#they are the most vanilla bread white couple ever | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

abookishdreamer · 6 months ago

Text

Character Intro: Xenia (Kingdom of Ichor)

Age- 9 (immortal)

Location- Hearthwood neighborhood, New Olympus

Personality- She's a sweet, friendly, generous young girl who has a natural talent for making people feel welcome. She shows great respect towards everyone- especially her elders.

She has the standard abilities of a goddess except shapeshifting. As the goddess of hospitality her other powers/abilities include cornucopia generation (is able to conjure one up filled with a being's favorite foods), drink generation (is able to fill a cup with any drink except alcohol), limited truth sense, ambrosia manipulation, limited vitakinesis (healing), cooperation manipulation, and trust manipulation.

Xenia is the third oldest child of Pathos (god of emotion), another mortal to be elevated to godhood by way of apotheosis. At her young age she's considered a "godling."

A notable physical feature is her long curly dark golden blonde hair.

For as long as she can remember, Xenia was raised by her paternal grandparents named Agariste & Lycurgus. She grew up being aware of her biological father (having seen photos of him) who was committed to a mental hospital. She knows nothing of her biological mother. Xenia fondly remembers the days where her Nana would make chicken noodle soup and moussaka for dinner or when her Papa's deep soothing voice would put her to sleep when he'd read a book of legends. What happened soon shook Xenia to her core. Before she knew it, both of her grandparents were in the hospital with terminal illnesses, then they were gone. Other family members couldn't be located, so Xenia was placed in the custody of the department of children & family services.

She now lives with her new family- her adoptive father and siblings Philautia (goddess of self love), Philia (goddess of friendship), & her baby brother Storge at their home in the Hearthwood neighborhood of New Olympus.

Xenia's bedroom is every girly girl's dream with gold butterfly patterned wallpaper, soft white mink carpeting, a canopy bed topped with lace and silk dust ruffles, as well as a grand custom made dollhouse for her glamour dolls. There's also a growing collection of rag and porcelain dolls.

She has a couple of pets- two blanc de hotot rabbits named Evie & Lucy.

There's a white gold heart shaped locket that has a photo of her grandparents which she always wears.

Xenia loves when her dad buys a freshly baked koulouri from The Bread Box for her for breakfast. She spreads tzatziki cream cheese on it- eating it along with soft boiled eggs and yogurt topped with sliced strawberries, honey, & walnuts. She also loves the Golly Grains vanilla spice cereal.

A go-to drink for her is lemonade. She also likes iced tea, sparkling water, peach juice, lemon-lime soda, orange juice, hot tea, ginger ale, green tea, and the vanilla milkshakes from The Frozen Spoon.

Xenia exclusively writes in cursive.

Even though she loves her home & family, there are still times when she feels sad when her grandparents come to mind.

She loves snacking on tzatziki flavored potato chips.

Xenia is taking "junior miss" classes at Kyría Aristeía, a charm school in the Queenstown neighborhood. She loves partaking in the tea sandwiches afterwards! She's also taking ballet lessons taught by Terpischore (muse of dance).

Her all time favorite dessert is the honey cake from Hollyhock's Bakery.

Xenia adores her father Pathos. She thinks he does the most perfect ballet bun ever. He's a great listener and she looks forward to their daddy/daughter dates- tea & macarons at the Grand Eaglepoint Hotel and lunch at The Ocean Roll (she loves the spicy tuna rolls) before ending the day at the Silver Owl bookstore. Xenia LOVED her most recent Christmas gift from him- a Diamond Ave. jeweled rabbit clutch!

A guilty pleasure for her is an olympian burger with a lamb gyro and small fries from Olympic Chef.

The adjustment with having siblings took a while to get used to, but she can't imagine life without her brother and sisters. Xenia appreciates the makeup tips she gets from Philautia (she tried out light lip gloss & glitter eyeshadow), doing the latest popular dance craze on social media with Philia, or playing with Storge and his toys. She takes pride in the fact that he loves her crustless peanut butter & pomegranate jam sandwiches.

Pomegranates, strawberries, figs, & apples are her favorite fruits.

There's this beachside hotel in Mykonos Xenia loves going to when her and her family are there if they're not staying at the vacation house. She loves the hotel's indoor saltwater pool as well as the piña colada slushies. Xenia and Philia got matching island themed t-shirts and palm tree plushies at the hotel's gift shop.

In addition to almost being fluent in Old Greek, she's also learning Latin & French.

Her favorite frozen treat is vanilla honey ice cream.

She loves getting a pound of vanilla flavored saltwater taffy from Confection Carousel.

Xenia is a fourth grader at school. Other godly students include the third graders Myrízei (god of smell & gases), Aceso (goddess of healing), Mneme (goddess of remembrance), Physis (goddess of nature), Hebe (goddess of youth), Prophasis (goddess of excuses), Caerus (god of opportunity & luck), and Paidia (goddess of play & amusement) while the fifth graders are Aidos (goddess of shame, modesty, humility, & respect), Melete (goddess of thought & meditation), Calleis (goddess of allurement), Ersa (goddess of morning dew), and Eulabeia (goddess of caution). She's friendly with most of them.

Her own friend group in her grade consists of mortals named Chloé, Alexandra, & Thesselie (nicknamed Leslie), a satyr named Faunas, and a centaur named Aelorin.

Her favorite subjects/classes are literature, art, & history. Xenia is also part of the school's theater club.

She's also friends with E.B and Krysothemis (Kristy), kids of her father's best friend Karmanor (demi-god of the harvest). They're sixth graders and attend the same middle school as Philia. Xenia has a secret growing crush on E.B.

When school resumes, she's looking forward to the class trip to the Melpomenus Theater to see the musical Astrikó!

In the pantheon Xenia likes Morá (goddess of babies & children). She's often her babysitter if Philautia isn't free to babysit. She also admires Hestia (goddess of the hearth), Clio (muse of history), Eikono (goddess of iconography & literature), Calliope (muse of epic poetry), Pistis (goddess of trust, reliability, & good faith), and Melpomene (muse of tragedy).

It's said that Xenia's official mentor will be Peitharchia (goddess of obedience & discipline).

She's been getting into cooking & baking a lot more, learning from her dad. Successful attempts have been tostones and baklava.

In her free time Xenia enjoys reading, football (soccer), jump rope, roller skating, writing, playing with her dolls, sewing, watching TV, listening to music, & bike riding.

Her favorite meal is moussaka.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

#my oc #oc character #my character #my oc character #my original oc #original character #oc intro #character intro #oc introduction #character introduction #modern greek gods #modern greek mythology #greek myth retellings #greek goddess #greek goddesses #greek mythology #greek pantheon #greek myths

1 note · View note

fiftytwotwentythree · 11 months ago

Text

Wellness Wednesday:

Doubts Creepin' In

Couple of weeks ago I said I wanted to "finish strong" - I wanted to weigh the lowest I've ever weighed on my last weigh-in, I have a few unwritten goals that I want to surpass, and I want to skate into the New Year flawless on my diet.

Well,

I have become extremely snacky recently. I am still eating "clean" but the portions are getting out of control.

The recent Snack Attack obviously hasn't helped my weightloss progress

And...

I got a Family Holiday Dinner coming around corner just before my penultimate weigh-in and I don't know if I can resist all the side dishes... especially since I will be deprived of my most coveted Holiday Elixirs - I'm talking about the Three Wise-Men of Winter Goodness:

Cranberry Punch,

Eggnog,

and Hot Chocolate

Hot Damn, I will miss thee three.

Lastly - I absolutely cannot stand working out/exercising at the moment. Every work has been completed begrudgingly.

51st CHECK-IN:

Current Goals:

Lose 52 lbs: Completed

Loss 52 lbs as of 4/12/2023

Milestone: Loss 100 lbs as of 11/01/2023

New Goal: Maintain or Continue on The Weight Loss Path

Avoid "Junk Food"

Minimize Take-Out / Fast Food Consumption

Short Term:

Vegetarian-ish Diet: Completed

End Date: 4/09/2023 - 46 Days Total

Groundhog Day Diet: Completed*

10/01/2023 - 10/31/2023

Meal Tracker:

THURSDAY

Lunch:

(2) Cheeseburgers

- Potato Hamburger Buns

- Prime Rib Steak Beef Patties

- Cheese

- Top Secret Burger Sauce

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Snack:

Summer Sausage Sandwich

- Slices of Summer Sausage

- Cheese

- Potato Hamburger Buns

(4 - 5/8oz) Bags of Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn

Bag of Ranch Corn Nuts

(4oz) Bag of Sahale Snacks Pomegranate Vanilla Flavored Cashews Glazed Mix

(4oz) Bag of Sahale Snacks Pomegranate Flavored Pistachios Glazed Mix

Supper:

Large Plate of Macaroni & Cheese

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

FRIDAY

Lunch:

Chef Salad

(2) Bowls of Wonderful's Shelled Seasoned Salt Pistachios

Snack:

(4 -5/8oz) Bags of Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn

Supper:

Bowl of White Chicken Chili

- 10 Crackers

(2) Oven Baked Ham & Swiss Sliders

(2) Handfuls of Red Grapes

SATURDAY

Breakfast:

(2) Sausage Sandwiches

- (8) Sausage Links

- Potato Hamburger Buns

- Cheese

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Lunch:

Birds Eye Sesame Garlic Veggie Stir Fry

- Annie Chun's Sticky White Rice

- Individual Bag of Planters Peanuts

(1) Glass of Strawberry Milk

Snack;

Bag of Ranch Corn Nuts

(1) Small Orange

Supper:

Can of Progresso Tomato Basil Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Grilled Cheese Sandwich

(1) Glass of Strawberry Milk

SUNDAY

Lunch:

Salami & Cheese on Potato Hamburger Bun

StarKist Smart Bowls Rice & Beans with Tuna: Spicy Pepper

(1) Glass of Chocolate Strawberry Milk

Snack:

Bag of Orville Redenbacher Ultimate Butter Popcorn

(1) Glass of Strawberry Milk

Bag of BBQ Corn Nuts

Large Bowl of Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Supper:

(3) Ham & Salsa Con Queso on Pretzel Slider Buns

(1) Glass of Strawberry Milk

MONDAY

Lunch:

Salami & Cheese Sandwich

Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Large Bowl of Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Supper:

Can of Progresso New England Clam Chowder

- 10 Crackers

Slice of Buttered Bread

Serving of Kirkland's Signature Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoned Almonds

TUESDAY

Lunch:

Chef Salad

Serving of Kirkland's Signature Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoned Almonds

Snack:

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Supper:

Can of Progresso Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Slice of Buttered Bread

WEDNESDAY

Lunch:

Annie Chun's Yakisoba Noodle Bowl

- Serving of Kirkland's Signature Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoned Almonds

Bag of Ranch Corn Nuts

Supper:

(4) Oven Baked Ham & Swiss Sliders

(2) Oven Baked Turkey & Swiss Sliders

Large Plate of Ranch Mash Potatoes

Bowl of Wonderful's Shelled Salt & Pepper Pistachios

(2) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Workouts:

THURSDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

FRIDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

SATURDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

SUNDAY

* Morning Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Squats [4 sets of 25]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

* Evening Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

MONDAY

* Afternnon Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

* Evening Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

TUESDAY

* Afternoon Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

* Evening Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

WEDNESDAY

* Afternoon Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges[4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

* Evening Workout *

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

WEIGHT TRACKER:

Starting Weight (Noon, 1/01/2023): XXX.X lbs

Weight at Last Check-In, 12/13/2023: 0.0 lbs

Weight As of Noon, 12/20/2023: -0.6 lbs

Total Weight Loss: -103.6 lbs

Closing Thoughts:

The Good:

I got a short work week?

The Bad:

Had small "kink" in my morning routine that sent me to the doctor. Hopefully, it's just a one-and-done type thing.

The Ugly:

My sleep schedule is such a wreck that I have had small moments of not being able to distinguish reality.

#52 in 23

2 notes · View notes

echantedtoon · 1 year ago

Text

Rules Of One's Soul Ch23 The Duke's Return P3

Warning: Rouxls has a break down and faints

Well his visit with Seam left him feeling just the teeniest bit worried about Jevil's now high feelings of love and the intencity it now presented, but he had other worries to take care of now. He followed Seam's directions and made his way towards the Field of Hopes and Dreams. As he walked he came by a couple, they were giggling and who he guessed must've been a lady by the hathy's surprised girly squeal when the Rudinn presented a small looking diamond to her and she responded by wrapping her tentacles around the smaller guy and easily lifting him off the ground with a smile and laugh. Hugging him against her body as her mouth peppered him with kisses. The Rudinn giving a goofy smile and melting into puddy in the grip....Despite himself he smiled and shook his head before continuing. Not even the actual holiday and already everyone was treating it like it was. Oh well, he guessed it wasn't his place to judge anyone else on their love life when his was so crooked it made Jevil almost look sane....Almost..What was he even saying? This didn't even count as a love life if these two were seeing this whole thing as a game to win him. What's going to happen after that? He was supposed to live happily ever after with the winner? They would go back to everything being the same before it all happened and they wouldn't even care about him? ....A pang of sadness came from his soul at the thought suddenly. Would he be...really be left alone again?....Maybe it was for the best, he rationalized. After all he didn't need any romance in his life. He had probably the best paying job in the entire Card Kingdom, gorgeous looks, a wonderful son, fancy items, servents at his beck n call, the pleasure of working under the kindest kings, and plenty of admirers he could every want the attention of. ...Still won't be the same- Quiet you!!

Once across the giant field, it was easy to find the bakery at the beginning of the Rudinn Village. Just as Seam had told him. Once he walked through the door his nose was hit with the sweet smells of baked goods, and he had to blink when he saw it. The whole store front was littered with shelves, and on those shelves were ALL kinds of goods. Bread in different shapes and sizes were lined up piled in baskets on one wall while the one across from that displayed sweets like pies, and....was that double fudge moose?! His stomach gave off a grumble at the mere sight and smell of it all. The place was also very clean, and the counter tops shined almost as much as his. And...oh sweet mother of light that was a huge cake. The other side of the store had different cooked foods. Such as jerky, handmade wines, roasts, but most were cakes. Beautifully decorated cakes that looked more sweet than the small one Jevil had cooked him. But he wasn't staring at them. He was staring past the counter into the back room. A cone looking man was humming and twirling around the massive back room, dancing around a massive white cake that glimmered in the light and the smell of vanilla waved over him like a refreshing breeze...Now he usually despised sweet things so much, but his mouth watered at the sight of it. It must've tasted fantastic...Oh, wait. His eyes blinked back to the man who looked like he was making some kind of detail on the very bottem of one of the layers...before nodding his head and putting the tool down.

He crossed his arms and nodded again with a bigger smile. "Perfecto! Another wonderful masterpiece." He spoke with a strange accent. Rouxls stood there quietly for a moment before clearing his throat. Making the man jump and drop what detailing tool he was holding. "MARGA RIBA!! Don't-a scare me like that!!"

Rouxls blinked but held up a hand. "Oh. Mine apologies. Alloweth me to introduce mineself." He bowed. "I amst Rouxls Kaard, Duke of Puzzles and royal advisor to thine kings. I came by because I haveth a job for thou."

At Kings the man's eyes lit up and with a spin he came towards the door and stopped right behind the counter. "Mon amiga!! A job for the kings!? But of course! What is it?!"

Without another word, Rouxls pulled out the scroll and let it unroll in his hand, the man blinking and reaching for it. "Mine kings requests all this food. Enough for their ...eh...impressive size plus another expected ...hundred or more so guests."

The man stared, obviously reading over the list the duke presented and blinked back to him with a surprised look. "A feast you say? Tell me, what is-a your due date for all this?"

Well he should've expected that. And he didn't even hesitate. "Three days. Including today."

"MARGA RIBA!! NO, NO, NO!!" He spun a few times before stopping and Rouxls had to blink. What a strange darkner. "For ze Kings' sized and more for guests!?!?....That woulda take too long!! All day and night and their woulda be no gaurentee I would even be done by then." He then twirled until he stopped in a position and pointed both arms to the door and the cake in the back. "I have a wedding cake to finish for a younge-a couple. They are getting married of that special day you know!!"

Well he didn't know until know, but to him 3 giant disappointed kings and queens, one disappointed son, and lots of disappointed guests were a much more scary thought than a younge couple's wedding...But he sighed. "I assure thou willst be able to deliver thine goods, but I needst thee assistance-" He went to speak but Rouxls held up his hand. "I assure thou our giant kitchen staff and kitchen willst be able to helpest thou. I will even makest it up to thee." When a curious look, Topchef watched as Rouxls pulled out a small stack of darke dollars and placed it onto the counter of the chef, who now stared wide eyed at him. "...And this is just a tip. If thou presents greatest skills then I shallst make sure thou is handsomely paid." Either way he was going to be paid a lot for his massive work load and Seam did give him more money than was needed. Good thing he was used to getting a little persuasion to go a long way.

Topchef looked from the cake in the back, to the counter a few times, and with a calm smile Rouxls scooted the money forward- Which was quickly snatched up by the chef and quickly shifted through. Eyes lighting up in a smile as he looked at the money presented plus the promise of more to come. He looked back to the smiling duke...before snatching the list of the ball food from his still outstretched hand. "Oh Marga riba!! I just-a remembered. I can deliver the cake early to them today and they can freeze it or ...something before the wedding."

The duke smiled. "Of courseth. Thou shouldst deliver it soon. Telleth me, how long until I may escortest thou to thine castle?"

He glanced back down to the dark dollars with a smile. "It-a should not take too long."

"I shall waitest for thee right here. Make hast."

**********************************************************************************************

It took around almost an hour for Mr. Topchef to deliver the cake and back and the two began their way back to Rouxls's Hop Shoppe. The closest point he could teleport to and from the Card Castle. The man spinning every so while, obviously happy to do such a honorable job for the kings and earn such rewards. The dark sky was now much darker indicating it was near nighttime, so he hurried as fast as the cone shaped man would follow him right towards the shoppe. He noticed the flap of Seam's Sheap was firmly closed and a small sign pinned to the outside of the flap read: Sorry Friends. Closed. And he chuckled as he walked past with the now tired looking chef behind him. But it didn't take too long to finally come to the Hip Shoppe, opening it and allowing the tired chef to come in. But there was no time to rest...Perhaps he should've gave warning before grabbing the chef's arm and teleporting in his fabulous feeling of bright light and miniture tightness. Before of course relanding back down with a thump to his feet and letting go of the man behind him.

The poor man gave a few spins of dizziness. Not at all used to any kind of teleporting magic. Before falling flat onto his back inside the Duke's office, that didn't look like it had been touched by Jevil's magic at all. He guessed Jevil really was respecting his boundaries or he left it alone because it was already cleaned.

"....M-M-Mama...amiga....W-Warn a humble m-man-a next time."

"*ahem* Mine apologies." He leaned over the groaning darkner and smiled. "Wouldst thou be-est able to start first thing in the morning?" Topchef merely nodded and Rouxls smiled. "Oh good. I shallst escort thee to one of thine guest room before I inform mine kings. He leaned down and grabbed onto the man's arm and pulled the cone man to his feet with a grunt. Topchef grabbing onto his hat to keep it from falling off as he was stood up by the duke. With a smile, Rouxls began marching him towards the door and reached for the doorknob. Once he grabbed it the blue man paused and gave Top chef a dead serious look. "The castle tis currently under....Erm. Severe cleaning renovations. I highly suggest thou stays within mine reach."

