time there won’t be any interferences, and I'll be able to lure him somewhere and––

"Iiizaaayaaaa..."

Hehe, such a slack-jawed smile. He has no idea I’m an imposter.

Well, now that he’s let his guard down³, I’ll have to read this man's mind for his information on the form I'm disguised as.

It would be quicker if I could read everything before I transformed, but unfortunately I don't have that kind of power right now.

However, if the other person drops their guard like this―

"I wanted to see you. Really wanted to see you, Iiizayaaa..."

Hmm? That’s odd. This man has not yet opened his mind to meeyaGLrukGAaЭΞ‡――

"No, seriously, I’ve been pissed off something fierce! IZAYAAAA! I was hoping I could beat you to a pulp!"

―Uh-oh.

―This, it isn’t about love or anything of the sort!

―He only desired this man's looks as an opponent he wanted to throttle!

By the time I realized my mistake, it was already too late. The man with sunglasses grabbed me by the collar before I could dispel the illusion and lifted me, and without pause, I was raised overhead and thrown high into the air. For a moment, the ground became a distant thing.

How― my wings― I had to let my wings out. Before I crashed to the ground, I had to reveal my true form, spread my wings and soar into the air――

This man who has yet to see past the designation⁴ will see my true form, but now wasn't the time to be saying thaaaahAHAAaHhAWaWAaAAhaAHAHHHHHHH

"You really are a guy with perfect timing for everything! It pisses me the hell off!"

A shock. A shock went through my body. The man with sunglasses jumped up after me and drove me into the asphalt with such immense force it was like slam dunking me into a basketball hoop.⁵ He made a clean landing on his feet and lifted his leg high up towards me.

You fool, I am still a succubus, no human’s kick can―

"Die."

"GUHAH!?"

"Die."

Wait... hold...

"Die."

What's with this guy’s attack power!?

"Die."

This is way worse than the vampires in the Castle!⁶

"Die."

He's lost interest in kicking me, and now he's moved to straddle on top of me and wallop me in the face!

"Die."

I-I-I– I have to shed this form q-q-q-q-quickly

"Die."

Nonono– no good, the shock and pain are making it too hard to concentrate...

"Die." Die, die, die!

"Die." Die!

"Die."

S-s-s-save me, s-s-s-somebody―

♂♀

An enormous man called out from behind Shizuo Heiwajima, who still hadn't budged from his mounted position.⁷

"Hello, Shizoo-oh. What are you doing?"

"Diediediedie...yeah? What do you want, Simon? Look, Izaya’s not fighting back at all today, so I’m taking my chance to go ahead and kill him about a hundred times..."

"If Izaya, who's eating sushi now at our restaurant?"

"Eh?"

At Simon's words, a black man dressed as a chef, Shizuo turned puzzled eyes towards him, then dropped his gaze back down below.

"...huh?"

"Wrung dry⁸, yes?"

"...So then who's this guy?"

"Who knows?"

Simon slowly shook his head upon seeing the succubus, no longer able to hide herself from the others.

Until a few moments ago, she had the face of Izaya Orihara himself, but now her face was swollen and without any semblance of his facial features.

"Um, hey..."

With an awkward look on his face, Shizuo slowly unseated himself from his mounted position and reached his hand out to the succubus, but–

"Hhi... HYAAAAaAaaAHH!"

The succubus stood up with a strange scream and ran off into the crowd with inhuman speed.

"......?"

"Ooh, that quick moving, very much could be Izaya."

Left behind in the dust, Shizuo and Simon looked at each other and muttered between themselves.

"...was that a doppelganger? Huh, you don't think we've got the wrong guy, do you?"

"Sus-pi-scous... Shizuo hitting empty ground when I call out to him, but that person then suddenly appearing...?"

Translation notes:

[¹] Reference to Growerth from Vamp! and is the primary setting of the series.

[²] Sunglasses are considered a trademark accessory for delinquents.

[³] The expression used is 心を許す meaning "to allow your heart(/spirit/mind) to be open" and is used to signify trust or relaxing one's guard.

[⁴] Earlier in Duramp! it's explained that succubi "designate" their target to become visible to them as the person they desire.

[⁵]

[⁶] Reference to Waldstein Castle from Vamp!

[⁷] The mounted position is a grappling move in jiu jitsu that involves sitting on top of your opponent to pin them to the ground.

[⁸] ボロ雑巾 lit. beat-up cleaning rag. It's a metaphor used to describe using someone until they're ragged and then throwing them away.

#duramp #durarara #shizaya #shizuo heiwajima #izaya orihara #simon brezhnev #tagging izaya and shizaya bc those are the reasons this part of duramp is so popular #not as fruity as it's been led to believe tbh. there's straddling tho #shizuoposting #jimothy's scans #(i'm just counting the official translations as scans for categorizing purposes)

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yeosatinyngz · 2 years ago

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Hi, hi! Hello my love! I've been following your blog for awhile now, since I love KNB, especially Midorimaaaa. So can I please request the prompt number 4 for your event? I need to see Midorima react to that. I would be glad to see the story! Angst to fluff too! Hehe. Hope you're doing okay and you're taking care of yourself well!! Please take care! 💞💞💞

Hello darling! I’m honored that you have been following me for a while😭 Yes of course, I got you! I hope it turned out to your liking. Thank you so much, I hope you’re doing well and taking care of yourself too!! Much love!💜💜💜

#4: “You almost died and you’re making jokes?”

Join Event ➺ Masterlist

Midorima has been practicing extra hard the past few days in preparation for his game against Rakuzan. To fit in extra practice he cut out the time you two would usually spend together. You knew just how much he wanted to beat Akashi so instead of being upset you were there supporting him along the way. You were always at his practices cheering him on and making sure he’s taking his break and staying hydrated.

The day before the match, he was extra fired up and has been practicing nonstop and every time you told him to take a break he brushed you off. You can see him pushing his limit and you were scared he may pass it so you called out to him. “Shintaro, you need to take a break, NOW!” He snapped his head towards you, “Stop bothering me already and let me practice in peace.” “Bothering?” Your voice starts rising higher with every word you speak, “I’m simply just worried for your health, it won’t do you any good if you pass out from exhaustion before or during the game so just listen to me and stop being so stubborn!”

“Ha I knew you wouldn’t get it, this game is important to me and the only way to beat Akashi is through rigorous practice, I don’t have time to waste and right now you’re wasting my time.” You couldn’t believe your ears, “Alright, I’ll leave since I’m wasting your precious time.” Before you left you shoved the water bottle and towel in your hand into his chest. “Since you’re already wasting your time on me, you might as well wipe your sweat and drink some water as well.” You went to grab your bag and left, not forgetting to slam the door shut to express your anger.

Takao, who witnessed the whole scene unfold before his eyes carefully approached the green haired male. “Look man, I know you’re stressed over this game but you really should apologize to Y/N. All they have done is be supportive towards you and they were just worried about you. It was real shitty of you to blow up on them like that.” Midorima hated to admit that what the ravenette was saying was true and he quickly scoffed before throwing the basketball he had in his hand at Takao and dashed out of the gym.

You had lots of thoughts going on in your head as you were walking home after that ordeal. You slowly walked as you tried to let the cold evening wind cool your mind down. You were so deep in your thoughts that you weren’t looking at your surroundings. You tripped over a crack on the pavement and that’s when you realized the situation you were in. A car was just an inch away from smashing into the direction you were falling in and you were in a position where you couldn’t do anything. You closed your eyes as you were ready to face your fate.

Luckily a strong grip on the back of your jacket pulled you back. You were pulled back so forcefully that you knocked into the person who saved you which caused you both to fall down onto the ground. You looked up to see who your savior is just to be met with the emerald eyes you love the most. “Looks like I fell for you.” “You almost died and you’re making jokes?” You wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his neck. “Thank you for saving me.” “I’m so glad I made it in time, I’m so sorry for shouting at you and being ungrateful for your kindness when you were just worried about me.” “Apology accepted but you have lots to make up for.” “Understandable, now let’s get off the dirty ground shall we?” “We shall.” He stood up and offered a hand to pull you up. After you both were standing up right he started brushing off all the dust and dirt on you. Now this was the man you fell in love with and just can’t help but keep falling in love with.

#yeosatinyngz’s 1 year event #kuroko no basket #kuroko no basketball #kuroko’s basketball #kuroko no basket x reader #kuroko no basket scenarios #knb #knb x reader #knb x you #knb x y/n #knb scenarios #midorima shintaro x reader #midorima x reader #midorima angst #midorima fluff #yeosatinyngz #yeosatinyngz requests

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dreamii-krybaby · 2 years ago

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Random Thad analysis.

Yo so I just realized smth

Thad can actually become a pretty good fighter against DDs and will probably join the main squad in the future

Hold up lemme explain-

So we all know thad is based off a stereotypical jock right? But,he is also implied to be an American football player

TLDR: wild adhd bisexual girl does mental gymnastics to explain why a random robot jock mainly plays A. Football. And with enough practice,he can become a good fighter,which he is already quite decent at it.

If you look at his betta design you can see shoes with spikes at the bottom,after researching a bit these sort of shoes are used by football players,rugby players and American football players.

Tho it seems in his final design his shoes ended up becoming average sport sneakers,now it could be just bc this shot is blurry,but they seem to have lack spikes. Despite that I still think related to American Football. And why? Easy his hat design.

Look at the back of his hat, it has an American football symbol! With a cable connected to it? (Probably some design choice to make it look cool).

And the fact he is also jock just makes it all clear,like even if he played other sports or hasn’t touched American football he still makes a decent fighter.

why would this make him a good fighter?

Easy,experience. Sports mostly help you improve some of your skills(like speed,strength,fast problem solving,cooperation and in some,throwing precision,but in rugby and A. Football is tackling) Yes sports don’t automatically turn you into a professional fighter but it can help you a bit. (Also btw the season one trailer reveals what seems to be a basketball gym (the one with 2 corpses hanging upside down,you can actually see a head tossed in the basketball ring) so yes there are gyms at the colony,and yes,indoor A. Football gyms exist).

Not only that we have also seen put up an ok fight against threats:

In the pilot for example,despite being thrown across the room 2 times (1st one by J and 2nd one by V) and being stabbed in the chest twice (also one made by J and the other by V) and clearly leaking a bit more oil than the usual. My man still could stand up and still tried to put up a fight with a random pipe he found.

In EP2 he doesn’t really fight at lot (in fact he reminds me of a damsel in distress,fun seeing that dynamic switching up genders) it could be bc Eldritch J was a new thing to him and was probably taken over by shock. Tho this scene makes me think that while he has taken captive by Eldritch J my man was probably fighting for his dear life. As by simply raising his fist he was able to scare off the AS,which could be just a funny lil gag,but a hoe can dream.

I think with enough practice and him learning how to calm himself in stressful situations he can become a pretty good fighter.

If he does end up joining the gang (which will probably occur) he can be a great ally and friend! (Perhaps even boyfriend-).

Anyways am in love with this fucker and I like how they switched up the stereotypes with him (being a typical jock,who you think its a bully but it’s actually the friendliest character. Him,a boy being the damsel in distress while uzi a (badass) girl,being his lifesaver and saving his ass twice. And finally a jock with a chill personality. (Ive also realized how all the main male characters have a softer or much more chill personality compared to the main female characters)).

#murder drones #murder drones thad #md thad #thad md #thad murder drones #murderdrones #the beloved <3 i love this man sm I would want him to be my boyfriend or friend

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ni-kol-koru · 2 years ago

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KnB 30-Days Challenge

Day 10 : Favorite Team

Shūtoku High School BC 🏀🧡

Another very difficult choice for me. Every team in this show has unique characters, an interesting dynamic and their own unique playstyle and something special, like a quirk. I kind of know what my TOP 3 teams are, but choosing one of them seemed like an impossible mission... So, I made a little system that will help me pick my favorite team. When I added and substracted some points, Shūtoku won!

