#they need to marry and to be divorced twice fr

[notthesaint]

If they would have their divorce arc </3

[maevemarethyu]

Unexpected (5/?)

(Not my GIF)

(This is my shitty border though. First try and all.)

You weren’t expecting it. Neither of you were.

That didn’t mean you weren’t happy with how it ended.

Bucky Barnes x Reader Fic.

Warnings: I don’t think there are any in this one? Sad Boi Hours, Firearms?

“That went well.”

Before the last word can leave your mouth, the newly familiar feeling of being wrapped in Bucky envelopes your senses. Your arms wind themselves around his large torso and relief seeps into your veins as you hold each other. It was really over. You and Patrick, he and Claire. It was done and you should be relived.

You weren’t. You felt sick and in pain. It hurts. Its terrifying. And James…

He was shaking in your grip. Or was that you?

Claire’s vicious words rise in your mind and you instinctively grip Bucky’s shirt tightly.

“It’s not true.” His voice reverberates in your ear and you pull your head away from his chest to look into his ice-blue eyes. “What he said. I don’t believe a word of it.”

Instead of trying to find words, you barrel back into his chest, nearly knocking the both of you onto the floor. After silently standing there for a few moments, your mouth opens on its own accord.

“They’re wrong about the both of us. They’re bitter and scared.” As they should be. There was no mercy for them in New York.

A chuckle rumbles around you and you finally peel yourself away from the giant of a man. “Frank.” He says after a moment. “Frank Castle. So you’re?”

“Y/N Castle. I’m sorry for not telling you before. Frankie made me promise to not make it known for my own safety. Started going by Patrick’s last name when Frank was drafted into special ops and, after the trial, we kept it even more on the down low.”

You had to assume the Avengers were briefed on your brother. It didn’t seem apparent that a mass murdering anti-hero wouldn’t be on their radar.

“Nat’s gonna lose it. she used to have an interest in your brother if you know what I mean.”

You do. You do know what he means and the mental image of your brother and the Black Widow together sent a shiver down your spine. The world would never be ready for that.

The words please god no are cut off by the sound of your phone ringing followed closely by Bucky’s and, with a simultaneous sigh, you both pull out your respectful devices.

“Barnes.”

“Dr. Castle.”

Matt mumbles something incoherently from his end of the line before the familiar voice of Karen tells him to shut up. “Hey Y/N. Not to worry you or anything but, Frank just called and he’s fully intent of going to prison so if you could-“

“How’d it go?!” Foggy yells, drowning out Karen’s plea and you rub your forehead with your free hand. They know how much you hate when they talk over each other. It always resulted in an instant headache.

A gentle hand on your shoulder draws your eyes back to Bucky who appears to be getting his own array of questions. He keeps his voice low to prevent any eavesdropping.

“You okay?” The warmth in his eyes offset their icy color and you feel the tension slip from your body before nodding.

“Don’t like to me Doll.” With a grumble, he takes the phone from your hand and turns on the speaker, then doing the same with his phone. A cacophony of your friend’s voices echo through your home and overwhelm you. You loved them, really, but right now all you want to do is curl up on the couch with Laysa (who somehow managed to sleep through the entire ordeal) and maybe drink yourself into a stupor.

As if reading your mind Bucky clears his throat loudly and the voices fall silent.

“We appreciate you all but, I think Y/N and I agree when we say we need some time to-“

“Unwind.” You supply when he falters and he gives you a bright smile. “Things got a bit heated and we want the time to process everything before we tell you guys what happened.”

“And maybe get you some ice for your hand.” James adds under his breath and you nearly snort from trying to hold back a laugh.

“We get it. Just call us when you’re ready.” A man says from Bucky’s phone and you let out a breath.

“Thanks Stevie. We’ll talk to you soon.”

“Let’s just hope its before your brother goes on another spree. I won’t be able to keep him out of prison this time.” Matt mumbles before ending the call.

James doesn’t give the Avengers time to question, quickly hitting the end button and turning off his phone.

You both let out a collective sigh of relief at the sweet silence.

“I’m glad Matt didn’t dial in Fr-“

A loud bang on your door causes a shriek to erupt from your throat and, before you can fully process what’s going on, a metal arm grips your arm gently and moves you away from the noise. Bucky tucks you behind him and draws a pistol from the waistband of his jeans. His movements are so fluid that you’re almost at a loss for words.

Almost.

“James Buchannan Barnes you brought a gun into my home?!” You keep your voice low despite your anger and he throws an apologetic look over his shoulder. You open your mouth to berate him some more when the door is thrown open, the lock doing nothing to prevent the force behind it.

A rain of dust from the sheetrock causes you to cough uncontrollably and cover your eyes but, the sound of an angry growl forces them open again. You knew that noise.

“Frankie?!” You sputter, walking out from behind the wall that was Bucky Barnes.

Lo and behold, there he was, your brother in all of his furious glory. You’d only seen it yourself maybe once or twice and, for some twisted reason, you found it comforting.

To your relief, James drops his weapon instantly and moves out of the way as Frank storms into your home. You had to admire your brother’s one-track mind as he completely ignores the other man and focuses on you.

“Where is he?” He was seething, red in the face, and breathing heavily.

“You broke my door.” You deadpan, crossing your arms across your chest. Sure, he was set on murdering your now ex-husband but, that didn’t excuse property damage. “You have a fucking key.”