The man was clearly confused by the whole thing but Rouxls took a deep breath, and threw open the door- Just as a giant literally dust bunny about the size and wideth of Seam if he was on all fours came waddling by and Topchef gave a loud squeal of fright before hiding behind the Duke as Rouxls lazily watched it past. Despite it being made of literal dust no dirt was left behind by it. He guessed Jevil's magic must make it all stick to them. The giant rabbit waddled past...Still having dust fly into it's body, and rouxls began pulling the frightened man along behind him. As they walked, he took notice that most of the brooms and feathered dusters were now gone as well as most of the mops and scrub brushes that had been scrubbing the floors and walls with soapy water. Now all that remained in the halls was the occasional rag washing the giant windows or polishing any of the suits of armor or random table in the halls. And the occasional giant dust bunny. Topchef jumped behind Rouxls whenever he even heard one coming and was now practically glued to the blue man's back as he continued to walk past the spooked or annoyed looking guards and other castle staff. He passed one giant bunny who was standing in the middle of a separate hallyway and stood completely still as lots of black soot from a few fireplaces were flying into his body. He rose a white brow, quite impressed at that. Jevil was really getting everywhere wasn't he....Wasn't this very tiring for him?

He almost stopped walking at the thought. He never had that thought until now. Did Jevil's magic actually tire him out? It was clear the Kaard mix had an impressive amount of power behind that small frame, and thanks to Seam he knew that his feelings held a tremendous amount of control over those powers. But by the looks of it, he never seemed to run out of energy. All bouncy and full of life even when he was upset....So was something as big as this really gonna put any sort of strain on him? He admitted his copy spell needed a lot of concentration and power-

"DUKE!! DUKE!! MR. KAARD!!" He stopped and gave a hum over his shoulder just as a very scared looking Rudinn was slithering as fast as they could towards him, making him raise a brow. As she didn't stop until she crashed into his leg and she looked up to him hororfied. "G-G-GIANT RABBIT!! C-C-COURTYARD!! S-SCARY!! MAKE IT STOP!!!" Was all she could get out before burrying her face into his pants leg.

Topchef gave an equally terrorfied look and Rouxls sighed, they were getting spooked of a nonliving rabbit made of nothing but dirt and magic. ..But he guessed he would've been scared too if he wasn't so used to Jevil's chaos right now....But then again- He blinked and looked around. Nothing was moving around by magic anymore, everything looked cleaned, covered in shiny pink and red hearts, but otherwise peaceful. ...Where was the giant rabbits and moving objects?? With a curious hum he turned his gaze to the spooked Rudinn clutching his leg and reached down to pat her head.

"I shallest go see what has happened. *sigh* Please escorteth Mr. Topchef here to one of thine guest rooms."

She and Topchef were quick to agree to get away from the apparently crazy thing that was happening now, as she grabbed the cone man's hand and began to lead him away quickly. Rouxls sighed and wondered what exactly it was THIS time, as his legs turned him and he began heading back to the front of the castle to check up on this mysterious new problem. As he passed, he noticed there was still no magical objects or bunnies, which seemed strange. Perhaps Jevil had finished up already...But where were all the red hallway rugs? His mitchmatched eyes looked up and he flinched...before jumping just in time to avoid a long red carprt unrolling under him and his head was really quick to watch as it rolled out all the way until it reached the very end of the hallway. And the connecting hallway having another giant red carpet unfurling as he blinked at the quick rolling blur. He blinked as he turned back up the current hallway just in time for another red blur to roll past....Jevil must've been putting them all back as the floors were finished, but where was the smaller menace. He continued on his way to the front and he noticed a few more red blurs rolling here and there...along with more stunned and shook looking darkners. Oh it couldn't have been that bad? He was sure he's seen the worst of Jevil with being attacked by flying heart attacks. But when he turned the corner he paused.

"Your majesties?"

The kings didn't even react as they along with almost thirty or so staff members were blankly staring out a few gigantic windows at seemingly the ground. Lancer wasn't anywhere among them so he guessed he must've already been put to sleep. With a determined face he carefully stepped over and around the smaller rudinns and hathys until he stood in front of the glass windows. Grumbling and looking down...and absolutely froze at what he saw.

THERE. WAS. A. GIANT. RABBIT IN THE COURTYARD!!!

And above them was a tiny purple floating menace, sitting in what looked like in a cross-legged position and was doing nothing but staring at the absolutely massive dust bunny as it just sat as frozen as a statue while the long red rugs were slowly flowing out it sideways like on a conveyor belt and LOTS of brooms were smacking the floating rugs from all sides and places as they passed, causing a steading stream of dirt and particals to float down onto the giant rabbit. Compared to the kings, the thing was massive. If the three next to him plus their wives were standing next to each other they would be the closest thing to matching that creatures size. Once one rug was done, it would dart back into the castle through the giant door entrance or one of the many giant windows opened for them. Looking a much more clean and vibrant red than before. His mouth fell completely open, eyes practically buldging out like googly eyes and not believing the sight before him. Like it was a dream and he would wake up at any moment....HOW LONG HAD HE BEEN AT THIS?! He quickly turned around and began making his way past all the scrunched together darkners.

"M-MOVETH!! OUT OF MINE WAY, PLEASE!!"

Unknownst to him as he was rushing away to get himself down there, the last rug had already made itself through the mysterious cleaning process and was quickly whisked away with the brooms beating it back into the castle. Jevil gave out a loud yawn, stretching his back out in mid air before his fangs snapped closed with an actual mousetrap noise. Oh boy. It had been a long day and his other two selves were still busy as bees in other parts of the castle, sure it was straining but not as straining with the strong feeling of love burning in his core. The thought made him smile as with another movement with his arms, the rabbit slowly began to make it's way over from the castle, but the smile on his face remained. He hadn't felt this powerful since he and Seam....Well, that was a long time ago. Sure the spark between them was still there but with what happened-...Well no one can change the past, he was really free now and had a different sight in his eyes. He sighed and stared off dreamily at just the thought of those cute eyes staring at him surprised by his magic, bright white lashes fluttering. The giggles he would give when he did make him smile that beautiful smile. Beautiful sparkling hair framing his face- ...He chuckled. And the pouts he'd make when he became frustrated, his cheeks puffed out. It was so cute. He could hear him now-

"JEVIL!!"

Wow that memory was really loud-

"JEVIL!! LOOK AT ME YOU WORM!!" He blinked and looked down...and was greeted with the sight of a very angry looking worm monster. The blue man pointed a finger down to his feet while looking at him. "Gettest down here this instant and explain thineself!!"

Oh be still his beating soul!! He giggled with glee and casually floated down still cross-legged as calm as ever. The duke watching him with those eyes and he wouldn't have had it any other way, once he got low enough to stay eye level, he fluttered his eyes at him. "Why hello, hello.~ And what may I do, do for you?~" The duke blinked and leaned sideways to gaze at the giant mound of walking dirt crawl into the tree line just beyond the castle where it finally stopped, seemingly waiting for it's master's command. Speaking of Jevil. "Oh. Excuse me for a moment." His head turned, looked at the giant thing for a moment, before reaching up his hand and snapping his fingers. Within seconds the thing dissolved into nothing but a giant pile of dirt between the trees. Completely looking the shape of any cute bunnies. Jevil hummed in satisfaction before turning back to him. "Now, what were you saying, saying?"

Rouxls blinked at the girt mound for a moment, afraid it might come back to life any second, before clearing his throat and looking the purple loon in the eyes. "Thou art frightening and making trouble for mine staff and everyone else. Thou art to cease thine cooky ways of cleaning immediately!"

Jevil didn't even argue to his surprise and just nodded in agreement. "Oh certainly. Im already finished with the whole castle, castle. Most of the dust, dust came from those very disgusting dungeons, dungeons. You know. You should really consider a cleaning crew, cleaning crew for those places, places."

Rouxls.....blinked. He was already done?! One Day!! And he was already done cleaning and straightening up the entire castle in ONE DAY?! As is sensing Rouxls's thoughts he chuckled ad nodded yes at his bewildered face...Rouxls finally found his voice and cleared his throat again. "Well. That tis...v-very splendid of thou, b-but where is-"

"Lancer? I put him to bed, bed hours ago. Young man was tuckered out from chasing my little, little spells around."

"....I waseth going to ask about thine other halves." He rose a brow annoyed at being interrupted, but at least he knew where Lancer was. But he had noticed that this Jevil wasn't see through, which must've meant his full form must've been behind the cleaning part, but where were the other two.

Jevil waved a hand like it was nothing. "One me Is almost done with, with the cheesy invintations. The other, other shall have all the paperwork and scheduling you require for the appropriate staff on your desk by tomorrow morning. Don't worry, don't worry." His tail wagged and he put his head in his hands. "Did you find the man, man I told you about?"

"Uh..Y-Yes. He's spending thine night in thine castle and awaiting work in thine morning."

"Splendid, splendid." Jevil clapped his hands a few times before pointing a finger upwards. "You should go home, home for now. I shall see to it you have everything, everything you need in the morning."

Rouxls went to protest but with another quick snap of his fingers, Jevil disappeared in a flash of smoke and confetti. Rouxls sputtered and coughed from the smoke, waving his hand to bat away the colorful miniture paper and growled. OH! That Jevil was going to be a real pain in the neck. He could tell.

************************************************************************************************

He couldn't bring himself to take the long journey back home in the middle of the night. So the duke took up residence in one of the guests rooms. The sleep was less than plentiful was it was relaxing enough to where he woke up semi late in the morning and was still able to make himself look presentable. His first task was too see to Lancer,...but the child was one step ahead of him and came tugging him to the kitchen so his father could make him breakfast since it was already so crowded. He asked him what he meant, and Lancer just replied:

"Uncle Jevil got done in the middle of the night. So he said he decided to help Mr. Conehead guy out with the cooking, but I can't get anything. They're moving too fast."

Rouxls was very confused on what the child meant but when the sweet aromas of warm pies and roasts hit his senses, it was like a punch to the gut. So imagine his surprise when the leaned down form of the duke was dragged around the corner by the King holding his hand and straight towards the kitchen doors and the sweet smells. His empty stomach did a jig without him ordering it. He looked to Lancer in question when they stopped in front of them but he just pushed open one of the giant doors inside....And Rouxls blinked. The ENTIRE kitchen staff was there. FLipping dishes and making noise with pots and pans out the wazoo, and in the middle of all the chaos was..You guess it. Was the small purple menace himself...And Topchef. The two were were smiling and chatting away looking at a piece of paper Rouxls recognized instantly as the list of foods he had given to the spinning man yesterday. Lancer tried to take a step in but a Rudinn Ranger chef slid past immediately carrying an armful of trays, not even noticing he had almost ran over her small king. Luckily he had jumped back just in time and clutched onto Rouxls's leg for dear life. The Blue man flinched at the sudden almost attack on his son and immediately reached down to pat his head in a ssurance.

The spade pup looked up to him with a sad face. "See? No one knows Im hungry!" He shouted. "And all the pots and pan are too noisy!! I'M HUNGRY, LESSER DAD!!"

That last line made the duke narrow his eyes and look back to the kitchen seen from hell in front of him. OH LIGHT NO!! He couldn't remember the amount of times Lancer had waddled up to him asking him to get food because the King forgot to have someone bring Lancer his dinner or the kitchen was closed off to the once prince for the day. The sound of his little stomach growling and his little paws reaching up towards him. Sometimes sniffling- Those eyes narrowed. If there was one thing he hated more was a child as young as him asking for food when he should've gotten it in the first place!! ...Which is why he didn't think at first when he told Lancer to stay where he was. When he marched into that kitchen. When he literally pushed a hathy trying to drag a giant bag of flour out of his way. When he grabbed that lunatic by the back of that silly outfit he wore. When he literally turned him around to face the duke's rage.

"HOW DAREST THOU!?" His other hand poked the startled Jevil in the chest. "HOW DARETH THOU LET A CHILD GO HUNGRY!?" Everything in the kitchen stopped and everyone turned to the shouting duke." CAN'T YOU SEE HE NEEDS NUTRITION?! WHAT COULDST BEST SO IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT YOU ALLOW HIM TO GO HUNGRY LIKE THIS?!" His eyes looked up to the surrounding staff. His anger raising. How dare NONE of these people realize he was hungry?! He's their king! He was only a baby!! And he had almost gotten run over for wanting just some simple breakfast!! The thought made his slime boil. "YOU!!" He pointed at a random Rudinn who flinched hard at the Duke turning his rage towards him. "STOP WHAT THOU'RE DOING THIS INSTANT AND GET YOUR KING SOMETHING TO EAT NOW!!"

The rudinn immediately dropped the empty metal bowl, which made a metallic clanging sound once it hit the floor, and saluted. Slithering to the back towards where the fridge was usually kept, pushing past everyone. The duke's blue eyes watching with lingering wrath, lungs heaving slightly-...He didn't even notice the stunned silence of the jester being held so close to those burning flames of hatred being directed to everyone around him in that kitchen, he didn't even notice the small man until his clawed hands shakily came up to wrap around the hand that still gripped his front. The two made eye contact and....the rage in his eyes were blinked away once he saw his. Giant round yellow pupils. Widened in shock. Purple ears bent back and a small unsure frown in his eyes..It almost looked like Jevil was..scared of him.

That thought immediately made Rouxls's soul give a giant leap in his chest of guilt and the realization of what had just happened hit him hard. Jevil reached a hand out for Rouxls's face but the duke dropped him, Jevil landed on the small table he was hovering over with a small thud, Rouxl's had just dropped him as if he was fire and had burnt him. His Jester hat wa pushed back from his eyes and the jester was giving him a worried look. Gazing at where his chest was, the guilt and anxiety his mate was feeling were intense and he was-

"Thank you, Mr. Snake person." Both jumped at hearing Lancer's innocent voice and found him happily munching on what looked like a sandwhich. His face now a happy one as he looked up at the same Rudinn as before who was bowing to him still slightly shooken from before looking at his Lesser Dad chewing. "It'z mweaaly good." He mumbled with a full mouth. He hadn't even noticed the situation and was happily looking up at his father as usual, but soon his head tilted when he noticed the frown on his face. "Arf yom ok?"

Rouxls didn't even scold him for eating with a full mouth, the duke quickly took a few strides, lifting the boy into his arms as he passed, and went straight out the door. Not looking back as he walked straight off and ignoring any noises or people behind him-

Those feelings didn't go away. Not when he dropped Lancer off to his tutor for a few hours. Not when he forced a smile and told him to behave himself and promised he'd come get him in a few hours. And definitely not when he quickly made his way to the safety of his office. Ignoring the swirling pink and red, Heart and soul pounding like a soulattack was getting to him.His mind swirled with the emotions of what just happened and only one thought resurfaced from the bottom pit of his mind-

You're gonna lose them. You're gonna lose them just like you lost her.

He breathed and tried to calm himself down from the rush, but it wasn't working whenever Jevil's face flashed before him. His office wasn't any better. Once he got in he saw a sack laying beside it and upon further expection found a bunch of red envelopes with different names and addresses on them and each with a pink soul....Goodness there was a bunch, did Jevil spend all night doing there? Another pang of guilt came up in him and he almost choked on how much sadness and guilt rang out from that stupid soul of his. Guilt and regret that all the hard work he just did FOR HIM no less was gonna go down the drain or he was gonna make himself feel absolutely not wanted. He gave a yelp and clutched at his chest when a giant thump gave way. It didn't hurt but boy was it surprising....W-Well...there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Rouxls sighed and grabbed the bag. Dragging it to the door, he opened it and looked at the first guard he could see....A small rudinn who was holding a spear in one hand and sighed dreamily, reading a small heart card in the other-

He hissed again when his soul thumped hard against his chest and growled, getting the guard's attention. "Y-Y-You there-" He pointed to the guard and brought the bag around to place at his feet. "G-Get all the castle messagers and gettest these sent out at once!...P-Please."

The guard stuffed the heart card immediately into his pocket and saluted. He watched with sad eyes as the man grabbed the bag and began dragging it off immediately. He watched until he could no longer see the rudinn anymore, he suddenly felt so tired. So when he closed the door, he laid his whole body against it to close it....A silence rang out in the office as the duke of puzzles leaned against the door staring at nothing.....His blue body someone wrenched itself from the doorway, he felt light headed. And his feet heavy like cement was weighing him down as he dragged his feet to the desk, his body came to flop down in that chair of his and those glazed over eyes stared at nothing. He couldn't see anything. The white papers of todays reports and paperwork stared up at him, but those eyes couldn't make out the words on display for him to see. Soon a raindrop stained the white paper underneath him. Followed by another. And another. And another until his eyes became the storm clouds and his tears the rain. And the papers his unsuspecting victims.

And the once proud man that was the duke sobbed. He sobbed and he sobbed hard over the desk of papers, leaning until those storm cloud eyes were closed and his forehead touching the table. His body wracked with guilt, and loss, and regret, and-..and sadness all of which he felt colliding and which a force stronger than he ever felt before. Hands came to grip that pearly white pretty hair and he continued to sob and tug at it.

His soul thumping harder and harder in his chest. Until it...Until he-

Called out.

He couldn't describe the feeling, but it was as if a wave of energy had suddenly started bursting with every hard thump his soul made against his rib caged. Each one earning a choke from him and another sob after it. WHAT IN LIGHT WAS HAPPENING!? Was he having a soul attack!? ...No, no. He couldn't be. He wasn't THAT old. He was no where near a thousand and was considered to still be a very young monster where he was from. But he couldn't less at that moment. If this was it for him then so be it. He kept going crying harder and harder as those feelings kept hitting in a loop round and round until the door suddenly flew open. He didn't even look up at the probably scared rudinn or hathy. He just wanted to be left alone with those thought and not be bothered right now. He made enough of a big mess.

So imagine his surprise when clawed purple hands grabbed at his own gripping his hair and pried them off with the strength he didn't have and threw them to the sides. He then felt his body forced up from the desk but he still didn't look up as he felt someone press his cloud eyed face to them in a hug and tried to lessen his chokes and sobs in a hug. This wasn't what he wanted exactly but the pulsating and thumping hard of his soul didn't stop. In fact it only got worse to the point it was almost starting to hurt, his hands grabbing on to whoever was holding onto him as he continued to sob into their chest. A clawed hand patted his head and assured him in a worried voice that everything was gonna be ok and not to worry, but his muddled mind and soul wouldn't let him off the hook as it continued it's assult of calling. And whoever it was calling wasn't answering.

Making the one holding him curse before gripping him tighter.

"HOLD ON!! HOLD ON!! IM TAKING YOU TO SEAM RIGHT NOW, NOW!!"

He didn't answer when suddenly there was a feeling of tightness in his chest and his whole body finally gave in and went limp in the darkness. His whole body feeling light as a cloud except for the rapid calling and thumping of his soul from his chest. He didn't know where he was as his mind went fuzzy and body numb like a ragdoll.

"SEAM!! SEAM, HELP ME!!"