Shūtoku, as a team, has some of my most favorite characters ever. It is also the only team (after Rakuzan) in which I love and adore absolutely every member! Since I rambled about Shintarō and Kiyoshi, and am going to ramble about Kazunari very soon, let me just talk about the forgotten two of Shūtoku: Taisuke Ōtsubo and Shinsuke Kimura. A lot of people seem to forget that these two guys exist. They don't look super flashy, like Shintarō and Kiyoshi for example, because they have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and generic hairstyles. They don't have prominent personalities either, like the other 3 members, who have their own very distinctive quirks and personality traits. But, that is just the surface. I was very curious one day and decided to scratch it and dive a little more into the lives and personalities of these two handsome boys. Well, after researching about them, they turned out to be very interesting, and dear to me.

Taisuke Ōtsubo. He is a serious, responsible, determined captain and a great sportsman. He is the pillar of his team on the court and is there to cover up the mistakes of his fellow members by saving every rebound he can. Everybody seems to think he is just tall, strong and scary and rough, but seriously, this guy is just a teddy bear. Other than being very kind and showing it in form of great sportmanship, he has some really surprising hobbies. It's cooking, cleaning, and knitting! In Extras, he is shown to be really skilled with needles and yarn, knitting a scarf almost 2 meters long during a boring class! He also carries things he made in his bag all the time, like mittens, hats... These things he does are not usually something that men do, and I just love how he looks like the manliest man ever and has these hobbies, breaking the patriarchal norms. He also really loves his team and always takes care of his teammates, knowing how to motivate them and cheer them up when it's needed, and tending to them when practices get tough and they feel sick. My favorite thing about him is that he likes spending his free time with his little sister, Ōtsubo Tae! Her age was never confirmed, but she is somewhere around 15, or maybe even 16, if we think about what Yūya said. Now, a lot of big brothers seem to, for some reason, find it boring, and even embarrassing, to hang out with their little sisters, but no, not Taisuke Ōtsubo. This guy loves it, we know it because he chooses to spend his free time in her presence! Taisuke is 18 years old, a grown man, basketball player, graduate student, preparing for college and adult life, and in a busy time like that, when he finds free time, he still spends time with his little sister. I can totally see them cooking together and cleaning together, but another activity that I can see them doing is just, talking. Taisuke can sit and talk with his sister all day, listening to her without feeling the need to interrupt her of mansplain anything if she just needs to let things out, or offering honest advice and support when she needs it. He is also surely protective of her, making sure to let everybody in her life know that if they hurt her in any way, he will find out and they will pay for it. He is just ready to do anything for his sister, I think. Another little detail about his character, that I really love, is that he is part of the Library Committee, which means he likes to read, and help people find books they like! Not only that, but his favorite subject is physcis, which means he is good at it, and that only reveals how smart he actually is! This man literally has the words 'Perfect Guy' on his forehead, how can people sleep on him like that? The only thing he can't do is kill a cockroach (actual canon and his actual only shortcoming).

Shinsuke Kimura. Calm, hard-working, doesn't like the spotlight and prefers to stay out of trouble. That's pretty much the only things people know about him. Though, reading between the lines of his behaviour, I found a couple of really endearing character traits! I He is a really supportive person, but he is doing it rather quietly most of the time. In games, he sets up solid screens to give his teammates freedom to move and opportunities to score, though. He also brings delicious fruits when practices get exhausting, and he is there to help his teammates if they ever feel sick, like when he was rubbing Kazunari's back and called for help when he felt like throwing up. He is even supportive in the strangest way possible, by always offering a pineapple to Kiyoshi when he is irritated, supporting his dear friend's anger issues. When times call for it, he knows how to motivate his teammates and give them a reason to stand up on their feet and continue fighting. He is extremely hard-working and he proved it by practicing harder than everyone until he finally reached the starter line. That's a thing I really admire him for. Something that caught my attention when reading his Wiki page and exploring his character was how he likes to spend his free time. He spends it by helping at home. Now, if you know that his family owns a convenience store and grows their own fruits, it probably means that he helps with taking care of the said plants, carries heavy boxes, cleans the store, helps in organising new arrivals, works as a cashier and so on... However, if you ever happened to notice the fact that he doesn't have a mother, it adds another, whole different meaning. Having only a father means that all the house and store responsibilities fall onto him when his boys are at school, which is difficult to balance. So, taking care of the house, cleaning it and cooking meals, probably sometimes falls onto his two sons, and very likely Shinsuke, as the older brother, takes care of most of those things. This boy is another level of hard-working. We can even gyess that he gave up college to continue the family's bussiness, because he is never shown worrying about any college entrance exams, like the other two Third Years. He is just, wow. The moment I completely fell in love with him was when I listened to a Special CD. In the said CD, he reveals such a beautiful side of himself and he tells us about something really important for him. He talks about wrestling. He has been doing it since he is 8 years old, it's something that he loves a lot and is extremely passionate about! I wish you guys could hear his voice when he talks about wrestling, he just sounds so happy and passionate! Oh, and he gets so excited when he finds out Shintarō knows a thing or two about his sport! Listening to that part of the CD always makes my little heart melt! Shinsuke is so precious to me and I just love him so much!

If you get into typology, Shinsuke and Taisuke both have a Kanji in their names that means 'Support', showing how important they are for the Shūtoku team. Also, they are really handsome, and it's a hill I will die on. If anyone disagrees with me on this one, I am willing to argue until the end of time.

Now, the characters aren't even the best part of this team. What I endlessly love is the chemistry and all the different friendships between all of them!

Three Third years and two First years in a single team is a really interesting combination itself. Almost like parents and children. Getting along with each other, as two separate generations, was probably something that they had to work on a lot, but in the end, they did it! Since the beginning, the First years had respect for their Seniors by listening to them and respecting their opinions. Sometimes, the Third years had to pick their younger members up and give them motivation to keep fighting. They are also there to tend to the boys when they feel unwell and are always willing to offer their help when they get in trouble, like in the Midorima's Unlucky Day Extra! An important step towards the team working well was Third years getting along with the fact that the First years, were indeed, special, and needed to be cut some slack for such behaviour from time to time. Honestly, realising that they will be on the same team only for a single year breaks my heart every time, it breaks theirs as well... The moment Shintarō and Kazunari pointed that out in their game against Rakuzan was the only time I cried in the show. Seriously, I love these guys so much.

Shūtoku has some really interesting friendships as well, one of the most precious friendships being the one between Kazunari and Shintarō. It is obvious that these two are inseparable! After all, they are always there for each other, on the basketball court, in school and even in private life, offering support and having fun! Kazunari cares for Shintarō really deeply, and he shows it by carrying some of his neccesities, such as tape for fingers and sometimes even lucky items with himself, and always being there to cheer him up and protect him if the upperclassmen are picking on him. Shintarō is pretty tsundere, usually trying hard to not show how much he actually appreciates Kazunari and his thoughtfulness, but every time he softly smiles and relies on his dear friend he reveals to us how much he appreciates him.

Another friendship that is very dear to me is the one between Kiyoshi and Shinsuke! These two share the same story on how they got their well deserved positions as the starter members of the basketball team. They worked harder than everyone, stayed late to practice and got close because of that, possibly practicing with each other a bunch of times. But that's not everything, The Extras really reveal just how close these two are! They are actually classmates as well! Being in the same class with someone surely brings two people together, so these two being in the same classroom for 3 consecutive years surely did its wonders! Now, their personalities might clash a little, because Shinsuke is calm and Kiyoshi is rather uptight, Shinsuke prefers to stay out of trouble while Kiyoshi attracts a lot of trouble, but they are also similar in their determination, seriousness and hard-work, which is why they can probably get along. In the anime, we can also see these two tease each other sometimes, in the besties way, of course. The Extras also show how sometimes, when paired up, these two know how to 'have fun' by poking at their underclassmen (which is a little mean, but they never really hurt anyone, as far as I know, so they are forgiven). Oh, and of course, they have this famous pineapple/pick-up truck deal, where Shinsuke always offers his fruits or vehicle to his dear friend when he is irritated. It is just so iconic, like their own little inside joke!

There is also something very interesting going on between Taisuke and Kiyoshi. At one point in the anime, Taisuke reveals to Shintarō and Kazunari that they go to idol concerts together and that idols are actually their common interest! As someone who is into idols myself, I can see them collecting albums, CDs and photocards and trading them with each other all the time, which is something that is fun when done with friends! But that's not quite it... Remember when Taisuke said he was really used to seeing Kiyoshi work so hard? Well, I somehow came to an idea that they practiced basketball together, more specifically, that Taisuke helped Kiyoshi with polishing his fundamentals and mastering dribbling against an opponent with good defense. This duo kind of makes sense, because Taisuke is just supportive like that, he is the type of a guy who would help others in need with no hesitation, and Kiyoshi just screams 'someone help' as a character and a person, and especially in that period of time, I think. So, naturally, they were kinda drawn to each other, and later when they realised they have some things in common, they became good friends! I can kind of see Kiyoshi always feel so grateful for Taisuke because he supported him and helped him in some really tough times, and probably even picked him up when he fell. Also, before Taisuke revealed their shared interest to his underclassmen, he was about to say something about Kiyoshi, but he cut himself in the middle of his sentence and never said it. I can feel that he was about to say something really nice about him, groundbreaking for their relationship even, and I am still mad he never finished it...

Shūtoku is also a team with a lot of brothers and sisters, where every regular memeber we know has a younger sibling! Shintarō, Kazunari and Taisuke have younger sisters, while Shinsuke and Kiyoshi have younger brothers! Sadly, we never got to truly meet any of them. We only know something little about Yūya, only know Tae's name and looks, and the appearance of little Kimura. Unfortunately, we have nothing for little Midorima and little Takao. Well, still, it's really something interesting to think about, all the possible big brother tropes that the regulars of Shūtoku might be! It's sad that we don't have almost anything for some of these younger siblings, but that doesn't have to be all that bad! It leaves room for our own imagination and creativity to shine, we can make up our own fun headcanons for their looks, ages, personalities and relationships!

I just love this team so much! 🧡

#knb #knb 30-days challenge #shuutoku #shutoku #takao kazunari #midorima shintaro #midorima shintarou #miyaji kiyoshi #miyaji yuya #miyaji yuuya #taisuke ohtsubo #taisuke ootsubo #taisuke otsubo #tae ohtsubo #tae ootsubo #tae otsubo #kimura shinsuke #chibi kimura #i am speechless after all of this #it took me SO MUCH EFFORT #it took me SO MUCH ENERGY #but it is here #hope you guys love it #when some of my friends watched knb and i asked them what they thought about some teams #one of my friends told me about how shuutoku is a perfect team #and how the only thing they dislike is their jersey color #because appearantly the color reminded them of garbage collector uniforms too much #another friend said they look like they were in jail when they wore their orange jackets #i love their team colours though hahaha #orange is my favorite color ever i love them for it OH AND THEY WEAR IT WITH CONFIDENCE

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askthechronoverse · 3 months ago

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Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

“Kit!” Vito shouted to his cousin as she joined them at the bottom of the cliff. Donkey Kong put her down and she walked back to the two other game travelers. Donkey Kong nodded to the girl and waited for Junior to speak.

“Thank you for your help, guys. Kit, I want you to have this.” He handed her the key for Donkey Kong’s cage. She put the key in her bag. “I hope you can save your dad, too. I don't know if the key will help you, but maybe having it with you will be a good luck charm or something.”

“I hope so. I have a feeling I'm going to need it.” Kit turned to the others.

“I think we're good.” Johnny said, looking up to check the score. “Between the tickets I've been gathering since I started playing video games and now, I think we have enough of the go-kart.” He gestured for them to follow him to the arcade cabinet, where it reset to a Defender facade. Kit waved goodbye to the pair of apes and within the blink of an eye, they were back in the arcade. Kit looked at the price rack and saw that the go-kart was still there. They weren't too late just yet. She ran over to Bellamy, who was playing pinball in the corner.

“Hey, Kit. I don't think I can play much more pinball, kind of glad you came back when ya did.” They grabbed their tickets from the dispenser box attached to the machine. “We almost have enough to get the giant teddy bear.” They gestured to Charmy, who was playing a Pac-Man machine and Ken, who was deep in a skee ball game. “Ken is some kinda skee ball savant. Took him a few tries to get the rules right, but it's oddly impressive.” Kit leaned in and whispered.

“We need to pool our tickets. The go-kart is the foundation element.” Kit watched Vito and Johnny explain the same thing to Charmy and Ken. Bellamy nodded and handed Kit a handful of tickets. The others did the same, though Ken seemed reluctant. He pointed to a very large teddy bear, but the overflow of tickets was soon relinquished. Johnny took the tickets Charmy had from Vito, then approached Kit.