“Y/N.”

You know he means business when he uses your full name instead of the various nicknames he had given you throughout your childhood.

“Long gone. Took his shit and ran when I called yoU!” Before you can finish your sentence, he pulls you into a tight hug and fresh tears spring to your eyes at the familiarity of it. It hadn’t been long since the last time he held you like this, barely a week, but the circumstances couldn’t be more different. You couldn’t be more different.

Last week you had been happily married and wanting to start a real family. Now you were divorced and seriously needing your brother to come cheer you up.

A tiny squeak breaks you from your thoughts causing your eyes to fly open and lock on Bucky’s ocean blue orbs as he bends down to pick up a whining Laysa. He nods towards the hall with the nursery and coddles her into his chest before leaving the living room quietly. The way it became second nature for James to care for the little cub leaves you with a fuzzy feeling in your chest.

Frank placing a kiss on your temple brings your focus back to him and he eyes you curiously.

“Is there a reason the Winter Soldier is in my baby sister’s house minutes after I get a call about her scumbag husband?” He questions lightly.

You scoff at the thought. You know your brother and you know his question is anything but innocent as his eyes watch the hallway like a hawk.

“The woman Pat was…” You can’t finish the sentence, not in front of him. “James’ wife. He caught them on camera. Ran all the way here when he found out Patrick was married. We wanted to confront them together.”

You can’t be sure but, an almost appreciative look enters your brother’s dark eyes and a warm feeling floods your body. For some reason the idea of Frank and Bucky not hating each other hadn’t crossed your mind. You assumed that they would instantly butt heads as most Alpha males did when in the same room.

Your thought may sound primitive to others but, reducing people down to their most basic forms came with the territory when you spent all your time studying the animal kingdom.

What you had in front of you was incredibly rare and you watch with wide eyes when Bucky emerges from the nursery and Frank releases his hold on you to properly greet him with a firm shake that probably would have broken Patrick’s hand.

Two Alpha males who’re not related coexisting peacefully. Your coworker Whitney wouldn’t believe you.

“Your sister has a mean right hook.” Bucky’s soft as velvet voice forces an embarrassed snort from you despite your brother’s proud look and when Frank looks between you and Bucky with a single raised brow, you cave.

“Okay! I may have hit her but, she deserved it.” You defend and, for the first time since he entered your home, Frank cracks a smirk. “And Bucky threw Patrick!”

“It was more of a toss really.” The world renowned and feared Winter Soldier shuffles his feet shyly, refusing to meet your eyes and Frank’s smirk widens into a full blow grin.

You shake your head with a laugh before your mind wanders to the little cub in the nursery. “How is she?”

James perks up instantly. “She’s good, fell asleep as soon as I put her in the crib.”

You can feel your brother’s eyes on you but, you ignore it in favor of wiping the residual tears from your eyes. “That’s good. It’s a wonder she can fall back asleep after being so rudely awoken.”

Frank has the decency to look properly admonished and you have to mentally take a step back. You currently had two of the most dangerous people in New York in your house and yet you had both of them shuffling their feet. You were definitely telling Sam about this.

“Sorry sis. I’ll fix it later.” Frank mutters, shaking the dust off of his jacket before turning towards the door. “Right now. I’m going to go hunt down your piece of shit ex and do much more than toss him around.”

With a fearsome grin, he flashes the two firearms on his belt and you huff in exasperation. “I told you I don’t want any guns in my house! Now, there’s four.”

Both men stare at you in confusion and you roll your eyes. “Buck you have another strapped to your right ankle. You’ve been favoring that foot since you walked in. I’m not dumb.”

The blue-eyed man’s face reddens when he realizes he’s been caught and Frank barks out a harsh laugh.

“There she is.” He smiles proudly. “I’m serious about the door though. I’ll fix it later. I’ve been waiting too long to put Patrick in his place.”

“No! You’ll fix it no-“

He’s out the broken door before you can finish your sentence and a frustrated growl erupts from your throat. Once again, your brother’s one-track mind ceases to amaze you and Bucky barely manages to catch the heavy oak door before it completely falls off of its hinges.

“I’m going to beat some sense into him next time I see him.” You vow, causing Bucky to grin sheepishly as he sets the door against the wall.

“So that was Frank Castle?” James laughs lightly.

“Yeah.” You hum. “That was Frank Castle.”

Chapter shorter than I hoped but, It was necessary for the story to flow better

Tags: @luthien-t​ @vicmc624

[doc-pickles]

never thought i’d see it break

okay listen.... i am sorry for this fic, mainly because i know some of y’all are going to drag me into the ground for this. but i wanted to write some angst and while it might not be super angsty in theory it definitely counts because our favorite idiots don’t end up together. like at all. so once again, sorry for any mental anguish i may cause, i promise i’ll make it up to you guys tomorrow.  

also i cried writing this so good luck

Halloween 2020

She really didn’t think that the day would hit her so hard. The days leading up to it had been uneventful, the decorations lining the halls at work not fazing her in the slightest as she went about her daily routine. But when Jo woke up on Halloween morning, it felt like the past year of her life was slapping her in the face. The cold harsh reality of her husband up and leaving her sat deep in the pit of her stomach, her mind reeling as she laid in bed. 