Was he being dragged? Everything seemed to smell musty and a familiar feeling of cotton scented softed suddenly came over his form.

"Jevil....What happened?"

His sould gave a few more hard thumps before finally slowing. The tightness in his chest finally starting to disappear...and more feeling came back to his numb body.

"DON'T TELL, DON'T TELL ME YOU CAN'T FEEL IT SEAM!! HIS SOUL WAS CALLING TO US!! DISTRESS, DISTRESS HARDER THAN I HAVE SEEN, SEEN!! IT WOULD NOT LET, LET UP UNLESS BOTH PRESENT FOR THE OTHER HALF!!"

"..." Someone hummed. "...Yes. I can feel the past effects from it."

"Will he..Will he be alright."

A long moment of silence before he felt himself being shifted and taken somewhere within the darkness.

"Yes. But he'll need plenty of rest, and we need to be right next to him. His soul wants that, but for now let him sleep."

His body was happy to give in to the request as he slowly drifted off to a well deserved sleep.

#rouxlvil #deltarune nosuit #deltarune #jeam #seaxls #seavil #Seam #rules of one's soul #seam x rouxls #rouxls x seam #rouxls kaard x seam #jevil x seam #seam x jevil #rouxls kaard x jevil #rouxls kaard #rouxls x jevil #jevil x rouxls #jevil

1 note · View note

survey--s · 1 year ago

Text

626.

How long is it since you moved out of the house you grew up in? I grew up in two houses. We moved when I was 11 and then I moved out of the second house when I met Chris - I think I was 23? My parents were in the process of selling anyway.

What color shirt are you wearing? Black and white.

The last time you ate leftovers, what was it that you were eating? I think it was leftover takeaway a couple of weeks ago. Chicken nuggets, I believe, and cheesy garlic bread lol.

What was the last flavor of ice cream you ate? Mint chocolate chip.

Do you regret anything you've done in the last 24 hours? Nah.

What is your favorite type of soup? It depends on my mood. I like chicken noodle or potato and bacon. Italian tomato and bean soup is good too.

When was the last time you saw a beautiful sunset? Yesterday on my way home from work.

What is your favorite song at the moment? Survivor by Reba McEntire or If He Wanted to He Would by Kylie Mason.

What are 5-10 things you love about being you? I love animals, I'm happy in my own company, I run my own business, I'm happy in my own skin and I think overall I'm a decent person.

What is your favorite board that you've made on Pinterest? I don't use Pinterest.

Do you get on Facebook or Instagram more? I only use Instagram to upload stories to my business page and to message a couple of customers, so probably Facebook.

What color is your favorite sweater? I have three favourites - they're grey, black and purple.

What are three things people would never guess about you just by looking at the photos you post on social media? I have autism. I have sciatica. I went to private school.

What is one thing you have too much of? According to Mike, cats and wax melts lol.

What was the last thing you ate or drank that was blue raspberry-flavored? Sweets.

What are three of your favorite scents? Vanilla, coffee, freshly baked bread.

What was the last flavor of tea you drank? Yorkshire Tea.

When was the last time you wore your hair in a fishtail braid? I don't think I ever have. I can't do those kinds of styles on myself.

What is one annoying thing your computer does? It's a bit slow on Tumblr for some reason, like my typing doesn't always show up right away, but it was so cheap I can't really complain.

What type of fruit do you eat the most? It depends on my mood, but lately it's been melon, mango and pineapple.

How often do you go out to eat? Maybe once a month on average. We used to go a lot more but prices have shot up recently and it's just not affordable anymore.

What would your dream wedding dress look like? Mine was just a short white dress that came just above the knee.

Which fall flavor do you prefer: pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon? Apple cinnamon, but I like both.

What is the most annoying thing about your life right now? I have a week of 6am starts thanks to a load of cat visits I have booked in. Normally I don't mind it too much, but it's a really busy week so I can tell I'm gonna be shattered.

Which holiday treat do you like better: candy corn or conversation hearts? Conversation hearts. Saying that, I've never had candy corn.

What is your favorite apple-flavored treat? Apple Crumble.

What are you counting down the days to right now, if anything? Uh, nothing really. The next "big thing" is my weekend away in Manchester but that's not for another few months.

What was the last book you read about? I can't remember.

Have you been daydreaming a lot lately about a scenario you wish would happen? No, not really.

What are three of your favorite things about camping? Staying at home, hahah. Camping is not my thing.

If you could choose what month to be born in, what month would you have chosen as your birth month, and why? A summer month. Maybe June.

...and what is your actual birth month? December.

What are three of your favorite things to do on a rainy day? Watch my favourite movies, snack, take naps.

Would you rather eat strawberries or watermelon? Watermelon. I do like strawberries but lately they've been a bit rubbish in terms of quality.

Do you prefer smoothies or milkshakes? I like both fairly equally.

Do you prefer hamburgers or hot dogs? Hamburgers.

When was the last time you felt nauseous? Yesterday morning.

What was the last thing you ate that made you feel nauseous? I have no idea.

Do you enjoy going to your local county fair? Yeah, as long as the weather is decent.

How far away do you live from the place where you were born? It's about a seven hour drive.

Do you prefer zebra print or cheetah print? Neither. I'm not a fan of animal print unless it's on animals.

#survey #surveys

1 note · View note

lesbian-stu-macher · 8 months ago

Text

I’ve been chained to the siren for over 2 years, and I’ll tell you a couple things most coffee places do that Starbucks does Not just off the top of my head:

milk: espresso drinks other than a flat white or anything that specifies the milk (ie brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso) is made with 2% rather than whole milk, which is what most real cafes use. your latte will have a creamier texture if it’s made with whole milk! (My guess on why they do this is 2% is cheaper but i cant be certain on that)

syrup options: more specifically SUGAR FREE options. we used to carry other sugar free syrups, but the only one we carry now is vanilla. huge limitations for those who are diabetic or otherwise need sugar free options. almost every other coffee shop i’ve been to carries sugar free options, and often their syrups taste better! they also carry fun things like raspberry!

prices: jesus christ. i often do the promoset for the next season’s launch and half the time i have to change a bunch of menu cards because they decided to up the price on something already expensive. where i am, cake pops are now $4. trust me, it’s not worth it.

wrong type of pitchers: if you ever want cool latte art? go to an actual coffee shop. the pitchers we use make it difficult to make any latte art- and even in the rare times we can, we have to slap a lid on it so you can’t see it anyways.

creative drinks: a more local shop can experiment more and offer fun drinks. we don’t do that because that makes it hard to be consistent across other stores (ie. You can order a snowflake latte at one store and they know what you mean, but go to a different one ten minutes away and they’ll have no clue what you mean). Us baristas are very creative people and we want to show you all sorts of frankenstein creations we make!

quality control of food: I CANNOT STRESS THIS ONE ENOUGH. starbucks’s quality control for food is terrible. sandwiches will have extra bread or a small piece of bacon, at prices upwards of $5. it’s genuinely not worth it. i’ve never been to a local shop that didn’t have quality and consistent portions every time i went.

supporting local business! why support a money hungry company that supports israel when you can keep money in your community? i’ve met owners of these shops where things like their own coffee shop were just a dream at one point, and now they can make a living off of it.

that got longer than expected, but TL/DR; there are so many reasons to support your local coffee shop than a zillion dollar corporation like starbucks.

it’s so easy to find them too! simply going into your maps app and looking up ‘coffee’ or even going to a starbucks and asking the baristas (trust me, we drink a lot of coffee and often times bring in coffee from our shop of choice) where they like to go!

It’s just funny to me when ppl complain about where they’re supposed to get coffee if they can’t go to Starbucks like have you ever gone to a small cafe it will literally blow your dick clean off you will never want to go to a large coffee chain ever again

#thx jae for tagging me lol #god i cannot stress enough how much i hate this company.#i just want health insurance and free spotify.

463 notes · View notes

eternally-writing · 3 years ago

Text

just a dream | kth.

Pairing: Taehyung x reader

Genre: fluff, angst

Theme: dream fic

rating: PG -13

Warnings: none

Word count: 1.1k

banner by me!

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

Taehyung feels like he is in heaven. Your figure draped around his, soundly asleep in one of his tshirts, a soft smile painting your face (and by proxy, his) - that was all he ever wanted in life.The sound of the wind blowing outside his window complimented the sound of your soft snores (he used to tease you for them, but in all honesty he loves them). He couldn’t stop himself from running his fingers through your hair, twirling it around his fingers mindlessly.

There was no denying how completely in love with you Taehyung is. He loved everything about you: your stunning smile that lights up an entire room, the way you always care for others, your silly dance moves, your terrible cooking skills, Taehyung loved all of it.

“Good morning my love” said Taehyung as he kissed you on the forehead.

As your eyes fluttered open, out came your signature smile. God, Taehyung loved that smile. You puckered your lips, your signal to Taehyung that you wanted your good morning kiss. Not even morning breath could stop the two of you from loving each other, springing into a soft flutter of kisses.

Taehyung could’ve stayed with you in his arms forever, no desire to even move a muscle and get out of bed. But as you whined beside him about how your teeth felt yucky, he finally let you out of his hold and took his chance to scamper away to the kitchen to make some morning coffee. He’ll never forget the way you like it - Pike Place, one cream, one sugar. He was happy to use his latte foam art skills from that random barista course he took to put a heart on the top of your coffee.

“Hey Tae” you called out from the bedroom “can we just stay in bed all day?”

“We have to take Tannie for a walk, but other than that, 100% yes baby.”

As if on cue from hearing his name from Taehyung’s lips, Yeontan scampered into the bedroom, taking his rightful place in the middle of your bed (you and Taehyung may spoil him a little too much and let him get away with whatever he wants). He let out a small mewl to alert you both of his presence, you giving him head ruffles while you laid in bed.

When Taehyung re-entered your bedroom, coffee mugs in hand, he took a moment to admire the two loves of his life cuddled up in bed. Everything was truly perfect. After plopping dramatically back into the bed and spilling a little bit of coffee on the white sheets in the process, he was happy to spend mornings like this with you. He enjoyed the peaceful silence between you two. With the connection you two shared, you didn’t even need words to show the love you had for each other.

Soon enough, Yeontan pawing at your back door for long enough forced you both out of your beds and out the door (dressed in couple’s outfits at Taehyung’s request, of course). Taehyung felt like he was living the perfect life with his perfect little family. Your shared home was just off the edge of Taehyung’s hometown in Daegu, which gave him the chance to relive his favorite memories whenever he went on a walk. Even the weather felt perfect today - sunny with a little cloudy overcast, Taehyung’s favorite.

He couldn’t stop the smile that graced his face as he walked by his elementary school. He could still feel the way you pinched his bread-like cheeks (perfectly plump at his grandmother’s wishes) on the playground. He didn’t know it then, but you would come to be one of the most important people in his life.

Then he passed by the local ice cream shop, the site of your first kiss together and your many many late night ice cream runs. When he feels you tug on him to go into the store, how could he resist replaying those memories? A birthday cake scoop for you and a chocolate chip cookie dough scoop for him (and how could he forget some vanilla for Tannie as well). Was the order that the workers had pretty much memorized due to your frequent visits.

“You have a beautiful family, sir.” Said the teenage worker behind the ice cream counter.

Taehyung looked back at the perfect picture of you and Tannie together, trying to take a silly selfie on your phone.

“Yeah, I really do.”

Taehyung giggled as he photobombed your most recent selfie, giving you a cute pair of bunny ears and also planting a kiss on your cheek.

As Taehyung went to sit beside you, he reached your ice cream out to you, waiting for you to take it. Instead, the ice cream that was supposed to be in your hands was now spilt all over the ground. Panic started rising in Taehyung’s chest - why couldn’t he touch you? Why couldn’t he feel you?

“Y/N, can you hear me? Please- Please, baby, come back to me”

You started fading away right in front of his eyes. It was like there was an invisible wall between the two of you, stopping Taehyung from reaching you. He watched the necklace he gave you disappear off you, then the rest of your following suit.

“Don’t go baby. No, I can’t - I can’t do this without you.”

All of a sudden, Taehyung sat up in his bed, gasping. His fingers desperately grasped the empty sheets as he tried to find your body beside him. Instead, the bed was cold beside him, your imprint not even found in the sheets.

The truth was that you’d been gone a long time, months now, actually. And it was all just a dream.

He missed you, he missed you so much. He could barely remember how you’d even broken up and ended up moving half the world away from him. His subconscious was even trying to reunite you in his dreams to try and numb his pain. He couldn’t help but imagine what you were up to now - did you dream of him too? Yeontan broke him from his thoughts as he quickly scampered up from the foot of his bed to his chest, trying to provide any comfort he could to his heartbroken owner. At least part of his dream was still with him.

All Taehyung wanted to do was go back to sleep. After all, he’s happiest with you - even when you’re only present in his dreams.

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

Hope you enjoyed reading this! - Emily

63 notes · View notes

trentaafcsblog · 4 years ago

Text

February 14th

Anyone You Like

Warning - this is really shit, I’m so sorry!

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love” he whispers as he snuggles up next to you, pressing a kiss onto the tip of your nose and smiling when you start to stir from your sleep. His heart going all fuzzy as your face scrunches up and you lift your arms above your head to do your classic morning stretch - something so simple but he was literally obsessed with it, having seen you do it pretty much every single morning for the past six years.

“Hi” you’re saying when you finally open your eyes, burying your head into his chest as he brushes your hair away from your face and wipes the sleep from your eyes, mumbling an ‘I love you’ when you lean up to kiss his lips before stopping yourself from going any further.

“What’s that?” you’re asking as you shuffle out of his arms and pull the duvet away from your face, looking up at the ceiling and realising that it’s completely covered in red and white balloons with pieces of gold ribbon dangling off them. Your lips going all pouty as you sit up to get a better look at everything, noticing the rose petals that are sprinkled on the floor and the huge bouquet of red roses that are waiting for you on your bedside table, a little card in the top that reads ‘I love you forever and always’ - a saying that you’d picked up along the course of your relationship and something that had a much deeper meaning than people probably realised.

“Babyyy” you’re cooing as he goes all shy and giggly, hiding his face under the covers because neither of you were ones to make a massive fuss like this, particularly on Valentine’s Day because you don’t see the point in celebrating each other on one specific date when your love for one another grows more and more with each passing day. “I love you so much” you’re saying as you try to pull the duvet away from his face, fighting a losing battle when he rolls over and prevents you from seeing his blushing cheeks, leaving you with no option other than to lean across him and attack him with kisses until he’s forced to look at you.

“Stop” he giggles when he gives in and reappears from under the pillow, looking up at you hanging over him with the same look in his eyes that he had when he first realised that he loved you, one that let you know that he was yours until the end and that he’d go to the ends of the earth to see the little smile that’s now on your face. Just staring at one another for a few seconds, still in shock that you get to call the other person yours after all this time. Wondering what the hell you did to deserve one another and be lucky enough to experience all of life’s journeys with them, and all of the challenges that you thought would break you both - yet here you are now, probably the most content you’ve ever been, with a future ahead of you that you could only have ever dreamed of. But your little romantic moment quickly comes to an end when his tummy starts rumbling, just like it always does when it gets past about 7am, knowing that food probably occupies his mind more than you do as you lay there and roll your eyes at him.

“Just you wait until you see what I’ve done” he winks before springing out of bed, heading downstairs and reappearing a few minutes later with a huge tray piled up with all kinds of plates and bowls. Orange juice sloshing over the side of one of the glasses and making you cringe when it leaves a trail of little splashes all over your white carpet. “It’ll come out, don’t worry” he’s telling you before putting the tray on your lap, clearly not as bothered about the mess that he’s made as you are, dreading to think about the state of the kitchen going by the array of different breakfast items he’s brought you. Waffles, croissants, mini pancakes that he’s cut into the shape of hearts with a cookie cutter that he found at the back of one of the kitchen drawers, a fruit salad, vanilla yoghurt, a random bowl of baked beans and some nutella and syrup to dip things into. “Looks delicious” you grin before scooping some of the chocolate up on a strawberry, getting him to open his mouth before you’re popping it in and he’s teasing that that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for him, which of course earns him a gentle smack on the chest and a threat to flip all of his hard work on the floor, knowing that it’ll make a lovely contribution to the orange splatters that now decorate your lovely white flooring.

“I got you a card as well” he’s telling you with a mouthful of croissant, the flaky bits of pastry flying all over the duvet from where he’s trying to talk. “Just as well I got you one too” you wink before handing him the red envelope with his initial and a little kiss on the front. “Nice to know you’ve made it all cute” you joke as you look down at his to see ‘the missus’ scrawled across the front in a pen that looks like it ran about about five years ago. “Excuse me, I was busy doing all of this” he’s telling you as he points at the ceiling and the tray of half-eaten breakfast, most of which he’s consumed himself despite claiming that it’s for ‘the pretty lady’, replying with ‘I know, I know, I’m just kidding’ as he hums and slides his finger under the flap of the envelope to open it up.

“That’s cute, innit” he’s saying as he nods towards the card that he’s got you. A teddy bear couple on the front, one of them holding a bouquet of flowers and the other one going all shy and blushy in response. “Yeah, I take it you’re this one though” you tease as you point towards the blushing bear, not even bothering to fight back because he can’t argue with that, not after the state he got himself into this morning when you saw what he’d stayed up doing all night.

“Thank you so much” he’s whispering once he’s finished reading your card, leaning across to kiss you whilst trying to disguise the fact that he’s crying at what you’ve written inside. “Thank you so much for mine, who knew you had such a way with words?” you smile as he rolls his eyes at you, propping your card up on his bedside table so that it acts as a little reminder to read it again before he goes to bed. Pulling you into his side and pressing a series of kisses onto your forehead as the two of you lay there in each other’s arms, tracing patterns along each other’s bare skin with your hearts going all fluttery each time the other person looks at you, never wanting this moment to end.

***

“Wow, what’s going on in here, mister?” you’re asking when you come walking into the kitchen to see him leaping around and trying to juggle about six different frying pans. Completely ignoring your question when he sees what you’ve come down to dinner dressed in. The most beautiful red silk dress that hugs your figure perfectly, paired with the pair of Louboutins that he bought you for your birthday a couple of years ago and a little black clutch bag to match - not that you particularly needed it when you were spending the night at home, but he loves how you still go to so much effort to look all pretty for him, even though he’d love you just as much if you turned up to the kitchen in your Minnie Mouse pyjamas that are littered with about twenty different holes.

“I would come and give you a kiss but I’m quite busy if you can’t tell” he’s saying as you giggle at him. “Come and sit here to keep me company though, I poured a glass of your favourite drink so don’t say I don’t look after ya” he winks as you coo and make your way over to the kitchen island, clinging onto the worktop to steady yourself because it’s been ages since you last wore heels and you don’t want a repeat of five minutes ago when you nearly went arse over tit halfway down the stairs.

“Is that my favourite pasta?” you’re asking as he nods his head nervously, now realising why he spent most of today’s movie marathon on fancy restaurant websites trying to find a recipe for something that you couldn’t quite get a glimpse of thanks to the angle of his phone, but it turns out that it was your favourite dish. Immediately feeling guilty for scowling at him and telling him off for being rude when you were meant to be relaxing and watching all of the soppy love films on Netflix, completely oblivious to the fact that he was actually busy trying to memorise about twelve different recipes so that he could pretend that he knew it off by heart, particularly as it’s your favourite.