“Thanks for helping me win this, kid. I know your old man will get a kick out of learning his kid got to play ColecoVision to save the world.” He chuckled as he was handed the tickets Kit had. “He keeps telling me the Atari 2600 is the better console. Doubt he’ll be able to deny the arcade experience now.” He approached the counter and the change attendant practically vaulted over to serve him.

“Johnny! Long time no see! It's been, like what, almost 12 hours?” She leaned her head on her knuckles, grinning. “So. Did you enjoy the ColecoVision spotlight we've got going on? That was my idea.”

“Yeah! It's not every day you get to play classic video games on one of the best consoles of early gaming.” The words he spoke almost made the change attendant swoon. “Guess what I finally have?”

“Enough to take the go-kart off our hands? I just knew you could do it, Johnny. But you know I got to see the tickets. Dad would get upset if I short changed another prize again because of how cute you are.” She slid the mountain of tickets to her side and began the tedious process of feeding them into a ticket counter. As she did this, she was startled by a slam on the counter and an equally large mountain of tickets. She looked up to see Master Apocalypse push the tickets in front of her.

“Looks like it's a race to the go-kart today. You just have to wait your turn. Johnny was here first.” She was completely unfazed as she counted the tickets. She turned to Johnny. “So, did you see that new game we installed?”

“NBA Jam? Totally! I've been hoping to play a good two on two two basketball game. Did you know that there's a limited edition version that has Michael Jordan in the roster? I hear he has the only copy!”

“I love when you talk about games like that.” She sighed as the counter continued to sing a song of exhausted ticket feeding. “We're also looking to get a new cabinet for Mr. Do!. Can't believe some kid broke it.”

“Right? Some people have no respect for a game that was the first to be distributed as a conversion kit! You're so lucky you know somebody who can paint old cabinets so convincingly. You had me convinced that Mr. Do! was its own cabinet for years!” The ticket counter eventually ran out and Johnny's blood went cold. They were one ticket short. The change attendant saw this and ripped a ticket from Master Apocalypse’s pile. She dropped it into the ticket feeder as he started to protest.

“Would you look at that? Looks like you finally earned enough to get that go-kart! Let me go get it packed up for you.” She turned and headed into the employees only room behind her to get the box. Master Apocalypse turned to Johnny and glared.

“I'm getting that go-kart.” He folded his arms.

“Nah. It's mine. It ain't yours. Go find something else.” The attendant quickly returned with two boxes and a ladder and began to pack up the go-kart. She handed the boxes over to Johnny when she was done. The smaller of the two boxes was silver and had the word “Colecovision” in rainbow lettering. Under this was a card that had a waving tapir that wore a toy soldier's clothes with neat cursive that stated the console was donated by Daydream Toyworks.

“Like I said: I knew you could do it. We'll probably put a TV up there for the next big prize. We'll have to see.” She grinned. “Oh! Almost forgot to mention: The Colecovision is the prize for playing the showcase. Glad you got it and not someone else. Now, can you take your new friends out of here before I have to kick that blonde beauty over there for abusing our skeeball setup?” Johnny gave Bellamy the go-kart and Kit the Colecovision, which went into her bag, and the group left the arcade for the food court.

The area was set up in a circle. In the center of this circle were green metal tables and chairs full of people eating everything from fried chicken to burgers and more. Some of these people had purchases in bags that declared they came from places like The Bon•Bon and Gloamingdales. The area was filled with the same lush greenery that was seen in the center court, with the only items that weren't green being the sunset orange trash cans that dotted the area. At the furthest point, another fountain could be seen, the sounds of the water a calming force. Before Kit could fully take in the scenery, a voice snapped her into the present.

“Give me the go-cart. I'm not asking again.” Master Apocalypse folded his arms. Johnny turned to face himself, mirroring the gesture.

“That is not happening and I'll tell you why. You're in a shopping mall. The best one in Sunset View. This shopping mall has really good security and an honestly eagle eyed guy who loves this place and enforcing its rules more than anything else. The second you take this go-kart from me or make a move to touch it, he's telling the security guard you're trying to steal it. They're not going to believe you.” Johnny headed for the nearest fast food restaurant in the court, a place called Louisiana Crispy Chicken. “I'm going to treat these kids to lunch. You're going to back off.” The aura the cloaked stranger was putting off was oppressive.

“I'm going to get what I need one way or the other. I guarantee you that, by the time you're done with your little lunch, the world around you will be mine for the molding.” He turned to walk away. “Although, I may just have to convince the right people to give your father a wonderful welcome to life in the Awntawp Correctional Center as the prison punching bag. That might be enough of a change to this world.”

“What are you saying, kid?” Johnny folded his arms.

“I know people. The people I know run Awntawp. They can make Emmet’s time in Undar look like a tropical vacation.”

“Are you threatening us?” Bellamy stepped forward, between Johnny and Kit and Master Apocalypse.

“Maybe. I see it as leveraging my assets.” Apocalypse turned to Kit. “Well?”

“Yeah, Kit. Which do you choose? The rock or the hard place?” Bellamy rolled their eyes. Kit held the key she was given by Junior in her hand from in her bag and steeled her gaze.

“What do you mean? You still never told me who you are, so I don't know why I have to see anything you've done as a threat.”

“You really don't need to know. All it needs to be understood between you and I is that we are enemies. As my enemy, I know your weaknesses. Your weakness is your family. I mean, look what you've gone through so far to make sure your father stays out of prison. He's trained you well. But I was trained a lot better. I know people who can make your father's life a miserable mess in prison. Because he let himself be captured, it's only a matter of time before the court puts him away. All that has to happen is one little push. And once he does get sentenced, he's in a domain I can control. A domain I will make sure he will never come back from. I want you to choose, Catherine Brickowski. Choose between the world as you know it or your father. I know what you're going to pick.” He grabbed a chair and sat.

“Kit.” Charmy put a hand on her cousin’s shoulder. “Please think this through. I know you love your father. That's never been a question. But you need to walk away.”

“Your father can take care of himself. The world might not be able to handle the change. Don't be too rash.” Vito added. The pause between words was long and awkward, moving like a newborn deer. Eventually, Kit spoke.

“Master Apocalypse. I'm not playing this game. You can- Hey!” While she spoke, Master Apocalypse had rolled his eyes and snatched the go-kart out of Bellamy's hands.

“Don't worry. None of you are going to remember any of this. No one's going to remember how selfish you are.” A portal opened behind him and he stepped away. The portal closed quickly, causing the others to be unable to chase after. Kit didn't turn to face her travel companions. She instead put her head in her hands. A voice in the distance cried out, “HEY! STEALING IS NOT TOLERATED ON MALL PREMISES!”

#⌈the newspaper isn't antiquated⌋ ⋆❈⋆ ⌈writings⌋#⌈the ashes of disaster drift to you⌋ ⋆❈⋆ ⌈days of oblivion⌋

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astramachina · 1 year ago

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Outside the kitchen window, a young man builds a machine out of stolen government tech. When asked—dressed in ratty basketball shorts and a threadbare shirt, carrying nothing but a knapsack and fury in his eyes—the young man says he is going to save the world. Three minutes later, an old man—dressed in coattails and a necktie, carrying nothing but a worn pocket watch and love in his eyes—stumbles into Blue’s and Rosie’s living room.

DEAR TIME: MARK BUILT A MACHINE, an 8.3K word modern queer adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine ▲ Rated 13+ for briefly implied sexual content. || also on AO3.

And I have by me, for my comfort, two strange white flowers—shrivelled now, and brown and flat and brittle—to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man. – THE TIME MACHINE, H.G. Wells

I opened the kitchen blinds once the sun had set enough to not incinerate Rosie’s orchids on contact. The backyard was still orange, each blade of semi-dead grass desperate for the sprinkler system to finish another round that won’t come. Once the water was done out front, it wouldn’t make a rotation for twelve hours or else risk a flash freeze when moonlight finally graced it.

Eight to nine in the evening was my time, when I could open the window just a smidge while washing the dishes. We were out of dry soap which meant I had to get creative after going through the allotted three gallons of water. Still, I found peace in the monotone simplicity of making suds I would have to wipe away with a towel if we wanted to have cheese and coffee before bed.

Eight to nine was also Mark’s time to do whatever the hell he was doing out in his yard. “He’s at it again,” I called over my shoulder. “Looks like he’s got a bucket of sticks this time.”

“Stop spying on the neighbors,” said Rosie, standing behind me with her chin on my shoulder.

“It’s not spying if he’s directly in my line of sight.” That meant he was in my yard again, which I didn’t mind so long as he didn’t set anything on fire. “Strange little fellow.”

Mark was one of those government lackeys that fancied himself a scientist— inventor, actually —he would say whenever anyone brought it up. He was never in his lot except for when he was, a rarity that lost its shine the more I began seeing him in the living hours.

Mark was working on something.

In what was his allotted slice of neighborhood, a lot much smaller than the rest of ours due to his secondary accommodation at the fancy science compound, was a large structure. I’d reckon about five feet tall, three feet across, and round. It was hidden beneath a tarp at all hours of the day, which I considered a smart choice given the unbearable heat known to melt tires and spark flames.

“We should invite him over for dinner sometime,” said Rosie.

“I feel like that’d get us on some sort of list.”

“You think so? He seems like a swell guy.”

“Defanged bootlicker. I remember when abuelo would brick shit for normalcy and now they’re working for the same people who hunted them for sport.”

Rosie kissed the shell of my ear. “Times change, Blue.”

“Very shittily.”

“Change is what’s important.”

“You should go lay down,” I said, reaching behind to pat her rotund belly. “Prop your feet up for a while. I’ll come in with those snacks once I’m done.” But Rosie had stopped paying attention to me. I followed her gaze right out the window.

The tarp was gone. Mark had pulled it off to reveal what I took to be an abstract art piece made of scrap metal and quartz.

Metal rods were bent into sloping angles as if to create some sort of carriage, one that had no walls and a stripped office chair as a bench. From that distance I could hardly make out the details, but there were levers and dials and a hatch that hung useless between the rods. There were bits and pieces that glimmered the deeper the sun vanished beneath the horizon.

“Is it a car?” said Rosie, now leaning over the countertop to get a better look. “Some sort of rocket?” I could not, for the life of me, say what the contraption was. “That wouldn’t withstand a moderate breeze!”

Mark paced around the machine, wringing his hands. He looked over and saw us at the window, so we offered a wave. He waved back, although stiltedly, as if he hadn’t planned on being seen while out in the open.

We watched him for a while longer, an eye on the clock or else distraction plunged the interior of our house into a deep freeze. It was twenty minutes before curtains when Mark knocked on our door, sweat-drenched and out of breath.

“Can I have a glass of water?” he said as he stood there in his basketball shorts and threadbare tank top. He was carrying a sizeable knapsack, as if ready to take a month-long hike.

Rosie got him a cup despite my arguing. We were borrowing from tomorrow’s stores.

“Why not come inside for the night?” she said, pleading with the man whose eyes were only a touch darker than the circles around them. “We have leftovers. Meatloaf! Blue was able to pull some strings at the center.”

“Thanks, Rosie, but I’m kind of in a hurry.”

“As you should,” I said, gesturing at the approaching night. “It’s about to get real freaking cold and you’re not even wearing a jacket.”

Mark stood at the door, looking between the two of us with a frown that alarmed me. “Have you chosen a name for the little one, yet?”

Rosie shook her head. “Still too early to know if it’ll make it to term.”

Mark nodded. “I hope it does.” He bounced on the balls of his feet before reaching inside his pocket and pulling out a keycard. “There’re fresh vegetables in my pantry that’ll go bad in about two days. Help yourselves.”

“Are you going somewhere?” said Rosie.

“I hope so. For all our sakes.”

Mark was a very peculiar man indeed.

“They giving you guys leave now? Now there’s one outdated practice I’m not against bringing back,” I said.

Mark laughed. “I hope. Soon. Here’s my key. Please don’t hesitate to take what you need.”

“And when you get back?” said Rosie.

“I’ve got a couple of cans in the basement. That’ll hold me over.”