“Are you getting up today,” Levi looked at Jo from his position on the couch, eyeing her warily. “Because I had plans but I can cancel them.” “Get out, go away,” Jo’s monotone voice was barely above a mumble as she stared menacingly at Levi. “Let me wallow once again in the realization that my marriage has failed and I will probably die alone. Or with you. Can’t tell which of those is worse.” 

Levi blew out a short breath, gathering his things and letting Jo know he was going to hang out with Nico for the day. Once the door to the loft was closed and locked, Jo reached beneath her bed and pulled out a large black box. Pulling the lid off, her breath caught in her throat as she took in the contents of the box.

Laying on top was a ratty tshirt, one that Jo had once religiously worn as she climbed into bed every night. The faded Iowa State logo stared up at her with a menacing aura, the memories that came with it too painful for Jo to relive. She set it aside and reached for the photo album below it, the dusty jacket brandishing a name she’d wished she could forget but rang through her mind everyday. 

The Karev’s. 

She knew it was torture, opening the book up to look at photos of a day that was once happy and beautiful but now filled her eyes with tears, but she did it anyways. The shades of blue and yellow that graced the pages, the smiling faces of their friends, of him, were like a glowering unwanted sign that her life had taken a detour that she had neither wanted nor anticipated. It didn’t help that there was a Polaroid tucked into the back page, her and Alex grinning at the camera with fake blood and vampire fangs adorning their faces. 

Hastily shoving the photobook and shirt back into the box, Jo ignored the numerous photos, ticket stubs, letters, and other memorabilia from the years she’d spent with Alex and shoved the box back under the bed. Why she’d thought taking it out was a good idea she would never know, but the feeling that had been blossoming when she woke up was now taking over her entire chest in a painful display. 

How had her life been so different a year ago? Sure it wasn’t ever picture perfect, her and Alex had their differences but they’d always worked through whatever was thrown at them together. His dad, DeLuca, Paul, him getting fired, her mom… every single problem they’d faced in their seven years together had been done exactly like that, together. Whether by choice or by reluctant agreement, the two were always there for one another, but apparently ex wives with two children she kept a secret for five years was where they drew the line. Where Alex drew the line.

Knowing she wouldn’t be doing the laundry that was piling up or scrubbing the sinks that needed some TLC, Jo settled back into bed, eyes watering as she scooted to the right side of the bed and clutched the now unused pillow that lay there. It didn’t smell like him any longer, but the comfort of holding the fabric to her chest still held. 

That’s where Meredith found her hours later, tear stains across her cheeks as she slept through the afternoon. A heavy sigh left the blonde as she settled onto the edge of the bed, one hand patting Jo’s shoulder affectionately as she woke. 

“Schmitt texted, he said you were wallowing in misery so I figured that was a cry for help,” Meredith let out a chuckle at Jo’s angry expression. “Come on, you can come take the kids trick or treating with me, it’ll be a good distraction.”

“I don’t want to move,” Jo mumbled into her pillow, eyes barely moving to meet Meredith’s. “I want to lay here until I sink so far into the mattress that no one can ever find me again.” “Jo, it’s been months. And I know it’s not easy, but you’ve been so strong through all of this, I’d hate to see one day ruin everything for you,” Jo sighed at Meredith’s words, knowing her friend was right. “If you get up now I will pour wine into a tumbler for you to drink while we walk around.” “Fine,” Jo rolled out of bed, glaring at Meredith as she did so. “But I’m only getting up for the wine.”

Halloween 2023

“You know I don’t normally interact with other humans on Halloween.”

Jo stood in the doorway of her apartment, a grin on her face as she looked at the man in front of her. His grin was threatening to overtake his face as he leaned down and kissed her sweetly, one arm wrapping around her waist, “I brought beer and scary movies, will you let me in now?”  

“Okay fine, only because of the beer and not because I like you so much,” Jo rolled her eyes and opened the door fully, letting Jack into the apartment and locking the door behind him. “Please tell me you have Scream in your collection, otherwise I don’t think this is gonna work out.” 

Jack pulled out the aforementioned DVD case, eliciting a cheer from Jo as he set up the movie. She really didn’t think she’d been this happy in a long time, the feeling of happiness bubbling in her chest as she grabbed popcorn an altogether new experience. 

When she’d picked up a Safe Haven baby from Station 19 four months ago, she hadn’t expected to have an hour and a half long conversation with Jack Gibson, who’d been sitting with the little girl before she’d arrived. Their conversation flowed so easily that the two had picked it up over dinner that night and the rest was history. 

She hadn’t seen anyone since Alex left, she hadn’t wanted to waste time on something that was going to leave her heartbroken again because she just couldn’t do that. But the connection she felt with Jack was real and exciting and something Jo hadn’t realized she’d needed until she had it. It almost distracted her from the fact that today her and Alex should be celebrating four years of marriage together. Almost. 

“Are you dazing out again over there,” Jack’s voice was light and cheery, but Jo could see the concern etched on his face as soon as he took a good look at her. “Hey, what’s wrong? We can watch Poltergeist if that’s what you want.”

A heavy sigh left Jo as she realized that she’d have to tell someone else exactly why today was one of her least favorite days of the year. Of course Jack knew that she was divorced, he’d met Alex once or twice when bringing in patients but he didn’t know everything. It wasn’t something that you should burden your partner with four months into your relationship, the ways that you failed in your previous marriage. 