“I made my own garlic bread too, look” he’s saying proudly as he points towards the oven. “And a salad, and some of that fancy bread that you dip in the oil and vinegar, well actually that’s a lie, I bought the bread but I mixed the oil and vinegar together and cut the bread into little stars” he’s telling you as your heart almost bursts at the seams. Looking over at the plate of little bread stars across the other side of the kitchen and just dying to squish him for being so cute, especially since he’d cut them all freehand without using any sort of template - something that he was incredibly proud of himself for, even if a couple of them had very wonky edges and a few missing points.

“Aaand I made a chocolate cheesecake as well” he says smugly as you raise your eyebrows in slight disbelief. “All whilst I was getting ready?” you’re questioning as he nods his head. “Don't look so shocked! You were getting ready for about three hours so I had plenty of time to do everything, even if I did spend about an hour trying to work out how to use a garlic crusher” he’s smiling as you laugh at him, loving how he was still pretty inept in the kitchen despite managing to conjure up a romantic meal for you.

“Let me take the pretty lady to her table” he’s saying with a posh voice as you slide off the bar stood and link your arm through his, letting him lead you over to the dining table that you didn’t even notice when you came in. “Oh my god” you’re cooing as your eyes scan over the little tea lights that he’s shaped to look like a heart, rose petals scattered across the table and a collection of Polaroids that the two of you have taken across the years dotted around too. Trying to swallow down the lump in your throat as he pulls the chair back and helps you get comfy before disappearing off and coming back to bring you all of the food that he’s prepared.

“This looks amazing” you whisper as you reach across the table to hold his hand, mouthing a little ‘thank you’ at him as he lifts your hand up and presses a kiss onto your skin. “Don’t go all shy and emotional on me now, missy, it’s not our first date” he teases as you giggle at him and wipe away a stray tear. Being cut out of your emotional moment when he forces a little star of bread into your mouth, the oil and vinegar dribbling down your chin as you give him the evils and try to pat it away with one of the paper napkins that’s he’s folded into a square - covered in little Christmas puddings because ‘what’s the point in buying ones for Valentine’s Day when we can use what we’ve already got?’ Tempted to do the same thing back to him but you’re managing to resist the urge to start a food fight on the most romantic day of the year, instead dipping your fork into your bowl of pasta and twiddling several strands of linguine around it before putting it into your mouth. Clinging onto the table when you start to chew, your eyes blowing wide as you stare straight back at him and wag your finger in his direction. Waving your hands above your head and clapping before swallowing and letting out a little cheer. “Is it that good?” he laughs as you start shovelling more of the pasta into your mouth, giving him the all important answer he needs as he breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that all of his not-so-sly google searches and telling offs during your movie day have paid off.

“Thank you so much for all of this” you’re saying as you tuck into your slice of cheesecake, admiring the little hearts that he’d swirled into the top of the chocolate mixture before doing the all important taste test. Nodding your head and smiling at him to reassure him that it tastes incredible before he’s reaching across the table to hold your hand again. “Thank you so much for making me realise what love is” he’s saying as you try your best to fight back the tears. Never really hearing him come out with things like that unless he’s drunk, probably because he gets too shy and embarrassed and worries that you won’t feel the same way, despite spending the past six years of your life with him and reassuring him every single day that he’s the one for you, so hearing him have the confidence to tell you how much you mean to him means the absolute world.

“Thank you for making my life a million times better and holding my hand through all of what life’s thrown at us” he’s telling you as you tilt your head to the side and just admire the man you love with your whole heart going all soppy, clearly having added something to his pasta that evoked this kind of emotion. “And for keeping my feet on the ground and being there when things haven’t gone quite as I’d planned” he’s saying as you sniff away opposite him, your thumb rubbing circles on the back of his hand as he carries on. “There’s genuinely nobody else in the entire world that I love as much as you” he’s adding, his voice breaking half way through, making the rest of the sentence all shaky, as he does his best to try and hold himself together, despite just wanting to burst into tears at how much he means each and every one of those words.

“I love you so much” you blub before getting up and making your way around the table to him, sitting down on his lap and burying your head in the crook of his neck as his arms snake around your waist and pull you close to him. His fingers tracing gentle patterns on the sides of your hips as you play with his hair, occasionally pressing the odd kiss to his skin which makes his grip around your body become even tighter. A comfortable silence washing over the two of you as you sit there in a completely love-filled state, neither person knowing quite what to say, but going by each other’s reactions a few minutes ago, it’s clear that this is what love feels like.

“I got you a present” you’re saying as you pull away from him, breaking the silence and climbing off his lap before disappearing off into the hallway. Picking up the little white gift bag that you’d left at the bottom of the stairs when you came down for dinner, your fingers looping through the silk handles as you make your way back to him. “I thought we said no presents?” he’s questioning as you scoff at him. “Says the man who decided to decorate the bedroom and cook me dinner” you’re replying as he gives you a shy smile at the thought. “It’s just a little something but it shows how much I love you and I know you’ve wanted it for ages” you tell him as he pulls one end of the bow, watching it unravel before he’s dipping his hand into the bag and fumbling around amongst the tissue paper. Pulling out several sheets of white tissue paper littered with tiny scarlet red hearts before he’s eventually reaching the box inside. Looking at you with a confused expression as he lifts the rectangular black box out and gives it a little shake, something rattling inside as he pauses for a second to think about what it could be, ruling out the possibility of it being a bracelet or a fancy watch, not that he’d ever want you spending that much money on him, of course.

“Just open it!” you’re giggling as you push him to open the gift, the anticipation getting to you more than it is him as. “I’m scared” he laughs nervously, waiting a few seconds before he’s beginning to lift the lid off. “Don’t be” you’re whispering as he looks at you one final time before fully taking it off.

His jaw dropping as he admires what’s inside, his gaze flicking between you and the inside of the box as he tries to process what you’ve given him.

“We’re having a baby?” he asks as you nod your head, your reaction taking a while to process in his mind, but after what feels like forever he’s letting out a breathy laugh, one that combines happiness and slight disbelief. And then the tears are coming too, his hand covering his face as he sobs into his palm. Making your way back over to him and wrapping your arms around his neck as you rest your head on top of his, letting him come to terms with the fact that you’ve blessed him with the best gift of all.

“Thank you so much” he’s crying as he takes the pregnancy test back out of the box, admiring the two little lines that are showing on the screen - confirming that there’s another life inside of you, made up of both you and him. “No, thank you so much” you’re sniffling as you cup his face and press a little kiss onto his lips. Staring into his teary eyes before they’re fluttering shut when your foreheads touch and the tips of your noses brush over one another. Neither of you knowing quite what to say as you settle back down on his knee again, just holding him close to you until he pulls away every few seconds to look at the pregnancy test again, feeling as though this is all one big dream and someone’s going to wake him up and take it away from him at any given moment. But it’s not. You’re living the dream, and it’s about to become a reality in just a matter of months, a reality that you’ve been craving for the past six years and one that you wouldn’t want to experience with anyone else, and now, it’s one step closer to becoming yours.

February the 14th. The day your lives changed forever.

——————————————————————————

I hope you enjoyed this little imagine 🥰 please let me know who you imagined it with because I’m nosy and I’d love to know hehe, I hope you’ve all had the best Valentine’s Day (regardless of whether you’re in a relationship or not) and remember that I love you all to bits x

#trent alexander arnold #jadon sancho #ruben loftus cheek #marcus rashford #dele #dominic calvert lewin #james maddison #ben chilwell #rhian brewster #reiss nelson #valentine’s day #england nt #liverpool fc

84 notes · View notes

iliveiloveiwrite · 4 years ago

Text

Flame of a Candle

A/N: The wonderful @lupins-sweater requested a Remus fic where the reader has a candle addiction and let me tell you, I fell in love. Also, two fics in one night! Apologies to my taglist, but I couldn't stop writing and I had to post it. I will be getting to my other requests this week as well as finishing my Draco Malfoy series. As always, I hope you enjoy, it’s pure fluff! Also, the candle scents I mention are real candle scents from the ones I have in my room (they’re all inspired by books!).

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader

Warnings: fluff, mentions of food.

Word count: 1.8k

It was not your fault.

It absolutely was not your fault that the newest shop on the high street was an independent candle store.

And it wasn’t your fault that instead of entering the bakery like you had planned, you walked into the candle shop.

It also wasn’t your fault that you left the shop with a bag full of candles.

You made it to the bakery though, grabbing everything on your list. Bread, teacakes, vanilla slices for Remus. The visit to the new candle shop, simply a small stop on the way.

You would usually make this trip with Remus; his hand gripping yours tightly as you peeked in the windows of all the shops. But you left him bed in this time, snoring away, completely oblivious to the world. This past full moon had been exceptionally rough; he came back with larger cuts and bruises that had you silently crying as you patched him up. It never did get any easier to see the added injuries after a full moon.

The day is beginning to brighten as you return to the home you shared with Remus. The garden path lined with pansies and marigolds, adding a cheery disposition to the ivy-covered cottage you called home.

Remus would be soon awake, so you head to the kitchen to put his vanilla slices in the fridge before adding your new candles to the ever-growing collection that had slowly filled three cupboards with differing size jars and tins.

Your placing the final glass jar candle in the cupboard when you hear his footsteps creaking on the stairs and his raspy voice calling out.

“Darling, what are you doing?” Remus questions; his voice still gravelly with sleep.

It had been a week since the last full moon, and he was still catching up with missed hours. He was awoke once as he reached out for you in his sleep and found your side of the bed empty; it worried him for a minute but then he realised that you would be in town so sleep quickly overtook him again. He stirred back awake to the sound of the closing cupboard door; his senses still sensitive after the change, hearing and smelling everything within a small distance.

The hesitation before your answer has his curiosity piqued as he steps into the kitchen to see you closing a cupboard door.

“Nothing, dear!” Your voice chimes.

He chuckles, “You really are the worst liar.”

“Excuse me? I’ll have you know that I am an excellent liar – so good in fact that MI6 are thinking of hiring me.”

“(Y/N), I love you, but yes, you’re the worst liar.”

“I’m hurt, Remus. Truly, deeply hurt.” You gasp, holding a hand to your heart.

“Stop deflecting,” He laughs, “What were you doing that’s so secretive?”

You fiddle with your fingers, “So I went into town to go the bakery,”

“Is that it?”

You shake your head, “Well I got somewhat waylaid on the way to the bakery.”

Remus raises an eyebrow, leaning against the kitchen counter and crossing his arms, “Now you’ve got my attention.”

“There’s a new shop that’s opened on the high street; what used to be the bridal shop.”

“Put me out of my misery – what type of shop is it?”

“A candle shop.”

A slow smile breaks over his face, “How many did you buy?”

“Around ten or so.”

“Ten? (Y/N), sweetheart, we have cupboards full of candles.”

“I know but let me show you them! They smell so good!”

“Of course, but I need to know – did you go to the bakery?”

“What do you take me for? I could never deprive you of your vanilla slices. They’re in the fridge.” You peck his lips quickly before turning to grab your latest purchases from the cupboard.

Remus heads to the fridge; his stomach growls at the sight of the vanilla slice waiting for him. Healthy breakfast be damned, he turned into a werewolf once a month, if he wanted dessert for breakfast, he was going to have it.

He puts it on a plate before settling down at the dining table.

He isn’t angry – why on earth would he be? Candles bring you joy. He’s a minute away from suggesting you start making them yourself but when you set the candles down the table with such care and look at Remus with such excitement at showing him your haul; all sentient thoughts leave his head and he’s left with the love he feels for you.

Remus takes a bite of his sweet, “Tell me about them, love. What did you buy?”

You grin; the smile crinkling the corners of your eyes. And yeah, Remus’ heart just skipped a beat.

“Oh, Remus! It’s such a cute shop – entirely independent and it has the most positive energy. I could spend all day in there! And the owner is so lovely! So helpful. He looked shocked at the pile of candles I put by the till, but I simply couldn’t not buy anything. You know how I am with candles.”

He chuckles, “Like a moth to a flame. So what new scents do we have?”

You hold up one of the glass jar candles, “Okay… So we have: forget me nots and mountain air; Damascus rose and sweet orange; night jasmine and citrus; coffee and chocolate; lavender and patchouli; burnt sugar and rain; lily of the valley and white musk; sweet peaches and ripe cranberries; crisp apples and rose petals…”

You trail off, putting the lids back on them once Remus had smelt them and had handed them back to you.

Remus points at the final jar, still unopened, “What does that one smell like?”

You avoid his eyes as you murmur, “I had to buy it when the shop owner explained its properties.”

“Oh?”

You nod, unscrewing the lid to the candle, taking a sniff before handing it to Remus. “It holds healing properties.”

“How so?”

“It’s got peppermint oil to ease headaches. As well as lemongrass and vanilla to help relieve stress and tension and promote relaxation. I thought we could give it a try for a couple of nights before you leave for the moon.”

He looks up from his study of the candle, “You bought this for me?”

You nod, shrugging, “It’s something to try. You always try to downplay the headaches you get but I know how much pain you are in and that healing potions do little to help other than make you drowsy. So I thought we could try this; we could light it when we start getting ready for bed. You don’t have to though, Remus. It’s entirely your choice.”

“You did this for me?” He asks, voice shaky.

You frown, “I did. Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

He shakes his head, trying to find the right words, “You did absolutely nothing wrong. I just didn’t expect to feel this touched by your candle addiction.”

“You haven’t noticed have you?”

“What?”

“Remus, the majority of my candles all have some healing properties in them. I’ll do anything I can to make the transition that little bit easier whenever we don’t have access to the wolfsbane potion. This is the first time you’ve actively noticed it though.”

He opens his mouth, then quickly closes it. He never realised the meaning of the differing scents – and he should have. He got top grades in Herbology and Potions, but it never clicked with him. He would always comment on the scents; whether they were pleasant or not, but he simply put it down to your love of them.

Remus finally realises what it feels like to love and be loved with just as much passion in return.

“So you don’t have a candle addiction?” He finally says, his voice hoarse with emotion.

You chuckle, “Oh no, I do. I definitely have a candle addiction; it’s been there before I was with you, but you kind of give me a purpose to buy them.”

He passes the jarred candle between his hands, “So you do all of this to try and ease the days before the transition?”

You nod, “I can’t do a lot in those few days, Remus. I’m only useful when you come back and I can help patch you up, but before then, there isn’t very much I can do to help, and it hurts me. I had the idea when I was clearing out my candle cupboards; getting ready for my Christmas collection. I was reading the labels and it suddenly hit me and I don’t know how I didn’t think of it before. But it’s been a while since we were at Hogwarts. Anyway, as I was reading the labels, I realised the healing properties of the oils in the candles. So I bought a Herbology textbook and started brushing up on my knowledge of plants that could help.

“The opening of the new candle shop was pure coincidence, but I had to buy the candle once the owner explained it to me. Your headaches are so bad, and I can never do a lot other than place a cold flannel on your head to lessen the pain but even that doesn’t work a whole lot. So I light the candles, making sure not to overwhelm you with the smell, and they seem to help a little.”

Remus is sure his face is a picture. You were right; in the days before he leaves for the transformation, he suffers with tension headaches from the pain of the moons path and his resistance of the monster within. You could never do a lot; it’s a pain that not even the strongest pain potions could touch. Yet, you tried to find a way to help him. You came up with your own solution.

“I love you.” He states; the only words he’s capable of saying right now.

You smile, it lighting up your face, “I love you too. You’re not mad?”

“How could I be mad? You buy candles with the sole purpose of trying to ease my pain. I’m the furthest thing from mad; I adore you.”

You blink away the tears, “Remus…”

“You’re incredible. First, you love me despite my being a werewolf and having to leave you every month. And then, you try to ease my pain by finding candle combinations that help with headaches and anxiety. What did I do to deserve you?”

“You were you, Remus. I fell in love with you in Fifth Year when you spent the entirety of our free period asking me about my favourite books. We were supposed to be revising for our OWLs, but you wanted my attention completely. And you got it.”

He takes a smell of the candle, committing the scent to memory, “I’ve loved you just as long. I saw your battered copy of Wuthering Heights peeking out of your bag and I just knew.”

You point at the candle, “What do you think then?”

He grins, “I think we’re going to have a lot more candles lit around the house.”