He looked ill. His hair was long and unkempt, as if grooming were a myth he did not believe in. It might have been put up into a bun at some point, but now it spilled out everywhere where it didn’t linger in clumps.

“Are you alright?” I said and took a step toward him. “You in trouble, kid?”

“No. I mean, maybe? Both yes and no would be proper answers, but I’m going to make sure we stick to the no.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

Mark chugged the water like a man at death’s door, then handed Rosie the cup. “This is more than enough. Goodbye.”

Rosie stepped out into the rapidly cooling night, her chanclas slapping the concrete steps as if to stop him. She held onto her belly, that mother’s instinct kicking in. “How long will you be gone?”

“Not long.”

“Where are you going? Mark!”

He turned around with a smile, walking backwards into the far end of my plot he had claimed as his. “To save the world.”

I hurried Rosie back inside and shut the door. “Poor fella’s lost his mind,” I muttered as I led my wife to the recliner in the living room. “If he thinks metal scraps are gonna do much of anything, well. Maybe it is best he freezes.”

“Blue!”

“All I mean is that the time for bright-eyed dreamers has long passed. They’re gonna eat him alive, Rosie! Throw him at screens until his brain goes caput.”

“You’re such a bitter old bastard.”

“But I got us a place to live, didn’t I? Got us a marriage license. Got us to try and grow our little family of two.”

Rosie put her feet up while I closed the rest of the insulated curtains. “Maybe if he had someone. If we had invited him over for dinner.”

A knock on the door startled us both. It was frantic, a thunderous pounding that had me lunging for the antique baseball bat propped up against the defunct humidifier. Not again, I thought. They couldn’t raid us again. We’d done nothing wrong. We’d paid our taxes three years in advance. There was nothing they should demand of us.

“Rosie, go up to the room.”

“Put the bat down, Blue.”

“I’m not letting any of those motherfuckers take any more!”

Then, a wheeze. “Tell me you’re still here,” cried a shivering voice from the other side of the door. Rosie and I exchanged a bewildered look. “Please! Help me!”

It was Mark’s voice.

Rosie threw every blanket over herself and kept low as I inched for the door. The knob was freezing to the touch, and so I used a sliver of my bathrobe to properly grasp it. At no point did I abandon the bat, holding it high above my head in case the situation was in no way what we were expecting.

I stepped aside so that the gust of frigid air would not directly hit me the moment I opened that door. It would have to be quick. “You have one second to get in here!” I shouted, then, without further thought, I swung open the door.

The man was quick, alright. He pummeled through the threshold and collapsed into a heap as I slammed the door shut again. I stumbled back, rubbing my arms to warm them.

Rosie leapt into action, agile for someone five months pregnant. She brought the blankets she had buried herself under and dropped them onto the man—onto Mark, who, after a moment of fussing over his near frozen form, I began to doubt was actually him.

The man who violently shivered on the floor had gray hair shorn short. He was plump, red-cheeked, and carried a five-o-clock shadow. Mark was not a man who could grow facial hair. But most glaring of all, Mark had been at our doorstep not five minutes before this person came knocking.

“You heard it, right?” I said to Rosie, who also stared down at him in confusion. “That was Mark.” Despite that, Rosie wrapped his head in a towel and rubbed her hands over it to generate heat.

We tried our best to keep the man from succumbing to the freeze, to animate him into at least a sit, but the piercing, agonized cry that ripped from his mouth sent us both scrambling away. I stood between him and Rosie, bat at the ready, but all the man did was curl up and cry. I called it crying, at the time, for lack of a better word. What that man did was sob with the entirety of himself, with every electrical impulse that piloted his human body.

It was a cry so grief-stricken and dismal that Rosie echoed it in empathy, a hand over her mouth as tears bubbled along the seam of her eyes.

“Blue, help him, for Christ’s sake!”

“I don’t know what to do! I don’t know what’s wrong!”

The man spasmed, curled himself tighter as he rocked with the desperation of a child in the throes of a nightmare. And so, I did what my father had done for me when my restless mind produced night terrors: I sat by him in silence, my hand on his bicep in hopes that the contact would be enough to bring him back.

Time passed at a crawl, the clock ticking as the man cried and cried without solace until, finally, sleep claimed him.

I checked his pulse to make sure it was just sleep, and it was. He fell right asleep on the thin carpet of our foyer slash living room, sad and changed.

I was unsure of how to proceed. Intrigue got the best of me, and I peeled back the layers of blankets and towels to get a better look at him.

Rosie and I exchanged a glance because the man on the floor indeed looked a hell of a lot like Mark. He had a crooked nose that was once broken and never reset. There was a discolored patch of skin behind his left ear that was common for people who worked in the science department. It was the particular mark that drew my attention to what he was wearing.

Further peeling the blankets back revealed an outfit I had only ever seen in old films, the kind that revolved around fruitless family drama and senseless social etiquette gone awry.

The high collar was held in place by a thick necktie, which I loosened. He was wearing a long, black jacket with tails, and a vest with an elaborate flower pattern in muted grays. A silver chain hung from one of the buttons, and I soon learned that it was attached to a silver watch.

In his hand, Rosie discovered a piece of scorched lilac fabric.

There were a few dozen questions hovering between us, but Rosie asked the only one that mattered: “What do we do?”

In the end, I carried this man who might or might not have been Mark to our spare bedroom and laid him on the bed. I took off his shoes and noticed the holes in his socks, so I covered his feet with yet another blanket. The man looked as if he had gone through Hell. And so, we let him sleep.

***

He slept for a day.

I was out in the yard, plucking the dry weeds that would catch once the sun set, when Rosie shouted for me from the kitchen window.

“I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused on my arrival,” said Mark, wringing his wrists as his knee bounced. “I tried getting into my house but I couldn’t find my key.”

“You left it with us,” said Rosie. She looked to me for backup and I nodded.

“Did I? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised for not remembering.”

“You in trouble, son? You’ve been acting real weird for a while,” I said. I kept my distance, still unsure of what was going on. The man on the couch was Mark, but he looked like he had aged twenty years in the span of a day. “The center putting you through it?”

Mark took a moment to answer. “How long was I gone?”

“You never left.”

“Oh, Mx. Blue, I sure did leave.”

“For a whole five minutes. Ten at the max.”

Mark shook his head. “I most certainly did.”

“Why the hell are you talking like that?”

“Old habits, I suppose.”

Rosie and I exchanged looks. Mark was a scientist whose enclosure included nothing but holographic screens and an ergonomic chair he was not allowed to sit on or else it’d come out of his paycheck. I should know. My old man worked in a similar field, and I knew for a fact working conditions had not improved. Regardless, it was not an environment conducive to the flourishing of this newfound, old-sounding accent.

“I should explain,” said Mark, scratching at his beard. “I’m sure you both have many questions.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“You said you were going on a trip, then instantly came back.” Bless Rosie’s patience. “You were so…”

We lapsed into silence, recalling those terrifying moments in which we thought our neighbor lay on our floor dying.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I spun the dials without thinking where the machine would spew me out. I didn’t care when or where it sent me, I didn’t care how I got there, I just needed to leave. I needed to get away, to leave it behind.” Mark paused to take a breath; his eyes wide but unseeing. “I needed to run.”

“Anyone chasing you?”

“No one but my demons.”

“I really hope you mean that figuratively.”

“I do,” he said with a saddened laugh. “I stole a machine.”

I knew what he meant. Not the whole scope of the situation, but enough to get me locking the doors and tuning into our lot’s security feed. “What the fuck, Mark.”

“I had to!”

“You had to?”

“Well, it’s more like I stole the parts and built one myself.”

“What kind of machine?” He didn’t answer. “What kind of machine, Mark?”

There were a million and one covert programs the government ran under the guise of making the world great again. Not by bringing back its former glory, but by ensuring we were all kept in line as to not fuck things up further. Keep them in line , pops would say, keep them too busy with tomorrow to think about yesterday .

Mark looked up at me as he twirled the piece of fabric between his fingers. “A time machine.”

Rosie barked out a laugh, holding onto her belly. But when neither Mark nor I joined in her mirth, her face fell. “There’s no such thing.”

“We got the numbers down,” said Mark. “Four years ago. Just a small jump. We sent Carly back, one of the lab dogs, and it came back different. Its cells had aged. They also mutated rapidly so we kept delaying human trials until we were sure it was worth the risk.”

“So?”

“We never got beyond that. Once the patent was locked in, it went to the highest bidder. As far as I can tell, no one’s used it in any way that matters, but who’s to know that’s not how we got here in the first place.”

Rosie looked between the two of us. “You’re not lying.”

“Is that how you got a beard? Radiation?” I said.

“No radiation. I would’ve been dead a while ago.”

“Where’d you go then? To see Harry Houdini?”

Mark stared at me. “His performance at St. Paul was nowhere as groundbreaking as the interwebs proclaimed it to be.”

I scoffed.

He threw his pocket watch at me.

I caught it with ease, my thumb rubbing along the dull surface. The silver was tarnished, and it did not tick. On the back were engravings that seemed faded with age, scratched through with everyday wear.

May we outlast time itself. M. Avery & J. Gray, 1898

“Your father’s name was Matthew,” I said.

“My father wasn’t alive in 1898.”

“Let me see that.” Rosie reached for the watch. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Who’s J. Gray?”

Mark looked away, and no matter how hard his jaw clenched, his bottom lip betrayed every emotion that swam in his dark eyes. He swallowed with an audible click. His knee stopped. The burnt fabric in his hands was pulled taut.

I offered him a drink and he declined with a shake of his head. Rosie offered him something to eat, and he once more rejected the offer.

I sat next to him on the couch. “I gotta start dinner anyway,” I said. “You can talk about it, if you want, or you cannot. Nobody’s hearing shit from us but as far as I see you committed a capital crime and there’s a damn good chance someone’s gonna come looking for you real soon.”

“I know.”

“Then why’d you come back here?”

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“You said you had no control over it.”

“I guess my heart had other plans.” Mark heaved a broken sigh. “My heart always has other plans.”

Rosie scooted over from the recliner with a knitted blanket, handing it to him before sitting closer. “What about you tell us about the adventure it was? Traveling through time?”

“Rosie,” I said, seeing curiosity get the best of her.

“It’s alright,” said Mark, spreading the blanket over himself without hesitation. “I don’t mind. I’ve done an awful lot of talking these past couple of decades.”

I double checked the lock on the door and, if pressed, I would confess that curiosity had gotten to me as well. “Alright, time traveler. Tell us your story.”

***

“After the Combine Disputes of ’42, I hoped that the CFD sector would allow for the patent to be distributed to medical and development for further testing. When Carly came back, sick but alive, I knew that there would be an end in sight. That, maybe, we might not be able to fix everything, but we could revert the damage done to the soil and at the same time slow down the warming. We had something on our desks, a damn miracle. A vehicle that could fix the now in preparation for the future.

“But then they sold it. And I thought, sure, that’s not fantastic, but we’ve been dancing the same waltz for decades. Maybe whatever trillionaire got their hands on it would see what groundbreaking science they had in their hands and actually make something out of it. Something being better than nothing. But, like always, they shelved it. They put a red mark on it and threw it on their coffee table.

“I couldn’t stand idly by. As you well know, I lost half my family in ’42.

“All I felt was rage. This seething, blinding hatred at the idea that history was going to repeat itself, that it would continue to repeat until every one of us immolates ourselves at sunset or sunrise. I had enough, someone had to intervene. Someone had to do something.

“Everyone in my sector kept saying how tragic it was that we would never see another machine. Blake went on and on about how he would have loved to see his grandmother again. Freya kept on about how they would have loved to see what the world would be like a hundred years down the line. All this wishing and pining but nobody wanted to do anything about it, nobody was thinking on a large enough scale.

“And so I stole a machine.

“I started off small. Rivets and bolts, dials and levers. I backed up the programming to an ambulatory drive and built my own dashboard. I stripped the materials from my house: the metal plating from the saferoom, the iron burners off my stove, my old gaming chair. And I got it. I built my own time machine and I said I’m going to fix the world .”

Mark sat forward on the couch and we leaned forward with him, enraptured.