“I was married. Obviously. And we got married on Halloween, so that’s why I don’t like being around people today, because it still sucks,” Jo’s gaze was concentrated on her fingers as she spoke, not wanting to see the pitiful expression on Jack’s face as she relayed her tragic backstory. “And I didn’t really wanna bring it up because you… you are the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time and I don’t want to ruin that by talking about my failed marriage.”

Eyes finally flitting up to look at Jack, Jo was startled to find empathy instead of pity in his expression. She knew he’d had a rough upbringing like her, that neither of them had been handed anything they had in life, but the unexpected compassion and Jack showed her always took her by surprise. 

“You are a badass. And for the record, you’re the best thing that’s happened for me in quite awhile too,” Jack wrapped his arms around Jo and brought her into his chest, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Would it make you feel better if we played a drinking game and got ridiculously drunk?”

“You know me so well,” Jo giggled as her eyes met Jack’s, his green eyes sparkling with that same sense of compassion that he always wore so brightly when he was around her. 

The two settled in for a night filled with laughter, shots, and scary movies as Jack cracked jokes all night, making sure that the smile on her face never left.  For once Jo didn’t feel like the day consisted of her replaying all of her past mistakes. Instead, for the first time in a long time, Halloween felt like a new beginning. 

Halloween 2025

“Oh man it is too early to be awake,” Jo’s groans echoed through the empty fire station, her feet leading her towards the soft voices she heard. “Hello? Anyone here?”

“We’re in here,” a smirk played onto Jo’s face at the sound of her boyfriend's voice, not expecting to see him today. “Hey there.”

“Hey yourself, who do you have there,” Jo walked further into the room that Jack sat in, a tiny bundle settled in his arms. She peeked over his shoulder, taking in the dark curls and soft features of the baby he held. “Well aren’t you a cutie. How long have you had her?”

“Just an hour or so, she’s been perfectly calm,” Jack looked up to Jo, gladly accepting the kiss she placed on his lips. “Usually by now they’re screaming at me, but this one hasn’t wanted anything except snuggles.”

“Maybe you’ve just got the magic touch with this one,” Jo settled into the chair across from Jack, giggling at the faces he pulled as he tried to entertain the baby. “She seems content there.”

“It sucks, she’s got no family and she doesn’t even get to celebrate her first holiday,” Jack’s finger ran across the baby’s cheek, eliciting a quiet coo from the little girl. “Oh I know sweetheart, maybe if you’re lucky the nice doctors will sneak you a lollipop.”

Jo’s heart leapt at the sight before her, fingers twisting the silver chain across her neck. She’d been to the fire station to pick up babies more than she’d like to say in the past few years, but seeing the tiny infants cradled in Jack’s arms always made her heart burst. 

“How do you feel about stealing a baby,” Jack’s eyes widened as they met Jo’s, a grin taking over her face at the shocked look he wore. “Cmon, trust me on this one. It’ll just be for a little bit, plus you’re off now right?”

“Yes, but now I’m concerned about what my girlfriend has planned for this poor innocent baby.” +

“I give you about ten minutes of this before someone calls you out and we get arrested,” Jack’s eyes nervously flitted around the bustling Peds ward. “I will give you props though, she looks pretty cute.” Jo turned from the sight of children running down the hospital halls to the infant in Jack’s arms. They’d stopped at Target before coming to the hospital, grabbing a pumpkin costume to put on the newborn before they took her around the Peds ward to trick or treat. Jack and Jo both knew that they were being a little silly, but they wanted the little girl to have at least one day where she felt loved. 

“Of course she does, she’s the cutest little baby in the world. Aren’t you Hallie? Yes you are,” Jo grabbed the infant’s foot, looking up to Jack who was staring her down with an unamused expression. “What? She needed a name and I watched Parent Trap last night. Plus it’s kind of fitting, Hallie… Halloween… Oh you’re just a party pooper!”

“Jo! What’re you doing here,” Link sauntered up to Jo and Jack with a smile, sleeping baby strapped to his chest. “Woah who's baby is that? Did you hide a pregnancy from me for nine months?” 

Jo’s eyes widened as she stared her best friend down, lightly slapping his arm, “No you idiot, this is Hallie. She’s a Safe Haven baby, but we wanted to dress her up and let her have some fun before we turned her over.”

Links gaze floated from the baby still cuddled against Jack to Jo who was perfectly settled into his side. He held his hand out, a knowing smirk on his face, “Give me your phone, I’ll take a picture of you guys.”

Without hesitation, Jo handed the object over and both her and Jack wore bright smiles as Link snapped the picture. He handed the phone back, both adults leaning in to look at the photo in awe. 

“I give you about a week,” Link chuckled, both Jo and Jack too caught up in the infant with them to notice his words. “I’ll see you guys later!”

Jo absentmindedly waved her friend off, grabbing Hallie from Jack’s arms and bringing her to her own chest. The little girl blinked up at Jo before settling contentedly against her, eyes closing in a matter of seconds. 

“You know, she seems pretty content with us,” Jo looked up from the baby to her boyfriend with wide eyes, not believing the words she was hearing. “What? She does, she’s barely cried since I got her this morning and looks so comfy snuggled up with you.” 