*********

General (HP) taglist: @the-hufflefluffwriter @obsessedwithrandomthings @kalimagik @summer-writes @lupins-sweater @slytherinprincess03 @mischiefsemimanaged @soleil-amaryllis @masterofthedarkness @bforbroadway @chaotic-fae-queen @peachesandpinks @nebulablakemurphy @haphazardhufflepuff @siriusly-addicted-to-writing @firewhisky-kisses @deafgirltingz

359 notes · View notes

jimlingss · 5 years ago

Text

Sugar and Coffee [1]

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

➜ Words: 3.8k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

Baking is an art form. It takes more than just having ingredients and following a recipe. It’s the flavour, texture, taste, and the presentation. It’s knowing why when things go wrong and how to fix it. It’s knowing the right kinds of ingredients to pick, how much of each should be combined, what techniques and methods to use. Baking is therapy. Baking is scientific. It is art. The ingredients are as follows:

Fresh strawberries

Sponge cake

Sugar

Heavy cream

Vanilla extract

You slice the freshly washed strawberries into halves as the stand mixer whips the two cups of heavy cream and quarter cup of sugar into medium peaks. Once you’ve got your components prepared, you slice the cooled sponge cake into two layers and set the bottom layer on a cake board on the turning cake table. You spread the whipped cream evenly with an offset spatula and layer the strawberries with cream on top. Afterwards, you place the other sponge cake on top and repeat the process. You finish the shortcake with strawberries on top for decorative purposes and pipe flowers with a twelve inch piping bag. “Very well done! Everyone give a round of applause for Y/N’s shortcake demonstration.” The teacher claps and the students around the counter follow suit. “Now it’s time for the real test.” She begins slicing the cake into pieces, but you’re not nervous whatsoever. You know you did a great job and your strawberry shortcake is worthy of salivating over. And as expected, while your classmates take careful bites and allow the flavour to linger on their tongue, there’s nothing but praise. “Wow, the sponge cake is so soft and moist.” “The cream is so smooth.” “It’s so fluffy.” “It’s melting in my mouth.” Even the teacher is nodding as she eats. But of course— “Isn’t it too sweet?” Jeon Jungkook has his brows deeply furrowed with a soured expression like he bit into a fucking lemon. His fork is cleaned but he puts the utensil down with a noisy clank, not wanting another bite. A muscle in your cheek twitches. “Didn’t you say that last time?” “Yeah.” He shrugs. “But you didn’t follow my advice. Obviously.” “Maybe you just have sensitive teeth, Jonhson.” “I don’t,” Jungkook deadpans, not appreciating how you pretend that you don’t know his name. “I don’t see anyone else complaining.” “Because they’re too nice to. If you can’t take criticism, then there’s nothing I can do, Y/N.” There are eyes flickering around. This happens often enough that no one’s particularly surprised, but there’s still bated breath held amongst your classmates. You open your mouth to retort. But the teacher eats with a thoughtful look, and then nods. “You’re right, Jungkook. You could lessen the sugar just a tad, Y/N. The strawberries are quite sweet this time around. Just goes to show that ingredients might always change, everyone!” “Okay.” You force a smile. “I’ll make a note of it.” “Alright class, now that we saw the demonstration, off you go! Watch that whipping cream! It shouldn’t be soft or hard peaks!” Everyone turns to leave, but your glare connects with Jeon’s until he turns around all the way. No matter what you make — Jeon Jungkook always complains that it’s too sweet. He’s a fucking ass. “What was up with that?” There are audible murmurs behind you. “I thought they were going to fight.” “In the kitchen? No. Maybe outside — but you know how it is.” “They still hate each other over the September incident?” “Well Jeon almost got Y/N expelled….” You turn around and once they realize they’ve been caught gossiping, they look away with big eyes and they quicken their hands. “So, uh, pass me the cream!” “Y-Yeah.” The teacher brings your attention back as she finishes marking the rubric. “Thanks for doing that demonstration for the whole class, Y/N. Job well done as usual. Just lessen the sweetness and you’re good to go.” You’re given ninety five percent. Full marks lost because of that asshat. You hope he can feel your glare on his backside. Eventually class ends and with your station all cleaned, hands washed, and apron put aside, you leave. Outside of the room, is the most handsome man on the planet waiting for you. The person who you love wholeheartedly. The person you’re most excited to see. Your person. He’s dressed in a white turtleneck sweater that you got him last year for his birthday, black jeans, and that baby blue trench that’s always soft to the touch. His dark hair is brushed and he’s leaning against the wall casually. But the glimmer in his sheepish eyes betrays the nonchalant exterior he tries to put on. And the corner of his plump lip pulls into a tender smile. “Hey—oof!” Laughter bubbles out of Seokjin’s mouth and his arms wrap around your frame after you quite literally leaped onto him. You barely manage to pull away from the man, having the strongest urge to stick to him forever. “I missed you.” You pout and he grins. “Missed you too, sweetheart.” You lean in to kiss your boyfriend silly. He holds you by your waist and you greet his plump, soft lips that makes you melt in a chaste peck. After a moment, you break away and he wraps an arm around your shoulder. “Should we go?” “Yeah.” Your steps sync together. “You won’t believe what happened to me today.” “What happened? Tell me.” The pair of you walk down the corridor together as the rest of the class continues to spill out. There are girls who caught sight of the heartwarming interaction and they hold their books to their chest as they sigh wistfully. “God, I’m so jealous. I want to be in love too. When am I going to get a boyfriend?” “At this rate, never.” “Hey! Rude!” “I’m kidding!” She giggles. “You just won’t get someone like Seokjin.” “Let’s be real, no one is gonna get someone like Seokjin — he’s just...perfect.” “They’re such a good couple, aren’t they? They’re gonna have such pretty…” Their voices fade, but Jungkook exits and hears their commentary. He turns to steal a glance at your backside down the hall. Jungkook scoffs audibly. “What?” Taehyung catches up to his best friend and swings an arm over his shoulder. The same-height brunette follows his line of sight and hums. “Jealous you’re not in a relationship?” “As if. It’s just pathetic, is all.” Jungkook looks away and they make their own way to the dining hall. “You really handed it to Y/N today.” Taehyung grins mischievously. “Like damn. I didn’t think her cake was half-bad. But you’re not scared it’s gonna come bite you in the ass, Kook? Y/N’s gonna hammer you down when it’s your turn for demonstration.” “So what? Like she knows what she’s even doing.” “Are you sure about that? She seems pretty decent at what she does to me.” “Decent isn’t good enough,” he says blankly. “She thinks she’s the shit but she came here to follow her boyfriend.” Taehyung whistles. “You still mad over September?” “She just irks me. Always has.” “Right, didn’t you guys go to high school together? You, Jin and her…” “We never talked. Whatever, it’s not worth talking about and wasting our time. Hey, what’s on the menu for lunch?” “You tell me. Jimin never texts us what’s new today. Dude just eats and then goes.” “What class does he even have right now?” “Bakery safety and sanitation.” Jungkook grins, remembering just how nightmarish that class was. “Rip.” The two of them turn the corner, moving the opposite way from you and Seokjin, and the hallway empties out.

Anxiousness boils at the pit of your stomach. Today’s the day you’ve been waiting for ever since you found out your application was accepted into the institution and you were successfully enrolled. Whatever results appear, it might dictate where you’re headed in the near and far future. The experience that you gain in these two years will pave the path to your career after all. “It’s today?” Moonbyul puts down her spoon. “Isn’t the paid internship in May? It’s only November.” “The posting went up for us in November too,” Hani pipes up past a mouthful of eggs. “Remember?” “Did it? It was so long ago, I forgot.” “It was only last year.” Sandeul rolls his eyes. “You haven’t gotten that old.” “I sure feel like it.” “Well if anything, you sure look like it.” “Umm, excuse me?” “Okay, okay, guys,” Your boyfriend interrupts with a laugh. “You’re freaking out Y/N even more.” They mutter apologies, but you smile. In an attempt to calm yourself down, you ask, “Where did you guys end up going?” After all, they’re a year ahead of you and they’ve been through the entire process. Any advice is helpful advice at this point. “Sandeul and I got hired by a hotel,” Hani says, “The Marriott. It was a pretty sweet gig, kind of tough though. Out of the entire class, I think five of us went there in total, so we were pretty lucky that we knew each other. It was long hours, but I learned a lot.” Sandeul scoffs. “Can’t say I did.” “When do you ever learn?” Moonbyul bites back. “My internship was at a private club,” Ken recalls, interjecting as the two of them argue again. “But all I baked was bread all day. It was awful.” “Oh god.” You look to Seokjin. “What if I have to bake bread all day? I hate yeast.” Jin laughs and he lifts his thumb to affectionately swipe at the corner of your mouth, getting the spaghetti sauce off your skin where you missed. “You’ll be fine. Promise. You’ll probably get hired at a catering company like I did. Or maybe a pastry shop.” “God, I hope so.” “Which did you apply to?” Hani asks, playing with her noodles. “Just a bunch of them. Restaurants, catering companies, shops. I applied to I think ten.” “Oh, you should be fine then.” “But I heard sometimes they put you in ones you didn’t apply for.” “That rarely happens. Don’t worry about it.” She bats the air with her hand, easing your worries a little more. Your boyfriend smiles warmly. “See? Told you so.” You nod and check the time. It’s five minutes to noon. And with that realization, you get up. “We should go.” “Don’t they email you?” Sandeul asks, pulling himself away from his argument with Moonbyul and ignoring whatever half-hearted and playful insult she throws his way. “Yeah, but the physical posting gets put up faster.” You’re jittery, hopping on both feet and Jin chuckles before he gets up too, taking your food tray and his to dump into the trash. They wish you all the luck you need and you’re off with Seokjin by your side. You’re excited and afraid, not exactly sure what to expect. You just hope you get your internship by the same catering company as the one Seokjin had. They liked him enough that they’ve ensured him a position after he graduates. If they hire you too and you do well enough, they’ll hire you back and you’ll get to work with him. It would be absolutely perfect. You can already imagine it. A small apartment in the city. Working together. Coming home together. There’s not a better plan out there. The hallway is crowded with lots of people pushing past to look at the posting. There are loud conversations, eager claps and cheers, to disappointed sighs and whines. “Wait here, okay?” You turn to Jin, not wanting him to be stepped on or pushed by the crowd. “I’ll be right here.” He squeezes your hand before letting go. And you push past the horde of students. “Excuse me, excuse me. Sorry…” “Aw man, I have my internship at a grocery store?! This sucks.” — “The hell is Dog World.” — “Oh my god, oh my god! I got into the East Wood Country Club! Fuck yes!” Finally, you stumble out of the crowd to the very front. The list is grouped together by locations and you search your name on the paper posting. After an antagonizing minute, you find it. “Kim’s…..Wedding Cake Company….” Blood drains from your face. It runs cold. Jeon Jungkook is coming with you. // You stomp your foot and cross your arms. You’ve been pouting for the past hour. But you can’t help the distress — not when you were still unable to comprehend it. It was the worst news on Earth. You thought your eyes were wrong, that maybe the posting or printer made a mistake, but the email wasn’t any different either. “I can’t believe I have to go with that jerk! It’s all ruined!” “I know, baby.” Seokjin pouts with you, sympathizing with your situation. He pulls you in to plant a kiss at the top of your head. “But you’ll be okay. Promise.” The way he says it calms your nerves, but that doesn’t mean you still aren’t frustrated to no end. There was only one paid internship to be done. One that was supposed to pave your way, help with the rest of your career, teach you things that couldn’t be learned through lectures and classroom work. But your one shot is destroyed. In shambles. What should be a fantastic experience is going to be a dreadful one. Why did things never go right for you? “I just….I just really wanted to be hired at your company.” You look up at him, eyes stinging and glossy with tears that threaten to shed. Your plans are ruined. “It’s okay. You can always apply after graduation.” “I know.” You sigh. “But of all people, why him?” A few hours later, the pair of you catch up with your friends at the dining center for dinner, and they quickly notice the way you’re not necessarily jumping for joy, but rather grieving. “Not...good news, I presume?” Moonbyul gasps. “Did you not get hired anywhere-OW!” She rubs the spot where Sandeul smacked the back of her head for being tactless. “It’s not that,” you reassure them with a small smile. “My internship is at Kim’s Wedding Cake Company.” Ken’s eyes are enlarged. “Oh shit.” “Wedding cakes?!” Hani sharply inhales. “That’s brutal.” “No, it’s not that either. I don’t mind. It’s just…” You steal a glimpse at your boyfriend. For one, you wanted to go where he went and secondly— “I’m with Jeon Jungkook.” “Who?” Ken asks, brows furrowing. “You know, the black haired kid,” Moonbyul says in an attempt to jog his memory. But the man’s impassive expression doesn’t waver or alter. “You literally described at least a quarter of the population.” “The one that looks like a rabbit, you idiot.” Hani makes grand gestures. “The deer-looking fellow. You know, the cute one.” “Right!” He snaps his fingers, as if that was enough to remember him by. You shake your head. “He’s not cute. He’s an ass. Steer clear territory.” “Can’t you steer clear from him?” Sandeul asks before he slurps up his carbonara and then chews in his cheek. “There’s like what— four or five kids coming with you? You can probably avoid him if you wanted to.” “No.” It dawns on you just how bad the circumstances are. “Apparently only two of us are going there. At least I didn’t see anyone else assigned to that place. It’s only going to be just him and I.” “Yikes.” “Not helping, Hani.” Seokjin gives her a look that makes her sheepish and mumble an apology. “It’s not going to be that bad.” He reaches for your hand underneath the table, a private place without the prying eyes of his friends. “It’s only for three months and it’s during summer. It won’t happen for quite some time.” “Yeah.” You squeeze your hand tenderly with his. It’s wondrous how effective Seokjin’s reassurance is. You feel like there’s no reason for you to be afraid, for you to dread the inevitability. He makes you feel like you could take on anything. All plans have their obstacles. Maybe this is just yours. Things always have a way of working out after all. You’ll get your experience, do your internship without talking to him, and then apply where Jin will be working after. You just have a feeling — call it your intuition — that it’ll work out. // But you’re still somewhat unsettled. You wonder if there’s a way you could switch. At least it wouldn’t hurt to take your chances and ask, then you knew you tried and did all you could. So with a hopeful heart, you approach the office area and open the door. The secretary is gone from her desk, maybe gone to take a bathroom or coffee break, so you take a seat in the waiting area. One second passes before you overhear a familiar voice that you’ve grown to detest. “—don’t see how I’m qualified at all! I haven’t even learned about wedding cakes yet!” The frustration is tangible. “It’s a course for next year!” “Then you’ll get a head start from your classmates, Jungkook.” There’s an audible sigh and his voice becomes calmer. “Miss. Kang, please. I just don’t understand how I could be put in something I didn’t even apply for.” “What do you want to do, Jungkook?” “Pardon?” “What is it that you want to do after you’ve gotten your diploma?” “I want to be a chocolatier.” There’s a pause. “A Master Chocolatier. I want to compete in The World Chocolate Masters. That’s why I applied for Oliver’s and Tokyo Confectionery. Spending my time and my internship at a place that does chocolate is important to me. Not wedding cakes.” “Well, you’re lucky then. I personally know the couple that runs Kim’s Wedding Cake Company. They’re good friends of mine and the man who runs the place with his wife is actually a chocolatier. He studied in Paris and has been in the industry for more than ten years. I feel like you could learn a lot from him, Jungkook. Remember, it’s not the place you go to, but the mentor that you have. Think it over. Give it a few days. If you still have concerns, we can talk about it.” Jungkook huffs in exasperation and grabs his bag. He mutters a reluctant ‘thank you’ before leaving the office. He doesn’t take one look back but on his way out, he catches you staring straight at him in the waiting area. His steps slow but then he scoffs, looks away and walks out. When you get a chance to talk to the lady organizing internships, it’s brief — she apologizes and tells you there’ll be no changes made. There’s no arguing, you know that much. Not when Jungkook quite literally tried every desperate plea in the book. You end up leaving and at the same exact time, Jungkook exits the men’s locker area, changed back into his regular attire. The two of you nearly bump heads, running into each other. “Are you following me?” he flat out asks when your eyes meet. You raise a brow, freezing in the middle of the hallway. “Excuse me?” “Are you following me,” he repeats with a sharp tongue, obviously still peeved over his previous interaction with Miss. Kang. But you don’t know why he’s putting it on you and making such outlandish accusations. There was absolutely no limit to his cockiness. “Get your head out of your ass, Johnson. I don’t have the time or day to follow you around.” “Then what are you doing here?” “I don’t think I need to tell you where I am or what I do.” “Whatever.” Jungkook rolls his eyes and brushes past you. But you turn onto your heel and shout after him— “Do you really think you’ll make it?” “What?” He shifts around to glare. His thick brows are knitted, mouth downturned. “Do you really think you’ll make it as a chocolatier?” You meet his eye and a smirk pulls on your features. A rush of air leaves your nose in a snort. “You? Really? You want to compete in The World Chocolate Masters? That’s cute.” “At least I have actual ambitions and goals and I’m not here for the sake of my boyfriend.” “Excuse me? What are you trying to say?” “Don’t play dumb and act like you didn’t follow your little boyfriend here.” “You don't know anything about me, Jeon.” “I don’t? I know that you’re not passionate about baking, that’s for sure. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fucking stolen—” “Fuck you,” you spit. “I didn’t.” “Yeah right.” Jungkook scoffs. “Get real, Y/N.” He gets the last word. Jeon Jungkook turns around, walking away with his bag slung over his shoulder. You shout insults after him but he ignores it, making you look like the fool. Tears sting your eyes and your teeth grit. He’s an asshole through and through. You don’t know why you even bother wasting your breath. If Seokjin was the most patient, kindest person and the person that you love the most — then Jeon was the complete opposite. You will forever detest his very being. // Your hand is squeezed and you’re brought out of your thoughts. “Babe? What’s wrong?” You look to your boyfriend. That’s right — you love him and this man loves you. There’s nothing else that could ever matter more than this. “Nothing. I just had...a really long day today.” Seokjin stops walking and spreads open his arms wide. He gestures to you. “Come here.” A smile pulls into your features and you jump into him. Jin laughs, stumbling back as you cuddle into his chest. His arms wrap securely around your frame, shielding you from the cold, from the darkness of the night. You feel safe. “I love you.” He hums and kisses the top of your head. You’re beginning to feel better already.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook fluff #jungkook fanfic #jungkook scenario #bts seokjin #bts slice of life #bts slice of life au #jungkook series #Y'ALL THIS IS GONNA BE THE SWEETEST THING Y'ALL EVER DARN READ #istg reading and editing ch 1 again brings tears to my eyes #im so excited to finally share this series #I HOPE YOU'RE READY

905 notes · View notes

dcbbw · 4 years ago

Note

Would you ever 📝 AU Romance. Riley having a pregnancy scare or how would Liam would react?

@gkittylove99!!! THIS ASK! THIS.ASK. I have to thank my pre-readers and idea bouncers @sirbeepsalot, @burnsoslow, and @ao719. And to all the folks I sent random snippets to, thank you for not thinking I was crazy!

Warnings for this full-blown fic: Slightly NSFW, Frank discussion of pregnancy termination

I awaken to feel Liam’s weight pressed against my back. His palms cover the backs of my hands as his cock sits in my center, throbbing and twitching.

“Are you awake yet?” His breath, warm and stale, tickles the back of my neck.

I respond by arching my hips upwards; I feel his groin grind against me as he alternates his thrusts between teasingly slow and hard and rough. His teeth scrape my skin between groans of: “Throw that pussy at me,” and “You like how this dick feels?”

The head of his cock is pressed against my spot and I cry out as I release over his shaft; the pillow muffles it. Shortly thereafter, I feel his orgasm splashing against my still clenching walls. He pulls out and rolls over onto his back.

We start every morning with some form of sex. Sometimes it’s oral for me, a blowjob in front of the bedroom mirror for him, or intercourse. It’s always vanilla; we save the kinky for the nighttime.

I stay laying on my stomach; I have been tired lately. And unfocused. I think I need vitamins, maybe an iron supplement. Liam’s voice rouses me, and I turn my head to look at him.

“You need to get up, Riley. It’s time for your shower.”

“I don’t feel good,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow. “Do you have a cold?”

I shake my head. “I just don’t feel good.”

He gives me an odd look before speaking. “I’ll make you some tea and arrange to telework today.”

And then he rises naked from the bed, leaving me alone in the room.

One Week Later

It’s Wednesday, and I am in the office. Chase and Penelope have gone to make the Starbucks run before staff meeting. I didn’t order anything; I am still queasy and it’s strongest in the morning. I feel even more rundown, and there is some heartburn. I am booting up my laptop when my desk phone rings. It’s Lynn, my boss.

“Hey! Come back here and talk to me,” she requests in her signature cheery tone.

I tell her to give me two minutes and hang up. The phone rings again. “Need me to bring you anything?” I answer, sure it’s her again. But it’s Liam.

“Don’t order a car this evening. My car will pick you up at 4:30.”

I stare stupidly at my screen. “Why?”

“You’ll find out.” And the call is disconnected.

I feel uncertainty twist my already roiling stomach as I head into Lynn’s cubicle. She looks up at me, a bright smile on her face. Her hair is in loose waves and falls just past her shoulders; her skin is clear with a rosy glow.

“You look great!” I compliment her. “How do you feel?”

Lynn is entering her fifth month of pregnancy. It’s her fourth; she’s carrying twins.

“Thanks! I feel like I’m hauling around a pod of whales. Sperm whales,” she giggles at her pun.

I offer her a weak smile as I sit in the only empty chair in her cubicle. She frowns slightly. “Was that HR offensive?” She waves her hand dismissively. “I don’t know and too fat to care.”

I shake my head slightly. “You’re fine.”

She begins to dig into a styrofoam container that holds her breakfast: corned beef hash, sausage links, grits, potatoes, toast, and sunny-side up eggs. The sights and smells turn my stomach even more. As she eats, Lynn prattles about her weekend, possibly hiring a new person to help Coco in IT, and maybe putting together an employee handbook.