“While I built it, I gathered information on where the P and VP would be in the coming months. Board meetings, family vacations, scheduled lunch breaks. I kept a list. I chose a date. December 31st, at 10pm. Lofty goals, I admit. The machine hadn’t been that fine-tuned. But I was obsessed. I was reckless, flirting with insanity and with nothing to lose. I was ready.

“After you closed that door I ran for the machine before the frost could freeze both it and me. I hopped into the pilot’s seat, didn’t even check the coordinates, and slammed the button. I didn’t care where it took me.

“It’s important to know that, when time traveling, it’s not just time that needs to be set, but coordinates. The genius behind the technology is not so much the how, but the mathematics that goes into pinpointing a specific location not just on a planetary scale, but on the cosmic scale. As Earth zips through space, pulled by the incredible speeds of our sun, we’re never in the same spot for even an infinitesimally small fraction of a second. The slightest miscalculation and I’d be plummeting through the nothingness of space—suffocating for my hubris.

“It’s an awful feeling, being displaced through time and space. Like hitting the brakes after pushing the limits of how fast a car can go. That drop of the stomach when you think you’re about to crash, so you panic and yank the wheel and slam the brakes. Only you’re sitting stock still. You think you’re dreaming but you’re not. You’re asleep and falling, but you’re awake.

“When the dials on the dashboard stopped spinning, I sat there for what felt like a decade. I had brought no weapon with me, only a plan and the desire to see those who’ve abused us suffer. For the first time since my childhood, I spoke a wish into the universe: please, let me win.

“I then opened the hatch, crawled outside, and lost my stomach onto the lawn.”

Rosie gagged and I got her a cup of water with a lemon wedge. While Mark slept, I had ransacked his place for all the perishables he had on hand, which were enough to keep us fed for a good two weeks. My plan for dinner had been upcycled salmon with lemon zest and rosemary, but after Rosie’s bathroom break, we fell right back into it.

“I very quickly realized that not only was I in the wrong place, but in the wrong time.

“What surrounded me was not the minimalist, all-white nightmare of the CFD building, with its characterless angles and lifeless concrete garden. Oh, no. The lawn was not even a lawn, but a park. A real one. With trees and benches and a fountain.”

I snorted and said: “We still have those.”

“Yeah, in New York,” Rosie quipped. “Let him tell it.”

“Trees, benches, and a fountain. Fairly standard fare, but I wasn’t even allowed the grace of thinking I was in Central Park. Because out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A large carriage pulled by horses the sizes of cars.

“The shock had been great, but it continued to grow the more I looked around me. Women in large dresses and parasols. Men in tasteful suits and hats. It had been drizzling and I scampered back into the machine, but those people were unbothered by the weather. The rain did not burn away their clothes or scar their skin.

“Then, there was the smell. Smog, oil, pollution so heavy I felt my lungs blacken by the minute. It was dreadful enough that not even the green grass could ease my nose.

“Around me, people began to stop and stare. I had no course of action. My plan was to travel several weeks into the future, not two centuries into the past. I was not dressed for said travels, as you well know. Basketball shorts and tank tops weren’t the height of fashion in 19th century London.”

“I was joking about Houdini.”

“That won’t be for another twenty years,” said Mark. “It was 1876, I would soon come to learn. December 10th. An uncharacteristically warm winter, but still cold enough that lack of a jacket would get me hypothermic in about an hour or so.

“I was so confused that I could not think of what to do. I just sat there, in the shade of my machine, battling palpitations and an anxiety so potent I thought I would faint.

“A man approached me at one point, asked if I was alright, if I needed a clinic. His accent was so thick I could barely understand so I just shook my head. He gave me his jacket… Fancy one, too. Said he could at least get me somewhere dry. That I accepted.

“Every passing minute made me feel more and more delirious. There was a weight in my chest, knowing I had done something wrong. There was the fear that I would lose my window of opportunity, that I would have to replot the entire endeavor, but then I remembered, I have a time machine . I could redo it ten, a hundred, a million times over until I got it right.

“Plus, I was still human. I was still a man of science and curiosity gripped my throat so tight I could not fathom a reality in which I got back into that machine and traveled back to modernity. While not one for history, I was intrigued. If not the Industrial Revolution, then its tail end. Who all was walking those streets alongside me?

“The man whose name I never got paid for a meal and the most disgusting beer I’ve ever had the misfortune of drinking. He paid for a room in a boarding house, then stopped on the second day to drop off some clothing. I thanked him, then never saw him again. He never asked who I was or what I was doing. Probably thought I was some aimless opium addict.

“For several days I wandered the streets of Westminster. In a suit. I’d never worn one before then. I subsided on the snacks I had brought with me, obsessively making sure I kept the wrappers in my knapsack or else alter the course of history.”

Here, the time traveler stopped talking as if slapped across the face. He looked around, worrying his bottom lip as his eyes grew watery again.

“It was all for naught, wasn’t it,” he whispered, and for a moment I feared he would devolve into a sobbing mess once more. “Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed.”

Rosie placed a hand over his knee. “It’s alright, sweetcakes. If you need another cry, I’ve got plenty of tissues.”

“No. No, it’s fine. I don’t think I have enough liquid in me for that. England’s very humid and I can feel the moisture evaporating from my body just sitting here.”

“What kept you there after the first couple of days?” I asked, hoping to distract him. “Only so much you can do without money and a prepaid room.”

Mark held the piece of fabric up to his nose, touching it to his cheek. “Every day I would go back to the machine. It was on the third that the constable had a group of men come to remove it. I’m no fighter, I couldn’t have taken them on if I’d tried, but someone else had been walking by at the time.

“They were a sight to behold. Only slightly taller than me, all wrath but in that gentlemanly way that you wouldn’t even notice you were being insulted. I was confused, the policemen were enraged, and they swiftly delivered an indecency notice that was just as quickly paid off.

“That was how I met James. He stood there and argued, said he’d have his employer have a strong word if they so much as touched the machine. Swore it was some sort of contraption set to debut at the Great Exhibition later that year. He’s a cunning one, James.

“When the cops had gone, he was quick to have me follow him. I did so without question, intrigued by this person who, by all contemporary definitions of a man, did not fit the bill.

“It was alarming, really. How easy it was to just be. No one asked questions. Everyone minded their own. Well, except the law. We got served several indecency notices through the years, but James was established enough that no one could touch him.

“He, too, was a scientist, and his hunger for knowledge had enthralled me. To hear another person talk with genuine passion and fiery drive for hours on end… Have you ever experienced that? That deep-rooted trust that comes from baring one’s most vulnerable parts.”

Rosie took my hand and squeezed it.

The time traveler continued. “We became acquaintances, and day in and day out he would ask over and over again who I was and what was the function of the machine. And each time I would tell him I’ll tell you tomorrow . He said but tomorrow never arrives, does it? And we laughed.

“And we shared meals. We shared drinks. We shared stories, and dreams, and one night we sat under the stars—actual stars, out in the open, at night. No fear of instant freeze, no fear of a sunrise that could kill us. He asked me: where you come from, does love exist? I’m certain he meant America. I told him yes. He then asked if I believed that love exists. I said yes.

“Before I came to realize it, it had been a year. We were roommates, and I didn’t have to contribute a dime so long as I continued to provide answers to his pressing questions regarding the still-new technology of the era. Beyond the wrappers, I hadn’t given the future much thought. The butterfly had not crossed my mind, as the only thing on it was James.

“James and his piercing blue eyes and his unrepentant thirst for knowledge. James and his bindings that would sometimes hurt him to breathe, and that eventually he came to allow me to tend to. His ribs were bruised, but it was a price I was intimately familiar with.

“One day, three years into our friendship, I told him the truth. I told him that I was from the future, from a time when nature sought to destroy the beings that had destroyed it. I told him that I had arrived there by accident, with violence and ill-intent in my heart. A man with a mission that had been so easily swayed by a pair of beautiful eyes and boundless fascination.

“Do you know what he said? He squinted at me from behind his glasses, nodded his head and said that he had known all along, that I had mentioned craving burgers months after our first meeting, but the term hadn’t been coined until at least a year later. I knew you were from the future, he said, I’m yet to meet another man as fascinating as me from this century .”

“Even back then,” Rosie murmured.

“Even back then,” said the time traveler, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening with great sorrow. He stared off, lost in a memory that was no doubt fresh—from both yesterday and two centuries ago. “We danced, many times, with my hand low on his back and his on my arm. We swayed. Sometimes in his laboratory, and one time in Dr. Ripley’s conservatory in front of his fellow compatriots. They all took it in jest, a celebratory jig at the end of great discoveries.

“And what a discovery it had been, in my thirty-fifth year of life. It was a discovery that changed the world, the only discovery that has ever mattered throughout the history of man. The night I saw stars of a different kind, where shedding layers was a mark of life rather than a rapid approaching death—or I guess there was a death involved. A little death that was not quite so small, however quick it might have been. What is a man to do after a lifetime of believing he was dysfunctional?

“We laid there for our own eternity, fingers entwined as our breaths eased and sweat cooled. It was the first time I had ever listened to another person’s heartbeat. That steady, rhythmic drum pounding against the shell of my ear with a song that sang I am here, I am yours, we are alive.

“He touched my chest that night in wonderment for more than one reason. He marveled at the scars, at the accommodation—as he called it—from my time. I asked him, against my better judgement, if he would go through with it. He assured me that, while fascinated by the opportunity to do so, his trust in surgical medicine was not that certain. James was an inventor, after all, not a medical doctor. So I proposed another miracle from my time.

“It was then that I became reckless. For years I toiled at the machine for I am no genius, and the spares I had traveled with were limited. The task at hand required improvising tools and programming, all schematics we burned upon execution, but it worked. Once certain the machine worked again, we spent another month doing nothing but menial tasks.

“We sat by the hearth and read books with our legs intertwined. We redecorated. We traveled north and stood at the cliffs, then we went for swims and counted the sheep outside of the train. By that point there was no James and I, but a singular we. An evolution of language. Two lives so entwined that splitting an atom with the technology of that time would have been easier.

“We were afraid. Afraid that I would get lost through time and that we would never see each other again, but I guaranteed him that I would come back. I promised him with every ounce of strength in my heart of hearts that I would return, that I would come home—because home was now a flat in London, with my friend, my love, two hundred years before my birth.

“I succeeded, at least, in that one thing. I made it back here some fifteen years ago, and it is in hindsight that I recall misplacing several of my vials over the course of a year during my youth. I was very meticulous, you see, as one should be with one’s medication. I kept a weekly alarm on my phone lest I forgot to take my shot, and I remember the panic of thinking they had been thrown out without my knowing. They hadn’t been. It was just another me, from another time. This was when things got exciting.”

Rosie entered with coffee, cheese cubes, and a sleeve of crackers. No dinner was going to be made as we followed the time traveler across his journey.

He leaned forward as if to key us into secret, as if his story was not already a tale of great interest.

“I missed by a year. Poor James was beside himself which broke my heart, but after he flung himself into my arms and wept and held me close, I knew that this was it. He was my reason. In that long string of firsts, I got to include being missed by someone who loved me. But I had made it back, and with precious cargo.

“Of course, as most medications suspended in oil, the vials only had about six months of shelf-life. So while James marveled at the concept of disposable needles, I took to the board and reconfigured parts of the machine to suit both our needs.”

“Hold on a minute,” I said, holding up a hand like a grade schooler seeking permission. “You’re saying you refurbished a time machine, a piece of technology you could barely finesse into landing at a programmed time, to keep hormones from expiring?”

“As well as looping to generate an infinite amount, yes.”

I stared at him, gobsmacked. “How the fuck? You’re telling me we have the technology to, what, keep everyone fed? To revive the soil, restore the atmosphere? What else can that shit do, Mark?”

“Blue, your blood pressure,” Rosie said while tugging on my hand. “Take a breath.”

“Take a breath? Rosie, are you even listening? This could—this would—”

“Save the world?” said the time traveler with an expression so grave I was overcome with anger at his despondence. “It’s you who isn’t listening to me, Blue.”

“My ears are open and wax free, buddy.”

“I tried saving the world.”

“Did you? Because it sounds like you stumbled onto some limp-wristed fool and forgot what was at stake!”

“Blue!” Rosie swatted my leg. “You knock that off! Can’t you see the man is grieving?”