“You are pretty cute, I’m just gonna sneak you out and take you home,” Jo squeezed the hand of the infant, looking up at Jack who was staring at her with an awed look. “What? Do I have baby spit up on me?”

“Nothing, you just look good. You’re a natural,” Jack brought Jo back into his side, pressing a kiss to her head. “I love you.” “I love you too,” Jo laughed as the baby burped loudly before settling herself back against Jo. “And I think she likes you too.”

Halloween 2030

“Bailey, I just finished my charts and I am heading out,” Jo sighed as she set her arms on the nurses station, head leaning warily against one hand. “I’m off for the rest of the day, I’m just going to check on Mr. Olsen in the ER before I duck out. Pretty sure my kids are driving their dad nuts and the addition of sugar tonight won’t help with that.”

Bailey let a laugh out, dismissing Jo for the day and letting the younger woman know she wasn’t needed the next day. A sigh left her as she climbed into the elevator with her purse in tow, Jo finally feeling a small sense of relief. 

“You are not making my job easier, you’re much more troublesome than your brother,” Jo settled one hand onto her growing baby bump, a strong kick meeting her hand as she rolled her eyes. “Typical. You’re going to have your sister's attitude aren't you?”

The elevator dinged loudly, bringing Jo away from her conversation with her unborn child and into the real world. As she stepped off the elevator, her hands dug into her purse in search of her phone. She’d finally dug it out when she ran straight into whoever was walking in front of her. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I was ju-,” the air in Jo’s lungs left suddenly, as if it had been sucked away by a vacuum as she met the eyes of the person she’d bumped into. “Oh my god. Alex.”

Alex Karev, ten years older than when she’d seen him last, was standing not even two feet in front of Jo. Her heart was hammering as she stared at her ex husband, his presence the last thing she’d expected, especially today of all days. 

“Hey Jo, good to see you,” hearing his voice almost brought tears to Jo’s eyes as she stared dumbly up at Alex. “I’m working on a case with Hayes for the week. You look good, happy… round.”

A small laugh escaped Jo then, her hand falling to her bump as she finally found her voice again, “Yeah, this one kinda popped out right away. Between that and my constant morning sickness, I couldn’t hide being pregnant for very long.”

“I’m glad, that you’re uh happy, that’s good to hear,” Jo watched Alex’s eyes flit to the wedding set on her left hand, then back up to her. 

“Mama!”

Both Alex and Jo turned toward the excited voice sounding down the hallway, a head full of black curls flying past Alex as the little girl they belonged to wrapped her arms around Jo’s legs. A second shorter head of messy brown hair crashed into Jo’s legs, laughter escaping her as she tried to wrangle both children, “Okay you two, mom can’t breathe!”

“Sorry, they escaped as soon as I walked through the door,” Jack appeared next to Jo a second later, pressing a kiss to her cheek before turning to Alex. If he was shocked to see the man, he hid it well as he extended his hand towards him. “Hey, Jack Gibson. Alex, right?” “Yeah, nice to meet you,” Alex shook Jack’s hand with a small smile, Jo’s heart skipping a beat at the unusual sight. “You guys have some good looking kids.”

Jo laughed, her face lighting up as she looked at the two children now preoccupied with a game of tag, “I can’t take all the credit, Max is Jack’s clone and Hallie just kinda… fell into our laps. She’s got my attitude though, if that counts for anything.” “That counts for everything, you know she uses that to get whatever she wants,” Jack slung his arm around Jo’s shoulder as she leaned into him, her hand coming back to her burgeoning stomach. Jo could tell Alex was watching them, but she didn’t have the words to verbalize how odd it made her feel.

“I gotta go, but it was nice to meet you Jack,” Alex waved his hand at the other man, before turning to Jo. Their eyes met for a second and it almost felt like that day eleven years ago standing in a courtroom in the most ridiculous costumes. Jo’s throat tightened as she offered a watery smile to Alex, his own eyes glassy as they finally broke away from hers. “It was good to see you again Jo, it really is good to see you happy.”

Jo could only nod, lifting her hand in a wave to Alex, “You too Alex. Have a good stay.” Alex turned and left then, Jo’s eyes watching him until he turned a corner and was out of her view. The sight tugged at her heart strangely, her mind bringing up the image of him walking into an airport so many years ago and never turning around. She doesn’t realize there’s tears floating down her face until Jack nudges her lightly. 

“You okay?” “Yeah,” Jo swipes at the tears that have pooled on her cheeks, turning to Jack with a smile. She leans up to press a kiss to his lips, holding on a bit longer than she normally would in public before pulling and meeting his green eyes with her brown. “I’m perfectly fine, just another Halloween. You guys ready to go?” Jack pauses for a moment, holding Jo’s stare before turning back to their kids who are still running around the hallway, “Yup, we just came to pick you up before we headed to Meredith’s. Hallie! Max! Let’s move it!” The two kids followed Jack and Jo out of the hospital, a string of laughter following the family as they made their way into the chilly Seattle air. Jo’s eyes lingered on the trauma bay as they left, remembering a day so long ago it felt like another lifetime when she’d first met the man she’d been married to. A swift kick to her ribs pulled her out of her thoughts, her fingers squeezing Jack’s as they made their way through the parking lot. 

Just another Halloween….