I say nothing because if I open my mouth, the water and yogurt I had earlier may come up. Noticing my silence, Lynn looks up me; her eyes are critical as she studies me.

“Riley, are you okay? You look … listless.”

“I’m fine!” I force myself to respond cheerfully. “Just a little tired.”

One of her hands rests lightly against her burgeoning belly; the other firmly grips her fork as she drags it through hash, grits, and egg yolk. “Go home. Get some rest for the remainder of the week.”

“I’m fine,” I protest.

“Then go home and get even better. Answer a couple of emails, take a call and you won’t have to use your leave.” She speaks around mouthfuls of food.

My eyes fall to her belly. “Do you have names for the babies yet?”

“Peanut butter and Jelly.” She sees my surprised expression. “There’s a story there, but it’s definitely NSFW. I’m not dealing with HR today.”

She waves her hand at me in a “shoo” motion. “Go home! See you Monday.”

I rise from the chair and make my way slowly back to my desk. I shut down the laptop. I pick up my desk phone and call Liam.

“What?” His tone is curt. I wonder if he’s busy or doesn’t want to hear from me.

“I’m leaving work now. I’m off until Monday.”

A pause before he speaks. I hear papers being shuffled and him typing on his keyboard. “Call the car, go to the penthouse. Shower. Don’t answer the door for anyone, don’t be a Nosy Parker, and I’ll be there shortly.”

And he hangs up.

Once inside the penthouse, I wander around before I shower. It’s rare Liam leaves me alone here; I find it feels strange without his presence. The quiet sounds different, the sun slants through the windows at an altered angle. The stovetop and counters gleam in the bright kitchen; usually both are filled with pots and pans and food in various stages of preparation. I open the refrigerator; there is a platter of homemade meatballs, perfectly rolled and shaped and filled with onions and peppers, ready to be cooked for our dinner tonight. I wonder what else we’ll have.

As I cross back through the living room, I look up at the staircase; only when Liam requests me in his study do I venture into the upper level of the penthouse. There’s a study, home gym, full bathroom, guest room, and the only ingress/egress to the outdoor space upstairs.

I keep walking until I reach the bedroom. I pass Liam’s chest of drawers and frown; one of the drawers isn’t fully closed. I set my phone on top of the furniture and place my palm against the gleaming wood to push it close, but I hesitate. I wonder what’s inside. I look around, even though I know I am the only person in the house.

I’m going to be a Nosy Parker.

I pull the drawer open cautiously and peer inside: neatly folded stacks of boxer shorts in white and black greet me. Next to them are wife beaters, also in white and black, and short-sleeved undershirts in white. There is a wooden tray on the right-hand side of the drawer; it’s mostly cufflinks and tie clips, but I see two photographs, face down. I look at them curiously; just as my fingers reach out to touch them, my phone rings.

I jump and let out a small yell before pushing the drawer shut and looking at my caller ID. I don’t recognize the number; I toss the phone onto the bed before stripping and entering the shower. By the time Liam arrives home, I am wearing his robe and wrapped in a blanket on the living room sofa. There is a talk show on the television. He stands in the doorway looking at me, carrying a brown paper bag. It smells delicious.

And I am now starving.

His eyes look me over as he passes me the food; it’s a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup with basil. I look at him gratefully before I bite ravenously into the gooey, melted cheese and hot buttered bread. The cheese melts against my tongue; a droplet of butter rolls from my lower lip down my chin.

Liam sits next to me; he turns the television off.

“You’re feeling better?”

I am drinking savory soup directly from the container. “I’m still tired, but my nausea has passed.”

He nods thoughtfully. “You haven’t used your supplies this month, Riley.”

The sandwich is at my lips, but my mouth does not open. I’m trying to calculate the last time I had my period. Liam watches me for a few seconds before speaking.

“You’re 10 days late, Riley.”

I stare at him, struggling to come to terms with what this meant. Or could mean. Even the most regular women were sometimes late due to hormones or something.

But I was sick in the mornings. I was fatigued constantly.

The image of Lynn’s hand on her pregnant belly flashes through my mind.

I set my food down; my mouth is suddenly dry. “What … what if I am?”

“Pregnant?” Liam asks as he stands, then makes his way to the television set. He stands there, arms folded across his chest. His burgundy tie is blood against the crisp, white shirt he wears.

I nod slowly.

“You’ll get rid of it.” His tone is calm, matter-of-fact.

A coldness spreads from my belly to chill my entire body. I feel goosebumps rise on my skin. “No,” I whisper. “IF I am, it’s my body!”

“But my child. I don’t want children, Riley.”

“Then you should’ve taken better precautions!” I yell as I stand and get in his face. The robe falls open. I am naked beneath it, but Liam isn’t looking at my body.

“YOU said you were on birth control!” His voices thunders throughout the apartment. He takes a deep breath as he composes himself.

“However, I should have ensured that no … accidents could occur. I’ll be rectifying that situation.”

My eyes search his. He returns my gaze, his eyes steady. How could he be so callous, so cold towards a possible life he helped create?

“I’m not getting rid of our baby. This isn’t something you can throw money at to make it go away, Liam!”

He looks at me incredulously. “It’s a BABY! I will ALWAYS BE THROWING MONEY AT IT!” He shakes his head. “Best to make a one-time payment and be done with it.” He looks at me with hard, dark eyes. “And you either get rid of it or give it up. Those are your only options, Riley. You can’t have us both.”

He steps around me, headed for the stairway that leads upstairs. “Finish your food before it gets cold.”

The heels of his shoes tap against hardwood as he jogs up the stairs. And I am alone.

All alone.

I look around and my glance falls on my lunch. I gather it and take it into the kitchen; I watch red liquid splash against the stainless steel of the sink as I pour the soup out. I wrap the sandwich in its paper, put it back inside its bag, and ball the whole thing up before tossing it in the trash.

Back in the living room, I straighten the sofa cushions and fold my blanket; I carry the blanket with me to the bedroom. I place it back inside the closet; I look at my clothing. Clothing that Liam bought. My fingertips run across the various fabrics: silk, wool, cotton; it causes the hangers to tinkle against each other.

I am standing at the window, the robe belted tightly around my waist, when I hear Liam’s voice behind me. He says I have a doctor’s appointment Friday morning to determine if I am indeed pregnant. I say nothing as my eyes stay fixed on sunlight glinting off the East River, barely visible behind buildings of stone and steel.

I feel him behind me; I smell his cologne and hear his breathing. I feel tears prick my eyes.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I whisper.

“I don’t,” he answers softly.

His arms come around my waist and I feel his face drop into my hair. Then he steps away. “Dinner in an hour.”

“I’m not hungry.”

His footsteps pause. “You should eat.” And then he is gone.

That night, we do not have sex, but we do the next morning. We then spend the remainder of the day avoiding each other and not speaking.

I sit on his ridiculously oversized bed, chin resting on my knees, wondering what I will do if I am pregnant. I have my job; I have the alimony from Maxwell. I would need to find a bigger apartment, a two-bedroom at least.

I would not ask Liam for any child support, nor would I accept it if offered.

Friday morning, we are sitting in a doctor’s office. I fill out paperwork and give the receptionist my insurance information. Liam sits in a chair, an ankle resting on a thigh while he reads a magazine. When my name is called, he walks with me into the examination room.

The nurse is cheerful; she asks me questions that I answer in a dull tone.

No, I have never been pregnant before.

My period is now two weeks late.

The nausea is worse in the morning. I also have heartburn.

No pain.

Liam’s eyes stay fixed on me.

The nurse draws blood; I go to the bathroom to pee in a cup. And we wait.

The doctor comes in 20 minutes later. I am not pregnant. But she wants to do an ultrasound. I feel relief, sadness, and fear. I look at Liam, but his expression is stoic, giving nothing away. I agree to the ultrasound.

There is cool gel. Pictures of my insides show up on a screen. There are white spots on my right side.

I have gallstones; that is why I am nauseous and have heartburn and fatigue.

My surgery is scheduled for a month from Monday.

Liam asks if there is anything that can help relieve my discomfort for the next month. He inquires about foods and drinks to avoid. But he doesn’t look at the doctor when he asks his questions.

He is squatting in front of me, his thumb brushing my cheek while his eyes hold mine captive.

The doctor answers as she scribbles on paper: Ibuprofen to help with pain, and I need to limit my dairy, fats, grease, and fried foods.

At the reception desk, Liam pays the co-pay costs. The receptionist smiles at him. “Dr. Marion will see you Wednesday. Did you receive your paperwork?”

Liam nods, and tells her he will return it no later than Monday before he takes my hand as we walk to the elevator. I want to pull away because I don’t think he would be holding my hand if I were pregnant.

He won.

But I let my hand stay wrapped with his.

“Who’s Dr. Marion?” I ask.

“My urologist.”

“Is it a routine visit?”

I feel my stomach sour even though I haven’t eaten anything.

The elevator car arrives, and we board. He pushes the button to take us to the lobby. His eyes stay fixed on the metal doors as we begin our descent downstairs.

“I’m getting a vasectomy.”

And he says nothing else.

Tagging: @sirbeepsalot @jared2612 @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @hopefulmoonobject @amomentofsinclairity @ao719 @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @janezillow @marietrinmimi @annekebbphotography @merridithsmiscellany-blog @queenjilian @texaskitten30 @glaimtruelovealways @indiacater @forthebrokenheartedthings @kingliam2019 @bebepac @zaffrenotes @liyanin @liamxs-world @choiceslife @ac27dj @the-soot-sprite @gnatbrain @sanchita012 @anotherbeingsworld @atha68 @hopelessromanticmonie @amandablink @cmestrella @iaminlovewithtrr @cinnamonspongecake @lifeaskim @starrystarrytrouble @liamandneca @liamrhysstalker2020 @alyssalauren @queenrileyrose @ladyangel70 @yourmajesty09 @gkittylove99 @neotericthemis @twinkleallnight @umccall71 @ritachacha @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @cordonianroyalty @superharriet

#tw discussion of pregnancy termination #tw slightly ns*w #dcbbw answers #UnRomance AU ask #liam x riley #this isn’t Cordonia

79 notes · View notes

teatitty · 3 years ago

Text

Day 8 & 9: Gorse & Hawthorn

Putthing these two days together because I was out all day yesterday and so didn’t get a chance to do Day 8 by itself!

A symbol of love and fertility, the Gorse is a sweet-scented, yellow flowered evergreen shrub that blooms all year around. The Gorse is a much-loved plant for bees, and because it blooms at least for at least 9 months of the year there is a cheeky old saying: “When the Gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season.”

A sprig of Gorse was traditionally added to a bride’s bouquet and Gorse torches were ritually burned around livestock to protect against sterility. However, you should never gift Gorse flowers to someone, as that would be unlucky for you both

Gorse wood is a very effective tinder, having such a high oil content that it burns at a similar temperature to charcoal. The ashes of the burnt Gorse were high in alkali and used to make soap when mixed with animal fat

Gorse was associated with the god Lugh, and thus the spring equinox and was one of the sacred trees used in the Beltane fires. The summer festival of Lughnastdagh was known as the “Festival of Golden Gorse”

Gorse flowers have a vanilla-coconut scent to them and can be eaten raw on salads or pickled like capers. They have an almond-like taste and are often used to make wine or to add colour and taste to Irish Whiskey. Consuming too many of the flowers raw does lead to stomach aches because of the alkali content though lol

Gorse wood was made into hurleys and walking sticks. A yellow dye in a shade now generally thought of as saffron was made from its blossoms. (Neat little note: dying cloth was considered something of a magical process in early Ireland, carried out only by women; no men were allowed to be present!) An infusion of its flowers would be given to children to cure Scarlet Fever, and, when mixed with honey, it was used as a mouthwash

Its ashes, which are high in alkali, were mixed with fat to make soap!

Gorse also made an acceptable flea repellent and the plant was often milled to make animal fodder! The Gorse itself was also believed to guard the homes of the Sidhe

Fun Fact: the sea of Gorse pictured above is beside the quarry on the Hill of Allen, famously the home of Fionn mac Cumhaill. There’s also a Gorse bush on the way up to Fionn’s Fingers (a set of five standing stones in County Cavan, where Fionn is thought to have lost his hand in battle. The tallest of the stones is 2 metres high)

Literally known as “The Faery Tree” in Ireland, the Hawthorn is typically referred to as “the gentle bush” or “lone bush” as it’s disrespectful to mention the fae by name. As it’s consider a Fae Tree, it is extremely bad luck to cut one down - a belief that’s survived to this day, most famous for causing a road from Limerick to Galway to be rerouted to go around the tree instead of cutting it down

Few people will speak of the fairy tree out of a mixture of fear and respect and even fewer would ever remove or damage a Hawthorn standing alone. If a lone Hawthorn was growing in a farmer’s field, it was treated with much awe, respect and suspicion. Generally believed to be a sign of good luck and prosperity to the farmer, it was a still the home of the Sidhe, and so the farmers feared harming the tree should they bring the wrath of the Fae upon them in doing so. To avoid this, some farmers even placed stones around the base of the tree so as not to accidentally damage the trunks while reaping or ploughing around it

In September, the pollinated flowers produce deep red edible fruits called haws, containing up to five seeds. The flowers themselves tend to bloom from May to June, and the branches become so heavily laden with them that sometimes it’s hard to see the green of the leaves amongst all the white

Young leaves could be included in salads, or mixed with speedwell and made into tea. Jelly or wine was made from the berries, and the seeds were ground into flour to make a substitute for bread. Steeped in brandy with sugar, the blossoms make an extraordinary liqueur

In Britain, the Hawthorn is associated with love and over here it’s believed that young couples that stand beneath the Hawthorn will fall in love, and Hawthorn branches hung above your door would protect you from evil spirits rather than incurring their wratch

In Ancient Greece, Hawthorns were associated with love and marriage, with Hawthorn crowns being worn by brides as decorative headwear and Hawthorn branches used as wedding torches

On a medicinal level, the Hawthorn berries, leaves and flowers are said to strengthen the heart and circulation and to balance blood pressure (this was proven by modern research btw!) and could reportedly be used as a sedative; this is likely because those who were using it at higher dosages tended to experience fatigue and drowsiness. Rich in vitamins and other nutrients, the plant has been used for such purposes for generations and is even thought to have been a part of the Neolithic diet

Extra Fun Fact: The Maguires were chieftains of Fermanagh since 1302, descended from High King Cormac mac Airt. Their inaugural site was at Linaskea, where they were crowned beneath a hawthorn tree

#history #mythology #random facts

9 notes · View notes

bevioletskies · 3 years ago

Text

how sweet it is (to be loved by you)

summary: Although he would never admit it, Apollo really wants to impress Klavier by making dessert from scratch for their first date at his apartment, despite his complete lack of baking experience. With the help of his overenthusiastic sister (and no help from his mischievous cat), Apollo thinks he just might be able to pull it off.

word count: 4.8k | read on ao3

a/n: For @klapollo-week, day four of seven (prompt: "cooking"). All seven of my fics take place in the same continuity! However, each can be read as a stand-alone, with the exception of day seven being a sequel to day five.

This fic takes place at some distant point in time after Spirit of Justice where Apollo and Trucy have learned that they’re siblings, but doesn’t reference any specific plotlines otherwise. Fic title is from the song How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by Marvin Gaye.

“Don’t look at me like that, okay? I can feel you judging me, and I don’t appreciate it. I swear, I-I know what I’m doing! But it doesn’t help with you staring at me like you just know I’m gonna screw up!”

Mikeko blinked. “Mreow.”

“Polly, are you talking to your cat again?” Apollo turned to see Trucy walking towards him with huge bags of flour and sugar in her arms.

“Just a reminder - his name is Mikeko, and he’s an asshole,” Apollo grouched, hurrying over to help before she could drop everything on the floor. The last thing he needed was to get white powder stuck in his kitchen tile grout, again. There was a reason Ema wasn’t allowed to bring her forensics kit to his place anymore. “He peed on my rug the other day. I thought he was sick so I took him to the vet, and nothing. He’s an asshole.”

“You talk about your cat like you talk about your boyfriend, and I dunno which one’s worse,” Trucy mused, elbowing him playfully. “Though obviously, you love ‘em both, since that cat tree over there looks like it costs more than your TV. And, y’know, the fact that you asked me to help you bake for him! Er, your boyfriend, not your cat.”

“You don’t say,” Apollo said dryly, hoisting the bags onto the kitchen counter. “Klavier has an insatiable sweet tooth for a guy with a six-pack. I blame his parents and their baking habits.”

“C’mon, you love his parents,” Trucy giggled. She hopped onto the counter, nearly knocking the flour over in the process. Apollo shot her a dirty look that she blatantly ignored. “So, what’re we making? I’m surprised you asked me to help and then didn’t tell me what we were gonna do!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Apollo sighed, smoothing out the wrinkles in his apron. “We’re making, uh...bienenstich, or bee sting cake. It’s one of his childhood favorites, apparently; it’s got vanilla cream and…” He paused to glance down at the recipe on his phone. “...‘a crunchy caramelized almond topping’.”

“Sounds yummy!” Trucy replied, idly swinging her legs back and forth. Mikeko seemed very interested in chasing her untied shoelaces. “Seriously, though, why did you ask me? I mean, when I first started living with Daddy, I learned how to cook pretty fast, but I never really learned how to bake.”

Apollo softened. “I just wanted to hang out with you, Truce. That’s all.”

Trucy folded her hands over her heart. “Aww, Polly!” She then grinned devilishly. “Of course you did.”

“Now you’re an asshole, too,” Apollo informed her, kissing her cheek before turning back to the other side of the kitchen. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Mikeko, sitting in his sink, lounging lazily across every last mixing bowl he’d just washed. “Mik, what the hell - you were just on the floor a second ago, you - ”

“Meow,” Mikeko interrupted, his tail swishing nonchalantly through the air.

“...cool, cool.” Apollo wiped his hands, then proceeded to lift Mikeko right out of the sink and deposit him onto his cat tree. His paws were still damp; he mewled in protest. “Well, this is going about as well as I expected.”

“I’m excited,” Trucy offered, still beaming. “Let’s go!”

_____

Once Trucy found the appropriate playlist to blast on her phone (“Any performer worth their salt knows they need good background music, Polly!” “But...this isn’t a performance. Also, this is more Maroon 5 than I’m comfortable with.”), she got to work on re-washing the dishes Mikeko had ruined while Apollo shuffled around the kitchen, grabbing the rest of the ingredients. He’d bought quite a few items he didn’t usually have in stock, having next to no experience with baking. The recipe claimed bienenstich was easy to make, though he had his doubts when it came to his abilities - and his luck.

“So, how’ve you and Klavier been?” Trucy asked, drying the last of the spatulas. “Things must be pretty good if you’re baking for him.”

“Good, definitely good,” Apollo replied. “We’ve had a couple of hiccups, but nothing we’ve had to worry about, y’know?”

“Gee, how romantic,” Trucy drawled. “I was hoping for something juicier than that, Polly! Have you had any fun dates lately? Cute moments? Nice gifts? It sure was nice of his mom to send more apple strudels to the agency the other day!”