I stood up from the couch and paced, hands tucked tightly under my armpits as I counted down from ten. I wanted to punch something. I didn’t.

I knew Mark was grieving. The state of him upon his arrival would forever be emblazoned in my brain, aided by the gut-wrenching wails he had made while he writhed on our floor.

“Okay,” I said, my back to both of them. “You hooked him up with 21st century medicine. Then what?”

Mark shrugged. “That’s it.”

“That’s it? You invented the world’s most revolutionary piece of technology in the 19th century and that’s it?”

“A lot of revolutionary tech came from the 19th century.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Look around you, Blue!” Mark yelled back, shooting up to his feet. “Don’t you fucking get it? I tried! I tried and I tried but nothing stuck! We’re still stuck in the same shithole! Literally nothing changed.”

“What did you do, huh? Tell me one worthwhile thing you did while you were gone.”

“Blue, please,” Rosie said.

“No, I want him to answer me. I want him to look me dead in the eye and tell me what the fuck he did to try to save us.”

Mark clutched his pocket watch.

“You want a list? Because I’ve got a list. Germany, ’33. D.C,, ’81. New York, ’01. Belgium, ’27. Brazil, ’19. California, ’32. England, ’23. Fucking Pompeii, 47.” His voice rose and quivered with every name and date. “London, 1914. London, 1914. London, 1914. London, 1914! May 7th, 1914!” He was yelling now. “You can’t change it, man! What’s lost is lost and you cannot bring it back. You can’t change the past. The people you love, the only person you have ever fucking loved, will die and there’s nothing no time machine, no infinite science, no fucking magic can do to change that!

“I tried to save the world and I couldn’t even save one person.

“I couldn’t even save one.”

Rosie stepped in and swept the time traveler into her arms and he wept with the agony of a starved newborn. Every wail, every sob, rattled the hollow space between my ribs. There was rage in his ragged inhales, a hopelessness that made its home in my heart and spread sinewy tendrils to twist around my veins and squeeze.

It was desolation.

As if the apocalypse had been one sudden explosion that engulfed us all rather than this tortuously slow death we were all living. Took out the frog and shot it before the water got too hot.

Rosie sat on the floor with Mark cradled in her arms, rocking him as he cried. I stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do or think.

I decided that it did not matter. Nothing had changed, as Mark said. We had just been told a story like the fairy tales of old meant to inspire hope in the weary, only, this one didn’t have a happy ending. Apt, given the times.

“How long did you get?” I asked.

“Give him a moment.”

“I want to know what happened to James.”

The fabric in his hand ripped, his nails lacerating the frail scrap. It was a fitting soundscape to the tragedy.

When Mark gathered his wits once again, he pulled away from Rosie with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry,” he said, but my wife’s only response was to reach over and wipe the tear-streaks from his cheek. “An accident, each time.”

“Each time?” The implication stung.

“It was my fault, the first time. I was tired after a long night in the laboratory and forgot to shut off the gas valves. He wanted a candlelit breakfast the coming morning. Romantic that he is.”

“Fuck.”

“I went back. Fixed it. Then we were mugged. The assailant pulled a pistol on me and James got between us. I went back, fixed it again. Food poisoning this time. It was so ridiculous that all I could do was laugh. So I did it again. And again. And again. I watched James die dozens of times, regardless of what I did. The last time, we were in bed. He was tucked against my side, his fingers drawing half circles over my chest as I counted the stars painted on our bedroom ceiling.

“He told me he had developed a cough. I could hear the wheeze in his chest, and I begged to let me bring him to a time in which I could cure him, extend his life another decade. And do you know what he said? I know what you’ve done, my dear, but death, like time, can only be explored, never conquered.

“May 7th, 1914. I woke up and he didn’t.

“He requested I let him rest. The illness had exhausted him beyond the capability to stand, and his bindings did not help his lungs. He asked me, with my future knowledge of how people like us are interred, to see that they got his name right. So I did.

“One last time, just like the first, I made sure he was tucked in bed before opening the gas valves and lighting the candles. And I laid down with him. I laid down with him and yet I’m still here because time does not understand, time does not care, that I misplaced myself within it. Its laws? Even I cannot fathom how they go.

“James Avery was on his death certificate. Brilliant mind and loving friend on his tombstone.

“We had thirty years.”

Rosie cried into her sleeve.

Despite my shortness, I tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up to a bed in which Rosie was absent, and the terror that twisted my stomach stanched the thought. The mere hint of the idea swelled nausea powerful enough to moisten my eyeballs.

“I threw myself into the work I had first set out to do with half the vigor,” said the time traveler after a long pause. “There is only so much a man in his sixties can do, but I did it anyway. I traveled to the end, the beginning, and then the end again, until the sun enveloped the sky and the oceans were blood-red and all that crawled along the wasteland of this earth were things of indistinguishable size and shape dragging along the shoals, with tentacles used to navigate the endless expanse of nothing…

“And then there was truly nothing, not outside and not inside. Every action, every footprint was but a noiseless echo at the end of all things. We built a time machine, I stole a time machine, and still nothing could be done. Now I am here, where I take time thinks I am supposed to be.”

In the kitchen, the old analogue clock ticked away the seconds.

I had questions regarding that last bit of the time traveler’s tale, whether the writhing monsters and blood sea were literal or metaphor, but how to formulate words escaped me. The three of us sat in silence, drowned in both horror and grief.

Mark’s hair had gone salt and pepper. His left eye was filmy white but he seemed to be able to see out of it perfectly well. He was gaunt, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. The time traveler hardly looked like Mark, but it was him. He had aged three decades and two hundred years at the same time. He was an old man in 2061, but he had witnessed the true death of our world.

Twenty four hours prior he had stood at our doorstep in basketball shorts and a tank top, hair unkempt, and scrawny. Fiery. Angry. Rebellion etched into his dark eyes.

Time had no meaning.

Time was only but meaning.

“That is my tale,” said the time traveler, his eyelids heavy. “A story of futility, hubris, and suffering.”

Rosie and I led him back to the spare room once he declined a late dinner. He was fine walking on his own, standing taller and stronger than even myself, but it felt like company was not so much wanted but needed.

I was the first to turn in that night, my head filled with wonder and dread, and a suspicious twinge of something akin to hope. That last one made me curious, and I would discuss the hows and the whys whenever Rosie joined me in bed.

It would have to wait until after sunrise if I wanted to look outside and see if the machine was really there, but until then, we all deserved the rest.

Shutting down the hallway lights, I made my way to the living room to fold the blankets we had used and gather the last of the dishes for the morning. When I lifted the crochet quilt off the floor, the sound of something heavy hitting the linoleum gave me a start. The pocket watch almost clocked my toe, and a piece of machinery that heavy would have left a nasty bruise.

I picked it up.

The tarnished silver now told a myriad of stories, all of which I longed to hear and hoped I would get to in due time.

And there it was again. Hope.

“I don’t think it was a fruitless endeavor at all,” Rosie said once she got into bed. She rolled over as best she could with the size of her belly, her head tucked against my shoulder. “What he did, I mean. Making a machine, going back in time.”

“I don’t think so either,” I confessed, which surprised her. “He did save more than one person.”

“You believe him, then.”

“I do.”

The pocket watch, turned out, was not a watch at all, but rather a locket. Inside was a sepia-toned picture, frayed around the edges with the year 1898 written in elegant cursive on the bottom corner. It was in the Victorian style, but not in the way one expects.

In it stood Mark, dressed to the nines with his hair slicked back and thick necktie making him look unnaturally stiff. This was contrasted by the man who posed with him, just as smartly dressed, slicked back hair and clean-shaven face, but his lips comically pursed. James held a handkerchief to Mark’s cheek, as if wiping something off his face, and his other arm draped around his waist.

They were looking at each other, Mark’s grin infectious, and I could almost see how it had played out. Mark blowing a raspberry, James laughing, arms around each other, a private kiss that would set the photographer in a huff. Two men in love.

“I love you,” I told Rosie, my hand on her belly.

She kissed my brow.

Come morning, the locket would be gone, and the only trace of the time traveler would be the circle of burnt grass on our lawn.

#writeblr #science fiction #romance #original fiction #queer #trans #the time machine #mitch writes

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callsign-magnolia · 2 years ago

Text

I Hope You Dance // Ch. 43

MATURE CONTENT (18+)

A/N: This is cross posted to my Wattpad, so if this seems familiar that is why!

TW: Mental abuse, emotional abuse, slight physical abuse, death and loss. VIOLENCE this chapter is especially violent so please be cautious when reading!

Description: When Caila meets Rooster, sparks fly. But, she's already married, to a man who she thought loved her, and won't let her go. Rooster will fight for her, he just has to convince Caila to fight for herself.

Word Count: 6.2k

Chapter 42 | Masterlist

After a few minutes of him holding me, I pulled back. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home? Especially early.” He sighed, leaning down to grab his bag. “We had to go dark after our last call. But Mav found out we were coming back early and sent Bob to get me.” I smiled. “That’s why he sprinted out the door without an explanation.” He nodded. “Well I’m making lunch right now, fried chicken salads with homemade ranch.” He hummed, resting his forehead on mine. “That sounds like heaven.” I nodded, reaching for the bag strap but he stopped me. “Come on. I’ll toss this in the washer while you go shower.” He shook his head. “Showered before I got off the ship earlier, so I just need to change clothes. How about you make lunch while I toss this in the washer, then I’ll change and we can eat.” I nodded, smiling widely. “Okay.” He went to walk by me when I stopped him, grabbing his glove clad hand. “Damn, you really do look good in your dress whites.” I said as I ran my hand down his chest. “Just a few minutes, pretty girl and I’ll give you all the attention you want.” He said before placing a kiss to my forehead. I held his hand as we walked into the kitchen, not letting go when he made the turn to go into the laundry room.

“Mags?” I hummed as he looked down at me. “You have to let go of my hand.” He said as a grin threatened to split his face in two. “Hm, but I really don’t want to.” He just chuckled, gently kissing my forehead before dropping my hand. I went back to the counter, chopping veggies while Bradley went upstairs to change. He looked absolutely dreamy in his dress whites; it made me giddy to think that’s what he’ll be wearing as we stood on opposite ends of the aisle. I was startled by arms wrapping around my waist, a bare chest pressed against my back. “Looks delicious.” He whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss to the back of my head. He pulled away and I felt his fingers in my hair. I cringed and pulled away. “Please don’t.” He pulled his fingers from my hair, wrapping it back around my waist. “I’m sorry, I just forgot you had some hair pulled out.” I nodded with a sigh. “I just hope it grows back in time for the wedding.” He pressed his lips to the back of my head and I could feel the smile on his face. “I’m sure it will, and if not, you’ll still look beautiful.” I couldn’t hold back the grin on my face. “Thank you, honey.” He squeezed me one more time before the oven beeped and Rooster pulled the croutons from the oven. “Homemade?” I nodded. “Yeah, in order to save money for the wedding I changed up the grocery list a little. So the bread is homemade, I buy our eggs from one of the guys on base. Him and his wife have a shit ton of chickens. Um, I try to buy as much as possible on sale. I stock up on veggies, slice them and freeze them.”

He smiled at me as he leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his broad chest. I finished chopping everything and placed it in bowls before turning to him. “You hit the gym more often?” I noticed his arms were a little bigger and his abs more defined. “It was the only thing that kept my mind busy when I wasn’t doing paper work.” I nodded, admiring him. He was shirtless with a pair of basketball shorts on. I met his eyes to see he was staring at the right side of my face, my stomach rolling. “Come here.” He grabbed my hips, lifting me onto the counter. He spread my legs to stand between them, his hands creeping up the side of my ribs. “I missed you so much, pretty girl.” He said as his nose nudged mine. “Oh, I missed you too, Roo.” He smiled, his lips molding against mine. My arms wrapped around his neck as his crept up my back. I knew I missed him, but now, with his lips against mine it was like the other half of my heart had come home. His tongue licked my bottom lip, coercing me to open my mouth. Our tongues clashed as a sigh escaped me. He moved from my lips, opting to kiss across my right cheek, his lips ghosting over the bruises before he leaned down to my neck, licking it. “Bradley.” I sighed as I pulled him closer if possible. “Fuck, I’ve missed those little noises you make for me.” I smiled as one of my hands found its way into his hair. Soon he pulled away and kissed me one more time. “I see your hair got a little longer.” He said as he twirled some of it. “Yeah, I’m trying to grow it out.” He grinned at me, kissing my nose. “Short or long, I think you look beautiful.” A blush crept up my cheeks as I giggled.