[noona-la-la-la]

Hi, Noona. So, I was hoping to get your opinion on smth. I have this fr in college & we've gotten close enough to the point where she confided in me she has a sugar daddy. I understand the reasons -she has no family but is rlly smart & sweet & wants to graduate. She asked me what I think & do I think less of her for doing that. Idk, as long as it's consensual, she's ok & noone's getting hurt, I guess it's ok... What do you think? Should I tell her to break it off? I'm not judging, just concerned

I generally think it’s a bad idea to try to tell people what to do with their lives.  So no, I wouldn’t recommend telling her to break it off.

On the other hand, I think it is a sign of a healthy friendship to be able to share your honest thoughts.  If those thoughts really are that you are supportive “as long as it’s consensual, she’s ok & no one’s getting hurt”.  If you have other concerns about it, you should share those.  And then, drop it unless she brings it up again.

I had a friend who signed up on one of those sugar daddy dating sites.  She asked what I thought, and I told her that I found the whole thing kinda creepy and I wasn’t a fan of dating as a financial transaction.  I told her that I questioned whether or not she could actually be happy with this kind of arrangement and I told her that I didn’t have any trust in men whose whole approach to dating was to use their wealth as leverage to have hot younger women as arm candy and an easy fuck.  She disagreed.  After I spoke my mind, I let it go.  She asked my thoughts, I told her, and there was no need to belabor the point.

REAL LIFE STORY OF MY FRIEND WHO TRIED TO GET A SUGAR DADDY UNDER THE CUT

Mind you she wasn’t a poor college student -- she was a professional woman with a good salary and excellent long term prospects.  But she wanted millionaire money -- she wanted someone to buy her a fancy car, pay her rent, take her on European vacations and shower her with diamonds. And she was supermodel hot -- so there were plenty of men on these sugar daddy sites that were hitting her up.  She had one guy who took her to Vegas, paid for a stage show, nice dinners, drinks at the night club... and in exchange she spent the whole long weekend having sex with him.  Maybe she liked sex with him, I don’t know.  But he didn’t come through with the millionaire lifestyle and frankly, she already made enough money where she easily (and often did) take herself to Vegas and was good looking enough that she easily got random guys to buy her dinner and drinks wherever she went.  This sugar daddy didn’t offer her anything she couldn’t get on her own already.  The next sugar daddy was a married man who lived in the suburbs, had a wife and kids, claimed that he couldn’t leave his wife because of their religion and because of the kids and they didn’t have sex anymore and the wife was fine with his double life (yeah - sure.  She won’t divorce you because of her religious beliefs, but she’s fine with you sleeping around... whatever.)  He kept an apartment in the city where he stayed on his “date nights” and she would go there to have sex with him once or twice a week.  What did she get from him?  Front row tickets to plays, steak dinners, cocktails at nice bars.  He once paid the bar tab for her and her friends (of which I was one).  But again, these were all things she could get for herself and frequently did buy for herself.  This dude supplied NOTHING that was special or different.  Anyway -- this was a recurring theme.  Eventually she gave up on landing the dream sugar daddy and now she’s married to a guy who is just regular wealthy and they have a big house in the suburbs and she’s pregnant.

Maybe it works out for some people.  Maybe they get cars, and rent, and jewels, and tuition.  Maybe they get things they can bank and build a life on once the sugar daddy situation dies down.  But I suspect that more often than not a lot of these dudes are looking to put in the minimal amount of effort and looking to fuck the hottest chick they can find for the least amount of investment they can make.

[samingtonwilson]

Marriage Material - Part 2 - Jim Kirk

Part 1

Summary: in this chapter, you make your first decision as a married couple.

Warnings: language

A/N: good god.

A pulsating pain seemed to expand and contract your skull uncomfortably, your limbs tired, sore, and wrapped in something much warmer than the clothes you could vaguely recall wearing just the night before. You twisted in the bed, pulling a cloud-like white comforter around your body tightly.

You almost moaned at the plushness of the mattress— it was softer than you remembered it being every other night for the previous week. Your pillow even smelled different— saturated with the scent of tea tree shampoo, icy peppermint, and refreshing citrus. You inhaled it deeply, exhaling a sighed breath.

You opened your eyes halfway, using your hand to shield your aching forehead from the light pouring in from windows that were actually larger than you thought they were. Your eyebrows came together at that, sending another wave of discomfort across the crown of your head.

You opened your eyes wider when you noticed the size and lack of cleanliness of the boots strewn before the windows and closet. You then noticed the watch on the nightstand, the wallet beside it— you could have screamed when you recognized both.

You were suddenly overwhelmingly aware of the weight over your waist, the warmth so close to you that you thought you might burn. A wave of nausea washed over you and made you shut your eyes when you perceived the light blue sweater you wore.

You turned slowly after a few deep breaths. You tried to prepare yourself for what you might see, what you knew you would see.

His eyes were open when you faced him. The blue matched your sweater— or, rather, his sweater that you were wearing. That blue could have consumed you entirely as he watched you cautiously, as if you’d disappear into thin air if he moved even a little, if he touched you even with feathery lightness, if he acknowledged you being there with something other than his stagnant gaze.

You took a breath and glanced at his bare chest. It was so, so bare and so, so close to you. Your thoughts were an endless train of “No’s” and your gut twisted.

You wouldn’t forget sleeping with him. It was Jim, after all! It wasn’t a casual one night stand, it wasn’t a cheap hook-up. It was Jim.