“Are you my sister, or a tabloid reporter?” Apollo flicked a spray of flour onto the front of her apron, ducking before she could retaliate. “Well, we had a good time at his parents’ house the other day. I made pretzels with his mom, and his dad had a ton of podcast recommendations for like, nerd stuff. We, uh...we even talked about Mom for a bit. They wanna meet her someday.”

Trucy’s eyes widened. “Really? When’s that gonna happen?”

“Not sure,” Apollo admitted. “But hey, do you wanna join us when it does? They’ve been dying to meet you, too.”

“Like you have to ask!” Trucy said brightly. She took a moment to methodically spread out all of their equipment across the kitchen counter, smiling in satisfaction when she was done. “There - we’re ready to go. What’s the actual first step?”

“The dough, it says,” Apollo said, turning back to the recipe. “We’re s’posed to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Although I guess the actual actual first step is measuring the ingredients.”

“I’ll do dry, you do wet,” Trucy replied, passing him one of the mixing bowls. “Y’know…‘cos you're such a wet blanket and all.”

Apollo blinked. “...okay, wow. We’re here to bake a cake, not roast me.” Trucy giggled mischievously, then got to work on measuring out the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Apollo, meanwhile, started with pouring the milk - easy enough - then stared at the egg carton and sticks of butter sitting in front of him. He’d never been intimidated by either before, but right now, he found them oddly daunting.

“Polly, are you trying to perceive the ingredients or somethin’?” Trucy asked, rapping her knuckles against the side of his head a little too sharply for his liking. “The cake isn’t a lie, you know.”

Once again, Apollo found himself looking at her incredulously. “Wha - th-that joke is older than you are!” Then, a brief swish of movement over Trucy’s shoulder caught his eye. “Wait…” Sitting on the opposite counter was Mikeko, who was innocently sniffing the bag of sliced almonds. “Mik - ”

“Mrrh,” Mikeko purred, his tail perking up at the sound of his name. He then flopped onto his side, rolling over to present his belly. “Mrrh?”

“Don’t ‘mrrh’ me, get away from there,” Apollo huffed, flapping his hands in Mikeko’s direction. He seemed unmoved. “Do you want me to lock you in my bedroom? Really? Is that what we have to do?” Sighing, Mikeko got up and hopped down from the counter, sauntering off to the living room with a sulky grimace. “Thank you.”

“You really do act like he’s human,” Trucy commented, watching Mikeko go. “Mr. Edgeworth’s like that with Pess, only he’s way nicer to her than you are to Mikeko.”

“Probably because Pess doesn’t sit on his chest in the middle of the night while he's sleeping and make him think he’s having a heart attack,” Apollo said wryly, reaching for the sticks of butter. If he let them sit out for too long, they were going to start melting. “How’s that whole...thing going, anyway? I feel like Mr. Edgeworth’s been visiting the agency a lot lately...only, nothing ever seems to happen.”

“Story of their lives, according to Ema and Aunt Maya,” Trucy said, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. “At this rate, I’m gonna get married before Daddy does!” She then smirked. “Or should I say, you’re gonna get - ”

“Hey, l-let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Apollo protested, his cheeks reddening. “How’s it going with the dry ingredients?”

“All done!” Trucy chirped, tilting her bowl slightly so he could see. “Wait, you still haven’t done the butter or eggs yet? Apollo!”

“Yeah, yeah, I was kinda busy dealing with that jerk over there.” Trucy glanced across the way to the living room; she could’ve sworn Mikeko was sticking his tongue out at them. Apollo then pushed the butter towards her. “Here - you do the butter, I’ll take care of the eggs.” The two of them worked in silence for a minute or so, the only sounds in the apartment being the crinkle of the butter’s parchment paper and the tap-tap of the eggs against the mixing bowl. It didn’t take long before their silence was broken. “...shit.”

“Eggshell?” Trucy guessed without looking up. “Sheesh, you really did need help. Here, give it to me!”

Apollo nudged the bowl in her direction, defeated, then wiped the sweat off his brow. “Damn, I didn’t think I was gonna be this bad! I made bread and pretzels with Klavier’s mom, and that went pretty well.”

“I bet it’s ‘cos she did most of the work,” Trucy teased. “Wait - Apollo, there’s more eggshell in here than actual egg!”

“I…” Apollo paused. “...have no excuses.” He then groaned. “Ugh, we still have so much left to do! This cake better be worth it.”

“It’s more like if you think your boyfriend’s worth it, and he is, isn’t he?” Trucy finished fishing out the last of the eggshells, then poked Apollo’s side with her yolk-covered finger. “So c’mon, let’s keep going. We mix them together, right?”

Apollo smiled softly. “Yeah. And hey, I’m...I’m really glad you’re here, Trucy. Thanks for helping me out.”

“It’s just baking, Polly, you don’t hafta be so dramatic,” Trucy said, though she was beaming regardless. “Now move it, or this cake’s still gonna be in the oven when he gets here!”

_____

A little over two hours later, Apollo jumped up from his couch at the sound of his doorbell. His face brightened when he saw Klavier on the other side of the door, dressed casually in an oversized hoodie and joggers. Klavier had been so particular about how he’d dressed for their first few dates that Apollo was always happy to see him in more relaxed attire. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

Klavier raised an eyebrow. “You always greet me in the strangest ways, schatz. Did something happen, are you okay?”

Apollo let out an internal sigh of relief; Klavier had yet to notice anything off-putting at all. “No, no, I-I’m fine, just - i-it’s been a long day, and it’s good to see you. I mean, it’s always good to see you - usually good to see you, depending on what’s going on, ‘cos not gonna lie, you still pull the most inane crap in the courtroom, but, uh. It’s good that you’re here. Hi.”

Klavier’s eyebrows remained raised. “...hi. Anyway, I brought dinner and dessert.” He lifted the two bags he was carrying so Apollo could see. “As it turns out, our favorite Taiwanese place was having a promotion. Spend thirty dollars or more, we get free tofu pudding. Achtung, I love a good deal!”

“That’s not what your bank account says,” Apollo teased. “And, er, that’s great, and we should definitely eat it while it’s fresh, but I actually made dessert for us, too.”

“Really?” Apollo was starting to think Klavier’s eyebrows were never going to come back down. “What did you make?”

“No spoilers,” Apollo said, tugging on Klavier’s sleeve. “C’mon, get in here before my neighbors spot you. I swear, I heard one of them blasting Love With No Chance Of Parole the other night. If they find out you’re my boyfriend, I’m never gonna hear the end of it.”

“Finally starting to recognize my songs, are you?” Klavier chuckled, stepping into Apollo’s apartment. “I’ll make a Gavinners fan out of you yet, baby.” He then looked around, curious, as he took off his shoes. “Your place doesn’t look nearly as bad as you made it sound. It’s...charming.”

“Real diplomatic way of saying it looks like crap,” Apollo said wryly, closing the door behind him. He was well aware of his peeling wallpaper and cat-scratched furniture, his dusty windows and his water-damaged ceiling. “Wait until you have to use my bathroom. I swear the sink is haunted.”

“How comforting.” Klavier’s eyes lit up at the sound of tiny little feet padding over in his direction; he crouched down so he could be at eye level, one hand outstretched to beckon him closer. “Why, guten tag, kätzchen! I’m so glad I finally get to meet you.” Mikeko stopped dead in his tracks, eyeing Klavier up and down warily. Then, without another sound, he turned and walked away, tail swishing pointedly in the air. Klavier looked up at Apollo dejectedly. “Ach, what did I do?”

“Mikeko only likes me and tolerates Trucy,” Apollo shrugged, trying not to laugh at Klavier’s miserable expression. “I wouldn’t take it personally. C’mon, let’s eat!”

“I’m going to take it a little personally,” Klavier muttered under his breath, following Apollo across the open living space. It wasn’t long before they were set up at the dining table, working their way through their Taiwanese beef noodles, fried chicken, and scallion pancakes. Apollo hummed happily as he ate; he hadn’t realized how hungry he was or how difficult baking could be until now. “So, how was your day?”

“Didn’t do much,” Apollo said, shrugging. “Since it’s my day off, I just kinda - y’know, played video games, watched some TV. Re-organized my bookshelf for the millionth time. I still haven’t decided if my brain likes it organized by author, title, genre, or color.”

“You also made dessert, apparently,” Klavier replied. “Are you really not going to tell me what it is?”

“Curiosity killed the cat, and even though my cat’s an asshole, I prefer him alive,” Apollo said, playfully nudging Klavier’s leg with his foot. “You can wait thirty minutes, can’t you?”

“Ach, the suspense,” Klavier laughed. “Fine, fine. Can I at least ask why you decided to bake for us?”

“It’s the first time you’ve been to my place, so I figured I’d do something nice,” Apollo said, sniffing very slightly. The smell of burnt sugar was starting to waft into his nose; he crossed his fingers underneath the table in the hopes that Klavier couldn’t smell it, too.

“Er - are you okay, Apollo?” Klavier asked, lowering his chopsticks. “You’re...sniffling. I didn’t accidentally bring some pollen in here, did I?”

“Sniffing, not sniffling,” Apollo corrected. “There’s a difference. And nah, it’s nothing. Just wasn’t sure if Mik might’ve peed somewhere...as he does.”

“Ah, cats,” Klavier said, nodding sagely. “Don’t tell your kätzchen I’m more of a dog person, bitte. We’re already off to a bad start as it is.”

“Brave of you, saying that out loud,” Apollo remarked. “If Mik comes after you in your sleep tonight, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Klavier turned to look at Mikeko, who was currently on the kitchen counter, scarfing down his dinner. He lifted his head to make direct eye contact, chewing menacingly all the while. Klavier shuddered. “How about you, what were you up to today?”

“The most boring prosecutor’s office meeting ever, not that that’s anything new,” Klavier sighed, turning back to face Apollo. “And I had no cases to prosecute, so I spent my day wishing I was here instead. Even if you and Mikeko weren’t around, I’d rather watch your wallpaper die a slow death than listen to Herr Payne whine about his life while we’re all waiting for the coffee maker. I don’t see how it’s my or Herr Blackquill’s fault that he hasn’t had a raise in over ten years. If all he can brag about is making new defense attorneys cry instead of actually doing his job, then he should be grateful he still has a career to begin with, ach.”

Apollo blinked. “...huh. I guess I never really thought about the kind of office politics you have to deal with. Meanwhile, the only thing I’ve had to deal with lately is Athena nearly breaking Trucy’s finger during an arm-wrestling match.”

Klavier winced, popping a piece of chicken in his mouth. “Is that something that happens often?”

“More often than it should,” Apollo replied sagely. Klavier wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or slightly terrified.

After they finished dinner, Klavier insisted on helping Apollo with the dishes, seeing as how there was a huge pile of them in the sink, almost none of them from their dinner. Some were splattered with cake batter, others with vanilla cream. Thankfully, Apollo had already rinsed all the pans and utensils he’d used to make the topping, or else the sliced almonds would’ve given him away entirely.

“No peeking in the fridge or you’re not getting any,” Apollo warned, waving a spatula in his face.

“Are we talking about dessert, or...something else?” Klavier blinked innocently when Apollo continued to glare. “Ja, ja, I hear you.” He then paused. “Can I at least speculate? I have an educated guess.”

“You have zero patience sometimes,” Apollo complained, knocking his hip against Klavier’s, though with their height difference, it was more like his hip against Klavier’s thigh. “Let’s finish up here so you have nothing to complain about, alright?”

As they puttered around the kitchen together, Apollo had to subtly, but constantly direct Klavier away from the oven before he could see the remnants of a burnt pan still left on one of the stovetop elements; he hadn’t had enough time to completely scrub them away, though he had gotten rid of the worst of it. For once, he was grateful Klavier favored heavy scents, which seemed to be masking the smell for him.

“Mrrp.” Just as Klavier was drying the last of the plates, he felt something weaving between his ankles. “Mreow?”

“Have you changed your mind about me, kätzchen?” he asked, delighted. Mikeko aggressively smushed his face against Klavier’s calf in response. Apollo watched them both in amazement. “Is that a ja or a nein?”

“Mrrh,” Mikeko rumbled.

“Oh, this is definitely a trap,” Apollo warned. “He probably wants something from you, so don’t fall for it, Klav.”

“You talk about him like he’s an unruly witness on the witness stand,” Klavier said, amused. “He’s just a sweet little kätzchen, what could he possibly - ” Mikeko sneezed, violently.

“There it is,” Apollo sighed.

Klavier winced at the wet spot Mikeko had left behind on his sweatpants. “Achtung, gesundheit!” He then chuckled, shaking his head as Mikeko wandered off, clearly pretending nothing had happened. Either that, or he was embarrassed, though Apollo suspected it was more the former than the latter. “Like human, like cat, I see; it’s allergy season all around. Is it my cologne, do you think?”

“Might be,” Apollo shrugged, wiping his hands. “Okay, you big baby, are you ready for dessert now?”

“You’re acting like I’ve talked about nothing else,” Klavier protested, wrapping his arms around Apollo from behind and burying his face against Apollo’s neck. He then began pressing slow, deliberate kisses along the length of Apollo’s throat. His nose was momentarily filled with the scent of Klavier’s aforementioned cologne, the scent of sandalwood instead of burnt sugar. “I would love to have dessert, baby.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Then we can eat what you made after.”

“Why am I dating you,” Apollo groaned, lightly shoving him away. Klavier snickered, hopping up onto the kitchen counter. “Sheesh, you’re like a cheap Hallmark card and a bad pick-up artist at the same time.”

“Is there such a thing as a good pick-up artist?” Klavier mused, still grinning. “Anyway, I’m serious. Let’s see what you made for us, liebe.” Apollo felt oddly nervous as he opened his refrigerator and carefully pulled out the covered tray from the top shelf. He set it down on the counter, right beside Klavier, then went to grab plates, forks, and a decent-sized knife. “Ah, a knife! Was my prediction correct?”

“Can you let me live for two seconds, please?” Apollo grumbled, softening when Klavier leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. “Okay, okay, careful around the guy with the knife in his hand. I-I’m gonna take off the cover now.”

They both held their breaths just as Apollo lifted the tray cover, as overly dramatic as it sounded. The sensation was stupidly similar to how they felt during a particularly stressful trial. Klavier’s eyes widened at the sight before him. “...bienenstich?”

“Wait…” Apollo leaned closer. “...what happened?!”

The state of his bienenstich was...questionable, to say the least. To start, the caramelized almond topping, which had hardened nicely in the refrigerator earlier, now looked like it had been through an earthquake, full of little holes and fissures. The thick layer of vanilla cream between the two layers of cake was oozing out the sides, having somehow melted since Apollo put it in the fridge over an hour ago. Finally, most of the bottom layer of cake was soggy and crumbling apart, clearly thanks to the melting cream.

“You gotta be kidding me!” Apollo exclaimed, setting the knife aside and hurriedly digging his phone out of his pocket. “Here, I took a picture earlier, i-it - it looked perfect, I-I made sure of it - ”

“I’m sure it did, Apollo,” Klavier said gently, rubbing his shoulders in sympathy. “Let’s see your picture, then.”

Groaning, Apollo held his phone up to Klavier’s face. “Seriously, look. I took so many photos, I was gonna send ‘em to your parents and thank them for teaching me the basics...I even made the topping three times ‘cos I burnt the first two attempts!”

“Is that what that smell was?” Klavier shrunk at Apollo’s venomous expression. “Sorry, baby, I just - I didn’t want to say anything in case it was, you know, a weird apartment smell.” He then perked up. “But if you ask me...looks have nothing to do with taste. That goes for both food and people, apropos, though I consider myself blessed that you’re the very best of both.”

“Har, har...also, ew,” Apollo added, wrinkling his nose. “Well, let’s hope you’re right.” With renewed vigor, he picked up the knife once more and carefully cut two modest-sized pieces, transferring them to their respective plates. He passed one plate to Klavier, then, after they exchanged nervous looks, they both took their first tentative bites. “...oh.”

“See? It’s just as I said!” Klavier declared, grinning victoriously. “I’m not going to pretend it’s the most perfect bienenstich I’ve ever had, but - it’s good, Apollo. It’s really, really good. I wouldn’t have known it was your first attempt if I hadn’t seen it. Even then, it’s hardly a disaster. Just a bit, ah, lopsided.”

Apollo was quiet for another moment or so, letting the taste linger on his tongue. The texture was a bit odd, thanks to the half-melted cream and the soggy cake, but it was just as sweet and satisfying as he’d been hoping it would be. “...huh. So I guess we didn’t accidentally swap the salt and sugar like I thought we might’ve done.”

“We?” Klavier echoed as he took another bite, more generous in size this time.

“Yeah, Trucy came over to help me. Guess I forgot to mention that,” Apollo added. “We haven’t had much time to hang out outside of work stuff lately, so...I thought it’d be a fun afternoon thing. Kinda turned into a nightmare instead? Like, the smell of burnt sugar is everywhere for a reason. Don’t look inside my oven, please.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Klavier laughed, delighted. “I can only imagine what went on before I got here, achtung.” It wasn’t long before he was scraping his plate clean; he was still eyeing the rest of the cake hungrily. He turned when Apollo made a mild noise of disgust. “Ah - what happened?”

“What always happens around here.” Apollo plucked a tiny, but obvious cat hair from the end of his fork. “At least I didn’t eat this one. I think I’ve consumed more cat hairs than I’ve had paying clients.” He then looked at Klavier with raised eyebrows. “You’re not expecting another piece right now, are you?”

“I like bienenstich, okay?” Klavier said defensively, though he finally got down from the kitchen counter so he could put his fork and plate in the sink, dropping a sticky-sweet kiss on Apollo’s cheek on his way over. “Danke, baby, that was really good. Can I take some back with me, bitte?”

“Of course, babe. I’m certainly not eating the rest of it by myself,” Apollo snorted, finishing off his own piece. He put his dishes in the sink, taking a moment to rinse off his and Klavier’s plates, then let out a relieved sigh. “Well, at least it tasted good, even if it looked like crap.”

“I know it’s pointless, saying this to you, but - don’t worry so much, hm?” Klavier wrapped his arms around Apollo’s midsection; before Apollo knew it, he was being lifted and set down onto the counter, right where Klavier had been. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, bringing his hands to rest on Klavier’s shoulders, his legs wrapped loosely around Klavier’s waist. “I’m impressed, liebling, I mean it. I know Mama’s been teaching you how to bake, but for you to do it on your own time for us to enjoy...I should really step up my game here, don’t you think?”

“Hardly,” Apollo said, dropping his head to Klavier’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to Klavier’s neck. “Thanks, Klav. Glad you liked it.”

“Bitte schön,” Klavier replied, gently lifting Apollo’s chin so he could kiss him properly. They both tasted like vanilla and honey; Apollo pushed Klavier’s hair out of his face so it wouldn't run the risk of getting sticky. Mere seconds later, they were interrupted by a tiny, impudent meow. Sighing, Klavier reluctantly broke away so he could stare down at the culprit by his feet. “Can I help you, kätzchen? I thought we were cool...until you used my sweatpants as a tissue, that is. These are Moncler, I’ll have you know.”