“I can’t wait to see the venue.” I gasped in excitement. “Yeah? We can go tomorrow! I can call Margaret and let her know!” He smiled at me as his grip around me tightened. “Mm, We both have some time off work for a few weeks. Let’s hold off till Monday. I just wanna keep you in my arms for the weekend.” He whispered as he rested his forehead on mine. “I like the sound of that.” He smiled, kissing me again. “Alright, I’m hungry and you know what? It’s nice outside so let’s go sit on the deck.” He said as he clapped his hands together, rubbing them. “Well, you might wanna go see your girls first. They’re out back.” He smiled, stepping away and helping me off the counter. I swung the back door open to see both dogs sunbathing on their backs. “Girls.” I called and no one moved. “Daddy’s home.” Immediately they both flipped over, looking at us almost to see if I was lying. But as soon as they caught sight of him, they were off. They rushed over as he sat on the floor, Sadie leaping into his lap as Dahlia all but tackled him. “Hi girls!” He cooed, pulling them both close. Kissing their heads as they licked his face, “Okay, gross! Stop!” He laughed out. They backed up just enough for him to give them love individually. “And you.” He said as he grabbed Dahlia’s collar, pulling her closer. “I owe you a lot big girl.” He said as he pressed a kiss to the bridge of her nose. “She is missing a tooth but that’s okay.” I said as I crouched down next to him.

Loud barking from Bradley’s lap caught my attention. “Yes, little girl. You did good too!” I said as I picked her up, nuzzling her fur. “She laid in front of me after he ran out. I thought she was gonna take down the officer when he rushed in.” Bradley chuckled, petting her. I put Sadie down and we went back inside to finish the food. We grabbed our plates going outside, he took one side of the small table and as I walked past him, “Oh no.” He said before wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me down into his lap. “Want you as close as possible.” He said before pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. So, I stayed in his lap, relishing in this peaceful moment. Soon the wind picked up and dark clouds rolled in. “Come on, we’ll clean up the kitchen and then snuggle on the couch.” I nodded, following him inside and bringing the dogs with. We cleaned up before he headed for the living room when I stopped him. “Wait! Close your eyes!” He grinned, doing as I asked. If he had seen the piano, he didn’t react any way. I led him out to the living room, placing my hands over his eyes. “Okay and open them!” I let go, stepping to the side to see his reaction. For a second there was nothing, he just stared at it. “Roo? Do you not like it?” What if he didn’t? Did I cross a boundary? Maybe it brought up old memories that upset him.

He walked over to it, a blank expression on his face. He sat on the bench, running his hands over the keys. “My parents had a piano exactly like this.” “That’s why I got it.” I said as I walked over, crouching down next to him. “Hey, if you don’t want it, I-“ He gently grabbed my hand, pulling me up and into his lap, straddling him on the bench. He wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around him, rubbing his back. I noticed his breathing get deeper and deeper before feeling tears running down my shoulder. “Oh, Roo.” I cooed as one hand went into his hair, scratching his scalp. I gently pressed my lips to his hair as I held him. After a few minutes he picked his head up, looking at me, his eyes red and cheeks puffy. “I love this. You have no idea how much it means to me that you went through the trouble of finding this and bringing it home.” I smiled down at him, holding his face in my hands as I rested my forehead on his. “No trouble at all. I made Hangman, Bob and Coyote do it.” He laughed loudly, quickly standing with me in his arms. “Ooh, you have been working out.” We laughed as he walked us over to the couch, flopping down, landing us on our sides. I yelped as I landed on my right side. “Oh shit!” Rooster jumped up, helping me sit up. “Honey, I’m so sorry. You know I’d never do anything like that on purpose.” I nodded, wanting to cradle my cheek but I know that would make it worse. “I know, Roo.”

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” I nodded. “Can you grab me an ice pack from the freezer and wrap it in a rag?” He nodded, launching out of his seat and rushing into the kitchen. As quick as he went, he came back, gently pressing the ice pack to my face. I hummed in relief, placing my hand over his. “Here.” He laid on the couch, opening his arms. I smiled, laying in his arms, the ice pack resting on the right side of my face. “I meant to ask, what’s growing in front of the porch?” I giggled. “I clipped some of the roses you sent me for Valentine’s Day and planted them.” He pulled me closer, grinning against my hair. “Really?” I nodded, intertwining my fingers with the hand that’s splayed across my belly. “Yeah.” “You are one amazing woman.” Soon his breathing evened out, and I smiled, his heart beat against my back lulling me to sleep. This nap was one of the best I had ever had, being wrapped in his arms was soothing, not only for my anxieties but for my soul. I felt safe with him, safer than I ever had in my adult life.

I woke up to rain pattering against the windows, my eyes slowly opening as thunder rolled. I looked towards the front of the house and jumped up when I remembered that all the windows in the house were open. I rushed to the one by the front door, closing it quickly. “Everything okay?” I turned to see Rooster sitting up on the couch, the blanket he pulled over us, pooling around his waist. “Yeah, I accidently left the windows open and it’s raining cats and dogs outside.” I said as I rushed past him, trying to get all the windows closed before the floors got soaked. “Are the ones upstairs open?” He asked as I rushed into the kitchen. “Yeah!” I yelled out and heard his feet stomping up the stairs. Once I got all the windows closed and cleaned up what little water poured in, I leaned against the counter to grab my phone, shooting a text to my mom.

Just wanted to let you know, Rooster’s home.

I still think I should come see you.

No. I’m okay, just focus on riding out this tour and I’ll see you for the engagement party.

I’ll still check in. Give Bradley my love.

I will. Love you.

Mom has been freaking out about me being here without Rooster. Even though the team has been here, she still would’ve preferred Bradley. “What’s got you so focused in your phone, huh? A boyfriend I should know about?” Bradley said as he wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my neck, his mustache tickling me. “No!” I giggled as I tried to get away from him. “It’s my mom. I told her you were home and she wanted me to give her love.” He smiled, rocking us back and forth. “Well, what does my fiancé want for dinner?” He asked, making me giggle. “You just got home. What do you want?” I asked as I leaned back, cradling his face in my hands. “Mm, I’m feeling like Italian.” I rolled my eyes. “Really or are you choosing that just because you know I love Italian?” He hummed, kissing the back of my head. “No, I really want pasta.” I smiled, grabbing the menu for the Italian place we like and handing it to him. “Go ahead, order dinner.” He smiled, kissing my cheek before dialing the number on the menu.

A while later the food was delivered and we set up on the couch, plates in hand as we curled up together. Tremors was on tv, so we turned it on, laughing occasionally until suddenly the power went out. “Son of a bitch!” I cursed. I groaned, leaning my head back onto the couch. It was still a little daylight outside, so it wasn’t too dark in the house. “I’ll go check the breaker.” I nodded as he got up, setting his food on the end table and heading for the laundry room. I heard him flip the switch a few times before he huffed. “Nothing. That wind is harsh so it’s probably down lines, or a transformer.” I nodded as I finished my food. “Want a beer?” I shook my head. “We don’t have any. If I had known you were coming home, I would’ve bought some.” He chuckled, sitting next to me. “Wine?” I shook my head “I can’t have it with the pain meds I’m taking.” He furrowed his brows. “What are you taking?” “Hydrocodone. I only take it when needed, which is mainly at night.” He nodded, finishing his own food. “Well it’s gonna get dark soon.” I nodded. “I’ll pull out some candles so we aren’t shrouded in darkness.” I said as I dropped my voice down an octave.

I went into the guest room, pulling down a bunch of unscented candles, lining them up throughout the living room. “Ooh, romantic.” He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I giggled as he buried his face in my neck, his mustache tickled as he left kisses. “Stop!” I giggled as he turned me around, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Fuck. I’m so happy to be home with you.” I cradled his face in my hands before placing another kiss to his lips. “I’m so happy to have you home too.” I looked outside, seeing the rain had slowed drastically. “Come on girls!” Both dogs jumped up, rushing to the back door as I let them out. “Hurry!” We laughed as both dogs tiptoed through the wet yard, Sadie doing a better job than Dahlia. Soon they came in and we had to dry them off, drying off Sadie before I turned to Dahlia. She looked at me with her big eyes. “Don’t you dare.” She dropped her head, and I held up the towel as she shook the water off of her. I looked over at Rooster who stood there, eyes closed, arms out, covered in water droplets. I couldn’t help but laugh, my head thrown back as a loud laugh escaped my throat. “You think it’s funny?” I squealed, attempting to get away when he wrapped his arms around me, pulling my back flush against his soaking wet chest. He swung me around for a second before setting me back on my feet.

“Oh no, now we need a shower.” He said sarcastically. “Let’s just get the dogs dry first.” We got them dry before Bradley was lifting me into his arms bridal style. “Let’s get naked!” He said a little too enthusiastically before carrying me upstairs. Stripping was quick, clothing discarded in all different directions before I pulled him into the shower. He pinned me against the wall as the water cascaded over us, his lips molding against mine. All the hunger we’ve had for each other in our separation pouring out, almost suffocating us. We didn’t want to pull away, even to breathe, but we eventually had to. I smiled up at him as I reached between us, my hand wrapping around his cock. “Fuck.” He muttered as his nose brushed my cheek. “Are you that needy?” He moaned as I nodded. I smirked at him before sinking to my knees. “Ooh, what are you up to sweet girl?” I opened my mouth, the swollen head of his cock resting on my tongue as I gave it a kitten lick, his head falling back against the shower wall. “Just trying to please my fiancé.” I said before sucking gently on the head, precum leaking down my throat. “You just have to smile, and it pleases me sweet girl.”

I took him a little farther back in my mouth, but not too far since my jaw was still sore. I ran my tongue along the vein on the underside, causing a shiver to run up his spine and a heat to pool between my legs. “Mags, you don’t have to do this.” He said as one hand buried itself in my hair, gently gathering. I hummed as I pulled him out, my lips popping around the head of my cock. “Mm, just wanna please my man.” I went back to licking the head, using my hand to pump him. “Fuck, Mags. I’m not gonna last long.” I hummed, sucking on him as I rolled his balls in my hand. “Then cum for me.” He groaned, throwing his head back. “Fuck, honey. That’s it. Haven’t cum since Valentine’s Day.” I smirked knowing he was waiting till he came home. It wasn’t the reunion either of us were expecting with my injuries but I’m always happy to get on my knees for him. Since Bradley and I have started having sex I will happily give him head. With Aaron, I hated it because he would fuck my face till my jaw was bruised to hell. Rooster appreciates it and makes it enjoyable for me as well. “Mags.” His chest was heaving as I looked up at him, he was looking down at me, his brown eyes a shade darker than usual.

“Yes?” I asked as I pulled him from my mouth, working my hand around him. “That’s it, pretty girl. Yes.” I watched as his abdominal muscles rippled, balls tightening as his release covered my face. “Oh, fuck.” He moaned, looking down at my now cum covered face. He ran his thumb along my cheek, gathering his release before slipping his thumb between my lips. I licked it clean before standing, his thumb and pointer finger gripping my chin and tilting my head to kiss me as his other hand reached around grabbing a handful of my ass. “Let’s finish our shower, we have all night to finish this.” I said as we pulled away and he grinned at me. “Oh, you’re in for a long night pretty girl.” Oh, I was anticipating it. The rest of our shower was soft touches, washing each other’s bodies, longing kisses that showed how much we truly missed each other. Once we got out, he slipped into some boxer briefs, and I slid on a black lacy thong and one of his Phillies shirts. By now it was dark outside, so we lit all the candles that we had downstairs, a soft glow filling the room. “Now we just need entertainment.” I said as I lit the last candle. “Oh, I got that covered.” Rooster sauntered over to the piano, looking like a literal Adonis as he did so. He worked out a lot onboard and it shows. His abs were more prominent, his arms were bigger, and his thighs were thick. Even his ass had a little more curve to it.