It was Jim. You could have vomited.

He just watched you. He watched as your features changed from worried, to shocked, to mortified. He watched as you scowled, he watched as your lips fell open. Of course, he’d gone through a similar progression— but he was considerate enough not to go through it in front of you. “S’real rude.”

You closed your mouth immediately and shook your head with shut eyes. “Sorry, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, you weren’t bad.”

You slapped your hand against his chest when he laughed to himself. “Jim!” you shouted opening your eyes and laughing humorlessly. “It’s not funny! We couldn’t have— I mean, we didn’t— I think I’d remember—”

“I don’t think we did,” he interjected, unable to stop his fingers from reaching out to touch and trace your jaw. “I’m still wearing jeans and underwear. Besides, you’d remember if we had sex.”

You made a face of disgust despite yourself. “No clichés please. The last thing I remember is ordering a milkshake that tasted like bottled chocolate syrup.”

He hummed, glancing at the hand that was beside your jaw, a glint upon the third finger catching his attention. His throat ran dry.

You turned onto your back, your left hand reaching up to comb through your hair. Something on your third finger shone at him as well. It was his turn to almost vomit.

You looked at him, narrowing your eyes at his stare. “What?”

“Have you—” he cleared his throat. “You’ve always worn a ring, right?”

“A ring?” you asked, shaking your head as you lifted your hands to your neutral line of vision. “Why would I wear a— What the fuck is this?”

You might have screamed but Jim’s lack of movement and shock made you realize it was in your head, that the shock hadn’t found your mouth.

You reached for his left hand and held it in front of you, tilting your head. You held your own left hand adjacent to his, you compared the nearly identical rings. “Please tell me they’re, like, best friend rings from one of those stores that have purple walls and charge, like, a dime to pierce ears.”

“What makes you think you’re my best fr—” he clicked his tongue and shook his head before you could reprimand him. “This isn’t the time for that.”

You sat up, pulling on his arm so he would sit up beside you. You stared at your hand. All of it only pointed to one thing— the planet upon which you sat, the recollection you had of telling Jim about Uhura and Spock’s plans, the vague soundbite you could hear of your voice saying “Zoroastrian.” “Can you say it? I think I’ll throw-up if I say it.”

“I think we—” he trailed off, taking a deep breath. “I think we— We, uh, we— I think we got married.”

“We didn’t get married,” you said quickly, shaking your head. “We couldn’t have gotten married! My brother’s supposed to be my maid of honor— we had a deal. I was best man at his wedding, he owed me one.”

“That’s the only reason we couldn’t have gotten married?” he asked as you climbed out of the bed and let your feet hit the cold floors so you could register how tired they felt. He watched as you paced, your left hand against your forehead— he could really see your ring that way. “Not that we’ve never kissed, or had sex, or gone on a date? You called us ‘the definition of platonic’ last night, for fuck’s sake!”

Your right hand flew up to your forehead as well, his voice ringing and slamming in your head. “So you remember that I said that, but you don’t remember marrying me? You don’t remember signing a marriage license with me? You can’t remember where these rings came from?”

He sighed. “It’s not voluntary, starlight.”

“I’m aware it’s not voluntary, I just— Who lets people as drunk as we were get married?”

He shrugged. “This planet’s inhabitants.”

After what felt like eons of thinking and over-thinking on both your parts, you stopped pacing and knelt on the bed in a spot before Jim so your knees dug into the mattress. You appreciated his small smile, but were unable to reciprocate it. “We didn’t have sex, though, right? You’re sure about that?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m pretty sure. Why?”

“It’s harder to get an annulment if you’ve consummated the marriage— we’re friends, too. Which isn’t a problem at all if it’s totally platonic, but having a history of a positive relationship and then having sex once married would totally throw the annulment option out the window.”

He gaped at you for a few moments, silence hanging heavily between you two— but he thought maybe it was heavy just on his behalf. You were clearly not on the same page, you weren’t searching for the silver lining he desperately looked for. “Annulment?”

“I mean, I’d say divorce but I didn’t think you would want a ten-minute marriage to your friend in your locker.”

“Why get either one of those things?”

You tilted your head. “Because, that way, we won’t be married to each other anymore.”

“Breaking my heart again, starlight.”

You sighed loudly, moving to sit comfortably. “Jim, this isn’t a joke! We’re married!”

He nodded. “I know we are.”

“We’re not supposed to be married!”

He nodded again. “I know that.”

“We can’t be married, we’re not in love.”

Another nod. “Yeah, I know.”

“We had a wedding that I don’t remember.”

“I don’t remember it, either.”

“The only logical next step is ending the marriage,” you continued, watching his features carefully. “We can’t stay married to each other.”

He thought he might try to bring you to that page. He chose his words carefully. “Well, we are friends,” he told you with a second shrug and a small frown. “And I did say you should marry a friend.”

It was your turn to gape. “What?”

He leant forward, taking your hand in his. He touched the ring softly, he turned it on your finger so he could inspect the stoneless band. “It wouldn’t be a bad marriage, you and I. We’d last longer than Bones’ lousy marriage.”

“What are you talking about?”

He looked at you again. He offered you another small smile. “The only lawyers we know are Starfleet lawyers, no way this doesn’t get back to the admiralty.”