“Mreow,” Mikeko trilled, tail thrashing violently against Klavier’s leg. Shaking his head in amusement, Apollo got down from the counter so he could pick him up and cradle him, rocking him back and forth like a baby. “Mrrp.”

“I’m kinda curious to see if he’ll let you pet him,” Apollo said. “You wanna try?” Klavier lifted a cautious hand, then slowly began petting Mikeko, taking care not to disturb the sleekness of his long, thick fur. Klavier let out a soft laugh when Mikeko began to purr, his eyes closing contentedly as he smushed his face against Klavier’s hand, just like he’d done to his leg earlier. “Hey, would you look at that - it’s a not-Christmas miracle!”

“I feel as if I’ve been blessed,” Klavier chuckled, rubbing Mikeko’s ears for good measure. “Have I passed your secret test somehow, kätzchen? Am I a good partner for your papa?” Mikeko mewled happily.

“I can’t believe you didn’t even do anything and he already likes you,” Apollo sighed. “Mik, I thought you were smarter than this.”

“I can’t tell if you want him to like me or not,” Klavier said dryly, dropping a kiss to the top of Mikeko’s forehead. Mikeko’s purr only seemed to intensify. Apollo rolled his eyes; now Klavier was just showing off. “So now that all of our bienenstich excitement is over, should we put a movie on, maybe try a small bite of that tofu pudding? I have a desperate need to cuddle after the day I’ve had.”

“Day you had?” Apollo echoed, neatly depositing Mikeko back onto his cat tree. “You said you had a boring meeting and no trials. How bad could it have been?”

“I had to listen to Herr Payne gush about his wife that definitely exists,” Klavier bemoaned, lifting the back of his hand to his forehead as if he were about to faint. Apollo was sure if he rolled his eyes any harder, he would sprain something. “Herr Debeste kept asking to borrow a pencil for some reason. I’m serious, baby, don’t laugh at me, he kept knocking on my door every thirty minutes - ”

“The only baby I see around here is you, baby,” Apollo teased, prodding Klavier in the chest. “But fine, fine, I hear you. You go sulk on the couch and pick out a movie while you wait. I'm gonna put the bienenstich back in the fridge and send your mom my pre-disaster pictures. Maybe she’ll have some advice for my next attempt.”

Klavier perked up. “Next attempt? You mean you’re going to make it again? Ah, ich liebe dich, mein schatz, mein süßer, mein - ”

“Oh my god,” Apollo groaned, sighing. “Maybe, okay? Maybe. I’m not making any promises, I don’t want my apartment to permanently smell like burnt sugar hell.” Still, Apollo found himself biting back a smile, kissing Klavier briefly before lightly nudging him in the direction of his living room. “...and I love you, too. Dork.”

_____

a/n: Welcome to my fourth entry for Klapollo Week 2021! Continuity-wise, this is the sixth of seven fics, but again, there is no need to read the others to follow each fic on its own. Mikeko being a jerk who only likes maybe three people at a time is one of my favorite random headcanons! I know I set a lot of my fics in Apollo's apartment (or Klavier's), but one of the main reasons that I do is for Mikeko and Mikeko alone. If you're looking for a Mikeko-centric fic (kind of), if you could read my mind is one of my favorite short-ish fics that I've ever written.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Likes and reblogs would be much appreciated. Hoping you’re all safe and healthy and doing well ❤️

#KlapolloWeek2021 #klapollo #kyodoroki #klapollo fic #ace attorney #ace attorney fic #myfic #long post #almost forgot to post this oops lmao #also my day two fic hasn't been archived! guess i'll send y'all a quick ask later #i think i'd tagged something incorrectly so that's my bad

13 notes · View notes

avengerscompound · 5 years ago

Text

Catch and Release - 5

Catch and Release: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count: 3289

Rating: E

Square filled: @star-spangled-bingo - Steve's Apartment

Warnings: Smut (MMF, oral and vaginal sex, overstimulation)

Synopsis: When you overexert yourself on a mission with Steve and Bucky, the boys admit to having fantasies that involve you. Fantasies that you share. But with one Super Soldier needs intimacy and the other is still dealing with being touch starved, exploring those desires without anyone catching feelings is a little tricky.

Chapter 5: Lying in Wait

You knocked on the door to the apartment that Steve and Bucky shared. They'd asked you around for dinner, which meant dinner and experimenting with their sexuality, and you were more than a little excited. The dice game had gone over really well and for a couple of days after they would each come and tell you about what parts they liked the most. You knew that they’d want to take it further and try more things. Especially given Steve hadn’t technically gone ‘all the way’ with you.

You were very excited too. This whole thing had not at all been what you’d expected. The whole idea of a down and dirty three-way that was all about sex and just getting that release at the hands of the two super soldiers was definitely one that you’d visited alone a lot of times. Somehow this was even better. Steve and Bucky were such good friends, and this arrangement you’d come to was both exciting and safe all at once. They might be finding out more about themselves, but this was your opportunity to find out more about yourself too.

Steve answered and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek. It was funny really, you’d seen him on and off all day, but that was Cap. Steve was a whole different person in a lot of ways and so even though you’d only seen him half an hour ago, this was the first time you were seeing him all day. “Come in,” he said as he held the door open for you.

“I bought wine.” You said holding up the bottle of merlot you’d ‘stolen’ from Tony’s cellar.

“Trying to get us drunk are you?” He asked taking it from you.

You chuckled and followed through the apartment to the table. Their place was a weird mix of old and new. There was a blue velvet wingback couch sitting next to a black leather recliner that had speakers in the headrest. An old cabinet style record player sat next to a large flat-screen TV and had a PS4 sitting on top of it. A set of nesting tables sat in front of the couch and each one was littered with art supplies and Steve’s shield was propped up against the couch.

The walls were decorated with artwork of vintage motorcycles and photos of family and friends. One entire wall was boxed shelving, and each shell was full of books and vinyls. There was no clear theme to any of it. A boxed set of Harry Potter novels sat next to books on military tactics. The Wizard of Oz series was there in its entirety but each volume was sitting on a different shelf. The Wizard of Oz was next to a book on guided meditation. Ozma of Oz was beside some vintage Captain America comic books.

Bucky was in the kitchen cooking. He had his hair pulled back and a floral apron on. The kitchen itself was quite modern and clean compared to the living room. The benchtops were black granite and the fittings were all brushed chrome. Bucky smiled when he saw you and came over and kissed your cheek. “Everything is nearly ready.” He said.

“It smells so good,” you said. “And you look amazing.”

He pinched your hip and went back to his cooking. “Steve, did you put your shit away?”

“Yes,” Steve lied, going straight to the coffee tables and bundling up the art supplies.

“That means your shield too,” Bucky said.

“It’s away,” Steve said. He shoved the drawings and pencils into one of the gaps on the bookshelf before grabbing his shield and shoving it into the hall cupboard.

You chuckled and took down some wine glasses. “It doesn’t matter how much time has passed, I will never get over the fact that he’s the messy one.”

“He’s always been the messy one,” Bucky said. “Drives me crazy.”

“Can I help at all?” You asked as you poured out three glasses.

“There’s a salad in the fridge. You think you can take it out to the table?”

The table was already partially set. The plates and silverware were out, as was a loaf of crusty bread. You took the salad out and by the time you were sitting with Steve and taking your first sip from your wine glass Bucky was bringing out a serving platter piled high with risotto.

“So,” you said, as you all started filling your plates. “What shall we do tonight?”

“Oh, uh…” Steve said, almost dropping his fork. “We thought dinner and if you wanted we could watch a movie…”

“Really? That’s what you want to do?” You teased.

“He’s being polite because he doesn’t want you to feel pressured to do anything,” Bucky said.

“Oh, I know.” You said playfully, putting your hand on Steve’s.

“I just want to make sure you know that your friendship is important to me too,” Steve said, giving your hand a squeeze. “I don’t want to put the sex above that.”

Bucky smiled and leaned over the table and kissed him. Not that you could blame him. You could practically feel your heart swell up. When Bucky sat back in his chair, Steve looked a little love-struck himself.

“Then we should hang out as friends sometime,” you said as everyone started eating. “Like we used to. But I am wearing really expensive lingerie and I’d really like to show you it.”

“And I would definitely like to see it,” Bucky said.

“We were talking about just…” Steve stopped mid-sentence and froze like he had forgotten the word he was looking for. “You know… normal.”

You and Bucky looked at each other and bit back laughter. “Ah yes, normal threesome style, Stevie. Just the way everyone who has threesomes does it.”

Steve looked at Bucky deadpan. “You know what I mean.”

“Well, yeah. I do ‘cause we talked about it before.” Bucky teased. “What he means is because part of this is him getting to do some things he hasn’t done before, we’d like to focus on you and it just be…”

“... vanilla guy on girl sex.” You finished.

“That’s the one,” Bucky said tapping his forehead.

“Gonna run the train,” you said and took a sip of your wine. “Nice.”

“Is that okay?” Steve asked.

“More than.” You said. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything,” Steve answered.

“And just to be clear here, I’m talking to Cap. Not Steve.” You added.

“Oh,” Steve said, his posture stiffening. “What is it?”

“No,” Bucky groaned. “Don’t invoke the Captain in here.”

“Just for a second. I promise.” You said. “What happens if the others find out about what we’re doing?”

Steve’s jaw tensed and twitched at the corners as he thought. “I don’t think we should go around bragging about it,” he said. “But this is our personal business We aren’t breaking any rules. If the find out, they find out.”

“Besides, if Tasha doesn’t already suspect, then I don’t think that’s Natasha and we better find out where the real Natasha is,” Bucky added.

You laughed and nodded. “True. You know if Tony finds out he’s going to give you hell for it.”

“What’s new?” Steve said with a small shrug. “Besides, like he can talk.”

“Also valid.” You said. “Alright. I just wanted to make sure. I agree. I don’t want to go telling … well anyone, but like Bucky said, Nat figures this shit out, and I don’t want to be lying to our friends.”

Steve reached over and rubbed your arm. “I would never ask you to do that. You aren’t our dirty little secret. You’re our friend.”

“God, Steve. Saying all the right things tonight. I’m gonna fuck your brains out.” You said.

“And I’ve got second,” Bucky added, reaching over and taking Steve’s hand.

The three of you finished up dinner and cleaned up together. Steve had been right. The three of you needed to nurture the friendship too. This was how this started after all.

When the kitchen was practically sparkling Steve came up behind Bucky and wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his neck. Bucky closed his eyes and hummed softly. He held out his hand to you and you took it and let him pull you into his arms.

His eyes opened and he blinked slowly, as he gazed down at you. “Ready, darlin’?”

You smiled up at him as Steve’s arm snaked around you and he pressed his large hand to the middle of your back. “As I’ll ever be.”

Bucky leaned in and ghosted his lips over yours. You reached up and tangled your hands in his hair and pulled him into a hungry kiss. Steve kissed and nipped at Bucky’s throat as the two of you kissed and pulled you a little tighter against Bucky. You could feel Bucky start to harden against you and you pulled back with a quiet gasp.

“Bedroom?” He asked.

“Bedroom.” You agreed and Bucky put an arm around each of you and the three of you made your way down to the bedroom.

The room was painted sage, with gray trim. The floor to ceiling windows on the far side looked out over the East River and beyond that, Brooklyn. There were more shelves against one wall, though they mostly held little knick-knacks. Things like a signed baseball, a Build-a-Bear dressed as Captain America, and model spaceships - the kind you built yourself. Next to it was an antique drafting table with more art supplies and sketches littering it. There were framed prints on the one bare wall above the bed, each one held different black and white photographs of the New York skyline over the years.

The bed was a king and had been made. A crocheted quilt in dark red and white lay folded in half at the foot over the gunmetal quilt. The bedside table on the left was clean and neat with a digital alarm clock, a dock for a Stark phone a worn copy of Dune. There was also a basket with condoms and lube, the same as you had set up when they’d come to your place. You wondered if he’d decided to steal the idea from you. You couldn’t imagine that they were still using protection like that with each other. The bedside table on the right was a mess of water bottles, notebooks, dog eared novels, colognes, and random scraps of paper.

You looked around as you unzipped your dress. Bucky and Steve began to undress too. “I’ve never seen your room before.”

“So many firsts tonight,” Bucky said playfully.

“Your bed is big enough to fit us three and Thor too.” You said dropping your dress and revealing the black lace push up bra and thong you were wearing.

The two men looked you over like hungry wolves. “Two super soldiers not enough for you,” Bucky teased, stalking over to you and hooking his arm around your waist. “You gotta include a god too?”

“Hey, I’ve been single for ages. Let me have my fantasies.” You joked, as he pulled you to him and lifted you, carrying you to the bed and dropping you on the mattress.

You lay back and arched your back as both Steve and Bucky crawled up with you. Both had taken their shirts and shoes off, but while Steve was down to his boxers, Bucky was still in his jeans. “You’re giving us ours, if you want to share yours with us, we’ll see what we can do.” Steve rumbled as he kissed your neck and collarbone. His hand ran down between your breasts and over your stomach, making your skin break out in goosebumps.

Bucky kissed the other side of your neck and tangled his hand in your hair. “Threesomes are the most common fantasy you know?” You half moaned. “And they’re more common to have the older you get.”

“How do you know this stuff?” Steve asked as he moved his hand to your cunt and he slowly began to palm it.

You moaned pushing up against his hand. “It was in a documentary. You guys are over a hundred. So bringing Thor in would be good for you.”

Steve snorted while Bucky broke down laughing. “We’ll keep that in mind, dork.” Bucky teased and kissed you.

As you kissed, Steve kissed lower. He paused at your breasts and sucked and bit at your nipples through your bra. You reached behind you and unhooked it Steve slid it down and pulled your nipple into his mouth. Bucky joined him at your other breast and they both sucked and bit your breasts as Steve’s hand slipped into your panties and he started to finger your clit. You moaned and squeezed your legs around his hand as you writhed under them.

Steve moved down lower, pushing your legs apart and pulling your panties down. He nuzzled at your cunt and flattened his tongue running it up your folds. You put your feet on his shoulders and pushed your hips up into his mouth. Bucky’s hand caressed your throat as he continued to suck and bite at your beasts.

The sounds you made got louder and louder as Steve became more and more focused. You could tell he hadn’t done this before, but the way he moved was almost like watching him in the field. He’d stop and cock his head to the side while his tongue flicked over your clit or his fingers moved inside of you, when you moaned just the way he wanted, he’d focus on what he’d just done.

As they brought your apart with just their hands and mouths, they kept touching each other too. Stroking each other’s backs or legs. While you moaned and bucked, your orgasm right there on the brink, they held hands.

Steve corkscrewed his wrist and sucked hard on your clit and you came, arching hard up off the mattress and crying out. “Fuck, yes!”

Steve sat up, a proud little smile on his glistening lips. Bucky got up on his knees and kissed him hungrily. You wrapped your legs around Steve and began to grind against his erection as you unfastened Bucky’s jeans. Bucky pushed Steve’s boxers down and began to stroke his cock and Steve groaned into Bucky’s lips, his cock jumping in Bucky’s hand and leaking precum onto your pussy as you rubbed against him.

Bucky broke the kiss and began to nuzzle at Steve’s neck. “You gonna fuck her, Stevie?” He whispered.

Steve groaned and grabbed your thighs. “Yeah, Buck. I want to.”

“She’s so wet and warm, Steve,” Bucky whispered as he grabbed a condom. “You’re gonna really like it.”

Steve closed his eyes and caressed his fingers over your stomach and cunt. You reached up and cradled his jaw as Bucky rolled the condom down over his shaft. Steve looked down at you, his blue eyes blown out with lust. With a snap of his hips, he sunk deep into you.

You both gasped and you arched back as he lifted your hips up to him. Bucky kissed Steve again before leaning down and sucking on your breasts against. His metal fingers went to your clit and rubbed it as Steve started to slowly rut his hips against you, each thrust accompanied by a roll, so it felt like he was touching every part of you.

You felt like a live wire. All your nerves were raw and stimulated as they made you the center of attention. Steve fucked you slow and deep, filling you completely. You gripped his wrists and rolled your hips with him. Pleasure swirled through, starting in your breasts and cunt and meeting in your core. It pressed down on you and radiated out until it was all you knew and all you wanted to know. Your core clenched and you came hard, bucking up under them.

Steve was far from close though. He picked up his pace, fucking you harder and a little more erratically. Bucky began to massage the base of his cock and balls while his thumb rubbed your clit. He switched from one breast to the next, keeping you right on the edge as Steve fucked you.

Steve’s eyes stayed locked with yours and his jaw tensed. You jerked up suddenly as another orgasm tore through you, and with a hard snap of his hips, he came.

Bucky sat back as you relaxed down panting and Steve slipped from within you. “How’re you doing there, darlin’?” He asked as he ran his hands up Steve’s chest.

Steve kissed Bucky’s neck and got up, removing his condom and tossing it out. “Really good, Buck,” you hummed. “You gonna fuck me?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Bucky replied, grabbing one of the condoms and sheathing himself. You sat up and stretched a little and Bucky sat opposite you. You climbed into his lap and lowered yourself down onto his cock. As you began to bounce on his cock Steve moved up behind you and sat with his legs on either side of you and Bucky. He kissed your neck and ran his hands over the two of you. Caressing skin. Pinching nipples. He rubbed your clit and massaged Bucky’s base.

You and Bucky kissed as you moved as one. Your lips moved from lips to neck and back again and the sounds of your moans combined with each other’s and filled the room.

Sweat began to bead your skin as heat flowed through your veins, burning you up from the inside out. Steve hardened against your back as you moved. You began to feel fuzzy and high. Steve’s fingers worked your clit as you bounced faster and faster. It wasn’t long before you came again, and Bucky broke the kiss with a strained groan, gritting his teeth as he tried not to be dragged along with you. It was no use though, his hips jerked and he came just after you.

You stayed joined, slowly rolling your hips as his cock emptied. Steve ghosted his lips up the side of your neck and nipped at your earlobe. “You up for more?” He said in a soft growl.

“Mmm… I could go again.” You hummed.

Three and a half hours the three of you spent switching from one to the other, the only break you got was to rehydrate. By the time you called defeat you wondered if you were ever going to learn your lesson about trying to keep up with the two super soldiers.

You lay panting on the mattress as Bucky and Steve both lay back, the sweat running down their chests in rivulets. You cunt ached and your legs felt weak. You had a vague feeling like you should get up and pee. Get dressed. Go home. You didn’t think you’d even be able to get up. You could barely even think straight. It was all soft-focused.

You struggled up too sitting and blinked around the room.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Steve asked, putting his hand on your hip.

“Gotta go home,” you mumbled.

“You’re exhausted. Just stay.” Steve reassured you.

“Yeah, darlin’, you liked cuddling with us when we were camping,” Bucky added.

“If I sleepover, then they’ll know.” You tried to reason.

Steve sat up and kissed your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist. “So they know. We’re adults, we can do what we want. Now lie down, you’re exhausted.”

You let yourself collapse back down, unable to think of one possible argument. They both wrapped you in their arms and you were asleep before the blanket was even pulled over you.

// NEXT

#SSB2020 #steve rogers #bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #stucky x reader #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #captain america fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #smut #catch and release #lying in wait

381 notes · View notes