I smiled, walking over and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. “What are you gonna play?” I asked, nipping at his ear lobe. He hit some familiar keys, making me giggle. “You shake my nerves, and you rattle my brain.” I laughed loudly, dancing around him as he sang. Ending with me falling into his lap. “Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!” Once he finished, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a kiss. “Can you play?” He asked as we pulled away. “I tried learning while I was recovering, but I only learned a few notes to one song.” He smiled, resting his forehead on mine. “Play for me?” I smiled, turning to the keys as I stayed perched in his lap. “Don’t judge me for my lack of skill.” I said and he chuckled. “I could never judge you, sweet girl.” He pressed a kiss to my temple as I situated my hands on the keys. I slowly played the first few keys, the only ones I knew before turning back to him. “What song is that?” He asked, brows furrowed. “It’s familiar but I can’t place it.” He was so cute when he looked confused. “Love is Gone. It’s by Dylan Matthew and Slander.” He still seemed confused. “Sing it?” I nodded, tapping the keys again. I sang through the first verse, but his memory seemed to click when I sang the chorus.

“I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me I know that your love is gone I can't breathe, I'm so weak, I know this isn't easy Don't tell me that your love is gone That your love is gone.”

I finished out the song, turning back to him. “Recognize it?” He had a glassy look in his eyes, as if tears were forming. “Yeah.” It was a whisper, nothing more. “You okay?” With that he sniffled, leaning his head down to wipe his eyes. “Roo? Hey, honey.” I turned in his lap to straddle him, taking his face in my hands and gently lifting it so he would meet my eyes. “Talk to me? You know you can tell me anything.” He knew he could, but he also knew I would never push him to talk if he didn’t want to. “After that huge fight we had at your mom’s concert, this song played in the car on the ride home.” I pursed my lips, not really knowing how to respond. “Every station I flipped to, that song was on. It was like a torturing reminder that you didn’t love me, and I couldn’t escape it.” Tears of my own spilled over as he hung his head, laying it on my collar bone as I wrapped my arms around him. “I do love you. I wish things played out differently for us. But we’re on the other side.” I gently lifted his head, smiling at him, wiping tears from his cheeks. “I love you, and only you. You are way too good for me and to me, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m never running from you again, I promise.” He had no response, nothing other than squeezing my waist and burying his face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders again, rocking us side to side. My hand found its way into his curls, scratching his head as I hummed quietly.

We sat there for what felt like hours, but in reality, was probably twenty minutes. It gave me time to think, too much time. My biggest fear was him getting hurt because of me, and his biggest fear was me running. It still hurts to know that I hurt him the way I did, even if it was to protect him. And honestly, I still don’t think I’ve forgiven myself. That was something I definitely needed to bring up in therapy. We sat there for a few more minutes before he lifted his head. “I’m sorry.” I said, wiping his cheeks free of tears. “For what?” He asked. “For hurting you.” He just smiled at me through glassy eyes. “You did. But I forgave you a long time ago, pretty girl.” He said as he rested his forehead on mine. I had a deep appreciation for his honesty. He could’ve looked at me and said, ‘No, you didn’t hurt me.’ Which I would’ve known was a lie. But it made me feel better knowing he acknowledged it and forgave me for it anyway. “I love you, Mags.” I smiled as he gently kissed me. “I love you too, Roo.” He grabbed my left hand, pulling it up to his lips for a kiss before running his finger over the ring. “She’d be so happy that you have this.” I smiled at him. “This means more to me than any ring you could’ve bought me.”

We sat there for a few more minutes before thunder hit, rattling the house. I looked over to see poor Dahlia shaking like a leaf. “Oh, baby. Come on.” I slid off Bradley’s lap, grabbing Dahlia’s blanket and her favorite stuffy. “Come on.” I encouraged her to follow me, Sadie following closely. I walked her into the bedroom, opening the closet door for her. She rushed in, seeking solace in the dark and quiet that the closet offers. I laid her blanket down, allowing her to lay down before laying her stuffy under her chin. Sadie crawled over, curling up next to her. “Alexa, play music.” The Alexa turned on, playing the country station I last had it on. I made sure it was loud enough to drown out the thunder and I cracked the closet door so the lightning wouldn’t scare her. After that I went back downstairs to see Rooster playing a few keys on the piano. “She okay?” I nodded. “Sometimes storms scare her, I find putting her somewhere like a closet where it’s dark and quiet soothes her. That and Sadie curled up with her.” He chuckled. “Your guard dog has an emotional support dog.” I giggled at his observation. “So, what do we do now?” The storm was still raging outside, and we had no power. “Ever play poker?” I asked, smirking at him as I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth.

“I like that look in your eye.” He walked over, reaching into the entertainment center and puling out a deck of cards. He slid the coffee table away so we could sit in the floor. He shuffled and dealt me mine and his before we set the stack in the middle. “Strip poker. Loser takes off an article of clothing.” I giggled. “There’s three pieces of clothing between us.” He nodded. “Shouldn’t take long.” We both threw in some chips, staring at our decks intensely. “Flush.” I huffed, laying down my cards. “Three of a kind.” He cheered, fist pumping. He quickly got on his knees, leaning over to grab the bottom of the Phillies shirt I had on, yanking it over my head. “That’s better.” He said before one hand wrapped around the back of my neck, yanking me into a searing kiss. It caused heat to pool in my belly. His free hand reached up, grabbing my breast, causing me to moan. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, opting to pinch my nipple before leaning down, taking it into his mouth. His tongue swirled around my nipple, making a loud gasp escaped me. “Roo.” I whined and just as my hand found it’s way into his hair, he pulled away, sitting back down across from me as I whined. “That was mean.” He just smirked at me, dealing another hand.

We watched each other carefully before he smugly laid down his hand. “Full house.” He smirked at me, raising his brows. “Royal Flush.” His smile fell as I reached across, flicking his waist band. “Get ‘em off.” He quickly stripped his boxers off, tossing them behind him. I decided to return the favor, leaning forward and grabbing his semi hard cock, licking a stripe along the vein on the underside. He threw his head back, moaning before I pulled away, sitting back in my spot. “You’re a fucking tease.” I smirked, opting to sit on my knees when I sat back down. “Best two out of three?” I nodded. Either way my panties would come off, but I knew he wanted that moment to rip them off of me. It was a short round him laying down a royal flush when I had nothing. The second I threw down my cards, he was on me. He tackled me to the floor, his lips smashing against mine. My legs wrapped around his waist, his cock resting heavy against my pelvis. “Fuck.” He muttered as he pulled away, grabbing my hands and pulling me up. He grabbed my thighs, lifting me before dropping me down onto my back on the lounge part of the couch. He kissed me before standing, grabbing my underwear, he lifted my legs in the air, sliding them off before chucking them somewhere before he smirked at me.

He kneeled on the lounge, placing kisses on my ankles before slowly working his way up my leg. I shivered as he placed a kiss to the back of my knee. He kissed my inner though, his nose brushing just next to my clit. “Roo.” I moaned, taking deeper breaths so I didn’t jump his bones. “Just hang on, pretty girl. I got you.” He laid down on the lounge, positioning himself perfectly between my legs. He pushed my thighs apart, giving him better access. I moaned loudly as the tip of his tongue circled my clit. “God I’ve missed the sounds you make.” He said before diving his tongue into my entrance. I gasped, my hands finding their way into his hair. “Oh yes.” I moaned out. His nose brushed my clit as he continued to lick into me. He kept a grip on my legs, keeping them pushed back against my shoulders as he sloppily ate me out. The sounds he was making as he sucked on my clit were obscene, and it made heat pool in my belly. That tightening sensation had me moaning loudly. “Bradley. God, don’t stop.” I begged sitting up just enough to watch him. I could see his tongue flicking against my clit as his eyes met mine, but I also noticed he was grinding into the end of the couch. “Yeah, Rooster.” I encouraged, my hand holding his curls in a vice like grip.

I couldn’t resist grinding against his tongue, watching his hips roll down into the couch. “Come on. Roo, I’m so close!” I called, waves of pleasure hitting soon after. I froze as he pulled my pelvis flush against his mouth. I cried out, attempting to pull away but the grip he had on my legs wasn’t allowing it. I practically had to push him away, the over stimulation being too much. He smirked as he rose onto all fours, leaning over me to place a kiss on my lips. I could taste myself on his tongue, a moan escaping me. “You need a little attention?” I asked, gripping his cock, making his breath catch in his throat. “I saw you grinding into the couch Roo.” He groaned, grabbing my leg again, lifting it up to my shoulder. “I can’t help it, watching you cum on my tongue drives me crazy.” He said as he placed one more kiss to my lips, before lining himself up. I ran my nails down his abs as he slowly slipped in. I hissed in pain, having to get used to the stretch again.

“You can take it, pretty girl.” He always knew the right things to get me going. Inch by inch he buried himself inside me until he was buried to the hilt. “See, I told you you could take it. You always do.” My eyes could’ve rolled back in my head. I never knew you could miss such a sensation, he was sitting still, not moving at all and yet it still felt almost euphoric. He trailed his hands from my thighs to my ribs, holding me tightly there. I met his gaze, his eyes seeming to be a few shades darker as he stared down at me. “Rooster.” I said as I wrapped my hands around his forearms. “Fuck me, Roo. Please.” I could hardly stand it, this long without him and I already felt my mind going hazy. He obliged, slowly pulling out before slipping back in. It was all slow thrusts and sensual kisses but soon I needed more. I sat up and he pulled out, his smirk growing wide as I braced myself against the back of the couch. I arched my back, my ass sticking in the air as Rooster took the sign to stand. He gathered my hair in his hands, slipping back in. “Oh.” I moaned loudly. He pulled my hair, tilting my head back, meeting my gaze as he fucked me. “God, you feel like heaven around me.” He let go of my hair, wrapping his hands around my neck as he railed me. “Did you miss me? Huh? Miss the way I fuck you?” My only response were loud moans. Between his hands around my neck and the fact I felt like my brain was in a haze, I couldn’t say anything. “Words, Mags. Wanna hear you speak.” He said as his pace picked up. “Yes.” I moaned out as the sound of skin clapping became louder than the rain.

He let go of my neck, placing kisses down my back as he fucked me. I felt stupid at this point, barely able to hold myself up. If I wasn’t leaning against the back of the couch, I would’ve been face down ass up. “Come here.” He slipped out, pulling me into his arms before laying me on my back on the floor. He slid back inside, intertwining his fingers with mine as he held them next to my head. He had changed his pace, being slow and gentle as he fucked me. “Fuck, you’re on the pill, right?” I nodded, realizing we hadn’t grabbed a condom. “Don’t pull out.” I said as I pressed my heel into the small of his back. That seemed to drive him crazy. “You want it, honey? Want me to fill you up?” I nodded as he let go of my hands, opting to wrap his arms around me as I dragged my nails down the back of his shoulders. I felt another orgasm building, loud moans filling the room from both of us. “That’s it, Roo. Yes!” I cried as my orgasm washed over me, my dripping cunt pulsing around his cock, causing his own orgasm to hit. “Oh fuck. That’s it, Mags.” He moaned out as he stilled inside me, his cum filling me as my head fell back. “I love you, pretty girl. More than anything.” I smiled as he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “I love you too, Rooster.”

There was no point in cleaning ourselves up after that, seeing as once we hit the bedroom I straddled him, riding his cock. Needing my fill one more time before we laid down in bed. We laid there, his head on my chest as his arms were wrapped around my waist. My hands were in his hair and rubbing his arm. “Do you think we could bring the dogs to the wedding?” I raised a brow, shrugging. “We can talk to Margaret at the venue. I’m sure we could.” He smiled, watching as Dahlia was still curled up in the closet. “I’d like that.” I smiled down at him, placing a kiss on his head. “Get some sleep Roo, we have plenty of time together.” He tried shaking his head, but he was already halfway asleep. It wasn’t long before he completely knocked out, my hands still threading through his hair. It felt good to have him home, it helped to put my mind at ease a little. But I still worried. They haven’t caught Daniel yet, and I was worried he would come back, and now with Rooster home, I worried even more. I looked down at him, peaceful as ever in his sleep. I looked back to the bedroom door, deciding I would stay up tonight to make sure nothing happened. “We’ll be okay.” I muttered as I sat back against the headboard. “It’ll all be okay.”

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Taglist: @mak-32 @rosiahills22 @dhwanishah09

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