“Why does that—”

He sighed. “I’m Jim Kirk— Captain Kirk. They have more than enough reasons to demote me, more than enough reasons to take the Enterprise away. A few miracles here and there, saving the galaxy once or twice— it’s apparently not enough when your behavior is ‘consistently reckless.’” He toyed with your fingers absentmindedly. “This is particularly reckless, even for me.”

“Are you even thinking?” you nearly shouted. You were angry, sure— you felt that in your ears, in the pinch at the back of your neck. But the fear plaguing your chest, shaking your limbs was greater. “You can’t be suggesting that we stay married. Divorces aren’t a big deal! Everyone gets divorced— it’s like a rite of passage in the twenty-third century.”

Maybe you were better off on your own page. “Yeah, but not after three hours of marriage. They try for a reasonable amount of time, it doesn’t work, they split-up. It’s perfectly honorable that way.”

He sighed once more when you remained silent. His smile was a little bigger now, more of the convincing kind. “I can’t have a three hour marriage brought to the attention of the admiralty.”

“Do you know what you’re asking me?” you were still shouting at a volume that created a hammering sensation in your head. You tried to find a glimmer of humor in his blue eyes, something to indicate he wasn’t serious— but you came up short. “You’re asking me to stay married to you for a reasonable amount of time. I don’t know what you think a reasonable amount of time is, but I doubt it’s less than a month or two.”

“It isn’t less than a month or two— it’s a lot more than that, I know.” He leaned closer to you, you caught the scent of tea tree shampoo, of icy peppermint, of citrus, maybe even a little alcohol. You wanted to reach out and touch the rough beard he’d let grow over the course of leave, resisting the urge to make contact with your husband. “But it’s us! We can do it, right? Especially when we have such an important reason to.”

“You don’t think that’s selfish?” you asked, your voice still too loud for even your own head. You massaged your left temple with your fingertips. “You don’t think it’s selfish to ask me to stay married to you just to help you keep your starship?”

“It is selfish.”

“You don’t think it’s selfish to basically uproot my life for your own benefit?” you continued despite his answer. “Say we tell everyone we’re married, that we did it fully aware of what was happening— how do we date other people? You said it yourself, you’re Jim Kirk. How are you going to stay celibate?”

He snorted. “I’m not a sex addict, starlight, I can adhere to abstinence. Besides, we’ll only date people we really trust to keep it under wraps, we can even have ‘em sign NDA’s or something.”

“Yeah?” you scoffed. “Who’ll draw the contracts up? The only lawyers we know are Starfleet attorneys, after all.”

He conceded a bit. “Okay, no NDA’s. But we’ll figure it out! ‘Til death do us part.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” you mumbled, burying your head in your hands. “Oh, God. My mother’s going to kill me.”

“We’ll be back on the Enterprise tomorrow morning— it’ll be hard for her to get to you by then.”

You lifted your head to bare your teeth at him and he just chuckled in response. You clicked your tongue a moment later. “If you know it’s selfish, how are you so okay with asking me to do this? Don’t you have some dissonance or reluctance? I mean, I won’t—” you sighed, “I’m not going to get anything out of this.”

“I know,” there was less playfulness in his voice. “And I keep thinking of what I can do for you, I just can’t figure it out.”

“Can you promote me to CMO?” you joked, managing a smile. “Really piss Len off.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ever since M’Benga left, you’re Bones’ second in command. You really want it to look like you’re sleeping with and married the captain for a small promotion?”

You hummed. “You’re right. And Len will already be angry enough seeing as we didn’t invite him to our wedding.”

“He hasn’t sent his gift yet, by the way,”

“I’d take money over a gift as it is.”

He laughed, gingerly pushing your shoulder with his fingertips.

“I want to tell him the truth,” you added, dropping your gaze again. “We can’t lie to him— of all people, it’s Leonard McCoy. The man will see through our act in a second.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that.”

“Our first decision as a married couple,” you mumbled, snorting to yourself. “Have you considered just not telling Starfleet? We could just stay married in secret— get a divorce when we’re back on Earth and can find a decent, unaffiliated-with-Starfleet lawyer. It’ll be too late for an annulment but it’ll be like nothing’s changed.”

He nodded with a frown. “I did consider that. I just thought marriage would make my character out to be better than what they think it is. That I’ve calmed down, settled down, fallen in love rather than in more trouble. And Starfleet would find out about a secret divorce-- which would make matters worse because we would have never filled out relationship declaration paperwork.”

You stared at him blankly. “You really thought this through.”

He smiled at that. “Silver lining’s are my thing. But it’s up to you— entirely. Whatever you say, we’ll do. We can stay married in secret, we can tell Starfleet, we can get it annulled— whatever you want.”

“It’s not whatever I want when I know what you want. I can’t make a decision that would go against that,” you said softly. “I care about you, Jim— so much. We’ve been friends for ages and— What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t do this for you?”

His lips spread into a grin— a grin that warmed your stomach and made it flip uncomfortably all at once. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to your forehead. He was still grinning when he sat back. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You better. And if I’m expected to live in your quarters now, you need to get a new mattress. I don’t know what you’ve done on that thing and I’m not taking any chances.”

He offered you a sarcastic expression. “Good one.”

PART 3

lil tag list (tell me if you’d like to be tagged): @feelmyroarrrr @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @webhoard @dirajunara